Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

He could feel that the cold energy within his body was no longer an underground river, but had condensed into an ice lake.

Silent, profound, and containing a chilling power far exceeding anything seen before.

This power no longer required him to consciously activate it; it had already integrated into his flesh and bones, becoming a part of his body.

Siren stood up from the rock.

The frost on his shoulders fell off as he stood up, and the water resumed its normal rinsing flow.

He looked down at his hands.

Beneath the skin of the palm, a fine layer of cold lines can be faintly seen, like the marks of ice cracks, extending from the fingertips to the wrist, appearing and disappearing in the sunlight.

This is the outward manifestation of the Xuan Yin Breathing Technique breaking through to the expert level.

The chill had already begun to seep into the texture of the skin.

Xilun clenched his fist, feeling the clear and sharp feedback of power between his knuckles.

well.

He picked up a coarse cloth towel from beside the rock to dry himself, put on his old training shirt, picked up the iron spear leaning against the tree trunk, and walked back to the mansion along the mountain path.

……

In the days that followed, Xilun compressed his schedule to the extreme.

At five o'clock in the morning, at the waterfall behind the mountain, he practiced the Profound Yin Breathing Technique for an hour to consolidate his newly broken through to the expert level.

From 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., in the training shed, Natan Heavy Armor Gun Technique and Red Star Gun were practiced alternately.

I took a short break at noon to handle the Brotherhood's daily affairs and read classical texts.

From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., there is physical tempering and bone-forging iron armor training to withstand blows.

From evening to late at night, I use the Moon Recollection Meditation Method to nurture my spiritual world and study the literature of the life school.

Rod would deliver meals and letters at a fixed time each day, and then quietly leave.

Kuso would appear in the training shed every afternoon, holding the heavy wooden shield that had been replaced three times, serving as a human target for Xilun.

Reina would come every two days to report on the situation in the North District.

Days passed by like this.

Two iron spears and five wooden shields were replaced in the training shed.

Kusso's arm was swollen almost every day, but he never complained. He would just grin silently at Rod every time he came out of the training shed, his expression as if he had been run over by a carriage.

Under this intense tempering, Xilun's body was changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After breaking through to the expert level in the Xuan Yin Breathing Technique, the cold breath began to deeply penetrate and transform his physical body.

The skin becomes smoother and feels like fine cowhide, but it is more elastic.

Under the repeated tempering of the cold breath, the muscle fibers became extremely tight, like a compressed steel wire rope.

Furthermore, under the dual tempering of the internal vibrations of the Great Thunder Sound Breathing Technique and the Xuan Yin Cold Breath, the density and hardness of the bones have reached a new level.

Xilun could clearly feel that his body was evolving in a certain direction.

It's not about getting bigger or stronger, but about becoming more refined.

Every muscle, every bone, every inch of skin is being repeatedly forged, refined, and reshaped.

This process is long and painful.

Especially the physical cleansing process—after taking the body-tempering medicine, he needs to simultaneously practice two completely opposite breathing techniques to flush out impurities from his body.

The heat of the Great Thunder Sound and the cold breath of the Profound Yin created a violent tug within the body, a sensation akin to being simultaneously roasted by fire and frozen from the inside out.

But Xilun gritted his teeth and persevered.

every time.

In his spiritual world, the white intent of the prayer for the sacred bud, nourished by the Moon Memory Meditation Method, also became increasingly solid.

That tiny, silvery-white sprout took root at the edge of the spiritual core, radiating a soft and pure light.

In stark contrast is the ever-silent, dormant black mark on his right wrist.

It's still there, as quiet as a sleeping seed.

Siren would sense its state every night when he meditated, but he never touched it.

He knew the origin of that thing—the bottom of the sea at Seven Piers, the divine limb with an eye in the palm.

That level of existence is beyond his current reach.

The training shed at dusk on the thirty-second day.

Xilun stood shirtless in the center of the shed.

Kusso had already left, and fragments of wooden shields and broken iron spears lay scattered on the ground.

Xilun closed his eyes and slowly activated the Bone Forging Iron Armor.

The core of this exercise lies in infusing the body with energy, which then spreads outward from the bones to the skin and flesh, forming a nearly tangible protective layer on the body surface.

He has been working on the expert level for almost a month.

This afternoon, when he sparred with Kusso, Kusso's shield hit his ribs with a force of three hundred pounds, but he only felt a dull tremor, and his skin didn't even turn red.

