Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had already returned to the station, thinking that Chief Huo Jiang would immediately assign them a new mission.
But who would have thought that Huo Jiang actually seemed to have all forgotten about the pair and did not have them do anything at all.
If they had no case, the Logistics Division would be very free. After Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were done reporting to Division Head Tong Guan, they were soon surrounded by colleagues eager to ask about what they experienced.
Xia Fan selectively shared with them details about the cosmic storm and the graveyard of warships. It was enough to leave his colleagues shocked, cheering Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha for sessfully taking down four warships from Murder Shrine.
Without even realizing it, it was already noon, and it was time for their lunch break. Xia Fan yed host and treated everyone to a feast at a fancy restaurant near the Special Bureau as a way of celebrating his triumphant return from the Outer Frontier.
¡
Later in the afternoon, the Logistics Division still had nothing to do, so Xia Fan went to the underground training center situated in the headquarters and booked himself thergest training room avable.
Xia Fan¡¯s training was also very simple. First he performed the Startip Mantra, widely known as the basic training for everything under the sky. The Startip Mantra yed a key role in honing one¡¯s physique, so no matter how great a special ability warrior one was, the need to practice the Startip Mantra daily was something that could not be missed.
Recently, Xia Fan had found a more efficient method, where he would change his speed while going through the motions of the Startip Mantra.
If this was normal training, the Startip Mantra would be akin to Taichi, where the movements were slow and would exercise the muscles in his entire body, waking up the sleeping cells that would slowly let the practitioner enter the required state.
But Xia Fan was a speedster, and he wanted to demonstrate his heaven-defying capabilities by increasing the speed of his training.
Normally, others would take 25 minutes to finish one round of Startip Mantra, but Xia Fan only needed 30 seconds.
As such, the intensity of his training had greatly increased.
Xia Fan had thought of this elerated training, all for the sake of living on a warship.
The Scourgecked space for training, which was why Xia Fan hade up with this solution that not only saved space, but also increased the intensity of his training.
He never would have imagined that the effect of doing so would be so great that after several rounds of the elerated training. While he had been undergoing this elerated training, he needed to constantly adjust himself to keep up a suitable tempo during the training. His nervous system needed to bepletely alert, otherwise he could very easily make a mistake.
That was to say that Xia Fan had turned the ancient Startip Mantra into a miraculous discipline that doubly trained his body and mind!
Whether it was the body or mind, both could be trained to be stronger, from an inactive person to someone with well-developed muscles.
Warriors would often state that only true battle could make someone grow exponentially. Why was that?
It was because during a fight, users would have their physical and mental states pushed to a state of heightened tension, where adrenaline would be secreted inrge quantities. The moment someone became used to fighting where their lives were on the line, normal training would turn into child¡¯s y. What troubles could someone encounter if they could handle even the battlefield?
Xia Fan¡¯s elerated training was like getting into a fight with himself!
With speedes inertia, and such movement at high speeds also needed to stop, along with a change of tempo when necessary. It was not simple at all, the difficultyparable to being in a fight using real swords and guns.
Thus, this highly-difficult training was also very good at improving Xia Fan¡¯s reaction speed in both mind and body. It was not wrong to call it killing two birds with one stone!
Of course, a training that could figuratively achieve this killing of two birds with one stone was only possible by a speedster like Xia Fan.
¡ª
After about half an hour passed, Xia Fan waspletely drenched in sweat. He copsed to the hard reinforced-fiber floor in the training center, panting heavily.
Looking up at the ceiling, he just so happened to see his speed disy on the screen. The training center had a speedometer installed, so Xia Fan could find out if his maximum speed had changed.
The disy showed that Xia Fan¡¯s maximum speed has now reached 397 m/s.
To most special ability users, that was a speed that they could never surmount, but Xia Fan only felt that he was now at a bottleneck.
Half a month ago, Xia Fan¡¯s speed had broken past 350 m/s, and now he was still under 400m/s. On average, it seemed he barely increased his speed by 1 m/s every day.
ording to the rules, in order to reach Advanced Starbase rank for speed-types, they would have to reach 571 m/s, while Star Domain rank would need a speed of 1143 m/s.
With the current state he found himself in, Xia Fan would need at least two years before he could achieve Star Domain rank.
That was too slow!
So what even if he reached Primary Star Domain rank; there was still Intermediate, Advanced, then Star River rank. Each and every towering mountain was awaiting Xia Fan to climb to their respective summit!
If this was the speed of promotion he had to contend with, then even if he spent his entire life cultivating, Xia Fan was afraid that he would not be able to reach his fellow nsmen. They were already at the realm where they could fly across the gxies and nine heavens with wings on their backs.
Xia Fan was unwilling to admit defeat, especially when he knew that he had kin who were terrifying enough to sweep the world. Even if he had to give it his all, he would also strive to be stronger.
The Speed special ability was unique in that it was an ability that became harder the higher one climbed through the ranks. It was known to be the ability that was the most difficult to cultivate, and if Xia Fan were to stumble at this point, his future would surely be worse.
With a brush of his finger over his spatial ring, Xia Fan¡¯s thoughts went to that bottle of Immortality Wine again.
The Immortality Wine was a drink for the immortals, while also being the most poisonous poison known to the world. It could help special ability-users rapidly increase in rank, but it would do so at the cost of their life.
Though Traveling Buddha had warned Xia Fan repeatedly, he still refused to believe his ims. He had clearly gotten his hands on something wonderful, yet he was unable to use it. That was far too tragic!
¡°No matter what, I should first do a biological experiment at the technical division,¡± Xia Fan silently murmured to himself as he disyed the perseverance of a scientist.
Chapter 1457
Chapter 1457: A Biological Experiment
Xia Fan took the elevator and arrived at the technical division¡¯sboratories located on the twenty-seventh floor.
Entering the ce, he saw plenty of people wearing whiteb coats, looking very much the part of researchers.
Theseb coat wearers were not Investigators, they were the researchers of the station. They mainly focused on researching techniques rted to crime scene investigation and forensics.
A bespectacled young man whom Xia Fan had met before gasped in mild surprise when he saw Xia Fan appear on his floor. ¡°Hey! A rare guest! Why are you here, Xia Fan?¡±
!!
Xia Fan returned a smile, ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s convenient for me to borrow yourboratory for a bit?¡±
¡°The star of the station asking to borrow aboratory? How could we be inconvenienced by that? Speak, what sort ofboratory are you looking to use? Trace elements, cryoscopy, or the polymer-testingboratory?¡±
¡°Oh. I just need to use the biologyboratory a little.¡±
¡°Biology you say? Then you may use number Sixteen, it just so happens to be free. It¡¯s a pity that my area of study is in astrophysics, so I can¡¯t be much help on the biology front. Do you want me to invite Big Cow from our technical division, who specializes in biological research, to help you with your experiments?¡±
Xia Fan shook his head gratefully. ¡°I appreciate your kind intentions, but I¡¯m just doing some little experiments, so I won¡¯t have any problems aplishing them on my own.¡±
¡°Is there really no need? Colleagues of the Technical Division here are more than happy to lend you a hand after hearing about how you destroyed four warships of the Murder Shrine in one go, and even helped the Union and Chaos Eagle Empire seal an exclusive contract.¡±
Xia Fan scratched his head, slightly abashed, ¡°Really, it¡¯s just a small experiment. There¡¯s no need to trouble everyone over it.¡±
¡°That¡¯s fine too. Come this way.¡±
That young researcher led Xia Fan to the entrance ofboratory Sixteen, and watched Xia Fan enter the room before he left. He was very courteous the entire time.
Recently, Xia Fan had managed to crack a big case and made great achievements, in the process bing a figure well-known throughout the station. Though Xia Fan did not know everyone in the station, it seemed like everyone knew him!
The automated door to theboratory swished open, and a yellow light turned on. When the other researchers saw that light, they would know that theboratory was in use.
Changing to a biologyb coat, Xia Fan found a test tube and the automatic blood extractor.
He set the necessary amount of blood he wished to be extracted and then ced his arm into it. He made sure it was aligned precisely to his vein and then lightly pressed the button on top.
A single needle pricked his vein, extracting fifty milliliters of blood. The needle automatically retracted once done, and the test tube in which his blood was stored popped out, while spraying ayer of homeostatic film where the blood had been drawn from.
After acquiring a sample of his blood, he made his way to the polymer microscope and ced the test tube into the observation window. He then took out a liquid extractor, setting it to extract 0.01 milliliters of liquid.
Carefully ncing around the sterileboratory setting, he noted the presence of the automated biological defense system and the poison defense system, and that both were in working order. With that, he brushed his finger lightly over his spatial ring and took out the bottle of Immortality Wine.
The crystal bottle had a high-pressure screw seal. Xia Fan very carefully opened the seal, and then reached that long liquid extractor to retrieve a little Immortality Wine with it.
*Huuu~*
Xia Fan heaved a sigh, and proceeded to pipette the sample of Immortality Wine to the test tube that contained his blood. He then examined it under the microscope once more.
There were changes happening inside the test tube, presented on a 120-inch high definition disy.
Xia Fan watched as his blood and the Immortality Wine mixed together, and immediately began a smokeless battle with one another.
White blood cells were the primary defense against viruses, and ounted for one percent of the blood in human bodies.
Meanwhile, the Immortality Wine contained strange spiral-shaped cells, which the white blood cells seemed to perceive as a major threat to themselves. They rushed at the spirals in the first instance, the white blood cells viewing the spiral cells as a virus as they tried to devour each other.
Because the polymer microscope magnified things over a million times, the fight between the cells unfolded right before Xia Fan¡¯s eyes, very realistic and rather thrilling to watch.
There was a lot less of the viruspared to the white blood cells, yet it could rapidly replicate itself. The speed at which the white blood cells swallowed the invasive cells was nowhere as fast as the cellr replication that these spiral cells demonstrated. Arge number of telets and red blood cells were quickly disintegrating and deforming under the attack of the virus.
In just the span of a minute, the white blood cells had beenpletely surrounded by the now-numerous virus cells, the former forced into clusters to defend against the intruders.
Xia Fan could feel his palms go cold as a pressure built up in his chest.
The replication speed of the virus was simply too high. It had already turned his own blood into poison, while the remaining 0.1 percent of white blood cells left was still resisting in the seemingly foregone battle.
However, Xia Fan reckoned that this resistance would notst much longer, given how the virus very clearly held the upper hand now.
Suddenly, just as Xia Fan was feeling despondent, the remaining white blood cells abruptlyunched a counterattack at the final moment. It seemed like the fight had activated a hidden strength within the cells, such that the white blood cells began to split inrge amounts, with one bing, two, and two turning into four.
Before this, over ny-nine percent of the white blood cells had already been killed by the virus, yet the surviving one percent had unimaginably managed to begin splitting themselves, and were now mounting an impossible retaliation.
About ten minutester, the number of white blood cells and the spiral virus cells reached an equilibrium.
Twenty minutester, the virus cells werergely eliminated from the blood in the test tube, with less than ten percent of them remaining.
Thirty minutester, the battle had ended. The white blood cells had finally managed to snatch back control and hadpletely wiped out the virus from the blood.
This was not a 9:1 chance of survival, but 100:1!
This experiment had shown that Xia Fan possessed a strength that could resist poisonous toxins inside his body, but due to the overly violent nature of the Immortality Wine, the first one minute would be extremely dangerous, and only about one percent of the white blood cells being attacked would survive.
Although the subsequent attack ended with the white blood cells emerging victorious, what he had just witnessed regarding the entire process with the white blood cells nearly beingpletely eradicated meant it was not difficult to tell just how much danger Xia Fan would be in if he were to imbibe the Immortality Wine.
This experiment had also proven that the Immortality Wine truly possessed an inconceivable level of strength. If Xia Fan were to acquire it, there was no doubt it could help him rise through the ranks considerably.
Xia Fan cleaned up theboratory, andpletely destroyed the extractors and test tubes that he had used in a small fusion incinerator. He was deep in thought as he made his way out of the Technical Division¡¯sboratory.
...
...
Xia Fan did not tell Traveling Buddha of his ns. He quietly chose a location on the map and took two sets of tools from the Technical Division that could precisely extract the Immortality Wine.
On the second day after he had performed his blood experimentation, Xia Fan flew ck Egg and arrived at the isted beach outside the city all by himself. He nned to try administering the Immortality Wine here.
Though the training rooms in the Special Bureau were quiet and closed off, there were automated body monitoring systems installed that would surely set off rms the moment they detected unusual readings from Xia Fan.
ording to the results of his experiment, even if Xia Fan was able to resist the poison from the Immortality Wine, he would still need to endure excruciating pain that mightst for up to thirty minutes. His body might convulse during that period, and perhaps even lose consciousness. He could not make such an attempt within the confines of the Special Bureau.
This deste beach that no one went to was a good location. After imbibing the Immortality Wine, he¡¯d still have a beach he could stroll down. If Traveling Buddha asked, he could just im he had taken a trip to the beach to unwind, and he would not risk being found out even if Traveling Buddha checked ck Egg¡¯s flight records.
After ck Egg settled down on the beach, Xia Fan opened thending bay doors and took a deep breath of the ocean air, instantly feeling invigorated by it.
He then shut the door and entered the second cargo hold on the undercarriage of the ship. Though the first cargo hold was bigger in size, it had be an ammunition bay after Xia Fan had finished retrofitting the ship.
Sitting on the floor, he took out the Immortality Wine, pulled off the screw cap, and set the liquid extractor ordingly.
Xia Fan was like most Skywings. Due to his inherited gics, his figure had always been toward the lean side, standing at 1.78 meters in height, with a body weight that was just shy of 65 kilograms.
During the blood experiment, Xia Fan had used a 5000:1 ratio. This time, he decided to y it slightly safer, only taking five millimeters of Immortality Wine, making it a 13,000:1 ratio of the wine against his body weight.
The thin needle extracted the exact amount from the wine bottle, then Xia Fan sealed the bottle shut and stowed it away.
The Immortality Wine was contained in arge crystal bottle, holding roughly three liters of the liquid within. Xia Fan had only taken out a mere drop of the wine inparison.
After some thought, Xia Fan took out nine Grade Nine energy crystals as well.
Grade Nine energy crystals werepletely transparent, and contained only the purest form of natural energy.
When he was younger, Xia Fan had to eat one of these crystals practically every day until he became of age. Only after Xia Fan¡¯s bones were fully grown and he could no longer grow any taller did he stop treating this most precious resource in the universe as a nutrient.
Energy crystals were god¡¯s bounty of the natural world, and the different grades of crystals all came in different colors.
A grade one crystal would be gray, a two was orange, a three was green, a four was yellow, a five was purple, a six was red, a seven was blue, an eight was green, and a nine waspletely colorless.
All energy crystals, no matter their grade, could be consumed. Due to them being the rawest and purest form of energy from nature, the energy crystals would not do any harm to the human body, and many special-ability warriors enjoy carried a few of these crystals with them, using the crystals to refill their energy during battle, a tactic much more effective than any medicine.
Aside from the nine grades of crystals, there were also three special energy crystals that were respectively gold, ck, and white in color. It was said that those three special crystals could also be eaten, but it required a corresponding constitution simr to the crystals for it to work.
ck energy crystals needed Dark power, while white energy crystals needed Holy power. The most unique gold energy crystals required their user to have Gold power.
Xia Fan reckoned that Blind Grandpa¡¯s Twin Golden Pupils had been a disy of Gold power.
However, with how powerful Blind Grandpa was, all he had was eyes that turned gold, so was there anyone out in the vast universe who had a bodypletely imbued with Gold power?
Xia Fan had no idea. He also had yet toe across anyone with Dark power, or Holy power. It seemed there were individuals that wielded Holy power with the church of the Sacred Federation, but Xia Fan had not visited the ce, so he had not met them in person before.
In any case, energy crystals were amazing items, which was why Xia Fan had prepared some Grade Nine energy crystals, as an emergency source of replenishment in the event he could not endure the experience.
Of course, not using them would be the best case scenario. Given how Xia Fan had expended so many since he as young, out of the entire stock of Grade Nine energy crystals in the Holy Tomb, he had practically finished off all but the final forty-seven crystals that he still had in his possession.
Furthermore, there was a disadvantage that came with eating too many of these peak-grade energy crystals: every energy crystal that was beneath Grade Nine was nowpletely useless to Xia Fan. His body had already gotten used to the use of the highest grade of nature¡¯s energy, and all other crystals were no different from drinking a ss of refreshing water.
After he was done with his preparations, Xia Fan gritted his teeth and drummed up his courage. He raised the liquid extractor high above his head and opened his mouth wide.
*Click!* His finger lightly pushed the red button on the top of the extractor.
Instantly, a drop of scarlet red liquid rolled down Xia Fan¡¯s throat, passing right through before settling in his stomach.
Chapter 1458
Chapter 1458 500 m/s!
A single drop of Immortality Wine entered Xia Fan¡¯s body, and he immediately felt somewhat faint, feeling a hungry sensatione over him.
This hunger was akin to a thirst for blood and battle. It caused his eyes to fill with blood, even as his heartbeat elerated to a ridiculous rate, pumping with so much force that it was as if it was about to leap right out of his chest!
Xia Fan had turned battle-hungry, and he very much wanted to find someone to fight with, so he could release these pent-up emotions that he was feeling!
At the same time, Xia Fan could also feel his muscles convulse as his entire body became hot, just like he had fallen into a pit of burning magma.
!!
He was agitated, like a demon possessed, and it was eroding away his body and will. Before taking the Immortality Wine, Xia Fan had already prepared himself for the worst case scenario, but he had never imagined it would actually be this bad!
If there was a mirror in that cargo hold right now, he would surely see himself in the process of turning feral and mad, his veins visible as his entire body heated to a scarlet red, just like heated metal.
There was no choice. Xia Fan had no way of escaping this fate now, aside from grinning and bearing it!
He knew very well that a great battle was unfolding inside his body. The incredible demonic power of the Immortality Wine was presently making an attempt to get a hold of his body, and his body was presently putting up a grueling resistance!
The pain was bing more pronounced, and Xia Fan began screaming inside the cargo hold. He was shocked hearing his own voice, as he could not have imagined that his human throat could actually let out such a demonic sound.
Perhaps this was what it meant to be a crazed demon: the Yggdragons, as rtives of the Dragons, possessed a Holy power that humans could not possibly imagine. This was the price Xia Fan had to pay in order to obtain that power as his own!
His face turned from red to white. The intense pain forced his entire body to expel plenty of fluids, and he could not differentiate between the sweat and tears. All he knew was that he waspletely drenched.
This fluid being expelled from his body was impure, a slick grayish sheen that covered him quickly. Xia Fan reckoned that they were the dead cells being discharged during the battle between his body and the invading cells!
This phenomena somewhat resembled metabolic expulsion. Some people would find their head filled with white dandruff in their hair when they woke up every morning, but the dandruff was just dead cells their body had shed.
Metabolism was something that happened to the human body at every moment, but it had never happened to such a severe degree as what Xia Fan was experiencing!
Only a handful of minutes had passed, and Xia Fan had practically gone through an entire body of cells once over. In order to fight against the powerful virus, his original cells¡¯ fighting strength was far too weak to resist the invading cells, which was why they had been eliminated.
In order to stay alive, his new cells needed to possess a fighting strength greater than the previous generation!
Thus, a stunning change was urring inside Xia Fan¡¯s body. He hadpletely eliminated an entire generation of cells that were just not strong enough, and was producing even stronger cells as recements!
Xia Fan could no longer think, otherwise he would have discovered that while it looked like he was bing weaker, the appearance of the virus had silently awakened the hidden will to live in his body. He was actually bing stronger and stronger, all for the sake of surviving this plight.
There was a gray little river flowing on the floor of the cargo hold, made up of Xia Fan¡¯s bodily fluids and dead cells.
In just the span of five minutes, Xia Fan had dropped in weight by at least 6.8 kilograms, and his originally lean body was even skinnier right now, almost as if someone had taken a jacket¡¯s worth of bulk off of his body.
Of course, he might be lighter, but it was not fatal. A human body was seventy percent water, which meant that Xia Fan, who weighed 65 kilograms, had over 45.5 kilograms of water weight stored up.
As long as he didn¡¯t lose more than fifty percent of that, Xia Fan simply needed to replenish what he lost with food and water after this ordeal, and he would be able to recover.
¡ª
Time passed. After the twenty minute mark, Xia Fan slowly regained consciousness. He immediately pulled out several one-liter bottles of mineral water and began chugging them down.
Because the spatial ring was in aplete vacuum, the mineral water was ice cold. The icy liquid was absolutely refreshing as it went down his gullet.
Aside from water, he also required food.
There were several energy bars that the military used stored in his spatial ring, a type of sweet chocte bar that contained six thousand calories each. Xia Fan peeled off their wrappers and ate them one after another, draining an entire bottle of mineral water with every energy bar he consumed, and then doing it again.
Calories and water intake reduced the painful sensation he was feeling from the loss of fluids, and at this time, that battle happening in his body at the cellr level was alsoing to a close.
A whole new cellr army had formed inside Xia Fan¡¯s body, and was beginning to overwhelm the invading virus from the Immortality Wine, eliminating every cell that could be perceived as a threat to his body.
Thirty minutester, which was precisely the time that Xia Fan had expected, the virus was finally scrubbed clean and Xia Fan felt like he was reborn.
The demonic power that came from the Immortality Wine was no more. They had all been consumed, transformed, and turned into Xia Fan¡¯s own strength.
At the same time, due to Xia Fan having experienced aplete cell recement, Xia Fan had gone through an astounding transformation. His hands were originally ugly and calloused after his many years of grueling training, but now they were as tender as a baby¡¯s hands, while his hair appeared cker and shinier than before, almost as if he had just been born.
Xia Fan sighed as he leaned against the wall, muttering to himself, ¡°That was close!¡±
Though it looked like he had made a full recovery, Xia Fan still felt like he waspletely weak, which was why he continued to consume more calories and water.
The empty bottles and energy bar wrappers were tossed all over the hold. Over a short period of time, Xia Fan had actually eaten a hundred bars, which was roughly six hundred kilocalories!
¡ª
More than two hours passed.
Xia Fan tried to stand up, and ran his fingers through his wet hair. He slowly tried to flex his arms and legs.
By now, Xia Fan felt that his entire body had be a lot easier to move about with. He could understand the specific scientific theory why he would feel like this, but he simply could not believe that the effect of consuming Immortality Wine and the strength from his metabolism would be apparent so soon.
Xia Fan took out a portable speedometer, a small instrument that had induction and maic devices that could be glued onto the wall of the metal walls of the cargo hold.
*Huuu*
Taking a deep breath, Xia Fan then began to runps inside the hold.
His speed climbed, and he could feel himself growing stronger and stronger. Because of the existence of high-grade battle suits that could reduce wind resistance, Xia Fan did not hear the wind howling in his ears, though he could tell that his speed was higher than before.
But exactly how much was the increase?
Xia Fan came to a halt and retrieved the portable speedometer. He checked the disy behind the device.
The data recorded showed that Xia Fan¡¯s top speed had broken past 500 m/s!
Before he took the Immortality Wine, his speed had been stagnating at 397 m/s!
That was to say that just five milliliters of the wine had increased Xia Fan¡¯s speed by a quarter, and then some!
This was absolutely astounding!
Xia Fan needed to hit 571 m/s in order to be recognized as a Speedster at the Advanced Starbase rank. He just needed to just take another dose of Immortality Wine to promote himself!
There was no need to undergo any grueling training. A single drop of the wine, and enduring half an hour of pain, was all it took for Xia Fan to soar through the ranks!
It was no wonder those people from Murder Shrine would be willing to risk it all just to get a hold of this!. The Immortality Wine was without a doubt liquid ambrosia!
Xia Fan was in high spirits. He was excited, not only because he had promoted, but because he had discovered a method to use the Immortality Wine!
The Immortality Wine brewed from Yggdragons¡¯ blood totaled three liters, and he used merely five milliliters of it to increase his speed by so much! Only the gods would know just what kind of speed Xia Fan could reach once he was done drinking the entire bottle!
Of course, Xia Fan knew that there was no way he could drink it every day. He needed to observe moderation. He should still work hard and train daily, and when the time was right, he could take a dose of Immortality Wine again.
Normal training and the wine needed to be used alternatingly, and he needed to take note of his safety as well, since his body was his foundation and the moment that broke, everything would be over.
¡ª
Packing everything up, Xia Fan did not return to the station, but went to the hotel suite Traveling Buddha had rented for the two of them.
His entire body was giving off a nasty stench, so he filled the big circr bathtub with hot water and jumped right in with a ssh, enjoying a good andfortable soak.
The Phantom Mark Seven Battlesuit was a high-tech apparel that had quick-dry and self-cleansing functions. All it needed was three minutes and the battlesuit would be like new, clean enough to be worn just like before.
¡ª
After his bath, Xia Fan felt hungry again. Perhaps it was because plenty of his cells in his body had been reced, but Xia Fan¡¯s appetite today was amazing today.
He did not wish to head to the restaurant, so he ordered room service.
In no time, three service staff came to his room, pushing little food carts.
The first food carts had four tes of steaks, the signature dish of this hotel. It was called Pan-fried Red Veal Steak, and even if the name was a mouthful, the taste of the meat was worth every bite.
He had asked for the family-sized portions that weigh well up to two kilograms each, with an assortment of side dishes like potatoes, broli, and tomatoes. A steak of such a size would be enough to feed a family of four.
The second food carts were the desserts and fruits that Xia Fan ordered. Avocados, kiwis, bananas, and grapes were piled up high on the firstyer of the cart. The secondyer held desserts like creamy ice cream, decadent chocte cakes, and other such delicacies.
The third cart was filled with drinks: carbonated soda water, pure milk, coffee, and various types of juices.
The service staff had thought that Xia Fan had invited others to the suite, only to discover it was just him alone. They were momentarily dumbfounded, finding it inconceivable that someone as skinny as him could eat and drink enough to feed sixteen people.
Xia Fan pulled out three hundred-dor bills from his pocket as a tip, giving the servers one each.
The staffers earned a monthly wage of 1500 union dors, so Xia Fan¡¯s generous tip had them grinning from ear to ear, bowing low as they retreated from the room.
...
...
Traveling Buddha returned when it was almost evening.
He opened the door and saw the aftermath of the feast in the living room, with tes that were polished off that the service staff had yet toe and clear up.
¡°Xia Fan, you must have been famished!¡± Traveling Buddha mumbled to himself as he entered Xia Fan¡¯s room. All he saw was Xia Fan lying on his bed, sprawled with his limbs all over. He had already digested all the food he had eaten and was presently asleep.
¡°Are you back?¡± Xia Fan rubbed his eyes and got up groggily after he heard TB enter.
Xia Fan had a habit of sleeping in his battlesuit. Even if he was at home, he would also be ready to fight at the drop of a hat, which was why Xia Fan waspletely suited for battle right now, as per usual.
¡°Yeah.¡±
¡°Did anyone at the station ask where I¡¯ve been?¡±
¡°Nope. The Logistics Division has recently been pretty free, and I didn¡¯t even stay in the station the whole day. Dn told me he knew a famous teahouse nearby, so we went over and scouted the ce out.¡±
¡°How was it?¡±
¡°Just some generic brands, so I bought some wild tea leaves that grew on the outskirts of the city and came back.¡±
¡°Well, you¡¯re back at a great time. I happen to be a little hungry, so we can order some food in,¡± Xia Fan said as he picked up the phone to call room service.
¡°The heck, you¡¯re gonna be a pig if you¡¯re not careful! But speaking of which,¡± Traveling Buddha wrinkled his eyebrows together and sat on the sofa in Xia Fan¡¯s bedroom, which was next to the window. He folded his arms and mused, ¡°I didn¡¯t manage to buy tea leaves today, though I did learn of some news from Dn?¡±
Xia Fan reached his hand out to tell Traveling Buddha to hold for a moment.
He was ordering some food over the phone: a rainbow trout, a bamboo chicken, as well as several drinks and side dishes.
After he was done with his order, Xia Fan put the phone down and smiled at Traveling Buddha. ¡°So, what news did Dn share with you?¡±
Chapter 1459
Chapter 1459 ¨C 1459 Special Mission!
Dn, an investigator from the Logistics Division of the Special Bureau, was a sort of a jack of all trades.
Dn was good-natured, and no matter what happened in any Division, Dn would also head over to help without anyone asking. Because of that, he was familiar with many people around the station. If there was anymotion or rumors flying around, Dn would be the first to know.
Traveling Buddha brewed himself a pot of tea and handed Xia Fan a cup before saying, ¡°Dn said that something major is happening in the Outer Frontier. It has already rmed Headquarters and all the major organizations of the three Federations. After we returned, the Bureau suddenly said that they are looking to strengthen their involvement with the Outer Frontier, so it must be rted to this huge thing.¡±
Xia Fan drained the cup of tea and chuckled, ¡°Alright, enough with the suspense. Tell me just what exactly is this ¡®something major¡¯? What could have all three Federations so nervous?¡±
!!
Traveling Buddha answered, ¡°The situation with the Outer Frontier is veryplex, and because of the non-expansion agreement that was signed, the Outer Frontier has always been and ofwlessness and freedom.
¡°Before now, the three Federations did not think that the pirates and local warlords in the Outer Frontier affected them at all, since they were just a scattered bunch of soldiers that would hardly be a threat in the face of a proper army from the three Federations.¡±
¡°But that¡¯s no longer the case. Murder Shrine had be a force to be reckoned with after developing for a long time. The warships that have been moved from the three Federations to the Outer Frontier are also increasing in numbers, making it so that the fleets from the Outer Frontier have since matched the strength of a proper fleet from the three Federations.
¡°In any case, if Starcloud Union doesn¡¯t sell weapons to the Outer Frontier, the Republic will. And if the Republic doesn¡¯t, then the Sacred Federation will.
¡°It¡¯s gotten to the point that everyone¡¯s fighting to sell their weapons to the warlords from the Outer Frontier, and military arms has be such a huge business that even if the three Federations want to assert some control over it, they cannot do so. There are tens of thousands of smuggling routes out there, and plenty of businessmen from the territory that have dealings with those beyond. Not many of them are clean.
¡°Well, it is what it is,¡± Traveling Buddha shrugged. ¡°Man will die for fortune, as birds will die for food. There¡¯s no way to block the influx of weapons to the Outer Frontier, which is why the three Federations all came up with the idea of incorporating them at the same time.
¡°At the end of the day, the reason why something like the agreement exists is all so as to make it easier to break it in the future.
¡°The three Federations have had over one hundred ceasefire treaties with one another, and none of them have ever really worked. At the end of the day, we¡¯ll still all end up fighting against one another.¡±
Changing his tone quickly, Traveling Buddha sounded a bit more serious as he continued, ¡°But this time is different. The newsing out from Murder Shrine indicates that they could very well be gathering together the variousrge forces from the Outer Frontier, both the pirates and the warlords, all of them rallying under theirmand to form the fourth Federation in Ashen Moon.
¡°That is something we definitely would not allow, which is why we received news from Chief Huo Jiang that the Union is nning to aggressively expand outward, in order to prevent the rise of Murder Shrine.
¡°After all, if Murder Shrine were to subjugate the Outer Frontier, then we would be in danger!
¡°Though the Outer Frontier is impoverished, it covers arge region, with plenty of people popting it. There is also an abundant supply of processable materials.
¡°Even if there¡¯s no force that can challenge the three Federations for now, there¡¯s no telling if that will remain to be the case in the future!¡±
Xia Fan frowned. If Murder Shrine managed to proliferate in the Outer Frontier, the situation would indeed be quite troublesome.
After all, the Outer Frontier covered a really huge area, and even the three Federations had no clue how many Star Regions were included in, and how great a poption and how many races there were out there.
The understanding the three Federations had of the Outer Frontier was just an ancient star map. No one had any idea if there was anything else beyond, or if intelligent life existed.
¡°So what¡¯s the Bureau¡¯s decision?¡± Xia Fan asked Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha crossed his legs. ¡°Dn and Huo Jiang¡¯s secretary have a rather good rtionship. He heard that the Outer Frontier ns to host a super-ability Tyrant Battle, bring together Burning, Rock, Tian Yu, Sarah, Bristol, Ye Tong, and Lywellian, experts from the eight major star regions, and then select the strongest special-ability warrior from the Outer Frontier.¡±
¡°Hosting such a big event, forget the Special Bureau, all the powerful organizations would send their people over, though people are still undecided over the method of intervention.¡±
¡°It is the navy¡¯s opinion that Murder Shrine is surely the main power behind this so-called special-ability tyrant battle. They are looking to use thispetition battle to recruit all the experts in the Outer Frontier to their side.
¡°That is why the military insists on having them eliminated, apprehending all the special-ability users that attend and investigating whether they have any rtions with Murder Shrine.
¡°However, there could be very outstanding special-ability warriors from the eight Star Regions, and their numbers could well be in the tens of thousands. Wanting to capture all of them would be very difficult, and there¡¯s no way that the Sacred Federation or the Republic would let us conduct a solo operation.
¡°In any case, no matter what tactics we employ, Deron Star Region¡¯s Special Bureau will surely send arge number of our Investigators, given our proximity to the Outer Frontier, and we are included.¡±
Hearing Traveling Buddha¡¯s words, Xia Fan gave him a slight nod.
The eight Star Regions that were hosting thepetition covered an extremely broad area. Among them were two Star Regions that bordered the Starcloud Union¡¯s territory. It looked like a vertical bar on the star maps, like a river, where one end was connected to the territory, and the other to the Outer Frontier.
As for the poptions of those eight Star Regions, no one could give an exact number, because there had never been a poption census in the Outer Frontier before. From what Xia Fan had observed from the Burning Star Region, there were definitely a lot of Natives living there, and their numbers were surely astronomical.
Since they had such a huge poption, there would surely be a host of special-ability users. If all those people were to go to work for Murder Shrine, that could be real trouble!
The main mission for the Special Bureau was to manage the registration and filing of special-ability users, but that did not include the special-ability users from the Outer Frontier. If there came a day when those special-ability users were ordered by Murder Shrine to slip into the Inner Territories and create waves, they would surely give the Special Bureau a run for their money.
¡°No, they won¡¯t,¡± Xia Fan said after quickly thinking about the situation.
¡°What do you mean, they won¡¯t?¡±
¡°I¡¯m saying that the military¡¯s n to encircle and suppress all the special-ability users will definitely not pass.¡±
¡°Why not? There must be a reason, right?¡±
¡°Simply put, special-ability users are resources to Murder Shrine, simr to how the three Federations see them. If Murder Shrine could incorporate these special-ability users just as well as the three Federations could, there would be no need to fear Murder Shrine doing something so drastic and offending the citizens of the Outer Frontier.¡±
¡°You mean to say that we can also choose to recruit them?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Incorporating these special-ability users would be much easier than killing them. There¡¯s no need toplicate something that could be so easily resolved. I believe the higher-ups of the Union would have thought of that, too. That is why all you have to do is wait. When we are assigned, it will surely not be to eliminate them!¡±
...
...
The grapevine was always faster.
On the second day Xia Fan returned to the station, he discovered that everyone was also discussing the special-ability Tyrant Battle that was being organized in the Outer Frontier.
Investigators were very interested in the strength of the special-ability users from the Outer Frontier. There had never been a thorough investigation in those regions, so no one had any idea just how many special-ability users there were, and just what kind ofbat strength they possessed.
Humans were creatures that lovedpetition, and the Investigators were fond of talking about this matter because deep down, they felt that thebat strength of the special-ability users from the Outer Frontier would not beparable to those from the Inner Territories. But no one had any clue just how great the disparity between the two was, and all they could do was specte before the hugepetition.
Ever since Xia Fan had improved his Speed with the Immortality Wine, for some unknown reason, he found his appetite growing even greater than before. A single lunch and Xia Fan could polish off three whole fried chickens, as well as an entire pot of vegetable sd and at least two liters of fruit juice.
It was probably due to the transformation that happened to his body, where the cells in his body were all being reced anew. Even his skin appeared smoother than before, an indication that his new cells had already taken the ce of the old cells in his body.
