Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The pages beneath my fingertips were slightly wrinkled.

The Great Thunder Breathing Technique within him seemed to tremble slightly, not from a loss of control, but more like a distant echo, triggered by a line of old words on a page.

Siron closed the book.

He sat behind his desk, closed his eyes, and looked inward at himself.

A chill lingered deep within my bones, a dark blue hue, quiet yet sharp.

The vibrations of the Great Thunder Breathing Method are hidden between the chest and abdomen, like a large bell that has not yet been rung.

The talent for water separation is more subtle, flowing through his blood and the edges of his senses, allowing him to detect the moisture in the air, the undercurrents in underground pipes, and even the slight trembling of water in a teacup in the distance.

After reaching the third rank, these powers become even deeper.

But they are also more likely to pull at each other.

The Xuan Yin Breathing Technique is too powerful, powerful enough to overwhelm everything else.

The Great Thunder Breathing Method is still useful, but its level is gradually decreasing.

As for the major tendons, strength, and body integration that a third-order deformed person should pay the most attention to, he actually lacks a truly suitable breathing method.

Xilun opened his eyes.

He needs a new path.

Perhaps it's an organization.

Perhaps it's a breathing technique.

Perhaps it's a door in the Upper District that's still temporarily closed.

But before that, he needs to figure out who in Victoria's Lower City has something that's truly suitable for Tier 3.

Outside the window, the wind blows through the courtyard.

Daisy stood quietly behind a window on the second floor.

She stared at the light in the east study for a long time.

She had no idea what Siren was looking at.

I don't know where he will go in the future.

She suddenly remembered the day Susie left, when she stood in the empty room, so angry that she couldn't even shed a tear.

Susie has left her forever.

She will never again come down the familiar corridor and rush into her arms, quiet and still like a white deer.

Deep within the hatred lies a touch of ease.

Susie is free.

She didn't.

And the person who set Susie free is currently in her home.

She should hate him.

But she also knew that without Xilen, Susie might have been trapped and killed in this beautiful tomb by her own hands.

Daisy closed her eyes.

"Miss."

The butler approached in a low voice.

Daisy did not turn around.

Did he accept the documents?

"I'm looking through it now."

"Don't bother him."

"Yes."

Daisy remained silent for a moment.

"That necklace, get it ready."

The butler paused slightly, "Are you sure?"

Daisy looked at the light coming from the study window.

"Sure."

Her voice was very soft, as if she were afraid of disturbing something that had already gone far away.

"What Susie can't take with her, someone has to keep safe for her."

Xiren stayed in the Link family study until the afternoon.

The gas lamp was replaced once, the tea went cold twice, and the fog outside the window went from light to thick, only to be blown away by the wind.

He went through all three boxes of documents.

The gains weren't much, but they were enough to give him a clearer understanding of the world beyond the third tier.

Noble lineage is not simply a matter of honor.

It is itself one of the keys to higher levels.

The descendants of the seven dukes are exceptionally gifted, not only because of abundant resources, but because something called authority remains in their blood.

Storm, night, sun, winter, abundance, death, life.

These names, though written in a blurry way in the old book, were enough to send chills down one's spine.

Xilun closed the last book, gently stroking the cracks in the cover with his fingertips.

If the divine revelation of the seven dukes is true, then the so-called Upper City is not just a place where the powerful and wealthy gather.

There is a more complete system of cultivation that may be hidden there.

A more stable ceremony.

A more advanced breathing technique.

It even contains the divine threshold leading to the sixth-tier Apocalypse Knight.

People in the lower city only saw coal smoke, factories, gangs, and guns.

What truly determines the direction of this city may always be those powers hidden behind a veil.

Xilun put the book back where it belonged.

The butler had been waiting outside the door and gently knocked after hearing the noise.

"Mr. Celen, would you like dinner?"

"Need not."

Siren stood up. "This information is very useful. Please give my thanks to the Link family."

The butler bowed his head slightly.

"You're too kind."

As Xilun walked out of the study, he subconsciously glanced at the end of the corridor.

There was no one there.

He paused for a moment and asked, "Is Daisy here?"

The butler's eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.

"The young lady is not here."

Xilun looked at him.

The butler kept his eyes down, his posture respectful, with no extra expression.

"She was feeling unwell and went to rest at the outer residence in the afternoon."

That's a very prudent statement.

It was so steady, as if it had been prepared all along.

Xilun did not expose it.

"understood."

He turned to leave.

The butler suddenly said, "Mr. Sir Lun."

Xilun stopped.

The butler took out a small black velvet box from his pocket.

The box wasn't expensive; the corners were a little worn, but it was wiped very clean.

"You and Miss Susie are friends, aren't you?"

