In Great Wei, at Pinghao City.

This was the easternmost city of Great Wei, bordering the Eastern Sea. Ever since the Southern Barbarian Region had been jointly seized by the Nine Nether Sect and the ancient yaos, the barbarian tribes had continued to conquer cities and territory across the northern lands. Meanwhile, the western demon caves had gradually stabilized once more thanks to the intervention of the Buddhist sects.

As for Great Wei's eastern frontier, its proximity to the Eastern Sea meant they constantly had to remain vigilant against trouble stirred up by the sea clan.

Bright sunlight streamed through a window. Lin Zheyu sat leisurely on the second floor of a restaurant, slowly savoring a lavish spread of dishes. The food here could not compare to the delicacies of the grotto heaven realm, but it possessed its own unique charm. Especially since the city bordered the Eastern Sea and was rich in seafood, the wide variety of fresh flavors gave him an entirely different culinary experience.

Looking down through the open window, he could see peddlers and common folk constantly coming and going along the broad streets below. Business at the restaurant was thriving. Even though it was not yet mealtime, the second floor was already nearly full.

A waiter hurried over and respectfully addressed a young noble who had just come upstairs. "Honored guests, there are only two seats left. If you don't mind sharing a table with others, would that be acceptable?"

The group consisted of eight people, all dressed in luxurious robes with refined bearing. It was obvious they came from influential backgrounds.

The young man leading them swept his gaze across the room with a slight frown, clearly displeased at the thought of sharing a table. Unfortunately, every table was already occupied.

"I'll handle it."

A man carrying a longsword at his waist grinned as he stepped forward.

He waved the waiter away and walked directly toward Lin Zheyu's table. On the entire second floor, only Lin Zheyu was sitting alone.

The young noble pulled out 2 taels of silver and placed them in front of Lin Zheyu with a smile. "Friend, would you mind giving us this seat?"

Money could make even ghosts push a millstone, but Lin Zheyu merely glanced at him and ignored him completely, calmly pouring himself another drink.

The noble took out another 3 taels of silver, his smile gradually turning cold as he said threateningly, "Know when to quit while you're ahead. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink the forfeit."

Lin Zheyu glanced sideways at the young noble and chuckled softly. "Oh? I've never tasted a forfeit drink before. I'm actually curious what it tastes like."

As the two spoke, the nobles' companions approached as well. The young man leading the group seemed fairly reasonable and reached out to stop him. "Forget it. We'll just go to another restaur..."

Before he could finish speaking, a blade flash suddenly erupted. Lin Zheyu, who had been leisurely tasting his food just moments ago, moved instantly. A sharp saber light tore through the air and abruptly appeared before a delicate-looking young woman standing behind the youth.

The blade swept across the woman's neck. Her eyes shifted from confusion to shock before finally filling with unwillingness.

The beautiful woman's head fell to the floor with a heavy thump. A thick bloody aura spread through the air, and the once lively second floor of the restaurant fell into deathly silence.

"Mu... murder... n-no, she was someone from the sea clan! It was actually someone of the sea clan!"

The first customers to recover their senses stared at the beautiful corpse on the floor as distinct sea-clan features gradually emerged on it, and they could not help but cry out in shock.

Without even sparing the stunned nobles a glance, Lin Zheyu slowly rose to his feet. With a casual wave of his hand, the sea clan corpse on the ground vanished. He had been hunting this sea clan infiltrator hidden within the city for quite some time.

Among the sea clans were many different races, and some possessed unique natural talents that enabled them to evade detection by the Heaven-Monitoring Formation. This particular one belonged to one such race. Even the Heaven-Monitoring Formation could only vaguely sense its existence, prompting the authorities to dispatch missions to have experts track it down and kill it.

"Six days. Faster than I expected." Lin Zheyu walked out of the restaurant with satisfaction.

After leaving the Martial Realm, he had come directly to Pinghao City. With the aid of the tracking compass, it had taken him six days to locate the target. No, more accurately, only five. To avoid alerting the enemy, Lin Zheyu had deliberately waited at this restaurant for the target to come to him.

There's still that barbarian and the traitor, Shi Weiping. Those two really know how to hide.

According to the latest intelligence, the Martial Alliance traitor, Shi Weiping, was hiding somewhere near the Eastern Sea and was suspected of having defected to the sea clan. Because of this, both missions Lin Zheyu had accepted were centered around Pinghao City near the Eastern Sea.

Suddenly, Lin Zheyu paused for a moment and said softly, "Come out."

"What powerful perception, Fellow. No wonder you managed to find the sea clan spy so quickly."

As the light distorted, a young man in luxurious robes stepped out with a smile. This person was the cultivator responsible for guarding Pinghao City. Under the surveillance of the Heaven-Monitoring Formation, anyone who unleashed strength beyond the Martial Innate realm would immediately be detected and reported.

