After returning the Advanced Countermeasure Vest to Yu Kuangtu, Ren Suo also made a trip to the Tactical Bureau.

Ren Suo had wanted to greet Qiao Muyi, but she was not at the bureau.

"We're not as free as you." Inside the deputy director's office, Li Dan sat at Yu Kuangtu's desk with droopy eyes, staring at the computer. Without even looking up when Ren Suo entered, he casually complained after Ren Suo asked about Qiao Muyi.

With his "Insight into the Mortal World" ability, he could perceive any movement within ten meters just by peripheral vision and sound.

"What an impressive display of authority, sir!"

Ren Suo chuckled as he sat down, noticing that Li Dan's dark circles seemed to have expanded and darkened even more, almost resembling eyeshadow. "How long has it been since you last rested?"

Although Li Dan claimed he couldn't sleep, he usually had no trouble getting shallow rest to relieve stress. Therefore, his dark circles were kept within a reasonable range.

"Seven or eight days, I guess." Li Dan rubbed his forehead. "'Midnight Walker,' Red Armored Monster, and that big shot... What do you need?"

"I'm here to update my information," said Ren Suo. "I advanced to the second turn a couple of days ago."

Li Dan wasn't too surprised, glancing at Ren Suo. "Let's see your burst of aura."

Ren Suo fully activated "Mysterious Sovereign's Secret Records," causing a Qi Cyclone that triggered a disturbance in the Spiritual Energy. Li Dan yawned, and a similar disturbance erupted within him, completely overshadowing Ren Suo's aura.

"Hmm, you've indeed reached the second turn. No need for additional tests. I will update your information under the name of the Tactical Bureau... By tonight, your purchasable spells in the Law Net should also update."

At that moment, Ren Suo extended his right hand. "Let's shake hands."

Unsure of his intention, Li Dan shook his hand. Then Ren Suo fell silent and said, "You're about to advance too?"

When "data stream" activated, Li Dan's cultivation progress showed "2 turns 88%." No wonder Ren Suo's Qi Cyclone shrank—just like a freshman facing a senior, being utterly outmatched in both textbook knowledge and dirty jokes was quite normal.

"It's on hold, slow and steady." Li Dan looked at the screen, his eyes narrowing to slits. "These days I have so much work I might as well work 24 hours a day. I hardly have time to cultivate..."

"Why not call Yu Kuangtu back?" Ren Suo asked.

"He took leave to advance. Morally and logically, we shouldn't disturb him," Li Dan said. "Cultivation is the most crucial thing for us cultivators, and all the key positions in the Tactical Bureau require adequate strength as support. Moreover, there are few third-turn cultivators in Lianjiang. It's only wise to let him advance as soon as possible, both for the long term and the immediate needs..."

Li Dan went on and on about the many benefits of letting Yu Kuangtu advance, and Ren Suo, thoroughly baffled, interrupted him. "But... Yu Kuangtu is already a third-turn cultivator."

"What?" Li Dan was startled.

"He was already a third-turn cultivator during his fight with the Red Armored Monster that night. Didn't you know?"

"He didn't say."

"Didn't he come to report on the Red Armored Monster?"

"No, he just formatted the information about the Red Armored Monster according to the 'Mysterious Phenomenon Countermeasure Report' and sent it to my email... Wait, how did you know he fought the Red Armored Monster?"

"Because I went to treat him that night."

Li Dan asked, "He was injured? How badly?"

"I just saw him. He's at home gnawing on spicy pork trotters," Ren Suo said. "No troubles at all, and he seems to be planning to go out tonight... and hit the clubs."

'Negative emotions from Li Dan, +233'

"He... didn't go to the hospital?" Li Dan asked through gritted teeth.

"He would rather pass out than go to the hospital. I told him he should at least get a check-up at the hospital, but he refused," Ren Suo said. "Not sure why, maybe just to show off in front of a girl?"

"Of course he wouldn't want to go. He's a member of the Tactical Bureau, so all medical records are directly sent to the Tactical System," Li Dan said bitterly. "If he were hospitalized, we'd definitely know immediately and go visit him..."

"Then he wouldn't be able to hide his advancement news and keep his leave!"

"Men are such scoundrels!"

