CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: WHY SHOULD A CHEF TEAM BE INCLUDED IN TEAM BUILDING? _1

The long-awaited gambling duel of Yan Ming King concluded. Wang Linchi hadn’t watched it; the outcome was as expected: Yan Ming King had won.

Instead, Ruan Tian chatted with him at length, describing things so vividly that Why doesn’t he just record it? Wang Linchi found himself thinking.

After that, his days settled into a routine: practicing the Soul Forging Method: Nine Revolutions Golden Core and the Soul Secret Technique: Taoist Fetus during the day, and researching Epic Level Soul Kind at night.

He also didn’t need to worry about the fourth-generation Soul Kind undergoing Soul Seed Boiling; this technique was, in fact, a simplified, low-spec version of a byproduct from his own research into Soul Kind. Normally, it required the power of thought to be truly effective. It could also be activated with spiritual power, but the side effects were too severe.

"There’s a team-building event organized by the bureau tomorrow. Want to go?" Ruan Tian asked, sounding weary, perhaps because he had run out of things to say.

"Team-building, huh? What should I prepare?" Wang Linchi replied.

The Soul Seed Bureau really is a great place, Wang Linchi could only think. Team-building events on workdays instead of days off.

"You just need to show up. What’s there to prepare?" Ruan Tian said, sounding surprised.

"Alright, what’s the team-building activity about? Are we going to shout slogans or just accompany the leadership?" Wang Linchi sighed.

"I heard it’s a barbecue. This time, though, it’s a slight step down; they’ve hired the chef team from Dongyue Building in the south," Ruan Tian said.

A chef team for team-building? Wang Linchi was puzzled. Isn’t that a bit much? Something feels off.

It wasn’t like he’d never been to a team-building event before... well, that was in his previous life. He hadn’t actually attended one in this life.

"I guess the Director hasn’t finished spending this month’s budget and is taking us out to splurge," Ruan Tian speculated.

"You weren’t here last month; otherwise, you’d know how crazy the Director gets when there’s leftover budget. I remember he had us deliberately skip work. He first deducted our pay, then reimbursed us with triple our salary." Ruan Tian felt that whenever there was leftover budget, the Director would find new ways to put them through the wringer.

"This isn’t Tengda, is it?" Wang Linchi grumbled.

"What’s Tengda?" Ruan Tian asked, puzzled.

"Nothing." Wang Linchi massaged his temples. No wonder those at the bottom have it so tough, he realized. All the costs are passed down to them.

Once you become an Awakener, even those with no combat ability can enjoy such good benefits. No wonder everyone is scrambling to become an Awakener.

But beneath this extravagance, if not for the various products from the Secret Realms and the productivity boost from some non-combat Awakeners, they would have starved long ago.

And this is just one Soul Seed Bureau. In Yingzhou, the Awakener organizations in the villages, counties, and cities are countless, and their daily expenditures are astronomical.

Only a massive population base at the bottom can support so many people.

However, the Court not only exploits ordinary people but also Awakeners, which is how it grows stronger.

"Are you going or not?" Ruan Tian asked.

"Sure, I don’t have to do anything anyway." Wang Linchi didn’t even need to ask. This team-building event will surely involve more than just a chef team. A chef team wouldn’t cost *that* much. There must be other expenses.

"Alright, I’ll add your name." As Wang Linchi’s superior, it was Ruan Tian’s responsibility to submit their names. Besides, there were only the two of them in their department.

"Aren’t you going?" Wang Linchi was puzzled.

"Of course, I’m going. Why wouldn’t I?" Ruan Tian was certainly going. He was single and had nothing better to do.

After some more chatter, Wang Linchi asked, "Do you know about the black market in our Yi Ning Prefecture?"

"Yes, it’s 130 kilometers straight ahead from outside the South City Gate."

"Why? You want to check it out?" Ruan Tian naturally knew about it, but he wasn’t much interested in such things. To him, it was on a different level, not something he needed to concern himself with, especially since he couldn’t get in anyway.

"I do, but it’s a pity I can’t get in. As you know, you have to be at least at the Black Iron Level to enter the black market. We’ll likely be stuck at the White Porcelain level for the rest of our lives," Wang Linchi replied candidly.

"It’s better to just dream about it. The black market is very dangerous. Black Iron Level individuals can barely protect themselves there, let alone those at the White Porcelain level. Every year, there are non-combat type Soul Awakeners who go there trying to change their fate, but not a single one has ever returned alive," Ruan Tian warned.

Hearing this, Wang Linchi couldn’t help but think of Mo Yan. He also wanted to change his fate. If he hadn’t tried to use the black market as his way in, perhaps he could have succeeded.

The black market held Soul Secret Techniques, and as an Awakener with no background or connections, he naturally wouldn’t be allowed access. That’s why he was attacked and killed on the road.

It was just as Ruan Tian said—none of them ever came back alive.

It wasn’t that they were unlucky enough to encounter robbery and murder; they were ’cleaned up’ when they left.

After all, killing within the black market would ruin its reputation and break its rules.

As for why they didn’t just block White Porcelain level Awakeners from entering in the first place, it was simple: if enough people didn’t die, how could it serve as a deterrent?

Every year, White Porcelain level Awakeners died because of this, yet more kept coming in a constant stream.

"Of course, I’ll just think about it. Going to the black market is way too dangerous," Wang Linchi said aloud, but I plan to check it out tonight. I have some Soul Kind on me and can exchange them for some Soul Forging Methods. Maybe that will help my Nine Revolutions Golden Core and Taoist Fetus improve further.

My Soul Forging Method and Soul Secret Technique definitely have room for improvement, he thought. I just need more knowledge to supplement them.

My cultivation is also slow. Otherwise, I’d have nothing to do but cultivate all day, which would be such a waste of time.

After perfecting my Soul Secret Technique, my days were filled with nothing but tedious cultivation, and the progress was very unsatisfactory. At my current pace, it will take at least two more years to break through to the Black Iron Level.

The advantage is that even at the White Porcelain level, I possess Black Iron Level strength, and my strength will be even greater after I break through to the Black Iron Level.

The downside, of course, is that it takes too long.

Who ever heard of a White Porcelain level Awakener being stuck for five years?

This isn’t immortal cultivation, where someone could be stuck at Qi Condensation until they’re seventy or eighty before breaking through.

That said, if I continue to perfect my techniques, I might indeed reach the Black Iron Level in my seventies or eighties. But a Black Iron Level Awakener of that caliber might be able to defeat a Secret Silver Level opponent or even hold his own against an Elite Gold Level one.

However, I definitely wouldn’t do that. It would take too much time, and by then, my spiritual power would have declined. As one ages, physical functions deteriorate, which naturally affects the body.

The spirit and body are inherently connected, not separate entities; they influence each other.

The older one becomes, the harder subsequent breakthroughs will be. This is common knowledge among Awakeners. Only by reaching the Morning Star level can one escape this rule.