If I let you practice martial arts, you'll compress your vital energy ten thousand times?

The working-class neighborhood.

Old, dilapidated tenement buildings.

The morning sunlight streamed obliquely into the small living room through the dusty windows.

A faint aroma of rice porridge still lingered in the air.

Lin Xiaoya rubbed her eyes and came out of the bedroom.

She was wearing faded pajamas, her hair was messy and sticking up, and her face still looked sleepy.

"elder brother?"

She called out habitually.

No one responded from inside the house.

Lin Xiaoya blinked and then noticed a note on the dining table.

Underneath the note was a bowl of already-served white porridge.

There was also a fried egg next to it.

The edges of the fried egg were a little burnt.

No.

Not just a little.

It's very obvious that the area around it is scorched.

Lin Xiaoya walked over and picked up the note.

Above was Lin Yuan's handwriting, which was as concise as a command.

The porridge is in the pot; heat it up before eating.

Drink the nutrient solution.

Don't eat the burnt part of the egg.

Lin Xiaoya looked at the note and couldn't help but smile.

"I know I burned it."

She carefully folded the note and put it into the small box next to her.

There were already many similar slips of paper in that box.

Some signs read, "Don't forget your umbrella."

Some signs said "The medicine is in the second drawer".

Some signs read, "Don't open the door if someone knocks."

There aren't many words.

Each one is cold and hard.

But Lin Xiaoya knew.

That was the most clumsy way my brother could express his concern.

She heated up the porridge and then obediently drank the bottle of nutritional supplement on the corner of the table.

Nutrient solutions are expensive.

In the past, my family would only buy a few bottles a month.

But recently, it seems like my brother has suddenly become rich.

Meat of exotic beasts.

Nutrient solution.

New school uniforms.

Her brother even bought a whole stack of calligraphy practice books that she used to be reluctant to buy.

Lin Xiaoya isn't stupid.

She could sense that her brother had changed a lot recently.

But she didn't ask.

Because she knew that if her brother wanted to tell her, he would.

If she doesn't say, it means she doesn't need to know yet.

Lin Xiaoya sipped her porridge, her gaze suddenly falling on the edge of the kitchen sink.

There was a tiny, blackish-red crystalline sand there.

It looks like some kind of charred powder.

Under the sunlight, it faintly glowed with a dim light.

"What is this?"

Lin Xiaoya put down her spoon and walked over.

She stretched out her finger and touched it gently.

hum.

That speck of dark red crystal suddenly trembled slightly.

Lin Xiaoya was so frightened that she withdrew her hand.

Available in the next second.

The dim luster on the surface of that crystal sand seemed to have encountered some kind of nemesis, and quickly faded away.

In just a few breaths.

It turned into a little bit of ordinary dust.

The wind blew it away.

Lin Xiaoya stared blankly at her fingertips.

It doesn't hurt.

It's not hot either.

Just a moment ago, she seemed to hear a very distant, low growl.

It was as if something peered at her through the door in the darkness.

Lin Xiaoya shivered inexplicably.

She quickly ran back to the dining table, picked up the bowl of porridge, and took a big gulp.

The inexplicable chill dissipated somewhat after the warm rice porridge entered my stomach.

"It must be because my brother left things lying around again."

She muttered something under her breath.

However, his voice sounded noticeably weak.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Xiaoya was about to pack her schoolbag.

But for some reason, she suddenly felt sleepy.

Sleepiness came quickly.

It was as if an invisible hand was gently pressing down on her eyelids.

Lin Xiaoya lay on the table, trying to take a short nap.

In the blink of an eye.

She fell asleep.

……

dark.

The boundless darkness.

Lin Xiaoya stood in a place so empty it was frightening.

The ground beneath my feet is not the ground.

Instead, it was something cold, smooth, and like a black mirror.

far away.

There is a door.

A huge black door whose top is invisible.

The black door stood silently in the depths of darkness, its surface covered with ancient cracks.

A faint blue light shone through those cracks.

A flash.

One annihilation.

Like eyes hidden behind a door.

Lin Xiaoya stood there, her body trembling slightly.

