Another Way to Level Up

Panting for breath, Nalan Chaoge tripped over a rock and landed flat on his back, covered in dirt.

A month. A whole damn month! Never mind making heaven-defying progress-surely I should have improved at least a little.

Over the past month, Nalan Chaoge had trained diligently day and night without stopping. And the result...

He was still at Dou Qi Stage One.

Lying on the ground, Nalan Chaoge felt so utterly dispirited that he simply refused to get up.

Where was the justice in this?!

I had a system, a golden finger, and heaven-defying skills. How was I still a good-for-nothing?

I was thirteen already. Xiao Yan had become a Dou Zhe at twelve.

How could the gap be so huge?

Nalan Chaoge glanced at his attributes.

Name: Nalan Chaoge

Gender: Male

System tier: E Tier [Lowest tier]

Dou Po cultivation level: Dou Qi Level One [+]

System pill refinement: Grade 1

Redeemed ninjutsu: Transformation Jutsu [E] Substitution Technique [E] Eight Inner Gates [E]

Summoned Tailed Beast: None

Impure World Reincarnation: None

System, get the hell out here! What the hell is going on? I've been cultivating for a month. Why haven't I improved at all? Tomorrow is the annual Dou Qi test. How am I supposed to live like this?! Nalan Chaoge shouted inwardly, at a loss for words.

Ding! The host has no spare points. Unable to raise the host's cultivation level!

No points? Couldn't raise my level? What did that mean?

Had I activated the system the wrong way?

Wait, what did you mean?

Ding! The host does not need to cultivate to raise his Dou Qi level! With sufficient points, the system can raise it for him!

*...*

Nalan Chaoge was instantly dumbfounded.

A minute later, Nalan Chaoge threw his head back and roared.

"Why?! Why?! Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?!"

Ding! The host never asked!

*...*

Nalan Chaoge wanted to die.

As the thought struck him, Nalan Chaoge suddenly noticed a plus sign after his level.

In other words, as long as he had points, he could raise his cultivation level.

That was it.

I understood.

So that was how it worked!

The system's tier determined the maximum level he could reach, while points could be used not only to purchase ninjutsu but also to raise his level.

Upgrading the system required a vast amount of energy.

Acquiring points required exchanging things, such as heavenly treasures, cultivation methods and combat skills, weapons...

Didn't that mean I'd wasted this entire month?

Not entirely. He didn't need to cultivate to raise his level, but he still needed to master his ninjutsu.

I got it!

I finally got it!

Perhaps having a cheat system prevented him from raising his cultivation level himself, or perhaps he'd been given a cheat precisely because he couldn't cultivate on his own.

In short, he didn't need to go to all the trouble of cultivating. He only needed to familiarize himself with his ninjutsu.

At that thought, Nalan Chaoge immediately scrambled up from the ground, turned around, and ran toward the family compound.

He wanted to test it. To obtain points, he only needed to turn in medicinal ingredients.

If only I'd known! I should have saved at least a hundred of the three hundred points the system had given me.

Although the Nalan Family wasn't a particularly large clan, it still held a place of some standing in the Jia Ma Empire.

They didn't have precious medicinal ingredients, but they had plenty of Grade 1 and Grade 2 ones.

After running some distance, Nalan Chaoge remembered something and hurried back. He picked up the clothes he'd tossed aside, hastily pulled them on, and brushed off the dirt on his body. Only then did he walk back into the family compound like a proper young master.

"Grandpa,

I want medicinal ingredients!" Nalan Chaoge called out the moment he entered Nalan Jie's room. "Medicinal ingredients?" Nalan Jie froze. "What's wrong? You're not an alchemist. What do you want medicinal ingredients for?"

"Oh, Grandpa, don't ask! I need them. Give me your waist token. I want to go to the Collection Pavilion!"

As he spoke, Nalan Chaoge flung himself at Nalan Jie and tried to snatch his waist token.

Within the Nalan Family, a waist token was a symbol of status.

After the annual Dou Qi test, each disciple received an appropriate waist token based on their individual results. Different tokens allowed them to collect corresponding provisions from the Collection Pavilion, Weapon Pavilion, and Sutra Pavilion.

"You child, why haven't you broken this habit? Why do you always try to snatch things? My token is the family's highest-ranking Five-patterned Purple Gold Card. It grants access to all the family's resources. How could I feel safe handing it over to you?"

"Oh, Grandpa, I..." An idea struck Nalan Chaoge, and he suddenly rubbed his hands together with a grin. "Grandpa, here's the thing. I've met an alchemist. Well, you know how it is. Alchemists are naturally very precious, so..."

Nalan Jie suddenly seized Nalan Chaoge's hand and asked excitedly, "Chaoge, what did you say? You know an alchemist? What's his name? What grade is he? Where is he?"

Nalan Jie's reaction gave Nalan Chaoge quite a fright.

He hurriedly pulled his hand free of Nalan Jie's grip and took a step back.

"Grandpa, you're hurting me!"

"Ah, ahem... Well, Xiao Ge, Grandpa got a little excited. You know our Nalan Family only has one Grade 4 Alchemist. You know how rare alchemists are..."

Alchemists occupied a special place on the Dou Qi Continent. Even a Grade 2 Alchemist was rarer than a Dou Ling.

How could Nalan Jie not be excited when Nalan Chaoge said he knew an alchemist?

"Well, I don't know what grade he is either, Grandpa. I'll ask him for you later. So, about that waist token..." Nalan Chaoge fixed his gaze on Nalan Jie.

"You little rascal!" Seeing Nalan Chaoge's expression, Nalan Jie calmed down. What sort of alchemist could a greenhorn who had never even left the family compound possibly know? At most, he was merely a physician who mixed medicines.

Physicians were also a type of alchemist, but their status fell far short of a true alchemist's.

After all, they couldn't truly refine pills. They could only use flames to combine medicinal ingredients into remedies that could treat others.

Many physicians dreamed of becoming true alchemists, but very few ever succeeded.

With that thought, Nalan Jie casually tossed over a green card, the lowest grade of card on the Dou Qi Continent.

"Since you can cultivate now, I had someone get you a card too. There are two hundred gold coins in it. Spend carefully, and you'll have enough to indulge yourself! Remember, a man must put cultivation first. I've received word that your elder sister will be back soon. Don't disgrace our Nalan Family!"

"Got it!"

Nalan Chaoge excitedly caught the card and fled as swiftly as the wind.

My sister, my sister-always my sister!

It really was an uncomfortable feeling.

But there was no helping it. He was a good-for-nothing, while his elder sister, Nalan Yanran, was a genius among geniuses.

Speaking of Nalan Yanran, Nalan Chaoge had actually never met this elder sister of his. He'd heard she was an extraordinary beauty.

Mm-hmm. Looked like I'd have a feast for the eyes in the future.