49: Chapter 49: Time Stop Breakthrough, Knocking Ghost Instantly Kills Intruder! Meeting the Deputy Director of the Demon Suppression Division!

The night grew deep and heavy.

The insect chirps in the back mountain stopped at some unknown time, and only the wind occasionally brushed past the window sill.

Lin Ye sat cross-legged on the bed, pushing the core structure of Temporal Divine Power to the critical node of the third round of reinforcement.

The golden vortex in his dantian spun steadily and quickly, at least thirty percent more solidified than two hours ago.

The upper limit of the duration had also touched the threshold of two seconds.

Moreover, the cooling interval between two activations was shortening at a rate visible to the naked eye.

At this moment, he opened his eyes.

Some movement was transmitted into his ears; someone downstairs was prying the door open.

His five senses had undergone various blessings and were long out of the category of normal humans.

Separated by three layers of floorboards, he heard it crystal clear.

Three sets of footsteps—one was tampering with the door lock, and two were keeping watch behind.

Heavy breathing, slightly fast heartbeats, and adrenaline soaring.

"Hurry up, this lock is rusted, stop fucking dawdling." The voice was very low, carrying a long-suppressed anxiety.

"What are you rushing for? We only came after making sure. That rich woman died two days ago, and there are no surveillance cameras in these remote mountains, not even a ghost shadow late at night, what the hell are you afraid of?"

"Are there really only two little girls inside? If the intelligence is wrong, the few of us are going to lose our lives here."

"Why would I lie to you? It's been hanging on the bounty platform for a long time, and only two daughters are guarding the broken villa. We have now been expelled from the association, our identities cancelled, and our accounts frozen. If we don't find a way to pull off a job, are we waiting to starve to death? After finishing this gig, we'll fly far away, and in another provincial capital we'll still live high and eat well."

"Fine. But later that girl has to let me go first, I haven't tasted meat in over a month, hehe..."

Lin Ye withdrew his attention expressionlessly.

A few deregistered black-market trialers, judging by their auras, were at most early one-star, and one of them might not even be one-star.

Placed in the past, they might still be able to bully ordinary people, but now crashing into this door, they had truly narrowed their own paths.

He closed his eyes again, continuing to reinforce the core structure of Temporal Divine Power.

The door lock downstairs made a soft click, and the lock core was picked open.

Creak!

The door was pushed open.

And that was the end of that.

Lin Ye didn't even make any extra sound.

The moment the door opened, three weak life auras were wiped away like an eraser, cleanly and neatly vanishing from this world.

Probably even more efficient than when he killed the servant last time.

After the rules were rewritten, the lethal judgment of the Knocking Ghost became even more precise.

Those harboring malicious intent triggered instant death upon contact, without even any room for struggle.

Outside the door, the Knocking Ghost tilted its head, looked down at the three corpses neatly lying on the ground, and the faint golden light in its hollow eye sockets flashed.

It seemed not to quite understand what had happened, but instinct told it... the mission was completed.

It guarded the door once more.

A trace of saliva trickled down the corner of its mouth, and it obediently squatted back down beside the threshold, continuing to act as its drooling guard puppy.

Lin Ye no longer paid attention to the situation downstairs, immersing himself body and soul into cultivation.

Under repeated refinement, the core structure of Temporal Divine Power became increasingly stable.

At the beginning, whenever the rotation speed of the vortex went up, it would shake, like an old-fashioned fan whose dynamic balance was uncalibrated; the higher the rotation speed, the more violently it shook, and it could fall apart at any time.

Spending a full two hours, he used divine sense to re-comb every energy pathway constituting the vortex, reinforcing the unstable nodes one by one.

Then he tightly connected the underlying logic of the entire structure, from the first three layers to the last three layers.

"Very good, it's finally much more stable..."

Lin Ye wiped away his sweat.

Next.

He continued to try pushing the upper limit of the duration even higher on the basis of stability.

In the first round of attempts, at two point one seconds, the divine power began to decay.

In the second round, he adjusted the rhythm of spiritual power infusion, changing the peak flow from concentrated burst to smooth output, pulling the duration to two point two seconds.

The third round was even more familiar, stabilizing at two point three seconds, and the decay curve was much smoother than before.

There would be no abrupt sense of loss of control.

But it was still not enough.

He spent nearly two hours refining the issue of the cooling interval.

Previously, every time Temporal Divine Power was activated, it required at least a dozen seconds of cooling before it could be reactivated.

This interval was not a big problem in single combat, but if facing multiple enemies, or in situations requiring continuous bursts.

A dozen seconds was enough to make earth-shattering changes in the battle situation.

"I must find a way to use time-stop multiple times in the shortest possible time."

He took apart and studied the underlying logic of the cooling mechanism.

Very quickly.

Lin Ye discovered that the essence of cooling was that the divine power core needed to re-stabilize the vortex rotation speed after a burst.

The key to shortening the cooling time was not increasing divine power reserves, but improving the vortex's tolerance to burst impacts.

