It was the same female staff member at the desk as Chen Chu walked out of the elevator. She greeted him with enthusiasm. "Chen Chu, are you going to exchange for some resources again?"
Chen Chu nodded. "Yes, could you please help me check how many contribution points I have?"
Last night, after submitting the battle video to verify personal kills, he had gone straight to sleep. As a result, he didn’t learn exactly how many contribution points he had.
"No problem, please enter your student ID for facial recognition."
Soon, the female clerk exclaimed in surprise, "Chen Chu, you currently have a total of 36 contribution points."
No wonder she was so surprised. Several trial participants had come to exchange for supplies this morning, and most of them had only had around 10 contribution points. Only three had reached 20 points.
Earning 33 points meant that this young man had killed the most rebel cultivators last night.
Chen Chu didn't feel surprised by this result. If he had turned in the mutated bull, his total from last night would have been 45.
This amount was almost equivalent to his rewards for half a year at school, and this was with the additional income from being ranked forty-ninth. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been able to accumulate so many contribution points in two semesters.
Indeed, a horse couldn’t get fat without an extra ration, and a man couldn't get rich without a windfall. If it weren't for the fact that it was the age of technology now, and most cultivators didn’t carry cash with them anymore, he could have earned even more last night.
Thinking of this, Chen Chu couldn't help but wonder about the source of funds for those rebels. Did they not engage in any trades?
Lost in thought, Chen Chu politely said, "I would like to exchange for three Level 2 Life Crystals, please."
A Level 2 Life Crystal cost 15 contribution points each, with a twenty percent discount making it 12 points each. He had just enough points to exchange for three.
The level of Life Crystals depended on the level of the mutated beasts they were harvested from, with Level 2 containing more pure life energy than Level 1, making them much more expensive.
The mutated beast they had killed last night, however, hadn’t had any crystals inside. According to the information Chen Chu had found, the spawn rate of Life Crystals was very low, generally only found in extremely powerful mutated beasts at the peak of their level.
Some people had done experiments and discovered that when a peak level 2 mutated beast broke through and evolved into a level 3 beast, the crystals inside its body would dissolve and disappear.
It seemed that the life energy condensed in the crystals was what was used for the breakthrough. This phenomenon was similar to how the avatar accumulated evolution points and evolved after reaching a certain amount. After the evolution, it would consume all of the points and have to start all over again.
Compared to normal mutated beasts, however, the avatar’s potential was even greater. At every evolution, it could absorb the characteristics of living beings and turn them into abilities, and there was no bottleneck in its evolution.
Meanwhile, just like cultivators breaking through realms, mutated beasts would also often be stuck at their current level after they broke through, and many of them couldn't reach a higher level before dying.
With the three Life Crystals in hand, Chen Chu took the elevator back to the eighteenth floor. Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he met Li Meng, who was about to go down for a meal.
Li Meng curiously asked, "Chen Chu, I heard you killed a level 3 mutated beast last night."
Chen Chu smiled. "It was just luck. It was a somewhat aggressive bull, and I only killed it by working together with some other classmates."
Li Meng was taken slightly aback. "Here we go again with your catchphrase. 'It's just luck.' Can't you be a little less humble? Just admit that you’re strong."
Chen Chu retorted, "Nonsense. If I’m not humble and say I'm lucky, do I have to brag and say I'm awesome?"
"Heh, what's wrong with that? If I killed a level 3 beast, I would definitely be boastful about it."
Chen Chu shook his head. "Forget it, I don't have your thin skin."
They were all teens, without the sophistication and maturity of adults, so Chen Chu often appeared very casual when talking to them.
After exchanging a few more words of banter, Li Meng went to the cafeteria for a meal, while Chen Chu returned to his room.
He didn't know when Xia Youhui had gotten up and left, but Chen Chu was now alone in the room, which was convenient for his breakthrough.
Compared to Level 1, Level 2 Life Crystals were larger and light blue in color, shimmering with a dazzling ice-blue luster in the sunlight.
Taking a look at the Life Crystals, Chen Chu issued a mental command. Convert all to attribute points.
