In the silence, a faint sound suddenly broke the stillness. It truly wasn't loud, but with everyone else asleep, such a noise to Zhang Yang was no different from an explosion.

In an instant, Zhang Yang, upon the Wind, and Shadowless all turned towards one direction.

Their gaze fell upon a tent—one not far from Zhang Yang.

The side of this tent had somehow been pulled open, and a head was peering out. Seeing Zhang Yang staring, the head let out a soft gasp and immediately tumbled back inside.

"Someone else is awake?"

This time it was Zhang Yang's turn to be surprised. The parrot from earlier had clearly used a sound attack to put everyone to sleep before arriving.

Sound attack, also a method of assault, uses sound waves for combat. It is a very clever offensive technique, one not commonly seen nowadays.

Zhang Yang could also condense his voice to achieve an attacking effect, but it couldn't compare to a true sound attack. A genuine sound attack achieves its purpose purely through sonic waves, unlike Zhang Yang, whose voice condensation still relied heavily on internal energy.

Upon the Wind leaped directly over, kicking open the tent flap.

"Don't, don't kill me, I didn't see anything, didn't see anything, didn't hear anything at all!"

The person inside the tent was huddled together, afraid to look at Upon the Wind, clutching their head and crying out in terror, their voice thick with fear.

"Mr. Yan, you weren't asleep?"

Zhang Yang also approached, asking with a puzzled expression. The person in the tent still covered their head, unwilling to look out.

But even while covering up, Zhang Yang had already recognized him: the man he had just met today, the president of the Jinxi Supernatural Research Association, Yan Yefei.

"I was asleep, I am fast asleep. I'm sleepwalking!"

Yan Yefei immediately rolled onto the quilt beside him, trembling while covering his head. His appearance made Zhang Yang want to laugh, but it filled him more with astonishment.

He had noticed the parrot's sonic waves. They were powerful enough to affect him; everyone else had succumbed, even Long Cheng was still unconscious. Yet, Yan Yefei remained awake, and he clearly possessed not a trace of internal energy. This fact hinted at something deeply strange.

Zhang Yang said nothing more. He walked straight over and suddenly grabbed Yan Yefei's arm.

"No, no, I truly saw nothing, Master Zhang, please spare me!"

At Zhang Yang’s grip, Yan Yefei shook even more violently, finally lifting his head to beg Zhang Yang desperately for mercy.

He claimed he saw nothing while acting like this—a clear contradiction. Zhang Yang felt a mix of amusement and helplessness, managing only a slight shake of his head.

"Mr. Yan, there's no need to be afraid. I mean no harm and will not hurt you!"

Yan Yefei looked at Zhang Yang and slowly steadied himself. When Zhang Yang spoke, he had infused his words with internal energy, but this time the energy served to calm Yan Yefei's spirit.

In this state, Zhang Yang knew he couldn't get any answers out of him.

"Eradication Constitution?"

Holding Yan Yefei's hand, a trace of shock reappeared in Zhang Yang's eyes as he stared intently at the man.

Previously, when he had simply shaken hands with Yan Yefei, he hadn't probed his physical condition. Only now, seeing him awake when everyone else was asleep, did Zhang Yang reach out to examine him.

This examination revealed that Yan Yefei possessed the extremely rare Eradication Constitution within the cultivation world.

Internal energy practitioners placed immense importance on physique; a good constitution led to higher potential achievements in the future, while a poor one might result in no significant accomplishments at all.

It was similar to Zhang Yang’s previous life: his physique was quite ordinary. It was only through his grandfather's use of secret family methods, stimulating his body with medicines from childhood, that he managed to reach the mid-second layer strength by his thirties.

In his past life, his body was a major constraint. Even if he had continued cultivating, the best outcome he could hope for was breaking through to the third layer.

This was the limitation of physique. This current body was clearly much better than his previous one, which was why Zhang Yang noticed his cultivation speed was much faster than in his last life.

This applied to Zhang Yang, Long Cheng, and Qu Meilan—similar cases. Their physiques were all rather average. Even if they had cultivated since childhood, their achievements weren't remarkable. Both were still only at the first layer, and without a major opportunity, they likely wouldn't break into the second layer in this lifetime.

Generally, practitioner physiques fell into two categories: innate or hereditary.

Due to bloodline ties, the descendants of internal energy practitioners often possessed decent constitutions, with many able to cultivate internal energy. However, there were still gradations within this; the better ones might advance to the third or fourth layer, while the lesser ones remained stuck between the first and second layers.

This was precisely why noble cultivation families persisted for thousands of years—their disciples naturally held a bloodline advantage over ordinary people. It was one reason why family legacies endured longer than sect traditions.

