Chapter 555: Hidden trouble

One night, Lu De was sound asleep in his bed.

But at that moment, the jade pendant on his chest flickered, emitting a wave that formed a hidden transmission Daoist Art.

This Daoist Art was almost impossible to detect in this world, as the technology it employed surpassed the imagination of everyone in this world; even if there were traces, it would be impossible to separate them from a mess of noise.

"Boss, how have things been on your end recently?" the transmission Daoist Art sent a message.

The Daoist Art received a message: "Everything is going smoothly on my end. I've repaired several underground ruins and am currently decorating them. When you trick people over there, you can bring them directly here. They'll be scared stiff and become loyal, die-hard members of our organization."

Stone continued to send a message: "That's good. Oh, right, I've also noticed that the recent situation here seems a bit unstable. It seems to be because of our landing; these people are much more nervous, and they all think the other side is playing tricks. It looks like a fight is about to break out. Be careful on your end."

Li Shiwei replied: "I'm out in the wilderness, so a fight won't reach me. You, however, need to be careful to stay hidden and not be discovered by the powerhouses of this world; that would be troublesome."

Stone sent: "Understood. I'll cut off communication for now. This kid I found is quite clever; he'll definitely be a big help. Oh, right, we're not aiming to rob and kill, are we?"

Li Shiwei took a while to reply: "Of course not. We just want to collect civilization history, how much wealth could these people possibly have for us to covet? This world isn't worth much money anyway. As for killing, you should take it easy; civilization history is more important."

"Alright," Stone said, then closed the communication.

Lu De didn't wake up; he continued to snore, after all, he was still just a child.

And Stone, too, fell into silence.

Soon, morning arrived.

In the morning, Lu De woke up. The young man with short brown hair rubbed his face, then grasped the round jade pendant with strange patterns carved on it, which rested on his chest.

This jade pendant was something he had accidentally collected while gathering equipment.

Entrusted by Jin Laoshi, he was responsible for collecting equipment for the Senior Instructor, purchasing those 'Divine Artifacts,' which were said to be used in rituals to communicate with deities.

During one acquisition, he inexplicably bought this stone, which looked beautiful but was actually worthless.

It was indeed very beautiful, but it wasn't any kind of gemstone. Although it was smooth and round, it was not transparent.

In the kingdom, gems were generally considered more valuable the more transparent they were. They also liked to cut gems into facets to enhance their optical properties, making them more dazzling.

Although this mysterious yellow-colored stone was beautiful, its transparency was very low, and it was considered a worthless杂石, also polished into a round disc shape, making further cutting impossible.

But Lu De still felt that this broken stone had a strange attraction, so he spent a small amount of money and bought it along with the other items.

Who would have thought that this strange broken stone actually concealed the soul of an ancient Senior Instructor! It was just that this Senior Instructor was incredibly weak, and his Physical Body had already died, but he had not become a ghost.

The other party refused to reveal his name but proposed a deal to Lu De.

Lu De would help the other party reshape his Physical Body and be resurrected.

In return, the other party would give Lu De knowledge, the knowledge that all people on the path of truth desired.

Lu De was very suspicious, so he initially refused, but the other party offered some small pieces of knowledge as verification.

After that, Lu De used this knowledge in many places, even earning praise from the Senior Instructor and Jin Laoshi because of it.

So, just yesterday, Lu De finally agreed to the deal.

He didn't want to continue being a poor country boy ignored by others, didn't want to be unable to even afford research equipment.

He needed knowledge, because knowledge was everything. Knowledge could exchange for wealth, status, and power. In the pursuit of truth, knowledge was everything.

As if sensing Lu De's determination, Stone said, "Are you ready? I remember, in ten days, you have a very important test, which concerns whether you can enter the research institute's project..."

Lu De directly interrupted Stone, saying, "I won't rely on you for the test. Cheating won't get me anything. I will earn the right to participate in the project on my own."

"Hmm, very good, but I wasn't planning on letting you cheat either. What I meant was, during these ten days before the test, I can tutor you and teach you some impressive things," Stone said.

