Rune asked the system, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"System, how many soul points do I have?"
[Soul Points: 6867]
When Dovos explained what happened during his breakthrough, Rune realized that, in some way, he had been killing those beasts, which allowed him to collect soul points automatically.
Seeing the number of soul points he had, Rune was completely shocked. Before his breakthrough, he had gathered about 500 soul points.
He expected to have around 2000 now, but the number in front of him was far beyond his expectations.
With so many points, he could now repair and improve his techniques easily, or even buy new ones if he wanted.
"Alright, I can now repair the Moon Steps technique."
Rune opened the shop and saw three options:
Purchase
Upgrade
Repair
Without hesitation, he chose the repair option and selected "Moon Steps" as it was the only technique available for repair.
[Repair cost: 100 soul points]
"Confirm"
As soon as he confirmed, a surge of information flowed into his mind, and he quickly absorbed it.
[You have understood the Moon Steps technique]
Rune checked the description:
[Moon Steps]
[A long time ago, a cultivator spent his entire life watching the moon, dreaming of reaching it. He tried so many times but failed. When he died, the only thing left from his efforts was the "Moon Steps"]
The technique had three stages:
[Stage 1: Increases speed by 25%]
[Stage 2: Increases speed by 50%]
[Stage 3: Increases speed by 75%]
"This is a great technique. It seems that Shu was close to completing the first stage."
Rune remembered Dovos's fight with Shu and thought about how Shu used the technique.
"I wonder how strong it will be after an upgrade?"
Curious, he opened the upgrade section in the shop.
[Upgrade cost: 1000 soul points]
"What? Why is the price double?" Rune was surprised. The cost to upgrade "Moon Steps" was only 500 soul points before repairing it.
"Did the price increase after the repair?"
Rune felt a headache just looking at the price. Of course, it wasn't a real headache—his strong mind made it nearly impossible for him to get one—but he felt the price was a bit high.
After defeating almost all the beasts in the forest, Ron had gained 6000 soul points.
"I should check the shop before upgrading this technique."
He opened the purchase section.
The moment he did, he was stunned. Thousands of techniques and cultivation methods appeared before him, seemingly endless.
"The system truly knows everything," Rune sighed as he browsed.
He noticed that none of the techniques exceeded stage three. Most were stage two, with a few low-level stage three techniques.
Techniques were divided into three levels:
Low
Medium
High
There was also a special level, but it was extremely rare.
"Moon Steps" was in the low level of stage three.
"Why is it so expensive?"
Even though he had almost 7000 soul points, he couldn't see any techniques beyond low-level stage three.
That meant he still hadn't gathered enough soul points to unlock higher-level techniques in the shop.
He quickly noticed that Technique prices was
Rank one: 300 - 900 soul points
Rank two: 1000 - 5000 soul points
Rank three: Starts at 5500 soul points
Cultivation ways were slightly cheaper, but still expensive.
This meant upgrading "Moon Steps" was actually a good deal.
Clenching his teeth, Rune decided to upgrade the technique instead of buying a new one.
Immediately, his soul points dropped to 5767, while a large amount of information rushed into his mind.
[You have understood the "One Step to the Moon" technique.]
Rune checked the system screen to see the details.
[One Step to the Moon]
[All it takes is a single step to reach the moon]
"The system is less poetic now" Ron thought as he continued reading.
The technique now had four stages instead of three:
[Stage 1: Increases speed by 25%]
[Stage 2: Increases speed by 50%]
[Stage 3: Increases speed by 75%]
[Stage 4: Increases speed by 100%]
[Each time the user completes a stage, there is a chance to gain a special ability]
Adding a fourth stage was a great benefit, but the chance to gain a special ability was completely unexpected.
Gaining a special ability after understanding a technique was usually exclusive to special-level techniques. That's why they were named that way.
Even though it was just a chance and not guaranteed, it was still an amazing opportunity.
"It looks like the name changed a bit, and the technique's stage increased too."
