Yu Yajie returned to her bedroom.

This was, in fact, the first time she had stepped into her bedroom in months.

Ever since Yu Guanhai brought back the Jade Pool Water from the Kunlun Immortal Palace, she had been undergoing intensive cultivation in the manor’s basement, preparing for the subsequent baptismal ritual. She had shut herself off from the outside world, even eating and sleeping in the basement. This was the reason she was able to undergo such a fundamental transformation in such a short amount of time.

Now, several months later, returning to this familiar room, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of unfamiliarity, even though all the furnishings were just as she remembered.

It wasn’t the room that felt strange, but the new life she now faced.

She picked up the phone from her desk and found that it was long dead. No phone’s battery could last for several months on standby.

She plugged in the charging cable and waited for it to boot up, staring somewhat blankly out the window.

Soon, with a burst of music, the phone turned back on.

DING! DING! DING!!

A dense barrage of message notifications and missed call alerts popped up on the screen, startling her.

She took a closer look and saw that many of the messages were from her friends, checking in on her. Before she went into seclusion, she had hastily submitted a leave of absence request to the university without getting a chance to say goodbye to her classmates, which had left many of them worried.

Seeing the string of notifications, a smile returned to Yu Yajie’s eyes. A warmth spread through her heart, along with a sense of resolve.

’If what Father said about the coming turmoil is true, then I have to protect these people who care about me.’

She swiped the screen open and tapped on her messaging app, finding that the most notifications were from her university roommate, Chen Anjin.

’That girl.’

Yu Yajie smiled and opened the chat window, curious to see what she had sent.

"Where did you go?! Something huge happened, you know?!!"

"It’s really Teacher Zhou! It’s really Teacher Zhou!!"

"Oh my god! It’s unbelievable! My mind is blown! From now on, I’m a hardcore fan of the Zhou Clan’s support club!"

"Such a shame! I’m lazy and afraid of pain, so I probably won’t get the chance to attend Teacher Zhou’s class at a Martial Arts University..."

She had expected a series of questions and greetings, but instead, she found... this.

’What is she even talking about?’

’Something huge happened? Teacher Zhou? The Zhou Clan’s support club? And what’s this about a Martial Arts University?’

’What in the world happened while I was in seclusion?!’

Her mouth fell open. Forgetting about the messages, she hurriedly took her laptop out of her suitcase, opened it, and started searching for information online.

As time ticked by, her shock grew more and more intense the deeper she delved into the changes that had occurred in the country over the past few months, until her mouth slowly went from a thin line to a perfect "O".

The Martial Arts Realm emerging from the shadows... a series of official reforms... the establishment of the Martial Arts Association... the Nanjiang incident... the announcement about the Celestial Demons...

This string of changes almost made her think she had traveled through time.

But what shocked her most was that nearly every one of these major events, each big enough to impact the entire society, involved a name she knew all too well.

It wasn’t until she rewatched an interview on the "Focus" program and saw that familiar face on the screen that she confirmed the name belonged to the person she knew.

One was a history lecturer at Wuhai University.

The other was a nationally famous S Class Martial Artist with abilities comparable to a Superhuman.

’They’re actually the same person?’

At that moment, Yu Yajie had completely lost her cool, fairy-like aura. Staring wide-eyed at the computer screen, she had once again reclaimed her persona as the campus goofball.

She picked up her phone and quickly found Zhou Yuanjue’s profile picture. Though she knew he most likely wasn’t using this messaging app anymore, she still furiously typed out a message and sent it.

"Teacher, you were the one who told me to believe in science?!"

...

...

「Two days later. Noon.」

Shangjing Prefecture, Secret Inspection Bureau Headquarters.

Zhou Yuanjue was cultivating in his private training room.

A red light spread out, transforming into a giant Immortal Bird that crouched on the ground, emanating intense magnetic field fluctuations.

At the core of the Immortal Bird, Zhou Yuanjue was curled up, holding a stance like a Divine Bird in Nirvana.

Around his body, faint, star-like motes of silver fire seemed to drift.

These silver sparks spread out around the Immortal Bird, making it look as if it were dotted with silver specks. Unfortunately, they were too sparse to have much of an effect.

About half an hour later, Zhou Yuanjue retracted the magnetic field, and everything returned to normal.

’The noon Light of the Southern Dipper is completely shrouded by the sun’s rays. Sensing its magnetic field is just too difficult. It seems impossible to use the Southern Dipper Star Fire during the day.’

’The experiment with storing the magnetic field in my organs shows some promise. Unfortunately, it involves altering the body, even changing certain organs. Figuring out the key points on my own will require slow, careful experimentation, so I won’t see any results in the short term. It would be great if there were a corresponding Secret Technique or secret manual I could reference, but it seems there are no surviving Martial Dao traditions in the country related to the Southern Dipper Starlight...’

’Still, after that last life-and-death battle, my Yin Yang Unity realm has improved. Although I haven’t broken through the twenty percent mark, it’s still significant progress.’

After finishing his cultivation, Zhou Yuanjue reviewed his progress as usual. At his level of strength, any bit of improvement had become exceedingly difficult.

However, with the help of the Peach Wood Bottle made by Daoist Bailong, he could consider creating more techniques using the Southern Dipper Star Fire.

With the aid of the Southern Dipper Star Fire, it seemed the attack power of his Soaring Seal was not yet at its limit.

"Cultivating?"

Suddenly, a laugh interrupted Zhou Yuanjue’s thoughts. He looked toward the entrance of the training room, where a figure with white hair and a white beard, dressed in a white Daoist Robe, had appeared before him.

"You’re here? Are we about to set off? Is it just the two of us?"

Zhou Yuanjue stood up and asked Daoist Bailong.

"Of course not. This time, I brought a few old friends for you."

Daoist Bailong said with a smile.

As Daoist Bailong finished speaking, three figures appeared beside the doorframe. Their large, powerful builds blocked the sunlight from the entrance, casting long shadows.

One of them had a kind face and gentle eyes, like a living Bodhisattva.

Another’s figure was hazy and their features indistinct, as if they had already merged with their surroundings.

The last one wore an arrogant smile, his gaze was like lightning, and both of his ears had crescent-shaped notches.