Chapter 4: Breakthrough, Space Upgrade

Yuan Bo trembled in fear upon hearing the voice.

He hastily stopped what he was doing, his eyes frantic as he looked towards Manager Li.

Manager Li, however, was not the least bit flustered, and he gestured to Yuan Bo to follow, before taking the lead and walking outside.

Yuan Bo remained silent, quickly following behind Manager Li.

Outside the house, Senior Han had already descended from mid-air, his face gloomy, and his eyes icy as he watched Manager Li.

Upon coming out, Manager Li glared at Han Jing and was the first to speak, questioning him:

"Han Jing, what did you mean by your words just now?"

"I came to visit my subordinates, what does it have to do with you?"

Han Jing let out a cold snort upon hearing this.

"Hmph..."

"Is that really so?"

Manager Li continued, "Lin Jing was one of my subordinates after all. Now that he has been expelled from the sect due to an accident, I am heartbroken."

"I wanted to see if he needed anything, as is proper among sect members. Is that not allowed?"

Han Jing did not answer but coldly said, "Where is he?"

Han Jing had just arrived and noticed that Lin Jing was not in the house, and there was no scent of blood around, indicating that they had not yet taken action against Lin Jing.

"When we arrived, he wasn't in the house, but his luggage is still here. It seems like he must have had something come up and went out temporarily."

Han Jing looked directly at Manager Li. Seeing that the latter's expression was calm and not indicative of lying, his expression softened slightly.

He then said to Manager Li:

"Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Isn't it the Foundation Building Elixir that Lin Yue got that you're after?"

"So it's because of the Foundation Building Elixir." Lin Jing, who was observing secretly, suddenly realized.

It turns out Manager Li believed he owned a Foundation Building Elixir, which is why he acted this way.

"It's probably why I was expelled from the sect as well."

"As long as I'm out of the sect, he could follow me and then kill me to take the elixir."

However, Lin Jing was very clear that when his predecessor's father died, he only left a few last words and nothing else.

It was unknown from where Manager Li had received such information.

"How did he know?" thought Manager Li, his heart skipping a beat.

But on the surface, he still pretended as if he knew nothing.

"What Foundation Building Elixir? Senior Han, you must be mistaken. I just wanted to see if Lin Jing needed anything before he leaves."

Han Jing ignored Manager Li, who kept feigning ignorance, and continued:

"Whether it is true or not, let me tell you, you'd better not think about it anymore."

"Lin Yue gave me that Foundation Building Elixir a long time ago. How else do you think I achieved Foundation Establishment?"

"Since I owe Lin Yue a favor, it's only natural that I have the duty to take care of his son. I did not interfere when you managed to have him expelled from the sect, but if you intend to harm him, I can't stand by and do nothing."

Manager Li couldn't help but feel bitter inside, not expecting that all his long planning had been in vain.

The Foundation Building Elixir had been gone long ago.

However, he did not show it, pretending as if he truly knew nothing about the elixir.

"I've made myself clear to you. If you lay hands on Lin Jing again, don't blame me for being rude."

Manager Li continued to play dumb, asserting with righteousness:

"Senior Han, we are fellow sect members after all. I've always treated him as a junior brother, how could I wish him harm?"

When seeing Manager Li's acting skills, Lin Jing couldn't help but admire him. If an uninformed person were here, they likely would have been deceived by now.

However, what Han Jing said next made Lin Jing's entire body go numb.

"In that case, let's wait here for his return."

"Fine."

Seeing Han Jing so resolute, Manager Li found it difficult to object.

They went into the house together, and Yuan Bo hurried over to light the oil lamp on the table.

And so, the three of them sat silently, waiting together inside Lin Jing's thatched cottage for Lin Jing to return.

…

"They are here, so it's even more difficult to leave now. As soon as I leave, the existence of the System Space will certainly be exposed."

Lin Jing, who had been observing, couldn't help but smile wryly:

"This really is the worst of luck, to be caught like a rat in a trap."

Lin Jing hurriedly exited Observation Mode and asked the system.

"System, is there any way to appear in a different location when I go out?"

"Master, you can use Fixed Point Teleportation. Fixed Point Teleportation can transport you to the outside world, and the range of teleportation is the same size as the Spirit Field within the System Space."

"Your current System Space is level 1, with a Spirit Field range of 10 acres, and the teleportation range is also 10 acres. The cost for teleportation is 1 Harvest Point."

"There's a fee?" Lin Jing was too tired to even ridicule the situation; his Harvest Points were still at zero.

Before Lin Jing had a chance to ask further, another prompt from the system appeared.

"The system has detected that the host's current Harvest Points are 0, and suggests that the host should first break through to the second level of Qi Refinement." (Note: Breaking through within the System Space will grant the host Harvest Points.)

"It's really forcing me to break through."

Looking at the remaining time, there was just over an hour left.

Lin Jing didn't dare to delay, and he relaxed his body and mind, adjusting his state, and started preparing to break through.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but Lin Jing could feel that his breath had reached its peak, yet it seemed as though something was impeding him from going further.

He focused his mind, fully operating his cultivation technique and absorbing spiritual energy into his body. As time went by, his internal spiritual power increased, and soon, the spiritual power in his meridians was overflowing.

He continued to run the cultivation technique.

"Buzz"

Lin Jing felt a sudden change, as if he had become a different person and the world around him had become more real.

He had broken through to the second level of Qi Refinement.

"Congratulations to the host for a successful breakthrough, you have gained 10 Harvest Points."

"Ding"

"System prompt: As this is the first time the host has obtained Harvest Points, an additional reward of 100 Harvest Points has been granted."

The unexpected reward took Lin Jing by surprise; he hadn't anticipated this bonus. Could this be considered a newcomer's benefit?

With the 10 Harvest Points from the breakthrough and the additional reward of 100 Harvest Points, he now had 110 Harvest Points.

Lin Jing remembered that upgrading the System Space only required 100 Harvest Points.

"System, open the panel."

Then the panel appeared before him, and as Lin Jing looked up, indeed, he was now able to upgrade.

System Space (Level 1) (Upgradable)

Remaining Time: 17 minutes

Host: Lin Jing

Spirit Field Range: 10 acres

Spiritual Energy Density: 1

Time Flow Rate: 1

Daily Enter Time: 2 hours

Upgrade Requirement: (110/100 Harvest Points)

Special Feature: Alert (When the host enters the System Space, the immediate surroundings of the host's reality are included in the alert radius, and the host will be immediately notified of any emergencies.)

Observation: (The host can observe the real world from within the System Space.) (Note: When the host is in Observation Mode, the point of view will sync with the external world's time.)

"System, upgrade." Lin Jing didn't hesitate at all and immediately chose to upgrade.

"Boom rumble..."

Following Lin Jing's command, the System Space began to change, with the most noticeable being the space's obvious expansion outward, increasing in size.

And the spiritual energy within the space grew denser.

The entire upgrading process lasted for ten minutes.

After ten minutes, a system notification sounded.

"Ding"

"Upgrade complete; the current System Space level is 2."

"New feature unlocked: Accumulated Time."