9: Chapter 9 Fifty-Year-Old Wild Ginseng, Peach Blossom Village, Outing!!
Hiss.
Until this moment, Chen Yichuan finally deeply realized just how perverted the Black Talent, Attribute Involution, really was.
Threshold 10.
Each attribute fluctuates by 3.
This meant that by tomorrow afternoon... every single one of his attributes would reach at least 13.
With heaven-defying luck, they might even hit 19.
With his attributes skyrocketing like this, Chen Yichuan could foresee... he would definitely be a stat monster in the future.
The path of ultimate stats—he was set on walking it.
"Damn!"
"I just love stats. What's the use of all that fancy stuff? Stats are everything."
Chen Yichuan excitedly pumped his fists.
It was late at night, and he had to wake up early the next day.
He forced himself to sleep, but with such an awesome talent... how could he possibly fall asleep?
...
Shuangjiang County Jailer Dormitory.
"Holy crap, a Blue Talent! It's actually a Blue Talent! I really am the chosen one!" Zhao Ritian stood up with a start and shouted excitedly.
But in the next second.
An extremely annoyed and impatient voice rang out: "Screw you! Zhao Ritian, what are you screaming for in the middle of the night?! Believe it or not, I'll crawl into your blankets in a minute!!"
Swish!
Hearing this.
Zhao Ritian's face turned pale, and his previous excitement vanished instantly.
A Jailer crawling into his blankets.
Hiss.
His rear felt a chill.
Zhao Ritian didn't dare to speak; he could only keep apologizing in a low voice while covering his mouth.
When his gaze fell upon his talent, he couldn't help but smile.
Talent: Hardened (Blue)
— Stamina +10, Defense doubled!
— Efficiency in practicing Body Protection Martial Arts doubled.
These two entries clearly defined Zhao Ritian's future path: a sandbag, a very tough sandbag.
Regarding this.
Zhao Ritian was very excited; increased stamina meant more health, and defense meant survival was greatly enhanced.
"Hardened... this talent is just too perfect for me."
"Playing it safe and staying alive is what's most important." Zhao Ritian clenched his fists, his eyes filled with determination.
At the same time, he was also curious: what talent did Chen Yichuan awaken?
"It's Yichuan's first day; a White Talent is probably the most likely."
"But I won't laugh at him." Zhao Ritian's lips curled up slightly. Although he really wanted to test out his talent right now, for the sake of his blankets' safety...
With a mix of excitement and apprehension, he shivered under his blankets.
...
Mystic Realm
This night was destined to be extraordinary as players awakened their talents one after another.
Many shouted hot-blooded slogans like "My fate is in my own hands, not heaven's" and "I am destiny."
Even if their current identities were refugees or miners.
With a talent, anything was possible.
...
Early the next morning.
"Ah."
Chen Yichuan rubbed his sore eyes; the dark circles were enough proof of how excited he had been.
"Every attribute has broken past 10 points. Black Talent really is perverted."
Chen Yichuan excitedly swung his right hand.
With a bang.
His mouth hung open slightly as he looked at the scene before him in shock. With just a simple swing... he had actually smashed a hole in the wall.
"This... the effect of raising Strength to 10 points is this terrifying?"
One had to know he didn't even have a cultivation realm yet, which showed just how perverted a martial artist's attributes were.
"Damn!" Chen Yichuan suddenly snapped out of it and slapped his forehead. "Sigh, I just had to mess around. Now there's a hole in the wall."
"Making my already destitute life even worse."
He shook his head in deep depression.
He had done the math yesterday.
His entire net worth was one tael of silver, which could only sustain him for half a year in Shuangjiang County, assuming his Jailer's salary was paid normally.
Jiuzhou Nation's currency system:
One copper coin for one steamed bun.
One thousand copper coins were roughly equal to one tael of silver.
One tael of gold was equal to ten taels of silver.
"I really am dirt poor. Even a low-grade martial art in the black market costs five taels of gold."
