Chapter 47 - Following A Marked.
Kai mentally said,
"Mark Elder Huan."
[Must be in physical contact.]
Kai decided to trust his instincts. The system had never explained how Mark worked, but somehow he instinctively knew how to activate it.
Without hesitating, Kai reached out and lightly tapped Elder Huan on the shoulder before raising his hand for a handshake.
"Honestly, I don't know how this works, nor what I'll call you. But you better be sure you're not getting called Master any time soon."
Elder Huan chuckled.
"Just call me Huan. Or Zu Jin. That's my name. Huan is just the family name."
Elder Huan firmly shook Kai's hand.
Kai didn't waste any time.
"Mark and Inspect."
[Mark Level is too low for full function.]
[Marked person is too strong.]
[Inferior Mark has been placed on Zu Jin Huan.]
[The Inferior Mark will allow you to feel the marked person's location and share his vision for 2.5 minutes per week.]
[Unable to inspect user. Level too high.]
Kai was surprised. He knew that the higher someone's level was, the weaker Inspect became, but to be completely blocked... that was new.
Along with the Mark, Kai suddenly noticed another sensation. Elder Huan carried a sweet but incredibly strong scent that stood out from everything around him. It was so distinct that Kai felt he could track Elder Huan anywhere simply by following it.
At the same time, Elder Huan felt something brush against his soul when Kai attempted to inspect him. He instinctively blocked it, though a grin slowly spread across his face.
"Wow... not only soul-damaging items, a storage skill, but even an inspection skill that's this strong? This isn't a gem... this is an entire gold mine!" Elder Huan said mentally
The two left the room and eventually exited the medical facility.
Kai returned to the dorms. With nothing else to do, he slowly realized he no longer wanted to fight Luca anymore. At least, not after everything that had happened.
Kai jumped down from the top bunk, landing smoothly. Once again, his increased Agility made every movement feel fluid and effortless.
He didn't bother doing anything else and instead headed straight toward the dome where official matches were held.
After arriving, he made sure to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Luca before asking one of the staff where Elder Huan's underground dojo was located.
Once that was done, Kai returned to his room, only to stop as his eyes landed on something he had completely forgotten about.
[Daily Quest...]
[Incomplete.]
[1 - Do 50 pushups with 2x weight added.]
[2 - Train your Soul.]
[3 - Upgrade your Cultivation Technique.]
Kai sighed.
"I may only have a tiny bit of time left, but if I do the pushups in my mind space... do they count?"
[No. The pushups must be completed using your physical body, not your metaphysical one.]
Kai let out an even deeper sigh before getting back to his feet. Without hesitating, he decided to test his new Speed stat.
Kai had long since realized that his stats were far more useful than he had first expected.
Intelligence, for example.
Before, he had believed it was almost useless.
Now, however, it had reached a level where he could actually notice its effects. His memory recall had become far sharper, memorizing things took much less effort, learning new information felt easier, and even his mathematical ability had improved dramatically.
Before obtaining the system, Kai had been terrible at math. Now, he already knew his top speed without needing to ask the system.
Still, he asked anyway.
[Your new top speed is: 193.15 km/h.]
Kai smiled as he lowered himself into a runner's stance.
His destination...
The training grounds.
He had never actually been there before, but after one quick glance at the academy map stored on his student ID, he already knew the route by heart.
Kai exploded forward, leaving rippling winds and cracked ground in his wake.
His speed quickly climbed past 100 km/h.
He had no reason to show off. In fact, hiding his true abilities was the smarter choice, especially considering he could move nearly another 100 km/h faster if he truly wanted to.
Even now, Kai still found it hard to believe. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined moving this fast or possessing two bloodlines.
It made him wonder what the system truly was and how it actually worked.
As always, the system ignored questions like that unless they were asked directly.
Kai didn't have time to dwell on it anyway. He was already weaving between students walking through the academy.
Sure, his Intelligence was high.
That didn't magically make him wise.
Not yet, at least.
Eventually, he slowed as he reached the entrance leading underground before quickly making his way into the massive training dome.He entered the training dome and immediately began his training.
It was hard.
Honestly, he had underestimated it.
Damn, was it difficult.
By the twenty-fifth pushup, he was soaked in sweat, a practical pond forming beneath him.
Even so, he refused to give up.
As he continued, he mentally said,
"Well... Regeneration."
His regeneration activated.
Mana was rapidly consumed, but his body recovered just as quickly, allowing him to keep pushing forward.
Finally, after the fiftieth pushup, he heard the oh-so-wonderful sound.
[Completed one of three Daily Quests.]
The notification came in the same emotionless voice as always.
Kai continued training his soul in the background, wincing every hour from the pain.
Eventually, he made his way back toward the towering dorm buildings and took a bath.
As he relaxed in the warm water, another notification finally appeared.
[Completed two of the three Daily Quests.]
Kai grinned as he felt his soul finally settle down after enduring all of that pain.
At this point, even he was beginning to think the system was slightly sadistic.
Ignoring that thought, Kai climbed out of the bath and headed back to his bed.
He opened a part of the system that had once been locked but was finally available again.
[System Shop]
[Weapons] [Armour] [Resources] [Techniques]
Kai smirked.
"What? You thought I was going to waste time learning how cultivation even works? Nah. Why do that when I can just buy one?"
To Kai's surprise, the system remained completely silent.
He simply selected Techniques and, after a quick scroll, clicked on one entry.
[Advanced Cultivation Technique]
[Cost: 250 Exp]
Kai sighed.
"No more information? What the hell."
Shrugging, he bought it anyway and watched, slightly painfully, as his experience dropped.
[Level - 12]
[Exp 10/1,200]
Instantly became
[Level - 11]
[Exp 860/1,100]
At least the purchase came with a worthwhile reward.
[Advanced Cultivation Technique: Allows the user to rapidly absorb mana from any source, excluding living sources.]
Kai smirked as he noticed that every daily quest had now been completed.
[Exp 900/1,100]
Kai glanced at the time and realized it was already night.
He really wanted to sleep.After all he was tired after all of the thing's he had to deal with.
Then...
He remembered a certain person.
Who was now his master.
Kai's eyes widened.
He jumped off the bed.
"Ah..."
A cold sweat ran down his back.
"He's going to kill me..."
He froze for a second before suddenly remembering.
"I forgot the duel."