Chapter 165: Second Level!

After lunch, Jiang Cheng thought it over and decided to cancel the plan to go to headquarters.

Having just done something significant, it's best not to appear in public for a short while.

He can also absorb and refine Force at home, and as for the courses other members of the guild have scheduled, he'll discuss them tomorrow.

To handle this, he already spent a whole morning; if he wastes any more time, the Force he could absorb each day would be wasted.

After entering the room and locking the door from the inside, Jiang Cheng silently began cultivation.

Another day and a half passed.

During that time, Jiang Cheng opened his third Acupoint.

His mortal body was reinforced again, and he gained an Acupoint that can automatically absorb Force, capable of holding up to four hundred Force Light Points.

Including the two previously opened Acupoints, he can automatically absorb nine hundred Force Light Points per day.

Even with Jiang Cheng's current Spiritual Power, this extra "income" is fairly substantial.

And now, he is about to open his fourth Acupoint.

As a few Force Light Points were refined, the Broken Jade Method's Experience Bar finally filled, and the next moment a surge of Force Light Points poured into his body.

In an instant, the fourth Acupoint was opened.

His skin, muscles, bones, blood, and every part of his body were strengthened, and his Spiritual Power received a slight boost as well.

A moment later, Jiang Cheng slowly opened his eyes.

With four Acupoints opened, he has now reached the threshold of a Second-level Force Warrior.

The only drawback is that, because he spends most of his time on the Broken Jade Method and still devotes two or three hours daily to instructing others on Firearms, the Broken Jade Fist's Experience Bar is only about one‑third complete.

Fortunately this is no real problem; as the Broken Jade Method's proficiency rises, the speed of refining Force increases.

Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng looked at the Panel.

【Broken Jade Method: Proficient (0/100000)】

The Experience Bar from Entry to Proficient is twenty thousand.

From Proficient to Mastery, the Experience Bar multiplies fivefold, reaching one hundred thousand points.

"The difficulty has multiplied several times, but the increase in power speed doesn't seem to have doubled."

Jiang Cheng thought to himself.

An ordinary person's punch force can reach 100 kg, and their 100‑meter speed is 15 m/s.

Opening one Acupoint gives the potential to become a Level One Force Warrior, with punch force of 200 kg and 100‑meter speed of 10 m/s.

Then, after opening three Acupoints, one reaches Second-level Force Warrior, with punch force 300 kg and 100‑meter speed 15 m/s.

After that, opening the next six Acupoints is required to meet the Level Three standard, with punch force 500 kg and 100‑meter speed 20 m/s.

Compared with a Second-level Force Warrior, a Level Three Force Warrior's strength increases by two‑thirds, and speed by one‑quarter.

To become Fourth-level, one must open ten more Acupoints, almost twice the number needed for Level Three.

The good news is that, according to the Broken Jade Method's description, the Force Light Points required for later Acupoints no longer increase exponentially.

For example, opening the fifth Acupoint generally requires about one hundred thousand Force Light Points.

The sixth needs 120,000, the seventh 140,000, and so on; the tenth Acupoint will not require more than 200,000 Force Light Points.

The six Acupoints consume up to about one million Force Light Points, which seems a lot, but since four Acupoints are already open and can automatically absorb 1,400 Force Light Points daily, even without active absorption, opening the fifth Acupoint takes only 71 days—just over two months.

If he actively absorbs, it will be even faster.

Because his mortal body is reinforced, his Spiritual Power also grows slightly; each active absorption can take about 300 Force Light Points, with daily active absorption ranging from 600 to 900. Thus the two‑plus months shrink to just over a month.

The Force Light Points needed for later Acupoints still increase by one or two ten‑thousands, but because earlier Acupoints keep boosting speed, the rate may even accelerate.

Theoretically, it could take about a year to break from Second-level to Level Three.

However, this requires first sensing the location of the Acupoint.

Many people get stuck at each tiny bottleneck, spending two, three, or even more years.

The later the Acupoint, the harder its location, and the more time it consumes.

Fortunately Jiang Cheng has no such worry.

He only needs to cultivate step by step.

He closed his eyes and refined the Force within the Acupoint again.

Sure enough, as he had guessed, after the Broken Jade Method reached Proficient level, the speed of refining Force doubled again.

In one minute, he can now refine 16 Force Light Points.

The Experience Value gained per second rose from 0.2 to 0.4, allowing 24 points per minute.

Jiang Cheng calculated that even assuming two daily sessions absorbing 4,000 Force points, plus the 1,400 points from the four Acupoints, the total is 5,400 points.

Because the method's proficiency increased, the absorbed Force grew, yet the time required dropped from ten hours to just over five.

And the daily Experience Value reaches as high as 8,100 points.

The 100,000‑point Experience Bar can be filled in a little over twelve days.

What does that mean? It means that having just broken through to Second-level, as long as he can refine the absorbed Force Light Points each day—even without Spiritual Secret Medicine—he can reach Level Three in under two weeks! Jiang Cheng's breathing became a bit rapid.

He had thought that, with his Spiritual Power increased tenfold, the time to break from Second to Level Three would shrink dramatically.

But after calculating, he realized the reduction is startling! There's nearly a month until the next mission, and by the time he actually receives the second mission, his strength will likely already be Level Three.

That guy surnamed Xiao should be at about the same level, right?

Of course, to be safe, he still needs to boost his strength further.

Moreover, Level Three reaches the threshold for entering the Black Market, so the money he has at home can now be spent to improve his strength.

"No hurry; over the next ten‑plus days, just keep improving. Spending money on boosting Spiritual Power really is worth it."

Jiang Cheng's face showed a smile.

If Visualization Method reaches Proficient level, his Spiritual Power will increase again, and then he can absorb even more Force each day.

It costs 1.5 million, and I've only saved half myself; to get the other half I still have to work hard to find a way.

And even if the Visualization Method reaches Proficient level, how should we handle the subsequent Visualization Diagram?

Without a Visualization Diagram, cultivation should still be possible, but the speed certainly won't be that fast, nor that simple.

But if I buy from inside the guild, it would expose my own hand.

After thinking it over, Jiang Cheng shook his head.

When the cart reaches the mountain, a road will appear; when the boat reaches the bridge, it will go straight on its own.

When that day actually comes, I'll think carefully about how to do it; after all, just having a channel isn't enough, I still need money.

For now, first bring the proficiency of Broken Jade Fist up before anything else.

(End of chapter)