Chapter Eleven
Li Yu stared at the scene with his mouth slightly open.
"Wait, so the mirror beast saved ?" Even now, disbelief filled his eyes. Then the vision shattered. A bright flash covered his sight and Li Yu found himself back in the present. His hand instantly grabbed the necklace around his neck. His unborn summon actually saved him from certain death. And it hadn’t even hatched yet. That realization alone was ridiculous. Happiness and pride swelled inside Li Yu’s chest as he held the tiny egg gently before kissing it.
"Thank you," he muttered softly, almost emotionally. "I knew choosing you was the right decision."
"Ahem." The system’s voice ruined the touching mont imdiately. Its tone carried obvious sarcasm. [System: So after seeing everything, does host still believe he would have survived on his own?]
Li Yu quickly tucked the necklace back into his clothes before sitting upright and coughing twice like a scholar preparing to defend his thesis. "Well, if you observed carefully at the final mont," he began shalessly, "you would notice I only looked dead. In reality, I already had a backup survival plan prepared. My pet simply acted first, so naturally I didn’t need to waste my own trump card."
The lie ca out so smoothly it almost sounded believable. Almost. The system snorted. It didn’t even bother replying. This host was truly hopeless. After that the system went silent.
Liyu was also silent as he replayed what he had gone through this past few hours, his suicidal body refinents, his death, his revival through his unborn pet and the finally he still had the two drop of the holy Cleansing elixir.
Instantly, his mood improved by several levels. Passing through unimaginable tornt, dying once, and sohow keeping both drops of the Holy Cleansing Elixir...
Li Yu’s expression beca complicated.
Looking back, he still wasn’t sure whether he had been brave or simply insane.
"...Still."
His gaze landed on the bottle in the system space.
"I’m definitely happy I didn’t lose them."
Feeling refreshed, Li Yu placed one hand on the ground to push himself up.
BOOM!
The cave floor exploded beneath his palm. Small cracks spread violently across the ground as a crater ford under his casual movent. Li Yu froze. "Huh?" Then he pushed slightly harder while standing.
BANG! BANG!
The ground shook again. His hand nearly sank into the rock itself. Li Yu’s eyes widened as he hurriedly stood to his full height. "What the hell is happening to ?"
Instead of answering directly, the system finally released the notifications it had been withholding.
[Ding! You have broken through to the Fourth Stage of Body Refinent.]
[Ding! You have broken through to the Fifth Stage of Body Refinent.]
[Ding! You have broken through to the Sixth Stage of Body Refinent.]
[Ding! You have broken through to the Seventh Stage of Body Refinent.]
The notifications stopped there. Li Yu blinked. Then his face twisted. "Wait. WAIT. All that traumatizing suffering, all that pain, all that near-death torture and I only advanced from the Third Stage to the Seventh?!"
Li Yu looked genuinely offended. He had practically died! His muscles got shredded. His bones turned into powder. His organs exploded. His heart literally stopped beating. And after all that, the system only gave him four stages? What kind of scam was this?
But even while complaining, Li Yu couldn’t ignore the other issue. The sheer strength flowing through his body was absurd. It felt overwhelming. Every tiny movent carried explosive force behind it. He was struggling just to control his own strength. From the mories of the original Li Yu, Rayden knew one thing for certain: Cultivators at the Seventh Stage of Body Refinent absolutely should not possess this level of physical power. Not even close. He rembered watching senior disciples in the late stages before. Compared to what he was feeling now, they seed weak. Dangerously weak.
Li Yu slowly clenched his fist. The air around it trembled faintly. For a brief mont, he genuinely felt invincible. "Hey, system," Li Yu said slowly, staring at his own hand. "Would you care to explain what exactly is happening to ?"
The system sounded slightly grumpy, probably still holding a grudge from their earlier argunt. When it finally spoke, its monotone voice sohow sounded eerily cold. [System: If host used even half of his brain properly, he should already have figured it out himself. But since that clearly isn’t happening, I will explain.]
Li Yu’s face twitched. This damn system really never missed a chance to insult him. [System: Unlike most cultivators, who possess Earth Grade or Sky Grade spirit roots, you possess sothing far beyond anything this world has ever seen.] [System: A Divine Grade Spirit Root.] [System: Combined with your Primal Tyrant Physique, you are practically a bottomless pit when it cos to absorbing energy.] [System: The amount of energy others need to cross several stages in a realm might not even be enough for you to advance a single stage in that sa realm.]
Li Yu froze. Then his expression changed dramatically. "Wait, are you saying I’m dood to lag behind everyone because of my Divine Grade spirit root?" His voice rose in disbelief. "Isn’t this thing supposed to be a blessing?! Why does it suddenly sound like a curse?!"
The system sighed like an exhausted teacher forced to explain basic mathematics to a failing student for the tenth ti. [System: You possess a spirit root the combined spirit roots of this entire world could never rival, yet you are calling it a curse.] [System: Host truly is foolish.]
"There’s no need for the insult!" Li Yu groaned angrily. Seriously, this system was petty. Was it still upset about their earlier fight? [System: Host, I am not insulting you. I am simply describing reality.] [System: Listen carefully.]
