I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Lin Ye swallowed hard.

"The voice in the Spirit Well is different from the one in the Spirit Well. The one in the Spirit Well is far away, like it's separated by several layers of walls. This one... is right here on me."

After he finished speaking, he looked down at his chest and then pressed his stomach.

It doesn't hurt, and there's no bulge anywhere.

It's just bloating.

It wasn't the kind of bloating you get from overeating; it felt more like something unseen had been stuffed into your flesh, making your limbs and bones feel heavy.

Zhou Heng's hand slid from his shoulder to his back, pressing down along his spine.

"here?"

"I don't feel anything."

"And here?"

"No, not at all."

"Dizziness, nausea, tinnitus?"

"No, none of them."

Lin Ye paused for a moment.

"I'm just a little panicked."

"Panic is normal."

Cheng Fang stood two meters away, staring at his chest: "If I suddenly heard a sound inside my body, I would panic too."

Lin Ye glanced at him: "Thanks, but I didn't offer any comfort."

Zhou Heng ignored them and turned to say, "Call the medical team over."

A few minutes later, Lin Ye was placed on the examination bed.

A routine check was performed, but no internal injuries were found. The paranormal detection equipment was used twice more, but still no problems were detected.

The only abnormality in his body was that the concentration of spiritual energy was too high.

And it's very scattered.

It's everywhere—on the limbs, chest, abdomen, and back—like a clump of unsettled water vapor, accumulating haphazardly within the body.

The person in charge of the inspection frowned as he looked at the screen.

"There is no gathering point."

Zhou Heng asked, "Can you be sure it's not a foreign object?"

"Nothing has been found yet."

Lin Ye lay in bed, feeling a chill run down his spine as he listened.

What does "temporary" mean?

No one answered him.

Zhou Heng stood by the bed and placed his palm on his back.

"relax."

"Given my current situation, it's difficult for me to relax."

"Shut up if you want."

Lin Ye shut up.

A cool sensation seeped into Zhou Heng's palm and slowly traveled down his spine.

Lin Ye initially felt comfortable, but a few seconds later, the scattered spiritual energy within his body suddenly stirred.

It is not flowing.

They all jolted.

Hey.

The sound was softer than before, like fingernails tapping on a wooden board.

Zhou Heng's hand paused noticeably.

This time, it wasn't just Lin Ye who heard it.

"You heard that too, didn't you?" Lin Ye asked immediately.

Zhou Heng withdrew his hand: "I heard you."

"What exactly is in there?"

"have no idea."

Lin Ye stared at him: "The more you say it so bluntly, the more scared I become."

Zhou Heng glanced at the testing screen.

"When the sound appeared, there was a brief fluctuation in the spiritual energy within your body. There are no other abnormalities. Stop the spirit induction and observe."

"Just observe like this?"

"The safest approach right now is to leave it alone."

Zhou Heng had the spirit-gathering device in the training room turned off and added another layer of isolation for Lin Ye.

The surrounding spiritual energy quickly faded away.

But the swelling sensation in Lin Ye's body was still there.

Half an hour later, the sound rang out again.

It's very light.

An hour later, the feeling of fullness began to subside.

By evening, the concentration of spiritual energy in his body had dropped significantly, and the strange noises had ceased.

Lin Ye was left in the observation room overnight.

The next morning, when Zhou Heng pushed open the door, he was doing push-ups by the bed.

"Twenty-seven...twenty-eight..."

Lin Ye finally managed to sit up, panting for a few breaths while lying on the ground.

"It didn't ring again last night."

"Are there any other discomforts?"

"Hungry."

Zhou Heng glanced at the two lunch boxes and a bucket of instant noodles on the table.

"Did you eat something again in the middle of the night?"

"It takes a lot of physical exertion."

"Go for a follow-up examination first."

The results of the follow-up examination were similar to those from last night.

The spiritual energy accumulated in Lin Ye's body had dissipated to almost nothing, but his physical stats did not drop back.

His grip strength, explosive power, and reaction speed are all significantly better than before he was introduced to the spirit.

Lin Ye clenched his fist.

That power is still there.

It's not an illusion.

"So, all that training wasn't for nothing?"

"It wasn't a waste of time to practice."

Zhou Heng placed the two test results side by side on the table.

