Ashen God
Chapter 561 - 560 Superduing Fierce Ghost

Chapter 561: Chapter 560 Superduing Fierce Ghost

Although the pear-shaped Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure had indeed enhanced Zhang Yanhang’s stamina limit by about 5%, Zhang Yanhang didn’t come to an immediate conclusion. After all, what if only the first one was effective and the other two were duds? The possibility of that scenario wasn’t low.

So, Zhang Yanhang immediately reached into the fridge and grabbed another Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure shaped like a plum and ate it. To his mild surprise, this plum-shaped Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure tasted almost the same as a normal plum.

Of course, more surprising than the taste was the fact that the warmth provided by this plum-shaped Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure was considerably greater than that of the pear-shaped one he had consumed earlier. It seemed to have increased his stamina limit by 10%, which was quite impressive, equivalent to two Sky Demon Crimson Crystal Grasses.

"Exactly how wealthy of a matron has Li Zerui gotten involved with to acquire such high-grade Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures..."

If Zhang Yanhang hadn’t known that the wealthy matron Li Zerui was involved with was at least a sixty-year-old granny, he might have even been tempted himself. After all, just by keeping her company for a few days, one could receive such great benefits. But, unfortunately, the matron was a bit too old for him to handle.

Besides, he didn’t possess Li Zerui’s talent for cleaning dental calculus and scraping off years’ worth of tongue coating with his tongue. A matron probably wouldn’t take a second look at a plain and amateur male college student like him who couldn’t even perform stunts.

After abandoning the idea of finding a wealthy patron, Zhang Yanhang picked up the third Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure and ate it. It was shaped like a chestnut, but tasted nothing like one because Zhang Yanhang ate it with the shell. He worried that not eating the shell would result in incomplete effects.

Given his chewing strength, he could easily crush Refined Crimson Iron, so mere chestnut shells posed no difficulty, even if they were fresh from the tree with a hard green spiky husk.

After consuming the chestnut-shaped Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, Zhang Yanhang sensed the warmth inside his body and was surprised to find that this one seemed even stronger than the last. It had almost augmented his stamina limit by 15%.

"A 15% increase in stamina limit, that’s equivalent to three Sky Demon Crimson Crystal Grasses, the combined total of both the pear-shaped and plum-shaped Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures."

Having finished the pear, plum, and chestnut, Zhang Yanhang had approximately increased his stamina limit by around 30%.

Based on his experience, if he had previously been able to release the Death Wave Skill with maximum coverage around sixty times, he could now do it roughly eighty times.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, his endurance should also have increased. If he could previously work continuously for nine hours before needing a break, now he might be able to work for ten or even eleven hours without much trouble.

Of course, the duration of his endurance mainly depended on how frequently Zhang Yanhang released the Death Wave Skill. If he used it rapidly, he could deplete his energy within a minute.

If he paced himself after each release, he could sustain a normal working period. Or, if he refrained from using the Death Wave Skill altogether, he could potentially work for several days non-stop, which was similar to what he did while digging tunnels in the Crimson Iron Ore Vein.

After eating the three Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures sent by Li Zerui, Zhang Yanhang found that his trust in Li Zerui had not been misplaced. Each treasure was stronger than the last, leaving him curious about the sort of wealthy patron Li Zerui must have wooed to acquire such high-grade treasures in just a few days.

"Forget it, I shouldn’t dwell on Li Zerui’s affairs. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t become a gigolo. Now the question is, what should I do next?"

Zhang Yanhang thought about it and decided to go home. School had already let out, and his dorm was empty. It was rather dull for him to stay there alone. Speaking of which, he was starting to miss his roommates.

"Sigh, if you guys are dead, then on next year’s National Day, I’ll certainly burn some extra paper money for you, so you can have a more comfortable time down there."

Zhang Yanhang speculated that by next year’s National Day, he might be promoted to the Sixth Tier, making it a trivial matter to offer some genuine Yin de paper money for his five roommates.

"But when I think about how all five of these guys went out with their girlfriends, suddenly I feel like it’s not worth it. Those five pairs of star-crossed lovers should be fine together without my Yin de. Besides, by tomorrow’s National Day, they may have already been reincarnated and won’t need any Yin de."

Zhang Yanhang had contemplated offering Yin de because he wanted them to be humans in their next lives, avoiding a fate of being reborn as short-lived animals like pigs, dogs, cattle, or sheep. But upon further reflection, he concluded that fate was predetermined, and it was best to let them find their own destinies.

"Next, I should just head home. After all, I have a lot of things to do, like studying how to create Alchemy Potions, fusing a Thermo-baric Bomb +7, learning the Fifth Tier Spell High-level Silence Field..."

The thought of all these tasks made Zhang Yanhang sigh. Compared to these chores, what he really wanted was to get some good sleep.

He had emerged from the Ashen World only after being completely drained. Although his physical strength recovered a bit during the day due to minimal physical activity, he was still far from fully recharged. He probably needed a good night’s sleep to become completely revitalized.

Considering it took him eight hours of sleep to fully restore his stamina, and since he stayed busy during the eight-hour school days, it would be odd if his energy managed to fully rebound. Even though his Physical Recovery Speed was far superior to that of his Same Tier Awakened, he definitely couldn’t accomplish such a feat. There was no question his stamina limit was much higher, and by a considerable margin.

...

October 21, thirteen days after the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, and also the first day Zhang Yanhang left the Ashen World. It was 5:20 PM in Xingfuli District, Unit 505, bedroom.

