Chapter 6 Cost of Power

The translucent blue screen hovered inches above the frayed pages of the manual. The glowing system text reflected brightly in Ye Chen's dark eyes.

[Skill Compatible. Spend 20 System Points to integrate Wind Cutter Finger?]

Ye Chen sat on the dusty floorboards in the isolated corner of the Scholar's Hall and read the prompt twice. Twenty points seemed like a steep entry fee for a basic physical manual he already held in his own hands. He possessed the book. He could simply read the pages the traditional way and save his valuable currency for the market. But he paused and remembered the colossal prices he had seen in the higher tiers of the system catalog.

A top tier manual like the Heaven Piercing Sword cost ten million points just to purchase. If the system charged a percentage based integration fee for those legendary texts later on the cost would be astronomical. Paying a small fee right now to instantly learn a skill established a baseline. It proved the system bypassed the need for comprehension entirely.

He did not have to spend months deciphering cryptic metaphors about flowing rivers and rustling leaves. The system was offering him a direct shortcut to martial mastery. Time was the one resource he desperately lacked with Su Rou ascending to the Inner Sect.

Ye Chen confirmed the selection.

The knowledge of the Wind Cutter Finger flooded his mind instantly. Twenty points vanished from his ledger leaving him with two hundred and forty points. He closed his eyes as the circulation routes etched themselves permanently into his memory. The chaotic energy in his repaired dantian stirred eagerly and recognized the new elemental pathway.

He opened the system menu to check his progression options. A skill at the first level was merely a blunt instrument. He needed refined lethality to survive the inevitable retaliation from the outer sect enforcers. Li Hu would undoubtedly complain to the disciplinary elders by morning.

He tapped the upgrade path for his two active martial skills.

[Thunderclap Palm Level Two upgrade cost: 150 System Points.] [Wind Cutter Finger Level Two upgrade cost: 200 System Points.]

Ye Chen stared at the numbers and let out a quiet sigh. He was incredibly poor. His brief clash with Li Hu and the enforcers on Street had felt like a windfall at the time. Now he realized those thugs barely provided enough experience to polish a beginner technique.

He would need to hunt down far more arrogant bullies just to afford his next breakthrough. The system economy was brutal and demanded constant combat. He prioritized immediate defense over elemental precision for his current situation.

He selected the upgrade for the Thunderclap Palm. One hundred and fifty points disappeared from his total balance.

A sharp jolt of searing heat shot down his right shoulder and settled deep into his wrist. His muscles twitched violently as the system forcibly widened the physical pathways needed to channel the upgraded kinetic force. The Chaos Body Tempering Art reacted to the upgrade by solidifying the bones in his forearm. The painful process lasted only a few seconds but left Ye Chen covered in a thin layer of sweat.

He needed to test the new power threshold before using it in a real fight. He looked around the secluded corner of the archive. The reading area was empty except for a sturdy oak table pushed against the far stone wall. He stood up and walked over to the piece of furniture.

He could not risk drawing attention by destroying sect property outright. He dialed back his strength to a mere fraction of his stage three power. He raised his right hand and struck the flat surface of the oak table with an open palm.

A muffled pop echoed in the quiet corner. The sound was much quieter than the thunderous crack he had unleashed in the servant district. He lifted his hand to inspect the damage.

The solid wood had not shattered or split down the middle. Instead a clean hole pierced directly through the thick oak board. The edges of the hole were jagged and charred in the distinct shape of a miniature lightning bolt. The force had condensed into a focused piercing strike rather than a messy blunt shockwave. Ye Chen smiled at the precision of a level two skill.

He turned his attention to his newly acquired wind attribute skill. The manual stated the Wind Cutter Finger relied on focused pressure rather than brute force. He pressed his index and middle fingers together tightly. A faint swirling sensation gathered at his fingertips as the chaos energy simulated the wind attribute.

He aimed his hand at the exact same lightning shaped hole he had just created in the table. He thrust his fingers forward with a sharp exhale.

His fingertips struck the splintered edge of the wood. The wind attribute channeled through his skin and exploded outward upon impact. The small hole expanded. Thick splinters of oak blasted outward in all directions as if a localized hurricane had torn through the center of the table. The wood cracked and groaned loudly under the unnatural pressure forcing the structural integrity to fail completely.

