Gift

Late at night, at St. Thorn High School, within a small brick building on campus.

Tang Qi stood before his workbench, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, his hands trembling slightly. The coffee beside him had long gone cold, but Tang Qi's face was filled with excitement. His eyes were fixed on a wooden box on the workbench.

Inside, about twenty to thirty bullets were piled haphazardly.

Each one was a dull yellow, but upon closer inspection, a faint, deep blue light could be seen flowing within them.

A special interface appeared in Tang Qi's vision.

[Mystical Item: Sea Demon Bullet]

[Attributes: Curse Breaking, Exorcism]

[Information Fragment 1: A bullet soaked in Sea Demon's Tears. It has gained a trace of Sea Demon's magic, transforming from an ordinary object into a transcendent one, and possesses the attributes of breaking curses and dispelling evil.]

[Information Fragment 2: Due to the special nature of Sea Demon's magic, these bullets also have a hidden attribute. If their owner points the gun at themselves, there is a chance to trigger the effect of recovering injuries and breaking free from special states.]

"Hoo~"

Tang Qi's breathing immediately quickened.

The attributes of the freshly made Sea Demon Bullets were not unexpected.

They seemed somewhat similar to Furnace Bullets; the Exorcism attribute was quite like Furnace's "Evil Breaking."

But there were differences, such as Curse Breaking.

This attribute was easy to understand, likely meaning the ability to break evil curses.

Although Tang Qi hadn't encountered anyone who could cast curses yet, he was certain he would in the future, and it was bound to happen.

The Samira Family!

This Witchcraft family that had migrated from the Saha Continent was still a Sword of Damocles hanging over Tang Qi's head.

Although they hadn't come seeking revenge yet, Tang Qi knew very well.

It wasn't that they had given up; it was because Tang Qi was doing his best to stall. The old witch known as the "Black Serpent Witch" was traveling outside, and the other members had clearly not discovered that their temporary head, Old Morgan, had already been burned to ashes and scattered into the sea.

Having ashes scattered into the sea was certainly not a traditional custom of the Samira Family; in fact, it was an insult.

The Samira Family's tradition was that after a family member died, they had to be buried under a large tree called "Baobab," otherwise their soul would not find peace.

If the Samira Family knew what Tang Qi had done, they would likely go mad seeking revenge.

Of course, if they knew that Old Morgan had been tricked by Tang Qi into becoming a "Judgment Demon," suffering torment day and night on the Soul Exchange Scale in his place...

This family would kill Tang Qi at all costs.

Even the mysterious power of St. Thorn High School couldn't stop them.

From Old Morgan's Diary, Tang Qi saw how twisted and united this family was.

Because of this, Tang Qi had never considered reconciliation.

The two sides could only be locked in a battle to the death.

If it weren't for this, Tang Qi wouldn't be in such a hurry to increase his strength. Despite possessing immense wealth, he had no intention of stopping to enjoy life.

"With these bullets, the first step of my plan will have a greater chance of success."

"Next, it's still about strengthening fundamental power."

"A shortcut has appeared before me, so every step I take must be even more steady. Power cannot make one lose their way; only self-relaxation can."

Tang Qi held a Sea Demon Bullet, feeling the faint magic flowing within it, and thought to himself.

He drained the cold coffee in one gulp, cleaned up the workbench, carefully put away each Sea Demon Bullet, and then walked towards the bedroom, preparing to begin his daily ascetic practice.

Ever since he started cultivating the Golden Furnace Meditation Method, sleep had completely left Tang Qi.

Although this was strange, the benefits of meditating all night were clearly far greater than sleep, so Tang Qi didn't hesitate to abandon sleep, a resting activity for ordinary humans.

Sitting cross-legged on the soft carpet, with a thought, Tang Qi entered a state of meditation.

Boom~

As his mind outlined the golden sun, Tang Qi once again entered that dark, empty space, feeling the warmth and heat originating from within himself, while simultaneously facing the endless strangeness surging from an unknown rift, an increasingly surging strangeness.

The next morning, Tang Qi woke up. He didn't need to immediately look at the special interface.

Tang Qi could feel it himself; his strength had increased again.

His gaze fell on himself, confirming his premonition.

It was still the same skill bar. The progress behind Meditation Method had jumped from 0.32% last night to 0.33%. Furnace Eyes also increased by 0.01%.

Chaga Combat Technique, however, had no change. It seemed Tang Qi needed to find other methods.

Feeling the warm power surging within his body, Tang Qi got up with satisfaction, prepared his breakfast, and after eating, returned to his study. He contemplated before the desk for a moment, took out a copy of "Monster Files," and then picked up the book on century-old oddities.

He locked the iron door and walked towards the campus. However, before turning around, Tang Qi seemed to remember something and looked again at the quiet area not far from his temporary home.

There, the most striking building was an old bell tower.

According to Pastor Sinbani, that was supposed to be the location of a club called the Ascetic Society Club.

But now, the Ascetic Society was disbanded, so it should be empty inside.

Based on the treasure map, corroborated by Old Morgan's Diary, and Tang Qi's investigation on his first day on campus, it was entirely reasonable to speculate that the legendary "The Penitent's Legacy" might be within that Bell Tower Area.

If he had learned this on the first day, Tang Qi might have risked investigating.

But now, having smelled a hint of conspiracy, Tang Qi naturally wouldn't be so reckless.

After pretending to glance over casually, Tang Qi turned around and resumed his appearance as an ordinary Asian teenager, blending in perfectly with the crowd of students.

Although St. Thorn High School was a well-known aristocratic high school, that didn't mean there weren't diligent students who studied hard. In fact, the proportion of good students was extremely high. Even for those teenagers from well-off families, they had already learned what they needed to learn well. Being excellent in both academics and character, and developing comprehensively, was the future path their parents had planned for them.

Of course, there were also plenty of poor students.

For example, those popular senior girls and boys he met on the first day of school were definitely poor students.

But their family backgrounds were excessively outstanding, and they held positions like cheerleading captain or boxing club president, which allowed them to disregard so-called academic performance. They could even proudly shout slogans like, "Even the most talented students will end up working for my family."

Besides them, Tang Qi was also a poor student.

This was also why his original parents had to use connections to barely get him admitted.

If he weren't a poor student, he could have gotten in solely based on his grades, like Sally, not only gaining admission but also having his tuition waived and receiving a scholarship.

After Tang Qi, the poor student, showed a serious attitude towards studying on the first day and realized he had learned enough common knowledge and no longer needed to be so diligent, he returned to his true nature as a poor student. He brazenly read those "strange books" in class.

He was so engrossed that Sally had to cover for him to avoid being discovered by the teachers.

After school, adhering to the principle of looking out for her first good friend, Sally wanted to remind Tang Qi that Thorn High School conducted assessments at the end of each year for every grade, and failing would result in expulsion.

But she was also worried that saying this would make her good friend unhappy.

Just as she was hesitant to speak, Tang Qi smiled faintly and suddenly pulled Sally towards the school gate, saying, "To thank you for helping me find my way last night, I'm going to give you a mysterious gift today."

"Trust me, you'll like it."

Tang Qi's voice reached Sally's ears, and the girl's face was already flushed with embarrassment. She passively followed him out of the school, the words of advice she had been about to say long swallowed back. Her mind was blank, completely occupied by the word "gift."

Someone is going to give me a gift?

This thought echoed in the girl's mind.