Reaching Qi Condensation Level 2 was exhilarating, a concrete step forward that validated Kai's efforts and the system's potential. Cultivating with the Azure Cloud Qi Manual, even after the potent effects of the Attunement Pill wore off, was significantly more effective than the basic breathing exercises. He could feel his Qi reserves slowly but steadily increasing each day.
However, "slowly" was the operative word. While the Attunement Pill had provided a massive temporary boost, his underlying problem remained: poor innate talent. His meridians were naturally narrower, his body's affinity for spiritual energy inherently lower than those disciples born with better potential or from established cultivation families. Compared to genuinely talented peers who could advance a level in weeks or months with diligent practice, his progress still felt sluggish. He estimated reaching Level 3 might take him several more months at this rate.
Pills like the Qi Attunement Pill were temporary fixes, expensive boosts that didn't change the fundamental limitations of his body. He needed something more permanent, something that addressed the root cause. Did the system offer such a solution?
He delved deep into the System Store catalogue, browsing beyond the consumables and low-tier fictional items. He looked under categories like 'Bio-Enhancements', 'Genetic Modifications (Basic)', and 'Physique Refinement'. Most items listed were wildly expensive, requiring thousands of points or Vendor Levels far beyond his current reach. Items promising 'Divine Meridians' or 'Innate Sage Body' were greyed out with astronomical costs.
But then, buried under 'Physique Refinement (Low Grade)', he found something potentially within reach, though still staggeringly expensive by his current standards.
[Item: Body Tempering Liquid (Earth Grade - Minor Talent Boost)]
Description: A concoction derived from various worldly ingredients known for strengthening constitution and marginally improving meridian conductivity. Undergoes a painful refinement process upon consumption, purging impurities and slightly enhancing innate Qi affinity. Effect: Permanently increases cultivation talent aptitude by approximately 5-10%. One-time use per cultivation stage recommended. Warning: Process is intensely painful.
Cost: 150 System Points OR Equivalent Trade Value (Approx. 750 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragments).
150 points. He only had 23 points remaining. 750 fragments seemed like an impossible sum. But the description… "permanently increases cultivation talent aptitude." Even a 5-10% boost, compounded over time, could shave months or years off his cultivation journey. It could elevate him from 'abysmal' to merely 'poor', or perhaps even 'below average'. It was a chance to fundamentally change his prospects.
The warning about intense pain gave him pause, but compared to the slow despair of stagnation or the constant threat from stronger disciples, physical pain seemed a small price to pay. The real barrier was the cost.
He checked his resources. 23 System Points. His dimension storage held roughly 85 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragments, earned from recent sales of 'Rapid Recovery Salve' and other minor items. He was nowhere near the required amount.
Selling more low-tier items would take weeks, maybe months, to accumulate that many fragments or points. He needed a faster way. Could he sell something more valuable? He considered listing the 'Senzu Bean Fragment' or 'Mana Potion', but finding a buyer willing to pay the high point cost (which he'd need to translate into an exorbitant spirit stone price) seemed unlikely in the Outer Sect.
He looked again at the cost: "150 System Points OR Equivalent Trade Value". This implied the system could accept materials other than its own points or standard spirit stones. What did he possess that might have 'equivalent value'?
His mind went back to the first major sale – the 'Miracle Recovery Noodles' to Lin Fan. The system had accepted a spirit stone fragment then. What if he offered the system his current spirit stone fragments directly?
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
He accessed the 'Sell' tab, selecting 'Personal Inventory'. He focused on the 85 fragments in his dimension storage.
[Item Detected: Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragment x 85]
[Item Type: Ambient Energy Condensate (Low Purity)]
[System Purchase Offer: 1 System Point per 2 Fragments.]
[Sell 85 Fragments for 42 System Points?]
The exchange rate wasn't great (1:2 compared to the store's implied 1:5 rate when buying pills), but it was direct conversion. Selling all his fragments would give him 42 points, bringing his total to 23 + 42 = 65 points. Still far short of the 150 needed for the Body Tempering Liquid.
He needed more capital. He couldn't risk trying to sell high-value fictional items yet. He had to liquidate something else. But what? He owned nothing of value besides the system itself and his meager earnings.
Then he remembered the Azure Cloud Qi Manual scroll resting beside him. He had the knowledge ingrained now, and the system had analyzed it. Did the physical scroll itself hold value to the system?
He focused on the scroll.
[Item Detected: Azure Cloud Qi Manual (Physical Scroll - Transcribed)]
[Item Type: Cultivation Technique Information Carrier (Low Grade)]
[Data Redundancy Detected: Host already possesses knowledge and System Analysis.]
