Hearing the system say that, Han Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it didn't unbind from him.
Having it was better than having nothing. Besides, it wasn't as though Foundation Establishment Pills, Yellow Dragon Pills, and the like were useless to him.
"That's good. But system, you belong to the world of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, after all. Can I actually take the rewards you give me?
"A Foundation Establishment Pill won't make me explode, will it? I'm only at the fourth stage of Dou Qi!"
Ding! Rest assured, host. Downloading an emergency patch now. The system's rewards and modes will be automatically replaced with content appropriate for the Dou Qi Continent to help the host survive. Download complete. The system has officially been renamed the Mortal Template System and bound to host Han Chen. The contents of this gift pack have been updated and can safely be claimed.
Joy spread across Han Chen's face at those words, and he said to the system,
"Claim it. Claim it right now."
Ding! All items in the beginner's gift pack have been transferred to the host's storage space. If you need anything, simply call for it in your mind. The system is always at your service.
Hearing that, Han Chen closed his eyes. With a thought, a bottle of pills appeared in his hand.
He opened the bottle, and a medicinal fragrance immediately drifted out. Though fragrant, it wasn't strong. It was mild, still within the range of ordinary medicines.
"So this is the Yellow Dragon Pill, the first step Han Li took toward immortal cultivation."
"Right, system, I have a question. You just said your awakening was delayed because you were updating.
"Does that mean you were already there when I first transmigrated to the Dou Qi Continent?"
Yes. I did not notify the host at the time because I was updating.
"So the reason I awakened four attributes back when I had no cultivation wasn't because I was a genius, but because I also had Han Li's spiritual roots?"
Han Chen hadn't considered that at first. It was only when he took out the Yellow Dragon Pills and thought of Han Li.
Then he remembered: weren't Han Li's spiritual roots the same as his?
Since the system bound to him was the Mortal Cultivation System, did that mean his attributes had actually been Han Li's Four Spiritual Roots from the very beginning?
Correct, host. The system originally bound to you was the Mortal Cultivation System. Its initial template was modeled after Han Heavenly Venerable, the future Dao Ancestor of Time. Therefore, you also possess his Four Spiritual Roots.
"So that's how it is? No wonder my cultivation crawled along like a turtle. How was I supposed to advance without pills?"
Han Chen nodded in understanding at the system's explanation. He finally knew why his cultivation had barely budged all these years.
Four Spiritual Roots meant four attributes. On the Dou Qi Continent, that truly was a talent few could rival.
Perhaps even the Battle Emperors of ancient times hadn't possessed as many attributes as he did.
But in the world of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, that made him utterly commonplace. Especially here on the Dou Qi Continent, a lower-plane world with no spiritual energy to replenish him.
Trying to cultivate with Four Spiritual Roots was harder than reaching the heavens.
Even someone as mighty as Han Li, the Dao Ancestor of Time, had relied on the Heaven-Palm Bottle and endured countless hardships to reach that point.
"I don't have the Heaven-Palm Bottle. With Four Spiritual Roots, how many lifetimes will it take me to become powerful?"
The host need not worry about that. The system will make the necessary preparations. Assigning missions to the host now: Main mission one: Experience check-ins. You have finally reached the Dou Qi Continent, the setting of the masterpiece you adored in your youth. How could you miss witnessing the Flame Emperor's rise? Check in at key locations along Flame Emperor Xiao Yan's path of growth to earn corresponding experience points and receive lottery rewards. Main mission two: A mortal can become an immortal with a single thought. I was once a genius, and I will surely be a genius again. A temporary success or failure does not decide everything. Leave the Mist Cloud Sect and forge your own path. Show those who once humiliated you that fortunes turn and the tables can always be reversed. Unlimited mission three: When we meet again in the immortal realm, a single "fellow Daoist" will speak of all the ages we have weathered. Since you have obtained a system for attaining immortality, you must become an immortal. Follow the natural order and remain mortal; defy it and become immortal. Only a single thought separates the two. If Xiao Yan can become an emperor, why can't I become an immortal? I will make the name of Han Heavenly Venerable resound throughout the Dou Qi Continent!
Hearing the system's words, Han Chen felt his blood surge, and an inexplicable sense of bold resolve welled up within him.
After so many years of living under that weight, he suddenly felt that this was the future he truly wanted.
"That's exactly right! Follow the natural order and remain mortal; defy it and become immortal! How could I let something like this make me deny my own future?
"Even without a system, I should forge my own path. At the very least, I should die without regrets."
The more Han Chen thought about it, the more excited he became. He dropped his broom, turned, and ran down the mountain.
He was going to find Yun Yun. Since she felt that having him as her disciple disgraced her, that he was unworthy of being called one of the Mist Cloud Sect's chosen talents,
Then he would ask to leave of his own accord. Leaving with his dignity intact was better than being driven out without mercy. His path lay amid the countless worlds beyond.
The Mist Cloud Sect was neither particularly large nor particularly small. The forest of steles on the rear mountain where he worked happened to be fairly close to the peak where Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran lived.
Strangely enough, Han Chen really was lucky today.
Although this path usually wasn't crowded, quite a few elders would pass along it to report on their duties.
If they saw Han Chen taking this route, they would surely break his legs. Yet today, he made it all the way to the main hall's entrance without seeing anyone.
"How strange. Where did everyone go today? Has that old bastard Yun Shan come out of seclusion?"
Just as Han Chen was puzzling over it, the main hall doors behind him suddenly opened, startling him.
"What are you doing here?"
Patting his chest, Han Chen turned toward the voice and saw a pretty young girl standing in the doorway.
She wore a moon-white robe, her long hair tied high. A pair of phoenix eyes on her fair, oval face studied him in puzzlement.
Her pale pink lips alternately pursed and drooped, as though she were pondering something.
A pair of emerald-green earrings swayed with her movements, making her look charming and adorable.
Looking at the graceful young girl before him, Han Chen felt a little awkward.
The girl standing there was none other than Nalan Yanran, the one who had found him and brought him back.
"G-greetings, young sect master."
Although Nalan Yanran had yet to undergo the trial of the Life-and-Death Gate, everyone in the Mist Cloud Sect already regarded her as the young sect master. Han Chen addressed her that way too.
Hearing Han Chen's form of address, Nalan Yanran knitted her delicate brows. She folded her arms across her chest and said unhappily,
"How many times have I told you? When no one else is around, you're supposed to call me big sister!"
Hearing Nalan Yanran's wheedling yet faintly displeased tone, Han Chen was so embarrassed he could have dug an entire apartment out of the floor with his toes.
To be honest, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran hadn't treated him badly. On the contrary, they had treated him very well.
Because he was a foundling, Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran feared he would feel miserable about being an orphan, so they had always indulged him.
But the Mist Cloud Sect wasn't theirs alone to command. Above them, the former sect master Yun Shan held absolute authority. Below them, Yun Ling and the other traitorous elders repeatedly tried to strip Yun Yun of her power.
As a result, their attitude toward Han Cheng was heavily influenced by the other people in the sect.
The two had begun distancing themselves from him on the surface only because they knew Han Chen might end up an ordinary person. They wanted to use that distance to keep him away from the center of power and spare him its conflicts.
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