4: Chapter 004 System, Add Points!

The golden sun sank in the west, the afterglow faded, and twilight blanketed the horizon as night slowly enveloped all of Wurong County.

Chen An walked alone back to his secluded small courtyard in a corner of the county town. He reached back to latch the wooden gate, locking out the noise and lights of the outside world, then stepped into the courtyard and entered his simple yet secure dwelling.

This small courtyard was the only memory and inheritance his father, Chen Yan, had left behind after passing away.

The courtyard walls were mottled, the house simple, and the yard contained only a few plants. It was neither elegant nor luxurious, but it was sufficiently quiet and peaceful.

Right next to the Wurong County Academy, where cultivation students gathered in a place where land was as expensive as gold, this tiny courtyard provided the solitary Chen An with a place to live securely and practice in peace.

He entered the room and lit an oil lamp. The dim, flickering light instantly dispersed, slowly illuminating the originally pitch-black, cramped room.

The weak halo of light chased away the heavy night, revealing the simple wooden table and old wooden bed, instantly adding a touch of warmth and the feeling of a home to the narrow room.

The evening breeze drifted in through the gaps in the window lattice, causing the lamp flame to sway slightly and casting dancing shadows on the walls.

Sitting on the bed, Chen An took a deep breath, then moved his mind.

"System!"

The next moment, an interface resembling a virtual panel suddenly appeared before him:

Host: Chen An

Age: 17

Aptitude: Mid-grade Martial Bone

Cultivation: Qi Condensation Realm (Stage 2)

Current Balance: 0

Looking at the panel before him, Chen An's heart couldn't help but race slightly.

After all, this was the Golden Finger that could change his destiny.

In his memories, in previous grand exams, only Martial Artists at the Qi Condensation Realm Stage 7 or above had a chance to be admitted to the Prefectural Academy.

Without this Golden Finger, with his current cultivation, he would likely be at the bottom of the Wurong County grand exam in three days, be eliminated, and have his path of martial cultivation completely severed.

Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down, then got up and took out his savings from a hidden compartment under the bed, along with the money bag Shen Qinglan had shoved into his hands earlier.

"Two hundred and twenty-seven!"

After counting all his savings, Chen An couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

If he didn't count the one hundred and sixty-five yuan crystals Shen Qinglan had just shoved at him, his entire net worth didn't even amount to a fraction of the yuan crystals she carried around.

"I am a pauper!!!"

Thinking of the two thousand yuan crystals Bai Yifan had tossed out casually, and his arrogant manner when he spoke of five thousand yuan crystals, Chen An felt only envy and regret.

If Shen Qinglan hadn't appeared, perhaps he would have already swindled those five thousand yuan crystals.

He felt no moral burden about scamming a wealthy, arrogant young master like Bai Yifan, the foolish son of a local family.

The other party had clearly intended to use money to humiliate and deliberately make things difficult for him; it was completely justified to swindle him of a sum of resources.

It was just a pity the beautiful dream had fallen through, and the heaven-sent Opportunity had flown away right before his eyes.

He shook his head, suppressed his distracting thoughts, and cast his gaze back to the panel in front of him.

"Let's top up a little first to test the waters!"

His eyes flashed, and without much hesitation, Chen An moved his mind and counted out five yuan crystals, which emitted a faint white light and looked only the size of a fingernail.

In this world, yuan crystals were different; those emitting white light represented one yuan, those with green light represented ten yuan, blue light represented one hundred yuan, and finally, those with purple light represented one thousand yuan.

"System, top up 5 yuan crystals!"

The next moment, Chen An saw the five yuan crystals in his palm suddenly disappear, and the System balance on the panel changed from "0" to "5"!

"System, convert all balance into cultivation!"

Boom!!

The moment the command was issued, a vigorous and scorching True Qi suddenly surged from the Void Realm, instantly sweeping through his limbs and bones.

The immensely powerful True Qi rushed rapidly along his Meridians, scouring the blocked meridian barriers, and a numb yet full, aching sensation spread throughout his body.

