Countdown 168:00:00.

In the darkness of Prison 18, a warm air suddenly exuded from one of the cells.

Gradually, the warm air turned into a scorching heat.

Waves upon waves of heat were surging outward from that cell, like the evening sea tide of the equatorial regions.

The prisoners on both sides of this cell were frantically beating on the alloy gates, shouting for help.

Their cries for help gradually turned smaller, and the water in their bodies rapidly evaporated due to the high temperature. In just two minutes, they had already entered a state of dehydration.

Lin Xiaoxiao, who was sleeping on the first floor, suddenly woke up. He went to the square and gazed up in observation, and then looked at Ye Wan who had also noticed that something was wrong. The awakening of an elemental power?

Yes, Ye Wan nodded, Its Liu Dezhus cell.

Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned beyond belief. He actually awakened?! What did this brat experience in the Outer World?

When the alloy gate to the prison square opened, six mechanical prison guards lined up in two rows neatly marched inside. The honeycomb drones also dropped down from the ceiling and flew towards the abnormal cell.

Lets save the people first, Ye Wan slightly bent his legs, then jumped up and landed on the corridor of the third floor like a tiger. He opened the alloy gates of the neighbouring cells and threw the collapsed prisoners to a faraway distance

The heat wave in Liu Dezhus cell was still pouring out through the alloy gate, and the hair on Ye Wans forehead was starting to feel scorched.

The next moment, a translucent force field suddenly formed in front of him. When the heat swept across it, the dense honeycomb-like structure on the circular force field became visible.

Ye Wan stood in front of the cell gate. Three mechanical prison guards stood on each side of the corridor he was in, and a drone was hovering in mid-air behind him.

He waited until the temperature inside began to drop before signalling the mechanical prison guards to open the alloy gate.

With a clack, the alloy gate was opened. Liu Dezhu weakly sat in a slump on the ground. All the daily necessities in the cell had been burnt down to ashes.

But the strange thing was that the clothes on Liu Dezhus body were still fully intact.

Despite his sluggish state, this guy was still muttering with an extremely excited expression. Im an awakener! Ive really become an awakener!

Come out, Ye Wan told him, Ill move you to another cell.

Liu Dezhu suddenly turned around. Wheres the boss? Has the boss returned? I have to tell him the news! I succeeded!

Ye Wans face turned strange. He didnt expect that this guys first reaction upon successful awakening would be to tell Qing Chen about the news.

What he didnt know was, from Liu Dezhus point of view, if the boss hadnt instructed him to stay angry, he might not necessarily succeed in becoming an awakener

At this time, Lin Xiaoxiao came over and said with a smile, Your boss doesnt have the time to deal with you right now.

Then what level am I now? Liu Dezhu asked.

Level C. Lin Xiaoxiao lazily leaned against the gate. Dont get happy too early. Awakeners are different from cultivators, itll be extremely hard for you to climb to a higher level. You still have a long way to go.

In the wilderness, beside the lone bonfire, Li Shutong looked at Qing Chen with a smile. Did you still persist in training when you went back this time?

Yes, Qing Chen nodded and took off his shirt, revealing his muscles.

Li Shutong was a little surprised. I deliberately didnt remind you to train because I wanted to see how you would occasionally lax your discipline, but you actually still persevered with it. How strange. Even after gaining so much power after becoming a Knight, do you still care about the slow improvement brought about by your training?

After suddenly becoming rich and gaining hundreds of millions in wealth, many people wouldnt be willing to bend down to pick a ten yuan note that someone dropped on the ground.

Let alone ten yuan, they wouldnt even care about thousands of yuan.

But at this moment, Li Shutong felt that even if Qing Chen became a billionaire, this student of his would still find a way to dig out the penny stuck in the concrete road if he happened to see it while he was walking.

Other teachers wished their students to be more self-disciplined, but what he wished was for his student to take a breather sometimes.

This sentiment really wasnt quite right!

Putting his shirt back on, Qing Chen added some wood to the bonfire and said, Master, its not entirely because of my self-discipline, its because I figured out something. Lin Xiaoxiao once told me that a Knight must pass the Life and Death Stages as an ordinary person, so I think continuing my training will definitely come in handy.

Li Shutong sighed, Youre smart, arent you.

