Chapter 28: Stage Three

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: Stage Three

Xi Yunxui stood beside the fallen tree, still staring at it in disbelief.

She had kicked it.

And the tree had actually fallen.

She slowly lifted her foot and looked at it.

"This is amazing."

She had spent most of her previous life wishing she could possess enough strength to protect herself and her younger siblings.

Now she had it.

Perhaps not enough to fight an entire army, but definitely enough to knock down a tree.

Xi Yunxui smiled.

"System, tell me about cultivation."

[Cultivation in this world is divided into eleven major levels.]

Xi Yunxui immediately became attentive.

"Eleven?"

[Yes.]

[Each major level is further divided into three stages: Stage One, Stage Two and Stage Three.]

Xi Yunxui’s eyes widened.

"So I’m already in Stage Three?"

[Correct.]

She froze.

"Wait."

She pointed at herself.

"Stage Three?"

[Yes, Host.]

Xi Yunxui’s expression became complicated.

"I just started!"

[Your body appears to have an unusually strong compatibility with cultivation.]

She looked down at herself.

"Is that good?"

[Very.]

Xi Yunxui nodded slowly.

That explained why she had progressed so quickly.

The system continued.

[The eleven major cultivation levels are:]

[Beginner Level.]

[Intermediate Level.]

[Middle Level.]

[Gradual Level.]

[Master Level.]

[Elder Level.]

[Lord Level.]

[King Level.]

[Emperor Level.]

[Ancient Level.]

[Overlord Level.]

Xi Yunxui’s mouth slowly fell open.

"Eleven levels..."

She counted them again in her head.

"And every one has three stages?"

[Correct.]

She stared at the mountains around her.

"That is a lot."

Very quickly, her mind began imagining all kinds of things.

If she was only at Beginner Level and there were ten more levels above her, then there had to be countless powerful cultivators in this world.

Perhaps there were people who could split mountains.

People who could fly.

People who could summon lightning.

People who could fight monsters.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes shone.

Then I’d better work harder.

She clenched her fist.

She didn’t have three younger siblings to protect anymore.

But she still needed strength.

And since she had decided to remain in the Huo household, she might as well become the strongest, most capable maid there was.

A perfect maid for the Huo family.

The system suddenly became silent.

Xi Yunxui tilted her head.

"What?"

[...]

She waited.

Nothing.

What she didn’t know was that the system had no intention of correcting her assumptions.

It knew something she didn’t.

In this country, the strongest known cultivators were only at the Elder Level.

An existence at the Lord Level was already extraordinarily rare.

As for King, Emperor, Ancient and Overlord Levels...

Those belonged more to ancient records and legends than to the lives of ordinary cultivators.

And Xi Yunxui had just begun cultivating and somehow reached Stage Three of Beginner Level almost immediately.

That alone was extraordinary.

But the system kept this information to itself.

There was no need to frighten her.

Not yet.

Xi Yunxui stretched.

"Well, I’ll cultivate slowly."

She looked toward the village below.

"My mother is probably wondering where I am."

She picked up her belongings and began making her way down the mountain.

---

The descent was much easier than the climb.

Xi Yunxui’s strengthened body made her steps lighter and more stable.

She jumped over rocks without difficulty and moved through the trees almost effortlessly.

At one point, she even jumped across a small gap in the ground.

She landed smoothly.

Her eyes brightened.

"Oh."

She tried another.

Then another.

By the third time, she was grinning.

"I really am stronger."

She was so pleased with herself that she almost missed the sound of running water.

Xi Yunxui stopped.

A river flowed through the lower part of the mountain.

It wasn’t particularly wide, but the water looked clear beneath the sunlight.

The sight immediately brought back memories.

She and her siblings had once spent countless hours near rivers.

Sometimes they caught fish.

Sometimes they gathered small crabs and crayfish.

Sometimes they simply looked for anything edible.

There had been many days when whatever they caught in the river became the protein in their meal.

Xi Yunxui smiled.

"I haven’t done this in years."

She looked around.

Then she spotted a few long, straight sticks lying beside the riverbank.

Her eyes lit up.

A fishing rod didn’t need to be complicated.

She collected a suitable branch, another thinner stick, some flexible plant fiber and a small piece of string she had brought along.

She tied them together carefully.

After several minutes, she held up a surprisingly neat little fishing rod.

The system suddenly spoke.

[Host.]

"Yes?"

[How did you construct a functional fishing tool with such precision using those materials?]

Xi Yunxui smiled.

"Necessity."

She tested the line.

"In my previous life, we didn’t always have what we needed."

She looked at the makeshift rod.

"So sometimes, you simply had to make do with what was available."

The system remained quiet.

Xi Yunxui removed her shoes.

She rolled up the bottom of her trousers and carefully stepped into the river.

The water was cool against her feet.

She shivered slightly.

"Cold."

Then she smiled.

"I remember this."

She crouched and lowered the line.

At first, nothing happened.

She waited.

Then—

The fishing rod moved.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes brightened.

She pulled.

A small fish came flying out of the water.

"Yes!"

She held it up happily.

The system watched in silence.

Xi Yunxui continued.

Soon she had caught another fish.

Then a crab.

Then several crayfish.

She became more ambitious.

By the time she finished, the basket she had brought from the village was partially filled.

She looked down at her catch.

"This should make a good dinner."

As she bent down to pick up one of the crayfish, she suddenly paused.

The river looked...

Different.

She frowned.

The water seemed clearer than before.

Not simply clean.

Pure.

Even the faint spiritual energy she had sensed on the mountain seemed to be present in the water.

Xi Yunxui dipped her fingers into the river.

"Was it always this clear?"

The system remained silent.

Xi Yunxui waited.

Nothing.

She shrugged.

"Perhaps I’m imagining things."

She didn’t dwell on it.

She gathered her things, put her shoes back on and continued down the mountain.

---

The sun had begun moving lower by the time Xi Yunxui reached the village.

Her basket was heavier now.

Fish.

Crabs.

Crayfish.

A few edible herbs she had collected along the way.

She was already imagining her mother’s reaction.

Then another thought occurred to her.

"System."

[Yes, Host?]

"Are there mythical beasts in this world?"

She remembered the cultivation stories from her previous life.

There were always strange creatures in those stories.

Dragons.

Phoenixes.

Spirit wolves.

Powerful beasts that could transform into human form.

Since cultivation was real, perhaps those were real too.

The system did not respond immediately.

Xi Yunxui waited.

One second.

Two.

Five.

She frowned.

"System?"

Still nothing.

She sighed.

"You don’t want to tell me, do you?"

No response.

Xi Yunxui shook her head.

"Forget it."

She reached her mother’s house.

She opened the gate and stepped into the small courtyard.

Only then did the system finally speak.

[Yes, Host.]

Xi Yunxui stopped.

She turned around.

"What?"

[Mythical beasts exist in this world.]

She stared.

"You waited until I got home to answer?"

[...]

Xi Yunxui narrowed her eyes.

"System."

[Yes, Host?]

"You’re becoming more suspicious every day."

The system chose not to answer.

Xi Yunxui shook her head and carried her basket into the house.

She had no idea that, in the distant mountains and forests of this world, there really were creatures she had only ever heard about in ancient legends.

And some of them were already beginning to stir.