Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 5 deduction successful, promotion.

"He really is a peasant!"

Manager Chen watched Liu Sheng's departing figure with disdain in his eyes.

Everyone else reads with their eyes and brains, but this person reads with their hands, thinking that touching things will help them remember and learn. What an attitude towards reading…

They deserve to toil in the fields their whole lives!
Fortunately, this business deal was good; I made a little over one tael of silver, so I can go to Yicui Tower tonight to listen to a little music.

"This deal was worthwhile; I absorbed over ten points of spiritual energy..."

Liu Sheng clutched the one or two taels of silver in his pocket, his eyebrows raised in a triumphant smile.

Although it wasn't much, it proved that his approach was correct.

Next comes the big harvest...

"My esteemed guest, it is clearly written in our Great Yu Law that 'one should not associate with pearls and jade, and commoners should not inquire about precious gems.'"

There are quite a few stalls near the City God Temple; that's a good place for you to find some hairpins and hair ornaments…

The shop assistants at Ruibaozhai stood on the steps, looking down at Liu Sheng and blocking him from entering.

His words were sarcastic and sarcastic, as if he had the words "poor people get lost" etched on his forehead.

Several women dressed in fine silks and satins in the shop heard the commotion, looked over, pointed and whispered, and covered their mouths to giggle.

"...Forgot that this is a strictly hierarchical feudal society, where shops dealing in jewelry and other luxury goods have never been open to ordinary people..."

Liu Sheng realized what was happening and saw the guards in the shop carrying sticks as they walked out. He immediately turned around and left.

He felt no anger or resentment, only that the phrase "rigid class system" had long been ingrained in every aspect of his life.

Instead of complaining, being angry, and feeling resentful, it's better to strive to transcend social classes.

"One day, you'll be begging me to come into the shop on your knees..."

Mr. Liu has always been magnanimous and never holds grudges!

Really!

...

After that, Liu Sheng didn't go to pawnshops, gold and silver shops, or other similar shops. Instead, heeding advice, he went to the street stalls near the City God Temple.

The place mainly sells secondhand daily necessities, and it's quite lively with people coming and going, but unfortunately...

It took Liu Sheng nearly an hour to examine everything on each stall, amidst the strange looks from the stall owners, before he finally gained 7 points of spiritual energy!
However, by sheer chance, he found a set of fine iron willow-leaf knives at a stall. After a heated debate, they finally settled on a deal for 800 coins.

After the transaction was completed, the stall owner, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, habitually started soliciting customers:
"Rest assured, sir. Our Li's Blacksmith Shop has been passed down for three generations, and we guarantee the quality. If you need any farm tools or weapons in the future, you can come to Ironware Alley to find me..."

It's been passed down for three generations?

Wouldn't that mean there are many old and antique items?
Liu Sheng's eyes lit up, and he silently memorized the name "Li's Iron Shop in Ironware Alley".

It's getting late, and I still need to buy some rice and meat. I'll go next time.

Half an hour later, having purchased twenty catties of coarse grains and several catties of pig offal, he met up with Zhao Lei and embarked on their journey home.

During the trip, Liu Sheng mentioned hunting, which Zhao Lei readily agreed to, saying that he would "pass on all his knowledge without holding anything back."

Back home, Liu Sheng handed over the coarse grains, pig offal, and the remaining two hundred coins to Granny Liu, then eagerly lay down on the bed…

Name: Liu Sheng
[Dao Fruit]: Seventy-two Transformations
[Talent]: Sparrow Eyes

[Cultivation]: None

[Avatar]: Mountain Sparrow (can be used for spiritual essence deduction)

[Spiritual Essence]: 23
23 points of spiritual energy!
Who knows how much he endured on his way back!

"Hopefully, it will have a good outcome."

Liu Sheng exhaled a breath of stale air, nervously licked his lips, and immediately stopped hesitating.

"Invest 10 points of spiritual energy to deduce the Mountain Sparrow Transformation!"

In an instant, light and shadow trembled wildly, and ink flowed like a waterfall on the panel—

In your first year, you broke through the eggshell and saw the first rays of dawn...

In the second year, you became familiar with the surrounding woodland and began to try flying to distant places.

You learned your lesson, kept quiet, and simply moved through the woods, successfully avoiding the hawks in the sky.

You flew for a long time until you were too tired to continue, and then you stopped to rest on a big tree.

A lynx crept up behind you...

[You are dead. 8 Spirit Points will be refunded.]

……

Gan!
Last time, it attracted a hawk by making a lot of noise. This time, it didn't make a sound. It just took a break because it was tired from flying, and then it encountered a lynx.
This little bird's life is so miserable!

It's not Dark Souls...

Liu Sheng was on the verge of a meltdown, internally ranting and raving.

It took him a while to recover. So what if he wasted two points of spiritual energy? He still had 21 points left!
continue!

...

In your first year, you broke through the eggshell and saw the first rays of dawn...

