On the street.
Bai Zhenzhen kept bumping into Zhang Yu with her shoulder, her face full of flattery as she said, "Yu, you've been playing with it for a while now. Can I have a turn?"
"This is worth a hundred thousand! A hundred thousand!" Zhang Yu quickly tightened his grip on the talisman book.
"You're so strong, what if you accidentally break it? I wouldn't be able to afford to replace it."
"And wipe your drool, it's about to get on my talisman book."
Bai Zhenzhen watched eagerly as Zhang Yu exhaled and wiped the talisman book, pleading, "Then let's trade. You let me play with the talisman book, and I'll lend you anything you like from my stuff."
Seeing Zhang Yu still engrossed in the talisman book, Bai Zhenzhen grabbed his hand angrily, then put on a sweet smile and shook his arm, saying, "Brother Zhang Yu~ let me play with it, please."
Zhang Yu quickly covered his eyes, feeling as if he had just looked directly at an ancient god.
"Stop it, don't disgust me."
"Hmph! Found your weakness."
Bai Zhenzhen quickly snatched the talisman book from Zhang Yu's loosened grip.
Zhang Yu rolled his eyes and sighed, "Fine, you can play with it for a while, but give it back to me when we get to the station."
Bai Zhenzhen shook her head and sighed, "People with roots always have weaknesses. Look at how flawless that door guy was today. Yu, I suggest you get neutered soon to erase your weakness..."
Zhang Yu snorted coldly, "Do you still want to borrow the talisman book or not?"
When they finally reached the station, Zhang Yu parted ways with Bai Zhenzhen under her reluctant gaze and headed home.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the city.
A figure answered a call from Su Haifeng.
Su Haifeng: "... That's the situation. He's now under Zhang Pianpian's protection as a divine assistant. The usual methods at school won't work on him for now."
"Also, he has a talisman book. As a temporary worker in the patrol team, he gets at least one free spell per day..."
Zhou Tianyi nodded slightly and said calmly, "Understood. We need to act before he gets familiar with the talisman book and spells. He just used his free spell today... so today is the best chance for me to make a move, right?"
Su Haifeng: "If you're going to act, do it quickly. Best to go find him right now."
Zhou Tianyi nodded, "I know. I'll go find Zhang Yu after I finish what I'm doing."
Su Haifeng was puzzled, "What important thing can't wait?"
Zhou Tianyi shook his head, "Some things can't be delayed even for a second. Don't worry, it won't take long and won't affect my handling of Zhang Yu."
After hanging up, Zhou Tianyi moved swiftly, his feet stirring up a gust of wind as he shot forward down the street.
Tightening the delivery bag on his back, Zhou Tianyi's feet made a loud bang on the concrete road as he accelerated again.
Although dealing with Zhang Yu was important, his customer had paid for on-time delivery, so he had to finish his current delivery before going after Zhang Yu.
Ever since the evil god had awakened his potential, the faster Zhou Tianyi moved, the quicker his mana replenished, the stronger his body became, and even his leg techniques improved.
So, to both train and earn money, he had chosen to work as a delivery man under a hidden identity.
He remembered his first day delivering food, when the soup and liquids in his bag spilled everywhere.
Not only did he get scolded by the customer, but the platform also fined him several hundred yuan.
When he returned to the delivery station, the station manager poured him a glass of water and told him to hold it while delivering.
As long as the water didn't spill, the food would be fine.
From then on, he delivered more and more orders, and his platform ranking kept rising.
At some point, Zhou Tianyi noticed that things on the road seemed to be moving slower.
When he asked the station manager, he realized it wasn't that things were slowing down, but that he was getting faster.
If it weren't for hiding his strength, he could easily rank first in the monthly exams.
After finishing his last delivery and seeing the payment come through, Zhou Tianyi let out a sigh of relief.
"Now... it's time to find Zhang Yu."
Soon after, Zhou Tianyi arrived at the building where Zhang Yu rented an apartment.
He thought to himself, "According to Zhang Yu, he can't cultivate in his rented room. He goes to the nearby unfinished building to practice every day."
"Then I just need to wait for him to go to the unfinished building before making my move."
...
Back in his rented room.
Zhang Yu washed his face and began to play with the talisman book, intending to study its functions thoroughly.
Although he had used a binding spell earlier that day, the whole process had been rushed, and he hadn't had time to properly study the talisman book on his own.
He placed his hand on the talisman book, and as he channeled his mana, his fingerprints, palm prints, and mana were recognized.
A golden light flashed on the talisman, and a yellow background appeared, like a piece of talisman paper.
With a light swipe of his finger, Zhang Yu could draw various spells.
Then, Zhang Yu gently lifted his hand, and the talisman book floated up, hovering in front of his palm.
Zhang Yu moved his hand left and right, and the talisman book followed, staying close to his palm.
"This follow mode is quite handy. I don't need to hold it; I can just focus on drawing the spells."
He tapped the bottom of the talisman book and dragged his finger upward.
The background changed again, revealing lines of information.
Believer's Name: Zhang Yu
Realm: Qi Refining Realm
Overall Faith Level: 1
Zhang Yu looked further down and saw the names and marks of the eight divine departments, each with a faith level noted.
Since Zhang Yu had never increased his faith level, his faith level in all eight divine departments was just the default level 1 that came with owning the talisman book.
He randomly clicked on the top department, the Ten Thousand People Department, and the scene on the talisman book shifted to show a divine hall in the spirit realm.
Behind layers of red walls and golden tiles, dragons flew and phoenixes circled.
A great god, radiating five-colored light, stood majestically in the hall, forming a hand seal.
A compassionate aura washed over Zhang Yu, and the god's slightly closed eyes seemed to express sorrow for the suffering of the world.
This was the first true god of the Ten Thousand People Department, the Great God of All Living Beings.
Three options appeared on the talisman book:
1. Worship the God
2. Offer to the God
3. Seek Guidance from the God
Below the option to seek guidance, there was a gray mist, likely hiding more options due to Zhang Yu's insufficient faith level.
Looking at these options, Zhang Yu wondered, "What does 'worship the god' mean?"
Curious, he tapped it, and a line of text appeared on the talisman book: The Great God of All Living Beings has sensed your reverence.
(End of Chapter)