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    Starry Sky Professional Directory 22

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    Chapter 22: Breakthrough to the Second Realm (Requesting Bookmarks)

    2024-06-29

    Chapter 22: Breakthrough to the Second Realm (Requesting Bookmarks)

    The Little Talisman Shop was indeed very “small.”

    Upon entering the store, one could see rows of wooden shelves, each shimmering with various spiritual lights. Beyond that, there was no other space.

    Under the protection of the spiritual light on the shelves, numerous talismans of varying colors and lines were displayed.

    In the center was a counter, with only a young attendant sitting behind it. He was indifferent upon seeing Fang Xing enter.

    ‘The service industry in this cultivation world desperately needs improvement… Looks like Qingdan Pavilion is an exception?’

    Fang Xing muttered to himself, then directly said, “Spirit Testing Symbol… I wonder what the price is?”

    “One spirit stone per talisman.”

    The attendant in green robes answered without looking up.

    “How expensive! Stalls outside only charge eight spirit sands… If you haggle, you might even get it for six or seven.” Fang Xing instinctively retorted.

    “Hmph… Every talisman in this shop is a masterpiece drawn by a master, how can it be compared to those shoddy goods outside?”

    The attendant perked up, gesturing as he took out a talisman. “Look at this talisman paper, this ink… each is top-notch. Can those outside compare? Can they compare? It’s like, if you buy a low-quality Spirit Testing Symbol, the test results are wrong, it could ruin a young genius’s entire life… not to mention other attack and defense talismans, if they fail at a critical moment, it could be fatal! Those talisman papers from the stalls outside, who knows which wild cultivator drew them, would you trust them?”

    Although the attitude was bad, Fang Xing felt the other party made sense. He obediently took out a spirit stone and bought a Spirit Testing Symbol.

    Thus, his earnings from selling the Vermilion Dragon Grass were completely spent; not a single coin would be going home.

    “Sigh, it really is ‘the market earns, the market spends, nothing goes home!'”

    Leaving the Little Talisman Shop, Fang Xing sighed.

    Fortunately, he had seen enough for the day; he no longer lingered and strode out of the market.

    After leaving the shantytown area, a yellow warbler suddenly flew out of his carrying basket, monitoring the surroundings.

    Originally, Fang Xing had only done this as a precaution.

    But it wasn’t long before he couldn’t smile anymore.

    In the surveillance footage, a sneaky figure clearly appeared, following him!

    With a hunched figure and a tobacco pipe at his waist, it was that old stall owner!

    “It was only two spirit stones!”

    “What happened to trust between people?”

    Fang Xing muttered, suddenly accelerating.

    With the help of the sky-based surveillance, losing him wasn’t difficult.

    Although the other party was just an ordinary martial artist, and old and frail, he might still have a few tricks up his sleeve, or even talismans!

    ‘I’ll settle the score with you later…’

    Fang Xing’s figure accelerated and turned several times, instantly disappearing without a trace.

    A moment later, the previous stall owner arrived at his location, looking at the disappearing footprints on the ground, a hint of regret flashed across his face…

    Temporary Camp.

    By now, the camp had been completely remodeled; all ground structures had disappeared, leaving only a lawn.

    Fang Xing came to a spot, lifted the lawn, and revealed an entrance.

    Following the entrance down, he arrived at a cave. The cave had ventilation shafts installed, and a smart computer was working, with nine screens constantly displaying surrounding surveillance footage.

    He checked the system log. Besides a few wild beasts drawing water, he found nothing unusual, and nodded in satisfaction.

    Silently recalling the day’s events, Fang Xing opened a document and began recording today’s prices, the market geography, and some observations…

    Finally, he deeply recorded the appearance of the old stall owner.

    This grudge, he remembered!

    “Acquired one Spirit Testing Symbol, one bottle of Qi Blood Pill, and I can silently cultivate for a while. Breaking through to the second realm shouldn’t be a problem, hmph…”

    Fang Xing put down the pill and looked at the Spirit Testing Symbol in his hand.

    The talisman paper was a bright yellow color, with outlined runes that seemed to contain spiritual light, and a faint ink fragrance.

    “In the cultivation world, low-level talismans work as soon as they’re torn open, even some ordinary people can use them…”

    “But slightly higher-level ones, like a first-order mid-grade ‘Golden Bell Cover Talisman’… besides cultivators, only Innate martial artists can barely use them, and must activate them with Innate True Qi…”

    “Even higher-level talismans, except for some special types deliberately designed with lower usage requirements, mostly need a cultivator’s spiritual energy to activate them, meaning non-cultivators can’t use them.”

    This common knowledge about using talismans was obtained through Fang Xing’s shameless pursuit of ‘after-sales service’ from the green-robed attendant!

    After all, after buying a talisman, they should at least tell you how to use it, right?

    Being treated like a country bumpkin was a bit embarrassing, but Fang Xing didn’t care about face.

