Chapter 179: Lin Qingyuan

"Divine Blood Secret Art? Could this be the secret behind the Divine Blood Envoys' sudden power surge?"

Xu Jingming's eyes lit up, and he quickly pulled it out from his space ring, examining it closely.

"The Divine Blood Secret Art was created by the Supreme Master of our Tianming Sect."

"To cultivate the Divine Blood Secret Art, one must be a Divine Envoy favored by the Heavenly God; the birth of a Divine Envoy requires..."

As Xu Jingming had suspected, the content of the manual indeed related to the Divine Blood Envoys' sudden power surge.

But the most crucial pages had been torn out, unreadable.

There was no way to know how to begin cultivation.

Yet Xu Jingming was not empty-handed—he found the method to spawn Divine Blood Envoys within this manual.

It required preparing a vial of Divine Blood and a large quantity of human ability-users' blood to form a blood pool.

Then, a person must enter the pool and use the secret method within to absorb the mixed blood into their body.

One vial of Divine Blood could spawn at least five Divine Blood Envoys, and at most ten.

Of course,

this did not mean becoming a Divine Blood Envoy carried no risk.

During blood absorption, one might explode and die from being unable to withstand the violent energy of the Divine Blood.

Additionally, having absorbed beast blood, one would naturally develop a craving for human flesh.

Every so often, one must drink the blood of human ability-users to suppress this urge.

"The birth of Divine Blood Envoys is this bizarre? No wonder the Tianming Sect is an anti-human organization."

Xu Jingming frowned slightly.

Transforming into a Divine Blood Envoy, though still physically human, made one behave no differently from a beast.

"Then again, if killing them grants ability points, these guys are probably not human anymore."

"But this manual is useless to me..."

Xu Jingming had originally been very interested in the Divine Blood Secret Art that could cause a power surge.

But the Divine Blood Secret Art could only be used by Divine Blood Envoys.

Whether the method to spawn them or the need to periodically drink human ability-users' blood, he found all of it unacceptable.

Compared to these extreme side effects, the emotional instability from cultivating Lei Ting Bu Mie Shen was child's play.

"This Divine Blood Secret Art is practically useless."

After flipping through the entire manual, Xu Jingming concluded, and casually tossed it deep into the recesses of his space ring to gather dust.

He then began examining the remaining three space rings.

These three space rings each held only one cubic meter, and their contents were not abundant.

They contained only some pills, equipment, a few D- and C-grade combat technique manuals, and miscellaneous items.

Xu Jingming glanced through them casually, transferring the useful items into his own space ring.

The useless items were all moved into a single space ring.

Once back at school, he could submit them as mission materials together.

Notably,

space rings cannot be stored inside other space rings.

Therefore, besides wearing his own space ring on his hand, Xu Jingming kept the other four directly against his body.

After completing the inventory, Xu Jingming opened his system panel.

【Name】: Xu Jingming

【Level】: Third Stage Lower Tier

【Ability】: Dou Tian Shenlei (SS)

【Physique】: 2047 Qi (++)

【Spirit】: 1535 He (++)

【Skills】: Gunplay (Master), Tian Lei Shu (Beginner+), Mingyu Leikui (Beginner+), Lei Shen Zhi (Beginner+), Fist Technique (Intermediate+), Lei Mao (Advanced+), Linked Thunder Gun (Intermediate+), Lei Shan (Advanced+), Lei Yu (Intermediate+), Lightning Gale Break (Master+), Lianxi Shu (Advanced+)

【Body Cultivation】: Lei Ting Bu Mie Shen (Fourth Stage)

【Ability Points】: 6909

"6909 ability points—the plus sign hasn't appeared after the level."

Xu Jingming rubbed his chin; this was within his expectations.

Advancing from Second Stage Upper Tier to Third Stage Lower Tier had already required over seven thousand ability points.

Now, advancing from Third Stage Lower Tier to Third Stage Middle Tier would require even more.

Additionally, besides level, combat techniques also needed upgrading.

The three S-grade combat techniques he possessed had not been upgraded due to insufficient ability points, leaving their proficiency at Beginner level.

"The power of the three S-grade techniques is sufficient for now; ability points should primarily go toward leveling up."

Xu Jingming silently planned in his mind.

An ability-user's level and combat techniques were like internal energy and cultivation arts—neither could be lacking.

"Ding ling ling~~~"

At that moment, the phone on the coffee table suddenly rang.

Xu Jingming picked it up—it was a video call request from Song Qiuyun.

He casually accepted it; pale blue virtual light projected from the phone, coalescing into a holographic image before him.

