2 Years Time

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. When Lin Yun was six and a half years old, Hogg called the two brothers to the Ancestral Hall.

Hogg finally told the two brothers about the past glory of the Baruch Clan. As the family of the Dragonblood Warrior, one of the Four Ultimate Warriors, they had produced one peak warrior after another throughout history.

Lin Yun naturally already knew this, but Linley was different. Upon learning that his family was one of the clans of the Ultimate Warriors, the pride and sense of honor in his heart made his blood boil.

However, he wasn't happy for long. After his father brought out the Dragonblood Needle for testing, it was discovered that neither brother possessed a high enough bloodline concentration to meet the requirements. Seeing the disappointment in his father's eyes, Linley couldn't help but cry. Although Lin Yun didn't cry, he felt disappointed as well; after all, the Dragon Transformation of a Dragonblood Warrior was incredibly powerful in the early stages.

That night, Linley tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He kept thinking about what happened during the day. Insufficient bloodline concentration, unable to perform the Dragon Transformation—this result weighed on his heart like a heavy stone.

He turned his head to look at the bed across from him. Lin Yun's eyes were closed, his breathing steady, and he seemed to be fast asleep.

"Lin Yun?" he whispered.

No response.

"Lin Yun, are you asleep?"

Still no response.

Linley sighed and turned over to face the wall. He thought his younger brother was asleep, but in reality, Lin Yun's consciousness had already switched to another world.

In the early morning of Yangzhou City, the air was filled with a damp mist.

Lin Yun sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. Last night, he had practiced the Qi Cultivation Style in the Coiling Dragon World for the entire day and then tested his bloodline concentration; it was already late at night when he switched over here. But this was the benefit of having two bodies that could operate independently—when one body was resting, the other could continue to be active.

"Yun'er, are you up?" Grandfather Lin Guodong's voice came from the outer room.

"I'm up, Grandfather." Lin Yun put on his clothes and walked out of the room.

Lin Guodong pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, carefully unfolded it, and laid it on the table.

It was an enrollment brochure.

Printed on it in large characters were the words "Enrollment Notice for Yi'an District Public Elementary School," and below that was a line of small print: "All children between the ages of six and twelve may register for enrollment; tuition is free."

Lin Yun was stunned.

"Grandfather, this is..."

"Yun'er, you're six and a half this year." Lin Guodong set down his chopsticks, his cloudy old eyes filled with affection. "That boy Luo Feng went to school last year, and you can't just stay at home forever. Your grandfather isn't capable enough to afford a good school for you, but we can still manage this public elementary school."

"Grandfather, I don't want to go to school." Lin Yun blurted out.

He truly didn't want to go. To him, school meant spending a massive amount of time sitting in a classroom, time that could have been used for cultivation. Time in the Swallowed Star World was especially precious—every single minute and second here was tied to his future survival.

"Nonsense!" Lin Guodong's voice suddenly turned stern. "If you don't go to school, what will you do when you grow up? Scavenge for scrap metal like your grandfather? Or go outside the city to be fed to the monsters?"

"I can go to the Limit Dojo—"

"The Limit Dojo?" Lin Guodong interrupted him, his voice tinged with bitterness. "Yun'er, while joining the Limit Dojo doesn't cost money, do you know how much it costs to hire an instructor? Just the monthly coaching fee is enough to feed the two of us for half a year."

Lin Yun fell silent.

He knew his grandfather was telling the truth. In this world, a Warrior was an existence at the pinnacle of the pyramid, but the path to becoming a Warrior was paved with money. Nutritional supplements, training equipment, combat guidance—which one didn't require money?

"If Grandfather wants me to go, I'll go." Lin Yun finally nodded.

He didn't want to disappoint his grandfather. This old man, who had raised him alone in the apocalypse, had already sacrificed too much for him.

A smile bloomed on Lin Guodong's face, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes bunching together. "That's my good grandson! I'll take you to register tomorrow. That child Luo Feng is also going to school there, so you two will have each other for company."

The next morning, Lin Guodong took Lin Yun to the Yi'an District Public Elementary School.

