Chapter 237: Annihilating the Crowd

The Blazing Fire Hook Jade normally dissipates internal force gradually over time.

So when cultivating the Blazing Fire Heart Method, part of the cultivated internal force must be stored inside the Blazing Fire Hook Jade. Therefore, cultivating the Blazing Fire Heart Method consumes more energy than cultivating an ordinary Heart Method, and is also more difficult—it requires precise control of internal force flow. Otherwise, if it becomes unstable and overcharges, it will directly explode, forming a 【Blazing Fire Burst】, causing severe self-damage.

If charged too little, the power of the 【Blazing Fire Burst】 at a critical moment will be insufficient. The balance point in between must be controlled by the cultivator themselves.

He opened the system notification.

"System Notification: Congratulations to player 【Yese Liming】 on successful cultivation. 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】 has been raised to the fourth layer. Internal force +300."

"System Notification: Congratulations to the player on breaking through the 【Postnatal Third-rate】 Realm and advancing to the 【Postnatal Second-rate】 Realm. Reward: HP +200, Control Force +20, Deflection Force +20, Lifespan +1 year."

"System Notification: Congratulations to player 【Yese Liming】. Under the condition of full attributes, you have accumulated deeply and broken through with a sudden burst. Reward: special attribute 【Comprehension】 +1."

"System Notification: Congratulations to the player on unlocking the special attribute 【Comprehension】."

Finally, a breakthrough!

HP has increased once again!

Unlike other games, in this game HP seems to only increase when the realm is raised—extremely rare.

Otherwise, it would have to be some kind of heavenly treasure that could raise the HP cap.

The surge of 20 points in both attributes may look small, but according to Fang Yue's own inquiries, people like Captain Huo and Captain Wu had both advanced to Postnatal Second-rate Realm when their single attribute was around 60 to 70 points, with their attributes not yet maxed.

With this wave of attribute bonuses added on, it was no small matter.

On top of that, attribute growth for Natives was already slow to begin with, so this wave of improvement was already very strong—equivalent to more than ten years of cultivation handed over.

Besides, cases like Captain Huo and Captain Wu advancing to Postnatal Second-rate Realm with a single high attribute were the minority. Most people, once they obtained a secret manual, would immediately advance without considering the basic attribute issue at all.

It was said that, depending on the basic attributes at the time of advancement, the rewards given for breaking through a realm would fluctuate to a certain extent—similar to the difference between an unstable foundation and a deep one.

Next was the 1-year Lifespan reward.

For ordinary people, advancing to Postnatal Third-rate Realm means entering the Martial Dao from being a commoner.

And advancing from Postnatal Third-rate Realm to Postnatal Second-rate Realm is an essential elevation of the Martial Dao itself.

Strengthening the body, nourishing the flesh, a true increase in Lifespan—prolonging life!

Though 1 year of Lifespan is not much, that is for Native NPCs.

Placed on a player, it was simply like a pie falling from the sky, able to directly relieve the urgent need for fuel.

After all, compared to Natives, the Lifespan of players like them was really too tight.

And Fang Yue, whose Lifespan had been in urgent shortage due to cultivating the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】, was immediately replenished.

At the same time, his attributes were no longer bound by shackles—everything began to flow!

Finally, the most important… the hidden attribute!

【Comprehension】 +1!

The function of Comprehension can be understood from the words alone.

This thing directly affects cultivation efficiency! The higher the Comprehension, the faster the cultivation speed!

Cultivating the 【Blazing Fire Heart Method】 next should see even greater efficiency.

Besides, this kind of special hidden attribute would probably also affect whether one could learn certain advanced martial arts.

This made Fang Yue decide that next time he broke through a realm, he would also raise his attributes to full before performing the breakthrough.

An attribute like Comprehension, no matter how you looked at it, the more the better.

After a series of rewards, Fang Yue couldn't wait and opened his attribute panel.

"Name: Yese Liming."

"Realm: Postnatal Second-rate."

"Status: Ghost Curse 【Back of Hand】."

"HP: 400/400."

"Internal Force: 700/700."

"Control Force: 100 【Base: 120】 【Status/Bonus: -20】."

"Deflection Force: 100 【Base: 120】 【Status/Bonus: -20】."

"Comprehension: 1 【Special Attribute】."

"Talent: Night's Breath 【Human Grade, Upper Quality】."

"Skills: Analysis Pupil 【Human Grade, Lower Quality】, Star Fire Blade Technique Lv. 1 【Postnatal Third-rate】, Water Sky Blade Technique Lv. 1 【Crude Martial Arts】, Blazing Fire Heart Method 【Postnatal First-rate / Fourth Layer】, Star Fire Heart Method Lv. 3 【Postnatal Third-rate / Max Level】."