"Of the spiritual energy you introduced into your body, some has been absorbed and strengthened. The rest has not been truly utilized by you and is merely accumulating temporarily within your body."

Lin Ye looked at the report: "These were the only sounds last night?"

"It should be related."

"should?"

"We've never encountered a situation like yours before."

Zhou Heng spoke calmly, but Lin Ye sensed something was amiss.

"Other people's spirit summoning doesn't happen like this?"

"No one else is as fast as you."

Zhou Heng pulled up an old record and placed it in front of him.

That person's spiritual energy increased very slowly, the curve climbing upwards little by little. Lin Ye's, however, was frighteningly steep, almost leaping upwards.

"When a normal person first attracts a spirit, the body can only absorb a limited amount. After stopping, the excess spiritual energy will dissipate on its own and will not accumulate to a dangerous level."

Zhou Heng pointed to the curve in the forest.

"The amount you inhaled in an hour last night is something others might not get in ten days."

Lin Ye watched for a while.

"Good talent?"

"Calculate."

Just as the corners of his mouth were about to turn up, Zhou Heng continued, "It's also easier for things to go wrong."

The smile faded.

"There's nothing wrong with this method of attracting spirits," Zhou Heng said, putting away his notes. "The problem is that you're going too fast, exceeding the body's normal absorption capacity."

"The fact that spiritual energy dissipates on its own does not mean it is without danger."

"If the water tank has a leak, a bowl of water will go in and a bowl of water will leak out, of course it's fine. If you pour water in with a hose, it will fill up sooner or later no matter how fast it leaks."

Lin Ye understood.

"So you were almost at your limit last night?"

"That's one way to understand it."

Zhou Heng paused for a moment.

"It could also be the accumulated spiritual energy impacting your muscles and bones, or searching for a pathway within your body. We can't be sure which one it is right now."

"Shall we keep practicing?"

"At best, internal organs will be damaged. At worst, blood vessels, bones, and even the soul will be affected."

Lin Ye remained silent for a few seconds.

"Then let's not try it."

He wanted to become stronger, that's true, but he didn't intend to turn himself into a teaching specimen just to verify his conclusions.

Zhou Heng looked at him and said, "Guiding spirits only brings spiritual energy into the body. True cultivation should also include circulation and consumption."

"Unfortunately, we have nothing now."

"Only an entrance?"

"right."

Lin Ye thought for a moment: "It's like eating something that won't be digested."

"almost."

"No wonder it made a loud noise."

Zhou Heng did not respond to that sentence.

"From today onwards, we are suspending spirit summoning. No unauthorized attempts are permitted until we find a suitable method."

"What should we do during this time?"

"Continue physical and firearms training."

Lin Ye was taken aback: "I just came out of the observation room."

"The test results are normal."

"He's mentally unstable."

"The medical team found no problems."

"They didn't investigate properly."

Zhou Heng put the report into a folder, got up and walked out.

"An extra half hour of firearms training today."

"Why add more?"

"To give you time to think about these things."

The door closed.

Lin Ye sat on the edge of the bed, remaining silent for a long time.

It wasn't entirely a false alarm.

The sound was gone, but the body was unharmed, and the previous enhancements remained.

But new troubles have already arisen.

The faster he absorbs spiritual energy, the faster the danger will come.

Until a way to circulate or consume spiritual energy is found, this path of cultivation must be put on hold.

Lin Ye lowered his head, opened his palm, and then slowly clenched it.

The power remains.

But starting today, he has to learn how to control it.

The observation room fell silent again.

Hundreds of kilometers away, deep in the Black Locust Ridge, a wolf's howl pierced the night.

The birds in the forest were startled and scattered, fluttering out of the treetops and quickly disappearing into the thick fog.

Master Lai stood at the foot of the mountain and looked up.

Black Locust Ridge is rarely visited, and after its spiritual energy was leaked, the things in the mountain grew even more wildly. The tree trunks were so thick that several people couldn't wrap their arms around them, and the branches and leaves were so crowded that they completely blocked the moonlight.

The wind blew out of the woods, damp and cold, carrying a fishy smell.

Jiang Zhaoye walked out from behind the cordon.

His coat sleeve was ripped, and the blood had dried and was stuck to the fabric.

Master Lai glanced at it and said, "Even you're injured?"

"I got scratched."

