[-5 Spiritual Energy]

[Side Quest Completed | Learn the Martial Skill - Earth-Shaking Stomp]

[+500 XP]

[Level up! | 5 stat points added]

William grinned widely as the ground rumbled, cracks spreading from where he stomped his foot from successfully using Earth-Shaking Stomp. After he learned Thunderous Palm, the following two skills were ridiculously easy to learn.

It certainly helped that all the steps were the same except where he had to direct the Qi, and William could do that with hardly any effort. Of course, this time, he made sure to keep the level of his Qi stable to avoid any backlash.

"You're a natural, Junior Brother!" Lan Yin sounded proud at his relatively minor achievement, "Now, why don't you try a few attacks on the target the array provided? I sense that you still have some spiritual energy to spare."

Lan Yin was right about that. William eyed that part of his status screen.

Spiritual Energy: 10/30 (20% per Hour)

Every skill taking five Spiritual Energy when William used them gave him two more attacks. Of course, he received the five extra stat points for leveling up, but he had no intention of adding them to his Spirit carelessly. He had already made that mistake before, and it was too soon to repeat it.

Besides, how was he supposed to explain to Lan Yin how his Spiritual Energy surged in capacity seemingly without reason?

"If you can catch an enemy by surprise, an attack to a vital point of the body will be fatal as long as the enemy is in the same realm. Set the target to the peak of the first Qi Gathering Realm and aim for the back of the head. Let's see how effective your martial skills are."

"Yes, Senior Sister," William nodded as the faceless man provided by the array slowly turned around to face away from him, "… So I won't be attacked in retaliation? I don't think I can fight somebody at that level."

"The array can only provide a target to test your attack's strength. Fighting experience is far beyond its capabilities."

William nodded at the reassurance from Lan Yin's disembodied voice. It felt odd walking up to the target casually as he prepared to attack it with full force, especially since the target didn't seem any different from an ordinary person from the back. The comfort of seeing the faceless head couldn't apply since, well, the target wasn't facing him.

When he was within range, William circulated his Qi and focused it in his palm, immediately recognizing a problem. If this was actual combat, no enemy would wait patiently for him to prepare to focus his Qi so he could attack. It would have to be near instantaneous instead of the second or so wait it currently took.

[-5 Spiritual Energy]

[-25 HP]

William flinched at the sharp pain as his palm landed on the back of the target's head, making it stumble forward like a dazed human before standing straight again with no visible damage. That made sense since he most likely damaged himself more when he lost his concentration the moment his palm touched the target's head, causing his Qi to destabilize.

"Again, Junior Brother!" Lan Yin commanded.

William nodded firmly and readied the attack again. It was disappointing that something like his palm meeting its target could destabilize his Qi, but repetition was key. It would be the foundation for more complex moves he would learn in the future.

He grunted as he thrust his palm toward the target's head the second time.

[-5 Spiritual Energy]

This time, there was no self-harm, and the attack was successful. Too successful.

William sputtered in shock as his face was showered with blood and what felt like brain matter. He wiped his eyes to clear away the blood blocking his vision to see a headless target collapse on the ground. It was a gruesome sight that he hadn't expected.

"Excellent, Junior Brother!" Lan Yin's cheery voice broke William's shock, "While I suspect this skill is not suited to you, it can still adequately protect you on the mission!"

William nodded with a blank expression as he wondered if it was worrying he didn't feel anything other than disgust at what just happened. Sure, he killed two bandits, but that was self-defense. He had also massacred countless Sky Hares, but they were little shits that deserved to be ground into oblivion.

This felt like it should be different. It was an eerie analog to a person, and he had sneak attacked it and quite literally blew its head off. The only explanation William could give himself was that it wasn't an actual person, which was why he didn't feel anything.

"I think you're out of spiritual energy," Lan Yin commented, "Unless you think you can try one more attack?"

"No, I'm done," William confirmed as he wiped away the blood on his face. A pointless act since everything disappeared when the array was deactivated. He saw Lan Yin smile at him in amusement at his actions.

"Let's head back to the Clinic," Lan Yin beckoned him as she made to leave the room, "You'll need to be healed before anything else."

William followed her out and saw Zhang Xuanlong waiting for them.

"I hope everything was satisfactory, Sentinel Lan?"

Lan Yin hummed and said, "Save that room for my Junior Brother. He should be able to make use of it whenever he wishes."

"Of course!" Zhang Xuanlong bowed so deeply that William thought his forehead might touch the floor.

It once again brought up the question of Lan Yin's status. While she mentioned that Zhang Xuanlong wasn't well-liked, that wasn't enough reason to show such subservience. Then again, if Lan Yin's status was that high, why did that Prince Yuan show no respect toward her? In fact, he could even say that the Prince humiliated her without consequence.

Zhang Xuanlong led them back to the waiting chamber, which was as packed as before, and said, "Thank you for visiting us, Sentinel Lan."

Lan Yin waved him off and guided William to the exit, though he noticed that multiple people wanted to greet her and were rejected with a slight shake of her head.

After they walked past the old woman still dozing off on the chair, William asked, "We can stay longer, Senior Sister. I noticed that your friends wanted to speak with you."

"Friends?" Lan Yin scoffed, "They are opportunists, nothing else. We are not mortals to make such easy friends."

"Oh," William fell silent, not knowing what to say to that. He noticed they were taking the same path they arrived in, meaning they would soon pass the brothel where Prince Yuan undoubtedly waited. He looked at Lan Yin strangely and wondered if she secretly liked him.

"Rid yourself of such thoughts," Lan Yin said sharply at the blatant question on William's face, "Avoiding that path is weakness. And why must I be scared of such a small Prince?"

"As you say, Senior Sister," William placated, though that sounded more of an admission to him than anything. The reasoning didn't make much sense otherwise. With a slight shrug, he checked his status screen.

Name: Wei Liang (William Davis)

Age: 13

Level: 14

Experience: 117/1750

Cultivation: Qi Gathering (1st Level)

Health: 750/1000

Spiritual Energy: 0/30 (20% per Hour)

Spirit: 8 (6)

Strength: 20 (16)

Stamina: 10 (8)

Agility: 20 (16)

Luck: 30 (24)

Points: 5

Traits:

Soul Damage (Minor) - 19% Attribute Reduction

Main Quests:

Perfect your Soul! (Reach Level 100 to enable the system to upgrade your soul to the peak state)

Side Quests (5):

. Visit Jade Healing Clinic 2-3 times a week (Repeatable)

. Help Wang Xiaoling sell spirit fruits

. Mission: Investigating Strange Occurrences

It had been a while since he had paid attention to his full status screen since it was becoming a little unwieldy. But he saw something that made his lips twitch in irritation.

He had completely forgotten about the side quest he had gotten for selling Wang Xiaoling's spirit fruits. It was understandable on his part since he had pretty much died from foolishly being too much of a genius for his own good. Still, there was no way Wang Xiaoling would have forgotten about it.

That miser remembered every Copper she earned, so how could she possibly forget? It was more likely that she was hoping it had slipped his mind so she could save a few Silver. William was almost tempted to take back his deal with her to sell the spirit fruits from the Garden.

"Is Wang Xiaoling still at the Clinic?"

"Who?" Lan Yin asked distractedly as she glared at the Thousand Petals, the brothel Prince Yuan was visiting.

"The girl that was with Sister Li," William added as he joined Lan Yin in eyeing the brothel. Surprisingly, there were no signs of anyone exiting to block them like the first time.

"The mortal girl?" Lan Yin huffed as they turned onto the packed main street, "How should I know?"

William supposed it was a stupid question to ask her. He would find out soon anyway.