A Method for Rapid Advancement

Inside the dimly lit secret chamber. Sect Master Chunyang and the Grand Protector stared at each other in silence. After a long while, the former ground his teeth and said, "What class does that power belong to? Forcibly wiping memories and resetting someone to before they learned the information... it's a bit like hypnosis." The Grand Protector shook his head. "Hypnosis requires a medium. Remote hypnosis over distance is unheard of. Besides, the contents on the phone were wiped as well. Hypnosis cannot do that." After their first failure, the Grand Protector had propped his phone on the table to record the entire interrogation, intending to look for clues in the video. To his shock, however, the phone hadn't captured anything. The footage had been wiped just like their memories. The Grand Protector continued, "It doesn't matter what kind of power it is. What matters is that it's likely a high-tier rule-based item or causality-type item. It defies common sense... Why is Yuanshi Tianzun's real-world identity protected by such a high level of confidentiality?" That was what baffled him the most. "Furthermore, as far as I know, not a single Spirit Realm walker organization or demigod in the world possesses a high-tier causality-type item. If the power interfering with our investigation into Yuanshi Tianzun's identity comes from a causality-type item... we may have stumbled upon some terrifying secret," the Grand Protector said. "Whether it's a causality-type item remains unconfirmed." Sect Master Chunyang was unwilling to believe that a mere Yuanshi Tianzun could enjoy the protection of a causality-type item. What made him worthy? The Grand Protector stood, walked to the open area in the center of the chamber, and sat cross-legged. "I must report this matter to the Leader." ... Zhang Yuanqing adopted a posture of attentive listening. "Let's hear it." At that, Xiahou Aotian sneered. "The old guy was right. You really are gaslighting me into doing free labor for you. But a Scholar never backs down from a tough problem, anyway." After making it clear that he had seen right through Yuanshi Tianzun's trick, he continued, "To devise a method for rapid leveling, one must first understand how Spirit Realm walkers level up. Unlike the ancients who cultivated by absorbing spiritual energy, a Spirit Realm walker's spiritual energy comes from the empowerment of their character card. "By completing the scenarios arranged by the Spirit Realm, one gains the opportunity for empowerment. So, how does the character card infuse that spiritual energy into a Spirit Realm walker's body?" Zhang Yuanqing replied, "I don't think there's any technical nuance to it. It's just a brute-force injection." Xiahou Aotian snapped his fingers. "Exactly! There's no technical nuance whatsoever. It relies entirely on a shameful monopoly of resources. The real world has no spiritual energy left; all spiritual energy is contained within the Spirit Realm. If Spirit Realm walkers want to level up, they have to obediently follow the Spirit Realm's arrangements and clear scenarios and missions on schedule." Xiahou Aotian spoke with expansive confidence. "Once you understand the core mechanism, it's very simple. Clearing scenarios is merely the means to obtain empowerment, not the end itself. Our goal is to develop a method to receive empowerment without relying on clearing scenarios." "How can one receive empowerment without clearing scenarios?" Zhang Yuanqing frowned. "We're only Dominators, not Spirit Realm administrators. Trying to go through the Spirit Realm's channels is obviously impossible." Xiahou Aotian raised his chin, exuding supreme pride and brimming with confidence. "Yesterday, I combed through a vast amount of records and found a method in ancient documents. Over the three-plus centuries from the late Song dynasty to the late Ming dynasty, spiritual energy depleted. Dominators became legends, Saints grew exceedingly rare, and most cultivators stalled at the Transcendent stage. To break through their realms and fight over dwindling spiritual energy, our predecessors developed an inhumane method of advancement." Zhang Yuanqing shuddered in horror, grasping Xiahou Aotian's implication. "Your so-called method is to imitate the ancients and boost spiritual energy by eating people?" *What kind of damn idea is that?* he thought. Xiahou Aotian huffed. "Even if you wanted to eat people, you wouldn't necessarily succeed. The cannibalistic methods recorded in the documents are limited to those below the Saint level. On top of that, the side effects are massive. First, foreign spiritual energy doesn't match one's own, making the fusion process excruciatingly painful—like pouring muddy water into a bucket of clear spring water. Even if they eventually blend together, the spiritual energy becomes tainted and inferior to what is gained through hard cultivation. "Second, in the process of eating people, you inevitably devour the target's remnant soul. The more you consume, the worse your mental state becomes, easily leading to schizophrenia and madness." *The more you eat, the more prone you are to madness?* That made sense. Compared to when he first revived from the ancient tomb, Sect Master Chunyang was indeed growing increasingly unhinged. However, the cannibalistic methods in the records were limited to those below Saint, whereas Sect Master Chunyang had consumed his way up to Dominator. That meant he possessed a higher-tier method... Sect Master Chunyang, his nominal grandmaster, was the first person Zhang Yuanqing thought of. He shot an exasperated glare at the "protagonist." "You talked all that up just to say nothing useful." "No, no, no!" Xiahou Aotian wagged a finger. "I analyzed it with a model. For anyone else, this method is perilous, but you're different. You possess unique advantages. "You hold dual classes as a Day Wanderer and an Illusionist. One has a natural immunity to negative statuses, while the other is an expert at emotional control. Ordinary mental corruption can't threaten you at all. What others can't attempt, you can. "Next, you need to acquire a Dominator-grade method of devouring and improve upon it, ideally purifying part of the corruption before consumption. On that front, I suggest consulting Lady Sandao. Didn't you say she treats you like a son? "Sect Master Chunyang knows high-end culinary techniques for preparing ingredients. As his disciple, she surpassed her master, so she surely knows them as well." *Given Lady Sandao's fierce and upright nature, if she found out I wanted to eat people, she'd probably be the first to butcher this unfilial son—wait, no, unfilial disciple!* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. He gave serious thought to Xiahou Aotian's plan and said, "The only Day Wanderers I could devour are the protectors of the Dark Night Rose, but they're slipperier than rats in a gutter. I'd have to bide my time." "Theoretically speaking, Day Wanderers inside scenarios are also potential targets," Xiahou Aotian said. "Unfortunately, none of the guild scenarios you enter are exclusive to Day Wanderers—unless you join the Taiyi Sect." "The Taiyi Sect Master is my rival. The Merchant Guild and the Association of God of Beauty refused to hand over their Compass of Light fragments precisely because of me. Do you really think the Taiyi Sect would let me enter their guild scenarios?" Zhang Yuanqing retorted exasperatedly. "Even if the Taiyi Sect agreed, I wouldn't dare go. What if they quietly offed me inside the scenario?" "Thinking too small," Xiahou Aotian grunted. "A protagonist fears rivals least of all. Any competitor only serves to make the protagonist stronger. Clearly, the Taiyi Sect Master is no protagonist." Just then, a mental ripple came from the old man in the ring: "I do not think your method will work." Zhang Yuanqing and Xiahou Aotian both glared displeasedly at the ring. "What's wrong with it?" Xiahou Aotian demanded, unconvinced. The old man in the ring raised a question: "Why hasn't any Spirit Realm walker used a similar method? Or have you heard of anyone using such a method, or of any precedent?" Zhang Yuanqing and Xiahou Aotian both paused. "Devouring someone else's spiritual essence to gain experience points violates basic humanity. If discovered, it would be severely punished," Zhang Yuanqing said thoughtfully. "Murder and arson also violate humanity, yet has the orthodox faction done any less of it?" the old man in the ring retorted with steady equanimity. "Orderly does not equal good—that's a phrase Xiahou Aotian always has on his lips. If there were a way to rapidly increase experience points without needing to enter scenarios, someone would inevitably take the risk." "I already told you, this method causes mental derangement. The cost is too steep," Xiahou Aotian argued. "Then what about evil classes?" the old man in the ring countered. "Evil classes are already half-mad. Would they fear that?" Zhang Yuanqing and Xiahou Aotian exchanged a glance, both falling silent. After a brief silence, Zhang Yuanqing said, "Perhaps someone did try it long ago, but failed. And since something like that couldn't be made public, it was treated as if it never happened." Xiahou Aotian pondered for a few seconds. "What caused the failure, then... Old guy, do you know?" The old man in the ring chuckled. "How would I know? I was merely listening in on your conspiracy and pointing out the loopholes." Deep in thought, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly spoke up: "Sect Master Chunyang can restore his strength by 'eating people.'" Being a Scholar after all, Xiahou Aotian's eyes lit up as realization struck. "Spirit Realm walkers are bound by some sort of restriction, so they can't use the ancient method to eat people. But Sect Master Chunyang isn't a Spirit Realm walker, which is why he can." Their train of thought opened wide at once. What was the difference between Sect Master Chunyang and a Spirit Realm walker? The answer was self-evident—character cards! Thus, it was the character card that restricted Spirit Realm walkers from engaging in cannibalism. Xiahou Aotian stroked his chin in thought. "The Spirit Realm shouldn't have any concept of public morals or decency. It definitely didn't ban Spirit Realm walkers from using this method because the ancient way was cruel. What could the reason be, then... I've got it! It's an issue with the matchmaking mechanism! "Our scenarios are matched based on experience points and hidden ratings. That data is recorded in the Spirit Realm through the character cards. If a Spirit Realm walker used an ancient method to boost their experience points, the scenarios matched by the Spirit Realm would fall out of balance with their actual combat prowess, creating bugs left and right." The issue had been figured out, but how to solve it? Zhang Yuanqing and Xiahou Aotian fell silent once more. After a few minutes, Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "At least our logic is sound. As for how to deceive the character card, that requires careful deliberation. There's no rush. No great plan is accomplished overnight. Get ready—we'll enter the Shushan Southern Courtyard at dawn." Zhang Yuanqing wasn't discouraged. At the very least, he had grasped a method for rapid advancement without needing to clear scenarios. Even if the method was still unrefined and rife with difficulties, he had a Scholar who excelled at research to tackle it anyway. Xiahou Aotian was reluctant. "Sounds like a thankless grind." Zhang Yuanqing adopted a grave expression. "If you can develop a secret art that allows rapid leveling without entering scenarios, it will go down in history. Present Spirit Realm walkers, future Spirit Realm walkers, evil classes, orderly classes—they will all remember the name Xiahou Aotian." "Stop... stop talking..." Xiahou Aotian's mouth twitched. It was a temptation he couldn't resist. It was Yuanshi Tianzun's overt scheme. Zhang Yuanqing said in all seriousness, "Meeting adjourned." ... Inside the secret chamber. As the Grand Protector retrieved a scroll inked with talisman formations, the already dim room turned even gloomier and more oppressive. The desk lamp took on a dark, murky shroud. From the talisman scroll, a wisp of yin energy drifted out, coalescing into a figure with blurred facial features. "Leader!" The Grand Protector immediately prostrated himself. Sect Master Chunyang also stood and bowed to this Lord of Taiyin. "This subordinate knows you are in the Spirit Realm corroding the Merit Roster and wearing down the power of the Sun, but this subordinate encountered a bizarre matter today and had no choice but to report to you," the Grand Protector spoke first. "What is it...?" Ling Tuo's voice resembled 3D surround sound—layered, grandiose, and echoing throughout the chamber.