He went into the section selling cultivation arts and clicked on the ones suitable for people in the zero realm, filtering those at D-Grade and above. Very soon, the webpage showed him a plethora of cultivation arts.
[Improved Compulsory Education Cultivation Art], [Basic Chaos Cultivation Art], [Attributeless Basic Cultivation]...
These were all cultivation arts suitable for those in the zero realm, with their grades being at 'D'. They provided roughly an 8x increase in cultivation speed.
There were minute differences between them, and their prices were based on the differences.
"Each of them requires $30,000 at the very least. How expensive."
Lin Chang`an sighed.
In this world, everything required either money or authority. The price was basically already marked.
The basic cultivation arts in the zero realm were geared to many different attributes. This was equal to preparing to forge a special-attribute physique and spirit sea. However, Lin Chang`an was completely clueless about such things.
In reality, the vast majority of people wouldn't be able to break through to the first realm in their entire lives. Those who could do so would do their best to choose a cultivation art that matched their attributes.
By doing so, they would be able to display greater strength against their peers in the same cultivation level, and it would be easier for them to find a high-paying job.
He looked at these cultivation arts and wanted to activate the simulation.
He didn't know which art he was suitable for. Should he choose an attributeless one or the one with an attribute? He naturally wanted to check things through simulations so he could be more confident.
"Although $10,000 per simulation is expensive, it's worth it."
After all, this was his foundation. He couldn't allow any mishap to happen.
[Simulation starts!]
[You chose a cultivation art. After some hesitation, you decided to choose the most expensive one.]
[The delivery service arrived immediately, and the book seemed shining and resplendent.]
[This was the first time you saw a cultivation method other than the [Compulsory Education Cultivation Art], hence you felt somewhat excited.]
[You started reading and finally understood the content one month later.]
[You then began to cultivate. Killing intent was now concealed within your qi and blood.]
[Very soon, you reached your limit at 1,736 qi and blood value and couldn't raise it further. You then attempted to open up your spirit sea.]
[You failed the first time.]
[You also failed the second time.]
[You got retained.]
[During the third time, you finally succeeded in opening up the spirit sea. Your spirit sea contained killing intent, and your spirit qi might was 1.4x that of ordinary people.]
[You rejected Chu Li's invitation and joined the Giant Ax Association, a huge company rated B-grade.]
[In the company, you were like a fish in water and were called a genius. Your big boss, He Duanwen, valued you highly.]
[In the company, there would frequently be newly joined female staff looking for you, hoping that you could help them to clear their missions. They were willing to pay any price.]
[Very soon, your fame grew.]
[A male staff who newly joined the company also hoped you could bring him to clear missions, and he was also willing to pay any price.]
[Your cultivation was almost at the point of stagnation. Given your talent, you found it hard to develop your special killing-attributed spirit sea any further.]
[You wanted to change and cultivate another attribute, but you were unwilling to give up on your current lifestyle and job.]
[The most beautiful batch of ladies from the company pressed their chests on your back and blew air into your ears.]
["Forget it, even if I changed a cultivation method, it might not be suitable for me." You thought this to yourself.]
[It had already been very long since you improved.]
[No one expected that you, who opened your spirit sea at age 23, actually failed to enter the second realm despite already being 32 years old. Hence, you began to get marginalized.]
[At age 32, you died during a mission.]
Lin Chang`an regained his senses and shook his head.
This cultivation art was clearly not suitable for him. He was unable to improve after reaching 1,736 qi and blood value, and he was still a distance away from the upper limit of 2,000.
In addition, he had to try three times before he succeeded in opening his spirit sea. Clearly, the compatibility was low.
After stepping into the first realm, it seemed that it was impossible for him to improve any further.
[The simulation has ended, please choose one of the rewards.]
[One: Strengthened Instinct Talent (B-Grade talent, your instinct is 1.2x more accurate compared to ordinary people.)]
[Two: Cultivation realm at the time of your death (Strength of spirit qi: 1,822. Killing-attribute)]
[Three: Combat experience at the time of your death (Spirit technique: Overflow Slaughter at perfection.)]
[Four: Cultivation insights at the time of your death. (Insights of opening up your spirit sea. Insights in [Basic Killing Cultivation Art].)]
[Five: A partial memory fragment.]
This time around, after he joined a huge company, Lin Chang`an finally learned a spirit technique, and it seemed that the grade of the spirit technique wasn't low.
However, Lin Chang`an didn't choose combat experience but the talent option instead.
As he picked it, he felt his mind becoming clearer. When he looked at the cultivation arts for sale through his mobile phone, he instinctively eliminated many of the choices.
"There are three more which my instincts feel are rather compatible with me…"
Lin Chang`an touched his chin.
He gritted his teeth and chose to simulate again.
[Simulation starts!]
[The three cultivation arts before your eyes were quite compatible with you. You selected the [Spatial Attribute Basic Cultivation Art].]
[You started reading it, and you smoothly comprehended it half a month later.]
