Chapter 135: Chaptee 135: Interchanging Investments Has Never Been More Fun!

The white pustules that had covered Maya’s face and hands were gone.

In their place was smooth, fair skin, revealing features that had previously been obscured by her condition.

Her transformation was so dramatic that she seemed like an entirely different person.

Even her father, if he could somehow return to life and see her now, might struggle to recognize his own daughter at first glance.

Xavier blinked, then took another look to make sure he was not imagining things.

This is a crazy transformation!

Maya Knox, who had spent eighteen years suffering from the condition that had made others recoil from her, had finally revealed her true appearance.

And judging by the beautiful young woman standing before him, she had been hiding quite a remarkable face beneath those unsightly pustules all along.

Xavier could hardly believe how dramatically Maya Knox’s appearance had changed.

Before today, her skin had been covered in ugly white pustules, and her complexion had been so dull that it was difficult to find anything beautiful about her face.

Her eyes had been her only redeeming feature, a pair of lovely almond shaped eyes that stood out against her otherwise disfigured appearance.

Now, however, the girl standing before him looked as though she had stepped out of a completely different life.

The awakening of her Calamity Poison Body had transformed her from head to toe.

Her skin was smooth and luminous, as white as polished jade, without a single blemish.

Beneath her dark fringe, her delicate facial features gave her the appearance of a young princess.

Even the faded, patched clothes hanging loosely on her body could not diminish her beauty.

Xavier was accustomed to seeing Mira, whose stunning appearance could turn heads wherever she went.

Yet even he found himself momentarily captivated by Maya’s transformation.

The two girls possessed entirely different kinds of beauty. If Mira resembled a fiery red rose in full bloom, Maya was more like a delicate lilac, carrying a quiet, almost innocent charm.

On a scale of one hundred, Xavier would have given her at least ninety five points without hesitation.

"Not bad at all, my disciple! You’ve become quite the beauty!" He finally recovered from his surprise and offered her an approving smile.

Maya, meanwhile, was still struggling to process what had happened to her.

She cautiously touched her cheeks before turning her hands over and examining her smooth, pale skin.

For years, the sight of her own body had brought her nothing but shame and misery.

Now, she could hardly recognize the person reflected in her master’s eyes.

It took her a considerable effort to calm herself.

"So that’s why the pain has disappeared," she murmured, her voice trembling with emotion.

She looked up at Xavier, her eyes brimming with gratitude.

"Thank you, Master!"

Overwhelmed, she immediately dropped to her knees and prepared to bow her head to the ground.

Xavier quickly caught her by the arm before she could complete the gesture.

"That’s enough," he said.

"You don’t have to kneel every time you want to thank me. Get up."

"Yes, Master!" Maya rose obediently, her expression filled with newfound trust.

Growing up without much affection had taught her to treasure every act of kindness.

Apart from her father and the bakery owner who occasionally gave her food, Xavier was the first person in a long time to treat her with genuine concern.

To her, his decision to accept her as his disciple had already changed her life.

Now, he had not only awakened her extraordinary constitution but also freed her from the affliction that had tormented her since childhood.

She regarded him with the reverence she would show someone who had given her a second chance at life.

Although her master looked intimidating and carried himself with an unmistakably domineering air, Maya could tell that his actions came from a place of concern for her.

There was just one small problem. She still did not know his name.

"Master, I was so nervous earlier that I forgot to ask something important," Maya said, hesitating before continuing. "What is your name?"

"Graham Cole," Xavier answered without hesitation.

Since he was currently using Graham Cole’s appearance and identity, there was no reason to reveal his real name to his new disciple.

After settling that matter, he turned his attention back to her newly awakened constitution.

"Now that your Calamity Poison Body has awakened, have you gained any special abilities or techniques?" he asked.

"Yes, Master," Maya nodded and concentrated for a moment, recalling the knowledge that had suddenly appeared in her mind when her constitution awakened.

"I’ve learned a secret technique called the Mist of Calamity. I can release a large amount of poisonous mist to attack my enemies." She paused briefly before adding another detail.

"The mist also prevents anyone poisoned by it from receiving treatment."

Maya explained everything honestly.

Having spent most of her life in a rural village, she knew almost nothing about martial arts or the various special constitutions.

She could not tell whether her new ability was considered powerful, so she simply reported what she had discovered.

