Chapter 58: A Friendly Reminder from the System

Chapter 58: The System’s Friendly Reminder

Zuo Lengchan’s threat was real and tangible. Faced with this, Zheng Jian had no solution but to meet force with force, water with earth. Indeed, when he handed over the "Evil-Resisting Sword Manual" in days past, he had already anticipated today’s outcome.

“Master, rest assured! Although I cannot claim to surpass Alliance Leader Zuo, it won’t be so easy for him to defeat me either!” Zheng Jian thought for a moment and decided to reveal a little. To be honest, his current strength was hard to define, for he had never crossed swords with such masters; who was stronger or weaker remained uncertain.

This was the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer, not the world of Dragon Ball comics with its so-called power levels...

Purely in terms of martial arts, Zheng Jian was already approaching the ceiling of this world. Both "Nine Swords of Dugu" and "Innate Skill" were formidable techniques—even if "Innate Skill" was not yet perfected, its quality spoke for itself.

The only area where he might fall short was in combat experience. Whether it was Invincible East, Ren Woxing, or Zuo Lengchan, all were veterans of countless battles, their experience profound...

Old Yue listened, eyes wide. He knew Zheng Jian’s skills were high, so high that he could no longer fathom his limits—but he hadn’t expected them to be this high.

Zheng Jian’s meaning was clear: even if he couldn’t defeat Zuo Lengchan, he wouldn’t lose easily!

“With these words, I am relieved!” Old Yue and Ning Zhongze, their nerves taut, relaxed considerably...

...

That night, Zheng Jian once again secluded himself in the cave at the Cliff of Reflection. It was quiet here, free from disturbance.

He opened the system panel and browsed for a while. The items in the exchange shop were quite ordinary: healing medicines, internal energy fruits. He had accumulated some resentment points.

“The system is stubborn as iron...” Zheng Jian thought helplessly. For now, he couldn’t cheat any further. His inner strength was already deep; a few more fruits would not make much difference.

Zuo Lengchan’s threat was genuine, because ever since entering the world of Smiling Proud Wanderer, Zheng Jian had regarded the alliance leader as a hypothetical enemy, a benchmark. Only by surpassing Zuo Lengchan could he challenge the one atop Blackwood Cliff.

“What should I do?” Zheng Jian mused to himself.

“Ding!”

Zheng Jian’s heart skipped a beat. He found that the system had popped up a friendly reminder in his mind...

“What? A friendly reminder?” Zheng Jian was stunned. Since when did the system have this function? He couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated...

Despite his complaints, Zheng Jian opened the system message: “Host, your strength is not weak, but your resolve is lacking!”

“!!!”

Zheng Jian was taken aback. Suddenly, it was as if a bolt of lightning had cleared the mists from his mind, bringing instant clarity.

It was like a layer of paper that, once pierced, made everything understandable!

“Am I really so timid that even the system can’t bear it?” Zheng Jian mocked himself. With the system’s prompt, he realized his own resolve was indeed weak.

He’d claimed his lack of experience, but wasn’t that easily solved? Just go into battle!

Between life and death lies great terror; it is the best way to temper one’s resolve and gain combat experience.

But all along, Zheng Jian’s journey had been smooth. Apart from that time at the “Gold Basin Hand-Washing” event, where he fought three opponents and faced some challenge, all other battles were one-sided victories. This meant his mindset had hardly changed.

Even though he’d practiced many peerless skills, his attitude was still that of an ordinary person from his past life—cautious, seeking safety, hoping to reach a divine realm before challenging true masters, never realizing that without a change in mindset, how could he break through to the higher layers of “Innate Skill”? Could he reach the innate realm by just sitting in a cave?

The founder of the "Nine Swords of Dugu," Dugu Qiubai, roamed the martial world for over thirty years, killing enemies, defeating heroes, leaving none who could match him; with no rivals, he retreated to a deep valley, befriending only a carving. Alas! He sought a worthy opponent all his life, but never found one—a loneliness hard to bear.

His peerless status depended on those thirty years of dominating the martial world, defeating all heroes!

There were those who became supreme masters through seclusion, like the Sweeper Monk in Heavenly Dragon, but he had delved deeply into Buddhism, reaching a sublime state of mind.

Or Huang Shang, author of the “Nine Yin Manual,” who also secluded himself to become a peerless master. By the time he emerged, his enemies had all died of old age. Yet, through reading countless Daoist texts, his mindset too had reached a lofty state.

As for himself, he hadn’t studied Buddhism like the Sweeper Monk, nor read Daoist scriptures like Huang Shang, nor defeated all heroes like Dugu Qiubai.

In the end, all roads lead to the Dao, but if every path is blocked, how could he reach the end?

When this realization struck, Zheng Jian found himself drenched in cold sweat, as if emerging from water, his whole body soaked.

“I can’t go on like this!” Zheng Jian murmured. “If I can’t study Buddhism or immerse myself in Daoist teachings, then I should fight all the top masters, like Elder Dugu!”

At that moment, Zheng Jian suddenly felt that if he truly did so, perhaps he could further refine the "Nine Swords of Dugu," for after all, it was not a specific martial art but a philosophy, requiring the study of myriad sword arts to strengthen one’s own sword intent.

His mind was clearer than ever, as if the dust had been swept from his heart. The true energy of “Innate Skill” flowed more vigorously within him.

“In my previous life, I was just an ordinary man—conservative, afraid of risk, always seeking shortcuts, not realizing that while shortcuts may work temporarily, they cannot be relied upon to reach the end! Now, I possess ‘Nine Swords of Dugu,’ ‘Innate Skill,’ ‘Purple Mist Skill,’ ‘Divine Movement,’ and many other peerless arts. Linghu Chong became a supreme master with just ‘Nine Swords of Dugu’ and the later ‘Star Absorbing Technique.’ I have so much more. If I still cling to this mindset, I might as well dash my head against a wall and save the system the trouble of finding a new host…”

His thoughts became much clearer, but unexpectedly, the system spoke solemnly: “This system is already bound to the host. If the host dies, the system will vanish as well. Seeking a new host is out of the question.”

“…Hahahahahaha…” Zheng Jian couldn’t help but laugh aloud. At this moment, he suddenly found the Resentment System quite amusing—it even knew how to defend itself.

“Fine! For those words alone, you and I shall live and die together!” Zheng Jian declared boldly.

With that, he rose abruptly and strode down the mountain. He would descend and seek out top masters to challenge!

From today onward, Zheng Jian truly shed the shackles of his previous life, renewed inside and out.

“I’ll start with Xiang Wentian!” As he ran, Zheng Jian set his goal. “The ‘Heavenly King’ Xiang Wentian—strength, cunning, and resolve, all first-rate. Starting with him is just right.”

...

(End of Chapter)