I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 73 - 70: Qi Refining Third Level·Spirit Root

Chapter 73: Chapter 70: Qi Refining Third Level·Spirit Root

"Phew..." Gu Shanhai took a deep breath. The Qi Refining Third Level·Spirit Root was complete.

In fact, all it took was a shot followed by a good sleep, given that he had done everything necessary beforehand and just needed to wait.

"The overall slight enhancement of physical fitness is important, but the enhancement of my innate potential is even more critical, transforming me from an ordinary person into a genius."

Basic ability enhancements are generally divided into percentages and numeric values: the former relates to talent potential, which can improve along with oneself, while the latter is the more direct enhancement.

"Still an E-rank ability, which is good news."

Gu Shanhai tested his strength and noted that it hadn’t increased by much, with only slight enhancements, confirming it was an E-rank ability.

But correspondingly, this implied there was still room for further augmentation.

"Tch, isn’t my situation a commoner’s path? With my Spirit Root conditions, I can only be a servant once I join a sect," Gu Shanhai remarked with a bit of self-mockery.

The numeric enhancement wasn’t significant, but the percentage enhancement was considerable. The efficiency with which he converted Spiritual Energy into Mana had doubled, indicating even an E-rank ability could have a substantial initial increase.

That had been Gu Shanhai’s main focus all along: Even if the initial numeric value doubled, it wouldn’t be as good as transforming into one’s innate potential.

There were seven types of basic abilities that complemented one another. The human body is a multifaceted entity; the enhancement of one attribute is bound to stimulate improvements in other areas. A person with high agility will naturally see their physique and strength improve; otherwise, someone with 1000 points of agility and only 1 point of both physique and strength would not be able to run fast, as they would tear their muscles and turn into a mess of flesh on their first sprint.

So in reality, Gu Shanhai was experiencing a sevenfold enhancement. Of course, it wasn’t that exaggerated yet, since his ability·Spirit Root had just been completed. Even if it’s only E-rank, it hadn’t reached the cap, and both the strength and innate potential would continue to rise, gradually manifested perhaps during times of sufficient nutrition.

His current slight enhancements were just the beginning; they would continue until they hit the E-rank ceiling, fundamentally acting like a growth-type passive skill.

"Besides an obvious change in my Qi Refinement First Layer·Vital Energy, there’s also a significant improvement in Qi Refining Second Layer·Perception."

He was still at the entry stage of Qi Refining Second Layer·Perception, which was erratic, but with the addition of Qi Refining Third Level·Spirit Root, at least the probability of its activation had slightly changed, as if a rudimentary Perception Enhancement ability had been integrated into it.

At present, his focus remained on Qi Refinement First Layer·Vital Energy as the main practice, with Qi Refining Second Layer·Perception as a secondary practice. As for Qi Refining Third Level·Spirit Root, there was no rush to advance as it would be more prudent to wait until his E-rank enhancement was maxed. It was, after all, a process of gradual empowerment, and upgrading the Spirit Root level now wouldn’t be meaningful.

Even upgrading to SSS-rank would require a slow progression. It was certainly too fanciful to think about reaching max level without having fully upgraded the lowest E-rank.

"The core objective is accomplished. Next, let’s see if I can upgrade my Spirit Root to D-rank in this world, which at least might induce a qualitative change and produce life force as part of the vitality enhancement."

Vitality enhancement is a relatively special basic ability, which, to a certain extent, can make one’s vitality more abundant. At higher levels, it can even produce an energy-like life force, which is an active effect, such as outputting life force to perform healing spells.

Similarly, Energy Enhancement also intensifies energy, and Gu Shanhai’s Mana had been amplified as well.

If one became half-digitized, they would gain Healing Art at Vitality Enhancement D-rank, and Energy Fluctuation at Energy Enhancement, with the former being self-explanatory and the latter akin to trading blood for Mana.

Other abilities like Physique Enhancement and Agility Enhancement are passive skills but also possess similar powers.

Therefore, what Gu Shanhai was most interested in was the life force born from Vitality Enhancement, which would allow his lifespan to continuously increase, achieving the dream of eternal youth.

Of course, what’s more important is the application of life force. Infusing it into one’s own Mana introduces another layer of potential.

His Spirit Root Ability didn’t need to reach D-rank; E-rank would suffice, as it’s only a general ability, but the abilities he had came from using Ability Core Fragments and Ability Radiation Crystals, essentially the top-tier version of abilities.

Even if someone awakened a similar ability using an Ability Awakening Potion, they wouldn’t get such luxurious attributes.

Others might only gain 1 point per attribute at E-rank, but Gu Shanhai started with 5 points and a 1% enhancement at E-rank, with the potential to further grow to 20 points and 10% enhancement before reaching the E-rank limit.

That’s the difference due to the quality of the materials used.

Otherwise, Gu Shanhai’s use of an Ability Integration Model and a Mana System Boost, along with components from the Source of Abilities, would be just like anyone else’s, rendering all his efforts on his ability fruitless.

A slight difference at the beginning didn’t matter, as after all, it’s a basic ability meant for oneself. Plus, he wasn’t a half-digitized player—if he suddenly received an increase of ten thousand points in all attributes at once, it would likely be fatal.