At that moment, he knew that the breakthrough was just around the corner.

He adjusted his breathing, simultaneously channeling the internal shockwave of the Great Thunderclap and the chilling breath of the Profound Yin into his bones.

Two forces collided, merged, and compressed within the marrow.

pain.

It hurt more than ever before.

It felt as if the bones had been disassembled one by one and then put back together one by one.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xilun's forehead, dripping down his nose and onto the ground with a barely audible pattering sound.

He didn't move.

He is waiting.

Wait for that force to find its own outlet.

five minutes.

ten minutes.

twenty minutes.

finally--

A very deep humming sound emanated from his body.

It's not a resonance from the throat, not from the chest cavity, but from the bones themselves.

The sound was like the ringing of a bronze bell in a temple, deep, resonant, and with a certain metallic quality.

Immediately afterwards, a very faint sheen appeared on his skin.

It wasn't light, but a dark luster similar to a metallic oxide film, starting from his chest and spreading along his collarbone, shoulders, and arms, covering his entire upper body.

Xilun looked down.

His skin appeared unchanged, but when he tapped his chest with his knuckles, the sound was no longer the dull thud of flesh—

Instead, it was a crisp, almost metallic clanging sound.

[Skill: Bone Forging Iron Armor Asceticism (Master)]

[Progress: 0/2000]

His inner world became more dazzling than ever before at that moment.

Bones, flesh, breath, and intention—the connection between these four elements reached a high degree of unity at this moment.

Xilun clenched his fist, feeling the power emanating from deep within his bones.

His current skin and flesh strength are no less than the hardness of some low-level extraordinary items.

Ordinary swords and knives would probably not even leave a white mark on him.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, took a clean towel from the gun rack, and wiped the sweat and dust off his face.

Then he put on his shirt, buttoned it up, and walked out of the training shed.

A pot of tea that had gone cold sat on the stone steps at the entrance.

It belonged to Roderick.

Xilun picked up the teapot and took two gulps.

The herbal tea had a slightly bitter taste when it went down my throat.

"Speaking of which, the next step for the Bone Forging Iron Armor Master level is the Extraordinary level, which requires two thousand proficiency points. And the Profound Yin Breathing Expert level also requires two thousand proficiency points to advance to the Master level."

"It seems that the extraordinary level of this Profound Yin Breathing Technique is far superior to that of the Bone Forging Iron Armor!"

He gazed calmly at the silhouettes of the cranes on the distant dock, gradually blurring in the twilight, and thought—

not enough.

……

The changes in the North District were happening faster than he had anticipated.

In her report on the thirty-fifth day, Rena brought a great deal of disturbing news.

"The war has escalated to a full extent," Rena said, standing in front of the map in the study, tracing the points between them with her finger.

"The Empire has reinforced its troops on the eastern front by 30,000, and the Federation has also issued its second mobilization order. Prices in the northern region have risen by 40% in the past two weeks, with flour and coal experiencing the largest increases."

Xilun leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

What happens after the smuggling ring is busted?

"The small gangs don't dare to show their faces anymore, but the transportation lines are still affected," Rena said calmly.

"The cargo volume at the dock has dropped by 20% because the military has increased its requisitioning of civilian ships. Several shipments of medicinal materials purchased from the southern district were intercepted by the military, which claimed they were for 'wartime requisition'."

"What about Tusol?"

"The Third Elder's men have stockpiled large quantities of weapons and ore in South Harbor, and the scale has expanded since last month."

Rena paused for a moment, then said, "The clan leader didn't seem to object, or rather... he tacitly approved of it."

Xilun remained silent for a moment.

"What about the armed insurgents?"

"No movement," Rena shook her head.

"The war has reached this point, and they've become quiet. There are no rallies, no speeches, no public events. They're either waiting, or—"

"They are gathering strength," Xilun added the second half of the sentence.

Rena nodded.

"What about the Colt family?"

“They’re stuck in their ways,” Rena answered almost without hesitation. “They’ve built three layers of walls around their territory and increased the number of patrols, but they hardly participate in the affairs of the North. They’re betting that the war won’t affect them.”

Xilun frowned slightly.

The Colt family's choice did not surprise him.

This family has been entrenched in the North District for many years, accustomed to living their lives on their own little plot of land, neither expanding nor forming alliances, like a snail retreating into its shell.

