Era of Mist

Is this buff really that amazing?!

When Shi Tiexin saw the description for the "Complete Comprehension" status, his eyes nearly popped out of his head. He had always found Heart Skill cultivation to be difficult and painful, with slow progress. ’Could it be that all this time, I’ve been struggling so much simply because I never fully comprehended the first level of the manual?’

’The world is so vast, and I’ve seen so little of it. Old Tie, I’m truly impressed,’ he thought. ’I never knew a state called ’Complete Comprehension’ even existed. I guess those prodigies must make their god-like leaps in progress after achieving Complete Comprehension time and time again.’

But achieving Complete Comprehension wasn’t easy. Without the supreme attribute "Gradual Progress" to lower the aptitude requirement by thirty percent, very few people could probably manage it. Even with a supreme manual, success would be unlikely without the constant guidance of a master teacher.

’But then again, what’s my deal?’

’Why was comprehending the manual so smooth this time? It was as if years of constipation had suddenly cleared up, or a long-swollen prostate had finally opened the floodgates.’

’It doesn’t take a genius to figure out there must be some other factor at play. Otherwise, how could Heart Skill cultivation, which used to be so difficult, suddenly become so easy?’

’Could it be... related to that special mental state? The one that felt like both a sudden realization and absolute certainty?’

’Was that state the legendary unity of heaven and man, a resonance with the Dao? Did I just receive enlightenment from the Great Dao of the universe?’

’Getting enlightened by the universe... from learning basic arithmetic?’

’What a load of crap!’

Shi Tiexin couldn’t figure out the reason for his rapid progress, but the interface wasn’t waiting for him. The manual comprehension progress bar lit up, then shrank into a tiny badge with the word "Comprehend" on it, which hovered at the edge of his vision. The badge glowed with a warm, bright color, indicating that Shi Tiexin was under the effect of a positive status.

Immediately after, a new progress bar appeared in the top-left corner of his vision. This one was also simple. On the far left was the word "Pass," and on the far right was the word "Good." A bar extended from the left, reaching about ten percent of the way across, just a little past the starting point.

Shi Tiexin understood. This progress bar must represent his current cultivation progress, which was just barely at the "Pass" level.

’A little low, huh? How embarrassing!’

He looked up at the boys in his class chatting nonsense and the girls gossiping and preening, and Shi Tiexin realized with some shame that he couldn’t even meet the average standard of this trashy class. It was truly disgraceful.

Just then, the "Comprehend" badge beside it suddenly shot out a beam of light, which slammed into the progress bar like a Qi Gong Wave. The bar shot forward as if it had just been refueled, lengthening in a brilliant flash. WHOOSH! Bathed in light, the progress bar surged upward, increasing by about thirty percent before finally stopping near the middle.

The light from the "Comprehend" badge faded, leaving only a faint glow, and the progress bar stabilized. ’So this must be the effect of "Complete Comprehension"—the "Initial cultivation progress +30%" it mentioned,’ he figured.

The change on the interface wasn’t just visual. Shi Tiexin could actually feel a difference. He couldn’t say why—perhaps it was some mysterious effect of the system, or perhaps it was simply because his comprehension of the manual was much deeper than before. In any case, he could definitely feel that his mastery over the First Level of Basic Mathematics had improved.

At the same time, a spark of thought flared among the neurons in his brain. An indescribable energy emerged from the depths of his mind. Shi Tiexin had no idea which cell, which nerve, or which cerebral fold this energy came from, but he clearly perceived a cool sensation in his brain, like it had been coated in mint toothpaste.

The sensation appeared for a moment, then faded as if it had never been there. But Shi Tiexin knew it wasn’t a hallucination. It was an undeniable fact. That strange energy, born from a spark of thought, was Psionic Energy.

The foundation of Heart Skill cultivation.

Just like with Strength Skill cultivation, although Shi Tiexin himself had a foundation in Heart Skills, this body and this brain had never cultivated them. Therefore, he still needed to accumulate both Essence Energy and Psionic Energy. But unlike Essence Energy, Psionic Energy was primarily derived from the mastery level of the Six Basic Heart Techniques. Once his level was high enough, his Psionic Energy would quickly catch up.

And so, Shi Tiexin felt a thread of cool Psionic Energy coiling and growing within his brain, quickly reaching its proper strength. This bit of Psionic Energy wasn’t very useful on its own, but all the dazzling and magical Heart Skills of the future would originate from it. How could Shi Tiexin possibly neglect it?

Therefore, Shi Tiexin immediately took out his supplementary cultivation manual: an elementary school workbook on the four basic operations of arithmetic.

He had fifteen workbooks on hand: nine of Common quality, four of Fine quality with the "High Difficulty" bonus attribute, and two of Supreme quality with the "Abstruse" bonus attribute. Given Shi Tiexin’s current cultivation progress, he couldn’t use the *Extreme Practice* and *Little Genius* books at all. He would need a mastery level of "Good" or higher.

Thus, the best manuals he could use right now were the four with the "High Difficulty" attribute. They provided a base 20% increase to cultivation speed, and the "High Difficulty" attribute added another 20%, for a total of 40%. This was practically the supercar of supplementary cultivation manuals!

’Who would use the bad ones when you have the good ones?’

He flipped one open, took out his pen, and got to work.

’I, Shi Tiexin, will finish this entire supplementary manual tonight and live the decadent lifestyle everyone envies!’

He opened the workbook and took a look. The pages were packed, absolutely packed.

Taking a closer look at the content, Shi Tiexin picked up his pen, his heart swelling with heroic ambition and fighting spirit.

One minute later...

Two minutes later...

Five minutes later...

SLAP. Shi Tiexin snapped the workbook shut, calmly set it aside, and then turned his gaze to the Common quality workbooks. ’I should probably find an easier one...’

’This is too damn hard! It’s just the four basic operations. Shouldn’t it just be adding and subtracting numbers in the tens, and multiplying and dividing numbers in the teens? What the hell are these problems swarming out of the workbook? Why do I get dizzy just looking at them?’

"High Difficulty" certainly lived up to its name. The difficulty was indeed high.

’No wonder it said you needed "Pass" or higher to use it, and that your speed would be reduced if you were below "Excellent." My speed is already reduced—to a turtle’s crawl. I can barely make any progress at all!’

’Looks like I shouldn’t bite off more than I can chew. Better start with something simple.’ Shi Tiexin looked left and right, but in the end, he picked up his math textbook.

’Doesn’t this textbook have a "Study and Practice Combined" attribute? I’ll finish the supplementary exercises included in the main manual first. Besides, the main manual and its supplement are two parts of a whole. Maybe there will be some unexpected special effect on my progress?’

Shi Tiexin opened the textbook and took a look. Exercises on addition and subtraction with numbers under ten. ’Alright,’ he thought. ’A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I’ll start here!’

Shi Tiexin’s pen flew across the page as he engaged in a life-or-death battle with addition and subtraction under ten.

Five minutes later, Shi Tiexin suddenly shuddered. Another change was occurring in his field of vision.