Destiny

"Could the Fate Disk be opened?"

Shen Mo explored it, and a thought stirred in his heart.

The next moment, the section originally labeled "Fate Disk" slowly revealed a vast amount of detailed information.

[Body: Robust Physique]

[Talent: Below Average]

[Fortune: Ordinary]

[Appearance: Plain]

[Wits: Naturally Dull]

[Fate: ???]

[Lifespan: ???]

"What's this?" Shen Mo studied the string of information, gradually figuring out what it meant. "Are these my basic attributes?"

"Physique, talent, fortune, appearance, intelligence, fate, and lifespan—these seven make up the Fate Disk. They should represent a person's overall foundation."

Shen Mo analyzed it, murmuring, "Apart from fate and lifespan, which I can't see for now, my physique, talent, fortune, and appearance are all at the most ordinary level. And intelligence represents comprehension. I'm even worse than the average person!"

Looking over each item on the Fate Disk, Shen Mo could clearly see that its basic attributes followed a distinct path of advancement, with seven ranks for each attribute.

Take physique, for example. From lowest to highest, its ranks were Qi-Deficient and Weak Body, Robust Physique, Innate Martial Bones, Dragon-Tiger Body, Supreme Divine Fetus, Ancient Sacred Body, and Divine Body.

Fortune, meanwhile, was divided into a string of bad luck, ordinary fortune, great fortune, Noble Fate, Purple Micro Star Aspect, Heaven's Mandate Protection, and Heaven and Earth in Accord.

Appearance, intelligence, and talent each had their own different ranks as well.

Only the ranks for lifespan and fate remained unclear. He couldn't see where he stood, nor could he investigate their respective classifications.

"The original owner really was mediocre. With such terrible basic attributes, no wonder he'd achieved so little after all these years of cultivation."

Shen Mo shook his head helplessly. His judgment had been right.

Those who rose to greatness in the cultivation world were without exception supreme in talent, wit, and fortune. With a foundation like his, he was fated to be cannon fodder.

"But... now that I can see my Basic Fate Disk, perhaps I can modify it and improve it."

Shen Mo soon noticed a line of data in the upper-right corner of the Fate Disk's basic attributes.

[Destiny Points: 0]

"Destiny Points. Is this something like a system's basic currency? As long as I have some, I can spend without limit and grow stronger!"

As a modern man familiar with webnovels, Shen Mo could easily make that guess. "It should be. I just don't know how many uses they have, or how to get them."

Going by the usual conventions, Destiny Points would come from killing enemies, cultivating, consuming spirit medicines, or checking in at certain special locations.

Although there was no system spirit to tell Shen Mo the rules in detail, he could still explore on his own and gradually figure things out.

"My talent's poor and my foundation's weak, but if my guess is right and this Destiny Panel really lets me improve myself... then there might still be hope for my cultivation."

At the thought, excitement stirred in Shen Mo's heart.

He'd been ready to give up. The original owner had been far too mediocre, and cultivation was cruel and arduous. The hope of achieving anything was exceedingly slim.

But if he really had been handed a cheat, Shen Mo was still eager to give it a try.

"It's too early to think about all that. I should keep exploring and figure out everything this Destiny Panel can do."

Suppressing his excitement, Shen Mo exited the Fate Disk page and turned his attention to the section on Special Destinies.

[Robust (White): Your physique is decent. Your strength and root bone are sturdier than those of ordinary people, and you can take a beating.]

[No other Destinies available.]

Shen Mo carefully examined it and quickly confirmed that he currently had only one Special Destiny.

And judging by the look of it, his Destiny rank wasn't high, and its bonus was quite limited.

However, he could equip more than one Special Destiny. He had two slots available.

"Why does this look so much like an online game?" Shen Mo grumbled inwardly. Soon, he spotted something called the Destiny Pool.

With a thought, he opened the Destiny Pool.

A string of Special Destinies appeared before his eyes.

[Green Fetus Sword Gall (Orange)]: Swordsmanship talent maxed out.

[Supreme Excellence (Green)]: Augmented by a special Buddhist divine power, granting increased strength against demons.

[Alchemy Master (Purple)]: Instantly gain master-level attainment in the Alchemy Dao.

[Brilliant Divine Treasury (Purple)]: Incredibly powerful Divine Soul, allowing you to perceive everything around you and roam the void in spirit.

[External Incarnation (Gold)]: You can split off another incarnation from within your body. Its power is no weaker than your own.

"Can these Special Destinies be bought with Destiny Points, or drawn at random and evolved?"

Staring at the bonuses listed beside the Special Destinies, Shen Mo's eyes widened. "The potential of this Destiny Panel seems even greater than I imagined!"

Shen Mo spent a full four hours reading and studying before finally closing the Destiny Panel.

"Whew." He let out a long breath and said, "It looks like as long as I have enough Destiny Points, this thing really can change my fate."

"I just need to figure out how to get those Destiny Points!"

"Never mind that for now. I've nearly absorbed all the medicinal power, so I should focus on breaking through. I can take my time with everything else tomorrow."

With that, Shen Mo settled his mind and focused on cultivation.

At that moment, as the power of the Qi Gathering Pill was gradually absorbed and the Heaven Origin Technique continued circulating within him,

his muscles, bones, internal organs, and every cell underwent a transformation.

His strength built up to a certain threshold, then began to batter at the barrier to the next realm.

Night gave way to dawn.

As the sky turned the pale white of a fish's belly,

Shen Mo, who had been meditating in a state of cultivation, slowly opened his eyes.

"I've reached the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm!"

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging strength within him, and a rush of indescribable exhilaration swept through his heart.

"This Qi Gathering Pill really is an excellent medicine for improving cultivation. Just one pill is worth two years of hard work!"

Shen Mo grinned as he exclaimed.

[Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1]

[Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1]

[Heaven Origin Technique cultivation +1]

[Your realm has advanced. Congratulations on reaching the sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm.]

"Hm, is this feedback on my cultivation progress?"

He instinctively glanced at the Destiny Panel and suddenly saw a series of accumulated notifications appear before his eyes.

"So it really is a panel. I can see everything."

He opened it, and his current status was laid out in full.

[Destiny Bearer: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation: Body Tempering Realm, sixth layer]

[Technique: Heaven Origin Technique, First Glimpse of the Path (88/100)]

[Martial Skill: Supreme Clarity Sword Technique, First Glimpse of the Path (36/100)]

"It doesn't just record my cultivation. It even shows the experience bars for all the techniques, martial skills, and other things I've learned?"

That was a pretty good feature.

"Hm? My Destiny Points... why did they go up by two?"

Just as Shen Mo was marveling at it, he glanced at the data above the Destiny Points.

To his astonishment, the Destiny Points that should have been at zero had somehow increased.