Chapter 95 - 93: Return to the Ruined City
Seeing that Lin Ye hadn’t spiraled into despair after his crushing defeat, Wang Zhengguo finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Feng was Jiang Feng.
Lin Ye was Lin Ye.
Everyone had to walk their own path.
After a few minutes of waiting on the sidelines, the door to another Virtual Pod nearby also opened.
Zhang Yuqing sat up, looking lost and dejected.
The outcome was no surprise.
She had lost, too.
Both of them had performed so brilliantly in the first round that their point rankings had actually surpassed their current level of strength.
As a result, both of them were regrettably defeated in the second round, a stage that was a pure contest of individual raw power.
Zhang Yuqing’s final ranking was 39th.
Led by Wang Zhengguo and Chen Meng, the two of them went to the award ceremony area.
For placing tenth, Lin Ye received a cash prize of 600,000 Alliance Coins.
In addition, he received ten vials of A-level Nutrient Liquid and ten specially-made, A-grade medicinal bath packets, which were far more potent than the ones the school usually distributed.
And a single, faintly glowing vial of S-grade Genetic Optimization Liquid, stored by itself in a climate-controlled metal case.
This liquid alone was officially listed on the Alliance exchange for 500,000, but it was perennially out of stock.
The only downside was that according to the tournament rules, only the top five contestants were awarded Cultivation Techniques, special martial skills, and true natural treasures.
But that was also the most ironic part.
Anyone who could break into the top five had a family background that guaranteed they wouldn’t even give such rewards a second glance.
Wang Zhengguo couldn’t wipe the smile off his face after they collected their rewards.
He kept saying this was the best result Dongjiang First Middle School had ever achieved in this exchange tournament.
He even wanted to throw a proper celebration for the two of them.
Zhang Yuqing subconsciously glanced at Lin Ye, as if waiting for him to make the decision.
It was only then that she suddenly realized she had, at some point, started to unconsciously rely on Lin Ye’s judgment.
Zhang Yuqing quickly raised her hands and lightly patted her cheeks.
’Zhang Yuqing, you’re his competitor! You need to be more independent and work harder!’
she told herself.
Lin Ye, however, politely declined the principal’s kind offer.
He explained that while the result was good, it was still a long way from his personal goal.
It wouldn’t be too late to celebrate when he finally took first place in the entire city.
Afterward, Lin Ye transferred 300,000 of the 600,000 Alliance Coins he had just received to Wang Zhengguo’s account without hesitation.
"Mr. Wang, I really can’t thank you enough for what you did for my father!"
"My family will definitely find a way to repay you in the future!"
Wang Zhengguo waved his hand dismissively. "It was nothing, and I couldn’t help much anyway. Ultimately, this is the result of your own hard work and diligence."
After some pleasantries, Lin Ye’s gaze turned to Chen Meng.
"Mr. Chen, if you’re not tired today, shall we go back to school and train some more?"
...
「Night fell.」
「Dongjiang First Middle School, Training Room.」
Lin Ye gasped for breath, his training uniform long since soaked with sweat. It clung tightly to his body, outlining the increasingly sharp contours of his muscles.
Chen Meng, who stood opposite him, wasn’t having an easy time either.
Beads of sweat had formed on his temples, and his breathing was slightly ragged.
Over the past few weeks, their sparring sessions had evolved. Initially, Chen Meng could have easily dominated Lin Ye with his eyes closed.
Now, however, he had to focus his full attention to deal with him seriously.
Lin Ye was now able to weather his instructor’s storm-like onslaught, find opportunities to steadily block several attacks, and even occasionally find an opening to counter.
’Fast. Too fast.’
’This rate of improvement is simply unheard-of.’
Not only was he rapidly solidifying his martial foundation, but his spearmanship was also becoming increasingly refined and deadly.
You could see it from the recordings of his battles against the mutated beasts in the virtual arena. The kid’s techniques had no wasted motion. Every move was designed to kill—a true killing art honed in life-or-death struggles.
This was fundamentally different from the flashy, impractical techniques most aspiring Martial Artists his age had learned.
When their sparring session ended, Chen Meng handed Lin Ye a bottle of water. "Are you running into any new problems cultivating that Five Qi Guiding Skill I gave you?"
Lin Ye shook his head.
