Physical Examination

Gu Jianlin stared at the business card, hesitating for a moment.

He knew what condition his body was in. The Priest had healed him, yet he was still in terrible shape.

Anyone with half a brain could see there was something wrong.

He remembered that the last time he was in the Kirin Immortal Palace, he had also been in a state of Ancient God Transformation. He had even uttered that strange syllable.

The problem was, afterward, he hadn't been in the kind of pain that made him feel as if his whole body were being torn apart.

Apart from the hunger deep in his soul, he hadn't felt any discomfort.

At the end of the day, he had simply overdrawn his spirituality.

Once he replenished it, the hunger disappeared.

Both times, he had used the power of the Qilin. In fact, he had spent even more of it fighting the group of five in the ancient tomb, yet the side effects were worse this time. There had to be some reason he didn't know about.

What was the likeliest variable between the two occasions?

When he had first awakened in the coffin, he hadn't felt any great power within him.

In terms of how full of power he felt, he hadn't even felt as strong as he did during this latest Ancient God Transformation.

That showed that after two thousand years of being sealed away, the Qilin's power had retained its rank, but most of its strength had indeed been worn away.

So when he'd faced the five grave robbers in the ancient tomb, it hadn't been because some of that power still remained in him that he'd felt no side effects afterward. There had to be another reason.

That reason was probably the environment!

The first time had been in a prehistoric era.

This time, it had been in the real world.

It was very possible that the rules of the two worlds were different, and that was what had caused the difference.

Gu Jianlin pondered for a moment, increasingly aware that this might be the case. If he ever got the chance, he would have to test it.

For now, he'd better avoid using Ancient God Transformation.

First, he wasn't sure how the Ether Association would define this power.

Second, he didn't want anyone to know he was connected to the Kirin Immortal Palace.

He didn't want to end up as someone's research specimen.

After all, someone was already making things difficult for him. There was no telling what they might do next.

"Don't worry, Sister Chen Qing."

He spoke softly. "I'll be fine."

Chen Qing watched him suspiciously, lips pursed. "Are you sure? You're still young. You don't have to shoulder everything by yourself. Even if Professor Gu really left you something, it's all right."

She lowered her voice and explained, "We can use the Lu Family's connections to help keep it under wraps. The Lu Family is the foundation of the Feng City branch, and the branch director is one of them. We can stop the Tribunal's people from getting to you."

Gu Jianlin smiled faintly. "Really, I'm fine. Thank you."

Chen Qing could see that he wasn't the sort to lose sight of what mattered, so she believed him.

"All right."

She asked casually, "What do you want to eat? I'll go buy you something."

Gu Jianlin thought for a moment. "Bone broth ramen, please. Thanks."

Chen Qing gave a quiet acknowledgment, then rose and walked away gracefully. The sound of her high heels tapping against the floor gradually faded.

Gu Jianlin watched her retreating figure for a long moment in silence, then took out his phone and called the number on the business card.

There were several reasons he hadn't told her his secret just now.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her. This matter was simply too serious.

He had a feeling that once he told someone, he'd be caught in an endless storm.

Even a seemingly reliable backer like the Lu Family might not be able to withstand it.

After all, the one who tied the bell had to untie it.

The phone rang several times before someone picked up.

"Hello, this is Jing Ci."

A polite, resonant male voice came through. "Who is this?"

Gu Jianlin replied calmly, "My name is Gu Jianlin. We met at the general store yesterday."

Jing Ci recognized him. "So it was you. The shop is closed tonight. I'm taking my teacher out for a walk."

"I'm not calling to buy anything. I just wanted to say thank you."

Gu Jianlin said, "Please thank that old gentleman for me. He saved my life."

Without the wheelchair-bound old man's warning, he probably wouldn't have had the confidence to go there alone.

"I see. You still have the presence of mind to give thanks?"

Jing Ci said meaningfully, "I thought the side effects would have you at your breaking point by now."

Gu Jianlin was taken aback.

"There's no need to be surprised. Why do you think Joker didn't use his distortion against you at first? Evolution always comes at a price. You have to endure the pain of breaking the rules."

Jing Ci explained blandly, "Of course, your evolution was more complete than his."

