First Taste of Blood Food

As Lin Yi finished exchanging his items and left, Elder Gu Yuan suddenly thought of something and reminded him, "Kid, I forgot to mention this last time. Soul Artifacts can be good or bad. Some are skilled at bewitching people's hearts. If you ever encounter one, stay on your guard."

Bewitching people's hearts?

Could Soul Artifacts have consciousnesses of their own?

"Village Elder, you jest. How could a kid like me possess something as precious as a Soul Artifact?"

Too lazy to say more, Gu Yuan waved him away. "Best if you don't. The sight of you annoys me. Get lost, get lost."

Lin Yi looked innocent. He seemed to have met Elder Gu Yuan only twice, so why was the old man so impatient with him?

"Then this kid will take his leave."

After leaving the Treasure Vault, Lin Yi headed straight for Gu Yongqiang's home.

Lin Yi remembered that Gu Yongqiang had a rarely used bow and arrows at home. They were ordinary, not particularly good, but Lin Yi's current strength was just enough to draw and use them.

Now that he had obtained the external martial art Starfall Archery, Lin Yi intended to use the time in the game to grind proficiency.

At this early morning hour, Gu Yongqiang was naturally home.

After learning why Lin Yi had come, Gu Yongqiang did not waste words and directly tossed him the dusty old bow and arrows hanging on the wall.

"I heard about what happened yesterday. You performed very well."

"As for this bow and arrows, they're just decorations with me. Take them and use them. Although you learned Lie Hai's Starfall Archery, once you reach level four, you should still find time to come here and learn the Blazing Sun Saber Technique from me. Its quality may not be as high as Starfall Archery, but in all of Ancient Pool Village, the Blazing Sun Saber Technique is one of the few external martial arts that can harm Ghost Spirits."

It could harm Ghost Spirits too?

Lin Yi was delighted.

He had never intended to give up on learning the Blazing Sun Saber Technique, and now that he had heard of its value, he was even more interested.

"Thank you, Brother Yongqiang!"

Gu Yongqiang nodded solemnly. "Mm, but I don't have the original manual for the Blazing Sun Saber Technique. I'll have to teach you hand by hand when the time comes. I hope your talent for learning saber techniques isn't too poor."

"Don't worry, Brother Yongqiang. I guarantee I'll study seriously when the time comes..."

Ever since Newborns had appeared in Ancient Pool Village, Gu Yongqiang had encountered all sorts of them. To be honest, among all the Newborns, Lin Yi left the best impression on him.

He felt that once Lin Yi grew stronger, he would greatly protect Ancient Pool Village. Therefore, he was willing to help Lin Yi whenever he could.

After leaving Gu Yongqiang's place, Lin Yi spotted a new player coming down from the back mountain with a bundle of firewood on his back.

"Brother, wait! Are you an Earth player too?"

The newcomer became extremely excited upon seeing Lin Yi and hurried over.

The newcomer was named Wang Zilong. In reality, he was just an ordinary employee at a foreign company. Two days ago, he had accidentally come across a mysterious Activation Code and entered Apocalypse World.

This game world had utterly shattered Wang Zilong's worldview, but it also filled him with immense excitement.

However, after entering Apocalypse World, he discovered that this so-called game world was vastly different from the games he had played before.

This world was too real.

There was no beginner's guide, no fixed NPCs, and he could not go out into the wilderness to farm monsters. According to the Militia, going out there meant certain death.

After Elder Gu He recommended him to Gu Yongqiang, he had spent the past two days chopping wood here, relying on the Copper Coin rewards from the Woodcutting Quest to barely survive.

He felt his life was miserable, working two jobs a day.

When he saw Lin Yi wearing a Militia Team uniform and carrying a bow and arrows, he assumed Lin Yi was clearly an experienced player and naturally grew excited.

"Brother, brother, are you an Earth player?"

"Don't call me brother. I'm an alien."

Lin Yi gave him a glance, then turned and left.

"An alien?"

Wang Zilong froze. Just as he was about to say something, Lin Yi turned a corner and vanished from sight.

Next, Lin Yi arrived at the dormitory assigned to him by the Militia Team.

Though it was called a dormitory, it seemed that he was the only one living there. Normally, the Militia Team members merely treated it as a place to rest.

Today was their rotation day off, so there were not many people in the team. Only Gu He, Gu Shan, and a few others were practicing external martial arts in the outer courtyard.

Basically, every member of the Militia Team possessed some external martial art. Some practiced saber techniques, while others practiced swordsmanship.

According to what Lin Yi knew, as long as one officially joined the Militia Team, they could spend a small number of Contribution Points to exchange for external martial arts to learn.

However, Dugu Feng had told him that the external martial arts provided by the Militia Team were not of high quality.

To learn excellent external martial arts, one still needed to study under the village's experts.

