“A historical branch has been established.”
“This historical branch was born from your will, and has not affected anything that occurred in the past era.”
“Congratulations.”
“You have obtained an unknown personal history:”
“The year you were seven.”
“While playing at home, you crawled into a wardrobe and accidentally entered a world filled with mist.”
“Your father rescued you.”
As those tiny words surfaced,
countless images appeared in Xu Yuan’s mind.
He remembered what had happened when he was seven.
In that world filled with mist, his father had found him, a relieved smile appearing on his face.
“Dad, what is this place?”
His seven-year-old self asked.
“You’re too young. It isn’t suitable to tell you now,” his father said hesitantly.
“Dad, what if you’re not around next time, and I fall in again?” he insisted.
His father thought for a moment, then sighed and said,
“This technique isn’t of much use. This world is nothing but ruins now, utterly worthless.”
“Its only function is to let you temporarily remain in the Underworld and avoid danger.”
“When you awaken spiritual power, I’ll teach you this technique.”
“Then what if you aren’t by my side when I awaken spiritual power?” his seven-year-old self asked.
“I’ll use a bloodline method to call to you and pass on this technique,” his father said.
“Remember this well. This technique is called—”
“Nether Passage.”
The memory ended there.
Xu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and stood up from the ground.
The answer had been revealed!
No one would go to such great lengths to teach a secret technique to an ordinary high school student.
—But his parents would!
The black shadow in his eyeball should have been the bloodline method his father had activated.
Through this method, he had passed on to him the way to enter the Underworld!
Xu Yuan took a few breaths, silently looking out the window.
Father...
What an unfamiliar feeling.
But now, he had to contact him.
How should he communicate?
Actually, for an adult, this was not much of a problem.
Especially for a veteran player who had spent years playing RPGs, if he approached it with the mindset of “participating in the plot” and tried to understand the fatherly love of the other party, who cared for his son—
There was actually a tiny bit of emotion in it.
Xu Yuan took out his phone and dialed his father’s number.
Beep—beep—
No one answered.
People who worked in archaeology like them, once they entered a ruin, were very easily unreachable.
Forget it.
He would ask later.
Xu Yuan had no other ideas, so he could only gather his thoughts and continue doing his homework.
Eleven thirty at night.
He finally finished all his homework, packed his schoolbag, washed up, and lay in bed, preparing to sleep.
—There was too little spiritual power at the first layer of Qi Refining.
After using “Nether Passage” once and putting that desiccated corpse into the Underworld, he had already exhausted all of his spiritual power.
After his mother fell ill, the family’s savings had gradually been spent.
There were no pills to replenish spiritual power.
He might as well sleep.
He could only wait until he had slept and slowly recovered.
But before sleeping—
Xu Yuan lay in bed, opened the “Qi Refiner’s Combat Preparation Room,” then took out that rare-grade goods exchange voucher.
The shop immediately displayed the corresponding prompt:
“You may immediately refresh the shelves and exchange for a rare-grade item.”
“Because you have unlocked the ‘Rare’ grade, all item grades will now be explained to you. From low to high, they are:”
“Damaged, Common, Excellent, Fine, Rare.”
“The highest grade of item in this shop is ‘Rare.’”
Xu Yuan’s interest grew even stronger.
—That “Nightwalker” dagger was quite handy, and it was only Excellent grade.
Then what was there to wait for?
Let me see it!
Xu Yuan said in a low voice,
“Use the exchange voucher in my hand.”
As soon as he finished speaking,
all the goods in the shop vanished.
Immediately after,
a pill appeared on the shelf.
The item tag listed the corresponding description:
“Marrow-Cleansing Pill.”
“Rare-grade pill.”
“Effect: Thoroughly remolds your limbs and bones, extraordinary meridians and eight vessels, raising your cultivation aptitude to a higher level and making your body worthy of your soul!”
“—Cleanses essence and marrow, reconnects meridians and renews the spirit.”
