One person: After starting with the academic atmosphere, I'll take down Xia He!

When Ma Long and Wang Ye arrived at the secret base, they were both shocked by what they saw.

The beautiful young woman approaching was Xia He.

"Sister, your secret base is amazing!"

"Hidden and safe, it's perfect for our current situation."

"There's no other way. We were part of Quanxing before, and we offended too many people. We definitely need to keep some trump cards to protect ourselves."

The two followed Xia He through a series of verification gates and entered the innermost layer.

Inside a luxurious and extravagant room, the two were dazzled by all sorts of high-tech products.

The room was large enough to accommodate dozens of people. There were three people inside at the moment. When they saw Xia He bring people in, they all came over to greet her.

"Young Master Long! We've been waiting for you!"

"Alright, we're all on the same side, don't be shy."

"Let's serve the food first, I'm starving!"

Ma Long and Wang Ye only stayed at the Celestial Master's Mansion for one day before fleeing Longhu Mountain overnight. They jumped off the company train and haven't eaten or drunk anything since.

"Huh?! The food's served?"

Xia He was a little confused. This was a studio, so why were they serving food?

Shen Chong, who was standing nearby, understood what they meant and knew that the two of them were starving.

"Alright, Young Master Long, let's go to the private dining area."

Let's eat and chat!

Shen Chong picked up his tablet and a stack of documents and led the way to dinner.

Gao Ning and Dou Mei also picked up the documents and followed behind.

The group walked along the sealed passage and soon arrived at an exquisite room.

The store is filled with a dazzling array of fruits and desserts, as well as all kinds of delicacies from land and sea, all available for you to eat and take as you please.

Ma Long and Wang Ye didn't stand on ceremony. They came in and started eating, showing off whatever was delicious and expensive!

As Ma Long ate, he thought of Feng Baobao. He decided he must bring her here another day; she would definitely be amazed.

"Young Master Long, please enjoy your meal. We'd like to report on our work progress!"

Shen Chong sat down at the large dining table, turned on the projector, and began his presentation.

Malone's mouth was already full of food, but he just nodded.

"Young Master Long! The situation on my side is excellent now!"

There are absolutely no issues with cash flow; we have already successfully acquired controlling stakes in thirteen companies, including…

Existing working capital…

Shen Chong reported on the recent situation, explaining that he had already started operating using his own funds.

Ma Long didn't understand what he was hearing, but he was very happy and led the applause.

"Great! Excellent!"

The Azure Dragon Protector did a very good job; everyone should learn from him.

The next step is to address the most challenging aspects and further refine the current system.

Hearing Ma Long's praise, Shen Chong was overjoyed. He tried to remain calm, adjusted his glasses, straightened his back, and glanced at Gao Ning intentionally or unintentionally.

Gao Ning cursed inwardly and began his report.

"Young Master Long! You're right, money is easy to come by, but people are hard to find!"

Right Elder Xia He asked me to recruit talent. I traveled to several provinces, but I only managed to establish a few small factions.

Moreover, they are only willing to follow our orders; they will never risk their lives for us!

So we discussed it and decided whether or not to take it.

Gao Ning looked troubled, finding it difficult to speak. He looked at Xia He, knowing that Xia He and Ma Long were the closest, and wanted her to speak.

Xia He naturally knew Gao Ning's thoughts, so she coughed lightly and began to speak.

"Young Master Long! This matter is very difficult!"

Without capable and reliable subordinates, our power cannot be established.

In the world of superhumans, the size of one's fist is the true measure of strength; wealth is secondary.

We can't get any people to join right now, so we've come up with two solutions.

The first plan is to win over the naive and inexperienced members of the Quanxing sect and educate and utilize them.

The second plan is for the four of us to use our own methods to control people's hearts!

Actually, the four of us are the easiest to gather a group of loyal outlaws!

"It just makes people think we're still like the Quanxing Sect, so we're afraid to act and are waiting for your decision!"

After Xia He finished speaking, Ma Long began to think. The abilities of the Four Madmen were not very appealing.

But given my current situation, I can't afford to worry about that.

Morality? It can't restrain me!

"Both options should be implemented, especially the second one. Don't feel guilty."

As long as we don't harm others, there's nothing wrong with using them.

"Alright, with you saying that, we're relieved!"

……

For the next few days, Ma Long and Wang Ye stayed in the secret base to avoid trouble.

Ma Long was busy. After finishing his three meals a day, he would go into his room to study the Tongtian Talisman, and even Xia He didn't come to disturb him.

He would not underestimate any of the Eight Extraordinary Skills.

He took out the booklet Lu Jin had given him and started flipping through it. The first half contained the contents of the Tongtian Lu.

The obscure and difficult-to-understand usage of talismans and their drawing techniques.

Ma Long stared at it for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out.

"Grass!

Is the Tongtian Talisman really that difficult to learn?

I don't recognize all of these long characters!

Ma Long flipped through the booklet over and over, but couldn't understand it at all, and was extremely anxious.

Suddenly he noticed that the text behind it was arranged more closely, and the font seemed to be different as well.

He hurriedly picked up the booklet and carefully flipped through it, only to discover that there was a second half.

Moreover, the second half was written by Lu Jin.

'Analysis of the Tongtian Talisman and Lifelong Experience in Its Use - by Lu Jin'

Holy crap, you should have said so earlier! Master Lu even wrote an analysis!

Ma Long began to study according to Lu Jin's insights.

The Tongtian Lu (通天箓) allows one to draw talismans out of thin air in a very short time without setting up an altar, circulating qi, or even doing any preparation work beforehand, and it can be used in large quantities.

Even a complete novice like Ma Long could sense the extraordinary nature of the Du Tongtian Lu.

No wonder he was named Tongtian.

However, after Zheng Zibu mastered this skill, he was hunted down and died a tragic death.

This was very inconsistent with the style of the Tongtianlu. Ma Long looked at the source written by Lu Jin and learned about Zheng Zibu's matter, and was very puzzled.

Finally, he saw the explanation Lu Jin gave.

Although Zheng Zibu possessed secret techniques, the talismans he was proficient in were all from the Shangqing School. When he was being chased, he could only release a few types of talismans.

Now, after a century of arduous cultivation, I have almost collected all the talismans in the world. If I can master them, I will surely be able to display their divine power.

Finally, one more point: Focus on cultivating both body and mind; fundamental spiritual practice is paramount, while excessive pursuit of unusual skills and techniques should be avoided.

Hiss... What does Master Lu mean by this?

Is it said that the Tongtian Talisman was very strong, and now it has been enhanced to be even stronger by his efforts?

Cultivating both body and mind is very important; the Celestial Master mentioned the foundation of body and mind before.

In other words, while having strong skills is important, without a strong life foundation to support them, one cannot unleash their full power.

But how could I possibly cultivate both body and spirit?

He just lies around on Wudang Mountain all day, and hasn't learned anything!

Malone grumbled and then stopped caring about the basics of life.

He began to practice various techniques for making talismans, striving to quickly draw them one by one.

These days, Ma Long has been busy studying and drawing talismans, always engrossed in his booklets.

My arms have visibly gotten thicker.