The new cells were more energetic than before, so of course they would expend even more calories than before. That exined why Xia Fan¡¯s appetite increased, requiring foodparable to the meals eaten by six strong men every day.
¡ª
This morning, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had eaten their breakfast together as usual and arrived at the Special Bureau.
Before they even took a step through the entrance, they could already see the somber expression on all their colleagues¡¯ faces. They were going about their duties in a hurry, doing little jogs as they went from ce to ce. There was even a constant stream of small warships or hovercars from parts unknowning and going from the roof of the Special Bureau station.
At the entrance, Xia Fan coincidentally bumped into Ma Zheng, who happened to be leaving the station just as they were about to enter. He was taking big strides, the expression on his face far more serious than before.
¡°Brother Ma, just where are you headed off to?¡± Xia Fan asked curiously before Ma Zheng could leave.
Ma Zheng nced at the twods and promptly walked over. He whispered into Xia Fan¡¯s ears when he reached, ¡°Both of you go look, quick! The name list is out.¡±
¡°What name list?¡± Xia Fan asked, slightly taken aback.
¡°Nominally, it is a list of members being transferred to the Union Navy, but in truth everyone knows that the people whose names are disyed will surely be sent on a secret mission out to the Outer Frontier.
¡°My name is on the list, heading out tomorrow morning. I¡¯ve asked for the day off from the chief; I won¡¯t be working today so I have the time to settle my family matters. Things like bank ount, insurance, and my children¡¯s college funds are all in my name, and my wife¡¯s a little confused, so I¡¯m afraid she might not be able to make sense of them.¡±
Xia Fan smiled and scratched his head, ¡°Brother Ma, hearing what you just said makes it sound like you¡¯re nning to have your future affairs in order. It is not like there¡¯s a flood of monstrous beasts in the Outer Frontier, so there¡¯s no need for you to overreact like this, right?¡±
Ma Zheng shook his head solemnly. ¡°If this isn¡¯t a matter of grave importance, then there would not be a need to have a third of the members from Deron Special Bureau transferred over! There are over seven hundred and fifty people from the station being sent out, out of the two thousand-some individuals we have on staff!
¡°And this isn¡¯t just us here on Deron. The Navy, Army, Intelligence Bureau, and Security Bureau, every one of these major organizations are doing arge-scale mobilization. I reckon there will be at least well over ten thousand special-ability users heading to the Outer Frontier.¡±
Xia Fan was shocked. The Union sending the Navy, as well as over ten thousand outstanding special-ability users, out to the Outer Frontier was definitely a grand gesture.
Just like what Ma Zheng had said, if this was not going to be some difficult mission, there was no way the Union would attempt such arge-scale mobilization. It seemed the situation was not as simple as he had imagined.
¡°Our names are also on the list, I take it?¡± Traveling Buddha naturally asked. After all, Xia Fan and he possessed impressivebat strengths; it would truly be strange if they did not make it.
Unexpectedly, Ma Zheng shook his head, ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t understand why, either, but when I asked the Division Head for my day off, he asked if the two of you hade in yet. He didn¡¯t press matters after I told him no.
¡°Anyway, you¡¯ll understand after you go up. With how suddenly the order came in, the entire station is now in a state of disarray. People who were not included in the list are disgruntled, while those who were named are hurrying home to pack their luggage.¡±
¡°Got it. Well, since Brother Ma has already gotten the day off, you should hurry and be on your way,¡± Xia Fan said to Ma Zheng.
¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be taking off first. Aside from my wife and kids, I still have to make a trip to visit my parents and inws. After all, this trip to the Outer Frontier will be quite a long assignment, maybesting a year or two, if not at least several months.¡±
¡ª
Ma Zheng patted Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan on their backs and hurried his way back home.
The Investigators on the list of names would be setting off tomorrow morning, which was a bit too much of a rush. Even if they wanted to spend some time with their families and maybe even host a farewell party, they would not have the chance to do so. It might be a long time before they would get to meet each other again after this departure.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha did not dare dy and quickly got on board the elevator, and soon arrived at the floor of the Logistics Division.
Sure enough, the entire area was in chaos, with colleagues that had their names on the list hurriedly handing over their work to others, passing over their open investigations to their colleagues who were staying behind.
¡°The head¡¯s looking for you two!¡± Dn snapped his fingers from afar the moment he saw Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Dn was also busy handing over work to another colleague, and did note over to have a chat with Xia Fan.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha made their way to the office and knocked on the door before entering. They were greeted with Tong Guan¡¯s stern face, who was presently looking out the window.
¡°You¡¯ve arrived.¡±
¡°Yes. We heard that you were looking for us?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Have a seat.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha sat down before his desk, as Tong Guan cautiously moved to lock the door, before opening his desk drawer. It was not the drawer where he would usually store his files, but a drawer with a lock, a safe that was hidden in the bottom of his desk.
He took out two letters from within, each of them sealed with the red stamp of the Special Bureau.
The two sealed letters in hand, he ced them separately in front of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, before saying with a somber expression, ¡°These are your resignation letters.¡±
Resignation!
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were absolutely stunned. Everything was going fine, so what was with this sudden resignation?
Right now, the Bureau was in need of manpower, and not only did neither of them make the list, they were even fired by the Bureau?!
Tong Guan slowly exined, ¡°Don¡¯t panic just yet. This resignation is only temporary.
¡°The headquarters suspects that there could very well be spies from Murder Shrine in the Bureau, which was why they have decided to make some special arrangements.
¡°You¡¯ve seen for yourself when you first arrived, just how chaotic everything was outside. This sudden order has everyone at a loss.¡±
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°It was a bit sudden, to be given orders today and be expected to leave tomorrow.¡±
Tong Guan scratched his chin, ¡°This is an intentional performance for others to see. That big list of names is also all for show, too.¡±
With that, Tong Guan suddenly shook hands with Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha separately, a stern look on his face.
¡°Hand over your badges andmunicators. Everything that you would use to identify yourself as Special Bureau Investigators is to be left here.
¡°When you leave this building, of course there will be people who will reach out to you, because you two have been selected to join the actual task force!
¡°Take care from here on out, you two! Don¡¯t disgrace the Bureau!¡±
Chapter 1460
Chapter 1460 Ice Queen
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha did not rm their colleagues as they quietly left the Special Bureau, returning to the hotel suite they had rented.
ording to what Tong Guan had told them, the task force would quickly reach out and contact them, but no one gave them a call as they waited from afternoon until dusk.
Traveling Buddha was annoyed, but he did not dare leave the room. There was no guarantee that the telephone in the room might ring while he was away.
After all, they no longer had themunicators the Bureau had given them, so the only way of contacting Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha right now was through the public line.
!!
*bang bang bang!*
As Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were feeling extremely bored, there suddenly came a knock on the door.
Traveling Buddha was closer to the entrance, so he got up and went over to open the door.
The carefree Traveling Buddha never thought to check the video monitor installed in the entrance to see who had arrived, opening the door abruptly.
In that moment, Traveling Buddha was stunned. That ever-insouciant expression of his instantly turnedpletely red and his cheeks bulged.
Xia Fan was surprised and curiously looked over to the entrance.
All he saw was a woman approximately twenty-seven years old. She was dressed in a short ck dress and a straight top. She wore a lovely pearl ne around her fair neck and was even wearing a pair of ck-framed sses.
This woman looked the part of an office manager. She was very eye-catching, and there was an icy temperament she exuded that made her irresistible. A woman like her was probably what people would refer to as an ice queen.
¡°Why are you here...¡± Traveling Buddha asked, somewhat tongue-tied.
¡°Are you not going to invite me in?¡±
¡°Of course. Pleasee in.¡±
The ice queen was invited into the room by Traveling Buddha. Xia Fan had no idea why he was so nervous, looking like he had seen a ghost after meeting this woman.
The ice queen unceremoniously sat down on the single sofa in the living room, and looked around the room.
¡°Traveling Buddha, you¡¯re living so luxuriously. How much are you spending living in such a fancy hotel room?¡± the ice queen asked.
Traveling Buddha hurriedly waved his hands, ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s not expensive at all. Things in the Deron Star Region are very cheap, sister-inw. Do you wish to drink anything?¡±
Sister-inw?
Xia Fan was startled the moment he heard Traveling Buddha address the ice queen.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s brother was Drunken Buddha, and it was said that he was even more talented than Traveling Buddha. By age, Drunken Buddha should already be thirty, and would be a good match for this ice queen who was between twenty-seven and twenty-eight years old.
It was just that Drunken Buddha had been missing for years, and he had never heard a word about him getting married. So why did Traveling Buddha call this ice queen his sister-inw?
The ice queen¡¯s face was impassive, only a quick sh of sadness that passed by. She did not refute what Traveling Buddha was calling her, and answered softly, ¡°Go brew some tea. On top of that, don¡¯t talk about things that happened in the past.¡±
¡°Yes!¡± Traveling Buddha seemed quite afraid of the ice queen as he nodded his head in agreement.
Thus, Traveling Buddha busied himself with brewing the tea, but because he was so nervous, he ended up putting in too much, and it would affect the taste of the final product, so Traveling Buddha had to use a pair of tweezers to take some out and store it back into his tea leaf canister.
Xia Fan remembered that particr tea leaf canister was Traveling Buddha¡¯s treasure. He had once wanted to have a taste of what was inside, but Traveling Buddha refused him outright. He said he would only brew a cup of those tea leaves for Xia Fan to taste when it was his turn to get married.
But the moment this ice queen had arrived, Traveling Buddha did not hesitate to take out those prized tea leaves of his. It clearly showed how important she was to Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha must have had his own reasons to protect these precious leaves of his. Pouring hot water at precisely eighty-five celsius into the teapot, a mesmerizing fragrance flooded the entire living room in the suite.
This scent was like no other. With how powerful Xia Fan¡¯s sense of smell was, he was still unable to think of anything simr.
The ice queen could also smell it, and she chuckled with restraint, ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the Holy Drunken Buddha. You sure are amodating...¡±
Remove the word holy from Holy Drunken Buddha, and you¡¯d get Traveling Buddha¡¯s elder brother¡¯s name. This promptly made the ice queen recall plenty of things in the past, and she went silent once more.
¡°Well, that¡¯s because sister-inw is here. I remember your favorite is the Holy Drunken Buddha, and you even forcibly snatched away my elder brother¡¯s canister.¡±
The ice queen looked away as she muttered in a small voice, ¡°Had I known what would have happened, then I would have left it with that person.¡±
That person? She must have been referring to Drunken Buddha.
Traveling Buddha handed a cup of his brewed tea to Xia Fan and the ice queen. Xia Fan took a sip, and sure enough, it was different from all the other teas that he had ever tasted before. The remarkably unique fragrance meant Xia Fan had a hard time describing in words the smoothness and refreshing sensation he felt after drinking it.
Xia Fan could already guess that this ice queen must be their contact person for the mission, but neither Traveling Buddha or the woman was speaking. They were both quietly tasting the tea, and making it somewhat awkward for Xia Fan to just start the conversation.
Finally, everyone finished their cup of tea. The ice queen set her cup down and nced at Traveling Buddha, before shifting her gaze toward Xia Fan.
She squinted at him, and instantly Xia Fan could feel a sort of powering from her eyes, one intentionally hidden by her old-fashioned ck-rimmed sses.
When the ice queen shifted her eyes onto Xia Fan, he felt as if he was being examined under X-rays, and she was seeing through everything about him!
¡°You are Xia Fan?¡±
¡°Yes. Xia as in summer, and Fan as in normal.¡±
¡°Normal? I don¡¯t think you¡¯re that at all. If you could be considered normal, then there¡¯s no way you¡¯d be sitting right across from me today.¡±
Xia Fan let out a habitual chuckle and said nothing more.
The ice queen turned to Traveling Buddha, ¡°Did the Bureau brief you two already?¡±
¡°Just a bit, but not the whole picture.¡±
She nodded, ¡°No need to me your superior, since he probably doesn¡¯t know much, either.¡±
¡°Actually, I¡¯m here today because I¡¯ll be your contact person for this mission.¡±
Traveling Buddha frowned. ¡°Just what exactly does the Union want us to do?¡±
¡°We need you to do something very dangerous. When the Outer Frontier holds the special-ability tyrant battle, the two of you will be participants, and join thepetition.¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were shocked. The special-ability Tyrant Battle was being organized by Murder Shrine, and there were plenty of desperados from the Outer Frontier that would be participating. The Union actually hoped to send the two of them to go mix with those people? Sure enough, this will be a very difficult assignment!
The ice queen said slowly, ¡°Traveling Buddha, although you¡¯re the Little Old Buddha, not many people actually recognize you. And as for Xia Fan, he¡¯s not a disciple of any known n, which makes him a perfect fit for this mission.
¡°Compared to the already established warriors from the Union, the advantages you two have is in your young age and unknown identities, while your weakness lies in your insufficient experience, and that yourbat strength might not be at the standard of those famous warriors.
¡°But don¡¯t forget, Murder Shrine is a forceprised of defectors from all three Federations, so if any of those older famous warriors from before were to be the ones infiltrating thepetition, they would surely be identified by the people of Murder Shrine.
¡°That is why only young men like the two of you would be qualified to take part in this undercover mission.¡±
Traveling Buddha had his doubts, ¡°Even if there aren¡¯t many that recognize me, the moment the glow from my Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light shows up, there¡¯s no way they wouldn¡¯t be able to add two and two together.¡±
The ice queen smiled and then shook her head, ¡°That is why you cannot use your Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. Though you will be working together with Xia Fan, you¡¯ll be acting as his aide, while the one truly going undercover isn¡¯t you, but Xia Fan!
¡°Your job is to assist him, and to ensure his safety at critical junctures.¡±
¡°So that¡¯s how it¡¯ll be.¡± Traveling Buddha understood what the ice queen had said, and he reached out to grab Xia Fan by his shoulder, ¡°No problem. Xia Fan is my good brother, and even if I have to risk my life, I¡¯ll make sure he¡¯s safe.
¡°But sister-inw, I¡¯ll be honest. I don¡¯t think Xia Fan needs my protection. He is very powerful, and a Speedster. He doesn¡¯t even blink an eye when he¡¯s killing.¡±
The ice queen answered, ¡°Of course I know that Xia Fan is a Speedster, just like the Skywings, sharing the same surname even...¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but Traveling Buddha became a little panicked, ¡°Now that you mention it, how coincidental it must be! Besides, that¡¯s something that happened 40,000 years ago. Who cares about ancient history!?¡±
The ice queen replied unhurriedly, ¡°What are you so flustered for? Of course I know it¡¯s purely coincidental. If Xia Fan was really an enemy, how could he have survived until now?
¡°Besides, that is how the mission is being arranged. Besides the two of you, there are several other teams, and the overarching mission is all to infiltrate the special-ability Tyrant Battle.
¡°These teams are in a simr situation as you, all warriors from unremarkable backgrounds, partnering with a legacy special-abilitypanion.¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes shone when he heard that, ¡°Who are they? Will Hei Bolong from the old Hei family be among them?¡±
The ice queen shook her head, ¡°He¡¯s not qualified.
¡°Among the infiltrating teams that you¡¯d know, it¡¯ll probably be Thousand Ink of the Thousand Soldier n. You wouldn¡¯t know any of the others, so you don¡¯t have to learn their names, either. As a one-time important covert mission, the less you know, the better.¡±
Traveling Buddha simply nodded, having no further thoughts, but Xia Fan¡¯s heart was pounding like mad!
With the Holy Buddha and Thousand Soldier n added together, that would be the Thousand Holy Buddha Soldier!
Both those ns were founding ns of the Starcloud Union!
A recitation of Holy Buddha, a brush with Thousand Soldiers; how could anyone in the Union not know of the awesome prowess of those two legacy ns?
Traveling Buddha and Thousand Ink were joining the infiltration teams, and the ice queen had even said that Heizi, despite his already high status in society, was considered unqualified for the mission. It could thus be seen that all the members of the other teams would surely be from impressive backgrounds as well.
The ice queen added, ¡°Oh right. Your grandfather will be in the support team, but you probably won¡¯t have a chance to meet him, because you¡¯ll be immediately sent on your way once I¡¯m done briefing you on your mission.¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s grandfather? Was that not the Grand Old Buddha?
This operation would actually have Grand Old Buddha being his support? That was far too ridiculous!
Xia Fan was internally beginning to vaguely look forward to finding out just what theing storm was about, causing the Starcloud Union to send out such a formidable line-up!
Chapter 1461 - 1461 Nie Yan
1461 Nie Yan
It was only when Xia Fan asked that the ice queen realized that Xia Fan had no idea what her name was yet.
She pushed her ck-rimmed sses and replied, ¡°I¡¯m Nie Yan, but you can call me elder sister Yan in the future. As for my identity¡ It¡¯s a littleplicated, but to put it simply for you to understand, I¡¯ve beenmissioned by the Union to be a liaison for this covert operation.¡±
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°Elder Sister Yan, I would like to know just where thispetition will be held? And how would we be able to infiltrate it?¡±
Nie Yan leaned back in her seat. ¡°Murder Shrine is very crafty. The Information Division had gotten word that the special-ability Tyrant Battle will be hosted in two separate locations. One is in the Tianyu Star Region, and the other is in the Lywellian Star Region.
¡°It was determined that thepetition in Tianyu was just a diversion for the three Federations, and the real location would actually be in the Lywellian Star Region.
¡°Unfortunately, Murder Shrine is using a very specialized registration method, so the moment participants are epted, the members of Murder Shrine would have a direct line to the participants, and they would then be directly sent to the final location. There will not be any contact with the outside world during this entire process.
¡°That is why we can only specte right now. While the battle could be in Lywellian, we have no way of knowing the exact location.¡±
Xia Fan could feel the danger mounting as he heard Nie Yan¡¯s words.
From what she said, if they wanted to infiltrate the special-ability Tyrant Battle, then they had to be brought to the venue by someone from Murder Shrine, and basically be under their care.
Xia Fan, and really anyone, did not like having his freedom restricted. But upon further thought, he figured that if he did not take a certain amount of risk, then there was no way he could infiltrate Murder Shrine. After all, they were the most mysterious and powerful force based in the Outer Frontier..
After Xia Fan thought things through, he shed a radiant smile, ¡°Well, if that is the case, the two of us will just have to adhere to Command¡¯s arrangements.¡±
Nie Yan smiled, raising her tea cup with one hand. ¡°Then let me offer a toast with this tea, instead of wine, and wish us smooth sailing on our journey to the Outer Frontier.¡±
¡..
Without telling anyone else, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan ventured to the Outer Frontier once again.
This was not their first time entering the deste Outer Frontier, yet their destination this time was even further than before, and the mission they were tasked to undertake would be even more dangerous.
Traveling Buddha had already fallen asleep, while Xia Fan had the habit of doing a top-down inspection of his ship before turning in for the night.
First was the propulsion room, then the energypartment, radar, weapons storagepartment, material storagepartment, before finally ending on themand deck.
Xia Fan entered themand deck by himself, turning on the automated piloting system, did a check of the flight records today, and then looked through all theplex and esoteric data.
If anymon man were to take on this task, they would no doubt have to spend plenty of time perusing everything.
But Xia Fan had the good fortune of being a speedster, so he could very quickly look through everything in just ten minutes. It was an astounding level of efficiency he disyed.
A carefully-maintained warship couldst for tens of thousands years! That was the advice that Machinist Grandpa had drilled into Xia Fan¡¯s head.
Right now, Xia Fan was shouldering the responsibility as captain of ck Egg, and while there were just only other passengers onboard, that was no reason for Xia Fan to ck off one bit.
Speaking of which, Xia Fan was really quite a pitiful captain, since he was expected to do everything onboard the ship. Besides him, there was not a single crewman that could lend him a hand.
Xia Fan was not just the captain, he was also taking on the duty of the radar scan officer, weapons control expert, navigator, maintenance engineer, and even the janitor, cook, and all the other misceneous tasks needed doing. Xia Fan was solely responsible for keeping the ship running!
Traveling Buddha had always been a second-generation young master who never needed to lift a single finger or fret over his daily living. He was very picky when it came to his food and his amodations, but he had no culinary skills at all.
Xia Fan had originally thought that Nie Yan would be able to take care of the cooking, since she was a woman, but who would have thought that she was also a second-generation young mistress, so aside from getting her to fry some eggs in the morning for breakfast, she was essentially useless when it came to cooking as well! Furthermore, the first time Nie Yan fried eggs onboard the ship, she had even turned the food into inedible charcoal because of her inability to control the me.
This time around, Captain Xia Fan still had to prepare food for Traveling Buddha and Nie Yan, taking up the role of a nanny for those two.
After Xia Fan finished reviewing the flight data of the day, he left themand deck and was about to head back to bed for some rest.
A special-ability user¡¯s constitution was amazing, so they would not harm their health even if they were to spend several nights not sleeping. But sleeping was a time Xia Fan used to quietly think. He enjoyed lying on the soft andfortable bed, pulling his bed covers over his head and thinking in the silence.
ck Egg had six guest cabins, but only two of them hadrge double beds, with carpeted floors and afortable bathtub. The other cabins had bunk beds, allowing four individuals to live in one room.
Xia Fan had designed it as such, all in consideration for the needs he and Traveling Buddha would have when they set off on voyages. He would have a room to himself, just as Traveling Buddha did. It was just nice.
But this time, Nie Yan was also onboard, so Xia Fan had no choice but to surrender his bedroom to her, and he went to use a four-man cabin.
Beyond the cleaning and the cooking, Xia Fan did not even have his own bedroom! Aside from Xia Fan, there might not be anyone else in the entirety of the Ashen Moon Universe that would have to suffer such indignities, despite being a captain!
Xia Fan was making his way back to his cabin when he suddenly noticed the lights of the kitchen turned on. There seemed to be someone inside.
He opened the door and entered.
He saw Nie Yan inside, dressed in a white silken gown that revealed her calves, in the middle of warming up a croissant in the oven as she heated herself some warm milk.
Nie Yan turned her head when she heard the noise, and Xia Fan noticed that she was not wearing her sses. The ck-rimmed sses made her look a little nerdy, and her facial features were a lot clearer without them perched on her nose. She looked exquisite, giving off the allure of the mature woman that she was.
Xia Fan smiled at Nie Yan, ¡°Why are you up?¡±
¡°Nothing much, just an old problem acting up. I suffer from neurasthenia, so I often suffer from insomnia at night.¡±
¡°The seventh volume of Biological Theoretics stated that there are two types of insomnia that are caused by neurasthenia: one is pathological, while the other is caused by anxiety. I believe Big Sister Yan must be thetter?¡±
Nie Yan took the ss of warm milk in her hands and took a seat beside Xia Fan. Her eyes swiveled as sheughed, ¡°Is there any way to treat it if it¡¯s thetter?¡±
Xia Fan shook his head in response, ¡°The former would be an illness, meaning it¡¯s treatable. But thetter would be mental, and there¡¯s no cure.¡±
Nie Yan gently picked up the baked croissant with her finger and thumb. She did not take a bite out of it, but just stared at it in a daze, as if she was preupied with the thoughts swirling in her mind.
¡°Mental. Well said. Though you¡¯re still young, you seem to know a lot.¡±
¡°Not at all. I just happen to enjoy reading in my spare time.¡±
¡°Well, even if you are an avid reader, most young boys like yourself would mostly choose to read novels. Not many would bother to pick up Biological Theoretics, not to mention casually quoting the volume in which a certain portion of its content came from.¡±
Xia Fan had no exnation. Perhaps it was simply a case of gics, but Xia Fan had always had a very good memory since he was a child. Ever since he had his seventh brain region opened up, bing a Speedster, it had further enhanced the speed of his ability to read.
Just by his speed alone, Xia Fan was capable ofpleting a full volume on Biological Theoretics in one day, and he was even able to memorize its contents in full, which was probably a benefit of having the Speed-type ability.
Nie Yan finally began eating the croissant in her hand, which she did so very elegantly. She waspletely different from how Xia Fan wolfed down his food, like he was permanently famished.
¡°Has Traveling Buddha gone to sleep?¡±
¡°That guy!¡± Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°Sometimes, I really envy Traveling Buddha. He¡¯s a very big-hearted person, and no matter the situation we find ourselves in, as long as he desires to sleep, he could just plop his head down into his pillow and achieve just that. Even an earthquake would not be able to wake him from his slumber.
¡°Yet I happen to suffer from a mildpulsion that will have me crawling up at midnight to check everything once over, or I will feel that I¡¯m missing something.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Nie Yanmented softly. ¡°I admire Traveling Buddha a little, as well. He¡¯s very much like his elder brother in that sense. Drunken Buddha is also someone who has nary a care in the world.¡±
When Drunken Buddha was mentioned, Xia Fan obediently kept his mouth shut, because he knew the rtionship Nie Yan shared with Drunken Buddha.
Rtionships between men and women wereplex, and Xia Fan had no experience in such things. Xia Fan would at least be able to offer some knowledge if they were talking about theories on biology, but emotions? Xia Fan waspletely clueless.
Nie Yan stroked her hair and said, ¡°Do you know? I¡¯m already twenty-nine this year, and I am considered an olddy.¡±
Xia Fan shook his head, ¡°I can¡¯t tell. I thought you were just someone around my age.¡±
¡°tterer.¡±
Nie Yan drank a mouthful of milk. The recently-heated milk had a milky yellowyer of cream on it, and because she did not blow it off before she drank it, part of it got on her upper lip.
When Nie Yan noticed it, she used her tongue to lightly lick it off.
Xia Fan instantly felt his heart beat intensely. After Nie Yan had taken off her sses, every move she made waspletely alluring. It was like she was apletely different person!
Deep into the night, a single man and an unwed woman in one room. Just as Xia Fan could feel his heartbeat increase, Nie Yan suddenly changed the topic.
¡°Have you ever wondered?¡±
¡°Wondered about what?¡±
¡°Wondered about Drunken Buddha¡¯s disappearance.¡±
Xia Fan scratched his head, ¡°What do you mean? I¡¯ve never seen him before, so it would be even more unlikely I would understand him.¡±
Nie Yan leaned back in her chair and let out a soft sigh. ¡°It has been over nine years since the day Drunken Buddha was reported missing. The Union had done everything they could, but they¡¯ve yet to find any trace of the man.
¡°Actually, I¡¯m not worried about Drunken Buddha going missing. He has always been someone who could survive on his own. Once, his father had him locked up in the Holy Buddha Cliff, as punishment for him to reflect on his own actions.¡±
¡°But in the blink of an eye, he actually snuck out from the Holy Buddha Cliff and was found piss-drunk with a bunch of workmen by the pier.
¡°The Holy Buddha Cliff is a ce that the people of his n used specifically for seclusion, and is called the Wanren Mountain, where Holy Buddhas were trapped. Drunken Buddha is the first and only person in his n¡¯s history who managed to escape from that ce. Even now, whenever I recall the incident, I¡¯ve always found it extremely fascinating. He is a very capable person.
¡°In any case, there¡¯s no ce that could imprison Drunken Buddha. I believe he¡¯s definitely still alive today, living out there in some corner of the universe we have no idea of.¡±
The moment the conversation was about her beau, the expression on Nie Yan¡¯s face instantly became vivid, almost as if the person who had abandoned her and ran off was right beside her once again.
Most people under the Skydome were uncouth men, and so Xia Fan was hardly educated when it came to the affairs of the heart. However, he would never forget just how loving the dancer couple were to each other. They had grown up together since they were young, not spending even a moment apart from one another.
They were together when stealing treasures from all over the universe, right up until the moment they died. Even then, they were still together!
Xia Fan was very envious over the rtionship shared by the dancer couple, and by Nie Yan and Drunken Buddha.
¡°You don¡¯t know this, but there had always been this spection in the Union that Drunken Buddha suddenly went missing because he joined up with Murder Shrine.
¡°It was only because everyone was afraid of the Holy Buddha n¡¯s prestige that no one has said this out loud.
¡°So this time, no matter what, I will get close to Murder Shrine, and get to the bottom of this.
¡°If Drunken Buddha had really joined up with Murder Shrine¡ I will personally see to his death. Then, I¡¯ll take my own life right after!¡±
Chapter 1462 - 1462 The Lywellian Star Region
1462 The Lywellian Star Region
The ck Egg entered the Lywellian Star Region after eight consecutive days of flight.
Xia Fan had chosen the nearest route, passing through the Burning and Ye Tong Star Regions, before flying through an enve that bordered the Ye Tong Star Region and finally arriving at their destination.
They were far, far away from Federation territory. It was a good thing the ck Egg was extremely fast, as a normal warship would have taken at least a month to make the same voyage, while thoserge cargo ships would spend an even greater amount of time to achieve the same.
The Lywellian Star Region was beautifully named, but there was nothing beautiful about the ce.
Historically, the Lywellian Star Region was a ce where a famous pirate named Lycel had been born.
When he was at his strongest, Lycel managed to conquer every force big and small in the Star Region, bringing the entire Star Region under his rule. Such a huge pirate organization could mobilize thousands of warships, and had fought with the expeditionary forces from the three Federations before.
Meanwhile, the name Lywellian came from the dead daughter of the pirate Lycel. In order tomemorate his little girl, Lycel changed the name of the Star Region, as the ce was previously known as the Tooth Hunter Star Region.
The locals were fond of plucking out their enemies¡¯ teeth before killing them, and they would hang them around their necks like trophy nes. The more teeth someone had hanging around their neck, the greater their military exploits, and that was how the Star Region was named.
Lycel was actually quite an amazing figure. As a hero of his generation, he doted on his daughter so much so that he renamed an entire Star Region for her, and the legend was something the people of the Outer Frontier still avidly till talked about to this day.
Later, after Lycel passed, his descendants had ruled over the Lywellian Star Region for hundreds of years.
Thatsted until finally the pirate n was jointly annihted by thebined forces of the three Federations, just like many of the major forces that had once existed in the Outer Frontier.
The three Federations did not mind the small forces, because small forces were unable to threaten the safety of their territory.
But the moment a pirate organization grew too much and could be a threat to the three Federations, potentially bing a new empire that ruled in the Outer Frontier, the Federations would abandon their existing suspicions of one another and proceed to unite so that they could eliminate the force that was bing significant.
Historically speaking, simr events had happened time and again, and no proper force had managed to sessfully establish their rule of the Outer Frontier. At the moment, the Outer Frontier was fragmented and chaotic,rgely as a result of the policies of the three Federations.
It was the three Federations¡¯ belief that just the three of them in this universe was crowded enough. Ashen Moon Universe did not need a fourth superpower who could sit at the same table as them, nor would they allow such a force to surface!
It was only now, with the rise of Murder Shrine, that the three Federations once again felt threatened.
Different from the forces from the Outer Frontier that they had vanquished in the past, the members of Murder Shrine were all from the three territories, and they were mainly defectors from the three Federations.
Many of the traitors had once held important posts in the various federations, and some had even been military grand marshals, with five stars on their epaulets!
Under the leadership of these defectors, Murder Shrine struck viciously, and observed strict military discipline among their ranks. They had broken away from the category of pirates and be a proper navy in the Outer Frontier. One could just imagine how much hatred the three Federation harbored toward them!
In any case, the Lywellian Star Region was a Star Region traditionally run by pirates. The people who lived their lives out here more or less had ancestors who took part in piracy, and were generally hardened souls. Even other people of the Outer Frontier viewed the Lywellian Star Region as a very dangerous ce.
¡ª
Nie Yan changed into a ck battlesuit and appeared on themand deck.
This battlesuit was not made from themon high-strength fibers, but a specially treated leather that was very tight-fitting. It entuated the figure of the very mature Nie Yan, dangerously curving where it mattered, with her long yet shapely thighs looking very well defined, highlighting the healthy athleticism of her body.
Her big ck-rimmed sses made her look slightly nerdy, a stark juxtaposition from her seductive form in the battlesuit which gave her a unique contrarian aesthetic sense.
Both Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes glittered the moment they saw Nie Yan appear dressed like that.
Traveling Buddha had once privately told Xia Fan his criteria for finding a girlfriend, and it was quite simr to this unwed sister-inw of his. Because Nie Yan would often head over to their ce to look for Traveling Buddha¡¯s brother when he was younger, her presence had left a deep impression on him.
Nie Yan arrived at the floor-to-ceiling window and swept her gaze across the stars. She then proceeded to turn around to face Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, her expression serious.
¡°Right now we¡¯ve arrived at our destination,¡± Nie Yan stated solemnly. ¡°In a while, I¡¯ll be sending you to the Union spy we have situated in Lywellian. He¡¯ll be the one giving you further instructions about this operation.
¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ll remain behind here, acting as your back-up support. If the need arises, I¡¯ll pilot the ck Egg and rendezvous with you, but there¡¯s no way for us to get support from the Extraterritorial Task Force, given that this is a covert operation, and we would risk exposing it if the Extraterritorial Task Force were to hurry over to the Lywellian Star Region.
¡°In conclusion, all you can rely on out here is just the few of us already here. Though the Grand Old Buddha and the others are alsoing to Lywellian, they will not easily show their faces, unless we encounter some extremely prickly and extraordinary situation.¡±
Nie Yan¡¯s gaze shifted between Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha as she spoke. Traveling Buddha¡¯s expression was as carefree as always, while Xia Fan was smiling as usual.
Neither of them looked like they were particrly worried, and only then did Nie Yan nod her approval. With a brush of her finger over her spatial ring, she retrieved item after item and set them on the ground.
She instructed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha on what each and every one of these items were used for. Traveling Buddha got bored after hearing her speak a few sentences about them, so he went to the kitchen to brew some tea.
¡°Xia Fan¡¯s here anyway; as long as he understands what their uses are, we¡¯ll be alright,¡± Traveling Buddha said nonchntly. ¡°I¡¯m just being his aide this time, and I¡¯ll fight whomever he directs me to. Was that not the arrangement from above as well?¡±
Nie Yan was helpless about Traveling Buddha; all she could do was instruct Xia Fan in detail about the uses of the equipment. Xia Fan was clever and a fast learner, so it did not take him too long toprehend their essence and application.
There was a lot of equipment, all taking into ount the possible emergencies that might ur, but in Xia Fan¡¯s eyes, there were only two pieces of equipment out of everything that were truly meaningful.
The first was the Stealthed spatial ring.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both had a spatial ring of their own, but they had to wear them on their fingers, looking no different from any ordinary metal ring as far as the eye could see.
But the Stealthed spatial ring was invisible, and its utilization was also much moreplicated. First it needed to have Xia Fan¡¯s DNA bound to it, which could not be changed after that. That is to say that the Stealthed spatial ring and the twenty-cubic-meter space contained within could only be essed by Xia Fan from that day onward.
To use the ring, a veryplex process had to be enacted. The ring had a built-in waveform sensor, and was specifically attuned to what Xia Fan¡¯s seventh brain region gave off. Xia Fan needed to recite 128 digits in his mind for the ring to be essed!
Xia Fan opened his eyes, absolutely surprised by this new toy he had received. This was the first time he had heard about a spatial ring being able to be invisible!
¡°That is why I say that the Union has really paid a blood price this time around. That spatial ring you have, how big is it?¡± Nie Yan asked.
¡°About a thousand cubic meters,¡± Xia Fan answered.
Nie Yan was startled. ¡°So big? I couldn¡¯t tell that you were actually a small tycoon! Even me, your big sister, is slightly moved after hearing that! In Ashen Moon, any spatial ring that is above a thousand cubic meters in space can be considered legendary grade, and would be a major n¡¯s heirloom treasure! Traveling Buddha and Drunken Buddha¡¯s spatial rings are just a hundred cubic meters each!¡±
Nie Yan pursed her lips, ¡°I originally even wanted to say that this twenty-cubic-meter Stealthed spatial ring would be equivalent to a five-hundred-cubic-meter spatial ring in price. Looks like I don¡¯t have to say that, since you won¡¯t be shocked hearing it.¡±
Xia Fan chuckled. His spatial ring had been given to him by Blind Grandpa, thest descendant of the Twin Golden Pupil n. It was no doubt a priceless artifact, since it came from Blind Grandpa!