Xiren looked at the box but did not answer.

The butler opened it on his own.

Inside lay a necklace.

A delicate silver chain with a small, moon-white pendant shaped like a half-open seashell, its edges adorned with fine patterns.

It is not flashy, nor like the jewelry worn by noblewomen to flaunt their status; instead, it carries a warmth that comes from being held in someone's palm for a long time.

"These are things left behind by Miss Susie's mother."

The housekeeper lowered his voice, "She didn't take anything with her when she left."

Xilun looked at the necklace.

He thought of Susie.

That girl in the Link family who always smiled gently, yet seemed to be encased in glass.

Her eyes lit up when she mentioned the free port at sea.

"I don't know where she is," Celen said.

"I know."

The butler gave a wry smile. "That's why I'm just asking you to keep it safe."

Xilun did not answer.

The butler's hands were still steady as he held the box, but his voice was no longer as calm.

"This is Miss Susie's most precious possession. When she was a child, whenever she was scolded by the lady of the house or tormented by family etiquette to the point of being unable to cry, she would hide by the window and hold it. She said that as long as she held this, it was as if her mother was still there."

He paused.

"Later, the young lady forbade her to wear it. So she hid the necklace away, and kept it hidden for many years."

Xilun remained silent.

The corridor was very quiet.

The portraits on the wall looked at them like a group of old nobles who had died but still refused to leave their seats.

"Since it's so important, it should be kept by the Link family," Xilun said.

"The Link family couldn't keep her."

The butler looked up.

That statement went too far.

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head again, his voice becoming respectful once more.

"Mr. Sir Lun, if you ever meet Miss Susie, please return the necklace to her. Until then, please keep it safe for her."

Xilun looked at the moon-white pendant.

He wanted to refuse.

Because this is not a weapon, not an account book, not materials, not anything that can be put into a plan.

It's too light.

So light that it has absolutely no practical value.

It's too heavy.

It is so important that once you accept it, it's like catching up with the past of someone who has left.

After a long while, Xilun reached out and took the box.

"If I come across it, I will pass it on."

The butler breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank you.

Xilun put the box into the inner bag, and through the fabric, he could feel something hard against his chest.

He didn't ask Daisy any more questions.

He didn't look back.

As they left the Link family home, a breeze picked up in the courtyard.

The iron gate closed very quietly.

Daisy stood in the shadows behind the curtains on the second floor.

She watched Xilun get into the carriage, watched the carriage drive away from the street corner, and watched the black trench coat gradually disappear into the fog.

The housekeeper went back upstairs.

"Miss."

Daisy did not turn around.

"Did he accept the necklace?"

"I've accepted it."

Daisy nodded slightly.

Her expression was calm, as calm as a clean pane of glass.

"You brought Susie her freedom."

She gazed at the fogged street and whispered, "May Susie's necklace protect you."

The butler stood silently to the side.

In the distance, Daisy lowered her eyes.

"From now on, I will no longer owe you anything."

After those words were spoken, the room remained silent for a long time.

So long that the housekeeper thought she would never speak again.

A raven landed on the iron railing outside the window, then quickly flapped its wings and flew away.

Daisy suddenly smiled.

The smile was faint, almost devoid of warmth.

"or……"

She gently pressed her fingertips against the windowsill.

"I'd be willing to owe you a lifetime of regret."

The butler lowered his head, pretending not to hear.

Siren did not return to the South District, nor did he immediately go to the Brotherhood.

The carriage stopped two streets away.

He paid for the ride and walked alone.

In the evening, Victoria was shrouded in a fog that carried the damp smell of coal dust.

The aroma of roasted chestnuts on the street, the smell of horse manure, and the steam escaping from the steam pipes mingled together, creating the familiar yet filthy breath of this city.

Xilun walked through a small alley and came to the old stone steps overlooking the river.

This place is not far from the main street of the North District, but because it is near the abandoned dock, few people come here at night.

The river was wide and dark gray. In the distance, steamships slowly passed by, their chimneys spewing black smoke and their lights casting shimmering, golden shadows on the water.

Xilun stood on the riverbank and closed his eyes.

He needs to test the true changes in his third-stage body.

It's not about suppressing your strength during training.

It wasn't forced to erupt during a life-or-death struggle in an abandoned mine.

Instead, it involves searching for oneself in a state of clarity, quiet, and undisturbed undisturbed state.

Breathing slowed.

The Xuan Yin Breathing Technique circulates within the body.

The chill no longer comes from the outside, but from the depths of the bone marrow, seeping through the flesh layer by layer.

The large tendons look like they've been rewoven.

Each slight tension pushes the force from the soles of the feet to the lower back, and then into the shoulders and arms.

