Immortal Simulation
Dalvin is a young man who spends his time working on art commissions for online clients while trying to improve his declining fitness.
In order to quell his boredom, he downloads a strange mobile app called 'Path of Heaven,' advertised as a free Eastern fantasy-style game with great immersion.
However, upon creating his character, an accident occurs, and Dalvin ends up awakening a space/time element physique, which causes him to be dragged into the world of 'Path of Heaven,' known as Tianzi!
With his life at stake and only the ability to simulate a certain amount of time into the future, he must navigate his way through this dangerous and cutthroat cultivation world!
Immortal Simulation Chapter 4 - Unfamiliar Location - WebNovel
Dalvin
Dalvin sighed as he rubbed his forehead that was covered in sweat. He currently sat on the padded floor of his neighborhood's gym, resting from having run 5 kilometers at an 8 kilometers per hour speed on the treadmill.
His legs were shaking even as he sat down, and he began to gingerly rub them with a difficult expression.
"Come to the gym they said, it will change your life they said." He muttered complaints under his breath as he winced from each pass over his thighs and calves.
Hm?
Soon, he was distracted by the large flat-screen TV of the gym advertising something. It was an anime-style advert for a new mobile game focused on Eastern Fantasy, with a handsome young man in brocade robes riding a sword and defeating demonic creatures with ease as well as a beautiful young lady dressed up with a lot of jewelry in ancient Asian attire who spun around like a dancer, making her skirt billow.
An old man with a needle-shaped white mustache and white hair tied behind his back floated through the air with an arrogant expression. Upon seeing some bandits, he casually smashed a palm down that manifested into a golden translucent hand.
The ad's POV changed to the bandits who helplessly watched the majestic palm coming down on them, and the screen went to black. Then the title of the product came up, which was "Path to Heaven," and it was a mobile game that was launching today.
Dalvin was interested. He had played one or two Asian MMOs with such a theme and found it to be quite amusing. He had only started reading novels of that genre too in his adulthood after the market began to expand to the rest of the world, so he was not entirely clueless of the tropes.
Seeing the details, he was immediately interested and opened his iPhone to check the app store for the game. A quick search brought it to light, and it was downloadable despite the servers for it not being up yet.
Dalvin frowned when he saw that it was 10 whole GB, an astronomical size for a mere mobile game. Given that it wasn't an AAA product or from an IP that was world-renowned, he wondered what justified this huge size.
Still, he had the space and he had come this far, so he casually downloaded it and then switched his screen off. He was about to continue massaging his legs when he spotted a pair of thick thighs in tight sportswear walking over to him.
Dalvin's heart sank as he raised his head to see the lovely visage of his friend, Selinam. She was a tall young woman at 5 feet 11 inches, her rather long yet slightly toned arms cast akimbo as she glanced at Dalvin with a frown.
"Before you say anything, I did my sets. I have proof right there!" Dalvin said quickly, not wanting to be chastised just yet.
Selinam was speechless. "Am I a monster that is coming to chew you up or what?"
"Pff, don't act innocent. It took me 3 weeks to build the stamina to reach this current level, and you made sure I didn't skip a day since." Dalvin chuckled with a pointed look.
Selinam smiled. "Well, isn't that a good thing? Look at you now."
Dalvin agreed with her statement. 3 weeks ago he had been growing a beer belly and was extremely unkempt due to his life as an artist, drawing a mixture of contract-based work and commission-based work.
After a sudden terrible episode where he fainted behind his computer while gaming with friends, they pushed for him to visit the hospital. Unfortunately, when there, they kept prescribing this and that, kept telling him to go to this counter to pay this fee, and pay that fee.
In the end, Dalvin lost his patience and decided to sign up for the gym instead, something which won the approval of his mates. On the first day, he - like every ignorant person who came without a plan - overexerted himself and broke both his body and will.
Luckily for him, he happened to meet his old schoolmate Selinam here, where after chatting and rekindling their friendship, she decided to help him out with his commitment. Dalvin was then pushed to come the fourth day - he had to rest for two days to let the soreness disappear - and had come every day since then, except Sundays.
The current him had not slimmed down right away, especially not since he didn't really change his diet of fatty foods, but his overall stamina was up, his skin was shining slightly, and his eyes were bright.
When he looked in the mirror, Dalvin could almost trick himself that he had regained his youthful handsomeness.
Almost.
"You're doing a good job, keep it up. Just stick to your plan and maintain your discipline and leave the rest to time," Selinam advised before walking off.
Dalvin watched her go and then sighed. He had to admit that doing this allowed him to be more productive overall, finishing commissions and contracts much faster than before, but the downside no one seemed to talk about was the testosterone.
Being a NEET, he only had to do the 'work' about once every two to three days and be fine. Ever since he started exerting himself daily in earnest, he now felt more energy coursing through him, which led to… intensity.
Maybe part of the reason why he dreaded Selinam coming closer was not entirely because she would chew him out…
Hence, why he downloaded that game. With a good mobile game to keep him distracted, he could have something to do at the gym that prevented his eyes from roving around the extraordinarily fit women who wore tight clothes because Dalvin did not fancy being called a pervert.
He stopped his break and continued to do his remaining sets before closing for the day. He trekked back home, which was about two streets away, and tiredly hopped into the shower, letting the cold water pass over him as he brooded for a while.
After getting a delivery from a nearby diner that made awesome pizzas and burgers, Dalvin ate while browsing the web and watching YouTube videos. In the end, he got a message from his lads that they were going to be on soon, so he smiled and booted up their usual game.
After playing together, raging on enemies, insulting the game, insulting the developers, and then insulting each other, they all bid farewell and left knowing that they would do the same thing again with each other tomorrow.
Dalvin sank into bed and began reading some xianxia on a novel publishing platform, about a demonic disciple who had been betrayed by his inner sect elder brother and left to die, but suddenly awakened a system and swore revenge on everyone for some reason.
It wasn't very good in terms of raw quality, but it was interesting. It was like junk food, Dalvin couldn't get enough of it even though he knew it was bad.
In the end, he fell asleep with his phone in hand, which was the usual day in the life of Dalvin Everton.
Unbeknownst to Dalvin, all of that would change the very next day...
Welcome to Immortal Simulation. This novel is geared to be extremely dark and gritty, with high stakes.
Don't expect faceslapping or sudden breakthroughs.
Path of Heaven
"Unh?" Dalvin grunted as his alarm started blaring loudly, making him shiver with fatigue as he slowly got up.
He rubbed his blurry eyes and grabbed his phone, recoiling from the brightness and lowering it with half-lidded eyes before seeing what time it was. At the sight of 6 a.m. in the morning, he sighed and threw off the covers before going about his hygiene routine.
Finishing this, Dalvin moved behind his computer setup and booted it from sleep, the window displaying Sai on the left screen and Photoshop on the second. He groaned internally and saw that his unfinished work from yesterday was still there, waiting for him to finish.
However, it was just one of those mornings; he absolutely did not want to work just yet. He checked the Discord group in which his pals were in, but while they were online with their phones, none were home as they either had work or different matters to attend to.
Seeing that he couldn't procrastinate this way, Dalvin wracked his brain and flipped through his phone for a bit before seeing that huge app he downloaded yesterday. His eyes lit up as delving into a new game was always a great time waster, and who knew, this game might even be able to trick him into opening his already beaten and battered wallet.
Dalvin opened the app and was surprised by its abnormally fast loading time. There was no loading icon nor an intro screen, just leading him into a cutscene similar to the one from the advert before initiating him into the game.
Immediately, a faceless 2D model appeared before him, and the game began introducing things to him.
[Welcome to Path of Heaven, the number 1 game that will allow you to experience the revered path of immortality regardless of age, gender, or race!]
[In this game, you take control of your avatar to cultivate and experience the rich world of Tianzi, a cultivation world that is diverse and full of a storied history.]
[Join sects, establish clans, and even rule kingdoms; there is no limit to the kind of action you can take in Tianzi!]
[First, you have to set your avatar. Would you like to randomize the data, or would you like to base it on your real self?]
Dalvin was partially intrigued and chose to base it on his real self. He was the type to splash his picture on all his profiles because he was above average in terms of looks and was quite vain in that regard.
The game prompted him to place his front camera afar and take a full-body picture. As he did so, a strange beam of light emerged from his front camera and scanned him from head to toe.
Dalvin was startled by this as a question mark formed above his head. Since when did iPhones have this feature, and why did other apps not take advantage of this? He made a mental note to investigate this thing lest it be that this damn app installed spyware or something on his phone.
Maybe that was why it was 10 whole bloody gigabytes.
Dalvin grumbled internally and was surprised to see that the 2D avatar perfectly resembled him in terms of height, weight, and composition. His dissatisfaction was completely swept away and replaced by appreciation because he had no idea how a simple mobile app could use just one scan to perfectly replicate him.
He even wondered if the company that made this were going to revolutionize the world, but he then shook his head. He should leave that kind of stuff to manga and webtoons; if he started suspecting everything of being supernormal, he would soon earn himself a place in a ward for crazies.
Though, a small voice at the back of his head did whisper that it was possible that something extra was happening. It couldn't be helped, after consuming so much extraordinary fiction, anything that was slightly out of the norm would trigger his hope that he was about to undergo an experience similar to those protagonists.
[In the world of Tianzi, there are many races, both humanoid and otherwise. The four main playable races are the humans, the demons, the demonic humans, and the beasts.]
[The Humans are the Children of the Heavens favored by heaven in all things. They gain the following characteristics at the beginning;
- Can automatically establish/join sects and other forces with no difficulty
- Can travel to any territory without facing hostility.
- Can practice dual cultivation of Martial Arts and Immortal Cultivation.
- Face 90% reduced difficulty on all heavenly tribulations.]
[The Demons are invaders from another plane, despised by the heavens and hated by all species. They gain the following characteristics at the beginning;
- unable to join any non-demon sect unless special means are used.
- unable to enter any non-demon territory
- Can simultaneously practice the bloodline refinement art of the demon race or devour luck qi of the human race to evolve.
- Do not face heavenly tribulations, cannot be governed by the will of heaven as outsiders.]
[The Demonic Humans are offspring of a demon and human pair, possessing a mixture of the other races' benefits but some noticeable downsides. They gain the following characteristics at the beginning;
- Will invoke immediate hostility in all races.
- Can dual cultivate martial arts and immortal cultivation, as well as practice bloodline refinement.
- Face a terrifying heavenly tribulation that is almost unpassable.
- Possess superior ability in all fields compared to both parent races.]
[The Beast Race are normal animals that occasionally gain sentience and are able to cultivate the dao. They gain the following characteristics at the beginning;
- Is neutral towards all races
- Can only advance by practicing the dao of slaughter or devouring
- Heavenly tribulation is average; the heavens care not for beasts
- Suffers from lowered intelligence and poor ability until the Nascent Soul stage where sentience is acquired.]
[Please choose your race carefully as it will greatly affect your experience in Path of Heaven!]
Dalvin read up to here and frowned slightly. The options were interesting, limited too, but still interesting. However, he had read more than a few of those eastern fantasy things and knew there was a lot the game was not mentioning which were staples of the genre.
For him, the beast race was out of the question. He wasn't the type to role-play as something other than humanoid races because he didn't have fantasies of being something he was not. Then again, Dalvin wasn't born ugly, so he probably instinctively had more than a little narcissism overall.
Demonic Humans seemed fun for those who loved to be overpowered, but that heavenly tribulation thing was a problem. Especially since the game hadn't yet stated the penalty for death.
If it was just a quick respawn like most games, then who cares; let the lightning strike as much as it wanted. However, if it entailed a character wipe or progress reset, then it wouldn't be worth it.
Demons were also interesting if Dalvin wanted to play the villain route, but he thought about his purpose in playing. He was using this game to pass the time now and when he was at the gym, so it had to be easy enough to get lost into and not something he would actually be too invested in.
Then the Human race was the obvious choice since they were the so-called darling of the heavens. In fact, the way the game listed their merits and not a single demon, it's as if it was prodding players to stick to choosing the human race.
Dao Curse
Dalvin couldn't help but smirk. If you wanted people to make only one choice, then why the hell did you add more? Of course, Dalvin knew why. The cheap game studio wanted to add it as a selling point of their game, that a player could choose from a diverse cast of characters.
After all, while Dalvin himself disdained it, for some, it was a matter of near life and death for them to be anything but a normal human when they played certain types of games.
After choosing the human race, his avatar seemed to solidify somehow, and it wasn't just in terms of pixels. This intrigued Dalvin, but his attention was stolen away by the next prompt.
[In Path of Heaven, every player is unique and possesses enduring traits that stem from their own existence! The game studio has partnered with the Health Ministry to allow players to upload detailed health reports to the server, in which our advanced AI will generate a physique within the game for your character based on your own data!]
[Note that this choice is optional, and players can randomly generate a physique, but for a more interesting playthrough, it is advised to personalize the experience!]
Dalvin's forehead creased slightly. He was surprised that a mere mobile game would go so far as to want players' health data to generate these physiques, and he tried to recall what he knew about such things.
If he remembered correctly, these physique things were very important in the long run, right?
Dalvin shrugged and accepted. To him, he already had all his data stored in his Apple health app, so it was just giving his personal information that had likely been sold a hundred times to and by the government.
[Health data uploaded, processing…]
There was a loading bar on the screen that was slowly filling up, so Dalvin put the phone down and walked to the kitchen of his studio apartment to prepare some breakfast as his stomach was rumbling.
In the end, he settled for some cereal for now since he would likely be going to the gym later today and had to watch his calorie intake. He wouldn't have made the progress he did if he continued to eat wantonly like he did previously.
When he came back to the room, the loading bar had only gone halfway, so he sat down behind his computer and casually played some solo queue matches. After just two of them, he angrily quit the game and swore at the developers for the shitty matchmaking system.
In the end, he sighed and checked his phone to see that it had long been done and was waiting for the next input from him. Curious as to what he had been awarded, Dalvin picked up the phone and continued.
[After scanning your health data, it has been detected that you possess the dormant Spacetime Immortal Physique. This physique is rare and leads directly to the Immortal Dao, bearing the aura of an Immortal Emperor!]
Reading up to here, Dalvin was surprised because it seemed he had rolled a good physique the first time. He truly thought with his terrible health that was only getting slightly better, he would be lucky to get the most basic physique, not an immortal one.
[This physique is powerful and requires a lot of resources to awaken. As it is the launch of the game, all players during this period are given free physique awakening stones to awaken the first stage of their physiques.]
[Would you like to consume yours now?]
"Eh, sure." Dalvin shrugged.
Like really, why not have an advantage at the very beginning? What was he going to delay the awakening for, the second coming of Christ?
[Awakening the Spacetime Immortal Physique, please wait…]
'Great, another waiting period.' Dalvin thought to himself as he placed the phone down and prepared to play a few more matches.
However, he was puzzled when he tapped the keys of his computer only to be met with a completely unresponsive machine. Like any person who was met with a freezing computer, he tapped the keys more furiously with each press as if his anger would wake the machine up and make it feel fear.
Exasperated, he reached to the back and pressed the off switch on the power supply unit. However, what startled Dalvin was the fact that the computer still did not go off and displayed the same screen to him.
Even the RGB lights were not cycling and the fans were not spinning at all. What the hell was going on?
Suddenly, Dalvin noticed that his table was vibrating and turned his eye to the cause, which was his phone. However, the current state of his phone caused him to recoil with shock.
"Holy shit!"
The thing was shaking so fiercely and intensely that it was a miracle it did not dismantle itself, but what was even more horrifying was the fact Dalvin could literally see that it was floating in the air while facing him.
He could read the text that passed across the screen rapidly, repeating the same error line over and over again.
[Failed to awaken physique, not enough resources… pulling from source…]
[Failed to awaken physique, not enough resources… pulling from source…]
[Failed to awaken physique, not enough resources… pulling from source…]
What were just words soon seemed to manifest itself into the world as a loud roar that shattered Dalvin's hearing and caused his mind to virtually go blank. A surge of heat coursed through his body that would have made him scream if he were aware of himself, but his eyes were currently dull due to the mental shockwave from his phone.
A black void manifested above the quaking phone and a surge of multicolored lights was dragged into it from the portal-like existence, continually surging into the phone and then from the phone into Dalvin.
A strange connection was established between the man and the device, causing the device to surge into his body, striking into his lower abdomen and tunneling into his body without causing any blood to spill, as if his flesh was made of wool.
But this was not the end of this bizarre and isolated phenomenon, as the void-like portal stretched wide until it vaguely displayed the scene of a meeting room on the other side. It was difficult to make out what was there, but a pair of bloodshot eyes manifested in the focus, blocking the view of the rest.
The eyes roved the room and focused on Dalvin who was still stunned, widening with emotion.
"It's you!"
"It's all your… fault…!"
"I… hate… you!"
"I…curse…"
"Curse…"
The voice weakened with each sentence, and the light in the eyes of the being disappeared as the last of the multicolored light surged into Dalvin, causing his body to lift into the air like a marionette.
A light surged from his lower abdomen where his phone had gone and covered his body, causing him to shrink significantly as he shot forth into the floating portal opposite him, disappearing into its depths.
The void portal slowly closed itself, leaving not a trace of damage within the room and completely hiding all traces of its appearance and purpose.
Unfamiliar Location
Dalvin woke up and felt a surge of pain all over his body that made him hiss. Lord in heaven, he had never felt this terrible even when he overdid it within the gym on his first few days and tore some muscles.
He simply lay still while the pain coursed through him, hoping it would go away. While he remained like this, he finally had time to pay attention to his surroundings and was left confused by his location.
He realized he was lying on the floor of some sort of cell, his back prevented from touching the filthy cobblestone floor by a bundle of foul-smelling hay. Above him was a ceiling made of the same material as the floor, and to his right was a rotting bed that not even the most tolerant person would dare to sleep on.
Dalvin immediately felt alarm that transcended the pain he was feeling and caused him to sit up quickly, which neatly had the effect of exacerbating said pain. However, he couldn't care less as the young man realized that something had gone very wrong.
'Either I'm hallucinating severely… or something supernatural has occurred to me.' He thought to himself grimly.
He did not take any hallucinogenic substances at all, whether for medical reasons or recreational purposes, and he still remembered the weird phenomenon that happened to his phone, but not what came after.
Speaking of it, Dalvin checked around his body for the contraption, for a short bit of logic told him that much like dealing with the poison of a snake, it was best to rely on the source of the affliction to form the solution.
The phone and the game were the likely culprits of this situation, so they would be his best bet at understanding it… if Dalvin could actually find the damned thing!
He began to search with increasing alarm around him, moving the hay about and not caring that some damp yellow muck was appearing on his palms from the low-quality situation of this cell's 'carpeting'.
Dalvin stopped and began breathing a bit heavily. He stopped looking around and closed his eyes to calm down and try to think.
'Okay, so I am not at home, that much is obvious. I have been taken to somewhere either on earth or not on earth, and I cannot find my phone. However, I am not dead yet, and that is a good sign, so I need to settle down and find out more information about where I am specifically.'
Dalvin forcibly beat back the rising panic and fear with forced logic and then opened his eyes once more, showing a tough and resolute look. However, when he pushed himself to his feet, his shaking legs betrayed the true state of his emotions and mind.
Dalvin glanced at the bars of his cell and only saw another cell opposite his, one that was decorated similarly to his own, but was fundamentally empty. He initially wanted to go near the bars to see if he could squeeze his head out and get a view of the corridor, but immediately chastised himself.
Visions of himself getting his face cut in half by some sword-wielding guard hiding in the blindspot of the cell's exit pervaded his mind, causing him to feel a chill on his back. In the end, he rather took a step away from the bars and glanced behind him.
It was a plain yet pockmarked wall full of holes that looked like they were created by fists. Dalvin was immediately distracted by this and walked over to the holes, analyzing them one by one and drawing up an image in his head.
As an artist by trade, his visualization ability was quite spectacular, so he could recreate the scene almost frame by frame of a burly indistinct male-like creature punching the wall in a horse stance.
Huh? Was the person… practicing a martial art?
Dalvin had an epiphany at this moment as he finally focused properly and cleared his mind. He realized that if this current situation was brought about by the game, which was of an Eastern Fantasy style, then of course there would be martial arts.
In fact, wasn't the main theme immortal cultivation?
Immortal cultivation… the ability to fly on swords, throw out ethereal giant palms from above, and obtain extremely long lifespans…
The more Dalvin remembered about the stuff he had seen in fiction, the more amazed he was. Was he truly in a world where such things could be done? It was far-fetched to assume such a thing without seeing any evidence.
In fact, the more he calmed down, the more he began to disbelieve his current situation. A part of his mind that was in denial was forcefully coming up with theories to deny the plausible reality of his situation, telling him he was in some sort of failed prank or social media skit or something.