The school was not far from the low-rent housing area, about a twenty-minute walk. Calling it a school was a stretch; it was actually a courtyard surrounded by several reinforced old buildings. The playground was covered in gravel, and a few flagpoles stood crookedly, the national flag at the top faded by the wind.

The registration office was located in the lobby on the first floor of the teaching building, where a long line had formed. Lin Yun glanced over; most of the children coming to register were from commoner families, wearing coarse cloth clothes, some even barefoot. Occasionally, there were a few who were better dressed, accompanied by adults, clearly from the families of small merchants in the base city.

"Lin Yun! Over here!"

A familiar voice came from the front of the line. Lin Yun looked up and saw Luo Feng waving at him, standing next to a woman with delicate features—it was his mother, Gong Xinlan.

"Hello, Auntie Lan." Lin Yun greeted her politely. Lin Yun had grown up with Luo Feng; because they were close in age, he had often shared in Luo Feng's milk, so he held Gong Xinlan in high regard.

"Hello, hello." Gong Xinlan nodded with a smile. "From now on, you and Feng will be going to school together and looking out for each other. Feng, make sure to take good care of Lin Yun at school, you hear?"

"I know, Mom." Luo Feng replied, pulling Lin Yun to squeeze toward the front of the line. "Hurry up and get in line, it'll be our turn soon."

The registration process was very simple—registering names, ages, and addresses, followed by a basic physical examination, and that was it. The physical exam included height, weight, vision, and hearing.

After the paperwork was finished, Lin Guodong and Gong Xinlan headed back, leaving Lin Yun and Luo Feng to wander around the school.

"Which class were you assigned to?" Luo Feng asked.

"Grade One, Class Three."

"I'm in Class One." Luo Feng said with some regret. "We aren't in the same class, but that's okay. We can still play together after class."

Lin Yun nodded without saying anything.

The two walked around the playground once and finally sat down under a crooked tree.

"Lin Yun, you don't like school, do you?" Luo Feng suddenly asked.

Lin Yun looked at him. "How did you know?"

"A feeling." Luo Feng said. "You seem like you aren't really interested in anything. Classes, homework, exams... these things don't seem important in your eyes at all."

Lin Yun was somewhat surprised. Luo Feng's observational skills were far sharper than he had imagined.

"I just feel," Lin Yun said, weighing his words, "that in this world, there are things more important than going to school."

"You mean becoming a Warrior?"

Lin Yun did not deny it.

Luo Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "I want to be a Warrior too. My dad said if our family wants to turn things around, it all depends on me. But becoming a Warrior isn't easy. You need money, you need someone to teach you, and you need talent. Our family has none of those things."

His tone was very flat, as if he were speaking about something that had nothing to do with him.

But Lin Yun could hear the bitterness hidden within.

"Luo Feng," Lin Yun looked at him earnestly, "you will definitely become a Warrior. Furthermore, you will become the strongest Warrior in this world."

Luo Feng was stunned for a moment, then laughed, "How do you know?"

"Because you are Luo Feng," Lin Yun said.

It was exactly the same thing he had said to Linley back then.

Luo Feng did not press for an answer, only smiling and shaking his head, "You, you always say such strange things."

The two youths sat under a crooked tree, the gray, hazy sky above them, the ruins of a broken city in the distance, and an endless wilderness stretching out even further.

This world was dilapidated, cruel, and governed by the law of the jungle.

But they were still young, and they still had time to change everything.

Back in the Coiling Dragon World.

After the bloodline test, Linley became even more silent.

He was no longer as talkative or cheerful as before. Every day, he would wake up before dawn to practice the Qi Cultivation Style, continuing until nightfall. He was always the first to finish the training tasks assigned by Hillman, and he always exceeded the requirements. When the other children were resting, he was still practicing.

Lin Yun watched from the sidelines, knowing his brother was pushing himself.

The insufficient bloodline concentration, the inability to undergo Dragon Transformation—this result was a much harder blow to Linley than he let on. As the eldest son of the Baruch Clan, he viewed becoming a Dragonblood Warrior as his own mission. And now, that mission seemed out of reach.

