"Ying Kai, 31 years old. He joined the Haoran Martial Arts Academy seven years ago and became a formal disciple in three years. His strength then stagnated at 235 kilograms for the following year, so he left the academy."
"Afterward, he became a mixed martial arts fighter and made quite a bit of money while searching for a way to break through all over the world."
"Eventually, he found the Le You Merchant Guild and set his sights on you."
Qin Hui closed his notebook and recounted what had happened to Ying Kai before he met Fang Qingyu.
"Joining the Le You Merchant Guild can help him break through?"
Fang Qingyu picked up an apple from beside him, curious.
Several days had passed since he was injured, and all the bandages on his body had been removed.
"No."
Qin Hui shook his head.
"He simply somehow heard about the Contemplation Diagram and was blinded by the desire for power."
"So the Le You Merchant Guild was using him too?"
Fang Qingyu was stunned.
Qin Hui was already used to this. "Isn't it obvious? Even if he really joined, they would only treat him as cannon fodder."
"Good thing I didn't agree."
The corner of Fang Qingyu's mouth twitched.
"What?"
"The Le You Merchant Guild invited me before."
Fang Qingyu recounted everything that had happened at the Combat Arena that night.
"Oh."
"Actually, formal disciples all choose to join a merchant guild when they begin cultivating the Contemplation Method so they can hunt Life Spirits. I'm guessing they took a liking to your talent."
"Can't we find them ourselves?"
Fang Qingyu looked puzzled.
Qin Hui laughed when he heard that. "Sure. First, spend several hundred million to buy a few detectors. Then find someone to keep watch over an area for you—and that person has to be fearless of death."
"..."
The corner of Fang Qingyu's mouth twitched.
"Oh, right. During battle, you'll also have to spend who knows how much to buy a shield."
Qin Hui continued piling it on.
"Of course, there's one final method. You could also be like Qi Hao and have your family prepare all the Life Orbs you need for cultivating the Contemplation Method."
"I understand."
Fang Qingyu nodded thoughtfully.
So Qi Hao probably hadn't even known that Life Spirits existed during his time as a formal disciple. His family had prepared all the Life Orbs for him.
Truly, children from poor families matured early.
Without family status, connections, and resources, if you wanted anything, you could only fight for it yourself.
"If you're really opposed to the Le You Merchant Guild, I do have a recommendation."
"Please, go ahead."
Aside from Qi Hao, the two instructors at the academy were the people Fang Qingyu currently trusted most.
"The Zishi Merchant Guild. Its strength is nothing special, but the person in charge of hunting Life Spirits there is very good at reading the situation. If you go there, he won't dare harm you."
Fang Qingyu's expression turned strange.
Brother Jiao and Lu Chen!?
"You know them?"
Seeing Fang Qingyu's reaction, Qin Hui asked.
"I work at the Tongyuan Combat Gym."
"Oh, right, right. In that case, it's even simpler. So, what do you think? Want to go? With his personality, I'd guess he's had his eye on you for a while."
Qin Hui slapped his forehead as he finally realized.
"Sure."
Fang Qingyu nodded.
He actually had a pretty good impression of the two men.
He just hadn't expected them to have hidden themselves so deeply.
To be in charge of hunting Life Spirits for a merchant guild, their strength should at least exceed his own, right?
Yet he hadn't noticed anything before.
"Good. I'll let him know. You don't need to hurry, either. Before your strength reaches the required level, you can finish reading this book first. Same old rule: don't leak its contents."
Seeing that the matter with the merchant guild was settled, Qin Hui turned around and tossed a book from his bag.
"Okay."
Fang Qingyu caught the book, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
This thing was almost as thick as a dictionary.
"Take your time. This is only part of it."
Seeing Fang Qingyu's expression, Qin Hui sounded faintly gleeful.
Fang Qingyu now understood why Instructor Qin's nickname was Poison Tongue.
He didn't take it to heart, though.
