Zhu Youning gazed at Miaocheng Tian, who had already drifted off to sleep. He slipped quietly out of the room and made his way to a secret chamber in the prince's manor.
He opened the system.
Thanks to the uninterrupted medicinal meals he'd eaten over this period, Zhu Youning had accumulated 345 training cycles.
That was quite a lot. With more than three hundred training cycles, he could easily exchange for three peerless martial arts.
But this time, Zhu Youning didn't plan to exchange for any more martial arts.
He only had four slots for automatic martial arts training. If he exchanged for too many techniques, he wouldn't have the time to keep track of them all or train in them simultaneously.
As the saying went, an army's strength lay not in its size, but in its quality. Training was the same.
It was useless to learn a whole host of martial arts if he didn't master a single one.
It would be better to wait until the four techniques he was training automatically reached great mastery before exchanging for more.
Cultivating internal energy was a gradual process of accumulation, like gathering feathers until they formed a cloak.
But with the system, Zhu Youning could speed that process up without limit.
The four peerless martial arts already occupied his training slots. All he needed to do now was find a way to boost their training efficiency as much as possible.
But the ordinary tonics Wu Yi had bought could no longer improve Zhu Youning's efficiency.
Only rare treasures like the Tianshan Snow Lotus and Millennium Fire Lingzhi Mushroom could do that.
Yet rare treasures like the Tianshan Snow Lotus were extraordinarily scarce, and could only be found by chance.
Wu Yi had already been incredibly lucky to obtain one from an outer disciple of the Tianshan Sword Sect. Finding another treasure of the same caliber wouldn't be easy.
As for the Millennium Fire Lingzhi Mushroom... Zhu Youning knew it would appear somewhere near Yuzhou City, but he didn't know exactly where.
Rather than search blindly, he might as well wait for the Millennium Fire Lingzhi Mushroom to emerge and then seize it.
Still, even without a miraculous herb like the Millennium Fire Lingzhi Mushroom, Zhu Youning could find other rare treasures to use in its place.
Because he had the system.
All he had to do now was spend his 345 training cycles on enough precious treasures to aid his cultivation.
Zhu Youning opened the system shop and browsed the available items, then settled on a fairly reasonable exchange plan.
He planned to support his cultivation from both within and without.
For internal use, he would exchange for three items: the Tiger Leopard Dragon Snake Pill, the Great Restoration Pill, and Five Treasure Flower Nectar Wine.
[Tiger Leopard Dragon Snake Pill: A pill refined through secret methods from rare, highly nourishing medicinal ingredients. It has the miraculous effect of increasing one's power. Exchangeable for 20 training cycles]
[Great Restoration Pill: An exclusive Shaolin Temple pill, extremely rare and regarded as a peerless elixir. It has the miraculous effect of greatly increasing one's power. Exchangeable for 100 training cycles]
[Five Treasure Flower Nectar Wine: Wine brewed by the Five Poisons Sect using a green snake, centipede, spider, scorpion, and toad. It is crystal-clear and as white as spring water, with a strong floral fragrance added to mask the stench of the poisonous creatures. Drinking it greatly increases one's power. Exchangeable for 30 training cycles]
For external support, he needed two items: Celestial Master Sandalwood and a Cold Jade Pendant.
[Celestial Master Sandalwood: This incense is a rare treasure from Tianzhu. Its name means that Heaven bestows blessings and the master aids those below. It can enhance a martial artist's power. Burning a stick while practicing internal arts doubles the results for half the effort. This item is for one-time use and is consumed completely once burned. Exchangeable for 25 training cycles]
[Cold Jade Pendant: Cold jade dug from beneath hundreds of layers of solid ice in the bitterly cold lands of the far north. It is the most yin and frigid substance in the world. Wearing it clears the heart's fire, allowing one to cultivate with greater vigor. Exchangeable for 50 training cycles]
Once he had made up his mind, Zhu Youning didn't hesitate. He quickly exchanged for four Tiger Leopard Dragon Snake Pills, two Great Restoration Pills, three pots of Five Treasure Flower Nectar Wine, one Cold Jade Pendant, and one stick of Celestial Master Sandalwood, using up all 345 of his training cycles!
Though he had spent every last training cycle, it was well worth it!
Zhu Youning first put on the Cold Jade Pendant, then lit the Celestial Master Sandalwood. After that, he swallowed a Great Restoration Pill and sat down cross-legged.
Before long, his body began absorbing the medicinal power contained in the Great Restoration Pill, and his various internal arts absorbed and refined it. Then the Qi Scripture began to nourish him in return with even more true qi, which flowed through his meridians.
After barely a minute, Zhu Youning's face began to flush, and a misty aura appeared around him.
About half an hour later, Zhu Youning had converted all the Great Restoration Pill's medicinal power into his own strength. The internal energy in his dantian immediately grew immensely powerful.
But that wasn't enough. Zhu Youning soon drank the Five Treasure Flower Nectar Wine and swallowed a Tiger Leopard Dragon Snake Pill...
Throughout the process, system notifications rang out nonstop in Zhu Youning's mind.
[Ding! Because you took a Great Restoration Pill, your martial art, the Qi Scripture, completed automatic training ahead of schedule. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Because you took a Great Restoration Pill, your martial art, the Northern Dark Divine Art, completed automatic training. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Because you took a Great Restoration Pill, your martial art, the Wedding Dress Divine Art (Fake), completed automatic training ahead of schedule. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Because you took a Great Restoration Pill, your martial art, the Yin Yang Fusion Art, completed automatic training. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Because your Cold Jade Pendant activated a special effect, your martial art, the Qi Scripture, completed automatic training ahead of schedule. Proficiency increased] [Ding! Because your Cold Jade Pendant activated a special effect, your martial art, the Northern Dark Divine Art, completed automatic training. Proficiency increased] [Ding! Because your Cold Jade Pendant activated a special effect, your martial art, the Wedding Dress Divine Art (Fake), completed automatic training ahead of schedule. Proficiency increased] [Ding! Because your Cold Jade Pendant activated a special effect, your martial art, the Yin Yang Fusion Art, completed automatic training. Proficiency increased] [Ding! Thanks to the effect of the Celestial Master Sandalwood, your martial arts training was twice as effective for half the effort. Your martial art, the Qi Scripture, completed automatic training ahead of schedule. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Thanks to the effect of the Celestial Master Sandalwood, your martial arts training was twice as effective for half the effort. Your martial art, the Northern Dark Divine Art, completed automatic training. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Thanks to the effect of the Celestial Master Sandalwood, your martial arts training was twice as effective for half the effort. Your martial art, the Wedding Dress Divine Art (Fake), completed automatic training ahead of schedule. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Ding! Thanks to the effect of the Celestial Master Sandalwood, your martial arts training was twice as effective for half the effort. Your martial art, the Yin Yang Fusion Art, completed automatic training. Proficiency increased] [You gained 1 training cycle!] [Current training cycles: 82]
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