In the mountain forest, Lin Zheyu stepped on dry branches and fallen leaves, producing soft rustling sounds. He moved slowly, a trace of leisure on his face, patrolling while admiring the scenery of the woods. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting down and bringing a touch of faint brightness to the dim forest.

"The Baleful Yin force here isn't right. It's much denser than in other places."

Lin Zheyu suddenly came to a stop.

He carefully sensed the surroundings and confirmed that he had not misjudged. When the concentration of Baleful Yin force was distributed unevenly, it often meant that a source of Baleful Yin force had appeared nearby, interfering with the concentration of Baleful Yin force in the air.

This place isn't far from Wuling City, yet a source of Baleful Yin force has appeared. Something seems off. Could it be that something is about to happen again? Lin Zheyu pondered.

According to his understanding, every city and the surrounding regions were enveloped in the radiance of Great Wei's national fortune or, in other words, its faith. In his perception, the Baleful Yin force in those areas had always been extremely thin, and he had never discovered a suddenly appearing source of Baleful Yin force. This was the first time he had sensed the existence of a suspected Baleful Yin force source at such close range. Without hesitation, Lin Zheyu followed the direction where the Baleful Yin force was denser.

After advancing more than six hundred meters, he stopped.

"As expected, a source of Baleful Yin force has truly appeared."

Lin Zheyu looked toward the half-person-tall patch of grass ahead. The concentration of Baleful Yin force there was the highest, continuously emitting an aura of Baleful Yin force outward.

Even in broad daylight, it steadfastly emitted a faint Baleful Yin force, affecting the surrounding concentration. He slowly walked toward that spot, and a streak of purple blade light flashed like lightning. From within the half-person-tall grass came an abruptly cut-off roar, followed by the sound of a head hitting the ground.

"A demon puppet has actually lurked all the way here. Interesting. Perhaps this time I can find a more perfect excuse to break through to the Force Transformation realm."

The corner of Lin Zheyu's lips lifted slightly into a smile.

Something was not quite right. The appearance of a source of Baleful Yin force meant that the influence of Great Wei's national fortune or faith within its radiated range was weakening. That was why even in mountain forests so close to the city, sources of Baleful Yin force had begun to appear. He picked up the demon puppet's head. It was only a Marrow Refining realm demon puppet.

Ten contribution points secured, not bad.

After marking the spot, Lin Zheyu carried the demon puppet's head and continued patrolling near the City Guard's defensive line.

More than two hours later.

At the place where Lin Zheyu usually roasted ferocious beast meat during his free time, the sound of firewood burning echoed. Over the past half month, Li Yin had been influenced by Lin Zheyu and had also begun roasting ferocious beast meat to pass the time when idle.

A familiar sound came from the forest. Lin Zheyu had returned.

She raised her head and asked softly, "I roasted some meat. Do you want to eat... Wait, what were you doing? You hunted three demon puppets without making a sound."

Halfway through her sentence, Li Yin stood up in surprise.

She saw Lin Zheyu holding three ferocious demon puppet heads in his hands, strolling out of the forest at an unhurried pace.

"My luck is pretty good. I went out on patrol and ran into three demon puppets looking to die," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

"That's not right. We cleared out all the nearby demon puppets last night. During the day, they're suppressed and instinctively look for places to hide. How could demon puppets appear nearby?" Li Yin frowned, her expression turning serious. She also sensed that something was wrong.

"That's why I said my luck is good," Lin Zheyu replied with a teasing smile.

After the joke, he put away his smile and said seriously, "I'll go hand in the mission first. Tell Guo Yu and Zheng Shan about this. I only patrolled the nearby area and didn't go far, yet I found three demon puppets. If you look again, there should be quite a few more."

Lin Zheyu then reminded her, "Be careful."

"Alright." Li Yin nodded. She casually tossed aside the half-roasted ferocious beast meat, gripped her longsword, and walked into the forest.

***

Lin Zheyu went to the nearest registration point to hand in the mission and earned another thirty contribution points. In more than half a month of missions, although Lin Zheyu had remained rather laid back and rarely gone out specifically to hunt demon puppets, his gains were not much less than those of others. His perception was simply too strong. With his keen senses and strength, he could easily locate areas where the Baleful Yin force was denser, track down the hidden demon puppets, and kill them. Over the past half month, he had accumulated one hundred and thirty-six contribution points. Adding the thirty points just earned today, he now had a total of one hundred and sixty-six points.

"One bottle of third-grade spirit liquid only costs thirty contribution points. That's really cheap," Lin Zheyu could not help but remark.

This time, Great Wei had truly paid a heavy price. Compared to sect prices, the exchange rates were incredibly cheap. If he were not worried about being targeted by the forces behind the unknown demon god, Lin Zheyu would have long since gone all out hunting demon puppets everywhere.

After handing in the mission, he returned to the forest and resumed his daily meat-roasting routine. The demon puppets near the defensive line had all been found by him. Within a three-kilometer radius, barring accidents, there should be no others. Beyond three kilometers, Lin Zheyu did not intend to search. His accumulated Origin Force was still insufficient, and he was also short on spirit liquid. Even if he intended to place himself in danger to seek a chance to break through to the Force Transformation realm, it would only be after he was fully prepared.

