Tricked

Lu Siye retracted his fist with satisfaction and sat back down on the sofa.

The nine stances of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill weren't just for practice; they also helped him control his full strength.

Therefore, Lu Siye wouldn't experience the common trope in novels where a newly breakthrough cultivator loses control of their power and damages objects.

He picked up the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill from the table.

A single pirated novel had allowed him to strengthen it into a peerless martial art. He wondered what astonishing martial arts the other ten or so pirated novels would yield.

He was quite excited!

Lu Siye casually picked up a copy of "Traverse the Wind and Clouds, Lie Low Until Invincible Before Coming Out of the Mountain."

He tore off the plastic packaging from the book, caressed the exquisite cover with his large hand, and silently chanted in his mind with anticipation, "Strengthen!"

Time ticked by, but the System's prompt did not sound, and the pirated novel in his hand showed no reaction.

Puzzled, he opened the exquisite cover.

Suddenly, his entire body froze. He stared blankly at the pirated novel in his hands, his eyes widening, and his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

He threw down the pirated novel and cautiously approached the plastic bag containing all the pirated novels. Trembling, he tore open the packaging of another one.

One, two... five... nine...

A total of eleven books. Each had a beautiful cover, but upon opening them, all the pages were blank. There wasn't a single word, not even a punctuation mark.

Furthermore, the paper used for binding the pages was incredibly fragile, tearing with the slightest touch.

"You bastard! Daring to sell me, Fourth Master, eleven blank pages..."

Lu Siye's eyes turned red, veins bulging on his forehead. A voice in his mind kept trying to placate him, telling him to just consider it a lesson learned from spending money.

But the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. The more he backed down, the more he felt cheated. He couldn't stand it anymore. Grabbing a blank book, he stormed out, slamming the door.

Two minutes later, Lu Siye, who had run two kilometers, returned to the spot where he had bought the books.

Looking at the empty space before him, devoid of any sign of people, he furiously threw the book in his hand into the nearby flower bed.

The pirated novel embedded itself deeply into the soil like a hard brick.

"You old geezer, just you wait until Fourth Master catches you. I'll make you write eleven wuxia novels on the spot."

Lu Siye left in a huff, just as angry as when he had arrived.

Back in his room, Lu Siye picked up all the blank books from the floor and tossed them into the plastic bag.

He sat down on the sofa, picked up the technique book from the table, and opened it. Seeing the large swathes of blank pages in the back, he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

The blank pages behind the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill weren't there before the strengthening; rather, after strengthening, only the first layer's content, about ten pages, was displayed, leaving the rest blank.

"System, can this technique be strengthened again?" Lu Siye asked, placing the book back on the table.

"Yes!" the System replied.

"Alright, strengthen it!" Lu Siye exclaimed, overjoyed.

As soon as he finished speaking, the technique book on the table began to flip its pages rapidly as if possessed. Countless strokes, words, and diagrams appeared out of thin air, imprinting themselves onto the blank pages and emitting a golden divine radiance.

After another two minutes, the strengthening was complete, and the content of the second layer of the technique appeared on the paper.

"System, why didn't you give a prompt this time?" Lu Siye asked curiously.

He realized that at some point, the System had become taciturn. Previously, it would give a prompt every time he strengthened something.

"As per the host's request three hours ago, the System has enabled automatic default and silent mode."

Three hours ago?

Lu Siye recalled that he was strengthening red dates at that time. Since he was on the verge of collapse, he had told the System to stop its chatter.

"Uh... I'm sorry, System. You're not angry, are you?" Lu Siye asked cautiously.

"The System is not a living being and has no emotions, so it naturally cannot be angry," the System's voice remained cold.

"That's good. Turn off automatic default and silent mode." Lu Siye said, sighing in relief.

The System was the key to his survival in this dangerous world; he couldn't afford to offend it.

"Ding~ Automatic default and silent mode have been turned off."

With the prompt sound confirmed to be back on, Lu Siye checked the System panel.

Host: Lu Siye Fear Points: 617 Cultivation Power: Five Years Martial Arts Techniques: Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill (Layers 1 & 2) Special Items: Evil-Exorcising Fruit Knife

Closing the System panel, Lu Siye stroked his chin and began to ponder.

"Five years of Cultivation Power should refer to the strength after mastering the first layer of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill!"

"As for Fear Points, I remember my previous Fear Points were 937. Strengthening the first layer cost 20, and strengthening ten red dates cost 100... Does that mean strengthening the second layer cost 200?"

Lu Siye's eyes widened. Good grief, the second level consumes ten times more than the first?

As much as he felt the pinch, his strength still needed to improve. Otherwise, if he encountered another Evil Ghost, it was questionable whether he could even survive.

He picked up the cultivation technique from the table and began to study it. The second level added nine new stances, each looking significantly more difficult than those in the first level.

After eighteen minutes, he still completed the nine movements with ease, finding no difficulty at all.

This reaffirmed his belief that his talent was indeed exceptional.

The rest of the afternoon was spent entirely on cultivation.

However, he no longer dared to reinforce ten red dates at once like before, opting instead to reinforce them two at a time.

By nine o'clock that evening, after consuming the fortieth reinforced red date, a clearer and louder dragon's roar and elephant's trumpeting than ever before emanated from within him. Waves of heat radiated from his body, distorting the surrounding air.

Body like a furnace, blood waves surge!

The second level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill was now Great Accomplishment!

Although the divine skill had reached Great Accomplishment, the price was that he had very few red dates left. It seemed he needed to restock.

He opened his phone and tapped on Taobao.

Lu Siye directly purchased two packs of red dates and one pack of red ginseng from a nearby vendor, specifically requesting the fastest shipping via SF Express.

As he was about to close Taobao, his eyes suddenly caught sight of vendors selling martial arts techniques.

On a whim, Lu Siye randomly selected two secret manuals and placed an order, again requesting the fastest shipping via SF Express.

However, he didn't go to rest immediately. Instead, he took out the Body Tempering Art that the towering man, Meng Jianmin, had given him.

Lu Siye had originally intended to reinforce the Body Tempering Art, but the System surprisingly stated it couldn't be reinforced, leaving him quite puzzled.

Could it be that the technique is too basic, its inherent upper limit already fixed?

He decided not to dwell on it. If it couldn't be reinforced, then so be it. He began to cultivate!

The Body Tempering Art wasn't as complex as the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. It primarily consisted of a standing meditation posture and a set of very simple fist techniques.

Lu Siye spent only half an hour to bring the Body Tempering Art to Great Accomplishment, but he didn't feel any significant increase in his strength.

He checked the system panel again.

Host: Lu Siye
Fear Points: 217
Cultivation Power: Thirty Years (Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill + Twenty-Five Years, Body Tempering Art + Five Years)
Martial Arts Techniques: Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill (Levels 1 & 2); Body Tempering Art
Special Items: Evil-Exorcising Fruit Knife

Thirty years of Cultivation Power. At what stage was his current strength?

Lu Siye felt the surging, hot Blood Essence within him. He had a hunch that if he encountered that Takeout Ghost who had knocked on his door before, he could now pin the creature down and beat it.

"Only a little over two hundred Fear Points left. It looks like I need to replenish them," Lu Siye said, looking at his Fear Points, a sense of urgency suddenly gripping him.

He opened the Town Watch APP and began searching for missions.