Chapter 4: Status window

Ding!

[Replacement of Host’s Spirit Veins has begun...]

The next second, Vey’s body suddenly began to heat up, and an instant later, unbearable agony surged through his entire body.

"Fuck! You told me it would only hurt a little!" Vey cursed as he felt the intense pain surging through his body.

His internal organs felt as if they were about to explode, and Vey struggled not to scream, knowing the sound could attract Spirit Beasts even from deep within the woods.

[Bear with it for a little longer. The pain will subside within seconds.]

The system’s voice remained calm.

And just as she said, within seconds, the unbearable pain suddenly subsided, replaced by a soothing, cool sensation that spread throughout his entire body.

It was truly a blissful feeling—something Vey had never experienced before in his entire life. He felt as though his entire body was overflowing with Spirit Energy, especially within his newly replaced Spirit Veins.

DING!

[CONGRATULATIONS!]

[Replacement of the Spirit Veins was successful!]

[You can now cultivate normally!]

Vey heard the system’s words, but his eyes remained closed. He was already sitting in a meditative position, and the moment he heard the notification, his mind instantly became calm.

For a cultivator, instantly calming the mind and entering a state of cultivation wasn’t easy. Yet Vey was pulled into that state almost immediately.

His body was overflowing with Spirit Energy as he began absorbing the energy from his surroundings.

BOOOM!

It didn’t take long for Vey to make a breakthrough.

DING!

[CONGRATULATIONS!]

[You have broken through to Spirit Initiate Rank 4!]

Vey felt his strength increasing at a rapid pace. His entire body felt different—stronger than before—and even the lingering pain he had been feeling from the fall had completely disappeared.

Though the scratches and wounds on his body were still there, Vey then slowly opened his eyes with a smile on his face.

"Finally... I’ve broken through to Rank Four!"

Because of his damaged Spirit Veins, Vey had been unable to progress despite working harder than anyone else. He had remained stuck at Spirit Initiate Rank 3, even though he cultivated every single day.

His damaged Spirit Veins constantly leaked Spirit Energy. To maintain his strength, he had to continuously replenish the energy he lost through cultivation.

Fortunately, Spirit Initiate Rank 3 didn’t require an enormous amount of Spirit Energy to maintain, and that was the only reason he had managed to reach that rank in the first place.

But now...Finally, he no longer felt any Spirit Energy leaking from his body. The realization made Vey so happy that he could barely put it into words.

[Congratulations, Vey. From now on, you’ll be able to grow stronger like everyone else. You won’t have to worry about your Spirit Veins anymore.]

Vey stood up and nodded.

"Hmm, you’re right... Now, now I’ll show those bastards who mocked me." With that, Vey began searching for his sword.

He soon found it nearby, close to the place where he had originally woken up. It must have fallen there when he fell from the cliff.

After finding his sword, which had been given to him by his aunt, Vey couldn’t possibly leave it behind. He secured it and made his way toward the exit of Whispering Cloud Forest.

Fortunately, he was still near the edge of the forest.

That Inner Sect disciple had only wanted to prank Vey. He hadn’t actually sent him deep into the forest. Even so, his stupid prank had resulted in Vey’s death.

For that alone, Vey would definitely take his revenge. Vey took a different route back to Skyreach City, the city where he lived with his aunt.

Skyreach City was enormous. Despite being called a city rather than a kingdom, it was said to have been built upon a massive elevated landmass. It wasn’t actually high enough to reach the sky, of course, but this was the world of Cultivation.

People here liked to exaggerate.

The city was also the capital of the Sunmoon Empire—the Imperial Capital. The main branches of all the major clans resided here, and it was home to the most powerful and famous sects in the entire Sunmoon Empire.

Among them, the Azure Sky Sect was said to be the most powerful.

Coming back, As Vey walked, he thought about what he should do next. There were far too many things he needed to deal with.

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, the system interrupted him.

[You should check your Status Window.]

"Hmm? I thought I didn’t have one?"

[Are you dumb? It’s the ma—]

"Then shouldn’t you have shown it to me earlier?" Vey interrupted in an annoyed tone. "Sigh... How useless are you?"

[You don’t have to say that. And it’s not like you would have died if I hadn’t told you about it... You can check it now.]

"Alright, alright."

Vey sighed as he continued walking.

"I’m already thinking about what I should do next. I’m in a really fucked-up situation. First, what am I going to tell Aunt?"

He frowned.

"Then I’ll probably get punished by the sect because I left without official permission. I didn’t even give them a reason for leaving. Even Aunt might not be able to save me from that."

[Well, it’s good that you did what you did. You got the chance to experience a cultivation world firsthand, didn’t you?]

"Fuck, you don’t have any real suggestions for me. You’re just pulling my leg now," Vey said with a sigh.

[What do you expect? I’m only a Bonding System. I don’t give advice. I simply operate according to my predefined rules and boundaries.]

Vey ignored the system. He didn’t want to argue with her anymore. He opened his Status Window, and a familiar blue panel appeared before him.

++++

[HOST PROFILE]

[Name: Veyron Ignis]

[Race: Human]

[Cultivation: Spirit Initiate Realm — Rank 4]

[Physique: None]

[Bloodline: Human — Mortal Rank]

[Affinity: None]

[Cultivation Technique: Azure Sky Spirit Art — Mortal Rank]

[Battle Technique: Flowing Blade Art — Mortal Rank ]

[Spirit Core: Yellow]

[Spirit Veins: External Expanding Spirit Veins — Rank ???]

[Bonds: 0]

[Bond Points: 0]

++++

Vey was still at the borders of the forest, which was close to the Azure Sky Sect. He was slowly making his way toward the sect’s territory while focusing on his Status Window.

He understood everything on it. There wasn’t anything particularly different from before, except, of course, his Spirit Veins.

He had been using the Azure Sky Spirit Art, a cultivation technique given to every Outer Sect disciple. However, noble clan disciples were allowed to learn their own clan’s cultivation techniques instead.

Those techniques were usually of a much higher rank and allowed disciples to increase their cultivation much faster.

But despite being a member of two great clans through his father and mother, Vey had never received either clan’s cultivation technique.

Both clans had been enemies for years, and his father and mother had been exiled from their respective clans. Neither clan had any intention of acknowledging Vey.

As for his aunt, the cultivation technique she practiced wasn’t compatible with Vey’s body. Even if she wanted to share it with him, he wouldn’t be able to cultivate it.

Therefore, Vey had no choice but to stick with the ordinary Mortal-Rank cultivation technique provided by the sect.

Of course, the sect provided better cultivation techniques once a disciple became an Inner Sect disciple.

Next was his Battle Technique, the simple Mortal-Rank Flowing Blade Art. Vey had already mastered all three forms of the technique, but he hadn’t possessed enough Spirit Energy to execute them properly.

Then there was his Spirit Core.

It had always been a Yellow-Rank Spirit Core, which was decent enough since it wasn’t the lowest, White Rank. Still, with the Bonding System now by his side, Vey knew he would soon have the chance to obtain a much better Spirit Core.

And he already had a few targets in mind.

With that, Vey’s attention shifted to the last two things on his Status Window: Bonds and Bond Points.

Both were currently at zero, and he still had no idea how Bond Points worked.

He pushed the thought aside for now as he entered the territory of the Azure Sky Sect. The familiar sight of the sect appeared ahead as he continued walking toward its entrance.

**

Thanks for reading...