Can't I Cultivate Myself? Chapter 30

It wasn't the Inner World that had shattered—it was his real self, and he was about to be killed by this mysterious power.

Suddenly, a ray of light pierced the darkness before him. Six pairs of pure white wings beat their feathers, and warm sunlight dispersed the darkness, shattering the sky.

The woman with six wings was the very woman Ryan had seen curled up naked inside the sun before. The difference was that she was clothed now—and had grown wings.

The Six-winged Woman shone as brightly as the sun itself. Wielding a greatsword wreathed in flames, she slashed at the shadow in the darkness. A roar followed, filled with fury and unwillingness—

"...Balshatt of the Gods, you will return to death once more..."

The voice drifted down.

Ryan froze. Was it speaking to him?

Bang!

The Inner World shattered along with it.

In that final moment, a streak of light fell from above the palace and embedded itself before Ryan. It was a silver-white Cross Sword. He pulled it free, but before he could even examine it, his consciousness was swallowed by the collapsing space.

"Hey! Ryan, are you okay?!"

A familiar voice rang by his ear. Ryan opened his eyes to see Jonathan's face full of worry.

"Director?"

"Whew! Good thing you're fine. You scared the hell out of me. Damn, that was intense."

Jonathan picked up the cigarette he had dropped in fright, dusted it off, and asked, "What happened to you just now? First there was a cold wind, then a heat wave—you almost blew up the room."

"Mm..." Ryan frowned in thought, then shook his head. "I can't make sense of it."

"Forget it if you can't. But now I'm certain you can become one of God's Chosen, one hundred percent." Jonathan said excitedly. "This damn beauty—hehe, a God's Chosen actually showed up in my squad. Ryan, you really did me proud."

"God's Chosen? Me?"

"Who else? A talent that lit up Six Stars, and it might not even be your limit. If that doesn't make you one of God's Chosen, then there are no God's Chosen in this world... But you absolutely can't tell anyone about what happened today, understand? Even if Jack asks, tell him your Magic Talent is B-rank."

Seeing how serious Jonathan was, Ryan nodded.

A B-rank talent meant lighting up five stars.

"Don't worry, Director. I'll keep it secret."

"Good. Get some rest. I'll go outside and check what's going on."

Ryan had definitely experienced something extraordinary just now, but Jonathan had no intention of pressing him. He knew Ryan needed some time alone.

Watching Jonathan leave the room, Ryan withdrew his gaze, then opened the Right Hand he had kept clenched.

Resting in his palm was a silver-white Cross Sword.

Unknown Class

"Isn't this the sword from earlier?"

Inside the room, Ryan repeatedly examined the small sword in his hand. Though it had only appeared briefly, he was certain this was the very sword that had shown up at the end, when the Inner World shattered.

It had fallen from the palace.

He had wanted to ask Jonathan whether something like this could happen during a magic test.

But in the end, he held back.

For one thing, Jonathan most likely wouldn't know either. Ryan could already imagine Jonathan's expression upon learning the whole story: subway, old man, phone.jpg.

For another, Ryan had no intention of telling anyone what had just happened, including Jonathan.

It wasn't that he didn't trust the Director. The matter was simply too complicated. Though he couldn't figure it out, he was sure the consequences would be unimaginable if it were exposed.

Some people couldn't bear those consequences. Dragging them into it would only harm them.

In truth, it was the same reason Jonathan didn't want Jack to know about Ryan's situation. They both genuinely cared about each other. It was fine if the Director had to suffer a little, but Ryan couldn't really let him collapse.

So the question now was, what exactly was this thing for?

It was something brought out of the Inner World, and it had apparently been involved in a battle between two gods. It definitely wasn't just for decoration.

Ryan touched the blade. It was rather sharp. Gritting his teeth, he pricked his fingertip against it and broke the skin.

A transmigrator had to know how to bind an artifact with blood.

Ryan had only meant to try it, but the blood that dripped onto the Cross Sword was actually absorbed. Immediately afterward, he felt some sort of connection form between himself and the sword.

"Store."

The Cross Sword abruptly vanished from his hand.

Ryan pressed his palms together, then slowly pulled them apart. Silver light bloomed between them, and an enlarged Cross Sword gradually appeared.

In the end, the sword became the same size it had been in the Inner World.

Ryan gripped the hilt and felt a special power surge within him. By the standards of the supernatural world, that should have been magic power. Did that mean he had successfully changed classes?

Changing classes didn't necessarily require a relic, because God's Chosen were special.

The problem was...

"What the hell did I change into?"

Son of the Sun?

Didn't seem like it.

He had seen this class in the game before. Even outside the game, after a normal class advancement, Transcendents would sense the Faith Path they belonged to and at least be able to determine their class and abilities.

Yet he felt nothing at all right now.

"Retract."

The Cross Sword was put away.

The sword resided within Ryan's body. He could summon or retract it at will, make it bigger or smaller, longer or shorter—just like the Great Sage's golden cudgel.

Its abilities were unknown, its rank was unknown, its origin was unknown... Wait.

"Why am I so stupid? Don't I have the system?"

