Chapter 387 - 65: Solidified Qi Flame, Dark Web Commission

Inside the apartment.

The small, specially reinforced Cultivation Chamber had silver-gray flooring.

Under the incandescent lights, a mist of sweat hung in the air, swirling like steam throughout the room.

’Peak of Limit-Breaking...’

Lu Chao stood still, his eyes slightly closed.

The bulging, writhing veins on his skin began to recede as he stopped practicing the Ten Thousand Jins Return Flow, quietly attuning himself to the subtle changes brought by his breakthrough.

Strength, speed, neural response, environmental adaptability, stamina... With his ascent to the Peak of Limit-Breaking Level, every aspect had been enhanced by another fifty percent.

Compared to an ordinary Limit-Breaking Level practitioner, and not even counting Martial Skills or Secret Techniques, his comprehensive combat power was now double, giving him a nearly overwhelming advantage.

Most importantly, his Qi Flame had solidified.

HUM!

With a thought, Lu Chao focused inward, and the Golden Stone Flame quickly surged from his body.

Upon closer inspection, the deep brown Qi Flame rapidly solidified on the surface of his skin, covering his entire body like a layer of rock armor.

His head, chest, shoulders, elbows, torso, feet...

He looked as if he were wearing a suit of heavy, deep brown armor. The once gaseous power of his Qi Flame now appeared to have solidified.

Only by observing closely could one see the Qi Flame still flowing silently within the rock armor.

This was a visual illusion caused by the high-density cohesion of the Qi Flame.

’So this is Qi Flame solidification...’

Lu Chao carefully felt the effects of his solidified Qi Flame.

Previously, he could only cover parts of his body with the rock armor, and the power amplification was limited.

Now that it covered his entire body, it not only increased his defensive area but also enhanced the heavy, dense properties of the Golden Stone Flame, boosting his overall defense by a flat fifty percent.

This was similar to Li Gusha, who had solidified his Qi Flame into Blood Python Scale Armor. It had amplified the toxic power of his Blood Evil Flame and passively boosted his defense and strength.

In addition, Lu Chao sensed another characteristic of his Qi Flame.

Heavy pressure.

It was an effect from his Ten Thousand Spirits Martial Arts Skill, which relied on multiple Qi Flame fusions to enhance destructive power.

Now, the air around him could be seen subtly distorting, as if trembling.

The increase in his Life Energy had nourished his Qi Flame, allowing him to complete the final fusion and indirectly reach the mastery level of Hundred Refinements.

Thanks to this, the heavy pressure characteristic of his Golden Stone Flame was subtly enhanced, increasing the flame’s destructive effect by fifty percent.

’No wonder Director Li deliberately concealed the cause of Li Gusha’s death back then.’

’The gap between the Peak of Limit-Breaking and the entry-level Superpower Level is enormous, especially in the application of Qi Flame. The difference amounts to a nearly twofold gap in comprehensive combat power... An ordinary person, even one who has mastered multiple Mid-Level Martial Skills, would find it difficult to win against a higher-level opponent.’

Lu Chao nodded to himself, now better understanding Li Junyi’s good intentions.

If not for that, then when he had gone to the wilderness to rescue Sun Jiayuan and the others, his would-be assassins might not have been Di Xiong and Will.

Instead, a true Exploration Level expert might have come for him.

At this thought, he nodded to himself. At the same time, as he gradually adapted to his new strength, a surge of confidence grew within him.

’Exploration Level.’

Although he was still one step away, Lu Chao suddenly felt that even without using Titan’s Power, he could now face some Exploration Level experts in a direct confrontation.

And if he used all his abilities and talents...

’He could even try to go head-to-head with a Transcendence Level expert.’

His eyes shone brightly. Lu Chao suddenly realized that, without even noticing, he was already approaching the peak of the mountain he had once looked up to.

However...

’It’s still not enough.’

The thought flashed through his mind, and Lu Chao reflected on his situation, quickly regaining his composure.

He thought of the Ten Thousand Jins Return Flow, a powerful hard-style Martial Art. Even now, he hadn’t fully mastered it; at best, he had barely scratched the surface.

One could only imagine how strong the Starry Sky Hero who created it was in his prime.

