Yuanye's Secret

In his sleep, some information recorded in his mind flashed by, and changes were also happening within Xilin's body.

When he opened his eyes again, it was two days later. Xilin didn't go to Old Daiwen's shop but instead went to his master Yuanye's residence.

Yuanye found Xilin in the woods west of town. At that time, a stellar flare brought high-energy radiation that caused crop failures on several planets, and the price of nutrient solutions soared. For the poor, it was a disaster. Many starved to death, and children who couldn't be fed were sold to the rich in the bustling city districts. Xilin was one of those who hadn't been sold in time. That day, a melee broke out in the western woods due to food shortages. When Yuanye arrived, only Xilin, still in swaddling clothes and placed in a tree hollow, was alive.

Yuanye was only a Level 7 Gene-class F-rank, yet he lived better and was stronger than a D-rank. Yuanye taught Xilin a set of fitness methods. Compared to the fitness methods Xilin had seen on television, Yuanye's set had improvements in various aspects such as human biomechanics. Xilin later used these fitness methods to hunt. Yuanye had said that originally, this set of fitness methods was adapted from martial arts, with the killing aspects removed and more peace added. However, Xilin gradually restored those removed parts through practice.

Yuanye passed away when Xilin was twelve. No one knew how old Yuanye actually was. Xilin only knew that his master was not simple, but he didn't know anything else.

Every month, Xilin would come to clean Yuanye's house. The furnishings inside were not shabby, giving a feeling of peaceful simplicity, just like Yuanye himself—low-key and unassuming. Although he wasn't short of money, he was content to live in obscurity in this impoverished area.

In the backyard stood a large tree over twenty meters tall. Its massive canopy shaded more than half the yard. Yuanye had said that perhaps there was only one such tree in the entire galaxy.

A wooden rocking chair lay quietly under the tree. Yuanye always liked to lie in the rocking chair and mutter. The chair creaked as it rocked, like the turning gears of time.

Xilin walked to the tree and took out the crystal-like pendant hanging around his neck.

"Master, Hena and I have come to see you."

In Xilin's world, there were only Yuanye and Hena. Old Daiwen could barely count as one. But now, both Yuanye and Hena were gone, and Old Daiwen was about to start his new life.

He sat down against the tree. Through the gaps in the leaves, dappled light sprinkled down, but it didn't feel very warm.

"I'm alone again."

Xilin raised his arm and, following the information he had learned in his mind, activated the control chip. He looked at his hands. Externally, they looked no different than before, yet they could now easily pierce a ten-centimeter steel plate, just like that perverted old man who could crush alloy daggers with ease.

He hadn't digested much of the information recorded in his mind yet, only having some basic understanding, such as the control over his body's muscles, and the activation and silencing of genes...

It's worth mentioning that due to the integration of the injected chip, Xilin's gene type had now reached B-rank. Before closing his eyes, Yuanye had told Xilin that if his gene type ever reached C-rank, he could open the box in his room; if not, he should never open it.

Xilin got up and walked into the room where Yuanye used to live. He opened the cabinet, and inside lay a small, seemingly wooden box. A layer of invisible protective film surrounded the small box, used to test gene levels. Xilin had been repelled when his gene type was still F-rank.

He placed his hand on the transparent film again. A faint halo spread out and then disappeared. Xilin took out the box. The key to opening it was Xilin's genetic information, a dual password from his genome and mitochondrial DNA.

Snap--

The box opened.

Yuanye's image appeared. Although only palm-sized, it was very clear.

"Xilin, being able to open this box means your gene type has not only reached C-rank but you are also not yet fifty years old."

Xilin's eyebrows twitched. He hadn't expected Yuanye to set an age limit.

"Xilin, if you plan to venture into space, then continue; if you don't have that plan, close the box and never open it again. This is my command as your master!"

Xilin didn't move.

After a while, the image flickered and then became clear again.

"Since you've chosen to venture into space, help your master with one thing. Take this ring from the box. If the ring reacts one day, send me home..."

Listening to Yuanye's voice, it was hard for Xilin to say he wasn't shocked. This ring was actually a Spatial Ring. Such technology couldn't be manufactured on Xilin's home planet. Only the super-rich in the central prosperous areas would own them; they were almost the ultimate luxury items. Yet, Yuanye genuinely possessed one, and Xilin could feel that it was even more finely crafted and complex than the Spatial Ring necklaces and other items owned by those wealthy individuals!

The more Yuanye explained, the more Xilin felt that Yuanye's identity was extraordinary.

"The tree in the yard is called a Fuji Tree. The crest of my family is a Fuji leaf. Shangshu Fuji – the Yuanye Family. Ever since I came to this area, I haven't heard any news about them..."

It turned out that when Yuanye was young and mischievous, he took his family's spaceship out and accidentally entered a "devil's zone." A wormhole that suddenly appeared swallowed his aircraft, and he arrived in this unfamiliar star domain. His aircraft was destroyed, and after wandering for a long time, he ended up on x-c362 Brown Earth, which was the current planet.

Although Yuanye didn't explain many details, Xilin could roughly guess some of them.

"Before the ring resonates, do not mention the Yuanye Family or Shangshu Fuji lightly..."

After the instructions were given, the image disappeared, leaving behind a wooden-like ring.

The ring looked a bit large. Xilin put it on his left thumb. The moment he put it on, the wooden ring suddenly transformed into a curled, leaf-shaped green pattern that clung tightly to his skin. It looked less like a ring and more like a tattoo that couldn't be removed, no matter how much he rubbed it.

Damn it, I wish I hadn't put it on my thumb! Who would get a curly leaf tattooed on their thumb?!

Following Yuanye's instructions, Xilin dug out Yuanye's coffin buried under the Fuji Tree in the yard. They hadn't opted for cremation back then. According to Yuanye's will, he was placed in a coffin made of Fuji wood and buried next to the tree. Of course, only Xilin and Hena knew about this.

Without disturbing the coffin much, Xilin pointed the leaf pattern on his thumb towards the coffin. A green light flashed, and the coffin was absorbed into the ring. Xilin could sense the coffin's location within the ring, and he also knew that there was still plenty of space inside the ring, enough to store supplies for a long journey.

After arranging everything in the yard, Xilin lightly kissed the pendant he was wearing, glanced at the leaf pattern on his thumb, and smiled, "The three of us will venture out!"