Chapter Sixteen: The Unlucky One Sings a Song of Turnaround

What Ning Xiu needed most at this moment was martial arts. Naturally, what he could rely on was the "Martial God" system. However, it wasn’t as though every treasure chest would yield a martial arts manual; there was only a chance of that. Besides martial arts manuals, the chests also contained various elixirs, weapons, and other items.

So, drawing a martial arts manual was already difficult, let alone obtaining a complete one. With his thorough understanding of game mechanics, Ning Xiu knew that if he relied solely on the single draws accumulated over time, the odds of getting a complete skill would be very low. The only thing he could count on was the so-called ten consecutive draws.

The ten consecutive draws had a guaranteed system: one complete item was certain to appear. However, free attempts could not be accumulated; if you didn’t use them when the cooldown ended, the timer wouldn’t restart.

In this mobile game, there were two types of ten draws: one with ingots, the other with silver coins. As for the ingot draws, Ning Xiu simply had no way to attempt them—even if he wanted to—since he had no idea what currency could be used to recharge. The only thing he could rely on was the blood-red crystal stones that had appeared recently.

He glanced at the number displayed next to the blood crystal stones on the system: 5,649.

Given that one treasure chest required 1,000 blood crystal stones, he could now open five chests. The most important thing was that not long ago, he’d only had just over 800. A single escort mission had earned him more than 4,000.

Most of this was thanks to the one-eyed bandit, which meant that martial artists who had achieved a certain grade could provide the "Martial God" system with large amounts of blood crystal stones.

After a moment’s thought, Ning Xiu made a decision.

To gather enough for a ten-draw, he would have to trouble the nearby bandits a little.

…

Lingan, as a county city, had a strong government presence. Ordinary bandits wouldn’t dare to cause trouble here, so there were none in the vicinity. This made things difficult for Ning Xiu—running back and forth was impractical, so he had to pack some provisions, live alone in the wild, and begin his hunt.

Throughout Lingan County, there were dozens of bandit groups, large and small. The largest was the Black Wind Stronghold. The other strongholds were far weaker in comparison. During his month-long hunting campaign, Ning Xiu rarely encountered martial artists of the entry-level grade.

Still, the numbers were on his side. Ning Xiu picked up a charcoal pencil and marked a cross in the corner of his hand-drawn sheepskin map, murmuring, "At last, I’ve gathered enough for a ten draw."

The ten-draw with silver coins could yield, at best, a bronze chest. Still, the first ten-draw was guaranteed to produce a complete martial art, and a three-star one at that. So Ning Xiu was filled with anticipation for what would come next.

He opened the Martial God system, navigated to the draw interface, swallowed nervously, and began his first ten consecutive draws.

Would he be blessed by luck, or cursed by misfortune? It was time to see his fate.

Though the first ten-draw was guaranteed to provide a three-star complete martial art, what kind of skill he would actually receive depended on luck. If memory served, even the Sunflower Manual was in this tier.

Many skills required prerequisites to learn. For example, Blood Blade Technique merely demanded corresponding basic martial arts, which was manageable. But if he drew a skill he couldn’t learn at all, that would be a disaster.

"Does the host wish to proceed with the ten consecutive draws?"

"Yes."

As soon as the words left his mouth, ten treasure chests appeared before him in a neat row.

He couldn’t discern the material of the chests, but in the center of each was a large character for "martial." The chests opened one after another.

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Broken Iron Sword!"

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Embroidered Needle of the Embroidered Bandit!"

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained the Beginner Disguise Mask!"

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a Fragment of the Five Tiger Soul Severing Blade!"

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a bottle of Golden Wound Medicine!"

...

The chests opened quickly. Ning Xiu held his breath, staring intently at the system. Finally, when the sixth chest opened, a bronze golden light flared.

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a First-Class Low-Tier Martial Art: Nine Yang Divine Skill!"

"Nine Yang Divine Skill—it’s actually Nine Yang Divine Skill!"

Seeing the system prompt, Ning Xiu almost shouted in excitement. It hadn’t been easy. The Nine Yang Divine Skill was perfect for him at this moment.

The Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Skills were the two supreme skills of the Jin lineage. Unlike the vast and miscellaneous Nine Yin Manual, the Nine Yang Divine Skill emphasized refinement.

When mastered, one’s inner energy generated rapidly and ceaselessly. Even ordinary punches and kicks could unleash tremendous force. Its defense was unparalleled; its automatic protective function rebounded attacks, comparable to the Invulnerable Vajra Body of Shaolin. The practitioner became immune to all poisons and could counter all cold and yin-based inner energies.

Think back: when young Zhang first mastered the Nine Yang Divine Skill and emerged from Peach Blossom Valley, he was deceived by Zhu Changling and thrown off a ten-thousand-foot cliff. Though the protagonist’s luck saved him, cushioning his fall on a haystack, any ordinary person would have been smashed to pieces.

But our young Zhang, thanks to the Nine Yang Divine Skill, only suffered temporary broken legs. Then there was the sword thrust by Zhou Zhiruo atop Bright Summit—both incidents testified to the terrifying vitality the skill granted Zhang Wuji.

Most importantly, the Nine Yang Divine Skill embodied the profound principles of martial arts. Once mastered, all martial skills in the world became accessible—a dream for any martial artist.

But all this had a prerequisite: one had to fully master the Nine Yang Divine Skill. Not to Zhang Wuji’s unprecedented level, but at least to complete all four scrolls.

Now, Ning Xiu could only rely on the Martial God system to get started. Who knew how many years it would take to reach mastery? Even the protagonist, with his protagonist’s halo, spent years to finish the four scrolls.

If not for a stroke of luck and the encounter with the Qiankun Unity Pouch, he might never have reached the unprecedented fusion of dragon and tiger, attaining peerless achievement.

Ning Xiu didn’t believe he had extraordinary talent or the fate of a protagonist.

All he could rely on was the system. If he remembered correctly, in the game, ingots could directly upgrade martial skills. There was a reason why his game was jokingly called "Pay-to-Win Martial Path" by players.

But that was for later. At this moment, he didn’t even know what currency this broken system required. Shaking off these distracting thoughts, Ning Xiu picked up the Nine Yang Divine Skill before him and chose to study it.

At once, he felt his true energy circulate throughout his body, breaking through many acupoints in an instant. True energy poured forth from these acupoints, following different meridian routes within him, finally converging like a hundred rivers into his dantian.