At the time of the Rabbit Hour [1].

The white dew had turned to frost, and the mist was heavy.

It was still pitch dark outside, but in the cottage by the stream, Luo Chen had already begun his work.

In his previous life, he had always had this kind of personality. As long as there was a goal, he would persist and keep moving forward.

Working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week was exhausting, and even after work, there were meetings on WeChat and he had never been late once.

Compared to the tiring mornings back then, at least now he performed the Long Spring Art every morning and night, and after work, it brought him a very comfortable feeling, making getting up in the morning much less difficult.

The only problem was that the practice sessions couldn't exceed three times, or his head would hurt unbearably. In that state, he couldn't even handle the basic tasks of processing herbs.

There was a lot of work to be done today, but the tasks weren't actually that much. It mainly consisted of processing the materials for the fasting pills and Myriad Wonders pills.

He was extremely familiar with the fasting pills, especially with his Grandmaster level proficiency. Not only was the pill-making process smooth, but even the preliminary handling of the herbs was much easier. The handling of Myriad Wonders pills' materials was also faster than the last time.

Sometimes, Luo Chen would also study the panel system when he had free time.

A plain and unremarkable status panel, with the only two functions being the increase in proficiency and the achievement points that could be used to enter beginner cultivation methods of the same realm.

He didn't focus on achievement points, but he was getting more and more familiar with the proficiency function.

It wasn't limited to success; a sufficient number of failures could also lead to an increase in proficiency. Moreover, every time he broke through the proficiency level, it seemed to bring him additional insight.

He was sure that the usual explanation of "practice makes perfect" was not enough to explain that kind of insight. It was more like after reaching this proficiency level, the panel system filled in all the insights that belonged to that level. As a result, in the same category of skills, he was relatively more well-rounded than others at the same level.

This comprehensiveness was evident in his Grandmaster level fasting pills, with a stable delivery rate and guaranteed top-notched quality.

If his Grandmaster level proficiency was maxed out, he wasn't sure if there would be further progress, but he assumed that the quality of the fasting pills at that point would be top-grade!

Top-grade fasting pills... Aren't they still just fucking fasting pills?

He thought.

This was a common product in a saturated market, with numerous competitors and slow customer turnover.

Top-grade fasting pills are useless and Myriad Wonders pills are better.

The Myriad Wonders pill was a small exclusive product in a Blue Ocean market[2], with mild effects. It was easy to imagine there would be many return customers.

The downside was that the cost was too high, five spirit stones per batch, and the rate of failure was also high. In addition, the so-called Blue Ocean market wasn't that big.

Most of the rogue cultivators still sticking around Dahe Market were those with aspirations to establish their foundations. Those who indulged in pleasures weren't many.

As of now, this was Luo Chen's only product worth presenting! Therefore, expanding production was a must! Even though the current investment didn't yield any net profit yet, he had to persist!

As long as the success rate went up, his future would be bright!

Lunch was still beef stew rice.

Because of the Grandmaster-level proficiency with fasting pills, his material wastage was minimized.

He should have used up the frozen beef faster, but after shifting to refining Myriad Wonders pills, the consumption rate slowed down.

Luo Chen even felt that too much spirit energy was leaked from the beef demonic beast meat.

So recently, he had been cutting an extra finger-width of meat when preparing meals.

After finishing a satisfying meal, Luo Chen let out a contented burp and thought,

What a good meal, rich with a milky fragrance!

Whether it was for the fasting pills or the Myriad Wonders pills, everything had to go through the final process of time.

With that, Luo Chen sat by the stream, prepared a fishing rod, and tried his hand at fishing.

He had noticed that recently, the stream, which originated from the Lancang River, had an increasing number of fish and shrimp.

He decided to catch a few to enjoy a nice meal.

As he fished, he opened his status panel.

[Status Panel]

Name: Luo Chen

Lifespan: 27/75

Spirit Roots: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth

Realm: Stage Three of Qi-Refining Realm (76/100)

Achievement Points: 1 (Can be used to unlock cultivation techniques, spells, or skills)

[Technique]

Long Spring Art: Proficient (257/300)

[Spells]

Cleanse: Beginner (52/100)

Entangle: Skilled (176/200)

Fireball: Perfection (315/500)

Carefree Wander: Skilled (102/200)

[Skills]

First-tier Alchemist

This time, the status panel display brought him great joy.

