Chapter 131: Talent: Mao Xiong Collapses, Qi Gong Complete

“See? These are the spirits drawn in.”

Maria nodded, forcing herself to stay calm as she stared at the spirits. “Louis, what should I do?”

“Like this…”

Louis explained briefly.

He was also curious—Maria had no internal Qi to protect her organs, yet her soul was unique, naturally capable of absorbing souls; he wondered what kind of reaction it would trigger.

“Come on, try one at a time. I’ll let you control one first.”

With that, he swallowed all the spirits at once, leaving only one that looked dim-witted.

Maria took a deep breath and, following Louis’s method, focused her spirit outward, imagining a tendril reaching out to touch the spirit.

At the same time, she mimicked Louis’s open mouth and sucked in.

As if sensing a gravitational pull, the dull spirit suddenly reacted, trying to flee—remarkably, with a violent struggle, it actually broke free from Maria’s absorption range and seemed ready to escape.

Unfortunately, someone was waiting for it nearby.

A golden blade flashed—the spirit fell.

It lost all ability to flee.

Louis nodded, signaling Maria to try again.

She stepped forward, stared at the twitching spirit on the ground, and opened her mouth once more.

A faint pull emerged, lifting the spirit gradually toward Maria. The instant the spirit touched her, it dissolved like a hot knife through butter, vanishing into her body in the blink of an eye.

Maria closed her eyes slightly.

Louis watched closely.

On her body, Elan’s head emerged in soul form, clutching a mist of pale white swirling with black energy, shoveling it into her mouth one gulp at a time—clearly enjoying it.

Seeing Louis watching her, she startled and immediately retracted.

Meanwhile, Maria’s furrowed brow gradually smoothed out.

Moments later.

Maria opened her eyes.

She looked at Louis excitedly. “Louis, I did it! This feeling is amazing.”

Louis smiled faintly. “Well done.”

Maria became even happier.

“Describe the process in detail.”

“Okay.”

According to Maria, after “capturing” the spirit using Louis’s method, she had intended to crush it with her organs—but the moment she thought of it, the spirit writhed as if under torture, and then she felt she could directly influence it.

She split it in two: the part without black energy went to her, the part mixed with black energy went to Elan.

After Elan swallowed it, since Maria was the main body, only part remained with Elan—the rest passed to her.

It was like a purifier.

One spirit was completely consumed.

Now she felt great—energized and alert.

After listening, Louis’s lip twitched. Is this what a person with innate talent is like?

The process was so simple—no spiritual shock to endure, and she consumed it cleaner than I do. A born ghost-eater? A spirit’s natural nemesis?

After finishing, Maria stared expectantly at Louis, sensing he seemed distracted.

Gathering courage, she took a bottle of red wine from the fridge and tried to open it.

Louis snapped back to reality, saw this, and chuckled.

He quickly stopped her.

He still planned to practice dual cultivation with Emma to break through—he couldn’t afford to lose her prematurely.

Seeing Maria’s disappointment, Louis pretended not to notice. “Come, I’ll teach you something.”

He then taught her the Jade Maiden Technique and Qi Gong.

Half an hour later.

When Louis stepped out, his expression was strange—he had never realized Maria was this… sensitive?

Behind the door, Maria didn’t come out to see him off—she was too weak in the legs, but she still dashed upstairs, eager to capitalize on the afterglow.

…

Riding in a taxi, Louis stared blankly.

Do evil people really attract each other?

Everyone around him seemed far from good.

He’d thought Maria might be an exception—after all, aside from having Elan, her personality was quite good. Now he found even Maria was a hidden deviant. What the hell was going on?

“Can I even redeem myself?”

Louis fell into deep thought.

Soon, Louis returned to base—the herbs and tonics were already prepared. He would resume seclusion, striving to complete his Qi Gong as soon as possible!

Thus, Louis secluded himself, Emma and Yulencka trained hard, Maria chanted, and Little Mary kept reading.

Everyone had a bright future.

Time flew by.

Soon it was late December, past a Thanksgiving no one cared about, entering winter break.

During this time, everything remained calm—no spirits, no demons, no monsters appeared. All was peaceful.

But not everything was entirely quiet.

On December 25, Mao Xiong, one of the world’s two poles, announced its dissolution. The news spread across the globe at lightning speed.

