Lin Ming stared at the floating, petrified-wood book, his mind struggling to process the monk's words. His 'true' cultivation? Hadn't he just almost killed himself reaching Foundation Establishment?
"Who... who are you?" Lin Ming asked, his voice hoarse.
The spirit smiled, a faint, sad expression. "I am merely a gatekeeper. An echo left behind to guard this place until one with the proper lineage arrived." The spirit began to fade. "The codex will guide you. Read it. Understand it. The enemies you faced today are but scouts. The true storm has yet to break. Do not disappoint the ancestors."
With that final, cryptic warning, the spirit dissolved, leaving Lin Ming alone in the humming silence of the ancient chamber. He reached out and took the Book of Earth. The moment his fingers touched the petrified cover, a wave of profound knowledge flowed directly into his mind.
It wasn't words or pictures. It was... concepts. The feeling of a mountain's unshakeable stability. The understanding of gravity's relentless pull. The principles of density, structure, and endurance. It was a language of pure feeling, a lesson taught directly to his soul.
[Primordial Text Detected: The Codex of Earth (Fragment)]
[The System is attempting to parse the data... Data is in a non-standard format.]
[System is cross-referencing concepts with its internal knowledge base.]
[New Skill Tree Unlocked: Geomancy (The Way of Earth)!]
[Available Skills for Purchase (Requires Battle Will Points & Foundational Understanding)]
- Skill: Earth Shield (Create a shield of condensed earth/stone.)
- Skill: Gravity Press (Increase local gravity in a small area.)
- Skill: Stone Spikes (Summon sharp spikes from any earthen surface.)
- And many more...
The system had translated the book's 'feeling' into a format he could understand and quantify. This book wasn't just knowledge; it was a key to a whole new set of abilities, a cultivation path completely different from the simple power-ups he had received so far. The monk was right. This was his real curriculum.
He carefully placed the Book of Earth back on its pedestal. The glow faded, but the connection remained in his mind. He knew he could access its knowledge whenever he wished.
He limped over and picked up the triangular data crystal the Nascent Soul aliens had dropped. It was warm to the touch. This was his only tangible proof of what had happened, his only clue to what was coming next.
With his last ounce of strength, he began the long climb back up the spiral staircase. When he emerged into the library's main vault, he was met with chaos. Blacklight agents were everywhere. Pham Tuan and the archivist were being treated by medics. And in the center of it all, Quynh Nhu stood, her rifle slung over her back, her face a mask of stone-cold fury and barely concealed relief.
The moment she saw him, she broke her professional demeanor and rushed over.
"You absolute, grade-A, world-class idiot!" she snarled, grabbing him by the collar of his ruined jumpsuit. Her hands were trembling. "What did you do?! The entire comms network went down! The ground shook! And you..." She trailed off, taking in his exhausted, battered state.
"I made them run," he said simply, holding up the alien data crystal.
Agent Hien pushed through the crowd. "Zenith. Report."
Lin Ming gave her a heavily edited version of the events. He told her about the hidden chamber, the leader's plan to overload the 'machine', and the fight. He left out the legendary books, the ancestral spirits, and his own explosive, semi-suicidal technique. He claimed the final explosion was the result of the Madakaros leader's device backfiring when he smashed it with his "family heirloom." It was a flimsy story, but it was the only one he could give. The truth was too big, too dangerous.
Hien listened without interruption, her eyes scrutinizing him. She glanced at the unconscious but living Madakaros grunts being hauled away, then at the data crystal in Lin Ming's hand.
"The two high-level hostiles escaped," she concluded. "But you secured the site, saved the hostage, captured three prisoners, and recovered enemy intelligence. Despite your... unconventional methods, the mission is a success. A messy, report-nightmare-inducing success."
She took the data crystal. "Minerva will get right on this. Get to the medical bay. All of you."
The aftermath was a whirlwind. Task Force Chimera was debriefed for hours. The official report was classified at the highest level. Lin Ming became an even greater enigma to Blacklight Command. He was a low-level cultivator who, alongside his team, had repelled not only an elite squad but also two Nascent Soul-level operatives. It didn't make sense. But the results were undeniable.
A few days later, once he had recovered, Lin Ming sat with his team in their barracks' living room. The mood was somber. They had faced the reality of their enemy's power and had survived by the thinnest of margins.
Minerva (comms): I've finished the initial decryption of the data crystal.
A file appeared on the main screen. It was a star map.
Minerva: This isn't just intelligence. It's a star chart pointing to the Madakaros temporary command outpost for the entire Earth sector. It's located on... Mars.
"Mars?" Quynh Nhu scoffed. "So what? We don't have spaceships that can get there, let alone fight."
Minerva: True. But that's not the important part. This is.
She highlighted a subsection of the data. It was a roster. A list of high-value personnel. And one name stood out.
Minerva: It lists the commander of the Earth invasion force. His name is Lord Maka-Jed. And his cultivation level is listed as... Peak Nascent Soul, preparing for the breakthrough to Void Comprehension.
A chilling silence fell over the room. The enemies they had barely survived were mere investigators. The commander of the whole operation was a being on the verge of becoming a demigod.
Minerva: The file also mentions his 'purification' of a new asset. A biological weapon. It seems he's found a way to weaponize the 'impurities' Su Quyen theorized about. He's creating berserker warriors, unstable but incredibly powerful. And he intends to unleash them on Hanoi as the vanguard of the 'Great Offering'.
This was the storm the gatekeeper had warned him about.
Lin Ming closed his eyes, his mind turning to the Book of Earth. He needed more power, but not just raw power. He needed skill. He needed knowledge. The enemies were playing a high-level game of cultivation warfare. He couldn't just keep winning by taking them by surprise. He needed to learn the rules.
He stood up. "Our training regimen is changing," he said, his voice quiet but firm, assuming the role of leader he could no longer deny. "Brute force and individual talent aren't enough. We need synergy. We need tactics. And I... I need to study."
Quynh Nhu and Pham Tuan looked at him, their expressions serious. The near-death experience in the library had forged them into a true unit. They trusted him.
Zenith: Minerva, I need a training room. The largest one you've got. And I need it to be able to simulate geological materials. Rock, sand, dense earth.
Minerva: That can be arranged. May I ask why?
A slow smile spread across Lin Ming's face as he thought of the new skills waiting for him in his mind.
"I'm changing my major," he replied. "To Geology."