But the moment you become a Knight, youve already become a superhuman. How can we return to the state of an ordinary person? Qing Chen wondered.

Since you had just turned into a superhuman, I previously wanted you to relax for a while first before telling you this, Li Shutong said. Try reversing the frequency of the breathing technique.

Qing Chen recalled the frequency of the breathing technique and did as told. In an instant, icy blue lines bloomed on both sides of his cheeks, looking completely different from the usual flame pattern.

As he heard a click within his body, Qing Chen actually felt that the genetic limit that had already been unlocked had just been locked again!

The power running through his body was also instantly sucked away to a hidden corner.

He immediately looked at Li Shutong. Teacher, will I have to do this reverse breathing technique each time I take on a new Life and Death Stage?

Yes, Li Shutong nodded, Once you do it, your power will be locked for an hour.

I see, Qing Chen nodded.

He stopped doing the reverse breathing technique, but his genetic limit remained locked.

If its like this, wont it be very dangerous for a Knight to go through the Life and Death Stages? If someone were to deliberately sabotage them during the challenge, then the already immensely dangerous Life and Death Stage would basically be a death sentence, Qing Chen asked.

Thats why Knights must make sure not to reveal when theyre going through the Life and Death Stages, Li Shutong said.

Is there no way to forcibly reopen the genetic lock? Qing Chen wondered, There has to be a way to defend our lives somehow, right?

Yes, but I hope youll never use it, answered Li Shutong. After you do the reverse breathing technique, you can perform the normal breathing technique to forcibly reopen the lock. But the price is that youll permanently stay at your current level.

Qing Chen fell silent for a moment. There must be some seniors who have paid this price.

Of course. Li Shutong ruefully said, Your masters senior brother, Chen Jiazhang, failed to be promoted precisely because of this. He was ambushed while he was doing the Emerging Force stage. At that time, he had no other choice but to forcibly unlock his genetic limit, making him forever unable to ascend past Level A.

As it turned out, the dangers that Knights had to face while going through the Life and Death Stages came not only from nature, but also the viciousness of humans.

At this moment, after returning to the state of an ordinary person, Qing Chen clearly felt that his physical strength had improved a great deal compared to the time before he climbed the cliff. Teacher, I found a friend in the Outer World who, with the ability to control force field, creates a gravity chamber for me to train. With the addition of a gravity chamber on top of the breathing technique, I feel like the progress of my training has become several times faster.

Controlling force field? Are you sure? Li Shutong thought for a moment. Its been a long time since an awakener who can control force field last appeared in the Inner World.

Im sure, Qing Chen nodded, Is there any explanation for this?

Awakeners who can control force field are born brilliant, Li Shutong said, Their upper limit is very high, and their combat ability is also very strong. In the history of the new civilization era, almost every awakener with this ability had played a pivotal role.

Qing Chen was stunnedhe didnt expect Yangyangs ability would turn out to be so fearsome.

Thereupon, Li Shutong suddenly asked, Is your friend a boy or a girl? If theyre willing to help you make a gravity chamber for training, then you guys should have a good relationship, right?

Girl, Qing Chen honestly answered.

Li Shutong sank into thought.

Whats wrong, master? Qing Chen asked.

Do you know where she lives in the Inner World? Does she have any family members? Li Shutong looked at Qing Chen. Should master help you to propose a marriage?

Qing Chen: Master, I dont have that kind of relationship with her. Also, Im very sure that she suddenly showed up because she has her own purpose, so dont think too much of it.

Alright, replied Li Shutong.

Master, where are we going next? Back to Prison 18? Qing Chen asked.

Well certainly have to go back, but before that, theres something we have to do first in City 18, Li Shutong explained with a smile. How long is your countdown this time?

Seven days.

Itll take four days to go to City 18, so the remaining three days will be enough! Li Shutong resolutely said.

Qing Chen felt a little puzzled. What was his master going to take him to do?

Countdown 72:00:00.

Nighttime at district 6 in City 18.

A silver-haired girl walked into the glass elevator of Luoshen Building as she listened to the light music flowing from her white headphones.

She raised her slender arm to press the button to the 132nd floor, then turned around to appreciate the night view of the city through the transparent glass of the elevator.

She had a satchel bag slung across her shoulder to carry her e-reader and other personal belongings.

