The room fell silent once more.
Only the sound of Lin Sheng's breathing remained.
The unconscious rogue cultivator lay motionless on the floor, his black robes stained with blood and snowmelt. The mask had shifted slightly during the fight, revealing part of a pale and gaunt face beneath.
Lin Sheng stared at him quietly.
The adrenaline from the battle had not fully faded yet.
His palms still felt cold.
That short exchange earlier had nearly cost him his life.
If not for the chip activating auxiliary calculations at maximum output for those few seconds, he would never have been able to react quickly enough.
A true Qi Refining cultivator was still far beyond him.
Even injured.
Even weakened.
Lin Sheng slowly exhaled.
"What now…"
That was the real problem.
He could not report this matter to the elders immediately.
At least not without thinking first.
Questions would definitely follow.
How did a twelve year old martial trainee defeat a Qi Refining cultivator?
How did he detect the intruder beforehand?
Why was there almost no damage inside the room despite the battle?
Too many things could expose him.
Especially his mental abilities.
Lin Sheng lowered his gaze slightly.
"And how did this person even enter the training centre…"
That bothered him the most.
The Lin Family Training Centre was guarded by Innate martial artists.
Not only that, formation patterns surrounded the outer regions of the compound.
Yet this man still infiltrated the courtyard silently.
No alarms.
No reactions.
That meant his concealment abilities were extremely advanced.
Lin Sheng frowned.
If this rogue cultivator had not entered his room first…
Then perhaps he would have successfully hidden somewhere inside the training centre until recovery.
The thought alone made Lin Sheng uncomfortable.
After a few moments of silence, he crouched beside the unconscious cultivator.
"First things first…"
Search him.
Lin Sheng carefully inspected the man's body.
A knife hidden beneath the sleeve.
A few strange powder packets tied around the waist.
Minor medicinal bottles.
And finally—
A pouch.
Lin Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Storage pouch…"
The pouch looked simple on the outside, dark grey and no larger than a palm. Yet faint spiritual fluctuations drifted from its surface.
He had seen similar items being sold within the Bing Region of Cloud Mist Market before.
Storage artifacts.
Tools used by cultivators to carry weapons, medicines, and resources.
Even the lowest grade storage pouch was extremely expensive.
Yet the quality of this one clearly exceeded the ordinary market variants.
Meaning this rogue cultivator was probably wealthier than expected.
Lin Sheng weighed the pouch in his hand.
Unfortunately—
He could not open it.
Storage pouches required activation through spiritual qi.
Not internal energy.
Not mental force.
True spiritual qi refined by immortal cultivators.
Lin Sheng currently possessed none of that.
He clicked his tongue softly.
"So close…"
He placed the pouch aside and picked up the jade slip next.
Unlike the pouch, the jade slip felt colder.
Smooth.
Dense.
Faint spiritual fluctuations pulsed within it.
Lin Sheng's eyes flickered thoughtfully.
Another item he could not use for now.
At least normally.
His sister's jade slip had proven earlier that mental power could sometimes substitute spiritual sense under certain conditions.
But blindly probing another cultivator's jade slip could be dangerous.
Especially without preparation.
For now, he placed it aside as well.
Then his gaze returned toward the unconscious cultivator.
The man's breathing was weak.
Uneven.
Several injuries covered his body beneath the robes.
Burn wounds.
Claw marks.
Spiritual qi damage.
According to the chip's earlier analysis, the rogue cultivator's internal injuries were severe enough already.
Combined with the trauma Lin Sheng inflicted to the head—
The man would likely remain unconscious for over thirty hours.
Thirty six hours approximately.
Lin Sheng sat back slowly against the wall.
"…This is troublesome."
Very troublesome.
He had gained almost nothing tangible.
Instead—
He inherited danger.
A rogue cultivator hidden inside his room.
Unknown enemies possibly nearby.
Potential pursuit.
Potential investigation.
Potential exposure.
The more Lin Sheng thought about it, the heavier his expression became.
But gradually—
His breathing calmed again.
Years of cultivating the Starry Sky Visualization Method gave him far greater emotional control than ordinary people.
Panicking solved nothing.
He slowly entered a shallow meditative state.
His thoughts became clearer almost immediately.
One by one, he began organizing the information.
First.
This person was almost certainly a rogue cultivator.
No clan insignia.
No sect robes.
Concealment techniques.
Poisons and powders.
Assassination behavior.
Everything matched.
Second.
His concealment ability was extremely high.
Enough to infiltrate the training centre without detection.
Third.
He was heavily injured.
Yet no one had appeared searching for him even after several minutes.
That meant one important thing—
Whoever injured him probably was not pursuing him actively anymore.
At least not nearby.
Otherwise the situation would already be chaotic.
Meaning Lin Sheng still had time.
Time to think.
Time to prepare.
Time to decide.
Lin Sheng's eyes slowly opened again.
"…Then I need information."
Real information.
Not guesses.
His gaze stopped on the unconscious cultivator once more.
Then—
A certain idea resurfaced inside his mind.
An experimental function the chip had proposed long ago.
Memory probing.
Lin Sheng's expression became serious.
The concept itself sounded absurd.
But after opening all eight apertures and reaching Entering Samadhi, his mental abilities had already surpassed normal limits.
Enhanced senses.
Mental perception field.
Telekinesis.
Even limited telepathic interaction.
