Chapter 56: Probing, Complete

Starting a bit past 1:00 AM, they led others in leveling up, only finishing after 5:00 AM.

With the two of them taking turns guiding, Midnight, Beauty Yu, Qing Lan, Yao Si Qingmeng, as well as Double Pupil, Purely for Entertainment, and Heart's Desire, everyone experienced rapid level gains.

By the end, Midnight had reached Level 19, while the others all hit Level 18, lagging just slightly behind in cultivation realm.

At the same time, Fu Chen and Qin Yumeng themselves gained equivalent cultivation and leveled up through the process of guiding others.

Especially Fu Chen, who was on the verge of reaching Level 22, which prompted him to immediately halt the monster-grinding and leveling sessions.

Drawing from his past-life experience, Fu Chen did not want his own level to match or exceed that of the Netherworld bosses.

It had to be lower than the boss's level to maximize the probability of rare item drops in the end.

Of course, Fu Chen had also considered directly using the [Heaven-Seizing] skill to directly reverse the outcome and obtain the equipment and materials he needed.

Upon second thought, however, he decided to let his teammates experience firsthand just how low the probability of bosses dropping rare materials actually was.

Once things came too easily, people tended to forget to cherish them.

As for the remaining leveling issues for the rest of the group, they would just have to complete quests and defeat monsters slowly on their own.

After distributing the skill books for various classes to their respective owners, the two of them simply chose to leave.

Qin Yumeng asked with a smile, "Red Dust, I've noticed that ever since you reached Level 19, you aren't in much of a hurry to level up anymore. You just go around playing whenever you have time. Why is that?"

Fu Chen explained with a smile, "Haven't you noticed? The higher the level, the more cultivation is required, and the slower the leveling becomes. Being ahead by two levels is enough, and we need to balance work and rest, right?"

"What do you plan to do with the remaining time?" Qin Yumeng asked again.

Fu Chen smiled and said, "Whatever you want to do. I'm fine with anything."

Thus, the two of them once again began wandering around, chatting, and enjoying the scenery, both pursuits happening seamlessly.

After leaving the Perfect Continent in the morning, Fu Chen went to work part-time as usual.

Along the way, considering that there was less than half a month left before the start of the semester, coupled with his knowledge of Blue Star's subsequent developmental trajectory, Fu Chen began to contemplate whether he should end his part-time job early and take advantage of the remaining time to go home and visit his mother.

As for schooling and a graduation diploma, they would be practically useless in the future Blue Star.

Once this idea took root, the urges to resign and go home, or even to suspend his studies outright, became unstoppable.

However, Fu Chen did not dare to make a private decision, nor did he dare to present a fait accompli, primarily out of fear of making his mother sad.

"I can make my own decision about the part-time job, but as for suspending my studies, I'll enter the Perfect Continent today and discuss it with Mom face-to-face."

Fu Chen told himself this, and at the same time resolved to resign from his job to his boss today, since the semester was about to start.

Upon rushing to the company, Fu Chen immediately tendered his resignation to his boss, citing the upcoming semester and the need to return home.

His boss, being a straightforward and generous person, agreed without a second thought, telling him he didn't need to come in after finishing work today, and even settled his wages immediately.

That evening, upon entering the Perfect Continent, Fu Chen went straight to find Qing Lan and discovered that Yao Si Qingmeng was there as well.

He intentionally formed a two-person team with Qing Lan first, and in the party channel, he proactively mentioned his desire to go home for a few days and his thought of suspending his studies.

Before Qing Lan could even finish hearing the sentence, she reached out and pinched her son's ear, scolding angrily:

"Have you lost your mind, or do you want to sever our blood ties?
You worked so hard to get into university, and you're just two years away from graduation, yet you want to suspend your studies?
Are you trying to anger me to death so you can inherit my estate? Let me tell you, our family has no estate, so you can abandon that thought..."

Fu Chen had originally just wanted to test the waters, but seeing the situation turn sour, he immediately admitted his mistake and apologized:
"I'm sorry, Mom. I was wrong. I was just saying it casually; I didn't genuinely want to suspend my studies. I was just joking."

