Knowledge

Xi knew very well that Chen Miemie wasn't interested in dry theories, so the notebook she gave him had concise content and a beautiful layout. She had undoubtedly put a lot of thought into it.

The first page contained exactly the knowledge Chen Miemie was about to go around collecting:

"Mystic Advancement Guide"

To advance a Mystic's Mystery Level from 0.99 to 1, one must face an anomaly alone.

To go from 1.99 to 2, one must use a material dropped by any anomaly.

From 2.99 to 3, an anomaly-dropped material is required; this time, the material doesn't need a high compatibility with oneself, but it cannot be completely unrelated either.

From 3.99 to 4, an anomaly material with high compatibility is required.

From 4.99 to 5, high compatibility material plus a corresponding ritual is needed. Everyone's ritual is different, and the method must be figured out by the Mystic themselves.

From 5.99 to 6, ultra-high compatibility material plus a ritual plus the [Blessing] of the Sun and Moon.

Knowledge regarding breakthroughs above level 6 is in itself a type of [Mystery] and has not been widely spread.

The degree of material compatibility is affected by many factors.

The more obvious one is whether it matches one's own [Mystery] characteristics. There are also many hidden factors, such as the number of times a purchased material has changed hands, its remaining usability, the hidden traits of the material itself, and so on.

"Great, as expected of my good partner. Xi is truly a timely rain, worrying about what I worry about and thinking what I think."

[This advancement material is not entirely accurate.]

White subtitles appeared.

Chen Miemie took this very seriously. Xiao Shuang was usually so aloof; it was rare for her to speak up on her own initiative.

'What isn't accurate?'

[Starting from Mystery Level 1.99 to 2, it doesn't just require a material dropped by an anomaly, but rather requires you to personally slay the anomaly to obtain the material.]

In the "Mystic Advancement Guide", "obtain a material" was corrected by Xiao Shuang to "obtain a material after personally slaying the anomaly".

'It actually requires obtaining it personally? I feel like everyone around me hasn't realized this.'

[Going from 0.99 to 1 requires facing an anomaly yourself, which is actually a clear indicator. If you want to go far on the path of Mystery, you need to personally participate in at least every step. It's just that the current seven major races, since who knows when, have been acting smart and taking shortcuts.]

'Since there are shortcuts, there will definitely be people taking them. After all, not everyone is willing to bear high risks for high rewards.'

[Therefore, when going from [Mystery] 5.99 to 6, the vast majority of people cannot get my [Blessing]. The risks should have been distributed among the previous three breakthroughs. By taking opportunistic shortcuts, they have to pay the debt when they reach higher levels.]

Chen Miemie felt as if he had discovered some incredible grand secret.

Indeed, the graduation exam was merely a breakthrough for [Mystery] 1, and the success rate of the school's elites was only 5%. Why would the risks for the subsequent breakthroughs of levels 2, 3, 4, and 5 drop instead of rising? Getting a [Mystery] 3 codename—why would it be so easy that anyone with hands could do it just by following the steps?

'Xiao Shuang, do you mean that as long as someone relied on buying materials for a breakthrough even once before [Mystery] 5.99, you guys won't grant the [Blessing]?'

[Basically, yes. Of course, if someone is particularly pleasing to the eye, there might be a few exceptions.]

'I'm a little curious, how often does this "particularly pleasing to the eye" and "few exceptions" you mentioned appear?'

[It's not fixed. As for me, on average, about once every 300 years.]

'What about Xiao Hong?'

[More often than me. She really likes exceptions, maybe one every hundred years.]

'Since we're on the subject, Xiao Shuang, by the way, what is the relationship between our moons and the suns? Can we interact with the two suns?'

[The three moons and two suns are existences beyond this world. We jointly protect this world. We are infinitely large and infinitely far apart. It's very difficult to contact each other. Before you appeared, even the three moons couldn't talk to each other, let alone the two suns.]

[However, there is a small probability of times when we've had a few brief exchanges to discuss the world's operational mechanisms. If you want to contact them, you'd probably have to wait for that time.]

'When is that?'

[Wait for two special celestial phenomena: a [Solar Eclipse] or a [Lunar Eclipse].]

'At Dawn and dusk, the sun and moon briefly share the sky too, right.'

[That is an illusion.]

Chen Miemie was chatting with Xiao Shuang on his end.

At Dawn's house.

There had been no movement inside for a long time. The [Sunless Day] was approaching, and she couldn't wait any longer. Dawn slowly pushed open the door.

"Cassan?"

No one answered.

"Cassan!" Her voice grew louder.

Dawn stepped onto the salt sand, groping her way forward.

After taking three or four steps, her foot bumped into Cassan's body.

Dawn carefully helped her up, trying to move her into the living room.

Her movements woke Cassan.

"Dawn, let me go."

"Cassan, you?"

"I succeeded. It's just that the ritual made me a bit weak. I'll be fine after a little rest."

A smile appeared on Dawn's face.

It was great that she succeeded.

Upgrading [Mystery] from 4 to 5, although failure wouldn't lead to death, it was normal for resources to go down the drain, vitality to be severely injured, and foundations to be damaged. Those with bad luck might even be permanently stalled, unable to advance an inch further.

"By the way, Cassan, your legs?"

When Dawn helped Cassan up just now, she had touched her legs. The texture was very strange, as if the flesh was wrapped in a thick layer of salt.

Cassan looked at her legs. The salt sand was like scabs after a wound had healed, forming a layer of keratin outside her skin.

That was just the legs. The flesh of her feet was entirely gone, its composition directly replaced by salt.

In the future, when dancing, she would be able to perform even more inhuman, highly difficult moves.

"Just a minor mutation. Reaching [Mystery] 5, who doesn't have some weird traits? Once I get used to this new power, I'll see if I can restore them or hide them."

East District, Qingfeng Building, at Xi's home.

Xi moved two picture frames onto the sofa.

"Dad, Mom, look at the gift Chen Miemie gave me. I can fly!"

As she spoke, she flapped her moonlight wings and hovered in mid-air.

Xi was already extremely beautiful, but at this moment, she looked like a fusion of a moon fairy and an angel.

Xi's dad in the picture frame made a dismissive expression. "Hmph, that brat's things are just as stinky. What's so great about it?"

Even though he said that, from the corner of his eye, he kept secretly sizing up the wings, swallowing hard a few times.

Xi's mom beamed with joy. "Good, good. It's our Xi who has the great charm. The wings are beautiful, and that young man Chen Miemie did a beautiful job too. Let's invite him over for dinner again next week."

"Mom, what are you talking about? The city is dangerous next week; how can we ask him to run around?"

"Already defending him so quickly? Fine, then the week after next."

Every family had its own commotion.

Time slowly passed. As the clock turned and the moon hid, another [Sunless Day] arrived.

Chen Miemie had been reading for half the day, building up enough sleepiness, so he fell asleep the moment he hit the bed.

The first floor of the South District Building.

The merchants along the storefronts had long since closed their doors.

Only one shop still had its front door wide open.

In the pitch black, a thick fog spread, entering this aquatic products store that still remained hospitable.