"Lifespan: 1 year, 7 days."

Wuhu!

Taking off!

Fang Yue was overjoyed at heart.

The attribute restriction that had been troubling him for so long was finally lifted!

Postnatal Second-rate!

From today, I too am a Postnatal Second-rate expert!

The realm breakthrough made Fang Yue very excited. The only thing that left him a bit depressed was that his Comprehension was actually 0 points, and only reached 1 point after the bonus.

One should know that, when he previously cultivated techniques, he had felt his progress shooting up, his cultivation speed very fast—scaring captains like Lin Ling and Chen Mu into exclaiming that he was a monstrous genius.

And the result… was this?

Could it be that the truth was, players' base Comprehension was all 0 points, and then with the system's boost, they could casually learn these low-level martial arts?

That would be too much of a blow…

Regardless, the realm had broken through and Comprehension had risen—Fang Yue was happy at heart.

Immediately, he sat down cross-legged and continued cultivating, quickly feeling the benefits of Comprehension.

Logically speaking, his Blazing Fire Heart Method was now at the fourth layer, so compared to before, both cultivation progress and cultivation difficulty should have risen.

But in practice, Fang Yue discovered that his cultivation efficiency had skyrocketed—faster than before, by far!

The only problem was, this was merely an increase in cultivation speed; actually breaking through to the fifth layer was still far off.

Because the fourth layer required breaking through more acupoints and accumulating more internal energy to surge past the fifth layer.

Moreover, he didn't know if it was because his cultivation speed was too fast, but Fang Yue felt his internal energy gradually slipping out of his control.

Trying to continue cultivating, in the midst of the flames, sweat slowly oozed from Fang Yue's forehead and quickly hissed, turning to steam.

The new internal energy generated by cultivating the Flame Heart Method was entirely uncontrolled, flowing with the current but not under Fang Yue's command.

But Fang Yue felt panic—he was no longer the inexperienced youth he once was; he knew this was the precursor to Qi Deviation from reckless, rushed cultivation.

Forcing himself to calm down, he internally observed and slowed the flow of his internal energy, gradually stabilizing the uncontrolled currents.

When all settled, Fang Yue slowly ended his cultivation, rose, extinguished the flames on his body, and dressed himself.

Haste makes waste; it seemed he needed to slow down, wait until his realm stabilized, then resume cultivation.

He glanced at his lifespan.

"Lifespan: 11 months, 13 days."

After just this short cultivation, so many days of lifespan had been burned away.

He checked the effect of the fourth layer of the 【Flame Heart Method】.

"Name: Flame Heart Method."

"Level: Post-Heaven Top Tier."

"Layer: Fourth."

"Requirement: 50 Control Points."

"Description: During cultivation, it consumes vast amounts of lifespan. It ignites lifespan, self-immolates, burns the heart to forge the body, and the Heart Method forms itself."

"Effect 1: Increases 70 Control Points. Under 【Self-Immolation】 state, damage increases. Flame Jade Pendant."

"Effect 2: Can unleash all accumulated internal energy at once to activate 【Flame Burst】, causing severe aftereffects—do not use lightly."

"Note: Exclusive Heart Method for Longevity Types—if you've got the guts, come try!"

70 Control Points!

Fang Yue's eyes lit up.

He now understood more clearly the composition of a martial artist's strength.

Realm is the foundation, the root of all things.

Then comes Martial Technique.

A high-quality Heart Method and a high-quality Martial Technique can elevate one's power significantly, even allow one to fight beyond one's level.

Only then comes weapons and equipment.

After tidying the room, he turned to look at the large charred patch on the ground—the mark left by his seated self-immolation.

Thinking he would cultivate again soon, Fang Yue decided to tell the servants later, so they wouldn't waste effort cleaning the room.

He pushed open the door and saw sunlight again after a long time.

For these past few days, he had lived like a shut-in—food and drink delivered to his door, eating only when he remembered, ignoring it when he didn't, never stepping outside.

So he knew nothing about the current state of Mo Cun.

As he stepped out, the servants of Lang Fu all greeted Fang Yue respectfully and politely.

Until Fang Yue passed the pavilion in the courtyard, where he encountered a completely different attitude.

"Ye, Ye Ge?! Ugh, ugh ugh ugh! (I'm eating, I'm eating!!)"

Seated in the pavilion like a refined lady, dressed in elegant ancient attire, enjoying the afternoon shade, with afternoon tea sweets and tea beside her, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu, upon seeing Fang Yue, felt her mind go blank—she nearly couldn't react.

After all, Fang Yue had been cooped up in his room for days; she had finally gotten a rare day off, and life had never been more comfortable.

