Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The Tusol family residence, east wing.

Chief Austin put down the intelligence report in his hand, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

The butler, Lucas, stood quietly beside the desk.

"Sweeping away three major smuggling rings overnight," Austin's voice was devoid of emotion. "This young man's appetite is bigger than I thought."

"My lord," Lucas said carefully, "Siren's alliance with the armed insurgents in this battle shows that he has begun to build his own network of relationships in the North."

“It’s not just about connections.” Austin stood up and walked to the window. “He’s testing our limits.”

Lucas lowered his head slightly and did not reply.

"A governor from outside the family launched a large-scale military operation in alliance with external forces without informing his own clan."

Austin's tone remained calm. "Six months ago, this would have been grounds for punishment."

"But not now."

“Yes, not now.” Austin turned around. “Because he has the Life Formula, because Campbell owes him a life, because I promised to give him the Yin Spirit Water.”

He returned to his desk and sat down, remaining silent for a long time.

"Tell Oin to keep a low profile lately. Don't do anything unnecessary at this critical juncture," he finally said.

"Yes."

After Lucas left, Austin sat alone in his study.

He picked up the pen on the table and slowly wrote a name on a piece of white paper.

Weston.

Then, two lines were drawn below the name, one leading to "second order" and the other to "third order", with a question mark in the middle.

He stared at the question mark for a long time before finally folding the paper and locking it in the third drawer of his desk.

……

Meanwhile, in the side hall on the east side of the family residence.

The Third Elder, Ao Yin, sat quietly on the sofa, holding a cup of black tea that had gone cold.

Oro stood before him, having just finished reporting the detailed events of Xilun's overnight annihilation of three smuggling groups.

The side hall was very quiet.

The fire in the fireplace had gone out, leaving only a few pieces of black charcoal faintly visible in the ashes.

"Five Tier 2s, one dead and four captured." Oin's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself. "Six months ago, he couldn't even beat a Tier 2."

Oro remained silent.

He knew he shouldn't respond at this moment.

Ao Yin placed the teacup on the coffee table, and the porcelain clinked together with a soft, crisp sound.

"The people in Biglen were placed by me." His tone was unusually calm, as if he were talking about something insignificant. "'K' is the code name I used in the smuggling ring."

Oro's pupils contracted slightly, but his body remained still.

"The letters and ledgers should already be in his hands," O'In continued.

"But it doesn't matter, 'K' can't trace it back to me. The only person in the smuggling ring who knows this code name is Biglen."

"Biglen is dead," Oro whispered a reminder.

"Yes, he's dead." Oin stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window are the family estate's flowerbeds, where neatly trimmed shrubs cast regular shadows in the afternoon sun.

"This young man's growth rate has exceeded everyone's expectations," Oin said, his back to Oro, his voice so calm that it didn't sound like he was talking about an opponent he had tried to kill twice.

"Neither the Hawke family nor the smuggling gangs can kill him; a direct confrontation is pointless."

"So, what does Your Excellency intend to do—"

"Try another approach."

Oin turned around and looked at Oro. His face was somewhat blurred in the backlight, but his eyes were exceptionally clear.

"The war will become more and more intense, supplies will become more and more scarce, and the order of the entire northern district will be broken." His tone remained calm, as if stating a given fact.

"By then, his people, his resources, and his network of relationships will all become a burden. No matter how good a second-tier extraordinary person is at fighting, he can't manage a ruin."

Aoin sat back down on the sofa, picked up the now-cold black tea, and took a small sip.

"Don't rush," he told Oro. "Let the newspapers and drunkards hype up their 'Golden Knight.' The bigger the fame, the more conspicuous the target."

Oro nodded and left the side hall.

After the door closed, Oin sat alone for a long time.

He put down his teacup and pulled an unopened letter from under the sofa cushion.

The envelope did not bear the sender's name, only a tiny symbol drawn in dark red ink in the lower right corner.

A crow with its eyes closed.

Oin stared at the symbol for a few seconds, then stuffed the letter back under the sofa cushion.

Not now.

It's not the right time yet.

……

Xilun was unaware of the details of these undercurrents.

Or rather, he knew it would happen, but he couldn't care less about it right now.

Five days after the Battle of Old Bridge Street ended, he finally gave himself a half-day off.

At ten o'clock in the morning, Xilun sat down on a stone bench in the training shed in the backyard of the mansion, with the golden spear placed horizontally on the gun rack.

Sunlight streamed through the wooden blinds of the training shed, casting alternating lines of light and shadow on the ground.

In front of him was a piece of paper listing the total number of supplies that had been counted over the past few days.

