Li Taixing waited until Wang Xuanwu left before going outside. He saw a messy table with only some bones left on it. Wang Xuanwu had clearly been dissatisfied that there wasn't any wine prepared for her, as she had left a note: 'Next time, make sure to have wine ready.'
"Damn, my master seems to only have her figure and identity going for her," Li Taixing muttered, feeling it was a miserable fate to have such an unreliable master on his journey of cultivating immortality.
After Wang Xuanwu left, he was left to tidy up the scene. As he did, a cool gust of wind brushed against him, and when he glanced at the fence he had worked so hard to build, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"No... where's my wall?"
The sandalwood fence he had painstakingly constructed was completely gone.
"Wow, is this a thief's doing?" Li Taixing grumbled in frustration. "I mean, we're poor on this mountain, and they steal our stuff anyway?"
Then, realization struck him. "Wait, could this be my master's doing?"
Given the missing sandalwood and the mischievous nature of his master, Li Taixing found it hard to believe anyone else could be responsible. However, how exactly she did it remained a mystery.
Seeing no point in rebuilding it, he let the matter go. Who cares about a fence anyway? he thought.
With the day free, he decided to explore the mountain, thinking about how bleak it looked compared to the surrounding peaks. Perhaps he could remodel the place and bring some life to it. After all, Scarlet Peak Mountain's desolation was almost depressing.
While exploring, he stumbled upon a cave halfway up the mountain. Curious, he ventured inside. The further in he went, the dimmer it became until he reached the end of the cave, where there was nothing but a stone bed.
"This place is terrible," Li Taixing thought, shaking his head. "A little renovation could turn it into a livable spot."
With that, he began to work on the cave, transforming it into a somewhat more comfortable environment. Yet, as the day wore on, he found himself feeling restless.
"What should I do?" he sighed. "I thought I'd be learning from a great master, but instead, I got nothing."
"System," he muttered, "why don't you give me something that'll make me stronger?"
But the system remained silent.
Frustrated, Li Taixing resumed his wandering, scouring the mountain for anything unusual. Yet Scarlet Peak Mountain was as barren as ever—no hidden treasures, no mystical herbs—just desolation. As he explored, a sudden noise startled him, and when he turned, he found Wang Xuanwu standing behind him.
"Master, why are you here?" Li Taixing asked, genuinely surprised.
Wang Xuanwu appeared slightly embarrassed. "I suddenly remembered that leaving you alone on this mountain isn't the best idea. I ought to give you something to do."
She thought for a moment. "What weapon do you want to focus on in your training?"
Li Taixing pondered briefly before answering, "The sword."
"Good." Wang Xuanwu nodded, tossing him a sword manual. "Here, study this."
And just like that, she flew off again.
Left behind with a confused look, Li Taixing picked up the manual, which read Extreme Flower Sword Art.
"Wait, Master, you could've at least left me a sword! How am I supposed to practice without one?" he groaned.
With no other choice, he fashioned a wooden sword to use as a temporary stand-in. He then opened the manual and frowned as he skimmed through it.
"This is just a regular sword manual for Martial Masters," he sighed in disappointment, expecting something more advanced from his master.
However, as soon as he touched the manual, a system notification sounded in his mind:
[Cultivation Technique detected: "Extreme Flower Sword Art." Initiating tens of billions of times cultivation growth.]
[Ding! Congratulations, you have mastered "Extreme Flower Sword Art." The system has upgraded it to "Tai Chi Sword Art," reaching the point of returning to its origin.]
[Ding! Congratulations on practicing your first Cultivation Technique. You have gained Psychokinesis.]
The sudden notifications left Li Taixing stunned.
"System, what's going on?" he asked, bewildered by the system's unexpected reappearance. Not only had it given him an upgraded Cultivation Technique, but it had also gifted him a new ability.
But once again, the system remained silent.
"Wait... I always thought this system was just a fancy storage space for my dimensional bag," Li Taixing realized. "But it's more than that. I need to start understanding it better."
Intrigued, he focused on the Tai Chi Sword Art, realizing that this sword style was unlike the aggressive techniques he'd seen before. It was balanced, able to both attack and defend, and even had auxiliary capabilities.
"This is actually pretty great!"
Excited, Li Taixing gripped his wooden sword and swung it casually at a nearby boulder.
Whoosh!
With a single slash, the massive stone split cleanly in two. Li Taixing stared, wide-eyed.
"Whoa... this technique is ridiculously strong! I just cut through that huge rock like it was nothing!"
But then he hesitated. "Wait, I haven't even reached the Body Refining realm yet. So how do I have this much strength?"
Curious, he asked aloud, "System, do you have a status panel or something?"
Immediately, an attribute panel appeared in front of him.
---
Host: Li Taixing
Sex: Male
Age: 18
Realm: Martial Dao Grand Great Master Realm
Identity: Direct disciple of the Fifth Elder, Xuantian Sect
Skills: Tai Chi Sword Art
---
"Martial Dao Grand Great Master Realm? No wonder I've been feeling so strong!" Li Taixing exclaimed, realizing the system had categorized his strength under Martial Dao instead of Immortal Cultivation.
"But... what does this Realm equate to in Immortal Cultivation?"
The system, once again, offered no response. Yet, this newfound understanding made one thing clear: the system was far more powerful than he'd initially thought. There were likely still hidden features he had yet to discover.
"Martial Dao Grand Great Master, huh?" Li Taixing mused. "I guess I'll need to test myself against others to really see how strong I've become."
Reflecting on his journey, he concluded there were three key elements contributing to his newfound strength: the Bone Forging Pills, the Spirit Stones, and the Cultivation Techniques. Coupled with the system's assistance, they had propelled him to his current Realm.