CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: WHITE PORCELAIN LEVEL· INITIAL FORMATION OF THE GOLDEN CORE_1

"There’s a strange feeling, like my head was dunked into a toilet and flushed."

Wang Linchi felt the emptiness in his spiritual power.

He had spent three months successfully cultivating two illusory images of the Mountain of Books and the Ocean of Knowledge at the White Porcelain level. By harnessing resources, he managed to solidify them into the Golden Core and successfully recultivate them.

This brought his original 99 points of spiritual power back down to 1 point.

The sense of emptiness quickly disappeared. With the appearance of the Golden Core, his total spiritual power directly rose to 101 points.

Not only did his spiritual power not decrease, but he also directly broke through the upper limit using this method. Now, if he were to break through to the Black Iron Level, his progression would be fundamentally stable.

Luckily, the Soul Shield effect of the Soul Courtyard’s Soul Kind effectively concealed my actual strength. It would be bad if someone discovered it.

I shouldn’t visit the Dean for a while; he doesn’t hold much value for me anymore.

The Dean was the type who wouldn’t act without a clear incentive. If he could have helped me secure a Level 5 subsidy, continuing to suck up to him wouldn’t have been out of the question. Unfortunately, he couldn’t, so Wang Linchi saw no need to flatter him further. He was a very pragmatic person.

As for future resources? Even more unlikely. Over the past three months, the Dean had been networking actively, and he was expected to be promoted and leave next year. By that time, Wang Linchi himself would at most reach the Second Transformation Golden Core; he wouldn’t be able to break through to the Black Iron Level. Therefore, he shouldn’t expect to gain any benefits from the Dean. Any further investment in that relationship would be like throwing good money after bad. So, Wang Linchi decided to cut his losses promptly.

Now, Wang Linchi had moved back to his own home.

During those three months, he had occasionally returned to his home to observe. He found that after that one incident, the person who had entered his house never came back.

Therefore, having deemed it safe, he moved back.

The academy was safe, to be sure, but it wasn’t a place to live long-term. After all, his cultivation, experiments, and so on, could not be revealed.

Wang Linchi had also temporarily shelved the development of the Soul Seed Boiling Series Soul Skills. If he needed them in the future, he could resume their use; they were, after all, tools for him to accumulate wealth.

If I can master enough combat-type Soul Skills, can I go to the black market next?

Wang Linchi looked at his spiritual power. With his current 101 points, he could perfectly impersonate a Black Iron Level Awakener; the only thing missing was the qualitative change.

Wang Linchi thought, Better wait. There’s still a gap. This is just the standard for someone who has barely entered the Black Iron Level. Firstly, the effects of my Soul Forging Method are only just beginning to show. Others at that level would have mature Soul Forging Methods, far more powerful than mine. Plus, they would have combat-type Soul Kinds and Soul Skills. If I encountered an ambush, I wouldn’t even be able to escape. I’d have to wait until I reach the Third Transformation Golden Elixir to have any confidence. At that point, I would have 400 points of spiritual power, making things more manageable.

He hadn’t been idle during these three months. Not only was he cultivating, but he was also perfecting his Black Iron Level cultivation methods and extensively modifying and optimizing his Soul-like Record Book.

The Soul Resemblance of the Blood Dragon Envoy from the Baylong Religion, which had been mutated by the Dragon Clan, gave him immense inspiration.

He even found himself thinking that if he could get another cult follower from the Baylong Religion as an experimental subject, the process would be significantly shortened.

"I should take a couple of days off. Pushing myself this hard all the time could lead to trouble." Wang Linchi left the basement, then lay on the sofa, turned on the TV, and began to channel surf out of boredom.

[All branches of the Baylong Religion in Yingzhou have been completely uprooted. The newly appointed Blood Dragon Envoy has been slain. The head has been sent to...]

Wang Linchi’s hand, which was channel surfing, froze. His expression conveyed his shock. As the report continued, he soon saw Yan Ming King’s figure on the screen.

"I haven’t heard any news about Yan Ming King for over a year. I didn’t expect to see him on TV. He’s really accomplished some major things in the Prefecture."

He also hadn’t expected to see Yan Ming King in this manner. However, the report didn’t mention much, just showing him fleetingly.

"Small places are truly small places. So isolated."

"However, it’s likely also due to deliberate suppression by the Yingzhou Prefecture."

The Dajing Dynasty did have an internet, but ordinary people couldn’t use it. Owning a television was already considered high-end. Things like computers and network access were only possessed and permitted for use by major factions.

Therefore, those who could use the internet were not ordinary people. In fact, the Dajing Dynasty maintained very strict control over the internet.

It wasn’t a matter of just saying whatever you wanted online and being done with it; they could genuinely trace you through the network cables and arrest you.

Naturally, the information available on the internet was correspondingly more fluid and high-level. After all, those who could get online were not ordinary individuals, and the information they had access to was far greater than what someone from the lower rungs of society, like Wang Linchi, could obtain.

"The Baylong Religion being driven out of Yingzhou, and this being widely reported, probably means there won’t be a counterattack. It’s more likely they’ve reached a new secret agreement with the Court."

"This counts as good news."

Wang Linchi speculated that the one who had come to investigate his house earlier was very likely from the Baylong Religion. Their purpose, naturally, was to find the previous Blood Dragon Envoy.

Any traces of the previous Blood Dragon Envoy were likely only known by the Bronze Seal Catcher in Qinghe City and his master, the silver-badge arresting officer. However, both of them died at the hands of Yan Ming King, so those leads naturally went cold.

As for that previous Blood Dragon Envoy, his bones were probably long gone by now, let alone any traces; they would have vanished completely.

Unless the Baylong Religion was willing to seek help from Awakeners who possessed Soul Resemblances capable of Divination Prediction, Heavenly Secrets Calculation, or similar types, but the cost would be exorbitant. A mere member from a remote, minor prefecture-level branch was simply not worth such a massive effort.

Incidentally, Awakeners possessing Soul Resemblances for Divination Prediction, Heavenly Secrets Calculation, and similar abilities were also classified as Battle-type Awakeners. This was because they could anticipate enemy movements and even engage in combat through such means. Although these weren’t powerful direct combat methods, they could still contribute to a fight.

Still, I can’t let my guard down. What if it wasn’t them, but some other faction spying on me?

At that time, the Dean had been summoned away, and Yan Ming King was unlikely to return, leaving only the Baylong Religion and other unknown factions as possibilities.

The necessary vigilance must be maintained.

It seems I need to buy some surveillance equipment, but the approval process looks a bit difficult...

If Wang Linchi wanted to install surveillance in his own place, it had to be reviewed and approved by the Court. Furthermore, he needed a compelling reason; otherwise, it wouldn’t be permitted.

These systems were all monopolized and monitored by the Court.

Besides the approval, would the Court also be able to see the footage? After all, they would be the ones installing it.

I still need to be cautious; I must have my own surveillance methods. Wang Linchi quickly dismissed the plan to install Court-approved surveillance. After all, it involved risks.

He didn’t want to gamble on whether the Court officials would remain unmoved upon discovering his numerous Soul Kinds. If they were tempted, the consequences were all too predictable.