The following items were seized from the old shipyard: 17 rifles, 6 pistols, more than 300 rounds of ammunition, 6 large boxes of various smuggled goods, 1 box of site debris, and 47 gold coins.

The following items were seized from Laoqiao Street: nine rifles (disarmed by musketeers), more than 120 rounds of ammunition, several daggers and short knives, and several fragments of field materials.

The profit-sharing agreement with the armed insurgent party has been finalized—weapons and ammunition will be split 50/50, smuggled goods will be converted to cash and each party will receive half, and site materials will be taken away by the insurgent party.

The gold coins were kept in full by the Brotherhood to be used for compensation for the dead and medical expenses for the wounded.

Heinz did not object to the allocation plan.

In fact, during the formal meeting three days ago, Heinz even took the initiative to suggest that if similar threats were to arise again in the North, the Armed Insurgent Party was willing to continue cooperating with the Brotherhood.

"It's not because you offered a high price," Heinz said, leaning back in his chair and scrutinizing Xilen with a critical eye.

"It's because you keep your word, your plans are reliable, and working with you means I don't have to worry about being sold out. In a place like the North District, that's much more valuable than gold coins."

Daphne stood behind Heinz without saying a word, but as she left, she glanced at Siren.

There was no hostility in that glance; there was even a faint hint of approval.

Xilun snapped out of his thoughts and flipped the supply list to the back.

Another list was written on the back—

The cultivation resources he currently possesses.

Yin Spirit Source Water: eleven bottles (six bottles supplied by the Tusor family, six bottles purchased from Moon Lake, and one bottle already used).

Fragments of Cold Marrow Essence: Three pieces.

Purifying the Mind Incense: Seven sticks.

Tranquilizing Dew: One bottle.

Various therapeutic solutions: a quantity.

Fragment of a document from the School of Life Sciences: one page.

These resources are enough for him to sustain intensive training for about two months.

two months.

Xilun was making plans in his mind.

He needs to accomplish several things in two months—

To advance the Xuan Yin Breathing Technique to the next bottleneck, to push the gathering progress of the Crimson Star Spear to over 50%, to continue nurturing the purity of the Holy Sprout of Prayer, and to study the "Pure Intent Resonance" mentioned in that fragment of the document.

In addition, the documents and ledgers found in the old shipyard need to be carefully sorted out.

The identity of "K" needs to be investigated.

We still don't know much about Balk.

Oin is still lurking in the shadows; there are too many things to do.

But Celion was not anxious.

He stood up from the stone bench, walked to the gun rack, and took the golden spear back into his hand.

The gun's weight felt familiar and solid, and the coolness of the metal traveled from my palm to my arm, then spread throughout my body along my meridians.

He took a deep breath and activated the Great Thunder Breathing Technique.

The heavy, dull power in his chest began to awaken with the rhythm of his breathing, like a lurking beast opening its eyes.

At the same time, a cool chill rose from his dantian using the Xuan Yin breathing technique, forming a delicate balance with the heat of the Great Thunder Sound within his body.

He gripped his spear tightly and took a step forward.

The thought, like a thread, travels from the mind through the cervical spine, spine, waist, hips, and arms, finally reaching the tip of the spear.

hum-

The golden spear emitted a steady resonance, and its tip rippled with a faint wave of energy in the sunlight.

The rate of mental connection is 96%.

Xilun's lips curved slightly into a smile.

Then he put away his gun, adjusted his breathing, and started again.

Once, twice, three times.

The sunlight moved slowly across the training shed floor, from one end of the blinds to the other.

On this quiet morning, he practiced the four most basic moves repeatedly by himself—thrust, flick, sweep, and smash.

There were no fancy moves, no fierce killing intent, only an increasingly tight connection between the gun and the body, and the increasingly clear trajectory of the line of will.

Outside the training shed, Rod walked over carrying a pot of hot tea and peeked inside through the half-open door.

Xiren is putting away his gun.

The golden spear traced a perfect arc, its butt lightly touching the ground with a deep thud, while the spear itself remained completely still.

Rod did not disturb him.

He placed the teapot on the stone steps at the entrance of the training shed, then turned and left.

He knew that the governor would come out and pour himself some tea after finishing this exercise.

He also knew that the North District would be quiet for a while starting today.

It's not because the enemy disappeared.

It's because everyone is reassessing things—

Just how heavy is the price of going against this young man?

……

evening.

Siren wrote a second letter to Lund in his study.

"Teacher, the spear technique penetration rate has stabilized at 96%, the Red Star Spear gathering point progress has advanced to 45%, and there is no abnormality in the right wrist mark. The North District is temporarily stable."

He paused, thought for a moment, and then added another line.

