The Reward

The moment the words left his mouth.

The Hairy Person's black fur stood on end, every strand quivering.

Then, at a visible speed, a dark-red glow of blood began spreading from the roots.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran almost instinctively swung his other giant hand.

BAM!!

The thunderous clap of his palms meeting exploded through the basement.

The shockwave kicked up the rubble and dust in the corner once more.

The Hairy Person didn't even have time to scream before the palms crushed him into a mangled lump of flesh and blood.

The dark-red glow flashed between Jiang Ran's fingers, then went out completely.

Jiang Ran slowly exhaled.

The Vajra Dharma Manifestation dissipated. His crimson qi and blood and golden Buddhist radiance ebbed away like a tide, drawing back into his body.

Silence returned to the basement, leaving only the stench of blood.

Jiang Ran stood where he was, brows slightly furrowed.

He recalled what the Hairy Person had said.

Those words... immediately brought to mind the post he'd read early on, speculating about Myth Revival.

It had analyzed whether figures like Jiang Ziya and Zhuge Liang had also entered places like the Abyssal Void, and why they had ultimately vanished into the long river of history.

Now that he thought about it...

That post seemed to have gotten some things right after all.

But this wasn't something Jiang Ran could concern himself with right now.

He shook his head, pushing aside the distracting thoughts.

Before entering the Abyssal Void this time, he'd already considered many possibilities.

For example, could the records about the Kingdom of Hairy People be wrong?

After all, they'd been passed down for thousands of years. No one could guarantee they were true.

Even with Teacher Li Baishi's confirmation, Jiang Ran had remained skeptical.

And Psychological Profiling...

Though he trusted this core skill, he'd never considered it absolute truth.

After all, the human heart was hard to fathom.

There had been cases of cannibalism throughout history, too.

So he hadn't acted rashly. Instead, he'd chosen to observe first.

Now that he thought about it...

The ancients hadn't deceived him.

Jiang Ran turned and walked toward the man huddled in the corner, trembling.

The man's face was deathly pale, his whole body shaking. When he saw Jiang Ran approaching, he instinctively tried to shrink farther back, but the wall behind him left nowhere to go.

Jiang Ran crouched in front of him, watching him calmly. His voice softened.

"Tell me where you met him and everything that happened afterward."

The man opened his mouth. A few seconds passed before he managed to speak. "My name is Zhao Ming... I first came in three days ago and hid in a supermarket in the north of the city... Then yesterday afternoon, while I was waiting in line at the Safe Zone registration office, he was standing behind me..."

He recounted what had happened in fits and starts.

They'd chatted for a bit at the registration office. The Hairy Person had called himself Old Zhang and said he was in the building-materials business. He'd also only arrived recently and didn't know anything.

Zhao Ming had let down his guard because the other man had been polite and was a newcomer, too.

After registering, they'd wandered around the Safe Zone together. Old Zhang had acted perfectly normal and had even shared a few survival tips he'd picked up.

"He said he knew where to find good stuff..." Zhao Ming's voice trembled. "So I believed him... I really didn't know he was one of those things..."

Jiang Ran listened quietly, then asked softly, "Did you remember everything he just said?"

Zhao Ming nodded blankly.

"Take this information to Xia Xuan at the Safe Zone's public security bureau." Jiang Ran stood up. "Tell him I sent you."

With that, Jiang Ran paid him no further attention.

He turned and walked over to where the Hairy Person had just been crushed into a bloody pulp.

Nestled among the mangled remains was a white orb of light, about the size of a fist.

Without changing expression, Jiang Ran reached out and pulled it from the gore.

Then he headed straight for the basement exit without looking back.

His footsteps gradually faded into the distance.

Only Zhao Ming remained in the basement.

He sat dumbly in the corner for more than ten minutes before finally coming to his senses.

He gasped for breath, cold sweat having soaked through his back.

With trembling hands, he pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and opened the forum.

His finger hovered over the post button for a long time.

