As the eastern horizon turned pale, the sunlight was blocked by the thick tree branches, leaving the shadows dense as curtains.
Someone stood beneath the shadows, silently chewing on a piece of bread.
The dull rumble of a truck rolled across the overpass. Beneath it was a narrow road cordoned off with police tape, covered in withered weeds, sand, and rocks. Two deeply gouged tire tracks cut across it like ravines, alongside several shocking bullet craters.
The pungent blood had long since dried in the soil, mixed with some kind of viscous substance that had turned dark and mottled.
A white Volkswagen was parked in the distance, still not towed away.
"Were they killed?"
The man crouched down and examined the pool of blood. Like a hound, he leaned forward and sniffed carefully. "Mm, it smells like those investigators. No wonder they were killed even after mutating. There aren't any signs of a fight at the scene, so they were probably killed instantly. Whoever did it is strong—at least a fourth-tier Ascender."
"Mm, there's a woman's scent, too. She wore nice perfume. She must be an elegant, cool beauty, a mature older-sister type? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I love beautiful women. Slurp..."
He licked his lips and murmured to himself, "Mm, but even if those two had been there, I could have gotten away unscathed."
The man swallowed the last piece of bread and walked over to the white Volkswagen.
The car windows were already shattered. He leaned inside and carefully sniffed the scent in the car.
"Mm, a young man's scent. He must be pretty handsome, too? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I love handsome men."
With a perverted slurp, he chuckled. "Oh, and he hasn't even awakened yet."
In the sunlight, the man's shadow began to tremble, suppressing a hoarse laugh.
"Who would've thought Professor Gu's son was still an unawakened kid?"
The man laughed. "How did Li Changzhi get beaten by an unawakened kid? I'm sure of it now. There's something on this kid—something Gu Ci'an left him."
With a bang, he punched the hood of the car, gritting his teeth.
"After waiting so long, I've finally confirmed it!"
The man gritted his teeth. "There's no one watching this area. Maybe the Tribunal deliberately left me clues to lure me out. Whatever. Let's have some fun."
After a long silence, he began to laugh again, his laughter strange and wild.
"It's fine. We'll take our time. Uncle's waiting for you at your school."
He turned and walked away.
In the final moment, a distorted, grotesque clown's face reflected in the car window.
Gu Jianlin quietly opened the delivery box in his room, looking rather troubled.
"Well, if it's a sex toy, it's still better than getting exposed."
He locked the door and fiddled with the delivery box containing the Spirit Potion.
Good grief, the box was even printed with Taixu dressed as a black lace maid—and not just that, it was a moe-style anime version, with her ample, snowy-white breasts almost spilling out and a heart-shaped wink on her lips.
And with that shape, it really was easy to get the wrong idea.
Thinking of the way that girl had looked at him just now, he suddenly felt like there was no point in living.
After breakfast, the siblings went about their separate routines again.
As usual, Su Youzhu showered and put on makeup, then fussed over all kinds of outfits in her room and took pretty pictures to post on social media. Apparently, she even got quite a few advertising deals.
Gu Jianlin had once calculated that she averaged ten ads a month, earning three thousand yuan for each one.
She was a secret little rich girl, to say the least.
By comparison, the only way he could make money from odd jobs was to work as a game booster, painstakingly grinding through orders. Sometimes, clients even skipped out without paying. After deducting his own living expenses, he could probably send his mother another one or two thousand yuan.
That was why he was comfortable staying in this home.
He didn't want to be a burden or freeload off them.
"First, take the Spirit Potion, then get some rest."
Even though Gu Jianlin had eaten breakfast, the hunger deep in his soul was still tormenting him.
On top of that, he hadn't slept all night, and his mental state was worrying.
He opened the box and took out the three vials inside.
There was also a wristband for measuring his own spirituality.
—For an Ascender, spirituality was like food to a human.
It was also the source of the supernatural.
According to General Knowledge for Ascenders, anyone with the aptitude to ascend gained spirituality within them after first witnessing that world, allowing them to sense a legacy path and complete their awakening.
Both advancing to the next stage and using supernatural abilities required spirituality.
