Chapter 12: This Can Work?

In the task hall, amidst a crowd of discussions and mockery, Zhao Heng received the task jade slip and turned to leave.

That's right, he had accepted the task offering 300 Xuan Crystals to find a lost jade pendant at the Qinglong Pond.

Although many people from the sect had taken up this task before, only to return empty-handed, he felt that his chances might be a bit greater.

To ensure the task's success, Zhao Heng first went to Qinglong Lake, located in the northeastern direction of the sect.

After some on-site estimation, Zhao Heng determined that the entire Qinglong Lake spanned a range of about ten miles in radius.

He then personally found the outer sect senior sister who had posted the task.

This senior sister, who had the cultivation of the Bone Forging Realm and a sturdy build that could rival two of Zhao Heng's own, seemed to be in a sorrowful state, with tears about to fall as she spoke. She even promised Zhao Heng that if he found the jade pendant, she would offer herself to him. From her response, Zhao Heng was certain the information was accurate.

After politely rejecting her offer, Zhao Heng returned to his dormitory. There, he shook the dice three times—one ordinary theft, one ordinary theft again, and finally, an accumulated luck theft.

Afterward, he hurried back to Qinglong Pond.

The pond was shaped like a crescent, surrounded on all sides by dense forest. The tranquil waters were dotted with boats, some with couples flirting, others with fishermen casting their lines.

Zhao Heng spent a bit of silver to rent a small boat and paddled alone to the center of the pond.

With only a net in hand, he began casting it in a frantic manner, attracting the attention of people nearby, who watched in confusion.

But no one knew that, at this moment, Zhao Heng silently muttered in his heart, "Use the Steal skill!"

In the next moment, the net dipped slightly.

He quickly pulled the net, and a shiny, fist-sized silver ingot appeared in it.

Though silver ingots were far less valuable than Xuan Jin, this large chunk was still worth enough to buy a lot of food.

The people around him were surprised, thinking his luck was excellent.

Zhao Heng calmly collected the ingot and cast the net again into the water.

Some fishermen nearby sneered.

"This guy must have hit the jackpot. He finds a silver ingot and thinks it's his skill? If he's so capable, why doesn't he pull up some gold?"

At that moment, Zhao Heng used the Steal skill again.

"Hmm?"

The net again dipped, heavier than before.

With a slight tug, a golden ingot, as big as a fist, appeared in the net.

This gold was worth about two Xuan Crystals.

The onlookers gasped in astonishment, and a few fishermen were left stunned.

One of them couldn't help but scoff, "Pfft, big deal, find a huge fish if you're really that skilled!"

Zhao Heng, however, was feeling increasingly serious.

Now it was the last cast. He couldn’t afford to make a mistake.

“Luck Steal!”

After ten ordinary steals, the accumulated luck steal was triggered at this moment.

"Whoosh!"

Zhao Heng suddenly felt the net sink heavily, almost pulling him into the water.

He quickly exerted force to pull, and to his surprise, a huge fish—more than human-length and as thick as an adult's waist—was hauled into the boat.

The fishermen on the shore finally turned red with envy.

"Damn, how is this possible?!"

Zhao Heng, however, was in a sour mood. "Why is it a fish? It should have been the jade pendant!"

He had used his luck steal just to get that pendant and earn 300 Xuan Crystals as a reward, but now it seemed his plan had backfired.

“This is a huge loss!”

With a grim expression, Zhao Heng looked at the fish's large mouth and suddenly had an idea.

He quickly paddled the boat to the shore, clutching the silver ingot, gold, and the large fish, and began heading back.

Not long after Zhao Heng left, in the coming days, many small boats appeared near Qinglong Pond. Everyone had nets in hand, and they began casting them wildly in the waters, forming a peculiar scene.

But that's a story for later. For now, Zhao Heng had returned to the Servants' Peak.

Beside a small stream, he used a knife to gut the big fish.

As the knife cut open the fish's belly, Zhao Heng's hand quickly reached in and his eyes lit up as he pulled out a beautifully crafted pair of mandarin duck jade pendants.

“Just as I thought!”

Zhao Heng had suspected that the pendant might have been swallowed by the fish, which explained why no one had found it. Now, his suspicion was confirmed.

“As expected of Luck Steal, it completed the task for me!”

Excited, Zhao Heng marveled at the 300 Xuan Crystal reward. Thinking of the upcoming Servant Exam in three days, his confidence grew.

Unfortunately, high-reward tasks like these were rare, and Luck Steal didn't always guarantee success. If it did, it would have been a shortcut to wealth.

Zhao Heng didn’t rush to turn in the task. Instead, he waited until late at night, when the task hall was nearly empty, to quietly hand it in. With 300 Xuan Crystals in his possession, he returned to his dorm.

Locking the door, Zhao Heng placed the 300 Xuan Crystals on his bed and took out the dice.

Before rolling, he carefully burned incense and washed his hands, praying for good luck.

Once everything was set, Zhao Heng took ten Xuan Crystals and threw them confidently.

“Roll for me!”

“Clink….”

The dice spun for a moment, then landed on one.

Zhao Heng remained expressionless, not immediately using his skill, and continued shaking the dice.

Five consecutive rolls, all landing on one, but Zhao Heng wasn't discouraged. He secretly began to anticipate the outcome.

After so many rolls, he had started to notice a pattern.

Every twenty rolls, he usually got a "Perfect Enhancement" once. The interval for that was typically between the fifteenth and twentieth rolls.

After ten rolls and five more, he had now hit fifteen, so the two-point result should be coming soon.

Zhao Heng kept rolling until the nineteenth roll.

“Buzz…”

Finally, two red dots appeared.

“Just as expected!”

Zhao Heng was ecstatic as he raised his hand. Another perfect enhancement opportunity!

He immediately chose to use the skill.

A familiar silver light appeared in front of him, and Zhao Heng took out two books.

One was Shattered Stone Fist, which had reached Intermediate Mortal Grade and could be further upgraded, while the other was Bone Transformation Step, which was already at Intermediate Mortal Grade.

Zhao Heng wanted to enhance both techniques and decided to try putting both into the light sphere. However, a surge of energy repelled them.

A voice spoke: "Only one item can be enhanced at a time!"

After a brief hesitation, Zhao Heng chose Bone Transformation Step.

Though enhancing Shattered Stone Fist would improve the technique's level and power, even simplifying it further, Zhao Heng considered that his movement technique was his weak point. If he could master Bone Transformation Step, his self-defense ability would greatly improve.

Without hesitation, Zhao Heng threw Bone Transformation Step into the light sphere. He had prepared a hefty amount of Xuan Crystals for the enhancement.

After a short time, the light sphere absorbed a total of 120 Xuan Crystals, completing the enhancement.

“Enhancement complete. The item has reached its perfect state!”

Zhao Heng quickly took the book and checked. The cover's "Intermediate Mortal Grade" had changed to "Top-tier Mortal Grade!"

The perfect enhancement had propelled Bone Transformation Step to the pinnacle of Mortal Grade.

Though it consumed a lot of Xuan Crystals, Zhao Heng was satisfied with the result.

He didn't immediately practice the technique. Instead, he counted the remaining Xuan Crystals—ninety left.

He had rolled eight times for theft and once for perfect enhancement.

After some thought, Zhao Heng decided to roll twice more.

If all went as expected, the next two rolls should be theft, and after ten thefts, he'd get another luck steal.

“Roll for me!”

The first roll, once again, landed on one.

"One more roll."

“Clink…”

The dice spun in mid-air, and when they landed, an eerie blue light glowed from them.

Zhao Heng stared intently.

“One, two, three... it's three!”

[----------------°-------------]

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