Chapter 49: Not as Helpless

Chapter 49: Not as Helpless

[-5 Spiritual Energy]

[Side Quest Completed | Learn the Martial Skill - Earth-Shaking Stomp]

[+500 XP]

[Level up! | 5 stat points added]

William grinned widely as the ground rumbled, cracks spreading from where he stomped his foot from successfully using Earth-Shaking Stomp. After he learned Thunderous Palm, the following two skills were ridiculously easy to learn.

It certainly helped that all the steps were the same except where he had to direct the Qi, and William could do that with hardly any effort. Of course, this time, he made sure to keep the level of his Qi stable to avoid any backlash.

"You're a natural, Junior Brother!" Lan Yin sounded proud at his relatively minor achievement, "Now, why don't you try a few attacks on the target the array provided? I sense that you still have some spiritual energy to spare."

Lan Yin was right about that. William eyed that part of his status screen.

Spiritual Energy: 10/30 (20% per Hour)

Every skill taking five Spiritual Energy when William used them gave him two more attacks. Of course, he received the five extra stat points for leveling up, but he had no intention of adding them to his Spirit carelessly. He had already made that mistake before, and it was too soon to repeat it.

Besides, how was he supposed to explain to Lan Yin how his Spiritual Energy surged in capacity seemingly without reason?

"If you can catch an enemy by surprise, an attack to a vital point of the body will be fatal as long as the enemy is in the same realm. Set the target to the peak of the first Qi Gathering Realm and aim for the back of the head. Let's see how effective your martial skills are."

"Yes, Senior Sister," William nodded as the faceless man provided by the array slowly turned around to face away from him, "... So I won't be attacked in retaliation? I don't think I can fight somebody at that level."

"The array can only provide a target to test your attack's strength. Fighting experience is far beyond its capabilities."

William nodded at the reassurance from Lan Yin's disembodied voice. It felt odd walking up to the target casually as he prepared to attack it with full force, especially since the target didn't seem any different from an ordinary person from the back. The comfort of seeing the faceless head couldn't apply since, well, the target wasn't facing him.

When he was within range, William circulated his Qi and focused it in his palm, immediately recognizing a problem. If this was actual combat, no enemy would wait patiently for him to prepare to focus his Qi so he could attack. It would have to be near instantaneous instead of the second or so wait it currently took.

[-5 Spiritual Energy]

[-25 HP]

William flinched at the sharp pain as his palm landed on the back of the target's head, making it stumble forward like a dazed human before standing straight again with no visible damage. That made sense since he most likely damaged himself more when he lost his concentration the moment his palm touched the target's head, causing his Qi to destabilize.

"Again, Junior Brother!" Lan Yin commanded.

William nodded firmly and readied the attack again. It was disappointing that something like his palm meeting its target could destabilize his Qi, but repetition was key. It would be the foundation for more complex moves he would learn in the future.

He grunted as he thrust his palm toward the target's head the second time.

[-5 Spiritual Energy]

This time, there was no self-harm, and the attack was successful. Too successful.

Health: 750/1000

Spiritual Energy: 0/30 (20% per Hour)

Spirit: 8 (6)

Strength: 20 (16)

Stamina: 10 (8)

Agility: 20 (16)

Luck: 30 (24)

Points: 5

Traits:

Soul Damage (Minor) - 19% Attribute Reduction

Main Quests:

Perfect your Soul! (Reach Level 100 to enable the system to upgrade your soul to the peak state)

Side Quests (5):

1. Visit Jade Healing Clinic 2-3 times a week (Repeatable)

2. Help Wang Xiaoling sell spirit fruits

3. Mission: Investigating Strange Occurrences

It had been a while since he had paid attention to his full status screen since it was becoming a little unwieldy. But he saw something that made his lips twitch in irritation.

He had completely forgotten about the side quest he had gotten for selling Wang Xiaoling's spirit fruits. It was understandable on his part since he had pretty much died from foolishly being too much of a genius for his own good. Still, there was no way Wang Xiaoling would have forgotten about it.

That miser remembered every Copper she earned, so how could she possibly forget? It was more likely that she was hoping it had slipped his mind so she could save a few Silver. William was almost tempted to take back his deal with her to sell the spirit fruits from the Garden.

"Is Wang Xiaoling still at the Clinic?"

"Who?" Lan Yin asked distractedly as she glared at the Thousand Petals, the brothel Prince Yuan was visiting.

"The girl that was with Sister Li," William added as he joined Lan Yin in eyeing the brothel. Surprisingly, there were no signs of anyone exiting to block them like the first time.

"The mortal girl?" Lan Yin huffed as they turned onto the packed main street, "How should I know?"

William supposed it was a stupid question to ask her. He would find out soon anyway.