Urban Legend

In the bedroom, Lin Ye lay back in his chair and exhaled a breath of stale air.

He put away the Night of the Black Goat, thought for a moment, and then took out the failed product from before.

[Ingredient Name: Night of the Black Goat (Failed Product)]

[Ingredient Category: Magic Potion]

[Ingredient Tier: Mortal Tier]

[Edible Parts: Main Body]

[Consumption Effect: Inflicts Yin energy erosion. Consuming it allows one to die peacefully at 1:00 AM that same day. The body will not decay after death, and no traces of poisoning will be left behind.]

Looking at the ingredient name, he had to admit that the Monument was truly casual with its naming.

His gaze landed on the final consumption effect, and he raised an eyebrow.

Erosion... nourishment... a double-edged sword, is it?

Yin energy could be considered the only supernatural power he had come into contact with so far, and he had to treat it with a sense of reverence.

Used well, it could make him powerful quickly; used poorly, he might not even know how he died.

"It's a good thing I didn't actually take a sip that day. Curiosity really does kill the cat."

Calming his thoughts, he turned on his computer.

"Hum~ hum~"

Accompanied by the sound of the machine starting up, the computer screen lit up.

He opened a search engine and typed in "urban legend."

Soon, a long list of information popped up, and Lin Ye couldn't help but gasp.

After filtering by location, the information decreased by ninety-nine percent, but there were still quite a few left.

After browsing for over ten minutes, Lin Ye closed the webpage and gently rubbed his temples.

In Coast City alone, there were three paranormal events with clear records of multiple eyewitnesses, including the "Dark Predator."

There were no fewer than ten others that only a few people had encountered.

If rumors were included, the number would even exceed thirty.

However, this was a good thing for him; these special places might also contain Flowing Shadow.

Although it would uncontrollably trigger achievements, he just had to make sure not to unlock them.

By the time he was strong enough to contend with that monster at the Church, he might have already accumulated many achievements.

At that point, he could unlock them all at once, perhaps seeing his strength skyrocket and completing a counter-kill!

After the counter-kill, he could unlock the achievements related to that monster, which might provide special ingredients and further increase his strength.

After the increase, he could look for new Flowing Shadow, then unlock more achievements, increase again, unlock again, increase again, and so on...

"Slap!"

Lin Ye slapped himself in the face, his gaze becoming clear.

The danger of Flowing Shadow was unknown; it was best not to invite trouble for now.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly felt something and summoned the Monument.

His gaze landed on the triggered achievement, and his pupils constricted sharply.

[Exploration of "Flowing Shadow: Dark Predator" has reached over 50% (17%)]

The progress had increased by 5%! What just happened?!

Recalling what he had just done, the only variable was that he had searched for the "Dark Predator" urban legend.

Flowing Shadow is a polluted history.

These words suddenly jumped into his mind.

He couldn't grasp the specific meaning of this phrase yet, but "polluted history" might mean that Flowing Shadow was actually related to things that had happened in the real world?

If the original urban legend evolved into "Flowing Shadow," then the urban legend must also have an "archetype."

Archetypal event in the real world—urban legend—Flowing Shadow.

This might be the entire evolutionary process.

And the catalyst for this evolution might be related to the so-called "Yin energy."

Without hesitation, he immediately searched for the urban legend regarding the "Dark Predator."

After more than half an hour, Lin Ye rubbed his throbbing brow.

The urban legend of the "Dark Predator" had been circulating for a long time, twenty years to be exact.

But apart from some rumors about the Dark Predator's fondness for eating stray cats, he could hardly find any other information.

His gaze swept over the Monument, and the exploration progress had increased to 19%, which meant his direction was correct.

He guessed that the Cat-type Spider Puppet within the "Flowing Shadow: Dark Predator" was very likely transformed from the stray cats preyed upon by the Dark Predator, also known as the Dark Spider Mother.

She raised her head, looking out the window as moonlight cast into her eyes.

If she could raise her exploration progress to over 50% outside of Flowing Shadow, then the moment she saw the Dark Spider Mother again, she would be able to unlock the achievement immediately.

4 Potential Points would be a qualitative leap for the Soul Whale Fist, perhaps enough to contend with the Dark Spider Mother!

Even if it wasn't enough, it would undoubtedly greatly increase her safety margin.

With this thought in mind, she made up her mind: she had to grind her exploration progress to over 50% while outside!

*

*

*

Time is like water in a toilet; it doesn't look like much is flushing away, but in reality, a great deal has already flowed away in places you cannot see.

Time flew by, and two weeks passed.

July 22, 2028, Saturday, sunny.

Whale-Kill Boxing Hall, second-floor head coach's office.

Lin Ye, Yan Yi, and Wei Qian stood in a row, while Lin Fei stood in front of them with her back turned, hands behind her back, striking the pose of an expert.

"Brother Lin, are you asleep?"

After a few minutes, Wei Qian spoke up.

Lin Fei kept her eyes closed and tilted her head back slightly, a wicked smile curling at the corners of her mouth as she slowly turned around.

"When at the boxing hall, use titles. Call me Head Coach."

Wei Qian curled his lips in speechlessness, "Head Coach, are you asleep?"

