Chapter 31: Enhancement

As Li Zhen gazed at the information displayed on his retinal interface, he felt both elated and somewhat disappointed.

The elation stemmed from the fact that all his spiritual roots were now classified as inferior grade—a significant improvement—and he had even gained an additional low-tier thunder elemental spiritual root. This was a direct result of consuming several first-rank high-quality thunder attribute spirit materials, granting him this newfound affinity for thunder magic.

His disappointment arose because despite devouring numerous wood-type spirit artifacts, his Wood Spirit Root had only increased by a mere 0.05 points.

In total, six sets of spirit materials, ten magical devices, and countless other miscellaneous items had been assimilated by his Dragon Heart Space. Yet, it seemed insufficient to elevate either his water or gold spirit roots beyond their current peak within the inferior grade range.

It appeared clear that advancing these roots to mid-grade would require either continued consumption of vast quantities of first-rank spirits with those attributes or obtaining a second-rank spirit artifact corresponding to each element—a daunting task indeed, one that threatened to overwhelm even the most ambitious cultivator.

He was no longer the novice who had known nothing of this world. Through his time here—especially through interactions with Han Wenqin and Yu Nan, both scions from two of the four great aristocratic families—he had come to fully grasp just how precious second-rank spiritual artifacts were.

This is already an extraordinary outcome! Li Zhen reminded himself silently.

If anyone could see his spiritual roots’ talent, they would likely be astounded beyond belief.

He owed immense gratitude to the Xian Nation’s Spirit Root Confidentiality Law, which shielded him from untold troubles by keeping his abilities secret.

Had any cultivator learned that he could enhance his spirit root, it might have been explained away as a fluke for one or even two enhancements. However, if word got out about his continuously improving spirit root, all cultivators would go mad with desire.

Spiritual root quality has always been the greatest bottleneck for a cultivator’s advancement. Pseudo-spirit root cultivators struggle to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining, while those with inferior-grade spirit roots find it incredibly difficult to attain the late stages of Qi Refining. Given the possibility of upgrading their spirit roots, these cultivators would spare no effort or sacrifice.

Li Zhen continued exploring the dragon heart space, focusing now on the talismans within.

He had never before used the dragon heart space to consume talismans; primarily because he didn’t possess many. The mid-grade talismans in his Talisman Case served as his lifeline—a reserve of last-ditch defensive measures against unforeseen dangers.

Li Zhen had no intention of using his Dragon Heart Space for talismans anytime soon. Instead, he decided to test its ability by commanding it to swallow a mid-grade Fireball Talisman.

As he issued the command, a peculiar force enveloped the talisman, forcibly stripping away the Fireball Spell Rune from the mid-grade Fireball Talisman.

This rune represented the essence of the Fireball Spell. Once detached from the talisman, it flew towards the wall of the Dragon Heart Space and embedded itself there.

Li Zhen stared in awe at this transformation within the Dragon Heart Space, never having anticipated such a change when instructing it to consume the Fireball Talisman.

His mind connected with the ‘Fireball Spell Rune’ on the space’s wall, and suddenly, a flood of information poured into his brain—the very insights into the Fireball Spell gleaned by the master who crafted that mid-grade Fireball Talisman.

To create even a mid-grade Fireball Talisman required mastery; this maker could undoubtedly cast the Fireball Spell themselves and had likely approached the realm of Understanding Magic in their proficiency.

What kind of experience was this? Li Zhen had never formally studied the Fireball Spell before, yet in an instant, he found himself endowed with vast knowledge akin to firsthand experience in wielding it. It was as if he had undergone years of practice in mere moments—a truly extraordinary sensation.

Even with Li Zhen possessing the dragon heart of a Chaos Divine Dragon, granting him unparalleled talent for casting spells across all elements, this method—allowing mastery without traditional study—saved him an immense amount of practice time.

His eyes gleamed as he examined the remaining talismans. One by one, he absorbed them, converting each into spell runes on the walls of his dragon heart space while simultaneously gaining firsthand experience in their execution.

He had now mastered spells such as Fireball Spell, Vajra Shield, Ice Arrow Technique, Earth Spike Technique, Wrapping Technique, Lightness Spell, and Small Cloud Rain Spell. In any high school cultivator class, few students would have learned so many diverse techniques; let alone those in middle school.

It wasn’t that learning these low-tier spells was inherently difficult. With sufficient dedication to each spell, they could be relatively easy to master. The true bottleneck in acquiring magical abilities remained the limitation imposed by one’s innate spiritual roots.

For instance, the Fireball Spell required correspondence with a fire elemental spiritual root. While it wasn’t impossible to learn this spell without such a root, doing so would significantly increase the spiritual energy consumption—by multiples—and greatly diminish its power. Consequently, the difficulty of mastering the spell would escalate considerably.

