Not There!

Inside the main hall. Seated upon the master seat, the elderly man spoke, his voice carrying across the entire hall: "In this test, you may claim first place." "Thank you, Elder." Ye Huan cupped his hands in a salute. Seated beside the elder were two rows of Taiyin Sect experts, every one of them sizing Ye Huan up and down. "Little brother, come to our Cuiyun Peak. This elder will ensure you become the strongest disciple of the new generation," a middle-aged woman of lingering charm said with a chuckle. "Nonsense! Your peak's moves are sinister and obscure. Ordinary people can't learn them at all, which is why your peak is full of short-lived ghosts! How could you nurture this boy? He should join our Jingang Peak!" a burly man bellowed. Furious, the middle-aged woman rose to argue, but a glare from the elderly man forced her back into her seat. "Shut up, all of you." The elder slapped the armrest of his chair and snapped. An exceedingly overbearing aura radiated from him. Ye Huan froze in place, quietly feeling the aura. He felt as if he were standing before a prehistoric behemoth. His body was completely beyond his control, trembling uncontrollably. Stealing a glance at the other children, he saw they were all in the same state; some were even kneeling on the ground. What realm was this? Why could a mere shout instill a sense of absolute helplessness? Seeing the hall quiet down, the elder looked back at Ye Huan and continued: "At first, I thought your body-hardening art was some long-existing martial technique that had merely been lost to the world, which you passed off as your own creation. "But after seeing your true comprehension, I have no choice but to believe that you truly possess such talent." Ye Huan nodded inwardly. Truly impressive. You're not wrong at all! I was backed into a corner by you, forced to spend a skill point to prove my comprehension and talent. In fact, there was a rule within the Identity Achievement challenge: "Everything that occurs within a virtual life trajectory does not truly exist." In other words, skill points spent here only took effect here. In the real world, he had not consumed any skill points, nor had Iron Cloth Shirt reverted back into Iron Hand! "You hail from Lantie City?" the elder asked. "Yes, Elder," Ye Huan replied. "Lantie City is far on the frontier, devoid of decent martial arts techniques. Practitioners there usually manage to reach In-Rank, but going any higher is difficult," the elder said. Ye Huan couldn't help but sigh silently. Not wrong at all! Those killers mostly reached the In-Rank level. While the police station didn't have any Shidu experts, it had at least seven or eight In-Rank martial artists. Security departments across various institutions also had In-Rank martial artists. The mining corporation's security personnel likely did as well. That was why entering the Bureau of Investigation with In-Rank proficiency seemed entirely normal and mediocre to others. Shidu was completely different. Martial artists of that tier could be considered official martial artists anywhere in the empire. The elder continued, "Your body-hardening art stems from Iron Hand, yet you managed to blaze a new trail and elevate it, with moves that faintly carry the poise of a grandmaster." "Thank you for the praise, Elder," Ye Huan said. "However, you must remember that what my Taiyin Sect values is your comprehension of martial arts. "The body-hardening technique you practice is far too crude. It is unworthy of your talent. You must not practice it again in the future; concentrate your efforts on cultivating the superior martial arts of our Taiyin Sect," the elder earnestly instructed. "Understood." Ye Huan bowed respectfully. "Someone, take these new disciples to the back to rest and prepare for peak selection." A few minutes later. Ye Huan was resting in the corridor behind the main hall. Xia Luoning suddenly walked over, tilting her head and staring at him, her lively eyes blinking. "What are you looking at?" Ye Huan asked. So this was what the office director looked like when she was little. Why does she look completely different from how she looks grown up? Ye Huan wondered inwardly. Xia Luoning suddenly spoke up: "Your body-hardening art is quite interesting. It looks like none of the people here can break your external martial art." "And?" Ye Huan was baffled. "No wonder you managed to steal my first place," Xia Luoning said with a beaming smile. Ye Huan sensed danger and immediately shifted the skill point from Three Skims of the Flying Swallow back to Iron Hand. This girl came from a distinguished martial lineage; who knew what advanced movement techniques she possessed? Body-hardening arts, however, were different. No matter how many secret techniques she had, she was still just an underage little girl. If she couldn't hit hard enough to pierce his defense, she simply couldn't. In an instant, the skill point was consumed once more, barely propping up a crippled version of Iron Cloth Shirt. Taking advantage of the moment, Ye Huan said, "Hey—I didn't steal your first place—" At almost the exact same instant, Xia Luoning charged forward, throwing a punch. Ye Huan engaged her immediately. The two clashed in a flurry of clattering blows. Though Ye Huan had lost the martial technique Three Skims of the Flying Swallow, during the process of practicing it in that martial world where everyone cultivated lightness skills—seeking out famous masters and receiving guidance from numerous experts—his horizons and experience had