Extraterrestrial demons invaded; I laid the groundwork eight years in advance.

Late at night, at the Dawn Research Institute.

The laboratory lights were blindingly white.

Gu Weijun stood in front of the control panel. Three standard-issue combat swords lay across the test bench under its cold light.

This is the latest battle sword he forged—the blade is based on Type I alloy, incorporating Tier 1 magical materials, and its surface is engraved with fine, sharp runes. According to the system's quality classification, it already belongs to the Tier 1 transcendent item of white quality.

He stared at them for a long time, so long that his assistant, Xiao Zhou, thought he had fallen asleep.

"Start the test," Gu Weijun said in a hoarse voice.

The test bench is started.

The robotic arm grips the handle of the combat knife and slowly raises it to the preset angle.

The blade was aimed at an alloy target plate covered with monster scales and cut into it at a constant speed, while the pressure sensor simultaneously began recording data. Then, bending and blade impact tests were conducted, and lines of data appeared on the testing instrument.

Xiao Zhou leaned closer, tablet in hand, his voice brimming with excitement: "Doctor, the data has increased by another 7%. The combined values ​​of hardness, toughness, and sharpness are now 2.8 times that of a basic battle sword. A first-tier cultivator wielding it is enough to break through the defenses of a first-tier, ninth-level demon."

Gu Weijun looked at the data and remained silent for a few seconds.

  

"Not enough," he said, his voice even lower than before. "What I need isn't 'several times stronger,' but something effective against second-tier monsters. If a second-tier monster's defense is ten times that of a first-tier monster, we're just poking a metal plate with a wooden stick."

He turned and opened the freezer. The door slid open, and a blast of cold air hit him. Inside were various monster materials—scales, bones, and shells.

"Even with optimization, equipment made from Tier 1 materials can't have an overwhelming effect on Tier 2 targets. The forging technology is mature; the bottleneck is the materials." He closed the cabinet door, the metal clanging with a dull thud. "Unfortunately, Tier 1 equipment can only be inscribed with one rune at most; otherwise, the potential of this batch of weapons could have been raised another level."

He paused for a moment. "Dawn suffered zero casualties during the last large-scale invasion, which was fortunate. This time, it might not be the same."

"Notify Instructor Liu Feng. One-tier enemies are enough; if you encounter a second-tier enemy—try to dodge, or attack their weak points."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Bai's voice rang in his mind: "Dr. Gu, I've seen the test data for the battle sword. Let's accelerate the development of Type II alloy first."

Gu Weijun was taken aback: "Prophet, the development of the new alloy takes time, and a few days may not be enough. The second-tier sample—"

"I know that the development of basic materials is inevitable; let's address our shortcomings first. As for the second-order sample, it will be delivered to you on the day of the intrusion."

"clear."

Communication was cut off.

Gu Weijun stepped back to the front of the stage, pulled out a piece of draft paper from the drawer, which was covered with formulas for smelting materials and alloy proportioning schemes in the field of weapon crafting.

The night outside was as dark as ink, and he decided to stay there until dawn.

At the same time, at Xiaoqingshan Villa.

Shen Bai leaned back in his chair in the study, his consciousness withdrawing from the control panel.

He looked up at the huge display panel on the wall. The data from the Eye of the Rhinoceros was scrolling at a rate of several lines per second, covering a large portion of the Earth.

【Function: Eye of the Soul】

[Quality: Blue - Rare]

[Features: Capable of detecting and imaging special energy fluctuations of blue quality and below in real time]

Scan radius: 10000 kilometers

Ten thousand kilometers. Radiating outwards from Shanghai, the entire territory of the Dragon Kingdom is laid out before you. The entire Asia-Pacific region is laid out before you. Even the coastline of the Western Continent Federation across the ocean is partially visible. The fluctuations of a small portion of the Earth's rifts are all within the monitoring range.

Over the past twenty days, the system has accumulated 210,000 evolution points. Upgrading the Eye of the Spirit cost 200,000, and with other miscellaneous expenses, the remaining balance is 60,000.

These evolution points are his confidence in facing the next wave of monsters.

His gaze fell on the night outside the window.

The city at the foot of the mountain was shrouded in darkness, with most of the lights off except for the streetlights on the main road and the outline lights of a few tall buildings.

The entire city was as quiet as a sleeping giant.

He took out his phone and glanced at it; there were two unread messages from Su Wan.

The first message was sent at 10:00 AM: "Are you asleep? I ate so much today, it was so much fun taking a walk with you." It was followed by a cute emoji—a soft and adorable little animal—with the text "Poke it."

The second message was at 11 PM: "Goodnight."

Shen Bai's thumb hovered over the keyboard for two seconds. Then he typed: "Okay, goodnight. Get some rest."

He locked the screen and put down his phone. The faint smile at the corner of his mouth quickly faded.

Suddenly, Xiao Cheng's voice rang in my mind.

"Master, an anomaly has been detected."

Shen Bai frowned slightly: "Speak."

"Just now, the Eye of the Spirit detected the demonic energy fluctuations of demon corpses in Shanghai and several surrounding areas. Specific locations: an abandoned warehouse in Minhang District of Shanghai, a suburban area in Lucheng District of Jiangsu Province, and an abandoned air-raid shelter in Hecheng District of Zhejiang Province. Through online data tracking, it has been preliminarily determined to be a black market transaction."

Shen Bai tapped his fingers lightly twice on the armrest. "Can you confirm the specific identities of the seller and buyer?"

"All relevant online posts, coded communication records, and payment transactions have been traced. There are two buyers: one is a local businessman in Shanghai who deals in underground cultural relics and has a black market background; the other is a collector in Jiangsu Province who owns a private museum and has illegally acquired protected animal specimens on multiple occasions."

"The three sellers are all extraordinary individuals from the common people: Wang Tiezhu from Yanshi, Shandong Province, is a fifth-level apprentice and makes a living by farming; Qian Hong from Lucheng, Jiangsu Province, is a fourth-level apprentice and runs a scrap metal recycling station; and Li Xiuming from Hecheng, Zhejiang Province, is a ninth-level apprentice and is the successor of a declining Taoist temple."

"Nine levels of apprenticeship," Shen Bai repeated. "What's this person's background?"

Xiao Cheng pulled up a video clip.

In the scene, a young man in a gray Taoist robe stands in a dilapidated Sanqing Hall. In front of the statue of the deity in the hall is an offering table. He lights incense and bows three times respectfully, his movements devout.

"Li Xiuming is the last disciple of a branch of Maoshan. He was adopted from an orphanage by the previous abbot. After the previous abbot passed away, he was the only one left in the temple. He secretly hunts low-level demons in order to earn money to repair the temple."

Shen Bai did not speak immediately.

Less than a month after the spiritual energy was restored, an ordinary person was able to cultivate to the ninth level of the Apprentice level—the ancient lineage of cultivation is indeed long-lasting.

He stared at the figure in the picture for a few seconds.

"Mark the activity patterns, transaction frequency, and potential downstream buyers of these individuals."

"In addition, compile the activity range and realm assessment of ancient practitioners."

Xiao Cheng responded and brought up the interface, where various information began to be integrated on the panel.

Shen Bai shifted his gaze from Li Xiuming's back in the image, and the data on the panel layered upon layer in the depths of his consciousness—the distribution, realm, and lineage of ancient practitioners across the country were being laid out on a scale he had never seen before.