However, it was impossible for that part of his mind to find any real purchase in the long run, because Dalvin was fully enraptured by the thought of being able to acquire superhuman power for himself.
And so, rather than hope it was a prank, he rather truly hoped he had been taken into a fantastical world like those functional web comics.
But…
Dalvin looked around at his current situation and smiled bitterly.
He was not in any position to lust for power. If this world was based on the game he had been about to play, then he ought to remember what he knew about it to be able to understand what actions he could take.
He remembered he had chosen the human race, who were favored by the heavens and could dual cultivate martial arts and immortal arts. Dalvin looked behind himself to the holes in the wall, and his eyes flickered with intention.
'One day, I will also be able to do that.' He thought greedily.
Dalvin then focused. 'Okay, if it's a game-like world or is a real world linked by a game, then there should be an interface, right?'
Dalvin thought of the various monikers he had seen in fiction, whether it was system, interface, character screen, menu, or status. None of them responded to him, making him feel slightly grim because without some form of guidance, Dalvin did not believe he had the skills nor intelligence to navigate this dangerous situation on his own.
He tried again, this time thinking about more specific terms like "status window of Tianzi," "immortal system," "Tianzi system," and finally, "iPhone system."
Luckily, one of them seemed to pick, and Dalvin was almost scared by a relatively large black and white screen that was stylish, bearing modern UI elements while being fully opaque, meaning he could not see past it.
To Dalvin's surprise, it did not immediately display his various details and rather began to seemingly address him personally.
[Detected that the player is within the boundaries of the Tianzi Cultivation World. Connecting to the will of heaven to gather necessary information…]
[Complete. Detecting player's status, location, and current abilities… complete.]
The screen disappeared for a split second before returning once more, this time being far more detailed and containing a lot of neatly packed words containing a wealth of information that Dalvin needed.
First Simulation
[Welcome to the world of Tianzi, player Dalvin!]
[Due to special circumstances, your physique awakening went awry and affected your true body, bringing out your actual Immortal bloodline to the fore.]
[However, the power behind the Path of Heaven game could not support the full awakening of your bloodline and was consumed, only able to awaken up to 10% of your bloodline from dormancy.]
[This attracted the attention of the creator of Path of Heaven, as well as their ire. They placed a Dao Curse on you, sending your heavenly luck to the absolute bottom temporarily, meaning that you will experience unfavorable situations at every step.]
[Your current situation is complicated, so the system has personally decided to collate your abilities within the world of Tianzi into the overall system of the world.]
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Mortal (None)
Martial Arts Technique: None
Blood Qi: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 0.3
Qi: 0.1
Fortitude: 0.2
…]
Dalvin quickly perused the screen displaying his abilities, noting that there was even a detailed section for attack and defense values, martial arts combat techniques, as well as immortal spells, and even miscellaneous skills like alchemy or Artifact Refining.
It looked just like a profile screen from a mobile game, so there was no surprise about that. What made Dalvin's eyes narrow was what came next.
[Your bloodline awakening has caused a well of space-time power to emerge in you, but it is currently uncontrollable. The system had derived what it could and sorted them into four abilities for you: Return, Blink, Stop, and Simulation.]
[Return (Passive): You will be forced to enter the game world every 24 hours due to the Dao Curse. Alternatively, you can return to Earth 24 hours from your recent entry.]
[Blink (Active): You can pass through the folds of space to move up to 100 meters at a time. Costs 10% bloodline energy.]
[Stop (Passive): When using any bloodline abilities, time will stop within 1 kilometer around you.]
[Simulation (Active): Glimpse up to one hour in the future. Costs 10% bloodline energy.]
Dalvin's face changed when he first read that he could only return after 24 hours, but he became better when he saw the rest. With Blink and Simulation especially, he should be able to guarantee his life… right?
Dalvin looked around and realized that the cell was still eerily quiet and the hallways were only dimly lit. He stood where he was and realized that now would be a good time to initiate a simulation and see what various outcomes his actions and options might beget.
"System, begin simulation," Dalvin muttered under his breath.
Immediately, he felt a tingle in his body, and the screen reappeared before him. Before checking its contents, Dalvin first looked around to see if time really had stopped. To his surprise, the entire world had become grey and still, like all color and sound had been stripped away from it.
Despite this, he did not feel any discomfort or alienation, though he noticed that he could not move his body. Well, that made sense, if he could move while the ability was in action, he would need more than just a 10% awakening to achieve such power, Dalvin reasoned.
His eyes fell on the screen and began reading its contents.
[3.00pm. You arrived in a cell and realized that you had been transported into a cultivation world called Tianzi.]
[3.01pm. You had little information about Tianzi and what its standards of power were, so you decided to be cautious. With this in mind, you inspected your cell and gained the idea to find a way out by checking the hallway.]
[3.02pm. You bravely walked up to the metal bars only to see that they were rusted and rotting, giving off a strange smell. You did not fancy squeezing your face through them, rather opting to gather some relatively clean hay to cover your hands.]
[3.03pm. You placed your hands on the bars and began to try to break them.]
[3.04pm. Despite working for over a minute while exerting yourself to the max, you find that the metal has barely bent. Still, you are not disheartened by this and rather feel hope, since it had showed signs of being moved.]
[3.10pm. After ten minutes of hard work, you have finally bent the bars enough for you to squeeze through, albeit painfully. Once free of your cell, you cannot help but rejoice under your breath and feel exhilarated.]
[3.11pm. After a bit of self-praising, you finally look around at your situation. You notice that you are within a hallway that extends for a short distance to your right and to a long distance on your left. On your left, you could even see a door at the end of the hallway that was doubly reinforced and only had a slot for feeding. Clearly, the kind of person meant to be held there was truly formidable.]
[3.12pm. Emboldened by your escape, you walk down the left side and inspect the cells as you pass through them. You are chilled to find that each of them contained a skeleton that was splayed in a strange manner, as if they had been thrashing on the ground when they died.]
[3.13pm. Every cell along the way was like this, and your steps began to slow as you started feeling apprehensive. In the end, you gritted your teeth and checked very single one until the door at the end of the corridor.]
[3.14pm. The moment you stood before it, you realized how large it is. Clearly, the person(s) meant for it must be inhuman or more than 7 feet tall to warrant such a special door. There was a short spell of silence before you began to feel a certain spark in the air, like static electricity. This caused your body to tense as goosebumps formed on your skin and your survival instinct kicked in.]
[3.15pm. Despite sensing danger, your reaction was slow due to years of growing up in a peaceful society. As such, a pair of bright green eyes formed on the door before you, full of surprise and excitement.]
[3.15pm. "A cultivator? No, a human mortal here? In the Immortal Locking Prison? How? Why?"]
[3.16pm. "No, forget it. It doesn't matter in the end, what matters is that I have finally found a way to replenish my power after so long."]
[3.16pm. You don't realize that from the moment the eyes appeared and you made contact with them, your face had gone slack and you lost control of your body. As such, when the being behind the eyes commanded you to place your head through the food flap, you obeyed immediately.]
[3.16pm. The moment you bend down and put your head through the flap, a loud crunching sound echoes and your body goes stiff. For the next few seconds, your body is forcefully dragged through the flap as more chewing sounds echo in the silent hallway until there's nothing left, not even blood.]
[You died.]
Strange Skeleton
Dalvin's forehead was lined with sweat as he read the last few lines of the simulation. He had actually managed to escape but died in the end due to the kind of thing he feared the most about these kinds of magical worlds, esoteric powers beyond the realm of common sense.
It was why he stood ramrod still within his cell and only dared to simulate, in case there was some being observing him or some sort of rule-based domain here that required careful actions, lest one be subjected to a horrible fate.
Dalvin hesitated. He had gone to the left and had only seen strange skeletons before being killed, so he could rule out that direction as worthwhile for now. However, what about the path to the right?
"Start another simulation," Dalvin instructed after releasing a stressed sigh.
[3.00pm. You knew that the left side of the hallway was dangerous, so you aimed to explore the right side.]
[3.10pm. Using the same methods as for the first simulation, you escaped your cell. You only rested for a bit and did not celebrate, all manner of happiness leaving your body due to your earlier simulated grim fate.]
[3.11pm. The right side was actually short with only a few cells on either side before reaching a sharp bend that went leftward. In each of these cells were similar skeletons splayed in a strange manner, making you pensive.]
[3.12pm. You inched closer to the bend and placed yourself against it carefully, peeking on the other side. There, you see another row of cells that extend into the distance before reaching a fork.]
[3.13pm. Frustrated at the lack of an exit, you continued down this new passageway while inspecting each of the cells on the way.]
[3.14pm. To your surprise, you came across a skeleton that was laying on its bed in a peaceful manner, unlike all the others you had seen so far. What made you even more curious was that there seemed to be something lying within its ribcage.]
[3.14pm. You hesitated greatly before deciding to use your blink bloodline ability to enter the cell. This was supposed to be your last resort for escaping the prison, but your curiosity got the better of you.]
[3.15pm. You ever so slowly and gingerly approached the corpse while whispering respectful words and flattering praises towards the individual it had been in life. To your surprise and pleasure, nothing occurred even as you stood above it, making you sigh with relief.]
[3.16pm. You glimpsed into the ribcage and were surprised to see a booklet and a pouch. You slowly and carefully removed both without damaging the skeleton, holding them up before your eyes.]
[3.17pm. You opened the booklet and began reading. You were shocked to see that it was written in English, but were not aware that it is the mighty system that has provided the illiterate you with the capability to read the language of the myriad races of Tianzi.]
[3.20pm. You have read the entire booklet and closed it, your face being extremely thoughtful yet apprehensive. From the booklet, you have acquired a wealth of information about your situation and what to do next.]
[3.20pm. You are currently within the Immortal Locking Prison, a cruel and vicious place located in the center of the world's most dangerous forbidden ground, the Immortal Ascension City.]
[3.20pm. This place was once a paradise for cultivators of Tianzi, but due to some strange events of the past, it became shrouded with Death Qi, making it a place that neither mortal nor cultivator could survive in. As you feared, the entire city was populated by many anomalies that had rule-based abilities, trapping unfortunate victims who entered the territory and subjecting them to painful endings if they could not discover the rules quickly enough.]
[3.20pm. Even worse was this famous Immortal Locking Prison. It was well known outside for both its cruelty and allure, for actual immortals had perished here in the deeper levels in the past, leaving their pristine corpses, techniques, and spatial rings full of resources.]
[3.20pm. The cultivator who wrote the booklet was such a person attracted here by wealth, aiming to break through the Soul Formation Realm and achieve Dao Integration. Due to his great strength, he could brute force his way through the anomalies, but was finally captured in the fourth level of the Immortal Locking Prison after sustaining injuries throughout his charge.]
[3.20pm. He was then brought up to the first level, the current level you were on, and spent over 30 years here. In that time, he had seen more than 20 people come in and be imprisoned as well, and he had noticed one chilling fact. The rumors about the Immortal Locking Prison were completely true; every 24 hours, all those trapped within the cells would be subjected to forced Qi Deviation by the prison, a punishment meant to tickle the original immortal prisoners but was a death sentence for the current cultivators.]
[3.20pm. The rest was mostly biography, him boasting about his achievements and some heartfelt advice for the lucky person to find his booklet after his death. He also left one annotation within that struck you deeply.]
[3.20pm. "This is a prison of immortals, and cultivators, while not yet at that level, are fledglings of the same path. However, lacking the requisite power, the mild punishments of the prison are fatal for us. However…!! However, I have discovered something from the prisoner in Cell Number 45. He had been a low-level follower of a Foundation Establishment young master who entered here with his Dao Protectors, but he did not have a spirit root, and only practiced martial arts."]
[3.20pm. "I witnessed the young master and his fellow Dao Protectors suffer through the same agony as me each day as we underwent Qi Deviation, but that Martial Artist was fine the entire time! Realizing this, all of us resolutely crippled our cultivation and began cultivating Martial Arts, a discipline we once looked down on, but now required to survive. Life is truly full of ironies."]
[3.20pm. "The Martial Arts follower was high within his discipline, far higher than us who were starting from scratch. After entering the first realm of this new discipline, the young master could not wait anymore and ordered the Martial Artist to break them out. The fool obeyed, not realizing that the balance of power had long shifted, to used to being a dog that had to obey."]
[3.20pm. "He easily broke the rotting bars and freed all of them. They offered to take me out as well, but I knew they were looking for cannon fodder. I had crippled my majestic Soul Formation cultivation and was now only a Skin Tempering Martial Artist, what right did I have before the follower who was at the Martial Master Realm?"]
[3.20pm. "I watched them charge out with envy, passing the right at the junction. I wondered when I would be strong enough to free myself and escape, but my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of agonized screams. I won't lie to you, I have fought killed and been in countless dangers, even this one, but have never truly despaired."]
[3.20pm. "But by god, no man… no, not a single living thing should ever have to make a sound like that. I don't know what fate they faced and I don't want to know… all I know is that my time is up. Today, after finishing my biography and leaving some resources for whoever finds this, I will lie down, sever my heart meridians and pass away on my own terms."]
[3.20pm. "My name was Feng Lin, Ancestor of the Sky Eagle Sect. If you ever manage to escape, please head to my sect and let my daughter, Feng Qin, know that daddy thought of her up until my last moment. I will forever love her."]
Despair
[3:21 pm. You glanced at the skeleton that was lying down peacefully and nodded with respect. Not only did this guy leave a detailed and informative booklet for future people, but he even left two things you needed desperately right now: Techniques and Resources!]
[3:21 pm. You rummaged around the small pouch which seemed to be able to swallow up your entire arm and knew from the instructions within the booklet that this was a low-grade spatial pouch, the only spatial item that worked within the Immortal Locking Prison.]
[3:22 pm. Despite not having spiritual qi, you are easily able to open the pouch due to your affinity with space, causing you to be surprised and pleased, also more reverent towards your physique. Within the pouch, you find a small manual with a detailed illustration on the cover of a shadowy silhouette within the Horse Stance.]
[3:22 pm. You knew that this was the Mortal-Grade Martial Art technique, Earthquake Fist. It was one of the more common martial techniques being circulated that was well known because it functioned as a combat art, a body-forging art, and an Internal Energy technique. Most martial arts, even higher-ranking ones, usually are separated into one of the three above categories with a few doing two at once.]
[3:23 pm. You don't immediately open the manual and first check the other things in the pouch. As stated in the booklet, you find two bottles that were carved out of jade and seemed to shine brightly with an ethereal luster despite so much time having passed. On the jade bottles are labels written in the local language, the left one saying 'Neiqi pill' and the right one saying 'Xueqi pill'.]
[3:23 pm. You know from the booklet that the Neiqi pill is an Internal Energy pill meant for cultivation of that aspect while the Xueqi pill is a blood qi pill meant for body forging in martial arts. With a bottle of each, even the shittiest talent in martial arts could reach the Skin Tempering Realm by the time they consumed it all.]
[3:23 pm. You put these things away and blink out of the cell and back into the corridor. After pondering for a while, you advance down the corridor and inspect the cells as you pass them much closer to see if there are any remnants.]
[3:24 pm. However, you naturally fail to find anything. Those of exceedingly high cultivation like Feng Qi were hardly ever locked up on the first level, not having enough gumption to document their lives. Not to mention that this is the cultivation world; the kind of benevolence you are used to on earth is not present here. Here, people like Feng Qi who are willing to hand down things for others after death are the exception, not the norm.]
[3:25 pm. You reach the junction where one could either go right or left. You take a deep breath because you know from Feng Qi's recount that something dangerous existed on the right that caused individuals with far higher power than the current you to perish. As such, you gingerly placed your body against the wall and carefully, slowly peeked over.]
[3:26 pm. To your surprise, there are no cells along this path. There is a small doorway that leads to an office-like room which had a huge set of double doors that were sealed with a giant inscription with complex lines and characters. Just looking at the thing made you feel dizzy, and you had to quickly look away so as not to faint. In the brief time you looked at it, you also felt your bloodline squirm uncomfortably as if something about that inscription made it discontent.]
[3:27 pm. You shook off this strange feeling and checked the other direction. Unsurprisingly, you found that it had a row of cells that stopped at a door that read 'courtyard'. Thinking about where to go, you naturally decided to take the 'safer' left path and checked the cells on your way.]
[3:28 pm. Unfortunately, there's no luck on your side as they are all full of the typical dismayed skeletons who you now knew died from thrashing in pain from Qi Deviation. You hurried down the corridor and reached the door to the courtyard, noticing that there were no such fancy inscriptions on it. This gave you the courage to gingerly push the door open to peek at the other side.]
[3:29 pm. Surprisingly, there was no sound from the door despite its age, and you easily pushed it open to reveal a dilapidated courtyard paved with stone along with patches of grass here and there. You immediately looked up but did not see the starry sky; rather, a tattered yet firm ceiling that provided dim light from outside. You were finally able to tell that it was also daytime here since the light was generated from strange crystals that reflected the sun's rays from outside.]
[3:30 pm. The courtyard was eerily quiet, and despite being well-lit, you couldn't help but feel a certain eeriness. In the end, you saw three other doors in the courtyard apart from the ones you came from: one to the east that was labeled 'Cooking and Dining Area', one to the west that was labeled 'Bathhouse and Washing Area' with the final one being to the north which stated 'Recreational Area'.]
[3:31 pm. You hesitated for a short while, but as each second passed, your eerie feeling grew stronger and stronger until your instincts were basically roaring at you to get out of this place. As such, you charged towards one of the doors, but it was too late.]
[3:31 pm. You lost consciousness and your body was soon eagerly dragged away by an unseen entity.]
[You died.]
Dalvin sucked in a deep breath to calm himself down after that simulation. Another bad end… to be frank, he was beginning to feel the weight of his mortality and especially his fragility in this situation, because he seemed to be at the complete mercy of the messed-up rules here.
Unfortunately, the exact internal rules of the Immortal Locking Prison were unknown to him because Feng Qi did not explore the first floor and only charged down towards the third and below, where immortals were kept.
Not to mention, even then, he did not detail much since he did not spend much time figuring out the rules and rather just tried to blast everything in his way. Even the first level, which should be the easiest to escape from, was a death trap for Dalvin.
And even if he escaped, so what? He would now be within the streets of the Immortal Ascension City, where other such anomalies - though supposedly weaker and less fatal - existed, and he would need to make it the entire way out of this city to now be in the relatively 'safe' world of Tianzi.
Immediately, Dalvin felt his eyes burning as he fought back tears and despair. His breathing became rough, and his heart began to pound in his chest as fear surged into his heart, his mind constantly working up fatal scenarios based on what his simulated self had experienced.
Outside his cell, the left path led to death. On the right path, apart from some leftovers from a dead guy, the left path at the junction led to death while the right path led to an even scarier death.
Every single path he could take led to death for the current him!
Resolve
Dalvin wiped his eyes and forcibly calmed himself down again by slowing his breathing and taking the reins of his haywire thoughts. He knew that panicking in this situation would lead to a faster death, and no matter how terrified he was, he absolutely could not lose his cool.
Dalvin now needed to be more methodical and explore every single avenue he had to the end and make sure he chose the path of least resistance. As such, he first checked his character sheet and saw that apart from there being no changes, the segment that listed his bloodline energy was marked at 80%.
After all, he had just run two simulations that cost 10% of his total energy each, so it added up. The reason he was checking this was that he needed to know an important detail, which was how quickly bloodline energy regenerated.
Once he could nail down the exact regeneration rate, he would know how best to utilize both Simulation and Blink towards his attempts to secure his life and escape. Luckily for him, this system was based on a mobile game, so it listed the amount of time it took to regenerate one point of bloodline energy.
All it was missing was a 'plus' sign beside the regeneration timer to ask him to spend money to speed up the cooldown or watch ads to do the same at a markedly lower effectiveness.
Dalvin chuckled mentally at his own joke and saw that he gained 1% bloodline energy every minute. This was quite reasonable in the sense that he could either blink or simulate once every ten minutes.
It was especially useful for simulation, which could go up to an hour assuming he didn't die in the simulated content. With ideally six simulations an hour, Dalvin had six times to check whether any of his actions or choices would lead to a bad end.
As for Blink, Dalvin was sure it was exceedingly overpowered in terms of combat usage. The ability to shift instantaneously within 100 meters was great for fighting and ambushing, but not so much for escaping danger.
Of course, don't get him wrong, he understood that any form of blink or even shadow traversal style ability was great for stalking, infiltration, battle, ambushing, instigation, or even some situations where escape was required.
However, here and now, its utility was limited. It could get him out of his cell and also into any cell for sure, but it was not enough to take him out of this prison, much less the entire Immortal Ascension City. Even if he rapidly used it at once, going up to a max of 1 kilometer, that was barely enough to cover one-tenth of the prison's size according to how Feng Qi described it.
