Overflowing Care

"What is it?" Jian Rushuang stopped.

Lin Chen pointed at the Rabbit Doll at his waist. "Second Senior Sister, is there any way to make it stop hitting me?"

"It bit you, didn't it?"

Jian Rushuang glanced at Lin Chen. "If it bit you, then it's already recognized you as its master. For the rest of its life, it'll only hit you."

Lin Chen stared blankly.

What kind of damn toy was this? It even attacked its own master?

"It can imitate all kinds of enemies and fight you, such as a sneak attacker at night, a hidden assassin, a violent body-forging cultivator, a powerful sword cultivator, and so on. It'll attack continuously, no matter the time..."

As she spoke, Jian Rushuang took out a heap of dolls.

"If you think it isn't strong enough, I have others..."

"Second Senior Sister, this is plenty—more than plenty. I really like it." Lin Chen hurriedly stopped her.

Only then did Jian Rushuang put away the other dolls. "Little bunny, very good. You have to treat it well."

Lin Chen could tell that Jian Rushuang wasn't lying.

Her eyes were full of reluctance.

He immediately nodded solemnly. "Don't worry, Second Senior Sister. I will."

Jian Rushuang nodded and turned to leave.

Lin Chen stood alone in the courtyard, dazed for a long while.

At last, he sighed and began tidying up.

Two hours later, he sat down at the table again. Four small bags lay on it.

They contained the Spirit Stones Zhao Qingshan and the others had just given him. He hadn't had a chance to check them yet.

He opened the first bag and swept it with his Spiritual Sense. Inside lay 6,000 Spirit Stones, neatly stacked.

The second held 6,000 as well.

The third, another 6,000.

The fourth contained 10,000.

His senior brothers and sisters had saved these up over a whole year, going without food or drink!

Were these Spirit Stones?

They were overflowing care!

The 10,000 had come from the sect master.

Though they hadn't formally confirmed their master-disciple relationship yet, at that moment, Lin Chen had already begun to regard Zhao Qingshan as his master.

"I'll be sure to honor him properly from now on, and repay my three senior brothers and sisters, too."

After making up his mind, Lin Chen began to calculate.

He now had 28,040 Spirit Stones.

If he weren't cultivating the Extreme Dao, he could definitely have reached the Return to Origin Realm by now.

But he couldn't. Not only did he need to raise his cultivation to the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, he also had to cultivate five sets of techniques to Minor Achievement and perform Spirit Attachment five times before he could advance to the Return to Origin Realm.

The Spirit Stones that would take weren't a small number.

But the greatest threat right now was those Purple Eyes.

He didn't want to go mad and raving like He Yiliang.

So he had to spend these 5,000 Spirit Stones.

That would leave him with 23,040. He didn't know if it would be enough.

"Whatever. System, exchange for cultivation. Raise the Soul Forging Art to Minor Achievement."

[ Ding, 5,000 Spirit Stones deducted. Cultivation exchanged. Soul Forging Art raised to Minor Achievement. Sea of Consciousness expanded tenfold. Seven Souls condensed. Spiritual Sense awakened. Resistance to illusions, suppression of inner demons, long-distance telepathy, and the ability to inspect others' cultivation unlocked. ]

Hearing all that, Lin Chen knew his 5,000 Spirit Stones had been absolutely worth it.

Immediately afterward, a rumble sounded in his mind.

It was as if the heavens and earth were being cleaved apart.

Lin Chen could actually see his Sea of Consciousness.

Clouds and mist churned within it, auspicious colors stretched across the sky, and brilliant light flooded everything.

The clouds and mist rapidly retreated, and the space within his Sea of Consciousness grew larger and larger.

At last, the space gave a sudden shudder.

A golden orb of light, no bigger than a fist, appeared at its center.

At that moment, Lin Chen kept his eyes closed, yet could clearly sense everything within a hundred meters.

A tender shoot sprouted from the grass on the ground, and an ant scurried across it.

Before, he could only sense the presence of spiritual energy while cultivating.

Now, he could clearly "see" tiny specks of light shimmering with color in the air.

He felt that he had moved beyond seeing the surface of things and reached the point of seeing their true essence.

The little Rabbit Doll no longer seemed mysterious, either.

He could clearly see its inner structure.

It was a treasure forged from intricate components and various runes and formations.

Earlier, Jian Rushuang had said it couldn't be controlled.

But now, he felt that wasn't entirely true.

[ Ding, congratulations to the host for making the right choice. With the initial formation of your Sea of Consciousness, the gathering of Spiritual Sense, and the awakening of wisdom, the Spirit Stones required to cultivate any technique or Dao art are reduced by thirty percent. If you cultivate it to Great Achievement, the cost can be reduced by fifty percent. ]

"Haha..."

Lin Chen laughed with delight.

He hadn't expected an extra surprise like this.

