119: Chapter 119 Reality Anomaly, Abilities Emerge

The moment the bamboo door gently closed behind him, Lin Ye had a strange illusion—as if he had passed through an invisible barrier, returning from a world full of secrets and conspiracies to a relatively "normal" reality.

Chaos Valley gradually woke up in the morning light.

The sounds of players' morning exercises drifted from afar—the clanging of weapons, the melodious chanting of Spells, and the rumbling of small carts loaded with supplies pushed by logistics players over the bluestone road. The aroma of breakfast wafted through the air; the canteen had started serving spiritual grain porridge and Yao Beast meat buns.

Everything looked the same as usual.

But Lin Ye knew it was different now.

The heavenly dao fragment in his arms emitted a faint warmth against his chest, pulsing gently like a small heart. The Delusion-Breaking Pen, the Transmission Stone, and the Introduction to Formations lay quietly in his Storage Pouch, reminding him that everything he had experienced in that small green bamboo courtyard was not a hallucination.

Li Ruoyu, heavenly dao fragment, light brain heavenly dao, dimensional war, accelerated Fusion...

This information weighed on his heart like heavy blocks of lead. But he did not show it; his face remained calm and his pace steady as he walked along the bluestone path toward the main hall.

Players he encountered along the way bowed respectfully one after another:

"Good morning, Valley Master!"

"Boss!"

"Congratulations on breaking through to the Four Extremities Realm, Valley Master!"

Lin Ye nodded in response to each one without lingering.

Returning to his room on the third floor of the main hall, he closed the door, set up a simple soundproof barrier, and then walked to the window, looking out at the valley as it gradually became lively.

The morning light grew brighter, golden sunlight spilling over the defensive fortifications, over the cultivating players, and over the canteen roof where cooking smoke curled upward.

It was a scene full of vitality.

But what surfaced in Lin Ye's mind was the future Li Ruoyu had described—the Fusion of two worlds, the arrival of Yao Beasts and anomalies, the awakening of ancient beings, and a civilization facing its greatest trial...

One year.

No, according to Li Ruoyu, it might be less than a year.

"Time... is too tight."

Lin Ye whispered to himself.

He needed to make a plan; he needed to pick up the pace.

First was increasing his strength. The first level of the Four Extremities Realm was far from enough; he needed to at least reach the Four Extremities Realm Peak or even touch the threshold of the Dragon Transformation Realm to be qualified to stand his ground in the coming storm.

Next was collecting heavenly dao fragments. The one in the Dragon Bone Abyss was his primary target, but the clues regarding the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Land and the southern part of the Chu State could not be ignored either. Every additional fragment meant more capital to confront the light brain heavenly dao.

Then there was the development of the Heavenly Court. The power level needed to be raised to level four or five as soon as possible, members needed to be trained, resources accumulated, and the tech tree climbed... all of this required time, a lot of time.

But most fundamentally, he himself had to become stronger.

Strong enough to face any challenge, strong enough to protect those he wanted to protect, and strong enough to... change his established fate.

Lin Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the sense of urgency in his heart.

One bite at a time, one step at a time. No matter how urgent, he couldn't let himself get disorganized.

He turned and walked to the meditation mat in the center of the room, sitting down to organize his thoughts.

First, the short-term plan:

First, consolidate the Four Extremities Realm. Although he had broken through, his mastery over the power of the Four Extremities was not yet seasoned; his four limbs' thoroughness was only 57%, leaving much room for improvement. Over the next week, he would focus on cultivating the Four Extremities Chapter of the Chaos Scripture, aiming to increase that thoroughness to over 70%.

Second, Cultivate Chaos Heaven Opening. Although he had mastered this ultimate Divine Ability, his level of comprehension was only 15/100, leaving massive room for growth. He needed more practice and insight, ideally finding a suitable opponent for combat testing—though he'd have to control the power carefully so as not to accidentally shatter the test target along with the training ground.