Xia Fan gave it a try, and realized he needed approximately twelve seconds to gain ess to the Stealthed spatial ring. That meant that the drawback of the ringy in its speed of ess. There was no way for him to quickly gain ess to what was inside during critical junctures.
Nie Yan said, ¡°For safety purposes, you and Traveling Buddha have to hand over your own spatial rings, since your identities are now special-ability users from the Outer Frontier, and it is illogical for someone with your background to own something as costly as a spatial ring.
¡°Because of how small the Stealthed spatial rings are, you can only carry a small portion of what you own. As for what you wish to carry with you, I¡¯ll leave it up for you to decide.¡±
The equipment that the Union had given Xia Fan took up ten cubic meters of space in total, and what remained was split between Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, each taking five cubic meters.
Blind Grandpa¡¯s Law of Gold and the Grade Nine energy crystals, as well as the Immortality Wine, were all things Xia Fan had to keep with him, and what space he had remaining he devoted to some of the keepsakes that the other scoundrels had given him.
As for Traveling Buddha, what he mainly brought along was his precious tea set, and canister after canister of tea leaves.
Xia Fan did not take out all those items of his in front of Nie Yan, and she did not ask about them, either. She was a mature woman and knew that everyone had their own secrets. The fact that she did not pry into others¡¯ secrets made Xia Fan feel more favorable toward her.
Another very important thing they needed to bring was false skin.
Transparent, as heavy as a veil and thin as a cicada¡¯s wings, the skin could be fixed upon their bodies, instantly making Xia Fan¡¯s skin appear coarse and rough, and so help him look much older. Looking into a mirror, it gave Xia Fan the look of someone who was born and raised in the rugged environment of the Outer Frontier.
Nie Yanughed, ¡°You¡¯re not going to be as dashing as before, but that can¡¯t be helped. You¡¯ll just have to withstand this grievance for the sake of infiltrating Murder Shrine for now.¡±
Xia Fan pinched his arm and face, and asked in disbelief, ¡°Where did you get this thing? It¡¯s so fantastic, almost as if it¡¯s sticking to my skin through some sort of magic!¡±
Nie Yan replied, ¡°Speaking of where this came from, you¡¯ll be in for a shock. You ought to have heard about Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, right?¡±
¡°I know some. Weren¡¯t they the two most formidable military organizations from ancient times?¡±
Nie Yan nodded slightly. ¡°Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon represented not just military organizations, but also Four Great ns. The word ¡®Hidden¡¯ refers to the Faceless n.
¡°The Faceless n¡¯s ability to adopt a myriad of faces and looks all stem from that thing you have on you right now. That thing has no name of its own, and the secret to creating it is a huge secret that no one outside the Faceless n is imparted.¡±
¡°Unfortunately, when the Skywings eradicated the Four Great ns, their descendants did not act like us, who established the three Federations. Instead, they disappeared from the face of this universe. I reckon they must still be harboring a grudge, intent on taking their revenge against the Skywings, so they hid themselves to train.
¡°In any case, anyone who you meet in Ashen Moon who has a surname of Moon, Dragon, Ashen, or Hidden you need to pay extra attention to, because they just might be a descendant from one of the Four Great ns.
¡°Of course, you need to be extra careful when meeting anyone with the Xia surname! In the event they are a descendent of the Skywings, then you won¡¯t be able to flee, even with the speed you currently have. The speed the Skywings possessed was at the level where they could traverse the stars, and you are just an ordinary Speed-type ability user.¡±
¡°Uhhh?¡± Xia Fan was speechless. He was just an ordinary Speed-type ability user?
What kind of statement was that? He was clearly a real Skywing, okay?!
It seemed that because the Skywings were so vicious that they had already turned into a mythological existence here in the Ashen Moon Universe. People in this universe believed that the speed a Skywing possessed was not just your average speed, but a Skywing speed, the speed of a Demon-sealing Fiendish de, otherwise there could be no exnation as to how they managed to wipe out Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon!
Nie Yan and the people from the Union did not suspect Xia Fan was a Skywing because they realized he was just an ordinary Speedster after their investigation and research. He was not a Skywing, so they were able to be at ease with him.
But what the people of Ashen Moon had no clue about was that the Skywings were actually just ordinary Speedsters. The reason why they were different was purely because their bodies contained Fiendish energy!
Chapter 1463 - 1463 An Old Man from Deserted River
1463 An Old Man from Deserted River
The sky was not yetpletely dark when snowkes the size of goose feathers began floating down from the sky. By the time darkness had settled in, the snow had intensified, so much so that the entire city was now covered in a thick white nket.
This city was called Hidden Mountain Outpost.
In the past, when Lycel ruled the Star Region, he had established a forward outpost here, where arge regiment of pirates were stationed as reconnaissance troops.
Then, due to the influx of foreigners, the outpost slowly grew into a city with a poption of five million, and the people had thrived until today.
Hidden Mountain Outpost was located at the border of the Lywellian Star Region, and was one of the most important supply points for the region. Plenty of ships from unknown ces of origin woulde here to resupply.
Pirates or merchants that dealt in contraband would all dock their ships at Hidden Mountain Outpost, restocking their food, water and ammunition. Crews would enter the city and drink their fill during their offshore leave, while satisfying their more carnal needs in the red sector, alleviating the anxieties they umted during their long stints onboard.
The time was around 10 PM when Old Yu heard a knock on his door.
In Hidden Mountain Outpost, there was nothing good when someone knocked on the doorte at night. Eighty to ny percent of the time, it would be some drunk pirate causing trouble. The proper citizens of the city would definitely not head out of their homes after it was dark outside, not to mention when it was snowing so heavily.
Old Yu¡¯s wives, nephews, and daughters all heard the knock, shocked expressions arising on their faces. His fat second wife hurriedly hugged her two daughters in her arms, her body trembling as she stared unsteadily outside the window.
Meanwhile, his nephews pulled out all the weapons from under the sofa and tables. There were old-fashioned kic energy weapons, as well as titanium alloy machetes. The back of the de of one of them even had dried blood stained on it still.
Old Yu¡¯s home was definitely not some benevolent abode!
However, good people definitely did not live long out here in Hidden Mountain Outpost, yet Old Yu¡¯s family was able to live in this city, and was even doing quite nicely for themselves.
After all, here in the Lywellian Star Region, a group of people would often have to survive on the foundation of those they had killed. The rule of survival in the Outer Frontier had always been simple and violent since ancient times.
Old Yu frowned. He made his way to the entrance and peeked outside through the peephole.
The originally nervous expression on his face instantly rxed, and he turned his head to say, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Those who ought to go to sleep can go on and do so.¡±
This sentence he uttered was a clever one. Just who were the people who ought to be asleep?
Of course he was referring to his wives and children. As for his nephews, they instead became more vignt and each took separate positions around the ce. Furthermore, they made sure to hide the weapons that they had just taken out from in sight, while also ensuring that they were still within arm¡¯s reach.
Only after his wives and children had gone upstairs did Old Yu open the door.
The snowfall outside was heavy, and the chill and snow blew into the living room, dropping the temperature of the originally warm living room by several degrees. One of Old Yu¡¯s nephews hurried to an old-fashioned thermostat and turned the temperature up five degrees.
By the time Old Yu had shut the door, his living room had an additional two foreigners wearing cloaks in its midst. One was skinny, and the other was slightly on the thick side.
Old Yu nced over to give a signal with his eyes, and two of his nephews made their way over to relieve the foreigners of their cloaks, dusting the snow off them before cing them near an air vent to dry out.
Old Yu observed the two foreigners. The skinnyd smiled brightly as his nephew took his cloak, even saying a word of thanks for the act. The thickset man had a look of annoyance. It was unclear if he hated the weather in Hidden Mountain Outpost, or the ce itself.
In any case, these two foreigners were now surrounded by eight of his stout nephews, yet neither appeared to be in the least bit afraid. They casually strolled over to the sofa and sat down, looking around to survey Old Yu¡¯s home.
By now, Old Yu was fully convinced that these two were the guests that he had been waiting for this entire time. If nothing went wrong, these two would decide the fate of his entire household.
¡°Have the two gentlemen had anything to eat?¡± Old Yu asked nervously, his voice unknowingly trembling.
The skinnyd waved his hand, ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. We¡¯re not hungry.¡±
¡°Then may I know how I should address these two gentlemen?¡±
That skinnyd chuckled, ¡°I heard that your surname is Yu?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right.¡±
¡°Then we are your nephews from afar. I¡¯m Yu Fan, and he¡¯s Yu You.¡±
Old Yu was ted. Though these two had not even the slightest rtion to the Yu family, given their status, forget the fact that they were impersonating his nephews; even if they were impersonating his own father, Old Yu would also willingly ept it!
The Starcloud Union had given Old Yu and his family a substantial payment for his cooperation. As long as this matter seeded, Old Yu and his family would all be moving to the Starcloud Union!
That way, Old Yu¡¯s family would be noble people living within the territory, and they would also be given a monthly allowance of 2400 Union dors for every individual, a stipend that would be paid out until their deaths.
No one enjoyed living in such an ursed ce as the Outer Frontier, and every citizen of the Outer Frontier yearned for a day when they could migrate into the prosperous Federations.
Unfortunately, the Federation territories did not care for people from the Outer Frontier. Perhaps they might poach some talented scientists, artists, or warriors, giving them an immigration pass, but for the average individual, they would never be able to cross the borders and join the three Federations in an official capacity.
Meanwhile, the condition that Starcloud Union had agreed to was not Old Yu alone migrating into their territory, but Old Yu and his entire family! Every single one of them would be given an immigration pass.
Here in Hidden Mountain Outpost, Old Yu was indubitably considered a most important figure.
Old Yu himself did not have any special skills, so he was just like all the dishonest merchants out there, someone who was proficient at calction. But martial prowess was a factor that anyone living in the Outer Frontier had to have, and Old Yu¡¯s martial prowess was practically zero.
However, Old Yu had nephews, and not only did he have many of them, but they were also vicious enough and capable enough when fighting. There were not many who dared to bully Old Yu and his family, as anyone that did would find themselves taking on that group of bear-like nephews and the strength they possessed.
Old Yu¡¯s ancestors came from the most remote Star Region in the Outer Frontiers, Deserted River Star Region.
Even in the eyes of the citizens of the Outer Frontier, Deserted River Star Region was a lousy ce, a ce whose people were so poor that they could not even afford pants. Not even pirates could be bothered to harass the people there, because they knew that a wretched ce like Deserted River Star Region had nothing apart from its people.
Citizens who lived in such abject poverty meant that they were willing to do anything to escape from it. There were often rumors that pirate organizations would find themselves robbed while out there!.
Human lives were the most worthless thing in the Deserted River Star Region.
The method they used to rob the pirates was extremely crude; they did so by piling on the numbers! They did not care how many would have to die in the process, and none of them would be afraid, either. After all, a reduction in poption was never seen as a bad thing in that Star Region. With how sparse thend was, and how abundant the people were, only when a portion of them died out would those that remained be able to have enough food to eat.
Thus, the people from Deserted River Star Region were willing to snatch at anything. If a thousand men were not enough, then they would send ten thousand. They relied on swarming their targets in order to overwhelm their enemies.
No matter how formidable the pirates were, there was no way each of them could take down ten thousand people. It was simply scientifically impossible, so entire organizations of pirates that disembarked, ready to run to the viges to snatch up money and women, would often nevere back again.
Meanwhile, Old Yu and his family ran his business here in Hidden Mountain Outpost on behalf of the handful of rich people from the Deserted River Star Region. Every several years or so, Old Yu¡¯s people would make a trip back to the Deserted River Star Region and recruit more manpower.
All they needed was just a simple statement: ¡®You¡¯ll get to eat well!¡¯ The young men of Deserted River would flock to his call.
Old Yu would gather these young men who were willing to work and make them fight against one another, and whoever survived the ensuing ughter would be brought to Hidden Mountain Outpost.
That was why Old Yu¡¯s nephews were all the toughest and most brutal people from Deserted River. Each of them had countless kills on their hands, and there were even special-ability users among them.
Humans obtaining a special ability after their seventh brain region opened up were all a matter of probability.
Essentially, out of a million newborns, one would have special abilities.
Deserted River Star Region had nothing at all, but what they did have was people. That was why there were still some special-ability users born there, and those people would be Old Yu¡¯s nephews when they came under his wing, helping him seed out here.
Xia Fan looked around. Despite being in a foreign setting, Xia Fan did not feel a shred of fear.
Before he knocked on the door, Xia Fan had already understood Old Yu¡¯s family situation through his Scent special ability, discerned that Old Yu was not pulling any tricks, and that there were no suspicious characters hidden anywhere in his home.
Old Yu thought it was because Xia Fan did not trust him and hurriedly assured him, ¡°It¡¯s fine. These are all my nephews, the real kind.¡±
Xia Fan slightly nodded. He knew that Old Yu had two kinds of nephews. One kind were those that truly belonged to his family, while the other referred to men that he had recruited from Deserted River. It was just that thetter kind all changed their surnames to his.
In the future, when Old Yu moves to the Starcloud territory, he would be bringing along his own nephews, as well as those in his family.
That was why there was a mutual benefit here. In order to leave the Outer Frontier, Old Yu and his real nephews would definitely not betray Xia Fan!
With the agreement reached, if Old Yu were to back out from the deal, there was no way the Starcloud Union would let him or his people remain alive.
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°Let¡¯s not beat around the bush. Please ry whatever you need to tell us here right now.¡±
Old Yu was somewhat troubled, ¡°Honestly, the two of you look very much like people from the Outer Frontier, but¡¡±
¡°But what?¡±
¡°But you¡¯ll be easily exposed the moment you speak.¡±
¡°I see, then let us hear it,¡± XIa Fan sat back and crossed his legs.
Old Yu said in a suppressed voice, ¡°Just now, when my nephew took your cloak from you, you said a word of thanks to him. If you were truly someone from Deserted River, there would be no way that you¡¯d express any thanks to someone else.¡±
Xia Fan scratched his head, ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯m not fierce enough?¡±
¡°Not enough. No, it¡¯s more than not enough. Just hearing how you speak, and how you have this smile always fixed on your face. If you ask me, right now, you must do away with that smile of yours. Anyone that made it out of Deserted River would have gone through plenty of hardships. There¡¯s no way they could ever muster a smile on their faces.
¡°Instead, it is this one here that looks more like someone from Deserted River. There¡¯s this air that he gives off that would put people off from thousands of miles away, so if he were to arch his eyes a bit more, adopting a look of contempt of everyone he meets, then he¡¯d fit right in.¡±
This time, Traveling Buddha was acting as Xia Fan¡¯s aide, and the idea of him arching his eyebrows a bit was a good suggestion, as it was how he adopted a snobbish re at others.
As for Xia Fan, his predilection to smiling was something he was innately born with. Ever since he hade out from his mother¡¯s womb, Xia Fan had not shed a single tear. Even when Blind Grandpa and all the scoundrels from under the Skydome died, Xia Fan had still maintained that smile of his, no matter how sad he was feeling inside. Nothing changed beyond his smile souring slightly.
Xia Fan thought about it and said, ¡°Then what do you think about this.¡±
With that, Xia Fan disyed an expressionless and stern face.
It was not difficult for him to adopt the expression. Whenever Xia Fan was in thought, he would find himself gradually bing more stern-faced, and he would lose the facial expression he once had.
An outsider could not tell what Xia Fan was thinking, either. This was because Xia Fan was simply too clever. He was more than capable ofteral thinking, so while he was clearly holding a conversation with someone, his brain was still able to keep a string of consciousness, thinking about other things.
Old Yu nodded, ¡°That is interesting, but your temperament isn¡¯t vicious enough. I can¡¯t sense the ruthlessness found in every one from Deserted River.¡±
Ruthlessness?
Xia Fan was naturally quite ruthless. After all, he was a descendant of the Demon-Sealing Fiendish de.
But he was not engaged in a battle right now, and there was nothing that was forcing Xia Fan into desperation.
Xia Fan was born with his radiant smile, and he would treat anyone with the weeness of a spring breeze. His colleagues in the station all liked befriending Xia Fan, because they felt at ease when they were with with him.
Meanwhile, Traveling Buddha was someone who hardly had any friends aside from Xia Fan. He would treat others somewhat coldly, andcked a gregarious personality.
Old Yu mulled over the matter for a bit, ¡°Why don¡¯t we do this. I¡¯ll ask the two of you to humble yourself somewhat and follow me to the shop, so you can learn from my nephews.
¡°Yu Jiang,e over here.¡±
Old Yu called a nephew who went by the name of Yu Jiang over. This person was slightly brighter than the others. The other nephews of Old Yu were all too bitter and full of hatred.
Yu Jiang made his way over, and Old Yu said, ¡°Show these two esteemed individuals what kind of tone and expression you usually have.¡±
Yu Jiang scratched his disheveled head and slightly hunched over, ¡°Uncle, I think it doesn¡¯t matter how these distinguished guests look or speak. It¡¯s fine as long as they have the backbone to back it up.¡±
Xia Fanughed, ¡°Then what¡¯s truly important?¡±
Yu Jiang gargled and spat, ¡°What¡¯s important is your actions. No matter how many words you yawp on, how much you looked the part, none of that matters more than what you do when it¡¯s time to act. Ferocity isn¡¯t something etched on your face, but something you embody.¡±
Yu Jiang was shadow-boxing the air as he said this. There were plenty of scars over his fists, all of them old injuriesyered over each other. Though Yu Jiang was not exactly advanced in his years, he had seen more than his fair share of battles.
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°Can you be a bit more specific?¡±
¡°Specific you say? Then that is killing people. Kill whomever you dislike at first nce, then talkter. If one isn¡¯t enough, then kill two. If two don¡¯t work, kill four.
¡°If you do that, who cares if you¡¯re always smiling. Others will know that you¡¯re vicious. Vicious and smiling!
¡°When I was young, there was this rabid dog in my vige. This rabid dog didn¡¯t bark, and his fur was all but shed. It would also sway as it walked about, as if it was drunk. In a nce, it would seem like it was nothing more than an old dog that was about to die.
¡°But whenever we saw that dog, we would just run away without saying another word.¡±
¡°Why is that?
¡°Because of fear! Though it didn¡¯t bark and it could barely walk straight, it would really bite to kill!
¡°We didn¡¯t fear any of the other dogs in our vige, no matter how fiercely they barked. At most we¡¯d just find a rock to throw at them. But that crazy dog, even twenty yearster, I still get goosebumps all over my body just thinking about it.¡±
After hearing such an interesting tale, Xia Fan practically apuded. He had not expected for there to be such a clever individual among Old Yu¡¯s nephews.
A dog that barked wasn¡¯t scary. Only a crazed dog was the most frightening. That logic, while easy to understand, held an unchanging truth.
¡°You¡¯re called Yu Jiang?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
Xia Fan looked at him and said, ¡°You¡¯ll be joining us from tomorrow onwards.¡±
Chapter 1464 - 1464 The Yu Clan’s Trading Firm
1464 The Yu n¡¯s Trading Firm
Yu Jiang was a rare intelligent man from the Deserted River Star Region. The reason for that was very simple: Yu Jiang¡¯s father, who was also a distant cousin of Old Yu¡¯s, died fairly young, and so when Yu Jiang had just turned ten, Old Yu had brought him to Hidden Mountain Outpost.
Yu Jiang was now twenty-seven, a big portion of his life spent beyond the Deserted River Star Region. That was why while he had the ruthless streak that was evident in people from Desert River, he had also developed some observational and thinking skills due to his contact with the worlds beyond it.
Yu Jiang obviously stood out among Old Yu¡¯s nephews due to his capabilities, and was considered the most highly-regarded nephew that Old Yu was most proud of.
¡°Actually, the reason why uncle wants to get into the federation¡¯s territory is mainly because he ended up with a bunch of daughters and not a single son,¡± In the night, when Xia Fan called Yu Jiang over for a chat, thetter saw no need to lie. ¡°There is no one that can inherit his business since he has no son. Had he a son, there¡¯s no way he would go there.¡±
Xia Fan was curious, ¡°Why is that? The Federations¡¯ territories are far more advanced and safer, so why would having a son mean he would not wish to live in Federation territory? Wouldn¡¯t it be better if his son became educated there?¡±
Yu Jiang chuckled bitterly and shook his head, ¡°Sir, you¡¯re mistaken. Only the lowly citizens in the Outer Frontier live like dogs. Uncle is a man of means, and he¡¯s living just fine.
¡°Uncle has twelve wives, and that¡¯s not including the mistresses that he keeps outside. Could he still do the same if he were to go into Federation territory?
¡°There¡¯s practically nobody that dares to bully uncle in the Outer Frontier, he¡¯s the one bullying others! But once he joins the Federation, he would be an old hat that will be despised by a popce that looks down on Natives like him. He would have to live with his tail between his legs; there¡¯s no way he could live so arrogantly and domineering as he is doing here.¡±
Xia Fan nodded in understanding. He felt that what Yu Jiang said made a lot of sense. While it was true that the Outer Frontier was a chaotic mess, it was also considered a heaven for the rich. They could have as many women as they wanted, and even found an army with enough money, bing a local tyrant.
But the moment they take a step into any of the Federations that were ruled with strictws, there was no way Old Yu could be as arrogant and domineering as before. Any wealthy individual from the Outer Frontier would be just a normal citizen once they made it inside, with no special authority, and they would have to endure a drastic drop in their quality of life.
¡°Then what about you? What do you think?¡± Xia Fan asked with a smile.
Yu Jiang¡¯s expression slowly turned stern as he clenched his fist and said, ¡°I¡¯ll seize this opportunity. To Uncle, he is forced to leave because he has no sons of his own, but I want to go to the Federations¡¯ territories because only there will I be able to change my fate.
¡°Actually, the worst thing about living in the Outer Frontier isn¡¯t starvation, but despair!
¡°Our family is considered one of those that have better living conditions in the vige, with a rich uncle that isbe able to help somewhat subsidize our living expenses. But others simply aren¡¯t as fortunate. There was a year when a sandstorm wiped out the crops overnight, and so the entire vige began to starve!
¡°The Deserted River Star Region isn¡¯t like any other ce. There¡¯s no sea, forests, or mountains. There¡¯s no river and all you see staring out to the horizon is just deste sand. Very few drought-tolerant crops can survive there.
¡°Water in Deserted Riveres from deep wells that are inherently salty. It is a preciousmodity and we will usually only drink it sparingly. In fact, I never once took a bath growing up, even if my body was covered with desert bugs that bit me all over. By the way, those bugs I¡¯m talking about are actually poisonous, and the welts you get from their bites will fester not long after, dealing you unbearable pain. Despite that, we still don¡¯t shower or bathe. The children would just gather and pick the bugs off one another, though it was technically impossible to pick them all off.
¡°That is the life we led, conserving what little water we had to irrigate what farnd we had, only for a sandstorm to ravage all our crops in one fell swoop.
¡°I watched as my friends whom I had yed with since young died from starvation, one by one, barely skin and bones as they died¡¡±
At this point, Yu Jiang¡¯s entire body was trembling quite severely. He ran into the toilet and vomited for quite some time before returning. His face was pale when he came back, and his eyes dull. Recalling the unpleasant suffering of his old days was clearly quite stressful to him.
Still, he forced himself to smile, ¡°Sorry. I really can¡¯t continue on this topic. It¡¯s too tragic, and they are all just nightmares for me now.
¡°In any case, in the end, I became the only one who survived from my vige. As for how I managed to do so, I¡¯m sure the two of you can already guess.
¡°But I¡¯m not the only one who had such a past. Practically every one of us has our own tragic past.
¡°That is why you may rest at ease. We would be willing to risk our lives just for the opportunity to live in Federation territory.¡±
¡°Not one of us, no matter our age, has gotten married or has any kids of our own. It is precisely because we do not want our own offspring to live life in such a ce.
¡°Do you really think uncle took me in just because we share the same blood? No,¡± Yu Jiang shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s because he could see a value in me that he could use, and I was more than happy to be used by Uncle. It is because of this that I¡¯m still alive today.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t hate Uncle for using me, but I don¡¯t feel like I owe him anything, either.¡± Looking out at the blizzard storming outside, Yu Jiang lowered his head and averted his eyes from Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s gazes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I identally said a little too much. It¡¯s gettingte, I think the two of you should get some sleep.
¡°Please do not worry. We¡¯ll be standing guard outside while you rest. This is something everyone discussed before either of you arrived here.¡±
With that, Yu Jiang bowed and exited the room.
After Yu Jiang left, Traveling Buddha shook his head and sighed, ¡°The sole survivor of an entire vige. I¡¯m afraid this Yu Jiang has even eaten human flesh before.¡±
Xia Fan grimaced and looked out the window, ¡°Well, that¡¯s the Outer Frontier for you.¡±
That night, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha did not sleep. Yu Jiang¡¯s heart-wrenching tale made it hard for either of them to fall asleep.
¡ª¡ª
Morning the next day¡
They opened the door to find there really were two of Yu Jiang¡¯s nephews standing outside. They had been standing guard outside the entire night. To them, the lives of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were much more precious than their own, so they would rather risk their own lives than let even the slightest harm befall their distinguished guests.
It was just that these nephews were stiff, and not as good at talking as Yu Jiang. They stood outside like two immovable stone statues, regarding everyone with eyes as nk as a cow¡¯s stare. Xia Fan knew the reason and did not me them.
Breakfast was nothingvish. The only ones seated at the table were just Old Yu, Xia Fan, and Traveling Buddha. His nephews were all eating breakfast in the kitchen, while his wives and children were shut in their rooms. They would onlye out after Xia Fan departed.
In the Outer Frontier, the status women and children held was very low, because they were unable to contribute to the family and still needed to eat. Most families from Deserted River would view them as a burden.
¡°This is the uniform that my nephews wear before heading off to work. I¡¯ll have to ask you two to endure this affront.¡± Old Yu had sent his men to bring him two tunics made from cheap fibers, and now ced them on the table. The clothes were brand new, but they were coarse to the touch. They did not seem to be worth much, and there was even a big ¡®Yu¡¯ character imprinted on the back, disying that the person wearing the uniform was working for Yu n¡¯s trading firm.
Xia Fan took a uniform, while Traveling Buddha lookedpletely displeased. The Little Old Buddha¡¯s temper was great, and upon hearing how Old Yu would treat his nephews, he despised the man greatly. It was only thanks to Xia Fan coaxing him, reminding him that they still had need of Old Yu, that he finally suppressed his thought of just killing the old man on the spot.
¡ª
Leaving Old Yu¡¯s home, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha followed Old Yu and mixed in with the Eight Burly King Kongs.
The Eight Burly King Kongs had Yu Jiang as their leader, and were the eight nephews whom Old Yu trusted the most.
Everyone that crossed their path averted their gazes or gave way to the entourage. There were some bolder individuals who stood aside on the street, giving Old Yu a nod or a slight bow, calling him boss, but Old Yu pretended not to see any of them.
The trading firm was near Old Yu¡¯s home, just around the corner, so there was no need for them to hitch a ride. Because the road was piled full of snow, making it slightly harder to walk through, Old Yu had two of his nephews nk him for support as the old man cursed at the horrid weather.
The trading firm was already open for business.
Old Yu dealt in agricultural goods, from the various kinds of fine grain to the potatoes and yams that filled the stomachs of the poor. Then there was also sun-dried fish, shrimp, and meats, as well as cooking oil and so on.
The Yu n¡¯s trading firm was very imposing, a four-story building that was splendid to behold. The warehouse behind it was huge, and even if the citizens of the entire city came to purchase their food at the same time, they had plenty of goods in storage to supply everyone. Here in Hidden Mountain Outpost, Old Yu¡¯s grain firm was ranked third among those dealing in the same business.
It was just that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha felt that the Yu n¡¯s trading firm could not help but appear a little rustic. The ornamental decorations were painted gold, and after enduring the harsh weather, were very quickly mottled. There was nothing simple or elegant about its style. It was at the standard of a nouveau riche, a crass assortment of whatever caught Old Yu¡¯s fancy.
Old Yu¡¯s nephews took up their posts sternly by the entrance. Xia Fan could count at a nce that there were over two hundred people receiving customers outside, and there were even more inside, or in other shopfronts and the warehouse.
The citizens of Hidden Mountain Outpost often said that Old Yu had three thousand nephews, and it seemed like this statement was no exaggeration.
Old Yu originally wanted to invite Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan into his office to sit, but after some careful thought, he decided that it would be inappropriate. After all, the status that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha now held was that of his nephews from the far-flung Deserted River Star Region. Thus, all he could do was express his regret with his eyes and then go upstairs after greeting his people and yelling out orders for the day.
Yu Jiang got some men to bring some chairs. Four of the Eight Burly King Kongs stayed by Old Yu¡¯s side, while the rest sat down in the center of the store, instructing others to go about their work.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha also sat down with them, but no one dared say a word under the watchful side nces from Old Yu and the nephews. After all, Old Yu was the god here in this ce of business, and the Eight Burly King Kongs were the heavens.
The first floor was for standard retail, while the second floor was for wholesaling. As such, most of those perusing the goods on the first floor were localmoners.
There were not many that dressed tidily. Most were in tattered clothes, and the food that they bought was in amounts tost a day or two. Most of them bought the inexpensive sweet potato, which was able to fill the stomachs of a family sufficiently after simple preparation and minor use of condiments.
The assortment of food on disy was eye-opening to Traveling Buddha. What he had originally thought to be beef in the bup sack of red meat turned out to be field mouse meat after he asked.
Despite it being dried mouse meat, few of these poormoners bought it. Their purchasing power was not anywhere near the point where they could afford to eat meat with every meal.
All in all, Old Yu¡¯s nephews treated the customers with two attitudes. They were more polite and agreeable to those that dressed tidily, and the poor would just get an eye roll from them. If any of them did not make a purchase after asking for the price, they might even find themselves kicked out from the store. Even if they were sent flying and beaten down into the snowy ground, none of them dared to put up any resistance. All they would do was climb up to their feet in a panic and give a nod and a bow to the person who had just beat them up.
Xia Fan could see a numbness in the eyes of the poor. There were frozen beggars on the street, their corpses were rigid in the snow, yet no one spared a nce for them. Perhaps it was because everyone was already used to such sights, and they knew that if they did not give their all for their work, the next to freeze to death might just be them!
Every time they came to the Outer Frontier, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha would have their worldview shaken. However, there was nothing they could do about it, so they could only pretend to be unconcerned and simply share a pot of tea with Yu Jiang, viewing the world around them with apathy.
Xia Fan right now really wished the three Federations would just conquer the entire Ashen Moon, so at least the people from the Outer Frontier would be able to be fed, given what the Federations were capable of doing. At the very least, themoners would not find themselves in such a state, living a life that was no better than a beast¡¯s.
It was about 10 AM when the customers began to steadily increase in numbers. All of a sudden, one of Old Yu¡¯s nephews barged in through the entrance, his expressionpletely bewildered as he swept a nce around the hall before making his way to Yu Jiang¡¯s side.
¡°Brother Jiang, something happened,¡± the man whispered.
¡°I suppose it¡¯s with the big miss?¡± Yu Jiang said with slightly furrowed brows.
¡°Yes. The big miss is quarreling with someone.¡±
¡°Again? Didn¡¯t we make sure that some people no longer had eyes after yesterday?¡±
¡°What can we do with how bad the big miss¡¯s temper gets.¡±
¡°Whose family is it this time?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t recognize them. They are a bunch of guests at Old Zhu¡¯s teahouse. There¡¯s around seven to eight of them in that lot, and there¡¯s just two of us on the big miss¡¯s side. There¡¯s also several of her friends that are in a quarrel there right now. I was afraid that the big miss might lose, so I came to the store to inform you of what happened.¡±
¡°Got it, I know what to do,¡± Yu Jiang waved his hand in annoyance and got up.
The big miss they were referring to had to be Old Yu¡¯s eldest daughter. It looked like she was in a spot of trouble, so Xia Fan stood up along with Yu Jiang when he saw the gang leader get up.
Unexpectedly, Yu Jiang chuckled, ¡°Brother, there¡¯s no need for you to go. The big miss is only fifteen, and the troubles that she gets into are all the trivial nonsense that kids will get into at her age. It¡¯s really nothing morous, and Old Zhu¡¯s teahouse isn¡¯t far off, either. I¡¯ll bring a few men and easily settle the matter.¡±
Since that was what he said, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha nodded and remained behind in the trading firm, continuing to observe the looks and actions of Old Yu¡¯s nephews.
Right now, the looks on their faces indicated they were unhappy with everyone they set their eyes on, giving off a very aloof feeling. But Yu Jiang had mentioned that all Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan needed to do was say a word and others would realize that the two of them were not from Deserted River.
They needed to learn how these nephews looked at others, what actions they made when treating customers and handling goods, as well as how they talked.
Yu Jiang had already said when they first arrived that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha ought to stick to just watching, and do what they could to avoid speaking.
Yu Jiang coughed once, and a handful of strapping nephews stepped out and followed him off to the streets. They took a left turn and headed to Old Zhu¡¯s teahouse.
It was a pity that Yu Jiang had no idea at this point of time that what he would be facing was not some trivial spat between little kids, but the beginning of a catastrophe!
Chapter 1465 - 1465 Panther Man versus Speedster
1465 Panther Man versus Speedster
Yu Jiang brought a group of underlings with him, and soon arrived at Old Zhu¡¯s teahouse.
The teahouse was three floors high. Its decorations and facilities were of course nothing in the eyes of people from the Inner Territories, but in the impoverished Outer Frontier, it was actually quite a luxurious ce. The exquisite yet simple wooden furniture was well polished. If a more intimate and quiet space was needed, there were also private rooms to rent on the third floor.
Zhu¡¯s Teahouse was open 24/7, providing tea and other simple dishes to their customers. No one other than the rich could afford to drink a cup of tea and spend several hours infort, meeting and chatting with their friends.
Yu Jiang was the leader of Old Yu¡¯s Eight Burly King Kongs. No one stopped him from entering Old Zhu¡¯s teahouse, and the moment he stepped in, the service staff all began to greet him with a big smile on their faces, informing Yu Jiang that the big miss and her friends were all on the third floor.
¡®What friends. They are just a bunch of ne-er do wells,¡±¡® Yu Jiang thought to himself unhappily.
Because the big miss had befriended these fair-weather friends, Yu Jiang had to help deal with these trivial matters a dozen, or even several dozen times a month. Yu Jiang was already deeply annoyed by it all.
¡°Do we know those people?¡± Yu Jiang asked the staffer with the curly hair who apanied him on his way up.
¡°No. They are a bunch of people from the Inner Territories, and they appear extremely loaded from how they are dressed. Brother Jiang, you better be careful,¡± warned the staffer anxiously.
Extremely loaded?
Yu Jiang nodded understanding. The staff worked in the service industry and were quite observant. Since he had mentioned that the other party was extremely loaded and advised caution, it was a clear indication that the staff had already noticed something was amiss.
But Yu Jiang was not worried about that. This was the Hidden Mountain Outpost after all, and it was not like people from the three Federations were monsters. They were humans, just like him, and in no time at all, he would have the identity of being from part of the three federations as well. With that thought in mind, Yu Jiang puffed out his chest.
Arriving at the third floor, Yu Jiang looked around and saw twelve of the rooms were open, but not a single customer could be seen. It was most likely because of an altercation that had happened earlier, and those who were there for their morning tea had already left.
Among them was the Autumn Leaf room. There was a vague sound of cryinging from inside, as well as people talking. Yu Jiang knew that that must be the ce. With a stern frown, he ordered the people beside him to remain by the entrance and entered the room by himself.
This was a big room with a round table at the end. Seven youngsters from the Inner Territories were seated around said table, while the big miss and her fair-weather friends were scattered on the floor by the entrance.
A fat teenage boy was lying down on the floor, his face pale. He had already lost consciousness and his arm had been broken by someone. Then there was another young girl whose fairly pretty face was now clearly marked with a five-fingered p. She was rubbing her face and crying loudly.
Big Miss Yu Cuicui was among the group of teenagers. She was not the pretty sort, having inherited Old Yu¡¯s wide chin. Her make-up was thick and because she had been going crazyst night, her dark circles were visible.
¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, my cousin is here!¡± Yu Cuicui immediately perked up the moment she saw Yu Jiang. She got up from the floor and pointed at the people from the Federation who were drinking tea silently and barked, ¡°Cousin, these guys were too much! Quick, help me teach them a lesson! They broke Xioa Tang¡¯s arm!¡±
Yu Jiang sighed inwardly. It was only during such instances that Yu Cuicui would call him her cousin. Most of the time, she would treat Yu Jiang like a dog the family kept.
Yu Jiang was not someone who did things blindly, including following Yu Cuicui¡¯s orders and just causing trouble to these Inners. Instead, he used his eyes to observe and brain to think.
These Inners did not appear to be simple. While they were dressed casually, he could tell from the gaps of their cuffs that they were wearing battlesuits underneath.
They had evidently just beaten someone up and caused trouble in someone else¡¯s turf, yet these youngsters appeared to bepletely unbothered. They were still drinking tea and eating snacks like nothing had happened, not once sparing a nce for Yu Jiang the entire time.
Such an attitude that showed no fear made Yu Jiang realize that he might be in for a tough time!
¡®Oh big miss, you truly are a g*dd*mn troublemaker!¡¯, Yu Jiang cursed her deep down in his heart.
But Yu Cuicui was only fifteen. Spoiled since a young age, there was no way she understood the sinister truth about the world.
When she saw that Yu Jiang was staying silent, she no longer addressed him as cousin. Instead, she began yelling and scolding him, demanding to know if he was truly a man, and that she¡¯d tell her father Old Yu to chase Yu Jiang back to Deserted River Star Region and let him starve to death.
Yu Jiang was helpless against Yu Cuicui. The status the big miss held in the household was simply too special. Though Old Yu had plenty of wives and women, only Yu Cuicui¡¯s mother was Old Yu¡¯s childhood sweetheart.
Old Yu was truly fond of Yu Cuicui¡¯s mother, but it was too bad that she had a frail constitution all her life, and had sumbed to illness not long after giving birth to her daughter.
Though Old Yu married many wives afterwards and had plenty of women, he could never forget Yu Cuicui¡¯s mother. Other women would act like kittens in front of Old Yu, not even daring to raise their voice in front of him. But Yu Cuicui dared to scold Old Yu right to his face, angering Old Yu so much that he wanted to vomit blood, but still he could not bring himself toy a finger on her.
And so Yu Cuicui had be even more overbearing after being spoiled by her father, and ended up mixing around with a bunch of ne¡¯er-do-wells in Hidden Mountain Outpost. By twelve she already had her first man. She started staying out and noting back home at night when she was thirteen, and had her first abortion by the time she was fourteen. Her life was nothing short of a mess.
Yu Jiang stepped forward and said evenly, ¡°Friends, may I ask how our family¡¯s big miss had offended everyone? They are still children at the end of the day, and yet all of you acted so heavy-handedly that I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s hard to make logical sense of things.¡±
The moment Yu Jiang finished saying his piece, several of these youngsters that were drinking tea chuckled in unison.
¡°Friend? You don¡¯t have the qualifications to call yourself a friend of ours.
¡°Just now that chick even said that she would set the dog of their family to bite us. So it seems like you¡¯re nothing more than a dog.
The expression on Yu Jiang¡¯s face changed. ¡°You¡¯ve already beaten them up, even breaking an arm in the process. What else do you want?
A young man with a cat-like demeanor raised his eyebrow. ¡°Nothing really. We specifically chose the room because we wanted peace and quiet, but these children who werecking in manners were causing a ruckus, and that disturbed our peace.
¡°We told them to shut up, but they still acted very arrogantly. So we had no choice but to teach them a lesson.¡±
¡°How about this,¡± The patherish figure fo the man suddenly picked up a cup from the table and spilled its contents on the ground before saying, ¡°Tell them toe over and lick the tea clean, and I¡¯ll let you leave with them.¡±
¡°That¡¯s too much! I¡¯LL HAVE IT OUT WITH YOU!¡±
Without even waiting for Yu Jiang to respond, a friend of Yu Cuicui, a young man with a t-top haircut, leaped to his feet and came charging over with a brandished fist.
Yu Jiang recognized the teenager to be someone by the name of Feng Yang. His family jad opened a departmental store in Hidden Mountain Outpost. Among Yu Cuicui¡¯s fair-weathered friends, he was someone with a measure of backbone.
*bang!*
Right as Feng Yang got near the young Federation man with the cat-like figure, thetter shed out a kick thatnded right on Feng Yang¡¯s chest. The boy was promptly sent flying away, crashing into the walls of the room after flying well over a dozen meters in the air from the forceful blow.
The room was built withposite fiberboards for partitions and was not sturdy at all. The walls shook upon impact, and Feng Man copsed heavily to the ground. Fresh blood flowed from his head the moment his head struck the ceiling.
Yu Jiang knew that Feng Yang¡¯s rib cage was already shattered.
When he kicked, the pantherish-man had his hands in his trouser pockets, looking very casual, yet so much force was contained in that one move. Yu Jiang could tell that this catlike man might very well be a strength-type special ability user!
Feng Yang raised one hand, seemingly unwilling to give up, but his chest was in immense pain, making it impossible for him to make any sound as blood continued to flow from the corner of his mouth.
The moment Yu Cuicui and her friends saw the state he was in, they immediately exploded, yelling loudly for the staff from the teahouse to go call men from their various families.
¡°Call them all you like!¡± The patherish man sat down on his chair, arrogantly hollering, ¡°Send as many as you can! It¡¯d be best if you call all thebat-capable men of Hidden Mountain Outpost and send them my way! That would save me the trouble of finding them!¡±
*crash*
The catlike man swept the ceramic tea set from the table and everything smashed into pieces when it struck the ground.
He pointed to the broken pieces all over the floor and said, ¡°But I¡¯ll be in: Previously all I wanted was you all to lick the tea on the floor, but now, you must also swallow the pieces as well, or none of you can even think of leaving!¡±
Yu Jiang was stunned. Swallowing broken ceramic pieces would clearly kill a person. These strange men from the Inner Territories were clearly not letting any of them off easy!
Yu Cuicui was already yelling loudly, clearly shocked by the other party¡¯s temperament.
Yu Jiang swallowed hard. It looked like he must act in order to survive. Otherwise, if anything were to happen to the big miss, Old Yu would not be letting him off. Perhaps he might find himself buried by Old Yu in an unmarked grave eighty miles away from the city before he could even obtain his immigration pass from the Starcloud Union!
With that thought in mind, Yu JIang held up his chest and took two steps forward. He brought his two hands into a close-fisted salute and said, ¡°Might I ask for the group to let our big miss off this once.¡±
¡°Let her off? On what grounds? She yelled the loudest among these rascals! If you ask me, she¡¯s the one most deserving to die!¡± a young woman from the group answered.
This woman had her hair tied up into a bun, and had a strange little knife with a golden snake¡¯s head at the end of its hilt inserted into the center of her bun, looking absolutely peculiar.
*whoosh*
Yu Jiang steeled his heart and tore off the coat he was wearing, revealing his muscr torso and dered firmly, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll have to offend you all today!¡±
These seven youngsters could not help but wrinkle their eyebrows when they saw Yu Jiang and his muscles.
His body was imperfect, riddled with scars of every size, with the long ones looking like de wounds, while the circr scars were from the poisonous bug bites that he had endured when he was younger, formed from pustules.
Yu Jiang did not look like he was any older than thirty, yet his scarred body was such a frightening sight. Ferocious, even!
¡°I¡¯ve heard that men from Deserted River are all true men, and sure enough!¡± The panthers man beckoned at Yu Jiang with one finger. ¡°Come at me!¡±
¡°TO DEATH!¡± Yu Jiang suddenly yelled angrily.
In that instant, it was like he became apletely different person, as the wildness unique to men from Deserted River exploded.
With Yu Jiang at the forefront, the other men from Deserted River followed right behind him. They moved like a pack of wolves, wild wolves who thirsted for blood. Their eyes quickly filled with blood, as the roar they unleashed did not seem like it wasing from their throats but from their chests.
The corner of the catlike man¡¯s mouth arched, forming a mirthless smile.
Just as Yu Jiang and his men were in front of him, he suddenly pulled out both his hands that had been in his trousers.
In a split second, the pantherish man¡¯s right hand reached out and lightly flicked at Yu Jiang¡¯s fist.
*Crack*
His finger bones immediately fractured!
Without missing a beat, the catlike man raised a leg and kicked Yu Jiang in his shin bone, causing him to lose his bnce as he fell down headlong toward the floor.
¡®So this is the disparity between mortals and special ability users? What a scary gulf¡¡¯, quickly flitted through Yu Jiang¡¯s mind.
In a blink of an eye, the six men from Deserted River were down on the ground, each and every one of them suffering from fractures in one or more ces, whether it be their arms or shoulders or legs.
The Deserted River men did not cry or scream even though they had been instantly wiped out. Like a group of beasts that were facing their deaths, their gazes were still as ferocious as ever, and a low growl could be hearding from their throats.
The catlike man frowned and sat back down in his seat.
The woman with the strange outrement in her hair swept her gaze over the fallen men of Deserted River and lifted her teacup to her lips, ¡°These men from Deserted River sure are manly. Look, their bones had been broken by Xiao Wu, yet not a single one of them has cried out in pain. The general would surely be pleased if we could bring these warriors back with us.¡±
¡°That might be true, but it¡¯s such a pity that as vicious as men from Deserted River are, it isn¡¯t somewhere outstanding ability users are born from. Their foundation is far too poor.¡±
¡°Right? Foundation is important to a warrior. No matter how much talent one possesses, or how wide their seventh brain region is, if they do not spend the time to solidify their foundation when younger, then there¡¯s no future for them. At most they will turn out like these men here, brave and ruthless, but a goner the moment they bump into a warrior that received proper training.¡±
The group of youngsters from the Inner Territories chatted about the topic of Desert River men, not once caring about the mess that had happened right before their eyes.
All of a sudden, that strange woman furrowed her brow and nudged her chin forward, ¡°Xiao Wu, look.¡±
The catlike man was taking a bite out of a duck leg when he turned his head to look.
He saw Yu Jiang stand up. While the other men from Deserted River were all lying on the ground, he was the only one who got up again. His left hand was bleeding freely, because an old wound from his hand had opened up.
¡°Are you trying to be a hero?¡±
The pantherish man tossed away the half-eaten duck leg and walked over to Yu Jiang. He formed his right hand into a de and viciously chopped right down on his shoulder.
*crunch!*
The sound of his corbone shattering was heard. Yu Jiang was one knee on the floor, and his vision was already blurred.
He felt an intense pain. He had felt plenty of pain countless times due to the many injuries he had umted in his life, but this was the first time that he felt this deep sense of despair on top of the pain.
It was the same as when the people of his entire vige died out, leaving him the only one alive. It was the same despair that had seeped deep into his bones.
Yu Jiang hated this feeling. His whole life he felt like he was fighting against this despair.
His body had clearly already given out, yet there was a voice in his heart that was telling him, Stand up! You must not lose! You must survive!
Several secondster, Yu Jiang stood up with much difficulty again. His entire body was covered in blood and trembling.
It was obvious all he needed to do was lie down and he would get to live a bit longer, but a burst of strength denied Yu Jiang the moment to do that.
In his mind, he was recalling the vige when he was young, where everyone had died and their bodies turned into dust for the sandy desert. He was the only one left, sitting down all alone on the rooftop, staring nkly into the stars above. He was telling himself not to cry, but his tears flowed down regardless.
Feeling this kind of pain once was enough!
That catlike man suddenly burst into a fit of rage, ¡°You only have one pitiful life, so why act the hero? If you wish to die, then I shall grant you that!¡±
With that said, he opened his arms wide and moved to m them toward both sides of Yu Jiang¡¯s temple at the same time, intending to shatter his skull.
Just at that critical moment, a powerful force cut in!
The panthers man did not seed in dealing the killing blow to Yu Jiang. He did not even know what happened, as all he felt was an immense pain that sprouted from his chest as he found himself hurtling away.
¡°Careful! There¡¯s a speedster!¡± the young woman with the weird knife stabbed into her hair yelled out with bewildered eyes. She leapt to her feet and caught the catlike man right before he flew out the window, or he would have ended up crashing into the street below.
Meanwhile, the expression of the others changed drastically the moment they heard the word ¡®speedster¡¯, realizing that a tough opponent had appeared!
Chapter 1466 - 1466 What do the Sacred Federation’s matters have to do with me!?
1466 What do the Sacred Federation¡¯s matters have to do with me!?
The person appearing before these youngsters from the Inner Territories was not Xia Fan, but his disguise, Yu Fan.
He was wearing the simple gray uniform from the trading firm. Though he was slim, like a model on a runway, the expression on his face disyed the brutality unique to Desert River men. This was especially true with a not-too conspicuous scar that ran down the corner of his eye, making him memorable. His skin was coarse and tanned, looking like he was in his thirties.
Xia Fan had barged into the scene with the signature oblique eleration of the Skywings, sending a punch right into that leopard man going by the name of Xiao Wu, and sending him flying. At the same time, he used his other arm to grab a hold of Yu Jiang, supporting Yu Jiang in his arm.
The sounds of a furious jumble of people climbing up the stairs were loud. Upon hearing the news that Yu Jiang was in trouble, Xia Fan had used his speed to hurry on over as fast as he could, while the others followed behind as best as they could.
By the time the men of Desert River arrived on the third floor and had the seven youngsters surrounded, their lips wereden with curses. Most of them were carrying weapons, with traces of blood still left on their des.
The seven youngsters from the Inner Territories looked on warily. They had strategically formed up in a corner of the room, yet they did not care about all the others acting arrogantly in front of them. Instead, their eyes were all trained on Xia Fan. In their eyes, it was almost as if he was the most frightening person to watch out for, no matter how many of the men from Desert River gathered around.
After all, he was a speedster, and given the speed he had barged into the room with before, he was at least close to Advanced Star Base rank. With Star Domain rank viewed as the limit for speedsters, Xia Fan¡¯s current speed was already very powerful, and none of them could afford to underestimate him.
Xia Fan nced at the youngsters, then expressionlessly turned around and handed the heavily-injured Yu Jiang to the person behind him.
¡°Send him to the hospital.¡±
Everyone hurried to help Yu Jiang at Xia Fan¡¯s orders. They exited the room, along with the other people copsed on the floor, as well as Miss Yu Cuicui and her fair-weather friends.
Yu Cuicui¡¯s eyes were filled with shock and confusion, because she did not recognize Xia Fan. She could tell from his attire that he should be a nephew of her dad¡¯s, but Yu Cuicui had never known there was someone as amazing as him around.
After everyone was brought out of the room, Xia Fan waved his hand to indicate that everyone else should leave as well.
Though Yu Jiang was heavily injured, the others of the Eight Burly King Kongs knew of Xia Fan¡¯s identity. At theirmand, the men from Deserted River evacuated the room, leaving just Traveling Buddha, who just yawned and leaned against the wall, bored, whilezily staring at Xia Fan and the people from the Inner Territories.
Traveling Buddha currently appeared extremely sinister, due to the Faceless n¡¯s magical skin implements. After using the disguise, Traveling Buddha now had a very sinister face. Added to his temperament that encouraged people to stay away from him, it was very easy for others to describe his indifference with words that described insidiousness.
Even more interesting was the fact that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were disguised in a way that made them appear rted. They shared approximately ny percent of a resemnce to one another, and Traveling Buddha even looked much younger. Others thought Traveling Buddha looked like a younger brother to Xia Fan.
The seven youngsters who had beaten up Yu Jiang appeared to be following the woman with the dagger stuck in her hair. The woman looked to be in herte twenties, and should have obtained a decent rank with her special ability. At the very least, when Xiao Wu had been sent flying by Xia Fan, the others were unable to react in time, while she had managed to leap to her feet and catch Xiao Wu, who otherwise would have been sent crashing into the streets below with one punch from Xia Fan.
Furthermore, she was the first among them to determine what Xia Fan¡¯s special ability was. The others had a fright when they saw Xia Fan appear out of nowhere like a ghost.
The atmosphere was very tense. The seven were clustered together, evidently having undergone some form of team battle training. Xiao Wu was whimpering in pain, Xia Fan¡¯s punch having broken three of his ribs, but the others were still perfectly fine. They were probably waiting for orders from the woman with the knife stuck in her hair.
Honestly speaking, the woman was rather pretty. It was just that she had quite the arrogant temperament, making her act quite aloof.
Xia Fan did not immediately speak, because his mind was racing.
A group of people clearly from the Inner Territories appearing in Hidden Mountain Outpost. They were ability users, and looked to have received decent training. Therefore, Xia Fan came to the conclusion that if they were not from the territories, then they must be from Murder Shrine.
In any case, they were definitely not from Starcloud Union, since Starcloud Union would be aware that Xia Fan was in the middle of a secret mission here, and they would not have sent their own people to stir up trouble.
With that thought in mind, Xia Fan was mentally at ease. No matter if they ended up to be from Murder Shrine or the other Federations, none of that mattered to him. They would either be his enemy, or a potential enemy!
*Whoosh!*
Xia Fan¡¯s figure suddenly disappeared.
There was a subtlety to the timing that he had picked. The seven of them were feeling great pressure from the very start after Xia Fan suddenly appeared, but he had spent some time thinking, so he did not immediately make his move.
That was why those youngsters all felt that Xia Fan must have reservations, given the situation he was in. Since he was hesitating, then that meant there was still room to talk, and there was no need for them to tear at each other¡¯s throats.
Still, they were thinking far too simply. Just in that moment when they were slightly rxed, Xia Fan instead made his move.
He had eaten Grade Nine energy crystals since he was a baby, which gave Xia Fan a powerful body and an astonishing explosive strength.
If there was anything different about Xia Fan from his father and kin, it would be his physical constitution, which surpassed even his father Xia Fei. Even a Domain Lord as powerful as Xia Fei needed some time to elerate, but Xia Fan could reach his peak speed with his first move!
A speed that was over five hundred meters a second!
Not only was that fast, his action was alsopletely overwhelming. The defensive formation that the seven had adopted was forcibly blown away with Xia Fan¡¯s body, his left fist striking the woman with the knife stuck in her hair while his right hand snatched Xiao Wu from her clutches!
*Rumble*
What chaos Xia Fan sowed! When Xia Fan charged in at his top speed, those youngsters who were originally no match for him in the first ce were sent flying away. On top of that, the woman who possessed the greatestbat capability among them had been specifically targeted by Xia Fan, receiving a solid punch from him that ended up shattering their defensive formation instantly.
By the time those youngsters even came back to their senses, Xiao Wu was already in Xia Fan¡¯s hands.
Xia Fan stood behind Xiao Wu, and with his hands, grabbed him by his head. His left and right arms were staggered in such a way that all he needed to do was exert some strength, and Xiao Wu¡¯s neck would be twistedpletely around.
Color drained from the faces of the six. The woman widened her eyes and yelled loudly, ¡°STOP!¡±
Xia Fan did not give her a reply. His weather-worn face of a Desert River man was expressionless.
¡°As long as you let Xiao Wu go, everything is open for discussion!¡±
She waspletely panicking, pulling out a golden badge and raised it up high! ¡°We are investigators from the Special Bureau Headquarters of the Sacred Federation! I order you to let Xiao Wu go, or you will surely regret it!¡±
¡®Oh, so they are men from the Sacred Federation. They must be here in the Outer Frontier because of the special ability Tyrant Battle,¡¯ Xia Fan noted mentally.
The six special ability users from the Sacred Federation thought Xia Fan was afraid, so the strange woman maintained her loud and forceful tone, ¡°Trust me, someone like you from the Outer Frontier cannot afford to antagonize the Sacred Federation! As long as you let Xiao Wu go, we¡¯ll bring you to our territory, where you can enjoy glory and fortune!
¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, but our trip here to the Outer Frontier this time is so we could recruit special ability users from the Outer Frontier! With how fast you are, you are precisely the kind of talent that the Sacred Federation is looking for!
¡°What¡¯s so good about the Outer Frontier, anyway? The Sacred Federation is where your future lies! You must think things through clearly. We can really help you!¡±
Xia Fan nearly wanted to break out in tears,ughing. There was no telling who could help whom in this situation, since he was actually someone from the three Federations!
Given the present circumstance, it was clear that the Starcloud Union had chosen to mingle their way into the special ability Tyrant Battle, while the Sacred Federation had opted to undermine it. They were offering rewards to recruit the Outer Frontier special ability users before thepetition was even held!
If these special ability users from the Outer Frontier were to be recruited to the Sacred Federation, then there was of course no way that the Murder Shrine could still go ahead with the so-called special ability Tyrant Battle, right?
¡°Let Xiao Wu go!
¡°Slowly, slowly let him go. He¡¯s already injured, and you mustn¡¯t harm him any further!¡± they shouted at Xia Fan.
They watched as the muscles in Xia Fan¡¯s arms tensed up. While he held Xiao Wu¡¯s head firmly, he unemotionally rasped out, ¡°What have the Sacred Federation¡¯s matters got to do with me!?¡±
In the next second, Xia Fan exerted some strength and twisted.
*Crack!*
Dead!
Xia Fan had actually in Xiao Wu right in front of the eyes of the Sacred Federation special ability users!
This was a grudge! The Sacred Federation was definitely not going to let Xia Fan off!
Xiao Wu¡¯s neck had been wrung by Xia Fan, and was promptly tossed away like a dead dog. Without any fanfare, he dropped Xiao Wu¡¯s dead body on the ground and kicked it away toward the people from the Sacred Federation.
¡°Xiao Wu!¡±
¡°G*DD*MM*T! I¡¯LL TAKE YOU DOWN!¡±
Several of the special ability users from the Sacred Federation howled, eager to pounce at Xia Fan. If this was really how it went down, though Xia Fan was not afraid, it would still take some time for him to deal with them all in one go. Xia Fan did not care about these attackers, except for that strange woman with the knife in her hair.
¡®There must be something afoot if things are going awry.¡¯ That was what the scoundrels had taught Xia Fan since he was young. That was why Xia Fan felt that there must be something strange about the golden snake knife that was stuck in her hair.
Unfortunately, nothing happened, because that strange woman actually held back herrades.
Though she was livid, and her entire body was shaking, she nevertheless maintained her calm, realizing that if they continued this confrontation, not only had Xiao Wu died here, the others would also die, because they were definitely no match for Xia Fan!
That was why despite her extreme grief, she had to stop herrades. ¡°Listen to my order, retreat!¡± the womanmanded them shrilly.
¡°Sister Hua!¡±
¡°Just what are you saying?! Xiao Wu¡¯s dead!¡±
¡°I SAID RETREAT!¡± As she shouted that final statement, her pretty face had already contorted uglily, and she was staring at Xia Fan with eyes filled with absolute malice and hatred.
She picked up Xiao Wu¡¯s body, and ignoring the indignant agony that herrades were feeling, she leapt out the window.
Without the most powerful member in their team, the other special ability-users had no choice but to give up, despite being very unwilling to do so. All they could do was curse under their breath as they followed that strange woman and jumped out from the window.
Xia Fan walked to the window and looked down, only to find that the group of Sacred Federation people had already disappeared from the end of the street.
Traveling Buddha shrugged and thought there was nothing remarkable about it. He followed behind Xia Fan as they made their way to exit the teahouse while maintaining their expressionless faces.
Everyone, be they Old Yu¡¯s nephews or the staff of the teahouse, quickly made way for them, their expressions very respectful.
However, upon reaching the exit, Xia Fan suddenly came to a halt.
This was because someone, a stranger that Xia Fan did not recognize, had actually blocked Xia Fan from leaving with his own body!
Chapter 1467 - 1467 Entrant Ticket
1467 Entrant Ticket
This person blocking Xia Fan¡¯s path was a man who looked to be under thirty. He had a sly appearance, with very white skin. His eyes were narrow and curved, while the corners of his lips were upturned.
Xia Fan stayed silent and remained expressionless, one of the essentials of impersonating a Desert River man. Xia Fan was not only paying close attention to the expression on his face, but was even more careful with what he said. If there was no need, he would not even open his mouth.
This sly man gazed in the direction the special ability users from the Sacred Federation had run off to and then turned around to size up Xia Fan. He then silently opened his coat to reveal a badge with the insignia of Murder Shrine.
He moved very naturally, all in one swift motion. It was as if the man did not have a hint of worry in his heart.
Murder Shrine had been designated as the key criminal organization wanted by all three Federations. There was no way anyone from the Inner Territories could ever have imagined that one of their members would reveal their identity as boldly in the Outer Frontier as this.
Xia Fan still did not smile, though he was actually rather shocked deep down in his heart.
Murder Shrine was truly everywhere. Perhaps they had clearly seen everything he had done just now, though he had no idea just what this person from Murder Shrine wanted to do by blocking his path.
The sly man examined Xia Fan and suddenly burst intoughter, asking Xia Fan directly, ¡°You¡¯re a nephew from Old Yu¡¯s family? From Deserted River?¡±
Xia Fan did not reply, but nodded slightly.
The sly man shrugged, ¡°Sure enough, only someone from Deserted River could harbor such ruthlessness, daring to kill even someone from the Sacred Federation. However, I¡¯ve never heard that Old Yu had such a fearsome nephew in his family. Could Old Yu have been hiding you all along?¡±
Xia Fan thought to himself, ¡®Would this question be considered a background check?¡¯
But before Xia Fan could even answer, someone from the Eight Burly King Kongs who went by the name of Yu Teng growled gruffly, ¡°My cousin just arrived in Hidden Mountain Outpost yesterday.¡±
¡°Forget it. It is not like I don¡¯t know Old Yu¡¯s grift. Cousin? There¡¯s probably just a handful of you that really have a surname of Yu, right? To put it bluntly, you¡¯re all just dogs that bite people at Old Yu¡¯s behest.
¡°But, I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re dogs that Old Yu reared. I just think that this person is rather impressive, so I wanted to ask him if he is interested in joining the special ability Tyrant Battle that we are organizing.
¡°Though this person doesn¡¯t appear to have received much decent training, demonstrating recklessness in his actions andcking skills, he is ultimately a speedster, and seeing his performance just now, must have reached a speed over 500 m/s. That makes him more than qualified to join our special ability Tyrant Battle!
¡°So how about it? Would you like to consider this offer?If you don¡¯t understand what the special ability Tyrant Battle is, you can just ask Old Yu. That old creature is sure to know all about it.¡±
The sly man did not even finish speaking when he squinted his eyes weirdly, because he saw that Xia Fan had reached a hand out.
It had to be said that the amazing skin that the Faceless n had created was really scary. Xia Fan¡¯s hand was not only tanned, but he also had obvious scars and cracks visible, his weather-battered skin looking very much like part of someone who had desperately wed his way out from Gell.
His thickly scarred hand looked very real, and there was no w to his disguise.
The sly man frowned and asked, ¡°What are you doing?¡±
¡°Money,¡± Xia Fan said hoarsely. ¡°Just give me money, and I¡¯ll kill anyone.¡±
That sly man was mildly surprised, but he soon burst intoughter, like he had just heard an extremely funny joke.
¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s hrious! You truly are a b*st*rd of Deserted River. Do you really think the special ability Tyrant Battle will need you to kill people? Is your head just filled with glue?
¡°Forget it. Since you¡¯re just a buffoon from Deserted River, you won¡¯t even understand a thing if I exined it to you. You just want money, right? Here, take it!¡±
With that, that sly man handed Xia Fan a Grade Three energy crystal, as well as an alloy pendant with the mark of Murder Shrine, resembling a button.
¡°Look here, this thing is the proof of your participation in the special ability Tyrant Battle. Whatever you do, do not lose it. I¡¯ll still need to go pick out some other warriors in Hidden Mountain Outpost during this time, but when the timees, you¡¯ll be joining me. My name is Griffin, got it?¡±
That sly man acted like he was giving instructions to an idiot, sparing no details and speaking as inly as possible.
Xia Fan had not imagined that he would so easily obtain a ticket to participate in the special ability Tyrant Battle. Perhaps that incident just now was enough for the people from Murder Shrine to confirm that Xia Fan really was a person from Deserted River. After all, if he had been an undercover agent from the three Federations, there was no way Xia Fan would have just killed an investigator from the Sacred Federation. That act alone had pretty much eliminated any suspicions they had about him.
After Griffin finished rying his instructions to Xia Fan, he made to leave. The strangest thing was that he did not seem to be very bothered by the appearance of Sacred Federation investigators in Hidden Mountain Outpost.
Xia Fan grabbed Griffin once more.
¡°You¡¯re so annoying, what is it this time?¡± Griffin demanded, irritated with him.
Xia Fan waved that button with Murder Shrine¡¯s insignia and then held up two fingers, indicating he needed two of them.
Griffin was nonplussed, so he asked why he needed two, at which time Xia Fan pointed to Traveling Buddha behind him. ¡°He¡¯s my younger brother.¡±
¡..
...
In the end, Griffin gave two pendants to Xia Fan. Xia Fan and Old Yu¡¯s nephews then returned to the trading firm. The way back happened to be the same path those Sacred Federation investigators had taken when fleeing.
Turning the corner, Xia Fan saw bodies. They were the corpses of the people from the Sacred Federation.
There was Xiao Wu, whose neck Xia Fan had already broken,ying down on the ground. Beside him were hisrades, each lying in pools of their own blood, a triangr dagger stab wound clearly visibly where their hearts should be.
There were only six bodies; the only one who had escaped was the strange woman with the knife stuck in her hair.
Xia Fan instantly understood why Griffin from Murder Shrine was not in the least bit worried, despite having uncovered Sacred Federation investigators here in Hidden Mountain Outpost.
It turned out that while Griffin was talking with Xia Fan, there were already people from Murder Shrine hunting down these unlucky youngsters.
Xia Fan could feel a vague sense of fear run down his spine. The influence that Murder Shrine possessed here in the Outer Frontier might be greater than what he had imagined. To be able to assassinate investigators from the Sacred Federation in broad daylight like this so easily, one could just imagine what might happen if their true identity as Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were to be exposed!
*Thud*
Xia Fan expressionlessly kicked the corpse that was blocking his path to the roadside, and then continued on his way to Old Yu¡¯s store, all the while a feeling of unease rising in his heart.
...
...
If Xia Fan needed to find out if he was being monitored, it was a very simple matter. All he needed to do was use his scent special ability and all the smells within five hundred meters around him would be registered in his nose clearly and unmistakably.
Scent was not a powerfulbat special ability, but it was extremely formidable. Even installing a silent listening device in Xia Fan¡¯s room would leave a unique scent, something that would not escape Xia Fan¡¯s notice.
After ensuring that their surroundings were clear, Xia Fan told Traveling Buddha about his concerns.
¡°It¡¯s too easy?¡± Traveling Buddha furrowed his brow after hearing what Xia Fan told him.
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right. That Griffin person gave the two of us our entrant tickets, almost as if he did not care for them. Because of that, I still have some misgivings over it, which is why I n to be very careful when the preliminaries begin.¡±
Traveling Buddha replied, ¡°I¡¯ll defer to you. In any case, I¡¯m really just tagging along with you this time, so if you feel that there¡¯s anything amiss, then we¡¯ll go take a look together.¡±
¡ª¡ª
Several days passed, and Yu Jiang finally came back from the hospital. Because Old Yu had been warned by Xia Fan, he took good care of the man, specifically assigning two of his nephews to apany Yu Jiang to help serve him.
At the same time, the preliminaries for the special ability Tyrant Battle started, and though it was a secret, it was an open secret in the city.
Xia Fan headed to Old Yu¡¯s trading firm every day and heard the customers gossiping. They were frequently discussing matters concerning the special ability Tyrant Battle, talking about the attractive rewards, as well as who from what family had participated in the preliminaries and been chosen.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha went to the venue and saw that it was a martial hall in Hidden Mountain Outpost. Although there was no signs indicating that the selections were being held there, the locals were all aware of it, and there were plenty who had gathered to watch.
Because Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had already received their entrant tickets, they very easily gained ess into the martial hall, and once more saw the sly man who went by the name of Griffin.
Griffin was clearly attending with several other members from Murder Shrine, all of them seated under the ring. Whenever they nodded, the people managing the martial hall would send a certification for entry to the warrior who attended the tryouts.
When Griffin saw Xia Fan, he gave a slight nod to him, and then he turned his head to speak to a barrel-chested man next to him. The stout man nced at Xia Fan from afar, but did not initiate a conversation with him.
Xia Fan pretended that he was there to join in the festivities, staying in the martial hall for about an hour before he got up and left.
When they left, even the usually careless Traveling Buddha also felt that something was amiss.
Traveling Buddha whispered into Xia Fan¡¯s ear, ¡°We¡¯ve watched for just a short while, yet there¡¯s already more than ten people that were chosen. That¡¯s far too unbelievable. Murder Shrine seemed to be taking all kinds of people, even those with the slightest special ability were being chosen! They im they are going to pick the special ability Tyrant King across the eightrge star regions that Outer Frontier isposed of, so why would they want to select so many warriors who have such minor special abilities and bring them to the actual venue?¡±
Xia Fan frowned. He had been rmed by the same fact. He simply could not figure out right now why Murder Shrine was being so liberal with their picks?
Considering the standards of Murder Shrine, they should not be taking in just anyone; ever since they had be active in the Outer Frontier, they had not once recruited too many members locally. The good majority of their people were still from the three Federations.
Perhaps it was for the sake of secrecy, or maybe it was because they looked down upon thebat strength of the Outer Frontier people. In any case, Murder Shrine had always developed very cautiously in the Outer Frontier, never once recruiting members with such huge fanfare.
Something must be afoot if things had gone awry. Xia Fan decided that he should inform Nie Yan of this matter as soon as possible.
Chapter 1468 - 1468 Dark Hole
1468 Dark Hole
Xia Fan and Nie Yan¡¯s secretmunication method could be considered simple and crude.
He left Hidden Mountain Outpost all by himself, then elerated. About ten minutester, Xia Fan arrived at a barren mountain three hundred kilometers away from the city. Standing there in the middle of the wilderness, Xia Fan calmly essed his stealthed spatial ring, and retrieved a Star-region-grade long-range walkie-talkie.
The walkie-talkie that couldmunicate across an entire star region was quite sizable, as heavy and bulky as a solid brick.
Because the Outer Frontiercked any inteary systemmunicationwork, they needed to rely on something like this to establish a connection with their headquarters. There was no way around it, given how the Outer Frontier was still nowhere as developed as the three Federations.
Although the long-range walkie-talkie solved themunication issue between Xia Fan and Nie Fan, there was a very obvious w to it. Since the signal was being transmitted into space, it was rtively easy for tracking systems dedicated to catching radio signals to discover it.
Though the radar would not be able to find out who was using the walkie-talkie or what they were talking about, they could pinpoint the location where the signal had originated.
Thus, the safest method was to run to somewhere deste with no one around, then make contact. Frequently changing the location so thismunication technique couldn¡¯t be tracked might be troublesome for some people, but it was hardly an issue for a speedster like Xia Fan.
With the remote video call connection established, Xia Fan saw that Nie Yan was presently in ck Egg¡¯s cockpit, slightly nervous that she was suddenly getting a call from Xia Fan.
Xia Fan ryed what had happened to Traveling Buddha and himself. After exining everything to Nie Yan, she nodded to him, ¡°This problem isn¡¯t being encountered by you two alone. Practically every single infiltration team that we sent has ended up in a simr situation.
¡°Indeed, in the promotion of this special ability Tyrant Battle by Murder Shrine, which they are calling ¡®The Tyrant Coronation Battle across Eight Star Regions¡¯, attractive rewards are offered, all for the purpose of finding the most powerful warrior across the Outer Frontier. However, when put into action, practically anyone who stepped up was not rejected, and a huge amount of warriors who clearly did not meet the requisites are being chosen to join thepetition.
¡°Headquarters is currently investigating this matter. But at the moment, the investigation is not yetplete, so you and Traveling Buddha can only go along with the original n. But you need to be a little more careful. The moment you realize something is amiss, seek assistance from me immediately.
