"[You have acquired Dove Perception Lv1]"
"[You have acquired Shadow Charm Lv1]"
A flood of knowledge suddenly emerged within his mind.
Both skills could be upgraded and Chen Qi checked the Spiritual Power Points he had accumulated.
The Spiritual Power Points obtained from the crack, along with those he saved from his daily tasks and those used for upgrading his meditation method, totaled 5000 Spiritual Power Points!
That was enough to upgrade both skills.
Chen Qi decisively used his Spiritual Power Points to upgrade his skills.
"[Your Dove Perception has increased to Lv3 and gained a minor perception passive effect, improving your perception ability.]"
"[Your Shadow Charm has increased to Lv3 and gained a minor dark concealment passive effect, enhancing your concealment and affinity abilities.]"
In an instant, 4000 Spiritual Points vanished like smoke.
Chen Qi felt the vast knowledge in his mind.
Two Skill Cards, one enhanced his perceptual abilities and the other his concealment abilities!
Of course, the most significant gain from this journey to the crack was the Occupation Card promised by the navy admiral, Old White Dove.
Although he was a bit heavy-handed, he had indeed successfully completed the commission!
A prompt popped up.
"[The crack will close in one hour.]"
After packing up, Chen Qi prepared to leave the crack.
Unlike a normal crack, after stopping, the shadow creatures from the entire Train No. 8 became restless.
Therefore, he would encounter many shadow monsters on the way back.
But for Chen Qi now, these monsters were merely a matter of one slash.
Chen Qi cleared from the head to the tail of the carriage, earning 1000 Spiritual Points.
Half an hour later, he reached the first carriage.
He pushed open the car door and stepped out of Train No. 8.
Chen Qi raised his hand to shield his eyes from the dazzling sunlight.
Once off the train, a breath of fresh air hit his face.
Chen Qi took a deep breath; the cool air instantly filled his lungs and dispelled the stale air of the carriage.
This world was more comfortable.
Chen Qi smiled and said,
"At this time, I should head back to Maro Town, rest for the night, and just in time for a free meal at An's."
He steered his small houseboat toward Maro Town.
...
...
Maro Town.
The daylight slowly dimmed, and the sky was painted a warm, orange-red hue, reflecting off the sea and resembling a beautiful ink painting.
At this moment, near the dock, a large pot was placed on a patch of grass, surrounded by many cooking tools, seasonings, and numerous luxurious ingredients.
Thirteen people were gathered around it.
They were the Hammer Phase craftsmen building the defensive structures and weather tower of Maro Town.
After consulting, to celebrate the initial completion of Maro Town's defenses, they decided to have a lavish feast tonight!
At that moment, An was sitting quietly on a rock, reading a book, waiting for Chen Qi's return.
A white-haired, bearded craftsman resembling a dwarf looked around.
Second-tier Hammer Phase dwarf, an occupation that affects appearance and was not uncommon in Shell Country.
The dwarf craftsman, starving, said,
"Teacher An, what are you waiting for? If we start cooking now, we can eat straight away tonight!"
"Please wait a moment, I want to wait for a chef friend..."
The dwarf craftsman's eyes widened, "Teacher An, isn't your father a tavern owner? He should be good at cooking, why not let him do it?"
An frowned, her usually calm face looking as if she had seen a terrifying demon,
"You wouldn't want to eat the food my father makes."
An closed her book and explained to everyone,
"It's a chef friend of mine and a Transcendent Chef who has been featured in the newspapers. If we can wait for him, we will have a delicious feast tonight."
"A chef who has been in the newspapers! Really..."
Everyone patted their bellies.
Transcendent Chefs were very rare!
The leading dwarf craftsman swallowed hard. He had heard that recently, at the pier of Moonstone City, there was an extremely cost-effective and delicious Water Elf restaurant, reasonably priced and wonderfully tasty.
Unfortunately, they were stuck on Maro Island to construct the weather detection tower!
The food in Maro Town was disastrously bad.
Nothing but salted fish!
They were willing to wait for a Transcendent Chef's cooking!
The dwarf craftsman waited for three minutes and then anxiously asked,
"Teacher An, may I ask what the Transcendent Chef is doing, and how long will it take for him to arrive?"
An replied softly,
"He went to deal with the crack on Train No. 8, and if all goes well, he should be here in two hours."
"Two hours... Train No. 8!"
The dwarf craftsman exclaimed in shock.
That crack had already caused many deaths!
The dwarf craftsman asked doubtfully,
"Can we really wait for him? I heard from someone who escaped the train that there is a humanoid monster in that crack that can manipulate shadow power!"
"A humanoid monster?"
An's pupils shrank slightly, her briefing to Chen Qi contained no information on any humanoid monster.
She immediately inquired, "Can you elaborate?"
The dwarf craftsman stroked his thick white beard and muttered,
"That person, terrified, told me that just when he was about to complete the challenge, he encountered a crying young man who then transformed into a monster.
That monster's strength has reached the level of a Second-order Transcendent!
Can you believe it? A crack that only allows First-order Transcendents has a Second-order monster."
"Second-order Transcendent..."
An's brow furrowed even more.
With a normal Train No. 8, one could complete the challenge just by having high inspiration, even without needing different observations, just by observing the spiritual field.