"Don't tell Yu Kuangtu I told you this." Ren Suo quickly left.

Ren Suo then replenished his supply in Anime Star City and made a special trip back to Jian Ji Noodle Shop for a bowl of beef brisket zhajiang lo mein, finding its taste authentically comforting. By the time he returned home, it was already evening, and he immediately logged into the Law Net.

The Law Net seemed to have updated several times in these two months, extending its operation hours from 7 AM to 11 PM. Naturally, this also included improvements to the redemption system, raising the thresholds, hence Ren Suo had to update his cultivation information at the Tactical Bureau.

As his consciousness sunk into the Magical Starry Sky, a dozen or so of the quiescent, ash-gray stars of various hues suddenly bloomed with splendid rings of light, only to return to tranquility in an instant, leaving only flickering outlines as if beckoning, "Come play, Master!"

These stars represented new spells that Ren Suo could directly purchase with Spirit Stones now that he had advanced to the second turn. Additionally, the spells "Rapid Step" and "Ghostly Rapid Step" that Li Dan had applied for were also among them. Ren Suo immediately spent 750 Spirit Stones to redeem them, depleting half of his stockpile of Spirit Stones.

The Law Net now is different from what it was in the beginning. Initially, the Law Net had a principle: "As long as the spell is listed, you can buy it if you have Spirit Stones." Now, however, it requires thresholds to be met—not only do your cultivation levels need to be sufficient, but you also need a certain identity to make purchases.

In the past, when there were no Spirit Stones, spells could be bought freely as long as you had Spirit Stones; now that there are Spirit Stones, the thresholds have been raised, requiring you to meet various conditions to exchange...

Those who set up these rules for the Law Net are really cunning, Ren Suo thought as he checked which spells he could now exchange.

As those who can access the Law Net were mostly officially recorded cultivators, there is a Second-Tier Spell that everyone can exchange for—"Gauze Clothing."

Because Ren Suo is an external member of the Tactical Bureau, he could also exchange for "Finger Lock" and "Healing."

These three are popular spells aimed at self-protection with low damage, with no other exchange thresholds apart from cultivation level. "Gauze Clothing" is an advanced version of "Clothing," not only blocking the majority of physical damage but also using less Spiritual Energy, although it requires higher quality Spiritual Energy, hence only Second Stage Cultivators can learn it.

"Finger Lock" is an advanced version of "Lock," capable of locking most cultivators and ordinary people of the same or lower stage through touch. Furthermore, "Finger Lock" can also penetrate an opponent's Spiritual Energy Armor—such as Fire Garment, Intangible Armor, Gauze Clothing, and others—by using "Chaotic Aura," making it almost a must-learn spell for members of the Tactical Bureau.

There is not much to say about "Healing."

Because in Ren Suo's cultivator profile, aside from 'second-turn' and 'Countermeasure' tags, there are also 'level 2 researcher' and 'Treatment of Awakeners,' he can also learn some non-lethal spells, such as "Fossil to Mud," "Mud to Stone," "Concrete Manufacturing," "Material Transformation," and so on.

These infrastructure-related spells naturally did not interest Ren Suo, but there were some other spells that fit his current identity.

Second-Tier Spell "Surgical Thread," uses Spiritual Energy to directly sew wounds and reattach severed limbs; its effect is even better in combination with Healing Magic.

Third-Tier Magic "Pain-Relieving Therapy," enhances the healing effect further and suppresses the pain nerves in the injured area, inducing the secretion of substances like dopamine, making the healing process easier and more pleasant.

Ren Suo is currently considered a Healing Cultivator of the Heavenly Lotus Academy, but that is because the academy couldn't find anyone else, so Yu Kuangtu could push him into it.

Now, after the world's Spiritual Energy upgrade and "Midnight Walker" healing people's hearts, and as the state's cultivation policies further spread, the number of cultivators was rapidly increasing. Whether Ren Suo could keep this easy and well-paid job was hard to say.

Of course, the job of healing is not too difficult, and the academy is unlikely to replace Ren Suo. But hoping for the academy's generosity is not as good as improving one's irreplaceability and competitiveness.

