Chapter 354: Chapter 353 Trouble Comes Knocking!
[Task calculation in progress…]
[For this mission based in a Red Competition World, killing one reincarnator awards 10 Merit Points.]
[Task 1: Complete ten Bounty List missions, each person is rewarded with 10 Merit Points. (10/10) Completed.]
[Task 2: The team must kill at least four reincarnators, each person is rewarded with 10 Merit Points. (4/4) Completed.]
[Task 3: Kill three monster demons, rewards are calculated based on the strength, reputation, and relationship of the slain monster demon with the protagonist. (3/3)]
[Task 3, registering the slain monster demon as an essential antagonist monster demon, achieves the maximum rewards.]
[Ding, congratulations, you have gained 100 Merit Points for task 3.]
[Your base reward is 120 Merit Points.]
[Congratulations, your rating is above D-class, starting data analysis…]
[Rating successful, your task completion rating is A-class, rewarded with extra 90% Merit Points…]
[Your final total Merit Points reward is: 228 Merit Points.]
Looking at the rewards granted by the Heavenly Court Sphere, Du Gang couldn’t help but smile.
228 Merit Points, when converted to Merit Points, equated to a whopping 2.28 million.
Moreover, to his knowledge, at the True God Stage, progression to the next Rank only required 10 Merit Points.
It seemed little, but it was actually quite substantial.
Tasks like the ones they were undertaking were red competition tasks, and relationships between reincarnators were mostly do-or-die.
Of course, their True Spirits remaining in Heavenly Court meant that even in death, they’d only become Heavenly Court’s slaves, not truly dead.
However, the cost paid was their loss of freedom.
Over 200 Merit Points were enough for him to directly progress his cultivations to the maximum level.
“I actually have a B-rank rating with an extra 60% Merit Points reward!”
From the side, Kou Yingwu began excitedly exclaiming.
Du Gang then realized that although everyone was in the same group, the final ratings were different.
He turned his gaze towards Zhang Xinyi and Tao Xuanzhu, their evaluations were also B-rank, with an extra 60% reward.
“I got a total of 192 Merit Points, I’ve really struck it rich this time!”
Because they had high base rewards, although their rankings were less than Du Gang’s, they were only deficient by 30 odd merit points, which was still quite a lot.
Du Gang chuckled, “Let’s first max out our cultivation then discuss what to do with the leftover Merit Points!”
“Alright!”
The other three naturally had no objections. This time, they had only played a supporting role. Without Du Gang, they might not even have been able to complete the task, let alone gain such a large reward.
Soon, the four of them proceeded with the exchange. Spending only 80 Merit Points each, they boosted their cultivations from True God Rank One to True God Ninth Rank.
“Now that we’ve reached True God Ninth Rank so quickly, does it mean we can go straight to becoming Celestial Gods?!”
Kou Yingwu was a little excited, and could hardly wait to show off back home.
However, Du Gang shook his head with a smile, “Not so easy. From what I understand, the cultivation progress at the True God stage is 10% more than at the God Spirit stage. Apart from the usual cultivation boost, there’s an extra bonus of 2%…”
Currently, his cultivation progress is at 8%, which means he can practice his cultivation up to 20%.
At this point, Tao Xuanzhu started, “My master once told me, at the True God Level, there is a special kind of pill that can enhance comprehension and quickly increase cultivation progress. However, it’s limited to the standard bonus of 10%. The additional 2% can only be attained through acquiring precious items…”
Saying this, she summoned an image through the sphere.
“True God Pill, one pill can increase cultivation progress by 1% at maximum efficiency. A True God can consume a maximum of ten pills!”
Kou Yingwu chimed in, “My family elder also mentioned the same. However, it can only be taken ten times. If one has good talent and good luck, they might progress by 10% straight away. Still, if they have less fortune, they might not see any progress at all…”
Those points didn’t concern Du Gang much. He was confident about the talent part. He was looking at the price.
At the end of the image, the price of each was listed as 10 Merit Points.
Spending 80 Merit Points on the boost left him with 148 Merit Points. This meant he could fully afford the exchange.
It wasn’t just him. The other three also had enough for a complete exchange.
“Anyway, let’s first consume the True God Pill and see its results!”
The group quickly reached a consensus to focus on enhancing their cultivation first.