“Price: Exchange directly.”
Good stuff!
For a cultivator, this was truly good stuff!
Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yuan exchanged for the pill, then swallowed it in one gulp.
He rose from the bed, sat cross-legged, and waited for the power of the pill to slowly dissolve.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
Time slowly passed.
Without realizing it, Xu Yuan entered a strange state of self-forgetfulness.
If one looked carefully, one would discover that his body was trembling slightly, as if it were enduring the baptism of some exceedingly powerful force.
It continued until past four in the morning.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
What followed was a layer of black, foul-smelling substance suddenly seeping out from the surface of his body.
—All sorts of impurities in his body had been expelled!
Xu Yuan hurriedly jumped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, turned on the shower, and took a thoroughly satisfying wash.
He also washed the bedsheets and his clothes.
After changing into a clean new set of clothes, he sat down in the living room.
At this moment, the sky had not yet brightened.
All was silent.
Xu Yuan sat there without moving, yet he felt spiritual qi constantly pouring into his body from the surrounding void in every direction.
It was as if his entire body had been sifted through by spiritual qi.
His whole body was filled with inexhaustible strength.
He felt as light as a swallow.
His mind was clear and keen, and even the speed of his thoughts was different from before.
This, in turn, made “the old me” seem like a drunkard muddling through life in a daze.
—Second layer of Qi Refining!
He was already at the second layer of Qi Refining!
For a high school student, with this level of strength, he could basically get into all kinds of universities across the country.
But if he wanted to enter those few universities standing at the summit, such as Jiuyao and Luofu, he would need to reach the third layer of Qi Refining.
Yang Xiaobing had also only received notice of the special admissions test after reaching the third layer of Qi Refining.
“What a pity...”
Xu Yuan uttered two words, but did not continue.
For esports, one needed all sorts of talents such as visual reaction, hand-eye coordination, prediction, and multitasking.
Unfortunately, there was no reaction speed testing software here, nor any dynamic vision training tools.
—Otherwise, he would have had to break a testing record no matter what!
Since he could not test himself, why not practice?
He sat cross-legged on the sofa, his hands swiftly forming spell seals.
From the water-and-fire spell hand seals of the Dao of Alchemy, to the artifact-control techniques of artifact refining, then to the thirty-six methods of talisman crafting, followed by the recitation and application of sword formulas.
Xu Yuan practiced while summarizing what he had learned over his three years of high school.
He did want to try that Nether Passage technique again.
But the formation on the front door had been broken open by the police and had not yet been replaced, which meant anyone could enter his home directly.
If he was discovered, it would be over.
He could only endure it and wait until daytime, find some secluded place, and continue probing the mysteries of this technique.
Without realizing it,
the east had turned pale.
It was now six thirty in the morning.
The alarm suddenly rang, “waking” Xu Yuan, who had been immersed in cultivation.
“It’s already six thirty...”
He muttered, then stood, shouldered his schoolbag, changed his shoes, and went out.
First, he went to the street and bought steamed buns, side dishes, and rice porridge.
Then he passed through an alley, turned a street corner, and arrived at the hospital.
—The archaeologists’ family compound was very close to the hospital. This was especially important.
Otherwise, Xu Yuan might not even be able to get to school on time.
He entered the inpatient department with practiced ease, went upstairs, and pushed open the ward door.
“Xiao Yuan is here.”
A weary female voice sounded.
“Mom,” Xu Yuan called, placing breakfast on the bedside cabinet, then moving a chair over and sitting by the bed.
He looked at the original body’s mother.
Zhao Shulan.
—She was a middle-aged woman only in her forties, yet more than half her hair had already turned gray.
Xu Yuan looked very much like her. They both had oval faces, large eyes, and high nose bridges.
The difference was,
Zhao Shulan had endured years of illness and torment. Her figure was frail, her face pale and haggard.
—In her earlier years, Zhao Shulan had also been an expert in ancient artifacts. It was just that during one descent into a ruin, she had been afflicted by an unknown poison.