Third, prepare to explore the Dragon Bone Abyss. This couldn't be rushed, but the preliminary work could begin. He would have Qin Ruoxue's Heavenly Secret Pavilion collect intelligence on the Dragon Burial Mountain Range and the Dragon Bone Abyss, have Zhao Wuji prepare the necessary supplies and equipment for exploration, and have Su Qingyue and Shi Potian start selecting suitable team members...

Fourth, handle the Heavenly Court's daily affairs. Although the victory banquet was over, its subsequent effects were still fermenting. Kill orders had been issued, and he needed to monitor the reactions of forces like the All Under Heaven Society; the privileges of a Level 3 power needed to be utilized quickly to establish branches, expand territory, and seize resource points...

Each matter and every detail required his decision and arrangement.

Lin Ye rubbed his brow, feeling a bit exhausted.

It wasn't physical exhaustion—the physical fitness of the Four Extremities Realm far exceeded that of ordinary people, and he could go days without rest—but rather mental pressure.

The more one knows, the greater the responsibility.

In his past life, he was just an ordinary player whose greatest goal was to level up, get gear, and live better in the game. But in this life, he had returned through Rebirth, established the Heavenly Court, became the first Four Extremities player, and touched upon the truth of the world...

Some burdens had, without him realizing it, settled onto his shoulders.

"I can't stop."

Lin Ye sighed softly and then regained his spirits.

He took out the Introduction to Formations from his Storage Pouch and began to flip through it.

Although this book given by Li Ruoyu contained basic array knowledge, it was very useful to him now. Previously, most of the Heavenly Court's arrays were purchased from outside or set up by people hired by Zhao Wuji; Lin Ye himself was not proficient. In a dangerous place like the Dragon Bone Abyss that he was about to explore, knowing some array knowledge might save his life at a critical moment.

The pages flipped through his fingers as array diagrams, runes, and principles were etched into his mind.

Lin Ye read very quickly; the powerful Divine Sense and memory capabilities brought by the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body allowed him to have almost photographic memory. In just half an hour, the entire contents of the Introduction to Formations were imprinted in his mind. Although he still needed practice to truly master it, his theoretical knowledge was now complete.

Closing the book, Lin Ye took out the Delusion-Breaking Pen.

He needed to familiarize himself with the usage of this epic-grade auxiliary Magic Treasure.

Injecting a wisp of Chaos Divine Power into the pen, the Delusion-Breaking Pen vibrated slightly, and the tip glowed with a faint gray light. Lin Ye made a stroke in front of his eyes with the pen—

His vision changed.

It wasn't a visual change, but rather that he could "see" more.

The Spiritual Qi flowing in the air was originally invisible and intangible, but now, he could see wisps and strands of five-colored air currents drifting slowly. The soundproof barrier on the wall was originally transparent, but now, he could see the runes and energy pathways flowing on the barrier's surface. Even looking outside through the window, he could see the True Qi or magic power circulating within the players in the distance, and the faint light emitted by the equipment on their bodies...

This was the effect of the "Eye of Delusion-Breaking."

Seeing through illusions, gaining insight into the essence.

Lin Ye then looked at the Delusion-Breaking Pen in his hand. Under the perspective of the Eye of Delusion-Breaking, the internal structure of the pen barrel was clearly visible—it was the finger bone of an unknown Yao Beast, its surface covered in tiny array runes; the material of the pen tip was even more miraculous, a type of translucent gray hair, each strand naturally containing the Law power to break through delusions.

[Delusion-Breaking Beast's eyelashes]... Lin Ye remembered the note in the item description. He had never heard of such a creature, but judging by the Law power contained in the hair, it was at least a Saint-Grade existence or higher.

"Good stuff."

Lin Ye stowed the Delusion-Breaking Pen with satisfaction.

With this Magic Treasure, exploring Secret Realms, detecting traps, and seeing through disguises would be much more convenient in the future.

By the time he finished all this, it was nearly noon.

Lin Ye removed the soundproof barrier and walked out of the room.

In the main hall, Zhao Wuji, Qin Ruoxue, Su Qingyue, Shi Potian, and others were already waiting—this was the fixed daily meeting time.

