51: Chapter 51 The Demon
The Stardust Primal Guiding Technique has nine levels in total, guiding the power of the stars to expand the spiritual sea of consciousness and strengthen one's Mental Energy.
Ling Yichen immediately thought of Elina.
Last night, Elina seemed to be absorbing the power of the purple ring to cultivate the vertical eye on her forehead.
The two seemed to share similar underlying principles.
However, he didn't dwell on it for now, instead bowing gratefully to the old man.
“Thank you for the teaching, Master!”
He was quick to change his form of address, which startled the old man for a moment before he beamed with joy.
The relationship between a teacher and a student is different from that of a master and a disciple.
The bond between a master and a disciple is much, much deeper. By calling him Master, Ling Yichen meant he hoped for their connection to be even closer.
The old man was naturally delighted by this.
“Haha, from now on, we are fellow disciples, even though I, your senior brother, am a bit old and a bit weak.”
Long Daoyi also approached, his face full of smiles.
However, since his face was still swollen and he was missing a front tooth, this smile was incredibly comical.
Ling Yichen could only suppress his laughter as he respectfully addressed him as Senior Brother.
Hearing the title 'Senior Brother,' Long Daoyi smiled even more broadly, revealing a row of white teeth. He then pulled a box out of his Storage Ring and handed it to Ling Yichen.
“Your senior brother is down on his luck and doesn't have anything good to give you as a welcoming gift. Inside this is a ten-thousand-year-old Blood Ginseng. It can be used for medicine or steeped in water; it has the effect of strengthening the body and the brain.”
Ling Yichen didn't know much about medicinal herbs, but hearing it was at the ten-thousand-year level, he knew it wasn't cheap.
“Senior Brother, this is too valuable. I can't accept it!”
Long Daoyi seemed to know what he was thinking and continued to say with a smile, “It’s fine. It’s actually not that expensive. This wasn't grown naturally; it was artificially cultivated. Its value is much, much lower than a naturally grown one. Just take it.”
Ling Yichen was slightly stunned.
“Artificially cultivated? Is it through the catalysis of a plant-type talent?”
Ling Yichen immediately thought of Tian Yingying; the ability she had awakened seemed to be in this field.
Long Daoyi nodded in pleasant surprise and asked hastily, “Oh, does Junior Brother have research in this area as well?”
Ling Yichen quickly shook his head and replied, “Not really, but a young girl who is my neighbor seems to have awakened an ability in this area.”
Long Daoyi was even more delighted upon hearing this. He grabbed Ling Yichen and said, “Really? Then can you introduce her to me?”
Ling Yichen tilted his head slightly, looking at him with suspicion.
Long Daoyi immediately realized Ling Yichen had the wrong idea.
“Hehe, Junior Brother, you're overthinking it. I don't want to do anything to her; I just need a helper.”
“To be honest, there aren't many students who awaken this type of talent, and I need a helper who can help me look after the flower garden. After all, I have duties at the Academic Affairs Office and can't look after them all the time. If I had a helper, I could manage both.”
Ling Yichen understood immediately.
“I can introduce her, but... are there any benefits?”
He couldn't just ask her to work for nothing, right?
“Yes, yes, definitely. One point or 100 credits per hour, her choice. Plus, meals are included. As for housing, forget it—even though we have enough rooms here, it wouldn't be appropriate for a girl to live here!”
Ling Yichen nodded and replied, “Alright, I'll discuss it with her later and see if she's willing to come!”
“Great, great!” Long Daoyi's face was full of joy.
He desperately needed a helper.
Although the flower garden didn't look large, it actually spanned several mu of land. There were many types of plants, and each required different amounts of water and sunlight; they needed meticulous care and couldn't be left unattended.
“Alright, alright, it's getting late. It's time for Yichen to go report to his classroom.”
The old man interrupted their conversation and urged them.
Long Daoyi finally remembered and quickly chimed in, “Oh right, right, right. You need to get to class quickly so your class teacher doesn't mark you as truant. Truancy results in a demerit, and if you get too many, the Discipline Hall will come looking for you again.”
With that, he pulled Ling Yichen toward the exit of the flower garden.
At this moment, Ling Yichen suddenly said quietly, “Senior Brother, actually, I've already been truant for a day. Yesterday was our enrollment day, but I was delayed by something, so I didn't come.”
Long Daoyi froze, then looked at him with a blank stare. After a long while, he sighed helplessly and said, “Fine, I'll go to the Academic Affairs Office later to see if there's a disciplinary record for you. If there is, I'll help you clear it. Although I'm just a regular staff member at the Academic Affairs Office, I should be able to pull a few strings.”
