A month ago, Huai Shi chopped his way from Ziyin Mountain to Chuzhou, collecting the heads of a total of seventeen people with bounties on their names… At other times, the ones issuing the bounties might try to weasel out of paying. However, after a representative from the Astronomical Society paid a visit, each one of them, eager to get rid of a pest, paid up the full bounty amount without fail.

And after several rounds of discussions with the Social Security Bureau, the Astronomical Society deducted the expenses used for repairing the public facilities damaged in battle before transferring just over two hundred million US dollars into Huai Shi's account.

Two hundred million! That's two hundred million US dollars! Converted into Dongxia Yuan, that's a mere trifle! If used to buy monthly subscriptions, I could purchase enough to see the world's destruction, or even become a shareholder of Giant Goose. If I chose to draw cards instead, averaging "Ten in a row" with a single tap, I could smash through ten thousand cell phones, resuscitate a cell phone factory that does nothing but con its fans' money and tell jokes. And if I were to spend that same effort on training, I could master a two-finger vacuum grip so exquisite that even Luo Lao would weep at the sight...

And then, nothing! Absolutely nothing!

Huai Shi, having slaved away for so long, was finally enjoying a rare bout of warmth from the organization. But before his heart could even fully bask in it, Raven splashed him with a ladle of cold water that left him thoroughly chilled.

What pulled him from despair was a thick, freshly printed manuscript slammed down before him.

"What's this…?" Huai Shi lifted his eyes and scrutinized it for a good while before he could make out a line of bold letters from between the lines: "Spirit Coffin Rejuvenation Encyclopedia"?

"Exactly. I just wrote it; it's still hot off the press."

Raven, sipping the lemon tea served by Uncle Fang, clucked in admiration. "See where all the money went now? It's a good thing you have me, a master alchemist. Turning stone into gold is child's play, let alone fixing a little Spirit Coffin... What do you think? Surprised or not, expected or unexpected?"

"Well, I'm surprised all right… but where the joy is in this, I have yet to see."

Huai Shi's expression twitched as he glanced out the window where Uncle Fang was watering the plants. Then he leaned in closer and lowered his voice, "The Spirit Coffin could be fixed, but what about Uncle Fang?"

The Stone Marrow Pavilion itself was undeniably a Spirit Coffin, but it was an utter failure. After losing the power that could awaken a person, it had instead nurtured a semi-independent soul with its own will.

If the Spirit Coffin was fixed, then what about Uncle Fang? Where would Uncle Fang go?

Raven paused slightly, then revealed a meaningful smile. "That's for you to decide, isn't it?"

The implication couldn't be clearer: choose a perfectly intact Spirit Coffin or choose Uncle Fang?

"Do I even need to say it!" Huai Shi slammed the table, raised his five fingers and formed them into a claw shape in front of his chest, resolutely answering, "Of course, I want them both!"

"…And where exactly did you learn to be so shameless?"

"Didn't you teach me all this?"

Huai Shi sat back down, crossed his legs, and became more relaxed. "You definitely have something prepared. Spill it, what's your plan?"

"The arrangement is actually quite simple. I have a method that could not only restore the Spirit Coffin of the Stone Marrow Pavilion but also allow Uncle Fang to possess a complete soul through this Spirit Coffin, freeing him from being forever confined to this house. However, it all depends on whether you're willing to put in the effort…"

"Money is not an issue."

Huai Shi waved his hand dismissively. After speaking bluntly, he gave a side glance at that seemingly innocent Raven. "Besides, I'm broke now."

"Relax, I don't need your money..."

"Then give me back the two hundred million!"

"...Stop interrupting!"

Raven coughed awkwardly a couple of times, glared at him, then continued with a serious demeanor as if nothing had happened. "Where did I leave off?"

"Returning the money?"

"..."

Raven gave him a 'the whole family is disappointed in you' sort of look. Only after Huai Shi averted his gaze did Raven slowly continue, "Putting in the effort."

"...Yes, right, the effort. Continue, please continue."

Huai Shi pretended nothing had happened and sipped his tea, curious what kind of scheme this rotten-to-the-core Raven would come up with.

"The restoration of the Spirit Coffin could actually commence now, but it has nothing to do with you. The materials and tools have all arrived, and I can finish it myself. However, once the rejuvenation of the Spirit Coffin begins, the process is irreversible and must be completed within half a year. Otherwise, not only would the Spirit Coffin be ruined, but Uncle Fang would also suffer greatly."

Raven said, "And Uncle Fang's chance to become independent from the Spirit Coffin lies with you."

"Me?"

Huai Shi pointed at himself, suspecting she was up to some new trickery.

"Don't worry, this time it's really not about screwing you over."

Raven looked at Huai Shi's 'so you admit you've been tricking me previously' expression and sighed helplessly, feeling the sting of her ruined credibility as Huai Shi grew more skeptical. Honestly, how do these naive kids learn so quickly these days? I thought I could deceive him for a couple more years, but I've only gotten a few months' worth of advantages out of him!

"Speak, what do you want me to do?"

"Advance," Raven said. "I'm not talking about the kind of low-end, poor man's advancement, but an advancement that's tailored for you as the Owner of the Genealogy from the very start. You get it? You have to precisely complete the advancement without missing anything or adding anything extra from the list I gave you. You must get it done within half a year."

