“Why are you so fierce today?”

“I’m fierce every day.”

“I can’t… let me rest or I’ll pass out.”

Silver Lotus Community, inside a certain owner’s unit.

A burly middle‑aged man had just finished his pleasure with an extremely wanton married woman.

The woman lay on the bed to catch her breath. Feeling terribly thirsty, she got up and went to the living room to hydrate, preparing for round two.

Watching her graceful back as she left, the middle‑aged man couldn’t help sighing.

“That Demonic Glamour Flower’s aphrodisiac effect is too strong—it’s about drained me dry. But I have to admit, the boost to strength is just as strong. I feel like my biological level is about to evolve to the next stage. Here’s hoping I advance by tonight…”

After saying that, the middle‑aged man took out his pocket watch to check on Lu Gang and Wang Shujie.

Seeing their location still at the dorm, he frowned slightly.

Just as he was about to prod them, an argument sounded from the living room.

“Bitch—knew you were cheating on me!”

“Calm down, honey.”

“Calm your damn—”

As the voices drew near, a cyborg burst into the room.

The moment he saw the middle‑aged man on the marriage bed, the cyborg raised his alloy arm—fitted with a gun barrel—aimed at the man, bloodshot eyes blazing.

“You dog bastard! Daring to screw my wife in my bridal room—believe I won’t blow your head off with one shot!”

“Blow me away with one shot?”

The middle‑aged man chuckled. He showed no fear of the barrel in that alloy arm. Unhurried, he rose and walked to the cyborg, stopping in front of him.

Then he asked coolly, “How much did that alloy arm cost you?”

“Three million!” the cyborg said proudly.

“And the alloy calf?”

“Five million!”

“Good, so you do know how much you’ve spent on mods.”

The man patted the cyborg’s face, taunting.

“Ever since your wife started seeing me, you’ve never lacked money for cybernetics. Tell me with a clear conscience—do you really have the face to be angry in front of me?”

At that, the cyborg’s momentum deflated at once—a sharp contrast to his rigid alloy arm.

“Say what you want. Say it now—miss today and there won’t be another chance.”

The cyborg hesitated—broke tough and poor or rich and cowardly?

After about three seconds, he decided.

Grinning obsequiously, he said, “Bro, I’m still missing a thruster unit. I want to know how it feels to fly.”

The middle‑aged man picked up his phone from the bedside, tapped it a few times, then looked at him with contempt.

“I’ve wired ten million to your wife’s account.”

“Ten… million?!”

The cyborg froze, then shook with excitement.

Composing himself, he shouted to the pair, eyes sparkling, “Thanks, big bro! Thank you, sis‑in‑law! Tonight this place is your battlefield—stay as long as you like. I won’t disturb you.”

With that “considerate” line, he turned to leave.

“Stop.”

The man’s voice was absolute.

“What else, bro?” the cyborg asked with a fawning smile.

“That ‘sis‑in‑law’ killed my mood. She’s your wife—call her your wife. Got it?”

“Got it! Got it.”

He beamed, then turned to the woman and said, “Wife, make sure you serve big bro well. Don’t let him down.”

He turned again to leave.

“Who said you could go?”

“Tonight you stay and watch the whole time. Understand?”

“Uh…”

“I’ll wire another ten million to your wife.”

“Dad, I’ll do whatever you say!”

The cyborg decisively acknowledged a thief as his father.

Satisfied, the middle‑aged man nodded.

Then he produced a red seed about the size of a peanut, handed it over with a smile.

“Good, I like people whose bottom line is flexible. Here’s a spirit fruit for you—eating it will greatly boost your vitality.”

“Thanks, Dad!”

The cyborg took the seed—thrilled.

* * *

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day.

At first light, the middle‑aged man came out, fastening his belt.

Though he’d battled all night without sleep, he still looked full of energy.

Drawing a deep breath and savoring his evolved body, he sneered.

“Yuan Dongzhi, sooner or later I’ll trample you underfoot and humiliate you hard. Let’s see how high and mighty you act then.”

Muttering to himself, he left, took the elevator to the underground garage and drove a luxury car worth tens of millions straight toward Shanhai University.

He lived in the university’s inner district.

* * *

Meanwhile, Building 8 of the Central Court, Dorm 603.

Lin Zichen got up early and focused on his second round of Skin Tempering on the balcony.

After more than two hours straight, when he felt his vitality nearly drained, he brought up his tempering panel to check progress.

[Second Skin Tempering: 45%]

‘Almost halfway.’

At this pace, he should complete the second skin round within a week.

With Reblood Pills assisting, efficiency had skyrocketed.

“Xiao Chen, when did you wake up?”

Freshly awake, Shen Qinghan—barefoot in a pale‑pink nightdress—stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes and looking at him sleepily.

He stood, put away the yoga mat and said, “Early today—before five.”

“You’re up so early. Makes me feel lazy in comparison.”

“It’s only seven. For a university student, that’s not lazy at all.”

“But you got up before five…”

She wasn’t comparing herself to the average student—only to him.

He came over and carefully smoothed her bed‑mussed hair, voice gentle.

“That’s different. My ‘superpower’ is a strong body and abundant vitality. I need less sleep than most. No need to compare. Everyone has strengths. Yours is that special constitution—skin dewy and smooth, sweat that smells sweet. And even with intense training every day, your strength rises daily while your muscles don’t bulk up—you keep that slim, willowy figure other girls envy. If you really want to get up early, then sleep earlier. Lights out at ten—early to bed and early to rise.”

