Chapter 3

Yun Luo's perspective was naturally different. The Nine Heavens Starry Sky with Intangible Sword Qi was a cultivation method that surpassed top-secret martial arts, allowing Yun Luo to refine true energy from starlight.

In the post-apocalyptic world, the cultivators also practiced methods similar to secret martial arts, and even ordinary people could become incredibly powerful through cultivation. However, the true energy they obtained was just energy, without any special abilities.

The post-apocalyptic world was filled with violence, and everything related to combat was far more advanced than on Earth. From the Two-Tailed Scorpion, Yun Luo learned that the most powerful cultivator in the Black Domain couldn't achieve what a Level 10 Ability King in the post-apocalyptic world could, such as freezing vast oceans. It seemed that the power of abilities on Earth was much weaker than the destructive power of abilities in the post-apocalyptic world.

In the Black Domain, cultivators were divided into ten levels, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 10 being the highest, capable of transcending the 150-year human lifespan limit, rejuvenating, and living up to 300 years.

Yun Luo learned that the variety of abilities in the Black Domain was far less than in the post-apocalyptic world, and space-time abilities had never appeared. Immortality abilities, however, had a clear lineage, and the descendants of such cultivators had a high chance of awakening immortality abilities. The bloodline in Western legends was an example of an immortality cultivator, and the concept of a "first embrace" did not exist; drinking blood was a flaw in the ability itself.

Werewolves were a type of transformation cultivator, and no one knew why they had a long-standing feud with immortality cultivators.

In terms of power, the five strongest cultivator organizations in the Black Domain were the official institutions of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China's Baxia, Britain's Pantheon, America's Supernatural Federation, France's Oil Painting Society, and Russia's Heavy Metal Tank.

The other organizations that could rival the five major national cultivator organizations in overall strength were the Holy Scarab of the Church and the Gray Organization, a loose alliance of cultivators worldwide.

Other second-tier cultivator organizations included Germany's Chariot Legion, Africa's Pyramids, Japan's Sakura Imperial Court, South Korea's First Legend, and Italy's Mysterious Society.

The Gray Organization, which needed special mention, was the one that the Two-Tailed Scorpion revealed the most about. Its power structure consisted of two systems: one was the Gray Organization itself, with the highest authority being the Elder Council, and the other was a system of various black hand groups and black hands that operated as mercenaries for the Gray Organization.

Black hands and black hand groups had six levels: Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Crystal, and Crown. Completing relevant tasks would earn rewards from employers and points from the Gray Organization. Reaching the Bronze level and accumulating 1,000 points would allow one to exchange for a basic secret martial art, which was a favorite among cultivators without a background or lineage.

The Gray Organization's influence spanned the globe, and it was also infiltrated by various cultivator organizations. The most prominent feature was that the highest authority, the Elder Council, had another name: the Level 10 King Council. All Level 10 cultivators in the Black Domain would automatically become members of the Elder Council, providing a platform for Ability Kings from various countries to communicate. However, these Level 10 cultivators rarely involved themselves in affairs and were mostly just for show.

To purchase intelligence or post tasks through the Gray Organization, one needed to deal with its representatives worldwide. If a representative accepted the request, it would be submitted to the higher-ups. The Gray Organization's representatives were known for their discretion.

The true leader of the Gray Organization was an executive officer selected from among the numerous representatives, who also served as the spokesperson for the Elder Council.

...

The combination of science and abilities created the Awakened Being Locator, a mysterious device that could detect the first trace of true energy from an awakened being within a certain range, such as the city of Xihu, with some error.

A single Awakened Being Locator cost 100 million RMB and required a Level 7 cultivator to supply all their true energy monthly to maintain its ability to resonate with true energy fluctuations within its detection range.

Cultivators rarely lacked money, and 100 million RMB wasn't much, but Level 7 cultivators were extremely rare and powerful in the Black Domain. To put it in perspective, Levels 1, 2, and 3 were third-rate experts, Levels 4, 5, and 6 were second-rate experts, and Levels 7, 8, and 9 were first-rate experts.

In all of China, only a few major cities could afford to install the mysterious Awakened Being Locator, while smaller cities and counties could not afford it.

Baxia, nominally a department of the National Security Agency, received funding from both the military and the government and was directly under the jurisdiction of the Nine Elders. It was impossible for Baxia to spend hundreds of billions just to buy machines and find people.

The Awakened Being Locator could only detect the first trace of true energy from an awakened being. If the awakened being was purely a mental ability user, the locator would have no reaction. Yun Luo, in essence, was not a cultivator, but he had mental abilities and true energy and could summon a starlight sword, making him appear like a cultivator, but he was not one.

