I have an Apocalypse City
Chapter 1175 - Chapter 1175 Chapter 1177 Decisions_1

Chapter 1175: Chapter 1177: Decisions_1 Chapter 1175: Chapter 1177: Decisions_1 “Medicine Gathering Skill!”

Song Jian lightly stroked a stalk of Red Sword Grass over a foot long, a cluster of white light blossomed from his fingertips, quickly enveloping the entire plant.

A slow progress bar appeared above the head of the Red Sword Grass, Sword Qi from within Song Jian’s body flowed slowly towards his fingertips, sustaining the operation of the Gathering Skill.

Thirty seconds later, Song Jian’s Sword Qi Value decreased by more than a thousand points, and the Red Sword Grass’s progress bar had only moved two-thirds of the way when suddenly, with a “pfft” sound, the entire plant burst apart.

System: You failed to gather Red Sword Grass and gained nothing, Medicine Gathering Skill proficiency increased by 4 points;

The level of Red Sword Grass was quite high, and for Song Jian’s Medicine Gathering Skill at only level seven, it was difficult to gather even an average or poor-quality Red Sword Grass, let alone one of perfect quality.

Keep in mind that any life-assisting skill was actually at an apprentice level below level ten; it was only after surpassing level ten that one could reach the beginner level. Song Jian’s Medicine Gathering Skill was actually only at apprentice level seven.

“Sigh, the second part of the assessment is indeed not as simple as it looks, gathering Red Sword Grass requires the Medicine Gathering Skill, mining ores requires the Mining Skill, and even extracting the essence of Sword Pond Lake requires a base in enchantment skills, the Extraction Skill!” Song Jian’s face showed a look of difficulty as he thought to himself, “Only hunting Lord-level bosses seems a bit simpler to me, but the hardest part of hunting bosses isn’t the killing, it’s finding their traces. That’s simply down to luck, it’s better to honestly gather Red Sword Grass here, at least even if I fail, I can still improve my Medicine Gathering Skill proficiency!”

In fact, after Song Jian entered the game, he spent a lot of time and effort on life-assisting skills, since he was too weak when he first started playing, and constantly struggling to get by. If he didn’t learn some life-assisting skills, survival in the game would be a challenge.

But as Song Jian’s strength gradually improved, especially after taking control of a city, these life-assisting skills became more or less unnecessary, like chicken ribs–edible but tasteless.

He could simply buy whatever was needed with money; Doomsday Coins no longer posed a difficulty for Song Jian.

Unexpectedly, these life-assisting skills, akin to chicken ribs, became Song Jian’s Achilles’ heel in the Imperial Sword Sect’s assessment.

“Hmph, I refuse to believe that a simple, perfect-quality Red Sword Grass can stump me!” Song Jian huffed, pulling a small shovel from his inventory and stepping towards the next Red Sword Grass.

Almost everywhere on the grassland around Sword Pond Lake, one could find Red Sword Grass, and Song Jian, holding a silver-grade Purple Bamboo Shovel, continued to gather Red Sword Grass.

The Purple Bamboo Shovel not only increased the speed of gathering herbs by 40%, with a success rate of +8, but most importantly, it granted Song Jian a +2 to his Medicine Gathering Skill level. This +2 level boost might not show much effect at the apprentice level, but the higher Song Jian’s Medicine Gathering Skill, the more precious this attribute became.

With the Purple Bamboo Shovel in hand, Song Jian’s Medicine Gathering Skill had reached level nine. Although it was still at the apprentice level, he now had a much higher rate of successful gathering, and the proficiency he earned in the Medicine Gathering Skill was also much more than before.

After spending an entire day, Song Jian’s inventory was filled with “Shattered Red Sword Grass,” “Damaged Red Sword Grass,” “Ordinary Red Sword Grass,” “Average-Quality Red Sword Grass”…

These heartfelt prefixes of Red Sword Grass were actually the products of failed gathering attempts, with their medicinal effect reduced by more than ninety percent, only counting as gray junk items, selling for one or two Doomsday Coins at most in the system store.