[ If you exchange for cultivation now and raise the five-element techniques from Beginner to Minor Achievement, it will cost only 330 Spirit Stones per technique, or 1,650 for all five. ]

"Raise them!" Lin Chen said just one word.

In an instant, chimes rang incessantly in his mind.

In just a few breaths, all five techniques had reached Minor Achievement.

Before Lin Chen could test them out, the system spoke again.

[ Ding, does the host wish to merge the Eternal Spring Art and the Wood Element Art? Once merged, the technique will automatically advance to the Yellow Grade High Wood Element Eternal Spring Art. From then on, every advancement will grant an additional ten percent to your lifespan. ]

There was an effect like that?

Faced with such a tempting offer, Lin Chen didn't let himself get swept along. He asked, "How many Spirit Stones does the merger cost?"

[ Not much. Just 390. ]

Lin Chen calculated. After deducting those 390 Spirit Stones, he would have exactly 21,000 left.

"System, are you making the numbers add up neatly, or are you trying to fool me?" Lin Chen asked warily.

[ Host, how could you think that about the system? The system is fair, impartial, and transparent... ]

"Stop, stop, stop. Make the exchange, but you have to give me a complete list of everything I can exchange for, with the tiers and the required Spirit Stones clearly stated."

[ Uh... That would require a lot of calculations. The system can only do it after upgrading. ]

"Upgrade? How do you upgrade?" Lin Chen immediately seized on the key point.

[ This generation of hosts is getting harder and harder to fool... Ahem, I mean, harder and harder to serve. ]

[ Fine, I'll tell the truth. The system also needs Spirit Stones to upgrade. I did withhold some, but once the system is upgraded, you'll get even more benefits. Doesn't the host want to have... ]

So it was finally telling the truth.

"You damn system, if you'd just told me the truth from the start, would I really have refused? Why keep it hidden from me? What's the point?"

[ Boo-hoo-hoo... The system knows it was wrong. Does the host wish to make the exchange? ]

"Make the exchange!"

What else could Lin Chen do?

He was already raising the little bunny. What was one more system?

Now that they'd cleared the air, he stopped trying to save up and spent the Spirit Stones outright.

Sword Control Art—buy!

Raise it straight to Minor Achievement.

With Spiritual Sense to assist him, the Sword Control Art grew far more powerful after its advancement, and he could wield it as he pleased.

He could even control five Flying Swords at once.

"If I get the chance, I should buy a flying treasure, too. Then I can control Flying Swords and fight in the sky."

Thinking about blasting that rabbit with a barrage from the sky made Lin Chen grin so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears.

Next.

Body Forging Art—buy!

Raise it straight to Minor Achievement.

Rumble!

His body roared.

Every muscle, every blood vessel, every sinew and bone seemed to spring to life.

His cells divided again and again, multiplying and growing denser. His body became sturdier, and his weight increased as well.

"I've got thirty thousand jin of strength now. Even a Top-grade Magic Tool will have trouble hurting me."

Lin Chen had never imagined the Body Forging Art would be so powerful.

As for the Flame Primer, he had no plans to upgrade it.

After all, it was a Spirit Rank auxiliary technique. There was no hurry to cultivate and merge it after reaching the Return to Origin Realm.

"System, raise my cultivation to the Qi Condensation Layer 9 Peak." Lin Chen issued another command.

[ Ding, 400 Spirit Stones deducted... ]

[ Ding, 800 Spirit Stones deducted... ]

[ Ding, 1,600 Spirit Stones deducted... ]

[ Ding, 3,200 Spirit Stones deducted. Cultivation exchanged. Advanced to the Qi Condensation Layer 9 Peak. ]

Lin Chen watched as the Spirit Stones on the table disappeared one after another.

When it was over, fewer than 5,000 remained.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble...

Immediately afterward, a series of thunderous booms sounded within his body.

His cultivation kept surging higher, layer after layer.

His aura swelled. Waves of spiritual energy rolled out, stirring up breezes that swept in every direction.

Lin Chen's robes billowed and his black hair streamed behind him. Spiritual energy surged through his whole body like towering waves, thundering as it rolled.

In the distance, Zhao Qingshan and his three disciples hadn't left.

They had long since activated a Formation to conceal themselves, and watched without blinking.

"The Spirit Stones on the table are disappearing fast, and his cultivation is rising by leaps and bounds. This really is the Devouring Talent!"

"That's not all. Earlier, the auras of soul and blood surged from him. Now it's his cultivation aura. He's cultivating three paths at once!"

"Master, he's already at the Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, and I doubt even a Top-grade Magic Tool could break through his body. If outsiders ask, how should we explain it?"

At that moment, Zhao Qingshan looked calm on the surface, but inside, he was already overjoyed.

The old ancestor had kicked him in the ass and snatched Han Bingxue away, but he'd ended up finding Lin Chen instead.

Three months from now, when Han Bingxue was pinned beneath Lin Chen at the Newcomer Competition, what kind of expression would the old ancestor wear?

Just thinking about it felt great!