Chapter 40

Ye Feng clapped his hands and walked back to Qin Yan's side, smiling and said, "Sister Yan, you saw it too. These ruffians are clearly bullies who only pick on the weak. I'm stronger and better at martial arts than they are, so beating them up was a waste of time. The only regret is that I couldn't make them apologize to you."

By this time, Qin Yan's drunkenness had completely worn off. She looked in the direction the ruffians had run and said, "What's there to regret? I'm fine, aren't I? Ye Feng, you're not really waiting for them to come back for revenge, are you?"

Ye Feng laughed and said, "Of course not. Only a fool would wait for them. I just beat them up to vent my anger. Let's go, Sister Yan. You've had quite a bit to drink, so don't drive. We'll take a taxi back."

The two of them then took a taxi back to Qin Yan's law firm.

After settling Ye Feng in, Qin Yan gave him a key and said, "Ye Feng, this is the key to this office. You can stay here for the next few days. This office is usually unused and just stores some miscellaneous items. Auntie stayed here for a few days too. If you need water, there's a water dispenser here. The bottled water is from Sister Xinghua's Miaoyuan company. There's also an independent bathroom in this room. You can stay here with peace of mind for the next few days."

Ye Feng thanked her, "Sister Yan, thank you for your trouble. It's not early, and you've had quite a bit to drink. Go back and rest early. I'll report to work early tomorrow morning and won't come back for lunch. I'll only return in the evening after you and the staff have finished work. Don't worry, I won't disturb anyone."

Qin Yan rolled her eyes and said, "What are you talking about? Since you call me sister, don't be so formal with me. This law firm is mine, and if I let my brother stay here for a few days, who would dare to object? Alright, you should go to bed early too. Remember to call me if anything happens."

Ye Feng saw Qin Yan off, and after watching her take a taxi away, he let out a long breath.

Then, Ye Feng also hailed a taxi and told the driver, "To the Beach Food Square."

Ye Feng was eager to return to the beach, not because he really wanted to fight those ruffians. As his anger subsided, he had considered just letting it go. It wasn't that he was afraid of the ruffians or the police backing them, but rather that he didn't think it was necessary. After all, he was just a water delivery worker, and he probably wouldn't have any further interactions with these people.

The main reason he returned was because he had sensed a large number of souls at the beach. Yes, a large number, to be precise.

He hadn't had the time to sense them while having dinner with Qin Yan, nor when he broke Le Ge's wrist. But after punching the ruffian called Xiao Qi away, when the ruffians were stunned and the boss was trying to mediate, Ye Feng suddenly had a thought. He realized that the beach was vast and had a heavy presence of yin energy, so there might be many souls. He quickly focused and sensed them.

This sensing gave him a great surprise. The number of souls here far exceeded his imagination. Within his sensing range, there were no fewer than five hundred souls floating around.

This was the first time Ye Feng had sensed so many souls at once.

This meant that he could collect five hundred or even more soul points in a very short time at the beach.

How could he not be delighted?

So, he decided that after sending Qin Yan back, he would quickly return here and collect the souls as soon as possible.

Since receiving the hint from the Law, Ye Feng had a sense of urgency. He even had a premonition that he would eventually meet the evil cultivator.

But what puzzled him was why, if there were so many souls at the beach in Xiahui District, the evil cultivator, who refined souls to enhance his cultivation, hadn't come to collect them. If he had been in Mingzhu City's Xiahui District for some time, he must have noticed the large number of souls here.

Ye Feng couldn't figure out the reason. Perhaps the Law knew, but it wouldn't tell him because his cultivation level wasn't high enough.

After arriving at the beach, he took a deep breath of the sea air, focused his mind, and began to collect soul points.

Whether Le Ge and his gang would come for revenge was no longer important to Ye Feng. If they did come, it would be perfect for him to use the Soul Capture Technique to make them thoroughly afraid and submissive. If they didn't come, it would be their good luck.

Half an hour passed, then an hour. Le Ge and his gang didn't come, but Ye Feng had already collected all the souls at the beach.

New souls would take a day to replenish. For now, only a few stragglers were trickling in, not worth the effort to stay.

It was already past eleven at night. The number of customers at the nearby barbecue stalls had significantly decreased compared to the peak hours of seven or eight. Many stalls were already starting to pack up.

Ye Feng squatted by the beach and smoked a cigarette, immersed in the joy and excitement of collecting 560 soul points in just one hour.

He decided that from now on, he would come to the beach in Xiahui District every night to collect souls. At this rate, he would soon reach the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation and Spirit Cultivation realm.

According to the Law, investing 9,000 soul points would allow him to reach the mid-stage of the Qi Condensation and Spirit Cultivation realm in ten minutes, but the condition was that he must invest 9,000 soul points all at once at the beginning of the upgrade. Otherwise, once he started the normal cultivation process, he would have to progress step by step, or each 10% progress would require 1,000 soul points or 100 points of the other three values.

After reaching the initial stage of the Qi Condensation and Spirit Cultivation realm, the Law had hinted to Ye Feng that the required values for the mid-stage would increase tenfold. This meant that to progress 10%, he would need to exchange 1,000 soul points or 100 points of the other three values. For the peak stage, the Law didn't specify, but Ye Feng could guess that it would require 10,000 soul points.

This tenfold increase was difficult for Ye Feng to accept, so he had been carefully considering it since leaving the detention center.

A one-time upgrade required 9,000 soul points, while a step-by-step upgrade to the mid-stage would require 10,000 soul points. Comparing the two, the one-time upgrade was clearly more cost-effective.

Moreover, the cost-effectiveness became even more apparent after reaching the mid-stage. A one-time upgrade to the peak stage required 27,000 soul points or 2,700 points of the other three values, while a step-by-step upgrade to 100% would require a terrifying 100,000 soul points or 10,000 points of the other three values. The difference was clear.

Even if Ye Feng lacked financial acumen, he could still do the math. Therefore, he decided that his future cultivation would focus on one-time upgrades.

As for the soul points required for a one-time upgrade to the initial stage of the third stage, he could roughly estimate it to be 81,000 soul points or 8,100 points of the other three values, a terrifying amount that he didn't dare to think about yet.

Therefore, his focus had to shift from the spatial realm to the real world, and he had to seize every opportunity to collect souls and obtain virtue points as easily as possible.

This was why Ye Feng insisted on being a water delivery worker. Delivering water to customers every day would inevitably earn him their thanks. This might seem insignificant, but if accumulated, it could add up. Setting a daily goal of delivering over a hundred buckets of water, he could earn 10 virtue points a day, as ten thanks would earn him one virtue point.

Moreover, delivering water wasn't free; he would also earn a commission, making it a win-win situation.

After some thought, he finished his cigarette and was about to get up to leave when a rumbling sound approached from a distance. A large group of people, about twenty-five in total, riding sixteen motorcycles, came into view. Leading them was the ruffian called Wu Zi, and behind him on the motorcycle was Le Ge, who had a splint and bandage on his wrist.

Ye Feng spat and slowly stood up from the beach, calmly watching as they surrounded him.

Ye Feng was no longer the naive young man who would lose sleep over Liu Meimei's smile. After experiencing so much and obtaining the unique Nine Star Space, he had embarked on the path of cultivation, and his mindset had undergone its first transformation, becoming more mature, steady, and bold.

Facing these small-time ruffians, even without using the Soul Capture Technique, his mastery of the Nebula Step and the Qi Control Technique was enough to easily handle them.

But to avoid continuous trouble, Ye Feng still felt that using the Soul Capture Technique was more direct and effective.

Since he had provoked them, he might as well see it through to the end.