I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Time: 3:00 AM China Time / 3:00 PM Eastern Time]

[Location: Pentagon, Virginia, USA, Top Secret Strategic Assessment Room]

The huge tactical screen was divided in two, with "our current situation" on the left and "their current situation" on the right.

This stark contrast made the air in the conference room feel heavy, as if it were filled with lead.

[Left screen: Area 51 Underground Laboratory, Nevada, USA]

A burly Navy SEAL, shirtless and sweating profusely, is in a strange meditation posture.

His muscles were trembling, and the hundreds of sensors connected to his body were throbbing wildly.

"Relax, Jack, try to feel the 'qi' flowing through your meridians..." came the linguist's instructions over the loudspeaker.

"Damn it! I can't feel it!"

The soldier suddenly opened his eyes, angrily ripping off the electrodes from his body. "I only feel numbness in my legs! My knees are about to break! This is an inhumane position!"

On the data panel next to it, the column for "bioenergy response" showed a lifeless straight line—0.

Defense Secretary Lloyd watched this scene expressionlessly, then turned to the chief scientific advisor:

"It's been three months. The 'Eighteen Basic Body Strengthening Forms' have increased our soldiers' physical strength by 30%, which is excellent. But why are we still at zero progress in practicing the 'Eternal Spring Technique'?"

"Minister, this is a barrier to civilization."

The science advisor spread his hands in despair, pointing to the translated documents:

"Those terms—'Dantian,' 'Qihai,' 'Ren and Du meridians'... Our linguists translate them to relatively accurate meanings, but our soldiers can only understand them as 'lower abdominal nerve plexus' and 'lymphatic circulation system.' But practicing according to these terms will only lead to constipation, not the cultivation of 'qi.'"

"Our scientists tried to understand it through anatomy, but they couldn't find any veins under the scalpel. It's like giving us a nuclear weapons manual written in an alien language; we recognize the letters, but we can't understand the meaning."

"But they can read it."

CIA Director Burns coldly pressed the remote control and pointed to the screen on the right.

[Right screen: Huaxia·dy Open Source Intelligence Video]

The video is somewhat shaky, suggesting it was filmed with a mobile phone and uploaded online.

In the video, a young Chinese People's Armed Police officer is demonstrating the "Changchun Gong" (a type of martial art).

He didn't have those exaggerated muscles, but with a soft shout, he actually extinguished a candle a meter away with his bare hands using the force of his palm.

"He's just an ordinary soldier."

Burns switched to a different image, a screenshot from a surveillance camera in a park in China.

A group of elderly people practicing Tai Chi effortlessly pushed a 200-pound strong man three meters away during a push-hands exercise.

"Intelligence indicates that the number of people in China who can generate a faint 'qi sensation' through the Changchun Gong is increasing exponentially."

Burns' voice carried a hint of barely concealed fear:

"Because this is their culture. They grow up hearing these concepts, and their language and way of thinking are naturally suited to this practice."

"My God... the whole of China is now turning into a giant, awakening superhuman military camp."

The conference room was deathly silent.

This gap is not technological, but cultural and genetic. This makes them, who have always believed in "technological hegemony," feel deeply powerless.

"If even their ordinary citizens can do this..."

Minister Lloyd turned around and stared intently at the area marked in red on the map—the Kunlun Mountains.

"So, in this place called 'The Source,' those three thousand students who were selected through layers of screening and personally taught by that mysterious 'Lord of Kunlun'..."

"Just how powerful have they become now?"

No one can answer.

Because Kunlun Mountain is shrouded in a large array, it is invisible to satellites and cannot be entered by special agents.

It was a huge black box.

"If ordinary people can extinguish candles remotely, does that mean Kunlun's students can kill people remotely?"

"If ordinary soldiers can push strong men away, does that mean Kunlun's students can dismantle tanks with their bare hands?"

This "unknown upper limit" is what's most agonizing.

"We've not only fallen behind, but we can't even see how fast our opponents are running."

Minister Lloyd slammed his hand on the table. "That mysterious Lord of Kunlun... We don't even know his name, we only know that the Chinese government holds him in the highest esteem. He spread basic textbooks around the world, but left the core higher education on that mountain."

"We must break down this barrier."

Lloyd's eyes turned ruthless. "Since we can't understand the textbook, let's find someone who can to teach us."

"Should we arrest ordinary Chinese people?" a general asked, "Since many people have already mastered it."

"Of course, but ordinary people only know the basics."

The CIA director shook his head. "Arresting an old man practicing Tai Chi might be useful, but not very useful, because he can't explain the principles clearly. We need to address both aspects simultaneously, focusing on the most fundamental aspects."

Secretary Lloyd, gazing in the direction of the Kunlun Mountains, issued the top order codenamed "Fire Stealer":

"The target is those three thousand students."

"They are the 'seeds' personally selected by Kunlun. They must possess the most core secrets of the Everlasting Spring Technique, or even more advanced techniques."

"Once we understand how they 'draw energy into their bodies,' and once we figure out the logic behind that energy flow, our super soldier program can be restarted."

"Post a bounty on the dark web."

Lloyd's voice was deep and seductive:

Global Bounty:

"Goal: The first batch of 3,000 students at Kunlun University."

"need:"

"1. Intelligence: Information regarding the current teaching progress and specific course content within Kunlun. — Bounty of fifty million US dollars."

"2. Items: Private cultivation notes, elixirs, or any items that exhibit spiritual energy leakage from students. — Bounty: 1 million US dollars."

"3. Living subject: Any Kunlun student, even if they are just starting out."

Lloyd raised a finger, his eyes flashing with madness:

"One billion US dollars. Plus permanent citizenship and top-level security in any of the 'Five Eyes' countries."

"Remember, those three thousand students are now 'samples' for the evolution of all humankind."

"No matter how well China protects them, they are still young people. As long as they are human, they will have weaknesses."

"I need that sample. I need to know exactly how many years behind we are in this new era."

……

[Camera Switch]

Global Cyber ​​Undercurrents

That night, the global underworld was in an uproar as the Pentagon secretly injected funds into the country.

On Chinese social media, there is still heated discussion about "Did you feel the Qi today?" and "The old man next door has developed spiritual power."

But in the unseen, dark corners, countless greedy eyes had already bypassed these ordinary people and were fixed on that misty, sacred mountain.

The whole world knows that what's being circulated outside is just "radio gymnastics".

The true "dragon-slaying technique" is hidden on that mountain, in the minds of those three thousand lucky individuals.

Meanwhile, the students on Kunlun Mountain were still racking their brains over their studies, completely unaware that their value had surpassed that of top-tier fighter jets overnight.