Soon, each person got one pill and sat down cross-legged on the ground to practice.
About a minute later, all four of them opened their eyes simultaneously.
“How did it go for everyone?”
Kou Yingwu seemed very pleased with himself, looking around at everyone with an ‘I-did-it’ attitude.
Of course, Du Gang didn’t need to elaborate. He had perfectly absorbed the True God Pill, and his cultivation progress was increased by 1%.
Tao Xuanzhu and Zhang Xinyi also expressed their joy. Both of them nodded simultaneously, “We made it, perfectly absorbed!”
Everyone wasn’t surprised. Although they weren’t as gifted as Du Gang, they were still precious and rare. If they couldn’t even absorb the True God Pill, they probably wouldn’t have been assigned here by their families.
As for Zhang Xinyi, who was one of the people actively taken in by Heavenly Court, she certainly wouldn’t lag behind.
“Alright, in that case, let’s quickly consume the remaining True God Pills!”
Soon, each person redeemed another nine True God Pills and they were all swallowed one too one after the other.
Nine minutes later, the aura around them surged dramatically, finally stopping at the pinnacle of the True God stage.
“That was too quick. I feel like I’m on a rocket, just like that I’ve reached True God!”
Kou Yingwu was still in a daze, looking dreamy.
Tao Xuanzhu laughed and said, “It’s only normal for us to be quick. After all, we’re in Heavenly Court, which holds infinite mysteries…”
“But, this pace of ours is unprecedented. From what I’ve heard, most people at the True God stage get eliminated quite easily and become slaves to Heavenly Court…”
“As for those who manage to hang on, they find it very tough. Gaining merit points becomes exceedingly hard, and gathering enough to buy a True God Pill takes quite long…”
At that point, Du Gang asked, “So what are the other two precious items that can increase the additional progress? How much are they?!”
Zhang Youwei treated him well, but his knowledge was limited.
And, since Ancient City hadn’t contacted him, Du Gang had less information than Kou Yingwu and Tao Xuanzhu.
Kou Yingwu was quick to answer, “I know. It’s something similar to Dao Enlightenment Tea, it also has usage limits—maximum of two uses. Whether or not it works, depends on the individual’s comprehension…”
Du Gang quickly searched it up and was shocked by the price, “Only ten Merit Points?”
The price was 10 Merit Points for a serving, lower than he had expected. After all, the price of items like the Green Qinyin Stone at the God Spirit level was 10 Merit Points.
Tao Xuanzhu laughed, “While this is cheap, the main reason is because of it’s more challenging to understand, so most people don’t hold their hopes high…”
“Of course, there are also other items with a chance to increase cultivation progress, and their prices are similar…”
“There are many who dump tens to hundreds of Merit Points into those with no progress even by 1%…”
Hearing this, Du Gang understood that the cost of this item was not a big deal for the Heavenly Court. The real challenge lied in how well the user could comprehend its usage.
“In that case, I’ll use it once to see its effect!”
He still had forty-eight merit points left, enough to buy four different treasures to test.
The others, however, only had twelve merit points left. When they heard this, they each exchanged for a piece too.
“Having merit points without using them is pointless. Turning them into real strength is what matters. Regardless, we need to try it out!”
And so, the four of them once again exchanged for Dao Enlightenment tea and began their cultivation.
This time around, just like before, Du Gang felt nothing at all. It was as if he had just dozed off and then woken up.
“I did it…”
Du Gang realized that as expected, his cultivation progress had increased by one percent, reaching nineteen percent.
He had succeeded, but the other three beside him, all revealed expressions of disappointment.
“I didn’t succeed. Ten merit points wasted!”
“Sigh!”
At the same time, their gazes towards Du Gang were filled with envy.
“As expected of the Ancient God, he succeeded on the first try!”
“No no, it’s just good luck…”
Du Gang initially wanted to be modest, but soon he froze. He realized that along his journey, anything related to comprehension seemed to come to him without any obstacles, it was as if he fully understood these things.
Thinking this way, he spent another ten merit points and bought another Dao Enlightenment tea, quickly consuming it.
After a moment, he woke up.
“I’m jealous!”
“Me too!”
Before he could even check his status, the three others all revealed a sour expression.
Indeed, as he had expected, he succeeded once again, and his cultivation progress had reached twenty percent.
