9 Fragmented Imprint of Spirit Control and Chief Black Cat

Three in the morning.

Cheng Han woke up.

Ever since he had deduced the Cheng Clan Breathing Method, he had no longer slept like an ordinary person. His daily sleep time had been reduced to three hours.

That was: after returning home from school, he would first undergo his first deep sleep.

Then, at five in the morning, he would undergo a second deep sleep.

Those two periods of sleep were enough to fully replenish his Spirit Value.

Out of every twenty-four hours, ordinary people had only sixteen hours of disposable time after subtracting rest, while Cheng Han had a full twenty-one hours.

He felt that if he had possessed this ability in his previous life, forget becoming the top scorer in the college entrance exam—placing among the top hundred in the entire province probably would not have been a problem.

However, because he had performed too many deductions yesterday and expended too much mental power, Cheng Han planned to undergo three deep sleeps.

He would sleep for the third time at five in the morning.

At this moment.

Feeling his abundant mental state, Cheng Han used a skill once. "Deduce the progress of the Blood Head Spider incident."

The illusory scene slowly unfolded:

A vast Textile Factory lay shrouded in darkness. Only the Security Room by the entrance had a faint light shining through its windows.

This was not strange.

The factory was not under much production pressure, so it had no night shift. This was precisely when the factory had ceased operations.

A moment later, the Illusion dissipated.

Proficiency increased by 1 point, and the upgrade progress reached 39/1000.

Cheng Han frowned. "The Black Armor Army has not acted. Otherwise, the factory would surely have been sealed off. The disaster will happen tomorrow—when exactly does the government intend to act?"

He shook his head. "I have already done everything I can. Forget it."

Cheng Han got dressed, pushed open the bedroom door, and immediately spotted the Black Cat.

It lay motionless on the floor, sleeping like a dead pig.

No.

It should have been a dead cat.

To prevent the Black Cat from refusing to cooperate, when preparing its dinner last night, he had added powdered dried Black Cauldron Mushroom to its food again.

Cheng Han first gave the cat's head a few strokes, then silently recited, "Deduce the method of taming beasts!"

A trace of chill spread across his scalp.

His Spirit Value began to fall rapidly.

Cheng Han instantly sensed that some invisible connection seemed to have formed between himself and the Black Cat.

Although the Black Cat was sound asleep, it sensed something as well. Its limbs twitched from time to time, while its tail began to sway slightly.

There was no doubt—the deduction had succeeded!

A breath later, Cheng Han suddenly heard a cat's meow.

"Meow~"

He had not heard it with his ears.

It had sounded directly inside his mind.

Then, an Illusion appeared:

A phantom image emerged from the Black Cat's body. It had the exact same shape as the cat, though it looked somewhat blurry.

"Meow~"

Another phantom meow rang out.

The shadow suddenly leaped into the air, crashing into Cheng Han's chest before vanishing completely.

Within Cheng Han's Sea of Spirit, a blue orb instantly appeared. A hazy Halo surrounded it, while its core contained an unusual structure of Light Threads.

It looked remarkably like the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame, except its structure was far simpler.

A message flashed through his mind: "Analyzed 'Fragmented Imprint of Spirit Control.' Proficiency +8. Current Proficiency: 47/1000. Spirit Value: 4.8/13.4."

Cheng Han was overjoyed.

Another Residual Seal! His maximum Spirit Value had increased by another 0.1 point! He focused his mind on the Residual Seal, and a stream of knowledge surged forth. He immediately understood its purpose.

So-called "Spirit Control" meant controlling spiritual creatures.

This Residual Seal could not only be used to tame beasts—it also had some unexpected uses.

After observing the Residual Seal for a while, he received another piece of feedback: "Fragmented Imprint of Spirit Control, Completeness: 12.42%."

Compared to the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame, its Completeness was more than ten times higher.

Yet Cheng Han did not consider that a good thing. "It seems the Fragmented Imprint of Spirit Control has far less potential for development than the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame."

Then he grinned. "But it doesn't matter. As long as it works, that's enough."

