“Spirit Receptor Module, huh. I see. I unlocked the Spirit Receptor Module,” Arthur said after he was finished reading through the latest notification he had received. From the name of the thing he had just unlocked, Arthur had a feeling that it would serve a great purpose for him. But of course…

He didn’t know jack shit about it.

Naturally, the only one who would know anything about something like this would be Sisa, the assistant of the system. With that, he went ahead and asked her, “What’s the Spirit Receptor Module?”

“Oh, right. You unlock that once you reach Tier 1 Qi Purity,” Sisa said in response, seemingly not answering his question. Though, once she felt that Arthur was getting slightly annoyed, she quickly explained, “Well, for the most part, the Spirit Receptor Module is considered a minor update to the Spirit Improvement System. It enhances a certain part of the system, the part being something that you really need to focus on a bit more.”

Of course, Arthur was even more lost after listening to Sisa’s words. “Minor update? Huh? A part that I need to focus on some more? Are we even on the same wavelength or something?”

“Just identify it like you normally would, and you’d get your answers,” Sisa said with a light sigh. “I’m pretty sure all of your queries would be answered… except for one part you’d quickly forget.”

“Well, you’re called the Spirit Improvement System Assistant, after all. Wouldn’t it be weird if I didn’t ask you questions from time to time?” Arthur could not help but say in response, grumbling for a bit more as he commanded the system to give him information regarding the module he had just unlocked.

Whoosh!

Surprisingly, rather than a screen with a detailed description on what the module did, instead the screen that appeared in front of him was a combination of the upgrade screen and the usual screen he would see for skill descriptions. Nevertheless, after looking at the screen for a bit, reading through the text written on it, he quickly put two and two together as he looked at Sisa, asking her, “You’re telling me I need to focus on upgrading Qi Recovery Rate more?”

“Exactly,” Sisa replied, giving off the feeling that she nodded in agreement.

“Well… you’re not wrong,” Arthur said as he looked at the screen in front of him once more.

Ding!

[Spirit Receptor Module]

The natural purpose of a spirit vein is to generate qi and expel it to its nearby surroundings, enhancing the density of qi in its vicinity. However, what happens when a spirit vein is in a place where there is a lower density of qi? Surprisingly, a spirit vein adapts, forming tendrils that would allow them to gain greater sensitivity towards qi. These tendrils are also known as Spirit Receptors.

This module allows the user to create their own Spirit Receptors, enhancing their own sensitivity towards qi. In turn, once the user improves their Spirit Receptors, their base Qi Recovery Rate would be improved by a certain percentage, depending on how powerful their Spirit Receptors are.

Upgrades: Cost: [Tier 0 -- Receptor Conceptualization] (0/1) 5 System Points [Tier ? -- ?????] (0/?) ??? [??? -- ?????] (?/?) ??? Available System Points: 240

“So, I finally have a skill that has something to do with Qi Recovery Rate,” Arthur could not help but say, only to correct himself soon after. “To be more exact, I gained a module that enhances Qi Recovery Rate. I still don’t have a skill that scales off Qi Recovery Rate.”

“Anyways, I should probably upgrade this,” he said after that, making a mental note to also upgrade Qi Recovery Rate through the upgrade screen. After all, only with a high base Qi Recovery Rate would the effect of the Spirit Receptor Module become more pronounced.

Ding!

[Spirit Receptor Tier 0 — Receptor Conceptualization] (0/1)

The first step to build a Spirit Receptor is to conceptualize how it would look like. Depending on the environment, Spirit Receptors may take on various shapes and sizes to suit their environment.

Once this upgrade is bought, the user’s base Qi Recovery Rate shall be boosted by 10%.

Cost: 5 System Points

Ding!

Would you like to buy this upgrade? This will cost 5 System Points.

“Since I’m only going to use up 5 System Points, why not?”

Ding!

[Spirit Receptor Tier 0 — Receptor Conceptualization] has been bought.

The effects of [Qi Recovery Rate] have been boosted, now generating 4.4 points of qi every hour.

[Spirit Receptor Tier 1 — Receptor Foundation] has been unlocked.

After he had bought the first tier of upgrades from the Spirit Receptor Module, something started appearing on the landscape inside his mind. About a kilometer away from the bluish-white octahedron that had been there since the beginning, a large antenna started to pop up from the ground, extending all the way up to a hundred meters in the sky as the two watched it happen in real time.

After that, the octahedron released a bit of its energy, which quickly made its way to the antenna, transforming it into something that was visible to their eyes, but gave off the feeling that it wasn’t there. Just as Arthur was about to ask Sisa a question related to what just happened, a notification sound soon resounded throughout his mind, prompting him to open it.

