Moreover... Zero had gone to Shanxi, and within Shandong's territory there were only Zhang Heng and Cheng Xiao. These two men certainly weren't Zheng Zha, nor could they even compare with Zero. In the entire Zhongzhou team, only a few individuals possessed enough courage to confront Chu Xuan without fear - coincidentally, Zheng Zha was currently sleeping soundly in Shanxi while Zero kept vigil over him... (Could it be that Chu Xuan had orchestrated this scenario from the very beginning? Otherwise why did he call upon no one else but specifically sent Zero to guard Zheng Zha in Shanxi? After all, aside from Zheng Zha himself, only Zero dared oppose Chu Xuan directly. And if internal conflict should erupt, apart from Zheng Zha there might be no one capable of threatening Chu Xuan more than Zero...) Wang Xia rapped his forehead, banishing those thoughts about infighting from his mind. Though he truly hesitated against wanton slaughter, after hearing Chu Xuan's explanation it seemed necessary to proceed. They weren't righteous sages after all - if this was the only path forward to survival, they would have to embrace the role of demons and walk it through no matter what cost. His uncertainty gradually faded.

(...But even should we become demons and obtain the Buddha statue, without Zheng Zha's awakening we wouldn't have sufficient combat power to defeat that first god Hao Yi. Would all this effort then be in vain? I can only hope Chu Xuan's drive ability and Zero's point-line magic eye prove effective... Why won't Zheng Zha awaken already?) Zheng Zha certainly wanted to wake up too, having spent over half a year trapped within the dream world.

This monotonous existence was truly unbearable. Every day followed the same pattern - watching this beautiful little Lolita darting about, or enjoying the view of Zhao Yingkong bathing and swimming in the ocean. That was it in one sentence.

Beyond that, Zheng Zha had grown unbearably bored to his very core.

(No more can I endure these countless months of waiting here. When will it ever end? Perhaps today I should manifest myself and have a clear conversation with this little girl.)

This month's greatest achievement for Zheng Zha was simulating Zhao Yingkong's thought patterns sufficiently enough to briefly interact with the dream world itself. The more complete his simulation, the greater degree he could utilize his own power - not only that, but through Zhao Yingkong she had also taught him a secret method to safely navigate the intermediate stage of fourth-phase genetic lock unlocking. If this method truly worked,

the Zhongzhou team might very well become the strongest squad in all of Reincarnation... The absolute pinnacle, surpassing both Demon and Celestial teams.

Zhao Yingkong's younger sister Zhao Ruikong was actually an incredibly powerful psychic controller who had already broken through to fourth-phase genetic lock with innate psychic abilities. With her assistance,

Zhao Yingkong discovered an alternative method for unlocking the genetic locks -

forcefully breaking through mental demons.

After all, those trapped in mental demons often fall into a state of violent frenzy. Though manifestations vary wildly, deep within their minds only chaotic violent impulses remain - unable to distinguish allies from enemies, they attack everyone around them. But this same violent consciousness paradoxically suppresses one's original sense of self, so unless the afflicted realizes and sees through their own mental demons, there is no escape.

But Zhao Yingkong took an entirely different approach, calling it "proving one's path through strength."

If we compared unlocking genetic locks to cultivation legends,

the intermediate stage of fourth-phase genetic lock would correspond precisely to the final mental obstacle before achieving enlightenment. This had little relation to actual power levels but rather required a shift in mindset.

For example, Zheng Zha instantly achieved breakthrough simply by seeing past his own psychological vulnerabilities.

Zhao Yingkong sought an alternative path through these mental demons -

completely suppressing violent impulses. She called this "proving one's path through strength."

Zhao Yingkong had activated fourth-phase genetic locks (though only at stage), and she had indeed reached the level of mastery known as "perceiving subtleties." But simultaneously, wave after wave of violent consciousness began invading her mind. Then came Zhao Ruikong's role - absorbing these violent impulses from Zhao Yingkong until even she could barely suppress them any longer. Only then would Zhao Yingkong finally recover from the genetic lock activation state, at which point Zhao Ruikong would reverse-press the violent impulses back into Zhao Yingkong's consciousness. Of course, since unawakened Zhao Yingkong wasn't currently under active genetic lock effects,

she successfully suppressed these violent impulses without succumbing to them.

"Hmm, Yingkong sister, how did it go this time? Has it nearly reached the mental demon stage?" Zhao Ruikong was also a beautiful little Lolita. After expending psychic energy just now, the girl lay panting on the sandy ground with flushed cheeks resembling a small apple as she asked Zhao Yingkong.

Zhao Yingkong looked equally fatigued but sat down to rub Zhao Ruikong's face while smiling,

"Little Ruikong looks so cute when tired - no wonder your brother always calls you Xiao Pingguo (small apple). You really do resemble one..."

Zhao Ruikong blushed and swatted away her hand, scolding,

"That's not right! My brother doesn't just call me Xiao Pingguo. He secretly calls you that too... Haha, Yingkong sister - when will YOU become an apple to be devoured by my brother?"

Zhao Yingkong's face instantly turned crimson as she pinched Zhao Ruikong's cheeks and said,

"There's still a long way before reaching mental demon state. But through repeated exposure and suppression of these violent impulses, each time I feel like I can endure just that much longer. If we keep this up, I believe my planned method - 'proving one's path through strength' by suppressing violent impulses - will actually work to safely navigate the intermediate fourth-phase genetic lock stage..."

Seeing Zhao Yingkong's relaxed expression, Zhao Ruikong exhaled in relief. But suddenly Zhao Yingkong grasped both sides of her face and said earnestly,

"Ruikong, honestly tell me - has your progress unlocking genetic locks suddenly accelerated? Because lately you've been storing all these violent impulses from me... So your fourth-phase progression speed must have increased as well, right?"

Zhao Ruikong smiled and began to protest, but Zhao Yingkong fixed her gaze steadily until the girl finally sighed in defeat,

"Mmm... Recently my genetic lock progress has indeed sped up a bit. But it shouldn't be related to you - I sometimes saw acceleration before too. Now with your method, mental demon states aren't so terrifying anymore. If I enter one, I can just distribute those violent impulses around me and easily survive through the state, hehe..."

Zhao Yingkong shook her head seriously,

"No, mental demon states are fundamentally different from ordinary frenzies... How should I explain? It's a kind of spiritual realm - though your mind becomes filled with violent impulses causing attacks on everyone around you, you'll actually feel like you're in an entirely different state of consciousness. That's the terrifying part because you won't even realize you're losing control and thus can never stop it yourself. This is why I've been trying to suppress these impulses directly rather than merely endure them - but this path is too difficult. We've only taken the first step, after all. 'Proving one's path through strength' may be a shortcut but cannot compare with the orthodox method. If I can just see through my mental demons, I believe I could immediately reach the true intermediate fourth-phase genetic lock state... So little Ruikong, don't develop any thoughts about mental demon states."

"Anla anla."

Zhao Ruikong quickly changed topics,

"Speaking of which... Yingkong sister, my brother has only unlocked first-phase genetic locks. His progress is so slow - does that mean his talent is poor? Will you someday look down on him in the future?"

Zhao Yingkong blushed,

"You little brat, what are you talking about looking down or not. We're not even at that kind of relationship yet... And judging strength based solely on genetic lock progression isn't entirely accurate either. As we age naturally our locks will develop over time anyway. I actually think... perhaps your brother is a super genius after all - someone with better natural talent than any of us, which is why he can suppress his own genetic locks so well..."

"So you see, Zhao Zui Kong might very well surpass me someday..."