Progress is Endless! A Child's Heart

The moment that vast and pure spiritual energy was swallowed whole, it carried with it a scattering of broken memory fragments.

Chen Yan did not let them slip away.

With a sweep of his Divine Sense Differentiation, he parsed every bit of that information.

It turned out that this Spirit Race creature, which Wang Jian had pulverized with a single punch, went by the designation "Scout-734."

Within their race, it belonged to the lowest tier of cannon fodder, lacking even the qualification to possess a true name of its own.

Their mission was to serve as the first wave of a suicide squad, crossing through an extremely unstable conduit to reach this world.

The spatial conduit between the Spirit Race homeworld and Blue Star had not been established successfully.

Because the energy was volatile, the conduit was riddled with spatial turbulence; nearly half of the Spirit Race members who entered were torn to shreds, lost forever in the cracks between dimensions.

That was why cannon fodder scouts like this one were needed to arrive ahead of time.

They were to search for suitable energy nodes on the Blue Star side and, by sacrificing their lives, provide coordinate positioning to stabilize the conduit and pave the way for the main force's arrival.

As for the specific location of the conduit...

Chen Yan attempted to probe deeper, only to find the memories came to an abrupt halt.

Cannon fodder at the level of Scout-734 simply weren't qualified to know the full scope of the plan.

Yet, Chen Yan was not discouraged.

On the contrary, his line of thinking suddenly cleared.

If one wasn't enough, then ten would do.

If ten weren't enough, then one hundred!

As long as he hunted enough Spirit Race cannon fodder, he would sooner or later be able to piece together the complete coordinates of the invasion conduit from these fragmented memory puzzles!

Pity?

Those two words did not exist in Chen Yan's dictionary.

Regardless of whether these Spirit Race members were acting willingly or under duress, they had already committed acts of aggression.

The ordinary people hanging on the walls of the alley, their eyes wide with the shock of death, were ironclad proof.

Regarding these alien invaders who had breached his home, Chen Yan had only one thought.

Kill them all!

Devour them all!

Leave not a single drop behind!

Once this was done, that strand of Divine Sense, now nearly solidified, transformed into a streak of light and returned silently to his main body, far away at the Du Family Martial Arts Hall.

The massive surge of spiritual power returned to his sea of consciousness, kicking up towering waves.

Chen Yan felt his mind become crystal clear; the entire world felt different to his senses.

[Spirit: 2446/10000]
[Luck: 95 (Continuous Good Fortune)]
[Meditation Method (Great Success) (0/10000)]
[Divine Sense Differentiation (Great Success) (0/10000)]

The breakthrough in his skills and the explosive growth of his attributes brought Chen Yan a sense of relief that emanated from the depths of his soul.

He felt refreshed and invigorated.

The path of progress truly had no end!

On the other side.

Wang Jian had not waited long before he heard the sound of hurried footsteps approaching from afar.

The person who arrived was not from the Public Security Bureau, but his teacher, Du Chun.

"Teacher!"

Seeing the face of Du Chun, etched with anxiety and concern, Wang Jian felt a warmth in his heart, and his taut nerves nearly snapped on the spot.

Du Chun stepped forward quickly, catching the swaying Wang Jian, and sent a surge of vigorous blood energy into his body to conduct a rapid examination.

"It's alright, just exhaustion. Your foundation is unharmed."

Du Chun breathed a sigh of relief, but upon seeing the horrific scene at the mouth of the alley, his expression darkened instantly.

He had arrived even faster than the Public Security Bureau.

This level of concern moved Wang Jian beyond words.

Soon, the piercing wail of sirens tore through the night sky, and several vehicles emblazoned with the Special Investigation Team emblem screeched to a halt.

Leading the team was none other than the deputy captain, Falcon.

He was lean and sturdy, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's. After scanning the scene, his brows locked tightly together.

"Citizen, please describe the situation at the time," Falcon said, his tone concise and direct.

Wang Jian forced himself to stay alert, recounting everything that had just transpired exactly as it happened.

When they heard, "A rogue cultivator specializing in mental power happened to be passing by; he exhausted his soul to save me and passed away," every member of the Special Investigation Team present wore a strange expression.

Falcon, in particular.

