Herman woke up dizzy, groggy, and somewhat surprised at the comfortable feeling of being in an actual bed. He wanted to cry after he realized that he somehow found it normal to wake up on the ground like a drunkard that has been kicked out of the house by his wife.

"Well, at least I survived the tribulations and from the looks of it, they fed me some medicinal pills as well...

Checking his entire body as well as his spiritual world, both were in good condition and he felt satisfied to see the serpent still wounded, albeit lightly. Breathing in the air of the room, the sweet smell felt intoxicating to the barely awake Herman. Sadly, there was no sleeping beauty next to him, but hey! One can only hope... there was still time for that in the future.

"System, bring up the Attribute panel. I want to see the improvement..."

Personal Information

Attributes

Ultimate

Pill

Name: Herman Roy

Cultivation time: 0 Years (2 days)

Spiritual realm: Qi Gathering V

Body realm: Mortal Flesh I

Ascension number: N/A

Attributes

Life Essence: 284

Attack: 1420

Strength: 283

Defense: 1415

Vitality: 435

Health Points: 6525

Dexterity: 284

Evasion: 852

Fortune: 27

Critical Strike: 9

Perception: 350 Points (Locked until ascension to the Immortal World)

Efficiency: 175 Primordial Qi points / 1 hour

Absorption: 51.4 points

Superior Qi Absorption: 25.7 Spiritual Qi point / 1 hour

Character (Unlocked - please select to view)

Personality (Unlocked - please select to view)

"At this realm, each level breakthrough gives only 5 points to the main attributes, so there's nothing much there. At least now I have access to my Character and Personality tabs. System, bring those two up."

Character Brute Qi: 0 Damage enhancement: 0% Penetration: 0 Defense enhancement: 0% Rejuvenation: 0 Penetration rate: 0% Reflection: 0 Accuracy: 0% Gold damage: 0 Extra Human DMG: 0 Wood damage: 0 Extra Monster DMG: 0 Water damage: 0 Extra Demons DMG: 0 Fire damage: 0 Extra Beasts DMG: 0 Earth damage: 0 Extra Dragons DMG: 0 Extra Immortals DMG: 0

"The left column... I won't get any of the first four attributes until I ascend to the Heavenly Realm for sure and have access to the Spirit-Holding Palace, but I can increase my elemental damage through skills from sects. For the right column, the first four I can only get with the help of Servants and Relics, but then again, those are accessible only after I ascend to that higher realm. As for the extra damage..."

Those were mostly pills gained through alchemy, so he could gain some of those quite soon. Such pills contained an altering effect on the consumer's Primordial Qi, similar to how a hunter would dip his arrows in poison. Some plants that are affected by Qi during their growth, would become poisonous to certain individuals. Therefore, by consuming them, your Qi takes on those proprieties and can deal extra damage to specific species.

Humans were one of such species, as they were the only ones you had to always stay on guard against at all times. So, even if it sounds cruel, they would become Herman's worst enemy in the future once again.

"Leaving aside the petty humans, monsters are slightly-evolved animals with no superior intellect so they don't pose much threat until they evolve into beasts. That's when they become a real problem. Their character is quite straightforward though and won't plot to kill someone if they can just attack them head-on."

The problem was that these monsters were the 'pets' of the Demon race. The demons were cunning and terrifyingly powerful. They are also quite straightforward in their cruelty to such a degree that they don't bat an eye at killing their siblings if it brings them benefits, making everyone aware to expect anything and everything from them. Herman knew very well how to deal with such a race, so they weren't much of an issue as long as he doesn't actively get involved with them. The dragons... well, the dragons were an absolute pain in the ass.

"Imagine the most narcissistic person you know and multiply it by a hundred. That's what every creature with a dragon bloodline is like. To make matters worse, they also have a short temper, instigating fights even if you as much look at them... Immortals... well, there were two types of those: the true Immortals that it's almost impossible to meet because they are in the Heavenly Realms (or have just reincarnated into a child through special methods), or the fallen Immortals which are also a pain in the ass due to their arrogance and their sense of superiority."

Just remembering their way of speech made Herman grind his teeth in frustration. Thinking of how he'll probably have to deal with them sooner rather than later, he couldn't help but want some pills against them first. While it's incredibly annoying to deal with them, when you shove a fist in their mouth and finally shut them up, the feeling is quite refreshing.

Especially those reincarnated bastards. Old men pretending to be geniuses, taking over a young body with more potential and acting arrogant as result. Even if Herman himself experienced a bit of the reincarnation business, at least he wasn't responsible for the death of an infant.

Personality Benevolence: 0 Malevolence: 0 Benevolent Jades: 0 Malevolent Jades: 0 Reputation: 0

This was another tricky thing that reminded Herman how he should undertake some missions from the Valley of Fallen Blossoms sect's Mission Hall as soon as possible. The said missions were small tasks that would award usually Spirit Stones, Contribution Tokens for the sect, and Reputation Tokens each month, making them quite important.

