Unable to resist her drowsiness, Xu Nian fell asleep on Ying Fan's back.

She was asleep, but the red-crowned crane that had been sleeping in her mind opened its eyes and stood up.

After taking a few tentative steps, the red-crowned crane's eyes lit up with surprise.

Looking up at this vast white world, a human-like longing appeared in its eyes; it wanted to spread its wings and fly high.

The red-crowned crane spread its wings and flapped them rapidly, making several back-and-forth motions in the air. Due to its unfamiliarity with flying, it fell from the sky.

Despite the failed test flight, the red-crowned cranes were incredibly excited.

After a short rest, and drawing on its previous experience, it flew very steadily this time. There were no further crashes.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The red-crowned cranes let out high-pitched cries in the air.

It flew around this white world, like a monarch inspecting his territory.

When it got tired of flying, it landed and lay back down in its original spot.

The moment the red-crowned crane returned to its place, Xu Nian regained her senses. She was first stunned, then overjoyed.

She could clearly sense the changes in her mind; the sleeping red-crowned crane had awakened.

It remained lying there, its expression haughty, its dark eyes seeming to be staring back at Xu Nian.

When a red-crowned crane opens its eyes, it signifies the awakening of its spiritual power.

Xu Nian hurriedly tried to release her spiritual power, but as soon as she showed herself, a huge blue lion pressed her back down with its paw.

"Yingfan, what are you doing?" Xu Nian opened her eyes unhappily.

"Niannian, stop fooling around. Your mental strength is very weak right now. Don't try anything reckless," Ying Fan scolded with a stern face.

He didn't know how Xu Nian awakened her spiritual power, but for a newbie who had just awakened, the first thing to learn was to properly nurture her spiritual power.

For someone like Xu Nian to casually separate their mental energy from their body like that is extremely dangerous for a newly awakened mental energy core.

If you accidentally output too much energy, it will cause your mental core to collapse.

Xu Nian wasn't annoyed by the reprimand; instead, she asked happily, "Ying Fan, do you think my mental strength will grow to be as powerful as yours?"

"No, I was born S-rank, and after training I evolved into SS-rank. In a while, I might even evolve into SSS-rank. You're still far from that level." Ying Fan didn't want to discourage Xu Nian, but that was the truth.

Most importantly, you should demonstrate your abilities when the time is right.

Lying to make her happy is certainly a good idea.

But she might think he's too weak, and her admiration for strength might make her look down on him.

Yingfan still wanted Xu Nian's wholehearted love, so naturally he didn't want to be looked down upon.

"Ying Fan, are you really that amazing?" Xu Nian was now certain that he was undoubtedly the male lead.

"Niannian, do you admire me a lot now?" Ying Fan pinched Xu Nian's fair cheek with his large, well-defined hand, his eyes shining brightly.

Those eyes screamed: Worship me! Worship me!

He looked just like a child who got a perfect score on a test and was begging his parents for praise.

Xu Nian burst out laughing: "Ying Fan, I admire you so much, but one day I will catch up with you."

Ying Fan's lips curled slightly, neither confirming nor denying Xu Nian's idea of ​​catching up. "Then I'll wait and see."

"Yingfan, where is this? How long have I been asleep?" Xu Nian then noticed that something was wrong with her surroundings.

The room was unfamiliar, the layout was unfamiliar, and there was a faint smell of blood in the air.

Without a doubt, the smell of blood comes from the border city walls, where people are killing large numbers of fish and birds every day.

"Do you like our new home?" Ying Fan nervously stepped aside to let Xu Nian better see the layout of the room.

It's a small place, just a single room with some basic furniture. The bathroom is located next to the balcony.

Standing on the balcony, one can hear the calls of fish and birds coming from the border city wall.

No wonder I could smell blood; it turns out it's so close to the border wall!

Xu Nian withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and looked at Ying Fan, waiting for him to explain everything.

“Niannian, as you can see, we’ll be living here permanently from now on.” Yingfan felt a sharp pain in his face from the slap.

I had initially thought I wouldn't let her live worse than the capital of Xingluo Kingdom, but the accommodations turned out to be far from satisfactory.

If the room's soundproofing isn't good enough, he'll really be shooting himself in the foot.

He wanted to build a separate residence, but that didn't comply with regulations.

This is the border, and the soldiers are very strict in their management.

Unless he has the status and ability, he can be granted a separate residence.

Thinking of this, Ying Fan secretly vowed that he would climb up soon.

Niannian, don't worry, I will definitely make sure you live a good life as soon as possible.

"Yingfan, will those fish and birds keep attacking the border walls?" Xu Nian's attention was clearly not on the food and lodging conditions. She looked at the battlefield in the distance, a deep worry flashing in her eyes.

Having awakened her spiritual power, her vision became broader and clearer.

She could clearly see that beyond the border walls stretched an endless expanse of fish and birds.

Densely packed, a dark, dense mass.

As expected of an invading creature capable of threatening the safety of the Star Luo Kingdom.

Outside the border walls, the whole world seemed to have become a world of fish and birds.

"Their routine is the same as ours; they only attack fiercely during the day, and at night they eat and rest," Ying Fan explained to Xu Nian.

"Fish and birds need to eat too, so what do they eat?" Xu Nian was taken aback. There were only other fish and birds around them, so their food source couldn't be their own companions, could it?

“Niannian, you’re right. Fish and birds will fight each other to evolve. When a Fish-Bird King appears in the flock, that’s when the border disaster begins.” Ying Fan opened the Star Net and showed Xu Nian the footage of humans fighting the Fish-Bird King ten years ago.

Humans barely managed to kill the Fish-Bird King, but many of those with mental abilities also perished.

If the Fish-Bird King hadn't died and the border hadn't been leaderless, the border would have been in danger long ago.

"How can this Fish-Bird King be so huge?" Xu Nian stared at the Fish-Bird King on her phone in disbelief.

A gigantic fish-bird, its massive size blotting out the sky, launched an attack on the border wall. With each cry, it sent all the other fish-birds into a frenzy, crashing into the wall.

The carcasses of fish and birds piled up at a visible speed, reaching the height of the city wall in just over ten minutes.

Those with superhuman mental strength who are fearless and undaunted by death cannot withstand such depletion.

One by one, they turned pale, swayed, and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Those who have exhausted their mental energy are like lambs to the slaughter; any fish or bird could easily tear their throats with its sharp claws.

The scene shows many people dying tragically, many of whom gave their lives to kill the Fish-Bird King.

Xu Nian noticed with her sharp eyes that the Fish-Bird King was not afraid of damage from human firearms; only mental power could cause it substantial harm.

This is truly a tough, thick-skinned monster.