Chen De, full and satisfied, was ready to do good deeds; even in another world, he couldn't be idle.
After examining the map, he had a general plan.
To level up, he needed attribute points.
Killing one existence of the same realm would grant one attribute point.
At his current realm, three attribute points could raise him one level.
Killing higher-level existences would grant more attribute points.
So, were there any other ways to gain attribute points?
From the moment he received the system, Chen De knew nothing beyond the functions explicitly written in black and white.
Perhaps he needed to figure it out himself, or perhaps his realm wasn't high enough.
But no matter what, for now, the only reliable method was to kill monsters and level up.
Chen De shook his head, 'Don't think so much, just focus on leveling up for now.'
However, if he wanted to kill monsters and level up, combat was unavoidable.
But Chen De had absolutely no combat experience or skills.
He was good at things like secretly helping people from behind the scenes, or making silent contributions...
But when it came to fighting, he really needed to learn properly.
In his previous life, he lived in a lawful society and hadn't even killed a chicken in his entire life.
Now he was going to chop down people and Demon Beasts?
Honestly, it was a huge leap.
But since he was here, there was nothing to say but 'just do it!'
However, he couldn't act blindly. Chen De still didn't know what his standard was among his peers.
And combat experience also had a significant impact.
The top priority now was to quickly find some Demon Beasts to practice on!
Otherwise, he might become a fool with only Giant Force and eventually be counter-killed by someone of a higher level.
He checked the system map to see if there were any lone Demon Beasts nearby that he could practice with.
He also wanted to find some easy targets to quickly reach Demon Qi Realm Level Three and unlock his first skill.
Judging by the name, it was either a defensive or an amplification skill.
Once unlocked, his life-saving ability would likely be greatly enhanced.
Then he could level up by farming monsters more efficiently, and his safety would also be guaranteed.
He felt a little excited just thinking about it!
While looking at the map, Chen De noticed that after his realm improved, the system map's detectable range seemed to have expanded.
He could easily find many solitary, soft targets, which was simply a gift from Heaven to Chen De.
A beginner's gift package!
These cute little Demon Beasts would have nowhere to hide under his map.
After briefly planning his actions, focusing on which Demon Beasts would be more efficient and safer to hunt.
He suddenly jumped up and headed to the locations shown on the map.
Doing things with a plan is often more efficient; having a clear direction prevents confusion.
...
"Map scan alert: A Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beast detected 100 meters ahead!"
Leaving the cave, he entered the forest.
Most of the surroundings were blocked by dense tree canopies.
Except for some gaps between trees, there was hardly any place where direct sunlight could be seen.
After walking through the forest for a long time, Chen De's eyes lit up when he heard the familiar system alert.
He finally arrived!
Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beasts were the lowest-level Demon Beasts. Perhaps due to two main reasons: being easy to prey on and their basic realm being easy to break through.
In the Vortex Forest, their numbers were actually slightly fewer than the higher-level Demon Qi Realm Level Two Demon Beasts.
As for the large number of ordinary wild beasts, it was probably due to a purely large base number; there were simply too many to be eaten.
Roar!
A thunderous beast roar suddenly erupted ahead. A two-meter-tall gray-furred gorilla was frantically beating its chest.
The gray-furred gorilla's voice rumbled like thunder, spreading in all directions, scaring the surrounding wild beasts into trembling and fleeing in panic.
Chen De hid to the side, silently waiting for an opportunity. Everything had to be done step by step.
First, he would learn simple, practical methods like sneak attacks, and then gradually move on to practicing in direct combat.
Chen De had no one to guide him. Every battle could determine his life or death, so he could only be careful for himself.
Real combat was like this: everything aimed at killing the opponent.
Only those who survived had the right to consider their frontal combat ability.
Moreover, Chen De didn't like to expose everything openly.
Being open and honest was merely a last resort; who wouldn't prefer to achieve their goals with less effort?
Combat didn't rely on character or morality!
If morality could make people stronger, with Chen De's unparalleled morality, he would have dominated all of eternity long ago.
So, listen to your requiem!
The gray-furred gorilla still stood in place, roaring, watching the wild beasts fleeing in all directions.
It spotted a brown deer, charged up, and punched it to death, blood splattering everywhere.
