"..Galaxy Cup National Olympiad Equation Competition.."

"The list of finalists for this year's competition is as follows...."

Lu Yuan, sitting in the passenger seat of a black car parked outside the No. 4 Middle School gate, took out his phone. He searched online and, indeed, found his name on the list of contestants for the so-called Galaxy Cup National Olympiad.

Zhou Ling, beside him, unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and exhaled, as if his collar felt uncomfortably tight.

"Stop looking. This competition is real, and the two months of training are real too. I just had a word with them and had your name added to the list of finalists... If you're still worried about being exposed, I can have them send a full set of trophies and certificates to the school later," Zhou Ling told him, half-jokingly.

Lu Yuan put down his phone. He didn't speak, just quietly watched Zhou Ling. After a moment of silence, he said solemnly, "Thank you."

Zhou Ling was taken aback for a moment. He quickly recovered, let out a soft "tch," and waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing!"

Lu Yuan didn't know if Zhou Ling was genuinely unconcerned or just pretending, but his gratitude was sincere.

During their first encounter with a Strong Divine Servant from the Crow God Sect, Zhou Ling had desperately held back the ambushing Divine Servant, yelling at Lu Yuan, "Run!" The scene was still vivid in Lu Yuan's mind.

If their roles were reversed, Lu Yuan knew he couldn't have done the same—to have a hole poked in his forehead and still, as his first thought, warn someone else, someone not directly involved, to flee and escape the danger.

Whatever Zhou Ling's psychology or personality, Lu Yuan felt... this guy, Zhou Ling, was someone you could count on!

Not to mention, Zhou Ling later proactively sent him things, mindful of helping him resolve the hidden danger of the Mouse Monster. Lu Yuan's initial good impression of the Yellow Bear organization was largely earned thanks to Zhou Ling.

"...My consciousness was backed up and uploaded long ago, so 'death' isn't actually something particularly frightening for me. Speaking of which, I should thank you. If it weren't for you on that last mission, my 'death' would likely have been in vain. As it turned out, not only was it not in vain, but I also earned a substantial amount of Merit and a cash bonus... haha..."

Laughing, Zhou Ling patted Lu Yuan's shoulder. "Alright, let's head to your place one more time. After that, we can set off. You need to perform well in this New Blood trial assessment. Chief Gao and I are both counting on you..."

With that, he started the car, made a stylish U-turn at the No. 4 Middle School gate, and with a WHOOSH, sped away.

When they arrived at Lu Yuan's home, Zhou Ling, disguised as a teacher, repeated the explanation he had given at the school.

As expected, his mother, Zheng Qiuling, was coaxed into a state of surprised delight, her face beaming. She readily agreed to the two months of training without even discussing it with Lu Yuan's father, Lu Xinghua. She also urged Lu Yuan to hurry upstairs and pack, so as not to keep the competition officials waiting.

Lu Yuan glanced at Zhou Ling, who was being attentively served tea and offered cigarettes by his mother, Zheng Qiuling, and then headed upstairs, feeling relieved.

Zhou Ling's excuse about the competition was actually quite good, he thought.

At the Crane Sect's disciple acceptance banquet in Weishan, he'd received a pile of bank cards and had been wondering how to explain them ever since.

Now was the perfect opportunity. He could use the competition prize money as an excuse to "legitimately" give some of it to his mom.

Back in his room, he casually packed a few changes of clothes. Just as Lu Yuan was about to leave, he saw his sister, Lu Jing, peeking around the doorway, looking hesitant as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Lu Yuan's expression flickered, and he quickly walked over.

"Yuan, are you really going to be away for two months?" Lu Jing asked hesitantly, looking like she had something on her mind.

"It probably won't be two full months. I might be back quite soon," Lu Yuan replied. "But don't tell Mom and Dad about this."

Noticing Lu Jing's expression, Lu Yuan's eyes glinted as he asked directly, "Has something happened with the archaeological team again?"

"Mm," Lu Jing affirmed softly, her voice tinged with worry. "Professor Xia, who went missing last time, still hasn't been found. And now, we can't contact the other two professors leading the team... Do you think... do you think the curse of the Elephant God Religion is starting to come true?"

Lu Yuan frowned, pondered for a moment, then quickly relaxed his brow.

"Not being able to contact them doesn't mean they're missing, and being missing doesn't mean something bad has happened. While I'm away, if anything serious comes up, just call the martial arts school directly and ask for Qin Feng..."

"Oh." Lu Jing nodded, still looking somewhat preoccupied.

Lu Yuan couldn't offer any more comfort.

The lead regarding Xia Weimin had gone cold with Liu Si.

But now that he was in contact with Zhou Ling again, he could ask him.

He led Lu Jing downstairs, said goodbye to his mother, and then prepared to leave with Zhou Ling.

Once everyone was in the car, his mother, Zheng Qiuling, suddenly rushed over. She forcefully stuffed a package into his pocket and urged him to study hard, eat well while he was away, and call home if anything happened.

After the car had driven some distance, Lu Yuan took out the package his mother had forcefully given him to examine it.

It was a red plastic bag, hastily wrapped. He opened it. Inside were two bottles of milk and a small wad of cash. He counted it—exactly 5,000.

On the road, Zhou Ling said to Lu Yuan while driving, his eyes glowing with a blue light, "Those two people you asked about have been taken into protective custody. The other one you mentioned before did indeed die, but the news has been suppressed and not officially announced."

"What kind of archaeological team did your sister join anyway? The things it involves are so sensitive that even I don't have the clearance to look them up?" Zhou Ling asked, a little curious.

