After resting for a while, Chen Yan brought up the system panel and carefully examined his plentiful gains.
[Host: Chen Yan] [Age: 1 year, 18 days] [Cultivation: Amateur Fifth Dan] [Qi and Blood: 2104/10000] [Spirit: 2446/10000] [Charm: 93/100 (Blessed with extraordinary talent)] [Fortune: 95 (Constant good luck)] [Constitution: Innate Dao Body (Born close to the Dao, proficient in all arts)] [Skills:] [Qi Nurturing Foundation Art (Proficient) (7100/10000)] [Meditation Method (Great Accomplishment) (0/10000)] [Efficient Absorption (Proficient) (6600/10000)] [Deep Sleep (Proficient) (6600/10000)] [Godly Movement (Proficient) (6600/10000)] [Image Projection Scroll (Proficient) (6100/10000)] [Shadow Concealment (Proficient) (6100/10000)] [Divine Sense Differentiation (Great Accomplishment) (0/10000)] [Arrow Barrage (Proficient) (6100/10000)] [Achievement: Perfect Foundation Establishment (Gold)]
As his attention settled on [Meditation Method], a sudden insight welled up within him.
After breaking through to the Great Accomplishment stage, the Meditation Method no longer merely tempered his spirit passively and protected him from attacks.
With a mere thought from Chen Yan, the [Meditation Method] at the Great Accomplishment stage began operating on its own.
The next moment, he clearly sensed his consciousness enveloped in an invisible shroud of light, as a condensed, powerful mental barrier quietly took shape.
Chen Yan immediately understood the barrier's purpose!
It could reliably fend off mental attacks, illusions, and attempts to read his mind from cultivators of the same level or below...
Even against mental assaults from those at higher levels, it could greatly weaken their power, buying his consciousness precious time to react.
The breakthrough in [Divine Sense Differentiation] brought an even more obvious change.
At the Proficient stage, he had been able to divide his divine sense into four strands at most, allowing him to cultivate four skills at once. Even that had felt taxing, and he hadn't been able to do it perfectly.
But now...
Chen Yan took a deep breath and sank his mind into his sea of consciousness.
Divide!
His mental power, originally an integrated whole, was precisely split and rearranged in an instant.
One, two, four... eight!
Eight strands of equal strength, each independent of the others, floated quietly in his sea of consciousness, waiting for his instructions.
He even felt that this wasn't his limit!
"Eight things at once..."
Chen Yan smacked his lips.
However, he soon discovered a new problem.
When he tried to increase his skill proficiency through cultivation as he usually did, the progress bar crawled forward at a snail's pace.
After cultivating for an hour, his proficiency had increased by a measly point.
Raising a skill from Great Accomplishment to Perfection required a full ten thousand proficiency points.
At this rate, he'd have to train nonstop for over a year before he could advance.
This was far too inefficient!
It seemed that ordinary hard training was becoming less and less worthwhile for him at his current stage.
"Looks like the best thing to do right now is set aside the two skills I've just raised to Great Accomplishment and focus on bringing the other skills up to that level!"
"And if I want to keep leveling up at rocket speed, my only hope is still hunting the Spirit Race."
A cold glint, far beyond his years, flashed in Chen Yan's glossy black eyes.
"So you're treating Blue Star like an all-you-can-eat buffet?"
"And you're treating me like a top-grade cultivation vessel?"
"Then come and see who the real hunter is!"
"Who's going to be whose experience pack!"
Jiang City Public Security Bureau, Special Investigation Team headquarters.
The meeting room was thick with smoke, and the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like you could wring water from it.
In this line of work, they truly never put their cigarettes down.
Those who didn't smoke ended up learning to breathe secondhand smoke, too!
The projection screen displayed an electronic map of Jiang City, with red Xs marking more than a dozen locations.
Vice Captain Falcon stood in front of the screen, his expression grave.
"Captain, everyone, these are all the Spirit Race cases we've handled recently."
He used a laser pointer to circle Family Compound and Willow Shade Lane on the map.
"The North Lake Park incident began when a neighbor smelled the stench of a dead person coming from an elderly man who lived alone..."
"The Family Compound incident started with a surveillance recording of 'Peppa Pig.' It seemed like a warning, almost like a prank."
"According to survivor Wang Jian's statement, in the Willow Shade Lane incident, he was also helped by a mysterious 'senior' at the last moment before he was attacked. That's how he managed to turn the tables."
"These cases may seem unrelated, but there's one thing they all have in common."
Falcon took a deep breath and stated his conclusion.
"I suspect that one or more mysterious martial artists with the ability to detect mental energy are hiding in Jiang City."
"They can detect traces of the Spirit Race, but perhaps their own strength is limited, and they can't face them head-on. So they've chosen to use us to 'kill with a borrowed knife,' leading us to handle the cases."
The meeting room fell silent. Only the faint glow of cigarettes flickered in the darkness.
Chen Kefa furrowed his brow, crushed his half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, and lit another.
"You're saying someone's using us as a weapon from the shadows?"
His voice was hoarse.
"What's their goal?"
Falcon shook his head. "We don't know yet. As for why they haven't shown themselves... my guess is that they're afraid of us—or, more specifically, that they're afraid the Martial Arts Association will covet their mental cultivation methods."
"Mental martial arts..."
Chen Kefa exhaled a thick ring of smoke, his eyes filled with weariness and helplessness.
Those four words weighed like a boulder on the heart of every member of the Special Investigation Team.
If they'd had a way to detect mental fluctuations, the Willow Shade Lane tragedy would never have happened!
One hundred and seventy-two households. Nearly five hundred lives!
They hadn't even managed to send out a single distress signal before the Spirit Race hung them on the wall as trophies, all while everything around them seemed deceptively calm!
An older team member clenched his fists until they cracked, his eyes bloodshot.
"If we'd had mental martial arts, the people in Willow Shade Lane... wouldn't have died!"
Another team member lowered his head, his voice choked with emotion.
"If we'd had mental martial arts, Yu Lei wouldn't have..."
Yu Lei.
At the sound of his name, everyone fell silent.
He had been their comrade, an outstanding member of the Special Investigation Team. During a pursuit, he'd been hit by a mental assault from the Spirit Race, and his mind had collapsed on the spot. Now he was a drooling invalid who could do nothing but stare blankly all day.
For a martial artist, that fate was more despairing than death.
Oppression, anger, and helplessness spread through the small meeting room.
"Knock, knock, knock."
A knock sounded at the door.
Falcon immediately shut off the projector and said in a low voice, "Come in!"
A young team member opened the door and saluted.
"Report! We've received notice from our superiors. The Martial Arts Association's team of experts will arrive in Jiang City tomorrow!"
"Headquarters has ordered us to do everything in our power to ensure the experts' safety!"
One team member couldn't help frowning. "A team of experts? What are they here for? To help us track down the Spirit Race?"
"If not, why come at a time like this? They'll just cause trouble and add to our workload!"
The young team member's expression turned awkward. He glanced at Chen Kefa.
"Uh... headquarters also gave a special order for you, Captain, to personally oversee security for this assignment."
Chen Kefa stubbed out his cigarette and felt a headache coming on.
He stood up and blew out one last ring of smoke.
"Understood."
Before you continue