Visualization Diagram

In the quiet of night,

Qi Dian sat on the ground, gazing deeply at Yue Wen. His eyes flickered, and his face was slightly flushed.

Yue Wen silently took a step back.

He'd recently seen a lot of rumors about cultivators in Heavenly Prefecture Province, which had inevitably made him a little sensitive.

After a long pause, Qi Dian finally sighed. "Brother Yue, I owe you an apology. I looked down on you because you were an unaffiliated cultivator. I never imagined you'd not only be highly skilled, but also step in and save my life. I'm really... so embarrassed."

Oh.

So he was blushing because he was embarrassed.

I thought he was bashful.

That was almost scary.

Only then did Yue Wen relax. He smiled and said, "It's fine. You treated me to a meal, after all."

He wasn't worried that revealing too much of his strength would make Qi Dian suspect he had some kind of treasure and covet it, or anything like that.

That was the kind of plot you saw in novels. In reality, there were too many factors that affected a cultivator's fighting ability: magical artifacts, cultivation methods, supernatural techniques, pills, talismans, spiritual pets... Qi Dian hadn't even seen the fight, so it was highly unlikely he'd get any ideas.

Besides, this was a society governed by law. Maintaining public safety in the city was a top priority, so it wasn't easy for anyone to get away with murder for the sake of plunder.

If they were out in the lawless Wasteland Zone, Yue Wen would certainly be more cautious.

"How could one meal of fried chicken make up for a life-saving favor?" Qi Dian's expression turned serious. "Fellow Daoist Yue, is there anything you need? If it's within my power, I'll do my best to repay you."

Oh?

At that, Yue Wen perked up.

If Qi Dian hadn't offered, Yue Wen wouldn't have asked for a reward just because he'd saved him. After all, he'd already gained plenty from killing the man in black. But since you're offering...

Heh heh heh...

Yue Wen thought it over. "We're both cultivators of the righteous path, so there's nothing wrong with helping each other out. I definitely didn't save you for the sake of a reward, but if you really want to put your mind at ease, you don't need to give me anything valuable. I'm quite interested in the techniques you used when you first showed up."

When Qi Dian had appeared, he'd made quite an imposing entrance, accompanied by flashes of light and peals of thunder. Even the evil cultivator had been on guard.

Later, Yue Wen had realized that Qi Dian's cultivation wasn't anywhere near high enough to produce such dramatic effects. There was no doubt that some kind of supernatural technique had enhanced them.

He might not have much cultivation, but he sure knew how to make an entrance.

"Oh, those." Qi Dian gave a somewhat stiff smile. "They're the two supernatural techniques every new disciple of Linjiang Gate has to master. Our master says that when our disciples face an opponent, they must use these two moves first to display the sect's prestige. One is Thunderclap Art, and the other is Flash Art."

"I see."

Yue Wen thought, No wonder. Other experts made their entrances by circulating their true energy at high speed, stirring up the spiritual energy around them and creating strange phenomena, like flashes of lightning, peals of thunder, and radiant clouds. Thunderclap Art and Flash Art let them trigger the same sights and sounds manually, creating special effects on demand.

Linjiang Gate had some real talent. No wonder they'd grown so powerful in Jiang City.

"Since you're interested, Brother Yue, let's exchange contact information. I'll send you the Visualization Diagrams for the two techniques." Qi Dian took out his phone.

"Sure." Yue Wen scanned his QR code.

A contact profile called "Young Hero Qi, Sword in Hand, Roaming the World" appeared on his phone. Yue Wen tapped to send a friend request, then glanced up and saw that Qi Dian's face had turned even redder.

Brother Qi was pretty chuunibyou.

But Qi Dian soon noticed that the person who'd sent him a friend request had the username "AAA Yue's Cultivation Firm Owner." He looked up at Yue Wen too.

Now it was Yue Wen's turn to blush.

As expected, nobody could stand having their username examined in public.

Two strings of electronic codes from Qi Dian soon broke the awkward silence. "These are forwarded from our sect's scripture library. Brother Yue, just log in with my access key, 9527."

"Okay." Yue Wen nodded.

In this world, cultivation methods and supernatural techniques were passed down in the form of Visualization Diagrams.

Visualization Diagrams, drawn with Daoist essence, contained the principles behind their techniques. Only by comprehending them thoroughly could one master the corresponding cultivation method or supernatural technique. The more profound the diagram, the greater the insight needed to understand it.

And copying down a Visualization Diagram required a high level of cultivation.

Qi Dian had mastered the two techniques himself, but he clearly couldn't copy down their diagrams. All he could do was forward the links to the diagrams in the scripture library. The confidentiality level of these two techniques was low, so Linjiang Gate disciples could browse and forward them freely. But whoever's access key you used to log in would be charged for the time you spent studying them.

