The first week passed in the blink of an eye and the entire world was turned topsy-turvy. Governments even went as far as to make a public statement about putting all their resources into helping people cast their Spiritual Roots and guide them in learning how to use the system’s interface, making their stance known to the regular folk. Websites appeared as well as early as day 2 containing forums where those at the top gave away their experiences and debating with other geniuses the best path to take, all to further explain the basics to everyone, earning the good faith of people and much online traction as well. Even with cultivation being introduced, it was still the online era after all and many capitalized on it.
There was news about people opening up to ten acupoints already with barely a week passing and an online top was created as result, keeping track of the most aberrant geniuses on Earth. With a quick look through it, Herman was able to spot names he was very familiar with from his past life.
What was funny was that the largest majority of people were using nicknames or tags instead of their actual real names in both the online tops and the system’s interface, treating everything like a game. Figures that shook the Immortal World like UX, Bian Hua, and LinkWill were already lording over the masses with 8-10 acupoints opened. These people were the killer-whales that could be found at the front of every major event in the Immortal World in Herman’s past life, earning their small Earth a way to stand shoulder to shoulder with other more advanced and ridiculous worlds.
However, that was not the biggest event during this entire week. Rumors were spreading in both real lives and on the internet about a certain ‘tutorial’. While it was linked to the system through a bunch of rules, one could still buy it with real-world currency. It started as nothing more than creepypasta since some people were saying that one had to sell their soul to the devil to see the contents, but such silly rumors were quickly dispelled by the ones who purchased it.
In the first couple of days after its release on the market, the people that bought it were too few to make a splash. Most of them were people who had way too much money or corporations that didn’t want to take the risk of missing out on a possible piece of intel they could further sell to governments. Once people bought it, agreed to the terms listed, and found out that they only had three or five pages in their hands, they all became angry at being scammed first. Only after fully reading through it though, did they realize the importance of this tutorial. Those which bought the simplified version, instantly spent another $100 to get the detailed one, sending themselves in a frenzy once finished browsing through its contents.
There were, of course, people that tried to teach others the contents or even resell it, however after two warnings were issued by the system in its creepy monotone voice and it was made known to them that they will die if they push their luck the third time, surprisingly, there wasn’t anyone stupid enough to court death. Even the writer of the tutorial was surprised to learn that no dare-devils that were willing to try and see what happens appeared on the news, but there were still many channels reporting details about it and its purpose.
There was no term in the contract preventing people from advertising it or simply advising others to buy it for their good and soon enough there were already millions of downloads for Herman’s tutorial. The amount of money gained was… unbelievable to the previous him before the ‘Minute Collapsing Nirvana’. Now, however, he knew that it was only the start.
With Chase’s help, he hired from the Dark Web assistants that would open up small scale real estate businesses in every county in the world they could. Since he didn’t have nearly enough money, for now, he limited himself to a few big countries in each continent, as well as some poor and undeveloped ones where he could amass more land.
“In the future, after the second trial, people would be able to exchange their properties or even their cash, for Spirit Jades. The exchange rate would make even an Arabian prince cry tears of blood, yet it would still make many people want to do it. I have one year to develop and buy as much land as possible, manageable only if I throw big sums of money at the current owners that might want to focus on cultivation. Only then I would have a chance to compete with the whales from every 361 worlds…”
With a sigh and a tired complexion, Herman checked out for the night, setting his alarm for 3:30 AM once more. There were still mining to do given that he barely scratched about 3-5% blockage from his major acupoints.
The good news was that after one entire week of torturing his body and mind, his stats improved considerably.
Personal Information
Attributes
Ultimate
Pill
Name: Herman Roy
Cultivation time: 0 Years
Spiritual realm: Mortal realm
Body realm: Mortal Flesh 0
Ascension number: N/A
Attributes
Life Essence: 4
Attack: 20
Strength: 3
Defense: 15
Vital Energy: 7
Health Points: 105
Dexterity: 4
Evasion: 12
Fortune: 3
Critical Strike: 1
Perception: 55 Points (Locked until ascension to the Immortal World)
Efficiency: 25 Primordial Qi points / 5 minutes
Absorption: 40 points
Qi Absorption: 20 Spiritual Qi point / 5 minutes
Character (Locked until ascension to the Heavenly Realm)
Personality (Locked until ascension to the Immortal World)
During the third day, he indeed gained another point for Strength, Life Essence, Dexterity, and another two for Vitality. To gain the same numbers again, he forced his body to the absolute limits and even over that limit, barely gaining them in time for the last day of the week.
Not only that but after absorbing Spiritual Qi continuously through the same Qihu acupoint, a.k.a. the Qi Door, something unexpected happened.
