Over the next two days, Lin Ze didn't go to the library to meet Xiao Yi Xian.
He only sent a Death Soldier to keep watch outside the library.
Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian really did go to the library to read every day, Lin Ze didn't think much of it.
In Lin Ze's eyes, his relationship with Xiao Yi Xian was, at most, that of ordinary friends.
Xiao Yi Xian was kind to him partly because they were friends.
Another reason was that Xiao Yi Xian believed her own circumstances had caused Mu Li to target Lin Ze, bringing him undeserved trouble and forcing him to leave Qingshan Town.
He had left the town where he'd lived for more than a decade. It was no exaggeration to say he'd been driven from his home.
In that situation, Xiao Yi Xian also felt she owed Lin Ze some compensation.
But whatever the reasons, Xiao Yi Xian's kindness toward him was genuine.
So Lin Ze remembered it.
If Xiao Yi Xian ran into trouble in Fire Wolf Town that she couldn't handle, he was willing to help.
When someone gave him a peach, he returned a plum.
Lin Ze didn't consider himself a good person, nor did he have the compassion to save the world and its people.
But he did believe in repaying kindness with kindness and settling grudges with vengeance.
Xiao Yi Xian had treated him kindly, so Lin Ze returned her kindness in turn.
Besides leaving a Death Soldier to keep watch at the library, he also had another Death Soldier keep an eye on Xiao Yi Xian.
If she ran into any trouble, Lin Ze would find out quickly.
After dealing with Xiao Yi Xian's situation, Lin Ze shifted his attention to the Flame Mercenary Group.
The Flame Mercenary Group's movements over the past two days had been strange.
They hadn't joined forces with the other Mercenary Groups in Fire Wolf Town to demand an explanation from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
Nor had they continued their operations against the Fire Wolf Pack.
"Something's wrong! Something must have happened. A man as calculating and shrewd as Huo Lie wouldn't just let this matter go."
"The Flame Mercenary Group spent a great deal of time, effort, and resources on this, only for the Wolf Head Mercenary Group to ruin it."
"If all that effort had gotten them the Fire Wolf King Cub, it would've been worth it. But they didn't get it!"
"It makes no sense for Huo Lie to take no action against the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, who ruined everything."
"Even the members of the Flame Mercenary Group wouldn't accept it. Without a good reason, Huo Lie would have a hard time keeping their trust."
"Unless there's an even greater benefit!"
Lin Ze's gaze flickered. Could the Wolf Head Mercenary Group offer something valuable enough to sway the Flame Mercenary Group?
Lin Ze was puzzled.
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group's leader, Mu She, was only a Two-Star Dou Master, about on par with Huo Lie.
In that case, how could Mu She offer something of greater value?
Lin Ze couldn't figure it out.
"It all comes down to a lack of information. No matter how much I think about it, I can't make sense of things."
"It's already impressive that I've learned this much by watching the Flame Mercenary Group's base from the outside."
"Do I really have to find a way to get a Death Soldier into the Flame Mercenary Group?"
Lin Ze had considered that over the past two days.
But from what he'd heard around Fire Wolf Town, the Flame Mercenary Group favored quality over quantity.
Compared to the Wolf Head Mercenary Group in Qingshan Town, which had over a hundred members, the Flame Mercenary Group kept its numbers to a few dozen—nearly a third fewer than the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.
The requirements for joining the Mercenary Group were high. Applicants had to be at least a Five-Star Dou Practitioner or have exceptional talent.
"Maybe I'll try again tomorrow."
Lin Ze shook his head.
He had a feeling the Fire Wolf King Incident was an opportunity for him—a chance for revenge.
But he still couldn't see how to seize it.
As Lin Ze pondered, a faint fluctuation of energy in the room caught his attention.
"Hm?"
Lin Ze looked toward the disturbance and saw an extremely faint white Dou Qi appear around Ma Fugui.
Lin Ze was pleasantly surprised and hurried over.
After examining him, he confirmed that Ma Fugui had indeed reached Dou Qi Stage 1.
"Just as I thought—the information in the Bronze Mirror wasn't there for nothing. That description was included for a reason."
"A once-in-a-hundred-years Outstanding Talent means he has even greater Cultivation Talent!"
"In just a few days, he's gone from nothing to Dou Qi Stage 1, catching up and surpassing A-Er, who's been cultivating the longest!"
Lin Ze nodded, satisfied.
He immediately tested Ma Fugui's current Proxy State.
The test showed that Ma Fugui could maintain the Proxy State for ten minutes.
In other words, when crossing one rank at a lower level, he could maintain it for ten minutes; crossing two ranks, he could only maintain it for three minutes.
At even higher levels, the duration would likely shrink further.
After all, the higher one advanced in the Dou Skill cultivation system, the harder it became to cross ranks.
The same would apply to the Proxy Function.
Lin Ze guessed that if he reached the Dou Sheng level in the future, even if the Death Soldier had advanced to the Dou Venerate level, it would probably be very difficult for him to act as a proxy for Lin Ze's Dou Sheng power.
Even for a very short time, the Death Soldier would likely pay a devastating price.
Even so, the Proxy Function was still unquestionably powerful.
"It's midnight."
"Bronze Mirror, reflect!"
Lin Ze timed it precisely and immediately chose to reflect. He hadn't reflected a Blue Rare Death Soldier in the past two days, so the probability had increased by 8%.
The chance of reflecting a Blue Rare Death Soldier was now 13%!
Lin Ze had a feeling that today he would definitely reflect a Blue Rare Death Soldier.
Under Lin Ze's control, the Bronze Mirror no longer completed the reflection all at once. Instead, the figures appeared one after another.
It gave Lin Ze the feeling that he was making single pulls and hoping for a miracle.
A figure slowly emerged in the Bronze Mirror.
White.
White.
White.
Blue!
He got one!
Lin Ze's eyes lit up. That precious azure color made his breathing quicken.
What Skill and Talent would this Rare Death Soldier have?
Lin Ze immediately spent thirteen units of Flesh Essence to summon the Death Soldiers.
Ordinary Death Soldiers were blank slates, with nothing worth looking at.
Lin Ze immediately focused his attention on the Rare Death Soldier.
[Rare Dead Soldier: Unnamed]
[Skill: Hunting (Proficient): Proficient in hunting techniques, familiar with the habits of most prey, and skilled in setting a variety of traps.]
[Talent: Camouflaged Traps (Blue): Sets more sophisticated traps that are harder to detect.]
"A combination of hunting and traps? That should be quite useful for me right now."
"It'll speed up how quickly I obtain the essence of flesh and blood."
"A good trap can take down large beasts, and even some first-tier magical beasts."
"To unlock another function or upgrade a dead soldier, I'll need a thousand units of the essence of flesh and blood."
"At my current daily net income of the essence of flesh and blood, it'll take at least a month or more to reach a thousand."
"With this blue rare dead soldier's hunting skill, I should be able to speed things up considerably."
Lin Ze calculated. Ideally, he would unlock the next function before the Jia Nan Academy admissions began.
A couple of days ago, Lin Ze had looked up the Jia Nan Academy admissions date. It was about a month and a half away.
And Jia Nan Academy wouldn't hold admissions in a remote little town like this. Lin Ze would have to set out early for a nearby big city.
"I wonder if I'll get the chance to take down the Wolf Head Mercenary Group before I leave for Jia Nan Academy?"
Before you continue