After a few days of physical therapy with Doctor Ming, I decided that it was time to go home and prepare for the future. 'Thanks to the treatment I was able to reach the twelfth stage in the qi condensation realm from the seventh stage, but I will need to first stabilize my stage to create a better foundation before I continue to increase my cultivation. It's been almost two weeks, I wonder how Aunt Bing and sister Ran are doing, he thought to himself as he rode a taxi back to the apartment.
As the sun set over the sprawling, gritty cityscape, casting a warm, amber glow across the endless rows of aging tenements and crumbling high-rises near the edge of the city, the taxi arrived in front of the apartment. As I exited the cab I stood on the cracked concrete steps of the apartment complex, a dilapidated building. I found myself standing before the only home the other me had ever known. As I approached the front door of the building, I couldn't help but marvel at the woman who had watched him grow up standing in the doorway of her tiny, cluttered apartment. Aunt Bing had always been there for him, waving to him from her window as he left for school each morning and tending to his wounds when he got home from being bullied and even brought him food every few days. Even though she was a complete stranger to him, he knew that she was the only family he had left in the world after she took care of him like her own after his mother died.
As I walked up, I noticed a group of three women crowding the front of Aunt Bing's home. The two in back were very average in looks, but the one in front was tall and muscular. As I walked up behind them, I listened to what they said. "Bitch, your behind on this month's payment. If you're not going to pay, we do not mind crippling you and your daughter's cultivation before throwing you outside the wall's", said the tall butch girl in front.
I could see how flustered Aunt Bing was from the look on her face, it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to pay since the apartment building was so near the wall that anyone that had the money to move closer to the city center did, forcing her to lower the cost of rent just to bring in tenants. With the money the old me received from the government assistance before he could have moved out as well, but he decided to stay since this was the only place with people he knew after his mother disappeared in the wilds.
In fact, everyone in the whole city's lives is less prosperous here than others due to it being a frontier city without any tunnels to raid for resources. It is believed that the world's evolution was caused by tears in space around the planet that led to other worlds. Today, most cities are former military outposts that pushed into the wilds, while the original surviving cities started to be called "Capital Cities". Sometimes, when a tear is found that leads to another world, they will stabilize the tear into a tunnel humans can control the opening to so they can than exploit it for resources and when it was safe enough, businesses would come in to develop more infrastructure leading to further human expansion. People that are wealthy or strong enough may at times decide that they want to build a city of their own, but do not care think about what will happen to it if they should die. Sadly, most cities built by people with those ways of thinking do not survive for more than a generation or two.
If someone wants to build a city based on their strength, they need their cultivation to be at least in the core formation realm to ensure the safety of the city from most beasts. But usually only those in the nascent soul realm have the funds to start the cities development limiting the numbers of cities built over time. The realms are qi condensation, foundation establishment, core formation, nascent soul, and Soul Formation. Cultivation begins with the initial 20 stages of qi condensation, unfortunately most people get stuck in this stage, especially men, since due to their limited numbers most of them have become, effeminate, to say the least. This though was just one of the many reasons for society to shift to a more, female centric one. Also, due to beasts in the wilds being born at the foundation establishment realm, anyone in the qi condensation realm or lower is forbidden from leaving the walls or else it would be nothing other than suicide for them to leave the safety of the city. The foundation establishment, nascent soul, and Soul Formation realms are then divided between early, middle, late, and peak stages. While the core formation stage after foundation establishment are based on the number of layers you can add to your core. Most people that cultivate only have the resources for 3 - 4 layers since the resources needed increase exponentially with every layer. The strongest human in the world reached the soul formation realm with a 9-layer core but needed several cities worth of resources to pull off such a feat.
Our city was one where a rich second generation of the Jiang family in the core formation realm wanted to push deep into the wilds to make a name for himself in the capital cities. The Jiang family was a major family from one of the capital cities. Even though it was too far from the governments network of inter-city flight transporters, they kept the city supplied thru a transfer gate, and a transfer gates usable distance is determined by the quality of materials used. The one the Jiang family built only connected to the nearest forward military outposts in order to save on costs. It went well for the first few decades since the city had the backing of a major family, and they were able to recruit strong cultivators to suppress the stronger beasts.
