My stats are higher than yours!

"From now on, we just need to proceed cautiously and steadily."

"Ah."

Bai Shuodong nodded and asked, "I want some training equipment. Could you send me some good ones, like those that boost melee proficiency or those that boost proficiency with clubs, spears, and lances? I'd like to use them all."

"So many? You want to buy and sell them?"

Old Bi narrowed his eyes, staring at him with extreme vigilance, and said, "I just gave you 20, you shouldn't be short of money, right? Or do you have debts?"

"no no."

Bai Shuodong waved his hands repeatedly, looking embarrassed, and said, "Director, you know my talent is slow burst, right? In actual combat, I have to adapt to the situation after a burst of power increase, so for training, the wear and tear on weapons might be a bit high, so I thought..."

"Oh, I see. As long as it's not for buying and selling, everything is negotiable."

Old Bi breathed a sigh of relief, then patted Bai Shuodong on the shoulder and said earnestly, "I'll talk to the logistics department. You can just go and get it when you need it."

"But..."

"You can't have a lot of equipment consumption but little actual improvement. If that happens, it will be very difficult for me. So... you need to keep that in mind."

Lao Bi patted him on the shoulder again, a meaningful smile on his face.

The meaning is clear: as long as you can produce results and live up to the college's expectations, he, as the dean of students, can turn a blind eye; but if the results are not good, then he cannot be allowed to cause trouble.

"Then, if I can raise my skill level to level 4 within a month..."

"It's normal for the equipment consumption to be high when the upgrade is good. If you can upgrade to level 5, I'll give you an unlimited supply. You can use one and dismantle another as needed."

"Really!"

Bai Shuodong's eyes gleamed, looking just like a mouse about to enter a granary for a buffet.

The unlimited supply of training equipment might not be a big improvement for others, but it's a completely different story for him. The most terrifying thing about skill decomposition is not the 200% increase in training speed, but the significant reduction in the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks.

By cultivating skills and specialties and improving basic skills, you can accumulate progress. However, once you reach a certain level, you will be stuck at a bottleneck. Only by breaking through the bottleneck can you advance to the next level.

However, for normal people, bottlenecks are not something that can be broken through easily. Breaking through a bottleneck requires a lot of time to accumulate, or a sudden inspiration, or even a breakthrough in a life-or-death battle. Ordinary cultivation is not very effective in breaking through bottlenecks.

so...

The bottleneck is the key to leveling up!

The effect of the [Sword Technique Channel] is precisely to greatly reduce the difficulty of breaking through the bottleneck!

"It's true, but you have to show results."

The head of the teaching department nodded slowly, a calm smile on his face. He thought to himself: This kid probably wants to use those little trinkets to build relationships or sell them privately, but as long as it doesn't get out and no one knows about it in public, he can turn a blind eye.

After all, those were just consumables. As long as they could accelerate the students' improvement in strength, he would have fulfilled his mission. He didn't really care how he accomplished it.

Chapter Sixteen: The Old Man! The Maniacal Laughter Mask!

The following afternoon

Bai Shuodong walked southwest along the empty side of the school road, which was the direction of the logistics department.

The school's logistics department is an old-fashioned building with a sense of history. Its gray walls are decorated with interspersed withered vines of varying shades, making it quite different from other buildings. I heard that the logistics department has not received any funding for improvement for many years, but the specific reasons are unknown.

'I don't care about this or that, as long as you can provide me with training equipment, it's fine.'

Bai Shuodong thought to himself.

The logistics department building has three floors. The first floor contains ordinary weapons that do not meet the standards of the spirit world, and anyone can use them for free. The second floor contains spirit world weapons of relatively low quality, including training equipment and real weapons for combat.

As for the third floor...

This floor is quite special; it's generally not open to the public, and many people speculate that it holds the most exquisite treasures.

"stop."

A voice suddenly rang out.

Bai Shuodong subconsciously looked towards the source of the sound and saw an old rattan chair not far from the front gate of the logistics department, with a thin old man lying on it.

Although the man was old, his eyes were incredibly clear and bright, just like a playful old man.

Bai Shuodong suddenly remembered the advice Lao Bi had given him before.

"Be careful of the old man guarding the gate."

Compared to the admonition, what Bai Shuodong couldn't understand even more was the complicated expression on the headmaster's face at the time. If the old man was just a simple bad guy, his expression wouldn't have been so complicated. There must have been something shady going on.