Once the crux was found, things became easy; he reinforced the outer layer of the vortex with a flexible spiritual power shell, which could absorb the recoil force at the moment of the burst, allowing the vortex to recover stability faster after a burst.

By the seventh test, the cooling interval had been shortened to under two seconds!

What this data meant.

Needless to say.

Activating the power of time sequence in battle, a two-second slowdown was enough to deliver a fatal blow.

After the slowdown ended, less than two seconds of cooling allowed a seamless connection to the next temporal burst.

From the enemy's perspective, one's own speed would be so fast they couldn't understand it...

Clearly just beaten back, yet blinking an eye brought one right in front of them again.

Most importantly, this was the first time since coming to this world that he had mastered a power entirely relying on his own cultivation will.

Zhulong Divine Sense was given by a deity, yellow emperors essence blood was obtained by chance, and Origin of Houtu came with the pendant.

Only this wispy Temporal Divine Power was ground out bit by bit through gritted teeth, night after night.

He clenched his fist, feeling the steady and powerful pulsation of the golden vortex in his dantian, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

This night had not been stayed up in vain.

At the same time, the horizon tinged with the first line of gray-white.

The birds in the back mountain began to call, the wind outside the window also changed direction, and the scent of morning dew and earth brushed past the curtains, revealing a slight chill.

The night passed uneventfully.

Just past six in the morning, a sharp scream pierced the silence of the villa.

"Ah——!!"

Chen Miaomiao's voice came from the front gate.

Lin Ye opened his eyes; there were no bloodshot eyes from staying up late at the bottom of his eyes, instead appearing exceptionally clear.

He got up, slipped on his coat, and walked downstairs leisurely.

Pushing open the front door, the cold morning wind rushed straight at his face.

Chen Miaomiao stood on the stone steps at the doorway, still holding a broom in her hand, her whole body frozen in place as if cast with a body-freezing spell.

She wore a rice-white home dress, her hair not yet tied up, loose over her shoulders, somewhat disheveled by the morning wind.

Her gaze stared fixedly at the scene at the doorway.

Three corpses neatly arranged in a row.

Their manners of death were completely identical...

Lips cyanotic, eyeballs protruding, facial muscles twisted and frozen due to extreme terror, as if they had seen some terrifying existence beyond cognition before dying.

And beside the three corpses, the Knocking Ghost squatted obediently.

It tilted its head up, looking at Chen Miaomiao with those hollow but no longer scary eyes, a trace of crystal-clear saliva hanging from the corner of its mouth.

On its blurred little face, it squeezed out a satisfied and proud silly smile.

Niannian ran out behind her sister, stepping barefoot on the cold steps, first letting out an "ah" exclamation, then lifting the doll rabbit to her eyes, revealing a pair of round eyes from behind the rabbit's ears, curiously and nervously sizing up the three corpses on the ground and the Knocking Ghost squatting beside them.

"Sister, the little monster seems to be guarding the door for us again."

Niannian whispered.

Chen Miaomiao instinctively pulled Niannian behind her, sweeping her gaze back and forth between the three corpses and the Knocking Ghost twice before finally catching her breath.

She squatted down and carefully glanced at the face of one of the corpses.

Bluish-gray, protruding eyeballs, cyanotic lips; the manner of death was identical to her mother and the servant.

And among these people, one of them was clutching a psionic lockpick in his hand, which was a barrier-breaking tool exclusive to trialers.

"Deregistered black-market residents."

Lin Ye had walked behind her at some point, "They died when prying the door last night. Your villa has been targeted, presumably seeing the bounty you posted online and tracking their way here."

Chen Miaomiao straightened up, her face turning pale for a second, but she quickly steadied herself.

After all, having endured fear for a month, her nerves had long formed calluses.

She turned her head to look at the Knocking Ghost squatting by the threshold; the little thing was tilting its head up, looking at her with an expression waiting for praise, a bright, glistening thread of saliva trailing from the corner of its mouth.

She turned to look at Lin Ye, "...Thank you."

The Knocking Ghost obviously didn't understand what "Thank you" meant.

Nor did it understand that Chen Miaomiao was actually speaking to Lin Ye.

But it sensed a friendly signal from Chen Miaomiao's tone, so it split its mouth, revealing an even uglier smile, shook its head, and splattered saliva all over the floor.

"Sister, the little monster can smile."

Niannian poked her head out from behind her sister, "But it smiles so ugly."

"Niannian, don't run around."

Chen Miaomiao grabbed her younger sister who was about to lean toward the corpses, picked her up horizontally, and stuffed her back inside the door.

Turning to look at Lin Ye, she pointed at the three corpses on the ground, "These... how should we deal with them?"

"Don't worry about it, just throw them anywhere to feed the dogs, or call the police."

As soon as Lin Ye finished speaking, the phone in his pocket vibrated.

Pulling it out to look, it was an unfamiliar number, but Lin Ye knew who it was.

Half past six in the morning.

This Deputy Director of the Northern Town Demon Department really woke up early enough.

