Elder Li

Cloudtop Garden Restaurant, a window-side booth.

For the seventh time, Li Xiulin raised her wrist and glanced at her diamond-studded watch. It was 7:21 p.m.

They had agreed on seven. She had already been sitting here alone for twenty-one minutes.

The table held the appetizers she had already ordered and two glasses of water. The main course had yet to be served—she had specifically told the waiter not to start preparing it until everyone had arrived.

The seat across from her was empty, with the light jacket she had originally prepared for her younger son, Chen Xu, draped over its back.

Chen Xu had come too, but after sitting for less than ten minutes, he had completely run out of patience.

"Mom, how much longer are we waiting? All my classmates are gathered at Speed Domain!"

Chen Xu pouted, idly playing with his car keys. "I said I'd just show my face, but how long has it been? What's going on with Hua Yin? Doesn't he have any sense of time at all?"

"Wait a little longer, Xiao Xu. Maybe there's traffic."

Li Xiulin soothed him, her gaze drifting once more toward the restaurant entrance. There were only waiters coming and going, not that familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar tall, thin figure.

"Wait for what? When hasn't he been like this? Dilly-dallying around, unable to handle even the smallest thing."

Chen Xu's displeasure was practically written all over his face. "Dad even said yesterday that I should learn to be more steady from him. From him? Learn what? His poverty stink and his bad-luck face? Hmph. Mom, can't you just stop caring about him? Wouldn't it be great to let him fend for himself? The three of us, our family, could live happily together."

"This is so annoying. I'm leaving. You two can eat by yourselves."

"Xiao Xu!" Li Xiulin frowned slightly at Chen Xu's words. She had just been about to scold him, but when she saw him leaving, she wanted to call him back.

"I'm really leaving! If I'm any later, I'll miss the opening!"

Chen Xu had already stood up. He did not even take his jacket. "You pay the bill, or let him pay it. He'll be here soon anyway—though who knows if he can afford it."

With that, without waiting for Li Xiulin's response, he turned and headed out, his steps light.

"You forgot your jacket!"

"It's chilly outside!"

Li Xiulin opened her mouth, but ultimately only sighed helplessly and did not stop him. She knew her younger son's temper best; pressing him too hard would only make things worse.

She glanced once more at the empty seat across from her, a faint trace of displeasure passing through her heart before being almost immediately swept away by other thoughts.

That child Hua Yin really was becoming more and more thoughtless.

They had agreed on a time, yet he was this late without even making a call.

Did he expect her, his mother, to chase after him?

She picked up her phone, her finger hovering over Hua Yin's name in her contacts for several seconds. In the end, she locked the screen and set it down.

Forget it. Maybe something really had delayed him.

She would talk to him when he arrived.

A waiter walked over and politely asked, "Ma'am, should we serve your main course now... or wait a little longer for the other guest?"

Li Xiulin glanced toward the entrance. There was still no sign of Hua Yin. The tiny scrap of patience born from waiting had quickly been exhausted after her younger son left.

Sitting here alone and waiting like an idiot was a joke.

"Don't wait. Serve it." She waved a hand, her tone returning to its usual composure, though with an almost imperceptible chill. "Make it what I ordered before. Just one serving. The other one... cancel it."

"Yes, ma'am." The waiter bowed and withdrew.

Soon, the carefully prepared steak and sides were brought over. There was only one serving, placed before Li Xiulin.

She picked up her knife and fork and began eating with graceful movements, occasionally glancing at the night view outside the window or replying to messages on her phone.

Soft music drifted through the restaurant, and the atmosphere remained elegant and comfortable.

She seemed to have completely forgotten that this dinner had originally been arranged with someone else.

Or perhaps, in her heart, the most important part of this gathering had already ended the moment Chen Xu left.

Whether Hua Yin came or not, and when he came, had become irrelevant.

The gift from her eldest son—something she might never have even considered—along with that quiet, reticent son himself, was at this moment merely an insignificant, blurry speck in the picture of her busy, refined life. It was not even worth the effort of wondering why he was late.

She finished dinner at an unhurried pace, then ordered dessert. It was nearly 8:30 before she signaled for the bill.

