Chapter 37: Luring Out Your Enemies Before They Strike

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Luring Out Your Enemies Before They Strike

[Congratulations, Host. Your investment in the fourth-grade martial technique, Spiritual Finger, has been successfully registered.]

[Investment multiplier activated.]

[10,000x return triggered!]

Xavier’s eyes widened. The reward was finally here.

The moment Mira accepted the martial arts manuals and the sword, the system notifications began appearing one after another.

Xavier’s expression changed as the rewards arrived, and this time the returns were far beyond anything he had expected.

[Congratulations, Host. Your investment in the fourth grade martial technique, Spiritual Finger, has triggered a ten thousand times return.]

[Reward: Beginner level mastery of the Ninth Grade martial technique, Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger.]

His breathing stopped for a moment, and before he could process what he had just read, another notification appeared.

[Congratulations, Host. Your investment in the fourth grade martial technique, Phantom Step, has triggered a two hundred times return.]

[Reward: Perfect mastery of Phantom Step.]

Then came the third.

[Congratulations, Host. Your investment in the fourth grade weapon, Gale Sword, has triggered a one hundred times return.]

[Reward: One Life and Death Talisman.]

Xavier stared blankly ahead. Three investments had produced three extraordinary returns, and the first one alone had carried a ten thousandfold multiplier.

Then the energy arrived.

A tremendous surge exploded through his body without warning.

His muscles tightened as an unfamiliar force flooded through his meridians, and at the same time vast amounts of information poured directly into his consciousness.

Two completely different sets of martial knowledge appeared in his mind.

One concerned the mysterious finger technique, and the other contained everything he needed to know about Phantom Step.

The information was so immense that he could barely process it at first, so he stood motionless for several moments while it settled.

Then a sharp crack echoed from deep within his body.

Xavier’s eyes widened. The energy circulating through him had suddenly become more concentrated, and his muscles, bones, and meridians seemed to undergo a subtle transformation.

When the process finally settled, he could clearly feel that his physical power had increased by an enormous margin.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

"Status," he said quietly.

The moment the thought formed, a translucent panel materialized before his eyes.

Name: Xavier Kane

Realm: Foundation Establishment, First Star

Talent: Perfect

Constitution: Chaos Body

Martial Techniques: Everlasting Life Force (Mastery), Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger (Beginner), Phantom Step (Perfect)

Xavier stared at the panel. He had broken through, and not gradually or after months of cultivation.

In a single moment he had crossed the boundary between Body Tempering and Foundation Establishment, leaping from the seventh star of Body Tempering straight to the first star of Foundation Establishment.

Phantom Step alone could not have caused such a transformation.

It was purely a movement technique, and no matter how perfectly he mastered it, it would not significantly increase his basic physical strength.

The breakthrough had come from the ten thousandfold return, from the terrifying martial technique called Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger.

Xavier swallowed hard.

"A ten thousandfold return only gave me beginner mastery of this technique, and it was still enough to push me into Foundation Establishment," he muttered under his breath.

His expression turned serious.

"Just what kind of martial art is this?" he whispered.

His curiosity quickly overwhelmed everything else, and he focused his attention on the information the system had provided. A new description appeared in his mind.

Heaven Piercing Sixfold Finger: Ninth Grade Martial Technique

Current Mastery: Beginner

Technique Effect: The practitioner gathers their internal energy and channels it through a unique network of meridians.

At the beginner stage, a single finger can exert a force capable of making the surrounding space become extremely heavy and sluggish.

At the proficient stage, two fingers can be used simultaneously.

At the mastery stage, three fingers can be combined.

At the peak stage, all five fingers can be united into a single force, capable of breaking through restrictions and suppressing everything within its range.

Xavier’s heart pounded.

"Ninth grade?" he breathed, unable to hide his shock.

That was an entirely different level from the techniques available in Arcadia Academy’s Resource Department, and even across the entire nation, techniques of this grade were exceedingly rare.

At the beginner stage he needed only one finger, yet even that single finger could interfere with the space around his target.

