Xiahou Aotian seemed to have known all along that he would come. He leaned back lazily against his chair, his legs crossed, and pointed toward the small refrigerator in the corner.
"Little Yuan, bring your CEO an iced cola. You're always so tactless—how am I supposed to groom you for greatness in the future?"
*Give this guy an inch, and he'll take a light-year!* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled inwardly. Walking over to the cooler, he retrieved two bottles of cola and sneered, "I thought the CEO would only drink cognac preserved from the reign of Louis XIV, or the never-ending Lafite '82 from TV dramas, or at the very least be served with a bottle of Feitian Moutai. Tsk-tsk, gamer fuel hardly befits your status today."
Xiahou Aotian searched his mind for cognac, only then recalling it was a distilled white wine, and snorted. "Then why are you drinking cola? Does it befit your status today?"
"As they say, coarse feed for wild boars," Zhang Yuanqing replied.
Xiahou Aotian crossed his other leg. "The Scholar is an occupation that relies on the brain, and sugar is the ultimate weapon against mental fatigue."
He unscrewed the cola and took a swig. Dispensing with further suspense, he lifted his chin and declared, "Let us resume our previous discussion. Ancient cultivators could enhance themselves by plundering spiritual power, but Spirit Realm walkers cannot, because Spirit Realm walkers are bound by character cards.
"Just a moment ago, though, I suddenly thought of a way to bypass the character card. That is... plundering another person's spiritual power while clearing a dungeon scenario."
Plundering someone else's spiritual power while clearing a scenario? That was an angle Zhang Yuanqing had never considered. Pondering, he asked, "Are you confident in this?"
"It is currently still in the theoretical stage, but I believe the chances are very high." Xiahou Aotian took another sip of the sweet soda, his mood instantly brightening. The tension and stress carried over from the scenario slowly dissolved in the sugar.
He explained, "When clearing a scenario, the character card's infusion function activates, pouring spiritual power into the Spirit Realm walker. At that exact moment, if you immediately execute your cannibalistic technique, external spiritual power will slip into your body alongside the power infused by the character card, fishing in troubled waters..."
"Wait!" Zhang Yuanqing promptly cut him off. "We discussed this before. Spirit Realm walkers cannot devour other people's spiritual power because the character card must calculate our experience. Devouring another's spiritual power would cause the character card to miscalculate our experience, resulting in bugs during scenario matching.
"For example, when you clear a scenario, the character card awards you ten percent experience. Before or at the very instant it is granted, that value is recorded in the Spirit Realm.
"Unless you are an administrator who can alter values within the Spirit Realm using supreme authority, the experience value recorded by the Spirit Realm will not change, even if you devour someone else's spiritual power during the infusion."
Xiahou Aotian wagged his finger. "Wrong, wrong. You haven't grasped my meaning."
Zhang Yuanqing adopted an attentive posture.
Xiahou Aotian continued, "We don't need to alter the experience recorded by the character card. What we must do is bypass the character card to raise your level—or rather... realm! The realm ancient cultivators spoke of.
"Although Spirit Realm walkers cannot make their cultivation skyrocket by devouring spiritual power, they can emulate ancient cultivators by entering guild scenarios and slowly cultivating to increase their experience. That is the only method most Dominators have to improve themselves.
"In other words, what the character card restricts is cheating, not slow cultivation. Cultivation accumulates spiritual power gradually, within a range the character card can tolerate, so it won't cause matching bugs.
"So, under what circumstances is a Spirit Realm walker permitted to cheat and experience a sudden surge in power?"
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up. He understood. "I see what you mean."
Xiahou Aotian nodded slightly. "A teachable pupil!
"Spirit Realm walkers are only permitted to experience an explosive surge in strength when clearing a scenario, during the character card's spiritual power infusion. All you need to do is seize that exact moment to devour another Spirit Realm walker's spiritual power, effectively exploiting a bug in the Spirit Realm.
"That way, even if the character card records your experience at fifty percent, your actual strength will have reached eighty percent. Experience points are merely useless data; in reality, actual combat prowess is what counts."
*A brilliant idea, an absolute stroke of genius!* Zhang Yuanqing cheered silently.
Xiahou Aotian added, "However, this shortcut cannot raise your actual level. The innate skills awarded with each level-up cannot be granted by devouring people for spiritual power."
"That's more than enough!" Zhang Yuanqing said delightedly.
If his true combat strength exceeded the value recorded by his experience, then when entering scenarios alone, he could enter mid-stage Level 7 scenarios with late-stage Level 7 strength.
