Chapter 7

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Han's figure turned into a blur, darting through the courtyard, each step landing precisely on the footprints he had left before, without the slightest deviation.

"Congratulations, your 'Ghost Steps' proficiency has increased!"

"Congratulations, your 'Ghost Steps' has leveled up!"

A voice from the system sounded in his mind, and a smile crept onto Jiang Han's tired face. Finally, it leveled up!

For the past five days, Jiang Han had been working on improving the proficiency of his Ghost Steps. He was exhausted every day, as tired as a dog, only stopping when he was completely drained. His mother had seen all of this, feeling both proud and heartbroken for her diligent son. However, she didn't say anything because she knew her son was fighting for her and for their future!

All she could do was prepare some good food and serve it to Jiang Han when he was hungry.

"I wonder what changes the upgraded 'Ghost Steps' will bring." Jiang Han thought, and the attributes of the Ghost Steps appeared in his mind.

[Ghost Steps (Incomplete)] (Martial Skill)

Proficiency: 0/100,000 (Level 2)

Description: A martial skill from the world of wuxia, named for its ghostly, elusive movements. Originally a Legendary-level skill, it has been reduced to Gold level due to its incompleteness.

Level: Gold

Looking at the five zeros after the one, Jiang Han felt a deep sense of frustration. Was this going to kill him? Jiang Han really wanted to ask the system.

"I wonder what changes the first level of Ghost Steps will bring." The previous Ghost Steps didn't even count as the first level; it only reached the first level after the upgrade.

Jiang Han moved his feet, and the steps unfolded. In an instant, his figure was at the end of the courtyard, leaving a series of afterimages behind him, which slowly faded after about three breaths.

"Is this the effect of the upgrade?" Jiang Han smacked his lips. This ability might seem like a minor improvement, but it could be quite useful in certain situations. His speed had increased significantly, and overall, it was pretty good.

"The only downside is the high consumption..." For such a short distance, Jiang Han felt that he had used up about one-tenth of his true essence! In a life-or-death battle, running out of true essence would be a serious matter!

However, what slightly reassured him was that he could still use the Ghost Steps from before the upgrade, in addition to the first level.

He habitually opened the system and looked for items in the Black Iron category that might be useful to him. This had become his only way to relax over the past few days.

"Hmm, a storage bag, only five spaces, that's so few..." This was from the cultivation world.

"This... a first-level magic scroll, the power seems a bit low, and it wouldn't be very useful even if I exchanged it." This was from the magic world.

"Ha, a pistol, it might not do much damage to high-level martial artists, but it's good for scaring people... Yeah, maybe it could work for an ambush!" This was from the mechanical world.

"Grass Walking... a lightness skill, it's the worst, but it's still a lightness skill..." Jiang Han really wanted to exchange the Grass Walking skill from the wuxia world, but he lacked the resources, so he could only sigh to the sky.

Speaking of lightness skills, as a Chinese person, Jiang Han was naturally very interested in them. Watching the characters in wuxia TV shows fly around, he was always envious... Of course, martial artists in the Heavenly Martial Continent could also fly, but that required reaching the Martial King realm. Below that, they could only briefly hover in the air, which was fundamentally different from flying!

Exchanging the Grass Walking skill, the worst lightness skill, would cost 100 Dream Coins. According to Jiang Han's calculations, 100 Dream Coins would be equivalent to at least a thousand gold coins in the Heavenly Martial Continent.

And Jiang Han didn't even have a single gold coin...

"Ah, being poor..." This was a phrase Jiang Han always said after looking at the items in the system.

However, he still had one unspent draw chance, but he always had a feeling that if he drew, he would get a "Thank You for Your Support." This feeling was baseless, but it was strong.

"All those scammy lotteries on Earth have really messed me up..." Jiang Han sighed, thinking back to when he used to fantasize about winning lotteries on Earth, but always ended up with a "Thank You for Your Support."

After hesitating for a long time, Jiang Han still didn't click the "Draw" button. He was too afraid to!

"Whatever, I don't really need anything right now, so I'll save it!" Jiang Han consoled himself.

"Ah, cultivation..." After closing the system, Jiang Han sat in a daze for a while, realizing that he had nothing to do except cultivate.

Sitting cross-legged, Jiang Han formed strange hand seals and slowly closed his eyes.

Soon, a faint cold aura began to emanate from Jiang Han's body, and the surrounding air condensed into frost, covering him. His face turned pale, and at first glance, he looked like a frozen corpse.

