121: Chapter 121 Cultivating in Seclusion, Awaiting the Rise of the Wind

During the afternoon classes, Ling Ye maintained his state of "attentive but slightly struggling" listening. He needed to quickly catch up on the foundational knowledge the original owner had missed, especially core subjects like physics, chemistry, Materials, and information science in this world. This was the cornerstone for him to understand technology, utilize tools, and even disguise his own "abnormality." Relying on his powerful memory and comprehension (optimized by the "Reincarnation Pool" and enhanced by High-Dimensional Information Perception), his speed of absorbing knowledge far exceeded that of ordinary people, but he deliberately controlled it so as not to appear too shocking.

When the school bell rang, he did not rush toward the activity rooms, training grounds, or outside the school like other students, but instead headed straight back to the Oak Street apartment.

Closing the door, the familiar silence and faint smell of dust enveloped him. He did not turn on the lights, but walked to the window first, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and looked toward the Old Factory District.

Under the setting sun, that barren land appeared even more eerie. His High-Dimensional Information Perception extended over; that "sense of disharmony" still existed, its intensity seemingly unchanged from the daytime. However, in his perception, that extremely faint "pulsation," seemingly originating from deep underground, appeared a fraction clearer than it had been in the early morning. Was it an illusion, or was it related to the alternation of day and night?

That dark gray hovercar remained quietly parked in the old spot, like a lurking shadow.

Ling Ye withdrew his gaze and pulled the curtain shut. He did not immediately begin to Cultivate, but sat at his desk first, opened his personal terminal, and called up the "Federal Special Forces Preparatory Physical Training Syllabus (Non-Classified)" that he had downloaded today.

The content of this syllabus was detailed, covering everything from basic warm-ups, flexibility, strength, endurance, and explosive power training, to complex comprehensive physical fitness, environmental adaptation, and tactical movements, along with detailed nutritional advice and recovery methods. Although designed for selecting special forces soldiers, with an intensity far exceeding ordinary student fitness, its core philosophy was scientific, efficient, and entirely based on the physical rules and human limits of this world.

Ling Ye needed a training plan that could effectively improve his physical fitness in this world. While the body-tempering methods of the Immortal Realm were profound, many movements and force-exertion techniques relied on the coordination of "Qi." In this world, where Spiritual Qi was scarce, forced practice might yield half the result with double the effort, or even cause self-injury. He needed to draw on the Federation's scientific training System, combine it with his own high-precision control over his body, and forge a path suitable for himself.

He quickly browsed the syllabus and extracted the core basic training modules: dynamic warm-ups, core strength (planks, crunches, back muscle training), basic strength (squats, push-ups, pull-up variations), endurance (interval running, speed-change running), as well as coordination and balance training.

Based on his current physical condition (optimized but lacking systematic training), he formulated a step-by-step preliminary plan: once every morning and evening, each session lasting about an hour. It would begin with dynamic warm-ups, followed by a cycle of strength, endurance, and coordination exercises, and conclude with stretching and relaxation. Regarding nutrition, he would temporarily rely on high-energy nutrient paste and basic food purchased from the community, considering optimization only when he had more credits.

Having finalized the plan, he did not hesitate, immediately clearing a small open space in the center of the living room and beginning his first training session.

The movements began with the most basic warm-ups. He deliberately did not employ any "techniques," but strictly followed the descriptions in the syllabus, feeling the stretching and contraction of every muscle, and experiencing the body's feedback under pure physical movement. At first, his body was somewhat stiff, and his strength was insufficient; a few standard push-ups left his arms aching. But he was neither anxious nor impatient, adjusting his breathing, and focusing on the accuracy of the movements and control over his body.

Gradually, his body began to heat up, and the soreness in his muscles carried a strange sense of "activation." He could feel that this body's potential was indeed good; the joints were flexible, the muscles reacted quickly, it had just been "asleep" for too long. As the sets of exercises progressed, sweat soaked his work clothes, but his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

During the training, he took a short break to replenish water. His gaze inadvertently glanced again toward the direction of the Old Factory District outside the window.

