Netherworld Retrograde

Chapter 89: Chapter 40 Azure Dragon Halberd_2

Li Yunyan nodded and then stepped forward to assess Li Yelai’s injuries, asking, ”We’re blood siblings. If I become a Spiritual Ability User, will I also follow the Wanxiang Path like you? Will I have the same abilities as you?”

Li Yelai thought for a moment and shook his head, ”It’s hard to say about the path. My colleagues, Starfire and Shadow Stream, are twin siblings. One follows the Path of Zero, the other the Netherworld Path.”

”Is that so... Were their parents Spiritual Ability Users?” Li Yunyan inquired.

Li Yelai recalled, ”Starfire mentioned that his father was a Critical, but he never awakened.”

”So, does that mean if the parents are Spiritual Ability Users or Criticals, their children are also likely to become Spiritual Ability Users?” Li Yunyan pondered, looking at a photograph of a woman, ”Does that mean... that our parents might have been Spiritual Ability Users or Criticals?”

”What’s the use of discussing this now?” Li Yelai shook his head, ”They are no longer here.”

After the death of their mother, Li Yelai had come to consider himself without parents.

As for the father who ran away from home, claiming he was going to make a fortune.

Li Yelai acted as if he had died out there!

If he dares to come back now, standing before Li Yelai claiming he wants to make amends.

Li Yelai would not let him off without a thrashing!

A man who simply left a letter and disappeared while his wife was critically ill in bed does not deserve to be called a father.

Especially since, in the year before the mother’s death, despite her frailty,

she told Li Yelai by sign language that the father was on his way back. She could feel it...

Yet, she died without ever seeing that man again, leaving with regrets and reluctance.

Whenever Li Yelai thought about this, he felt his anger boiling up.

His mother was smart and beautiful.

Reportedly, she graduated from a prestigious university.

She likely had many admirers in her youth.

Unfortunately, the only flaw of the mother was her poor choice in men.

Deep breaths helped Li Yelai calm his emotions.

During this time, he needed to focus on healing and should avoid getting angry again.

The coming days would be busy. Although the Black Prison in the East District didn’t have any escaped Taboo Items, the North City Branch’s Black Prison wasn’t so fortunate, as some Taboo Items had escaped into Giant City.

Moreover, many Wild Spiritual Ability Users had surfaced within Giant City due to the current incidents. The official operations would significantly increase in response.

...

Since Li Yelai had already taken a month’s leave from the antique shop owner, but had withdrawn from the Black Prison early for healing,

he now found himself with a lot of free time, aside from attending his colleagues’ funerals.

The rest of his time was spent honing his abilities at the branch or checking the investigation progress of the incident on the [forum].

As all the Giant Cities had suffered from this strike, the Processing Departments in each were frantically investigating.

It was said that they unearthed many individuals who had been in contact with Qin Zhi.

And they learned of the name ’Ark.’

It was said to be a profoundly secret organization, and Qin Zhi was one of its members.

The rest, the forum did not reveal, probably requiring higher-level clearance to know.

On the third day, Li Yelai received the contribution reward for his actions in the incident.

The team members generally believed that Li Yelai deserved the most credit.

Especially for negotiating the suppression of the Mobius Ring for Sha Li, which significantly minimized the losses.

Later, the pursuit of Zhe Lan’s forces led to other Taboo Items being surrounded.

Thus, in this instance, Li Yelai earned a whopping one hundred and fifty Merit Points.

Adding to his original twenty-five points, he now had a grand total of one hundred seventy-five points.

That was a significant sum!

If it were before, Li Yelai would have immediately purchased an Anti-Spiritual Ability Helmet.

However, Yang Chen, after awaking, had successfully applied for a trial, and he would receive an Anti-Spiritual Ability Helmet within half a month.

That was not urgent anymore.

Thus, Li Yelai, with his considerable funds, revisited the Equipment Department at the branch.

He was ready to craft new weapons.

First was the Crimson Long Sword, severely damaged after multiple cleaving strikes on horseback. The blade was rolled, and the handle had also sustained damage.

The Equipment Department suggested that instead of repairing, it would be better to recast a more suitable one.

There were grades for Spiritual Ability Equipment, ranking from high to low as A, B, C, D, and reportedly there was an S-grade, though the branch did not possess it.

The captains of the major teams all used A-grade equipment.

The Crimson Long Sword was a Grade D weapon, its ability decent but its other materials lacking.

The Equipment Department meant that, after reforging and extracting its mysterious material, they would create new weapons from higher-grade materials.

