Chapter 35 - 28: The Third Investigation Department
In the Cultivation Room.
The Energy Lamp on the ceiling cast a soft glow.
It projected the silhouette of a seated Lin Yi onto the alloy walls.
Time seemed to compress and flow silently by amidst his highly focused Cultivation.
One by one, Bone Tempering Pills with a moist sheen
were taken out by Lin Yi.
The Mosquito Avatar wasted no time, pouncing on them. Its sharp proboscis pierced the Pills, drawing out their Medicinal Power.
In an instant.
The Medicinal Power from the Pills transformed into searing, pure streams of warmth that flowed back into Lin Yi.
He immediately activated his Bone Tempering Skill, guiding the surging Qi and Blood to repeatedly nourish and perform Refinement on the uppermost rib on the left side of his chest.
Faint yet dense crackling sounds echoed in the quiet room—proof that his bones were growing tougher under the Refinement of the Medicinal Power.
Sweat had long since soaked his training clothes, only to be evaporated by the heat radiating from his body, turning into wisps of white steam.
His expression was focused and resolute, as if he were completely cut off from the outside world.
...
By the time the sky outside the window was stained black as ink.
The campus was long since empty, with only a few scattered streetlights casting lonely halos of light.
Inside the principal’s private Cultivation Room, Lin Yi slowly opened his eyes.
A sharp light, almost tangible, flashed deep within his pupils before vanishing.
He let out a long, slow breath of stale air.
His physique was stronger, and his overall spirit and energy had improved significantly, yet he also felt a trace of exhaustion.
A full seven hours of immersive Cultivation had left his stamina struggling to keep up.
With a slight turn of his thoughts.
The familiar data panel appeared clearly before his eyes:
[Qi and Blood]: 7.0/16.24.
[Bone Tempering]: 1 (52%), 205 (0%).
52%!
In just half a day, he was more than halfway done!
If word of this insane Cultivation speed got out, it would leave the entire Martial Dao world dumbfounded, calling it inhuman!
Lin Yi stretched his muscles. A series of faint but powerful pops echoed from within his body. Feeling a sense of solid strength greater than ever before, a look of satisfaction finally appeared on his weary face.
He pushed open the heavy alloy door of the Cultivation Room and stepped into the empty, silent hallway.
The joy of his increased strength was quickly washed away by the cold reality—
his wallet was completely empty!
Without the support of Bone Tempering Pills, it would be difficult to maintain this rocket-like leveling speed.
"If I want to keep cultivating with Bone Tempering Pills, I’ll need another 480,000!!"
Lin Yi muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.
’Earn another 480,000 in just a few days?’
’Easier said than done!’
Yang City was only so big. The paths to making money had long been crowded by countless desperate Martial Artists.
And if he didn’t have money to buy Bone Tempering Pills,
his only option was to hunt for a First-Grade Demon Beast!
But...
When he left Liu Yang at noon, he had already silently dispatched his Mosquito Avatar back into the city’s vast and complex underground sewer network, searching for any trace of a First-Grade Demon Beast at all costs.
Yet, even now, the only things coming through the mental link were the irritating, monotonous sounds of dark, flowing water and scurrying rats. There had been no valuable discoveries.
Finding those deeply hidden, cunning, and vigilant First-Grade Demon Beasts was no easy task.
The slightest disturbance in the city would draw hordes of Martial Artists desperate for money and Demon Beast materials, like sharks smelling blood. Any easily found or exposed prey would never fall to a student like him, who had no connections.
’The ’fleece the prison’ plan...’
The dangerous thought popped up again.
After all, the Mosquito Avatar could now perfectly conceal its Demon Qi and had gained an optical camouflage cloaking ability.
’Should I go and suck the blood of those high-level Martial Artist convicts?’
The thought flashed through his mind for only an instant before Lin Yi decisively extinguished it.
’Risk infiltrating a prison?’
’That’s just suicidal!’
The memory of his last harrowing failure at the prison still made him shudder.
Although the Mosquito Avatar could now evade the standard scans of a Demon Energy Detector and its optical camouflage could deceive most naked eyes and ordinary cameras, its stealth was not flawless.
For example—thermal imaging!
The faint heat generated by air friction when the Mosquito Avatar flew at high speed, as well as the biological heat source it emitted as a living being, would be completely exposed before a precision thermal imaging detector.
A place as heavily guarded and with such high-level defenses as a prison was already equipped with Demon Energy Detectors. Would it really not have even more advanced thermal imaging surveillance?
Lin Yi was highly skeptical of that.
’Forget it. I’ll just have the Mosquito Avatar keep searching slowly in the sewers. Safety first.’ He suppressed the restlessness in his heart. ’Yang City is huge, and the underground pipe network is a sprawling maze. I refuse to believe I can’t find a single lone First-Grade Demon Beast!’
...
Back in his humble home.
Although Lin Yi only had six thousand left in his savings, he didn’t mistreat himself and ordered a nutritious meal for delivery.
While waiting, he took off his sweat-drenched shirt and, bare-chested, assumed a stance in the small living room. He began meticulously practicing the "Seven-Step Stance Skill."
Every steady step, every deep breath, spurred his bones to generate new Qi and Blood.
His Qi and Blood maximum was now as high as 16.24, but his actual level was only 7.0. He was in a weakened state of "having the capacity but lacking the reserves" and needed to replenish it as quickly as possible.
Abundant Qi and Blood was the foundation for all of a Martial Artist’s actions.
Before long, the doorbell rang.
A drone delivered the hot takeout, packed in a disposable hard plastic container.
Just as he had taken a couple of bites of the delicious, energy-rich food in an attempt to fill his empty stomach—
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
A sudden knock sounded at the door.
It was steady and unhurried, yet each knock landed with a heavy thud that seemed to weigh on the heart.
Lin Yi put down his disposable chopsticks, his brow slightly furrowed.
’Who could it be at this hour?’
He got up, walked to the door, looked through the peephole, and then gently opened it.
Outside, two men in crisp black uniforms stood quietly.
They stood ramrod straight, their presence heavy and composed. Their faces were devoid of expression, like two cold statues.
When one of them saw the door open, his sharp gaze landed on Lin Yi’s face. His voice was steady but carried the pressure of official business. "Are you Lin Yi?"
After receiving Lin Yi’s silent confirmation, the man continued, "We’re from the Third Investigation Division of the Yang City Public Security Bureau."
Before he finished speaking, his other hand had already deftly produced a black ID folder stamped with a complex insignia, displaying it clearly to Lin Yi.
The metal badge reflected a faint glint in the dim light of the hallway.
The moment he heard the words "Public Security Bureau," Lin Yi’s heart sank!
An icy chill shot up his spine without warning, instantly spreading to his limbs.
A cold sweat began to form in his palms.
’The Public Security Bureau... the absolute authority among Yang City’s law enforcement agencies!’
’Why are they looking for me?!’
One terrifying thought after another struck his mind like bolts of lightning:
’My Mosquito Avatar... was it exposed?’
’Or... the matter of killing that First-Grade Martial Artist in the sewer... did they find out?’
’Or could it be... that coward Liu Yang regretted it as soon as he transferred the money? Did he turn around and report me for extorting him?’
A sense of unknown crisis, like a cold viper, instantly coiled around Lin Yi’s heart.