The Mystery of Qi

"By that math, I have to kill a thousand of these small fries just to upgrade the Void Kalpa Sword to a blue-tier weapon?!"

Zhao Cheng did the mental math.

If this were any other "game," where killing a thousand mobs could evolve a weapon, Zhao Cheng would think the developers were truly benevolent.

But in this "hardcore" game, Zhao Cheng felt quite "damn it."

Given his current swordsmanship, even if a thousand mobs lined up to be slaughtered, he could likely only guarantee one kill per simulation. The second would be a toss-up—he might win, he might lose.

As for whether this city even held a thousand mobs, Zhao Cheng wasn't worried.

Every simulation was effectively a save-load cycle; in a sense, the monsters would "respawn."

That was why the Log mentioned a +5 Simulation Point bonus for a first kill.

Only the first kill granted those extra five points; thereafter, it would be the base one point.

Even so, that was only six points total.

Clearly, the correct way to play this game was to fight bosses; only then could one obtain a large amount of Simulation Points.

The only problem was that Zhao Cheng definitely couldn't beat one right now.

He even felt a bit battered just fighting the small fries.

After all, the opponent's fists were just too iron-hard!

Thinking of this, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but look at the Enhancement Stone in the Shop.

Although he had sworn a solemn oath in his past life never to touch the "dog-tier" enhancement system.

But now...

After checking his Source Point balance, Zhao Cheng decided to put that off for later.

A few bruises were fine; it wasn't impossible to kill them, and it served as good practice for his swordsmanship.

Besides, one or two Enhancement Stones wouldn't cause a qualitative change anyway.

Compared to the Enhancement Stone, Zhao Cheng felt it was better to kill a hundred mobs first and let the Void Kalpa Sword complete its initial evolution.

100% evolution would turn it into a blue-tier weapon, but in fact, every 10% progress would strengthen the Void Kalpa, providing attribute boosts. As for the jump from white to blue, that would be a qualitative leap.

Zhao Cheng pondered, feeling that all human suffering stemmed from a lack of Source Points and Simulation Points.

Next, Zhao Cheng began to examine the newly unlocked Monster Bestiary.

At this moment, the bestiary contained only a single white card.

The image on the card was none other than the Gray Man from before.

The card's name was Fist Art Master.

Clicking on it revealed a brief description.

A deceased existence, awakened by a mysterious power from the void. His memories have faded with the passage of time, and he has even forgotten his own self, leaving only an undying obsession with fist arts.

He wanders the world, forever throwing punches; perhaps total annihilation is a form of release.

This was the origin of the Gray Man, or rather, the Fist Art Master.

The opponent's fist technique was actually quite formidable; if not for the stiffness of his joints, Zhao Cheng would absolutely not have been a match for him.

However, what gave Zhao Cheng the most pause was the phrase "awakened by a mysterious power from the void."

A single Fist Art Master was already this powerful, and this world had birthed golden traits, as well as numerous purple ones.

If the possessors of those traits were to awaken under that mysterious power, just how terrifying would they be?!

Was there even a possibility that if that person's will was strong enough during their lifetime, they might retain some memories after being "resurrected"?

Zhao Cheng fell into deep thought, his body trembling slightly.

Not from fear, but from excitement!

Excitement that in the future, he could engage in life-or-death battles with those powerful figures—to decide the victor, and to decide who lives or dies.

In an instant, Zhao Cheng's anticipation for the future was maxed out.

After finishing the bestiary, Zhao Cheng didn't forget to open the Treasure Chest.

The best things must be saved for last, of course!

Zhao Cheng looked at the Treasure Chest (White) x1 in his inventory, took a deep breath, and felt the pain in his body fade slightly. Then, he focused his mind and clicked on it.

(Note: The Treasure Chest is an aggregate of valuable information and energy randomly extracted by the Hyper-Dimensional Body from the dimensional level, using causality as a guide; it possesses extreme randomness.)

There were no strange phenomena, only the Log refreshing:

You have obtained: Simulation Point +1, Enhancement Stone (White) +1, Heavenly Phoenix Soaring Fist (Blue) (Middle Volume) x1.

The Simulation Point and Enhancement Stone were known quantities, so Zhao Cheng clicked directly on the unfamiliar Heavenly Phoenix Soaring Fist.

Heavenly Phoenix Soaring Fist (Blue): One of the branches of the Southern Dipper Phoenix Fist. Seventeen hundred years ago, the founder of the Heavenly Phoenix Soaring Fist attained enlightenment at the Dead Sea and created the renowned Heavenly Phoenix School.

With every punch thrown, it is as if the Heavenly Phoenix has descended upon the world, or as if a phoenix is being reborn from the ashes.

This fist technique is one of the foundational arts of the Heavenly Phoenix School, containing the mysteries of "Qi" that allow one to become a martial artist.

If one were to cultivate it to the point of breaking through the limit, there would be a chance to comprehend a move from it: Heavenly Phoenix (Purple).

Zhao Cheng cast aside the information of little use and focused on the keyword: the mystery of Qi.

Zhao Cheng did not believe this Qi was a mere neurological illusion like in the real world, but rather, as he understood it, a form of transcendent energy.

Worlds are naturally not identical; there must be vast differences between them.

Take the transcendent energy system, for example. It is not that the real world did not want to develop one, but that it lacked the foundational conditions to do so.

Yet in this world, the mystery of Qi existed even within a blue-quality martial art. Clearly, this was not some high-end power.

It was even highly probable that one could cultivate it through white-quality fist techniques as well.

This Heavenly Phoenix School, having maintained its inheritance for over a thousand years, was evidently formidable.

Zhao Cheng opened the Heavenly Phoenix Soaring Fist (Blue) (Middle Volume) in his item bar. A interface the size of a standard book immediately appeared. It did not display the fist technique in traditional pages, but rather a small figure outlined in lines performing the movements.

Beyond that, the figure featured glowing points and lines connecting them.

Furthermore, there were numerous text annotations that shifted in tandem with the figure's movements.

"Acupoints, pores, essence, Qi!"

Zhao Cheng scanned the manual roughly, extracting the key information.

Because the manual only contained the middle volume, it lacked the introductory portion of the upper volume and the sublimation portion of the lower volume.

However, this did not mean the middle volume could not be practiced alone; it simply meant that because it was incomplete, even if mastered, it could not fully unleash the technique's potential.

The middle volume primarily detailed the process of tempering the body's essence and circulating it through the fist technique to nourish the flesh, ultimately reaching the limits of the human body.

Zhao Cheng surmised that the lower volume of this martial art should explain how to condense essence, while the upper volume should explain how to transform essence into "Qi."

At the same time, even if this martial art were complete, it could not be practiced in the real world because humans there lacked the energy network required for the circulation of essence or Qi.

Yet, this was enough to fill Zhao Cheng with anticipation.

A brand-new power system corresponded to an unprecedented landscape.

Moreover, with the Panel, he might not be unable to replicate this world's power onto his true self in the future; it was merely a matter of the cost involved.

Furthermore, mastering this power would certainly be a massive boost to his combat strength, which could accelerate his "clearance" progress.