The Power of the True Self

The next morning, at dawn.

"Hungry..."

Lin Fan woke from his sleep, squirming on the bed several times before slowly opening his eyes.

He stared at the ceiling, his mind feeling somewhat dazed.

After a long while, his consciousness returned.

"Still not quite used to it..."

Lin Fan scratched his head.

"True Self."

In an instant, his consciousness dove inward, arriving at the primitive Bronze Hall within his sea of consciousness.

In the center of the hall, the light-shadow that looked exactly like him ceased its movements.

It slowly lowered its leg, stood upright, and hovered in the center of the hall, awaiting Lin Fan's command.

Looking at this light-shadow that was identical to himself, Lin Fan moved his intent.

"Merge."

Hum—

There were no earth-shattering light effects, only a complex yet highly organized "sensation" that, like a high-voltage current, surged directly along his brainstem into his central nervous system.

It was not dry text, nor was it obscure, difficult-to-understand theory.

It was tangible, like muscle memory he had experienced firsthand.

It was knowing at what angle to exert force for maximum efficiency, and which inch of the sole of his foot should touch the ground first for the most stability.

It was knowing at what critical point of a waist-and-hip twist the explosive force would be cleanest and most thorough.

It was even knowing how to coordinate his breathing with that imperceptible shift of his center of gravity before swinging a blade.

This feeling was truly marvelous.

Lin Fan subconsciously raised his hand, lifted his arm, dropped his shoulder, turned his hips, and flicked his wrist, performing a slashing motion.

It was a very simple movement, yet he felt that his entire form was "right."

Before, when he swung a blade, his arm led his body; it was localized effort, clumsy and sluggish.

But now, it was no longer about brute force.

He could clearly feel the force surging from the soles of his feet, passing through his knees, amplified by his waist and hips, traveling along his spine to his shoulders, and finally to his wrists.

His whole body was like a taut bow, all his power gathered into a single line, held in a single breath.

Smooth, transparent.

Lin Fan's lips curled up.

"This feeling of waking up to find my skills greatly increased is truly satisfying."

The problem of basic combat techniques was temporarily solved; at least in terms of force-exertion mechanics, he had already surpassed the vast majority of his peers who were still mindlessly practicing routines.

"But knowing how to fight isn't enough."

Lin Fan sat on the edge of the bed, beginning to review his experience in the Wilderness Zone yesterday, his brows knitting slightly.

Yesterday, he had been lucky, encountering a stubborn wild boar and a low-level Shadow Cat, along with those few foolish thieves who had delivered equipment to him.

But his understanding of the Wilderness Zone was still too shallow.

Where were the high-frequency activity areas for monsters? Which plants were poisonous? Which seemingly abandoned buildings were actually death traps? What were the habits and weaknesses of high-level monsters?

He even had to rely on clumsy trial-and-error methods just to quickly distinguish the grade and value of metals.

With his current strength, intelligence and knowledge were often more important than how much power he currently possessed.

"Insight, perspective, and all those miscellaneous survival skills—I need to catch up on all of it."

Therefore, he needed more systematic learning; he needed a massive amount of information to fill the gaps in his brain.

But, training classes? Hiring a private tutor? Buying internal materials?

Glancing at the negative balance on his phone, Lin Fan shook his head.

In this world, the best teacher for the poor was not a school, nor an expensive martial arts hall.

It was free books.

The Yi'an District Library, or the largest bookstore in the entire district.

There was free air conditioning, free water, and most importantly, the knowledge he urgently needed, which he could obtain without spending a single cent.

"To the bookstore."

With his goal set, Lin Fan rolled out of bed, washed up briefly, changed into clean clothes, and headed out.

The largest bookstore in Yi'an District.

Although it was the internet age and information was easily accessible, physical books still had their market, especially for ordinary people who lacked the authorization to access the high-level materials of the Martial Artist Alliance.

This was a great ship for acquiring knowledge, and the only window for those at the bottom to peek into the upper world.

Moreover, this bookstore was extremely friendly to ordinary people; as long as it did not involve core martial arts cultivation secrets, most basic theoretical books could be read for free in the store.

So, Lin Fan did not hesitate. After entering, he headed straight for the biomedical section.