Dalvin paused. Technically, he could really try to blink out of the prison since the right path where the young master and his fellows died seemed to lead to the entrance of the prison, or at least to the place where prisoners were brought in.
Sure, something killed them, but if Dalvin simulated carefully enough and marked where the point of death was, he could try to multi-blink his way out through the door. Once outside the prison, he would still be in danger, but he could still find ways to secure himself beyond that through simulation!
Whew.
'That's right, there's no need to break down or panic. I have been given extremely useful tools to get out of my current predicament and only have to use them wisely!' Dalvin thought as he sighed heavily and slapped his cheeks.
'Right, what did the system of Path of Heaven say in the beginning? I was placed under a Dao Curse, hence my current situation?' Dalvin suddenly remembered.
He seemed to have infringed on something when his physique was awakening. He still remembered how his phone became terrifying and the message that continually popped up saying that his physique failed to awaken, so it was going to pull from the source.
Hm, pull from the source?
So because of a lack of energy, it drained the creator of Path of Heaven to awaken?
Well, that would explain why that person would curse him. If Dalvin was sitting somewhere and was suddenly turned into a desiccated husk because of some random person out there in the world, he too would not be happy to go.
Dalvin deeply regretted casually signing up for this game. From the un-inventive and non-intrusive ad, he should have known that it was not worth downloading to his phone, even more so when he saw it was ten whole gigabytes!
Well, no use crying over spilled milk. Dalvin glanced at his character screen again and checked every field, trying to understand what it meant. He might not have played any wuxia or xianxia mobile game before and only read a few books or comics of the genre, but he understood the basic terms.
It seemed that this system used progression, and given the ad, it was likely AFK style. While your phone was off, your avatar in the game would be diligently cultivating 24/7 until you logged on and did your various daily tasks or events.
Unfortunately for Dalvin, his avatar was currently him. He wasn't exactly sure right now, but it seemed like the one who would have to do the cultivating would have to be himself. In truth, he was not looking forward to this, as the books always described it as boring and painful.
As someone who struggled with the gym and was only motivated by his own health as well as his attractive female friend, Dalvin was fully aware of the feeling of physical agony from exertion.
However, there was naturally a difference in motivation when working out for a general purpose and working out to save your life from imminent danger. Dalvin could and would put in the work once he got the technique from Feng Qi's skeleton.
'Another option would be to stay in one place, right?' Dalvin thought pensively.
Okay, so there was danger on every path? Then I simply won't walk and will stand in one place!
If it was possible to do this, he could wait out the 24-hour period and return to earth. While going back to earth wouldn't suddenly save his life since he would be dragged back here in another 24 hours, it could allow him to prepare more things for his own safety.
However, it sounded too good to be true. While other prisoners were able to be stuck in their cells for extended periods of time given Feng Qi's recount, Dalvin was under a Dao Curse which meant his luck was in the negative, hence the exclusively fatal outcomes.
It was entirely possible for him to suddenly choke on oxygen given the way he understood it, though it might - hopefully - be an exaggeration. Well, rather than mope around and guess, he would be able to tell for sure if he simulated it, wouldn't he?
As such, Dalvin summoned the system and made another simulation request.
"System, begin simulation."
[3.05 pm. You regained your resolve to fight your way out of your situation and dispelled a growing heart demon that was manifested because of your Dao Curse. As such, you decided to wait it out and see what would happen.]
First Successful Simulation
[3.10 pm. You had waited only 5 minutes while standing, and you realized a problem right away. It was easy to say one would stand in one place and wait for 24 hours to pass, but it was another thing to actually do it, especially with nothing to do. Each second that passed, especially in a tense situation where you feared anything could happen, was like a whole year in your opinion.]
[3.15 pm. Another 5 minutes passed, and you became increasingly restless. You decided that your best bet would be to collect the Martial Arts manual and the resources and practice the methods to pass the time while you waited. As such, you blinked out of your cell and headed over to take the necessary items and resources, then came back.]
[3.20 pm. You finished reading the manual seriously and taking note of the details and began training.]
[3.30 pm. It took you 10 minutes to finish the first of 9 introductory exercises needed to activate your blood qi and enter the Skin Tempering Realm. You were absolutely tired and weak, unable to get up and no longer caring about the mucky floor.]
[3.40 pm. You rested for 10 minutes and tried to do the second exercise but completely gave up halfway through and fell to the ground while sweating and utterly fatigued. Your muscles were spasming, and your bones were creaking, your entire body wracked with a strange pain.]
[3.50 pm. You tried to get up but fell back down weakly, as if all the energy had been sucked out of you. Shocked, you quickly checked the manual and slapped your forehead, realizing that your body was drained not just because of physical fatigue, but due to lack of nutrients and energy.]
[3.55 pm. After popping one of the Xueqi pills, you felt like your entire body was on fire as your fatigue was swept away and even your muscle pain was drowned out. You immediately got up and began practicing furiously, going through the first, second, and even third exercises in a short period before the effects of the pill faded.]
[4.05 pm. You came down from your high but did not feel much fatigue, only a sense of fullness from exercise. You checked the booklet to see if you could pop another pill, but realized that one had to wait to let the medicinal effects cool down fully before continuing, so you decided to do just that.]
[4.10 pm. You sat down and rested while waiting for the next session in which you could use the pill.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Dalvin's eyes shone. His fear that standing still was deadly was partially alleviated by the fact that he had survived his first simulation by sitting his ass down and actually practicing rather than running around thinking he could escape from a place even genuine immortals had been trapped in.
This heartened him as he did not waste time, immediately blinking out of his cell using his bloodline energy for the first time in reality. The sensation was extremely weird; he was standing in the cell one moment and in another, he was in the paved hallway of the prison.
For that matter, he had often explored this place in the simulations, but this was the first time he was seeing it with his actual eyes. The hallway on both sides had cobblestone floors and walls that were designed similarly to tiles, giving it a surprisingly elite and clean look.
That would have been the case if most of the walls and flooring weren't aged and decayed. One thing the simulation never mentioned was the slight rank smell that permeated the air, which made Dalvin wrinkle his nose.
It wasn't enough to cripple him, and he was not so pampered that he could not stand some stench. However, it was definitely quite irritating, so he quickly moved to his destination and finally saw the cell with the skeleton of the aged cultivator who was currently his greatest benefactor.
He entered it using Blink and nodded towards the corpse in respect as he usually did and took the pouch as well as the booklet. He then quickly left the cell and returned to his own, practically depleting his bloodline energy.
He had around 20% left, and he didn't plan to use it so soon. Now that he was back in his cell, he immediately opened the booklet and began reading its content with his own eyes. There were far more details within that the simulation had left out, enriching Dalvin's knowledge of the world.
This also told him not to omit things in reality that have been seen in the simulation; there might be tidbits or tangential information that could prove useful later, so it was important to see things with his own eyes in the end.
About ten minutes later, twice the time he took in the simulation, Dalvin closed the booklet as he read everything twice and committed many details to memory. He was never good at rote memorization and hated exams, but who knew that a life-and-death situation could squeeze out one's potential?
Hey, maybe all we needed to pass our exams was someone poking a knife in your side, saying they would stab you if you forgot anything you learned beforehand.
Dalvin immediately popped the Xueqi pill and felt the boiling sensation in his body as his blood seemed to churn in his vessels. Immediately, he became extremely restless and even felt himself pop a violent boner as his blood became active all over.
He did not feel any shame because he did not have the state of mind to care. He immediately began to practice his movements, those from the first set of exercises right up to the third set before he began to feel his entire body began to relax its burning intensity.
The entire time he was strangely focused and extremely enthusiastic. He still felt the pain and strain of working out, but there was also some strange feedback in his body that caused every fiber of his being to cry out in joy and crave more.
Was this how those buff gym dudes felt when they worked out? Man, it was a great feeling, no wonder they came every day and worked until they sweated despite having the body we all craved.
Dalvin saw his character screen possess a red question mark, trying to catch his attention. As he had naturally been focused on his routine, he had not noticed it until now, so with idle curiosity, he naturally 'clicked' the icon.
[Congratulations, player Dalvin, you have successfully cultivated the Earthquake Fist, having initiated the foundation level. Unlike the natives of Tianzi, you can only increase your rank by using the system to break through when you accumulate enough blood qi through practice!]
[When you go offline, your avatar will cultivate the technique during your downtime, but don't forget to log in every 6 hours to claim the free… error … pack!]
Dalvin's eyes narrowed. Like any mobile game, this game should probably have had an internal shop of sorts, or at least, something for players to sell or buy things. Even if the game boasted no microtransactions, it couldn't survive without certain necessary elements.
Unfortunately, Dalvin could not access any of these elements as he was, whether due to the Dao Curse or the fact that he was physically here instead of looking through a screen.
Martial Practice
Unfortunately, the current system lacked such a thing. This made Dalvin feel a little dismayed because even if he was piss broke in terms of currency at the moment, having the option to purchase things remotely could have drastically changed his situation and significantly increased his survival rate.
Oh well, there was no use pining over something he probably could never have had anyway.
Rather than that, he rested on the spot and realized his bloodline energy had recovered to 55%. This naturally meant that he had spent 25 minutes practicing while using the Xueqi pill and this was more than twice the amount of time he spent in the simulation, leaving Dalvin puzzled.
While some of his actions were different from the simulation and diverged away, it should not be enough to create such significant changes. This fact left him somewhat apprehensive, wondering what the difference was between simulated him and real him but not knowing exactly how to get that answer.
While he thought and rested, he checked his character screen to see the progress he made.
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Mortal (Foundation)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 30/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 0.4
Qi: 0.2
Fortitude: 0.3
—————————————
Bloodline energy: 55%. (Next 1% in 00:08:44)
…]
To Dalvin's surprise, a few things had changed. His realm, technique, and blood qi were expected given that he had practiced just now, but he didn't *not* expect all of his abysmal stats to increase by 0.1 in all fields just by practicing for 25 minutes.
So was it the pill, the technique, or the act of exerting himself that yielded the gain?
If you asked him, Dalvin felt it was the pill. His stats were trash as they were below one full point for sure, but he did not think merely practicing for such a short time could increase it permanently, nor did he think just 3 foundational exercises of the lowest-tier Martial Arts technique could be so miraculous.
It was definitely the extraordinary xueqi pill that was preserved in the spatial pouch, maintaining its medicinal efficacy even after so long. This made him understand its value, which Feng Qi had failed to mention as he did not seem to regard it, likely a subconscious behavior having been a cultivator all his life.
Dalvin rested while thinking, finding his condition to be very strange. Even though there was nothing to do, his mind was currently lost in various thoughts and daydreams, so much so that he temporarily lost a grip on reality and zoned out.
When he shook his head and suddenly snapped out of it, he realized that his bloodline energy had risen to 75%, meaning that he had been out of it for 20 whole minutes. Amused and angry at himself for treating his own life and safety so casually, he stood up and didn't bother to dust his backside lest he cover his palms with muck.
He only even snapped out of his trance because he felt his body hollow out, like the feeling of having the energy sucked out of you when the caffeine boost came to an end. While it was thankfully nowhere near as intense or debilitating, it was enough to knock him out of it.
Dalvin stood up and excitedly popped another xueqi pill, feeling the surge of heat and powers coursing through him again. Immediately, he continued with the fourth, fifth, and sixth foundational movements in the next 20 minutes, around 5 minutes shorter than it took him to do the first 3.
This Dalvin was not confused about, as he knew the reason for it lay with his slightly increased stats. Just a 0.1 increase had changed the amount of time it took by a whole 20%, making him lose his disdain for the gained amount.
In truth, he couldn't exactly feel the exact changes himself because he was under the effect of the *Xueqi* pill and it made him feel like an inexhaustible engine of endless power while it was active.
Even now, when the primary effects wore off and he was left with the strange buzz that lasted after, he still could not feel the exact difference. However, he naturally checked his character menu again and was intrigued to see that the blood qi he gained remained at 30 points.
However, his stats had increased by 0.1 points in all fields once more. Dalvin was curious as to how this would manifest when the pill's effects wore off thoroughly. While he waited, he decided to run another simulation to see whether anything would happen in the next hour since it was already past 4 pm.
"System, begin the simulation."
[4.25 pm. You were resting while your body cooled down from your second round of exercise. Idle and bored, you delved into your memories to reminisce on fun moments while gaming and spending time with friends.]
[4.35 pm. You recovered twice as fast from your 'buzzed' state, which you felt was due to your increased ability. You did not immediately pop a new pill and allowed your body to crash into fatigue.]
[4.36 pm. Placing your back against one of the walls, you closed your eyes and let the fatigue wash over you, entering a state of semi-comfortable sleep.]
[4.40 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[4.50 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.00 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.10 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.20 pm. You are asleep, nothing happens.]
[5.25 pm. You still remain asleep drooling slightly.]
[An hour has passed, and the simulation comes to an end.]
'Nice.' Dalvin thought to himself happily.
The ability to actually fall asleep and not be disturbed by anything was a godsend in the situation he was in. If it wasn't for the fact that he could practice martial arts, he would have to rely on sleep to pass the time until 3 pm tomorrow.
Though, as much as Dalvin craved power, he was still someone who had been working out in the gym consistently for a few weeks recently, so he definitely understood the need for rest. Even if this magical pill could fuel him with energy seemingly endlessly, it was still a good idea to rest.
Even the booklet and the martial arts manual emphasized rest at frequent intervals to allow the body to adapt to the changes and establish one's new starting point so that the body could grow from there.
Following the example from the simulation, Dalvin waited until the pill fully wore off and lay against the wall before finding his eyelids closing rapidly. He was soon enveloped in a world of blackness that was his dreams, but they were not so peaceful.
For within this void, a pair of gigantic eyes that were bloodshot seemed to enlarge itself in the entirety of his third-person dynamic view. The eyes focused on him and seemed to widen with intent.
From a place that seemed right beside him yet over an extremely long distance, he continually hear a low muttering from the voice behind the eyes as its pupils remained focused on him.
"I curse you… I curse you… I curse you…"
The Flaw Of Simulation
Dalvin shivered as he slowly came to, his mind buzzing and his entire body feeling lethargic. He could barely raise his head and open his eyes, seemingly even more fatigued than when he went to sleep.
He pushed himself up slowly from his sitting position and felt his bones creak and crack as they shifted into place. His body felt very good, but his mind and brain were as if they were submerged in endless muck.
Because of his poor consciousness and awareness, he could barely move his body properly, and his thoughts moved extremely slowly. It took Dalvin a whole minute to achieve a state where he could keep his eyes open and actually begin to remember who he was and where he was.
"W-What the hell…?" he muttered out loud for the first time since coming here.
He placed his right hand on his forehead and used the left to rub his temples, trying to alleviate the situation he was in. Doing this repeatedly for a few minutes seemed to help somewhat, and he was mostly awake now, but Dalvin did not understand why he was like this.
Rather than say he was tired, it was more like he was heavily drugged. He cast his mind back to the booklet and nothing within said that the Xueqi pill had such an aftereffect, not even slightly. This was a publicly used pill for all martial artists around the world; there was no way such a side effect would not be mentioned.
Dalvin himself was not that fatigued, to be honest. He had literally just woken up today and, out of laziness, opened the app, and then was transported here. All the strenuous actions were taken by his simulated self in terms of exploring; he himself stood in one place most of the time.
And this wasn't even physical fatigue, but a mental one. Dalvin wondered if he was stressed because of the situation he was in. After all, he did have a small mental breakdown previously, but he also felt like that alone could not be the full reason.
'Did I dream of anything?' Dalvin thought to himself.
He tried to recall, but a splitting pain immediately assailed his head as an image flashed through his mind of a pair of bloodshot eyes. Just having that image in his mind made it feel like someone smacked the top of his skull with a sledgehammer, causing Dalvin to howl and fall to his knees.
It lasted only a brief while, but it left Dalvin panting in shock. He did not know what those eyes meant or why they caused such a reaction, but he decided not to think of them again lest he explode his brain.
He clambered to his feet and panted. He looked around the cell and saw that nothing much had changed; even the hallway maintained its brightly lit disposition. Because of this, Dalvin could not tell how much time had passed, another factor which probably tormented prisoners down here.
However, he did have a clever way to check.
"Start a simulation."
[9.47 pm. You woke up and got your bearing together after sleeping for so long. Not knowing how much time had passed, you decided to make the most of your remaining time practicing martial arts in hope of a breakthrough.]
[9.48 pm. You pop another Xueqi pill and begin practicing the remaining three moves, feeling your body go through them slightly easier than before, even with the help of the pill in the fore.]
[10.03 pm. You finish the work out and enter the buzzed state. You sit down and wait for the state to end so that you can continue practicing, doing your usual routine of daydreaming to pass the time.]
[10.07 pm. You come down from the state and notice that your body is not as worn as before when you enter the fatigued state, but you still decided to rest until you can feel your energy come back.]
[10.20 pm. Boredom strikes, and you can no longer extend your daydreaming session, especially in such a dull and uncomfortable atmosphere. As such, you get up and decide to continue working hard.]
[10.35 pm. You finish another session and enter your buzzed state.]
[10.40 pm. The buzzed state comes to an end. You have already long completed the foundational exercises, but you have to continually familiarize yourself with them in order to breakthrough.]
[10.47 pm. You rested to recover from the fatigued state and still planned to rest for another 3 minutes before continuing.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Dalvin's brows furrowed. He was not happy about the continual progress, nor was he happy no danger appeared during this period of time. In fact, he was not even bothered by the fact that he had slept for a whole 6 hours in such a scenario.
No, Dalvin had finally noticed a profound problem that should have occurred to him earlier, but only briefly flashed through his mind before. However, this particular simulation highlighted the problem and made Dalvin suspicious.
The simulated version of him could not use the system!
This was evidenced by the fact that after his training, he did not stop to open the menu and check the values within. The simulated version of him also did not gain any stats after working out, which was something Dalvin gained with each session.
Not to mention, the simulated version of himself did not cheese things out by simulating within a simulation! That was definitely something a smartass like himself would try, Dalvin knew, despite not knowing exactly how that would even work.
His simulated self could use blink, but then again, Dalvin could also use it without relying on the system. It was practically instinctual, with only simulation completely relying on the system as he could not activate it himself… yet.
This made him pensive. It meant that he could not verify the effect of using various system abilities during simulated futures, especially for things like battles or cultivation which were very important.
Dalvin could only take it as it was and strive to make the most of what he was given. As such, he shook his head and took out a Xueqi pill and popped it, going through the final three foundational exercise moves.
His simulated self took 15 minutes to achieve this, but Dalvin was done in what felt like only ten minutes. He opened the system menu and saw that, as expected, all his stats had increased by 0.1 again and his blood qi was 90/100, just inches away from a breakthrough.
What made him curious was the message he got from the system stating that he could only breakthrough using its mechanics. Normally, a person entered the Skin Tempering Realm when they could perform all 9 foundational moves in one set fluidly, causing their blood energy to erupt and begin coursing through their bodies, right under the surface of their skin.
What would it be like if he tried that? Anyway, he wouldn't try it because even the most talented bloke in the world took upwards of a week to a month to initiate themselves, time which Dalvin did not have much of.
If the system's method was faster, Dalvin would take it with no complaints, even if there were side effects. He was honestly just grateful to have a chance to acquire strength to defend himself; he did not have any delusions of grandeur by desiring the best foundation or seeking the best breakthrough.
When he secured his safety enough to not be in danger all the time, he would certainly consider such luxuries then.
Skin Tempering Realm
Dalvin began to work out the moment he rested from his fatigued state after 10 minutes. While he was indeed bored, he was not impatient nor as bothered as the simulation made him sound.
This made him wonder if he could influence himself in the situation or if the simulated self just mimicked his personality and memories but was a fundamentally different consciousness?
Because if we were being frank, some of the choices his simulated self had taken were not ones he himself would take. However, he had the advantage of foresight, so it was easy to say this, much like a person backseat gaming/driving.
He got up and began working out by trying to perform all nine foundational moves at once. In the beginning, he was unfamiliar with the moves, so the reason he did 3 each time was to familiarize himself with them; it was not that he did each one once.
Now that he had some familiarity with them, he went through all nine with ease, completing one cycle. He paused, expecting his blood energy to surge through his body slightly, enough to show that he was making progress towards Skin Tempering, but nothing happened.
Dalvin wanted to believe that it was because he had bad talent, but he knew that it was 100% because of the system. It was true to its word for sure, so Dalvin temporarily put aside all the other thoughts of being clever that had sprung up spontaneously and decided to be honest.
He opened the character screen to check his current values.
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Mortal (Foundation)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 100/100 (Breakthrough Available!)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 0.7
Qi: 0.5
Fortitude: 0.6
—————————————
Bloodline energy: 100%. (Next 1% in 00:00:00)
…]
Dalvin frowned. He had thought with there being a maximum value, he could accumulate over the value. If he gained 30 blood qi with each practice, then he should currently have 120 out of 100, not the exact amount needed.
