True Solution of the Sword Dao

The entire Quiet Room was bathed in a layer of blue, resembling the shimmer of water.

Lin Fei quietly watched the crystal floating in front of her. From this angle, she could clearly see the black substance inside it being slowly consumed like a burning candle.

"Is this effect caused by breaking through the Tenth Diagram, or is it naturally occurring because the True Force has reached a certain level of power?" Lin Fei muttered to herself, feeling the massive consumption of True Force within her body. The rate of consumption was almost keeping pace with its replenishment. Without the constant supply from the seed of True Force, she estimated she would be burned to a crisp in the next minute.

"I thought that reaching the Third Layer, Tenth Diagram would reveal a power similar to that of the Divine Beast, but it seems that’s not the case," Lin Fei murmured, her eyes slightly closed as the Divine Artifact Crystal suddenly whooshed into her brow. A golden pattern flickered once and then disappeared completely, calming down.

"Given the burning time, it will take a long time to completely consume the black substance." Lin Fei felt that the Divine Artifact Crystal, having broken through the Tenth Diagram, began to form a faint, almost imperceptible link with her on a spiritual level. This was no longer just an identity as a holder of the Divine Artifact.

"If the Divine Artifact’s power were stronger, I suppose it could speed up the consumption of the black substance. I should stabilize this place as soon as possible and immediately head to Europe to find the other parts," Lin Fei resolved within her heart. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

At the same time, she began to gradually emit a mysterious fragrance from her body.

"This seems to be an effect that naturally occurs when the body reaches a certain degree of perfection," she frowned slightly, "but it’s odd for a man like me to have a body fragrance, isn’t it?"

With a thought, blue ribbons of light suddenly appeared in the air around Lin Fei, slowly swirling like ribbons, quickly dissipating the odd fragrance in the air. The light ribbons disappeared as well.

Lin Fei slowly closed her eyes and continued to immerse herself in the cultivation.

"There are fifteen diagrams on the Third Layer. Soon, very soon, the next resurrection slot will normally appear. The price required for a slot through the Myriad Autumn Sword Sect is simply too great. Reviving one person requires a Blood Sacrifice of a hundred people, a sacrifice akin to a massacre. And the resurrected experts are only of the lowest level, merely at a C-grade in strength. It’s absolutely unacceptable. Only time will tell."

*******************

Nearby a middle school, Merrill’s residence

In the bedroom, the blonde Merrill, dressed in a white lab coat, was leisurely sipping coffee with her legs crossed. Beside her, Cheng Guang, another blonde, silently operated a laptop, monitoring various different regions.

Lin You shrank uncomfortably in the corner.

"Do you really have to check?" Her voice trembled a bit.

"Of course," the pretty black-haired girl sitting on the bed nodded while methodically fastening the buttons on her shirt. "Although Merrill has always had an unusual interest in women, aside from being a lesbian, she is also an extremely competent doctor of medicine and biochemistry."

"Alright, hurry up. After this test, based on each of your body states, I’ll insert a small seed as a symbiotic state tracker. If anyone faces trouble, this seed can directly connect with others without using spiritual power for communication," Merrill explained. "It’s just a bit painful. Just bear with it for a moment."

Lin You gritted her teeth and walked over.

While Merrill was conducting the check-up on Lin You, Cheng Guang and Feil huddled together.

"There’s something strange here," Cheng Guang frowned.

"What is it?" Feil leaned in, looking at the laptop together."

Cheng Guang pointed at a segment of video playback.

"This surveillance seems to have caught something happening here, but it’s not clear."

Feil followed her finger.

Indeed, it was a video from the back of the school’s playground. In a corner of the playground, one could see bursts of light effects, like fireworks, and occasional shadows moving.

"Could it just be some kids setting off fireworks?" Feil asked, puzzled.

"I thought so at first too, but after checking out the area, there were no traces of gunpowder on the ground. It’s a dirt playground that can be used as a football field; it’s impossible to completely clean up any residue of gunpowder," Cheng Guang frowned.

"This video was timed right around when Lin You was confronting the recent enemy," Cheng Guang pulled up the video timestamp.

"Let’s not worry about it too much," Feil said nonchalantly, "it’s been so long since that incident, it should be fine now."

"We can’t let our guard down because of that," Cheng Guang stared intently at the mysterious corner in the video.

Suddenly, the cellphone in her shirt pocket vibrated sharply.

"I’ll take this call," she said, standing up to excuse herself.

Feil moved to where she had been sitting, eagerly beginning to scan other videos. Lin You was still crying nearby; Merrill was carefully extracting a green item from a small test tube.

Cheng Guang shook her head slightly and walked out the door.

From her shirt pocket, she took out her cellphone, which displayed a familiar number—no name, no caller ID, just a series of digits. She knew that even this number would be changed within an hour, requiring her to memorize it again.

