Countless electric lights, electric arcs, the shaking of the train, the low hum, all receded into the distance.

The darkness in front of him was slowly replaced by the soft light of the room.

Gu Shen disconnected from the mental link and sat on the floor, lost in thought about the last contact... Contrary to his imagination, Chu Ling's fingers were warm and delicate, like a piece of soft white jade.

He thought that everything in the mental space was fictional and cold.

Gu Shen lowered his head and stared at his palm until a cat's meow interrupted his thoughts.

"Meow~"

He snapped back to reality and saw a lazy orange cat lying in front of him, shaking its tail with a resentful expression on its face.

There was no glimmer of intelligence in the cat's eyes, just a soft meow reminding Gu Shen.

You forgot to feed me!

Gu Shen absentmindedly stood up, opened the cat food, and thought that the meow just now was another link from Chu Ling...

He lay on the bed with some worry. Tomorrow, he would take over the first task assigned by the Judgment. But tonight, he couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried.

He just couldn't fall asleep.

Deep Sea upgraded... Chu Ling had to disconnect from their link for a while to ensure her own safety.

Someone had been chasing Chu Ling... Who were these people?

Gu Shen took a deep breath. He knew that there were many secrets Chu Ling hadn't told him, but after tonight's transcendent link, he began to feel that the encounter on the train might not have been a coincidence.

He didn't believe that such a coincidence could happen in this world.

"Improving strength... is the most important thing."

Soon, Gu Shen regained his composure. He lay on the bed, looking at his hands and murmured softly, "What's the use of knowing more... I can't do anything without power..."

This deep sea link had brought him great gains.

At least he saw what his "transcendent trait" was...

This trait couldn't be considered power at the moment because in real life, Gu Shen couldn't summon even a strand of weak flame.

Chu Ling said that her power belonged to the kind with a high upper limit and strong growth potential.

But to become stronger, he needed to find the transcendent source.

The so-called transcendent source... should be the "essence source" that bestows transcendent power on people or objects.

The time for this mental link was short, and Gu Shen didn't have time to ask Chu Ling for more details. But he had a vague feeling that by contacting some transcendent beings and seals, he should be able to find a way to improve his own abilities.

"During this time when Chu Ling disconnects, I can use the tasks assigned by the Judgment to explore my own abilities."

After planning, Gu Shen felt much more at ease.

Glancing at the time, it was almost three in the morning.

"I can't sleep... I might as well practice the Jingzhe breath."

Gu Shen sat up, closed his eyes, and recalled the scenes in the Jingzhe world.

He seemed to be sitting on a vast grassland.

The clouds were low.

Spring rain was approaching.

His breathing began to slow down, becoming long and steady.

The exact report on Gu Shen's abilities by the review team had not been finalized yet, but they believed that Gu Shen had the potential for an S-level transcendent in the mental category... In fact, their intuition was very accurate.

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Because mental transcendent beings often had a better understanding of breathing techniques.

And their energy would be relatively abundant.

During the mission to monitor Han Dang, Senior Sister Luo had not slept for a day and night, but she was still full of energy... Of course, Senior Sister Luo was a top-level mental transcendent, so it wasn't difficult for her to do this. Most mental transcendent beings could accomplish it.

Breathing techniques were the best way to adjust one's mental state.

And the gradual erosion of water droplets on stones was the only way for mental transcendent beings to cultivate. There were no shortcuts on this path, and every complete rotation of the breathing technique would increase their mental power by a strand.

From depletion to fullness, from a small stream to a great river, it always required a painful tempering process.

All geniuses were inevitably subjected to it.

Of course... even if it was the same breathing technique, different people would have different effects in their cultivation.

Some people could only increase their mental power by half a drop with great difficulty after one rotation of the breathing technique, while others could increase it by a full drop with exceptional comfort, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

No one saw it, in a certain apartment late at night.

The young man who closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, between his eyebrows, a slender vertical pupil slowly opened, like a dying ember that could be extinguished at any time. With each breath, the faint flame increased slightly.

...

...

The next day.

Gu Shen's Jingzhe practice was interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

He didn't know that the moment he opened his eyes, the dark flame between his eyebrows instantly dissipated as if it had never appeared before, replaced by a comfortable feeling throughout his body.

After getting used to the Jingzhe breath, his state of mind became surprisingly calm. Despite not sleeping all night, he felt more refreshed than after a good night's sleep.

"Hello?"

Gu Shen answered in a low voice.

"Your mental state is good,"

Mr. Shu's laughter came from the other end of the phone. He gave a location and said, "Cui Zhongcheng's private jet has arrived. This mission is in Dado, so pack up and get ready to leave."

Going to Dado?Perhaps it was due to his cultivation of the Hibernation technique, Gu Shen felt quite calm. He looked around his spacious apartment and found that apart from his cat, there was nothing else he needed to take with him.

After a quick wash and packing a few clothes, he left the apartment with his cat in his arms.

The wind was a bit strong today.

When Gu Shen arrived at the helipad, he saw a menacing and domineering heavy-duty helicopter. The rotor blades were whirring, cutting through the wind. His teacher, still in the white suit from last night, was sitting by the window. He knocked on the window and smiled at Gu Shen.

Entering the cabin.

Despite being mentally prepared, Gu Shen was still taken aback.

He had thought that this mission wouldn't be too complicated... but he didn't expect that Judge Tang from the audit team would be present, and Mr. Cui was also there.

Was this mission related to them?

"You're here?"

Zhou JiRen waved at Gu Shen with a smile, "Don't be nervous, have a seat."

Gu Shen sat next to his teacher, watching as the helicopter closed its doors and the rotor blades began to spin.

Slowly, it ascended.

The buildings beside him disappeared from his view, and even when he leaned against the window to look down, he couldn't see them anymore. They gradually turned into tiny dots, and then everything on the ground was obscured by a thin layer of clouds.

It was a strange feeling.

Was he really leaving his hometown where he had lived for eighteen years?

Gu Shen felt a bit dazed.

"What's wrong, not feeling well?"

Cui Zhongcheng closed his book. He was sitting across from Gu Shen and noticed something was off.

"It's my first time flying, feeling a bit airsick..." Gu Shen rubbed his cheek and smiled, "It's okay, I just need a moment to adjust."

He took a deep breath, switching to the Hibernation breathing technique... The discomfort immediately disappeared.

Indeed.

This breathing technique could be used in many ways.

"Your progress in the breathing technique is quite fast." Mr. Shu squinted his eyes and smiled, "You're almost replacing your original breathing habits... Good job!"

"It will take some time to completely replace it."

Gu Shen responded modestly. He subconsciously touched his forehead. After practicing the Hibernation technique all night, he woke up with a warm feeling in his forehead. At this moment, he turned his head and looked at the window, but didn't notice anything unusual.

Was it just his imagination?

"If there's nothing wrong, shall we start now?"

Cui Zhongcheng tapped on the table and said softly, "About... this mission."