Ancient Gods and Ascenders, Dual-Core Drive!

As the eastern horizon paled, sunlight was blocked by lush branches, casting shadows as dense as curtains.

Someone stood in the shadows, silently gnawing on a piece of bread.

A low, rumbling boom echoed from the overpass as a truck drove by. Below the bridge lay a small path cordoned off with police tape, littered with withered weeds, sand, gravel, two harrowing, trench-like tire tracks, and several shocking bullet craters.

Thick, foul-smelling blood had long since congealed into the soil, mixed with some viscous substance, and had already turned mottled and black.

In the distance, a white Volkswagen remained parked there, untouched by the tow trucks.

"Was he killed?"

The man crouched down, examining the pool of blood. He poked his head out like a hound, sniffing the scent carefully. "Hmm, the scent of those investigators. No wonder, even after the aberration, they were still killed. There isn't even a trace of a struggle at the scene; they must have been killed instantly. The person who did this is strong—at least a Fourth-Order Ascender."

"Hmm, there's also the scent of a woman. She uses good perfume. Judging by the smell, she must be an elegant, cold, and glamorous older woman? Tsk tsk tsk, I love beautiful women the most. Slurp..."

He licked his lips and muttered to himself, "Hmm, but even if those two were here, I could still escape unscathed."

The man swallowed the last of his bread and approached the white Volkswagen.

The car window was already shattered, so he poked his head inside and carefully sniffed the scent within the vehicle.

"Hmm, the scent of a young boy. He seems quite good-looking, too? Tsk tsk tsk, I love good-looking men the most."

He let out a perverted slurp and laughed. "Yo, still a little one who hasn't awakened yet."

Under the sunlight, the man's shadow began to tremble, suppressing a hoarse, wheezing laugh.

"Who would have thought that Professor Gu's son would still be an unawakened little one?"

The man chuckled. "How was Li Changzhi defeated by an unawakened little one? It's confirmed: there must be something on this kid that Gu Ci'an left behind for him."

Bang! He slammed his fist onto the hood of the car, gritting his teeth.

"After waiting so long, it's finally confirmed!"

The man gnashed his teeth. "There's no one monitoring this area. Perhaps the Tribunal intentionally left clues to lure me out. No matter, let's play."

After a long silence, he began to laugh again, his laughter eerie and manic.

"It's fine, we'll take our time. Uncle will be waiting for you at your school."

He turned and left.

In the final moment, the car window reflected a distorted, grotesque face—the face of a Joker.

In his room, Gu Jianlin silently opened the delivery box, his expression quite melancholy.

"A masturbator is a masturbator, I suppose. It's better than being exposed."

He locked his bedroom door and fiddled with the delivery box containing the Spirit Potion.

Good grief, the cover of the box even featured a black lace maid image of Taixu, and it was a damn two-dimensional "moe" version, with plump, snow-white breasts nearly bursting out, and a playful heart being blown from her lips.

Combined with the shape of the item, it was indeed easy to get the wrong idea.

Recalling the look the girl had given him earlier, he suddenly felt that life was meaningless.

After breakfast, the siblings began their respective days.

Su Youzhu, as always, showered and applied makeup, then tinkered with various outfits in her room before taking beautiful photos to post on her social media. It was said she could even land quite a few sponsorships.

Gu Jianlin had once estimated that she averaged ten sponsorships a month, with each one paying three thousand yuan.

One could only say she was a hidden little rich girl.

In contrast, his only way of doing odd jobs was to be a game booster, grinding through orders painstakingly, sometimes even encountering clients who would skip out on payment. After deducting his living expenses, he could send about one or two thousand yuan to his mother.

This was the reason he could stay in this house with peace of mind.

He didn't want to be a burden; he wouldn't eat or live for free.

"First, take the Spirit Potion, then get some good rest."

Even after breakfast, the hunger deep within his soul continued to torment him.

Coupled with the fact that he hadn't slept all night, his mental state was concerning.

He opened the box and took out the three vials of reagent.

In addition to these, there was a bracelet used to detect one's own spirituality.

—Spirituality, for an Ascender, is akin to food for a human.

It is also the root of the extraordinary.

According to General Knowledge for Ascenders, every person with the aptitude to ascend, upon witnessing that world for the first time, develops spirituality within their body, thus becoming able to perceive a path of inheritance and complete their awakening.

Whether advancing in rank or using extraordinary abilities, spirituality is required.

