The price Evan paid for teasing Wendy Lewis was simple and brutal—

  he washed all the dishes alone.

  Still, he was in a good mood.

  Eastern Dawn had officially created a personal file for him.

  On the eleventh day since his arrival in this world, he finally had a legal identity he could use.

  He had never set foot in Eastern Dawn,

  yet now he was officially one of its citizens.

  His physical ID card would only be issued once he arrived in the country,

  but his household registration had already been placed under Wendy’s family.

  As her younger brother.

  Evan never expected that after calling her “sis” every day,

  he would actually become her adopted sibling—

  different parents, different surnames,

  but the same household registry.

  From now on, calling her “sis” felt even more justified.

  After all, it was government?certified.

  That afternoon, Evan began basic physical training in the courtyard.

  For evolvers, training while “on drugs” was normal.

  The Undying Salamander extract he absorbed two days ago still left a large amount of evolutionary material in his body.

  The higher the grade and quality of the extract, the longer it took to digest.

  During digestion, an evolver’s physical attributes would steadily increase.

  A Tier?2 S?grade extract normally required two months to fully digest.

  With pharmaceutical assistance, the time could be shortened.

  Evan was taking Physique Digestion Tablets, the best synthetic drug of its kind on the market.

  With daily use, he could finish digesting the extract in about half a month.

  With high?intensity training, even faster.

  He strapped weighted blocks to his limbs and began running laps around the courtyard.

  One lap.

  Then another.

  Then another.

  Before long, his clothes were soaked with sweat.

  Many evolvers trained in high?end gyms equipped with specialized machines.

  Evan didn’t have that luxury yet,

  so he relied on the most primitive method—running.

  After three hours, he finally stopped to catch his breath.

  That was when he noticed Wendy standing at the doorway, watching him with a faint smile.

  She waved.

  “Come here.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Your training method is way too stupid.”

  Evan’s eyes lit up.

  “You have a better one?”

  Wendy crossed her arms.

  “First, you need to understand the purpose of training.

  Ordinary people and evolvers both exercise,

  but their goals are completely different.”

  Evan thought for a moment.

  “Ordinary people train to stay healthy.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Evolvers also train to strengthen their bodies…

  Wait.

  I think I get it.”

  “Evolvers improve mainly because of evolutionary material.

  Training is just to stimulate the body so it absorbs that material faster.”

  Wendy nodded.

  “Exactly.

  Evolutionary power and evolutionary material reshape the body.

  The drugs you take also contain evolutionary material.

  That’s why your physical stats rise so quickly.”

  “So the real purpose of training is to accelerate absorption.

  High?intensity exercise works, but your method is inefficient and unfocused.”

  Evan looked at her with sparkling eyes.

  “Sis, you’re one of the top evolutionary scientists.

  You must know a more efficient, targeted training method.”

  Wendy gave him a sideways glance.

  “Where did you learn to flatter people like that at your age?”

  She remembered herself at his age—

  a proud, aloof girl who could never say such smooth words.

  Still, she couldn’t help smiling.

  “Training methods like these are usually secret techniques of major factions.

  But I did research on this a few years ago and created my own method.

  If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

  Evan nodded so fast his head nearly fell off.

  “I want to learn!

  Anything you created has to be better than those old faction techniques!”

  “I won’t say it’s better,” Wendy said confidently,

  “but it’s definitely not worse.”

  She turned.

  “Wait here.

  I’ll change clothes.”

  A few minutes later, Wendy stepped out wearing a fitted yoga outfit.

  The tight fabric outlined her perfect figure—

  the elegant curves of an Eastern woman combined with the striking proportions of a Western one.

  Evan blinked.

  Hard.

  Wendy didn’t notice.

  Or pretended not to.

  “This training method is called Swan Dance.

  It’s based on human biomechanics and special force?application techniques.

  It stimulates the parts of the body most compatible with evolutionary material,

  accelerating digestion.”

  Evan felt something was off.

  Swan Dance?

  Was it what he thought it was?

  Wendy continued:

  “I’ll demonstrate once.

  Watch carefully.

  Learn as much as you can.”

  Then she moved.

  She rose onto her toes,

  hands gently placed before her abdomen,

  neck extended gracefully like a proud white swan.

  Then she leapt lightly,

  arms flowing,

  spinning,

  gliding—

  A dance that blended ballet, yoga, martial arts, and gymnastics into one seamless motion.

  Beautiful.

  Elegant.

  Deadly precise.

  But still—

  A dance.

  Evan stared.

  This was…

  this was basically Swan Lake.

  Was she seriously expecting him to do this?

  Wendy finished her demonstration and turned to him.

  “Your turn.

  Follow me.”

  For strength.

  For evolution.

  For survival.

  And since no one else was around…

  Evan swallowed his pride and began copying her movements.

  To his surprise, his balance and coordination were excellent.

  Within minutes, he grasped the fundamentals.

  After only two or three rounds of instruction,

  he could perform the entire sequence alone.

  Wendy looked ethereal when she danced.

  Evan…

  looked like a 1.8?meter?tall goose trying its best.

  Maybe a penguin.

  Still, the effect was undeniable.

  As soon as he finished one full sequence,

  he felt the evolutionary material in his body digesting faster,

  his physical stats rising noticeably.

  For results like this,

  he could endure a little embarrassment.

  Besides, it was just him and Wendy.

  No one else would ever—

  He turned his head.

  And saw a wrinkled face pressed against the window.

  Yvonne Hart.

  Evan’s soul left his body.

  She wasn’t injured enough.

  Not nearly enough.

  Meanwhile, Wendy had politely turned away to “give him privacy.”

  So why were her shoulders shaking?

  Swan Dance: elegant for her, traumatic for him.

  But effective for both.

  If you were Evan, how long would it take before you could look Yvonne in the eye again?