However, Song Jian’s Medicine Gathering Skill level made a leap forward, skyrocketing from apprentice level seven to advanced level three in just one day, jumping over dozens of levels.

“Phew, I’ve already achieved the advanced Medicine Gathering Skill, so why are the highest quality Red Sword Grass I collect just ordinary?” Song Jian sighed as he looked at a bunch of chaotically prefixed Red Sword Grass in his bag. He originally wanted to throw them all away to clear some space in his bag, but after a moment of thought, with a flicker of his mind, he tossed all these failures into the fragmented Divine Country.

“At least they can serve as fertilizer for wood ash; I can’t let them go to waste!” Song Jian consoled himself.

Just then, Song Jian suddenly stood up and looked into the distance. Soon, a small black dot appeared in the sky, getting closer to Sword Pond Lake. Upon closer inspection, a smile appeared on Song Jian’s lips. Xin Ling had actually taken a full day to reach Sword Pond Lake. Seeing her exhausted expression, she must have flown all the way here without any rest.

“This girl is really too competitive!” Song Jian laughed.

Xin Ling possessed the Ancient Moon Sword Physique; for her, these so-called entry-level trials were merely a formality. In fact, a lineage within the Imperial Sword Sect was willing to take her as a disciple, and this lineage’s core cultivation technique was particularly suited for the Ancient Moon Sword Physique.

However, the girl seemed somewhat unconvinced by Song Jian, hoping to compete with him in her mind. Even if she couldn’t beat Song Jian, she couldn’t lose by too much; she was always striving to do her best.

Xin Ling flew and flew until she saw Song Jian next to Sword Pond Lake. Her heart relaxed, and she unexpectedly plummeted from the sky, diving headfirst into Sword Pond Lake.

It took a while before Xin Ling clumsily climbed out of Sword Pond Lake, lying on the lakeside, gasping for breath with big mouthfuls.

Song Jian had been gathering Red Sword Grass all day and was feeling very irritable. Seeing Xin Ling fall from the sky into the lake, he hurriedly ran to the edge of the lake to rescue her, only to realize that Xin Ling had already walked out of the lake by herself.

Looking at Xin Ling lying on the lakeside, Song Jian couldn’t help but say, “Hurry up and change your clothes, wearing wet clothes can easily give you a cold!”

“Mind your own business, hmph!” Xin Ling struggled to stand up, seemingly still weak, swaying a bit before stabilizing. Then, wisps of steam began to rise from her body, and in moments, a large amount of steam emerged as she used her Sword Qi to dry her wet clothes directly.

Song Jian gave Xin Ling a thumbs up and then turned to leave. Since she didn’t appreciate his concern, he didn’t need to bother her anymore. He’d rather continue improving his proficiency in the Medicine Gathering Skill.

Xin Ling originally hesitated a bit; she only needed to choose one out of the dozen or so assessment tasks, but after watching Song Jian wield his bamboo shovel, continuously gathering Red Sword Grass, a smile appeared on her face.

“Hey, what a waste of such a good medicine shovel!” With a shake of her head, Xin Ling spoke loudly as she approached Song Jian. She pointed her right hand at a plant of Red Sword Grass, and instantly a white light blossomed, enveloping the Red Sword Grass. A moment later, a whole Red Sword Grass wriggled out of the soil and flew towards Xin Ling’s hand, roots and all.

“Eh, it’s just of excellent quality, no big deal!” Xin Ling glanced at Song Jian, spoke loudly, and pretended she was about to throw away the Red Sword Grass in her hand. But just as she was about to do so, she suddenly let out a soft “Eh,” took back the Red Sword Grass, examined its properties closely, then expressionlessly added it to her bag.

Watching Song Jian, who was still gripping the bamboo shovel and tirelessly gathering Red Sword Grass, Xin Ling didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt a sense of relief. She immediately made a decision, “I’ve decided, my assessment target will be to gather a perfect quality Red Sword Grass!”

…

PS: Thank you to “Thirsty Boy” for the tip of 100 Starting Point Coins~