While Peng Ho was cursing him loudly in his cottage, Shen Yuan was lying on the floor like an immovable statue.

His breathing was shallow and his cheeks had lightly sunk in, but even then he was still alive.

Being a cultivator allowed him to go through a week without food. He had enough water on him to last for a few days, which he used sparingly.

Shen Yuan had done nothing but focus on comprehending the cultivation technique he was learning for the past few days.

He had ignored reading and learning martial arts and only ever got up to relieve himself or drink water.

He looked no different from a monk who had given up on worldly desires and decided to pursue the way of the Buddha.

Suddenly, in the middle of his trancelike state, Shen Yuan’s eyelids fluttered open.

A pair of silver orbs pierced through the darkness and landed on the cracked ceiling of his house.

Even though his body looked a bit starved, his eyes were glowing with radiance.

A kind of brilliance that did not come from power but knowledge.

"So that’s how it is." Shen Yuan did not even bother to get up. A glowing screen flickered before his sight, making him squint a little.

[Mission: The First Profound Technique — Complete!]

[ Reward: 2 Star Medicinal Recipe token has been stored in the inventory.]

[Bonus Reward: 24000 Exp—Distributed.]

Once the world [Completed] appeared besides the mission, it turned black like the mission below it.

The screen changed once more, showing Shen Yuan his profile.

[Name: Shen Yuan]

Age: 16

Level: 9/10 (Late Stage of body Tempering ) XP: 9,275 /20,000

[Techniques Comprehended: Deadly Strike, Silent Steps...]

[Strength (STR): 41

Agility (AGI): 40

Dexterity (DEX): 42

Physique (PHY): 39 ]

[Stat points: 0]

[Current Status: Shattered Dantian, slowly being poisoned]

After distributing all the stats he had, Shen Yuan closed his eyes. A soft groan escaped his lips.

His body started twisting in weird ways.

It was like his muscles and bones had turned into a liquid, and they were moving under his skin, creating waves.

Creak!

The old skin started to shed away as a new one started to surface. Dark substance started to ooze out of his pores, dirtying his clothes and the tiles below.

Shen Yuan only whimpered in silence while his body underwent some major changes.

The muscles below the skin started to fill up once more. They were denser and thicker than before.

His cheeks started to puff up like he never had starved for a day.

Energy returned to his body, and before he knew it, everything returned to normal.

Shen Yuan just sat there covered in his filth without showing any intentions of moving.

Instead, he looked at the system with a hopeful look in his eyes.

[Lifespan: 30 days]

Unlike what Shen Yuan had hoped, there was no drastic increase in his lifespan like before.

Shen Yuan did not understand why it was happening.

’Is it because the damage caused by my shattered dantian is too severe and cannot be reversed just from the normal body tempering cultivation?’

’Will I ever be able to live long enough to see better days, or will I spend the rest of my life as a bottom feeder in this dump?’

Dark thoughts slowly tried to take root in his mind, but Shen Yuan eventually shook them away.

"No, I cannot think like this. With the system and my tenacity, nothing is impossible." Shen Yuan pushed himself off the floor and stood up in one go.

"I have reached this level without even cultivating properly and just deepening my understanding of the technique. So what will happen if I really start cultivating my attributes like crazy?"

Shen Yuan’s eyes radiated light of hope once more. He waved his hand and opened the new ping that had appeared on the system. The ping led him directly into the inventory, where he could see a small paper-like icon waiting for him to touch it.

’I better store all of my valuables in this. It’s dangerous to leave them outside even in a hidden place.’ Shen Yuan wasted no time and pulled a thick slip of silky smooth paper from the inventory.

It felt like he was pulling on a gun held between his teeth.

Shen Yuan ripped the nameless green paper with two stars drawn in the middle while thinking. ’A recipe that can enhance my body. Main priority, attributes and then breakthrough...’

Shen Yuan added all the conditions he could think of in his mind. He preferred to get a recipe that could heal his dantian, but he instinctively knew in his head that it would not be possible to achieve with a mere 2-star recipe.

’Is this the instinct that comes with the system?’ With the help of this feeling, Shen Yuan finally found the best 2-star body tempering recipe he could think of.

Since 1-star recipes are for the body-tempering realm. The two-star recipe for the same realm meant it was better than many two-star qi-gathering pills.

The name of the prescription, along with its effects and how to take it, everything was sent directly to his mind.

[Dragon Bone Paste]

For his own ease, Shen Yuan picked a formula that he could concoct himself using his herbal knowledge.

What good would it do if he could not even make the thing?

It’s not like he had some trusted alchemist in his pocket.

"I have to apply the paste before taking a bath in boiling water right after I tyre myself out." Shen Yuan went through the list that had appeared in his mind: "As for the ingredients... I need money for them."

Most of the ingredients were 1-star herbs and bone powder from an Unranked beast’s bones.

Shen Yuan had the latter, but the former was too expensive for him to have.

The price of each herb was more than the Lingzhi mushroom he had purchased before.

"I have to make money." Shen Yuan furrowed his brows. "Even with the medicine I plan to sell, I don’t think I will be able to have enough money for me to spend on the herbs leisurely."

Shen Yuan knew if he wanted to grow as strong as possible, he had to spend money. So there was only one choice left for him.

"I have to rob someone."