Chapter 42: Achievement Accomplished

The day after the commendation ceremony, Xiao Pei indeed did as he had promised in his speech—

He deployed the entire branch’s patrol team to conduct a thorough search of the Qingtai Hotel, the Red Oak Boxing Gym, and the surrounding area.

But in the end, they found nothing.

The patrol team even meticulously inspected the VIP elevator in the Qingtai Hotel’s underground parking lot, with officers crawling inside the elevator shaft, only to discover that the space beneath the elevator was also sealed off.

Although this VIP elevator did lead to a hidden floor, it merely opened into a private club on the twenty-first floor of the hotel.

It was indeed illegal, but only a minor issue.

Lin Qing, as group leader of Team Seven, also participated in the search of the Red Oak Boxing Gym.

He wasn’t sure whether Xiao Pei was a mole for Yuanhong Society, but whether he was or wasn’t, Lin Qing had no intention of exposing the secret behind the locker in the changing room just yet.

The timing wasn’t right.

And after Xiao Pei personally conducted the search, he too found nothing.

No one knew whether he genuinely found nothing—or if he was merely covering for someone.

But it didn’t matter.

Lin Qing was perfectly content with this outcome; all he needed was to remain hidden and continue developing.

……

January 23rd.

In this era, the Spring Festival was no longer as grand as it had been a century ago—at least, the atmosphere had faded, and many had forgotten it entirely.

The temperature in Lin’an City had dropped again, but since Xiaoshan District was closer to the coastal urban cluster, though it lacked the cluster’s artificial climate system, its temperature was noticeably higher than in other districts.

“Group Leader, Happy Spring Festival!”

In the warm office of Team Seven, Zhao Jiayi asked Lin Qing, who sat across from her at the desk: “Are you really taking the next two days off?”

“Yes, Team Seven is taking collective leave—it’s part of the commendation reward.” Lin Qing nodded.

“Isn’t there supposed to be a New Year’s Eve dinner? Do you have that custom at home?” Zhao Jiayi asked curiously.

“I’m an orphan.” Lin Qing glanced at her.

“...I didn’t mean to offend.” Zhao Jiayi lowered her head slightly.

“It’s fine.” Lin Qing said casually, “I used to go to my cousin’s house for New Year’s Eve dinner, but this year she’s in the hospital, so I won’t be going.”

“Then why don’t you come to my place?”

Zhao Jiayi said cautiously, “I don’t even know how to celebrate the Spring Festival.”

“No need.” Lin Qing shook his head, “There’s no Spring Festival Gala to watch anyway...”

“Spring Festival Gala? What’s that?” Zhao Jiayi asked, puzzled.

“Just a tradition.” Lin Qing glanced at her, “Take these two days off and rest well.”

“Oh...” Zhao Jiayi muttered, then added a string of strange dialect words Lin Qing couldn’t understand.

Lin Qing gave her a blank look, feeling certain she was secretly cursing him.

“By the way, Group Leader.”

Zhao Jiayi suddenly said, “You said your intuition has been inconsistent lately, right? My dad knows a teacher who runs a mental meditation class—would you like to try it?”

“Mental meditation class?” Lin Qing frowned. “What’s that for?”

“I heard it’s about sixth sense and intuition—helps people better use their intuition,” Zhao Jiayi said uncertainly. “Anyway, a lot of wealthy people go there.”

“Sounds like a scam to extract money.” Lin Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.

“They say the instructor actually knows real psychic awakeners—apparently he’s their disciple, so he probably isn’t just faking it?” Zhao Jiayi rested her chin on her hand, tilting her head slightly.

“Oh?”

Lin Qing mused, “If it’s true, then it might be worth attending.”

“Should I ask my dad to enroll you?” Zhao Jiayi asked.

“Is it expensive?” Lin Qing asked.

Zhao Jiayi shook her head. “It’s mostly about connections—my dad doesn’t want to go anymore, so you can just take his class directly. Don’t be formal with him, Group Leader. You saved my life last time—I still don’t know how to repay you.”

“Alright, let’s wait a while.” Lin Qing nodded.

“Wait a while?” Zhao Jiayi asked, puzzled.

“Let’s talk about it at the end of February or in March,” Lin Qing said. “I’m currently training in combat techniques—I can’t afford to be distracted.”

“Oh, then wait a while—it’s not urgent anyway.” Zhao Jiayi nodded.

……

That afternoon.

Back home, Lin Qing summoned the Entropy Reverser interface and glanced at it—

【Current Order Level: 1.2】

【Number of Pre-authorized Items: 0/2】

【Pre-authorized Item: Zizai Body Combat Technique《Min》(98.8% Completed)】

【Pre-authorized Item: Qiqi Version of the Morning Cultivation Method (7.1% Completed)】

“The Combat Technique《Min》only needs one final completion.”