Then it picked up the deer's corpse and began to frantically devour its body.
Seeing this, Chen De's eyes narrowed. The opportunity had arrived.
Seizing the moment, Chen De gathered his strength, flashed, and leaped.
Swish!
He leaped to its side, waving his already prepared claws in mid-air.
Before the gray-furred gorilla could fully react.
He slashed a claw across the gray-furred gorilla's carotid artery, landing steadily on the ground behind it.
The gray-furred gorilla, who was still devouring its food, trembled all over, and a large amount of fresh blood immediately gushed from its neck.
It quickly dropped the food in its hand and clutched its neck, its eyes filled with terror, and its body crashed to the ground.
Its two claws covered its bleeding neck, blood flowing out from the gaps between its fingers. After struggling for a moment, it completely lost its life.
"Ding! Host has killed a Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beast, the gray-furred gorilla! Gained 1 attribute point!"
"I didn't expect to take down this gray-furred gorilla in one move!"
"Am I already that powerful?"
Chen De looked at his claws, then blinked!
He then found a hidden spot nearby to stay and digest the gains from the battle.
The key to taking down the gray-furred gorilla in one move was his ability to land a direct, fatal blow with a single attack.
Then, as a rat, his natural speed was extremely fast. Under a sneak attack, plus the 50% strength bonus.
This made his attack power close to the peak of Demon Qi Realm Level One, which allowed him to succeed so easily.
However, his timing for attacking wasn't good enough, and he wasn't decisive enough when delivering the killing blow. The move he used for the sneak attack wasn't ideal either; it should be like this, and this... that's right.
This was just the beginning. He needed to summarize after each battle, and these shortcomings needed to be improved.
The system could only give him physical improvements, but not combat skills.
He was still very far from being the strongest. He would inevitably encounter opponents with higher stats than him in the future.
Similarly, Chen De couldn't expect to find an opportunity for a sneak attack in every battle.
At this stage, improving his combat abilities was very necessary.
Of course, what Chen De wanted was still an absolute crushing victory, quietly making a fortune, and taking advantage of critical moments to ambush others.
Preparation was just for being prepared, and it could also make farming monsters more efficient.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would never take meaningless risks.
The attribute points gained from this battle should also be allocated, but they weren't enough to level up.
After some thought, his current combat power was entirely in attack and speed. His defense relied on his armor, which couldn't be calculated purely by level.
So, he allocated 0.5 attribute points to both attack and speed.
Thus.
Strength: 1.1 (1:1) --> Strength: 1.6 (1:1)
Speed: 1.1 (1:1) --> Speed: 1.6 (1:1)
Attribute Points: 1/3 --> Attribute Points: 0/3
He waved his hand, felt the increase in his strength, and Chen De smiled happily.
With his current attack power, plus the 50% strength bonus from his talent, his attack power had officially crossed into Demon Qi Realm Level Two.
The rest was to find every possible way to ambush Demon Beasts and gain experience points.
Just thinking about those awesome-sounding skills made Chen De's heart stir restlessly.
Finally, he managed to suppress his excited inner self!
Then, without wasting time, he looked at the map and headed towards the Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beasts.
However, he certainly didn't dare to go deep into the Vortex Forest; with his strength, he could only hunt on the outskirts of the forest.
Fortunately, most of the low-level Demon Beasts also operated on the outskirts of the forest.
Once he became familiar with the process, the rest was simple.
"Map scan alert: A Demon Qi Realm Level One (Level 1) Demon Beast detected 500 meters ahead!"
He easily found the Demon Beast, took advantage of its inattention, found an opportunity to ambush it, and thus.
"Ding! Host has killed a Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beast, the Curly-Haired Baboon! Gained 1 attribute point!"
"Map scan alert: A Demon Qi Realm Level One (Level 1) Demon Beast detected 300 meters ahead!"
"Ding! Host has killed a Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beast, the Iron-Backed Wolf! Gained 1 attribute point!"
"Map scan alert: A Demon Qi Realm Level One (Level 1) Demon Beast detected 300 meters ahead!"
"Ding! Host has killed a Demon Qi Realm Level One..."
...
"System, increase Strength, Speed, and Defense by one level each!"
