Main Worldline, twenty days later.
A spaceship was caught by a tractor beam and docked at Shaluo City's spaceport.
Passengers filed out of the ship and surged toward the gates like a tide. Outside, Officer Gao craned his neck, scanning left and right with his pupil arts. Then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he used mind arts to create a special effect above his head. "Here! Over here!"
In just a few strides, Shi Tiexin arrived before Officer Gao and nodded with a smile. "Long time no see."
Seeing Shi Tiexin, Officer Gao looked him over from head to toe. He felt that something had changed, though he could not put his finger on it. He cautiously asked, "Have you already completed the first layer of body refinement?"
"A little progress, nothing worth mentioning." Shi Tiexin got into the car. "Let's go. Back to headquarters first."
The car started moving.
Officer Gao could not help observing Shi Tiexin in the boss's seat through the rearview mirror.
Shi Tiexin had grown taller, apparently around seven feet two. The primordial energy around him was clearly stronger too; he had probably only just broken through and could not yet fully conceal his aura. His entire body seemed to emit a faint, lustrous glow. Evidently, he had remolded himself to perfection during the first layer of body refinement. Officer Gao swept his gaze over him several times, yet found not a single flaw.
Shi Tiexin's reflection turned its eyes toward him. "What is it?"
"Nothing." Officer Gao hurriedly withdrew his gaze, feeling the uneasy apprehension of someone accompanying a superior.
That inexplicable majesty around Shi Tiexin had grown stronger.
He did not need to knit his brows, glare, or put on airs. A distinctive bearing naturally clung to him, as though he were