Having grown up in an orphanage, Lin Yichen moved out as soon as he started school and began living alone in an apartment.
As soon as he unlocked his front door, Lin Yichen eagerly dashed into his bedroom and immediately summoned the System:
"System! Use the Realm Advancement Card!"
"Ding! Using the Rank 7 Spiritual Psionicist Realm Advancement Card... Ding! Use successful!"
The moment the System's voice faded, Lin Yichen felt his spiritual psionicist rank begin to skyrocket.
Rank 3 Early-Stage
Rank 3 Mid-Stage
Rank 4 Mid-Stage
Rank 5...
It slowly came to a halt only upon reaching Rank 7 Early-Stage. Fortunately, the System suppressed the breakthrough aura; otherwise, the sheer energy of this breakthrough alone would have been enough to reduce the building Lin Yichen was in to ashes, instantly turning him into a homeless wretch.
Sensing the unimaginably powerful force surging within his body, Lin Yichen swelled with a hint of conceit. He felt as though he were a god in the heavens, utterly invincible.
Of course, this was merely an illusion born from leaping through dozens of realms in such a short span of time, and it took him a long while to calm down.
Disgusted by Lin Yichen's pathetic display, the System dragged him straight into the System Space.
Finding himself abruptly thrust into an unfamiliar environment, Lin Yichen froze for a moment. But before he could even react, a sandbag-sized fist came flying straight at him!
"Ouch!"
This single punch instantly gifted Lin Yichen a half-panda eye. Clearly not satisfied with just one punch, that sandbag-sized fist rained down upon him like a tempest.
Feeling the pain all over his body, the overwhelming conceit that had just filled Lin Yichen—who had only moments ago broken through to Rank 7 Early-Stage as a telekinetic master—vanished instantly, and he was humbled on the spot.
However, the System didn't just beat him blindly; it granted him breathing room to adapt to his newfound power.
Amidst a chorus of miserable shrieks, who knew how much time passed before Lin Yichen could finally wield the power within him to perfection? Even deploying his nine Dark Blades along with the auxiliary assistance of the Phantom Eye, fighting at such full firepower, he was already able to trade blows with the System's fist on equal terms.
Of course, just how much the System had held back was anyone's guess.
"Ding! You dog of a host, have you learned your lesson?"
Hearing this, Lin Yichen rubbed his bruised, purplish eyes awkwardly and replied:
"I've learned my lesson! I've really learned my lesson!"
Upon exiting the System Space, the injuries on Lin Yichen's body vanished instantly, and in a flash, he transformed back into a sunny, cheerful young man.
The Phantom Eye and the nine Dark Blades from the Newcomer Gift Pack had already grown familiar to him through his battle with the System, with the nine Dark Blades having even upgraded into nine King-tier weapons as Lin Yichen's realm advanced.
Aside from those, only a single cultivation manual remained unclaimed. Thinking of this, Lin Yichen immediately spoke up:
"System, learn the Myriad Origin Heart Scripture."
"Ding! Infusing the host with cultivation manual experience... Ding! Infusion complete."
In an instant, countless characters and the experiences of predecessors who had practiced it flooded Lin Yichen's mind. Though it was merely a split second, Lin Yichen felt as though he had spent countless days and nights studying this imperial scripture.
After a brief moment, Lin Yichen slowly opened his eyes, which flickered with a faint purple light. At this moment, though his realm remained unchanged, his combat power had multiplied severalfold.
Lin Yichen was now truly invincible at the King Level. Against martial powerhouse of the Martial Emperor realm, as long as they hadn't cultivated an imperial-tier manual, he was likely a match for absolutely none of them.
