Golden Finger?

The more Yang Que thought about it, the more restless he grew. He felt ready to explode. Just then, a delicate fragrance drifted over, refreshing his mind and sweeping away his agitation. Intrigued, he followed the scent and pushed aside a thicket. There stood a strange little sapling with nine branches, each bearing a fruit that shimmered with color. His first instinct was to turn and run. This was clearly a spirit fruit born of heaven and earth, and according to what the village chief grandpa had taught him, such treasures always had a Soul Beast guarding them. The fruits looked close to ripening. Yang Que weighed his strength: with his scrawny little arms and legs, he stood no chance against their guardian. Yet a voice deep inside him kept urging, Pick them. I need them! That feeling rooted him to the spot.

Yang Que lay motionless beneath the bushes, careful not to make a sound and draw the guardian's attack. Suddenly, a shadow streaked past like lightning. Once he saw what it was, he nearly cried out. A Purple Lightning Leopard!

The Purple Lightning Leopard barged in without a care, plainly alerting the guardian. Beside the spirit tree, a huge snake slowly slid down from a larger tree. Green scales covered its body, and green spikes jutted from both its head and tail. It was unmistakably a venomous Three-Cornered Head-and-Tail Snake. It flicked its tongue with a hiss, warning the intruder to stay back!

The Purple Lightning Leopard paid no heed. It was desperate to eat the spirit fruit and break through. Sensing its intent, the Three-Cornered Head-and-Tail Snake opened its bloody maw and lunged. The two Soul Beasts were soon locked in battle!

Yang Que trembled in the bushes. He had never seen anything like this. If not for the voice in his heart, he would have turned and fled long ago. The two Soul Beasts seemed evenly matched. Before long, both were spent, lying less than ten meters apart and snarling at each other as though venting their hatred.

Then a large gray bird flew into the battlefield. It seemed to have waited until the other two had finished fighting. The Purple Lightning Leopard and the Three-Cornered Head-and-Tail Snake appeared to reach an understanding and attacked it together. Caught off guard, the bird suffered severe wounds. But exhausted as they were, the two Soul Beasts could not defeat one still at full strength. They finally fell, unwilling to yield. The gray bird collapsed too, gravely injured and utterly still. The dying blows of two Soul Beasts were no small thing.

Yang Que struggled with himself. Do I go in or not? The Yellow Soul Rings hovering above the two dead beasts told him the gray bird was at least a Hundred-Year Soul Beast. After a moment, he snatched up a sharp branch broken in the fight and charged. The bird noticed him, but it had no strength left. All it could do was glare, hoping to frighten the little thing away. It was disappointed. Yang Que drove the branch into its eye. Too drained to protect its eyes with Soul Power, the bird fell, unwilling, and a Yellow Soul Ring floated up above its head.

The moment it fell, Yang Que yanked the little spirit tree from the ground and ran. He did not stop until he reached the village. The villagers saw him rush past in a panic, with no idea what had happened. Back home, he hurried inside and slammed the door shut with a bang!

Yang Que gulped down air, his heart still pounding. If he had met a single Soul Beast on the way back, he would have been done for! But it had been worth it. Once his breathing steadied, he pulled the little spirit fruit tree from his clothes and laughed with delight. He did not know why he had felt compelled to take it, but he had succeeded, hadn't he?

He carefully held up the tree and plucked one of its shimmering fruits. He had no idea how to consume a spirit fruit born of heaven and earth, so he stuffed it into his mouth and swallowed. Heat suddenly surged through his body. A burst of energy rushed into his brain, and he blacked out. As consciousness faded, he heard a voice: "System fully charged. Activate..."

When Yang Que woke, a huge face filled his vision. Two pairs of eyes stared at each other, blinking. One pair brimmed with loving relief; the other with confusion. The old village chief said happily, "Que'er, what happened to you? You scared Grandpa to death! You've been unconscious for three days!"

Yang Que stared. What?!

"I was unconscious for three days?"

"That's right! You scared me half to death!" Grandpa, the village chief, patted his chest, still shaken. "The doctor said your blood was racing and your heart was pounding. He said you'd had a terrible fright. Is that what happened?"

What? A fright? My blood racing? My heart pounding? What on earth? Yang Que knew he could not tell the truth, so he went along with it. "Yes, Grandpa. I saw a big gray bird that day. It scared me badly!"

