160: The Way of Survival

Since his Talent upgraded under the giant eye in the Black-Grade Secret Realm, Zhang Sheng's mind had been highly tense, keeping watch on all changes in the outside world, leaving him no time to explore the transformation of his own Talent.

His original "Eternal Unique" Talent now possessed an additional suffix: "Limit Breaking."

This change was intuitively reflected in his Cultivation Techniques—the progress of his Realm advancement had transformed into specific percentage values.

However, when he saw the Spell panel display "Spell: Profound Light Shield · Second Order (Perfected State: 100.001%)", doubts arose in his heart.

"100.001%? Why can it exceed one hundred percent?" Zhang Sheng frowned slightly, "Could this be the so-called 'Limit Breaking'?"

Strangely, even though the progress bar exceeded 100%, he had not noticed any abnormalities while casting the Profound Light Shield.

"I can only wait until I return to Cultivate to explore this slowly." He suppressed his confusion and set it aside for the moment.

Walking out of the Youyuan Chamber of Commerce, Zhang Sheng stepped into the gates of the Qinglan Chamber of Commerce.

Upon entering, he immediately felt a distinct difference.

Although the acquisition prices offered by the two chambers of commerce were similar, the selling price at the Qinglan Chamber of Commerce was actually a full ten percent higher than at the Youyuan Chamber of Commerce!

What was even more unpleasant was that they flatly refused to accept spirit beads for exchange here.

Even the shop assistants carried an air of arrogance, ignoring him, the Prefect, and treating him with perfunctory attitudes.

"Are they not afraid that I will issue an order prohibiting the public from trading with them?" Zhang Sheng felt slightly annoyed, but his face remained calm; he casually purchased a few items and turned to leave.

Walking out of the magnificent palace-like building, Zhang Sheng stopped and looked back, his gaze falling on the black and gold plaque of "Qinglan Chamber of Commerce" hanging high above, the four characters exuding a heavy sense of majesty.

"The two characters 'Qinglan' must be the source of their arrogance." He understood in his heart, then stopped lingering; his figure transformed into a streak of rainbow light, flying rapidly back to the First Cultivation University.

Upon landing, Zhang Sheng immediately summoned the members of the Council of Elders for an emergency meeting.

"...The situation is as such." Zhang Sheng recounted the attitudes, acquisition and selling rules, and his own observations of the two chambers of commerce,

"The urgent priority is to adjust our administrative structure to align with other New Prefectures in the outside world. The two characters 'Heavenly Dao' must no longer be used, lest we invite unnecessary taboos."

This was a necessary, albeit helpless, step to integrate into the outside world.

It was ultimately decided to rename the "Heavenly Dao Academy" to the "Hua Prefecture Council of Elders," with little change to the rest of the structure.

Zhang Sheng then deployed instructions: "Currently, the material in Hua Prefecture that can best be exchanged for spirit crystals is, first and foremost, the large amount of mist-gathering spirit fir trees.

These spirit fir trees are Second Order Spiritual Materials, huge in size, and the cones they produce fetch a high acquisition price from both chambers of commerce."

"I have decided: First, stop casting new spirit beads and gather all existing spirit beads within the prefecture to exchange them entirely for spirit crystals; Second, take a portion of the spirit plants and Spiritual Materials obtained from the Secret Realm and sell them to the two chambers of commerce in exchange for spirit crystals."

He pondered for a moment and set the tone for dealing with the two chambers of commerce: "For the time being, Cultivators are prohibited from trading privately with the two chambers of commerce. All transactions will be executed by the Council of Elders after uniformly collecting materials and formulating plans."

"Whether selling or purchasing, the transaction amounts with the two chambers of commerce must be kept as close as possible.

Even if the Qinglan Chamber of Commerce's selling price is ten percent higher, proceed accordingly. The current Hua Prefecture should not offend any faction."

Zhang Sheng handed three Second Order Low Grade storage rings directly to Hou Wu for use in subsequent transactions.

After the meeting, Zhang Sheng returned to the rebuilt villa.

His parents had moved in to live with him. Fortunately, both elders had advanced to the Divine Breath Realm with an excellent Foundation of "First Refinement Ten Spirits," and both had the possibility of condensing a True Embryo and advancing further in the future.

...

"Prefect, your subordinate will go and handle it immediately!" Hou Wu accepted the order and respectfully withdrew.

To adapt to the new environment, the way everyone addressed Zhang Sheng had also quietly changed.

