With the money sorted out, it was time to deal with other plans and miscellaneous tasks.
Su Zhou knew that thinking things through alone often led to a dead end, getting stuck on trivial details and unable to break free.
Snake Spirit Yara was indeed an excellent sounding board, but Su Zhou knew its perspective was far too lofty. Its way of thinking was vastly different from that of an ordinary Superpower User like himself—what Yara considered an insignificant trifle could very well be what mattered most to him.
That was why Su Zhou preferred to discuss his recent plans with his childhood friend... Of course, there was also a practical reason—no matter how knowledgeable the Snake Spirit was, it didn't have any money.
"Azhou, take a look."
Now with hope for healing his frail body and dispelling the curse, Shao Qiming, who held the Purification Fragment, found his thoughts clearer and quicker than ever. In no time, he had put together a detailed plan of action and list of objectives for Su Zhou, even creating a PowerPoint presentation.
"Nice work, man." Su Zhou glanced at his friend's computer screen. Sure enough, everything was laid out clearly, and he was genuinely impressed.
Here's a rough summary.
Between the end of July and the start of school, Su Zhou had four major objectives, listed in no particular order.
First: Su Zhou must successfully undergo Spirit Awakening and advance to the 'Awakened Level.' Prerequisites: gather the necessary ritual materials, hunt and kill an Evil Demon, and obtain an Evil Demon Core.
Second: Perform an exorcism for Shao Qiming and Aunt Wen. Prerequisite: Su Zhou must achieve his Awakening and be able to craft Exorcism Jewelry through a Secret Ceremony.
Third: Plant the potted Wisdom Tree and cultivate it to produce a Wisdom Fruit. This could be done quickly but required watering with either 'Spiritual Water' or 'Spiritual Blood.'
Fourth: Investigate the increasingly bizarre and gruesome murders in Hongcheng and attempt to capture or kill the Evil Demon responsible. This would require a weapon and learning Spiritual Vision.
And all four major objectives, every last word of them, pointed to one thing: Kill the Evil Demon!
"Basically, all four objectives boil down to one core task—getting you a suitable weapon, tracking down an Evil Demon, and killing it."
Shao Qiming's summary was simple and concise, and Su Zhou couldn't agree more.
And so, the two of them immediately started searching on Taobao.
"First off, swords and blades are out of the question. They're too conspicuous. Maybe the rules will be relaxed after the Spiritual Energy Revival, but right now, if a Patrol officer sees you carrying a sword, you'll be arrested."
Shao Qiming immediately filtered out such common weapons, and Su Zhou chimed in, deleting a few options himself. "No kidding. A fire axe or a hammer might work, but honestly, that's weird too. You'd need to carry a whole toolbox for it to seem normal.
Besides, you can't just buy practical, weapon-grade axes or hammers on the market. Even if you could, they'd be just as much trouble as swords."
Although Zhengguo did have martial arts schools, and some people held legal weapon permits, most of those practitioners only studied unarmed combat. Even Patrol officers generally used blunt instruments like iron truncheons and batons. Bladed weapons like swords were strictly controlled; anyone carrying one would inevitably be questioned.
As for the army… not using the guns you have? How fucking stupid is that!
However, he had heard that some specialized military units did train in armed combat for use in areas where firearms weren't practical.
Through a process of elimination based on Su Zhou's needs, the two of them arrived at a surprisingly mundane answer.
"We'll just get a sturdy wooden staff—yeah, this one."
Su Zhou pointed at the computer screen, which showed a thick, unremarkable solid wood staff. "This. A Chou Wood Rod will be perfect."
"It's over two meters long, thick and sturdy. Since it's treated hardwood, it packs a serious punch when you swing it, pretty much like a bludgeon. And because it's a hardwood, even without a spearhead, a direct thrust will have some armor-piercing ability. With my strength, most armor probably couldn't stop it."
This was the weapon Su Zhou had settled on: a staff, or rather, the shaft of a Long Spear—one of humanity's most primitive and yet most effective weapons.
Ever since humans first learned to use tools, the staff—and its sharpened cousin, the spear—has been a constant companion. Even a child instinctively knows to swing and jab when handed a stick. In other words, it was practically humanity's starter weapon, coded right into our DNA!
Of course, mastering it was another matter entirely—hence the old martial arts saying about needing a month to learn the staff, but a lifetime to master the spear.
The spear shaft Su Zhou chose was different from the flexible white wax wood shafts or perfectly uniform rods people might imagine. The specially processed Chou Wood was a hardwood with only passable flexibility. It was nearly two inches thick at the butt and tapered slightly toward the tip, making it easy to find the center of balance for swings and thrusts.
White wax wood shafts were too elastic and flexible, making them unsuitable for high-intensity combat, especially against heavily armored opponents or physically tough Monsters. Given Su Zhou's strength and the durability of such foes, it was easy to imagine a thrust where both he and the Monster would be unharmed, while the shaft simply bent into a U-shape, failing to land accurately or penetrate at all.
Therefore, his weapon needed to be much stiffer, able to transfer his strength in the most direct way possible. Add a spearhead later on, and its lethality would be astonishing. After all, a weapon should be tailored to its wielder.
An iron staff would have been ideal, a perfect fit for a Transcendent, but such a metal weapon would be best custom-made, and he couldn't get a suitable one on such short notice.
