Chapter 41 – Intelligence and Descent

Or perhaps he should improve [Imaginary Enemy].

However, Lu Yuan was more inclined to use his skill points on [Absolute Concentration].

Firstly, [Absolute Concentration] significantly boosts learning efficiency, which is useful for both the [Student] and the [Martial Artist] professions.

After upgrading, the leveling speed for both professions would increase considerably.

Secondly.

[Imaginary Enemy] had just been unlocked a few days ago, and its effect had exceeded expectations. So far, it had been more than sufficient for Lu Yuan.

Even if upgrading [Imaginary Enemy] could develop new abilities.

At this stage, it was unlikely to be more beneficial than [Absolute Concentration].

With his decision made, Lu Yuan didn’t hesitate any longer.

He directly allocated his skill points to [Absolute Concentration].

To his surprise.

After upgrading [Absolute Concentration] from Level 2 to Level 3, a line of light quickly extended upwards.

Then, a new skill, glowing faintly gray, appeared to be unlocked.

The second professional core skill on the [Student] professional panel!

Lu Yuan felt an intense itch, like several cats scratching inside his heart.

[Absolute Concentration] was already a “divine skill” for him, so what kind of surprise would the second professional core skill bring?

Unfortunately, he had no skill points left.

“Sigh.”

Lu Yuan stared at the two professional panels again and again.

Suddenly, he made up his mind.

He used his remaining attribute points.

Adding them to his intelligence attribute.

His intelligence points, originally 10, now became 11.

The moment he added the points, Lu Yuan felt a sharp pain in his head, as if it had been stabbed by a needle.

However, the intense pain came and went quickly, lasting less than a second.

It was replaced by an unprecedented feeling of “pleasure.”

This “pleasure” was conveyed by his exceptionally active brain.

Lu Yuan felt like his mind had never been this “clear.”

His brain was working at lightning speed, with all kinds of information rushing in both from outside and within him.

Lu Yuan noticed a black crack in the floor tile at the base of the first cabinet to the left of the wardrobe by his desk.

“3.5 centimeters with a margin of error of no more than 2 millimeters.”

This number just popped into his mind as soon as he noticed the crack.

He was taken aback for a moment, then took a ruler from the drawer to measure it. It turned out to be exactly 3.6 centimeters.

“The cardboard box under the bed that holds comic books has 200 yuan tucked inside the 84th page of ‘Superpower Machine Saga 3’ at the bottom right.”

Lu Yuan quickly bent down and pulled out a dusty cardboard box from under the bed.

Following his brain’s prompt, he found the comic book and indeed took out two brand-new green 100-yuan bills.

When he picked up the money, his mind recalled the origin of the 200 yuan—it was the money he earned working for Lu Xinghua during the summer vacation.

He had earned a total of 245 yuan.

He only spent 45 yuan and couldn’t bear to use the remaining 200, so he hid it in the comic book, then completely forgot about it for months.

Now he remembered everything.

He even recalled many details of the day he hid the money.

Lu Yuan randomly pulled a book from the shelf—The Complete Compendium of Herbal Medicine by Tao Baixing.

It was an old Chinese herbal medicine dictionary belonging to his dad, Lu Xinghua. It hadn’t been looked at for years.

Lu Yuan opened the thick volume and randomly picked a page.

Starting from the first word, he read the entire page, word by word.

Then he closed the book, picked up a pen, and began to recall and write down what he had just read.

After finishing, he checked his work against the book and found only two punctuation errors.

The entire process of testing the enhanced intelligence attribute took nearly an hour.

Closing the workbook for his last subject, Lu Yuan had almost fully grasped the changes brought about by his increased intelligence.

“The most noticeable improvement is in memory. Within an hour of reading something, I can almost remember it perfectly. Then there’s my calculation ability—I’ve become much more sensitive to numbers. My thinking speed, comprehension, and concentration have all greatly improved. Abilities in areas such as language, music, and expression have also seen some enhancement, along with my ability to organize existing information.”

It was as if Lu Yuan’s brain automatically calculated that only about one in 120,000 people could reach his current level of intelligence.

He had no idea where or when he had seen the information that led to this conclusion.

All in all.

He was indeed “smarter.”

“I never thought I’d officially join the ranks of ‘smart people’ in my lifetime.”

The initial reason he used his attribute points to increase his intelligence points was simple—

Intelligence points were the hardest to improve.

Increasing intelligence points could extend the duration of [Imaginary Enemy] and increase the number of times it could be used.

This would benefit his martial arts training.

Also, “Since maxing out the [Martial Artist] professional basic skill grants attribute points, wouldn’t maxing out the [Student] professional basic skill grant attribute points as well?”

Higher intelligence points could shorten the time needed to verify Lu Yuan’s hypothesis.

“The benefits of 11 intelligence points far outweigh those of 11 strength points.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel.

When he closed his eyes, he could vividly recall the instructions Lin Zhiqin had given him at the martial arts gym this afternoon.

Those scenes appeared frame by frame, like a movie.

Just this alone made it worth it for Lu Yuan.

“Let’s test the effect of Level 3 [Absolute Concentration]!”

Lu Yuan suddenly remembered that he hadn’t tested this yet.

He glanced at his desk.

He had already finished his homework for the day.

Why not use martial arts for the test?

“Crane Stance!”

There were a total of eighteen moves, each with different tips and techniques. Memorizing all of them was no easy task.

Let alone replicating them with his body.

Lu Yuan took out his small mat specifically for practice and laid it out.

He stood barefoot on the mat, striking a one-legged stance similar to a golden rooster standing on one leg, and then silently chanted in his mind.

“[Absolute Concentration], activate!”

“Buzz—”

At the moment of skill activation.

It felt as if someone had yanked Lu Yuan forcefully from behind.

“Whoosh—”

Lu Yuan instantly “plunged” into the water.

He couldn’t control himself and kept sinking, sinking deeper.

All the noise of the world faded away from him.

In reality, if anyone else had been present, they would have noticed.

At this moment, Lu Yuan’s pupils were dilated, his expression indifferent, as if he were in an unconscious state.

Yet his body continued to move.

Following instinctive commands, he performed the crane stance, move by move.

“Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.”

The sound of the second hand on the electronic clock on the desk.

“Whoosh—”

Lu Yuan, who had been holding a stance for a long time without moving, suddenly “collapsed,” as if waking up from “a deep dream.”

It was like someone who had been submerged underwater for a long time suddenly breaking through the surface, seeing the light of day again.

“I…”

Just as Lu Yuan was about to say something, his expression suddenly twisted in pain.

A series of muscle-tearing pains shot through his entire body like machine gun bullets, hitting him so fiercely that he felt like a “sieve” within a second.

Lu Yuan’s whole body convulsed as he fell to the ground with a thud.