Generally speaking, no cultivator would waste their time learning magical techniques incompatible with their innate spiritual roots. It was far more productive to master those that aligned with one’s own elemental affinities.

Li Zhen wondered if he could use the Dragon Heart Space’s ability to consume talismans and thereby learn magic from non-native elements. However, he feared there might never be an opportunity to test this theory.

After all, possessing both Five Elements Spirit Root and Lightning Spirit Root granted him exceptional versatility—covering nearly every type of spiritual affinity save for a few rare exceptions.

In the large conference room of the Security Bureau, Chief Li looked down solemnly at his assembled subordinates, the atmosphere tense and charged.

“I’m sure you’re all aware of Yunxi County’s law enforcement situation over the past two months,” Chief Li began gravely. “Compared to the same period last year, the number of cases has tripled—and not just minor offenses; serious crimes have skyrocketed as well. This trend shows no signs of abating, and I am deeply dissatisfied!”

Guard Shang stepped forward to offer an explanation. “Sir, our brothers have been working tirelessly. Somehow, word got out that during Nine Heavens Group’s annual auction, they’d be selling Broken Vein Pills—and rumor even had it that Foundation Establishment Pills might appear too. As a result, several late-stage Qi Refining cultivators have flocked to Yunxi County. With our current resources, controlling such a volatile situation is incredibly difficult.” His voice carried a note of concern, reflecting the gravity of their predicament.

His words elicited expressions of gratitude from his fellow policemen; only he seemed capable of calming the chief’s temper.

“I don’t want to hear these excuses,” the Chief of Public Security said with evident dissatisfaction in his tone. “If you’re short on manpower, have the Four Great Clans provide assistance. If your strength falls short, deploy fighter armor!”

“Chief, given the Ghost Market’s recent activities, should we issue them a warning?” Guard Shang asked, shifting the topic as soon as he sensed the Chief was willing to delegate authority. A smile played across his face.

Though unaware of the specifics, he couldn’t miss such significant movements within the Ghost Market—an entity so vast that any major action would inevitably draw his attention. In times like these, when tensions were high, even minor disturbances at the Ghost Market could set him on edge. He knew well its formidable power—if anything untoward occurred there, it might take someone of his caliber just to contain the situation.

“I’ll make sure they understand their place,” the Chief replied firmly. “Don’t concern yourselves further with that matter. Focus on maintaining law and order here. We can’t afford for those incoming cultivators to cause any serious trouble!”

Just then, Guard Shang’s identity bracelet began to flicker.

He glanced at his identity bracelet, his expression darkening considerably.

“Chief,” he reported grimly, “two more malicious incidents have occurred—in East City and West City!”

The chief swiftly issued instructions: “Have the four great clans dispatch cultivators for patrol duties immediately. Form a special operations team on standby to provide assistance as needed!”

The next day was Sunday. Li Zhen arrived early at Going Beyond Swordplay, only to find it nearly deserted—a stark contrast from its usual bustling atmosphere, especially on weekends when cultivators typically thrived.

As he observed the empty halls, Han Wenqin and Rong Honghui entered the premises. Li Zhen waved towards Han Wenqin with a greeting and nodded politely to Rong Honghui.

“Li Zhen, you’re here this early too!” Han Wenqin said with a smile.

In their daily routine, they often saw each other at school rather than at the swordplay hall. Li Zhen had his own practice room; due to differences in progress compared to others in his cultivation group, he’d been training independently most of the time.

“Class Leader Han, what’s going on today?” Li Zhen asked curiously. “Why is the swordplay hall so quiet?”

“We’ve been asked by the Security Bureau to patrol the streets,” Han Wenqin explained with a shake of her head. “The recent influx of rogue cultivators has become too much to ignore!” She added quickly, “But these matters have nothing to do with us here.”

If not for Rong Honghui and Li Zhen being too young and their abilities still nascent, they would likely have been dispatched on patrols as well.

As beneficiaries of the Han family’s resources and support, it was only natural that they should assist when the family needed help—a quid pro quo arrangement.

It was akin to how Lou Zichen and Teng Si had been reassigned today. Originally scheduled for training at the Going Beyond Swordplay dojo, they now found themselves stationed outside on patrol duty instead.

“I heard you’re now personally guided by Curator Zhang himself,” Rong Honghui interjected, envy clear in her voice. “Who knew your swordsmanship talent was so exceptional!”

Even within the prestigious Han Clan, Curator Zhang held the esteemed position of an external elder—an honor reserved for those among the clan who possessed unparalleled strength and influence.

Han Wenqin was aware of Li Zhen receiving such guidance from Curator Zhang; after all, she had introduced him to the opportunity herself and subsequently received recognition from the clan for doing so.