The Martial Arts Research Institute.
The heavy superalloy gates were tightly shut.
The red warning light had been lit for three whole months.
Two research assistants passing by softened their footsteps, their gazes instinctively drifting toward the seam of the closed doors.
"General Lin has been in seclusion for three months now, hasn't he?"
The short-haired assistant lowered his voice, his tone full of wonder.
"He sure has."
"Ever since he came back from wiping out those fifth-tier ferocious beasts, he hasn't set foot outside."
The tall assistant sighed, his expression deeply conflicted.
"I heard Director Li say..."
"General Lin is studying the Transcendent Realm cultivation technique that Cosmic Envoy left behind."
A fervent gleam flashed in the short-haired assistant's eyes, and his voice grew even quieter.
Just then.
Steady footsteps sounded from around the corner.
Ye Qingshan and Chu Tiankuo approached side by side.
Both had heavy, dark circles beneath their eyes.
Each clutched a thick, specially made rubbing filled with strange runes and meridian diagrams.
"I can't understand a thing!"
"This thing... might as well be written in gibberish!"
Chu Tiankuo irritably ruffled his hair, unable to stop himself from cursing.
"I followed the first qi circulation route, and my blood almost reversed its flow and made me explode on the spot."
Ye Qingshan rubbed his throbbing temples, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.
"Stop tormenting yourselves, you two."
"That cultivation technique wasn't meant for ordinary martial artists at all."
Suddenly.
A cool voice came from behind them.
Su Qingxue approached on her long legs.
An unshakable weariness weighed on her brow as well.
"Advisor Su."
"Even you can't figure it out?"
Chu Tiankuo widened his eyes in disbelief.
"This Astral Qi Absorption Formula involves cosmic resonance."
"We don't even know where to begin."
Su Qingxue shook