¡°Don¡¯t forget, this special taskforce that the Union has sent, though notrge, actually has some super experts like Grand Old Buddha among them. For the most part, the Union does have the ability to rescue you two from danger.¡±
Xia Fan nodded after hearing Nie Yan¡¯s words. If a simr situation was happening in every preliminary venue, then that showed that for some unknown reason, Murder Shrine wanted to ept every special ability user from across the Eight Star Regions.
Were they intending to expand their ranks?
Xia Fan felt that the chances of that were very low. They were a group who had been very careful for years; suddenly recruiting so many new members who were not in line with their principals would only cause even greater confusion.
The members of Murder Shrine were not gueri skirmishers, but a proper army. They surely had to know of that logic.
But then, for what reason would Murder Shrine change their original intent?
Given how things stood right now, just in Hidden Mountain Outpost alone there were over a hundred special ability users who had been selected, so there would be at least several thousand participants when all eight star regions were added together, perhaps even surpassing ten thousand of them!
As such, the scale of the special ability Tyrant Battle would be astronomically huge; would they not be afraid of being exposed?
Or was it perhaps that Murder Shrine had other reasons even more secretive than thepetition that required a great many special ability users?
A shroud of secrecy hung around their secret mission before it even began. Several minutes had passed during the call, so the cautious Xia Fan immediately changed his position. He then contacted Nie Yan again to receive the information that the Union presently possessed.
At the moment, the Union still had no clue where the location of thepetition between the eight star regions from the Outer Frontier would be held, so all they could do was quietly set up even more satellites around the Lywellian Star Region.
¡°I understand. Traveling Buddha and I will continue to stick to our duties,¡± Xia Fan told Nie Yan.
¡°You must be careful!¡± Nie Yan insisted with all the gravity she could muster, hammering the importance of caution repeatedly.
...
A dark hole. There would be humans pouring into it daily, humans that were being dumped into it via warships like they were refuse or garbage.
This dark hole was located in an unknown star region, on some unnamed, located in a desert where nothing grew except a deep andrge dark hole spanning over fifteen kilometers wide. The warriors of Murder Shrine guarding this dark hole said that at the bottom of this hole was none other than the mythological ce known as Hell.
In the distance, a ck dot was rapidly advancing closer. When it entered the outer orbit of the, the ck dot began to decelerate, passing through the atmosphere before it arrived at the hole, and stopped to hover above it.
By now, it was no longer a ck dot, but a ck cargo ship.
There was a man with sharp eyes and a hooked nose sitting in an office temporarily set up by the lip of the hole. He received the inventory list of the cargo ship; on that list were not goods or produce, but a list of names that included their age, background, special ability, and their ranks.
This man with a hooked nose had a pen in his hand as he nced quickly over the list. It took him but a moment before he ticked off a few names.
¡°Just these will do. The rest can be dumped,¡± the man calmly stated, almost as if his actions had not just decided the fate of whether a group of people would live or die. Instead, it sounded as if he was confirming which pigs would be sent to the ughter, and which would continue to be fed, with not an ounce of emotion in his words.
Returning the list to the secretary seated by the office desk, she gave him a light nod and proceeded to open a line ofmunication with the ship.
¡°Keep those with the following names. Dump the rest,¡± the secretary ryed the man¡¯s decision to the ship.
When the call ended, everyone gazed toward the dark hole in unison, watching as that cargo ship opened its cargo hold and human figure after figure was tossed off the ship.
Those who were tossed screamed in terror; those with good eyesight could see that they were all holding onto weapons, wearing protective gear simr to battlesuits made of reinforced fiber or hard armor, almost as if they were going in fully armed. Nevertheless, these fully-armed people were still being dumped right into the dark abyss.
Curses and screams filled their ears, but the warriors surrounding the hole did not react in the least. Perhaps it was because they were already used to such a scene, and even those among them who were soft-hearted had only been shocked the first time they witnessed this happen. Now, with the same thing happening every day, even they had be numb to it.
Once it was done with the dumping, the ship parked itself by the edge of the dark hole, near a location simr to a military encampment.
The lucky few who had not been dumped off the warship were escorted out and handed over to the local army stationed there. Then, the cargo ship set off once more, departing the dark hole. In no time at all, it would return with a new batch of people, and repeat this sequence anew.
One ship. Two ships. Three¡
They were practically all the same fast cargo ships, repeatedly doing the same thing. Meanwhile, the man with the hooked nose would select names from the lists each and every time, choosing who would be dumped and who would remain.
¡ª¨C
After a good while, the work of dumping people into the hole seemed to havee to a temporary stop, and there were no ships transporting over their cargo for a good while. When such urrences cropped up, that hook-nosed man became very displeased.
¡°Too slow, it¡¯s too slow,¡± that man muttered.
¡°But we¡¯ve almost captured all the pirates in our vicinity already. Even if there are plenty of pirate organizations operating in the Outer Frontier, there¡¯s still a limit to their numbers. Meanwhile, the higher-quality cannon fodder we¡¯ve recruited from the eight star regions has yet to arrive, so of course we¡¯ll appear to be dealing with such shortages for the time being,¡± his secretary answered with knit eyebrows.
The hook-nosed man shook his head. ¡°A bunch of wastrels. If we¡¯re done catching the pirates, then we can target the soldiers of the native empires, or the private guards employed by the major trading firms. We don¡¯t need them to have special abilities. All we need is for them to demonstratebat prowess, and to have killed people before. They are just cannon fodder to us, anyway.¡±
The secretary asked, ¡°General, from what I can tell, there¡¯s no rush to this matter. You¡¯ve already said that the people we are dumping are simply cannon fodder, so we could not expect the cannon fodder to finish it off, right? At the end of the day, we still need to rely on the higher-quality cannon fodder to get the job done, who will help clear the way for us.
¡°As for the native empires and major trading firms, their existence is of great importance to the stability of the Outer Frontier¡¯s strength. After all, when all is said and done, we still need the Outer Frontier to establish a new Federation, and if these local forces copse, it¡¯ll be of no benefit to us.¡±
The hook-nosed man spoke no further on the topic, and simply stared up toward the dark starry sky.
He of course understood the logic behind it, but he was still excited deep down. After all, the development speed of this dark hole was rted to whether Murder Shrine could keep pace with the three major Federations.
Not trying to brag, but after all these years Murder Shrine had developed here in the Outer Frontier, whether they could get themselves a seat at the table all depended on what was happening right now, so of course he could not help but feel anxious.
¡°Send the instructions out. Hasten the special ability Tyrant Battle operation!¡± the hooked-nose man said through gritted teeth.
...
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha carried their luggage. Before they departed, Xia Fan went to Yu Jiang¡¯s sickbed to see him onest time.
¡°Do not worry, there will be someone that will bring you to the Inner Territories very soon. As for your injury, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem getting it treated once you¡¯re in Starcloud Union,¡± Xia Fan smiled as he spoke to Yu Jiang. He was rather fond of this man from Deserted River: someone who possessed the bloodlust inherent in all men from his homeworld, while also disying a measure of cleverness.
Yu Jiang nodded, and just watched as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha departed. They were about to join up with the others, and were headed to the venue where the special ability Tyrant Battle would be held.
The notice had suddenly been sent in the middle of the night, so the two of them had no choice but to leave Old Yu¡¯s abode before dawn broke. Old Yu and his nephews were sending Xia Fan off, and even though they said they were reluctant to see them go, Xia Fan guessed that they ought to be beyond ted right now.
Wearing the pendants he had received from Griffin around their necks, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both arrived at the spaceport located at the outskirts of the city and saw a ck cargo ship waiting for them.
If Xia Fan had seen that dark hole, as well as the scene where men were being poured down into said hole, he would have realized that the ship he was about to board was the very same model as those ck cargo ships¡
Chapter 1469 - 1469 Prison
1469 Prison
Xia Fan met the sly man Griffin one more time before he boarded the ship. He seemed to be the one in charge of this operation and holding a fairly high position within Murder Shrine, seeing as he was standing outside the ck cargo ship barking out orders to the others as they went about their work.
What was meant by work was doing aplete examination of every warrior boarding the ship, getting them to strip naked and using a handheld scanner to inspect each of them. That was to prevent any of them from carrying a hiddenmunication device imnted in their bodies. Their luggage was also opened, and everything tossed to the ground. The inspectors wore gloves and went through what was inside very thoroughly.
The inspection was extremely stringent, but Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha still managed to get through it smoothly. Every one of their important items was stored away in their stealthed spatial rings, which were truly fantastic items that were not detected no matter how the scanners went over them.
Seeing Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha passing the inspection, Griffin strolled over with a grin on his face and pped Xia Fan on his shoulder, ¡°Not bad, not bad, you¡¯re the one I like the most, so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be sure to send you brothers to the destination.
¡°Oh right, I have a question I¡¯ve always wanted to ask you, but I¡¯ve been so busy that it slipped from my mind; where does your speede from? Did it suddenlye from the activation of your seventh brain region, or did your mother or father have the speed special ability, and you inherited it in your genes?¡±
A random activation of one¡¯s special ability waspletely different from inheriting a special ability. The former would be considered a gic mutation that was pure happenstance, while thetter would be passing on the special ability to their descendants. Take Traveling Buddha: the Holy Buddha n¡¯s children inherited the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, and was why their n ranked in the top of ns in Ashen Moon. It was why a heritage martial n bore the meaning of inheriting generational martial prowess.
Griffin¡¯s goal was evident by asking Xia Fan such a question. If Xia Fan had inherited his speed ability, then his children would also inherit his special ability and so it would be very beneficial for Murder Shrine to keep Xia Fan. If Xia Fan¡¯s children would also work for them, then they would not just gain one warrior, but an entire lineage of speed-type warriors!
Of course, there were drawbacks to inherited abilities, and that was the difficulty of childbirth. While the distinguished Holy Buddha n reigned supreme, there were actually just six members who possessed Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, and that was only because of a burst of talent during Traveling Buddha¡¯s generation. Before them, the Holy Buddha n had only had a single inheritor each generation, with Grand Old Buddha and Big Old Buddha being only children.
Facing Griffin¡¯s question, Xia Fan answered expressionlessly, ¡°There are people in my vige that im I¡¯m a descendant of the Skywings. Do you believe that?¡±
Griffin was startled. He looked at Xia Fan in bewilderment, but he very soon burst intoughter once he came back to his senses, ¡°Ah, look at how my question has bewildered you. If you¡¯re a special ability user who inherited your power, then your younger brother should be the same, but he doesn¡¯t have the speed you have, which is why of course you got your ability via gic mutation.
¡°A descendant of the Skywings? To think you¡¯d actually have such a sense of humor! Okay, quick, get on the boat. It¡¯ll be time for a meal soon after, and we¡¯ve prepared a scrumptious meal today.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha boarded that cargo ship.
The high speed cargo ship was not particrlyrge, and could hold approximately five hundred people inside. The cargo hold itself had been modified so that there were row after row of single beds instead, where everyone would be staying on their journey.
Traveling Buddha frowned. Xia Fan knew that he was definitely extremely displeased with such a setting. But they were in the middle of their mission right now, so the two of them would have to bear whatever conditions they found themselves in.
Xia Fan rubbed his nose and then looked up. He saw the presence of a ck ss cover on the roof of the cargo hold, which made him feel uneasy.
Traveling Buddha caught Xia Fan¡¯s expression, and the two found two empty beds to sit down on. Traveling Buddha looked up at the ck ss ceiling of the cargo hold and asked Xia Fan, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±
¡°A spatial shielding device. Simply put, with that thing there, we will bepletely cut off from contact with the universe atrge. That spatial shielding device will sever anymunication link. After the voyage begins, the ship and us will enter radio silence,¡± Xia Fan exined to Traveling Buddha in a quiet voice.
Traveling Buddha was stunned. Though he did not know much about electronics or machinery, he couldpletely understand what the impact of this spatial shielding device would do. Whether it was their contact person Nie Yan, or the Union¡¯s operational headquarters, none of them would be able to get in contact with the two of them for the duration of this journey.
...
Several hourster, on the ck Egg¡
Nie Yan faced arge screen,pletely pale in the face, as she spoke in a hoarse voice, ¡°It must be spatial shielding! Right now, no matter what any of you say, we have lost contact with our team! Our entire task force, even!
¡°Why didn¡¯t your intelligence division inform me of this beforehand, that Murder Shrine had installed spatial shielding devices on arge scale? Just what exactly are you people doing!?
¡°What am I supposed to do if you only tell me that now? What exactly!? Because of your mistake, all our warriors are now in a desperate situation! This is all your responsibility!¡±
Despite how pretty Nie Yan was, when she was enraged, she looked no different from a mother tiger who could strike fear into anyone¡¯s hearts. The person in charge of the intelligence division disyed on the screen was silent for a good while.
*Bang*
In her rage, Nie Yan ended the video call and then walked to the front viewing window. She was gritting her teeth, and her whole body was trembling.
The situation was getting out of hand; no one had expected Murder Shrine to suddenly whisk away everyone participating in the special ability Tyrant Battle, even making it impossible for anyone to track them down as they left!
...
This ship had no portholes, so Xia Fan had no way of contacting Nie Yan. During the voyage, he had absolutely no idea where he was being brought.
Several dayster, it seemed like the cargo ship hadnded. Griffin arrived in the front of the ship¡¯s cargo hold, sweeping his gaze over the crowd before pping his hands together with a smile.
¡°Look alive, everyone! We¡¯ve now arrived at our destination. Everyone get off!¡±
With that, the sealed door to the cargo hold slowly opened, and light poured in. No one had seen real sunlight for several days, and being exposed to it so abruptly made it hard for their eyes to adjust. Vision only returned after they blinked several times.
Everyone packed up and made their way out of the cargo ship.
Yellow sandy dunes were all around them. Meanwhile, right across from them were high walls with guideposts on top of them. There were also detectors and aerial drones patrolling the ce, and just above the walls they could see a temporary encampment within. Xia Fan felt that this ce seemed more like a prison.
After Xia Fan and the others disembarked from the ship, the prison-like gates opened. They saw that within there were many warriors who had already arrived from all over the Outer Frontier inside looking out at them, the expressions on their faces like persons who were being held against their will.
¡°Everyone, follow me!¡± Griffin ordered with a wave of his hand.
They formed up two rows and filed into the prison-like ce. Xia Fan followed along for a while, and then suddenly heard a woman cry out from inside the ship behind.
Xia Fan turned around to look, only to see several warriors from Murder Shrine escorting a woman out. She was cuffed and had apparently been held captive for the duration of this journey in a crew cabin, since Xia Fan had not once seen her face during his days in the cargo hold.
Xia Fan frowned slightly after he recognized the woman. She was none other than the investigator from Sacred Federation, the strange woman who had a knife stuck in her hair.
Right now, her hair was disheveled and cascading down her shoulders, and the small knife with the golden snake markings was nowhere to be found.
Chapter 1470 - 1470 The Pirate King Mad Ma
1470 The Pirate King Mad Ma
Most of the temporary barracks were already filled with people. Griffin led Xia Fan and everyone to one near the edge of the encampment. Nearly half of the barracks, which had a capacity of three hundred, was still empty.
Griffin waved, indicating that everyone should gather around him before he spoke. ¡°Everybody, please listen up! There are a lot of people who are participating in the special ability Tyrant Battle this time; considering that we¡¯re looking for the king of special ability users across eightrge star regions, who here wouldn¡¯t want a piece of that glory? Even if you fail to be crowned the ultimate champion, seeing what others are capable of is pretty good, too!
¡°But it is precisely because there are simply too manypetitors that it has ended up surpassing what we originally expected. That¡¯s why whether it is the schedule we¡¯ve arranged, or the nning we¡¯ve done for thepetition venue, all that will take a bit more time. After all, this special ability Tyrant Battle is a huge matter, and if we¡¯re going to do it, we should do it properly! That is why everyone shouldn¡¯t get too anxious just yet. Stay here and wait for news from us.
¡°The current living arrangements are fairly simple, but I do believe we¡¯re all people vying for glory and not here to enjoy ourselves. If you¡¯re here for enjoyment, you can go home and lie in your bed and sleep with thepanion of your choice in your arms¡ Wouldn¡¯t that be blissful?¡±
Everyone around chuckled. What Griffin said made sense. After making such an introduction, everyone more or less epted their current arrangements. Griffin continued to borate on the living and training provisions here; things like where the cafeteria was and the public training space situated in the center of the encampment, then let everyone head off to im their own spot.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha entered the barracks and instantly felt a hostile gaze fall upon them. This building could contain about three hundred people, but was already inhabited by over a hundred people. They all seemed to havee from the same group, since all of them shared a strange ear tattoo on their left arm.
Why do they have a tattoo of an ear on their arm?..., Xia Fan wondered.
He was stunned after he recognized the tattoo, having seen it in a file from the Special Bureau about pirates. They were one of the most famous pirate organizations in the Outer Frontier, the Ear Harvesters!
That was when Traveling Buddha standing behind Xia Fan said with a slight furrow of his eyebrow, ¡°G*dd*mm*t. To think we would bump into this bunch of ear cutters. I would kill them all if we were not in our current disguises right now.¡±
Even someone that cared about nothing like Traveling Buddha could recognize the Ear Harvesters, which was a testament to just how notorious this pirate organization was. There had once been a survey ship from the Special Bureau that had ended up in the hands of the Ear Harvesters. By the time the Union found out, the investigators onboard had already been killed, and without an exception, these pirates had severed all their left ears. The Starcloud Union¡¯s Special Bureau naturally harbored a deep hatred for the Ear Harvesters.
Unfortunately, the Ear Harvesters were not your average pirate organization, instead being elites among pirates. This meant that although their numbers were fewer, theirbat effectiveness was outstanding. It was said that half of their members possessed special abilities, and their captain, Ma Gaolong, had even reached Advanced Star Base rank. Within the region near the Inner Territories, he was able to rank among the top three, and he was really infamous, his reputation resounding like thunder.
After finding an empty bunk bed, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan set down their luggage.
That was when something unimaginable happened. Griffin had not left, and several of the warriors from Murder Shrine who had arrived with him came in with the strange woman from before. She was still wearing a pair of disruptor handcuffs. She looked sad and angry at the same time, and had visibly been tortured while onboard the ship.
With a callous shove from behind, Griffin cackled as she shoved her into the barracks.
¡°None of you should underestimate this woman. She¡¯s an investigator from the Sacred Federation,¡± Griffin announced to everyone in the barracks.
An investigator? And a woman at that?!
The barrack instantly erupted into whoops and yells, especially from the Ear Harvester Pirates. They did not have any love lost for investigators!
Griffin chuckled coldly, ¡°But, this woman is already rendered useless. We¡¯ve administered the truth serum on her, but to think she would luck out and not die. In any case, we can¡¯t be bothered to keep her imprisoned anymore, so we might as well throw her in here. All of you can do with her however you desire.¡±
Griffin said those sinister words and left with his men. Meanwhile, the strange woman rapidly found herself surrounded by the pirates. She was shivering with rage, but she had no way of resisting them with the disruptor handcuffs still on her.
disruptor handcuffs were used to apprehend special ability users. The moment they were donned, not only would there be a strong attraction force that would restrict the detainee¡¯s movements, but the inbuilt neural control unit would also suppress their seventh brain region, making it impossible for the detained to use any sort of special ability. Every investigator of the Special Bureau always carried around at least a pair so that they could deal with any sudden situations.
But right now, a pair of disruptor handcuffs were on the wrists of an investigator. She was like a little chick who had been thrown into a pack of wolves,pletely helpless, and able to feel nothing but despair.
Xia Fan knew that Griffin intended to humiliate her. There were close to three hundred people in the barracks, and ny-five percent of them were men. Among them, a good half were notorious pirates, and anyone could imagine what would happen after throwing a defenseless woman in like this.
Sure enough, first came the verbal teasing, but it did not take long before the pirates began to get handsy with her.
Xia Fan knit his eyebrows together. He had indeed killed an investigator from the Sacred Federation, but he was still enraged to see a woman in such a predicament. Warriors could find themselves killed; from that day someone put on a Special Bureau badge, it was necessary for them to have that understanding. But it was another thing entirely for an investigator to be subjected to sexual assaults from these pirates!
*Cough*
All of a sudden, someone coughed twice, and the Ear Harvester Pirates promptly stopped what they were doing. The entire barracks went dead silent.
Everyone watched as an elder with dark skin came walking out from the depths of the barracks. Though his age was visibly etched on his face, his body was still sturdy. His right eye waspletely white, like it had gone blind.
He was Ma Gaolong, nicknamed Mad King Ma!
This was the culprit who had ughtered the Starcloud Union¡¯s investigators in that case thirty-three years ago!
Xia Fan immediately identified Ma Gaolong, since he was a public enemy of all investigators. Xia Fan had once seen his wanted notice; it had been put up thirty-three years ago, and had not been taken down since.
The appearance of Mad King Ma caused the entire barrack to go silent. Even the sound of breathing was suppressed.
One step after another, Mad King Ma made his way over to the strange woman. With his one good eye, she checked her out.
All of a sudden, Mad King Ma extended out a vice-like grip with his left hand and clutched her neck, then lifted her up from the ground.
The woman¡¯s face paled. She kept struggling, but was unable to make a sound.She kept kicking at Mad King Ma, but he did not seem to feel a thing.
¡°This old one hates you investigators the most! Every investigator, no matter what Federation they are from, must die!¡±
Mad King Ma growled and extended his right hand. Someone immediately ced a small machete in his hand.
Mad King Ma tightened his grip on the woman¡¯s neck as his right hand slowly swung the ear-harvesting machete down!
The woman had given up all hope and stopped struggling. Helpless, she shut her eyes. She did not cry, though tears still slowly trickled down from the corner of her eye.
Just as Mad King Ma was about to harvest that woman¡¯s ear, he suddenly saw a ck figure abruptly shooting over, moving at a speed that defied imagination!
No longer caring about the woman, Mad King Ma tossed her away and crossed his arms in front of him, pushing back in the direction the ck blur was charging from!
*Boom!*
Chapter 1471 - 1471 Insta-Kill
1471 Insta-Kill
Ma Gaolong, with the nickname of Mad King Ma, had not expected that there would be someone who would dare raise a hand against him in such a ce. What he found even more unexpected was that the one attacking him possessed the most unreasonable special ability: Speed!
A speed of 500 m/s!
It only took a tenth of a second for Xia Fan to charge from where he was originally standing to Ma Gaolong¡¯s side. In such a short span of time, even if Ma Gaolong was an extremely experienced warrior, regardless of how high-ranked he was, all he could do in that time was free his hands and block with his arms up, adopting a standard defensive posture.
Nevertheless, when faced with a speedster, a standard defensive posture was far from enough. Borrowing the advantage of momentum, Xia Fan¡¯s first punchnded squarely on Ma Gaolong¡¯s arm, the force from his blow making Ma Gaolong¡¯s arm go numb as his entire body shuddered from the impact, forcing him to take several steps back quickly.
Unfortunately, what was frightening about speedsters was not their first strike, but that someone like Xia Fan could pull off dozens of actions in a single second! The moment his attack began, it would not just be one, but a series of crazybo punches!
Xia Fan lowered his hand and deftly grabbed Ma Gaolong¡¯s right arm, twisting it backward in the wrong direction. Immediately, Ma Gaolong struck with his left arm at Xia Fan¡¯s neck.
Tragically, the small machete in Ma Gaolong¡¯s hand was presently stabbed right through his own throat!
Ma Gaolong went flying unexpectedly. At the same time, a huge amount of blood spurted from his neck. By the time he copsed to the floor, his eyes had already rolled up and blood was gushing freely from his severed arteries.
What did it mean to be unreasonable? This was it!
It was said that Mad King Ma was a big name in the Outer Frontier, and definitely not someone who could be easily dealt with. But Xia Fan and his speed was so great that Ma could not even demonstrate the special ability that had made him so notorious, Enrage!
The Enrage special ability allowed Ma Gaolong to transform from a human into a crazy but furious beast, but the unreasonable speed of his death meant that Ma Gaolong was not even given an opportunity to activate it!
His underlings instantly felt a chill that ran deep into their bones. Their boss, the Mad King Ma who ranked among the top three pirates of the Outer Frontier, had actually been ughtered in such direct fashion. Like a wild dog whose throat had been cut, he did not evenst a single exchange against Xia Fan.
Insta-killed!
No matter how powerful or how terrifying a name they had made for themselves, none of that mattered in front of Xia Fan!
The entire barracks had gone silent. Everyone was afraid that they would be the next one killed. None of Ma Gaolong¡¯s underlings even dared to touch their own boss¡¯ corpse.
Xia Fan heard the sound of people outside the barracks rushing in. Through the monitoring cameras, the people from Murder Shrine had already learned of how Xia Fan had moved to kill Ma Gaolong!
But Xia Fan was not in the least bit panicked. He swept a cold gaze around him, and did not say a word.
¡°What are you all waiting for? Apprehend him!¡± the furious Murder Shrine warriors yelled after they entered the barracks.
...
¡°What did you say?! Someone actually killed Ma Gaolong?!¡±
¡°How did he die? Ma Gaolong was an Advanced Star Domain ranked ability user, with the Enrage ability. He¡¯s notorious throughout the region! Who actually managed to kill him?!¡±
...
Anyo was instantly rocked by indescribable shock the moment he heard Griffin¡¯s report. He simply could not imagine that one of the three top pirate kings of the Outer Frontier would actually die like that.
Griffin chuckled bitterly, scratching his chin to say, ¡°The person who killed Ma Gaolong is someone I brought in. He¡¯s a man from Deserted River, whose special ability is Speed. Originally, I was still hoping to ask for some credit from you, but I did not expect that the moment I settled Yu Fan in, something like this would happen!¡±
¡°Enough with your glib words, get to the point!¡± Anyo¡¯s expression was dark as his hooked nose red.
Griffin showed the video footage of what had happened to Anyo. The high-speed camera captured every aspect of the battle. In the video, Xia Fan had in Ma Gaolong and also grabbed that strange woman by her hair and dragged her back to his bed.
¡°This altercation was all because of a woman?¡±
¡°That seems to be the case, but I can¡¯t decipher what Yu Fan was thinking. After all, he¡¯s someone from Deserted River.¡±
Anyo sighed. Everyone knew about the wild barbarians that came from Deserted River. They were the sort that killed at the slightest disagreement, or even when there was no reason at all. People from Deserted River thought that was normal; anyone who came from Deserted River could not be understood withmon sense.
Anyo did not care about Xia Fan killing Ma Gaolong. What he was even more startled by was Xia Fan¡¯s astounding performance. He had used his incredible speed to execute a series of assassination techniques! Ma Gaolong nust have died a very aggrieved death, since he had been unable to even use his special ability before his throat was already pierced through!
¡°Where is this Yu Fan right now?¡± Anyo asked.
¡°We were afraid that he would continue to wreak havoc, so I had him locked up.¡±
¡°And that woman from the Sacred Federation?¡±
¡°She¡¯s also locked up. I came here precisely because I wish to ask the elder if we ought to punish this Yu Fan person.¡±
Anyo shook his head and said in annoyance, ¡°The pirate¡¯s already dead, so why bother punishing him? Keep that person called Yu Fan. When it¡¯s time, toss him directly into the dark hole. With hisbat capabilities, he¡¯ll at least be of help to us.
¡°From here on out, you need to be more careful! Having such an incident happen once is enough. Don¡¯t you ever dare cause any more problems for me!¡±
Griffin smiled cheekily, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this was purely an ident. Yu Fan¡¯s temper is seriously too problematic. Not even I expected him to sh with the Mad King Ma.¡±
¡°But speaking of which, Yu Fan is a rare speedster, and he had managed to kill Mad King Ma, despite being just at the Advanced Star Base rank himself. Should we throw a man of such talent into the dark hole? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to keep him?¡±
Anyo looked at Griffin, ¡°Use your head and think! I admit that this Yu Fan from Deserted River is powerful, but what about his personality? His temper?
¡°Let him join us? What sort of joke is that! We wouldn¡¯t want someone like him as arrogant and disobedient as him, no matter how capable he is!¡±
Griffin shrugged. Though he felt that throwing Yu Fan into the dark hole to be cannon fodder was too much of a waste, the moment he thought about Yu Fan¡¯s temper, and how impossible it would be for him to get along with others, he had to agree. It was a real pity that a man of his talent would be wasted like that¡
...
Traveling Buddha got permission to see Xia Fan twice after thetter was imprisoned in the confinement area. Traveling Buddha only kept his temper contained after Griffin reassured him that Xia Fan was only temporarily being locked up, and that he would be released once thepetition began.
The situation had be ratherplicated, and at the same time, Traveling Buddha finally managed to get into contact with the other teams.
...
Leaving the barracks, Traveling Buddha arrived at the huge training grounds in the center of the encampment.
Every day there were newly arriving warriors reaching the encampment. A conservative estimate of their numbers would mean over a hundred thousand Outer Frontier warriors had been gathered here in this encampment!
Traveling Buddha looked up, appearing to be looking up at the sun, when actually he was observing the surveince drones above. In addition to the guards posted outside the encampment, there were also hundreds of unmanned flying drones patrolling the skies. These drones were all equipped with cameras and were monitoring the situation in the entire encampment.
Looking around at the training grounds, Traveling Buddha quickly located someone. The person was using a heavy dumbbell, training his arm strength. He must have trained for quite some time, since he was sweating quite a bit from the workout, making him glisten in the sun from all his sweat.
After confirming his target, Traveling Buddha stuck both his hands into his pants pockets and strolled over to the man.
Chapter 1472 - 1472 Demon Chasm
1472 Demon Chasm
¡°Still, we know the most basic of principles: that no matter how powerful those two from our ns are, they are only human. In this world, only a demon can kill another demon! That isn¡¯t something I say, but what the Demon-Sealing Fiendish de said when they eradicated Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon 40,000 years ago.
¡°I don¡¯t like the Skywings because they destroyed the Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon factions, something that our ancestors had worked hard to establish, but I have to admit that those madmen are more than capable of facing up against the Demon Chasm. Remember what the Skywings said before they departed?¡±
Traveling Buddha slightly nodded, ¡°¡®We¡¯ve Sealed the Demon Chasm, but there¡¯s no guarantee that it will hold forever. From here on, you¡¯re on your own!''¡±
¡°That¡¯s the line,¡± Thousand Ink sighed. ¡°The Skywings sure are a bunch of inscrutable people. On the one hand, they eradicated Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon and are our mortal enemies. But on the other hand, it seems we were saved by the Skywings!
¡°Little Old Buddha, I know you¡¯ve never enjoyed troublesome things, but right now, only you can make this decision. If you decide to send the news about the reappearance of the Demon Chasm back to the headquarters, we brothers will put our lives on the line for your sake, hijack a ship, charge through the spatial shielding, and risk it all just so we can report this to the Headquarters. But if you decide to not make a move, everyone will continue to bide our time.¡±
Traveling Buddha felt that he was in an awkward position. He did not enjoy being a decision maker, but right now, Traveling Buddha felt what it was like to not have Xia Fan by his side. Though Xia Fan was from some unremarkable background, it had been him who had been making all the decisions during the time they spent as partners, and those decisions had all been correct.
Furthermore, Xia Fan was good at decision-making and thinking things through, and he never hesitated, even once!
Just what exactly should I do?
Traveling Buddha painfully slipped into deep thought. Murder Shrine¡¯s forces were everywhere, and their enemy¡¯s strength was so much greater. Furthermore, the entire star system had spatial shielding, meaning that they first had to hijack a ship and then escape the shielded region before they could even send a message out!
Traveling Buddha believed that with experts like Thousand Ink, Jin Yu, and Luo Jiuyi, they would not have much difficulty getting a hold of a spaceship, but the key was that they still had to fly their way out of the star system. This process would surely alert the warships that were patrolling out there, and the moment the ship was destroyed after sending out the message, then everything would be for naught!
Nevertheless, sitting around and waiting for things to happen was not the solution, either. Who knew whether the so-called special ability Tyrant Battle was real or not? What if the battle was not a thing, and that Murder Shrine had gathered all the experts of the Outer Frontier just to activate the Demon Chasm?
Traveling Buddha could not make up his mind. He grit his teeth and said to Thousand Ink, ¡°I¡¯ll try and look for Xia Fan tomorrow, and hear his thoughts on the matter. But no matter what we end up doing, we must look out for each other, so we can all gather together even in the event of an emergency. We¡¯ll need your power to achieve that.¡±
Thousand Ink thought about it and said, ¡°No problem. Managing the big picture is my speciality.¡±
Traveling Buddha nodded, ¡°Tonight, send your little guys out to meet Xia Fan, and remember his features.¡±
¡°Got it. Where is this Xia Fan right now?¡±
Traveling Buddha scratched his head and replied helplessly, ¡°He got locked up, and is even wearing a pair of disruptor handcuffs!¡±
Chapter 1473 - 1473 Falling Down!
1473 Falling Down!
In the base¡¯s makeshift prison, Xia Fan was in the left cell, while the strange woman was ced in the right.
After listening to the words of the guards, Xia Fan had already learned that the woman¡¯s name was Sarah, and she was an Advanced investigator from the Special Bureau of the Sacred Federation.
Though they were in close proximity to one another, Sarah had not spoken a single word to Xia Fan, and would only asionally re at Xia Fan with hostility. Perhaps it was because Xia Fan had killed herpanion when theyst met.
Xia Fan could feel her stare, but when he turned around to look at her, she would instantly shift her gaze to the floorboards, hugging her two legs close to her as she remained huddled in a corner.
¡ª
On the third night, Xia Fan had not yet fallen asleep when he heard a minute sound of scratchinging from the window of the cell. Xia Fan had been standing by the window all evening, and was looking very anxious, constantly rubbing his nose. This abnormal behavior made Sarah very curious, but she did not ask him any questions, as the only thing Sarah felt for him was hatred.
Though Xia Fan had killed Gaolong and appeared to have saved her, Sarah was of the belief that the wretched man had not in Ma Gaolong out of the kindness of his own heart. He most likely did that because he wanted her for himself instead.
The disruptor cuff Xia Fan had on ought to have sealed Xia Fan¡¯s special abilities. But for some reason, though Xia Fan no longer had his Speed special ability, his Scent special ability still remained. Of course, the effect of the disruptor cuff still persisted to a certain degree, and it was only half as efficient as before.
But his half-strength Scent special ability was already enough to smell something unsettling hanging in the air. If Xia Fan¡¯s judgment was not off, that something ought to be directional demolition bombs!
There were many of them: over five hundred directional demolition bombs had been nted all around the encampment, surrounding the ce!
Xia Fan¡¯s mind was racing. There were plenty of explosives in Ashen Moon that were a far greater threat. So why did they stubbornly stuck to using archaic directional demolition bombs?
The reason could not possibly be because Murder Shrine was nning to kill the warriors in the encampment. Had that been the case, a single nuclear bomb would have been enough to achieve the same effect, and there would not have been a need to go through the hassle of setting up all the bombs around the encampment. They were munitions that excelled in prative power, but their lethality was much less lethal as far as explosives went.
Just what were they up to?
Xia Fan was deep in thought, but he simply could not make sense of things. To make matters worse, because he had been imprisoned, he was not in contact with Traveling Buddha and sharing with him what he had learned.
Traveling Buddha probably did not know that there were bombs nted all around the encampment, right?
He hoped that the night would pass in peace, and that nothing would happen. That way he could ry this information to Traveling Buddha when they met tomorrow. Griffin had already stipted that Traveling Buddha would be able to visit once daily given he was Xia Fan¡¯s younger brother, but when Traveling Buddha came to visit this afternoon, the smell of explosives had not permeated the air. They had only appeared after dusk settled, which meant that Murder Shrine had only begun toy the explosives under the cover of the night.
Xia Fan was growing anxious when suddenly more guards arrived.
¡°Tonight we¡¯ll be giving out supper for you two,¡± the guard said, cing two metal containers just outside the bars to their respective cells. The metal containers were ratherrge, longer than Xia Fan¡¯s arm. But it did not look like a metal container that held food inside, and there was even an electronic lock to the container, making it impossible to open.
