On July 24th, aboard the D3131 high-speed train, Ren Suo sat amongst a group wearing Black Body Armor, focusing inwards as he assessed the gains from the past two days.

First and foremost was the Key belonging to his sister, Ren Xingmei. After Ren Xingmei left, Ren Suo glanced at the notification; just as he had expected, it was a one-star key.

"One-Star Talent Key: An extra 10% chance to receive ability-related rewards."

Just by looking at this, Ren Suo couldn't deduce Ren Xingmei's true awakened spells. But after she left, information from the Bond System surfaced in his mind like a flowing stream—

"Ren Xingmei, Level 1 Bond, Bond Ability 'A Thousand Miles in a Day': Comprehension +10%."

It seems my sister's awakened spell is a kind of permanent passive spell; she might not even know about it herself... Ren Suo calculated inwardly. If I can get a 10% Comprehension boost, then she definitely gets over 30%.

Ren Suo estimated that the Ability boost he received from a Level 1 Bond was merely about one-tenth to one-third of that of the Bond's target.

Ren Suo knew all too well how terrifying Li Dan's 'Insight into the Mortal World' was. According to Li Dan himself, his inability to sleep stemmed from his Awakening Ability being constantly active. Even in the dead of night with earplugs in, Li Dan could hear distant traffic, movement upstairs and downstairs, and the ripples created by the wind blowing against the window...

However, the Bond Ability Ren Suo received only slightly intensified his five senses, bringing them to the top level in their respective fields: his eyes were on par with a pilot's, his tongue matched that of a gourmet, and his ears were as sharp as a gossipmonger's...

Compared to Li Dan's Ability, there was a vast difference.

Searching the internal network, Ren Suo discovered that such persistent passive spells like Li Dan's were considered special cases of 'Semi-Awakened': they had Spiritual Meridians but no corresponding awakening knowledge, yet the spells woven by the Spiritual Meridians were already continuously effective.

Because there was no awakening knowledge, Li Dan couldn't freely control it.

Such cases of passive awakening seemed uncommon in the country. After all, awakeners might not even realize they had awakened, perhaps mistaking it for a suddenly developed talent. Li Dan's was an exceptional case; his side effects were so severe they even interfered with his ability to have erotic dreams, which led the state to recognize him as possessing passive awakened spells.

Luckily, Ren Suo's Bond System allowed him to choose whether to activate or deactivate a Bond, so if he didn't need it, he could temporarily turn off a specific Bond Ability.

So far, only my sister's Bond Ability has appeared. It seems I haven't formed Bonds with the others yet.

In the Bond System list, only 'Li Dan' and 'Ren Xingmei' were present. That meant Ren Suo's plan to 'solve all troubles together' had completely failed—from the operation that day, only Ren Xingmei had formed a Bond with Ren Suo; none of the other four awakeners had triggered the system.

Is it because my participation wasn't enough? Or because we didn't spend enough time together? Ren Suo tilted his head, pondering. Or perhaps... the feelings weren't intense enough?

Qiao Muyi, Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan, Lin Xianyu... We should be friends... right?

At that moment, Ren Suo felt his right hand being pressed down. Turning his head, he realized that without noticing, his right hand had encroached upon both armrests. Gu Yueyan, sitting to his right, seemed quite displeased, glaring at him with a flushed face and leaning her body to the left while pressing down hard on his right hand with her left.

"Sorry, sorry," Ren Suo quickly withdrew his hand.

It seems forming Bonds with others is still a long road ahead, Ren Suo lamented inwardly.

"What's wrong?" Dong Chengling, sitting to Gu Yueyan's right, turned and asked.

"It's nothing," Gu Yueyan hurriedly replied, pulling her hand back and forcing a smile.

Dong Chengling took Gu Yueyan's hand and smiled. "I'll be with you all, don't worry."

"We're here, so you won't be the ones getting into trouble."