The world erupted in shock.

No one expected the mighty Mao Xiong to end this way—not even its rival, the United States.

Mao Xiong’s dissolution produced fifteen nations, only one of which inherited most of its legacy—but clearly lost the ability to compete with the United States.

Thus, the United States ascended, becoming the world’s dominant power.

But what the United States would do next was unknown—even its own elite were uncertain. The last world hegemon, Great Britain, had long fallen behind; following its example would only lead to utter ruin.

After a series of complex struggles, the United States followed its social nature: it began exploiting the wealth of its lower classes—reducing welfare, increasing taxes, cutting social spending…

After all, the opponent was gone; there was no need anymore.

So when the United States reached the top, its lower-class citizens felt no benefits—everything remained as it had been.

But the future’s outcome was already sealed from this moment.

Moreover, Mao Xiong’s collapse affected Louis and others.

Due to prior planning, the Cano family successfully seized a share of this bloody feast, acquiring vast assets—covering the losses from building private prisons and underground bases, even advancing further, gaining substantial cash flow and overseas holdings.

With this cash flow, the Cano family acquired numerous new industries and factories, especially in Miami, attempting to transform into capitalists and grow into “too big to fail.”

But the transition wasn’t smooth—it faced resistance. Fortunately, the Cano family’s origins were as a crime syndicate, so they still had violence at hand, and resolved all obstacles smoothly.

Time passed through turmoil, marking the final days of the year and entering the new one.

Louis officially emerged from seclusion.

Watching the heavy snowflakes drift down, Louis felt no cold, walking calmly through the snow.

His Qi Gong was complete.

Internal Qi filled his entire body, unified and whole, forging his foundation.

As for sensations, there wasn’t much—just a sense of completeness, bodily transformation, heightened senses, and increased vitality. He was certain now: he would not die young.

Moreover, his internal Qi had increased dramatically; even if depleted, its recovery rate far surpassed what it had been before.

His strength hadn’t surged dramatically, but it had improved noticeably—this seclusion was worth it.

“Unaffected by cold or heat—in ancient times, I could have gained fame in a prefecture. But I still fall short of being called a True Person—not yet truly ascended.”

Louis made a vague prediction for himself and reached this conclusion.

“Well, take it slow. I wonder if Emma and the others have succeeded.”

If they had, he could refine further and attempt another breakthrough through dual cultivation.

Louis pulled out his phone and found many messages—especially recent ones, mostly asking when he’d emerge from seclusion.

From Emma, Yulencka, Maria, Mary, Grandfather, David, Max, Asen …

Gazing at the winter sun, Louis stretched lazily, called for Mei Qiu, and got into the car.

Same driver—he was now Louis’s personal chauffeur, always on standby.

Seeing Louis enter, he immediately started the car.

Bored on the ride, Louis chatted with the driver. When the topic turned to recent events, the driver’s words startled Louis.

But he quickly calmed.

After all, the course of great trends cannot be altered by human will.

Who knows what the future holds? First, take care of oneself.

Christmas trees sparkled along the streets, festive and bright; snowmen piled up in yards; occasionally, children bundled in winter gear played and wrestled.

“Hey, why not join me for the holiday?”

Louis suddenly invited the driver.

At this point, he was still waiting for Louis—he probably couldn’t return home for the holiday. Better to invite him to celebrate together; after all, he was a loyal elite of the Cano family and Louis’s personal driver, worthy of such consideration.

The driver smiled and politely declined. “No thanks, Young Master. I’ve already made plans with some buddies to hit a new bar tonight.”

I heard that bar is really hot—lots of single men have been going there these days.

A new bar?

Well, it seems they have their own fun.

Creak.

The vehicle stopped at David’s house.

Louis got out of the car and stepped into the courtyard.

A snowball flew toward him; before Louis could dodge, a yellow figure struck swiftly and snatched the snowball in its mouth.

The yellow figure landed, dashed over to Louis’s feet, whimpering and rubbing against him, tail wagging wildly.

Gold!

An irritated voice rang out.

Emma and Yulunca emerged from behind the snowman, firmly holding down Coal, who was trying to rush over.

In the corner, David and Jenny also stepped out, smiling at each other.

Seeing this, Louis chuckled and patted the dog’s head.

(End of Chapter)