    “The ‘Spirit Testing Symbol’ is a fairly common talisman, you can use it as soon as you tear it open… used to detect spiritual roots. If you have spiritual roots, the talisman will emit light, and the color and intensity of the light determine your cultivation aptitude…”

    “Many martial artists toil away, cultivating, besides wanting to accumulate spirit sands and buy pills to break through their martial dao realm, more are placing their hope for cultivation on the next generation…”

    “My body is formed from the best sperm and egg cells of the Blue Star Federation, and I also have the great luck of transmigration, I must have spiritual roots, at most, the roots are of varying quality… I can definitely cultivate! Otherwise, why would the Gate of All Heavens capture this world? I must cultivate…”

    Fang Xing silently encouraged himself.

    Cultivators not only have numerous methods, but also have long lifespans, making it the best evolutionary path.

    Not to mention, sword-flying and immortality are the childhood dreams of many.

    Who would toil away at martial arts if they could cultivate?

    With a hint of anticipation, he tore open the Spirit Testing Symbol!

    A beam of light fell on him, then dimmed.

    One minute passed…

    Two minutes passed…

    Five minutes passed…

    Nothing happened.

    “This Spirit Testing Symbol, is it broken?”

    Fang Xing scratched his head. “Sigh… cultivation is good, but combat power takes too long to build, a single retreat requires years or even decades of cultivation, and it might take a hundred years to improve one level of cultivation technique, unlike martial arts which are so much faster…”

    “What a useless cultivation method? To interfere with my martial dao heart? Get out of here!!!”

    After venting, Fang Xing calmed down. “Martial arts, martial arts! Pathetic cultivation path… one day, my martial dao will crush you!”

    Several days later.

    Fang Xing set up the Great Dragon Stake, his consciousness silently focusing on his attribute panel:

    【Name: Fang Xing】
    【Age: 16】
    【Profession: Martial Artist】
    【First Realm: Flesh (Refine Flesh: 99/100)】
    【Military Fist Twelve Forms: 33/100 (Proficient)】
    【Great Dragon Stake: 3/200 (Mastery)】
    【Gate of All Heavens (Charging)】

    “After mastering the Great Dragon Stake, it gets harder and harder to improve… without other help, it might take about a year to reach the fourth stage, giving birth to the ‘Dragon’s Intent Realm!'”

    “My martial arts realm, however, is improving rapidly…”

    With the Mastery level Great Dragon Stake and the Qi Blood Pills, Fang Xing’s Refine Flesh progress was incredibly fast.

    By now, he was on the verge of a breakthrough!

    He opened his eyes and silently swallowed a Qi Blood Pill.

    A hot current appeared, but the pill, which usually greatly increased his Qi and Blood and boosted his proficiency, felt noticeably ineffective this time.

    “It’s the bottleneck between the first and second realms!”

    An understanding dawned on Fang Xing. He opened the bottle and continuously poured pills into his mouth.

    Whoosh!

    His lower abdomen seemed to be burning with a flame; he could hear the blood flowing inside his body, making a sound like a great river.

    Fang Xing suddenly felt his skin and muscles seemed to ‘melt,’ the powerful heat flow covering his bones and marrow, finally allowing his bones and marrow to begin refining, emitting a loud bang!

    On the attribute bar, the section representing the martial arts realm suddenly blurred, and then a new message appeared:

    【Second Realm: Bones and Marrow (Refine Muscle: 1/100)】

    “I broke through… the second realm of martial arts!”

    Fang Xing clenched his fist, feeling the powerful force surging from his bones and marrow, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up.

    “Second realm martial artist, can learn B-level and even A-level martial arts. The cultivation techniques and martial skills of this world are too crude, far inferior to the advanced system of the Federation’s martial arts honed in bloody battles… Once I master an A-level martial art, I feel like I can compete with Innate martial artists even in the second realm without external help!”

    “Unfortunately, it’s still vacation…”

    Because of the vacation, without a master’s guidance, Fang Xing didn’t know if refining flesh had levels like refining skin, such as oxhide skin, copper skin, jade skin.

    He couldn’t possibly directly receive instruction in an A-level martial art like the ‘Ghost God Blade.’

    “If I choose to cultivate, in this world, can I really get the same kind of training as the Federation?”

    “Not to mention, martial arts can eventually pilot mechs, the destructive power is incredibly terrifying, even capable of destroying a star in one blow… ordinary cultivators probably can’t even imagine.”

    “The Qi Blood Pills are almost depleted due to breaking through the bottleneck. Next, I’ll adapt to the new realm, then go to the market again…”

    Fang Xing looked at his body.

    His originally somewhat slender figure had become much stronger. After taking off his shirt, clear muscles could be seen.

    Not only that, he seemed to have grown taller.

    “Looks thin in clothes, muscular without clothes… if I had this figure in my past life, maybe girls would have chased after me!”

    Fang Xing touched his strong muscles, feeling somewhat emotional.

    Unfortunately, the days of his past life were gone forever.
    (End of Chapter)

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