Chapter 103 New Talent

To confirm his doubts, Li Cheng頤 returned to the Hunter Division and met with the Municipal Officer, Wen Lin.

He inquired about information regarding speed.

"Ah? Speed? Currently, the fastest among the major cults is naturally Crescent Moon. The dukes and even bishop-level princes of Crescent Moon can reach the point where their voices arrive before they do. This is generally unknown to outsiders, but I know some inside information because of my grandmother."

Wen Lin was still handling official business in his office, looking very tired, but upon hearing Li Cheng頤's inquiry, he quickly gave an answer.

"That fast? What about the other cults? Are there any with relatively high speed?" Li Cheng頤 asked. Wasn't that breaking the sound barrier? He was speechless.

"I'm not sure about that. Generally, the speed shouldn't be higher than Crescent Moon's limit, right? Otherwise, with immense power, terrifying recovery, strong toxicity, and unparalleled speed, it would be too terrifying. Any such strong person could destroy the world by just stalling for time, right?"

Wen Lin said hesitantly.

"Understood, thank you." After listening, Li Cheng頤 used Shadow Blink without hesitation and instantly disappeared from his seat, leaving Wen Lin dumbfounded.

So that teleportation ability was actually a regular skill? And he could use it casually? That was too terrifying.

He quickly pulled out his notebook to record the key points and raised Li Cheng頤's importance level by a notch.

Putting aside everything else, even if Li Cheng頤 had no other abilities, this instant movement alone would make him the most terrifying assassin.

Having confirmed the information, Li Cheng頤 returned directly to the office.

Dounis was still out gathering information. Official information needed to be verified offline in person, so this step was essential.

In the huge office, only Ni Lan was dozing off, leaning against a leather chair by the door.

Li Cheng頤 ignored her, opened the office door, and went inside to prepare to begin cultivating the Thousand Faces Sword Scripture.

Now that he had confirmed that the surrounding area wasn't highly dangerous, and he couldn't find anyone for the time being, what he needed to do was ensure that he was constantly moving forward at all times.

He sat upright in the boss's chair and casually set up a Death Qi Array to isolate his aura.

It had to be said that the things from the Death Qi Cultivation Country were indeed useful. The various small techniques he obtained from the talented Hua Yu and the spells he learned from the Death Angel King provided Li Cheng頤 with a lot of convenience.

Before long, a faint, subtle sound of inhalation came from the spacious office.

The sound of inhalation, like a stream, maintained a special rhythm as he slowly entered a state of focus.

Li Cheng頤 sat in the chair, his body slowly emitting a trace of cyan light.

The cyan light quickly subsided, disappeared, and he completely returned to the state of an ordinary person.

The Thousand Faces Sword Scripture had nine layers and nine kinds of condensation techniques. In fact, this was a very suitable cultivation method for hiding one's strength.

Because it was based on mental energy, the Yuan Imprint (core energy mark) cultivated could not be distinguished from the outside by other Yuan Imprint experts.

Li Cheng頤 first looked at the condensation methods of the scripture.

'Successfully condensing it will increase one's imprint by one? Twenty imprints forming two imprint rings will allow one to try to ignite the True Fire?'

He looked at the recorded information, which even subdivided the True Fire into different levels.

'Refining miscellaneous imprints, turning them into firewood to purify the main Yuan Imprint...'

'True Fire can be divided into Empty Fire, Essence Fire, Qi Fire, and Divine Fire, respectively forging different parts of oneself. Afterwards, the Nirvana Fire burns oneself. Success leads to transcendence; failure leads to annihilation.'

Transcendence was the path of the Red Oriole Ancestor.

Li Cheng頤 pondered in his heart. According to the path of the Faceless Sword Sect, the future was basically certain.

He then turned to look at the Yin Scripture, which was the cultivation method of the Heavenly Gathering Pavilion.

This time, his trip to Midlarn had allowed him to update his understanding of the Yin Scripture and successfully obtain the cultivation method for after the imprint rings.

Compared to the Faceless Sword Sect, the records in the Yin Scripture were completely different.

'Use the imprint rings as materials, condense the Furnace of Creation, determine the changes of the universe, transform extreme Yin into Yang.'

The general outline of the mantra was very simple.

The details that followed were much more extensive, filled with detailed annotations and explanations.