Long Daoyi smiled good-naturedly.
Hearing this, Ling Yichen immediately explained, “There might not be a record, because I already asked my teammates to help handle it.”
Long Daoyi looked at him in surprise and asked, “Teammates? You've already found a team?”
Ling Yichen nodded slightly, and Liu Mei came to mind.
Liu Mei's appearance still felt suspicious and strange; he still maintained a certain level of wariness toward her.
At this point, Long Daoyi said, “Since you already have a team, I should tell you some basic common sense.”
“If your team takes a mission that requires leaving Rainbow City, you must ask for leave and absolutely do not go. With your current strength, the probability of death once you leave Rainbow City is extremely high.”
“It's best to only take missions within Rainbow City.”
Mentioning this, Ling Yichen suddenly became interested and asked, “Senior Brother, can you tell me specifically why?”
Long Daoyi sighed and explained, “That's right, you're still a newcomer and don't understand anything. I'll explain the true state of this world to you in detail!”
“Actually... the Rainbow City we live in now is only a part of the whole world—it can't even be called a part. It's just a tiny speck of land, smaller than one ten-millionth of the entire world.”
“The reason we are huddled inside Rainbow City is that the outside is teeming with demons and monsters.”
“Monsters are countless times stronger than humans. They are born with D-rank strength, and they reach C-rank when they become adults. And those are just ordinary monsters.”
“If it's an Elite level monster, it has C-rank strength as a juvenile and B-rank as an adult.”
“Lord-grade ones are even more terrifying, having B-rank strength as juveniles and reaching A-rank as adults.”
“As for the legendary Immortal Beasts, Demonic Beasts, and Divine Beasts, they are invincible existences. Rumor has it they have A-rank strength as juveniles, and once they reach adulthood, they can reach the legendary S-rank, or even SS and SSS-rank.”
“Of course, as of now, I haven't heard of anyone encountering them. You don't even need Immortal or Divine Beasts; an average team encountering just a few Elite level monsters is enough to be wiped out.”
“After all, monsters live in packs. Think about it—if your team encounters several adult B-rank Elite monsters, would you have the ability to resist? It would definitely end in total annihilation.”
Ling Yichen's heart was already in turmoil.
So, the world was actually like this. Humans had actually fallen to being the weakest existences.
Back on Earth, humans stood at the top of the food chain. No matter what you were, if you dared to appear in front of humans in a group, you couldn't escape the fate of being steamed, fried, boiled, or deep-fried. Even locusts, bats, snakes, insects, rats, and ants that many people were terrified of were eaten by some.
There was nothing you couldn't think of, and nothing humans couldn't cook. They had even evolved into local specialty snacks with dedicated breeding and cultivation channels.
“Senior Brother, so the military is also fighting monsters right now?” Ling Yichen began to ask about the war.
However, Long Daoyi shook his head and frowned. “It's not just monsters, there are also Demon-kin from underground.”
Demon-kin?
Ling Yichen heard another term he had never heard before.
Long Daoyi immediately explained, “The so-called Demon-kin are actually humans as well, just a variant. Some of them look exactly like humans, while others have merged with certain monster characteristics. The best way to identify a Demon-kin is by their blood; their blood is blue.”
“Demon-kin are very frenzied and exist in vast numbers. They not only hunt monsters but also hunt humans, viewing us as a delicacy. Their methods are extremely cruel.”
“If you encounter a Demon-kin in the future, you must kill them instantly. Do not hesitate for even a second, or you will become their food in the next moment.”
“There were once teams out on missions who encountered Demon-kin that looked exactly like humans. They feigned being weak and innocent humans to lure the Awakened Ones closer, then captured them all at once, and then...”
Ling Yichen didn't need Long Daoyi to explain the rest to know they had naturally become someone else's meal.
“Sigh, it seems the humans of this world are truly miserable, facing threats from monsters and being preyed upon by Demon-kin.”
Ling Yichen lamented.
After learning this basic knowledge, he had a general understanding of the overall layout of this world.
However, he immediately looked up at the sky, gazing at the city looming within the clouds, and asked, “Senior Brother, what about Sky City? What kind of place is that exactly?”
Hearing this, Long Daoyi also looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with endless yearning.
“Sky City is the place everyone on the Surface yearns for. It is the key to ensuring the survival of our Rainbow City, and it is the last garden of the entire world.”
“Only by entering there can one leave all troubles behind and truly live a carefree life.”
Ling Yichen could see that Long Daoyi had an infinite longing for Sky City.
However, he didn't quite see it that way.
Although he didn't have detailed knowledge of Sky City, he consistently felt that place was not a good place.
It was an intuition!
--