Magic Farm 153

Chapter 153: Advancement—Four-Star Mage

The moment the words “blocked” appeared, the entire regional channel fell silent.

Everyone knew that, for now, the “block” function in Survival Game only applied to the trading interface.

And as for the game pro “I Love Survival Game,” his trading page was, without a doubt, the most valuable in the entire region.

“Sleepy Fool” immediately slid to his knees and launched into a full apology, insisting he truly meant no harm and begging the game pro to forgive him just this once.

The main thing was, so many of the game pro’s goods were limited in quantity; even if he tried to pay other players to buy on his behalf, they couldn’t help him.

But Qi Yu never fell for this routine.

Seeing that begging was useless, “Sleepy Fool” grew angry and changed his tune.

[Sleepy Fool: You’re number one on the leaderboard—do you really have to be so petty?]

[Sleepy Fool: I didn’t even insult you, I was even praising you. Just one comment, and you have to cut me off completely.]

[Sleepy Fool: I didn’t mean any harm. I only said that for the benefit of everyone in our region. Was I wrong? What good does it do to bring in a top player from another region?]

He thought that saying this would win him some support.

But in reality:

[Grind Emperor: You really did pick the right username. Ever consider that maybe the game pro never had any obligation to “bring benefits to everyone”?]

[Reach for the Moon Above: @Little Old Me, this rhetoric sounds awfully familiar. Did you two have the same teacher?]

[Little Old Me: I was wrong, truly wrong. Please, pros, don’t dig up my corpse.]

Little Old Me looked at the channel chat, grinding his teeth in frustration.

As expected, all these top-ranked players were sharp as knives—none of them easy to fool.

He’d been keeping a low profile lately, acting humble and playing the sidekick, just hoping everyone would forget about his past behavior.

But Reach for the Moon Above’s words made it clear: they hadn’t forgotten at all, and he’d better behave.

[Civil Engineering Bro: Some things have been said to death, but there’s always someone eager to be generous with other people’s efforts. Let’s be clear: those who truly bring benefits to everyone are like the game pro, quietly getting things done, taking all the risks themselves, and earning resource rewards and wandering merchant discounts for District 01, selling all kinds of goods at low prices.]

[Civil Engineering Bro: Not just flapping their lips, telling others to do the work, and calling it “working for everyone’s benefit.”]

[Grumpy Old Bro: @Civil Engineering Bro, you’re still being too polite.]

[Grumpy Old Bro: @Sleepy Fool, since you know you’re a fool, just keep quiet instead of advertising it to the world.]

[Grumpy Old Bro: @Little Old Me, maybe you two should add each other as friends—he can teach you how to sound less disgusting.]

Little Old Me: “……”

Damn!

Why couldn’t there be more idiots in the world like “My Fate Is Mine, Not Heaven’s”?

But he had to admit: this guy called Sleepy Fool really was a fool.

Anyone with half a brain should know that by now, “I Love Survival Game” had become a true force in District 01.

He’d brought so many benefits to District 01 that, like it or not, everyone owed him.

No one could easily shake his position.

And yet, why were there still fools trying to go against him?

Little Old Me had always been good at adapting: with someone like this charging ahead, taking all the risks and bringing benefits to everyone, why not just follow behind and enjoy the rewards?

At that moment, Qi Yu appeared again:

[I Love Survival Game: I’ve put a batch of supplies on the trading page—some heating items I’ve sourced. Anyone in need can buy them.]

Little Old Me opened his trading page and saw a whole range of products.

There were items like “Simple Heater” and “Long-Lasting Charcoal,” better than firewood and selling cheap—just two beast crystals for a set.

There were pricier items, like the Alchemical Heater, which needed to be used with energy crystal cards and could keep indoor temperatures stable—twenty beast crystals per set.

……

Little Old Me scrolled all the way down, and when he saw the last item, his breathing grew rough.

[Basic Thermostatic Magic Array Blueprint: Can be used to set up a thermostatic magic array, keeping your territory at a fixed temperature.]

By now, Qi Yu’s mage identity was already public, and players were starting to explore outside.

Releasing the thermostatic magic array at this time wouldn’t attract too much attention.

He’d priced the blueprint at five hundred beast crystals. After all, even with the blueprint, you still had to set up the array yourself, and that required your own magic crystals.

Little Old Me randomly clicked on an item, and unsurprisingly, two prompts popped up.

One said, “This item is limited to one per person.”

The other said, “You have been blocked by this seller and cannot purchase this item.”

Unsurprisingly, the regional channel became lively again, thanks to the goods Qi Yu was selling.

The most discussed item was, of course, the thermostatic magic array.

[Grind Emperor: If I’m not mistaken, the game pro hasn’t limited the total number for sale. @I Love Survival Game, can you mass-produce these?]

[I Love Survival Game: Yes, I can engrave them myself.]

[Reach for the Moon Above: …Damn, a walking money printer.]

[Reach for the Moon Above: District 01’s wealth leaderboard is basically welded to you now.]

She felt a bit indignant about it.