Alternatively, it could be that he only gained 10 blood qi this time and he could actually continue to accumulate. However, to verify that, he would have to pop another pill in order to gain enough energy to do the entire exercise because even with his increased ability, he was not sure he could perform those crazy and demanding movements on his own.
Dalvin decided against experimenting. He had to prioritize his focus in this situation where every path led to death, and he still was not exactly sure that staying in one place was completely safe, especially with Feng Qi's recount of how there would be a wave of qi deviation for all cultivators every 24 hours at midnight.
He resolutely chose to breakthrough on the spot.
Immediately, Dalvin's face changed as he felt his body explode with heat. His energy body, despite his caramel skin, began to surge with a red glow as his blood churned furiously in his body as if it was being pumped by a turbo machine.
The sensation was slightly painful and slightly pleasurable, but mostly just discomfiting and intense. Dalvin remained in this state for a significant period of time, at least, that's what it felt like to him.
When the breakthrough came to an end, his blood surged back into its proper channels and resumed its normal behavior, but Dalvin felt as if he would never be the same. He stood upright and began to check his body, but he was immediately surprised by what he saw.
His time in the gym had reduced his body fat by a good amount, but his paunch and chubby arms and legs were still noticeable. However, their chubbiness had significantly reduced on all sides, making him become almost half as slim in an instant.
He did not gain any muscles nor did his body become defined, but he already looked like a healthy young man who kept himself well and watched his weight. He no longer looked like someone who overindulged and stayed at home most of the day.
Beyond that was the strength, the sheer strength!
Dalvin clutched his fists and squeezed, feeling like he could crush steel in his palms, but this was likely just an illusion brought about by his sudden explosion in power. He walked up to the edge of his cell and gently grabbed one part of the bar.
With a single arm, he easily bent it to one side until it was able to no longer move lest it snapped. He then did the same with another bar with his left hand, noting that the balance of strength in both arms was now equal though he was right-handed.
Dalvin stepped back and glanced at his body again. In the end, he couldn't stop the surge of dopamine that coursed through his body as he began to laugh lightly, feeling true and genuine glee at his current state.
How many times? How many times had he watched movies, anime, and read books, desperately wishing he could achieve the power of the characters within but feeling depressed because reality would never give him that chance?
And now? Now he had it. It was not enough to break mountains and split seas as they say, but it was enough to distinguish him from even the world's strongest man on earth.
And this was just the beginning. He was only at the entry point of the lowest realm in martial arts, the Skin Tempering Realm. Putting aside how many other realms existed apart from this one in the Martial Arts discipline, there was also the path of Immortal Cultivation.
If Martial Arts was linear growth with each stage - from 1 to 2 to 3 - then Immortal Cultivation was exponential growth!
Dalvin could only try to imagine the kind of power he would possess at those levels, as the current him probably could not even fathom what it would be like. Just this small breakthrough had caused him to feel reborn.
Dalvin calmed himself down and opened his character screen. It was time to check the various changes as well as how much it would cost him to breakthrough to the stage after this one.
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 0/200 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 10.7
Qi: 10.5
Fortitude: 10.6
—————————————
Bloodline energy: 100%. (Next 1% in 00:00:00)
…]
An increase in 10 for all attributes! How frightening! Dalvin was deeply moved by this and understood why he felt so powerful now and especially why he could bend metal - even rotting metal - with one hand with ease.
He was thoroughly motivated and decided to consult the Earthquake Fist's manual and check the training regimen for the Skin Tempering Realm as well as what would be needed to supplement it.
When he looked through, he was surprised to see that the xueqi pill could still be used for this realm! That was certainly a godsend since he had only used half of the entire bottle so far.
Weakness
The Skin Tempering Realm of the Earthquake Fist was straightforward in its practice, basically requiring only one thing: to continually excite the body's blood energy to circulate using the fist.
How was one supposed to use their fists? By striking the toughest object they could find head-on!
Dalvin couldn't help but look at the pockmarked wall of his cell which seemed as if someone with superhuman strength had struck them over and over with a contemplative look. It was clear that the previous denizen of this cell, or one of the previous denizens at least, had practiced this same technique.
This wasn't surprising, as the Earthquake Fist was the most common floor martial art out there; even the beggars on the street had access to it and could practice it.
What made Dalvin pensive was the important question of where did the person who practiced the technique go? His cell was the only one without a skeleton within, something he had noticed from the very first simulation's exploration details.
Did the person escape the cell? If so, did they manage to find a way out or did they suffer a fate similar to his simulated selves, perishing at any of the checkpoints around?
Dalvin put these questions aside and flexed his body once more. Feeling the increased strength, his confidence and self-esteem skyrocketed greatly, but he craved even more. After tasting the first dose of power, he was completely enslaved to the pursuit of power and breakthroughs.
Dalvin did not have much of a goal in life prior to this. Maybe become a world-renowned artist with millions of followers? Maybe become rich and fulfill all the dreams of his parents as well as his siblings?
Those had now taken the backseat to the new goal that sprouted in his heart and blossomed into a giant tree that towered over every single aspiration he had, and that was to become stronger!
Not for long life, not to feel secure, not to do what he wanted in life nor to protect the ones he loved, but simply because he liked it!
As such, he directly moved towards a part of the wall that was relatively solid and began striking it with his full force. The moment the flesh of his flesh struck the cobblestone-like wall, Dalvin's face changed greatly.
His bones did not break due to his power-up, but that did not mean he did not feel any pain. He immediately took his fist back and rubbed it, his teeth clenched tightly as he resisted the urge to howl in agony.
Dalvin's burning enthusiasm quickly cooled as he realized the folly of his thinking. Of course, the pursuit of power appealed to everyone, for many reasons; no one necessarily wanted to be weak.
But the acquisition of power required sacrifice of some sort, be it time, pain, or something else. Thinking about it, it was not impossible to acquire power in reality, one had to undergo a powerful training regimen to get there.
However, the tradeoff was a great amount of pain and suffering to get there. If Dalvin had not been willing to undergo that pain for that power, what made him think acquiring superhuman power would be any easier or simpler?
Dalvin checked his character screen, and his face darkened when he saw that neither his stats nor his blood qi had increased. However, he had honestly expected this somewhat because the Earthquake Fist manual was pretty clear about it from the get-go, to activate the blood qi to temper his skin, he would need to enter a rhythm of punching something hard at full force.
He had given up after one measly punch, how could he progress? Until he developed the willpower to continue punching despite the pain, he was definitely not going to make any progress whatsoever.
This obstacle was like a giant wall for the current Dalvin. To expect the him who had grown up in our society to undergo such a brutal regimen so suddenly was a joke. Even with the threat of death on them, not everyone could manage such a thing, much less with an indirect danger to his life.
Right away, the part of human consciousness that everyone hated and feared sprung up, what we called the inner demon. It began whispering to Dalvin that why did he have to suffer like this?
He was a special person with the Spacetime Immortal Physique and he had even achieved such great superhuman power at the moment. Rather than make himself uncomfortable, why not rest and relax, waiting for the 24-hour period to elapse and then return to earth?
He could buy pain-dulling medicine or painkillers so that he could practice later without being made to suffer. Right, all he should do right now is sit down and laze about until the timer elapsed…
The more Dalvin rubbed his bruised fist, the louder these whisperers became without actually increasing their volume in his mind, only their influence and intensity. In the end, he had already justified to himself why 'chickening out' was perfectly reasonable and fair.
He wasn't some hulk nor was he superman, why should he go through all of that for power? Besides, he could also rely on the xueqi pills, but he wanted to get the painkiller first so that he wouldn't have to suffer.
Dalvin soon found himself placing his back against the wall once more, sliding down to the ground as he sat. His eyes became slightly unfocused as he was contemplating what to do next as well as beginning to become lost in a trance to pass the time.
Even as he sat like this, he could see the walls around him full of holes from the other practitioner, and Dalvin could almost see the silhouette of a humanoid being that had a shape that was neither male nor female punching the walls resolutely, not stopping despite the great pain.
To dent the walls in this far, one or two punches could not do it. One would need to repeat this for days upon weeks, punching the same spot until it dug in. After all, denizens of this world did not have a system panel that afforded easy breakthrough; they had to devote time and sweat into their practice to advance.
It was inevitable that the figure's knuckles would be in terrible shape, probably bloody and scarred all over, with their fingers even shaped slightly weirdly, more bent than usual, even when fully extended by the person in question.
And yet, despite this… despite this…!
The figure did not stop, only moving to another spot to create a new hole after the old one was too deep to punish effectively, becoming less flat and even. In Dalvin's strange trance-like state, he saw the silhouette about to begin punching the new hole when it paused and slowly turned to him.
It stood over him, looking down on him like a superior to an inferior being. It did not have eyes nor a mouth, but Dalvin could almost see a sneer on its face, as if mocking him for his weakness of character and discipline.
This small hurdle was one he could not overcome? Some mere physical pain? Then what about when he experienced the mental pain of fighting heart demons during breakthroughs? What about when enduring lightning tribulations?
What about the agony of shattering the condensed Golden Core to create the Nascent Soul?
What would he do then?
Hunger
Dalvin snapped out of the trance and felt his expression sour. He knew that he had been daydreaming, but the content felt so real and, most importantly, it hit too close to home. Even as he sat down now, he felt ashamed and disgraceful for taking the easy way out.
However, he could no longer justify it because the questions the silhouette had asked him… no, that he had asked himself, were valid. This was just the entry level of entry levels; the difficulty did not get easier than this.
Yet, even at the easiest difficulty, he still could not do it? Then if the difficulty increased later - which it definitely would - how would he cross that hurdle then?
Dalvin hesitated for a bit and sighed. He eventually pushed himself up from his sitting position and walked up to that section of the wall that was mostly unharmed and entered a strong and steady stance as portrayed in the martial arts manual.
With a grunt, he struck the wall at full force and grimaced deeply when he felt the pain, but immediately followed up with another punch from his other arm at full force. The first few times were filled with agony, but it did decrease a bit later as Dalvin's knuckles became more and more numb to the pain.
He was squeezing his teeth and almost holding his breath, his eyes closed to think about other things to distract from the pain while he hammered the wall at full force. It was only after his tenth consecutive punch that Dalvin began to feel a stirring in his body, starting from his fist and moving to the other parts slowly.
Immediately, he became excited because he knew that he had activated his blood energy and that every punch from here would continue to temper his skin slowly but surely. As such, he entered the rhythm and did not care about the pain much anymore.
In fact, much like going to the gym, after the first few days of pain, the rest was not so bad. One would even find themselves developing a masochist tendency for the pain of physical exertion, gaining joy from it.
Dalvin was currently in this state. He was going at it with no hesitation and he couldn't help but even wonder why he had hesitated in the first place? Sure it hurt, but it was not debilitating nor was it crippling, so what was his whining all about?
However, Dalvin was currently looking at the problem from the other side of the shore. Crossing a turbulent river was scary if the bridge was aged and shaky when you were on the starting side, but after you bit the bullet and crossed it safely, you would feel your earlier fear was foolish.
Dalvin continued to punch until he suddenly felt his body become weak, and he could not lift his hand anymore. His face changed when he wondered what was wrong until his entire body roared with discomfort and his stomach made a loud sound.
Suddenly, he understood; He was out of energy!
Unlike immortal cultivators whose energy requirements were supplied for free by heaven and earth, martial artists supplied the energy for their practice from their own bodies, namely from the nutrition from food they consumed.
It was even there in the Earthquake Fist, warning him not to practice on an empty stomach and to eat food heavy with meat, fish, and eggs in order to see the best progress. There was no mention of pills because they were likely expensive and not easy to make, so not everyone could just rely on them 24/7 to practice.
Dalvin had eaten before he was sucked into this place, and that was honestly what had sustained him until now. However, after burning the little energy he had in this short practice, he was now famished and in a bit of trouble.
Unfortunately, pills could not be substituted for food. If he swallowed xueqi pills, he would be like a sleepy person drinking caffeine to stay awake. Sure, it would keep you active and free from fatigue for a few hours - or its duration - but the problem you tried to avoid by taking it would come back in full force right after.
Dalvin's stomach began to rumble, and he clutched it with a troubled expression. It was not even midnight yet, and he had to wait for 3.00 pm in the afternoon to return to earth, around 15 hours in total!
In the end, he could only remember the left path of the junction where he had been killed by something obscure. In the courtyard there, he had seen three doors, and one of them was labeled 'Cooking and Dining Area'.
Dalvin could only hope his answer would be found there because he was out of options. If he foolishly swallowed all the pills he had, it would not be enough to last even 3 hours, much less 15.
Of course, he was not going to go there himself despite his discomfort. He immediately opened his character screen to see how much blood qi he had gained and whether his sacrifice was worth it.
[Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 3/200 (Unable to Breakthrough)]
Dalvin was speechless. All of that for three measly points? He immediately regretted not using the xueqi pill right away and trying to cheapen out by practicing without using it so he could save it for higher levels of Skin Tempering.
"System begin simulation," he could only command with a sigh.
[10.25 pm. You had made a mistake while practicing and were now absolutely famished. You knew that without food in a short period of time, your situation would greatly deteriorate though you might not die.]
[10.26 pm. You broke the bars of your cell and walked out, moving rapidly towards the destination you had in mind.]
[10.27 pm. Once again at the bend you turn left. Before you do so, you instinctively glance right and saw that something seemed to have changed at the hallway that was visible before was now covered in darkness, like a black maw that swallowed up all light.]
[10.27 pm. You shivered with fear and immediately stopped looking, scurrying down the hallway towards the courtyard door. This was just as well, as a set of white teeth that were shaped like sharpened canines appeared in the void and smiled at you silently.]
[10.28 pm. You reach the door to the courtyard and stopped with your hand on the handle. You took in a deep breath and remembered where the door you where looking for was. You then opened the door and sprinted crazily towards your target.]
[10.28 pm. You reached the door to the Cooking and Dining Area and threw it open before rushing in and closing the door behind you. A breeze passed by you, making you feel as if you had narrowly dodged something.]
[10.29 pm. In fact, you could hear a low wail that could be the sound of whistling or of a ceramic plate being scraped behind the door. You were sure that it was the sound of the being that captured you the last time, and even without a translator, you could tell from the tone of its wail that it was filled with regret and hatred that it had failed to capture a good meal in time.]
Cooking and Dining Area
[10.29 pm. You felt a chill in your heart when you heard this sound and couldn't help but feel anger as well. What kind of damned creature could arrogantly act like it would have absolutely been able to devour you if given the chance? Knowing that your path to power had begun, you looked forward to the day where you could kill it.]
[10.30 pm. You finally focused on your location and noticed that you were in a rather large hall with five sets of long tables that stretched almost from one end to the other. Benches were placed beside the table for prisoners to sit on while the table was decorated with plates and cutlery.]
[10.30 pm. The plates were empty and the room was well-lit. You immediately spotted the high table for the guards to also eat while watching the prisoners near the farthest point of the room, as well as the kitchen and serving area to the right. Above the serving area was a sign that stated 'serve yourself'.]
[10.31 pm. You walked over to the serving area and saw a line of foods in various pots and pans that preserved their heat. Unlike what you expected, none were rotten or disgusting, rather looking fresh and delectable. Your stomach rumbled, but your common sense told you that this might be an illusion, and what you were seeing might not be what it was.]
[10.31 pm. It was entirely possible that all this food was filled with mold and maggots, but even as you told yourself that, your drained state did not allow for you to hesitate too much. You had already burned a lot of energy in training, and the last bit of strength you had left was wasted sprinting across the courtyard. If you didn't consume something now, you wouldn't have to worry about consuming something ever again.]
[10.32 pm. As such, you bit the bullet and served yourself, filling up two plates and then sitting down to scarf them down. To your surprise, your stomach seemed to have either expanded or become faster at breaking down stuff because despite eating more than your body weight worth of food, you were only just sated.]
[10.35 pm. Despite being comfortable here, you did not dare to linger lest some anomaly manifest itself and take your life. As such, you got up and rushed towards the exit of the dining area, wanting to leave asap.]
[10.36 pm. You already expected it, but how could things be so simple? The moment you reached the door and are about to leave, you realized that it does not open no matter how you try to work it.]
[10.36 pm. Fearing death and danger, you used Blink to try to leave, but a strange force descended and prevented you from using this ability. You did not know this, but such was the domain of the anomaly, a zone of absolute control where it rewrote the laws of heaven and earth.]
[10.36 pm. You felt trepidation and did not want to turn around lest you be faced with danger, but this anomaly did not care for your antics. You heard a mature female voice full of boisterous energy speak out.]
[10.37 pm. "Oh, you naughty child, how could you eat after dining time! Now I'm going to have to cook all of that again!"]
[10.37 pm. Surprised and knowing you could not avoid the inevitable, you turned around to see what anomaly this was. To your surprise, the place did not become darker or eerier. Instead, it was a large woman with an extremely plump body wearing a coarse white linen cloth along with a stained apron glancing at you with a kindly smile.]
[10.38 pm. "Well now, what should I do with you? Eating past dinner time is a serious crime in this prison, you know?" She asked you while sizing you up and down, her arms on her hips.]
[10.38 pm. You were not fooled by her kindly outlook and disposition. You knew that there was no escaping death, so you sought to acquire more information. You lowered your head to her respectfully and apologized for eating ahead of dinner time then asked when the various eating times were.]
[10.39 pm. The anomaly looked at you strangely. Clearly, she thought that for a person who was about to suffer under the effect of her rules, you were asking the wrong questions. But the rules were the rules and she had to answer, so she told you.]
[10.39 pm. "Dearie, the eating times are 7 to 7.30 in the morning for breakfast, 3 to 3.30 in the afternoon for lunch and 9 to 9.30 in the evening for dinner. Make sure to remember next time, okay?" she said gently before walking towards you.]
[10.40 pm. You couldn't help but try to blink away or even run, knowing that death was coming. However, you could not move even up until the moment she stood over you and reached out towards your head.]
[10.40 pm. She placed her large hand on your head and your consciousness blurred. You did not see it happen, but the moment she touched you, you had turned into a chicken.]
[10.45 pm. Your consciousness returned as you found yourself in a boiling pot, being steamed as your feathers were plucked one by one. You clucked and cawed in agony, but the anomaly's firm grip prevented you from running away.]
[10.50 pm. You were skinned, butchered and then marinated by the anomaly, all the while being somehow alive enough to experience it all. Your consciousness had gone blurry from pain and madness, but the anomaly simply chuckled and threw you in a frying pan to cook.]
[11 pm. You were prepared and served on the tray, your various body parts displayed attractively for the next cultivator or prisoner who made their way here to devour you, the only way you will be able to achieve the sweet release of death.]
[11.25 pm. You still lay on the tray, eagerly waiting for someone to end your suffering.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Dalvin's expression became extremely cold as he read up to here. He felt a surge of hatred towards this particular anomaly that was not helped by his hungry state. A hungry man was an angry man they said, and that was definitely true.
However, it was not just this. It was also the fact that this anomaly was the most cruel he had experienced yet. None of the others tormented him for a long period of time, to the point where he actually did not die before the end of the simulation.
Most either killed or devoured him on the spot. Only this one saw fit to turn him into a live animal and then take him through the entire preparation process before placing him on a plate to wait day and night for the next fool to come during either the right or wrong time and specifically choose him.
Dalvin calmed himself down and checked the details once more. The next 'safe' meal time was at 7 am in the morning, and he had unfortunately just slept through dinner time. He would have to make do for more than 9 hours in this state, a task that felt herculean.
Slumber
Thinking about it, he had only two options. One was to sleep on an empty stomach and hope he woke up close to the time for breakfast, and the other was to try to pass the time using the xueqi pills.
If he practiced enough and spread the time out, he could try to last about an hour or two, depending on how much time each xueqi pill could give him.
In the end, Dalvin realized that sleep was inescapable. He was currently famished and desperate, not sleepy, so he would have to risk it and make a crazy play. He would have to pop the xueqi pills and then rely on the fatigue that came after to knock himself out.
Unfortunately, the simulation could only show up to one hour. Otherwise, Dalvin would be able to tell whether he would actually wake up in the morning or if his life functions would just cease while he slept.
Thinking about his dark situation, it would already be a kindness for anyone who got locked up in this place to die in their sleep. Maybe he should just give up and let nature take its course…
Dalvin's face changed, and he slapped his face to beat away those negative thoughts.
Such nonsense!
He had just begun walking on the path of esoteric power, and he wanted to give up without seeing anything fruitful? He at least needed to obtain the ability to fly in the air and destroy planets with a single ball of energy before he could think of hanging up the belt!