Achievement earned: Diamond polisher
Details: You have completely unblocked one of your acupoints and went even further beyond in perfecting it. You have expanded your acupoint to 5% more of his normal state!
Reward: +5 Perception (Locked until ascension to the Immortal World)
This was something that didn’t figure out in Herman’s plans, nor was it something that he had prior knowledge about. However, now that he expanded his Qi Door channel by 5% more than its normal size due to continuous absorption through it, he also increased his Absorption with three points as well.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Just the extra 5 points in Perception were amazing enough, but this implied that all the other acupoints could be expanded as well. Thinking up to this point, there was no other way about it: he had to include this in his grinding as well.
There is no way in hell that the system would give an achievement for something unimportant.
“It should be about now, right?”
It was already Sunday, the 9th of August, and the eight-day from when the Minute Collapse Nirvana occurred. With the first week gone, not only could people die again, but the rate at which they would heal their injuries decreased to normal rates as well.
The same applied to Herman, however, he wasn’t too worried about that. In these six months, his goal was to go over 50 points in the main four attributes and consolidate his foundation for the Immortal World.
Furthermore, today was the release of the Board of Exultation.
“This event today will be a grim reminder to all people on Earth about how this is still a competition and will show everyone how far behind we are when compared to the other worlds. I wonder how I'll fare this time around? In my past life, there were so many zeros next to my name, that I didn’t even bother counting them.”
In his past life, even the top geniuses like LinkWill, Bian Hua, and UX were barely in the top 10.000.000 among all participants, which in itself was an amazing feat given the hundred billion participants. The other worlds mercilessly stomped on our pride and put us in our place that day. It was a good thing though!
With that lesson learned, everyone focused whole-heartedly on improving themselves and gaining back some of their lost confidence.
“It’s unfortunate that even with their best efforts, the gap between us and the top worlds didn’t decrease. Rather, it kept growing at a visible pace… Hmm!? It’s starting, huh?”
A tiny dot appeared in the sky again, in the same manner, it did eight days ago. It slowly elongated and parted ways on its own this time, allowing the same kind-faced fogey to pass through. He didn’t say much and instead waved his hand, forcing the Spiritual Qi of the world to gather and manifest in the form of a huge blue scroll. Names kept appearing on it and with a slight glance at
it, the old man seemed surprised for a brief second, only to be replaced immediately with the same calm and gentle smile as before.
[Everyone has worked hard it seems. For a world that didn’t even experience a minute’s worth of tribulations, it looks like your talent is quite good. Allow me, Floating Cloud Jing to explain.](Jing)
With his voice booming across the entire world, every human being moved their eyes on him, patiently waiting for an explanation.
[I did mention in the beginning that you are just one of the 361 worlds allowed to participate in the trials and ascend to the Immortal World. Today, a week has already passed since your world’s rebirth and under the guidance of my master, I am here to assess your improvement. If there was no progress, then there is no point in continuing to provide you with our help and knowledge, therefore we will forsake you. That would mean that your weak Primordial World would be exposed to attacks from outside forces that might even fully decimate and shatter your planet if they choose not to enslave you. If there is progress when compared with the other participants, not only would my master be pleased, he would reward you as well. Let’s start by checking your Earth’s position when compared with the other 360 worlds.](Jing)
Similarly to clicking on a secondary tab on a computer, the huge scroll in the sky changed and a myriad of names appeared on it. Some of them were simple characters, while others were downright impossible to read or figure out. Our world was dead last, with position 361.
Gasps could be heard all across the world, however, Herman kept his cool. So that he can assess the world’s improvement, old man Jing had to scan it with his perception first.
[Don’t worry, as you are certainly not last. Let us see your improvement. System, help me calibrate their achievements and compare them with the participants of other worlds.](Jing)
With those words spoken, blobs of light were being sent from each person’s glabella and into the sky, towards the old man. The whole process lasted for 10-15 minutes and the position of our world kept increasing as result, allowing the people on the ground to breathe out in relief. Being abandoned and left to fend for themselves against beings that could freely walk in the air... wasn't something they could do just yet.
“Previously, after the first week, we were in the 278th place only. However, from the looks of it, it seems that we exceeded that.”
With a satisfied smile on his face, Herman watched his world’s position increasing from the last place to the 300th, then going over 250th, continuing to the 200th spot and showing no sign of stopping.
His original content smile turned grim and his face paled. He expected to affect the results slightly and help Earth by releasing that tutorial, however, this was way beyond his expectations. There was a saying that went like 'the tallest tree always faces the harshest winds'. It wasn’t good to stand out that much, especially during the first week.
Luckily, the place Earth stopped at was the 179th place. With Herman’s help, his world climbed almost one hundred spots in go. If he was to release the full version of the tutorial with all the knowledge he had, there’s no doubt on his mind that they would jump in the top 50. However, if he were to do that, it would likely arouse suspicions from the Profound Immortal Clear Lake and he might even be singled out as result. He wasn't that interested in dying anymore, so it would be best to lay low for a while.
