Chapter Fourteen: Becoming Stronger

Snap!

Liu Ji slammed the book shut, rubbing his aching eyes. After several hours, he had finally finished reading the entire anatomical chart of the human meridian system.

The contents were nothing more than the distribution of meridians within the human body, the complex arrangement of over three hundred acupoints, and how many meridians each internal organ possessed, among other things. In general, it was all preparatory knowledge for cultivation.

Just reading it left Liu Ji dizzy and lightheaded!

Still, it wasn’t without its rewards. At the very least, Liu Ji would no longer recklessly plunge into cultivation headfirst—he now knew some of the body’s meridians were incredibly fragile.

Any damage to them would bring endless trouble!

At this moment, he felt profoundly grateful to have transmigrated into the body of the heir to the Southern Guardian Prince’s estate. If he had ended up in the body of some useless commoner, and then gone through some farcical engagement annulment, perhaps his life would have amounted to nothing.

Cultivation?

Impossible—utterly impossible in this lifetime!

After all, cultivation was so dangerous that the slightest mistake could cost one’s life. Compared to humiliation, his own life was far more precious!

All in all, only now did Liu Ji truly understand how difficult cultivation was, and why martial artists were so rare. The level of difficulty was simply immense!

The mere descriptions in the book were enough to make one’s head spin—let alone actually putting them into practice. With only one life, who would dare risk everything on the unknown?

If there was a mentor to guide you, that might be tolerable. Without an expert’s instruction, could an ordinary person even hope to cultivate? It would be fortunate just to avoid dying in the attempt!

As he was pondering this, the door suddenly opened.

He turned to see Xiaoya directing two servants who were carrying things into his room. One was holding a tray laden with various medicinal herbs.

Other servants carried cages filled with exotic beasts.

Once everything was properly arranged, Xiaoya said, “Young Master, everything the Prince ordered for you has been brought here. Is there anything else you require?”

Liu Ji waved his hand. “That will be all.”

Xiaoya reminded him, “The Prince asked me to warn you: these herbs are rich in vital energy. With your current constitution, you must not consume them in large quantities. Take them gradually, or your body will suffer serious backlash!”

Liu Ji replied, “I know my limits.”

Xiaoya nodded, closed the door, and left.

After she departed, Liu Ji hurried to lock the door. Staring at the array of herbs on the table, he couldn’t wait to pick up a blossom.

The flower had pink, diamond-shaped leaves—four in total—with a bright yellow core, and a bit of soil clinging to its roots, as if it had just been freshly dug.

“Extract.”

With a thought, a line of data appeared before his eyes:

“Spirit Power +10...”

It works!

The moment Liu Ji saw the data, his face lit up with excitement. He had been wondering: since he could extract attributes from corpses, could he also extract them from medicinal herbs?

After all, what is a corpse? Everything in the world has spirit. The moment all living things lose life, their remains are corpses. As soon as a herb is pulled from the earth, it is dead—it, too, becomes a corpse!

And now, upon trying, it truly worked!

He picked up another herb, and sure enough, another line of data appeared as the plant withered in his hand.

One after another, he touched every herb on the table.

“Spirit Power +8...”

“Spirit Power +11...”

“Spirit Power +20...”

...

After this round, he’d gathered a fair amount of spirit power, but not a trace of vital energy. Hadn’t Xiaoya said these herbs could replenish his vitality?

Thinking it over, he let it go. Perhaps the vital energy within these herbs was all converted to spirit power; in any case, he hadn’t lost out.

He opened his personal status panel.

Vital Energy: 5.3 [Normal: 10]
Strength: 4 [Normal: 10]
Speed: 6 [Normal: 10]
Spirit: 5 [Normal: 10]
Constitution: 6 [Normal: 10, Rating: Extremely Poor]
Spirit Power: 126

Looking at his stats, Liu Ji couldn’t help but sigh again at the frailty of this body. Not a single attribute was up to standard!

Had the original owner of this body truly been feigning incompetence, as Han Feng had implied, or was he, in fact, a genuine good-for-nothing?

“Forget it—let the past drift away.” Liu Ji couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. It was time to sweep away this body’s weakness. He focused his mind on channeling spirit power into his attributes.

Sure enough, as his spirit power decreased, his vitality, strength, speed, spirit, and constitution all increased, quickly reaching normal human standards.

Vital Energy: 10.3 [Normal: 10]
Strength: 10 [Normal: 10]
Speed: 10 [Normal: 10]
Spirit: 10 [Normal: 10]
Constitution: 10 [Normal: 10, Rating: Average]
Spirit Power: 102

Once all his stats hit ten, Liu Ji could clearly feel a tremendous transformation throughout his body. Whether strength, vitality, or mind, he was far more robust than before!

If he’d been a sickly weakling before, now he could take on ten of his former self with a single punch. He was grateful his luck had held, and that the monstrous woman hadn’t killed him earlier.

“Why let spirit power sit idle? I’ll just invest it all in my attributes.” With that thought, Liu Ji allocated the rest of his spirit power across all his stats.

Vital Energy: 30.3 [Normal: 10]
Strength: 30 [Normal: 10]
Speed: 30 [Normal: 10]
Spirit: 30 [Normal: 10]
Constitution: 32 [Normal: 10, Rating: Excellent]
Spirit Power: 0

Though it might seem wasteful to spend over a hundred points of spirit power at once, Liu Ji was completely at ease. After all, he was the heir—he’d never lack spirit herbs!

He could use as much as he pleased!

He clenched his fists, feeling a potent strength surge through his body as if he possessed the might of an ancient wild bull. Power filled his entire being.

He felt invincible, as though he could take on the world.

His gaze drifted to the exotic beasts nearby. Having confirmed he could extract attributes from herbs, he pitied the poor creatures...

They would have to wait until breakfast.

Ignoring the beasts for now, Liu Ji lay on his bed, full of energy and drifting into a blissful dream. In his dream, he was locked in a passionate battle with a woman.

It was a perfect union of strength and tenderness.

The next morning, Liu Ji awoke early. Glancing down at his own “morning salute,” he nodded in satisfaction—now he could pursue women with confidence.

Keeping his promise, he ordered the servants to bring the spirit beasts to the kitchen to be slaughtered one by one, taking the opportunity to extract more attributes.

“Vital Energy +2...”
“Speed +1...”
“Strength +1...”
“Vital Energy +3...”
...

Though killing these innocent, adorable creatures was admittedly cruel, Liu Ji could only offer a moment of silent mourning—for the sake of power, he had no choice.

...

...

PS: Second chapter of the day. Please tip if you can—even a single coin is appreciated (*^▽^*)