The guard spoke in a serious tone, ¡°Since it¡¯s supper, you¡¯ll naturally have to wait tillte at night before you can eat them. There¡¯s an electronic lock on the container that will open when it reaches twelve AM. Eat it then. Remember, twelve AM.¡±
With that, the guard departed.
Xia Fan took the container into his hand, while Sarah remained huddled in her corner. Through his Scent special ability, Xia Fan could tell that Sarah was absolutely terrified, her body releasing arge amount of dopamine in order to suppress the fear in her heart. Perhaps Sarah thought that poison had been added to the contents of the container, and that Murder Shrine had finally decided to just poison her to death.
But Xia Fan knew very well that there was no food inside the container. Instead, he could smell metal, the kind used to makebat weapons!
Why would a guard send him a weapon? What was up with this?
Xia Fan was at a loss, but the midnight supper time was probably very important, or there would have been no reason for the guard to have reminded them twice. This had to be a way for him to pay attention when the container would automatically open.
But just what exactly would happen at midnight?
The directional demolition bombs had been nted all around the camp, and then the guard had sent a weapon to the cells. Could this guard be an informant that the Union had hidden in Murder Shrine, and that he had already gotten word out, so tonight at midnight, the Union would be attacking and he was being sent a weapon in order to meet the needs of the n?
But that was not right, either. There was not just a single guard. When the guard who came to deliver the weapon had arrived, there were two others outside who clearly knew about his arrival.
Could the three guards all be working for the Union? That was impossible!
If the Union had managed to worm their way into Murder Shrine like that, they would have been able to destroy the organization internally with so many spies inside. From the fact that Murder Shrine had been such an unbearable itch to the three Federations, yet thetter were still incapable of doing anything substantial to the former, the Union should have absolutely no control of what happened in Murder Shrine.
Indubitably, those guards were not with the Union, so why would they send him a weapon like this? And they had even personally instructed him to wait until midnight, when the container with the weapon inside would automatically open?
...
There were just fifteen minutes left until midnight. Xia Fan¡¯s anxiety was pretty much pushed to its limit by now. For the entire night he had been staring out the window, not moving at all. Such a strange behavior naturally drew Sarah¡¯s attention, but she did not seem like she was intending tomunicate with Xia Fan at all, and was still huddled in her corner.
¡°Sarah, you better hug that container tightly,¡± Xia Fan suddenly said, even using her name in the process.
Sarah lifted her head up, her eyespletely alert. It was probably because of her rebellious mentality that she did not do what Xia Fan had advised.
Xia Fan appeared to be somewhat nervous, raising his voice to warn her, ¡°The guards are quickly dispersing from the camp. Though I have no idea what¡¯s happening, you better hug that container tight! There are weapons inside it!¡±
Weapons?
Sarah was stunned. She finally got up and looked out the entrance. Beyond the doorway was where the guards lived, but when she strained her ears to hear, she was unable to pick up any sound of chatter. Perhaps it was as what Xia Fan had said: the guards had already left the prison?!
But why would the guards suddenly leave like that?
This barbarian from Deserted River, why did he know these things? Why did he say that there was a weapon inside the container?
Thinking back to the scene when Xiao Wu has his throat sliced by Xia Fan, Sarah felt absolutely revolted by what he had done. After he had killed the Mad King Ma, Xia Fan had even dragged Sarah along by her hair for quite some time, all the way until they were back to his bed. He was definitely thinking of doing the unthinkable to her!
Nevertheless, Sarah had a strange feeling about Xia Fan. She had this feeling that this barbarian seemed to want to save her life!
After pondering for several minutes, reason ultimately won out. Sarah lifted the container from the ground and hugged it tight to her chestl. Though she still did not say a word to Xia Fan, she remained vignt the entire time.
Seeing Sarah clutching onto her container, XIa Fan said nothing more to her, and continued to look out the window nervously.
When there was just less than two minutes from midnight, Xia Fan suddenly saw something small draw near him in the darkness. It seemed to be a mouse, yet it did not smell like one. It was something Xia Fan was absolutely certain of with his Scent special ability.
That mouse that gave off no odor whatsoever was very alert. It came scampering through the darkness, stopping every short distance to vigntly observe its surroundings.
When the strange mouse ran past a lit area, Xia Fan could finally see it properly, and noticed that it was no normal mouse, but a very small and fantastical creature. It looked like it had been 3D animated! Though its teeth, hair, and ears were all very simr to a real mouse, Xia Fan was someone who had learned about taming beasts from Fisherman Grandpa, and his in-depth understanding toward animals easily allowed him to realize the differences between this mouse and a real mouse.
Xia Fan suddenly recalled that there was a young man called Thousand Ink among the infiltration teams, so perhaps this Thousand Ink had learned that he had been locked up, and sent his war beasts to get in touch with him so as to ry some information!
Would he be able tomunicate through this beast manifestation? How would he do it?
Just as Xia Fan was thinking fast, awaiting Thousand Ink¡¯s Drawn beast to get to him, something unexpected happened.
The clock struck twelve, and the directional demolition bombs all around the encampment went off abruptly at the same time. The very ground shook violently, and began to crumble from the st. It was as if the entire piece ofnd had suddenly turned into andslide of sorts, everything rapidly copsing beneath their feet.
If Xia Fan was standing in mid air right now, he would have been able to tell more clearly what had happened.
Sure enough, it was andslide. Thend which this encampment had been situated atop of was near that deep dark hole, and when those directional demolition bombs exploded, this piece ofnd rapidly went sliding down into the chasm!
By this time, the people from Murder Shrine had already silently slipped away from the encampment, and most of the Outer Frontier warriors were in the middle of sleeping. Thousand Ink¡¯s war beast did not manage to make it to him in time, while Xia Fan¡¯s container with the weapons inside had not opened when midnight struck!
Chapter 1474 - 1474 Dark Forest!
1474 Dark Forest!
They had finally escaped¡
Traveling Buddha felt a bout of joy familiar to people who had just escaped a catastrophe. He touched his finger, wanting to open his spatial ring so he could take out his precious tea set and brew himself a cup of hot tea.
But there was nothing on his left hand¡¯s middle finger, and Traveling Buddha remembered that his tea set was stored in the stealthed spatial ring, and that ring was with Xia Fan. Thus, Traveling Buddha had no choice but to shake his head and let out a bitter chuckle.
The seven of them were in the dark forest, standing, squatting, or even lying down on the dark soil where no grass grew. Their bodies were covered in blood, and everyone looked exhausted.
In addition to Traveling Buddha and Thousand Ink, Jin Yu and Lui Jiuyi were also there with him. They were also inheritors from the generational martial ns of Starcloud Union, and each had powerful special abilities of their own. The other three were Nan Jing, Duan Muheng, and Feng Feng. None of those three were from generational ns, but they were all among the best fighters among their generation in the Starcloud Union.
Without exaggeration, any of these seven youngsters could be ranked among the top twenty in the Union among their peers, yet the expressions on their faces right now were extremely stern. Most of them had injuries all over, disying just how grueling of a fight they had encountered.
The temperature dropped as ayer of white fog descended upon the dark forest.
To call this a forest would not be urate, because this dark forest had no life and was instead made up of crystals. ck translucent crystals sprouted from the ground and grew in the shapes of trees.
It had been three days since the encampment suddenly caved in and over two hundred thousand Outer Frontier warriors fell into the Demon Chasm.
The fighting began the moment they fell into the Demon Chasm, as creatures that seemed like humans but were not human, with fangs in their mouths and sharp ws on their fingers came charging in from all directions.
On the first day, Traveling Buddha and everyone fought and retreated, hoping to first escape this dark forest, then to locate a rtively safe location and discuss their next ns.
On the second day, no matter where they went, these strange creatures woulde charging out. Though they were not very strong, their numbers were many, and no matter how many were killed, they simply did not seem to end. The endless battling tired Traveling Buddha and the others out.
By the third day, their exhaustion had reached its peak, and just as they were about to copse, the number of the creatures began to decrease, which was how they got some precious time to rest.
During this third day, Traveling Buddha and the others had made a journey that covered at least three thousand kilometers, and yet they had still not made it out of the dark forest. They had crossed countless rivers where no water flowed, but were instead filled with ck sediment like crystals. They traversed mountains after mountains which were not made of rock, but more ck crystal.
In any case, it seemed like they were in a world made up of ck crystals, and the only life they found was those fanged creatures.
Jin Yu took out a moisture collector and ced it on the ground. He ced a cup under the bottom of the machine: the device would absorb the moisture in the air and make it drinkable.
Taking a cup of water, Jin Yu first took a mouthful and then passed it to the others. Finally when it got to Traveling Buddha¡¯s hands, there was just a shallowyer of it left.
Traveling Buddha held the cup up and muttered, ¡°Xia Fan must surely be in trouble.¡±
No one said a word. They knew that Xia Fan was Traveling Buddha¡¯s partner. When the incident urred, Xia Fan had been imprisoned, the ce where he had been detained in some remote corner of the encampment. After falling into the chasm, Traveling Buddha desperately searched for any signs of him, yet he still had not found any trace of him. Every day he would spend arge amount of time searching for any traces of Xia Fan, or they might have already gotten away from those creatures an entire day earlier.
Thousand Ink frowned. ¡°No way, right? Xia Fan¡¯s a Speed-type, and even if a Speedster can¡¯t beat someone, they would still have no problem fleeing. Meanwhile, you said it yourself: hisbat prowess is greater than yours!¡±
Traveling Buddha answered, ¡°It is precisely because Xia Fan is a speedster which is why I said he must have run into trouble! You must know that Xia Fan doesn¡¯t just have his Speed special ability, but also his Scent special ability! If he was fine, he would surely have been able to depend on his sense of smell to locate me and then speed over.¡±
Another moment of silence. Thousand Ink grit his teeth and twirled his finger lightly, as if he was doing a magic trick. A golden pen appeared in mid air, shining brightly.
¡°I¡¯ll send my war beasts out to go search for signs of him. No matter what, we¡¯ll locate Xia Fan!¡± Thousand Ink said, his brow furrowed.
He pointed the pen nib at the ground; A thousand soldiers in a stroke: any creature would materialize the moment Thousand Ink Drew it on the ground.
Traveling Buddha reached out to stop Thousand Ink, ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste your energy. Believe me, Xia Fan isn¡¯t your ordinary individual. If he¡¯s alive, he¡¯ll find a way to locate us. Given the situation right now, Xia Fan might already be dead.¡±
...
Xia Fan woke up and discovered that there was a de ced against his neck. Just a centimeter deeper and it would draw blood.
The de was a normal trititanium machete that was slightly curved. It was best suited for hacking and shing, but the de was not being held by anyone, and was instead floating in the air, almost as if someone was controlling it mentally.
Xia Fan¡¯s head hurt. He must have injured it somehow. He wanted to look around, but the curved machete was so close to his neck that there was no way Xia Fan could turn around.
He blinked and looked up at the sky. He soon realized that there was no sky, only hard granite. It reminded him of when he was trapped under the skydome with him and the Disasters. It was very high up, which also meant that he must be somewhere underground right now.
Xia Fan shut his eyes and tried to recall what had happened.
There was a tremendous quake and everything had copsed. The concrete of the prison cell he was detained in had also crumbled, and because he was still wearing the disruptor handcuffs, Xia Fan had lost his Speed ability, and could only attempt to dodge with his physical strength. Nevertheless, a falling chuck of concrete had struck hard on his head, and he had lost consciousness as a result.
Since he was not dead, then that must mean someone had saved him, but who could that be?
Soon, Xia Fan could hear footsteps. He sniffed the air, and Xia Fan immediately understood everything from the scent in the air. The one who saved him was none other than Sarah, the one who had been locked up next to him! That meant she was most likely the culprit controlling the machete at his neck as well.
Sarah¡¯s face appeared in Xia Fan¡¯s line of vision. She was standing up and looking down at him while he was lying down, looking down on him from above.
Sarah had tied her hair up, and the little knife that had been stuck into her hair was back. It must have been what was inside the container with the electronic lock: her weapon, the one that the people of Murder Shrine had given back to her before the copse.
She was also injured, though it did not seem to be anything severe. Her face was originally a little round, but at this moment, the sharpness of her chin was more defined. She must have lost quite a lot of weight in a short period of time.
She did not say a word, but pulled out a water bottle and poured it out in mid-air. Xia Fan was helpless, and had no choice but to open his mouth to receive the water. Drinking water while lying down was a skill itself; Xia Fan very quickly choked on it and began coughing, prompting Sarah to stop her pouring and cap the bottle.
After clearing out the water in his lungs by coughing, Xia Fan shed a smile at Sarah, ¡°Where are we?¡±
Sarah did not answer. She knit her eyebrows together and then shook her head, almost as if to say that she¡¯s not certain where they were either. Sarah¡¯s gaze was still filled with hostility, but it was no longer filled with rage like before.
All of a sudden, both Sarah and Xia Fan were startled at the same time. Xia Fan was startled because a nauseating scent wafted in from nearby. It seemed toe from some sort of creature, though he had no idea why Sarah suddenly tensed up and became very alert.
Xia Fan¡¯s body suddenly flew up, and at the same time the machete ced against his neck moved away, which had to be from Sarah telekically controlling it.
Sarah proceeded to sprint away, Xia Fan floating right behind her, helpless to do anything.
After running for a few steps, Sarah must have felt that they were moving too slow, so she reached into her hair and pulled out that little knife. With a spread of her fingers, the knife split from one into two. It turned out that the knife was somepound weapon. It looked like it was just one knife, when really it was made up of many thin des!
The two knives floated in the air as Sarah leapt up and stepped on both des, and in the next moment she was flying. It was most likely thanks to this unique ability of Sarah¡¯s that she had managed to survive after the disaster that urred, and had even managed to carry someone like Xia Fan around.
¡ª
After about an hour, XIa Fan saw a vein appear on Sarah¡¯s neck. It was most likely because flying as she did ced quite a mental strain on her, and it was also a very energy-consuming action, so she was nearly at the point of exhaustion.
Sarah stopped flying and stored her knife back in her hair like before. At the same time, she did not telekically control Xia Fan either, allowing Xia Fan¡¯s legs to finallynd on the ground. By this point, she was panting hard from the exertion, and she retrieved some dry hardbread from her backpack, forcing the food down her throat while drinking water from her water bottle.
¡°Let me go and I can help you,¡± Xia Fan said. The disruptor handcuffs were restricting his seventh brain region, and without being free from them, there was no way Xia Fan could use his stealthed spatial ring, or his Speed ability. Given their current predicament, just his Scent special ability working at half-strength was far from enough.
Sarah turned around and red at him fiercely. She stalked over to Xia Fan and very roughly pushed Xia Fan down to the ground, making him spread his legs and then pinning him down. She pulled out her strange knife from her hair with her right hand and pressed the sharp edge against Xia Fan¡¯s throat, making the strange little knife glisten coldly.
Chapter 1475 - 1475 Escaping Death!
1475 Escaping Death!
No matter the situation, having a woman straddling a man was absolutely unsightly. Nevertheless, neither cared about that right now. The icy cold knife was pressed against Xia Fan¡¯s throat, and he was not interested in a woman like Sarah at all, so he very quickly calmed himself down.
After organizing what he was going to say, Xia Fan asserted in a low voice, ¡°Please don¡¯t be mistaken. I am actually an investigator from the Starcloud Union¡¯s Special Bureau, serial number XY7769301206, from the Deron branch. Presently, I am tasked with a mission to infiltrate Murder Shrine, and the person with me who always liked to look at others with disdain and appear to be fine with anything was the Little Old Buddha of the Holy Buddha n. He goes by the name of Traveling Buddha, and his brother is called Drunken Buddha. Drunken Buddha has gone missing for more than a decade, which might be something you people from the Sacred Federation are aware of.
¡°Four months ago in the Chaos Eagle Empire, I met someone like you, another Advanced grade investigator from the Sacred Federation called Wu Zhuo. That wily old fox wanted topete for the exclusive mining rights from the Chaos Eagle Empire, but unfortunately, he failed to do so in the end¡
¡°As long as you take a moment and think, you will realize that I¡¯m not lying. If I was truly someone from the Outer Frontier, hailing from Deserted River, there would surely be no way I would know any of this, nor would I warn you to hug tight the container the guard sent us before the catastrophe urred, or tell you that there were weapons inside.
¡°Considering our present predicament, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re now in an extremely dangerous spot. You definitely need my help, as I am someone who possesses both the Speed and Scent special abilities. The reason I knew there was a weapon inside the containers was because even while I am under the effect of the disruptor handcuffs, I still retain about half of my capabilities with Scent. If you set me free, I¡¯ll be able to find my partner, and we can think of a solution to leave this ce.¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s logic was meticulous, analyzing their current situation to Sarah without sparing a single detail, before proposing a reasonable solution.
Sarah should not have believed his words from the start, but Xia Fan could observe the changes in her expression as he continued to speak, and it was very obvious his words had shocked her greatly. She was currently pondering his words and the results were obvious. She believed Xia Fan, but it was just the matter of Xia Fan killing Xiao Wu was something Sarah was brooding about.
Sure enough, after Sarah processed her thoughts, her entire body shook as she eximed, ¡°Then why? If you¡¯re an investigator from the Starcloud Union, why did you kill Xiao Wu?!¡±
Xia Fan answered in an even tone, ¡°Very simple. Everyone has our own masters. My mission was to blend in and join the special ability Tyrant Battle Murder Shrine was organizing. If you were in my shoes, and there was an investigator from Starcloud Union seriously interfering with your mission, you¡¯d also make the decision to kill him.¡±
Sarah¡¯s expression was first that of rage, which then turned to hesitation. Ultimately, she bit her lip and lifted her fist, which she then mmed right into Xia Fan¡¯s face. Sarah only stopped her beating of Xia Fan after he was bleeding from his nose and mouth. She then tossed him to the side and resumed her position, hugging her legs as she sat under arge ck crystal tree, looking absolutely helpless.
Xia Fan sat up and wiped away the traces of blood from his face. He did not say anything more, since Sarah was still fuming, and continuing to argue with her could very well just agitate her even further.
Xia Fan was restrained by the disruptor handcuffs, and he was no match for Sarah in this state. All he could do was wait until she saw the light of their situation and released him.
Unfortunately, before Xia Fan could even wait for Sarah to set him free, he could smell the danger in the air. Xia Fan had yet to see the creatures who lived in the dark forest, but from the stench they gave off, the enemy was surely not an existence they could reason with. They had been chasing Sarah and Xia Fan the entire time, and though Sarah¡¯s special ability was exceptional and she had managed to throw their enemies off their tracks, it did not take long for them to renew their hunt for them..
¡°Enemies areing in from my right, 215 degrees from my position. Our best recourse is to head toward the ten o¡¯clock direction on my left. There¡¯s fewer enemies that way,¡± Xia Fan said softly.
Sarah was startled. She did not immediately believe Xia Fan¡¯s words, and instead flung out her thin and cicada wing-like knife, sending the little knife quickly in the direction that Xia Fan had warned her. She had been able to learn that the enemies were nearing them before was probably due to the flying knife constantly patrolling around her, encountering the enemy before they made contact.
It did not take long before Sarah¡¯s face paled. Her knife had already detected an enemy, and it was just as Xia Fan had said; arge group of the creatures was closing in on their position. Given her current energy reserves, there was no way she could fend off the creatures, and all she could do at the moment was flee.
The only problem was which direction they should be fleeing in. Should they be going in some random direction, or as Xia Fan advised, ten o¡¯clock to his right?
In the end, Sarah chose to believe Xia Fan, but she was still unwilling to release him from his disruptor handcuffs. Dragging her exhausted body along, she flew away with her telekic special ability once more, while also carrying the burden that Xia Fan was now, which only drained her even faster.
¡ª¡ª
Once, twice, thrice¡
Though Xia Fan could urately warn her each and every time, Sarah¡¯s physical condition still continued to gradually drop as events dragged on. From being able to maintain flight continuously for an hour, she now needed to rest every twenty minutes or so. At the same time, Sarahcked the necessary nourishments for such expenditures of energy. The dried bread and water that came from God knew where were all gone.
Xia Fan had a moisture collector in his stealthed spatial ring, as well as nutrient paste. However, his seventh brain region needed to be used concurrently in order to ess the spatial ring, and the disruptor handcuffs were preventing him from taking them out.
Sarah knew very well how fearsome Xia Fan¡¯s Speed was. Though she believed that Xia Fan was an investigator from the Starcloud Union, she simply refused to set him free. Given that he was able to kill Xiao Wu for the sake of his mission, that meant he could do the same to her, as well!
¡°Which direction is next?¡± Sarah asked Xia Fan as she panted heavily from exertion.
Xia Fan looked at Sarah and shook his head lightly, ¡°It¡¯s no use. The enemy will engage with us no matter which direction we go, and you¡¯ve already lost arge portion of yourbat strength. Our only way out is to set me free, or we¡¯re both going to die.¡±
¡°Impossible!¡± Sarah screamed hysterically. ¡°You¡¯re a murderer, someone who killed Xiao Wu and then all mypanions died as a result! As an investigator, I must bring you back and have the Sacred Tribunal sentence you to death!¡±
Xia Fan finally understood. It turned out Sarah was a stubborn woman, who was still naively hoping that Xia Fan would plead guilty in the face of thew. The reason she did not kill Xia Fan was purely because of the respect she had for thew, but unfortunately, that was being far too inflexible at this point. Xia Fan had no choice but to keep his mouth shut and not say another word.
Five minutes after the fight started, Sarah found herself encircled by the enemy, along with Xia Fan. Creatures with fangs and ws came hurtling out from the dark forest, letting out periodic roars, their spread ws still stained with fresh blood and other human entrails. It seemed they had already killed quite a few more humans before this fight!
The thin knives were constantly flying through the air, fatally prating through the brains of the creatures time and time again. The moment their heads were prated, the creatures would instantly die, which might just have been their main weakness.
Xia Fan could see that Sarah¡¯s little knives were not just two, but seven in total. The seven knives were moving slower and slower as the battle dragged on. Though there were already a sizable number of dead bodies strewn nearby, it was abundantly clear that Sarah¡¯s ability was not going tost for much longer.
Sarah¡¯s brain was bing chaotic. Mental-type special ability users were said to have the most powerful brains, but at this moment, she could feel her vision blurring. Her mind was in a state of chaos, and she could not even make sense of the sounds around her. Xia Fan was desperately yelling at her, but Sarah was unable to register anything he said.
She felt like she was about to die, and wanted to give up struggling. But Xia Fan could still see an intense desire to live in her eyes; it was just too bad that he was still restrained by his disruptor handcuffs, or he would have been able to unleash his Speed.
What was he saying? They were about to die, so what did it matter what he said?
Sarah was slowly pondering things with her final sliver of consciousness. She was actually not at all cruel, and normally someone who was very kind. She was kind to the point where she was clearly hanging by a thread of life, yet she still abided by the principle ofw. It was her belief that Xia Fan deserved death, but that it should be done by the judgment of the Sacred Tribunal, and she was not going to exact that judgment by herself. She believed in both God andw, something she had been taught since she was a child, and it was what she had firmly believed in her entire life.
Her God said that all things had a right to live¡
Ultimately, her kindness won over her hatred, and just as the creatures swarmed toward Xia Fan and were about to dig their fangs into his neck, Sarah forgave the ugly man. She tossed him the keys to his disruptor handcuffs just before she lost consciousness, and She sank into a world of darkness.
Chapter 1476 - 1476 A Promise
1476 A Promise
Xia Fan had never been in such a dangerous situation as he found himself right now in his entire life. The creature that had charged toward him was practically about to tear him into shreds, yet he was still incapable of retaliating.
Speed was an unreasonable special ability, and against most enemies, Xia Fan could choose to fight those he was able to defeat, or flee from those who were much stronger than him. Just by sprinting away, no one would be able to catch up to him, and he would look dashing even as his figure disappeared into the distance.
But at the moment, Xia Fan had lost his speed, something that he depended heavily upon. Everything was due to the disruptor handcuffs, something that would be useless against anybody above Advanced Star Domain rank. Unfortunately, Xia Fan was still at the Advanced Star Base rank, and the disruptor handcuffs were able to effectively restrict his seventh brain region, applying a powerful suppression on him.
Ultimately, Sarah could not keep control of her little knives any longer, and the speed of their flight gradually waned, allowing more and more of the creatures toe charging toward Xia Fan and her.
She must have felt that she was at death¡¯s door. While she could think of over a hundred ways of executing Xia Fan, in the end, she was unwilling to let Xia Fan, someone who was clearly capable of escaping death, apany her in death. Before she copsed, with the kindness that a dying man might demonstrate, she threw a set of silver keys at Xia Fan, sort of forgiving him before she died.
The situation was dire. Behind Xia Fan and from his nks, three creatures were snarling menacingly as they closed in on him. The keys that came flying in were like Xia Fan¡¯s final life-saving grass. Xia Fan let out a bellow and used all his strength to dive for the keys, hurtling through the air as he did, weaving past the creature¡¯s ws with astonishing deftness as he caught the life-saving keys in his hands.
He did not have a moment to spare how Sarah had managed to get her hands on the keys to the handcuffs. With a nimble flick of his wrist, he stuck the key into the keyhole and twisted.
The moment those handcuffs detected the one hundred and twenty eight circuits matched, Xia Fan heard the nk of metal, and the cuffs that restricted Xia Fan finally unsped, unleashing the wild beast that had been kept caged for so long!
*Crack crack crack*
A series of cracks rang through the air as Xia Fan¡¯s muscles expanded. His seventh brain region was fully unshackled! All his speed was back! His lethality had returned!
His figure disappeared from where he stood, and like a fast and urate top, Xia Fan began the signature oblique eleration used by the Skywing n!
He did not have the time to retrieve his weapon from his stealthed spatial ring, so he picked up the trititanium machete by Sarah¡¯s side. This de¡¯s design had another name, known as a kukri. This thick de was curved forward, making it ideally suited for hacking and shing.
With that de in hand, XIa Fan elerated in an arc at his speed of 500 m/s, extending his arm in a manner that turned his de into a blender, cutting everything around him.
Indeed, everything!
The heads of the creatures were cleaved off! Those strange ck crystal trees, chopped down! Everything was being obliterated in his path!
Anyone could tell that Xia Fan had been forced into a panic. He was demonstrating a level of ferocity that no one had seen him disy before. He was not only ying, but sweeping through everything in his path. He did not care what was in his way, but anything that he could not stand was cleared away! Talk would happen after he was done eliminating everything!
In a blink of an eye Xia Fan turned from a man into a crazy blender, using himself as the pivot axis to execute circles that swept everything away.
This circle of clearance was constantly widening, and every time it increased in radius, even more of the creatures would be hacked away, as even more of the strange trees shattered like ss.
In the span of a few minutes, a circr clearing over three kilometers wide appeared in the dark forest. Nothing remained alive in that space, with corpses strewn everywhere. Blood flowed freely like a river, almost like a crop circle left behind by a devil.
That was the power of speed!
Not only was Xia Fan the fastest when fleeing, he was also the fastest when it came to killing!
*Thunk!*
After he was done with everything, Xia Fan viciously flicked the kukri in his hand, clearing the traces of blood that had clung to the metal from the de. He had never expected to find red blood flowing inside these ck creatures, but Xia Fan was not in the least bit bothered by it. They had forced his hand, so no matter what they were, all of them had to die!
There was no smile on the face of ever-smiling Xia Fan at this moment. With a cold and somber expression on his face, Xia Fan trod across the bloody ground as he regarded his surroundings icily.
Though there were still creatures in the distance, there was nothing still alive in a ten-meter radius around him. He strolled over to Sarah and lifted her injured body over his shoulder. He then proceeded to barrel quickly toward the dark forest, leaving a trail of carcasses in his wake.
¡
In her state of grogginess, Sarah could feel someone strip her naked and apply some sort of medicine all over her. She felt stings of pain from her wounds, but the feeling gradually faded as the medication began to seep into her body. Like a syringe injecting something into her veins, she could feel energy diffuse throughout her body.
After losing her reserves, her energy-deprived body began to ingest this new energy frantically, replenishing her almost-depleted seventh brain region in the process, storing the excess in the almost ten trillion cells inside her body.
Sarah eventually regained consciousness, and discovered that she was under a thin yet warm cotton nket. In the next second, Sarah realized something was off. She reached her hand down the nket in a hurry and realized her body was bare. She could feel the medical gauze wrapped around her, but there was no other clothing on her, not even her undergarments.
Sarah was very bothered by this, and her cheeks flushed red. Though she was already twenty-seven, nine years older than Xia Fan, this was actually the first time someone had stripped her naked and tossed aside.
Sarah struggled to get up, wanting to shout, but realized that she waspletely incapable of making any sound. She was still unable to bend her chest, and reaching to her back, she discovered there was a thick bandage wrapped around her there. It turned out that she had sustained a severe injury to her small of her back without even realizing what had happened.
The muscles around the waist were also called core muscles; if her legs were injured, she would still be able to walk with a limp, but the moment the injury was at the waist then there was nothing else to do but quietly lie down and recuperate.
¡°Are you awake?¡±
Sarah heard Xia Fan¡¯s voice and instantly felt anger that was on the verge of erupting wildly. She turned her head in the direction of his voice, only to find that the ugly man who had taken off all her clothes had transformed¡
The person in front of Sarah¡¯s eyes was no longer the ferocious man from Deserted River, but a typical youngster from the Inner Territories, with tender fair skin, a symmetrical face, and a sharp gaze. There was even an inviting smile on his face.
This young man was not ugly at all, and could even be considered fairly handsome by some metrics. Though he could not be considered muscr, his body still had the proper triangle and a gentle temperament, not betraying a hint of the savagery or ferocity from before.
Xia Fan was using the moisture collector to gather water vapor from the air, then using the outdoor heating cup to brew himself a beverage. For the sake of convenience, the outdoor survival beverages he used were in capsule form, like a pill.
Xia Fan looked at the angry face of Sarah and then pointed to the various colored beverage capsules and asked, ¡°Coffee? Juice concentrate? Or milk?
¡°If you don¡¯t say a word, I¡¯ll just give you a fruit juice.¡±
Xia Fan soon finished preparing a cup of concentrated juice. After testing the temperature, he made his way to Srah¡¯s side and reached out to support her neck. The moment his hand came in contact with her body, she immediately felt her entire body tremble, to which Xia Fan shrugged and reassured her, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here.¡±
For some unknown reason, Sarah feltpletely at ease after hearing Xia Fan¡¯s words. Perhaps it was because Xia Fan¡¯s natural temperament made him much more approachable, or perhaps Sarah instinctively understood that she needed someone to take care of her right now. In any case, she was very confused by the sudden emotion that she felt. This person that she had originally hated to the bones actually made her feel bouts of warmth. She wanted to continue to hate him, but found it difficult to aplish.
Gently helping Sarah upright, Xia Fan used his arm to support the small of her back as he fed her the drink like a baby. After she was done, Xia Fan very carefully helped hery back down. It was evident that Xia Fan had once studied medicine before, as he demonstrated a superb understanding of the human body structure, protecting Sarah¡¯s injured waist the entire time.
Though she had recovered her energy, she was still feeling an empty stomach. After drinking the beverage, Sarah could feel the warmth of the juice permeating her belly.
Sarah was mildly startled when she discovered a colorless crystal about the size of her fist tossed on the ground.
That was a Grade Nine energy crystal! The value of the item was astronomical; just one alone could purchase a small yet habitable!
At this moment, a corner of the colorless Grade 9 energy crystal was gone. It turned out Xia Fan had actually used something so precious in order to ensure she recuperated faster. It was no wonder she had managed to recover her fitness so quickly!
Sarah stared at Xia Fan intently as she asked him, ¡°Why? Why did you save me?¡±
Xia Fan somewhat sheepishly scratched his head., ¡°So you¡¯ve forgotten all about it. When I begged you to uncuff the disruptor cuffs, I promised some things. Well, I¡¯m here anyway, so you don¡¯t have to worry about anything. That¡¯s all.¡±
Sarah did her best to recall what had happened. Before she fainted, Xia Fan did indeed yell something at her, but at the same time, she was already slipping in and out of consciousness from overexertion, so she had no idea what Xia Fan had said to her.
Promise? ¡®Just what did this guy promise me?¡¯
Xia Fan sat on the ground and sipped on his cup of broth, savoring it. The next words that he spoke only made Sarah even more anxious.
¡°Those creatures are getting close again, so we¡¯ll be leaving in a couple of minutes.¡±
Again? Why did he say again?
Could he have traveled so far while carrying me in my unconscious state?
Several minutester, Sarah got her answer. Xia Fan found a straight crystal from the dark forest and then tied Sarah up tightly. The straight crystal was used to support Sarah¡¯s waist; binding her tightly to it ensured that she would not be jostled by his movements, which would result in the bones that had just mended dislocating again.
Xia Fan carried Sarah with two hands and ran at a very slow speed.
Sarah knew that Xia Fan¡¯s top speed was nothing like this. The reason why he was running so slowly was probably because he feared injuring her if he went too fast¡
¡ª
At a speed he could ensure she did not sway unnecessarily, Xia Fan carried Sarah along, running for hours before finallying to a halt. Along the way, he was constantly sniffing the air to confirm where any enemies were, and diverting around them.
Setting Sarah down on the ground, Xia Fan said with a smile, ¡°Right now we have an hour of rest. If you wish, you can take a little nap, but you¡¯ll have to eat something before that.¡±
And so, Xia Fan prepared a meal for Sarah once again, using something akin to needles to inject the energy from the crystal into her.
An hour of restter, he would spend several more hours running, and then make another stop afterwards to take care of Sarah, before once again resuming his run.
In a blink of an eye, three days went by.
A human heart was ultimately flesh, and Sarah¡¯s hard exterior actually hid a kind heart within. There was no way she was not touched after Xia Fan took care of her so meticulously.
¡®Who knows how many days it has been, and this guy has been taking care of me all this while¡
¡®Had it not been for me, a speedster like him would probably have rendezvoused with his partner already, right?¡¯
The thoughts were flitting through Sarah¡¯s mind as she snuck nces at Xia Fan. He was much younger and far more energetic than she was. Given how outstanding he was, his genial personality, and was capable of taking care of others, perhaps¡
Sarah promptly shook her head and cleared her mind of her random thoughts. She knew their age gap very well, and seeing just how impressive of a person he was, she was certain he was very popr with thedies in Starcloud system; she was really reading too much into things!
He had said, ¡®I promised some things¡¡¯
Those words bothered Sarah tremendously. ¡®Just what did he promise me before I lost consciousness?¡¯
Chapter 1477 - 1477 Charging into the Demon Chasm!
1477 Charging into the Demon Chasm!
Under Xia Fan¡¯s care, Sarah¡¯s physical status grew better every day, and her energy reserves as well as her mental state gradually recovered. The only problem now was her dislocated vertebra; this was a very serious condition that needed to be treated, but theck of sufficient medical supplies and implements to enact treatment meant there was no way for Sarah to engage in any strenuous activity.
Sarah was getting very anxious. Several days had passed, and because Xia Fan had been unable to use his speed, he had to keep fleeing from the creatures hunting them down without going very fast. On average, he would run for three hours , which would only afford them approximately an hour of rest. The repeated fleeing was a huge psychological pressure on Xia Fan; he would most likely have gone to find hisrades had he not been burdened with taking care of Sarah.
¡°You should just go! Leave me here and go look for your brother,¡± Sarah said somewhat hoarsely as she looked at Xia fan.
Xia Fan was actually in the middle of his rest when he lifted his head up and regarded her after hearing her words. He shed her a radiant smile, ¡°Enough with your nonsense already. I¡¯ve already made a promise, so all you need to do is be at ease and rest. There¡¯s no need for you to worry about anything else. My brothers are all very powerful, and they should not be in any trouble. At most they are just trapped here in this endless dark forest, that¡¯s all.¡±
¡°Just what did you promise me?!¡± Sarah shouted impatiently. ¡°There¡¯s no way for my vertebra to heal in a short time! We can¡¯t go on like this, we¡¯ll just end up dying once you be too fatigued! I can already control my flying des, so you can just leave me here and I¡¯ll take on those creatures myself!¡±
Sarah was still very curious about what Xia Fan had promised her. Xia Fan scratched his head and then chuckled, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. I just said that I¡¯d take care of you if you let me go, that¡¯s all.
