Chapter 22: One Leaf Hindrance
Chapter 22: One Leaf Hindrance
After Noah Ji made his choice, time continued to flow.
Seeing the two saplings gradually wither and die, Noah Ji nodded in satisfaction.
But then, a sudden cracking sound rang out beside his ear.
“Crack!”
“Crack!”
…
The sound kept echoing by Noah Ji’s ear, giving him an ominous premonition.
Before Noah Ji could react, a new caption appeared before his eyes.
[Your roots are insufficient to support the collapsing cliff, you are dead!]
In Noah Ji’s final view, the cliff he was on collapsed! The trunk he had struggled to grow was buried along with it.As the perspective shifted, Noah Ji found himself back in the Ancestral Hall.
Thinking back to the recent conclusion, Noah Ji couldn’t help but shake his head.
It was too difficult!
However, he did survive longer this time, and he hoped the gains were better than before… right?
[Deduction complete!]
[You have gained a new ability from this deduction: Unyielding]
[You have gained a new Supernatural Power: One Leaf Hindrance]
Unyielding: Your skin has thickened, allowing you to grow better in adversity.
One Leaf Hindrance: You can consume a certain amount of Vitality stored in the leaves to temporarily enhance the strength of a creature.
Silent upon seeing the two new abilities, Noah Ji felt like the system was mocking him!
However, when Noah Ji saw the effects of the new Supernatural Power, the luminescence on his branches and leaves shone much brighter.
Although it was still a power that consumed his own Vitality, it was extremely suitable for the Chen Clan to extricate themselves from their current predicament.
But as for the ‘certain’ amount of Vitality, Noah Ji remained skeptical.
After all, the Vitality consumed to enhance the strength of a Body Tempering Realm Warrior compared to a Martial Immortal would surely be vastly different.
Noah Ji didn’t delve into the specifics, but the timely arrival of One Leaf Hindrance was indeed fortuitous.
Aside from this new Supernatural Power, there was also the new ability of Unyielding.
After gaining this ability, Noah Ji indeed felt that his bark had thickened.
With the current strength of his bark, Lucas Chen probably wouldn’t be able to cut through it with a machete.
Overall, this deduction was quite successful and gave Noah Ji a bit more confidence. At least with his own enhancement, the Chen Clan should be able to put up a fight against the Li Clan, if not defeat them.
Moreover, wasn’t there an Elder Ancestor in the Ancestral Hall?
Noah Ji had carefully observed the ‘Elder Ancestor’ who was missing a hand and a foot, noting that his body seemed to have undergone special refinement, making it very hard.
However, due to prolonged battles, the ‘Elder Ancestor’ was covered in wounds, which led to the loss of limbs, but his strength was still not to be underestimated.
As dawn broke, the luminescence on Noah Ji’s body slowly faded away.
The Vitality he absorbed last night doubled as expected.
Now, Noah Ji’s Vitality had reached 9.8.
The remaining Qi and Blood and Spiritual Power were insufficient for a second Deduction. Considering that a single Blood Condensation Realm beast could replenish the Qi and Blood needed for Deduction, Noah Ji did not hesitate to convert all the remaining Qi and Blood into Vitality.
After all, with two Supernatural Powers requiring the consumption of Vitality, and the second one’s consumption still unknown, it was necessary for him to prepare in advance.
Additionally, Noah Ji wanted to see if a significant increase in Vitality could add more branches and leaves to himself, which would accelerate the speed at which he absorbed moonlight, creating a virtuous cycle.
As the vitality surged within him, Noah Ji felt a refreshing sensation throughout his body, and his roots began to spread rapidly, extending several meters outside the Ancestral Hall.
After his Vitality broke through 10 points, Noah Ji was surprised to find that he seemed to be slowly growing taller.
Not only was he growing taller, but his trunk also seemed to be getting thicker, from the size of a bamboo pole to the thickness of a fist.
This improvement delighted Noah Ji.
It seemed that the higher his Vitality, the more he would grow, not just relying on years.
With this rate of growth, he might soon become a Tower to the Sky.
When all the changes stopped, Noah Ji reopened his status panel:
[Name: Noah Ji]
[Race: Young Sophora Tree]
[Vitality: 16.3]
[Supernatural Powers: Eye of Insight, Reversal Pill, One Leaf Hindrance]
[Technique: Lunar Eclipse]
[Combat Skill: None]
[Qi and Blood: 0 (can be converted to Vitality)]
[Spiritual Power: 1]
[Deduction Points: 15]
[Unable to Deduct!]
[Status: As a worshipped Sacred Tree, you finally have some self-preservation power, but it is still far from enough.]
After the increase in Vitality, his race designation and status had changed accordingly.
Unfortunately, he did not grow additional branches and leaves this time; it seemed that the Vitality was not enough to promote growth, and the Vitality needed for future branches and leaves would be even greater.
After the increase in Vitality, Noah Ji’s roots had already spread several meters outside the Ancestral Hall.
With this, Noah Ji’s ‘eyes’ could see further, and he was no longer confined to the small Ancestral Hall every day.
Around noon, in a secluded room of the Clan, Ethan Chen was deep in thought.
“Clan Chief, you called for me?”
Soon after, Mason Chen entered the room.
Ethan Chen nodded slightly and then spoke:
“Mason, take a few clan members who haven’t eaten and go hunting.”
Mason Chen was startled upon hearing this and asked with confusion:
“But Clan Chief, aren’t there people from the Li Clan guarding everywhere outside? Can we really get away with going out like this?”
“And why bring clan members who haven’t eaten?”
“Of course, it won’t work. This hunt is just a show for the Li Clan to buy us some time.”
Upon hearing Ethan Chen’s explanation, Mason Chen had an epiphany and nodded:
“I understand!”
Before long, the Chen Clan had organized several pale-faced, Qi and Blood-deficient Body Tempering Realm Warriors.
Leading them was Mason Chen, who, compared to the others, looked much healthier with abundant Qi and Blood, but there was a hint of annoyance in his eyes.
After the group was ready, they cautiously left through the clan’s back door.
“Clan Chief, Clan Chief!”
“What’s the rush?”
Looking at the clan member who ran in with excitement and panic, Joshua Li frowned and asked.
“Clan Chief, the Chen Clan tried to go hunting during noon, but we discovered them and sent them back!”
“Oh?”
A look of surprise and doubt crossed Joshua Li’s face as he continued to ask:
“Which members of the Chen family came out? What was their condition? Make sure you tell me everything, don’t leave out any details!”
“The one leading them was Mason Chen, and there were some other Body Tempering Realm Warriors…”
After listening to the detailed description from the person before him, a smile flickered across Joshua Li’s face.