"How did you break through to the Spirit Refining Stage? How have you been cultivating...? You clearly couldn't cultivate before! You have to tell me what's going on!"
Shi Xueyun grabbed Yi Tianyun's arm and led him off the stage.
Since the event was over and Yi Tianyun was unharmed, she pulled him aside to talk privately.
After a moment's thought, Yi Tianyun offered a ridiculously cliché excuse. "Actually, a few days ago, a mysterious expert came and helped me. He made it so I could cultivate, and my cultivation level even broke through quite a bit..."
Of course, the explanation was terrible. You could even say it was laughably bad.
And yet, this laughably bad excuse was the best explanation he had at the moment. 'I can't possibly say I transmigrated here, got a system, and then leveled up until I could cultivate, can I?'
"A mysterious expert?"
Shi Xueyun's eyes lit up. She was immediately half-convinced; it wasn't impossible, after all. In this world, anything could happen. "Could it have been someone sent by your father?"
Yi Tianyun's parents had both run off, but they weren't dead. Their whereabouts were a mystery. Shi Xueyun, however, knew that the previous Palace Master had left back then because she had surely run off with some peerless genius.
Given the Palace Master's status, she would never have taken an interest in anyone less than a peerless genius.
Yi Tianyun smiled. "That's very possible. The mysterious expert didn't reveal any information about himself. He just told me to cultivate properly, or else I wouldn't have had the strength to get on stage and win this match."
Shi Xueyun thought for a moment before asking, "Did the mysterious expert say anything else?"
Yi Tianyun shook his head. "He didn't mention anything like that. He just gave me his instructions and left, telling me to focus on my cultivation. He didn't say another word."
"He must have had other matters to attend to... But you, pretending to have insufficient Blood Qi all this time... you even fooled me." Shi Xueyun looked as if she was about to get angry, but there wasn't a trace of real anger on her face.
Yi Tianyun scratched his head, looking embarrassed. "Well, I wanted to give you a surprise, Auntie..."
He sighed inwardly. 'What pretending? My Blood Qi really was depleted.'
"Some surprise this is!"
Shi Xueyun reached out and gently bopped him on the head, huffing. "I'll let you off with a warning this time. I have to go take care of some things, so you should head back and rest."
Yi Tianyun smiled and headed back to his room, while Shi Xueyun went to attend to her own affairs. As soon as he was on his way, Lian quickly caught up to him, clenching her fists in excitement. "Young Master, you were incredible just now!"
She had seen how everyone had always looked down on Yi Tianyun, and she had always felt silently sorry for him. Now that he had experienced a meteoric rise and proven himself with his own strength, how could she not be thrilled and excited for him?
"Don't worry," he said. "Things will only get better from here."
Yi Tianyun's eyes narrowed. His future achievements would certainly not stop here!
After returning to his room, Yi Tianyun finally had some free time to open the Level 11 Gift Pack.
"Open Gift Pack!"
As Yi Tianyun spoke the words, he felt a surge of excitement, wondering what the gift pack might contain.
"Ding! Congratulations on obtaining Basic Mastery of All Professions: Basic Alchemy, Basic Divine Runes, and Basic Forging! You have also received one Lottery Ticket and one Level 15 Gift Pack."
After a moment of stunned silence, Yi Tianyun was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to receive all these basic skills. They would be a massive help, granting him multiple masteries at once. It meant he had instantly become an all-rounder!
Although it was only the basic level, it was already equivalent to the Third-Rank level in this world. Here, all professions were divided into ranks: First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth, followed by Master, Grandmaster, and Creator.
A Third-Rank professional, regardless of the field, was considered to be at a decent level—far from a mere beginner.
For example, a Third-Rank Alchemist was skilled enough to refine many decent-quality Elixir Pills. In the entire Merak Palace, there were hardly any Alchemists, which just went to show how Rare they were.
This was related to their bodies' elemental Attributes. Since they skewed toward the Ice Attribute, it created a conflict when it came to Alchemy.
Therefore, Merak Palace always had to commission outsiders for services like Alchemy or weapon Forging, relying primarily on external help.
Now that he possessed these abilities, it meant he could help forge weapons or perform Alchemy for the palace.
'Although they're all at the basic level, if I practice them enough, their levels will increase.'
These abilities could naturally be upgraded. A Skill Level meter appeared, showing "0/1000." This meant it would take a fair bit of time and materials to practice. But as long as he practiced, he could level up, unlike other people, who needed endless training with no guarantee of advancement.
'But now I have another Lottery Ticket. I can't let it go to waste.'
Yi Tianyun's focus was now on this lottery draw. Last time, he had won Frost Fist. He wondered what he would get this time!
"Activate Lottery System!"
A prize wheel immediately materialized before his eyes, invisible to everyone but him. He reached out, gave the lever a hard pull, and the wheel began to spin rapidly, its pointer flying past all sorts of categories.
'Stop on Divine Skill, it has to stop on Divine Skill!'
He screamed internally. Divine Skills were the most precious prize. He had already experienced that with Madness Mode, which doubled the effect of everything. The mere thought was thrilling.
As if hearing his cry, the wheel began to slow down. Finally, the pointer came to a gentle stop right on the Divine Skill category!
"I really got a Divine Skill!"
Yi Tianyun cried out, nearly jumping for joy. A small package dropped out from the machine, and he caught it. When he opened it, the description of a Divine Skill came into view—
Luck Aura: Increases Luck Level fivefold. Consumes one point of Madness Value per second.
"Luck Aura?"
Yi Tianyun knew what it was, of course, but seeing the cost was enough to make him cough up blood. One point per second? This was an even bigger drain than Madness Mode! 'Truly a Divine Skill,' he thought. 'Even the cost is divinely absurd.'
'The cost is terrifying, but the effect isn't bad. A fivefold increase in Luck Level... Does that mean if I turn it on, I'll find money just walking down the street?'
He frowned, then walked out into the courtyard and activated the Luck Aura. His Madness Value immediately began to drain away, one point per second! The rapid consumption made his heart ache, but he had to see what kind of "luck" it would bring!
He glanced around, checking if some Treasure might suddenly appear, then looked up at the sky to see if a Treasure might fall from above.
"Young Master, what are you doing?"
Just then, Lian walked over, looking at Yi Tianyun curiously.
As she approached, her foot suddenly slipped, and she stumbled right into Yi Tianyun's arms. Thankfully, his reflexes were sharp, and he quickly caught her. But just as he was about to say something, Lian lifted her head to speak and ended up planting a kiss right on his cheek.
"Ah! S-sorry, Young Master! I didn't mean to..."
Lian scrambled back shyly, her face beet red. She never expected something like this to happen. With that, she turned and scurried away. Even though it was an accident, it was just so embarrassing!
'So this counts as luck, huh? More like romantic luck...'
Yi Tianyun touched his cheek and deactivated the Luck Aura. He smacked his lips. 'Then again, the effect doesn't seem half bad...'