¡°My disaster grandparents once said that as humans, we should not easily make promises to one another, but the moment you do, you must see to it that you fulfill it. That is why I¡¯ll carry you; whether you want to or not, I won¡¯t abandon you.¡±
Sarah was very confused. Just what were disaster grandparents? If they were his grandparents, why would he call them disasters?
But Sarah also knew that none of that mattered. The key right now was that they were trapped in a death spiral. Xia Fan was unable topletely demonstrate the full strength of his speed, making him no different than a bird with clipped wings. Without being able to fully bring his speed to bear, he had ended up trapped when he could have easily escaped with his life.
As Sarah grew angrier, the differences between their two viewpoints made them argue. Finally, the two no longer spoke to one another, with Sarah lying on the ground, looking like she was sulking. She had a stubborn personality, and though Xia Fan was all smiles, he was also quite obstinate as well.
Xia Fan¡¯s mind raced, and he suddenly came up with a solution. He turned to Sarah and asked, ¡°What you just said. You say you¡¯re able to control your flying knives again?¡±
Sarah nodded, ¡°Yes. Telekically controlling my knives relies on my consciousness and not my body. While my spine has been dislocated, my mind is still fine!¡±
When Xia Fan heard this, he pped his thigh and said, ¡°So I see. We might have a way to leave this ce?¡±
¡°You have an idea?¡± Sarah asked, curious.
Xia Fan told Sarah what he had thought up, and Sarah widened her eyes after hearing it. Sure enough, it was a good idea. Why hadn¡¯t she thought of it?!
...
It had been seven entire days since the incident by the dark hole.
At the moment, the world above the dark hole was steeped in a chilling atmosphere. Tens of thousands of warriors from Murder Shrine were standing by the edge in full regalia, their faces grim and all of them bearing weapons of all kinds in hand, waiting silently.
It was clear that the entrance to the dark hole was missing a chunk, as if some beast had taken a bite out of it.
This missing chunk was created by the explosion from before. At midnight, Murder Shrine had activated all the directional demolition charges that they had hidden around the encampment, and the artificialndslide that they created had forcibly sent two hundred thousand clueless warriors from the Outer Frontier down into the dark hole.
Above the dark hole was a converted frigate with a huge winch attached to it, metal alloy ropes reaching deep into the dark hole.
Commander Anyo was standing on the edge of the hole looking down. He proceeded to wave his arm to give the order to reel in the ropes. The frigate began to fly skyward even as the winch was turned to retract the rope.
In no time at all, the first rope was drawn up. There was no one at the other end, aside from a corpse riddled with bite marks, evidently killed by the creatures in the dark hole .
Anyo frowned. He indicated that the other ships should continue retracting the ropes. As the number of the retracted ropes increased, scouts who had managed to survive the foray began to appear. Their faces were pale, and the moment they were retrieved from their ropes by the rescue team, all of them grabbed bottles of water and began drinking desperately.
Out of the thirty-six scouts that they had sent down into the hole, more than half of them ultimately did not make it back, having been killed in the process of their investigations.
After the surviving scouts rested for a while, they began to gather in front ofmander Anyo, the man with the big hooked nose. Sweeping a cold gaze at the dirty and bruised scouts, he asked in a deep voice, ¡°What¡¯s the situation in the Demon Chasm?¡±
Demon Chasm?
If Xia Fan and the others were present, they would surely have been stunned after hearing the words Anyo just used. He had directly called it a Demon Chasm, which obviously meant that this was truly the ce rumored in the Ashen Moon Universe, where demons lived!
¡°Just as we expected, in the process of dumping them into the Demon Chasm, over half of the Outer Frontier people immediately died, but there were still plenty who survived, and they performed well, bing cannon fodder for us. They¡¯ve killed plenty of those Demon Ants, even making the Demon Ant Army that had originally gathered at the entrance to disperse. If we go down there now, we will not have to deal with harsh resistance! In any case, our n worked!¡± a skinny and tall man that appeared to be the scout leader replied excitedly.
Demon Ant?
It was yet another strange name. Those creatures looked like fanged humans that had turned ck because of some gic mutation, so why would the people of Murder Shrine call the creatures Demon Ants? Could the creatures actually belong to some Ant race?
¡°Very good!¡± Anyo nodded approvingly. He reached out his right hand. ¡°Hand over the map!¡±
The scout leader immediately took out a hand-drawn map from his bosom that was drenched in blood. It was something that he and hisrades had earned in exchange for their lives, which he had very carefully hidden underneath his battlesuit.
Anyo unfurled the map and saw that there were two sets. The first was the entrance of the Demon Chasm in the past. There had been over a hundred thousand Demon Ants guarding the entrance, swallowing up any humans immediately after they entered. A huge red circle that indicated where the Demon Ants had been positioned.
The second map showed how this hadrgely changed. There was only a scattering of Demon Ants guarding the entrance. Most had gone hunting the humans that had escaped, their division indicated by the now sparse clusters of red dots, showing that the Demon Ant army hadrgely spread themselves out.
Furthermore, there were also gray traces marked near the entrance. These were the dead Demon Ants. The copse into the hole had not only caused arge amount of their cannon fodder to die, but had also managed to crush many of their enemies that were originally stationed there. This scheme of theirs was truly two birds with one stone. As for the unlucky Outer Frontier special ability users, Anyo could not be in the least bit bothered. Murder Shrine was made up of people who had defected from the Inner Territories. It was never Anyo¡¯s intention to take in those warriors from the Outer Frontier, so he did not care if they ended up dead.
Anyo appeared to be somewhat excited after seeing the maps. Safely storing them away, he went to the edge of the Demon Chasm and projected his voice, ¡°Brothers! The moment we¡¯ve been waiting for all this while is finally here! The final blockade has been removed and as long as he can conquer the Demon Chasm, we¡¯ll be in possession of a strength that will match that which the three Federations wield!
¡°After all these years of waiting, our victory is finally in sight!
¡°The old god is dead, may the new god arise!
¡°Bypassing the heavy monitoring from the three Federations and gathering here in secret, was all for the sake of today!
¡°Right now I will announce the biggest and craziest battle since the establishment of Murder Shrine. Our crusade of the Demon Chasm shall begin now!¡±
*Whoosh*
He leapt high into the air. Immediately, tens of thousands of elite Murder Shrine warriors followed. All of them were leaping into the Demon Chasm!
These people were once investigators from the three great Federations, spies from the Intelligence Bureau, soldiers from the military, and even five-star generals that hadmanded tens of thousands of soldiers. Their strength was incredible!
But today, the elite forces who had gathered here were charging into the Demon Chasm that was so deep that it seemed bottomless, for reasons that none of the three Federations had any idea of!
Chapter 1478 - 1478 Alps Mohan
1478 Alps Mohan
Xia Fan found some long straight crystals and made Sarah a stretcher from them. This was no normal stretcher, as the base had some grooves cut into it. They were where Sarah¡¯s flying daggers could be slotted in like thrusters in a warship, allowing the stretcher to propel itself and fly in the air.
As long as the stretcher could float, then what happened next would be simple. Using a rope connected to the front of the stretcher, Sarah would just focus on keeping herself afloat while Xia fan would race along with Sarah in tow. It looked like he was flying a kite, and though it was a simple construction, it was rather effective. Though Xia Fan was still unable to go at full speed, they were at least able to move at a speed several times higher than Xia Fan was moving while carrying Sarah.
¡°This works. Lie down and be careful. Tell me if you can¡¯t endure it any longer,¡± Xia Fan said with a smile to Sarah after testing it a few times.
Sarah nodded, ¡°It¡¯s just my waist that has been injured, and that doesn¡¯t affect my brain using my special ability. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡±
Thus, Xia Fan began sprinting through the forest while dragging Sarah along on the stretcher. He kept sniffing the air, hoping to catch some trace of Traveling Buddha and the others, but it was too bad that there was a limit to the range of his Scent special ability. There was no wind underground, which meant there was no air flow. The situation reduced the effectiveness of his Scent special ability by quite a bit, and even after seven days¡¯ time, Xia Fan had still not found any trace of Traveling Buddha. Though Xia Fan believed that Traveling Buddha would not have died so easily, he of course could not help but still worry about him.
The atmosphere became somewhat odd. Sarah was lying on the stretcher, looking up to the sky, with Xia Fan pulling her along. The two of them became inseparable. Though she could not see Xia Fan, she could hear the sound of him running, and that reassured her. She even thought that it would not be too bad if things carried on like this for longer¡
Suddenly, Xia Fan came to a halt. Right in front of him was a rapidly rising patch of ck soil. It looked like there was someone or something climbing out from the soil. Because the soil masked any scent, Xia Fan had been unable to detect their presence early. Still, someone who could traverse through soil ought to possess an earth-type special ability¡
A middle-aged man stood up from the soil. Sure enough, he had an earth-type special ability, since any ordinary person would surely be covered in dirt if they were to get up from the ground like he had , yet he was not in the least bit dirty. It was like the soil had been ordered otherwise and just slipped cleanly off his body.
What shocked Xia Fan even more was that this was not someone from the Outer Frontier. He had fair skin, sharp eyes, and a wide mouth. The exquisite soft battlesuit he wore was probably from the famed brand Royal Ark Company. Such a high-quality battle suit would cost more than ten million Federation dors. That was extremely expensive, but because the middle-aged man had a fat body, no matter how high grade his battlesuit was, it just looked quite gaudy on him.
In the next second, the middle-aged man widened his eyes and dashed toward Xia Fan, yelling, ¡°Sarah! What happened to you? Sarah, look at me! It¡¯s Alps Mohan!¡±
To think we would actually meet someone she knew?
Xia Fan was surprised. He had originally nned to stop the burly middle-aged man, but he instead held back and did not make a move. If he had the Alps surname, then he was probably from Sacred Federation¡¯s famous Broken Alps n. Furthermore, the Royal Ark Company battlesuit he wore was also apany from Sacred Federation, and the truth in to see after any extraption.
Sarah heard his voice and stirred. She wanted to get up, and had forgotten that her waist was still severely injured. Seeing that, Xia Fan quickly dashed over and pressed down on Sarah¡¯s shoulder, warning her not to make any sudden movements or cause her wound to reopen.
This man by the name of Alps Mohan saw this scene and instantly became angry. He unceremoniously reached a hand out and shoved Xia Fan forcefully, ¡°What are you doing!? Don¡¯t touch Sarah, or I¡¯ll break your arm!¡±
Xia Fan was somewhat peeved. He had been the one who had taken care of Sarah all this time, only for this Alps Mohan person to suddenly appear and even threaten him. Just who did he think he was?
But Sarah stirring abruptly upon hearing from Alps Mohan made Xia Fan consider that Alps Mohan could very well be Sarah¡¯s friend. No matter how annoyed he was feeling inside, he decided to just furrow his brow slightly and stand aside.
It was like a reunion between the two.
Alps Mohan leaned close to Sarah and the two shared an intimate conversation. After some time, another three warriors who were simrly from Sacred Federation hurried over from afar. From their words, Xia Fan learned that Sacred Federation had also sent people to infiltrate the special ability Tyrant Battle, except that they had not ced the same measure of importance to the mission as had the Starcloud Union. The Starcloud Union had sent even the inheritors from the Union¡¯s founding ns like Traveling Buddha and Thousand Ink for this covert operation. It could be said that they had given it their all, while the Sacred Federation had only sent a regr reconnaissance team.
The leader of the team was none other than Alps Mohan!
¡°We originally came with eight people, but after the catastrophe struck, only the four of us were still alive,¡± Alps Mohan was very agitated as he told Sarah about his plight. Sarah also exined how she had ended up together with Xia Fan, though she did not mention the incident of Xia Fan killing Xiao Wu. She was intentionally protecting Xia Fan, so it seemed like Sarah had already forgiven Xia Fan in the time the two had spent together.
¡°Hmph!¡± After Alps Mohan heard Sarah¡¯s story, he snorted coldly and turned to face Xia Fan. Xia Fan was born with a smiling face, and he was on the skinny side. This made him look rather innocent, and did not have the aura expected of an expert.
Alps Mohan mused aloud, ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re someone from Starcloud Union? You must be the deadweight who caused Sarah to be in the current state she¡¯s in right now! Otherwise, given Sarah¡¯sbat capabilities, there¡¯s no way she would have been so severely injured! Now that we¡¯ve found Sarah, you can scram!¡±
Xia Fan frowned, but he did not leave. He was well aware that given the strength of Alps Mohan and the others, there was no way they could take care of Sarah!
When Alps Mohan saw that Xia Fan was not leaving, he instantly began reprimanding him, ¡°Say, do you understand humannguage? I told you to scram!¡±
That was when Sarah grabbed Alps Mohan¡¯s hand and said with difficulty, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be like that. Xia Fan is my benefactor.¡±
Alps Mohan remained belligerent, ¡°Look at how skinny he is, how could he have saved you? Don¡¯t make meugh!
¡°Sarah, we know how kind hearted you are, but this person is from Starcloud Union, and you ought to be aware that the Sacred Federation has always been at odds with them. Having him with us would just mean we¡¯re gaining an additional burden. Heck, perhaps he might even be bad-hearted. Trust me, this man isn¡¯t anyone good. Look at how treacherous of a smile he has. He¡¯s sure to be a swindler!¡±
Xia Fan found this hrious. Everyone had said that Xia Fan¡¯s smile was as weing as a spring breeze, and was absolutely friendly. This was actually the first time someone had imed that his smile was treacherous! Humans were all emotional creatures, and the moment Alps Mohan decided to view Xia Fan with loathing, even a smile from Xia Fan was enough to disgust Alps Mohan.
Sarah got agitated, and she struggled to get up from the stretcher, doing everything she could to speak in defense of Xia Fan. But Alps Mohan¡¯s hatred for Xia Fan only deepened further when he saw how much she protected the outsider. However, in order to appease Sarah, Alps Mohan had no choice but to agree to let Xia Fan follow them.
Sarah said to Xia Fan in a very apologetic tone, ¡°Please don¡¯t take his words to heart. Alps Mohan¡¯s n and my n are old friends across generations. He is always somewhat brusque, but he doesn¡¯t have any ill intent.¡±
Xia Fan merely curled the corner of his lips slightly when he heard her and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I understand.¡±
If there was anything unique about the personality of a Speed-type special ability user, it would have to be how calm they all were. Because of the advantage in speed he possessed, Xia Fan did not even see Alps Mohan as a threat. The mancked the capability to even threaten him.
Since he had not been able to find Traveling Buddha, and was worried about Alps Mohan being unable to take care of Sarah, Xia Fan decided to just follow these warriors from the Sacred Federation for now.
¡°Stay a good distance from us!¡±
¡°Further!¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s much better. Maintain that distance, and don¡¯t you dare get near Sarah without my word!¡± Alps Mohan warned him, making a fuss until he made Xia Fan retreat to a distance about a hundred meters away from them.
Chapter 1479 - 1479 Someone from the Outer Frontier
1479 Someone from the Outer Frontier
There was a clear distinction between the six. The Sacred Federation warriors being led by Alps Mohan were obviously unwilling to get anywhere near Xia Fan, and when they continued their way forward, Alps MOhan and the others were at the front with Sarah, while Xia Fan kept a careful distance behind them.
Xia Fan did not really mind being in such an awkward situation. He had studied medicine from Doctor Grandpa, and he knew that Sarah¡¯s condition would stabilize in another day or two. She would be able to walk just fine when that time came, and he would then be at ease to go searching for Traveling Buddha and Thousand Ink when that happened.
Meanwhile, leaving now would make him feel as if he had abandoned all his efforts. After all, Xia Fan had already spent an entire week taking care of Sarah, and since he had decided to be a good person, he might as well see it to the end.
Xia Fan habitually rubbed his nose and then slightly frowned, as he shouted to Alps Mohan in front of him, ¡°There are people at about two o¡¯clock on your right. It should be a gathering of some lucky survivors.¡±
Humans were creatures that would seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, so after the Outer Frontier warriors were thrown into the dark hole and experienced the grueling situation they found themselves in and the initial heavy casualties, those fortunate enough to still be alive began to gather, seekingfort inpany so that they could put up a united front against the creatures of the dark hole. This was also a very normal situation, as Xia Fan had also encountered small teams of survivors when he was carrying Sarah, though Xia Fan did not interact with them for the sake of safety.
Alps Mohan did not trust Xia Fan at all. He turned his head and leered at Xia Fan suspiciously. That was when Sarah called Alps Mohan to his side, whispering a few words into his ear, most likely to inform him of Xia Fan¡¯s Scent special ability.
Alps Mohan was slightly taken aback after listening to her. He proceeded to call a shorter warrior to him and said, ¡°Perason, go investigate to our left, in the two o¡¯clock direction. Considering that we arecking in numbers, see if you can round up some survivors on our side. It wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea if we can coordinate with them to leave this ursed ce, either.¡±
The Sacred Federation warrior going by the name of Pearson nodded, then somewhat slowly replied, ¡°I understand. Leave this to me. These people should count their lucky stars to be able to work for the Sacred Federation. I¡¯ll kill whomever who dares resist.¡±
When Xia Fan heard his words, he could not help but shrug in disbelief. Anyone who could survive the disaster thus far would surely be capable, and since their lives were on the line, he doubted anyone would put any value to the name of the Sacred Federation at this point.
The Sacred Federation was the only Federation out of the three that merged governance and religion. They believed in a universal God and considered themselves the descendants of said deity. They forever viewed themselves as higher beings, and were absolutely arrogant as a rule. It was the one trait that was visible in everyone, whether they were Alps Mohan, Pearson, or even Sarah.
¡.
Silence pervaded the dark forest. There were only the asional sounds of the strange creatures roaring from a distance, or the screams and cries people made before they died when they were caught by said creatures. Every time people heard that, they could not help but shudder. Those who were more faint of heart even found themselves trembling as a result.
Pearson moved along in the two o¡¯clock direction as he forged ahead of the others. Sure enough, it was just as Xia Fan had said. There were indeed people there: two glum-looking Outer Frontier warriors carefully probing their way ahead. Their clothes were in tatters and each bore plenty of wounds all over their bodies. Many of the wounds had turned into scars by now, given how many days it had been since they had been caught in ferociousbat with those creatures.
Pearson hid himself and observed them from afar for several minutes, and after confirming that these two warriors had no back-up, began to swagger forward proudly. This sudden figure appearing gave these two Outer Frontier warriors quite the fright. They turned around in an attempt to flee, only for Pearson to dart over and send a flying kick in the direction of the person in front, while he ced his sword on the neck of the one behind.
¡°What are you running away for? Aren¡¯t you two rats from the Outer Frontier quite lively? Better open up your eyes and watch carefully. I¡¯m an investigator from the Sacred Federation! Right now, we¡¯re searching for a way to escape this damned ce; have either of you discovered anything?¡±
These two Outer Frontier men he had caught examined the neer closely. Sure enough, Pearson had a face only an Inner Sphere would have, and as for whether he was an investigator with Sacred Federation, neither dared to question. In any case, just seeing the domineering and overbearing attitude that Pearson disyed was evidence enough.
Pearson frowned after he heard what the two Outer Frontier men shared with him. Neither of them know how to leave this weird ce, but they said that they hadrades of their own. The two had only left on their own in search of food because they had run out, while the others were resting not too far away.
Pearson imagined a group of scrawny warriors from the Outer Frontier, huddled around in a circle, despondent. Alps Mohan had told Pearson to look for survivors so that they could all team up to find a way out from this ce. Though these Outer Frontier people looked somewhat pathetic, they ought to still have some use. For example, they could be used to carry the injured Sarah, or they could be expended as cannon fodder if they encountered any of the peculiar creatures. In any case, having more people was beneficial to them, so it should not be a problem if he gathered more helpers.
With that thought in mind, Pearson ordered the two to bring him to the rest of their group, and in order to ensure they were being honest, Pearson gave them a beating, making sure he did not hit them in any of the important parts, like their legs or eyes. In Pearson¡¯s eyes, this was already showing mercy, since he believed citizens of the Outer Frontier had no human rights, and were nothing more than livestock that had learned to walk.
The two Outer Frontiersmen led him along a path. After traveling for several kilometers, Pearson did indeed see a group of people from the Outer Frontier in the distance, sitting there nkly in a circle. There were not too many, just six of them.
*Thump*
Pearson shoved the two Outer Frontier warriors harshly from behind, and they staggered forward before losing their bnce. As they fell, they did a tumble and ate dirt, a very embarrassing sight. Five of the six Outer Frontier warriors stood up in a hurry, their eyes were alert. At the same time, they gripped weapons in their hands that looked quite the worse for the wear after all the killing they had done. Only the burliest man among the lot, whose back was facing Pearson, did not move.
Pearson strolled over and put one foot on the back of one of the fallen warriors. Putting weight on it, the Outer Frontier warrior proceeded to let out a cry of anguish like a pig being ughtered. With folded arms, Pearson red coldly at this group of Outer Frontier people and then said in an overbearing tone, ¡°Listen up here, all of you. I¡¯m an investigator from Sacred Federation, and right now, I¡¯m giving you all a chance. Follow us willingly, or die here.¡±
None of the people from the Outer Frontier made a sound. Their eyes all rested on the burly man who was still seated, with his back toward Pearson. This situation annoyed Pearson greatly, as he sternly rebuked them with knitted eyebrows, ¡°Did none of you hear what I just said? You scum of the Outer Frontier, are all of you deaf? I¡¯m saying that you should all listen to me if you cherish your lives, understand? From here onward, all of you will follow me, and you¡¯ll go wherever I tell you to. If we seed in getting out of this ce, perhaps yours truly will be kind enough to bring you all back to the Inner Territories to live there, but if all of you do not obey, you should instead worry about your heads!¡±
After Pearson said that, the group still remained silent. That was when he heard a mirthless chuckle,ing from that big burly man from the Outer Frontier whose back had been facing him this entire time.
Pearson pointed at the oneughing and shouted, ¡°What are youughing at?! I¡¯m talking to you! The one still seated down! I want you to kneel!¡±
¡°Hahahaha!¡± Who would have thought that the burly man from the Outer Frontier would insteadugh even louder, his voice sounding a little hoarse and old, yet alsopletely devilish.
¡°You¡¯re asking me to kneel? But would you ept it, even if I do?¡±
With that said, this burly man turned around. When Pearson got a look at the man¡¯s face, the color from his face drained almost instantly. Sweat droplets the size of beans beaded down his forehead. Just seeing this person face-to-face had the Intermediate investigator from the Sacred Federation shaking all over.
¡°To think¡ it¡¯s you¡¡± Pearson only managed to stammer out after using all his might. As that man¡¯s eyes stared right through him, Pearson could feel every ounce of strength in his body get sapped away, and his whole body went limp.
Chapter 1480 - 1480 Yellow Venerate
1480 Yellow Venerate
He had a severely burned face, his facial features all jumbled up. He was like some evil ghost who had crawled out of the fires of Hell.
When Pearson saw that face, he immediately recognized it as that of the Outer Frontier criminal with the highest bounty, the Yellow Venerate! The three Federations had several bounties on the Yellow Venerate, all of them exceeding one billion Federation dors. It was even higher than the bounties on most of the leaders of the Murder Shrine.
When the Yellow Venerate was younger, he had abruptly appeared with such powerful special abilities and talents that all three Federations had vigorously attempted to recruit him. But in the end, for some unknown reason, the Yellow Venerate had not joined any faction of the Inner Territories, instead bing a hired killer that had left all of the Outer Frontier trembling in fear. So long as he was paid, the Yellow Venerate would kill anyone, even his own parents. ording to the files of the Special Investigation Bureaus, Yellow Venerate had killed tens of millions of people in his lifetime.
The Yellow Venerate waved his hand, and the Outer Frontier warriors who followed him rushed up to seize Pearson¡¯s weapon and tie him up. Pearson made no attempt to resist.
¡°Sir, please look at this!¡±
A subordinate brought a lipstick-sized golden object to the Yellow Venerate. The Yellow Venerate chuckled and said, ¡°Oh, so that is what¡¯s used to send the rescue signal. The principles behind its construction are ratherplex, and it seems to have been imbued with Divine power. Press it, and hispanions wille to find him. That will save us the time of finding them one by one.¡±
His subordinate quickly fiddled around with the golden object. Sure enough, he found an inconspicuous button at the bottom of it. He pressed it carefully, but there seemed to be no reaction. But a signal that outsiders could no understand was issued from it.
Beep¡Beep¡
The Yellow Venerate stood up and stretched, using slow movements to practice the Starlight Mantra. Then, like some sort of athlete, he raised one leg high and lowered his body. As the Yellow Venerate warmed up, Pearson began to sweat, and his entire body began to tremble. He knew that the Yellow Venerate was preparing to kill people.
¡
Alps Mohan was waiting for Pearson to finish scouting, and took out a small golden object from his bosom. He took a look at it and then he ordered his men to rapidly advance to meet up with Pearson, saying that Pearson was possibly in danger.
The party moved quickly, entering the endless ck forest. Xia Fan followed behind him, wondering how Alps Mohan could know what had happened to Pearson. In the ck cave, allmunications devices were clearly inoperable, which was why he couldn¡¯t contact Traveling Buddha. Yet these Sacred Federation investigators still seemed to be able to maintain contact. Perhaps it was some sort of technology that he didn¡¯t understand.
It wasn¡¯t long before the party saw Pearson, kneeling on the ground. He had his back to Xia Fan, so Xia Fan couldn¡¯t see his face. But he knew that he was trembling, and fear was radiating from his body.
Several Outer Frontiersmen holding vicious weapons were circled around Pearson. They were crude weapons, sabers made from trititanium alloy. People from the Outer Frontiers weren¡¯t very big, just ordinary warriors, and Xia Fan suspected that most of them didn¡¯t even have a special ability.
But Xia Fan quickly spotted the stocky figure sitting on the ground. The figures of the other Outer Frontier people blocked his face so that Xia Fan couldn¡¯t see it, but Xia Fan¡¯s Scent special ability picked up a murderous odor. Only a warrior who had killed many people would have that sort of odor. Xia Fan deduced that the person was probably a true expert.
Alps Mohan saw the kneeling Pearson and instantly started cursing, raging that he was going to kill these bandits. But when the Outer Frontier people dispersed, revealing the person seated on the ground and his badly burned face. Alps Mohan fell silent. Although he wasn¡¯t so scared that he started shaking, the look in his eyes clearly changed, filled with disbelief.
Xia Fan searched his memories and quickly identified the face. It was him, the Yellow Venerate, the king of hired killers. His rank was at the Primary Star River rank. Wearing his golden armor, he had massacred his way through the universe.
Xia Fan was startled. His first reaction was that this person was dangerous, and his second reaction was to kill Yellow Venerate before he could put on his famous golden armor!
But Xia Fan was still a step too slow. As the crowd dispersed to reveal the Yellow Venerate¡¯s frightening face, the Yellow Venerate was covered by a thin sheet of golden light. It was his special ability, Golden Armor!
Golden Armor had no substance. It was light, a powerful light-type special ability! Only Traveling Buddha¡¯s Battle Buddha Golden Light could match that special ability. Xia Fan had been partners with Traveling Buddha for some time, so he was very aware of how powerful light-type special abilities were!
There was even a rumor that said that the Yellow Venerate was an illegitimate child of the Holy Buddha n. For that purpose, Grandfather Buddha and Father Buddha had once searched the Outer Frontier, but the cunning Yellow Venerate had evaded them.
In short, nobody knew why the Yellow Venerate had a powerful special ability so simr to that of the Holy Buddha n. So long as one paid the money, the Yellow Venerate would kill anyone. His killing method wasn¡¯t assassinations, but open murder. Wearing his Golden Armor, he would barge into the household of his target and kill everyone, man or woman, young or old, then he would swagger out again. If one paid the price for a single head, the deaths of everyone associated with them came for free.
When Alps Mohan saw the Yellow Venerate¡¯s severely burned face, he froze. The Yellow Venerate scanned them with his cold eyes before ultimately resting his eyes on Sarah. He made a lewd smile. ¡°Oh, you even brought a woman. That¡¯s perfect. I haven¡¯t seen a woman in a few days.¡±
On the stretcher, Sarah paled. Meanwhile Alps Mohan let out a scream as if he was going for broke. He suddenly disappeared from where he had been standing, his body drilling into the ck soil. No one knew where Alps Mohan went. He coulde out from anywhere tounch a sneak attack.
But Alps Mohan had underestimated the Yellow Venerate, who suddenly raised his hands and built up power, his muscles bulging before he savagely punched the ground.
Boom!
There was a massive impact, and the ground fractured, the crystal trees shattering like ss. The people on the ground tumbled over from the shockwave, the Outer Frontier people closest to the Yellow Venerate bleeding from their noses and eyes, clearly suffering from internal injuries. Without the protection of a special ability orbat armor, their internal organs had been pulverized. After struggling for a few seconds, they all died.
Truly the king of hired killers! The Yellow Venerate respected no one and cared for no one. The only person in his heart was himself.
This was the moment!
Xia Fan didn¡¯t know if Alps Mohan was dead or not, and he didn¡¯t have the time to grab Sarah, who had been thrown from the clearing. Against a powerful enemy, either Xia Fan died or the Yellow Venerate died! Xia Fan had to seize this chance! While the Yellow Venerate was looking for Alps Mohan, Xia Fan would kill him! Otherwise, everything was over!
Xia Fan whipped out a knife and exploded forward, pushing his Speed ability to its limits!
At the same time, Xia Fan thrust out his right hand and pressed on a small machine hidden in his left sleeve. This machine was like an automatic injector, filled with the red liquid known as the Immortal Wine!
Chapter 1481 - 1481 A Heavenly Venerable is Born!
1481 A Heavenly Venerable is Born!
Xia Fan didn¡¯t charge straight at the Yellow Venerate. Instead, he used the curved trajectory he was so famous for to approach the Yellow Venerate from the right nk three o¡¯clock position. Cutting a beautiful arc, he seemed to be attacking the Yellow Venerate¡¯s right arm, but his actual target was the Yellow Venerate¡¯s back.
As he had a super constitution created through consuming Tier 9 energy stones, Xia Fan instantly reached maximum speed, traveling five hundred meters a second. But he felt like he could go even faster, probably because of the Immortal Wine being injected into his blood.
The Immortal Wine was being injected through a strange device on Xia Fan¡¯s left arm. Using the results of his past experiments, Xia Fan had used the ck Egg¡¯s miniatureb to produce the device. It had originally been a precision medical syringe, to which he had added armor ting and a control system. Thus, he no longer drank the Wine, but directly injected the liquid imbued with powerful energy into his veins so that the Immortal Wine could take effect as quickly as possible.
Xia Fan became even faster, his eyes now streaked with blood. This was the special effect of the Immortal Wine. The Immortal Wine had even more energy than a Tier 9 energy stone, and it was also more explosive! When it was injected into his blood, it had a berserk effect on Xia Fan.
The Yellow Venerate didn¡¯t turn around, but he suddenly swung his right arm behind him, and the golden light wrapped around him erupted, a sign that he was pushing his special ability to the limit.
The Yellow Venerate was inwardly shocked. He had never expected Xia Fan to be that fast and for his attack to be so sudden. But as for fear, the Yellow Venerate wasn¡¯t the slightest bit afraid, for his Golden Armor had never been broken. The Yellow Venerate did not think that Xia Fan was someone worth fearing.
In a sh, the powerful Light-type Yellow Venerate exchanged blows with the Speed-type Xia Fan!
It was quite the barbaric exchange of blows. The Yellow Venerate was like a rock, while Xia Fan was like a wooden cudgel, and the cudgel was hammering in at the rock.
Boom!
As their bodies met, the earth shook, a shockwave spreading out in a dome.
The Yellow Venerate was astonished to find that he had been sent flying. Sure enough, the counterattack from his right arm had failed. If his attacker had been a normal Speed-type, or perhaps only a little faster, it might have worked, but Xia Fan had Skywing genes, and his attacks were extremely agile. At the veryst moment, he had avoided the Yellow Venerate¡¯s counterattack, and his fist had found its target. The power packed into the punch had set the Yellow Venerate flying!
The Yellow Venerate could even feel a burning pain from his back. He couldn¡¯t help but be shocked, and at the same time, he stopped looking down on his opponent and began to take Xia Fan seriously.
s, if taking an opponent seriously actually worked, no warriors would have ever been killed. When it came to facing Speed-types, taking them seriously was far from enough. Speed was a formidable special ability that was very unreasonable in some aspects. Once a Speed-type started attacking, it didn¡¯t mean only one attack, but a string of attacks, the beginning of a storm!
As expected, Xia Fan brushed past the Yellow Venerate and punched him, and then he turned around at an absurd speed, making another curved arc anding back for another attack.
Xia Fan seemed to have gotten even faster, his speed exceeding nine hundred meters per second now. His curved trajectories became even more fantastic, and his eyes became more bloodshot. He felt like some energy was rapidly swelling up in his body, the Yggdragon power from the Immortal Wine filling every cell in his body. His muscles pulsed rhythmically, and his murderous energy soared, pushing him to the edge of exploding.
For most warriors, exploding wasn¡¯t a good thing, but Xia Fan didn¡¯t think so. He had been partners with Traveling Buddha for some time, and Traveling Buddha¡¯s special ability was simr to the Yellow Venerate¡¯s. To be honest, Traveling Buddha¡¯s Battle Buddha Golden Light was even stronger, for that kind of special ability came with its own Holy Attribute, and also some Spatial and Light Attributes. As for Yellow Venerate¡¯s Golden Armor, it was a pure Light-type ability.
In short, Xia Fan knew that the only way to deal with the Yellow Venerate was to treat him like a walnut and break that tough shell of his, and the only way to shatter that shell was to be harder! Crazier!
All the people who were still alive were dumbfounded as they watched Xia Fan m into the Yellow Venerate repeatedly, sending him flying again and again. The young Xia Fan had put the Yellow Venerate into apletely passive position, a miracle that no one had expected to happen.
Sarah struggled to get up, and the others helped her sit up. She wanted to help Xia Fan, but s, she was incapable of joining in this battle. Xia Fan was using his absurd speed to force the fight into his own tempo. Xia Fan was hitting the Yellow Venerate at least six times every second, moving even faster than a rapid-fireser gun.
Xia Fan was still getting faster and faster. Finally, Xia Fan¡¯s body erupted with the light of numerous stars. The starlight was gone in a sh, shooting up into the sky and leaving behind a long trail.
It was a symbol of a rank breakthrough!
Xia Fan had advanced in the middle of battle!
His speed had now broken 1143 meters per second, entering the Star Domain Rank. To the people of Ashen Moon, that meant a Heavenly Venerable!
A Star Domain Heavenly Venerable of the Speed lineage!
After three injections of Immortal Wine, Xia Fan¡¯s speed had finally reached the Star Domain rank. When other special abilities reached the Star Domain Rank, there was nothing particrly special to celebrate, but Speed was the most difficult special ability to improve. When it reached the Star Domain rank, one could stride across the world!
Xia Fan felt an indescribable power flowing through him. The strange power seemed to open up a new world for him. His vision became clearer and his mind worked faster and better. Speed-types experienced improvements in all aspects. The moment he broke through, every cell in his body was reformed.
Xia Fan also felt some concern. His breakthrough had note through normal means, but through the Immortal Wine. The Immortal Wine had draconic power within it, and some of this draconic power had be a part of him. No Skywing had ever gone through this before. Even his father Xia Fei had never had dragon blood flowing through him.
Xia Fan¡¯s concerns quickly dissipated, for the battle was still ongoing. Xia Fan was so focused that he forgot about everything else.
It wasn¡¯t easy! It truly wasn¡¯t easy!
Although Xia Fan was a descendant of the Skywings, the son of the legendary Skywing, he himself did not have any innate talents. He had been born as a mortal.
He had been taken from his parents, forced to part with the Scourges, and had wandered Ashen Moon all alone, experiencing countless perilous battles.
Today, Xia Fan had finally attained the proper form of the Demon Sealing Fiendish des!
