The convoy didn't go to the provincial government; it headed straight to the funeral home.

Chen Shouyi stared blankly out of the window. Coming back to his senses, he asked Bai Xiaoling, "Do you have a white envelope?"

"Yes! Yes!" Bai Xiaoling quickly took out a prepared white envelope from her small bag, the black character "奠" on it was particularly striking.

Chen Shouyi took it, realizing it was already stuffed with some money. He didn't mind, glanced at it, and put it in his pocket.

The funeral home arrived quickly, and a large crowd was already there to greet them at the door.

"Zzi!"

The convoy stopped.

Chen Shouyi, dressed in a black suit, got out of the car, his expression stern.

Qin Liuyuan's wife, Wang Suzhen, wearing white mourning clothes, appeared sorrowful and haggard, her eyes swollen from crying. Yet, seeing Chen Shouyi, she was still a bit excited and quickly approached, "General Manager Chen, I didn't expect you to come too. If Lao Qin knows this in the afterlife, he will be able to smile with peace."

Chen Shouyi was silent, "Lao Qin was my friend. Something happened to him, so I naturally had to come to see him one last time. Sister-in-law, please take care."

Wang Suzhen covered her mouth tightly, turned her head slightly, suppressing her emotions, then called her two sons, "Jiale, Lingjie, greet your uncle!"

"Hello, Uncle Chen." Qin Jiale and Qin Lingjie were both senior martial artists, prominent figures in Ningzhou, but facing General Manager Chen, who was about their age, they felt no resistance calling him uncle and showed respect.

He nodded, patted their shoulders, "You two are doing well. If you have any difficulties, you can come to Zhonghai to find me."

Everyone watched quietly as this scene unfolded. Among those attending the memorial were city leaders, provincial leaders, and some colleagues paying respects. Everyone understood the weight and meaning behind these words.

...

Inside the funeral home's memorial hall, two rows of wreaths were lined on both sides, creating a solemn atmosphere.

The body in the coffin had been stitched and made up, but the tragic state was still evident. Chen Shouyi took the flowers handed over by the master of ceremonies, stepped forward to bow, and placed the flowers.

"Dear friends, leaders, and guests,

We gather with heavy hearts to deeply mourn Comrade Qin Liuyuan.

On January 14, 2018, Comrade Qin Liuyuan bravely sacrificed his life during a mission, passing away at the age of 42.

His sacrifice caused us to lose a good comrade and a close friend. His sacrifice is a huge loss to Ningzhou City and Jiangnan Province, and we are deeply grieved..." The funeral home's host, a provincial leader, wore a sorrowful expression.

While the number of martial artists has greatly increased, in reality, the number of martial artists in the country does not exceed 30,000, with most in frontline units; their presence among civilians remains rare.

In a city like Ningzhou, the number of civilian martial artists does not exceed ten.

The loss of a martial artist, especially a veteran senior martial artist, in peaceful times, is a significant event.

...

Chen Shouyi listened quietly, but his heart grew increasingly calm.

The world is unpredictable. The last time he attended a memorial was for Xiao Changming, back then Qin Liuyuan was also present, but now it was for Qin Liuyuan himself.

After attending the memorial, he offered a few words of comfort to Qin Liuyuan's family, didn't converse much with Jiangnan Province's leaders, and hurried back to Zhonghai.

...

Several days later, late at night.

Under the streetlights, snow danced in the wind. It was unclear how many times it had snowed this year. Seeing that the snow had accumulated over a foot high on the ground, Chen Shouyi estimated he wouldn't be able to ride his bicycle the next day.

He watched for a while, then drew the curtains.

"One-one-one-one..."

The Shell Lady and Little Red, each with a math book, were on the bed seriously doing math problems, competing as they shouted louder than the other, making quite a raucous.

Second-grade math problems were much harder than first-grade ones, with each question taking a long time to solve.

He glanced at the attribute panel and found the energy value had reached 81. His heart felt like it was being scratched by a cat, but after hesitating for a long time, he decided to wait until the next day to go to another world.

As his strength grew, he became increasingly cautious. The evolution of dreams during cultivation technique optimization could likely reflect on reality.

His momentum, fueled by his own will, now matched that of a demigod's divine power, nearly reaching weak divine power. At such a time, it would undoubtedly be disastrous.

He took away the math books in front of the two little ones, "Stop doing the questions. Go to bed early."

"Okay, Giant, isn't Little Red weaker than me?" asked the Shell Lady, pointing at Little Red.

"You're not weaker. I'm stronger, and I solve questions faster," Little Red quickly responded.

"You made a mistake once, adding an extra one!" the Shell Lady refuted loudly.

"I didn't make a mistake; you remembered wrong," Little Red stubbornly replied.

"Alright, stop arguing. Both of you are strong!" Chen Shouyi said, trying to smooth things over.

So neither of them was happy.

Chen Shouyi didn't care about them, thinking, what's worth comparing every day?

They're both just weaklings, wasting such high memory and intelligence.

He turned off the light, lay on the bed, and was asleep within seconds.

...

The next day before dawn, the sky was still dark.

Chen Shouyi dressed warmly, took the two little ones downstairs. Outside, it was still snowing, the thick snow nearly reaching his thighs. With a thought, under an unseen force, the snow in the yard quickly parted to both sides, forming a straight and wide path.

He quickly took off, flying straight into the sky.

A half-hour later, he entered the spatial passage, settled the two little ones in the ice cave, then surveyed the surroundings, effortlessly killing a passing "White Dragon."

The "White Dragon" was at the top of the food chain in this area, but it seemed forgetful, often venturing here by mistake. Over the past six months, more than a dozen have died at his hands.

After finishing everything, he returned to the ice cave, sitting cross-legged on a thick fur rug.

He opened the attribute panel, took several deep breaths, and chose "Horizontal Training Thirty-Six Styles" for optimization.

This time, unlike before, he didn't fall unconscious. Instead, he was in a trance but still had a clear sense of the outside world and maintained conscious thought. He even felt that he could wake up forcefully anytime, breaking free from the power of the Book of Knowledge.

Obviously, as his power grew, the influence of the Book of Knowledge on him weakened.

Of course, acting on such impulsive behavior would be foolish.

He offered no resistance to the Book of Knowledge's power, allowing it to influence his mind. The next moment, the familiar dream swiftly enveloped him, and he began practicing the "Horizontal Training Thirty-Six Styles" over and over.

The passage of time in the dream felt like fleeting light.

A thousand times...

Ten thousand times...

One hundred thousand times...

Countless minute changes and adjustments accumulated continuously.

During this process, the rough edges became refined, the defects were progressively completed, moving toward perfection...

An unknown amount of time passed before he suddenly opened his eyes, drenched in sweat. A salty metallic taste rose from the depth of his throat and as he opened his mouth, he spat a mouthful of fresh blood.

The blood sizzled on the ice, with the surrounding air distorting, clearly exuding high heat.

Yet Chen Shouyi's eyes were incomparably bright, "Truly an abnormal cultivation technique!"