"The sense of disharmony"... That feeling, although completely different from Spiritual Qi, since it could be perceived by me, did it also mean that it might be a special form of "energy" or "information" existing in this world? Could he try to "contact," or even "guide" it?

Once this thought arose, it was difficult to suppress.

He ended his physical training and performed thorough stretching and relaxation. After his heartbeat and breathing calmed down, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

This time, he did not directly enter the deep-level visualization of the Star Gods Mental Concentration Chapter, but instead raised his High-Dimensional Information Perception to the limit he could currently maintain. Then, cautiously, as if fishing with the thinnest silk thread, he slowly "extended" the "tentacles" of his perception toward the direction of the Old Factory District.

The distance was great, and the perception was blurry. But he was no longer satisfied with passive "feeling," and instead attempted to actively "analyze" that "sense of disharmony."

What was it?

Cold, chaotic, carrying a trace of decay and indifference... It was as if it were disorderly noise, or perhaps the messy fluctuations left behind by some damaged machinery. It was completely different from the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, which was an energy full of vitality, orderly, and capable of being guided and absorbed. It was more like... a "scar" of rules, or "pollution" of information.

Absorb it directly? Absolutely impossible. That would be tantamount to playing with fire, polluting his own pure spirit and body.

But, could it be utilized?

In the Reincarnation Legacy, there was not only the path of absorbing Spiritual Qi to strengthen oneself. There were also methods of "observing tribulations," "realization," and "tempering the heart." Facing danger directly, analyzing anomalies, and finding a trace of the true meaning of Order amidst chaos could likewise temper the Dao Heart and even lead to unique insights.

Ling Ye's heart suddenly stirred. He thought of the ancient ring "Yuan Sha" and the bone ring "Xuanyuan." These two rings seemed to have a unique resonance and connection with "anomalies" and "specific rules." Although he had lost the physical rings now, when the "Reincarnation Pool" reshaped him, the "imprints" of the rings seemed to have merged with his consciousness in some way. Could he, then, simulate the fluctuations of those "imprints" and attempt to engage in some degree of... "resonance" or "filtering" with this "sense of disharmony"?

He calmed his heart and tried hard to recall the vast, ancient rhythm that the ancient ring emitted, which seemed to contain the birth and death of stars, as well as the deep, icy feeling brought by the bone ring, which seemed to communicate with the Origin of water veins. These two feelings were vastly different, but both were unlike normal Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, leaning more toward some quality of "rules" or "Origin."

He meticulously outlined these two feelings with his mental intent, attempting to form an extremely weak but structurally special "receiving/filtering model" within his consciousness.

This was an extremely bold and dangerous attempt. Once the model was constructed incorrectly, or his own spirit was insufficient to support it, he could very likely be backlashed by that "sense of disharmony," injuring his Divine Soul.

Ling Ye was fully focused, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. He turned the sensitivity of his High-Dimensional Information Perception to the maximum, like the most precise probe, while feeling the weak but continuous "disharmonious" ripples coming from afar, and cautiously adjusting the ethereal "model" in his consciousness.

Time passed minute by minute.

Just when he felt his spirit was somewhat exhausted and he was about to give up—

The crude "model" in his consciousness, composed of a mixture of the two rings' sensations, suddenly trembled slightly the moment it made contact with another "disharmonious" ripple!

Immediately after, that originally cold and chaotic ripple seemed to be filtered by an invisible sieve; the vast majority of the uncomfortable "noise" and "pollution" were stripped away and blocked outside, but a trace of an extremely tiny, almost negligible information fragment, carrying a certain strange "sense of Order" and "sense of sedimentation," actually penetrated the "model" and was clearly captured by his consciousness!

The fragment was not text or an image, but more like a feeling, a concept:

"Earth vein blockage... metal wailing... cracks in the ancient contract... whispers of the outsider..."

