“Haah… it’s been two days since they’ve left the place.” Arthur could not help but let out a long sigh, wondering how long the couple would be away before they returned.

“It’s quite unfortunate that you’ve given me the ability to see the wider world for myself just when they left their place,” Sisa said soon after. “If you were to have bought it just when they had returned from their trip, I wouldn’t have been bored out of my mind like you are currently.”

“Now you understand why I always want to distract myself,” said Arthur in response, only to sigh yet again not long after. “Anyways, is there anything we can do to at least remove this feeling of boredom we’re feeling?”

“Well…” Sisa’s body pointed towards the large pile of Spirit Slag near the bluish-white dodecahedron at the center. “We could always exchange that and upgrade a ton of stuff. It’s been four days since we last did an exchange, after all.”

“Right.” Arthur gave off the feeling of nodding. “The last time I exchanged it for System Points was when I upgraded the Assistant Advancement Module.”

Although they could have exchanged the pile of Spirit Slag for System Points at any time, Arthur could not help but find it counterintuitive to exchange the byproducts from [Qi Conversion] into Spirit Slag every time it went past the minimum threshold. Not only that, but the two of them were engrossed in the banter between the three, talking about their plans now that both Jian and Qin were in the Essence Condensing Realm. The fact that the two of them did not have any martial techniques to speak of somewhat surprised him, but a quick look-see through [The Basics of Cultivation: Volume 2] was enough for him to understand.

In fact, he and Sisa were pretty certain that what they were talking about during that time was enough to warrant a change in the overall narrative quest. However, even after the trio left the premises, no such change happened to the narrative quest at all, making the two of them wonder if there was something else missing for the change to occur.

Nevertheless, the fact that they hadn’t touched the pile of Spirit Slag for four days meant that Arthur was going to go on an upgrading spree again. And so, when he commanded the system to exchange the Spirit Slag for System Points, a hint of expectation welled up inside him.

Ding!

Would you like to exchange 101.4 kilograms of Spirit Slag for 101,400 System Points?

Though, once he looked at the amount of Spirit Slag they’ve amassed during the past four days, Arthur could not help but figuratively take in a deep breath as he was only expecting to get around 30 to 40,000 System Points at most from the exchange. The fact that this exchange broke through the six digits was slightly out of his expectations.

“That’s… that’s a lot,” he could not help but say in response to the figure, to which Sisa replied, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You’re gonna have to get used to big numbers later on. We’re nowhere near the limit.”

“In any case, the reason why we were able to break into the six digits is all thanks to [Secondary Qi Conversion] and that passive skill I got from [System Integration — Phase 2],” she added. “If those two weren’t unlocked, we would have probably gotten around 90,000 points. Still a lot, but not as impactful as 100,000.”

Becoming silent for a bit to process the current situation, Arthur eventually let out a light sigh as he confirmed the exchange, giving him over 100,000 points to spend on various items.

Fortunately, with that many points to spare, Arthur did not have to think too hard on what he should buy first, going ahead and upgrading the Spirit Receptor Module to the peak of Tier 5. Thanks to that, the percentage boost of the module had been increased from 95% to 140%. As for his effective recovery rate, it increased from 31.2 points per hour to 38.4 points per hour, inching him closer and closer to the point where it wouldn’t be a problem for him to convert Spirit Slag every minute without making a dent on his Qi Capacity.

Of course, adding Sisa into the equation meant that he still had a long way to go.

In any case, with the Spirit Receptor Module now at the peak of Tier 5, he had received a notification from the system, prompting him to open it as it told him that he had unlocked a new module, something that could have been unlocked back when he had just recently advanced to Early Spirit Nucleus.

Ding!

You have met the necessary requirements to unlock the new module.

You have unlocked the Spirit Generator Module.

“Spirit Generator Module, huh?” Arthur muttered after reading through the short list of notifications. After that, he focused his attention on Sisa. “So, got any idea on what it does?”

“Well, you’ll have to buy the first upgrade first,” replied Sisa. “Only then will I obtain more information on what this module does.”

“I think I have a hunch on what this does, but alright.” Arthur figuratively nodded, commanding the system to bring up information on the Spirit Generator Module. Specifically, the first upgrade he could buy from the module.

[Spirit Generator] The first and most vital upgrade of the Spirit Generator Module. This upgrade allows the user to access the entirety of the Spirit Generator Module.

“Well, ain’t that a helpful description,” he said sarcastically. However, thinking about his earlier hunch, he decided to fork out the 10,000 points it cost to buy the upgrade.

Rumble…

Just as he had bought the first upgrade of the new module, the landscape in his mind started to rumble as wave upon wave of energy radiated from the bluish-white dodecahedron, clumping up just a few meters above where Sisa was. Eventually, the dodecahedron stopped radiating energy, allowing both Arthur and Sisa to take a look at the massive ball of energy hovering above it. Then again, they could not admire the sight for long as the massive ball headed a kilometer away in the opposite direction of the antenna built by the Spirit Generator Module.

After arriving there, the massive ball settled on the ground before quickly transforming into a series of boxes and spheres, eventually losing the glow it radiated as the sight of what would normally be a nuclear reactor came into full view.

Though, just as Arthur was about to say something, a beam of energy was quickly shot out from the nuclear reactor of sorts, speedily making its way to the antenna on the opposite side. Sometime later, the beam of energy turned more tangible as the two were now connected by what seemed to be a thick cable of sorts.

At this point, an image finally formed in Arthur’s mind as to what the Spirit Receptor Module and Spirit Generator Module were trying to achieve. Back when he had first upgraded the Spirit Receptor Module to the peak of Tier 1, he could not help but find it peculiar that an antenna was being built on the landscape in his mind. However, now that he had fully upgraded the module to the peak of Tier 5 and with the Spirit Generator built, he understood.

“Ain’t that a great way to describe Qi Recovery Rate,” Arthur could not help but say. “A power transmission system, huh? The antenna even looks like those towers I’d normally see whenever I went on a road trip to the countryside.”

“Also, I think my hunch is correct,” he said not long after, wanting to ask Sisa for the specifics of the module. However, what he got instead was…

“Arthur, I think you should take a look at [Spirit Sense].”

…

“Haah… haah…” A man could not help but gasp for air as his gait was unstable, evidenced by how his legs were constantly quivering. Nevertheless, the man continued to trudge forward.

After all, he was given a mission.

Unfortunately for the man, even though the mind was willing, his body had already given up as his legs buckled, prompting him to lie down on the cold ground of the plains. As the coldness of the dirt spread throughout his senses, the man could not help but think about what he was doing again. However, just as the thoughts of giving up were creeping up in his mind, the man shook those thoughts off as he took a sip from the canteen of water by his waist before taking a few deep breaths.

And then, he started to walk again.

Even though he had gained a bit of energy from the short respite, his legs still felt like they would buckle and give out at any moment. Yet he persevered and pushed through it, recalling the mission that he had been given.

To find a new home for their sect.

Fortunately for him, after half an hour of continuous trekking, he had stopped by what seemed to be a modestly sized mansion far from the comforts of a nearby town. Though, taking note of the large field beside the mansion, the man knew that whoever lived here did not have problems being self-sufficient.

Just as he was about to grab a couple of edible plants and vegetables from the field, the man could not help but stop in his tracks, noticing how the qi in the area was denser than it usually was. With that in mind, a renewed sense of vigor filled his body as he tried to find the source of this increase in density.

Surprisingly, it did not take him that long as the source was only located a few hundred meters away from the mansion. Staring at the ground below him, tears could not help but well up in his eyes, only streaming down his face as he had done it. He had accomplished his mission.

He had found a new home.