A second round of exchanges

The tiny tears deep within his muscles, along with the hidden injuries left by opening the gene lock, were smoothed away bit by bit by the green healing energy.

When the pillar of light faded, Shuofang Si landed on the ground and stretched a little. His whole body felt considerably lighter.

He checked his points and found that the treatment had cost him a little over a thousand again. Healing gene lock injuries really was a money pit.

He decided to put more effort into the Nine Revolutions True Dragon Alchemy Manual in the future and study its runes more closely.

He wanted to see whether that could let him reach the third order ahead of schedule. Otherwise, the cost of treating gene lock injuries would remain a painful expense.

For now, why not get a martial soul? That would give me a few more options.

I need time to cultivate in seclusion anyway. I might as well go to a low-intensity world to train and see whether I can get involved in the plot.

Shuofang Si thought for a moment. "Main God, exchange for one day in the Douluo Continent world."

[Unlocking the Douluo Continent world requires one D-rank side plot. Unlock it?]

"Yes."

The next instant, he vanished from the platform.

When Shuofang Si reappeared, there was a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

He had gone to scout things out. Observing how far that world's timeline had progressed confirmed that there would be plenty of opportunities for him to intervene later.

Now it was time to make his exchanges.

Shuofang Si stood beneath the Great Light Sphere and closed his eyes. He had already decided what to exchange for this time back in the Naruto World.

I lack mid- to long-range control and offensive abilities right now. Against enemies who are good at keeping their distance and kiting me, I'll be stuck on the defensive. I need to fix that weakness.

And in Main God Space, there was an ability that had performed exceptionally well in the original story and happened to meet his needs perfectly.

"Main God, exchange for B-rank psychokinesis."

[B-rank psychokinesis... One B-rank side plot and five thousand reward points. Proceed with the exchange?]

"Proceed."

A pillar of light descended from the heavens, enveloping him completely.

Shuofang Si's body floated upward involuntarily, hanging in midair within the pillar of light.

A moment later, the light faded, and he slowly descended to the ground.

First, he exchanged for a block of gold. Then, with a thought, an invisible force surged out and lifted it into the air.

So this is psychokinesis produced purely by soul will? Compared with strengthening his body through cultivation, this tangible supernatural power stirred Shuofang Si's longing for something different even more.

He took a deep breath and began testing it. First, he tried to contract and condense the psychokinetic force with a thought, twisting it into an extremely fine thread.

But he failed. The psychokinetic force scattered into an invisible wave.

Shuofang Si's gaze sharpened, then his eyes instantly went blank as he opened the second-order gene lock.

The scattered psychokinetic force suddenly became obedient. With the gene lock open, his control improved by several levels.

He tried again, rotating and compressing the psychokinetic force in successive coils. At last, it condensed into a thread finer than a hair, emitting an exceedingly faint hum in the air.

With a thought, he sent the psychokinetic thread shooting toward the block of gold, drilling an extremely narrow, deep hole through it.

Shuofang Si released his gene lock and felt the psychokinetic thread dissipate at his fingertips. He nodded in satisfaction.

He was deeply pleased. It looked like he would have far more tricks at his disposal the next time he faced an enemy.

Perhaps I should exchange for a weapon. Shuofang Si raised his head, connected his consciousness to the Main God's exchange list, and began searching rapidly.

My combat techniques won't change anytime soon. I'll still rely primarily on the Nine Yin Manual.

But apart from the White Python Whip Technique, most of the Nine Yin Manual's techniques involved barehanded fighting: punches, palm strikes, and claw techniques.

The Nine Yin Manual contained few weapon techniques, so the weapon he chose this time could not interfere with its martial arts.

Before long, he settled on an exchange.

Frostburn Gloves, a magical and legendary weapon from the Diablo series. Rare unique quality. Attacks inflict frostbite and can freeze targets depending on the difference in strength between the wearer and the enemy. Increases cold damage by twenty percent. Grants resistance to low temperatures and immunity to ordinary freezing effects.

