CHAPTER 66: CHAPTER 66: OPENING THE TREASURE BOX, HIS NAME IS REN (TWO-IN-ONE)

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Three options? How to choose?

If he had ample time, Ren Suo would have definitely reworded this question and thrown it online, letting netizens tear each other apart in debate before he then carefully considered their points.

But now he needed to buy a game, and he simply didn’t have the time for that. The decision was up to him to make.

The first option was to have a 50% chance of reducing the Merit Points cost by one when making any purchase, meaning when buying something worth 50 Merit Points, there was a possibility that it would only cost 49 Merit Points.

The second option was quite straightforward, gaining an extra 5% Merit Points for any uploaded task evaluations. For example, if he later earned 100 Merit Points from a certain task, he could gain an additional 5 Merit Points.

The only one that felt a bit tricky was the third one.

The Picky Freeloader.

Ren Suo felt that the quality and quantity of free games each month varied, and by choosing "The Picky Freeloader," he would be able to kick out the least cost-effective game before selecting a free game and replace it with one that offered slightly better rewards.

However, this choice was the most reliant on luck. If the new free game he got after the switch seemed too difficult for Ren Suo or simply wasn’t as appealing as other free games, then it would be a waste of this privilege.

And this privilege could only be used once a month—after all, free games were updated monthly.

Ren Suo looked at the time: 11:57!

There was no time left!

Actually, all three privileges had their own merits, and choosing any of them wasn’t too bad. Given that, he...

Ren Suo directly chose the first Player’s Privilege, "Meticulous Calculation"!

This was entirely because Ren Suo had always followed the golden mean: not the most risky, not the safest, but the one with the most moderate risk.

"Novice Player" was the safest, "The Picky Freeloader" was the riskiest, and only "Meticulous Calculation" was a bit obscure to him, but it seemed quite useful.

After making his choice, Ren Suo now officially became a Level 2 Player in Minor World, and then he rushed to the Grain Rain promotion section to make a purchase—

"Jedi Priest"!

In the last three minutes, Ren Suo successfully bought the discounted game!

He saw his balance of 60 Merit Points swiftly drop to 11 Merit Points.

Ren Suo was slightly startled but quickly realized—his luck wasn’t bad, as his first purchase after obtaining "Meticulous Calculation" had immediately triggered its effect, reducing the required Merit Points by one.

Ren Suo exited the Minor World game store, ready to first open the new Treasure Box in the Content Preservation Vault.

He hadn’t forgotten that after uploading a rating, "Over My Dead Body" had rewarded him with a Two-Star Treasure Box!

And now he had two keys! If not now, then when?

At that moment, he saw that in the lower right corner of the "Over My Dead Body" icon, a small, spinning disc had appeared.

As if it were reading a CD.

Since "Over My Dead Body" had no time limit for gameplay, under normal circumstances, it should only be automatically deleted from the console next month.

Although Ren Suo had uploaded a game review, he could still continue playing—though there would be no benefit.

But when thinking about it seriously, Ren Suo realized that for the past twenty-two years of his life, playing games had never really been beneficial!

It was only after acquiring the Minor World Game Console that Ren Suo discovered playing games could actually earn him Merit Points to buy other games and gain strange additional abilities through exclusive rewards.

Ren Suo looked at the spinning disc in the lower right corner of the "Over My Dead Body" icon and remembered that the icon for "If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters" also had such a strange symbol.

However, in the icon of "If You Are Strong, Climb Ten Thousand Meters," although there was still a shiny disc in the lower right corner, it was quite clearly not spinning but stagnant instead.

And the newly downloaded game "Jedi Priest" had no disc symbol in the lower right corner at this time.

What did this mean...?

Ren Suo scratched his head and ultimately gave up on thinking—it was pointless to ponder anyway; better to claim the benefits first.

In the Content Preservation Vault, there were three items: a Two-Star Treasure Box, a One-Star Wind Blade Key, and a One-Star Resentment Key.

Excited, Ren Suo chose to unlock the Two-Star Treasure Box!

However, the system popped up a notification:

"You don’t have a two-star key, so you cannot open the Two-Star Treasure Box."

"..." Ren Suo blinked.

Although he had already suspected there might be some level of complexity upon seeing that the keys and the boxes had star rankings, the confirmation still left Ren Suo a bit speechless—

The vending was swift when taking money, but the redemption was full of obstructions!

