Chapter 149 - 147: New Trait ’Strong
Now he realized that so-called Extreme Realm Martial Artists might not be common in the Jianghu.
Even if there are, most of them are hidden masters like Liu Dingsheng, who are seen less frequently as they age, or they are like mythical beings, only known by their legendary names.
However, under the command of powerful figures like the Fifth Prince and Gu Wenhui, these Extreme Realm Martial Artists are not that rare!
This made him feel a sense of crisis once again, knowing that he is not entirely in control of the situation.
Strong as he is, when facing Xiong Dang Mountain under the Fifth Prince’s command, he still needed to use the Blood Burst Secret Technique to achieve victory.
If in the future a certain force is determined to eliminate him, could he still perform well and retreat unscathed when besieged by a group of Extreme Realm Martial Artists from that force?
Though such worries might seem a bit paranoid, it’s something he must consider if he wants to be cautious.
He rested for another day, taking the opportunity to invoke a ’Heaven Rewards Diligence’ state.
Early the next morning, Song Changming had already begun brewing a five-hundred-year-old Wild Ginseng.
This time, he also spent a large amount of money, adding various precious medicinal herbs he had collected to maximize the use of this rare Wild Ginseng.
Calling this pot of decoction worth ten thousand silver might be an exaggeration, but it’s definitely worth seven to eight thousand silver.
Just because if this five-hundred-year Wild Ginseng were to enter the market, selling it for seven to eight thousand silver would not be difficult.
Before drinking, Song Changming set aside a small portion of the decoction, diluted it, and reserved it for the two elders at home and Song Ping’an.
It’s not that he didn’t want to give more, but the potent medicinal power would be too much for Father Song, Song’s Mother, or Song Ping’an to handle.
Nourishment is only beneficial if it’s just right.
Having done all this, Song Changming looked at the bowl full of medicinal herbs and secretly murmured.
"Let’s begin."
It wasn’t his first time tasting herbs of this level, so it wasn’t novel to him.
He quickly downed it in one gulp, the herbs going down entirely, not leaving a drop.
Soon, the medicinal power within exploded like a scorching volcanic eruption.
He didn’t even have time to move before sweating profusely like a waterfall, his blood veins were in turmoil, constantly absorbing the abundant medicinal power.
He could clearly feel the transformation of his body from the inside out, as if he were turning into a piece of treasure material, being continuously refined and sublimated!
This effect couldn’t compare to lower-year Mountain Ginseng.
On the panel, the experience values of his four Body Refining Skills began to jump, indicating the significant impact this Treasure Medicine had on his entire musculature.
Song Changming didn’t delay, exhaling a hot breath and immediately commenced practice!
He knew very well that the day after taking the decoction was when the effect was most intense, and it would gradually settle in the body and calm down.
Every minute and every second of this day could not be missed.
Song Changming quickly immersed himself until, after a day, he finally stopped to assess his gains.
In just one day, Song Changming’s Bull Demon Skill experience value had increased by nearly two hundred points, reaching almost a quarter progress.
This result was undoubtedly quite joyful, even better than Song Changming had anticipated.
This was equivalent to condensing a year’s worth of efforts into just one day.
This is the huge help that rare medicinal herbs provide!
"Awesome!"
Song Changming smiled, feeling the changes in himself.
Apart from the Bull Demon Skill, the experience values of the other three Body Refining Skills had also increased significantly, with dozens of points gained, which was an additional gain.
And for the following month, the period of medicinal power eruption would continue.
Based on the experience of consuming the Flowing Gold Ginseng last time, Song Changming estimated that after the medicinal power of this Mountain Ginseng, the originally needed four to five years of cultivation days could be reduced to just two to three years.
And if he could obtain similar high-year Mountain Ginseng in the future, his cultivation progress could accelerate once again.
Of course, it’s very difficult to find such items again.
He estimated that such top-grade martial herbs are either secretly used the moment they’re unearthed or collected by great figures like Gu Wenhui.
The Mountain Ginsengs available on the market mostly cap at a hundred years.
Previously, exchanging for a three-hundred-year Flowing Gold Ginseng from Liu Dingsheng with mist gold was a stroke of incredible luck, a once-in-many-years chance.
Seeing such an opportunity again, who knows what year or month it will be.
Therefore, Song Changming did not hold much hope and just concentrated on training in the city.
Time flew, June came.
[Annual Review: A year full of participation.]
[Martial Arts Aspect: This year, your martial skills advanced rapidly, with the Great Strength Bull Demon Skill reaching the eighth realm...]
