"Hahaha…"
Inside the old hut, Damon burst out laughing as he stared at the piles of spirit crystals stacked before him.
"Ha… ha…"
He panted heavily, greed flashing in his eyes, before calling out his inventory and sweeping all the crystals away—leaving a single spirit crystal behind in his hand.
Standing up, Damon sat back down on the creaking cot, casually tossing the crystal into the air and catching it again.
"Hmm… let's try this," he muttered.
"Multiply."
The moment he attempted to activate the multiplier on the crystal in his hand, the purple system screen abruptly turned red. An error message flashed before his eyes.
[Error! Already multiplied items cannot be amplified again!]
"Tch."
Damon clicked his tongue.
He already knew about this restriction, so he didn't dwell on it. With a thought, he returned the crystal to his inventory.
"Finally got the system," Damon murmured, excitement still lingering in his voice. "…Now what?"
Now came the real question—his future in this world.
With the system in his hands, success was guaranteed. That much was certain.
But what about now?
"Follow the original plot?"
As the protagonist, following the original storyline would make sense—but Damon had no intention of doing so.
"The plot is idiotic," he muttered flatly. "And honestly, I don't want anything to do with it—or the people in it."
No matter how grand it was supposed to be, to Damon it was nothing more than brain rot from a reader's perspective.
"Let's recall what the original did first…"
The first thing the original protagonist had done was exactly what Damon had just done—multiply a spirit crystal.
But after that?
He walked into an expensive alchemy shop wearing ragged clothes.
"…Yeah. I don't even need to explain what happened next."
A classic face-slapping scene.
The staff mocked him. Customers looked down on him. He was humiliated for no reason whatsoever.
Classic MTL trash.
"Then the idiot used spirit crystals instead of gold and bid on pills," Damon recalled with a sigh.
In the Blackwater region—especially among outer sect disciples—possessing spirit crystals was nothing short of a luxury.
"Picked a fight with some random young master, outbid him, and took the pills…"
Damon scratched his chin, trying to recall the details. His memory wasn't perfect—he wasn't the type to remember every chapter word for word.
"Let me think… yeah. The humiliated young master sent low-level mobs to beat him up."
They failed.
Then came provocation.
Then murder.
"Then the father came… then elders… then ancestors… then the ancestor's ancient friend… then that guy's family…"
Damon's lips twitched.
"Holy sons. Different sects. Princes. Crown princes. Foreign races…"
He rubbed his temples.
"Oh god… I really don't want to do that."
Killing a random teenager from a wealthy background and triggering an endless chain of face-slapping was the last thing he wanted.
"First things first—forget the plot."
Damon had no reason to involve himself in it. Instead, he needed to focus on what actually mattered right now.
"Alright… what should I multiply next?"
Anything could only be multiplied once. That was the one true limitation of the system.
Calling it a nerf was laughable—being able to multiply anything by a billion times even once was already absurd.
"…Body? Cultivation?"
Damon frowned as he considered it.
Multiplying his body sounded tempting, but in a cultivation world, it wasn't the optimal choice.
There were gods, immortals, and ancient species that lived for billions of years. Even if his body was strengthened a billionfold, it would still be insignificant compared to beings whose infants could crush him effortlessly.
"Using the multiplier after cultivating to a limit sounds more reasonable."
Cultivation.
The process of using natural energy to forcibly evolve the body—transcending mortal limits and walking the path toward godhood.
Damon was currently at the lowest level.
Even if he multiplied his cultivation by a billion times right now, he might barely step beyond mortal boundaries. It wouldn't bring him anywhere near the absolute peak he desired.
"What if I reach the peak first… then apply the multiplier?"
The thought made his breath hitch.
It sounded ridiculous.
But also… terrifyingly reasonable.
With a billionfold amplifier, reaching the peak of the cultivation world was inevitable if used wisely. Applying it after reaching the absolute limit?
That would be stepping into the impossible.
Using it now would give him immediate safety. Many would consider that the smarter choice.
But Damon knew better.
"In MTL worlds, every realm is cannon fodder," he muttered bitterly.
"One chapter it's a legendary realm unseen for centuries. The next, some random old man or brat walks out stronger."
He sighed deeply.
After weighing his options, Damon made his decision.
For the sake of an absolute future, he would reach the peak through his own efforts—then use the multiplier.
"If I'm ever truly in danger…" his eyes hardened, "…then I'll use it on my cultivation."
With that settled, Damon spent the next ten minutes thinking carefully about what he should amplify immediately.
Finally, an answer surfaced.
"System," Damon commanded calmly. "Use multiplier on spirit roots."
Spirit Roots
Spirit roots are a special organ said to exist within the pelvic region of the body.
They are a critical component of cultivation, determining whether an individual is capable of absorbing and refining natural energies.
For the vast majority of living beings, this organ is either rudimentary or completely absent. Such individuals, no matter their effort or circumstances, are forever barred from the path of cultivation.
Spirit roots govern one's affinity toward natural energies and directly reflect the innate talent of the body.
In essence, they form the most fundamental basis of cultivation aptitude.
The quality of one's spirit roots determines how efficiently spiritual energy can be absorbed, refined, and controlled. A higher-grade spirit root grants smoother cultivation, fewer bottlenecks, and greater long-term potential.
Spirit roots are divided into multiple grades, ranked according to their purity and affinity:
Low Grade
Common Grade
High Grade
Top Grade
Royal Grade
Earth Grade
Heaven Grade
Saint Grade
Divine Grade
These nine grades are recognized as the universal classification of spirit roots.
Within the Lesser Plane, Royal Grade spirit roots are considered the absolute pinnacle.
Any grade beyond Royal is regarded as legendary—existing only in ancient records, myths, or higher realms beyond mortal comprehension.
The moment the command was issued, an overwhelming surge of energy assaulted his body.
It forcefully entered through his nose and mouth, flooding into his abdomen like a raging tsunami. The energy surged downward, racing toward his pelvis—where his spirit roots resided.
Crak—crak—
Damon clenched his teeth and shut his eyes as cracking sounds echoed from within his body.
The pain wasn't physical.
It was astral.
Something deep within him was being shattered and rebuilt.
A strange current coursed through his body. Dense, cold energy enveloped him—unfamiliar, yet strangely comforting.
[Ding!]
[Spirit Roots (Low Grade) → Spirit Roots (Primordial)]