The bill was brought over. She glanced at it and smoothly took out her card.

The waiter gently reminded her that the ingredients for the previously uncanceled set meal had already been processed, so she might need to cover part of the cost.

Li Xiulin frowned but said nothing, merely nodding.

She swiped her card, signed the receipt, and picked up her handbag. Then she rose from her seat and headed for the restaurant doors, her pace composed and her back straight.

From beginning to end, she never looked again at the seat that had remained empty all night, nor did she try to call the number she had ignored.

The night wind was slightly cool. After getting into the back seat of the waiting private car, she gave the driver her next destination—a friend's afternoon tea salon. The car smoothly left Cloudtop Garden and merged into the glittering stream of traffic.

She did not know, and would never know, that at the very same moment she was elegantly enjoying dinner alone, worrying over her younger son, and planning her next social engagement.

In a dark, filthy dead-end alley several streets away, her forgotten "son" had just endured a bloody ordeal of life and death. His chest had been pierced by a monster, yet amid a sky full of shattered dust and butterfly shadows, in blood and despair, he had transformed into someone with a terrifying S-rank ability, someone destined to stir the winds and clouds of the future...

An Awakened.

The scales of fate had already tipped in an unnoticed corner.

Yet she remained immersed in that seemingly glamorous but truly cold and distant ordinary night, utterly unaware of the storm about to sweep in—one intimately tied to her "good-for-nothing" eldest son.

After tonight, the already paper-thin bond between mother and son, between her and Hua Yin, would gradually begin to be torn apart by entirely different worlds and destinies.

S-rank.

Those two words caused a far greater shock within the Special Affairs Bureau's Nether City branch than Hua Yin had imagined.

The preliminary test report, along with the footage of the testing crystal erupting with pale light before finally cracking, was directly transmitted to headquarters by Captain Wang under the highest encryption level.

In less than half an hour, the atmosphere throughout the Nether City branch suddenly became solemn and tense.

All researchers involved in the testing were required to sign the highest-level confidentiality agreements and were temporarily restricted from leaving.

Hua Yin was placed in a comfortable observation room, with two Awakened ones whose auras were clearly unlike ordinary team members standing guard outside.

He could sense faint probing waves sweeping through the room from time to time, gentle yet unceasing.

Several hours later, when Captain Wang appeared again, an elderly man in a gray Mao suit stood beside him.

The old man had white hair and beard, a lean face, and gentle eyes. He looked like an ordinary retired scholar.

Yet the instant the old man stepped into the room, Hua Yin's spirituality subtly stalled, sending him an almost instinctive warning when faced with a higher-level existence.

"Student Hua Yin, this is Elder Li, a specialist sent by headquarters and also your temporary guardian," Captain Wang introduced, his tone respectful.

Elder Li smiled faintly, his gaze falling on Hua Yin as though it could pierce through his flesh and look directly at the power faintly flowing within him.

"The young are truly formidable. This old man is Li Siyuan, a consultant to the central bureau. I am in the Demigod Realm. By the central bureau's order, I will remain in Nether City for the time being to ensure your safety and provide you with an initial guide to organizing your power."

Demigod Realm.

Hua Yin's heart stirred. Even as a student, he knew something about this world's cultivation realms.

Meridian-Opening, Spirit Nurturing, Core Condensation, Domain Transformation, Demigod, Law Realm... and the legendary gods.

This seemingly gentle old man before him was actually a major figure standing in the fifth realm, "Demigod"?

The appeal of an S-rank ability was enough for headquarters to directly dispatch such a powerful expert?

Seemingly seeing Hua Yin's confusion, Li Siyuan said gently, "You need not be nervous. S-rank ability users are treasures to both the nation and its people, but they are also variables that must be handled with care. You have only just awakened, and your power is not yet stable. You can easily become the target of outside covetousness, and you can also easily harm yourself. This old man has come for two reasons: first, to protect your path; second, to guide it."