That's right.

When Yue Wen opened the link, he found that he was being charged for every second he spent studying the diagram.

He hurriedly closed it.

"Brother Yue, don't worry about the cost. Just study them until you've mastered them," Qi Dian said.

"You know I'm an unaffiliated cultivator. I don't have much experience studying supernatural techniques." Yue Wen smiled apologetically. "It might take me a while."

"That's fine." Qi Dian casually flicked back his bangs. "What's that compared to saving my life?"

As soon as Qi Dian woke up, Yue Wen had called the Supervision Bureau. By the time the two of them had finished chatting, the Bureau's cleanup team had arrived.

Yue Wen and Qi Dian gave brief statements, then went their separate ways.

The man in black had been a genuine evil cultivator, and he was suspected of being on the wanted list in Fulei Province. Yue Wen faced no legal consequences for killing him; if that was confirmed, he'd even receive a cash reward. Even without a Demon Suppressing Coin dropping this time, killing the man had still netted Yue Wen a haul.

You could say the man had been a walking treasure trove.

Yue Wen rode his electric scooter back to the firm. There were still no requests or messages, just a bill for the water and electricity on the door.

He tidied up a little, then sat cross-legged. First, he logged in through the link and opened the Visualization Diagrams inside. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and immersed himself in contemplation.

In the blink of an eye, his Spiritual Sense entered the world within the diagrams without the slightest resistance.

The Visualization Diagram for Thunderclap Art was like a pool of thunder, filled with continuous rumbling. Above him, the Thunder God and Lightning Goddess seemed to be constantly carving open the heavens and earth.

The Visualization Diagram for Flash Art was filled with dazzling colors and radiant clouds, an endless array of ever-changing hues that made his Spiritual Sense grow dizzy.

Twenty minutes later, he'd fully mastered both Thunderclap Art and Flash Art.

It was true that he hadn't studied many supernatural techniques, but the first method he'd practiced had been True Dragon Dao Method.

After contemplating the Visualization Diagrams for True Dragon Dao Method and Sword Control Art, these diagrams for two minor techniques felt like going from fighting Taro and Zero to suddenly being told he had to fight Kirara Asuka.

Not only was it easy, it was almost boring.

Twenty minutes, and he was done. A piece of cake.

After finishing, he couldn't help but reflect that having the resources of an Immortal Gate to rely on really did make things easier. Those twenty minutes of practice had probably cost him only a few hundred yuan. Buying the Visualization Diagrams for two minor techniques on the open market would cost at least tens of thousands.

Cultivators could certainly make money easily, but anything related to cultivation was expensive too. The people who managed to save money either had powerful backing or simply didn't want to spend more on improving themselves.

After learning the techniques, he put away his phone and took stock of what he'd gained that day.

He'd put the cash away for now. He had no idea what the half Black Gold Skull was for, so he'd visit an Immortal Grade Pavilion and ask around. If that didn't work, he could melt it down and sell it as material; it would still be worth a fair bit.

As for that piece of purple fabric, he took it out and examined it carefully under the light, but still couldn't make anything of it.

There was only the emblem.

After a while, he opened a drawer and took out a black card.

The card seemed to have been cut from some kind of crystal. It didn't feel like plastic, and its surface had a glossy, frosted sheen. The back was pitch-black, while the front bore an emblem painted in gold.

It showed countless long, fanged snakes coiled around a ferocious tiger with bared tusks!

The emblem was identical to the one on the piece of fabric.

Three years ago, Yue Wen's parents had taken him on a trip by car. Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash, and the world spun around them.

A massive black rift had appeared right in front of them, its powerful suction like a whirlpool. He could just make out a pair of enormous eyes gazing over from the other side.

Even now, that ancient, terrifying gaze still made Yue Wen shudder.

As the car rolled over, his father suddenly grabbed him and said gravely, "There's a black card tucked inside the book I gave you for your graduation. You must keep it safe and never let anyone see it. Once you're powerful enough, go find out what it is."

Yue Wen didn't understand what his father meant. After the car crashed into a roadside building and came to a stop, he saw his parents climb out through the haze and walk toward the black mist pouring from the rift.

His consciousness gradually gave way, and he passed out.

When he woke again, half a year had passed.

When he returned home, there were signs that many things had been moved. The Supervision Bureau must have searched the place, but the card tucked inside the book his parents had given him for graduation was still there. He still couldn't see anything unusual about it, and it had no spiritual fluctuations. It seemed to be made of ordinary material.

That was probably why it had escaped the search.

Yue Wen had searched all over the internet for the emblem. The only clue he'd found came from a paper his father had once published. It said that the emblem came from a place called—

Snake Mountain Tiger Tomb.

Thanks to "Ju Feng" for the Alliance Leader reward! I'm sure you'll make a fortune this year, boss.