After the internet was disconnected, I connected to the magic world.

An old residential compound belonging to a work unit.

Zhao's mother came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of sliced ​​watermelon and placed it on the coffee table in the living room.

She looked up at her son's tightly closed bedroom door, her brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito.

She took off her apron and threw it on the sofa, then kicked Zhao Jianguo, who was sitting on the sofa smoking and reading the newspaper.

"Hey, aren't you going to do anything about your son?"

Zhao Jianguo was kicked so hard he nearly dropped the newspaper. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, looking utterly helpless.

"What is it now? I was just reading the newspaper for a bit."

"What's wrong? How dare you ask?" Zhao's mother gestured towards her son's room with her lips, her voice low.

"Look at your son. It's been over a month now. Every day after school, he locks himself in his room, the door is locked, and I have to bring his food to the door before he'll eat."

"I was cleaning his room yesterday, and I went in to check on him while he was at school. There wasn't a single word written on his workbook."

They confiscated his phone and disconnected his computer from the internet. What do you think he's doing staying in the house all day?

They stayed there all day without making a sound.

As Zhao's mother spoke, she grew increasingly angry, slapping her thigh: "The other day I brought him milk, and I went in without knocking. Guess what I saw?"

"What did you see?" Zhao Jianguo's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling.

"He sat cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed, hands on his knees, just like those Taoist priests meditating on TV!"

Zhao's mother slapped her thigh, her voice trembling, "I was so scared I spilled the milk! Do you think our son is possessed? Or is his adolescent delusions acting up again?"

The mention of "chuunibyou" (middle school syndrome) instantly darkened Zhao Jianguo's face.

How could he forget?

This kid has been a chuunibyou (delusional) since he was a child. When he was in elementary school, he would drape a bed sheet over himself and say that he was the Jade Emperor.

In junior high, he carried a wooden sword and claimed to be a sword immortal. In high school, it got even more outrageous. He would say things like "I am the Heavenly Emperor, why don't you kneel down?" all the time.

The last time relatives came to visit, he said this in front of them, and Zhao Jianguo chased him for three blocks, even losing one of his shoes in the process.

I thought that being in my second year of high school would make me more mature, but things have gotten even weirder in the last month or so.

"Do you think he's under too much academic pressure?" Zhao's mother's eyes were red.

"Isn't it already the start of the second year of high school? My homeroom teacher called me last time and said that he has been daydreaming in class for more than a month."

When called upon to answer questions, they can't answer anything; their eyes are blank, like they've lost their soul.

"I thought he was alright in school, even though he was a bit of a 'second-year middle schooler' before. But now his grades have dropped so much; he even got to the bottom of the class in the last monthly exam. What are we going to do?"

Zhao Jianguo sighed, took out another cigarette from the pack, lit it, took a puff, and frowned, saying:

"It's probably because of the pressure. He's in his second year of high school, and he'll be a senior soon. I was like that when I was his age too, always overthinking things."

That's what he said, but he was also uneasy.

Feeling stressed?

Is it possible to meditate cross-legged every day when under a lot of pressure?

But if you're talking about being possessed, he's a Party member and a low-level leader in a state-owned enterprise, he doesn't believe in that stuff.

"How about... we take him to see a psychologist this weekend?" Zhao's mother whispered.

"Let's see. I'll have a good talk with him tonight."

Zhao Jianguo exhaled a smoke ring. "Kids always go through this phase. It'll pass. Don't be so suspicious all the time."

Before Zhao's mother could say anything more, she heard her son's voice faintly coming from inside the closed door. It was muffled and unclear, as if he was talking to someone.

"Listen to me!" Zhao's mother quickly nudged Zhao Jianguo.

"He's talking to himself again in the room!"

This has been happening every day for over a month. They're talking to each other behind closed doors. I've tried listening through the door several times, but I still can't make out what they're saying.

All I heard him say was something about "Taoist master," "breakthrough," and "innate state." Do you think this kid's been obsessed with reading novels?

Zhao Jianguo frowned and was about to get up to knock on the door when he heard a "ding-dong" sound from the doorbell.

"Who could it be at this hour?" Zhao's mother stood up in confusion, walked to the door, and peeked out through the peephole.

Three men dressed in black stood outside the door, each with a straight back and a serious expression, looking nothing like ordinary people.

Zhao's mother's heart skipped a beat. She didn't dare open the door, and turned to look at Zhao Jianguo, her voice trembling:

"Old...Old Zhao, there are three men in black outside. They don't look like good people."

Zhao Jianguo quickly stood up, walked briskly to the door, pulled his mother behind him, and looked out through the peephole, frowning as well.

He took a deep breath, opened the inner wooden door, and, through the outer security door, asked in a calm voice:

"Who are you looking for? You've got the wrong person!"

The man in the lead looked to be in his forties, with a square face and an imposing presence.

Hearing him speak, a formulaic smile appeared on his face. He took out a red ID from his pocket and handed it through the crack in the security door.

"Hello comrade, we are from the Special Incident Handling Bureau. We are here to ask Comrade Zhao Hao for some information."

Zhao Jianguo took the document, opened it, and saw that the first page had a photo and name, and the second page was stamped with a bright red seal and the national emblem.

