Evolution Association, twenty-third floor.
Shards of a 'lens' fell to the ground.
The expressions of Zong Bai and Lv Xiguang changed.
They knew Cao Rong's personality well, fearless and unwavering.
Since he agreed to probe Lin Yuan's depth earlier, he wouldn't back down readily.
Unless...
Zong Bai and Lv Xiguang exchanged a glance.
As evolvers, their developed cognitive abilities swiftly birthed numerous speculations.
The combat power glasses were the latest scientific achievement of Black Crow Star, though still imperfect and prone to faults or explosions.
But merely this wouldn't shake Cao Rong so.
Most likely, before the glasses burst, Cao Rong saw something alarming through them.
"It's best not to offend this person."
In a flash of insight, Zong Bai decided and stepped forward with a gentle smile on his face, “Mr. Lin, we've been waiting for you here for quite some time.”
“I apologize for my delay.”
A curious gleam passed through Lin Yuan’s eyes.
His gaze briefly fell on the scattered lens shards.
Moments ago, he had sensed a faint aura of scrutiny originating from the glasses.
However, the scrutiny was weak.
It could only barely sense part of Lin Yuan's strength.
His true power lay hidden inside.
Unless he exerted all his strength, it would be hard to observe.
“Please, this way. President Liao has prepared some epicurean delights from other planets, which might be helpful for evolvers like us,” Zong Bai invited warmly.
Lv Xiguang also smiled.
“I wonder what exactly Cao Rong saw?” Lv Xiguang occasionally glanced at the dazed Cao Rong.
Were Lin Yuan not present, he'd likely have already asked.
At the dining table.
Lin Yuan took a sip of wine in front of him.
“Excellent wine.”
He praised.
To him, it wasn't just the taste.
As it went down, it subtly enhanced the body; an ordinary citizen sipping this wine might live an extra three to five years.
Even Lin Yuan, with his formidable physique, felt his energy slightly surge.
“This wine is called Heavenly Ganoderma Wine. Brother Zong’s treasured collection; had Mr. Lin not come, we wouldn’t have had this fortune,” Lv Xiguang couldn’t help but say.
Even for first or second-stage evolvers, Heavenly Ganoderma Wine was a luxury.
A jug of it on the market costs between five to ten million; Lin Yuan’s one cup was worth five hundred thousand.
A lifetime’s earnings for a regular citizen, gone in a single sip.
Of course, its costliness was due to its exquisite flavor and its minor enhancement to the body.
Zong Bai had stolen from home to bring the jug to the association, planning to savor it leisurely.
It was only Lin Yuan's enigmatic strength and Cao Rong's earlier suspicious behavior that had convinced him to bring it out now.
As they chatted, Lin Yuan gradually understood more about Zong Bai and the others.
Zong Bai followed the ‘Psychic Sorcerer’ evolution path.
Manipulating psychic power to kill from a distance.
The ‘Psychic Sorcerer’ evolutionary path was widespread in human civilization.
Its essence involved developing one's psychic power to influence reality.
When cultivated to fourth or fifth stages, a mere thought could trigger catastrophic events like volcanic eruptions or tectonic shifts.
Lv Xiguang, meanwhile, was a bloodline evolver, all his abilities stemming from his lineage.
His bloodline quality was second stage.
Even though bloodline evolvers faced lower cultivation difficulty compared to others, advancing from stage one to two was still challenging.
Plus, Lv Xiguang's bloodline concentration was limited, leaving him stuck at stage one, rank twelve, for over a decade.
Interacting with Zong Bai and Lv Xiguang gave Lin Yuan useful insights.
As they chatted and exchanged glances, Lin Yuan's extraordinary comprehension would occasionally provide feedback, offering insights and clarity.
Especially regarding Zong Bai's psychic sorcerer evolution path, where the understanding of psychic power which is equivalent to soul and spiritual power could augment the martial evolution path.
An hour later.
Lin Yuan exchanged citizen numbers in the virtual world with Zong Bai and others, then excused himself.
