Chapter 33 - 26: Buying Freedom
Lin Yi took a deep breath and decided to give it a shot.
A thought flickered through his mind.
The Mosquito Avatar, which had been circling the Cultivation Room to grind proficiency for its [Concealment] and [Flight] skills, gracefully stopped and immediately flew toward Lin Yi.
It landed steadily on Lin Yi’s shoulder, its slender legs creating a faint, ticklish sensation.
Lin Yi cautiously scanned the surveillance cameras in the corners of the Cultivation Room. Then, without drawing attention, he shifted his body slightly, turning his back completely to the cameras to block the view of his hands.
’No matter what, it’s worth a try... Come on!’
Driven by his will, the Mosquito Avatar’s incredibly tough proboscis pierced precisely and swiftly into the round Bone Tempering Pill in his palm.
Limit-Breaking Blood Sucking—Activate!
SLURP!
In an instant!
A faint yet incredibly distinct warm current surged from the Mosquito Avatar’s tiny body, ignoring the distance between them and flowing directly into the depths of Lin Yi’s own body.
[Qi and Blood (Medicinal Power Conversion) +0.1!]
[Qi and Blood (Medicinal Power Conversion) +0.1!]
[...]
The cold voice of the system notifications echoed continuously in Lin Yi’s mind!
’It worked!’
’It actually worked!’
An indescribable ecstasy instantly filled Lin Yi’s heart.
He could almost hear the sound of every new wisp of Qi and Blood rushing through his meridians!
’This Mosquito Avatar is simply divine!’
Not only did it perfectly absorb the pure Medicinal Power contained within the Pill, but it also instantly converted that vast energy into the purest, most easily absorbable essence of Qi and Blood, feeding it all back to him without reservation!
’This opportunity can’t be missed!’
Lin Yi didn’t hesitate or pause for a second.
He didn’t use this Qi and Blood to replenish what he had consumed.
Instead, he unhesitatingly guided all of it, pouring it entirely into the bone he was currently tempering.
’Even with the system, the Mosquito Avatar only provides Qi and Blood. It’s not like in novels where I can just add points with one click and be done with it. I still have to follow the steps and cultivate myself.’
Time slipped by quietly as he focused.
After an unknown amount of time.
The Bone Tempering Pill in his palm, once lustrous and full, seemed to have been drained of all its essence. Its color turned a dull gray as it silently crumbled into a fine powder, trickling through Lin Yi’s fingers.
At the same time.
The last bit of gentle Qi and Blood converted by the Mosquito Avatar also integrated perfectly into his bone.
Almost instinctively, he eagerly pulled up his system panel to check—
[Qi and Blood]: 7.0/10.24.
[Bone Tempering]: 1 (2%), 205 (0%).
Seeing this result, Lin Yi was overjoyed.
He keenly realized that the Mosquito Avatar’s method of absorbing Pills had three huge advantages compared to him consuming and performing Refinement on them himself!
First, the Mosquito Avatar could perfectly absorb all the Medicinal Power, so there was no fear of waste!
After all, when a Martial Artist consumed a Pill, they could at most absorb eighty percent of its effects. The other twenty percent was wasted during the conversion process!
This allowed Lin Yi to make better use of his resources.
Second, the time needed for Cultivation was shortened!
The human body’s absorption of a Pill is a relatively slow process; digestion and conversion both take time.
But the Mosquito Avatar could directly convert all the Medicinal Power into Qi and Blood in a short amount of time.
This bypassed the process of the human body absorbing the Pill.
Moreover, this Qi and Blood was much more docile.
This made it easier for Lin Yi to circulate his Cultivation Technique.
Originally, circulating one Great Cycle to complete a single Bone Tempering session would take at least an hour. Now, it reached Perfection in just ten short minutes!
The efficiency had increased by severalfold!
Third, he didn’t have to worry about the body’s tolerance to the medicine.
The body of a peak Martial Disciple could only withstand the impact of three Bone Tempering Pills per day at most. Forcibly consuming more would, at best, sharply reduce the Pill’s effectiveness, and at worst, cause an excessive buildup of pill toxins, damaging one’s foundation.
However, the existence of the Mosquito Avatar completely shattered this ironclad rule!
It was like a perfect middleman: it absorbed and converted the Pill, it transmitted the Medicinal Power, and Lin Yi’s body only received the nourishment of the purest Qi and Blood!
What did this mean?
It meant that as long as he had enough Bone Tempering Pills, he could possibly temper the first trunk bone to Perfection in a single day, breaking through into the First-Grade Martial Artist realm!
’The Mosquito Avatar... truly lives up to its name as my cheat!’
Awesome!
Lin Yi stared at the inconspicuous little creature on his shoulder, his heart nearly overflowing with joy.
He immediately picked up the pill bottle again and poured out another Bone Tempering Pill.
BZZZ!
The Mosquito Avatar activated once more, pouncing on the new Bone Tempering Pill.
One after another.
Its sharp proboscis pierced in, greedily and precisely drawing out the vast Medicinal Power within.
Time flew by amidst the continuous infusion of Qi and Blood and Lin Yi’s focused Refinement.
An hour and a half later.
The remaining nine Bone Tempering Pills were all consumed.
The turbulent energy in the Cultivation Room slowly subsided.
Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing through them before vanishing.
He summoned his system panel again:
[Qi and Blood]: 7.0/11.32.
[Bone Tempering]: 1 (11%), 205 (0%).
Staring at the clear "11%" on the panel, Lin Yi felt a mix of emotions.
In less than two hours!
