During self-study period.
Nora lay slumped across her desk, completely distracted, stealing glances behind her every so often.
Although Yu Xian looked very handsome as he was, she still wanted to see what he would look like when he was mature and dashing in the future.
"Why keep staring at me? Do I have something on my face?" Yu Xian asked, his scalp prickling a little under her gaze.
Nora shook her head without a word, then turned away and buried her face against her arms to sleep. Yu Xian blinked and had no choice but to turn to Chen Ling for help, sending a silent plea with his eyes: *Your Majesty, quickly use your invincible gossip powers to help me out!*
"Salty Fish, will you really never grow up?" Chen Ling asked, blinking as she received his distress signal.
Yu Xian's eyes widened, and he looked at Chen Ling with immense gratitude. He finally understood why Nora had been sulking.
He would never age further, whereas Nora would continue to grow. He had known this all along, but Nora seemed to have only realized it this morning.
No wonder she was down in the dumps.
He deliberately raised his voice slightly as he replied, "In theory, I won't grow anymore. But... down the road, I should be able to adjust my appearance however I like. If I want to look a certain age, I can just turn into that age."
"Using a spell?" Nora couldn't resist glancing back, asking in a small voice.
Yu Xian shook his head. "Not a spell. The ability is confidential, but in short, it's a genuine bodily transformation. It's neither an illusion nor a temporary charm—it's a permanent change to my appearance."
What he was referring to was the Pangu Transmutation Divine Ability.
All Pangu-series abilities had to be kept strictly confidential, so he couldn't divulge specific details. Even so, skirting the edges was harmless enough—after all, when people used their abilities, they couldn't go around killing every single bystander.
In theory, the Pangu Transmutation Divine Ability could permanently alter his form.
As long as he mentally visualized his appearance as he grew older and then used the Pangu Transmutation Divine Ability to transform, he could appear as old or as young as he pleased.
Furthermore, each transformation remained permanent until he used the divine ability to adjust it again.
"Then could you even turn into an old grandpa?" Nora's mind worked in mysterious ways; her eyes sparkled as she looked at Yu Xian, already imagining what he would look like in old age.
Yu Xian propped his cheek on one hand, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. He smiled. "Maybe."
"Salty Fish, could you do me a favor?" Chen Ling spoke up then, giving him a wink to signal that she was calling in her debt.
Yu Xian immediately made an "after you" gesture.
Chen Ling explained, "I found a qigong manual at the antique street. I took it to several appraisal shops, and the appraisers all said it was authentic. Help me check whether it's actually real."
With that, she retrieved a somewhat timeworn book from her schoolbag.
Yu Xian took the book and flipped through two pages, unable to make head or tail of the contents. Once Chen Ling gave him her permission, he snapped photos on his phone and posted them on the Qilin app's discussion board.
Within moments, someone replied: the qigong manual was indeed genuine, but it was common as dirt.
The manual was titled *Hunyuan One-Qi Art*. It had virtually no aptitude requirements, but progress was agonizingly slow. It was a garbage technique where someone could practice their whole life and still fail to break through to Insect rank.
Yu Xian scanned the entire book, and after confirming no pages were missing, handed it back to Chen Ling. "The qigong manual is real, but if an ordinary person practices this art their whole life, it'll at most prolong their life slightly. Unless someone is a peerless genius, trying to become a Transcendent with it is pure fantasy."
"What if one of you vampires practiced it?" Chen Ling asked, showing initial disappointment before perking up with curiosity.
Yu Xian shook his head vigorously to indicate his total lack of interest. Between his Pangu lineage and his vampire lineage, what kind of monstrosity would he become if he layered qigong on top?
It was terrifying to even consider. He felt he might explode at any second.
"Nora, why don't you give it a try?" Chen Ling asked, turning to Nora next.
Nora hesitated. "Can vampires even practice qigong?"
"No idea. Don't look at me," Yu Xian blurted when Nora instinctively looked his way.
He genuinely had no clue whether vampires could cultivate qigong. But having said that, he grew slightly worried that Nora might actually court disaster by trying it, so he promptly used his phone to ask the broader community of Qilin comrades for information.
*Vampires can indeed cultivate qigong, but most vampires can only practice arts that circulate through the Conception Vessel, such as ice or Taiyin arts. Cultivation arts like Raging Fire Divine Art or Nine Yang Manual would cause harm to a vampire.*
*However, I have always had an idea: Marcus's daughter Nora might be very well suited for this type of art. Coincidentally, I have a Sunflower Sunward Divine Art. If she's interested, feel free to pass it to her.*
Just then, a member with the codename "Bat" sent Yu Xian a message.
Yu Xian pondered for a moment and replied: *Thanks. I'll ask her.*
This Bat clearly recognized his codename, and coincidentally Yu Xian knew of Bat as well, since Bat was the vampire Nora had previously mentioned—the one who avoided Blood Clan persecution by joining Qilin.
It could be said that the two of them were the only members of their kind within Qilin.
"Nora, do you know Bat?" Yu Xian asked, looking at her.
A question mark practically popped over Nora's head. Placing the *Hunyuan One-Qi Art* down onto the desk, she asked, "Who is Bat?"
"Didn't you tell me before that a wild vampire escaped the Blood Clan's hitmen by joining Qilin? Bat is that guy," Yu Xian explained.
Enlightenment dawned on Nora, but she promptly shook her head. "Oh, you mean him? Never met him."
"Then why would he ask me to give you a divine manual?" Yu Xian muttered, somewhat puzzled.
Rather than waste time guessing, he asked the person directly through his phone. Bat's reply was simple:
*Out of curiosity. I am a researcher specializing in the development and study of cultivation arts. Nora and you are both exceptionally rare specimens.*
*Then why not ask me?* Yu Xian pressed.
Bat replied: *You are far too unstable. I have never heard of a vampire soaring from Insect rank to Sparrow rank in a mere matter of weeks. Although Pangu's Blood played a part, I do not believe it is wise to add even more variables to your condition. Nora's situation, on the other hand, is significantly more stable than yours. Stability implies safety.*
Though Bat phrased it tactfully, Yu Xian understood his meaning perfectly well. Put simply, Bat viewed him as a ticking time bomb and didn't dare mess around with him.
Therefore, he had set his sights on Nora, hoping to use Yu Xian to reach her and carry out his experiments.
*The qigong manual in Chen Ling's hands—did you plant it?* Yu Xian's eyes narrowed slightly as he typed on his phone.
Bat replied: *Indeed. Consider it a gift; I hope you like it.*
*I'm a straightforward person, so I'll be blunt: I don't care for your style. If you dare scheme against my friends like this again, I will come over and beat you to a pulp,* Yu Xian typed, completely unsparing.
He had found it strange earlier. No matter how common *Hunyuan One-Qi Art* was, it wouldn't just be casually picked up by an ordinary person; otherwise, with countless eighth-grade-syndrome youths out there, arts of this sort would have spread among the populace long ago.
Clearly, Bat understood Yu Xian's social circle well and knew he had been attending school lately.
By feeding Chen Ling an untitled qigong manual, Bat had effortlessly manipulated Yu Xian into inquiring about qigong within Qilin. He then seized the opportunity to establish contact and pitch the *Sunflower Sunward Divine Art*.
*It won't happen again. After all, aren't we acquainted now?*
Bat seemed to have anticipated Yu Xian's displeasure, sending a grinning cartoon bat emoji followed by his assurance.
Chapter 74