After some kind older disciples were nagging at him for hours because of how wounded he was, he finally decided to buy some medecine to heal his wounds, though he also bought some Qi Core Pills, to help him open his Qi Core faster. 

After he sold the 5 Golden Roses he was given 100 Sect Tokens, and now he had 80 left. He quickly used the medecine as soon as he got back to his little wooden house. According to the disciples, they would help him heal faster. Although they told him that if he could reach the first step of Qi Core Realm, he would be able to use Qi to heal. 

This cemented the idea in his mind that he should reach the first step as soon as possible. He used the pills and immediately started to medidate. Since he didn't know how it worked he had asked the system, and it told him that to open his Qi Core he would need to lead a small amount of Qi in his body and use it to destroy the layers that protected the Qi Core. The pills were there to control the amount of Qi that entered his body and refine it faster. For someone with such little talent at Jian it would take several weeks to reach the first step. However he could train endlessly.

After his first try he had destroyed the first and second layers of protection, he only had to destroy the last three layers. He hadn't even noticed, but he had been meditating for two days. 

" System, I want to use the Lottery !" Said Jian. He had been so focused on reaching the first Realm that he had forgotten about the 5000 LP he had. He was crossing his fingers, hoping that he could atleast get something to help him cultivate faster. One of the not so kind older disciple had told him about the Outer Tournament. Apparently he needed to be atleast at the first step of Qi Core Realm to participate. 

He didn't really need to, but he wanted to augment his chances by showing his progress. The disciple from the other day may have told him that he only needed to breakthrough the first step to become an inner disciple, he still had some doubts about that. Maybe the Sect only wanted to hype him up a bit. 

[ Very well Master. First Use !]

[ Reward: Body Tempering Pill ( Rank: Qi Core 2nd Step ) ]

[ Description: This pill can enhance one's body, making it stronger, faster and much more efficient. This pill can only enhance the body's inner strengh, which means that it is just a way to become physically stronger without training, but it doesn't have the best effects. ]

Jian nearly fell on the ground when he saw what he had gotten. This pill was completely useless to someone like him who could train physically without stopping. 

' However maybe I can find some uses for it. It's Qi Core 2nd Step pill.....I could give it to Li Kuo, he does have a weak body after all.' Thought Jian. Leaving on the streets for year showed him that having friends was the most important thing. That is why he was willing to give this pill to Li Kuo. 

Unfortunately it seems that Jian was quite unlucky, because he actually got this pill four times ! He spent 4000 LP to get the same pill again and again. 

" GRRR ! I knew I had some bad fortune, but seriously ! This is a really bad joke !" Exclaimed Jian. He tried to comfort himself, thinking about how he could give them to Li Kuo and how happy the noble would be. Though now that he thought about it, Li Kuo was a noble. He most certainly had the ressources to buy such pills easily.

[ Do not be so sure about this Master. While he could easily buy them, Li Kuo isn't the type of person who depends on his family. Given how weak he is, he must've done everything by himself, never asking his family for any help. ]

Hearing this, Jian suddenly had even more respect for Li Kuo. It seems that both of them had it hard.

" Okay, System.....I want to use the Lottery once more." Said Jian, bracing himself. If he got the pill once more he was sure he would faint. He clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.

[ Ding ! You received your reward from the Lottery.]

[ Reward: Eye of the All-Seeing Buddha ( Rank: Unknown ) ]

[ Description : The Eye of the All-Seeing Buddha is a technique divided in three parts. Each part can only be unlocked after the User reach a certain realm. The first part can be unlocked as soon as the User reach Qi Core 4th Step. The first part allows the user to see through anything. Using the first part, the User would be able to detect any illness, poison or even hidden Martial Spirit or Soul Heritage.]

" 4th Step ?! Damn it ! I didn't get anything that could help me cultivate. Though I guess the Eye of the All-Seeing Buddha is a good technique."  Said Jian. He put the pills inside his inventory and got back to meditating. Or atleast he tried to. He was interrupted by the system.

[ Master, several High-Ranked Individuals are approaching. Judging by their trajectory they are going to the waterfall. ]

" High-Ranked ?! And which waterfall are you talking about ?" Asked Jian.

