The Silent Mystic

Chapter 3

In the side room.

Little Yan held her martial arts stance, regulating her breathing in a steady rhythm. Yet, an inexplicable restlessness suddenly washed over her, accompanied by an indescribable discomfort creeping across her skin.

A Martial Cultivator's instinctual perception made her abruptly snap her eyes open. She stared fixedly at the bedroom window and the door. Her body remained perfectly still in her stance, but she was already prepared to fight for her life!

That’s right.

She was secretly learning martial arts.

Chu Yun had no status or importance in Duke Sovereign's Estate. He was frail and sickly. If he were to drop dead one day, a maid like her would most likely be kicked out of the estate.

Being kicked out wouldn't actually be the end of the world.

It was just... she harbored a deep, burning grudge. Scenes from her past replayed in her mind every single night. Every waking moment, she wanted to kill that monster. But she was only a maid, and the maid of the utterly insignificant Chu Yun in Duke Sovereign's Estate at that.

With no living family members left, she had nothing left to lose. Ultimately, she chose to take a desperate risk, using her position as a maid as cover to secretly learn martial arts. Who knows, she might even reach the Eighth or Seventh Tier one day.

If that happened, maybe she would actually have a chance at revenge.

But until she left Duke Sovereign's Estate, none of this could be exposed. If she were discovered, she wouldn't be able to escape even if she sprouted wings. Her only option then would be suicide, just to spare herself a more agonizing fate.

"What's going on..."

Little Yan strained her ears, but strangely, she didn't hear any further sounds.

The only noise from outside was Shen Ye sweeping the snow. There was no one lingering near the window or the door.

Yet just a moment ago, her sharp martial instincts had screamed that someone was watching her.

Little Yan crept to the window and carefully observed the outside for a while. She truly didn't spot a single shadow, nor were there any tracks in the snow to suggest someone had passed by.

"Did I hit a bottleneck in my training? Is that why I'm feeling so on edge?"

Little Yan frowned. Her desire to continue practicing instantly vanished.

...

Meanwhile.

Chu Yun paced back and forth in his room, slowly wearing off the lingering excitement in his chest.

After all, he was still just an ordinary mortal. Experiencing something supernatural for the first time was exhilarating enough, not to mention the profound implications of having Spirit Vision.

It was safe to say that if he simply went public with his innate talent and revealed he had awakened the Mystic Master ability of Spirit Vision, his status in Duke Sovereign's Estate would undergo an earth-shattering transformation!

Mystic Masters were incredibly rare to begin with. Even the lowest tier, a Ninth Tier with just Spirit Vision, commanded immense respect. Furthermore, he possessed the bloodline of the Duke Sovereign; he was a legitimate master of the house!

However.

More important than the Spirit Vision itself was the fact that this power could continue to level up!

Although Chu Yun hadn't been a Mystic Master before, he had read plenty of books on the subject. He knew that Mystic Masters possessed absolutely no cultivation methods and had no path for progression.

Aside from a very select few natural treasures that could forcibly raise a Mystic Master's tier, they were stuck at whatever tier they awakened at for the rest of their lives. There was no moving forward.

But Chu Yun was different!

His Spirit Vision was a direct result of the system upgrading his Spirit!

This meant he would be the only person in the world capable of raising his Mystic Master tier. In the future, he could reach the Third or even Second Tier, perhaps even the legendary First Tier that had never once appeared in history!

"If I expose it, I'll be in danger."

"Spirit Vision is ultimately just an investigative tool. It doesn't give me the power to protect myself."

By now, Chu Yun had gradually calmed down.

If he truly had no way to progress further, he might have chosen to flaunt his Spirit Vision in exchange for a drastically better status and a life of luxury in Duke Sovereign's Estate.

But since he had the system and a clear path forward, he wasn't going to get greedy over such short-sighted gains.

"I should be able to upgrade again."

Having steadied his emotions, Chu Yun looked back at the system interface.

[Name: Chu Yun]

[Age: 18]

[Martial Prowess: Feeble Mortal]

[Spirit: level 3.0 (+)]

[Abilities: Spirit Vision]

[Spirit Points: 11]

[Spirit Projection (Nether Realm) — Available to Activate]

Upgrading his Spirit to level 3.0 had cost 3 Spirit Points, leaving him with 13.

Chu Yun attempted to upgrade it again.

[Notification: Consume 4 Spirit Points to upgrade Spirit to level 4.0?]

It seemed each subsequent level required slightly more Spirit Points. Going by this math, his 11 points were just about enough to push his Spirit to level 5.0!

Spirit level 3.0 granted him Spirit Vision, making him a genuine Ninth Tier Mystic Master. What level would Spirit level 5.0 be? Would he jump straight to the Seventh Tier?!

Chu Yun wasn't sure.

After calming his racing thoughts, he chose to upgrade.

The process was exactly the same as before. That familiar warmth flowed through his entire body, seeping into the deepest depths of his flesh and sinking right into his spirit, branding the sensation into his very core.

Soon.

The upgrade was complete.

Chu Yun could feel his mind growing noticeably stronger. The range of his Spirit Vision had also expanded, now reaching nearly twenty meters, and everything he saw was much clearer.

However, he didn't gain any new abilities. He seemed to still be within the boundaries of the Ninth Tier.

Without much hesitation, Chu Yun continued to upgrade. He spent his remaining 5 Spirit Points, pushing his Spirit to lv5!

The process was swift.

There was another obvious change—his mind felt incredibly resilient. Chu Yun felt like a single glare from him now would be enough to make an ordinary person tremble in fear!

"Still no new changes, but it feels like I've reached some sort of threshold. If I'm not mistaken, one more upgrade will definitely trigger a qualitative change and grant a new ability."

Sensing the changes within himself, Chu Yun muttered under his breath.

From the looks of it.

Every three levels acted as a hurdle.

Spirit lv3 corresponded to one tier, while Spirit lv6 would likely unlock the next.

It was just that his Spirit Points were now completely depleted.

"How do I get more of these Spirit Points?"

Chu Yun frowned in thought.

Thinking back carefully, he had said a few words into the mirror, soothing the last lingering obsession of his predecessor, and immediately afterward, he had received the Spirit Points and awakened the system.

Did that mean he needed to seek out ghosts now and resolve their earthly obsessions?

But that was impossible.

Any ghost was incredibly dangerous. While a Ninth Tier Mystic Master with Spirit Vision could see them, they lacked the power to fight them. Usually, they would bring along powerful Martial Cultivators with incredibly robust Crimson Vigor. The Mystic Master would direct the Martial Cultivator to strike the ghost with their pure Crimson Vigor, destroying the spirit completely.

Only far more powerful Mystic Masters could suppress ghosts using their own abilities.

"Oh, right."

After a moment of thought, Chu Yun suddenly realized something. He summoned the system interface again and directed his gaze to the very bottom.

[Spirit Projection (Nether Realm) — Available to Activate]

This seemed to be a function as well, though it sounded a bit terrifying. After all, as far as Chu Yun knew, only Mystic Masters of the Seventh Tier or higher possessed the ability to use 'Spirit Projection'.

And even then, they could only do it at night. Letting your spirit leave your body in broad daylight was basically suicide.

After hesitating for a long while.

Chu Yun finally decided to give it a try.

The system's functions probably wouldn't kill him; otherwise, what was the point? But just to be safe, he would wait until after the sun went down before testing it out.