18 Eye Tempering Realm!

The next morning, Lin Ke was woken up by the shining rays of the morning sun. Looking around, he couldn't find anything that could help him tell the time. He sat up on the bed and stretched his arms out. Lily was nowhere to be found, probably not manifesting in her physical form for now.

"Good morning! What a fine morning! Such great weather today, right?" Lily greets Lin Ke inside his head.

"Good morning." Lin Ke replies. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Right now it's 6:45 in the morning." Lily says.

"SIX??? What? Dang, let me just go back to sleep again." Lin Ke lies down again, this time closing the curtains that he hadn't realized were open last night.

"WAIT! Get up! It's time you received your cultivation increase to the Eye Tempering Realm." Lily yells at him.

Lily's words send chills down Lin Ke's back. He could still remember the feeling of needles against his skin and the feeling of his bones practically snapping. It was so unpleasant, he didn't really want to go through that again. Plus, this time it was the eyes. What are they going to do this time? How painful will it be this time? Lin Ke didn't really want to find out.

"Don't be a scaredy-cat. It's just a little bit of pain! It'll go away instantly!" Lin Ke could pretty much just hear the smug smile behind that statement.

"Easy for you to say! Plus, who's the one bawling their eyes out because they had to take a bath?"

"Grrrr. I'm a cat! You're a man! Man up!"

"So what? Just because I don't want to feel my skin being ripped off and by bones being broken I'm not a man? That isn't how it works Lily! There aren't many people who would want to feel that you know? But you know who does? Masochists, Lily, Masochists! You should be ashamed of yourself Lily!"

*Silence*

After a few minutes of silence, Lily continued as if she didn't hear what Lin Ke had just said. "When you reach the Eye Tempering Realm, your eyes will become sharper than it has ever been before. You will be able to see fine details down to the smallest degree when you reach 100% Tempered Rate, which is what the system automatically boosts you to. It is practically a no brainer to level up your cultivation."

Lin Ke thinks about it deeply, having gotten a few minutes of silence to consider the benefits and the drawbacks. Finally, he decides. "I'll do it. Just give me the level up... "

"Ah! I see my words have convinced you, my dear Host! Now, please prepare yourself, the system will be applying the upgrade in 3, 2 - sike! Now!"

"Wait! Can you tone down the pain a l-"

Before Lin Ke could finish his statement, his vision had already faded, leaving the pitch black that was before. All he saw was a few lines of text…

"Startup Process Beginning…"

"Preparations Complete… Will the host please prepare himself."

"Starting Countdown… 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5…"

Lin Ke could feel his nervousness building up slowly as the countdown continued. He was trying to brace himself for the pain that was inevitably going to come.

"3… 2… 1…"

'Here it comes!' Lin Ke thinks to himself.

"1… 1… 1… 1…"

"Huh?" Lin Ke felt all the tension that was rising come to a halt. He was slightly confused as to what was happening. 'Is it stuck?'

"Eye Tempering Sub-realm Cultivation Applied…"

Looking at the words, Lin Ke was totally confused. 'Huh? Where's the pain? Is it over just like that? Lily actually listened to me? I can't believe it! I better thank her later." Lin Ke let out a sigh of relief, and the tension in his shoulders disappeared.

"Just kidding… Applying now."

Then came the pain, Lin Ke felt the searing pain in his eyes. It felt as if someone was poking him with a hot iron pronge. 'It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts IT HURTS!' Lin Ke felt the pain full force, but was unable to open his mouth to scream. He couldn't move his hands either, and could only sit there silently as the pain overwhelmed him. It hurt so much he felt like fainting.

Then his vision cleared, and the pain with it. The excruciating pain that came without any warning disappeared just as quickly. Leaving behind a feeling of relief. Lin Ke was sweating profusely,his entire forehead covered in sweat.

Instinctively, he brought his hands to his eyes to feel them, only sighing in relief that there was no damage. That's when he realized something. He could see everything so clearly. He could see each and every crease of his hands even when it was an arms length away, he could see around the room in such clarity even though it was pretty dark with the curtains closed. It was quite a magical feeling, and was a far cry from his previous life.

In his previous life, Lin Ke had to wear glasses. His vision had been constantly deteriorating from all the time he spent both drawing on an electronic tablet, and squinting to paint and draw physical artworks. It had been so long since he had been able to see clearly without glasses. In fact, when he first got transported into the world, he didn't really feel much of a difference, but in fact, his vision was already restored to near perfect vision.

Lin Ke couldn't help but feel a smile break out on his face. 'I guess the pain was worth it.' He thought. 'Now I'll be able to draw even better artworks and masterpieces.' He pulled open the curtains and looked outside. Yesterday, he hadn't been able to take the time to appreciate the view as it had gotten dark and he was tired, but today, he took the time to look outside with his new sight. He could see the individual blades of grass flowing in the winds, he could see the flowers that had bloomed, each and every petal glistening in the morning sun, and the servants tending to the plants, the paved paths, all of it was so clear to Lin Ke.

"See? What did I say? Isn't it magical?" A voice said. The voice reminds Lin Ke of something. He looks back to see that Lily had taken her physical form.

He thinks back to when the upgrade was being applied. 'Just kidding', the system had said. Plus, if Lily was the system…

He turns to Lily, with his face twisted into an evil look. "You little piece of … How dare you talk to me right now… I think you really want to be punished for what you did huh? Did you think I'll forget that easily?"

He advances on Lily, stretching his hands out. "Hehehe. I'll make you regret being born in this world."

Lily, backs up in a panic. "Wait. Hang on! It was just a joke! I'm sorry!"

"You'll be more sorry after I'm done with you!" Lin Ke roars and grabs Lily tightly. Then, with her struggling, he leaves the room and heads in a familiar direction. Towards the bathroom.