The Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles

[Newbie Quest "Gathering Herbs" completed. You have received 1,000 experience points and 200 copper coins.]

[Ding, congratulations! Your level has increased. Current Level: 5.]

Tang Xuan arrived at the herb shop in the Novice Village, found the shopkeeper, and turned in the "Gathering Herbs" quest.

The generous reward of 1,000 experience points had propelled him straight from level 4 to level 5.

Previously, slaying that level 10 wild boss—the Two-Headed Black Centipede—had only granted him 200 experience points.

After handing in the quest, Tang Xuan retrieved from his game inventory the century-old spirit mushroom he had obtained by defeating the wild boss.

Before he could speak, the shopkeeper exclaimed in astonishment, "Ah! A century-old wild spirit mushroom! How did you acquire such a rare item?"

Seeing the shopkeeper’s amazed expression, Tang Xuan couldn’t help but feel that this NPC was almost lifelike. He smiled and replied, "I obtained it after slaying a Two-Headed Black Centipede."

"No wonder, no wonder! Young hero, your martial prowess is truly impressive—you managed to vanquish the Two-Headed Black Centipede!"

The shopkeeper gazed in awe, coveting the wild spirit mushroom in Tang Xuan’s hand. After a moment’s contemplation, he said, "Young hero, I have a martial arts manual here. Would you be willing to trade your spirit mushroom for it?"

"A martial arts manual?"

Tang Xuan was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t expected that the century-old spirit mushroom dropped by the wild boss would come with this kind of hidden reward.

The shopkeeper reached under the counter and produced a book entitled "Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles."

Tang Xuan took the manual and examined it.

[Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles (Second-Grade Hidden Weapon Skill)]

[Thirteen slender needles, wielded with utmost focus and intention. When body and mind are united, every strike hits its mark and wounds the enemy.]

[When activated with inner force, attack power increases by 15%. There is a chance to trigger a critical strike. Each activation consumes 5 points of inner force. Requires needle-type hidden weapons.]

"A second-grade skill!"

Tang Xuan’s eyes gleamed.

The martial skill rankings in "Grand Wuxia" had been revealed before the public test: they ranged from Grade One to Grade Nine.

Grade One was the lowest, Grade Nine the highest.

Grade One encompassed basic inner force, basic footwork, basic fist technique, basic swordplay, and other foundational martial arts.

Second-grade skills, even if only a single rank higher, were vastly superior to the basics.

These were the skills taught by the major sects to their disciples upon entry.

And above those were the likes of Mount Hua's "Purple Haze Divine Skill," "Evil-Resisting Sword Manual," "Sunflower Manual"; Songshan’s "Ice True Qi"; the Murong clan’s "Star Shifting Technique"; Ming Cult’s "Heaven and Earth Great Shift," and so forth.

There were even "Nine Yin Manual," "Nine Yang Divine Skill," Xiaoyao Sect’s "Minor Unfettered Skill," "Northern Darkness Divine Skill," "Eight Desolations Six Harmonies Only I Am Supreme Skill"—all legendary high-grade martial arts.

And these were only a fraction of the high-grade secret arts.

"Grand Wuxia" contained countless hidden martial sects and noble families.

Even a hidden weapon skill like "Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles" had higher-grade variants, such as "Jade Bee Needles," "Icy Silver Needles," or even the Embroidered Needles used by the Invincible East.

"I’ll trade!"

Tang Xuan immediately exchanged the century-old wild spirit mushroom in his hand with the shopkeeper for "Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles."

Those legendary high-grade skills were still far beyond his reach—for now, possessing a second-grade hidden weapon skill like "Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles" would greatly enhance his combat prowess.

After all, he was a man blessed with cheat abilities!

[Ding, Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles mastered.]

Upon learning the skill, it instantly advanced from level 1 to level 10, perfect mastery.

He opened the skill panel to inspect its attributes.

[Thirteen Plum Blossom Needles (Perfect Mastery): Increases attack power by 180%. Chance to trigger a critical strike. Each activation consumes 5 points of inner force. Requires needle-type hidden weapons.]

At level 1, the skill increased attack power by only 15%.

At level 2, it increased by 30%.

And so forth—at level 10, perfect mastery meant a whopping 180% boost to attack power!

The chance to trigger a critical strike depended on whether the hidden weapon hit a vital spot on the target—a matter of the player’s skill.

"One hundred eighty percent!"

A smile tugged at Tang Xuan’s lips. Basic Grade One skills, like fist techniques, when mastered, only increased attack power by 120%.

The only drawback was that this skill required needle-type hidden weapons.

Tang Xuan left the herb shop and made his way to the weaponsmith’s shop in the Novice Village.

"Oh, it’s the new young hero! Are you here to forge a weapon, or to take on a task?"

The blacksmith in the shop greeted Tang Xuan warmly.

"Both forging a weapon and taking a task," Tang Xuan replied with a smile.

Having completed the "Gathering Herbs" quest, he had received 200 copper coins.

In "Grand Wuxia," one tael of silver equaled 1,000 copper coins, and one tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver.

Although there was no gold or silver in hand, copper coins were hard currency. With them, he could buy buns, medicines, and other items to restore health, stamina, inner force, and various statuses.

Copper could also be used to purchase basic equipment.

The most basic weapon, the Iron Sword, cost 100 copper coins.

Tang Xuan chose to buy an Iron Sword and had thirteen flying needles forged.

[Iron Sword (White): Attack +10]

[Flying Needle (White): Attack +5]

Each needle was originally priced at 8 copper coins—104 in total—but Tang Xuan didn’t have enough. After bargaining, he managed to acquire them for 100 copper coins.

He couldn’t help but marvel again at the realism of the NPCs—they could even haggle!

He also accepted the "Gather Iron Ore" quest from the blacksmith.

This quest was not simple—it was for levels 5 to 10, unlike "Gathering Herbs," which was for levels 1 to 10.

It had a minimum level requirement of 5!

The quest location was the northern mountain outside the Novice Village, said to be guarded by bandits from Blackwind Fortress.

Extremely dangerous!

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(New book launch—please add to your collection, vote for recommendations, rolling on the ground begging~~)