Unlocking the Quest System
Su Login wandered through the shallowest part of the forest, attentive to the movement around him.
He noticed that there were some cultivators flying their Flying Swords in the area where he had first met Dai Yuzui, so he decided not to go there just yet.
As soon as he stopped to mark one of the trees, he saw two creatures emerging from the bushes.
Apparently, the two Wooden Horned Squirrels had been following him all along, just waiting for an opportune moment.
This meant that these two magical beasts had a higher level of cultivation than ordinary squirrels.
Su Login materialized his Flying Sword and launched it towards the creatures, with a spinning effect.
[You killed a 'Wooden Horned Squirrel'.]
[You received 'Wooden Horn'.]
[You received 10 XP.]
Su Login realized that the squirrel he was deflecting was no ordinary squirrel; these creatures usually had no concept of defense.
However, the Wooden Horned Squirrels were no longer a danger to the young man's new level of power.
He didn't want to use up his Wooden Horn, so he used the Aeromancer's Will to throw several stones in the squirrel's direction.
The stones were just a distraction; when the Magical Beast was distracted, Su Login eliminated it with his Flying Sword.
[You killed a 'Wooden Horned Squirrel'.]
[You received 'Wooden Horn'.]
[You received 10 XP.]
[You reached Level 7.]
[You unlocked the 'Quest System'.]
As the System messages appeared, Su Login used his Flying Sword to climb an oak tree and sat down on one of the branches.
After checking that there were no enemies around, he began to think.
He had the Core System.
There were offshoots of the Main System, such as the Daily Login System and the Quest System, these were just examples of the Systems the young man possessed.
At Level 10, Su Login knew that he would unlock the Alchemy System, and the Forge System at Level 15.
He didn't know if there would be any extra Systems in that world, but he didn't care too much and decided to focus on distributing his Points.
His Status screen looked like this after increasing the Strength and Technique attributes:
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[Su Login, 14 Years Old]
[Level: 7]
[XP: 9 / 200]
[Qi: 2,302 / 2,500]
[Race: Human | Cultivation: Celestial]
[Realm: Unavailable]
[Strength: 25 | Defense: 10]
[Agility: 8 | Qi Gain: 1]
[Intelligence: 4 | Technique: 8]
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He realized that he had received extra Qi points from killing the last Wooden Horned Squirrel, which meant that this Magical Beast had a high level of cultivation.
I wonder if I can already face an Ebony Whispering Serpent at Qi Condensation I Stage, it would certainly be a tough fight.
After analyzing his attributes and checking that he wasn't making them disproportionate to each other, Su Login opened the Quest System.
[Daily Quest: Do 50 push-ups (0/50).]
[Main Quest: Reach Qi Condensation I Stage.]
[Local Quest: Kill 'Sage Arboreal Bull' (0/1).]
Sage Arboreal Bull? By that name, this must not be an ordinary Magical Beast, it would be inopportune to meet it at this time.
Su Login didn't think much about it. If it was something he couldn't understand at that moment, there was no point in dwelling on it, it was a waste of energy.
Instead of worrying about it, he began his Daily Quest.
The branch he was on wasn't very stable, but he knew he wouldn't fall just by doing push-ups there.
Over the last few days, the young man had been training hard, and doing just fifty push-ups was like a warm-up for him.
It didn't take him more than two minutes to complete the quest.
[Daily Quest completed.]
[You have received 20 XP.]
[You received 'Body Strengthening Pill'.]
[Body Strengthening Pill: A pill capable of increasing muscle conditioning, enhancing the results of physical exercise.]
Su Login put that pill in his mouth.
He was weak and needed to improve his physique, as he had a disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat. Getting stronger was a necessity.
So he spent the day doing physical training.
The young man felt his muscles developing faster with the help of the pill.
The sun disappeared and night came.
Su Login cultivated until dawn.
Even though he only received two points of Qi, he felt more in the mood when he spent the night cultivating, it was better than sleeping.
Collect.
[Congratulations, you've received 'Sly Forest Disguise'.]
[Sly Forest Disguise: A mask capable of hiding all the secrets of the wearer, it increases stealth.]
The artifact he received was a white fox mask with some red trimmings.
If his deduction was correct, that mask would be perfect for wandering through the forest without being noticed by the other cultivators.
Open Inventory.
[Items:
x3 Wooden Horn;
x1 Flying Sword;
x1 Strong Poison Vial;
x1 Sly Forest Disguise].
He had a good Inventory, if he went out to kill strong Magical Beasts he would be able to reach at least Level 8.
Once again, he opened his Quest System:
[Daily Quest: Do 50 squats (0/50).]
[Main Quest: Reach Qi Condensation I Stage.]
[Local Quest: Kill 'Sage Arboreal Bull' (0/1).]
Su Login hadn't left the oak yet, the branches of that tree were sturdier than he thought. He could do squats there without any problems.
Like last time, he finished the Daily Quest quickly.
[Daily Quest completed.]
[You have received 20 XP.]
[You received 'Common Training Set'.]
[Training Set: Lightweight clothes that are more suitable for physical training; wearing them increases the results of training.]
The Training Set consisted of a T-shirt, black pants and a pair of black boots. It was much thinner than his old robe.
He put on the Training Set, it was much neater than his current robe, but he would still only wear it for combat and physical exercise, as it was an outfit that would make him stand out among the other cultivators.
Su Login jumped from the tree and quickly landed on the ground.
He wanted to go to the deepest part of the forest, so he put on the Sly Forest Disguise.
The young man didn't know if it was effective on stronger cultivators, but as long as he could move faster and without attracting attention, his exploration would be more peaceful.
If the mask was really useful, he could even use it during the Peach Tree Trial to hide from the people in the forest.
***
Su Minwa was cultivating in the center of the South Hall temple.
Next to her, Mu Sae was diligently practicing martial arts, mixing gentle and violent blows, making power emerge from those opposites.
Su Minwa's cultivation was being affected by her worry.
A long time had passed and Su Login was already considered dead, he had probably been devoured by a Magical Beast int the forest.
Nobody cared about talentless cultivators, if it had been a Genius who had disappeared, everyone would have already mobilized to find him, but that wasn't the case with Su Login.
Su Minwa still wanted to think that her brother was alive, but she had to accept reality, there was no way that someone who was weak and had no combat experience could survive out there.
"If you don't concentrate, you won't be prepared for the Trial," said Mu Sae, as she continued to make gentle movements.
"You don't understand, Su Login is my closest brother, I can't just ignore the fact that he's dead. If I don't worry, no one else will."
Su Minwa and Mu Sae were considered Geniuses, they had reached Qi Condensation Stage II in just three years.
If they were approved by the Ancient Peach Tree, perhaps they could even reach Foundation Establishment Stage I quickly.
But to advance, they couldn't let emotions rule their hearts, they had to be strong to resist any temptation.
Su Minwa said nothing more and went back to cultivating, but she couldn't stop thinking about Su Login. Should she really try to forget him?
Later, some juniors entered the temple to increase their cultivation base.
"I heard that they've increased the number of inspectors in the forest... will our senior brothers be okay? My senior sister from the west told me that there are even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators doing inspections in the forest."
"Could it be that there are enemies of the sect in the forest?"
"I don't know, but we'd better get stronger and prepare for the worst."
Su Minwa and Mu Sae listened in silence to the conversation and then ignored it, but both girls thought the same thing...
There was something wrong in the forest, and it would affect the Peach Tree Trial, which would start next week.