Li Feng had suddenly laughed because something had just occurred to him.
The five steps of Body Tempering—skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and internal organs—progressed in sequence.
But that did not mean each step left everything else completely untouched.
For instance, the Skin Tempering Realm drew in spiritual energy from the world outside. How could the nearby muscles, tendons, and bones possibly avoid being tempered too?
And since hair was considered an extension of the tendons, could he first use mind fog to temper his hair?
First, hairs were tiny and could be tempered individually, allowing him to concentrate more power on each one.
Second, and most importantly, hair had no nerves. No matter how he tempered it, Li Feng would not feel any tingling, itching, or pain.
If it worked, he could even keep tempering it without interruption, achieving the greatest possible results in the shortest time.
"It seems... I could... give it a try...?"
As Li Feng rubbed his tingling, stinging skin, he considered the idea that had just occurred to him.
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.
In the end, he simply stopped thinking about anything else and gave it a try.
At worst, he would lose a few hairs. With his full head of black hair, he could spare them.
The mind fog around him churned and rapidly condensed, enveloping the top of his head.
From a distance, it could have passed for the lather of shampoo as he washed his hair.
Using his awareness of everything within the Mist, Li Feng selected a single hair. Then, through visualization, he controlled the Mind Fog to carry World Spiritual Force from the world outside and feed it continuously into that strand.
"Ngh!"
Li Feng shook his head in discomfort and pressed a hand against the root of that hair.
True, he felt nothing in the hair itself, but its root was surrounded by flesh and nerves.
Fortunately, that tiny patch of tingling pain was not even as bad as a light prick from a needle.
Compared with the pain of Skin Tempering, it was far, far milder, well within what he could endure.
With that settled, what was there to hesitate over?
Li Feng gradually increased the intensity.
Only when the stinging became unmistakably sharp did he ease off.
By the time the tingling pain in his skin subsided and Li Feng resumed his Skin Tempering exercises, the tempering of that strand had already surpassed what several days of training had achieved for his skin.
Vaguely, he could even sense that strand directly, despite its lack of nerves.
After completing another round of skin tempering, Li Feng continued rubbing his skin while tempering the hair.
Throughout the night, aside from his later visualization session, Li Feng kept tempering that strand. He barely slept.
When he got up after eight, his eyes were still bloodshot, with obvious dark circles beneath them.
Rubbing his eyes, Li Feng sat dazed for a moment before coming to his senses. The corners of his mouth tugged upward, and his face filled with delight.
"I never thought...
I'd gain something like this too...
Heh, heh, heh..."
Li Feng chuckled softly. With a slight shift of his thoughts, a strand of hair over his forehead suddenly moved on its own, swaying gently before visibly growing longer.
At another thought, the strand shrank back, becoming even shorter than it had originally been.
This was the result of Li Feng concentrating his efforts on tempering that single hair for an entire night. It had undergone some remarkable changes.
Not only could he control it, but it was also extraordinarily elastic, allowing him to stretch it to twice its length or shrink it to half.
And that had taken only one night.
What if he tempered it for years on end?
Li Feng hardly dared imagine what that strand might become.
Perhaps it could instantly extend hundreds or thousands of meters, withstand blades, and coil around and lift objects weighing thousands upon thousands of pounds.
With the thickness of a hair and thousands of pounds of force behind its sweep, wouldn't it be far sharper than most divine weapons?
And what if all his hair reached that level?
Imagine countless blade-resistant strands whipping through the air, instantly slicing and shredding everything around him to dust.
Of course, it was too early to think about that.
Right now, he had tempered only a single hair.
Never mind making every strand extend hundreds or thousands of meters and wield thousands of pounds of force.
Even if he only aimed for his current results, tempering all his hair strand by strand would take far more than a year or two.
Just imagine: at one strand a day, how many years would his whole head take?
And that was without even considering deeper tempering.
The mere thought made Li Feng's scalp prickle.
So cultivation still had to proceed steadily, one step at a time.
Before that, though, he could temper a few strands to serve as a last-resort trump card.
Shaking his head to clear away his distracting thoughts, Li Feng washed up, dressed, and headed out.
After nine, Li Feng arrived at the Investigation Department's southern city branch.
After he had been there for a while, Yuan Chengfang and Wu Cheng arrived as well.
As for their other teammate, Zhao Fei...
Well, Zhao Fei had already checked in and left.
