Infinite Awakening: My Exp Doubles Everyday Chapter 3: First Settlement

High atop the mountain, Li Yao balanced gracefully on a tree limb, her sharp gaze locked onto Xiang Yu in the distance. Her senior brother was executing his knife forms with a level of ferocity she had never seen before. A sudden shift had occurred in him since daybreak—a change so startling that it left her both bewildered and worried.

"Is he still feeling sick?" she muttered under her breath, recalling his peculiar conduct earlier. The senior brother she remembered was one who preferred resting in the shade rather than toiling under the blistering sun. This sudden burst of willpower was as shocking as it was intriguing.

As she prepared to leap down from her perch, a bizarre sensation washed over her—she realized her feet were no longer touching the wood. She was dangling in midair. Turning with growing dread, she found herself staring into the stern face of her master. Elder Guo Shantian was holding her up by her collar, much like one would lift a naughty kitten.

"Why are you loafing around here?" he questioned, his thick brows knitting together in a scowl.

Li Yao’s face turned bright red. "Master, I can explain—"

"No need!" The elder interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. "Go back to your training and stop pestering your senior brother." Without a second thought, he tossed her into the sky with incredible power, sending her flying through the clouds.

"Wait! Master, I don't know how to fly!" Her terrified yells rang out across the peaks, but Elder Guo simply watched Xiang Yu train for a few thoughtful moments before vanishing in a flash, leaving his female disciple to deal with her aerial crisis alone.

Down below, completely unaware of the chaos above, Xiang Yu continued to swing his knife with tireless rhythm. His arms were heavy with exhaustion, and his palms were raw with blisters. Perspiration flowed down his face, drenching his simple clothes until they stuck to his shivering body. His breathing was heavy and ragged, and his vision began to blur at the edges.

Despite the punishing sun overhead, Xiang Yu refused to quit. "To survive in this world," he growled through clenched teeth, "I have to fight for every second of my life."

Hour after hour, he repeated the same strikes as the sun started to dip toward the horizon. Even as the sky turned shades of orange and gold, marking the end of the day, his resolve did not falter. Though his muscles screamed for him to stop, he kept pushing, determined not to lose the momentum he had gained.

"Still no breakthrough," he hissed out of frustration, yet his blade kept cutting through the air as the mountain was slowly swallowed by darkness.

From a nearby tree, Li Yao had returned to watch him again, having somehow survived her master’s sudden flight lesson. She focused intently, her brow furrowing as she analyzed her senior brother's strange behavior.

"He was always so lazy," she mused, "constantly dodging Cultivation because he lacked spiritual roots. What could have possibly triggered such a massive change?" After observing his relentless effort for a while longer, she gave a firm nod of determination. "If Senior Brother can work this hard despite his flaws, how can I justify slacking off?" With that realization, she quietly slipped away to return to her own Cultivation routine.

At the peak of Mountain Heart Pavilion, Elder Guo Shantian watched his two disciples with silent pride. Li Yao, the Sect’s undisputed prodigy with talent seen once in a century, had often wasted hours that should have been spent on Cultivation. Now, moved by her senior brother’s unexpected drive, she had found a new fire within herself.

The elder turned his attention to Xiang Yu, curiosity visible on his aged face. When he had gifted the boy that Basic Knife Technique, he assumed it would lead to nothing more than a short-lived burst of energy—one that would fade once the boy realized how slow his progress was. Yet, nearly an entire day had passed, and the boy was still swinging his blade with the same intensity.

What truly caught the elder’s eye was the look on the young man's face. It went beyond simple determination; it was desperation. It was the expression of someone who truly believed that if he failed to make one more swing, he would die.

"I'm not sure what is pushing you, boy," Elder Guo whispered with a faint smile, "but whatever it is, it's working. Even without spiritual roots, your path has not reached its end."

As the twilight faded into night, Xiang Yu kept up his grueling practice until, suddenly, a glowing blue screen appeared before his weary eyes:

[Calculating Settlement]

…

The shimmering blue interface pulsed in the dark as Xiang Yu’s tired eyes widened with awe:

[Calculation Complete]

[Basic Knife Technique: 2 (+2)]

[Experience Points Doubled]

[Basic Knife Technique: 2 → 4]

[Next Settlement: 23:59:59]

Xiang Yu looked at the screen with a blend of shock and joy. It had actually worked! His system had indeed doubled his small amount of experience points, turning a day of back-breaking labor into something much more significant. While a jump from 2 to 4 seemed minor, he could feel a real change in his grasp of the technique. The knife felt slightly more natural in his hand, and his movements were just a bit smoother than before.

"Double nothing is still nothing, but double something..." he whispered, a small smile appearing on his tired face.

His body ached as he collapsed onto the ground, resting his back against the cool earth under the training tree. Every muscle was in pain, and his hands were shredded from the wooden grip of the knife. Yet, beneath the physical suffering, a spark of hope remained. He had made progress, no matter how small. In a world where the weak are easily discarded, even the tiniest gain meant another day of life.

"That's enough for now," he muttered, his eyes feeling heavy. "If I don't get some rest, tomorrow's progress will suffer." The logical mind of his past life as an office worker combined with his new Cultivation goals. Efficiency was the priority—whether it was managing data or spiritual advancement.

He fell into a deep, dreamless sleep immediately.

The chirping of birds at dawn pulled Xiang Yu back to consciousness. Some songs were peaceful, while others were loud and persistent, evolved to wake even the heaviest sleeper. However, Xiang Yu didn't need any help getting started.

He sat up quickly, feeling slightly confused by the hard ground beneath him. Had he really slept outside all night? The stiffness in his spine confirmed it. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he watched the sky change as the dark night gave way to the first light of morning.

"It must be about five a.m.," he guessed, figuring he had only slept about five hours. Yet, surprisingly, the crushing fatigue he expected to feel wasn't there. His body felt energized and refreshed in a way that didn't make sense.

He thought back to his old life on Earth—specifically a failed attempt at going to the gym that had left him so sore he had to take a sick day. The memory felt ridiculous now.

Testing his strength by squeezing his fist, he felt powerful rather than weak. "Could I actually have a legendary saint body?" A smile crossed his face before he shook the thought away. "No way!"

Standing up and stretching, Xiang Yu concluded that the world's natural Qi must be the reason for his fast recovery. Even if he couldn't actively pull Qi into his Dantian, the mere presence of it in the air was enough to heal his muscles and wash away his tiredness.

"This is perfect," he thought, moving his fingers in amazement. "I can work even harder today." Although he had earned his first experience points—which would now double every day thanks to his system—he wasn't going to just sit around. Hard work would make those gains grow exponentially. Eventually, his progress might slow down, and then he would rely on the system's doubling feature. But for now, while he could still improve through effort, he would take every chance he had.

Without wasting another moment, he grabbed his practice knife and began his forms again, his strikes even more accurate than the day before.

Inside his private rooms at the top of Mountain Heart Pavilion, Elder Guo Shantian’s meditation was broken by the distant sound of training. The sharp whistle of a blade cutting through the morning air reached his keen ears.

"That kid!" he thought with a mix of annoyance and respect. The sun had barely risen, yet Xiang Yu was already practicing with a focus that disturbed the peace of the mountain. While the elder no longer needed much sleep, he still valued the quiet morning hours for his own reflection and spiritual work.

For a second, he thought about going down to scold the overeager disciple. He stroked his beard while thinking it over, but ultimately decided to let it go.

"Well," he mused, returning to his meditation, "I'll let him have his moment. It's not like he can keep up this level of intensity every single day, right?"