The passage of time in cultivation always felt exceptionally fast. As the night began to dim, Wang Yan and the Li Shanjun siblings had already departed. However, Yu Zhibo paid them no mind, his consciousness largely occupied by the personal data panel in his mind.
Following this upgrade, Yu Zhibo had chosen to hide some of the attribute descriptions on the panel, finding them too verbose and tiresome to read.
The changes in his data were substantial. Firstly, his spiritual power had increased, not as dramatically as the doubling it saw upon his initial awakening, but from 41 to 62, translating to 620 Hertz of spiritual power.
Secondly, his Strength, Agility, and Constitution attributes had all risen by approximately 50%. These changes brought about a feeling in Yu Zhibo that was entirely different from before the upgrade; it was far more than what the data alone suggested.
At least now, he felt countless times stronger than before, even experiencing the common delusion of being able to punch through a building after a significant power increase.
Next were the changes to his Sharingan. In this world, his Sharingan had no concept of "pupil power," yet he vaguely sensed that his eyes had reached the peak of the two-tomoe stage, just one step away from unlocking the three-tomoe, which required a specific catalyst, such as the death of a close friend.
To verify his hypothesis, he willed his thoughts and accessed the detailed information regarding his Sharingan on the data panel. As expected, he saw that the Sharingan's energy consumption had increased from 0.05 points of spiritual energy per second to 0.08 spiritual energy per second.
Immediately after, he brought up the description of the "Fox Illusion Technique" on the panel:
[Fox Illusion Technique, C-rank Illusionary Technique;施术范围 (Casting Range): 300m; Illusionary Effect: Makes the enemy feel as if they have entered a complex maze, forever walking on a single path. This illusion can be used on multiple people simultaneously. Victims of this technique will unknowingly wander in the same place, as if bewitched by a fox.
Note: Due to possessing the Sharingan, you gain an illusionary amplification. With the Sharingan active, the illusion's power increases by 50%. The mental energy consumed is based on the target's strength, with a minimum consumption of 5 Hertz of spiritual power. The stronger the target's mental power, the greater the consumption.]
Indeed, his feelings were not wrong. Accompanying the improvement of his Sharingan, the base consumption of his "Fox Illusion Technique" had decreased from 10 Hertz to 5 Hertz, and the power amplification had increased from the original 30% to 50%.
As for the mission...
Upon seeing that he could directly develop lightning-attribute spiritual energy by eliminating 5,000 dark creatures, Yu Zhibo's lips couldn't help but curl upwards slightly.
In the Naruto anime, Lightning Style ninjutsu was undoubtedly the coolest and possessed terrifying power.
Among the more famous ones were "Chidori," which could create the sharp resonance of Chidori; "Raikiri," which could sever lightning; "Chidori Sharp Spear," used by Sasuke in his duel with Deidara; the S-rank ninjutsu "Kirin," which could directly alter terrain; and the Cloud Hidden village's renowned technique, Lightning Style: Lightning Armor.
There were many more lesser-known techniques, such as Double Chidori, Lightning Style: Shadow Clone, Chidori Sharp Spear, Lightning Style: Lightning Transmission, and so on.
However, among these Lightning Style ninjutsu, what left the deepest impression on Yu Zhibo, besides Chidori and Kirin, was Kakashi's use of Lightning Style: Lightning Transmission against Tobi during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Although it only appeared once, the scene was incredibly shocking and cool.
This ninjutsu primarily manifested as a connection of Raikiri used by a shadow clone and the main body, pulling out an extremely long lightning line to drag towards the enemy. It could be considered a wide-area version of Raikiri, with enough power to sever the chakra tails of a Tailed Beast.
At the time, Yu Zhibo was so impressed by Kakashi that he slapped his thigh in excitement.
Imagine, in reality, if he and his shadow clones ran in a horizontal line, then pulled out a lightning line to cut through hordes of dark creatures or demonic beasts, felling all opponents in their path – how cool would that be!
In addition to the dazzling array of Lightning Style ninjutsu, lightning could also enhance a ninja's basic physical attack and defense capabilities, as well as the conduction speed of their own neurons, thereby increasing their speed. The benefits were truly countless.
Therefore, the next step was to hunt dark creatures madly, and mastering Lightning Style would be within reach!
The curve of Yu Zhibo's lips widened further. Just as he was about to unleash a chuunibyou laugh akin to the "Four Hokage of Uchiha" from Naruto, he suddenly sensed Li Fang, who was slumped on the banyan tree, and his impending laughter was abruptly cut short, as if his throat had been choked.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Yu Zhibo deactivated his Sharingan and looked at Li Fang with a hint of gratitude. He had guessed that Li Fang had been guarding him since the morning, and so he gratefully said, "Brother Li, thank you for your hard work!"
"Witnessing a genius break through is my honor!" Li Fang said, looking at Yu Zhibo with admiration. "The moment you opened your eyes, I could feel that your spiritual power was only slightly less than mine, and you're only an E-class!"
What Li Fang didn't say was that the instant Yu Zhibo opened his Sharingan, his heart felt a sudden tremor, indicating that the other party now possessed the ability to threaten him.
Upon hearing this, Yu Zhibo felt a little embarrassed and humbly replied, "It's alright, if you're going to praise me, praise me more."
Li Fang was speechless, gaining a new understanding of Yu Zhibo's swagger. He checked the time and said, "It's almost eight in the evening now. You should head back early. After you get back, be careful not to cultivate at home. Spiritual energy cultivation can easily attract beasts and demonic spirits. Also, research how to use the Sacred App. It contains some common knowledge that is very important for newcomers, and many missions from the bureau are posted there."
