I managed to reach the cabin within an hour.

"Wang Ji, help me prepare the broth. We are having stew tonight." Says Xie Li.

Her brother Ming Li rarely comes home to visit her. When he does, he usually has one or two chats with her at the dining table and went into his room. 

From the looks of it, cultivators do not eat so it will be harder to infect a cultivator... 

But that isn't a worry. Airborne viruses and several other variants exist. 

I take some twigs and sticks to the tinder before taking a huge pot containing water and placing it on the wooden support at the side. 

I cut an angular notch in the fireboard and create a depression near it. Afterwards, I take the bark and place it under the v-cut before starting to spin it vigorously.

After about 15 minutes, a shining ember appears on the fireboard and I tap on it to place the ember on the tip of the bark. I spread the ember around the tinder and slowly blow it to get a bigger fire. 

All of a sudden, my muscles clench as I start to feel a cold and tingling sensation on my skin. 

What is this, it feels similar to goosebumps.

I stand up and close my eyes.

Little small particles in the atmosphere... Is this Qi?

This...

---------------

Congratulations! You have achieved the target of infecting 100 people. 

+1000 Evolution Points.

System level up!

1->2

Symptoms unlocked:

-fatigue(1000 points)

Current Cultivation Stage: First Stage of Qi Condensation.

-----------------

So this is what it feels like to cultivate. I feel like a healthy person, my malnutrition is gone despite not eating much vegetation for the past few days.

However, I cannot absorb Qi. Whenever I try to do so, I feel excruciating pain in every part of my body. 

The only way I can cultivate is through my system...

"Hey, Wang Ji, are you done?" Says Xie Li from inside the Cabin.

"Yeah. By the way, can you feel my cultivation stage?"

Xie Li walks toward me and touches my head. "Are you okay? You can't even cultivate so it is natural that you don't have a cultivation base." 

Hm...

--------------------

I wake up the next day feeling refreshed. I haven't slept like this for a while now. How?

I was sleeping with one eye open for the entire night, assassination during bedtime was a common thing in my previous life. 

But most importantly, I feel something weird with my body.

I clench my fist and a shockwave exploded. My strength increased again.

There's a panel floating in the corner of my eye.

--------------------------

Congratulations!

System level up!

2->3

You can now choose 2 symptoms for your starting virus.

Quest function unlocked

Properties unlocked:

-Disruption(special)

[Train of thoughts of infected strays frequently, loss of concentration]

(90000 points)

--------------------------

--------------------------

System level: 3

Current Cultivation Realm: Second Stage of Qi Condensation.

Infect 2028 more people to advance to the next stage.

Virus Slot 1: Virus Rank F

[View Evolution Tree]

The number of Infected people: 1029

The number of people killed: 0

[Locked}

[Locked]

[Locked]

---------------------------

Quest function? 

---------------------------

Currently available quest:

-Upgrade Virus Rank F.

+1000 points.

-Reach an infection count of 1000000

+10000 points.

+Recovery of Meridians and lower Dantian

----------------------------

----------------------------

Welcome to the evolution tree. You can enhance your virus here.

Evolution Points: 2029

Symptoms:

-Fever(100 Points)

-Headache(50 Points)

-Muscle Aching(90 points)                         -fatigue(1000 points)

Properties:

-Water-resistance 2(900 points)

-Heat-resistance 2(900 points)

-Disruption(special)

[Train of thoughts of infected strays frequently, loss of concentration]

(90000 points)

-Qi immunity 1(10000 points)

{Attempts to destroy the virus by using normal Qi circulation prove to be futile, only effective for medicines or remedies made by doctors of Qi Condensation Realm}

Character:

-Patient 2(2000 points)

[Symptoms show up even later than (patient 1)]

-Cruel(5000 points)

[Fatality Rate is boosted]

-Qi Hunger(100000 points)

[Absorbs a small 0.1% cultivation base of infected and passes them to the host.]

------------------------------

I choose Fever.

------------------------------

"Fever" symptoms have been chosen for Virus Rank F.

-100 points. 

"Fever" symptom is unlocked to be selected as a starting symptom.

Quest complete!

+1000 points

-------------------------------

I see, I have a general grasp of how my system works. 

I walk out of my room, Xie Li is gone. I went outside to test out my strength.

Approaching deep into the forest, I reach a flat area where only grassland exists. A stump protrudes out from the ground in the middle of the grassland.

I place my palm against the surface of the stump and exert force down on it.

*Creak*

A small crack appears. 

This time, I lift my fist and punch the stump. 

*BOOM!*

My fist crashes into the stump as the wood buckles and folds upwards around my attack.

Impressive, one would need to train vigorously for a few years to be able to do this back in my world.

Something glitters in the corner of my eyes. I turn to find a purple herb shaped like a rose on the ground beside a tree, it has a vanilla rose aroma with a small citrus hint.

What is this, a herb?

-----------

Number of infected Herb Specialists: 2

Would you like to extract their knowledge?

Cost: 100 points(2929 owned)

------------

This is possible?

Yes.

!!!

I grasp my head, it feels like something is forcing itself into my head. Nausea and headache that goes along with this process are unbearable!

A flood of information goes into my head and I can recognise this herb.

It's a herb used for curing headaches or over-exhaustion as it forces the mind into a calm state. However, 2 other ingredients are still required.

Hm... I don't have any bags with me and this robe does not have a pocket. I will have to return.

Suddenly, a smell I am very familiar with drifts past me.

!

The smell of blood. Fresh blood. 

I approach the smell to notice it comes from the cabin. Xie Li is lying on the ground, oozing a puddle of blood. Two men are raiding the cabin for something.

I walk to her and touch her wrist. Her heart is still pumping, but she cannot be saved because I don't know how I can help her.

She has been stabbed 3 times, twice through the left breast and once through her abdomen. 

...

Help yourself instead of others. That is the motto of terrorists that survive long. 

I've started cultivation so I can gauge her cultivation base, she was in the fifth stage of Qi Condensation. I can detect two fourth-stage Qi Condensation intruders in the house. 

Xie Li does not have any cuts on her body, which can mean two things, she committed suicide or she was ambushed. There are no signs of struggle or a fight from Xie Li.

"Who are you!" The intruder shouts. They are wearing a mask to conceal their appearance but they look like regular bandits.

I sigh.

"Fuck! Just kill him, he is a mortal!" 

The one at the front jumps towards me with his sword high up, I step to the side. 

A swing down and the sword managed to create a crack in the solid ground. 

"H-He dodged it?! A mere mortal-"

I take one step near him. By reflex, he swings his sword from the side and I take one small step back to dodge it. His momentum leaves him wide open with his arms at the side.

Blood comes out of his nostrils as I grip the wrist of both his arms and shove my elbow into his nose. 

"Argh!" 

His grip loosens and I connect my elbow to his face again before prying the sword away from his hand.

!

I attempt to decapitate him but his buddy saved him in the nick of time and deflect my sword.

I stare at them. Both of them are physically stronger than me, but...

"Fuck! You are courting death!" The person grabs the sword from his partner and dashes towards me with his sword up high.

He never learns...

I step aside to dodge that strike and counterattack with my blade, slitting his throat.

!!!!

He grabs his neck. Red crimson blood spews out as he starts to spit black blood. His body drops to his knees and he falls limp on the ground.

"I-Impossible! A mortal killing a cultivator!"

I launch myself towards the second intruder. Having no sword to defend himself, I managed to decapitate him quickly.

...

Everyone looks down on me because they are unable to sense my cultivation. This world isn't much different from my world, the weak die and the strong survive. 

Xie Li...

Her corpse does not faze me.

...