With that in mind, Dalvin first began a simulation to see if there would be any danger in taking xueqi pills while hungry.
[10.27 pm. You realized that entering the Cooking and Dining Area was dangerous if you did not adhere to the right timing, so you decided to only sate your hunger at the right moment to avoid that gruesome fate you foresaw.]
[10.27 pm. You popped a xueqi pill and immediately forgot about your hunger as you were pumped with energy. Now being at the Skin Tempering Realm's early stage, you could feel the miraculous effects of the xueqi pull even more.]
[10.47 pm. To your shock, the xueqi pill easily lasted for over 20 minutes, and you didn't feel the medicinal effects dissipating. It was still going strong, and you also noticed that your blood energy was continually active all this time as you punched the wall, causing your skin to be thoroughly tempered all this while.]
[10.57 pm. The effects of the xueqi pill finally wore off, but you immediately realized that there was no 'buzzed' state, just straight fatigue. You collapsed to the ground weakly immediately, like a person who had not consumed anything for days.]
[10.57 pm. You understood that it would be suicide to try and take another xueqi pill from here, so you gave in to the fatigue and slept immediately.]
[11.00 pm. You are asleep.]
[11.10 pm. You are still asleep.]
[11.20 pm. You are still asleep.]
[11.27 pm. You are still asleep, and no dangers have befallen you.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
'Well, it seems alright?' Dalvin thought as he hesitated.
Even though he was really hungry, it was not to the point of collapsing to the ground and barely being able to get up. If he pushed himself that far, he was not entirely sure he could even muster the energy to eat even if the food was placed before him.
Still, it was much better than spending every waking hour like this. If this was what people who suffered from famine and starvation went through, Dalvin truly felt like they were the most pitiable people in the world.
Dalvin popped the xueqi pill and began practicing immediately when he felt the surge of energy within him. He struck the wall quickly and firmly, putting in his all and not caring about the pain in any way.
Immediately, he felt the difference from when he was using his own energy to practice. Not only was the surge of blood qi more responsive, but it was far more voluminous and fierce, surging through every part of his body at once and thoroughly tempering everything at once.
Even while he practiced, Dalvin understood why his buzzed state did not exist, especially when his practice surpassed the previous 15 minutes in the simulation and 10 minutes in reality during the entry phase to become 30 minutes in the simulation and now 20 minutes in reality at Skin Tempering.
It was due to efficiency!
At the entry phase, he could not temper his body, still learning how to even mobilize blood energy in the first place. As such, the majority of the power of the xueqi pill went to waste, being used more like an energy drink instead of a battery.
The buzzed state was just the leftover blood qi idly wandering around his body until it died down. In the Skin Tempering Realm, whether it was the simulated him without the help of the system or the real him with the help of the system, every single drop of the xueqi pill was now utilized fully, leaving nothing behind.
So there was nothing to 'buzz' about, just straight fatigue afterward.
Dalvin finished the practice and immediately felt a wave of fatigue and weakness hit him. He had already been prepared, so he lay down against the wall in his familiar sleeping position.
However, actually feeling the fatigue head-on caused Dalvin to be frightened. It felt like someone had drugged him with a cartload of sedatives, and he could barely exercise his limbs.
In fact, a more familiar analogy would be the feeling of sleep paralysis. Being completely conscious but unable to move your body at all as if it was not yours anymore.
Dalvin fought to stay awake as he checked the amount of blood qi he had gained this time.
[Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 63/200 (Unable to Breakthrough)]
'So each pill gives 60 points rather than 30. I wasted half in the entry phase… how wasteful,' Dalvin thought tiredly before yawning.
However, he did not sleep right away despite feeling the call. He launched another simulation just to be sure.
[10.48 pm. You could not resist the fatigue anymore and fell asleep.]
[10.50 pm. You are asleep, and no anomalies occur.]
[11.00 pm. You are still asleep with no signs of danger.]
[11.10 pm. You are still asleep, though your complexion has slightly worsened.]
[11.20 pm. You are still asleep. Nothing occurs.]
[11.30 pm. You are still asleep, and your breathing becomes slightly more labored.]
[11.40 pm. You are still asleep, and nothing dangerous occurs around you.]
[11.48 pm. You still sleep peacefully.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Seeing this, Dalvin yawned and could no longer hold back. While the simulation did reveal some worrying elements, fatigue dulled his sense of danger and fear, making him shrug in his mind.
He was so tired. Besides, after getting some sleep, he could probably sort out any problem that came his way. It was with that thought in mind that Dalvin dove into slumber right away.
Jailer
Dalvin blearily opened his eyes and tried to make sense of his existence. Everything felt slow and garbled, his eyes filled with mucus and viscous water that prevented him from seeing anything, while his entire body felt cold.
He could somehow feel his body, but he could also feel that he did not possess the energy to move at all. He was well and truly out of gas, and even as he was conscious, there was a strong sense of panic as his survival instinct kicked in.
Dalvin did not know how he knew, since he was neither good at biology nor was he a survival expert, but he just knew that his current state was the so-called 'last blaze' before the end.
In other words, he was dying, or at the cusp of death, and his body forcibly burned the last of its reserves to wake him up in order to make a last-ditch attempt at survival. If he couldn't find a way to sustain himself, when this burst of energy ran out and he closed his eyes, it would be for the final time.
Dalvin's cold and bleary eyes quickly brightened as they became bloodshot instead. He was not willing to die here, not like this where he couldn't even get a burial nor see his loved ones again.
He forced himself to raise his hand and opened the bottle of xueqi pills beside his body, slowly and shakily popping one down his throat. Immediately, Dalvin's entire body felt like heat was coursing through as life and power returned to him.
He did not see it, but previously his body was like a drained husk with sunken skin and thinning flesh, as well as pale lips and dull eyes. However, once he pooped the pill, he returned to normal quickly and even had flush skin, showing that he was extremely healthy.
Dalvin pushed himself to his feet and sighed, knowing that this was an extremely close call. His actions had been too reckless and the price he had paid would forever remind him to make sure every action he took had a safety net in case something went wrong.
He first decided to check the time using the simulation.
"System, please start a simulation."
[6.36 am. You woke up and feel the threat of death. Immediately, you popped a xueqi pill and knew that you had a limited amount of time before its effects would expire, and you would likely die on the spot.]
[6.37 am. You blinked out of your cell and walked briskly towards the familiar place where the door to the courtyard was. However, when you passed by the junction that led towards your destination, you casually glanced towards the right and realized that the expanse of darkness that blocked the passageway like foreboding void was gone. In its place was the familiar inspection area and office before what you assumed to be the exit of the prison.]
[6.38 pm. Seeing this, you stopped your trek towards the Cooking and Dining Area, hesitantly turning around and glancing down this new passageway. While it had been slated to cause a terrible death, you actually did not know what caused it. Feng Qi never stated the exact time the young master and his lackeys escaped, nor what threat they encountered.]
[6.39 pm. You pondered the situation. Yesternight, there had been a black void here but now the place was as clear as glass. When you first came here too, it had been clear just like this and the black ass that blocked the way came later. Clearly, there must be a rule here at play, and you were interested in figuring it out.]
[6.40 pm. Naturally, it did not take your imaginative mind to quickly draw up a sensible hypothesis. The black mass must have times in which it came. If it was split into a day and night schedule, then that would mean that it was morning, right?]
[6.41 pm. Still, you were hesitant to try walking down in case it was a smokescreen. In the end, you decided to be clever and use blink to escape through the door. The first transmission got you through the office and reception/inspection area, and the second one was just about to put you through the door when you felt a searing pain all over your body.]
[6.42 pm. You looked around and realized you were right in front of the large double doors that led out of the prison, the runes on them glowing brightly as they seemed to target you. You recoiled and tried to teleport back, but your bloodline felt heavy and unresponsive as if weighed down by hundreds of pounds.]
[6.43 pm. Just as you were confused on what to do next, you heard a clanking sound like a bunch of keys hitting each other on a rather large keychain. Following that were a pair of footfalls that were heavy and full of authority despite not being disciplined.]
[6.44 pm. A rather mature male voice spoke in a cold voice that caused your body to freeze. "Huh, another one trying to escape the prison. I didn't think I'd be lucky today too, not after so many years."]
[6.45 pm. You turned to regard a rather strange-looking guard who wore a set of brocade robes that were a mixture of white, red, and blue, with white being the outer robe, red being the inner robes, and blue covering all the lines and seams. He had a clean-shaven face and graying hair that was tied into a ponytail at his back using a thin rope. His amber-colored eyes were filled with disregard for life as well as obvious emotional indifference.]
[6.46 pm. You were not even able to utter a single word before him before your neck appeared in his grip, as if you yourself had willingly walked into this fatal embrace. You were shocked and tried to struggle out of it, but your measly increased strength was not even able to shake his hand in the slightest.]
[6.47 pm. "Hmm? Another martial artist who has no cultivation has broken out? And you're quite weak, without having ever taken in spirit energy into your body. How did a weakling like you even get in here in the first place?" The guard was puzzled as he tilted his head.]
[6.47 pm. Then he placed a finger on your forehead casually. "Oh well, the best way to find out is to see for myself."]
[6.47 pm. The next instant, you felt a tearing pain in your mind as if someone had carved open your scalp and was mixing up your brain with a scalding hot knife while you were still alive. The kind of agony you felt was transcendent, beyond what anyone should experience, and your ensuing screams reflected that.]
[6.48 pm. After a few seconds, the torment came to an end, but you had long become braindead due to the forceful search of your mind and memories. Despite this, the one with the look of terror was not you, but the guard who now knew the long and short of your situation and most importantly,… your abilities.]
[6.49 pm. Realizing the danger he was in, he tried to gauge whether this was the real you or a simulated version of you, but he would never be able to know since you died the next instant.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Inmates
Dalvin's expression became grim. He noted that the current time should be 6.36 in the morning, meaning that he only had to wait around 24 or so minutes to be able to qualify to eat breakfast safely.
While he was definitely looking forward to that, the details of the current simulation also left him feeling pensive. There had been a faint hope in the back of his mind that he could just blink right out of the prison when he was ready.
The reason he had not done so yet was because he knew from Feng Qi's recount that the rest of the city outside was also dangerous, if not more so. At least in this prison, thanks to simulation, Dalvin knew where danger was and how to avoid it.
He could peacefully hide in his cell, and as long as resources were guaranteed, he could increase his strength somewhat. As far back as the previous night, a small plan had been building in Dalvin's mind, but all of that would become for naught if he escaped.
But the option and the ability to escape whenever he wanted was also crucial to his plans because he could not stay here forever. It was possible to practice martial arts to the peak in the prison, but the moment he entered qi refining stage level 1, he would be subjected to the daily qi deviation at midnight.
Also, he looked at the reaction of the guard and felt a hint of an idea in his heart. It was nothing explosive, just the fact that he remembered that very powerful cultivators in the webtoons he read could forcefully read people's minds and sometimes have telepathic abilities.
In his simulation, he could leverage this to his advantage because who would want to be on the hunting list of a person who could see the future freely?
Dalvin was in a tough spot, yes, but if you really thought about it, it was more terrifying to be an enemy in his path. He could theoretically see all your tricks and moves before even physically meeting you, even having dug out your weakness through simulations.
In terms of fear factor, it was no different from you posting 'hi, I'm new on this site' on a social platform and another person responding 'IP address = 92.28.211.234, Coordinates: N: 43.7462 W: 12.4893, Social Security Number: 6979191519182016, etc.'
'Well, the xueqi pill lasts for about 30 minutes when not in use like this, so I should technically be able to make it safely. However, I really need to get a watch when I return to Earth so I can tell the time on my own.' Dalvin thought.
He did not dare practice and consume the energy he had left, so he could only sit down and try to daydream to pass the time, but it was futile since he was too full of energy to even think. In the end, he just ran multiple simulations to check the time and to try different outcomes.
In the first, he walked near the door to his left where another prisoner was kept in solitary confinement and tried to converse with them from a safe distance. However, the moment the eyes manifested, Dalvin was entranced once more and chewed to death.
In another, he actually entered different cells one by one and searched them for an entire hour, starting from the left side. When he got close to the solitary confinement door, he turned back and came to the right side of his original cell.
An hour passed, and he was unable to find anything even though he almost reached the junction. Could it really be that only Feng Qi left something behind? Even if it wasn't out of kindness, these cultivators who came here should have storage bags or rings with resources, right?
Where did they go?
Around 10 or so minutes had passed in reality as Dalvin idled and simulated, eventually stopping so that he could have bloodline energy to blink when necessary. When enough time passed, he immediately blinked out of his cell and into the hallway, walking briskly towards the Cooking and Dining Area.
When he reached the junction, he didn't even glance towards the right and walked left, reaching the courtyard door after taking a deep breath. He immediately blinked through the courtyard and entered the cooking and dining area without physically being present in the courtyard nor opening either doors.
He did not want the entity in the courtyard to be on alert for him, so that his simulated selves could be able to dig out more secrets from it as he - hopefully - became stronger. In the cooking and diving area, it was arranged just as he expected in the simulation, except for one minor change.
To Dalvin's shock, he saw various other people in here. There were groups on each table, all of them whose eyes turned to him when he entered. All of them wore different attires and were from different races, but one thing that rang true was that the moment they made eye contact with Dalvin, he almost fainted as his brain felt like it was about to explode.
"He's a mortal, avert your eyes!" A rather sharp person roared quickly as he looked away.
The pupils of the various beings in the room rapidly constricted with horror as they quickly averted their eyes, not daring to look at the newcomer anymore. For that matter, Dalvin, who felt like he was about to die, suddenly felt relieved and regained control of himself.
He glanced around the room with the corner of his eyes and saw that everyone was focused on their food, not even daring to chat anymore as they ate quickly. From Dalvin's assertion, all of these people should be cultivators or prisoners like him, so why did they react in such a way?
"Hehehe, what a rare specimen. A mortal who has never cultivated before and has some weak martial arts foundation, yet in the Immortal Locking Prison. Tomorrow, I might see pigs cultivating the Dao, hehehe." An eerier aged female voice sounded, prompting Dalvin to turn and look at what he could only describe as an old hag.
Yet upon looking at her, even though Dalvin could detect that she also likely possessed great power, he did not feel any discomfort from her. As such, he bravely approached despite keeping his 'finger' on the block's ability lest anything go awry.
"Greetings, Esteemed One, may I have the permission to speak to you?" Dalvin asked as he bowed.
The old woman who wore rotting robes and was thin as a stick rolled her eyes. "Brat, there's no need for formalities. In this prison, we are all of the same rank, mere dogs that can be butchered by anomalies at any time."
Her turbid grey eyes moved towards her plate. "Whether you were a great cultivator or a powerful spear-wielding heroine who everyone called a fairy before, it means nothing now. We are all prisoners in the end."
A hint of sadness appeared in her disposition that Dalvin easily noticed, and he could feel the air change as those who were nearby and heard the hag's words seemed to be affected too.
The air was suddenly filled with deep depression that weighed down on the soul.
Replenishing Energy
Dalvin did not turn his head but could feel the furtive glances being put on him from all sides as the other entities probably wondered about the nature of his imprisonment. Luckily for them, they had this old hag to ask the obvious question.
"Hmm, well anyway, how did a mortal who has never cultivated like you even make it through the entire Immortal Ascension City to arrive at this prison?" The old woman shook off her sadness like it was a bad itch then sized Dalvin up and down with a curious look.
Dalvin thought about how to answer but kept silent in the end. He did not know these people, and even if they were utterly harmless, he was from modern Earth where a layman could dig out your nine generations of information using your name and some non-vital details, so who was he to doubt these fellows in a clearly supernormal world?
Seeing his silence, the old hag was not angry. "Well, at least for a mortal, you are slightly smart. Always remember this about cultivation, more than the danger, more than the philosophy, the most valuable thing is information. Only give out information that cannot harm you in any way, and always trade it for information that is useful to you."
Dalvin nodded. "Thank you for the advice."
There was an eerie spell of silence as everyone waited for the dining time to arrive. There was a loud ding that caused Dalvin to clutch his head and rub his temples, but all the other prisoners crazily got up and rushed towards the serving areas.
On the way, there was literally biting, scratching, hair-pulling, and every sort of despicable act one could use to get ahead. However, the moment they arrived before the display, they would immediately settle down to become esteemed gentlemen and ladies.
The switch-up was extremely visually shocking for Dalvin, who saw these beings as powerhouses whose simple look could cause him to almost lose his life, yet they were subjected to this. Just as the hag had clearly said, whatever each and every one of them was before they came to this prison, it was irrelevant.
Once they were locked behind the bars here, they were all of the same status, and acting like it was anything different was probably a quick way to die by the hands of an anomaly. Dalvin no longer hesitated and joined the line while sweat dripped from behind his back, his movements careful.
Just to be clear, not everyone was like Feng Qi who could resolutely cripple his cultivation which was all his hard work over hundreds of years, and practice lowly martial arts. Many of these fellows, even at the threat of painful qi deviations every night, still kept their full cultivation bases, meaning that a simple breath from them at close proximity was enough to turn Dalvin into a floating cloud of blood mist.
However, the strange thing was that the moment he approached the line, everyone within acted like frightened mice and gave him a wide berth. Dalvin stopped and glanced at them in shock, but they simply lowered their heads or looked away, as if not willing to make eye contact with him. He then straightforwardly walked through the line up to the very front, being given way throughout not like he was a VIP, but as if he was a plague.
Dalvin pensively pondered what was going on, even as he scooped up the pieces of meat that were laid out, and then moved to sit down where he had been before, noticing that the old hag had not moved from the beginning.
"What? Don't look at me like that, there's no point in scrambling for food when I don't even have any teeth left, hehehe." The old hag laughed and flashed a wide grin, showing her mouth that was black as night with rotting gums and yellowed teeth that were shriveled in many places and missing in others.
As Dalvin was not prepared for such a sight, he immediately showed a look of disgust and looked away so as to not spoil his appetite. It was only then that he realized his gaffe, but the soft chuckling of the old hag made him look back with raised eyebrows.
"Hehehe, I always find it somewhat funny when people react like that to the current me. Its just so amusing."
The old hag leaned back and seemed to glance into the sky. "Back then, my very same smile could cause powerful cultivators to swoon. The highlight of my youth was when two saint sons of Heaven Grade Sects fought over the right to court me, leading the respective sects into war just for that reason."
"The funny part was that I was never actually interested in either of them and made it clear, but they seemed to hear 'no' as 'yes'. I found it all so bothersome and annoying back then, but I cannot help but smile now."
The old hag then smiled thinly as she glanced at Dalvin. "And now, a young man like you who would have been one of the multitude of men in the background pining for my flesh, someone I would not even remember the silhouette of, is now cringing back with disgust. The person is the same, I am still me, but things aren't."
Dalvin felt slightly guilty when he heard that. As for being belittled as a background character, he didn't have any delusion of grandeur yet, he understood where he was situated in the hierarchy after facing so many deaths in the simulation.
"Hah, don't listen to me. I can't help but think of the past because you're not only a young man but a new face. It seems like just yesterday I was traveling through the world on Baohu, my partner White Tiger, fighting demons and living off the land." The old hag… no, the elderly woman shook her head with a soft laugh.
"Well, eat up now, you don't have forever." She eventually stopped and said this, not willing to continue her rant.
Dalvin did just that and began to dig in voraciously. Even with the xueqi pill still in his system, its effects were waning, not to mention that he still felt a slight hunger even with its effects at the peak.
As for the topic of whether the food he was eating was made from the transformed bodies of other unfortunate prisoners who came here at the wrong time like he did in the simulation, happy to be devoured because it would release them from their pain, Dalvin did not think of that nor did he want to think of it as he ate quickly.
In no time, he found that he had cleared an entire plate full of food, more than even the craziest food-eating video he had watched on social media back home. He had eaten enough to fill an entire extended family's Thanksgiving dinner, but he only felt partly sated.
He was shocked by his appetite and most of all his metabolism. The food entered his stomach and seemed to enter a mechanism that processed it within seconds while waiting for the next batch eagerly.
The End Is Here
Dalvin raised his head and looked around. He realized that the others here ate just as crazily as him, with many lining up for seconds, which made him realize that he could do the same as well.
Without hesitation, Dalvin lined up for a second helping and filled his plate before coming to sit down and continuing his mad devouring. He ended up eating this entire plate, but he finally began to feel slightly sated after all this.
The entire time, the old woman did not really pay him mind, seemingly lost in her own thoughts. It was only when Dalvin paused that she seemed to awake from the depths of her memories as she sized him up casually.
"Not bad, brat. You actually ate two plates of that crap. Let's just hope you have the ability to convert all of that energy into something useful or find a way to expend it, otherwise today will be the last day I'll be seeing you."
Dalvin's face changed as she sat up seriously. "Is there a problem with the food?"
