Su Qingxue's Helplessness

On the plane.

The roar of the engines was muffled by the soundproofing materials.

Lin Xiaoxiao leaned against the window, looking down at the vast mountains and rivers below.

"Brother."

"Will we ever return to Shu Capital?"

After a moment.

The girl turned around, her eyes carrying a trace of reluctance.

"If you miss home, we'll go back."

"Imperial Capital is far from Shu Capital, but transportation is convenient now."

"As long as I can make time, I'll come back with you anytime."

Lin Yuan rubbed her head.

At those words.

Lin Xiaoxiao grinned happily.

Lin Jianguo and Zhang Hui, seated opposite them, shook their heads in unison.

"It's enough to come back for an occasional look."

"If we stay there, I'm afraid we won't get any peace either."

Lin Jianguo sighed.

Ever since the Beast Tide livestream.

Lin Yuan's image of slaughtering everything in his path on screen had spread across the entire country.

The threshold of the military families' compound in Shu Capital had nearly been trampled flat.

Distant uncles they barely had any relation to.

Elementary school classmates they had not contacted in over a decade.

All of them came bearing large bags and small gifts, hoping to pay them a visit.

The couple's heads were still buzzing from it all.

"Exactly!"

"Your second aunt is usually the stingiest person alive, but this time she actually brought two bottles of Moutai."

"Everything she said was about wanting your brother to arrange some cushy military district job for her son."

Zhang Hui patted her chest, still shaken.

The two of them were honest, ordinary people.

When had they ever seen such a scene?

Faced with all that flattery.

They could do nothing but smile along, not even daring to say anything harsh for fear of causing trouble for Lin Yuan.

"Dad, Mom, don't think about that anymore."

"Once we're in Imperial Capital, no one will be able to disturb you whenever they please."

Lin Yuan comforted them.

He understood his parents' personalities too well.

Leaving behind that troublesome circle in Shu Capital would instead be a relief for them.

"Brother, there's something else."

"All my class group chats have exploded."

"They're all asking whether the country will make martial artist cultivation methods public."

Lin Xiaoxiao leaned closer and lowered her voice.

Excitement gleamed in the young girl's eyes.

Before this, running eight hundred meters nearly killed her.

But ever since she had sensed spiritual energy.

She could now climb ten flights of stairs in one breath without even panting.

It had to be said.

Spiritual energy really was powerful!

Lin Jianguo and Zhang Hui pricked up their ears as well.

They had also received the Basic Breathing Technique.

Though they were older and progressing slowly.

After practicing it twice every morning and evening, even the aches in their backs and waists from all those years had somehow vanished.

Under such circumstances.

Of course they cared whether it would become widely available.

"Soon."

"Since the country dared to livestream the Beast Tide, it won't keep things hidden."

"Just wait patiently for the news."

Lin Yuan chuckled as he looked at his family's expectant eyes.

Actually.

The higher-ups had long since drawn up a complete plan.

Once the initial turmoil had passed.

Arming the entire populace with martial arts would become an inevitable trend.

Three hours later.

The plane landed smoothly at Imperial Capital Military Airport.

The cabin door opened, and frigid northern winds poured into the cabin.

Beside the runway, two off-road vehicles bearing special license plates had been waiting for quite some time.

"Colonel Lin!"

"I'm Chen Gang from the Imperial Capital Garrison District. I was ordered to receive you and your family."

A major hurried forward.

He gave a textbook military salute, his eyes full of fervor and admiration.

The man before him was Dragon Country's only pillar of stability!

A Third-Tier Martial Artist, a fierce warrior capable of breaking an army alone!

"Thanks for your trouble."

Lin Yuan returned the salute.

The family got into the off-road vehicles and drove out of the airport.

The sights along the way left Lin Jianguo and Zhang Hui dumbfounded.

Armed patrols could be seen everywhere along the streets.

Armored vehicles had set up checkpoints at intersections.

Armed helicopters occasionally roared overhead.

The grim atmosphere far surpassed that of Shu Capital.

"Imperial Capital's security..."

"It's terrifying."

Zhang Hui muttered softly, unconsciously tightening her grip on her husband's arm.

"Mom, don't be afraid."

"This is the safest place in Dragon Country."

Lin Yuan patted the back of his mother's hand.

The convoy traveled without obstruction, heading directly into the inner city.

Towering city walls and heavy steel gates.

This was Imperial Capital's core district, with defenses comparable to a doomsday fortress.

Finally.

The convoy stopped before a quiet family housing compound.

After the armed guards verified their identities, they were allowed through.

"Colonel Lin."

"This is the residence arranged for you by the higher-ups."

Chen Gang pointed at a detached two-story villa ahead.

It had a garden, a private garage, and even a dedicated guard squad responsible for the surrounding security.

"This... this house is too big."

"How could a family of four possibly fill it?"

After getting out of the car, Lin Jianguo did not know where to put his hands or feet.

Moving into a detached villa meant for high-ranking officials made him feel uncomfortable all over.

"Dad, this is treatment provided by the country."

"Just live here without worries."

Lin Yuan carried their simple luggage into the house.

The interior was classically elegant, with every kind of living facility fully provided.

"Brother."

"I want the room with the balcony on the second floor!"

Lin Xiaoxiao cheered and ran upstairs while dragging her suitcase.

"Slow down."

"Don't damage the floor!"

Zhang Hui hurriedly called after her.

Watching his family regain their vitality.

The weight in Lin Yuan's heart finally lifted as well.

He looked toward Chen Gang beside him and gave a quiet instruction.

"Let's go."

"To the Martial Artist Research Institute."

The off-road vehicle started again and drove deeper into the inner city.

Half an hour later.

A sprawling complex of buildings appeared in Lin Yuan's view.

The towering walls were densely covered with surveillance equipment and anti-air weapons.