On the twenty-third floor, in the room.
After escorting Lin Yuan away, Zong Bai and the others returned.
“Indeed impressive,” Zong Bai spoke thoughtfully.
His acknowledgment referred to Lin Yuan.
Initially, his caution stemmed from uncertainty about Lin Yuan's strength and Cao Rong's behavior.
But after their interaction, he held a new perspective.
Lin Yuan’s understanding of the essence of evolutionary paths was profound.
When inquiring about the psychic sorcerer path, Lin Yuan’s questions had been ones Zong Bai had long grappled with, and which even higher-stage evolvers could barely clarify.
Yet Lin Yuan, with a few words, had almost unveiled their essence.
Despite not practicing the psychic sorcerer path, Lin Yuan had swiftly grasped its principles, sometimes benefiting Zong Bai.
“Cao Rong, what happened to you earlier?” Lv Xiguang asked, agreeing and turning to Cao Rong.
Cao Rong remained unusually silent.
“Mr. Lin's combat power...” Cao Rong's voice quivered with fear.
Combat power indeed.
Zong Bai and Lv Xiguang were certain.
Their initial theory had been that Cao Rong was influenced by the readings from the combat power glasses, leading to his reaction.
“What was Mr. Lin’s combat power?” Lv Xiguang quickly asked.
“My combat power is only a thousand; Mr. Lin’s is at least ten thousand,” Cao Rong exclaimed, trembling. “No, over ten thousand.”
The combat power glasses had exploded after reading a thousand, so Cao Rong believed Lin Yuan’s power greatly exceeded that.
“Over ten thousand combat power.”
Zong Bai and Lv Xiguang inhaled sharply.
This combat power belonged to a true second-stage evolver, above most in this tier.
“Didn’t President Liao mention that the person invited was on a similar level to us?” Lv Xiguang murmured.
They had one thousand; Lin Yuan had ten thousand — no, over ten thousand.
Is that what he meant by similar?
“The combat power glasses shouldn’t be wrong,” Cao Rong added.
If the glasses had burst before observing Lin Yuan, it might have been a technical malfunction.
But capturing Lin Yuan's approximate combat power before overloading and exploding indicated the glasses' readings were reliable.
“What are you thinking about?” Zong Bai suddenly chuckled at their silence.
“Isn’t it fortunate that Mr. Lin is strong?” he asked.
In the upcoming tournament, the stronger the participants, the better the rankings, even if they didn’t make the top three thousand, they could earn President Liao’s private rewards.
“It’s definitely a good thing,” Lv Xiguang and Cao Rong exchanged glances, suddenly enlightened.
They realized Lin Yuan represented a great opportunity for them, boosting their chances significantly in the tournament.
Evolution Association, thirtieth floor.
After leaving the twenty-third floor, Lin Yuan headed to the thirtieth floor instead of returning to the Water Moon District.
Planning to meet with President Liao.
Apart from familiarizing himself with his future teammates for the upcoming tournament, Lin Yuan had another reason for his visit.
“How did it go?”
“Did Zong Bai and the others give you any trouble?” President Liao asked with some concern.
He knew the personalities of Zong Bai, Cao Rong, and the rest.
Understanding that Lin Yuan’s integration into their group wouldn’t be smooth.
But while he, as the president of the association, had the authority to include Lin Yuan, he couldn’t compel Zong Bai and the others to accept him without any objections.
“It went well.”
“That jug of Heavenly Ganoderma Wine was exceptional.”
Lin Yuan casually remarked.
He was quite impressed by the wine.
If it weren't so expensive, he would have bought several cases.
“Eh?”
“When did Zong Bai become so generous?” President Liao was visibly surprised.
He had coveted that jug of Heavenly Ganoderma Wine for a long time, but Zong Bai never offered him any.
Yet for Lin Yuan, it appeared even at their first meeting?
“President Liao, I have another favor to ask,” Lin Yuan stated, not beating around the bush.
(Chapter end)