This Minor World Game Console had the high thresholds and prices of hardcore single-player games, as well as the cumbersome settings of free-to-play, pay-to-win games that hindered the gaming experience!

"You currently possess two one-star keys. Would you like to combine them? (A two-star key can be made from two one-star keys.)"

Oh?

Ren Suo clicked on the One-Star Wind Blade Key and found there really was a combination option in the menu.

He breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that the game wasn’t heartless enough to force him to search for a two-star key—finding a one-star key was already challenging enough, let alone figuring out where to find a two-star one.

And the fact that it only took two one-star keys to make a two-star key was fairly reasonable and not bad at all.

Entering the combination interface, Ren Suo saw a combination chart on the right, glanced at it, and was instantly petrified:

Two-Star Key = One-Star Key * 2.

Three-Star Key = Two-Star Key * 3.

...

Nine-Star Key = Eight-Star Key * 9.

"9*8*7*6..." Ren Suo fell silent and pulled out his phone to start calculating how many one-star keys it would take to make one nine-star key.

It wasn’t that many, just 362,880 one-star keys.

Ren Suo shook his head, deciding not to worry about such distant matters—just as impractical as when, as a child, he fantasized about how he would show off after getting into Sky Capital University or Shuimu University.

"Do you wish to proceed with the key combination? Note that upon successful combination, the new key’s attributes will be randomly selected and strengthened from those of the combined keys."

"Two-Star Key combination success rate: 90%."

"Why is there even a success rate for making a key?" Ren Suo was utterly defeated. "It’s feeling more and more like a pay-to-win online game."

"Crafting Successful, you’ve obtained a Two-Star Wind Blade Key."

"Two-Star Wind Blade Key: Additional 15% chance to obtain Wind Blade class rewards."

What followed was naturally an exhilarating time to open the Treasure Box!

"You have used the ’Two-Star Wind Blade Key’ to open this Treasure Box."

"You have received the prop ’Goddess Jade Pendant’."

"...Huh?"

This was the first time Ren Suo had received a prop reward. His previous rewards had either been skills or single-use skills.

However, his ’Prop Slot,’ which had been vacant until now, finally came into use.

But the Goddess Jade Pendant was the token given by Cao Zhi for the Ren Family Cultivators to engage in Spiritual Exchange with the Goddess.

Now that Ren Suo had the Goddess Jade Pendant, could it be... he could... see the Goddess evolve from a Paper Person into a three-dimensional being?! Yes, that was the only pure thought on Ren Suo’s mind, nothing else at all.

’Goddess Jade Pendant’

’Quality Rank: Two-Star Item. Prerequisite: Possessing a complete respiratory system.’

’Effect: Once equipped by the player, one will be able to breathe freely in any river or aquatic environment and experience a slight enhancement in vision and hearing, greatly improved swimming ability, and a significant reduction in the impact of water pressure.’

’Note: The crystalline jade pendant retains a hint of warmth.’

Although the item did not meet Ren Suo’s fantasy, it wasn’t too bad and lived up to the name of a Two-Star Item.

This meant that from now on, Ren Suo was a Supernatural Being who could roam rivers and seas and would never drown!

Even though humans have submarines now... at the very least, Ren Suo won’t need goggles, earplugs, or nose clips anymore when he goes to the swimming pool!

The more he thought about it, the less useful it seemed.

However, Ren Suo still equipped the item and took a look at the exclusive reward for "Over My Dead Body" – ’Strong Heart Technique.’

’Strong Heart Technique’

’Quality Rank: Two-Star Ability. Prerequisite: Blood circulation system similar to an Upright Ape, Introduction to Spiritual Qi.’

’Effect: Once equipped by the player, one can use this Spiritual Energy Spell on any dying target with an intact heart and consciousness. The Strong Heart Technique enhances the heart’s capability, strengthens the bodily functions of the dying individual, and extends survival time by at least 12 hours without side effects. If the Strong Heart Technique is used on the same target multiple times within a short period (72 hours), and the target has a weak physical condition, it may lead to heart rupture.’

’Note: "This is my last selfishness, knowing that I won’t live long after returning home, but... having a family was the last act of kindness by Destiny toward me. So please, let me fall asleep looking at these precious treasures before I die. Ancestors, please forgive my willfulness."’

