Qin Fen shook his head repeatedly, sighing at how small the world was—to actually run into someone from the Dragon Hall here.

Wu Hui nodded enthusiastically, marveling internally at how strange fate could be; in this massive, heavily populated Federation, the mysterious master of the [Dragon Hall] was here.

Qin Fen glanced around, setting his sights on the long sofa. It would be much more comfortable to enter the Sky Combat Network while reclining.

"Squad Leader..." Wu Hui stopped Qin Fen, pointing to the helmet in his hand. "The one you're holding is broken."

"Broken?" Qin Fen managed a weak smile. After finally finding a helmet, it was broken anyway. "Forget it! There will be plenty of time later; there’s no need to rush."

Wu Hui looked up at the wall clock, then shot out of the room in a blur. Rest time was over; it was time to self-study the mechanisms and traps he hadn't fully grasped earlier.

Yu Xiao was still deep in thought. He didn't possess Qin Fen's instantaneous comprehension, but his strength lay in pure focus.

Qin Fen recalled what the King of Guns had once said: "Shooting requires absolute concentration! Of course, your weird brother doesn't count among those."

Xiao had that absolute focus. No matter how noisy it had been in the room just now, he remained unmoving as stone, entirely immersed in that fleeting moment of gunfire.

A cautious knocking sounded on the door. The door slowly opened a crack.

A young policewoman, clutching a folder, spoke quietly, "Director Qin. Do you have a moment?"

Director? Qin Fen murmured an "Oh," remembering he wasn't just the Deputy Squad Leader but also the Deputy Director of the Tianbei City Police Bureau.

Qin Fen looked around the office environment. Its desolation was almost comparable to a morgue in a hospital; hardly anyone ever visited. If he wasn't free now, he couldn't imagine who in this world actually was.

The policewoman watched Qin Fen's actions and let out a soft chuckle. The Special Security Detachment was known as the laziest department in the entire Tianbei City Police Bureau!

The policewoman quickly suppressed her smile and looked at Qin Fen timidly. "Well, Director, the Bureau has allocated an apartment for you. Do you have time now to go with me to handle the handover? You can’t keep living in a hotel, right?"

"Good," Qin Fan nodded. "I don't have any pressing work right now. Let's go take a look."

The policewoman walked beside Qin Fen, occasionally stealing glances at him. She wondered what kind of overwhelming means this seemingly young Deputy Director possessed to have temporarily subdued that group of untamable, utterly unruly troublemakers.

Leaving the office building and taking a police car, they soon arrived at the Tianbei City Police Bureau's bachelor apartments.

As Deputy Director, Qin Fen was allocated a two-bedroom, one-living-room unit. Sofas, beds, natural gas, and computers—everything was fully equipped. Anyone moving in wouldn't need a single piece of furniture; they could occupy it just by carrying their head on their shoulders.

The policewoman handed the keys to Qin Fen and began to back away from the apartment. "Deputy Director Qin, take your time looking around. The Director said your only work this afternoon is to settle into the apartment; there’s no rush to return to duty."

"Thank you," Qin Fen said with a polite smile as he walked towards the policewoman. "I’ll walk you out."

"No need, no need!"

The policewoman waved her hands repeatedly, a look of flattered surprise flickering in her clear eyes. She wasn't used to it; people who reached high positions at such a young age were usually arrogant. She hadn't expected this new Director to be so humble, without a trace of condescension.

Qin Fen insisted on escorting the policewoman downstairs. He returned to the room and looked around the beautifully decorated, comfortable space, sighing deeply. Not long ago, he had struggled just to find a three-foot space to sleep; now, he temporarily possessed a very comfortable apartment.

After a quick shower, Qin Fen collapsed onto the large bed in the master bedroom.

Although the morning's undersea practice hadn't completely drained all his strength, the immense seawater pressure and vast currents had still caused significant wear and tear on his body.

Sleep was the best form of rest. Qin Fen fell asleep shortly after lying on the bed.

Day? Night?

In the dream space, even if it was daytime outside, it remained night here.

Qin Fen floated quietly in the special space with no point of landing—a sensation he had long become accustomed to.

"Congratulations."

A white light emerged from the darkness, and the Master stepped out, smiling faintly. He still wore the same timeless long gown, a hint of gentle scholarly elegance lingering between his brows, making him seem more like a scholar than a martial artist.

Only Qin Fen knew how terrifying his martial theory was, hidden beneath that refined scholarly demeanor. The Master was like an encyclopedia of martial arts; any martial arts conundrum could always find its answer with him.

The Master lightly cupped his fist and said, "Today, congratulations on gaining a new insight."

Qin Fen bowed slightly. "Luck, sir. The momentum of the ocean is truly magnificent. Before it, I was like a toad that had puffed itself up with air."

