Chapter Sixty-One: The Realm of Spiritual Essence

What was truly horrifying was that, even with such a fatal wound—a bullet lodged in his brow—the scar-faced man could still speak.

“No, don’t kill me, I am Lin Zhongshi. My sister is Lin Zhongqing, she’s a gold-ranked master from Silver City!” His voice was strained, stripped of its former arrogance, now filled only with humility and supplication.

“Spare me. I won’t come here again. It was someone else, a passerby, who told me there was a settlement here, one that hadn’t been plundered. It’s all his fault. He persuaded me to come. I never wanted to go out of my way…”

“I didn’t intend to kill you. They don’t allow me to harm settlement leaders. I only wanted to kill your dog, to intimidate you…”

It was remarkable he could still say so much. Fan Bei thought this, not even bothering to interrogate him—he simply fired three more shots, silencing the man for good.

At that moment, Da Bai, belatedly realizing what had happened, lunged at the scar-faced man. But never having bitten a person before, it hesitated instinctively.

Clearly, it wasn’t cut out for attacking humanoid creatures.

Fan Bei called it back. “No need to bite. He’s already dead.”

“Uh, can a dead man still stand and speak?” Da Bai hurried back, cautiously eyeing the corpse.

“Silly Da Bai, you don’t understand. This man’s spiritual strength was at least silver rank, level two or higher. His soul had already solidified; even after physical death, he could remain upright for a long time. But now, he’s dead through and through.”

Steel Ball Xiao Bai had quietly rolled out from the roadside grass, taking up the role of professional commentator.

“Xiao Bai, you scoundrel! You actually chickened out!” Da Bai leapt at it, furious, scratching and slapping.

“Don’t blame me. If I’d stepped in, it would’ve just cost another dog’s life,” Xiao Bai argued defensively, hurriedly rolling behind Fan Bei to hide. “It’s your own fault for never giving me good food. Even if I wanted to save you, I wouldn’t have the strength.”

Fan Bei stopped Da Bai’s attack. He never expected Xiao Bai to save him in the first place.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Bai asked, “Brave mortal, you truly surprised me. What move did you use just now? You’re so weak, not even bronze rank. You shouldn’t have been his match.”

It couldn’t figure it out—did Fan Bei have a system as well?

Impossible. Xiao Bai had tested him before. His reactions weren’t fake; he really hadn’t bound to a system.

“Uh, didn’t I just say?” Fan Bei replied, feigning mystery, “Our shelter is protected by a benevolent and noble presence. It watches over us. That man simply didn’t believe it. Now, it seems you don’t either…”

“Which noble presence? Surely you mean me—unless there’s someone else…” Xiao Bai realized, then mumbled, “No wonder you never wanted to worship me, always indifferent, not even caring about Da Bai’s system. Turns out you’ve latched onto something bigger.”

“Hmph, the master is always unfathomable—always has a way. You’re nothing compared to him, just a braggart who bullies the weak.” Da Bai had become a sycophant, praising Fan Bei lavishly.

“No, I haven’t truly gained that noble presence’s approval yet…” Fan Bei said ambiguously. “I can only ask for help when facing mortal danger.”

Xiao Bai remained silent, inwardly relieved that it hadn’t acted rashly.

“All right, let’s deal with this body properly. There may be more trouble ahead.” Fan Bei didn’t wish to elaborate, stepping forward to clean up.

Just as he finished speaking and before he could act, a white light flashed from the steel ball, enveloping the corpse, whose eyes were still wide open. The light stripped it bare, stacking all clothing to the side.

Next, a burst of fire ignited the body, transforming it into a human-shaped torch, burning fiercely.

Xiao Bai’s methods were well-practiced.

Fan Bei sighed, moved to the pile of clothing and belongings, searching through them. He found only an identification card and a few certificates.

No food, water, or other supplies. Considering the man’s earlier demands for large quantities of resources, it was clear he had other ways of storing them.