Besides, even taking a step back, the Biotechnology Company was immensely powerful, and with the backing of certain extraterrestrial factions, it wasn’t impossible that they had experts above the three major levels supporting them.

Even the slightly weaker Jinggang Chamber of Commerce and the Tan family had Transcendence Level experts in their ranks, deeply rooted and unshakable within the Red Maple City Circle.

These were all reasons why he couldn’t afford to be careless or let his guard down. Any one of them could turn into a life-or-death crisis at any moment, coming to settle the score with him.

’I still need to reach the Exploration Level, or even the Transcendence Level, as soon as possible.’

The plan in his mind was crystal clear, yet a persistent sense of urgency lingered within him.

He knew that foundational strength was the root of everything; only by increasing it could he unleash the full potential of his talents and Martial Skills.

He had to break through faster, to become strong enough to ignore the threats from the Biotechnology Company and the Tan family.

Thinking of this, Lu Chao began to take stock of the remaining resources he had on hand.

For the mission involving Di Xiong and Will, he was still due a reward of thirty thousand points and eight million Alliance Coins.

This was undoubtedly a considerable sum of resources.

However, tapping open his wristband, Lu Chao navigated to the Superpower Potion knowledge section, taking advantage of his newly increased intranet access.

[Pharmacology], [Cultivation], [Biological Evolution]...

These were the three fields one needed to master to become a Biological Alchemist. He had to grasp the knowledge of at least five related Senior-Level Superpower Potions to truly enter that profession.

’Each field of knowledge costs at least twenty thousand points...’

Seeing the required number of points for exchange, Lu Chao’s expression shifted as various thoughts ran through his mind.

He couldn’t give up on the path of a Biological Alchemist. After all, it was a powerful support profession that could accelerate the energy progression of his Gluttony talent.

Moreover, thanks to the exploration on Nanyun Mountain, he had obtained a partial formula for a [Biological Serum]. This undoubtedly required the hands-on work of a Biological Alchemist to be of any significant use.

’This kind of knowledge for Senior-Level Superpower Potions can’t be bought with money, not even on the black market. Only a few factions, like the Superpower Bureau and the Five Major Enterprises, offer it for internal exchange.’

’To a certain extent, this is far more valuable than energy mineral essence or Essence of Qi... As long as I can successfully learn and master it, I’ll have a much better chance of completing the [Biological Serum] formula and creating Basic Nutritional Potions myself.’

Glancing at the information on the Superpower Potion knowledge, Lu Chao felt the value of his points more keenly than ever.

Simply exchanging them for nutritional resources might be fine for an ordinary person, but for him, it wasn’t the ideal use.

After all, he was also a Senior Alchemist.

If he had a choice, he should use his Alliance Coins to exchange for nutritional resources first. That way, he could save his points for Superpower Potion knowledge or High-Level Martial Skills.

With this in mind, Lu Chao closed his wristband and took out the identity card that symbolized [Deep Sea].

’Counting the missions for Ma Biao and Li Gusha, I have over fifteen million Alliance Coins.’

’It would be a real waste not to make good use of it.’

His line of thinking was perfectly clear.

Lu Chao knew he needed the resource channels of the Dark Web and the [Deep Sea] organization. Only then could he improve himself faster.

Therefore...

...

「One day later.」

A short doorbell rang.

Lu Chao watched the courier leave, closed the door, and found a small, delicate, grayish-white box in his hand.

On the box was a logo depicting a black, three-bar network pattern—the corporate emblem of Star Peak Communications, one of the four great elder families.

Then, with a CLICK, Lu Chao opened the box.

A brand-new black communicator was revealed inside. It was palm-sized and oval-shaped.

Inside were an activation device, a matching wireless charger, and a paper instruction manual.

"The ’Hornet’ Third Generation."

Lu Chao picked it up. This was the other communicator he had specially purchased, costing him nearly six thousand Alliance Coins.

In its field, Star Peak Communications had a good reputation and was quite well-known within the Alliance Country.

The third-generation Hornet in front of him had numerous functions, such as long-range communication, electromagnetic projection, and chip reading. It was also specially reinforced and equipped with a virtual network firewall sufficient to prevent invasions from ordinary hackers.

