The solution would be cultivation, as always, but I should also try and focus on other skills. Don't want to get another taste of that Demon Heart or whatever. Or maybe now would be the time. I simply don't understand this Dao well enough. I don't even get how to use it apart from the system's help. The skill in itself is supposed to be good, but very situational. If I downgrade speed and endurance along all other stats to increase strength, chances are it'll be useless. With how it's going, I don't feel like wasting my time upgrading it.
However that would only be the case if I could see the rank. A Dao is a staple of cultivation, even I know that much. So there's bound to be good stuff awaiting on those upgrades.
Perhaps the downsides could be flipped around or even entirely disregarded. In which case, it'll be more than worth it.
In the meantime, a lot was left to accomplish. The very first step should be to try and get past this Qi Sensing Realm. The second would be to endure the challenges as they come. Third must be training my skills and possibly learn new ones. I'll give myself two months. In these two months I must at least cross the first step and succeed in one of the two challenges coming this way. Better would be upgrading the Crimson Arts.
"Alright then. Let's get to it!"
.
.
.
With work added onto my plate, I couldn't cultivate quite as much, but even so I wasn't disappointed. I could just pretend to guard something and cultivate in peace. Since I didn't have a proper relationship with anyone here, nobody bothered me except for rare occasions. Jeremy indeed forgot about my new job within days.
The first week was uneventful, much to my sadness. In this entire week I had yet to make a single droplet of progress reach me. My cultivation would not budge an inch, so I couldn't find ways to take a mile. I was left with frustrating sourness.
In the second week on the other hand, something did happen. I realized, no, was enlightened to what I failed to accomplish. The whole week was spent figuring out how to control Qi. The Sensing Pills did help in the end, giving me a firmer grasp on this mysterious energy. During that time, my stagnant cultivation broke through the Qi Ruling stage. However it barely made me stronger. At that time came the final hurdle I could tell. The wall my mind experienced was nothing like I previously experienced. I was at a complete loss.
It was tiresome, and in the end time didn't wait for me, entering the third week of this month. Throughout that week I made practically zero progress whatsoever. Which meant, the fourth week was there.
But, no matter what I did, I wasn't getting any wiser, unfortunately.
So here came the dreaded event.
[Time has run out.]
[Initializing Tier-3 Challenge, 'Temple'.]
Temple
Challenge (T-3)
>Objective : Explore the hidden temple.
>Difficulty : Fated
>Mission Difficulty : Easy
>Mission Failure Penalty : All stats slightly diminished for 30 days.
[Good luck. And may Fate be with you.]
[Initialization successful. The host's body has been stabilized.]
[You may pronounce or think 'Status' to obtain more information at any given time.]
A good old warp of my field of view later, I landed bottom first on brittle dried grass. The first impression I had was 'otherworldly', the second 'breathtaking'. I'm not certain why, but the surroundings seemed incredibly beautiful. Maybe it had to do with some supernatural force, as my rational wasn't so fond of it. In any case, I stood up from the nearly brown-yellowish grass, still retaining some vigor, and covered my face from the sunny rays of a distant dusk somewhere. Relatively small green trees with boring brown barks shielded my back and some of my sides, the large plain ahead embraced by this divine light I still couldn't fathom. Hundreds of meters more forward, a brown mountain, as if covered in upheaved dirt, stood rooted. High above, which from this distance appeared fairly low, laid a pale, but visibly aged structure. Vines had forged their way, big enough for me to see, wrapping around marble pillars I reckon.
"Is it big or small?" Due to said distance, I couldn't accurately gauge the size of this buried monument. My common sense screamed that it mustn't be more than one on Earth, but my eyes would not lie so readily. Thinking it through some more, it didn't seem very well hidden. But the system wouldn't lie I believe, so the entire place I'm in should be shielded away from prying eyes then. Whichever case, I'm preparing myself. "Status."
Soul Name : Jack Heltros
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
Name : ???
Age : ???
Immortal Cultivation : Foundation Establishment Realm (Fifth layer : Dantian Pillar)
Immortal Title : None
HP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (72.8 / 72.8)
DT | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (72.8 / 72.8)
STR : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F+
SPD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F+
END : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F+
SEN : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F+
SOUL : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F+
WISD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ E-
LUCK : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ E-
Skill : Qi Manifestation - lv.7 [+]
Nearly the same.
But that doesn't alter the facts. This body is strong. So strong I only feel distance growing from my own to this one. Each clench of my fist feels natural yet absurdly vibrant. Each wave of my arm yearning to uproot trees. Each step rumbling the earth beneath. Each thought a possibility.
Each and every single heartbeat I can vividly feel. Blood pumping with perverse vigor and insurmountable strength.
Blinking my eyelids almost forms tangible gusts of wind. My body is heavy, yet feathery light.
This flesh is my current goal, or more so a step closer to my instinctual ultimate dream. My very core is drilling my mind, stuffing it full of overwhelming ambitions. This sense of drive, powerful enough to shake my soul, is what I must endure every day. My greed only adds to the fire, pushing me in this direction. The more I get used to this vessel, the more uncomfortable my very own feels. When I go back, my movements are sluggish, slower than a snail's, my vision blurry and my raw might disappointing.
Still, with some trains of many thoughts, I slowly make my way forward, closing the distance with this mountain. After a few hours of walking, I was still far, so I began running. This body is simply extraordinary, crossing dozens of meters in an instant. This made me realize the actual distance left. It wasn't hundreds of meters at all. Hundreds of kilometers would suit it better.
Traveling, I was soon made aware of a potent quake. Stopping dead in my tracks, dirt and dust flew around, exploding from the temple's sides. Two ginormous shadows erupted, the light form above clearing away the doubts within my eyes. "What the fuck is that?! Second status!" I wasted no time, taking a peek at those two identical figures. Both with the same status, but also the same oppression.
Trembling slightly, my heart felt calm however. This contrast told me which part of my current self was the weakest link. My soul. This reassured me, insinuating that I could do it, and those statuses did not lie.
[Karkonic Temple's Guardian]
Age : 45 665
Immortal Cultivation : None
Immortal Title : None
HP | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (48.3 / 48.3)
DT | ⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ | (48.3 / 48.3)
STR : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F
SPD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F
END : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F
SEN : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F
SOUL : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ N
WISD : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ F+
LUCK : ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ N
Skill : None
Thankful for their lack of skills, I remembered this body to not have as many skills as I do. Shaking away the useless thought, I rushed ahead, forming craters with every step. Rumbling spreading far and wide, my own presence caused the two golems of dark grey stone to flinch. Blonde strands of hair flew erratically in front of my face as I jumped high above. In an instant, I rose higher than mountains on Earth, before coming back down with a heavy punch. Due to the higher DT this body had, I immediately coated my fist with an ethereal turquoise glow. Silence apart from the whistling winds nearly screeching, the two golems flung their arms in my direction. The moment my knuckles collided with their imposing, humongous palms, they shattered like glass. "Weak!" Laughing at their frail bodies, my punch had yet to retreat.
Their forearms were next, drilling through them as if foam had replaced their lustrous vessels. As the forearms relented and the left upper arm gave up, my fist obliterated the left one's torso. The other golem made its way with large imposing strides, shaking the earth itself, but even its body dozens of meters high couldn't compare to my speed. The difference between F and F+ showed itself during this fight. In a flash, my body was already inside the other one's core area, smashing its insides to bits. At some point, I ended up noticing darker stone shards, preceding the golem's crumble.
"So you had a core!"
Relentless, I immediately made my move and finished the other one in a heartbeat. "Getting used to this body can only be beneficial. I just hate it when I go back to my own..."