“I’d rather sleep in with you than get up early with you,” she said lazily.

Then she rose on tiptoes and kissed him.

“That’s my good‑morning kiss. From now on we do this every day.”

He smiled, gave her a playful pinch on the butt.

“Go brush your teeth or you’ll be sprinting to class and working up a sweat.”

“It’s fine—we’ve got time.”

Even so, she obediently slipped on slippers and went to wash up.

* * *

Half an hour later, after breakfast, they headed out together.

At the foot of the dorm, when they were about to part ways, two familiar figures blocked them—high‑school classmates Wang Shujie and Lu Gang.

The burly Lu Gang spoke first.

“Lin Zichen, could we borrow a moment? I’d like to ask a favor…”

“Go on.”

“There’s a third‑year who hates me and Wang Shujie. He’s stronger than we are and targets us every day—we can’t even breathe. Could you stand up for us?”

“You’re this year’s Freshman King. He won’t dare offend you—he’ll give you face.”

“Of course, we won’t ask without compensation.”

Lu Gang handed over a bag.

“There’s a few kinds of spirit fruit—beauty and skincare, calming and focusing and blood‑tonifying. My dad mailed them to me. They’re yours if you’ll help us.”

Wang Shujie swallowed his pride.

“Lin Zichen, we weren’t close, but we were classmates. For that, could you do us this favor?”

For the sake of the classmate connection—and the bag of fruit—Lin Zichen considered it doable.

But he first asked, “What’s that senior’s strength?”

“As far as we know, about the same as you—Ordinary Tier 6,” Wang Shujie said.

‘Ordinary Tier 6? That would be easy enough…’

“In that case, meet me at the Pure Human Institute at 5:30 p.m. I’ll handle it.”

“Thanks!” Lu Gang thumped his chest.

“If you ever need me, I’ll come running,” said Wang Shujie. “Me too,” echoed Lu Gang.

“A small favor,” Lin Zichen said.

Lu Gang pushed the bag over again.

“Take the spirit fruit.”

“Then I won’t be polite.”

He accepted it.

“Three types,” Lu Gang said, “White skin for beauty, blue for calming and focus, red for blood and virility. Don’t mix them up.

“Especially the red one with the wriggling skin—its blood‑tonifying effect is super strong. Women might have adverse reactions.”

“Oh—and don’t overdo the red ones. No more than one a day or you’ll get overheated.”

“Got it,” Lin Zichen said.

“Then we’ll be off. See you at 5:30.”

They turned to go.

When they were a ways off, Shen Qinghan looked up, curious.

“Xiao Chen, open the bag—let’s see the spirit fruit. I’ve never had one.”

“Pick one for the road.”

He opened the bag, ready to choose a white or blue one for her.

“Pick a small one. If it’s too big I can’t finish it.”

“Okay—small it is.”

He reached in to rummage—and a red one at the bottom drew his eye.

About the size of an egg, its peel was veined with pulsating vessels—like an animal’s heart.

Shen Qinghan spotted the strange fruit and wrinkled her brows.

“That red one at the bottom is gross.”

Even though Lu Gang had singled it out earlier, she hadn’t expected it to look so disgusting. The peel writhed constantly—as if rotten with worms.

Lin Zichen also found it revolting—but curiosity made him take it out for a closer look.

Just as he was about to sniff it—

His Danger Perception jolted—and a prompt slowly surfaced in the void.

[Devour the High‑grade Tree Demon Gu Seed?]

‘Tree Demon? Gu Seed? Devourable? What’s going on? Divine Plant Cult?’

Startled, he immediately connected it to that sudden jolt of danger—this was bad.

Lu Gang and Wang Shujie weren’t far—just over two hundred meters.

Without hesitation, Lin Zichen launched forward and blocked them.

“You two—don’t go.”

“What’s wrong?” Wang Shujie asked blankly.

Beside him, something flickered in Lu Gang’s eyes—a fleeting panic.

Lin Zichen didn’t answer, but called out to Shen Qinghan, who was jogging over.

“Hanhan, contact your master—have her come here!”

“Okay, right now!”

She stopped, pulled out her phone and contacted Yuan Dongzhi. She didn’t understand what was happening—but that didn’t matter. Doing what Lin Zichen said did.

* * *

Shanhai City, beneath the ground. Depth: twenty thousand meters.

In a vast underground palace, a stooped elderly masked man stood before a blood‑red cane thrust into the earth, muttering a strange chant.

Behind him stood a towering three‑eyed giant and a massive aberrant rat crouched nearby.

Both were utterly silent, terrified of disturbing the elder.

No one knew how long it took before he stopped the incantation and slowly opened his eyes.

“It’s done,” he rasped.

At his words, the blood‑red cane suddenly drove itself into the ground and vanished.

The next instant, the earth cracked in a web of terrifying fissures—and with a thunderous roar it collapsed, forming a vast sinkhole.

The pit was pitch‑black—nothing could be seen within.

“The biological coordinates are linked on both sides. This biological passage has been opened. Next, we wait for it to stabilize. Then this end will fully connect to Source Site No. 36. When that happens, beings from the Source Site can transport to Earth without end.”

His voice grew ever hoarser as he spoke.