The First Bottle of Tempering Liquid Was Opened
"The Soul Power Tempering Liquid can temporarily reduce the seal's suppression rate by five percent."
"How long is temporarily?"
"The medicinal effect can last for two hours."
"Can I break through within those two hours?"
"There is no way to confirm that."
Li Zhexian unscrewed the bottle cap and glanced again at the panel in his sea of consciousness.
"Even you can't confirm it?"
"The host's current Soul Power is at the peak of level ten."
"That's a useless thing to say."
"The host is advised to consume it."
He had been looking at that line of text for a while.
"After letting me be suppressed for six years, you're only willing to give me medicine now?"
The words in his sea of consciousness hung in midair without answering.
On the table were two green jade bottles and four blue jade bottles. There were also two scrolls on low-level sword Qi condensation and two healing pills.
Shi Potian had attacked for half the night and shaved only a few thousand points off the shield, but the things he dropped were more useful than the medicinal herbs the sect had given Li Zhexian.
It was not a fair bargain.
But the one who profited was Li Zhexian.
He picked up the Tempering Liquid and swirled it in front of the lamplight. The liquid inside the bottle was colorless, and tiny points of light swam along its inner walls.
"Shi Potian's cultivation isn't high, and he's slow when he attacks, but his temper is pretty good."
"After the same attacker triggers the prize pool repeatedly, the quality of the rewards will gradually decrease."
"I've already noticed that."
"The host needs to switch attackers or increase the damage dealt in a single attack."
"Switching people is difficult. Increasing the damage is easier."
"The host is advised to choose a stronger attacker."
"Who in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would stand there and let me hit them?"
"The host cannot actively attack the shield."
"I know that."
"The host cannot actively attack his own shield."
"You've said that many times already."
"The host has not effectively broken the shield in the past six years."
Li Zhexian put the jade bottle back on the table.
"I haven't found the right person. It's not that I'm unwilling to take a beating."
"Shi Potian dealt a total of 4,327 points of damage."
"Only that much?"
"The shield's total is one trillion points."
He pulled an abacus over and worked it a couple of times.
"Four thousand points a day makes forty thousand in ten days, four hundred thousand in a hundred days, and 1.46 million in a year."
The abacus beads clicked several more times.
"14.6 million in ten years, 146 million in a hundred years."
Li Zhexian looked at the jade bottles on the table, and his heart sank.
"At this rate, it'll be a million years before I can see the divine body."
"The system does not possess a comfort function."
"Then you could at least say something a human would say."
"The host needs to find a stronger attacker."
Li Zhexian looked at the words in his sea of consciousness.
"That sounds more like something a human would say."
He tilted his head back and drank the Tempering Liquid.
The liquid had no taste. Once it entered his stomach, a rush of heat surged straight into his chest. The golden shield that had suppressed him for six years began to loosen.
Suppression rate: 97 percent.
96 percent.
The number stopped after falling to 92 percent.
Li Zhexian braced himself against the edge of the bed. A wisp of Soul Power squeezed out from his chest and moved forward along his meridians.
For the first time in six years, he truly felt his Soul Power flowing.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, and sweat soon appeared on his forehead.
"You're finally willing to get out of the way."
The Soul Power passed through his shoulder, circulated along his arm, and finally returned to his chest.
Every previous time, when the Soul Power reached his chest, the shield would push it back. This time, the shield merely retreated half an inch.
Inside his chest.
A faint sound.
Li Zhexian opened his eyes.
"Has it cracked already?"
White text lit up on the panel.
"Current suppression rate: 92 percent."
"Soul Power circulation has resumed."
"The level barrier has loosened."
He controlled his Soul Power and sent it crashing against that bottleneck. Level eleven lay just ahead, only one final step away.
Golden light spread out from his chest, and the bed frame creaked.
The Soul Power struck the shield and bounced back, leaving his entire arm numb.
Li Zhexian steadied his breathing and made a second attempt.
The impact was heavier this time, and a crack opened in the bottleneck. His Soul Power squeezed half an inch inside before the shield pushed it back out.