The difficulty of scenarios would plummet.
Grade-A Level 7 scenarios would become hunting grounds for farming experience.
Pairing that with plundering spiritual power a few times in between, he might reach Level 9 in less than half a year, thereby qualifying to vie for the position of Lord of the Sun.
His uncle had stated that the minimum requirement to become a demigod was reaching Level 9.
Both early-stage Level 9 and peak Level 9 qualified, just as the requirement to enter the killing trial was Level 3 or Level 6; whether experience was at one percent or ninety-nine percent did not matter.
It was only because the disparity in strength between the two was so immense that no early-stage Spirit Realm walker was willing to enter such a scenario to die, not that they lacked the qualification.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately grabbed a pen and paper to write down the technique he had obtained from the spiritual remnant in the Yaoguang statue for Xiahou Aotian.
"This is the Three Powers Pill Recipe created by an alchemist at the end of the Eastern Han dynasty, refined over several generations." Zhang Yuanqing handed the sheet covered in talismans and text to Xiahou Aotian. "See if you can master it."
Xiahou Aotian was startled. "Where did you get this?"
"I found it inside the spiritual remnant of the Yaoguang statue," Zhang Yuanqing replied. "That former Sect Leader of Mount Shu happened to know this evil art. Well, ancient cultivators at that realm read extensively; they dabbled in most arts and divine techniques."
"What a coincidence," Xiahou Aotian muttered, focusing his gaze on the Three Powers Pill Recipe. His brow furrowed, relaxed, twitched with excitement, and knit with frustration in turns.
After a full half hour, he spoke:
"I ran the deductions. The pill recipe's theory holds up. Following the steps, one should indeed be able to concoct the Three Powers Pill. If you bring the pill into a scenario and consume it during the spiritual power infusion, you can rapidly boost your realm.
"However... this recipe contains no step for purifying spiritual corruption. And your intended targets will inevitably be Day Wanderers. Day Wanderers possess immense spiritual power; devouring it recklessly would be playing with fire.
"You don't want to dose yourself into madness, do you? The remnant spirit of the Yaoguang statue almost drove you insane, to say nothing of fresh, intact spiritual power. The alchemist who devised this Three Powers Pill Recipe must have lost control and died in the end.
"This isn't an exploit; it's a poison recipe dragging you into the abyss."
Zhang Yuanqing's brow furrowed deeper.
Indeed, advancing via such an evil art, taking the Three Powers Pill more than twice would likely drive him completely mad and demonic.
"Do you have any suggestions?" he asked.
Leave professional matters to professionals.
Xiahou Aotian shrugged. "How would I know? Concocting pills is my specialty, but purifying souls is outside my wheelhouse. Sigh, it seems there are no shortcuts in cultivation. Every shortcut demands a heavy price."
Just then, the mental fluctuation of the Qin dynasty fangshi transmitted from Xiahou Aotian's ring:
"Heh, simply find someone like me who holds dual professions as both a Day Wanderer and a Scholar. To be clear beforehand, this old man was primarily a fangshi; I only learned the barest surface of a Day Wanderer's arts and never attained the Golden Crow realm.
"I cannot modify this recipe."
Xiahou Aotian scoffed, "Then what good are you!"
*A dual practitioner of Day Wanderer and Scholar...* Zhang Yuanqing pondered silently for a moment, then an epiphany struck him. He thought of his beloved, dearest master, who possessed both peerless beauty and brilliant talent.
Because ancient cultivators progressed slowly and enjoyed long lifespans, their studies were broad and eclectic, dabbling in skills of every kind.
Most of them knew a thing or two about pill concoction.
Among the descriptions of Lady Sandao in Lady Sandao Temple, one entry read: *Proficient in the art of pill concoction, frequently providing free consultations and treatments to nearby commoners.*
The old crone was also a peak Day Wanderer, making her the ideal person to modify the recipe.
However, the old crone was fierce, proud, and domineering; she would never agree. Forget being her legacy disciple—even if he were her husband, she probably wouldn't consent.
A tough nut to crack!
Zhang Yuanqing left Xiahou Aotian's office and returned to his maternal grandparents' home, still unable to devise a way to persuade the old crone.
***
Inside a secret chamber.
The Grand Protector looked down, inspecting a thick stack of student records, his voice hoarse.
"The Leader has already instructed us not to investigate Yuanshi Tianzun's true identity anymore."