Jiang Zhaoye didn't want to say more, and his gaze fell on the long box behind him.

"Did you bring it?"

Master Lai patted the box: "Otherwise, what would I be doing here?"

The two entered the camp.

The open space was surrounded by warning posts, and several men on night watch leaned against a campfire, all of them wounded. Some had bandages wrapped around their arms, while others had difficulty walking and had to lean on their rifles to stand up when changing shifts.

Master Lai looked around without asking about the casualties.

Once inside the tent, Jiang Zhaoye spread out the map.

"There are many mutated wild beasts in the outer area; I've encountered wild boars, snakes, and lynxes."

Master Lai looked at the dense markings on the map and said, "These shouldn't be able to stop you."

"Yes, the real problem is the wolf pack."

Jiang Zhaoye circled an area on the mountainside with his finger.

"At least forty, maybe more."

"There wasn't such a large wolf pack in the vicinity before."

Several wolf packs were driven together.

Jiang Zhaoye said, "Ordinary wolves become stronger and recover faster after mutation, but they are not difficult to kill. The problem lies with the wolf king."

Master Lai looked up: "Very clever?"

"Too clever for beasts."

On the first night, they set more than a dozen traps on the way into the mountains.

The wolf pack sent a few wounded wolves to trigger the traps one by one.

On the second night, the wolf pack made a disturbance in the east, and after the people in the camp were moved there, they sneaked in from the west and destroyed the supplies.

Last night it was even more direct.

They targeted the wounded soldier in the patrol team, following him until he fell behind.

Jiang Zhaoye's expression turned somewhat cold as he spoke.

"Every time they take action, there are howls directing them from afar."

"Have you found the location?"

"I pursued him twice."

"The first time I was led into a wild boar's den, the second time I almost ended up in a spirit swamp."

Master Lai chuckled: "It knows you're looking for it."

That's why I called you here.

Jiang Zhaoye pointed deep into the mountains.

"We could break through by force, but a lot of people would die, and the commotion would be too great."

Master Lai walked to the table and took off the long box from his back.

The layers of black cloth were peeled away one by one, revealing an old wooden box.

The lid was pushed open, revealing a dark blue-green bronze bell inside.

The bell was plain, and instead of a copper tongue, it contained a small piece of yellowish animal bone.

Jiang Zhaoye stared at it: "What is this?"

"The Beast-Suppressing Bell, the guild leader asked me to bring it."

Master Lai picked up the copper bell and weighed it in his hand.

"Although it cannot control the wolf king, it can disrupt the minds of ordinary wild animals. When the bell rings, the wolf pack will not hear the wolf king's commands for a short period of time."

Jiang Zhaoye quickly understood.

"The wolf king will call out to gather them again."

"The moment it opened its mouth, its location was exposed."

"And the price?"

Master Lai glanced at him.

"The Beast-Suppressing Bell does not distinguish between friend and foe."

"Anything nearby that has been corrupted by spiritual energy will hear it. The longer it rings, the more will come."

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.

The watchman lifted the curtain and whispered, "Brother Jiang, the wolves are here again."

The two stepped out of the tent.

It was quiet outside the camp.

There was no running, and no howling.

Only pairs of eerie green eyes were hidden behind the trees and bushes.

More than a dozen pairs.

Twenty-odd pairs.

It's still increasing.

They were not close together, just outside the effective range of most weapons.

Master Lai stood inside the cordon and squinted for a moment.

"The wolf king is not here."

Jiang Zhaoye looked at the copper bell in his hand.

"Use it now?"

"No rush."

Master Lai turned the bell, and the piece of animal bone swayed slightly without touching the bell wall.

The wolves on the periphery seemed to sense something and almost simultaneously lowered their bodies.

Jiang Zhaoye asked, "Can this thing really kill it?"

Master Lai smiled.

"Who said I was going to kill?"

He looked up into the depths of Black Locust Ridge.

"Such a clever beast, it's a pity to kill it."

"Find it first."

"Let's find it a new owner."

A wolf howl suddenly came from afar.

Deep and lingering.

The wolves outside the warning line retreated simultaneously and disappeared into the dense forest in the blink of an eye.

Master Lai's smile gradually faded.

That howl didn't sound like a threat.

It was as if she was answering him.

Deep in the darkness, the wolf king, who had never shown himself, seemed to have known all along what he had brought.