2: Chapter 2: The System Appears for the First Time, with Amazing Rewards

Chen Xuan leaned against the tree trunk, his ears ringing.

It wasn't because of the wind, nor was it birds chirping, but the mechanical voice in his brain that kept ringing.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

One sound after another, endless like a wooden fish being struck.

"Stop! Quit chanting!" He suddenly raised his hand to slap his forehead, as if trying to shake the sound out of his skull.

But the voice didn't obey, continuing to report:

"Ding! Bloodline connection confirmed, rewards being issued!"

"Cultivation increased to Ninth-grade Peak, Meridians widening complete."

"Obtained 'Innate Qi Cultivation Technique' (Basic Chapter)."

"Physique fine-tuned, potential increased by 15%."

A series of information bombarded him, and Chen Xuan only felt his head swelling, as if someone were stirring soy milk in his brain with an iron spoon.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, doing this three times in a row.

This trick was something he practiced when working overtime late at night, specifically to treat heart palpitations and dizziness.

Rubbing his chin twice, he finally steadied his mind.

"Fine... the System is real." He muttered, "Not a hallucination, nor some delusion from reading too many novels."

He looked down at his hands. The knuckles were distinct, the palms a bit rough, but they were much stronger than before. Moving his shoulders, a warm current in his body surged up along his spine, so comfortable he almost groaned.

"Ninth-grade Peak? Sounds like the lowest level Martial Artist, but at least it counts as entering the door." He grinned, "At least I don't have to fight wild boars with my bare hands."

As he thought this, his peripheral vision caught sight of Leng Shuang still sitting in place, back to him, arms wrapped around her knees, her long hair hanging down to cover her side profile. She was motionless, like a snow-carved Bodhisattva, though her breathing was much steadier than before.

Chen Xuan didn't dare move, afraid of making her fly into a rage.

After all, no one wanted what happened just now to occur.

But it had already happened; the dead cannot be resurrected, and a broken shoe cannot be mended.

He cleared his throat and tentatively opened his mouth: "Um... are you okay?"

Leng Shuang ignored him.

He rubbed his nose again, smiling sheepishly: "I know you must want to slash me three times right now. If you really want to do it, I won't stop you, I'll just shout 'go easy' at most."

Still silent.

Chen Xuan wasn't angry; on the contrary, he felt a bit more relaxed.

If she had jumped up immediately to draw her sword, he really wouldn't have been able to handle it.

As it was now, it at least meant she hadn't lost control, nor did she intend to settle scores on the spot.

He simply closed his eyes, trying to sense the changes in his body.

As soon as he calmed his mind, that 'Innate Qi Cultivation Technique' automatically appeared in his mind, the content simple and direct: how to inhale, how to guide, how to store in the Dantian, all in plain language, even a child in a rural school could understand it.

"Quite thoughtful," he thought, "Looks like this System doesn't want me to suffer Qi Deviation."

He tried it according to the method for a quarter of an hour, and sure enough, a warm current swirled in his chest, slowly sinking down, and his limbs and bones felt much more relaxed.

"At this rate, tomorrow I'll be able to run ten miles of mountain road without panting." He opened his eyes, in a good mood.

At this moment, Leng Shuang suddenly moved.

She slowly stood up, moving very slowly, as if afraid of startling something.

Then she turned and cast a cold glance at him.

That glance was truly cold.

Colder than a mountain spring, sharper than a blade.

Chen Xuan hurriedly raised his hands: "I didn't do anything, I was purely a passive participant!"

Leng Shuang pursed her lips, didn't speak, but didn't glare at him again either.

She raised her right hand, palm facing up, and a wisp of cold Qi condensed into a frost flower at her fingertips, vanishing in an instant.

She frowned slightly, seemingly sensing the changes in her body.

Chen Xuan saw it clearly and couldn't help asking: "Did you also... get stronger?"

Leng Shuang's eyes turned cold, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

"None of your business." Her voice was cold and clear, like ice beads hitting the ground.

"Hey, don't be so harsh." Chen Xuan rubbed his arms; although it wasn't cold, he still got goosebumps from her glance, "We just shared the same bed—cough, that's not right, we shared the same ground."

Leng Shuang's ear tips suddenly flushed red, and she whipped her head around: "Shut up! Mention this again, and I really will take action."

"Alright, alright, I won't say it." Chen Xuan waved his hands hurriedly, but felt happy inside.

Being able to get angry meant she was in a good state; being able to blush meant she still had humanity.

Better than being completely frozen into an ice block.

He paused and switched to a serious tone: "But having said that, what is our situation now? Since you're in this forest, you should know something about what's going on outside, right?"

Leng Shuang stood in place, not turning back, nor walking away.

After a moment, she said in a low voice: "This place belongs to the northern forest belt of the Great Zhou, a hundred miles from the nearest city."

"Great Zhou?" Chen Xuan was stunned, "Which Great Zhou? The one from the Tang Dynasty?"

"What Tang?" Leng Shuang frowned, "The Great Zhou has had its reign for three hundred and twenty-seven years, and the current Empress has ascended the throne for six years."

"Empress?" Chen Xuan's eyes lit up, "Is she young? Is she pretty?"

Leng Shuang shot him a cold glare: "You care about this?"

"Cough, professional habit." Chen Xuan scratched his head, "I used to read novels, when an Empress appears, she always has a role to play, either gifting treasures or gifting death, one has to ask clearly."

