In a high-level martial arts game, a wife is given to you at the start.

Lin Qiye pushed open the iron gate and walked into the laboratory.

His footsteps were exceptionally clear in the empty laboratory. The five people in white lab coats turned around almost simultaneously—their movements were perfectly synchronized, like puppets controlled by the same program. Lin Qiye recognized their faces; they were several core array masters from the Array Master Guild, whom he had seen a few times before at meetings of the Oversight Council.

But at this moment, their faces were expressionless, and their pupils shimmered with a fluorescent blue light, a light that did not seem to belong to the living, but rather to some kind of energy forcibly injected into their consciousness.

"Deacon Lin, you've arrived."

The old man who had been sitting cross-legged on the ground spoke, his voice aged and calm, carrying an unsettling composure. He slowly stood up, and the fluorescent blue crystal core above his head descended with his movement, hovering in the air in front of his chest, level with his heart.

Luo Song turned around to face Lin Qiye.

His face was still the same—aged, kind, and always carrying a gentle smile. But now, his eyes had completely changed—the pupils were no longer black, but a pure fluorescent blue, a blue so deep it seemed to suck one's soul in.

"Deacon Lin," Luo Song said with a smile, his voice carrying a metallic echo, "you've arrived earlier than I expected."

Lin Qiye stood at the laboratory door, his gaze sweeping between Luo Song and the five controlled array masters, his voice so calm it betrayed no emotion: "President Luo Song, what are you doing?"

"I am accomplishing something... a great undertaking." Luo Song's smile deepened. He reached out and gently stroked the floating, fluorescent blue crystal core on his chest, his movements as delicate as if he were caressing a precious work of art. "This arena is built upon the bones of countless people. The souls that were thrown into the arena to fight and bleed, their resentment, their pain, their unwillingness, all settled beneath this land, absorbed and transformed by the city's formations, becoming the energy that sustains the city's operation."

"But that's not enough. Far from enough. This city needs more than just energy; it needs a true soul. A soul that can govern everything, control everything, and truly bring the city's energy to life."

He raised his head, his fluorescent blue eyes staring directly at Lin Qiye: "And I will become that soul."

Lin Qiye didn't speak, but just watched him quietly, as if he were watching an actor performing.

Luo Song was clearly surprised by his silence, but he showed no displeasure and continued, "You think I found that corpse by accident? No, it was my masterpiece. I brought that corpse out from the depths of the Canggu Mountains many years ago. It was a being mutated after being affected by the power when Zhu fell. I have been studying it ever since, studying its body structure, the way energy flows within it, and the formation principle of those fluorescent blue crystal clusters in its eyes."

"After countless years, I have finally cracked the secret. Those crystal clusters are parasitic energy carriers that can connect a person's consciousness with a higher level of existence. As long as one can implant these crystal clusters into the human body and merge them with one's own soul, one can obtain a portion of that existence's power and elevate one's consciousness to a level beyond the mortal realm."

He reached out and pointed to the fluorescent blue crystal core on his chest: "This crystal core was formed from the essence of fluorescent blue crystal clusters extracted from countless corpses. It is deeply bound to my soul. Once it is fully integrated into my consciousness after some time, I will be able to—"

"What can you become?" Lin Qiye suddenly interrupted him.

Luo Song was slightly taken aback.

"To become the second Zhu?" Lin Qiye's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of sarcasm. "Or to become the second Yin He?"

Luo Song's expression suddenly changed: "You—how do you know Yin He—"

"Not only do I know Yin He, but I also know that I have devoured his soul." Lin Qiye's voice was as calm as if he were stating a trivial matter. "I also know that the crystal core in your hand was not refined by yourself. It was condensed by Yin He over a long period of time using the energy of the Bone Tower, and then he deliberately let you discover it when you entered the depths of the Canggu Mountains."

Luo Song's expression changed completely.

"You—you're talking nonsense—"

"Whether I'm lying or not, you know in your heart." Lin Qiye took a step forward, and the dark golden light around him began to slowly brighten. "You were deceived by Yin He. He made you believe that you were the one who discovered the secret, that you were the chosen one who would inherit this power. But in reality, you were just a pawn he laid out—he needed someone to continue his plan after his death."

"And you are the substitute he chose."

Luo Song's face turned extremely ugly. The fluorescent blue crystal core on his chest flickered violently a few times, as if responding to the turmoil in his heart. But he quickly regained his composure and sneered, "Even if you are right, so what? Yin He is dead, but this crystal core is real, and the power it contains is real. Once I complete the fusion, I will be the new ruler, and everyone in this arena, everyone on this land, will become my subjects!"

He suddenly raised his hands, and the crystal core on his chest burst out with a dazzling fluorescent blue light. The five controlled array masters moved at the same moment—their bodies shot towards Lin Qiye like arrows, their hands condensing fluorescent blue source energy, their faces ferocious, completely unlike the posture of a normal human being.

Lin Qiye stood still, without moving.

Just as the five figures were about to pounce on him, he gently raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and the dark gold emblem in his palm suddenly lit up.

A complex rune, condensed from dark golden primal energy, rapidly took shape in the air and then suddenly expanded outwards. The five controlled array masters froze in place the moment they came into contact with the rune's expanding range, as if they had been frozen in place. The fluorescent blue light in their eyes flickered violently a few times before going out one by one, like candles blown out by the wind.

Their bodies went limp and they collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Luo Song's expression completely changed: "You—"

"The source of power for the crystal core within you is Yin He. And Yin He's soul has already been devoured by me." Lin Qiye's voice was calm yet cold. "In other words, the power you rely on ultimately flows out of my body."

He took a step forward, and a dark golden light surged from his body, spreading outwards like a tide. The laboratory equipment contaminated by the crystal core energy emitted a hissing sound the moment it came into contact with the dark golden light, and the fluorescent blue light on its surface quickly faded, revealing the original metallic color beneath.

The crystal core on Luo Song's chest began to tremble violently under the dark golden light. The fluorescent blue light on the surface of the crystal core seemed to be absorbed by something, peeling away bit by bit and merging into the dark golden light released by Lin Qiye.