I Can See Experience Points

Although He Xiaotian wasn’t part of their discussion, his sheer size made him stick out like a sore thumb. It was impossible for anyone to ignore him.

As his body began to tremble slightly, everyone’s attention slowly focused on him.

[ - 300/300+ (Entry) -> - 0/500+ (Novice)]

[ - 500/500+ (Novice) -> - 0/1000+ (Practiced)]

[ - 1000/1000+ (Practiced) -> - 0/2000+ (Adept)]

[ - 2000/2000+ (Adept) -> - 0/4000+ (Mastered)]

[ - 4000/4000+ (Mastered) -> - 0/8000+ (Perfected)]

[ - 8000/8000+ (Perfected) -> - ∞ (Transcendent: ...Expand ↓)]

He Xiaotian focused his mind and spammed the upgrade button. Out of his eighteen thousand Experience Points, fifteen thousand nine hundred were instantly consumed, leaving only two thousand one hundred.

And as the level of his continued to rise, the intensity of his trembling increased as well.

This scene left everyone completely baffled.

’He was fine just a moment ago. How did he suddenly start shaking like he has Parkinson’s?’

’And what’s with all the sweat and that look in your eyes, like you just received some *special services*?’

In reality, as he leveled up the martial art, a surge of energy suddenly burst forth from his internal organs.

This current of energy coursed through his body, and He Xiaotian could clearly sense his internal organs gradually being strengthened.

This discovery made his eyes light up.

It was a well-known fact that strengthening the internal organs was one of the greatest hurdles for any martial artist.

Most external martial arts offered no effective method for doing so.

He Xiaotian himself had never imagined he would get such a pleasant surprise.

Spurred on, he tapped even more diligently, directly raising to its maximum level.

Throughout this process, the feeling of immense satisfaction was irrepressible.

Coupled with the continuous and intense strengthening of his internal organs, a bit of trembling was inevitable.

"Phew..."

He Xiaotian let out a long breath, though it was a shame it was trapped behind his mask.

[ - ∞ (Transcendent: Zen +5, Purification +5, Intimidation +5, Impact +5, Internal Organ Strength +5, Courage -5, Sanity -5, Special Attributes - Shattered Organs +3, Bleeding From Seven Orifices +3.)]

"Huh?!"

He Xiaotian reacted as if he’d discovered a new continent, his expression a mixture of shock and curiosity.

Of course, because of the mask, the others only heard his exclamation.

Zen +5, Purification +5, Intimidation +5, Impact +5, and Internal Organ Strength +5 were all things he could understand.

After all, the description had stated that the greatest effect of the Lion’s Roar was to eliminate karmic obstacles and purify the body and mind.

Courage -5, Sanity -5... this was the first time he’d ever seen a minus sign.

’Could it be that after I use the Lion’s Roar, the enemy’s courage and sanity will be drastically reduced?’ He Xiaotian felt his guess had to be correct. ’It’s not like you could practice a martial art and end up saddling yourself with a pile of debuffs, right?’

As for the final Special Attributes—Shattered Organs +3 and Bleeding From Seven Orifices +3—he was even more interested.

The literal meaning was easy enough to understand. With a single roar...

...his enemies would die with shattered organs, bleeding from their seven orifices.

Interesting.

He never thought a special Buddhist sonic martial art would come with debuffs and special attributes.

’Looks like I’ll have to pay more attention to certain special martial arts from now on.’

’They might bring me a lot of unexpected surprises.’

He Xiaotian gleefully moved the manual behind his back and stored it in his inventory.

The moment he looked up, he found everyone in the living room staring at him in unison.

For an instant, he was tempted to whip out his two three-hundred-plus-pound iron hammers for self-defense.

"What do you guys want?"

Everyone: "..."

The group collectively rolled their eyes at He Xiaotian’s question.

’You have the nerve to ask us?’

’What was that all about, shaking like you had Parkinson’s?’

"Ahem." Zheng Peng coughed, breaking the bizarre atmosphere in the living room. ’We’re all professionals, so why are we staring at X? The top priority is to find the Mirror Spirit’s trail and get Miss Liu’s soul back.’

"Let’s summon the Pen Immortal," said one of the two team leaders next to Lei Yang.

’The trail’s gone cold again. Our only option is to summon that hit-or-miss, mischievous Pen Immortal and ask for information.’

’It’ll probably just give us a bunch of question marks and the single word "Liu" like last time. But that’s still better than having no leads and running all over Shanghai, right?’

’They really didn’t want to have to put on trainee police uniforms and patrol in the middle of the night.’

"Alright. It’s come to this. What else can we do?"

Lei Yang sighed and took a rectangular jade box from his pocket.

It was engraved with strange, esoteric symbols, some of whose grooves seemed to be filled with a red powder like cinnabar.

He opened the jade box and took out a green pencil.

Except the tip of this pencil was blood-red.

The entire pencil emanated a thick, metallic smell of blood, making one’s nose wrinkle involuntarily.

"An Abnormal Item?" He Xiaotian asked.

"That’s right. A C-Class Abnormal Item—the Pen Immortal. Before we came here, we asked it about the Mirror Spirit’s whereabouts, and it wrote down the word ’Liu.’ Unfortunately, its class is too low. If it were a B-Class item, it might have given us a more precise clue."

Hearing Lei Yang’s words, the corners of the other Cleaners’ mouths twitched.

’Even if the Energy Research Department approved a B-Class item for them, they wouldn’t dare use it!’

’Abnormal Items of that level might be effective, but they are also incredibly dangerous.’

’Someone applied for one two months ago, and because of improper handling—a single, tiny oversight—their entire team was wiped out!’

Lei Yang then took out a palm-sized piece of white paper and placed it flat on the coffee table. He gripped the ominous green pencil in his right hand and silently chanted, "Pen Immortal, Pen Immortal, I am your life in this world. If you wish to continue our bond, please draw a circle on the paper."

A frigid, sinister presence suddenly descended.

The ordinary people like Liu Rui and the British Butler sneezed and pulled their jackets tighter around themselves.

Lei Yang began to tremble all over, even more violently than He Xiaotian had earlier.

The green pencil in his right hand guided his hand to draw a circle.

"Where are the Mirror Spirit and the others?"

Then, everyone watched as the green pencil wrote a series of question marks.

"???"

’Fucking hell, I knew it. This thing is completely unreliable.’

Lei Yang fought the urge to snap the pencil in two and was about to end the ritual.

"Captain Lei, could you help me ask about my daughter’s soul?"

"Pen Immortal, Pen Immortal, where is Miss Liu’s soul?" He didn’t think the Pen Immortal could actually answer. ’Putting aside the question of whether Liu Rui’s daughter’s soul even exists anymore, if it does, it must be with the Mirror Spirit and Dream Eye.’

’This piece of crap doesn’t even know where the Mirror Spirit is, so how could it possibly know where your daughter’s soul is?’

’You’ve got to be kidd—’

Before Lei Yang could even finish his internal grumbling, the green pencil, guiding his hand, wrote two words on the paper.