[Last Emperor] Chapter 29 - System Discoveries

First Disciple Su Da - 

Gender - Female  

Age - 8 Yrs

System Access - 

Limited to Master (Cultivator Tao Zi)

Clan/Sect Affiliation - 

Dragon Emperor’s Sect

Cultivation - 

Mortal Stage 0

Cultivation Progress - 

▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 0%

Body Cultivation - 

Mortal Stage 0

▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 0%

Dao - 

…

…

…

Tao Zi stared at Su Da’s status page for the past half hour. The poor girl had zero cultivation of any kind at all. Even a basic person would have something in the Mortal Stages just by existing and going through the hardships of life. Work hard in a grueling job, you go up in Body Cultivation. Get lucky and are surrounded by Qi most of your life, you get advancements in normal cultivation as a mortal. 

Even if both were contaminated. 

Yet, she was so weak, so helpless as a little girl that there was absolutely nothing in either one. 

How the hell does she have C+ potential?! Where is she average at anything?

Su Da looked malnourished with her ribs showing. Covered in scarred tissue from cuts, deep bruises, and a plethora of other things she must have gone through in her short but miserable lifespan. Maybe he had made a mistake taking her in. 

The potential of having a second person to coordinate with, or at the very least take care of Tiger while he was out in the forest or unconscious was too much for him to let this opportunity go. Tao Zi was already regretting it. Just thinking about all the effort and hard work just to get her to the initial Mortal Stages made him slightly reconsider. 

Not like he could do anything about that now. 

He would do the same thing he’d done with everything else that was new to him. Experiment and try different things out until he could figure out enough advantages and whatever else the system left for him. Step by step until he reached his goal. 

Su Da was currently struggling to do physical workouts. 

The first stage of his experimentation.

Maybe the system would reward Su Da for her action through his system? There was no way but to try it out. He doubted that it would work, but he did it anyway so he could cover all potential possibilities. Even if they didn’t quite make any sense to him. Su Da didn’t have access to the system, he doubted she could get the benefits so directly as he did. 

“Master!” Su Da complained. “My arms hurt!”

Her arms were trembling after the third pushup. She struggled to pick her weightless body up an inch off the ground. Any new attempt made her shake violently. Tao Zi was sure he couldn’t force her to do another one even with a gun to her head. 

Tao Zi thought for a second. He couldn’t just say anything and go with it. No. He needed to be the epitome of a mysterious and ancient cultivator. Hiding from a thousand enemies that seek his death like the thirsty seek water in a desert. Or the starved would see a meal to survive. 

Or maybe a—

He shook his head. “Weak roots and trunk cannot hold the tree up in a storm. Continue with your practice and fight through the desire to quit and become nothing but rays of light during a pitch black night.”

Su Da blinked at him with wide eyes and a completely blank face. Not a thought in her brain. 

Did I lay it too thick? Probably need to reel back the mysteriousness and make it easier for her to get hints?

“Keep working out…” he said.

She groaned loudly as he got up and started a set of squats. She was capable of doing a lot more of those than any other workout. It took less energy and power for her. Tao Zi would need to get her beyond exhausted through sprinting and running around the cave.

It would finally lead to Heron exposing himself to her, but that was fine. 

The little avatar seemed to have serious social anxiety. It hid ever since he brought Su Da into the cave on the spit and never came out from within Tao Zi. He tried to convince the little guy a few times. It did not help at all. 

No rewards available, then. If one was to come it would have arrived at the end of her third pushup.

Tao Zi needed to move to the next best option. Would he be able to give her rewards himself? He could clearly see her status page and how it looked exactly like his. Then would it react the same way to advancements as he did?

Even if it was limited to that. It would be a massive advantage by itself. Not having to deal with Tribulations and the serious nukes that were made in the shape of lightning? Tao Zi had seen a few members of their sect being obliterated into dust as they attempted to make the transition from the Qi Gathering Stages and into the Foundation Establishment Stages. 

He still remembered how loud the thunder was. Everyone lost their sight for what felt like ages with every single lightning strike. The rumbling of the entire mountain sect. 

It was not something he wanted either one of them to go through. 

Miniature version did happen between the lower stages. Much weaker and less world shaking, but still debilitating and would more likely kill you that let you pass through a bottleneck and breakthrough to the next minor stage. The difference was turning dust and turning into human paste. 

Neither one was any good at all. 

Tao Zi tried giving her some of his own Qi experience that he gained from accepting her as his first disciple. Nothing more than ten each and a few basic rewards, but it was better than zero experience in his books. It did not work in any attempt he had tried. 

Whether it was mentally thinking it. Saying it aloud. Or even holding her shoulder while he tried to force it to happen.

Su Da had given him quite a few incredulous looks as he scrunched his face in pure effort and focus. He ended up giving her more mysterious and vague cultivator talk to convince her nothing weird was going on and he wasn’t about to murder her in cold blood.  It was a convenient excuse for all his weirdness and eccentric actions. She seemed to accept it whenever he said those words as quite normal things happening around her. 

He gave up on the idea when he noticed Su Da taking advantage of his focus to stop her workout regiment. She had a few more laps before she could relax. 

Tao Zi moved on to the next option he had available to him. 

He pulled out one of the Concentrated Qi Pills he received as a reward for taking Su Da in. It was worth nothing but one Qi experience and was not as valuable as it used to be for him. It was clear that the Journeymen Stages required a multiple amount greater than the previous stage.

“Su Da,” Tao Zi said as he waved her to come closer. “Sit here and take this pill.”

She did as she was told. Hurriedly getting away from the rocks he put up as markers for her sprinting sets. She jumped onto a seat next to his and popped the pill into her mouth without hesitation. She struggled to swallow because of how large it was, but eventually got it down. 

“That was horrible! What was—” Su Da pause. She looked down at her stomach. “Theres… Fire? Inside me? I don’t… what’s going on?”

“Qi. Not fire.”

Tao Zi pulled up her status page and found what he had been looking for. Progress in her cultivation. Unlike his own advancement, hers jumped to ten percent just from a single Qi experience. Advancing her to the appropriate levels would not be difficult at all. 

Mortal Stage 0

Cultivation Progress - 

▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 10%

Yet, that did not solve a lot of her issues. The weakness in her body, lack of proper coordination and knowing how to move and react, and absolutely no experience with fighting anything at all. Seeing a monster charge you head on was not something he expected a fourteen year old girl to suddenly become an expert on. He would do his best to guide her. 

It was the least he could do after probably being the only reason she was out here after all.

“Back to working out! No slacking!” He shouted, chopping at her head

Su Da half shouted and half laughed as she escaped from his karate chop. Getting back to finishing her sprints and whatever else he had planned for her. 

I need to get to work too. Can’t bullshit around when a little girl is working hard in front of me.