'Yin Moon: This step is actually very simple, which is to constantly sublimate oneself, condense engravings, and forge one's essence, qi, and spirit into an incredibly sturdy furnace. Then, seek changes in the universe from the outside world and throw them in to burn. The various heat released during combustion will, in turn, bake oneself more purely.'

'The larger, stronger, and more solid the Furnace of Creation you forge, the stronger the power you unleash when burning. The so-called天地万物 (tiāndì wànwù - all things in heaven and earth) are all firewood, which can be thrown into my furnace and transformed into flames to emit light. This is the true intention of my Heavenly Gathering Pavilion.'

'Ning Hengzi: Use the imprint rings as materials, circling them around to form a large furnace, and then burn things – but don't burn yourself; burn external things. The better the materials you throw in and the longer you burn them, the stronger your strength will be. In addition, you can constantly fill, mend, reinforce, and repair the furnace later.'

'Tian Chongzi: Use heaven and earth as firewood, transform all living beings into fuel, burn all things, and I am the light.'

'Yun Qingzi: The ancestor has made it very clear above. Our Heavenly Gathering Pavilion takes the path of dealing with change by using change. The myriad things in the Black Sea are constantly changing. In this world, what can be eternally existent? There is only one thing, or rather, a phenomenon, and that is change.'

Following that were dense annotations and notes from various predecessors of the sect, which Li Cheng頤 read with rapt attention.

The doubled comprehension ability enhanced by the Snow Lotus Flower allowed him to unconsciously gain insights as he read the brief annotations, gaining a deep understanding of both the Thousand Faces Sword Scripture and the Yin Scripture.

'The Thousand Faces Sword Scripture mainly cultivates the spirit; everything is to strengthen one's own spirit, to serve, and the ultimate goal is to collect external consciousness and will, transforming it into one's own power. This is the method of killing and decisive action.'

'The Yin Scripture, on the other hand, is a method of longevity. In the True Fire realm, it focuses on transforming oneself into a furnace, talking about a path of burning others to illuminate oneself and all living beings. The fact that oneself is a furnace that can be constantly changed and reinforced undoubtedly makes it more adaptable to different situations and environments than the Thousand Faces Sword Scripture. In any situation, burn the corresponding thing that can solve the problem and difficulty, and then generate True Fire with different abilities to solve the difficulties. Compared to the Faceless Sword Sect, it is clearly more broad and at a higher level.'

This was the difference between dealing with all changes by remaining unchanged and dealing with change by using change.

'Of all things in the world, none remain unchanged; all living beings are like this, and so am I,' wrote Huo Qingdao Ren, an ancestor of the Heavenly Gathering Pavilion, in the Yin Scripture.

"There's a point… but although the Heavenly Gathering Pavilion's cultivation method has a higher artistic conception, it really consumes external objects and easily invites public anger. You're burning others, so others will naturally be angry and resist… In comparison, the Thousand Faces Sword Scripture is much more economical and concealed. You only need to observe the changes in the will of people outside to change the Yuan Spirit Sword, improve your realm, and condense the Yuan Spirit Yuan Imprint."

Li Cheng頤 weighed the options in his heart.

The Thousand Faces Sword Scripture did not require external resources at all, while the Heavenly Gathering Pavilion's Yin Scripture consumed a lot of resources and was also prone to inviting trouble.

He made a decision.

After thinking for a few minutes, he decided to cultivate both!

Anyway, the two cultivation methods didn't conflict. As long as you condensed enough Yuan Imprints, you could cultivate both.

'At worst, I'll forge a super-large furnace sword made of Yuan Imprints! It can both chop people and act as a furnace to burn things.'

Having determined his direction and path, he immediately began to practice the Thousand Faces Sword Scripture first.

His super-strong comprehension ability took effect at this time.

The nine kinds of condensation methods took Li Cheng頤 less than three hours to basically understand and master. This was a step that would take the elders of the Faceless Sword Sect at least several years to complete.

Of course, this wasn't the key. The nine layers only provided nine different methods of condensing the will of others and transforming the Yuan Spirit Sword.

With the methods in place, the truly important thing was the materials.

The materials were very special, requiring the collection of the most sublimated will structure of others.

Sitting in the office, Li Cheng頤 slowly opened his eyes.

