The hour of the rabbit.
White dew congealed into frost, and a heavy morning haze hung thick in the air.
Outside remained pitch-black, but inside the small cottage by the brook, Luo Chen was already busy at work.
In his past life, he had been just like this.
As long as he had a goal, he would see it through with unrelenting persistence.
The 996 grind had been exhausting, and he had often been dragged into WeChat meetings even after clocking out, yet he had never been late a single time.
Compared to the sheer agony of dragging himself out of bed back then, he now circulated the Eternal Spring Art once every morning and evening. Finishing a cycle left him feeling invigorated and refreshed, making waking up far less of an ordeal.
The only limitation was that he could not cultivate more than three times a day, or the agonizing headache would become unbearable.
In that state, he wouldn't even be able to manage the basic chore of processing medicinal herbs.
Today's workload was substantial, though the actual tasks were few: preparing the raw ingredients for Fasting Powder and Myriad Wonders Pills.
He was already as familiar with Fasting Powder as anyone could possibly be. His Grandmaster-level proficiency not only made the concoction effortless, but it also made the preliminary processing of the herbs go much smoother.
Even prepping the raw ingredients for the Myriad Wonders Pills was notably faster than last time.
Whenever he had some free time, Luo Chen would study his system.
It was an unassuming attribute panel with only two functions: accumulating proficiency, and using achievement points to achieve Entry level in techniques suited to his realm.
Setting achievement points aside for the moment, he was gaining an ever-deeper understanding of the proficiency function.
It was not limited strictly to success; failing enough times also generated proficiency.
Furthermore, every time his proficiency broke through to a new tier, it seemed to grant him an additional burst of insight.
He was certain that ordinary "practice makes perfect" was not enough to explain those sudden revelations.
It was more like the system fully rounded out every scrap of comprehension belonging to that tier the moment he reached it.
Because of that, within the same category of skills, he was comparatively more well-rounded than others at the same tier.
This completeness was evident in his Grandmaster-tier Fasting Powder: a rock-steady yield, with quality guaranteed to be superior grade.
He didn't know if there was anything beyond Grandmaster once he maxed it out, but by then, the pills would surely reach the supreme grade!
Supreme-grade Fasting Powder, though... isn't it still fucking Fasting Powder?!
It was a common, bulk commodity in an oversaturated market crowded with competitors, and customers consumed it slowly.
Even a supreme-grade version was practically useless. The Myriad Wonders Pill was far better.
It was an exclusive niche in an untapped blue ocean with mild medicinal properties; he could already picture a steady stream of repeat customers.
The only downside was the steep production cost—five spirit stones per cauldron—paired with a high failure rate.
Moreover, that so-called blue ocean market was not particularly large to begin with.
Most of the loose cultivators stubbornly persevering in Dahe Market aspired to reach Foundation Establishment.
Those who indulged in earthly pleasures were, in truth, few and far between.
Still, for now, it remained Luo Chen's only flagship product worth mentioning!
Therefore, expanding production was an absolute necessity, even if the current investment costs and revenue had yet to yield a net profit.
Even so, Luo Chen was determined to push forward!
As long as he drove up his success rate, a bright future awaited him!
***
At noon, he had beef claypot rice once again.
Because his Fasting Powder proficiency had reached Grandmaster, his ingredient loss had dropped to a minimum.
He should have been burning through that frozen beef much faster, but after shifting his focus toward concocting Myriad Wonders Pills, his consumption had actually slowed down.
Luo Chen had even begun to feel that too much spiritual energy was leaking from the ox beast meat.
Lately, he simply cut an extra finger-thick slab of meat each time he cooked rice.
After thoroughly enjoying his meal, Luo Chen let out a contented burp.
So rich and savory!
Whether for Fasting Powder or the Myriad Wonders Pills, the ingredients still had to undergo the final step: letting time run its course.
Sitting by the stream, he fashioned a fishing rod and cast a line.
Luo Chen had noticed that this small brook flowing from the Lancang River had seen a surge in fish and shrimp lately.
He intended to catch a few to treat himself to a fresh meal.
While fishing, he opened his attribute panel.
[Name: Luo Chen]
[Lifespan: 27/75]
[Spiritual Roots: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth]
[Realm: Qi Refinement Layer Three: 76/100]
[Cultivation Method: Eternal Spring Art (Adept): 257/300]
[Spells: Cleansing Art (Entry): 52/100, Entangling Art (Practiced): 176/200, Fireball Art (Perfect): 315/500, Carefree Wandering (Practiced): 102/200]
[Skills: Tier 1 Alchemist: Fasting Powder (Grandmaster): 510/1000, Myriad Wonders Pill (Entry): 13/100]
[Achievement Points: 1 (Can be used to reach Entry in methods, spells, or skills matching the current realm)]
This time, the panel's display brought him great joy.