"It's still a little short."
"The breakthrough has failed."
"Current Soul Power: peak of level ten."
"Time remaining on the medicinal effect: one hour."
Li Zhexian raised a hand and felt his chest.
His Soul Power, which had not moved for six years, had finally completed a full circuit today. Although he had not broken through to level eleven, a crack had appeared in that door. As long as he found another way, he would have a chance to step through it.
He fetched paper and a brush and wrote a few lines at the table.
Soul Power Tempering Liquid: reduces the seal's suppression rate by five percent.
While the medicinal effect lasts, Soul Power can circulate normally.
A crack has appeared in the level-ten barrier.
After reading over his notes, Li Zhexian felt a little better.
"These rewards aren't fake."
The door was pushed open, and Chen Xin walked in. He first glanced at the broken bricks in the corner, then looked at Li Zhexian sitting on the bed.
"Where are you hurt?"
"Shi Potian rammed into me a few times. It's nothing serious."
"He only rammed into you a few times?"
"First he rammed the door, then the wall, and finally the water vat."
Chen Xin walked over to him and placed his fingers on his wrist. The moment his Soul Power entered the meridians, golden light shone from Li Zhexian's chest.
Chen Xin withdrew his hand.
"Your Soul Power has increased somewhat."
"Being attacked can broaden my experience too."
"I was asking about the medicine."
"I'm using the medicinal baths every day."
"What did you eat today?"
"Fish and flatbread, and something Shi Potian gave me."
Chen Xin's gaze fell on his sleeve.
"What did he give you?"
"Green ones and blue ones. You can put things in them."
"What were those balls of light?"
Li Zhexian raised his head and looked at him.
Chen Xin lowered his voice. "Some disciples said that every time Shi Potian threw a punch, things would drop out."
"They must have seen it wrong."
"Ning Fengzhi saw it with his own eyes too."
"The sect master is getting on in years. His eyes might not be as good as they used to be."
Chen Xin raised his hand and rapped him on the forehead.
"Don't make jokes about Ning Fengzhi."
"Then it can only mean Shi Potian hid a lot of bottles on himself."
"He didn't have those things on him before he fell."
"Maybe he put them in the courtyard beforehand."
Chen Xin watched him for a while but did not pursue the question.
Li Zhexian had no intention of explaining these things. He could not speak of the system, nor could he speak of the shield. He had already endured six years, and he did not want to bring new trouble upon himself at the end.
"I'll investigate the first Soul Skill Shi Potian used tonight."
Chen Xin drew back his hand.
"If you want to take a beating again, you should tell me first."
"If I told you, would you agree to it?"
"No."
"Then why should I tell you?"
Chen Xin put the medicine box on the table.
"You're still young. Don't treat your life like a piece of wood."
"Wood can be broken too."
"Are you talking back to me again?"
"I'm only stating the truth."
Chen Xin reached out, intending to examine his meridians. Li Zhexian raised his hand and blocked his wrist.
"I'm really fine."
Chen Xin withdrew his hand.
"Where did these medicinal effects come from?"
Li Zhexian did not answer.
Chen Xin watched him for a while, then left him with just one instruction. "Don't practice swordsmanship again tonight."
"I won't practice swordsmanship."
"You agreed very quickly."
"I'm going to drink."
Chen Xin turned and walked straight toward the door.
"Don't you dare drink."
"I was just saying it."
"Then I'll drink a little less."
Li Zhexian raised his hand and covered his mouth.
Chen Xin looked back at him, then left through the door.
One hour remained on the medicinal effect.
Li Zhexian looked at the Azure Lotus Sword on the table and recalled the line recorded in the old booklet.
Cultivate wine and sword together; drunkenness and sobriety give rise to each other.
His Soul Power had resumed circulating, and he had practiced swordsmanship for six years. He could not waste the remaining hour.
He hung the Azure Lotus Sword at his side, pushed the door open, and walked out of the courtyard.
"First, I'll borrow a jar of wine from the kitchen."