"Valley Master."

Seeing Lin Ye come down, everyone stood up.

"Sit," Lin Ye said as he took the main seat. "Let's begin. Report in order."

Zhao Wuji spoke first, reporting on the Chamber of Commerce's situation: the gifts received at the victory banquet had been inventoried and stored, with a total value of 1.28 million Spirit Stones; cooperation intentions with over thirty forces were being followed up, with five to eight long-term agreements expected to be finalized within the month; Chaos Valley's Spiritual Qi concentration had begun to rise due to its promotion to a Level 3 power, and new cultivation areas were expected to open next month...

Qin Ruoxue followed with an intelligence report: the All Under Heaven Society, Misty Rain Tower, and the Imperial Dynasty were still hiding away, but they were making small moves in the shadows, seemingly contacting other forces; after the Primordial Royal Court withdrew from the Yan State, its movements were unknown, and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's scouts were tracking them; collection of intelligence regarding the Dragon Burial Mountain Range and the Dragon Bone Abyss had begun, but current data was limited and required more time...

Su Qingyue reported on the War Department: the four halls—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu—had finished integration, and new training plans had been formulated; she herself had gained insights after observing the tribulation, and her Vast Cold Spirit Body was attempting to break through to the Peak of the Dao Palace Realm; the Ice Thunder Grand Array had been repaired and could be activated at any time...

Shi Potian reported last, mainly about the recovery of casualties in the Azure Dragon Hall and the progress of repairing defensive fortifications. When mentioning the forty-seven brothers who died in battle, this iron-willed man's eyes reddened slightly, but he quickly regained his spirits, stating that the Azure Dragon Hall's morale was unaffected and everyone was determined to avenge their fallen brothers.

Lin Ye listened quietly, occasionally asking questions or giving instructions.

An hour later, the meeting ended.

Everyone took their orders and left to attend to their duties.

Lin Ye sat alone in the main hall for a while and then made a decision—

Log out.

From the server launch until now, three months had passed, and his time in the game far exceeded his time in reality. Although the gaming pod had nutrient solution to maintain life and neural connection technology to ensure his body wouldn't atrophy, being immersed in a virtual world for a long time would eventually affect his physical body in reality.

More importantly, he needed to go back to the real world and take a look.

To see what that reality—which was to fuse with the game world in a year (or perhaps less)—looked like now.

To see if he himself had also undergone some... changes in reality.

Lin Ye returned to his room on the third floor, lay down in the gaming pod, and selected "Safe Logout."

His consciousness blurred for a moment.

It was as if he were surfacing from the deep sea, passing through a viscous medium, and regaining the sensation of having a "body."

Before he even opened his eyes, he first felt the cold touch of the gaming pod's inner wall and the faint herbal scent of the nutrient solution. A low hum from the gaming pod's operation reached his ears, along with... the faint sounds of traffic, people, and the city drifting in from the window.

The sounds of the real world.

Lin Ye slowly opened his eyes.

What met his eyes was the transparent lid of the gaming pod and the familiar sight of his room beyond it—not large, about ten square meters, with a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and the latest model of the "Heavenly Dao" gaming pod he was currently lying in. A few game posters were stuck on the wall, all promotional art for covering the heavens era.

This was the house he rented near the university.

Lin Ye, 23 years old, a senior in the Computer Science Department at Yanjing University; his parents had died early, and he lived on inheritance and scholarships. He was introverted with few friends, and his only hobby was playing games. Before covering the heavens era launched, he was just an ordinary gamer.

But now...

Lin Ye pressed the button inside the pod; the nutrient solution drained slowly, and the lid slid upward.

He sat up and climbed out of the gaming pod.

The moment his feet stepped onto the floor, a strange sensation surged through his entire body.

It wasn't weakness—the gaming pod's nutrient solution had maintained him well, and even after three months without logging out, his physical condition was still healthy. Rather, it was a kind of... sense of discoordination.

It was as if this body were a bit "unfamiliar."

Lin Ye lowered his head and looked at his hands.

