Chapter 232: Underestimated This Pair

Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Underestimated This Pair

Zhang Yun turned off the lights, but he did not sleep peacefully.

After carefully pondering everything about that "Female Ghost," he still felt the possibility of her being an actual ghost was relatively low. It was much more likely that she was a Cultivator hiding in the Ancient Tomb!

After all... legend had it that ghosts were formed from resentment. How could one be so reasonable and easy to talk to? Only a human would analyze and think rationally. She had likely restrained herself because she felt he wasn’t lying, or perhaps she had weighed whether she could gain an advantage in a fight against him.

Zhang Yun decided that tomorrow at high noon, when the Yang Qi was at its peak, he would pay another visit to that Ancient Tomb! Since the other party had already come to his door claiming to be the owner of the coffin, opening the coffin to verify it wouldn’t be considered an offense. It would just be... an in-person visit?

The Female Ghost’s appearance tonight also reminded him that he still had a lot of Spiritual Qi left to collect. He hadn’t been able to absorb the surging Spiritual Qi inside the Jade Seal before. Now that his capacity had more than doubled, he wondered if he could extract it. There was also the pair of Divine Master Cards he had acquired during his last purchase of Ancient Artifacts!

At the time, a young man had brought over a dark brown Divine Master Card—also known as a Spiritual Tablet or Ancestral Tablet. Some of the more particular large families in the countryside would worship and make offerings to such tablets, burning incense on the first and fifteenth of the lunar month. Alternatively, they were enshrined in ancestral halls, where everyone would light candles and offer incense during festivals.

Zhang Yun had underestimated it back then. He only accepted it because it was inconvenient to refuse due to the rules. Seeing that there were no words on it—as if they had been worn away by the long passage of time—he hadn’t expected a massive amount of Spiritual Qi to hit him the moment he touched it!

Since they were in front of the ancestral hall with so many people watching, Zhang Yun didn’t dare to absorb too much of it. He offered a price of five thousand. The young man wasn’t satisfied and countered with ten thousand. Zhang Yun told him that if he could find another one, he would give him ten thousand for both. To his surprise, the kid actually had a second one...

Since they didn’t belong to anyone famous and carried a bit of a taboo, they definitely wouldn’t sell. Zhang Yun ended up keeping them for his own collection, which even earned him some teasing from Ouyang Mingruo. He didn’t give the money to Zhang Youcai, simply telling him to deduct it from their joint funds. Zhang Youcai took the opportunity to market it a bit, boasting that even if Zhang Yun had to pay out of his own pocket, he would never go back on his word!

Only Zhang Yun himself knew their true value. However, upon returning, he had casually tossed them into a drawer and left with Ouyang Mingruo that very afternoon.

Remembering this, Zhang Yun immediately dug them out. They were wrapped in plastic bags. The moment his hands made direct contact with them, he instantly felt an overwhelmingly vast surge of Spiritual Qi pouring into him!

At that time, his Mysterious Iron Ring had faintly shown 1%. After absorbing the Energy from the Bronze Venerable, it became 4%. Last night, after absorbing the coffin, it reached 10%. The sensation they gave him back then hadn’t been a surging wave, but rather a continuous, lingering flow with profound stamina.

Absorbing them now was much easier, so he simply held one in each hand. To his surprise, the turbulent Spiritual Qi from the coffin last night had only taken a few minutes to be fully absorbed. Yet now, ten minutes had passed, and these two Divine Master Cards were still steadily pouring out a continuous stream of lingering Spiritual Qi!

He wondered, "Is this the difference between fast charging and slow charging?"

Zhang Yun recalled Ouyang Mingruo teasing him about hugging them to sleep, so he simply lay down and actually cuddled them as he went to bed. It was just like leaving a phone plugged in to charge while sleeping. There was nothing wrong with that!

With both hands occupied, he couldn’t do anything else anyway. Plus, this automatic absorption didn’t require any effort on his part. Even with the intention of emptying his mind to sleep, he couldn’t fall asleep immediately. Such lingering Energy definitely didn’t just come from age alone. Instead, it was born from generations of memorial offerings year after year, accumulating the spiritual sustenance and devotion of descendants.

He didn’t know where that young man had gotten them from, but it was highly unlikely they had come from clearing out his own family’s old house. He wondered, "Is this Spiritual Qi the same type as the one on the coffin?"

