The endless white world remained perfectly still.
Lizarius quietly reviewed the passage of time.
His thoughts moved with mechanical precision.
*Ninety-seven days...*
*Fourteen hours...*
*Thirty-two minutes...*
*Forty-five seconds.*
Nearly one hundred days had passed within this layer of the dream.
He compared it against the flow of time beyond the dream.
His golden eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
*Outside...*
*A little over six hours and forty-five minutes.*
The recalibrated dream remained stable.
No signs of collapse.
No degradation.
No strain upon the connected subconscious minds beyond his predictions.
"...Acceptable."
The experiment had yielded sufficient data.
It was time to observe the others.
Without another thought—
his figure disappeared.
---
Far away—
within the shared dream realm—
a vast forest echoed with the sounds of battle.
**BOOM!**
A massive spirit beast crashed through several towering trees before tumbling across the ground.
Ling Yue shot backward through the air before twisting gracefully and landing atop a thick branch.
Without the slightest hesitation—
she launched herself forward once more.
Three translucent qi swords condensed around her blade.
**SHING!**
The projections shot forward like streaks of light.
The beast roared as one pierced through its shoulder.
Before it could recover—
Ling Yue was already upon it.
Her true sword descended.
**SHING!**
The creature split cleanly in two before dissolving into countless drifting dream particles.
Elsewhere—
Ling Wei was facing two wolf-like spirit beasts simultaneously.
His movements were calm.
Measured.
The months spent within the dream had gradually polished away much of his former hesitation.
Spiritual energy gathered along his blade.
Beside it—
a faint qi sword slowly took shape.
Not as refined as Ling Yue's.
But stable.
Controlled.
One wolf lunged.
Ling Wei stepped aside.
His sword swept through the air in a clean arc.
The qi blade followed half a heartbeat later.
**SHING!**
The beast collapsed instantly.
The second attacked from behind.
Without even turning—
Ling Wei redirected the floating qi blade.
It curved smoothly through the air before piercing directly through the beast's skull.
Silence returned.
The siblings exhaled almost simultaneously.
High above the forest—
space rippled faintly.
A small white-scaled lizard appeared.
Floating silently among the clouds.
Golden eyes quietly observed the battlefield below.
His gaze settled first upon Ling Yue.
*Her execution has become considerably more efficient.*
Then—
his attention shifted toward Ling Wei.
The lizard watched him for several moments longer.
*...He learned it as well.*
Interesting.
Although Ling Wei had received nothing more than Ling Yue's explanations—
combined with countless repetitions inside the dream—
he had still managed to grasp the reconstructed sword art.
The experiment's results exceeded expectations.
Knowledge could propagate.
The art was reproducible.
His thoughts paused briefly.
*So it is not unique to a single individual.*
*Good.*
That increased its research value considerably.
Satisfied—
Lizarius made another adjustment.
The surrounding dream immediately began to change.
The towering trees gradually became translucent.
Leaves dissolved into drifting particles of light.
The earth beneath their feet slowly faded away.
Mountains disappeared into nothingness.
The blue sky turned into endless white.
The entire forest melted away—
as though it had never existed.
Ling Wei immediately stopped.
"...What's happening?"
The remaining spirit beasts vanished one after another.
No corpses.
No sounds.
Simply...
gone.
Ling Yue looked around in surprise.
"...The battlefield..."
Everything dissolved into the familiar endless white expanse.
Realization flashed across her face.
Almost instinctively—
she lifted her head.
"...Senior?"
High above—
the small white-scaled lizard hovered silently.
Watching them both.
Golden eyes as calm as ever.
The endless white dream stretched in every direction.
Silence reigned once more.
Then—
the small white-scaled lizard slowly descended from the sky.
Halfway down—
his body dissolved into drifting motes of light.
White scales faded.
His body lengthened.
Limbs reshaped themselves.
Moments later—
the familiar dark-haired young man landed lightly upon the white ground.
His strange black clothing stirred gently despite the complete absence of wind.
Golden eyes swept calmly across the two siblings.
Ling Wei immediately cupped his fists.
"Greetings, Senior."
Lizarius merely stared at him.
Before Ling Wei could say anything further—
Ling Yue had already stepped forward.