At this, Lin Yichen once again swelled with conceit, which was promptly followed by another round of loving education from the System. A short while later, Lin Yichen rubbed his face and opened the System Panel:
Host: Lin Yichen
Gender: Depends on this System's mood
Talent: Superior
Realm: Level 4 Martial Artist, Rank 7 Telekinetic Master Early-Stage (Martial King Early-Stage)
Cultivation Manuals: Imperial Scripture — Myriad Origin Heart Scripture, Xuan-tier Manual — Scorching Sun Art, Earth-tier Heart Scripture — Phantom Shadow Heart Scripture
Combat Techniques: Telekinetic Arts — Phantom Eye (Consummate), Basic Fist Techniques (Consummate), Basic Swordsmanship (Consummate), Xuan-tier Sword Technique — Seven Apertures Sword Art (Great Accomplishment), Huang-tier Sword Technique — Piercing Rainbow (Consummate), Huang-tier Fist Technique — Back-Opening Fist (Consummate)
Weapons: Nine Telekinetic King-tier Weapons — Dark Blades, Xuan-tier Longsword — Lucid Sword
Wealth: 6,487,600 RMB
System Evaluation: A little rookie prone to conceit, a dog of a host who shatters at a single touch.
Seeing his newly enriched, luxurious panel, Lin Yichen nodded in satisfaction, though seeing the System evaluation still forced him to let out a curse:
"What the..."
...
A ray of early morning sunlight spilled into the room.
"Yawn! Nnnngh...!" (A series of twitchy, erratic stretches)
Lin Yichen had spent god knows how long trash-talking the System last night, only falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Yet despite having slept for mere hours, he didn't feel a shred of fatigue; instead, he felt refreshed and clear-headed.
Remembering that today was still a day off, although he wasn't sleepy, Lin Yichen decided to enjoy himself and take a cozy second nap.
However, sleep was destined to evade him today.
"Ding! Considering that the dog of a host is slacking off far too much, this System has decided to issue a quest!"
Hearing this, Lin Yichen sleepily mumbled:
"Stop messing around! Ah—!"
A jolt of electricity instantly shocked Lin Yichen upright.
System-issued electricity: leaving you stunned without harming the brain.
With that disruption, any thoughts of a second nap were thoroughly dashed, and Lin Yichen asked helplessly:
"Spit it out, System. What's the mission?"
"Ding! Although the Guardian Target has not yet been bound, to ensure the future Guardian Target's safety, the host is requested to immediately head to the Forest of Annihilation and eliminate a Martial King Level mutated beast that has fled there with injuries.
Quest Success Reward: Special Combat Technique — Stealthy Evasion
Quest Failure Penalty: None"
Upon hearing the System's quest, Lin Yichen's gaze sharpened as he muttered:
"Good grief! A Martial King Level mutated beast? In the Forest of Annihilation?"
Lin Yichen understood both terms individually, but put together, they suddenly became a bit hard to comprehend.
Outside every city lay one or more secret realms, specifically opened for martial artists. Anyone below the martial artist level (including martial artists) was barred from entering.
As for the Forest of Annihilation, it was Hushi's sole secret realm. Up to now, the strongest known entity within it was merely a Death Silence Thunder Eagle, whose strength barely reached the Grandmaster Late-Stage level.
And now, the System was actually claiming that a Martial King Level mutated beast had sneaked into the Forest of Annihilation. Even if it was injured, this was downright absurd. If this Martial King Level mutated beast launched an attack, then even if powerhouses from other states provided timely reinforcements, Hushi would likely suffer countless casualties.
Thinking of this, Lin Yichen immediately stood up and vanished from the room. As a Rank 7 psionicist, Lin Yichen was already capable of spatial teleportation.
In just a brief moment, Lin Yichen appeared at the entrance of the Forest of Annihilation. To the people around him, Lin Yichen's sudden appearance seemed completely invisible, drawing not a single gaze.
As Lin Yichen walked through the gates of the secret realm, one of the guards standing watch rubbed his eyes and looked at his comrade:
"Old Hu, did the secret realm gate just flash a moment ago?"
"Huh? I have no idea. Nobody just went in, so how could the gate possibly flash? You must have been lacking restraint last night and are seeing things today, aren't you?"
The guard called Old Hu grinned as he looked at him.
"Screw you, my health is great! Fighting for three days and three nights is no problem at all!"
Blushing furiously as he refuted Old Hu, the guard scratched his head and, looking at the completely calm secret realm gate, muttered to himself:
"Could I really have seen things?"