Chapter 3: Arriving at Black Night Forest
At present, Nan Yu was a Mid-Tier Mental Power User, while their father was a High-Tier Ability User—one of the notable figures even on the Capital Star.
Even so, Nan Yu was capable of cleansing his father's Mental Contamination all by himself.
When purifying an Ability User's Mental Sea, multiple Mental Power Users could not work together, nor could they switch midway through the process. As a result, every session left Nan Yu utterly exhausted.
His family felt heartbroken every time they saw it.
Yet despite that, Nan Yu could genuinely cleanse the Mental Contamination of a powerful High-Tier Ability User.
Even among Mid-Tier Mental Power Users, that was extremely rare.
Not to mention that Nan Yu was obedient, considerate, and deeply cared for his family. The Mental Contamination in the Mental Seas of his father, Nan Yun, and Nan Zhen was all handled by Nan Yu.
As a result, Nan Yu truly was the treasured darling of the entire Nan family.
One had to know that even hiring a Low-Tier Mental Power User was expensive.
Hiring a Mid-Tier Mental Power User cost even more.
And finding a Mental Power User capable of cleansing the Mental Contamination of three High-Tier Ability Users was outrageously expensive.
Even though the Nan family was wealthy, they still couldn't afford to hire Mid-Tier Mental Power Users that frequently.
That was why countless other families envied the Nan family for having produced a precious treasure like Nan Yu.
If Nan Yu hadn't already been engaged to that bastard Bai Zhouyun from such a young age, wouldn't all the talented young elites of the Capital Star be lining up for him to choose from?
Especially the many outstanding individuals attending the Royal Military Academy of the Capital Star alongside Nan Yun and Nan Zhen.
Every one of them was an exceptionally powerful High-Tier Ability User with status, wealth, and influence.
They had all, openly or secretly, inquired about the precious younger brother of the Nan family.
It was obvious they were interested in Nan Yu.
Although the two brothers remained as cold and distant as ever, insisting that their younger brother wasn't someone others could casually approach, their goal wasn't to help Bai Zhouyun.
They were simply protecting their little brother.
Besides, Bai Zhouyun had been becoming increasingly disappointing lately.
Many Ability Users his age had already reached the High-Tier level.
Yet Bai Zhouyun, despite being the sole heir of the Bai family, was still lingering at the Mid-Tier level.
It was embarrassing.
The two brothers were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with him.
At this rate, sooner or later they might actually corner him somewhere and beat him up properly to vent their frustration.
Nan Yu, however, had no idea what his two beloved brothers were thinking.
All he knew was that Black Night Forest was almost here.
And the first—and most important—turning point of his new life after rebirth was about to arrive.
Logically speaking, a dangerous place like Black Night Forest shouldn't have been allowed to exist on the Capital Star.
However, many of the plants and medicinal herbs inside were incredibly rare.
If the ecosystem were excessively damaged, those herbs would gradually disappear.
Researchers had previously conducted numerous experiments.
After discovering that these herbs simply couldn't be cultivated artificially outside the forest, Black Night Forest—occupying nearly one percent of the Capital Star's total land area—had been preserved in its entirety.
Many of the medicinal herbs produced within Black Night Forest were exceptionally valuable.
As a result, not just anyone could enter.
Reservations had to be made in advance.
Visitors were forbidden from causing large-scale destruction inside the forest.
There were limits on how long one could stay.
And entry required payment.
After all, maintaining and protecting such a vast forest required enormous expenditures from the Capital Star government.
Over time, everyone had simply accepted the expensive entrance fees.
Nan Yu stepped down from the hovercraft without even glancing at Bai Zhouyun behind him.
At this moment, his mind was occupied entirely by the Nianshen Grass that would soon belong to him.
With that treasure in hand, combined with the experience from his previous life, he felt he would need at most two years.
Just two years.
By the age of seventeen, he would become a High-Tier Mental Power User.
When that happened...
The entire Empire would probably be thrown into an uproar.
A seventeen-year-old High-Tier Mental Power User!
He would undoubtedly become one of the Empire's greatest treasures.
Of course, such information would never be publicly announced.
But everything he deserved would still be given to him.
For the sake of that brilliant future, he could temporarily tolerate the two-timing scumbag beside him—the very man who had ultimately caused his death.
Noticing Nan Yu looking at him, Bai Zhouyun flashed a bright, sunny smile.
For a brief moment, Nan Yu was dazed.
That's right.
It was exactly that smile.
In his previous life, he had been deceived by that very smile.
Deceived until he had lost everything.
Deceived until he died without even a complete corpse left behind.
Normally, even if a High-Tier Mental Power User committed countless crimes, the Empire wouldn't execute them.
At most, they would be imprisoned and studied to determine whether they could still be of use.
Yet he had died.
And he had died miserably.
The true faces of Bai Zhouyun and Yun Feiyu were already crystal clear in his eyes.
"Xiao Yu, shall we go in now?"
The hovercraft was parked in the designated landing area nearby.
The entrance to Black Night Forest wasn't far away.
The walls surrounding them were part of a massive project funded by the government, encircling the entire forest to ensure that nobody could secretly enter.
And to prevent people from secretly breaking the rules, the government had also hidden numerous mobile surveillance devices throughout the forest.
Anyone caught entering without authorization would face severe punishment.
For minor offenses, they would be permanently expelled from the Capital Star.
For serious offenses, their abilities would be crippled and they would be thrown into prison for a long period of reflection.
Nan Yu ignored him completely and slowly walked toward the entrance gate ahead.
Bai Zhouyun looked at his back in confusion.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Nan Yu seemed unusually distant today.
Normally, Nan Yu would stick close to him, chatting and laughing. The atmosphere between them had always been warm and comfortable.
But from the moment he arrived at the Nan residence that morning until now, he hadn't felt even a trace of Nan Yu's affection.
Everything felt cold.
And it genuinely hurt.
"Xiao Yu?"
He quickly caught up and walked beside him.
"Xiao Yu, what's wrong today? Are you in a bad mood? Why won't you talk to me? We've been in a cold war for so long now. Did I do something wrong?"
Nan Yu turned and looked at him.
A faint smile still lingered on his face, though it was nothing more than a habitual disguise.
After all, he was currently fifteen years old.
And he remembered perfectly well what his fifteen-year-old self had been like.
"How could that be? I just wasn't fully awake earlier. Alright, stop dawdling and let's go in. Once we're inside, remember to protect me properly, okay?"
No matter how talented Nan Yu was, he was still a physically fragile Mental Power User.
And no matter how mediocre Bai Zhouyun might be, he was still a Mid-Tier Ability User whose combat abilities far surpassed ordinary people.
The moment Bai Zhouyun heard those words, his eyes lit up.
"I know, I know! I'll definitely protect you. Don't worry, Xiao Yu!"
"Oh ho, well look who we have here!"
Hearing the clearly hostile voice, Nan Yu blinked.
The voice sounded strangely familiar.
Turning around, he took a look.
Sure enough.
It really was someone he recognized.