[Human Collector]

Those translucent phantoms spread through the air lasted less than ten seconds.

They twisted and shrank violently before finally vanishing into thin air, as if they had never appeared.

The training hall settled back into its original silence.

"Damn, are Warlocks all this incredible? It feels like I'm watching a 3D movie."

Gu Yuan stared at the scene before him, impressed by Sun Miaomiao's spell. It was his first time seeing someone cast a spell in real life.

It looked way cooler than a fight between martial artists.

The Bronze Compass in Sun Miaomiao's hand gave a soft click. Its wildly spinning needle stopped abruptly, and the blue light on its surface dimmed.

"Hm? How could this happen?"

Sun Miaomiao crouched on the ground, looking at the yellow talisman paper before glancing down at the unresponsive compass. She scratched her head, baffled.

"Why isn't my compass reacting at all?"

The investigation had evidently hit a dead end, and the setback had left her deeply discouraged.

"Um, did you find anything? Miaomiao?" Gu Yuan walked over and asked, seeing the worried look on her face.

Sun Miaomiao deflated and sat cross-legged on the floor, holding up two fingers.

"Even though I didn't find anything, there are still two possibilities."

"First, the missing student never came to this training hall at all."

"That can't be right. I heard the surveillance footage showed her coming here." Gu Yuan leaned closer to Sun Miaomiao and looked at the compass in her hand. "What's the second possibility?"

Sun Miaomiao fell silent for a moment.

Then she looked up.

"The second possibility is that the missing person was carrying a Dao Artifact specifically designed to block spell-based investigation, or... a Warlock with a much higher cultivation than mine erased every trace here."

After saying that, she grew dejected again and traced circles on the smooth floor with one finger.

"Ah! I thought I'd be able to enjoy another big meal without any trouble!" She let out a long sigh. "Looks like I'll have to take my time with this after all."

Gu Yuan was already used to how quickly she could switch moods. He was more curious about something else.

"Miaomiao, what realm are you at?"

At that, Sun Miaomiao immediately straightened her back and puffed herself up.

"Ahem!" She cleared her throat.

"I'm a Heaven's Favored... no, a Heaven's Favored Girl! I'm a second-stage Warlock in the Object Manipulation Realm, and a first-stage martial artist in the Qi Condensation Realm!"

Apparently, she didn't think that was enough, so she added, "I joined the Destiny Bureau headquarters during my junior-year internship! Later, I applied to transfer back to Sea City because I wanted to live closer to home."

Gu Yuan nodded and followed up on her words. This was what he really wanted to know.

"If someone really could erase the traces so thoroughly that even you couldn't detect anything, what realm would they be in?"

Sun Miaomiao thought for a moment, her expression turning serious.

"If they could erase things so completely that even my compass couldn't detect anything, they'd have to be at least in the Alchemist Realm."

"Um, Miaomiao, what realm is the Alchemist Realm?" Gu Yuan awkwardly scratched his head.

He knew the martial artists' cultivation system inside and out, but he knew nothing about the Warlocks' path of cultivation.

"The Alchemist Realm is equivalent to the martial artists' Astral Force Realm," Sun Miaomiao explained.

"But in a real fight, a Warlock would be stronger than a martial artist of the same rank."

"After all, martial artists in the Astral Force Realm have only just begun to unlock the true potential of their Dao Foundation, while we Warlocks have been using energy from the very beginning."

Martial artists were indeed weaker than Warlocks in the early and middle stages. Only after reaching the Core Condensation Realm, when they could skillfully wield the power of their Dao Foundation, would their combat strength gradually catch up and even surpass that of Warlocks.

Gu Yuan committed all this information to memory.

After all, he was really interested in Warlocks. Who wouldn't want to learn such cool techniques? Besides, he had heard that Warlocks made good money.

At that thought, Gu Yuan leaned a little closer, his expression eager.

"By the way, Miaomiao, how do you cultivate as a Warlock? I feel like... I might have a real talent for it."

His words seemed to strike right at Sun Miaomiao's professional expertise and her enthusiasm for teaching.

"Ahem."

She got straight to her feet, brushed the dust off her pants, and struck an expert's pose.

"Well, it's different from how you martial artists do it."

"Martial artists undergo the Dao Foundation awakening ceremony at sixteen. Only those who awaken a Dao Foundation can enter the Qi Condensation Realm and become true martial artists."

"Without a Dao Foundation, you'll remain a nobody for the rest of your life."

She paused, then continued.

"But we Warlocks rely on spiritual power. As long as it's naturally strong enough to reach a certain threshold, your soul will awaken on its own. Then you can sense the energy of heaven and earth and step onto the path of a Warlock."

"Of course, people born with a high concentration of spiritual power are very, very rare."

As she spoke, she looked Gu Yuan up and down.

"As for you..."

A faint blue glow appeared in Sun Miaomiao's eyes as she stared straight at Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan felt as though something had passed over him, but otherwise noticed nothing unusual.

A few seconds later, the blue light faded from Sun Miaomiao's eyes, and a look of surprise crossed her face.

"Hm? Your spiritual power is really high. You might actually have the potential to cultivate as a Warlock!"

"Ahem, I told you I had potential." Gu Yuan cleared his throat.

"Aw, I get it, you have potential. When I get back, I'll give you a breathing technique for spiritual power. You can take a look. For someone with strong spiritual power like you, it should be pretty easy to get started. If you practice for a long time, it can increase your spiritual power a little."

After speaking, Sun Miaomiao waved weakly. "That's a wrap, that's a wrap. I'll go back and ask the captain for a long-term meal ticket... I mean, a long-term investigation order. This sort of thing can't be rushed."

They packed up their things and walked out of the training hall, one after the other.

The afternoon sun was a little harsh, but its warmth felt pleasant on their skin.

Just after they left the training hall, they came face-to-face with a slightly plump middle-aged man wearing the standard janitor's uniform of Haicheng No. 1 High School.

He was pushing a cleaning cart and strolling past them at an unhurried pace.

He looked no different from any other member of the school's maintenance staff. A good-natured smile, shaped by years of hard work, rested on his face. As he passed them, he even nodded in greeting.

Gu Yuan returned the smile politely.

But just as they brushed past each other, Gu Yuan's gaze casually swept over the man's head.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

Above the head of the kindly smiling man, a line of pitch-black text radiated an ominous aura.

[Human Collector]