"Learn something new?"
Xu Mu stared at Charles's data-stream body, a bad premonition slowly rising in his heart.
"Haven't I already reached university level? What else can I learn?"
Charles, transforming into the image of a distinguished old gentleman, said with disdain, "What you can learn in your undergraduate years is merely a drop in the ocean of Lan Star's knowledge."
"What I want you to do now far exceeds your current knowledge reserve. However, I will guide you through the entire process. You don't even need to understand the principles; you just need to remember the steps and then calculate the specific data."
"Really?" Xu Mu was a little suspicious. Was there such a good thing? Would Charles really be so kind?
"Don't misunderstand. I just don't want you to fall too far behind him."
Xu Mu fell silent. He naturally understood who Charles was referring to.
That guy had already obtained the cultivation method for the Five Thunder True Scripture. With his talent, it wouldn't take long for him to master it across levels.
As for himself, although he also had the cultivation method for the Five Thunder True Scripture and the Dao Origin, the talent difference between them was too vast. Without a teacher, it would truly be just a useless book…
"Then, have you learned what you're about to teach me?" Xu Mu asked, confused, because Charles had always treated them equally before, with their progress depending entirely on themselves.
So, just as he had barely obtained his undergraduate 'diploma,' that guy had already started hand-crafting firearms.
"He only learned the first step, but it was too time-consuming, so he gave up," Charles replied.
"That guy actually gives up?"
Xu Mu was a little surprised, and then a little nervous. Something that even that guy found difficult and gave up on, could he learn it?
"Difficulty is one aspect. Another is that he simply chose the former between supernatural abilities and science."
"Time is very precious. He couldn't spend more than an hour learning science."
Charles shook his head slightly. He actually wished that the person in the heavenly palace could wholeheartedly study with him. Because then, within twenty years at most, all the knowledge on Lan Star would be mastered by him, which would then help him reshape his physical body.
Unfortunately, he had his own ideas, and with his realm breakthrough imminent, he couldn't dedicate a large amount of time to this.
So, he had to settle for the next best thing, skipping ordinary firearms and directly teaching the most difficult kind.
Forcing growth wasn't entirely impossible.
"First, bring twenty pages of manuscript paper, this size," Charles's body tore open and transformed into a whiteboard, one meter square. Xu Mu was stunned.
"Sci... science."
"A combination of mathematics, physics, and chemistry," Charles reverted to human form and then explained solemnly.
"The name of this new subject is Nuclear Bomb."
…
In the city of Buoluo, across the street from the headquarters of the Demon Extermination Division, there was a medical clinic, the best in the entire Gui Ye night domain, named Tree Dwelling.
The owner here was a third-stage alchemist who had awakened earth and wood elements. Therefore, his clinic was entirely built with wooden structures, with four floors in total. The top floor was specifically for esper users.
Yin Shui'er lived here.
…
"Failing to protect Xu Mu is my responsibility."
On the fourth floor of the Tree Dwelling clinic, in a secluded room, stood a middle-aged man wrapped entirely in bandages.
He was smoking, his eyes dark, his voice hoarse, clearly in a very poor state.
"The esper who killed him was a formation master from the Third Division, named Wang Jue."
"Wang Jue's uncle is the Deputy Inspector of the Third Division, and he seems to be of the same lineage as the Wang family of the Imperial City. I attempted to apprehend him, but failed."
Yin Zhongxiu drank a cup of tea and walked to Yin Shui'er's bedside, sighing heavily.
The first thing he did upon returning to Buoluo City was to visit Yin Shui'er.
Then, he learned something shocking from his niece's mouth.
— The young man who was ultimately used as a human shield by that esper from the Demon Extermination Division was named Xu Mu.
Yin Zhongxiu's eyes flickered. He couldn't imagine how an external member of the Demon Extermination Division had overcome all difficulties, without any esper willing to risk supporting him, and single-handedly entered Xishan.
After enduring countless hardships, he finally found them. He didn't know how Xu Mu had managed it. He only knew that he had failed the loyalty of this subordinate, causing him to die at the hands of his own people.
Based on this alone, Yin Zhongxiu was filled with guilt. At this time, the Liangjia father and son from the Jin Yin Merchant House suddenly appeared.
They personally delivered a grand gift and also said they had some misunderstandings to clear up.
Then he learned that on his way to Xishan, Xu Mu had also saved Yin Shui'er.
Thus, his shock turned into fury.
He owed Yin Shui'er's family. If anything happened to their daughter while she was under his care, he would rather commit suicide as atonement.
Xu Mu was, in a way, his benefactor, yet he had failed to save his benefactor's life.
Therefore, he wished he could immediately hack Wang Jue into a thousand pieces to avenge Xu Mu.
However, pursuing someone across divisions was a troublesome matter, which resulted in him spending two hours busy with it, going through the procedures, and submitting reports to headquarters.
But they all disappeared like stones in the ocean.
He became puzzled. As a Governor, he wanted to apprehend someone, followed the rules and procedures, yet was still refused?
Yin Zhongxiu refused to believe it. Within an hour, he mobilized his connections from all sides, applying continuous pressure, determined to bring Wang Jue to justice. However, headquarters still did not agree to his apprehension, infuriating him to the point that he intended to go to the Third Division himself to arrest him.
Finally, it was the Lord of Buoluo City, Wu Ye, who stopped him.
