After Yang Xuan's parents in this life died, the village elders had provided for him. He particularly cared for the books they gave him and was always asking for more. Unfortunately, they had repeatedly informed him that books were very expensive, so they could not afford to buy any for him. So, he was forced to make do with the few books he was given.
That was, until he met Fatty Wang. Wang was a merchant, and, on his route between two larger cities, he always stopped by Bushui. It was his hometown, after all. Fatty Wang was a ridiculously kind man, to the point it was surprising he was able to make a living as a merchant. He had gifted Yang Xuan with many books in his stops in Bushui. If anyone would help him after he had brought shame and humiliation to the village, it was him. And a traveling merchant was exactly what he needed.
Thus, he found himself standing in front of Fatty Wang's house. He had already gone back to his house and gathered everything important. So, he knocked. And then, he waited. Soon enough, the door opened; a plump man stood behind it. "Greetings, Uncle Fatty," Yang Xuan bowed - willingly; Wang was a man he truly admired, though his rotundity was quite unfortunate. Wang immediately perked up, "Little Xuan! How have the fates favored you?"
Yang Xuan's mind immediately traveled back to what happened only hours prior. For others, such a m emory might be a source of shame, but, for Yang Xuan, who hailed from the modern age, he knew not how to feel shame. After all, in the modern age, influencers were constantly doing "shameful" things just for clout! Truly, Yang Xuan's skin was thicker than Wang's plump middle!
"I see you're as meaty as ever, Uncle Fatty!" He laughed, "The truth is: I encountered some minor problems, so I have come here to beseech you for your help. Uncle Fatty, I must leave the village and head to a city! Could you take me with you?" Wang looked Yang Xuan in the eye; he could sense there was more to this. He knew Yang Xuan was hiding something from him, but, to him, that was not important. Yang Xuan was in trouble, and he needed his help - to him, that was all that mattered.
"You're in luck! I'm leaving in an hour so get ready," Wang chose not to ask. Yang Xuan felt relieved, though he felt that, even if he told him the full truth, Wang would still help him. That was the reason he had come to him and not anyone else for help, after all.
Now, all he had to do was wait. In the meantime, he decided to explore the system to find out what he could do about his lack of any cultivation potential whatsoever. After a little probing, he discovered a [Shop] tab where he could purchase cultivation upgrades and various other things, After thirty minutes of digging through the new tab, he was certain that there was only one upgrade that increased cultivation potential:
{Cultivation Potential Upgrade 0}
[Price: 1 SP]
[Increases cultivation potential by one major rank.]
[Current effect: increase potential from
Perhaps it was because his current potential was so atrocious, but it was so cheap it might as well have been free. He went ahead and got it.
[[Cultivation Potential Upgrade 0] has been purchased. Your SP is now <9>.]
He felt no different from before he purchased it, but he was certain he had changed. Before closing the system for now, he checked how much the next level cost.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
{Cultivation Potential Upgrade 1}
[Price: 10 SP]
[Increases cultivation potential by one major rank.]
[Current effect: increase potential from
It had increased by a factor of ten. Yang Xuan took note of this growth and then decided to check back in with Fatty Wang. When Yang Xuan arrived, Wang was already sitting in the driver's seat of his carriage and waiting for him. Yang Xuan went up to him. "When are we leaving?" Yang Xuan asked. "Right now, if you have prepared. Come, sit next to me," Wang instructed. Yang Xuan listened, and, in a few moments, they were on the road out of Bushui and into Chengdu City.
It was a long trip. Two days passed in a flash with Yang Xuan and Wang camping out, but, eventually, they arrived in Chengdu City. Wang was worried about Yang Xuan, but Yang Xuan managed to convince him he was going to be fine alone. Thus, Yang Xuan found himself standing alone in the middle of the first city he had seen in years. A primitive city compared to what he was used to, but still a city.
Yang Xuan simply took in his surroundings for a moment, and then he began to explore. He was looking for a sect, but he was also trying to familiarize himself with the city. If he was going to spend any amount of time here, it was better to know at least the basic layout of the city. Eventually, he found a sect - the Crimson Bear Sect - but there were two problems: first, they only accepted cultivators who were already in the Qi Gathering Realm, and second, they held monthly recruitments, but the next one was still far away.
Yang Xuan was uncertain what to do, so he just walked around in the city's central shopping district, hoping some miracle would bring him to someone with cultivation knowledge and a cultivation manual. Then, he saw something that stood out to him. One of the merchant stands had a ring on display. It seemed like just a worthless ring, but something about it drew Yang Xuan to it. His intuition told him it was special, somehow. He had taken five coppers with him that he had gathered through various means back in Bushui.
So, he asked the merchant about it. "This ring? It's a wonderful ring! All the customers wanted it badly, but, unfortunately, they could not afford it. As you can see, it is made of pure titanium. It's one gold," the merchant answered. Unfortunately for him, Yang Xuan was not one to be made a fool of. "I take it for one copper, or it goes back to rusting," he haggled. The merchant frowned, "I will not sell it for anything less than four coppers." Yang Xuan accepted the merchant's offer, paid him, and then took the ring. Immediately, he put it on. But... he felt no different.
'Have I been scammed out of all my money? But I was certain it's not a normal ring, and there is no way the merchant will return the money,' Yang Xuan considered. Now, he was back to not knowing what do, and he had even lost almost all of his money. This had truly gone terribly for him. While he was lost in thought, the crowd in the busy shopping district suddenly began to part. A cultivator of the Crimson Bear Sect was approaching, and two older cultivators were following him. Yang Xuan, still lost in thought, did not realize what was happening even as the crowd parted and he remained the only one blocking the cultivator's way.
"Mortal, you dare?!" The young cultivator roared.