Lin Qing wasted no time and immediately began his final attempt to perfectly complete the Combat Technique《Min》.

Not long after—

【Combat Technique《Min》Completed】 Lin Qing retracted the mysterious energy within his body and exhaled slowly, “Once I reach the beginner stage of Combat Technique《Su》, I can directly pre-authorize it.”

But this time, he felt genuinely confident.

This was only his third day learning combat techniques; through persistent trial, he had already sensed the mysterious energy within him stirring, as if ready to transform into the light, wind-like imagery of his visualization.

Combat Technique《Min》converted the mysterious energy into bioelectricity to stimulate nerves and muscles.

Combat Technique《Su》, however, involved a different kind of energy—extremely light and ethereal, like wind—that could reduce one’s own weight and form a special airflow layer on the body’s surface, optimizing airflow trajectories to minimize air resistance.

That was the key to《Su》.

“It should be soon...”

Lin Qing didn’t rush, patiently repeating his attempts, fully immersed in the mental imagery brought by the visualization diagram.

After all, Combat Technique《Min》had become instinctual; training other Zizai Body techniques now granted him bonuses—it shouldn’t be hard to reach the beginner stage.

Indeed, that very night—

“Huh, succeeded.”

Lin Qing opened his eyes, a faint smile slowly forming on his lips.

At this moment, he could already feel the mysterious energy within him ready to transform into the light, ethereal energy of Combat Technique《Su》.

“Only three days to reach the beginner stage—definitely a bonus.”

Lin Qing nodded in satisfaction.

When he first learned Combat Technique《Min》, it had taken him five days to succeed—and only with his cousin’s help.

This time, entirely on his own, he reached the beginner stage in just three days—clear evidence of the bonus effect.

“I heard the more combat techniques in the same series you master to the instinctive level, the greater the bonus becomes. The next ones should come even faster.” Lin Qing couldn’t help but feel eager.

Next,

He only needed to gradually adapt and refine it—he could master Combat Technique《Su》within half a year at most.

But if pre-authorization was possible, why not use it?

Since he was putting in the effort anyway, pre-authorizing and later repaying it would be far more efficient.

“Order.”

“Pre-authorize, Combat Technique《Su》!”

After summoning the Entropy Reverser, Lin Qing immediately focused his intent and selected pre-authorization.

“Boom!”

In that instant, an overwhelming flood of unfamiliar information poured into Lin Qing’s mind.

According to the Entropy Reverser’s projection—

Given his talent and his compatibility with the Zizai Body combat techniques, to reach the peak of Combat Technique《Su》, he must fully integrate the ethereal energy derived from the mysterious force into every part of his body and perfectly control the boundary-layer airflow changes.

He needed to complete it 68 times to perfectly embed the technique’s transformations into instinct.

Then, Lin Qing’s mind suddenly flooded with vast memories.

They were his countless attempts to train Combat Technique《Su》—from awkwardness to proficiency, from proficiency to mastery, and finally approaching perfection, spanning an unknown length of time.

By the time he had perfectly integrated Combat Technique《Su》into instinct, countless years had passed.

Simultaneously, streams of incredibly light, strange energy surged forth, spreading throughout Lin Qing’s entire body, even flowing over his skin to form a fine, invisible airflow layer—a boundary that drastically reduced air resistance.

As he unconsciously rolled over, his body floated upward as if weightless as a feather.

Soon after, all changes ceased.

“Done.”

Lin Qing slowly opened his eyes and stood up.

“Let’s test it...”

He moved his foot lightly, exerting no force, yet his entire body shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, vanishing in an instant to appear beside the window.

And he had caused almost no wind disturbance.

“So fast!!”

Lin Qing turned his head in surprise, “It’s definitely much faster than《Min》.”

No wonder those who mastered Combat Technique《Su》were all exceptionally skilled at pursuit and escape—how could such a light, swift body move slowly? To him, it felt like the legendary lightness of martial arts heroes.

The house was still too small to measure speed accurately.

However, according to the combat technique’s description, once the technique “Speed” is pushed to its extreme, movement speed can easily surge to an astonishing level, with key advantages being extremely high instant burst speed and minimal air resistance, greatly enhancing attack speed as well.

The drawback is that the movement speed is simply too fast, making it hard to react in time and difficult to control.

“If I activate the combat technique ‘Agility’ further, I can go even faster—and I won’t fail to react.”

Lin Qing pondered silently, “This speed is indeed too hard to control; this flaw must be remedied. Fortunately, I can still learn another combat technique…”

Fortunately, after perfectly cultivating the technique “Speed” sixty-eight times, he could complete the process!

Five sessions per day would take less than fourteen days to finish.

“In a few days, I’ll learn a new combat technique to fix this flaw—perfect timing to confirm to headquarters that I’m truly a combat technique genius.”

“Then, I can reclaim the merit points left to me by Yuanhong Society…”

(End of Chapter)