Chapter 39

The tall middle-aged man knew that the price of 1,100 hours could not be reduced any further. If it were any lower, the citizens' time investment would not be worthwhile. Fang Lao was willing to lower the price further, but as the employer, he could not reduce it any more. If word got out, other citizens, considering Fang Lao's virtue, would not dare to ask for a higher price. If the calculations showed it was not worthwhile, they would rather not come. And Fang Lao was not always available, so it would be very difficult to find other citizens to fill in at such times.

With limited time, Fang Lao quickly began the guidance process.

Zhuo Chuan watched attentively on the stage. Fang Lao's guidance was very thorough. The reserve citizens seeking guidance, who could spend valuable soul crystals to request formal guidance from a citizen, were often just one step away from qualifying as a citizen. Their foundations were very solid, and they did not need guidance on basic soul advancement knowledge. Instead, they needed to experience the real existence of soul power through close contact with a citizen who had mastered it, to take the final step.

Fang Lao's guidance method was largely the same for everyone. He would first ask each person about their perception of the soul, then spread soul power throughout his body, allowing them to freely attack for ten minutes. Afterward, he would have them describe their feelings during each contact with soul power, and then provide some guidance, sharing his own experiences. However, he never emphasized who was right or wrong, because the soul is personal, and the differences are too great, not like a standardized industrial product.

This method usually required five cycles, taking fifty minutes, with the last ten minutes devoted to directional suggestions for each person's future development.

It was only when Zhuo Chuan saw this that he understood why the effective guidance time was emphasized to be one hour, closely related to the guidance method. Generally, people would start to have some feelings after three to four cycles.

Throughout the process, Fang Lao never initiated an attack. Zhuo Chuan had competed with citizen He Qiang and understood why. Even with top-tier physical strength, he could not withstand an attack from He Qiang, who infused one percent of his soul power, even with protective gear.

During the guidance, the students wore as little as possible to better experience soul power, except for some private areas, as the body and soul were closest in this state.

Of course, the students who shared the eleven hours with Zhuo Chuan were all male. There were some female students on the stage, but they were not on the guidance list and were naturally more covered.

In this situation, if Fang Lao were to initiate an attack, even atomic-level body recovery emergency measures might not be able to save them in time.

The guidance process continued, with no one going to eat or rest, and very few even taking a break. They either learned earnestly from Fang Lao in the center of the field or watched attentively from the stands.

When it was the sixth person's turn, four hours had passed. Naturally, two people had shared one hour, so five people had been guided within four hours.

At this point, the engrossed Old Xu could not help but say, "If I were on the field and guided for an hour, I would probably gain more experience to take that final step."

The speaker was casual, but the listener was intent. Especially with Zhuo Chuan's rapidly increasing thinking speed, he instantly realized that the reason He Qiang could come down before was that He Qiang was originally going to come down to guide Old Xu, helping a friend take the final step. If successful, they would still be friends; if not, the friendship would be exhausted.

But Old Xu used this favor for himself, and now it would be very difficult to find He Qiang for guidance again.

From this, Zhuo Chuan vaguely understood the vast difference between citizens and reserve citizens, similar to the difference between deities and mortals in ancient fantasies. Some benevolent deities might enlighten mortals, but being high and mighty is the norm. Of course, this analogy is not entirely accurate; it is merely a metaphor for status. Deities do not wish for all mortals to become deities, but citizens, even those who are strict and cruel like Jie Cheng, all hope that each reserve citizen becomes a citizen, just in different ways.

Coming to this new world and meeting a friend like Old Xu, even if the other party had an investment mindset, was still a fortunate thing. Zhuo Chuan had long understood in his career that there was no fear of being used or invested in, only the fear of not having the value to be invested in.

Time passed quickly when one was focused. When it was Zhuo Chuan's turn, it was already the twelfth hour, exceeding the previously scheduled eleven hours and ten minutes.

Zhuo Chuan instantly understood that Fang Lao had consciously given everyone a few extra minutes, so when it was his turn, he would have a few extra minutes of guidance time, at least a complete guidance unit. That is, ten minutes of combat, plus a few minutes of feeling and guidance.

"I've heard of you," Fang Lao suddenly said when Zhuo Chuan stood in the center of the field. "B47995, the successor of a top citizen's soul, who is to duel with an E-class citizen in ten days."

"Hello, that's me," Zhuo Chuan naturally had no doubts. Regardless of whether He Qiang was now cold, he had at least done what he should have done. The only reason Fang Lao would have heard of him was that He Qiang had posted his matter on the citizen virtual network.

Sure enough, Fang Lao explained, "He Qiang posted your matter on the virtual network, but no powerful figures came forward to stop this obviously unfair duel. Do you know why?"

Zhuo Chuan immediately became alert; he indeed had some doubts about this matter.

"Feng Mingtian, the dean of the Cangqiong Branch, gave him a guarantee on the virtual network," Fang Lao did not rush to guide but chatted casually.

But Zhuo Chuan knew that the other party must have a special purpose.

"He said that for a successor of a top citizen's soul, there are too many memories left in the body. To stimulate further soul growth, only death can do it."

After hearing this, Zhuo Chuan not only resolved his doubts but also vaguely understood why He Qiang had initially seen his potential and then became cold. Although he did not know Feng Mingtian, he must be a very high-ranking figure. He did not want to cause such a figure any more displeasure over his matter. His growth potential was great, but potential is just potential, and Feng Mingtian's position was clear.

After finishing this matter, Fang Lao saw that Zhuo Chuan was not panicked or afraid, and nodded slightly, continuing, "That's all. Let's begin now."

After saying this, a dense earthy yellow aura appeared around Fang Lao, several times stronger than the soul power he had released for all the previous guidance sessions.

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