Gu Jianlin fell silent for a few seconds. It seemed he'd underestimated the master and pupil at the general store.

They even knew every detail of his battle.

Still, it sounded like Jing Ci had misunderstood something.

Jing Ci seemed to think that Gu Jianlin had used the method the old man gave him to evolve during his fight with Joker.

In reality, Gu Jianlin had simply found a way to use the Qilin's power.

"I've run into a bit of trouble."

Gu Jianlin took a deep breath. "Could you help me deal with it?"

Over the phone, Jing Ci gave a knowing laugh. "Why ask us for help? We've only met once. We're nowhere near as close to you as the Lu Family is."

Gu Jianlin replied, "If my secret is discovered, yours will be exposed too."

"What if we don't mind our secret getting out? Or what if it isn't a secret at all?"

Jing Ci continued, "Aren't you worried we might be trying to harm you?"

The night was cool as water. Moonlight and cloud shadows reflected on the lake, which was ringed with green trees.

A man in a suit stood by the lake, listening to the voice on the phone. A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"If you wanted to hurt me, you wouldn't need to go to all this trouble."

The young man paused. "I could just shoot myself right now, and that'd be the end of it."

Jing Ci sighed with feeling, then hung up.

"The student has surpassed the master. Somehow, I get the feeling this kid is even cleverer than his father."

He turned around helplessly and put away his phone. "Teacher, how about calling it a night? Stop fishing."

The wheelchair-bound old man sat beside the lake, wearing a bamboo hat and holding a fishing rod, a stalk of straw between his lips.

There was also a fish basket and a bowl for bait beside him.

He looked just like a country fisherman.

The only problem was that there wasn't a single fish in the basket. Instead, it was full of all kinds of junk.

An old cell phone, a shattered computer monitor, a deflated basketball, and two drones.

"Another half hour."

The wheelchair-bound old man was completely absorbed in fishing.

Jing Ci shook his head.

The old man was stubborn. If you said he was good at fishing, he couldn't catch a single fish.

But if you said he was bad at it, he could catch anything but fish.

"By the way, did you see Joker's body?"

The wheelchair-bound old man suddenly asked.

"I did. Some of the rescue team members were downright foolish, but their overall strength was decent."

Jing Ci considered his words, then said evenly, "To be fair, this rescue team did make Joker struggle. But there's no comparison without contrast. That kid has sharp senses. Even if someone tried to plant a Necro-Gu in him, he might not fall for it."

The wheelchair-bound old man hummed. "How strong is he?"

Jing Ci thought for a moment. "He's quite unusual. He didn't use much Ancient God power, but his output was twice that of an average person."

Twice.

The wheelchair-bound old man's eyes narrowed, and his grip on the fishing rod tightened slightly. "Are you sure?"

Jing Ci nodded. "I wouldn't be mistaken. He's the extraordinary one you mentioned, isn't he?"

The wheelchair-bound old man was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Yes. He's a little beyond what I expected."

"Teacher, he's run into trouble."

Jing Ci straightened his collar and said, "The Tribunal is as irritating as ever. That kid deserves a commendation, not an interrogation and examination full of suspicion."

The wheelchair-bound old man raised an eyebrow. "You need me to step in over something this trivial? Go take care of it yourself."

Jing Ci put his hands in his pockets and gazed at the rippling light on the lake. "That's the Tribunal. Before you sealed my power, those old geezers were no threat to me. But given the situation now, if a few of the Tribunal's old fossils step in, I can't guarantee what will happen."

The wheelchair-bound old man replied calmly, "Go ahead. Those little pests won't be able to make much trouble."

The lake rippled, and the fishing rod trembled.

The old man tightened his grip on the rod and slowly reeled in the line.

Ripples spread across the water. A rusted video camera came up onto the bank.

The old man scowled and said nothing.

Seeing this, Jing Ci turned to leave, reassured.

The old man was in a bad mood tonight. If some fool had the poor sense to provoke him, there'd be quite a show.

Ding.

Gu Jianlin received a text message and opened his eyes.

"Five minutes."

Just three concise words.

Seeing the message, he suddenly felt reassured. He closed his eyes again and relaxed.

He was truly exhausted tonight. If not for the pain surging through his body, he would have fallen asleep at any moment.

