# Chapter 326: Quelling the Forbidden Zone

Si Tingxue said nothing more after that, and Si Tingyu understood.

Her eyes sparkled as though a door to a new world had swung open before her.

*So that's how it is!*

*No wonder their relationship progressed so quickly!*

*If that's the case... then I can take a page from their book.*

Si Tingyu mulled it over. Her next Gene Inscription, however, would require a breakthrough to Battle Emperor level — and that was still some time away.

*Looks like I need to buckle down on my training.*

She was still lost in thought when a knock came at the door. Si Tingyu, Si Tingxue, and Rebecca all turned to look.

The smart robot went to answer, and Lu Yuan walked in moments later.

He spotted the three of them sitting together on the sofa and raised an eyebrow.

"Instructor, what are you three doing here? Aren't you going to train?"

Normally, when Si Tingxue and Rebecca came to Si Tingyu's place, they were either having dinner together or training. Seeing them just sitting on the sofa was unusual.

The three women heard his question and felt a twinge of embarrassment.

Si Tingxue averted her gaze slightly. "...We were just about to go train!"

Rebecca nodded vigorously. "Mm-hm! That's right, we really were just about to!"

Si Tingyu simply stood and walked straight toward the underground training room.

Si Tingxue and Rebecca exchanged a glance, then hurried after her.

Lu Yuan watched their oddly flustered reactions, question marks filling his head. He had no idea what had gotten them so worked up.

He didn't dwell on it, though, and followed them down to the underground training room.

Si Tingyu turned to Lu Yuan, considered her words for a moment, then spoke.

"Yuan, with your current strength, low-level Spirit Techniques and Body Techniques are useless to you now. There's nothing more I can teach you."

A hint of melancholy crept into her heart. For more than three years, she had poured herself into teaching Lu Yuan Body Techniques and Spirit Techniques, expecting those days to continue for some time yet.

She never imagined his strength would reach such heights so quickly.

The memory of him effortlessly obliterating Saint Grade Aberration Feral Beasts on Thorn Plateau still felt surreal.

Lu Yuan smiled. "I don't have anything else going on right now. I'll just stay and train with you all — maybe we can spar a bit."

Si Tingyu's expression brightened. "If that's what you want, I certainly don't mind."

Si Tingxue and Rebecca had sparred with Lu Yuan plenty of times back in the Land of Origin, so they had nothing to add.

The four of them settled into training. Si Tingyu coached Si Tingxue and Rebecca on Body Techniques and Spirit Techniques.

Both women trained with fierce intensity. Knowing the true extent of Lu Yuan's power only fueled their drive — they couldn't afford to let the gap widen any further.

Lu Yuan sat in a corner, watching the three of them at ease. He treated it as a chance to relax.

Then Si Tingyu suddenly paused and pulled out her phone.

After reading its contents, a slight frown creased her brow.

The other three noticed and looked over curiously.

"Instructor, what is it?" Lu Yuan asked.

"A Beast Tide has appeared in the Endless Mountain Range," Si Tingyu said. "They're planning to send Talent Camp members as reinforcement. You should all be getting the notification soon."

The news caught them off guard.

Lu Yuan's brow furrowed. "More Aberration Feral Beasts?"

Si Tingyu shook her head. "No, this is just a normal Beast Tide. Large herds have migrated through the Spatial Rift into the Endless Mountain Range again. Resources are scarce on their side, so they push into our territory. It's a regular cycle — happens every time."

The mention of the Spatial Rift in the Endless Mountain Range triggered a thought.

With his current strength, even Rift Pursuers posed no threat to him.

He could easily repair the Forbidden Zone's Spatial Rift now.

Lu Yuan rose to his feet. "I'll go seal the Forbidden Zone's Spatial Rift this time."

All three women stared at him.

After a beat of silence, Si Tingyu asked in surprise, "Spatial Rifts can be repaired?"

Lu Yuan smiled. "Not by most people. But I possess the power of space — I can do it."

Their breathing quickened. Then Rebecca broke into a delighted grin.

"Then you absolutely should!"

Rebecca's Ancestor usually stood guard at the border, rarely able to come home. If the Spatial Rift were sealed and the Endless Mountain Range was no longer a volatile Forbidden Zone, the Ancestor could finally return — a tremendous boon for her entire family.

