Chapter 55: New Member Joins the Group

He Jingfeng had no idea what Xu Si was thinking.

If he did know, he would only smile and say, You’re overthinking it.

His journey to the mainland was entirely personal, with no connection to the organization.

Moreover, to guard against Both-ways Company and the mysterious entity known as ‘Phantom’ that had suddenly become active in the digital world years ago, the organization had unilaterally severed all contact with him.

You could say that since stepping onto that plane, he had become a true loner.

Even so, He Jingfeng remained utterly unconcerned.

As a killer, he hated unpredictability in people and events above all else.

The company’s every action stemmed from order, and order was precisely predictable.

Thus, He Jingfeng knew clearly that as long as he didn’t overstep, he could maintain a certain tacit understanding with the company.

Soon, He Jingfeng arrived at the hotel under the guidance of two company employees.

After stepping out of the car, he cheerfully thanked the two employees, then hummed a tune, picked up his suitcase, and walked into the hotel, leaving the two employees staring at each other, completely baffled by what this guy was thinking.

Never let outsiders guess your thoughts or predict your actions.

This was one of the basic lessons He Jingfeng had learned, and one of the secrets to maintaining his mystery and keeping the outside world wary.

After entering the room, he maintained this demeanor, humming his tune while searching for any possible listening devices.

Perhaps the company meant to show goodwill, or perhaps they knew his counter-surveillance abilities—either way, the hotel room had no bugs, only a tiny camera installed in the bathroom.

This device was most likely not placed by the company, but by some orphan’s personal initiative.

He Jingfeng casually destroyed the camera, then took off his coat and sat on the bed.

“Of course, even Qu Tong couldn’t get me to return to the mainland without going through the company.”

“Forget it, let them watch. I never intended to fall out with the company. Let me think— I’ve already missed Tongtian Lu and Shenji Bailian. What else can I get my hands on…?”

As he thought this, he kept up his previous demeanor, wary of possible Phantoms—or rather, Erzhuang.

At that moment, a piece of information suddenly popped into his mind.

【Congratulations! You have obtained group membership eligibility. Would you like to join the Multiverse Chat Group?】

【Yes/No】

The sudden message caught He Jingfeng off guard.

When he regained his composure, he immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and used inner observation to examine his internal landscape.

“No movement. Not an illusion…”

“How did this thing even appear?”

“Could it be… my cheat system has finally arrived?”

He Jingfeng stared blankly at the pop-up window in his mind.

After a moment, he took a deep breath and clicked ‘Yes.’

Instantly, a chat window slowly unfolded in his mind.

【New member ‘He Jingfeng’ has joined the group. Come and chat happily together!】

【Lin Yu: Finally here!】

【Lin Yu: Welcome to the group, new member!】

【Su Haoming: Welcome, welcome!】

【Fan Xian: Welcome, welcome!】

【Xiang Yunye: Welcome, welcome!】

Watching the continuous stream of messages in the chat window, He Jingfeng couldn’t help but look astonished.

It was truly a chat group!

And the group already had four members; that Lin Yu had even become an administrator…

He Jingfeng quickly calmed down, scanning the member list and recognizing Fan Xian and Xiang Yunye as familiar names, while Lin Yu and Su Haoming were entirely unknown to him.

“The male leads of The Legend of Qinyu and Tang Zhuan… and two mysterious figures…”

As he thought this, his gaze rose and immediately locked onto Lin Yu’s first message.

“Finally here… why say that?”

“Could this administrator have known I’d join the group?”

He Jingfeng frowned, sensing that his entry into the group might not have been accidental.

【Su Haoming: Is the new member shy? Why aren’t you speaking?】

【Fan Xian: Give him some time to adjust. First-timers need to process things.】

【Xiang Yunye: Yeah, Brother Lin was silent for a long time too…】

【Lin Yu: I was figuring out how to upload group files.】

Group files?

He Jingfeng’s interest stirred, and he immediately checked the 【Group Files】 and 【Group Mall】.