[Ice Soul Technique] (Cultivation Technique)

Proficiency: 16/1000 (Level 2)

Description: A cultivation technique from the cultivation world, an ice attribute technique. When fully mastered, it can freeze thousands of miles. However, it is said that even the creator of this technique never fully mastered it, for unknown reasons.

Level: Gold

Seeing the proficiency, Jiang Han felt speechless.

Unlike the Ghost Steps, the Ice Soul Technique started at the first level when learned, and the proficiency required to reach the second level was much lower than that of the Ghost Steps.

The proficiency required to go from the first to the second level of Ghost Steps was 100,000, while the Ice Soul Technique only required 1,000. The difference was obvious.

Jiang Han guessed this was because the Ghost Steps were originally a Legendary-level martial skill.

"However, the proficiency increase for the Ice Soul Technique is really slow." Jiang Han complained.

The Ghost Steps had increased by 1,000 proficiency points in five days, but the Ice Soul Technique had only increased by 16 points!

Of course, this was due to the difference between martial skills and cultivation techniques. Martial skills could be practiced continuously, but cultivation techniques could only be cultivated slowly.

Cultivators at the Martial Disciple realm couldn't inspect their internal state, so Jiang Han had to follow the cultivation method step by step.

"Congratulations, your 'Ice Soul Technique' proficiency has increased!"

As the system's voice sounded, the frost on Jiang Han's body began to retract, merging into his body.

"Whoosh." He exhaled a white cold breath, and the pallor on his face gradually faded, returning to a healthy red.

Reaching out, he condensed a ball of cold air and noticed that with each increase in proficiency, the coldness of the air increased slightly... but only slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"It seems that there won't be much effect until the proficiency increases by a hundred or two hundred points!" Jiang Han muttered to himself, but then he smiled bitterly, "But the proficiency is really hard to increase. Ten full cycles of cultivation only increase it by one point."

This was different from the Ghost Steps. Cultivation involved the meridians, and a single mistake could lead to disaster. Therefore, the time Jiang Han needed to complete one cycle of cultivation was much longer than walking the Ghost Steps dozens of times!

Doing anything well is not easy!

Jiang Han sighed, knowing that cultivation required patience. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as the legendary experts who meditated for years, it still required a calm and undisturbed mind.

"Take it slow." Jiang Han took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and continued to circulate his cultivation.

Even though he desperately wanted to become strong and find a way home, he knew that there was no such thing as an overnight success!

...

As the sky grew dark, Jiang Han, sitting in the room, suddenly retracted the cold aura from his body, and his eyes opened, like cold lightning flashing.

"I actually broke through..."

Jiang Han's face showed a strange expression. Unconsciously, his cultivation had advanced to the Sixth Rank Martial Disciple. There was no significant change in his body, but his true essence had become more substantial.

"The difference is really great!" Jiang Han smacked his lips. He had started cultivating at the age of 12 and was now 17, having spent five years to reach the Fifth Rank Martial Disciple. His last breakthrough was two months ago, and if things continued as before, it would take at least a year to break through again!

His mind stirred, and the information of the Ice Soul Technique appeared in his mind.

[Ice Soul Technique] (Cultivation Technique)

Proficiency: 30/1000

Description: A cultivation technique from the cultivation world, an ice attribute technique. When fully mastered, it can freeze thousands of miles. However, it is said that even the creator of this technique never fully mastered it, for unknown reasons.

Level: Gold

Looking at the proficiency, Jiang Han felt extremely frustrated. When would he reach the next level?

At this rate, it would take at least half a year, and that was the minimum! And this was assuming he spent a lot of time on the Ice Soul Technique every day!

"Fortunately, I have the laser sword. Otherwise, relying solely on the Ice Soul Technique, I wouldn't even be able to protect myself, let alone venture out!"

The laser sword was now Jiang Han's lifeline. He couldn't stay here forever and planned to go out for training after some time.

How could he stay in a small city in a world of passionate martial arts?

The vast world outside was Jiang Han's true domain!

His mind was filled with thoughts of the unknown future, and he didn't know if he could ever return to Earth. The only thing he could do was to strive hard.

He sighed softly, lying down on the bed. The moonlight shone through the window, and Jiang Han gazed at the half-moon, his eyes filled with longing and nostalgia.

I wonder if the moon here is the same as the moon on Earth...

"Maybe... we are looking at the same moon." Jiang Han's expression was peaceful as he closed his eyes.

"Good night... sweet dreams." He whispered softly, not knowing to whom he was speaking.