Dimensional Space, Sovereign Grade Spirit Pill

"I know I'm very handsome, but the way you two keep staring at me — I'm starting to feel embarrassed."

Lu Yuan grinned.

Si Tingxue gave him a flat look. "...Narcissist."

"Am I not handsome enough?" Lu Yuan protested. "Speak from your conscience!"

Si Tingxue glanced at his face, then looked away without a word.

Rebecca was more forthcoming.

"A-Yuan! You're so amazing! I think your actual strength should be even higher than Senior Su Xu."

Lu Yuan nodded with a smile. "Strong? This is all the result of my own hard work."

Rebecca thought back to the training sessions in Si Tingyu's underground Training Hall and gave a small, agreeing nod.

"A-Yuan really does work hard."

"Let's pick up the drops first," Lu Yuan said.

By now, the bodies of the three Gnoll geniuses had dissolved into white light, leaving a scatter of items across the ground.

The three gathered everything and took stock. Spirit Crystals, Feral Beast materials, a handful of Third-rank Gene Armaments — Elite Grade and Boss Grade.

At First-rank, Elite Grade armaments were respectable. But at Third-rank, they were decidedly ordinary. Third-rank Feral Beasts were typically Elite Grade themselves, and Boss Grade barely counted as a step up. Nothing worth getting excited about.

All told, fairly mediocre gear — worth maybe ten thousand Third-tier Spirit Crystals if they sold it all off.

Lu Yuan wasn't surprised. This was just one hunt's haul. And the Gnolls probably hadn't been that well-supplied to begin with.

Not everyone was like him, sitting on an entire mechanical world's worth of resources.

He had catalogued barely a tenth of the Central Floating City's core district, yet even that partial collection already added up to over a billion Fifth-tier Spirit Crystals — wealth comparable to a Battle Sovereign's.

If the full Aier Mechanical Ruins were converted to liquid assets, his net worth would rival a Battle Emperor's. Possibly exceed one.

For anyone without a great family backing them, engraving Lord Grade genes or higher meant grinding for resources without mercy. If Lu Yuan hadn't taken control of the Ruins, he'd be just as resource-starved as any peer at his level — more so, in fact, since evolving genes devoured far more Spirit Crystals than normal.

Lucky, he supposed. Well — not entirely luck. Without the Evolution Cube, he never could have claimed the Ruins in the first place. And the Evolution Cube was his alone.

Once they'd finished collecting everything, Rebecca's gaze drifted toward the warped spatial gate, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Is that a dimensional space in there? Can we go take a look?"

Si Tingxue glanced at Lu Yuan. "What do you think?"

"We're already here," he said with a smile. "Might as well go in — maybe there's something worth finding."

"Mm."

Si Tingxue nodded.

"I'll go first," Lu Yuan said. "My defenses are stronger."

Neither Si Tingxue nor Rebecca objected. Both were Elemental Types — compared to Lu Yuan, far too fragile for a blind charge.

Lu Yuan activated his White Jade Spirit Body, layered Steel Body on top, and stepped through the dimensional gate.

His Spatial Type gene gave him a natural sensitivity to spatial fluctuations, and the moment he crossed the threshold, he sensed something: this dimensional space hadn't formed naturally. Someone had deliberately developed it and then fixed it in place, locking it into its current shape. Not unlike the Aier Mechanical Ruins — a sophisticated application of spatial power.

The view shifted. Lu Yuan emerged into an open plaza.

Beyond it stood a building in reasonably good condition — a curious structure of white stone, its architectural style noticeably different from the Red Maple Empire's.

Behind him, the dimensional gate rippled. Si Tingxue and Rebecca stepped through.

Both women took in the unfamiliar building with wide, curious eyes.

"...Looks like a dimensional space no one's ever discovered before?" Rebecca sounded stunned. "Are we really that lucky?"

Si Tingxue's voice was cool and measured. "It isn't our luck — it was the Kaman warriors' luck. Unfortunately, they didn't have the strength to hold onto it."

"Never mind whose luck it was," Lu Yuan said. "Let's go in and have a look. There might be something worth finding."

"Mm."

The three of them crossed the plaza and approached the entrance.

Inside was a vast hall. More than a dozen stone pillars — each thick enough that it would have taken a dozen people with arms linked to encircle one — lined both walls and held up the ceiling. At the far end, a skeleton sat upon an ornate metal throne.

