Chapter Four: The Mysterious Iron Bell and the Three Yang Fans

Su Yu instantly realized that this volley had broken through the magic artifact’s defense of 1,320 points; on average, each water arrow dealt just over 100 damage.

“I can’t block it head-on.”

With a thought, his mana surged through his body, and he leapt lightly into the air, flying backward. Clasping his hands together, he quickly formed hand seals while murmuring incantations. His mana rapidly drained, transforming into flickering flames that coalesced into a pillar of fire shooting skyward. At about a hundred meters above the school of fish spirits, the flames gathered into a burning cloud roughly thirty meters in diameter.

After about five or six seconds, fist-sized fireballs erupted from the fiery cloud, plunging into the oncoming carp spirits. Immediately, massive damage numbers popped up.

Fire Rain Technique: Summons three waves of fire rain, each wave dealing 50 plus 10% spell damage bonus, with an area of effect of 10 meters plus 1 meter per level, casting range 200 meters plus 20 meters per level, and an additional wave every ten levels. Mana consumption is 600 points.

With the Golden Finger enhancement, each wave’s damage became 100 plus 20% spell damage, the area expanded to 20 meters plus 2 meters per level, and there were four waves in total.

Normally, the fire rain deals 65 fire damage per wave (50 + 5 + 10), but with the enhancement, it doubled to 140 fire damage per wave within a 40-meter radius.

As one wave of fire rain fell, scalding steam rose, causing the fish spirits to convulse wildly.

The second wave fell, and many fish spirits flipped belly-up, floating lifelessly.

“Notification: Killed a level-12 Carp Spirit, gained 12 slaying experience.”

“Notification: Due to unknown factors, an additional 12 slaying experience awarded. You have actually gained 24 slaying experience.”

There were nearly thirty carp spirits in the group. After three waves, Su Yu instantly gained 720 slaying experience points, having spent only 600 mana.

He descended from the air, reaching out to retrieve two shimmering light orbs from the slain carp spirits—loot.

However, he paid little attention to the loot and casually opened one orb. As expected, it contained only materials.

One loot orb held over a dozen first-grade thick fish scales, usable for crafting first-grade equipment such as scale armor, which offered just over ten points of defense—something he never considered buying.

The market purchase price was very low, about 100 pieces per set for one copper coin.

But every little bit counts; his personal space was empty anyway, and these items occupied only one slot and could stack infinitely. So, he stored them away for now.

In the Other Shore realm, monsters drop loot like in games. In theory, anything could drop—flying swords, magic artifacts, even Daoist manuals—but the drop rates were extremely low.

Good items only dropped from bosses. The chance for ordinary small monsters to drop flying sword artifacts was pathetic; usually, they only yielded basic materials with low value, so relying on this to get rich was out of the question.

After collecting the loot, he took out a superior restorative pill and consumed one to recover 600 mana, then infused his mana into the Black Iron Bell to restore the defense lost from the fish spirits’ concentrated attacks.

The Black Iron Bell had 2,500 defense points, with a mana conversion rate of 10—each point of mana restored 10 defense points.

In battle, mana could be continuously infused to restore the magic artifact’s defense. Generally, he could inject up to 1% of his total mana per second, so the higher his mana, the faster the artifact’s defense would recover.

Also, the defense value of a defensive artifact equaled the amount of damage it could block. Before the artifact’s defense was broken, it provided absolute 360-degree protection with no blind spots—there was no sneaking attacks from beneath, unless the artifact only protected one side.

Though the Black Iron Bell hung overhead with a tapered beam of light shielding his entire body, it was effectively an all-around protection.

Once restored, Su Yu’s gaze shifted to another group of spirits.

He infused mana and ignited the Three Suns Fan in a blaze of flames.

For small groups of spirits, he used the Three Suns Fan to instantly kill three at a time, generally taking two or three rounds to clear them efficiently with low mana consumption.

He only employed Fire Rain Technique when facing groups of twenty or more.

Yet, he rarely did mass farming, as it was too risky. If the group was too large, a single mistake could cause disaster.

By the riverside of the Sinking Sand River, the aquatic spirits were around level ten. Although his Qi Refinement Heart Method was only level ten, the Golden Finger enhancement was equivalent to that of others at twenty levels, giving him absolute level superiority and astonishing kill speed.

Constant spellcasting also honed his skills, increasing his casting speed.