[Mhm! Good, good, good! For such a weak world with such thin Spiritual Qi to achieve such results, my master will certainly be pleased! Therefore, for those that pass the first trial, they would each be rewarded with 10.000 Spirit Stone as a starting gift. Those ascending through the second trial will be given 7.500, the ones passing the third trial 5.000, those passing the fourth trial will be given 2.500, and lastly, every one after will receive 1.000 Spirit Stones. Not only will my master be pleased, but as Examiner in charge of your world, I am pleased as well. This will be my gift for you!](Jing)
With a loud clap, a ring of fire burned through the air once more, reminding people of when they first received the Profound Immortal’s edict during the Minute Collapsing Nirvana. The flames were weaker, however, everyone could sense a change in the air, now that they became more attuned with Spiritual Qi.
Herman could notice a slight paleness in the old fogey’s face and was surprised to see him burn his own essence to help and reward Earth. Through this help, instead of waiting for a decade for Primordial Qi to be formed, it would only take eight to nine years now. It might not seem like much, however, that one year would make a huge difference in the future.
“Tsk! Everything went to shit… Isn’t this kind of exaggerated for a fucking butterfly effect? And this old man acting cool like he’s sacrificing his vital blood as a reward for us. Given his advanced age, it would be hard for him to achieve other breakthroughs in the future, so by using our world as leverage, he is planning to receive the appreciation of that undying old fart and get his help in breaking through the next realm. That way, his lifespan would increase and have better chances at future realms. Tsk, tsk, tsk! Acting like a slut your entire life and expecting a monument for your chastity! This old man is a cunning fox as well.”
With the old fox’s perception stretched across the world, Herman didn’t dare to say those words aloud and instead complained in his mind. Waiting patiently for the old man’s show to end, he watched in anticipation of his ranking.
[Great! Next, we shall take a look at your standing when compared with geniuses of your world and then finally, compared with geniuses of all participating worlds!](Jing)
Switching back to the original 'tab', over 7 billion names were moving up and down in the rankings, based on their achievements. When Herman found himself, he almost choked with his saliva. He was in 5th place!
The rankings were as follows, from bottom 10 to top number 1:
10.Mio
9. Qhost
8. QiQi
7. Mental
6. Lelouch
5. Herman Roy
4. UX
3. Envy
2. Bian Hua
1. LinkWill
“As expected, the names in it are more or less the ones I already knew from my past life. Unknowingly, I also climbed my way up there. I could’ve been the first, yet that would minimize the amount of Spirit Jade I could earn at the end. To trade pride for Spirit Jade? I’d take that bargain anytime!”
Now the question on everyone’s mind was, ‘Who are these people’ since all of them were using nicknames or aliases. Of course, a different question was in the minds of the people at the top: ‘What reward would we get?’. And they weren’t disappointed with the answer!
[Hahaha! Good, good! Those that work hard, will always be rewarded. I will now announce that everyone in the top 10 will be rewarded with 10.000 Wood essence and 5.000 Iron essences. Everyone from the 50th place to the 11th will also be awarded 7.500 Wood Essence and 4.000 Iron Essence. For those from the 100th place to the 51st, you will also receive 5.000 Wood essence and 3000 Iron essences. Everyone else, work hard for the next assessment in a week!](Jing)
When Herman heard those words, he nearly jumped off the chair in fright. So much Wood and Iron essence is a really good gift. Leaving aside that both of those resources could be used in building and upgrading resource gathering arrays, even more important, one could directly absorb them to upgrade their Spiritual Roots!!!
Each time the roots get upgraded, the physical body also receives quite the attribute boost as well! To get so much, so early… this was an absolute heaven-sent gift!
[Now, in order not to get complacent, here is the standing of your topmost geniuses, when compared with those of the remaining worlds.](Jing)
Needless to say, even the Earth’s first place LinkWill was barely within the first five million as ranking when compared with the remaining participants, making a miraculous climb when remembering his previous ranking. However, only Herman thought that. Breaths of cold air were drawn everywhere else in the world, everyone was having their eyes forcefully opened to the cruel reality.
For Herman as well, this was a reminder of how much he still has to do. There was no need to shoot for the first place, as probably even with all his acupoints opened and his Spiritual Roots cast at the end of these six months, he won’t even get close to the top 10.000, much less first place.
“The night is long and the sunrise too far away in the distance. It seems that I have to turn up the work volume I put in, to the next level...”
After speaking a few more words of encouragement, old man Jing vanished again, leaving behind a fully energized world and billions of people who started giving their all for their Spiritual Roots casting.