[Do you wish to return to the guesthouse?]
Lin Xun thought for a mont and did not rush to leave.
He opened his inventory and clicked on one of the yokai art scrolls.
[Do you wish to expend 1,000 Incense Power to learn Yokai Art – Art of Qi Divination (Rare )?]
[Current Incense Power: 1,500]
[You unrolled the scroll and gazed at the yokai art beneath the moonlight. A comprehension arose within your heart…]
[…]
[You have successfully comprehended the Shell Skill Yokai Art – Art of Qi Divination (Rare )!]
[Yokai Art – Art of Qi Divination (Rare ): A wondrous yokai art created by a mighty yokai of the Vermilion Empire that was later passed to Sakura Falls. The Art of Qi Divination allows you to judge the relative strength between friend and foe by reading the vigor of an opponent’s aura and the color of their smoke.]
[Using this skill will consu a certain amount of Calamitous Fallen Dragon Embryo to probe the disparity in strength.]
[The success rate of this detection depends on the current skill quality and your number of Dragon Embryo stacks.]
Having learned a new skill, Lin Xun imdiately began testing and studying it.
The Art of Qi Divination categorized smoke into five colors, each representing one of five relative strength levels: extrely weak, sowhat weak, comparable, sowhat strong, and extrely strong.
It allowed you to judge an enemy’s strength at a glance. While it didn’t grant heaven-defying effects like revealing specific attributes and skills, it was still quite a good detection skill.
The remaining 500 Incense Power, Lin Xun did not squander. Instead, he first learned the low-grade Art of Transformation he had obtained in the Five-Story Treasure Pagoda.
[Yokai Art – Art of Transformation (Fine ): Pressed by the pursuit of the New God’s followers, the yokai race had no choice but to create this shapeshifting technique.]
[Activating this skill allows you to disguise your current Shell in human form. The skill’s duration will consu Calamitous Fallen Dragon Embryo.]
[The degree of transformation depends on the skill’s quality and your Dragon Embryo stacks.]
Lin Xun imdiately attempted to transform into a human appearance…
But whether because the skill quality was too low or his Dragon Embryo Power was insufficient, his little dragonkin form rely had its horns and tail shortened a bit. The black dragon-scaled skin scarcely changed, and his head still looked like a vicious dragon’s, far from passing as human.
Even so, the skill had its rits.
The transformation could be toggled in the background, and once activated, it would remain effective even when switching Shells.
This ant that once he cultivated the Art of Transformation to a high level, he could swap to his little dragonkin Shell in human disguise at any ti.
Otherwise, he would have to appear first as a dragon-headed humanoid monster before using the transformation art.
If he were prepared ahead of ti, that was fine, but if he ever urgently needed to switch to the dragonkin Shell, it would expose his yokai identity.
“Sigh… Who knows how long it’ll take to cultivate a full human shape.”
To use the Art of Qi Divination in reality, he would have to employ the little dragonkin Shell, and in its current form, it could probably scare people into fainting at first sight.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Xun spent the remaining 500 Incense Power.
He used it on that Rare yokai scroll, learning a higher-grade Art of Transformation.
[…]
[You have successfully comprehended the Shell Skill Yokai Art – Art of Transformation (Rare )!]
The new Rare skill replaced the original Fine skill.
Lin Xun activated the skill again to test it.
This ti, the little dragonkin’s horns and tail disappeared, the protruding dragon snout shortened slightly, and the black scales faded a bit.
His appearance was indeed a little better than before, but still a long way from truly resembling a human.
“Looks like I’ll have to make cultivating Dragon Embryo Power a priority if I want to eventually shape the little dragonkin into my own likeness.”
[In the distance, the sky was gradually turning pale, the dawn about to break in the east…]
Lin Xun was startled, it turned out he had been busy the entire night without realizing it.
He quickly returned to the guesthouse and teleported back to the Five-Story Treasure Pagoda.
Switching into the ninja Shell, he made his way straight to the main gate of Dharma-Aspect Temple.
[Outside the main gate of Dharma-Aspect Temple, the samurai guard was fast asleep, leaning against the golden barrier. As dawn neared, pedestrians were gradually beginning to appear along the street.]
[Holding the token key, you passed through the Absolute Barrier of the Ten Directions and stepped out of Dharma-Aspect Temple.]
[Looking at the samurai snoring thunderously, do you want to return the token, or quietly slip away?]
Lin Xun thought for a mont and chose the forr.
If he didn’t return the token or simply killed the samurai, it would likely rouse suspicion and cause the Dharma-Aspect Temple to tighten its defenses.
There was still the Librarian’s trial inside that he hadn’t completed, and all those little yokai waiting to be rescued.
If he stirred up trouble now just to save a little Spirit Essence, he might pay a far greater price later.
[You lightly tapped the samurai’s shoulder, intending to wake him and return the token.]
[He mumbled sothing under his breath, rolled over, and continued sleeping soundly.]
[Seeing how deeply he slept, you tucked the Absolute Barrier Token into his robes and turned away…]
Lin Xun made his way back near Iya Palace and activated his invisibility skill.
At this hour the city wall and main gate still had samurai guards, but the onmyoji at the gate were nowhere in sight.
He skillfully climbed over the city wall and entered the palace compound of Iya Palace.
The sky was still dim, and hardly anyone was visible within the palace grounds.
[…]
[Remaining hidden, you circled around to the back of the bedchamber and climbed in through the window…]
[Inside, everything was as before. The two female attendants lay sprawled across the bed, their bodies marked with countless bruises, still unconscious after an entire night of tornt.]
[You possessed the Shell of the Knowledge-Seeking President of the Direct Vision Association!]
[You took off your robe, pushed aside the bruised limbs, and slipped under the covers to feign sleep…]
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