For example, Gu Liehai's unique archery technique, Starfall Archery, and Gu Yongqiang's Blazing Sun Saber Technique, which could deal with Ghost Spirits...

Seeing everyone training, Lin Yi did not disturb them. Instead, he found an open space in a corner of the outer courtyard, set up a Wooden Target, and prepared to practice with the bow and arrows he had just acquired.

However, the moment he opened his Attribute Panel, Lin Yi froze.

He discovered that Starfall Archery already had two points of proficiency.

He had learned Starfall Archery yesterday and only practiced it briefly in reality. He had never used it in Apocalypse Game.

Could practicing external martial arts in reality also increase proficiency?

Lin Yi was deeply shocked, feeling that he had discovered an incredible secret.

I can actually cultivate external martial arts in reality too? It seems that after I use up my six hours of login time in Apocalypse World, I won't have to sit idle in reality either... Dugu Feng didn't tell me this secret yesterday, but since he has an external martial art, he must have discovered it long ago...

Lin Yi considered many things, then calmed himself, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and began practicing archery.

However, the bow in his hands was different from the heavy-pound bow he had used at the archery hall yesterday, and the feel was vastly different. Lin Yi practiced for a while before gradually getting used to it.

An hour later, from roughly ten meters away, Lin Yi could basically hit the Wooden Target with every arrow.

He could hit the target, but his accuracy was highly inconsistent. Some arrows landed near the outer edge, while others struck the center.

Lin Yi found that his talent for archery was only average. It would be great if he could use the Omnipotent Talent to draw an archery talent.

Unfortunately, the Omnipotent Talent was too random. There was no telling when he might draw a talent for archery.

Moreover, he had only just solidified Treasure Sense the day before yesterday. It would take at least another day or two before he could solidify a new talent.

After practicing for a long time, Lin Yi used up his Qi-Blood again, and Starfall Archery's proficiency had risen to five points.

Lin Yi discovered that what limited proficiency growth was not anything else, but Qi-Blood.

His Qi-Blood was only 8.5. After firing a round of seven arrows, it would be nearly depleted. Then he had to wait for it to recover before using Starfall Archery again.

Qi-Blood recovered slowly too. Even sitting down to rest properly while replenishing food and water, it took about ten minutes to slowly recover one or two points.

Over the two hours that morning, he had only practiced two rounds of Starfall Archery.

Lin Yi estimated that even if he could practice Starfall Archery in reality, using double the time between the game and reality would only increase his proficiency by around twelve points a day. To raise Starfall Archery to level two, he would need at least more than a month.

More than a month was far too long!

Lin Yi then found Gu He, who had just stopped to rest, and asked how to recover Qi-Blood.

Gu He thought for a moment. "Recover Qi-Blood? The best method is to increase your maximum Qi-Blood. You're only level one right now, so naturally your Qi-Blood is low. Either raise your level and increase your Four-Dimensional Attributes, which will raise your Qi-Blood and speed up its recovery, or eat more treasures like Blood Food, which can provide additional Qi-Blood."

Hearing their conversation, Gu Shan, who had been practicing saber techniques nearby, also stopped and came over. "Qingshan, didn't you get Drops yesterday? Go find Elder Gu Yun. He specializes in refining potions, and he has a potion that can restore Qi-Blood."

"A potion that restores Qi-Blood? Why didn't I see it in the Treasure Vault?"

"Hehe, I heard Elder Gu Yun and Elder Gu Yuan have never gotten along, so the treasure potions Elder Gu Yun makes are never placed in the Treasure Vault. Of course, if you go directly to Elder Gu Yun to exchange for them, that's fine too."

"Alright."

Lin Yi nodded. Although he now knew there were potions that could restore Qi-Blood, he did not plan to exchange for them. He was not extravagant enough to use Contribution Points just to practice Starfall Archery.

It was not worth it.

Seeing that it was about time, Lin Yi planned to log off and take a look at the Workshop.

At that moment, Gu Chenghu entered the courtyard, cursing under his breath.

Gu Shan went over. "Captain, what happened?"

Gu Chenghu said, "Didn't I have you buy six taels of Blood Food on credit from that old bastard Gu Yuan yesterday? Today, I went to return the Blood Food, but that old bastard said it was contaminated and that I had to buy it. Damn it, counting the Demon Suppressing Talisman we used yesterday, I lost quite a bit in the exchange."

"Forget it. Enough about that old bastard."

Too lazy to say more, Gu Chenghu waved everyone in the courtyard over.

"I can't finish this Blood Food by myself. Everyone who sees it gets a share. A small piece each."

At these words, everyone present revealed delighted expressions.

"Thank you, Captain!"

"Captain, you're so generous. Like I always say, among all the Militia Captains, our Second Team's captain is the most loyal."

In the Militia Team, although everyone received a monthly Blood Food quota, Blood Food was a treasure that could increase Qi-Blood and, when consumed over a long period, raise one's attributes.