"No. With my current Spiritual Power, I’m already channeling the five qi source energies at my maximum capacity."
"It’s practically impossible to increase my Spiritual Power any further in a short amount of time."
Lin Ye kept one thought to himself.
As he reached Level 16, the 150% experience bonus from the Five Qi Guiding Formulas had been capped again, as he had hit the upper limit for that Cultivation Technique’s current tier.
Unless he could break through to the next realm, his experience-gaining efficiency would still be greatly reduced.
Chen Meng nodded, unsurprised.
"Cultivation requires the patience of water dripping through stone. You can’t be impatient for quick results."
"However, since ancient times, cultivation has always revolved around four key elements: wealth, companionship, technique, and location."
"Wealth is what you lack most. Every step on the path of martial arts is paved with a mountain of resources."
"And there’s no way for you to improve that in the short term."
"’Companionship’ might seem a bit distant for you right now. But in this day and age, you can interpret it as having good rivals who push you to improve together. You have plenty of opponents to chase and surpass, so you’re not lacking there."
"As for technique, you have no way of obtaining a better Cultivation Technique in the short term either."
"Finally, there’s location."
Chen Meng’s tone grew more serious.
"’Location’ originally referred to blessed lands suitable for cultivation. Essentially, it just means places with a higher concentration of Source Energy Particles."
"Many private dojos and top private martial arts high schools here in Dongjiang City have special, pressurized Source Energy Gravity Chambers. One day of cultivation inside is equivalent to ten days of hard training outside. Of course, the price is also astronomical."
"You should have some spare cash now. You could try to rent one a few times. It would greatly accelerate the process of tempering your Qi and Blood with source energy."
"Once you feel that your entire body—every inch of your flesh and every one of your bones, inside and out—has been thoroughly tempered by source energy, you can start preparing to break through to the Vein Opening Realm."
Lin Ye listened quietly, and a realization dawned on him.
’The place with the most concentrated source energy?’
’There’s no place that can compare to the ruined city.’
’Especially that abandoned chemical plant!’
’Source Crystals are everywhere!’
Originally, he had been wary of the frenzied energy and toxicity contained within the Source Crystals.
But now, he was ready to try it for himself.
Because the description for the temporary skill, [Crystalization], on his system panel was perfectly clear.
There was only one way to level up the skills he had plundered with [Taotie].
Devour Source Crystals!
This was the biggest reason Lin Ye had resolved to interact with Source Crystals again.
...
Back home, Lin Ye took out the S-grade Genetic Optimization Liquid, along with the lower-grade ones the school had given him before.
Lin Ye had never taken any of these optimization liquids.
He didn’t know what effect they would have on him, given his system.
Lin Ye opened the vials and chugged them down. GLUG GLUG GLUG.
As the liquid, rich with refined energy, flowed down his throat, Lin Ye received a system notification.
[Ding! External energy source detected!]
[Your All Attributes have permanently increased by 3%!]
[Your All Attributes have permanently increased by 0.5%!]
...
Lin Ye understood.
For others, the Genetic Optimization Liquid increased their aptitude and bolstered their martial foundation.
But for him, it directly translated into attribute growth.
It wasn’t much, but it was a steady, persistent bonus, like water dripping through stone. Plus, it was a direct percentage increase, meaning the higher his attributes became, the more effective the liquids would be.
And he didn’t have to worry about side effects or developing a tolerance.
’Looks like I can use these Genetic Optimization Liquids from now on. They’ll be a huge help to me.’
As for the stamina-recovery pills, however, Lin Ye still planned to sell them for cash.
...
「It was a dark and windy night.」
A familiar cold wind, carrying the scent of rust and decay, brushed against his cheek.
He could hear the faint roars of mutated beasts echoing from deep within the distant city.
Lin Ye once again set foot in the ruined city.
However, as soon as he entered the city’s outer ring, Lin Ye’s brow furrowed.
Even the outer ring, which should have the lowest density of mutated beasts, shouldn’t be this deathly silent.
He traveled several kilometers deeper into the city without spotting a single low-level mutated hound.
The ruined city’s entire ecosystem seemed to be collapsing at an alarming rate.
The culprits, without a doubt, were the two amalgamated monstrosities his mission required him to kill.
’They really picked the place clean, huh!’