In the villa across the artificial lake, a student was playing electronic music; the sound carried over clearly.
Further out, he could even sense the faint pulses of the Glowgrass as it absorbed ambient energy.
Time ticked by.
Lin Yuan had thoroughly refined over ninety percent of the red energy.
His space-time ability had steadily climbed from Tier 1, Level 7 to the threshold of Tier 1, Level 8.
Lin Yuan pulled the final speck of red energy back into his dantian, instantly enveloping it with space-time power.
“Crack.”
Soon, the barrier to Tier 1, Level 8 quietly shattered.
There was no explosive sensation like with his lightning breakthroughs; advancements in space-time ability were always silent.
The range of his sea of consciousness expanded directly to twenty-five meters, and his sensory precision increased significantly.
But at that moment, the last few wisps of red energy deep within his meridians suddenly went wild!
Without warning!
They violently broke free from the constraints of his space-time power, transforming into several bolts of dark red lightning that surged frantically in reverse through his meridians.
Lin Yuan’s expression changed. He immediately mobilized his space-time power and Profound Gold Pale Thunder to block them with everything he had.
Yet these few wisps of red energy seemed to possess a consciousness of their own, precisely evading him at every meridian junction.
Dodging the space-time envelopment and slipping through the golden lightning net, they rushed straight ahead...
...and finally poured into the red light core in the center of his chest!
The red light core swallowed all the energy whole.
Then, everything returned to a state of complete calm.
It was so quiet it felt as if nothing had happened at all.
Lin Yuan held his breath and waited.
Five seconds, ten seconds, a minute...
The red light core hung quietly between his heart and breastbone, its dark red glow pulsing steadily, its rhythm half a beat out of sync with his heartbeat.
Frowning deeply, Lin Yuan mobilized his Profound Gold Pale Thunder to tentatively probe the core, but there was no reaction.
He tried enveloping it with space-time power, but still, nothing moved.
Lin Yuan sat in the cultivation room for a long time, trying every method he could think of, but the light core remained motionless.
Though he was reluctant to give up, he could only set the matter aside for now.
Lin Yuan withdrew his consciousness and opened his eyes.
A large section of the energy-absorbing stone bricks in the cultivation room had lit up.
The fluctuations from his breakthrough and the energy surge had been silently devoured by the energy-absorbing array. It hadn't disturbed anyone or triggered the villa's alarms.
Lin Yuan picked up his battered phone and checked the time.
It was already 10:30 PM.
He pulled up the system panel again.
【Host: Lin Yuan】
【Lightning Ability: Profound Gold Pale Thunder, C-rank, Tier 2, Level 1】
【Space-Time Ability: Space-Time Ruler, S-rank, Tier 1, Level 8】
【Bone Tempering: Ten Rounds as One (three-colored bones)】
【Combat Technique: 《Thunder Walk Through Nine Heavens》, Tier 7, Proficiency: Proficient (68%)】
【Combat Technique: 《Sands of Time》, Tier 5, Proficiency: Practiced (16%)】
【Combat Technique: 《Running Thunder Finger》, Tier 4, Proficiency: Practiced (19%)】
【Combat Technique: 《Gravity Control》, Tier 5, Proficiency: Practiced (1%)】
【Ability Points: 1350】
【Space-Time Covenant Seal Unlock Progress: 56%】
He still had 1,350 Ability Points, so Lin Yuan wasn't in a hurry to use them.
Using them now wouldn't be enough to push Sands of Time, Gravity Control, or Running Thunder Finger to the next proficiency level.
Therefore, spending Ability Points now wasn't the optimal choice.
The first thing he needed to do tomorrow was find Shen Man and claim his S-rank student benefits.
The most prudent course of action was to fully understand the rules and resources of Magic City Academy before finalizing his subsequent cultivation plans.
Rubbing his chin, Lin Yuan slowly stood up and walked toward the cultivation room door, muttering to himself.
“Looks like I’ll need to find an opportunity to hunt some monsters. I’m running low on Ability Points...”
As for the red light core, he would study it once he had sorted out his current affairs.
Shortly after, Lin Yuan left the cultivation room and took a hot shower in the bathroom.
As the hot water washed over his back, the three-colored bones beneath his skin faintly glowed.
Intertwined shades of pale gold, silver-white, and blood-red formed patterns that were denser than before.
After drying his hair, he lay down on the bed. The plain gray bedding had the slightly cool touch of being freshly unpacked.
...
The next morning, exactly 8:00 AM.
The phone on the nightstand vibrated violently, ringing as if someone were demanding his life.
Lin Yuan reached out from under the covers and grabbed the phone without even opening his eyes.
The name “Shen Man” kept jumping on the screen.
He called out to the air: “Luo Shu, answer.”
Immediately, the pale blue ring of light on the ceiling lit up.
The phantom of the ancient bronze book slowly descended, its pages flipping open.
Shen Man’s voice drifted from the pages, sounding lazy.
“Not awake yet? It’s already eight.”
Lin Yuan buried his face in the pillow and said muffledly: “Is eight o'clock late for a college student? Classes haven't even started yet. Teacher Shen, you've been at the academy for so many years; I'm afraid you have a misunderstanding of college life.”
Hearing this, Shen Man didn't bother responding to his jab and spoke directly: “Cut the nonsense. Get out of bed and come to the Integrated Teaching Building. Your S-rank benefits are here.”
“Benefits?”
Lin Yuan rolled over, pinning the phone between his ear and the pillow. “Can't you just have Luo Shu tell me about the S-rank benefits? Why do I have to make a trip so early in the morning?”
As soon as he finished, Shen Man’s voice came through again.
“My mentor and I have fought for an opportunity for you to win some perks.”
Shen Man’s voice suddenly dropped, her tone rising at the end with a hint of mischief, followed by a series of jie jie jie cackles.
“Don't you go being useless on me, Lin Yuan.”
Hearing that laughter, Lin Yuan’s drowsiness vanished instantly.
He knew that laughter all too well!
She had laughed like that before slapping him on the back at the hospital in Hangzhou.
She had laughed like that when watching the video of him taking down nine people single-handedly.
...
Every time this woman laughed like that, it meant trouble. Either he’d have to risk his life, or he’d have to show off. Most likely, it was both!
“What kind of opportunity? Be specific...”
“Enough talk. You’ll know when you get here. I’m sending you the location. You have to be here within half an hour.”
After saying that, Shen Man hung up immediately.
Lin Yuan stared at the phantom of Luo Shu on the ceiling for three seconds, sighed, threw off the covers, and got out of bed.
While washing up, he looked in the mirror.
His Ten Rounds as One bones shimmered with a faint golden luster in the morning light.
After breaking through with Profound Gold Pale Thunder last night, his overall aura had become more composed. Faint arcs of dark gold lightning occasionally jumped from his fingertips; he hadn't fully adapted to the new ability yet.
Luo Shu had already prepared breakfast: two slices of toast, a fried egg, and a glass of milk—simple and efficient.
Lin Yuan looked out the window while eating. The curtains at Villa No. 8, where Su Qingyue lived, were still tightly drawn.
She must have returned very late last night. Shen Man had been helping her with the Ice Academy procedures, and perhaps the instructors there had even let her try out some secret techniques.
Fifteen minutes later, Lin Yuan arrived at the Integrated Teaching Building.
The building only had six floors, but it covered a massive area, far more spacious than the cultivation area he had visited yesterday.
The exterior walls were made of a light gray composite material that shimmered with a faint metallic glint under the morning sun.
Rate on N.U.
