"An auxiliary mine of the Monkey Kingdom?"
Su Wen raised an eyebrow. It seemed his earlier guess had been right: there was a unified monkey faction nearby.
But since they had developed to the level of a kingdom, their numbers must have been considerable, and they were already organized.
Besides, what sort of formidable figure would be sent here to guard an auxiliary mine?
"Copper Coin Monkeys are at the very bottom, and Black Coin Monkeys are rank-and-file soldiers."
"By that reckoning, Silver Coin Monkeys are middle- to lower-ranking in the Monkey Kingdom at best. Minor generals?"
"Gold Coin Monkeys should count as high-ranking."
"If I raise my strength, this could be one big payday!"
With that thought, Su Wen took out the white chess piece the Star God had given him.
"A radius of two hundred meters?"
"Looks like I need to plan this carefully, so I don't waste the Star God's kindness."
He didn't know the Star God's tier, but with his current discernment, he couldn't see anything unusual about the white chess piece.
It really did seem to be nothing more than an ordinary white chess piece.
He was a first-tier life-form now, after all, and he couldn't make heads or tails of the piece. Whatever else could be said, the Star God had to be at least second tier, right?
Still, he reckoned the Star God was probably already third or fourth tier.
After all, he was a powerhouse who had explored martial arts for the ordinary masses in the future. If he weren't strong, how could he have found another path and opened up the road of martial arts?
So, with the white chess piece as a safeguard, he wasn't worried.
"Occupy!"
Su Wen spoke, and the moment his voice fell, the entire mine began to shake.
The next moment, a golden pillar of light shot straight into the clouds.
"God of Wealth's auxiliary mineral vein." "Type: small." "Daily output: 1 Wealth Source."
Su Wen narrowed his eyes as he looked at the data before him.
He had chosen to occupy the mine purely to see what he would gain from doing so.
If it really caused a major commotion and drew the surrounding factions over, he could just run if he couldn't fight them.
But the mineral vein produced Wealth Source, and that was interesting.
A small mineral vein produced one Wealth Source a day. It didn't look like much, only two Silver Coin Monkeys' worth.
But what about a medium-sized one?
A large one?
If he was strong enough to occupy the nearby mineral veins, the Wealth Source he received every day would be an astronomical figure.
Free exploration!
At that moment, Su Wen suddenly understood the meaning of natural exploration.
Perhaps the Training Arrow Realm was originally a gift to the Heavenly Mandate Bearers, but they were too weak to seize it.
After coming to the Training Arrow Realm and killing a few Arrow Realm creatures to advance a tier, they hurried away, missing out on the Training Arrow Realm's great opportunity.
"But with such a high-profile display, the Monkey Kingdom must already know."
Su Wen looked up at the golden pillar of light piercing the clouds and murmured, "Why does this look like it's making a show of its own presence?"
"Announcing... the God of Wealth's arrival?"
"Drawing trials? Increasing the difficulty?"
"Right, how could it possibly let me sit on a mineral vein and collect Wealth Source every day?"
"One Wealth Source a day works out to ten million a day!"
At the same moment, in a distant palace.
"The golden pillar descends, the God of Wealth appears!"
An old monkey with a purple-gold coin mark shimmering between his brows, sparse fur, and a more humanlike face gazed excitedly at the golden pillar on the horizon.
After a long moment, he came to his senses and hurriedly began issuing orders.
"Quick!"
"Summon the generals of the ten directions!"
"Call the masters of the eight spirit veins!"
"The God of Wealth has finally appeared! We have been imprisoned for countless years and waited for countless ages. At last, this opportunity has come!"
These included all the Monkey Kingdom's high-ranking members.
The generals of the ten directions and the masters of the eight spirit veins represented the Monkey Kingdom's highest combat strength.
The moment he saw the golden pillar of light, the old monkey had already made his decision.
In particular, the aura the golden pillar gave off was so faint that greed welled up in him uncontrollably.
Kill the God of Wealth!
Seize his fortune!
"Boom-"
Suddenly, an overwhelmingly powerful pressure bore down from the heavens, pinning the old monkey to the ground with unstoppable force, unable to move a muscle.
"The God of Wealth is undergoing his trial. Death to interferers!"
A majestic voice abruptly sounded overhead, echoing through the palace.
After the voice faded, the oppressive pressure vanished in an instant.
"Alas!"
The old monkey slowly picked himself up from the ground, sat on the palace steps, and sighed heavily.
"A trial..."
"Why did the God of Wealth we encountered have to be one still undergoing his trial?"
After a moment of silence, the old monkey slowly rose.
"Give the order!"
"Send a black-armored squadron to the golden pillar and retake the mining area!"
Sending a squadron to attack a Heavenly Mandate Bearer still undergoing his trial was already the limit of what he could do.
Any more, and the one above would likely be displeased.
The first time was a warning. The second time... might not be.
"Cultivation method: Basic Body Tempering Method 1.0 (+)." [Mastery stage: the method's effect is approximately equivalent to ten years of practicing the twenty-two body-strengthening exercises.] "Experience: 57.5%." "Wealth Source Points: 3.65."
Su Wen looked at his status panel. When he saw that he could add points to the Basic Body Tempering Method 1.0, he found a quiet, secluded spot and did so at once.
"Hum!"
"Hum!"
"Hum!"
"..."
Su Wen's body began to tremble slightly. The rhythm of his breathing gradually matched the rhythm of his trembling, forming a curious resonance.
At the same time, as Su Wen breathed, the aura around him did not grow stronger. Instead, it gradually weakened.
A moment later, Su Wen's qi and blood returned to the state of an ordinary person.
"Skill: Basic Body Tempering Method 1.0." [Transformation realm: the limit of the method has been reached. Understanding and application of this method have reached a realm of divine mastery.] [Notice: further improvement requires a large amount of Wealth Source to break the method's limit. The method cannot be taught after the breakthrough.] "Wealth Source Points: 0.25." "Life-form: first tier."
Su Wen looked at the notice below and sighed softly.
By his own estimation, both his total qi and blood and his control over them had improved greatly this time.
But he hadn't expected to reach the limit of the Basic Body Tempering Method so soon.
This was the Basic Body Tempering Method after it had already been revised and improved once. He hadn't expected its ceiling to still be so low.
For a Heavenly Mandate Bearer, becoming a first-tier life-form was only the beginning.
But for a martial artist, it was already the end of the road.
Come to think of it, that was only natural. After all, the Star God and the cultivation method team had originally developed the Basic Body Tempering Method to strengthen prospective Heavenly Mandate Bearers' physical fitness and combat ability.
As for the emergence of martial artists, even the Star God probably hadn't anticipated it.
And martial artists had emerged only a short time ago. Judging by the Basic Body Tempering Method's body-strengthening exercises alone, the martial artist's path had only just begun.
Though he could still use Wealth Source to improve it, was there any need?
He would be better off using the Wealth Source needed to break through the limit to make a couple more trips to the future.
"I happen to have some Wealth Source Points left. Let's do it again."
"Let's see exactly what causes the future to change."
"Does it change only after I give the cultivation method to the Star God?"
"Or is it simply that, as long as I know this cultivation method and have it in my head, the future will change in real time?"