Lian Qiguang lay on the soft grass with his eyes closed, quietly waiting for the lake water to take effect. But as the seconds ticked by, his body showed no reaction at all—not even pain.
Just as Lian Qiguang began to suspect the lake water had somehow lost its potency, a warm current suddenly spilled from his chest, flowing from his heart and slowly spreading through every limb.
The eyes he had been about to open closed once more. Quietly, he sensed the warmth coursing through his body. Faint green light gathered from every direction at a speed visible to the naked eye, converging around him.
The warmth wandered through his body. The comfort, unlike anything he had ever experienced, gradually loosened the constant tension in his muscles. His mind emptied, and he simply immersed himself in that soothing sensation.
At that moment, Lian Qiguang forgot the suffering of his previous life and the confusion of this one, allowing himself to sink completely into that rare peace.
But just as he was beginning to lose himself in the warmth, a sharp pain suddenly tore through his chest.
His face turned deathly pale, and his body instantly tensed.
The agony spread little by little, driving away the warmth and replacing it with endless, bone-piercing cold.
The pain invaded every corner of his body, growing more intense with every passing second. It felt as though he were being slowly dismembered alive. His body curled tightly into itself. For the first time, expression appeared on his usually emotionless face—a twisted grimace of pain.
He bit down hard on his lower lip until blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, staining the grass crimson.
Curled beneath the shadows of the trees, his trembling body remained hidden from sight. No one knew the agony he was enduring.
Clenching his lips, Lian Qiguang struggled to stay conscious. The unbearable pain reminded him of the people he had watched being torn apart and devoured by zombies in his previous life—a fate worse than death.
But he had to endure.
He knew that if he surrendered to the pain and allowed himself to sink into darkness, he might never wake again.
Time passed little by little.
The green glow surrounding him gradually grew brighter.
At the same time, thick, black, foul-smelling impurities slowly seeped out from every pore in his body. As soon as they emerged, they were swallowed by the green light and completely purified.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours…
…
The endless stream of black impurities gradually lessened. Their color faded from pitch black to gray, then finally into a pale, almost colorless white.
The pain inside his body slowly subsided, but Lian Qiguang did not dare relax. He gritted his teeth and continued to endure.
Only when the very last trace of pain disappeared did darkness finally claim him.
His clothes and hair were soaked with sweat.
The green glow did not disappear with the impurities. Instead, it circled around his body before slowly sinking into him, becoming one with him.
Lian Qiguang had no idea how long he had slept.
There was no night inside the space, so when he woke again, everything before him looked exactly as it had when he first entered.
Nothing had changed.
He slowly sat up and stretched his limbs. A series of dull cracking sounds echoed from his joints.
Lowering his head, he looked at his hands and slowly clenched them into fists.
The overflowing strength filling his body caused even his normally quiet heart to stir with excitement. He had the sudden urge to find someone to vent that power on.
Now…
He really should have reached the Xuan Rank.
Although he was still nowhere near the abilities he possessed in his previous life, the unprecedented lightness and clarity inside his body made him feel freer than ever before.
His instincts told him that from now on, every future cultivation session would be several times more effective than before.
Rising to his feet, he walked to the lake and stared expressionlessly at its shimmering blue surface.
His eyes flickered slightly.
The pain he had just experienced was still vivid in his memory.
Even someone like him, who no longer feared life or death, could not help feeling a chill at the memory.
But…
One step led to heaven.
One step led to hell.
Failure meant nothing more than losing his life.
Success meant standing above everyone else.
Hadn’t it always been like that?
Leaving the space, Lian Qiguang stood by the window, quietly looking out into the night.
The endless city lights reflected in his dark eyes, flowing with silent brilliance.
After a long silence, he raised one hand.
A transparent glass bottle appeared in his palm.
Inside it swirled faint blue liquid.
Lake water diluted to one percent.
Life in the apocalypse had long since robbed darkness of its ability to hide anything from him.
He shut down 009-A, opened Lian Xiaozhu’s bedroom door, and quietly walked inside.
Lian Xiaozhu lay sleeping peacefully on the bed.
Her pale little face only emphasized the frailty left behind by years of illness.
Walking to the bedside, Lian Qiguang crouched down and silently looked at her sleeping profile.
The blue liquid in his hand glowed softly in the darkness.
Perhaps sensing someone nearby, Lian Xiaozhu slowly forced open her heavy eyelids and murmured sleepily,
“Second Brother…”
“Go to sleep.”
Lian Qiguang gently placed one hand over her face.
His voice remained calm and expressionless.
“…”
Her eyelashes fluttered lightly against his palm before she obediently drifted back to sleep.
After she was fully asleep again, Lian Qiguang withdrew his hand.
He silently watched her face for a long moment before carefully lifting her head and feeding the diluted lake water into her mouth.
