Chapter 1348: Li Ang's Inner Self

"Alright."

After looking up at the sun overhead, the Archer Director took out a small copper gong from somewhere and patted it twice with his palm.

"Time is up, all stop!"

Accompanied by the dull gong sound that entered the depths of the soul, more than forty cleanup agents who were intoxicated by the secret art couldn't help but tremble, unable to maintain the continuous compression of their own 'inner self', and exited the state of full concentration.

And as the original state was broken, the cleanup agents were surprised to find that the ordinary sand in their hands, although it looked the same as before, felt completely different after overlapping with their 'inner self', and even had a meaning of being unrecognizable.

"Now, it's time to verify your learning progress."

After glancing at the sand in Li Ang's hand with a frown, considering his outstanding talent for being selected by five palaces, the Archer Director hesitated for a moment, raised his hand, and beckoned to the cleanup agent furthest from him.

"Starting from you, everyone hold your sand well, don't let go, and come to me one by one."

"Ah, okay!"

After hearing the Archer Director's instructions, the small female cleanup agent, who was sitting in the last row with Abigail, hurriedly got up, passed through the crowd, and came to the Archer Director, handing over the sand in her hand. But the Archer Director didn't reach out to take it, but rather like a master, flicked his hand in the air.

In the surprised gazes of the cleanup agents, the tiny grain of sand shook twice, then its body expanded rapidly, directly changing from the size of a rice grain to the size of a baby's fist, and then...

That was it.

"Not bad."

After reaching out to pick up the large-sized sand grain in the female cleanup agent's hand and twisting it with two fingers, feeling the hand feel that was very different from ordinary sand but did not deviate from the category of sand, a satisfied smile appeared on the Archer Director's face.

"As expected of the candidate recommended by Barto, your talent in secret arts is very outstanding. You can continue to come and learn next time... Next!"

Hearing the Archer Director's words, Abigail couldn't help but bite her lip. Then, she bypassed the crowd from the place furthest from Li Ang, came to the Archer Director, and handed over the sand in her hand.

And after being flicked by the Archer Director, the sand in her hand also shook, but it only expanded to the size of a soybean grain before losing its momentum and stopped moving.

The appearance is maintained quite well, but the essence is not pure enough.

After reaching out to pinch this soybean-sized sand and rubbing it, discovering that the hand feel was slightly soft, the Archer Director couldn't help but shake his head and said gently to Abigail, "Although you have some talent, it is much worse than the child just now. And although your belief is firm, it does not originate entirely from yourself, and your compatibility with the Archer Palace is average. You can basically give up on the selection."

"I remember, thank you for your advice."

After listening to the evaluation given by the Archer Director, a look of regret appeared in Abigail's eyes. She then bypassed the crowd to the back and sat down beside the small female cleanup agent again.

The fist-sized one has a higher evaluation than the soybean-sized one, so... it means the bigger the sand is strengthened, the better?

Looking at the Archer Director, whose attitude had become much gentler than at the beginning of the teaching, the cleanup agents felt much more relaxed, until the third cleanup agent pinched his sand and handed it to the Archer Director with full expectation...

"Your existence is simply a blasphemy against the Archer secret art." Looking at the large-sized granite that had expanded to the size of a human head after showing its "essence" in the third cleanup agent's hand, the Archer Director couldn't help but complain with disgust, "How did I tell you before? The prerequisite for learning this secret art is to strengthen the original characteristics of the sand without destroying its structure! Come, tell me! What does this lump of stuff you are holding have to do with sand?"

"I..."

"Alright, I won't say much more. After everyone has finished the assessment, remember to go to the Cancer Director and let him clear your memory about the secret art."

"Ah?"

"Ah what ah? I'm doing this because I'm afraid you'll kill yourself!"

In the somewhat reluctant gazes of the cleanup agents, the Archer Director explained with a headache, "The essence of the Archer secret art, to put it simply, is to compress your own 'inner self' and overlap it with the anomalous object to complete the strengthening of the target anomalous object. But doing so is also equivalent to completely opening yourself to the target, giving up protection for yourself. Fortunately, I was a bit careful and didn't let you practice with anomalous objects right away, but chose the most ordinary sand. For you, sand is small enough, and even if your inner self is not strong enough, the impact you receive is limited. If you change to an anomalous object with a strong enough 'inner self', or even an anomalous object with self-awareness, the result of you applying the secret art to them might be becoming a monster combined with the anomaly, or even being enslaved by the anomalous object in turn!"

After finishing the danger of the 【Anomalous Strengthening】 secret art, the Archer Director grabbed the "granite" and squeezed it hard. And that "grain" of granite, after shaking, shrank a little, and the color adjusted back toward the sand, but it barely shrank to the size of a fist and could no longer shrink back.

"See? You can't restrain your 'inner self' at all. The structure of this grain of sand has been thoroughly changed. And if you apply the secret art to a target whose 'inner self' is stronger than yours, then this stone is your end!"

After throwing that fist-sized sand back to the pale-faced third cleanup agent and waving him away, the Archer Director warned with an abnormally serious expression, "Remember! From now on, anyone who shows sand that is too different from the original sand like him is not allowed to leave on their own. Everyone go to the Cancer Director and thoroughly wash away today's memory! Don't think I'm harsh. The reason I make this request is because I'm afraid you'll practice the secret art in private and end up harming yourself! Every few generations in the past, there have been cleanup agents who died on this, and I don't want you to repeat the same mistakes!"

After emphasizing several times that the cleanup agents were absolutely not allowed to test the secret art in private, the Archer Director looked at Li Ang, who was sitting opposite him, and requested, "You come next... give me your sand!"

"Uh..."

After hearing the Archer Director's request, feeling the sand that was "eager to move" in his hand, Li Ang hesitated for a moment, then while handing over the sand, whispered a reminder, "Archer Excellency, my sand might be a bit different from theirs. Please be a little careful."

Asking me to be careful?

Hearing Li Ang's words, the Archer Director couldn't help but look at him in surprise.

What is there to be careful about with a grain of sand? No matter how outrageous you learn, it's just making the sand a bit bigger. As a dignified Director, am I still afraid of being hit on the foot by sand?

"Alright, bring it over first!"

Without paying too much attention to Li Ang's reminder, the Archer Director said with a straight face and reached out, preparing to see how well Li Ang had learned the secret art.

However, the moment the Archer Director flicked his hand, a giant black dog with three heads sprang up from Li Ang's palm and bit his calf hard!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1349 =====

"Er..."

Upon hearing the Sagittarius Director's request, and feeling the "restless" grain of sand in his hand, Leon hesitated for a moment. Then, while handing over the sand, he whispered a reminder:

"Your Excellency Sagittarius, my sand might be a bit different from theirs. Please be a little careful."

Let me be careful?

Upon hearing Leon's words, the Sagittarius Director couldn't help but look at him with surprise.

What's there to be careful about with a grain of sand? No matter how outrageous your learning is, it's nothing more than making the sand a bit bigger. As a dignified Director, could I be afraid of having my foot hit by sand?

"Alright, bring it here and we'll see!"

Not paying much attention to Leon's reminder, the Sagittarius Director kept a straight face and reached out, preparing to see how Leon had actually learned the secret technique.

However, the moment the Sagittarius Director's hand brushed over, a huge black dog with three heads suddenly sprang up from Leon's palm and took a bite at his calf!

(End of chapter)