Initially, the Fire Rain Technique took five to six seconds to summon the fire cloud, but after several uses, he compressed it to about three seconds—about twice as fast.

Practical combat was the best catalyst. Theories once taught by teachers quickly transformed into real experience through hands-on attempts.

Su Yu wasn’t sure if his rapid learning was due to innate talent or the Golden Finger ability, but he found himself mastering multitasking quickly—within an hour, he could expertly wield the Three Suns Fan while simultaneously manipulating qi to leap and dodge incoming water arrows.

His slaying experience accumulated rapidly, but mana drained just as fast, consuming thirty to forty superior restorative pills in an hour.

Loot was practically worthless, only a few thousand scales, a dozen monster scales, some fish bones, and meat, worth less than a hundred wen.

But it couldn’t be helped. Level-ten monster materials were too cheap; even the cost of pills couldn’t be recovered.

He had to endure this period. When he reached forty or fifty-level spirits, the material quality and prices would rise, allowing him to barely break even.

After nearly five hours of grinding, he accumulated 220,000 slaying experience points but no cultivation base—those only came from boss kills.

Glancing at his nearly depleted pills, Su Yu stowed his magic artifacts after killing the last wave, summoned his paper crane mount, and flew toward Qianyu City.

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“Mana is still insufficient; I need to improve it further.”

Back in Qianyu City, he headed straight to the central commercial street and stopped in front of the Qianyu Guild.

“I want ten first-grade Dao Heart Pills.”

Dao Heart Pills increase cultivation base. First-grade pills raise it by 3 points each, retailing at 10 taels of silver apiece. Guild members enjoyed a 10% discount, costing 9 taels each.

After purchasing ten first-grade Dao Heart Pills, Su Yu was left with 65 silver.

“This is quite costly.”

He gritted his teeth and bought 200 superior restorative pills for 10 silver.

Next, he found a restaurant in the commercial district and reserved a private room.

Once the door closed, he took out a Dao Heart Pill, pouring one into his palm. It was translucent and jade-like, more resembling a gem than medicine.

The pill dissolved quickly in his mouth, releasing a warm current into his body.

Opening the system panel, the prompt read:

“Notification: Consumed a first-grade Dao Heart Pill, gained 3 cultivation base points.”

“Notification: Due to unknown factors, gained 6 cultivation base points.”

“Wow!”

Su Yu smiled faintly to maintain composure, but the joy betrayed his eyes.

He quickly consumed the remaining pills, raising his cultivation base by 60 points. Together with the previous 3 points, he now had 63.

Crossing his legs, Su Yu focused and opened the panel to upgrade the Purple Origin Qi Refinement Technique.

Advancing from level ten to eleven required 140,000 cultivation points and 4 cultivation base points.

From eleven to twelve needed 160,000 cultivation points and 4 cultivation base points.

Continuing similarly, he upgraded from level ten to fifteen at once, consuming 900,000 cultivation points and 20 cultivation base points.

At level fifteen, the Purple Origin Qi Refinement Technique granted: +600 health, +1,200 mana, +600 spell power, and +3 mana regeneration per second.

This marked the normal upgrade limit of the technique; beyond this, further advancement would be troublesome.

Generally, the maximum level initially stated for a Qi Refinement Heart Method refers to the maximum attainable through direct upgrades—not the absolute limit. Further improvement requires raising the level cap through various means.

There were three common ways to continue upgrading.

First, purchasing cultivation manuals from transcendent cultivators who had passed heavenly tribulations. Reading these could increase the level cap based on one’s comprehension, raising the Purple Origin Qi Refinement Technique’s cap from fifteen to twenty, enabling further upgrades with cultivation points and base.

These cultivation manuals were expensive; even the lowest first-grade ones cost one tael of gold each.

Second, attending lectures given by transcendent masters. Listening raised the level cap based on comprehension. The Qianyu Guild was a veteran guild with centuries of history and many masters. Several transcendent masters who had passed heavenly tribulations gave monthly lectures, and guild members could exchange guild contribution points for attendance.

Third, a brute-force method consumed ten times the normal cultivation points and base to forcibly upgrade beyond the cap.

For instance, upgrading from level fifteen to sixteen normally required 120,000 cultivation points and 4 cultivation base points, but forced advancement demanded 1,200,000 cultivation points and 40 base points, bypassing all prerequisites.

Most ordinary players lacked money, so they relied on this crude method later.

