Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time
Chapter 249: A Misunderstood Genius

Chapter 249: A Misunderstood Genius

Han Yu didn’t know what secrets this strange, nonsensical manual held — but even if it ended up as little more than a curiosity, it was something new. Something odd.

And in his experience, the odd things were the ones that often hid the real treasures.

Han Yu returned to the quiet comfort of his inn just as the sun was beginning to set behind the stone-tiled rooftops of Wujin City.

The bustle of the streets outside faded as he shut the door behind him, muffling the sounds of passing vendors and distant chatter. Inside the modest room he had rented, the wooden floors creaked faintly underfoot, and a warm lantern glow filled the space with soft light.

He sat down on the bed, pulled the strange old book from his robes, and placed it carefully before him.

Secrets of the Needle Finger Alchemist.

"Probs someone of the same breed as Li Mei." Han Yu laughed.

Just the title made him chuckle. It sounded like the kind of thing a bored disciple would make up to prank someone. Still, something about it tugged at his curiosity more strongly than before.

Now that he was in a calm environment, Han Yu placed his palm on the cover and focused his senses. A ripple of energy ran through his hand—a thin thread of spirit qi, faint and sluggish, as one would expect from such an ancient, unused object.

But then... there it was.

"Huh... This..."

A deeper current. Subtle. Cool and almost unnoticeable—like mist gliding over water in the early morning. A unique frequency that didn’t match Spirit Qi at all. Han Yu’s pupils dilated in realization.

Soul Qi.

He jerked upright. His heart thumped in his chest.

"That’s impossible," he muttered aloud. "How can this book have traces of Soul Qi?"

He felt it again, brushing against his spiritual sense like a ghost tapping at a window. There was no mistake. Han Yu had spent months cultivating Soul Qi by now. He had learned to identify its flow—its quiet, otherworldly rhythm—and this book possessed it. A trace, yes, but unmistakable.

Eyes wide, he opened the cover and began to read once more.

The prose remained as bizarre as before. The Needle Finger Alchemist rambled in poetic metaphors, seemingly obsessed with silk, needles, and the idea of "true essence." It was almost like reading a madman’s diary written during an artistic fever.

Or something Li Mei might write.

"To wield the needle is to pierce not flesh, but truth. The fingers of the soul must stitch what the mind cannot grasp."

Han Yu had scoffed at this line the first time. But now... he looked again.

"Fingers of the soul." That phrase sent a chill down his spine.

As he continued reading, the absurdities began to arrange themselves into strange patterns. The terms were confusing, renamed or wrapped in metaphor, but Han Yu could piece together what was truly being described.

The "true essence" the author mentioned over and over? Not Spirit Qi. Soul Qi.

"Then... he was a soul cultivator?" Han Yu whispered to himself, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

That thought alone made his heart race. Ever since he stumbled into Soul Cultivation by accidental death, he had wandered in the dark, having no real point of comparison. The sects had no idea about. No one had ever taught it to him. And it was not like he could inquire about it either as that would be suspicious.

And now, finally, a book that might actually hold secrets related to it. Even if the author hadn’t realized what he was working with, Han Yu could read between the lines.

But as he flipped a few more pages, he stumbled across something even more intriguing.

"I must pen this down while the memory remains fresh. Months ago, I consumed the Dragon Bloom Enlightenment Pill, a prototype concocted by a rogue alchemist from the Central Lakes. It was supposed to stimulate the mind’s potential and amplify comprehension..."

Han Yu leaned in.

"...but the result was most unexpected. I fell into unconsciousness for three months, my mind trapped in a dreamless abyss. When I awoke, the world felt... different. My fingers tingled, and I saw patterns I never noticed before. The air shimmered when I meditated. I could feel something beyond Spirit Qi. Something rawer. Purer. I did not know what it was, so I called it the ’True Essence of a Cultivator.’"

Han Yu blinked.

"I see..."

So... the man wasn’t a soul cultivator at all. Not originally. He was just someone who accidentally awakened the ability to sense Soul Qi through an alchemical mishap.

Han Yu sat back on the bed and exhaled slowly, overwhelmed by the implications. This book wasn’t just nonsense—it was an unintentional discovery. The Needle Finger Alchemist had stumbled into Soul Qi, possibly without ever realizing what it truly was. And then, misunderstanding the energy, he built a technique using his own language and theory.

"I wonder what would’ve happened if someone like Li Mei made that pill," Han Yu muttered, imagining her laughing like a maniac over some strange new creation. "Or worse—if she made it on purpose."

Still, the alchemist’s madness now looked like misunderstood brilliance. The technique described—using one’s fingers as conduits for precise, focused Soul Qi—was absurdly impractical for the average cultivator. No wonder everyone thought it was useless. But to someone who actually possessed Soul Qi...

Han Yu raised his hand and examined his fingers. Could he really use them like needles to channel Soul Qi? The idea was laughable... and yet strangely compelling.

The book didn’t offer a complete cultivation method or even a clear path. But it offered inspiration. A fresh perspective. A strange, slightly mad voice echoing across time, whispering secrets that no one else had thought to decipher.

"I’m keeping you," Han Yu said to the book, placing it carefully in his storage pouch.

No one else might have cared about the Secrets of the Needle Finger Alchemist, but to Han Yu, this was priceless.

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