He paused before continuing, "By your age, you likely have some understanding of this world's truth. Three hundred years ago, spiritual energy revived, and humanity embarked upon the path of awakening. Demonic beasts mutated along with it, while alien species crossed over from other realms. To maintain social balance, every nation has organizations similar to our Special Affairs Bureau."

"Later, the nations standardized cultivation levels into six realms: Meridian-Opening, Spirit Nurturing, Core Condensation, Domain Transformation, Demigod, and Law Realm. Each realm is further divided into four stages: early, middle, late, and peak."

"For ordinary Awakened ones, reaching Spirit Nurturing in a lifetime already makes them a core force. Core Condensation makes one an expert in a region, while Domain Transformation makes one a pillar capable of guarding a major city. As for Demigods... they are strategic pillars. There are fewer than a hundred worldwide."

"You awakened with an S-rank ability. Your starting point already far exceeds that of ordinary people, which means your potential points at least directly toward the Demigod Realm. You may even have a chance to challenge the Law Realm or go higher. But because of that, your growth will require greater resources, more systematic guidance, and... an environment where you can grow with peace of mind."

At this point, Captain Wang placed a thick folder before Hua Yin. The emblem of the Special Affairs Bureau was printed on its cover.

"Student Hua Yin, this is the preliminary cooperation and training plan drafted for you by the central bureau. Given your special circumstances and potential value, we hope you can formally join the Special Affairs Bureau and become one of our 'specially appointed reserve officers.'"

Hua Yin opened the folder. The first item he saw made his breathing hitch slightly:

[Basic Resource Supply]

1. Fixed monthly quota: 10,000 Spirit Stones (standard units).

2. Additional access to cultivation methods, combat techniques, and secret arts ranging from D-rank to A-rank, based on growth stage and mission contributions.

3. A dedicated cultivation consultant and safe house.

"Spirit Stones?" Hua Yin looked up. It was the first time he had heard the term. So Awakened ones did not cultivate simply by relying on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"After the revival of spiritual energy, high-purity energy crystals condensed from certain mineral veins and earth-vein nodes. They are the universally accepted hard currency among Awakened ones, as well as a core resource for assisting cultivation, restoring power, and operating special equipment."

Captain Wang explained, "Spirit Stones are divided into four grades: lower, middle, upper, and supreme. The exchange ratio is usually 100:1. The plan provides standard Lower-Grade Spirit Stones. The pure spiritual energy contained in a single Lower-Grade Spirit Stone is enough to support an early Meridian-Opening Realm cultivator's full cultivation for three days. Ten thousand per month is treatment that even many Core Condensation Realm experts may not receive."

Hua Yin looked at that number, unable to calm his heart. Ten thousand each month—even if they were only lower-grade—was an unimaginably enormous sum. And this was merely the basic supply.

The rest of the document listed the obligations in detail: accepting the central bureau's unified assignments, though it promised full consideration of his student status and growth stage; cooperating with necessary research and testing, on the premise of safety and voluntary consent; abiding by Special Affairs Bureau regulations and confidentiality rules; and assisting with special incidents within the jurisdiction to the extent of his ability.

His rights included high mission allowances, compensation for injury or death, and most importantly—a relatively legal, protected identity through which he could house and use this sudden power of his, one that could easily invite disaster.

"Your circumstances are special. You are under eighteen and have only just awakened, so the central bureau has specially approved a one-month consideration period. During that time, Elder Li will handle your basic guidance and safety, while your resource supply will continue as usual."

Captain Wang's tone was sincere. "Student Hua Yin, we hope you will join us. Not only to add a future pillar of strength to the nation, but also for your own sake. In this world, high-level wild Awakened ones without an organization behind them often find it difficult to go far. Either they become targets for the various factions to covet and fight over, or they are left isolated and helpless when their powers spiral out of control or they encounter formidable enemies."

Hua Yin closed the folder and fell silent for a moment.

The terms offered by the Special Affairs Bureau and the protection it provided seemed, for now, to be his best choice—perhaps even the only sensible one.

Otherwise, he would not have chosen to be honest with Captain Wang about already being Awakened from the very beginning.

"There's no need to consider it. I agree to join." He raised his head, his gaze calm.

"But I have one condition."