Having served as a junior manager in a state-owned enterprise for so many years, he may not know much else, but he can still tell the difference between genuine and fake steel stamps.

This stamp is genuine.

Special Incident Handling Bureau...

He had overheard his superiors mentioning it once when they were drinking, that the country had such a secret department.

They specialize in handling strange occurrences that science cannot explain; they wield immense power, and everyone inside is armed.

Zhao Jianguo's hands trembled instantly, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

Special Incident Handling Bureau?

Looking for his son?

What did his son do?

It's just meditating at home, why did it attract people from this department?

He hurriedly and clumsily opened the security door, forcing a fawning smile as he handed back his identification, his back practically bent over.

"Oh, leaders, hello leaders! Please come in, please come in. I didn't know you were here. Please come in and have a seat."

As he spoke, he turned around and kicked Zhao's mother, who was still in a daze:

"What are you standing there for? Go get the boss some water! Cut the watermelon!"

Zhao's mother then realized what was happening and hurriedly ran to the kitchen, her slippers almost flying off in the process.

Three men in black walked in, changed into slippers, and sat down on the sofa.

His gaze swept across the entire room discreetly, finally settling on Zhao Hao's tightly closed door.

And in the room at this moment.

Zhao Hao sat cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed, his mind completely absorbed in the group chat on the player panel, unaware that someone had come to visit.

The five people in the group chat were having a lively conversation.

[Zhou Ming]: No way, Emperor Zhao? You chickened out?

Who was it that used to claim in the group chat that he was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Emperor, the first to break through to the Innate Realm, and led our whole family to ascend to heaven?

Now that a breakthrough is about to happen, you're scared?

[Zhang Lei]: That's right, Your Majesty, are you even capable?

No, I'll go first. I feel like I'm almost there too. The last of the twelve meridians, the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian, will be open in the next two days!

[Zhao Hao]: Bullshit! Me, a coward?

I am the Supreme Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace of the Azure Heaven, the Natural and Wondrous Existence of the Mysterious and True Jade Emperor. A mere Innate Realm cultivator is something I can break with a flick of my finger!

I'm just afraid that if I break through to the next level in my own home, it will cause too much noise and they'll tear my house down. My parents will break my legs.

Zhao Hao was indeed a little flustered.

He could feel that his true self had reached its peak, and all twelve meridians were open.

Now, only the final step remains: opening up the Ren and Du meridians to enter the Innate Realm.

But if he were to actually break through at home, and accidentally explode in anger and tear the building down, his dad might really beat him to death.

【Xuanqing】: Immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, if young friend Zhao does not mind, you can come to my temple. There is a secluded stone cave in the back mountain of my temple.

It's very sturdy, and the breakthrough won't alert anyone. I'm also preparing to break through to the Innate Realm these days, so we can support each other.

[Shi Mingyuan]: Amitabha, this humble monk is also preparing to break through in the next few days. If young friend Zhao doesn't mind, this humble monk can also go. The three of you can break through together and look out for each other.

Zhao Hao's eyes lit up.

Yes! Let's go to Master Xuanqing's Taoist temple!

It's in the mountains, a remote place. Even if there's a big commotion, no one will know. Plus, there are two senior experts with me, so it's very safe!

[Zhao Hao]: Okay! It's settled then! In a couple of days, I'll tell my parents I'm going to a classmate's house to play, and then I'll go see the Taoist priest!

[Zhou Ming]: Speaking of which, don't you guys find it strange?

Why is it that in the Nine Provinces world, our True Qi gets stuck at the peak of the Acquired Realm?

I can't seem to break through my innate limitations no matter what I do. Instead, back in reality, I feel like the bottleneck has loosened.

[Xuanqing]: The old Taoist priest also discovered it.

The old Taoist priest speculated that perhaps what we entered the Nine Provinces was only our consciousness, not our physical bodies. Although consciousness can cultivate in the Nine Provinces, it ultimately lacks a physical body as a vessel.

Since the transformation from the innate to the acquired cannot be accomplished, the only way to truly break through the innate barrier is in reality, using the physical body as a foundation.

[Zhou Ming]: That makes sense!

To put it simply, what we have now in Kyushu is just a secondary account in the game, while our main body is in reality. No matter how powerful the secondary account is, it can't break through the level cap until the main body levels up.

[Zhao Hao]: Who cares! As long as I can break through!

Once I break through to the Innate Realm and sweep across the Nine Provinces, I will bring you immortal pills! One for each of you, and you will all become immortals with me!

He was having a great time when he heard his father's voice coming from the living room outside.

It seemed like she was talking to someone, and her tone was particularly polite, even a bit ingratiating.

Zhao Hao was stunned for a moment.

His family rarely has guests; it's usually relatives who come. His father never speaks in this tone.

Who is it?

He was puzzled and was about to get out of bed to open the door when he heard his father knocking on his bedroom door, his voice a little tense.

"Xiao Hao? Come out here for a moment, we have guests looking for you."

Looking for me?

Zhao Hao was even more bewildered.

Looking for him? Who is it? A classmate? No, wait, his dad doesn't talk like that when his classmate comes over.

He muttered to himself, got out of bed, opened the door, and went out.

He looked up and saw three men dressed in black sitting on the sofa, each with a powerful aura, staring at him.