'Transcendents?!'
Tang Hong's heart jumped. His curiosity was piqued.
The only Transcendent being he knew was Fang Nanxun.
As for when he signed that contract at that time, two other Transcendents interviewed him, but it was more accurate to say that they were just going with the formalities.
Through chatting with Fan Yu, Tang Hong learned that Fang Nanxun and those two were Consultant-level figures. They were in charge of holding the fort at Yunhai City.
Tang Hong couldn't help but ask, "This teahouse that you speak of, do Consultant-level Transcendents usually patronize them?"
"How can that be possible?!"
Fan Yu was speechless.
Every Consultant-level figure was a true Transcendent being.
There weren't many consultants in this big Yunhai City either.
'So Fang Nanxun…'
'He was really that powerful…'
Regarding this, Tang Hong always had his doubts.
After all, in his imagination, the powerhouse ought to be more proud and aloof.
Meanwhile, his impressions of Fang Nanxun were…
Wealthy.
Especially good at scaring people.
He himself had been bluffed by Fang Nanxun into entering the Yellow River Organization.
"Alright, see you at the teahouse then."
Tang Hong opened the map application on his phone. He found out that the destination was accessible via public bus. It was really convenient.
"Call me when you're here."
Fan Yu sent her private number to him.
"Mm."
Tang Hong memorized the route of the public bus as he secretly summoned the system interface.
Mortal: Extremely small and weak creature.
Willpower: 50%
Strength: 35%
Realm: 0.00
Individual Value: 14
He had finally saved up 14 Individual Value points.
Unfortunately, that loneliness rating scale had basically become useless…
These days, he had been to coffee shops of all kinds. Including those with distinctive servers wearing maidservant uniforms and cat ears with tails hanging behind them.
Still, they were unable to trigger an increase in his Individual Value.
Whether it was the campus cafeteria or the little restaurants on the Fallen Street outside the campus, all of them were of no use.
He also attempted to go to various restaurants and watch movies alone more than three times.
That monster film imported from abroad with amazing special effects was truly thrilling to watch.
Of course—to Tang Hong—watching the movies was secondary to his goal. That was considered the dessert before his meal. The 1 point of Individual Value from his first experience of watching a movie alone was the main course.
'Difficulty Level… This is the main factor.'
'Time and Mood, these two can only play the supplemental role…'
Tang Hong was doing his best in his research. He wished to find a method that could give him long-term gains similar to that system prompts that he had always received since the early days of receiving the [Power of One] support system.
The Individual Value points received from first-time experiences just weren't sustainable.
The bus shook and creaked.
Finally, it came to a halt.
'Beep!'
'Student card!'
Tang Hong descended. Following the route on the map, he went past two small alleys and turned left at the third junction.
He then saw an ordinary teahouse hidden in the middle of some apparel stores.
The shop itself wasn't that close to the streets.
It looked a little small, but not too shabby.
There were even two stone docks placed on both sides of the entrance.
"I'm here."
Tang Hong dialed Fan Yu's phone number.
It was very quiet on her end. She was probably inside the teahouse already.
Fan Yu said in a low voice. "Hold on, I'll come out to pick you up."
In the very next moment, she hung up the call.
Tang Hong sensed a warning sign that made him extremely uneasy. Although it was a sunny day, the air was suffocating. He felt cold on his back. All the hairs on his slightly muscular arms stood on its end as if he had entered an icy cave on a hot day.
He instinctively took a step to the side, Tang Hong turned around and looked.
It was actually a short youth whose height seemed to be less than 1.6meters.
He stared at Tang Hong. Those eyes of his seemed to sparkle as he let out a low chuckle.
"You're Tang Hong?"
"You're that lucky fellow who managed to break away from the Sacred Voices of the Gods on his own and earned Consultant Fang's appreciation?"
Tang Hong was startled. He immediately realized that this person was a Transcendent being.
A true Transcendent…
Otherwise, it was impossible that a casual gaze from him could scare him to this extent.
Although he had a small stature…
This sense of suppression was unusually massive. It was as if a bloodthirsty, ferocious tiger was standing in front of him with its murderous intent revealed in broad daylight.
The corner of his eye caught the pedestrians by the roadside.
Tang Hong's mind calmed down as he stared at this youth.
Dressed entirely in black clothes, his arms hung firmly by his side.
