Rewards for the Brave

"Dead branches, dead branches... a rock?!"

"Someone actually wants to trade a basketball-sized rock for ten White Melons? Do they really think I'm a sucker?"

Tang Zhixue curled his lip and continued checking the other trade offers.

To be fair, although Tang Zhixue had requested dead branches, plenty of people were offering other items.

Things like rocks, sand, and seawater.

After looking for quite a while, he ultimately chose to trade his White Melons for five jin of dead branches.

As soon as he accepted, white points of light flew out of the trading chest and hovered before Tang Zhixue.

Tang Zhixue counted ten points of light in total, matching the number of trades.

He reached out and touched one of them.

The next moment, a mass of dead branches appeared out of thin air.

"Holy shit!"

The branches that suddenly appeared gave Tang Zhixue a fright, and he hurriedly backed away several steps.

Clatter!

The dead branches fell from the air. A large portion snapped into several pieces when they hit the wooden floor, breaking into even smaller fragments.

"This is a bit of a hassle..."

Tang Zhixue frowned at the branches scattered across the floor.

He had never expected traded items to appear like this.

Shaking his head, he bent down to gather the branches from the floor and put them with the ones he had collected.

Then he touched the remaining points of light in turn, moving each batch of branches.

Once he finished all that, he opened the trading interface again.

Besides the White Melons, Tang Zhixue had also placed the Ember Ash Snake and Vine Hound Beast in the trading chest.

"Huh, a martial technique?"

As soon as he opened the Ember Ash Snake's trading interface, one offer caught Tang Zhixue's attention.

[Martial technique: Linked Pearl Archery]

[Rank: First Tier]

[Description: Turn the sequence of drawing an arrow, nocking it, hooking the string, drawing the bow, releasing, and resetting into instinct, firing consecutive shots in an extremely short time.]

Tang Zhixue had to admit that the archery technique tempted him.

A means of ranged attack was indeed something he lacked.

After a cursory look at the other offers, he found nothing more valuable than Linked Pearl Archery, so he stopped hesitating.

Whoosh!

The white light faded, and a book with Linked Pearl Archery written on its cover appeared out of thin air.

Tang Zhixue flipped through a few pages and found that it contained not only methods for practicing rapid fire, but also techniques for beginners to practice.

"This really is good stuff!"

But rather than reading further, he opened another trading interface.

If the Ember Ash Snake could get him a martial technique, he was eager to see what he could get for the Vine Hound Beast.

He did not know whether it was because the Vine Hound Beast had been drained dry and carried a risk of parasitic infection, but the items offered for it were worth far less than those offered for the Ember Ash Snake.

After looking for a while, he chose a dark purple plant seed.

[Item: Tranquility Flower]

[Rank: First Tier]

[Description: A small purple flower that blooms at night with a faint fragrance. Helps with sleep, soothes the mind, and alleviates nightmares.]

Crunch!

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Tang Zhixue picked up a White Melon and began eating.

"Too bad Plant Vitality can't be stored."

Looking at the flames burning nearby, Tang Zhixue felt some regret.

If he could store it, he could practice martial arts without restraint right now.

He did not dare go outside to draw out vitality on the very first night.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, as he ate his White Melon, Tang Zhixue frowned and looked around suspiciously.

Just a moment ago, a faint stench of decay had suddenly appeared.

Rustle, rustle...

Then all sorts of faint noises came from outside the Shelter, as though many creatures were approaching it.

I knew this place wasn't simple!

But before Tang Zhixue could rise to get a weapon, a line of text abruptly appeared before his eyes.

[The First-Month Calamity is about to descend]

The line appeared abruptly, remained for two or three seconds, then quickly vanished.

[All things fall still; heaven and earth lose their voices]

[The Silent White Fog will fully manifest at midnight]

[Wherever it blankets, not only sound but even energy transfer will be suppressed. Prolonged exposure to the white fog will slow your thoughts, until, enveloped by the fog, you sink into an eternal, silent slumber, along with your consciousness and heartbeat.]

???

As he watched the information appearing before him, Tang Zhixue's eyes gradually widened, and he could not help grumbling inwardly.

So today was the beginner protection period? If I'd known, I'd have explored more of the surroundings...

The text did not disappear because of Tang Zhixue's grumbling.

[The Silent White Fog is about to appear. Distributing gifts from Blue Star World]

"Huh?!"

Still tense a moment ago, Tang Zhixue could not help looking stunned when he saw that line. "Gifts from Blue Star World?"

In an instant, pale blue light filled Tang Zhixue's vision. Fortunately, the panel displaying the text did not disappear; even more information appeared on it.

[Detected that the human in Blue Star-A9527 region has successfully learned martial arts. Adding a training area to the Shelter]

[Detected First Tier Void Nether Stone nearby. Converting the training area into a Training Space]

[Detected a fire pit in the Shelter. Converting it into a fireplace]

[Gift tool: Iron Axe]

[Gift weapons: Wooden Bow, 100 arrows]

[Fear is a living creature's instinct; courage is humanity's anthem. These are rewards for the brave]

The pale blue light slowly faded. Tang Zhixue raised his head and looked through the panel at his surroundings. The once cramped, crowded Shelter had been completely transformed.

Its overall area had increased considerably, to around twenty-five square meters.

The wooden bed was still a single bed, the table was still the same table, and even the trading chest remained unchanged.

The original fire pit had disappeared. A fireplace now stood along the wall between the trading chest and the pile of dead branches, separating them.

Flames were burning in the fireplace.

A wooden door had appeared between the trading chest and the single bed. There were about a dozen centimeters between the door and the wall; the two did not touch.

The gifted tool and weapons had all been placed in the center of the Shelter.

"So this is the Training Space?"

Tang Zhixue looked curiously at the peculiar wooden door.

He approached to examine it, but rather than rashly opening it, he opened the Shelter panel.

[Shelter: Blazing Sun]

[Level: 1]

[Function: Regional trading]

[Structure: Martial Arts Space]

"Just as I thought!"

Reassured, Tang Zhixue focused his mind on the structure field.

[Martial Arts Space: A peculiar structure with an internal volume of one hundred cubic meters. The ratio of time flow inside to that outside can reach a maximum of 6:1. It can also slightly improve a martial artist's comprehension]

"A time-flow ratio of 6:1?!"

Tang Zhixue looked in astonishment at the wooden door leading to the Martial Arts Space. "Doesn't that mean only four hours pass outside while twenty-four hours pass inside?! Holy shit, this is a time-manipulating marvel!"

But he soon realized he had gotten ahead of himself.

Yes, the time-flow ratio was six to one.

The problem was that achieving this effect came at a cost.