Lu Yuan smiled. "Mm. I'll head out now. Do you want to come along?"

The three women perked up. Si Tingyu hesitated. "Won't we be in the way? Is it really alright?"

Lu Yuan considered it. "No trouble at all. Don't worry."

Even a Saint Grade Rift Pursuer would be nothing to him. Bringing the three of them along made no difference.

He grinned. "Let's invite Qinghe too. We can all go together — this is going to be a moment worth remembering."

The three women exchanged glances, then Si Tingyu nodded.

"In that case, let's go."

Lu Yuan smiled, and the four of them vanished from the spot.

Inside Li Qinghe's villa in White Willow District.

Li Qinghe sat cross-legged in her room, deep in cultivation. Even after returning from the Land of Origin, she continued to push herself relentlessly.

After all, her little Yuan — the boy she'd watched grow up — was already impossibly strong. As his older sister figure, she couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed by the gap in their abilities.

Her eyes snapped open. She rose from the bed and went to the window, where she spotted Lu Yuan and three others standing by the garden path below.

Li Qinghe's face lit up. "Little Yuan, you're back! Fierce Rain, what brings you all here too?"

She leaped straight from the window and landed lightly on the ground.

Lu Yuan smiled. "I'm going to repair the Spatial Rift in the Forbidden Zone. Want to come watch, Qinghe?"

"Repair the Spatial Rift?" Li Qinghe blinked, the same question springing to her lips. "You can actually repair a Spatial Rift?"

"I can," Lu Yuan confirmed.

Her eyes lit up at once. "Then of course I'm going! I always set my sights on following the old masters — becoming a Battle Emperor someday and suppressing the Forbidden Zone. If you can seal the Spatial Rift, that's basically the same as achieving my dream!"

Rebecca tilted her head. "...But Lu Yuan is the one doing it, sis. It's not really *you* achieving it."

Li Qinghe stiffened, then shot Rebecca a look. "Little Yuan and I are practically one and the same. What he accomplishes is basically the same as me accomplishing it!"

Rebecca had no comeback. She blinked, then nodded slowly — somehow the logic was starting to sound reasonable.

"Then let's go," Lu Yuan said with a laugh.

He gathered the four of them, and they vanished.

Endless Mountain Range defense line — the frontline fortress.

Commander Karol sat in his office, weary frustration etched across his face.

He rubbed his temples and sighed. "That time of year again. Another Beast Tide."

Unlike the Aberration-driven tides, this one was caused by ordinary Feral Beasts. But in terms of sheer scale, it was no smaller.

The beasts pouring through the Spatial Rift deep in the Forbidden Zone were powerful and numerous. Every time this happened, the Guard Corps suffered devastating losses.

The worst part was knowing the root cause yet being utterly powerless to fix it. On the other side of that Spatial Rift, the beasts were even more numerous and far stronger. Not just the Red Maple Empire — even the combined might of all Great Qi Star might not survive in there.

The Spatial Rift simply existed, and all they could do was play defense.

*If only that rift would just collapse on its own...*

Karol sighed again. Some unstable Spatial Rifts did eventually break down and dissipate, but structurally stable ones could persist for ages. The one deep in the Endless Mountain Range was clearly the stable kind.

He knew the thought was pure fantasy. Shaking his head, he turned back to planning the defense.

Deep in the Endless Mountain Range.

Nestled between several towering peaks lay an enormous crater — hundreds of kilometers across — with an irregular Spatial Rift shimmering at its center.

Feral Beasts surged through the rift in an unending flood, clawing out of the crater and charging howling into the mountains beyond. They blanketed the landscape in a dense, seething mass, wave after endless wave.

Then, high above the crater, Lu Yuan appeared with Li Qinghe, Si Tingyu, Si Tingxue, and Rebecca.

The four women gazed down at the Spatial Rift, eyes wide.

Li Qinghe narrowed hers. "So this is the Spatial Rift behind the Forbidden Zone."

Rebecca stared at the carpet of beasts below, shock plain on her face. "There are so many! How can there possibly be *that* many?!"

Si Tingxue's expression remained cool. "No wonder Beast Tides hit our empire's defense line with such regularity."

As the group talked, their presence drew the attention of the horde below.

Countless beasts lifted their heads. Spotting the five silhouettes against the sky, they erupted into furious roars.

