Ten-Thousand-Year Chalcedony

Chen Fengyun now fully understood the importance of attribute points, and so he felt that directly using them to improve his medical skills would be a waste. Besides, there wasn’t a pressing need for medical expertise at the moment, so he decided not to enhance it for now, preferring instead to rely on his own diligence for a while.

That night, after his parents had gone to bed, Chen Fengyun closed his door and summoned his flying sword, preparing to crack open the raw jade stone to see what treasures might lie within. If it contained a top-grade gem, even a single piece could be worth hundreds of thousands.

Controlling the flying sword with his spiritual power to cut jade was surely unprecedented in the jade world, yet Chen Fengyun didn’t think much about that. He manipulated the sword with precision, gradually slicing away the outer rock layer, making the original stone smaller and smaller.

Strangely, however, every exposed section of the stone remained the same shade of green as its surface, even after it was whittled down to the size of a longan fruit.

“How odd. Is there no jade inside? But if there’s no jade, how could there be special energy?” Chen Fengyun was puzzled, pinning his hopes on the tiny core left in the stone.

This time, instead of cutting from the sides, he chose a surface and slowly sliced it open. When only a finger-sized piece remained, a sudden green glow shone from within.

“A drop of ten-thousand-year jade essence discovered, capable of improving cultivation aptitude.” At that moment, the cultivation system sent a message.

Chen Fengyun was astonished. He hadn’t expected the stone to contain a drop of ten-thousand-year jade essence. Although he didn’t know exactly what jade essence was, the prefix “ten-thousand-year” signified rarity—anything so aged was bound to be precious.

Moreover, the jade essence could improve cultivation aptitude. What was cultivation aptitude, if not spiritual roots? In other words, this drop of jade essence could enhance his spiritual roots.

“In that case, it should be safe to consume, right?” After a brief hesitation, Chen Fengyun tipped the crystalline green liquid into his mouth. A sweet flavor slid down his throat, and a cool sensation swept through his body, leaving him tingling to the bone.

He didn’t know how long he lingered in that feeling, but when he finally came to, he eagerly checked the cultivation system panel to see if his spiritual roots had improved.

He was dumbfounded. The spiritual root level was still at Mortal Grade, stage ten, and the plus sign remained dim. Chen Fengyun felt as if he’d been deceived. Yet the sensation of consuming the jade essence had been so vivid—how could there be no improvement?

“Could it be that enhancing spiritual roots requires other conditions? Right, the plus sign isn’t lit, and attribute points haven’t been spent. Maybe the points are insufficient, so even after taking the jade essence, the spiritual roots haven’t upgraded yet.”

Still, Chen Fengyun wasn’t discouraged. He thought it over and guessed at the reasons. It seemed he needed to accumulate more attribute points; otherwise, even his spiritual roots couldn’t be improved.

He knew that spiritual roots represented a person’s cultivation potential. If they were poor, no matter the circumstances, he could never reach higher realms. For cultivators, spiritual roots were crucial.

“From now on, I’ll store up attribute points and see how many are needed to upgrade my spiritual roots.” With this plan in mind, Chen Fengyun prioritized improving his roots, then advancing his cultivation.

So, over the next period, Chen Fengyun made a habit of visiting the Songxianqiao Antique Market every weekend, scouring the stalls for old objects imbued with special energy. Occasionally, he found a few, but only managed to absorb five attribute points, and with his previous points, he had just eight. While that was enough to raise his cultivation, it still fell short for upgrading his spiritual roots.

He chose not to spend these points on cultivation, resolutely waiting to upgrade his spiritual roots. He trusted his judgment—once he accumulated a few more points, his aptitude would surely improve.

During this time, Chen Fengyun continued his studies and, each evening, read medical books—both Eastern and Western. Anything related to medicine, he sought out and read. He successfully advanced his medical skills to Mortal Grade, stage three, mastering the equivalent knowledge of a university medical graduate, with proficiency in both Chinese and Western medicine.

“Once my spiritual roots are upgraded, I’ll spend some points to boost my medical skills and see what happens.” By now, Chen Fengyun could treat most common illnesses using conventional methods, and with spiritual energy, only terminal diseases remained beyond his reach.

In early April, Rong City held its third diagnostic exam for senior high school students— the last major citywide mock exam before the college entrance exam, meant to give a reliable gauge of each student’s performance.

Since the second diagnostic exam, Five High had undergone some changes. Whether it was due to Chen Fengyun’s influence or not, the senior students there had shown a surge of enthusiasm in their studies.

Take Chen Fengyun’s class, for example: everyone was more focused, sacrificing sleep and meals, and more classmates flocked to him with questions every day. Boys, girls—even students from other classes who didn’t know him—would approach him between lessons.

“Perhaps this is the price of fame. I suppose I’m a celebrity at school now, which brings its own annoyances.” Chen Fengyun barely had time to wander between classes, but he found that explaining problems to others felt rather rewarding.

For the third diagnostic exam, Five High’s students brimmed with confidence, especially those in Chen Fengyun’s class. Each wanted to surpass the students from Four-Seven-Nine High and climb to the top, just as Chen Fengyun had done.

Of course, dreams are lush, but reality is lean.

Chen Fengyun had reason for his confidence, but the source of his classmates’ optimism was unclear.

He made progress in the third diagnostic exam, aiming for a score several points higher than in the second, estimating that he’d break into the top fifty liberal arts students in Rong City. As for greater achievements, he’d save those for the college entrance exam.

He hadn’t aimed for any shocking leap—moving from the top hundred to the top fifty was reasonable. If he jumped straight to first place, that would be too startling, so he planned to reserve his surprises for the college entrance exam. The top fifty was enough for now.

After the big exam came a two-day weekend break—a welcome bit of good news.

Chen Fengyun immersed himself once again in the Songxianqiao Antique Market. Its scale far surpassed that of the Wukuaishi Market, with a dizzying array of antiques, said to exchange goods with markets in Beijing, Pearl City, and across the country. Here, old objects were most abundant.

Yet those with special energy were rare as phoenix feathers. After two days scouring the market following the third diagnostic exam, Chen Fengyun finally discovered another old object with special energy, gaining three attribute points.

“Hahaha, I was right! My spiritual roots can finally be improved.” When his attribute points reached eleven, the plus sign beside his spiritual roots lit up, indicating he could now upgrade their level.