Her eyes carried unmistakable anticipation.
"...Senior."
"Are you finished with... whatever you were researching?"
A brief silence followed.
"...For now."
Ling Yue's expression immediately brightened.
"Then..."
She clasped her hands together.
"Could you teach me another technique?"
Lizarius looked at her.
"...That aligns with my current intentions."
"What kind of technique do you wish to learn?"
Ling Yue immediately fell into thought.
"Hmm..."
After a moment—
she smiled.
"I'd like to learn a defensive technique."
Lizarius stared at her.
Reasonable.
He shifted his gaze toward Ling Wei.
Ling Wei was momentarily caught off guard.
"...Me?"
Seeing Ling Yue looking at him expectantly, he smiled helplessly.
"If Senior is willing..."
"I would like to learn a movement technique."
"...Very well."
Silence followed.
Lizarius became completely motionless.
His golden eyes unfocused slightly.
Neither sibling disturbed him.
By now—
they had grown accustomed to this.
Whenever the lizard entered this state...
He was thinking.
Deeply.
Ling Wei whispered,
"...Is Senior asleep?"
Ling Yue gently shook her head.
"No."
"He's thinking."
"...Thinking?"
"He always looks like this."
Ling Wei blinked.
"...I see..."
Meanwhile—
Lizarius' thoughts moved at extraordinary speed.
*A defensive technique...*
He searched through countless memories.
Human cultivators.
Spirit beasts.
Ancient battlefields.
Everything he had ever witnessed.
*Most human defensive methods rely upon external objects.*
Talismans.
Formation plates.
Spirit armor.
Protective treasures.
Not suitable.
Ling Yue possessed none of them.
His thoughts continued.
Memory after memory flashed through his mind.
Then—
his eyes brightened faintly.
*Right.*
He remembered.
Without warning—
he raised one hand.
**WHOOOM!**
The endless dream trembled violently.
An enormous emerald construct appeared overhead.
It resembled a colossal tortoise shell divided into countless geometric sections.
Ancient runes flowed endlessly across its surface.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon the dream realm.
Ling Wei's eyes widened.
"...That..."
Ling Yue stared upward in astonishment.
"...What is that?"
Neither of them received an answer.
Lizarius wasn't listening.
His full attention remained fixed upon the gigantic emerald barrier.
*The Jade Quadrant Barrier...*
A mid-tier Earth Grade defensive art he had witnessed long ago.
Its strength came from countless layered spiritual formations interlocking into a single defensive domain.
Even attacks from late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators struggled to penetrate it.
Several seconds passed.
Then—
Lizarius quietly shook his head.
The enormous barrier dissolved immediately.
"...No."
Ling Yue blinked.
"...No?"
"It's the same as before."
"The structure is too complicated."
"The spiritual requirements are excessive."
"The control requirements exceed your current cultivation."
He became silent once more.
*Spirit Refining...*
*Spirit Refining...*
His thoughts shifted away from human cultivators.
Instead—
he began recalling spirit beasts.
Unlike humans—
weaker spirit beasts possessed no profound techniques.
They relied entirely upon instinct.
Natural defenses.
Simple principles.
Yet countless species still managed to survive against stronger opponents.
Why?
His thoughts accelerated.
Shells.
Scales.
Bone armor.
Layered qi.
Energy compression.
Force distribution.
Natural reinforcement.
One idea connected seamlessly to the next.
The impossibly complicated defensive formation gradually disappeared from his calculations.
In its place—
countless simpler principles began assembling together.
Not copied.
Reconstructed.
A defensive technique suitable for a Spirit Refining cultivator.
A defense built not upon overwhelming power—
but upon efficiency.
Lizarius' golden eyes slowly refocused.
"...I have reached a conclusion."
Ling Yue immediately straightened.
"...Really?"
He didn't even glance at her.
"It will not be an absolute defense."
"It will not block every attack."
"It will, however, allow one to survive attacks that should ordinarily prove fatal."
Ling Yue's eyes lit up.
Ling Wei also listened intently.
Lizarius calmly continued,
"I will first complete the defensive art."
His gaze shifted toward Ling Wei.
"Your movement technique will be constructed afterward."
Both siblings immediately bowed.
"Thank you, Senior."
