Jasper's nose changed when he pushed it.
Did he just hallucinate?
Jasper tried again and pushed his nose. His nose's shape followed his finger and molded like it was clay.
What in the sorcery is this!?
"Nyx, do you have any idea about this?"
He asked but there was no answer. Jasper turned to his side and saw the snake with his jaw dropped.
"Hey, Nyx."
"Uh, yeah, Master. What kind of mons… I mean, this is incredible."
"Do you have any idea about this?"
Nyx paused, "Master, I may be wrong, but my theory is that you have reached a level of the Body Tempering Realm so high that you can manipulate your physical body. It's like how Qi Refining Cultivators' qi manipulation improves as they reach higher stages in cultivation. I believe you have reached a 'perfected' stage of the Body Tempering Realm if there is one."
Usually, once all parts of the body are tempered, a cultivator would stop and choose to refine qi next so they can reach the Qi Refinement Realm. Staying at the Body Tempering Realm seemed to have no benefits at all.
However, cultivation on Earth is still in its infancy. People have not yet explored all possibilities.
Jasper thought about it and it made sense. Cultivation on Earth begun with the Ancestor. What he taught is what's passed down. Rarely did anyone experiment with it and much rarer did anyone succeed. If they did experiment and succeed, it was just a small deviation from tradition.
It isn't far from possible to say that Jasper is the first one to attain this stage within the Body Tempering Realm.
The complete control over his physical body. Just how far can he make use of this?
Jasper became excited.
Thus, using his school ID as a reference, he molded his face back to its original form.
It took him some time but he didn't feel the need to sleep at all. Probably because he slept for a whole week. Thus, he used the rest of the night to experiment with this.
Before the two woke up, Jasper finished with his experiment and returned to his original face.
These are what he found out about this unique ability of his. He can freely modify his body, but it is temporary. If it's awkward or non-human, it reverts.
If he uses another person's face, which is natural, it would stay up for longer before reverting.
However, when he changed back to his original face before, it didn't revert. It must be because he is familiar with this face the most. Meanwhile, his body is more comfortable with the new 'handsome face'.
In other words, he has two primary faces: his original look and his new handsome face.
As for copying another's looks, Jasper found that the more he copied another person's face, the longer it stayed. It means he just needs more practice and get more comfortable if he wants to assume another face.
Which is great!
He wouldn't want to accidentally push his nose and look non-human while in public. He needs to will his face to move first. At the same time, he can copy other's faces as long as he actively maintains it.
Jasper, at the perfected stage of the Body Tempering Realm, can change his appearance!
What a godsent ability!
"That's great! You can now return to your normal life!"
Martin and Justine celebrated.
"No, not yet," Jasper waved his finger, "I have to get my revenge first." his smile became wider.
Martin's lips pursed while Justine got excited.
"Hehehe, tell us what to do, boss!"
"There's one thing I haven't told you yet."
Jasper then revealed the information about the
Nyx has become the convenient scapegoat. This 'heavenly snake' can take in followers and make them stronger. Consequently, because Nyx burned his cultivation and passed it to Jasper, Jasper has attained some of those powers as well.
"Do you want to become stronger?"
Presented with this opportunity, what mortal can decline? The night before, they had already cleared their doubts about Jasper's identity. He is alive and well!
Their trust in this friend of theirs is unfailing. Thus, without hesitation, both of them accepted.
"Why wouldn't I? I accept!"
[Martin Lopez has become your Follower.]
[Follower Count: 1]
"Boss, I have never doubted you even once! I accept!"
[Justine Bastor has become your Follower.]
[Follower Counter: 2]
Jasper nodded and searched through the system, to which it responded:
[User Jasper will receive 10% of the cultivation progress of all Followers.]
'So this is what made the Ancestor the one and only Immortal Emperor Cultivator. Meanwhile, the second strongest cultivator, the Bastion, is not even at the peak of Martial Dominator Realm, far from the Immortal King Realm. This is simply cheating!'
Jasper then received another notification.
[Congratulations for taking in your first Follower. The system offers a reward for this milestone. Accept reward?]
Jasper remembered he received this notification as well when he made Nyx his first slave.
