THE REJECT SYSTEM

CHAPTER 4

Lingtian sat down on the floor of his room after sneaking in. He clicked on the high-grade martial manual, and a warm current flowed into his body. He'd read about true Qi before, but this was the first time he'd actually felt it. His body grew hot, and after a while he stripped off his clothes, drenched in sweat. Eventually his body settled back to normal, and he relaxed a little before deciding to check the other items.

Four supreme elixirs. He clicked on one, and a round black pill appeared in his hand. He swallowed it, and another warm current surged through his meridians — he felt like he could punch a hole through the wall. He got up and went outside, stretching his hand toward a small stone his mother used for cooking. The stone turned to dust.

*Ding. Host has reached the Inner Strength realm. Reward: three supreme pills, one supreme elixir, two cultivation manuals.*

Lingtian smiled softly, looking at his hands. Could anything be better than this?

He went back inside, ready to use everything he'd earned that day.

At the crack of dawn, Lingtian stretched and squeezed his fist. As he opened his palm, he could feel the control — his Qi circulated smoothly around him. He'd finally reached the Martial Art Master realm. This felt even better than making money; he felt like he could control anything. He lay back down on the bed, exhausted.

"Where's our money?" the thug's voice boomed across the house.

Lingtian woke up groggy from lack of sleep.

"Well, since you don't have the money, I can take your wife instead. She's still very pretty," the thug smirked, gripping Qin Yuyan's jaw in a death lock.

"Touch my mother, I dare you," Lingtian's voice rang across the room, making the thug back away in fear.

*The power of a martial art master is really something,* Lingtian thought to himself.

"Hey, kid, do you have the money or not?" the thug asked, glaring at Lingtian.

"I have the money, but you have to promise not to bother us again."

"Lingtian, don't say anything — let them take me. I can work hard and pay off our debt," Qin Yuyan shouted, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Mom, I really do have the money. I'll explain later," Lingtian said, pulling his mother up.

The thug sneered but pulled out his phone for Lingtian to make the payment. Lingtian sent the money over.

*Ding. The sum of one million yuan has been credited to your account.*

The thug staggered back in surprise before a calculating smile spread across his face.

"For my trouble, and the time I gave you, you should send an additional one million yuan."

"Why, you bully — you're trying to push us to our deaths!" Qin Yuyan shouted, glaring at the thug with rage.

*I'm a martial art master, but since I've been relying on pills instead of honing my skills, my foundation's a little shaky,* Lingtian thought. *But now someone's standing right here, ready to be beaten up.* He smiled at the thugs with open excitement.

The thugs mistook his smile for fear, and their own excitement was plain in their eyes.

"Send another million, quick, or you can say goodbye to your mom," the thug shouted.

"You're not taking anything from here."

"Do you have a death wish? Say the word and we'll gladly beat you down."

"The person doing the beating is still up for debate."

"Guys, get in here!" the thug shouted, and six of his brothers poured into the house, breaking the door off its hinges.

"You broke my door. You'll have to pay for that."

"Pay? Do you know who we are? We've joined the Golden Pavilion gang, with roots in the capital. You think you can still fight us?"

"Why are you even talking to this loser? Let's just kill him and take his mom as a gift for the Pavilion Master — she looks decent enough."

"You will not touch my mother," Lingtian said, his voice cold and even.

"Mom, don't worry — let me handle them," he added.

"You? You're nothing but a rat in the sewer. What do you think you can do?"

"Yeah, oh, I'm so scared, he's going to beat us to death," another mocked.

"Enough. If you want to go pay your respects to the Golden Pavilion Master, let's make this quick, so you'll have time to visit the hospital first."

"You bastard—"

"Iron Head, go teach him a lesson."

Iron Head grinned and charged at Lingtian with ease.

"Too slow," Lingtian said, catching his hands. The sound of bones breaking was loud in the small room.

Iron Head's screams followed, and the rest of the group froze in shock.

"Let's teach this bastard a lesson!" They rushed forward together, ready to kill him.

Lingtian caught them one by one, crushing their bones in turn.

"D-don't come any closer," one of them stammered in fear.

"Who's paying for my door?" Lingtian asked, looking at them all.

"I'll pay, please spare us," Iron Head shouted, fumbling for his phone.

"My mother was traumatized by you people, and our room was smashed, including the door. That makes it two million yuan," Lingtian said with a smile.

"Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?" Iron Head shouted angrily.

"Oh, really? Then I could just break your leg instead," Lingtian said, resting his foot against Iron Head's leg.

Pain shot through Iron Head's whole body, and he felt like his leg was about to snap.

"I'll pay! I'll pay!" he shouted. Lingtian removed his foot, and Iron Head quickly transferred the money.

The thugs fled, but one of them turned back toward Lingtian. "You think just because you can beat us, you can beat the Golden Pavilion? They're coming for you."

"Let them come. I'll be waiting."

They ran off, holding each other up for support — they'd come to extort money and left extorted twice over, on their way to the hospital instead.

Qin Yuyan looked at her son with pride. "Lingtian, since when do you know how to fight? And how did you get the money you sent them?" she asked wearily, pride and confusion mixing on her face.

Lingtian smiled and explained what had happened to him the night before, omitting the System, but telling her how much money he'd made and about Old Man Meng.

"Oh, that's wonderful. I always knew my son was made for greatness," Qin Yuyan said with a smile.

"Mom, I'm going out for a while. I'll be back soon," Lingtian said, leaving the house.

He thought about where he could buy his parents a new house, and Xie Wuchen came to mind — she'd know a good place to find an apartment. He found a payphone and called her. She gave him an address and offered to meet him there so they could choose a suitable place together.

Lingtian took a cab and stepped out in front of a tall building — he hadn't been to this part of Jiangnan City in a long time. Looking up at it, he felt a rush of mixed emotions.

Inside, he was stunned by the apartment models on display; the villas were simply gorgeous. He found himself wondering why he'd never known a place like this existed.

He was studying one particular villa model when he was suddenly shoved from behind. Thanks to his reflexes, he managed to dodge — but the large woman beside him wasn't so lucky, and she crashed into the model, shattering it.

Su Rong shot to her feet, fuming. "You bastard, how dare you push me? Do you know who I am? What is a rat like you doing here?" she shrieked, drawing the attention of everyone nearby.

Before Lingtian could respond, Su Wanqing came running over. "Auntie, what happened?"

Su Rong, as if she'd just been thrown a lifeline, burst into wails, accusing Lingtian of trying to take advantage of her.

"Lingtian, how dare you. You were stalking me, and now that you know I'm no longer interested in you, you've decided to go after my aunt instead? You're shameless," Su Wanqing shouted, pointing a finger at him.

"Oh, what a gold digger."

"Yeah, he's just an embarrassment."

Whispers rippled through the crowd, fingers pointing at Lingtian.

Lingtian's gaze swept coldly over the crowd before landing on Su Rong and Su Wanqing.

"You said I tried to take advantage of you. Do you have any proof?"

"You're just trying to shift the blame. Would I smear my own name just to get back at you?"

"Lingtian, you're despicable. You're a loser — that's exactly why I dumped you. Now you're trying to get back at me through my aunt," Su Wanqing shouted, looking at him with pure disgust.