"This is still pretty conspicuous, you know."
Shao Qiming frowned slightly as he studied the seller's product description and specs. He turned to his excited friend and said hesitantly, "Carrying around a two-meter-long hardwood staff… to be honest, that's even more conspicuous than a sword!"
"But at least I won't get hauled into the police station for it."
But Su Zhou wasn't the type to care about being conspicuous; as a Patrol officer's son, his main concern was whether or not he'd get arrested.
He addressed his friend's concern, explaining, "It's fine. I'm not going to be carrying it around in broad daylight. Swords, axes, hammers—you have to register them when you buy them. You even have to register their transport. It's a huge hassle, and if anything happens, the Patrol might show up at your door with questions. But with a wooden staff, it's not that much trouble. At most, people will just think, 'What's that guy doing with that thing?' And if someone actually asks, I'll just say it's exercise equipment. Or a broom handle."
'What kind of broom has a two-meter handle?'
Shao Qiming wanted to make a sarcastic comment, but since it was just a stopgap weapon, he figured it wasn't worth dwelling on. As long as Su Zhou himself didn't think it would cause trouble, it was fine.
He clicked 'Purchase.' Compared to the cost of gold and Gemstones, the price of the staff was a drop in the bucket. After payment was complete, Shao Qiming and Su Zhou started discussing the strange news reports that had been popping up around the world over the past decade.
[January 2005: A sudden earthquake occurred in the northeastern mountains of Fusang. An earthquake itself isn't major news, but some claimed it split open a mountainside, revealing gigantic, fossil-like branch markings within the rock.]
[August 2006: A tragic maritime disaster occurred off the coast of Goryeo. A massive cruise ship carrying three hundred people sank for unknown reasons in just a few minutes, swallowed by a whirlpool. There were no survivors.]
[April 2008: In Mycenae, European Union, tourists on Mount Olympus reported seeing a strange light source on the summit, resembling a flame.]
[December 2011...]
Starting about ten years ago, incidents like these—which seemed more like hallucinations than actual news—began to appear with increasing frequency all over the world. He figured it wasn't that they weren't happening elsewhere, but that they were being completely suppressed, with not a single shred of information allowed to leak.
Even within Zhengguo itself, plenty of sensational online reports had slipped through the cracks and avoided deletion.
[SHOCKING! Bizarre thunderstorm over snowy northeastern mountain! Rumors say a Thunderbolt was seen falling from the sky and plunging into the mountainside!]
[TERRIFYING! The late-night ghost bus! Passengers who board fall asleep uncontrollably, and though unharmed, wake up to find themselves in the suburbs overnight!]
[UNBELIEVABLE! Small village on the southwestern frontier suffers mysterious livestock deaths! Animals found with their blood drained, an unknown beast or mutated vampire bats are suspected!]
Although the articles were all written in a sensational, clickbait tone that made one doubt their authenticity, the fact that Shao Qiming had specifically selected them for his document meant there had to be something extraordinary about them.
"Whether it's the international news or these domestic blurbs, if you were to ask the locals, they'd all confirm these things really happened. It's just that the information doesn't circulate widely, and most people don't pay attention to it."
Clearly, Shao Qiming had gotten his hands on some local accounts through his own channels. But he didn't stop there. He also listed the subtle shifts in global pop culture trends over the past few years.
He first pointed to the superhero film franchises from the American Federation. "Although the superhero genre has a long history, the last few years have seen a huge number of adaptations centered on ordinary people gaining powers from nothing—being bitten by a bug, exposed to radiation, or involved in a scientific accident. Films from other countries are showing a similar trend, focusing on stories where normal people suddenly get powers and use them to fight for justice."
"Then there's the global television market and the explosion of sci-fi, apocalyptic, and fantasy genres. This is actually pretty strange, because what used to be popular were romance dramas and soap operas. But look now—whether it's a viral apocalypse, a Celestial Calamity, a sci-fi future, or a magical ancient world, TV shows everywhere are subtly teaching the most basic survival skills."
"The international novel market is too broad to summarize without big data, but on domestic platforms, supernatural and horror genres have been drastically cut back in recent years. They've been replaced by all sorts of urban Superpower stories, as well as steampunk and cyberpunk works set in modern alternate histories. I'm guessing the former is to avoid causing panic, while the latter is probably a way of mentally preparing people."
"To sum up, governments around the world are all doing the same thing. The number of works about people traveling to other worlds, and people from other worlds coming to ours, is on the rise. Even film festivals and other projects are starting to favor these themes. You can clearly see the influence of government and corporate powers at play."
Finally, Shao Qiming laid out his conclusion. "If you weren't actively looking, all of this—including the weird news reports—would seem perfectly normal. After all, who can predict how global trends will shift? But, when you look at it with the knowledge of the 'Spiritual Energy Revival,' you can see that for the last ten years, there's been a subtle effort across the globe to guide public opinion. And it's also during this decade that there have been almost no major international conflicts. The entire world has become strangely peaceful."
"So." Hearing this, Su Zhou recalled the Order Array that enveloped the entire world. He nodded thoughtfully. "This all but confirms that the Spiritual Energy Revival is imminent."
"The question is," Shao Qiming added, "did the world's leaders know about this from the very beginning, or did they only figure it out recently?"