Chapter 65: Qu Lianghong’s True Form, Spirit Control Skill

Seeing Li Jing going alone to sift through rubble, Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu exchanged a glance, then stepped forward to help.

Amidst their search, Lu Yangcheng caught a glimpse of the four "lucky ones" trembling on the roadside, and he asked quietly.

"Heavenly King, you ... have you reached the Three Realm?"

"Hmm."

Li Jing answered nonchalantly.

At this point, there was no need for him to go out of his way to hide it.

He had already revealed everything possible to fight the Evil Cultivators.

Being overly cautious would have been unwise.

Upon receiving a positive response from Li Jing, Lu Yangcheng’s eyes bulged in shock.

Not long ago, he and Yi Xiuzhu were in a nearby bar. They didn’t come over because Dai Hong had strictly ordered them not to take risks and prioritize the safety of the people present.

However, the confrontation between Li Jing and the Evil Cultivators was so massive that both of them had some perception of it.

That fluctuation, without a doubt, was of the Three Realm level.

Now having it confirmed, Lu Yangcheng was somewhat incredulous.

Less than half a month ago, when he was taking the Assistant Inspector exam, Li Jing was only in the Early Second Realm.

How is it possible for him to have reached the Three Realm so suddenly?

Looking at Li Jing in disbelief, Lu Yangcheng subconsciously wanted to ask.

However, before he could open his mouth, Yi Xiuzhu spoke up.

"Cultivation progress differs from individual to individual. Some people have sudden insights, while others gradually accumulate. Don’t ask too many questions about others. Even though we three are close friends, there are things we should not ask."

Upon hearing these words, Lu Yangcheng paused and nodded reluctantly.

Indeed, he shouldn’t have asked.

Seeing that he kept silent, Yi Xiuzhu turned her gaze towards him.

"You’re right, but it might be a good idea for you, Li Jing, to keep a low profile in the Assistant Inspector Department after this. You only need to be true to yourself for breaking through realms; there’s no need to explain yourself to anyone. But we have many peers, and everyone who was there that day knows you were only in the Early Second Realm. When they find out that you’ve reached the Three Realm in such a short period, it might attract unwanted criticism."

"I understand. I will be more cautious in front of outsiders."

Li Jing replied with a smile.

Just as Yi Xiuzhu had said.

He didn’t need to account for the improvement in his realm to anyone, as long as he was true to himself.

This was thanks to the world’s high respect for cultivation privacy.

Like the form they filled out when they were taking the Assistant Inspector exam, even though it was somewhat inflated, only a few people, including the examiner, were eligible to view it.

After the assessment, the data would be sealed away.

Even if the Inspection Bureau wanted to review it, they would have to have a good reason.

However, if he made a big fuss about his own progress and made it known to everyone, some problems were inevitable.

The most daunting thing in the world is always the human heart.

There are plenty of people who like to gossip and criticize others behind their backs, and there are those who are jealous and can’t stand to see others succeed.

Yi Xiuzhu advised Li Jing not to say more and got busy sifting through the rubble again.

While he was still looking, Lu Yangcheng suddenly shrieked, leaping over three meters into the air like a frightened cat and retreating.

???

Li Jing turned his head, flashing three question marks.

?

Yi Xiuzhu was also completely puzzled.

Under their gaze, Lu Yangcheng wavered and pointed toward where he had just been standing from a distance.

"Snake... snake!"

A snake?

Li Jing hesitated for a moment and then, his eyes lighting up, quickly moved forward.

Arriving at the spot Lu Yangcheng had indicated, he saw a snake the thickness of an arm concealed among the rubble.

Without thinking too much, Li Jing reached out, grabbed the snake, and lifted it up.

With a "shoop" sound, the snake was pulled out of the rubble, revealing itself.

The snake was about two meters long.

Holding it in his hand, it turned out to be slightly longer than Li Jing, who was 1.8 meters tall.

In the snake’s midsection, a severely damaged knife handle could be seen lodged there.

Seeing the knife handle, Li Jing felt a pang of pain.

Poor Standard Steel Knife of his, it had taken over a week to accumulate up to 59%, and before it had a chance to upgrade its quality, it had melted.

After all, mundane items were just mundane.

They could carry Spiritual Qi, but could not withstand powerful Magic Skill attacks.

At this point, Yi Xiuzhu came over.

"Is this Qu Lianghong?"

"It should be her."

