Yu Yiyi looked ready to cry. "I'm telling the truth..."
She suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "Right, my live streams are usually recorded automatically. You can just check my phone storage to see if I'm lying!"
"Where is her phone?" Captain Li glanced at the officer next to him.
"It has been temporarily sealed as evidence. However, an inspection revealed that the internal hardware is severely damaged, and we cannot guarantee whether the internal storage is still intact."
"Have an expert restore it as soon as possible," Captain Li instructed. "As for this period, Miss Yu, please stay here and rest. It is best not to attempt to contact the outside world to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
Yu Yiyi sighed. "But my live stream... Alright, you must hurry! If I miss a single day of updates, my viewers will run off to watch someone else, and the losses will be huge!"
What she didn't know, however, was that as Captain Li walked out and closed the door, he said to the officer beside him, "Go back and test them for any signs of illegal drug use."
"Yes."
Captain Li looked up at the pitch-black window in the dead of night and frowned.
"Vampires... Today's youngsters really are getting more and more absurd."
...
[Time is up.]
[Returning.]
[Compiling and evaluating information.]
[This time, utilizing the camera lens, you successfully and for the first time demonstrated the incomprehensible Transcendent existence to the ignorant mortals of this remote corner of the world. At the same time, you bestowed a few drops of your blood as a reward to those patients used as props, successfully rewriting their fates and introducing even more possibilities to the future of this world.]
[Regrettably, while these performances had their bright spots and commendable moments, they still fell somewhat short—there were no bold attempts, no dazzling displays of skills, and the scarcity of viewers robbed this performance, which should have shone brightly, of the cheers and applause it deserved.]
[Therefore, comprehensive evaluation: C.]
[Congratulations on completing this Flashback mission. You have obtained the following rewards:]
[Cultivation method: Primordial Scripture (Qi Condensation Stage)]
[Five Elements Spiritual Roots]
[Spell: Sword Flight Technique]
[Countdown to next Flashback: 37 hours and 45 minutes...]
[Destination: 7 days ago, Duration: 2 hours]
Lu Chen, having just completed the Flashback mission while still transformed into a bat flying in mid-air, was suddenly plunged into darkness the moment the countdown ended.
When he woke up again, he found himself back in his room in the present time.
Outside the window, it was still pitch black. Checking the time, only a few seconds had passed since he started the Flashback—it felt as quick as blinking an eye.
Then, checking the System's rewards, his breathing suddenly grew ragged.
"Immortal cultivation!"
Having grown up immersed in *Chinese Paladin* and other xianxia television dramas, Lu Chen found immortal cultivation far more exciting than foreign entities like the Blood Clan, without a doubt!
He never expected the System to grant him an actual immortal cultivation method this time!
The System rewards had already been deposited into his portable space, and he eagerly opened it to check.
First was the cultivation method.
This Primordial Art was not a physical book, but a crystal-clear, palm-sized jade slip.
According to the System's prompt, after pressing the jade slip against his forehead, it instantly transformed into a cluster of green fluorescent light that flew into his body, automatically setting itself into motion.
This guaranteed 365 days a year, twenty-four-hour fully automated cultivation.
However, in exchange, this automated cultivation was slightly less efficient than practicing actively, but its greatest advantage was being carefree and effortless.
He closed his eyes and carefully sensed the changes.
He could faintly feel a warm sensation in his Dantian, with streams of qi circulating through his blood vessels to his entire body. There was no discomfort whatsoever; instead, with every completed circulation, his body felt as refreshed as if it had undergone a thorough detoxification.
In just a few minutes, he felt his body become much lighter.
He glanced at his personal panel.
[Name: Lu Chen]
[Stamina: 10 (Normal male: 10) (Blood Clan state: 30)]
[Charisma: 10 (Normal male: 10)]
[Spiritual Qi: 0.1]
[Spiritual Roots: Five Elements Spiritual Roots]
The so-called spiritual qi was something intangible and invisible. Closing one's eyes allowed one to perceive wisps of translucent, formless gases drifting in the surroundings.
Once cultivation began, those gases would be absorbed into the body through the pores.
Of course, calling it a gas was actually closer to some metaphysical concept.
Only those who possessed spiritual roots and practiced a cultivation method could sense it; otherwise, it wouldn't have evaded detection by scientific instruments for all these years.
After a simple test, he discovered that spiritual qi accumulated at a rate of about 0.09 per hour. Under ideal conditions, rounding it up, he could only accumulate 2 units of spiritual qi in a day.
Reaching the First Layer of Qi Condensation required only 2 units of spiritual qi, but breaking through to the second layer would demand a full 100 units!
The requirements would multiply several times over for subsequent layers.
No wonder immortal cultivation novels always said that time meant nothing in cultivation, where a single closed-door session could last decades or centuries.
At this rate, he would probably need to live for ten thousand years just to have a chance at becoming an immortal.
However, this was also related to his spiritual root.
Having Five Elements Spiritual Roots meant cultivating all five attributes simultaneously; while his foundation would be solid, his speed would be five times slower than someone with a single spiritual root.
If he could find a genius with a single spiritual root, that person's cultivation speed would likely be terrifyingly fast.
According to the descriptions, however, spiritual roots were extremely rare—one in ten thousand was no exaggeration, and most people possessed multiple spiritual roots. A single spiritual root truly was a one-in-a-million possibility.
---
Leaving the cultivation method to run automatically, Lu Chen turned his attention to the next reward: the Sword Flight Technique.
Much like in those xianxia novels, this technique allowed one to channel spiritual qi and control a sword for flight.
There were two prerequisites:
"First Layer of Qi Condensation."
"Natal flying sword."
Both were indispensable.
Thinking of this, Lu Chen felt a sense of urgency.
"I need to get everything ready before the next Flashback."
One day of the First Layer of Qi Condensation was already enough to get his foot in the door.
The remaining task was forging a flying sword.
Thanks to the cultivation method, he basically didn't need to sleep and felt no fatigue at all. Still looking bright-eyed and energetic, he took out his phone, intending to find an online shop specializing in custom ironware.
After browsing for a long time, he finally selected three shops.
Their reviews were quite good, and they were located nearby, making it convenient for pickup.
Even though they would all be unsharpened, it didn't really matter.
He sent his requirements to each shop one by one.
Perhaps because it was too late, only one shop replied.
"Pickup within two days, hand-forged... that's not a low demand..."
"No worries, I just plan to shoot a short xianxia-style video. As long as the sword looks cool, that's fine—preferably a current best-selling design."
Lu Chen appropriately lowered his standards.
Since he was taking it to the past anyway, even if it was discovered, what did it have to do with his present self?
Besides, with popular designs, plenty of people would be buying them, making the chance of anyone tracing it back to him even lower.