txolops Chapter 37 Target Level
Chapter 37 Target Level
The next morning, as dawn broke, the two little girls, holding rough porcelain bowls, slurped down their green soup, wiped their mouths, and jumped up.
"Let's go!" Han Baibai slammed the wooden spoon on the table, her little face full of excitement, her braids swinging back and forth with the movement.
The group, their feet glistening with morning dew, headed towards the eastern outskirts of Jianye City.
Halfway there, Daya looked back at the empty space behind her, her little brows furrowing. "Young Master, Mother hasn't come yet. She's probably sleeping in again! Aren't we taking her to play?"
She stood on tiptoe, tugged at Han Xiaoliu's sleeve with her little hand, and looked on with anticipation.
Han Xiaoliu stopped, raised his hand and rubbed Daya's head, gently stroking the top of her hair with his fingertips.
He took a deep breath, and with a sudden wave of his right hand, a dark light flew out from his sleeve, unfolding in the air into a pale gold soul-guiding banner.
The banner was embroidered with distorted ghost faces. A cold wind blew, rustling the leaves of the surrounding trees, but it did not give people any sense of discomfort.
"Wake up!" he uttered in a low voice, his fingertips channeling spiritual energy like silk threads into the banner.
"Waaah—"
A mournful ghostly howl emanated from the banner, followed by a ethereal ghostly figure slowly emerging. The figure was slender and pale-faced; it was none other than Jade Maiden.
She was surrounded by a faint black aura, and her eyes held a hint of confusion and a newly emerging chill.
Last night, after Han Xiaoliu's earnest persuasion, including threats and inducements, he finally dispelled Yu Niangzi's desire to sign a servant contract and changed her mind to cultivate ghost cultivation techniques, becoming a true ghost cultivator.
With the help of the abundant Yin energy in Han Xiaoliu's Level 5 Soul-Guiding Banner, Yu Niangzi mastered the basics of the "Mysterious Soul Technique" in just one night.
She also successfully obtained player status with her special identity—Ghost—and had the privilege of becoming an apprentice of the Underworld at level 10.
"Mother!" Daya's eyes lit up. She loosened her grip on Han Xiaoliu's sleeve, opened her arms, and rushed towards Yu Niangzi.
"Slow down!" Han Xiaoliu tried to stop him, but couldn't.
Daya's small body bumped into Yu Niangzi's arms, but it was as if she had passed through a cloud of mist, and she ended up hugging nothing at all.
She staggered and almost fell, her little face full of astonishment.
"Mother?" She took another step forward, her little hands flailing in the air, but only managed to grab a handful of cold air.
Being ignorant, she didn't know what was wrong with her mother, and wanted to rush towards her again, her eyes gradually welling up with tears.
"Don't move." A small hand grabbed her arm, the force not strong, but firm.
Having grown up in the demonic path, Han Baibai possessed extraordinary knowledge and immediately understood Yu Niangzi's current state.
She stood there, her small hands tightly gripping Daya's arm, her eyes warily watching Yu Niangzi, like a little animal guarding its food.
"You can't touch her," Han Baibai said in a low voice, her tone serious. "She...is different now."
Daya, looking completely innocent, turned her head, her eyes red-rimmed: "What's different?"
Looking at her daughter's aggrieved expression, Yu Niangzi felt a pang of pain in her heart.
She slowly crouched down, her ethereal figure swaying slightly in the morning light, like smoke that might dissipate at any moment.
"I gave up my physical body and switched to the path of the ghost," she said, reaching out to touch Daya's face, but stopping just before touching her cheek, her fingertips trembling slightly. "When my cultivation level is high enough, Daya will be able to hug her mother again."
"Oh." Daya nodded as if she understood, but she was just unhappy that she couldn't stick to him.
She pouted, buried her face in Han Baibai's shoulder, and muttered softly, "Mother turned into smoke..."
Han Baibai was no simpleton. Her eyes darted around and she looked at Han Xiaoliu with a scrutinizing gaze.
She tilted her head slightly, her little face showing a hint of doubt, like a little adult.
Seeing that his daughter doubted him, Han Xiaoliu quickly explained, his tone tinged with guilt: "She has hidden injuries and can't hold on for long. Switching to the Ghost Path will not only save her life, but also allow her to obtain player status like you. After reaching level ten, she can also go and learn skills from a master."
I accept this explanation!
Han Baibai also became interested. She knew nothing about this secret world, so she decided to learn about it.
She released Da Ya, pulled her character card from her pocket, held it up in front of Han Xiaoliu, pointed to the "Level: 0" on it with her little finger, and asked with a look of curiosity, "What does 'becoming an apprentice' mean? Is level ten what's written on this card?"
Seeing this, Da Ya also took out her character card, stood on tiptoe, pointed to the "Level: 1" on it, and said to Han Baibai, "Miss... Mine is different from yours."