The acupoints on his Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian were breached one by one by this warm current, which felt like a wild horse that had broken free. Next came the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian...

He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Chen An woke up again, he discovered that not only had his True Qi surged—more than doubling—but the three main Meridians in his body, the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, and the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian, had all been completely cleared.

One had to know that his original self had spent nearly three years after breaking through to the Qi Condensation Realm just to clear the seventeen acupoints on the Hand Shaoyin Lung Meridian to reach the Qi Condensation Realm Stage 2.

And now, he had only used 5 yuan crystals to clear three main Meridians by having the System convert them into pure True Qi.

This speed was simply inconceivable!

"Haha, as expected of the System, it really is top-notch!!!"

Feeling the unprecedented fullness of True Qi within his body, a look of wild joy couldn't help but rise on Chen An's face, and he burst into laughter.

With this System, he no longer had to fear his martial path being severed!

"System, top up the remaining yuan crystals!"

[Ding! Top-up successful!]

[Current Balance: 222]

This time, Chen An did not hesitate again and went all-in!

A balance of 222 meant that if he spent it all on cultivation, he could directly exchange it for 222 years of hard training.

"Wait, no!"

However, Chen An didn't immediately continue to spend on cultivation. He suddenly thought that the System's functional introduction didn't say the System could only be used for cultivation Realms.

"System, consume 10 yuan, exchange for training time for the Cultivation Technique Qi Gathering Art!" Chen An tried to say.

Boom!!!

The next moment, Chen An only felt a roar in his head, and then it was as if he had arrived in a space and began to comprehend the Qi Gathering Art.

One year, two years, three years...

Time seemed to flow rapidly in his perception, passing in an instant.

A short moment of comprehension was worth years of hard training for an ordinary Cultivator.

In two years of time, he brought his basic Cultivation Technique, the Qi Gathering Art, from the shallow Entry Stage to a stable Minor Achievement.

After eight more years of tempering and polishing, the barrier of the Cultivation Technique shattered with a boom, breaking through the shackles and entering the Major Achievement Realm.

It was just a pity that the ten-year limit of comprehension ended, and his Qi Gathering Art remained stuck at Major Achievement, unable to touch Perfection.

"It really works!"

Chen An slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, a sharp light appearing in his eyes, and he couldn't hide the wild joy in his heart.

"A Major Achievement level Qi Gathering Art not only makes my control over the True Qi in my body increasingly precise and Micro-Level, but the efficiency of the circulation of True Qi and the absorption and conversion of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi has also directly surged by nearly two times."

He focused his mind to look inward, clearly perceiving the smoothness and refinement of the True Qi flowing through his Meridians, moving freely without any obstruction.

"In other words, from now on, my cultivation speed will be two times faster than before!"

Feeling the comprehensive boost and qualitative change brought about by the Major Achievement of the Cultivation Technique, the corners of Chen An's mouth turned up, and a look of relief and confidence slowly emerged.

What made him even more ecstatic was that after the personal verification just now, he was completely certain that the System's capabilities were far more than just simply exchanging for cultivation.

Whether it was Cultivation Technique comprehension, Martial Skill polishing, Foundation tempering, or Meridian nourishment, anything needed on the path of cultivation could be accelerated, deduced, and broken through by the System at the cost of yuan crystals.

It wasn't just piling up cultivation Realms; even the Bottlenecks of Cultivation Techniques like the Qi Gathering Art could be instantly crossed with the help of the System, sparing him the long, arduous years of hard training.

Chen An's eyes burned, and his mind suddenly cleared.

This was the true horror of the Golden Finger.

As long as there were enough yuan crystals, obstacles in cultivation—be it Cultivation Technique, Martial Skill, Physical Body, or Meridians—could all be pushed through, allowing for rapid transformation.

Glancing at the remaining "212" yuan balance on the System panel, Chen An's eyes flickered, and then he said resolutely:

"System, consume 200 yuan and convert it all into cultivation!"

...