The skeleton had two horns. Its bones were the color of white jade. The flesh had long since rotted away across the ages — but the bones themselves radiated an aura that made the chest tighten, utterly untouched by the passage of time.

At Battle Emperor and above, cultivators could live for a very, very long time. Even in death, the body resisted decay for ages, and bones longer still.

This had clearly been someone formidable.

The three exchanged a glance. Rebecca turned to the others and spoke quietly:

"This must be the resting place of some great predecessor. Should we pay our respects?"

Si Tingxue gave a soft nod. "We should."

Lu Yuan smiled. "We came in, so we ought to honor the dead."

The three bowed before the ancient remains, then slipped through a side door to search the inner rooms.

Several rooms branched off behind the main hall. They checked each one in turn, finding most empty and thick with dust.

Eventually, they reached the innermost chamber.

It was a pill-refining room.

A large pill furnace dominated the center. Along the walls, wooden shelves held rows of pill bottles alongside what must once have been Rare Natural Materials — though the materials had long since lost their Spiritual Energy. As for whether any of the pills inside the bottles had survived intact, that was another question.

Si Tingxue's gaze sharpened. "This is a pill-refining chamber," she said quietly. "I read about this once — besides gene serums, Rare Natural Materials can also be refined into pills. Apparently it's more difficult than serum synthesis, so most races don't bother. I didn't expect to find something like this here. These shelves should hold pills — let's see if any are still usable."

Rebecca's eyes lit up with barely restrained excitement.

Lu Yuan, too, studied the rows of bottles with genuine curiosity.

The three began pulling bottles down one by one.

They didn't need to open anything — the Land of Origin fed them information the moment they touched each vessel.

Spent. Spent. Spent...

Every bottle Lu Yuan picked up returned the same result: degraded, worthless.

Then Rebecca let out a sharp cry:

"Oh! Come look — mine is still good!"

Lu Yuan and Si Tingxue looked over. Rebecca was holding a white porcelain bottle, face bright with delighted surprise.

They walked over. Si Tingxue took the bottle from Rebecca — and something shifted in her expression, a flash of unmistakable excitement breaking through her usual composure.

*Whatever's inside must be significant, if it can move her like that.*

Si Tingxue handed the bottle to Lu Yuan.

He took it, and the Land of Origin flooded his mind with the entry.

*Heavenly Spirit Pill (Sovereign Grade Pill): Upon consumption, permanently increases affinity with Spirit Power, enhancing absorption rate and utilization efficiency. Can only be used once per person.*

Lu Yuan's eyes widened slightly.

A Sovereign Grade Pill.

Permanently increasing Spirit Power affinity — that was, in effect, a permanent boost to cultivation talent. No wonder those two were thrilled.

A quiet prick of disappointment followed. For anyone else, this was extraordinary. For him, the practical gain was limited. His Spirit Power absorption was already exceptional; another enhancement would barely move the needle.

Si Tingxue pressed her lips together, eyes fixed on the bottle. "Let's check how many are inside."

Lu Yuan blinked, then caught on. If there weren't many, they'd need to work out the distribution.

He uncorked the bottle. A rich, heady fragrance bloomed outward — and beside him, both Si Tingxue and Rebecca felt their Spirit Power suddenly surge through them at a heightened pace. Neither said a word, but the shock in their eyes was plain.

*Just from the scent alone?*

*If they actually consumed one...*

Both women's gazes turned hungry.

Lu Yuan tipped the bottle and counted. Five pills total.

Each Heavenly Spirit Pill was snowy white, no bigger than a fingernail, yet each one pulsed with a soft inner radiance.

"Five! That's perfect — more than enough for all three of us." Rebecca beamed. "I was worried there might not be enough."

Si Tingxue's gaze steadied. "Rebecca — you found this. I'd like two pills: one for myself, and one for my sister."

Rebecca blinked, then smiled and shook her head. "We all came here together, so we found it together. Take two. And A-Yuan, you should get two as well, right? For Sister Qinghe? I only need one — one per person and all that."

Si Tingxue shook her head. "Even so, these pills are worth a fortune. I'll compensate you."

"Please don't." Rebecca waved her off. "Sister Tingyu has always been kind to me. If a pill can help her, I'm not going to be stingy about it."

Lu Yuan looked at Rebecca with an easy smile. "Then I'll take two."

"Mm." Rebecca nodded.

