The comments said I was deeply affectionate, I just added points by using an alternate account.

On the first attempt, my mental energy fluctuated erratically, the pen only wobbled slightly, and nothing else happened.

The second time, he adjusted his rhythm, focusing on the single concept of deceiving the eye. The space around the pen body was slightly distorted, making it seem as if it had actually risen a little off the table, but it dissipated in less than half a second.

The third time... the fourth time...

Sweat dripped from my forehead; the mental exertion was greater than I had anticipated.

But Chen Guan did not stop. He knew that mastering this ability was not something that could be achieved overnight, especially in the early stages, when going from 0 to 1 required a lot of practice.

After an unknown amount of time, when he felt his mental energy was about to run out again, the pen finally hovered steadily on the table. Although the edges were still a little blurry and wobbly, and looked somewhat fake, it had already taken shape.

It lasted for about three seconds before the illusion shattered.

Chen Guan let out a long sigh, opened his eyes, and a trace of fatigue flashed in his eyes, but more so, excitement.

The path to becoming an illusionist is more difficult than he imagined, but it also holds more potential. This is just the simplest form of static visual deception; more advanced techniques like sensory overlay, memory implantation, and even interference with reality require a long period of exploration.

He glanced at the system panel.

【Spirit: 20.4】

One practice session of superpowers actually increased mental strength by 0.1 points.

Based on the attribute point market rate, this is equivalent to saving him 1000 popularity points.

He stood up, walked to the window, and as night fell, the lights of Huaqing Academy were dim. In the distance, students were still practicing in the training field, and shouts could be faintly heard.

A peaceful campus life always makes people feel much more relaxed.

But that's not enough; he can't stay a hothouse flower on campus forever.

"Strength..." Chen Guan clenched his fist.

Everything points to these two words: without strength, one can only drift with the tide, and even one's life is not in one's own hands.

He returned to the bedside and took out the cool little wooden box from his storage ring.

Upon opening it, a palm-sized fragment lay quietly inside. Its material was neither gold nor jade, and it was cool to the touch. Its edges were irregular, and its surface was engraved with extremely fine, barely discernible patterns. In the center was a faint white light, as if it might be extinguished at any moment.

Fragments of the Return to Origin Order.

The token given by the White Tiger to qualify for the observation period.

"When you feel you have enough strength, you can contact me through it..."

Chen Guan held the fragments in his palm; the icy sensation made his mind exceptionally clear.

"Not enough... far from enough."

He put the fragments back into the wooden box and put them away carefully. Now was not the time to contact the White Tiger. He needed time to grow, more resources, and he also needed to figure out what kind of existence this so-called Origin Group really was.

forum.

Chen Guan had a thought and activated the feature that cost 1000 popularity points to unlock.

His consciousness seemed to enter a vast space, where countless lights and images and streams of information flashed before his eyes, requiring him to concentrate in order to filter and read them.

[Plot Discussion] [Combat Power Analysis] [Fan Creation Section] [Worldview Research] [Author's Comments Section]

Chen Guan first clicked on [Worldview Research].

The title of the pinned post was—

In-depth analysis: Chronology of the Guiyuan Group and speculation on current members (contains spoilers, proceed with caution)

Poster ID: Scavenger.

Chen Guan immediately clicked on it. He knew that the poster was a detail freak and had written many impressive posts.

The post is extremely detailed, listing everything from the rise of the old Guiyuan Group a century ago, its ideology, its heyday, to its sudden interruption of its lineage for unknown reasons, almost leading to its demise, and then to the clues of its recent reorganization led by a person codenamed Zero.

It mentions that the core goal of the old source group is "to correct errors," but the specific meaning is unclear.

The known members of the new Guiyuan Group, besides the leader Linghe, include Baihu, Nandou, Kongchen, Santai, and Beidou, a total of six people.

Beidou: His special abilities are unknown, his status is extraordinary, and he is suspected to be the second-in-command.

White Tiger: Summoning type, top-tier combat power, wicked personality, pleasure-seeker and collector.

San Tai: The Knowledge-type superpower, Omnipresent Scroll, has unlimited potential, but currently ranks last in strength within the group, and is one of only two females.

As for the others, there are large areas of blank space, which is obviously because even a skilled cook cannot make a meal without ingredients, and even a detail expert could not possibly compile a large amount of information out of thin air.

The post also speculated that the Guiyuan Group follows a strict organizational structure, requiring all nine members to be present, and is currently severely understaffed.

The replies below were varied:

Who exactly is Zero? Some say he's an ancient monster who has lived to the present day, some say he was secretly trained by a certain major power, and others say he's a time traveler (lol).

[The girls from the three stations are the best! They're said to be beautiful girls.]

[OP is awesome! Where did you find this information? The author only mentioned it briefly in a previous comic. Was it the uncle?]

So Chen Guan obtained the White Tiger's token? If Ao Ge will be the Vermilion Bird in the future, could Chen Guan be the Black Tortoise or the Azure Dragon?

[That can't be right, the Prison Coffin is too weak, and the entry requirements for the Origin Group are so high.]

[Do you understand the future? Baihu clearly has his eye on him; Long Ao was still weak back then too.]

Most of the following posts were just disparaging messages, not very valuable. Chen Guan silently noted down this information, especially the description of the Guiyuan Group. Although the content of the post may not be entirely accurate, it was quite credible based on his own experience.

He also browsed other posts, including discussions about An Changqing's father and the Long Ao family.

However, to his surprise, it was Su Yuehe who was the most unassuming of all, compared to my chairman father and my general grandfather.

Su's mother is the Speaker of the Supreme Council, and although Su's father's identity is a mystery, he is probably not an ordinary person either.

"As expected... there wasn't a single ordinary one." Chen Guan closed the forum and rubbed his temples.

In the following days, college life returned to a superficial calm.

Chen Guan's life was regular and fulfilling, filled with classes, training, meditation, and practicing his supernatural abilities. He maintained his usual low profile, spending most of his time in the library or training room.

Apart from the dark purple essence stone, the harvest from the Ancient Pagoda District and Misty Manor has not been used for the time being.

An Changqing submitted the token and scroll to the relevant department of the college for authentication, which reportedly attracted the attention of several senior professors, but the results still need to be awaited.

Chen Guan tried absorbing that essence stone once. The pure dark attribute energy inside did have a nourishing effect on gray energy, but the absorption speed was very slow. Gray energy has the characteristics of both mental power and spiritual power. However, Chen Guan still cannot determine what attribute of spiritual power gray energy belongs to.

As the daily storyline progressed smoothly, the popularity points increased slowly, gaining only a hundred or so points over several days, barely breaking through a thousand.

Chen Guan wasn't in a hurry. He knew that the popularity would skyrocket when the next climax of the plot arrived.