[Battle Record Aspect: This year, you completed a formidable challenge, defeating the powerful opponent Xiong Dang Mountain, and assassinated the imperial bloodline Chu Huai...]
[Connections Aspect: This year was fruitful; you drew closer to the new ruler Gu Wenhui and gained recognition from both Gu Wenhui and the Governor of Donglai, Li Yan...]
[Completed Events: 1. Pieced together the complete Secret Technique Treasure Map and completed the treasure map event! 2. Assisted Gu Wenhui in seizing power, assassinated the Young Prince Chu Huai, and completed the prince assassination event!]
[Power and Reputation: ...]
[Family Aspect: ...]
This year’s annual evaluation appeared on time as well.
Song Changming looked at the yearly summary popping up on the screen, and overall, the performance of the past year was quite good.
At least compared to the silence of previous years, last year he was considered active.
Just as the top keyword in the annual evaluation says, this was a year of engagement.
The evaluation in the martial arts aspect was undoubtedly outstanding, especially since he broke through to the eighth realm of the Bull Demon Skill this year, with a significant increase in strength, and also invested heavily to replace other three sets of Superior Body Refining Skills that could be cultivated to the Extreme Realm.
The evaluation could not be anything but positive.
As for the battle record, Song Changming rarely fought others this year, so there were virtually no outstanding battle achievements worth mentioning, and the original evaluation was relatively mediocre.
But the final battle with the top-tier strength of Xiong Dang Mountain improved the evaluation significantly.
Additionally, successfully assassinating the imperial bloodline, the noble Chu Huai, turned his battle record evaluation into a positive one.
Then in terms of connections, the focus was on Gu Wenhui replacing the Fifth Prince, with his status and power soaring.
Thus, Gu Wenhui’s recognition of him became very significant, directly turning the evaluation of the connections, which he didn’t particularly strive to expand, into a positive one.
Then there were the two events completed this year.
The treasure map event that got him the Blood Burst Secret Technique is not worth mentioning for now, as it’s an old story, and the excitement is long gone.
But the prince assassination event, where he obtained the Martial Technique, was different. This was the key focus of his engagement keyword evaluation this year.
This year, he finally got slightly involved in the world’s major trends, witnessing the powerful rise of the great power represented by Gu Wenhui and participating in it.
Although assassinating the Young Prince Chu Huai was not the main stage of this major event, at least he participated, and this earned him a rather high event evaluation, which hadn’t been the case before.
[Please choose your annual reward.]
[1, Lifespan +3000. 2, Lifespan -1000, acquire the related white physical trait ’Strong’. 3, Lifespan -300, attribute points +3.]
Song Changming’s gaze fell on the reward options afterward.
As expected, this time’s high annual evaluation made the annual rewards slightly different.
A new physical trait appeared.
The ’Sword Practitioner’ trait he previously acquired had already provided him considerable assistance in daily sword practice.
Otherwise, his Sword Skill realm wouldn’t have advanced so quickly.
It can be said that this trait played a crucial role in his current pinnacle Sword Skill expertise.
In the future, if he has a preference on the path of martial arts, it will inevitably be referenced to these physical traits he acquired.
After all, with the ’Sword Practitioner’ trait, why practice sword or other weaponry martial arts?
This also counts as an alternative accumulation of innate talent.
Therefore, having tasted the benefits and influence of physical traits, Song Changming definitely did not pass up on this type of reward when it reappeared, opting directly for this physical trait as his annual reward.
As for the thousand life span days consumed, the lifespan he accumulated year after year was precisely for consumption at this time.
A thousand lifespan days are not much or little, they fall within the range Song Changming can accept.
After confirmation, soon, under his panel, the related physical traits column added his third physical trait.
Strong (white): Born with a strong physique, not prone to illness, with a limit to strength development that is beyond the ordinary!
Taking a look at this trait’s description, the key is the unique talent in the aspect of strength, capable of development stronger than ordinary people.
In simple terms, it means innate divine power.
Of course, this white physical trait may not be as exaggerated as the term innate divine power suggests.
But it can be foreseen that with this trait, plus the Eight Bull Power he already cultivated, his already formidable strength will become more unmatched in the future!
After carrying the new trait, Song Changming slightly felt no changes in physique, and there seemed to be a slight increase in Qi power, although the increase was quite limited.
"It seems this new trait still needs further development to show its effects..." Song Changming deduced.
Having just acquired this new trait, he also found it difficult to assess how effective the trait would be.
...