"When you come back, I want to try the second step you taught me."

Fold the letter paper, put it in an envelope, and seal it with wax.

Siren placed the letter on the corner of the table, waiting for Rhodes to pick it up the next day.

He leaned back in his chair, watching the sky outside the window gradually darken.

The last rays of sunset peeked through the gaps in the clouds, turning the entire northern skyline a somber orange-red.

The cranes on the dock had stopped working, and the chimneys were no longer emitting smoke. Only a few seagulls flew in low arcs in the twilight.

It's very quiet.

Xilun closed his eyes and listened to his steady heartbeat.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

In the brief pause between heartbeats, his thoughts drifted to the two unsigned letters.

"K".

He knew he would find the person behind those two letters sooner or later.

But not today.

He needs to rest today.

There's still a lot to do tomorrow.

Xilun stood up from his chair and walked to the window.

He took one last look at the completely dark sky outside the window, then drew the curtains.

The incense on the desk was almost gone, its pale blue smoke tracing a slow, swirling arc in the room.

In this austere atmosphere, he slowly closed his eyes.

……

Five o'clock in the morning.

Before dawn, the streets of the northern district were covered by a thin layer of mist.

Xilun had been sitting under the waterfall on the back hill for half an hour.

The icy water cascaded down from a height of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), crashing onto his bare shoulders and back with a dull thud.

For an ordinary person, this level of water pressure would be enough to make breathing difficult. But Siron's body remained motionless, like an iron sculpture rooted to the rock.

His breathing was extremely slow.

With each inhale, a wisp of cool, ethereal energy rises from the depths of the dantian and slowly travels along the meridians.

That chill was different from ordinary cold; it was alive, carrying a kind of almost instinctive corrosiveness, seeping into every part of the body through the blood vessels.

Mysterious Yin Breathing Method.

For the past twenty days, Siren has come here every morning at dawn to practice the breathing technique he obtained from the Tusol family under the cascading water of the waterfall.

He had already used up the medicinal power of three bottles of Yinlingyuan Water, and also used up one fragment of Cold Marrow Essence.

The effect is remarkable.

At this moment, the Xuan Yin Cold Qi within his body was nearly twice as concentrated as it had been twenty days ago.

The cold air that was originally as thin as a stream has now gathered into an underground river, flowing silently and powerfully through the meridians.

But bottlenecks also followed.

The threshold for becoming an expert stands before us like an invisible barrier.

Xilun could sense that the total amount of cold energy in his body was sufficient, and the density was close to the critical point, but he lacked a trigger—a moment that would allow quantitative change to lead to qualitative change.

He was not anxious.

Lund taught him that the most taboo thing in spiritual practice is to be impatient for quick results.

Breakthroughs in one's breath are not achieved through brute force, but rather by following its natural laws, like herding livestock, and waiting for the moment when things will fall into place.

The roar of the waterfall echoed in my ears.

Even in this environment, the reverberation chamber still clearly captures the surrounding sounds—the chirping of tits, the rustling of branches, and the metallic clanging of a crane on the distant dock before it starts moving.

Xilun cleared his mind of all distractions and focused his consciousness completely into his dantian.

He saw the underground river.

The cold breath circulates repeatedly within the meridians, being partially absorbed each time it passes through the dantian and then released again. This process is extremely slow, but with each cycle, the purity of the cold breath increases slightly.

a circle.

Two laps.

Three laps.

After an unknown amount of time, Xilun suddenly sensed a subtle change.

When the underground river passed through the heart meridian, its originally steady flow suddenly created a tiny whirlpool.

The whirlpool wasn't large, but its appearance caused the entire underground river to flow at a sudden speed.

The cold air began to condense and compress spontaneously.

This was not something that Xilun actively guided, but rather the inherent operating principles of the Xuan Yin Breathing Method found a certain resonance at this moment.

As Lund said—don't command the breath, guide it.

Xilun's heart skipped a beat.

He didn't interfere with the process, but simply maintained the rhythm of his breathing, letting his body become a container, allowing the cold breath to complete its final transformation on its own.

boom--

An invisible muffled sound exploded from his body.

The moment the waterfall water touched his skin, a thin layer of white frost formed.

The frost started spreading from his shoulders, then along his arms, chest, and waist, covering his entire upper body in just three breaths.

Then, even more obvious changes appeared.

The water within an arm's length of him froze into ice beads in mid-air upon contact with the chill emanating from his body, then crackled and bounced onto the rocks.

Xilun slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was deeper than usual, with a faint, fleeting ring of cold blue around the edge of his pupils.

[Skill: Mysterious Yin Breathing Technique (Expert)]

[Progress: 0/2000]