"Beichen, my Star Drawing Art has advanced to the second level."
"Congratulations."
Ning Beichen didn't know what else to say. In fifteen days, he had cultivated to the second level of the Star Drawing Art. Such talent could no longer be described as genius.
Even for someone who had been cultivating since childhood, it would take at least several years to reach the second level of the Star Drawing Art.
Even if he, Ning Beichen, were to cultivate it, he probably wouldn't reach the second level in less than half a year, yet Liu Yilin had only taken fifteen days. To be precise, excluding a few days of vacation, Liu Yilin had only taken less than ten days.
If Huang Yuzhong, the sect leader of Xingyin Sect, were to find out, he might drop his jaw in shock.
Just as Ning Beichen was planning to let Liu Yilin stay a few more days to consolidate her cultivation, a satellite phone call interrupted their training.
Ryan was not dead. He had reappeared and destroyed one of Tianmei Technology Group's chip factories. It was said that many people had died at his hands.
This time, Ning Beichen and Liu Yilin could no longer stay. They had to leave the desert immediately and return to Haizhou New City as quickly as possible to deal with Ryan.
Fortunately, transportation was now well-developed, and it only took them a day to return to Haizhou New City.
The biggest loss was undoubtedly Liu Yilin's chip factory. Many factory workers were killed or injured, and numerous machines were destroyed. Such a loss would make even Liu Yilin's heart ache.
Fortunately, Ryan had not destroyed the finished product factory, as the three instruments that Ning Beichen had painstakingly retrieved were there. Otherwise, the loss would have been immeasurable.
The first thing Liu Yilin did upon her return was to clean up the factory's aftermath and comfort the workers, keeping her extremely busy.
Ning Beichen could not remain idle either. He scoured heaven and earth for any trace of Ryan.
However, even with Ning Beichen's skills, he was unable to locate Ryan.
Ning Beichen suspected that Ryan had practiced some cloaking technique from the Holy Hall, or possessed some treasure that could conceal his presence. Otherwise, with Ning Beichen's abilities, it would be impossible to not find him.
What troubled Ning Beichen even more was that he had clearly killed Ryan twice, yet the guy could still revive. It was truly terrifying. This time, no matter what, Ning Beichen had to completely eliminate him, otherwise, there would be no peace in the future.
A person could not be resurrected for no reason. His revival must be the work of the Holy Hall. And when Ning Beichen killed him last time, although Ryan was still the same Ryan, Ning Beichen felt that he was no longer the original Ryan, rather it was more like a method of soul possession.
Of course, this soul possession was not about one person's soul possessing another's soul, but a kind of evil sorcery that controlled a physical body.
The Holy Hall had existed for so many years; who knew how many secret inheritances they possessed.
However, Ning Beichen ultimately did not believe that there was a method in this world that could bring people back from the dead.
The current Ryan was likely revived by the Holy Hall using some unsavory unorthodox technique or sorcery, and... he might not even be the original Ryan.
It was just that the Holy Hall was too deeply hidden, with countless experts. Let alone Ning Beichen, even his master might not dare to provoke the Holy Hall.
Just as Ning Beichen was searching for Ryan's whereabouts, he suddenly received a call from his subordinate, who said someone had spotted a figure suspected to be Ryan.
Ning Beichen rushed over immediately. Regardless of whether it was true or not, it was at least a clue, better than searching aimlessly.
The person who spotted Ryan was a lumberjack in a mountain forest on the outskirts. He saw Ryan, who was wanted on television, in the mountains.
When Ning Beichen arrived, he found that there were already people at the lumberjack's location. Judging by their attire, they seemed to be from the Special Affairs Department. Ning Beichen did not approach but hid in the shadows to eavesdrop.
However, the lumberjack had only seen a figure resembling Ryan, not his face, so he could not be sure if that person was definitely Ryan.
Following the people from the Special Affairs Department, and led by the lumberjack, they went to the place where he had seen Ryan and began to search. Ning Beichen also quietly began searching in the mountain forest.
Ning Beichen was not familiar with the Special Affairs Department and did not want to cooperate with them.
However, Ning Beichen knew that the Special Affairs Department was a mysterious official organization specifically responsible for handling such matters. Its members were all quite capable, and it was said that they had the support of some sects behind them.
Ning Beichen searched for a long time but found no sign of Ryan. He hid in a large tree to rest and eat something to replenish his energy.
This mountain forest was vast and closely connected to several surrounding mountains, with a very complex environment. It would not be easy to find someone here. If Ryan were indeed hiding inside, it would be difficult to find him.
Fortunately, the people from the Special Affairs Department were also searching, which saved Ning Beichen a lot of effort. If the Special Affairs Department found Ryan, Ning Beichen was unsure if they would be his match.
He, on the other hand, could hide in the shadows and launch a surprise attack on Ryan, which would surely kill him. This was also the reason why he was acting alone.
"There's a cave here, and footprints."
The search by the Special Affairs Department continued until evening when someone discovered a hidden cave.
Soon after, all the members of the Special Affairs Department gathered at the entrance of the cave. It seemed they planned to search inside.
Ning Beichen was also watching from nearby. He planned to follow the people from the Special Affairs Department into the cave secretly, but he didn't want to be discovered by them.
It was already evening, and the sky was beginning to darken. Ning Beichen was a little worried that the Special Affairs Department would not go in and would wait until the next day.
However, Ning Beichen's worries were unfounded. The Special Affairs Department did not intend to wait until the next day. They quickly brought their lighting equipment and began to enter the cave in batches.
Finally, a few personnel were left outside the cave to guard. If anything happened inside, they could contact the outside world and mobilize personnel.
The people from the Special Affairs Department had entered, but Ning Beichen was still outside. It wasn't that he didn't want to go in, but there were people guarding the entrance, and he couldn't get in without being noticed.
Of course, if Ning Beichen wanted to knock them out and go in, that would be simple, but Ning Beichen did not want to do that, nor did he want to conflict with the Special Affairs Department.
However, Ning Beichen was not in a hurry. The people from the Special Affairs Department had already entered. If Ryan was indeed hiding inside, they would surely find him. If they could deal with Ryan, Ning Beichen would not need to intervene.
But if they failed and Ryan happened to escape from the cave, Ning Beichen would be the hidden force.
Time ticked by, and the entire mountain forest had turned dark.
The people searching for Ryan inside the cave had not come out, nor had Ryan been seen coming out. Ning Beichen sat patiently on a large tree near the cave entrance, keeping watch.