This wasn't the first time she had dreamed of this door.

But this time...

It's clearer than before.

It's also closer.

Behind the door, something seemed to be breathing.

call--

Suck--

With each breath, the black mirror beneath my feet vibrated gently.

Then.

A very muffled sound came from behind the door.

"Little...Ya..."

Lin Xiaoya's face turned pale.

She took a step back.

"Who?"

No one answered.

Only that voice kept calling her name over and over again.

"Xiaoya..."

"Xiaoya..."

"come over……"

The cracks on the black door slowly widened.

A pale blue light shone through the crack in the door, like cold water, slowly spreading to her feet.

Lin Xiaoya wanted to run away.

But she found that she couldn't move.

The black mirror beneath her feet seemed to have turned into a sticky swamp, trapping her firmly in place.

Something is approaching from behind that door.

Very big.

It's cold.

I'm also very hungry.

Lin Xiaoya's eyes immediately reddened.

She instinctively called out:

"elder brother……"

boom!

The moment that word was uttered.

A red flame suddenly appeared behind her.

The firelight was very small.

Like a red lotus burning quietly.

But the moment it appeared, it abruptly illuminated the darkness behind her.

The sounds behind the door suddenly stopped.

The cold, eerie blue light seemed to be scorched by something, and quickly retreated behind the black door.

"Xiaoya..."

The sound from behind the door became shrill for a moment.

Then it disappeared completely.

The black door closed again.

The crimson flames gradually faded away.

Lin Xiaoya suddenly opened her eyes.

"elder brother!"

She jumped up from the table.

His forehead was covered in cold sweat.

The room was quiet.

The sunlight is still on the windowsill.

The bowls of porridge on the table were empty.

The note was still next to the box.

Everything is normal.

That dream just now felt like it never happened.

But Lin Xiaoya's heart was still pounding.

She instinctively reached out and grabbed the note Lin Yuan had left behind.

A thin sheet of paper.

But it made her feel inexplicably at ease.

"That door again..."

Lin Xiaoya murmured softly.

"Have I been sleeping too much lately?"

She rubbed her face hard, trying to shake those strange images out of her mind.

But I don't know why.

She felt as if her brother had actually heard her when she called out "brother."

……

At the same time.

Outside the working-class district.

A black military vehicle slowly pulled up at the street corner.

The car windows were not rolled down.

Gu Changye sat in the back row, holding a thin document in his hand.

The first page of the document contains a photo of Lin Xiaoya.

The little girl had a clean smile and clear eyes, and looked no different from countless ordinary children in the Seventh Safe Zone.

The adjutant sat in the front seat and glanced at the old tenement building through the car window.

"Sir, this is the place."

"Lin Yuan and Lin Xiaoya have always lived in this building."

"We have already checked the surrounding area and found no obvious abnormalities."

Gu Changye remained silent.

He simply stared quietly at the slightly worn window.

There hung a washed old school uniform there.

There was also a little girl's scarf next to it.

ordinary.

poverty.

Quiet.

From the outside, this place doesn't seem to have anything to do with terms like "humanoid forbidden zone," "fall of a great demon at the Commander Realm," or "ancient body cultivator."

The adjutant whispered:

"Lin Xiaoya currently has no cultivation record, her blood and qi levels are very low, and she shows no signs of martial arts awakening."

"Based on the information, she is indeed just an ordinary child."

Gu Changye flipped through the documents.

"Ordinary children will not be included in the Seventh Army's application for accompanying training."

The adjutant paused for a moment.

"Perhaps it's because of Lin Yuan."

"That senior with the blood-stained face protected Lin Yuan, so naturally he will also protect Lin Yuan's sister."

Gu Changye nodded gently.

"Reasonable."

The more reasonable he made his point, the less the adjutant dared to respond.

Because he knew that Gu Changye was least likely to believe in explanations that were too reasonable.

Gu Changye's gaze fell around the tenement building.

Energy protection in civilian areas is very poor.

This place isn't far from the pollution zone outside the city, and occasionally very faint abyssal free particles drift over in the air.

These things have little impact on ordinary people.