Then, he learned that Wang Jue was from the Imperial City's Wang family, and was only in the Gui Ye Third Division for experience.
Yin Zhongxiu fell silent for a long time after receiving this news.
The Wang family had deep foundations. Their strength was somewhat inferior to the main Yin family, but even beating a dog depended on its owner.
The Wang family was backed by the royal family.
And in recent years, the situation in the Imperial City had been extremely complex, as the Emperor Xia's dozen or so sons had all come of age.
Many people wanted to claim the position of Crown Prince.
When such a competition occurred, it would involve many parties. Even a slight ripple from matters within the palace could cause countless families to act, and a single wrong step in choosing sides could bring disaster.
And the Wang family had already chosen their side early on.
If he were to offend the Wang family first, the Yin family would likely fall into a passive position in that quagmire.
Therefore, for the sake of the main family, he couldn't act rashly.
Moreover, even if he wanted to act, he couldn't, because the main Yin family had already sent a message stating that the prince the Wang family was backed by had close political and commercial ties with their Yin family.
Thus, Yin Zhongxiu had no choice but to compromise. He couldn't avenge Xu Mu.
The man looked at Yin Shui'er on the sickbed with guilt, his heart hesitant.
He understood his niece. She was already dissatisfied with the case of Xiaokang Village, and it was she who had personally recruited Xu Mu into the Demon Extermination Division.
Xu Mu was dead, and she must feel very guilty.
But what was even more distressing was that Yin Shui'er still didn't know that Xu Mu was her savior.
According to the Liang family father and son, Yin Shui'er had misunderstood something. They had not saved Yin Shui'er; her true savior was Xu Mu.
If she knew this, she probably wouldn't care about the main family and would risk her life to go to the Third Division to seek revenge on that person.
So Yin Zhongxiu could only look at the young girl lying on the sickbed with guilt. The overall situation was paramount. No matter what, he could not let Yin Shui'er know about that. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Therefore, he changed the subject.
…
"Let's put this aside for now and talk about something useful."
The man peeled an orange and offered it to Yin Shui'er. The wound on his hand was sprayed by the orange peel juice, but he didn't mind.
"Last night, there was a pollution source in Fengqing Village, but in the end, everything was safe."
"My guess was correct. That person lives in Fengqing Village. The swordsman made his move."
Yin Zhongxiu breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually very nervous. If his guess was wrong, his position as Governor would be lost, and he would have to atone with his life.
"The people from the Fifth Division also found remnants of the pollution source on Cemetery Mountain. It was destroyed by fire abilities. That should also be the Fengqing Village swordsman's ability. Preliminary estimates suggest his combat power is no less than mine."
"And the identity of that old man in black robes has also been found. His name is Vilitan, a traitor of the Golden Horde. It is said he holds half a scroll of the Heavenly Book."
The man shook his head as he spoke.
Half a scroll of the Heavenly Book, a holy relic. No wonder the other party could use so many strange abilities.
However, Vilitan had been in hiding for two years. His appearance in the Gui Ye night domain today would likely attract many powerful individuals to hunt him down.
Even if their Demon Extermination Division had sealed off the news of this matter, it was hard to guarantee that the outside world wouldn't guess that this was related to a traitor of the Golden Horde.
The Gui Ye night domain was about to become restless again.
…
"The pastor said your injuries are not serious. A few days of rest will allow you to get out of bed and move around."
Yin Zhongxiu's eyes were filled with the doting affection of an elder. After feeding Yin Shui'er orange slices one by one, he brought over the table full of food and medicinal soup.
"Ten days from now, the court will convene an esper experience exchange conference. The venue will be Buoluo City."
"The main content will be to disclose some details of the Xishan incident and the handling methods to everyone for their study. After all, this time, we can still be considered to have won."
"Those who performed meritorious service in this defense battle will be commended. Your feat of holding off two second-tier great demons at the first-tier has spread. You will be officially rewarded then."
As he said this, the man suddenly remembered something, hesitated slightly, but still didn't tell Yin Shui'er about Xu Mu.
"People from the Third Division should also be here. You must restrain yourself then and not act impulsively."
"At most, you can make things difficult for him, but at most, you can only make him apologize. You absolutely cannot resort to violence."
Yin Shui'er sneered, her expression slightly mocking.
"What's the use of an apology when the person is already dead?"
"You don't need to worry about this matter. If anything happens, I will take responsibility with the main family!"
Yin Shui'er turned her head away, refusing to drink the medicine the man offered, her lips slightly pursed.
She already regretted delaying once.
The case Xu Mu was investigating would be useless even if it were solved in the future, because he was already dead.
Therefore, she understood a principle: delay breeds change.
Did they want her to take a step back, pretend nothing happened, and settle accounts later?
Yin Shui'er's gaze turned cold. She would not make the same mistake twice.
"Alas, it doesn't matter if you're angry with me, but those are the orders of the main family. Think more about your parents and don't cause more trouble."
Yin Zhongxiu left these words with earnest concern, then placed the medicinal soup in his hand on the table and got up to leave.
Creak.
The wooden door was slowly closed. Yin Shui'er turned around, looked at the medicinal soup on the wooden table, and slowly sat up.
To seek revenge, one must first have strength.
So she picked up the bowl and began to eat, then gulped down the bitter-tasting medicinal soup.
"Wang Jue."
Silently murmuring that person's name, Yin Shui'er's eyes turned fierce. This matter would absolutely not end here!
…