Strength: 4.9 (1:1) --> Strength: 5.9 (1:1)
Speed: 4.9 (1:1) --> Speed: 5.9 (1:1)
Defense: 2.9 (1:1) --> Defense: 3.9 (1:1)
This was a pattern Chen De had summarized over these days: his highest stats could at most be two levels higher than his lowest stats.
After he broke through to Level Two, Demon Qi Realm Level One Demon Beasts would grant 0.5 attribute points, same-realm ones would grant one point, and each higher realm would grant one more point.
Also, killing ordinary wild beasts did not grant attribute points; he had tested this when he was at Demon Qi Realm Level One.
To ensure maximum efficiency in obtaining attribute points, Chen De adopted this method of suppressing his level to farm points.
"Upgrade!"
As the command was given, Chen De immediately felt his body undergoing drastic changes, with waves of tearing pain coming from various parts.
But having experienced two upgrades, Chen De had somewhat adapted to this pain, even enjoying the feeling.
The feeling of becoming stronger was intoxicating!
Another benefit of leveling up was that it could instantly restore his body to its peak condition.
After the upgrade, Chen De slowly exhaled a breath of white air.
Then he eagerly opened the system to check his new skill.
Realm: Demon Qi Realm Level Three
Race: Heaven Crystal Armor Rat (A Demon Beast with a trace of ancient bloodline)
Talent 1: Giant Force (A talent every ant-type Demon Beast has; ancient bloodline, higher bonus, strength permanently increased by 50%)
Talent 2: Sky Crystal (Can condense demon power onto ordinary crystals, granting crystals hardness, energy storage, image retention, and other functions)
Talent 3: God Shield (Naturally immune to 20% of mental attacks)
Speed: 5.9 (1:1)
Defense: 3.9 (1:1)
Strength: 5.9 (1:1)
Attribute Points: 0/3
Skill 1: Divine Crystal Armor (Activated)
Skill 2: Tianjing Extermination Slash (Unlocks at Demon Qi Realm Level Five)
Skill 3: Heavenly Light Aurora Mark (Unlocks at Demon Qi Realm Level Seven)
Cultivation Method: Heaven Revelation Aurora Scripture
Seeing the 'Activated' next to the Divine Crystal Armor skill, Chen De jumped up with joy.
He wanted to try out the power of this skill right now.
Wait, it's better to hide further away.
After days of hunting, Chen De had understood a truth.
That was, in the forest, he had to minimize his presence as much as possible.
After circling a few times, Chen De found a spot he considered very hidden according to the system map, ensuring safety and that he wouldn't be discovered.
Only then did Chen De experiment with the power of his first skill.
Calming his mind, he silently recited.
Divine Crystal Armor!
Activate!
The moment the activation command was given, Chen De could clearly feel the changes happening in his body.
The demon power within him rapidly condensed towards the crystal in his glabella, then transferred to his body surface along the Texture.
The light blue patterns on his body grew brighter and brighter, including the armor distributed across various parts.
Then, a powerful and mysterious energy surged from Chen De's body, sweeping over him like a torrent, and a dazzling light suddenly erupted.
This caused a complete set of light blue armor to appear on Chen De's body, incredibly vibrant!
He could feel that with the armor equipped, his defense had increased by a full two times.
In other words, it raised his defensive capability by one minor realm.
The data for each attribute on the panel did not represent specific numerical values, but rather how many levels.
Chen De had precisely tested this during this period: for every 0.1 level increase in an attribute, it would increase the total value of the current level's initial stage by 0.2 times.
Assuming Chen De's Strength attribute was 3.6, then Chen De's actual strength at this moment would be (1 + 0.6 × 2) times what it was when his Strength attribute first reached 3.
It's like how a magnitude 4 earthquake and a magnitude 8 earthquake are not just twice as different.
This created a huge gap between each minor realm, making it very difficult to fight across levels.
Often, when facing an existence of a higher realm than oneself, just surviving was a great achievement.
Therefore, although Chen De preferred attack-type skills, being able to increase his life-saving ability also excited him greatly.
After understanding the skill's effect, Chen De shook his small head and happily skipped off to continue leveling up.
No slacking off; until victory is achieved, there's no turning back!