Chapter 26

The next day, morning.

Lin Mo opened his eyes to the familiar alarm sound; before his mind fully woke, his fingers had already begun moving.

Slightly bent, then straightened—

【Merit +1】

At the crisp system prompt, his mind snapped fully awake. He flipped like a lazy fish and leapt out of bed.

Because he had stayed up late the night before counting 1s, and it was a day off, he slept an extra hour this morning compared to usual.

“Six hours of sleep? Definitely refreshing!”

Lin Mo stretched, his pajama top lifting slightly to reveal clearly defined six-pack abs.

Before yesterday, his abdomen had been ordinary—even slightly soft from prolonged sitting.

But since he had pushed Kuixing Pillar to Perfection at dawn yesterday, his physique transformed instantly.

Not only had his belly fat vanished, replaced by abs, but his energy had also surged significantly.

No wonder body cultivators are popular in the cultivation world—besides sword cultivators, who doesn’t love a hulking guy with six-pack abs and chest muscles that can dance…

Lin Mo fondled his abs contentedly; painless muscle gain was simply too satisfying.

He felt explosive strength coursing through him—enough to knock out two Zhang Daha with a single punch.

Lin Mo admired his physique in the mirror for a long while before heading to the bathroom, brushing his teeth while opening his personal panel:

【Name: Lin Mo】

【Dao Age: 18/108】

【Realm: Qi Refining 4th Layer (234/1000)】

【Merit Value: 9】

【Luck Value: 12】

【Spirit Roots:】

Metal (39%)

Wood (39%)

Water (39%)

Fire (39%)

Earth (39%)

【Bone Quality: 15 (No Special Physique)】

【Comprehension: 20】

【Appearance: 95 (As handsome as the reader’s lord)】

【Cultivation Technique: National No. 108 Five Elements Qi Refining Scripture · 4th Layer】

【Techniques:】

1. Basic Sword Art (Low Grade): 113/1000

2. Fire Control Scripture (Low Grade): 111/1000

3. Rain Summoning Scripture (Low Grade): 110/1000

4. Kuixing Pillar (Low Grade): 601/1000

…

As of last night, he had bound the Merit Wooden Fish for exactly eleven days, accumulating nearly 13,000 merit points.

His cultivation progress and technique advancement could almost be described as riding a flying sword.

His spirit root purity had risen to 39%, barely meeting the cultivation world’s standard of average talent.

Lin Mo was more than satisfied with this progress—even better than he’d expected.

As for his next plan, he had already outlined it before bed last night.

Including today, there were exactly twenty days left until the Immortal Examination began on June 7.

Based on the total merit accumulated so far, if he maintained a regular sleep schedule, he could reliably earn around 1,100 merit points per day.

Twenty days meant 22,000 merit points.

Nearly twenty thousand merit points would easily propel his cultivation to Qi Refining 7th Layer.

“Perfect. Keep this pace—the Nine Great Dao Academies aren’t a dream!”

Even if Chu Wange had failed to negotiate with Qingshan Sect and Wenda Academy yesterday, he still had a chance to try.

A true man always has a backup plan!

Lin Mo smirked, spat out the toothpaste foam, and kept tapping 1 with his cupped hand—

【Merit Value +1】

【Ding! Merit gained 1,000 points. Luck Value condensed: 1】

【Accumulated Luck Value: 13】

…

With the prompt, the Luck Value, which had stabilized at one point per day, shifted from evening to morning.

Notably, 13 Luck Points had not granted Lin Mo the title “Child of Fortune,” nor increased the amount of money he found daily.

The cash he picked up near the pavilion in Shahe Park remained exactly two hundred yuan—no more, no less.

His plan to become a millionaire by picking up cash was officially abandoned.

“This Luck Value is so useless!”

He stared at the Luck Value on his panel and muttered a complaint.

It brought him nothing beyond the daily two hundred yuan.

Though it was a “rare” product formed from Merit Value, its effect was negligible compared to the latter.

Lin Mo shook his head; during this time, he had tried many times.

But unlike Merit Value, a “consumable,” Luck Value couldn’t be invested into any panel—it seemed to exist only as a string of numbers.

He didn’t know if he was using it wrong, or if the amount was too small, so it hadn’t shown its supposed “prestige.”

“Forget it. I’ll study it slowly.”

Lin Mo didn’t dwell on it.

The time was still short; he hadn’t even fully understood Merit Value’s function, let alone Luck Value.

He checked the time—it was nearly eight in the morning.

He had originally planned to skip school today, but last night he had made a last-minute arrangement with Chu Wange to dig for abalone at the Nine Great Dao Academies. He didn’t waste time; after a quick wash, he changed into the standard Daoist robe and prepared to leave.

Just as he greeted Old Man Qin and stepped out the gate, the system’s daily quest refreshed on schedule:

【Ding! Daily Cultivation Quest refreshed. Claim quest (Purple Grade): Perform Pillar Walk 100 times】

【Reward: Mid-Grade Technique: Heavenly Thunder Incantation】

…

Lin Mo’s foot froze mid-step, his pupils dilating slightly; a “Holy shit” nearly burst from his lips.

He rubbed his eyes and stared again at the “Mid-Grade Technique” written boldly in the reward column, confirming he hadn’t imagined it.

Holy…

Calm down!

Lin Mo took a deep breath and steadied his emotions.

At this moment, he really wanted to pull out his phone and post on Immortal Forum: “How to Act Like Nothing Happened After Winning a Million?”

In “After Honghuang,” the Heavenly Dao cultivation system was a panel every resident possessed.

Even after leaving school or reaching adulthood, the binding remained permanent, and so did the daily cultivation quest.

Daily cultivation quests were essentially mandatory for every resident.

Qinzhou even enacted labor laws: employers could not withhold wages if an employee took time off to complete cultivation quests.

But even though everyone had them, the probability of a rare-quality quest appearing remained minuscule.

Not to mention Purple Grade quests—even Green Grade quests were hard to obtain.

According to statistics from the Common Cultivation Guild, the average person would receive a White Grade quest 40,000 times in their life, a Green Grade quest 2,400 times, and a Blue Grade quest 12.5 times.

As for Purple Grade quests, the sample size was too small for the Common Cultivation Guild to statistically track.

Now Lin Mo finally understood where Ye Chen’s Mid-Grade Technique had come from.

It wasn’t Blue Grade—it was Purple Grade!