Chapter 002: One-Star Side Quest

"Phew, if I finish all these daily tasks, I’ll have to crawl back to the academy today!" Xin Lang exclaimed.

But when he remembered the woman who, for his sake, fought to the very end in his memories, Xin Lang gritted his teeth and persisted. "My meridians are blocked; cultivating martial arts to their peak is nearly impossible for me. Now Heaven has given me an upgrading device—if I don’t seize this chance, what kind of man am I? How can I protect my woman?"

With this conviction in his heart, Xin Lang earnestly completed each movement, one after another. He collapsed several times, but as soon as he recovered a bit of strength, he continued with the tasks.

One hundred push-ups…
One hundred sit-ups…
One hundred punches…
One hundred straight punches…
One hundred front kicks…
One hundred side kicks…
…
…

Exhausted, he rested, then got up and kept going. "Ding! Daily task completed, reward: one experience point!" After finishing the last side kick, Xin Lang heard the system notification. Unable to support his heavy body any longer, he collapsed to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.

When Xin Lang awoke, the sun had already set. He dragged his weary body back to Rising Sun Academy in Nine Suns City.

Nine Suns City was neither large nor small in the Grand Summer Dynasty, but three hundred years ago, its nine martial academies were renowned throughout the land. Rising Sun Martial Academy, where Xin Lang studied, was one of these. However, in the past century, apart from the Ascending Sun, Splitting Sun, and Shooting Sun academies producing a few famous warriors, the other six had declined, facing bankruptcy and closure.

Xin Lang had tried to enroll at the Ascending Sun, Splitting Sun, and Shooting Sun academies but was turned away each time. Even when he knelt for three days and nights at the less prestigious Luoyang Martial Academy, he was not admitted.

To save Rising Sun Martial Academy from ruin, its new principal boldly reformed the management, introducing a "negotiated admission" policy. Xin Lang was the first beneficiary.

Originally, Xin Lang sought blue silver grass to make a meridian-relaxing potion, but after completing the upgrading device’s daily tasks, he was so tired he could barely lift his eyelids. Upon returning to his dormitory, he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

The next morning, the first thing Xin Lang did upon waking was check the upgrading device. Seeing the upgrade interface, his heart raced. "It’s all real—everything that happened yesterday wasn’t a dream!"

He also saw that his herb basket was quietly stored in the first slot of his "backpack." Last night, utterly exhausted, he’d forgotten to process the blue silver grass. If the leaves wilted, he couldn’t extract the juice, and the medicinal effect would be greatly diminished.

Xin Lang regretted his oversight. Though he didn’t need the meridian-relaxing potion at the moment thanks to the upgrading device, the juice from blue silver grass was still valuable; otherwise, he wouldn’t have worked so hard to harvest it.

But when Xin Lang took out the blue silver grass from his "backpack," he was astonished to find it as fresh as when he’d picked it—no sign of wilting.

"This backpack even preserves freshness! Now I won’t have to worry about storing herbs when collecting them in the future!"

He didn’t need the meridian-relaxing potion for now, but he urgently required a potion to quickly restore his strength. Otherwise, daily life would revolve solely around the upgrading device’s demanding "daily tasks," leaving no energy for anything else.

Xin Lang opened the task bar, hoping today’s "daily task" would be easier. As he did so, a special task suddenly appeared on the interface.

Side Quest: Prepare a potion for rapid recovery of strength. No recipe, no method provided. Success: reward five experience points. Failure: no penalty.

Below the task was a small gold star, indicating a difficulty rating of one star.

"One star side quest?" Xin Lang understood the star signified difficulty, but what did "side quest" mean? Were there other types of tasks? Having just started using the upgrading device, he still had much to explore.

Xin Lang had already planned to make a recovery potion, so this quest was essentially free experience for him. Though no recipe was given, as a former master alchemist, devising a strength recovery potion was child’s play.

His only challenge was sourcing the ingredients, as his finances were strained. His parents died early, and their savings were spent on tuition for his "negotiated admission" at Rising Sun Academy. All the materials for the meridian-relaxing potion had been self-gathered; none of the necessary ingredients for the recovery potion were at hand. He couldn’t both gather herbs and complete the daily tasks, and he still had to attend classes—he couldn’t roam the mountains every day.

