After losing his way around the back side of Heavenly Sky Mountain, Lei Ming finally made his way to his room.
Scurrying inside, he slammed the door shut and jumped on his bed, not even caring to look around his new residence.
'Come on, come on, come on. Give me something good! I'd take a Heaven-Grade technique. Hell, I'll even settle for an OP weapon.'
Lei Ming sat on the edge of his bed, rubbing his hands together with anticipation.
He waited 18 years for the system to awaken, painstakingly performing check-in's for years.
Now, the time had come for him to reap his rewards.
Without any hesitation, he pressed the mailbox icon in the top right of the system panel visible to him.
Here he had one message, the notification about his Novice Pack. Eagerly he pressed on it, and followed that up by pressing the button underneath it that said 'Open?'
Ding!
"You have chosen to open the Novice Pack!"
"Congratulations: You have received 500 Enlightenment Points!"
"Congratulations: You have received Mysterious Jade Token (x1)"
"Congratulations: You have received Lesser Spirit Stones (x10)"
"Congratulations: You have received Earth Grade Technique 'Stoneshattering Cleave'!"
…
After the notifications finally stopped ringing, Lei Ming read through them one-by-one.
'That's it? An Earth Grade technique and some spirit stones?'
Disappointed with the Novice Pack's results, Lei Ming withdrew the Mysterious Jade Token he had received from the system's subspace.
Once in his hand, he felt a sort of strange warmth emitting from it. After a few more seconds he began to hear sounds as if they were coming from a distance, however, they were incoherent.
After examining it a little longer and realizing it didn't do anything else he tossed it back into the subspace.
"Great, it even gave me a handwarmer right in time for winter", he grumbled to himself. "I guess an Earth Grade technique isn't terrible. Outer sect disciples only have access to Mortal Grade techniques so this will give me a good advantage."
Trying to cheer himself up, Lei Ming began to think about the benefits more deeply of what he received.
Both techniques and weapons were divided into several tiers in this world. Mortal Grade signified the lowest level, usually employed by those at the Qi Refining and early Foundation Establishment realms.
Earth Grade was above Mortal Grade. The stronger Foundation Establishment cultivators would use these as their main repertoire, as well as some weaker Golden Core cultivators.
Therefore, Lei Ming having pulled an Earth Grade offensive sword technique was actually a huge boon to his cultivation, as it would allow him to fight others above his realm.
After collecting his thoughts, Lei Ming also noticed that he could view his status panel. Quickly, he pulled it up.
[Spirit Enlightenment System]
[Host: Lei Ming]
[Cultivation: First Level of Qi Refining]
[Enlightenment Points: 500]
[Spirits: None]
Everything appeared normal except for the little section at the end, with 'Spirits'. Currently, he had none, however, he assumed that after he used his points one might appear.
Recalling the system's instructions, Lei Ming swiped up on his panel to find the current techniques he had, selected his new Stoneshattering Cleave technique, and pressed 'Add' to add the enlightenment points needed to awaken the technique's spirit.
Ding!
"Sorry to the host! You do not currently have enough Enlightenment Points to awaken this technique's spirit. Please find a way to earn more points!"
"What?! Damn you, what a shitty system. You couldn't even give me enough points to awaken the technique you gave me?"
Lei Ming's discontent with the systems restriction had reached its peak!
Phew.
After giving himself some time to cool down, he decided to take a break from looking at the system to look around his new room.
The outer sect disciples' dorms were separated by gender, and located on the lower back side of Heavenly Sky Mountain.
Due to the Heavenly Sky Sect's influence in the Mu State and surrounding areas, many mortals dreamt of joining.
Over the course of many years, wars had been fought, calamities struck, and yet the Heavenly Sky Sect stood strong through it all. They gathered massive amounts of resources over the years and invested it all into their own development.
Therefore, the outer sect residences were actually quite well put together in comparison to other sects in the region.
Each disciple was given a room equipped with a small spiritual array that gathered qi from the air for the disciples to cultivate with. They also were given a soft bed and a small kitchen for their everyday needs.
If one were to venture further down, to the base of the backside of the mountain, they would also find the Outer Sect Marketplace, a place for Outer Sect Disciples to buy various wares and goods they might need.