His realm, which had been stagnant for a long time, had climbed from 75 to 76—a whole point higher!
Breaking through to the fourth layer of Qi Refinement was just around the corner!
The other entries offered no major surprises. Whether it was the Eternal Spring Art, the Fasting Powder, or the Myriad Wonders Pills, everything yielded steady positive feedback according to his regular progress.
Only the Fireball Art and Carefree Wandering in the spell column caught his attention for an extra glance.
Carefree Wandering had leaped from Entry to Practiced, and the change it brought was ever-increasing speed.
All those wild, exuberant sprints across the plains every day had certainly not been in vain.
As for the Fireball Art at the Perfect tier, he hadn't yet found the opportunity to test it out properly.
Whenever he lit the stove for cooking each day, he had merely felt it had become far more second nature.
An hour passed, and inside the small pool he had dug out, not a single fish swam!
"How could I indulge in leisure like this? It's time to train my protective arts!"
Luo Chen tossed the fishing rod aside and hurled a fireball toward the deepest part of the creek.
*Boom!*
A massive plume of water erupted from the once-placid stream, sending scalding steam billowing in every direction.
Charred fish corpses dropped one after another onto the riverbed pebbles, only to drift slowly to the surface as the rushing current surged down from upstream.
Luo Chen surveyed the fruits of this single Fireball Art with satisfaction.
One burst of fire scorched the stream, plunging all fish into ruin!
As expected of a Perfect-tier Fireball Art!
Sensing the consumption of spiritual power in his body, Luo Chen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
"Wait, a single fireball used to cost a tenth of my spiritual power. This time, it took less than a twentieth!"
"Doesn't that mean I can unleash twenty fireballs in one go?"
It had doubled!
This was an absolute qualitative transformation!
And... the speed seemed to have doubled as well?
Previously, when lighting the stove to cook, he had always formed hand seals and chanted incantations strictly by the book, keeping the injected spiritual power tiny out of fear of blowing up the firebox.
Just now, he had possessed no such reservations, tossing out a fireball with an offhand flick of his wrist.
Only now did he realize that the speed of the two was like night and day.
An ordinary cultivator took three breaths to cast. When Luo Chen was at the Adept tier, he had shaved it down to two breaths. Now, at the Perfect tier, it had broken through to a single breath.
"One breath—even activating a Fireball Talisman is only about that fast!"
Activating a talisman also involved a process: injecting spiritual power, channeling the internal spiritual energy, and aiming it at an enemy.
That sequence usually required a seasoned veteran to execute calmly and swiftly.
After all, it was an external tool.
Intuition was often prone to illusions.
To rule out any false impressions, Luo Chen unleashed three more fireballs toward the brook in rapid succession: *whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
No mistake!
Those three fireballs, combined with the initial one, had consumed only twenty percent of his spiritual power.
His casting speed was also vastly superior to before, rivaling the activation of a Fireball Talisman.
Having confirmed the results of his experiment, Luo Chen couldn't help but break into a broad grin.
Cultivating the Eternal Spring Art every day allowed him to absorb and convert only a meager amount of spiritual power; pushing himself to his utmost limit replenished only a fifth of his reserves each time.
Consequently, he had never been able to practice spells extensively, dreading that an empty reservoir of spiritual energy would leave him defenseless if danger struck.
Now that the consumption of the Fireball Art had dropped, it meant he could grind twice as much proficiency every day.
Yet that was not even what delighted Luo Chen the most.
"A casting speed rivaling a talisman... catching someone off guard would easily leave an enemy scrambling."
"I finally have a combat technique worth showing off!"
All along, Luo Chen had lacked effective combat measures. He had been as insignificant as a speck of dust, completely beneath anyone's notice.
Still, having no one pay attention to you was an entirely different matter from having the ability to fight.
His restless anxiety eased slightly, and Luo Chen nearly threw his head back to roar at the heavens.
Upon second thought, however, he decided against it. Best to keep a low profile.
He would save that triumphant roar for when he broke through to become a grand cultivator of the mid-stage Qi Refinement!
Walking over to the water's edge, he picked up a fish that had been scalded senseless by the steam. Tomorrow's meal would have a tasty addition.
"Mm, caught a fish today. Fishing proficiency plus one!"
Chapter 13