"The Vajra Wisdom King Art... a martial art. This is a martial art..."
Yang Ling was so excited his fingers trembled.
He knew now why the Prisoner Butcher had come to this vein.
When Constable Chief Lin had chatted with Overseer Wu, he'd mentioned the Prisoner Butcher was suspected of stealing a Buddhist scripture from Bitter Enlightenment Temple!
Looking at it now, that was the truth!
"Word never came down from above, and Bitter Enlightenment Temple didn't blow the matter up — probably for fear other powers would covet this art, or perhaps unwilling to lose face."
"So Zhang Hao was hunted all the way to Qingshan City?"
"The Fire Crystal Ore Essence must be something he brought, not something nurtured here."
"He used it to draw a horde of mine worms, which conveniently guarded this Vajra Wisdom King Art. He probably meant to wait out the heat and come back for it..."
At that thought, Yang Ling suddenly turned warily to look around.
Good — none of this had been discovered by anyone else yet.
"But I don't have much time. There must be monks from Bitter Enlightenment Temple hunting Zhang Hao; before long they'll likely guess he hid the Vajra Wisdom King Art here..."
Without a word Yang Ling stepped up and took the Vajra Wisdom King Art.
He'd just meant to stow it away and hide it elsewhere, when a prompt surfaced before his eyes:
「Vajra Wisdom King Art — cultivation threshold: Strength 10, Spirit 10」
「Threshold met」
「Comprehend it?」
"So that's how Spirit is used?"
Yang Ling was thrilled beyond words, and immediately tried choosing to comprehend it.
The next second, the Vajra Wisdom King Art turned into a streak of golden light and vanished into his body.
Then Yang Ling felt a warmth spread through him, and into his memory, out of nowhere, came a magnificent Buddhist scripture.
Yang Ling collected himself and opened his attribute panel at once.
Name: Yang Ling
Class: Miner
Level: 8
Strength: 11
Agility: 5
Spirit: 10
Martial Art: Vajra Wisdom King Art (first-rate art, not yet at First Glimpse)
HP: 110/110
"Wu Que's Black Tiger Fist didn't seem to have a grade mark — could it be because it's too poor?"
Yang Ling was secretly delighted.
He really had struck it lucky this time!
Not only had he gained a martial art, but the art was first-rate!
Even though he still couldn't make out 「Divine Realm」's grading system for martial arts.
But a first-rate art, in any game, was something you only learned in the mid-to-late stages!
"「Divine Realm」 has only just come out; I'm still in the rookie village, and this first-rate art will be of enormous help to me!"
Yang Ling couldn't resist studying the panel a while longer, and soon found the martial-art row seemed to hold more detailed information.
He tapped it open for a look.
【Vajra Wisdom King Art — four layers in all】
【Layer One: gain 5 Free Attribute Points; while the art is active, Strength and Agility each increase by 15, and bonus HP increases by 100】
【Layer Two: viewing not yet permitted】
"Hss—"
Yang Ling sucked in a cold breath.
By this description, if he mastered Layer One of the Vajra Wisdom King Art, he'd gain 5 Free Attribute Points, and while it was active, Strength and Agility would each rise by 15?
Most crucial of all, even his HP would rise by 100.
How was that any different from having an extra life!?
"I'll cultivate it the moment I get back! Forget mining!"
Yang Ling quickly tidied up, taking the ore essence with him. The signs of the earlier fight, and the mine-worm corpses, he dug a pit and buried outright.
Once he'd erased every trace and confirmed again and again that nothing was left, Yang Ling chose another spot and buried the ore essence.
"Carrying the ore essence, there's no hiding it — I can only bury it first. Even if my luck's bad and someone else stumbles on the windfall, so be it."
"The thing's valuable, but it carries danger too; it'll draw needless trouble."
"The Vajra Wisdom King Art is the real prize this time."
At the exit.
Seeing Yang Ling had dug up another thirty-odd catties of Fire Crystal Ore, Steward Niu praised him again, then settled the silver.
"Steward Niu, I feel there's something a little different about Yang Ling."
A vein guard stepped up, watching Yang Ling's back.
Steward Niu remarked: "His vigor seems better and better — looks like his injuries have healed."
In his eyes, Yang Ling was already confirmed as a scion of the Yang family of Hongkun City.
Hiding here was merely to evade his enemies.
The vein guard threw out some flattery:
"Your eye really is sharp, sir."
"Heh, learn from it."
***
Back in the wooden hut that leaked in the rain and let the wind whistle through.
The first thing Yang Ling did was study how to cultivate the Vajra Wisdom King Art.
In his mind, the majestic scripture slowly welled up.
Woven through these memories were some peculiar standing-post stances.
Yang Ling grasped the idea and struck the first stance at once.
He squatted into a horse stance, both palms turned skyward.
In his heart he silently recited the scripture of the Vajra Wisdom King Art.
Time passed second by second.
Fortunately, his strength and endurance had both been forged through mining.
Otherwise, an ordinary person couldn't hold a stance like this for a minute.
Perhaps a dozen-odd minutes passed.
A warm current slowly bloomed within Yang Ling.
Something was happening!
Yang Ling's mind stirred, and he opened the attribute panel again.
The martial-art row had already changed:
Martial Art: Vajra Wisdom King Art (first-rate art, First Glimpse)
Experience: 1/100
"There's experience! So once experience hits 100, I've mastered Layer One?"
Suppressing his joy, Yang Ling held the Layer One stance and kept reciting the sutra.
Before he knew it, several hours had passed.
Outside, the rooster was already crowing.
Dawn had come.
Yang Ling hadn't slept all night, yet far from being tired, he was full of vigor!
The Vajra Wisdom King Art's experience had climbed to: 5/100.
"Strange — at first I reckoned it gained 1 experience every ten-odd minutes, but past 5 points it stopped moving..."
"Could it be it gives at most 5 experience a day? Cultivating more is useless?"
Yang Ling frowned slightly, but soon relaxed.
Even 5 a day was fine.
Twenty days and he'd reach Layer One!
By then his power would undergo a qualitative change!
Yang Ling's mind stirred; he opened the attribute panel:
Name: Yang Ling
Class: Martial Artist
Level: 8
Strength: 11
Agility: 5
Spirit: 10
Martial Art: Vajra Wisdom King Art (first-rate art, First Glimpse)
Experience: 5/100
HP: 110
"My class has changed from Miner to Martial Artist..."
Yang Ling couldn't keep the corners of his mouth from lifting.
Nearly a month into 「Divine Realm」, he'd finally made his first real gains.
From vagrant, to miner, to Martial Artist now!
Step by step he'd plant his feet firmly in 「Divine Realm」!
Just then, a clangor of gongs and drums suddenly rose outside:
"Everyone up, quickly, gather at the village entrance!"
Dozens of vein guards were striking bronze gongs without pause.
The miners came out of their huts one by one, puzzled, and headed for the village entrance.
At the entrance stood Overseer Wu and Constable Chief Lin, both looking somewhat pale.
Before them stood a monk who looked to be in his thirties, expressionlessly saying something.