After completing their meal, Chen Chu and Xia Youhui proceeded together to the logistics department. While Xia Youhui went to exchange for Life Crystals, Chen Chu approached a nearby self-help inquiry terminal. He entered his student ID and began to look through the resources he could currently afford.
The resources available for freshmen in the First Heavenly Realm were limited, and categorized into three types: strengthening physique, enhancing martial art cultivation speed, and aiding breakthroughs in realms, totaling twenty-three items.
Chen Chu glanced at the options, noting that there were five resources that could expedite the cultivation of the Dragon Elephant Art. Among them were the Ice Crystal Snow Lotus and the Tyrant Elephant Essence, which he had exchanged for once before.
However, the Tyrant Elephant Essence cost 20 contribution points; currently, including the ranking reward, he only had 8. He would have to wait for another month if he wanted to exchange for that. And he had no idea what kind of effects the other four would have...
As Chen Chu was contemplating, Xia Youhui walked over and asked, "Ah Chu, how's it going with your decision?"
Chen Chu didn't respond directly. Instead, he casually asked, "Have you finished your exchange?"
"Yeah, it's this. Just one of these cost me 5 points. It's so expensive." With a pained expression, Xia Youhui tossed a thumb-sized, multi-faceted crystal-like object toward Chen Chu, who hurriedly caught it.
After all, it was something worth thousands... Just as he caught the Life Crystal, however, a row of translucent characters appeared before his eyes, visible only to him.
"Crystallized life energy found. Do you wish to convert it into attribute points?"
Crystallized life energy? Attribute points? Chen Chu blinked in slight bewilderment, staring at the translucent text as he made a mental inquiry.
What are attribute points, and what are they used for?
In response, the translucent text changed.
"Attribute points, a special power converted from life energy, can be used for various purposes, such as enhancing abilities, strengthening martial arts, and fortifying external weapons."
Upon seeing this information, Chen Chu's eyes brightened with excitement. From now on, the issue of having weak initial talents or slow progress in martial arts cultivation would no longer be a constraint for him.
"Ah Chu, what's wrong?" Xia Youhui had a confused expression as he looked at Chen Chu, who suddenly seemed lost in his thoughts.
“Oh, nothing.” Chen Chu snapped back to reality, handed back the Life Crystal, and said, "I think I’m also going to exchange for a Life Crystal."
"Alright, I'll go train then. If you need me, just find me." Xia Youhui didn't dwell on it too much; he had been the one to suggest that, after all.
After watching him leave, Chen Chu approached the counter and politely said, "Sir, I would like to exchange for cultivation resources."
"Enter your student ID... You have 8 contribution points and a twenty percent discount. What would you like to exchange for?"
"Two level 1 Life Crystals, please."
"Please wait a moment."
Soon, two thumb-sized white crystals appeared in Chen Chu's hands. After expressing gratitude to the teacher, he turned and left.
Back at Building C, Chen Chu applied for a private cultivation room. Once inside, he gazed at the two white crystals in his hands, then chose to convert them.
As Chen Chu confirmed his decision, an invisible force enveloped the crystals. They both turned transparent at a visible speed and finally, with a crisp sound, crumbled into powder.
"Two Life Crystals converted. You have gained 5 and 3 attribute points, for a total of 8."
"Is the amount contained in the two crystals different?" Chen Chu pondered.
According to the terminal’s information, Life Crystals came from mutated beasts. After killing certain ones, high-purity energy crystals could be found in their bodies. When absorbed by humans, they could enhance physique and accelerate cultivation speed, making them quite valuable as cultivation resources. The higher the grade, the more potent the effects.
Of course, every resource had its limits in effectiveness. Much like developing a resistance to medication, Life Crystals of the same level became less effective with each use, having almost no effect at all from the fourth Crystal onward.
"8 attribute points," Chen Chu murmured softly. Then, with a thought, he summoned the attribute page.
Level: First Heavenly Realm
Ability: Soul Splitting +
Arts: Lotus Platform Meditation Art [Perfected], Dragon Elephant Art + [Beginner, First Stage], Insightful Blade [Saber Art First Stage, Insight ?]
Avatar: Six-Horned Armored Beast...
In the past few days, as the armored beast had grown, Chen Chu's four major attributes had also improved. Due to practicing the Dragon Elephant Art, his Physique and Strength were much higher than his Agility and Spirit.
He noticed a “+” sign appearing next to both arts and abilities, indicating the potential for further enhancement. When he focused his attention on the “+” sign behind the Dragon Elephant Art, a new prompt appeared before his eyes.
"Do you wish to spend 7 attribute points to enhance the level of the Dragon Elephant Art?"
When he tested the other “+” signs, however...
"10 attribute points are required to enhance the Insightful Blade. Current attribute points are insufficient."
"Insufficient attribute points. Unable to enhance Strength Talent, Defense Talent, Soul Splitting Talent..."
So it looked like he currently only had enough for the Dragon Elephant Art. He wasn’t sure why the Insightful Blade required 10 points; he could only presume that it was due to something like different levels of cultivation proficiency.
"Enhance Dragon Elephant Art."
With Chen Chu's confirmation, an extremely pure and special energy materialized within him, beginning to crazily circulate along the path of the Dragon Elephant Art. He could feel his muscles and bones strengthened at an astonishing rate, as a resilient membrane began to form beneath his skin.
After three hundred cycles, faint patterns resembling elephant skin appeared on Chen Chu's skin, and the entirety of his vitality abruptly condensed. A domineering and ferocious force emerged within him, surging with energy. It was as if a giant elephant had been revived, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
After a while, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes, and a faintly ominous aura flickered within them. Clenching his fist and feeling the explosive power within, he exclaimed, "Did I just break through to the Second Heavenly Realm? That was surprisingly simple."
Completing the Dragon Elephant Art’s cultivation, which was originally going to take another month, had just happened in the blink of an eye under the attribute enhancement. Such efficiency made even Chen Chu catch his breath.
If he had enough Life Crystals, wouldn't he be able to skyrocket his cultivation speed?
But... He had no money, and even if he did, this resource was strictly controlled by the authorities, so he couldn’t buy it from an outside market. It still came down to lacking contribution points...
Chen Chu slowly exhaled, suppressing the impatience and greed in his heart. No rush, take it slow.
With the enhancement of his attribute points by his avatar, he only needed to follow the development plan provided by the school. Step by step, he would slowly reach the peak.
Impatience could easily lead to unexpected accidents.
Chen Chu gradually calmed himself down, and then took a deep breath. The domineering force within him erupted, and in an instant, his entire body grew by one size.
The ground shook as Chen Chu's figure stirred up a fierce wind. In the blink of an eye, he appeared before the testing device on the wall ten meters away, his right arm muscles swelling as the elephant skin patterns became visible. His fist slammed into the device in front of him.
The air roared as the formidable power in Chen Chu's fist exploded, creating a substantial gust of force. The alloy testing device shook violently, its values fluctuating before they finally stopped at 3970 kilograms.
Chen Chu took a half step back, then turned and delivered a kick. His right leg fiercely swept across like a battle ax, slamming into the alloy testing board with another violent gust.
The entire device shook under the tremendous force of this kick, and the numbers on it fluctuated even more wildly, finally stopping at 5650.