Li An stared at the inky darkness outside of the cave. The inky darkness before him seemed to swallow the memories of his brutal past, memories he longed to forget. The memories of bullying, forced labor and humiliation washed into his mind as he thought of the past.
"Why?" He rubbed his throat. The night's air, heavy with moisture carrying a scent of damp earth, pressed against his throat and he couldn't get rid of it. Like he couldn't get rid of the humiliation of two years.
From the time he entered the sect, he was bullied by strong, forced to work in the toilets, and even scrub girl's bathrooms. If it couldn't get worse, then he was tossed in the slum to clean shit the elders threw out. The smell made him vomit hundreds of time and yet he couldn't get out without scrubbing it clean, including his own vomit.
Exhaling deeply, he tried to rid himself of the worst memories as he looked at the translucent pill in his palm. It might kill him, but death was much better than the humiliation he went through for past two years.
No. Everything was going to change for the better. In the same shitty hole behind elder caves, he found a pill. A green transcalent pill which shone in the night and emitted a fragrant aroma which recharged his stamina just by a whiff.
From the start he knew it was a treasure, and he held on to the pill for a month before he found news about it. It was a pill created by head alchemist elder Li Zang - Second Life Pill. The pill was used by some disciples to reach the peak of their current realm, and breakthrough into the next realm, and it was legitimate. Once he ate that he would reach the peak of Refinement Realm and even breakthrough into Foundation Realm.
Saliva trickled from his lips as he caught himself gawking at the pill. He quickly scanned his surroundings, checking that he was alone.
Sometimes he wondered why would an elder throw the pill away, but he didn't care. He didn't find it in the Pill Waste Yard, so it wasn't a poison pill, and he needed power. Desperately needed power.
Only by gaining strength could he prove to those jerks that he was more than just a pretty face the girls liked to tease. He would take part in the monthly quest and slay those dark realm dogs, proving to everyone that he was a tiger in sheep's clothing. Yes, he would take revenge on everyone that pushed him down, and prove that he had guts too.
And if it didn't work, then he could only blame for his foolish choices. Dying might be better than what he was suffering through in the sect.
"Be it." Smiling, he tossed the pill into his mouth and closed his eyes.
The pill burst inside his stomach, and a strange energy enveloped him. Before he died he only had one thought - revenge for himself.
***
Aiden only had five minutes left, and he was running out of all the options. Some or other person accompanied all the corpses he had found so far, and just looking at those bastards made him scared of another painful death. Every death made him not want to live again.
Maybe death was better than being killed by maniacs.
However, he refused to give up on his life. Not after he had to endure a century of solitude. No, he didn't want to die when he could live, and then he saw a young man - sixteen or seventeen, insanely handsome, sitting alone in a dark cave, eating a pill which killed him instantly; Aiden couldn't control himself and just dashed into the handsome's body straight away.
System: You have possessed Li An's body.
Li An - that was his name.
Another Li, but Aiden didn't care.
He opened his eyes cautiously, not wanting to give anyone the chance to attack him if they thought he was alive again. After a few quick blinks, he adjusted to the dim light of the cave and, thank god, there was no one inside the cave. Only he, cold air, and a moist smell of something sticky on his new body.
Smiling, he pressed his palms against the cold, damp ground, enjoying the rough texture of the ground, letting the chill seep into his skin. He needed the coldness right now to stop his anxiety from overwhelming him.
After a few minutes of sitting, the sense of urgency gripped him and he rushed out of the cave, his gray beard and long, disheveled hair whipping around as his eyes scanned the small forest surrounding the opening.
Emerging from the trees, he spotted a small, dilapidated hut in the distance. Without hesitation, he dashed towards the dilapidated hut, his heart pounding with each heavy step. His heart pounded like the engine of a racecar, adrenaline coursing through his veins as he approached the rickety structure.
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System: Your grace period has ended. If you die, then your soul will vanish from this world.
He made it.
System: You have reached layer nine Refinement Realm.
Aiden leaned his weary body against the crumbling, moss-covered walls of the ruined hut, closing his eyes as a wave of excruciating agony washed over him. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced, even more agonizing than the moment when his physical form had dissolved in the frigid waters of the Soul Cryo Tank. This was the third time he had faced death in the last two hours, and each encounter left him reeling, his nerves raw and senses overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the suffering.
