I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

Shanghai, the Bund.

As night falls and the city lights begin to twinkle, the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, the economic lifeline of China, seems unaffected by the resurgence of spiritual energy. Instead, this mysterious aura lends it a sense of pre-apocalyptic revelry.

The Peninsula Hotel's rooftop open-air banquet hall.

A high-society dinner party is underway.

Although the music was soothing and the champagne expensive, the atmosphere in the banquet hall was far from relaxed. The guests were no longer discussing which stock had hit its daily limit or which piece of land had appreciated in value, but rather the topic that had captured the world's attention—Kunlun.

"Old Li, I heard there was a big commotion in the Northwest just now?"

A portly businessman, holding a wine glass, frowned. "I just got a call from the Lanzhou branch saying there's a monster at their construction site, and even the special operations team can't contain it. Tell me, in this world… are we still safe here?"

The middle-aged man known as Old Li—Li Guodong, chairman of the Li Group—irritably tugged at his tie: "Safety? Where is there any absolutely safe zone these days? Didn't the news say the other day that the psionic index in the East China Sea has been fluctuating? I donated half a billion to get those few 'peace talismans'."

Just then, Li Guodong's gaze fell on a figure in the corner, and his face instantly darkened.

He was a young man in his early twenties. In this occasion where everyone should be dressed in suits and ties, he was wearing a slightly worn blue Taoist robe and carrying a long, narrow object wrapped tightly in cloth on his back.

He didn't take the red wine from the waiter's tray, but instead held a glass of water, staring coldly at the Huangpu River below, as if the luxury around him belonged to a different world.

Li Guodong strode over, suppressing his anger as he growled:

"Li Zixuan! You actually know how to come back?!"

The young man turned around, revealing a handsome yet indifferent face. That was his only son, Li Zixuan.

"Dad," Li Zixuan said calmly.

"Don't call me Dad!" Li Guodong's hands trembled with anger. "Six months ago, I arranged for you to go to America to study for an MBA. The plane tickets were all bought, and you just disappeared at the airport with your passport! If we hadn't received a notification from Bureau 749, we would have thought you'd been kidnapped!"

"You'd rather not take on a business worth billions than learn some kind of immortal cultivation? Is that something you're capable of? That's risking your life!"

In Li Guodong's view, while cultivating immortality is respectable, it means risking one's life against monsters. He only has this one son in his family, and even if the world has changed, he hopes to use money to secure a stable future for his son, rather than sending him to the front lines as cannon fodder.

"That's my path," Li Zixuan said calmly. "Besides, if I don't go, I won't be alive to enjoy this multi-billion dollar business in the future."

"You—" Li Guodong was about to explode.

Suddenly, Li Zixuan's eyes sharpened, and he looked sharply at the river surface outside the railing.

"They're here."

"What's here?" Li Guodong was taken aback.

"Ugh—!!!"

The piercing air raid sirens blared without warning along both banks of the Huangpu River. This was not a drill; it was a red alert signifying the highest level of threat.

Immediately afterwards, the once calm river surface seemed to boil, with huge bubbles churning up.

"roar--!"

With a chilling roar, dozens of dark figures leaped from the river. Covered in algae-covered scales, with long limbs and sharp claws, they frantically climbed upwards along the smooth exterior walls of the Peninsula Hotel like geckos!

"It's a water ghost! A mutated aquatic creature!"

Chaos erupted instantly in the banquet hall. Those present were all worldly people; the recent media frenzy allowed them to instantly recognize the monster.

"Bodyguards! Bodyguards!!"

Several well-trained private bodyguards immediately rushed over, pulled out large-caliber pistols, and started firing wildly at the outside of the fence.

"Bang bang bang!"

The bullet struck the monster's scales, sending sparks flying, but it didn't cause a fatal wound. These monsters were too fast, and their scales were far harder than those of ordinary creatures.

"It's no use! Conventional gunpowder weapons can't break through the defenses!" someone shouted in despair.

The largest of the water monsters leaped over the railing, bringing a stench with it as it plunged into the crowd. Its dead, grayish-white eyes scanned the entire area, drool dripping onto the expensive carpet.

It did not attack immediately, but instead greedily sniffed the scent of human fear in the air.

Although terrified, Li Guodong instinctively shielded Li Zixuan behind him, his legs trembling but he still managed to stay upright: "Zixuan...run! Run to the fire escape! Dad will hold them off..."

Looking at his father's broad but trembling back, Li Zixuan's heart, which had been as cold as ice on Kunlun Mountain, melted slightly.

Although mortals are fragile, this kind of emotion is a bond that even cultivators find hard to sever.

"Dad, step back."

Li Zixuan reached out and gently pressed his father's shoulder, a soft yet irresistible force pushing Li Guodong to safety.

"What are you doing? That's a monster!" Li Guodong shouted in terror.

"I know."

Li Zixuan stepped forward, and his originally ordinary demeanor suddenly changed in that instant.

The feeling was like a sharp blade that had been hidden for a long time, finally being drawn.

He reached out and untied the cloth strip on his back, revealing an ancient, sheathed longsword.

"Kunlun University, Sword Cultivation Department, Li Zixuan."

He muttered to himself as if performing some kind of ritual, then his right hand gripped the hilt of the sword tightly.

"Zheng—!"

A clear, melodious dragon's roar echoed through the night sky, drowning out the piercing alarm.

To everyone's astonishment, the longsword was not in his hand, but instead came out of its sheath on its own, hovering three feet above his head, its tip emitting a half-meter-long, cold, azure light.

"Controlling... sword control?!"

A gasp escaped someone in the crowd. This was a divine ability that only the top Kunlun disciples could master, as seen on live television broadcasts!

