Unable to figure out the book's meaning, Lin Jie put it away and got back to sweeping the enormous gate area. All while ignoring the whispers and looks he got due to his appearance.
While singing an old song and sweeping, he accidentally pushed a tiny rock out of place and it tumbled towards one of the disciples entering. The disciple caught it and stepped on it.
"Sorry about that," Lin Jie tried to sweep it but the guy refused to lift his foot.
"You should watch where you sweep." The guy said.
Lin Jie finally looked at him, a shorter guy reaching only Lin Jie's shoulder, hair blonde and eyes gray with sharp features like a noble's.
"I apologize, can you lift your foot, so I can sweep?" Lin Jie ignored the obvious aggression.
"You don't know who I am?!" The blonde guy seemed ticked off.
The bystanders whispered and chuckled.
"That guy's in trouble now, Luo Jin has a bad temper,'
"Am I supposed to know you?" Lin Jie responded honestly.
"Y-you!" Luo Jin raised his hand to strike.
[Alert! Killing Intent detected from [Luo Jin]]
"Brother Jin, what's keeping you?" a soft female voice came from behind them.
Lin Jie looked back, and was immediately stunned. Hair white as snow, eyes as red as wine, skin like porcelain, and body shaped by the artisans of heaven themselves, plump and soft. Lin Jie found himself stuck, her lips, her eyes, a sort of beauty not even the artificially enhanced models on the earth he knew could replicate. Only she deserved the title of White Phoenix.
Still, he caught himself and stopped staring, he knew not everything that glittered was gold. In a demonic sect, he had to be careful of everyone.
"I apologize Sister Lan, I was just held up by this sweeper, hmph!" Luo Jin harumphed.
"You are?" Mei Lan asked.
"Lin Jie." He kept his words short, trying not to be caught by her eyes.
"Lin Jie. With your appearance...the inner sect?" She asked.
"Outer sect, but for you i'd even be the sect leader," Since a chance presented itself, Lin Jie took it.
"....." Mei Lan blushed and looked away, never before had a man been so bold towards her, and never before had she seen such a handsome man.
Huh? I fucked up and insulted the heavenly demon! Only a bit later did Lin Jie realize he had insulted their god in front of them.
Thankfully, he whispered it so none of them heard.
"Y-you!" Seeing the redness on Mei Lan's cheeks, Luo Jin exploded in anger, his crimson QI releasing and covering his fists.
Lin Jie was in great danger, a single touch of the Qi striking him, meant death.
The demonic cultivation levels in the [Immortal Hell] In ascending order were:
Bone Refinement->QI Refinement->True Heaven->Demonic Emergence->Demonic Rebirth->True Devil->Demonic Destruction
Each realm further divided into 9 layers/levels.
The [Bone Refinement] realm recognized by the cultivators gathering Qi and storing it, the [Qi Refinement Realm] by the cultivators manifesting their Qi out of their bodies, and the [True Heaven Stage] recognized by the cultivators imbuing their QI with a trait.
With Lin Jie being at the 4th Layer Of Bone Refinement, it was impossible for him to fight Luo Jin who was an 8th Layer QI Refinement cultivator.
But with the many methods of the system it wasn't impossible for him to survive.
[Attack incoming!]
Before anyone else realized the attack was happening, the Evo Chip warned Lin Jie.
Fuck! it's my first day here! Lin Jie felt like the difficulty was too high.
The only thing he could use was the [Side-Step] skill.
"[Side-Step]"
Instantly, Lin Jie's body shifted to the side, as if carried by an invisible force and Luo Jin missed completely, the force making him tumble and almost fall.
"Brother Jin, stop!" Mei Lan stood between them.
"I-I.." The bystanders, and Luo Jin were shocked by Lin Jie's speed.
"So fast! But this Lin Jie, there's no way it's the ugly toad, right?!"
"You know fighting outside authorized arries is illegal!" Mei Lan scolded him.
Luo Jin acted like nothing happened and continued to whistle and sweep while moving away from the crowd.
When he got to an empty alley, he collapsed to the ground.
"UGHH!!" He shouted in pain, feeling his mind was about to shatter into pieces.
[Mental Capacity Overloaded! The host will experience great pain.]
He sat down for a while until the pain subsided.
"The mental toll of [Side-Step] is too much for me to bear."
The [Book Of Vows] floated in front of him and opened itself:
Mission 1 Complete!
Mission 2 Complete!
Granting rewards.
[Item [White Serpent Bracelet] Received.]
[Said to bring blessings and good luck, a living white serpent that feeds off of negative energy.]
[Item [Eye Of A One-Legged Dragon] Received.]
[Eye of an ancient and rare extinct race. Might fetch a good price on the market.]
[Will you equip the [White Serpent Bracelet]? Once worn, a soul-link will form.]
"Equip it, and place the eye on the market for sale."
Instantly, the bracelet appeared on his wrist. Shaped like a small red-eyed white serpent biting its own tail. The moment it appeared, Lin Jie felt soothed and could finally get up to leave.
He avoided the other disciples on his way home and took as many shortcuts as he could. Being a whole realm below everyone else in a demonic cult was the same as bleeding in a den of wolves, if he wasn't careful he'd be devoured.
...
In his room, he sat down cross-legged on the floor, and focused.
"How do I learn the martial arts I got earlier?"
[Spend 200 Credits to learn them all?]
"Do it."
Instantly a river of information flowed into his mind, each little detail about each martial art was engraved into his head.
"Let's start with the [Mantra Of Eternal Suffering],"
[The Mantra Of Eternal Suffering] formed a space within the user's mind that's used to train the mind by pushing the mind to the limit through endless experiences of suffering.
Lin Jie closed his eyes and focused as he chanted.
"LIVING TO DIE, SUFFERING TO LIVE, LIVING TO SURVIVE, SURVIVING TO SUFFER, ETERNALLY LIVING, ETERNALLY DYING, ETERNALLY SUFFERING, IN SAMSARA PEACE, IN SUFFERING SURVIVAL, IN DEATH LIFE...."
FOUR HOURS LATER
Lin Jie's eyes opened, and he took in a deep breath. The experiences of suffering created by the first level of the mantra were powerful, but for a man who had seen war, they were only difficult thoughts.
[Level 1 of [The Mantra Of Eternal Suffering] complete!]
[Mental Power Doubled.]
[5th Level Of Bone Refinement Achieved!]
"That was something, I had a couple of close calls there,"
He stretched for a bit and then sat down to continue practicing.
"The [Asura Physique] requires the body being attacked for me to practice, so all I can cultivate now is the [Eagle Eye Art]."
The [Eagle Eye Art] was incredibly simple, basically just a method of mobilizing QI into the iris and eyes internal structure to allow an increase in eyesight and perception. For someone with an omnifarious body like Lin Jie, mastery wouldn't take long.
THE NEXT MORNING
"Let's see,"
Looking around he found he could basically zoom his vision as he wished, the limit was clear, but it wasn't too bad.
`*Growl* His stomach raised a protest.
"I'll have to pay a visit to the cafeteria then, but where's my disciple token..?"
After looking around for a while, he couldn't find it at all, so he stood in the middle of the room and examined it carefully.
"Hmm...! What's that?"
He spotted a piece of tissue peeking out of the floor. When he pulled on it, a hidden compartment was revealed.
"What's all of this?"
Inside the opening in the floor were several items wrapped in a fabric. Lin Jie's disciple token, a book and a strange crystal.
[System Part found!]
[Integrating System Part…!]
[New function [Second World] Unlocked!]
"Lin Jie! Come out and greet the Third Elder!" A voice resounded from outside.
..