[You then began to cultivate and infuse the spatial attribute into your qi and blood.]
[When your qi and blood value stagnated at 1,921, you attempted to open your spirit sea.]
[You succeeded. Your spirit sea was close to three times bigger compared to an ordinary person and when cultivating spatial-type cultivation arts, you could achieve twice the results with half the effort.]
[You then became the star of your academy. Countless female students hoped to become lovers with you.]
[You slowly improved.]
[As the toughest law to cultivate, your progress was naturally incomparably slow despite your affinity with it.]
[However, as an elite graduate, you were recommended to enter an S-Grade Academy to further your studies.]
[Your progress grew slower and slower.]
[Very soon, you were told to leave.]
[Through passing the civil service examination, you joined a research institute and became a researcher. You were responsible for deciphering the spatial structure of dungeons.]
[You continuously cultivated, but your improvement grew slower and slower. You felt that your comprehension abilities were growing increasingly insufficient.]
[The spatial element was clearly compatible with you, but you had no way to comprehend it further.]
[Moreover, you couldn't recultivate because you would lose your job.]
[You then took the initiative to volunteer yourself for missions, and you kept delving into dungeons, hoping that you could improve your mastery of the spatial element.]
[At age 28, when you were deciphering a B-Grade dungeon, you accidentally discovered that the spatial cracks kept expanding. You fell into one of them and got killed before you managed to see your surroundings clearly.]
Lin Chang`an woke up from the simulation.
It seemed that although the spatial attribute suited him, the difficulty was too high and his comprehension talent was not enough.
This time around, the talent Strengthened Instinct also appeared as one of the rewards.
Lin Chang`an didn't hesitate and directly picked it.
"Your instinct is 1.44x better than ordinary people."
He stared at his phone and could be sure which one he wanted to choose now.
After his instincts got strengthened again, he no longer hesitated.
He clicked the [Pure Yang Basic Cultivation Art] and the introduction appeared. He then selected the option to purchase it.
The simulation could help him gain cultivation insights, but these insights were merely fragmented understandings. It might be able to help him elevate the insights he already had, but it couldn't aid him in understanding insights that he had no concept of from the start.
All cultivation arts and methods had 'intent' hidden within. This 'intent' wasn't something that could be duplicated by any casual person.
Usually, only those who had thoroughly understood the cultivation art could write it out into a book. Moreover, each of the words written was filled with a certain charm.
Only by flipping open the pages would someone else be able to sense the true meaning contained inside the words.
And memory fragments would only show him scenes but couldn't copy the charm of the words. In addition, the partial memory fragment was simply too fragmented.
So, if he really wanted to learn the cultivation art, he could only choose to purchase it.
"This is just a fragmented copy found in an A-Grade dungeon over 100 years ago. It actually cost $40,000." Lin Chang`an felt that his heart was dripping blood.
If it was not a fragmented book, the price definitely wouldn't be merely this.
Only $60,000 remained from his $120,000 earlier after purchasing the cultivation art and undergoing two simulations.
"Spending money is like flowing water."
Before he could feel rueful, the doorbell rang.
Lin Chang`an opened the door, and an auto-pilot drone carrying an exquisite metal box appeared. This was the delivery speed in this world; it was freaking fast.
"Please scan your identity info."
Lin Chang`an followed the instructions. A bright light then flashed. "Scanning successful."
The exquisite-looking metal box instantly fell into his hands, and the drone swiftly flew through the air, vanishing into the distance.
Lin Chang`an then carried the metal box and returned to his room. After opening it, a book shining with golden light appeared before his eyes.
The cover was tattered, and it was a perfect copy of the original. Every trace in the book was the exact same as the original book found in the dungeon.
However, this wasn't the complete version. There were also methods pertaining to the second-realm and third-realm. However, Lin Chang`an couldn't afford them.
After flipping the first page open, Lin Chang`an immediately felt attracted.
This cultivation art seemed innately compatible with him. Once he read through them, he immediately gained several insights.
A feeling of vastness flowed forth and the entire book trembled, revealing the true essence of this art!
But at this moment, Chu Li who had changed her clothes called out to him. "Oi, are you cultivating?"
"You said that you would change to a new set of clothes, but you are wearing pajamas?" Lin Chang`an stared ahead.
The pajamas were loose-fitting and looked extremely soft to the touch. It was as though they weighed nothing.
As Chu Li went down the stairs, her chest began to bounce.
And the pants for these pajamas were clearly too short, so short that it seemed they were hidden inside the shirt.
It almost felt like she wasn't wearing pants at all.
"What's the matter? I naturally have to wear more comfortable things in my own home," said Chu Li in a manner as if it should be by right. "Oh, I'm actually a little hungry."
"And then?"
"You are a chef, right? Go and make some food." As she spoke, Chu Li revealed a pitiful expression.
"Do you have [Common Knowledge on Cultivation] and [History of Spirit Qi] here?"
"Yup, why?"
"Show them to me."
"In that case, go and cook a meal for me!"