Inside an office, Yuan Dongzhi looked at Lin Zichen, still feeling a bit unreal, “Zichen, your performance in the third test really caught me off guard—astonished me, even. You’re not even twenty yet, only a freshman on winter break and yet relying solely on a Path of Pureblood Humans body, you can wield power comparable to an Ordinary Tier 9 expert. That’s unheard of. Even many seniors in the Evolution Academy don’t reach this level by fourth year.

Before I saw you blast that Ordinary Tier 8 Peak combat robot away with a single punch, I always thought you were being irrational—shouldn’t be walking the Path of Pureblood Humans and squandering your talent. Now, I think you should walk the Path of Pureblood Humans and try to break common understanding. The road of a pioneer is always brutally hard at the start. During that time, don’t fear becoming just another face in the crowd—keep going.”

Yuan Dongzhi spoke with rare earnestness.

She wanted to see whether the Path of Pureblood Humans, which Liu Chuanwu had championed for years, really could be the road to salvation.

After listening, Lin Zichen nodded, “Mm. I’ll stick with it.”

“Zichen, would you let me examine your body?” Yuan Dongzhi added, “If it’s inconvenient, forget it. Probing someone’s body and peeking at their secrets is a major taboo among Evolvers.”

‘Then why ask? Playing the open-secret game, huh?’

Lin Zichen griped inwardly. Still, to keep relations warm—and so it’d be easier to ask her for help later—he nodded calmly, “It’s fine.”

As he spoke, he used Natural Camouflage to tweak a few bodily indicators, making his condition look more ‘reasonable.’

Soon after—under the gaze of the female officer and Shen Qinghan—Yuan Dongzhi stepped up to Lin Zichen, took his wrist and sent her spiritual power into his body for a careful probe.

A moment later, shock flashed across her face.

Skin, flesh and blood, bones—each had been tempered once.

A First Tempering fully achieved!

Biological level: Ordinary Tier 9!

All that talk about “only Ordinary Tier 8, but through innate strength and the Blood‑Tempering Art he can burst out Tier‑9 force”—lies.

His true level was Ordinary Tier 9.

“How did it go?” the female officer asked, watching Yuan Dongzhi. She’d caught that fleeting look of shock and was curious about the result.

Yuan Dongzhi smoothed her expression, “His bio level is only Ordinary Tier 8, but his bodily toughness can rival an early‑stage Ordinary Tier 9 Gene Fuser. It’s astonishing.”

She didn’t tell the truth, choosing to shield Lin Zichen’s real level—even from the officer who’d gone through fire with her when they were young.

“Ordinary Tier 8, yet the body already rivals an Ordinary Tier 9 (early) Gene Fuser?” The officer was incredulous, “That’s outrageous. The Path of Pureblood Humans seems unrivaled in bodily fortification. If it breaks the shackles of ordinary beings, its future is bright.”

For a while after, Yuan Dongzhi and the officer took turns asking Lin Zichen questions—careful to avoid anything private.

Things like how the Blood‑Tempering Art is practiced, what it feels like and what resources it requires.

Lin Zichen answered one by one.

* * *

About half an hour later, the talk wrapped up. Lin Zichen didn’t linger; he left with Shen Qinghan.

Before returning to the dorm, they stopped by the canteen to eat.

Just as they entered, they bumped into Li Moyu and Luo Yongjian coming out.

Li Moyu was curious, “Lin Zichen, is your current strength all from training the Blood‑Tempering Art?”

He knew a little about Liu Chuanwu’s Path of Pureblood Humans and the Blood‑Tempering Art.

“Yes,” Lin Zichen replied, as laconic as ever.

Hearing that, Li Moyu couldn’t help regretting it, “Right after the college entrance exam, Dean Liu came to sound me out, asked me to try the Path of Pureblood Humans. But back then I was biased against it and wouldn’t even consider it. Looking back, someone like me—whose bodily talent also far exceeds my peers—should have at least given it six months.

