Merin looks around the lobby of the Karst Crystal Research Institute, letting the atmosphere settle around him.
Polished white walls stretch up into a glass ceiling, soft light flooding the marble floor.
At the far end, behind a wide, sleek counter, two young women sit—both in uniform, both watching him approach.
He walks toward them and offers a simple, calm, "Hi."
One of the women, with "Cindy" engraved in the nameplate pinned to her chest, straightens up.
"Sir, what can I do for you today?"
Her eyes flick over him—his torn shirt, the faint traces of dried blood on his arms.
No visible injuries.
No limp.
No sign of weakness.
But she knows instantly—a martial artist.
The way he moves, the quiet in his breath.
Still, a question curls in her mind.
Why would someone show up like this on their first day?
Was he attacked?
Is he being hunted?
A dramatic image forms—gunsmoke in an alley, blades in the dark, and this young man standing alone, injured, but defiant.
Before she can say more, Merin says, "I'm Adam Taylor. Today's my joining date."
He slides a folded paper from his pocket and places it gently on the counter.
Cindy accepts it, her eyes scanning the letter—the institute's seal, the confirmation.
Then it clicks.
The name.
She remembers the whispers.
Civilian genius.
The one who snagged the final opening this year.
And now it made sense—why he was attacked.
He had something others wanted.
She glances up, her expression softer now, more respectful.
"Please wait here, Mr. Taylor," she says. "Someone will be here shortly to escort you to the professor you'll be working under."
Merin nods and retrieves his acceptance letter from the counter.
A minute later, a man enters the lobby, dressed in a standard grey researcher's coat.
Cindy stands and gestures toward Merin. "This is Cale. He'll lead you from here."
Cale gives a silent nod, turns, and walks away without waiting.
Merin follows, falling into step behind him.
They pass through a security gate, its scanners humming softly, then move into the heart of the institute.
The corridor is wide and well-lit, lined with thick glass walls that reveal labs on either side.
Inside, beasts—some sleeping, some restrained—lie on metallic platforms.
Thick transparent tubes connect to their limbs, necks, or spines.
A slow stream of light green liquid flows into their bodies.
Merin recognises it immediately: D-grade Karst energy liquid.
The lowest quality available—but stable.
He observes quietly as data flickers on the monitors beside each lab.
Gene structure, cell mutation, heartbeat patterns—all recorded in real time.
He remembers reading theories that some scientists wanted to evolve humans directly using Karst energy.
But the problem was simple.
Too much Karst energy in a short time causes genetic collapse.
Human cells begin to break apart before the body can stabilise.
But beasts are different.
Merin believes one hypothesis makes the most sense.
Long ago, giant beasts appeared first, and from them, some devolved into normal beasts.
Apes, exposed to minimal Karst energy over generations, changed slowly into humans.
In that process, the gene that protected their bodies from Karst overload was lost.
And so, while beasts can absorb Karst and grow…
Humans can only evolve through discipline, training, and careful exposure.
Suddenly, in one of the labs to his right, a beast explodes—flesh and fluid bursting against reinforced glass.
Not every beast successfully evolves into a giant beast.
Merin keeps walking, calmly observing as they pass lab after lab, each focused on a different area of research.
Some test chemical reactions.
Others examine cellular changes.
A few record violent mutations in real-time.
Eventually, Cale stops in front of a sleek metal door and knocks once.
A voice from the intercom says, "Enter."
Without a word, Cale steps aside and nods at Merin.
Merin pushes open the door and steps into a spacious office.
Behind a curved desk sits a beautiful woman with sharp features, purple hair, and striking yellow eyes.
Her presence is commanding.
Merin immediately wonders if she has demon blood.
There's no martial cultivation aura around her, but she exudes danger.
That kind of pressure can only come from someone trained in the path of a demon hunter.
Merin closes the door behind him.
The sound of gunfire erupts, and he glances at a screen mounted beside the door.
It's a video of his battle on the bridge.
The woman, eyes still on the footage, says, "How long will it take you to reach the upper unification realm?"
Merin answers evenly, "I can't say."
She narrows her eyes. "You're already at the peak of the lower unification realm. You can't estimate the time?"
Merin counters, "Are you a demon hunter?"
She raises an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with my question?"
Merin replies, "If you are, then I can explain."
She holds his gaze for a moment.
Then she says, "I am."
A moment later, Merin senses it—clear and potent.
Demon energy.
Merin senses it clearly now—thick, refined, and completely under control.
He then explains how he reached the peak of the lower Unification Realm using the rewards from the Realm Battlefield, and how he refined both his body and true energy through healing cycles and dual-energy training.
The woman listens in silence, her yellow eyes sharp but unreadable.
When he finishes, she nods once and says, "Then you may access the library after you leave my office."
Merin bows slightly. "Yes, ma'am."
