How to Cultivate a Game

It had been difficult, but Xiang Ya and Lu Gao had finally reached it— this was the closest they could get to the 1st stage, the Martial Tempering realm.

After the two reached the required level for class advancement, the two conferred with Nee Chen about his experience.

"It was easy, just swing a sword a thousand times, and you were done. Well, that's for the Warrior class. I would not know about the other classes though..." He jovially explained with a smile plastered on his face.

A thousand swings sounded easy just by hearing from Nee Chen how he breezed it all the way, but Xiang Ya and Lu Gao knew better. They were not disillusioned enough that they would be able to swing a sword a thousand times with such carefreeness the same way Nee Chen did.

"It was like just swinging the hoe," Nee Chen reasoned.

As a farmer, he made sense. But Xiang Ya and Lu Gao weren't farmers. If it was as simple as doing household chores, Xiang Ya might know a thing or two. And if it was as easy as playing, then Lu Gao wouldn't need to think too difficultly about it.

Since the class advancement was a solo quest, the two decided to briefly separate ways to accomplish their class advancement. The four sacred classes of RPG were Warrior, Rogue, Mage, and Cleric. According to their tutorial booklet through their system interface, these four shall serve as the Core Classes from which a player must make their build.

A warrior with excellent archer, a mage with auspicious swordsmanship... There were no class restrictions to weapons and gear. For the denizens of the Cultivation World, it was taking a lot of effort to understand the new theories they were encountering

~~~

It was afternoon, and under the shades of the tree, Xiang Ya was perusing her system interface about the starter classes available to her. While at it, she also studied the tutorial booklet.

Xiang Ya deliberated on what class she should choose. She would not know what it was like to reach the Martial Tempering realm. The changes on her body were all the System's doing. Besides curiosity, Xiang Ya felt scared of what it meant to reach the 1st stage. Cultivation meant defying fate after all.

Nee Chen who only achieved the 1st stage through a stroke of luck had no idea how to express it. So was the bunny who could not even talk. Xiang Ya who had no idea how to cultivate and didn't have any talent for sensing qi could only rely on the system.

She was not wrong to think that she was talentless. To reach the Martial Tempering realm, a person had to possess some level of talent, meanwhile earning a class didn't require anything as such. Reaching the 1st stage and accomplishing the class advancement set by the system were after all two entirely different matters.

"I should trust the system. With the system, gaining power was already an inevitability to me at this point. Once I gained power, I would  make sure to inflict my revenge on those who deserve it."

Xiang Ya remembered that dreadful day, her grandfather, and her village. Her beautiful memories were tainted by an ugly tragedy. She had sworn to take revenge since then.

Now that the demonic cultivator responsible for her pain was dead, there was only the Bones Devouring Sect for her to vent her anger and exact her vengeance.

"Zha Dong of the Bones Devouring Sect." Xiang Ya whispered under her breath, rage silently throbbing in her heart.

She remembered the demonic cultivator calling to Nee Chen while she was semi-conscious. Though it wasn't directed at her, she remembered well.

"Bones Devouring Sect." The name of the sect the demonic cultivator was affiliated with was engraved into her mind.

With a thought, she chose her class… she chose her path.

[Cleric— a class that specialized in restorative martial spells. Arts: Barrier|Heal]

Restorative martial spells... Xiang Ya had an idea as to what they were since her grandfather was a cultivator himself. Though their village had unwelcoming opinions of cultivators, she grew to hear heroic stories about them.

Their village was not extremely anti-cultivator but was just exaggeratedly reserved in front of a cultivator, that was all. After all, cultivators could also be good people. It was there was this stigma to mortals that mysterious and unknown things were dangerous and they had to avoid them, thus they became averse to anything that they could not understand.

In essence, Cultivators were an essential force in this world. They fought monstrous beasts and kept the wicked cultivators in check.

The problem in the current cultivation world was that… there were just too many wicked cultivators. In fact, there was not a day when Xiang Ya didn't hear of their evil deeds when she was still an ordinary villager.