'Yes'
[User Jasper has received a Body Tempering Mystery Chest x1]
Mystery Chest? The book not only adjusted it to become systematic but also game-like.'
"Alright, now that you are my followers, we'll have another talk later. Don't be surprised later when you hear a voice in your head."
Jasper said and chuckled while his first two followers have were dumbfounded. They looked at each other, 'voice in our heads?'
After which, the three separated and went back to their homes.
Jasper decided to return to his apartment first. Depending on the landlord's reaction, he will decided on what to do.
Taking the train, it didn't take long for Jasper to reach his humble apartment. It was one of the most cheapest ones here are literally next to the slums.
There's the smell of smoke and alcohol the moment he entered the residence gate. Even though the world is modern, this building is made out of wood. His neighbors' voice creates a natural cacophony.
There are kids crying and playing while the parents yell at them.
'What a peaceful day today.'
"Trash! You've finally returned! You are three months late on your payment! If only there was another one who wanted to move in, I would've taken all your stuff out."
A young woman came out. In this rough neighborhood with men drinking during the daylight, she had the complacency to wear short shorts and a tank top that reveals her belly button. She's not a top beauty by any means, but she's not ugly either.
A brow lifted on Jasper's face.
"Miss Janice, haven't you heard the news?"
Janice is the daughter of the landlord here. Her confidence stemmed from the fact that she's the strongest cultivator in the neighborhood, having reached the fifth stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
Not only that but she's only five years older than Jasper, she's just 21!
For reference, even middle-aged men and women there are only at the third stage or at best, fourth stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
In the Enlightenment era, strength, not age, is the biggest factor in earning respect.
"What news, you punk!? If you don't want me slapping you right here right now, you better pay up!"
'They haven't heard about my supposed death?'
Jasper was in shock. From the two idiots, he learned that his parents held a funeral for him in the past month. Although the landlord had no relationship with any of his family or friends, at least they should've known or looked into why one of their residents went missing for two months, right?
Well, the reality is right there in his face. Anything happening to non-cultivators is never newsworthy. They can only be part of a statistic.
"Alright, alright. Calm down. I ran into trouble and have no money right now. I'll give it to you… tomorrow, how's that?"
Janice leaned forward as she menacingly glared at him.
"Do you think we're friends? I'm going to a party later. If you don't pay up, I'm gonna burn all your things, got that, brat?"
"Ahh, Miss Janice, we've been neighbors for three years, how can you treat me like this? Tomorrow, I'll give it to you."
"Tomorrow or your stuff, choose."
"You're being difficult right now..."
Jasper was used to this. He didn't really take her seriously. Janice is the type of person who's all bark but no bite.
Meanwhile, Jasper is the type of no bark but all bite. That was why before the age of enlightenment, Janice was actually respectful to him as he showed a lot of potential. When they all learned that he's just another non-cultivator, his neighbors' attitude took a 180 degree turn.
"Why don't we talk about it in private? I have something to talk about."
"I got no time for this. I don't give a single fuck if you have a problem."
"It does concern you because it depends on this whether I'm able to give you the money or not."
Jasper used the magic word. This persuaded Janice as she made a troubled expression and turned around.
"Follow me."
For money, she will be a little more patient. After all, two months' worth of rent is not small for a college girl like her.
Thus, she led Jasper into her room.
Before the enlightenment era, a person wouldn't let a stranger, especially a woman to a man, into their private space for various reasons which includes safety. However, as cultivators, their confidence in their own safety are higher than before.
Since Jasper is just a non-cultivator in Janice's eyes, she doesn't even register any sign of danger. How wrong was she…
As for Jasper, he looked at his Dimensional Storage provided by the
This is where the rewards he got from the system go into. He hasn't experimented with it yet. But the fact that it contains items from the system is already superb.
The items there are: [Body Tempering Mystery Chest x1], [Enslavement Seal x5]
Jasper got the Enslavement Seals from the reward for enslaving Nyx. He looked into it as he will use it shortly after.
—
Enslavement Seal
Used to take over the target's soul, turning them into a Slave. A Slave will follow every order of the User.
…