But indignation was one thing; in reality, she still obediently contributed to Qi Yu’s wealth ranking by quickly buying a thermostatic magic array blueprint.

For top players like her who weren’t short on money, five hundred beast crystals wasn’t expensive at all, and it would genuinely improve her quality of life.

She knew perfectly well: this was pure, open, overwhelming strength.

There was nothing to do but accept it.

In short, players in District 01 who had enough money bought thermostatic magic arrays and alchemical goods; those with tighter budgets bought the regular heating supplies, which were still much more convenient than burning firewood.

At this point, Civil Engineering Bro spoke up again:

[Civil Engineering Bro: The game pro transferred me two blueprints. Info €€ Synthetic Wood Blueprint. Info €€ Cold-Resistant Reinforced Wall Blueprint. If you need them, you can reserve on my trading page.]

[Cockroach Tastes Weird: Game pro, is there anything good you can’t get?]

[Be a Good Person: Now this is great—whether you’re rich, poor, or dirt poor, everyone’s taken care of.]

The vast majority of District 01’s players were happy.

Just as “Be a Good Person” said: if you have lots of beast crystals, buy the best; if you’re frugal, buy the regular stuff.

Qi Yu’s prices weren’t high, and most players could buy one or several items according to their needs to fight the cold.

Except, of course, for those who’d been blocked.

Everyone knew the game pro liked to set purchase limits.

And most of what he sold couldn’t be found elsewhere. They were the kind of items you’d never want to resell, even at double the price.

The blocked players generally fell into three categories.

One was people like Little Old Me, who recognized Qi Yu’s importance to District 01 and tried to make themselves visible, hoping to get off the blacklist someday.

Another was players like “Hundred Ghosts in Reverse,” who didn’t dare show their faces in the regional channel anymore, instead forming small private groups to curse “I Love Survival Game” every day, hoping he’d die and someone else would take the top spot.

The last was My Fate Is Mine, Not Heaven’s.

He stared at Qi Yu’s trading page, eyes burning.

In his view, all these goods were the spoils of “outside exploration.”

If I Love Survival Game could get them, so could he.

Tomorrow, he’d go out!

.

After sharing the information and posting the goods on the trading page, Qi Yu wasted no time. He sat beneath the Tree of Life and began to cultivate.

He wasn’t the only one shaken by what happened in Ophelia’s royal city that day.

In his previous explorations, he’d seen the vastness and beauty of this world.

But the trip to Ophelia’s royal city had shown him its dangers—and glimpses of his own future.

A level-three mage was just the barest beginning of the path.

I’m a genius, everyone says so, Qi Yu thought.

If others can do it, so can I.

Someday, he too would be able to fly freely through the sky, without relying on the Azure Wings.

Then, he could even race God Has No Form to see who was faster.

First, set a goal: surpass those dumplings.

Then, learn from his teacher how to make it rain dumplings.

He closed his eyes and meditated.

The magical elements around him grew restless and excited in response to his mood. Drawn by his magic, they entered his body, transforming into purer magical energy.

The survival panel occasionally popped up quiet notifications:

[Player cultivates diligently and gains a little—Magic +5.]

[Player cultivates diligently and gains a lot—Magic +15.]

[Player cultivates diligently, making steady progress—Spirit +1.]

When the magical elements in his body reached a sufficient concentration, surpassing a certain threshold—

Boom——

For the first time, Qi Yu “saw” his own spiritual space.

It was vast and empty, nothing but a blank expanse.

Without any explanation, he instinctively understood: this was his “world.”

He could shape it however he wished.

He instinctively wanted to recreate the place he loved most, the place that made him feel at ease: his shelter, his territory, his favorite home in the Survival Game.

A great tree appeared in the empty world, supporting his treehouse.

Tender grass spread across the ground, stretching outward… until, at a certain point, it stopped.

Qi Yu’s eyes snapped open beneath the Tree of Life.

He realized something, and opened the survival panel—his personal player info had already updated:

Survival ID: I Love Survival Game.

Age: 19

Profession: Four-Star Mage.

He’d leveled up!

Qi Yu stared at “Four-Star Mage” for a moment.

Before, he’d been a level-three mage. After advancing, the title had subtly changed from “Level Four” to “Four-Star.”

But he didn’t care about such details.

He looked further down at the combat stats:

Attack: 80

Defense: 56

Agility: 66

Spirit: 225

Still the same familiar imbalance—his spirit stat was in a league of its own.

Advancing from level-three mage to four-star mage, his attack, defense, and agility had each increased by 30 points.

His spirit stat had doubled, rising by 60 points—from 165 to 225.

Qi Yu remembered that when he’d advanced from level-two to level-three mage, attack, defense, and agility had each increased by 10, and spirit by 30.

He recalled the mage class progression he’d read before.

Levels 1–3 were considered beginner mages.

A four-star mage was the threshold of an intermediate mage.

It seemed level four was a small milestone.

[Author’s Note]

Dinner’s here [rice][rice][rice]

I’ll see if I can crank out a late-night chapter, but don’t wait up—check back in the morning.

I really wish I could wake up and find 300 chapters of pain-free drafts on my computer [begging you]