The upper limit of accumulated spirituality determines one's advancement.

And the spirituality within your body is what you rely on during combat.

When Gu Jianlin used the Divine Sacrifice Fire earlier, it was his spirituality that he had consumed!

But how to accumulate spirituality is a difficult problem.

Aside from meditation, the only way is constant combat—increasing the upper limit through the cycle of consumption and replenishment.

And the simplest, most brutal method is the Spirit Potion!

This stuff is roughly similar to the test-tube oral liquids sold in pharmacies. The glass bottle contained a deep cyan liquid that even shimmered with starlike radiance, exuding an inexplicable aura.

Despite having no scent, it felt as if it were permeated with a rich, sweet fragrance, like a sweet spring.

He subconsciously swallowed his saliva.

Like a thirsty traveler in the desert finally seeing an oasis, even his soul was restless.

His throat was dry, and his saliva glands were working overtime.

Gu Jianlin felt an indescribable urge to immediately gulp down these three vials of reagent.

Even the phantom of the Black Kirin, reflected on the pitch-black computer screen, had abruptly raised its head.

Its golden vertical pupils were full of hunger.

Gu Jianlin had a premonition that this Spirit Potion might be the key to alleviating his hunger!

When he had used the Ancient God Language in the ancient tomb, it had caused his own weakness and hunger.

So, it stood to reason that he should replenish his spirituality!

However, he remained cautious and first looked at the ingredients list.

"CMJ113 Reagent Ingredients: Ancient spiritual essence, Thousand-Foot Tree resin, Bloody Manjusaka petals, fallen spirits, Kirin Clan scales, ten-thousand-year-old Ascender bone powder."

The ingredients were chilling to read.

Moreover, there were no measurements for each ingredient; that was likely the secret of the Alchemists.

After cramming his knowledge of Ascenders, Gu Jianlin realized the importance of Spirit Potions. Every advancement in a path of inheritance required this potion to assist; otherwise, one could just wait to be stuck at their current rank.

Thus, Alchemists were the most welcomed of all paths of inheritance.

"The mentor in the tomb-raiding group of five was an Alchemist. No wonder, despite being a path of inheritance with almost no combat capability, he was so respected. Even General Knowledge for Ascenders says that Ascenders from ancient times to the present have a consensus: never kill an Alchemist," Gu Jianlin analyzed, rubbing his chin.

His phone suddenly vibrated, indicating an incoming call.

Gu Jianlin put down the potion and answered. "Hello, I'm listening."

On the other end, Lu Zicheng's voice sounded with a half-smile. "Oh? You answered so quickly? I thought you'd be busy taking your Spirit Potion and wouldn't have time to answer."

Gu Jianlin was stunned. "I was just about to use it. How did you know?"

Lu Zicheng replied indifferently, "Nothing, it's just that no Ascender can resist the temptation of advancement. When I received my first Spirit Potion, I couldn't wait to swallow it either. You're quite restrained."

Gu Jianlin didn't say anything; he had always been that kind of person.

Lu Zicheng continued, "Is your Spirit Potion CMJ113?"

"Yes," Gu Jianlin said.

"Hmm, it seems those guys aren't too excessive."

Lu Zicheng sneered, "To be fair, this model is currently the best potion for low-order Ascenders, but the stock must be hitting rock bottom. It'll be out of print soon."

Gu Jianlin asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because the Alchemist who manufactured this version of the potion is no longer with the Ether Association."

Gu Jianlin thought for a moment. "Alright, I understand."

Lu Zicheng grunted. "Recently, the Ether Association will strengthen the protection of you and your family. A large number of personnel will be deployed around your residential area. As for the assessment mission, just do your best; there's no need to force it."

The call ended.

Gu Jianlin felt much more at ease. He sat cross-legged on the bed, adjusted his breathing, and relaxed his mind.

Then, in one go, he pulled the stoppers off the three vials of Spirit Potion. It was still odorless, yet sweet and fragrant.

It was as if it were the most delicious food in the world!

Gu Jianlin could no longer suppress his hunger; the Black Kirin reflected on the computer screen was almost about to roar.

He was too hungry!

Each vial of Spirit Potion contained only 50 milliliters.

For a Zero-Order Ascender, a dosage of three vials was just right.

Gulp.

Gu Jianlin swallowed all three vials of the potion and closed his eyes to begin meditating.

