Third-Rate Expert

As time passed, Qin Dongcheng triggered more and more critical hits. His attainments in Alchemy soared by leaps and bounds, while he also gained an increasing number of herbs.

Before he knew it, a day had passed. Qin Dongcheng could clearly feel that he had taken a huge step closer to becoming an Alchemy Apprentice.

Thanks to the Heaven Rewards Diligence System, he could barely feel any fatigue.

Seeing that night had fallen, Qin Dongcheng could only reluctantly leave the Herb Field. He reheated the leftovers from lunch, wolfed them down in a few bites, then took out the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist manual and began studying it intently.

He had studied this fist manual for several months without managing to fully comprehend it. He did not dare practice it rashly either, lest he make a mistake—he could not let himself fail to master the fist art only to ruin his own body instead.

Although he had considered asking others, he was merely a Chore Disciple, and everyone he interacted with was also a handyman. Almost no one had mastered the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist.

Even if someone had mastered it, they would be people such as stewards, who would never spare him a glance.

Qin Dongcheng could only study it on his own. His progress was astonishingly slow and had even come to a standstill.

But when he studied it again, aided by the Heaven Rewards Diligence System, he quickly felt himself making progress.

"You studied the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist and gained a deeper understanding of the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist!"

"You studied the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist and gained a deeper understanding of the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist!"

"You studied the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist. Congratulations, you triggered a Triple Critical Hit and gained triple the insight into the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist!"

The parts that had once baffled him were deciphered at a visible pace. He could even occasionally trigger critical hits, and one Triple Critical Hit alone brought Qin Dongcheng no small gain.

That feeling of suddenly seeing the light was utterly intoxicating. Before he knew it, several hours had passed, and near dawn, Qin Dongcheng had completely comprehended the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist and could finally practice it.

Striking while the iron was hot, Qin Dongcheng immediately began practicing the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist. He even ate a piece of Five-Year Ginseng to nourish his Blood Qi.

"You performed the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist once. Your physique has strengthened!"

"You performed the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist once. Your physique has strengthened!"

"You performed the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist once. Congratulations, you triggered a Double Critical Hit and your physique has received double strengthening!"

His physical qualities improved at a visible rate. Before long, one piece of Five-Year Ginseng had been completely used up, and Qin Dongcheng hurriedly ate another.

When he reached the sixth round, he unexpectedly triggered another critical hit.

"You performed the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist once. Congratulations, you triggered a Sixfold Critical Hit and your physique has received sixfold strengthening!"

In a daze, Qin Dongcheng felt a roaring sound rise from within his body. Strands of strange power were born inside him, causing his overall physical qualities to grow at an astonishing pace.

In just a short while, Qin Dongcheng's physical qualities had more than doubled.

Body Phase Initial Stage, achieved!

This was the First Martial Realm. Blood Qi was born, one entered the Body Phase, the body became strong and robust, and a hundred illnesses found it hard to arise.

According to the original owner's memories, the First Three Martial Realms were the Body Phase, Skin Phase, and Flesh Phase. They could also be called Body Strengthening, Skin Refining, and Flesh Refining.

However, once Body Strengthening, Skin Refining, and Flesh Refining were cultivated to their limits, special Strange Phenomena could arise upon the body. That was why they were called the Body Phase, Skin Phase, and Flesh Phase. These names carried martial artists' yearning for the martial path—the hope that they could cultivate Strange Phenomena in these three realms and gain immense boosts.

At the beginning of cultivation, one needed to strengthen the body, give birth to Blood Qi, and then nurture that Blood Qi.

When the body grew strong enough and one's Blood Qi began to boil, it could be fused into the skin and membranes, allowing one to enter the next realm: the Skin Phase.

Once the skin and membranes were cultivated to the limit, Blood Qi would continue to grow and penetrate deep into the muscles. That was the realm of the Flesh Phase.

The Body Phase, Skin Phase, and Flesh Phase... were linked ring by ring, tightly connected. When each realm was cultivated to its limit, different Strange Phenomena could emerge. The greater one's talent and aptitude, and the deeper one's cultivation in that realm, the easier it was to produce different Strange Phenomena.

Qin Dongcheng had only just stepped into the Body Phase. He still had a long road ahead before he could produce a Strange Phenomenon.

Even so, this was already remarkable. It meant that Qin Dongcheng had transformed from an ordinary person into a Martial Artist, qualified to be called a Third-Rate Martial Artist or a Third-Rate Expert.

So long as he could cultivate to Body Phase Perfection within three years, he could apply for another assessment and become an Official Disciple of the Five Elements Sect.

If he produced a Strange Phenomenon ahead of time, he could become an Official Disciple of the Five Elements Sect even without reaching Body Phase Perfection.

Feeling the threads of Blood Qi power within his body, along with his explosively increased physical qualities, Qin Dongcheng beamed. As expected, a golden finger was truly reliable. In a single night, it had helped him advance to the level of a Martial Artist. His future cultivation was finally promising.

He no longer had to be like before, able only to resort to crooked paths and evil ways at the cost of his body.

Looking at the sky, he saw that it was already fully bright. Qin Dongcheng consolidated his cultivation, calmed his Blood Qi, and hurried to the Herb Field to continue the day's work.

It was now year-end, and many herbs were ripening one after another. They had to be harvested promptly so that new herbs could be planted.

In a few days, it would be time to hand in the medicinal materials. There could be no delay.

The harvested herbs required simple processing: those that needed cleaning had to be cleaned, those that needed slicing had to be sliced, and those that needed drying had to be dried... There could not be the slightest carelessness, or the quality of the medicinal materials would suffer. If they failed inspection, he could easily earn a scolding.

"You cleaned Jade Insect Grass. Congratulations, you triggered a Triple Critical Hit and gained triple the herb-processing experience!"

"You sliced White Bamboo. Congratulations, you triggered a Fivefold Critical Hit and gained fivefold insight into processing White Bamboo!"

"You harvested Thousand Gold Root. Congratulations, you triggered a Sixfold Critical Hit and obtained six Thousand Gold Root plants!"

No pain, no gain—and he could even trigger critical hits from time to time. The feeling was simply intoxicating.

Leaving aside the gains in experience, skill, and insight, the herbs alone were practically like picking up money.

Although most were ordinary medicinal herbs, they were still premium-grade materials. After all, this was Bamboo Forest Valley, one of the most suitable places in all of Luo Cloud Prefecture for growing medicinal herbs.

Many cultivated herbs were worth no less than wild medicinal herbs.

So long as a critical hit occurred during harvesting, the additional herbs belonged to Qin Dongcheng. It was effortless income equal to one or two months of his monthly stipend.

If they were precious medicinal herbs such as ginseng or fleeceflower root, they could be worth several months of his monthly stipend.

The tiny Diligence Space was becoming increasingly full at a visible rate. Huh, something was wrong—he seemed to have overlooked something.

Unable to resist, he sensed the Diligence Space again, and his mouth soon fell open.

Was this still his Diligence Space?