Qing Lan refused to let her son off so easily, pulling on his ear and saying fiercely:
"Don't pull jokes like that on me. If I happen not to hold back, watch out for accidental injuries.
Besides, don't come home before the semester starts. Go out and have fun for a few days to relax instead."

With a look of unwillingness, Fu Chen flattered her: "Mom, I was just joking. Surely it doesn't warrant banning me from going home, does it?"

Qing Lan cast a helpless glance at her son, thinking to herself: "How on earth did you manage to find a girlfriend when you can't even figure out something this simple?"

Despite these thoughts, Qing Lan offered no warnings; she never meddled in her son's romantic affairs.

After the two of them finished talking, Yao Si Qingmeng walked over with a curious expression and asked in a low voice, "What on earth did you say to provoke Aunty into using physical force?"

With a straight face, Fu Chen replied, "I said I wasn't going to study anymore and wanted to go home to sponge off my parents, so I got severely disciplined."

"Ah, are you serious? Does that mean I'll have to go to your hometown with you?" Yao Si Qingmeng asked, her face full of surprise mingled with a hint of excitement.

Glancing at her irritably, Fu Chen retorted, "Needless to say, of course it was a joke. You guys go do your quests, I'm going to wander around."

After leaving Feather City, Qin Yumeng quickly invited Fu Chen to join her party, and the two continued to leisurely roam around.

Yesterday, both of them reached Level 21, and Qin Yumeng suggested visiting a tailor's shop to replace their outdated defensive equipment.

Fu Chen explained, "Tonight, after we collect the materials and level up our crafting skills, we can make them ourselves directly. There's no need to buy ordinary white-tier equipment."

Time spent playing always passes quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was midnight.

Fu Chen originally intended to return to Sword Immortal City to acquire materials, but Qin Yumeng stopped him.

She smiled and explained, "If there are enough people selling materials tonight, it won't make a difference even if we aren't there.
We can leave all the purchasing to Double Pupil; we'll just go collect the materials directly when the time comes."

The two of them did not leisurely return to Sword Immortal City until past 1:00 AM.

Double Pupil had already finished acquiring all the basic minerals and herbs, which was enough for the entire team to raise their crafting skills to Level 3.

The collected materials were diverse, but each piece of equipment typically required only three types of materials.

As for the raw materials for medicinal pills—meaning the varieties of herbs—a greater number was required.

Different types and quantities of herbs were needed for pills with different effects.

Raising a crafting skill from Level 1 to Level 2 was the simplest step; it only required reaching a certain number of crafting attempts, which was proficiency.

Now that the materials were fully sufficient, the time had finally come to personally craft equipment, weapons, and pills.

When Fu Chen received the materials from Double Pupil, he calculated the approximate price and transferred the funds over as well.

Double Pupil directly closed the trade window with a bitter smile, saying, "Red Dust, are you looking down on me? You're paying for such a small batch of materials?"

With a puzzled look, Fu Chen smiled and said, "What a novelty. Even among teammates and friends, there's no reason to take so many materials for free. It's the same logic as paying for a meal."

Qin Yumeng smiled playfully, glanced sideways at Double Pupil out of the corner of her eye, and pretended to act nonchalant as she said:
"Red Dust, you don't need to pay. The ones Double Pupil gave belong to my share, and I've already compensated him."

Pausing for a moment with a slightly flushed face, she looked straight at Fu Chen and asked, "You and I aren't going to calculate things so strictly either, right? In that case, refinement..."

Fu Chen decisively smiled and said, "Stop right there. It's just some materials, I was just being polite. I'd love nothing more than to get enough materials without ever having to spend money in the future."

After everyone finished dividing the materials, Qin Yumeng asked perplexedly, "Red Dust, why didn't Sister Qing Lan come?"

"She doesn't need to learn crafting skills," Fu Chen replied.

Following that, he looked at other teammates like Double Pupil and Midnight and proposed: "Also, there's something I need to mention in advance..."