Ryan placed the sword into the Backpack, then switched to Lin Qi's Character Interface. At that moment, the Silent Nun was lecturing Father Peter.

The reason was that too many people had crowded into the church that morning. Although they were all Noble Merchants, Lin Qi could not be bothered with them, so she returned to her dormitory to read the Holy Scripture.

Unable to find Lin Qi, those people went to Father Peter instead. Money could make the devil turn millstones, and it could make a god spare someone an extra glance—let alone a priest.

Peter had accepted their money and wanted to put in a few good words for them before Lin Qi.

As a result, Lin Qi gave him a thorough scolding with the Holy Scripture.

Naturally, Ryan knew what those nobles were thinking. They merely wanted to establish a connection and eventually get a chance to speak with Cassidy.

"Janus's Believers should not be tempted by worldly things. Peter, hand over everything you received. I will bear this sin in Janus's stead. Go shut yourself away and copy the Holy Scripture ten times."

[You have obtained a large amount of coins.]

Father Peter left with a completely bewildered expression.

"So much money... Tsk, tsk. I could retire early with this."

Ryan grumbled, then controlled Lin Qi to take out the Cross Sword from the Backpack. A prompt appeared when he tried to equip it.

[Unable to use this weapon.]

"Can't use it?"

Ryan inspected the Cross Sword through the system's appraisal function, only for every piece of information displayed to be "Unknown."

Its name, rank, and effects were all unknown.

Ryan was a little dumbfounded. There was actually something even the system could not appraise?

"I'd better use this thing less in the future."

This thing was clearly anything but ordinary. A man might be innocent, but he would be guilty for possessing a treasure. In any case, he had now become a Transcendent and had his Alt Account to help him. Unless absolutely necessary, it was better not to use this thing.

At the very least, he could not use it after enlarging it.

Knock, knock, knock~

Someone knocked on the door.

"Ryan?"

Ryan put away the Cross Sword, walked over, and opened the door.

"About done?" Jonathan asked with a smile.

Ryan nodded. "More or less. Director, that God's Chosen you mentioned before... I think that's what I am."

"Really?" Jonathan shut the door. "Quick, let me see!"

Ryan spread open his hand and channeled his magic power, gathering it in his palm.

Silver?... Jonathan pondered slightly. The power of an orthodox Son of the Sun was golden, but there were many classes belonging to the Sun Path. Besides, there was nothing strange about a God's Chosen being somewhat special.

"So beautiful..."

Jack exclaimed in amazement.

The silver energy carried faint sparkling traits, looking like the glittering Milky Way at night. No wonder Jack called it beautiful.

If he did not become a Transcendent, this ability would be perfect for picking up girls. One shot, one sure kill.

Jonathan coughed lightly. "Alright, alright, put it away. Jack, remember not to tell anyone about what happened today, understand? Not anyone. Our team has produced a God's Chosen, so we need to keep it secret."

"I understand, Mr. Jonathan. Captain Ryan will be our Secret Weapon from now on."

"Good kid, you catch on fast." Jonathan patted Jack's shoulder approvingly. "Alright, this has nothing to do with you now. Go back to school first."

"Then I'm off."

Having completed his task, Jack quickly left.

"Ryan, let me tell you a few more things."

Afraid that Ryan did not understand the significance of being God's Chosen, Jonathan pulled him aside and gave him another ten minutes or so of instructions.

"Oh, right. Now that you're an official Investigator, you can collect one thousand units of Soul Jade from me every month," Jonathan said.

"Soul Jade? What is it used for?"

Ryan only knew that the thing could be used to set up arrays.

"Of course, for cultivation." Jonathan lit a cigarette. "Transcendents need to cultivate too. We can slowly absorb magic power from the Faith Path through meditation, but that's far too slow. Soul Jade, on the other hand, is a natural magic crystal. Using it to aid cultivation can speed things up considerably."

"I see." Ryan nodded. But it seemed Game Characters couldn't use it? In the game, this thing was just currency.

"Is a thousand units a lot?"

"Mm... put it this way: I only get a thousand units per month. Jack only gets three hundred."

"Huh? Then wouldn't I be..."

"Relax. Geniuses always get special treatment, right?" Jonathan laughed and patted Ryan on the shoulder. "Work hard. Once you make it to the General Bureau, I'll get to ride your coattails too. Hahaha!"

"True. Who told me to be a genius? Director, how about giving me another thousand?"

"Get lost!"

"Hehe~"

Soul Jade was a natural magic crystal, which meant its production could not be high. And if it ever appeared in large quantities, it would inevitably spark a scramble among the various Transcendent factions.

But...

That was their problem.

For Ryan, all he had to do was keep killing monsters, and Soul Jade would drop.

He planned to go back later and try absorbing some himself. If he could use it, then his future leveling method was set—his Alt Account could farm Soul Jade while his main account leveled up. Perfect~

That afternoon.

Ryan left the East District Branch and headed to the General Bureau to assume his post as Captain of the Criminal Investigation Team.

There was no lively welcome ceremony. Instead, the atmosphere was tense and oppressive. It made sense—one of the top brass had just died. Although the Municipal Office had handled it immediately, the Bureau of Investigation's reputation in Berman City was far from good.