Both his left and right wrists were bound in dark-colored strips of cloth.
His face was slightly clouded. His body seemed to emanate an unfeeling and malicious air.
"Interesting."
The youth let out an abnormal laugh. He retracted his gaze and stepped into the teahouse.
It just so happened that Fan Yu was pushing the door open. She hurriedly turned her body to give way when she saw this youth as she led Tang Hong into the teahouse.
Seeing that Tang Hong's expression looked unusual, Fan Yu informed him.
"That person earlier is an official member of the Tiansheng Organization. His potential is pretty good. Becoming a true Transcendent would not be a problem for him."
The Tiansheng Organization.
Tang Hong finally remembered.
Fang Nanxun told him before that when he escaped the Sacred Voices of the Gods. It was the Tiansheng Organization that worked with the government forces to trap a Danger God. It just so happened that they were also asking for Fang Nanxun's assistance that night.
Tang Hong looked at the teahouse.
He saw that person's back disappear deep into the teahouse.
The teahouse was very narrow. It resembled a long, deep, and quiet secret passageway.
Both sides had their own private rooms.
"This way."
Tang Hong followed Fan Yu into a private room in the teahouse.
Bang.
After closing the door, Fan Yu then said, "Further in would be the inner area where only official members of the various major organizations have the right to enter…"
"You can take it as a gathering place for Transcendent beings just like the bank tellers of the various big banks. There are a total of five places like this within Yunhai City."
Tang Hong nodded. He seemed to be in deep thought.
Across him, Fan Yu opened her laptop bag.
She brought out a document placed in a plastic package and put it on the tabletop. She lowered her eyes to check through it once before handing it over to Tang Hong. They were mainly his internship certificate and the Yellow River Organization's allowance for half a year.
His allowance stipend had received the approval of the headquarters.
It was fixed at 1500 Hua dollars per month.
As for that internship certificate, although Fan Yu did not say anything…
Tang Hong knew about it very well.
This help was something that Fang Nanxun provided from his own personal pocket.
He picked up the internship certificate.
As expected, the monthly internship pay was 30,000 Hua dollars before tax.
This amount represented a monthly income that made even Tang Hong's heart race. He still remembered their first meeting where Fang Nanxun had put on a pretense of being overbearing and wanting to silence him.
Then, Tang Hong adopted every possible means to survive as he persuaded Fang Nanxun to keep him alive.
Tang Hong even bargained with Fang Nanxun back then…
Fang Nanxun made a promise.
He even used government-owned corporations and private enterprises as examples.
After learning subsequently that all of these weren't provided by the Yellow River Organization, Tang Hong thought that it would be too rude for him to ask. As a result, he did not even talk about it.
It never occurred to him that Fang Nanxun truly was a man of his words.
He really fulfilled the conditions that he had agreed to previously.
'He's a good person who fulfills his promises.'
Tang Hong couldn't help but feel touched. The feelings that he had at the bottom of his heart right now were the same feelings of gratitude that an employee would feel from being recognized by a superior who appreciated his abilities.
Regardless of whatever plans Fang Nanxun had, it could be said that Tang Hong had never been at a disadvantage ever since he knew Fang Nanxun.
Even if it was a sugar-coated bullet, Tang Hong would still take it.
'30 thousand.'
'My previous life goal was to be able to earn this income before I'm 40.'
Tang Hong put away all the documents properly while Fan Yu took back a few of them that required his signatures.
With the formalities completed, Fan Yu smiled.
"Tang Hong."
She asked, "What questions do you have about Transcendent beings? So long as they do not involve any confidential information, I can answer them for you."
Tang Hong thought for a moment and he went straight to the point.
"How do I become a Transcendent?"
Fan Yu answered. "By breaking the limits of one's human body and breaking the limits of one's very own Willpower. Willpower is the most crucial part. The special training camp of the headquarters also places the most emphasis on Willpower…"
"For the monthly test, Willpower takes up more than 70% of the points."
Tang Hong went on. "How do I break those limits?"
Fan Yu replied, "With effective tempering, training, and with the intervention of external forces…"
"The most important part in all of these was the intervention of external forces. Sadly, those things are limited. This is why the recommendation slots for the special training camp of the various major organizations are unusually scarce."
External forces?
Scarce? Limited?
Tang Hong's pupils abruptly contracted.
The intervention of external forces must be referring to the gods!