Iron-Armored Earth Dragons, Celestial Demon Tigers, Frenzied Demon Apes — beast after beast fixed them with hostile, predatory gazes, auras surging as they readied to attack.

The weakest among them were merely Battle General level, but the strongest reached Battle Emperor tier. Two Sovereign Grade beasts stood out: a massive crimson serpent with twin sharp horns jutting from its skull, and a sleek, jet-black feline predator. Both glared up at the five humans with undisguised malice.

Hundreds of thousands of Feral Beasts staring them down — even Si Tingyu felt the weight of it pressing against her, her brow furrowing.

Lu Yuan's expression didn't change in the slightest. His gaze swept across the horde, and a flash of ashen-white light flickered past.

The roaring stopped instantly. The entire world fell silent.

Every single beast — both Sovereign Grade creatures included — collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

More beasts continued to howl and charge through the Spatial Rift. When these newcomers emerged and found a field of corpses in eerie silence, they froze.

Beast after beast scanned the scene, confusion filling their eyes.

Feral Beasts were far from unintelligent. At King Grade, some could even speak human languages.

These creatures stared at the carnage, minds going blank.

*They said this side had abundant food and resources. So why are all our comrades dead?!*

They didn't stop to wonder *how* — they just roared in panic and scrambled to flee back through the rift.

*Something is very wrong with this place. Run!*

But behind them, more and more beasts kept pouring through the Spatial Rift, completely blocking the way back.

The beasts at the front wailed in despair, lashing out at those behind them in a frenzied attempt to claw their way home.

The newcomers were blindsided.

*Why are you attacking us? How dare you?!*

Their own ferocity ignited, and they struck back.

Within moments, the beasts had descended into a vicious free-for-all against each other.

Watching from above, Lu Yuan and the others wore peculiar expressions.

Li Qinghe grinned. "These beasts aren't stupid — they can tell this place is dangerous."

Lu Yuan glanced at the fighting horde and raised an eyebrow. "At this rate, they'll just keep pouring through. I should seal the Spatial Rift now — that's the only way to stop them."

The four women nodded, watching him with anticipation.

They were all curious how he would actually do it.

Complex silver threads shimmered in Lu Yuan's eyes.

In his vision, the space surrounding the rift was a tangle of chaotic spatial lines weaving two distant regions together.

His task was simple: use the power of space to restore those lines to their proper state.

Once, he might have found it daunting. But with his Divine Grade spatial gene, it was almost laughably easy.

He willed it, and the spatial lines began snapping back into place. The Spatial Rift shrank at visible speed.

The four women noticed that Lu Yuan simply stood there, motionless — barely any Spirit Power fluctuation at all. They exchanged puzzled looks.

Then their eyes went wide as the Spatial Rift contracted before them, shrinking rapidly.

"It... it's already closing?!" Rebecca blurted.

Li Qinghe scratched her head, staring at Lu Yuan. "How is he doing that?"

Si Tingyu smiled softly. "Has he ever done anything that *wasn't* beyond all reason?"

The others immediately stopped being surprised.

*Fair point. The man who can evolve genes can probably do anything.*

The battling beasts noticed the rift contracting and bellowed in alarm, surging toward it in a desperate bid to squeeze back through. But the beasts on the other side were just as numerous, and neither group could give ground. They locked in a frantic stalemate.

Before long, the Spatial Rift sealed shut. A portion of the beasts were left stranded in despair at the bottom of the crater. The rest were cut off on the other side — forever separated.

The Spatial Rift vanished completely. Never again would Feral Beasts from that dimension enter Great Qi Star through this passage.

The four women stared at the space where the rift had been, still a little dazed.

"...That's it?" Li Qinghe's expression was complicated.

Si Tingyu let out a quiet sigh. "Who would have thought — the source of a Forbidden Zone that plagued the Red Maple Empire for hundreds of thousands of years, that claimed untold numbers of Guard Corps soldiers... sealed just like that, as casually as breathing. In the end, strength truly is what matters most."

Si Tingxue and Rebecca nodded in agreement.

"Only with true strength can you protect the things you want to protect," Si Tingxue murmured — a rare moment of sentiment from her.

Lu Yuan smiled at their reflective mood. "You're all progressing quickly too. It won't be long before you're very strong yourselves. Besides — we're not done yet."