[ I am talking about the.....Oh, right. Forget about it, just follow them. Maybe you could find something interesting.]

Since he had started to blindly trust the System, Jian bolted out of his house just in time to see four figures leaving the forest and following the river. Jian ran after them, and after a few minutes he reached a waterfall.  What shocked him was everything around this waterfall looked dead. Not only that, but the water was falling in a weird way, as if something was just under the waterfall. Jian hid behind a huge rock and listened to the four figures speaking.

" Elders, are you sure the unholy energy you detected was coming from here ?" Asked the apparent leader of the group. He was an old man with a white goatee. He was something clothes akin to those an emperor would wear, though his robe was gold and dark green and he didn't have a crown. The three other figures all wore the same clothes, the clothes Elders from the sect wore. 

" Yes. Sect Head you were away when it happened so you couldn't feel it, but we clearly sensed it. Before we lost conciousness we successfully pinpointed it." Answered the Treasure Elder, who was the only Elder of the group who looked as strong as the Sect Head. They exuded the same aura of pure control, though the Sect Head's aura was much colder. 

The Sect Head looked at the waterfall, then he looked at the surrounding and picked a rotten flower on the ground.

" According to Wei Lu who patrolled here yesterday, she detected two demonic beasts in the forest nearby. Given that the Blood Tree is going to grow another fruit in a few days, maybe those two unleashed their auras so as to claim the territory as their own. " Said an Elder. The Sect Head looked at the Treasure Elder who shook his head discreetly and dismissed the two other elders with a flick of his hand.

Sensing that he was about to hear something important, Jian focused and tried to get a little closer.

" Sect Head....I-I sensed something truly horrible. The unholy Qi I sensed was powerful enough to nearly cripple me even though I was on the other side of the Mountain. Also for some reasons it seems like the Unholy Qi targetted me. Since I am the second strongest in this Sect and you weren't there at this moment...." The Treasure Elder stopped talking as if he had a lump in his mouth. The Sect Head dropped his head and clenched his hands until he nearly drew blood.

" It could be anything, but since it nearly crippled you....It means that whatever released this energy is atleast as strong as me. We should tell the patriarch about this. Maybe the Poisonous Raja once again exited it's home. During the Outer Tournament we will give a slice of the Blood Tree's fruit to all the Outer Disciple who proved themselves worthy of becoming Inner Disciples. We need to accelerate the growth of our disciples. As such we may have to become a little less stingy and give some rare ressources to the recruits who shows a lot of potential. " Said Sect Head. The Treasure Elder nodded and they both departed, while Jian had a gigantic smile on his face.

' Ohoh ! The tournament is in a few weeks. If I can progress quickly I will most certainly get rewarded handsomely. I should tell this to Li Kuo. With the pills I will give to him he will have a bit of an advantage over the other disciples. ' Thought the boy before he too went back home.

Fortunately, since he had a good memory, he remembered that the Elders and the Sect Head were investigating since the Elders had felt an unholy energy coming from this waterfall. 

' System, do you know anything about this ?'

[ The day it happened, your body was possessed and whoever possessed it released this energy. Before you ask I do not know who possessed you , but I can tell you that he or she is still in your body. It can be a good thing since this being is clearly powerful however if this being is evil....Your life is pretty much forfeited.]

Jian blood ran cold and he got goosebumps when he listened to the system. 

' Great....Now I have a ticking bomb in my body.' Thought Jian. Nonetheless he went back meditating. He would go to Li Kuo the day after. Now he only had one thing in his mind, and it was reaching the first step of the Qi Core Realm. 

Sweat glistened on his forehead while his breathing became heavy, his skin turned pale and his eyes trembled. He had pain tolerance and couldn't feel any fatigue, so he could somehow destroy two layers, however the last layer was nearly impossible to break. 

And yet after blood started to flow from his nose, Jian finally destroyed the last layer. He could now open hus Qi Core. It actually disappointed him since he felt he could open it instantly, which meant that he didn't have a huge Qi core and he definitely didn't have some great hidden talent. He still found happiness in the fact that Zhao Shu had his Qi Core opened, which meant that his Core wasn't enormous and that even though he was a genius, Jian could still reach him. 

