Merit Value

--Castle of Black Iron

--Length: 1 Krosha

--Width: 1 Krosha

--Spirit Qi Value: 0.7

--Merit Value: 35

--Basic Energy Reserve: 0.2

--Special Output: None

The growth of the Spirit Qi Value did not surprise Zhang Tie. Those sprouted potatoes grew a little more with each passing day, so naturally, they would provide more Spirit Qi. Nearly half a day had passed from morning until now; it would be strange if the Spirit Qi Value didn't increase. If the rest of the plants sprouted later, the peak of the Spirit Qi growth would arrive; right now, it was just the beginning. The other attributes hadn't changed much, but the increase in Merit Value startled Zhang Tie. He remembered it was only 3 in the morning, and then, in a trial-and-error mindset, he had invested two Merit Value points into the mutation and evolution of a potato, leaving him with 1. How could it have increased so much in just half a day? Zhang Tie clicked on the Merit Value log to check today's events:

--Black Iron Calendar year 889, February 14th, afternoon. The handsome and imposing Master of the Castle helped his mother make rice wine at home, easing her toil and bringing her comfort. Merit Value increased by 1.

--Black Iron Calendar year 889, February 14th, evening. The handsome and imposing Master of the Castle delivered rice soup to the Orphanage of Compassion and donated 10 copper coins. This kind act benefited many and brought them joy. Merit Value increased by 32.

--Black Iron Calendar year 889, February 14th, night. After returning home and finishing dinner, the handsome and imposing Master of the Castle took the initiative to clean the house, wash dishes, and sweep the floor. Keeping the home tidy brings joy to the family. Merit Value increased by 1.

Looking at the sudden, massive increase in Merit Value, Zhang Tie was lost in thought. He then refocused his gaze on the text at the very top of the Merit Value section, which explained its fundamental meaning:

"To eliminate evil and promote good is the greatest mercy the Creator has placed in the human world; to revere Heaven and love humanity is the nearest ladder for mortals to ascend to the Heavenly Kingdom. O fortunate one, on your journey to re-ascend to the Heavenly Kingdom, please manifest the Creator's mercy in this world, so that all the gods in the heavens may understand your heart! Go and harvest the most sincere joy and gratitude offered to you by the myriad living beings; go and end those evil souls and boundless darkness; become the self you envision in your own heart. You will discover that when you become yourself, you will inevitably walk upon the light, and a glorious, brilliant path has already unfolded beneath your feet!"

Although there were still many things he didn't understand, looking at this text and the massive increase in Merit Value, Zhang Tie felt greatly encouraged. His understanding of how to obtain Merit Value had deepened. While he didn't have the ability to "eliminate evil" yet, "promoting good"—that is, doing good deeds within his power, no matter how small, as long as they helped others and made them feel happy—seemed to grant Merit Value regardless of the scale. Haha, this is great. I love you so much...

Thinking of the many "fruits" that the little tree could provide later, Zhang Tie burst into laughter. If the Castle of Black Iron could appear before him as a person right now, he would really want to give her a couple of fierce kisses...

After planting the seeds and checking the basic attributes of the Castle of Black Iron again, Zhang Tie was full of drive. He ran over to the Manjusaka Karma Myriad Fruit Tree and carefully circled the little tree twice. Eh? Zhang Tie paused slightly, his gaze fixed on one of the strange little tree's branches.

Zhang Tie remembered that the branch, which had been bare just yesterday, was now hanging a pale green, grape-sized fruit.

Just as Zhang Tie was about to reach out and touch it, a line of text appeared before his eyes the moment his hand neared the fruit.

--Flawless Fruit is growing. It cannot be consumed at this moment. Once an unripe Flawless Fruit leaves the Manjusaka Karma Myriad Fruit Tree, it will directly vaporize and disappear. There are 124 hours remaining until the Flawless Fruit matures...

This line of text made Zhang Tie pull his hand back in fright. He then recalled that when he first obtained the Castle of Black Iron, this Manjusaka Karma Myriad Fruit Tree seemed to have made him choose to generate some kind of "Flawless Fruit" using the energy leaking from his own body. Could it be this little grape-like thing in front of him?

The generation time for the Flawless Fruit was 168 hours, exactly 7 days—one week. So, by next Friday, this little fruit should be ripe. Although Zhang Tie was dying to eat it now to experience what this "Flawless Fruit" actually did, he understood that one couldn't rush things. He suppressed his inner impulse, circled the tree twice more, and even boldly touched the various strange-shaped leaves with his hands. Finally, he found a spot, didn't mind the dirt on the ground, sat down, propped his chin with both hands, and began to space out in boredom.

He had been busy in this space for over an hour. Looking at the bare land around him, to be honest, it was novel at first, but after a while, it was truly boring. But now, he could only wait for his mental power to recover a bit before leaving. This place was good for exercising and running, but he was too tired today to run. He wondered if his mom and dad were home yet. Probably not. Today was Saturday, and his dad would be resting tomorrow. If things were like usual, they would likely be home late.

