After using the points, Naoto repeated the process and hit the rock again, but this time it left a small mark on it, though bigger than before.
"In the novel, the main character had already gained power at this age that could rival adults, but I don't think I'm at that level. I'll have to focus on reaching the tenth level for now."
While Naoto was thinking deeply and trying to recall events, he felt a finger flick his neck, making him flinch. He turned around to find Yuan Ling behind him.
"You got your battle spirit, didn't you?"
Yuan Ling smiled as she watched Naoto, who was lost in thought.
"Don't you have something better to do?"
"Not really. So, what is your spirit's power level?"
"Level six."
"Really?! I'm at level seven."
Naoto was stunned the moment he heard this. This girl, who had been bothering him for so long, was actually at a higher level than him.
"Then you should be taken to the Spirit Hall. Why did you come?"
"Well, I refused to go."
"So, good luck. Is that what you want to hear?"
Naoto started walking back, while Yuan Ling followed him.
"Why are you so mean?"
Naoto returned home with Yuan Ling, who had followed him, to be greeted by his family with a small celebration they had prepared.
"What's all this?"
Naoto asked, looking at the table full of food.
"Well, we thought we'd celebrate our son becoming a spirit master. I see you brought Yuan Ling with you."
His mother said, looking at the two young ones.
"Hello, Auntie."
Yuan Ling greeted the mother with a bright smile.
"Hello, come in. Everything is ready."
The three of them entered the house together, sat at the table with the father, and began to eat.
---
After they finished, Naoto got up and started carrying the empty and dirty dishes.
"Let me wash the dishes, Mom."
"Alright. While you wash the dishes, I'll talk to Yuan Ling about something."
When Naoto left the table, the mother sat close to Yuan Ling and they began to talk.
"May I ask about your relationship with Naoto?"
The mother started with an embarrassing and difficult question. Yuan Ling's face turned slightly red.
"We're just friends."
Yuan Ling answered with a shy smile.
"May I ask a favor of you?"
The mother took a deep breath before speaking.
"Of course, what is it?"
Yuan Ling asked curiously.
"I want you to take care of my son."
The mother smiled gently while Yuan Ling looked at her with confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"Naoto has always been smart compared to others his age. He's always been well-behaved and never caused any problems, but I worry about him. So I'm asking you, as the only friend he's made."
Yuan Ling looked into the mother's eyes, meaning she understood the mother's words.
"Okay, no problem."
Yuan Ling smiled to reassure the mother.
The mother gently took Yuan Ling's hands.
"Thank you."
At that moment, Naoto had returned from the kitchen and noticed a change in the atmosphere between his mother and Yuan Ling.
"So, Mom, what about school?"
Naoto asked to change the atmosphere.
"School will start in three months."
The mother answered with a smile.
"Good. It's better for me to go and train."
"Walk Yuan Ling home first."
"Can't she go by herself? It's not like she's a child."
"Just walk her home."
Naoto reluctantly went with Yuan Ling to take her to her father's cart. Her father was a well-known merchant in the village and came to the village daily.
During the walk, there was an awkward silence between them.
They arrived at the cart's location, and Naoto stopped by the roadside. Yuan Ling thanked him for walking her and smiled gratefully.
"Zhang Yong (Naoto), let's meet again three months from now."
Yuan Ling spoke before leaving.
"So, it's a promise."
Naoto smiled back and bid farewell to Yuan Ling before returning. He raised his head and looked at the orange sky above from the sunset.
"A lot has happened today."
Naoto returned home, entered his room, and slept deeply to get some rest.
He woke up early in the morning, headed to his usual area, and summoned his battle spirit.
It was in the shape of a small tree, nothing special or different. After observing, he moved on and began his experiments. It emitted a green light every time he infused it with spirit energy. Flowers and plants flourished in the area where Naoto stood. Besides consuming vitality, it also consumed spirit energy. Since Naoto's spirit energy was relatively weak, it only lasted for less than a minute.
"I won't be able to develop my spirit, as its development depends on factors like natural treasures and bloodline, but I have neither."