Therefore, there were many wild cultivators in China. Some were discovered by the police or national security and handed over to Baxia for handling. Others joined other Black Domain organizations, as long as they didn't harm innocents, there was no issue.

Wild cultivators without secret martial arts were not particularly strong, and some chose to live ordinary lives after awakening.

No country's ability organization could control all the cultivators in the nation.

Yun Luo knew he was detected by the Awakened Being Locator after forming true energy. It was no wonder that four cultivators came to the university campus in the middle of the night. Yun Luo could still sense that three of them from Baxia were lingering in the high education zone.

A seasoned survivor had an incredible intuition. Yun Luo could immediately sense the presence of the four cultivators because they were after him. If they were just passing by, he wouldn't have noticed them.

In the post-apocalyptic world, 237 years after his death, Yun Luo had lost his once-terrifying true energy and powerful mental abilities, but his cultivation realm remained, and his refined mental energy was pure and strong.

...

Yun Luo did not want to be discovered by the Black Domain. He had had enough of the violent life in the post-apocalyptic world and wanted to live a peaceful life, marry a girl, have children, and quietly finish his life.

Currently, his only potential marriage partner was his girlfriend, An Chuyu.

Ironically, in the post-apocalyptic world, he had slept with many catgirls, rabbit girls, and foxgirls who had been genetically modified, but he had no wife or children.

If anyone tried to disrupt his peaceful life, he would eliminate them. To protect his happiness, he needed to be strong, and he would continue to cultivate the Nine Heavens Starry Sky with Intangible Sword Qi, walking the path of the strong.

Reading through the three pages of notes about the Black Domain, Yun Luo carefully considered how to hide himself, then deleted the document and browsed the Jiangnan University forum, where he could still see the beautiful photos of Yan Chenyu.

The sound of a wind chime made Yun Luo pause, reminding him that it was his phone ringing. He picked up the black phone from the bedside table, and the screen displayed "An Chuyu," his girlfriend's name.

He suddenly didn't know what to say.

...

"Hey, A Luo, guess what? Qingju is so silly, she used salt instead of sugar when making sweet cucumber strips."

The soft, sweet voice had a gentle tone, like a white-dressed beauty walking through a misty alley with an oiled paper umbrella, a unique sound of An Chuyu.

"Like you're any better at cooking," he teased, hesitating for a moment.

"Hmph, are you asking for a beating? Have you been getting wild without anyone to keep you in line, thinking about talking to other girls about life and ideals?" A hint of jealousy came through in An Chuyu's gentle voice, a sign of a girl's pure love.

"I wouldn't dare, even if I had the courage. Chuyu, you wouldn't dare to tease your sister either, or Qingju would get angry and not cook your favorite dishes," Yun Luo said with a slight smile, maintaining the conversation as he remembered.

"I don't want to talk to you anymore. Oh, by the way, Xiao Yu is very tired at work. A Luo, you should care more about her," An Chuyu's voice suddenly became very gentle, with a subtle encouragement for Yun Luo to take action.

"I haven't seen Chenyu in days. How is she doing? You should know more, right?" Yun Luo deftly avoided the trap, knowing that Yan Chenyu was even more beautiful than An Chuyu, and he needed to be cautious.

"Xiao Yu told me she's working as a secretary for the HR director at the Zhen Group headquarters in Sihai City. The director appreciates her a lot and is about to promote her to a senior secretary," An Chuyu's voice was much happier as she shared the news with Yun Luo.

"Chenyu has always been excellent," Yun Luo said, smoothly changing the topic, "Chuyu, how are Uncle An and Aunt Su?"

"Dad and Mom are eating well, sleeping well, and in great health. They're teaching summer classes every day, and only Qingju and I are at home. It's so boring, I really want to come back to Xihu City to see A Luo, but I promised Mom and Dad to stay home for a month. There are still many days until August 1st, and I'm not happy."

An Chuyu had a small complaint, and Yun Luo listened quietly. He heard An Qingju's delicate voice from the other end of the line, saying, "Sis, I'm done with my bath. It's your turn. Open the door quickly, I need to get dressed, it's cold."

The house assigned to the An family by Qiantang No. 2 Middle School was a two-bedroom, one-living room, one-kitchen, one-bathroom apartment, much larger than Yun Luo's current rental. The sisters had always shared a room, with two beds that still left plenty of space. An Chuyu liked to talk to Yun Luo alone, not wanting others to hear.

"Who told you to not bring clothes? You deserve it!" An Chuyu teased her sister, but then realized she had said something that Yun Luo shouldn't hear. Despite revealing her sister's secret, she felt a bit shy and softly said, "A Luo, I miss you."

Her girlfriend kissed the phone and hung up quickly, making him smile. After all, he wasn't really Yun Luo.

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