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

Shanghai, Qingfengyuan residential community.

At five o'clock in the morning, Shen Tian was already awake before her alarm clock went off.

Ever since Fang Qing started teaching her martial arts, her biological clock has been reset—every day at this time, without having to think about anything, her eyes will open on their own.

She didn't rush to get up, but lay in bed for two minutes, letting her consciousness slowly rise from the dream, like a fish swimming from deep water to shallow water.

At 5:20, she pushed open the door and went downstairs.

The morning breeze was cool, and the streetlights in the neighborhood were still on, casting orange light onto the cement road surface, creating faint circles of light in the morning mist.

When she jogged to the small park, Fang Qing had already arrived.

A nineteen-year-old girl with a neat ponytail, wearing a dark gray tracksuit, was leaning against a sycamore tree, holding a bottle of water in her right hand.

She is Fang Yan's younger sister, two years younger than him. The siblings don't look alike—Fang Yan has strong features and a distant, silent demeanor; Fang Qing's features are softer, but the sharpness in her eyes is exactly the same. As a formal member of the Dawn team, she specializes in body cultivation and has already broken through to the sixth level of the first tier.

The head instructor asked her to teach the prophet's sister, and she accepted without hesitation.

To her, Shen Bai was not only a prophet, but also the person who changed their destiny. Without Shen Bai, she and Fang Yan might still be struggling in the shadow of the orphanage, without the strength they have today, and without the right to protect others.

"You're right on time today." Fang Qing glanced at her phone. "5:30."

"Sister Fang Qing, you said we couldn't be late, and I've always remembered that." Shen Tian flexed her wrists and stood in the middle of the open space, her calves still covered in mud splattered from running.

"Do you remember the key points I taught you yesterday?"

"Feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent and lowered, tailbone centered, chest slightly concave, back straight, and head held high with a light touch—"

"No need to recite the names of the dishes," Fang Qing interrupted her, her voice carrying a hint of training firmness. "Make them, let me see."

Shen Tian fell silent.

Press your legs down, knees slightly outward, and push your lower back up vertebra by vertebra from the tailbone. Lower your shoulders and gently lift your neck.

Fang Qing walked over and nudged her shin with her toe. "Lower it a little more, don't let your knees go past your toes."

Shen Tian sank down a little. The angle of her knees changed, and her calves began to tremble.

"Keep your back straight and relax your shoulders."

"Breathe, don't hold your breath."

Shen Tian exhaled and inhaled slightly.

As time passed, beads of sweat appeared at his temples and dripped down his chin.

A morning breeze blew, and the small damp patch on my vest clung to my skin, feeling cool and refreshing.

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Fang Qing watched from the side and nodded slightly.

Shen Tian was tested and found to have blue aptitude, which isn't top-tier, but still one in ten thousand in terms of population ratio. In just over twenty days, although his cultivation was intermittent due to school, he still managed to reach the fifth level of apprentice.

As Fang Qing watched, she asked, "Do you know what level you're at right now?"

"Body Tempering Realm," Shen Tian said through gritted teeth.

"Yes. So what is body training?"

"Training the body?" Shen Tian gritted her teeth, her legs still trembling.

"Similarly, but a more accurate description is tempering the physical body and strengthening the bones and muscles. No matter which path you choose in the future—refining the spirit, refining the qi, or refining the body—the physical body is the foundation. Without a solid foundation, nothing can stand. Therefore, everyone's cultivation must begin with body tempering, which is also commonly known as the apprentice realm."

Shen Tian pressed her knees down further, without saying a word, but her ears were perked up.

"The Body Tempering Realm has nine levels. Only after reaching perfection, one can absorb spiritual energy into the body and embark on a suitable path to truly enter the first realm of the extraordinary," Fang Qing said. "The path of Refining the Spirit involves opening the sea and fusing the spirit, and the first realm is called the Spirit Condensation Realm. The path of Refining Qi involves swallowing spiritual energy and absorbing Qi, and the first realm is called the Qi Gathering Realm. The path of Body Tempering involves the flourishing of Qi and blood, and the first realm is called the Qi and Blood Realm."

"So which path should I take from now on?"

