’Someone’s about to be in for a world of hurt.’

’But Kumironi and the others should be able to handle it.’

"Little Lu Cang, you might have to go play by yourself for a bit."

’That really sounded like something you’d say to a child...’

’Then again, I am a child.’

Kumironi opened the secret chamber’s door. It looked like she was off to hold someone accountable.

Lu Cang waited a moment before slowly strolling out and heading out of the Promotion Hall.

’Don’t look at me... I’m not the one who discovered it.’

Leaving the secret chamber, he sent out his Perception...

Lu Cang felt that he could "see" everything within a one-kilometer radius. Even what his eyes couldn’t see, his Perception could sense clearly.

Winding alleys, spacious shops.

He could see it all with perfect clarity.

However, being able to see didn’t mean he could discover everything. Perception was like a pair of eyes with a wider and more distant range. Only when he focused on a specific area could he see its many details. If he wasn’t focusing, it was like catching something in his peripheral vision; he wouldn’t necessarily notice the crucial parts.

Lu Cang’s Perception picked up Kumironi entering the inner sanctum of the Promotion Hall.

He could see several Elders, drenched in sweat, coming out to greet her.

Lu Cang decided not to follow her.

He went from the [Path of Ascension] to the [Celestial Passage Bridge].

Before long, he had left the City in the Circle.

Once outside the city, Lu Cang summoned an Ice Bee.

[Flying Ice Bee (Tier Two) (Level: 201)]

This was the Tier Two version of High-speed Ice Shuttle.

[Sacrifice Soul—100]

[Flying Ice Bee: Skill Proficiency Increase—100,000,000]

[Flying Ice Bee (Tier Two) (Level: 245)]

"Level 245?"

’One hundred million Skill Proficiency only raised it by that many Levels? That’s way too little.’

’It seems that even with Skill Evolution...’

’...getting a Skill to Level 300 is no easy task.’

But that was fine.

[Sacrifice Soul—2,000]

Lu Cang directly sacrificed 2,000 souls.

[Flying Ice Bee: Skill Proficiency Increase—2,000,000,000]

[Flying Ice Bee (Tier Two) (Level: 300) (Evolvable)]

After sacrificing 2,000 souls, the Flying Ice Bee instantly reached max level.

"Evolution path: Control."

Lu Cang planned to evolve this Skill to its absolute limit in terms of Control, without considering other paths.

After all, he had plenty of other Magic skills.

[Circling Shuttle Ice Bee (Tier Two) (Level: 301) — Summons 30 Ice Bees, each independently controlling 3 Ice Shuttles. Grants extreme speed, rapid directional changes, Ice-based self-destruction, and Legion Formation.]

The creator of the Ice Cone Skill probably never imagined that such a minor skill could evolve into something so ridiculous.

Lu Cang cast the Magic.

Instantly, one hundred and twenty tiny Ice Bees materialized around him.

Each of these Ice Bees was orbited by three Ice Shuttles.

The tail of each Ice Bee was an extremely long, thin ice needle.

Lu Cang tried to control them. The Ice Bees beat their wings, moving laterally in mid-air with almost no turning.

He could either let the three orbiting Ice Shuttles automatically engage enemies, or he could take control of them himself...

This Magic was already quite exquisite.

Lu Cang cast it again. This time, all the Ice Bees merged into one giant Ice Bee. Lu Cang stood on its head, gripping its two ice antennae.

WHOOSH!

The Ice Bee beat its wings, instantly erupting in an Ice storm as it charged forward.

’So fast...’

It was much faster than the Ice Shuttle, and its turning was incredibly agile!

No, it wasn’t even turning. Lu Cang felt that, if he wanted, he could instantly go from moving forward in a straight line to retreating in a straight line. A 180-degree reversal could happen in a single thought.

[Sacrifice Soul—2,000]

[Increase—Spreading Sea of Flames Skill Proficiency]

[Sacrifice Soul—2,000]

[Increase—Gathering Light Beam Skill Proficiency]

[Sacrifice Soul—2,000]

[Increase—Ice Sea Skill Proficiency]

...

With over one hundred and fifty Magic skills, sacrificing 2,000 souls for each would require 300,000 souls.

’Good thing I have a lot of souls right now.’

’Otherwise, I really couldn’t afford to squander them like this.’

’If I were still at my old pace of only accumulating a few thousand souls a day, I’d be spending more than I earn every single day.’

As he was increasing his Skill Proficiency, Lu Cang’s Perception suddenly gave him a notification.

[Secret: Tree Hollow]

[Hidden Object: Axe]

[Opening Method: Destruction]

Lu Cang stopped instantly and looked down.

He saw only an ordinary tree, no different from the others in the Forest.

Lu Cang didn’t approach rashly.

Instead, he continued to probe inside it with his Perception... and discovered that the tree was hollow.

There was an axe inside.

Lu Cang descended, raising his hand to send out several slashes of [Rapid Killing Wind Slash (Tier Two) (Level: 301)].

He sliced the tree in half at its trunk.

The tree fell, revealing a hollow space inside its trunk. An axe was stuck inside.

[Wood-Breaking Axe]

[Special: Extremely effective at cutting and destroying wooden materials.] 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

...

’What junk.’

’It feels like it’s worth about 50 silver coins.’

’Still, to think it can even perceive things like this... It seems this Talent has a really wide range of applications.’

Lu Cang continued on his way.

Along the way, he found several more hidden items. His Perception could detect everything from hollows behind waterfalls and side paths in traps to wild Demons with Magic Crystals hidden inside their bodies.

Lu Cang collected all of these things.

The items were certainly hidden, but the loot itself wasn’t very good.

All told, they were only worth a dozen or so gold coins.

’Whatever, I’ll just consider it a test of the Talent’s Effect.’

It didn’t take long for Lu Cang to arrive back at the cave where the Thousand Army Ant Mountain was sealed.

[Secret: Seal]

[Hidden Object: Tier Four Nation Destruction Level Demon—Thousand Army Ant Mountain]

[Opening Method 1: Reverse and break with a Level 6 Mage.]

[Opening Method 2: Decrypt and break with a Level 6 Decryption Scholar.]