Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique

"I ran into two monsters in the hallway and got lucky. I managed to kill them."

Only after everyone's attention had turned to him did Lin Yi continue. "But after they died, their bodies actually turned to ash!"

"What?!"

"Turned to ash?! You've got to be kidding!"

"D-did you get a good look? It wasn't blood, but ash?"

The people exchanged bewildered glances. Bodies turning to ash? That was completely beyond their understanding.

"That's right! They turned to ash!"

Lin Yi nodded emphatically and pointed at the dark green stains and grayish-black powder on his armor.

"Look. This is what they left behind. There wasn't much blood. Most of them turned to ash, just like... like the ashes left after burning paper. The wind blew, and they scattered."

"But!"

Lin Yi changed course, raising his voice.

"That's not important! With whirlpools appearing in the sky and monsters attacking us, monsters turning to ash isn't all that surprising."

As he spoke, Lin Yi untied the small silk-wrapped bundle he had set on the round table after returning. Two gray crystals glimmered faintly under the lights.

"Look. The important thing is that they left these behind after they turned to ash!"

Strange patterns of light flowed across the crystals' surfaces. A few of the younger people couldn't help leaning in for a closer look.

"This thing..." Chen Yu stared at the crystals, his throat bobbing. "It doesn't look like anything from Blue Star. Could some advanced civilization or some kind of higher-dimensional being be behind this?"

"These were left by the monsters." Zhou Jianjun pushed through the crowd and looked up at Lin Yi. "What are you planning to do with them?"

Lin Yi made no attempt to hide his intentions and frankly shared his thoughts.

"I want to study them first. Maybe I'll discover something. How about we touch one and see what happens?"

As he spoke, Lin Yi reached toward the crystal with his fingertip.

"Hey, wait—"

Zhou Jianjun quickly stepped forward and stopped him.

"What if it's poisonous? Let me do it. I'm tough."

Without waiting for Lin Yi to answer, Zhou Jianjun reached out and touched the edge of the crystal with his calloused hand.

Everyone watched as his fingertip barely touched the crystal's surface before his whole body stiffened as if he'd been electrocuted.

"Jianjun?" His wife anxiously grabbed his sleeve.

Zhou Jianjun jerked his hand back, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

"This thing..."

He looked utterly incredulous, and even his voice trembled.

"The moment I touched it, a piece of information suddenly appeared in my mind."

"It said it's called the Basic Source Energy Guidance Technique."

Zhou Jianjun wiped his forehead with his sleeve and said to Lin Yi,

"Just crush the crystal, and its contents will be transmitted directly into your mind. Xiaoyi, give it a try, then touch the other one yourself and see what's inside."

"That amazing?"

Lin Yi feigned surprise, then touched the Spirit Radiance Crystal with his finger.

Three seconds later, he looked up in astonishment. "It really is just like Uncle said. It contains a manual on how to cultivate using an energy called 'source energy'—or, to put it another way, a cultivation technique."

"As for the other one..."

Lin Yi touched the other Spirit Radiance Crystal. After a moment of thought, he explained to everyone,

"It contains an energy crystal called a Tier 1 Source Energy Crystal. It can serve as an energy source or help with source energy cultivation."

"Now that's lucky. It saves a lot of trouble."

Lin Yi was secretly pleased.

Although Source Energy Guidance Techniques and Source Energy Crystals had a high drop rate during the early stages of the trial, it was also possible to get two techniques or two crystals at once, which would be more of a hassle.

This was basically the best combination for the early stages. For him, it was even better than those rare source energy weapons and equipment.

With everything going so smoothly, Lin Yi even felt like joking. He patted Chen Yu on the shoulder. "Yu, don't you think—"

He paused. "These things feel a bit like loot dropping when you kill monsters in a game?"

"Now that you mention it, they really do." Chen Yu's eyes lit up, and his earlier dejection vanished.

Li Jie muttered something under his breath, and class monitor Zhou Yuxuan nudged him with an elbow.

