Chapter 21

After the upgrade.

Lin Fei couldn't hide his joy and immediately opened the upgrade system to check his attributes.

"Player: Lin Fei."

"Level: Wu Dao Fifth Heaven."

"Experience to next level: 21/300,000"

"Martial Arts: Swordsmanship: 'One Cut, Two Slices' Expert Level, 'Indestructible Body' Intermediate Level. 'Nine Transformations Heart Method' Fourth Level, 'Eight Directions Fist' Expert Level. 'Jade Shattering Hand' Intermediate Level."

"Combat Skills: None!"

"Treasures: None!"

"Divine Abilities: None!"

"Quest: Unknown Level Quest (Incomplete)."

"System Evaluation: Congratulations, Lin Fei, you have taken another important step. Keep up the good work and strive to upgrade."

Seeing the system's evaluation, Lin Fei was no longer surprised; at least it sounded better than before.

"Damn, 300,000 experience?"

Lin Fei's eyes widened, thinking he had seen wrong. How did the experience needed for the next level become 300,000, which was 200,000 more than the previous level? He was startled.

Subconsciously, he grabbed a third-stage beast, the Jungle Leopard, and killed it.

"Killing a third-stage Jungle Leopard, gained 20 experience points."

Lin Fei frowned and smiled bitterly, "Just like in online games, the higher the character level, the less experience gained!"

Unwilling to accept it, he tried killing a second-stage beast, the Pine Mouse, and gained 15 experience points, which was half the previous amount, just like in online games.

"The experience from beasts has indeed decreased. To reach 300,000 experience, I would need to kill tens of thousands of low-level beasts. The Divine Martial Sect can't possibly have that many beasts. I need to find a new place to level up!"

He had been thinking about how to kill low-level beasts to reach the Wu Dao Ninth Heaven, but now he realized it was wishful thinking. Lin Fei couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Even daydreams seemed unreliable.

...

Under the midday sun, on the shaded path leading to the bounty area, an out-of-place sound echoed.

"Damn, isn't that the crazy Lin Fei?"

"What, what, the Lin Fei who practices the waste Heart Method? I didn't hear wrong, did I?"

"Shh! Shh! Keep your voices down. Lin Fei is not the same as before. If you say such things, be careful. Remember Zhang Fenglang's lesson!"

"Damn, almost forgot. Lin Fei now has the Nine Transformations Mystic Qi, which we low-level disciples can't bully."

"That crazy Lin Fei, instead of practicing, why is he heading to the bounty area?"

"Shut up, let's go. Be careful what you say!"

...

On the shaded path.

Outer Sect disciples came and went, as this path led to the Divine Martial Sect's bounty area.

At this moment, the disciples who were chatting and laughing quickly left when they saw someone, as if they had encountered a great demon, not daring to stay for a moment.

"Damn, why are you running? I don't eat people!"

When Lin Fei, dressed in a green robe, appeared, he watched the outer sect disciples quickly leave, touching his nose and couldn't help but laugh, feeling particularly good.

"I guess the label of being crazy won't be removed anytime soon."

After advancing to Wu Dao Fifth Heaven, Lin Fei spent three days mastering the control of Mystic Qi in a bundle. With the monthly competition not yet starting, he decided to head to the bounty area to find a suitable task.

...

The bounty area.

A unique place in the Divine Martial Sect.

To put it simply, by completing bounty tasks issued by the Divine Martial Sect, one can earn merit points, which can be used to obtain various Mystic Arts, weapons, and items from the Divine Martial Sect.

Bounty tasks have always been popular among Divine Martial Sect disciples, regardless of their level.

"Bounty area, I hope it doesn't disappoint!"

Looking at the three large characters at the entrance, Lin Fei shook his head and stepped into the bounty area building.

As mentioned earlier, after advancing in strength, low-level beasts could no longer satisfy the need for leveling up. After some searching, Lin Fei found a way to improve his strength.

Bounty tasks, hunting beasts, and earning merit points.

In the bounty area hall.

When Lin Fei entered, he was surprised to find the entire bounty hall bustling with people. Outer Sect disciples came and went, all for the bounty tasks.

The bounty hall was like an auction house.

Various bounty tasks were hung on a long, rectangular wooden board, fluttering like colorful flags, very eye-catching.

...

"Quick, quick, isn't that Senior Brother Yang Tian? I didn't expect him to really kill the seventh-stage Blood Iron Crocodile. The Blood Iron Crocodile's skin is worth 20,000 silver taels!"

"What's the big deal? It's just a seventh-stage Blood Iron Crocodile. Yesterday, Senior Brother Meng Tian personally picked a Seven-Colored Flower from the Black Water Mountains, worth 30,000 silver taels."

"No way, the Seven-Colored Flower appears in the Fengyue Lake, where beasts gather. Senior Brother Meng Tian, truly a Wu Dao Seventh Heaven expert, can pick the Seven-Colored Flower."

...

Lin Fei stood in the bounty hall.

Various boastful voices reached his ears, all about the bounty tasks. There were countless tasks, ranging from easy to difficult, making it hard to choose.

"One-star task: Go to Black Mountain and find ten Red Heart Stones. Reward: 10 merit points, 100 silver taels."

"One-star task: Go to the Snow Mountain and kill Snow Beasts, obtain twenty Snow Beast skins. Reward: 50 merit points, 1,000 silver taels."

"Two-star task: Go to the Black Water Mountains and bring back a fifth-stage beast cub. Reward: 200 merit points, 2,000 silver taels."

"Three-star task: Go to the Black Water Mountains and kill Blood Iron Crocodiles, obtain fifty Blood Iron Crocodile skins. Reward: 500 merit points, 10,000 silver taels."

...

In the bounty area, various bounty tasks were abundant.

Among the tasks, one-star tasks were the lowest and had the highest completion rate, suitable for low-level martial artists like Wu Dao Fourth Heaven. Nine-star tasks were the highest, and even inner sect disciples had to be cautious and dare not take them lightly.

"Indeed, I came to the right place."

Lin Fei was overjoyed. The bounty area was just right for him.

Since the experience from killing low-level beasts had decreased, Lin Fei had been thinking about how to speed up his leveling. The slaughterhouse only had low-level beasts, from first to third stage, which were not suitable for leveling up.

It took about ten days to advance from Wu Dao Fourth Heaven to Wu Dao Fifth Heaven. With the experience requirement now doubled, he didn't know when he would be able to level up.

Lin Fei didn't want to waste time and, after some thought, decided on a place.

Black Water Mountains!

This place entered Lin Fei's vision.

The Black Water Mountains were a land of beasts, with a large number of high and low-level beasts living there.

Lin Fei planned to go into seclusion and come to the bounty task area to learn about the Black Water Mountains, while also earning some extra money to buy Mystic Arts and martial techniques.

Although the upgrade rewards provided a lot of silver, it was still far from enough to buy Mystic Arts and secret manuals.

Bounty tasks were undoubtedly a good way out.