Another Way to Level Up

Panting heavily, Nalan Chaoge tripped over a stone and fell flat on his back, covered in mud.

A month. A whole month. Damn it, even if his cultivation wasn't supposed to be heaven-defying, he should at least have made some progress.

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

He was still at the first stage of Dou Qi.

Lying on the ground, Nalan Chaoge was utterly disheartened and simply couldn't be bothered to get up.

There was no justice in this!

He had a system, a Golden Finger, and heaven-defying skills. So why was he still useless?

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

Why was the gap between them so huge?

Nalan Chaoge glanced at his attributes.

Name: Nalan Chaoge

Gender: Male

System Level: E Tier [Lowest Level]

Dou Po Cultivation Level: First Stage Dou Qi [+]

System Alchemy: 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's going on? I've cultivated for an entire month, so why haven't I improved at all? Tomorrow is the annual Dou Qi test. How am I supposed to live like this?" Nalan Chaoge cried out helplessly in his heart.

"Ding! As the host has no surplus Points, the host's cultivation level cannot be raised!"

No Points? Unable to raise his level? What did that mean?

Had he been using the system wrong?

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"Ding! The host does not need to cultivate their Dou Qi level! As long as there are sufficient Points, the system can raise it!"

"..."

Nalan Chaoge was instantly dumbfounded.

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

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

"Ding! The host never asked!"

"..."

Nalan Chaoge wanted to die.

With a thought, Nalan Chaoge suddenly noticed the plus sign behind his level.

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

Right.

He understood.

So that was how it was!

The system level determined the maximum level he could reach, while Points could not only be used to purchase ninjutsu, but also to raise his own level.

Raising the system level required a massive amount of energy.

To obtain Points, he needed to exchange things for them, such as Heavenly Treasures, cultivation techniques and Battle Skills, weapons...

So had he wasted the entire past month for nothing?

Not entirely. He didn't need to cultivate his level himself, but he still needed to become proficient in ninjutsu.

He got it!

He finally got it!

Perhaps because he had the cheat-like system, he couldn't raise his cultivation level on his own. Or perhaps because he couldn't cultivate independently, he had been given this cheat.

In short, he didn't need to painstakingly cultivate anymore. He only needed to familiarize himself with ninjutsu.

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

He needed to test it. To obtain Points, all he had to do was recycle medicinal herbs.

If he'd known, he would have at least saved a hundred of the three hundred Points the system had given him.

Although the Nalan Family was not some great clan, it still ranked among the notable families of the Jia Ma Empire.

They had no precious medicinal herbs, but they had plenty of Grade 1 and Grade 2 herbs.

After running some distance, Nalan Chaoge remembered something and hurried back. He picked up the clothes he had thrown aside, clumsily draped them over himself, brushed off the mud on his body, and only then walked back into the family estate like a proper Young Master.

"Grandfather, I want medicinal herbs!" The moment he entered Nalan Jie's room, Nalan Chaoge shouted.

"Medicinal herbs?" Nalan Jie froze. "What for? You aren't an Alchemist. Why do you need medicinal herbs?"

"Grandfather, don't ask. I need them for something. Give me your badge—I want to go to the Collection Pavilion!"

As he spoke, Nalan Chaoge pounced on Nalan Jie, trying to snatch his badge.

Within the Nalan Family, badges symbolized one's status.

After the annual Dou Qi test, each disciple would be assigned a corresponding badge based on their results. Depending on the badge, they could receive the appropriate provisions from the Collection Pavilion, Weapon Pavilion, and Sutra Pavilion.

"You brat, why do you still have this habit? You always resort to snatching things! My badge is the family's highest-level Five-patterned Purple Gold Card. It can mobilize every resource in the family. How could I possibly trust you with it?"

"Grandfather, I..." Nalan Chaoge's eyes shifted, and he suddenly grinned as he rubbed his hands together. "Grandfather, it's like this. I know an Alchemist. You know how Alchemists are—they're naturally very valuable, so..."

Nalan Jie suddenly grabbed 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 quickly pulled his hand free from Nalan Jie's grasp and took a step back.

"Grandfather, you hurt me!"

"Uh, ahem... Xiao Ge, Grandfather got a little excited. You know that our Nalan Family only has one Grade 4 Alchemist. You know how scarce Alchemists are..."

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

Nalan Chaoge had said that he knew an Alchemist. How could Nalan Jie not be excited?

"Well, I don't know what grade he is either. Grandfather, I'll ask him later. As for the badge..." Nalan Chaoge fixed his gaze on Nalan Jie.

"You little brat!" Seeing Nalan Chaoge's expression, Nalan Jie calmed down as well. How could a greenhorn who had never left the family possibly know any Alchemist? At most, he knew some physician who mixed medicines.

Physicians could also be considered a type of Alchemist, but their status was far inferior.

After all, they could not truly refine medicinal pills. They could only use flames to mix certain herbs together to achieve a healing effect.

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

Thinking this, Nalan Jie casually tossed over a green card. This was the lowest-grade type of card on the Dou Qi Continent.

"Since you can cultivate now, I had someone arrange a card for you too. There are two hundred gold coins in it. Spend them sparingly, and it'll be enough for you to squander! Remember, a man should focus on cultivation. I've received word that your sister will be back soon. Don't bring shame upon our Nalan Family!"

"Got it!"

Nalan Chaoge excitedly caught the card and bolted away as fast as he could.

Sister, sister, always his sister!

That feeling was truly rather unpleasant.

But there was nothing he could do. He was a good-for-nothing, while his sister, Nalan Yanran, was a genius among geniuses.

Speaking of Nalan Yanran, Nalan Chaoge had never actually met this sister of his. He had heard she was an utterly stunning beauty.

Mm-hmm, it seemed he would be in for a treat in the future.