No medicine worked. She could only keep maintaining her condition like this.
“Hungry?”
Xu Yuan asked softly.
This ward held six people, and the patients in the other beds had not yet gotten up.
“I’m not hungry,” Zhao Shulan shook her head. “What about you? Hurry up and eat. You still have to rush to school in a while.”
“There’s still time. No hurry.”
Xu Yuan recalled his predecessor’s way of speaking and responded.
“How has your studying been lately? Have your teachers said anything about you?” Zhao Shulan asked.
“All good. Don’t worry,” Xu Yuan said with a smile.
“I’ve dragged you down,” Zhao Shulan sighed. “If you didn’t have to take care of me, you wouldn’t have to work so hard every day.”
“Don’t overthink things all day long,” Xu Yuan interrupted. “Oh right, I’ve mastered the Flying Swallow Chain of the Yange Sword Art.”
“Really?” Zhao Shulan’s attention was indeed diverted.
“Of course.”
Xu Yuan picked up a disposable chopstick. His hand moved like lightning, slashing eight beams of sword qi like white lines through the air.
Snap.
The disposable chopstick could not withstand the force and broke outright.
“Sword Moves the Eight Wastes.”
Zhao Shulan murmured heavily.
The room quieted down.
Being able to slash out sword qi meant one had achieved spiritual power and was a Qi Refiner, qualified to enter university for further studies.
Not to mention, he had already pushed the most difficult sword art in high school to its limit!
When eight beams of sword qi emerged together, there was a saying for it: “Flying Swallow Chain, Sword Moves the Eight Wastes.”
This was the highest realm of the Yange Sword Art, and also its limit.
If he could slash out sword qi like this during the college entrance examination, he would directly receive full marks in the swordsmanship exam, and entering a key university would be no problem at all.
Zhao Shulan’s eyes reddened. Covering her face with both hands, she choked out,
“This is wonderful.”
“I’ve been so uneasy lately, afraid something might happen. Who would have thought my son would be so promising?”
Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, drew a tissue and handed it over, then said softly,
“That’s right. I’m the kind of person who makes people proud.”
He waited until Zhao Shulan’s emotions had stabilized somewhat, then helped her sit up and brought over the buns and porridge.
Zhao Shulan wanted to eat by herself, but he glared at her.
Xu Yuan held the porridge and fed it to her spoonful by spoonful until she finished, then sat with her and chatted for a while.
When she grew a little sleepy,
Xu Yuan helped cover her with the blanket, said goodbye, and left.
Seven ten.
There were still ten minutes before he had to be in the classroom.
Xu Yuan began jogging, hurrying toward Jiangbei City No. 5 High School.
Ring ring ring—
Just as the self-study bell rang, he finally made it to the classroom.
“Eaten yet?”
His close friend Zhao Afei handed over a piece of bread.
“Not yet. This bread’s pretty good. Which shop is it from?” Xu Yuan wolfed it down.
“Over by the school’s back gate. A new bakery just opened. I think it’s pretty good too,” Zhao Afei said.
“Lend me a sip of soy milk.”
Xu Yuan grabbed the soy milk on Zhao Afei’s desk and drained it in one breath.
“Lend? When are you planning to return it?” Zhao Afei said irritably.
“I’ll teach you alchemy,” Xu Yuan said.
“Pah, more like I should teach you,” Zhao Afei said.
—The original Xu Yuan was skilled in swordsmanship and physical techniques, while Zhao Afei was skilled in alchemy.
Once these words were said, Zhao Afei naturally had to retort.
The homeroom teacher appeared at the classroom door.
The two of them, who had been talking, immediately assumed upright postures of reciting from their books and stopped whispering to each other.
“Students, get ready!”
As soon as the homeroom teacher spoke, everyone stopped reciting and looked toward the podium together.
“Nine o’clock this morning.”
“The group battle officially begins!”