Closer to the gate that separates the outer sect from the inner sect was the Scripture Pavilion, a multi-storied tower built from white stone and capped with a blue-tiled roof. The pavilion housed various cultivation, attack, and defense techniques that the sect had accumulated over time.
There was also the Medicine Garden and Mess Hall located near each other, right in front of a grand waterfall that ran down the face of the mountain.
Back in the room, Lei Ming began to make himself at home, when he noticed a manual located on a table next to his bed.
On the cover were the characters for 'Heavenly Sky Qi Refining Manual'.
Lei Ming's eyes widened as he caught sight of the manual resting on the table next to his bed.
"Where did this come from?" he muttered, reaching out to pick it up. He turned it over in his hands, examining the cover with a mix of curiosity and confusion. The characters 'Heavenly Sky Qi Refining Manual' stared back at him, bold and authoritative.
'Was this left here by mistake?' he wondered, frowning. Then, a flicker of memory surfaced—he recalled the elder he had seen earlier that day during registration. The elder had mentioned something about manuals being provided for all new outer sect disciples, but Lei Ming, distracted by his thoughts of finally being able to awaken the system, had barely paid attention.
He smacked his forehead lightly, realizing his mistake. "Right… the elder did say the manual would be waiting in our rooms after registration," he muttered, feeling a bit foolish for not remembering sooner.
Shaking his head, he sat back down on his bed, the manual now lying open on his lap. Curiosity got the better of him, and he began to flip through the pages. The parchment felt ancient, each page filled with dense, flowing script that outlined the fundamental techniques of the Heavenly Sky Sect's Qi Refining method.
"This is… actually pretty detailed," Lei Ming murmured, his eyes scanning the text. As he read, he could feel the depth of knowledge and tradition embedded in each line. The manual described how to channel the surrounding spiritual energy through the meridians, refining it within the dantian to strengthen one's qi. It even included several diagrams depicting the pathways of the energy flow.
'Not bad,' he thought to himself. 'Even if it's just a basic technique, it seems quite comprehensive. Plus, with my Earth Grade technique, I'll be able to cultivate faster than most of the outer sect disciples…'
Encouraged, he decided to give it a try. Closing his eyes, Lei Ming sat cross-legged on the floor, the manual still open beside him. He began to breathe slowly, following the rhythm described in the first chapter of the manual. His breaths were deep and steady, each inhalation drawing in the spiritual energy that floated around him, as faint as mist.
Lei Ming focused on feeling the energy, guiding it through the meridians as instructed. At first, it was a struggle. The energy resisted his control, slipping away like sand through his fingers. But he persisted, remembering the diagrams and the careful flow described in the manual.
Minutes passed, then an hour, and slowly, he felt a faint warmth begin to spread through his limbs. His dantian felt like a small whirlpool, pulling in the spiritual energy, purifying it, and slowly strengthening his qi.
"Yes… that's it…" he whispered to himself, feeling a slight thrill as the energy began to move more smoothly, obeying his will. The technique wasn't as simple as it looked, but it was effective. He could feel his qi growing stronger, bit by bit.
Lei Ming continued his practice, immersed in the flow of energy, his surroundings fading into the background. He could sense the small spiritual array in his room working to gather qi, making the process a little easier.
As he continued to refine his qi, Lei Ming couldn't help but smile. Despite the disappointing rewards from his Novice Pack, the day wasn't turning out so badly after all. He had a decent Earth Grade technique, an unexpected manual to aid his cultivation, and a room with a qi-gathering array.
Still, the Mysterious Jade Token puzzled him. He couldn't quite shake off the feeling that there was more to it than just being a 'handwarmer.' But for now, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind. There would be time to explore its mysteries later.
For now, his focus was on one thing—advancing his cultivation as quickly as possible.
After a while, he opened his eyes, feeling a slight but noticeable improvement in his qi flow. "Not bad for a start," he muttered, looking down at the manual again.
'This will do for now,' he thought, his confidence restored.
Lei Ming chuckled to himself, closing the manual and placing it back on the table. He still had a lot to learn, but he was determined to make the most of every advantage he had.
Suddenly, a now familiar noise rang out.
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host for finding a suitable technique to upgrade! Please take a look at your new section in your panel."