Lizarius simply stared ahead.
Already lost in thought once more.
His mind had begun dismantling the instincts of countless armored spirit beasts—
searching for the simplest, most efficient defensive principle a human could learn.
The endless white dream remained silent.
Hours passed.
Neither Ling Wei nor Ling Yue left.
By now—
they had long since learned that interrupting Lizarius while he was thinking accomplished absolutely nothing.
So they simply waited.
The dark-haired young man stood motionless.
Golden eyes unfocused.
As though time itself no longer existed.
Then—
a faint emerald light appeared before him.
One fragment.
Then another.
Then another.
Dozens of translucent emerald scales gradually materialized around his body.
Each resembled the scale of an ancient spirit beast.
Each was roughly the size of a pot lid.
They floated quietly through the air.
Without strings.
Without any visible spiritual energy supporting them.
Merely...
hovering.
Ling Yue blinked.
"...Senior?"
Lizarius' eyes slowly refocused.
"...Done."
The siblings immediately straightened.
The floating scales slowly revolved around him.
Their movement was smooth.
Natural.
Almost alive.
Lizarius began explaining in his usual calm voice.
"This technique possesses no fixed defensive position."
"The scales respond to intent."
"They automatically intercept incoming attacks."
As he spoke—
one emerald scale drifted before his chest.
Another floated behind his back.
Several more spread outward, forming a loose defensive perimeter around his body.
"They are not barriers."
"They are independent defensive units."
Ling Yue watched closely.
Lizarius continued.
"When one receives an impact..."
He lightly tapped the nearest scale with a finger.
"...the force is dispersed."
Immediately—
the scale flashed.
The surrounding scales glowed in response.
The tiny impact spread across every floating scale simultaneously before quietly disappearing.
"The burden is distributed."
"No single scale bears the entire force."
Ling Wei's eyes narrowed.
"...Like sharing the weight?"
Lizarius nodded once.
"Correct."
He raised one hand.
The number of scales immediately increased.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Soon—
dozens of emerald scales floated around him in a slow orbit.
"The maximum number depends upon one's available spiritual energy."
"The more scales created..."
"...the greater the defensive coverage."
"...However..."
"The spiritual consumption also increases."
He lowered his hand.
The scales immediately rearranged themselves.
Several stacked together before his chest.
Others remained dispersed around the rest of his body.
"They may also overlap."
"Concentrating multiple scales upon a single location greatly increases defensive strength."
Ling Yue stared in fascination.
"...So I can strengthen whichever place is about to be attacked?"
"Correct."
"Or maintain broader protection."
"The choice depends upon the situation in battle."
He offered no further explanation.
To him—
that was sufficient.
Ling Wei remained unusually quiet.
His gaze never left the floating emerald scales.
Finally—
he muttered beneath his breath,
"...What is this...?"
"...Is this really supposed to be the same technique?"
Ling Yue turned toward him.
"...Brother?"
Ling Wei slowly shook his head.
"I don't understand..."
His eyes remained fixed upon Lizarius.
"The defensive art Senior first recalled..."
"...and this one..."
"They don't even resemble each other anymore."
The first had been an enormous defensive formation capable of shielding an entire battlefield.
This...
This was something completely different.
Smaller.
Simpler.
Yet strangely elegant.
Lizarius answered without emotion.
"They are not the same."
"I discarded the original."
"It required excessive control."
"Excessive cultivation."
"Excessive spiritual reserves."
"It was unsuitable."
His golden eyes remained calm.
"So I reconstructed it."
Ling Wei fell silent.
He had heard those words before.
When Ling Yue had described how Senior taught her the sword technique.
And now...
Once again.
Senior never truly *taught* existing arts.
He dismantled them.
Reduced them to their most fundamental principles.
Then rebuilt them into something entirely new.
Not weaker.
Simply...
usable.
Lizarius turned toward Ling Yue.
"You may name it."
"Hm."
She looked at the floating emerald scales.
Thinking carefully.
After a long moment—
a smile slowly appeared.
"...Emerald Guardian Scales."
Lizarius gave a single nod.
"...Acceptable."
"A suitable name."
The dozens of emerald scales dissolved into countless particles of green light—
disappearing into the endless white dream.