When Nalan Chaoge entered the Na Ring and studied it over and over again countless times, he finally let out a harsh curse.
He had overthought things; this was simply an ordinary Na Ring, only its space was much larger than a typical Na Ring's.
Unreconciled though he was, he had no choice but to accept it.
His negative mood vanished in a flash, and Nalan Chaoge gleefully fished out the First-tier Magic Core he had purchased.
"Come, come, come, System Big Brother, I want to upgrade the System Level!"
"Ding! Does the host wish to consume one First-tier Magic Core to upgrade the System Level?"
"Yes!"
"Ding! The System Level has been upgraded. The current system is a [D]-tier system! System bonus: 200 Points! The host can upgrade their cultivation grade to Dou Zhe! Ninjutsu available for exchange is [D] tier. Upgrading to the [C]-tier system requires two Tier 2 Magic Cores."
Boom!
As the system's voice faded, Nalan Chaoge felt a stream of pure power inside his body rapidly compress and then gather within his Dantian.
Th... that made him a Dou Zhe?
Wasn't this a bit too much of a joke?
Inner Vision was an auxiliary skill that only the Dou Zhe grade could master; the higher the strength, the more thoroughly one could probe the condition inside the body.
With a thought in his mind, Nalan Chaoge's consciousness sank into his Dantian, where there truly was a milk-white Qi Vortex the size of a palm.
The outer periphery of the Qi Vortex was enveloped in a nebula-like energy body.
A Dou Zhe and Ten Duan Dou Qi had almost a fundamental difference. The energy absorbed prior to being a Dou Zhe was called Dou Qi, while the energy absorbed after becoming a Dou Zhe was truly called Dou Qi.
Although the two differed by only a single word, the gap between them was as far apart as heaven and earth.
Nalan Chaoge also believed that if he formed hand seals to create a clone, the time he could sustain it would definitely be a bit longer, and even the power of the Eight Inner Gates had increased by a fraction.
He had finally advanced another tier.
Qi Gathering Powder?
He really had no need for that thing!
If they knew he was already a Dou Zhe now, he wondered what kind of expressions they would make.
It was just that upgrading the system's level actually gave bonus Points as well; this could also be considered the credit of that single magic core of his.
Nalan Chaoge understood a bit more about this system: a [D]-tier ninjutsu required an exchange cost of 200 Points, and upgrading to a One-star Dou Zhe also required 200 Points.
It needed twice as many Points as the previous tier, and the magic core was not only one tier higher, but its quantity had also doubled.
Doubled?
Suddenly realizing something, Nalan Chaoge's face darkened.
Extrapolating from this, wouldn't the Points and magic cores he needed to reach the Dou Master realm double again?
And if he wanted to upgrade the system to SS tier, wouldn't that...
One hundred, two hundred, four hundred, eight hundred, sixteen hundred, thirty-two hundred...
Two Tier 2 Magic Cores, four Tier 3 Magic Cores, eight Tier 4 Magic Cores, sixteen Tier 5 Magic Cores, thirty-two Tier 6 Magic Cores, sixty-four Tier 7 Magic Cores?!...
Nalan Chaoge began counting on his fingers, but by the end of his counting, he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
What absolute bullshit. He had originally thought he had landed a massive bug, but now it seemed nothing special after all!
Just thinking that sixty-four Tier 7 Magic Cores were needed, wouldn't Tier 8 Magic Cores require one hundred and twenty-eight?
Magic cores were not so easily obtained; that depended on luck. Sometimes, killing ten magical beasts wouldn't necessarily yield a single magic core.
Forget it, forget it. He would take it one step at a time!
At least he could still manage for now!
It was just that future days would probably require him to constantly hunt for magic cores!
Using the two hundred Points gifted by the system to raise his rank to a One-star Dou Zhe, he checked his attribute column and saw his Points reset to zero once again.
Medicinal herbs, medicinal herbs!
With medicinal herbs, there would be Points!
With Points, he would have everything!
