Chapter 112: EXP Farming [PART 2]
Li Yao sat at her desk, carefully working through stacks of memorandums that demanded her attention as Sect Leader. Her brush moved quickly as she approved some documents and declined others, steadily reducing the mountain of paperwork before her.
As she quickly dispatched one scroll after another, the Empress’s voice echoed within her mind approvingly.
[You’re really starting to get the hang of it,] she observed. [At this rate, you may be able to reach my level in a few million years.]
Li Yao paused momentarily, her brush hovering above the parchment. The Empress really did love to brag—a few million years?
[You don’t believe me?] the Empress immediately sensed her skepticism.
"Yeah, yeah, I believe you," Li Yao responded aloud, resuming her work. Experience had taught her it was always better to simply agree when the Empress was in one of these moods.
As she signed another document with her official seal, her thoughts drifted to her senior brother. How long had it been since they’d spent any meaningful time together? Four days trapped in the pagoda, longing for his company, only to return and be immediately buried in administrative responsibilities. She wondered if she could endure this isolation much longer.
A fleeting impulse to sneak away and check on Xiang Yu crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. He was probably sleeping at this hour—she shouldn’t disturb him. Besides, her expression hardened with determination, tomorrow would be the last day she’d work this intensely. She’d make certain of it.
From within Li Yao’s spiritual sea, the Empress observed her host’s diligent efforts and resolute expression with pride. "This little girl has grown quite a bit," she thought to herself.
...
When Xiang Yu saw the system notification, he instantly commanded the warring bloodlines to cease their conflict. Blood erupted from his mouth in a violent spray, while more crimson fluid seeped from his eyes, ears, and nose. This wasn’t training—it was pure torture.
With trembling hands, he consumed the remaining healing pills and focused his mind on recovery, his breathing ragged and uneven. He realized that he needed to upgrade his alchemy skills quickly if he hoped to continue this brutal method. With a thousand healing pills at his disposal, this process wouldn’t be nearly as devastating.
After several minutes of intensive meditation, he finally regained some semblance of functionality. The battling bloodlines had ravaged his internal organs so thoroughly that he could barely move without excruciating pain lancing through his body. Every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass.
Xiang Yu summoned the system settlement screen with a thought, anxious to see if this self-inflicted agony had yielded worthwhile results. If the gains weren’t substantial, he would feel profoundly wronged:
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (2380/11,000) (+500/11,000)]
[Qi Gathering: 5th Layer (300/500) (+200/500)]
[Mind: Level 4 (1362/4000) (+10/4000)]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (10/2000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (130/1,000,000) (+20/1,000,000)]
[Chaos Body: Level 1 (50/10,000) (+50/10,000)]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Phoenix: Thin Blood (80/1000) (+50/1000)]
[Enlightenment: Superior (50/4000) (+50/4000)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (20,320/40,000) (+10/40,000)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (90/100) (+10/100)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (33/200) (+5/200)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Minor Success (9/200) (+5/200)]
[High-grade Ice & Wind Palm: Beginner (14/100) (+10/100)]
[High-grade Light & Dark Palm: Beginner (2/100)]
[Cook: 4th Grade (200/600) (+20/600)]
[Appraiser: 7th Grade (100/300) (+100/300)]
[Talisman Maker: 8th Grade (50/200) (+30/200)]
[Alchemist, Formation Master, Blacksmith: 9th Grade (52/100) (+50/100)]
[Experience Points Doubled]
[Alchemist, Formation Master, Blacksmith: 9th Grade (52/100) → 8th Grade (0/200)]
[Talisman Maker: 8th Grade (50/200) → 8th Grade (100/200)]
[Appraiser: 7th Grade (100/300) → 7th Grade (200/300)]
[Cook: 4th Grade (200/600) → 4th Grade (400/600)]
[High-grade Light & Dark Palm: Beginner (2/100) → Beginner (4/100)]
[High-grade Ice & Wind Palm: Beginner (14/100) → Beginner (28/100)]
[High-grade Water, Wood, Earth, Metal Palm: Minor Success (9/200) → Minor Success (18/200)]
[High-grade Fire Palm: Minor Success (33/200) → Minor Success (66/200)]
[High-grade Lightning Strike & Palm: Beginner (90/100) → Minor Success (0/200)]
[Spirit Flame: Abyssal Void Flame: 6th Grade (20,320/40,000) → 5th Grade (0/50,000)]
[Enlightenment: Superior (50/4000) → Superior (100/4000)]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Phoenix: Thin Blood (80/1000) → Thin Blood (160/1000)]
[Chaos Body: Level 1 (50/10,000) → Level 1 (100/10,000)]
[Transcendent Dao Body: Level 1 (130/1,000,000) → Level 1 (260/1,000,000)]
[Spiritual Root: Medium-Grade Omni-Element (10/2000) → Medium (20/2000)]
[Mind: Level 4 (1362/4000) → Level 4 (2724/4000)]
[Qi Gathering: 5th Layer (300/500) → 6th Layer (0/600)]
[Body Refining: 11th Layer (2380/11,000) → 11th Layer (4760/11,000)]
...