[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]

[Name: Lin Zheyu]

[Origin Force: 20]

[Skills: Sacred Evolution Spirit Nurturing Art (Second Stage: 0%), Primordial Wuji True Technique (Third Stage: 0%)]

20 units of Origin Force now. At this pace, in about two more months, I should be able to accumulate 100 units. The situation isn't great, though. I'm not sure I can hold out for two months. I need to be ready at any time for possible changes. With 20 units of Origin Force, it's not enough to condense all my true strength, but I can at least condense a portion of it.

***

Time slowly passed. The sun tilted westward, casting dusky yellow light. The aroma of roasted meat, spices, chili powder, and sizzling juices over charcoal fire blended, releasing a mouthwatering fragrance. A light breeze carried the scent into the surrounding forest.

"Brother Lin, you're roasting meat again. A lot of demon puppets have appeared in the forest. They've lurked nearby and are hiding quietly. Something big is probably about to happen again," Guo Yu said as he emerged from the forest, carrying a demon puppet's head in his hand.

He looked somewhat disheveled. His clothes had been torn by demon puppets in battle, and several wounds on his body still carried traces of Baleful Yin force. His chest rose and fell heavily. Clearly, he had suffered considerable injuries during this hunt.

"You need a full stomach to fight. Take it slow. There are so many demon puppets, you won't finish killing them," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.

He handed over the freshly roasted ferocious beast meat and said, "You're injured. Want some roasted meat to recover a bit?"

"Your roasting skills are first-rate. I've wanted to try it for a while," Guo Yu said. He casually tossed the demon puppet's head onto the ground, took the meat from Lin Zheyu, and began to eat.

"Where are Li Yin and the others? They haven't returned yet?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"Not yet. They went to chase another demon puppet. I got injured, so I came back to rest first. I'll meet up with them later. There might be quite a few demon puppets tonight. Miss Li, Brother Zheng, and I plan to cooperate and hunt together. Brother Lin, want to join us?" Guo Yu asked with a smile as he chewed the meat.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I won't join you," Lin Zheyu replied, declining his invitation.

Guo Yu smiled and nodded, not taking it to heart. After more than half a month together, he had come to understand Lin Zheyu's temperament. Aside from enjoying roasting meat when idle, he preferred to act alone rather than cooperate with others.

Time slowly passed. The sun set, and night began to fall. Lin Zheyu's two-day, one-night mission came to an end. After finishing the last piece of roasted meat, he stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

***

In Wuling City, Lin Zheyu came to the City Guard affairs office and asked, "Hello, where is the contribution point exchange office?"

Unexpected changes could occur at any time. He had to prepare in advance and exchange enough spirit liquid, carrying the spirit liquid together with the three spirit stones obtained from Pei Xuan on his person.

A soldier stepped forward and said respectfully, "My Lord, please follow me."

Following the soldier to the exchange office, he saw that the one in charge of contribution exchanges was an elder at the Force Transformation realm. The elder had sharp eyes and a vigorous spirit, with a dense, blood-soaked killing intent contained within him, restrained but ready to erupt.

The moment Lin Zheyu entered, the elder's gaze fell upon him, and a powerful pressure crushed down instantly. Lin Zheyu's brows furrowed slightly, yet he showed no displeasure and instead smiled and cupped his fists in greeting.

"I am Lin Zheyu, here to exchange items."

Lin Zheyu's expression remained calm, as if he had not felt the terrifying pressure like mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Some older and powerful seniors liked to test juniors with latent potential. Lin Zheyu was already used to such behavior. Seeing that Lin Zheyu remained unmoved under the powerful true intent pressure, the elder was somewhat surprised.

What a strong spirit will! He's only at the Marrow Refining realm, yet he already possesses such a powerful spirit will. If this boy does not fall prematurely, he will certainly advance to the Grandmaster realm, the elder thought to himself.

He nodded slightly, and the true intent pressure vanished in an instant. He said calmly, "You are quite good. This is the exchange list. Take a look and choose what you want."

Lin Zheyu stepped forward and glanced at the items on the list. It was the same as the one he had previously obtained. Without hesitation, he said, "Please help me exchange for five bottles of third-grade spirit liquid."

"Alright." The elder nodded. Taking Lin Zheyu's talisman token and seeing his identity information, the elder understood at once.

Lin Zheyu, a newly risen genius disciple of the Wuji Sect, ranked twenty-fourth on the Hidden Dragon List. No wonder, no wonder... the elder thought inwardly.

He had heard of this genius on the Hidden Dragon List. It was said that his natural talent was astonishing, almost monstrous. In less than two years after joining the Wuji Sect, he had risen like a rocket to rank twenty-four on the Hidden Dragon List, becoming the number one among the younger generation of the Wuji Sect. The elder registered the exchanged items, deducted the contribution points recorded on the talisman token, and walked into the back room. When he came out again, he held four jade bottles in his hand.