Now, seeing him, her mind froze; when she finally remembered, she frantically grabbed the red robe tea beside her and gulped it down, shoving pastries into her mouth like coarse grain, stuffing them till her mouth was full, her nerves taut.

Fang Yue rolled his eyes—he could tell this girl was slacking again.

But this girl was habitually lazy; Fang Yue had grown too indifferent to care.

"How many Attribute Points have you eaten?"

This was practically his opening line whenever he saw her.

"Twenty, twenty-something…"

Not bad!

Fang Yue's eyes lit up.

It seemed that while he was cultivating, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu hadn't been slacking entirely—she'd been eating diligently!

And with Lang Fu footing the bill, she didn't even spend money—her life was downright delightful.

But when Fang Yue glanced at the pastries Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu was eating and the red robe tea she was drinking, he paused slightly.

"Your meals are a bit too good."

"I, I know… afternoon tea doesn't count as eating! I'll eat properly tonight!!"

A moment after she finished speaking, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu suddenly realized—Fang Yue didn't seem to be scolding her.

She stole a glance at Fang Yue, then, after regaining her composure, spoke cautiously.

"Ye, Ye Ge, do you like these snacks I bought? I'll get you some and send them to your room!"

"You bought these?"

Fang Yue felt puzzled—he hadn't given Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu much money; he always just gave her coins for steamed buns.

"You didn't spend all the silver from the escort mission reward on these snacks, did you?"

"No no, I exchanged all that silver for real-world money—the exchange rate was super high! Hehe, I'm a little rich girl now."

Fang Yue: …

Look at what this woman has done…

Fang Yue couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose, but he could understand.

After all, Wu Wu only thinks like a regular player—if game currency can be exchanged for real money, she'll definitely do it.

"Why isn't Ye Ge speaking? Oh right, I haven't answered your question yet. All these foods were given to me by Niu Niu. Ye Ge, listen to me—he got rich! Now he's a celebrity in Mo Cun!"

"Niu Niu?"

Fang Yue froze.

Only then did he remember he hadn't seen Niu Niu in days, nor had he received any messages from him.

The last time he saw him, Niu Niu was still worrying about his sister's medical bills—now he'd suddenly become rich?

"What did he do? How did he get rich?"

"Nothing much—just set up a group-buying crew to connect people for group purchases."

"What? Group-buying crew? Guild? Group-buying?"

"Yeah! Group-buying. But not the kind you think—it's an unofficial organization not recognized by the system."

Specifically, everyone knows that Hehua Lou's signature dish—Fish Leaping Among Lotus Wine—after eating it, maintains full satiety for three days and increases Combat Power by 1 point within 24 hours.

Then, when someone needs it, Niu Niu organizes members of his crew to group-buy: each person takes one bite, then leaves, and the next person comes in, finally splitting the cost evenly while giving Niu Niu a small service fee."

"Ah… this…"

Fang Yue was bewildered—so it's just a clique of elite ladies in the underworld?

"One bite each—what's the point?"

"...'One bite each' is my exaggeration, but it's still useful—at least it gives you half a day's worth of satiety, and you get free 0.1 or 0.2 Combat Power. Since everyone's stats are low to begin with, this small boost is very noticeable. Most importantly, it's cheap!! Very affordable!! I joined once and ate this fancy meal!"

It actually worked!

Fang Yue was stunned.

No wonder Niu Niu had been out of sight lately—he'd found a way to get rich.

Fang Yue asked a couple more questions before he roughly understood Niu Niu's operation.

In short, it was pooling money to buy things no one could afford individually, then splitting the cost so everyone got a share.

From ordinary meals to Guard Team martial arts—all could be group-bought.

Take Guard Team martial arts as an example: some people wanted to know which techniques were powerful, so they bribed the Instructor.

The money spent was pooled through group-buying, and everyone shared the results—affordable, tapping into the lower-tier market.

The only problem was… Niu Niu's role only mattered at the beginning, when people didn't trust each other—he acted as a bridge, guarantor, and liaison.

But once those people added each other as friends, Niu Niu received less and less money.

Without the middleman, their cooperation became even smoother.

Fang Yue sent Niu Niu a message, and sure enough, soon after, Niu Niu excitedly replied.

"Ye Ge! You're finally free! Quick, quick—become my deputy boss! Crush those clueless players! I'll give you 50% of the profits!"

"... Useless. Your model—others will do better without you as the middleman. You've made money for so many days—haven't you earned enough for your sister's medical bills?"

"I've earned enough, but such a good opportunity—I want to make even more!"

"... What's your current stat total?"

"..."

(End of Chapter)