"What's your name? What do you do?"

The old man asked.

"Bai Shuodong, fetch the training equipment."

Bai Shuodong replied.

"Oh?"

The old man suddenly became interested, looked him over carefully, and said, "You're Bai Shuodong, the one who defeated that little monster head-on? Tsk tsk tsk, you really can't judge a book by its cover."

"Just lucky."

"Tch, luck? Do you think I'm stupid?"

The old man, his face full of disdain, continued, counting on his fingers, "Xia Yanxin, that little monster, has an absurdly strong foundation. Her combat skills are at a league of their own, her willpower is at a league of their own, and her basic control resistance is much stronger than that of normal people. She even has that kind of ability. How could she possibly be defeated by luck?"

"Most people would be unable to control her, outmatched in skill, or even if they tried to outmaneuver her, their combat intuition would catch them. They would have absolutely no chance of winning, and any victory they achieved would definitely not be by chance!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped off the chair with incredible agility, a stark contrast to his outwardly aged appearance.

The old man put one hand on Bai Shuodong's shoulder and said with a smile, "Kid, you must have suffered a lot to get to where you are today."

"Your base attributes are so low, but your actual combat strength is very strong. This means that you don't have a good life. At least you don't have anyone to take care of you on a daily basis, or your family doesn't have much money. If someone with no money can beat Xia Yanxin, it means that you have mastered some kind of powerful comprehension skill, or even mastered the use of spiritual energy."

"To be able to achieve this level all by yourself without any resources, you must have exceptional innate talent, and you have most likely put in far more effort than the average person."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"Ah."

Bai Shuodong nodded slightly, feeling a warmth in his heart. He thought to himself that the old man wasn't a bad person and didn't seem like a villain.

“I know your life is not easy, and it is difficult for you to improve your strength. So you have to show your talent through gambling and fight to win better benefits for yourself, even if it is risky and you may be seriously injured. You have a really good mentality.”

The old man continued speaking, then took out a pill from his storage space and said with a grin, "Come, come, I have a Bright Extreme Pill here. It will definitely improve your strength a lot after you use it."

"?"

Bai Shuodong took the pill and examined it.

【Mingji Dan (Strange)】

Rank: First Rank

Quality: Normal

Type: Consumables

Effect: After consuming this pill, the comprehension speed during cultivation will increase by 500%, and the difficulty of breaking through bottlenecks will decrease slightly. The effect lasts for 20 minutes.

Side effect: After consuming this pill, you will experience diarrhea for a week.

Description: This elixir, refined using special methods, possesses an extremely strong effect of enhancing comprehension, but due to the special ingredients and methods used, it also has side effects that are difficult to remove.

Note: This side effect cannot be relieved by conventional drugs or treatments. Because the side effect cannot be relieved, the quality of the pill is greatly reduced.

"Haha, old man, I appreciate your kindness, but you should keep the pill for yourself. I won't bother you any longer!" Bai Shuodong said with a smile as he pushed the pill back.

joke!

Let whoever wants to eat this elixir take it!

"Sigh! You must know that only by enduring hardship can one rise above others. That Xia Yanxin fellow has received quite a few pills from me. If you don't take them, you'll never be able to make up for this gap," the old man continued to persuade patiently.

“Sorry, I prefer to lie flat, so a slight difference isn’t unacceptable,” Bai Shuodong said.

He's Xia Yanxin's deskmate, how could he not know if Xia Yanxin has diarrhea? If Xia Yanxin really ate the Mingji Pill, Bai Shuodong would probably have noticed the abnormality long ago.

This old man is just trying to fool people!

I don't believe him for a second! That old geezer is wicked!

"Oh, child, why are you being so formal?"

The old man sighed deeply, then put away the Bright Extreme Pill, and then took out a mask from his storage space.

The mask was made of bronze, with narrow, upturned eyes, dark red rust spots on the cheekbones resembling blush, and an exaggerated smile etched at the corners of the mouth, making it look extremely extraordinary.

"Take another look at this."

The old man continued with a grin.

【Laughing Mask】

Rank: First Rank

Quality: Silver

Type: Jewelry

Effect: While wearing the item, base stamina recovery speed is increased by 100%, and base health recovery speed is increased by 100%. During the Laughter phase, 1% of maximum health is restored per second.