Wutan City, behind the Xiao family estate, in the quiet mountains—
A young boy was practicing his fighting skills with intense focus.
Though only ten years old, his face was resolute and mature—far beyond his years.
Yes, he was no ordinary child.
He was a time traveler from a place called Blue Star, now reborn as a member of the prestigious Xiao family, one of the three major families in Wutan City. His name: Wang Chen.
If it had been before yesterday, Wang Chen wouldn't have trained so hard.
His cultivation talent was average at best. No matter how much effort he put in, he could only hope to reach the level of a Fighting Master.
But now, everything had changed—he awakened his golden finger yesterday.
Though its full potential hadn't yet been unlocked, the abilities Wang Chen had already discovered were enough to send him soaring.
He named this golden finger "Strengthening." By consuming mental energy, he could enhance anything.
There were limitations, of course. He could only strengthen something once, and only things that belonged to him.
But compared to the power it offered, those restrictions were trivial.
He could turn ordinary medicines into high-grade elixirs, drastically accelerating his cultivation.
Normally, high-grade medicines were inaccessible to non-fighters. Even special elixirs were out of reach for someone like Wang Chen.
But with his golden finger, those barriers were meaningless.
Anything he enhanced became completely refined—safe, potent, and fully absorbable. No side effects. No risk of poisoning. No backlash.
With this cheat-like ability, Wang Chen could confidently take medicine and level up.
Even the infamous side effects of medicinal cultivation didn't apply to him.
Of course, Wang Chen was still just a poor kid with a modest inheritance.
But early-stage cultivation medicines weren't too expensive. As long as he kept progressing, his growth would snowball.
After an hour of training in the mountains, Wang Chen didn't waste time. He returned to his room.
He had chosen a remote part of the estate to avoid being disturbed.
Back in his room, he stripped off his shirt and jumped into the medicinal bath he had prepared the day before.
[Red Sun Liquid (Strengthen +1)]
Grade: Second Grade Effect: Greatly improves physical fitness, enhances qi, blood, and strength. Note: Most effective during the Dou Qi stage; less effective for Fighters, and ineffective for Fighting Masters.
This bath had originally been made from inferior ingredients, but with one enhancement, it had become a second-grade elixir.
Thanks to his golden finger, Wang Chen could absorb all the energy without any backlash.
In fact, his cultivation speed now surpassed even Xiao Huo from the original story.
And Wang Chen was four years older than Xiao Huo. He wasn't worried about the Xiao family's future disaster at all.
When that time came, Wang Chen was confident he could handle it.
He held his breath and began absorbing the energy from the bath.
Even though he had experienced it yesterday, the sensation still amazed him.
Before awakening his golden finger, cultivation felt like constipation—slow and painful.
Now, with the enhanced medicinal bath, it was like Splatoon—fast and fluid.
Yesterday, he had reached the peak of the third stage of Dou Qi. Today, he was confident he'd break through to the fourth stage.
As time passed, the deep red color of the bath began to fade.
Click!
A sound echoed from within Wang Chen's body.
He had broken through—Fourth Stage of Dou Qi!
He jumped out of the bath, dried off, and stretched his limbs.
The improvement was obvious.
Of course, he knew this was partly because his foundation had been weak. But progress was progress.
"The medicine consumption is pretty high," he muttered.
The bathwater had turned pale. One dose of medicine lasted for two and a half uses, not quite three.
Each dose cost less than twenty gold coins, but Wang Chen didn't have much money left.
With his current resources, he could afford no more than twenty-five sets of medicine.
And if he included medicinal meals, he'd only be able to sustain his training for fifteen days.
The Xiao family provided some resources—one medicinal bath and one meal per month—but that was barely enough.
Without these enhanced resources, Wang Chen's cultivation speed would drop back to normal.
And after experiencing such rapid growth, he had no intention of going back.
"I need to find a way to earn more gold coins."
Money wasn't everything—but without it, nothing was possible.
This was especially true in a world built around cultivation.
The old saying about wealth, friends, Dharma, and land wasn't wrong.
With his golden finger, Wang Chen could make money easily—but staying safe was another matter.
"Let's take it one step at a time. If I have to take risks, so be it."
He covered the bathtub and made up his mind.
Xiao Huo was only six years old now. The disaster wasn't far off.
If Wang Chen couldn't build a strong foundation during this relatively safe period, he'd lose the chance to snowball his strength.
Once the monsters and demons appeared, opportunities would vanish.
But for now, he had half a month's worth of resources. After that, he'd be stronger—and better equipped to earn money.
"The stronger I get, the better I can handle risks."
With his development route clear, Wang Chen lay down to rest.
After all, balance between work and rest was key.
His golden finger consumed mental energy with each use.
Though his soul power increased slightly after each recovery, he still needed proper sleep to fully recharge.
And right now, Wang Chen had no soul skills to help him.