Chapter 29

The Eight Steps Chasing Cicada movement skill is seen by other players as likely useless, after all, skill proficiency requires personal practice.

At entry level, Eight Steps Chasing Cicada can at most accelerate twice; in terms of cost-effectiveness it simply cannot compare to other movement skills, and its price is more than double that of other skills.

However, this poses no obstacle for Chen Shicheng—do you get the ability of Merit Points? After casually claiming the Merit Points from killing Yu Wei again, his balance has reached 347.

One Merit Point adds one year of cultivation; with 347 years of cultivation time, not to mention these three ordinary skills, even a legendary divine ability could probably be upgraded!

Chen Shicheng, who couldn't care less about cultivation difficulty or time, without hesitation tapped three times on the panel.

【You purchased the skills「Night Battle Eight Directions」「Wind Sweeps Remnant Clouds」「Eight Steps Chasing Cicada」，money -8 gold.】

【Money：391 gold 85 silver 95 copper】

For players like Shuigu Tang, 8 gold is likely a huge sum, but for a tycoon like Chen Shicheng, it's just a drop in the bucket.

New skills obtained, Chen Shicheng immediately chose to learn them in the storage slot; as memories surged, he quickly gained a general understanding of the skills.

The Eight-Step Chase Cicada Skill has no real connection with the sword technique; after learning it, it is only at the introductory level.

However, those two sword technique skills seem to have jumped straight to the proficient level the moment they were learned, due to the limit‑breaking Basic Sword Technique, and in Chen Shicheng's view, just a few practice sessions would easily bring them to the mastery level.

"One upgrade, lifelong benefit—indeed, the foundation must be solid!"

Having learned the Skill, a tickle of excitement rose in him; he immediately wanted to brandish a blade and practice, especially with the Eight-Step Chase Cicada, which he was eager to go upstairs to try out.

Unfortunately, the space here is cramped and unsuitable for practicing techniques, and he currently has lost one hand while the other's bones are shattered; let alone drawing a sword upstairs, even using the restroom is difficult.

He can only reassess the specifics of these three Skills after he recovers.

After finishing shopping, Chen Shicheng had nothing else he wanted at the moment; although he held a piece of mysterious iron, it was too small to forge a weapon.

Moreover, in his current state, he could not possibly run back to Huangchi County Town to find the blacksmith and deliver the Task.

On top of that, he kept dwelling on the "very lucky" remark Shuigu Tang blurted out, so he decided to stay here a while longer to see how things develop.

Thus he had his bodyguards escort him back to the original destination, the Juenyun Tower.

He casually opened a side room, declined the old lady's offer to have someone look after him, and Chen Shicheng lay on the bed to start upgrading the newly acquired movement Skill.

【Year 1: With a solid martial foundation and a strong body, you quickly refined the "Eight-Step Chase Cicada" to the proficient level.】

【After three years, your footwork becomes increasingly adept; you can soon take four consecutive steps, making your form ever more elusive.】

【In five years, the "Eight-Step Chase Cicada" has become your instinct; each step follows your will, and the Skill reaches the mastery level.】

【In the ninth year, you can complete all eight steps, your body like a phantom, alternating swift and slow, and the light‑body technique is perfected.】

【Merit Points: 338】

Chen Shicheng felt his body shift; instinctively he moved his foot, and immediately sensed his calf muscles powering up, as if a slight motion could launch him ten‑plus meters in a single step.

Well done! No wonder the perfected movement provides such power. Yet if he actually tried to sprint out, given his current condition, it would likely trigger his first in‑game death.

He didn't dare keep moving erratically, stayed honestly lying on the bed, teased the revived La Tiao with his mind for a while, and logged off before night fell.

A silent night.

Early the next morning, after Chen Shicheng had just washed his face, he saw a message from Shuigu Tang saying she had arrived at the Juenyun Tower in Iron‑Forging Town and asking which room he was in.

After sending the room name, he hurried back to his bed and entered the game.

He opened his eyes to see Shuigu Tang leaning on a mysterious artifact—unclear whether equipment or Relic—and once again altered its appearance, disregarding La Tiao's resistance as she tugged her mink up and down.

"Alright, didn't you see how reluctant it was!"

Chen Shicheng used his barely functional right hand to snatch back the pitiful La Tiao.

"Tsk tsk tsk," Shuigu Tang sized up the crippled‑yet‑determined Chen Shicheng, teasing, "You've lost your left hand and still carry a mink—are you trying to reenact the real 'Plain‑and‑Ordinary Hero Yang'?"

"What does 'truly plain and ordinary' even mean? Could you at least consider the patient's feelings?" Chen Shicheng said, sitting up from the bed with a look of defiance.

"The patient's a P," Shuigu Tang muttered, "It's something you could settle with a single death, yet you insist on toughing it out—who's to blame!"

"I'm not trying to avoid the feeling of death, am I?"

"No feeling—close your eyes and it's over in a flash, which is better than how you feel now," Shuigu Tang said, deliberately patting his left arm and laughing heartily at the grimacing Chen Shicheng.

"If I can avoid death, why should I waste a year of Lifespan?" Chen Shicheng shifted his hips, settled into a comfortable posture, and asked, "Tell me, is there any way to restore me?"

"Excluding suicide, there are two options. The first is an Elixir that can regrow severed limbs."

"How much does it cost?"

Chen Shicheng's eyes lit up, his rich‑guy tone surfacing, prompting Shuigu Tang to glare at him in displeasure, "Don't even think about it; it's priceless, unavailable to players, only circulating among NPCs, and the price—"

Seeing a somewhat disappointed Chen Shicheng, Shuigu Tang gave a gloating smile, "Don't rush; the more disappointing part comes next. The second option is a restorative Spell, but it requires a very high level—at least mastery—and must be used repeatedly to achieve recovery."

"But you know how hard it is for players to train Skills; they spend all their time on primary attack Skills. For something auxiliary, aside from state organizations, you'd have to turn to the major guilds—they have clear divisions and certainly possess auxiliary talent."

"Money still doesn't help, right?" Chen Shicheng asked dejectedly.

"Exactly, they've outgrown low‑level interests; to get a major guild to intervene, you need high‑grade materials or equipment from the game."

"Do I, in all my brilliance, have to die in this tiny Juenyun Tower?!"

At the thought of confronting his first death imminently, Chen Shicheng felt a surge of sorrow, his eyes filled with a longing for life.

Then a flash of inspiration struck him, and he asked with some hope, "Few people specialize in practicing restorative Spells—are there many such Skills?"

(End of Chapter)