12: Chapter 12 still has a "hometown flavor," featuring the mysterious Uncle Luo.
A Ranked Martial Artist, even if it's just the first rank.
To reach this level in just seven days, one must either be exceptionally talented or have an incredibly privileged background.
Head Escort Qian had anticipated this reaction.
He waved his hand, nodded with a smile, and affirmed, "That's right, a First-Rank Martial Artist. A large part of the reason I could become a martial artist is thanks to this person."
"Based on his situation, a First-Rank Martial Artist must have at least one of their three core attributes reach 50, and the other two must reach at least 30—that is the level of a martial artist." Head Escort Qian's breathing grew heavy, and his eyes radiated a look of longing.
Clearly.
He was also someone who yearned for progress.
… 50 points!
Improving the realm of a martial art can provide players with one or two points of attribute increase.
The three core attributes.
Reaching 50 points in Strength, Agility, and Constitution would require at least a dozen martial arts—it's simply an astronomical number.
And that's without even considering Talents.
The person Head Escort Qian mentioned, that player, didn't rely on any Talent, and it hadn't even been a day since Talent awakening.
"To cultivate Strength, Agility, and Constitution to 50 points—how many Basic Martial Arts would one need to cultivate?" Chen Yichuan exclaimed.
Without a Talent, it relies entirely on stacking. Just thinking about it is terrifying.
"No, no, no!!" Head Escort Qian waved his hands in his signature style and interrupted, "Heh, you kid, you're being a bit naive… Basic Martial Arts cannot be used to stack attributes in large quantities; unranked techniques can't do that."
"They can't?"
"Correct." Head Escort Qian nodded abruptly. "Basic Martial Arts gain base attributes by category. For example, if you cultivate Basic Fist Technique to the 'Proficient' stage, and then continue to cultivate Basic Palm Technique… you won't gain any attributes during the period from 'Entry' to 'Proficient'."
"The same applies to blades, spears, swords, halberds, movement techniques, and throwing. These Basic Martial Arts are all the same; each type can only provide attribute points once."
"Only First-grade Martial Arts don't have such restrictions."
"Oh right, I almost forgot to tell you… the price of a First-grade Martial Art on the black market is at least five hundred taels!!"
Head Escort Qian held up a hand, his roguish face filled with bitterness.
It was evident.
Head Escort Qian had experienced the despair of not having money.
Chen Yichuan finally understood the gist of it.
Martial arts techniques could be used to stack attributes, but only First-grade ones, not Basic Martial Arts.
Simply put.
To improve one's realm quickly, one needs both money and sufficient talent.
In a nutshell: it requires both grinding and spending.
"Head Escort Qian, that person (player) you mentioned must have an excellent background, right?" Chen Yichuan asked with a helpless smile.
"Correct."
"He's the son of the Prefect; how could his background be anything but excellent? But there's one thing… he is truly enthusiastic about us players and supports us with real weapons and resources."
Head Escort Qian gave a thumbs up.
Clearly, he held this 'person'—who was also a player and the son of the Prefect—in high regard.
The son of the Prefect?
In a prefecture of millions, Chen Yichuan felt very envious.
The amniotic fluid remains the watershed.
Whether it's on Blue Star or in "Mystic Realm," the battle begins in the womb.
Chen Yichuan felt very helpless in his heart: 'Sigh, I thought… having Uncle Luo meant my status already surpassed many people, but I didn't expect there to always be someone higher.'
However, he was not discouraged; he could still compete.
Black Talent: Attribute Involution.
'Heh, I'm not bad either.'
On the side.
Seeing Chen Yichuan's head lowered, Head Escort Qian thought he had been discouraged.
He naturally draped his arm over Chen Yichuan's shoulder and changed the subject: "Brother Yichuan, looking at the ghost-head blade at your waist, you must be a former Jailer, right?"
Hm?
Chen Yichuan gave a thumbs up: "Head Escort Qian has a sharp eye."
Psh!
