Chapter 48

Cang Luo sent the photos of the "Body Annihilation Divine Art" he had taken earlier to Zhu Ge Qing, excluding the content of the first layer.

Cang Luo now only hoped the Body Annihilation Divine Art was a technique that required mastering the first layer before advancing to the second or higher layers.

That way, as long as the first layer’s content wasn’t leaked, the entire scripture would remain secure, and he wouldn’t worry about someone using his technique against him in the future.

After sending the photos, Cang Luo couldn’t wait to ask: “Can you restore them?”

Zhu Ge Qing gave a rare faint smile; she didn’t answer immediately, but instead pulled out a stack of A4 paper and placed it before the camera.

Then, with a sly glance at Cang Luo, she said: “Only the first dozen or so photos were successfully restored; the later ones were too badly stained by ink—only the original physical copy can be fully restored.”

Cang Luo stared at the content on the A4 paper, stunned: “So fast? I just sent the photos! Are you guys that awesome? Instant restoration? Alien tech?”

Cang Luo found it unbelievable, but within seconds he realized they must have obtained the photos earlier—from his cousin Yang Yongshan.

That meant Feng Lin Huo Shan had been monitoring him all along? Monitoring his phone messages...

As Cang Luo suspected, Feng Lin Huo Shan indeed monitored his phone.

They recorded everything he browsed, which websites or apps he logged into, who he chatted with, and what they discussed.

In fact, Feng Lin Huo Shan had also tried hacking into Cang Luo’s phone to investigate why it could connect to Earth.

Unfortunately, they failed—couldn’t break in at all.

Not just Feng Lin Huo Shan—other factions like Eden and Ikkunsha had also tried hacking his phone, but all failed.

They discovered they could only retrieve data left on Earth’s service provider servers, but couldn’t access or control the phone itself.

This situation was utterly inexplicable—beyond Earth’s current technological understanding.

So they attributed it all to anomalies triggered after the phone’s dimensional transit.

What they didn’t know was that Cang Luo’s phone connected to Earth via a golden finger satellite; to hack it, one had to go through the satellite’s network.

Yet how could Earth’s technology possibly infiltrate a satellite mysteriously linked to Cang Luo?

Zhu Ge Qing’s lips curled slightly in amusement, delighted by Cang Luo’s shock—as if avenging her earlier fright from the mutated Flame-Eating Wolf.

She suppressed her emotions and said: “Minister Li told me to warn you: don’t reveal any information from the other world to ordinary people, or it may cause unnecessary unrest. If anything happens, contact us directly—Feng Lin Huo Shan will provide all necessary assistance.”

Though deeply annoyed, Cang Luo could only nod: “Understood. Send me the files.”

Zhu Ge Qing sent Cang Luo the organized files, then asked: “What level is this technique? Why didn’t you send us the first layer?”

Cang Luo frowned, puzzled—how did she know he’d withheld the first layer?

As he pondered, he suddenly understood after viewing the files she sent.

The restored photos were precisely the content of the second layer of the Body Annihilation Divine Art—one photo clearly bore seven large traditional Chinese characters: “Body Annihilation Divine Art, Second Layer.”

Cang Luo’s blood surged with excitement—he couldn’t wait to begin cultivating the second layer of the Body Annihilation Divine Art.

“First layer? When I obtained this scripture, the first layer was already torn out.”

Facing Cang Luo’s evasive answer, Zhu Ge Qing stared at him with wide, skeptical eyes—clearly didn’t believe him—but since he refused to speak, she had no recourse.

“Uh... don’t look at me like that. Thanks a lot!” Cang Luo felt awkward and quickly ended the video call.

After hanging up, Cang Luo suddenly felt lonely—a deep, overwhelming loneliness of being far from home.

For over twenty days since his transit, he’d had not one peaceful day—always fighting beasts or fighting people from this world.

Shouldn’t someone his age be navigating a career or starting a business?

Why was I fighting to the death in the wilderness of this other world?

Thinking of it, Cang Luo couldn’t help muttering: “Ah! I just want a chilled cola and instant noodles...”

Cang Luo sighed, dressed himself, and set off—he feared lingering here would attract beasts.

Before leaving, he buried the corpses of Chen Dalong and the other two, interring them in the same pit where he’d captured Erha.

No waste at all—and no harm to nature.

Everyone has a duty to protect the environment!

As dusk fell, Cang Luo found a spot to spend the night and began cultivating the second layer of the Body Annihilation Divine Art, planning to return to Xuantian Sect at first light.

He couldn’t stay indefinitely in the beast-infested mountains; though hunting beasts for their cores was a fast way to boost his cultivation base and strength, it wasn’t the only method—he needed rest and balance.

Besides, eating too many first-tier beast cores risked developing resistance—their effects would diminish over time; his body needed recovery.