Chen Qing patted his head. "It's all right."

Knock, knock.

The door opened, and Yan Wu strode in. His stern face commanded respect, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Two people followed him, wearing silver masks and long black trench coats.

Gu Jianlin could clearly feel their cold gaze.

"This is Yan Wu, head of the Yan Family."

Chen Qing rose from her chair, poised and elegant, her voice calm. "He's the next director of the Feng City district, a fifth-tier World King. The other two are Demon Hunters from the Tribunal."

Yan Wu's expression remained impassive as he withdrew his gaze. "We detected the aura of the Ancient God Race in the cafeteria at Fengcheng No. 2 High School. It seemed to be an Evolutionist, but not Joker."

The two Demon Hunters smiled. "We need to ask you a few questions. Please cooperate. It won't take long."

Chen Qing furrowed her brow but said nothing.

"This is under orders from Saint Li Qingsong. The situation is urgent."

Yan Wu said evenly, "Captain Lin is waiting outside. A fourth-tier Divine Priest is here, so nothing will happen. We also won't use any unnecessary hypnosis spells. We'll only conduct a lie detector test."

A strange light swirled in the Demon Hunters' eyes.

Chen Qing gave a slight nod. They really weren't using Hypnosis.

Gu Jianlin merely thought the light in the Demon Hunters' eyes was strange and deep. It had no effect on him, though.

This was a gift from the Black Qilin.

Mental immunity!

Go ahead. Ask whatever you want!

Both Demon Hunters belonged to the Magician Path, and they were fourth-tier—already in the Transcendent rank.

Yan Wu asked calmly, "Gu Jianlin, are you an Evolutionist?"

Chen Qing's heart sank. She glanced at the boy.

"What's an Evolutionist?"

Gu Jianlin replied calmly, "I don't know."

"Very well."

Yan Wu continued, "How did you defeat Joker?"

Gu Jianlin had already prepared an answer. "Joker was on the verge of a mental breakdown anyway. Forcibly containing two Mythic Armaments had also brought his life to an end. I just got lucky."

The answer was reasonable.

Yan Wu's expression was grave. "Did you see anyone else there?"

Gu Jianlin pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head. "I'm only a zero-tier Divine Priest. I don't know anything."

Chen Qing said expressionlessly, "Little Gu only just awakened as an Ascender. Even if someone else was there, he wouldn't have been able to notice them."

Yan Wu was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

The two Demon Hunters' eyes dimmed, and they exchanged glances.

Yan Wu said no more. He turned and left. "Goodbye."

The two Demon Hunters followed him out.

They had made a surprise inspection, but once they failed to get what they wanted, they left without hesitation.

"Finally got rid of him."

Chen Qing let out a sigh of relief, then said coldly, "Little Gu, I'm going to make a call. I'll be back soon."

Gu Jianlin gave a slight nod.

After Chen Qing left, he seemed to brush past someone and gave a soft snort.

"May I ask if you're Investigator Gu Jianlin, rank D?"

A soft, seductive female voice rang out in the hospital room.

A charming woman in a white lab coat stood there, hands in her pockets, smiling at him.

She was very beautiful, with long, loose waves of light brown hair. Her delicate features were enhanced by heavy makeup, and her alluring eyes shimmered with emotion. Even in the loose lab coat, her curvaceous figure was unmistakable.

Under the lab coat, she wore only a black tank top, which stretched taut over her chest.

Beneath a tight black skirt, a pair of shapely legs clad in sheer black stockings ended in high heels.

Gu Jianlin had seen her in the school cafeteria once, though she had been busy treating the injured at the time.

A few people also stood vaguely visible outside the door. He had no idea what they were there for.

"Hello."

Gu Jianlin pushed himself upright and spoke politely.

"My name is Lin Wanqiu. I'm in charge of the medical department. We meet again."

Lin Wanqiu gave him a goddess-like smile and said, "You performed very well during this operation. Without you, the casualties might have been severe, and our work would have been much harder."

Gu Jianlin said nothing.

"The higher-ups at the Association think highly of you. Since you fought a Fallen at close quarters, we need to give you a comprehensive examination to make sure you're in good health."

Lin Wanqiu smiled charmingly, exuding irresistible allure.