1: Observing the Inner World

Outside the window, the night was thick, and moonlight spilled into the room like a silver veil, casting a soft glow across the floor.

Lin Luo sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes slightly closed, hands forming a Mysterious Seal resting lightly on his knees. As the moonlight flowed over him, it distorted slightly an inch away from his body, as if guided by invisible hands. It traced fleeting trails of spiritual light, like the fluid strokes of a dragon or snake—resembling talismans yet not quite. The floor beneath him vibrated imperceptibly, resonating in frequency with his long, slow breaths.

To him, external sounds were completely cut off; all his perception had sunk into the interior of his body. His Dantian throbbed, initially like a dormant seed awakening in the soil, breathing out a warm vitality. Soon, this warmth began to rotate slowly, turning into an invisible vortex that greedily absorbed the clear moonlight seeping through his pores. When the vortex was filled to the brim, a warm current of heat—like the first spring of water sprouting from the earth—quietly overflowed from his Dantian and began to flow upward along the secret path deep within his spine.

This warm current was like molten silver, or a waking spirit snake, cautiously pushing through the deep tunnel. Wherever it passed, the spinal joints were soaked and washed one by one, bringing bursts of slight tingling and a deep, bone-settling comfort. The spine was like a dragon, now being quietly awakened.

However, the true test lay at the junction of the back of the neck and the skull. The warm current gathered and swirled here, encountering an invisible barrier that made forward progress difficult. Lin Luo's mind condensed like iron, his breathing nearly ceasing in an instant, as he twisted all his intent and sense of Qi into a single strand, concentrating it on that one point.

"Buzz—"

A slight roar, audible only in the depths of his soul, suddenly rippled out! The barrier broke at the sound, opening a clear path.

The accumulated energy joyfully flooded into his cranial cavity. The warm current transformed in an instant into an indescribable coolness, as if the essence of the moon was being poured directly into the crown of his head. His brow felt a slight swelling pressure, and at that moment, his Sea of Consciousness was suddenly illuminated. Thousands of stray thoughts receded like a tide, and his consciousness became as clear as glaze and as empty as crystal. He felt as if he were standing under a boundless starry sky, able to "see" his mental power turning into countless flickering lights, growing vigorously and intertwining under the nourishment of the cool energy.

"Zha—"

A slight roar, audible only in the depths of his soul, suddenly rippled out! The barrier broke at the sound, opening a clear path.

The accumulated energy joyfully flooded into his cranial cavity. The warm current transformed in an instant into an indescribable coolness, as if the essence of the moon was being poured directly into the crown of his head. His brow felt a slight swelling pressure, and at that moment, his Sea of Consciousness was suddenly illuminated.

However, the expected state of emptiness did not last. After that extreme clarity, the "world" before his eyes collapsed and reorganized with a bang!

The spatial dimensions of reality lost their meaning. He was no longer "seeing," but rather "touching" another layer of the world's truth with a new sense that transcended vision.

The walls lost their solidity, turning into flowing, semi-transparent dark energy, like ink slowly spreading in water. The familiar tables, chairs, and furniture were reduced to distorted, ever-changing outlines, as if they might melt into the air at any moment.

And upon this foundation where the real and the illusory intertwined, the true "living things" began to appear.

Color lost its meaning here; it was a "colored light" perceived directly by consciousness that could not be described in words. Distorted spirit bodies, like giant jellyfish, emitted a glow of interlaced sickly green and ghostly blue, floating silently in the room. When their tentacles brushed past, they left behind cold trails that seemed to freeze one's thoughts.

In the corner, a mass of writhing shadow—aggregated from countless tiny resentments and stray desires—emitted a continuous, low murmur that only the soul could hear, attempting to burrow into his mind.

Outside the window, it was even more bizarre and unpredictable. The originally clear moonlight, in his current "vision," had turned into countless silver threads dancing wildly, penetrating everything and linking all things. In the darkness further away, an unimaginably massive consciousness writhed slowly, casting an indifferent glance that made his soul tremble.

This was a grotesque, bizarre world of ghosts and monsters that always overlapped and intertwined with the real world, yet had always been shielded from mundane senses—the inner world.

Lin Luo's mind was shaken to its core. This unimaginable shock almost caused his consciousness to fall from this profound state. It was also in this moment of mental instability that the shadow in the corner, formed from aggregated resentments and desires, captured the fluctuations of his aura.

It immediately stopped its irritating murmuring and, as if discovering the perfect prey, suddenly contracted. It then transformed into a swift, filthy arrow, carrying a chill that could corrode the mind, and lunged straight for Lin Luo's face!

In the past, Lin Luo would have been completely unaware of this, only feeling a chill all over his body followed by several days of mental exhaustion. But now, in his "vision" that saw everything as clearly as a fire, the trajectory of this filthy energy was incredibly distinct.

A surge of instinctive anger, mixed with the sternness of newly mastered power, rose from his pure Sea of Consciousness.

"Presumptuous!"

There was no shout, but this rebuke boomed like invisible thunder on his mental plane.

At the same time, his seated body remained as steady as a rock, but from his spiritual perspective, a burst of pure, brilliant white light suddenly erupted from his chest! This light was not simple light; it was the pure spiritual power within him that had just completed its circulation, mixed with the clear moonlight and his own righteous will, bursting out from his body.

The white light struck first, accurately colliding with the filthy arrow.