Lu Yuan shook his head. "I'm not sure either. I only know she said she encountered monsters during an archaeological dig and has been having nightmares ever since returning. I privately asked someone to look into it and found it's connected to an ancient cult called the Elephant God Religion..."

"'Elephant God Religion...'" Zhou Ling's eyes flickered with blue light again. He replied, "I'll help you look into it. I'll let you know if I find anything."

"Okay."

Lu Yuan was relatively confident about matters Zhou Ling promised to handle.

He glanced at his phone, noticing White Grass's profile picture was still grayed out.

That fellow had said he'd come to Sum Country this month to meet and discuss the Elephant God Religion, but now it seemed like he'd completely forgotten.

Zhou Ling took Lu Yuan straight to the outskirts of Burnt Rock City.

Eventually, they stopped in a desolate, open area.

The place had probably already been bought by developers preparing to build houses.

There was no sign of human activity anywhere, just a yellow excavator parked on the wasteland.

Zhou Ling signaled Lu Yuan to get out of the car, then walked straight to a mound of earth covered in rubble and weeds.

It was unclear what spot on his arm Zhou Ling pressed, but a beam of blue light shot out from it.

Immediately after, a small, silver-gray Fly Shuttle materialized.

"HISS—"

With a sound like escaping air, the Fly Shuttle's outer hatch automatically opened.

A dozen or so white panels flew out, dancing in mid-air to form a short, floating stairway. The process was imbued with a sense of science fiction.

"Let's go."

Zhou Ling took off his gold-rimmed glasses, gestured to Lu Yuan, and then took the lead, stepping onto the floating stairs.

Lu Yuan had flown in airplanes in both his lives, but facing this kind of futuristic aircraft, something he had previously only seen in sci-fi movies, he was still filled with intense curiosity.

He spread his Spiritual Power, enveloping the entire Fly Shuttle, then slowly began to permeate it inwardly.

It was as if he were meticulously appreciating an exquisitely structured work of art.

A sense of impressed, albeit uncomprehending, awe occasionally stirred within him.

The interior of the Fly Shuttle wasn't particularly remarkable, quite similar to the business class section of an airplane.

This Fly Shuttle of Zhou Ling's was much smaller than the ones Lu Yuan had seen before, and only he and Zhou Ling were in the cabin.

"This is a small Fly Shuttle shared by several of us White Bear team leaders, used specifically for handling private matters. You're lucky; it just so happens that no one else needs it right now... Otherwise, you might have really had to take a plane to the assessment point yourself."

Zhou Ling walked over from the front of the cabin with two bottles of cola, handing one to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan took it, expressed his thanks, and noticed that the Fly Shuttle beneath him had already begun to start up on its own.

Looking down through the window beside him, he could clearly see they were rapidly ascending from the ground.

Back on the wasteland where they had landed, someone had unknowingly appeared next to the yellow excavator. The man was holding up his pants, his face a mask of dumbfounded astonishment as he stared at their departure.

"POP—"

Zhou Ling opened his cola and sat down opposite Lu Yuan. His seat was right by the window, with a small tray table in front of them, creating a somewhat cozy atmosphere.

"We'll be on autopilot for about four or five hours. If you want to rest, you can take a nap first..." Zhou Ling said to Lu Yuan, sipping his cola.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Where are we going now?"

"Sum Nation. The final assessment location hasn't been announced yet, but it will most likely be in Sum Nation as well."

Sum Nation... Lu Yuan quietly mulled over the name.

Gao Qing had once told him that Sum Nation and the world outside Sum Nation were two completely different realms.

The distinction between the New World and the Old City Circle was drawn along this line.

Lu Yuan couldn't imagine what this so-called "New World" was like. Now... was he finally going to get a chance to see it for himself?

"Actually, you don't need to be nervous... I heard you recently received the core inheritance of the Heaven Water Crane Sect, and your strength has increased significantly. If you just perform normally, passing the assessment shouldn't be difficult for you."

Zhou Ling put down his cola and said thoughtfully, "Comparatively, I think you should instead give more thought to which path you intend to take moving forward."

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered slightly. "What do you mean?"

"You're not really planning to stick to the path of Pure Martial, are you?" Zhou Ling chuckled. "Pure Martial has no future... or more precisely, Pure Martial has been rendered obsolete by the times. There are now paths stronger than Pure Martial available for you to choose."

"For example..." Lu Yuan glanced out the window. The Fly Shuttle was already beginning to enter the cloud layer.

"Modification? New Martial?"

"Correct. It seems Gao Qing has already discussed some of this with you." Zhou Ling nodded, then asked, "Have you ever heard of the concept of human physical limits?"

Lu Yuan shook his head.

"It refers to the theoretical maximum capability the human body can achieve, calculated based on countless data samples."

As Zhou Ling spoke, blue light emanated from his eyes, projecting a virtual, three-dimensional, palm-sized human figure into the air between them. Numerous figures scrolled out from both sides of the projected manikin.

"...Ancient Martial Arts was exceptionally glorious decades ago, and it was the initial research focus for countries worldwide. The research also explored how to unearth deeper potential based on Pure Martial. In this process, many mysteries of the human body were unraveled, and a plethora of drugs and methods for enhancing the human physique emerged endlessly.

However, as research progressed to its final stages, everyone discovered something: the human body has limits. This limit restricts the body from developing to higher levels. It's like an ant; no matter how it's developed or strengthened, it can never possess the size and strength of an elephant. This..."

Zhou Ling looked Lu Yuan directly in the eyes and said seriously, word by word, "is determined by the genetic code within us."

Lu Yuan blinked, responding, "Oh?!"

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