Those abilities alone already bordered on the supernatural.
Then what about memories?
Human memory was ultimately information stored within consciousness.
If mental power could interact directly with another mind…
Then theoretically—
Extracting fragments of memory might be possible.
At least that was the chip's theory.
Of course, the risks were significant.
A conscious target could resist.
Strong willpower might reject intrusion.
A person with superior mental strength could even counterattack mentally.
More importantly—
Failure might damage the target's brain permanently.
Or worse.
Damage Lin Sheng himself.
But now?
This situation was different.
The rogue cultivator was unconscious.
Seriously injured.
Mentally weakened.
Practically defenseless.
This was probably the safest opportunity possible to test the theory.
Lin Sheng hesitated briefly.
Then his eyes hardened slightly.
"This world isn't safe enough for hesitation."
If he wanted to survive here, he could not remain softhearted forever.
Besides—
This man entered the room intending to kill him.
Lin Sheng slowly adjusted his posture into a lotus position.
The unconscious cultivator remained before him.
The room became completely silent again.
"Chip."
"Prepare mental synchronization assistance."
The familiar interface appeared instantly.
•[Warning: Unknown process detected]•
•[Estimated Success Rate: 41%]•
•[Potential Risks: Mental backlash, memory corruption, neural instability]•
•[Would host like to continue?]•
Lin Sheng stared at the warning for several seconds.
Forty one percent.
Not high.
But not impossibly low either.
"Continue."
•[Process initiated]•
Lin Sheng slowly closed his eyes.
Inside his sea of consciousness, the white dwarf rotated silently while the eight star points revolved around it like orbiting celestial bodies.
His mental energy spread outward gradually.
Not violently.
Carefully.
Like invisible threads.
The sensation felt strange.
Normally his mental field only observed externally.
Now—
He was attempting intrusion.
His mental force slowly touched the unconscious cultivator's forehead.
Immediately resistance appeared.
Weak.
Chaotic.
But present.
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
Even unconscious, the human mind instinctively resisted invasion.
The chip immediately responded.
•[Adjusting synchronization frequency]•
•[Reducing rejection reaction]•
Lin Sheng felt his mental force change subtly.
The resistance weakened slightly.
Then—
Contact formed.
A violent dizziness struck instantly.
Lin Sheng's vision blurred.
Countless fragmented sensations flooded his mind chaotically.
Blood.
Snow.
Screams.
Running footsteps.
Beast roars.
The sensation nearly made him lose focus.
Lin Sheng gritted his teeth.
"Stabilize!"
The chip responded immediately.
•[Filtering memory fragments]•
•[Prioritizing recent memories]•
The chaotic flood suddenly condensed.
Then—
Images began appearing clearly.
Lin Sheng's breathing slowed.
He saw mountains.
Dense forests covered in snow.
Several cultivators fighting demonic beasts.
Then—
A hidden figure scattering strange powder.
Ghost.
The rogue cultivator.
The scene shifted quickly.
Demonic beasts charging wildly.
A battle.
Blood everywhere.
Then another scene—
A middle aged cultivator surrounded by flames.
Qi Refining Stage Four.
The man fought fiercely, slaughtering beasts rapidly while spiritual qi exploded around him.
Ghost hid nearby silently.
Waiting.
Then—
A mistake.
A tiny fluctuation of breath escaped.
The cultivator's head snapped toward the hiding place instantly.
The next scene exploded violently.
Fire.
Blood.
Spiritual techniques.
Ghost fleeing desperately through the mountains while clutching his chest.
Lin Sheng's brows furrowed tightly.
So that was how he became injured.
The memory shifted again.
Cloud Mist Market.
Sneaking through outer regions.
Avoiding patrols.
Then finally—
The southern side of the training centre.
Lin Sheng focused harder.
He wanted more.
Specifically the concealment technique.
But suddenly—
The memories became unstable.
Ghost's unconscious mind instinctively resisted deeper probing.
Pain exploded inside Lin Sheng's head.
"Ugh!"
Blood trickled faintly from his nose.
The chip immediately sounded warnings.
•[Warning: Mental synchronization destabilizing]•
•[Potential backlash increasing]•
Lin Sheng clenched his fists tightly.
One final push.
The memories blurred again.
Then suddenly—
A fragment appeared.
A breathing technique.
Suppressing spiritual fluctuations.
Slowing heartbeat.
Concealing killing intent.
Qi Breath Holding Technique.
The fragment barely stabilized before collapsing completely.
BOOM!
Lin Sheng's mental connection shattered violently.
His eyes snapped open.
He coughed heavily while clutching his forehead.
Pain throbbed throughout his sea of consciousness.
For several moments, he could only breathe heavily.
The room spun slightly.
Eventually the dizziness weakened.
Lin Sheng leaned against the wall silently.
"…That was dangerous."
Far more dangerous than expected.
Even unconscious, invading another person's memories was extremely difficult.
Still—
Success.
Partial success at least.
He learned how Ghost was injured.
Confirmed no pursuers were nearby.
And most importantly—
He obtained part of the Qi Breath Holding Technique.
Lin Sheng slowly wiped the blood beneath his nose.
Then he looked toward the unconscious cultivator again.
This time—
His gaze became far more thoughtful.
Because he had just realized something important.
Mental cultivation…
Might be even more terrifying than he originally imagined.