Hearing Tianyu shout in pain, Qin Li Mei hurried to check on him.

"What happened?!" She rushed over, her expression filled with concern.

With a forced smile and a cold sweat from the pain, he replied, "No need to worry, Mother. I just had a little accident. I'll be fine."

Qin Li Mei wasn't easily fooled. She studied her son's face, her worry evident. "You don't look fine," she retorted.

Tianyu chuckled despite the pain. "Honestly, Mother, I will be okay. I just got overly excited during my training and made a mistake. A good meal from you will fix me right up."

Shaking her head at her son's cheekiness, Qin Li Mei retreated to the kitchen to finish preparing breakfast.

Tianyu quickly consumed a recovery pill, and the pain in his hand began to subside. He could feel his bones correcting themselves and fusing back together. It was a discomforting sensation, akin to a swarm of ants crawling inside his hand and biting him.

"I really need to think before I act," he chastised himself. "I can't keep making impulsive decisions. First, I let my anger lead me to kill that guard. I should have been more aware of my surroundings. Second, I initially left Fu Meng alive, which could have caused problems for Mother and me. Luckily, I corrected that mistake. And now, I let my newfound power go to my head. I have only stepped on the lowest step on the path of cultivation. I'm just at the beginning of my cultivation journey."

After taking a deep breath and collecting his thoughts, he realized he had a sense of heightened clarity. His senses felt sharper, and he could perceive the world around him in more detail.

"Why would I want to destroy this tree anyway? Where would Xiao Lei live?" He questioned himself.

Not long after, he joined his mother for breakfast, engaging in their usual cheerful conversation.

"Mother, I plan to go to the market today. Is there anything you'd like me to pick up?" Tianyu asked.

After a moment of thought, Qin Li Mei replied, "No, dear. But you can take this, just in case." She handed him a couple of silver coins.

Gratefully accepting the coins, Tianyu thanked his mother and set off. He wanted to experience the world through his newfound senses.

As he navigated the quiet streets, he couldn't help but notice the liveliness of life all around him. His senses seemed heightened, allowing him to detect the fragrance of freshly baked bread, the calls of vendors advertising their goods, and the rhythmic chopping sounds from the butcher's stall.

Tianyu strolled through the market, captivated by the diversity of stalls. From official-looking merchant stalls offering spices and jewelry to humble vendors sitting on the ground with a few items for sale on a blanket. Tianyu was fascinated, enjoying the sensory experience without the overwhelming stimuli of modern life.

Tianyu walked all through the market gazing at different things, there were stalls that were very popular, such as the baker's stall, or the butcher. Some were less so, as their goods were more on the expensive side. The more time he spent in the market, however, the more things he started to notice.

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Not knowing if this is due to his heightened senses. But Tianyu started paying attention to the outskirts of the market. Where the people sitting on the floor all day are trying to earn anything to survive.

All of these people had something in common, and that was how terrible they looked. They all wore rags, barely holding themselves together, some even had no choice but to have certain parts of their body exposed. They were dirty and smelly. All of them looked very pale, with almost grey skin, dark sunken eyes, and cheeks. Some of them looked as though they were on the very verge of death itself.

Tianyu stayed for a while, just watching. What he noticed made him grimace. The common folk paid no attention to them, and this was the best outcome. Others went out of their way to spit on them, damage their wares, or even kick them out of the way. It was appalling.

He wished he could do something to help, but he felt powerless at the moment. As he watched the marketgoers' callousness, he gained a deeper understanding of the darker side of human behavior.

With a bitter taste in his mouth, he eventually left the market. As he departed, he noticed a young boy stealthily moving through an alleyway. Intrigued, Tianyu decided to observe from a distance.

The boy displayed remarkable patience, moving stealthily like a predator. He stalked his prey, inching closer with each careful movement. Tianyu watched in admiration as the boy waited for the perfect moment to strike minutes passed and the boy was as still as a statue.

Then, in a swift motion, the boy pounced, capturing his target—a loaf of bread—before bolting away.

"Oi!" the baker shouted, "Somebody stop that thief!" The cry alerted a few nearby guards, who gave chase. However, the young thief's speed made it clear they wouldn't catch him.

Impressed by the boy's skills, Tianyu left the market, feeling a mix of emotions.

He didn't go straight home, however. He remembered that in the rewards pack for ascending he received a mount token, and he couldn't just have a creature show up in his house, there would be no way to explain that to his mother. So he decided to take a detour into the forest outside of town.

Upon arriving and after ensuring the area was safe, he called out to Sophia and signed in for today.

[Congratulations, Host! You have gained 1x Spirit Calming Pill,] Sophia announced.

Tianyu acknowledged the reward and then proceeded to spin the gacha wheel, curious about what he might receive next.

[Congratulations, Host! You have gained expert-level calligraphy arts,] Sophia revealed.

All of a sudden his brain is injected with years upon years of calligraphy experience. Different inks, stones, brushes, techniques, and patterns. All of it flowed into his head.

Tianyu scratched his head in bewilderment. "Calligraphy arts? Well, not every reward can be useful, I guess," he mused.

Tianyu didn't really know what use having skills in calligraphy could be useful for. In his mind it wasn't anything that could help him, so he brushed it off thinking that not all gacha spins could be useful for him.

Without much thought, he decided to upgrade his technique avatar with the avatar upgrade token. His skills in martial arts were severely lacking, and he needed to address that. Most people would have had training in martial arts since childhood if they planned to walk the path of a cultivator. Unfortunately, Tianyu was kicked out of his family before he started getting trained officially.

Next, Tianyu wanted to check out the upgrade to his spirit weapon. After he summoned it, he noticed that it was indeed very different. It now had a strong, lacquered wooden handle, which seemed stronger than before, yet also more flexible. He was unsure as to what kind of wood it was, but it was now a dark purple color. The tip of the halberd was still a long spearhead, however now, there was a crescent moon blade on both sides of the spear tip, and a bright red tassel fixed to it.

Tianyu remembered what the system said and that he would be able to communicate with his spirit weapon when he got stronger. He spent a while attempting this, however, he had no luck. He thought that maybe this was due to having no tangible spirit cultivation yet. And he vowed he would try this again at a later date.

Now, it was time to choose his Qi Cultivation technique. He knew this decision would shape his path in life. Tianyu had memories of the importance of this choice being drilled into him as a child. It was crucial; once chosen, his path would be set.

He had to choose which element his Qi cultivation would be, and this would have an effect later on. For example, if he decided to pick a fire element Qi Technique, and cultivate this, then that would mean later down the line he could never cultivate a water Qi Technique. There is a natural flow to the world, and for everything that oppresses, there's something that suppresses.

Fire Qi cultivators have a natural enemy in water cultivators, and they have an enemy in lightning cultivators. This goes full circle.

Tianyu had to think of what would be the best for him. Sitting down for a while and pondering over his choices, he had an image in his mind. This image was domineering. All powerful, fast and deadly. He thought of the most domineering thing that he could think of. And that was nature. Everything revolves around nature. The earth and the sea are in constant battle with each other, fire ravages the land and the wind rips up and tears it apart. However, there's one thing that looks down on all of this from above.

With a determined look on his face, Tianyu redeems his Qi Cultivation Technique.

"Sophia, redeem the Lightning Qi Cultivation Technique," he declared with a glint of determination in his eyes.