Each crow represented one of Lu Yuan’s eyes.
The more Crows Lu Yuan had, the more eyes he possessed.
He suddenly understood why the Crow God Sect was kidnapping people in Burnt Rock City for live sacrifices, and why the police had consistently failed to solve the case.
Their "eyes" were simply too numerous.
Every move of the Burnt Rock police was completely under their surveillance.
Only the Yellow Bear had the capability and means to counter this.
I don’t need to confront the Yellow Bear’s intelligence network, as long as I can ensure the safety of myself and those around me. That’s not too much to ask...
Lu Yuan turned to glance at the surveillance footage on his desk monitor.
Because of the rat man incident, his computer had been on for almost a week. Moreover, he had been living in a state of mild anxiety every day.
Fortunately, it now seemed he had found a solution to this problem.
I might even be able to use this to learn the Crow God Sect’s location and movements...
Lu Yuan thought of the crow mask he had brought home, now stored in his desk drawer, and a multitude of ideas suddenly flooded his mind.
But he quickly suppressed them.
Lu Yuan shook his head. With a thought, he began to try and get the two crows on the windowsill to land on him. He wanted them to grip his clothes with their claws and lift him.
The two crows flapped their wings so furiously they nearly broke, but Lu Yuan remained motionless.
Of course, this was impossible with just two crows. Lu Yuan was trying to use the strength of a single crow to calculate the possibility of a whole flock carrying him in flight.
That won’t work either; the difference in strength is too great.
Lu Yuan quickly calculated the result in his mind.
He reached out, grabbed one of the crows, and pried open its beak for a look.
The crows he had casually summoned were significantly different from those he had seen at the Crow God Sect’s hideout. The latter were larger and more ferocious. They had even undergone some partial mutations.
Is it because they ate too much human flesh, or were they modified by the Crow God Sect’s special methods?
Lu Yuan wasn’t sure. But for now, his fantasy of being carried in flight by countless crows, like that Strong Divine Servant of the Crow God Sect, was shattered.
It might be possible if I get a chance to commandeer a group of the special crows reared by the Crow God Sect.
For the next while, Lu Yuan devoted all his energy to training the crows. He tried to enable them to communicate with him more directly and fluently, with the primary goal of training them to understand his expressed intentions. From basic to complex, from simple to difficult, he strove for them to become qualified Crows as soon as possible.
This process wasn’t dull, as crows are highly intelligent birds, once considered the smartest among all avian species. Although they ate carrion, they were also very clean and didn’t have any unusual odor.
He wasn’t sure if it was because of the Crow Dreamscape, but Lu Yuan now felt a natural, inexplicable fondness for these little creatures, often considered ominous. This was despite having been viciously attacked by them, witnessing them peck at human corpses, and being showered with no small amount of bird droppings.
Lu Yuan searched online for bird training techniques and methods. Coupled with the [Crow Language] skill, which allowed direct mental interaction with the crows, his progress was incredibly fast.
In a single morning, he had trained over fifty Crows to a preliminary understanding of his command: "Search and inquire about the whereabouts of the rat man."
He released these fifty-plus Crows, letting them integrate into Burnt Rock City’s vast "avian network." Crows are highly gregarious and flock-oriented, with extremely frequent information exchange among themselves. Having his Crows frequent areas with many other birds and "ask around" more would undoubtedly greatly increase the chances of finding the rat man.
He had also taken a special precaution. He subjected every Crow to mandatory "confidentiality" training. This meant that these fifty-plus Crows were forbidden from revealing any information about him to anyone. This measure was primarily to guard against the Crow God Sect.
As lunchtime approached, Lu Yuan glanced at his Profession Panel.
He discovered that his [Crow Language] skill had only gained 5 experience points. The increase in Profession Experience was even lower, only 1 point.
The difficulty of leveling up an Extraordinary Profession is truly so much greater than a regular one...
Only now did Lu Yuan realize how precious that Red Bead from the Crow God Sect was. It had given him over three hundred points of Profession Experience in one go; no wonder it could trigger the conditions for Profession Advancement and Profession Fusion.
If only I could get another one... Lu Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. Experience Pills... who wouldn’t like those?
"Why haven’t I seen you at the martial arts gym lately? Your fees are paid until October, right?"
At the lunch table, it was a rare sight to see his father, Lu Xinghua. Even rarer was Lu Xinghua actually striking up a conversation with Lu Yuan. Lu Xinghua had also cooked lunch, making Lu Yuan’s favorite: braised pork ribs.
"The instructor has been busy the past couple of days, so classes are off for a week," Lu Yuan mumbled, offering a vague excuse. "Besides, it’s summer vacation, right? So I figured I’d relax for a few days..."
"If you’re going to do something, do it properly. Don’t give up halfway," Lu Xinghua advised him seriously.
"I know, Dad," Lu Yuan acknowledged.
Lu Xinghua didn’t press further, turning instead to speak with Grandpa Lu Yueping. It seemed Grandpa Lu Yueping wanted to go back home, and Lu Xinghua was trying to persuade him to stay longer.
Lu Yuan sat beside them, shoveling rice into his mouth while secretly observing Lu Xinghua. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on nοvelfire.net
After his Intelligence reached 14, his perception had become more acute. This acuity wasn’t just evident in his observation of the external environment, but also in his intuition for danger and his sensitivity to emotional fluctuations and changes in the state of people or things. He had clearly felt this just now while training his Crows.
Now, from Lu Xinghua, Lu Yuan sensed an emotion... called ’relief.’
He’s let it go. The debt of several hundred thousand yuan that had suffocated the Lu family for months, the obsessive need to find the one who had betrayed his trust and demand answers—all of it seemed to have dissipated from his father Lu Xinghua’s heart, consumed by last night’s fire.
That’s good. Lu Yuan picked up a piece of braised pork rib with his chopsticks, quietly placed it in Lu Xinghua’s bowl, and thought silently.
In the afternoon, Lu Yuan didn’t rush to continue training his Crows. Instead, he prepared to unlock the second Basic Professional Skill of his [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] class.
It’s a choice between two. I hope this time I can get an Extraordinary skill related to Black Qi.
The most profound impression the Crow God Servant had left on Lu Yuan was the eerie Black Qi he controlled, capable of rapidly decaying flesh. A Crow God Servant, possessing Black Qi, had faced a team of Yellow Bear Members led by Zhou Ling. Even though the team used every means at their disposal and was nearly wiped out, they couldn’t manage to kill him. Yet, that same Crow God Servant, once stripped of the Black Qi’s protection, was vulnerable enough to be killed in a sneak attack by an ordinary Martial Artist like Lu Yuan, who hadn’t even fully stepped into the Extraordinary realm.
The importance and power of the Black Qi were thus evident.
Naturally, Lu Yuan coveted this terrifying Extraordinary power. The effects of [Crow Language] were indeed magical, but they paled in comparison to the Black Qi.
Lu Yuan took a light breath, calming himself. Then, after a moment of deliberation between the two remaining locked skills, he ultimately chose the first one.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] Basic Professional Skill — Death Omen Eye!]
[Basic Professional Skill: Death Omen Eye lv1 (0/100)]
The newly unlocked skill once again gave Lu Yuan a considerable surprise.
Lu Yuan stared at the skill’s name, momentarily stunned. For some reason, a line of dialogue surfaced in his mind:
"I have already foreseen your death!"