"Linley," Lin Yun called out to him after training ended one day, "don't you think you're training too hard?"

Linley wiped the sweat from his forehead and shook his head, "It's not enough. With insufficient bloodline concentration, if I don't train three or five times harder than everyone else, how can I catch up?"

"Catch up to whom?"

Linley was stunned for a moment and did not answer.

Lin Yun sighed, "Are you trying to catch up to those descendants of Dragonblood Warriors who were born with high bloodline concentrations? Or are you trying to catch up to the first ancestor?"

"I..." Linley opened his mouth, unable to speak.

"Linley, the strength of a Dragonblood Warrior doesn't come solely from the bloodline," Lin Yun said seriously. "There are so many powerful people in this world who also lack the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline. The bloodline is an aid, but it is not everything."

Linley was silent for a long time.

"What about you?" he suddenly asked. "Aren't you disappointed?"

Lin Yun smiled, "I told you long ago, I will find my own path."

Linley looked at his younger brother, suddenly feeling that this brother of his was sometimes more mature than their father.

"I understand," Linley nodded. "I will keep practicing, but not out of spite. I'm doing it because I want to become strong."

"That is the true eldest son of the Baruch Clan."

The brothers looked at each other and both smiled.

When Linley was seven and a half years old, a chance encounter changed his destiny.

Because Hogg sold the family's stone carvings for gold coins, Linley became interested in learning the craft, only to be punished by his father to clean the ancestral hall. It was there that Linley found the object that would change his life forever!

The Coiling Dragon Ring!

Lin Yun knew the origin of this ring—it housed the soul of a Saint Realm magus, Doering Cowart. This ring would change Linley's destiny, and it would change his own as well.

"It looks like an old item," Lin Yun said, feigning calmness. "Perhaps it was left behind by one of our ancestors. You should keep it."

Linley nodded. Since it didn't fit his finger, he found a silk thread to string it up and wore it around his neck.

"It's a bit cold," Linley said, touching the black ring.

Lin Yun did not say much else.

He knew that Doering Cowart inside the ring was currently in a deep slumber and would need some time to wake up. Until then, he just needed to wait patiently.

That night, Linley lay in bed, fiddling with the ring he had found earlier that day.

Moonlight spilled in through the window, shining on the ring's blue gemstone and refracting a faint, eerie glow. Linley stared at that light for a long time, and for some reason, he felt an extraordinary sense of peace in his heart.

"Linley, are you asleep?" Lin Yun asked from across the room.

"No."

"Keep that ring safe," Lin Yun's voice sounded in the darkness. "Perhaps it will bring you a surprise."

Linley was a bit puzzled, "What kind of surprise?"

"I don't know," Lin Yun smiled. "It's just a feeling."

Linley did not ask any further questions, placing the ring back against his chest and closing his eyes.

Lin Yun closed his eyes, shifting his consciousness to the Swallowed Star World.

In the room in Yangzhou City, his other body was lying on the bed, breathing steadily.

With both worlds running in parallel, everything was progressing along the trajectory he had envisioned.

In the Coiling Dragon World, Linley had obtained the Coiling Dragon Ring, and Delin's awakening was only a matter of time. In the Swallowed Star World, he and Luo Feng were about to begin their school life; although this was not what he wanted, it would at least satisfy his grandfather.

As for himself, over these past two years, he had practiced the Qi Cultivation Style to the point of perfection, and his physical fitness had finally reached the level of a First-Rank Warrior. His body in the Swallowed Star World had also progressed rapidly, with strength far exceeding that of his body in the Coiling Dragon World. Lin Yun even suspected he had reached the level of a Warrior, though he could not confirm it due to a lack of testing equipment.

More importantly, his control over the Small Cauldron had become increasingly proficient, and he could now switch between the two worlds at will.

The road ahead was still long, but the direction was clear.

Two worlds running in parallel, nourishing and achieving one another.

Lin Yun opened his eyes, looking at the moonlight outside the window, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.

Eight years old. Everything had only just begun.