Chapter 4: Converting Skill Level

Golden characters materialized around Shen Bai.

The characters were like innate Sacred Text, their forms intangible.

They were also like the whispers of all living beings, ancient and terrifying.

Once the characters appeared, the brilliant righteous energy from the longsword in Shen Bai’s right hand surged like a mighty river.

The golden Buddha’s Light from his left hand suddenly blazed, becoming as bright as the sun.

The white light enveloping his body grew as gentle as jade, its purity intoxicating.

"All my abilities have a fourfold boost. Awesome!"

Shen Bai felt his entire body brimming with terrifying power. It was a qualitative leap from before.

’The consumption is a bit steep, though.’

In just that short time, one-tenth of the Qi in his body had already been depleted.

The Qi could be restored, but Shen Bai estimated he could only maintain this full-power state for half an hour.

’Still not enough time,’ Shen Bai thought.

If anyone knew what Shen Bai was thinking, they would surely draw their weapons and fight him to the death.

A fourfold boost to all Divine Powers, sustainable for half an hour—and he called that a short time?

A life-or-death battle could be decided in an instant, let alone in the span of half an hour.

Half an hour was long enough for a nap.

Shen Bai retracted all his Divine Powers and fixed his gaze on the empty space nearby.

This qualitative transformation had also brought a considerable increase to the Qi inside him.

The Qi around his kidneys was already one-third full. Shen Bai was not far from reaching First Treasure Perfection in the Three Treasures Realm.

Above the empty space, another line of text was constantly shifting.

"I still have one wisp of Evil Qi. I’ll use it!"

Without hesitation, Shen Bai used his last wisp of Evil Qi.

The next moment, the Evil Qi vanished. As the smoke twisted and contorted, new text appeared.

An image of a person suddenly appeared in Shen Bai’s mind.

This time, the phantom’s body was different.

An aura of Buddha Nature rose from the phantom.

The phantom’s palms moved in a continuous flurry, executing one exquisite Palm Technique after another.

Each palm strike seemed like a Buddha descending from the heavens, offering salvation with compassion.

Yet each palm strike was also like a reincarnated Vajra, vanquishing demons and devils.

A moment later, when the phantom faded, a line of text appeared before Shen Bai’s eyes.

Shen Bai: "?"

He hadn’t expected this.

Shen Bai had seen the Great Compassion and Great Mercy Palm before; after all, Wuhua had used it.

He just hadn’t thought that one Divine Power could be converted into experience points for another.

Shen Bai stroked his chin and thought, ’Biting off more than I can chew is a bad idea. In that case, I might as well just convert it.’

As a Gan Di, Shen Bai knew just how tedious it was to grind Skill Level.

Now that there was a shortcut, Shen Bai was naturally willing to take it.

With that thought, Shen Bai made his decision.

The next moment, the text before his eyes changed.

Shen Bai sucked in a sharp breath. "Excellent! This is great!"

A single Divine Power of the same type had given him a thousand Skill Level points. He couldn’t be more thrilled.

Only Shen Bai knew how difficult it was to raise Skill Level after reaching Level 3.

Both the speed and efficiency had dropped significantly.

Now, he had a shortcut.

’If I get any more Divine Powers of the same type in the future, it’ll save me a lot of trouble,’ Shen Bai thought to himself.

A thousand points per Divine Power would save him so much time. It was well worth it.

"First, I’ll eat. After that, it’s time to grind the Blood Sword Dance."

Shen Bai made up his mind.

Among all his current Third-level Divine Powers, Blood Sword Dance had the highest Skill Level. Shen Bai wanted to grind it to Level 4 first to see what new Attribute he would get.

With this in mind, Shen Bai quickly washed up, left the pawnshop, and headed for the street outside.

The streets were bustling, with an endless stream of common folk.

The cries of vendors, the sounds of haggling, and the murmur of constant conversation painted a vibrant picture of city life.

Shen Bai went to his usual breakfast stall and had a simple meal.

Nearby, many people were chatting, their voices drifting intermittently to Shen Bai’s ears.

"Did you hear? Huaxi Village is gone."

"Heard about it ages ago. The Government Office hasn’t said anything, so who knows what happened in Huaxi Village."

"You guys aren’t as well-informed as I am. I heard a Monk went to the County Magistrate’s Office..."

Listening to the townsfolk’s chatter, Shen Bai shook his head.

News like this could never be contained, especially the annihilation of an entire village like Huaxi Village.

’Sounds like Wuhua took all the blame after all.’

Shen Bai paid his bill and, with nothing else to do, headed to the pharmacy.

He had planned to go back and grind the Blood Sword Dance, but he realized he was running low on Qi Blood Medicine at the pawnshop.

To avoid wasting time, Shen Bai decided to buy some more Qi Blood Medicine first.

Of course, he would also ask if they had any stronger Qi Blood Medicine.

After all, every Divine Power consumed Qi and blood to some extent, and the Blood Sword Dance was particularly draining.

「At the pharmacy.」

The resident doctor yawned, sitting idly out of boredom.

The pharmacies in Shengyun County were famous for having few customers.

After all, the common folk tended to just endure minor illnesses themselves.

Every day, the pharmacy was "busy" slacking off.

When Shen Bai walked into the pharmacy, the yawning doctor finally reacted.

"Shopkeeper Shen, you’re here for Qi Blood Medicine again? Hasn’t Zhang Chaofeng recovered yet?"

Shen Bai nodded and said, "Old Zhang has no self-control. What can you do? You know how it is. He’s getting on in years and worries his happy days are numbered, so he’s getting more and more reckless."

The doctor chuckled. "Zhang Chaofeng is really something else. To be so vigorous at his age... truly impressive. The usual, Shopkeeper Shen?"

As he spoke, the doctor prepared to write Shen Bai a prescription.

Shen Bai thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have anything stronger?"

The doctor’s hand, holding the brush, paused. "Shopkeeper Shen, you can’t be serious. All medicines have some toxicity. If the Qi Blood Medicine is too potent, I’m afraid Zhang Chaofeng won’t be able to handle it."

Shen Bai waved his hand dismissively. "It’s fine. Old Zhang can take it."

The doctor was just an employee. If the customer insisted, there was nothing he could do.

The time it takes to burn an incense stick later, Shen Bai left the pharmacy with the new Qi Blood Medicine and headed back toward the pawnshop.

The walk from the pharmacy to the pawnshop didn’t take much time.

Plus, Shen Bai was eager to get back and grind the Blood Sword Dance, so he walked even faster.

Just as he was about to reach the pawnshop, however, his pace slowed.

At the pawnshop’s entrance, Zhou Qing stood with a long saber at his waist, anxiously looking around.

Shen Bai was puzzled but walked up to him anyway. "Old Zhou, what brings you here so early?"

Zhou Qing’s eyes lit up when he saw Shen Bai. "Come on, let’s talk inside. This is an order from the Government Office. It’s not for outsiders to hear."