"Luckily, the hundred Wild Dogs from the martial arts hall weren't charged to me, or else who knows how long it would take to save up." Chen Yichuan sighed; practicing martial arts was seriously expensive.
...
Knock, knock, knock.
"Yichuan, are you awake?"
"I'm awake! Uncle Luo, wait a moment, I'm coming." He tucked his entire fortune—one tael of silver, a cooked dog leg, and three steamed buns—into his robes and hurried to open the door.
The thatched door swung open.
A dark, rough face, reminiscent of Lu Zhishen, came into view.
"Oh, Uncle Huang, you're here too? Morning." Chen Yichuan was slightly stunned for a moment before inviting the two into his humble abode.
Humble abode.
Chen Yichuan wasn't being modest; he was truly poor.
Instructor Huang Hu sat on a stool and looked around, his brow furrowed, clearly uncomfortable.
Uncle Luo, however, didn't react much and reached into his robes.
He looked at Chen Yichuan with a mix of excitement and gratification. "Yichuan, I didn't expect you to have martial arts talent. I have a fifty-year-old wild ginseng here."
"Consider it a gift from your Uncle Luo!"
Then...
An object wrapped tightly in red cloth was placed on the shaky wooden table.
The red cloth was slowly pulled back, revealing a wild ginseng that looked somewhat like a radish.
His gaze fell on the table.
[wild ginseng, Green-grade treasure medicine. Age: 51 years. Consuming it increases Strength by 1.]
His pupils constricted. Chen Yichuan pushed it back with his right hand. "Uncle, I can't take this... it's too valuable."
Uncle Luo hadn't said anything yet.
From the side...
After a brief moment of surprise, Instructor Huang Hu's gruff voice rang out, "Take it, kid. This wild ginseng will help your martial arts training. You'll need it for the trip to Taoyuan Village."
Taoyuan Village?
Chen Yichuan was stunned.
"Master Luo, time is short. Yichuan and I should head out. This trip will probably take ten days to half a month." Instructor Huang Hu stood up and respectfully cupped his hands toward Master Luo.
"Hmm." Master Luo nodded slightly, his gaze resting on Chen Yichuan. "Yichuan, it's not easy for our families to produce a martial arts genius. Take the wild ginseng and train hard with Instructor Huang."
As he spoke, Master Luo insistently stuffed the wild ginseng into his robes, along with three taels of silver.
At this moment, Chen Yichuan was visibly moved... he was so touched he didn't know what to say.
In summary.
An elder in the family is like a treasure.
"Uncle..."
"Yichuan, I don't want to hear any words of thanks." Uncle Luo raised a hand to interrupt, stood up with a smile, and advised solemnly, "Instructor Huang is a good man."
"By the way, when you return from Taoyuan Village... I have another surprise for you."
Leaving behind those words.
Master Luo left quickly with a smile.
"This... Uncle, words cannot express my gratitude... I can only..."
Pat.
Chen Yichuan wanted to say more.
A pair of large hands clapped onto his shoulders. "Alright, Yichuan, we can talk on the way. It's time."
...
Clatter, clatter, clatter.
The sound of horse hooves rang out, and the three characters for 'Shuangjiang County' on the city wall gradually blurred.
A group of over twenty people, an escort party, set off grandly out of the county town.
On an oxcart laden with goods.
Instructor Huang Hu smilingly handed a cup filled with wine to the youth in blue robes. "What are you thinking about, Yichuan? You can drink, right? Have a cup with me."
The youth in blue robes was indeed Chen Yichuan.
He didn't immediately take the cup; his expression was slightly dejected. "Uncle, I almost forgot... I'm still a Jailer. Skipping work for half a month? That's not quite right, is it?"
Instructor Huang Hu: ...
Hearing this, Instructor Huang Hu's dark, old face looked extremely helpless.
A pure workhorse.
He's out here to practice martial arts, and this is what he's worried about?