Xavier listened carefully, and a trace of envy crept into his expression.

After awakening her Frost Phoenix Bloodline, Mira had gained the ability to summon miniature phoenixes.

Now Maya had awakened the Calamity Poison Body and received a secret technique capable of poisoning her enemies while interfering with their treatment.

Both of them had obtained abilities directly related to their constitutions.

His own experience had been considerably less rewarding at first.

When Xavier awakened his Chaos Body, he had not comprehended any comparable secret technique.

If he had not experimented with chaotic energy himself, discovering how to condense it into needles and detonate it against his enemies, the constitution would have seemed rather disappointing in terms of special abilities.

Fortunately, reaching the Mature Stage had finally changed that situation.

He had now acquired the formidable Chaos Divine Palm.

Otherwise, he might genuinely have wondered whether his constitution was missing something.

"Not bad," he said. "The Mist of Calamity could prove extremely useful in battle. Make sure you practice it properly and don’t disappoint your master."

"I will, Master!"

Seeing how readily Maya accepted his instructions, Xavier nodded in satisfaction.

"There’s something else you need," he said, reaching into his spatial ring and retrieving several items.

"Take these two pills, this spirit stone, and the martial arts manual for Void Walking. Your immediate objective is to cultivate as quickly as possible and reach the Foundation Establishment Realm."

The two pills were a Creation Pill and a Returning Origin Pill, both rewards he had previously obtained through his system.

Now that he had finally found another suitable investment target, Xavier wanted to test a possibility that had been bothering him.

Could he exploit the system’s investment mechanism by reinvesting rewards he had already received from it?

If the system allowed it, he might be able to create a chain of investments and multiply his resources with surprisingly little effort.

Maya remembered her master’s instructions about accepting gifts from him.

Although she hesitated briefly when she saw the valuable items, she soon accepted everything he offered. Her obedience pleased Xavier.

At least he would not have to waste time persuading her to cooperate.

Unfortunately, his experiment did not go as planned. Two system notifications appeared in succession.

[Investment failed! Warning: Items obtained as rewards from this system cannot be reinvested directly!]

[Investment failed! Warning: Items obtained as rewards from this system cannot be reinvested directly!]

Xavier’s expression remained unchanged, but he could not help sighing inwardly. So much for finding an easy way to multiply my rewards.

A third notification followed almost immediately.

[Congratulations, Host! Your investment in a low-grade spirit stone was successful. The investment triggered a 10x multiplier, rewarding you with one mid-grade spirit stone!]

Before Xavier could fully process that result, a fourth notification appeared.

[Congratulations, Host! Your investment in the 5th-Grade martial arts manual, Void Walking, was successful. The investment triggered a 30x multiplier, rewarding you with Void Walking at the Lesser Completion stage!]

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. The two pills had been rejected because they were system rewards, but the spirit stone and martial arts manual had produced returns. It seemed his experiment had failed only partially.

I’ll have to investigate this properly when I get another chance to enter a secret realm.

Xavier recalled the unusual circumstances surrounding his first successful investment in Snow.

The experience had led him to suspect that secret realms might have something to do with the system’s special investment opportunities.

He was becoming increasingly convinced that there was a connection.

Unfortunately, secret realms were rare. He could not simply enter one whenever he felt like experimenting, so he would have to wait for a suitable opportunity.

Still, he had not expected much from the pills in the first place.

The more important reward was the improvement to Void Walking.

This martial art had originally come from Pat Marty.

Xavier had previously attempted to invest it in Mira, but the system had rejected that investment, forcing him to reclaim the manual.

Now, by giving the same martial art to Maya, he had unexpectedly advanced his own mastery to the Lesser Completion stage.

That was a significant gain. Void Walking would be particularly valuable during his upcoming confrontation with the Lindsay family.

With sufficient mastery, he could briefly slip into the void, making it much easier to infiltrate the family’s heavily guarded compound without attracting attention.

Then another thought struck him.

Wait a minute. If investing in a martial arts manual can improve my own mastery, what happens if I invest in the same technique through different people?

He had already attempted to invest in Void Walking through Mira.

Although that attempt had failed, the system had now rewarded him after he invested in the technique through Maya.

What if he repeated the process with other martial arts? Could he continue improving his proficiency by investing in the same technique through multiple eligible targets?