Li Jing answered, examining the snake in his hands, his gaze falling on its tail, and then raised an eyebrow.

At the tail of the snake, there was a string of semi-translucent rattles.

Such a significant feature was a clear indication of a highly venomous snake species.

The rattlesnake.

On an ecological level, there are no wild rattlesnakes in Hua Country.

Presumably, Qu Lianghong was originally a pet snake, brought to the country before her successful attempt at cultivation.

Living beings that transform into monstrous creatures usually don’t leave their habitat.

Even if they cultivate successfully and transform into a human form, they tend to integrate into human society nearby.

Unless left with no other option, these creatures wouldn’t choose to leave their familiar environment.

Secretly guessing the origins of Qu Lianghong, Li Jing focused on the rattles at the end of her tail.

He had initially thought that Qu Lianghong had learned some kind of deceptive skill but wasn’t adept at it.

Now, confirming her true form, the truth has become clear.

The rattlesnake is called so because of the vibrating sound its tail makes.

There are many functions to the vibrating sound, including luring and confusing small prey.

From this, it can be concluded that Qu Lianghong has not learned some specific skills, but just demonstrated her innate talent.

No wonder her abilities had such limitations, existing only in the form of suggestions.

Using the vibration of its tail to lure and confuse small prey can be said to be the rattlesnake’s talent, but fundamentally it is just a functional behavior and not very deceptive.

If we talk about talents, the toxicity is Qu Lianghong’s real talent as a snake monster.

After understanding the situation, Li Jing couldn’t help but look at Lu Yangcheng, who was still full of fear, and laugh.

"This snake monster is six feet under, aren’t you overreacting for a grown man like you?"

Lu Yangcheng moved his lips, but didn’t say a word, standing there as if he didn’t plan on coming over.

Seeing this, Li Jing couldn’t help but smile.

Just as he was about to say something, a dazzling sword light swooped down from the sky and landed nearby.

The light converged, revealing Dai Hong.

Seeing Li Jing safe and sound, Dai Hong visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at him in surprise.

"At the Three Realm now?"

"Mm-hmm."

Li Jing nodded.

"Good."

Dai Hong said, then walked over and continued.

"The Three Realm is an important turning point in the cultivation journey, where you’ll experience a qualitative change in power for the first time. There’s a lot to it. I can’t teach you the rest, you’ll have to figure it out yourself. But let me offer you one piece of advice as a senior - don’t rush to learn Three Realm offensive and defensive magic skills."

As he spoke, he continued.

"All that fancy stuff won’t be of much use to you at this stage. To adapt to this change in power level, you’ll need quite a bit of fine-tuning. What you need now is a supportive magic skill that can assist you in adapting faster. Among these, I recommend the Spirit Control Skill. As long as you can master it to an introductory level, you’ll basically be able to adapt."

Li Jing was indeed having some difficulty adapting to the sudden increase in power. It was hard for him to gauge his strength and the change in power level within his body made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

This feeling was akin to a newborn who hasn’t yet learned to walk suddenly finding itself in an adult’s body.

He could barely stand, but his balance was off and he felt top-heavy.

Hearing Dai Hong’s advice, Li Jing humbly accepted it and, with a weak voice, asked.

"Is the Spirit Control Skill you mentioned expensive?"

"..."

Dai Hong.

As a senior, he was prepared to answer Li Jing’s questions by sharing his experiences.

Li Jing had asked a question indeed, but it was somewhat preposterous.

His first question was about the price of the Spirit Control Skill - really?

Looking at Li Jing’s "practicality", Yi Xiuzhu and Lu Yangcheng were somewhat speechless.

There were many things that might not be taught in the Immortal Learning Academy.

After all, the professors there were human too, their cultivation level and insights might not necessarily be superior.

With an expert of Four Realm standing in front of them, if they were to ask something, shouldn’t they ask something more meaningful?

Leaving that aside, what Dai Hong had just shared was a point of knowledge that the Academy doesn’t teach.

Unlike Li Jing, both Yi Xiuzhu and Lu Yangcheng had attended the Academy.

It’s just that their majors didn’t align with the patrol, specialized fields couldn’t be used for the patrol exam.

The guidance given in the Academy textbooks for those struggling to adapt to the changes in power level at the initial stage of the Three Realm was to try their best to adapt, and then prioritize learning the compulsory Object Control.

How many professors would dare to challenge the textbooks?

