Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 250: Four-Star Farmer Card

"Ahem — can you hear me? Friend, this is Trading Counter No. 8 of the Medical Department's affiliated market. Our department, under the orders of the great six-star lord, handles trade requests from pioneering territories operating at three-star to five-star difficulty. Are you looking to sell any resources? By the way, this trade window will only stay open for ten minutes. Also, due to the rules, you cannot purchase goods here, and I will not record your appearance, voice, or player ID."

Oh? The Medical Department.

It seemed no one from the Medical Department had joined this pioneering mission. And the other party kept invoking "the great six-star lord" — so this trade exchange was still happening within that great lord's domain.

"What resources can I theoretically sell, and what's the most cost-effective?"

"Ha — that's a broad question. The most common thing people sell is one-star irradiated black soil. Bring in one cubic meter and we'll pay you 100 standard gold coins. But the risk is significant — sell one cubic meter and you add 1% extra difficulty. You understand what I mean. So if you have crops you've grown — as long as they're one-star quality, even little cucumbers or tender eggplants — those fetch decent prices. Though the minimum order is ten units, otherwise the cross-border shipping fee alone would eat you alive."

"So just tell me what you have on you that's worth selling. Note: everything is subject to a 10% cross-border shipping fee on the total price."

What?

That didn't sound particularly great.

Li Wei thought for a moment, then produced a tray of crystalline one-star mutant spider silk — the kind that could be collected from the flying spiders that resembled the three-eyed creature type. He had two hundred trays in total.

"Ah, one-star mutant spider silk. Very common basic material. Ten trays per standard unit, ten gold coins per unit. How many do you have?"Li Wei considered — it didn't seem very worthwhile. He had two hundred trays, which meant paying twenty gold coins in shipping fees.

"What about this?"

He produced the thirty-centimeter black limb segment.

"Oh? A spellcaster's life core. This needs to be appraised — otherwise it won't be counted as loot and can't be identified."

The bespectacled middle-aged man gave Li Wei a meaningful look. "Do you want an appraisal? Appraisal fee: 100 gold."

"That expensive?"

Li Wei was taken aback. He had the distinct feeling he was being fleeced.

"Yes, of course it's expensive. Under normal circumstances, taking this to headquarters would cost you at most 50 gold for an appraisal. But you need to understand where you are. There's no way to get this thing out quietly — if the Cross-Border Anti-Smuggling Department intercepts it, you're on your own. Hurry up — time's running out."

"Fine. Appraise it."

Li Wei gritted his teeth. The Cross-Border Anti-Smuggling Department? First he'd heard of it. Was that one of the six-star lord's armed forces?

This was not something to take lightly. He immediately handed over 110 trays of mutant spider silk.

The other man chuckled, adjusted his glasses, and the next moment a four-star Profession Card flew out from between his brows — apparently with some special appraisal effect. There was barely any visible change, and then the half-blackened limb segment seemed to melt, enveloped in a pale blue halo.

"Appraisal complete. It's a magical material that has undergone three rounds of radiation mutation — Spiritual Power-type. Generally used to craft mental-enhancement potions. Market value around 2,000 gold coins. Our Medical Department happens to be in the market for exactly this — we can offer you a 10% premium. Selling?"

Li Wei hesitated, because several notifications were surfacing at that moment.

["You have had an unknown item belonging to family property appraised."]

["Appraisal successful. This item has been scanned and recorded as family property. Relevant allocation records are being revised."]

["Warning: Since you have already completed the allocation of the Universal Gold Card, this item will no longer be exclusively yours to claim or distribute. It is family property. However, the appraisal fee will be refunded in full at mission settlement."]

["Warning: If you attempt to claim this item for yourself, you will need to spend 100 Prestige points."]

Ah. So that was it.

"Sorry — now that it's been appraised, I no longer have the authority to sell it."

Li Wei was helpless.

"Nothing to be done then. Time's up. Goodbye."

The bespectacled man looked entirely unsurprised, gave a casual wave, and the gray mist dispersed. Everything returned to normal.

Li Wei stood there in thought for a long moment, then smiled faintly. His current Prestige was down to 280 — claiming the item would be easy enough. But he still needed to consider maximizing the benefit.

He stored the magical material in his Resource Card, checked the time, and realized dinner was almost ready.

He washed up and headed to the fourth-floor dining room, sitting quietly at the table to wait.

About half an hour later, Thomas and Zhao Xuanxuan returned one after the other, sat down, exchanged a few words, and dug in. Over the past two days, both had slowed their work pace — and it showed. They were clearly back to about ninety percent, more than capable of handling a sudden fight.

Li Wei ate his dinner in silence alongside them, then said, "Tonight, you two take over my patrol. I have something to take care of."

"Got it."

Both nodded slightly. No need to ask — they could mostly guess.

After the cook aunties had finished cleaning up, Li Wei went straight to the third-floor storage room. Tonight, he would formally upgrade his Farmer Card to four stars — a process that would likely require a lot of food to sustain.

He found a spot to sit, then summoned the Black Iron Token.