Unfortunately, the Jiang family specialized in artifact forging, then when technology became advanced enough in quality to match what they made, they began to lose business. The Jiang family ended up falling on even harder times when their old ancestor in the soul formation realm died, causing them to withdraw their people and funding from the city. Normally the military would have taken over, but due to the city being too far for the inter-city transport system, the strength of the surrounding beasts, and the lack of available resources. It was deemed that the city was too costly for the government to support in case of a beast flood and maintain the transfer gate. The beasts are animals that naturally absorb the energy of the world around them allowing them to strengthen their bodies. Sometimes a beast breaks thru a realm causing the surrounding beasts to stampede in fear, while another time is when a beast with a high realm is on the move, either because of migration or because someone disturbed it.
The only reason the city has lasted until today is because four of the most prominent families in the city joined hands to maintain the transfer gate and aid in suppressing the beasts. They are the Ye, Wei, Feng, and Lin families. The Ye family specialized in forging weapons and armor, the Wei family develops new technologies, the Feng family are merchants, and the Lin family are doctors. In truth, they were families with minor power in the capital city, so they decided to pack everything up and follow the young master of the Jiang family here in an attempt to strike it rich. If they had run as well, they would have lost everything, so they decided to join hands to rule this city. So, we now pay taxes to the four families in order to maintain the walls and the transfer gate, but it is not enough for maintaining the whole city.
Many cultivators and businesses that could, moved closer to a capital city for safety causing the city's tax revenue to drop, so now most of the city is a slum filled with rogue cultivators and commoners. Everyone's goal is to become strong enough to hunt the beasts beyond the wall to earn enough money to use the transfer gate and move to a capital city, or at least a city with a stabilized tunnel. So, they can either explore new worlds or have an easier place to gather resources for their cultivation. This gave rise to criminal groups like the one that lends people money at over inflated interest rates, and if you're not strong enough they will sometimes periodically raise the interest to squeeze more money out of you. Which is what is happening to Fan BingBing right now.
"I paid for this month already", Fan BingBing said with a look of worry on her face. "That was before interest rates doubled, now you need to pay another 500,000", said the butch girl with a mocking smile on her face. "That is not what it says in the contract", Fan BingBing tried to argue back. "It is whatever I say it is", the butch girl yelled at Fan BingBing before releasing her cultivation allowing others to sense her fifth stage qi condensation realm. Fan BingBing was only in the second stage of qi condensation, so the butch girl's cultivation forced her to shrink back.
"I'll pay it", I say as I walk up to them. "Well, what do we have here, a man and a good looking one at that. If you want to work off her debt, I'm sure we can come to an agreement", the butch girl said when she heard me and turned around. After seeing me, her and her cronies began to look me up and down like a wolf that had just spotted a deer walking into its den. She even licked her lips as if she was ready to devour me with a look of lust in her eyes in anticipation for the night.
"No, I mean I will pay off her debt, in full", I reply while a look of disgust appeared on my face before I released my twelfth stage cultivation in the qi condensation realm. "Sure, no problem young master," the butch girl replied when she sensed my cultivation level. "Good, I will wait here while you go and get the contract, and don't try anything funny", I tell her. "Of course, of course", the three said as they hurried to leave the complex. Most of these gangs do not have anyone above the qi condensation realm since it is far more profitable to hunt beasts and sell what they can harvest. So, they tend to not have anyone above the tenth stage in qi cultivation. But the really big gangs have at least one hunter team working with them.
As a man, the subsidy I received from the government helped me to push my cultivation to the seventh stage, so my having a twelfth stage cultivation meant that either I was from a powerful family or that I was really dangerous. Two things low level criminals like them try to avoid. In the capital cities, people my age are mostly in the foundation establishment realm, with a few geniuses in the major families being in the core formation realm. After I watched them leave, I turned to Fan BingBing with a look of worry on my face before saying, "Don't worry Aunt Bing, I will take care of everything." Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in Anthony's clean-shaven, well-dressed appearance.
"Anthony?" she breathed, her voice trembling with emotion. "Is it really you?" Tears began to well up in her eyes as she took my hand, her grip surprisingly strong for one so frail. "Oh, Anthony," she whispered, pulling me into a tight embrace. "You can't pay for it, it's too much. Don't worry, I will figure something out," she said as she cried into my chest, "More importantly, I was told about little Ran's tuition being paid, you shouldn't be spending so much money. Unfortunately, they wouldn't refund the money, so I will find a way to repay you Anthony. Now, let me look at you, it looks like the retreat worked out well." I wrap one arm around her waist while I pat her head with the other in an attempt to sooth her worries.