Gradually, Zhang Yun drifted off to sleep, oblivious to when the absorption of the two items would finally finish.

The next morning, Zhang Yun was jolted awake by the sound of a Divine Master Card falling to the floor.

Seeing one pressed against the bed and the other on the ground, he immediately picked it up. However, upon grasping it, there was no longer any Spiritual Qi flowing into him. It felt like a completely ordinary object. He didn’t know if it was just psychological, but previously, even though it looked ancient and unadorned, it still held a certain vibrant luster. Now, it just looked dull.

Zhang Yun purposefully tried to absorb from it again. Once he confirmed that there was absolutely no Energy left inside, he quickly put them away. It was a good thing he woke up first. If his dad had come over and seen him sleeping with two Divine Master Cards in his arms, he would have definitely been terrified and worried that his son had been possessed.

He wondered, "How much Energy has accumulated now?"

He could feel the Energy in his body surging explosively, giving him a sensation of being completely stuffed full! Zhang Yun stroked the Mysterious Iron Ring. As soon as the thought arose, a faint "15%" flashed through his mind.

He thought, "These two Divine Master Cards actually provided a five percent effect?"

He had previously collected a lot of old items, along with the Copper Bell, Compass, calligraphy, and paintings, but all of them combined only amounted to 1%. Since these were acquired on the same occasion, Zhang Yun had estimated that getting 1% from these two Divine Master Cards combined would already be a fantastic deal. He never expected that a single one was almost equivalent to a Bronze Venerable. The two combined were currently only slightly less than the Ancient Tomb’s coffin.

He really had picked up a massive treasure!

In his excitement, Zhang Yun silently muttered to himself, "Then what grade level am I considered to be at right now?"

Qi Luo had said that when she first met him, she felt he was only at the Third Grade. By the next morning, he had actually reached the Fourth Grade. That was probably due to the merging of Yin and Yang during his intimate encounter with Yang Xiaoyun, which allowed him to integrate more of the Energy he had previously absorbed.

After absorbing some bits and pieces from the antique market, and mainly taking in the Spiritual Qi from the Bronze Venerable, Qi Luo estimated he had reached the Seventh Grade! Now, just looking at what the ring displayed, going from 4% to 15% was an increase of several times. Did that mean he had skipped directly past the Eighth Grade and Ninth Grade to become an Innate Expert?

Zhang Yun recalled further. Qi Luo had mentioned that she was around the Second Grade. After consuming two Divine Pills (two Mysterious Petals), aside from healing her injuries, she might even advance to the Third Grade. Yang Zhao and those from the Donghuang Sect were around the Third and Fourth Grades, while Asura and Huang Tianbi were at the Fifth Grade.

Setting aside comprehensive strength factors like Cultivation Techniques, Weapons, and Experience, there were gaps just in these absolute Combat Values alone. The gap between the Fourth Grade and the Fifth Grade was clearly much larger than the one between the Second Grade and the Third Grade. The further along one went, the larger the gap would definitely become! Just like how 4% was three times more than 1%, while 15% was less than three times 4%, the actual difference in scale was much more significant.

"Calculating it this way, I should safely be at the Eighth Grade, or possibly even the Ninth Grade. I really wish an expert would come along so I could practice on them!"

Zhang Yun felt his ego swelling a bit. If he were to encounter that Female Ghost again, he should have the confidence to catch her alive, right?

But he quickly felt a bit deflated again. His current situation was a bit like Duan Yu’s—he could only be considered to have strong "Inner Power," but he only had a superficial understanding of "Martial Arts," such as combat techniques and moves. Duan Yu also had a "Lightweight Skill," whereas he had absolutely nothing! Even if he could fight the Female Ghost head-on, she could just float up a wall or a tree in an instant. Her speed might also be lightning-fast. If he couldn’t even touch her, how could he fight her head-on?

However... if he managed to catch her, couldn’t he just have her teach him? There should be techniques for channeling power and exerting force. Stealing the techniques just by observing the fight wouldn’t be that easy.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yun felt an urge to head into the Ancient Tomb right now to find the Female Ghost. But he remembered another matter, so he dialed Zhang Youcai directly.

"Uncle Cai, do you remember that young lad who came to sell the Divine Master Cards that one time?" Zhang Yun didn’t believe they came from the boy’s old family home. If he could get his phone number, he might be able to ask him where he found them. Purchasing more of them was a viable option, too.