Heaven Rewards Diligence

Jiang Yan woke from a deep sleep to find himself in an unknown white space.

There was nothing around him, only unfamiliar emptiness. He was certain he had never been to this place before.

"Have I been kidnapped?"

That was Jiang Yan's first reaction.

Welcome to the Divine Martial Space, esteemed Mr. Jiang Yan. You will become the sole master of the Divine Martial Space.

"Divine Martial Space? Did I get a cheat?"

Jiang Yan blurted out in shock. The golden finger he had waited eighteen years for had finally arrived, fashionably late.

When Jiang Yan had first transmigrated here, he had indeed fantasized about obtaining a powerful golden finger, then blazing through life with swagger and lightning, insta-killing heaven, earth, and even the air.

But after being struck down again and again, he had gradually realized: Damn it, turns out I'm just an ordinary person!

Now, when he had long since stopped hoping for it, the sudden appearance of his golden finger truly gave Jiang Yan quite a shock.

Just as Jiang Yan was immersed in the joy of gaining a golden finger, a light screen suddenly appeared before him.

Please select your innate Trait.

Child of Nature: You possess an innate and powerful affinity for natural elements. Your comprehension of elemental energy is increased by 2000%.

Lord of Ten Thousand Soldiers: You excel at studying all manner of weapons. Any weapon in your hands will unleash its ultimate power. Perhaps you are the legendary weapon master.

Whale Devour Tiger Consume: Your cultivation speed is increased by 1000%, allowing you to rapidly absorb all kinds of cultivation resources.

Heaven Rewards Diligence: Any effort you make will yield returns.

The four Traits hovered in the void. Jiang Yan read them carefully, seriously weighing their advantages and disadvantages.

All four Traits were remarkably heaven-defying. Jiang Yan was the first to eliminate the Lord of Ten Thousand Soldiers, despite how impressive it sounded.

Why? Because Jiang Yan did not need to master some ridiculously awesome weapon right now. What he lacked was cultivation! Realm!

Without sufficient cultivation to support him, what use was it to handle a weapon well?

After ruling out Lord of Ten Thousand Soldiers, Jiang Yan continued examining the other Traits.

"Whale Devour Tiger Consume and Child of Nature don't seem all that useful either."

Child of Nature emphasized the absorption of the elements between heaven and earth. Elemental energy was naturally part of that, and a 2000% boost meant a twentyfold increase in speed.

Twenty times. Jiang Yan did not dare imagine how fast his cultivation would become then. Becoming a high-level martial artist would be no problem at all.

Jiang Yan stroked his chin, weighing it in his heart.

"Although Child of Nature and Whale Devour Tiger Consume can speed up cultivation, they only add to my original speed. But my baseline is too low. Even increasing it by dozens of times probably wouldn't make much difference. At most, I could rival some of Blue Star's Prodigies."

Jiang Yan knew exactly how slow his cultivation speed was. Put simply, he had begun cultivating in his first year of high school. Three years had passed, and his cultivation was still stuck at the pitiful Body Tempering Mid-Stage.

The further one advanced in martial arts, the harder it became to break through. One would often encounter bottleneck after bottleneck. Looking only at cultivation speed was indeed somewhat limiting.

He turned his gaze to the final Trait.

Heaven Rewards Diligence: Any effort you make will yield returns.

The simple words contained an enormous amount of information.

Any effort would yield returns...

The fewer the words, the bigger the matter.

What kind of person was Jiang Yan?

In his previous life, he had taken the postgraduate entrance exam twice. His dorm mates had called him the ultimate grind king.

He had freeloaded every free skin in King's Pesticide and drawn a Glory Crystal using the Points he had accumulated through daily play.

He had cleared Black Myth in thirty-six consecutive hours.

Such feats were too numerous to list.

After transmigrating here, he had brushed against death nine times, all to fight for a chance to open his apertures.

Jiang Yan was the ultimate grind king. He had no talent for anything, yet possessed a determination to persist to the end.

"If all my efforts can yield returns..."

Jiang Yan murmured under his breath. A resolute, unwavering glint flashed through his eyes as his gaze swept over every Trait before settling firmly on Heaven Rewards Diligence.

"Choose."

As soon as he spoke, a virtual Status Panel appeared before Jiang Yan.

Host: Jiang Yan

Realm: Body Tempering Mid-Stage

Martial Skills: (Unranked) "Basic Saber Technique" Subtlety

(Yellow Grade Low Rank) "Fierce Bull Strength" Mastery

Trait: Heaven Rewards Diligence

System Log: You have chosen Heaven Rewards Diligence as your innate Trait.

