Chapter 56: International Occult Forces

【Su Haoming: @He Jingfeng, how about it? Are you feeling more at ease now?】

【Su Haoming: We’ve been completely open with you—hiding things anymore would be a bit unfair, wouldn’t it?】

【Fan Xian: +1】

【Xiang Yunye: +1】

【Lin Yu: All three of you, that’s enough—don’t make it sound like a criminal interrogation.】

【Lin Yu: After all, this just appeared in your mind out of nowhere; it’s normal for a newcomer to be cautious.】

【Su Haoming: It’s just that we’re still getting to know each other~】

【Su Haoming: We’ll be spending every day together from now on. To build up activity, we must chat daily.】

【Su Haoming: If we’re still keeping guard against each other, it’ll be too exhausting…】

【Lin Yu: Mutual understanding takes time—give the newcomer some leeway.】

【Lin Yu: @He Jingfeng, we only say things like this on the first day—hope you don’t take it to heart.】

He Jingfeng silently watched the four senior members bantering in the group chat.

Given his experience, he could easily see through their tactics, yet he also understood that what these four said held merit.

In a group chat spanning countless worlds, failing to open up would make many things extremely troublesome.

After a moment’s thought, He Jingfeng replied: “Sorry, I just haven’t fully recovered yet.”

【He Jingfeng: Let me reintroduce myself—I’m He Jingfeng, and I’ve been transported to the world of ‘One Punch Man’…】

After a brief hesitation, He Jingfeng still typed out those words: “...I’m a killer.”

【Su Haoming: Whoa!】

【Su Haoming: You’re a killer?】

【Fan Xian: That’s quite an impressive identity…】

【Xiang Yunye: Wait, what world is ‘One Punch Man’? Can someone explain?】

【Lin Yu: It’s a Chinese webcomic, serialized since 2015—no surprise you haven’t seen it.】

【Lin Yu: In this world, there exists a power called Primordial Qi, making it a low-magic world similar to ‘The Legend of Qiyu’.】

【Su Haoming: So it’s stronger than me and Old Yun.】

【Xiang Yunye: With this trend, will future newcomers keep getting stronger?】

【Lin Yu: Possibly—you three better step up your game…】

【Su Haoming: Don’t worry, Brother Lin!】

【Su Haoming: I’ve already touched the threshold—I’ll soon advance to Qi Cultivation Stage Three!】

【Xiang Yunye: Sorry, but I already advanced to Qi Cultivation Stage Three yesterday…】

【Su Haoming: Huh? How?】

【Xiang Yunye: That’s how water-earth dual elemental roots work.】

【Xiang Yunye: As long as there’s mountain and water nearby, my cultivation speed increases.】

【Su Haoming: Envious.】

【Su Haoming: Then what about my wind elemental root?】

【Su Haoming: Do I have to find a hurricane eye to cultivate in?】

【Lin Yu: Not necessary.】

【Lin Yu: Just pay attention to air currents.】

【Su Haoming: I know that, but doing so drains too much spiritual energy…】

【Su Haoming: @Fan Xian, Fan Brother, what about you?】

【Su Haoming: Did you also reach Qi Cultivation Stage Three?】

【Fan Xian: Still Stage Two.】

【Su Haoming: Good to hear [exhales in relief]】

【Fan Xian: But I’m about to break through.】

【Su Haoming: Huh?】

【He Jingfeng: So all four of you seniors cultivate the ‘Primordial Qi Cultivation Scripture’?】

【Su Haoming: Correct!】

【He Jingfeng: Then how do you earn the points needed to exchange for elemental roots?】

Seeing this, Lin Yu from the Frieren world couldn’t help but smile.

He had listed elemental roots on the marketplace only after consulting with the other three senior members.

After all, new members couldn’t possibly trust Lin Yu as deeply as veteran members did.

If he still gave them away for free, it might backfire and trigger suspicion from newcomers.

So Xiang Yunye and the others suggested listing elemental roots and stones on the marketplace—at a low but nonzero price.

After all, something freely given is never valued as much as something bought with one’s own points~

He Jingfeng’s behavior now indirectly confirmed this point.

【Xiang Yunye: Very simple—chat, water the group, upload group files!】

【Su Haoming: Or if you have something valuable, you can list it on the marketplace and sell it to Brother Lin.】

【Su Haoming: Brother Lin is the richest member in our group—with over ten thousand points, he can definitely afford it!】

So uploading group files earns points?

