CHAPTER 22: Jade Skin
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Once again. he ran his hand through his hair.
Rustle. For him To win, or even take a step forward. He needed something that kept him on his feet. Not something that made his legs go soft.
The thought of his legs going soft made Him swallow. Gulp. "To win… I must first survive…" he muttered. "I can't train fast if I'm dead. I need to first put survival above all. I need to boost my will to live"
He looked up slowly at the glowing tickets. The air around him felt a bit heavier. "Jade Skin…" he whispered to himself.
His hand reached out and caught one of the blue tickets. It made a soft Ding!! sound in his hand.
"That's the only safe bet right now. If I make my defense stronger… if I can make my flesh become as hard as jade… I can survive longer. I can take hits. One hit wouldn't be enough to kill me even if the opponent is stronger." He nodded to himself.
"Yeah… yeah… that's it."
Yin Zhe felt that needed to live long enough to use everything else. "Where there's a will there's a way.. now I've got to secure that will" Yin Zhe tightened his grip on the ticket. "Let me see the current level of Jade skin," he murmured. He opened the system window with a swipe.
[Jade Skin – Root Awakening Realm Lv1]
"Only level one…" he muttered. "And the peak of Root Awakening should be level ten…" He took a look at the nine tickets floating around him. Yin Zhe felt nervous and under pressure. The feel felt warm to his chest.
"So… if I put nine tickets into Jade skin… it should hit the peak of Root Awakening. He bit his lip lightly. Bite. His body shook a bit from commitment.
"A solid body… flesh hard like jade… that's survival," he said. "If someone tries to attack me… the Jade Skin skill would just tough it through. That's the only way I'll stay standing." He contemplated more on the shattered star competition.
"I need to do this… I'll play my cards right. Enough thinking. Time for action" Yin Zhe then pulled all nine tickets toward himself. They flew with a soft whoosh sound, they all formed a small glowing stack above his palm. He held his breath. "Alright," he whispered. "This is it." He pressed the tickets against the floating Jade Skin icon.
DING!
DING!
DING!
DING!
DING!
DING!
DING!
DING!
DING!
The sound echoed through the room like stones being thrown one by one into a deep well. The system message lit up in front of him.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv2]
Yin Zhe flinched and let out a small huu.
He could feel a small tingle on his skin. The second system line came in.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv3]
Yin Zhe's chest rose with excitement. Then Came the fourth.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv4]
At this moment a warm pulse ran through his body. Buzz.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv5]
He whispered, "Hmmm… it's getting stronger. Or should I say tougher… I can feel it…"
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv6]
Yin Zhe curled his fingers. He could feel a slight pressure underneath his skin, it felt like something was growing harder.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv7]
He let out a small breath.
"hmph… this is good… keep going…"
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv8]
He felt his shoulders trembling slightly.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv9]
Yin Zhe's throat made a small sound. "Ahh…" Then the final glow shot upward, it looked bright and sharp.
[Jade skin root Awakening realm Lv10]
Yin Zhe was now sitting on the edge of the bed. for a few moments his fingers tapped on his knee. Tap… tap… tap… He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the glowing system window in front of him. "tsk…" he thought. "One more ticket left…"
Using his right palm he rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back a little, like he was arguing with himself or contemplating.
"Should I save it?. Or should I just go all out on Jade Skin now?" He let out a low sound. "sigh… what a drag."
He stood up and paced around the small inn room. The wooden floor creaked under his feet as he walked. Creak… creak…
Yin Zhe's mind started replaying everything he had been thinking about earlier.
If he wanted to live longer, or if he wanted to walk into the arena of the shattered star competition without fear, then stronger defense mattered more than anything else.
He stopped pacing and nodded to himself. "Fine… I'll just go all out. If I don't survive, then what is the point of all the cultivations and skills anyway?"
He calmly raised his hand toward the screen. "Use the last ticket." The system chimed softly.
Ding.
[Jade Skin: Qi Realm Lv1]
Yin Zhe froze in surprise for a heartbeat. Then he blinked twice. "Hmm?"
He slowly lifted his arm and pressed his fingers into his own skin. Press!!… His eyes looked a little surprised.
"Ahh… it's actually harder… it's harder for real…"
He squeezed again. Grip… His flesh didn't push in the same way it usually did. It felt a bit more firmer, and tougher.
He rubbed his forearm and let out a small laugh.
"No way… it's like real jade… well not literally. Still too weak"
He slapped his arm lightly. Thap. Yin Zhe felt Nothing. There was no sting. or discomfort.
His lips curved into a slow grin. "Hehehe…" A tiny shiver of excitement ran through him. "So this is what it feels like to hit this stage…"
He rolled up the sleeve of his robe, his arm was now fully exposed. The muscles looked like it was normal, but the feeling was not normal at all. He could feel that there was something else inside the flesh now. His flesh felt solid. Staring at his arm he noticed that his skin had become more smooth and lighter.
He whispered while clenching his fist: "Let me try it… I need to test its effectiveness" Soon his eyes drifted toward the inn wall.
The wall looked like plain brown wood. It was Nothing special or fancy. But it was a wall regardless.
He took a deep breath. And He stepped toward the wall. Adrenaline travelled through his veins which then made His heart thumped once . Thump.
He firmly placed his feet forward, then he pulled back his fist, and huffed out a breath. "Hmph." then.
BOOM.