47: Chapter 47 PUA

After reviewing the mission rewards, Tang Long couldn't help but frown slightly.

Ten thousand experience points were neither too much nor too little, and two points of legendary attributes were quite standard.

However, this special skill, Gift of the Barbarian Ancestor, why does it look... so useless?

Although it has no cost and boosts one's rank, it only lasts for 10 seconds, and the cooldown is a whole day.

He had gone to such great lengths and even offended some unknown big shot. It was a blessing that they hadn't launched immediate retaliation.

Compared to the price paid, this skill could only be described as mediocre.

Furthermore, this skill isn't tied to any cultivation technique, so how is one supposed to level it up?

He decided to test it out.

[Your realm has increased to Qi Manipulation Stage 3! vitality increased by 1000, health regeneration increased by 100/hour, psychic energy limit increased by 100, gained 10 free attribute points, gained 5 skill points!]

...

[Realm lowered, currently Qi Manipulation Stage 2!]

The skill duration ended, and his realm dropped back down; just like before, the rank-up rewards were not lost.

Tang Long paused for a few seconds, then his pupils suddenly constricted as he realized...

Holy crap!

Who said this skill was useless!

Isn't this equivalent to obtaining the attribute boost of the next realm in advance?

He wasn't far from Stage 3 now; if he broke through to Stage 3, he could obtain the rewards for Stage 4.

Stage 4 means entering the mid-stage of Qi Manipulation!

Although he couldn't maintain it, native warriors on Blue Star almost all possessed Spirit Astral at Stage 4. If it was a common skill learned on one's own, then he should be able to have it too.

By then, holding 10 skill points in his hand, he would have enough to max out this skill early!

By the same logic, this special skill could serve the same purpose in the future whenever he was about to cross a major realm.

This isn't a mediocre item; this is a god-tier skill!

He had been too hasty just now.

Now that he had five more blood spirit stones in hand, if he hurried his cultivation, he could obtain Spirit Astral today.

But it didn't matter; he could afford to wait one day.

At this moment, Lu Pingan asked, "Brother Tang, what should we do now? Should we go back to my place to rest first?"

Tang Long looked at the sky first; the wind and snow were growing heavier. The howling of the blizzard seemed to have completely covered up the battle, and the residents in the camp didn't react at all.

"Let's just eat something here. Rest for a while, and then you two should retreat first."

"What about you?"

Tang Long smiled without answering.

He had originally planned to go to Song City for stable development, but plans change faster than one can keep up.

First, with his strength increasing rapidly, he could do quite well in the wild. The rewards from this mission gave him more confidence; he could possess Spirit Astral by tomorrow, and his strength would increase greatly, so going to Song City was no longer a necessity.

Also, a squad of Bounty Hunters knew that these two had been in contact with him and were heading this way. If he couldn't completely resolve this matter, going to Song City was equivalent to suicide.

Furthermore, the Blasphemers would certainly not let him off easily; even if he entered the city, it would likely be difficult to develop in peace.

During the fight with Lu Xiaohu earlier, he hadn't been lightly injured and needed to rest to recover his health.

Lu Xiaohu was injured even more severely, and Lu Pingan cared for his grandson, so he naturally wouldn't object.

The three entered the wooden cabin; Lu Pingan covered two corpses casually, found the clam meat Tang Long had sold earlier, and began grilling it on the stove in the room.

Seeing the chest of valuables left behind by the two men, Lu Xiaohu's eyes lit up.

"Grandpa, this loot..."

Lu Pingan immediately slapped him. "What kind of nice dream are you having? These are obviously Brother Tang's."

Lu Xiaohu's face fell immediately, and he glared at Tang Long with extreme dissatisfaction.

Tang Long waved his hand with a smile. "I don't want these things, and you'd best not touch them either. They've already been logged in the Bounty Hunters' transaction records, and it's easy to track them."

Lu Pingan nodded quickly in agreement, but Lu Xiaohu couldn't help but ask again.

"Why couldn't I beat you?"

Tang Long chuckled. "Young man, when you ask for help, you need to have the right attitude. Don't assume that others will take it for granted that they must answer your questions."

Lu Xiaohu's face flushed red from the retort. "Then what should I say?"

Lu Pingan smiled and patted his head. "You should say, 'Brother Tang, please teach me, where exactly did I lose?'"

Lu Xiaohu repeated it, feeling very uncomfortable, and only then did Tang Long answer with a smile.

"Simply put, your strength is inferior to mine. If we analyze it carefully, it's more complex. First of all, your combat techniques are very poor."

"Impossible!" Lu Xiaohu was immediately unconvinced. "Among the peers I've met, no one is my match. I've personally hunted hundreds of exotic beasts; are you saying my techniques are poor?"

But Tang Long, without the slightest hesitation, began to PUA him. "That's only because your bloodline is extraordinary and your natural foundation is good. After awakening today, you've become even stronger. But so what?"

"You only know how to fight based on instinct and some wild, unrefined methods learned from hunting; there's no technique to speak of, let alone any true combat skill."

"It might be passable when bullying ordinary people, but it probably won't work against true experts. Compared to those lethal techniques summarized from countless battles, you're no different from a toddler who just learned to walk."

"When you encounter a higher level, you can't even comprehend it. For instance, even though you clearly felt faster than me, every move of yours was anticipated and countered by me; why is that?"

Lu Xiaohu was left speechless, and after a long while, he asked blankly: "Yeah, why?"

"Because speed is relative. When you need to strike three feet to hit me, while I only need to move half a foot to block, you would need to be more than six times faster to break through my defense."

"Of course, this is only in theory. In actual combat, you might not need such a large speed difference. But do you think you were really that much faster than me just now?"

"With a straightforward fighting style like yours, lacking even a single feint, your intentions are exposed as soon as you move. How could you possibly win?"

"Most importantly, are you sure you are really faster than me?"

"How do you know that what you see is the truth? My strength is greater than yours, and I also have a Dominant Body, so your Dominant Body is useless before me. My reaction is better than yours, and my technique is even better; why would my speed happen to be weaker than yours? Is it possible that I was just baiting you to attack, giving you hope of winning?"

Lu Xiaohu was completely rattled and stood up on the spot.

"You were intentionally letting me win? This..."

Tang Long laughed even more happily. "Don't believe me?"

He casually picked up three pebbles and placed them on the table.

"Three pebbles. The distance between us is about the same; whoever grabs two wins. Let's begin."

Lu Xiaohu's eyes were fixed, and after two or three seconds, he suddenly lunged to grab a pebble.

But Tang Long had already beaten him to it, snatching that pebble away. Then the second, and the third; he grabbed them all before him.

Tang Long placed the three pebbles back down. "Again."

Lu Xiaohu refused to believe it, but after trying over a dozen times without even touching half a pebble, the kid was completely bewildered.

Without a doubt, Tang Long's speed at this moment was far faster than when he was fighting him earlier, and it wasn't just a little bit faster.

Because he had added all ten attribute points from his rank-up to Agility, jumping it up to 34 points.

Lu Xiaohu was dazed for a moment. "Then why did you take so many injuries and bleed so much?"

Lu Pingan patted his back. "Xiaohu, it's because your awakening ritual required slaughter and combat. You were running around in a daze earlier, which is how you fell into their hands. Do you remember how you killed those two Bounty Hunters? Brother Tang couldn't let you escape, nor could he truly hurt you, and he had to let you vent the ferocity in your bloodline. He was sacrificing himself and taking injuries to help you! Do you still think we shouldn't have paid those few blood spirit stones?"