Head Escort Qian rolled his eyes: "What sharp eye? Damn it all, I had a brother from the Escort Agency who fell into the hands of the authorities and was locked in the Dungeon."
"Damn it, these Jailers are all bloodsucking leeches… Visiting someone starts at ten taels, adding a side dish for a prisoner costs another ten, and coming out costs another ten. Just one trip to the Dungeon and I threw away a full hundred taels."
Thump, thump.
Carried away by his emotions, Head Escort Qian patted his chest and let out a long howl to the sky.
His heart ached.
Uh…
Seeing this, Chen Yichuan didn't know how to speak; any advice would have been wrong.
"Fuck him, Wu Shan!! His heart is truly pitch black!!"
"Yichuan, you know Wu Shan, right? That old bastard better not leave Shuangjiang County. Sooner or later… I'm definitely going to jump him, and that dog Zhao Ritian too!!" Head Escort Qian's eyes widened in rage, and they seemed to be spitting fire.
It was enough to show how much damage those two had caused him.
"Ahem, well… this, that, can I say I don't know them??"
Hm~~
Hearing this weak voice.
Head Escort Qian calmed down. With an apologetic expression, he patted his shoulder: "Sorry, brother, I got carried away!"
"Heh, it's fine… Oh right, Head Escort Qian. What is the Spirit attribute for? It's been in an inactive state on my panel." Chen Yichuan didn't dwell on these small details and instead struck while the iron was hot.
The Spirit attribute could be allocated points, but it had always been inactive. This had bothered Chen Yichuan for a long time.
"The Spirit attribute?" Head Escort Qian shook his head. "I don't know. I've asked that person before… he doesn't know what it's for either."
"Is that so…" Chen Yichuan was slightly disappointed.
Just then.
Head Escort Qian's eyes darted back and forth over Chen Yichuan, and he muttered to himself, 'About time.'
Subsequently.
He stood up abruptly, his expression solemn, with his hands behind his back.
With the back of a hero walking toward loneliness, he coughed softly: "Ahem, Yichuan, we have been forced to come to this godforsaken place called "Mystic Realm." If we want to survive, unity is very important."
"The martial world values loyalty, and when you're out here, you need to talk about influence and background…"
"So?"
"So, Brother Yichuan, have you joined the Prefect's son's organization, 'Rock'?" Head Escort Qian's demeanor changed.
There was a subtle art to how he phrased it.
He didn't say to join his organization, but rather the Prefect's son's… the two sounded worlds apart.
Hm?
Organization, 'Rock.' Chen Yichuan's mind was a bit muddled, but he suddenly reacted, wearing an expression of realization.
The Head Escort Qian before him had said so much, and his ultimate goal was to invite him to join some organization.
Damn.
Truly a fellow countryman; the vibe is very strong.
Just as Chen Yichuan was hesitating.
Thud.
A figure suddenly landed on the ox cart.
"Join??"
"Hmph, Head Escort Qian! I'll apologize to you on behalf of the Chen kid; Yichuan is Master Luo's nephew, he doesn't need to join any faction!!"
A familiar voice, a rough tone.
Looking back.
The person who arrived was none other than Uncle Huang, Instructor Huang Hu, with the face of 'Lu Zhishen'!!
"Master Luo? Is Instructor Huang talking about Luo Cheng from the Dungeon!!" Head Escort Qian's pupils constricted, and his eyes widened into circles.
"That's right!!" Hearing this, Head Escort Qian looked at Chen Yichuan with utter disbelief.
That look, that expression.
It was as if to say… what kind of damn good luck did this kid have?
"Exactly!!" Instructor Huang Hu cupped his hands.
"Haha, that really is a case of the flood waters hitting the Dragon King's temple; please send my regards to Master Luo!!" Head Escort Qian was no longer wearing that roguish expression; he became much more cautious and serious.
He didn't say another word about the invitation.
It seemed the name Luo Cheng was very intimidating, a taboo-like existence.
He cupped his hands to say goodbye.
Head Escort Qian turned and left immediately, without any hesitation.