Great Dark Breathing Method

Ji Xun got the job.

Incredibly smoothly.

He became a Corpse Collector in Sinless City.

With a profession, it was as though he had suddenly integrated into this city of sin.

Three days passed in a flash.

117 East City Street, where the Golden Oak Security Company branch was located.

There stood a solitary large building of red brick and glass.

Behind the building, covered in black glass, rose a stone tower belching thick black smoke. That was the crematorium chimney.

This was both the Corpse Collectors' workplace and dormitory.

The third basement level.

This was the morgue.

Corpses collected from all across East District Five of Sinless City had to remain in the morgue for several days, until their curse power had fully dissipated before they could be cremated.

Other than transporting corpses, no one normally came to this unlucky place.

There were no living people on the entire floor, only dozens of "clients."

They lay quietly stuffed inside icy compartments resembling drawers.

The cold air condensed into wisps of white mist across the floor, leaving the place chillingly cold, eerie, and silent.

At that moment, Ji Xun opened his eyes from meditation in the morgue.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and remarked, "This Great Dark Breathing Method really isn't very efficient."

His expression remained utterly calm. The iron boxes containing corpses around him did not inspire even a trace of fear.

On the contrary, it was quiet, private, and free from interruptions here—exactly to his liking.

Ji Xun could freely use Demon Feast to devour the Extraordinary Traits lingering within the corpses.

The only drawback was that most of these corpses had been treated with Alchemical Potions by the Corpse Collectors, causing them to lose most of their Extraordinary Traits.

Even so, they were currently more than sufficient for his needs.

This was his third day working as a Corpse Collector, and his various physical attributes had already changed dramatically.

"Ji Xun"

Strength: 1.13

Constitution: 1.09

Agility: 0.84

Spirit: 4.85

Curse Power: 65/65

Aura: Gambler of Misfortune

Elemental Affinity: Dark 12/Light 3/Earth 4/Wind 2/Water/Fire 3/Lightning 1/Wood 3

Skills: Demon Feast Lv0 (36/500), Shadow Stealth Lv0 (12/100), Advanced Firearms Specialization (1566/3000), Great Dark Breathing Method Lv1 (2/300)

With the convenience of his Corpse Collector job, Ji Xun had gone from the sickly attributes of around 0.7 when he had first arrived in this world to feeling even stronger than he had before transmigrating.

Moreover, his affinities for the various elements and his curse power had all steadily increased.

And this was only the result of three days.

Ji Xun could already imagine how much his attributes would grow if he truly stayed for several months or half a year.

The future was full of promise.

He stood up and put away the small booklet before him, which contained diagrams of energy pathways.

This was the Great Dark Breathing Method he had bought at Sinless City's Black Market three days ago.

The name sounded intimidating, but it was merely the most common Dark-element Breathing Technique on the market, and it had still cost nearly fifty thousand.

That had nearly drained all the cash he currently possessed.

He had bought this Breathing Technique to increase his Dark Affinity as quickly as possible, allowing him to use Shadow Stealth without restriction.

After dedicated practice, this booklet could theoretically allow someone to cultivate up to the sixth rank of curse power.

On the night he obtained the booklet three days ago, he had begun trying to cultivate it.

The +10 comprehension attribute granted by JOKER allowed him to easily understand the obscure descriptions in the text.

After only a few attempts, he had directly grasped the sensation of energy described in the book—a sensation that ordinary people supposedly needed "one to four weeks" to find.

That was the first time Ji Xun had personally experienced the absurd boost that comprehension provided for learning skills.

Then, that very night, he began formal meditation training.

As he tried to circulate the small amount of curse power in his body according to the Breathing Technique's specific pattern, he discovered that he truly could control it.

And as he breathed in and out, absorbing the Dark Elements in the air, that curse power grew stronger after each full circulation.

The data panel displayed the change even more clearly. Every complete circulation of the Breathing Technique increased his Curse Power Value by roughly 0.1.

One cycle took half an hour. In theory, meditating for an entire night could increase his curse power by around one point.

