Jiang He specialized in the mind, and the resources he used for breakthroughs were all mental-type resources.
Therefore, when he broke through to D-rank, his mental power was the first to undergo a qualitative transformation.
The details and range of his spiritual perception improved, and he even gained the ability of psychokinesis.
With a thought, the shirt lying on the table floated into the air, unfolded by itself, slipped onto his body, and buttoned itself up.
Fun!
Of course, this was just a basic ability that came with attribute transformation.
Just like how humans were born knowing how to run and throw punches—it was useful, no doubt, but absolutely could not compare with Transcendent abilities.
Zhong Honglian stood quietly, waiting until Jiang He had played enough, before speaking: "You consumed six sets of resources, totaling 4.8 million, or three hundred D-rank Spell Words."
That was already the discounted price.
If calculated at market price, the resources for Jiang He's breakthrough would have cost fifteen million!
In this modern age where Transcendents were everywhere, many low-rank Transcendents might never earn that much money in their entire lives.
Yet Jiang He had only used it to break through to D-rank.
He couldn't help but click his tongue.
In the current classification of Transcendents, D-rank still belonged to the category of low-rank Transcendents.
Resources were relatively abundant, and prices were cheaper.
If he wanted to use the same method to break through to C-rank, or even B-rank… the price would skyrocket, turning into astronomical figures.
The fees required for a forced breakthrough would be enough to buy Transcendent items, or even directly purchase resources that enhanced attributes.
Even if Jiang He could afford it, there was no way he would choose this method again.
Next time, he'd obediently fill up his attributes first.
…
Jiang He chose to pay with Spell Words and received two Spirit Storage Vessels and a small vial of C-rank Spiritual Blood.
One of the Spirit Storage Vessels was for the breakthrough fee.
Once he had saved up three hundred Spell Words, he could submit it directly to the resource warehouse.
The other Spirit Storage Vessel was lent to him for selling Spell Words.
After finishing these matters, Zhong Honglian hurriedly left, who knew what she was busy with.
By now, it was already 18:37 in the evening, night had fallen.
Jiang He did not delay.
He carried his things, left the school, and went home.
After arriving home, he ordered two portions of takeout, casually filled his stomach, and then began his Spell Word drawing work.
Including the breakthrough fee and tomorrow's goods, the total was six hundred Spell Words.
Jiang He drew for nearly five hours.
By the time he filled the Spirit Storage Vessel, it was already midnight.
After drawing so many Spell Words in a row, his mind was exhausted.
He yawned, left his bedroom, and headed for the bathroom.
Passing through the living room, he casually glanced around—and froze.
There sat a messy-haired middle-aged man on the living room floor, holding a controller, his head raised, eyes focused intently on a video game.
Sensing someone's gaze, he turned his head and smiled: "Finished? Want to play a round?"
"..."
For a split second, Jiang He almost thought he was looking at his dad joking with him.
He saw himself as a middle schooler, just finishing his heavy homework, exhausted to the point of collapse…
But in the next instant, he realized that the person sitting in the living room was not his father, but Old Jiang.
It was only because his middle-aged appearance resembled Jiang He's father that the illusion had formed.
"If only it really were Dad…"
Jiang He rubbed his eyes, but the smiling face before him was still Old Jiang.
He sighed, went to the bathroom to wash his hands, then entered the study and lit incense for his parents.
Only then did he return to the living room, sitting down beside Old Jiang, raising his head toward the television.
On the screen played a fighting game called "Transcendence 2025".
The game was about a Transcendent fighting tournament, with many Transcendents participating.
Players could control A-rank Transcendents to battle, or enter PVE mode to challenge thirteen S-rank Transcendents…
This was clearly just a game.
A-rank Transcendents were major figures—how could they possibly fight to the death in front of an audience just for some so-called championship?
Not to mention the laughable setting of A-rank challenging S-rank.
Still, from a gameplay perspective, the game did reproduce many Transcendent abilities.
Jiang He even saw characters like [Blazing Red Lotus] Zhong Honglian and [Force That Calms Mountains and Rivers] Chi Zhenshan among the selectable roster…
At this moment, Old Jiang clicked on "random character," smiled, and said: "Want to try?"
Jiang He manually chose Zhong Honglian: "Come on!"
Thirty minutes later—
Jiang He had suffered thirty straight defeats, collapsing helplessly onto the floor.
Sorry, Teacher, I've embarrassed you!
How was Old Jiang even so good at video games?
Jiang He had paid special attention—Old Jiang wasn't using any Transcendent reflexes.
He was just simply pressing buttons, yet easily broke every combo Jiang He attempted, timing his counters perfectly, winning with ease…
Was this what Old Jiang did in the future?
Stay indoors during the apocalypse playing games?
"This is experience." Old Jiang said with a smile.
"This game is pretty well made. You can tell the developers put a lot of effort into reproducing many Transcendent traits."
"Didn't you want to learn combat from me?"
"Fighting the Metal Knights can help your practical combat experience, but it's still a bit one-sided."
"After all, no matter how many times you fight, it's still just 'Language of Fire' against 'Metal Knights,' maybe with some attribute changes… fight enough times, and you could improve your so-called 'combat power' just by memorizing patterns."
"But your 'knowledge reserves' would grow slowly."
"In truth, in real Transcendent battles, being able to quickly recognize the enemy's ability and come up with a counter is an equally important 'skill'…"
Old Jiang patiently explained.
Jiang He listened intently, turning back toward the TV.
So even gaming had this kind of theory?
"Of course, a game is still just a game. No matter how much it reproduces Transcendent traits, it will always differ from reality."
"If you blindly copy from it, once you're in real combat, those differences could mean life or death."
"Unless…"
"Unless you have an experienced Transcendent who understands many professions and abilities, playing with you."
"In that case, he can use the opportunity to teach you Transcendent knowledge, letting you grow while you play…"
"..."
Jiang He understood, and eyed Old Jiang suspiciously.
"You just want to trick me into playing games with you?"
"What do you mean trick." Old Jiang's face was all smiles: "This is teaching!"
"Alright, alright, this is teaching."
Since Old Jiang had put it this way, it was clear Jiang He would indeed learn something.
And this kind of teaching through entertainment might be even more effective than endless lectures.
Jiang He accepted Old Jiang's words and decided to set aside some time each day to play games with him.
However, before continuing the game, Jiang He still had one more thing to do—
Talent upgrade!
He got up, washed his face, and pulled a jade vial from his pocket.
This was the second S-rank resource from his training camp reward—[Azure Dragon Essence].
He opened the stopper, gently tipped it, and a drop of white dew slid smoothly down, merging into his palm.
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(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶) ‹ (TL : More Chapters @patreon.com/c/Gooberilla)