Chapter 52: This Young Man's Motives Are Not Pure

Song Qi returned to the training room with the second bottle of Origin Water in hand and sat down cross-legged. He took several deep, nervous breaths before closing his eyes and waiting a while.

“Here goes!”

He tilted his head back and drank the entire bottle in one go. Without pause, he opened his status panel and allocated ten attribute points to strength, agility, constitution, and spirit in a ratio of 1:1:1:7. This was the optimal distribution calculated by the city lord for Song Qi.

Originally, Song Qi had wanted to put all ten free attribute points into spirit, but the city lord had explained that one’s mind and body are inseparable. If the body’s strength doesn’t keep up, the improvement of the spirit attribute will also be limited. Since the city lord insisted, Song Qi obediently followed his advice.

A few minutes passed...

“It’s coming!”

“But this time, it doesn’t feel quite as intense.”

Song Qi’s face was twisted in pain, but he still maintained his meditative posture. The first bottle of Origin Water had already pushed his potential to its limits, so the effects of the second bottle were much weaker in comparison. He now understood this deeply.

The pain from the first bottle had been silent yet all-encompassing, with a searing sensation that penetrated to the bone and organs, utterly inescapable. The second bottle was much more bearable. Though it still hurt and his organs still felt as though they were being roasted, it was nowhere near as intense.

Song Qi exhaled deeply, frowning as he steadied himself. Time ticked by, second by second...

Four hours later, Song Qi awoke. Without even glancing at his panel, he immediately drank the third bottle of Origin Water and spent another ten free attribute points.

Another four hours passed...

Inside the training room, Song Qi slowly opened his eyes and let out a heavy breath. He glanced out the window. Night had fallen completely. He’d arrived around seven in the morning, but now it was well past ten at night.

Of course, his progress was astonishing.

Two bottles of Origin Water and twenty free attribute points later, his status panel now read:

Name: Song Qi
Class: Summoner
Level: 21
Experience: 43125/2000000
Strength: 215
Constitution: 276
Agility: 278
Spirit: 991
Free Attribute Points: 1
Equipment: [Seven Deadly Sins—Envy]
Talent: Divine Summoning
Skills: [Summoning], [Soul Link], [Life’s Blessing], [Directional Blink]

Strength, constitution, and agility had each increased by over a hundred points!

His spirit attribute was still his greatest improvement, now approaching the formidable threshold of one thousand. He was nearly matching Lü Bu in a single attribute! Of course, Song Qi was well aware that even if he matched Lü Bu in every attribute, their strength would not be on the same level. Even if he surpassed Lü Bu in all attributes, Lü Bu could still impale ten of him with a single strike.

The true power of a mythical summoned spirit lay not just in attributes, but in their terrifying, awe-inspiring skills.

“Moreover...”

Song Qi did some calculations. Even after exhausting his potential, relying solely on free attribute points to break through his limits, each bottle of Origin Water could still increase his main attributes by at least 150 points. That number was simply staggering!

If, a month ago, someone had told Song Qi that an intermediate professional could reach a base attribute of one thousand, he would have told them to read less pulp fiction. Yet now, he had become the protagonist of such a tale.

“No wonder even the city lord can’t get much Origin Water.”

“The effect really is incredible.”

“If those geniuses from great families grew up using such treasures, I can’t begin to imagine how high their attributes must be.”

For a moment, Song Qi felt a pang of disappointment.

Just then—

Bang!

The door swung open, and the city lord strode in with a wine jug in hand.

“Don’t worry. Their attributes may not be higher than yours,” he said, glancing at the empty bottles on the floor. Once he confirmed Song Qi had finished them all, he nodded with satisfaction and took a swig of wine.

“Origin Water is so rare that even scions of great families can’t obtain much. Each bottle is registered and accounted for by dedicated personnel. Plus, the effects vary from person to person. The reason you could reach a thousand in your main attributes with just three bottles is because of your high talent. Some people could drink ten bottles and still fall far short of that number.”

Song Qi looked enlightened, though a little confused.

“I see. But didn’t you always say my talent was average?”

The city lord, caught off guard, choked on his drink and coughed violently. He’d forgotten! He’d forgotten that he’d been deliberately downplaying Song Qi’s abilities to motivate him.

Flushing, the city lord fished out two items.

“Anyway—here, these are the map and the city exit permit you wanted. Keep them safe. With these, you can head out to hunt monsters tomorrow.”

Song Qi accepted the items and thanked him, then looked up again.

“Thank you, city lord.”

“No need, it’s nothing.”

“Then could you explain what you meant just now? Is my talent actually quite high? So you were deliberately suppressing my confidence before?”

The city lord scratched his head awkwardly, whistling as he looked everywhere but at Song Qi.

Suddenly, he glanced out the window.

“Wow! Song Qi, look how dark it is outside. You’ve really been training hard. No wonder people say that in the mountains, the years slip by unnoticed; in cultivation, time loses all meaning.”

Song Qi narrowed his eyes in suspicion, staring intently at the city lord.

Gulp.

A bead of cold sweat formed on the city lord’s brow as he swallowed nervously.

“Diligence in training is good, but everything in moderation. Now that you’re done, hurry home—don’t let your family worry. Come, I’ll see you off.”

With that, he waved his hand, and a cloud of black mist floated toward Song Qi. Song Qi tried to press further, but the mist had already reached beneath him. Before he could react, it lifted him up and carried him straight toward the elevator.

He wanted to keep asking, but when he looked up, he saw the city lord’s black mist had stuffed itself into his ears, becoming a pair of earplugs. The city lord avoided his gaze, pretending not to see or hear anything.

Song Qi tried to climb down, but the mist was tightly wrapped around his legs.

“City lord! I know you can hear me! A high-level professional’s senses are razor-sharp—earplugs can’t block out the outside world! City lord, your method of education is completely wrong! City lord, you—”

Bang!

The elevator’s soundproofing was excellent. As soon as the doors closed, the voices vanished.

At last, the city lord could breathe easy, wiping the sweat from his brow.

“Whew! Strange—this kid’s reactions are just too sharp. One slip of the tongue, and he caught on right away.”

A face formed in the black mist, looking exasperated.

“You know, you could’ve just admitted it and apologized. Why be so stubborn?”

The city lord waved it off with a calm expression.

“You don’t get it. You really think that kid just wants an apology? Nonsense! He looks honest, but he’s devious. First time we met, he tried to take advantage of me. If I apologized today, he’d definitely push for more—I’d have to cough up something extra for sure!”

The face in the mist watched him for a while, then closed its eyes with a resigned sigh, fading away.

“I’ll never understand you humans.”

...

On the first floor of the city lord’s mansion...

“Ouch!”

Song Qi was dumped unceremoniously out of the elevator. He got up and punched the air in frustration.

“Damn it! I was hoping to get the city lord to buy me a skill book. Didn’t expect him to see through me.”