The Beginning of the Turmoil

One morning, two mysterious figures dressed in black uniforms met quietly not far from the Yuan Stone villa.

"Have you finished investigating the information regarding Yuan Stone?"

"It's all investigated. Since the higher-ups are interested in Yuan Stone, why not just directly recruit him as a 'Reserve Warrior'? It wouldn't hurt to have one more."

"That is not for you to worry about. Tell me the information you've gathered!"

"Yes! I checked the test results from six years ago, when Yuan was 12. His Brain Domain Width was 37, an A+ grade, placing him in the top-tier genius category. However, his spirit power concentration at the time was only C-."

"C-? That low?"

"Yes. People from the Flying Star Rank training camp even kept an eye on him for a while, but since his talent as a Spirit Reader turned out to be mediocre, they eventually gave up on him."

"A Brain Domain Width of 37 before the Earth Rank is indeed top-tier genius material. What a pity. How is his cultivation going recently?"

The short man in black, responsible for the investigation, didn't think much of it, assuming the taller man was simply lamenting the waste of a genius.

"According to the Martial Arts Hall's training records, his spirit power intensity reached the peak of Apprentice Rank level 9 not long ago."

"With more than half a year left before he turns 18, it is certain he can break through to the Earth Rank via the Spirit Reader path. He even has a slim hope of reaching the Flying Star Rank in the future."

"Well done!" the tall man in black affirmed. "Transmit all the investigative materials you have, including the information on his family members, to me."

Just as the short man in black was about to lift his wristwatch to transmit the data, he was interrupted by the tall man.

"Do not use public information channels. Transmit these materials to me in person. This is my communication code..."

The short man in black obeyed, then asked, "Are there any new instructions from above?"

The tall man in black smiled. "You've done well. Return to your unit. Remember! Do not reveal the contents of this investigation to anyone!"

"Yes!"

The short man in black was delighted and turned to leave. The tall man stood motionless, watching the retreating figure with a strange expression.

In a blind spot of the street's surveillance, the short man in black suddenly fell to his knees in agony, his hands clutching his own throat tightly.

It was as if he were suffocating, or perhaps trying to strangle himself. His face turned deep red, and his entire body shook violently.

He struggled to stand, trying to seek help, but stumbled toward a trash can by the roadside, collapsed into it, and his entire body dissolved into black ash.

Only his suit remained in the trash can, completely unremarkable.

Yuan had been quite excited lately; even the Martial Arts Hall's cleaning robot, AI3, had noticed. It gossiped about the news in the hall with K30, the sparring robot from the boxing department.

AI3's mechanical eye flashed with a red light as it swung its vacuum nozzle back and forth, watching Yuan, who was in the middle of the hall commanding five Flying Shuttles to zip around while he himself leaped and bounded.

It asked the blockheaded K30 beside it, "Hasn't the kid Yuan been at the peak of Apprentice Rank level 9 for a while? Why hasn't he broken through yet?"

K30 replied in a muffled, guttural voice, "He said before that he wants to build a solid foundation and strive for success on the first attempt!"

AI3 realized, "So that's it. This kid Yuan is truly diligent. Aside from eating and sleeping, he spends almost all his time in the hall."

K30 sounded dismissive: "What's the use of being diligent? He still couldn't take two of my punches!"

AI3 mocked, "You hunk of iron are just simple-minded. Your main body is made of B9 Star Blue Gold; a Flying Star Rank wouldn't be able to break it."

"Otherwise, with your slow movements, your dog head would have been smashed in long ago!"

B9 grade Star Blue Gold is the best metal commonly used at the Flying Star Rank stage. Grades A through F correspond to the metals commonly used from the Earth Rank (Planet Rank) to the Immortal stage.

Dongyuan Stone is a mineral unique to Dongyuan Planet. It can catalyze metals from grade A to D, enhancing their material properties and more.

The Dongyuan Stone Mother mentioned earlier is even effective on grade E and F metals, making it extremely precious!

K30's simple logic circuits didn't know how to retort, so it just tapped its own head and remained silent.

"AI3, K30, please return to your work stations!"

"Let's go, let's go!" Caught red-handed by the hall's main control AI, the two robots hurried back to their work stations, ending their slacking time.

Yuan finished his training early today, planning to go home, whip up something to eat, and then consolidate his spirit power.

His parents had been busy working overtime and weren't home lately, so he had to solve his own dietary problems after training.

Yuan had rationally hidden the information about the purple crystal in his mind, lest he be dragged off somewhere to be dissected as a "lab rat."

He hadn't even told his parents; after all, telling them probably wouldn't help...

After making do with a simple dinner, Yuan sat on the sofa in his bedroom.

He instructed his personal AI, Tuya, to open the introduction to methods for an Apprentice Rank level 9 Spirit Reader to break through to the Earth Rank, and began to study it earnestly.

"Crossing from Apprentice Rank level 9 to the Earth Rank is the most important step in the leap of life levels, and also the most fundamental one! Once crossed, one officially transitions from the Apprentice Rank to become a genetic warrior or Spirit Reader in the universe."

"This chapter explains the method of becoming an 'Earth Rank level 1' Spirit Reader."

"Spirit power, in reality, can also be called mental power or soul power."

"The human body is mainly divided into the physical body and the spirit, or rather, the physical body and the soul. The spirit and the soul are actually the same thing."

"The spirit (soul) is divided into spirit power (soul power) and consciousness!"