The old woman looked at Dalvin as if he was an idiot. "Of course there's a problem with the food. It is made from the bodies of cultivators and prisoners who have been captured by the cook for breaking the rules of the Cooking and Dining Area."
Dalvin forgot to act shocked because technically, he wasn't supposed to know this. It was only when the old woman paused because of his expression that said 'go on,' that he realized his mistake.
However, the old woman did not focus on this fact and continued speaking casually. "You are a mere mortal, and even if those cultivators were transformed into food ingredients, they still have the wealth of their cultivation bases. You won't feel it right now, but I give it about 10 minutes before your entire body bursts with spirit energy, ready to explode."
Immediately, Dalvin's brow began to sweat as he realized the magnitude of what the old woman was saying. "So what solutions do I have?"
The old woman sized Dalvin up appreciatively. "That is the right question to ask. You have three possible solutions. You can either begin cultivating and hope to convert that incoming sea of spirit energy into your own power, you can expel all the spirit energy as it comes using special techniques or you can try to convert it to the inner qi of martial artists, but that is even more difficult than cultivating since spirit energy and inner qi are vastly different."
"I do not have a cultivation technique. What will it take to get one?" Dalvin asked straightforwardly as he leaned forward.
The old woman shook her head. "No one will give you a cultivation technique here. It's not out of selfishness or hatred, but because cultivation techniques that are taught through sects cannot be shared willingly. All the techniques I know are from my former sect, and all the tones I can teach are combat techniques that I devised myself."
"Apart from cultivation scholars and researchers who seek to discover new ways to achieve the effect of cultivation, no one else bothers to diversify their base technique. You will have to find a way to expel the energy in the next 10…no, about 8 minutes." The old woman concluded with a pointed look.
Dalvin immediately began a simulation on the spot.
[7.16am. You realized that you were in danger when the old woman informed you about the predicament you were in. As such, you immediately got up and made an announcement to the entire cafeteria that you had a way to leave the prison.]
[7.17am. The entire place froze, and everyone was stunned for a second. All eyes fell on you with full intensity, not caring about your mortal status anymore as they all surrounded you with the intention to capture you first and then ask questions later.]
[7.18am. Shocked by the backfiring of your plan. You swore at them and said that if they dared to use force, you would rather die than share the information with them. However, they only sneered, fully intending to read your memories by force to get the information rather than let you, a mere mortal, negotiate with them.]
[7.19am. Despite them disregarding you, you showed no fear. You used your blink ability to leave the encirclement and took note of the various cultivators who attacked you, all of whom now had pale faces since they realized you were something more than you let on.]
[7.20am. However, it was too late to use soft words, and you made that abundantly clear before you blinked out of the cooking and dining area and back onto the first floor of the prison. Despite your earlier bravado, your knees were shaking as the pressure you faced was akin to being in the jungle and having a tiger stare down at you within arm's reach.]
[7.21am. You rushed back to your cell and began brainstorming ideas, but in the end, decided to take a risk. You began practicing the Earthquake Fist furiously, hoping that it would somehow help you consume the incoming wave of energy.]
[7.24am. You felt it. The surge of energy that felt like someone had shocked you with electricity. Forget being able to convert, expel, or cultivate it, you could barely remain in control of your body as it crazily surged through you, becoming physically and mentally paralyzed.]
[7.25am. Your body exploded wildly, none of your parts remaining as a wave of uncontrolled energy spread throughout your cell and spilled onto the corridor. In the end, the sound of clinking keys emerged as the jailer appeared before your cell and waved his hand, dispersing the rampant energy with ease.]
[You have died.]
Dalvin felt the pressure immediately. It seemed that trying to trade information for the assistance of these cultivators in expelling the energy from him was not possible. He could not even negotiate with the old woman, assuming that she was kind enough not to capture him because he was a mortal.
He did not have any way to communicate with her that all the others could not detect, unfortunately. Words, signs, signals, all of them could be captured by the pervasive spirit sense of all the prisoners in the cafeteria, so the end result would be the same.
As such, he no longer dawdled here and thanked the old woman before blinking hastily back to his cell. Seeing the mortal suddenly disappear in a flurry of powerful spatial energy made the faces of everyone in the room change greatly as they realized that this fellow was something special.
The old woman's eyes flickered with surprise. "What an interesting lad. Too bad, though… he might not survive his current predicament."
As for Dalvin, he had already decided that he ranked the anomalies higher on his danger rating than the cultivators. He would rather let them see him use spatial abilities than let any of the anomalies know about him and his abilities outside of the simulation.
Once back in his cell, his entire body was sweaty as despite feeling energized from having a full meal, he was now on the brink of death. Immediately he simulated again and saw what the outcome would be, but he ended up dying the exact same way.
After that, he began crazily simulating, trying all sorts of things, from going to the solitary confinement cell to bargain only to be eaten, going to the exit of the jailer to provoke the jailer for help but he simply read his memories and reacted differently.
Unlike before where he was filled with fear due to the simulation ability, he sighed with relief knowing that the current Dalvin in real time should be facing a fatal situation and would no longer be a threat to his true body in real-time.
Dalvin sat on his ass within his cell with despair after simulating a few more times until his bloodline energy ran out. He sat on the dirty hay and felt his entire body go limp as hope left his mind and soul.
Negative thoughts and emotions surged through his mind as the seconds ticked down. He hated everything that had happened to him and especially hated the being that placed the Dao Curse on him.
If not for that, he would not have spawned in the worst possible place in this world and might be in some random village or have been adopted by a sect and began his path of domination like those main characters he read about.
Dalvin had no illusion he would be saved by some cosmic force at the last second. Even if he was lucky and some benevolent deity was rooting for him, all would be naught in the face of the Dao Curse which would probably worsen things.
This was it… he survived a grand total of 16 hours in the world of cultivation before dying. He didn't know if anyone had ever achieved real transmigration or reincarnation, but he doubted they could do worse than him.
The idea that he was about to set some record made him release a hollow chuckle.
Debt
As the seconds ticked down, Dalvin felt himself become more and more restless. He initially thought that given the situation and his previous lethargic lifestyle, he would become more resigned when the end came, but it turned out that he was completely unwilling!
It was like every cell in his body was trembling with intent, not wanting to be extinguished from this world. This made him feel extremely energized and uncomfortable, as if he had to get up and do something, but he had no idea what to do.
He had the idea to use the system to convert the incoming spirit energy into cultivation and break through the levels, but it didn't work that way, unfortunately. He needed a cultivation technique first and foremost, and secondly, as the old hag said, he needed to manually convert it into spirit energy for himself before the system would register it.
If Dalvin had the ability to do all that, he wouldn't be in this current situation.
Dalvin brainstormed until he had an idea. He quickly pulled out Feng Qi's notebook and rapidly turned the pages. He looked for the section that talked about the foundation establishment young master and his martial arts lackey.
Reading the recount, it was clear that the two had spent a significant amount of time in the prison, so how did they eat? How did they survive? Cultivators could subsist using spirit energy just fine, but martial artists were the exact opposite, eating like elephants due to the nature of their practice.
Unfortunately, the idea was killed before it even began. The martial artist was never mentioned to go to the cooking and dining area, and it seemed like the foundation establishment young master had his own storage ring with resources for them to eat and use.
The disappointment and despair that surged into Dalvin's heart was like a tide. Especially since his body began to heat up and he felt like his blood was beginning to boil, but not in a good way.
Clearly, the moment of truth had arrived, and his time was up. His guts were going to decorate the walls, and even the catastrophic effect of his death would be casually resolved by a sweep of the jailer's hands.
Dalvin walked backward until he hit the wall and slid down to the ground, feeling the intensity of his current situation escalate rapidly until it became unbearable. His entire body shook like he was having epilepsy, like he was being tazed by someone.
He couldn't even think well because it was like his mind was mired in mud, so he couldn't feel any pain. At least, that was one upside to this entire debacle.
Dalvin obviously could not tell how much time passed while in this state, but he suddenly felt a shift when the energy within became controlled and tame, seeming flushed out of his body as if a drain cork had been opened.
Panting, he was confused as to what happened until he saw a message before him that filled him with joy and also dread at the same time.
[Detected infusion of spirit energy in player Dalvin's body. Automatically seizing to repay the Physique Awakening Debt accrued.]
Dalvin pushed himself into a standing position, feeling a mixture of coldness in his body and a hint of fatigue. He had truly come to the brink of death this time in a way he could never have calculated with his current knowledge and ability, and he was saved by something that might have been worse than what came before.
"Physique Awakening Debt…" Dalvin's face became grim.
How could he not understand what this one line implied? His dreams of cultivating immortality were nothing but just that, dreams. Until he paid off this debt, every little bit of spirit energy he absorbed would be seized away to pay this debt.
This meant that until he could pay it off, he was stuck with only the path of Martial Arts. This was bad because if he ever wanted a chance to escape, he needed to at least reach the jailer of Feng Qi's level of power in cultivation.
'Well, now I can only wait to return home and think up a new battle plan when I'm in a better state,' Dalvin thought as he sat down again.
After what he just went through, he was drained in all aspects but even the little willpower he had left was beaten away by the realization of the debt he had been forcibly given. This time, there was nothing that could provoke him into action because he had already wasted two precious xueqi pills to make up for his mistake earlier.
He wasn't going to repeat it by depleting all his energy in practicing without some food source nearby or of easy access. Besides, the next feeding time was at 3 pm to 3:30 pm in the afternoon.
He would be returning home at 3, so it didn't matter as much since he could get unlimited food on Earth as long as he had money. Just thinking about being able to have burgers and pizzas again made Dalvin's will to live brighten significantly.
The food that was at his fingertips that he had taken for granted was now akin to the heavenly ambrosia of the gods. The irony was not lost on him as he chuckled hollowly and began to rest, trying to sleep away the remaining time.
Surprisingly, Dalvin found himself easily drifting off. The intense stress of waiting to blow up into smithereens can really tire a person out apparently. Maybe if he ever had insomnia, he should strap a bomb to his chest and watch the countdown.
Dalvin's head eventually lolled to the side as he fell into a deep slumber, his dreams being one of food and continuously eating everything he liked. As such, he naturally drooled heavily as he slept, comically wearing a slightly foolish smile in his sleep that would provoke one to bully him.
When he woke up with a start, he blearily looked around before realizing that nothing was happening. Scratching his head, he relaxed again and fell asleep once more, changing his position slightly.
Eventually, he was finally forced awake in a span of fear as his body was dragged toward a back portal that appeared in the middle of his cell, taking him within immediately. The portal suddenly closed, and in the next second, the jailer appeared before the cell with a shocked expression.
"Trans-spatial travel! How is that even possible?" He muttered with shock, glancing at where Dalvin had been with furrowed brows.
He hesitated greatly. "Since this was achieved within the prison without raising an alarm or being blocked, it follows the rules. It means that the person who used the spatial travel is not a registered prisoner, but how can that be?"
The jailer began to walk away while shaking his head. "I can't afford to break the rules. Whoever they are, they can seem to come and go as they please, but not everyone here is bound by the rules like me."
With the familiar clinking of cell keys, the jailer disappeared around the bend, returning the lit corridor into utter silence.
As for Dalvin, he appeared on a heap on the wooden flooring of his apartment, being spat out of the portal like a piece of deadwood. It wasn't until he smelled the scent of the polished wood that he began to realize that he had truly come back.
He was home.
Home
Dalvin pushed himself up from the floor and looked around his familiar surroundings that were now somewhat unfamiliar. He had spent the most intense 24 hours of his life, and just by feeling the alienation he felt toward his own living space made him understand that he had been irreversibly changed.
Before anything else, Dalvin took off his ruined and mucky clothes before throwing them into the bin. He wasn't even going to try and wash them; they were far too ruined for even a homeless person to wear in peace.
He then walked into his bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw was vastly different from what he remembered. From a slightly unhealthy and pudgy young man who was a 5.5 out of 10, he was now a slim and slightly muscular young man of the same features who was easily a 7.5 out of ten.
His caramel skin was glowing with a certain shine that spoke of healthiness, and his usually messy short hair now looked extremely stylish on the current him. His chin, which was beginning to grow a second level, was now firm and developed.
The current him was the version of themselves every slightly unfit person wished they could become, achieving the so-called 'glow-up' where their diminished attractiveness and self-esteem rose due to achieving a fit physique.
Even the Dalvin of before would have been utterly satisfied with this, but the current him knew that things were just starting. Not only that, his situation was even more dire than he had ever thought, with the period of time he had now being only a respite at best.
Apart from the chiseled nakedness was also a lot of grime and muck that made him look like he had played with a bunch of pigs in the sty, and while he couldn't detect it in the prison because the entire environment was like that, in his pristine apartment, he could smell his unbearable stench.
As such, he did not waste any more time and entered his shower, thoroughly washing himself down from head to toe. Only when he smelled soapy and clean did he come out, wipe himself down, and then dress up.
Immediately, he switched on his computer as he did not have his phone anymore. Whether it had disintegrated or had become the medium which connected him to the game, he did not exactly know.
The computer booted up the half-finished artwork commission he had been too lazy to work on, and looking at it now, Dalvin couldn't help but feel extremely emotional. It all seemed too silly and petty to him now, but it was his life just a day ago.
However, Dalvin's face changed when he glanced at the time and was left flabbergasted. According to his computer's clock, which was what he intended to check when he booted it, it was now 3:30 pm.
Given the fact that he had spent about 30 minutes or less bathing, this alluded to the fact that he really returned at 3 pm in the afternoon on this side too. Yet what left him thoroughly speechless was the date.
It was the exact same date as previously, the 5th of February!
If his computer was not messing around, then not a single moment had passed on Earth while he was in the other world, the world of Tianzi!
Of course, Dalvin would not take this at face value and immediately checked news sites, but could only slump in his chair when he saw them affirm what his computer was telling him. This made him even wonder if time would pass on Tianzi as well.
Did this mean he would effectively be shuffling through both worlds while spending twice the time he would have otherwise? This reminded him of a popular argument about time ability users, in that the danger they faced was aging due to their abilities, rather than it backfiring.
Dalvin rubbed his face and knew he couldn't think about all this right now since he first had to see whether time passed in Tianzi. More than that, now that he was home, he needed to draw up a game plan for when he was inevitably forced to return to Tianzi, specifically his cell in the Immortal Locking Prison.
Initially, he had cooked up many ideas while daydreaming in the prison, and it was now time to test out whether they would work. First things first, Dalvin lifted up something that followed him out of the world of Tianzi and into the real one, the spatial pouch from Feng Qi.
Accessing it using his spatial abilities, he saw that the pills bottles and the notebook were still inside, something which made him sigh with relief. Even though he technically did not need the spatial pouch to take things between both worlds, it was better than not to have it.
Dalvin placed it gently on the table and then breathed out before attempting to access the system. As long as he could access the interface on Earth too, about 70% of his worries would be resolved and most of his plans to alleviate his situation could be carried out.
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 63/200 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 10.7
Qi: 10.5
Fortitude: 10.6
—————————————
Bloodline energy: 100%. (Next 1% in 00:00:00)
…]
Upon seeing the familiar numbers and categories, Dalvin's face broke into a smile. With the presence of the system here, he could probably breakthrough on Earth when the need arose, because not every time he broke through in Tianzi could be safe and without danger.
Dalvin then activated blink and was able to shift about his room freely, but this did not surprise him. He could use blink manually without the presence of the system, but simulation could only be initiated using the interface currently.
As such, Dalvin tried it to see if it would work here.
[3:34 pm. You checked your various tools and methods to see that everything was in order. Now that you were home and in a safe place, it was time to try out some things.]
[3:35 pm. You left your apartment block and walked to the nearest pharmacy. Despite having lived in this area for a while, you never actually passed through here for anything, so this was your first time in the shop.]
[3:36 pm. There was a receptionist who was a young pretty lady and a pharmacist who was undoubtedly her mother given the similarity in looks, being older and very plump. You approached the counter with a smile that dazzled both women and asked for three things: protein shakes, supplements, and Viagra.]
[3:37 pm. The first two requests did not make them react much as it seemed plausible given your current physique, but the young lady blushed when they heard your third request while her mother looked skeptical. What could a young man who is so healthy and well-built like you need with Viagra?]
[3:38 pm. Still, she was a professional and brought the various drugs from their respective shelves, recommending different types and brands of each to you, which you carefully selected after much discussion and then purchased.]
[3:40 pm. You left the pharmacy with an expectant expression on your face. You then walked to the nearest mall to find an electronics store to purchase a new phone for communication as well as to find one of your main targets, a weapons store.]
Preparations 1
[3:44 pm. You entered the mall and made a beeline for a small-scale electronics store, where you purchased a new smartphone for yourself. You also bought a simple used laptop as well as a strong power bank.]
[3:47 pm. Taking your purchases, you then went to the office for your telecommunications network inside the same mall and restored your sim card.]
[3:50 pm. You took an Uber out of the mall and headed to the local gun shop near your area. Once within, you made an inquiry to purchase a small pistol to protect yourself and were made to fill out a lot of forms. You have to leave your ID, fingerprint details and made other things before you were allowed to purchase the weapon and a small amount of ammunition.]
[4:03 pm. You left with your new purchase feeling mentally exasperated after all of that nonsense. You quickly jogged back to your apartment and put everything down as you checked your account to see how much money you had left.]
[4:04 pm. Upon seeing the reminder, your heart clenched, and you knew that this month's rent was now up in the air. As such, you brainstormed ways to make money quickly, especially ways that could accommodate your current circumstance.]
[4:05 pm. Seeing your still open commission on your PC display, you had the idea to rapidly finish all your commissions one by one and receive the payments for them in order to make up for the deficit. Moved by your brilliant idea, you start to work.]
[4:10 pm. You finished one commission in record time and were left speechless.]
[4:20 pm. You finished 3 of your backlog commissions and posted on your various pages that you had opened up quick commissions for a cheaper price.]
[4:30 pm. You cleared your entire backlog that was originally calculated to span a month and found yourself idle, so you began to try out your main idea that had been brewing in your mind since you read about the xueqi pill.]
[4:34 pm. You took a large cup of protein shake and began practicing martial arts, trying to see if it could replace or mimic the effect of the xueqi pill.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Dalvin was so engrossed in the simulation, especially seeing the part about his commission speed increasing as well as his first attempt to verify his idea, so when it suddenly cut off, he was extremely disgruntled.
However, he realized he was being silly; this was just a future prediction of events he would undertake anyway, so if he wanted to see the end result, all he had to do was…undertake the events.
With that in mind, Dalvin gussied up and left the apartment. This time, he didn't take an Uber but rather jogged at a brisk pace, almost sprinting. Since his income dropped low because of his various purchases, he had to penny-pinch where he could.
Besides, his current physique as an early stage Skin Tempering Martial Artist already put his fitness on par with the best sportsmen, so he was easily able to maintain his pace for a few kilometers.
When he arrived at the entrance of the mall, he only had a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, and his breathing was still mostly even. He relaxed his body and walked in while ignoring the glances he was getting from the various people coming and going who were wondering why he ran all the way here like this.
Soon, he arrived at the electronics store and saw the wide array of brand-new and used goods. Following through with his notion to save money, he bought a used Google Pixel 4 smartphone for $120 and a used Dell laptop with low-end specs for $57, mostly because it was renewed.
However, when it was time to buy the power pack, he hesitated greatly. His actions had saved a significant amount of money, and he could try to upgrade. In the end, Dalvin gritted his teeth and bought a mini-generator that was meant for camping, which had 300 Watt-hours for $250.
He took his load with weeping eyes as he didn't even dare to check the alert from the bank after he swiped his card to pay. He easily and casually lugged the goods to the telecommunications shop and only needed about 5 minutes to get his sim replaced.
Checking his new phone and logging into his various social media, he saw some texts from friends and some memes his dad sent to the family group chat that were mildly funny.
Smiling, Dalvin put his phone away and jogged out of the mall with his load, this time definitely causing people to look at him twice in surprise, wondering how he could literally carry these boxes without falling over and even jog on top.
Dalvin had to wonder himself as he realized his arrogance. He was quickly bushed after crossing about 3 kilometers with the items, forced to slow down to a brisk walk while he panted to regain his stamina.
He entered a pharmacy that was on the way to the gun store which had a young man and woman behind the counter. Dante made the purchases he wanted, buying a large bottle of protein shake for $70 and inquired about the price of steroids.
However, Dalvin was quickly scared off when he heard that the cheapest bottle of steroids cost above $200. He decided to try the simpler protein shake first before accumulating money and then buying the 'harder stuff' later.
After that, it was straight to the gun store where he was sized up by the men there with appreciation. They slapped his back and praised his build, calling him brother and even offering to take him on gun competitions.