"Swish!"

Lin Fei provided the sound effect herself, her eyes snapping open to scrutinize the three of them.

After a while, she nodded with satisfaction, "Your energy and spirit are quite robust."

"The special training ends today."

"Your combat experience is already no less than that of veteran students who have been training for three or five years."

"Truly a cause for celebration, a cause for celebration indeed, hahahaha."

"Of course, the most important thing is the meticulous guidance of this Head Coach."

"However, this Head Coach has always been indifferent to fame and fortune, so I won't take credit for myself."

Lin Ye and the others lowered their gazes in resignation; after two weeks of getting along, they had long since grown accustomed to Lin Fei's unreliability.

Lin Fei's gaze landed on Wei Qian.

"Your physical advantage might disappear as your Soul Whale Fist breaks through to the second level."

"But don't be discouraged; this is actually a good thing, as it means you can improve again. No problem with that, right?"

Wei Qian nodded, "The Head Coach is right."

Lin Fei gave a satisfied, wicked smile, then looked at Yan Yi.

"Your body has been conditioned quite well. I previously estimated it might take you five years to reach the third level."

"But looking at it now, perhaps it won't even take three years?"

"It doesn't matter if it takes more than three years; your talent is better than Wei Qian's anyway, so you'll definitely be faster than him."

Wei Qian took a deep breath, speechless. You really didn't have to compare me to her.

Yan Yi nodded slightly. Besides the special training, the Head Coach had arranged several conditioning sessions for her over these two weeks, and her previous physical injuries had basically healed.

"Many thanks, Head Coach."

Lin Fei pouted proudly, "That's right~ that's right~ no need to be polite."

She finally looked at Lin Ye, her expression becoming slightly more serious.

"You are very good."

"To have come this far in two weeks truly surprises me."

"You might break through to the second level before the end of the month. As for when you'll break through to the third level, I can't say for sure."

"Your talent is better than mine, but Senior Sister and Second Senior Brother started martial arts earlier than I did, so there really isn't a reference point."

"Anyway, just keep working hard. I'll be waiting for you at the main hall."

Lin Ye nodded slightly, a smile appearing on his face.

"Thanks to the Head Coach's cultivation, I will reach the third level as soon as possible and head to the main hall."

His gaze fell on the Monument, [Soul Whale Fist(90/100)].

In two weeks, they had conducted a total of eight days of special training, averaging five or six experience points per day—the efficiency could be said to be very high.

The extra portion came from him summarizing his experience during his free time from training, though the efficiency of that was quite low.

Lin Fei nodded in satisfaction at Lin Ye's words, then rolled her eyes and looked toward Yan Yi and Wei Qian.

"And you two as well, I'll be waiting for you too. Don't go saying your head coach is fawning over foreigners or playing favorites."

The smile on Lin Ye's face stiffened. Fawning over foreigners? Who is foreign and who is an outsider here? Me?

"Alright then, if there's nothing else, you lot can head out."

Lin Fei spoke, then suddenly paused. "Oh right, I'm the one heading back to the main gym for a mission; I'm the one leaving."

Immediately, she scratched her head and looked around.

"Nothing much to pack, so I'm off. You guys are free to do whatever."

"Oh, and don't come to see me off. It's too mushy."

"None of you come, you hear? Not allowed."

Lin Ye: "..."

Yan Yi: "..."

Wei Qian: "..."

"What's with those expressions? Why aren't you saying anything? You wouldn't actually not come, would you?"

"Do you have any conscience at all?"

"Lin Ye, say something! I'm the one who beat you the most—uh, no, I mean, took the best care of you!"

"Yan Yi! To get those medicinal herbs to regulate your body, I had to throw away my pride and snatch them—bah! I mean, borrow them!"

"Wei Qian! I personally cleared the stagnant blood and qi in your body! You're going to live to be a hundred because of me!"

"I'm practically begging you guys, you have to come~ Otherwise, it'll look like I have no face at all~"

At the entrance of the boxing gym, the three of them stood in silence, a hint of sadness in their eyes as they watched the cool blue sports car speed away.

In truth, for a brief moment, they suspected that Lin Fei had only asked them to come so she could show off her supercar.

"Stop staring. The main gym is also in Coast City."

"With the boss's driving skills, one phone call and she'll be here in under twenty minutes."

"I don't get what you're all being so sentimental about."

Lei Long spoke, a smile he couldn't suppress plastered on his face.

With Lin Fei gone, he was now the person in charge of the branch gym and would never have to teach those introductory courses again.

"I feel so refreshed!"

"The boss is really something, making me teach those introductory courses. Is that even something I'm capable of explaining clearly?"

Lin Ye and the others returned to the head coach's office on the second floor to tidy up briefly before heading downstairs.

Now that Lin Fei had left, this place would no longer be open to others; it was being kept for her.

"Brother Lin, Brother Yan."

Wei Qian suddenly spoke up.

Lin Ye and Yan Yi looked over, and Wei Qian offered a gentle smile.

"It's the last day, and I can't help but feel like we're missing a sense of ceremony. How about the three of us have a spar?"

"Consider it our graduation test."