Chapter 68: System Upgrade

“So handsome!”
“Tsk tsk, he’s a real idol. If he hadn’t run, that would have been even more impressive.”
“Not run? What, wait around to get beaten to a pulp?”
…
The scene was in an uproar.
At the stall, the young woman’s face was flushed red, unable to hide her shame and anger.
“Um… Miss, should I go after him for you?” a young man working nearby whispered.
“No need.”
The young woman shook her head, annoyed and embarrassed. “I’ll deal with him myself… Ugh, why am I feeling a bit dizzy?”
As she spoke, she pressed her temples and shook her head, but the dizziness didn’t subside.
Holding her forehead, she said, “I’m not feeling well. I’ll leave this to you guys.”
“Alright, alright, take care!”
The young men exchanged glances, their faces full of odd expressions.
Watching her turn and head inside to rest, they quickly gathered together and spoke in hushed tones.
“What’s going on? Is the boss falling for that pretty boy?”
“Yeah, she got forcefully kissed and didn’t even get angry. Something’s definitely up with her!”
“But… the boss and that guy aren’t even from the same world!”
“So what? If she really likes him, she can take him with her when she leaves!”
“Uh, that’s true. But if I’d known a kiss would win her over, I would’ve done it ages ago.”
“Is kissing really the issue here? Take a look at yourself, then look at him!”
“What’s wrong with me? I’m the most masculine one here! That pretty boy looks weak!”
“I’m not even going to argue with you.”
“…”
…
Two blocks away from the food street, in a narrow alley.
“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”
Tang Mubai lowered his head, spitting repeatedly and wiping his mouth.
“Ugh~ If only it had been a fox-headed or cat-headed person!”
If it had been a pig-headed or bull-headed one, Tang Mubai swore he wouldn’t eat for three days.
He had risked it all for the last “bone bead.”
After spitting and wiping his mouth for ages, he finally managed to suppress his nausea and forced himself not to think about it.
The physique of demi-humans was far stronger than humans.

That young female demi-human had only inhaled a few wisps. With her constitution, she was likely to resist the toxicity, though it would still affect her somewhat and cause her to fall ill.
If she got sick, her grudge against him would fade away.
By the time she realized the “bone bead” was missing, several days would have passed.
Tang Mubai, with his duckbill cap, would be nearly impossible to track down among the nearly six million people of Maple Leaf City!
Thus, the repercussions of obtaining the final “bone bead” were negligible.
Having summed it all up, Tang Mubai put it out of his mind.
He opened the system panel, checked his accumulated lifespan, and found he was still short of eight hundred years.
He immediately drove to Monkey Mountain’s cave, entered the underground space to see if any new blue-scaled sticky bugs had appeared.
This time, luck was on his side—a new batch of blue-scaled sticky bugs had indeed emerged.
Tang Mubai slew them all, collected their life force, and exchanged it for lifespan. Combined with his previous accumulation, his lifespan soared past eight hundred years, reaching 958.8 years!
Over nine hundred and fifty years—enough to raise his blood vitality to one hundred units.
But Tang Mubai didn’t proceed immediately; instead, he drove to the tech city, spent 150,000 Federation coins, and bought a blood vitality detector.
With the detector in hand, he returned to his base, took out ten “bone beads,” fused them, and recombined them into the “Blood King Bead.”
Once successful, he condensed two drops of essence blood to refine the “Blood King Bead.”
Essence blood was not ordinary blood, but the very essence of the body, containing spirit and energy.
It was much more precious than pure blood vitality.
Ordinary people could only condense one drop; professional martial artists, three to five drops at most.
Tang Mubai squeezed out two drops, his face turning slightly pale.
Still, the result was gratifying—the “Blood King Bead” had been successfully refined!
Tang Mubai cut a slit in his palm and placed the “Blood King Bead” onto the wound.
Slightly larger than a ping pong ball, the bead magically sank into the wound, burrowing into his palm and vanishing from sight.
Yet when Tang Mubai used his spiritual sense, he found the “Blood King Bead” still nestled in his palm, now fused with his bloodstream.
A strange force emanated from the bead, coursing through his blood vessels and enveloping his body’s blood vitality wherever it passed.
Tang Mubai willed his blood vitality to decrease, then used the detector. The reading showed only twenty-five units!
His original sixty units of blood vitality were now displayed as only twenty-five!
Suppressing his excitement, Tang Mubai tested three more times, and each result was identical.
Without a doubt, the “Blood King Bead” was working perfectly!
This ability was more effective than any technique for concealing one’s presence.
Normally, once a martial artist reached master level, they could sense the approximate blood vitality of professional or specialist martial artists and judge their stage.
Grandmasters were even more formidable, able to discern the blood vitality level of anyone with a lower realm at a glance.
However—
With the “Blood King Bead,” Tang Mubai could confidently say that even a grandmaster could not see through him so easily!
This was Tang Mubai’s genuine realization after refining the bead.

Previously, he had sought the “Blood King Bead” to facilitate entry and exit through the domain wall, but now, having truly obtained it, he discovered its functions were even greater than he’d imagined!
…
Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Tang Mubai, with the “Blood King Bead” in hand, no longer hesitated. He consumed eight hundred years of lifespan, exchanged it for forty units of blood vitality, pushing his total to one hundred units and formally entering the professional realm…
[Blood Vitality: 100 units. Upgrade conditions met. System upgrading.]
[Upgrade time: 24 hours]
[23:59:58]
…
“System upgrade?”
Tang Mubai “watched” the countdown in his mind, astonished and excited.
He hadn’t expected the system to be capable of upgrading!
“So the upgrade condition is one hundred units of blood vitality.”
“I wonder if the upgraded system will have new functions?”
Tang Mubai was full of anticipation.
The upgrade required one day, just enough time for him to rest.
He’d been out and about every day recently; though not exhausted, he was somewhat fatigued.
Now that the system was “on strike,” he could finally relax.
He leaned back, collapsed onto the bed, and was just about to close his eyes when his phone suddenly rang.
He picked it up offhandedly—it was a call from Lin Huafeng.
He answered at once…
“Hello, Uncle Lin, are you inviting me to dinner?”
“…Get lost!”
Lin Huafeng’s voice came from the other end, gruff and annoyed. “If anything, you should be treating me!”
“Haha, that works too. Come to the restaurant tonight, and I’ll buy you drinks.”
Tang Mubai laughed.
“Treat me when you get back.” Lin Huafeng resumed his normal tone. “I went to the Martial Association today and found a task that’s perfect for your first mission outside the domain. If you’re interested, we can set out tomorrow, and if all goes well, we’ll be back the day after!”
…
(ps: A new week begins. Dear readers, please send your recommendations, (づ￣3￣)づ╭～)