Cheng Han stroked the Black Cat's back and stirred the Fragmented Imprint of Spirit Control with his mind. The orb immediately expanded and drew in a small amount of Spirit Value.

Several breaths later, the Black Cat opened its eyes.

One of the Fragmented Imprint of Spirit Control's many uses was to stimulate the deeper potential of a tamed beast, helping it resist all kinds of negative conditions.

The Black Cat had consumed quite a bit of medicine and ordinarily would have found it difficult to wake before ten o'clock. Yet under the Residual Seal's effects, it miraculously suppressed the medicine's efficacy.

The Black Cat was dazed for a moment. Then it raised its little head and met Cheng Han's gaze directly.

Before this, whenever Cheng Han approached, it would quickly flee. Yet now, it neither dodged nor avoided him, behaving with extreme docility.

Cheng Han issued his first command. "Roll over."

The Black Cat froze for a moment, seemingly surprised, then lay down and rolled over once.

Cheng Han continued, "Wag your tail three times."

The Black Cat obediently flicked its tail three times.

Over the next few minutes, Cheng Han indulged himself in the sheer pleasure of training a cat.

The Black Cat did every command one by one.

If an ordinary person witnessed this scene, they would surely believe this was an exceptionally intelligent cat that had undergone long-term training.

No one would believe that just moments ago, it had still been a wild and untamable stray cat.

Cheng Han was immensely pleased with himself. "Little thing, when I first saw you, you were perched on a wall with such a cold and aloof air. And now, aren't you completely obedient?"

Yet a trace of helplessness showed in the Black Cat's eyes, as if it were protesting: Sir, have you had enough fun? Cheng Han thought for a moment, then said, "Let's give you a name first."

Recalling an animated show from his previous life, he smiled. "From now on, I'll call you 'Sheriff.'"

Black Cat and Sheriff—an absolutely perfect match!

"Meow~"

The Black Cat meowed, seemingly accepting the name "Sheriff."

Three hours later.

After finishing his third sleep, Cheng Han emerged from the bedroom.

The Black Cat proactively came over and rubbed its head against his pant leg.

Cheng Han stroked its head. "Starting today, you may roam freely outside during the day. But you must come home before nightfall. Understand?"

"Meow~"

The Black Cat's cry was much more spirited, as though it were rather delighted.

It eagerly walked to the door and raised one paw, pressing it against the entrance.

It was expressing—I want to go out.

Cheng Han did not make things difficult for it and directly opened the front door.

The Black Cat shot out with a whoosh.

Judging by its appearance, it had clearly been cooped up for far too long.

As usual, at 7:40 in the morning, Cheng Han stepped into the Class Three-Two classroom on time.

He had only just taken his seat when Qian Qingqing complained softly, "I brought you breakfast yesterday, but you took leave and didn't come. It made me eat an extra half portion of breakfast—I nearly stuffed myself."

Cheng Han glanced at her flat little chest, his tone amused. "Eating a little more is a good thing."

As the saying went, when the chest held unevenness, one feared not the rising gale.

The young girl was quite clever and immediately understood the hidden meaning. A faint blush instantly rose across her fair, delicate face.

She shot a resentful glare at her deskmate. "A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!"

The next second, she automatically put the matter aside.

Qian Qingqing took out a paper bag and stuffed it into Cheng Han's hands, reminding him, "Hurry up and eat! There are honey cakes inside—they won't taste good once they get cold."

Then she handed him a green fruit the size of a fist. "My mom recently bought a batch of Azure Dew Fruit. I tried one yesterday, and it's sweeter than the ones she bought last time."

Cheng Han gripped an iron straw, forcefully pierced the Azure Dew Fruit's skin, and took a large sip. "It really is good."

Azure Dew Fruit was somewhat like coconut fruit from another world, though the texture was completely different. Its juice was sweet and tart, reminding him of a drink called Nutrition Express.

In a word: delicious! Qian Qingqing smiled. "Tomorrow, I'll pick an even sweeter one for you."