This was the peak progress of the True God level. It meant that he could now consider advancing to the Celestial God level.
“Du Gang, to advance from True God to Celestial God, the minimum cultivation progress requirement is fifteen percent. All four of us have reached this, what do you think?!”
Tao Xuanzhu was the first to recover and asked the crucial question.
The main reason was that she felt Du Gang had already reached the peak, and the rest of them weren’t too far off, hovering around sixteen or seventeen percent. They couldn’t keep holding him back.
After all, they were also unsure if their progress could increase anymore.
Du Gang shook his head, “No rush, let’s wait till after a few more missions when you all reach the peak then we’ll see…”
Just as he was speaking, a blood red glow flashed. The next second, the Heavenly Court warning sounded.
[Ace Team, Wu Yang’s Golden Team has issued a Forced Advancement Order. Your team will forcibly enter the Advancement Mission World in the next mission…]
“Forced Advancement Mission World?!”
All four were shocked. Du Gang quickly remembered, “It’s the four reincarnates we killed in the last mission. They were telling the truth…”
“Yes, by the looks of it, his big brother really is part of the legendary top ten Golden Teams…”
“Du Gang, what do we do now?!”
All three looked towards Du Gang, waiting for his decision.
While they had never met Wu Yang, just by knowing he was part of the top ten Golden Teams at the True God level, it was enough to gauge his strength.
Du Gang pondered for a moment before saying, “Don’t reveal our strength. Let’s head to the Communication Plaza first to check out the situation!”
“Right!”
Soon after, the four arrived at the Communication Plaza.
As soon as they arrived, they saw many people talking.
“Have you heard? Wu Yang’s younger brother Wu Long died in the mission world!”
“A death is not surprising, isn’t it common in this world?!”
“I guess you don’t know. That Wu Yang is one of the captains of the ten most powerful Golden Teams in our True God space. What do you think?!”
“I wonder which team dared to kill them?!”
“Don’t mention it. I heard it’s a newly promoted team that was once ranked first on the Human Ranking…”
“They’re doomed. The third-level guild has tracking and locking capabilities. With Wu Yang’s methods, he will definitely track them. In the next mission, the team that was once ranked first on the Human Ranking is probably done for…”
Du Gang and the others exchanged glances, scattered and began inquiring about Wu Yang’s team.
In a short while, they found out all the circulating information out there.
“Let’s find a drink shop first…”
Now that they had money, they didn’t care about small change and soon the four of them found a private room in a shop and gathered together.
Kou Yingwu, just like before, spoke urgently, “I found out that Wu Yang’s team is full, with twenty members, and each of them have a cultivation progress of over fifteen percent…”
This was something that Du Gang already knew, so he didn’t say much, instead, he looked at the others.
Tao Xuanzhu understood what he meant. She didn’t mention anything that everyone knew. Instead, she said, “I found some information that might be good for us. Golden Teams can hire temporary members. We are also a Golden Team, we can hire sixteen people to form a full team…”
“Hire?!”
Zhang Xinyi furrowed her brows, “I checked the list, the price to hire peak cultivators isn’t cheap, starting at ten merit points!”
Peak cultivators referred to those with a cultivation progress over fifteen percent at the True God level.
“Now, even when we add our merit points together, we don’t even have thirty points, we can’t hire, right?!”
Tao Xuanzhu sighed, “I’ve also thought about this problem. We can trade cultivation techniques, which are quite valuable…”
Hearing this, Du Gang shook his head, “No need!”
He showed a smile, “What do you think about Sun Wukong’s strength during the last mission?”
Sun Wukong?
All three quickly recalled.
After a moment, Tao Xuanzhu shook her head, “My cultivation progress is now at seventeen percent, but I feel that compared to Sun Wukong, I’m still lacking…”
“Right!”
Kou Yingwu nodded, “In the last mission, I carefully thought about it. Among the hundred True Gods, there were also quite a few of them at the peak level but against Sun Wukong, they were almost slaughtered. So…”
Suddenly, he froze and with the other two, looked at Du Gang.
Du Gang also showed a bright smile, “Originally, I wanted to take on a few more missions to save some resources. Who knew, they would force us into the Advancement Mission World. So, there’s no way around it, we must face it head on!”