In the second year, you became familiar with the surrounding woodland and began to try flying to distant places.

You learned your lesson, kept silent, and simply moved through the forest, drinking dew when thirsty and eating insects when hungry, avoiding the hawks in the sky and the snakes and cats in the trees, flying over one mountain after another...

[In your third year, you continue to fly...]

In the fourth year, during a heavy winter snowfall, you stopped on a withered branch, weakly looking back at the path you had come from. All you could see was a vast expanse of white, nothing at all.

A titmouse's lifespan is only four years; you have reached the end of your life.

In this life, you have seen too many enchanting landscapes, eaten many novel and delicious insects, and escaped danger from the claws of eagles, snakes, cats, and foxes several times.

The only regret is that it ultimately failed to fly out of this forest and see the wider world. You recall a story a golden oriole told you in the summer, a story from its own experience…

Once upon a time, a bald crow accidentally ate a green jujube and its green feathers grew back.

If you ate this fruit, would you live longer?

[You died. 6 points of spiritual energy have been returned.]

……

This time, he lived peacefully to the point of natural death...

But it didn't advance to become a beast!

Liu Sheng snapped out of his daze, carefully read through the text hanging on the panel, and finally found the key:
That green jujube that was eaten by the bald crow!
The oriole said it witnessed firsthand how a bald crow grew entirely new blue feathers after eating a green date…

So the key is that green jujube!

Liu Sheng's eyes flickered a few times, and he decided to try again:
"Invest 10 points of spiritual energy in the deduction, and transform into an avatar to try and eat that green date!"

As his thoughts shifted, lines of ink-wash text flooded the screen once more—

In your first year, you broke through the eggshell and saw the first rays of dawn...

...

...

In the fourth year, you arrived at the grove the oriole had mentioned, and saw the green jujube hanging on the tree.

The fragrant aroma of green jujubes attracted countless birds and beasts, leading to a bloodbath that raged beneath the trees.

Unable to suppress your primal desire, you swooped down while the birds and beasts were fighting, trying to snatch the green dates.

A venomous python, over ten feet long, spewed venom...

[You died. 6 points of spiritual energy have been returned.]

……

Break through, let's try again!

[First year...]

...

...

In the fourth year, you saw the green jujube, its exotic fragrance attracting birds and beasts to fight.

You suppress your instinctive urge, look left and right, and finally spot the bald crow, so you quietly hide behind it.

The birds and beasts suffered heavy casualties, and you seized the opportunity to fly out from behind the crow and rush towards the green date.

Just then, a dark shadow swept overhead—it was a gray crane!
It also deeply understands the art of survival, waiting until the very end...

[You are dead. Return 6 points of Spiritual Essence.]

……

"The titmouse is too weak; it simply can't compete with those ferocious birds and beasts!"

Liu Sheng looked at his spiritual points, which had plummeted back to single digits, with a solemn expression.

Only two chances left…

He reviewed the previous calculations repeatedly, and a question suddenly arose in his mind…

Since the birds and beasts fighting over the green dates were so fierce, why was it that the bald old crow who got the good fortune in the end?

Or perhaps, something unexpected happened later...

Or, we could just lie low until the very end and wait for that bald old crow to get the green dates... then snatch them away?
Without hesitation, Liu Sheng poured all the remaining spiritual energy into the device.

……

[First year...]

...

...

In the fourth year, you saw the green jujube, its exotic fragrance attracting birds and beasts to fight.

Suppressing your instinctive urges, you quietly hide behind the bald crow after spotting it.

You decide to survive until the very end, remaining unmoved no matter how many opportunities arise.

The birds and beasts fought fiercely, resulting in heavy casualties. In the end, a gray crane snatched the green dates, but as it was leaving the forest, it was pounced on by a severely wounded lynx and fell to the ground. The fruit rolled to the ground under the tree where you had landed.

The bald crow was momentarily stunned, then spread its wings and swooped down.

Just as it was about to snatch the green date, you mustered all your strength and swooped down, successfully snatching the date from its jaws.

You risked your life to swallow the jujube, just to live longer and see a wider world.

A pure, light, spiritual energy enveloped your entire body.

Your body undergoes drastic changes, your size expands, your claws and beak become sharp, your old feathers fall out and new blue feathers grow back, and you awaken your bloodline talent "Born Swordsman".

You transformed into a streak of azure light, using your tail feathers as blades to slay all the birds and beasts that lunged at you, before finally letting out a long cry as you departed to the heavens.

[Deduction successful. Your avatar "Mountain Sparrow (Gray)" has been promoted to "Blade-Tailed Blue Sparrow (White)," gaining the innate talent "Born Swordsman."]

[Remaining Spiritual Energy: 5 points.]

...

In an instant, a light, cool breeze appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Liu Sheng's entire body.

A strange sound came from beside my ears, like a blade cutting through the air, making a "swish, swish" sound...

(End of this chapter)