They were a very ordinary pair of hands; his skin was somewhat pale from a lack of sunlight for a long time, and his fingers were long but lacked any sense of power, with neatly trimmed nails.

But it was these very hands that, in the game, could hold the myriad things mother qi cauldron embryo, swing the Chaos Heaven Opening Sword Qi, and endure the Nine-Layered Thunder Tribulation...

A massive contrast between game and reality.

Lin Ye walked to the center of the room and tried moving his body.

His joints made slight popping sounds, a normal reaction after maintaining a fixed posture for a long time. His muscles were a bit stiff, but it didn't hinder his movement.

He did a few simple stretching exercises and then tried... throwing a punch.

A very casual punch, aimed at the air.

Bang—!

A muffled air explosion erupted in the room!

Lin Ye was stunned.

He slowly retracted his fist and looked at his right hand, his eyes filled with disbelief.

[part:gemini-3.1-flash-lite]

He hadn't used his full strength in that punch just now, hadn't even exerted himself intentionally; he had simply swung out casually.

Yet, when his fist tore through the air, it actually produced a distinct sonic boom!

Moreover, the air in front of his fist showed a visible ripple, like waves on water!

That was no hallucination.

Lin Ye could clearly feel that at the moment he punched, a heat flow surged within his body, gushing out from the position of his Dantian (if one actually existed in reality), flowing along his Meridians toward his arm, and finally bursting forth from his fist.

The sensation of that heat flow... was very familiar.

Chaos Divine Power.

Or rather, it was a projection of Chaos Divine Power in reality.

Lin Ye's heart began to pound wildly.

He walked to the wall, where a punch strength tester hung—something he had bought previously to exercise, and although he hadn't used it in a long time, it should still work.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Ye stood firm, then... used about thirty percent of his strength to punch the target of the tester.

Bang!

The tester's display screen jumped wildly, finally settling on a number: [Punch Strength: 387 kg].

387 kg!

Lin Ye remembered very clearly that three months ago, the last time he tested his punch strength, it was 68 kg.

As an ordinary college student who didn't exercise often, this data was normal.

But now, 387 kg!

It had increased by nearly six times!

And this was just a punch with thirty percent of his strength!

If he used his full force...

Lin Ye didn't continue testing.

He knew this number was already shocking enough.

For an ordinary person, even a professionally trained boxer, it was difficult for a single punch to exceed 300 kg.

Yet his casual punch was 387 kg, and at full strength, it might exceed 1000 kg.

What kind of concept was this?

One punch could kill a cow, one punch could punch through a brick wall, one punch could... kill someone.

And this was just the change in terms of strength.

Lin Ye also tested his speed, reaction, and endurance.

The results were equally astonishing.

For his 100-meter speed, he ran it in 5.2 seconds—this was already the level of a world-class athlete, and he hadn't even run at full speed, just testing casually.

For the reaction test, he downloaded a reaction speed test app on his phone, and the result was an average reaction time of around 0.08 seconds—a normal person is 0.2-0.3 seconds, and trained professional athletes can reach 0.15 seconds, while he was almost four times the human limit.

In terms of endurance, he did five hundred push-ups, five hundred squats, and five hundred sit-ups in his room without even catching his breath, feeling like he could do another five hundred.

His overall physical quality was at least three to five times that of an ordinary person!

And this was just the change on a physical level.

Lin Ye closed his eyes and tried to mobilize that heat flow.

At first, it was a bit rusty; after all, his body in reality wasn't as familiar with energy circulation as it was in the game.

But soon, he found the feeling—that heat flow really existed, dormant deep within his body, like a sleeping volcano that, once awakened, could erupt with astonishing power.

He tried to concentrate a wisp of the heat flow to his fingertip.

Sss—a faint gray light appeared on his fingertip; although it was very pale and almost invisible, it did exist.

Chaos Divine Power.

The abilities from the game had really manifested in reality!

Although it was only about 1%—according to the test just now, his physical quality in reality was roughly equivalent to about 1% of the first layer of the Four Extremities Realm in the game—this was already a qualitative leap.

