Intelligent Cultivation System at Your Service!

As the sun slanted toward the west, Pei Ling returned to Pei Manor.

Most of the servants he passed saw him and pretended not to, going about their own business.

It was only when he was about to leave the main courtyard that a maid called out to him. "Madam says that Sacred Sect disciples are staying at the manor for a while. They're very fond of pastries made with Colorless Ganoderma. Please go find some more in Yuan Lao Mountain starting tomorrow, Seventh Young Master. Madam will reward you handsomely!"

"Understood." The maid's attitude was dismissive, but Pei Ling didn't mind. He was quite satisfied with his standing in this vast manor. Just like the courtyard he lived in, he was tucked away in an inconspicuous corner—quiet and ignored. Of course, no one waited on him, either.

He could kill someone in broad daylight, destroy the body, and leave no trace without anyone noticing.

After all, it was no longer fashionable to charge headlong into the world and carve out a place for yourself. The big shots were all more low-key than the next.

Caution was the way to go.

He had plenty of experience in that department. After all, in his previous life, Pei Ling had been a cautious—cowardly—sort of person.

On top of that, the world he'd been reborn into was no peaceful place. There was cultivation, strange phenomena, demonic beasts... His family had some influence, but it belonged to the Chongming Sect, a demonic behemoth known to slaughter thousands of miles at the slightest provocation. The more he thought about it, the more uncertain his future seemed.

That was why he'd developed the habit of examining himself three times a day: Had I kept my head down today?

Could I have kept it even lower?

What other special ways were there to stay hidden?

Thanks to this cautious nature, Pei Ling had managed to grow up safely despite being born into a family wracked by intrigue and undercurrents, with his birth mother dead early, his father a scumbag, and his stepmother jealous and spiteful.

And he'd even secretly developed a transmigrator's perk.

"System!" Once inside the small courtyard where he lived alone, Pei Ling immediately bolted the door. He carefully checked that every door and window was shut, made sure no one had entered and that there were no listening or surveillance devices, then let out a quiet breath of relief. Suppressing his excitement, he called out in his mind, "I've gathered enough Spirit Stones to start you up. Activate immediately."

"Ding-dong!"

Accompanied by a clear notification chime, a translucent panel slowly appeared before him, visible only to him.

[Name: Pei Ling.

Race: Human Race.

Sex: Male.

Age: 18.

Identity: Collateral-line descendant of the Pei Clan of Luquan City.

Cultivation: Second level of the Qi Refining Stage.

System Status: Inactive.]

A neutral voice, devoid of emotion, sounded in Pei Ling's mind, confirming each point in a rigid, measured tone. "Sufficient Spirit Stones to activate the system detected. Host, do you authorize the system to absorb them immediately and activate?"

Pei Ling took a deep breath. "Yes!"

The three hundred Low-grade Spirit Stones he'd painstakingly saved since childhood, even skimping on his own cultivation to do so, were instantly swept away by an invisible force.

Flames of brilliant color surged around the panel hovering before him, and the characters on it flashed wildly.

A moment later, the panel came back into focus. The system's voice seemed to carry a trace of delight. "The Intelligent Cultivation System is at your service! One-Click Hosting, Intelligent Upgrade, fully automated cultivation, no mishaps, no worries about inner demons—fulfill your dream of ascending!"

Then the words at the very bottom of the panel, [Activate system?], silently changed. Soon, a new interface appeared with five options: [Select Cultivation Art], [Select Spell], [Select Divine Ability], [Select Duration], and, finally, [One-Click Cultivation].

For once, Pei Ling's normally cautious heart stirred with excitement.

He eagerly selected [Select Cultivation Art] with a thought.

"Please select the cultivation art you wish to practice..."

The system spoke again, and the words "Bone Tempering Art" appeared on the interface. It was the Pei Clan's ancestral cultivation art, and the only one available to him at present.

The Pei Clan's Bone Tempering Art had three stages: Iron Bone, Essence Bone, and Jade Bone. Once the Iron Bone stage was complete, one would be impervious to blades and spears, with fists like heavy hammers and palms like blades. The body alone could tear apart tigers and wolves.