’Let’s give it a try.’

With a glint in his eye, Lu Chao immediately activated the communicator, connected to the virtual network, and entered a specific URL based on the information he got from You Qiulin.

After following the instructions to click several links and being redirected multiple times...

VMM!

The communicator projected a screen of light, which hovered before him like a tablet display.

The virtual webpage’s background was a stark black and blood-red, seemingly symbolizing darkness and slaughter.

[Beyond Order, Life Has a Price]

The short phrase hovered in the center of the interface, sending a chill down the spine.

Lu Chao knew he had entered the Dark Web.

He then clicked the title in the center.

[Hacking], [Assassination], [Violence]... several category tabs appeared, anchoring themselves to the top of the interface.

Without hesitation, Lu Chao clicked the [Assassination] tab and entered as a ’visitor’.

From what he understood, only core members of organizations like [Deep Sea] could access the Dark Web’s resource channels.

Naturally, he had to start there, gathering detailed information before making his move.

[Loading...]

[Global Assassin Rankings—Top 100!]

[Bounty Mission Board!]

[...]

New information appeared, divided into two windows. The left side showed the rankings of the top 100 assassins based on Dark Web points, while the right side displayed a long list of outstanding bounty missions.

Since he already had some knowledge of the major assassin organizations, Lu Chao focused more on the latter.

[S-Rank Mission: Chen Qiwei, Director of Lianwei Heavy Industry. Bounty: One hundred fifty million Alliance Coins...]

[S-Rank Mission: Du Xingzhi, Committee Representative of the Alliance Country Committee. Bounty: One hundred thirty million Alliance Coins]

[S-Rank Mission: Su Wuhai, City Lord of Red Maple Shelter City. Bounty: One hundred million Alliance Coins]

[...]

His gaze paused, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Another side of the Earth Star Realm was unfolding before him. He hadn’t expected the Dark Web to dare accept any and every kind of mission.

Enterprise directors, committee members of the Alliance Country Committee, the old City Lord of Red Maple Shelter City... these were all truly major figures in the Earth Star Realm. They were either experts at or above the Transcendence Level themselves, or they were protected by experts of that caliber.

And it was obvious that despite the astronomical bounties, no one had been able to complete these missions.

Judging by their posting dates, the oldest ones were from seven or eight years ago.

There were also bounties on Rebel leaders and Wilderness Warlords...

’What in the world is the background of this Dark Web?’

Lu Chao’s expression grew grim. He didn’t think the Alliance Country would allow such an organization to fester in the shadows, nor would other powers tolerate such a threat.

The only explanations were that the Dark Web was either hidden extremely deep, like the base organizations of the Rebels, making its headquarters impossible to find, or that, like the Five Major Enterprises, its background was so special that no one could do anything about it.

As he pondered, he didn’t dwell on it for too long and instead scrolled down the bounty list.

Shareholders of large corporations, city circle speakers, the four great elder families... The bounties dropped from hundreds of millions to tens of millions, and the corresponding difficulty ratings fell from the highest S-Rank to A-Rank.

Such high-difficulty missions were, in the end, a minority.

Most were small to medium-sized missions targeting people from civilian organizations like consultants for small and medium-sized companies, gang leaders, and members of the Hunter Guild, with rewards ranging from tens of thousands to several million and ranks between E and B.

’Besides the difference in bounty amounts, there’s also a significant gap in Dark Web points between the different ranks.’

’Aunt You’s mission back then was B-Rank, with a bounty of six million and a rating of ten thousand points. If it were a C-Rank mission, one tier lower, the reward and points would be at least three to four times less.’

The more Lu Chao browsed the Dark Web, the more he understood.

Finally, looking at the bounty amounts and their corresponding point values...

’I see. It seems points are the real key to the Dark Web. Whether you’re accepting high-bounty missions or purchasing resources, you need a high enough point rating.’

’Then... huh?’

His eyes paused as he suddenly spotted a particular mission.

[A-Rank Mission Request: Assassinate Tan Yue, Security Consultant for the Jinggang Chamber of Commerce in Red Maple Shelter City]

[Bounty: Ten million Alliance Coins!]

[Mission completion rewards thirty thousand Dark Web points!]