If it didn’t work, I could’ve switched to Gene Fusion. If it did, it would’ve been a huge win. Pity my foresight wasn’t there; I wasn’t thinking long‑term. Otherwise, maybe I’d be as strong as you now… maybe even stronger.”

The more he spoke, the more he regretted it, practically pounding his chest with remorse—wishing he could be reborn back to those days and accept Liu Chuanwu’s invitation.

Lin Zichen only smiled.

‘Regret not walking the Path of Pureblood Humans? Truth is, if you had, you’d regret it more.’

The Path of Pureblood Humans isn’t for everyone. The Blood‑Tempering Art demands an extreme level of innate bodily talent—so high that without a ‘cheat,’ you can’t walk it at all.

A counterexample was Song Yuyan: once Kyoto University’s runner‑up, immensely gifted. She chose the Path of Pureblood Humans—and is now just another face.

Had Li Moyu gone down that path, he’d almost certainly have ended up like Song Yuyan.

* * *

That night, after showering, Lin Zichen lay on his bed scrolling the news.

Most hot stories were about aberrant beasts; a few involved aberrant plants. All incidents were in Shanhai City, leaving the public on edge.

Among the names in those stories were several he knew well: Kyoto University prodigy Li Yijin (Li Moyu’s elder brother); the Machine God Group’s mechanical prodigy girl; and the strongest alumnus in Shanhai High School’s history—now a young instructor in Shanhai University’s Evolution Academy—Wu Tiancheng; and so on.

Lately, these top prodigies had converged on Shanhai City to help the City Security Headquarters clear aberrant beasts and plants. The slayers got the evolution resources they wanted; the authorities, with their help, could restore peace faster—a win–win.

After browsing for a while, Lin Zichen intentionally hunted down combat footage of these prodigies.

He focused on Wu Tiancheng, the Kyoto prodigy and the mechanical prodigy girl.

After watching, he concluded: the strength they showed in those videos was middling. With his Blood‑Tempering Art at third tempering complete, plus a stack of biological attributes like Natural Selection and Social Animal, he was confident he could crush all three—one versus three.

At Ordinary Tier 9, he could overpower three long‑famed Advanced‑rank powerhouses.

‘When I finish five temperings of the Blood‑Tempering Art and also evolve my bio level to Advanced, I should be able to fight mid‑stage Advanced experts…’

At that moment, Shen Qinghan’s voice came from outside the door.

“Xiao Chen, I’m coming in.”

The dorm door opened.

Wearing a loose nightdress, Shen Qinghan floated in on light steps and shut the door behind her.

She slipped off her slippers and sat sideways on the bed, “Xiao Chen, Master says she’ll come by later. She wants to talk to you.”

“Me?” Lin Zichen asked.

“Yes, you. She said she wants to talk about the Blood‑Tempering Art.”

“About the Blood‑Tempering Art?” Lin Zichen was puzzled.

‘We just talked about it during the day—why again? Are we digging to the root? That’s a bit much…’

A hint of annoyance crept in.

“Xiao Chen, I used the single‑use bath gel Chu Xin gave me—the floral one she said costs 299 a pack.” Shen Qinghan held her hand to his nose smiling, “I think it smells great. You smell—do you like it?”

He sniffed and nodded, “It does. Very soothing.”

“Want a taste?” she teased.

“One taste isn’t enough. For a hand that smells this good, I need a hundred,” Lin Zichen grinned.

He lowered his head, at first just playing around, kissing from the back of her hand to the delicate collarbone, then her smooth white neck, finally her soft, tempting lips.

Meanwhile, his hands grew restless, roaming at will. Shen Qinghan melted into him, limp and helpless under the kisses and caresses, lying in his arms with star‑drenched eyes, intoxicatingly alluring.

“Little noob—down already after just a bit?” he teased when he let her lips go.