Hearing this, Yu Zhibo felt even more grateful to Li Fang. He truly didn't want to cause any trouble for his family due to his own actions. Fortunately, Li Fang had reminded him early; otherwise, he would have immediately started cultivating upon returning home.
"Oh, right. The bureau has equipped you with a car now, similar to Wang Ange's. You can go to HR and ask for it later. Just drive it back. You already have your license and everything. The bank card is in the main driver's sun visor. The card has 5 million, and the password is six sixes."
As Li Fang spoke, he opened the Sacred App again to look at the chat records sent by Si Junfang and continued, "Besides that, there are three bottles of Spiritual Source Liquid, used for repairing the bodies of ordinary people. You can give them to your family. These items were specially prepared for you by the team leader, as a thank you for your help to the Minister. The team leader is busy now, so she asked me to relay this to you."
So, it was the team leader's gratitude for him saving the Minister. This was truly too kind!
Although he held 99 merit points, they hadn't been cashed in yet, so Yu Zhibo was pleasantly surprised by the items Si Junfang had prepared for him, his grin stretching from ear to ear.
Li Fang chuckled and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now?"
Yu Zhibo, beaming with joy, felt that Li Fang had done too much for him and that he ought to do something in return. He took out his phone and asked Li Fang to add him on WeChat.
"Alright! Let's stay in touch on WeChat if you have nothing else, and use the Sacred App if you have matters to discuss!" Li Fang readily added him on WeChat, smiling heartily.
"You've worked hard for me for so long, Brother Li. I should give you something," Yu Zhibo said. He then opened the chat window with Li Fang and operated his phone, preparing to send Li Fang a 200 yuan red packet. However, he discovered that his balance was insufficient. Upon opening his wallet, he saw he only had 192 yuan left, so he sent Li Fang a 188 yuan red packet.
After all, what cash could a high school student have? Moreover, Yu Zhibo had already spent most of it yesterday on ghost-catching materials and paying the pet store.
"Holy cow, thanks, boss!" Li Fang quickly tapped to receive the red packet. It's well known that most people look down on small amounts of money, but when it's received through a red packet, they become very happy, and Li Fang felt the same way at that moment.
After thanking him, Li Fang added with a sly grin, "Actually, you didn't have to be so polite. The team leader assigned me the task of guiding your cultivation and gave me three merit points. You're too kind!"
Yu Zhibo was instantly speechless: "You scoundrel, give me back my 188 yuan and my gratitude!"
However, remembering that he had no shortage of merit points from killing dark creatures as easily as eating and drinking, his mood balanced out. After bidding farewell to Li Fang, they parted ways at the training ground.
During the day, Si Junfang had shown him around the various regular departments of the Sacred Bureau, so he knew where the HR department was. Upon arriving at HR, a young lady was already waiting for him. She took him to collect his car and then gave him an access pass before leaving.
Perhaps because Wang Ange preferred manual transmissions, and Si Junfang also liked them, the black Land Rover she assigned him was also a manual. However, this posed no difficulty for Yu Zhibo, who had never driven before. After a quick online tutorial, he activated his Sharingan and started the car. The black Land Rover then smoothly executed a U-turn in the parking lot and drove out.
"So cool!" The young man, driving for the first time, was exhilarated and quickly drove the car to the checkpoint gate.
Just as Yu Zhibo was about to deactivate his Sharingan and lower the window to greet the guards, he inadvertently glanced at the soldier on duty and discovered the presence of spiritual energy within him. The spiritual energy was sparse, appearing in small specks, but it was undeniably present.
Yu Zhibo froze. He had been driving with his Sharingan active. While driving around the Sacred Bureau, he had encountered many ordinary people working in regular departments, but none of them possessed spiritual energy.
Looking further behind the guard, he saw a dark creature integrated with the guardhouse in the innermost corner, with gray spiritual energy slowly flowing around it.
"Hello, please show your identification!" The guard on duty saluted Yu Zhibo, speaking very politely, although he couldn't see the person's expression through the glass.
"Okay, soldier!" Yu Zhibo deactivated his Sharingan, lowered the window, and handed over the access pass the lady from HR had given him. However, his mind began to race.
The presence of spiritual energy in this soldier – did it mean he had the potential to awaken? Had the dark creature behind him sensed this beforehand and ambushed him, ready to devour him the moment he awakened?
The more Yu Zhibo thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. After all, when he drove out, he had encountered many ordinary people, and this soldier was the only one with spiritual energy, and coincidentally, there was a dark creature behind him.
Moreover, Sister Ange had once said that low-level dark creatures were not interested in ordinary people. However, whenever someone awakened, dark creatures always seemed to discover them faster than the Sacred Bureau. They would choose to devour awakened individuals at the moment of their awakening, when their core sequences began to absorb spiritual energy at a rapid rate, thereby achieving evolution.
Thinking of this, all the clues aligned. Yu Zhibo's expression remained unchanged, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened involuntarily!
Over the years, how many awakened individuals had these dark creatures devoured!
"Hello! Please take back your identification!" After checking the identification, the guard saluted and returned it.
Yu Zhibo cheerfully took back his identification and then said, "May I park the car to the side for a moment? I'm waiting for a friend."
Hearing this, the soldier paused for a moment, then said, "Of course, as long as you don't obstruct traffic!"
"Thank you!" Yu Zhibo thanked him and then parked the car to the side. He then opened the Sacred App, clicked on the friends tab, and then opened the chat interface with Si Junfang, initiating a voice call.