Fist of the Azure Heaven

The world remained shrouded in darkness, yet from the moment he first descended here, Zhao Cheng knew he was not trapped in some sealed, airtight space.

Though he could see nothing, he could still determine that his surroundings were vast and open; furthermore, this was no desolate wilderness, but a place bearing the traces of civilization.

Even with a thick layer of dust coating the ground, the concrete beneath it served as proof of this.

If only I had a module that allowed for vision in the dark. It goes to show that some Trait Module options, while seemingly inferior to those that directly increase Sword Arts Prodigy level caps, can have miraculous effects in certain situations.

Zhao Cheng thought to himself.

With this in mind, Zhao Cheng looked at the Panel once more.

Earlier, due to the massive shift in his swordsmanship talent, Zhao Cheng had only glanced at the Panel roughly and had not studied it in detail.

Now, as Zhao Cheng examined it carefully, column by column, he immediately discovered some hidden information.

In the Trait column, a sub-interface had appeared, labeled: Trait Module Load Slots 3/6.

This indicated that the number of Trait Module options Zhao Cheng could equip was not infinite; he was limited to six.

This effectively dispelled Zhao Cheng's idea of simply redeeming a pile of white-tier traits to overcome quality with sheer quantity.

After all, the price of Trait Module options was set accordingly.

A top-tier white Trait Module cost no more than ninety-nine points, while a top-tier blue Trait Module cost ten times that amount.

Although increasing the level cap was merely the foundation for high-level modules, their true power lay in their other effects.

Yet, there is a miracle in numbers; ten top-tier white Trait Module options would directly grant +10 to the Sword Arts Prodigy level cap, whereas even the most elite blue Trait Module would only dare to offer +2. No matter how dazzling the subsequent special effects were, they could not compensate for a gap of a full eight levels in the cap.

Zhao Cheng had previously wondered if there would be a limit to the number of Trait Module options he could equip. After all, this ability was already quite buggy; in a sense, it broke the rules. If he could equip an infinite number, even the last shred of balance would be gone.

This so-called balance Zhao Cheng considered was not the balance of the macro-universe, but one of the core tenets of his own Panel ability: Equivalent Exchange.

One must understand that, logically speaking, reality is not a game; white traits are destined to have limits and caps.

Even if a normal human were to simultaneously acquire Sword Arts Prodigy (Purple), Sword Affinity (White), and Sword Heart (Blue), it would be impossible to simply and crudely add them up to a +8 Sword Arts Prodigy level cap based on their descriptions.

Under normal circumstances, there should be a weighting coefficient based on the rank of the trait. Assuming the weight of purple is 1, then blue would be 0.1, and white 0.01. Adding these three talents together would only yield 1.11, and even with the cumulative linkage effects of the talents, the Sword Arts Prodigy level cap would increase by at most 6.

In a sense, Zhao Cheng's Trait Module system directly modified the "rules of the world."

Regarding this, Zhao Cheng only felt it was impressive, though it did not exceed his expectations.

The Panel had already provided an explanation regarding his Hyper-Dimensional Body; the current situation was likely a partial manifestation of this "transcending the rules."

Reality is not a game, so quality usually outweighs quantity, but for Zhao Cheng, quality is quantity, and vice versa.

However, it was clear that this transcendence of rules was not infinite but finite; the restriction of these six slots was a manifestation of a certain balance.

If there were truly no balance to speak of, Zhao Cheng would instead feel panicked. After all, his own existence was finite, not infinite; the finite can only command the finite, while only the infinite can command the infinite.

If the pie were too big, it would very likely crush a person to death.

Zhao Cheng had a clear self-awareness of the extent of his own capabilities.

Zhao Cheng remembered a classic saying from his past life: a true master always keeps the heart of an apprentice.

He was certainly not a master now; at best, he was an apprentice, even with the Panel.

At the same time, the more ignorant a person is, the more arrogant they become, thinking they can control everything.

Yet Zhao Cheng, having experienced the snow disaster filled with overwhelming, crushing force in his past life and having felt the terror of nature, understood that humanity ultimately has its limits.

And as a human, how could one possibly control everything and command everything?!

If the Panel truly transcended everything, what awaited Zhao Cheng would likely be self-destruction.

Of course, it was also possible that Zhao Cheng's own cognition was limiting the power of the Panel.

After all, the source of the Panel within the Trait column remained a mass of question marks.

Since there is such a thing as a slot count, this number must be increaseable. Under the principle of Equivalent Exchange, it is merely a matter of the magnitude of the cost.

Zhao Cheng thought, feeling even more motivated.

There is no rush to use the remaining three slots to increase the Sword Arts Prodigy level cap. The top priority is to find a way to see this world. Otherwise, if I cannot see anything, let alone clearing the instance, even basic exploration will be a problem.

As Zhao Cheng's thoughts shifted, he already felt that something was wrong.

What happened to the promised savior script? What happened to the civilization-nurturing premise?!

He did not doubt that the Panel had given him false instance information, but rather that the information provided by the Panel was incomplete.

The Panel stated that a 20th-century nuclear war had destroyed civilization.

But even if all the world's nuclear bombs exploded at once, the dust generated could not possibly completely block the sun to the point of creating such a scene where not a shred of light could be seen.

As his thoughts turned, Zhao Cheng looked at the Trait library in the Panel Shop. Sure enough, the Shop's Trait library had updated—or rather, it had incorporated all the traits from this world's past and present into its inventory.

Red remained unchanged; Gold had added one Trait Module; Purple had increased by over a hundred; and the quantity of Blue and White had increased significantly.

This world actually contains Gold-tier traits!

Zhao Cheng was somewhat surprised.

According to the settings, the Purple rank was the level of a "Child of the World," destined to accomplish great deeds. As for Gold, even in the real world, if not for the special changes during the Shang Dynasty, a Gold-tier trait would not have existed at all.

Zhao Cheng looked at the newly added Gold-tier trait.

Fist of the Azure Heaven (Gold): The base level cap for all fist techniques is increased by 10, the level cap for all fist techniques is increased by +10, the proficiency required to improve fist techniques is drastically reduced, the quality of all practiced fist techniques is increased by +1, and comprehension and inspiration for fist techniques grow explosively. Any fist technique with a quality lower than Gold can be learned instantly after observing it once, and will be raised to level 10. All learned fist techniques will autonomously integrate and master themselves as time passes.

This is the power of a Gold trait. Generally speaking, the base level cap for all human skills is 5, which means that as long as someone possesses the Gold trait Fist of the Azure Heaven, they will directly gain an increase of fifteen skill level caps.

As for the subsequent effects, they are even more heaven-defying; Purple-grade fist techniques do not even require manuals, as they reach max level simply by watching someone use them once.

The most formidable aspect, however, is the effect where all learned fist techniques naturally integrate and master themselves, meaning that as long as the fist techniques continue to evolve, this person can also continue to grow stronger without any limits.

This is a Gold trait; although it cannot compare to Red, it is still powerful to a heaven-defying degree.

However, even the Fist of the Azure Heaven, which appears so incredibly heaven-defying, is not the strongest among all the Gold traits Zhao Cheng knows of.