"As for the Benevolence and Malevolence, it strictly has to do with the sect you joined. If it's a neutral or good sect, you get 15 points of Benevolence for each month spent in the sect and the other way around if it's an evil sect. That's something that the System uses to calculate your alignment to good or evil. The Jades though are a bit of a trick as you cannot gain them until you ascend to the Heavenly Realms or if you get them from gift packs... Speaking of which..."

Herman jumped to his feet when he remembered something that he can use straight away. They were gifts left behind by predecessors that have already reached higher realms and they were left to be redeemed through the System's interface. Everyone called them 'redeem codes' since they worked in a similar fashion to how a gift code would work in an actual game.

"The problem is that they are spread out across the Immortal World and even if I know where to find them, I am not at the level where I can travel there just yet. For Mount Taihang, there should be around six to seven that I can claim right away from the Praise Land palaces after I light up some incense and offer my prayers..."

[Are you talking about the beginner freebies? I heard big sis Qian talking about them, but I was already at the Gold Core realm when I found out about it, unfortunately.](Wu Xinyan)

"*Gasp* Miss Xinyan... don't just materialize out of the thin air like that! You almost scared the soul out of my body..."

[*Giggles* My apologies! I didn't mean to sneak up on you, but I did enter through the front door you know... You were too caught up in your own delusions and didn't hear me coming.](Wu Xinyan)

"Delusions is going a bit too far... If I remember correctly only the Qi Gathering realm cultivators can retrieve the gifts, right?"

[Yup! And that only if the main statues in the palace acknowledge your prayer. Do you plan to go today?](Wu Xinyan)

"Mhm! I will probably need all the extra resources I could get, now that the race for Heavens has already begun. Why? You want to tag along?"

[Can I!?](Wu Xinyan)

Seeing her sparkling eyes, Herman snickered and nodded his head, much to the girl's delight. He also noticed two more shadows by the door, probably the Junior Sister and the Elder Disciple. That duo was as inseparable just like Wu Xinyan and Yi Xuan were.

Speaking of the troublesome woman, where exactly was she?

[If you're looking for elder sister Xuan, she is cultivating in our sect's Cultivation Room to stabilize her realm and attempt another breakthrough. Sect Master is even going as far as guiding her personally. She should be able to go up another level by the end of the week because of your help. Hehehe! Don't tell me you miss her already?](Wu Xinyan)

"I actually wanted to thank her. With her help, I managed to reach the Qi Gathering V. That wouldn't have happened if I didn't leech from her higher cultivation speed. I owe her quite a bit..."

[Hmm!? That's odd... I thought you knew about the cultivation covenant. Did you really initiate it by mistake? Maybe Sect Master was right and you just are compatible with big sis Xuan...](Wu Xinyan)

"Eh!? Covenant? What's that?"

Deciding to play dumb and not display all of his cards since it might raise more suspicions than he already had, he had the girl explain how a cultivation covenant works, not forgetting to act surprised or amazed from time to time, asking them if he could do the same thing with her as well. After that was done and getting only a sly smile in response, he had to undergo another bout of inquiries about the tribulation lightning, showing that he was just as stumped about the reason behind it.

"Oh, right! How come the clothes I got yesterday from the System are back to normal?"

[We didn't undress you if that's what you were hoping for. *Giggle* The costume sets that are awarded through the System are self-reconstructing with the use of Primordial Qi. A little portion of the Qi you take in through passive cultivation is diverted into the clothes, allowing them to get back to their initial state. Quite cool right?](Wu Xinyan)

"Actually... Yes! That's pretty amazing. Would've been nice if my Mortal Things set could've done that. I guess it's been entirely destroyed, wasn't it?"

[Hmm? That Level 1 equipment set you had? Yeah... it was wrecked beyond any reparation.](Wu Xinyan)

"Urgh... *Sigh* I was expecting that since I was lucky enough to survive. Wanting more might be an exaggeration. Right! What do you think that we should do about the two rabbits at the door?"

[Pfft! Rabbits? How fitting! You two, come in and don't just lurk in the doorway...](Wu Xinyan)

[*Cough**Cough* We were only curious if big brother recovered already...](Ling Ye)

[Big sis Xinyan... I also want to come...](Lan Yue)

[Little Yue!!! You traitor!](Ling Ye)

[But... sis Ye, don't you want to come as well? I thought you said...*Mph*](Lan Yue)

[Youuuuu! I didn't say that!!](Ling Ye)

Seeing the trio so bored and not exactly minding the company of beautiful women, he agreed to have all three of them follow. Since they all were targets for ascension, he might as well use this opportunity to impress them further.

He had to spend some pretty big amounts of SJ today after all and the pretty gold-digger would surely fall in love with his deep pockets if she sees such a display of wealth.

"It would be great to have three informed opinions since I need to make some acquisitions today, including my new Dwelling. For things such as a house and the territory it comes with, a woman's touch is needed. I would be honored to have all three of you join me.

[Ehehe! I can come as well!! Thank you, big brother!](Lan Yue)

[Ahem... I guess I can join you guys since I don't have any other plans for today.](Ling Ye)

[Good! Let's all go! It's going to be 'big brother' Herman's treat today!](Wu Xinyan)

Complaining or saying no at this point was not an option, so Herman mentally prepared to exchange some SJ for Spirit Stones, since he would have to pay for food, clothes, and who knows what else these girls would want after some window shopping. This time, he was sure that under the influence of the pretty gold-digger the other two would also turn into an expensive accessory to this outing and he would have to act like a proper sugar-daddy.

