Chapter 37: Towering Heights, The Harvest

Behind him, Qin Yumuo suddenly heard a cry of surprise and rushed over to check the situation.

Fu Chen stood frozen in place, looking utterly dumbfounded, as if he had just seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Qin Yumuo grew nervous and asked with hurried concern, "Re-Red Dust, what’s wrong?"

Hearing her, Fu Chen looked over. Touched by her genuine concern, he felt a wave of warmth. However, he couldn't explain that his skill had suddenly evolved into a "Demonic Skill"; it would be impossible to justify without raising suspicion.

Thinking quickly, Fu Chen replied in a tone of disbelief, "I think I’m hallucinating from exhaustion. I keep seeing that I’m about to hit level 15."

Qin Yumuo was stunned for a moment, then burst into a giggle. "Is that all? You scared me for nothing!" She then turned serious. "It’s not a hallucination—you really are close to level 15. Check the time."

Fu Chen glanced at the display: "6:27 AM. Damn! I’ve been grinding... for over four hours?"

No wonder he felt exhausted, even with the mental fortitude he had honed through years of martial arts combat in his past life. Fighting continuously for so long without a break—it would be strange if he weren't tired! Yet, seeing his current level and progress, he felt the fatigue was worth it.

Qin Yumuo sighed in genuine admiration, "Four hours... I never would have dared to imagine that before." She suggested, "It’s getting late. Let’s head back to town to rest."

To her surprise, Fu Chen flatly refused. "No rush. There’s still time; let’s just hit level 15 before we go."

Before the words were out of his mouth, he was already using [Swift Cloud Step], rushing toward a nearby Savage Wolf King. Entering attack range instantly, he swung his dual axes, unleashing a [Mad Dragon Strike] that dealt 2,618 damage.

Without waiting for the monster to fall, Fu Chen performed a ghostly, rapid turn and charged at another target. His second skill, [Inch Force], was already in motion. Even with a critical hit, it only dealt 246 physical damage. However, the maxed-out effect of [Inch Force] caused the monster to bleed, inflicting 1,898 physical damage over the next 15 seconds.

The monster didn't die immediately and lunged at Fu Chen with a fierce growl. But though Fu Chen was only level 14, his Agility was at 80, and his Evasion was a staggering 800. Combined with the buff from [Swift Cloud Step], he easily dodged the counterattack and retreated instantly. Even as the creature pursued him relentlessly, it eventually collapsed in vain on its path of vengeance.

Seeing Fu Chen resume fighting, Qin Yumuo was both astonished and impressed, though she resignedly followed behind to loot the battlefield. She couldn't help but complain in a whisper, "Red Dust, we've been picking up items all night! My inventory is almost full!"

Fu Chen chuckled and replied casually, "If it’s full, just toss out the cheap gear."

He was exhilarated and brimming with fighting spirit, having temporarily forgotten his fatigue. On one hand, he wanted to finish the job and hit level 15; on the other, he was eager to experience the power of the evolved [Mad Dragon Strike]. As for why the skill had upgraded on its own, he had already figured it out.

After his rebirth, he had awakened an "Ultra-God" level hidden talent as a Chosen One, which came with three innate skills.

The first was the passive talent [Heaven-Stealing], which granted him double attribute points every time he leveled up. In his three years roaming the Perfect Continent in his past life, he had never heard of anyone with such an abundance of attribute points. This was why, as a level 14 martial artist, he could afford the luxury of dumping 80 points into Agility. This talent had effectively doubled his innate potential.

The second was the active talent [Heaven-Seizing], which he still hadn't figured out how to use.

The third was the passive talent [Heaven-Piercing]. It allowed for the exponential accumulation of his mastery over weapons and skills during combat. Since his rebirth, Fu Chen had been using "trial skills" to fight. Because he hadn't noticed any immediate effects, he had stopped paying attention to it. Now, he realized that [Heaven-Piercing] required a slow process of accumulation; it wasn't something that happened overnight.

The constant battles over the past two days, and the relentless use of [Dragon Strike] tonight, had deepened his understanding of the skill until it finally broke through and evolved. With [Heaven-Piercing], Fu Chen no longer had to worry about the scarcity of Immortal or Demonic skill books. Even if he couldn't find or afford them, he could master them himself through this talent.

Thinking of this, Fu Chen wanted to laugh out loud in celebration. His mind was a tempest of excitement, yet his outward demeanor remained calm and sharp as he struck down monsters with ruthless efficiency.

Killing a level 13 Savage Wolf King now granted him an average of 34 experience and 18 spirit points. Just seven or eight minutes later, Qin Yumuo reached level 15. Another ten minutes passed, and Fu Chen was suddenly enveloped in a white glow—he had finally reached level 15 as well.

After distributing the attribute points he had just gained, his stats were as follows:

[Chosen One
Talent Skills: Heaven-Stealing; Heaven-Seizing; Heaven-Piercing.
Half-Love Red Dust, Level 15, Martial Artist
Realm: Foundation Establishment
Reputation: 28
Experience: 17/13,500
Health: 510
Chi: 297
Spirit: 31,508
Remaining Points: 0
Talent Points: 0
Constitution: 5
Magic: 5
Strength: 50
Agility: 100
Physical Attack: 87-136
Magic Attack: 14-14
Critical Rate: 6%
Attack Frequency: 0.83/sec
Critical Damage: 200%
Physical Defense: 109
Elemental Defense: 155
Accuracy: 1,000
Evasion: 1,000]

They had exceeded their leveling goals for the night, with only a few minutes left until 7:00 AM. The two cast [Town Portal] where they stood, and after a flash of teleportation light, they vanished.

However, they were not transported back to Four Directions Village, but instead appeared in an unfamiliar location.

Qin Yumuo looked around, puzzled. "Huh? Where is this?"

"The regional map says this is the Lumber Yard," Fu Chen replied in a low voice, though he was secretly chuckling to himself: *I didn't think we'd run so far while fighting that we'd end up teleporting here. Lucky break.*

He smiled and suggested, "Didn't you say your bag was full? Let’s sell the useless white-tier gear and materials. Also, let's tally the skill books we found tonight. And what about those 'Lucky Boxes' you mentioned? Did you figure them out?"

Qin Yumuo nodded. "I found three [Lucky Boxes]. They gave different things when opened. One had two [Heavenly Craft Runes], while the others contained two [Immortal Stones] and a [Universe Stone]."

As they talked, they began sorting their inventories. Combined, they had three copies of the martial artist skill book [Golden Bell Shield: Level 1], along with one skill book each for the Winged Elf, Wizard, Untamed, and Vulpine classes. They also had eight Heavenly Craft Runes, four Immortal Stones, six Universe Stones, and various common white-tier equipment and materials.

Qin Yumuo asked doubtfully, "What are these things from the Lucky Boxes for? Should we sell them or keep them?"