Ping!

[Become a Cleric!

Bleed 8 liters of blood and survived 0/8L

Rewards: Cleric Class. Cleric Arts. Increased Maximum Level Cap.]

Xiang Ya has gone pale at the sight of her quest's completion requirements.

"Sh-should I choose something else?"

Fear gripped her heart. Though as a player with the system's powers, she could be considered a semi-immortal thanks to the resurrections; the pain of death was still too much. As living creatures, death was something people desired to prevent. To Xiang Ya, however, pain had replaced death regarding what she wanted to avoid most.

Xiang Ya asked herself, "Why Cleric?" Did it really have to be the Cleric Class?

It wasn't a random thought. Not even something as romantic and superfluous as wanting to protect Nee Chen and Lu Gao by healing them through the restorative martial spells which according to their description sounded very convenient. It was nice saying that she wanted to protect Nee Chen and Lu Gao while they were taking revenge just to emphasize team effort.

However, that wasn't really Xiang Ya's exact thoughts when she was deliberating on the choice of Cleric.

In Fact, Xiang Ya would love to do the avenging alone, so that she could very and selfishly enjoy doing it.

"I... I couldn't have them dying on me… Yes, that was it. I would not have them die an easy death!" In her mind, Xiang Ya imagined a horrible death for the Bone Sect Cultivators by making them beg for death. A creepy smile was etched into Xiang Ya' beautiful face.

[Bleed 8 liters of blood and survive 0/8L]

The pain she would need to endure for this Class Advancement Quest was a small price to pay. With restorative martial spells, she would be able to preserve her foes while methodologically breaking them. Xiang Ya could almost hear the pained screams of her victims from the far future.

"This had to be done." Under the shades of trees, her soft figure passed by, and arrived by a riverside. It was past five o'clock already, and if she wanted to get her Class Advancement done fast, then she might as well start now.

Xiang Ya decisively cut her wrist as she calmly sat by the riverside. She dipped her hands in the cold river water easing the pain in her wrist. There was a manic smile on her face as she recalled the death of her grandfather… her fellow villagers… and... the death of her heart…

She was not sure how many 8 liters of blood amounted to given that she was merely an uneducated villager who only knew how to help on the farm, take care of the house, and act pretty.

It didn't matter to her though. She was done being pretty. She would only have to move forward from now on. If it worked, then fine. If it didn't, then she could just try again.

"I will punish them."

The river was dyed red as the full moon above illuminated the strangely beautiful scene. Unbeknownst to Xiang Ya, nightfall had surreptitiously sneaked on her. Cold sweat, faint breaths, pale skin, and sleepy eyes… She felt death slowly creeping in and the gloomy darkness embracing her.

Xiang Ya's very lifeblood leaked from her existence, as gradually, she felt her qi soundlessly pulse in her veins. It was a mystical experience as qi gathered near her navel and bit by bit— formed her Dantian, a rigid circle of mysterious energy.

Ping!

It was small, almost faint, but it was real. Drawing from this Dantian, vigor steadily returned to her.

Bleed 8 liters of blood and survived 8/8L

"Hehe.. hehehe… HAhahAHHAhHHAHAHAhaAHAHAH!" Xiang Ya arched her back as she crazily cackled. No one to see her madness, she basked at her small achievement as she bathed in the blood-dyed river in a celebratory mood.

Knowledge about restorative martial spells streamed in her mind as her understanding of life, blood, and qi solidified in her new class.

[Name: Xiang Ya (Lady Luck) | Class: Cleric | Level 11 (1st stage—Martial Tempering)]

"Lookie, lookie… What do we have here? Looks like a peeping stranger?"

Smelling the blood from a mile away, a hungry beast found its way to the riverside.

"A lone wolf? You looked thin. Pity, here… Take a bite."

Xiang Ya raised her bleeding wrist, taunting the wolf to take a bite. With its raw beastly instincts triggered by its hunger, the ravenous wolf lunged and dug its gnarly fangs at Xiang Ya's thin wrist.

"Caught you," with a sadistic smile, "How about we go for a swim?" Xiang Ya sank the wolf underwater as she cast [Barrier] on top of the poor beast, mercilessly drowning the wolf below.

Casting [Heal] at herself over and over again to preserve her vitality, Xiang Ya never let go of the wolf.

Until.

Ping! +1000 exp.

The wolf drowned to death.