Inner World.
On an open plain, Xian He appeared out of thin air.
He looked around, then up at the sky, deeply shaken.
"The Real World is at night, but it's daytime in the Inner World. That's pretty amazing."
A brilliant morning sun hung in the clear blue sky.
A vast plain stretched beneath his feet, overgrown with weeds and dotted with wildflowers. A few small trees stood here and there. The plain covered an area roughly a hundred miles across.
At its far end lay a lush sea of forest. Beyond that rose an endless mountain range, like a winding silver-gray dragon.
"Mmm... Refreshing and invigorating, with a faint hint of sweetness. Is this Spiritual Energy?" Xian He took a deep breath. The fatigue in his body began to fade, and he couldn't help exclaiming, "The Inner World really is a wonderful place for making babies and cultivating."
Xian He practiced a set of punches, but to his disappointment, the improvement was barely noticeable.
He didn't need to think twice to know it was because his innate talent was so poor.
"With the same results from cultivation, someone with poor innate talent often has to put in ten times the effort to get there." Xian He clasped his hands behind his back and sighed as he walked north.
Fortunately, he had the system. As long as his wife gave birth to a son or daughter with excellent innate talent, his own talent would improve.
Not far away, a small river rippled gently, flowing from west to east, probably into the depths of the forest, toward the direction of the rising sun.
Its water was clear and cold, so clear there were no fish.
Xian He washed his hands and face, then summoned the system inventory and began activating his other rewards.
"The second reward is a Two-Courtyard Siheyuan, a building above seventh grade."
He tapped Activate.
The icon turned into a golden streak of light, flew out of the system inventory, and landed on the open ground across the river.
A magnificent residence appeared out of thin air, along with a wooden bridge.
He crossed the bridge, pushed open the gate, and entered the courtyard.
The Siheyuan had gray brick walls and green tiles, with carved beams and painted rafters. It was very grand—far better than his shabby thatched hut.
The only fly in the ointment was that the courtyard's bathroom was an outhouse.
Leaving the cramped front courtyard, he passed through the covered walkway and entered the spacious rear courtyard. Xian He began activating his third reward.
"An above-seventh-grade spirit plant: the Crystal Pomegranate Tree!"
He tapped Activate.
The Crystal Pomegranate Tree turned into a streak of light and landed on an open patch in the rear courtyard.
There were four unpaved patches in the rear courtyard, two in front of the East Wing Room and two in front of the west wing.
A Crystal Pomegranate Tree appeared out of thin air on the northeastern patch, its branches laden with fiery-red pomegranates, each as big as a vinegar jar.
Xian He picked one and split open its skin. The pomegranate seeds inside were like crystals, sparkling brilliantly in the sunlight.
"Mmm... sweet and tart. How can it be this delicious?"
He took a bite. Juice burst everywhere, and an indescribably wonderful flavor spread through his mouth.
It was so delicious that he wanted to take off his clothes and run naked around the covered walkway a few times.
What impressed Xian He most was that the Crystal Pomegranate had no seeds, sparing him the trouble of spitting them out.
"Burp~"
After polishing off one enormous pomegranate, Xian He was so full he couldn't stop burping.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host! You have gained the benefits of a Crystal Pomegranate: Strength +100, Precision +100, Agility +100. Duration: seven hours! ]
The system's notification rang out without warning.
"Wow! No wonder it's a fruit above seventh grade. It fills you up and boosts your combat stats, too."
Strength, Precision, and Agility were attributes used by martial artists when attacking. Force Dissipation, Technique Countering, and Evasion were attributes used when defending.
An attack could hit only if the attacker's Strength exceeded the defender's Force Dissipation, or the attacker's Precision exceeded the defender's Technique Countering, or the attacker's Agility exceeded the defender's Evasion.
All three attributes had increased by one hundred, which would greatly improve his chance of landing an attack.
Once his excitement had settled, Xian He picked another Crystal Pomegranate and tucked it into his shirt. "Yun Ling hasn't tried one yet. I'll take this back for her."
Suddenly, he was surprised to see fresh, light-green shoots sprouting from the Crystal Pomegranate Tree.
He looked closely. New shoots had appeared at both places where fruit had been picked.
He guessed that before long, the tree would flower and bear fruit again, growing more Crystal Pomegranates.
"The Inner World has a mild climate, like spring all year round. It's perfect for growing plants. If I brought in some crops from the Tianyun Plateau..." A sudden idea struck Xian He.
After washing the sticky fruit juice off his face by the river, Xian He returned to the bedroom east of the north room and lay down to rest.
The bedroom was fully furnished, with bedding and everything else ready to use. He could move right in with nothing but his luggage.
Lying on the soft red-heartwood bed, Xian He continued activating the rewards he had left.
The fifth reward was an above-seventh-grade cultivation method—the Goddess Control Art.
He tapped Activate, and the method turned into a streak of light that flew straight into the space between his brows.
"An above-seventh-grade cultivation method requires divine-grade innate talent to practice normally. With my trash talent, it'll take at least a hundred years to reach the first level." Xian He felt despairing.
A martial artist's innate talent had nine grades, from lowest to highest: Inferior, Ordinary, Excellent, Good, Outstanding, Legendary, Divine, Great Emperor-tier, and Heavenly Dao-tier.
With his inferior innate talent, he would never reach the second level of the Goddess Control Art before he died of old age.
But fortunately, he had a cheat!
Before you continue