Chapter 34: System 2.0
"Soul..." Alex murmured quietly.
His brow furrowed in confusion as he fixed his gaze on the new information displayed on his status panel.
"Another Non-Dimensional rank with the same rank as my cultivation technique. I'd never heard of such a rank before."
Alex was aware of the ranks used in this world, and so this new non-dimensional rank was something of a mystery to him. From what he read, a Tier 8 technique was the peak of this world; he never heard of a rank above that.
Nonetheless, Alex took a deep breath and stopped thinking about it, realizing that there was no point in worrying, as he was sure that he would find out more about it in due time, and he was sure that the non-dimensional rank was equal to or higher than a Tier 8 rank.
He decided to put his faith in the system, trusting that it would not give him something bad. When Alex was deep in thought, a notification rang in his head.
[Congratulations to the host on advancing to the Qi Gathering Realm]
[The system will now undergo a new upgrade]
[Upgrading Time: 2 Weeks]
[The host will not be able to use any of the system functions as the system will not be able to respond to the host]
"Upgrade!?" Alex was taken aback when he received the notification that his system was going to be upgraded in two weeks.
He attempted to check on his status again, but he was unable to do so, and the system was not responding to his call. Alex quickly realized that the upgrade meant he would no longer have access to any of the system functions he was using.
"Wow, what perfect timing!" I can't use the system, which means I'll have to wait two weeks. Alex sighed as he took a seat on the ground.
He was lost in thought because he would be unable to use the system while it was being upgraded, and he would most likely stop gaining experience due to his inability to access system functions.
"Perhaps it's not such a bad thing that the system won't work for two weeks; I'll try to get used to using Qi and become more familiar with my new strength." Alex pondered as he started setting up his tent inside the cave.
So during the two weeks, he had to wait, Alex decided to use this opportunity to learn more about Qi and increase his understanding of how to control his newfound strength.
Two weeks later…
"Che!"
A small sword light traveled through the air before colliding into the body of a Qi Gathering level beast.
"Roar!"
The beast howled in pain as a large wound opened up on its side. Seizing the opportunity, Alex dashed forward quickly. He evaded the attack of the wounded beast before plunging his sword deeply into the beast, killing it.
Alex stored the beast's body away before continuing on.
"That's the 10th Qi Gathering level beast I've killed so far. All this battle experience has really helped me comprehend the essence of my Qi. Now I could control the Qi inside my body easily as if it were an extension of my body."
Alex had reached a new level of comprehension regarding both his Qi control and sword techniques after two weeks of continuous battle. Despite the fact that he desperately needed to learn new techniques now that he was a Qi-gathering cultivator, he will need to learn techniques to help him use Qi in his attacks.
Additionally, he cultivated the Non-Dimensional God Refining technique every night and studied it in the hopes of one day understanding it fully. Alex would also use his divine sense and scan his body while trying to observe himself while using the Non-Dimensional technique.
The moment he did that, he could finally observe the flow of energy around him and understand what was happening to his body while he used the Non-Dimensional technique. The Destruction Qi was circulating around him rapidly, covering him in a cosmic aura and allowing him to draw more Qi.
After studying the Qi for some time, Alex found himself being able to control it better and use it more precisely in his attacks.
He could now surround himself with a cosmic aura and use it to boost the power of his attacks, making them even more lethal. Alex could do it, but it took a lot of energy because he could only use the Destruction aura for a few minutes before his energy ran out.
"Every single aspect of my cultivation is improving rapidly. At this rate, I should be able to reach the 6th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm before the tournament," Alex said with an excited expression.
Alex focused his mind, and a blue screen appeared in front of him.
[Time Left: 03:00:00]
"In 3 hours, the system upgrade will be completed; I can't wait to see its new features." Alex felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of what this upgrade could do; he was confident that he would reap numerous benefits once the upgrade was completed.
Alex walked for some time before coming to a stop as a thought crept into his mind.
"Although I know that I need a Qi Gathering technique, let's try gathering Qi into the sword first."
Alex focused for a bit before sending his Qi through the required meridian channels in accordance with how he always cultivates. His sword started to glow slightly as more Destruction Qi was poured into it, at which point Alex swung his katana forward with all his might.
"Bang!"
The ground in front of Alex was violently upheaved, as a large crater appeared. Alex was sent flying backward violently from the force of the attack, his face completely pale.
Alex lay on the ground completely dirty and bloodied. He winced in pain as he gasped for air over and over. Using his remaining strength, he took out a Wound Healing Pill and popped it into his mouth.
Alex crawled into a seated position and focused on guiding the medicinal healing properties of the pill throughout his body. Several minutes later, Alex finally opened his eyes. His pale white face had once again returned to normal.
"I almost just killed myself! I'm lucky that no strong beasts came here after all that noise, or I might have died. It's a good thing that my body was strengthened with the Non-Dimensional Refining God Technique, or I might have actually died there. Cultivating both essence and body sure is amazing!"
Alex calmed his mind before thinking about the attack that had severely injured him.
"My Qi control was flawless, but as I poured my Qi into the weapon, I could feel the technique become disharmonious. When I poured my Qi into the blade of the sword, I had to first channel it through the handle and up to the curved blade at the top. That was when I felt myself lose control of the technique. Half of the power ended up being used properly while the other half exploded outwards violently in front of me."
"I suppose after I get out of this forest, I should look for a High Tier 1 sword technique for myself."
Alex focused on recovering to his peak state before standing up and continuing on. Several minutes later, Alex came to a sudden stop, his breath caught in his throat.
"That's a Tree Jubokko!"
As Alex was walking through the forest, he just barely managed to spot a Tree Jubokko sleeping on a tree branch. The Tree Jubokko was two hundred yards in front of him, and hadn't yet noticed Alex's presence.
"I don't need the system to know that it's at least at the 8th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm."
Alex made as little noise as possible as he silently retreated.
"There's no way I can fight that."
Alex retreated for several miles before he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I guess I've traveled a bit too far into the forest. Let's see where we are," thought Alex as he pulled out his map.
Based on his movements over the last several months, Alex surmised he was about halfway between the Dracon Clan and the Devontae Kingdom.
"If I turn north from here, I'll eventually run into the Devontae Kingdom after several hundred miles. There appear to be a few towns and villages along the way as well. I guess I'll head that way since it was my original goal to make it over there."
Putting away the map, Alex turned north and started walking in the direction of the Devontae Kingdom. Night came before Alex decided to set up camp. After setting up the perimeter formation disk, Alex took out the corpse of a Qi Gathering beast he had slain earlier in the day.
He then began to prepare the beast for a hearty meal, satisfied with his progress, when he suddenly heard a familiar sound ring in his mind.
"Ding"
[The system update is complete]
To Be Continued...
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