Cheng Tian, New Generation Sugar Painting Inheritor

Sugar painting, most people probably saw it more when they were kids, but it's become quite rare in recent years.

Simply put, it's an artistic dessert made by melting sugar to a certain consistency, then using it to draw the desired shape on a clean stone slab. It's then attached to a wooden stick to cool and solidify. For today's children, it's more about the visual appeal than the taste.

As an inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, Cheng Tian is officially certified. And as a young master, his mind is clearly more restless than his Master's.

Compared to the fixed Twelve Zodiacs on the stone slab, chosen randomly by a spinning arrow, Cheng Tian is obviously more forward-thinking and has put a lot of effort into his sugar painting designs.

He would ask at the small shops near the schools he frequented, mainly inquiring about which cards sold well and which toys were more popular. Then, he would incorporate these items that children liked into his sugar painting repertoire.

Honestly, this "new style of sugar painting" sells much better than the traditional designs. Children who like Ultraman, Armor Hero, My Little Pony, Barbie Dolls, and the exquisite character art from mobile games are far more numerous than those who like the Twelve Zodiacs. Sometimes, even adults can't resist buying from Cheng Tian.

Cheng Tian also took this opportunity to openly include his own personal favorites. You won't find the Twelve Zodiacs on his random sugar painting spinner, but you will find special designs like Fire Flower, Kirby, Wolf Jeep, Pikachu, Frostmourne, and more.

However, starting today, his sugar painting designs will include a new "Ghost Cicada" image.

His new style of sugar painting is naturally more expensive: 15 yuan for small ones, 30 yuan for large ones, and some complex custom orders can even go up to 50 yuan each.

And that's just for flat designs. If it's a three-dimensional sugar sculpture, the price doubles. However, such three-dimensional sugar sculpture orders usually only appear at temple fairs, art festivals, and similar events. Usually, it's mainly sugar paintings.

But whether it's sugar painting or sugar sculpting, what customers are really paying for is the creation process, to admire this art form that exists only briefly. Once the customer has seen enough, they'll crunch it up and eat it, not take it home to freeze and admire daily.

Cheng Tian's Master isn't a stubborn old traditionalist either. In fact, he asked Cheng Tian what Ultraman looked like precisely because he was preparing to make Ultraman sugar paintings.

If you have money to make and don't, you're a bastard~

While this trade might not make him rich, being able to support himself and not worry about others allows him to live quite comfortably.

He can set up his stall when he wants to, and stay home when he wants to. Furthermore, Cheng Tian doesn't smoke, drink, or gamble. His overall lifestyle is almost the opposite of consumerism. Even if he did nothing, his current savings would be enough for him to live comfortably for four or five years without being frugal.

Cheng Tian has always treated his sugar painting business as both a livelihood and a hobby.

Unfortunately, sugar painting might become a "Mrs. Tang" for Cheng Tian--

He has clearly found something like the "Chosen Space" that makes him more passionate to invest his energy, and even his life.

After sending his Master a picture of a similar sugar painting he had recorded earlier, Cheng Tian prepared to go out for a big meal and then get a good night's sleep.

After replenishing his energy, he would face the beautiful Gotham City~

According to normal bodily functions, after seven to eight hours of continuous intense combat yesterday, including one-on-one battles with powerful entities like the Red Demon and the Cyclops, Cheng Tian, who should have been suffering from severe post-combat pain, got out of bed as if nothing had happened.

Forget muscle soreness or legs that wouldn't move; he actually felt better than ever. He wasn't sure if it was innate talent or the increased recovery ability from the 6 points of Strength.

The improvement in his physical strength was obvious but not abrupt. He didn't find himself crushing cups or twisting doorknobs. It was just that when he looked in the mirror, he could clearly see that the noticeable excess fat he had before was gone.

Oh, right, his appetite had also increased significantly. This morning, he devoured five steamers of Beef Soup Dumplings and three large bowls of Preserved Egg Lean Pork Congee – a massive carb load!

If his eating habits continued to develop like this, his savings wouldn't last another four or five years...

The thought flashed through Cheng Tian's mind and was quickly dismissed. Not long after, with no pressing real-world matters to attend to, Cheng Tian reappeared in the Chosen Space.

Cheng Tian didn't rush to enter a dungeon. Instead, he first went to the South District and found someone who looked exactly like a certain person.

"It would be so cool if I could imbue Nen energy into bullets~"

Looking at the woman muttering to herself with those incredibly familiar words, next to the equally familiar enhancement machine, Cheng Tian gnawed on his gums as he walked over. He then took out his newly acquired Crystal Wingman and decisively began the enhancement.

As a Blue Excellent equipment, the first enhancement would cost 1000 Chosen Coins. The higher the enhancement level, the more it would cost, and the success rate would further decrease. There was even a chance of the item dropping levels or even being destroyed.

Additionally, depending on the characteristics of the item being enhanced, higher-level enhancements might require special materials as catalysts.

Fortunately, most Magic Equipment had a 100% success rate for enhancements up to +4. Enhancement +4 was likely the most cost-effective level for all equipment, as equipment would undergo a small qualitative enhancement at every +4, +7, +10, +14, and so on.

This could either grant new equipment enchantments or strengthen existing ones.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, players would concentrate their resources on enhancing one piece of equipment before considering others, rather than having four or five pieces of equipment all stuck at +2 or +3.

Oh, you're asking how Cheng Tian knew these enhancement rules?

He asked Aunt Kaster, a staff member at the Mission Hall!

Auntie is the best!

After trading a set of Knight Armor for Old Fan's Classic Four set, along with the equipment and items Cheng Tian already possessed, his options had clearly increased. However, after much consideration, he still chose to enhance the Crystal Wingman first.

After selling the King Statue directly to the space, Cheng Tian finally managed to enhance the Crystal Wingman to +4, with only double-digit Chosen Coins left.

Without selling the Knight Armor yet, he was completely broke. This was in line with Cheng Tian's usual style: maximizing combat power with resources before a battle. He even converted his last dozen coins into general gold coins, which were usable in most dungeons, to ensure his initial funds within the dungeon.

He didn't rush to sell the Knight Armor either, keeping it as a safety net.

However, Cheng Tian, who was already enveloped by the teleportation light, was unaware that just yesterday, after he accepted his mission and stepped out of the Mission Hall, the remaining three slots for that mission were immediately filled...