broadened significantly. Fighting now, even though his Iron Cloth Shirt was not what it used to be, Ye Huan's understanding of combat, his choices, and his judgment in the middle of battle had vastly improved. This accumulation of knowledge, memory, and experience could not be stripped away by skill points. For a time, the two were actually locked in a dead heat. Xia Luoning suddenly backed up a few steps and chuckled. "I see. This external art of yours really is astonishing; it defends every spot. But observing how your strength circulates, there must be a vital point." Ye Huan froze. She could see the crux of my technique just from this one spar? Who on earth taught her martial arts? How could she possess such terrifying insight! Ye Huan was suddenly reminded of the elder's words: "The technique you practice is far too crude; you must not practice it again in the future." Compared to a small frontier city of the empire, these people were practically standing among the clouds! —A world of difference between cloud and mud. Yet Xia Luoning grew more and more excited as she spoke: "I've struck all thirty-six vital acupoints across your body, and every spot possessed body-hardening power. That means your vital point must be right at—" Swaying her body, she employed a movement art to weave in, striking out toward— Ye Huan knew this wouldn't end well. Thinking on his feet, he darted back a few paces and shouted indignantly: "Not there!" That shout snapped Xia Luoning awake. She had used her clan's top-tier movement art and a secret martial technique, right on the verge of scoring a strike, only to be stopped dead in her tracks by this shout. Right. That place was indeed a bit... The young girl suddenly realized, withdrew her hands, covered her mouth, and with a reddened face turned and fled, hiding behind a pillar without uttering another word. "Where is his vital point? Luoning, say something!" Zhang Beisheng urged anxiously from the side. "I don't know, I don't know!" the young girl yelled loudly. Ye Huan, meanwhile, let out a sigh of relief. Good thing he was quick-witted; otherwise, wouldn't he have suffered a public defeat to this little girl? Just then, another young woman walked over from the front hall. She possessed delicate features and walked silently, exuding an air of quiet serenity. "Elder Sister!" Xia Luoning called out as if seeking rescue. "Luoning, congratulations on entering the sect. From now on, you can cultivate together with me... Why are you hiding behind a pillar?" the young woman asked curiously. Xia Luoning poked her head out timidly, her face still flushed pink, and mumbled, "Nothing. I was just waiting here for you to lead me up the mountain." Several children nearby seemed to know the young woman and chorused: "Greetings, Sister Xia Li!" Xia Li? Ye Huan cast an astonished glance at the young woman. No, she isn't the Xia Li from my memory. They look completely different. —Xia Luoning is the "Xia Li" at the Bureau of Investigation! In other words, Xia Luoning had assumed this young woman's identity to enter the Lantie City Bureau of Investigation! As Ye Huan was pondering this, he suddenly felt everything around him accelerate. Time flew forward at immense speed. The next instant, he snapped his eyes open and found himself still standing in the second-floor corridor of the Bureau of Investigation, by the window, looking out at the parking lot and the Bureau's front gate. Not much time seemed to have passed. Standing here, he could still see "Xia Li" having just exited the main gate of the Bureau of Investigation, crossing the street toward the other side. At the same time, a prompt surfaced in his mind: "Successfully passed the sect entrance test and entered the Taiyin Sect alongside Xia Luoning." "Successfully acquired identity: 'Taiyin Sect Disciple'." "Congratulations, your identity challenge has succeeded." "Achievement settlement as follows:" "As a Taiyin Sect disciple, over the following three months, you practiced the Taiyin Sect introductory movement technique 'Three Skims of the Flying Swallow' and other striking methods once more." "With the support of the Taiyin Sect's resources, after one year of cultivation, you ignited your second acupoint: Hegu." "'Three Skims of the Flying Swallow' has been thoroughly mastered by you and may be used." "You may also sacrifice it in exchange for points to allocate to skills on the Disaster-Averting Survival Skill Tree." A stretch of time cultivating martial arts in the Taiyin Sect quietly manifested. A full three months of sect life. Practicing martial arts, receiving instruction, various internal sect sparring matches, and becoming friends with Xia Luoning and others, weathering all sorts of experiences together... All of it felt completely real, etching itself into Ye Huan's memory. Ye Huan turned around, hurried back into the Mysterious Affairs Section office, and closed the door. Striking a boxing stance on the spot, he closed his eyes and looked inward. Another acupoint had opened within his body— Power surged upward from the first acupoint, "Yongquan," traversing the eight extraordinary meridians and entering "Hegu," converging, flowing unobstructed, and continuously expanding. Ye Huan suddenly raised a hand and gave a light palm strike from a distance. Smack. A faint handprint appeared on the wall. The power of Iron Hand Force had increased as well! His whole body brimmed with infinite strength, as though boundless energy was gushing forth from the two acupoints. His strength had grown tremendously!