Thus, she felt confident in Chen Qi's inspiration and his ability to easily overcome the challenge.
But if there was a Second-order humanoid monster, the situation would be completely different.
Was she being too confident?
An regretted a twinge of self-blame; she hadn't known about this information.
She should have spent more time gathering more information before allowing Chen Qi to enter the crack.
What if Chen Qi were to be seriously injured because of this information?
An regretfully bit her nail, as the new mentor in Maro Town, she clearly had been negligent.
"I hope nothing goes wrong..."
Just then, she heard a familiar voice from behind her.
"Teacher An, may I ask what you're planning to eat tonight?"
Chen Qi greeted everyone with a smile.
"Ah!?"
An turned around, her deep blue eyes staring blankly at Chen Qi:
"That was fast..."
It wasn't even dark yet, and he had already returned!
An asked curiously:
"How was it?"
Chen Qi rubbed his sore shoulders:
"It was somewhat challenging, but luckily I was a cut above and just managed to get through!"
"You got through..."
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An's mouth fell open slightly, then she smiled, relieved; it seemed her worries had been needless.
Chen Qi's development might be better than she had anticipated.
The dwarven craftsmen and others also stared wide-eyed:
"Are you kidding? You're saying you, got through the Number 8 Train crack?"
The crack affected the establishment of barrier-type defense facilities.
They had been troubled by the Number 8 Train crack lately and were well aware of its terrifying nature.
They never expected that many people they had sent couldn't solve the issue.
Yet a chef had done it so nonchalantly.
Chen Qi looked at everyone's astonished expressions and said calmly:
"As long as the inspiration is high, this crack isn't tough."
"Is that so..."
The craftsmen looked at each other, stunned.
After they had eaten, they definitely had to check out the Number 8 Train crack themselves.
"The first thing after getting through the crack was to have a feast to celebrate."
An stood up and took out a bird's carcass from her backpack card:
"Qi, you arrived just in time, I wonder if you're free to join us for a meal, we really need a chef."
I knew it, there's no such thing as a free dinner... Chen Qi rubbed his hands together and agreed to An's request.
Since he had come ashore, the usually calm An had been looking at him like he was a delicious meal.
After eating the meal prepared by Chen Qi, An realized even more that the food in Maro Town was truly subpar.
An said happily:
"To trouble you, what about half of a Skyfire Bird as payment for cooking?"
"Skyfire Bird?"
Chen Qi was suddenly startled.
Like the Ghost Fire Fish, Skyfire Birds were extremely dangerous creatures.
In terms of danger, they were comparable to sea overlords.
Skyfire Birds were very cunning, preferring to attack from a high altitude.
They only descended to capture their prey after confirming their prey was scorched.
For a small houseboat like Chen Qi's, encountering a Skyfire Bird meant sheer bad luck.
Also, the meat juice of the Skyfire Bird was delicious, a rare ingredient indeed.
After being cooked, it provided a small resistance to flame and an enhancement to the constitution!
It was also one of the most ideal ingredients for Transcendent chefs to cook with.
Chen Qi asked in amazement, "Teacher An, where did you get the Skyfire Bird,"
An spoke calmly:
"Because I bought a new spell book, I've been a bit short on money lately. I originally planned to hunt a sea overlord, get some of its scales by going to the places where they frequently appear.
However, unfortunately, I didn't find the sea overlord, and there was no sign of it on the ocean; eventually, I was lucky to come across this Skyfire Bird."
Sea overlord… Chen Qi kept his expression steady and swallowed.
An actually planned to hunt a sea overlord!
If it were a regular Third-order Transcendent, it would be difficult to defeat a sea overlord.
However, An was a high-achieving graduate of the Bei Country Royal University.
Now, the sea overlord was just a child; the outcome could be unimaginable if it really encountered An.
Fortunate indeed... Chen Qi breathed a sigh of relief internally.
Lately, the sea overlord had been in his White Tree Sanctuary, eating the fish feed he bought every day, nearly becoming a homebody.
As a result, the likelihood of An catching it was not high.
Chen Qi took the Skyfire Bird and chuckled:
"That's really lucky, Skyfire Bird is indeed a Transcendent delicacy!"
Why do you two speak so effortlessly about such daunting tasks?
The craftsmen were dumbfounded, one smoothly handled the Skyfire Bird, the other nonchalantly got through the Number 8 Train.
At the moment, a watching dwarven craftsman furrowed his brows and advised:
"Teacher An, I advise you to give up on hunting the sea overlord.
Haven't you read the newspaper? Recently, a beast from the Sea God Pirate Group, along with the sea overlord, obliterated an iron steamship!
Even if you can defeat the sea overlord, if you antagonize the existence behind the sea overlord, it's unthinkable."
An softly said, "That's also true."
Wait, could this monster of the Sea God Pirate Group be referring to me?
Chen Qi hadn't expected that his affairs could reach the craftsmen of Maro Town.
That's the influence of newspapers.
However, if An really antagonized the terrifying existence behind the sea overlord, the consequences indeed could be unthinkable!
I might actually die... Chen Qi picked up the knife and began chopping vegetables at the campsite.
It was time to showcase his culinary skills!
The craftsmen immediately drooled shamelessly.
An said nothing but sat on a rock, quietly waiting for Chen Qi to cook.