He Jingfeng’s heart stirred; after a moment’s hesitation, he tentatively uploaded his lifelong practice: Xingyi Quan.

【Group member ‘He Jingfeng’ has uploaded file ‘Xingyi Quan’】

【Su Haoming: Whoa, already starting so fast?】

【Lin Yu: The cultivation methods from ‘One Punch Man’ are still quite valuable for reference.】

【Lin Yu: If you’re interested, download the file and take a look…】

He Jingfeng paid no attention to the group chatter—he stared in surprise at the top-right corner of the group file, discovering that this Xingyi Quan had granted him a full three hundred contribution points.

Why so much?

This is even more expensive than the artificial elemental roots on the marketplace!

Intrigued, He Jingfeng uploaded another basic Qi cultivation scripture he had collected.

But sadly, this time he earned only ten points—ten times less than the first one.

He Jingfeng frowned, as if understanding something.

He then uploaded a Hatha Yoga technique, and the points rose to thirty—but still nowhere near the first one.

“I get it now: within the same system, the first upload earns the most points; subsequent uploads from the same lineage yield diminishing returns. Only innovations in the system can boost points again.”

“If this is true, then Brother Lin Yu’s ten thousand points are truly terrifying!”

As He Jingfeng thought this, his respect for the four senior members deepened further.

【Lin Yu: Oh, by the way, a reminder for you, @He Jingfeng】

【Lin Yu: Artificial elemental roots require a specific artifact to implant into your body.】

【Lin Yu: If you don’t have the means, don’t rush to spend points.】

【He Jingfeng: A specific artifact?】

【Lin Yu: Correct—and it’s a large-scale artifact. Only I have one right now.】

【Lin Yu: The three of them only switched to the ‘Primordial Qi Cultivation Scripture’ after arriving in my world.】

So that’s how it is!

He Jingfeng felt disappointed; after brief consideration, he temporarily abandoned the idea of switching.

【Su Haoming: By the way, Xiao He, you only said you’re a killer—tell us more!】

【He Jingfeng: You… really want to hear?】

【Su Haoming: Of course!】

He Jingfeng considered briefly: since group members were separated across countless worlds, and cross-world items sold in the marketplace had time limits, there was no real conflict of interest among them.

Open honesty brought only benefits, no drawbacks…

With this thought, He Jingfeng finally decided to reveal his identity in this life.

After hearing him out, everyone was astonished.

【Xiang Yunye: Spear of God—what a powerful name.】

【Fan Xian: Brother Lin, Brother Su, have you heard of it?】

【Su Haoming: Honestly, never heard of it.】

【Lin Yu: I only know of Behemoth among North American occult forces—never heard of Spear of God.】

【He Jingfeng: You misunderstand—our organization isn’t based in North America, nor is it a true occult force. But most of our S-Class killers are occultists, so we have some dealings with the occult world…】

【Lin Yu: I see.】

【He Jingfeng: As for Behemoth, I’ve had dealings with them.】

【He Jingfeng: They’re a powerful corporation with immense wealth, having absorbed many international occult organizations and developed numerous occult potions through research.】

【He Jingfeng: In North America, there’s an operative codenamed ‘Hero’—Shawn—who is their most famous and successful experiment.】

【He Jingfeng: This guy’s personality and methods resemble Captain America and Batman—he never caused trouble for Spear of God, and even I’ve crossed paths with him once.】

【Lin Yu: If even Shawn couldn’t catch you, your strength must be impressive!】

【He Jingfeng: I’m only good at hiding and escaping—in direct combat, I’m no match for Shawn.】

He Jingfeng: Brother Lin, since you know Behemoth, you must have seen the storyline after Biyou Village?

Lin Yu: That’s right. Haven’t you seen it?

He Jingfeng: No, I’ve only watched the first five seasons of the animation.

He Jingfeng: And unfortunately, because my identity is sensitive, I never had a chance to return to the mainland until now—but by the time I do, the plot has already progressed beyond what I could have predicted.

Lin Yu: So you’ve missed the Biyou Village arc?

He Jingfeng: Yes.

Lin Yu: What about the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley next? Want to try your luck there?

(End of Chapter)