He could not help imagining what would happen once he mastered the technique completely.

When he combined it with his Chaos Body, he found it difficult to picture anyone at the same cultivation level being able to defeat him.

He remained excited for several minutes before finally forcing himself to calm down, because there was still another reward to examine.

Phantom Step. Xavier focused on the technique and quickly understood its effects, which were exactly what he had expected.

Once activated, it could dramatically enhance his movement speed.

At perfect mastery his speed could reach roughly three times his normal level while producing deceptive afterimages, which would greatly improve both his ability to evade attacks and his ability to close the distance against an enemy.

"Not bad," he murmured, nodding in satisfaction.

The technique might not have transformed his cultivation, but in actual combat, speed could be just as important as raw strength.

His attention then shifted to the final reward, the Life and Death Talisman.

Xavier raised his hand, and a small jade object suddenly appeared in his palm.

It was roughly the size of an egg, with a deep red glow pulsing faintly beneath its surface.

Unlike the martial techniques, the system did not provide a long description, but the moment he held it, its function became instinctively clear to him.

His expression changed. This thing was dangerous.

The talisman could be used against any target whose cultivation did not exceed the Foundation Establishment Realm, but there was one important condition.

The target had to lose the will to resist. Once that happened, the talisman could forcibly control them for approximately twelve hours.

There was an even more terrifying condition attached to it as well. If the talisman shattered while the control was active, the person under its influence would die immediately.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed.

"This could be very useful," he said softly.

He carefully stored the talisman away, with a feeling that he might need it sooner than expected.

With that, all three system rewards had been accounted for.

Mira had already returned to her room to cultivate, and because her injuries still had not completely healed, the couple continued sleeping in separate rooms.

It was already seven in the evening, and darkness had settled over Valemont. Xavier stood quietly by the window for a while, thinking, and then he made his decision.

He put on his clothes, opened the door, and slipped out of the villa.

He had two reasons for leaving the academy tonight. The first was business, and the second was bait.

Xavier had realized that he had been approaching his resource problem from the wrong direction. He had been too focused on finding individual buyers for the pills he possessed, which was inefficient and, worse, created unnecessary risks.

There was already a proper marketplace for valuable cultivation resources, and that marketplace was an auction house.

Skywater Pavilion was the largest auction house in Valemont. If he wanted to sell pills, he could simply use it instead of repeatedly meeting private buyers.

It would be faster and more convenient, and most importantly, he would not have to expose himself to unnecessary dealings with people like Evelyn.

He still had six third grade pills remaining, and his plan was simple. He would sell them through Skywater Pavilion, use the money to purchase other resources, and then invest those resources in Mira.

That way he could continue strengthening both himself and his wife without constantly drawing attention to where his resources came from.

Tonight, however, he was not planning to sell anything immediately.

He wanted to visit the auction house first, to understand how the process worked and determine whether it was safe enough to use regularly.

But that was not the only reason he had left the academy. There was another matter he needed to settle, and it concerned the Carter family.

Xavier had no doubt that they were furious over Ethan’s death.

No matter how the incident had actually unfolded, wealthy families did not always care about the truth when one of their heirs died.

They cared about revenge, and he had spent enough time observing the Carters to understand that they would almost certainly come after him and Mira.

Evelyn was different. As the eldest daughter of the Hart family, she was protected by a name the Carters would have to think twice about before acting against her.

Xavier and Mira did not have that luxury, and Xavier least of all. Most people still viewed him as nothing more than an insignificant alchemy apprentice, a convenient target.

If he stayed inside Arcadia Academy forever, he might be safe, but that was not realistic.

Eventually he would have to leave, and when that happened, the Carter family would make their move.

So why wait? Xavier had no interest in sitting around until someone else decided when to attack him.

If the Carters wanted revenge, he would give them an opportunity to come looking for him and turn the situation around by using himself as bait.

The thought brought a cold smile to his lips.

"The Carter family," he murmured as he walked through the academy gates, his voice low and cold. "If you’re planning to come after me , you’d better show yourselves tonight."

He continued down the street without looking back.