What was the concept of 1% of the Four Extremities Realm?

The Four Extremities Realm in the game was a superhuman existence; one punch could explode rock, one leap could jump onto a high building, and full-speed running exceeded the speed of sound.

Even at just 1%, in reality, it had already surpassed human limits.

And this was just the beginning.

According to Li Ruoyu, the Fusion was a gradual process.

This was only the first stage, with 1% of abilities manifested.

As time passed, the manifestation ratio would become higher and higher until the two worlds completely fused and the game abilities were fully manifested in reality.

By then... Lin Ye dared not imagine.

But one thing was certain: the order of the real world would be completely overturned.

Extraordinary individuals would appear, the Law would lose its binding force, and power would become the only Law.

The Law of the jungle, where the weak are prey to the strong, would spread from the game to reality.

And all this might happen in less than a year.

Lin Ye walked to the window and pulled open the curtains.

Outside the window was the familiar city scene: tall buildings, heavy traffic, and hurried pedestrians.

The sun was setting, and the golden afterglow spilled onto the streets; everything seemed so calm, so... normal.

No one knew that a drastic change was quietly descending.

No one knew that the world they were familiar with was about to be turned upside down.

I need to make preparations in advance, Lin Ye muttered to himself.

He needed money, resources, a safe place, and... to build a force in reality.

No matter how powerful the Heavenly Court was in the game, it was a force in the virtual world.

After the reality Fusion, some of the resources, equipment, and faction relationships from the game might be mapped to reality, but it was impossible to copy them entirely.

He had to build sufficient power in reality as well.

But this was difficult.

Reality was not a game; there was no System panel, no mission guidance, no leveling up by killing monsters.

Everything had to depend on himself.

Moreover, he still had to hide himself.

Before the era of the extraordinary officially arrived, exposing his abilities too early would only bring trouble—the attention of the government, the covetousness of other players, and he might even be treated as an experimental subject for research.

Low profile, develop, wait for the opportunity, Lin Ye formulated the action policy for the real world.

The first thing to solve was money.

The Heavenly Court Chamber of Commerce in the game was very rich, but that was game currency and could not be directly exchanged into real currency—at least not yet.

After the Fusion began, game currency might have some kind of exchange relationship with real currency, but that was a matter for the future.

What he needed now was startup capital in reality.

Lin Ye took stock of his assets: there was over three hundred thousand left from his parents' inheritance, and he had saved over fifty thousand from scholarships and part-time jobs, totaling less than four hundred thousand.

In a place like Yanjing, four hundred thousand wasn't even enough for a down payment on a decent house, let alone building a force.

I need to find a way to make money, Lin Ye pondered.

With his current abilities, making money was actually not difficult.

The simplest way was to fight in underground boxing matches—with his physical quality surpassing human limits, fighting underground boxing was simply overkill; he could easily earn hundreds of thousands in one match.

But it was too dangerous and too easy to expose himself.

Or, should he use his foresight from the game to invest in reality?

For example, buying stocks in advance that would skyrocket in the future due to the Spiritual Qi resurgence?

That wouldn't work either.

He knew nothing about finance in reality, and under the butterfly effect, no one could say for sure whether the future would develop according to the trajectory of his past life.

Perhaps... I can find a way from the game, Lin Ye suddenly thought of an idea.

Although covering the heavens era was a game, many of the knowledge in the game had value in reality.

For example, Alchemy.

The Medicinal Pill in the game was refined using various virtual medicinal materials that did not exist in reality.

But the principles, techniques, and heat control of Alchemy—this knowledge was interconnected.

If he could apply the Alchemy knowledge from the game to reality and refine drugs with similar effects using real-world medicinal materials... that would be revolutionary!

Even if the effect was only one percent or one thousandth of that in the game, it would be enough to cause a sensation in the real world and earn huge wealth.

I can give it a try, Lin Ye decided that when he went online next time, he would ask Li Ruoyu for higher-level Alchemy knowledge.

As a bearer of the heavenly dao fragment, Li Ruoyu had lived for who knew how many years, and his knowledge reserve must be astonishing.

