Volume 1, Chapter 6 – The Martial Dao

Right now, the shadow’s thoughts were a tangled mess. He couldn’t make sense of where this system had come from.

Across the myriad planes and worlds, systems of all sizes were countless. The final goal of most systems was to serve Headquarters—collecting information and harvesting energy for Headquarters in order to seek their own advancement.

Helping their hosts grow stronger was just a means to that same end.

Symbiotic-type systems were extremely rare, because creating a system in the first place required a highly complex process, and it had to be fitted with all kinds of core programs. The cost was far from low.

There were hosts beyond number in the countless worlds; there was no need to hang themselves from a crooked tree.

A system that lived and died together with its host was entirely at odds with Headquarters’ long-term interests.

Especially here, in this Lingyang Realm, which belonged to the top tier of planes in terms of power. To hide from this world’s Heavenly Dao and make a system’s existence and operation appear “reasonable” came at an extremely steep price.

To spend that much on forging a symbiotic system—there was definitely some hidden story behind it.

And his stumbling into this place might not be an accident at all.

While the shadow was lost in thought, Shi Lan was sitting cross-legged on the high bed, staring speechlessly at the white long skirt in her hands.

The skirt’s style was simple. The fabric felt soft and smooth, as if woven from ice-silk, and its surface shimmered with a very beautiful sheen.

White immortal cranes were embroidered along the collar and hem, lifelike and vivid. When Shi Lan counted them, there were not too many and not too few—exactly nine.

In each of these nine white cranes’ eyes was a spark of spirit, as if they were living creatures.

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Shi Lan stared blankly at the long skirt, and a thought stirred faintly in her heart. This skirt is actually… kind of pretty…

“Tss…”

Shi Lan violently shook her head and shoved the White Crane Skirt back into the system storage. Wear a skirt? Impossible. Not in this life.

Thinking of the newbie quest, Shi Lan started to get a headache.

For her current self, the quest issued by the Empress-Nurturing System was extremely difficult.

Although the previous Shi Lan had never cared much about the martial path, she had grown up in a martial clan. With that constant exposure, she did understand a bit of the cultivation road.

Only by stepping into the Body Tempering Realm could one be called a martial artist. The Body Tempering Realm was the starting point of cultivation; it required tempered flesh and hardened bones, constantly strengthening the physical body.

In the first stage of the Body Tempering Realm, all of one’s strength was condensed into a single whole—one punch could carry a hundred jin of force.

The Body Tempering Realm was divided into nine stages. With each stage, one’s strength increased by a hundred jin. At the ninth stage of Body Tempering, one would possess nearly a thousand jin of force, able to draw a ten-stone strong bow, and every casual movement would be enough to crack stone and split monuments.

After tempering the body to its peak, one would open up a dantian qi sea within, give birth to Innate true qi, and gain the ability to control artifacts, soar through the skies, travel a thousand li in a day, and break free of a mortal’s lifespan, reaching two hundred years.

As for the realms after that, Shi Lan wasn’t too sure. Her memories contained nothing about the martial stages beyond.

But as far as she knew, Shi Tianlu’s cultivation had long surpassed the Innate Realm by who knew how many levels.

Looking at her smooth, jade-like palm, Shi Lan felt a pounding in her head. This body of hers, while not so weak that she couldn’t lift or carry anything at all, really didn’t have much strength.

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Transforming herself inside and out in just three days was a bit much to ask.

Remembering the previous newbie gift pack, Shi Lan flipped her hand and took out the Body Tempering Pill from the system storage.

“How do I use this pill?”

【Body Tempering Pill: Taken directly, it can help Body Tempering Realm martial artists temper their bodies and increase their strength. Recommended for use at the third stage of Body Tempering and above. Below the third stage, use is not advised, as the body will struggle to withstand the medicinal power.】

The system gave a very detailed explanation.

Shi Lan sighed and put the pill away again. Counting on the pill clearly wouldn’t work. On top of that, she didn’t know any cultivation techniques right now. If she just messed around on her own, that definitely wouldn’t do.

In the entire Shi residence, the only person who could get her a cultivation technique was probably Su Lanyue.

Glancing at the pitch-black sky outside, Shi Lan hesitated for a moment, then lay down, wrapped herself in the quilt, and went to sleep.

She’d talk about it after she was well rested.

……

Early the next morning, Shi Lan was jolted awake by a sudden dampness between her legs. Her lower abdomen felt a bit sore and swollen. She instinctively reached down to check.

Seeing the dark red on her fingertips, Shi Lan stiffly climbed out of bed.

Women had those few days every month. Shi Lan was no exception. Judging by the memories, it was about that time.

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She slipped out of bed and walked over to the wardrobe. After pulling it open, she opened a hidden compartment and took out a white cloth band.

What this band was used for… went without saying.

With an indescribably heavy mood, Shi Lan took care of herself, then opened the door and headed toward Su Lanyue’s private courtyard.

None of the servants she met along the way dared to speak to her. The low-pressure aura hanging around Shi Lan made it very clear that she was in a foul mood today.

To get from Shi Lan’s residence to Su Lanyue’s courtyard, one had to pass the training ground.

There were two training grounds in the Shi residence. One was for the guards, servants, and others in the estate to practice in, located to the left of the front courtyard and occupying a very large area. The other was slightly smaller, closer to the rear courtyard, and reserved solely for Shi Tianlu and his sons to train in.

The one Shi Lan passed was the latter.

Dawn was when spiritual energy first began to stir. Unless they had something urgent to attend to, no martial artist would willingly miss that prime cultivation time.

When Shi Lan reached the training ground, she happened upon her two younger brothers—Shi Yiming and Shi Qinghu. Shi Tianlu wasn’t there; he’d probably been held up by something.

Shi Yiming was two years older and noticeably stronger than Shi Qinghu. At the moment, he was feeding Shi Qinghu moves.

Shi Qinghu was bare-chested and clearly struggling under Shi Yiming’s attacks, sweat pouring off him like rain.

Shi Lan’s eyesight was limited; she couldn’t tell what level the two of them were at. But as they traded blows, fists and feet weaving in a blur, they completely captured her full attention.

This was real, solid martial practice—nothing like the stuff she’d watched on screens in her previous life.

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Though young, Shi Qinghu’s bones were firm and his muscles were packed with explosive strength. He was like a juvenile tiger, his claws already showing.

Looking at the smooth lines of muscle on Shi Qinghu’s torso, a wave of envy surged in Shi Lan’s heart. If only she’d crossed over into a man instead…

Perhaps her gaze was a bit too undisguised, because the two sparring in the field sensed her presence and stopped moving.

When they saw Shi Lan standing at the edge of the ground, they both cupped their fists casually in greeting.

Shi Lan instinctively nodded back, her eyes still lingering on Shi Qinghu.

Being stared at like that made Shi Qinghu’s scalp prickle. He reflexively grabbed the long robe lying on the ground beside him and shrugged it on.

Shi Lan regretfully withdrew her gaze and lifted her feet toward Su Lanyue’s courtyard. The martial path truly had a captivating pull. Before, she had wanted to seek Su Lanyue’s help purely for self-preservation—and because of the system’s quest.

But after watching the brothers Shi Yiming and Shi Qinghu exchange blows, a faint yearning for the martial path had already ignited in her heart.

There was nothing in this world more reliable than one’s own strength.

Watching Shi Lan’s departing back, Shi Qinghu’s face flushed. “Does he have some kind of problem?”

“He does. And it’s not a minor one,” Shi Yiming said coldly, his gaze hard.