[Last Emperor] Chapter 2 - Unexpected Expectings (Patreon)

Seeing a clear representation of his progress and abilities did not sit right with Tao Zi. The main point of procrastinating and being lazy was getting all of this information out of your mind as you preoccupied yourself with other things.

Now that seemed far more difficult. Worse if he would get a notification with every single step he took.

Tao Zi watched as a brown soiled underwear appeared right above his head. It hovered for a few seconds. Tao Zi lunged out of the way as it lost its spot and fell, the gravity of the area affecting it. He shivered in disgust. The thought of something that horrible touching him in any way shape or form made him gag.

"Fuck. That is so fucking foul."

He let his lethargic Qi move from his core. It felt like molasses due to the lack of usage and attempts to do anything related to cultivation for roughly a year since his arrival into the original Tao Zi's body. A tiny blue flame appeared above his index finger.

Tao Zi scrunched up his nose and set the underwear on fire. Purifying the world from its existence—

Congratulations on your exceptional action!

First Qi Usage!

Reward 3 Qi Exp

Reward 2 filthy, stained underwear

Reward 1 rusty, broken, bronze coin

Tao Zi cursed as he dodged the pair of wildly floating spoiled underwears. As though something was targeting him intentionally. His attention was so focused on them he forgot the coin.

It clinked off his head. With enough speed to cause a concussion.

Tao Zi cursed again. His situation grew worse and worse. Whoever made this system had to have been intentionally targeting him with active radar homing rewards sent to hurt him every time he got a reward. A backhanded way of saying, 'here you go, you bastard!'.

It took a few moments of rubbing his head before he stood back up and finished ridding the world of three similar atrocities. A pink underwear, a blue one, and then the original white one. It was not a pleasant experience. The stench was enough to make him run after picking up the bronze coin.

He threw it into his spacial ring with the fear of getting tetanus. Rust covered the broken piece of bronze from tip till end. Both sides too.

Something rustled from behind the boulders to his left.

Tao Zi was quick to hide in the maze of massive stones. Back pressed on the boulder and watching as something peeked its head into the small clearing. A massive canine face stuck its nose out from its cover. Nose twitching. Black scales, foam dripping from its slightly open jaw.

Its face kept growing larger until it walked into the clearing fully. Head as large as his torso. A canine, lizard amalgamation that did not see right. Body almost serpentine long. It made its way to the ashes of the three underwears sniffing audibly. It grumbled and shook its head. Gagging just like he did. The creature covered its large head with its paws, standing up nearly double his height, clawing at its nose.

The creature shook its head and ran out of the clearing in the direction it had arrived.

System Analysis -

HellHound Giganticus

Power scaling reading in user terms…

… Error…

System Analysis -

HellHound Giganticus

Qi Gathering -

Journeyman Stage 3

Holy shit! I can't fight that! It would eat me alive for breakfast.

Tao Zi wiped sweat from his head. The HellHound was an entire realm higher than him. The difference between them was greater still simply because he was out of touch with any skills and Qi techniques the original had learned. Any hopes of killing it seemed like a distant dream.

One he had no intention of experiencing at any time until he was by far, much stronger.

If only the rewards were anything better.

I can't waste any time out here. It's too dangerous. I can't get caught by another HellHound.

Tao Zi jogged out of the clearing. His head on a swivel as he checked his surroundings, going up towards a distant mountain and the caves along the edges of the spacial pocket. His only source of safety.

He knew without a shadow of doubt that the place was teeming with life and things that could eat him for breakfast. Yet, the place seemed dead and dry. No plants that he could see, no animals running about anywhere, even with the rare chance that he got to see further than a few dozen feet in front of him. Nothing to indicate there was life.

So he kept moving.

This area's visibility made it difficult to survive if he wanted to escape. Too many boulders, crevices, nooks and areas for things to hide in while he traveled. Unawares of what was occurring around him. He needed to break through somehow and escape to the next level and biome—

Tao Zi ducked. A shadow barely missed his head. Jaws snapping, claws scraping the ground as it fought against its momentum.

He swung around to face at. His sword appeared in his hand. Blood pumping and heart racing. He could already imagine the horrors. The monsters that inhabited this place. How brutal his death would become if he had gotten so unlucky.

Qi surged just as lethargically as before. This time his sword lit up in blue flames matching his robes. Flickering back and forth.

System Analysis -

Short Haired Orange Cat

Mortal Stage

Tao Zi blinked at the hissing feline. Baring fangs. Back arched, tail puffed up and prepared for a fight. Its orange coat was filled with grim and dirt. A few cuts along its side adorned its skeletal frame. It looked starved.

He let his Qi die out and his sword disappeared back into his spacial pocket. Tao Zi got on a single knee. Bringing out a tiny bit of meat he carried from a previous meal he hadn't finished. Ripping it to an even smaller amount, putting the rest away.

"Ps Psps. Come here little kitty. Come here. You hungry?"

The orange cat hopped sideways to him. Back still arched. Tail still puffed and curved. It hoped towards him again, this time facing him directly. Nose twitching oddly reminiscent of the HellHound.

"Ps Psps…"

Tao Zi threw the piece of meat in-between them. Forcing the kitten into a difficult situation, testing whether it wa hungry or not. By the looks of it, it was starving. He doubted his tactic wouldn't work to perfection.

Said cat took a few hesitant steps, nose working over time. Before it bolted to the piece of meat. Grabbing it and running a distance away. Munching on it as though it had not had anything for ages. Never letting him get out of eye sight the entire time. Him shifting even slightly elicited a hiss and a slap on the ground as warning.

"Wonder how you got here?" Tao Zi pulled out another piece of meat.

It got the cat's attention. The puffed up tail was gone, the horror sounds of demonic things disappeared as it no longer wailed at him. Even its arched back was no longer in a threatening posturing phase. If anything, the cat looked… pleased with itself?

The cat hopped away happily. Satisfied with the small bit it had already eaten.

Did I just get scammed?!

Tao Zi couldn't believe what he was seeing. It had to be his imagination. There was no way something like that could have happened. Orchestrated by a small cat.

Congratulations on your exceptional action!

Scammed by a Cat!

Reward 1 Qi Exp

Reward Cat food!

A large bag of name brand cat food fell atop his head, sliding off and landing on the ground in front of him. Months worth of food.

The cat stretched out, preening and licking a fully extended leg.