There was no earth-shaking roar, only a slight "sizzle" like snow melting. As soon as the shadow arrow touched the white light, it was like hot soup poured on snow; its hideous and filthy surface instantly collapsed, emitting a silent shriek as it tried to struggle and escape.

But the white light, like the most intense purifying flame, spread relentlessly and completely enveloped it.

In a matter of moments, that mass of shadow that had once emitted misfortune and cold was completely dissolved and evaporated in the pure white light, without leaving a single trace. In its place remained an unprecedented cleanliness and peace, as if years of accumulated dust had been swept away in one go.

With the purification complete, the white light curled back like a spirit snake and retracted into Lin Luo's body. He felt a slight fatigue, but more than that, a sense of transparency and comfort from the inside out, as if some clogged corner of his body had also been cleared.

He slowly opened his eyes, and a trace of clear, moist divine light within his pupils slowly converged, as if he had hidden the moonlight of the entire sky in the depths of his eyes.

The room remained the same, the moonlight remained the same. But in his current perception, this place where he had lived for many years seemed a bit different—cleaner, and more real.

His gaze swept across the room and landed on the electronic clock on the wall.

"Seven o'clock?"

He was slightly stunned, then realization dawned. In his perception, he had only completed one circulation and purified a wisp of evil, yet several hours had quietly passed in reality.

"A day in the cave is a thousand years in the world... So this is what it means when they say there is no time in cultivation." A strange feeling rose in his heart. But this profound sentiment did not last long before it was interrupted by a very realistic and urgent thought—

"Oh no, I still have school!"

The switch in identity was completed instantly. He was now not only a Cultivator who had just peeked into the threshold of cultivation, but also a student in a foreign land who needed to arrive at school on time.

He stood up nimbly, his bones emitting a slight, comfortable popping sound. Walking into the bathroom, the mirror reflected a fresh and handsome face; even his skin seemed to have a faint, warm glow. He washed his face with cold water, the icy sensation making him even more alert.

Turning back to the bedroom, he opened the wardrobe. Inside was not an ordinary school uniform, but a set of finely crafted private school clothes that exuded low-key luxury. The dark suit was well-tailored with sharp shoulder lines, and the golden school badge nameplate showed its extraordinary class, complementing the modern luxury studio apartment he lived in.

He quickly changed into the crisp uniform and stuffed his books into a high-quality leather backpack. Before leaving, his gaze swept over the corner of the wall that had been purified last night once more.

It was empty now, with sunlight spilling in from the window, casting a bright spot of light.

However, in Lin Luo's current perception, that area was still slightly different from the rest—a sense of "clean" emptiness, as if nothing had ever existed there and it would be difficult for anything to attach to it in the future.

"It seems this world... is much more interesting than I imagined." A barely perceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, containing both caution toward the unknown and a hint of confidence from his newly acquired power.

Without further delay, he pushed open the door and stepped into the hallway bathed in the faint morning light.

The high-end apartment building he lived in was located in the core area of Tokyo, Neon Province. Yes, Neon Province—over two hundred years ago, due to a war that decided the nation's fate and the subsequent "Great Integration" movement, this archipelago was officially incorporated into the territory of the Dragon Kingdom, becoming a special province with a high degree of autonomy.

Two hundred years was enough time to wash away many traces and deeply integrate many things.

Walking on the clean streets, this integration was everywhere. Futuristic maglev trains glided silently on elevated tracks, and on platform indicators and billboards, the bold and elegant Chinese characters of the Dragon Kingdom stood alongside the continued use of Japanese kana. The convenience stores by the road sold both steaming buns and soy milk as well as exquisite rice balls and bento.

The language people spoke had also formed a unique "Neon Province Mandarin"—based on the Dragon Kingdom's language but mixed with a large amount of Japanese vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Fragments of conversation occasionally reached his ears:

"Hurry up, the first period is 'Classical Literature.' That teacher is super strict; we're doomed if we're late!"

"I know, wait for me to buy a bottle of 'ocha' (tea)..."

Lin Luo skillfully bought breakfast at a convenience store and joined the rushing crowd. The surrounding students wore the same style of exquisite uniforms as he did, but with different details that showcased the status of their respective schools. He could feel some subtle glances falling on him, perhaps because of his upright posture and the calm temperament radiating from within after last night's baptism, which was somewhat different from the slightly impetuous atmosphere around him.

This city, which had been replanned and rebuilt for two hundred years, retained the classical districts of old machiya and shrines as cultural symbols, while most areas were filled with skyscrapers that combined Dragon Kingdom style with modernism. Clusters of civilian drones flying in an orderly fashion in the sky, along with the distant, barely visible tower of the "East Sea Garrison Command"—a symbol of the Dragon Kingdom's rule—formed a unique skyline.

This was the world he now lived in, a parallel timeline with a completely different historical trajectory. The powerful force of the Dragon Kingdom shrouded this land, but two hundred years of integration had not completely eliminated all barriers and undercurrents. Beneath the surface of prosperity and harmony, something still seemed to be stirring within the inner world.

Lin Luo took a deep breath of the cool morning air, feeling the spiritual power within him circulating slowly.

"In this familiar yet strange 'Neon Province,' it seems my life won't be boring."

As a student, "Lin Luo's" brand new day had officially begun. And he knew very well that after last night, every day he experienced was destined to no longer be ordinary.