Chapter 111: Chapter 110: Stable Traits! (5/6 Subscribe please)
"So that’s how it is."
In the small hut, after listening to Chen Fan’s explanation, Zhang Ren’s tightly furrowed brows slightly relaxed.
"No wonder when you left yesterday, no one came after you. That person actually had such a sinister plan."
"Indeed."
Chen Fan sighed, "The best method is to deal with them on the spot to avoid future troubles. However, I worry that even if I could fight one against six, it’s hard to stop someone from escaping. In that case, my situation would be dire, making it difficult to leave Song Family Castle smoothly."
"Your approach was correct."
Zhang Ren nodded, "The Song Family Castle is not as simple as you think. Even at my peak, I wouldn’t be completely certain. In short, preserving yourself is the most important, and that group will likely keep our secret."
"Hmm."
Chen Fan responded.
Though he worried about whether anyone else knew this secret, he couldn’t consider every aspect.
He could only resolve the current predicament and then continually improve his strength.
If he becomes powerful enough, even if the whole world knows about his mounts, what can they do?
"Uncle Zhang, I’ll go intercept that group after dark. The village’s safety..."
"Don’t worry," before Chen Fan finished speaking, Zhang Ren nodded, "If they break in without us knowing, I couldn’t deal with them immediately. But now, knowing what might happen, they certainly won’t succeed."
Chen Fan smiled. The cooperation between the two made them less concerned about any unexpected issues.
"Uncle Zhang, during this trip to Song Family Castle, I bought two longbows with 500 pounds of draw strength. You saw it when I came back; you can use one for practice later."
"Oh, and here’s thirty pounds of Blood Rice. Its nutrition is comparable to mid-level fierce beast meat. I couldn’t buy too much, fearing it would be hard to bring back. I’ll buy more after some time."
"Good."
Zhang Ren was deeply touched by this.
He didn’t say any words of gratitude or assurance; action speaks louder than words, and such exchanges weren’t necessary between them.
"Didn’t you say you want to practice step techniques? Follow me."
The two walked one after the other to the back of the warehouse. This was originally a walkway, now filled with wooden stakes, ranging from low to high, extending forward.
"I don’t need to explain how it’s done, right?"
Zhang Ren glanced over.
"No need."
Chen Fan smiled and walked to the lowest rows of stakes.
The stakes reached his calves, each row had roughly six stakes, with less than a meter gap between the first row and the second, and similar spacing thereafter.
At the eleventh row, the stake height increased by about ten centimeters.
Chen Fan stepped onto the stakes; they were stable without the slightest wobble.
He took a deep breath and lifted his right foot, stepping onto the second row of stakes.
Meanwhile, he looked at the skill bar,
[Basic Step Technique: Level 3 (0.01%)...]
"One step increased by one ten-thousandth?"
He lifted his left foot to step forward onto the second row of stakes.
The skill level increased from one ten-thousandth to two ten-thousandths.
"It seems upgrading Basic Step Technique from Level 3 to Level 4 only requires walking 10,000 steps. Doesn’t seem too difficult?"
He thought and began walking from stake to stake.
"You practice here patiently. If you have any questions, you can come to me in the front anytime," Zhang Ren said and then left.
Thus, Chen Fan walked step by step on the stakes.
The skill level increased from three ten-thousandths to one thousandth, then to one hundredth, feeling a bit exhausted.
A hundred steps, roughly two minutes, only reached one hundredth.
Meaning to level up would take 200 minutes, over three hours, to reach Level 4. From Level 4 to Level 5 could take six or seven hours?
Chen Fan looked at the higher stakes ahead and proceeded.
Right foot stepping onto the eleventh row, he glanced at the skill bar, the [Basic Step Technique] skill level immediately increased by about three ten-thousandths.
This filled him with motivation.
It equates to saving two-thirds of the time. Higher stakes might be even faster?
He climbed, with the muscle strength he currently had, it wouldn’t hurt too much even if he fell.
In the second tier of stakes, he quickly noticed the skill level did not increase by three ten-thousandths or two ten-thousandths.
He felt puzzled, looking back at the first row of stakes and then at the ones under his feet, a hypothesis emerged in his mind.