The three crystals turned into powder with a small snap under the invisible force. At the same time, a row of transparent text appeared in front of Chen Chu.
"You have converted three Level 2 Life Crystals and gained 11, 12, and 12 points, for a total of 35 attribute points."
Compared to Level 1 Life Crystals, Level 2 ones could also yield more attribute points depending on luck.
Looking at the 39 attribute points on the transparent page, Chen Chu felt like he had suddenly become rich overnight. This was the first time he had accumulated so many attribute points.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Chu said, "Consume 20 attribute points to enhance the Dragon Elephant Art to the third stage."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Dragon Elephant True Power inside his body erupted fiercely.
With each circulation of the Dragon Elephant True Power, Chen Chu's skin and flesh were strengthened by a fraction. The elephant patterns on his body became clearer, eventually merging with his skin.
The thin true power in his dantian surged and multiplied, gradually filling the dantian entirely. The true power turned into a vortex of energy, spinning frantically.
The sparse Dragon Elephant True Power continued to compress and condense, gradually forming a faint black mist.
In an instant, Chen Chu’s entire dantian trembled, and a faint roar of an elephant echoed in his mind. A ferocious aura burst out of his body. His clothes and hair fluttered without wind, and he emitted a black light, exuding a heavy and oppressive feeling.
As the true power vaporized and covered his entire body, he reached the Third Heavenly Realm.
With the successful breakthrough, Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes, and with a thought, he restrained the raging and heavy aura emanating from his body.
"So this is the feeling of the Third Heavenly Realm." Feeling the even more violent power surging within him, Chen Chu's face lit up with a bright smile.
In the eyes of others, due to his high compatibility with the Dragon Elephant Art, his combat power was already abnormal, and he had already achieved the feat of killing several cultivators at the Third Heavenly Realm. It would be far too shocking and suspicious if they learned that he had broken through to the Third Realm in just over two months. For now, Chen Chu could only wait before slowly revealing it to others.
After experiencing the surge of power within him, Chen Chu summoned the attribute page with a thought.
Level: Third Heavenly Realm
Innate Ability: Soul Splitting
Arts: Lotus Platform Meditation Art [Perfected], Dragon Elephant Art [Third Stage], Insightful Blade [Second Stage]
Equipment: Ordinary battle armor [Durability +10]
Avatar: Six-horned Armored Beast
Level: Low-level mutated beast
Abilitiess: Strength, Defense
Evolution Points: 240/300
This time, Chen Chu saw the greatest increase in Strength, by 30 points. This was followed by a 20-point increase in Physique, while the increases in Agility and Spirit were not as significant.
Even so, his basic attributes had already exceeded the limits of the Third Heavenly Realm. Under normal circumstances, the peak strength of the Second Heavenly Realm was 800 kilograms, and the base strength of a cultivator who had just broken through to the Third Realm was generally around 1,000 kilograms.
Later on, with continuous cultivation, the base strength of a cultivator at the peak of the Third Heavenly Realm would reach 2,000 kilograms.
However, the true strength of cultivators lay not in their physique. After all, no matter how much humans cultivated, they couldn't compare to mutated and colossal beasts in terms of physique.
The cultivator’s actual strength lay in their true power.
Under the cover of the misty true power, Chen Chu's base strength had increased by four times, and his defense was even more terrifying. This true power could also attach to weapons to form a coating of qi, enhancing the weapon's sturdiness and increasing its killing power.
Chen Chu didn’t have a way to test how strong he was at the moment, and his endurance was slightly lacking, since the beginning stage Dragon Elephant True Power couldn’t match the quantity of middle to late stage cultivators. But even though he had just broken through, his combat power probably already surpassed that of most cultivators in the Third Heavenly Realm, even those in the middle and later stages.
Now, Chen Chu could truly be considered a real cultivator, gradually beginning to transcend ordinary people. With his powerful body density and elephant-patterned flesh, coupled with the protection of true power, he could withstand ordinary rifle bullets and grenade explosions with his flesh and blood alone, no longer needing battle armor.
Not to mention his terrifying explosive power and speed, and an abundant endurance to fight for days and nights without fear of being worn down. In ancient times, he could have probably taken over the world by himself.