He picked up the ID card. “Wu Zicheng, 21, male. Native address: 73 Wangxiang Road, North Hunt City…”

So he’d been lying. Fan Bei wasn’t surprised. Some might be foolish enough to believe whatever a villain says, but he certainly wasn’t.

He tossed the ID card into the burning pyre, watching it vanish in flames.

Then he examined the certificates—five in total, each bearing a familiar red and green pattern, a mountain in the center, with words above and below.

“Redeemable upon presentation. Issued by the Silver Chamber of Commerce. One hundred thousand silver coins.”

Five certificates, totaling fifty million silver coins. Given that thirty silver coins could be exchanged for ten grams of gold, these certificates represented more than 166 kilograms of gold.

No wonder the man demanded a hundred kilograms of gold—it amounted to two-thirds of his fortune.

Fan Bei stored the five certificates in the “Father of Systems.” Of course, he couldn’t use them directly, but every place had its black market…

After tidying up, he tossed the clothing into the fire as well, then filled the ashes into a roadside pit.

Within days, August’s wild grass would cover every trace.

The road out of the valley had long been overgrown, only occasionally pressed back by convoys of traders, carving out a temporary path.

Once he finished, he had Da Bai roll the steel ball and followed him back to the convertible where they’d parked earlier.

As they walked, Fan Bei checked the “Father of Systems.”

Mental energy reserves, unsurprisingly, had dropped from “56,534.5” to “4,545.3” points.

Just purifying the “weakness” of a silver-ranked master required more than fifty thousand points?

No. The truth was that all 56,534.5 points of mental energy had been consumed, and yet the man hadn’t died!

He hadn’t been fully purified; the real cause of death was Fan Bei’s decisive gunfire, only then did the system show the current “4,545.3” points.

Because most of the man’s power had been purified, Fan Bei only absorbed a few thousand points of mental energy.

The reason for this, he realized, was that his martial arts were fundamentally low-level. Even perfected, they could only handle silver-ranked foes.

He had only mastered the first layer. The weaknesses he could see weren’t truly fatal, so “weakness purification” was nearly the same as full purification.

If it weren’t for the “Father of Systems” converting mental energy into its most mysterious, pure form—allowing him to ignore the opponent’s spiritual strength—he would have been, as Xiao Bai said, no match at all.

No wonder the man had said those words in the end. It wasn’t just pleading or fear, but a tactic, just as Fan Bei had done, to buy time!

Had Fan Bei been soft-hearted, or wasted time with empty words hoping to move him, once the man recovered from the paralysis of purification, Fan Bei would surely have died.

Understanding this, Fan Bei clenched his fist in secret. He couldn’t afford compassion—the harvest must be ruthless. He was still very weak, very weak. Systems were few, but hosts were everywhere.

A five percent cut—so what? Unless someone had exceptional talent and the rewards were huge, they’d never be given a “share increase” mission.

Fan Bei pondered as he walked, finally arriving at the convertible.

…

Fan Bei quietly returned to the agricultural district’s duty room, disturbing no one. It was as if nothing had happened; no one knew he’d gone out today and eliminated a silver-ranked master.

He called Da Bai and the steel ball into his master bedroom.

He asked, “Xiao Bai, do you know how that man stored food and water?”

“Uh, hasn’t the noble presence you serve ever told you?” Xiao Bai replied, puzzled.

“Oh, as I said, I haven’t truly gained its approval yet,” Fan Bei replied calmly.

“It’s a profound and powerful ability. When spiritual strength reaches its peak and the consciousness world ascends to a high level, one can gradually project the consciousness world into spiritual matter, thereby creating a spiritual realm that exists between reality and void. At that stage, those favored by it can pay a great price to use a small portion of space,” Xiao Bai explained patiently.

This creature was surprisingly useful. Hearing this, Fan Bei began to understand the man’s true identity and real objective.

The world’s mysteries had only just revealed a tiny corner to him.