The energy flows throughout the body, no longer requiring conscious effort as it did in the second stage.

The moment a thought arises, the skin, muscles, bones, and internal organs respond in unison.

Xilun opened his eyes.

He took a step forward.

My toes touched the wet, slippery stone steps, but I didn't slip at all.

The next instant, his figure vanished into the shadows, like a black bird gliding along a wall.

Main streets, alleys, eaves, abandoned pipes, and the back alleys of the dock piled with wooden crates.

In the darkness of night, Xilun traveled through the area.

Her body was incredibly light and agile.

The changes in third-order mutants are not just about increased destructive power.

His balance, hearing, smell, and skin's perception of the wind were all honed after his promotion.

When his feet landed, he could feel the moisture remaining in the bricks; when his fingers brushed across the wall, he could judge the depth of the brick joints under the dust; he could even tell from the sound of water that a mouse was missing a hind leg as it crawled across a ditch three zhang away.

This feeling is dangerous.

Because it makes people mistakenly believe that the world has slowed down.

They mistakenly believed they were strong enough.

Xilun recalled Lund's words.

A sudden surge in power makes one most likely to underestimate their opponent.

He stopped under an abandoned bridge.

The river water surged at my feet, and the night wind whistled through the bridge arch.

Xilun raised his right hand.

They did not use the Golden Spear, nor did they rely on the Soul-Suppressing Nails.

I simply spread my five fingers and felt the dampness of the river.

Water vapor gathers.

A chill flashed in my palm.

Suddenly, a burst of waves erupted from the riverbank in the distance.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had descended from the darkness of night, pressing the river water to both sides, with waves several meters high crashing against the stone embankment and breaking into large patches of white foam.

Amidst the white foam, ice crystals rapidly condensed, only to crack open again under the scouring of the river tide.

Xilun looked at the ice.

In the second stage, he can also control water and freeze it.

But that's more like a skill.

Now it seems to have extended outwards like a part of the body.

The water could hear it more clearly.

The chill also spread further.

He slowly withdrew his hand.

The river surface returned to calm, with only broken ice floating on the surface, shimmering faintly under the ship's lights.

It is several times stronger than the second order.

And this is not yet the state after it has been fully stabilized.

There was no joy in Siron.

The stronger you are, the higher the shadows you can see.

A fourth-tier Witcher's body can be used as an extraordinary material in every part.

The fifth-level Suffering Practitioner waves his hand to trigger natural changes.

The sixth-tier Apocalyptic Knights wield divine authority.

A Tier 3 unit is awe-inspiring enough in the lower city.

But if you place it on the whole road, it's just that it has just forged its body into a container that can continue to bear power.

Xilun took the black velvet box out of the inner bag.

turn on.

The necklace lay quietly inside.

The moon-white pendant gleamed softly in the night by the river.

He looked at it for a moment, then closed it again.

Susie should already be at sea.

Perhaps on some bustling street in Freeport, dressed in clothes that don't conform to the Link family's etiquette, drinking cheap rum, listening to sailors boast about monsters and treasure.

That's fine too.

The fog in Victoria was too thick.

Not everyone should be stuck here.

Xilun put the necklace away and walked back along the riverbank.

A few days later, he returned to the North District Brotherhood chapter.

The streets outside the North District mansion have been cleaned up again.

The messy gang markings were erased, and the patrol team changed into uniform dark jackets, with guns at their waists and small Brotherhood insignia sewn onto their cuffs—understated yet eye-catching enough.

At the main gate, Kusso personally led a group of men to guard it.

Upon seeing Xilun, he was taken aback at first, then immediately bowed.

"gentlemen."

The gunmen inside the courtyard all lowered their heads.

The news of Xilun's promotion has been circulating for many days.

But news is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another.

The Xilun they saw was not taller, nor was he clad in exaggerated armor; in fact, his face was pale, as if he had not yet recovered from his injuries.

But the moment he walked in, everyone in the courtyard instinctively held their breath.

It felt like an invisible cold front was slowly pressing in from the doorway.

It was not a deliberate act of intimidation.

It's just the weight inherent in the existence of a third-tier extraordinary being.

Rod quickly came out from the main building to greet him.

He remained calm, but there was a deep weariness in his eyes.

"gentlemen."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Rhodes lowered his head slightly.

"Of course."

Xilun looked into the courtyard.

"Has anyone been causing trouble lately?"

"Three small gangs tested us, and we've dealt with them. No one was killed; we just confiscated their guns, dismantled their strongholds, and sent them to the docks to move goods."

"Tusol?"

"Just keep watching, don't move."

"Armed insurgents?"

"Ms. Colleen has come twice, but as you instructed, she will only see me on the third day."