Pain came first, then bruised ribs and torn muscles. Zhang Wei's eyes fluttered open to a ceiling that wasn't his own. The air smelled of orchids and antiseptic. Too clean. Too expensive.
Lin Rouxi's private ward.
Moonlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating the platinum-plated IV stand dripping fluid into his veins. His fingers twitched against silk sheets.
Then he heard it....the soft, rhythmic breathing beside him.
Lin Rouxi slept curled in an armchair, her snow-pale hair spilling across his hospital bed like a frozen river. In sleep, the Ice Princess looked almost vulnerable, lips slightly parted, lashes fluttering with some unspoken dream. A single strand had caught at the corner of her mouth.
Zhang Wei's hand moved before he could stop it.
Just one touch.
His calloused fingers brushed the strand away, marveling at its texture... cool silk against battle-worn skin. The moment stretched, fragile as a soap bubble.
Then....
"KYAAAAAAAA!!!"
Lin Rouxi's eyes snapped open, her scream slicing through the quiet. Zhang Wei's heart monitor flatlined for a second as he recoiled, slamming into the headboard with a grunt.
"You!" Her face turned crimson from the roots of her hair to the collar of her blouse. She clutched her hair like he'd drawn a blade. "What kind of pervert touches a sleeping woman?!"
Zhang Wei grinned through the flare of pain in his ribs. "Madam Lin, if heaven itself descended to Earth, would you blame a mortal for reaching out?"
The heart monitor beeped erratically as her pupils dilated. For one electric moment, he thought she might jab him with the IV needle.
Instead, she stood so abruptly the chair crashed behind her.
"Just wait," she hissed, storming out. "When you're discharged, I'll.."
The door slammed, rattling the equipment.
Zhang Wei collapsed back onto the pillows, laughter shaking his battered frame.
Worth every broken rib.
Wang Family Estate – Midnight
The ancestral hall reeked of herbs and blood. Wang Jie lying on the Jade table, with banges all over his body and the herbs all around him, He was red and disoriented due to the effects of berserk-pill.
"Father…" he rasped, blood-flecked spit dripping from his chin. "That bastard Zhang Wei… he's not human…"
From the shadows, Wang Zhong stepped into the light. Patriarch of the Wang clan, his embroidered robes whispered against the floor, a jade worry stone clenched in his white-knuckled fist.
The stone cracked.
"You let a street rat humiliate our bloodline?"
The family physician flinched as Wang Zhong backhanded his son. The slap echoed like thunder.
"Mercy, Father!" Wang Jie choked out, blood pouring from his nose. "He has some kind of...."
"Silence!"
His roar shook the ancestral tablets on the walls. Then, turning to the corner of the room, he shouted:
"Shadowblades."
Five figures materialized from the darkness, robed in black, faces featureless behind masks. The air grew cold.
"The Zhang boy," Wang Zhong growled, "I want his lineage traced ten generations. His friends. His food. Even his Underwear. I want you to appear infront of me only when you have found all this. Otherwise don't even dare to appear infront of me"
The lead Shadowblade tilted its head in silent acknowledgment.
Wang Zhong crushed the jade stone into powder.
"Burn it all."
Back in the hospital, Zhang Wei poked at his bandages, eyes flicking over his system interface.
[Mission Complete: Bully the Bullies 2]Reward: 5,000 Spendrift PointsRandom Reward Box (x1)
Then a flashing notice:
[NOTICE: SYSTEM ERROR DETECTED]Host was overcompensated in Mission 1 (10,000 points issued instead of 5,000). Adjusting balance...
Zhang Wei's grin evaporated.
Deducting 3,000 points for Tiger Crushing Palm upgrade...New Balance: 2,700 Spendrift Points
"System," he said, "that was your mistake ."
The interface glitched. For a split second, the message flickered:
[Oops ¯_(ツ)_/¯]
Host as the tutorial has ended you can not obtain Sprendrift points from normal missions. You can earn then by spending money on system..
[Conversion rate unlocked: 1,000 RMB = 1 Spendrift Point. No exceptions.]
Zhang Wei clenched his fist.
"You stingy, cheating, Robber...."
[Tutorial complete! Happy cultivating, Host! ♪(^∇^*)]
The cheerful chime made him want to rip out the IV.
Host you also have the Random Reward Box from both of the mission you should check them out.
The Random Reward Box shimmered in his inventory. He read its description.
"System", He said "Explain what is this"
Host This is a random Reward Box which can give State Points, Cultivation Technique, Magic Techniques, Pills, Weapons and Money and even Nothing...
Zhang Wei click opens the Box
It burst into pixelated sparks.
[Obtained: ■■■■■■■ Qi-Gathering Technique Part 1 (A) (Hidden Grade)]
Zhang Wei blinked. "Why is it censored?"
[Classified. You have to find it on your own.]
But what does it mean by Part 1 (A) ????
Host this is just a part of the Technique book you will have to find all parts of it....
"You stingy, cheating, Robber...."
A second reward appeared....a golden, floating orb.
[Stat Point Acquired!]
System open the Status-window
Here it is host
The Blue Screen of the system appears in front of the Zhang Wei
Str: 20 Int: 40
Agi: 18 Def: 22
End: 30 Qi: 9
"Qi," Zhang Wei commanded the system to add the stat point.
The orb dissolved into his chest.
The world changed.
Blue colour light balls were all around him, They passed through him. It danced over his skin, moved in his lungs, resonated in his bones. The air buzzed with life.
[Ambient Qi Detected!][Host has awakened Qi Perception!]
Zhang Wei gasped as energy sparked between his fingers, a crackling orb of pure force. Deep within, something ancient stirred.
The system's final message etched itself into his mind:
[Welcome to the true path of cultivation, Host.][The heavens themselves will tremble.]
Outside the window, thunder rumbled through a cloudless sky.