After Qin Hui left, he opened the book on his own.
The very first sentence on the title page explained the origin of the Life Spirits.
"Life Spirits were born from mirage energy in the gap between yin and yang. From the moment our ancestors carved the first symbol into a rock wall, they have lain dormant in dimensions invisible to the living.
But no one knows when the malice slumbering in the folds of time
will descend."
Fang Qingyu slightly furrowed his brows.
So humans couldn't actively search for Life Spirits and could only wait for them to descend slowly?
No wonder all the previous measures had sounded like passive defense.
Fang Qingyu continued flipping through the book.
Next came the table of contents.
All kinds of Life Spirits were listed there.
There were several hundred kinds in total.
Good grief.
Just how many types of Life Spirits had the Federation recorded!?
Fang Qingyu flipped ahead to the first Life Spirit.
As soon as he opened the page, a lifelike photograph appeared before his eyes.
Fortunately, after being exposed to the appearance of Qi Sha, he was still disgusted, but it no longer made him feel especially sick.
The corresponding information was listed below.
Rust Lock Child.
Ⅰ. Chrysalis Grade.
Under the Martial Artist level, 350 kilograms, a novice in the Contemplation Method, and above the Minor Achievement level in martial arts were required to defeat it!
"Chrysalis Grade?"
When Fang Qingyu saw the unfamiliar term, he immediately sat up straight.
His phone happened to ring at that moment.
"This is information for 300-kilogram disciples. I'll let you read it in advance to give you some motivation. Hahaha."
It was sent by Qin Hui, along with a file.
Important Notes on Beginning the Contemplation Method:
A beginner must have an arm strength of at least 300 kilograms to bear the circulation of qi through the meridians.
The first stage is Condensing Qi. One must guide qi and blood with the mind, complete the twelve cycles of circulation, and transform the intangible into the tangible within the dantian.
Remember, do not force your way through the acupoints before your foundation is stable. Every day, you must consolidate your qi sea by practicing standing meditation and regulating your breathing. Otherwise, you will easily suffer backlash.
Those who successfully begin cultivation may become elite disciples!
Finally, please do not display any power related to the supernatural in front of ordinary people!!!
"So what Ying Kai said was correct."
"The Contemplation Method really is the threshold for stepping into the supernatural."
After reading it, Fang Qingyu let out a long breath.
The Contemplation Method could truly be called supernatural.
Originally, it had only been about training the physical body and martial arts.
Now it had directly become a method of cultivating qi.
Of course, the principle of secrecy was still emphasized, and the three exclamation marks afterward were especially eye-catching.
So Rust Lock Child probably wasn't something he could deal with at his current level.
He estimated that even without having begun the Contemplation Method,
the difference in strength was already enormous.
Fang Qingyu continued flipping through the book.
As time passed, he quickly found the four one-star Life Spirits in his own compendium, including Qi Sha.
Sure enough, Chrysalis Grade was equivalent to one star.
They were equivalent to beings below the Martial Artist level.
And Qi Sha, which he had killed that night, was the weakest of the four.
Below the Martial Artist level, 300 kilograms, and the Minor Achievement level in martial arts were required to defeat it!
Of the other three, two required beginning the Contemplation Method, while one required the Minor Achievement level in the Contemplation Method and 450 kilograms.
It seemed the road to completing the compendium was still long.
Next, Fang Qingyu began slowly memorizing all the Life Spirits recorded in the book.
This information would be extremely useful for hunting Life Spirits!
It would also be the key to saving his life in the future.
If he encountered one he couldn't defeat, he could still retreat in time.
Time slowly passed.
Until he reached the final page.
Unexpectedly, this page did not contain information about a Life Spirit.
Instead, it held only a few brief sentences.
"For example, if someone below the Martial Artist level encounters a Life Spirit not recorded in this book!"
"Turn around and run immediately! Stay alive!!"
The End.
Before you continue