I have an Apocalypse City
Chapter 1176 - Chapter 1176 Chapter 1178 The Big Fellow_1

Chapter 1176: Chapter 1178: The Big Fellow_1 Chapter 1176: Chapter 1178: The Big Fellow_1 “`

Xin Ling’s Medicine Gathering Skill was clearly superior to Song Jian’s. Even when harvesting Red Sword Grass barehanded, the quality of her harvest was much higher than the grass Song Jian gathered using the Purple Bamboo Spade.

Watching Song Jian’s clumsy motions with the Purple Bamboo Spade, Xin Ling’s face revealed a confident smile. She believed she would certainly gather perfect quality Red Sword Grass before Song Jian.

However, after more than an hour, Xin Ling’s face began to sour. Around her lay many pieces of excellent quality Red Sword Grass, discarded because her pouch was full, stuffed with even higher quality herbs.

But not a single stalk of perfect quality Red Sword Grass had been gathered by her yet!

“This is impossible!” Xin Ling ceased her gathering efforts, frowning deeply. With her current level of Medicine Gathering Skill, she should have been able to gather perfect quality Red Sword Grass by now, but most of what she had gathered so far was merely excellent or of superior quality.

“There must be something I’ve overlooked!” Xin Ling resumed her gathering, and when another stalk of excellent quality Red Sword Grass appeared in her hand, she began to observe it carefully.

Red Sword Grass is a ninth-level herb used to make Sword Qi Pills that quickly restore Sword Qi Value, and in the Imperial Sword Sect, it is an essential, commonly used dan medicine, hence it is cultivated on a large scale.

Though the Red Sword Grass is of high level, it should not pose a challenge to a Master Level herbalist! Xin Ling examined the herb over and over but could not discern the reason for her failure. In the end, she sighed and tossed the herb aside.

When she inadvertently glanced at Song Jian, she was shocked to find that the quality of the Red Sword Grass he was gathering had also reached superior!

“Master, master level? Has he really reached Master Level Medicine Gathering Skill so quickly?” Xin Ling’s eyes widened in disbelief. She knew how much time and effort it had taken her to raise her Medicine Gathering Skill from apprentice to Master Level, and it would not have been possible without good fortune like inadvertently entering a medicine garden secret realm.

But Song Jian had managed to raise his Medicine Gathering Skill to expert level in just half a day, which left Xin Ling astounded.

“Could it be that this Red Sword Grass has a hidden attribute that boosts the proficiency of the Medicine Gathering Skill?” Xin Ling frowned and stared intently at the Red Sword Grass scattered on the ground, puzzled, “That can’t be right, though. I’m also gathering, but I don’t feel any difference from gathering other ninth-level herbs…”

After much thought, a sudden realization flashed through Xin Ling’s mind, and she asked Song Jian, “What was your initial level of Medicine Gathering Skill?”

Song Jian looked up at Xin Ling with a puzzled expression and said, “Level seven!”

“Advanced Herbalist Level Seven?” Xin Ling asked.

“Apprentice Level Seven!” Song Jian continued to gather another stalk of Red Sword Grass, answering without even lifting his head.

“This, this can’t be!” Xin Ling exclaimed, but soon, she seemed to understand something.

Everyone knows that with Apprenticeship Level Medicine Gathering Skill, it is simply impossible to gather ninth-level herbs. Attempting to do so would only destroy the herbs and yield no proficiency at all.

Xin Ling had seen Song Jian’s clumsy gathering motions, but with no damaged Red Sword Grass nearby, she had mistakenly thought that Song Jian’s skill level had reached that of a middle or advanced herbalist. She had not expected that Song Jian’s true skill level was actually that of an apprentice.

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“Red Sword Grass indeed has a hidden property, which is that no matter what level Medicine Gathering Skill you use to harvest it, you will gain proficiency!” Xin Ling felt somewhat stifled and thought to herself, “This place must be where the disciples of the Imperial Sword Sect practice their life assistance skills. Even if they haven’t learned any life assistance skills, they could elevate their preferred skills to a high level within a few days!”

