Eighteen years ago, a meteorite from outer space fell upon the Lanyu Kingdom, striking a moving train and causing a massive explosion.
The hundred-meter crater from the explosion can still be found on the Carlos Plains.
Chen Qi was only five at the time. He was lucky enough to survive the explosion but lost both his parents.
Fortunately, the Lanyu Kingdom's relief efforts were decent. Chen Qi grew up without issue, graduated from an ordinary university, and entered the workforce.
Chen Qi had thought that after leaving school, he would never have to hit the books again.
Yet, fate had a strange way of working. Spirit Awakening actually required mastering the languages of fifteen ancient civilizations.
Only then could one understand the Spirit Realm Declaration.
And as long as one understood the Spirit Realm Declaration, they could successfully achieve their own Spirit Awakening.
This had been verified by countless humans over the past 3,000 years.
...
'These tadpole-like scripts... I'm supposed to be able to read them after mastering fifteen ancient languages?'
The last page of the *Comprehensive Guide to Ancient Civilization Basics* contained the Spirit Realm Declaration.
In Chen Qi's eyes, however, it was just a jumble of squirming tadpoles.
If he stared at it for too long, he would even start to hallucinate, seeing the tadpoles swim across the page.
This clashed with his previous worldview, but it felt truly like Magic, something straight out of Xuanxue.
Recalling Jomoya's last words, Chen Qi knew he damn well had to study hard.
Because that guy's encrypted diary used ancient scripts—seven different kinds, in fact.
So, Chen Qi hunkered down with the *Comprehensive Guide to Ancient Civilization Basics*. The first half of the book was just a basic introduction to the lost ancient civilizations; the second half was a dictionary.
Chen Qi counted them up—it corresponded to exactly fifteen ancient scripts.
...
The days passed one by one as Chen Qi buried himself in his studies. He studied at the office during the day and burned the midnight oil at home.
Chen Qi had always been confident in his ability to learn. However, after just two days, the blow to his confidence nearly sent him into an existential crisis.
'Were these lost ancient scripts really invented by humans?'
This was Chen Qi's only takeaway from his studies, because these ancient scripts were just too bizarre.
Every hour, he would forget two-thirds of the ancient characters he had just learned.
It wasn't that he couldn't recall them; his mind was just a complete, pristine blank.
It was as if his brain was refusing to accept them, simply deleting them.
Chen Qi felt that even if he worked day and night, he might not be able to master even one ancient script within a month.
And this was after his life level had reached 4, giving him a memory far superior to that of an ordinary person.
Chen Qi suspected Ireland must have been bluffing. How could he possibly have cracked Jomoya's diary in three months?
If it were true, the guy must be incredibly talented—truly deserving of the right to call Jomoya an idiot.
Chen Qi had planned to look for their study notes to get some pointers on their learning methods.
But there was nothing. It seemed he would just have to grind it out the hard way.
...
However, while he didn't find Ireland's study notes on ancient scripts, he did find something else.
*Ireland's Superpower Experiment Log*!
Ireland had a profound love for the Body Control ability; he had performed more than a dozen experiments on himself alone.
Chen Qi gladly took advantage of it. After his fruitless attempts to study the ancient scripts, he started dedicating a great deal of time to training his abilities.
To Chen Qi's surprise, his talent for ability control seemed to be even better than Ireland's.
This, at last, relieved some of his frustration.
...
Inside a high-end private room at Talin City's Fourth Hospital.
A man whose head was wrapped up like a mummy was roaring in a muffled voice.
It wasn't that Hu Wanhai didn't want to roar loudly; his nose was gone, and he simply couldn't speak with any force.
"Useless! Useless!"
"It's been two days, and you still haven't burned that bastard's company down."
"Do you people even see me as your Boss anymore?"
Hu Wanhai's pent-up frustration and rage were simply beyond words.
'Wasn't it just over a woman? Did he really have to go on a killing spree?'
What frightened him even more was Jomoya's terrifying ability.
'That bastard is definitely not an ordinary person. He took a bullet to the heart from me and didn't even die.'
'But he was still seriously injured, or he wouldn't have run away.'
This meant the guy wasn't invincible; he had weaknesses. That was the only thing keeping Hu Wanhai from being crushed by fear.
But Hu Wanhai knew this was far from over. One of them had to die.
"Boss, we really can't do anything. The police have been watching us."
"Who would've thought that guy was a billionaire!"
"Why don't we send someone to talk? Let's make peace. It's better to be amicable."
Vice Gang Leader Lin Tianming complained as he tried to persuade him. 'It's not that the boys don't want to get revenge for you, Boss, there's just no opportunity.'
"Hmph, make peace? Then did I lose my nose for nothing?"
Hu Wanhai glared at Lin Tianming. 'I knew this guy was treacherous.'
Lin Tianming wanted to say that with modern technology, he could just get a bionic one, but seeing his Boss's menacing glare, he immediately shut his mouth.
"Forget it. You just handle the police!"
"As for that bastard, I've already hired an assassin."
Hu Wanhai was the type to seek revenge for the slightest grievance. Believing he had seen through Jomoya's weakness, he hired a professional assassin.
'A large-caliber sniper rifle, armor-piercing rounds. Let's see if you survive that.'
"Boss, be careful! That guy's a rich man!"
"Killing him will bring us big trouble."
Lin Tianming felt he was absolutely thinking in the gang's best interest, but Hu Wanhai's murderous gaze sent a cold shiver down his spine.
But before he could explain, BANG!
Hu Wanhai's head suddenly exploded, splattering blood and gore more than ten meters.
'The Boss is dead?'
...
"Not bad. Well done!"
"I'll pay you the rest of the fee right away."
Inside the Detective Agency, Taruno received a video from the assassin.
To ensure a one-shot kill, he had contacted the top marksman in the Lanyu Kingdom's Dark World. A large-caliber sniper rifle with armor-piercing rounds would have blown Hu Wanhai in two, even if he had been wearing a bulletproof vest.
It seemed the money was well spent.
"Executor, the matter has been taken care of!"
Taruno immediately reported the situation to Chen Qi and sent him the video of the kill.
"Well done!"
"You've passed."
Chen Qi's satisfied voice came from the other side of the communicator.
"Executor, I have a piece of intelligence to report."
"Hu Wanhai once contacted the number one sniper to try and kill you. It's just that he didn't offer as much money as I did, so the assassin ended up working for us instead."
"But I can't guarantee he didn't contact other assassins. That will take time to confirm."
This information was a bonus from the assassin, which was why Taruno felt it was more than worth the money.
After all, it was a chance to demonstrate his competence to the Executor.
"I know, but you don't need to confirm it!"
"An assassin already has me in their sights!"
"Alright, just do your job. The guy seems to be getting ready to shoot. I'll handle it."
Taruno only heard a loud bang from the communicator. It seemed the Executor was really in trouble.