"I have plenty of money left over from the lottery so there is no need to worry. You don't think I spent it all on my treatment, do you?" I say with my arms wrapped around her, "Besides, we both know how talented sister Ran is, just consider this as me investing in her future potential." As I held her close, I felt the residual feelings of the old me, a strange mixture of affection and longing. He knew that this woman had watched over him like a mother hen all these years. Now that I was here and able to repay her kindness, I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of gratitude and love welling up inside me from the old me.
Pulling back from the embrace, Aunt Bing wiped away her tears and gestured for Anthony to come inside. "Come in, come in, I just hope that you can live happily and without regrets," she said, stepping aside to allow him into her tiny, cluttered apartment. I glanced around, taking in the familiar sights and smells with my newly enhanced senses. The threadbare carpet, the worn furniture, the cobwebs in the corners, and the old photographs on the walls - it all brought back a flood of memories from his childhood. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered the countless times he had sat on that battered sofa, eating Aunt Bing's homemade soup and listening to her stories about the old days.
As the two of them sat down on the old, creaky sofa, Anthony felt an unexpected sense of contentment wash over him. He found himself staring into Aunt Bing's eyes, seeing not just a kind stranger, but someone who had become a part of him over the years. "So, how do you like the new and improved me?" I asked her with a teasing smile on my lips. Fan BingBing inspected Anthony as he sat in front of her, taking in the man that he had become from the boy he was, just a few day's ago. Her throat suddenly felt dry, forcing her to gulp as she took in the site of Anthony's new physique. "You, look healthier, and have become more handsome," Fan BingBing finally said after taking in his new look before gazing into his eyes. The air between them seemed to crackle with an unspoken tension as the stared into each other's eyes, they slowly began lean into each other, and before either of them could react, their lips met in a passionate kiss. Anthony felt her hands on his shoulders, her body pressed against his, and he knew that this was no longer just about repaying a debt to his old self. It was about something deeper, something more profound. Something he had never expected to find in a world that seemed to be tearing it's self apart.
Her skin was soft and warm; the touch sent a shiver of delight through Anthony's entire body. After what felt like eternity, Aunt Bing pulled back from the kiss and looked at Anthony. "Anthony," she began, her voice barely above a whisper, "You have grown into such a handsome young man. I'm so proud of you." Her words were like a balm to his soul, and he could feel himself blushing beneath her gaze. "I've missed you so much," she continued, her voice catching in her throat. "I've watched you grow up through the years, and I've always known that you were special, that you were destined for great things. I was saddened when you seemed to have lost your way, but I never gave up hope that you would find your way back."
As she spoke, Aunt Bing's gaze never left his face, and Anthony could feel himself becoming more and more entranced by her words. He couldn't help but wonder what she meant by "great things," but before he could ask, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, drawing him into a passionate kiss. "Hmm, I figured she would withdraw and say what we did was immoral. I guess that was just me superimposing my old worlds social norms onto this one," I thought to myself. Anthony's heart raced as he returned her kiss, reveling in the feeling of her soft lips against his own. He couldn't believe what was happening, but at the same time, he didn't want it to end. This was exactly what he had always wanted: to be loved and cherished by someone who truly cared about him.
They sat together for what felt like hours, their hands entwined, their gazes locked on one another as their tongues continued to fight back and forth. Time seemed to stand still as they reveled in the simple joy of being together. But as the afternoon sun began to cast long shadows across the room, they heard a knock coming from the door which caused the both of them to jump up from the coach. Before opening the door, Anthony looked out the kitchen window, seeing the butch girl, he thoroughly scanned the surroundings to make sure she was not trying to get the jump him so he did not open the door until he felt it was safe.
"Young master, I have with me the debt contract just like you asked," the butch girl said as she held out an envelope to me with both hands while bowing. Taking the envelope, I pulled out the contract and read it over, looking for any loopholes they may try to use to claim more money from Aunt Bing. I found that he was able to think more clearly and faster ever since my cultivation improved helping me go thru it quickly with the knowledge of contracts I came across in my past life. 'If I did not have the system I might have been able to make a living from plagiarizing the knowledge from my old life, guess I should save that stuff for later, just for now at least,' I thought to myself.