Moving from low to high increases skill level more compared to staying at the same height?
How about moving from high to low?
With a testing mindset, he took some steps back, then lifted his right foot to step onto the tenth row, checking the skill bar.
The skill level increased by one ten-thousandth.
Less than moving within the second tier.
"Moving from low to high is more challenging, second is horizontal movement, and the easiest is moving from high to low, like climbing up and down a mountain."
Chen Fan looked ahead; since moving upwards is more efficient, he continued climbing.
Proving his conjecture through practice.
With increasing height, the skill level rose from three ten-thousandths to seven ten-thousandths, two thousandths, five thousandths, reaching one hundredth.
Standing nearly two meters high on stakes, he easily saw Wang Ping and others practicing martial arts.
"Look over there!"
Wang Ping noticed Chen Fan and exclaimed.
"What?"
People nearby followed his gaze but saw nothing.
"Nothing," Wang Ping scratched his head.
Chen Fan then slowly moved downward to the ground and repeated the cycle.
After roughly half an hour, Chen Fan felt his legs lighten, a sense of agility came upon him.
He smiled as Basic Step Technique leveled up.
[Basic Step Technique: Level 4 (0%), Traits: Swift Level 4, Stable Level 1]
"Stable?"
Chen Fan paused, is it enhancing stability?
[Stable: Each skill level increases body balance by thirty percent]
Chen Fan chuckled, just what he needed.
If he wants to level up, he has to move up and down vigorously. As speed increases, so will the skill level, but he might lose balance and fall.
This stability trait came at the right time.
Looking ahead, he stepped onto the stakes again, speeding up to move one step per second.
Indeed, with increased speed, the skill level surged more than twice, though his body began losing control. Continuing this way, he’d definitely fall.
"Haste makes waste; need to slow down."
He slowed down to about one step every second and a half, feeling more at ease, the skill level increasing steadily.
Over time, becoming adept, he could reduce the time to one step every second or two, though sustaining this speed for a short period, the skill level surged.
After about half an hour, the familiar sensation returned.
[Basic Step Technique: Level 5 (0%), Traits: Swift Level 5, Stable Level 2]
Chen Fan smiled, within an hour, agility increased by 2 points.
Stable Level 2 enhanced balance by sixty percent, significantly benefiting further improvement.
Checking the skill bar, Basic Body Technique hadn’t unlocked yet.
"Wonder if reaching Level 6 in Basic Step Technique would unlock it?"
He pondered and resumed training.
This time, he managed each step within a second, moving swiftly.
Occasionally, some came to watch, witnessing this, they widened their eyes in disbelief.
Not just moving fast, standing on stakes nearly two meters high, descending was daunting enough for them.
"Brother Fan is too strong."
"Indeed, he’s the most talented among us, yet works so diligently."
"No wonder he’s so amazing."
They exchanged words, showing deep admiration.
Gu Ze also looked over, determined.
He resolved to practice whatever Chen Fan practiced, even if it meant triple the effort.
Around half an hour later, Chen Fan leaped from high, landing steadily on stakes three rows away.
Instantly, [Basic Step Technique] skill level jumped from 93.56% to 94.88%, more than one percentage point.
Chen Fan smiled.
As he anticipated, this method was much quicker, but risky enough for normal people to break their legs.
After two minutes, another light sensation came from his legs.
Basic Step Technique leveled up again.
[Basic Step Technique: Level 6 (0%), Traits: Swift Level 6, Stable Level 3]
No new traits appeared, but a new skill emerged.
[Basic Body Technique: Level 0 (0%)]
Chen Fan breathed a sigh of relief, finally unlocking Basic Body Technique.
Happy and congratulatory.
But still far from completing [Lightweight Water Floating].
He recalled Zhang Ren’s words.
Basic Body Technique includes two types: short-range dodging and medium to long-distance running.
Both types can improve Basic Body Technique.
Chen Fan looked at the stakes, now able to navigate them swiftly and smoothly.
Time to test dodging and evasion on stakes.
Aiming to upgrade Basic Body Technique to Level 3 before dark.