At this point, three days had passed since the group’s upgrade.

The group files hadn’t changed much—still filled with various magic and cultivation knowledge uploaded by Lin Yu and other members—but the neighboring group mall was different.

Especially the item listings by members, now piled high with all sorts of goods.

Most were uploaded by Lin Yu; only a few were martial arts and internal cultivation techniques collected by Fan Xian.

He Jingfeng skimmed the group files, and upon seeing titles like Basic Meditation Technique and Tai Chu Yang Qi Pian, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

“...What the hell?”

“Magic? Cultivation? Is this real?”

If this was real, why would he even need to hunt for the Eight Marvelous Techniques? He could just train martial arts and switch to cultivation instead!

He Jingfeng swallowed hard. His long-honed killer’s calmness, long untouched, surged into a tidal wave.

After a moment’s hesitation, he chose to download the file, reading it with trepidation and anticipation.

But sadly, after reading only the beginning, he was disappointed to discover that practicing Tai Chu Yang Qi Pian required a spiritual root—and his dantian qi sea contained no such thing.

…What about magic?

He Jingfeng tried the meditation technique next and found it was merely a simple meditation method.

In a world devoid of magic, like Under One Sky, its effect was no different from the techniques of Western anomalies.

He Jingfeng felt disappointed.

Had he obtained this meditation technique as a child, it might have been useful—but now? Forget it.

He shook his head and opened the 【Group Mall】 interface, instantly brightening.

【Artificial Spiritual Root: Implant into dantian qi sea to gain cultivation potential.】

【Price: 100 points (Lin Yu)】

【Premium Spirit Stone: Rich in spiritual energy, sufficient to cultivate a Qi Condensation cultivator to Foundation Establishment.】

【Price: 500 points (Lin Yu)】

【Basic Magical Artifact—Ranged: Powered by magical energy, its power rivals a basic spell, customizable appearance.】

【Price: 200 points (Lin Yu)】

【Basic Magical Artifact—Melee: Powered by magical energy, its power rivals a basic spell, customizable appearance.】

【Price: 200 points (Lin Yu)】

“Artificial spiritual root, premium spirit stones—so that’s it!”

“These are the essentials for practicing Tai Chu Yang Qi Pian, right?”

“But the price… the cheapest spiritual root costs a hundred points!”

He Jingfeng glanced at the points value in the upper-right corner and saw the glaring zero, letting out a quiet sigh.

“At least there’s hope.”

“First, I’ll get closer to the others in the group, especially Lin Yu, who listed the spiritual root!”

As he thought this, he opened the group chat interface.

【Lin Yu: @He Jingfeng, Xiao He, did I scare you?】

【Lin Yu: Don’t misunderstand—this is my admin privilege. I can see the countdown until a new member joins.】

【Lin Yu: Since the group upgraded three days ago, we’ve been waiting for you to join!】

【He Jingfeng: I see!】

【Su Haoming: Finally you speak up!】

【Su Haoming: Don’t you want to introduce yourself first?】

【He Jingfeng: Hello, senior brothers. My name is He Jingfeng.】

【Fan Xian: …】

【Fan Xian: That’s it?】

【He Jingfeng: I’m still choosing my words carefully.】

【Su Haoming: Forget it, the new member seems cautious—I’ll set an example!】

【Su Haoming: I’m Su Haoming. I was transported to the world of Tang Gui, and I’m the cousin of the protagonist Su Wuming. Right now, I’ve just arrived in Nanzhou with my cousin to take up my post.】

【Su Haoming: Old Fan and Old Yun are the male leads of The Legend of Qinyu and Tang Zhuan—I don’t know if you’ve read them.】

【Su Haoming: As for Brother Lin, he’s the biggest leg in our group—he was transported to the world of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and is a powerful magician who nearly destroyed the Tang Gui world!】

【Lin Yu: You don’t need to add that last part.】

【Su Haoming: Hehe, I’m just stating facts!】

(End of chapter)