Chapter 438 - 296: Manager Qian: This Child Has Touched the Essence of the ’Law

"Boss! Boss, please reconsider!"

Guo Xiaobao’s voice cracked with anxiety. He almost rushed forward to grab Han Feng’s hand.

The murmurs from the crowd grew louder, filled with undisguised mockery and contempt.

"He actually picked it. What a moron."

"Twenty Spirit Coins for a lesson learned. A cheap price to pay."

The young man in the Kunlun Daoist Palace uniform crossed his arms, a look on his face as if he were waiting for a good show to start.

In his eyes, this country bumpkin from East Sea City was about to pay the price for his ignorance and arrogance.

Han Feng, however, paid them no mind.

With a calm expression, he completed the payment on the Spiritual Thought Linker. Twenty Spirit Coins were deducted, and a stream of data instantly flooded his personal terminal.

[Technique: Earth Spear Technique (Tier One Lower Grade), Copyright Purchased.]

"Alright, I’ll be right back."

Han Feng patted the shoulder of the now-petrified Guo Xiaobao and turned toward a nearby empty Inference Pod.

Guo Xiaobao stared blankly at Han Feng’s retreating back, then at the gloating faces all around him.

’My career as a Gold Medal Consultant is over.’

Han Feng stepped into the Inference Pod, which was shaped like a telephone booth. The door closed silently, shutting out all the noise from the outside world.

He put on the cool Spirit Realm Helmet, and a massive stream of information instantly flooded his Sea of Consciousness.

All the information on the Earth Spear Technique was poured into him in painstaking detail—from the most basic methods for guiding Energy and the minutiae of outlining the spiritual imprint, to the case studies of countless failures over the past several hundred years.

’So that’s how it works.’

Less than ten seconds later, Han Feng took off the helmet.

He pushed open the pod door and walked straight to an empty testing area.

His movements once again drew every eye in the room.

Everyone wanted to see what sort of fancy trick this stubborn fool could possibly perform with such a useless Magic.

"Look, he’s out! Was he only in there for a few seconds?"

"He probably realized what a fool he is and just wants to get the demonstration over with and call it a day."

Han Feng stood in the center of the testing area, facing a cylindrical test target forged from Tier Three Alloy.

He held out a hand, mimicking the motions described in the Jade Scroll, and mobilized a trace of Sword Essence.

On the ground, a small patch of dirt trembled and gathered, reluctantly coalescing into an Earth Spear about the length of his forearm. It looked crooked and fragile, as if it would shatter with the slightest touch.

PFFT.

The Earth Spear flew out limply and hit the test target, where it instantly disintegrated into a pile of dust without leaving so much as a mark.

"Hahahaha!"

"I’m dying of laughter! Is that his big result? Twenty Spirit Coins for *that*?"

"I thought he had some earth-shattering plan, but it turns out he was just trying to be funny."

The whole room roared with laughter, and even Guo Xiaobao buried his face in his hands, utterly hopeless.

’This is mortifying. It’s a hundred times worse than the worst-case scenario I imagined.’

And yet, amid the chorus of ridicule, Han Feng’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.

’Warm-up’s over,’ he thought.

He raised his hand again, forming another Earth Spear. This time, however, he didn’t immediately launch it the moment it took shape.

His Divine Sense quietly reached out, and using the methods of the Wind Manipulation Technique, he constructed an imperceptible whirlwind beneath the Earth Spear.

VMM.

The Earth Spear shuddered lightly and, in defiance of common sense, began to hover in mid-air.

[Ding! Earth Attribute Energy Flying Sword detected. Establish Spiritual Link?]

’Link!’

In an instant, Han Feng’s consciousness plunged into the Earth Spear.

He "saw" countless ochre Energy Particles colliding chaotically within it, its structure as loose and disorganized as a tray of sand.

’Too crude.’

In the state of Man and Sword Unity, Han Feng’s Divine Sense became the most precise of carving tools.

He didn’t alter the core of the Magic; he simply rearranged the Energy Particles inside the Earth Spear in an incredibly ingenious way.

Then, using a sliver of Sword Aura as a central axis, he constructed a simple, spiraling stabilization structure.

The entire process took less than three seconds.

From the outside, the hovering Earth Spear only brightened for a moment. Its color grew deeper, and its tip became much sharper.

With a single thought from Han Feng.

WHOOSH!

The Earth Spear became a streak of yellow light, letting out a sharp whistle as it tore through the air and instantly struck the test target!

CLANG!

A sharp clang rang out!

On the test target, which hadn’t even been scratched before, there was now a fist-sized crater an inch deep!

The alloy surface around it was riddled with spiderweb-like cracks.

The testing area’s Light Computer was silent for a moment, then it projected a line of cold, red text.

[Optimized Technique: Earth Spear Technique (Tier One Lower Grade)]

[Optimization Result: Spiral Piercing Spear (Tier Two Peak)]

[Assessment: Optimization successful. Grade significantly increased. Reward: 380 points.]

The hall, which had been filled with boisterous laughter a moment ago, was now utterly silent.

Everyone’s laughter caught in their throats. With eyes wide as saucers, they stared, transfixed, at the glaring results on the light screen.

"T-Tier... Tier Two Peak?"

"That can’t be right. Did the AI make a mistake?"

"Am I seeing things? From Tier One Lower Grade, straight to Tier Two Peak? Isn’t that jump a little too massive?!"

The smile on the face of the Kunlun Daoist Palace disciple who had been so contemptuous earlier froze, replaced by an expression of utter disbelief.

Guo Xiaobao pinched his own thigh hard. The sharp pain told him this was all real.

The way he looked at Han Feng had changed from seeing a "fool" to seeing a "monster."

Han Feng ignored the commotion around him.

He walked straight to the redemption counter and used the Tier Two voucher he had just earned to claim a Tier Two Peak offensive Magic.