Ghoulification!

What had Zhang Qing seen?

Yes, Zhang Qing had seen it.

Even though there was only a narrow crack, Zhang Qing had seen what was inside.

It was—

A piece of damaged metal, with a green integrated circuit board embedded within it!

Yes.

Zhang Qing had definitely not been mistaken.

It was definitely a circuit board!

And it was highly integrated; its technological level far surpassed Blue Star's most advanced standards.

It!

Was a Forbidden Item in the Dark Realm.

My god.

What kind of secret thing had he unearthed?

Even in his previous life, no one had uncovered this information.

Zhang Qing let out a long breath to calm himself.

Then he pretended nothing had happened.

He would keep this explosive news to himself for now.

Guan Yutian came out soon afterward.

This assignment had been a grueling one.

"Brother Zhang, I had no choice!" Guan Yutian complained.

"You've worked hard, Captain. The higher-ups will surely understand," Zhang Qing said with a laugh.

After that.

At the entrance of the shop, Guan Yutian was about to return and make his report.

Zhang Qing went back with him, planning to have lunch with everyone in the cafeteria at noon.

They returned to Razor.

Guan Yutian went to report to Yu An.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qing returned to Yang Man's courtyard.

"You're back so early?"

Yang Man was, as always, tending to medicinal herbs in the courtyard.

"Yeah, I went out on an assignment with Guan Yutian this morning," Zhang Qing said.

"Among the goods the Shui Family entrusted the Tiger Clan's shop to transport, there was a portion of Blue Ghoul Blood."

"Oh." Yang Man responded, then said nothing more.

Zhang Qing said,

"That belongs to the Shui Family, so I couldn't get it for you. But I at least brought back news, so where's my reward?"

Yang Man glanced at Zhang Qing and said,

"Wait a moment. I'll get it for you."

After saying that.

She brought a porcelain bottle out from the room.

"One pill?"

"A mid-grade spirit pill! It's enough for you to advance to Rank One," Yang Man said.

"Oh."

Zhang Qing nodded.

Spirit pills came in limited varieties.

There was no way there could be countless kinds for Zhang Qing to keep popping like candy.

Drug resistance was the inevitable outcome.

In the end, Attribute Points still had to come from Specters.

He opened the porcelain bottle.

Zhang Qing swallowed the pill directly.

Congratulations on consuming a Skysea Pill. Attribute Point +10!

Not bad. He now had eleven Attribute Points.

However.

He had gotten these Attribute Points from Yang Man. To maintain his persona, he still had to put them into his realm.

So he closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground.

He allocated the points.

Congratulations. You have met the requirements to break through. Break through?

"Break through!"

Breakthrough successful. You have successfully advanced to the second stage of the Candlelight Realm!

Reward obtained. Constitution +1!

Zhang Qing's aura surged, then dispersed.

The second stage of the Candlelight Realm had been reached.

His realm had risen by a minor stage.

It did boost his combat power, but not by much.

For now, Cultivation Techniques still provided the greatest increase.

Zhang Qing opened his eyes.

He was about to head to the cafeteria to wait for Guan Yutian.

A Forbidden Item.

He wondered whether Guan Yutian would dare discuss that topic.

"You're leaving just like that?" Yang Man asked as she watched Zhang Qing go.

"Is there something else?"

"No, but don't you want to know what the Shui Family is doing?"

"The Shui Family is a major family. What they want to do has nothing to do with me, does it? Besides, I'm just a nobody. How could I possibly meddle in so much?"

"You..." Zhang Qing refused to take Yang Man's bait, angering her considerably. She turned around and muttered,

"So the title of Ghoul Blood Warrior has no appeal at all, huh? Don't you want to know how Healing Martial Artists came to be?"

"What an idiot!"

Zhang Qing heard her words.

But he did not stop walking.

No matter what, he could not let Yang Man truly get a grip on him.

Ghoulification Power?

Zhang Qing had seen it before. The first time Yang Man treated him, the system had notified him of it, and it had given him Attribute Points—or had it been Constitution?

