The Path Of A True King.
Chapter 52: System Updated.

Chapter 52: System Updated.

Chapter 91

[System Update completed]

The mechanical chime echoed through the darkness of Elijah’s unconsciousness, a sterile and emotionless voice piercing the silence of his slumber.

[New features]

[Inventory]

[You Can Now Gain Stat points for each Level up]

[Gaining Stat points for previous Levels.]

[...]

The voice didn’t fade. If anything, it kept growing louder, each sentence pounding like a drumbeat in his ears.

One after another, data points, information windows, and unreadable lines flashed behind his shut eyes—an overwhelming stream of mechanical chatter trying to pierce through his unconscious state.

Then suddenly—

His eyes snapped open.

Blinding white light struck his vision, forcing him to squint.

The ceiling above him was sterile and bright, the fluorescent light casting a pale glow on the white walls with soft pastel trims—barely-there greens and light blues lining the edges.

He was in a hospital.

Not a fancy one.

Just clean enough to not feel like death, yet quiet enough to feel like it was close.

Elijah blinked a few more times as the blur in his eyes slowly cleared.

He felt no bandages.

No restraints.

His body looked intact—his arms, his chest, even his hands bore no visible injury.

But the moment he tried to sit up—

Pain.

Not sharp like a blade, not deep like a wound, but internal.

A twisting, squeezing agony pulsed from within.

Like something was trying to force itself through his body but kept getting stuck.

He gasped and fell back into the bed, eyes wide.

It wasn’t muscle pain.

It wasn’t a broken bone.

It was deeper—closer to his core.

His Meridians

In the Intermediate Knight stage, a cultivator was required to form the internal pathways for Ki—called Meridians, Veins, or sometimes even Ki Circuits depending on the region.

They functioned much like blood vessels, except instead of carrying blood, they channeled raw Ki throughout the body.

The stronger and denser the Ki, the more resilient the body had to be to withstand the pressure of flow.

Meridians were fragile during early formation, easily torn or inflamed by reckless movement or forced energy surges.

Elijah had done both.

And now, he was paying the price.

He hadn’t just stressed his Meridians.

He’d damaged them.

Unlike veins, where a rupture could mean death, damaged Meridians didn’t kill you instantly.

But they could. Because if the Ki Core—the central reservoir—was affected too heavily while the

Meridians were unstable, then the backlash would cause the core to collapse.

And if the core collapsed...

That was it.

No strength.

No recovery

No life.

Elijah gritted his teeth and slowly eased his body into a more comfortable posture, letting the hospital bed support him.

Breathing hurt.

Moving hurt.

Even thinking about channeling Ki sent dull pulses of pain through his lower ribs and spine.

He could try to cultivate and heal the damage over time, accelerating the recovery... or do nothing and wait for natural healing.

But both options came with risk.

Cultivation might make it worse if done improperly, and waiting meant losing valuable time.

As the thoughts raced through his head, Elijah let out a breath and muttered, "Status"

His voice cracked slightly, dry from sleep.

[Status]

A screen shimmered before his eyes, clean and organized.

Name: Elijah Havor

Cultivation: Intermediate Knight Stage (Middle)

Ki: 31% (Weakened)

Element: Blood Tier 0

Level: 14

{Stats}

Strength: 45

Agility: 42

Endurance: 33

Defense: 30

Senses: 29

Free Stat Points: 28

Elijah stared at the screen, eyes narrowing in confusion.

He tilted his head slightly, lips parting as questions began bubbling in his mind.

His voice was barely above a whisper.

The numbers didn’t make sense.

He remembered clearly—he had used all his free stat points after his last breakthrough.

So where had these 28 come from?

And the new Ki indicator—had that always been there?

His gaze drifted toward the line that said Blood Tier 0

"What’s going on."

No answer.

The room was dead silent again.

The mechanical voice that had filled his dreamscape was gone—like a passing breeze.

Until—

Another voice echoed within him.

This one didn’t come from the air around him.

It came from inside.

"I have missed speaking."

Alter Elijah.

Elijah blinked. A flicker passed through his vision, like a ripple across still water.

His lips parted, "Where have you been."

Alter Elijah chuckled.

It was a velvety sound, low and intimate, like the hum of something ancient just beneath the skin. "Don’t you remember gaining a reward for beating that guy?"

There was no need to clarify who "that guy" was.

Elijah felt it again—the phantom strain in his muscles, the half-remembered surge of power, the sheer rawness of that clash.

The aftermath was still smeared along his nerves like blood on a blade.

"The Ki percentage and the Free Stat Points are all thanks to the system upgrade," Alter continued smoothly.

"You’ve reached the stage where the system actually keeps track of your inner flow. Every inhale, every push of will, every drop of energy—it’s finally measurable. Quantifiable."

Elijah’s brow furrowed, gears grinding in his mind. "And the free points?"

"Retroactive benefits," Alter answered lightly. "Every level-up you had before the system evolved now gives you something back. A delayed reward. Like overdue interest on an investment. You’re welcome."

There was a pause.

"As for the element—"

Alter Elijah’s tone deepened.

Each word now weighed with significance.

"You unlocked it because of the Red King Sword. But don’t use it yet. If you try, you’ll alert the other Kings, and they won’t hesitate to erase you. Their power is... beyond you for now."

A cold whisper ran down Elijah’s spine.

The term erase wasn’t metaphorical.

It rang with the kind of certainty that came from intimate knowledge.

The kind that didn’t bluff.

The mention of the Kings sent a strange chill through his bones.

Not fear exactly—just instinctive caution.

Like an animal watching shadows move too intelligently in the brush.

"What do you mean," Elijah asked, the words dry in his mouth.

"We’re finally going to understand what a farmer means."

Elijah’s pulse ticked up. "Wait," he said, brow furrowing, "Why don’t I know that. And you do when you’re me."

"I do know what you know," Alter replied, sounding almost smug now.

"But I know how to interpret what you don’t. Learn to read the book. Or go back to Grandma’s place. I bet she’ll explain more than you want to hear."