Boyfriend Disappears

"Watch yourself, I won't be holding back."

The two stepped onto the arena, and Xie Chong didn't waste any words. He swiped his right hand across the small pouch at his waist, and several yellow talismans flew out.

"Spirit Talisman: Fossil to Weapon!"

As he pinched a hand seal with his right hand, a layer of earthy yellow light shimmered over the surface of the talismans. The next moment, they transformed in mid-air into several coconut-sized stone spikes, shooting toward Shen Qing.

At the same time, two more talismans hit the ground, causing it to tremble slightly as they morphed into two stone chains.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Because the arena was small—barely five meters across—the stone spikes and chains effectively sealed off the entire space. After barely dodging a few attacks, Shen Qing still found his hands bound by the stone chains.

A simplified version of an innate ability?

He thought to himself, but he wasn't panicked. The strength of these chains was clearly inferior to what he had faced against the Tree Demon yesterday, and on top of that, he had broken through since then.

Shen Qing exerted force through his arms, his muscles bulging slightly, and with a "crack," he actually tore the chains apart and began swinging them.

Amidst the whistling wind, he shattered all the incoming stone spikes.

In an instant, gravel splattered across the arena and dust filled the air. Taking advantage of this, Shen Qing lunged forward, closing the distance to Xie Chong in a single stride.

"So fast!"

The arena was small, restricting both sides. Xie Chong didn't have time to think, and a purple talisman appeared in his hand.

"Treasure Talisman: Fossil to Weapon!"

The purple talisman glowed with a pale yellow light, and with a "boom," it transformed into a thick stone wall, blocking his front.

"Collapse Fist!"

Shen Qing had no intention of stopping. He stepped out with his left foot, pushed off hard with his right, and gathered his entire body's strength, channeling it through his waist.

Shoulder driving the elbow, elbow driving the hand, his right fist tore through the air and slammed into the stone wall.

"Crack!"

A fissure immediately appeared on the hard stone wall and began to spread, and Shen Qing's left fist was already poised to strike again.

"Damn it! Stop, stop, stop! Let's call it a draw!"

Xie Chong's eyes widened, and he waved his hands frantically to stop the fight. He had already been pushed to the edge of the arena; if he didn't end the match, he would have no choice but to take the hit head-on.

With a "boom," the match ended less than half a minute after it began, and the scene fell silent.

Xie Chong looked at the shattered stone wall in front of him, shaking his head with a dazed expression, "This is just absurd."

Although he wasn't a veteran, he had been with Hummingbird for nearly two months, was about to break through to E-rank, and had even mastered an Elemental Mystic Ability.

Yet, he had been suppressed so easily. While the small size of the arena was a factor, it wasn't an excuse.

He could overlook the Spirit Talismans, which only exerted thirty percent of an ability's effect, but his Treasure Talisman, which possessed eighty percent, had been shattered by two punches.

Was a 20% strength increase really this ridiculous?

That Collapse Fist was just a standard martial art, meant for self-preservation by maximizing physical strength when mana was depleted. He knew it too, but it had never been this outrageous.

"How did I end up dragging you into this?"

Xie Chong looked at Shen Qing and muttered, feeling a bit emotional.

Shen Qing's innate ability might not be as flashy as various Elemental Mystic Abilities, but this breakthrough speed... as long as he broke through fast enough and stacked his strength, he could simply crush everything with raw physical power.

No matter how fancy the tricks, one punch would break them all.

"It's alright. After all, you didn't use your innate ability, just the simplified talismans. My passive ability is always active, you know."

Shen Qing flexed his wrists, gaining a rough understanding of his own strength. As long as he could close the distance or drag out the fight, he shouldn't have many rivals among his peers.

The combat system of a Supernaturalist is usually summarized by three words: Talisman, Treasure, and Body.

Innate abilities consume a lot of energy and cannot be used frequently.

"Talisman" refers to paper talismans, and "Treasure" refers to magical artifacts. Supernaturalists simplify their innate abilities into these forms to reduce consumption and extend their combat endurance.

