Chapter 216: More Bountiful Rewards Await Ahead

"This."

"Consider this compensation; you don't think just filling the Blood Killing Pearl is all there is, do you?" Chen Shicheng said, putting on an incredulous expression.

"Fine, we'll do as you said."

Watching the general, whose face was a black line, order his soldiers to stand by, Chen Shicheng chuckled, stepped forward, activated Compress Earth to an Inch, and returned directly to a side room of the Cloud‑rolling Tower.

As soon as he landed, he discovered just how astonishing the celestial‑artifact‑level shoes were.

Not only was the Skill's execution smoother and more precise, but the consumption of True Essence was halved, making Compress Earth to an Inch leap to being usable as a normal Skill in combat.

Moreover, besides that, there was an experience gain: his experience bar jumped to level 19, 103/100, and even La Tiao's level rose by two, reaching level 17.

Unfortunately, these natives cannot be revived; otherwise, under the effect of the stomach sac, their level after this battle could likely catch up to his.

Envy made Chen Shicheng's face change completely; he violently ripped a piece of La Tiao, then looked at the Skill slot ready to upgrade, but did not choose to upgrade.

It's not like breaking through the 25th‑level realm barrier, which grants a 20% bonus up and down, so there's no need to be so eager.

He glanced at his current Attribute, then took out the system‑rewarded Longevity Pill and a peach, ate them; the Longevity Pill was easy enough, tasting neither salty nor bland.

However, while eating the peach he had great expectations; unfortunately, this rotten peach, true to its name, was unripe, its sour and astringent taste aside, it chewed like firewood; if not for the large Lifespan and Attribute boost, he would have said even a dog wouldn't eat it.

Fortunately, the Attribute and Lifespan were tangible; after ingesting both, Lifespan surged to over nine hundred years, about to break a thousand, comparable to a turtle.

Each Attribute increased by three points, giving his strength a modest boost.

Chen Shicheng checked the status of Tai Sui in the new Storage Bag, then prepared to log off and see the online situation after the Task's completion.

But before he could log off, a new message slowly popped up on the panel.

【Assisted the nation in destroying the Four‑Element Exorcism Array, playing a decisive role in the Task; Stealing Heaven Pendant effect activated. Extract this Merit Points of 552,809?】

"Take less?"

Chen Shicheng rubbed his eyes, looked at the panel again, "One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand… five hundred fifty‑five thousand!!!"

The surprise came too suddenly; he felt blood surge through his body, his brain dizzy, and he quickly grabbed a nearby rack to avoid collapsing onto the floor.

He touched his wildly beating heart, licked his somewhat dry lips with his tongue, then closed his eyes, took a long breath, and exhaled slowly.

After a while, Chen Shicheng barely steadied his surging Qi and blood, restoring calm—at least outwardly.

No wonder the Merit Points notification took so long to appear; the amount was enormous, the pendant kept working until now to complete the theft. But was the amount perhaps too huge? Chen Shicheng pondered for a while before figuring out the formula for this Merit Points amount.

According to his guess, this wasn't a direct rescue, so the Merit Points income wasn't the usual ten points per person, but just one point per person; the number of people should correspond to the current Chinese player base, which, per the Cultural Tourism Bureau Logistics Department, is about 1.7 million players nationwide.

Meanwhile, the real‑world waiting‑for‑public‑test count reached 1.5 billion; converting their Merit Points at one point per thousand people yields 1.5 million points; together they sum to 3.2 million Merit Points.

His contribution to this Task was 17%; with that, his Merit Points harvest came to exactly 550,000.

The quantity might have slight deviation, but it's roughly correct; there's no mistake.

Of course, the important thing isn't the formula, but the sheer amount—truly shocking.

He simply lacks the ability to refine Merit Points into a treasure; otherwise he'd suspect these points could grant him a powerful, karmic‑free killing artifact!

"Calm down! You're no longer that petty turtle who used to haggle over a dozen Merit Points."

He fiercely punched the air several times, venting his urge to shout, then immediately focused his attention on his Skill panel.

Lacking Merit Points, his Compress Earth to an Inch Skill remained at the beginner level; now it can finally be upgraded! 【Year 1, you hold a Relic, begin practicing Compress Earth to an Inch, gradually improving, discovering a hint of the true meaning of space.】

【Year 762, you take a step, your body vanishes at the spot, reappearing ten li away; you find the True Essence consumption only ten percent higher than the beginner level, yet the distance is vastly greater—Compress Earth to an Inch reaches the proficient level.】

【Year 3722, you find that hard training no longer advances you, so you close off and contemplate the skill; with the Relic's aid you roam the true meaning of space, and unknowingly achieve the mastery level of Compress Earth to an Inch.】

【Year 16199, under the Relic's blessing, a flash of insight lets you grasp the true meaning of space; after a millennium of stillness you step once and instantly appear a hundred li away; you realize now only True Essence limits you, not distance—Compress Earth to an Inch reaches the perfect level.】

【You gain Spatial True Meaning (Passive): when using space‑type Skills, consumption ‑40%, effect +50%.】

Countless insights flooded his brain, making Chen Shicheng feel dizzy; golden stars filled his vision, and a faint trickle of blood seeped from his mouth and nose.

After more than half an hour, he finally exhaled, wiped the blood from his face, his eyes full of lingering fear.

This is why the transmitted memories consist solely of skill insights; if they were mixed with the twenty‑plus thousand years of life memories, even with his over‑100 divine Attributes, his brain would likely explode.

Fortunately, the memory transfer stayed within his limit. Still, the effort wasn't in vain! Over twenty thousand Merit Points slammed down, not only maxing out Compress Earth to an Inch, but also unexpectedly granting a Passive Skill.

The effect is very satisfying: it reduces consumption and enhances the Skill's effect.

He casually used Taiyin Cold Ice Curse to forge a piece of ice, shoved it into his mouth, then, seizing the momentum, retrieved from the storage column the skill jade slip that erupted when he killed the Empty‑Mirror Monk and the White Elephant. (End of chapter)