As the system results flashed before his eyes, Xiang Yu’s expression transformed from pain to satisfaction despite the blood still drying on his face. The system hadn’t disappointed him—far from it. His gaze immediately locked onto the most dramatic improvements.
His Body Refining had gained a staggering five hundred points. While not entirely unexpected given the brutal ordeal his physical form had just endured, the magnitude still impressed him. Even now, he could feel his tissues knitting back together, organs regenerating from the catastrophic damage inflicted by the bloodlines.
The Qi Gathering advancement surprised him even more—two hundred points gained, pushing him cleanly into the sixth layer after doubling. This remarkable progress likely resulted from stimulating his bloodlines while immersed in the spirit spring. The combination had transformed his body into a qi absorption vessel of unprecedented efficiency, mimicking how spirit beasts naturally absorbed energy through their bodies rather than spiritual roots.
His Transcendent Dao Physique had gained twenty points—the highest single-session increase he’d ever witnessed for this attribute. Though he attributed most of this advancement to forming the Chaos Body, the bloodline stimulation had clearly contributed as well. Speaking of which, his newly acquired Chaos Body had already accumulated fifty points, doubled to one hundred after the system reset. At this pace, it wouldn’t be long before it upgraded to the next level. Would that grant him immunity to a mutated element? The possibility intrigued him.
The bloodlines themselves had progressed impressively, hitting one hundred sixty points. It wouldn’t be long before they advanced from thin blood to common blood.
Curiously, his various palm techniques and elemental abilities had shown moderate improvement despite receiving no active training. Xiang Yu suspected the Chaos Body’s influence but didn’t dwell on this unexpected bonus.
Turning his attention to his professions, he noted consistent progress across the board. His cooking skill had advanced beyond the halfway mark of fourth grade, just one reset away from reaching third grade. In the cultivation world’s professional classification system, ninth through seventh grades were considered low-level, sixth through fourth were mid-level, while third and above entered the rarefied realm of high-level mastery.
Xiang Yu glanced at the oblivious boar still paddling aimlessly through the spirit waters beside him and sighed deeply. Without genuine spirit beasts as ingredients, he would likely hit a ceiling in his culinary advancement. As his cooking proficiency increased, the limitations of his available resources became increasingly apparent. Unless he acquired spirit beasts or somehow obtained mid-level herbs, creating truly high-grade spirit food would remain beyond his reach.
His Appraiser profession continued its rapid advancement, just one reset away from entering the mid-level (sixth grade). This skill grew fastest among his professions, which made perfect sense considering how he spammed it throughout the day. With no meaningful cooldown, he used it constantly to identify everything he encountered. Though it drew power from his spiritual sea like talisman making, the energy consumption remained negligible by comparison.
Speaking of Talisman Making, this skill had reached its halfway point and would advance to seventh grade after the next reset. The next reset had multiple breakthroughs across multiple disciplines lined up and he couldn’t wait to see the results.
His remaining professions—Alchemy, Formation Master, and Blacksmith—had all reached eighth grade. With this advancement came a flood of new insights and formulas. Xiang Yu’s earlier concern about depleting his limited supply of eighth-grade healing pills now seemed unfounded. With his newly acquired eighth-grade alchemy skills, he could produce these pills himself. The formula had automatically materialized in his mind through the system’s insights.
Most significant of all, his Abyssal Void Flame had advanced to the fifth grade...
...
Author’s Corner:
Sorry for late upload
(Power went out and I had to write on the phone 💀)