The Tianming Empire and the Aier Mechanical Ruins

Over the days that followed, Lu Yuan and Yeye pressed deeper into the Mist Forest.

The route was Yeye's call. The inner ring was crawling with Third-rank peak Feral Beast Lords, and cutting straight through would have been suicide. The outer perimeter took far longer, but according to Yeye, it was safe.

Lu Yuan had his own quiet thoughts about her definition of "safe."

Taking the outer ring, an ordinary Gene Warrior might as well have been signing their own death warrant. Most fighters traveling this route would have left a trail of corpses. Only someone at Yeye's level could describe those conditions without irony.

As expected, the forest's denizens grew steadily more dangerous the deeper they ventured. Early on, every Feral Beast they encountered fell to Yeye without effort. Then Second-rank beasts started appearing. The lower-tier Second-rank Common Grade ones were still manageable — Lu Yuan could handle those himself. But when Second-rank Elite Grade beasts crossed their path, even Yeye quietly stepped around them.

*Just how powerful are those things?*

Fortunately, Yeye's sensing ability was exceptional. She detected dangerous beasts long before they came into range, giving the two of them time to navigate around each territory. Feral Beasts didn't discriminate — humans and Cat-kin were no different from any other creature to them — but they also didn't pursue prey beyond their own ground. As long as Lu Yuan and Yeye avoided stumbling into the wrong patch, the beasts left them alone.

The deeper they pushed, the more detours they had to take.

Lu Yuan trailed behind Yeye, steadily collecting materials. The Spirit Crystals dropped by slain beasts all went to Yeye — not a single First-rank or Second-rank crystal came his way — but the physical materials were his to keep. His Battle-mark Space was already over ten meters across, and more than half of it was packed full.

The haul was staggering. Nearly ten times what he'd accumulated before. Even converting at a conservative rate to Spirit Crystals, it would have amounted to over two hundred thousand Zero-Rank crystals — almost comparable to the auction haul back in Sandy Rock City.

*Still need to keep working.*

On one of those evenings, camped somewhere in the green twilight of the forest, Yeye finished the last piece of grilled meat, set down her plate and utensils, and stood up.

"I'm going to rest."

Lu Yuan watched her move toward the Traveler's Cottage, gave a quiet, politely hopeful cough, and said:

"Ahem — Your Highness Yeye, so where am I sleeping tonight?"

Yeye didn't look back. "Outside."

He stood there as the door clicked shut.

His mouth twitched. Then, with the dignified silence of a man who had accepted his fate, he unpacked his tent and erected it beside the Traveler's Cottage.

He looked at the tent. He looked at the Cottage next to it. A pang of genuine aggrievement settled somewhere in his chest.

*When I have money, I'm buying one of those.*

It was during the journey itself that he'd asked, half out of curiosity:

"I've seen other Gene Warriors, but none of them seem to have inherited an ancestor's gene the way Your Highness Yeye has."

Yeye glanced at him and explained:

"The stronger a warrior, the higher the probability of passing a Transcendent Gene to their offspring. Warriors below Battle Emperor rank have virtually zero probability. And even those who do have the ability — not every descendant inherits it."

Something clicked into place.

*So genes can be passed down through bloodlines.*

He turned the idea over, tracing its implications. If your ancestor had been a Battle Emperor, a Battle Saint — a War God, even — the Transcendent Gene passed to their descendants might start at Lord Grade or King Grade before those descendants had ever fought a single battle.

Yeye's ancestor had been a powerful Battle Saint. A gene from someone at that level wouldn't be anything ordinary. Of course she'd started from a position most warriors would never reach in a lifetime.

*So that's what a real genius looks like.*

He'd been quietly proud of himself lately. That pride deflated.

*Thinking about it this way, there are probably plenty of people my age who are stronger than I am.*

He'd need to keep working.

Still — he added a private note to himself. Yeye's inherited gene, exceptional as it was, had a ceiling. It couldn't evolve. As long as he kept pushing his own Transcendent Genes forward, surpassing her was only a matter of time.

*For now,* he thought. *Only for now.*

They were moving through the forest when Yeye suddenly stopped.