However, people with weak constitutions are more prone to illness if they live in such an environment for a long time.

however.

Gu Changye suddenly narrowed his eyes.

He saw a faint, ethereal blue particle drift towards the window on the morning breeze.

It can happen the instant you get close to the window.

The particle suddenly trembled slightly.

Then, it vanished silently.

It went out immediately.

A hint of interest appeared in Gu Changye's eyes.

"Did you see that?"

The adjutant was taken aback.

"What?"

Gu Changye offered no explanation.

He waited a while longer.

The second strand.

The third strand.

The fourth strand.

Those abyssal free particles, so faint as to be almost negligible, would naturally dissipate as soon as they approached the room where Lin Xiaoya was.

It's very mild.

It's very well hidden.

If Gu Changye hadn't been deliberately observing, no one would have noticed.

The adjutant finally noticed something was wrong, and his expression changed slightly.

"My lord, this..."

Gu Changye raised his hand, signaling him to be quiet.

He looked at the window and said softly:

"These Lin siblings are both incredibly clean."

The adjutant asked in a low voice:

"Isn't cleanliness a good thing?"

Gu Changye smiled.

"There is no problem with the cleanliness of ordinary people."

"The cleanliness of an anomaly is often the biggest problem."

Done.

He pushed open the car door, as if preparing to get out.

The adjutant was startled.

"My lord, Lin Yuan has already warned us not to touch Lin Xiaoya."

"We're just observing from a distance."

Gu Changye's voice was gentle.

"I won't touch her."

"I just want to get closer."

As he spoke, he took a step forward.

But just as his feet were about to touch the ground...

Gu Changye suddenly stopped.

The entire civilian district remained quiet.

Someone was selling breakfast on the street.

An elderly person carrying a shopping basket walked by downstairs.

In the distance, children with schoolbags on their backs ran across the alleyway.

Business as usual.

But Gu Changye felt a very faint chill.

That wasn't murderous intent.

It wasn't a show of force.

It doesn't resemble true qi locking at all.

more like...

Someone glanced at him indifferently from a great distance.

Just one glance.

But Gu Changye knew this clearly.

If he takes another step forward.

That changes the nature of the matter.

The adjutant noticed that Gu Changye had stopped and couldn't help but ask:

"grown ups?"

Gu Changye stood quietly for a moment.

Then he laughed.

"Let's go."

The adjutant was taken aback.

"Are you leaving already?"

"Um."

Gu Changye sat back in the car, his tone still gentle.

"If we take another step forward, it will no longer be observation."

"It's a provocation."

The adjutant felt a slight tremor in his heart and subconsciously looked at the old tenement building.

There was nothing unusual there.

But the more normal things seemed, the more he felt a chill down his spine.

What exactly is guarding Lin Xiaoya?

Was it a method left behind by the Blood Elder?

Or is it Lin Yuan?

No.

It couldn't be Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan should still be at Gaowu No.1 Middle School at this moment.

but……

The adjutant couldn't help but look at Gu Changye.

Gu Changye offered no explanation.

He simply took out his notebook and slowly wrote a line after Lin Xiaoya's name.

Suspected source of deep-sea contamination purification reaction.

After writing this line, he paused for a moment.

Below Lin Yuan's name, it originally read:

A special student suspected of being protected by Gu Tixiu.

Gu Changye stared at it for a few seconds.

Then cross it out.

Rewrite:

Suspected abnormal center.

Black military vehicles slowly drove away from the civilian area.

Sunlight fell on the car window, illuminating Gu Changye's gentle profile.

"Lin Yuan".

"Lin Xiaoya".

"This brother and sister..."

He chuckled softly.

"I'm afraid none of them are simple."

……

Gaowu No.1 Middle School.

The second period of the morning has just ended.

Lin Yuan sat by the window, his right hand gently resting on the table.

Just now, the instant Gu Changye approached the civilian district, he sensed it.

After he returned home last night, the extreme qi and blood mark he casually left behind the door was triggered.

The mark was extremely faint.

It was so subtle that even a Grandmaster like Su Zhan at the peak of his cultivation might not be able to detect it.