The more of such a treasure one had, the better.

"Stop flattering me. I'm giving this to you as a reward because you're still training on your duty-free day. Go train hard and protect our village well. Don't disgrace me, Gu Chenghu."

Lin Yi also stepped forward and received a thumb-sized piece of Blood Food.

This piece of Blood Food weighed about ten grams. If exchanged with Contribution Points, it would cost at least twenty Contribution Points.

"Eat it quickly. This stuff was cut off yesterday, so it won't keep for long."

Gu Chenghu took the lead in eating, swallowing the fist-sized piece in his hand in just a few bites.

Lin Yi also stuffed the Blood Food into his mouth. Other than a fishy, earthy taste, it had no strange flavor, and the texture was decent.

It was said that Blood Food grew on a plant called Earth Meat. Because it resembled wriggling flesh and blood, it was called Blood Food.

After finishing the Blood Food, Lin Yi discovered that his Qi-Blood had indeed increased by a full two points.

It was now 10.5.

Not bad. The Qi-Blood gained from eating Blood Food was quite substantial.

After thinking it over, Lin Yi felt that he could use his saved Contribution Points to exchange for Blood Food first. After all, he would have to eat this stuff eventually.

However, the worse one's Constitution, the less Blood Food they could consume each day, and it took time to digest.

Blood Food needed to be consumed over a long period to have an effect.

Afterward, Lin Yi prepared to leave.

Before logging off, Lin Yi told everyone to gather for a meal at the village's only restaurant at noon.

Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this and shouted that Lin Yi was truly loyal.

When the time came, Lin Yi logged in early and arrived at Fufeng Tower, the only restaurant in Ancient Pool Village.

Located in the heart of Ancient Pool Village, Fufeng Tower was one of the few two-story buildings in the village and also a high-end establishment.

It was said that Fufeng Tower's owner had moved here from Tianshui City in the past. Later, when the merchant routes were cut off, he settled down in Ancient Pool Village.

When Lin Yi arrived, he found that there were very few people dining at Fufeng Tower. Even those present were wealthy households dressed in silk.

It seemed that there truly were not many wealthy families in Ancient Pool Village.

That made sense. Ancient Pool Village was threatened by Monsters and Ghost Spirits, cut off from the outside world, and its commerce had been severed. Naturally, there were not many wealthy households.

Seeing Lin Yi in a Militia Team uniform, the waiter immediately approached him with a smile.

"You look unfamiliar, sir. What would you like to eat?"

"I'll take a look first..."

After asking the waiter about the menu, Lin Yi discovered that the prices were not too expensive and were within what he could afford, so he booked a large private room on the second floor.

Then he ordered more than twenty dishes in one go, both meat and vegetables.

Lin Yi calculated the money he had on him and, seeing that he still had plenty left, ordered several jars of alcohol as well.

Although the Militia Team normally did not allow drinking, today was their rotation day off, so a little alcohol should not be a problem.

Before long, Gu Chenghu and the other Second Team members arrived at Fufeng Tower one after another.

Including Lin Yi and Dugu Feng, the two Newborns, the Militia Second Team had twenty-three people. Aside from several members recovering from serious injuries at home, nearly everyone else had come.

As everyone took their seats, Gu Chenghu naturally sat at the head of the table, while Lin Yi and Dugu Feng sat together.

"Brothers, it's been a long time since our Second Team last gathered. Today, we finally have the chance to get together... Of course, let's first toast Qingshan. Qingshan is treating us to this meal..."

During the meal, Dugu Feng leaned close to Lin Yi and asked about Gu Chenghu handing out Blood Food today. After learning that it was true, he slapped his thigh several times, seemingly regretting not being there at the time.

"Brother Qingshan, if there are good things in the future, remember to let your old brother know. We joined the Militia Team together, but you've gotten external martial arts and Blood Food, gaining so much, while your old brother hasn't even gotten started yet..."

"Sure..."

Lin Yi smiled and casually humored him with a few words.

That afternoon, Lin Yi returned to the courtyard to practice archery again. He also went back to his dormitory to bind the Mystic Stone · Growth Soul Artifact.

The binding method was simple: he only needed to place the Mystic Stone near his chest.

Then the Mystic Stone turned into a streak of light and shot into Lin Yi's chest.

"Ding! You have successfully bound the Growth Soul Artifact Mystic Stone. Spirit +1."

Spirit +1?

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat. Spirit was not one of the four basic attributes, but a special attribute related to advanced professions.

He had not expected binding the Mystic Stone to grant Spirit as well. He wondered whether it would increase his Spirit attribute again once the Mystic Stone grew in the future.

Time passed quickly, and two days went by in the blink of an eye.

Over the past two days, Lin Yi had gone on duty with the Militia Second Team again and spent one day guarding outside the city wall.

However, the day had passed peacefully, with no danger occurring.