Zhong Yun shook his head decisively. No way. This ZER was of unknown origin; what if something went wrong if he followed it inside?

"I won't go with you until you clarify your origins." Even if you did, I wouldn't go in. Zhong Yun added silently in his mind.

The personal space was absolutely safe; he wasn't worried about ZER forcing him, but leaving without its permission would be rather troublesome.

A dark light flashed in ZER’s eyes. "Your clearance level is insufficient."

As the words fell, the surrounding scenery shifted, transforming into a vast space. Zhong Yun stepped back in alarm. "What are you doing?"

ZER hovered in mid-air. Unbeknownst to him, the white attire it wore had morphed into pure black, which, combined with its entirely dark eyes, made it look incredibly eerie. "Training commences."

Standing before Zhong Yun was a figure identical to him, accompanied by a large mirror reflecting his entire body.

The virtual human began to move, executing a series of bizarre motions that resembled a blend of dance and martial arts forms.

"Follow his movements," ZER commanded. "The rules are: one mistake incurs a single lash, a second mistake incurs two lashes, and a third mistake incurs three lashes."

Zhong Yun glanced behind him. A long, black whip was suspended in the air. He forced a dry chuckle. "You must be kidding."

Crack! The whip struck his back. Zhong Yun cried out in pain, "Ow!" He turned furiously. "Are you insane? You actually hit me?"

ZER’s tone was frigid. "Do not equate me with those low-grade programs. My highest priority directive is to ensure the master's survival. Your physical conditioning level is far too low, rendering your survival capability weak and unable to effectively guarantee your own safety. Therefore, the most crucial task currently is to enhance your survival capacity."

What nonsense is this? Zhong Yun seethed inwardly, but the circumstances dictated submission. To suffer less, obedience was the better part of valor.

Fortunately, while the virtual human's movements were peculiar, they weren't overly difficult. There were nine distinct actions in total. After Zhong Yun repeated them several times, the virtual human's speed increased, and he began to struggle to keep pace.

"Adjust your breathing. Follow the command. Inhale—one, two, three, four. Exhale—one, two, three, four, five, six. Inhale…"

This set of nine movements consumed several hours. Only when he was utterly exhausted and incapable of continuing did ZER permit him to stop.

Panting heavily, Zhong Yun managed to ask, "What's the point of these movements? Can practicing this stuff really improve my physical conditioning?"

"This is calisthenics invented by the Jialan people. Paired with the Mika Ray, it is an extremely effective training methodology. According to my calculations, with daily training, your physical conditioning could reach Level One in just ten years."

Ten years? Zhong Yun rolled his eyes. You think I’m stupid? Once I get out, I’ll find an antivirus company to wipe you out.

As if reading his thoughts, ZER stated, "You must never speak of my existence to anyone, or not only I, but you too, will face mortal danger."

Zhong Yun scoffed. Heh, pretty smart for an AI, figuring out how to use threats. But I was raised on scares; you think I’m easily fooled?

ZER’s next words were truly earth-shattering. "Your soul is unstable. You must not leave this room for the next thirty days."

Zhong Yun's face changed drastically. "You... you... what did you say?" His greatest secret had been exposed so abruptly, leaving him utterly stunned.

"To conserve energy, I activate for two hours daily, entering hibernation the rest of the time. Today’s time slot is complete. Be here at the same time tomorrow."

As soon as ZER finished speaking, the space vanished. In the blink of an eye, Zhong Yun was back in his personal space.

"Don't go... Explain to me exactly what is going on! Hey—" Zhong Yun lunged forward, trying to detain ZER.

"Xiao Yun, what's wrong?" ZER’s black attire disappeared, reverting to its original white, and its voice returned to a sweet, feminine tone. Xiao Qi was back.

Zhong Yun sank onto the floor, looking utterly lost, countless thoughts swirling in his mind, his emotions a tangled mess once more.

He could only confirm one thing: his transmigration was definitely connected to ZER. Even if it didn't cause it, it was certainly privy to the secret.

After sitting for a long time, Zhong Yun slowly managed to organize his thoughts. Since ZER promised to reappear tomorrow, he could question it then. Having made up his mind, he temporarily set the matter aside.

"Xiao Qi, help me search for the keyword: soul transference."

"It would be my pleasure." Xiao Qi closed her eyes, and a few seconds later, a dense column of information appeared before Zhong Yun. He scrolled through it line by line. After reviewing dozens of entries, he felt he had a grasp on the situation.

The Davo Republic was promoted to a mid-tier civilization ten years ago, primarily because it met the prerequisite: achieving spaceship spatial jump technology.

This indicated that Davo’s technology was extremely advanced, perhaps centuries ahead of Earth. However, for such an advanced civilization as Davo, research into the human soul remained a complete blank slate.

Whether the soul could exist after death had always been a mystery.

If people learned that he had not only died once but his soul had successfully attached itself to another body, it would undoubtedly stir up a tempest in the political landscape, driving countless individuals to madness.

What did soul transference imply? It meant that the aging of the human body was no longer a barrier to human life; it meant humans could never truly die.

No one could resist the temptation of immortality.

Therefore, even though soul transference research had made no headway, powerful conglomerates threw vast sums of money into the field every year, solely for that infinitesimally small hope.

Understanding this, Zhong Yun’s face paled slightly out of fear. What would happen if the secret of his transmigration and possession were exposed? Major powers would swarm him, dissecting him down to the cellular level for laboratory study.

The mere thought sent shivers down his spine. Let this secret stay buried with me, he thought to himself.

Composing himself, he searched for "ZER." Unsurprisingly, there was no information whatsoever about ZER.

After a moment’s thought, he searched for two more keywords: "Jialan Star" and "Mika Ray."

The Jialan Star was quite famous; it was said to have been a high-level civilization five thousand years ago, completely annihilated during an unprecedented cosmic storm. In that disaster, hundreds of millions of stars were extinguished, and the entire galaxy looked as if it had been pierced by a hole.

The Jialan people were most renowned for their artifacts. Some said the Jialan people were born artists—and that was no exaggeration. The region produced a wealth of poets, painters, musicians... talent in every artistic domain.

Even their language was hailed as the most beautiful in the entire universe; rumor had it that in high society, one would feel too ashamed to exchange pleasantries without speaking fluent Jialan.

The poetry and music left behind by the Jialan Star were celebrated across all galactic civilizations; any nation failing to include several hundred of their works would be viewed as provincial rubes by others.

Furthermore, the physical antiques, like paintings, that survived to this day were priceless treasures, each meticulously preserved. Davo’s National Museum housed a Jialan sculpture called "Viky," considered Davo’s most important national treasure.

However, Zhong Yun could find no information regarding Jialan calisthenics. The Mika Ray yielded nothing either.

Yet, the term "high-level civilization" made his hands tremble with excitement. What was the concept of a high-level civilization? The gap between a high-level civilization and Davo, which had just entered the mid-tier, was comparable to the gap between Davo and primitive cavemen.

It could be said that even a single piece of refuse from a high-level civilization was an immense fortune to Davo.