Supernaturalists who haven't awakened an innate ability also rely on these to exert combat power.

"Body" refers to the physical form. Regardless of what innate ability one has—or even if they have none at all—a Supernaturalist's physique grows stronger as their cultivation level rises, which is why most physical-type abilities often seem mediocre.

"Is that so?"

Xie Chong fell silent, suddenly recalling the miserable state of the Tree Demon yesterday. Although its ability was charm, that thick hide should have been tougher than him, right?

Yesterday, he might have been confident in winning, but today, he feared that even if he used his innate ability, he would still lose. That would be a huge loss of face.

Fortunately, he hadn't gone all out, so he could still save some dignity.

"Right, what were you going to say earlier?"

Shen Qing remembered that Xie Chong seemed to be looking at something on his phone when he walked in.

"Oh, two things."

Xie Chong snapped back to reality and held up two fingers. "First, the bonus from yesterday. The F-rank mission bonus is five thousand, which should have already been deposited into your account. It's not a huge amount, but..."

He opened an app on his phone called "Hummingbird" and waved it in front of Shen Qing.

"There are still five contribution points left; these can be exchanged for cultivation resources, which are currently impossible to buy even with money."

Shen Qing opened his phone and took a look. A sum of money had indeed arrived, though he hadn't enabled SMS notifications—those cost extra.

However, five thousand yuan seemed to be the full bonus, right?

He raised an eyebrow. Before he could ask, Xie Chong waved his hand and said, "You handled that Tree Demon almost entirely by yourself yesterday; I'm not thick-skinned enough to split the money. Now, onto the second matter..."

As Xie Chong spoke, his expression turned slightly more serious. "That Tree Demon's boyfriend from yesterday..."

Shen Qing frowned, a bad premonition suddenly forming.

"He's gone missing."

Xie Chong said in a low voice, "Although there is no evidence to confirm it yet, that man is likely no ordinary person either."

He sighed.

"Even though we were keeping an eye on him in advance, he's a young entrepreneur with no suspicious behavior, so we could only monitor him remotely. As a result, a loophole was exploited."

"So," Shen Qing nodded, "do you have any leads on his whereabouts?"

Among the four people who had been with the Tree Demon, he was the only one left alive, so he had somewhat anticipated this.

"Not for the moment. We aren't even sure if he's a Supernaturalist."

Xie Chong shook his head and added, "However, he likely hasn't awakened any innate abilities, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to evade our detection."

"Do you have his information?"

Shen Qing decided to pay him a visit first. His soul was far stronger than those of his peers, so he might make some unexpected discovery; he didn't want a potential enemy wandering around out there.

"Here, I've sent it to your phone."

Xie Chong tapped a few times on his own phone. "I happen to be heading to the scene to take a look as well."

"But first, go grab your gear. We received an emergency alert yesterday; going straight after that Tree Demon was quite a risk."

Shen Qing nodded and took out his phone, just about to check the information, when the screen suddenly vibrated.

The words "Academic Counselor" appeared in bold letters.

"..."

Shen Qing fell silent. Having not been to school for a week, he had forgotten that he was about to graduate, not that he already had.

His employment agreement hadn't been resolved yet, and the contract he had actually signed with the authorities couldn't be brought out into the open.

"Something up?"

Xie Chong glanced at his phone and said knowingly, "Then just head back to school first. The target isn't confirmed yet anyway."

Shen Qing nodded. Not wanting to be nagged, he put his phone away. "I'll go back to fill out a flexible employment form, then I'll head over."

The two of them grabbed their gear and walked out of the Underground Base as if no one else were there. It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that the members who had been watching the spectacle finally snapped out of their daze.

"Does this count as Xie Chong losing?"

No one answered. If even Xie Chong lost to a newcomer, wouldn't that make them, who were inferior to Xie Chong, even worse?

"Holy crap, seven hundred kilograms—is that what the newcomer hit?"

Just then, someone noticed the data Shen Qing had left on the force tester, and the crowd became even more bewildered.

Their average was only four or five hundred kilograms; who exactly was the newcomer here?