End of Seclusion, Surrender First

The Imaginary Energy adaptation for the Breathing Technique took longer than Dan Lei had imagined, with him being in intermittent seclusion for a full two years.

Fortunately, Dan Lei wasn't in complete isolation. He frequently ordered takeout from Meizhan Pavilion using the Jade Seal, and since the shop had hired an employee to manage things, he would occasionally step out for fresh air.

As such, the neighbors in Golden People Alley didn't think Dan Lei had disappeared; they just wondered why such a young man was so much of a homebody.

However, if anyone could enter Dan Lei's workshop at this moment, they would see him bare-chested, his entire body covered in dragon-shaped markings, and him inhaling and exhaling large amounts of Imaginary Energy.

The dragon-shaped markings on Dan Lei's body were the Marks. After absorbing a large amount of Imaginary Energy through the Breathing Technique, Imaginary Energy-based Marks appeared on his body.

It was just that these Marks didn't drain his life force. The Chizuru Clan's bodies were even more adaptable to Imaginary Energy than Dan Lei had anticipated.

Dan Lei had been too focused on trying to achieve instant success by absorbing Imaginary Energy through his Magic Circuits, which left him in a state of near-death bliss. If he had researched storing Imaginary Energy in his physical body earlier, he would have discovered the immense potential for excavation within the Chizuru Clan's bodies.

Now, after two years of cultivation, Dan Lei had mastered the entire process of the Breathing Technique, absorbing Imaginary Energy from the outside world through respiration. He had even reached a point where he could absorb ambient free-floating Imaginary Energy directly through his mouth and nose, even without air.

However, directly absorbing it through his Magic Circuits was still not possible. He could only say that until he found a cultivation method to strengthen his Magic Circuits, Dan Lei should refrain from further damaging his body.

Therefore, after perfecting the process of converting ambient, unowned Imaginary Energy into Magic and True Qi, Dan Lei officially emerged from seclusion.

Upon emerging, Dan Lei, without any hesitation, headed straight to the Ten Lords' Commission to surrender himself.

Here, Dan Lei wasn't planning to reveal his secret of possessing a world-traversing Holy Grail. Instead, he was preparing to apply for a permit to freely enter and exit Luofu.

Over the past two years, Dan Lei had been desperately charging the Holy Grail, but the Magic he converted solely through his Breathing Technique was too slow.

Frankly, how could an individual's Magic compare to a Ley Line? Even those Pathstriders with planet-destroying power weren't comparable to planets in terms of their energy; after all, destroying a planet only required matching the strength of its crust and soil, not confronting the energy contained within it.

It was now Star Calendar year 8076, and the Star Core Essence would arrive in thirty-four years. Therefore, to traverse worlds multiple times before the Great Calamity of Huansha, Dan Lei urgently needed a permit for free travel to other planets.

This thing was genuinely hard to obtain in Luofu.

The simplest way was to have sufficient capital to establish a merchant guild and travel to various planets under the guise of commerce.

However, with commerce, one couldn't stay on a single planet for too long, and all routes had to be reported to the Celestial Ship Commission, making it very restrictive.

The permit Dan Lei wanted was a "Training Entry and Exit Permit," meant for powerful Pathstriders to go out and train.

After all, many Destinies couldn't be practiced and improved by simply staying in Luofu. Therefore, after strict review, these Pathstriders would have the opportunity to obtain training permits.

And now, Dan Lei, possessing the Destiny of Memory, had the basis to apply for this permit.

The way for Memory Pathstriders to practice their Destiny was simple: to tamper with memories everywhere.

Both the Flowing Light Memory Court and the Incineration Chemical Works, as Memory Holders, were dedicated to collecting various memories.

If Dan Lei were to tamper with memories in Luofu, one could guess how many secrets Luofu absolutely wouldn't want Dan Lei to know.

It could be said that as long as Dan Lei could prove he could salvage memories from the Sea of Memory Substance, Luofu would probably be eager for him to stop causing trouble there and go mess with other places.

Therefore, Dan Lei decided to surrender himself to the Ten Lords' Commission, confessing that he now possessed the ability to threaten the preservation of Luofu's secrets, and vouching for his future leaps in strength and knowledge of numerous secrets.

Dan Lei was very familiar with the road to the Ten Lords' Commission. He had many acquaintances in both the Alchemy Commission and the Scale Abyss Realm; passing by wouldn't cause him any trouble.

As for the Imprisonment Court, a place ordinary people in Luofu avoided, Dan Lei claimed he was too familiar with it. Moreover, it was full of "talents" who spoke so nicely; coming here felt like coming home.

In fact, Dan Lei's statement about the Imprisonment Court feeling like home wasn't a lie. He had spent more than half of his nearly two hundred years in Luofu there, so much so that the Martial Officer at the gate, upon seeing him, directly asked, "Oh, Dan Lei, what brings you to the Imprisonment Court? Are you looking for Judge Hanya or Judge Xueyi?"

To the Martial Officer's question, Dan Lei replied with a smile, "I won't be going in directly today. I'll follow the formal procedure and see Judge Hanya. Tell her I need to report my risk capabilities."

Upon hearing this, the Martial Officer knew Dan Lei had important business today and replied sternly, "Understood. Please wait here."

Because he was following the formal procedure, Hanya soon came out of the Imprisonment Court with a Martial Officer and two Golden People Soul Reapers. She looked at the relaxed Dan Lei and said somewhat speechlessly, "Dan Lei, what is the matter that brings you here today?"

Dan Lei, having frequently assisted Xueyi, was quite familiar with Hanya, so he walked up and whispered close to her, "I have successfully completed memory retrieval."

Upon hearing this, Hanya's slightly tired expression instantly became more alert. She said to the Martial Officer behind her, "Take Mr. Dan Lei to the interrogation room on the first floor."

Here, Hanya mentioning the first-floor interrogation room actually proved that Dan Lei hadn't committed any crimes or wasn't involved in anything serious. This was because the first floor was for questioning witnesses assisting in investigations, while those guilty would be held on deeper levels.

So, the Martial Officer who accompanied Hanya said relatively casually, "Mr. Dan Lei, let's go. I don't think you need me to lead the way, do you?"

Dan Lei was here to surrender, so he was naturally cooperative. After entering the Imprisonment Court and seeing that there weren't many people around, he even had the mood to ask Hanya, "I want to go to interrogation room number three. It will be more convenient to leave from there later."

Hanya and the Martial Officer behind her didn't seem to mind Dan Lei's familiarity with the place. Moreover, with fewer people around now, Hanya spoke like a friend, "Of course. But Dan Lei, if I find any problems with you today, I won't show any favoritism."

Dan Lei remained calm in the face of Hanya's threat. He figured she wouldn't be able to make a judgment on her own regarding what he was about to say and would definitely have to report it to the Ten Lords and the Generals. Perhaps he might even get to see Jing Yuan up close today.

So, Dan Lei simply replied with a smile, "It's fine. If I do get locked up, bring me one of your custom-made sleep coffins later. Because if I get locked up, it must be because you're using your public office for private revenge."