After eating the sacred golden beetle flesh beside the lake, Han Yan suddenly became quiet.
Then—
a golden light appeared around her body.
Chen Yu immediately recognized the reaction.
Beast soul.
Han Yan slowly raised her hand as golden armor materialized piece by piece around her body.
The armor covered her completely.
Golden shoulder guards.
Golden gauntlets.
A sharp and elegant sacred-blood armor beast soul.
The sunlight reflecting from the armor made Han Yan look completely different from before.
Even her presence changed slightly.
Han Yan looked down at herself in shock.
"I actually obtained a beast soul…"
Sacred-blood beast souls were incredibly rare inside the First Sanctuary.
Most hunters never obtained one in their entire lives.
Chen Yu quietly observed the armor for several moments before speaking calmly.
"…Nice."
Han Yan looked toward him briefly before smiling faintly.
After that, both became silent.
The sacred golden beetle had changed too many things at once.
Eventually, both returned toward Steel Armor Shelter together.
After entering the shelter safely, Han Yan returned to her room while Chen Yu temporarily left God's Sanctuary and returned to the Alliance world.
Back home, the atmosphere felt peaceful compared to the sanctuary.
His younger sister continued talking during dinner while his parents listened quietly.
His father still wore military clothing after returning from patrol duty outside the sanctuaries.
A normal family dinner.
Simple.
Calm.
Completely different from the dangerous world inside God's Sanctuary.
Later that night, Chen Yu returned to the sanctuary again and entered his room inside Steel Armor Shelter silently.
Then—
he opened a small metal box hidden beneath his bed.
Inside it rested a black crystal.
The crystal had been hidden inside the sacred golden beetle flesh earlier.
Fortunately, Han Yan never noticed it.
Chen Yu slowly picked up the black crystal while his expression became serious.
According to the original story, this crystal should have belonged only to Han Sen.
But now—
it had appeared before him instead.
More importantly—
Chen Yu wanted to understand the difference between the black crystal and the Hōgyoku.
Inside his Sea of Consciousness, the cracked grey-black Hōgyoku floated silently as always.
The moment Chen Yu brought the black crystal closer—
both objects reacted immediately.
The Hōgyoku vibrated slightly.
Meanwhile, strange black light flowed from inside the crystal itself.
The reaction lasted only several seconds before both returned to silence again.
Chen Yu frowned slightly.
Disappointment appeared in his eyes.
Nothing special happened.
No fusion.
No dramatic change.
Only reaction.
That meant both objects were separate existences completely.
After thinking silently for several minutes, Chen Yu suddenly formed another idea.
Testing.
Careful observation was the safest method.
Inside a small cage near the corner of the room, an ordinary black beetle moved slowly.
Chen Yu had captured it earlier specifically for experiments.
The creature was weak.
Completely ordinary.
Chen Yu quietly stared at the black crystal for several moments before making a decision.
Then—
he pushed the black crystal directly into the black beetle's mouth.
The room became silent instantly.
Now…
he would finally observe how the black crystal evolved creatures directly.