With eyes filled with madness yet rigidly restrained, Sect Master Chunyang sneered, "You are a protector of the Dark Night Rose; I am not! I do whatever I please. As long as Yuanshi Tianzun lives, this seat cannot rest easy. If I kill Yuanshi Tianzun, I can strip his spiritual essence and return to my peak.
"When that time comes, that treacherous disciple hiding in the Spirit Realm will be the one unable to rest easy."
Sect Master Chunyang had projected his hatred for his traitorous disciple onto Yuanshi Tianzun. Naturally, he already harbored deep grudges against Yuanshi Tianzun anyway.
As an obsessive madman, so long as he breathed, his gaze would remain fixed on Yuanshi Tianzun.
The Grand Protector said nothing more. Flipping through a few pages of the records, he questioned, "Given the official faction's methods, all information on Yuanshi Tianzun was erased long ago. Whether in schools or security bureaus, neither digital data nor physical records can possibly remain.
"Yuanshi Tianzun's file will not be among the student records you gave me. And if you go around inquiring with his photograph, you will only fall into a loop."
A dead end!
"Foolish!" Sect Master Chunyang snapped coldly. "With your intellect, how did you ever advance to Day Wanderer? Do you think I am unaware of the official faction's methods and capabilities?
"However, Yuanshi Tianzun is a native of Songhai, born and raised. Kangyang District Middle School only enrolls students from this district, which means the playmates who grew up with Yuanshi Tianzun from childhood all attended this school.
"Yuanshi Tianzun became a Spirit Realm walker in April of last year and gained Transcendent power. At that time, he could never have anticipated that a mere year later, he would become an unrivaled figure across the world.
"Therefore, upon acquiring Transcendent power, he must have displayed something unusual before his close playmates—whether to help them or to show off. I cannot directly investigate Yuanshi Tianzun's identity, as that would trigger a temporal reset. But I can question these alumni of Kangyang Middle School about which familiar classmate or friend underwent a dramatic transformation over the past year, as if reborn.
"The person who suddenly changed is, in all probability, Yuanshi Tianzun. Once I establish that such a person exists, I won't even need to ask for a name; an address will suffice."
The Grand Protector's eyes lit up beneath his cowl.
Sect Master Chunyang fixed his gaze on the cloaked Grand Protector. "I wish to borrow the Dark Night Rose's intelligence network to check through the Security Bureau whether any of these people suddenly struck it rich or received massive resources.
"If so, they must have benefited from Yuanshi Tianzun's favor."
The reason he did not search Songhai University was that its students had likely been brainwashed, whereas middle school classmates had scattered to all corners of the country as adults.
The official faction could not possibly brainwash everyone Yuanshi Tianzun had ever known in his life.
The Grand Protector was silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Like exploiting a bug in that mysterious power? It is a fine plan, but you shouldn't have come to me. I will not disobey the Leader's orders. You are not a member of the Dark Night Rose, so the Leader cannot compel you. If you want to investigate, do it yourself. Do not drag me down with you."
Hearing this, madness and murderous intent flared wildly in Sect Master Chunyang's eyes. Relying on an Illusionist's emotional mastery, however, he forced himself to endure it and sneered:
"Unfit to plot with!"
Transforming into a streak of starlight, he vanished from the Grand Protector's hideout.
The Grand Protector remained seated behind the desk, motionless for a long while, the gaze beneath his cowl dark and unfathomable.
Starlight flashed repeatedly as Sect Master Chunyang hurried toward the airport of this northwestern city.
Upon obtaining the student records, he had immediately taken a flight to meet the Grand Protector, arriving in the northwest late at night.
At three in the morning, Sect Master Chunyang boarded a flight back to Songhai.
Just as he returned to his rented apartment in Songhai, his phone chimed with an incoming text alert.
Sect Master Chunyang pulled out his phone to check the message:
*Contact this number! He will handle official resources for you. Burn after reading!*
Sect Master Chunyang committed the phone number to memory, deleted the text, and let out a dry chuckle.
"And you claimed you couldn't disobey the Leader's orders!
"Every time Yuanshi Tianzun is mentioned, your emotions are always steeped in wariness and dread, wishing for nothing more than his swift demise."
Intuition told him that the Grand Protector of the Dark Night Rose had an entanglement with Yuanshi Tianzun—an entanglement unknown to anyone else.
Even the Leader of the Dark Night Rose might not be aware; otherwise, the Grand Protector would not feign compliance while secretly acting against orders.
Naturally, Sect Master Chunyang would not expose this. In their stance toward Yuanshi Tianzun, they were aligned.
Shared goals made them comrades.
Chapter 907