"...What do I have to pay?" Lu De was a little wary.

Stone frankly said, "Nothing at all. I just hope you grow up quickly so you can help me revive my body sooner."

Upon hearing this reason, Lu De seemed a little surprised.

But after a while, he nodded and then whispered, "Then... thank you."

"You're welcome. Go wash up and eat," Stone replied.

Ten days later, Lu De took the exam.

During these ten days, he almost forgot to eat and sleep, dedicating all his energy to learning Stone's knowledge. Stone also held nothing back, answering almost every question to help him secure that single spot.

However, during this exam, he encountered that platinum-haired noble classmate again, who also seemed determined to win.

Since both were determined to win, it could only be decided by a direct confrontation.

That was truly a... bitter battle.

Yes, 'battle.' The conflict was not limited to written exams. After both individuals scored perfect marks in three consecutive written exams, that indifferent Senior Instructor directly announced a combat test to assess their abilities.

Upon hearing this, Jin Laoshi quickly went to persuade the research institute's only Senior Instructor, saying that both excellent apprentices were very good and there was no need to determine a winner. Apprentices' resources were scarce, so why not give two spots?

But the Senior Instructor didn't even look, turning directly and leaving, merely leaving a light remark: "I only need one."

Thus, there was only battle.

On one side was a noble scion who had received combat training since childhood, perfecting both theory and practice.

On the other side was an ugly duckling from the countryside, a bumpkin whose theoretical knowledge was only crammed in a rush.

The result was obvious.

He indeed knew a lot of theory, but combat training was very, very expensive, and he didn't have that much money to buy courses.

Without training, he was bound to be beaten black and blue.

Lu De was beaten by the opponent almost to the point of immobility, his injuries so severe that he needed to lie in bed for over a month, with six broken bones. In the end, the opponent even nearly killed him.

He was able to survive for two reasons: one was that Jin Laoshi timely called a halt to the battle, and the other was that Stone intervened, blocking the residual impact.

When the battle ended, Jin Laoshi announced the opponent's victory, giving him the spot, then quickly embraced Lu De and sent him to the doctor.

At the doctor's, Jin Laoshi didn't know what to say to comfort him, so the old man simply gave a few brief words of encouragement, telling him not to take it to heart and not to worry about money, as he had already paid the consultation and medicine fees.

Afterward, Lu De said to Jin Laoshi: "Don't worry... Jin Laoshi, I know. My strength is in learning. Combat isn't something one can learn in a short time. I will redouble my efforts in the future, and when I qualify as an instructor, I will make up for it. It won't delay current matters."

Jin Laoshi sighed in relief and said, "It's good that you think that way. Don't rush. Your conditions are different, but your future achievements won't be lower than his. Don't give up on yourself."

"I know," Lu De nodded with difficulty, forcing himself not to groan aloud.

It hurt so much, where the bones were broken.

Jin Laoshi didn't stay long; after all, he was actually very busy. He left quickly.

Only Lu De was left lying in the hospital bed.

He lay in bed for a full hour, saying nothing, not sleeping, just staring with wide eyes.

An hour later, he grasped the jade pendant on his chest.

"I want your knowledge," he said.

"Our deal was already fulfilled ten days ago. I haven't been stingy with the knowledge I've given you, have I?" Stone said, with almost no fluctuation in its voice.

"I will give you all those crystals. What do I need to do to convert them into energy you can use?" Lu De asked again.

However, Stone, instead of continuing to deceive, seriously said, "Don't let anger cloud your mind. Without a calm Dao Heart, you won't be able to find what you truly desire. If you can't find what you truly want, then Cultivation and learning will become pure torment for you."

"Learning and Cultivation are inherently joyful things, but when you are forced to do them by emotions or life, the torment they become is extremely painful. This pain will make you lose your Dao Heart, and ultimately lead to a mediocre life."

Upon hearing Stone's words, Lu De was stunned.

There was another period of silence. After a long while, Lu De finally asked in a tone he had never used before, "Are you truly a Senior Instructor?"

"Or rather, I am stronger than all Senior Instructors in this world, and more qualified to bear that title," Stone replied seriously.