["Fuse the Black Iron Clearance Token with the Three-Star Farmer Card? You have met the fusion conditions: 10,000 farming experience points and 100 standard gold coins."]

Confirmed.

The familiar sequence began. The light and shadow of the world shifted. He could faintly sense his Farmer Card shattering — then reassembling under some mysterious force.

Throughout the process, his perception saw only darkness, as if he'd been cast into an endless abyss.

He didn't know how long it lasted — longer than last time — before a faint light finally descended, like an angel's hand, gently and steadily drawing his consciousness up from the depths of the dark. The sensation was like a soul leaving the body. Gradually, more bright and pure points of light fell, illuminating Li Wei's soul, then his body, until everything was restored.

Simultaneously, a Four-Star Farmer Card coalesced.

As if it had always been a part of his body and soul.

The upgraded Four-Star Farmer Card was still black and white — four stars on one side, a sheaf of golden wheat on the other. At first glance it looked simple, but Li Wei stared at it for just one second before feeling as though he was already standing in a vast, golden wheat field on the verge of harvest. Extraordinary.

Lines of information surfaced.

["Four-Star Farmer Card bound."]

["Profession upgraded to: Expert Farmer."]

["Profession Talent acquired: Soil fertility of cultivated land increases by 60%. You can professionally enhance crops' resistance to abnormal environments. You can discover and harvest mature, valuable seeds in the wild."]

["5 free attribute points automatically granted."]

["Friendly reminder: Upgrading to a Five-Star Farmer Card requires 100,000 farming experience points + 1,000 units of standard world resources (1,000 standard gold coins) + one Silver-quality Clearance Token."]

["Friendly reminder: You are now a four-star player. Based on the Pioneering Card you carry, the difficulty of your current Pioneering branch will passively increase by 30% — bringing the current extra difficulty to 150%. Please inform your companions promptly, as they cannot receive notifications about difficulty changes."]

["Friendly reminder: From this point forward, the difficulty of Chaotic Killing Missions you participate in will automatically increase. When all four of your Profession Cards reach four stars, you may choose to trigger the Four-Star Lord Mission, and will be required to complete a cross-dimensional mission once every five years. Note: after completing one cross-dimensional mission, you will not need to participate in Chaotic Killing Missions for three years."]

Not bad.

As for the increased risk and difficulty — that was within Li Wei's calculations. The bigger the waves, the bigger the fish.

Now — how to allocate these five free attribute points?

Or rather: once his Scout Card was bound and activated, he'd theoretically gain another five or even ten free attribute points.

And the Scout Card apparently came with 3 base Agility.

He needed to think holistically.

"In that case — I should address my weakest stat first. Bring Defense up to Level 1 Awakening. Then I'll have all attributes at Level 1 Awakening — which means I'll qualify as a Veteran Warrior."

The thought flashed through his mind, and without hesitation, Li Wei put all five free attribute points into Defense — raising it from 14 to 19. Still short of Level 1 Awakening, but the effect was immediate.

He'd just eaten a full dinner not long ago — and yet in an instant, it was as if every cell in his body had been activated and turned into a ravenous ghost, devouring his stomach, his organs, his blood vessels, his muscles, even his bones.

Within seconds, Li Wei felt like he was being eaten alive.

But he wasn't panicked. This wasn't the first time. He'd even deliberately chosen to upgrade in the storage room precisely for this reason.

He threw himself onto a pile of dried salted fish and started eating — bones and all, chewing everything to pieces without a second thought.

He put away roughly fifteen kilograms of salted fish before the hunger eased slightly. Then he grabbed a few bottles of strong liquor he'd obtained from the Freemen, drank them down in long gulps, followed by water, then more food.

After about an hour of eating and drinking, a deep wave of drowsiness hit. Li Wei didn't even make it out of the storage room — he crashed to the floor right where he stood and fell asleep.

When he woke up, Adai was hopping around in front of him. What — did the bird think he looked tasty?

Stupid bird.

He exhaled. That had been a genuinely good sleep. His stomach was still hungry, but it was a normal hunger now.

Li Wei stood up, and every bone in his body cracked and popped. His summer casual outfit — which had fit perfectly before — was now a full size too small.

It felt like wearing a child's clothes. He pulled it off immediately. He couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement, because he felt like he'd grown another two centimeters. Growing taller in reverse.

His waist, shoulder width, and chest had all increased slightly. Nothing as dramatic as a six-pack yet — but Li Wei could clearly feel that his bones had thickened and hardened. Maybe only a fraction of a millimeter in diameter, maybe a fraction of a unit in hardness — but across the whole body, the weight gain wouldn't exceed five kilograms.

And yet Li Wei felt like he could take a few bricks to the head without flinching.

Not that his skin wouldn't bleed — it would. But the hardness of his bones would essentially guarantee no internal injuries.

Only with bones this hard, and muscles this compact and dense protecting them, could his body unleash greater strength and greater speed.

The prerequisite, though, was adaptation. He'd need to push through intense physical labor to get used to it.

"So — time to go mine some coal."