Lu Yuan swept a glance around them, alert. "Another powerful beast?"

"My time in the Land of Origin is up. I need to leave."

He checked his Light Gate. About a day left.

He immediately straightened up and composed himself into an expression of earnest sincerity. "Then I'll stop here too — wait for Your Highness Yeye to come back and we can keep going together. I still want to keep cooking for Your Highness Yeye!"

Yeye thought for a moment and nodded. "All right."

Lu Yuan scanned the surroundings, found a dense cluster of canopy leaves, and tucked himself inside, hidden from the ground below.

Yeye's body dissolved into white light and was gone.

*Without her, the road ahead is going to be brutal.*

*Good thing I latched onto her and came along for the ride.*

*She said she'd wait — she will, right?*

*Stay hidden for now. Deal with everything when I get out.*

**Tianming Star.**

**Tianming Empire — Royal Palace.**

A black-haired Cat-kin man stood at the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the world spread below. The chamber was lined on both sides with rows of bookshelves. Behind him, a broad wooden desk covered in documents faced the door.

Light shimmered in a magnificent bedchamber elsewhere in the palace, and Yeye's figure materialized from the glow.

She made her way through the familiar corridors. The wide hallway outside — nearly ten meters across — was flanked at regular intervals by Cat-kin guards in lacquered black armor. Each one bowed as she passed; the aura radiating from every one of them was unmistakably that of a Gene Warrior.

At the door of the great chamber, she knocked.

"Father Emperor — it's Yeye."

The door opened. A white-haired Cat-kin elder in formal palace livery stepped aside. His deep grey eyes were composed and warm as he bowed slightly.

"Your Highness. You've arrived."

Yeye nodded. "Chief Steward Hui."

She entered. When she reached the desk, the black-haired figure at the window finally turned — revealing a face that bore a clear resemblance to her own and was strikingly handsome. A smile was already there.

Emperor Yemu. One of the most formidable rulers in the history of the Tianming Empire, a man whose authority and iron will were spoken of throughout the land. That warmer side of him was something almost no one outside this room had ever seen.

"Yeye." His voice was quiet and fond. "I heard reports you've left Sandy Rock City?"

"Yes. On my way to Youming City."

"Was the journey safe?"

"Safe."

Chief Steward Hui, standing silently to one side, showed not a flicker of reaction. He was entirely used to this.

Emperor Yemu's bearing eased.

"Your breakthrough came faster than I expected," he said. "What would you like as a reward?"

Yeye's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Father Emperor."

She thought for a moment. "I want a chef who specializes in human cuisine."

Emperor Yemu — who was well aware of his daughter's particular tastes — nevertheless felt the corner of his mouth pull sideways despite himself.

"Why the sudden interest in human cooking?"

"I met a human," Yeye said. "He cooked meat for me. The flavor was different from what we have here — a kind of numbing heat, something I couldn't quite name." A brief pause. "He also made grilled fish. It was very fragrant."

Both the Emperor and Chief Steward Hui went still.

"Oh?" The Emperor's tone was carefully even. "A human. Cooked for you."

"An interesting one. He had no idea who I was."

Something glinted in Emperor Yemu's eyes — sharp and brief, a blade's edge catching light.

"What manner of human was this? Did they not know your identity?"

"He was interesting," Yeye said. "Genuinely didn't recognize me." She considered for a moment, then added: "The first time I encountered him, his strength was quite weak. Yet he was hunting a Boss Grade Feral Beast alone."

A fraction of the tension left the Emperor's bearing.

For a feat of that modest scale, it warranted no concern. The edge in his gaze faded. He smiled.

"In that case, I'll find you a chef skilled in human cuisine."

Yeye's eyes brightened. "Thank you, Father Emperor."

"One more thing." His tone shifted, carrying the quiet weight of instruction: "The Aier Mechanical Ruins will be opening before long. This time, you'll lead the team. Train hard."

Yeye nodded. "Understood."

Two Cat-kin handmaids opened the great doors and bowed as she passed through. They followed her out and drew the doors quietly closed behind her.