Rune noticed that the technique was now in the high level of stage three.
"Well, this investment was worth it, but understanding this technique took longer than before."
If any other cultivator heard Rune say that, they would cough up blood immediately.
Understanding a stage three technique in just a few minutes was incredible!
Normally, a cultivator at the third stage would need months to understand such a technique. Not mentioning that Rune was still in the first stage, making it even more astonishing.
"Let's start practicing it right away."
All techniques worked by guiding energy through specific points in a certain amount and order, producing special effects.
This was known as a technique.
A cultivator had to practice carefully to get used to it, then use it in battles without making mistakes.
If they failed to activate a technique properly, they could suffer serious injuries, which was dangerous in combat.
Rune continued his initial practice of "One Step to the Moon."
His training was a bit different from normal cultivators due to the unique nature of his energy pathways.
He started exploring how to maximize his unique pathways.
After two hours, thanks to his unmatched comprehension, Rune figured out how to perfectly practice the technique, using every inch of his pathways.
This paved the way for any future techniques he wanted to learn.
All he had to do was find the key points of the technique and adapt them to include all his energy pathways. Of course, this would save him a lot of time.
Rune continued practicing it for some time until he got used to it, then he shifted his focus to something else.
He was thinking about three things:
First, why was he able to attract such a massive amount of spiritual energy?
Second, why did the beasts attack him so fiercely, even to the point of sacrificing their lives?
And finally, what the hell were those blue bands??
Rune asked the system about these blue bands, but as usual, it didn't respond.
He felt that, in some way, they were a technique related to his mysterious bloodline.
As for the drastic climate change, the intense suppression, and the overwhelming amount of energy, they could also be connected to his bloodline in one way or another.
Rune wanted to uncover the truth about this terrifying bloodline and understand its true capabilities.
As for the beasts, it was obvious that during his breakthrough, he had turned into a flame of delicious energy for them. How could they resist such a temptation?
"The temptation was indeed strong, but not to the point of making the beasts go mad and throw away their lives."
Despite thinking about it, he decided to postpone it and focus on something else.
He wanted to invest his remaining soul points and turn them into his own strength.
The best way to do this was to buy a suitable defensive technique.
A cultivator is not measured by the strength of their spiritual energy alone but also by the power of their techniques and combat skills.
Rune opened the store and started browsing defensive techniques of mid-level second stage, as these were the only options he could afford before becoming broke.
Soon, he found a good defensive technique and bought it immediately, reducing his soul points to only 1,067. He was poor again… well, not too poor.
Information about the technique flowed into his mind instantly.
[You have learned the "Dragon Crocodile Scales" technique]
[Congratulations! You have chosen to turn into half a crocodile. Well, maybe not exactly, but don't worry, you won't need a swamp to live in]
This technique had no stages. Once activated, the user's skin would harden, becoming like the scales of a Dragon Crocodile.
The Dragon Crocodile was a swamp beast. Upon reaching maturity, it grew to the size of a tank, with green scales stained with black, strong enough that even a cultivator at the peak of the second stage would struggle to break its defense.
Rune knew this information because the system provided him with details about the technique's origins when he purchased it.
After several hours, Rune stopped practicing "One Step to the Moon" and began practicing "Dragon Crocodile Scales."
He had already mastered the energy circulation for "One Step to the Moon," so he could only improve by training or using it in real battles.
However, he could increase his mastery of "Dragon Crocodile Scales" at any time.
All he needed to do was practice circulating his energy, which would strengthen his defense with every second.
This time, it took Rune some effort to find the best way to utilize his pathways again, but he was much faster than before.
He felt a strange feeling gowing through his body, sticking to his skin like a solid layer before becoming part of him.
For a moment, he felt as if his skin was being reshaped. He let out a light sigh, and the system commented:
[If you start craving raw meat, that's not my problem]
"Ugh, can you stop with the jokes?"
[I'll try]
Time passed quickly, and soon, the next day arrived…