He pocketed two Heavenly Spirit Pills. Rebecca kept one for herself, then held out the remaining two to Si Tingxue.

Si Tingxue accepted them with a nod.

"Speaking of which," Lu Yuan said, "I have a Third-rank King Grade Gene Armament set here that might suit you, Rebecca. Interested?"

The pills were worth a great deal, and he genuinely wanted to bring one back for Li Qinghe — but walking away with two while Rebecca left with only one didn't sit right with him, regardless of how they'd framed it. Dividing five pills among three people wasn't cleanly equal, and it was plain enough who'd come out short. He owed her something in return.

If anything, he felt this compensation was still inadequate.

A Third-rank King Grade Gene Armament was exceptional by most standards — but not when weighed against a permanent talent-enhancing pill. He'd give her something now and find another way to make it up to her later.

Both Si Tingxue and Rebecca stared at him.

"A Third-rank King Grade armament?!" Rebecca's voice went up half an octave. "A-Yuan, you have something like that just lying around?"

Lu Yuan smiled and produced a set — a spell robe and a Staff, both tuned to amplify fire element Combat Techniques.

He'd picked up more than a few Third-rank King Grade Gene Armaments in the Aier Mechanical Ruins.

Rebecca looked at the set, and pure longing crossed her face. Not that her family couldn't afford such things — the White Demon Battle Emperor was still a Battle Emperor, and Spirit Crystals were hardly scarce — but "affordable" and "available" were entirely different matters. Third-rank King Grade was the ceiling for Third-rank Gene Armaments: rare, sought-after, and gone from an Auction House the moment one appeared.

Rebecca bit her lip, then accepted the robe and Staff with a bright, unabashed grin.

"Then I won't be shy about it!"

"Mm."

Si Tingxue looked at the fire-element set with something that might have been envy.

Catching her expression, Lu Yuan smiled. "I also happen to have a Staff that boosts ice and frost element Combat Techniques..."

Before he could finish, Si Tingxue cut in: "I'll take it."

"Credits?" Lu Yuan asked. "Are you paying in Credits?"

Si Tingxue's expression tightened. Her lips moved. "...Can I pay in Spirit Crystals instead? I'm saving my Credits to buy a Transcendent Gene."

It was rare to see Si Tingxue look even slightly flustered. Lu Yuan found it oddly entertaining.

He thought it over. His monthly Credit income was hovering around six or seven hundred thousand, and his total balance was approaching three million — he wasn't in any pressing need right now.

"Spirit Crystals works. Third-rank King Grade Gene Armament — ten million Third-tier Spirit Crystals."

Si Tingxue didn't haggle. She nodded immediately. "We'll exchange after we leave the Land of Origin. In case something goes wrong and we die in here — what we're doing is dangerous, after all."

Rebecca froze.

Then, very carefully, she held out the Staff and robe she'd just received.

"A-Yuan... can you hold onto these until we're out?"

Lu Yuan gave her a flat look and took them back without comment.

Business concluded, the three resumed searching the remaining bottles — but nothing else intact turned up. Of course: only Sovereign Grade Pills could endure such a span of time and remain potent. Something that precious wouldn't appear in multiples.

After clearing all the rooms, Si Tingxue and Rebecca were practically itching to use their pills. Lu Yuan felt no such urgency.

They each claimed an empty room and took their Heavenly Spirit Pills alone.

Lu Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor. He swallowed the pill, felt a warm flush spread through his body, noticed his Spirit Power grow marginally more responsive — and then nothing more.

Barely any effect. He'd expected as much.

He emerged from his room to find the other two hadn't come out yet. He waited several hours before Si Tingxue and Rebecca finally reappeared.

Rebecca was all smiles. Even Si Tingxue wore a faint smile — subtle by anyone else's standards, but unmistakable for her.

Evidently, the pill had done considerably more for them.

"All right," Lu Yuan said cheerfully. "Let's go find Clara."

Si Tingxue and Rebecca nodded.

Then Si Tingxue paused. She reached for her Communication Crystal, read the message inside — and the warmth drained from her face, a visible chill spreading from her.

"What is it?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Two Gnoll geniuses have set up a challenge platform outside Red Maple City's gates," she said evenly. "They've been running their mouths — claiming no one in Red Maple City can stand against them in battle."

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow, amused. "They're that brazen? Let's head back and see what they've got."

"Yes!"