The security level here was several tiers higher than even the family housing compound.

The Martial Artist Research Institute.

Dragon Country's highest-level research institution at present.

It gathered the nation's foremost biologists, physicists, and medical experts, all to unravel the ultimate mysteries of martial arts and spiritual energy.

Lin Yuan had just passed dual iris and fingerprint verification and entered the lobby.

"Colonel Lin!"

"Oh, my dear ancestor, you finally made it!"

A flurry of hurried footsteps came toward him.

An old man in a white lab coat, his hair as messy as a bird's nest, rushed straight over.

It was Old Li, the head of the Northwest Military Region Research Department.

His eyes were bloodshot, yet frighteningly bright, as if he had found an incomparable treasure.

"Elder Li."

Before Lin Yuan could exchange pleasantries.

Old Li grabbed his wrist, his grip surprisingly strong.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

"Come to the laboratory with me!"

"Blood draw! Bone density test! Neuron scan!"

"I simply can't believe the human body can withstand a Peak Second-Order Stage Ferocious Beast head-on!"

Old Li's saliva flew as he dragged Lin Yuan inside.

The surrounding researchers all turned to look.

"It's really him!"

"That monster who drilled through the Fifteen-Hundred-Thousand Beast Tide all by himself!"

"I heard he's already Third-Tier Stage?"

Whispers came from every direction.

Lin Yuan stopped helplessly, his body utterly unmoving.

No matter how hard Old Li pulled, he could not move him even an inch.

"Elder Li, don't rush."

"Since I'm here, I have plenty of time to cooperate with you."

"Lin Yuan is right. Director Li, calm down."

A cool female voice came from the side.

Su Qingxue, dressed in a sharp black combat uniform, strode over.

Compared to her cold severity in the Northwest Military Region.

Her bearing was steadier now, faintly carrying the pressure of a Mid-Second-Tier Stage martial artist.

"Colonel Su!"

Old Li stamped his feet in agitation.

"How am I supposed to stay calm?"

"The data we collected before was all from First Order and Second-Tier Stage subjects."

"Data on Third-Tier Martial Artists is a complete blank!"

"This is a breakthrough that will change the era!"

Su Qingxue sighed and gave Lin Yuan a complicated look.

Just a few months ago,

she had still been able to pin Lin Yuan to the ground and thrash him as his instructor.

But now?

He was already an Early Third Tier existence.

Meanwhile, she was still some distance away from the Late Second-Tier Stage.

"Director Li, it's not that I want to rain on your parade."

"With the research institute's current equipment, we simply can't measure Lin Yuan's true data."

As soon as Su Qingxue said this,

Old Li froze.

The surrounding researchers also pricked up their ears.

"What do you mean?"

"We have a super strength-testing machine here that can withstand impacts of fifty tons!"

Old Li retorted indignantly.

Su Qingxue shook her head.

"Fifty tons?"

"The maximum punching force of a Peak Second-Order Stage martial artist is already close to that figure."

"And Third-Tier Martial Artists have undergone the transformation of Bone Tempering."

"Their bone density far surpasses steel, and True Qi has completely merged into every part of their bodies."

"Lin Yuan's casual strike now has a punching force of well over a hundred tons!"

"If he were to unleash a martial skill..."

"Your precious strength-testing machine would be turned into scrap metal with one punch."

The hall fell into dead silence.

Everyone stared at Lin Yuan as though he were a monster.

A punching force exceeding a hundred tons?

Was he even a carbon-based life-form anymore?!

A heavy main battle tank only weighed fifty or sixty tons!

"And that's not all."

Su Qingxue continued dropping bombshells.

"A Third-Tier Martial Artist's neural reaction speed and muscular explosive power have also undergone a qualitative leap."

"His short-distance sprinting speed has already surpassed the speed of sound."

At that,

Old Li's mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg inside.

He looked at Su Qingxue, then at the calm-faced Lin Yuan.

"Surpassed... the speed of sound?"

"That doesn't conform to aerodynamics!"

"How can his skin withstand the resistance and high temperatures caused by breaking the sound barrier?"

Old Li clutched his already sparse hair, feeling as though all the physics he had studied for most of his life had been for nothing.

Lin Yuan replied casually.

"True Qi Projection."

"Form a shield over the surface of the body, and it can offset most of the resistance and heat."

Those casually spoken words

made all the physicists present collectively lose it.

True Qi!

That completely irrational energy system again!

"No!"

"Even if the equipment can't measure his upper limit, we still need to draw some blood first!"

"I want to study the cellular activity of a Third-Tier Martial Artist!"

Old Li had completely lost his mind.

Afraid that he might do something excessive, several assistants hurried forward to restrain him.

Just then,

a group of old scholars wearing thick-bottomed glasses surged over.

They bypassed Lin Yuan and surrounded Su Qingxue.

"Colonel Su!"

"That High-Energy Particle Capture Net you mentioned earlier—we got stuck halfway through deriving the formulas."

"And that Spirit Energy Purification Device."

"What rare metals exactly were added to that alloy formula?"

They were all titans in their respective fields.

Yet at this moment, they were like a group of eager elementary school students, gazing at Su Qingxue expectantly.

Su Qingxue felt a headache coming on.

She might have been a reborn person,

but in her previous life, her main work had been fighting on the front lines.

The technological information she remembered was all fragmented.

"Professors."

"I really only understand the general idea!"

"You'll have to work out the rest yourselves!"

Su Qingxue tried to break through the encirclement.

But the group of old men and women clung to her relentlessly.

"No, no."

"Think carefully again!"

"Even one parameter would help!"

Watching Su Qingxue get swallowed up by the researchers,

Lin Yuan raised his brows sympathetically.

The halo of a reborn person could sometimes be a heavy burden too.