Early the next morning.
Lin Yuan got up and pushed the living room sofa and coffee table into the corners.
"Bro."
"What are you doing so early?"
Lin Xiaoxiao shuffled out of her bedroom in slippers, rubbing her bird's-nest hair.
Lin Jianguo and Zhang Hui came out too, coats draped over their shoulders.
They looked at the empty living room.
All three wore puzzled expressions.
"Come over here."
"While I was in the military district, I learned a special set of exercises for staying healthy."
"They're especially good for neck problems and strained lower backs."
"I'll teach you while I'm home."
Lin Yuan clapped his hands.
He smiled as he explained.
"Who does calisthenics these days?"
"I'm going back to bed."
Lin Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes.
But as soon as she turned, Lin Yuan caught her by the back of her collar.
"Enough complaining."
"Sit down and cross your legs."
His tone left no room for argument.
The other three sat in a row on the floor.
Lin Yuan walked behind them and began explaining the rhythm of the Basic Breathing Technique.
"Breathe in for three counts, out for seven."
"Sink your qi into your dantian. Focus your mind between your brows."
Lin Xiaoxiao was completely lost.
"Bro."
"You sound like you're teaching us how to cultivate immortality."
Lin Yuan ignored his sister's remark.
He placed a hand against each of his parents' backs.
A faint thread of true qi slipped from his palms into their bodies.
An ordinary person's meridians were dry and blocked.
Lin Yuan dared not use too much force, for fear of rupturing their blood vessels.
He could only use his true qi to guide them toward sensing qi.
An hour passed.
Lin Xiaoxiao had slumped onto the carpet, fast asleep and drooling.
Zhang Hui's legs had gone numb, and she frowned deeply.
Lin Jianguo had held his position, though sweat covered his forehead.
"That's enough."
Lin Yuan withdrew his hands and sighed helplessly.
Even with a Second-Tier Martial Artist personally guiding them,
his parents and sister could not sense the spiritual energy drifting through the air.
He could hardly blame them.
The concentration of spiritual energy in the world was simply too low.
"Ow!"
"My poor old knees."
"What kind of exercises are these? My whole body aches."
Zhang Hui rubbed her knees as she complained.
"Still..."
"My legs are numb, but my shoulders do feel a lot looser."
Lin Jianguo rolled his shoulders, his eyes brightening.
That was because Lin Yuan had used true qi to clear the old blood congestion there.
"Keep practicing. There's no rush."
Lin Yuan smiled.
As long as they remembered the breathing rhythm and how the qi should flow,
when the Spiritual Energy Tide arrived on the ninth day of the new year,
the influx of spiritual energy would let everything fall into place.
The days passed.
Lin Yuan made sure his family practiced the Breathing Method every day.
The rest of the time,
he went to the market with his mother or played chess with his father.
Before he knew it,
New Year's Eve had arrived.
Red lanterns hung throughout the Military Dependents Compound, filling it with holiday cheer.
As usual,
the Lin Family went to a hotel in the city for a reunion dinner with their relatives.
The private dining room buzzed with conversation, with two tables packed full.
"Xiaoxiao, study hard."
"If you can't find a job later, your cousin can help. He's a manager at a big company now."
Her eldest uncle raised his glass, his face flushed with pride.
Lin Xiaoxiao pursed her lips and nodded without enthusiasm.
Her second aunt promptly turned to Lin Yuan.
"Oh!"
"Little Yuan's back too."
"How's the food delivery going?"
"You must make quite a bit per order in this cold weather, right?"
At that,
Zhang Hui's face fell.
Her second aunt had always loved comparing their families, and her words dripped with smugness.
"Our Little Yuan doesn't deliver food anymore."
"The military specially recruited him."
Zhang Hui put a piece of fish in her bowl, deliberately drawing out her words.
For a moment,
the dining room went quiet.
"Specially recruited?"
"Which unit?"
