Chapter 55: The Lucky Boy with a Fortunate Encounter

“No, this is a puppet!”
The man leaned over the “corpse,” his expression complex, and said, “According to the Shadow Society’s secret archives, there exists a profession capable of bestowing spiritual essence upon ordinary components, animating them through the use of magic stones. Thus, mechanical puppets are formed and controlled.”
“What profession is that? Could this be the fateful encounter Qin Jing had?”
The woman was astonished. In this era of spiritual revival, every extraordinary individual was a favored child of the world. Some had their own unique fortunes, others awakened with unusual powers, so most transcenders were quite receptive to oddities.
“An Alchemist. It’s a powerful support profession. According to the legends, alchemists may lack overwhelming combat strength, but each possesses a wealth of resources. Some high-ranking alchemists can even exhaust their unique alchemical magic every month to transmute ordinary stones into magic stones!”
“From the intelligence we’ve gathered, Qin Jing managed to sell ten magic stones to Hathaway in one transaction. That’s proof enough he has even more. Now, encountering this alchemical puppet, could it be that Qin Jing has inherited the legacy of an alchemist?”
“It’s highly likely. We must stay vigilant. Alchemists rely heavily on external objects, and what we’re facing might be a trap device set up in advance.”
At this point, the man smiled, “But there’s good news. According to the records, we Shadow Assassins are the bane of alchemists. Our shadow state isn’t physical, so most of the alchemist’s mechanisms are useless against us.”
As he spoke, the two melted into shadow once more.
Just as if to confirm their words, the two shadows advanced without encountering any mishap. The alchemical puppet remained as lifeless as a heap of scrap, utterly inert.
Soon, they passed through the labyrinthine corridor and entered its depths. In an instant, dazzling golden light flooded their eyes, and the woman gasped softly.
“Don’t be fooled by appearances. Ordinary gold is of no use to people like us. Besides, these may not even be jewels or gold at all. Our true target is the extraordinary resources that Qin Jing has stored.”
The man’s voice sounded at just the right time.
The woman couldn’t help but ask, “Do those extraordinary resources truly exist?”
“Do you really think we came all this way just for a scrap of information from Hathaway?”
The man spoke gravely, “Our society’s information network is formidable. Qin Jing’s buyers aren’t limited to Hathaway’s Phoenix Society. It’s said that the Zheng Trading Guild, a transcendent organization in Lenghai, once purchased a beauty elixir from here—another product of an alchemist. And judging from our analysis, Qin Jing has only appeared for a short while, carefully testing the waters by selling small trinkets. Do you think an alchemist’s legacy would be limited to such trifles?”

The woman’s eyes immediately shone with excitement. “Of course not! That’s the legacy of an alchemist—if their power comes from external artifacts, then there must be countless extraordinary treasures!”
“Precisely!”
As if to confirm their thoughts, they passed through the great hall and moved deeper within. The surrounding labyrinth seemed to vanish, and a plain, unadorned table appeared before them.
On the table were several simple objects: a small pouch, a bottle of water, and ten magic stones!
But what drew their eyes even more was the man seated behind the table.
“Qin Jing?”
The woman narrowed her eyes, her aura instantly locking onto the man with razor focus.
“Two strangers, trespassing uninvited into my domain—what, I wonder, should I do with you?”
The man sitting in the chair wore a hooded sweatshirt, head lowered so his face was obscured. He seemed to be Qin Jing. As he spoke, he tapped on the table, an undercurrent of pressure emanating with each sound.
The man, however, was eyeing the items on the table and tentatively asked, “What are these?”
Qin Jing’s reply was calm, even rather cooperative. “Magic stones, spiritual rice, and spirit spring water.”
“What?”
The man was visibly shaken. He had heard of the legendary spiritual rice and spirit spring—they were the most essential daily resources for the cultivation of the extraordinary, and in this newly awakened world, such things were unimaginably rare!
Staring at the extraordinary artifacts before him, greed flickered in the man’s eyes. “Are you offering these to me?”
“No, these are goods for trade. And since you still refuse to reveal your identities, the price for them will be ten times higher.”
Barely had Qin Jing finished speaking before the man shouted, “Now!”

At his command, the woman instantly melted into shadow, shooting toward Qin Jing like a swift arrow.
Seeing her shadow envelop Qin Jing in an instant, the man sneered, “Just as I thought—a lucky brat who stumbled into an alchemist’s legacy. All those treasures, and not the strength to match. Ha! Manman, we’ve struck gold!”
The Shadow Society’s primary purpose in coming here was to test Qin Jing’s strength. This was the universal principle of the extraordinary world: only the strong are entitled to status. Based on their intelligence, they suspected Qin Jing was a wild, newly awakened transcender who had just stumbled onto good fortune. The man had clear orders: if the target was weak, eliminate him and seize all strategic resources!
He approached “Manman’s” shadow, reaching out to pull back Qin Jing’s hood, scoffing, “What a rookie. Instead of attacking when confronted, he tries to lure us into a deal with profits—treating this like a mundane business transaction. It’s laughable.”
“Oh? It seems I was mistaken.”
Suddenly, Qin Jing’s voice rang out again, but this time from much farther away.
At the same moment, the “Qin Jing” enveloped by Manman’s shadow abruptly raised his head. It was a classic Western face, but his eyes blazed with a terrifying blue light.
Boom!
As “Qin Jing” rose to his feet, the world seemed to turn upside down. The Manman controlling him trembled violently—then, like a layer of dull skin, she was wrenched off with a casual tug.
“What?”
The man’s face changed drastically. But even more terrifying was that, under the gaze of those deep blue eyes, he felt his blood freeze, his skin turn to ice, even his breathing grow difficult. In an instant, his entire body was paralyzed; even the urge to tremble was a luxury beyond reach.
Damn it, what kind of monster is this? Wasn’t he just supposed to be a lucky fool? the man howled internally.
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Thanks to Feijiang of the Shu Kingdom for the 2,000-point reward. Welcome, Feijiang. A pat for Feijiang.