The city was bustling and Herman could see everywhere around him newbies moving from place to place, exploring every attraction the Immortal World had to offer. Scuffles were pretty common given the cultural differences, but nobody dared to make too much of a big deal about petty arguments since there were Inspectors keeping an eye on the general situation of the crowd. With someone at much higher cultivation levels than yourself, why not enjoy the fun instead of starting something.

Herman already spent 10 Spirit Jades and got a thousand Spirit Stones exchanged, money that went down to 300 in less than an hour. At least the trio looked somewhat satisfied by this trip and Herman got to see the city's main shops - all of them - while being glared and cursed at by the ocean of single guys in the crowds he was passing by.

"Something tells me that I should keep a low-profile in the future, lest I get killed by your 'fans'."

[They are mostly big sis Xinyan's admirers or people that listened to sis Ye's zither. I try to stay away from such troublesome folk.](Lan Yue)

[Yeah, that's true. Little Yue's fans are higher on the age demographic chart...](Ling Ye)

[Youuuuu! That's mean!](Lan Yue)

Seeing the two arguing about irrelevant matters, a sense of peace washed over Herman, making him shudder as result. Being at peace was a horrible and terrifying thing since it would soften his awareness of the surroundings, making him unable to survive in the case of a possible ambush. On the other hand, being continuously on edge, even if it's more energy-consuming, would help one preserve his life. In his previous encounter with the Immortal World, he spent hundreds of years taking things slow and enjoying everything it had to offer, falling behind the rest of the people he had ascended with. That was probably one of the reasons he had to struggle more than anyone else...

With a newfound conviction, Herman finally convinced the three ladies to start heading for the Praise Land palaces else the year would end before they would've led the way.

[We're here. How is it? Impressive, right?](Wu Xinyan)

"It truly is. How many palaces are there?"

[I know, I know! There are 24 buildings in total. There are 7 main Palaces, 5 smaller ones, and 12 temples. If big brother is trying to receive the gifts left behind for the newbies, you need to go to the main Palaces. You need to pray there and the System will hand out the resources at the end of the prayer.](Lan Yue)

"I see. Thank you miss Yue for the information. Shall we go in then? Which Palace should we visit first?"

[The Lustrative Jade one!](Lan Yue)

[The Tao and Virtue is the best among the lot.](Ling Ye)

[I think Herman would like the Primeval Palace more.](Wu Xinyan)

"Let's visit all of them then."

The whole praying experience was rather unimpressive given that the ritual consisted of nothing more than lighting up incense and giving a bow to the statue inside the palace. At the end of it, the System would register a code made out of digits and letters that the user could choose to redeem immediately or wait until later.

Obviously Herman decided to redeem them now.

The user has offered a prayer to the Primeval Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: kungfu9999

Would the user want to withdraw 1 Journey to the West Token, 3 x 1000 Reputation Tokens, 1 x Tallent Pill and 2 x Wanderer Pill?

Yes / No The user has offered a prayer to the Lustrative Jade Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: EX5Daa

Would the user want to withdraw 3 x 1000 Spirit Stones, 3 x 1000 Food Rations, 3 x 1000 Iron Essence, and 3 x Superior Booze?

Yes / No The user has offered a prayer to the Tao and Virtue Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: mfkf8888

Would the user want to withdraw 2 x 1000 Spirit Stones, 2 x 1000 Food Rations, 2 x 1000 Wood Essence, 2 x 1000 Iron Essence, 2 x 100 Reputation Tokens, 2 x Silk Caskets, and 500 Sect Contribution Tokens?

Yes / No The user has offered a prayer to the Taiyi Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: Ve045Z

Would the user want to withdraw 800 Spirit Stones, 800 Iron Essence, 100 Soul-clearing Grass, and 100 Mystic Bronze Iron?

Yes / No The user has offered a prayer to the Relic Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: fbxiaozulibao666

Would the user want to withdraw 1 x 1000 Spirit Stones, 1 x 1000 Food Rations, 1 x 1000 Wood Essence, and 1 x 1000 Iron Essence?

Yes / No The user has offered a prayer to the Six Realms Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: xianmingjue666

Would the user want to withdraw 2 x 1000 Spirit Stones, 2 x 1000 Food Rations, 2 x Wood Essence, 2 x Iron Essence?

Yes / No The user has offered a prayer to the Tai-Chi Palace.

Prayer has been accepted!

Redeem code available: hanyuty6666

Would the user want to withdraw 3 x 1000 Spirit Stones, 5 x 1000 Food Rations, 5 x 1000 Wood Essence, 5 x 1000 Iron Essence, 5 x Marrow-Cleansing Dew and 2 x Treasure Tokens?

Yes / No

"Yes! Redeem all seven."

All items have been awarded and deposited into the user's Inventory.

"That seems like a good starter pack. What do you think ladies? Are we ready to go 'mansion shopping'?"