In the middle of the night, Xiao Tian, still deeply asleep, was suddenly awakened by the ringing of his phone. Seeing the beauty beside him still asleep, Xiao Tian picked up the phone and ran straight to the living room, pressing the answer button.

"Hahaha, Xiao Tian, remember me?" A familiar voice came from the other end of the line. Xiao Tian reacted, then said with joy, "Ghost Face?"

Towards Ghost Face, Xiao Tian felt sincere gratitude.

During the previous battle with the five of Star River, without Ghost Face’s rescue, he might have long become a ghost under the knife. Moreover, Ghost Face helped him make pills and enhance his strength, and in Xiao Tian’s heart, Ghost Face had long been regarded as both a mentor and a friend.

Since their last meeting, the two had not spoken on the phone for a long time.

"It’s me!" Ghost Face chuckled on the other end of the line, "You brat, you sure stirred up big trouble in Japan and still managed to survive, you’ve got some guts!"

Ghost Face had been watching Xiao Tian’s actions in Japan through special channels. Thinking back to Xiao Tian’s bloodied face, blood flowing like rivers, standing alone against an army, Ghost Face couldn’t help but feel a thrill of fear.

Xiao Tian chuckled, "I’m lucky!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Hmm." Ghost Face nodded on the other end. A list was sitting open in front of his computer, the latest list of the Dark List.

Ghost Face spoke sternly, "By the way, Xiao Tian, do you know about the Dark List?"

"Dark List?" Xiao Tian pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "Haven’t paid attention to it for a long time."

Previously, when Xiao Tian was active abroad, he’d occasionally pay attention to this list. Since returning to Huaxia, he rarely looked at it, only knowing that those on the Dark List were a bunch of ruthless people.

"You!" Ghost Face sighed helplessly, then continued with a very serious tone, "I’ll tell you, because of your various actions in Japan before, you’ve now ranked tenth on the Dark List! From what I know, your name has already spread throughout the global Dark Realm!"

"Tenth?" Upon hearing this, Xiao Tian widened his eyes. Although he wasn’t interested in such rankings and wasn’t someone who chased fame and fortune, reaching such a position still left him slightly shocked.

"That’s right." Ghost Face warned, "For someone like you who is often active outside, getting such a ranking in the Dark Realm isn’t a good thing... you should know that knocking someone down a rank costs them billions in hiring fees. Once the Dark List spreads out fully in a few days, someone will surely come looking for trouble, you’d better be careful!"

What Ghost Face said was indeed true. Every ranking on the Dark List had an external valuation, and dropping a rank would decrease your personal value.

After a while, Xiao Tian finally snapped back to reality. Quickly, he reverted to his carefree self, smiling calmly, "Whatever, haven’t I had enough trouble already?... By the way, how’s Han Yan’s matter going? Did you find anything in those documents?"

Talking to Ghost Face, Xiao Tian thought of Liu Hanyan. His first woman, the one who once plunged him into a pit of deep sorrow.

"Uh...." Ghost Face hesitated for a moment, then responded seriously, "I’m currently investigating several base locations of the Raindrop Organization, but there’s still no news about Liu Hanyan... though I think it won’t be long!"

"Hmm... I’ll wait for your news."

Actually, Ghost Face had just told a lie. In recent days, he had been so immersed in researching the Raindrop Organization that he forgot about Liu Hanyan’s matter, so after hanging up the phone, Ghost Face hurriedly turned on his computer, accessed his custom system, and hacked into major global surveillance systems, searching for Liu Hanyan’s whereabouts in several key locations.

-----

After hanging up, just as Xiao Tian was about to sleep on the sofa, a sudden, excruciating pain surged within him, as if a bomb had exploded inside his body.

Xiao Tian let out a painful groan, then quickly sat up, trying to swiftly sort out this sudden, rampant surge of energy within him.

This surge, of unknown origin, rampaged inside Xiao Tian’s body, causing unbearable pain wherever it went.

Xiao Tian closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing this energy, feeling a strange sense of familiarity for some reason.

Xiao Tian pondered for a moment, then suddenly his expression turned bright with joy.

Because years ago, when he broke through to the second level of Iron Chain Cross River, he had experienced a similar event! It took him an entire week back then to fully absorb this rampant energy, which was followed by a surge in his strength!

"Could it be... Iron Chain Cross River’s second level of Great Success?" Xiao Tian thought joyfully.

Though his genetic reformation and the extensive practice he had undergone, all his combat methods ultimately stemmed from his understanding of Iron Chain Cross River.

Iron Chain Cross River was his foundation! Xiao Tian had been diligently practicing for years, merely reaching the late stage of it, yet he had never touched the gates of Great Success.

The late stage was merely a step beyond the mid stage, but Great Success marked the pinnacle of the second level of Iron Chain Cross River, and beyond that, lies the legendary third level of Iron Chain Cross River!

One step away, worlds apart! Previously, Xiao Tian had vaguely sensed signs of a breakthrough, and to his surprise, after his genetic reformation, that day arrived so soon.

Frowning, Xiao Tian quickly sat cross-legged on the floor. The air around him turned hot, with waves of heat emanating from his body, turbulent airflow, quite extraordinary.

At this moment, Xiao Tian had entered a peculiar state, seen with his eyes tightly shut, and silently reciting the mantra in his heart.

As he chanted the mantra, all the energy within him seemed instructed, surging violently into the Qi Sea.

"Ugh..."

Under the influence of this powerful force, Xiao Tian’s body seemed to be charred, turning a fiery red. The air around him seemed to solidify, with tables and chairs slowly rising due to this force.

Xiao Tian absorbed this rampant power at an incredibly slow pace. The energy coursing through his body was like sharp knives stabbing him, causing him to cry out in pain and clench his teeth tightly.

"Collect it for me!"

Xiao Tian roared in his mind, enduring the extreme pain, accepting wave after wave of cleansing from this energy.

Soon, Xiao Tian’s furrowed brows suddenly relaxed. The initially violent energy also calmed down, the only difference now was the energy within Xiao Tian!

This extraordinary state of cultivation persisted until dawn the next day, when Xiao Tian slowly opened his eyes.

"Whew..."

He exhaled a breath of white air, stood up, touched his arm to feel the abundant energy within him, and revealed a satisfied smile.

"Haha, Iron Chain Cross River Great Success. I’ve finally reached this stage."

"Now that I have refined the Invincible Body, I should be difficult to harm unless faced with large-scale modern weapons!"