As for what she had muttered about Ghoul Blood Warriors.

Well.

That was very likely the origin of Healing Martial Artist techniques.

Zhang Qing truly was interested.

But he could not ask Yang Man. Otherwise, she would eventually have him under her thumb.

He was free now. He could investigate slowly.

Once he became stronger, those secret pieces of information—Ghoulification Power, Ghoul Blood Warriors, even that Forbidden Item...

He would be able to come into contact with them and grasp the information they contained.

No rush. Take it slowly!

Soon, noon arrived.

Zhang Qing sat at a table with Guan Yutian and the others.

After they finished eating, they began chatting about all sorts of things.

As they talked.

Zhang Qing steered the topic toward Healing Martial Artists.

It was not a sensitive subject.

Guan Yutian spoke readily as well.

But after talking for a while.

All he said was that the core Cultivation Technique of Healing Martial Artists was extremely secretive, an absolute non-transmitted secret of the great families.

After the Chuan Family had been destroyed.

A Starflash Realm squad had immediately seized the Chuan Family's Scripture Pavilion.

The Healing Martial Artist techniques inside would absolutely not be allowed to fall into ordinary people's hands.

There were also some rumors.

For example, the male-to-female ratio among Healing Martial Artists was one to ten. Comparatively speaking, women were better suited for it.

It was also said that the core Cultivation Technique of Healing Martial Artists required specially made pills to begin learning.

Those spirit pills were even more crucial and would absolutely never be circulated outside.

After talking about Healing Martial Artists.

They moved on to Ghoul Blood Warriors.

Unfortunately.

Guan Yutian had no information at all.

Fine.

His standing was a little too low.

Zhang Qing should find an acquaintance in the Candlelight Realm.

After chatting for half the day.

Everyone still had to go on patrol in the end.

Zhang Qing declined Guan Yutian's invitation to go together and headed out onto the streets alone.

Without realizing it.

He arrived at the slums again.

This time.

Shui Meng was not hiding off to the side. Instead, she stood before Zhang Qing.

She was a Ratfolk girl.

Her humanoid traits were extremely pronounced.

Comparable to members of the Ratfolk imperial bloodline.

And she was tall, around 1.6 meters. Among Ratfolk, that was exceptionally tall.

"Did Yang Man send you?" Shui Meng asked Zhang Qing.

Zhang Qing narrowed his eyes.

"I came to see Chuan Hao."

"Hmph, you don't need to worry about that. Go back and tell Yang Man that everything is proceeding according to plan," Shui Meng said.

Heh heh heh...

They really were plotting something.

There was a reason the Chuan Family had not been completely exterminated.

"Alright, I got it!"

Zhang Qing left the place.

He headed in another direction.

His luck was poor today. He had not found any trace of a Specter.

He had wandered around for most of the day without finding a single one.

That made Zhang Qing want to take a look near the city walls.

There were definitely Specters outside.

Just as Zhang Qing was about to leave.

His gaze swept over a health bar.

He suddenly saw:

North Guard: 4950/4950!

Hmm.

He had found a target.

This was definitely a Specter.

Delighted, Zhang Qing followed it directly.

This was the slums, filled with crumbling walls and ruined buildings. Zhang Qing used Chuan Shattering Steps beneath his feet, yet North Guard did not notice him.

Very soon.

He saw the Specter enter a relatively concealed wooden shack.

Zhang Qing quietly approached.

Sneaking around, he actually managed to get close to the wooden shack.

This Specter was far too unguarded.

But thinking about it, that made sense.

This was the slums. The refugees would rather lie still than move.

They would never do something like eavesdropping.

As he drew closer, voices came from inside;

"We've already received word. It came from the Shui Family's informant."

"Chuan Hao is the test subject. The extreme Specterization experiment will begin tomorrow at the latest."

"Whether Chuan Hao is kept alive or killed, we need to decide on a plan right now!"

Zhang Qing narrowed his eyes.

Hearing those words, he immediately knew there was profit to be made!