Although he did not understand why Zhang Sheng wanted to recall the Jade Slips that had not yet been distributed, Hou Wu knew deep down that the Prefect must have a profound reason.

It turned out that just half an hour ago, Zhang Sheng, having returned to the villa's quiet room and deliberated deeply, had made a decision: he ordered Hou Wu to recall all the Jade Slips that had been handed to him but not yet distributed!

Furthermore, he instructed that even those Jade Slips that had already been distributed but not yet used must be used on the spot under Hou Wu's supervision.

The reason was simple—the Jade Slips Zhang Sheng had personally crafted, whether it was "Moon Slash," "Azure Rain Art," or "Spirit Focusing Art," without exception, all contained his insights from the Perfected State!

Whether it was Su Tang's shocked reaction when witnessing him instantly cast the Perfected State Profound Light Shield, the Jade Slips marked with sky-high prices in the chambers of commerce, or the information about the outside world he had learned from the customs and practices Jade Slips, all pointed to an ironclad fact:

Even in this Qinglan Prefecture where Geniuses emerge in droves, those who could Cultivate a Spell to the Perfected State were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, and could be called Geniuses among Geniuses!

Yet Zhang Sheng had mastered so many Cultivation Techniques and Spells at the Perfected State!

Once known to the outside world, it would inevitably cause many unnecessary troubles.

He had to first figure out the outside world's attitude toward "Geniuses" before he could decide how much strength to reveal.

Therefore, he had to eliminate any channels that might expose his own Realm.

Those Jade Slips containing insights from the Perfected State must never fall into the hands of outsiders, especially those from the chambers of commerce.

Currently, although everyone in the prefecture knew that the Jade Slips he crafted were exquisite, they were not yet aware that he had already attained the Perfected State.

But if obtained and analyzed by the chambers of commerce, the truth would be exposed completely.

Furthermore, what he needed to be concerned about was his own "Instant Spell Casting" ability!

Fortunately, the types of instant Spells he had previously revealed were limited, especially Second Order Spells, which were basically limited to a few types such as the Profound Light Shield and Moon Slash.

In less than half a day, Hou Wu brought back more than one hundred undistributed Jade Slips.

Zhang Sheng waved his hand to collect them and said in a deep voice: "In the future, unless there are special circumstances, I will not provide such Jade Slips again. Any needed Jade Slips can be purchased from the chambers of commerce."

"Understood!" Hou Wu replied and withdrew.

Watching Hou Wu's departing back, an indescribable sense of alienation quietly welled up in Zhang Sheng's heart.

The day and night on the Tianxing Continent each lasted twenty-four hours; the sky saw neither sun, moon, nor stars, only a faint light from an unknown source, preventing the night from sinking completely into pitch blackness.

...

In the quiet room, a ghostly blue flame danced silently at Zhang Sheng's fingertip, the firelight reflecting on his cold and calm face.

His hair, unkempt for several months, was almost covering his eyes.

Spell: Flame Manipulation Art · Second Order (Perfected State: 100.0001%)

"As expected, the progress has exceeded one hundred percent again..." Zhang Sheng stared at the blue flame dancing at his fingertip, his brows locked tightly, "However, no new insights have emerged in my Sea of Consciousness, and there is no change in the Spell's power or spiritual power consumption."

He stopped the experiment.

Under these circumstances, he did not know how long he would have to Cultivate before he could glimpse the clues.

What kind of limit was the "Limit Breaking" in his Talent supposed to break through?

If it was to break through the shackles of the Perfected State, what level would he need to reach to step into that unknown new Realm?

With his mind unsettled, Zhang Sheng simply put aside his exploration of "Limit Breaking" for the time being, gathered his focus, and turned to operate the Spirit Refining Cultivation Technique, "Thousand Silks Soul Forging Art."

The True Embryo Realm was now within reach.

The next morning.

"It is indeed a Second Order Heaven-Grade Spirit Refining Cultivation Technique!" Zhang Sheng, who had sat quietly all night, suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze shining with brilliant light, "Just by reaching the Proficient Realm, my Mental Energy strength has surged by a large margin!"

His mind flickered, and his Divine Sense spread out like a tidal wave.

In an instant, everything within a radius of three hundred kilometers was revealed in minute detail, all reflected within his Sea of Consciousness!

Not only that, his Object Manipulation ability had also increased by more than double compared to before.

Zhang Sheng stood up, a flash of coldness in his eyes, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the sky.

"New 'guests' have arrived again!"