Seeing that there were no clauses they could use against us, I looked at the amount of remaining debt. "This says there is still eighty million credits in debt left. Is that total or are you guy's going to come back next month saying that it does not include the interest?" I asked. "I wouldn't dare, young master. I swear to you eighty million is everything she borrowed", she said. I looked to Aunt Bing and ask, "Why did you borrow eighty million when the basic school course for sister Ran costs five million?" Aunt Bing looked at me with a confused look on her face before replying, "When I went to the school, the administrator told me that basic course costed eighty million".
'It looks like I am going to have to go to the school and find this little bitch who is looking for a beating', I thought to himself before turning around to the butch girl and transferring the eighty million credits to her.
(Ding)
(Host has spent 80 million credits)
(Congratulations to host for receiving 10 times rebate)
(Transferring 800 million credits to the hosts account)
The butch woman sighed in relief when she received the full amount, afraid that I would threaten her to lower the amount or outright not pay. I then transferred another twenty million to her before saying, "I would appreciate it if you could help me teach that schools administrator a lesson on doing their job honestly." Upon seeing the extra money that was transferred, a big grin came to her lips before she said with a smile, "No problem, these things are our specialty. I will make sure you get your money's worth."
(Ding)
(Host has spent 20 million credits)
(Congratulations to host for receiving 10 times rebate)
(Transferring 200 million credits to the hosts account)
She then turned around and ran out of the complex almost bumping in Fan Yi Ran who was coming back home from school. Checking my account balance, I noticed that I now had 6,923,808,170,200 credits or 6.9 trillion credits. 'Hmm, I wonder if I can get rebates on things other than credits?' I thought to myself.
'Ding'
'That is correct host. You will receive a rebate on all things you give, when it comes to items the quality of the rebated item is improved 10 times'
'Rebated items the host gives to others will not trigger a new rebate'
'Well damn, the system shutdown that loophole before I could even think of it,' I thought before sighing.
"Hello sister Ran, how was school?" I asked Fan Yi Ran. She was surprised by the butch girl that ran out, so it took a moment for her to notice that there was someone standing in her doorway. "Um, who are you? I do not think we have met, are you a friend of my mother?" Fan Yi Ran asked. She looked at me as if she was confused, she then started to come to a realization before a look of surprise appeared on her face. "Brother Anthony? Is that you? What happened to you? And wait, who was that woman that just ran out? Where is mom? Is everything ok?" she asked all at once.
I couldn't help but smile as I walked up to her before patting her head and saying, "Yes it's me. I took a nutritional bath. You don't have to worry about that woman, she was just here looking for someone. Everything is fine, your mother is inside", I say as she continues to give me a look of disbelief at my transformation. " I am here Xiao Ran, everything is fine. Now quit staring at Anthony and come in, you can keep Anthony company while I cook dinner", Aunt Bing said to Fan Yi Ran as she came up from behind me.
"I am going to jump into the bath first mom, we had drills today, so I am a bit sweaty," Fan Yi Ran said before running to her room with a blush on her face. Inside I sat on the couch while Aunt Bing went to the kitchen and Sister Ran went to her room to change. "Oh, by the way Anthony, you received some packages while you were away, they are on the dining room table", Aunt Bing said from the kitchen. I went to the table and opened the boxes that were for me. They turned out to the spirit stones and techniques that I ordered before I left.
I decided to give these to Fan BingBing first just in case I drew an enhanced version from the system that did not fit my physique, I thought to myself smugly, 'I could tell her that I had better techniques for sister Ran to get her to except them. The only technique worthwhile is the "Heavenly Purification" technique, she can at least use the others for self-defense until I find something better.' "Aunt Bing, I have a few techniques here that I bought for you, and don't worry about the cost, I got these on sale since not many people use them now", I say as I walk into the kitchen with the three vials holding the techniques in my hand. "Thank you, Anthony, but I think it would be better to give them to little Ran, she needs them more than I do", Aunt Bing said as she turned to look at me.
I walk up behind her before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her body close to mine. "Don't worry, I have better ones for Xiao Ran", I whisper into her ear. I could see the back of Aunt Bing's neck and the tips of her ears begin to redden, but she made no move to push me away. So, I lifted her shirt to inject her with the first of the three techniques. Aunt Bing sucked in a breath when I first injected her and didn't release it until I was done.