In the hologram, the slender and alluring Song Qiuyun sat on a white bed, wearing a robe.

She had just finished bathing, her black hair loosely draped over her shoulders.

On her delicate, breathtakingly beautiful face still lingered a tempting flush from her bath.

The proud fullness of her chest could not be concealed even by the loose pajamas, a glimpse of snowy white faintly showing.

Seeing Xu Jingming's holographic projection appear, Song Qiuyun, who had not been hoping for an answer, suddenly lit up her beautiful eyes.

Then she felt a little puzzled:

"Eh? Jingming, aren't you busy with a mission?"

"The mission's already done."

"Already done? That fast?!"

Song Qiuyun's apricot eyes widened slightly.

She knew the difficulty of an S-rank mission.

Many seniors at the school who had taken S-rank missions hadn't been able to complete them, and some had even been seriously injured during them.

But Xu Jingming had only gone to Jin Ning City yesterday, and today he had already finished the mission.

His efficiency was extraordinary.

"This mission was relatively simple; I didn't run into any difficulties."

Xu Jingming gave a brief explanation.

"I see. Hopefully Jiang Chu Xuan and my mission tomorrow will go smoothly too."

"You've already received a mission?"

"Mm, it's an A-rank mission, and the location is right here in Modu."

"......"

After tidying up his spatial ring,

Xu Jingming, who had been busy for nearly the whole day, had no desire to train, so he simply chatted casually with Song Qiuyun.

Song Qiuyun was clearly delighted by this; amid their conversation, she let out peals of silvery laughter from time to time.

She laughed until she shook all over, her proud, ample bosom swaying along with her, giving Xu Jingming quite a feast for the eyes......

The next day, eight in the morning.

The bustling waiting hall of Jin Ning City's high-speed rail station.

Lin Qingyuan, who had received the news last night, had come to see Xu Jingming off.

She was dressed in a thick autumn outfit that perfectly hid her slender, tall figure.

"I had originally wanted to wait until you finished your mission and then take you around Jin Ning City properly. I didn't expect you'd be leaving so soon.

Then I'll just have to wait until next time.

But next time you come to Jin Ning City, you have to let me know, okay?"

Lin Qingyuan said with a hint of playfulness on her delicate, fair, oval face.

"Definitely." Xu Jingming smiled and nodded.

Of course,

by the next time he came to Jin Ning City, who knew what year or month it would be.

"Oh right, isn't winter break coming up soon?

I'm planning to organize a class reunion in Jiangcheng. Will you be able to make it?"

Lin Qingyuan looked at Xu Jingming with a pair of clear, big eyes and asked expectantly.

She also knew that someone like Xu Jingming, a prodigy, might very well stay at school for the entire winter break, Spring Festival included.

"If the reunion is held right after winter break starts, I should be able to make it."

Xu Jingming planned to spend winter break training in the Lei Ting secret realm in Hedong City, Jiangnan Province.

Hedong City was less than 100 kilometers from Jiangcheng.

So after winter break, he wanted to go back to Jiangcheng first, then head to Hedong City.

"Alright, I'll let you know once I've set a specific date." A smile played on Lin Qingyuan's little face.

"Train G-103 has arrived. Passengers traveling to Modu on this train, please check your tickets and board promptly."

"Train G-103 has arrived, please......"

At that moment, the station announcement for the arriving train rang out through the waiting hall, and the passengers waiting in their seats rose one after another.

Xu Jingming also stood up:

"Then I'll see you over winter break, class monitor. I'm heading off now."

"Goodbye."

Lin Qingyuan waved farewell.

Watching Xu Jingming's tall figure gradually recede, an expression as if a lifetime had passed surfaced on her fair, lovely little face.

Who could have imagined that she would run into Xu Jingming by chance?

What surprised her even more was that in just half a year apart,

the Xu Jingming she had felt compassion for in high school — the orphan who had lost both parents — had actually grown to his current state.

"When the Wu Ke Gaokao results were released, everyone said Xu Jingming would surely become a powerhouse after graduating from college.

But why do I feel he already seems to be a powerhouse, without having to wait until graduation?"

In Lin Qingyuan's eyes, Xu Jingming, who possessed fourth-tier combat power, was unquestionably a powerhouse she had to look up to.

"No, I have to step it up too. At the very least, I need to become an ability user before the end of freshman year......"

Only after Xu Jingming's tall, slender figure had checked his ticket, boarded, and completely vanished from sight,

did Lin Qingyuan finally look away, silently cheering herself on, before turning and walking away with her long, graceful strides.