"Let's solidify our physical foundation first," Fang Qing smiled. "Only when we're firmly established can we choose our path."

"The three paths are different, and each stage has a different name," Fang Qing continued. "Therefore, for ease of distinction, the first stage of each path is uniformly called the first rank, followed by the second rank, the third rank, and so on upwards."

Shen Tian didn't reply, but she remembered every single word.

An hour later, Fang Qing called a halt.

Shen Tian straightened up, let out a long breath, her legs trembling slightly, but she didn't sit down—Fang Qing had said that you shouldn't sit down immediately after standing in the stance, but should walk around to relax. She slowly paced around in the open space, swinging her arms and moving her stiff knees.

Fang Qing handed her the water bottle: "Have some water."

Shen Tian took the water, unscrewed the cap, and drank a couple of sips. The water was lukewarm; Fang Qing always prepared it in advance, neither too hot nor too cold, just right for drinking.

"Sister Fang Qing," Shen Tian suddenly spoke, holding the water bottle, "what has my brother been busy with lately?"

Fang Qing glanced at her: "I don't know much about work."

"Don't lie to me." Shen Tian's voice turned serious. "I know you're not an ordinary person. The cultivation method has only been announced for a little over half a month. How could an ordinary person know so much about cultivation? You and my brother are both from the Dawn Group... Sister Fang Qing, you're from Dawn, right?"

Fang Qing remained silent for a moment. She hadn't expected Shen Tian to be so observant. This girl was even smarter than she had imagined.

"We have rules." She ultimately didn't answer. "Your brother will tell you when it's time for you to know."

Shen Tian bit her lip and didn't ask any further questions.

She lowered her head, looking at her mud-covered sneakers. After a few seconds, she said softly, "I'm just worried something might have happened to him. He's never home, and when he does come back, it's always in a rush. When my parents ask him if his job is safe, he always says it's easy, that he works in an office. But I can tell he's lying."

Fang Qing did not speak.

"When I was little, my parents weren't home, and he took care of me the whole time." Shen Tian's voice lowered. "He cooked for me, did my laundry, took me to parent-teacher conferences, and carried me to the hospital when I had a fever in the middle of the night... He was only a teenager then. Now that I'm all grown up, he doesn't tell me anything."

The open space was silent for a few seconds.

Fang Qing looked at her and thought of her own brother, Fang Yan. Every time Fang Yan went on a mission, she would worry—worried that he would say "it's okay", worried that he would laugh too easily, worried that he would not turn back when he walked out the door.

She knew that every time they met, it could be the last time.

"Practice hard," Fang Qing said. "If you practice well, you can help him in the future. Your brother isn't telling you yet because it's not the right time. But that doesn't mean he'll never tell you."

Shen Tian looked up, a glimmer of light in her beautiful eyes: "Really?"

"Really." Fang Qing's tone was calm but firm. "Your brother is the most amazing person I've ever met. The things he's done are bigger than you can imagine. But he's also human, and he needs someone to stand by his side."

Shen Tian gripped the water bottle tightly. "I understand."

Fang Qing checked the time; it was almost seven o'clock. "It's getting late. Let's call it a day."

Shen Tian returned the water bottle to Fang Qing, when her stomach suddenly growled. Fang Qing couldn't help but smile, "Let's go, I'll treat you to breakfast."

The two walked out of the small park and headed towards the breakfast stall at the entrance of the residential area. Hot soy milk, freshly fried dough sticks, and Shen Tian's favorite fresh meat buns.

Fang Qing paid, and Shen Tian took the food, took a bite, and her eyes narrowed into crescent moons.

The morning light had already bathed the entire street. Shen Tian carried a glass of soy milk, drinking it as she walked, with Fang Qing walking beside her.

"It's still 5:30 tomorrow. Don't be late."

Shen Tian swallowed what was in her mouth. "No, Fang Qing. Thank you for breakfast. I'll head back now, bye-bye."

Shen Tian turned and walked into the residential area, her ponytail swinging behind her.

What she didn't know was that every day she stood here, she was getting closer to a door she hadn't yet seen clearly. Behind that door was the world her brother walked into every day.

almost.