Alchemy, Artifact Refining, Formation, Talisman... this knowledge might all be useful in reality.

Besides making money, he also needed a safe place.

The residential area he was renting in now was too ordinary, and the security was almost zero.

Once the Fusion began and the real world became chaotic, this kind of place would be very unsafe.

He needed to buy or rent a single-family villa, preferably with a basement that could be converted into a safe house and a place to Cultivate.

The location should be more remote, but transportation should be convenient to facilitate retreat.

This required money, a lot of money.

Let's take it one step at a time, Lin Ye rubbed his temples, feeling that the pressure in reality was even greater than in the game.

In the game, at least there was a System, a clear leveling route, and companions he could trust.

In reality, everything had to depend on himself.

Just then, his phone rang.

Lin Ye picked up the phone, and a name was displayed on the screen: Chen Hao.

His roommate, the Chen Hao in the game, the pilot of the chaos unit no. 1.

Lin Ye answered the call.

Hey, Lin Ye, you finally logged off!, Chen Hao's voice came from the receiver, full of excitement, I heard from Shi Potian that you succeeded in Undergoing Tribulation? The Nine-Layered Thunder Tribulation? The first Four Extremities Realm in the entire server? Awesome, brother!

It's alright, Lin Ye smiled, How about you? How is the Chu State branch?

It's going very smoothly! The Iron Blood Alliance and the Azure Cloud Sect are now extremely polite to us; we have opened three resource points, and the branch members have exceeded five hundred!, Chen Hao said with excitement, By the way, when are you coming back to school? I'm the only one left in the dorm; Old Wang and Old Li have both gone for internships, and I'm bored to death.

In a few days, Lin Ye said, There are still some things to handle in the game.

Alright, then you go ahead and get busy. By the way..., Chen Hao suddenly lowered his voice, Lin Ye, have you ever felt... that after playing the game for a long time, your body seems a little different?

Lin Ye's heart stirred: What's different?

It's just... my strength seems to have increased, Chen Hao's voice carried confusion, I was moving a bucket of water this morning; I could barely lift a bucket of water before, but now I can carry it with one hand like it's nothing. Also, my reaction is faster; I was swatting flies just now, one slap per fly, and it was so accurate that even I was scared.

Did you exercise?, Lin Ye asked calmly.

Exercise my ass; other than eating and sleeping, I just play games; where would I have time to exercise, Chen Hao muttered, Maybe the game pod has an exercise effect? That's not right, the manual didn't say that...

Lin Ye was silent for a few seconds, then said: It might be an illusion. Playing games too much, being mentally excited, will produce some psychological effects.

That's true, Chen Hao seemed to be persuaded, Alright, I won't bother you anymore, you get busy. Call me when you go online, and I'll take you to the branch to see; it's very impressive!

Hanging up the phone, Lin Ye's expression became solemn.

Chen Hao also felt the change.

Although it was very weak, it did exist.

This meant that the manifestation of game abilities in reality was not a special case for him alone.

All players, or rather, all players who reached a certain level, were being subtly influenced.

It was just that the ratio was very low now, and most people would only think it was because they were in good condition or it was an illusion, and would not delve into it.

But as time passed and the manifestation ratio increased, the changes would become more and more obvious.

By then, it would be impossible to hide.

Time... is really running out, Lin Ye looked out the window.

Nightfall had descended, and the city lights lit up one after another, like a star river reflected on the human world.

How long could this prosperous scene last?

He didn't know.

But he knew that he had to do something.

For himself, for the brothers of the Heavenly Court, and for this world that was about to undergo a drastic change.

Lin Ye walked to the desk, turned on the computer, and started searching: Single-family villa for rent, Yanjing suburbs, with basement, good security..., Wholesale market for Chinese medicinal materials..., Martial arts training class (the kind that teaches real kung fu)..., Legal purchase channels for self-defense equipment...

Lines of keywords were entered into the search box.

A brand-new plan was quietly unfolding in reality.

And the night outside the window was getting deeper and deeper.