System: You have identified the Moss. Peace Traveling Moss. You have 50% chance to identify a low level herb without using a skill.
Peace Traveling Moss
Grade: Low Tier Bronze Grade
Quality: Common
A common herb used in common wine to calm people of their anxiety and tensions.
Special Attributes: Nerve Calming effect.
A nerve calming grass? He scrapped the moss with his thin fingers and stuffed it into his mouth. It tasted a little gross, but as soon as it entered his stomach, he felt like drinking a glass of fine wine, instantly calming him down.
Resting his head on the broken wall he took a deep breath. The sticky substance around him was bothering him, and he needed a clean bath.
But where was he?
Without opening his eyes, he accessed his character sheet.
Character Sheet
Name: Li An (Aiden)
Race: Human
Title: Death Lover (20% bonus damage for Dark Alchemy)
Class: Holy Alchemist (Light Core), Corpse Doctor (Dark Core)
Message: The host has two classes due to a glitch in the system. The class combination of Holy Alchemist and Necromancer is used by another host, so not available due to extraordinary circumstances outside of the system's integration. The host has offered the most suitable class matching with his current class.
Sect: White Sun Sect
Current Cultivation Realm:
Dark Core: Initiation Required
Light Core: Layer Nine Refinement Realm
Strength: 100
Constitution: 100
Intelligence: 100
Perception: 160
Dexterity: 100
Agility: 140
Charisma: 1
Fortune: 30 (-30 debuff due to the sudden deaths)
Health: 2000 (2/minute) (Fixed until cultivation breakthrough)
Mana: 2600 (0.2/second) (Fixed until cultivation breakthrough) (Double rate achieved from the Boon of the Earthian)
Stamina: 2400 (4/minute) (Fixed until cultivation breakthrough) (Double rate achieved from the Boon of the Earthian)
Qi: 900
Mana Type: Wood
Cultivation Art:
Dark Core: (None)
Light Core: Hundred Herb Cultivation Art
Current Abilities:
Skill Deconstruct: 39/39 (Can be used on only one object per cultivation layer) (Calculation Error)
Light Core:
Healing Hand (Innate Skill)
Cost: 100 qi/200 Mana
Accelerate Refine (Innate Skill)
Cost: 500 qi/1000 Mana
Herb Identification (Innate Skill)
Cost: 1000 qi/2000 Mana
Pill Enhancement (Innate Skill) (Passive)
Purify (Silver Grade)
Cost: 100 qi/200 Mana (Channeling)
Dark Core:
Corpse Refine (Bronze Grade) (Innate Skill)
Cost: 1oo qi/200 Mana
Corpse Bloom (Silver Grade) (3 Charges)
Cost: 50 qi/100 Mana
Passive Skills:
Pill Enchantment
Deconstructed Skills:
Latent Talent:
Alchemy (Level 14) (Extra Effect: Accelerated Alchemy)
Tea Creation (Level 10) (Extra Effect: Added Benefits)
Gold Digger (Level 9)
Acquired Skills:
Cutting (Level 7)
Chopping (Level 8)
Threading (Level 4)
Cleaning (Level 8)
Bartering (Level 7)
Class Bound Items:
Tutorials (Beginners Quests in Progress)
Dark Core: Beginners Quest 1
What the fuck. Why was he still part of the White Sun Sect? Even the surname Li stuck with him. Li Zang and now Li An. Was he destined to become a member of Li clan in his life?
He massaged his cheeks, scanning the area for a place to rest. As he glanced to one side, a pair of shimmering orbs caught his attention. They peered at him from the darkness - the gaze of a serpent.
***
"What happened to the elder Li's body?" The old man sitting inside the damp cave asked the man kneeling in front of him.
"Elder Mani said it burst into flames and he couldn't do anything."
"What nonsense. How can he burn into flames when a Marrow Cleansing Realm bastard stood next to him?"
"Master, please forgive me. I should have gone myself."
"No, I should have gone myself and not trust you." The old man waved his hand and the kneeling man burst into flames. "If you couldn't save him from flames, then you should die in flames."
A woman walked out of the connecting cave and picked up the burning corpse.
"Masa, alchemist Li, is still alive. I don't know how, so it's your job to find him, and send someone to do the real job. I hate failures, and don't make me do things anymore." It was a pain in the ass. These people worked for him, but made him do things more than they should have.
Maybe he should just kill everyone and do things himself going forward.