Exchange cost: one C-rank side plot and 2,000 reward points.

Shuofang Si browsed the Main God's exchange list for a while longer, then made his decision.

"Main God, exchange for the Frostburn Gloves."

[Frostburn Gloves, a magical and legendary weapon from the Diablo series... One C-rank side plot and 2,000 reward points. Proceed with the exchange?]

Yes.

Light flashed, and a pair of leather gloves inlaid with emerald-green gems appeared before him. Exquisite patterns were engraved across them as they floated quietly in midair, giving off a faint chill.

They were fingerless gloves, so they would not interfere with his claw techniques.

Shuofang Si put on the Frostburn Gloves to try them out. The leather fit snugly around his knuckles, the gemstone patterns at his palms felt slightly cool, and the fingerless design did not hinder the force of his claw techniques.

He assumed the Nine Yin White Bone Claw stance. A layer of pale blue chill rose from the gloves, winding between his fingers in wisps.

Even the power of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw had increased. Shuofang Si nodded in satisfaction and tucked the gloves into his clothes.

Next came an alchemy furnace. Now that he had the resources, it was time to make use of his constitution, which did not leak energy. He closed his eyes and connected his consciousness to the Main God's exchange list.

[Silver Thread Cauldron, a high-grade magical artifact alchemy furnace from the broader xianxia world of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality. Forged from silver-patterned dark iron, its body is densely covered with heat-conducting silver threads, allowing extremely precise heat control and excellent compatibility with earth fire. Greatly increases the success rate of pill refinement. Includes a weak spirit-gathering pattern that can gather small amounts of nearby spiritual energy. Exchange cost: one C-rank side plot and 2,000 reward points.]

Shuofang Si read through the description. Wanting to get something that would meet his needs for as long as possible, he made his decision outright.

"Main God, exchange for the Silver Thread Cauldron."

[Silver Thread Cauldron... One C-rank side plot and 2,000 reward points. Proceed with the exchange?]

"Yes."

Light flashed, and an entirely silver alchemy furnace landed before him. Fine silver patterns densely covered its body, glowing faintly and radiating a steady, substantial spiritual light.

Shuofang Si pressed a hand against the furnace wall, feeling the faint warmth flowing through it. Delight filled him. Its appearance was impeccable.

"Main God, search for technological weapon exchanges."

Shuofang Si picked out that famous crutch without hesitation. With psychokinesis and this weapon, he could turn himself straight into a super gun battery.

[Pipe Organ King... One C-rank side plot and 3,000 reward points. Proceed with the exchange?]

"Yes."

A rugged-looking multibarrel autocannon appeared in his hands, its pristine barrels gleaming with a cold metallic sheen.

He hefted it in one hand to test its weight. It was reassuringly heavy, and the grip felt just right.

Carrying it around is a bit of a hassle, though. "Main God, exchange for a Storage Ring."

[Storage Ring, a spiritual artifact manufactured using cultivation technology. Can store approximately 1.5 cubic meters of objects. It can also be activated with usable energy, generating an energy layer several centimeters beyond the fist. This energy layer can inflict tremendous damage on spiritual entities.]

Shuofang Si raised an eyebrow. The Main God had not mentioned the main ability of such a powerful crutch at all.

Zheng Zha was a man blessed with tremendous luck. Even some randomly chosen storage equipment that seemed barely useful early on would turn out to be a crutch later.

The Storage Ring seemed to have little storage space and a rather underwhelming extra ability to strike spiritual entities, but its real value lay in its durability.

The Storage Ring had accompanied Zheng Zha throughout Terror Infinity. At the end, when origin darkness collided with primordial chaos, it had been right at the center of the impact. Did anyone understand just how impressive it was to tank a blast of chaos head-on?

After all, Zheng Zha had still been able to retrieve the Green Goblin Glider from it after that great battle. It was equipment that could last a lifetime, an absolutely dependable piece of gear until Shuofang Si gained an internal world of his own.