"Today, begin by familiarising yourself with the library," she continues. "Your actual duties begin tomorrow in Lab No. 18."
Merin asks, "What kind of work will I be doing there?"
She replies, "Lab 18 is currently developing a potion meant to grant ordinary humans the physical strength of body-forging martial artists—without training."
Merin's eyes flicker with interest. "Understood. Where is the library?"
"To enter the library," she says, "you'll need an identification card first."
She presses a button on her desk and speaks into the intercom, "Mina, come to my office."
Moments later, a young woman with short auburn hair enters the room and says, "Miss Sierra, how can I assist you?"
Sierra gestures to Merin. "Take him to get his ID card. Then escort him to the library."
"Yes, Miss," Mina says, turning to Merin with a polite nod.
Merin gives Sierra a respectful nod. "Goodbye, Miss."
But before he can step through the door, Sierra calls out, "Mina, take him for a change of clothes first."
An hour later, Merin watches Mina walk away after patiently explaining how to search for and locate any book he needs in the library.
He sits at one of the terminals and quickly searches for upper-level breathing techniques beginning with Ice and Fire.
Within a minute, he notes the location and walks silently between the towering shelves.
He reaches a small section tucked away near the back, just one shelf.
Only twenty-four upper-level breathing techniques begin with Ice or Fire.
Merin inspects each title, carefully reading through their contents, structure, and principles.
At last, one stands out: the *27 Bloom Lotus Technique*.
True to its name, it follows a path where a lotus formed of energy must bloom twenty-seven times, each bloom representing a major breakthrough.
The technique is versatile—able to guide Fire-Lightning energy, Water-Lightning, Ice-Wind, or any dual-nature elemental combination.
At the Body Forging Realm, the practitioner forms a lotus bud in the dantian.
When it blooms once, they step into the Qi Condensation Realm.
A seed then forms at its centre.
That seed absorbs the lotus and blooms again, marking the breakthrough to the True Energy Realm.
It blooms a third time to reach the peak of that realm.
A fourth bloom marks the Lower Unification Realm.
Seven blooms take the practitioner to Upper Unification.
Ten to Lower King Kong Realm.
Nineteen to Upper King Kong Realm.
And with the twenty-seventh bloom, the practitioner reaches the peak of the known path—the end of martial cultivation.
Merin runs his fingers over the cover, knowing instantly.
This is the one.
After selecting the breathing technique, Merin searches for fighting techniques related to Fire, Ice, and Lightning energy, along with those that combine these elements.
From the upper-level collection, he chooses two techniques for each single element and two more for each elemental combination.
Fourteen techniques in total.
Then, he searches for books detailing the breakthrough process into the King Kong Realm.
Among several dense volumes, one book draws his attention with clear language and sharp insight.
After reading its first few pages, he decides to take it.
He carries it to a nearby table, places it down, and sits with quiet purpose.
He begins to read carefully, his eyes tracing every line with intensity.
An hour passes in silence before he closes the book and lets out a slow, silent sigh, afraid of making a sound that might disturb others.
His heart feels heavy, his mind caught in deep turmoil.
He makes a quiet vow.
He will not attempt breaking through to the King Kong Realm until he secures a future for his family.
They must never worry about money again, even if he die trying.
Because what he just read has changed everything.
The King Kong breakthrough carries real, irreversible risk.
Failure doesn't just mean being stuck—it means destruction.
A failed attempt can leave one crippled, unable to train.
Worse, it can turn a cultivator into a fool… or kill them outright.
To reach the King Kong Realm, a martial artist must merge the body's field with the soul's field.
For the first four realms, only the body truly strengthens, while the soul is passively uplifted.
This imbalance causes the body's field to dominate the soul's.
So if the merging goes wrong, even slightly, the body's force can crush the soul.
And once the soul breaks, there's no fixing it.
So, Merin decides he won't attempt breaking through to the King Kong Realm until his family is secured for life.
He's also afraid—deeply afraid—of death.
He already died once.
He doesn't want to die again.
Not when there's a path ahead that offers something greater than a single lifetime.
If he reaches the peak of the King Kong Realm, he can step into the path of Demon Hunters… and eventually become a Demon.
And if he ascends far enough—if he reaches the Demon God Realm—then eternal life is no longer a fantasy.
The three known Demon Gods still live after countless years.
Even the Demon Weaver Realm grants a lifespan of eight centuries.
Merin knows what's at stake now, so he must find a path to break through safely.
A way to minimise the risk.
He tells himself he'll search for a method with a success rate as close to one hundred per cent as possible.
He also knows full well that it may not exist.
Still, he'll try.
Until then, he keeps reading.
He moves through the shelves, following instinct, picking the books that spark curiosity or offer rare knowledge.
By nightfall, he finishes dinner at the institute's canteen.
When he finally leaves the facility, he hails a taxi—and this time, it stops.