Chapter 122: The Jin-Yuan Offensive and Qin Gong

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By early November, Yang Tang, having joined Xiaoyao Valley for over two months, began to scatter his wealth.

First, he gifted two million coins to Wu Xiazi. The old man’s favor toward Yang Tang immediately hit its maximum value; as long as Yang Tang didn't commit murder, arson, rape, or pillage, the old man was happy to turn a blind eye to whatever he did.

Shortly after, the eldest disciple Gu Yuexuan, the second disciple Jing Ji, and the loyal servant Old Hu each received a small token of one million coins from Yang Tang.

The next day, Yang Tang summoned Gu Yuexuan, Jing Ji, and Old Hu to his room.

As soon as Jing Ji sat down, he blurted out, "What do you want, kid? Say it quickly, I'm busy!"

"Don't be so impatient, Second Senior Brother. I have a favor to ask of you all." With that, Yang Tang brought out three boxes and placed them in front of Gu Yuexuan, Jing Ji, and Old Hu respectively.

Gu Yuexuan opened his box to find another million coins. His expression shifted slightly. "Junior Brother, what is the meaning of this?"

"Nothing much, Eldest Senior Brother. I simply want to ask you three to use these funds to help me purchase some items."

"Purchase what?" Jing Ji asked.

"Millennial and ten-thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, snake gall, tiger penis, bear gall, velvet antler, rainbow carp, divine fish, and various aged spirits. As long as it increases Qi, blood, or internal energy, I am not picky." Yang Tang laid his intentions out without reservation.

Jing Ji curled his lip. "Ambitious, but why do you think we would agree?"

"Second Senior Brother, you, Eldest Senior Brother, and Old Hu—surely your cultivation has stagnated over the past two years, right?" Yang Tang said with composure. "The things I want to buy have little effect on you, so why not help me out? If my martial arts improve and my combat power rises, it effectively increases the overall strength of our Xiaoyao Valley!"

"Pfft!" Jing Ji sneered.

"Besides, Second Senior Brother, you are always traveling about; you need money, don't you? Of this million-coin budget, I only need five hundred thousand worth of goods. This way, if you come across any treasures you like, you won't be short on funds!"

"Hmph, I suppose you have a point. I'll take the money." Jing Ji picked up the money box and walked out. He had been the one mocking Yang Tang the most, yet he was the first to be persuaded.

Seeing this, Gu Yuexuan and Old Hu exchanged glances and, without further ado, picked up their boxes and followed suit.

At that moment, Yang Tang added, "Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother, Uncle Hu, the money I gave you is for the whole year. Come back and collect the next batch at this time next year!"

The three almost tripped over their own feet upon hearing this, but they tacitly chose not to ask where Yang Tang’s money came from.

In the days that followed, Yang Tang began to diligently practice the six basic skills. The rest of the time was spent following the walkthroughs he remembered from playing the game: whenever there was a mission that boosted Qi, blood, internal energy, attack, or defense, he would complete it. At the same time, he deliberately sought out the two beauties among the Seven Sages of Wangyou, Huachi and Xianyin.

Once his basic skills were sufficiently developed, Wu Xiazi taught Yang Tang the "Small Formless Technique." One must know that for any internal art, every time one reaches a new level of depth, it increases Qi, blood, and internal energy by dozens to hundreds of points, and boosts attack and defense by several to over a dozen points. Once the tenth level is reached, the improvement is truly impressive!

Yang Tang had previously learned the Golden Goose Technique, the Shaolin Nine Yang Technique, and the Xiaoyao Heart Sutra. The Small Formless Technique was his fourth internal art, and through focused cultivation, he reached the fourth level in half a month.

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Day of the second year, and Yang Tang had been in Xiaoyao Valley for nearly half a year. By the end of February, Gu Yuexuan, Jing Ji, and Yang Tang were sent to Luoyang to celebrate the birthday of the Heluo hero, Jiang Tianxiong.

