Log

At that moment, a "Log" interface that hadn't existed before abruptly popped up on the Panel, its lines of text refreshing at lightning speed.

Zhao Cheng knew that the so-called log was merely an appearance, just a vehicle for displaying changes in the Panel in the way he could best understand. It also changed along with Zhao Cheng's understanding: it could be a log, or something else entirely.

By the time Zhao Cheng looked over, the entries in the log were already nearing the end.

Zhao Cheng looked straight at the final entry. The contents were unmistakably "Source Point +8.8."

"???"

Instantly, a flood of questions arose in Zhao Cheng's mind.

With a thought, the log flipped back through its entries.

00:00–06:00, sleeping soundly (100%), Source Point +0.6

06:00–07:00, completed various chores (1%), and underwent a low-completion swordsmanship training session; you grew stronger (95%), Source Point +2.1

07:00–08:00, completed various chores (15%), read books beneficial to your personal growth (85%), Source Point +0.4

08:00–11:00, completed various chores (5%), unintentionally acquired a tiny amount of knowledge (5%), spent a long time brainstorming and contemplating various philosophies (90%), Source Point +0.8

11:00–12:00, completed various chores (10%), read books beneficial to your personal growth (90%), Source Point +0.5

12:00–14:00, sleeping soundly (100%), Source Point +0.2

14:00–16:00, completed various chores (5%), unintentionally acquired a tiny amount of knowledge (5%), spent a long time brainstorming and contemplating various philosophies (90%), Source Point +0.5

16:00–18:00, completed various chores (5%), and underwent a low-completion swordsmanship training session (95%); you grew stronger, Source Point +2.5

18:00–19:00, completed various chores (10%), read books beneficial to your personal growth (90%), Source Point +0.5

19:00–21:00, completed various chores (5%), unintentionally acquired a tiny amount of knowledge (5%), spent a long time brainstorming and contemplating various philosophies (90%), Source Point +0.5

21:00–23:00, completed various chores (10%), read books beneficial to your personal growth (80%), and practiced breathing techniques before bed, improving your sleep quality (10%), Source Point +1.0

23:00–24:00, sleeping soundly (100%), Source Point +0.1

Total: Source Point +8.8

After reading through it all, Zhao Cheng had more or less grasped how Source Points were earned. As long as he was alive, Source Points would keep flowing in, but his actions affected how many he gained.

From all this, Zhao Cheng realized that any action with a positive effect on himself earned Source Points. That even included "breathing"—breathing kept him alive.

And the greater the positive effect, the more Source Points he received. Sleep only restored his energy, so it gave him just 0.1 Source Point per hour. The action that earned him the most was swordsmanship training, which made him tangibly stronger, both physically and mentally. The Source Points from his two training sessions added up to over four, nearly half of his total gains.

Yet the two swordsmanship sessions had taken less than two hours in total. By that measure, the efficiency was explosively high.

Unfortunately, the recovery rate of his Vitality limited how much he could train in swordsmanship.

The second-most rewarding activity was reading—or, more precisely, acquiring knowledge. Any knowledge that benefited him could contribute to his growth. Even miscellaneous books contained something of value.

The third-most rewarding activity was brainstorming. Thinking really did benefit a person's growth, and it also helped restore mental energy.

In fact, Zhao Cheng could train twice a day precisely because brainstorming provided that extra recovery.

Besides all that, Zhao Cheng had noticed another keyword: "low-completion." His swordsmanship was only just proficient, so in a sense, it really was low-completion. After all, his swordsmanship level was only Lv. 4. If it were Lv. 10, Zhao Cheng had no doubt his training speed could increase tenfold.

He figured that as his swordsmanship improved, his training completion would rise as well, and the number of Source Points he gained should increase along with it.

As for the percentages in parentheses, they indicated the share of Source Points gained that came from each action.

Now that he had Source Points, Zhao Cheng immediately tapped into the Shop interface. Sure enough, the Shop, which had been completely empty before, now had items in it.

The Shop had two sub-interfaces: the Source Point Shop and the Simulation Point Shop. The Simulation Point section hadn't unlocked yet, so it was naturally still empty.

The one that had changed was the Source Point Shop.

The Source Point Shop was divided into three tiers from top to bottom. At the very top was the permanent pool, which currently contained only one item: a Simulation Point, priced at one Source Point.

The second tier was the Trait Modules exclusive to the Hyper-Dimensional Body. At the front were three randomly selected Trait Modules, each with a random discount. Tapping into them opened a subpage containing the full Trait Module catalog.

The third tier held three items usable only by the Hyper-Dimensional Body, which couldn't be manifested in reality.

The description for Simulation Points read: "A mysterious catalyst. Its power is not great in itself, but in the right place, it can produce effects that even hyper-dimensional life would marvel at."

Note: "Due to the limitations of its own life level, the Simulator has a cooldown period and cannot be used without limit. The cost doubles with each use and resets the next day."

This meant that the first time Zhao Cheng used a Simulation Point each day, it would cost only one. The second use would cost two, the third four, the fourth eight...

The description for the Trait Modules in the second tier read: "The manifestation of all traits that could possibly appear in the current world, past, present, or future."

Note: "The Hyper-Dimensional Body is the core of the simulation function. It transcends space-time and dimensions, allowing it to adapt to the laws of any world, accommodate any system of power, and possess an adaptability that surpasses the level of laws."

That description was quite interesting. From it, Zhao Cheng could infer that without this so-called Hyper-Dimensional Body, suddenly traveling from one world to another might leave him dead on the spot—let alone allow him to cultivate that world's system of power.

It was like taking a fish from the deep sea and putting it in the desert.

As for why Trait Modules could only be used by the Hyper-Dimensional Body, Zhao Cheng could vaguely guess the reason. His current body was merely mortal flesh; he couldn't equip a Trait Module as if it were some kind of add-on.

It was like installing an external plug-in on a computer: you needed a port first. Without one, a plug-in was no better than scrap metal.

He didn't have one, but the Hyper-Dimensional Body did, so it could load Trait Modules directly.

It wasn't impossible for him to equip one, but that wouldn't be the price. The core principle of the Panel was equivalent exchange. As long as the price was high enough, there was nothing it couldn't exchange for.

The same applied to the items in the third tier. Zhao Cheng guessed that these items were likely manifestations of some aspect of the Hyper-Dimensional Body's power, with Source Points serving merely as a catalyst.

Manifesting these wondrous items in reality would likewise take far more than a handful of Source Points.