In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
Over those two weeks, Wang Chen's strength had undergone a world-shaking transformation.
He had soared straight from Three-Stage Dou Qi to Seven-Stage Dou Qi.
He had also learned another Dou Technique.
A defensive Dou Technique that increased his defense.
On top of that, he had also cultivated the Mystic Tier Shattering Stone Kick to the minor mastery stage.
However, because of his limited strength and the lack of a special Medicinal Bath to complement it, his progress with Shattering Stone Kick had nearly come to a halt.
To keep improving, he either needed to gather the ingredients for a special Medicinal Bath or increase his own strength.
Raising his strength so much in half a month had naturally come at a cost.
His money had run out completely.
Of course, compared to how much stronger he had become, that cost was hardly worth mentioning.
But if he wanted to keep improving at such a rapid pace, he would have to find a way to earn more money.
The Xiao Clan's back mountain.
"Shattering Stone Kick!"
Wang Chen spun three hundred and sixty degrees in midair, then slammed his right heel straight into the enormous boulder he had once lain on.
Boom!!!
The sizable boulder shattered beneath Wang Chen's kick.
A shower of broken stones scattered in every direction.
But they didn't affect Wang Chen in the slightest. His defensive Dou Technique was more than enough to block them.
After breaking the boulder, Wang Chen performed a seven-hundred-and-twenty-degree backflip and landed steadily.
"Whew~~"
After letting out a deep breath, Wang Chen nodded with satisfaction.
With his current attack power, he was absolutely invincible among those at the Dou Qi stage.
Even ordinary Dou Zhes would never be his match, unless they were cheats like Huohuo.
But it wasn't a big problem. He had reached Seven-Stage Dou Qi in half a month.
At that rate, he could break through to Dou Zhe in no more than another half month.
"Looks like I have no choice but to take a little risk."
Even the greatest hero could be brought low by a single coin!
That was exactly Wang Chen's situation now.
He wasn't Huohuo, who could borrow money from his clan-leader father and wealthy girlfriend.
If he wanted to buy resources, he would have to figure it out himself.
But it wasn't too big a problem. His Enhancement Ability wasn't just for show.
All he needed to do was enhance a worthless medicinal herb, and that would be enough to cultivate to Dou Zhe.
He had worked out that this was the least risky approach.
It wouldn't earn him as much as selling enhanced Medicinal Baths outright, but it greatly reduced the danger.
A Medicinal Bath that could be used by someone at the Dou Qi stage would attract enormous attention.
Wang Chen didn't have Yao Lao's kind of backing. He had no intention of risking his life for a gamble.
"Hm?"
Just as Wang Chen was about to return home and get a medicinal herb to enhance and sell, something caught his eye.
At the center of the boulder he had kicked apart, there seemed to be a small object.
"What's that?"
Wang Chen had spent years in this place, yet he had never imagined there might be something buried beneath it.
Its shape looked a little like a ring.
Staring at the center of the boulder, Wang Chen fell into thought.
An unknown object had suddenly appeared. Should he go take a look?
In a normal world, Wang Chen wouldn't have hesitated.
But this was the Dou Qi Continent.
Who knew whether some old monster might show up? Possession wasn't out of the question either.
After all, Xiao Yan's cheat, Yao Lao, had been living inside a ring.
Given Xiao Yan's circumstances at the beginning, it wasn't impossible that Yao Lao could have possessed him.
Wang Chen had no intention of gambling with his life.
But with something that might be a treasure right in front of him, it was hard to simply look away.
Besides, he had trained in this place for years. If something really was wrong, he couldn't completely distance himself from it anyway.
After thinking it over for a moment, Wang Chen decided to take a look.
The timid starved to death, while the bold ate their fill.
Of course, the main reason was that Wang Chen had a Golden Finger.
The moment he touched it, he could use his Golden Finger to enhance it and determine whether there was anything wrong.
If the enhancement succeeded, that would mean there was no problem.
If it failed, that would mean something was really inside.
Once he knew for sure, he could think of a countermeasure.
That was better than knowing nothing and endlessly guessing.
Wang Chen quickly composed himself, pretending to be excited at the discovery of a treasure, and headed straight toward the center of the boulder.
Crack!
Wang Chen swiftly broke through the thin layer of stone, revealing the object inside.
It really was a ring.
Small, and a purplish black.
"Enhance!"
The instant Wang Chen touched it, he used his Enhancement Ability.
A burst of spiritual power was consumed, and a streak of light enveloped the purplish-black ring.
"It worked!"
Realizing that his ability had succeeded, Wang Chen was in an excellent mood.
That meant he hadn't exposed anything.
The enhancement had also let him identify the ring.
It was a Storage Ring.
Although it was only a low-grade Storage Ring, it was still a treasure Wang Chen couldn't afford.
He had planned to wait until he was stronger before obtaining a Storage Ring.
He never would have expected this staple of a protagonist to come right to him.
[Storage Ring (Enhanced +1) Size: 1,000 cubic meters Trait: Once fully refined, it cannot be forcibly breached unless the intruder's soul realm is two major realms higher than the host's.]
After learning what the ring could do, Wang Chen was quite excited.
With this thing, he would have somewhere to store the Medicinal Baths and Medicinal Meals he enhanced.
It was much safer than hiding them in his room.
There wouldn't be any problems in the short term, but once he revealed his formidable strength, some gentleman of the rafters might come calling.
After putting on the Storage Ring, Wang Chen headed toward his room.
After all, he was in desperate need of resources to rapidly increase his strength.
The newly acquired Storage Ring contained no treasures at all. It was completely empty.
Wang Chen's initial hope of making a fortune had come to nothing.
Still, obtaining a Storage Ring was already pretty good.
Not many people in the Xiao Clan owned one.
For an obscure nobody like him, having one at all was good enough. What more could he ask for?
Once he returned to his room, Wang Chen immediately put all his belongings into the Storage Ring.
He stored the three remaining herbs inside and even put away the large bathing tub.
His storage space was spacious enough, so the tub wouldn't take up much room.
After checking carefully to make sure he hadn't missed anything, he took out a Ten-Year Red Blood Ginseng, roughly equivalent to a Second Grade medicinal herb.
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