Swiping to answer without opening his mouth yet, the other side spoke first.

"Lin Ye, I am Lu Zhanyou, there might be some things to discuss with you today, um... are you free today? It's inconvenient to talk on the phone."

Lin Ye glanced at the three corpses at the doorway and the drooling Knocking Ghost, thinking to himself that today's matters had already begun.

Perfect, he needed to go collect his reward and also inquire about where stronger ghosts could be found.

He needed nourishment to feed the zhulong seal to the third stage.

"Free. Where shall we meet?"

"Tianxin Pavilion. Eight o'clock, third-floor private room, someone will wait for you at the door."

"Alright."

The other side hung up.

Lin Ye tucked his phone back into his pocket and said to Chen Miaomiao, "Just fry two eggs for breakfast, I'll eat something to pad my stomach before going out."

Chen Miaomiao acknowledged, pulling Niannian toward the kitchen.

"Brother Lin is going out?"

Niannian leaned on Chen Miaomiao's shoulder, waving at him, "Then come back early! I'll have sister make braised pork for you!"

Lin Ye smiled.

This little girl's resilience was better than her sister imagined.

Perhaps after experiencing the nightmare, a big brother who could beat monsters appeared by her side, filling a certain missing sense of security.

He walked over to the threshold and looked down at the Knocking Ghost.

The morning light gradually brightened, and the Knocking Ghost's figure became a few shades fainter in the morning light than last night, like an old photograph washed by water.

Its core runes operated steadily within Lin Ye's perception, and the golden light was a bit more stable than last night.

Lin Ye squatted down and made eye contact with it.

The Knocking Ghost tilted its head, the faint golden light in its hollow eye sockets flashed, and it made an incoherent babbling sound in its mouth, as if greeting.

"Well done."

Lin Ye said.

The Knocking Ghost couldn't understand, but it could perceive the affirmation in its master's tone.

It happily shook its head and drooled a trace of saliva again.

Lin Ye got up and walked back into the villa.

The aroma of fried eggs was already wafting from the kitchen.

Chen Miaomiao was busy in front of the stove wearing an apron, Niannian stepped on a small stool to help her hand over plates, the two whispered something, and occasionally Niannian's giggling laughter drifted out.

He carried the safe box containing money to the second-floor room and put it away, not intending to take it away for the time being, and then simply washed up.

When he went downstairs again, a plate of fried eggs, two slices of toast, and a cup of steaming water were already laid out on the dining table.

"You're not eating?" Lin Ye saw that Chen Miaomiao only set one set of tableware.

"I've eaten, I ate a little bit while heating milk for Niannian."

Chen Miaomiao untied her apron, draped it over the back of the chair, sat down opposite him, and hesitated, "The call just now was... people from the Demon Suppression Division?"

"Mhm."

"Are they coming to find you because of last night's matter?"

"It should be about previous matters."

Lin Ye took a bite of toast and swallowed it before saying, "I killed a Demon Seed in Heqiao Town."

Demon Seed?

Chen Miaomiao's expression froze for a beat, and then slowly a complex look of "what kind of person did I actually find to guard the door" emerged.

She opened her mouth, and finally only said, "...Then you take care of your safety."

"I will."

Lin Ye finished eating, wiped his hands, and stood up.

"Right, that car of yours, is it good to drive? If it's not good to drive, there are a few in the garage, you can go pick one to try, anyway I have no use for them."

Lin Ye glanced at the battle-damaged off-road vehicle parked in the yard, which took several ignitions to start yesterday.

"Alright, thanks."

After the meal, inside the garage.

What did Lin Ye see?

Ferraris, Porsches, Rolls-Royces... all without exception luxury cars.

He fell silent for a moment.

"Which one do you want to drive? I'll find the keys for you."

Lin Ye casually chose a Porsche, got the keys, got into the car, and started the engine.

Driving a good car really felt different.

The car drove down the winding mountain road, and in the rearview mirror, the iron gate of Yunlu Villa grew smaller and smaller.

At the doorway, a small figure could vaguely be seen standing in the sunlight waving at him.

It was Niannian, hugging her doll rabbit, standing on tiptoe shouting towards this side, "Brother Lin, come back early".

Lin Ye honked the horn as a response.

The inside of the car quieted down, he rolled down the car window a crack, and the morning mountain breeze poured in.

His mind had already begun reviewing everything that happened from last night to today.

If the Demon Suppression Division found out about subduing the Knocking Ghost, what would their reaction be?

Rule-type ghosts cannot be subdued; this was a conclusion written in black and white in textbooks.

But not only did he subdue it, he even changed the rules.

Exposing this ability—benefits and risks were the same thing.

His value would be reassessed, more people would want to win him over, but those with ill intentions would equally not be few.

As for Lu Zhanyou, judging from the last call, he spoke directly, offered conditions straightforwardly, and didn't seem like the winding, bureaucratic type.

But behind him was the entire Northern Town Demon Department system, and he wasn't the only person within the system.

He had to keep his guard up.