"A toad puffed up with air?" The Master frowned, thought for a moment, then laughed. "That's quite vivid. Don't rush your practice. You’ve been standing here waiting, I assume you have a query?"

"Yes." Qin Fen directly presented the question he'd gotten from Ge Bing. "Master, what exactly is the realm of Blood Exchange Rebirth True Innate?"

The Master's lips curved into a faint smile, his eyes holding the expression of one who had anticipated this very question. "Do you still remember the Meteor Rank?"

"Of course, I remember," Qin Fen pinched the bridge of his nose. "When one advances from Four-Star to Five-Star—the moment of reaching the Meteor Rank—the True Qi inside the body undergoes a qualitative change. Acquired True Qi transforms into Innate True Qi. That's why Five-Star is called the Meteor Rank, or the Innate Martial Artist. Because of this transformation, there is such a vast gap in strength between Five-Star and Four-Star."

The Master smiled with satisfaction. "Correct. The moment a human enters the Meteor Rank, their body has already begun to change. In fact, the rebirth through blood exchange is an inevitable path for martial artists to increase their strength. After that first qualitative shift at the Five-Star level, when they reach the Ten-Star level, there will be another qualitative shift. However, this time, it is not the Qi that changes, but the Blood!"

"Blood?"

"Indeed, blood," the Master’s tone brooked no argument. "When entering Ten-Star, the body's blood begins to change due to the stimulation of the surging Innate True Qi. The blood will become exceptionally thick, like sugar syrup that has been boiled down, allowing the blood itself to enter the so-called Innate realm, further strengthening the body. Hence, it is called Blood Exchange Rebirth True Innate."

Qin Fen stared at the Master in astonishment. Such a thing happened to Ten-Star martial artists? He had never heard of this before.

"You don't need to be surprised or think this is strange," the Master said, waving his hand. A cross-sectional diagram of a human body appeared in the air. The blood in the vessels gradually changed from thin as fresh water to thick as syrup. "This is just a normal physical change. The initial purpose of martial arts training is to enable martial artists to break through so-called physical limits. While it sounds profound, it is not something strange."

Qin Fen looked up silently at the diagram floating in the air—the flow of True Qi and the subtle changes in the blood. This precious data and experience were things that even descendants of divine beasts, those favored sons of heaven whose innate conditions surpassed everyone else, would never have the chance to see.

These images were certainly not just meant to show someone the process of transformation as a Nine-Star martial artist entered the True Innate realm.

Qin Fen knew that a master of such supreme theoretical skill would not engage in such a meaningless exercise. There absolutely had to be profound martial principles hidden within, but he wouldn't point them out. Whether one could grasp them depended entirely on personal enlightenment.

"Five-Star is a threshold, and Ten-Star is another threshold, is it not?" The Master's calm voice echoed through the special space. "Countless martial artists stop at the Four-Star level for their entire lives because they cannot convert their Acquired True Qi into Innate True Qi. Similarly, countless martial artists halt their progress at the Nine-Star level. In truth, it's the same as those stuck at Four-Star: without the Blood Exchange Rebirth, they cannot enter the True Innate realm, and naturally, they cannot reach the Ten-Star level."

Qin Fen nodded slowly. Although he possessed some ability to challenge opponents above his level, there was always a limit. If he faced a master like Wang Ying or Ban Chan Niu, who fought without reservation and unleashed everything, Qin Fen wouldn't stand much chance.

Breakthrough! He must break through to Ten-Star! Qin Fen clenched his fist tightly. This would be a crucial threshold in his life. The longer he delayed, the smaller the possibility of breakthrough became; he might genuinely stop at Nine-Star forever.

"Qin Fen, don't be too anxious," the Master said, waving his hand again. Several more diagrams appeared in the sky. "You've just reached Nine-Star; you still need some time to stabilize before you initiate the charge toward the Ten-Star level."

Qin Fen smiled, and while what the Master said was true, the thought of Ten-Star being such a critically important threshold still made his heart uneasy. Martial arts history was full of young prodigies who inspired great expectation, pushing their strength to Nine-Star during their first burst period. Yet, when people predicted what realm they might reach during their second burst, they found that even after the entire period passed, they remained stuck at Nine-Star—and they remained stuck even after the third and fourth bursts.

The Master looked at Qin Fen's grim expression and waved his hand again, adding several more cross-sectional diagrams to the sky.

Absolute focus! Qin Fen also entered the state of absolute concentration that Yu Xiao possessed, but his target was not firearms; it was to find the secret of the Ten-Star realm within these diagrams.

The Master nodded repeatedly with a satisfied smile. If he continued like this, once Qin Fen broke through to Ten-Star and advanced further, he would truly be ready to accept the explosive power boost steps of Star Force Infusion...