More importantly, Cang Luo was eager to return to Xuantian Sect because he had a more critical task: learning formation arrays to expedite his research into crafting Qi-energy batteries.

The next day, May 25th.

Cang Luo rose early and set off for Xuantian Sect with Erha; along the way, he encountered three lone first-tier beasts, which he and Erha easily dispatched after activating the Body Annihilation Divine Art.

One of the beasts was a Spear Boar; since it was small, Cang Luo simply slung it over his shoulder to carry back to Xuantian Sect, planning a whole-boar roast with Cang Feng and the others—he still remembered the delicious taste of Spear Boar meat.

Thinking of the Spear Boar meat, Cang Luo’s spirits lifted; another discovery further brightened his mood.

During his joint battles with Erha, Cang Luo realized he could access part of Erha’s senses.

He could see and hear what Erha saw and heard—similar to viewing through the satellite camera—able to toggle it on or off at will, though it consumed Qi-awareness.

Cang Luo didn’t know whether this ability was common among all martial artists with beast companions, or unique to him.

After some thought, he concluded this ability must be unique to him—granted by the satellite, just as it granted Erha infinite Qi, and perhaps even his voice-transmission ability.

Believing this, Cang Luo felt greatly encouraged—the more abilities he had, the stronger he became!

At around two in the afternoon, Cang Luo finally returned to Xuantian Sect; one man and one beast appearing on the path to the outer sect training ground drew considerable attention.

The beast wasn’t Erha—it was the Spear Boar; Erha had been recalled to the beast companion space, as Cang Luo wished to remain discreet.

At that moment, five outer sect disciples were drawn to Cang Luo by the Spear Boar slung over his shoulder.

Leading them was a fat, round-faced youth with a protruding belly who hurried forward.

He stared longingly at the Spear Boar, swallowed hard, and exclaimed: “Hey! Senior Brother, did you just hunt this Spear Boar?”

“Mm.” Cang Luo nodded, unsure of his intent.

“Sell it?” The fat boy raised one finger; before Cang Luo could speak, he blurted excitedly: “I’ll give you a hundred taels of silver!”

A hundred taels of silver?

Cang Luo froze—he was stunned by the fat boy’s offer; he hadn’t expected the Spear Boar’s meat to be worth more than its core.

One first-tier beast core was roughly equal to one low-grade Qi-stone—ten taels of silver.

Yet the entire meat of a Spear Boar was worth a hundred taels?

Equal to ten low-grade Qi-stones—ten times the value of its core!

In that moment, Cang Luo decided that from now on, when training in the beast mountains, he’d prioritize hunting Spear Boars.

Killing one meant gaining eleven first-tier cores—the profit was eleven times that of other first-tier beasts...

While Cang Luo was still stunned by the Spear Boar’s value, the fat disciple assumed Cang Luo thought the offer too low, so he added: “Huh? Senior Brother? Too little? Then I’ll offer one hundred ten taels?”

“Huh?” Cang Luo was stunned again—had he raised the price?

Clearly, the Spear Boar was extremely valuable—was this fat boy’s bulk built from eating Spear Boar meat?

Should he sell it?

Cang Luo thought it over, then decided not to—he shook his head: “Uh... Senior Brother, sorry, I’m bringing this Spear Boar back to share with my dorm mates. Not for sale.”

No sooner had he spoken than the fat boy frowned; adhering to his principle of avoiding trouble, Cang Luo added: “Though I won’t sell it, all of you are welcome to join the feast.”

At once, the fat boy’s frown melted—he bowed: “I’m making you a friend, Junior Brother. I’m Wang Fuhai, Warrior Eighth Layer, Dan Yang County, Tongzhou.”

He gestured to the four disciples behind him: “These are my good brothers...”

After introductions, Cang Luo learned all four were between Warrior Fifth and Seventh Layers, and all from Dan Yang County.

Cang Luo introduced himself: “Junior Brother Cang Luo—Cang as in Cang Tian, Luo as in Luo Nan. Warrior Seventh Layer, Earth Village, Tongzhou.”

Wang Fuhai nodded casually, not even looking at Cang Luo—his eyes remained fixed on the Spear Boar, saliva nearly dripping.

He asked: “Cang Brother, where are you planning to prepare this tender, fatty Spear Boar?”

Prepare?

Hey, Fat Brother, can you use more precise language? You make it sound like I’m going to do something terrible to this boar.

Cang Luo felt awkward: “Uh... over there.”

He pointed to the southwest corner of the training ground—the usual spot where his dorm mates trained.

Wang Fuhai beamed: “Perfect! Cang Brother, I won’t eat for free—you go ahead, we’ll buy ingredients and wine, and throw a full Spear Boar feast!”

“Uh... as Senior Brother Wang says.”

Cang Luo watched the five of them hurry off, feeling helpless—he wasn’t good at socializing.

Back on Earth, when people invited him to drink or sing, he always avoided it if he could...