As Xu Changqing breathed, the Qi within his body surged, stimulating the foundation he had built over many years. Aside from him, even ordinary people could feel it clearly, sensing a warm current flowing with each breath in their chest and abdomen.

The elderly man, Wang Jian's Uncle Chen, also wore a grave expression. Having once held a high position, he naturally understood the significance of this Breathing Technique to the country. Thus, while following Wang Jian's breathing and circulating his Qi, a plan began to form in his mind.

As this continued, the courtyard grew increasingly quiet, though the bodyguards hidden in the shadows all wore puzzled expressions. Isn't this a discipleship ceremony? Why is it so quiet? When one of them crept over to take a look, he too was baffled. Everyone had their eyes closed as if they were collectively dreaming. If this thought were shared with the people present, no one would blame him, for this experience indeed felt like a dream to them all.

An hour later, when everyone woke up, Wang Jian was already gone, having clearly left early to avoid the crowd. Even Xu Changqing and the others who had awakened earlier had also departed. Only Peng Pingan and Chairman Kang remained to host the guests.

Meanwhile, the liveliest group was undoubtedly Chairman Kang's family. Seeing that the man of the hour was absent, they all gathered around Chairman Kang's grandfather, Kang Yuan, hoping to get their own children accepted as disciples. This was no time for jokes. Anyone with half a brain knew what to do.

Initially, some had been puzzled as to why the Kang family would let Chairman Kang, their direct heir, journey to such a remote mountain valley to become a disciple, but now they understood completely. Without needing any explanation or introduction from the Kang family, after witnessing Wang Jian's power and ability, no one would care if he were merely a child from a mountain village. After all, this was the legendary Qi Cultivation and Immortal Cultivation. Even if it wasn't Immortal Cultivation, it was still a form of internal martial arts. In such a wealthy crowd, no one could resist such a transcendent allure, so naturally, they all rushed forward.

But they had the wrong idea. Even Kang Yuan looked bewildered, because these people didn't know his reason for having Chairman Kang become a disciple was solely because of the heritage of Medical Skills represented by Xu Changqing, who stood behind Wang Jian. Now it seemed the step the Kang family had taken was a truly massive one. Thus, facing the guests' requests, Kang Yuan could only smile and nod, playing Tai Chi by neither agreeing to nor refusing anything. If Wang Jian had been willing to take disciples, he certainly wouldn't have left early, so there was no need for Kang Yuan to lose face and cause unnecessary trouble that might displease Chairman Kang's master.

Moreover, Wang Jian's status in Kang Yuan's heart had risen dramatically. From that brief session of the Breathing Technique alone, Kang Yuan, an old Chinese medicine practitioner, understood its crucial importance and value. He knew how he must act. Now, forget about people asking him to help them get a foot in the door; he wouldn't agree to anything that might potentially upset his grandson's master.

No matter what, Chairman Kang had to stay under Wang Jian and learn his skills. No one could change his mind. That was Kang Yuan's final word!

After handling the situation, Wang Jian went alone to the great mountain behind the estate, sensing a disturbance in the seals there. Not long after arriving, he saw the soldiers stationed for defense. As for Uncle Chen and his master looking for him, he had no mind to worry about it.

"Leader, has there been a problem here?" Seeing Zhang Cheng from the North China Military Region, Wang Jian walked straight up to him. "I have a bad feeling, as if something is about to happen."

Seeing Wang Jian approach, Zhang Cheng got straight to the point. "There's nothing major here, but trouble has erupted outside."

Zhang Cheng took a tablet from a subordinate. The brand was unclear, but its robust build was clearly military-grade. A stream of news headlines scrolled across the screen.

"Multiple malicious assaults discovered in Shan Province, several people attacked simultaneously..."

"..."

Across the country, primarily in first-tier cities, violent incidents were breaking out at the same time. Regardless of the reason, something was wrong. The more crowded and dense the area, the more severe the incidents, and the places erupting now were all major cities. A small, third-tier city like Shanghai City was still relatively stable.

Zhang Cheng explained, "Even in Shanghai City, an epidemic has broken out, and the Central Hospital is already overwhelmed. This means that strange or unusual events are occurring all over the country. Take these violent assaults, for instance. Though they happened occasionally in the past, they were never this frequent or this synchronized. If I didn't know certain things, I would suspect the involvement of foreign powers. This chain of events is too coincidental for anyone to believe it's an accident."

As Zhang Cheng spoke, he swiped to another page showing the situation in various foreign countries. Only then did Wang Jian realize that other nations were in even greater chaos than their own; they wouldn't have had the capacity to orchestrate something so severe and widespread.

Thinking of his own unease, Wang Jian couldn't help but ask, "Leader, do you suspect this is related to the Dark Power?" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Zhang Cheng nodded. "Exactly. That's why I rushed here. I originally thought the problem was with the seal here, but after running diagnostics, everything is stable. The source isn't here."

At these words, Wang Jian's expression grew complex. If the source wasn't here, it meant other such places existed. He and Zhang Cheng exchanged a look. Seeing the grim expression on the other's face, they knew they had both arrived at the same dreaded conclusion: the Dark Power's erosion was happening everywhere.

Realizing this, Wang Jian decided to move one of his plans forward.

"Right now, it's just riots among ordinary people, which is still manageable," Wang Jian said. "The local police can handle it, and if necessary, we have the armed police. But I'm worried about the future. When the seals begin to fail or more Dark Power leaks out, the strange energy could trigger mutations, possibly bringing the bizarre events recorded in ancient texts to life. The legends and stories of old could all reappear, one by one."

Zhang Cheng frowned. "Are you saying we might have ghosts and monsters running rampant? Will our current technology even be useful?"

Wang Jian fell silent for a moment before giving an ambiguous answer. "My fear is that current technology will be useful, but only to a small degree. What if we face a scenario where conventional weapons can't harm the creatures that appear, forcing us to deploy heavy weaponry? How would we deal with that then? Are we supposed to launch a missile every time a monster shows up?"

This was clearly not realistic. Both of them knew such an approach was impractical and would lead to a massive number of displaced people.

Seeing that Zhang Cheng understood the gravity of the situation, Wang Jian spoke up. "We may need to prepare a different kind of response. For that, Leader, I'm going to need your help."