Chapter Seventeen: The Six Senses

As for the "Young Miss" that Sun Guang mentioned, Li Qi had only heard of her; he was not familiar with her, as she was a figure far removed from his own life. After all, before his memories awakened, his scope of affection was limited to his immediate surroundings—his own class—and he had no interest in the wider world. In a sense, one might even call that a form of "pure love."

Sun Guang’s purity, however, was quite low. He was a fan of celebrity culture, and his scope of interest extended across the entire school; he could recount the beauties of every class as if they were his own possessions. Li Qi’s knowledge was limited to a name—Shen Yue—along with a few nicknames and basic facts, all of which had been forced upon him by Sun Guang.

"Young Miss" was but one of Shen Yue’s nicknames. Others included "Crimson Blood Enchantress" and "The She-Devil"—the very same she-devil mentioned in the class group chat yesterday. She was currently the star of Tiannan and the greatest obstacle Li Qi faced in his goal of sweeping through the school’s martial arts club. These nicknames sounded as if they belonged to entirely different people, as the title "Young Miss" was typically reserved for girls who were gentle and virtuous.

According to Sun Guang, Shen Yue was a girl of two extremes. In her daily life, she was a quiet, adorable young lady with the grace of an aristocrat, well-read and polite. Yet, the moment she drew her sword, she would enter a berserker mode. Furthermore, she had a peculiar quirk: she loved collecting beautiful girls to join her cheerleading squad. Since martial arts was the mainstream sport, the school naturally provided funding and academic credits for such squads. Shen Yue would boldly declare that they were her "harem," inciting the envy and resentment of every single man in school, which earned her the nickname "The She-Devil." One could judge whether someone was a "simp" for Shen Yue by their choice of title: those who called her "The She-Devil" were her enemies, while those who called her "Young Miss" were high-purity simps.

In truth, Shen Yue was indeed an aristocrat. Tiannan High School was a top-tier institution in the city, composed of 30% students who earned their place through sheer merit and 70% who relied on their family’s influence. Li Qi was a hybrid of both. He had some talent, but not enough; however, the Li family was one of the school’s board members, providing special quotas for family members with decent grades. Although his branch of the family was peripheral and his parents were content with mediocrity, the elder of the Li family was a capable patriarch. As long as he was alive, no one dared to cause trouble for them.

As for Shen Yue, she possessed both personal talent and immense family power. No one knew exactly how influential her family was, but everyone knew that she was chauffeured to and from school in a Maybach. In the capital, such a car might be common, but in a small place like Tiannan, it was a genuine display of overwhelming superiority.

Of course, none of this concerned Li Qi. Before his memories returned, he was a "pure love" type who didn't bother with inter-class romances. After his awakening, he only cared for the power residing within himself; nothing else interested him. After all, what were mere women compared to the thrill of constantly growing stronger, until one could stand high above the heavens and look down upon all living beings?

"Still, the underground martial arts tournament is indeed a good place to hone my swordsmanship," Li Qi thought to himself. "Even though I have my panel and can improve through hard work, witnessing various experts and trading blows with them will undoubtedly be a tremendous supplement." This was something he had already decided; no one would complain about progressing too quickly.

Underground martial arts matches were not "dark duels"; basic safety was guaranteed. Vital areas were covered by protective gear that, with current technology, could even withstand bullets. Under normal circumstances, one shouldn't expect to cut through it with a sword unless one had reached the "Dao-Entering" stage. As for those who had entered the Dao, that was a different realm entirely; they could kill you through the armor with sheer force, and cutting through it directly was not impossible.

After daydreaming for a while, Li Qi replied to the flood of messages from Sun Guang with just two words to show he had read them.

Li Qi: Seen.
Sun Guang: ...

Li Qi put his phone away, returned home, browsed the internet for a while, and at around ten o'clock, began his second round of training. Once again, after three "transcendences," he swung his sword fifteen times before hitting his limit—no improvement compared to the morning. However, Li Qi was not anxious. It was impossible to have significant breakthroughs every single time; as long as the proficiency on his panel kept rising, he would eventually achieve something through persistent effort.

He followed his routine: drinking water, taking supplements, and going to sleep. He had a long night's rest, but this time he did not enter a deep sleep. When he woke up, he felt dazed for a brief moment before his mind gradually cleared. Upon waking, he immediately sensed something wrong with himself—and with the entire world.

The world had suddenly become incredibly vivid and detailed. Through the dim light coming from outside the window, he seemed to see countless dust particles dancing and rotating in a joyful manner, tracing delightful trajectories. Normally, one would need very bright light to see dust; such faint light was far from enough. Furthermore, feeling that the dust was "joyful" was not something a normal person would experience.

This was merely the external change. His perception of his own body had also become refined; his reaction time was faster, and more importantly, he felt as if his cells were engaging in some sort of magical communication. Each cell and organ was performing a symphony, playing an inexplicable melody.

"Am I sick? Or am I going crazy? Is the world going crazy? I can't tell, I really can't tell..." Strange thoughts flooded his mind.

He quickly looked at his panel. As expected, a massive change had occurred: the "Fate Disc" section had finally appeared. The loading progress had not stuck at 99%, but had successfully filled up, giving rise to something entirely new.

Fate Disc: Enabled.

When Li Qi focused his attention on "Enabled," a three-dimensional wheel with a chaotic luster appeared on the panel, occupying the entire interface. The wheel rotated, and each turn gave him an inexplicable sense of heaviness, as if it weren't a wheel, but an entire world that was turning.

Li Qi felt a stir in his heart and looked at the side with five patterns, deciding to check the smaller one first. To his surprise, an interface popped up:
Five Fortunes: Loading (10%)

"???" Li Qi had question marks in his head. Was this a nested loop?

With a strange feeling, he looked at the side with six patterns. This time, it worked normally, and an interface appeared with a wealth of information:

Six Roots: (The root of life itself, the foundation of existence; the Six Roots are the life.)

Eye: Eye Observes the Heart (White): Thinking Clarity +10%, Mental Agility +10%
Ear: Ear Deafness (Gray): Sensory Ability -5%, Willpower +5%
Nose: Nose Ignorance (Gray): Insight -4%, Willpower +5%
Tongue: Tongue Confusion (Gray): Nerve Reflex Ability -3%, Physique Growth +6%
Body: Body and Mind Solid (White): Vitality +10%
Intent: Dreamer Unaware of Being a Guest (Blue/?): A special fate. The origin of reincarnation, one that out of the sands of the Ganges may not even produce one. The Dao rotates, subtle and mysterious; it can be the law of ten thousand generations, and one can attain the greatest fruit. Limited by life strength, partially unlocked. Current effect: Gain partial ability to perceive the truth.

Seeing the reason for "Dreamer Unaware of Being a Guest," Li Qi understood the cause of the changes. His previous "Greater Appraisal Technique" was likely a derivative of this effect. It was just that at the time, his Six Roots had not been fully activated, and only a portion of the divine power had manifested, which was why he could only appraise objects rather than seeing the entire world turned upside down as he did now.

"So, the situation of reincarnation is rare?" Li Qi thought, looking at the annotation. Then, he noticed the plus signs next to the Six Roots entries.