Chapter 44 : Emerging
“Come in.” Yan’s voice carried across the yard.
“The door isn’t locked. No need to knock.” His voice echoed again and the words came from the center of the courtyard.
The ground stayed still while the head remained outside it.
A moment later, the wooden door opened and Tan Suzi stepped inside. “You’re unbelievable,” she said.
Yan’s eyes remained closed.
“How do you know that I was outside?” Tan Suzi looked at the head and waited for an answer.
“The soil told me.”
She shook her head slowly.
“It’s ridiculous.”
“How do you always know I’m here from that far away?”
Yan opened his eyes slightly.
“Not enough,” he said.
“My cultivation realm is still low.”
Tan Suzi stared at him.
“You’re still complaining?”
“Yes.”
“I’m only at the Spiritual Qi Foundation First Layer.”
She let out a short breath. “Stop joking.”
Her gaze moved across him.
Even buried beneath the soil, the change was obvious.
His neck had thickened, and jaw seemed harder.
Something about him felt… heavier.
“Your body…” Tan Suzi said slowly as she walked over and stopped beside him.
She looked at his exposed head for a long moment. Then she suddenly raised the book in her hand and tapped him on the forehead.
Thud.
The book was still stuck to his forehead, Yan's eyes moved and looked at her, "What are you doing?"
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"Testing something.", she said and pulled the book back.
Then she rushed to the rooms inside.
A few moments later, she returned carrying a steel rod.
This time, Yan opened his eyes wide and looked at her.
"Stop the madness.", His gaze moved from the iron rod to her face.
Tan Suzi ignored him and stepped closer until she stood right beside the pit.
“What are you doing?” Yan asked.
She ignored his questions, and raised the rod.
Then brought it down.
Thud.
The sound of iron striking flesh echoed across the courtyard.
Yan's head tilted slightly from the impact, but that was all.
There was neither blood nor any wound.
Only a faint patch of redness slowly surfaced on his skin before fading away.
Tan Suzi stared at him.
Then at the steel rod.
Then back at him again.
A strange expression crossed her face.
“You really have become a rock.”
The corners of her lips curved upward.
“Good work. That suits you.”
She lowered the rod and exhaled softly as memories from the texts she had studied surfaced in her mind.
“And it seems to be as strong as the ninth layer of Body Tempering,” she said. “The absolute peak of what a Foundation cultivator can normally reach.”
She looked at the man buried in the dirt for another moment before finally shaking her head.
“You're a monster.”
Yan said nothing.
Tan Suzi glanced around the courtyard, “It’s been eight months.”
Yan looked toward the sky and did not say anything.
“Don’t you miss the world?”
Tan Suzi looked at him for a moment.
“You should see it again.”
A brief silence followed.
Then Yan nodded once.
“You’re right.”
Tan Suzi raised an eyebrow.
“Oh?”
“It’s time I get a job.”
“A job?” she asked.
“What kind of job?”
Yan answered calmly, “Butcher.”
Tan Suzi stared at him for a moment.
Then shook her head.
“Of course.”
“Your choices are always strange.”
She reached into the cloth bag she carried.
“First, eat.”
She handed him a roasted chicken leg.
Yan didn’t refuse.
“Don't think just because I am behaving well with you, I have forgotten about your tricks.”
He ate slowly.
After finishing the chicken leg, Yan spoke calmly, “I'm coming out.”
Tan Suzi immediately stepped back.
"Beating someone with a rod? Is that called good behaviour?"
Yan said while placing both hands on the ground.
Then, he pushed.
The packed earth that had held him for months cracked.
The cool air washed over him as clumps of earth slid from his shoulders and struck the ground one after another.
He was outside again.
"Thud"
Another strike hit at the back of his head.
"You really are a rock", Tan Suzi said while looking at the rod in her hand.
Yan turned around and glared at her.
Tan Suzi watched in silence.
“You should take a bath,” she said.
“I’m going back to the library. I don't want to lose to you.”
“My exams won’t pass themselves.”
She turned toward the door and rushed away.
She halted at the door for a second and said, “Don’t disappear while I’m gone.”
Yan did not respond.
The door closed behind her.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
Yan stood alone.
Then, white letters appeared before his eyes.
The Overseer System
Resonance:
Ground (Foundation Cap)
Mind (80% Foundation Cap)
Compatibility: 10%
Stability: 90%
Functions Unlocked:
Memory Recall (Active)
Yan watched the letters quietly.
Eight months.
Compatibility had barely moved.
But the system had changed.
It had a name now. Yan stared at the name “The Overseer System” for more than a minute and then dismissed it.