Ren Suo’s spirits sank as he read the note attached to the ability, recalling the gaming experience from the past few days.

After a while, he shook his head and chuckled, "What a great game indeed..."

"Even if it’s a tale from two thousand years ago..."

"Yu Kuangtu, long time no see."

In Sky Capital of Mysterious Country, within the Special Scientific Research Institute of the Central Scientific Research Institute, Yu Kuangtu saw a familiar face as he was leaving with Li Dan.

"If you want to see me every day, just FaceTime me, teacher." Yu Kuangtu looked at the young man sitting in the wheelchair, who needed a dedicated caregiver to push him, and chuckled. "Or are you telling me that the spell network you created can support remote communication now?"

"That’s still a way off." The young man covered his mouth and coughed twice, then asked hoarsely, "Weren’t you in Lianjiang? I remember you don’t like coming back here that much, this place..."

"This place has too many people I dislike. Well, except for you, teacher." Yu Kuangtu humphed. "This time, one of my subordinates reached the second turn, so I brought him here just to run some tests."

"Oh?" The young man turned his gaze on Li Dan beside Yu Kuangtu. "Not bad, not bad... Ah, this aura, could it be that he possesses sound-based awakened spells?"

Noticing Li Dan’s astonished expression, the young man smiled. "Don’t be surprised, this is the only little trick this useless person has, something that others can’t learn... Well, I won’t disturb you any longer."

"Goodbye."

As Yu Kuangtu watched the young man being pushed away in the wheelchair, Li Dan asked, "Director Yu, who is he? Why would he... harm himself?"

Li Dan had just noticed that the young man’s skin was pale, cold, damp, and his breathing rapid. While speaking, he had difficulty focusing his attention, which were clear signs of excessive blood loss. He needed a wheelchair because he was unable to maintain normal walking due to his condition.

However, what place was this? Blood loss was no serious illness and could be easily treated, yet the young man seemed to have been in this state for a long time, requiring someone to take special care of him.

"Teacher is the founder of the spell network and also currently the strongest cultivator in Mysterious Country," Yu Kuangtu’s voice exploded in Li Dan’s ears.

Li Dan was utterly astonished. "But I didn’t sense..."

"That’s because he’s too strong, too strong for you to even sense the pulsing of his Qi cyclone," Yu Kuangtu said. "The current ’turn’ system for cultivators is based on him as the template, and most of the Spiritual Energy Techniques were created under his direction."

"Three months ago, I remember he was at the fourth turn. Now he might have become even more terrifying."

Li Dan, with mouth agape, stared in the direction the young man had gone. "Fourth, fourth turn...?"

"Now, we Second Stage Cultivators are basically the strongest group amongst cultivators, and it’s the same with other countries too. At most, there are a few Awakeners with exceptionally gifted talents, but they definitely won’t surpass the third turn," Yu Kuangtu said. "Unfortunately, his realm surpasses all cultivators in the world, yet he cannot become a combat power."

"Why?" Li Dan asked. "A Second Stage Cultivator is pretty much invulnerable to all illnesses, and someone above the fourth turn... He should be able to withstand a direct nuclear blast now, right?"

"So what if he can." Yu Kuangtu sighed. "This power is a terrifying curse. To slow the progression of his power and resist its growth, he has to bleed profusely every three hours, sustaining his life on just a little bit of sweetness, or else... he would already be dead."

"So this is actually a curse... The world is truly full of wonders," Li Dan exclaimed. "By the way, you haven’t told me who this strongest cultivator actually is."

"I don’t know either; his personal file is top secret," Yu Kuangtu said. "But when I was learning from Teacher, he once mentioned that he no longer had any family, and probably won’t have any in the future, as he is the only survivor of his clan."

"Therefore, he told us just to call him by his surname. His surname is..."

Li Dan took a few steps. Hearing nothing further, he turned back only to see Yu Kuangtu standing there blankly, his eyes unfocused, staring at the air.

"Hmm?" Li Dan patted Yu Kuangtu’s shoulder. "What’s wrong?"

Yu Kuangtu came back to his senses and rubbed his temples. "It’s nothing... I just... seem to have forgotten something."

Walking and then suddenly experiencing amnesia? Li Dan blinked and decided to change the subject. "So, what is the name of that strongest cultivator we just saw?"

"Teacher," Yu Kuangtu said. "I remember, he told us to call him... Ren."