Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

There appears to be a crack running through the chest of that statue.

The crack contained neither stone nor flesh, but a slowly flowing darkness.

In the depths of darkness, countless hands struggle, like people trapped inside trying to climb out.

Xilun wanted to back away.

The bone fragments beneath his feet suddenly turned into viscous black liquid, wrapping around his ankles.

The white of his eye was getting closer and closer to him.

A low laugh echoed across the sea.

"You took away... the purity that didn't belong to you..."

"You will come..."

"You'll all come..."

Xiren suddenly opened his eyes, and the fireplace flames came into view.

The room was quiet.

He sat up, his back soaked with cold sweat, and felt a slight burning pain under his right wrist cuff.

The sky outside the window had darkened somewhat without me noticing.

It's not night.

But the clouds had once again obscured the sunlight, and Xilun lowered his head and rolled up his sleeves.

The dark mark was slightly deeper than before I went to sleep.

He stared at it for a long time.

The eight-armed deity from my dream still lingers in my mind; its immense, decaying, sacred yet eerie oppression makes it almost impossible to breathe.

The eerie sight at the Eighth Pier during the torrential rain seemed to be just a severed arm.

Just one arm.

It can almost kill a top-tier extraordinary being like Lund, plunge a dock into a strange downpour, turn the dead into a vengeful tide, and allow the living to look back through dreams.

A limb possessing a touch of divinity.

This statement no longer sounds like a rumor, but like a cold, hard fact.

Xilun raised his hand to his brow and slowly exhaled.

We mustn't rush, and we mustn't go to the beach again.

Not at least not now.

He needs a stronger body, a more stable mind, and a higher level of marksmanship. He also needs more information about the Old Seal, the Divine Limbs, and the Life Formula.

A soft knock came from outside the door.

Savi's voice rang out cautiously: "Mr. Siren, are you awake?"

Xilun lowered his sleeves: "Come in."

Saiwei pushed open the door and came in, his eyes showing obvious fatigue, but also an undisguised joy.

"The gentleman was able to sit up by himself just now, took his medicine, and ate half a bowl of porridge."

He paused, his voice trembling slightly, "The doctor said that as long as I don't have a fever tonight, my life is in good condition."

Xilun nodded.

The weight that had been pressing on my chest finally eased a little.

"Is the teacher awake?"

"He's awake. He said he'd come over if you woke up."

Xilun stood up, and as soon as he regained his footing, he felt a light prick on his right wrist again.

He remained expressionless, straightened his cuffs, and followed Saiwei out of the room.

At the end of the corridor, the door to Lund's bedroom was ajar.

The room was warmly lit.

Lund sat leaning against the headboard, his face still pale, but he already had a bit of the spirit of a living person. He saw Siren come in, and his gaze lingered on Siren's face for a moment.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Xilun paused slightly: "You can tell?"

"His face looked like he'd been pulled out of the sea."

Xiren pulled up a chair and sat down: "I dreamt of a statue of a god."

Lund's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What is it like?"

"Eight arms."

The room seemed a little colder.

Lund remained silent for a long time.

Sarah also looked up at the two of them.

Siren continued, "One of the arms has an eye in its palm."

Lund's right hand slowly tightened its grip on the bed sheet.

The memories that were forcibly suppressed last night seem to be seeping coldly from the wound again.

"Ten years ago, what my father was facing might have just been one of his arms," ​​Lund said in a low voice. "I used to think it was a monster."

Xilun looked out the window at the gloomy sky: "Perhaps the word 'monster' isn't enough."

"god?"

Sarah's voice carried a hint of suppressed sarcasm, "If that kind of thing is considered a god, then what are we? Fish bait thrown into the sea?"

No one answered; a few sparks popped from the firewood in the fireplace.

Lund closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, the weakness he felt upon waking was gone.

All that remained was a calm weariness.

"Never mind what it is for now."

He looked at Xilun and said, "We survived last night because it was incomplete and because the old seal was still holding it back. If we encounter something similar again, we can't rely on fighting to the death."

Xilun hummed in agreement.

Lund looked at him: "So starting tomorrow, if my body allows, I will resume some training."

Sarah frowned immediately: "Are you crazy?"

"It's not a fight," Lund said, "It's rehabilitation."

Sarah sneered: "The rehabilitation you talk about usually means training yourself until your wounds reopen."

Lund looked at Xiren: "You'll supervise me."

"I will have Savi prepare the lightest equipment," Siren said calmly.

Lund nodded in satisfaction.

Sarah looked at the master and apprentice and suddenly felt extremely superfluous.

Each one of them was more stubborn than the last to listen to advice.

They can all describe danger in a very calm tone, as if it were a breakfast menu.

Xiren got up and walked to the bedside to check Lund's left arm for breath again.

The black line remained behaving itself.

No white light shone from his fingertips; he only used the reverberation chamber to capture that tiny contamination vibration.

It was very faint, like the chirping of an insect trapped in a bottle.