Besides bloodlines, some individuals were born with superior physiques. If such people entered the cultivation world, their speed wouldn't be slower than that of family disciples. Among these superior constitutions, there were several types, with five being the primary and best. These five represented the pinnacle of cultivation bodies. Anyone possessing one, upon entering the cultivation world, could generally reach the fourth layer with effort.

The Eradication Constitution was one of these five.

The term 'Eradication' meant to purge all bodily imperfections. It was a body naturally suited for cultivation; the meridians of such a person contained extremely few impurities, meaning their cultivation speed was far faster than others.

The Eradication Constitution ranked third among the five best physiques.

It could be said that individuals with this body type were coveted by every sect. This constitution was innate, a rarity even among internal energy families, something they might hope for but rarely find.

In fact, Shi Fang of Shaolin possessed one of the five great constitutions, though not the Eradication Constitution—Zhang Yang learned this later.

It was a pity that Yan Yefei was now too old, far past the optimal age for cultivation. Even if a sect master encountered him now and recognized his rare cultivation potential, it would be futile, leading only to disappointment. If he had been thirty-odd years younger, under three, or even six, he would undoubtedly have been a disciple fiercely fought over by sects, instantly becoming a core disciple with priority access to premium resources. Even in major sects like Shaolin or Wudang, such physiques were highly valued. Cultivating one such disciple was equivalent to gaining a future elder.

Discovering Yan Yefei had the Eradication Constitution, Zhang Yang understood instantly. The greatest trait of this physique was the absence of impurities, allowing it to purge all bodily flaws. Having no inherent flaws meant external influences would naturally be ineffective against him—the parrot’s sound attack was therefore useless.

It was for this very reason that he remained conscious without Zhang Yang noticing him earlier.

"Master Zhang, I swear, I guarantee I saw nothing, please spare me!"

Seeing Zhang Yang lost in thought, Yan Yefei resumed his desperate pleading. He was genuinely terrified. He had been drowsy, but hearing voices outside made him peek out. What shocked him was that the person speaking outside was a parrot, conversing with Zhang Yang as if human.

This realization stunned him. Parrots could speak, but everyone knew they only mimicked sounds, they didn't engage in direct dialogue. Coupled with the content of their conversation, Yan Yefei became even more bewildered.

After the parrot finished speaking and flew away, he felt a sudden internal chill, an overwhelming pressure that nearly made him collapse inside the tent. This was actually a minuscule amount of internal energy leaked by the spirit beast as it departed. Had the parrot intended it, this pressure could have easily knocked him unconscious. Because of this tiny leak, he had finally made a sound that alerted Zhang Yang.

"Mr. Yan, you don't need to be afraid. I have no intention of harming you, nor am I any kind of immortal!"

Zhang Yang shook his head helplessly, once again infusing his voice with internal energy to soothe the man’s agitated spirit.

After Zhang Yang spoke, Yan Yefei stabilized slightly but continued to watch Zhang Yang with suspicion.

"I am not an immortal, merely someone a bit different from ordinary people. I am an internal energy practitioner, and that parrot was a spirit beast—a very powerful one!"

Zhang Yang spoke slowly; since he had been seen, an explanation was necessary. At this moment, Zhang Yang had a headache about how to handle Yan Yefei—it was a predicament.

Yan Yefei had clearly witnessed something he shouldn't have, yet he was blameless. Zhang Yang knew methods to erase the night's memory, but that would cause damage to the man's brain. Back on the plains, Zhang Yang had made those poachers forget previous events, leaving them listless. However, after losing their memories, those poachers all suffered from chronic headaches—a lingering side effect.

Zhang Yang could be ruthless with those poachers; they deserved their fate. But he truly couldn't bring himself to harm Yan Yefei. Not only was he a newly acquainted friend, but Yan Yefei had never offended them in any way; in fact, he had shown Zhang Yang great trust, revealing all his investigation findings upon their first meeting, which helped Zhang Yang identify previous oversights.

If he couldn't make him forget, Yan Yefei would have to carry these memories, which meant Zhang Yang was obliged to offer an explanation.

"I understand, I comprehend. You are not ordinary, and that was no ordinary parrot!"

Yan Yefei nodded vigorously. His composure had returned further; alongside his fear, there was a spark of curiosity. After all, he was the president of the Supernatural Research Association and was familiar with many phenomena.

Zhang Yang conversing with a parrot struck him as a supernatural event, as did Zhang Yang’s earlier movement—a blink, and he was at his side, his arm seized without any resistance. The arm felt locked, as if it didn't belong to him, only regaining mobility when Zhang Yang let go.

All of this confirmed that Zhang Yang was definitely not an ordinary person, akin to the non-human entities described in some of their research materials. He understood that Zhang Yang possessed abilities beyond the common man, abilities he was unaware of.

Returned late from an assignment, this is the third update, making up for the chapter owed from two days ago! RS