"After six months, when the Spirit Coffin Rejuvenation is complete, you will advance within the Spirit Coffin. At that time, only during the surge of Source Substance from your advancement can you utilize the miracle of the Soloist. This offers a chance to simultaneously achieve a breakthrough for yourself, Uncle Fang, and the Stone Marrow Pavilion. By then, you will become the Soloist, Uncle Fang will receive his soul, and the Stone Marrow Pavilion will smoothly transform into a spiritual ground endowed with border characteristics..."

"What does a spiritual ground with border characteristics mean?" Huai Shi was dumbfounded. "Are you planning to dismantle my house?"

Seeing Huai Shi rolling up his sleeves as if ready to fight, Raven didn't beat around the bush any longer and explained plainly, "It's like adding wheels under the Stone Marrow Pavilion. So in the future, when you buy a place at any border, we can move your home there directly. Isn't that convenient for running away?"

Huai Shi's eyes widened. "I haven't done anything terrible. Why would I need to run away?"

Raven simply rolled her eyes. "Then just tell me if you want it or not."

"Of course, I want it! Why wouldn't I?"

Huai Shi's head nodded so fast it seemed the person who had just been scolding Raven wasn't him. After waiting for a long time, he finally caught on. "Wait a second, are you saying I must advance within half a year? That's too quick!"

The basic materials provided by the Rookie Contest were already prepared, true, but Huai Shi was still seriously lagging in his progress.

He had just received the entry permit he had applied for a long time ago from Director Fu, which allowed him to enter the border plantation of Daishan Mountain, belonging to the Dongxia Genealogy.

Besides being the largest drug plantation of the Dongxia Genealogy, there were also three Abyss plant research institutes and two conservation and cultivation centers for unique species. It is said to be so tightly guarded that even members of the Dongxia Genealogy themselves need to undergo a political examination if they wish to enter.

But Huai Shi had only waited a month, and he was able to get the permit without any trouble.

As Older Cousin had put it, "With the land energy at Daishan Mountain being so abundant, you can go in there and touch whatever you want. Freely touch, boldly touch."

The Mountain Ghost Stigma seeks the presence, not the quantity, of life energy. The little he would absorb wouldn't even amount to the loss of a single leaf. As long as he didn't carelessly uproot some unique species, Older Cousin could cover for him.

This was Older Cousin's way of thanking Huai Shi for the many third-class merits Huai Shi had earned him.

The only issue was that the entrance was out of the way, not connected to any external paths or special ritual transport. He could only book an appointment in advance and wait for someone to come pick him up.

After one trip, Huai Shi estimated that his accumulation would most likely be enough to nearly reach the third instance of Source Material Transformation.

But even then, he was still missing other necessary materials.

He had obtained the Holy Grace, but what about the Blood Revenge Crystal, the Sinister Ashes, and others? Weren't each of them outrageously expensive and extremely difficult to find?

Not to mention he still lacked half of the four essential elements.

He had experienced the link to the soul and the truth of the void, but "Yesterday's Phantom" and "The Birth of Life" were nowhere in sight!

"Who says there's no sight of them?"

Raven looked at him with a frustration akin to a blacksmith upset by iron not turning into steel. "Opportunity is knocking on your door, and you don't even know to seize it. Are you even still that sharp and cunning Little Peppa from the past?"

Huai Shi's face twitched. "...Don't bring up that nickname; we're still best friends."

With Huai Shi's former explosion of popularity, this nickname had been dug up by those bastards on the Darknet who relished in drama, and it had gotten increasingly outrageous, leading even to copyright merchants coming forward to demand licensing fees...

Licensing fees? What a joke! It had always been Paradise collecting licensing fees from others; who would dare demand copyright fees from Paradise?

Huai Shi, naturally, played dead, pretending nothing had happened.

But as one wave settled, another rose. After the heat from "Huahai Road Little Peppa" died down, a new nickname started circulating on the Darknet.

—The Beheading King of Jinling!

Freakin' Beheading King of Jinling! All because Huai Shi, for the sake of saving trouble, had swung his axe a little too zealously in collecting heads, leaving hardly a single intact corpse.

Many renowned experts were thus beheaded.

Decapitation.

Some had their heads split open by Huai Shi to the extent that he couldn't even claim the bounties, and he didn't know how much money he had lost—the only small benefit was that once word spread that the Beheading King of Jinling had become an Inspector in Xinhai, the border markets of Xinhai suddenly became peaceful, and the once rampant smuggling disappeared.

But upon closer reflection, if no one committed crimes, wouldn't I be unable to collect any fines?

Thinking about how he had been an Inspector for over a month without conducting any business, let alone anyone underestimating his youth and deliberately provoking him, effectively offering their heads; he hadn't even issued a single fine. This realization made Huai Shi feel all the more unhappy.

"You know, aren't you being a little too lazy lately?"

Raven tilted her head and studied him for a while. "Ever since you returned, you haven't gone back to school once, huh? Staying home to play games all day. You're so young, yet you neither work nor even have a girlfriend?"

Although Huai Shi really wanted to say that no girlfriend was as fun as video games, he felt that such a retort wasn't acceptable... He could only divert the subject and ask, "Didn't you just say an opportunity has come? Where is it? Why don't you show it to me?"

With a sigh, Raven lifted her wing and scrolled through his phone, showing him the pop-up alert from the Astronomical Society on the screen.

"For heaven's sake, at least keep up with the news..."

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