Chapter Four: Planning — Why Doesn't It Match the Description?

After saving all three files, Lu Yuan turned to browsing Battle Net.

The platform was divided into numerous modules: trading, combat, missions, and more. He skimmed through them briefly, and the front page was already buzzing with headlines from the Gene Warrior community:

*"SHOCKING! The Ice Princess Si Tingxue, absent for six months, has broken through to Battle Master Rank!"*

*"Profound Nine Battle-King becomes the sixth Battle King Rank powerhouse among the Human Race on Great Qi Star to conquer the Great Rock Secret Realm!"*

"..."

Lu Yuan only gave the headlines a glance before scrolling past and finding the Land of Origin information module.

The section contained quite a few posts. Some required payment, but there were free ones too — the free posts were generally official releases covering basic facts about the Land of Origin. Since he was planning to enter the Land of Origin, this was exactly the information he needed.

He clicked on one.

*"What Preparations Are Needed Before Entering the Land of Origin for the First Time?"*

The opening read:

*"Most Awakened Gene Warriors receive guidance from veterans before entering the Land of Origin, so this knowledge is useless to them. This post is aimed at newcomers with no veteran Gene Warrior mentors. If that's you, please read carefully — it'll be a tremendous help."*

Lu Yuan scrolled eagerly.

*"First: Initial Spiritual Energy Guidance. Before entering the Land of Origin, you must absorb your first strand of Spiritual Energy. Without it, you cannot open the storage space built into your Gene Battle Mark. Though a Trainee Rank Battle Mark's space is small, it lets you bring items in — and more importantly, everything you earn from the Land of Origin can only be carried out through that space. This is critical."*

*"Second: Choosing what to bring. Tech equipment manufactured in the outside world is completely useless inside the Land of Origin — gauss rifles, high-energy grenades, forget about all of it. If you have the funds, the recommendation is to equip yourself with solid Gene Armament before going in; it puts you ahead of everyone else from the very start. If you can't afford Gene Armament, then you'll have to make do with the basics. Below is an essentials list..."*

Lu Yuan pinched his brow.

He'd already seen the trading section earlier. Even the lowest-grade Gene Armament started in the tens of thousands.

*Why am I so broke?*

*Do I really have to grind money this hard even in this world?!*

*"Third: As a newcomer, understand this — your first visit to the Land of Origin allows only 24 hours. Every minute of those 24 hours is precious. Killing monsters yields Spirit Crystals, which can be used to strengthen yourself. As long as you make it out alive, you can bring them back to the real world — for Gene Warriors, this is the fastest shortcut to growing stronger. And Spirit Crystals are just the cheapest thing the Land of Origin has to offer. Monsters also have a small chance of dropping Gene Armament, Transcendent Genes, and other priceless items when killed. You may discover ruins and acquire knowledge spanning both science and the transcendent, all of it enormously valuable. This is your best opportunity to earn your first real windfall. Make those 24 hours count."*

*"Fourth: If you have trusted friends, you can adventure together. Use your Gene Battle Marks to form a covenant for dividing loot — fair distribution is advised to avoid disputes or worse. Also note: the starting cities are home to more than just the Human Race. Stay alert around other races."*

*"Fifth: First-time Awakened newcomers carry an Origin Anchor Point on their Gene Battle Mark. This Anchor Point determines which starting city you'll arrive in when first entering the Land of Origin. As is common knowledge, all starting cities are native settlements within the Land of Origin — they cannot be occupied or captured. The Human Race on Great Qi Star has four starting cities: Stormwind City, Bone City, Sandy Rock City, and Crimson Blood Secret Fortress. I'll cover the pros and cons of each below..."*

The article ran over ten thousand characters. Lu Yuan read every word carefully, and by the end he had a solid grasp of the Land of Origin's fundamentals.

He checked several more posts. Between them all, he now had a comprehensive picture of what preparations were needed before going in, and his plan was taking shape.

Then he opened the Basic Spiritual Energy Guidance Technique file.

The first thing he saw was a warning in blood-red text.