Only after confirming she had swallowed it did he put away the bottle.
He sat cross-legged on the floor beside the bed, expressionless, watching her.
Time beat steadily inside his mind.
Lian Xiaozhu continued sleeping peacefully, showing no signs of discomfort.
But Lian Qiguang knew…
This was not the end.
It was the beginning of her transformation.
About twenty minutes later, the tightly furrowed brows she had worn for years gradually relaxed.
The tension left her pale little face.
A faint smile slowly bloomed at the corners of her lips, as though she had entered a beautiful dream.
Lian Qiguang’s body shifted.
He straightened up, his dark eyes fixed intently on her expression.
It had begun.
No one knew how much time passed before the smile on Lian Xiaozhu’s face suddenly froze.
Her body curled up violently.
She trembled uncontrollably.
Her face twisted with agony, low whimpers escaping her lips.
Lian Qiguang leaned forward and placed one hand firmly on her shoulder.
“Endure it.”
His voice remained calm.
“That is an order.”
“Mmh…”
Her trembling only intensified.
She bit through her lip, blood slowly seeping out.
Her once delicate face was now twisted in pain.
Watching her suffer, Lian Qiguang never once removed the hand gripping her shoulder.
Lian Xiaozhu struggled within a sea of burning torment.
Lian Qiguang simply remained beside her in silence.
Time crawled endlessly through the darkness.
Every second carried an almost suffocating weight.
Darkness slowly retreated.
Morning light returned.
As dawn broke, black impurities slowly began seeping from Lian Xiaozhu’s body.
Lian Qiguang’s eyes darkened.
He clearly didn’t remember his own body producing this much filth.
Strange.
But after confirming that it wasn’t harming her, he withdrew his hand, walked into the bathroom, and filled the bathtub with water.
Returning to the bedside, he looked expressionlessly at Lian Xiaozhu, who was now almost completely covered in black grime.
Without another word, he picked her up, carried her into the bathroom—
—and tossed her directly into the tub.
Splash!
She sank straight to the bottom.
Tilting his head slightly, Lian Qiguang watched the black filth spreading through the water.
Then, without changing expression, he reached into the tub, grabbed the back of her collar, pulled her back up—
—and swished her back and forth in the water like someone rinsing dirty laundry.
Watching the hot water gradually turn pitch black, he frowned slightly before draining it and filling the tub again.
But no sooner had the clean water filled the bathtub than another wave of impurities seeped from Lian Xiaozhu’s body.
The corner of Lian Qiguang’s mouth twitched.
Casually, he set her aside, activated the filtration system, turned on the shower, fixed her beneath the spray, and left the water running continuously over her.
Once everything was arranged, he dragged over a small stool, sat down beside the bathtub, and watched her expressionlessly to make sure nothing went wrong.
Lian Xiaozhu leaned unconscious against one corner of the tub.
The shower poured endlessly over her head.
So she remained there under the water…
While Lian Qiguang sat beside her, quietly watching.
The sun rose…
Then set.
Darkness gradually filled the room once again.
Lian Qiguang glanced at the time outside before turning his attention back to Lian Xiaozhu.
After an entire day beneath the shower, no more impurities emerged from her body.
Seeing that she was finally clean, he walked over, loosened his stiff muscles, bent down, picked her up, and carried her back into the bedroom.
“Mmh… Second Brother…”
Lian Xiaozhu barely managed to crack open her eyes, staring hazily at Lian Qiguang’s chin.
“Forget everything that happened today.”
Her sudden voice caused Lian Qiguang to pause for a moment.
After a long silence, he spoke expressionlessly.
“Hm?”
“In short…”
“Forget everything.”
He gently laid her back onto the bed before turning and leaving the room.
“…”
Lian Xiaozhu looked blankly at his retreating figure.
But the overwhelming exhaustion in her body quickly dragged her back into deep sleep.
After leaving her room, Lian Qiguang turned 009-A back on.
Without giving it a chance to escape farther than three meters, he kicked the little robot straight into Lian Xiaozhu’s room.
“Clean her up.”
“Otherwise…”
“I’ll chop you up.”
With that emotionless threat, he turned and walked away.
“…”
009-A: …
Returning to his own room, Lian Qiguang dropped heavily onto the bed.
The orange glow of the setting sun streamed through the window, bathing him in gentle warmth.
Beep. Beep.
His communicator chimed.
Lian Qiguang lifted his wrist and looked at the message.
For a brief moment, he froze.
Wife, the people coming to pick you up will arrive tomorrow. I’ll be waiting for you.
A faint warmth spread through his eyes.
His fingers lightly tapped the communicator.
I want to see you.
He closed his hand around the communicator and gently pressed it against his forehead.
The cold metal carried a slight chill.
Yet inside his chest…
A gentle warmth quietly spread.