As his proficiency increased, the Breathing Technique's efficiency gradually improved, and the curse power it brought him increased as well.

By the third day, the Breathing Technique had already reached Lv1, and its elemental absorption efficiency had increased by several tenths.

This gradually made Ji Xun realize just how powerful the Demon Mark he had fused with truly was.

But precisely because it was so powerful, he began to find the Great Dark Breathing Method somewhat lacking.

The epic Demon Mark JOKER had given him growth in affinity toward all elemental types. He could clearly sense all kinds of spiritual curse elements in the air: earth, wind, water, fire, light, darkness, lightning, wood, and metal.

In other words, absorbing any type of curse power now would not cause a conflict within him.

Yet the Great Dark Breathing Method he was cultivating only absorbed a single type of "Dark-element curse power," and even its absorption efficiency was very low.

It was like there being one hundred portions of free-floating spiritual curse elements in the air, with Dark Elements accounting for only around a tenth of them. Then, his Breathing Technique absorbed only a fraction of that tenth. The final efficiency was obviously pitifully low.

Thus, an idea—though he did not know whether it was reasonable—surfaced in Ji Xun's mind.

He felt that if he could absorb several kinds of elemental particles at once, wouldn't his curse power soar?

But it was only a thought.

Breathing Techniques were mandatory skills for Spell Card Masters, and they were also extremely expensive.

His lousy Breathing Technique alone had cost fifty thousand, while Black Iron Quality Breathing Techniques cost well over a hundred thousand apiece.

Not to mention Silver Breathing Methods.

Ji Xun simply had no money to consider buying one right now.

The only valuable things he possessed were several skill cards obtained from the Blackwater Mercenaries.

But when they had obtained that loot in the Alternate Dimension, Dong Jiu had kindly warned him that it was best not to use them without mastering the corresponding type of curse power.

Furthermore, the cards bore hidden marks belonging to the Blackwater Mercenaries, so they could not be sold either.

Still, there was no need to rush.

His physical condition was not strong enough yet, and devouring too quickly with Demon Feast would leave him feeling somewhat indigested.

Ji Xun planned to remain a Corpse Collector for a while longer before considering anything else.

Not long after he awoke from meditation, the screeching sound of metal grinding—"creak, creak"—came from the cold corridor.

It was the sound of the old elevator's steel cables rubbing against its pulleys.

It sounded especially piercing in the silent third basement level.

Ji Xun heard it from far away.

The elevator's iron gate opened, and a slightly chubby youth stepped out.

Pushing several fresh corpses into the morgue, he called out, "Team Two sent over a few more 'new clients.' We need to handle them."

Ji Xun nodded and helped place the corpses into the compartments.

The chubby boy was named Gibb. He was only sixteen and was also a Corpse Collector, having joined several days before Ji Xun.

Since they were both newcomers, the filthy, exhausting work of moving corpses all fell to them.

Ji Xun felt that more work suited him just fine.

The more time he spent with corpses, the more attributes he could devour.

But for others, this job was not nearly so easy.

The chubby boy looked exhausted, with faint dark circles under his eyes.

That was not only because he had gone out on two assignments the previous night and had not slept well. He had also been contaminated by the corpses.

The reason Corpse Collectors were paid so well was not merely because people avoided the nature of the work. The most important reason was that it shortened their lives!

Uncontrolled Extraordinary Traits continuously contaminated anyone nearby. Corpse Collectors had special methods for dealing with them, but prolonged exposure to corpses and frequent contact made contamination and mutation highly likely.

It was said that no Corpse Collector at Golden Oak Security Company had remained on the job for more than a year.

After placing the corpses in their compartments, the chubby boy said apologetically, "Brother, I'll have to trouble you with burning those clients whose time is up. I really can't stand staying here."

With dozens of corpses in the morgue leaking all sorts of contamination, his body truly could not endure it.

Ji Xun did not mind. "Sure. Just leave them here."