*"The Basic Spiritual Energy Guidance Technique is official property of the Red Maple Empire. Registered Gene Warriors are strictly prohibited from privately teaching it to others. Violation of this rule is punishable by death."*

His pupils contracted involuntarily.

*That strict?*

He also began to understand why the warning was in blood-red.

The technique itself was just four simple pages. The content was straightforward — basic knowledge about Spiritual Energy and how to absorb it.

Spiritual Energy, the text explained, was a universal energy that permeated every corner of the cosmos. Gene Warriors could generate it through training their bodies and minds, and could also absorb it freely from the surrounding environment. Spiritual Energy tempered Gene Chains and, in turn, nourished and strengthened both body and spirit. This was the method by which Gene Warriors grew stronger. Once an Awakened Gene Chain had been fully tempered by Spiritual Energy, more advanced Gene Chains could be activated through special means. Only Gene Warriors who had Awakened their Gene Chains were capable of absorbing and using Spiritual Energy at all.

The implications clicked into place. *Right — you need Spiritual Energy to fully express a Gene Warrior's strength, and to keep improving.*

Only registered Gene Warriors received the officially issued Spiritual Energy Guidance Technique. Unregistered ones had no access to it, which made tempering their Gene Chains extraordinarily difficult. As a result, unregistered Gene Warriors were generally people with something to hide.

*No wonder the warning was blood-red.* The stakes were enormous. This one technique was simply too important.

The actual method was elegantly simple:

*"Close your eyes. Empty your mind. Let yourself drift into a half-waking, half-dreaming state of stillness — and then you will sense the Spiritual Energy."*

Lu Yuan committed every word carefully to memory, fully intending to practice it in earnest.

Then he turned to the other two files.

Military Body Fist and Military Body Killing Sword were both basic combat techniques used by the Red Maple Empire's military — a fist style and a sword style respectively. Both came with instructional videos featuring a cold-faced, dispassionate middle-aged man in uniform demonstrating each technique. The instructions were thorough, and with the written text alongside, Lu Yuan found them easier to follow than expected.

Both were combat techniques in the truest sense — tools for killing. Practiced consistently over time, they would build physical strength and even nudge mental fortitude slightly upward. He planned to drill them seriously.

He now had his preparations mapped out.

**Step one:** Practice the Spiritual Energy Guidance Technique first. Absorb the first strand of Spiritual Energy and open the storage space inside his Gene Battle Mark.

**Step two:** Tomorrow, go buy the essentials. Pick up a reliable Alloy Weapon while he was at it. Gene Armament was out of the question, but an ordinary alloy blade should still be within budget.

**Step three:** If time allowed, work through Military Body Fist and Military Body Killing Sword to sharpen himself up. The absolute last thing he needed was to die on his very first run. That would be a disaster.

There were two ways to exit the Land of Origin: wait for your time to expire, or use an Escape Tool to leave early while preserving your gains. Though, Lu Yuan noted grimly, neither option would stop the truly reckless from taking their chances.

If you died in there, you lost everything. Worse, death damaged the spirit; you'd be barred from re-entering the Land of Origin for a period of time afterward. The consequences were severe.

As for Escape Tools — they were precious, rare items. Lu Yuan had "broke" written all over his face. Forget Escape Tools; he couldn't even afford Gene Armament. The cheapest on the market started in the tens of thousands.

He rubbed his temples.

*Why am I so poor?*

*"..."*

With his steps settled, Lu Yuan shut down the computer, moved to his bed, and sat cross-legged. Time to practice.

He reviewed what he'd read.

*Close your eyes. Empty your mind. Let yourself drift into a half-waking, half-dreaming state of stillness — and then you will sense the Spiritual Energy.*

He closed his eyes.

The moment he did, the world shifted.

Countless tiny white specks of light filled the space around him — a vast, shimmering swarm of them — and they immediately began drifting toward him, circling, dancing, as if overjoyed at his presence.

Lu Yuan: *???*

*Wait.*

*I haven't even emptied my mind yet. I haven't drifted into any half-waking state. How am I already sensing Spiritual Energy?*

He stared at the dancing light.

*Something must have gone wrong.*

He refused to believe it.

*This doesn't match the description at all.*