While they were chatting, a staff member suddenly hurried toward the three of them.
At the sight, Yuan Chengfang's expression grew slightly solemn.
Li Feng initially froze, then gradually realized what was happening, his expression turning serious.
Perhaps his first official investigation as a trainee Investigator was about to begin.
And indeed, things went just as he expected.
"Ma'am, we have a strange case here that needs your attention..."
The staff member handed Yuan Chengfang a stack of documents and spoke quickly.
"Oh?"
Yuan Chengfang nodded and lowered her head to read the records.
"Hmm... this is most likely a supernatural incident.
I'll take a team to investigate..."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The staff member acknowledged her and promptly withdrew. He needed to call the Public Security Bureau so they could make the necessary arrangements.
Yuan Chengfang turned toward Li Feng and Wu Cheng and said solemnly:
"We've got work!"
Investigating supernatural incidents demanded caution even from an advanced danger-class expert like her.
"Captain, what's the situation? Should we notify Zhao Fei?"
"Not for now. It doesn't look like a major problem. You two can come with me.
It'll also give young Li a chance to get familiar with investigating supernatural incidents..."
"Right. Thank you, Captain!"
"All right, read through the documents too, and then we'll head out..."
As she spoke, Yuan Chengfang handed the documents to Li Feng and Wu Cheng, then called out.
"Old Chang, let's go! We've got an assignment!"
"Coming, Captain."
A voice answered from outside. Old Chang quickly joined them, and they headed to the garage together.
Li Feng and Wu Cheng read the documents as they walked.
In apartment 2 on the third floor of entrance 5, building 4 of the Golden Bell Residential Complex, a single man named Luo Hua had died inexplicably at home. His entire body was deathly pale, as though someone had drained every drop of his blood.
When he failed to show up for work that morning, his employer called to check on him, but no one answered. The employer then reported it to the police, and only when the Public Security Bureau visited his home did they discover he was dead.
In this world, if an employee missed work without explanation and could not be located, the employer was obligated to report it to the police.
That was because employees who disappeared without a word and failed to turn up were very likely already dead.
It could also be a supernatural incident.
If that led to greater destruction, the employer would bear some responsibility.
As for whether that was unfair...
Ask the people who died because of it whether it was fair...
Why should they be the ones to die?
As citizens of the Federation, they had the right to protection from government personnel, but they also had an obligation to provide information and assist investigators with their cases.
After reading the documents, both Li Feng and Wu Cheng agreed that this was most likely a supernatural incident.
There were no injuries anywhere on the body, yet he had died for no apparent reason, as though all his blood had been drained. Everything about it was eerie. What else could it be but a supernatural incident?
By the time the two finished reading, the four of them had reached the parking lot. Once they got in, Old Chang stepped on the accelerator, and the car shot forward, fast yet steady.
"Whee-ooo, whee-ooo..."
With the siren sounding all the way, Li Feng and the others soon arrived at the entrance to a residential complex.
Looking up, they saw that it was the Golden Bell Residential Complex.
Public Security Bureau personnel were already guarding the entrance, barring unauthorized people from entering or leaving.
Until the exact area affected had been determined, no one in the complex was permitted to come and go freely.
Who knew whether they were supernatural entities or monsters in disguise, or whether they carried mediums or seeds formed from supernatural or monstrous powers?
Even those who had already left would have personnel sent to monitor them.
No amount of caution was excessive when dealing with supernatural entities and monsters.
Especially when the entity had bypassed the residential area's protective power, entered a room, and killed someone.
Such supernatural entities or monsters tended to be more powerful and naturally demanded greater attention.
As Li Feng and the others approached the complex, Yuan Chengfang took out her identification. After showing it to the security officers nearby, she entered through the gate.
Although many of them knew Yuan Chengfang, rules still had to be followed.
Once inside, the three of them hurried to building 4.
The building had already been sealed off by security personnel, and its residents had been evacuated.
"Captain Yuan, you're here!"
At the sight of Yuan Chengfang, a security officer who appeared to be leading the group immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried over and greeted her with a smile.
This was a supernatural incident. Ordinary people like them could do nothing against monsters or supernatural entities except close their eyes and await death.
Even though they had been equipped with some special weapons.
They were still frightened.
After all, although their weapons had certain special properties, they were not genuine spiritual-energy or supernatural weapons. Against monsters, most could only drive them back.
