The Role of Mental Power

Quite a few miners had gathered around the mine entrance, making the place feel lively.

"Everyone, please stay calm. I know you can't afford food if you don't mine, but whose fault is it for not keeping a few copper coins on hand?"

Steward Niu said unhurriedly, both hands tucked into his sleeves:

"There's a problem with the mine right now, so it has to be sealed for a while. We'll wait for an important figure from the Mountains and Rivers Sect to come and make a decision.

If you insist on entering the Fire Crystal Mine at a time like this, aren't you just walking into the line of fire?"

An important figure from the Mountains and Rivers Sect?

The miners who had been making a fuss immediately fell silent.

"Off you go."

Steward Niu waved a hand.

The miners looked at one another, then could only leave with their heads hanging.

"What do we do?! We already went hungry all day yesterday. If we still can't mine today, won't we have to go hungry for another day?"

Lin Guoliang looked at Chen Xu, his face deathly pale.

"I can go hungry, but Mengmeng can't."

Wu Meng looked somewhat weak.

Chen Xu's expression grew serious. He knew something must have happened inside the mine.

He had no idea when it would be unsealed.

"No choice but to..."

He spotted Yang Ling.

Chen Xu gritted his teeth and hurried over.

"Brother Yang, could you lend us a little more money? We can't go down into the mine these next few days, and we're already at the end of our rope..."

Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng's eyes lit up, and they immediately crowded over.

"How many days have you been hungry?"

Yang Ling asked with a smile.

Chen Xu gave a bitter smile. "We didn't eat yesterday."

"I do have some dry rations here. Take them and make do for now. I reckon things should be more or less settled in another two or three days."

Yang Ling gave Chen Xu six of his flatbreads.

Chen Xu was instantly overjoyed.

But Wu Meng blurted out, "These flatbreads are hard and dry. I tried one before, and they tasted awful."

"You're starving, and you still care whether it tastes good?"

Yang Ling smiled. "They fill you up better than steamed buns."

With that, Yang Ling turned and left.

Since he couldn't mine, he could only keep grinding the proficiency of his Mountain-Crushing Fist.

Chen Xu divided the flatbreads between Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng. As he bit into one, he said:

"Brother Yang is a good person. Out of all these miners, he's the only one who's helped us twice."

Lin Guoliang wolfed down his flatbread.

"No matter how good he is, he's still just an NPC. We have to rely on ourselves here."

Chen Xu glanced at him, then casually asked:

"Have either of you noticed anything strange about your bodies these past two days?"

"Strange? My stomach hurts a little from not eating."

Lin Guoliang replied instinctively.

Wu Meng said, "The bed boards here are too hard. I miss my Simmons mattress."

"..."

Chen Xu unconsciously clenched his fist.

He had discovered that his strength had inexplicably increased greatly the day before the mine was sealed.

"At the time, a warm current appeared inside my body. The increase in strength should be related to it."

"Did mining level me up? Lin Guoliang and Wu Meng have been slacking off lately, secretly cutting corners, so maybe they haven't leveled up yet?"

"Should I tell them about this..."

Chen Xu hesitated.

"Chen Xu, we don't know how long the mine will be closed. Catch up to that NPC and borrow some more copper coins.

Wu Meng and I haven't had a proper meal in a long time. I want to treat her to something good tonight."

Lin Guoliang said.

Forget it. I won't tell them.

Chen Xu turned and walked away.

"If you want to borrow money, go ask him yourself."

"Tch. What are you putting on airs for?"

Lin Guoliang frowned slightly.

Outside Miner Village stood a very conspicuous courtyard.

It was Supervisor Wu's residence.

When Yang Ling saw Zhang Wei walking out of it in wild delight, he knew the guy had bought an official identity.

He was no longer a refugee.

"Zhang Wei's Zhang Family Leg Technique is only at the beginner level too. I wonder how much proficiency he has and how many points he is from Initial Mastery?"

Yang Ling's thoughts stirred.

