Chapter Fifty-Two: The Transfer of Spiritual Power

Ruan Miao stared blankly at the card in her hand. “Probationary Spirit Tamer” and “Probationary Martial Artist” clearly referred to those who had passed the aptitude test. The three-day window was obviously meant for them to put their affairs in order. But...

Who knew if she actually had any aptitude? What if she was exposed at the headquarters of the Spirit Tamers?

Unconsciously, she wandered to a deserted spot, clutching the card. She turned to Feng Tianlin in her mind, anxiety evident in her voice. “What should I do? What if they find out at the Spirit Tamers’ headquarters...?”

Feng Tianlin fell into contemplation as well. Other than knowing these Spirit Tamers could control strange creatures, he knew very little. But just because he didn’t know didn’t mean no one else did.

As he pondered, he glanced at the test operator who was focused on his computer screen. A G-rank Spirit Tamer—surely the lowest of the low among Spirit Tamers? Killing one shouldn’t affect the plans of any strange creatures, right?

Morning arrived. The test operator, having worked through the night, finally finished his shift. He stood, stretched his back, and prepared to leave.

He had been transferred from headquarters specifically to Ling City for aptitude testing. The authorities seemed to take this matter extremely seriously.

His dormitory was at the Bureau of Strange Creature Investigation in Ling City, but since he was new in town and hadn’t been assigned a car, he had to walk.

As he strolled along the street beneath the rising sun, he sighed and continued on. Passing a small alleyway, he heard a lilting children’s rhyme.

“What’s Daddy’s daddy called? Daddy’s daddy is called Grandpa. What’s Daddy’s mommy called?...”

For some reason, the song struck a chord deep within him. Compelled by some inexplicable urge, he walked into the alley without a second thought.

Inside, he saw a doll sitting on the ground. Before he could react, the doll whipped its head around and smiled at him.

The operator instinctively tried to flee, but he had barely turned when the doll appeared right in front of him.

He responded quickly, instantly summoning his contracted strange creature. But no sooner had it appeared than it was frozen into a block of ice, slipped from his control, and shattered on the ground.

The doll kicked him, sending him sprawling. Ice crept over his limbs, pinning him helplessly.

“Who are you?” he gasped, terror and cold making him shudder uncontrollably.

Feng Tianlin didn’t bother with small talk. He strode up, fixing the man with a piercing stare. “Tell me everything about you Spirit Tamers.”

The operator stayed silent, gritting his teeth against the cold, shaking his head.

Feng Tianlin knew these Spirit Tamers were a stubborn lot. He immediately invoked a soul interrogation. Under the pressure of a Level 3 soul interrogation, the test operator broke instantly, pouring out everything he knew.

“We Spirit Tamers are humans with powerful mental strength. We can synchronize our mental energy with the bio-magnetic fields of strange creatures, allowing us to control them. This is called biological resonance...”

Hearing this, Feng Tianlin fell deep into thought. He sent his own energy into the operator’s body, searching for this so-called mental power.

Finally, he sensed a peculiar force within the man’s brain, something akin to brainwaves, circulating in his mind—a truly wondrous thing.

“To think humans had such abilities,” he mused.

He tried using his own energy to guide this force and found it surprisingly easy. As he manipulated the mental power, an audacious idea formed.

“Ruan Miao, come here. I want to run an experiment.”

No sooner had he spoken than Ruan Miao appeared at the mouth of the alley, confusion in her eyes. “What experiment?”

“Come over and you’ll see.” Feng Tianlin placed one hand on the test operator’s forehead and beckoned Ruan Miao closer with the other.

Still puzzled, Ruan Miao approached and crouched down, letting Feng Tianlin rest his hand on her forehead as well.

Probing her mind with his energy, Feng Tianlin found nothing but his own Nightmare Mark. No sign of mental power existed within her.

“Good thing we checked; otherwise, if she’d gone to the Spirit Tamers’ headquarters, it would have been a disaster.”

Silently relieved, he began channeling the mental power from the Spirit Tamer’s mind into his own body, intending to then transfer it into Ruan Miao’s mind—to transplant this so-called mental power.

His own energy differed from that of other strange creatures. Though similar in aura, his was far purer and much more efficient—higher in quality, one might say.

This was evident from the way Spirit Tamers couldn’t track his presence.

Perhaps it was because his energy was converted by the system, or maybe for reasons he didn’t yet understand, but in the eyes of any other strange creature or human, his abilities were unimaginable.

The process went even more smoothly than Feng Tianlin had expected. The energy flowed easily into Ruan Miao’s body.

At first, nothing seemed amiss. But as soon as Feng Tianlin withdrew his own energy, leaving only the mental power in Ruan Miao’s mind, that force suddenly lashed out at her.

Feng Tianlin’s heart sank. Not good!

He immediately tried to erase the mental power, but at that moment, the Nightmare Mark in Ruan Miao’s mind activated. It emitted a red glow, and as the light touched the mental power, it instantly calmed, quietly merging into her mind.

“That was close. But to think the Nightmare Mark could be used like this…”

If that’s the case, could he manufacture Spirit Tamers with extraordinary aptitude?

On the ground, the test operator began to shriek in terror. “My power! Where’s my power?!”

His outburst drew Feng Tianlin’s attention, and ice instantly enveloped his entire body, freezing him to death in moments.

Without a backward glance at the human-shaped block of ice, Feng Tianlin turned to Ruan Miao. “Do you feel anything?”

She blinked. “It feels like something entered my mind.”

“And then?”

“Nothing after that.”

It seemed that humans couldn’t sense this mental power on their own.

Feng Tianlin gazed at the dead operator, a strange smile curling his lips. “Ruan Miao, when the time comes, just go be a Spirit Tamer. I’ll take care of the aptitude.”

Ruan Miao looked utterly bewildered. “Huh?”

“Don’t worry about it—just relax.”

With that, he leapt into her arms, nestling on her chest. “Come on, let’s find more Spirit Tamers.”

Though still confused, Ruan Miao stepped back onto the street, following Feng Tianlin’s directions as they moved through the city.

They targeted only low-ranking Spirit Tamers, siphoning their mental power for Ruan Miao’s use.

There was a reason for this: low-level Spirit Tamers wouldn’t raise alarms as quickly, and their mental power was easier to guide. From E-rank upward, the process became much more difficult.

Yet one thing puzzled Feng Tianlin: why were there so many low-level Spirit Tamers in Ling City? There shouldn’t have been so many.

Those assisting with testing were just a small fraction. Most seemed to be wandering the streets aimlessly, making it all too convenient for Feng Tianlin to strike.