The realm that hadn't moved in a long time had increased from 75 to 76, which was a full point!

Breaking through to the fourth stage of Qi-Refining was just around the corner!

Other items weren't much of a surprise. Whether it was the Long Spring Art, fasting concoction, or Myriad Wonders pill, they all showed positive progress according to the existing plan.

However, it was the Fireball and Carefree Wander under the spells section that caught his attention for a few extra moments.

Carefree Wander had jumped from Beginner to Skilled, bringing him an increase in speed. It had certainly been well worth it to run freely across the plains every day.

As for the Perfection level Fireball, he hadn't had the chance to experiment with it yet. He could only tell when lighting the fire for cooking every day that it was more effortless and natural.

An hour later, in the dug-out water pit, there wasn't a single fish!

"How could I indulge so much in enjoyment? I should focus on practicing my protective skills!" Luo Chen muttered to himself as he discarded the fishing rod, aimed at the deepest part of the stream, and cast a Fireball.

Boom!

The calm stream suddenly burst with a massive splash, and scorching steam spread all over.

Charred fish corpses fell onto the pebbles at the stream's bottom, slowly rising again as the stream's upstream waters flowed over.

Luo Chen looked at the results of his Fireball with satisfaction.

One fire burned the stream, and the fish sank!

That was truly a Perfection level Fireball!

After briefly sensing the amount of spirit energy consumed within him, Luo Chen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he said to himself, "Hey, previously a single Fireball consumed 10% of my spirit energy. This time, it barely used half that! Does this mean I could cast twenty Fireball in one go?"

It doubled! This is a definite qualitative change! And... the speed seems to have doubled too?

Previously, when he lit the fire to cook, he would carefully follow the steps, reciting the incantations carefully, worried he might blow up the stove. The spirit energy he injected was also minimal.

This time, without that concern, he casually cast a Fireball.

He then realized that the speed of both was incomparable.

Typically for normal cultivators, it took three breaths, but when Luo Chen reached the Proficient level, he shortened it to two breaths. Now, at the Perfection level, he has broken through to just a single breath.

"One breath, releasing a Fireball talisman isn't much faster than this!"

The activation of talismans also has a process, infusing spirit energy, guiding the energy inside, and aiming at the target.

This process usually requires an experienced practitioner to activate it quickly and smoothly.

After all, it was an item.

Feelings often lead to illusions.

To avoid any misconceptions, Luo Chen decided to cast three more Fireballs, directly at the stream.

I wasn't wrong! Three Fireballs, including the first one, consumed only 20% of my spirit energy.

The speed was also much faster, comparable to activating a Fireball talisman.

With these results, Luo Chen couldn't help but smile widely.

Every day, he practiced the Long Spring Art, absorbing and converting a small amount of spirit energy, and even when using all his strength, he only recovered one-fifth of it.

This led to him being unable to practice spells extensively, fearing of depleting his spirit energy and not having enough to escape danger. But now that the Fireball consumption had decreased, it meant he could double his daily practice proficiency.

Moreover, what made Luo Chen happiest wasn't this.

"The speed of activation now is comparable to that of talismans. In an unexpected situation, I can completely catch the enemy off guard. Finally, I have a battle tactic I can rely on!"

Luo Chen had always lacked effective combat techniques, which was why he felt so insignificant, with no one paying attention to him. However, being ignored and having no combat ability were two different things.

His anxious heart gradually calmed, and he almost wanted to look up and shout at the sky. But after thinking about it, he decided against it and chose to stay low-key.

Next time, when he broke through to the mid-stage of Qi-Refining, he would let out a triumphant roar!

He picked up a fish that had been stunned by the steam from the stream. It would make a good addition to tomorrow's meal.

"Mm, I caught a fish today, and my fishing skill proficiency has increased by one!"

1. Chinese time system: The day is divided into 12 two-hour periods, each corresponding to a zodiac animal. The "卯" time, the fourth period, occurs from 5:00 AM to 7:00 AM and is associated with the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac. This system has been used historically in traditional Chinese culture for both timekeeping and astrology ☜

2. Blue ocean is a term referring to the uncontested market space of an unknown industry or innovation. ☜