His fingers slid rapidly across the book spines, finally stopping at a thick, hard-covered book.

He pulled a five-hundred-page Monster Anatomy Guide (Revised Edition) from the shelf, and immediately grabbed a copy of Human Muscle Structure and Force Principles from the adjacent shelf.

The combined price of these two books was over six thousand, a massive sum that was completely unaffordable for Lin Fan.

But fortunately, he could read them for free.

He found a well-lit corner, leaned against the wall, and opened the heavy Monster Anatomy Guide.

Swish, swish, swish—

The speed at which the pages turned was astonishing, almost one page per second. The sound of his fingertips rubbing against the paper was exceptionally clear in the quiet reading area.

Passersby cast strange looks his way; some frowned, others shook their heads, assuming this student in cheap clothes was venting pre-exam anxiety or simply putting on a show.

But only Lin Fan knew that his brain was operating at a terrifying speed.

Now that he had awakened spiritual power, his brain had been developed in every aspect, and his ability to process information was more than ten times faster.

"Pig-type monsters—the cartilage seam behind the ears; the defense is about one-tenth of the body's scales. The blade needs to be inserted at a fifteen-degree upward angle."

"Felines—the explosive point of the hind limb tendons; severing this can cripple seventy percent of their speed."

"Canines—the throat cartilage is fragile, and there is a gap under the third rib that leads directly to the heart..."

A few minutes later, he closed the book.

Although the five hundred pages of content only left a general impression in his mind, the True Self in his sea of consciousness was like a supercomputer, instantly recording, organizing, and summarizing these fragments.

"Is this another hidden use of the True Self?"

Lin Fan reached out and rubbed his slightly throbbing temples.

"That really saves a lot of trouble."

After catching his breath, he pulled out Human Muscle Structure and Force Principles.

"True Self."

He whispered in his heart.

In his sea of consciousness, the light-shadow figure instantly stopped its movements, hovering quietly in mid-air, awaiting instructions.

"Based on the principles in the book, deduce the content of the Monster Anatomy Guide."

As the command was issued, the light-shadow began to move again.

Unknowingly, time slipped away.

Lin Fan was like a parched sponge thrown into an ocean of knowledge, greedily "absorbing" all the knowledge in the bookstore regarding martial arts, monsters, and materials science.

And the True Self was recording and deducing along with him.

It wasn't until a soft female voice sounded over the bookstore's intercom, announcing that they were closing, that Lin Fan closed the book, still feeling unsatisfied, and returned the books to their original places.

After merging with the True Self and thoroughly integrating the knowledge, Lin Fan walked out of the bookstore.

The cold night wind blew against his face, cooling his overheated brain.

The boiling knowledge in his mind slowly settled, replaced by more realistic and urgent things—money, channels, and status.

Traffic at the street corner swept by one after another, the taillights dragging long red lines across his retinas, separating the prosperity of this city from its indifference.

Lin Fan's gaze followed the flowing red, his fingers subconsciously stroking the ring he had disguised as a cheap street-stall item.

Inside it was the equipment he had stripped from the Vulture Squad.

Although what remained now were only non-metallic items:

Several sets of monster furs that hadn't been processed yet, the Vulture Squad's combat suits, several encrypted communicators, and some miscellaneous wilderness survival supplies.

These items contained no metal and naturally couldn't feed the Calamity, but if sold, they were real money.

If he tried to process them at a black market or a small roadside workshop, he would definitely be lowballed, and it would be extremely unsafe.

For a high school student with no background to try to fence these obviously "hot" goods was practically the same as writing "come rob me" on his forehead.

"If I want to maximize my profits, if I want to buy real high-grade alloys to feed the Calamity and the Sky Splitter, or even if I want to gain access to higher-level guidance techniques, I need a legal, respected identity."

Lin Fan looked up, his gaze passing over the bustling crowd and landing on a giant holographic advertisement screen across the street.

On the screen, a powerhouse in a black training suit punched a giant boulder to pieces, the special effects of the flying debris so realistic it felt like it was about to hit the passersby.

Then, a line of striking text scrolled across:

[Limit Martial Arts Hall Quasi-Martial Artist Assessment—Opening Tomorrow!]