"What about the Scarlet Retreat Society?"

"A steady retreat." Rena pointed to two points on the map.

"Their two strongholds in the East District were taken down by the Whispering Choir last month, resulting in the loss of at least twenty Tier 1 Beyonders and three Tier 2 Beyonders. It appears that their main force has retreated to the old church area in the southeast corner, and they are now clearly on the defensive."

Xilun stared at the dense markings on the map and fell silent.

War, smuggling, soaring prices, and a reshuffling of power.

The entire northern district is like a pot being slowly heated, and the water inside has already started to bubble.

What he cared about most was not these macro-level changes in the situation—

"The Tusol family's attitude towards the North," he began, "has there been any new development?"

Rena hesitated for a moment.

"have."

She took a folded piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to her.

"This is a transcript of a conversation our people intercepted at the dockside tavern. Several second-tier stewards of the Tusol family were discussing in private that the Third Elder, Oin, had submitted a 'Northern District Integration Plan' to the patriarch."

"content?"

"The specific details are unclear, but judging from the few words mentioned, the core idea of ​​the plan is to take advantage of the window of opportunity during the war when the order in the northern region is in collapse, and have the Tusor family unify the allocation of resources and the division of power in the northern region."

Xilun's fingers stopped tapping.

"Unify the Northern District".

"They have big ambitions," Rena commented.

Xilen didn't say anything. He folded the note and put it in the drawer, then leaned back in his chair.

The Tusol family's desire to unify the North was not unexpected to him.

Austin's strategy has always been like boiling a frog in lukewarm water; he's never in a hurry, but every step he takes is at a crucial juncture.

And Oin—

If the integration plan was proposed by Orin, it means that the Third Elder has not shrunk his ambitions because of previous setbacks, but instead is using the chaos of war to expand his influence.

Dangerous, but not now.

"There's one more thing," Rena suddenly said.

Her tone was somewhat subtle.

"What?"

"The rumors about you."

Xilun raised an eyebrow.

"What rumor?"

"Recently, a rumor has been circulating in some tabloids and pubs in the North District," Rena carefully chose, "a string of numbers."

"number?"

"654".

Xilun was taken aback.

"654? What does that mean?"

Rena did not answer immediately.

Her expression was somewhat troubled, and it was extremely rare for her to seem hesitant to speak.

"Rena," Siren said, looking at her, "tell me."

Rena took a deep breath.

"654... is a homophone. In the slang of the northern district, the pronunciation of 'six' is close to 'lun', 'five' is close to 'mu', and 'four' is close to 'si'."

She paused for a moment.

"Put them together—'Luanmu Si' (伦目死)."

The study was quiet for a few seconds.

"Someone has found out about your mother," Rena said in a low voice.

"It's confirmed... he's passed away. Then this rumor started appearing in some tabloids, initially only circulating in taverns and at the docks, but it's been spreading in the last couple of days."

Xilun leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on a point on the table.

He didn't speak.

He repeated those three words in his mind once, and then again.

The mother died; this is not news.

He knew about it a long time ago.

Or rather—he never knew.

In his memory, his mother's image was blurry and distant, like a faded old photograph.

When did she leave?

He couldn't even remember the exact time.

Because they hadn't been together for a long time before that.

She was just a woman despised by the Duke, and he was just an illegitimate son used as a tool.

This relationship was wrong from the start, and the ending was predictable.

"Do you know who spread it?" Siren's voice was so calm that it didn't sound like he was talking about his mother's death.

"We can't find the source yet," Rena shook her head.

"But the methods are very professional, as if someone is deliberately guiding public opinion. It cannot be ruled out that it is the Whisper Choir or people from Oin who are doing it."

Xilun nodded.

"Ignore it."

"but--"

"Don't worry about it." He repeated, his tone completely unwavering.

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

Outside the window, the streets of the North District were bustling with people: dockworkers, hawkers pushing carts, and fraternity members on patrol.

He watched the figures bustling about in the twilight and remembered something Lund had once said—

On the path of the strong, there will always be villains and scoundrels.

Since they can't bite your throat, they can only spit on your shadow.

Xilun's lips curved slightly into a smile.

Then he drew the curtains, returned to his desk, and picked up the book he had only read half of, "A Study of the Pure Mind Lineage of the Ancient Order."

The hand that turned the pages of the book was very steady.

My breathing is steady, and my heartbeat is slow.

Let them talk.