Left alone with only Chief Steward Hui, Emperor Yemu's expression softened into something he kept almost entirely hidden from the world. If anyone else had seen the smile on his face at that moment, they would have been utterly stunned.

**Great Qi Star — Red Maple Empire, Xili City.**

When his Light Gate finally recovered, Lu Yuan stepped out of the Land of Origin.

He returned to his room. It was four in the afternoon.

Out in the hall, Jerf was cleaning. His composed, unhurried voice rose the moment he spotted Lu Yuan.

"Master — you're back. Shall I prepare something to eat?"

"Go ahead and make dinner." Lu Yuan rolled his neck, working out a stiffness. "I'm stepping out for a bit."

He cast a glance around the hall. Li Qinghe was nowhere to be seen, her bedroom door firmly shut.

*Qinghe is probably still sleeping.*

He didn't give it another thought. He left.

His new home was close to Wild Wolf Materials — barely ten minutes on foot.

He pushed through the door to find Xue Wang slouched in a chair, absorbed in some handheld game. Xue Wang looked up, face shifting into a grin.

"Hey, Old Lu! Where've you been these past few days?"

"Busy cultivating. Didn't get around to hunting."

Lu Yuan raised a hand, and with a casual sweep, a mountain of materials cascaded across the open floor of the hall.

Xue Wang set the game aside and walked over without hurrying. He picked up a black pelt and turned it over.

The casual expression on his face went rigid.

He examined the pelt again, slowly and carefully. Then he looked at Lu Yuan the way a man looks at something that shouldn't exist.

"A First-rank Mist Leopard pelt?! I — Lu Yuan, did you break through to *First-rank*?!"

"...Yeah."

Xue Wang lowered his head and kept going.

"**What the —** ?! A First-rank *Elite Grade* Mist Wolf pelt?! Old Lu, you can *actually* hunt First-rank Elite Grade Feral Beasts now?!"

He stared at the pile of materials, then at Lu Yuan, mouth working without anything coming out.

He lowered his head and continued.

Lu Yuan had warned him ahead of time there'd be Second-rank material in the pile, so by the time those pieces came up, he'd managed to brace himself — somewhat.

"Mist Poison Python skin. First-rank Common Grade, well-preserved and in excellent condition. Piece this size... four thousand five hundred."

"Venom fangs, a pair. Three thousand."

He worked steadily through the pile, item by item.

Then his hand closed around something nearly a meter long — a single spiraling horn. He went still.

"A Second-rank Mist Savage Tiger's horn?!" He looked up sharply. "Don't tell me you're already at *Second-rank*?!"

Lu Yuan glanced at the horn and smiled. "Relax. I didn't kill that one."

"Then who did? Aren't you always a lone wolf?"

"This time I had to cross the Mist Forest to reach another city. Got lucky — ran into a serious powerhouse. She was willing to give me a lift."

Xue Wang stared. He had nothing to say.

He finished tallying everything, then looked at Lu Yuan with an expression that couldn't quite settle on what it wanted to be.

"Done," he said. "Total comes to 51.39 million."

Lu Yuan's eyes went wide. "That much?"

"When has your haul ever *not* been good?" A slow shake of the head. "...You're a genuine freak."

"Just walked out of Sandy Rock City, and you're already hunting Second-rank beasts? Is there anyone out there even more monstrous than you?"

"There is," Lu Yuan said easily. "That person is considerably stronger than me."

Xue Wang stared at him for a long moment. "...Even *you* think someone is stronger. Please don't tell me it's some heir from a major family."

Lu Yuan smiled. "Who knows?"

Xue Wang went quiet.

Then: "Didn't you say you were busy cultivating? What actually happened?"

"Got a fair amount of Spirit Crystals recently. Spent some time in the Gravity Room." Lu Yuan's tone was unhurried. "Barely managed to break through."

"...Even a freak like you has to grind for it." Xue Wang shook his head again, though a faint smile crossed his face. "Transfer now?"

"Sure."

*Transcendent Gene,* Lu Yuan thought, watching the numbers clear. *Transcendent Gene...*

*Still need to keep working.*