According to the steps in General Knowledge for Ascenders, it is best to take the Spirit Potion in a quiet place, then close your eyes and meditate, perceive the extraordinary world, visualize the image of your path of inheritance, and guide the spirituality to flow throughout your body.

The world fell into silence.

A massive amount of spirituality surged into his body!

Gu Jianlin's mind was pitch black, letting his perception sublimate as he visualized his own extraordinary image.

The next moment, he was stunned.

His mental world was pitch black, like a desolate, dead universe, without a sound.

In the darkness appeared his own extraordinary image: a thin, slender youth with pale flames burning on his forehead, draped in loose white sacrificial robes, with countless black incantations spreading like living things.

That was himself.

Beyond that, deep in the darkness, there was actually a behemoth.

It was a pitch-black Kirin with a pair of horns on its head, a face covered in bony protrusions that looked ancient and majestic, and a pair of golden vertical pupils burning. Its entire body of black scales opened and closed, emitting rolling, eerie ghostly energy.

Although it was a different creature, this was also himself!

Whether in human form or Kirin form, both were sickly and extremely weak.

Gu Jianlin could only feel that both of them had a faint, lingering trace of spirituality.

Like a star in the dark night, it was extremely faint.

At the same time, thousands of strands of spirituality, flowing like clear, cold mountain streams, spread from the darkness.

It was colorless and odorless, clear and cold as water, nourishing the endlessly desolate darkness.

Gu Jianlin focused his mind, guiding that spirituality to flow onto himself, soaking his entire body.

Unexpectedly, in just an instant, the Black Kirin raised its golden vertical pupils and let out a low roar, taking a sharp breath.

Boom!

All the spirituality that had been flowing like a stream was swallowed by it.

Gu Jianlin: "..."

He didn't know what was going on. Logically, the spirituality should have been guided to himself.

Yet now, it had all been swallowed by the Black Kirin.

But he felt that the hunger had vanished instantly, replaced by a sense of relief, like a long-awaited rain after a drought!

After the Black Kirin swallowed that spirituality, its state clearly recovered quite a bit. Although it still looked sickly, there was a bit more vitality in those ancient, majestic golden vertical pupils.

Spirituality flowed like water over its body, nourishing its frame.

The next moment, it exhaled a breath, and the sweet, fragrant spirituality sprayed out like mist.

It all showered down onto his own extraordinary image.

Gu Jianlin's own Divine Priest image was also nourished by the spirituality. It felt like blood rushing through his veins, flowing throughout his body, making him feel a sense of fullness and comfort he had never experienced before.

At this moment, he realized one thing.

Whether it was the Black Kirin form or his own Ascender form, both received half of the spirituality!

The 150 milliliters of potion had been absorbed in equal parts!

"Why would it be like this?"

Gu Jianlin didn't quite understand why.

After a long while, both of his extraordinary images had been nourished and had absorbed the spirituality completely.

The Black Kirin fell back into a deep sleep in his mind.

The Divine Priest image, however, remained awake, a pair of pitch-black eyes looking down indifferently.

The darkness shattered with a crash.

Gu Jianlin opened his eyes abruptly, not knowing when his body had been soaked in sweat.

Yet he didn't feel weak or tired; on the contrary, he felt full of energy!

"Why did the Black Kirin swallow half of the spirituality?"

Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second and raised his right hand. The Divine Sacrifice Fire suddenly appeared!

Spirituality surged out, burning rapidly!

It was at this instant that he was stunned.

The pitch-black computer screen reflected his image: dressed in white sacrificial robes, covered in incantations, looking eerie and indifferent.

The five fingers of his right hand were burning with pale ghost fire.

At the same time, behind him, there was actually a phantom of an ancient, ferocious Kirin, which was also raising a right claw covered in black scales.

On the pitch-black, sharp claws, five clusters of pale ghost fire were burning.

Two completely different silhouettes had merged silently!

Gu Jianlin looked at his right hand again. The five clusters of ghost fire burning on his right hand were a full twice as large as before!

So that was it!

The Black Kirin was him, and the Divine Priest was also him.

When he used his abilities, both burned spirituality simultaneously.

Although it consumed more resources, his abilities seemed to be twice as strong as an ordinary person's!

This was... a dual-core drive!

And this was only the most superficial benefit; the true power of the Kirin had yet to be revealed.

I fell asleep by accident and wrote until now, sorry...