The Trait appeared on the Status Panel, but Jiang Yan did not notice any difference from usual. He planned to find an opportunity to test its effects first.

Just then, an abnormal change occurred within the Divine Martial Space.

Two floating black doors appeared before Jiang Yan. The doors rippled like water, their black shells incomparably mysterious.

Words surfaced upon the doors.

Left: Study Space

Right: Combat Space

Jiang Yan nodded in understanding. "Looks like this is another function of the Divine Martial Space."

Upon entering the Study Space, Jiang Yan found it completely empty. But with a thought, an Alloy Long Blade appeared before him.

Jiang Yan was astonished. "How did it know that was what I was thinking about?"

With an experimental mindset, Jiang Yan called out in his heart:

"Give me a Rolls-Royce."

The space did not so much as ripple.

"Looks like the Study Space isn't a place where wishes come true." Jiang Yan said regretfully, then continued experimenting.

Half an hour later, he had figured out the rules here.

Simply put, it could only generate items related to martial artist training, such as weapons, armor, wooden dummies, and the like.

Moreover, these generated objects had nothing special about them. They were merely common training equipment found outside.

However, Jiang Yan could adjust the equipment's thresholds to make them suit him perfectly.

"With these auxiliary items, I won't have to envy those people from the martial halls ever again."

Martial arts had spawned many industries, and martial halls were one of them.

Martial halls possessed specialized equipment that could help martial artists train their physiques, teach martial skills, and test combat strength.

It was said that without the aid of potions, Linjiang Martial Hall had a 5% chance of helping ordinary martial artists open their apertures, while guaranteeing no danger to their lives.

Martial halls in major cities were even more outrageous. With the aid of potions and the like, opening apertures was practically a rich man's toy, reaching an astonishing 30%.

Martial hall registration fees were exorbitant. A single month cost tens of thousands of Star Coins, something Jiang Yan simply could not afford.

After all, there were more poor people than rich people in this world. Even rich people had a chance of failing to open their apertures, let alone Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan left the Study Space and stepped directly into the Combat Space.

A nearly three-meter-tall crawling Fierce Beast appeared before him.

"Sharp Ruler Tiger!"

Jiang Yan had good academic grades and recognized the Fierce Beast at a glance.

Several words were displayed above the Sharp Ruler Tiger's head.

"Second-Order Early-Stage Beast: Sharp Ruler Tiger."

"After it is slain, wild monsters will refresh, with a certain chance of dropping Traits."

Jiang Yan looked troubled. "Is this Combat Space really this insane? I'm only at Body Tempering Mid-Stage. How can I contend with a Sharp Ruler Tiger comparable to a Second-Order Blood Coagulation Warrior?"

Begin battle? (Note: Death in battle will not result in true death, but a wild monster's injuries will not recover.)

The large words before him made Jiang Yan keenly realize:

I won't die.

A wild monster's injuries won't reset because of my death.

"Grind it down! I can grind it to death! I wonder whether killing this beast will make it drop a Trait?"

Jiang Yan rubbed his hands together and decisively chose to begin the battle.

Since he would not die anyway, he just had to go all in. He could also temper his combat experience, so it was not a loss.

As the battle began, the previously motionless Sharp Ruler Tiger suddenly regained life in its eyes.

Its dim pupils emitted a chilling, soul-snaring gleam. With a furious roar, the majesty of the king of beasts crashed toward him head-on.

The hand gripping Jiang Yan's saber trembled slightly. This was his first time facing a Fierce Beast. It would have been a lie to say he was not nervous.

The Sharp Ruler Tiger lay on the ground and licked its paw. After discovering that it was only a weak human, it lazily closed its eyes.

Jiang Yan said, "You've got guts!"

With countless worthless lives to spare, he raised his saber and went at it.

Jiang Yan rushed forward swiftly and brought his saber down.

Clang!

The Alloy Long Blade struck the Sharp Ruler Tiger's body, sending dazzling sparks flying.

It failed to break through its defense.

Jiang Yan was disappointed. "Still can't do it?"

Just then, the System Log updated.

"You made the effort to swing your saber, triggering Heaven Rewards Diligence. You dealt a small amount of damage. 'Basic Saber Technique' proficiency increased slightly. Physique increased slightly."

The Sharp Ruler Tiger opened its eyes. Feeling the pain from its body, the laziness in its gaze turned into confusion.

It seemed to be saying: Why could this weak human injure it?

It met Jiang Yan's eyes, and its tiger body shuddered.

Scarlet. Scorching. Frenzied.

A low murmur, like that of an evil god from hell, came from the youth's mouth:

"You just... lost health, didn't you?"