The upper limit of the spirituality one accumulated determined how far one could advance.
And the spirituality within the body was what one relied on in battle.
When Gu Jianlin had used the Divine Sacrifice Fire earlier, the thing he'd consumed was spirituality!
But accumulating spirituality was a difficult problem.
Aside from meditating, the only way was to keep fighting, increasing one's accumulation limit by repeatedly spending and replenishing spirituality.
The simplest, most direct method was Spirit Potion!
It was something like the liquid medicine dispensed by a pharmacy, only in glass vials. The deep azure liquid inside even shimmered like the stars, giving off an inexplicable aura.
It had no discernible scent, yet seemed to give off a rich, sweet fragrance like a clear spring.
He swallowed involuntarily.
Like a parched traveler in the desert who had finally found an oasis, even his soul was restless.
His throat was dry, and his mouth began to water.
Gu Jianlin felt an indescribable urge to gulp down all three vials at once.
Even the phantom of the Black Kirin reflected in the pitch-black computer screen had lifted its head.
Its golden, vertical pupils were filled with hunger.
Gu Jianlin had a feeling that this Spirit Potion might be the key to easing his hunger!
Back in the ancient tomb, he had used the Ancient God Language, leaving himself weak and hungry.
It only made sense that he needed to replenish his spirituality!
Still, he was cautious enough to check the formula first.
"CMJ113 Reagent ingredients: ancient spirituality essence, resin from the Thousand-Foot Tree, petals of the Bloody Manjusaka, fallen spirit essence, scales from the Kirin Clan, and bone powder from a ten-thousand-year-old Ascender."
The ingredients were enough to make one shudder.
And none of them had quantities listed. That was probably the Alchemists' secret.
After cramming on Ascender knowledge, Gu Jianlin had also realized how important Spirit Potion was. Every legacy path required this potion to advance. Without it, one could only look forward to getting stuck at the same level.
That was why Alchemists were the most popular of all the legacy paths.
"The mentor in the tomb-raiding group of five was an Alchemist. No wonder he was so respected despite having almost no combat ability. General Knowledge for Ascenders also says that Ascenders throughout history have agreed on one thing: never kill an Alchemist." Gu Jianlin stroked his chin as he analyzed.
His phone suddenly vibrated, showing an incoming call.
Gu Jianlin set down the potion and answered. "Hello, I'm listening."
Lu Zicheng's faintly amused voice came through the phone. "Oh? You answered that quickly? I thought you'd be taking the Spirit Potion right now and wouldn't have time to pick up."
Gu Jianlin was taken aback. "I was just about to. How did you know?"
Lu Zicheng replied casually, "Nothing special. No Ascender can resist the temptation of advancing. When I got my first Spirit Potion, I couldn't wait to swallow it either. You're pretty restrained."
Gu Jianlin didn't say anything. He'd always been like that.
Lu Zicheng continued, "Is your Spirit Potion CMJ113 Reagent?"
Gu Jianlin said, "Yes."
"Mm, looks like those guys weren't too unreasonable."
Lu Zicheng scoffed. "To be fair, it's currently the best potion for an early-stage Ascender. But the stock is nearly gone, and it'll be discontinued after that."
Gu Jianlin asked curiously, "Why?"
"Because the Alchemist who made this version of the potion is no longer with the Ether Association."
Gu Jianlin thought for a moment. "All right, I understand."
Lu Zicheng hummed. "The Ether Association will step up protection for you and your family in the near future. They'll deploy a large number of people throughout the residential area where you live. As for the assessment mission, just do your best. Don't force it."
The call ended.
Gu Jianlin felt much more at ease. He sat cross-legged on his bed, regulated his breathing, and relaxed.
Then he pulled the stoppers from all three vials of Spirit Potion at once. It still had no scent, yet it was sweet and fragrant.
It was like the most delicious food in the world!
Gu Jianlin could no longer hold back his hunger. The Black Kirin reflected in the computer screen seemed about to roar.
He was starving!
Each vial of Spirit Potion contained only fifty milliliters.
For a zero-tier Ascender, three vials was exactly the right amount.
Gulp.
