novelraw Chapter 169 - 167: Abnormal
Chapter 169 - 167: Abnormal
Evidently, Song Jian had successfully been selected for the core class, becoming a disciple of the Shexin Sect.
This was only to be expected. With his strength, he would have made it last time if he hadn’t had the bad luck of running into Sims.
Now, after a year of honing his skills, and with Hu Qi’s previous guidance, Song Jian’s strength had only grown.
The assessment rules might change from year to year, but without exception, they all came down to individual combat ability.
Song Jian would naturally pass the assessment with ease.
Speaking of Sims, that guy seemed to have broken through to the Qi Blood Second Transformation.
Unfortunately, his luck was poor. Hu Qi had heard that when the gray mist last descended, Sims happened to be outside the academy.
He ended up running into a Lower-Rank Black Blood Species and was casually eaten. All that was left were some bloody clothes and severed limbs. His identity was only confirmed through DNA testing.
Just then, Song Jian also noticed Hu Qi sitting by the lake.
However, Hu Qi’s appearance and physique had changed somewhat. Although his facial features still held a faint shadow of his former self, it was impossible to recognize him without looking closely.
And with the distance between them,
for a moment,
Song Jian didn’t recognize him.
Hu Qi, for his part, had no intention of going over to say hello.
The two hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Although Song Jian was still collecting Exotic Beasts for him, Dai Shu was the one handling the handovers.
The efficiency of collecting Exotic Beasts was nowhere near what it used to be. Getting even one a month was now considered a good haul.
After all, Exotic Beasts were not numerous to begin with, and with the Shexin Sect now buying them up in huge quantities and creating a monopoly, they were even harder to acquire.
However,
because of his previous help, Hu Qi had still given him a sufficient reward, such as Upper Class Secret Medicines like the Snow Snake Ointment.
This allowed him to cultivate Qi Blood Power in a short period, just barely reaching the first tier among the new disciples.
It gave him a head start over most people in the beginning stages.
As for how far he would go in the future, that was no longer Hu Qi’s concern.
Providing some help in the early stages was already more than fulfilling his obligation.
Ultimately, their relationship was average at best.
It was driven more by a tangle of mutual interests.
He had helped Song Jian look for clues about his mother, and in return, Song Jian collected Exotic Beasts for him. It was simply a case of each getting what they needed.
"I’ve been in this world for almost a year..." Hu Qi mused.
One year.
It wasn’t long, but it wasn’t short either. For Hu Qi, however, it had been a time of tremendous change.
From transmigrating here from Blue Star, to the initial bewilderment of discovering his transmigration, to the excitement of awakening the Crimson Modifier, then the fear of his first encounter with a Black Blood Species... and so on.
Who could have imagined that a year ago, he was just an ordinary chef from Blue Star? Now, not only had he transmigrated, but he also possessed power comparable to Land Immortals and Gods.
And yet, reality was just that bizarre and strange.
To this day, he still didn’t understand why he had transmigrated to this world, or if he would ever have a chance to return.
He glanced at the time.
Hu Qi waved his hand, calling back the Camphor Tea Duck, then turned and left the area with it.
...
The next half-month was very peaceful.
As a Middle-tier School, the Shexin Sect could mobilize all the forces within its home, Donglin Province.
Although Exotic Beasts were rare, under the lure of generous bounties, there was no shortage of people willing to seek them out and capture them.
If there were none in Donglin Province, they would acquire them from other provinces.
As long as one had money and power, one could easily accomplish ninety-nine percent of the things in this world.
Whatever you wanted, you only had to say the word, and countless people would flock to strive for your goal.
Exotic Beast Meat, while having a slightly better texture and a higher price than its mundane counterparts, was still limited in its appeal.
To put it bluntly, for both ordinary people and Secret Martial Artists, it was at most something to satisfy their appetites.
It had no other use.
So when Hu Qi offered a price several times higher than the market rate, the effect was naturally remarkable.
With the combination of Exotic Beasts and Black Blood Species, his Modification Points increased steadily every day.
And when he had free time, he would visit the Lower-tier Schools to plunder their Inheritance Secret Martial Arts.
Life was very fulfilling.
Watching the Modification Points on his panel constantly grow and feeling his own strength increase made Hu Qi feel quite content and satisfied.
Of course, this was only from Hu Qi’s perspective.
The Lower-tier Schools that Hu Qi had "patronized" were not in such a good mood.
They couldn’t defeat him, nor could they speak of it. If others found out they couldn’t even protect the Divine Intent Map of their own School’s Inheritance Secret Martial Arts,
they would be laughed to death by the other Schools.
Therefore, they could only grit their teeth and swallow their bitterness.
...
Time passed, and soon it was the day before his scheduled meeting with Guo Yi and Fa Ji.
In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of the Zhu Xi Building, Hu Qi sat cross-legged.
He opened his eyes, emerging from his Cultivation. He looked up, his gaze piercing through the glass toward the distant horizon.
The red sun was setting, sinking below the horizon. The light of day gradually faded as darkness quietly spread.
Stars, emitting faint starlight, appeared one by one upon the black, cloth-like canopy of the sky.
A faint crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver-white glow that brought a dim radiance to the dark world.
Seeing this, Hu Qi’s expression shifted slightly, a strange look appearing on his face.
Although Earth Star was larger and more vast than Blue Star, many similarities existed between them.
For instance, the course of technological development; most things from his previous life also existed in this world.
As a first-tier city, Anshan City was close to the sea and had frequent sea breezes that could effectively disperse and dilute the air, helping to reduce air pollution.
For example, harmful gases and particulate matter could be blown out over the ocean, thus reducing their concentration in the city.
But environmental pollution still existed. As long as humanity and technological development continued, this problem could never be completely eradicated, only minimized.
Normally, from within Anshan City, one could only see a few scattered stars at most.
A scene like a sky full of brilliant stars was simply impossible.
However, over the past half-month, the air quality in Anshan City seemed to be steadily improving.
Furthermore, as time went on, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy seemed to be growing denser.
As a Qi Dao Grandmaster capable of absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy into his body, Hu Qi was exceptionally sensitive to this phenomenon.
To put it simply, Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy was the materialization of the world’s Vitality.
As Vitality increased, the environment would naturally improve as well.
But in Hu Qi’s view, this was not necessarily a good thing.
Anything this abnormal was bound to be trouble.
According to Zhu Xi’s internal records, ever since the Miwu Civilization disappeared ten thousand years ago, the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy had fallen into a state of dormancy and depletion.
This was also why, even if later generations obtained an Inheritance Secret Martial Arts,
without this crucial component—the Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy—it didn’t matter how monstrously talented they were.
It was difficult for them to open their Qi Vein Divine Treasure and draw Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy into their bodies.