Old Jack gave him a look that said I knew it. "That's what you get for running off! Learned your lesson this time, haven't you? Let's see if you dare do it again!"

"I won't ever run off again. I'll be good!" Yang Que said, putting on a frightened face.

"Good. Get some rest. Grandpa has work to do," Old Jack said, looking relieved.

He shut the door behind him, leaving Yang Que alone. Yang Que glanced at the desk. Huh? Where's my spirit fruit? It was gone! He scrambled out of bed and hurried over. Nothing. Did Grandpa take it?

As he puzzled over it, a thought flashed through his mind. Didn't I hear something about a system starting up before I passed out? A panel suddenly appeared before him. "Activate the Infinite Upgrade System?" Two choices appeared: Yes and No. Yang Que's eyes lit up, and he burst out laughing. "Hahahaha—hah! My golden finger is here! Hahahaha—hic! The peak of my life awaits! Yes! Of course I'm activating it!" He tapped Yes, and the panel changed.

[Infinite Upgrade System]

[Host: Yang Que]

[Level: LV5]

[Title: None]

[Soul Power: 0/500]

[Gold Coins: 0]

[Martial Soul: None]

System introduction: This is the Infinite Upgrade System. Kill Soul Beasts or warriors to obtain Gold Coins. Gold Coins obtained from outside sources can also be exchanged with the system at a rate of 1/100. Soul Power can be gained through the host's own cultivation or by consuming heavenly treasures and pills. The system has an inventory and a shop, as well as a thrilling prize wheel. When necessary, the system will provide the host with guidance. Raise the host's level to unlock further features!

Huh? I'm level five? Was it that fruit? Wait, what's with that 1/100 exchange rate? Are you robbing me, system? I wouldn't have a hundred Gold Coins even if I sold myself! This is too hard. Forget it. I'll check the shop first!

Yang Que opened the shop eagerly and found a dazzling array of goods!

Martial Souls:

Premium Martial Soul (White Tiger Martial Soul): 30 million Gold Coins

Premium Martial Soul (Vermilion Bird Martial Soul): 30 million Gold Coins

Premium Martial Soul (Azure Dragon Martial Soul): 30 million Gold Coins

Soul Rings:

(1,000-year Soul Ring): 1,000 Gold Coins

(10,000-year Soul Ring): 10,000 Gold Coins

(50,000-year Soul Ring): 100,000 Gold Coins

(100,000-year Soul Ring): 3 million Gold Coins

Soul Bones:

After looking through the shop, Yang Que felt defeated all over again. Ah, the benefits of being born into a good family!

"All right, everything's expensive and I can't afford any of it, but I can't give up on life. At least I have a golden finger! Hahahaha! Let's see what's on the prize wheel." Yang Que grinned with excitement.

Prize wheel: Martial Souls, cultivation techniques. "Huh, the prize wheel has categories? Never mind. A Martial Soul comes first! The cultivation techniques can wait." Yang Que opened the Martial Soul prize wheel.

A gleaming golden wheel appeared before him, divided into twelve spaces filled with all sorts of prizes: a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring... a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul (white), a Thorn Martial Soul (yellow), a Softbone Rabbit Martial Soul (blue, rare), a Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul (red, supreme)... And one white space said "Thanks for playing." What was that supposed to mean? Yang Que promptly ignored it.

Huh? What do blue and yellow after the Martial Souls mean?

Then Yang Que noticed a red exclamation mark beside the Martial Souls and tapped it.

According to the system, Martial Souls and medicinal ingredients had six quality grades: white (unranked), green (average), yellow (ordinary), blue (rare), red (supreme), and gold (legendary).

I see. So the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul that Little San will awaken someday is red quality in the system's eyes. Who would have thought a mere unranked white Martial Soul could evolve into a supreme red one?

What truly made Yang Que's mouth water were two spaces, one above and one below: the God-Slaying Spear Martial Soul (gold, legendary) and a Million-Year Soul Ring. His imagination ran wild. He wanted to spin the wheel at once, win the gold-quality prize, and soar to the peak of his life. "Ding! Insufficient balance. Please make sure your inventory contains enough Gold Coins."

Yang Que felt as if ten thousand grass-mud horses were galloping through his heart. Even one spin cost a hundred Gold Coins!

Ah, life!

Just as Yang Que sank into despair, he spotted a red dot on his inventory...