Chapter 21: Chapter 21: [Unread Notifications]
Shen Yuan did not know that the fate of his life was being decided without him even knowing. He was more focused on chopping the massive tree before him.
At first he did return home but only because he knew someone was following him. Shen Yuan did not find it odd; it would have been more odd if someone had not after the mission he had just completed.
There was something dark brewing in the shadows of the demonic cult, and he had no idea what it was.
After everything he had been through, Shen Yuan did not feel like sleeping at all. and the current him could go a day or two without sleeping and still feel refreshed at all times.
So once all people tailing him were gone, Shen Yuan walked out of his hut and decided to clear his mind while chopping the trees.
’What should I do from here out?’ Crouching a little, he swung his arm freely, letting his posture guide the attack.
Twackh!
Chips of wood flew in all directions when the axe struck deep in the tree.
’Whatever I do, the dangers are everywhere.’
Thwack!
’No matter what I do, someone will always threaten my life.’
Bang!
With each swing, he slammed harder and harder into the tree. His face twisted darkly as he unleashed all of his frustrations on the stump without holding anything back.
"Arghh!" With him no longer holding back, the blade of the axe struck the tree and cleaved all the way through the remaining trunk in one motion.
Booom!
The severed tree fell on the ground, but not before his blade snapped into several pieces and flew in all directions.
Some of the shards grazed Shen Yuan, but he did not even flinch and stood in the same place.
’The way I see it. I only need two things. More power and influence.’ Shen Yuan looked down at the Calluses on his hands and whispered, "So much so no one even dares to threaten me again."
[Ding!]
As if to respond to his determination, the system notification popped up before Shen Yuan.
It said:
[Unread Notifications: (Expand!)]
Without knowing he had been swinging that axe for the whole day and
And so Shen Yuan clicked on ’expand’. One after another, notifications appeared before him, shining in the dark night.
[Congratulation on gaining Basic Understanding of Axe Fighting Technique(yellow)]
[Congratulation on reaching Proficient Stage in Axe Fighting Technique(yellow)]
[Congratulation on reaching Master Stage in Axe Fighting Technique(yellow)]
[Final Rewards: 1200 Exp has been distributed.]
Staring at the screen, Shen Yuan blinked a couple of times before he realised two things.
One, the grade below the profound level for techniques was called ’Yellow’. Although he was still not sure about the exp system.
And the second being
Battle techniques were also techniques like many others out there, including the ones he had already learnt in his previous life and the ones he got from original Shen Yuan’s memories.
Be it medical skills.
Stabbing knives.
Swinging Axes.
Everything required a technique. All he had to do was learn them.
Shen Yuan hurriedly opened the panel to check his status, but his hands froze in the middle of the air when he saw something from the corner of his eye.
[Name: Shen Yuan]
Age: 16
Level: 4/10 XP: 700/1000
[Techniques Comprehended: Expand>]
[Equipment: None]
[CORE ATTRIBUTES: Expand>]
[Current Status: Damaged Meridians, Shattered Dantian, minimal Heart Damage. Poisoned]
Poisoned?
When did that happen?
The gears in Shen Yuan’s mind started to turn. He started to trace his steps back, trying to find how he was poisoned. From the time he checked the status last till now, he ripped every memory back and forth.
’I was careful wherever I went. The only time it could have happened was...’ A few things and places stood out to him. Places where he could have been poisoned.
The food stall he had his fill of food from could have poisoned his food, but they did not have a reason to poison him.
The lake where he found the body of the young diver and the very place he took a bath. The water could have been contaminated, which could have poisoned him.
Then there was the pill he took from Overseer Jiang. That was the most suspicious of them all.
[System Suggestion: Hurry up and remove the foreign object from your body; you risk being in control of others.] You have 10 days to live.
If things were not bad enough before, the last line on the panel made his expression turn cold.
Someone was trying to control him? It had to be the poison he had unknowingly took.
His eyes lingered on two words: foreign object.
This had to be the thing poisoning it and was slowly turning into a tool for someone else to use.
"Overseer Jiang or whoever it is. You better pray I don’t get to before the poison gets to me." Shen Yuan threw the broken handle of the axe. His eyes blazed with cold fury.
Once the rage settled, Shen Yuan noticed the last line he had almost missed.
’10 days left to live? Is the math of the system wrong?’
For a second he thought it was another glitch of the system.
But there was another guess in his mind.
Minimal damage to the heart.
It meant that his body was slowly healing.
’Looks like it’s working.’ Shen Yuan felt something close to the happiness he could ever feel.
Using the medical knowledge of his body, Shen Yuan had been trying to heal himself.
He started with taking medicine for his heart, and it seems to be working. Not only was the damage to it slowly healing, but he also managed to extend his lifespan.
’Even then, there should be another factor at play here.’ Shen Yuan knew the limits of mortal medicine and thought more deeply. It was then his eyes landed on the shattered axe in his hands.
That’s right!
A bulb of light went on in his mind as he realised what had happened.
"I am stronger now." because of levelling up, his body has grown stronger. It could also be the reason some internal injuries were reversing slowly.
"I see. I just have to grow stronger and stronger." The newfound discovery only needed the resolve he had already taken.
The first thing Shen Yuan did after that was to clean up the tree he had cleaved and take all the wood back to deliver.
The sun had just risen up from the horizon, and he was already done with his quota.
The whole stock he had submitted was enough for him to last a whole week; as a result, he got himself a seven-day pass to the market without any need to submit more wood.
Now Shen Yuan understood why he did not see many of the servants when he went to the forest.
’First I have to find what kind of poison I have been infected with and find an antidote.’ Without wasting time, Shen Yuan rushed to the market. ’I only have so many days left, and someone wants to take them away from me as well.’
After today, Shen Yuan only had ten days left.
Ten days to find a way to heal his dantian, but with the poison now in his system, the remaining time was also being chipped away, little by little.
’I will survive, no matter what.’ Shen Yuan crossed through the threshold of the market with killing intent flickering in his eyes for the first time.