In Luoyang, Yang Tang not only met many martial arts figures but also completed several missions and engaged in formal combat. Each victory rewarded him with up to 9 points of Qi and blood, 6 points of internal energy, and 4 points each of attack and defense, increasing his stats significantly.

When he returned to Xiaoyao Valley, Yang Tang’s strength was already quite impressive: his Qi, blood, and internal energy were all over 3,700; his attack power was 202, defense 281; martial arts 166, real combat experience 152, and comprehension 97. His basic attributes—lightness, hardness, softness, hearing, and sight—had all reached the maximum of 120, and his internal arts were also fully maxed out at 100.

By the end of April in the second year, thanks to consuming snake gall, bear gall, and fish, Yang Tang’s Qi, blood, and internal energy had all broken through the 5,000 mark. This was only possible in a dream or a game; if it were the real world, he wouldn't be able to absorb it at all—he'd be lucky not to be sickened to death.

By May, Yang Tang, having achieved moderate success in his training, frequently visited Wangyou Valley. However, he didn't seek anyone else out, focusing solely on the two beauties among the Seven Sages: Huachi and Xianyin.

One day, after finishing his routine training, Yang Tang wandered to Wangyou Valley. Outside the flower garden, he heard Huachi singing loudly from afar: "A little flower!"

*Good grief, with that kind of vocal power, isn't she on par with old man Wu Xiazi?*

Just as he was about to cover his ears and flee, a sudden enlightenment struck—Huachi unleashed her most soulful voice, and the second of the four perfect voices was collected!

As expected.

Yang Tang covered his face, feeling speechless, but he still approached Huachi to learn floral arts as usual.

Afterward, he went to Xianyin’s residence and followed the steps to learn the art of the zither.

On the way back from Wangyou Valley to Xiaoyao Valley, Yang Tang encountered a venomous snake. He hadn't intended to kill it, but the beast attacked him. Yang Tang’s evasion attribute activated, and after dodging, he was actually dragged into a formal combat scene.

"Great, simply great! It's just as I estimated!"

In fact, Yang Tang had long been wondering if he could engage in random encounters with wild beasts—like bears or large snakes—during his wandering. After all, the dating sim plots had similar events, but he hadn't found a chance to test it. He hadn't expected to run into one today, and it really did trigger a combat scene. This meant that as long as Yang Tang kept up one battle with a beast every day, his stats would inevitably keep climbing.

While Yang Tang was excited, the venomous snake began to spray toxins. When he inhaled them, he felt nauseated and dizzy.

Secretly exclaiming at how powerful it was, Yang Tang used Xianyin’s "Purification" (zero strategy points), and his body felt instantly clear. After dodging another bite from the snake, he began to counterattack. After three or four rounds, he beat the snake to death.

Victory in battle: Qi and blood +9, internal energy +5, attack +2, defense +3!

*Wow, that’s even more than the rewards for sparring with the Eldest and Second Senior Brothers!*

One must know that Yang Tang occasionally sparred with Gu Yuexuan and Jing Ji in Xiaoyao Valley, but the rewards for those victories weren't as high as taking down a venomous snake today. It was truly frustrating, yet he couldn't even bring himself to be angry.

However, this confirmed one thing: combat rewards were completely random and almost unaffected by human intervention.

Most importantly, the maximum reward for a single battle was Qi and blood +9, internal energy +6, attack +4, and defense +4, but in reality, it was impossible to hit the maximum every time. Over ten battles, the average reward per battle was basically Qi and blood +5, internal energy +3, attack +2, and defense +1.5. If he fought one battle a day, thirty battles a month, the accumulated stats would be quite substantial.

Thus, Yang Tang followed a two-day cycle: on the first day, he would practice basic skills or techniques and write a letter to an acquaintance; on the second day, he would go out to fight a beast, then visit Wangyou Valley. Repeating this pattern, in one month, he fought fifteen extra battles, mastered Huachi's floral arts, and naturally made the acquaintance of the beauty Ren Qingxuan.