"When the spirit power is sufficiently strong, it can leave the Consciousness Sea, control external matter, infiltrate the Consciousness Sea of other living beings, and so on. Sufficiently strong spirit power is what we call spirit power."

"How does an Apprentice Rank level 9's spirit power break through to the Earth Rank?"

"First, the spirit power intensity must reach the peak of Apprentice Rank level 9!"

"Next is 'consciousness'. Spirit is divided into 'spirit power' and 'consciousness'. Spirit power permeates the entire Consciousness Sea and is a tangible existence!"

"Yet consciousness is an intangible, untouchable existence! What exactly is this consciousness? What purpose does it serve?"

"You could say it this way: spirit power is the soldier, and consciousness is the commander!"

"The combat effectiveness of an entire army depends on two things: the soldiers and the commander!"

"In the simplest terms, an ordinary person can lift heavier objects when their spirit is excited. But when their spirit is low, the weight they can lift might only be half of their usual capacity!"

"In both cases, the physical strength is the same; it is the 'excited' or 'depressed' state of the spirit and consciousness that leads to different combat capabilities."

"Consciousness is important to a martial artist, and by the same logic, it is just as important to a Spirit Reader!"

"A brilliant commander can deploy troops and dispatch generals far more effectively."

"For two people at the same Apprentice level 9, the one with stronger consciousness can precisely control ten Flying Shuttles, or even more. The one with weaker consciousness can only control four or five! This is the difference consciousness makes!"

"There are many ways to train consciousness."

"For example, by enduring hardships and difficulties, a martial artist's will becomes firm. In fact, a 'firm will' is also a manifestation of strong consciousness!"

"My consciousness is considered poor; I can control at most six Flying Shuttles."

"Living in a city protected by the strong has many benefits, but in reality, it also means missing out on a lot of tempering. It's a difficult situation!"

"Of course, those are very crude methods. The most mainstream secret techniques for training consciousness for the Isis Race on Dongyuan Planet are the Controller school's secret Control Objects 108 Forms and the Illusionist school's secret Divine Thought 69 Forms. One is masculine and the other is feminine, and both are extremely effective."

"It's a pity I'm not a Reserve Warrior; I'll never get to see such excellent training methods."

"Of course, apprentices have different talents. Some have low Brain Domain Width, while others have a Brain Domain Width over 20, or even over 30."

"Those with high Brain Domain Width find it harder to break through, but their powerful consciousness will allow them to achieve much more in the future!"

Seeing this, Yuan felt a toothache: "Harder to break through? If I can't break through now, then even if my future achievements are high, it's useless!"

"When both consciousness and spirit power meet the requirements! Then the next step—is to break through!"

"Once both reach the limit, a breakthrough could happen at any time, but the timing is uncertain. There are three ways to handle this!"

"The first way: wait for an opportunity to arrive, or encounter a certain situation where an emotional surge makes your 'consciousness' excited, and you break through! You might also wait three or five years without ever breaking through."

"The second way: continue to strengthen your consciousness! A powerful consciousness can instantly force spirit power to break through."

"The third way: the Seven-Layer Divine Thought Tower described in this article. It is divided into forty-nine processes, each step requiring over an hour. You must build the Seven-Layer Divine Thought Tower within your Consciousness Sea. If you stop halfway, you have to start over from the beginning, so it must be done in one go. Once all forty-nine steps are completed, you can break through to the Earth Rank."

"Below is the detailed method for the Seven-Layer Divine Thought Tower..."

"The article explains it very clearly: the source of a Spirit Reader's power is the spirit! Which is the soul! This spirit is divided into 'spirit power' and 'consciousness'."

"Consciousness is the commander, and spirit power is the soldier?"

"Hmm, according to what the article says, my spirit power has long reached the limit, but my consciousness is still far, far behind."

Following the common sense Yuan had grown up with, he wouldn't be foolish enough to practice the Seven-Layer Divine Thought Tower right now.

After all, the article explicitly stated that one must strengthen their consciousness to a certain degree to maximize the effectiveness.

If he failed to reach the Earth Rank even after completing the training, he wouldn't have a second life to try again!

Yuan memorized the steps for building the Seven-Layer Divine Thought Tower introduced in the article repeatedly until he knew them by heart, and only then did he turn off the computer.

Yuan, who had looked average as a child, had become increasingly handsome after turning 18, becoming a perfectly optimized blend of Autumn and Doris. However, once it became known that his talent as a Spirit Reader was also average, the number of girls writing him love letters dropped significantly.

Coupled with the fact that the girls had all started dating one after another, things had been very quiet lately.

His friend Yiming, who had already promoted to the Earth Rank through external aids and found a girlfriend, heard the news and came over to mock Yuan, only to be ruthlessly slapped in the face by his own girlfriend on the spot.

Yiming's girlfriend said that the girls who were interested in Yuan were just lying low for the time being.

If Yuan really broke through to the Earth Rank, or expressed an interest in dating, it went without saying what would happen.

Hearing Yiming's girlfriend say that, Yuan almost couldn't help but laugh out loud. That's what you get for coming over to mock me!

For the sake of Yiming's face in front of his girlfriend, Yuan struggled to keep from looking at Yiming's increasingly dark expression, lest he burst out laughing.

Yuan missed the smiling faces of his classmates and friends, so he decided to waste some "precious time" and go out for a walk.

His parents weren't home, and he had been so busy training that he had become a bit of a shut-in lately.