He had forcibly pushed the progress of the supposedly most difficult trunk bone to temper from 0% all the way to 11%!
If word of this speed got out, it would be enough to cause a paradigm-shifting storm in the world of the Martial Dao!
However, after the brief ecstasy, Lin Yi’s expression turned somewhat bitter.
A single Bone Tempering Pill, worth ten thousand Huaxia Coins, only gave him 1% of Bone Tempering progress!
So, to break through to become a First-Grade Martial Artist, the remaining 89% progress meant he would need a full eighty-nine Bone Tempering Pills!
Eight hundred and ninety thousand Huaxia Coins!
This enormous sum weighed on Lin Yi’s heart like an invisible mountain.
His entire fortune was a pitiful fifty-thousand-plus in savings.
If he sold that Tier One dagger, he might get another sixty thousand or so for it.
All told, that was one hundred and ten thousand!
He was still short by seven hundred and eighty thousand!
’Where am I supposed to get that much money?!’
’"The poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts." Those badass web novels really weren’t kidding!’
The resources required just to cross the first threshold of the First-Grade Martial Artist Realm were this astounding!
The path of the Martial Dao was truly a bottomless money pit!
Thinking of this, Lin Yi shook his head helplessly.
In fact, if he told the other students in his class that they could guarantee becoming a Martial Artist for just one million, those rich second-generation kids wouldn’t even blink an eye as they paid up.
They would probably even think that one million to become a Martial Artist was too cheap!
In the end, it was just that Lin Yi was too poor!
The only saving grace was that the Mosquito Avatar’s innate talent for absorbing Qi and Blood... was free!
It didn’t have any cost!
’But the key is... where can I find a target for the Mosquito Avatar to suck blood from to its heart’s content?’
First-Grade Demon Beasts aren’t cabbages you can find just anywhere!
He thought for a moment.
He temporarily ended his Cultivation.
He pushed open the heavy door of the Cultivation Room and walked with steady steps toward the Grade 12, Class (1) classroom.
It was currently break time between classes.
The classroom was bustling with noise and exceptionally rowdy.
When Lin Yi’s figure appeared at the doorway, all the chatter stopped in an instant, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Countless gazes—filled with curiosity, envy, and scrutiny—all focused on him at once.
"Lin Yi’s back!"
"Holy shit! Lin Yi! I heard you’re working directly with the principal from now on? That’s some insane treatment!" someone couldn’t help but shout.
Lin Yi instantly became the absolute center of attention in the classroom.
Luo Qian pushed through the crowd, grinning as he lightly punched Lin Yi’s shoulder.
"You sly dog, Lin! You really know how to keep a secret! Signing a contract is a huge deal, and you didn’t let a single word slip! I know your personality. You look down on the local consortiums in Yang City, right? C’mon, tell me, which corporation managed to catch your eye? Was it a giant from North City, or one of the big shots from Demon City?"
Lin Yi sighed helplessly and shook off his hand. "Don’t ask."
But Luo Qian wasn’t angry about the secrecy. With a knowing look, he came to his own conclusion: "Got it! Got it! You signed an NDA, right? I get the rules! Don’t worry! Your bro here won’t say another word!"
He had already found the perfect explanation for Lin Yi all by himself.
Lin Yi was happy to let the misunderstanding deepen and didn’t bother to refute it.
Letting everyone think he had a financial group backing him was undoubtedly the best cover.
This way, he would have a reasonable and perfect excuse for the subsequent surge in his Qi and Blood value, one that wouldn’t arouse too much suspicion.
Lin Yi’s gaze passed over the crowd and locked precisely onto Liu Yang, who was trying to shrink into a ball in the corner and make himself inconspicuous.
He walked straight over and beckoned. "Liu Yang, time to go! We’re going to continue our Cultivation. You still owe me 23 hours, 32 minutes, and 18 seconds of sparring time!"
"Huh?!"
When Liu Yang heard this, his face instantly went deathly pale. His body started shaking uncontrollably, looking as if he would collapse to the floor at any moment.
He was purely scared stiff!
Although the injuries he had sustained before weren’t serious—just superficial wounds that were all healed after a trip to the nurse’s office—the psychological trauma was far from healed!
Now, whenever he saw Lin Yi’s calm face, a chill would reflexively seep out from the marrow of his bones, and he couldn’t help but shiver!
’This guy is a complete and utter pervert!’
’A Demon with a twisted hobby!’
’He has a needle! He likes stabbing people with it!’
That bone-deep, excruciating pain that caused instant Paralysis and loss of control... Liu Yang went numb all over every time he thought about it!
He was regretting it so much his guts were turning green. How could he have been so blind as to provoke such a malevolent star!
But Lin Yi paid no mind to the tempest raging in his heart or the resistance written all over his face.
Frustrated and pent-up from his stalled Bone Tempering progress, he had nowhere to vent. In his eyes, Liu Yang was the perfect punching bag right now.
’Since I can’t continue Bone Tempering for now, using him to grind proficiency for the Mosquito Avatar’s [Paralysis] skill is a good use of resources and not a waste of precious time.’
Without another word, he reached out, grabbed Liu Yang’s wrist with a grip that was impossible to break, and started dragging him out of the classroom.
"Don’t... don’t do this... Lin Yi! I’m begging you! Can’t you just let me go?"
Liu Yang stumbled a few steps as he was dragged, his voice, filled with desperation and pleading, on the verge of tears as he blurted out:
"I’m begging you, please stop torturing me! I’ll give you money! Can I use money to buy my freedom?!"