The chubby boy still felt somewhat guilty. "When we get paid, I'll treat you to drinks on Downing Street."

Ji Xun smiled. "All right."

At that moment, Gibb looked at his dark bluish-green arm, which resembled one covered in corpse spots, and sighed. "Ah, if only I knew how to do anything. Otherwise, I'd become a Treasure Hunter. Hunters are dangerous, but if you take a gamble, you might get rich overnight. Being a Corpse Collector is just..."

Ji Xun said nothing.

If possible, he intended to keep this Corpse Collector job for several months first.

The chubby boy added, "By the way, the Hunter's Guild is offering a free class for Card Disciples tomorrow. Are you going?"

Ji Xun said, "Of course."

There were no extraordinary academies in Sinless City. He had been worrying about where to obtain systematic Extraordinary Knowledge, so naturally he could not miss the Hunter's Guild's basic card knowledge class.

The chubby boy was looking forward to it as well. Learning something was always good. "Shall we go together?"

"Sure."

Ji Xun nodded.

Just as the chubby boy was about to leave, a voice came from the brass pipes in the wall. "A cellar full of corpses has been discovered at 17 Tailor Street. Dong Jiu, have several members of Team Five handle it. Remember to bring more Alchemical Potions."

This was the security company's old-fashioned communication device. The specially made brass pipes could transmit orders from the office throughout the building.

The chubby boy spread his hands upon hearing it and said gloomily, "Another assignment."

Ji Xun nodded as well.

The Corpse Collector job was otherwise ideal. The only issue was that missions came too frequently, day and night alike.

With Sinless City's wholesome public order, it would be abnormal for even a single team responsible for East District Five not to collect several violently deceased bodies each day.

They had already gone out on more than ten assignments in the past three days.

Neither of them dared delay. They hurried upstairs, grabbed their toolboxes, and climbed into the steam truck by the roadside.

The steam truck, its black-painted cargo compartment marked with an oak emblem, sped through the streets.

Five people sat inside the cargo compartment.

Besides Ji Xun and the chubby boy, there was their captain Dong Jiu, whose face bore a centipede-like scar, along with two veteran employees: Baldy Liu and Bucktooth.

People in this world had strange names. Many in Sinless City disliked revealing their real names, while some truly had nothing but nicknames.

Ji Xun had already grown accustomed to it.

All five wore white gloves and lifeless black clothing—the Corpse Collectors' work uniforms.

Ji Xun and the chubby boy sorted through the toolboxes in their hands, which held bottles and jars of Alchemical Potions.

Dong Jiu and the other two veteran employees had no intention of helping. They merely chatted idly out of boredom.

"Company dispatch says they found more than a dozen corpses in a cellar on Tailor Street. Looks like we'll be busy today. Judging by the boss's tone, these clients seem pretty troublesome too..."

"Tailor Street? Isn't that a civilian neighborhood? How could so many people have died?"

"Who knows? Let's just hope there aren't any troublesome clients today. I heard that yesterday, one unlucky bastard from Team Seven in District Four encountered a curse power loss of control while handling a client in the Weasel Street sewers. The corpse mutated and grew a serrated tentacle, which bit off the guy's manhood."

"Ha ha ha, now that's truly unlucky."

"..."

The conversation in the cargo compartment was all idle chatter, but it contained plenty of information.

Over the past three days, Ji Xun had learned quite a bit of useful intelligence from them.

But hearing this now left him puzzled.

During these past few days of assignments, he had already memorized the names of most streets in East District Five, their assigned area.

He clearly remembered that Tailor Street was an ordinary residential district where violent incidents almost never occurred.

Yet people had died there now—and more than a dozen at once?

Still, no matter what, more corpses were a good thing for him.

The stronger the contamination, the better.

Thanks to 'Charging Jelly' for 500, 'Myriad Industries Immortal' for 500, 'GT Ten Thousand Miles Red,' 'Grandmaster of Trash Talk,' 'Year 1 AD,' '20220812114512415,' and 'Senior Catball' for the donations. Thank you very much.