Leng Shuang couldn't be bothered with him and continued: "The Martial Dao is supreme, and the strong run rampant. Ninth-grade is the lowest, First-grade is the peak. Diamond, Profound Insight, Myriad Phenomena, Void... and that legendary Realm."

"So I'm Ninth-grade Peak, one step away from Eighth-grade?" Chen Xuan calculated, "Doesn't sound impressive, but at least it's a starting point."

"Ordinary people Cultivate bitterly for ten years and may not necessarily enter the Ninth-grade." Leng Shuang said indifferently, "You reached this Realm overnight; if this spreads, you will definitely be suspected."

"Then just consider me naturally gifted." Chen Xuan grinned, "Born with a Dragon bone, one in ten thousand."

Leng Shuang looked at him, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

She indeed noticed that the cold Qi in her body was much smoother than before, and the True Qi that had been stuck at the Bottleneck actually showed signs of a Breakthrough.

And this change started exactly from... after that.

She didn't want to think deeply, and even less wanted to admit it had anything to do with the lazy man in front of her.

"I am leaving."

"Leaving?" Chen Xuan was stunned, "Now? It's not even dawn yet."

"I have my own destination." She turned, preparing to step away.

"Wait!" Chen Xuan hurriedly stood up, "If you leave, I'll really become a lonely ghost in the forest. I'm unfamiliar with the place, can't even tell north from south, what if I run into beasts, bandits, or demons that eat human hearts?"

"You won't die." Leng Shuang didn't look back.

"But I want to live." Chen Xuan said seriously, "Also, what happened just now... was not my wish. If you need to kill me to vent your anger, I won't resist. But now, we both survived, so it's better to figure out where this is before we go our separate ways."

Leng Shuang's steps paused.

She slowly turned back, moonlight spilling through the branches onto her face, reflecting a bit of hesitation.

Finally, she said softly: "Follow me, don't fall behind. If you cause trouble, I won't save you a second time."

"Understood!" Chen Xuan nodded immediately, "I promise to behave, absolutely no looking, talking, or touching randomly."

"Shut up, let's go." She had already turned and moved forward.

Chen Xuan chuckled and followed quickly.

The two of them, one in front and one behind, walked silently along the small path in the forest.

The mist hadn't dissipated, their feet crunching on dead leaves with a rustling sound, and from time to time, the cries of night owls came from the distance.

They walked for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, when Leng Shuang suddenly stopped.

Chen Xuan almost bumped into her, hurriedly braking: "What's wrong? Snake? Wolf? Or... a beauty?"

Leng Shuang ignored him, instead raising her hand and circulating her True Qi again.

This time, the cold Qi rose from her Dantian, spreading along her arm to her fingertips, actually nearly half as fast as before.

A flash of surprise crossed her eyes.

Chen Xuan saw it and asked in a low voice: "Doesn't it feel different?"

Leng Shuang withdrew her hand and said coldly: "You had better watch your mouth."

"I'm not just guessing blindly." Chen Xuan lowered his voice, "I also got stronger, and it's impossible for you to have no feeling at all. Something must have happened between us, we just don't know what it is yet."

Leng Shuang was silent for a moment, then finally spoke: "I Cultivate the 'Profound Yin Cold Technique', which focuses on the power of extreme cold. This technique requires one's state of mind to be like ice, allowing no distractions. If not for Qi Deviation, I would not have been affected by the aphrodisiac."

"So you had a mishap while cultivating?" Chen Xuan realized, "No wonder you're so cold, turns out it's a problem with your Cultivation Technique."

"You shouldn't know these things." Her tone was slightly heavy.

"But I already know." Chen Xuan shrugged, "And I think, what happened between us just now might not just be a 'bad thing'. Look, I got benefits, and you also got stronger. Maybe... this is some kind of Opportunity?"

"Absurd." Leng Shuang flatly denied.

"Whether it's absurd or not is another matter." Chen Xuan rubbed his chin, "The key is, this world is one where the weak are prey to the strong; I have no background, no Master, no one covering me, the only thing I can rely on might be this System that popped out of nowhere."

"System?" Leng Shuang frowned.

"Oh, forgot to tell you." Chen Xuan pointed to his head, "There's a voice in my brain saying I performed some 'Bloodline connection behavior', and then it gave me a bunch of rewards. I'm still researching exactly what's going on."

Leng Shuang stared at him, her eyes complex.

After a while, she said in a low voice: "You are very strange."

"Many people say that." Chen Xuan grinned, "But I'm living quite well."

The wind rose in the forest, blowing the leaves to rustle.

The mist ahead thinned, and a small path could vaguely be seen leading into the depths of the dense forest.

Leng Shuang looked at the sky; the east was slightly white, dawn was approaching.

"It's about to be dawn."

"Mm." Chen Xuan looked up at the sky, "A new day, a new beginning."

The two stood side by side, though not explicitly stated, they had reached a kind of tacit understanding, temporarily traveling together, not harming each other.

Leng Shuang looked at him one last time and said softly: "Don't hold me back."

"Rest assured." Chen Xuan smiled and wiped his nose, "With me here, luck won't be bad."

Morning light pierced through the clouds, spilling onto the clearing in the forest.

Their shadows were stretched long, overlapping, and then slowly separating.