About five minutes later.

The motorcycle pulled up in front of a secluded building and stopped.

It was “secluded” because the building stood right beside the back mountain of the school.

All around were trees and more trees—no other buildings.

Above the entrance hung an eye‑catching plaque—Pure Human Institute.

Lin Zichen guessed this “Pure Human Institute” was likely an abbreviation for Pureblood Human Research Institute.

Song Yuyan casually parked the bike to one side, looked at Lin Zichen and said, “Come on, I’ll take you in for a look first, then I’ll bring you to see the dean.”

With that, she lifted a leg and strode into the institute.

Lin Zichen followed close behind and once inside, looked around at the surroundings.

This “Pure Human Institute” wasn’t quite like the institutes he’d imagined.

The lighting inside was very dim.

It wasn’t filled with all kinds of precision high‑tech instruments as one might expect.

What it did have were corners piled high with all sorts of old odds and ends.

It looked like a giant storage room.

But on closer inspection, those so‑called “old odds and ends” in the corners looked more like antiques of great research value.

Before long, the two stepped into a brightly lit hall.

Inside were a TV and computer, a sofa and massage chair, even a bed—it looked very homey.

Arriving at the hall, the previously silent Song Yuyan began introducing things, “This is the institute’s living and leisure area. When research gets tedious, you can come here to rest and unwind. The big room we just passed is the institute’s storage area—it’s for piling up items we can’t currently research. It looks messy, but everything has value. Farther in is the research area—that’s where everyone usually works with the dean on research.”

As she spoke, Song Yuyan stopped before a freezer about two meters tall, took a drink out and tossed it to Lin Zichen, “Everything in the fridge is bought with our budget. If you want to eat or drink something, just take it.”

She shut the freezer, then once again set those long legs in motion and headed deeper inside, “Come on, I’ll take you to the research area so you can get familiar with the environment.”

Lin Zichen opened the drink, took a sip and quickly followed.

They entered the research area, gave it a look‑over—and found it wasn’t much different from the storage area they’d seen first.

The same clutter everywhere, old objects stacked all around—no high‑tech instruments in sight.

“Sister Yan, why is the institute so empty? I haven’t seen a single person.”

Seeing that neither the storage area nor the living and leisure area nor even the research area had anyone around since they’d come in, Lin Zichen couldn’t help being puzzled.

Song Yuyan gave a wry smile and explained, “The Celestial Pavilion has never been popular. The school gives us very little funding, so we can’t support many people. And besides, the pureblood human path has been researched for many years without any breakthrough progress. Lots of people lost patience and chose to give up.

Gradually the Celestial Pavilion declined, so now there are very few people left. Of course, that’s only one reason. The main reason is that the dean thinks the Celestial Pavilion doesn’t need many people—so long as there’s a genius, that’s enough. Otherwise too many people would just split his focus.

So at present, the Celestial Pavilion’s members are only the dean, me, you and three senior martial‑arts students in their fourth year. Other than that—no one. And if there are others, they’re not the sticking kind—they’re the type who come in full of hot‑blooded zeal, then can’t endure the grind and choose to leave.”

Song Yuyan didn’t hide the Pavilion’s present desolation at all; she spoke honestly, “All told, very few people manage to stay for long. Maybe in half a year you’ll find the grind unbearable and leave too.”

Lin Zichen felt a bit confused.

So few people in the Celestial Pavilion?

Then what about those people who came along with Liu Chuanwu during the summer to help recruit—what was that about?

Could it be they were outsiders Liu Chuanwu called in just to put on a show?

Lin Zichen thought it over and felt that was probably close to the truth.

After all, Liu Chuanwu came to recruit geniuses—if he’d shown up alone, it would have looked low‑rent and been unhelpful for recruiting.

Thinking of this, Lin Zichen suddenly felt a bit cheated.

Right after the college entrance exams ended, the Celestial Pavilion kept appearing in the news, constantly boosting its presence and giving people the impression it was a big organization.

But now, the long‑term, in‑house members of the whole organization—counting him—numbered only six.

Lin Zichen shook his head, a little disappointed with the Pavilion’s size.

Still, he didn’t actually care that much.

As long as they could deliver the triple benefits, everything else didn’t matter.

“Dean, I brought Zichen!”

After showing Lin Zichen around the institute, Song Yuyan finally stopped before a basement door, raised a hand to knock and called out.

She shouted loudly—apparently worried Liu Chuanwu inside wouldn’t hear.

Soon, the basement door opened.

With messy bed‑hair and dark circles, Liu Chuanwu stood at the door and gave Lin Zichen a smile, “Zichen, you’re here. Come on, I’ll show you around so you can get familiar with the institute.”

“No need, Dean—I already showed him around.”

