Severe Situation

Having made his decision, Li Dingguo rose and told Zhang Xianzhong that he needed to relieve himself. Then he turned and jogged back to the now-empty inner courtyard, quickly entering the side room where he lived.

He shut the door securely, swiftly sat cross-legged on the floor, steadied his emotions, and, once he had regained his calm, began his Cheat System's first point-adding exploit.

With a thought, he used his will to tap the plus sign beside the cultivation method entry.

The seven-colored cultivation method rune within his Spirit Sea suddenly exploded!

At the same time, a chaotic gray mist appeared out of nowhere and instantly merged into the reforming cultivation method rune!

In a daze, Li Dingguo felt a Nine-Colored Cultivation Method Rune reappear within his Spirit Sea.

Then, even more profound information than before flowed into Li Dingguo's mind.

Although he did not recognize those incomparably complicated words, he could clearly comprehend their meaning, as though he had been born knowing them. It was astonishingly miraculous!

At that moment, the Cheat System panel surfaced in his mind once more:

Host: Li Dingguo
Age: 10

Physique: 10
Mental Energy: 4

Skill: Tiger Roar Fist+ (Beginner)
Cultivation Method: Circumstellar True Scripture+ (Not Initiated)

Fortune: 10 (If Fortune Value reaches zero, calamity will surely strike)

Star Destiny: Army Breaker (Not Activated)

Seeing that half his Fortune Value had been consumed, leaving him with only ten points, Li Dingguo's heart ached terribly.

However, when he saw that his primary cultivation method had been upgraded from the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Star Scripture to the Circumstellar True Scripture, and that its cultivation method rune had changed from seven colors to nine, he was ecstatic once more.

From the names of the two primary cultivation methods alone, one could guess the immense difference between them. The Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Star Scripture, as its name suggested, belonged to the category of cultivation methods representing a single star system.

The Circumstellar True Scripture, on the other hand, encompassed the stars of the heavens. The realm of its conception far surpassed that of the original Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Star Scripture.

The upgrade from the former seven-colored cultivation method rune to the current Nine-Colored Cultivation Method Rune was proof enough.

The two were simply not on the same level.

Needless to say, the current Circumstellar True Scripture was of a far higher grade than the original Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Star Scripture.

Li Dingguo also understood that in the world of cultivators, the better one's primary cultivation method, the stronger the foundation and reserves one could build, and the brighter one's prospects would be. This was a tremendous blessing that money could never buy.

This Fortune Value is far too miraculous—and far too precious.

It seems I greatly underestimated just how valuable Fortune Value was before.

Having personally experienced its miraculous effects, Li Dingguo thought to himself, The more precious something is, the harder it must be to obtain.

In the future, aside from naturally increasing through gaining fortuitous opportunities, it probably won't be easy to acquire large amounts of Fortune Value through other means.

He was no fool. Since Fortune Value was so miraculous, and consuming half of his own Fortune Value had allowed his primary cultivation method to be deduced and upgraded into such an unbelievably powerful one, how could this mysterious Fortune Value be described by something as cheap as merely "precious"?

Still, it was understandable. Only after the Cheat System had consumed the total Fortune of ten ordinary people had he obtained this supreme primary cultivation method.

Of course, that was also because the upgraded Circumstellar True Scripture and the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Star Scripture came from the same lineage and shared the same roots.

Otherwise, using the Cheat System to cheat a seven-colored True Scripture Cultivation Method into a nine-colored True Scripture Cultivation Method would have consumed far more than ten points of Fortune Value.

Over these past few days, through Zhang Xianzhong's favor, Li Dingguo had continuously altered his own fate, which was why his Fortune Value had risen again and again.

From an orphaned beggar with nothing, he had been taken in by the Rebel Army, then nurtured with all their strength into a true monstrous Genius Martial Artist. Not only had he broken through to become a Martial Artist, he had also undergone a Qi and Blood Limit Break, transforming his physique.

Now, he had received Zhang Xianzhong's divine technique, thoroughly solidifying his foundation.

Only the repeated stacking of these opportunities had caused Li Dingguo's Fortune to increase time and again.

However, Li Dingguo estimated that the Fortune that could naturally grow from Zhang Xianzhong's help had probably nearly reached its limit.

From now on, it would likely be difficult for his Fortune to continue growing naturally.

