Chapter 047: The Eight-Fold Furnace (Second Update, Still Seeking Votes)

Previously, Xin Lang had fought Ouyang Dishonest more than a dozen times, yet not a single mission prompt appeared. But after Xin Lang killed Ouyang Dishonest, he received a reward of 100 experience points. Xin Lang mused, "It seems my former method of waiting passively for missions was utterly mistaken!"

Xin Lang recalled the notification that flashed by when he used internal force to break the tree trunk, as well as the inexplicable increase in experience points on the upgrader. "That must have been a hidden mission too!"

With this thought, Xin Lang found another ancient tree as thick as a water jar. "Earth-level advanced technique, Inch Force Explosive Fist!"

He struck the tree trunk with all his might. The internal force of a second-level warrior, combined with an earth-level advanced technique, caused a muffled boom inside the trunk as Xin Lang's internal force surged through it. The entire tree shook violently.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Xin Lang followed up with several more punches. Though these subsequent blows didn't use internal force, the trunk still couldn't withstand Xin Lang's relentless assault and broke in half with a thunderous crack.

"Hmm? Why didn't a hidden mission completion prompt appear? Could my guess be wrong?" Xin Lang wondered aloud.

He had assumed that killing an enemy or breaking a tree would count as completing a hidden mission and earn him a reward, but the outcome was not as he expected. He broke another ancient tree, just as he had when training his internal force, yet received no experience points.

"What is going on?" Xin Lang was determined to unravel the mysteries of the upgrader, as they were crucial to his future.

He tried several more trees, and finally, there was progress. When Xin Lang broke the trunk entirely using internal force, the upgrader flashed a hidden mission completion prompt again. Though such missions without star difficulty only awarded 1 experience point, Xin Lang was so delighted that he jumped for joy.

"So it only counts when I use internal force throughout!"

He tested this again and again, and eventually deduced that even when using internal force entirely, breaking an ancient tree wasn't always rewarded with 1 experience point. These hidden missions were somewhat random, like treasure hunting—sometimes you got a reward, sometimes you didn't! Still, the chance of receiving a reward was quite high, about sixty percent.

In other words, if Xin Lang broke ten ancient trees with internal force, six would grant him experience points. Moreover, the thicker the tree, the greater the difficulty, the more experience points would be rewarded.

Xin Lang was comforted, "Though leveling up as a warrior now requires a hundred experience points for each level, there are many more ways to earn experience than before. At least I’m no longer so passive—I now have proactive ways to gain experience!"

With that thought, Xin Lang checked the mission area of the upgrader, wanting to see what changes had occurred in the daily missions.

He selected the "Daily Missions" tab, and upon opening it, saw the daily mission content: Second-level warrior daily mission—complete the following internal force exercises twenty times each day, reward: 10 experience points.

Xin Lang then checked the exercise details: ten demonstration actions, requiring the use of both hands, both feet, both elbows, both knees, chest, and back—ten points of internal force emission.

"Sweat, that's a tough challenge!" Xin Lang sighed.

Currently, Xin Lang could barely use internal force with his hands and feet, his elbows and knees were manageable, but his chest and back were far beyond him!

"It seems the daily reward of 10 experience points isn't so easy to obtain," he lamented.

Having clarified the changes in the upgrader's missions, Xin Lang checked his remaining experience points.

He originally had 107 experience points. Upon mastering internal force and advancing to first-level warrior, he received a 100-point reward for the ten-star main mission. Then, after killing Ouyang Dishonest, a second-level warrior, he completed another ten-star hidden mission and gained another 100 experience points. Subsequently, as he explored the nature of hidden missions, he completed several of the lowest level and gained 8 more experience points, totaling 315 points.

But upgrading to second-level warrior had cost him 100 experience points, then he used another 20 points to upgrade his earth-level low-tier technique, "Inch Force Fist," twice, advancing it to earth-level high-tier "Inch Force Explosive Fist." Thus, the upgrader was left with 195 experience points.

With 195 experience points, Xin Lang could level up again, but he didn't rush. He knew that after leveling up, the difficulty of daily missions would also increase, so he wanted to first master the ten methods of internal force emission before upgrading himself.

Moreover, Xin Lang felt it was time to unlock other function zones of the upgrader.

At his current level, Xin Lang could unlock the "Weapon Equipment Zone" and the "Pet Zone"—two functional areas.

Each zone required 100 experience points to unlock, and Xin Lang only had enough for one. "Which zone should I unlock first?"

After weighing his options, he concluded that the Weapon Equipment Zone, which allowed storage and upgrading of weapons and equipment, would greatly enhance his strength, whereas the Pet Zone wasn't needed yet. So Xin Lang decided to unlock the Weapon Equipment Zone first.

With a thought, Xin Lang pressed the unlock button for the Weapon Equipment Zone, and the upgrader promptly displayed: "Unlocking the Weapon Equipment Zone requires 100 experience points. Proceed?"

"Proceed!" Xin Lang commanded.

Instantly, the upgrader deducted 100 experience points, and the entire Weapon Equipment Zone lit up, becoming fully accessible.

The Weapon Equipment Zone was a standalone area, similar to a "backpack," with many small slots for storing weapons and gear. At present, it was empty, void of any equipment.

In addition to these small slots, the Weapon Equipment Zone featured a striking central area—a massive eight-legged furnace. Each leg was formed from a golden eight-clawed dragon, and beneath each furnace leg was a storage compartment, eight in total, encircling the furnace. The surface of the furnace was engraved with fiery motifs, and below were the words: "Eightfold Furnace."

"What is this Eightfold Furnace for?" Xin Lang wondered.

The upgrader, sensing his inquiry, replied: "The Eightfold Furnace is for forging and upgrading weapons and equipment! You can place materials or formed weapons and gear in the furnace to forge or upgrade them!"

"Damn, that's incredible! Such a powerful function!" Xin Lang rejoiced.

"Too bad I don't have any materials on hand; otherwise, I could try out the Eightfold Furnace's capabilities," he lamented.

"Hmm? There's also a forging list!"