By the beginning of June, Yang Tang’s Qi, blood, and internal energy had all exceeded 4,000, so he converted 1,000 of each.

"Songs of Sun, Moon, Stars, and Sky."
"Songs of Wind, Rain, Thunder, and Lightning."
"Songs of Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon."
"Songs of Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Happiness."

After another month, Yang Tang finally passed Xianyin’s zither examination and learned from her the three sets of zither techniques: "Sorrow, Joy, Parting, and Reunion," "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon," and "The Four Great Beauties."

Returning to his small hut in Xiaoyao Valley, Yang Tang lay on his bed and asked himself: *Can these zither techniques be solidified into 'Black Evil'?*

"The matching rate between the three zither technique sets and the skill solidification object is 95%. Do you wish to solidify?"

*Why 95%? Shouldn't it be 100%?* Yang Tang asked, surprised.

"A five-string guqin is not completely compatible with a six-string guitar!"

Yang Tang almost exploded with rage at this answer. He knew that guitars could have five strings, or even eight or twelve. If he had known five strings were the most compatible, he would have definitely changed the strings on Black Evil before entering the dream, but now it was impossible.

A bigger problem was that techniques in *Heroes* usually consisted of two moves, sometimes three. The three sets of zither techniques Yang Tang learned each had three moves, and Black Evil was an intermediate skill solidification object—it seemed he only had three solidification slots?

*Can all three sets be solidified? Or can I only choose one?*

"All three sets of zither techniques can be solidified!"

*Huh?! Doesn't it only have three skill solidification slots?*

"They are three sets of skill solidification slots."

Yang Tang: "..."

"Do you wish to solidify?"

*Solidify, solidify all of them.*

"Understood, solidifying all. Three sets, nine moves. Solidifying individual moves will consume 177.1 points of Virtue/Sin. The three sets will consume a total of 1,593.9 points of Virtue/Sin. Do you wish to deduct Virtue or Sin?!"

Thinking about how his Sin points had already broken 10,000 and would only accumulate more if he didn't use them, Yang Tang frowned. *Deduct from Sin!*

"Understood. Deducting 1,593.9 Sin points immediately. Solidifying the three sets of moves: 'Sorrow, Joy, Parting, and Reunion,' 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon,' and 'The Four Great Beauties.' Solidification time: 12 days of dream time!"

"Current balance: 1,788.7 Virtue, 8,429.6 Sin!"

"Black Evil remaining skill solidification slots: 0."

"Deducting one from the skill replication quota. Skill solidification transfer officially initiated. Original skill: 'Sorrow, Joy, Parting, and Reunion,' 'Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon,' 'The Four Great Beauties.' Solidification object: Black Evil!"

"Transfer countdown: 11 days, 59 minutes, 57 seconds."

Only then did Yang Tang understand that intermediate items could solidify multiple sets of skills simultaneously, but they only took up one replication slot—the total for the Seventh Dream was two, leaving one. He was really getting a bargain.

In mid-July, Yang Tang was summoned before Wu Xiazi and sparred twice with both his Eldest and Second Senior Brothers, winning all matches. Finally, Wu Xiazi taught him the advanced techniques: "Infinite Saber Technique," "Supreme King Four Spirits Sword," and "Tianshan Six Solar Palms."

Over the next few months, no longer needing to learn zither skills, Yang Tang began learning blacksmithing from Old Hu. He continued his two-day cycle, constantly stacking his attributes, visiting Wangyou Valley, learning from one of the Seven Sages, and pairing it with a wild battle. Occasionally, he would correspond with the martial arts figures he met at Jiang Tianxiong’s birthday banquet to maintain their relationships.

In mid-October, Wu Xiazi’s traitorous junior brother, Xuan Mingzi, appeared at Xiaoyao Valley. Yang Tang feigned compliance with him and managed to learn the Poison Technique.

...
*Low-level internal arts grant smaller increases, while high-level ones grant larger ones.*
...