Jian, the stubborn kid that he was, wanted to continue cultivating, sadly his body still had a limit and breaking through the first step of the Qi Core Realm in a single day was a tremendous effort. As such he fell on the floor and slept like a baby during the entire night.

The day after, Jian could be seen walking around the Outer Pavillion, waiting for Li Kuo. Around him some older disciples were looking at him with some surprise since they could feel he had reached the first step. However they still didn't put him in their eyes since he was still too weak. The difference between someone on the first step and someone in the higher steps was huge, since someone who was still at the first step didn't how to correctly refine and absorb Qi. Also while at the first step of Qi Core Realm, a cultivator still couldn't start practicing any technique. 

The thing was, it was Jian turn to be surprised as Li Kuo approached him. He finally told the system to give him details about Li Kuo, and the results shocked him.

[ Name: Li Kuo

  Age: 19 

  Rank: Qi Core 2th Step

  Martial Spirit: Non-Existent

  Soul Heritage: Non-Existent

  Unique Technique: Zero King Sutra ( Rank: Unknown ) ( Completion: 5 % ) 

  Thoughts: Anxious ]

" Li Kuo, my friend ! You reached the-" Jian was immediately stopped by Li Kuo who put a hand on his mouth and dragged him away.  Li Kuo was sweating heavily and had a terrified expression on his face. 

After he dragged Jian behind a shop, Li Kuo coughed blood.

" Li Kuo ! Are you alright ?!" Asked Jian, who was about to go to a shop and buy medecine for his friend. Li Kuo lifted a hand to stop him and smiled weakly. 

" Yes and No. I reached the 2nd Step of the Qi Core Realm so I am kinda happy, even though it is gonna be extremely hard the reach the next step. However I-* Cough *- discovered something horrible." Said Li Kuo coughing even more blood. 

Jian had a feeling it had something to do with his Unique Technique, but he kept silent. 

" You see.....I have something to admit. If I hate relying on my family it's because when I was younger, after my sister died, I wanted to get stronger and so I forced my father to give me the unique technique he had found when he was hunting a demonic beast. This unique technique was useless to him since he couldn't use it, and even though he didn't want to he gave it to me. I never used it because I was scared of what would happen to me if I did, and that is because one day I tried to use it and some sort of demonic being tried to take control of my body. However yesterday....I used it, and you see the result. My body had always been weak, but now it's ridiculous. Given the fact that my family is wealthy I could buy some pills to help me.....Sadly the Poisonous Raja Sect wouldn't let me. When you become a disciple of this sect, you don't leave the sect except if it is for a mission. " Said Li Kuo. Jian listened to him without saying anything but he had a question.

" Why did you use it ? The tournament is in a few weeks, you had the time to reach the first step." Asked Jian. It greatly shocked him when Li Kuo started to cry.

" Jian....I hate being weak. My sister died because of this. The demonic being who calls himself the Zero King tortured me with this fact for years, everytime I could hear his voice he would tell me how weak I was. You know, I have a lot of willpower. I am mentally strong....But I have one weakness and that is my fear of being powerless." Admitted Li Kuo, his eyes losing their colors. 

Jian looked at him and shook his head. He then took the pills from his inventory and placed them in Li Kuo's hand. Both of them were unaware that Zhao Shu was listening from behind a wall, an enraged expression on his face. 

" What i-is this ?" Asked Li Kuo.

" Those are Qi Core 2nd Step Body Tempering Pills. They will help you get better and they should last for a long time, atleast I hope so. If you come with me to the Thousand Flowers Forest we could hunt for weak Beasts or even search for rare flowers. With this we could get some materials to sell, and you could buy some medecine to help your body. This unique technique may be somewhat dangerous, but I am sure it will help you become stronger. And that is the only thing that matters !" Said Jian with conviction. 

" Why ? Why would it be the only thing that matters ?" Asked Li Kuo, a little lost even though a smile appeared on his face. 

" Why ?" Jian repeated the word, and suddenly gripped Li Kuo's arm.

" Because now we are Real Cultivators !"