Sensing a deadly threat, the water ghost let out a shriek and lunged forward with its gaping maw.

"You beast."

Li Zixuan remained calm, his fingers forming a sword shape as he gently pointed forward.

"disease!"

"call out--"

The sound of air being torn apart.

Everyone only saw a streak of blue light flash before their eyes. The next second, the giant water ghost, which was still in mid-air, suddenly froze.

A red dot appeared between its eyebrows.

Immediately afterwards, the massive body crashed to the ground like a kite with a broken string, kicking up a cloud of dust. Only after the corpse hit the ground did the hideous head slowly roll off, the cut as smooth as a mirror, without a single drop of blood spilling out, because the wound was instantly frozen by the sword energy.

Sold out instantly.

The entire room fell silent.

Li Guodong stared wide-eyed at the young man standing under the lights, his clothes fluttering in the breeze. The thought of "go get an MBA" stuck in his throat, and he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Is this... is this still the same son who only knows how to swipe his credit card to buy sports cars?

But it's not over yet.

Li Zixuan walked to the railing and frowned slightly as he looked down at the dozen or so water ghosts still climbing the wall.

"There are quite a few of them, perfect for trying out the new moves."

He took a deep breath, formed a hand seal, and his spiritual power surged wildly within him.

"Split light and transform into shadow, ten thousand swords return to their origin!"

Although he only had the cultivation level of the Great Perfection of Qi Refining and could not perform the true Ten Thousand Swords technique, the flying sword instantly split into three, transforming into three streams of light that swooped down with a piercing sound.

"Puff puff puff—"

The dull thud of a sharp blade slicing into flesh came from downstairs, along with the monster's dying screams.

Outside the hotel lobby, several agents from Bureau 749, who had been cornered by the monsters, stared in disbelief at the descending sword light. The monsters that had previously rendered them helpless were now as fragile as tofu before these sword lights.

Just ten seconds.

All the roars disappeared.

"receive."

Li Zixuan pointed his sword.

The three streaks of light merged into one, carrying a trace of lingering bloodlust, and obediently flew back into the sword sheath.

He turned around, looked at his petrified father and the group of awe-inspiring celebrities around him, straightened his Taoist robe, and took out his phone to take a picture of the monster's corpse.

[Ding—Mission Complete. Defeat a late-stage Qi Refining mutated aquatic creature. Reward: 20 low-grade spirit stones.]

Li Zixuan breathed a sigh of relief and revealed a long-lost smile that belonged to a young person.

"Dad, look."

He pointed to the monster on the ground, then to the sword on his back, "This is the 'business' I've learned in the past six months."

"This business may not make money, but it can save your lives. It can save your lives too."

Li Guodong looked at his son, his eyes suddenly reddening. He finally understood that his son was no longer the fledgling eagle that needed his protection.

In this chaotic world, the Li family's assets of several hundred billion are probably not as weighty as the sword behind his son.

"Well done...well done," Li Guodong said, his voice trembling, filled with unprecedented pride.

……

Meanwhile, on the opposite bank of the Huangpu River.

Inside the temporary command vehicle of the 749th Bureau's Shanghai branch.

The surveillance screen is showing the scene from the top floor of the Peninsula Hotel.

"Target's identity confirmed: Li Zixuan, a student in the Kunlun Sword Cultivation Department."

An analyst rapidly typed on his keyboard, "Director, news has also come from several other high-risk locations in the Shanghai area. Near Jing'an Temple, a Kunlun student used his Invincible Shield to withstand the ghost fire; near Lujiazui, a girl used talismans to set up a trapping formation..."

The branch chief looked at the green signals that kept flashing on the map and let out a long sigh of relief.

"They've finally...finally grown up!"

"Don't just stand there!" The branch chief waved his hand sharply. "The students are risking their lives up front; we can't just watch! The logistics team, get back to work and take charge of evacuating the crowd and cleaning up the scene! Don't let our heroes bleed and weep!"

……

Three o'clock in the morning.

As the alerts were lifted across coastal areas, the background data on the Kunlun APP began to refresh rapidly.

Li Zixuan refused his father's request to come home for the night.

"Dad, not tonight."

Li Zixuan stood at the hotel entrance, looking at the faint red light in the night sky in the distance, a signal that fighting was still going on in other areas.

"This is a task assigned by the school, and many students are struggling. I have to go and help them."

"Then...then be careful." Li Guodong stopped stopping him, and silently took off the priceless Buddhist prayer beads from his hand and put them into his son's hand, "I don't know if they'll work, but at least keep them as a memento."

Li Zixuan grasped the string of Buddhist beads that were still warm from his body, nodded, and then took out a talisman for quick travel and stuck it on his leg.

Just as he was about to leave, his phone vibrated.

A pinned announcement from the "Academic Affairs Office" popped up.

[School-wide Announcement]

[Content: I witnessed tonight's combat. Although some were flustered and some even forgot to use hand seals due to nervousness, at least you drew your swords.]

Remember, cultivators who follow the natural order become mortals, those who defy it become immortals. What you are defying is not only destiny, but also the calamities of this chaotic world.

[Note: Given that some disciples damaged public property during the battle (specifically referring to a student who destroyed a signal tower with lightning magic in Lujiazui), the corresponding amount of spirit stones will be deducted, and the student will be required to pay compensation at the original price.]

Looking at the announcement, Li Zixuan's lips curled up slightly.

He looked eastward, towards the East China Sea, which was also the source of this beast tide.

"The real trial has only just begun."

He tightened the sword belt on his back, and his figure instantly disappeared into the night of Shanghai.