Zhang Wei also noticed Yang Ling standing still and staring at him, and he immediately felt a little guilty.

But once he remembered that he was now a registered citizen, he straightened his chest and walked over to Yang Ling with a smile.

"Yang Ling, I'm not a refugee anymore. I've been registered in Green Mountain City.

I'm leaving tomorrow to find work in Green Mountain City."

"Oh, congratulations. But shouldn't you give me an explanation?"

Yang Ling said lightly.

"What explanation?"

Zhang Wei feigned ignorance.

"The cultivation requirement for Mountain-Crushing Fist is 8 Strength and 3 Mental Power."

"You only mentioned the Strength requirement back then. You didn't say a single word about Mental Power."

Yang Ling said.

"Did I? Then maybe I forgot."

Zhang Wei smiled. "Don't worry. Once your Mental Power increases in the future, you'll be able to cultivate Mountain-Crushing Fist."

"My Mental Power happens to be 3, so I've already learned Mountain-Crushing Fist."

Yang Ling said.

Zhang Wei froze for a moment, then stared at Yang Ling in disbelief.

"Why is your Mental Power 3? How come mine is only..."

He immediately shut his mouth and did not continue.

"Looks like yours is at most 2, so you couldn't learn Mountain-Crushing Fist. That's why you sold the thing to me."

Yang Ling smiled. "I should thank you for helping me become a Martial Artist."

"Damn it, why is this guy's Mental Power so high? Why does he have 2 more points than me?"

Zhang Wei cursed inwardly, then said blandly:

"Since that's the case, what are you looking for me for?"

"It's about proficiency."

Yang Ling cautiously swept his gaze around.

"For now, you and I are the only two players in the mine. You said before that we should share information. Does that no longer count?"

"Proficiency? It goes up as long as you cultivate slowly."

Zhang Wei's expression shifted.

"When you cultivate Mountain-Crushing Fist, how long does it take to gain 1 point of proficiency?"

"About... ten hours."

"Ten hours? The same as me?"

Zhang Wei fell into thought.

"Initial Mastery requires 100 proficiency points, right?"

"Right."

Yang Ling nodded, but he was deeply concerned by what Zhang Wei had just said.

It took the other man ten hours to gain 1 point of proficiency?

"I'm ten times faster than him. Wait... is it because of Mental Power?"

Yang Ling suddenly realized.

At first, he had not known what Mental Power was useful for.

Later, he discovered it was related to the requirements for cultivating martial arts.

But now it seemed... perhaps the rate at which martial techniques and cultivation methods gained proficiency and experience was also related to Mental Power?

"In other words... as long as I raise my Mental Power, I can greatly increase both martial technique proficiency and martial arts cultivation experience in the future..."

At that thought, Yang Ling grew impatient.

Once the mine reopened, he had to test whether his guess was right!

"That's right. If I only sleep two or three hours a day, I can barely gain 2 proficiency points. I only need 50 days to reach Initial Mastery, and then martial techniques can boost our strength."

Zhang Wei said, "But no one can sleep just two or three hours a day, so practicing martial arts for ten hours a day is more reasonable.

That means it'll take around a hundred days to cultivate a martial technique to Initial Mastery."

At this point, he glanced at Yang Ling and smiled.

"For the sake of you saving me back then, I'll share another piece of information I only just got."

"Oh? What information?"

Yang Ling was curious.

Zhang Wei smiled. "I just gave one of the mine guards a little something and asked about martial techniques."

"For someone with ordinary aptitude, cultivating a low-grade martial technique to Initial Mastery takes at least a year."

"So we're actually geniuses."

"Geniuses..."

Yang Ling pondered this.

Then it seemed that the existence of proficiency really did allow players to master martial techniques faster.

Even if Zhang Wei only had 1 point of Mental Power, he was still far better than ordinary people.

He had cultivated Mountain-Crushing Fist to Initial Mastery in four or five days.

If anyone was truly a genius, it might be him.