Opening Up

The main entrance to the Limit General Hall in Jiangnan Base City was a full hundred meters wide.

It was Bai Yang's first time here, too. He paused outside the entrance and took it all in.

Even though no one would dare cause trouble here, the soldiers at the gate remained vigilant, constantly surveying their surroundings.

The enormous grounds were like a sprawling park, dotted with bridges, streams, rock gardens, and flower beds. People came and went without pause.

His lingering gaze soon drew the attention of the soldiers on duty.

A four-man combat squad stopped in front of him. The man leading them gave a polite salute and asked,

"May I ask what brings you here? This is an important site of the Limit Dojo. Unless someone inside has invited you, I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

Bai Yang was impressed by their professionalism. This really wasn't the sort of place you could get into just by having money.

Inspector Liu had certainly gone to a lot of trouble for him, though he didn't seem to get along with Lu Ting.

He took out a credential with a blue-green cover, opened it, and showed it to the four men.

The leader immediately gave him a formal salute. "Good day, Major General Bai! Chief Bai gave instructions. As soon as you arrived, we were to take you straight to him."

Bai Yang nodded for them to lead the way, and the squad promptly turned and went ahead.

They escorted him deeper into the grounds.

The internal layout was considered confidential; no phone navigation app had detailed maps of the place.

Without the soldiers guiding him, Bai Yang would have had a hard time finding his way.

Along the way, he saw that a third of the people coming and going were martial artists. The overall level of strength was frightening.

Before long, they brought him to a luxurious villa with pale yellow exterior walls.

Bai Sheng was waiting at the entrance. The soldiers had notified him in advance over their radios.

After saying goodbye to the four-man squad, the two of them went inside together.

Bai Yang took in his new home for the first time. The three-story villa came with a rooftop terrace and a basement.

Each floor covered nearly a thousand square meters.

Calling it a villa seemed inadequate. It was more like a mansion.

An aviation symbol had been painted on the rooftop terrace.

It was obvious that private aircraft could take off and land there.

A flying saucer the size of the Huashan would have no trouble fitting.

The private courtyard had everything: a swimming pool, a pond, a pavilion, and a lawn.

Bai Yang wasn't particularly interested in those things. What mattered was the interior.

There was practically everything he could think of: a study, a media room, a bar, and a martial arts hall.

If Bai Yang could think of it, he could find it here.

He couldn't understand why there were eight bedrooms, each with its own walk-in closet and bathroom.

The martial arts hall in particular had a special design. It wasn't located on any single floor.

Instead, it occupied a corner on the east side of the villa, with the floors and basement opened up to create a space that was practically a separate building.

This reinforced the foundation while giving the hall an overall height of sixteen meters.

Whether Bai Yang was flying in midair or using the first two stages of the Orochi Transformation, he wouldn't be unable to move freely.

He was especially pleased with that. And since the place was so vast, it even had a dedicated gym.

The exercise equipment was in a separate area, so it wouldn't get in the way.

After looking over the house, Bai Yang was very satisfied. "Brother Sheng, are you the only one living here for now? What about Uncle?"

"My dad's been at the dojo lately," Bai Sheng replied. "He can't bear to leave his new office. Now that you're home, I'll let him know. He can be back for dinner tonight."

Bai Yang agreed, of course. He'd be spending his time in the Wilderness Zone from now on, so it was only natural to have a meal with his family.

The two chatted about how things had changed lately, and Bai Yang could only laugh helplessly at what he heard.

It turned out Bai Sheng hadn't had an easy time of it recently.

Just like Bai Pianqing, plenty of people had realized that Bai Sheng's genes were the closest in the world to Bai Yang's.

These days, Bai Sheng received invitations from no shortage of beautiful women. Somehow, all sorts of people had gotten hold of his contact information.

As for Bai Pianyong, letters introducing him to the daughters of prominent families had piled up like a mountain.

Some of them were genuinely hard to turn down. Bai Sheng was a taciturn man with no interest in that sort of thing.

He'd been dragged into it anyway. At the very least, he had to do them the courtesy of meeting them once before he could make an excuse to turn them down.

The constant pressure had worn him out, and he'd even had to cut back on his training time.

Bai Yang laughed as he listened. This was way more entertaining than fighting monsters.

He couldn't resist teasing him. "Brother Sheng, with so many beautiful women around, isn't there even one you like?"

Bai Sheng didn't get annoyed. Brothers could joke around with each other.

"I wouldn't say I like them or dislike them," he said calmly. "It's just that they make their intentions too obvious. I'm not a clever man.

"But I understand what it means when someone's real goal isn't what they claim. Once I know what they're after, it's hard for me to accept them.

"Especially since I don't know whether they'll cause trouble for you. I have to be careful.

"You're at the Huashan now. Everything you say and do could be taken as representing Huaxia. We can't give anyone something to use against you."

After he finished, Bai Sheng fell silent, his expression calm and composed.

Bai Yang was touched. He knew his older cousin well.

Forcing himself to patiently deal with all those troublesome people ran completely counter to his nature.

He was doing it for his father, certainly, but to a large extent, he was doing it for Bai Yang, too.

He was afraid that if he kept turning everyone away, it would make things difficult for Bai Sheng or even affect his work indirectly.

But he'd been worrying needlessly. The two of them simply hadn't communicated enough.

Unlike other people, who trained in martial arts with at least some thought of making a name for themselves, Bai Sheng had been exercising on his own initiative ever since he was little.

His life was simple and pure—so simple that sometimes it seemed he exercised just for the sake of exercising.

Bai Yang's Mist Shadow Splitting Technique was, overall, a method of internal-force cultivation that placed great emphasis on adapting to change and quick thinking.

It wasn't particularly suited to Bai Sheng. If he trained in something unsuitable for him, it wouldn't just be a waste; it might even have the opposite effect.

Bai Yang quietly resolved to find him a cultivation method that suited him best.

Still, he could share some experience with the Guidance Technique and Genetic Origin Energy.

Bai Yang took the initiative to bring it up and carefully asked Bai Sheng about what he'd learned.

They kept their questions and answers brief, and time flew by.

That evening, Bai Pianyong came home from work and brought some food with him.

The three of them cooked together. It was all simple home cooking, but the meal was especially warm and satisfying.

Over the past three years, the psychological barriers Bai Yang had felt after first arriving in this world had gradually disappeared without his noticing.

The memories of his original self had become a part of him completely, deepening his attachment to and involvement in this world.