Chapter 3 - Celestial Teahouse System

...

"Who's there?!"

Li Qu frowned, and he accidentally released a sliver of his cultivation powers due to being caught by surprise.

The surrounding scenery was obliterated in an instant, leaving only a crater the size of a tennis court. A quarter of the lake nearby was vaporized, and water was flowing into the crater where Li Qu was standing in the middle.

The people in the park were stunned by the sudden explosion and was fearful of whatever was in the direction of the crater.

"What was that?! That was f*cking scary!"

"We'd better get out of here right away!"

"Holy sh*t, did an Evolver go berserk?!"

"Run!"

The passersby screamed in panic and ran away frantically as they were scared that they would be caught up. Some tripped and howled in pain while still trying to run away mindlessly due to the instinctive fear of the Evolvers.

Li Qu did not notice the damage he had caused to his surroundings and the panic of people as his mind was preoccupied by the voice as he just stood still in the middle of the crater and was oblivious of it.

Soon, Li Qu snapped out of his daze and looked around him.

"This does not look too good. I would not want to be a local attraction as soon as I arrive here."

Whoosh!

With a wave of his hand, a crack in the space was torn open as a portal appeared and he took a step to enter it.

A while later in an abandoned alleyway a few kilometers away from the park.

Li Qu stepped out of the portal and proceeded to continue his train of thought.

"That voice… Who was that? Why did I hear that?"

[…]

[Host, I am the Celestial Tea House System.]

"What do you even mean? I have never ever heard of something like this before. If you do not get out of my head this instance, I will force you out of my body no matter what it takes."

Li Qu reacted defensively like it was the most absurd thing. This was the first time something had entered his body without his permission and knowing. He felt offended by this atrociousness.

[Host, please calm down. I am only here to help and guide Host's dream of achieving the best teahouse in the world!]

"…My dream of running a teahouse when I was young and ignorant?"

Li Qu frowned as he thought he heard a joke.

[Host, that is correct. I will be helping Host to establish the most prestigious and powerful teahouse in the entire universe!]

The system proudly stated like it was boasting about the most glorious thing ever.

"…" Speechless Li Qu: ( ･_･)

[Host?]

"… Did I really have a second chance in life just to run a damn teahouse?"

Li Qu grimaced as he was unsure of what was of his life from now on. He had so much to explore and so much to do.

He was already planning to slowly explore this mysterious region.

But now, he had to reorganize his plans and communicate with the system to find out more information.

[Host, I only manifested because of the primal wish Host had when Host was about to die.]

"You mean I was thinking of running a teahouse when I was fading into nothingness…?"

Li Qu calmed down and recollected the moment when he was passing away.

He subconsciously stroked his beard whenever he was thinking of deep thoughts. But now it was just empty air.

"…"

"I… I think I really did think of that."

Li Qu rubbed his forehead and asked the System.

"So, how do you plan on helping me? What can you do?"

[Host, I will guide Host on missions to establish the best teahouse, slowly but surely on Earth and beyond!]

"Earth? Is that where I am located at right now?"

[Host, that is correct.]

"Interesting… I have never heard of this place called 'Earth' before. Is it another realm? Or?"

Li Qu pondered and tried to think of any place that had any semblance to Earth.

[Host, Earth is located in another galaxy called the 'Milky Way Galaxy', far from where you were originally located at, which was the 'Black Heaven Realm'. 'Black Heaven Realm' is millions of light years away.]

"I would not be able to go back to where I was originally at any time soon…"

'According to my cultivation right now, I would need at least 50,000 years to travel through the void and go back to Black Heaven... But why should I? I should be getting the break that I deserve.'

Li Qu pondered and mentally calculated the amount of time he needed to go back. When he was done with his internal dialogues, he asked the system.

"I want to know why did my cultivation only regress by two stages? Since I am back to my youth, my cultivation should have regressed accordingly too, right?"

[Host, the pebble that was picked up from Void King Xu Sha;s corpse was from the Primordial Ages, it was my original form. I have accumulated Primordial Qi since time immemorial where countless owners had switched hands without knowing my actual use and had released everything to maintain Host's cultivation.]

"You mean nobody has ever discovered how to use you?"

[Host, that is correct. By a stroke of luck, the condition of activating me was to sleep on the pebble for a thousand years and dying in close proximity of less than 50 meters from the pebble in order to activate it. As I was always under the pillow, Host forgot about my existence and fulfilled the conditions unknowingly.]

"F*ck…"

Even an Immortal as old as Li Qu could not help but curse at the absurdity of this situation.

[(^_^)]

Li Qu was speechless. He had thought of countless ways on how he activated the pebble, but never could he imagine it was like that.

[Host, any more questions? If not, I will be issuing the first mission!]

Li Qu took a deep breath and asked.

"Alright. So, what is my first mission?"

[…]

[…]

[Congratulations to Host: Li Qu, on completing the first mission! Please claim the 'Beginner's Pack' within 48 hours!]

[Beginner's Pack]

[Time Remaining to claim - 47:59:59…]

"What did I even complete? I did not even start yet…"

[Host, the first mission was as simple as to not ask any more questions!]

"…I don't know how long l can live with you acting like that."

Li Qu was tired from just interacting with the system.

[Issuing 2nd mission]

[Mission: Find a suitable place to establish the first Celestial Teahouse on Earth! 0/1]

[Time Limit: 3 Days]

[Reward for Completion: Jade Agarwood Incense x2 Box]

[Punishment for Failure: Death]

"Death? Why is the punishment so severe! And place… Where on Earth am I currently at?"

Li Qu frowned. If he really failed this mission and the punishment was death, was it not too cruel to him? To bring him back for a second life and to die not even days after was too sad.

[Host, please do not worry as this mission is very simple. If Host cannot even complete this mission, Host would have no worth and should just die.]

"…Fair enough."

[Displaying Stats]

[Host: Li Qu – Personal Information]

Name: Li Qu

Race: Immortal

Cultivation: Void Immortal Realm (0.1% - Next Stage: Immortal King Realm)

Location: Jianghua City, Hua Country

Inventory: -

Tea Invented: -

.… Advanced information is locked. Please work hard!

...

Li Qu took a look at this new and mysterious interface that appeared in front of him.

"Jianghua, Hua Country? It seems like the language here is not too different from Black Heaven."

Li Qu smiled in assurance as he skimmed through the mission text once again, meanwhile receiving a minor shock.

"Incense made of Jade Agarwood?! That is something that even experts would fight for, even if it is just a piece as long as an index finger. Furthermore, I get two whole boxes worth… This is absurd."

The handsome young man then proceeded to think of a location to setup his teahouse.

Meanwhile at the park…

...