Chapter Thirty-Two: The Enhancement of Skills and Strength

At first, Yi Shen thought Zhu Qing might keep a little for herself in private. After all, he didn’t know the exact prices. But unexpectedly, this girl was much more honest than he’d imagined—every piece of equipment she sold for him fetched above market price. She was indeed an excellent partner.

As for Zhu You, since she usually kept an eye on forum information and materials for Yi Shen, he’d given her his address. She even cooked a meal specially and brought it to him in person.

They were well matched in affection and intent. Now and then, Yi Shen would nudge their relationship forward. Under his subtle influence, in just over ten days, Zhu You seemed to have transformed into the picture of a little wife—so much so that Yi Shen occasionally felt a twinge of guilt.

Was it really so easy to win a girl’s heart these days?

From a gentle head pat to helping her comb her hair, and eventually even pinching her cheeks, Yi Shen clearly saw the bashfulness of a young maiden.

Naturally, the more contact he had, the better he understood the Zhu sisters’ situation. For instance, their father had been a member of the vanguard in the early days and played a role in reclaiming the Jingmen Safe Zone. Only after his death did their family’s fortunes begin to decline.

And then, quite by chance, Zhu You once mentioned that there were three sisters in their family. Both she and Yi Shen were taken aback. Zhu You was surprised because she had assumed Yi Shen already knew and so had never brought it up. She told him her youngest sister was named Zhu Ke, who was participating in the preparatory exam for the martial academy this year, applying to the First Martial Academy of the Jingmen Safe Zone.

Because Zhu Ke was busy preparing for the re-examination, she hadn’t been by the shop lately. Zhu You said she’d introduce her sister to Yi Shen when there was a chance.

Yi Shen, however, was stunned. The name Zhu Ke sounded inexplicably familiar to him.

Sure enough, when he asked about Zhu Ke’s original school and class, he realized with a shock that she was in his very own class at his school!

Yi Shen immediately expressed that the fewer people who knew about his existence, the better. It was best not to tell her sister or introduce them. He had never imagined the world could be so small—that the girl he was now courting was the older sister of the one who had confessed to him not long ago!

What was even trickier was that Yi Shen hadn’t revealed his real name to Zhu You, either. He’d bought a separate communicator to interact with the sisters, always using the codename “Orange,” promising to reveal the truth once everything was over.

But now, if he met Zhu Ke, his identity would likely be exposed instantly!

Whether that exposure would be dangerous was secondary; what mattered was the sheer embarrassment Yi Shen would feel. Only a few days ago, he’d been scheming about how to gradually win over both Zhu Qing and Zhu You, and now a younger sister had suddenly appeared—one who had already confessed to him. Faced with such a tangled web, Yi Shen felt it best not to get involved.

Zhu Qing was willing to handle the buying and selling of equipment and gathering of materials for his sake, partly out of regard for Zhu You. Yi Shen even suspected she had guessed his identity but chose not to confront him. If she learned he was simultaneously involved with both her sisters, she probably wouldn’t be as wholehearted in her support.

Fortunately, Zhu You mentioned her youngest sister first, giving Yi Shen time to prepare. He restrained himself a little and didn’t push the relationship further. Otherwise, in a few days, he might have crossed the line.

What he hadn’t expected was that his calm and measured approach only made Zhu You grow more dependent on him, seeing him as a reliable man.

Very naturally, Zhu You began to imagine Yi Shen as a scion of a wealthy family, compelled for now to keep his identity hidden, with herself as his capable assistant.

At first, Yi Shen found this a bit embarrassing. But after some thought, he realized there was no reason to feel awkward. If one’s conduct is upright, one needn’t fear rumors.

Meeting Zhu Qing and Zhu You had been pure happenstance. As for Zhu Ke, he honestly had little impression of her.

As Zhu Qing continued to make deals, most of Yi Shen’s equipment had been sold. The red-tasseled spear he’d kept also found a home with Zhu Qing, who truly liked it and bought it at a fair price.

Altogether, these sales brought Yi Shen more than twenty thousand in profit, helping him shake off his earlier embarrassment. He had Zhu You use the money to purchase several practical skill books and some affordable high-grade materials.

Not all high-level materials sold for high prices. Some couldn’t be used for potions or equipment, making them less valuable than certain low-grade materials. Yet for Yi Shen’s spell research, these were immensely useful, and he managed to make a tidy profit on the difference.

In the end, after researching with the materials, his attributes received a dramatic boost, and he gained several new skills:

Mana Shield (E), Blizzard (E), Magic Enhancement (D), Detection (F), Summon Water Elemental (F), Spell Critical Strike (E), Feather Light (D), and Polymorph (E).

Mana Shield, Blizzard, Magic Enhancement, Summon Water Elemental, and Detection were all skills Yi Shen purchased. The skill books alone cost him seventeen or eighteen thousand—the price for mage skills was certainly steep.

Spell Critical Strike, Feather Light, and Polymorph were gained through his own spell research, which also improved his attributes.

Previously, Yi Shen had only five or six skills. After this wave of skill expansion, his total number of skills had doubled.

With these new abilities, Yi Shen believed his monster-hunting speed would soar to a whole new level!

Mana Shield hardly needed explanation—it was a defensive skill, adding a protective effect. Its drawback was that it couldn’t stack, but it was better than nothing.

Blizzard, on the other hand, was the quintessential mage ice skill. Though just E-rank, it sold for nearly ten thousand, allowing Yi Shen to summon a storm of snow over an area, dealing continuous damage and slowing enemies—a superb skill for kiting and grinding monsters. This marked a new era of area-of-effect farming for him.

Magic Enhancement could increase his spell damage; Yi Shen considered it as valuable as Blizzard. Starting from D-rank, some skills offered attribute boosts.

For example, Magic Enhancement increased his spell damage by 10% of his Intelligence. After the attribute upgrade, his Intelligence had surpassed six hundred, meaning that single skill added over sixty spell power!

With these improvements, Yi Shen’s strength was poised for a significant leap.