Reincarnated With The Degenerate System

Flashes of information slammed into my head. I staggered for a second, then sat into the corner, legs crossed, back straight, and followed the new breathing technique exactly as it unfolded in my mind.

And damn… this one was different.

The moment I drew my first breath, everything clicked. The flow was smoother, deeper—as if my lungs had been upgraded without my permission.

Each inhale pulled in energy effortlessly, threading it through my meridians. No turbulence. No wasted effort. It was like the technique itself refused to let me be inefficient.

My lower dantian, already full thanks to the past cultivation, responded instantly—stabilizing on its own, compressing the energy tighter, denser, almost humming.

So I redirected the flow upward, guiding the excess toward my middle dantian just as the instructions told me.

I could feel my body adjusting to the upgrade in real time. The system must've accounted for everything I learned before, because it skipped redundant steps—no tedious repetition, no redoing foundations.

It simply rebuilt my progress cleanly, refining every mistake I didn't even know I made.

Such benefits would have taken me months or even years of revising, showing just how much more efficient my system was.

—Inhale, and the energy gathered cleanly in my diaphragm, swirling like a controlled vortex.

—Hold, and it compressed.

—Exhale, and the refined essence flowed up, slipping into the middle dantian like warm water into an empty cup.

With each breath, I could feel it—my cultivation accelerating, layer after layer thinning out.

I drew in one more breath, deep as I could.

And then, at last, the stubborn block that kept me from breaking through finally cracked… and shattered.

A surge of heat blasted through my meridians, racing up my veins and flooding out to my limbs. My whole body clenched for a heartbeat, then released in a wave that made my fingertips tingle.

Then the smell hit me.

A filthy, burned-rubber-mixed-with-swamp smell.

Black sweat oozed out of my pores in thick streaks, running down my arms, my chest, everywhere. It clung to my skin like tar.

"Holy—" I gagged. "That's me? Seriously?"

Still… that repulsive sludge was proof. My meridians had widened. My dantian had expanded. My body felt lighter—cleaner—despite looking like I'd rolled around in toxic waste.

I exhaled slowly. A faint curl of steam slipped from my mouth.

'So this is it… Core Refining Stage.'

Clenching my fist, I immediately noticed the difference in how my Qi flowed.

'I should be around General Sun Wang's level as his peak… maybe stronger.'

I closed my eyes again, letting the aftershock of the breakthrough settle. Both my lower and middle dantian throbbed with qi.

Though, I instinctively knew the difference between the two.

Where the lower dantian was a roaring fire, the middle felt like a river—steady, controlled, circulating through every pathway in my body. Not just explosive power… but a more refined one.

—My qi moved faster with less resistance

—Breathing synced naturally with my heartbeat.

—My vitality felt richer, deeper, like my organs were soaking in warm sunlight.

—Even my muscles felt lighter, not because I had lost strength, but because it took less effort to move them.

If the lower let me throw a punch harder…the middle one would let me throw it longer, cleaner, and without wasting even a drop of energy.

I rubbed my chest. 'I should cultivate more… and—'

[DING!]

The sound shot straight through my skull like an obnoxious doorbell.

[Host, cultivating any further after a breakthrough will result in adverse effects on your body. It is recommended that you allow your physique to stabilize first.]

I blinked. "…So basically, stop before I explode. Got it."

The system wouldn't warn me without a good reason. And now that it had pointed it out, I finally felt it—my meridians were currently unstable. Stretched too fast, stuffed with too much power, like someone had upgraded the pipes but forgotten to tighten the bolts.

It would sort itself out eventually—probably in a couple of days. A few cultivation pills would've sped things up nicely, but good luck finding those in a world that barely knew about cultivation.

Morning crept over the horizon, painting the forest in a soft, golden haze. I stepped out of the camp, stretching every muscle as I scanned the floor stair ahead. I wasn't planning to fight another boss, but knowing its location wouldn't hurt.

A troop of verdant monkeys chattered nearby, frozen in alarm the moment they caught sight of me. They bolted instantly.

With my recent boost, I could hold peak speed longer than ever, and I wasn't about to waste it. Might as well test my limits.

"Let's play tag," I muttered, a grin spreading across my face.

SWOOSH!

I launched myself forward, letting the Qi in my legs and core do the work. The branch beneath me cracked, splintering under my weight—but it didn't slow me much. Instead, it catapulted me forward, my velocity only slightly less than that of the fleeing beasts.

Leaves whipped past my face, the wind roaring in my ears. I could feel the difference from before—my body moved as though friction barely existed, muscles crisp and responsive, Qi flowing without interruption.

If I just pushed more Qi into my legs, I could catch up without even breaking a sweat.

BOOM!

One verdant monkey was unlucky enough to cross my path—and my knee met it mid-leap. The momentum alone was enough to send it flying, leaving a splatter that made the others squeal in terror.

I grinned, letting the wind tear across my face.

"Come on, put up a fight. You're all supposed to kill me, and not the other way around,"

This won't be much of practice if they kept running around.

Then an idea struck me.

With my current cultivation , I should be able to handle all the beasts on the upper floors much easier—especially the ones with cores. Their value alone makes the risk worth it.

Alright… once my body's fully adjusted, I'll head up there and grab supplies. Should still be some canned drinks and food left. Just hope those hot headed monkeys don't have a taste for carbonated drinks.