Taking a deep breath, Cheng Guang moved to a more secluded corner and answered the call softly.

"How is it? Is it the thing of legend?" a man’s voice came through the phone.

"I haven’t had the chance to check yet," Cheng Guang replied calmly. "Give me some time."

"We don’t have much time. The boss has given you utmost attention, you must confirm as quickly as possible whether it’s what we need most."

"What about the conditions you promised me?" Cheng Guang asked coolly. "How is my father doing now?"

"He’s fine. As long as you follow our orders, his treatment won’t be bad, but if you intentionally delay, don’t blame us for turning hostile," the man’s voice suddenly grew stern.

"Don’t worry, I won’t go back on my word or play tricks," she assured him.

"I hope so." The call on the other end ended.

Cheng Guang put down her phone, sighed softly, and stood in the corner looking out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

*****************

In an Audi, the scenery outside the window flew past rapidly.

Chen Chen focused intently on driving the car.

Lin Fei sat in the back seat with his eyes slightly closed, seemingly resting.

Jiang Nan sat quietly beside him, also not speaking.

The entire car was silent, save for the soft hum of the engine.

"Beep beep..." A series of short text message tones sounded.

Lin Fei opened his eyes and took his phone out of his pocket.

He unlocked the screen to reveal a string of seemingly random English letters. The text message was from an entirely unfamiliar number.

Contents from a previous email by Sis flashed through Lin Fei’s mind.

"Is it?" he frowned slightly, "Just in time."

"Let’s not go back yet. Head to the Kyushu Hotel, on Bi Xiang Road."

"Understood," Chen Chen responded respectfully.

The car quickly turned into a side road, deviating from its original direction.

Jiang Nan looked at Lin Fei, puzzled.

"I have some matters to attend to," Lin Fei explained briefly.

Ten minutes later, the car stopped in front of a large, luxurious hotel. The black hotel building stood out distinctly in the area, like a crane among chickens.

"Chen Chen, you take Nannan back first. I have some matters to attend to," Lin Fei instructed.

"Understood," Chen Chen nodded.

Jiang Nan hesitated momentarily, "But..."

"Be good, Nannan," Lin Fei said, pinching her face with a smile.

"Oh." Jiang Nan blushed and looked down.

Lin Fei exited the car, watching the Audi slowly disappear into the traffic flow before he turned and walked into the hotel.

In a high-level suite on the fourth floor of the hotel.

A young woman dressed in a black trench coat stood quietly by the window, hands tucked into her coat pockets. She was tall, and the coat was unbuttoned, simply draped over her.

Even through the glass reflection, Lin Fei could see the woman’s chest only covered by a black cloth strap.

The woman stood calmly with her back to Lin Fei. Her hair was tied back in a black ponytail, giving her an efficient look.

"Qilars Finks?" Lin Fei said quietly, using the contact code from Sis’s email.

"Of course."

The woman turned around to face him.

The two sized each other up.

She reminded Lin Fei of a hawk—a hawkish woman. This was Lin Fei’s first impression.

Her features were delicate and captivating. Her mouth slightly curled at one corner, her posture upright and strong, chin slightly upturned, eyes deep and unfathomable. She carried herself with a natural ease and superiority, as if she was mocking and looking down on the whole world.

"Nice to meet you." The woman extended her hand for a handshake.

Lin Fei gently shook her hand.

But the woman’s expression changed slightly in an instant.

"You’re very well-preserved," she commented.

"Am I?"

Lin Fei smiled.

The two sat down at a table by the window.

"I was curious about what kind of person would be the new reliance of that lunatic. But now it seems you have mastered his techniques of disguise quite thoroughly," the woman said calmly.

"You haven’t introduced yourself," Lin Fei replied with a smile.

"Call me Spider," the woman replied casually, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair, arms crossed in front of her chest—a very aggressive posture. "I never underestimate anyone due to their age, so I have collected quite a bit of information on you, though it seems not completely."

Lin Fei chuckled lightly, remaining silent.

"I’ve brought you the information from the Holy See in Europe and about the Tribunal Knight Order that you needed. The price was already paid by that guy." The woman pulled a small USB drive from her coat pocket and slid it across the table.

Lin Fei caught it swiftly, tucking it nonchalantly into his coat pocket.

"If possible, I’d like you to take this to Sis for me." He took out a black box wrapped in a faint transparent layer of potential energy—this was an ability Lin Fei rarely used, his own potential energy, which had decreased significantly in power due to the elimination of many impurities. However, due to the continuous increase in the total amount of True Force, Lin Fei’s surrounding potential energy had also recovered to peak level C. He could still utilize some tricks, and it could also be used to mask his own strength.

The technique wrapping the box was not for protection, but to prevent the box from being opened prematurely. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)