C14 The Importance of Cultivation Techniques!

Chapter Fourteen: The Importance of Cultivation Techniques

"So, how do we go about the usual slaughter of Demon Beasts on this farm?" Lin Xuan casually struck up a conversation with the older man.

"It's all directed by the manager. Without his orders, nobody would bother showing up!" the man replied.

"The Duckbill Beasts are somewhat manageable; we mortals can handle them. But the others? They're a different story. Even a scale fish can prove too tough to kill!"

"See that guy over there? That's my cousin. He got tasked with killing a scale fish once, but instead of killing it, he ended up losing two fingers to it!"

"And that fellow limping along? He got rammed by a Boar and was bedridden for three months. He would've been a goner if help hadn't arrived in time."

"Wow, that does sound pretty rough," Lin Xuan remarked, sighing as he came to grips with the harsh realities of this world, where the lives of commoners were far from the comforts of his previous existence.

"Heh, you know, little brother, you're quite the character. Most of the others who've come through here couldn't care less about us, looking down on us with contempt. But you, you don't seem to mind at all," the burly man said with a chuckle, reminiscing about the past.

Lin Xuan simply smiled in response, not offering any words as they reached the Boar enclosure. He swiftly slaughtered five Boars, just as the burly man had asked.

"Not bad, little brother. You finished in less than fifteen minutes what takes others four hours to do," the man praised him.

Lin Xuan didn't react to the compliment; his attention was wholly captured by the system notifications.

"Killing the boar, reward: 100 experience points!"

"Killing the boar, reward: 100 experience points!"

"…"

"Holy smokes, the system is incredible! After taking down five boars, my experience bar is nearly full. Just 100 more points and I'll level up!"

Unable to contain his excitement, Lin Xuan grabbed the burly man's hand, beaming. "Big brother, are five boars enough? Or shall I take down another one for you?"

"Enough already, little brother, come with me to hunt the Jinxiu. This creature is no pushover, so be careful!"

"Don't worry, big brother!"

Lin Xuan eagerly followed the strapping man to the hunt, where he dispatched the boars with ease, like slicing through vegetables. In no time, Lin Xuan breezed through to become a Seventh Level Spiritual Cultivator!

Yet, the challenge varied, and each Jinxiu granted Lin Xuan only 20 experience points. After slaying 20, he had just scraped together 200 points, barely enough for a level up.

But Lin Xuan wasn't done. He went on to kill ten Duckbill Beasts, only to earn a meager 100 experience points. Those beasts were hardly worth the effort!

Next, he pulled 20 Scaled Fish from the water, each yielding 20 experience points upon their demise, adding up to a total of 400 points.

With the level up, Lin Xuan's experience points reset, and his total points doubled, reaching 600/2400.

"The thrill of leveling up is incredible. If I keep hunting Demon Beasts like this, I'll level up again in just three days!"

He mused to himself before turning to the burly man and asking, "Big brother, will we be hunting as many Demon Beasts tomorrow?"

"...Little brother, you seem to really enjoy hunting Demon Beasts... I was worried we wouldn't have help in the next couple of days, which is why I had you kill extra. But we can't hunt more now; the meat needs to stay fresh. We'll wait another two days."

"Oh, I see..." Lin Xuan was clearly longing for more. The rush of hunting was addictive.

"Well, if there are no experience points to be had, I might as well use the next two days to work on perfecting my Falling Cloud Palm to the Initial Stage!"

With nothing else on his agenda, Lin Xuan contemplated finding a secluded spot to practice his Falling Cloud Palm.

"Big brother, is there a place in the back mountain that's wide open and quiet, away from prying eyes? It would be perfect for me to practice my spirit skills while I have some free time!"

"Practicing martial arts? Then why not head to the martial arts arena?" The burly man asked with a hint of confusion.

"It's too crowded there. That's why I was hoping you knew of a more secluded spot, big brother."

"Ah, I see... Have you noticed the mountain path up ahead? Follow it down to a small river. It's quite spacious and usually deserted," the burly man replied helpfully, easily directing Lin Xuan to the location.

Lin Xuan thanked him and made his way to the river as described. Taking a deep breath, he channeled the technique etched in his mind and executed the hand gesture.

In an instant, a surge of vibrant spiritual energy burst from his palm, forming a giant hand that hovered over the center of the river.

"Fall!" Lin Xuan instinctively bellowed.

The spectral hand plummeted like a cloud, striking the river with an explosion of energy that churned the water into frothing waves.

"Powerful... It's as strong as I anticipated, truly impressive. But there's more—unexpected bonuses, too!"

Silent notifications began to flood Lin Xuan's mind.

"Grass Fish defeated, experience points +1!"

"Baijing Fish defeated, experience points +1!"

"Young Shrimp defeated, experience points +1!"

"..."

Simultaneously, with each execution of the Falling Cloud Palm, Lin Xuan's proficiency shot up by ten points!

And so, Lin Xuan embarked on a delightful spree of blasting fish!

By the end of the morning, he had racked up over a hundred proficiency points and more than two hundred experience points—a windfall indeed!

Had it not been for the absorption rate of spiritual energy in his body lagging behind his usage rate, he could have farmed even more...

"No good. This Lin's Heart Sutra is merely a basic text, and its rank is just a Middle-Grade Low Rank—far too inferior. I need to find a more formidable cultivation method!"

The rank of a cultivation method is critical to one's cultivation ceiling. The higher the rank, the greater the capacity to harness the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, transforming it into one's own spiritual energy.

Conversely, like Lin Xuan, one might spend a whole morning casting the Falling Cloud Palm just over ten times, with the majority of that time devoted to pausing to gather and absorb the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth.

"The pace is just too slow; I must switch my cultivation technique!"

Lin Xuan recognized the critical nature of his cultivation technique and was resolute in his decision to make a change. His sights were set once more on the library, as he currently lacked better alternatives for acquisition.

At this crucial juncture, the system failed to come through, offering no rewards in the form of a cultivation technique.

With this in mind, Lin Xuan wrapped up his activities and headed home, forgoing lunch to head directly to the library!

Guided by the directions within the great hall, Lin Xuan quickly found himself before the bookshelf displaying various cultivation techniques. Though he was restricted to looking without touching, at least he could begin to chart his course!

"Lin Family Heart Technique, Introductory Chapter — High-Grade Low-Level Cultivation Technique, requires 1000 Contribution Points!"

"Formless Mystic Art, Foundation Chapter (Incomplete) — High-Grade Low-Level Cultivation Technique, requires 1000 Contribution Points!"

"Indestructible Mystic Scripture, Foundation Chapter (Incomplete) — Top-Grade Low-Level Cultivation Technique, requires 2000 Contribution Points!"