"I ran into a cyborg that day. His speed..."
Qin Annian recounted what had happened that night in detail, then asked with some puzzlement:
"That state was so incredible."
At that moment.
Han Xi set down her cup, propped her cheek on one hand, and tilted her head to look at Qin Annian.
Uh.
Qin Annian's eyebrows twitched. He asked, perplexed:
"Why are you looking at me like I'm an alien?"
Han Xi's slightly husky voice rang out, with a rare hint of uncertainty in her tone:
"Are you really not an alien?"
At her words, Qin Annian fell silent.
"There are four paths of spiritual cultivation. After reaching the Entry Realm, they correspond to four levels: the Human World, Free and Easy Wandering, Master of Nourishing Life, and Ascended Immortal. None is superior to the others."
Han Xi had a lovely voice. Her emotions rarely showed, and she spoke clearly, though its husky quality gave her words a slightly languid lilt.
"The state you described is Free and Easy Wandering."
Free and Easy Wandering?
Qin Annian straightened up, waiting for Han Xi to explain further.
"One who rides the rightness of Heaven and Earth, harnesses the changes of the six energies, and wanders without limit—what could such a person depend on?"
"Seeing through the mortal world, with one's heart beyond the clouds. Thus, no amount of change can obscure one's mind. One can even predict an opponent's next move."
Qin Annian nodded silently. Back then, he really had been able to see through the cyborg's next move.
At first, he'd thought it was because of his Fist Technique Grandmaster awareness, but he'd also sensed that wasn't quite right. Now, it seemed there really was something different about it.
"However."
"You're only nineteen."
"You've already seen through the mortal world?"
Han Xi still had her face tilted to one side. Her moon-bright eyes carefully studied Qin Annian.
"Now that I think about it, when I first asked you to marry me..."
"You really did seem as though you'd seen through the mortal world. There wasn't the slightest change in your emotions."
"A grandmaster's state of mind shouldn't affect their emotions."
Qin Annian pressed his lips together and changed the subject:
"I'm not sure I can enter that state again now, either."
Han Xi let go of her cheek, clasped her right elbow with her left hand, and stretched backward:
"So you really aren't an alien?"
"This is the first time I've ever heard of someone who reached the Entry Realm being unable to enter it again."
Qin Annian shrugged, then suddenly had an idea:
"Can anyone follow two paths at once?"
Han Xi put her cup on the table, tossed the empty wrapper from her Nutrient Bar, and shook her head.
"People can't experience youth and feel what it's like to be young at the same time."
"Someone who has seen through the mortal world won't be tempered by it anymore."
"Flowers bloom again, but people never grow young again."
"Unless..."
"Someone can experience two entirely different lives at once."
Qin Annian nodded as if enlightened, to show that he understood.
"It's your turn to take out the trash today."
After rinsing the cups on the table and putting them away, Qin Annian carried the sorted trash bags downstairs.
"Two lives?"
"Following two paths at once?"
He mulled it over as he made his way downstairs.
Above the Universe Tower, the night sky glittered with stars, unpolluted by neon lights.
There was abundant greenery all around, and the air was exceptionally fresh.
"It feels like a dream!"
"Was Zhuang Zhou dreaming he was a butterfly, or was a butterfly dreaming it was Zhuang Zhou?"
The confusion that had arisen in his heart was crushed in an instant. Qin Annian clenched his fist and silently told himself:
"No matter what!"
"In this life, I'll make it beyond the stars!"
To see the world the Martial Gods saw!
As for the matter of spiritual cultivation, since he couldn't make sense of it, he'd set it aside for now.
"Next..."
"I need to focus on the Hundred Cities Tournament."
Qin Annian believed Zhang Qifeng wouldn't go back on his word and would help him secure a spot in the Hundred Cities Tournament.
On his way home, Qin Annian opened the Security Bureau's internal forum.
"Since Han Xi said it's all over..."
"There should be some news on the forum, too."
Qin Annian searched for "Zhao Daming." He wasn't exactly a magnanimous person.
He was naturally very interested in what had happened to the mole who had wanted him dead.
It didn't take long for Qin Annian to find a related post.
[Former public safety officer Zhao Daming colluded with outsiders, taking bribes and neglecting his duties. He'll probably spend the rest of his life in prison.]
Serves him right.
Qin Annian kept scrolling, reading all the rumors below the post.
"I heard Zhao Daming colluded with people from Lingyun Pharmaceuticals, selling them people for human experiments. He had some nerve!"
"It wasn't as serious as people are saying. Someone from Lingyun Pharmaceuticals just paid him off to look the other way within the limits of his authority."
"He pretended not to notice their crimes."
"Tsk!"
"Whatever the case, he got what he deserved."
"That's true."
"But who could've guessed that a temp working under Zhao Daming would take off like a rocket?"
"Damn!"
"With the merits he's earned, he's more than qualified to be promoted to a senior public safety officer in the first tier!"
"He hasn't been here long enough. We public safety officers have to put in our time."
"Still, that's plenty. Even if he just sits around doing nothing from now on, he'll get promoted once he's been here long enough. Besides, he's got a ton of points! Oh, and he'll get an extra bonus, too!"
"Among us public safety officers, after this great battle, who's going to get a bigger bonus than him?"
For a while.
The thread filled with envious reaction images.
"First he took down Xu Laosan and Ge Qingwang on his own, then he uncovered the Cultivation Holders Association's misdeeds and gave the Bureau grounds to send in troops. After that, he stormed the Iron Rod Gang alone and fought his way out of a siege by all those people!"
Those were the feats everyone knew about. His battles against Ghost Blade, the cyborg, and the others hadn't spread yet.
But what people already knew was "impressive" enough!
"Don't forget, he hasn't been a full-fledged officer for very long!"
"I doubt any of you could pull off even one of those in ten years!"
"Pfft! As if you could!"
Qin Annian searched for Lingyun Pharmaceuticals next.
The results all said that a laboratory supervisor at Lingyun Pharmaceuticals had conducted illegal human experiments while developing a drug, and had now been arrested by the Security Bureau.
"But..."
"How could a laboratory supervisor have that much authority?"
People had raised the same question in the related threads.
"Those who know, know."
"Haven't you seen the news?"
"Lingyun Pharmaceuticals set up a fund of one hundred million Federation Credits to invest in the redevelopment of the Old District."
"One hundred million Federation Credits!"
"That's an astronomical sum!"
"And Lingyun Pharmaceuticals has also provided the Security Bureau with a batch of its newest drugs."
"Oh, right!"
"Speaking of which, I heard those new drugs will be among the rewards in the upcoming 'Rewarding Merit' ceremony!"
"They really are loaded!"
"Meanwhile, the families that acted as the Cultivation Holders Association's protectors have all been uprooted by the City Government."
"The City Government has confiscated all their businesses."
"The difference is just..."
Qin Annian locked his Personal Terminal and stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.
"The newest drugs?"
"As expected of a Federation behemoth. Even after a battle like this, some people can still cut their losses and save themselves."
Before you continue