Dalvin was amused as he went through the processes rather patiently this time because his thoughts lay on what exactly he was using this for. Obviously, the anomalies probably did not care about a mere pistol, and those cultivators in the dining area retained their cultivation as not many were crazy enough to cripple it despite the torture.
Not to mention the jailer would probably perform a Matrix-like move if he shot a bullet and stop them in mid-air before making them fall to the ground uselessly. No, this weapon was not for anything supernatural, but rather for a deeper purpose…
Dalvin took his Colt 1911 which cost $500 as well as five small boxes of .45mm ammunition for the weapon. He knew his clock was cleaned out at this moment and quickly retreated back to his place after shaking off the still-enthusiastic guys.
After entering his apartment, Dalvin dumped everything on his bed and then slumped onto one side of it to rest for a few minutes. He wasn't truly fatigued per se, but it was the usual coming-home fatigue that suddenly appeared whenever one entered their room and lay on their bed.
However, after lazing about and sighing for a minute or two, he sprung up from the bed easily and walked to his computer to begin testing whether he really had the skill to finish commissions that previously took him hours of concentrated work in minutes.
Preparations 2
Dalvin took up his drawing pad as well as his stylus and began going to town on the design. Immediately, he understood why he was able to finish things far faster than before.
Once upon a time, there was an artist named Dalvin who loved to create digital art. He spent hours sitting at his computer, trying to bring his imaginations to life.
But something was missing.
In his former 'NEET' form, he lacked strength and agility. His movements, while superior for an average artist, were sluggish, and his body often felt weak after just doing a few hours of work, not to mention the lack of mental discipline to stay focused.
This naturally made it hard for him to sit for long hours and focus on his work, even affecting personal passion projects.
Then, something extraordinary happened.
Dalvin was forced to take up the practice of martial arts to secure his life in an alternate world and trained (relatively) diligently. With every punch on a stone wall while overdosing on pills, his body grew stronger and more flexible.
He gained superhuman strength, able to move with precision and speed in all aspects of his physical exertions, not just running up and down with boxes of electronics in hand.
Now, when he sat down to draw, it was like a whole new world. His increased strength and agility allowed him to sit comfortably, possibly for hours at this rate, focusing on his art without feeling tired or sore.
Somehow, the martial arts training which consisted of crying like a little girl while hitting a wall also sharpened his mind, improving his concentration vastly while his brush with death somehow inspired his creativity.
He could now visualize his artwork and the exact specifications that the commissioner wanted more vividly than before as well as execute his ideas with precision. It was the perfect combination of his mind drawing up the image and his hands being surgically precise enough to recreate those visualizations.
In a matter of minutes, he had finished the current design he was working on and could not find anything to touch up anymore. Dalvin could only export the files and then sent them to the commissioner and wait for them to come online and verify the work then pay up the second half.
With this one as a benchmark, he immediately began with the rest, clearing them rapidly and uploading them within minutes. However, unlike in the simulation, he did not put an ad up for more work, choosing to rather close his commissions for an indefinite period of time.
After running about today and especially after seeing how his current upgrade in power affected his work, Dalvin understood that he could now pursue newer and faster ways to earn money, and in larger amounts too.
But that was for later. Even though he Had emptied his account to near bleakness, he would be receiving a strong influx soon from his completed commissions, so he was not in the deadzone yet.
Right now, the more important thing was to test out his theory. As such, Dalvin opened up the protein shake and poured himself a serving before downing it all one gulp. It tasted alright, but it was not something you'd like to drink recreationally.
He did feel a bit of heat that was likely due to his enhanced digestive and processing abilities, but he could only see progress in practice. However, Dalvin glanced at the wall of his apartment and hesitated.
Putting aside whether the wall was sturdy enough to handle his punches, this was where he lived. He couldn't just go to town with full force on his own walls, not to mention the noise that would make.
As such, Dalvin could only put on a track suit that was a dark blue color and check the maps for the area to find a nearby construction site. He couldn't find one of those, but he did find a nearby factory for cement working that was largely inactive due to legal issues.
He quickly jogged over there while making sure to take his new phone and his storage pouch which held the pills as well as the necessary ingredients to make more protein shake in case he wanted to imbibe more of it.
The distance was quite long, being almost 15 kilometers, and Dalvin easily jogged the entire distance at a light and stable pace. There was some slight activation of his blood qi through exertion, but as it did not follow any proper technique, it did not refine his skin nor did it enhance him in any tangible way.
It was more of an all-round sort of thing.
When he got to the target area, the sky was already beginning to darken. This allowed him to easily jumped over the wall of the factory that was covered with some simple barbed wires. It would be tough for the previous Dalvin to scale this without lacerating himself, but it was a relatively easier task for the current him.
Once in the area, he tied the pouch to his waist and placed his phone in his back pocket before heading to the sturdiest wall he could find within the darkness of the factory and entering the horse stance.
Immediately, he began to punch with his full force, the dull thuds of his flesh striking the cement being thunderous in the silent environment but not able to go really far in the grand scheme of things.
With short bursts, his blood qi was immediately activated as he got into the rhythm of his practice and Dalvin almost welcomed the feeling of martial practice which was slowly becoming familiar to him.
He felt his body's reaction to the training and found that while there was some strong activation, it was nowhere near the level of the xueqi pill. This did not disappoint him as he was fully prepared for the basic protein shake to not have any effect at all.
The xueqi pill was a specially made creation using near supernatural processes and extraordinary reagents, how could it be equal to the mass-produced protein shake from a random brand?
The fact that the protein shake could even achieve some effect was purely the credit of science and its advancement to allow us to understand how the body works. If the protein shake along was so good, imagine if Dalvin could get his hands of steroids?
If… if his plans worked out and he acquired a substantial sum of money and influence, he could even establish his own RD department of a company to research the xueqi pill and replicate it using cheaper materials as well as the scientific process.
However, Dalvin calmed the rising excitement and fanciful thoughts right away. He had neither the strength, the status nor the money to even begin laying groundwork for such a future, but the early plan was set.
The best thing he could do now was to stay alive while in the Immortal Locking Prison while steadily increasing his strength and accumulating the various things needed to kickstart his plan.
However, in the dead silence of the night, many things that Dalvin could not have predicted were beginning to move. After all, he was in his current situation not just because of the awakening of his bloodline, but because a powerful being had placed a curse on him.
Being home on earth was no reason to be complacent, for it could strike at any time, like right now.
Deployment
Outside the cement factory, a group of men wearing elite armor and wielding guns gathered. Many vans rushed over as silently as possible, having switched off their sirens and adopted slow but sturdy tactics for driving.
Even the streetlights within the last few blocks had been switched off. It was as if darkness had descended on this industrial area, giving one the eerie feeling of being spied on.
Among the dangerously equipped men, one of them stood out with a slightly taller frame and a special outfit since his helmet was not the traditional tactical helmet, but rather a high-tech one that completely covered his face and only displayed some pixelized images on the front.
This man's armor was also superior to that of the others, seeming almost experimental in nature. The other men who stood behind him respectfully but at a ready pose to engage any threat couldn't help but sneak glances over with envy.
The leader pressed a hand to his ear and spoke freely, knowing that his voice would not escape the confines of his helmet without him willing it.
"Alright, everyone is here. As your squad leaders might have already told you, we've received numerous reports and tips from citizens that the underground trafficking ring belonging to the Halikore Syndicate might be located beneath the cement factory."
His voice was electronically enhanced, making it sound deep and menacing, not at all what a human could possess. However, given his equipment, his stature - and especially - his identity, none of the men found it strange and rather felt more impressed by it.
"Squad 1 to Squad 5, you will surround the facility at all angles, making sure that not a soul can leave this area without our permission. Squad 6, you are on standby within the vehicle to perform a chase should there be one. Squad 7, you are the rescue team, focus on gathering the victims and bringing them to safety when the firefight begins."
He began to bark orders rapidly and everyone moved into position according to his wishes without a single complaint despite it being slightly outside of protocol.
The man then turned around and pointed to the last three squads. "Squads 8, 9, and 10, you are with me. I'd like to say that I can handle this base on my own, but lives are at stake here, and mistakes cannot be afforded."
"However, men, I want you to remember this. I will take the brunt of the fire and be able to survive, but you won't. Treasure your lives; each of you is a precious soul that can make a difference in this evil world, so do not try anything heroic."
"Stick to your duty and your orders, fulfill them as best as you can and keep yourself alive. You have parents, children, and siblings to return to, and the last thing they want to hear is their beloved family member dying, no matter the reason."
There was a thick spell of silence as the throats of each man became heavy. They couldn't help but think of the people they had waiting at home and realized just how important their leader's words were.
Yet despite this, it also activated an instinct within them, a burning fire to succeed and still retain all their living functions afterward. After all, the place they were attacking now was not just any den of evil, but a place where one of the most horrible crimes of the modern day was committed frequently.
"Alright, move out!" The leader shouted, causing the men to respond with 'oorah' under their breaths.
He dashed into the factory with light steps, easily jumping over the wall like an athlete with a pole despite having none while the squads filed in behind him, using anti-defense ladders. These new ladders allowed one to climb over barbed wires or electric fences used commercially and domestically with ease.
Once within, the leader waited for half of the men to climb over as well before sneaking into the factory slowly. He pressed a button on his helmet that extended his senses outward and enhanced his hearing capabilities.
He then shared his hearing with the team channel so that everyone could be aware of the various dangers within and react accordingly. As such, halfway through their crawl through the factory, they began to hear a weird sound that one could not fully make out.
This immediately caused the team to become even more cautious as the leaders squatted down and assessed what that sound could be by uploading the sound to the database of the force behind his equipment.
When the assessment came back, the highest likelihood was stated to be the sound of flesh striking hard cement. Seeing this, the faces of everyone hardened with anger and shock.
It was a fact that those freshly kidnapped were unruly and very hard to control, so human traffickers often had special people who would torture them and tame them into obedient slaves broken of their free will.
One would expect whips, canes, or even knives at worst, but using goddamn cement to hit a person? Just how malicious were these Halikore Syndicate members?
Even the leader was deeply appalled by this and realized that this group might be far more dangerous than he thought. He curbed his idea to rely heavily on his equipment to dominate and planned to be more cautious about the whole affair.
After listening and making sure there were no other sounds, the group began to move once again, this time far slower and more carefully. In as much as they would love to charge over and save the person being beaten, they could only hope the person could endure for a bit more as it would be foolish to do so.
Eventually, they got closer, and the leader motioned for them to stop once more as he activated his motion-detecting equipment as well as the infrared. He wanted to know how many men were guarding the entrance of the underground area as well as how many were torturing the victim.
This part of his feed could not be shared with the others since they would need to have equipment of the same level, but there was no need for that anyway. The members of the three squads who were spread about the area stealthily were alert, looking for any interferences when they heard their leader mutter with disbelief through the team comms.
"It…can't be…"
Even with the augmentation of his voice using filters and distortions, anyone could sense the sheer emotion in his voice. Whatever their leader had just seen was enough to leave him well and truly baffled enough to force him out of character.
"Is there a change in the plan, sir?" The Squad Captain of Squad 8 asked tentatively through the communication channel, asking the question that burned in the minds of the 3 squads in a tactful manner.
"I don't know… there's just one man there on the other side." The leader responded slowly.
The armed men were surprised by this response and even felt a hint of confusion as to why such a thing would be a big deal.
"Should we take him down?" another squad captain asked with noticeable relief in his voice.
However, the leader responded with even more seriousness, as if having confirmed something. "No. None of you here can handle someone who can do that. Wait for me to lure him away and then do your duty."
Defeat
Dalvin was focused.
Ever since he threw the first punch, he had entered his martial practice mode, and it was as if the outside world's influence faded in his mind. This became prevalent when he felt his blood qi begin to heat up due to his concentrated practice.
The rushing of boiling blood throughout his veins caused him to radiate great heat and even caused his clothes to smoke slightly, something that did not happen yesterday within the prison because of its environment being damper as well as his clothes at the time being soaked.
He struck the concrete with such force that his fist was slightly bruised despite his increased prowess, and small chips were dug out in the concrete as it was pushed in slightly. Dalvin did not know how much time had passed, but unlike using the xueqi pill, he felt like he could last an entire night like this.
However, the flow of blood qi slowed down to a stable rate that was about 1/10th that of the xueqi pill after 5 minutes. Dalvin also felt slightly hungry but was not famished, and there was still energy being produced to sustain his blood qi generation.
Dalvin could not yet introspect his body, but he could tell that his satiety from eating in the dining area had been consumed just now and he was using the energy from the protein shake.
Unlike the energy from the xueqi pill which was strong and the energy from eaten food while was moderate, the energy gained from the protein shake was low and slow to transform, but was extremely sustainable.
How Dalvin knew was that his phone buzzed strongly in his pocket, snapping him out of his trance. He had set a timer for 1 hour and that period of time had elapsed while he was in the zone.
Dalvin was quite surprised that he went the entire hour nonstop and didn't yet feel tired from it. It was not about muscular endurance nor cardiovascular endurance, as those were enhanced, rather than weakened from the exertion.
The only thing limiting a martial artist is their energy levels or nourishment. Assuming there was a pill with enough energy, a martial artist could practice for days, not including the time needed for sleep and eating of course.
Immediately, he checked the amount of blood qi he had gained from this spell of practice.
[Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 107/200 (Unable to Breakthrough).]
Hmm, more than 40 points in increase from the previous value. Still, how much of it was from the food he ate in the Cooking and Dining Area of the prison and how much was from the practice using protein shake?
Well, there was only one way to tell. Now that he had exhausted the energy from the meal, he would try to do another hour of work, and then the maths would be clearer for him to calculate.
However, before Dalvin could begin, his ears twitched as he heard something. It was like the soft touch of movement that was barely audible to the ear, but his senses were able to capture it.
Dalvin immediately leapt to the side, just in time to avoid a strike to his lower back that caused the concrete slab he had been punching to shatter into pieces. His eyes bulged slightly as he noted the outcome of the slab he had been hitting at full force but hadn't been able to even dent seriously.
What kind of monster could even wield such power in the modern world?
The answer became clear when he glimpsed at his assailant and saw that it was some kind of… super soldier? Like, the guy was wearing what was clearly a high-tech suit or armor from some comic book series right?
Only that it was pretty bulky, menacing, and minimalistic. It did not have the heart or colorfulness of typical superhero suits, looking like something that was made to be functional first and aesthetic never.
"Huh… I didn't expect to succeed anyway but you're a lot duller than I thought."
A distorted and electronically synthesized voice sounded out from the man before him as he tilted his head in surprise.
Dalvin was about to open his mouth to respond when his brain suddenly twitched with realization. Immediately, he leapt back and turned his face away. He took off his top and tied it up around his face in order to make a makeshift 'mask'.
"Hiding your face huh? It doesn't mean anything at this point, I will take you and your shitty syndicate down and bring you to justice!" the armored man said heroically as he charged towards Dalvin with full force.
Huh? Syndicate? What the hell?
This was all Dalvin had time to ask himself as he was forced to jump to avoid a low kick that was meant to sweep him off his feet. He then brought his two arms together in front of his torso in order to block a follow-up uppercut from the fellow.
A loud thud occurred as Dalvin was sent back a few meters with his arms still in front of him. He almost screamed out due to the pain of his bones creaking from the force of that blow. He was certain that if his stats hadn't increased from his breakthrough, that would have shattered every bone in his arm or even punched through them.
What was going through Dalvin's mind was nothing to do with his enemy's strength or their skill, but the simple realization that fighting actually hurt. Watching fights in fictional media, both parties could take blows until they spat blood and even announce their ideals towards each other.
Some could even be beaten black and blue and refuse to go down, getting up and defying the odds to clinch victory using sheer willpower.
However, after taking one hit, Dalvin wanted to lie down and let the fellow take him away. He did not understand how anyone could take something like this and still go back for more.
Still, he only thought this. In fact, while he was having these banal thoughts, his foe had not relented and charged over again, aiming a flying drop kick at Dalvin with one leg.
Dalvin did not dare take it and dodged right away, stepping to the right. With a hint of fury in his mind, he punched out to try and hit his foe in the back since they had arguably overextended.
However, in a fit of shocking agility, the fellow stomped his free foot down and pivoted in a way that would definitely snap the waist and hips of a normal person. He did not just avoid Dalvin's blow, but he redirected its force and then struck Dalvin in the chest, sending him flying with a red mark on his torso.
Dalvin was too winded to even shout out, grunting under his breath in pain as he struck the ground and could barely get to his feet. He felt like the entire world was spinning as his chest felt empty, like all the air had escaped his body and refused to come back in.
"You're a disappointment. I thought you were one of them, but you're like a clumsy buffoon in comparison." The altered voice said with audible disappointment as the person who attacked Dalvin walked over to finish the job.
Dalvin panicked and did not care anymore about hiding this, opting to use his bloodline to blink away in order to avoid this clearly unwinnable battle.
Dalvin's opponent just froze on the spot with shock, having seen a human being just disappear into thin air before his eyes.
In the end, he could only breathe out in grim acceptance.
"…huh."
Rage
Dalvin appeared a hundred meters away in a small guard post for a nearby company that deals with shipping and logistics. His entire torso still ached, and he felt like screaming due to the waves of pain piercing him that he never felt before, but he managed to blink his bloodshot eyes and take stock of his surroundings.
In the end, he was left speechless to see that he had appeared in the middle of a squad of well-equipped men who looked to be part of SWAT. They too were left speechless to find that someone had literally appeared in their midst from nowhere, panting in pain and barely able to move.
There was a split second where Dalvin actually saw the authorities and thought he was safe. However, that split second of delusional thought immediately disappeared when they all turned their guns to him and seemed ready to fire first and ask questions later.
Having a gun pointed at him like this was a first for the reclusive Dalvin who had not caused any trouble in his life nor really gotten into any of that sort. However, his instincts to flee still kicked in, and he blinked away once more, leaving the members of this squad baffled and fearful.
"Witchcraft? Or some sort of military technology?" One squad member asked below his breath.
Another squad member grabbed his helmet and turned it to face him, revealing his bloodshot eyes underneath.
"Neither. We saw nothing, you understand? Whatever fucking force that guy is from or whatever he is part of, we do not want to be remotely involved in it!"
Seeing his team member's red eyes, the fellow trembled as he could almost see a vision of his entire family waylaid and slaughtered because he knew too much. As such, he hurriedly nodded and agreed that he had not seen a thing, the other members of the squad also agreeing with shaky voices.
They returned to their vigil, shaken but resolute.
As for Dalvin, he appeared even farther away, this time incidentally outside of the encirclement and on the pavement of an empty street. He forcibly pushed himself up off the ground and made sure the part of his jumpsuit he used to tie around his head was still secure, covering everything but his eyes.
He then frisked his body down for any sort of tracking bugs or tools. He even felt ridiculous doing this, but seeing that guy's high-tech equipment, he couldn't help but think of those fancy spy and action movies.
'And first of all, who the heck was that guy? Second of all, what the hell did he mean by "others like me"?' Dalvin asked himself internally as he winced.
He was not entirely sure he was not being tracked somehow, so he could only skip the idea of going to his apartment and decided to recuperate within one of the nearby offices. He found one nearby and jumped over its wall and entered the building with ease, not triggering any alarms since it was only a travel and tours agency.
Dalvin snuck in and first poured himself a few cups of water from the dispenser and then sighed as he lay on the sofa of the reception area where customers would wait for their turn. As he lay down, he was still somewhat alert but he did feel a bit tired.
However, Dalvin refused to sleep, not out of wariness, but due to a burning feeling of humiliation and anger in him. It was that feeling of being disgraced in public but being unable to find a suitable counter to attack your foe, but when you came home and entered the shower, a thousand and one ideas would pop up in your mind spontaneously.
The current Dalvin replayed the events of the fight and felt like he shouldn't have lost so badly. It wasn't like his foe was so much faster than him, in fact, his moves were a bit slow in Dalvin's perception.
The reason he failed to react and could only defend lay in his mindset. He was a normal bloke who mostly spent his time on the internet pursuing his interests and consuming products. As an artist, he hated fighting the most, because if something happened to his arms, there went his ability to draw.
He was a complete noob when it came to fighting, even in terms of the typical clumsy street fights normal people had. All his knowledge of fighting came from fictional material he had read, watched, or listened to.
Against a clearly trained elite like that guy, he was fish on the chopping block. Dalvin's logical ability easily deduced this and told him of this fact, but his emotional center was not having it.
He clenched his fists in anger and unwillingness, then winced because of the pain in his forearms, then felt even angrier because of that pain. It was a vicious cycle that left him feeling impotent and helpless, the two things that could cause any male species extreme distress.
Dalvin tossed and turned on the couch but could not find sleep amidst pain and turbulent thoughts. In the end, he got up and opened his storage pouch, glancing at the last pill in the xueqi bottle grimly.