“In that case, come in, both of you. Let’s sit and have a proper chat.”

Lin Zichen followed Song Yuyan inside and gave the place a careful look.

The lab was a mess—books everywhere, bottles and jars, stone tablets and the like. Everything looked extremely old, like relics dug up from a tomb.

It seemed the institute’s style was built around two words: “old things.”

But thinking about it, that made sense—the pureblood human path inherently had an archaeological aspect.

Relevant items all came from excavated ruins.

Unlike Gene Fusion and Mechanical Modification, which followed a high‑tech route.

“Dean, you look exhausted. How long have you been holed up in here?”

Song Yuyan casually found a chair, sat down, crossed one leg over the other and asked with a very it‑is‑what‑it‑is look.

Listless, Liu Chuanwu said, “Nearly half a month. I’ve been studying the Opening‑Aperture Chapter of the Blood‑Tempering Art. Unfortunately, there’s been no progress at all—it’s a bit much.

Ah, what we really lack is support from martial‑arts geniuses. At this stage of the pureblood human path, we still need exceptionally gifted martial‑arts prodigies to blaze the trail. If the talent isn’t there, it just isn’t—no number of people can bring about a qualitative change. But now that Zichen has joined us, the pureblood human path is sure to see major progress.”

Liu Chuanwu smiled, then introduced Song Yuyan to Lin Zichen, “Don’t be fooled by your Sister Yan’s carefree manner—she was the Kyoto exam runner‑up back in the day. It was with your Sister Yan’s joining that the pureblood human path made its bigger strides in recent years. The biggest was that I, who’d been stuck at the second body‑tempering stage for decades, managed to complete three temperings eight years ago—achieving the feat of, with a pureblood human body at Ordinary Tier Nine, crushing low‑tier advanced gene fusers.”

At this point, Liu Chuanwu’s eyes were full of gratitude for Song Yuyan.

If she hadn’t given up the Gene Fusion path and resolutely joined the Celestial Pavilion to shine, the Pavilion might have disappeared long ago.

“Didn’t expect that, did you? Back then I was Kyoto’s exam runner‑up!”

Looking at Lin Zichen with a grin, Song Yuyan said, “My physical‑test stats in the college entrance exam were even a bit higher than yours. Feeling discouraged yet?”

“Alright, we know you’re strong—don’t discourage the junior,” Liu Chuanwu chided with a glance, then turned to comfort Lin Zichen, “Zichen, your exam stats may not match your Sister Yan’s, but that was just the exam. Life is long; late bloomers are common. You have every chance to surpass her in time. I have high hopes for you.”

‘I’m the Kyoto runner‑up, after all. How could a mere Southern River Province runner‑up compare to me?’

Song Yuyan might act carefree, but deep down she still had pride to spare.

Still, that was only in her head. Outwardly she smiled and said, “The dean’s right. As long as you accumulate enough, it’s entirely possible to burst forth later on. Surpassing me isn’t impossible.”

It hadn’t been easy to recruit a martial‑arts genius to the Pavilion—they had to treat him well and offer plenty of encouragement, lest he feel unhappy and bolt.

Liu Chuanwu turned to Lin Zichen and asked, “By the way—the Blood‑Tempering Art I gave you over the summer… how’s it coming? Have you learned blood control?”

“I’ve learned it.”

Liu Chuanwu asked again, “Has your biological level advanced to Ordinary Tier Four?”

“Mm. It has.”

Satisfied, Liu Chuanwu beamed, “Very good. You’ve learned blood control and advanced to Ordinary Tier Four—starting today you can begin Skin Tempering. Next, your Sister Yan will guide you in how to temper the skin. Strive to complete a first round of Skin Tempering this first semester, then begin Flesh Tempering over winter break. Back in the day, your Sister Yan completed her first Skin Tempering in less than three months from the start of freshman year—she has ample experience.

With her guidance, you’ll definitely finish a first tempering by the end of the first term. Also, she’s the most capable mentor in the Martial Arts Academy—second to none in teaching. With her instruction, you’ll avoid many detours. So, within the same timeframe, you’ll likely go farther than she did on the pureblood human path.”

Afraid that the shabby Pavilion headquarters would make Lin Zichen want to run, Liu Chuanwu kept painting big pictures, praising him as a heaven‑favored child.

Seeing the concern—and the sales pitch—Lin Zichen only said mildly, “Relax, Dean. As long as the triple benefits are fulfilled, I’ll stay with the Celestial Pavilion all four years.”

‘Stay four years? Not just half a year?’

Thinking he’d misheard, Liu Chuanwu quickly confirmed, “Did you say you’ll stay with the Celestial Pavilion for four years?”

“However long the triple benefits are provided is how long I’ll stay.”