Ren Suo decisively bought "Surgical Thread" and "Pain-Relieving Therapy." The remaining Spirit Stones were only enough to buy one Second-Tier Spell—Third-Tier Magic is expensive, and "Ghostly Rapid Step" and "Pain-Relieving Therapy" took up most of his budget.

But Ren Suo had nothing to complain about; without the state's vigorous cultivation of cultivators, he would never have been able to purchase these spells so easily.

Spirit Stones have no value and cannot circulate; they are merely certificates of credit issued by the state to individuals.

And a spell, from its inception to its final, perfect version, involves much effort—something Ren Suo couldn't comprehend, but he knew it wasn't something he could equate to by casually writing a few papers.

The prices of First-Tier Magic and Second-Tier Spells are not high, also because the state wants cultivators to try various spells to find the Magic System that suits them best.

But Third-Tier Magic is a cut above: First-Tier Magic averages 50 Spirit Stones, a Second-Tier Spell averages 100 Spirit Stones, then Third-Tier Magic jumps to at least 500 Spirit Stones.

What matters most, of course, is Ren Suo's access to the state's cultivation platforms; otherwise, no matter how capable he might be, he would never be able to obtain any spell data—Law Net spells are transmitted directly into the mind, understood intuitively and indescribable in words.

Ren Suo's gaze hovered between "Finger Lock" and "Gauze Clothing," and he eventually chose "Gauze Clothing."

He currently lacked any real Attack Power, so naturally, he chose all abilities related to preserving life, and he had already mastered "Clothing" well. Being the advanced version, Ren Suo was confident that with his own abilities and the "Seeker of the Dao Correction Hat," he could master this spell without relying on the game console.

What, the "Seeker of the Dao Correction Hat" belongs to the game console? Isn't the game console's stuff also Ren Suo's stuff? That means Ren Suo's stuff is Ren Suo's stuff, right?

There were many high-damage Second-Tier Spells too, like "Heart Crushing Palm," "Formless Sword Qi," "Fireball," and others, but with Ren Suo's current 'cultivator tag,' he had no right to purchase them unless he changed his profession to be a Combat Cultivator.

Having completed his purchases, a warm current entered Ren Suo's body from the Law Net Instrument. The now second-turn Ren Suo finally felt that the Law Net Instrument, which was like a square crystal, was actually a Spiritual Energy transmission base!

When he bought a spell, the Law Net Instrument was actually sending out information, letting the Aura Central Hub package the knowledge, envelop it with Spiritual Energy Spells, and deliver it precisely to the base. Then the Spiritual Energy Spell would activate and directly transfer the knowledge into the buyer's mind.

This kind of spell, Ren Suo had never seen before, but it was definitely high-grade.

Moreover, such a supply system necessarily requires a source of Spiritual Energy to maintain consumption. Even if remote Spiritual Energy transmission doesn't use much, the step of 'packaging with spells' definitively indicates that cultivators are involved.

Ren Suo imagined the scene: in the Aura Central Hub's chamber, a group of cultivators were busy packaging and shipping spells...

Surely it can't be that inefficient, he mused. Perhaps some cultivators can split off a part of their consciousness, making it function like an AI. One such individual might be enough to handle the spell delivery requests for all cultivators in the Mysterious Country. However, such a 'consciousness-splitting' spell would undoubtedly be of an extremely high grade; few in the entire Mysterious Country could likely cast it.

But even if such cultivators existed, they would still need to expend a vast amount of Spiritual Energy to cast the packaging spells. Moreover, they'd have to remain stationed at the Aura Central Hub constantly. Would such powerful individuals truly be willing to perform this task indefinitely, continuously consuming their own active spiritual energy? It's not as if they feel their cultivation is too high and are looking for ways to burn it off, is it?

Ren Suo shook his head, feeling he was overthinking. He prepared to stay up all night to practice spells, planning to master "Surgical Thread," "Pain-Relieving Therapy," "Rapid Step," and "Ghostly Rapid Step" with the Mini-World Game Console, while mastering "Gauze Clothing" by himself.

Before starting his cultivation, Ren Suo opened "High Energy Ahead" to check and discovered the adventurer had already halted their exploration.

Checking the latest message, it was strikingly:

"The flower withered (energy points +3)."

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