System

When Li Gan focused his attention on those words, waves of intangible information immediately flowed into his mind.

After a long while, his eyes widened, and a trace of wild joy appeared on his face.

"A system—it really is the cheat every transmigrator is supposed to have."

When he had first transmigrated here, he had dreamed of having some cheat by his side. Yet even after becoming a Menial Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, no system or cheat had appeared.

He had long since given up on such fantasies and completely bowed to reality. All he wanted was to become a Ranked Martial Artist, learn a skill to make a living, then go down the mountain to start a family and build a career. That would make this transmigration worthwhile.

Yet after becoming the Bell Ringer, he had actually activated a system.

"This system is incredible. As long as this Chen Bell doesn't break, I can live forever. And by ringing it once a day, I can refine it. As long as I keep it up for a hundred days, I can upgrade this Chen Bell from an ordinary item into a higher-grade Sacrificial Tool. The higher its grade, the greater its strength and power, and the harder it is to destroy. Even the Bell Sound it produces can help me comprehend the martial path, strengthen my body, cultivate internal energy, and more."

Li Gan was overjoyed.

At that moment, this Chen Bell was his treasure.

Whoever tried to stop him from being the Bell Ringer was his enemy.

He was going to be the Bell Ringer no matter what.

No one was taking this job from him.

Li Gan circled the Chen Bell several times and vaguely sensed an indescribable, peculiar connection between himself and the bell.

When he closed his eyes, a phantom image of the Chen Bell actually appeared in his mind.

"I wonder whether I'll be able to take this Chen Bell into my body once its refining reaches a certain stage?"

Li Gan pondered inwardly.

This Sacrificial Tool sounded somewhat like the magical treasures from web novels. If it could not be stored within his body, he could not possibly leave it outside forever. That would be far too unsafe.

Of course, he had no such plans for now.

This Chen Bell still belonged to the Divine Sword Sect.

"Li Gan, breakfast."

A while later, Elder Song's voice drifted up from downstairs.

"Coming, Elder Song."

Li Gan patted the Chen Bell's thick, heavy body, then immediately turned and went downstairs.

Breakfast that day was rice porridge, though it carried a medicinal fragrance. Blood-Qi Powder had been added to it.

This medicinal powder was essential for preparing Medicinal Meals. It was greatly beneficial to martial artists, nourishing the body and strengthening one's physique.

This was part of a Menial Disciple's treatment.

Official Disciples naturally received even better treatment.

There was also a piece of dried meat.

It was said that this dried meat did not come from ordinary livestock. The animals had been fed Blood-Qi Powder specially formulated for livestock, so their meat was more nutritious and could replenish blood and qi.

It tasted quite good, rather like beef jerky from his previous life, with plenty of chew.

After finishing a large bowl of blood-qi rice porridge and a big piece of dried meat, Li Gan actually felt a little full. Warmth spread through his entire body, leaving him exceptionally comfortable.

Though Elder Song was old, his appetite was even greater than Li Gan's. He ate two full bowls of rice porridge and three large pieces of dried meat.

Martial artists truly had astonishing appetites.

"Since there's still some time, hurry and cultivate a little. Even if you can't develop Qi Sensation, it can still strengthen your body and aid digestion."

After eating, Elder Song sat cross-legged nearby.

Li Gan went up into the Bell Tower.

He assumed a stance and began practicing the Sword Piercing Fist he had just learned.

This was a basic fist technique of the Divine Sword Sect, and it also contained certain fundamentals of Sword Art. As long as one mastered this fist technique, one could use it as a foundation to switch to Sword Art at any time.

This Sword Piercing Fist was essential Martial Arts for newly admitted Menial Disciples.

If one wanted better Martial Arts later, one would need to exchange Contribution Points for them.

Besides Stipend Silver and basic cultivation resources, the work of a Menial Disciple also earned a small number of Contribution Points. Accumulated over a long time, they would be worth no small amount.

After one round of practice, Li Gan felt heat coursing through his whole body, leaving him thoroughly at ease.

However, he did not sense any Qi Sensation.

He did not mind.

Had Elder Song not said that it was perfectly normal for Qi Sensation to take three to five months to appear?

Besides, he now had the system and could refine the Chen Bell. Becoming a martial artist was only a matter of time.

As Chen Hour drew near, Li Gan prepared himself once more.

Elder Song watched from the side as well.

He was quite responsible.

This time, Li Gan rang the Chen Bell without a hitch.

One strike, two chimes.

As the Bell Sound spread, Li Gan suddenly felt as though he had attained great enlightenment. The problems he had encountered while practicing the Sword Piercing Fist seemed to clear away in an instant.

Moreover, as the Bell Sound spread, he felt a strange, lingering numbness course through his body.

"This must be the Enlightenment and Body Cleansing Effect contained within the Bell Sound of the Chen Bell as a Sacrificial Tool."

Li Gan thought to himself.

The effect might seem ordinary now, but over time, as drops of water wore through stone, it would surely bring about a transformation.

He summoned the System Interface again.

Under the Sacrificial Tool section, the Chen Bell's Refining Progress was still 1.

Sure enough, only the first strike each day had a refining effect.

Over the next stretch of time, Li Gan went to sleep punctually every day at Xu Hour and rose one or two quarters into Yin Hour.

At first, he found it very difficult to get used to.

But once he adapted, he could wake up without Elder Song calling him.

Elder Song still watched from the side whenever he rang the bell, afraid that Li Gan might make a mistake.

And so, a month passed.

Li Gan had also adapted to the monotonous, desolate life of a Bell Ringer.

He had scarcely gone down the mountain at all.

Every day, aside from practicing Martial Arts, ringing the bell, and staring blankly into space, he would occasionally chat with Elder Song and ask him for tips on martial training.

Elder Song would also tell him strange tales and curious anecdotes.

"Elder Song, why have you stayed in the Divine Sword Sect all this time?"

After spending so much time together, Li Gan had become much more casual around Elder Song and was no longer as cautious and restrained as before.

Aside from being very serious when it came to ringing the bell, Elder Song was quite easygoing at other times and rarely put on airs as an old Senior before Li Gan.

"Why are you asking that?"

Elder Song glared at Li Gan, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter.

Then he casually picked up the Wine Gourd beside him and shuffled away with somewhat unsteady steps.

"Looks like Elder Song has a story."

Li Gan thought to himself.

But he had no particular desire to pry into such things. He had only asked casually.

He glanced at the Hourglass, then rose and headed up to the Bell Tower.

His cultivation schedule was now mostly fixed. After ringing the bell, he would take advantage of the Bell Sound's enlightenment and body-cleansing effects to practice the Sword Piercing Fist.

He felt that the results were much better.

After a month, he felt that his body had grown much stronger. His once-thin frame had begun to show the outlines of muscle.

As soon as Si Hour arrived, Li Gan began ringing the bell.

He struck it three times.

Elder Song was not there.

Several days earlier, Elder Song had stopped standing beside him.

Still, whenever Li Gan rang the bell, he always felt that Elder Song was watching him from the shadows.

Not far away, Elder Song withdrew his gaze and took another sip of wine.

Up in the Bell Tower.

Li Gan felt clear-headed, warm all over, and pleasantly numb from head to toe. He was in peak condition.

He immediately began practicing the Sword Piercing Fist beside the Chen Bell.

He had now mastered the key movements to the point where they flowed like running water, making for quite a pleasing sight.

Suddenly, he keenly sensed a burst of heat beneath his navel.

"Is this Qi Sensation?"

He recalled Elder Song saying that when Qi Sensation emerged, one would feel abnormal heat in the area below the navel.

In other words, had he finally entered the Qi Sense Realm?