Hard Work Pays Off: A Thousandfold Reward! - Chapter Summaries - Page 11

Ch. 201Two supreme treasures

Lu Gen, Wang Shaohua, and Ju Zhengyang search a vast, decayed ancient tomb. They find a fearsome herb, a pale-purple mirror, and several unusual ores, surviving the tomb’s weakened traps.
They bring their finds to Qin Dongcheng, who identifies them as the Yin Baleful Mushroom, Soul-Settling Mirror, and spirit ore—all rare and potentially valuable treasures.
The chapter explains that the world has lacked spiritual energy for thousands of years. Energy escaping from the True Realm is rapidly absorbed, making it extraordinarily difficult for anyone to condense a true seed and become a True Lord.
Qin gives the three men more Blood Source Pills. After taking them, they reach the perfected Flesh Phase, just short of the Tendon Phase.
Once a medicinal meal is ready, Qin accompanies them back to the tomb to search it more thoroughly.

Qin is surprised and deeply grateful: he had thought his much weaker friends could no longer help him, but their discoveries prove otherwise. He recognizes that the treasures are worth far more than the pills he gave them and promises to keep supporting them.
The three friends are modest and slightly overwhelmed by Qin’s thanks. They see the finds as things they cannot use, while regarding his earlier help as far more important.
Their exchange reinforces a relationship built on mutual loyalty: Qin helped them when they were struggling, and they now repay him as best they can.

Reciprocity and friendship: kindness is returned with unexpected generosity, even across a great difference in power.
Hidden value: objects that seem useless or decayed may be priceless to someone with the knowledge to recognize them.
A depleted world and lost potential: the disappearance of spiritual energy has stalled advancement to True Lord and shaped the world’s cultivation prospects.
Cooperation across unequal strength: Qin’s friends contribute in ways their raw power alone would not suggest.

Qin Dongcheng explores the vast Ancient Tomb. Most of its spiritual treasures have decayed, but he salvages a few durable spirit ores to restore later in the True Realm.
Back at home, he consumes a yin baleful mushroom to improve his innate aptitude. Its medicinal power also strengthens his body and cultivation.
The mushroom’s yin energy helps keep a cultivation bottleneck from repairing itself. After a little over two hours of assaulting it, Qin breaks through to the perfected innate stage.
Qin calculates that his combat power and speed have increased dramatically. With his techniques, strange phenomenon, weapon, and boots combined, he can briefly reach more than ten times the speed of sound and believes most True Lords could not match his maximum speed.
His innate aptitude is now about 4.3 times its original level. Reaching his goal will be harder, however, and he worries that another breakthrough could make it impossible to benefit from mortal medicines.
A few days later, at the Tongtian Black Market, Qin notices stalls selling goods “connected” to him. Looking more closely, he becomes furious.

Qin shows patience and careful planning: he salvages what remains in the tomb, saves the spirit ores for later, and tries to avoid advancing further before improving his aptitude.
His growing strength makes him confident, but he remains aware of the gap between himself and the most powerful True Lords.
He is pleased by his rapid aptitude gains, yet anxious that progress is slowing and that he may soon need to prioritize breaking through to the True Lord realm.

Power and ambition: Qin’s enormous gains fuel his desire to keep improving, while each advancement creates new limits.
Opportunity and scarcity: Rare treasures can transform cultivation, but surviving resources—and new aptitude-enhancing medicines—are increasingly difficult to find.
Risk and restraint: Qin must balance strengthening himself against advancing too soon and losing access to mortal-stage improvements.
Strategic preparation: He plans around future cultivation needs, from restoring spirit ores to searching the black market for breakthrough resources.

The chapter contains little direct interaction. Qin’s main encounters are with the remnants of the Ancient Tomb and the black-market stalls. The ending sets up a likely confrontation or dispute over the goods being sold as connected to him.