Against stronger supernatural entities or monsters, they would be completely useless.
Naturally, whenever they dealt with Paranormal Entity cases, they were on edge, terrified that some Paranormal Entity or Monsters and Demons might suddenly attack.
Yuan Chengfang strode forward and nodded to the man.
"Captain Liu!"
There was none of Yuan Chengfang's usual easygoing manner or cheerful smile. Instead, she was composed... and aloof.
She merely nodded to Captain Liu before leading Li Feng and Wu Cheng into entrance 5.
Upon reaching the third floor, Yuan Chengfang brushed her right hand over her left wrist, and a Compass appeared in her right hand.
Both Li Feng and Wu Cheng looked on with envy.
A storage bracelet was an advanced piece of spiritual-energy equipment from the Investigation Department. Not only did it cost tens of thousands of points to redeem, but it also required the rank of Level-One Investigator.
After taking out the compass, Yuan Chengfang looked down. Its needle trembled slightly before finally pointing into the apartment, and she immediately told the two men:
"There really is a Paranormal Entity or Demon at work here..."
As he entered apartment 2, Li Feng distinctly felt a chill.
At the same time, he vaguely sensed something familiar.
Before Li Feng could work out what felt familiar, the three of them had entered the Bedroom.
A male corpse dressed in pajamas lay motionless on the bed, its skin pale and bloodless.
But upon closer inspection, an extremely faint black tinge could be seen beneath it.
His hands were slightly clenched, and his eyes were wide open, as though they still held the fear and despair he had felt before his death.
The sheets and bedding were disheveled, suggesting he had struggled before dying.
Yet in the end, he had not even managed to get out of Bed.
Ordinary people were simply that helpless against Paranormal Entity.
Yuan Chengfang drew on the power within her body and slowly fed it into the Compass in her hand.
"Humm!"
Instantly, the Compass glowed with a faint blue-green light. Its needle shook rapidly before finally pointing toward the window.
The three followed its direction and saw that the window had been left open a crack.
Understanding immediately dawned on all three of them.
"No wonder..."
Wu Cheng said regretfully:
"He was far too careless. He didn't even close his window at night..."
"Sigh... some people always think they'll be lucky..."
Looking at the window, which was open only a finger's width, Yuan Chengfang shook her head slightly.
Indeed, most Paranormal Entity could not enter a room through such an inconspicuous crack.
And with the weather growing hotter, there were always people who took their chances and left their windows slightly open.
But there were also stronger or unusual supernatural entities that could slip into a room through precisely such gaps.
As for the result, it went without saying.
The person before her was the perfect example.
As Yuan Chengfang reflected on this, she continued to power the Compass, moving around the room according to its needle.
Gradually, wisps of black mist began to appear above the Compass, which glowed with blue-green light.
Those were the traces of Paranormal Entity energy the Tracking Compass had collected in the room.
Although the Tracking Compass was standard-issue equipment for the Investigation Department, its functions were still quite powerful. It simply required supernatural power to operate.
A martial artist's blood vitality, the mental power of someone who practiced the Visualization Method, the Paranormal Entity power of a Ghost Tamer, the Ghostly Energy of a ghost controller, and so on could all power the Tracking Compass.
Li Feng figured that his mind fog could probably power the Tracking Compass too, though he had yet to try it.
Meanwhile, Yuan Chengfang continued powering the Tracking Compass, collecting the Paranormal Entity energy from every corner of the room.
When she approached Luo Hua's corpse, clearly visible black mist rose from it, twisting wildly as though trying to break free of the Tracking Compass's power.
But as Yuan Chengfang poured in more power, the Tracking Compass suddenly blazed with blue-green light, unleashing a powerful suction force.
No matter how the black mist twisted and struggled, it could not escape the Tracking Compass's power. In the end, it was dragged into the blue-green light above the Compass and held firmly within it.
Once the Paranormal Entity power had been drawn out, the faint black mist beneath the corpse's pale skin quickly dissipated, leaving only a deathly pallor.
By the end, the black mist formed from that Paranormal Entity power had actually begun to take on a vaguely human shape within the blue-green light emitted by the Tracking Compass.
Every so often, a hint of red would appear on the surface of that human shape.
At the sight, Li Feng froze for a moment before his eyes suddenly widened. A red figure.
"The Wedding-Dress Bride??!"
An unbelievable thought surfaced in Li Feng's mind.
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