Han Xiaoliu took the two character cards, placed them side by side, and patiently explained, "This is it. The level also corresponds to our cultivation level. Level 10 corresponds to the tenth level of Qi Refining. Level 20 is the peak of Qi Refining, level 30 is the peak of Foundation Establishment, and so on."
He paused, then continued, "Becoming an apprentice is a gift given to players in this world after they reach level 10. At that time, we can obtain a cultivation technique inheritance. Currently, the sects we can become apprentices to are Fangcun Mountain and the Underworld."
"Fangcun Mountain specializes in the cultivation of the soul, and is skilled in thunder magic and talisman techniques," he said, gesturing with his fingers in the air. "The Underworld specializes in the cultivation of soul-binding techniques, and is skilled in corpse poison and various auxiliary spells. Its attacks can damage the soul."
He looked at Yu Niangzi, his tone tinged with relief: "After Yu Niangzi switched to the path of ghosts, she was able to become a disciple of the Underworld, and your uncle is a disciple of Fangcun Mountain."
He crouched down, looking at the two girls at eye level: "Since you two are leveling up, you can discuss which sect you want to join as a disciple."
"Can we choose ourselves?" Han Baibai's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"You can," Han Xiaoliu pointed to Han Baibai's character card, "but Da Ya can't. The Huaguo Mountain sect hasn't been activated yet, so she can only choose Fangcun Mountain." He pointed to the prompt on Da Ya's character card and said.
Han Baibai immediately pulled Da Ya and surrounded Han Xiaoliu, constantly asking how powerful Fangcun Mountain's skills were and how beautiful it looked when they released spells.
When she learned that her father knew the Yin-Yang Cao Underworld Techniques, she tiptoed and leaned her little head close to Han Xiaoliu, her eyes full of curiosity.
Upon learning that the underworld involved dealing with ghosts, the two girls exchanged a glance, shrank back, and unanimously chose to become disciples of Fangcun Mountain after reaching level 10.
"Then let's set off!" Han Xiaoliu stood up, waved his hand, and was full of vigor.
The group of four people and one ghost, stepping into the morning light, rushed out of Jianye City and headed towards the nearest mountain forest on the outskirts.
……
Outside the Wild Boar Forest, the air was filled with the stench of earth and monsters.
Lightning crackled around Han Li's fingertips as a Five Thunderbolts Spell tore through the darkness of the forest, striking a mountain boar that was rooting in the soil for food.
Pushing a wild boar (wild animal)
Rating: 8
Before the monster could even let out a scream, it collapsed to the ground, its body charred black, leaving only a wisp of smoke rising into the air.
"Uncle is amazing!" Han Baibai's eyes lit up, her little fists clenched tightly as she jumped and clapped her hands. "This lightning magic is even more impressive than Mommy described! I want to learn this too, so I can strike anything in one go!"
Daya chimed in, her face flushed red: "Uncle is a celestial master! He's even more powerful than the Thunder God in heaven!"
Silly Daya couldn't remember what to call Han Li, so she just called him along with Han Baibai.
Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, unable to suppress the smugness in his mouth; his usually cool and aloof eyes were now tinged with a hint of pride.
The two little girls watched intently, their cheers rising higher and higher. Han Li, even more excited, crackled with lightning from his fingertips, turning the clearing in the forest into a magic demonstration field.
"Alright, our target is ordinary summoned spirits. We can just kill one or two of these monsters for food."
Han Xiaoliu reluctantly interrupted Han Li's performance, pointing towards the depths of the forest, his tone urging.
Han Li then withdrew his spell, the residual electric light on his fingertips slowly dissipating, his face still bearing the lingering smugness.
The group continued into the forest, and before long, two wild boar summons with short tails appeared on the path ahead, munching on the grass.
Wild Boar (Summoned Spirit)
Rating: 3
"See this? It's like this." Han Xiaoliu pointed at the wild boar, then turned to the two girls and explained, "Killing them will give you spiritual energy, which will allow you to level up quickly."
"Then what are we waiting for? Uncle, hurry up and kill them!" Han Baibai stomped her feet anxiously, her eyes filled with a desire to become stronger. She didn't want to be a useless burden and wanted to become a disciple of Fangcun Mountain to learn thunder magic as soon as possible.
Han Li chuckled and summoned a cyan flying sword. With a flick of his finger, the sword transformed into a streak of light, shooting out like lightning and piercing the throats of the two wild boars in the blink of an eye.
Before the wild boar could even struggle, it vanished in two beams of white light, and several warm, moist spiritual energies flew out from the white light and flowed into everyone's bodies like streams of light.
Han Baibai felt a warm current flow through her body. Her previously empty dantian suddenly had a surge of pure spiritual energy that flowed slowly through her meridians.
"Wow!" Her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands in surprise. "Is this what Daddy meant by leveling up? It's amazing! I feel so much energy again!"
Daya touched her belly, looking bewildered: "I feel warm too, like I've eaten a full meal."
Looking at the two little girls, Han Li smiled again, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the flying sword, as if he was still savoring the emotional value the two little girls had given him.
Target level 10, let's go!