The fragment flashed and vanished, along with the vague feeling it carried, quickly dissipating in his consciousness.

Ling Ye opened his eyes abruptly, panting heavily, his back soaked with cold sweat. That moment just now had consumed a huge amount of Mental Energy, as if he had fought a high-intensity battle.

But at this moment, his eyes were flashing with an incredible light.

He had succeeded! Although he had only captured a trace of an imperceptible information fragment, this proved two things:

First, the "sense of disharmony" emitted by the Old Factory District was not purely disorderly chaos; it contained some structured information that could be interpreted, related to "earth veins," "metal," "contracts," and "outsiders"! This was very likely the root of its "abnormality," and might even be related to that terrifying existence, as well as the "Star Gate" mission his parents had participated in!

Second, his unique mental perception, which had merged with the ring imprints, combined with his own shallow understanding of "rules," was actually able to "filter" and "analyze" this abnormal information to a certain extent! Although the efficiency was extremely low, the consumption was huge, and it was full of risks, this was undoubtedly a feasible path to explore the "abnormalities" and "extraordinary powers" of this world! This might perhaps be the prototype of the third power he could master in this world, besides technology and physical training—the ability of "information interpretation" and "influence" based on High-Dimensional Information Perception and understanding of rules!

He temporarily named it "Spiritual Sense." It was distinct from the "Divine Sense" of Cultivation, different from what the Federation called "psionic power," and closer to a keen capture of and limited interference with the "information" and "rule" fragments at the underlying level of the world.

Of course, this was just the most preliminary discovery. To truly utilize it, the road ahead was long. Each "analysis" needed to be cautious and must be based on his own Mental Energy and willpower being sufficiently strong. Otherwise, rashly contacting deeper and more intense "abnormal information" could risk mental pollution or even collapse.

But regardless, this was an extremely important Breakthrough! It pointed out a unique path for him to improve his strength and investigate secrets in this world.

Ling Ye calmed his excited mood, closed his eyes again, and circulated the Star Gods Mental Concentration Chapter. This time, the "structure" he visualized was no longer a purely abstract concept, but faintly carried that trace of "sense of Order" and "sense of sedimentation" he had just captured.

He discovered that with the assistance of this "abnormal but orderly" feeling, the speed of his mental concentration seemed to be a fraction faster, and his understanding of his own consciousness was a bit deeper. Although it could not directly increase the "quantity" of his Mental Energy, it seemed to be beneficial to the tempering of its "quality" and his affinity for "information."

Cultivating until late at night, Ling Ye slowly stopped. Although his spirit was somewhat exhausted, his eyes were brighter and deeper than usual.

He walked to the window and took one last look at the deep night in the direction of the Old Factory District.

It was no longer just a threat and a mystery there; it had also become his potential "cultivation resource" and "information source."

Of course, the danger remained. That surveillance car, the lurking strange creatures, and the potentially more unknowns all required him to respond cautiously.

But at least, he now had a sliver of capital for active exploration, and was no longer just passively waiting and defending.

Tomorrow was the first day of official classes after the Security Department's inquiry, and also the beginning of him truly starting to integrate into academy life, and secretly accumulating strength and investigating the truth.

He needed to master the academy's knowledge System as quickly as possible and obtain more information regarding "abnormal phenomena," "deep space exploration," and "Mental Energy research." At the same time, he had to carefully balance his relationships with Su Qing and Zhou Ming (and the forces behind them), obtaining necessary information without attracting excessive attention.

As for the Old Factory District... before his own "Spiritual Sense" and physical fitness had significantly improved, and before he was fully prepared, he would not rashly approach it. But long-distance "perception" and "analysis" could continue, slowly accumulating an understanding of that "abnormality."

The road must be walked one step at a time.

Ling Ye lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into the tranquil darkness.

In the darkness, it seemed as if fragmented starlight (the faint light of Spiritual Sense) and cold ripples (the whispers of the Old Factory District) were faintly intertwined.

A new journey was already at his feet.