Nothing bad will happen in the short term.

He withdrew his hand: "Continue drinking the Tranquility Potion tonight, and don't stop taking the Spirit Incense."

Lund glanced at the cuff covering his right wrist: "And you?"

"I'm awake."

That's not what I was asking.

Xilun remained expressionless: "He won't die for now."

Lund frowned.

Sarah said coldly from the side, "Is this the only thing you two, master and disciple, know how to say?"

Xilun did not answer.

A faint ray of light pierced through the gaps in the clouds outside the window.

It landed on the wooden floor like a narrow knife.

The next morning, the lawn in the manor was still covered with a thin layer of dampness.

The air was exceptionally crisp and cool after the rain.

The soil in the flowerbed was soaked and turned black, and several rose bushes drooped with water droplets hanging from their tips.

From the distant stables came the sound of horses snorting. A servant pushed a cart along the stone path, the wheels grinding over the gravel with a soft, scraping sound.

Lund, wearing a dark gray coat, stood in the training shed in the backyard.

His left arm was still in a sling, and he could only move his right hand.

Sarah stood outside the shed, looking terrible.

Savi, meanwhile, was carrying a thick blanket, ready to push her husband back into his wheelchair at any moment.

When Siren arrived, Lund was holding a small iron ball in his right hand.

The iron ball was small, with a shiny surface, and it was a tool he used in his early years to restore his wrist strength.

But now, just by clenching and unclenching his fist a few times, Lund's forehead was already covered in a fine sweat.

The damage he sustained in last night's battle is deeper than it appears on the surface.

His vital energy seemed to have been washed away by black water, and his muscles still felt weak and limp.

Every time I exert myself, my chest aches slightly.

But Lund did not stop.

He lowered his eyes, his fingers tightened little by little until his knuckles turned white, and the iron ball made a slight creaking sound in his palm.

Xilun walked to the edge of the shed: "Teacher."

Lund looked up: "You woke up pretty early."

"I'm used to it."

Xilun glanced at the equipment rack next to him.

Hanging on it were iron locks, iron rings, sandbags, and several black iron balls of different weights.

Further away, there were two rows of wooden stakes and gun racks.

This is clearly where Lund usually practices martial arts.

It's not fancy, but it's very practical.

The ground was covered with thick, hard wooden planks, on which were many shallow marks left by spear tips.

There were dents on the edges of the pillars from the impact. There was a faint smell in the air of rust, sweat, and pine oil mixed together.

Lund put the small iron ball back on the wooden platform.

"I'm just doing some light exercise."

Sarah said coldly from the side, "He had been moving around for twenty minutes before he said that."

Lund coughed. "Not long."

Xilun didn't reply. He walked to the equipment rack and picked up a medium-sized iron ball.

It feels heavy in your hand, even heavier than it looks.

He held it up with one hand and tested its weight.

Lund glanced at him: "They're all made of special materials. That one weighs six hundred pounds. Don't lift it carelessly; it'll hurt your shoulder."

Before he finished speaking, Xilun had already steadily raised the iron ball to his chest.

The movements were slow, but very steady.

The wrist, elbow, and shoulder form a clean line of force.

Lund was about to say something when his gaze suddenly stopped.

Xilun pushed the iron ball from his chest to the top of his head, then slowly lowered it.

Once, twice, three times.

His breathing was even, his chest rose and fell very little, and his body did not use any extra movements, relying solely on pure muscle and breath to send up the weight.

The black iron ball gleamed coldly in the morning light, and when it fell back to my chest, it didn't even make the slightest noise.

Lund's eyes changed.

"Can you lift this now?"

Xilun put down the iron ball: "When I was practicing the Bone Forging Iron Armor before, my strength increased a bit."

"This is not just some."

Lund straightened up a bit, leaning back in his chair, his brow furrowed. "Six months ago, your basic strength was just average. Even after advancing to the second tier, the increase shouldn't be this fast."

Xilun then picked up the heavier iron lock next to him.

The iron chain is made of several black iron rings strung together, and is usually used for dragging, swinging, and weighted walking training.

The weight is more dispersed and harder to control.

He gripped both ends of the iron lock with both hands.

My arm sank slightly.

Then, he slowly lifted the iron chain and held it horizontally in front of him.

The chain links collided with each other, but he suppressed the sound with his breath, and it only made a sound before falling silent.

Lund looked at his arm, at the almost imperceptible muscle control, and his shock deepened.

"What exactly have you been practicing lately?"

Xilun put the iron lock back, thought for a moment, and said, "Quite a few."

Lund sat back down in his chair.

Tell me about it.

Xiren looked at Sarah and Savi.

Lund waved his hand: "We're all on the same side."

Sarah raised an eyebrow: "I'm not yours."

Lund said, "Then you can pretend you didn't hear that."

Sarah snorted coldly, but did not leave.

Xilun paused for a moment, then raised his right hand.

He didn't directly unleash too much spiritual power, but only condensed a very faint white light at his fingertips.