Sitting in the front row, Qiao Muyi turned her head and said, "You are from the academy and are considered protected individuals. We are assisting the Tactical Bureau with this investigation, and we will not let you be put in danger."

"This time we have four team captains leading, so rest assured."

The train carriage was filled with Cultivators from the Tactical Bureau clad in Black Body Armor. This included Captain Li Dan of Team One, Captain Yao Fei of Team Two, Captain Yi Zhao of Team Four, and Captain Qiao Muyi of Team Seven, along with all their respective combat team members.

Besides the Tactical Bureau personnel, Ren Suo, Dong Chengling, Gu Yueyan, and a few scholars were also present, all bound for Fragrance City.

It was the same Fragrance City where Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan had almost been dragged into the lake and drowned.

After getting off the train, Ren Suo and the others were immediately picked up by car and escorted at high speed by police cars to Ailan Lake in the northern part of Fragrance City. The area around Ailan Lake was now under traffic control, cordoned off by traffic police, and the general public was no longer allowed near Ailan Lake.

"We've arrived at Ailan Lake." After passing through numerous checkpoints, Ren Suo and the others finally reached their destination.

More than ten days had passed, and Ailan Lake had undergone a significant transformation—the trees by the lake had been cleared, temporary tents erected, and Ren Suo even saw sappers constructing barriers, seemingly preparing to completely seal off Ailan Lake.

The lake, once a pool of autumn water, had turned into a scene from a fairy tale: the shimmering water was completely enveloped by rainbows, a weave of colorful lights forming a beautiful and magnificent Rainbow Cotton Candy, which looked soft and luxurious, inviting admiration.

Ren Suo had good eyesight. He could see not only a group of scholars, clearly non-combatants, working with instruments at the edge of the Rainbow Cotton Candy, but also many soldiers setting up positions in the forest. The shore had been fortified with sandbags and soil, and even heavy firepower like light machine guns and mortars were ready!

Ren Suo noticed that the combat personnel closest to the Rainbow Cotton Candy were a group of fully armed Cultivator Troops not far away, wearing Black Body Armor and carrying rifles; a flicker of understanding passed through him.

Li Dan and the others went forward to negotiate with those in charge of the area and quickly returned to inform them, "Ren Suo, Gu Yueyan, you two will slowly approach the special Secret Realm up ahead under the protection of the Yangtze Troops and us captains. If anything happens, please speak up immediately and distance yourself from the Secret Realm."

"Yangtze Troops?" Ren Suo appropriately voiced his question.

Li Dan pointed to the soldiers nearby, who resembled special forces. "The Yangtze Troops are part of the military's Cultivator corps, distinct from the Tactical Bureau's system. They've undergone specialized firearms training suited for Cultivators. Combined with a Cultivator's physique and spells, their lethality in squad combat is no less than that of High-Rank Cultivators."

"Additionally, with us captains here, your safety will be ensured."

Li Dan glanced at Dong Chengling, who was standing behind Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan. "If something truly unexpected happens, Cultivator Dong Chengling, can you move them to safety?"

"Within visual range, I guarantee they will remain completely unharmed," Dong Chengling said. "That's exactly why I'm here."

After the discussion, the Yangtze Troops quickly deployed twelve members to surround Ren Suo and Gu Yueyan. Then Li Dan and the other three captains also formed a protective circle around them, maintaining a distance of no more than an arm's length from each other. They moved slowly towards the Rainbow Cotton Candy, packed almost as tightly as sardines in a can.

As they drew closer, Ren Suo realized just how massive the Rainbow Cotton Candy was—it stood at least five or six stories tall. Approaching it, he felt as if he could be swallowed by the Rainbow Cotton Candy at any moment.

However, Ren Suo felt no fear. Instead, he had an urge to rush into it, to let his whole body sink into its softness.

So this is... the outer layer of the Secret Realm? Ren Suo marveled, seeing it for the first time.

*Mage Under the World Tree* finally began.

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