Merin returns to the town without delay and enters the underground cultivation chamber beneath the government residence.
For him, killing the Raven Totem projection is not a major event.
The totem projection was only at the Second Stage of the Extraordinary, while he had slain beings at the Fourth Stage before. The difference in experience and comprehension is vast.
Thus, after the battle, he does not even bother to inspect the Cold Silver Metal Mine.
Instead, he returns immediately because during the fight, he has already completed the final missing piece of his Body Cultivation Technique.
He sits cross-legged in the quiet underground chamber.
In his spirit space, a projection of his current body materialises.
The projection begins practising the Body Cultivation Technique he has created, without incorporating his Virtual Space Dao.
The projection completes the first stage.
Then it stops.
Merin examines the internal changes.
The first stage does not elevate a mortal body to the First Stage of the Extraordinary.
Instead, it serves a foundational purpose; it activates the dormant life force and allows the practitioner to sense it directly.
It is an awakening phase, not an elevation.
He nods internally.
No modification is required for the first stage. There is no need to incorporate his Virtual Space Dao here.
He begins cultivating the first stage with his real body.
With his precise cellular-level control, activation is swift.
Within minutes, he senses the stirring of life force deep within his flesh.
It is subtle yet vast, like a hidden ocean beneath the surface of bone and blood.
Life energy emerges.
It blends with his qi.
Inside his dantian, the Sea of Qi deepens in colour.
It had already reached its limit previously, a vast crimson sea with a golden hue concentrated at the centre.
Now the crimson begins to darken.
It transitions gradually toward bronze.
The infusion of life force accelerates the transformation.
Yet Merin does not focus on this process.
His cultivation will advance naturally without deliberate attention.
His control is already absolute; he does not need to guide every current.
Instead, he returns to his spirit space.
The projection of his body now begins practising the second stage of the technique, again without his Virtual Space Dao.
When the projection completes the second stage, he examines it carefully.
His life level still does not advance to the First Stage of the Extraordinary.
However, something significant has formed.
A base.
A structural staircase within his existence, a foundation upon which future ascension can occur.
The body is being prepared to climb.
As he analyses the transformation, he realises something crucial.
The Laws he initially embedded, the Law of Strength, the Law of Dragon, and the Law of Transformation, are insufficient as independent frameworks.
They must be replaced.
His Virtual Space Dao already encompasses those Laws and far more, but in a refined, integrated manner shaped by his own understanding.
He begins to contemplate adjustments.
Then,
A realisation dawns.
He already possesses the final product.
He is attempting to create a technique that advances his life level to the Third Stage of the Extraordinary.
But in the Supreme World, his human body had already reached the Saint Stage, the Fourth Stage of the Extraordinary.
The Human World is still beneath the Supreme World in structural hierarchy. Fundamentally, the human body here is not significantly different.
What he requires is not invention,
But regression.
In his spirit space, a projection of his former Saint-level body manifests.
He begins carefully removing layers of transformation, receding the advanced states while simultaneously comprehending each structural shift. He studies the pathways that led from ordinary flesh to saintly constitution.
In his spirit space, years pass as he analyses, dismantles, reconstructs, and isolates pure principles.
Outside,
Only a few hours elapse.
With his current level of comprehension, the second stage of the new Body Cultivation Technique gradually takes shape.
It no longer relies on borrowed Laws but aligns with the core structure of his Virtual Space Dao while remaining functional within this world's cultivation system.
When the design stabilises, he begins cultivating the second stage.
Qi flows outward from his dantian.
Instead of circulating meridians alone, it spreads toward his cells.
Each cell absorbs and restructures.
The life force activated earlier now serves as a bridge, allowing qi to enter deeper layers of biological architecture.
The transformation is controlled and precise.
No violent expansion.
No reckless mutation.
Only refinement.
Hours pass.
When Merin finally opens his eyes, the underground chamber is silent.
He rises and steps outside.
Ziqi waits against the stone wall, arms folded. Hearing movement, he straightens immediately.
"Lord," Ziqi says respectfully.
Merin nods once.
"Did you bring our guest?"
"Yes, Lord. We invited him as he was leaving the glade."
Merin acknowledges this with a faint nod.
He turns and begins walking deeper into another section of the underground complex, toward the prison cells beneath the governor's residence.
Ziqi follows without question.
The dim corridor stretches ahead, lit only by oil lamps set into the stone walls at intervals. Their flames flicker faintly, casting long shadows that bend and twist across the ground.
Ziqi walks half a step behind Merin.
His gaze remains fixed on his Marquis.
Something is different.
He feels it clearly.
A dangerous atmosphere radiates from Merin.
It is not the usual pressure that accompanies revealed cultivation. When Merin reveals his realm, Ziqi can measure it. He can feel the distinct aura of a powerful warrior. But now,
Merin reveals nothing.
To Ziqi's spirit sense, the Marquis feels no different from a mortal without cultivation.
And yet,
The danger is unmistakable.
It is subtle. Concealed. Deep.
Ziqi's mind drifts briefly to a memory from his youth.
When he first entered the Duan Family training grounds, before cultivation techniques were taught, they were subjected to months of physical conditioning.
To temper their courage, the trainees were thrown into an arena with a spear in hand and a starving tiger released before them.
The feeling he had then,
The quiet, suffocating terror of facing a predator,
It is the same now.
Merin feels like that tiger.
Silent.
Unmoving.
But capable of tearing flesh apart in an instant.
Ziqi steadies his thoughts as they come to a stop before a prison cell.
Inside, a young man sits calmly against the wall.
He stands when he sees Merin approach.
Merin stops before the bars and looks in.
"What should I call you?" he asks mildly. "Or is Han Futong sufficient?"
The young man smiles faintly.
"For the Governor, you may call me anything. Han Futong is fine. Or the name others prefer, Face Changer."
Merin smiles slightly.
"You are confident. Do you understand that, according to the law, the crimes you committed warrant death?"
The Face Changer's expression remains composed.
"Lord Governor, the three men I eliminated were obstacles on your path to controlling the town. Therefore…"
Merin raises a brow.
"Therefore, I should thank you?"
"I do not require thanks," the Face Changer replies calmly. "But perhaps… release would suffice."
Merin chuckles softly.
He shakes his head once, then looks at him with utter calm.
"Did I require your assistance?"
The question is quiet.
But heavy.
For the first time, fear flickers in the Face Changer's eyes.
He drops to his knees.
"Governor," he says quickly, "what do you need me for?"
Merin's gaze remains steady.
"I want to know who stands behind you."
The Face Changer does not hesitate.
"The Third Young Master of the Xiao Family."
Merin's eyes narrow slightly.
So his suspicion was correct.
The Xiao Family is indeed involved.
The Face Changer continues.
"The forces in town initially wished to assassinate you. The Third Young Master forbade it. He instructed me instead to stay by your side."
Ziqi's expression hardens.
"Insolence," he says coldly. "Governor, give the order. We can eliminate every faction in this town."
Merin's voice remains level.
"Let us give them a chance to mend their ways."
He turns and begins walking away.
The Face Changer grips the bars anxiously.
"Governor! What about me?"
Merin does not turn back.
Outside the prison corridor, he speaks to Ziqi.
"In two days, release him. Then bring him to me."
Ziqi nods without question.
"Yes, Lord."
Behind them, the prison corridor grows silent again.