There were some marks and scratches on her bagher friends kept telling her to get a new one, but she always told them she was reluctant to change it because she liked the bear picture on the bag.

But actually, it was because the girl had never received a penny from her family since she graduated from middle school. She had to work multiple part-time jobs to pay for her expensive preparatory course. Only by doing this would she have the chance to aim for a better university.

Moreover, enrolling into a university would be yet another new beginning. Unless she was admitted to Pyro Academy or Northwest Military Academy, the tuition fees she would have to shell out would be even more absurdly massive.

Every university had their scholarship programs, but the problem was that her academic records werent good enough to qualify her for one.

As she thought about this, the girl began to feel rather lost. She didnt really know where her life was going.

Just as the elevator was about to close, a hand halted the movement of the doors.

From the reflection on the glass, the girl saw a middle-aged man and a teenager walking into the elevator. Both of them were wearing white sportswear and black baseball caps, all of the items visibly brand-new.

The brim of their caps were pulled down so low that she couldnt clearly see any of their faces.

None of them pressed the floor button after coming in. Instead, they quietly stood behind the girl, similarly looking out the glass panel of the elevator.

As she recalled the rumour of a resident on the 89th floor being robbed, the girl gradually tightened the strap of her satchel, her clean nails digging into the leather.

But when she observed them from the reflection, she felt that these two didnt really look like members of a crime syndicate.

At least, she had never seen those kind of people dressed so cleanly.

Indeed, her first impression of these two was that they looked clean.

The elevator rapidly ascended, making her ears feel a little clogged. This was because the elevator was moving too fast and too high, creating a similar effect to an airplane taking off.

On the 91st floor, the view outside the glass was of an intricate overpass crisscrossing from one end to another, covering the entire city and interlinking the skyscrapers and floating squares.

When the street lights turned on, the overpass looked like a nebula floating in the city.

The boy behind her looked out the panel and asked, Wont you easily get lost navigating in such complicated traffic?

I dont know, the middle-aged man replied, Back then, I had a driver whenever I needed to go out.

The girl silently pursed her lips. In this day and age where automatic cars were everywhere; who would be so free as to work as a driver?

And also, although the overpass might be complicated, you only needed to provide a destination and the artificial intelligence would take care of the rest.

With a ding, the elevator reached the 132nd floor.

The silver-haired girl was so nervous she didnt dare to move, but the middle-aged man and the boy walked out of the elevator before her and went straight into the corridor.

After they left, she slowly stepped out of the elevator only to see them entering the passcode in front of one of the units. Thereupon, the door unlocked with a click.

Only at this moment did she finally dare to breathe a sigh of relief. It turned out that they were her neighbours, and ones who stayed directly across from her at that!

She had been scared a little out of her wits because they didnt press any button in the elevator just now.

Currently, however, she was starting to feel curious. The unit opposite hers hadnt been lived in for a long time. Some time ago, it was suddenly renovated anew, but no new tenant moved in after that. And now, in the middle of the night, they suddenly came without any prior sign.

How strange.

On the other side, Qing Chen took off his cap after entering the house. That girl just now looked like she was really scared. Isnt the public order in City 18 too poor? Its not like this in the Outer World. At least if its in big cities, girls dont have to worry too much about walking outside in the middle of the night

Li Shutong explained, This is a problem left over from the past. Because of an incident, the Federation abolished one-third of its police force, which caused the crime rate to keep increasing.

Abolished the police force? Qing Chen couldnt imagine it.

Not only that. You might find it hard to believe, but except for the upper three districts, most of the traffic cameras in other districts have been left unmaintained for years. Li Shutong calmly said, Its alright, after you live here, youll be able to see for yourself just how rotten this country is.

Master, the thing you want to do, is it to change this? asked Qing Chen.

Li Shutong smiled. Dont ask so many questions. Take a look at your new house first.

Qing Chen looked around the place. With a size of more than 80 square metres, it had one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom and one kitchen. Since there was only one bedroom, each area seemed particularly spacious.

At the end of the living room was a huge floor-to-ceiling window, which provided a panoramic view of the citys sixth district.

The living room was also fully furnished with a sofa and other household appliances, and everything inside the house looked completely brand new.

Translator: Zee