That Dai Hong dared to say it, must mean there was some reasoning behind it.

Just this point alone was a learning experience for Yi Xiuzhu and Lu Yangcheng.

Compared to the systematic textbook-based approach of the Academy’s professors, the personal experiences of Dai Hong, an expert at the Four Realm level, were obviously more reliable.

Seeing Dai Hong being embarrassed by Li Jing’s question, Lu Yangcheng, standing at a distance, coughed.

"I have heard of the Spirit Control Skill, it is considered a top-tier auxiliary magic skill at the Three Realm. It’s extremely difficult to master. But once you do, your control over the Spiritual Qi will far exceed that of ordinary people. If you can train it to Great Perfection, the level of control you have over the output of Spiritual Qi can reach an extraordinarily fine degree. It greatly improves the stability of spells and significantly reduces the preparation time for high-level spells, even enhancing the power of magic skills."

And then he added.

"Typically, those at the Three Realm who can afford it will learn the Spirit Control Skill. It’s just that it’s somewhat difficult to master, so most people choose to learn it after mastering other skills."

Li Jing, moved by Lu Yangcheng’s description, was eager to give it a try.

The benefits of mastering the Spirit Control Skill were just too comprehensive.

And Li Jing soon associated it with Dai Hong’s exceptionally powerful spirit attack...

The Spirit Control Skill that Dai Hong had recommended was certainly one of the key factors that his spirit attack was extraordinarily powerful.

Li Jing wasn’t expecting to gain Dai Hong’s insights and technique with spirit attack, but the relevant magic skills were teachable.

Starting out and mastering it weren’t the problems for him.

The key was the price of the Spirit Control Skill.

Just as he was about to ask Lu Yangcheng, Dai Hong spoke in a gloomy voice.

"The Spirit Control Skill is not expensive, just about half the price of a common flying sword."

"...."

Li Jing.

Even a common flying sword starts at three million.

Half a one...

One million and five hundred thousand!?

And that’s considered inexpensive?

He hadn’t looked at the auxiliary magic for the Three Realm before.

But he had noticed the offensive and defensive magic skills for the Three Realm.

Excluding the extremely popular Sword Controlling among the offensive and defensive magic skills, the most expensive tops out at eight hundred thousand.

This is almost double that amount!

Should he learn the Spirit Control Skill?

Of course he should learn it.

Not learning it would be foolish!

Looking at Dai Hong sheepishly, Li Jing began.

"Captain Dai, about the reward you promised me before..."

In response to the hesitant voice, Dai Hong twitched the corner of his mouth and said.

"Your reward is still being processed, you won’t be shortchanged. You’ve been very active in the recent operation of the Heavenly King Group, not to mention that you managed to repel the Evil Cultivators on your own and ensured the area’s safety. After the event, you can get a bonus of at least two million. The approval process takes some time, I’ll transfer you two million later, and I’ll give you the rest when it’s available."

Dai Hong knew Li Jing’s situation.

The guy was seriously short on money.

Moreover, with Li Jing’s current situation, even with a Three Realm cultivation level, he wouldn’t be able to join the patrol bureau and earn a high salary in the short term.

The patrol exam had strict requirements.

Upon hearing that his bonus after the event could be doubled, Li Jing’s eyes sparkled. He waved his hand and produced the pill samples from earlier.

"Captain Dai, this is a contraband sample."

Dai Hong, momentarily startled by the sight, exclaimed in disbelief.

"You got the sample!?"

"Does this sample count as a contribution?"

Li Jing was hopeful, fully displaying his mercenary nature.

"Yes, it does. I’ll transfer over an additional fifty thousand to you later."

Dai Hong grabbed the sample from him and said.

"The roundup operation started concurrently when you contacted us and has ended successfully. The known ’lab rats’ have been sent to the First Hospital for medical observation. Whether they can survive or not is a matter of fate. Having a sample for analysis might increase their survival rate. I’ll take it to the medical laboratory right now."

As he spoke, he summoned his flying sword, glanced at the rattlesnake that Li Jing was holding, and took off into the sky, leaving behind his words.

"You three stay here for now. The patrol bureau is currently carrying out a citywide lockdown and search, they can’t spare any manpower. Soon someone from the Assistant Inspector Department will arrive. You will guide them in the evidence collection at the scene and don’t forget to take the statements of the involved personnel. After you finish, come find me in the bureau, I’ll want to hear a detailed report."

...