Early in the morning, Liu Chen opened his eyes, and a holographic screen appeared in front of him once again.
[Welcome, Host.]
[The Many Children, Many Blessings System has successfully linked.]
'Damn… if I hadn't gotten married and devoted myself completely to cultivation until the day I died, this system would never have appeared.'
After his first night with Zhou Xinyi, the system had activated, but at that moment Liu Chen hadn't had time for distractions.
"System, tell me what you can do," he asked quietly.
A clear, detailed stream of information instantly flowed into his mind, leaving him pleasantly surprised. The system was remarkably powerful and its functions were extremely varied.
Its main function was to reward him for having children. The more talented his descendants were, the greater the rewards. Additionally, every time he was intimate with a woman, he would receive "Happiness Points," which he could use to purchase treasures from the system store, information, and other useful items…
The most important part was that the rewards were given at two key moments: at the moment of conception and when the child was born. This gave him the chance to receive a double reward for every descendant.
Another key point was that every time one of his children achieved a significant breakthrough in cultivation, he would receive new rewards. This turned his offspring into a long-term investment.
'I need more women.' That was the first thought that crossed his mind.
[Would you like to claim your rewards?]
'Of course. Claim them,' he shouted internally.
[Novice Gift Package: Primordial God Blood Essence (3 drops)]
[Congratulations! Zhou Xinyi is pregnant.]
[Distributing rewards: First child…]
[Qi Nourishing Pills: 100 (Perfect Quality)]
[Cultivation Manual: Infernal Heaven, Part I (Low-grade Earth Rank)]
[Spirit Stones: 10,000 (Low Grade)]
After seeing the rewards, Liu Chen's heart began to race. They far exceeded his expectations—so much so that he almost lost his mind.
Perfect-quality pills? These only existed in legends. He had never seen one before, and not even the most powerful families in the city could get their hands on medicine of that caliber.
Pill quality was divided into several levels: waste, imperfect, normal, superior, excellent, and finally perfect.
Years ago, an elder from one of the major families had obtained a superior-quality pill by chance. He had bragged about it for months to every clan in the city.
That showed just how rare a superior-quality pill was in this region, let alone a perfect one. This was a treasure that no one could ever find out about under any circumstances.
With those pills, Liu Chen would have enough to cultivate all the way to the peak of the Qi Gathering realm without needing any other resources—at least that was what he thought at the moment.
The next reward almost made his legs give out: a cultivation manual of Earth rank.
The manual he currently cultivated with was only High-grade Yellow rank. The difference between them was night and day. Cultivation manuals, like weapons, talismans, formations, and other resources, were clearly ranked: Yellow, Black, Mystical, Earth, Heaven, Imperial, Saint…
Liu Chen's breathing became unsteady. If he had been a mortal, he probably would have suffered a heart attack right then and there.
Only after several minutes did he manage to calm down enough to keep exploring.
"System, tell me about the Primordial God Blood Essence," he asked silently.
A new stream of information entered his mind:
[The Primordial Gods were the first humans to rise beyond the limits of all known races. They lived countless eras ago and can be considered the ancestors of humanity.]
[These Primordial Gods possessed nearly infinite vitality and strength capable of shattering entire worlds with a single strike.]
[Warning: To absorb the first drop, you must completely disperse your current cultivation. After this, your body will undergo a complete rebirth. Even your spiritual roots will improve significantly.]
[Warning: To absorb the second drop of blood, you must reach the Ancestral Realm.]
"It seems this blood essence is the real jackpot. But what kind of realm is that?" Liu Chen wondered silently.
From what he knew, cultivation realms were divided into: Body Refining, Qi Gathering, Human Origin, Spiritual Pillar, Chaos Palace, Supreme Soul, Fusion, and King Realm.
'It looks like there are more cultivation realms beyond these,' he reflected. 'I guess that information isn't available to just anyone.'
Even the city lord, a disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect, was only at the peak of the Human Origin realm. That gave an idea of how difficult it was to advance in this world.
'My low-grade spiritual roots were my biggest problem. Now that they can be improved, I feel much more relieved,' he thought with genuine hope.
Liu Chen possessed ordinary sixth-grade spiritual roots. According to his knowledge, spiritual roots were divided into several categories: Common (levels 1 to 9, with level 1 being the highest and level 9 the lowest), followed by Deep, Earth, Heaven, and Celestial roots, each with their own sub-levels: low, medium, and high.
'Wait, System, what about the third drop of blood?'
[That information will be revealed once the host reaches the Ancestral Realm.]
'Tsk… always playing mysterious.'
After Zhou Xinyi woke up, Liu Chen helped her bathe. Once both of them were dressed in clean clothes, they went out to eat together. The servants had already prepared several dishes for the newlywed couple, as was customary.
Liu Chen stayed with her almost the entire morning, chatting and sharing breakfast in peace. Only in the early afternoon did he tell Zhou Xinyi that he would be going into closed-door cultivation and that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances until he came out on his own. If any urgent matter arose, the great elder of the clan would make the decisions in his absence.
The clan's cultivation chambers were located underground, reinforced with protective and spirit-gathering arrays. They were the perfect place to cultivate in silence, safety, and complete secrecy.
Once inside, Liu Chen sat on a meditation cushion and, with a single thought, summoned the blood essence. The system responded instantly.
Floating in the air in front of him appeared a drop of blood so intensely crimson that in certain angles it looked almost black. A purple glow ran across its surface, making it hypnotic and mysterious.
But what impressed Liu Chen the most wasn't its appearance—it was the overwhelming majesty that radiated from that tiny drop. He felt an almost irresistible urge to kneel and worship it with his entire being, as if he were standing before a superior, unreachable entity.
After an hour of intense concentration, Liu Chen managed to completely disperse his cultivation. It was a painful regression; it had taken him several years of effort to reach that level. But it was absolutely worth it—the rebirth the system had promised would undoubtedly change his destiny forever.
Without hesitation, he swallowed the drop of blood.
The moment the blood entered his body, it rushed straight to his heart. A piercing scream escaped his lips. What followed was unbearable pain coursing through every vein and artery, as if his insides were being forcibly reconfigured.
His body was changing, and he could feel it clearly. Every fiber, every bone, every organ seemed to be destroyed and rebuilt at the same time. The transformation he was experiencing was as incredible as it was terrifying.
The next thing he remembered was vomiting a thick torrent of blood before losing consciousness and fainting completely, overwhelmed by the intense pain.
An unknown amount of time later, Liu Chen finally opened his eyes.
The entire cultivation chamber smelled of iron; his blood was splattered everywhere, staining the walls and floor.
Despite having lost so much blood, his face was rosy and his body overflowed with vitality and strength. He had no cultivation at all, yet the sheer physical power of his body was already at least at the level of a mid-stage Qi Gathering cultivator.
What Liu Chen didn't know was that without the system's help, he would have died at least a hundred times without achieving his current success.