The light was very faint, like the first rays of sunlight peeking through the morning mist.

But the moment that white light appeared, the dampness in the training shed seemed to be cleaned away.

Saiwei subconsciously felt his breathing become easier, and his head, which had been tense from taking care of the patient last night, also relaxed a little.

Lund's gaze suddenly froze.

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "What is this?"

"Life Formula"

Xilun withdrew the white light.

"It can suppress some of the pollution, but the effectiveness depends on the type of pollution and my condition."

Lund did not speak immediately.

He stared at Xilen's fingers as if he were seeing this student for the first time.

After a long pause, he slowly spoke: "You've awakened a talent for mysticism?"

"It should be."

"When?"

"After the Snow Mountain Wonderland"

Xilun said calmly, "When Lady Black Crow helped me digest the Tranquil Snow Lotus, she seemed to have enlightened my spirit. Later, I found a fragment of the Old Church's Life Technique in the North District, took a test, and was able to learn it with difficulty."

Sarah's brow twitched slightly.

Lund said in a deep voice, "Barely?"

Xilun looked at him and did not change his mind.

Lund took a deep breath, as if he was laughing in exasperation.

"There are people in the Southern Continent who can learn life techniques, but most of them are mysterious scholars who have been trained from childhood by religious groups, academies, and ancient families."

They need to undergo a long period of enlightenment, prayerful training, and spiritual purification, and they also need a suitable path.

He paused. "You, a second-tier Ripper who rose through the ranks in a fight club, are suddenly telling me you can use life-force purification to cleanse contamination?"

"The process was indeed somewhat accidental," said Xilun.

"It's so accidental it's outrageous."

Lund whispered, "This kind of skill is very rare. It's not something you can buy with money. More importantly, not everyone can possess it."

Many third-tier extraordinary individuals, even those with terrifyingly strong auras and physical bodies, cannot handle the mysterious academic methods; they go insane the moment they try, and are rendered useless after attempting to learn them.

Xilun's eyes flickered slightly.

It seems his abilities are even rarer than he originally thought.

He knew that the Prayer Bud was precious, and he also knew why the Tusol family had suddenly changed their attitude.

But when Lund said these things, the weight was even more direct.

This is not an ordinary method.

Rather, it is a bargaining chip that allows many forces to reassess his worth.

It's also a hook that will attract more attention.

Lund leaned back in his chair, his expression complex.

"Lady Black Raven..."

He murmured the title to himself and didn't press the matter further.

Some beings, whose very names shouldn't be casually mentioned in the training shed in the early morning.

Xilun continued, "Besides the life-giving techniques, I also practiced the Profound Yin Breathing Technique."

He raised his palm, facing outwards.

A wisp of sky-blue chill slowly emanated from the air.

The watermarks on the wooden planks at my feet quickly condensed into a thin frost, and the frost lines spread along the grain, like tiny ice flowers.

Lund looked at the chilling aura: "Something from Tusol?"

"Um."

"They actually gave it to you."

"trade."

Lund glanced at him: "You always manage to make a very risky deal."

Xilun withdrew his chill: "And there's the Great Thunder Breathing Technique."

As he finished speaking, his chest rose and fell slightly.

The next moment, a deep rumble of thunder rolled through his body.

The sound wasn't loud.

But it was like a muffled thunderclap hidden deep within the bones, causing a few drops of residual water to fall from the top of the training shed.

Lund's shock deepened.

He didn't know about the Great Thunder Sound Breathing Technique, but he could glean some information from the commotion and the aura it exuded.

This technique seems extremely powerful for tempering one's aura, but it is also domineering.

If a regular second-stage practitioner does not have a sufficiently solid physical foundation, the deeper they go in training, the greater the burden on their internal organs and periosteum.

The thunder of Xilun is very deep.

It wasn't a hollow sound floating in the throat, but an internal vibration that came from the lungs, sternum, and spine.

This shows that his foundation in aura is extremely solid.

Lund suddenly understood why Siren had managed to carry him out of that polluted tidal wave last night.

It's not just about techniques.

His physical body, breath, and spirit are all growing at an extremely abnormal rate.

Lund whispered, "Is there anything else?"

Xilun thought for a moment: "His marksmanship has never stopped. That Tank's heavy armor marksmanship is almost at the master level."

Lund's eye twitched slightly.

Sarah, who had been listening nearby, finally couldn't help but speak up: "Is this how you two, master and disciple, usually talk? One of you dares to ask, and the other dares to answer?"

Lund ignored her.

He stood up and took a short training rifle from the rack.

Startled, Saiwei immediately stepped forward: "Sir!"

"Just trying it out."

Lund held the gun with his right hand, while his left arm was hanging down, which was clearly inconvenient.

Siren frowned: "Teachers aren't suited to using their hands."

"I don't use my left hand."

"My chest feels like it's being pulled."

"If you can get me to exert a lot of effort, it means I'm teaching well."