"Can you teach me?" Lu De asked.

'Teach me' and 'give me knowledge' seem to have no difference, but in reality, they are worlds apart.

Stone, of course, understood the implied meaning behind the words, so he replied, "As you are now, you are not yet qualified to be my disciple. I will not be stingy with my knowledge, but this is merely a transaction."

"You are much more honest than I imagined, not like a Gu that bewitches souls," Lu De exclaimed.

"I never was. My purpose is very simple," Stone said.

Lu De nodded slightly, but immediately grimaced from the pain.

Unconsciously, he was no longer as wary of Stone, now even showing grimaces in front of it.

After he recovered, he said, "I didn't believe it before, but... now I somewhat do."

Stone remained noncommittal about this attitude, instead continuing, "It's good that you believe it. Your current state is too poor. If I really let you lie for a month, I might have already lost consciousness by then. I'll teach you a method, it's a method of Qi circulation... cough cough, it's a method of controlling the body's blood, which can accelerate your body's healing and also improve your Physical Body quality."

"Good, how do I do it?" Lu De immediately agreed.

He also didn't want to actually lie there for a month.

"Follow my instructions. First, find your lower Dantian, which is in your lower abdomen, but not the actual lower abdomen... Don't be fixated on the Physical Body. You need to know that our bodies actually correspond to another small world, just like a kingdom. In this place, there is a true vital Qi, born of destiny. Do you know about the embryo during pregnancy? It's the life force contained during the fetal stage, the starting point of all vitality." And Stone began to explain slowly.

To translate the Qi circulation methods of the world into the language of this world still required some translation ability, and it also required some thought for Stone.

And so, the teaching began.

Stone taught him some Qi circulation methods from the world, which were genuine cultivation methods. Although not of high grade, they were much, much stronger than the primitive meditation methods of this world.

The method used in the world is to store the required Qi according to one's Dao in a specific way. This storage method is the Qi they release at will. The amount of Qi determines the depth of their Cultivation.

This is not like accumulating in a warehouse, but a very difficult thing. How to put more Qi in without disorder is a technical skill. Many people who don't master this well directly explode and die.

As for the specific storage limit, it depends on the development of the cultivation method and the Perfection of the Dao. Generally speaking, the Cultivation that cultivators in the world can store in their bodies will be one to two tens of thousands to hundreds of millions of times more than the natives.

This is no joke, there really is such a big difference, but Cultivation does not represent combat power. Divine Ability and Daoist Art are the manifestations of combat power. The natives generally also have their own unique skills, but the gap in combat power with cultivators in the world is still quite obvious.

Of course, generally in worlds above the third rank, people from the world will no longer call them 'natives,' because worlds above the third rank are actually quite powerful. They generally have autonomy and are not simple resource worlds. The powerhouses and Geniuses produced there can also show their faces in the world.

As for this seventh-rank world... their primitive meditation methods are truly... quite primitive.

It's almost crude, exercising one's Spirit Soul in the manner of muscle training, which is forcefully squeezing the Spirit Soul until it's half-dead, then waiting for the body to slowly recover, thus slowly becoming stronger.

After the Spirit Soul becomes strong, they then forcibly extract various 'Qi' from the surrounding environment, temporarily piecing together a Daoist Art, completely ignoring the existence of the human body's small world, with extremely low efficiency.

They almost do not utilize the human body's small world, and their Cultivation is almost equivalent to the surrounding energy density.

However, when comparing combat power at low levels, the advantage of Cultivation is incredibly huge.

Shen Shuibi once told Li Qi that Cultivation and Divine Ability are actually 'base' and 'coefficient,' these two numbers determine the level of combat power. (See Chapter 165 for details)

And at this moment, when not yet ranked, it is precisely when the Cultivation base plays the largest role.

Stone felt that he could indeed cultivate a local big shot.

(The wound hurts, and the back of my head is cramping.)

(It's the end of the month, please give me a monthly ticket, everyone. After a thousand tickets, I'll add more on the first, okay? We're already over seven hundred.)