The system paused briefly before continuing. [System: A spirit root determines the foundation and future of a cultivator. Think of it as storage space.] [System: Most people possess Earth Grade or Sky Grade spirit roots. Their capacity is comparable to a small room or, at best, a dium-sized hall. Naturally, it does not require much energy to fill them.] [System: Your Divine Grade spirit root, however, is comparable to an entire planet.]
Li Yu’s eyes widened. [System: The amount of energy required to fill that gap is naturally monstrous.]
"Wait, wait, WAIT!" Li Yu panicked instantly. "That sounds terrible! That sounds WAY too terrible!" If this continued, wouldn’t it take him forever to advance?!
The system quickly corrected itself. [System: That was rely an analogy for explanation purposes. Your spirit root is not yet that absurd.] Li Yu imdiately sighed in relief. Then the system continued. [System: Currently, your spirit root’s capacity is roughly equivalent to several massive buildings combined.]
Li Yu’s relief vanished instantly. "And sohow that explanation made it worse!" He grabbed his head in despair. Then another thought struck him. "Wait, the amount of essence energy that pushed from the Third Stage to the Seventh..." Li Yu swallowed. "How would that sa amount affect normal cultivators?"
The system went silent for a few seconds. When it finally answered, its tone sounded oddly subdued. [System: Firstly, no sane cultivator would ever attempt your suicidal body refinent thod, especially not at your current realm.] [System: Most would have exploded long ago.]
"Just answer the question."
The system paused. Then, [System: If that amount of energy were given to soone with an Earth Grade spirit root, it would be enough to raise at least three cultivators from the First Stage of Body Refinent directly to the peak of the realm.]
Li Yu stared blankly. [System: For Sky Grade spirit roots, it would raise at least two cultivators from the First Stage all the way to the pinnacle of Body Refinent.]
Silence filled the cave. Then Li Yu laughed weakly. A completely joyless laugh. "So what you’re basically saying is I need to put in ten—no, twenty tis the effort everyone else needs just to keep up." He pointed at himself. "And this sohow isn’t a curse?"
His expression twisted with complicated emotions. Seriously, so much for becoming so overpowered protagonist. This system was roasting him alive. The system stayed silent for a mont before speaking again. This ti, its tone beca calr. [System: Actually, while you are at a disadvantage in terms of required energy, the benefits you possess are sothing others would kill for.]
Li Yu blinked. [System: You already noticed your physical strength is abnormally high, correct?] Li Yu slowly nodded. That part was undeniable. [System: That is the effect of both your Divine Grade Spirit Root and your Primal Tyrant Physique working together.] [System: You are fundantally different from ordinary cultivators.] [System: In fact, you are far stronger than any normal Seventh Stage Body Refinent cultivator.]
The system paused before dropping another bomb. [System: No.] [System: You are likely the strongest Body Refinent cultivator in the entire world right now.]
Li Yu blinked rapidly. "Wait. Seriously?" [System: Absolutely.] [System: At the Body Refinent Realm, you are practically a monster.] [System: And you have not even reached the peak yet.] [System: More importantly, this overwhelming advantage will continue growing as you progress through higher realms.] [System: As long as host does not beco lazy or do anything excessively stupid, you will remain monstrous in every realm you enter.]
Hearing that instantly lifted Li Yu’s mood. A grin slowly spread across his face. "Well, when you put it that way, it doesn’t sound too bad." No wonder his body felt so ridiculous right now. The strength flowing through him was insane. "Then tell this," Li Yu asked excitedly. "What realm does my combat power currently match?"
The system perford a quick analysis. [System: Host’s current combat strength is roughly comparable to most Mid-Stage Qi Gathering cultivators.]
Li Yu’s grin widened. Then the system added calmly: [System: You are also capable of contending against weaker Peak Qi Gathering cultivators.]
Silence. Then, "WHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Li Yu burst into loud laughter. His laughter echoed throughout the cave like a villain finally unlocking his hidden power. "THIS IS IT!" "My ti has finally co!" He laughed wildly with a grin full of arrogance.
The system suddenly sounded concerned. [System: Host, I sincerely hope your ntal state is not collapsing.]
Li Yu waved dismissively. "No, no. I’m perfectly sane." Then his grin slowly turned darker. "It’s just, from the original Li Yu’s mories, I saw how this forest treated him." His voice beca colder. "He was hunted." "Bullied." "Terrorized." "All while being too weak to fight back."
Li Yu clenched his fist tightly. "Now that I’ve inherited his body, I should honor his na properly." A dangerous smile appeared on his face. "I’ll make every beast in this forest understand true fear." He casually punched the air.
BOOM!
A violent shockwave exploded outward instantly. The vines covering the cave walls shattered apart, several of them ripping open from the pressure alone. Li Yu looked at his fist with satisfaction. "Good," he muttered. "Very good."
Then his smile widened further. "It’s finally ti." "Ti for to terrorize the hell out of every beast living in this forest." His gaze darkened dangerously. "I’ll make them feel exactly what Li Yu felt." "Fear." "Helplessness." "Despair." "WHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The system imdiately responded. [System: Host requires urgent ntal evaluation.] [System: Current madness level: Third Phase.]
"SYSTEM SHUT UPPPPP!"
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