"The benefits are good while you're serving, but you'll still need to find a new job when you leave."
His cousin pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses.
Zhang Hui was about to argue.
Under the table, Lin Jianguo kicked her foot and shot her a warning glare.
"That's right."
"He does some clerical work in an office."
Lin Jianguo lifted his teacup and answered mildly.
The relatives promptly lost interest.
Soon, they were back to discussing who had bought a house and who had replaced their car.
Lin Yuan sat quietly in the corner.
He shelled peanuts, a faint smile on his lips.
Five months ago,
their comparisons might have irritated him.
But now,
Lin Yuan found them dull and had no desire to explain himself.
He turned toward the window.
Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the night sky.
The glass reflected his dark, fathomless eyes.
This New Year might be the last one of the old era.
Over the next few days,
Lin Yuan turned down every invitation.
He spent his days with his family and his nights cultivating the Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula with fierce intensity.
His Early Second Tier cultivation grew steadily more solid.
With every punch, a muffled blast of air erupted.
His muscles had grown denser than any human's had a right to be.
On the evening of the fourth day of the new year,
Lin Yuan stood alone on the villa's balcony.
He raised one hand, palm up.
A visible swirl of pale white qi twisted violently into shape above it.
Bang!
He crushed the vortex in his hand.
The powerful backlash instantly swept away every snowflake within half a meter.
If that blow struck a person,
even heavy body armor would not keep their organs from being shattered.
Still not enough.
That Ironclad Mad Ape could shrug off rifle bullets.
On the fifth day of the new year,
before dawn, thin mist blanketed the entire Shu Capital.
Lin Yuan put on a black outdoor jacket and picked up a simple travel bag.
He opened his bedroom door.
The living room light was on.
Zhang Hui stood beside the dining table, where a steaming bowl of dumplings waited.
Lin Jianguo sat on the sofa, smoking in silence.
Lin Xiaoxiao leaned against the doorframe, rubbing her eyes and yawning.
They all knew Lin Yuan had to leave today.
"Eat something warm before you go."
Zhang Hui's voice was thick with tears.
She did not dare meet Lin Yuan's eyes, afraid she would start crying.
Lin Yuan walked over and picked up the bowl.
He finished the dumplings in a few quick bites.
Warmth spread through his stomach, and even his heartbeat seemed to grow stronger.
"Dad, Mom, Xiaoxiao."
"Remember the Breathing Method I taught you."
"No matter what happens, practice every day."
Lin Yuan set down the bowl and wiped his mouth.
He looked at his family and gave them the reminder in earnest.
"Don't worry."
"I'm here. I'll keep this family standing."
Lin Jianguo stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.
Lin Yuan said nothing more.
He took one last look at the warm home, then turned and opened the front door.
Outside the villa,
two black military Warrior off-road vehicles stood by the roadside like beasts of steel.
Eight fully armed soldiers carrying loaded weapons stood on either side of the vehicles.
They stood ramrod straight, their eyes sharp as hawks'.
When they saw Lin Yuan step out the door,
the major leading them snapped to attention.
Snap!
All eight soldiers gave a crisp Military Salute at once.
Their boots struck the ground with a single heavy thud.
Lin Yuan's face remained impassive.
He straightened his back and returned a flawless Military Salute.
In that moment,
the easygoing young man vanished.
In his place stood Dragon Country's greatest fighting force against the Spiritual Energy Revival.
Moments later,
Lin Yuan opened a car door, bent down, and climbed in.
Vroom!
The Warrior's engine roared to life.
The two vehicles disappeared into the thick fog, one behind the other.
Zhang Hui wiped away her tears.
Lin Jianguo lit a cigarette.
Only Lin Xiaoxiao remained, clutching the doorframe, her mind blank.
Just now...
The way those soldiers looked at my brother...
That was reverence from the bottom of their hearts. It was almost fanatical devotion.
"My brother..."
"What exactly is he going off to do?"
Before you continue