Su Yu didn’t need such brute force yet; he preferred to train and grow stronger first.

As for his remaining 1.53 million cultivation points and 43 cultivation base points, he would save them for later. Such a large amount of cultivation base cost a fortune; wasting it on a single forced upgrade would be too inefficient.

Nonetheless, making money was still a priority.

After quickly finishing his meal, before setting out, he bought another magic artifact—a second-tier Fire Talisman—for 2 taels of silver.

Third-rank Fire Talisman (Second-tier Artifact): A fire-element talisman that shoots fireballs to damage enemies.

Attributes: Fireball damage 110, 15% spell damage bonus, range 120 meters, mana cost 20, cooldown 1 second.

Equip requirement: Any Qi Refinement Heart Method level five or above.

This was for supplementary damage—if the Three Suns Fan couldn’t kill in one blow or if there were still injured enemies after Fire Rain, he’d use this to finish them off.

The Fire Talisman consumed only 20 mana, much more efficient than the Fireball Technique derived from the Fire Origin True Explanation, which cost 50 mana.

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Still by the Sinking Sand River, but not at the previous riverbank spot—now a bit further upstream where the shore was steeper and aquatic spirits were around level fifteen with 300 health each.

He summoned the feather fan, ignited roaring flames, and launched three fireballs simultaneously. At the same time, he multitasked by activating the Fire Talisman, sending a fireball to finish off a wounded black fish spirit.

A single fireball couldn’t kill level fifteen spirits with 300 health.

The Fire Talisman’s cooldown was only one second, so Su Yu fired consecutive fireballs to finish off the other two wounded spirits, then rested briefly before continuing.

With prior experience, he didn’t spam endlessly like before; his mana couldn’t sustain it.

At level fifteen Qi Refinement Heart Method, he could regenerate 3 mana per second. After battle, a brief pause restored much mana, improving endurance.

After half an hour, he had cleared most nearby spirits and moved a few kilometers upstream.

After several trips back and forth, night fell unnoticed.

Because he slowed down, he only gained 250,000 cultivation points that afternoon, with no increase in cultivation base.

The next morning, he returned to the riverside, facing the same level fifteen spirits.

He farmed from morning until noon, then went back to the city for a meal and rest, resuming in the afternoon until evening. He could accumulate about 500,000 slaying experience per full day.

Without double experience, it would be about 250,000.

In reality, newcomers starting alongside him lacked the double experience attribute and couldn’t grind solo at the same efficiency.

In the following days, Su Yu woke early every day to the Sinking Sand River, grinding five hours in the morning and five in the afternoon, returning at dusk.

“Damn, it feels like a job!”

But indeed, the early stage was all about grinding.

Day by day, Su Yu accumulated practical combat experience—how to maximize damage output versus mana consumption, using minimal mana for maximum damage.

He learned to pace himself, relying on natural mana regeneration to improve endurance and reduce pill consumption.

Initially, 200 superior restorative pills barely lasted a day; the second day, half a day.

Later, by conserving mana, 200 pills lasted two full days.

A week later, 200 pills lasted three full days without affecting experience gain.

Fifty thousand slaying experience daily, about 3.5 million weekly, but cultivation base still at zero.

That was to be expected—there were no bosses by the river.

On the eighth day, just as Su Yu was about to leave after ordering breakfast, he received a new message.

Surprised, he opened it and found it was from a stranger named Fu Ping:

“I’m the guild’s Newcomer Department instructor, Fu Ping. You must be Su Yu?”

“Uh, yes, I’m Su Yu. Instructor, is there something you need?”

“No, just a routine check on newcomers. I see you haven’t joined any team yet. Are other teams not accepting you, or do you have your own?”

“Oh, I prefer to travel alone.”

“Hmm…”

Fu Ping paused briefly, then said mildly:

“Although the guild won’t interfere with your choice, as a newcomer, traveling alone is dangerous and inefficient. As a senior member, I suggest you find a team.”

He continued:

“When signing the contract, HR should have told you that the guild recruits many newcomers annually, but not all can stay.”

“There’s an assessment at year-end, and half of the newcomers will be dismissed or demoted to affiliate members.”

“Going solo, your efficiency is too low; it’ll be hard to compete in the assessment.”

“That said, all independent squads in the guild offer a one-day trial. You can try joining a team for a day. If it doesn’t work out, you can leave and find another. The guild has dozens of independent squads; one is bound to suit you.”