Otherworldly Affairs Office

Chapter 1113: A Word to Awaken the Dreamer

After finishing his patrol of the perimeter, Wang Wenze strolled back into the courtyard. His gaze swept around but he didn’t see Pei Yan, who was supposed to be on duty there. Although he was puzzled, he didn’t think too much of it. Taking advantage of the nice sunshine, he leaned against a corridor pillar, enjoying the warm, cozy feeling of the sun on his body as he pulled out a cigarette, stuck it in his mouth, and slowly started smoking.Just as he was puffing away, he suddenly felt a shadow flicker under the corridor opposite him. The movement gave Wang Wenze such a start that a jolt ran through him, the cigarette fell straight out of his mouth onto the ground, and he immediately raised his guard and entered combat mode.

However, when he focused all his attention on searching for that figure, it vanished without a trace again. At first, Wang Wenze thought it was just his imagination, but he still didn’t relax. He released his own source energy outward to expand his search range, and he stared unblinkingly at the spot where that figure had appeared, hoping to find the slightest clue.

Right then, a cloud just happened to drift over the sky above the courtyard. The gentle sunlight was slightly blocked, and for a brief moment the ground shifted from sunny to overcast. It was at that moment that the figure reappeared, and this time Wang Wenze finally saw the other party’s appearance clearly.

"Pe–Pei Yan!" Wang Wenze blurted out in shock, staring at Pei Yan, who was sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, regulating his breathing.

"Hoo!" At the sound of the call, a thick breath of source energy slowly streamed out from Pei Yan’s mouth, forming a mist of energy around him. Only then did he end the circulation he’d been performing. He raised his head and looked at Wang Wenze, who was staring at him wide-eyed, and asked in confusion, "What’s wrong? Did something happen?"

Seeing that it was Pei Yan, Wang Wenze let out a breath of relief, walked over, and sat down beside him, saying irritably, "There wasn’t anything wrong, but you almost scared me into causing something wrong! I was this close to sending out an attack alert. What are you doing fooling around with your Divine Artifact fusion in the courtyard when nothing’s going on?"

"Divine Artifact fusion? I wasn’t using Divine Artifact fusion!"

"You weren’t? Weren’t you just using that Divine Artifact you used in the arena for that concealment technique?" Misjudging Pei Yan’s disappearance as Divine Artifact fusion, Wang Wenze shot back.

"No, I was trying a new method of circulating my energy just now!" After hearing Wang Wenze’s words, Pei Yan was secretly delighted and said excitedly, "You’re saying you didn’t notice me at all when you came in just now?"

"Of course. If I’d seen you, wouldn’t I have said hi?" Seeing that Pei Yan didn’t look like he was joking, Wang Wenze immediately recounted exactly what he’d just seen.

"Hahaha! This power really is amazing! Even when I’m running it unconsciously, it can have that kind of effect. This feeling is just awesome!" Pei Yan’s eyes were shining as he looked at his own body, then he said with a hint of regret, "It’s a pity I still can’t merge the source energy in my body into one. From that circulation just now, I could feel it: once they truly fuse, they’ll erupt with combat power beyond anything I can imagine."

"Power? You mean your newly awakened ability? Or the power you took back from Di Xin? It can do this too?" Seeing how happy Pei Yan was, Wang Wenze cut in and asked.

"Neither. It’s a power bestowed on me by a senior at Investigation Hall headquarters when I went home on leave." As he spoke, Pei Yan poured out the marvelous aspects of Yue Yong’s use of the ability and how he passed it on to him, all in one go.

Hearing that Pei Yan’s strength had risen yet another level, Wang Wenze was both happy and envious. He looked at Pei Yan with emotion and said, "So you’ve gotten stronger again! You actually have three identical abilities inside you, each controlled in a different way? This is the first time I’ve ever heard of that. Looks like you’ve set another first in the Superpower Realm. How does it feel, having three interconnected powers?"

"Very strange—in a good way. You can feel that they share the same origin! Whenever I use one of the abilities, the other two immediately complement it, making it incredibly smooth and satisfying to stir up my source energy."

"Congratulations, Pai Bangzhu, on mastering Threefold Returning Vital Qi. My World Association unifying the world is just around the corner now!" Seeing the fully immersed look on Pei Yan’s face as he spoke, Wang Wenze couldn’t help teasing with a laugh.

"What? Threefold Returning Vital Qi?" Hearing his friend mention that famous move from a certain childhood manga, Pei Yan suddenly felt like he’d grasped onto something and reflexively asked back.

"Threefold Returning Vital Qi! Fengyun? Xiongba! Don’t tell me you’ve never read it? Is the generation gap between us that huge? You’ve fused three types of qi..."

"No, no! I know what you’re talking about! Let me think, let me think!" Pei Yan waved a hand to cut off Wang Wenze’s explanation, then sprang up from the ground and started pacing back and forth in the courtyard, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Wang Wenze still didn’t know why Pei Yan was reacting so strongly, but he knew Pei Yan had definitely thought of something important. So he didn’t dare disturb him. He quietly got up and moved to a corner of the courtyard, silently observing Pei Yan’s every move.

"Right! Right! Threefold Returning Vital Qi! How could I be this stupid and stubborn?" After a few steps, Pei Yan seemed to figure something out. He slapped himself on the head, sat down where he was, and started circulating his source energy again.

"Shit! I was just talking nonsense—he’s not actually going to practice some damn Threefold Returning Vital Qi, is he?" Seeing this, Wang Wenze started to panic. If, because of some offhand remark of his, Pei Yan messed around with something and went into qi deviation, what would they do? Thinking of that, he didn’t dare leave, but he was also afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it if something happened in a moment. All he could do was pull out the walkie‑talkie Pei Yan had previously issued to every member of Investigation Hall and report what was happening here to Mei Simiao and Pei Jin.

Compared to doing thankless work for Immortal Palace chasing down that damn mole, Pei Yan’s life—one of Investigation Hall’s current main pillars—was obviously far more important. Upon receiving the notice, Mei Simiao immediately put down what she was doing and came to the courtyard with Pei Jin and the others. By this time, the courtyard was completely transformed. Pei Yan, sitting in the middle of the yard, looked like a fog machine. Tangible-looking source energy was gushing out of his body and spreading through the courtyard. After contacting the air, some of the energy dispersed into heaven and earth, while some condensed into one phantom figure after another, darting up and down within the grounds and making all kinds of moves. Some of the figures were Pei Yan himself, some were enemies he’d encountered before, and still others were his companions. Mei Simiao and Pei Jin even saw their own likenesses among them. These figures were so lifelike, and the aura they emitted felt so real, that if Wang Wenze hadn’t warned them beforehand, Mei Simiao and the others would almost have been fooled into thinking this was an enemy attack creating smokescreens.

"Wang Wenze! Where are you?" In this illusionary realm filled with fairy-like mist, even Mei Simiao and the others couldn’t determine Wang Wenze’s position, because they saw at least two Wang Wenzes in the field, appearing and disappearing. With no other choice, she had to call out in a low voice.

"I’m over here!" came Wang Wenze’s reply from a corner. Mei Simiao and the others exchanged a look, then groped their way toward the direction of the voice.