Yet Xin Lang wasn’t deterred. Though he appeared only sixteen or seventeen, before his rebirth he’d lived twenty-nine years—far more experience than his peers.

After breakfast, Xin Lang requested a day off from the academy and returned to his dormitory.

His room was different from others: as a "negotiated admission" student, his tuition was many times higher, and thus his accommodations were far superior, enjoying a luxurious suite all to himself while regular students shared rooms four to a dorm.

Xin Lang had converted part of his suite into a workshop, fully equipped for potion making. Purchasing all this had left him nearly penniless, but he wasn’t worried—with these tools, he could earn money easily; after all, he had been a ninth-level master alchemist in his previous life.

Alchemists were ranked: apprentice, alchemist, master alchemist, and alchemy sage—each with ten sub-levels.

There were very few ninth-level master alchemists in the Grand Summer Dynasty; in Nine Suns City, not even a first-level master existed.

Xin Lang first extracted the juice from the blue silver grass, then gathered his previously collected materials. Through careful blending and complex procedures, he produced three small bottles of red potion.

These were called "Red Flower Blue Silver Dew." Originally, Xin Lang intended to make "Blue Silver Red Flower Dew," but few people suffered from meridian defects—Nine Suns City had only him. Even if he made the meridian-relaxing dew, it might not sell well, or fetch a good price.

Therefore, he made Red Flower Blue Silver Dew instead.

The names were similar, merely swapping the order of red flower and blue silver, but the medicinal properties were quite different. The dew he produced now was red flower-based, with blue silver as an adjunct, chiefly treating bruises and promoting blood circulation.

Xin Lang stored the three bottles of Red Flower Blue Silver Dew in the first slot of the upgrading device’s backpack, then left his dormitory.

He intended to sell the three bottles of Red Flower Blue Silver Dew and use the proceeds to buy the necessary ingredients for the strength recovery potion.

It was class time at Rising Sun Martial Academy, so Xin Lang expected not to encounter anyone, but as soon as he stepped outside, he was knocked headlong by an angry-faced fat man.

The man was average in height but shockingly obese—Xin Lang estimated he weighed at least two hundred and fifty pounds. That he hadn’t sent Xin Lang flying was a stroke of luck.

"Why don’t you watch where you’re going!" Xin Lang exclaimed.

He’d seen this fat man twice before; his name was Gu Ge, a classmate from the neighboring dormitory and the academy’s second "negotiated admission" student.

Gu Ge, seeing he’d knocked Xin Lang to the ground, immediately put on an apologetic smile and helped him up. "Ah, it’s you, Xin Lang! My fault—I was in a hurry. Did I hurt you?"

Because they were both "negotiated admission" students, Xin Lang felt a kinship. He brushed the dust off his pants. "Forget it—just be careful next time! Hey, what happened to your face?"

Xin Lang noticed two obvious bruises on Gu Ge’s face; when he tried to smile, his cheeks twitched painfully.

When Xin Lang asked, Gu Ge immediately vented his anger. "It’s those bastards from our class! After the last lesson, they tried to extort me. When that failed, they bullied us 'negotiated admission' students under the guise of sparring!"

"Uh..." Xin Lang thought, "You were bullied, but you’re lumping me in with you!"

Seeing Gu Ge’s injuries, Xin Lang took out a bottle of red potion—his freshly made Red Flower Blue Silver Dew.

Xin Lang said, "I have a bottle here—perfect for treating bruises. Use it on your face."

Under Xin Lang’s guidance, Gu Ge applied the Red Flower Blue Silver Dew to his bruises.

"Hiss..." Gu Ge gasped in surprise. "What is this medicine? The pain eased almost instantly!"

The bruises swiftly changed from blue to red as the swelling dissipated.

"This is called Red Flower Dew," Xin Lang replied, concealing the formula. "It’s a family secret—not available elsewhere."

"Red Flower Dew!" Gu Ge echoed. "Where can I buy it? I want two more bottles!"

Xin Lang smiled. "Sorry, it’s a family recipe—one of a kind!"

"Hehe!" Gu Ge grinned obsequiously. "How about you give me two more bottles?"

"That’s not possible," Xin Lang said. "Though I have two left, they’re all I have—I need to sell them for living expenses this semester! Giving you one already pains my heart."

"How much?" Gu Ge slapped his chest with bravado. "Brother, I’ll buy them!"