Gu Jianlin swallowed all three vials of potion, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
According to the instructions in General Knowledge for Ascenders, it was best to take Spirit Potion in a quiet place, then close one's eyes and meditate calmly, sense the supernatural world, visualize the form of one's legacy path, and guide the spirituality throughout one's body.
The world fell silent.
A vast amount of spirituality surged into his body!
Gu Jianlin's mind was pitch-black. He let his perception ascend and visualized his own supernatural form.
The next moment, he froze.
His spiritual world was pitch-black, like a desolate, lifeless universe, utterly silent.
His supernatural form appeared in the darkness: a slender, lean young man, with pale flames burning on his forehead, dressed in a loose white priestly robe. Countless black runes spread across him like living things.
That was himself.
But there was also a colossal creature deep in the darkness.
It was a pitch-black Qilin, with a pair of horns on its head. Its ancient, majestic face was covered in bony protrusions, and golden, vertical pupils burned in its head. Its black scales shifted, releasing billowing, eerie ghostly energy.
Though it was another kind of creature, it was also himself!
Both the human and Qilin forms were sickly and extremely weak.
Gu Jianlin could only sense the faint remnants of spirituality within them.
Like a single, feeble star in the night.
At the same time, countless strands of spirituality, flowing like clear streams, spread out from the darkness.
It was colorless and odorless, clear and cool as water, moistening the boundless, barren darkness.
Gu Jianlin focused and guided the spirituality into himself, letting it seep through his entire body.
But in that very instant, the Black Kirin raised its golden, vertical pupils, let out a low growl, and inhaled deeply.
Boom!
Every stream of spirituality was swallowed by it.
Gu Jianlin: "..."
He didn't know what was happening. The spirituality was supposed to be guided into his own body.
But now, the Black Kirin had swallowed all of it.
Yet he felt his hunger vanish at once, replaced by the satisfaction of rain falling after a long drought!
After swallowing the spirituality, the Black Kirin's condition had clearly improved. It still looked sickly, but its ancient, majestic golden eyes now held a little more vigor.
Spirituality flowed over its body like water, soaking into its flesh.
The next moment, it breathed out again, exhaling sweet, fragrant spirituality like mist.
It all settled onto his own supernatural form.
Gu Jianlin's Divine Priest form was also nourished by the spirituality. It flowed throughout his body like blood through his veins, leaving him feeling fuller and more comfortable than ever before.
At that moment, he realized something.
Both the Black Kirin form and his own Ascender form had received spirituality—half each!
The one hundred and fifty milliliters of potion had been split evenly between them!
"Why did this happen?"
Gu Jianlin didn't quite understand.
After a long while, both of his supernatural forms had been nourished and absorbed all the spirituality.
The Black Kirin fell asleep in his mind once more.
The Divine Priest form remained awake, its dark eyes gazing down indifferently.
The darkness shattered with a crash.
Gu Jianlin's eyes flew open. Somehow, his body was already soaked with sweat.
Yet he didn't feel weak or tired. On the contrary, he was full of energy!
"Why did the Black Kirin devour half the spirituality?"
Gu Jianlin hesitated for a second, then raised his right hand. The Divine Sacrifice Fire abruptly appeared!
Spirituality surged out, burning rapidly!
At that very moment, he froze.
In the pitch-black computer screen, his reflection wore a white priestly robe, his body covered in runes. He looked eerily indifferent.
Pale ghost fire burned on all five fingers of his right hand.
At the same time, a majestic, ferocious phantom Qilin appeared behind him, also raising its right paw, covered in black scales.
Five clusters of pale ghost fire burned on its pitch-black, razor-sharp claws.
The two utterly different silhouettes merged silently!
Gu Jianlin looked down at his right hand again. The five clusters of ghost fire burning there had grown twice as large as before!
So that was it!
The Black Kirin was him, and the Divine Priest was him, too.
When he used an ability, both of them burned spirituality at the same time.
He would consume more resources, but his abilities seemed twice as powerful as those of ordinary people!
This was... Dual-Core Drive!
And this was only the most obvious benefit. The Qilin's true power had yet to reveal itself.
I accidentally fell asleep and only just finished writing. Sorry...
Before you continue