"You're too kind. I was just lucky," Lin Zheyu replied calmly.

He was here to carry out missions, not to make connections. Finishing the job quickly and earning contribution points before returning was the only thing that mattered.

The man smiled faintly and changed the subject. "I am Xiao Jinming, the cultivator responsible for Pinghao City. May I ask..."

"So it's Fellow Xiao. I still have urgent matters to attend to, so I shouldn't delay further. Farewell."

Before Xiao Jinming could finish speaking, Lin Zheyu calmly cupped his fists. He stepped forward with his right foot, and the surrounding space rippled. The distance of over a hundred meters seemed to shrink beneath his feet. His figure vanished from the spot and instantly reappeared over three hundred meters away.

"The Earth Shrinking Technique! Is that a divine ability or a technique?" Xiao Jinming froze, his expression turning rather ugly as he stared in the direction Lin Zheyu had left. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He had not expected Lin Zheyu to disregard him so completely. A trace of malice flashed through Xiao Jinming's eyes, but the moment he saw the technique Lin Zheyu used while leaving, that hostility vanished instantly.

The so-called Earth Shrinking Technique was not something ordinary people could wield. Back when Lin Zheyu had encountered those barbarian warriors capable of similar movement techniques, they had relied on the special power of their tribal totems.

Yet after spending so long in the cultivation world, Lin Zheyu had never seen a cultivator capable of such an ability through cultivation alone. To master such a technique personally required astonishing comprehension of spatial laws. Below the Golden Core realm, only an extremely small number of geniuses were even qualified to cultivate such methods.

"Who exactly is this person? Which faction's genius could possess such mastery over spatial laws? I don't recall hearing of anyone like him. Could he be some newly emerged prodigy?" Xiao Jinming murmured softly before disappearing from the spot as well.

What a pity. Originally, he had hoped to use this opportunity to build a relationship with the other party and perhaps establish some useful connections. He had not expected Lin Zheyu to remain so indifferent and leave without giving him even the slightest face.

As expected of a genius. Arrogant as hell, Xiao Jinming muttered inwardly.

***

After declining Xiao Jinming's invitation, Lin Zheyu's figure flickered as he arrived at nearby Anning Street.

The street was bustling with activity, filled with merchants and pedestrians constantly moving about. Not far away, a craftsman making sugar figurines was surrounded by a crowd of chattering, excited children.

Lin Zheyu casually walked past the middle-aged artisan while fully activating his Perception Domain, sweeping it across everyone nearby.

"You changed locations?" Lin Zheyu took out the compass and recalibrated the target's position, only to discover that the barbarian who had infiltrated the city was no longer nearby.

His figure swayed slightly before vanishing from the bustling street. Not a single passerby noticed the astonishing sight of a living person disappearing into thin air.

Inside a teahouse, a storyteller passionately recounted tales of generals charging across battlefields, leaving the listeners fired up. Lin Zheyu sat quietly in a corner, his Perception Domain spreading outward as he searched for traces of barbarian aura.

This was far from an easy task, but Lin Zheyu was not in a hurry. While searching for barbarian traces, he simultaneously guided thin strands of golden energy into his sea of consciousness. By now, his entire sea of consciousness shone with dazzling golden light, nearly filled completely by the vast golden energy.

What exactly is this golden energy? Could it be some bloodline power hidden deep within my genes? Lin Zheyu pondered silently.

Ever since witnessing Woo Yixuan's bloodline power, Lin Zheyu had begun suspecting this possibility. The golden energy within his body resembled Woo Yixuan's bloodline power in far too many ways.

Lin Zheyu suspected that, after surpassing the limits of the Nine Blood Qi Transformations in the Blood Qi realm and continuing to temper himself beyond that boundary, he might have awakened a bloodline power hidden deep within his genes, inherited from a powerful ancestor.

The effects of bloodline powers vary. If the golden energy within me truly is a bloodline power, then what is its greatest ability? Lin Zheyu contemplated thoughtfully.

Recently, he had conducted extensive research into the golden energy, yet he still had not discovered its true purpose. It did not seem capable of directly increasing his strength, only indirectly enhancing it through the golden runes within his body.

The fact that the golden energy could enter the sea of consciousness had itself been an accidental discovery by Lin Zheyu. Once inside the sea of consciousness, the golden energy provided extremely powerful protection, safeguarding both the sea of consciousness and the soul from attacks by soul secret arts.

Beyond that, Lin Zheyu also discovered that as more and more golden energy entered his sea of consciousness, it seemed to be brewing a wondrous transformation within. That was why he persistently continued feeding strands of golden energy into his sea of consciousness whenever he had the chance.

He wanted to see what would happen one day when the entire sea of consciousness was completely filled with golden energy.