CHAPTER 43: CHAPTER 43: THE VORTEX BEFORE THE STORM_1

"Something seems off lately..." Wang Linchi could sense that Qinghe City seemed to be caught in a vortex.

Three days ago, a fight occurred between the Qinghe Field Officer and a member of an unknown power, affecting about one-tenth of Qinghe City.

Wang Linchi’s home was quite distant from the affected area, suffering minimal damage—just a shattered window. He patched it up with bricks, deciding against replacing the glass.

The Qinghe Field Officer was the victor, but once again, they couldn’t capture the attacker, who turned out to be at the Elite Gold Level. This revealed the existence of a third Elite Gold Level individual in Qinghe City—the Field Officer who, until now, had kept his power hidden, only forced to reveal it this time.

Though the Field Officer won, both sides suffered significant damage. The Field Officer was gravely injured, and the attacker, due to his injuries, had to retreat.

Wang Linchi felt something was wrong with Qinghe City because, on his visit to the black market today, he found it completely deserted.

When he went there the day before and the day before that, the market was open as usual. He even managed to acquire several Soul Forging Methods, all of which came with a Soul Secret Technique.

Among them were about ten related to book-type Soul Resemblances; he even found the Soul Secret Technique for the Book Mountain and Sea Soul Forging Method.

It seemed that the Awakeners had sensed something, leading to a massive liquidation of assets to profit from.

More importantly, the prices of resources had surged significantly, mirroring the spike in grain prices during famine years.

The outrageous price increases in just three days were definitely suspicious—claiming otherwise would be illogical.

Such circumstances existed in the black market, yet there were no indications of trouble at the Government Office; they even had the media issuing reassurances.

However, the more they tried this approach, the more Wang Linchi felt they were burying their heads in the sand.

"I need to come up with a plan."

Wang Linchi thought about fleeing. He had no reason to stay; was he supposed to stick it out?

He had no sentimental attachment to the Dajing Dynasty or Qinghe City. He had some while he still had his ten million, but once those vanished, so did his connection.

As for the resources they claimed to provide? The Court was just buying his Soul Seed Boiling Series Soul Skills with those resources. It wasn’t like Wang Linchi got something for nothing.

"The problem isn’t escaping, but handling the issues that come after."

Leaving Qinghe City wouldn’t be a problem, but he lacked the necessary documents to settle in another city.

Only Battle-type Awakeners had this privilege.

Their identities were uploaded onto the internet, allowing for quick identity verification. Wang Linchi wasn’t accorded this treatment and could potentially be interrogated or detained.

Given his current strength, there was no way he could fight back.

He suspected that this vortex in Qinghe City was likely caused by the Rainbow Light Series Soul Seed left behind by his parents.

The issue was that while the Soul Seed was valuable, it wasn’t valuable enough to cause such a disturbance.

This situation definitely concealed a hidden truth.

I can’t go back to the academy now; without the dean, it’s essentially empty...

Wang Linchi suddenly wondered if the current emptiness meant there was an opportunity to loot under the cover of chaos.

He never saw himself as a good person, nor did he intend to be one.

Good people don’t live long, but scourges can last for millennia, especially under the governance of the Dajing Court.

"This is an opportunity!" Wang Linchi was naturally referring to the chance to acquire an Epic Level Soul Seed.

Considering his situation, the probability of acquiring an Epic Level Soul Seed through legal means was almost negligible.

He wasn’t a Battle-type Awakener. In the Dajing Dynasty, where non-Battle-type occupations were discriminated against, even if he developed a Soul Skill or technology to boost the power of the Dynasty, he’d be persecuted instead of rewarded.

Under normal circumstances, the highest-quality Soul Seed he would ever encounter would be Excellent Level.

Qinghe Academy undoubtedly had Epic Level Soul Seeds, and probably quite a few at that—at least ten.

Maybe there are even Legendary Level Soul Seeds.

After Epic Level is Legendary Level.

Recently, Wang Linchi managed to gather quite a bit of information through the black market, such as cultivation experiences and travel diaries that had likely come from robbery victims and been resold.

As a result, he gained a comprehensive understanding of Awakener levels and Soul Seed quality.

Following White Porcelain, Black Iron, Mountain Copper, Mithril, and Gold Essence, the Awakener classification goes Morning Star, Bright Moon, Sunlight.

It’s said that the emperor of the Dajing Court is a Daylight Level Awakener.

As for the Soul Seed quality, he knew the complete ranking: ordinary, Excellent, Good, Epic, Legend, and Mythological.

All the Soul Seeds the Dajing Emperor set in his nine Soul Resemblance slots are Mythology Level Soul Seeds.

Yes, Wang Linchi learned that the maximum potential is nine, which meant the Emperor could possess nine Soul Seeds. Coupled with Mythology Level Soul Seeds, his strength would be formidable.

After that, Wang Linchi realized the vast difference in strength between people.

More importantly, the emperor’s Soul Resemblance was extraordinary, known as the Imperial Sword.

Wang Linchi wasn’t very clear about its effects. For a remote small town like theirs, having access to this much information was already pretty good. Trying to dig deeper into the Dajing Emperor’s status seemed a bit far-fetched.

Fortune favors the bold! Wang Linchi quickly made up his mind. It was all or nothing. Otherwise, if he missed this chance, he would have to risk his life in the Wild Secret Realm to acquire Epic Level Soul Seeds.

Only a large-scale secret realm could produce Epic Level Soul Seeds, whereas Legendary Level ones could be found in a colossal one, and Mythological Level ones in a super colossal one, although there are exceptions.

Upon reaching a large scale, a secret realm’s power would have grown dramatically, resembling a self-contained miniature world, making it difficult to conquer.

The chances of Wang Linchi finding an Epic Level Soul Seed upon entering one were not high.

On the contrary, taking one from the academy had a higher success rate, especially since he could fish in troubled waters.

Of course, there were risks involved—who knew how things would play out afterward? But while some dangers could be avoided, others had to be faced head-on.

Once opportunities passed, they would never come back.

I just didn’t know how reliable this opportunity was.

Wang Linchi looked at the Peach Talisman in his hand, a storage treasure he obtained from a foolish person who followed him during his last visit to the black market, which ended with his casual retaliation and looting of the corpse.

As long as he put the Epic Level Soul Seed that he obtained into the Peach Talisman, no one would detect it.

However, people would definitely notice the Peach Talisman as it was unique.

It was a pity there wasn’t enough time; otherwise, I could sell the Peach Talisman through the black market to launder it and exchange it for a legitimate storage treasure instead of stolen goods from murder and robbery, Wang Linchi thought regretfully.