Having worked in this line of duty for so many years, the thing he believed in least was coincidence.

A martial artist specializing in mental power?

They were already as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, with a scarcity comparable to a giant panda.

Just happened to be passing by?

Just happened to run into you being attacked by a high-level Spirit Race?

Just happened to step in to save you?

And just happened to exhaust himself to death to save an amateur third-rank like you?

In this world, how could there be so many coincidences!

"Captain, we found something!" A team member ran out from the lane, his face deathly pale. "The entire Willow Shade Lane, along with the nearby residential buildings—a total of one hundred and seventy-two households—have all perished! There isn't a single survivor!"

"Preliminary assessment suggests the time of death was within the last week, yet we never received a single report."

"It was a Spirit Race illusion; it shrouded this place and turned the entire area into its hunting ground!"

Falcon's expression turned ugly in an instant.

One hundred and seventy-two households!

This was the most devastating casualty count since the Spirit Race incidents erupted in Jiang City!

He took a deep breath, suppressing the fury in his heart, and turned to Wang Jian and Du Chun. "This is a major, heinous incident. We may require further cooperation from student Wang Jian for the investigation; I hope you can understand."

"It is our duty," Du Chun replied in a deep voice.

After the Special Investigation Team cordoned off the scene and began the follow-up procedures, Du Chun took Wang Jian and left.

Once they had walked a distance and confirmed no one was around, Wang Jian lowered his voice, his expression agitated and tinged with a trace of sorrow.

"Teacher, that senior... before he passed, he transmitted a technique to me!"

Du Chun's footsteps faltered, and he whipped his head around.

"He said it was a Meditation Method, a martial art for... for cultivating mental power!"

"!!!"

Du Chun's pupils contracted sharply!

He grabbed Wang Jian by the arm and scanned his surroundings, confirming no one was eavesdropping.

Then, without a word, he hoisted Wang Jian up and moved like the wind, darting rapidly toward his own home.

Back at home, Du Chun took Wang Jian directly into the meditation room forged from alloy.

"Are you certain it is a mental martial art?"

Du Chun's voice was trembling slightly, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

A mental cultivation technique!

"If this were sold to the Martial Arts Association, the cultivation resources you'd get in exchange would be enough to stack you all the way to the professional high-ranks!"

Du Chun's breathing was somewhat ragged.

He added, "Of course, you don't have to hand it over! You could keep it to yourself and practice in silence, making a fortune quietly!"

"As long as you don't say anything and I don't say anything, no one in the world will know! This is a heaven-sent opportunity for you!"

Listening to his teacher's analysis, Wang Jian simply shook his head.

He looked at Du Chun, his eyes clear and resolute.

"Teacher, I want to give this Meditation Method to you."

Du Chun was stunned.

Give it to me?

However, Wang Jian's next words left him completely frozen on the spot.

"And then, I ask that you... hand it over to the Martial Arts Association, free of charge!"

"What?!" Du Chun cried out, losing his composure. "Free of charge?! Do you know what you're saying?!"

"I do."

There was not a hint of hesitation on Wang Jian's face; instead, it carried an unprecedented determination.

He thought of the bodies hanging on the walls in the lane, and he thought of those familiar and unfamiliar faces.

His fists clenched tightly.

"Teacher, I don't want any resources, and I don't want to make a fortune in silence."

His voice was hoarse, yet every word rang out with the force of a thunderclap, exploding within Du Chun's heart.

"I only hope... that no one else will ever have to die because of the Spirit Race!"

A deathly silence fell.

Du Chun stared blankly at the youth before him, gazing into those eyes that burned like fire.

There was not a shred of greed or selfish desire within them, only the purest, most fervent heart of an innocent.

In that moment, he suddenly understood.

He understood why this youth had been able to forge a path unprecedented in history from the National Health Exercises—a routine everyone knew, yet everyone disdained.

It was because he possessed a heart capable of embracing the entire world.

Du Chun's chest heaved violently; a surge of indescribable excitement and pride instantly swept away all his reason and calculations.

He looked at Wang Jian, looking for a long, long time.

His gaze shifted from shock to complexity...

And finally, it transformed into an heartfelt, incomparable sense of appreciation and gratification.

"Good!"

"Your teacher promises you!"