CHAPTER 82: CHAPTER 82: NATURE MARTIAL BONE_1

"So delicious..."

In no time, the Spirit Storage Rat had devoured all the meat. With one tiny hand supporting its waist and the other gently patting its belly, it let out a satisfied sigh.

"If you’re full, don’t go back to sleep yet."

"I have a few questions for you!"

Finally, Shen Mo was able to communicate normally with the Spirit Storage Rat, and there were many things he wished to clarify.

"What does Master want to ask?"

"Your ability to steal treasures everywhere—how powerful is it exactly? What are its limits? Can you ignore any Prohibition and enter and exit freely?"

This was the first question Shen Mo asked.

Although [Destiny: Monster Identify] had revealed a fair amount of information, giving Shen Mo some understanding of the Spirit Storage Rat’s abilities, the details from [Monster Identify] were still too vague. Previously, when Shen Mo had questioned the little creature, it couldn’t communicate properly, only managing to SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!, leaving Shen Mo unable to understand its responses.

"Limits?" the Spirit Storage Rat communicated mentally. "I don’t know..."

"There don’t seem to be any limits. As long as there are treasures nearby, I can usually sense their location. So far, I haven’t encountered any obstructions."

It seems it really can ignore most Prohibitions, Shen Mo thought. Upon hearing these words, he nodded and proceeded to ask a few other questions, such as whether it remembered its parents, why it had been born near the Dark Crystal Mine, and why it had been living among the Gold-devouring Rats.

However, the Spirit Storage Rat was very muddled. It claimed to have never seen its parents and was unaware of anything special about itself. Its earliest memories were of living near the Dark Crystal Mine. To survive, it had to painstakingly forage for food every day. Only after meeting Shen Mo did it begin to enjoy a life where every meal was filling.

"Do you have any cultivation methods, like absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to enhance your demonic power?"

Finally, Shen Mo couldn’t help but ask this question. As an ambitious cultivator, he still hoped his Spirit Pet could become more powerful. Although the Spirit Storage Rat could help him steal treasures and find items, this function was too narrow. If there was a chance to develop the Spirit Storage Rat into a formidable Spirit Beast, strong enough to fight alongside him as he adventured through the cultivation world in the future, he would not begrudge the time or resources needed for its training.

However, for the past few days, he had fed the little creature a considerable amount of demonic beast spiritual meat. Theoretically, even a mortal consuming spiritual meat daily should show some increase in strength. Yet, he saw no change in its cultivation level, which made Shen Mo quite concerned.

"Cultivation method?"

"I don’t know..." The Spirit Storage Rat shook its tiny head, looking utterly resigned.

This creature seems to lack even the basic instinct for cultivation common to demonic beasts, Shen Mo thought. He suddenly regretted using his only Spirit Pet Contract slot available before the Spirit Sea Realm on this creature.

"Forget it, you can go back to sleep."

After this round of questioning, Shen Mo’s expectations of training the Spirit Storage Rat dwindled, and he could only let nature take its course.

In the following ten days, Shen Mo resumed his peaceful life. He stayed in his cave mansion, dedicating his time to cultivation, alchemy, Forging, talisman making, and practicing various techniques and cultivation methods to increase his proficiency.

During this time, Guo Zhao visited and indeed brought the Jade Water Pearl, enabling Shen Mo to successfully refine the Thunder Transforming Pill. Instead of delivering the pill to Uncle Chen himself, he entrusted Guo Zhao with the task. Guo Zhao naturally understood that Shen Mo was giving him an opportunity to make a good impression and felt deeply grateful. After the Thunder Transforming Pill was delivered, Chen An, aware that Guo Zhao had painstakingly searched for the most critical medicinal ingredient for him, couldn’t help but express his thanks.

[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]

[Vitality: Fit and Strong]

[Talent: High Quality]

[Luck: Ordinary Luck]

[Appearance: Dignified]

[Wisdom: Ordinary]

[Fate: ???]

[Lifespan: ???]

Shen Mo once again opened the Destiny Panel, examining his Basic Destiny Disc.

It’s been a long time since I had a breakthrough.

Looking at his Destiny Point total, he was eager to use them. With the accumulation over this period, his Destiny Points had now accumulated to 30. He reviewed the sources of his Destiny Point increases and found that cultivation contributed relatively little. Instead, battling others in the Newcomer Tournament had yielded the most Destiny Points.

It’s time to enhance my Basic Destiny Disc.

Lately, due to repeated failures in upgrading his Basic Destiny, Shen Mo had spent most of his Destiny Points on drawing for Special Destiny. As a result, his Basic Destiny Disc hadn’t changed in a long time. Shen Mo hadn’t minded it much at first, but after witnessing how powerful a genius like Lu Ming was, he believed that his Basic Destiny Disc was what he should value and cultivate the most. Even if he couldn’t compare to these contemporary prodigies, he couldn’t afford to fall too far behind.

"Let’s start!"

Shen Mo first spent points on his Talent attribute.

[You have consumed 10 Destiny Points attempting to elevate your Talent to the next tier. Failure.]

The success rate for this is still too low. I should upgrade the white-grade Fates first!

After this one failure, he decisively stopped and allocated the remaining 20 Destiny Points to other attributes.

[You have consumed 1 Destiny Point attempting to elevate your Luck to the next tier. Failure.]

[You have consumed 1 Destiny Point attempting to elevate your Appearance to the next tier. Failure.]

....

[You have consumed 1 Destiny Point attempting to elevate your Vitality to the next tier. Success!]

[Congratulations! Vitality (White: Fit and Strong) has been upgraded to (Green: Martial Bone)!]

After a string of failed attempts, Shen Mo finally succeeded in upgrading a Basic Fate!

Martial Bone? He quickly focused his gaze on the Basic Fate to examine the changes.

[Martial Bone (Green): Your bone structure is remarkable, differing from ordinary people. Your physique and strength receive a boost, and learning martial arts and magic is easier for you than for others.]

CRACK! CRACK!

Shen Mo clenched his fists, sensing the changes after the Fate upgrade. It seems... the strength increase is limited.

Despite the successful upgrade, the strength increase from Martial Bone wasn’t very noticeable, perhaps because Shen Mo’s existing strength, augmented by various enhancements, was already at an astonishing level.

However, my learning speed for martial arts and magic should improve.

He wasn’t disappointed. Basic Fates had their own effects and importance. Even without an immediate, tangible power surge, he believed it would be significantly helpful in the long run.

After this upgrade, three of my five Fates are now green-grade.

Excluding Wisdom and Luck, which remained within the ordinary human range, his Appearance, Talent, and Vitality had all surpassed the average standard.

I can’t compare to those prodigies born with excellent Fates, but as long as there’s improvement, that’s good enough. I’ll take it slow.

After upgrading his Fate, Shen Mo turned his attention to his other attributes.

[Destinied Lord: Shen Mo]

[Cultivation Level: Qi Gathering Realm, Layer I]

[Talisman Path: (Grade I) 978/1,000]

[Alchemy Path: (Grade I) 962/1,000]

[Forge: (Grade I) 575/1,000]

This was the progress of Shen Mo’s three secondary occupations.