Faced with rank and ninjutsu,
Nalan Chaoge chose rank. As long as his grade improved, it wouldn't be too late to use his remaining Points to exchange for ninjutsu later.
If he stayed at the Dou Zhe stage, even if he possessed SS-tier ninjutsu, he wouldn't be able to unleash even one or two tenths of its power.
After briefly familiarizing himself and changing into a clean set of clothes, Nalan Chaoge walked out of his room with his hands resting behind his head in a aimless stroll.
Although he had a craving for strength, he wasn't in a rush for this exact moment.
A first-grade medicinal herb cost one hundred gold coins; he had ten thousand gold coins, which would allow him to buy one hundred herbs. One herb exchanged for one hundred Points, and he could trade for ten thousand Points-reaching a Ten-star Dou Zhe would be a breeze, and furthermore, with the remaining Points he could also exchange for a few sets of [D]-tier ninjutsu.
The idea was great, but what Nalan Chaoge didn't know was that the days of suffering for him were still yet to come.
"The young master is out!"
Seeing Nalan Chaoge walk over, everyone on the training ground hurriedly stopped what they were doing.
The once good-for-nothing young master had turned the tables and transformed into a super hero in their eyes.
"Young master, I heard you have a battle skill that can create clones. Demonstrate it for us, won't you?" A rather thin and small junior looked at Nalan Chaoge with eager eyes.
"That's right, that's right. Young master, let us broaden our horizons too!"
Hearing the flattery from the others, Nalan Chaoge couldn't help feeling a bit carried away.
In the span of a month, he had gone from zero to a One-star Dou Zhe. This speed of cultivation and this feeling of cheating made Nalan Chaoge feel like he was about to fly up to the heavens.
Naturally, Nalan Chaoge wouldn't refuse these talents who would become the backbone of the Nalan Family in the future.
He glanced at Captain Cheng Zhou nearby.
Cheng Zhou's eyes were also filled with fighting spirit.
With a swish, the middle of the Training Ground was cleared out.
A dozen young juniors formed a circle around them.
Cheng Zhou was a Three-star Dou Zhe, so Nalan Chaoge didn't dare to be careless either.
If he wasn't careful and got beaten to a pulp by Cheng Zhou, that wouldn't be very pleasant.
"Come on, young master!"
Guo'er had also run over at some point, squeezing into the crowd with little stars in her eyes to cheer for Nalan Chaoge.
Nalan Chaoge blinked at her, then calmed his mind.
Up on a pavilion not far away, Nalan Jie and a green-robed elder quietly watched the training ground down below.
"Elder Mu, do you think Xiao Ge can defeat that child Cheng Zhou?"
"Cheng Zhou can be considered my proud disciple, and his Twin Dragon Arms have already reached initial success. If you add the Golden Bell Cauldron, let alone Xiao Ge who hasn't even reached the Dou Zhe level yet, even ordinary four or five-star Dou Zhe are no match for Cheng Zhou!" Elder Mu said with his hands behind his back, looking quite calm.
"I think so too. That child Cheng Zhou has good talent, but I always feel like something incredible has happened to Xiao Ge!"
"Shall I go probe him for you?"
"No need. I imagine Xiao Ge wouldn't like others prying into his privacy either. If he wanted to tell me, he would have told me long ago. Let it be; the child is grown and must be let loose after all." Nalan Jie shook his head.
While they were speaking, the match had already begun on the training ground opposite them.
"Eight Inner Gates, Gate of Opening, open!"
Even when facing the weakest opponent, Nalan Chaoge wouldn't show any slack.
Right off the bat, he opened the Eight Inner Gates. The Gate of Opening could lift brain domain restrictions to achieve the purpose of unleashing 100% of physical capabilities, consuming physical energy through over-exhaustion to boost offense and speed.
"Golden Bell Cauldron!"
Cheng Zhou also gave a soft shout as his whole body suddenly dropped, his hands clenched into fists, and the muscles all over his body tightened.
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