The resulting noise was deafening in the silent library. A loud crack echoed up into the vaulted ceiling of the Scholar's Hall and rang out into the main corridors.

Ye Chen quickly pulled his hand back. He had underestimated the destructive interaction between his chaos body and the elemental wind attribute.

A new system notification chimed in his mind. The blue text glowed brightly over the ruined table.

[Experience Mechanic Unlocked.] [Notice: Host can gain experience by utilizing skills against live targets in combat. Reach one hundred percent mastery to reduce the next level up price by half.] [Buff Active: The one hundred times cultivation multiplier applies directly to all combat experience gained.]

Ye Chen read the prompt and his eyes widened. This revelation fundamentally changed his approach to progression. It meant he did not have to rely solely on hoarding system points to advance his skills. He could fight his way to the next level and cut his system expenses in half. The system actively rewarded aggressive combat application over passive meditation.

Heavy footsteps approached rapidly from the main aisle. A young man wearing the blue silk robes of an inner sect student marched around the corner. The student carried a stack of heavy scrolls and glared at Ye Chen with intense irritation.

"Do you mind?" the student snapped loudly. He adjusted the scrolls in his arms and sneered at Ye Chen's gray servant robes. "Some of us are actually trying to comprehend advanced martial theory tonight. Take your frustrated tantrums outside before I report you to the discipline hall."

Ye Chen ignored the arrogant student and looked past him. He heard the shuffling footsteps of Elder Qin hurrying down the aisle right behind the young man.

"What happened here?" Elder Qin asked. The old man arrived at the corner completely breathless.

Elder Qin looked past the complaining student and saw the splintered crater in the center of the oak reading table. He then looked from the ruined wood to Ye Chen's bare hands. The old librarian sighed deeply and his eyes filled with genuine sympathy.

"I warned you about forcing your body," Elder Qin said softly. He stepped past the inner sect student and approached the table. "You tried to channel the wind attribute without a proper dantian to guide the energy. You are very lucky the elemental kickback only damaged the furniture and did not rupture your meridians."

Elder Qin assumed Ye Chen had struck the table out of sheer frustration after failing to initiate the skill. The old man reached out and gently picked up the frayed Wind Cutter booklet from the floor where Ye Chen had dropped it.

"I cannot let you keep this manual," Elder Qin said. He tucked the booklet safely back into his robes. "I cannot stand by and watch you maim yourself trying to achieve the impossible. I am sorry Ye Chen. Go back to your quarters and get some rest."

Ye Chen looked at the old man's concerned face. He did not argue or attempt to explain his success. Maintaining his disguise as a crippled servant was far more valuable than keeping a book he had already fully memorized.

The sect elders would execute him immediately if they discovered he had repaired his dantian and bypassed their strict cultivation laws. He needed to remain a harmless ghost until he had the power to crush the entire sect hierarchy.

"You are right Elder Qin," Ye Chen said smoothly. He offered the old man a deep polite bow to show his respect. "I let my foolish hopes get the better of my judgment. Thank you for your guidance and your generosity tonight."

Ye Chen turned and walked down the main aisle toward the exit doors. The inner sect student scoffed loudly as Ye Chen passed by but Ye Chen paid the insult no mind. The student was just another potential target for his new experience mechanic.

Ye Chen walked out of the Scholar's Hall and stepped into the cool night air.

Elder Qin stood by the broken oak table and watched the young man leave the building. The old librarian shook his head sadly as he traced a wrinkled finger over the splintered wood. He mourned the loss of a brilliant mind trapped in a broken body.

Ye Chen walked back down toward the servant quarters. He had exhausted a large portion of his points but he had secured his first elemental skill and unlocked a vital system feature. He planned to get a few hours of sleep in his leaky shack to let his body recover from the rapid upgrades.

When the sun rose the next morning he would head straight for the outer sect training grounds. The training grounds were always filled with arrogant disciples eager to bully the weak. Ye Chen smiled into the darkness. He had a lot of combat experience to gather and he knew exactly where to find willing targets.