What to do with the remaining time? Just sit and space out, waiting for his mental power to recover naturally? Or... meditation! Zhang Tie was amused by the thought in his head. Ha... stop joking. Such high-level skills and cultivation methods like meditation were not something one could learn in an ordinary school in Black Flame City. Cultivation methods to increase mental power might exist in Black Flame City, but such knowledge was monopolized by a very small number of people; the general public had no chance to see it. Even Captain Colin had once said that those who mastered meditation to increase mental power were a tiny minority in the Black Flame City military who had all sorts of backgrounds. That terrifying One-Eyed Dragon hadn't even learned it despite making it to captain, let alone anyone else.

Without mental power, practicing the Divine Palace Bright Point was impossible. After spacing out for a while, Zhang Tie suddenly slapped his head hard. How could he have forgotten this? Didn't he get a copy of the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation? Since he had plenty of time right now, he might as well use it to familiarize himself with it again, rather than sitting here like a fool.

Action followed thought. He quickly recalled the contents of the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation, which he had spent the last two days reading over ten times, fully understood, and could almost recite by heart. Zhang Tie sat cross-legged, placed his hands naturally on his legs, and closed his eyes halfway. Before long, his mind calmed down. For some reason, entering a meditative state this time seemed much faster than usual.

Once his mind entered the meditative state, Zhang Tie began to visualize an abacus in his mind according to the methods and chants taught in the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation. This was the most critical and important step of the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation. The entire foundation of its mental arithmetic was built upon the abacus one visualized. Once a person could stably visualize an abacus in their mind, they could perform rapid mental arithmetic. If one had to explain the principle of the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation in one sentence: it was using consciousness to replace hands to operate an abacus in one's own mind. Everything was just that simple.

The only thing that puzzled Zhang Tie was that the book required the visualized abacus to be golden, with the entire abacus having a brilliant, radiant quality. The book didn't explain why this was required, and Zhang Tie couldn't figure it out, nor did he want to get to the bottom of it; he just felt that it was probably meant to be that way.

Following the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation's requirement to go from large to small, from simple to difficult, Zhang Tie first visualized a rectangular abacus frame in his mind, then the horizontal beam inside the frame, and then three vertical rods—three vertical rods meant he could perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within three digits. This was the minimum requirement of the Heart-Punishing Divine Calculation. Once the three vertical rods were visualized and the entire image became stable, he began to visualize the upper bead on the first rod, then the four lower beads, then the upper and lower beads of the second rod, then the upper and lower beads of the third rod, and so on...

The first time, just as Zhang Tie visualized the upper bead of the first rod, the entire image in his mind collapsed...

The second time, the same thing happened...

The third time, he completed the first lower bead of the first rod...

The fourth time, he completed the second lower bead of the first rod...

Even Zhang Tie didn't know how many failures he had experienced. After the poor three-rod abacus in his mind had shattered four times, it was finally successfully visualized and stabilized. 125 plus 579, how much was that? Zhang Tie's mind stirred, and he applied a few addition chants from his consciousness to the abacus. The beads on the three-rod abacus in his mind moved slowly as if someone were manipulating them, eventually forming a readable number—704.

What about 18 times 39? A few more chants applied... 702!

987 minus 789? A few more chants applied... 198!

Zhang Tie laughed heartily, tireless and delighted. He tried several more times, running through three-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The beads on the visualized abacus moved a bit faster. After a few more times—56 times 29? A few more chants applied, and the golden abacus in his mind shook, finally shattering into fragments and disappearing from Zhang Tie's mind.

Zhang Tie opened his eyes. The result of this last mental calculation had exceeded the three-rod range of the abacus he had visualized, much like a steam boiler exploding due to excessive pressure.

Those four silver coins were well spent, Zhang Tie confirmed once again. He hadn't expected to really pick up such a bargain.

Oh no, what time is it now? It would be terrible if his mom and dad came home at night and found him missing. He didn't know how worried they would be! Thinking of the urgent matter, Zhang Tie stood up quickly. Without any preparation, and forgetting to confirm whether his mental power had actually recovered, he closed his eyes, locked his consciousness onto the gate in the center of his brow—Exit...

The next second, Zhang Tie appeared in the bathroom of his home's courtyard. Seeing by the waterproof oil lamp that the bathroom door was still locked from the inside, Zhang Tie breathed a sigh of relief. If his parents had come home and found him missing, and the bathroom door wouldn't open, and there was no sound when they called out, the door would have been kicked down long ago. Zhang Tie opened the bathroom door and slipped out to take a look. He immediately felt at ease; it was just past 11 PM. The house door was also locked. His parents hadn't returned yet. That was close.

Standing in the pitch-black, empty courtyard, looking at the starry sky, Zhang Tie patted his chest in relief and consoled himself. He would have to be more careful when entering and exiting the Castle of Black Iron in the future. If this happened again, his secret might be discovered. It was better to save his mental power. Then, Zhang Tie suddenly froze, thinking of a question: That's not right. How did his mental power recover so quickly?