If all his knowledge points eventually became exchangeable, it would confirm that knowledge refined through the Soulcraft Manual could be reused—albeit at a diminished value.
He completed nine full cycles.
Afterward, his innate intelligence remained at 150, but his acquired knowledge had shrunk to 80—and all 80 points were now exchangeable.
Every unusable knowledge point had been refined into currency.
The Ring had once considered these points worthless. Now, thanks to the Soulcraft Manual, they could be exchanged again—worth a theoretical 5,000 Multiverse Coins.
But Li Chuan remembered the embarrassment he’d suffered at Shen Nianxiang’s place and decided to leave that money untouched.
He’d dip into it only in a real emergency.
“Exchanging memories for money isn’t sustainable. What I really need is to boost my innate intelligence. Then I could generate endless Multiverse Coins through surplus intelligence,” Li Chuan mused.
But he’d already trained with the Soulcraft Manual nine times. By the seventh, his knowledge had been compressed to the limit. He’d hoped further practice would increase innate intelligence, but it hadn’t worked.
The last two cycles had no effect at all.
Yet the very first line of the Soulcraft Manual claimed that practicing it would lead to a state of “a soul as vast as the universe, a spirit that contains the heavens.” If that were true, how could it have zero effect?
The current fragment he held was titled “Guarding the Orifices”—meant to heighten sensory perception and lay the foundation for embracing all knowledge. It should help expand cognitive capacity, but hadn’t.
Li Chuan reflected on the difference between now and when he started. He felt like something was missing.
The copy he had was a reproduction. The original Soulcraft Manual was carved onto bamboo slips.
Could it be that the original worked better than the photocopy?
Just then, a soft ding echoed in his mind, followed by the Ring’s voice:
Ring: [User Li Chuan’s acquired knowledge +10. Current total intelligence: 240 (innate: 150, acquired: 90).]
Li Chuan had set this alert. Since intelligence was his most vital stat, he’d asked the Ring to notify him of any change immediately.
This increase confirmed his theory!
Li Chuan quickly asked, “Does the seller of Soulcraft Manual have the original?”
Ring: [Yes, but Li Chuan cannot afford it.]
“How much is it, then?”
The Ring brought up the item page in the Multiverse Market. The original Fragment I was priced at 15,000 Multiverse Coins.
Li Chuan: “……”
Definitely out of reach.
“This thing might be fake! Why is it so expensive? Can’t I haggle?”
Ring: [According to market data, bargaining tends to have adverse effects. Sellers may notice your interest and raise the price.]
Li Chuan sighed deeply.
He really wanted it, but he had no money.
The Ring had grown accustomed to him by now and had started offering comfort of its own accord.
Ring: [The original Fragment I was first listed at 100,000 coins. It didn’t sell. To prove authenticity, the seller offered cheap copies. After receiving three rounds of “counterfeit” feedback, the seller gradually dropped the original’s price. If Li Chuan waits, they may lower it again.]
Li Chuan’s eyes lit up. “Can I leave feedback on purchases?”
Ring: [You may review completed transactions.]
“I wonder… if I leave another negative review, will they drop the price again?”
Ring: [Possibly.]
Li Chuan happily opened the Multiverse Market, navigated to his orders, and clicked into the review section. Just as he was about to leave a bad review, his finger froze mid-air.
Ring: [Would you like assistance writing the review?]
Li Chuan shook his head. “Forget it. I don’t want to leave a fake bad review.”
The Soulcraft Manual was a genuinely good item. It had saved him from crisis, earned him currency, and compressed his mental load. He couldn’t badmouth it in good conscience.
If he had the money, he’d give it five stars. How could he lie?
Ring: [Note: Seller may not lower the price without negative feedback.]
“Well, even if I did leave one, there’s no guarantee he’d drop it—and even if he did, I still couldn’t afford it,” Li Chuan said. “Whatever. I’ll just study harder and save up for the original.”
Ring: [New character trait recorded: Indecisive. Soft-hearted.]
Li Chuan rolled his eyes. “You’re just finding new ways to mock me now.”
Ring: [However—undeniably, a fundamentally good person.]
That made Li Chuan feel slightly better.
Then the Ring added:
Ring: [According to our data, users classified as “good people” have a 50% mortality rate and a 90% poverty rate.]
Li Chuan: “I don’t need to see that kind of comment. Keep it in the back-end.”
Ring: [Understood.]
As Li Chuan lay in bed sulking, he didn’t notice the Ring quietly appending one last evaluation in the background:
Ring: [Most “good” users are ordinary. But 1% become heroes. 0.001% become legends.]
[User Li Chuan’s comprehensive evaluation: The Future Looks Promising.]