'Last one… let's make it count.' He thought to himself as he popped it and walked towards what looked to be the sturdiest wall in the entire office and entered the horse stance.
After taking a deep breath, Dalvin felt the energy of the pill rush through his body and alleviate all the pains and aches he had. All that was left was a sea of energy and excitement that needed to be let free, so he began punching with his full force once more.
Dalvin immediately felt the difference from previous times. Because of his current emotional turmoil, he could not focus like before, but this only prompted him into further anger as he increased the force of his punches as if he was truly trying to break the wall before him.
Even when he thought he had been striking the wall in the prison and in the cement factory with his full force, a part of his consciousness always pulled back a bit of strength. It was simply from the instinct to prevent self-harm and it was difficult to consciously resist such a thing.
However, the current Dalvin was truly going all out, not due to fear of demise or desperation, but simply due to hatred. In his eyes, the wall had become the outlet of his anger towards the one who defeated him and because of that, all conscious limiters were taken back.
He felt his blood qi roar in his body much faster than it ever had before, and this caused a deep-seated feeling of satisfaction and confidence to surge through his entire body. He no longer felt weak and foolish, but rather strong and filled with endless potential!
This kind of feeling carried throughout his near 30 minutes of practice, causing him to finally shatter a hole through the wall he had been punching all this while when he made the final hit.
Looking at the result of his practice, Dalvin felt like his entire body was surging with potency. He cricked his neck and glanced at the hole but did not know anything about masonry to repair or cover it up.
He simply walked over to the dispenser and poured himself a few more cups of cold water before opening the system interface.
Breakthrough
[Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 200/200 (Breakthrough Available!)]
Dalvin almost spat out the mouthful of cold water he was about to swallow and also almost choked on it from surprise. When he opened this screen, he expected to see it reach 80% of the total amount needed as he knew the calculations already, but this was just shocking.
He thought of the reason for the change and could only come up with two reasons. One should be due to the state he had just been in, which might have enhanced the practice of his martial technique.
The other should be the fact that he still had the effects of the protein shake within him and it might have merged with the xueqi pill to form a stronger torrent than usual. Whichever one it was, Dalvin was grateful for its existence and influence on him.
Because now, he could breakthrough and attain a new level of power.
Immediately, Dalvin accepted the prompt to breakthrough and watched as his blood qi value on the screen plummeted. Instead, his entire body surged with heat as visible lines of blood gushed through his veins as he began to change.
Right away, his body shrunk slightly then expanded afterward, more of his remaining chubbiness being blasted away in favor of hard muscles that could better achieve the task that the body was set out to do.
The transformation only lasted a short while but for Dalvin, the influence of these changes that had been made to his body and mind would persist for a long time.
Speaking of his body, since he was currently topless, he could now admire his changed form. After his first breakthrough, he had gone from chubby to relatively slim, but with only very loose and general muscle lines.
Now after this one, those muscle lines had deepened and he looked like a male model that was usually posted on magazines or the type of dudes who advertised weight loss apps.
From his arms right down to his calves, there was not a trace of loose skin nor a bit of fat. He had done it, he had finally achieved the peak male form that many men dreamed of getting but were deterred by the amount of work it took to get there.
Curious, he checked his stats to see how much they had increased.
[Name: Dalvin
Race: Human
Physique: Spacetime Immortal Body (10% Awakened)
Age: 21
—————————————
Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Middle)
Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)
Blood Qi: 0/300 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Cultivation Realm: Mortal (None)
Cultivation Mantra: None
Cultivation Base: 0/100 (Unable to Breakthrough)
—————————————
Power: 15.9
Qi: 15.7
Fortitude: 15.8
—————————————
Bloodline energy: 100%. (Next 1% in 00:00:00)
…]
Middle stage of Skin Tempering and his stats had all increased by 50%. While it was not an increase of 2 times that he felt, it was still enough to make him feel the difference at this early stage since every numeral counted in his assessment.
A wicked little voice whispered in Dalvin's ear for him to return to that cement factory and take revenge on the one who humiliated him with his newfound strength. Unfortunately for it though, that thought was quashed like a bug and discarded.
Dalvin was already mostly over it. He had vented out his anger through that training session and had even broken through his limit, so he was in a good state of mind. He wasn't one to hold unnecessary grudges forever.
Even if he had a grudge, the one he would have to take it on would be the caster of his Dao Curse, not that guy who was at the right place at the wrong time.
Still, his defeat had taught Dalvin a lesson that even if he grew his body's stats, without the skills and techniques to control it, he would be wasting a lot of his power. He would immediately search for competent online training courses and sign up for one.
While thinking this, he decided that it was about time to head home. He was sure enough that the fellow he fought did not see his face, only his previous build. As long as he made sure he wasn't tracked somehow, he should be fine.
Dalvin looked at his clothes and hesitated. Frankly speaking, the only way a tracker could be placed on him would be to stick to his clothes or his skin. While he didn't fancy the idea he had in mind, he couldn't afford to risk it.
As such, he took off his tracksuit pants then found a nearby lighter and set them on fire in front of the office, right in the fake garden. This included his shoes too, leaving him only with a pair of boxers.
After that, he took the dispenser bottle and poured the water over his head, washing his body down in case the tracker was applied on the external area of his skin. After dousing himself in this cold water, Dalvin used some tissues from a tissue box to wipe his face and felt amused by the entire thing.
He sucked in a deep breath and then jumped over the wall lightly, glancing up and down the quiet street to make sure no one was around. Gassing himself up, he took a step forward and burst into a sprint.
Immediately, Dalvin was overwhelmed not by anything, but by his own speed. The world quickly became a blur around him as he tore through the streets of the quiet industrial area and quickly made his way toward the residential area.
There was intense motion blur in his vision, only allowing him to see what was directly in front of him while everything on the side was a garbled mess. He crossed road and passed entire blocks in mere seconds, no one able to even get a full glimpse of him as he tore along for the few who were around.
Dalvin had never felt like this in his life. He could run a bit when he was younger, but the years of sitting in a chair while working through his PC had killed his fitness and cardiovascular ability, so even jogging was a herculean task before he started going to the gym.
But now, not only was he locomoting faster than he ever had before. He did not feel the slightest bit of fatigue or muscle burn.
Still, even in his ecstatic state, he was aware that he couldn't afford to let too many people see him like this, especially since he was now so close to the residential area. There was the occasional car or truck on the street as well as the occasional passerby having come from somewhere else.
As such, Dalvin stopped somewhere quiet to gather his bearings before beginning to use his Blink skill to advance home. He would teleport into unoccupied buildings or even the gardens of people's houses and lay low for his bloodline energy to recharge before moving forward.
Like this, about half an hour later, Dalvin finally entered the room of his apartment right away and fell onto his bed, tired and sleepy. Without any hesitation, he let his eyes close as he entered the land of dreams right away.
Aftermath
When Dalvin woke up, it was early morning already. He scratched his head and yawned tiredly before pushing himself up and habitually checking for his phone. He remembered that he put it in his storage pouch and took it out straight away.
Checking the screen - which was too bright for his eyes - he found that he had a slew of notifications from different apps and people. His family, friends, and a few missed calls from… Selinam?
Hmm, right, the gym.
Dalvin rubbed his head and put his phone away without responding to anyone and moved to go and take a shower. As for the gym issue and his social life, it would have to die for a while, probably a month or two.
From the moment he made his first breakthrough and slimmed down considerably, he knew he could not appear before people who knew him personally because how would he explain his sudden physiological change?
For his parents and siblings, it had been a few weeks since they met up so it might be fine, but Selinam and the people at his gym literally saw him just two days before, pudgy and round in places.
This was why he went to that damned cement factory instead of his own gym to practice his martial arts.
Dalvin went to clean himself up and returned to his bedroom, but not before his stomach began to rumble crazily. He rubbed his flat stomach that was now streamlined into tight abs and wondered how he had gone on for so long without food.
He decided not to leave the house just yet after yesternight's debacle and would cook what he had left. It was only when he started up a pan of scrambled eggs that he realized that he poured about 15 eggs in…
Speechless, he also found himself frying all the sticks of bacon he had left. He didn't have the patience to make any fluffy pancakes, so he just sat down and wolfed everything down in seconds.
Obviously, he was not satisfied. Dalvin slapped his forehead with worry, having just consumed over $200 worth of groceries in one sitting without feeling full. He knew that he would now have to rely on the old trick of eating at buffets to maximize his savings.
In the end, he could only reluctantly wear some casual clothing and check the map for a nearby diner. After getting there, he ordered two sets of fully loaded breakfast and devoured it all, slowly and carefully, not rushing so that people would stare.
Many still did, but it was more of pleasant amazement than shock because it looked like Dalvin was managing his food rather than just devouring like a hungry ghost. After eating, he paid the bill and left, feeling much better now.
He went home and turned on his computer to find that many of his commissions had been accepted by the buyers, most of them giving him a five-star rating as well as heaping hefty praise on him for his meticulous work.
The cash flow also entered his account, filling up his balance to almost double what it had been before. He felt slightly more financially secure, but he also knew that now that he verified the effectiveness of protein shake, he would have to try other medications to ascertain what else could assist him in his practice.
Not to mention with the increase in his appetite, it would only get worse the stronger he got as a martial artist, so he would need funds to secure his food.
Dalvin leaned into his gaming chair and smiled slightly.
This all led back to the thoughts he was having earlier on how to raise money quickly in order to make his goals easier to achieve. The methods he had in mind were both legal and illegal, but he was still contemplating which one would be the best overall option for him to undertake.
But first things first, he would have to return to Tianzi in order to carry out his other plans. Dalvin almost felt amused at the thought of looking forward to return to that hellhole, but given the promise of power and the undeniable excitement from taking martial risks, it was understandable that the usually dull him would feel invigorated.
Dalvin checked the time and saw that it was 9 am in the morning. He left his apartment and went to the mall once more, this time purchasing many things.
He bought more protein shake, some cheap steroids, a broom, a mop, and a scrubbing brush. He then bought detergent, bleach, and even diluted acid. Along with that were purchases of camping gear without the tent, especially the sleeping bag and a portable toilet.
After doing all this, Dalvin lost half of his recently gained funds. He scratched his head and could only roll his eyes, intending to sort this issue out later.
For now, he returned home once more and browsed the internet for competent martial arts training programs, but he found many quacks with bad reviews who taught flashy moves without any substance.
Eventually, he found one that was headed by a member of the Special Forces, with over 300 confirmed kills using his hands and feet alone. His reviews were a mixed bag, with many saying he was great and others saying he was great, but too serious and brutal.
After all, not everyone learned to fight to kill. Many were just there for self-defense, but this particular trainer seemed to believe that if one wanted to learn how to battle, it must be to take the life of a foe.
Naturally, this was exactly what Dalvin wanted.
He checked the prices and almost fell out of his seat. Even the most basic package was $1200 per month! If he was to pay for that, he would have to either do something drastic to raise funds or really consider taking commissions up, but performing more risque ones in the NSFW section.
He hesitated greatly and decided to browse other options first. After all, no one was forcing him to use this particular guy and it wasn't like he was Dalvin's only option in the world, just one of many.
In the end though, Dalvin had to quietly and shamefully circle back because the others were even more outrageous. While promising arguably 'better' treatment, once again Dalvin was here to learn how to fight to inflict mortal wounds, not defend from street fights or the like.
As such, he signed up for the basic package for now. He had to fill in a short form and submit for verification that would take up to 24 hours, so he began to check and organize his inventory.
When it was around midday, he finally packed and unpacked everything he bought and arranged them carefully in his room. Naturally, the storage pouch could not hold anything but the most valuable, so he put his phone, the medications, and some smaller things within, like snacks and energy bars.
The rest of the things like the mini generator, the various camping equipment, toiletries, supplies, and tools were carefully arranged in a way that Dalvin could carry them along physically when he was sucked into the portal.
"Right, now that everything is set, let's game a bit before the moment of truth." He said as he sat behind his computer and booted up his favorite battle royale game.
Simulation Before Return
Dalvin spent the next few hours enjoying himself more than he ever did before. Normally playing online was a mixture of fun and stress, filling him with happiness when he won and fury when he lost.
However, the fact that he was in a situation where his life could be lost at any time made him cherish the game more, and he began to chuckle even when dealing with cheaters and the like.
One thing he did notice was that his skill had almost doubled. He went from above average to almost top of the world streamer level due to his increased body coordination, superhuman reaction speed compared to other players, and his advanced motor skills.
One example of this was the fact that, for the first time since Dalvin bought this 240hz display, he could actually, literally see the frames. Above 60 fps to 144 fps it was difficult to see any real changes, but Dalvin was seeing it all right now.
Before his opponent could even start moving their mouse or joystick to aim at him, Dalvin had already seen their past, future, and present, having enough time to make tea and check his emails.
Naturally, this was an exaggeration, but the point was clear.
He was forced to stop when his account could no longer matchmake as he got too many reports of cheating from users, making Dalvin feel amused. Yes, he technically was cheating, but not in the way anyone who reported him would think.
Anyway, he appealed the claim and checked his application to many video game studios to become a junior artist. He had sent these over the course of the last few months and many had fallen into the sea of nothingness, not even getting a response.
Dalvin looked at them and shook his head, deleting many of them. One of his many ideas was to become a game developer because he could probably handle the entire art department requirements of a top-tier game by himself, not to mention the market was extremely good and would only get better in the years to come.
Indie developers were on the rise now and tolerance was high for such studios. It was also very friendly towards him because he had knowledge of this field having worked on some 2D art for smaller games, not to mention it wouldn't interfere with his program of becoming stronger, nor conflict with his current situation with the world of Tianzi.
However, remembering that his entire situation right now was precisely caused by a game, Dalvin could not help but hesitate. As such, he did not put out any ads for other team members for a game yet, wanting to wait and see first.
He checked the time and saw that it was finally past 2 in the afternoon, so he began a simulation to see how things would go upon his return.
[2.04pm. You waited for the moment of truth by deciding to pick up on an episode from a series you were watching in the past.]
[2.21pm. The episode ends, and you are left speechless by the bullshit plot twist. However, you check the time and see that you still have half an hour to go, so you open up another episode.]
[2.52pm. You paused the episode near the end and felt drained. Either you had changed in mindset too much to enjoy it or you had previously been extremely ignorant of the problems with the plot, but you could barely stomach it.]
[2.53pm. You cross-checked everything and go into position. You held everything you wanted to take over in your hands and legs, gripping it tightly so that it would not be lost in the spatial turbulence.]
[3.00pm. The moment of truth arrived as the portal formed in mid-air right in front of you, pulling you in without further ado. You kept a tight grip on everything as you traveled through the void, but your mind could not comprehend this yet, so everything seemed to occur in an instant.]
[3.01pm. You were planted face first in the muck of your familiar prison cell, causing you to retch and vomit for a while.]
[3.02pm. You checked your belongings and found that everything was accounted for, which left you pleasantly surprised, but also a little baffled. In the end, you began to set up the things you brought over while cleaning up your cell, which was your intention.]
[3.03pm. Unbeknownst to you, the jailer was standing at the end of your corridor, going through an intense mental battle. A part of him wanted to scan you and find out who you are as well as why you were able to come and go from the prison, but the anomaly part of him was strictly in adherence to the rules and would not do anything out of place.]
[3.04pm. You continued your work and even began to play music to lighten up the atmosphere, only that in the dead silent first floor, it was like a trumpet from the heavens. Whether it was the jailer or the being locked in solitary confinement at the end of the corridor, they were both left speechless by this, but could not do anything about it.]
[An hour has passed, the simulation comes to an end.]
Return
Uhhh… well, things seemed fine?
Dalvin was also slightly shocked by his audacious nature to not only make so much noise but also to casually play music as if he was in his bedroom. This was not the first time his simulated self performed actions that were very… unhinged.
Could it be because the simulated self knew he had only one hour to live and so did what he wanted, while the current him was more cautious due to the fact that he had only one life? But still, his simulation ability was to see into the direct future, not create an alternate self.
As far as the him within his simulations knew, he was also the real deal. As such, his actions should at least match that, right?
Suddenly, Dalvin's face changed as he realized something he had overlooked. His simulated self could not use the system nor could it use simulation, so he would definitely be able to know if he was in a simulated future timeline or not!
This gave him a new understanding of how this thought process might change to become more reckless upon realizing that, whether subconsciously or consciously. He could only sigh and hope that his simulated self would be more uh... considerate?
Seeing that he still had 55 minutes left till 3 pm, Dalvin hesitated and then finally to order a lot of fast food in the form of burgers and buckets of chicken for around $100 total. He then stuffed them into his storage pouch for preservation and removed the snacks that were sealed in airtight packaging.
After doing this, he decided to get himself hungry by doing some calisthenics exercises in his bedroom. However, more than 20 minutes passed and no matter how rigorous the training, he did not feel the deeper burn.
He had to stop at this point with furrowed brows as he knew what he was doing basically amounted to a long warm-up and did not push him to his limits. In the end, he could only play with his phone in the remaining few minutes until it was 2:55 pm.
Then he began preparing much like he did in the simulation and held everything together closely. By the time he got everything bound and 'packed', it was 3 pm and the familiar tear in space opened before him, unrelentingly sucking him through its dark maw.
If he was supposed to feel something during the process of travel, it did not register. Like previous times, all he knew was that he was on earth one moment and was now within a cell in the immortal locking prison of Tianzi.
This time though, Dalvin did not fall face first on the ground as he was prepared. He landed heavily on his feet and was forced to drop some items to steady himself, but their packing was solid enough that they wouldn't be damaged right away from just this.
He glanced around his cell to see that nothing at all had changed, then he looked towards the bars to check if the jailer came over, but he did not see him. Sighing with relief, Dalvin relaxed slightly and began sorting out the items he brought along.
He hesitated for a bit afterward but decided to initiate another simulation to test one of his ideas.
[3.05 pm. You were not really hungry, but knowing that food from the Cooking and Dining Area could offset your spiritual energy debt, you decided to scarf down as much as your body could handle since the system would absorb it all anyway.]
[3.06 pm. You were hesitant about the jailer though. You really didn't want him to see your face or know your existence lest it change the terms of your stay in the prison, regardless of whether it was for the better or for the worse. He was currently outside in the corridor according to your previous simulation, hesitating whether he should risk it to sate his curiosity. So the question was, what would he do if he sensed the spatial movement of your bloodline and decided to investigate anyway?]
[3.07 pm. One idea was to wait until he decided to leave, but how would you even know? Even if you had the fabled spirit sense, you doubted that you could sense him since he was likely of a very high level. As such, you settled on simply exiting and passing that spot to see if he would be there.]
[3.15 pm. You played around with your phone for a bit, having downloaded some offline games since there was no internet here. Seeing that half of the dining time had gone, you decided to check things out now and blinked into the corridor where the jailer was stated to be.]
[3.16 pm. To your dismay but not surprise, he was standing there with a conflicted expression until you appeared before him. His expression changed from ponderance to incredulity, as if he had seen the most ridiculous thing in all of reality. You sighed internally, knowing what would come next so your body relaxed as you waved casually and said "hey there" to him.]
[3.16 pm. Your casual behavior stunned the jailer even more, and he couldn't help but ask you what was bothering him. "How could you possibly appear so close to me without me sensing anything?". You blinked with surprise at the fact that he hadn't yet scoured your memories and was actually conversing with you, so you decided to capitalize on this.]
[3.17 pm. "I teleported here using my spacetime immortal bloodline," You replied simply, as if it was common knowledge. Your reply made the jailer's face scrunch up with a mixture of contempt and disdain, like an ignorant person saying things they had no idea about.]
[3.17 pm. "That is simply impossible! The Immortal Locking Prison is carved with the strongest Rank 7 Space Locking Formation, otherwise our prisoners would have long torn through space to escape." The jailer stated coldly and with a hint of pride.]
[3.18 pm. You were surprised that he wasn't attacking, but then you reasoned that it was because you were too strange in his opinion. He probably guessed you were the one who had 'special privileges' in being able to come and go from the prison, and your current appearance and words confirmed that. In fact, it was likely he was only conversing with you to find out whether your movement was truly due to a fluke like a bloodline or some deeper reason.]
[3.18 pm. Your mind raced with thoughts and assumptions, but your mouth was still strong to prevent too long a pause and ruining the situation. "That is due to the limit of your knowledge. Look at me, I have not a speck of cultivation in my body yet I can do what immortals cannot do. Even a powerhouse like you could not detect my ability to travel through the prison, only my presence when I appeared."]
[3.19 pm. Your words deeply shook the jailer. The reason he was so hesitant was not only the previous reasons, but precisely because he could not detect your blinking, only detecting your life force when you appeared behind him. Didn't that mean that you could move through the prison as you wished, doing whatever you wanted?]