The carriage gradually receded into the distance, disappearing at the end of the street.
Lu Yuan stood at the entrance, watching them leave until they were no longer in sight.
He withdrew his gaze and turned to walk back into the base.
Inside the meeting room, Old Morgan was still there.
Several documents were spread across the table; his pipe rested to the side, unlit.
Lu Yuan walked in and sat down beside him, hesitating for a moment before finally speaking.
"Old Morgan, I had another dream."
Old Morgan looked up, his clouded eyes fixing on him.
Lu Yuan briefly described the contents of the dream: the void-like space, the eerie mass of colors in the distance, and the two words that finally formed.
"Danger."
Old Morgan's brow furrowed upon hearing this, and he remained silent for a long time.
"To be honest, I don't know what that means either," Old Morgan said, his voice sounding tired.
"After that mission on the island, the Strange Dreams should have disappeared."
"The Nightwatchers who were infected by the Strange Dreams at least survived after being sent to the province for treatment."
He looked at Lu Yuan with a complex expression.
"By all accounts, the influence of the Strange Dreams should have ended. I didn't expect you to have such a dream again..."
Lu Yuan didn't say anything.
Actually, he wasn't particularly worried.
That word "Danger" felt more like a warning.
Because after entering that void-like dream, his Sanity experience had increased, but the upper limit hadn't dropped.
If it could be maintained like this, having 'Strange Dreams' all the time wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Old Morgan sighed, clearly misunderstanding Lu Yuan's concern.
"Alright, don't think too much about it," his tone softened slightly. "I've already requested support for the situation in Gelimu Port. The reinforcement is a Captain stationed in the province, and he'll arrive tomorrow."
"Once he arrives, we'll likely be able to figure out exactly what happened in Gelimu Port."
As Old Morgan finished speaking, greyish-white text pulsed quietly at the edge of Lu Yuan's vision:
【Gelimu Port Status: +1, 45/50】
Lu Yuan looked at that line of text, the confusion in his heart deepening.
'Is this experience... changing based on the future?' Lu Yuan thought to himself. 'Or is everything preset, waiting for me to trigger it step by step...'
Steadying his mind, he nodded to Old Morgan and then stood up to take his leave.
"I'll go read some materials first."
Old Morgan waved his hand. "Go ahead. I'll call you if anything comes up."
Lu Yuan went to the Nightwatchers library; at this moment, he was the only one there.
He found a corner and sat down.
Subconsciously, his gaze swept over the lamps overhead.
Well, Ink had already left; the sudden silence was actually a bit hard to get used to.
Lu Yuan stood dazed for a moment, then shook his head and pulled out the book Ink had given him before leaving.
The Knowledge Pathway Guide.
The pages were yellowed and the corners curled; it clearly had some years on it.
He flipped to the first page, which contained a prologue written in the ancient Imperial Language.
"When you open this book, it means you have chosen the most difficult path among the transcendent pathways. On this road, only knowledge and Sanity will accompany you. You will face the truth of the world and endure pressure unimaginable to ordinary people. May you remain clear-headed in the darkness and hold onto your self at the edge of madness."
Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow as he looked at this passage.
The most difficult path...
But with his cheat, it didn't seem quite so difficult.
Continuing to read, the content of the book was written in the ancient Imperial Language and was extremely obscure and difficult to understand. Lu Yuan had to read each paragraph several times to barely grasp the meaning.
The book mainly discussed how transcendent practitioners of the Knowledge Pathway should nurture their Sanity on their journey forward, and included a basic meditation method.
Among them was a skill called "Guard," which could accelerate the recovery of Sanity while slowing down its consumption.
This happened to be exactly what he needed.
Lu Yuan studied it carefully. Time passed bit by bit, and he became more and more absorbed, almost forgetting everything around him.
He didn't know how long had passed before a knock sounded at the door.
Lu Yuan looked up.
Valentine stood at the entrance, as elegant as ever, with a faint smile on his lips and his green eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the light.
"Pardon the interruption," he nodded slightly. "I've come to say goodbye."
Lu Yuan was a bit surprised. "Goodbye?"
"I'm returning to my family," Valentine walked in, his gaze sweeping over the library shelves before choosing a chair that looked relatively clean. He sat down with a natural and elegant movement. "I've reached the threshold; it wouldn't be good to delay any further."
"You're going to advance?"
"Yes," Valentine nodded. "I've been stuck at rank 2 for a long time. Now that the time is right, I must seize it."
He paused and explained, "Furthermore, advancing requires my family's inheritance ritual and some special resources. It's not something that can be completed just anywhere."
"The pathway I've embarked upon was born from my family," his tone was calm, as if he were just making small talk. "My family is in the eastern region of the Empire. The things passed down by our ancestors continue to this day, so I must go back to advance."
Lu Yuan nodded and didn't ask further.
Inheritance rituals, special resources... Lu Yuan had never thought about these things.
But thinking about it now, even Gelimu Port had a monopoly on resources, let alone the transcendent pathways within the Empire.
"The further you go on this transcendent path, the harder it becomes," Valentine remarked, the smile on his lips fading slightly. "Resources and luck are both indispensable. Without them, if you try to walk it alone, you'll likely lose yourself on the way."
He looked at Lu Yuan, his green eyes filled with a bit of sentiment. "Just like the knowledge transcendent path you've chosen—maintaining a heart of reverence is very important."
Lu Yuan nodded. "I will."
Valentine didn't say anything more. He stood up and patted away the non-existent dust on his sleeve.
"I can't help much with the situation in Gelimu Port anymore," he said with a hint of apology in his tone. "Take care of yourself."
Lu Yuan smiled and shook his head slightly. "Hans and Mary are still at the base. I wish you all the best."
"I hope so," Valentine smiled, returning to his elegant and composed manner. "I hope we meet again."
Valentine nodded slightly to Lu Yuan and then turned to leave.
His back was still straight, and his steps were still composed, as if he weren't facing a life-or-death advancement but rather attending a noble banquet.
Lu Yuan stood at the door, watching his back disappear at the end of the corridor.
Another person had gone, but that was fine too.
Lu Yuan felt a bit of a headache when he thought about his current situation. The level of existence of the thing in his dream was very likely higher than the offspring, and it didn't seem to have any ill intent. He couldn't ignore a 'Danger' warning issued by such an entity.
'If I dream of that mass of colors again tonight, I'll have to leave quickly as well. I should try to take Hans, Mary, and Old Morgan with me if possible, but would they agree...?'
Lu Yuan didn't have a better solution for now and could only take things as they came.
He sat back in the corner and continued flipping through the Knowledge Pathway Guide.
He read for most of the afternoon and finally understood the principles of one of the meditation methods.
Closing the book, he tried to adjust his breathing, clear his thoughts, and mobilize his Sanity according to the method in the book.
At first, he didn't feel much, but as his breathing gradually stabilized, Lu Yuan vaguely noticed a slight change.
The feeling was very subtle, as if something in his mind was becoming more active, and his originally tense spirit relaxed a bit.
Most importantly, the repair speed of his Sanity barrier... seemed to have increased slightly.
A moment later, a line of greyish-white text popped up at the edge of his vision:
【Learned Passive Skill: Guard】
【Guard I: 0/10】
【Current Effect: Sanity recovery rate slightly increased. This effect strengthens as the level increases.】
Rate on N.U.
