Otherworldly Affairs Office

After finishing all this, Gu Shenghui nodded at Elder Lin. Seeing this, Elder Lin unlocked the confinement ring on Song Mingyuan. The newly freed Song Mingyuan still wanted to struggle by waving his arms, but was grabbed by two elderly men unfamiliar to Pei Yan, each holding one of his wrists, stretching his arms long and twisting with force, suppressing him with internal source. The pain made Song Mingyuan break out in cold sweat, eventually lowering his head, giving up resistance.

"Begin!" Elder Lin nodded at Pei Yan and signaled.

Having received permission, Pei Yan placed his hand on Song Mingyuan's head. Following the process described by Gu Shenghui, he circulated his source within himself once, then slowly injected it into Song Mingyuan's brain.

Meanwhile, Yao Xuefang and Gao Yaping, standing behind Zuo Huaxian, coordinated by Elder Lin and Mei Simiao, combined their abilities. The internal source surrounded the periphery of Song Mingyuan's brain, exerting mental suppression on him. On the other side, Yu Zhongmin took a camera out from a ring and set it up before pressing the record button.

At the moment Pei Yan's source entered Song Mingyuan's body, he felt more than just his spirit connecting with the other's. Countless small tendrils uncontrollably stretched out from his palm, tightly adhering to the other's scalp, easily breaking through his skin and linking their blood and flesh together.

Feeling his source continuously devour and assimilate the other's internal source, converting it back into his own source returned to his body, that kind of pleasurable comfort made Pei Yan feel exhilarated. The surging power resonated around his body, as if a hairdryer was blowing his clothes high from inside out.

Just as Pei Yan was indulging in this wonderful moment, the scene before him changed. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a completely blank world, with all the previous people in the room gone, leaving only him and a bewildered Song Mingyuan behind.

Due to Gu Shenghui's prior reminder, Pei Yan was not surprised at all. He knew this was the phase of consciousness struggle. When Gu Shenghui entered this stage after nine life-threatening experiences, since Xie Chujun willingly offered himself, he didn't struggle much and smoothly absorbed the other's ability.

Pei Yan sat cross-legged, calmly looking at Song Mingyuan, who was pacing around checking the surroundings, and smiled as he asked: "Stay calm, as long as you get through this period, once I successfully absorb your ability, all of this will be over."

Hearing this, Song Mingyuan suddenly turned his head, glaring fiercely at Pei Yan as he advanced step by step: "Why should my ability be absorbed by you! Just because you are willing to be a dog for the government?"

Pei Yan shrugged indifferently and said: "What, are you planning to break your promise and want to regret it?"

"So what if I regret it? Unlike you, I do not resign myself to fate. I have fought for my path!" Song Mingyuan said aloud, rushing towards Pei Yan. But before taking two steps, he felt as if a thousand-pound weight pressed down on his body, making him stumble and fall to the ground.

"Ahhh! I'm unwilling! Why should my ability be devoured by you! Pei Yan, can you only rely on others to protect you? At the end of the day, without others' protection and abilities, you are nothing! Do you have the guts to face me one-on-one as we did that day? If you win, I will concede!" Song Mingyuan shrieked in unwillingness while pinned to the ground.

"Such a poor provocation!" Pei Yan said with a slow rise, continuing, "But I'll satisfy this small request of yours."

"Elder Zuo, release the mental suppression on him! Leave him to me!" Pei Yan's voice echoed in the vast space.

No one responded, and Song Mingyuan was still firmly pressed to the ground.

"Elder Zuo, Elder Lin, only by defeating him can I truly achieve perfect ability fusion, please trust my capability!" Pei Yan called out loudly again.

After a while, Song Mingyuan's body relaxed, coughing a few times as he rubbed his neck and climbed up, glaring at Pei Yan with a sinister smile: "You are still a man, but you will pay the price for your stupidity!"

"Stop trying to exploit the situation. Today, only one of us will emerge victorious. The loser will lose control of this body, while the winner gains everything. I'm giving you a huge opportunity. Don't cry and pretend to be pitiful in front of me if you lose. Do you need some time to rest in this space where abilities can't be displayed?" Pei Yan said, feeling his long-lost left eye. The feeling of having normal eyesight back felt very comforting to him.

"No need!" No sooner had the words left Song Mingyuan's mouth, than he shot forward in a rush. As Pei Yan's body paused, his left foot stomped on the ground and stretched straight. He turned his body and kicked out fiercely with his right leg from the inside of his thigh, executing a textbook taekwondo back kick at Pei Yan's chest, sending him directly to the ground.

"Loser, how about it now, who's crying?" Song Mingyuan stood his ground, shaking his shoulders as he looked down on Pei Yan, lying on the ground with disdain. The continuous torment had driven him insane, making him forget the martial skills Pei Yan showcased that day. Even if he remembered, he would have dismissed it as powers assisting him.

Pei Yan used his hand to support himself as he climbed up, rubbing his chest and gazing at Song Mingyuan with eyes brimming with excitement: "You've trained in taekwondo?"

"Unlike you, who turns into trash without powers, I take an hour each day for combat training while exercising my powers. You simply cannot match my efforts! My start point is entirely different from a mouthpiece hero like you!" After mocking, Song Mingyuan turned sideways and charged forward again.

Outside their bodies, in the investigative hall, everyone kept an eye on the mental development of the two through Elder Zuo's abilities. Listening to Song Mingyuan's ignorant words, even the always serious Elder Lin couldn't help but chuckle, slightly disrupting the precise control of the internal source.

If compared to supernatural abilities, there were too many stronger than Pei Yan within the investigative hall, but when it comes to close combat alone, even Gu Shenghui would suffer a loss at Pei Yan's hands. He can now fight Summer Yu to a draw, and even Instructor Miao, who once taught him, would praise this student ceaselessly. Not to mention, he went through two months of special training under Captain Ni.

An hour of training daily! Ha, Song Mingyuan is inviting humiliation.

As the crowd expected, facing Song Mingyuan's subsequent barrage of attacks, Pei Yan dodged them all with ease. Seeing the opponent's movements full of flaws, Pei Yan, like Summer Yu looking at his past self, clicked his tongue and shook his head in disbelief.

After a continuous string of missed attacks, unease crept inside Song Mingyuan, who finally growled at Pei Yan: "Pei Yan, are you planning to just dodge through this time!"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yan tilted his head to dodge yet another roundhouse kick and lamented, "Is that all you've got? You can't even match Liang Qian's combat skills."

Though Song Mingyuan didn't know who Liang Qian was, the opponent's overt contempt thoroughly enraged him. He launched a whirlwind of kicks, mixing the sporadically learned art of combat, forcing Pei Yan, the one who only talked big, to retreat step by step. Just when he thought he was nearing victory, the opponent stopped escaping and stood firm, no longer dodging his attacks.

"Ah, finally decided not to run, huh! Too late" Song Mingyuan uttered while lifting his leg high, aiming a downward strike at Pei Yan's forehead.

"Ah! Bored now!"