My Dream Connects to 3000 Years in the Future

Third District Police Chief Bureau, inside the office of the Special Operations Brigade’s captain.

Though he had just seen Huo Qiming out, Li Kang’s mind was still elsewhere.

Chu Bamboo glanced around the office. Soon, his eyes landed on a sword hanging on the wall. He raised an eyebrow. "This sword... why does it look so familiar?"

"The sword?" Ning Linglong followed Chu Bamboo’s gaze, and understanding dawned on her. "Oh, you mean 4-24! The Brigade Commander didn’t just come here to reward you, you know! The captain received a reward too."

"Wait, you can use a Level 4 Forbidden Artifact?" Chu Bamboo was stunned. ’That’s not what I’ve heard before.’ "And you just leave a Forbidden Artifact like that lying around in your office?"

"Weren’t you at the base earlier? It’s normally kept there... As for someone of my level using a Fourth-level Forbidden Artifact... generally, I can’t!" Li Kang snapped out of his daze and glanced at Chu Bamboo. "However, the Fallen Soul Sword is an exception..."

Li Kang walked over to the Soul Sword and gently caressed the Forbidden Artifact as if it were his lover, his eyes full of deep affection. "Though it’s a Forbidden Artifact, it’s the closest a Forbidden Artifact can get to a Spiritual Artifact! Its creator was simply too powerful."

"So-called Forbidden Artifacts are items that have consequences with use! But different Forbidden Artifacts have different consequences... Some have not only severe consequences but also strong contamination! Others, however, only have severe consequences but are almost free of contamination... This was originally used long-term by Captain Qi, and now..."

Chu Bamboo instinctively thought of the infant ghost. ’It was probably the former type.’ And based on the way Li Kang was speaking now, this Soul Sword must be the latter.

’Wait a minute! Is that why? Because the contamination is lower, it doesn’t have to be returned to the vault after use like the infant ghost, and can be used by one person for a long time?’

He paused for a moment.

"But," Chu Bamboo said with a mischievous look, "if I remember correctly, its owner wasn’t... Oh, Li Kang, just look at yourself! I suspect Qi Heng probably used to treat the Soul Sword the exact same way!"

He thought of how Li Kang was treating the sword like a newlywed wife and sighed. "This world is just one big cuckold."

"?"

At that, Li Kang, who was in the middle of wiping the scabbard with his sleeve, froze. After a brief silence, he stiffly turned his head and glared at Chu Bamboo, his face turning visibly red—he was seeing red!

Taking several deep breaths, Li Kang repeatedly told himself, ’Why are you getting so worked up over Ah Zhu? You know what he’s like.’ It took him a while to get his emotions under control.

Li Kang came to the sad realization that he seemed to be on the path to becoming a Ninja. No wonder his wife had been saying his temper was getting so much better lately... The more he thought about it, the sadder he became.

"Of course, you’re actually right. With my current Cultivation, it would be difficult for me to wield it perfectly," Li Kang said, forcibly pulling himself from his sorrowful thoughts. "And while I say the contamination is low, that’s only relatively speaking."

"If I were to actually use it, I could probably only manage two or three times. I’m no match for Captain Qi, after all. My power is still too weak! If a Third Realm Cultivator were to use it... perhaps aside from that rather unspeakable side effect, the contamination would be next to nothing."

"Captain, weren’t you saying you were preparing to break through to the Third Realm?" Ning Linglong chimed in.

"I am prepared! It’s just..." Li Kang hesitated for a long moment before finally saying, "I’m still waiting for that one thing..."

Ning Linglong nodded thoughtfully.

"I’m curious!" Chu Bamboo asked abruptly. "Let’s say I drink a ton of Fushui right now. Will my physique get stronger?"

"You ask so many questions!" Li Kang pinched the bridge of his nose, choosing his words carefully. "It... probably wouldn’t? If you’re in the adaptation period, Fushui is useless. On the contrary, if you drink a large amount at this stage, the contamination will just accumulate."

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’Well then,’ he thought. He finally knew what had happened to the Fushui that was embezzled from him. He also understood why his muscles had swelled up back then, but his strength hadn’t increased upon his return... ’Just being contaminated doesn’t mean you’ve gotten stronger!’

"Is it the same for Radiant Stones?" Chu Bamboo asked, turning to Ning Linglong this time.

"That’s a bit different," Ning Linglong said, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. "With Radiant Stones, as long as you’re not afraid of the contamination, you can absorb their energy every day."

Chu Bamboo’s eyes lit up instantly. He could totally use a bug-exploiting method to farm an unlimited supply of Radiant Stones for his Cultivation.

Just as he was wondering if he should go restock at the nuclear facility, he heard Ning Linglong casually add another sentence.

"However, that kind of absorption can only increase the amount of Blessing Power in your body."

Sensing the confusion in Chu Bamboo’s eyes, Ning Linglong organized her thoughts. "You think Cultivation is just like practicing Inner Strength in Martial Hero novels, don’t you? That you just need to keep accumulating it to break through realm after realm and get stronger?"

"Isn’t it?"

"Of course not!" Ning Linglong’s tone was decisive. "A Cultivator’s breakthrough depends on three factors!"

"Foundation, Divine Techniques, and Celestial Mandate!"

"Foundation is straightforward. It’s built through Cultivation and supplemented with Radiant Stones. If you’re low on Energy, like if you’ve overdrawn your reserves by using Divine Techniques, you can use Radiant Stones to replenish it. However, this method causes contamination, and supplementing too much in a short time can be dangerous... Under normal circumstances, it’s best to let your body recover slowly on its own. That’s the ideal way. It’s this constant cycle of depletion and recovery that builds a solid foundation!"