However, if someone approaches Lin Xiaoya's area with the intention of investigation, probing, or malice, the mark will transmit the fluctuations back to him.

Gu Changye did not cross the line.

So he didn't move.

Lin Yuan lowered his eyes, looking at his fingertips.

"She's quite smart."

If Gu Changye had actually dared to step into that building just now.

Lin Yuan wouldn't mind adding another nameless pit to the wilderness outside the Seventh Safe Zone.

Zhao Hai came over from the side.

"Brother Yuan, what's wrong?"

"Your face looked really scary just now."

Lin Yuan withdrew his hand.

"fine."

Zhao Hai looked suspicious.

"Are you really alright?"

"Um."

"So what are you having for lunch? I'll treat you to the braised alien meat from the second floor of the cafeteria!"

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

"You have money?"

Zhao Hai immediately gave a dry laugh.

"Buy on credit."

"roll."

"Okay."

Zhao Hai slunk back in dejectedly.

Lin Yuan took out a communicator.

He called Lin Xiaoya.

The call was connected very quickly.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Xiaoya's voice sounded a little guilty.

"elder brother."

Lin Yuan asked calmly:

Have you had breakfast?

"have eaten."

"Where's the nutrient solution?"

"I drank it."

"What about the piece with the burnt egg?"

Lin Xiaoya was silent for a moment.

Then he whispered:

"I ate it too."

Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

"Didn't I tell you not to eat it?"

Lin Xiaoya spoke with righteous indignation:

"Wasting food is bad."

Lin Yuan remained silent for two seconds.

"Next time I'll throw away the burnt ones."

"Then don't burn it next time."

Lin Xiaoya muttered to herself.

Lin Yuan did not refute.

There was a moment of silence on the phone.

Then, Lin Xiaoya suddenly lowered her voice:

"Brother, I dreamt about that door again today."

Lin Yuan's eyes instantly turned cold.

But his voice remained calm.

"What door?"

"It's the black door I told you about before."

"It's much clearer now."

"There's a blue light on the door."

"It sounds like someone is calling me from behind the door."

As Lin Xiaoya spoke, her voice softened.

"Brother, am I sick?"

Lin Yuan looked out the window.

The sun is shining brightly.

The students were chatting and laughing in the hallway.

But there was no warmth in his eyes.

Black Gate.

Abyss pollution.

Lin Xiaoya.

Gu Changye.

These lines are gradually connecting.

Lin Yuan was silent for a moment, then spoke:

"If you dream of that door again, call my name."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Xiaoya was stunned for a moment.

Then he chuckled softly.

"How do I call your name in my dreams?"

Lin Yuan's voice was calm.

"Shout."

"I can hear you."

Holding the communicator, Lin Xiaoya suddenly felt much more at ease.

She nodded vigorously.

"Um."

"I see."

Lin Yuan gave a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.

After the call ended.

He did not immediately put away the communicator.

I just stared quietly at Lin Xiaoya's name on the screen.

After a while.

Lin Yuan looked up, gazing towards the direction outside the Seventh Safe Zone.

A fleeting glint of dark gold light flashed in the depths of his eyes.

"Fifty thousand more attempts needed."

His voice was very soft.

So quiet that only I could hear it.

The system panel appeared before my eyes.

[Current number of physical compressions of Qi and Blood: 350000]

[Next qualitative leap: 400000 times]

[Reward Preview: Extreme Blood Shadow]

Lin Yuan slowly clenched his fingers.

Extreme Blood Shadow.

He must get it as soon as possible.

Only by unlocking this ability can he completely separate Lin Yuan and Senior Blood.

That's the only way.

Only those who were staring at him and at Xiaoya's eyes would truly shut up.

The sunlight outside the window is bright.

The classroom remained noisy.

Lin Yuan's gaze, however, had already passed over the walls of Gaowu No.1 Middle School and landed on the distant wilderness.

There.

There are even more resources available.

More crystal nuclei.

More prey than he could possibly surpass 400,000.

Lin Yuan said in a low voice:

"It seems so."

"I need to go out again."