After studying his character stats panel for a while, Nalan Sheng finally settled his gaze on "Jinglei Formula."
Since Jinglei Formula was Nalan Sheng's primary cultivation method, the higher his proficiency in it, the better.
System, raise Jinglei Formula to minor mastery.
At Nalan Sheng's silent command, 2,389 villain points were immediately deducted, and Jinglei Formula advanced from beginner proficiency to minor mastery.
Nalan Sheng felt his head swell. Then, a wealth of cultivation memories appeared in his mind out of thin air, as though he had truly spent years diligently practicing Jinglei Formula.
Compared with its beginner level, Jinglei Formula at minor mastery had not changed much in essence. It merely offered two additional advantages.
The first was that the Dou Qi within Nalan Sheng's body had become purer. Although his cultivation level had not changed, his total reserves of Dou Qi had increased by roughly thirty percent.
To give a simple example, Nalan Sheng had previously been able to use the Water Clone Technique only ten times in succession. Now, he could use it thirteen times.
The second advantage was that Nalan Sheng's efficiency at refining Dou Qi had increased by roughly fifty percent.
In other words, one day of cultivation now was equivalent to a day and a half before.
Seeing such immediate results from upgrading his cultivation method, Nalan Sheng hurriedly spent another six thousand villain points to raise Jinglei Formula from minor mastery to major mastery.
The instant Jinglei Formula reached major mastery, the Dou Qi within Nalan Sheng's body grew considerably purer again, and his cultivation efficiency increased substantially as well.
After a quick test, Nalan Sheng discovered that using the Water Clone Technique now consumed only about five percent of his Dou Qi.
Moreover, he now refined Dou Qi roughly twice as fast as he had yesterday.
Excellent! System, raise Jinglei Formula to the maximum level!
With a thought from Nalan Sheng, another twelve thousand villain points were immediately deducted.
Once Jinglei Formula reached its maximum level, the Dou Qi within Nalan Sheng's body became much purer again, and his efficiency at refining Dou Qi increased considerably.
Now, using the Water Clone Technique consumed only one-thirtieth of the Dou Qi within Nalan Sheng's body. This was equivalent to his total Dou Qi reserves surging to roughly three times their previous amount, though his cultivation level had not increased.
Meanwhile, Nalan Sheng's efficiency at refining Dou Qi had also reached roughly three times what it had been yesterday.
Originally, relying on his own diligent cultivation, Nalan Sheng would have needed at least the better part of a year to advance from a Five-Star Dou Zhe to a Six-Star Dou Zhe.
But with the support of Jinglei Formula at complete mastery, Nalan Sheng now needed only three or four months to advance from a Five-Star Dou Zhe to a Six-Star Dou Zhe.
Not bad! Not bad!
Feeling the tremendously abundant Dou Qi within his body, Nalan Sheng could not help nodding in satisfaction. Then, he shifted his gaze to the Dou Techniques section.
Benlei Palm and the Lightning Divine Movement Technique are too high-grade. With my current cultivation, even if I raise them to complete mastery, I won't be able to unleash their true power. I should upgrade the Water Clone Technique first!
After silently weighing his options, Nalan Sheng finally said in his mind, System, raise the Water Clone Technique to the maximum level.
No sooner had Nalan Sheng finished his silent command than 1,769 villain points were deducted, and the Water Clone Technique leaped from minor mastery to complete mastery.
Soon, cultivation memories concerning the Water Clone Technique at complete mastery appeared in Nalan Sheng's mind out of thin air.
After sorting through those cultivation memories, Nalan Sheng gained a deeper understanding of the Water Clone Technique at complete mastery.
At complete mastery, the Water Clone Technique could summon ten water clones simultaneously while consuming, at most, only one-tenth of Nalan Sheng's Dou Qi.
If Nalan Sheng summoned just one water clone, it would consume only one percent of his Dou Qi.
In addition, the control range between his original body and the water clones had skyrocketed from fifty meters to five hundred meters, making the technique far more practical.
What delighted Nalan Sheng most was that the water clones could actually use the Flame-Flame Fruit's abilities as well.
Unfortunately, the water clones inherited only one-tenth of his original body's strength, so the power of their Flame-Flame Fruit abilities would naturally fall far short of his own.
Still, that blemish could not obscure the jade's luster. With the Flame-Flame Fruit's enhancement, the water clones could still rival low-star Dou Shi in strength.
After briefly testing the effects of the Water Clone Technique at complete mastery, Nalan Sheng shifted his gaze to the system shop.
After studying the eight remaining items in the system shop for a while, Nalan Sheng could not resist buying two more items. Their attributes were displayed as follows:
[Name: Pepsi] [Effect: Makes the drinker feel happy.] [Price: 1 villain point] [Name: KFC Family Bucket] [Effect: Satisfies the eater's hunger.] [Price: 1 villain point]
As two villain points were deducted, a large bottle of Pepsi and a family bucket filled with fried chicken appeared before Nalan Sheng.
Although buying food and drinks with villain points was a little wasteful, these items were cheap and brought Nalan Sheng plenty of emotional satisfaction. That made them worth it.
"Burp~ That's the taste! So good!!!"
As Nalan Sheng ate fried chicken and drank cola, an expression of utter enjoyment spread across his face, and fond memories of his previous life involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
Several days later.
Just as Nalan Sheng was cultivating in seclusion in his guest room as usual, a sudden clamor rose from the street outside.
"The Myriad Medicine Pavilion is heading into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to gather herbs! Xiao Yi Xian will be coming along too! There are only fifty spots, and you must be at least a Two-Star Dou Zhe! Hurry and gather at the town entrance!"
Hearing the shout from outside the inn, Nalan Sheng abruptly opened his eyes, then rushed toward the town entrance as fast as he could.
By the time Nalan Sheng arrived at the town entrance, over a hundred mercenaries had already gathered there. Almost all of them had come because of Xiao Yi Xian's reputation.
Seeing this, Nalan Sheng hurriedly squeezed into the crowd. Like a slippery loach, he wriggled all the way to the front in the blink of an eye.
"I want to sign up!"
Nalan Sheng raised his right hand and called to the middle-aged man in charge of registration.
???
Looking at Nalan Sheng's handsome face, which still retained a trace of boyishness, the middle-aged man first looked somewhat puzzled. Then, he smiled and said, "Young man, the Myriad Medicine Pavilion requires recruits to have at least the strength of a Two-Star Dou Zhe."
Clearly, the middle-aged man did not believe that someone who looked only fifteen or sixteen-
Nalan Sheng-could actually be a Two-Star Dou Zhe.
"Where did this little brat come from? Stop joining the commotion and get lost!"
A burly young mercenary wearing a Two-Star Dou Zhe badge impatiently reached out a large hand toward Nalan Sheng's shoulder, intending to shove him aside.
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