This would upgrade the weapon to Grade C, making it more durable and less likely to break so quickly.

However, the price was thirty Merit Points as the cost for providing the material. If one supplied their own materials, the price could be reduced.

It really was somewhat expensive, as Li Yelai had only spent twenty Merit Points on a house.

Was this weapon really more expensive than a house?

Li Yelai asked Cheese, and Cheese responded, ”This price is normal. Usually, only Third Awakening Spiritual Ability Users can afford Grade C weapons. I myself just got a Grade C weapon. If you had one, it’d last you a very long time.”

After much hesitation, Li Yelai agreed to the reforging.

And paid thirty Merit Points.

As for the reforging, after consideration, Li Yelai chose the Azure Dragon Halberd, also known as the Single-Ear Halberd.

Li Yelai actually liked the Long-Handled Blade quite a bit.

As Yang Chen had stated earlier, Li Yelai had long arms, long legs, and a slender waist, making him suitable for blade training.

Paired with Weakness Perception, Li Yelai could chop down a man along with his horse, in one stroke.

Yet in the end, Li Yelai had mastered the Single-handed Eighteen Strokes and his marksmanship was fairly good.

Moreover, both Xiang Yu and Huo Qubing were masters of the spear technique.

If he continued using the Long-Handled Blade, some skills couldn’t be executed.

Therefore, for the sake of cost versus value, Li Yelai had to unwillingly give up the Long-Handled Blade.

Of course, the Equipment Department also gave some advice—if he truly liked the Long-Handled Blade, he could always buy another piece of Spiritual Ability Equipment! A Grade C weapon for just sixty contribution points!

To that suggestion, Li Yelai didn’t bother responding.

Instead, he continued choosing weapons, settling on the Spiritual Ability Equipment.

That meant the Jet Axe required an upgrade as well.

He directly ordered a custom-made Hot Melt Axe that could be swung with one hand and was easier to conceal.

Twenty Merit Points!

Real highway robbery!

However, after witnessing the ease with which the Hot Melt Axe sliced through steel rebars, Li Yelai kept his mouth shut.

He dutifully paid the points.

Just as Li Yelai was planning to head back for more training, Yang Chen sent him a message, asking him to stop by the office.

To that, Li Yelai felt puzzled, as it seemed he was the only one invited.

With curiosity, Li Yelai walked into Yang Chen’s office.

Inside, however, there were a few others present, one was Captain Yin Huo of the second team, and the other was an old man Li Yelai had never seen before.

The old man was so aged, shrunken on the sofa, as if he might pass away at any moment.

But it was this old man who gave Li Yelai a feeling akin to staring into an abyss.

The one sitting in the commanding seat was Yang Chen.

Ever since the incident erupted, Yang Chen had been in a difficult state, his eyes filled with gloom.

Particularly after learning that Qin Zhi had escaped from the Giant City, Yang Chen’s complexion never improved.

However, today, his face looked much better.

Upon seeing Li Yelai come in, he even revealed a slight smile.

”Have a seat.”

After Li Yelai nodded and sat down, it was Captain Yin Huo who spoke.

”Night General, you must know about the ark, right?”

”Of course,” Li Yelai nodded. ”It’s mentioned on the forums; it’s the principal culprit behind this incident.”

”Correct, they’re quite mysterious. Although we’ve caught a big fish, we dare not rashly disturb them, as it’s still unknown who they really are.” Yin Huo replied, ”The ark is actually a massive warship wandering in the Void Realm. It’s confirmed now, Qin Zhi is one of its passengers.”

”A big ship in the Void Realm...” Li Yelai frowned. How could one attack something like that, existing outside the physical world?

”Currently, the ark’s abilities are known to be bizarre; Spiritual Ability Users possessing a ticket are able to board the ark from any location, and can also conduct transactions through the ark. Whether it’s Magic Potions or Spiritual Ability Equipment or anything else, passengers from all over the world are trading on the ark. Thus, all the Giant Cities have no leads on them.”

”Then... is it possible to get a ticket?” Li Yelai asked. ”Could we sneak in with a ticket?”

”Theoretically, it’s tough to sneak in, since only the captain can grant tickets, and he has his own selection criteria,” replied Yin Huo. ”However, fortunately, some passengers don’t want their identities discovered, so they often have their underlings act as representatives, holding the tickets to enter and conduct transactions on the ark.”

”So we’ve... managed to get a ticket, and the representative who held the ticket, a Second Awakening Spiritual Ability User, has been arrested...”

Li Yelai’s mind raced. ”Undercover?”