However, this art came from a demonic sect, and its cultivation method was steeped in the ways of the demonic path.

Each time they practiced, cultivators had to shatter every bone in their body. Then, using the Bone Tempering Art's method, they tempered the broken bones before "reassembling" them to strengthen themselves. Anyone lacking sufficient fortitude usually gave up during their very first attempt, unable to endure the agony of being shattered to pieces. Some with especially poor aptitude even died from the pain before they could finish.

It could be said that every cultivator who mastered the Bone Forging Art had exceptional talent and willpower.

Of course, that was only the conventional method. If one could take Bone Quenching Pills alongside it, the pain would lessen dramatically, and the results would be twice as good for half the effort. But only the Chongming Sect could refine Bone Quenching Pills. Given the Pei Family's influence, they were allotted just ten a year.

As the family's backbone, the Pei Family Head naturally took five. Each of the three family elders took one, and the Sect Son took one... By the time it came to Pei Ling, a collateral-line descendant, he hadn't even seen what a Bone Quenching Pill looked like!

So, despite never having taken even a single Bone Quenching Pill, Pei Ling had managed to temper half his body into Iron Bone and reach the second level of the Qi Refining Stage. His talent was exceptional, and his will was firm.

"Under normal circumstances, a complete cycle of the Bone Tempering Art takes at least three months without Bone Quenching Pills, even with plenty of medicinal supplements. Rush it too much, and the body can't take it; you'll only get the opposite result." Pei Ling rubbed his hands together excitedly. "But now, I have a system!"

Desperate to find out how well the system could cultivate, he selected the art and immediately opened [Select Duration]. He'd meant to choose a short period to test it out, but the top option was [One Year], followed by [Ten Years], [One Hundred Years]...

Pei Ling was speechless...

Only at the very bottom did he find [Temporary Cultivation · Intelligent Duration].

Pei Ling breathed a sigh of relief. He selected it at once, then clicked [One-Click Cultivation]!

"The Intelligent Cultivation System is at your service!" The panel flashed twice, then gradually faded. The system's voice returned to its previous rigid, measured tone. "One-Click Hosting, Intelligent Upgrade! Cultivation hosting will now begin. Friendly Reminder: During cultivation, the host will lose control of their body. Please do not panic..."

Then Pei Ling felt a faint wave of dizziness. An invisible force flowed into his body and quickly arranged him into a cultivation posture.

His dantian grew warm. The Bone Tempering Art began running automatically. His bones twinged with pain, then started splitting apart bit by bit. As the art flowed through him, they vibrated rapidly and regenerated at a tremendous pace. The pores all over his body opened, expelling much of the filth within him... The entire process was smooth and practiced, with an effortless, harmonious quality.

Compared with his previous cultivation, when he had to divide his attention and the slightest lapse could leave him severely injured or on the brink of death, being managed by the system was practically a pleasure.

This system was perfect for a lazy, cautious person like him!

It was practically the most conscientious cheat ability ever!

Pei Ling was still delighting in it when the system suddenly chimed, "Ding-dong!" The faded panel reappeared. "Missing cultivation pill detected: Bone Quenching Pill. Please wait..."

"Please wait..."

"Please wait..."

Pei Ling: "???"

Wait... The system's One-Click Cultivation required Bone Quenching Pills? Where was he supposed to get Bone Quenching Pills for the system?

"Ding-dong!" The system chimed again, and the words on the panel changed accordingly...

"Analysis complete. The system will provide ten Bone Quenching Pills free of charge."

This generous?

Pei Ling couldn't help perking up.

Just as he was eagerly anticipating the pills, his body suddenly stood up.

Pei Ling: "?"

His body strode straight toward the door.

Pei Ling: "??"

He froze for a moment, then watched his own body rush out of the courtyard at a speed far beyond his current cultivation. Like a shadow, it crossed the distance in mere seconds and charged into the Pei Family's Jade Wutong Courtyard.

Only then did Pei Ling realize what this meant. Jade Wutong Courtyard!

That was where the Chongming Sect disciples were staying!

They were guests so important that the whole of Pei Manor had to treat them with the utmost care!

What the hell???