I woke up the next morning feeling amazing. I was refreshed, and felt like a new me.

I stretched left and right exceeding my previous limits by leaps and bounds and I felt far stronger than yesterday.

"Wow, what happened? I feel so great!" I said out loud as I stretched up with both my arms to their limits.

I yelped as text appeared in my vision.

"ANSWER: The user’s body was deemed unfit to contain the inheritance."

"Wha-what is this text?!" I sputtered.

"ANSWER: This system was created by the immortal who left this inheritance to help the user understand the changes to their body and soul."

I stared at the text for a few seconds trying to wrap my head around what was happening to me.

"What’s an inheritance?" I asked the mysterious text.

"ANSWER: An inheritance is a set of understandings and treasures left by an immortal. Due to the user’s low cultivation, crippled roots, and damaged meridians, most of the treasures of the inheritance have been used to upgrade the user to allow the inheritance to be absorbed." The text read.

"What was wrong with my body?!" I asked.

"ANSWER: The user’s body was malnourished. The user’s cultivation level is too low. The user’s spirit roots are crippled due to an injury in the womb. The user’s meridians have been damaged by poison." The text read.

I balked at the information it was giving me. I didn’t think my body was in that bad of a condition.

"How do I know you’re telling the truth?" I asked the mysterious text.

"ANSWER: I cannot lie. I am not a being with will, I am a construct designed to help the user acclimate to the inheritance." It answered.

I didn’t have a rebuttal for that answer. I thought about what it had said.

"How did you upgrade my body?" I asked.

"ANSWER: Impurities from within the meridians and qi pathways have been purged. The spirit roots of the user have been restored to their original state, And the user's meridians have been restored."

Well, that sounded good at least. If it was helping me then I suppose it wouldn’t be bad to learn more from it.

"What’s a spirit root? And what are meridians?" I asked the text. I knew what they were in my stories, but I didn't know how that differed from real cultivation.

"ANSWER: A spirit root is the foundation of cultivation. If you think of your cultivation like a tree, then your cultivation level is the height of the tree. The tree cannot grow high without strong roots to provide it nourishment. The spirit root is the metaphorical root of the cultivation tree. The stronger the spirit root, the higher the possible cultivation level you can reach. Meridians, also known as qi locus points, are locations in the user's body through which qi flows and act as artificial blockages to prevent the flow of qi from injuring the user before they are ready. As meridians are improved, the amount of qi that can flow through the user’s body will increase."

Wow, this thing knew what it was talking about. But that explanation didn't track with any of the information within the books I've read.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"So, what level is my spirit root now?" I asked.

"ANSWER: The user’s spirit root is a peak level myriad branch spirit root."

I blinked at the text a few times.

"I have no idea what that means." I said. The text thankfully remained silent. The stories I had read didn't go into much detail about what spirit roots were, just which ones were good. I thought I remembered more roots being bad, which gave me a bad feeling.

"What are the different types of spirit roots? And what’s a good spirit root?" I asked, hoping that mine was a strong one.

"ANSWER: Spirit roots have affinities with one or more of the six elements that make up the world. These elements are as follows: fire, water, earth, air, metal, and wood. Generally speaking, the lower the number of branches in the root, the easier it is to cultivate and reach the higher levels of cultivation.

Those with twin-branch spirit roots or triple-branch spirit roots have more difficulty cultivating than someone with a single-branch spirit root. The elemental affinity of one’s spirit root dictates what types of techniques and cultivation methods one can use to cultivate to the higher echelons of power.

A myriad branch spirit root is the name for the lowest tier of spirit root. Having affinities with all six base elements, the myriad branch spirit root is the most difficult to cultivate as the user must cultivate each element to the peak level before breaking through in their cultivation."

My mood soured at the news.

"So I’m not going to make it very far in cultivation because my spirit root is bad?" I asked, hopeful the text would correct my thinking.

"ANSWER: Incorrect. The user’s myriad branch spirit root does hamper rapid growth, but as in all other facets of cultivation, the work the user put into cultivating will yield results. As the user has a peak level myriad branch spirit root, it should be easy for the user to cultivate all of the elements."

Well that was good at least. I was still confused about something though.

"What are all of the levels of a spirit root then? I thought the spirit root type determined the cultivation speed?" I asked the text.

"ANSWER: The levels of spirit roots are: lowest, low, middle, high, highest, peak. The type of spirit root does affect cultivation speed, but nothing is absolute in cultivation. In general, a peak myriad branch spirit root will have a similar cultivation speed to a middle five element spirit root’s cultivation speed. This is only the base cultivation speed without a cultivation technique. The cultivation technique is the most important factor in determining how fast a cultivator can cultivate. All this is not to say that hard work doesn't matter. The more time spent cultivating and more work put into cultivation, the better the results."

"So you’re telling me that I’m going to have a hard time cultivating in the future?"

"ANSWER: That depends on the work you put in, your cultivation method, and any treasures you may find that help increase cultivation speed."

I frowned.

"Does the inheritance come with a cultivation method?" I asked.

"ANSWER: The immortal who left the inheritance left behind many manuals for techniques and cultivation methods, though the cultivation methods for the myriad branch spirit root do not exist. With my help, however; the user should be able to combine multiple cultivation manuals from the inheritance into a method that should work for the user."

"Well, what are you waiting for!? Let’s get to combining and make the ultimate myriad branch spirit root cultivation method!" I said, throwing my hands up into the air in excitement.

"ANSWER: Not enough energy left. The treasures used for healing the user’s body, spirit roots, and meridians are exhausted except for one. That treasure alone is not enough to support combining manuals together. Find additional treasures to support combination."

My mood soured again, but I perked up at the mention of a treasure remaining.

"What treasure is left?" I asked.

"ANSWER: The remaining treasure was named by the immortal as 'qi sensing glasses'. They allow the user to sense the type and quality of qi from within objects without needing to touch them. In general, unless you are an immortal, you cannot sense the qi within objects without touching them, this treasure circumvents that requirement. The immortal deemed this treasure as too vital and thus, it cannot be used to combine with other treasures until a certain realm is reached."

That sounded so cool! That would make mining asteroids so much easier!

"How do I use the glasses?" I asked.

"ANSWER: The glasses have been integrated into the user’s sight already. Focus on an object and you will be able to see any qi within it."

I went from object to object around my apartment, squinting at them, trying to discern their secrets. To my surprise, one of the objects I had lying around on my random junk table, the random junk drawer was full, was glowing with a soft blue light to my senses.