Flushed and breathless, Shen Qinghan felt woozy, unable to retort. After a long moment, she pressed her rosy lips together, refusing to concede, “Who says I’m down? Don’t beg for mercy later.”

She looped her arms around his neck and kissed him again—to prove she wasn’t a noob.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go her way. In the end she didn’t prove anything—if anything, she added a prefix and became a bed‑wetting little noob.

* * *

Not long after, Yuan Dongzhi arrived—personally visiting Lin Zichen’s dorm to discuss the Blood‑Tempering Art in more depth.

As soon as she entered, she noticed the soaked mattress and quilt, “Why is your bed wet?”

“Accidentally knocked over a cup,” Lin Zichen lied without blinking.

At his side, Shen Qinghan looked a little pale—and instinctively pressed her legs together.

Yuan Dongzhi caught the change in her expression and had a guess—then decided it couldn’t be that. The bed might be wet, but there was no odor at all, only a faint floral scent—pleasant and refreshing.

‘Probably spilled tea’.

Then she faced Lin Zichen, her voice for once less frosty, “Zichen, I came tonight to talk about the Blood‑Tempering Art—that is, the Path of Pureblood Humans. We spoke earlier, yes, but with others present there were a lot of things I couldn’t ask. So I waited until night to have a proper talk.”

She didn’t waste time. “Zichen, to be blunt: your real strength is First Tempering fully achieved, with a bio level of Ordinary Tier 9—correct?”

“Correct,” Lin Zichen didn’t deny it. That was exactly what he’d ‘staged’ for her to see.

“Does Liu Chuanwu know your Blood‑Tempering progress?”

“He does.”

Yuan Dongzhi nodded, fell silent in thought, then spoke again, her tone full of feeling, “Until today, I was full of prejudice against the Path of Pureblood Humans. Now, I truly believe it has a bright future—may overturn common belief and lead humanity to a higher summit. And the pioneer, the forerunner in that, is likely you. Mm, Qinghan may have a chance as well. Your constitutions are both too special—so special it beggars belief, like something out of a made‑up story.”

Here she frowned slightly, then admitted to them, “Right after the freshman tournament, I looked into your parents. Logically, parents who could produce talents like you should themselves be once‑in‑a‑million geniuses. But in fact, both sets of parents are ordinary—so ordinary they couldn’t possibly qualify for mechanical augmentation or Gene Fusion.

These days I’ve wondered if the two of you are genetic mutations. But then I thought: that’s unlikely. One mutation is plausible; two, who also happen to be next‑door childhood sweethearts? The odds are basically zero. I suspect…” She hesitated, then switched tack, “Forget it. I won’t say it.”

She’d been about to suggest they might not be their parents’ biological children—but swallowed it; too offensive.

Seeing her trail off, Shen Qinghan couldn’t help asking, “Master, suspect what?”

“Nothing,” Yuan Dongzhi deflected lightly.

Then she turned to Lin Zichen, her voice uncharacteristically warm, “Zichen, you’re Qinghan’s fiancé and I’m her teacher. By that bond, we count as family. If you ever need my help, just ask—anytime.”

Lin Zichen was a little taken aback—then decided it made sense.

Back when Shen Qinghan tested a 21% Gene Fusion Adaptability, Yuan Dongzhi had recruited her without a second thought. Clearly she prized talent—or rather, liked to invest early.

Now, seeing her disciple’s fiancé was just as gifted, it was normal to tighten ties.

“Come on—let’s add each other on WeChat.”

Yuan Dongzhi took out her phone, opened the scan screen and proactively added Lin Zichen.

In truth, she’d felt the urge to take him as a disciple—but reminded herself he was ‘one of Liu Chuanwu’s people’ and suppressed the thought. Poaching would be crass.

Divorced though she was from Liu Chuanwu, it was only in principle; not in the flesh. She didn’t want to sour things with him over something like poaching. Besides, with Shen Qinghan between them, her relationship with Lin Zichen was already secure enough—no need to push further.