?The sun beat down on the Black Swamp, baking the mud into a stinking crust.

  ?Lu Pao was elbow-deep in the Hydra's chest cavity, sawing through the cartilage with a serrated skinning knife. He looked like a butcher working a double shift in hell.

  ?"Careful with the gall bladder!" Lu Pao yelled, his face smeared with black grease. "If you puncture it, the bile ruins the meat! That's 200 Spirit Stones down the drain!"

  ?Jiang Chen sat on a dry rock nearby, watching with detached interest. He was clean now—he had washed the blood off in a nearby stream—but the [Void Eyes] were still active, scanning the treeline for scavengers.

  ?"You're enjoying this," Jiang Chen noted.

  ?"Enjoying it?" Lu Pao laughed manicly, holding up a slab of shimmering, scale-covered hide. "Do you know what this is? This is Hydra Leather. Waterproof, lightning-resistant. I can make three sets of Tier 2 Armor from this. This isn't meat, Boss. This is currency."

  ?Lu Pao paused, wiping sweat from his forehead. He looked at the massive carcass, now half-dismantled.

  ?"I've been in the Outer Sect for five years," Lu Pao said, his voice dropping. "I've never seen anyone kill a beast like this solo. Not without a team. Not without artifacts."

  ?He looked at Jiang Chen.

  ?"We're going to be rich."

  ?Jiang Chen didn't smile. He checked his internal status.

  ?[Digestion Complete.]

  [EV Reserve: 1,498.]

  [Void Foundation: Stabilized.]

  ?The hunger was gone, but Apeiron was right. The efficiency was terrible. He had eaten a Tier 1 Late-Stage Core—enough energy to blow up a normal cultivator—and barely gained a level's worth of EV.

  ?"The meat is cooked," Apeiron's voice drifted through his mind. "But your stomach is a primitive furnace. You are burning 40% of the energy just to contain the volatility. You need a cultivation manual. A real one."

  ?"I have the Basic Qi Breathing," Jiang Chen thought sarcastically.

  ?"I said a real one. One compatible with the Void. You need 'The Starless Breath'."

  ?"Where do I get that?"

  ?"The Sect Scripture Pavilion. It is an ancient, incomplete fragment. No one practices it because it requires a 'Null Spirit Root' to function—which usually means being a cripple. But for you... it is the key to efficient digestion."

  ?Jiang Chen stood up. "Lu, how long to finish?"

  ?"Another hour to pack the cart. We have to leave the bones; too heavy."

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  ?"Pack the valuables. We're going back."

  ?The Return.

  ?The sun was setting when the mule cart trundled back to the Sect gates.

  ?The guards at the perimeter checkpoint stepped forward, spears crossed.

  ?"Halt. Identify."

  ?Lu Pao jumped down, flashing his merchant badge and a winning, sweaty smile. "Disciple Lu Pao, returning from a resource run. And Disciple Jiang Chen, my... escort."

  ?The guard peered into the back of the cart. It was covered with a tarp.

  ?"What's the cargo?"

  ?"Swamp Lizard hides," Lu Pao lied smoothly. "Low quality. Stinks to high heaven."

  ?The guard wrinkled his nose at the smell of rot wafting from the cart. He waved them through without lifting the tarp.

  ?"Go on. Wash that mule."

  ?They drove straight to the Outer Sect Exchange Hall.

  ?This was Lu Pao's domain. He navigated the back alleys behind the main market, pulling the cart into a secluded loading dock marked 'Private Storage'.

  ?"My workshop," Lu Pao explained, unlocking the heavy wooden doors.

  ?Inside, the warehouse was a chaotic mix of alchemy station, smithy, and pawn shop. Unfinished swords hung from the ceiling; jars of questionable fluids lined the shelves.

  ?They unloaded the Hydra parts.

  ?"I can sell the poison sacs to the Alchemy Hall tonight," Lu Pao calculated, pulling out a ledger. "The skin goes to the Armory tomorrow. The teeth... I know a private buyer."

  ?He did some quick math.

  ?"Total estimated haul: 1,500 Spirit Stones. After the 65/35 split... your share is roughly 975 stones."

  ?Jiang Chen nodded. "I need cash now. Front me 300."

  ?Lu Pao didn't argue. He went to a safe behind a false brick and pulled out a heavy pouch of glowing blue stones.

  ?"300 Spirit Stones. The rest in three days."

  ?Jiang Chen took the pouch. It was heavy. It was more money than he had seen in his entire life.

  ?"Good doing business with you, Lu."

  ?"Same here, Boss," Lu said, patting the Hydra skin lovingly. "Same here."

  ?The Scripture Pavilion.

  ?The library of the Outer Sect was a three-story pagoda that smelled of old paper and incense.

  ?Jiang Chen walked in. It was late, and only a few disciples were studying by candlelight.

  ?He walked past the rows of popular techniques: Fireball Jutsu, Iron Skin, Gale Steps. He ignored them all.

  ?"Corner shelf," Apeiron guided. "Bottom row. Look for the gray binding."

  ?Jiang Chen crouched down in the dusty section labeled 'Miscellaneous & Fragments'.

  ?He pulled out a thin, tattered book. The cover was gray, devoid of any title.

  ?He opened it.

  ?[Technique Identified: The Starless Breath.]

  ?Description: An ancient breathing method that mimics the silence of space. Requires the user to empty their Dantian completely. Warning: Practitioners often suffer from Qi dissipation and death. ?Cost: 50 Contribution Points (or 50 Spirit Stones).

  ?"It's cheap," Jiang Chen noted. "Because it kills people."

  ?"It kills people who have normal foundations," Apeiron corrected. "They try to empty their cup, and their life force drains out. But you... you are already empty. You are a singularity. This technique will allow you to create a vacuum seal around your core. No leakage. 100% absorption efficiency."

  ?Jiang Chen took the book to the counter.

  ?The elder on duty—a sleepy old man with spectacles—glanced at the book, then at Jiang Chen.

  ?"Are you sure, boy?" the Elder asked. "That's a suicide manual. Three disciples tried to learn it last year. Two lost their cultivation. One died."

  ?"I like a challenge," Jiang Chen said, placing 50 Spirit Stones on the counter.

  ?The Elder shrugged. "No refunds."

  ?Jiang Chen tucked the book into his robe and walked out into the night.

  ?He had money. He had a partner. He had a cultivation method.

  ?But as he walked back to District 9, he felt the familiar itch under his skin.

  ?The [Venom Core] was pulsing. The [Void Foundation] was spinning.

  ?They were waiting.

  ?"Now," Apeiron whispered. "Go home. Read the book. And then... we prepare for the Tournament."

  ?Jiang Chen looked up at the moon.

  ?"Tournament?"

  ?"The Seven Peaks Tournament," Apeiron said. "The winner gets access to the Spirit Spring. If you want to evolve the Obsidian Body to Tier 2, you need that water."

  ?Jiang Chen smiled, his teeth flashing in the dark.

  ?"Then I guess I have to win."