At last, he took a deep breath and began typing:

[Guys, you absolutely won't believe what happened to me today!!!]

After leaving the ruins, Jiang Ran.

He didn't return to the Safe Zone.

Instead, he found a relatively intact residential building nearby, forced open the door to an apartment on the third floor, locked it, and drew the curtains.

Only then did he finally relax.

The wound at his temple had stopped bleeding, but it still throbbed faintly.

His weakness would probably pass within half a day.

Jiang Ran sat down on the living-room sofa, took out the white orb of light, and examined it carefully in his palm.

He'd been in such a hurry to kill the Hairy Person because he was afraid it might have a way to self-destruct. If it exploded, the Blood-Qi Circulation Method it possessed might be damaged.

But he hadn't expected...

That, like an Exotic Beast, it would also drop an orb of light.

Honestly, everything in the Abyssal Void so far seemed a lot like a demo version of a game.

Kill monsters, get loot; supernatural abilities were basically skills.

The only thing missing was an experience bar and the like.

But either way, he'd gotten what he came for.

And he'd learned some extra information, too.

Jiang Ran didn't hesitate any longer. He closed his fingers around the orb.

"Open."

The white orb suddenly blazed with light, transforming into countless motes that surged into the space between his brows.

[Congratulations! You have obtained the Blood-Qi Circulation Method]

A flood of information surged into his mind.

The Blood-Flow Chapter.

The Blood-Nourishing Chapter.

The two sections linked together, forming a complete early-stage cultivation system.

Jiang Ran closed his eyes and absorbed the information.

It took a full half hour before he finally opened his eyes, a glimmer of understanding in them.

"I see..."

At last, Jiang Ran had a clear understanding of the cultivation realms of Transcendents.

According to the complete description of the Blood-Qi Circulation Method:

The Blood Sensing Realm involved sensing one's qi and blood and guiding it through a Great Heavenly Cycle, initially tempering one's flesh, tendons, and bones.

Upon entering the Blood-Flow Realm, one's qi and blood would surge like a mighty river, greatly increasing in both circulation speed and volume.

After breaking through, qi and blood could form a small cycle within the body, multiplying one's explosive power and stamina in battle.

As for the final Blood-Nourishing Realm, it brought a qualitative transformation.

One's qi and blood became as dense as mercury, naturally gained the ability to heal wounds, and recovered at an extremely high rate.

Thanks to the blue Spirit Crystals he'd used, he was probably in the middle to late stages of the Blood Sensing Realm.

Once he entered the Blood-Flow Realm...

He wouldn't have to scrimp and save his qi and blood instead of using it in battle.

He still had a long way to go.

Jiang Ran liked having a clear path to follow.

And he also liked... the process of growing stronger step by step.

He stood up and stretched his limbs.

The pain in his arms had eased considerably.

His next goal was simple: gather Spirit Crystals, cultivate, and raise his realm.

But just then...

Bzz. Bzz.

The phone in his pocket vibrated.

Jiang Ran took it out. The screen lit up with a message from Wang Zhenguo.

"President, I've spoken with the Deep Realm Inspection Team.

"They're planning to explore an Ancient Tomb at the foot of Cuiping Mountain and urgently need Transcendents, so they've offered you a reward and would like to invite you to join them."

Jiang Ran read the message, thoughtful.

The Federation wouldn't suddenly decide to explore an Ancient Tomb in the Abyssal Void without reason.

They'd probably discovered something unusual in other tombs, or obtained some important information, and were eager to investigate.

After considering it for a moment, Jiang Ran replied:

"You handle the negotiations. Once you've reached an agreement, send me the time and location."

Inside the building in Feng City Safe Zone.

On the third floor, in a conference room.

Wang Zhenguo sat on a leather sofa, adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, and calmly put away his phone after reading Jiang Ran's reply.

Three people sat across from him.

The man in the lead was around forty, wearing a crisp dark-blue uniform with an insignia on his shoulder.

