Once the system's familiar sound confirmed that he had finally received his reward, he slowly opened his eyes and felt the changes occurring within his body.
"I definitely feel stronger… although I'm not sure by how much."
What Huang Shi didn't realize—having never actually stared into a mirror since his reincarnation—was that his eyes had turned from pure black to gold, giving him an otherworldly air.
"Alright, let's see how much change that torture did to me."
After remaining quiet for a few seconds, he spoke in a calm tone.
"Status."
Ding.
A ringing sound once again echoed through his ears as the familiar blue transparent screen appeared in front of him, revealing his information:
[Name: Huang Shi]
[Sect: Azure Dragon Sect]
[Status: Son of the Sect Master]
[Cultivation Base: 4th Level Elementary Profound Realm]
[Talent: Divine]
[Physique: Nine Primordial Sunfyre Physique]
The moment the words appeared on the screen, his jaw dropped in shock; clearly, he was left flabbergasted by how much his status changed after just a single day.
Even though I expected things would change after being granted that so-called "heavenly physique," I didn't expect things to change this much!
There were two things that Huang Shi noted after his transformation, starting with the level of his talent.
Divine rank talent? What does that mean?
After staring in confusion for a couple of minutes, he finally asked the system about the differences between talent ranks and the cultivation progression in this world.
[Responding to host: Talents of potential cultivators are divided into 5 tiers, with differences between each level primarily pertaining to the speed of absorbing spiritual energy and the comprehension of spiritual techniques.]
[Tier 0: No Talent]
[Tier 1: Ordinary Talent]
[Tier 2: Gifted]
[Tier 3: Genius]
[Tier 4: Prodigy]
[Tier 5: Divine]
Alright, so I guess the talent part is self-explanatory; basically, the higher the tier, the faster you cultivate in comparison to your peers and the quicker you learn techniques.
"Alright, how about the cultivation progression?"
[The cultivation progression cannot be completely revealed because of the cultivation level of the host.]
Cannot be completely revealed? Why the heck would it not be revealed?
With an odd expression on his face, he quickly asked the system:
"What do you mean it can't be revealed? Is something going to happen if it's revealed to me?"
After a couple moments of silence, the cold mechanical voice of the system once again spoke, replying to his query.
[The host's level of existence is too low; too much information will result in danger being brought upon him.]
When those words were said to him by the system, he suddenly shivered as a sense of fear and anxiety spread through his heart and mind; clearly, this was the system's way of warning him not to ask too many questions.
Damn, is this world that dangerous? Don't tell me I'll die just because of information!!
He felt frustrated by this new reality that essentially screamed danger at every corner; obviously, as a person from Earth who was used to a civilized society with laws and civil protections, being thrust into a world where life and death can end with a snap of someone's fingertips was very unnerving.
Whatever, at this point it's not like I have a choice; it's either I adapt or I die.
After remaining silent for a few minutes, he quickly followed up on the question he previously asked the system.
"Alright, since you can't reveal the progression to me fully, just give me as much information as can be allowed."
The system stayed quiet for a few minutes before revealing the information he wanted to hear.
[Cultivation Progression, each divided into 9 levels]
[Elementary Profound Realm]
[Nascent Profound Realm]
[True Profound Realm]
[Spirit Profound Realm]
[Earth Profound Realm]
[Sky Profound Realm]
Alright, I can work with this information; from what the system has informed me, that bitch Yan Fei is at the 4th level of the Nascent Profound Realm. I don't know how fast that is compared to other people, but it seems she's pretty talented.
My stepmother has similarly reached the Nascent Profound Realm, but I'm pretty sure the reason she's only at that cultivation level is because she hasn't actively done anything to improve her cultivation base in quite a while, probably because of a lack of motivation.
Regardless, I'll need to find a way to improve her cultivation base; since she's considered my woman now, I want her to be able to keep up with me as my cultivation base improves, even if she doesn't improve as fast as I do.
After thinking his thoughts through, he then looked at the second piece of information that the system gave him that piqued his interest.
"According to the system, my cultivation base is already at the 4th level of the Elementary Profound Realm, but how is that possible? I haven't even started to cultivate yet."
He had a look of confusion on his face as he began to think; before long, he started to once again observe the inside of his dantian, looking at his nine suns, and he quickly noticed a problem.
Eh? Where are the other suns? Why is there only one here?
He was flabbergasted; clearly, this was something that he hadn't expected at all, and so he quickly observed every nook and cranny of his dantian, trying to find clues. After a few minutes of observation, he finally had an answer.
So the suns are still there; it's just that they are so faint that, without looking at them clearly, you can't even see them.
He breathed a sigh of relief as his tense expression finally relaxed, and before long, he noticed something peculiar about his body; the more he observed, the more information rushed into his head, giving him a headache.
Fuck, what the hell is happening?! Another torture?
His face scrunched up in pain as he dropped to the floor of his room, writhing in agony.
Luckily for him, the pain didn't last nearly as long as the previous time during his transformation.
Nine Sun Immortal Codex?!