Zhou Jianjun glanced at Li Jie, then looked around at everyone and cleared his throat before making a suggestion.

"This might be the key to fighting those monsters. Xiaoyi, you learn quickly, and you risked your life to bring this back. You should learn it right away."

In the crowd, Zhou Jinghua twisted the hem of her clothes between her fingers, while Lin Ruiming silently patted his wife on the shoulder.

They were both honest, down-to-earth people, and had an instinctive wariness of things with unknown origins. But in the end, neither spoke up against it.

"Okay."

Seeing that no one objected, Lin Yi didn't stand on ceremony. Of course, he hadn't planned to. He simply put the Spirit Radiance Crystal away.

"But... there's something I haven't had a chance to mention. I've been thinking about it, and I believe we need to make more preparations."

Lin Yi pointed out the window. "One of the monsters got away earlier. I don't know why it hasn't come back, but I have a bad feeling."

"Yu, Uncle, has anyone managed to get through to the emergency services?"

He asked the question even though he already knew the answer. When everyone shook their heads in disappointment, he continued,

"Then that settles it. We'll have to rely on ourselves for now."

Lin Yi looked around, his gaze sweeping over the faces of those who looked confused or frightened. After a moment's thought, he said,

"Since we can't get through to the emergency services... well, maybe you've already contacted your families, but I should still say this: tell your relatives and friends to find somewhere to hide as soon as possible, and let each other know where you're hiding."

"Next..."

Lin Yi turned to Zhou Jianjun. "We need weapons. Uncle, could you lead some people in taking apart whatever we can from the chairs and other things in this hall? Make as many clubs and shields as possible. Dad, give them a hand too."

"No problem!" Zhou Jianjun looked at Lin Yi and praised him. "You've seen blood and risked your life. Xiaoyi, you're already a dependable man!"

Lin Yi nodded solemnly. This time, he didn't brush off the praise or offer any polite refusals. Instead, he turned to Lin Ruiheng.

"Uncle, sorry for the trouble. Could you organize the women to gather the food and water in the hall and sort them by expiration date?"

Lin Ruiheng looked at his nephew, who seemed like a different person, then glanced at the blood and claw marks on his armor. His lips moved, and he finally managed to say, "All right."

"Is this really going to help?" His cousin Lin Ran shrank behind his father. Seeing Lin Yi order his father around, he couldn't help muttering, "Are we going to fight those monsters with this stuff?"

"It's better than doing nothing and fighting them bare-handed."

Zhou Jianjun furrowed his brow as he began working on a nearby chair. "I used even cruder weapons in the army. Everyone, hurry up and get moving!"

His words seemed to strike a chord. The crowd began to stir.

Several middle-aged men silently went over to the other tables and chairs and started taking them apart. The sound of metal bending echoed through the hall.

Ye Qingyu quietly walked over to Lin Yi and handed him an unopened bottle of mineral water.

"Your lips are cracked."

Lin Yi shook his head, but took the bottle and drank deeply.

He noticed Ye Qingyu's fingers trembling slightly, though she seemed fairly composed.

"Her temperament isn't bad, but she's a bit slow. In my previous life, she never managed to master source energy."

Lin Yi silently assessed her.

When Ye Qingyu saw that Lin Yi had refused, she wasn't surprised. She nodded, then turned to find Zhao Xiaowen and help sort the drinks and food.

In the corner, Zhao Xiaowen was collecting the leftover party snacks onto a tray.

Li Jie was crouched beside her, trying to snap a chair leg by standing on a chair and bending it hard. Every now and then, he stole a glance at her.

"Is this really going to help?"

Li Jie asked quietly. He'd been at it for a while, but still hadn't managed to break the chair leg, and he was starting to feel discouraged.

"It's better than doing nothing."

Zhao Xiaowen rolled her eyes at him and gently placed the last plate of snacks on the tray.

The second update is under review. They're still revising it, so it'll probably take a while.