'Only those with extremely strong wills can possess this kind of thing.'

He pondered for a moment and decided to observe the surroundings first to see if he could find someone nearby to try.

With a thought, a large amount of mental energy condensed into a transparent, blurry field cluster, floating in front of him.

Consciousness itself actually originated from the field composed of brain waves. Its traces could actually be followed. When this field became strong enough, the original weakness became a special force strong enough to affect reality.

And that was the situation Li Cheng頤 was in now.

'Next, I need to find suitable candidates to absorb their will structure and essence to complete the Yuan Imprint condensation of the Yuan Spirit Sword.'

This was actually looking for people with extreme willpower and using their brilliance to sublimate one's own mind.

'On the other hand, the Yin Scripture's Imprint Ring Furnace requires constantly condensing more new Yuan Imprints to forge one by one. The existing Yuan Imprints can only roughly condense an outline; I'm still short a few to reach twenty.'

In addition, changing the shape of the Yuan Spirit required the assistance of many rare materials to complete safely.

This was an essential step in the Yin Scripture's Furnace construction, which must be completed.

The Yin Scripture recorded many replaceable types of materials.

'Animal eyeballs that can automatically heat up to ignite paper, the arm of a creature that causes petrification upon contact, a rock over five billion years old (over ten kilograms), a piece of live master-level singing full of sadness and despair (non-copied version), a large amount of natural crystal pillars that can condense into a rhombus shape with seven colors.'

Having sorted out the information, he waited for the subsequent collection.

Coming back to his senses, Li Cheng頤 let out a long sigh and waved his hand to disperse the surrounding Death Qi spell array.

Immediately, a faint sound of conversation came from the living room of the office.

It wasn't Ni Lan and Dounis, but another girl, with a very gentle and delicate voice.

A guest had arrived?

Li Cheng颐 got up, opened the door, and walked out of the office.

In the white, spacious living room, a young girl with long, purplish-black hair was sitting on the brown new sofa.

The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a gentle appearance and eyes like a pool of water. Her orange eyes were like soft lamplight, warm and approachable.

She didn't look particularly pretty, and her appearance was even a bit ordinary. There was a noticeable purplish-black birthmark on her left cheek, but compared to the pretty Ni Lan, this girl sitting there naturally attracted people's attention.

Li Cheng頤 instantly remembered the girl's appearance. When the people from the Crescent Moon Cult came to find Wenis the other day, it was this girl who was in the car downstairs, seemingly helping to drive away the two vampires who came to the door.

At the time, he felt that the girl might have a significant background. Now, looking at her brown little suit, the white lady's floral-collared shirt, and the matching suit skirt, the workmanship and details were completely on a different level than Ni Lan's. The orange leather boots she wore had yellow crystals and gold threads embedded on the sides.

Most exaggeratedly, the crystals seemed to faintly emit a trace of heat, clearly supernatural items.

Just this pair of boots alone could probably buy the entire office at market price, with plenty to spare.

In short, she was rich, very rich, and extremely rich.

"I'm sorry for intruding so impolitely. I'm Dulannia, a friend of Ni Lan's. I heard she works here and wanted to come and see. I hope I haven't disturbed you."

Seeing Li Cheng頤 come out, the girl stood up and bowed earnestly, with an apologetic smile on her face.

The smile was like sunlight, warming Li Cheng颐's usually calm mood.

This emotional contagion…

He was certain. This girl… had a strong talent in mental energy.

"You're a friend of Ni Lan's? I'm Li Cheng頤, Ni Lan's boss. It's okay, no disturbance at all. You guys chat." Li Cheng頤 also gave a polite smile.

He always had a good impression of polite children.

"Actually, there's another presumptuous request I have for coming here this time…" Dulannia said again.

"What is it? If it's not troublesome, I can consider it," Li Cheng頤 replied.

"Thank you, Mr. Li. It's mainly that Ni Lan's personality and temper might be a bit easily agitated, so if she says or does anything inappropriate that makes Mr. Li unhappy, I hope you can be more tolerant."

Saying this, Dulannia gently took off a platinum ring from her hand.

"This is my token. If Mr. Li has any difficult troubles or problems that are hard to solve, you can use this to exchange for help from the Linden Merchant Guild once."

(End of Chapter)