The Supreme Great Power he possessed was far too little to display its true might.
It was like scooping one drop from the ocean.
'It's okay that the total amount is lacking. That'll be resolved when my realm rises. Anyway, the recovery cycle is one month?'
One month.
A period that was long if you considered it long, short if you considered it short.
It was a shame to consume it thoughtlessly, but it wasn't so long that he needed to treasure it preciously either.
'Let me experiment.'
The most important thing was what level of might the Supreme Great Power beads possessed.
He needed to confirm what level of wishes could be fulfilled.
Anyway, even if he consumed everything, it would fully recharge in a month, so he didn't need to treasure it like his life.
'No, I actually shouldn't save it.'
He had to actively use it where needed.
He was a low-class mountain person without a proper master. He had to devote himself to cultivation by mobilizing all available resources.
Just as he was pondering what wish to make.
"Ah!"
A thought suddenly occurred to him.
Self-defense!
This world was completely different from Earth in his past life where human rights existed.
If there was one rule, it was survival of the fittest.
A land of natural selection where only the strong survived. Naturally, security was terribly awful.
It was a harsh place where you could get stabbed and killed just walking down the street tomorrow. It wasn't for nothing that 15-year-old him carried a pudao around.
Living in such a dangerous place, he naturally had to think about self-defense.
'Could I possibly make my strength stronger?'
Low-level practitioners who'd just entered Qi Refinement had trouble handling proper spells.
Their main fighting methods were punching and slashing.
Their combat power far exceeded ordinary humans, but didn't greatly deviate from 'humans with a lot more strength.'
'Wait. How strong am I now?'
The moment he grabbed a hard wooden staff out of sudden curiosity.
Crack!
The solid wood shattered in one go from his grip strength. The vast power contained in his writhing muscles showed it had departed from the human realm.
"Huh."
Chen Xiaoming's mouth fell open, surprised even at his own action.
Just the muscle strength that naturally grew stronger from becoming a Qi Refinement practitioner was this much. Now he felt like he could fight a gorilla barehanded and win.
'...No. Get a grip! I've only just become a Qi Refinement practitioner. I don't know any spells, so I'm the weakest among practitioners.'
He hurriedly cast away the arrogance that had silently seeped in.
He shook his head vigorously and thought about self-defense measures again.
'Anyway, security here is the worst. Safety measures are urgent.'
He was done with punks extorting spirit stones from him.
He wanted to learn powerful spells, but the problem was always money. Learning spells also cost spirit stones.
Right now he was broke. He didn't have spirit stones, let alone fragments.
Moreover, with his pathetic spirit qi at Qi Refinement Level 1, it was hard to even use spells.
To freely wield flames and ride flying swords through the sky, he had to raise his realm.
'You need to be at least Qi Refinement Level 4 to use proper spells.'
He recalled the cultivation world common sense he'd researched here and there over three years.
To become a true immortal, an eternally undying absolute, he had to advance beyond being a Qi Refinement practitioner.
In the cultivation world, realms were divided into Qi Refinement, Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Nascent Soul, and Transformation, with each realm divided into Levels 1 through 9.
Especially Levels 4 and 7 were so difficult to break through they were called small realms.
To summarize.
Levels 1-3 were early stage.
Levels 4-6 were middle stage.
Levels 7-9 were late stage.
Also, the realm right before breaking through a great realm was called Grand Perfect, but that wasn't important right now.
'Simply put, my realm is Qi Refinement Level 1. In other words, the absolute bottom of early-stage Qi Refinement practitioners.'
Chen Xiaoming shook his head, recalling his position.
Anyway, the important thing was that it was hard to handle spells during early Qi Refinement.
Ultimately, physical combat was the main approach, so having strong strength was a big advantage.
'Alright. Let me try increasing my strength with the Supreme Great Power.'
Without wasting time, he focused his mind. The moment he wished for his whole body's muscles to become stronger.
One of the golden beads he could feel even with his eyes closed turned to powder and disappeared.
Crack!
A tingling energy surged from his spine. A subtle heat spread along with a cool feeling throughout his body.
Just as he was about to fall into the mysterious sensation.
"...Is that it?"
The mystical energy vanished without a trace.
Chen Xiaoming blinked in confusion.
It seemed like he'd gotten stronger but it was too minute. It was hard to tell whether it was just his imagination or if he'd actually been strengthened.
Frowning, he quietly went outside.
Thump!
He jumped in place with full force and recorded how high he could jump.
Then he made the same wish once more.
'...Still can't tell. One more time.'
He kept repeating it. After a total of 4 golden beads were consumed.
"Ah!"
Now he was certain.
His jumping power had increased compared to before strengthening his strength. His elastic thighs emitted powerful force.
He could touch heights that his fingertips couldn't reach no matter how much he jumped. He felt roughly 10% stronger.
'...Could I possibly absorb spirit qi with the Supreme Great Power too?'
A cultivator's fundamental ability stemmed from their realm. To truly become stronger, he had to accumulate spirit qi and raise his realm.
Without hesitation, he immediately made a wish.
Whoosh!
A calm breeze blew. He felt like the vortex in his dantian had grown minutely.
He'd succeeded in absorbing spirit qi and accumulating it in his dantian.
'Good. This works too.'
The effect was definitely there, but it was disappointing. He'd already consumed half the Supreme Great Power experimenting. It would take 15 days to recover this much.
Chen Xiaoming stroked his chin thoughtfully.
'Getting stronger like this is possible but... it seems a bit inefficient.'
A good idea suddenly occurred to him.
He hurried back inside and sat cross-legged on the bed. The moment he circulated the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique while focusing his mind.
Crumble!
Another golden bead turned to powder. The spirit qi vortex grew noticeably.
"It worked!"
This time he definitely felt it.
He could feel spirit qi accumulating in his dantian with his skin. The efficiency was at least double that of just making a wish.
Making wishes with nothing but guts was like digging the ground with a smartphone.
If he wanted to accumulate spirit qi quickly, he had to increase the spirit qi absorption rate while running the technique.
Chen Xiaoming nodded with a satisfied smile.
He felt like he'd realized how to use the divine ability called [Supreme Great Power].
* * *
A month passed.
Chen Xiaoming circulated the Five Elements Qi Refinement Technique every day to manage his realm and swung his pudao to adapt to his strengthened body.
Also, he researched the most important thing—the Supreme Great Power.
He also tried improving his spirit root aptitude, but the effect was minimal compared to the effort put in.
He'd have to pour in at least several months' worth of Supreme Great Power to see noticeable improvement.
In his current situation without resources to spare, he had no choice but to put it off for later.
What he'd realized during this time was...
[Supreme Great Power] was most efficient when accomplishing things that were just barely impossible.
It was most effective when achieving subtly impossible things—half a step beyond the range of possible things.
For example.
[Chen Xiaoming]
[Lifespan: 15/118]
[Realm: Qi Refinement Level 1]
[Supreme Great Power: 9/10]
He could even create a [System] like this.
It wasn't as difficult as expected.
'Finding out lifespan isn't impossible. Any practitioner can vaguely sense their own lifespan.'
Using a talisman containing a spell, a lifespan talisman, could reveal it even more accurately.
"Heh."
An empty laugh suddenly escaped.
If there was one thing he'd been most disappointed about after awakening his past life, it was not having a [System].
He couldn't describe how much he'd wished for this over three years risking his life climbing the mountain.
After creating a system using the Supreme Great Power, an inexplicable sense of pride surged up.
With just this system, he felt like he could accomplish anything.
Like it would illuminate the future like a lighthouse.
Of course, it wasn't very effective.
Not yet.