Naoto took out the Mysterious Water Pellet from his inventory, swallowed it, and sat down to meditate. He felt the pellet's energy pass through his body and meridians, cleansing them.
After an hour of meditation, Naoto opened his eyes, and a foul smell entered his nose. Looking at his body, it was covered in a black, slime-like substance. These were his body's impurities. The Mysterious Water Pellet washes the meridians and expels bodily impurities that obstruct the path of spiritual energy. Not only that, but it also increases innate spiritual power by one level, causing Naoto to break through to level seven.
His current physical strength was enough to handle an average adult man. Compared to his past life, his development this time was faster.
Spiritual energy began to circulate slowly in his body. Now that his cultivation efficiency had increased, reaching level ten was his goal. He needed to become stronger so he could obtain a spirit ring by himself. The great teacher, who is the main character's teacher, would take the story's hero since he would be born with full innate spiritual power and a dual battle spirit. But Naoto, on the other hand, was born with average spiritual power and a mutated spirit, so he had to work hard. He couldn't take any academy teacher as his mentor because that would expose his secrets. Studying at the academy was necessary. Even if a person has power, without a mind, it's just self-destruction. Just think, if he went monster hunting and coincidentally encountered a thousand-year spirit beast, which equals a spirit expert at rank forty, he would be doomed. So, he needed sufficient knowledge about this world. Since most of the original novel's information was superficial, and due to the many chapters, he had forgotten most events except the basic information.
---
Naoto had a plan in mind to make the best use of his time.
In the first month, Naoto dedicated his efforts to physical training without spirit energy. His goal was to increase his raw strength. Since he possessed a healing-type spirit, he didn't have to worry about injuries.
His basic training was punching, kicking, and everything that would benefit him in combat. His targets were trees. He punched and kicked until blood flowed from his skin, then healed it and continued the process like a spinning wheel. The purpose of this training was to strengthen the skin. You can't make skin impenetrable without using spirit energy, but making it tough, combined with spirit power, would be a powerful mix. It was also training to get used to his battle spirit, killing two birds with one stone. However, after training for over half a month, he stopped feeling an increase in strength and endurance, meaning his skin had reached its limit. Indeed, the skin around Naoto's limbs had become rough. So, he decided to start agility training. He went to a somewhat large rock, tied it to his body, and started running. At first, the rock didn't budge, but as time passed, the rock began to move slightly and started to shift slowly as he pulled with all his might. His endurance points slowly increased. Naoto pulled the rock, feeling something dripping from his jaw.
Blood was dripping from his gums, strained from his gritted teeth.
The rock seemed like it wouldn't move. In fact, the rock had always been there in his training area, yet he had never tried to pull it before. It was bigger than his small body, but the attempt was worth it. He had already exceeded his physical limits. He let go of the rock and used his battle spirit to heal his exhaustion.
(Why not use spirit energy and get it over with?)
"What's the point of physical training if I use spirit energy every time?"
After resting a bit, he grabbed the rope again and started pulling. The second time was stronger than the first, then the third, the fourth, and so on until Naoto completed a hundred attempts, but the rock didn't move. When sunset came, Naoto returned home. He came back the next day and saw that training this way wouldn't benefit him for now, so he decided to change his training and return to the rock later.
Then he opened his status window.
Status
· Name: Zhang Yong (Naoto)
· Age: 6 years
· Level 7 (5500/52)
· Strength: 29
· Endurance: 22
· Agility: 19
· Intelligence: 16
· Spiritual Energy: 7
· Status Points: 5
· Emotion Points: 6124
Abilities
Skills Shop Inventory Quests Gambling
"I'm starting to accumulate a lot of points. I'll try my luck at gambling."
Naoto entered the gambling window and paid one thousand points.
The wheel began to spin and stopped on a random skill. Naoto waited expectantly.
(Congratulations to the host for obtaining a low-level skill: Wind Steps.)
(Does the host wish to learn it for 800 points?)
"Yes."
(Congratulations to the host for learning the skill. The host gains 5 agility points.)
From the name of the skill, it seemed to Naoto to be a movement-type skill. Most likely, it would be useful either for escaping or for combat.
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How is it the novel right now , i am always up for opinions