I hope I can learn of another way to obtain Fortune in the future.

Since he had no clue for now, Li Dingguo stopped letting his thoughts run wild and hurriedly withdrew his mind from his Spirit Sea.

To his surprise, he discovered that this entire series of actions had taken only a dozen or so breaths in the outside world!

With the point-adding exploit complete, Li Dingguo immediately got up, hurried to a nearby latrine to relieve himself, then jogged back to the front courtyard and approached Zhang Xianzhong, who was saying something to Ai Nengqi.

Seeing Li Dingguo return, Zhang Xianzhong continued instructing him and Ai Nengqi on matters requiring attention in their future cultivation.

Only around a quarter of an hour later did this round of instruction in their primary cultivation method officially come to an end.

Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi exchanged a glance, their faces full of delight. They rose together and respectfully bowed to Zhang Xianzhong. "Many thanks, Great King!"

Both of them bowed with complete sincerity, without the slightest trace of falsehood.

It could be said that from this moment onward, the two had truly changed their fates against the heavens, drawing an end to their former miserable lives, where they could barely survive from one day to the next.

Not only were they now monstrous Genius Martial Artists, the kind invincible among those of the same realm, they had also received the inheritance of true Divine Techniques and Marvelous Methods. So long as they worked hard and had a little luck, their futures would be bright and full of promise.

"Good! Good!"

Zhang Xianzhong's face was still somewhat pale, but with his Mental Energy, he could clearly sense the sincere gratitude of the two youngsters before him. He smiled in satisfaction, nodded, and said, "Rise."

"This True Scripture Cultivation Method has already been passed on to you both. From this day forth, I hope you will not slacken and will strive to comprehend and cultivate it!"

"On the path of martial arts, innate talent is certainly important, but comprehension and unremitting effort are equally important."

"The imperial court's encirclement army will arrive within two or three months at the latest. When that time comes, with the current strength of our Rebel Army, we definitely will not be able to hold Dingbian City."

"If the authorities take us seriously enough, they may even send Cao Wenzhao, Deputy Commander of the Eastern Yansui Route, to lead the three thousand elite cavalry under his command here!"

"That Cao Wenzhao is far more than merely a Deputy Commander guarding one region."

"The three thousand Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry under his command are all elites who have fought the Liaodong Tartars countless times. Their combat strength is extraordinarily formidable!"

"A few months ago this year, because of his outstanding merits, Cao Wenzhao was promoted from a Liaodong regional commander to Deputy Commander of the Eastern Yansui Route, taking the three thousand Guan Ning Army elites under his command with him to assume his post."

"This Cao Wenzhao, along with the three thousand Guan-Ning Iron Cavalry soldiers under him, is the strongest elite force in all of Liaodong—even in the entire Great Ming Dynasty. There is no second!"

Zhang Xianzhong paused here before continuing, "There is no other reason. This elite frontier cavalry force was forged into a mighty army through battle after battle of life and death against the Tartars alongside Cao Wenzhao! It is also the only mighty army in the current imperial court that dares to meet large Tartar cavalry forces head-on in open battle with a smaller force!"

"Among the Nine Border Garrisons today, no force of equal numbers can contend with them!"

"Even more terrifying is this: Cao Wenzhao himself is one of the Great Ming Dynasty's publicly acknowledged ten greatest experts. His Guerrilla General, his nephew Cao Bianjiao, is an even more outstanding rising star. He can even be called the number one expert under heaven!"

"It can be said that if Cao Wenzhao, Deputy Commander of the Eastern Yansui Route, personally leads an army here, all we can do is flee in defeat. We would have no way to fight them!"

"Enough. I'm telling you two youngsters all this so that you will seize the time and cultivate diligently, striving to break through to the third realm of Martial Artists before the imperial court's army arrives."

"Only then will you have some ability to preserve your lives, rather than dying miserably at the hands of the government troops before you have even grown, wasting all my painstaking efforts."

"Whether for your own lives or for me, Zhang Xianzhong, you must conduct yourselves well."

"As for the cultivation resources you need in the Body Tempering Realm, I will do my best to provide them during this time. You need only cultivate diligently."

In an earnest and heartfelt manner, he explained to Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi the immense danger the Rebel Army would soon face.

He had placed far too many expectations on these two youngsters. Only by hoping that they would grow stronger as quickly as possible could they help share his burdens.