“Another thing is, it increases the difficulty of gathering perfect quality herbs, a herb with a low entry barrier, yet a high upper limit!” Xin Ling gritted her teeth in frustration.

“If I had known earlier, I would have gone mining!” Xin Ling looked towards the mountain range in the distance, feeling a sense of despair. Her Mining Skill level was very low, only at about Apprentice Level Three. If she had chosen to gather ore instead, maybe by now her Mining Skill would have already reached the level of a High Mining Master or even an Expert Miner.

Just as Xin Ling was hesitating whether to change her exam goals, Song Jian had already gathered another dozen or so Red Sword Grass plants.

At this moment, Xin Ling suddnely realized that Song Jian didn’t need to recover his Sword Qi Value, he was continuously harvesting without pause! It was common knowledge that although Sword Qi Value recovered quickly, increasing the upper limit of Sword Qi Value did not necessarily increase the recovery speed of Sword Qi Value.

An upper limit of a hundred Sword Qi Value only takes about four to five seconds to fully recover, but if the Sword Qi Value increases to a thousand, it would take nearly a minute to do so.

Red Sword Grass had a high grade. Harvesting one plant would cost about five hundred Sword Qi Value even at Xin Ling’s Master Level, which meant that after harvesting two Red Sword Grass plants, Xin Ling had to pause to slightly recover her Sword Qi Value before she could continue harvesting.

Yet, Song Jian had not rested just now and continuously harvested more than a dozen Red Sword Grass plants, which made Xin Ling suddenly come up with a thought that even she found hard to believe.

“His Sword Qi Value upper limit is several times higher than mine? How is that possible!” Xin Ling stared at Song Jian, watching as he kept harvesting over twenty Red Sword Grass plants before starting to sit down to recover, her face showing a shocked expression.

“His Sword Qi Value upper limit must be at least over eight thousand points!” Xin Ling was so astonished that she was almost speechless.

Song Jian did not wait until his Sword Qi Value was fully restored. As soon as it reached 80%, he began to continue harvesting Red Sword Grass. As his Medicine Gathering Skill level increased, the proficiency he gained each time he harvested also increased. Now, completely harvesting one plant of excellent quality Red Sword Grass would increase his proficiency by over twenty points, and harvesting a superior quality plant could increase it by nearly forty points. Plus, with the assistive effect of the Purple Bamboo Spade, the proficiency Song Jian gained from harvesting one Red Sword Grass plant was now not much different from the Master Level Xin Ling.

As time ticked by, the sky gradually darkened, and Song Jian had cleared out the Red Sword Grass within a few hundred meters radius. He needed to move to another location to continue harvesting.

“Aren’t you going to take a break?” Xin Ling asked with surprise as she watched Song Jian.

“This is a game, there’s no need to rest at night!” Song Jian looked at Xin Ling somewhat puzzled. As long as one’s stamina wasn’t exhausted, there was no need to sleep and rest in the game. Only when the recovery speed of Spirit Points noticeably slowed down was there a need to sleep.

Xin Ling immediately felt a bit embarrassed. Ever since she entered the game, she hadn’t changed some of her real-world habits, and every night, she would return to her safe house to rest.

Watching Song Jian head towards another patch of Red Sword Grass, Xin Ling bit her lip and followed him. She felt that it wouldn’t take long for Song Jian’s Medicine Gathering Skill level to surpass her own, and if she continued to be this lax, she might never get a chance to beat him.

Just as Song Jian was about to continue harvesting Red Sword Grass, a deep roar of a wild beast came from afar. Song Jian’s face lit up with joy, “Finally, I don’t need to keep harvesting Red Sword Grass. This time it’s a big one!”

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PS: Thanks to “Thirsty Boy” for the reward of 100 starting coins~