A crossed sword and olive branch.

Beneath them were the words Deep Realm Inspection Team.

Two young people, a man and a woman, stood behind him. They wore the same uniform and had solemn expressions.

"Mr. Wang, have you made a decision?" The middle-aged man wore a formulaic smile. "Our offer should show plenty of sincerity."

Wang Zhenguo put down his phone and calmly shook his head.

"Not enough."

The middle-aged man furrowed his brows. "Two blue Spirit Crystals, plus a hundred white Spirit Crystals. That's the highest offer we can make. You should know the value of a blue Spirit Crystal..."

"Twenty blue Spirit Crystals," Wang Zhenguo interrupted. "Not a single white one."

The moment he finished speaking.

The conference room fell silent.

The young man behind the middle-aged man couldn't help taking a step forward, anger rising on his face.

"Do you know how much effort it takes us to kill a First Realm Exotic Beast!? It takes several tanks working together just to have a chance of killing one, and you're asking for twenty right off the bat!? You think the person you've got behind you is stronger than a tank!?"

Wang Zhenguo's expression remained calm.

He looked at the young man, then turned his gaze back to the middle-aged man and said softly:

"Sure. Then take your tanks in."

"..."

At those words, the room fell silent at once.

"President, I've settled the reward.

"Fifteen blue Spirit Crystals. Five in advance, with the rest to be paid after the mission.

"The Deep Realm Inspection Team says to meet at the foot of Cuiping Mountain at five this afternoon. I've sent you the coordinates."

Wang Zhenguo said this as he walked out of the building, a smile on his face.

The deal had gone fairly well.

Although he hadn't managed to get twenty, fifteen blue Spirit Crystals was an astronomical price at this early stage.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for two seconds.

Then came a burst of noise.

Wang Zhenguo paused, his brow furrowing. "President? Is everything all right over there...?"

"Okay, got it."

Jiang Ran's voice came through the receiver. It was impossible to tell how he felt, and he sounded slightly out of breath.

Then the call ended.

Beep... Beep...

The busy signal sounded in Wang Zhenguo's ear.

He stood on a street in the Safe Zone, holding his phone, looking bewildered.

What was going on?

What was the President doing?

At the same time.

In front of a half-collapsed apartment building.

Jiang Ran lowered his right hand, slipped his phone back into his pocket, and let out a faint breath.

The wound at his temple had scabbed over.

But he'd picked up a few more scrapes, and the cuff of his left sleeve had been torn, leaving several pale marks.

The area around him was a complete mess.

A dozen monster corpses lay sprawled across the street.

After sending Wang Zhenguo a message just now, Jiang Ran had cast a divination.

This time, he'd been searching for equipment similar to the Bagua Copper Coin.

The result showed it was somewhere within a hundred meters.

And before Jiang Ran could even head out to investigate, he'd been attacked by Exotic Beasts.

They were much like the one he'd seen in the basement just now.

They had upright, humanoid bodies covered in dark teal scales, with the savage faces of monkeys.

They weren't too hard to deal with.

They were just a little underhanded, seemingly well aware that humans were vulnerable below the belt.

Fortunately, only one was left now.

Jiang Ran slowly walked forward.

The last monster had just been kicked into the ruins behind him by Jiang Ran.

Now, up ahead, it was slowly rising to its feet.

Its appearance differed somewhat from that of the others.

Its body was covered in deep red scales, and its face looked more like that of a human man, with sharply defined features.

Two slowly swirling balls of black fire filled its eye sockets as it stared fixedly at Jiang Ran.

Suddenly, it spat out a string of words Jiang Ran couldn't understand...

"%$#!^@!!"

Jiang Ran listened, stunned...

It was already surprising enough that the ancient Ancestral People could speak modern language.

He hadn't expected Exotic Beasts to talk too!?

The other side seemed to notice the bewilderment in Jiang Ran's eyes as well.

With difficulty, it managed to force out one more word.

"Die...!!"