Beggar Cultivation System

With a crashing sound, the table shattered into pieces as Arke's hand slammed down. Frustration, anger, and fear coursed through him, making him want to shatter everything he could see.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he began planning.

The most important thing was finding that kid, but no matter how many times he searched the city, he couldn't find him. Well, he did find a kid, but he was a beggar with different eye color and slightly taller than the Leone heir he threw in the alley. He didn't actually memorize the kid's face, as he felt the task was too easy and didn't believe a kid could survive.

Arke expected the heir to starve to death or be used as a slave by a slave trader. So what's the point of finding him? It's basically the same as him already being dead.

Suddenly, he recalled the old butler's words. "A competition? Bel is also after the kid? Why?"

Arke frowned, biting his nails while shaking his knees. In the end, he shook his head. Whatever that b*tch is planning, it must be hindering the mayor's plan. That's why they wanted me to kill her, but it also means committing a grave crime as they wanted me to kill her openly in the Advancement Examination.

They don't want to dirty their hands, b*stards, Arke gritted his teeth. However, even if he was angry with them, there was nothing he could do. That butler could kill him without him even knowing it.

"I have to find him as soon as possible," Arke muttered, his mind returning to the Leone heir.

In the whole city, there were only a few people he found suspicious who might have a clue as to where that kid was, including the beggar beside the Filly Restaurant. But Gail, a 4th-Step Foundation Building, is friends with him. Arke's doubt lessened when he thought about it, but a suspicion is still a suspicion. I should check on him last.

With this in mind, he decided to go back to cultivating and wait until sunrise before going after the suspicious people in his mind.

...

A reek of blood permeated the corner of a restaurant. If one even took a whiff of the smell, they would definitely throw up what they had eaten because of the intensity.

Beside the Filly Restaurant, where most people wouldn't even bother looking because it was somewhat hidden by the structures, was a makeshift roof, small but enough to fit two to three people.

Someone was sitting cross-legged inside, his complexion pale, cheeks sunken, and mouth bloodied. But his expression was at peace, even with blood covering his whole body.

With a smile on his face, Apollo opened his eyes. His pale white skin was slightly returning to its original color.

The bloody smell, however, made him frown in the next second. "Oh great." He muttered, glancing at the blood all over his body and on the ground. Shaking his head, he reached into his pocket and took out a white marble.

Apollo activated the Cleaning Marble, making it shine a bright light that covered his body. In no time, his smelly and dirty figure became spotless and clean. Even his messy and dry hair became shiny, though his pale skin remained.

Then he pointed the bead towards the ground and activated it once more after the bead gathered enough Qi from the air.

The blood-covered ground was shrouded in light, and when the light disappeared, the blood was gone. The floor even became shiny. Seeing this, Apollo couldn't help but sigh in amazement. It's a cheap item, but its use is worth more than its features.

At first, he only thought that it worked on clothes, but the Cleaning Bead was more useful than he had imagined.

Putting the item back in his pocket, he smiled and called out to the System.

"Hey System."

"Yes, Host?" A light blue interface materialized in front of him along with the emotionless voice of the System echoing inside his mind.

"I did it! Hahaha!" Apollo laughed mockingly. "I revised the Simple Breathing Technique, and now I can cultivate my way through the Qi Condensation Stage!"

After throwing up blood for a whole night, doing trial and error of changing the pattern of the Simple Breathing Technique, he finally succeeded in making it a technique that would allow him to reach the Qi Condensation Stage. Furthermore, he increased the volume of the Qi and made it enter his skin, not just through his mouth and nose.

The 'barrier' that was blocking him from reaching that stage was finally gone. He could feel his strength increasing every time he cultivated, though he didn't know how long it would take for him to reach that stage. Even so, it was a joyous matter that the first thing he wanted to do was brag to the System.

The System went silent for a moment before the interface in front of the beggar disappeared in a particle of light.

"Hmph, you should at least compliment me. I threw up a lot of blood!" Apollo scowled at the System.

Although the night was hard and painful, all for the sake of saving up and going against the System, Apollo couldn't hide the smile on his face. You think you can always rip me off? Ha, no way!

The System remained silent, and the beggar took it as a sign of defeat. Continue your journey at My Virtual Library Empire

With a sigh, Apollo realized that going against the System was actually fun. This made him think about his Simple Sword Technique and the Simple Movement Technique. If there was still time before the Advancement Examination began, the beggar decided to perfect the Simple Movement Technique and maybe revise the Simple Sword Technique to make it better so he wouldn't have to buy from the System again.

"It's still early," Apollo muttered, glancing up at the sky. "I should cultivate more before I go for my breakfast."

With this thought in mind, he closed his eyes, and the world turned black in an instant. In this dark world that seemed like the vacuum of space, there was only him and the countless blinding yellowish-white Qi that looked like stars and galaxies.

Apollo did the Revised Simple Breathing Technique. He just called it that as he was too lazy to think of a name.

The surrounding Qi was immediately pulled towards him; some entered his nose and mouth while the rest entered through his skin. Using the new pattern that he created, he guided the Qi to revitalize his whole body, especially his organs and his brain.

He could feel that something within him was breaking, but it was very subtle unless he really focused on it. It was also the place where the Qi gathered the most before circulating throughout his whole body.

Apollo pinpointed the place and found it was a few fingers below his navel.

Isn't this where the Dantian is?