"Thank you, Anthony, for being so kind to us. I don't know what I would've done if in the future if it was not for you helping us," Aunt Bing said before turning around and giving me a deep kiss. Tasting her saliva on my tongue I felt euphoric and wanted to drink it all, so I sucked in while my tongue swirled around inside her mouth and wrestle with her tongue in turn for dominance. I was so lost in the kiss I did not even notice the systems prompts. A few moments later we pulled apart while breathing heavily with a string of saliva connecting out mouths. "This is nothing. You never gave up on me when I had already given up on myself. Now that I have the ability, I will take care of you for the rest of your life," I say while gazing into her eyes.
We stood in the kitchen staring at each other with a look of yearning, lust, and love for a while longer. As we were about to continue kissing, we heard Yi Ran leave the bathroom and jumped at the sound before quickly separating from each other. I went back to the dining room and sat down before I went over my system notifications.
'Ding'
'Host gave the earth grade technique "Wind Blade" to Fan BingBing'
'Congratulations to the host for receiving a ten times rebate for the "Wind Blade technique" and receiving the sky grade technique "Sky Severing Slash"'
'Transferring to system warehouse'
'Ding'
'Host gave the earth grade technique "Cloud Step" to Fan BingBing'
'Congratulations to the host for receiving a ten times rebate for the "Cloud step technique" and receiving the sky grade technique "Ethereal cloud step"'
'Transferring to system warehouse'
'Ding'
'Host gave the earth grade technique "Heavenly Purification" to Fan BingBing'
'Congratulations to the host for receiving a ten times rebate for the "Heavenly Purification technique" and receiving the sky grade technique "Cosmic Cleansing and Harmonization"'
At first, I was surprised that the techniques were improved by a whole realm, until I realized that in the systems point of view a large realm is 10 times improvement. I was also little disappointed I didn't draw something more suitable for sister Ran, but there was nothing I could do. So, I started reading the descriptions of the techniques.
Low Sky grade technique "Sky Severing Slash": Draw the blade swift enough to part the sky.
Low Sky grade technique "Ethereal Cloud Step": Move as fast as the wind and as silently as the night.
Low Sky grade technique "Cosmic Cleansing and Harmonization": Runs continuously once purifying the body from all toxins while strengthening the mind and soul.
'Ok, so these techniques are better than I originally thought, except for the "Sky Severing Slash". The "Ethereal Cloud Step" can not only increase a person's speed, but it also suppresses their presence for sneaking. And the technique "Cosmic Cleansing and Harmonization" will aid the practitioner in resisting and removing all types of poisons, while calming their mind and improving their comprehension,' I thought to myself, surprised at the quality of the system's techniques, 'I will look for some more masculine techniques for myself later. Unfortunately, they are few in number due to the limited number of men in this world that are seeking to improve their cultivation.' Right after I finished reading the descriptions I saw sister Ran enter the living room. She was wearing a black silk negligee that complimented her slightly flushed, jade white skin, making her skin look like it was glowing. I was forced to swallow my saliva and divert my eyes when I caught myself staring into the valley of her dress.
'Damn, she's sixteen and already has double D sized breasts', I think to myself. I decide to take a quick peek to reconfirm and saw sister Ran with a look of triumph and a slight blush on her face, so I quickly divert my eyes again. "Cough, sister Ran, I bought a few techniques on sale for you, you can never have too many techniques while training", I say before placing the three vials I received from the system on the table with slight flush to my cheeks. "Thank you, brother, I will be sure to put them to good use", she said before stretching across the table giving a clear look down her nightie.
'Shit this girl is bold, she isn't wearing a bra right now. She has nice sized areola with cute and stiff pink nipples that make me want to suck on them,' I couldn't help but think to myself as I looked down the top of her nightie at her impressive chest. I would've liked to keep looking but then Aunt Bing walked in with the food from the kitchen right than, forcing sister Ran to sit properly in her chair, but I could still make up her hard nipples under the nightie.
Seeing the vials on the table Aunt Bing said, "Xiao Ran, did you thank Anthony for the techniques? They are not cheap you know." "I did, thank you again brother, I will work extra hard to master these techniques," sister Ran replied while looking at me with a face of teasing and a hint of joy in her eyes. "Good, take them right after dinner and try to get some training in before bed," Aunt Bing said without noticing the looks her daughter was giving to the man she was just making out with because she was too busy giving me a look filled with love and warmth of her own.