Lying on the bed, Zhang Yanhang stared at the two Thermo-baric Bombs +6 in front of him and began pondering whether to sleep for a bit or to fuse them into a Thermo-baric Bomb +7. Without much hesitation, Zhang Yanhang decided to sleep first; he truly felt a bit too exhausted.

At first, when he was at school, Zhang Yanhang hadn’t felt very tired, but as soon as he returned home and habitually snuggled into his bed and blanket, he inexplicably felt an urge to sleep soundly.

"Sharpening your axe will not delay the work of cutting wood. I still have to go out tonight to look for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures; indeed, it’s better to sleep now." Zhang Yanhang set a six-hour alarm on his phone and then peacefully drifted into slumber.

Roughly five hours later, Zhang Yanhang abruptly opened his eyes and stared blankly at the ceiling. There wasn’t supposed to be anything there, but now it was covered with dense text. Clearly, it wasn’t that Zhang Yanhang had naturally awoken from sleep; instead, he was rudely awakened by the Multiple Choice while he was enjoying his sleep.

Zhang Yanhang briefly assessed the options that had popped up, which seemed to be an encounter of the day, probably because it was already past ten o’clock, and the day was nearly over, so the unexpected encounter had triggered while he was sleeping.

Although he was initially unhappy about being disturbed, Zhang Yanhang then forgave the Multiple Choice for waking him, with the prospect of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures in mind. After fully waking up, he began to carefully examine the details of the options.

"Should you go out for a night run?"

"Option One: Go for a night run in Licang District (Even though just a second ago you were sound asleep, replenishing your Physical Strength, the next second, you suddenly open your eyes, deciding you can’t continue sleeping and should get up to exercise a bit. As comfortable as continuing to sleep would be, you force yourself out of the warm blankets.

After getting out of bed, you feel that the most suitable form of exercise for you now is night running. So, you open your phone’s map app to choose a target location for a short, fast round-trip run. Eventually, you select Nameless Mountain on Dexing Road in Licang District, thinking it a good choice well-suited for unleashing your speed.

However, to your surprise, perhaps due to the mountain’s usual desolation, you encounter both a wild grave and its Burier, a young Fierce Ghost that seemed to be in primary school when it was alive. Annoyed, you casually perform the rites to send it on.))"

"Option Two: Continue sleeping (During your sleep, you are suddenly jolted awake but don’t pay too much attention to why it happened. Instead, you begin to consider whether to take advantage of this moment to get up and do some exercise, then start fusing the Thermo-baric Bomb +7 and learn the Fifth Tier Magic High-level Silence Field.

But just as this idea pops into your mind, it seems as though a surge of Magic Power radiates from the blanket, making it feel like perhaps it’s better to continue sleeping after all. Although your Physical Strength is almost fully restored, the allure of a second snooze is completely irresistible, and soon you fall back asleep.))"

"Option Three: Go for a night run after sleeping for two more hours (You suddenly wake up and while lying in bed, ponder what to do next. But after some thought, you decide it’s best to sleep a little more and catch some Z’s. So, you immediately fall back into sleep until two hours later when you finally conclude your nap.

After waking up again, you feel that you should get out and do some exercise, like night running. After checking the map on your phone, you decide to set the final destination for your run near Nameless Mountain by Beiling Mountain. Unexpectedly, you discover a "Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass" which can increase your defensive power’s limit.))"

"The first option involves a ghost, but it’s not the female ghost I wanted; rather, it’s the kid ghost I dislike the most, and what’s worse, it’s a damn Fierce Ghost.

Did this bratty ghost cause the deaths of many people before becoming a Fierce Ghost? Or did it kill many after dying, thus collecting enough resentment to evolve into a Fierce Ghost?"

Regarding such a child ghost, busy doing nothing good either before or after death, Zhang Yanhang wouldn’t choose the first option, but he still wouldn’t let it go. He planned to call the authorities later to report this kid ghost so that they could deal with it.

Even though the authorities were busy due to the permanent opening of the Transmission Channel, he felt that exorcising a bratty Fierce Ghost shouldn’t be a problem.

After all, dealing with such Fierce Ghosts and malevolent spirits naturally falls within their duties. Otherwise, how could the environment within the Empire be so pleasant? If they only handled matters involving Awakeners, the Empire would probably be crawling with Fierce Ghosts by now, and ordinary people would hardly be able to live peacefully, let alone conduct economic activities.

"The bratty Fierce Ghost from the first option should be left to the authorities to handle, as for the second option, it’s quite meaningless. It just implies that after suddenly waking up, I go back to sleep for more snoozes.

Therefore, I must choose the third option for the encounter. This option allows me both to catch more sleep and to acquire a piece of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, the Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass that can increase my defensive power’s limit. Although I don’t have it yet, the name alone suggests that the Usage effect is probably not bad.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple, a total of seven colors. With the Sky Demon Green Crystal Grass to be acquired, I will have encountered five of these colors – red, yellow, green, cyan, and purple – only the last two, the Sky Demon Orange Crystal Grass and the Sky Demon Blue Crystal Grass, are needed to complete the full set of Sky Demon Crystal Grasses.

I wonder if I might also manage to find the remaining two plants tonight."

Zhang Yanhang felt it was possible, given that it was already past ten o’clock, and if he slept for another two hours as the option suggested, it would be a new day.

Maybe he could then trigger the next day’s encounter on October 22 and collect the remaining Sky Demon Orange Crystal Grass and the Sky Demon Blue Crystal Grass through tomorrow’s fortune. Maybe not all at once, but at least getting one more should not be a big problem.