A month has passed since the stormy battle, and when Merin finally returns to Liulan, he rescues Mu Jingyi.
The monsters overrunning the city had already been slain by a Divine Soul Rank Celestial Master from the royal family, yet the creatures that hatched from the Black Egg managed to escape.
With Liulan Prefecture City devastated beyond repair, half its population dead, and its foundation shattered, the city ceases to exist.
To advance further, Merin can only seek a Top-rank Celestial Master technique from the capital of the Gamma Empire, for nowhere else remains to grant him such a method.
Now he sits upon the branch of a tree deep within the Doklan Mountain Range, contemplating ways to refine the Wood God Technique.
Each time he consumes the wooden spiritual energy stored inside his Liver's acupoint space, he must replenish it himself, and it is not the only acupoint space demanding his attention.
His ambition is to create the fourth stage of the technique—one that allows the acupoint to autonomously absorb wooden spiritual energy without his conscious effort.
Within his consciousness, he gazes upon the vast Liver acupoint space overflowing with wooden energy, watching it surge like a restless tide.
He moves his mind, and the wooden energy stirs, slowly converging, then scattering apart, yet the key to self-absorption remains elusive.
"I need to transform my Liver for that," he mutters, realising only an engraved array capable of siphoning energy can make it possible.
Though he has studied arrays and formations before, his knowledge comes from other worlds, and the methods of this realm remain foreign to him.
"I hear the capital has an Array Association building," he thinks, "I can enquire there and uncover the foundation of this world's formations."
For now, he increases the wooden energy within the Liver's acupoint space, condensing it further as his will directs the flow.
The vast energy thickens into mist, then over several hours liquefies, before finally crystallising into a luminous wooden spiritual crystal suspended within the space.
This transformation process is now something familiar to him, and he repeats it across the rest of his acupoint spaces with steady precision.
At last, lightning bursts from his body like a torrent, and with blinding speed, he shoots toward the capital, thunder echoing in his wake.
A few days later, when he steps into the capital, he immediately notices the streets are alive with excitement and constant chatter.
Curious, he inquires about the commotion and learns that a young man has just passed the Pill Association's test, certified as a Top-rank pill refiner, and has even challenged Nalan Yanyue, the personal disciple of the Sect Master of the Cloud Sword Sect.
The city is abuzz with admiration and disbelief, for this young man is only the fifth Top-rank pill refiner in the Gamma Empire, and his age is said to be no more than twenty.
The moment Merin hears this, a name flashes in his mind—Xiao Yun.
Further confirmation reveals that it is indeed Xiao Yun, and in three days, the competition will be held in the Cloud Sword Sect.
Merin chooses not to meet him, understanding that Xiao Yun must be occupied with preparations for the upcoming battle.
Instead, he turns his attention to his own objective and heads for the Four-Gate Building towering in the heart of the capital.
Stepping into the lobby, he shows his badge to the receptionist and states his desire to exchange for a Top-rank Celestial Master technique.
The receptionist informs him that before gaining access to such a technique, he must first meet with the chief of the Four-Gate Building.
When he asks when the meeting can take place, she sends an inquiry, and twenty minutes later, he is led into a chamber where the chief awaits.
Sitting opposite him is Xun Leiyue, the first princess of the Gamma Empire, her presence commanding yet elegant.
After brief pleasantries, she requests to see his Heavenly-rank spiritual body with her own eyes.
Merin lifts his palm, and in it manifests a palm-sized figure of his spiritual body—a radiant white eagle with two pairs of wings spreading wide.
At the Heavenly Rank, a spiritual body can separate from its master like a clone, existing independently, and this convinces her that his claim is true.
She inquires about his age, and when she hears he is around twenty years old, her eyes widen in shock.
She remarks that his talent is equal to Xiao Yun's, both of them monsters standing at the peak of the younger generation.
Then she muses aloud, recalling that Xiao Yun is from Mulin City, and with surprise notes that Merin is as well.
Merin admits this with a simple nod, saying he knows Xiao Yun personally.
She then asks whether he has any intention of moving into the capital, her tone carrying both hope and invitation.
Merin politely declines, his heart uninterested in being bound by the city's politics or royal influence.
Xun Leiyue sighs in mild disappointment, yet she does not press further, instead handing him a jade slip.
She tells him to bring it to Elder Tang at the Exchange Office, where he will be allowed to exchange it for a Top-rank Celestial Master technique.
In the Exchange Office, after presenting the slip to Elder Tang, Merin is given a parchment with six names inscribed upon it.
These are the only six Top-rank Celestial Master techniques the Four-Gates Building possesses, each a pinnacle of mastery.
The first is the Desolation Body Technique, said to strip away life itself with every strike.
The second is the Blood Demon Body Technique, a sinister art that fuels its user with the essence of blood and carnage.
The third is the Winter God Body Technique, an ancient cultivation path that tempers the body with the unyielding cold of eternal frost.
The fourth is the Black Crystal Body Technique, granting defence like an indestructible crystal and strength that shakes mountains.
The fifth is the Chyracillis Body Technique, obscure and mysterious, its principles hidden behind veils of forgotten knowledge.
The sixth is the White Jade Body Technique, refined and balanced, famed for its flawless harmony between body and spirit.
Merin notices none of them resonate with thunder, and so after consideration, he chooses the Winter God Body Technique.
Elder Tang nods at his choice and channels the technique directly into his mind through a surge of spiritual intent.
Within himself, Merin perceives icy runes forming and the intricate blueprint of the Winter God's path unfolding before his eyes.
He studies the Winter God Body Technique carefully, realising he must temper his body with ice stones, spiritual materials of both energy and matter, by comprehending the Earthly Rank runes within the technique and the energy transformation principle of the stones to fuse them into his spiritual body and break through the seventh ring.
He leaves the Four-Gates Building and walks into the largest store in the capital to inquire about ice stones, only to learn each costs ten low-level spiritual stones, a currency he does not possess since Mulin City and its surroundings lacked spiritual stones of any rank, forcing him to admit he must find a way to earn them.
Knowing where to seek information, he heads to the Mu family estate, and after mentioning Mu Jingyi's name to the doorman, he is escorted inside to a quiet house where she awaits.
Seated across from her, he asks how to obtain spiritual stones, to which she first replies by asking how many he requires, and when he admits he does not know and requests methods of earning them instead, she lists the paths of becoming a top-rank pill refiner, array expert, instrument forger, or hunting top-rank evil creatures to exchange their evil crystals, each method demanding time and preparation.
He resolves to pursue the array path while postponing hunting until he is stronger, and when he requests books about array, Mu Jingyi agrees to provide them.
At last, he asks why there is such a tense atmosphere in her estate, and she answers that the next head of the Mu family will be decided in a few days.
Merin leans back in his chair and asks if she is taking part in the competition.
She replies that yes, the position of head will be decided between her and her cousin.
Merin wishes her good luck.
After a few minutes, he is escorted to one of the guest rooms in the estate.
Not long after, servants delivered several books on arrays to his room.
That night, Mu Jingyi visits him.