【Random Treasure Chest, grade: White】
【Chest grades: White, Blue, Silver, Gold, Purple, Jade, Diamond】
"Chests have seven grades. What I've got is the lowest."
Yang Ling drew a deep breath and rubbed his hands.
Then he crouched before the chest and slowly opened it.
The chest opened, releasing a soft white glow.
Like a gentle breeze across his face.
Inside the chest lay a single pill.
Yang Ling looked closely, and information surfaced at once:
「Spirit-Nurturing Pill — raises Proficiency by 500 points」
"What the — raises Proficiency by 500!?"
Yang Ling was taken aback.
That was outrageous.
At his current cultivation speed, 500 proficiency would take at least twenty-odd days!
After a moment's thought, Yang Ling swallowed the Spirit-Nurturing Pill in one gulp.
The white chest vanished in that same instant.
「Please select the martial art whose Proficiency you wish to raise」
"Vajra Wisdom King Art."
「Please select the martial art whose Proficiency you wish to raise」
"So the Vajra Wisdom King Art won't do — it really can only raise a technique's Proficiency."
"Mountain-Crushing Fist."
The next second, a warm current welled up ceaselessly within Yang Ling.
Exactly like the feeling of proficiency rising when he practiced.
The one difference was that this time the warm current came fierce, wave upon wave.
Yang Ling even felt his head go dizzy.
As though he'd practiced the Mountain-Crushing Fist for twenty-odd days in one breath.
When the sensation faded, he felt suddenly hollow.
He checked his panel at once:
Name: Yang Ling
Class: Martial Artist
Level: 10
Strength: 11
Agility: 5
Spirit: 12
Martial Art: Vajra Wisdom King Art (first-rate art, Beginner)
Experience: 60/100
Mountain-Crushing Fist (First Glimpse)
Proficiency: 587/1000
HP: 110
"So it really did raise 500 proficiency. Another pill like this and I'd jump straight to Fluent?"
Yang Ling marveled inwardly.
It was miraculous.
"Spirit-Nurturing Pill, hm... Besides the game's reward, is there somewhere to buy them?"
"There should be — the great sects surely have such treasures, which is why the disciples they cultivate have such high technique proficiency."
"That batch I saw before, including Wu Que, were all at Proficient."
"By this reckoning, even Transcendent seems within reach... I just don't know whether Spirit-Nurturing Pills build tolerance — less effect the more you take?"
Yang Ling pushed the thought down and opened the Divine Realm Level Ranking.
His name wasn't on it.
"Sure enough, no class change means no place on the ranking."
"The game just told me I'm among the first thirty to reach Level 10 — which means my level is in the first tier among all players in Divine Realm."
"But my mining experience eases my fatigue and lets me keep going endlessly."
"Why do these people level up so fast? Because of the advantage of their origins?"
Yang Ling felt some doubt.
He'd confirmed that while Zhang Wei and Lin Guoliang could gain experience mining, that experience was just experience — nothing like his own cheat-like ability to directly ease fatigue.
That was why Zhang Wei wanted to leave. For him, mining to level up was not only exhausting and painful, it was slow!
"Never mind. Leveling up is what matters. Maybe there'll be a reward at Level 20 too."
Yang Ling pushed the stray thoughts down and set to grinding experience.
He had no ambition to be number one, but he did want to keep up his leveling pace.
Best if he could win a game reward every time.
As the sun was about to set, Yang Ling returned to the hut to practice his fist art.
Time slipped by.
"Hm? Something's off."
Yang Ling's mind stirred.
Before, he could gain only 1 proficiency an hour.
Five hours was 5 points.
But just now, practicing, he'd felt the proficiency rise noticeably faster.
"Five hours might be 6 points now? A fifth faster?"
"My Spirit was 10 before, and it's 12 now — so Spirit really is tied to proficiency..."
"Let me test the Vajra Wisdom King Art!"
Without a word, Yang Ling set his stance and cultivated the Vajra Wisdom King Art.
Experience +1.
Experience +1.
As time passed, his experience quickly rose 5 points.
The rate of gain seemed no different from before.
Yang Ling didn't stop, and kept cultivating.
After a while:
Experience +1.
"6 points!"
Yang Ling opened his eyes, delighted.
The daily cap on experience gain had risen!
By a fifth, too!
"So Spirit really is tied to proficiency and experience!"
"Wonderful! I won't have to wait till I'm seventy or eighty to become an expert!"
Yang Ling was secretly thrilled. As long as he kept leveling and putting free points into Spirit, he could raise his own cultivation speed — a virtuous cycle!
"I have free attribute points to spend, but Zhang Wei and the others seem able to gain corresponding points only through that kind of training. If other players are the same, this is one of my greatest advantages. I can put points into Spirit whenever I want; they can't..."
Over the next several days, Yang Ling lived to a steady rhythm.
By day, mine and grind experience.
By night, practice the fist art and cultivate the Vajra Wisdom King Art.
His power was slowly rising.
And his purse was growing fatter by the day.
One day.
An unprecedented gravity showed on Yang Ling's face.
Making sure no one was around, he kept cultivating the Vajra Wisdom King Art!
97/100
98/100
99/100
Time passed.
At last!
100/100!
Boom!
An enormous warm current surged into Yang Ling's body.
Heat radiated ceaselessly from his whole body.
White steam even faintly rose from the crown of his head!
【Congratulations — the Vajra Wisdom King Art has advanced one layer】
【Gain 5 Free Attribute Points; while the art is active, Strength and Agility each increase by 15, and bonus HP increases by 100】
"At last..."
Yang Ling murmured.
At this step, his power had finally undergone a qualitative change!
"Where to put 5 Free Attribute Points — there shouldn't be any debate."
Yang Ling immediately put them all into Spirit.
In that moment, he felt his spirit sublimate to a great height.
The benefit wasn't only a clearer mind — even his field of vision became incomparably sharp!
"Wait — something's off. This HP increase, is it permanent?"
Yang Ling's mind stirred; he checked his panel.
Name: Yang Ling
Class: Martial Artist
Level: 10
Strength: 11
Agility: 5
Spirit: 17
Martial Art: Vajra Wisdom King Art (First Glimpse)
Experience: 0/1000
Mountain-Crushing Fist (First Glimpse)
Proficiency: 786/1000
HP: 210
"I haven't even activated the art, and my HP went from 110 to 210... So I misunderstood before — this HP increase is permanent!"
"A first-rate art really is miraculous. If I complete all four layers, won't my HP break a thousand?"
Yang Ling's breathing quickened.
When he first arrived, his HP was a pitiful 40.
An ordinary person's standard was 50.
So his HP now was more than four times an ordinary person's.
Put in the real world, "monster" wouldn't be too strong a word!