Ding!

You have obtained a system quest.

Giving off the feeling that he was slightly frowning, he went ahead and opened up the system quest. Soon, he gave off the feeling that he was frowning like his life depended on it, muttering with a hint of anger, “And when I thought I’d stop getting system quests for a while, I instead get one that’s many times harder than the previous one.”

Ding!

[System Quest: The Makings of a True Spirit Vein (3)]

To be recognized by the human race and to aid the human race in their cultivation, the user has embraced what it is like to be a spirit vein. However, the user’s journey of becoming a true spirit vein does not end here. In fact, far from it. Although it might seem like spirit veins are inanimate, they are capable of doing things that even living beings would only dare to dream.

Unfortunately, the user is still far from being a true spirit vein, only scratching the surface of what a spirit vein could do. With that, the system wants the user to achieve a few things that would allow them to be more like a spirit vein. In exchange, once the user achieves these things, a wider world shall be opened to them.

Mission Prerequisite: Buy [Tier 0 — Receptor Conceptualization]

Mission Requirements: Increase your [Size] to Early Spirit Nucleus (40/100).

Increase the number of people that recognize you to 10 (2/10).

Aid one person in breaking through to the next realm of cultivation (0/1).

Mission Rewards: 2500 System Points, a new module for the Spirit Improvement System

Taking in a deep breath, Arthur went ahead and processed all of the information he had received from the system, letting out a sigh soon after as Sisa gave off the feeling that she was ready to answer his questions. Noticing that, he went ahead and asked the most obvious question one should ask at this moment.

“What the fuck?”

“No idea, either,” Sisa hastily responded. “Although I might know more than you when it comes to everything else regarding the system, system quests are something that I have no control over. However, if you want to know more about anything related to the quests, feel free to ask.”

Taking in another deep breath, Arthur collected his thoughts for a bit before asking, “I get the part where I would have to make more people recognize me. In fact, I already know what to do there. The same goes for the part where I have to aid a person to break through to the next realm.”

“The only thing I don’t get is the part where I have to increase my size to Early Spirit Nucleus?” he said soon after. “Wait a second… is the Early Spirit Nucleus the next step after Spirit Seed?”

“That would be correct,” Sisa replied. “The minimum requirement to become an Early Spirit Nucleus is to have 100 points of Qi Capacity, hence the 40/100 beside that requirement. Other than that, an Early Spirit Nucleus is probably the first thing scholars would think of as a budding spirit vein. Though, I’m not really sure if you wanted that information.”

“Better to have more information than have none,” Arthur said in response, feeling a headache creeping up… only to remember that he had no head to speak of. Taking in a few more deep breaths, he finally felt like he had gotten a grasp over everything, deciding to place the system quest at the back of his head for now since he was rudely interrupted from continuing what he was supposed to do.

Ding!

[Spirit Receptor Tier 1 — Receptor Foundation] (0/5)

Once a Spirit Receptor has been conceptualized, one must now transform the concept into something more corporeal, laying its foundations into reality. Only when a spirit vein has achieved the peak of this level would they be considered to have actual Spirit Receptors.

Once this upgrade is at its maximum level, the user’s base Qi Recovery Rate shall be boosted by another 10%, boosting it by a total of 20%.

Cost per level: 5 System Points

“So, there’s levels to this one. And from the looks of it, the next ones as well,” Arthur could not help but mutter, easily forking out 25 System Points as he maxed out the second tier of upgrades from the module. As he had received a notification from the system that the next tier of upgrades had been unlocked, he finally recalled the question that he was about to ask Sisa.

“Hey, Sisa. Are Spirit Receptors an actual thing for spirit veins?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Sisa said in response. “You know how some drawings of spirit veins in your previous life tended to have like tendrils extending out of the core? Those tendrils are the Spirit Receptors.”

“To be honest, I kind of thought that they based them off how neurons look,” Arthur could not help but say.

“Or maybe the neurons are based on how spirit veins look,” Sisa replied. “We may never know.”

Deciding to end their philosophical conversation there, Arthur went ahead and bought the next tier of upgrades, forking out another 75 System Points as Qi Recovery Rate was now boosted by 35%. Seeing that he still had 135 System Points remaining after that, he unhesitatingly spent it on Qi Recovery Rate, increasing it from 4 points of qi per hour to 6 points of qi per hour.

Adding the boost given by the Spirit Receptors, he was now regenerating 8.1 points of qi per hour, double of what he was previously regenerating.

As for what he did next after that? Well, of course. It would be none other than…

“[Qi Conversion].”