[System Purchase Offer: 10 System Points (Value derived from materials and residual Qi signature).]
10 points! The system was offering points for the physical scroll itself, even though he already knew the contents. Adding that would bring him to 65 + 10 = 75 points. Exactly half of what he needed.
He grit his teeth. It was a gamble. He would be spending literally everything he possessed – all his points, all his spirit stones, even the physical copy of his cultivation manual – for a chance at slightly better talent. If it didn't work, or if the pain was too much, he'd be back to absolute zero, with no resources and potentially injured.
But the alternative was months, maybe years, of painstakingly slow progress, always lagging behind, always vulnerable. He had to take the chance.
Sell 85 Low-Grade Spirit Stone Fragments! [+42 Points]
Sell Azure Cloud Qi Manual Scroll! [+10 Points]
His System Balance of fragments dropped to zero. The physical scroll vanished from his bunk. His System Points balance surged to 75.
Now, for the remaining 75 points. He looked at his small inventory of Earth goods in the dimension storage – a few energy shots, some first-aid kits, chocolate bars.
Sell all remaining Earth Goods inventory back to the system!
[Inventory Liquidation: Assorted Earth Goods (Basic)]
[System Purchase Offer: 8 System Points (Bulk rate).]
8 points. It brought his total to 83. Still not enough. He needed 67 more points. He scanned the system store desperately. Was there anything he could buy cheaply and resell to the system for a higher value? Unlikely. The system set the prices.
Wait. The exchange rate. Buy points with fragments: 1 point for 2 fragments. Sell fragments for points: 1 point for 2 fragments. It was symmetrical. But buying items often had a different point-to-fragment ratio. The Qi Attunement Pill was 50 points or perhaps 250 fragments if the 1:5 ratio held. Could he leverage this? No, he had no fragments left.
What about services? He checked the task board again. No quick point-generating tasks available.
He slumped back on his pallet. He was so close, yet still impossibly far. 75 points might as well be 750 right now.
Unless… he considered the 'Equivalent Trade Value' again. Maybe the system valued specific local materials highly? He thought back to the ruins mission from his web novel reading days. What if he found some rare herb or ore? But searching for such things was dangerous and time-consuming.
No. He had to take the plunge now, while he had the momentum. He looked at the Body Tempering Liquid again. 150 points. He had 83. He was 67 points short.
He accessed the purchase screen for the liquid.
[Item: Body Tempering Liquid (Earth Grade - Minor Talent Boost)]
[Cost: 150 System Points]
[Current Balance: 83 System Points]
[Insufficient Funds. Proceed with Partial Payment and System Credit?]
[WARNING: System Credit incurs interest (1% per day, compounding). Defaulting on credit may result in penalties, including forced servitude or system function limitations.]
System credit? With interest? It was a debt trap, plain and simple. But it was also the only way. He needed that talent boost now. He could earn back the 67 points plus interest later through more sales. He had to believe he could.
Proceed with partial payment and system credit.
[Confirm Purchase using 83 System Points and 67 System Credit Points?]
[Total Debt: 67 Points. Daily Interest: 0.67 Points (Compounding).]
[Confirm?]
Confirm.
[Purchase Confirmed!]
[System Points Balance: 0]
[System Debt: 67 Points]
[Materializing Item: Body Tempering Liquid…]
A sealed ceramic vial appeared in his storage. It felt heavy, and even through the container, he could sense a volatile, almost noxious energy within. Retrieving it, he uncorked the vial. A pungent, swampy odour filled the small space around his bunk, making his eyes water. The liquid inside was thick, viscous, and murky green-brown, with unsettling bits swirling within it. It looked utterly vile.
The system warning about intense pain echoed in his mind. His newly acquired debt weighed on him. But the potential reward – a permanent improvement, a chance to truly compete – overshadowed the fear and the cost.
Steeling his nerves, Kai raised the vial to his lips and downed the foul concoction in one go. It tasted even worse than it smelled, like rotten vegetation mixed with bitter chemicals. He choked it down, gagging.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a searing heat ignited deep within his stomach, spreading outwards like wildfire through his veins, his muscles, his bones. It felt like his insides were being simultaneously boiled and scoured with sandpaper. Pain, blinding and absolute, crashed over him. He clamped his jaw shut to stifle a scream, collapsing onto his pallet, his body convulsing uncontrollably. Black spots danced in his vision. It felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out. This was far, far worse than he had imagined.
