Mr. Gong clearly knew a great deal, which only made Yin Yang appreciate the True Knowledge Society even more. He secretly lamented that he had joined a bit too late.
“Mr. Gong,”
Yin Yang caught up and followed behind Mr. Gong as he spoke.
“Are you also a Sequence 3?”
“Yeah,”
Mr. Gong replied very calmly, completely lacking the self-importance of a top-tier powerhouse.
The two of them walked along with the flow of the crowd. While Mr. Gong looked around, Yin Yang took the opportunity to ask another question.
“Mr. Gong, the hallmark of Sequence 5 is flight.”
“For Sequence 4, one's mood can influence the weather. What about Sequence 3?”
Yin Yang looked at Mr. Gong with an eager thirst for knowledge. Hearing this, Mr. Gong asked curiously,
“Since you're so interested in transcendent matters, why haven't you become a transcendent yourself? Are you like Lord Ye with his dragons—loving the idea but fearing the reality?”
Yin Yang chuckled and scratched his head, leaving Mr. Gong's question unanswered, as if he had some unspeakable secret.
Seeing this, Mr. Gong also scratched his head, looking back at Yin Yang with an equally conflicted expression, as if to say, “Me too.”
“...”
Seeing Yin Yang's helpless expression, Mr. Gong finally burst out laughing.
“Promise me, this is your last question, alright?”
“To get this many answers out of a single cup of herbal tea is already a massive bargain.”
Yin Yang nodded decisively, his face full of anticipation.
“Have you ever heard of transcendent creatures?”
“I have. Mr. Ma told me before that a transcendent's promotion potion requires materials from transcendent creatures.”
Mr. Gong nodded, looking at Yin Yang with appreciation, as if praising him for being so well-informed.
“Then have you ever heard of mythical creatures?”
“Mythical creatures? Do you mean creatures from legends? I don't know much about that,”
Yin Yang answered honestly.
“Exactly. Creatures from myths and legends. The defining trait of a Sequence 3 is possessing a Mythical Creature Form.”
Yin Yang froze and turned to look at Mr. Gong, only to see him grinning like a mischievous child.
“Amazing, isn't it?”
With that, he strode forward, seemingly trying to leave Yin Yang behind.
Yin Yang stood dazed on the spot, digesting the information Mr. Gong had just shared.
Humming a little tune, Mr. Gong wandered around for a good while before stopping in front of a stall. He casually picked up a bronze tortoise shell and asked,
“Boss, how much for this?”
“Eighty.”
“Twenty.”
“Twenty? I could get twenty just selling it for scrap. Go play your games somewhere else.”
“Hey! Since when is bargaining not allowed in business? Have you ever sold anything before?”
“Fine, sixty.”
“Twenty!”
“Hey! You call that bargaining? I'm coming down, but you aren't going up at all!”
No matter what the owner said, Mr. Gong stubbornly held his ground at twenty.
The stall owner was equally stubborn, refusing to sell for anything less than fifty.
Eventually, no matter what Mr. Gong said, the owner simply ignored him, adopting a take-it-or-leave-it attitude.
An hour passed like this. The owner was finally badgered to his absolute limit. He picked up the bronze tortoise shell and shoved it over.
“Take it, take it! Go chant your scriptures somewhere else!”
“I must have failed to check the almanac before setting up my stall today to run into a pest like you.”
“A grown man, nagging for ages over twenty or thirty dollars.”
Mr. Gong couldn't care less about the grumbling. He happily took the bronze tortoise shell and turned around, only to find Yin Yang waiting for him with two cups of herbal tea.
“Your herbal tea, Mr. Gong.”
Mr. Gong rolled his eyes, took a large gulp of the tea, and said,
“Alright, speak. What else do you want to ask?”
“Mr. Gong, I want to ask about 【Severing Mortality】.”
“Severing Mortality? Why is an ordinary person like you asking about that?”
“Just curious.”
“Then why don't you become a transcendent?”
Yin Yang decisively scratched his head again, leaving Mr. Gong even more exasperated.
“Fine, I won't ask. But let's make a deal: just one question.”
Hearing this, Yin Yang offered him the other cup of herbal tea. Seeing this, Mr. Gong said speechlessly,
“What, do you think I'm a water buffalo? How can I drink this much?”
“Tell you what, you drink this cup, and I'll answer one more question for you. But that is it for today, understand?”
“Even if you keep trailing me with more tea, it won't work, got it?”
Yin Yang nodded. Gritting his teeth, he chugged the herbal tea down in one go as if it were bitter medicine.
Then, Mr. Gong explained as they walked,
“Severing Mortality is actually the act of severing the power of humanity within your body. By doing so, you break the balance of power, allowing divinity to be born.”
“You're not a transcendent, so you might not understand if I explain it in too complex terms.”
“To put it simply, you can think of humanity as 【self-awareness】. It represents rationality and acts as an 【anchor】—a force that prevents you from losing yourself.”
“Spirituality, on the other hand, is a 【medium】. It is a carrier, a lubricant that helps you see the world clearly, perceive the flow of power, and thus borrow it.”
“As for divinity, it is 【authority】, it is raw power. Once divinity appears in your body, spirituality becomes its vassal and carrier.”
“Among these three forces, divinity is the most dangerous. If you let your guard down even slightly, you will be corrupted by it.”
“You should know about evil gods, right? If an ordinary person so much as glances at an evil god, they will be corrupted and turn into a monster. That is actually a form of divinity losing control.”
“Severing Mortality is the process of using intense emotions to erase a portion of your humanity and your anchors, shattering the balance of power to embrace divinity.”
“If you succeed, a wisp of divinity will be born within your body, allowing you to catch a glimpse of the real world!”
“If you fail, you either die or become a mindless monster. There's not much difference between the two.”
Yin Yang listened with rapt attention.
“The real world?”
“Yes.”
“Then...”
Mr. Gong waved his hand.
“The question of the real world is too complex to explain in a short time. Besides, given your security clearance, I shouldn't be telling you these things anyway.”
Yin Yang nodded. As they spoke, they arrived at another exit of the transcendent market.
The street outside was bustling with heavy traffic. Mr. Gong glanced at his watch and said,
“Quickly, kid, you have one last question.”
He emphasized the word “last.” Yin Yang didn't waste any time and asked straight away,
“Mr. Gong, I also want to know: what exactly are natural transcendents? Do they break through without needing rituals or potions?”
Mr. Gong raised an eyebrow, looking at Yin Yang with curiosity, as if wondering why an ordinary person was so intensely interested in transcendents and natural transcendents.
“Have you met a natural transcendent?”
Mr. Gong asked, slightly surprised.
Yin Yang shook his head. “No, that's why I'm curious.”
Mr. Gong nodded.
“I haven't met many natural transcendents either, so my research on them is quite limited.”
“What I'm about to tell you is just what I've read in some ancient ruins. I cannot guarantee its accuracy, understand?”
“I understand.”
Yin Yang replied, filled with anticipation. Mr. Gong glanced at his watch once more before speaking.
“Do you know what sealed objects are?”
“Yes.”
“Then you can think of natural transcendents as living sealed objects.”
...
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