Another Skywing legend had been born!
The battle was no longer a simple beating. Now that Xia Fan had broken into the Star Domain rank, he started to use overwhelming attacks on the Yellow Venerate!
Yes, the overwhelming speed that the Skywings were famous for!
If one¡¯s speed was not at the Star Domain Rank, there was no way one could overwhelm anyone. At most, one would have an advantage in speed.
But the Star Domain Rank turned quantity into arge-scale qualitative change, ultimately creating a boost akin to a fusion reaction!
Right now, Xia Fan¡¯s attack frequency had reached a crazy twenty attacks per second! He was faster than a person could blink!
The Yellow Venerate, an emperor among killers, couldn¡¯t even catch his breath under the barrage of attacks. After his body was thrown into the air, he had nevernded. Xia Fan kept knocking him back up before he could hit the ground!
The only way the Yellow Venerate had left to protect himself was his Golden Armor. But of all martial arts in the world, only speed was without w!
Under this overwhelming offensive, even the Golden Armor couldn¡¯tst for long!
ck!¡
The sound of metal cracking resounded. It was the sound of the Golden Armor shattering, the sound that heralded the Yellow Venerate¡¯s death!
Xia Fan¡¯s fist passed through theyer of golden light and pulverized the Yellow Venerate¡¯s head, turning that grotesque face into a spray of blood!
The Yellow Venerate was dead!
A speed Heavenly Venerable had appeared, raising their g on the body of an emperor of killers! Wonderful!
Chapter 1482 - 1482 Departure Downward!
1482 Departure Downward!
The process was exciting, and the result was chaos.
No one had expected for Xia Fan to just run off after killing the Yellow Venerate, abandoning the Yellow Venerate¡¯s body and not even saying anything to Sarah. He simply rushed off into the ck forest, vanishing without a trace.
The Yellow Venerate¡¯sckeys instantly scattered in fear. The investigators from the Sacred Federation rushed out and started kicking the Yellow Venerate¡¯s corpse to vent their rage. Somebody took a picture of the body, probably so that they could report the Yellow Venerate¡¯s death to their superiors once they returned.
Sarah was bbergasted as she watched Xia Fan leave, a reluctant look in her eyes. After taking care of her up to this point, Xia Fan had ultimately still left, perhaps forever.
¡ª
The winds howled past Xia Fan¡¯s ears as he traveled at more than twelve hundred meters per second, almost flying through the dark forest. The astonishing amount of draconic energy originating from the injection of three drops of Immortal Wine had caused Xia Fan¡¯s rank to soar, but it had also ced a huge burden on his body.
It was like there was some berserk monster inside his body, and the only means of suppressing it was using up the energy through constantly running, or the monster would bite back at him. Thus, he had left Sarah and gone to find Traveling Buddha.
Xia Fan saw that Sarah was already able to sit up, meaning that her spinal injuries had healed up faster than expected. When they had first dropped into the ck abyss, Xia Fan had promised that he would take care of her, but he hadn¡¯t promised to take care of her for the rest of her life. When it was time for things toe to an end, Xia Fan showed no hesitation.
Xia Fan stopped avoiding the monsters he ran into, brushing past them at high speeds and taking their lives while he was at it. With his rank suddenly rising so quickly, his body wasn¡¯t quite used to his new condition, so Xia Fan needed some practice. The monsters were the perfect targets to practice on.
Suddenly, a sudden st of wind swept through the dark abyss, affecting Xia Fan¡¯s stability. At the same time, he focused on a scent carried by the wind, and began to sniff the air. Traveling Buddha would leave his scent wherever he went, and if he followed that scent, he would definitely be able to find his partner.
But Xia Fan was confused as to why a st of wind would suddenly sweep through the usually calm dark abyss.
Xia Fan¡¯s speed was currently 4320 kilometers per hour, a speed that the vast majority of people could only dream about. His heart was thumping like an engine, blood being pushed to every part of his body. Oxygen was no longer taken in through breathing. Instead, his skin was sucking in air from his surroundings.
Xia Fan felt like he would never run out of energy. This was the power from the Immortal Wine!
¡ª¡ª
Yet after half an hour, this power finally began to wane, and one hourter, Xia Fan stopped feeling so hot. After two hours, Xia Fan had gone back to beingpletely calm.
At this time, Xia Fan finally found Traveling Buddha¡¯s scent. Following the scent, he ran into Thousand Ink¡¯s little familiars. They were in the form of a flock of hummingbirds flying in a V formation through the forest, probably being used by the Qian Shuimo for surveince.
Xia Fan was delighted, and his mood picked up. He picked up speed and soon saw Traveling Buddha¡¯s group gathered up and resting. They had seemingly just been through a fierce battle, and Traveling Buddha had been wounded. Duanmu Heng was helping him bandage a cut on his right hand.
Whoosh!
Xia Fan put on the brakes, skidding to a stop next to Traveling Buddha¡¯s group. As he was moving too fast, his sudden stop caused him to stir up arge amount of dirt that nketed Traveling Buddha¡¯s group.
When the dust settled, Xia Fan saw Traveling Buddha¡¯s group was in a sorry state, all of them covered in ck soil. Traveling Buddha¡¯s just-bandaged wound had to be cleaned and rebandaged.
But when they saw Xia Fan, everyone forgot their displeasure. Traveling Buddha excitedly ran toward Xia Fan, ignoring his bleeding wound to give Xia Fan a hug, lifting him high into the air. With wide eyes, he shouted, ¡°I knew you weren¡¯t dead! You finally managed to find us!¡±
Xia Fan was one of the few people in this life who Traveling Buddha, who didn¡¯t usually care about anything, actually had feelings for. While the other people weren¡¯t as excited as Traveling Buddha, they were naturally happy to see one of their brothers returning.
¡°Let me introduce you. This is Thousand Ink, this is Jin Yu, the one squatting on the ground is Luo Jiuyi¡¡±
As Traveling Buddha introduced Xia Fan to everyone, Xia Fan shook his head. He then frowned, for he finally saw there were numerous human corpses strewn on the ground. There were over a hundred of them, and they all wore armor with the Murder Shrine symbol. It looked like a standard scoutingpany.
Looking at the wounds on Traveling Buddha¡¯s group, Xia Fan immediately understood that their wounds were because they had fought against the people of Murder Shrine. It had happened less than an hour ago, so if he had been fifteen minutes earlier, he might have made it in time for the fight.
¡°Battle? We were the ones who attacked. We ambushed them!¡± Traveling Buddha said casually. ¡°The Murder Shrine is an enemy, so we naturally should kill them if we run across them. It doesn¡¯t even need thinking about! If not for these guys, we would never have ended up in such a bad state!¡±
Xia Fan was startled, and quickly asked for an exnation. Thousand Ink took on the role as the scout of the party. He chuckled bitterly and said to Xia Fan, ¡°The situation is truly very bad. The Murder Shrine has alreadye down, and with a lot of people.¡±
¡°How many people do they have?¡±
¡°Several tens of thousands is what I¡¯ve concluded from the intelligence my little familiars have gathered, but I can¡¯t guarantee that there¡¯s not arge force out there that I haven¡¯t discovered. After all, this ck forest is far too big. Even I¡¯m helpless against it.¡± Qian Shuimo shrugged in answer.
Xia Fan¡¯s mind rapidly worked. Speed was a powerful and mystical special ability. As Xia Fan¡¯s rank increased and his speed increased, his thinking speed, vision, and smell all grew sharper and faster. It was a special attribute that no other special ability had.
Xia Fan had everyone sit down and then said, ¡°It¡¯s actually to our advantage that the Murder Shrine¡¯s people havee down.¡±
Everyone was startled. That was a strange way of viewing their situation. How was being outnumbered by their enemy advantageous?
Xia Fan continued, ¡°Think about it. The greatest problem we face right now is that we can¡¯t leave the dark abyss and send a signal back to headquarters.
¡°But now, the Murder Shrine has sent arge force into the ck abyss, so they must know how to get out. And their movements are very weird. They lured nearly two hundred thousand Outer Frontier warriors here. They must have a reason for putting on such a big show.
¡°So long as we follow them and watch them, not only can we find a way out of the forest, we can investigate what the Murder Shrine is up to.
¡°Thus, we can¡¯t stay here. We need to quickly and carefully get closer to the Murder Shrine¡¯s force. Thousand Ink, do you know where they are right now?¡±
Thousand Ink nodded, but his expression didn¡¯t rx. ¡°I do know, but there are two things I have to correct. Firstly, this isn¡¯t some ck abyss, but the Demon Chasm. When the Skywings swept through Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, it was true that they killed a lot of people, but before leaving, they did something very weird.
¡°The Skywings said that they had found a Demon Chasm. in Ashen Moon and that they had sealed it. However, they said that they couldn¡¯t guarantee that the seal wouldst, and the people of Ashen Moon would just have to see how lucky they were.
¡°You, Nan Jing, Duanmu Heng, and Ping Feng might not know about this, but Traveling Buddha, Jin Yu, Luo Jiuyi, and I are descendants of Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, so we are very clear about this. Based on what I¡¯ve seen so far, this is probably the Demon Chasm the Skywings spoke of.¡±
Xia Fan felt his blood start to boil. He had constantly been looking for traces of his family, searching for the legendary Skywing Token. If his family had sealed this Demon Chasm, this was extremely valuable information!
Suppressing his shock, Xia Fan asked curiously, ¡°Since the Skywings came to this ck forest, they should have left behind traces.¡±
¡°Traces?¡± Thousand Ink frowned. ¡°It¡¯s been forty thousand years. Even if there were traces, they would be very difficult to find. In any case, I didn¡¯t see any.
¡°In addition, we haven¡¯t left the ck Forest because the direction we were going is wrong. After entering the Demon Chasm, the Murder Shrine¡¯s people didn¡¯t run around like we expected. Instead, they went down.¡±
¡°Down!?¡± Xia Fan blurted out in shock.
Thousand Ink lightly nodded. ¡°Correct, they went down. The Murder Shrine¡¯s people have already gone to the level below the ck forest. If the Skywings left anything behind, it should be down below.¡±
Chapter 1483 - 1483 A Bunch of Freaks!
1483 A Bunch of Freaks!
Xia Fan needed to learn what hisrades were capable of. He already knew about the abilities of Traveling Buddha and Thousand Ink, so he started with Jin Yu.
Jin Yu was very handsome, his appearance even more delicate than that of the number one most handsome man of Blue Boiling Point¡¯s training camp, Soul Flying Bird. He was clearly a man, but he looked like a girl. In terms of special ability, Jin Yu had inherited the Feather Flying Celestial ability of his family. To put it simply, Jin Yu could fly. He was a bird man.
Xia Fan took out a small notebook from his spatial ring. As he listened to Jin Yu exin his special ability and his fighting style, if there was something he didn¡¯t understand, he would ask Jin Yu to demonstrate. Just like that, Xia Fan went down the line, and he soon had an understanding of what his sevenrades were capable of.
Xia Fan dropped his head and began to think. As he considered the abilities of each person, he made strange markings in his notebook, using the markings to make a formation.
!!
This formation ability was something Xia Fan had learned from an inconspicuous grandpa. He didn¡¯t know the man¡¯s real name, but the other scourges all called him Strategist, so Xia Fan called him Strategist Grandpa.
After a little analysis, Xia Fan discovered that there were four pairings, each pair having someone who could attack and someone who could defend. To use himself and Traveling Buddha as examples, Traveling Buddha was a backbone-type warrior, while Xia Fan was a guerri-type. When the two of them fought together, Traveling Buddha could defend the area while Xia Fan was in charge of attacking.
ording to the special traits of the eight of them, Xia Fan quickly designed a 4-3-1 formation and exined it to hisrades.
¡°The Murder Shrine has brought many people with them, so we can¡¯t fight as individuals. We have tobine our powers into a formation, everyone attacking and retreating together. No matter the circumstances, we can¡¯t abandon ourrades!¡± Xia Fan earnestly lectured everyone while showing them the final formation.
Ping Feng frowned. Pointing at the formation Xia Fan had drawn, he said, ¡°This formation is very strange. The group of four in a diamond formation should be the attack force, and the three in the middle of the diamond should be the support, so why is there one person outside the formation?¡±
It wasn¡¯t just Ping Feng who was confused. The others were also puzzled by Xia Fan¡¯s formation. He had said that they should fight together, but the formation ended up leaving one person out. Why had Xia Fan arranged things that way?
Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°The person outside of the formation is me! I¡¯m fast, so I can act as an open spot that can support everyone. If I need to be in the front, I¡¯ll be in the front, and if I need to be in the rear, I¡¯ll go to the rear. In any case, I¡¯ll go wherever I¡¯m needed.¡±
Everyone nodded. This arrangement made some sense. As a superb speed-type warrior, Xia Fan would only be restrained by a formation. The ideal position for Xia Fan was no position at all!
¡°This formation is pretty good. WIth the protection of four people, I can summon mybat beasts without being worried about being ambushed,¡± Thousand Ink stroked his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Xia Fan, what¡¯s the name of this formation?¡±
Faintly smiling, Xia Fan asked, ¡°Do you guys know the Twin Towers Formation?¡±
¡°Of course. The Twin Towers Formation can both attack and defend. Two powerful warriors serve as the supporting pirs while everyone else works around them. If the Twin Towers charge, it bes the Twin Strike Formation. If the Twin Towers hold the rear, it bes the Rattlesnake Formation. If the Twin Towers move around the nks, it bes the Twin Wing Formation. In any case, the Twin Towers Formation is both steady and possesses many variations, being capable of dealing with numerous enemies at once, it¡¯s a textbook formation,¡± the well-learned Nan Jing spoke up.
Xia Fan nodded. Raising for fingers, he said, ¡°The Twin Towers multiplied by two is the tactic we¡¯re going with, the Four Towers Formation. In addition, our Four Towers Formation has a free person position that the Twin Towers Formation doesn¡¯t, so it can only be considered a variation of the Four Towers Formation.¡±
The Four Towers Formation!
A fire began to burn in their eyes. This Formation had a total of four supporting warriors. This would mean that their position would be very solid in a group battle, yes?
But not even Xia Fan could have known that this formation he had developed on the spot was actually eighty percent simr to Xia Fei¡¯s Lone Wolf Formation. That free position was none other than Xia Fei¡¯s position in the Skywing Formation!
¡
Xia Fan led his brothers to a ce no monsters frequented so that they could practice the important parts of the formation, namely the cadence and its variations. Most of the time, it was Thousand Ink who was the foremost of the Four Towers, the primary warrior. But the primary support wasn¡¯t left to Thousand Ink, but to Luo Jiuyi.
Luoyi was the sessor of the Nightcat n, and his special ability was Illusion-type, the Nine-Lives Cat Fiend!
Luo Jiuyi was extremelyzy, so he was always difficult to find. Sometimes, he would just inexplicably disappear. After each round of training, Xia Fan would gather his brothers and hold a meeting to summarize their deficiencies and modify the formation.
But at each meeting, Luo Jiuyi would run off to a tree branch to sleep, leaving a clone at the meeting to listen in. Once the meeting was over and everyone went back to training, Luo Jiuyi would stretch, jump down from the branch and call back his clone. In that way, he was still able to learn everything that Xia Fan had talked about through the memories of his clone.
When Xia Fan questioned him, Luo Jiuyi shrugged andzily replied, ¡°What? Did I break any rules? Isn¡¯t it just dumb to have a clone and not use it? I¡¯m just being efficient.¡±
Xia Fan wanted to beat this cat up, but Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha stopped him. Thousand Ink persuaded Xia Fan, ¡°Luo Jiuyi has always been like this. Don¡¯t mind him. To tell the truth, in their Nightcat n, Luo Jiuyi is actually considered quite diligent. At least if you give him a mission, he¡¯ll execute it.
¡°If you ran into his father Luo Jiuling, or his grandfather, Luo Bajiu, you would know what trueziness was. They¡¯rezy down to their bones, and even when the battle is red-hot, those two old cats will be snoozing, abandoning theirrades to find a ce to take a catnap. Unfortunately, it¡¯s a gic trait of their n.¡±
Xia Fan red in anger. How could there be such irresponsible people in the universe?
Luo Jiuyi shrugged and said innocently, ¡°Ink is right. My father and grandfather have held up a lot of important things because of theirziness, which has led our family¡¯s reputation in the union falling. That¡¯s why I swore an oath when I was little to be a hardworking person!
¡°Isn¡¯t it fine so long as Iplete my mission? Just let me rest the rest of the time. It takes a lot of brain power to keep up a cat clone. If I don¡¯t get enough sleep, I won¡¯t be in the right state of mind, and that will affect the clone¡¯s performance.¡±
Xia Fan was still a little angry, feeling like Luo Jiuyi¡¯s attitude wasn¡¯t proper. Traveling Buddha sighed. ¡°Ink is right. The Nightcat n has always been like this. Luo Jiuyi¡¯s grandfather is called Luo Bajiu, and his father is Luo Jiuling. Wanna take a guess as to what Luo Jiuyi will name his son?¡±
Xia Fan asked suspiciously, ¡°It can¡¯t be Luo Jiu¡¯er, right?¡±
Thousand Ink, Traveling Buddha, and Jin Yu all nodded. Jin Yu said, ¡°You¡¯re right on. If Luo Jiuyi has a son, he would call him Luo Jiu¡¯er, and his grandson will be Liu Jiusan, and his great grandson will be Luo Jiusi. Even their family¡¯s names are made sozily! Their names are actually numbers that just keep going down the line. Luo Jiuyi is actually the most hardworking person in their n in thest few generations.¡±
¡®Hardworking my *ss!¡¯
Xia Fan waspletely speechless. Sozy that even giving a name was a hassle? Just who were these people?
It wasn¡¯t just Luo Jiuyi who was a problem. Birdman Jin Yu also had a lot of bad habits. He was a chatterbox who babbled like a parrot.
After training was over, Xia Fan would often ask them what they thought. The others were very normal, but when Jin Yu started talking, everyone would have to wait. He would take at least half an hour to finish. Most horrifying was that Jin Yu was never able toe to his point, chattering on and on, but in the end, nobody was able to understand what he was getting at.
As for Thousand Ink, as an artist, was very refined and cultured, but he often fell into a daze, frequently getting lost in his own mindscape.
ording to the man himself, this was amon habit of his. It was because he had found an inspiration for the nextbat beast to draw, and his mind would go off in pursuit of that sh of inspiration. While Luo Jiuyi waszy, at least it didn¡¯t affect his work. But when Thousand Ink was lost in his train of thought, he would be deaf to the world. When tactics were being discussed, he would be right there listening, but in truth, his mind had wandered off long ago.
Together with Traveling Buddha, who didn¡¯t care about a thing, Xia Fan felt like being around all these noble scions was truly tiring!
Inparison, Nan Jing, Duanmu Heng, and Ping Feng ¡ª the threerades who hadn¡¯t originated from noble ns ¡ª were very normal. They didn¡¯t have any serious ws and studiously carried out whatever task they were assigned.
Xia Fan had to wonder, did all noble scions have some sort of mental illness?
Xia Fan didn¡¯t realize that he himself had the traits of the Skywings. It was just that they had yet to make themselves obvious.
¡ª¡ª
The days went by. Once the training in the formation was over, Xia Fan led them in an actual battle, usingbat against the monsters of the ck forest to hone their tactics.
As they were drilling in the formation in preparation for the ultimate battle, Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts had been tracking the Murder Shrine¡¯s army. One week after Xia Fan had designed the Four Towers Formation, Thousand Ink rted histest intelligence report.
At one of their meetings, Thousand Ink said to Xia Fan, ¡°Right now, the Murder Shrine has already fought their way out through the second level of the Demon Chasm and entered the third level. My pets have been following their army.¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. ¡°The Demon Chasm has a third level?¡±
Thousand Ink nodded. ¡°Indeed. The first level is the ck forest, the second level is sealed in ice, and the third level is a maze. The Murder Shrine sacrificed twenty thousand people to get to the third level, the blood even forming rivers!¡±
A smile formed on Xia Fan¡¯s face. ¡°Good! The more the better! Keep following them and see what they do. After all, weck strength, so we should only strike at the most critical moment.¡±
Thousand Ink thumped his chest and nodded. ¡°Understood. They can¡¯t escape my eyes!¡±
Chapter 1484 - 1484 End of the Maze
1484 End of the Maze
Thousand Ink flipped his palm elegantly, drawing a half-circle in the air. A golden brush appeared in his hand.
The brush was about the length of Thousand Ink¡¯s forearm. Although the shaft and tip both seemed to be made of metal, Thousand Ink told Xia Fan that it was all an illusion. The Thousand Soldier Brush was not solid. It wasposed of energy and hidden in his arm when he wasn¡¯t using it.
Thousand Ink sat on the ground, closed his eyes to think, and then began to move his brush.
The Golden Painting Brush moved extremely fast, and the tip was extremely agile. With just a few strokes, he drew a lifelike mouse.
!!
Thousand Ink¡¯s brush had barely stopped when the 2D mouse jumped off of the ground into 3D form and looked around warily. It then ran up to Thousand Ink and stood up on its hindlegs like a little soldier.
Thousand Ink repeated the process swiftly, and it wasn¡¯t long before he had several hundred mice drawn. Then, with a flourish of his brush, the mice organized themselves into an army and charged off into the ck forest. The mice looked very impressive as they all ran off.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Thousand Ink put away the Golden Brush. The drawing process required the insertion of energy, and also needed a sliver of his mental energy to be attached to eachbat beast. Thus, this work was very mentally taxing.
After a brief break, Thousand Ink started to draw hummingbirds. The hummingbirds were very small, but could fly extremely fast. They covered the air while the mice were on the ground, covering all aspects of the terrain.
Thousand Ink¡¯s work still wasn¡¯t over. He took out some special sandpaper from his cloaked spatial ring. Different sizes ofbat beasts required different sizes of sandpaper. Thousand Ink was going to draw thebat beasts on these pieces of sandpaper, fold them up into triangles, and then hold the paper triangles between his fingers.
If he ran into a foe, Thousand Ink simply needed to toss out the sandpaper to immediately summon a powerfulbat beast!
This was Thousand Ink¡¯s daily job. He had a very tough time, as he was responsible for scouting while also needing to have enoughbat beasts in reserve. If he was suddenly thrust into battle, he wouldn¡¯t have time to draw any beasts.
Every day, after training concluded and everyone went to rest, Thousand Ink would make various preparations for battle. Xia Fan saw all this, so when Thousand Ink was taking a short break, he brought over a cup of water with a little powdered Tier 9 energy stone in it.
Thousand Ink took the cup from Xia Fan and said happily, ¡°I feel so bad, using up your energy stones again.¡±
Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°What are you saying? Is there a need for brothers to be so polite around each other? Energy stones exist to be used. Every day, when everyone else is resting, you have to drawbat beasts. Who is it for? Is it not for our group?¡±
Thousand Ink nodded, drained the cup of water, and returned the cup to Xia Fan.
During this period of time, Xia Fan had developed a decent rtionship with every member of the team. He had extremely sharp observation skills, and through the small details he noticed, he was able to adjust everything to meet everyone¡¯s requirements.
Moreover, Xia Fan was naturally approachable, and there was always a smile on his face. Even Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts liked him, let alone his friends!
At some point, Xia Fan had be the leader of the group. There was no selection process. Everyone had just naturally decided to obey Xia Fan, training in the formation Xia Fan had designed and following his orders.
After resting for a while, Thousand Ink prepared to draw some morebat beasts. But he had just unfurled a sheet of sandpaper and made only a few strokes before his brush suddenly stopped. He grimaced and closed his eyes.
Xia Fan looked at Thousand Ink in shock. He needed to Drawbat beasts in one go, but he had stopped midway, making thisbat beast a waste. Something very serious must have happened for him to do that.
Thousand Ink¡¯s eyes were shut, and his eyelids were constantly trembling. It was clear that his mind had already been drawn from hisbat beasts to the front line.
Xia Fan calmly called over Traveling Buddha and the others. ¡°Wake up!¡±
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure, but from the look on Thousand Ink¡¯s face, something must have happened on the front.¡±
After hearing Xia Fan¡¯s words, everyone got to their feet hastily and anxiously gathered around Thousand Ink.
After around half an hour, Thousand Ink finally opened his eyes. There was a weird look on his face, and his eyes were filled with confusion.
¡°Ink, what¡¯s the situation on the front?¡± Traveling Buddha anxiously asked.
Thousand Ink swallowed and said, ¡°The Murder Shrine¡¯s people are retreating rapidly!¡±
¡°Retreating? In which direction? Did they find the exit?¡± Ping Feng asked.
Thousand Ink shook his head. ¡°No, they¡¯re retreating toward the Demon Chasm¡¯s third level. The scouts and guards they left behind have all disappeared. I¡¯ve confirmed through mybat beasts that they¡¯re moving down on arge scale. It seems something very serious has happened in the maze on the third level!
¡°Could there be a battle? Maybe the Murder Shrine ran into some kind of boss and had to call for reinforcements?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Thousand Ink shook his head. ¡°There was no battle. While mybat beasts don¡¯t dare to get too close, if there had been a battle, I would have known immediately. In truth, the third level is very quiet! Unexpectedly quiet! There isn¡¯t even a single monster!¡±
Everyone was bbergasted. They couldn¡¯t understand why the Murder Shrine had abruptly chosen to withdraw into the third level. Just what had they encountered or what had happened?
Everyone looked to Xia Fan. After some thought, Xia Fan said, ¡°Since the enemy has retreated, we¡¯ll advance! Come on! Down to the next level!¡±
¡
Distance wasn¡¯t a problem to Xia Fan and his team.
After receiving Xia Fan¡¯s order, Jin Yu began to use his Beast Morphing ability. Xia Fan watched golden feathers rapidly sprout from Jin Yu¡¯s face and body, and a pair of wings erupt from his back. In the blink of an eye, he had turned into a gigantic golden macaw, with a wingspan of one hundred meters!
Everyone climbed onto Jin Yu¡¯s back before he pped his wings. With just a few beats, he hurtled several thousand meters into the air, and then started to glide down. Once he was close to the ground, he would increase his altitude again and repeat the process.
It had been the dream of humans since ancient times to fly like birds. While Xia Fan was fast, sitting on Jin Yu¡¯s back was apletely different experience. His vision broadened, all of the forest was open to him, and the winds howled past his ear.
Thousand Ink was the guide, and it wasn¡¯t long before they approached the hole leading to the second level of the Demon Chasm.
What they saw along the way was horrifying. The closer they came, the more corpses they saw on the ground, painting all of the ck soil red.
It wasn¡¯t long before Xia Fan saw a ck hole. That ck hole led straight down. It was around a kilometer in diameter and seemed bottomless.
Xia Fan peeked his head over and looked down, just as a powerful cold wind battered his face. It turned out that the sudden gust of wind that had blown through the ck forest hade from the second level through this passage!
Jin Yu carried Xia Fan andpany and circled down toward the hole. As they descended deeper and deeper, the temperature began to drop. But they were all outstanding warriors, and that level of cold couldn¡¯t threaten them.
But the intense air currents caused Jin Yu flightpath to wobble and sway. Thus, he decided to just draw back his wings and descend in a freefalling dive.
Gradually, Xia Fan and the others saw light, and a vast in of snow. At that moment, Jin Yu suddenly unfurled his wings to slow his rate of descent.
As they drew closer, Xia Fan saw that there were patches of red on this in of white. Upon closer look, he realized that it was more blood.
Counting the number of corpses at a nce or two, he found that the powerful Murder Shrine really had lost no less than twenty thousand people.
The ones who had killed these humans were some other kind of monster. They had snow-white bodies and were more than three meters tall. Even their eyes, teeth, and ws were white, free of any other shade of color. As they were capable of inflicting such severe losses on the Murder Shrine, these pr-bear-like creatures were clearly much stronger than the monsters on the first level.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t have time to investigate the battlefield. He urged Jin Yu to move faster, wanting to see exactly where the Murder Shrine¡¯s army had run off to. Through another seemingly bottomless hole, Xia Fan¡¯spany finally arrived at the Demon Chasm¡¯s third level.
Unlike the openness of the first and second levels, the third level of the Demon Chasm was very cramped, as it was a maze. The ceiling was four meters high at most, and at its most narrow, the passages were only two men wide. The maze was primarily made from some kind of glossy ck stone.
Jin Yu could no longer use his abilities here, but thankfully, the team had Xia Fan. He used a rope to pull everyone along like a train engine.
Thousand Ink had his rats standing at every branch in the maze. Xia Fan simply needed to follow their lead to find the correct path.
The journey was extremely smooth. They saw no bodies and no sign of the Murder Shrine¡¯s members. Without encountering any obstructions, Xia Fan¡¯s team soon reached the end of the maze.
But the end of the maze wasn¡¯t at all what they had imagined, and they were all stunned.
Chapter 1485 - 1485 Seal!
1485 Seal!
In front of Xia Fan was an enormous Seal.
The Seal was round, like a divine shield, and blocked the path leading to the end of the maze.
On the Seal was the winged symbol of the Skywings, brimming with an indescribable sense of power and vivacity.
s, this Seal with a diameter of one hundred meters had been severely damaged. The center of the seal had been scratched out by what appeared to be a demonic w. Based on the w marks, the damage had been done by something from inside the Seal. As for what had damaged the Seal, nobody in Xia Fan¡¯s group knew.
!!
There was a bloody energy membrane on the area where the seal was damaged, exuding a red glow. The Murder Shrine¡¯s army had entered the end of the maze through this area.
Xia Fan was shocked and really wanted to touch the Seal left behind by his family.
The others were also utterly stunned. That story of what the Skywings had done and said forty thousand years ago was actually true!
This was truly an unfathomable existence. On one side, the Skywings had destroyed Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, but on the other side, they had Sealed the Demon Chasm and saved the Ashen Moon Universe. Thousand Ink and the others were a mess, not knowing if they should hate the Skywings or thank them.
¡°The Seal has been opened! What do we do!?¡± Luo Jiuyi shrieked like a cat. The constantly sleepy fellow had nowpletely woken up, his eyes wide open.
Everyone started shouting. ¡°What exactly is inside the Demon Chasm?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not important what¡¯s inside. What¡¯s important is if it got out!¡±
¡°That ursed Murder Shrine! They¡¯re trying to kill the entire universe!¡±
¡°Everyone, shut up!¡± Xia Fan suddenly roared. As if his voice had a magical power, everyone instantly calmed down.
He looked over at his brothers, and everyone turned solemn.
But a secondter, Xia Fan revealed his standard sunny smile. ¡°This ce should be the legendary Demon Chasm. I don¡¯t know what sort of monsters are inside the Demon Chasm, nor do I care! In any case, there is only one path before us. We either have to forge a bloody path out of here, or else we die here!
¡°I am happy to be fighting together alongside all of you, but there¡¯s no time to hesitate. Follow behind me, and whether it¡¯s a monster or our foes of the Murder Shrine, we¡¯re only doing one thing today: killing! Charging in and killing them all!¡±
Xia Fan raised his arms and shouted, his words getting the blood of Traveling Buddha and the others pumping, filling their chests with courage.
Logically, Xia Fan should have regarded the opening of the Demon Chasm with caution. After all, he had no idea what was inside the Demon Chasm or how strong the enemy within was.
But while they were making their way here, Xia Fan had been thinking. The Murder Shrine had been advancing in an orderly fashion, so why had they all suddenly charged into the Demon Chasm?
Not defending the rear was a taboo in military strategy. On the entire way here, Xia Fan had not seen a single Murder Shrine warrior. That was clearly abnormal! The only possibility was that they had encountered some huge problem that required all of their forces.
Thus, Xia Fan had made up his mind to not do any sort of scouting or stopping, and to charge straight into the Demon Chasm!
Whatever was in the Chasm, he would kill it first and then talk about it!
¡
¡°Charge! We just need to charge into the center of the Seal Formation and we¡¯ll be safe!¡±
¡°Second Assault Group to the front! Rotate with the First Assault Group!¡±
¡°Hold the nks! Hold the nks!¡±
¡°Carson! Take your men and plug up the hole on the right nk!¡±
¡°There¡¯s no retreat for us! We can only charge forward!¡±
In the Demon Chasm, the muscr and hawk-nosed Anyo, his body drenched in blood, was leading a difficult battle.
The Murder Shrine¡¯s opponents were Demonic Ants, said to be the most wicked and most undefeatable foe in all of the Great Chiliocosm. These human-shaped ants with ck shells had surrounded the Murder Shrine¡¯s army and were battering away at them in unending waves.
There was no opening in any direction, and overhead there were even Demonic Ants with wings. Warriors with flight special abilities would be torn to shreds by the terrifying things the moment they tried to fly, their flesh and blood raining down over theirrades.
The army of thirty thousand Murder Shrine elites had been cut down to less than ten thousand soldiers who were just barely hanging on. The challenging circumstances had Commander Anyo going crazy.
The situation was many times worse than they had imagined. Just the second level of the Demon Chasm had cost them nearly twenty thousand elites. Anyo had wanted to retreat then, but the Demon Chasm was one-way. Once one descended into the Demon Chasm, one would have to find the other exit to leave. Thus, Anyo had hardened up and led his men forward.
At present, the Murder Shrine¡¯s army was surrounded by countless Demonic Ants. They were currently trying to push into the center of the Ant Demon hive. There, five glowing crystals stood, each a hundred meters tall.
The crystals were blue, and the Demonic Ants seemed quite afraid of them. The Demonic Ants on the ground moved around the crystal formation while the Demonic Ants in the air didn¡¯t dare to fly over them. So long as they could get into the Formation, the humans would be safe!
It wasn¡¯t very far away, so Anyo could tell that there was something round in the center of the Formation, radiating a white light. That was exactly what Anyo and the Murder Shrine needed to get at all costs.
The Murder Shrine could not be called weak, but they had suffered so bitterly in this battle because these Demonic Ants were immune to their special abilities!
Their ck shells were like demonic stones that could absorb special abilities, whether they were fire, wind, ice,lightning, or anything else. Any special ability used on an Ant Demon would disappear like fire encountering water.
The only special abilities usable in this battle were those of the most looked-down-upon strength category!
Strength-types didn¡¯t have shy attacks, but their vigorous strikes were surprisingly effective. These Demonic Ants were unable to take the swings of their weapons and were all cut down.
Of the fifty thousand people Anyo had brought, around two thousand were special ability users. Those warriors with shy special abilities were being cut down one by one, and only the two hundred ability users of the strength-type remained around him in a tight circle.
Several minutes ago, Anyo had lost half of his men. At this time they were only several tens of kilometers from the crystal formation.
When they were numerous, they still hadn¡¯t been able to charge in, and now that their numbers had dwindled, their rate of advance was growing slower and slower.
¡°Are we really going to die here!?¡± Anyo truly wanted to look up at the heavens and bellow, cursing the cosmic gods for their injustice. But at this moment, Anyo realized that another group of humans had appeared behind them!
There were only eight people in this group, but they advanced with shocking speed. Under the leadership of a skirmisher, they viciously charged forward. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the Murder Shrine¡¯s army.
In other words, they hadeter and arrived first!
They had also noticed that the center of the crystal formation was a safe zone. The Murder Shrine¡¯s force was still tens of kilometers away from the safe zone, but the eight men were nearing it rapidly!
While they had also realized how ineffective special abilities were, theirposition was much more suitable. Not only did their team have a Speed-type warrior, they also had a guy shining with golden light, clearly someone from the Holy Buddha n!
The Speed-type warrior opened the path, using speed in excess of 1200 meters per second to crazily charge forward.
If there was no path forward, he would force one open!
Too fast! He was just too fast!
Other special abilities were useless on the Demonic Ants, but that Speed-type warrior only grew stronger and stronger! Not only was he opening the way, he often turned back to defend the rear!
He was the one who opened the path, reacted to the situation, and even defended the rear!
That Speed-type warrior was like an omnipresent monster. His figure could be seen everywhere!
The Demonic Ants that had given the Murder Shrine such a huge problem couldn¡¯t stop them!
After only several minutes, they got in!
They had actually reached it first! Anyo felt like throwing up blood!
These people had clearlyeter than them, but they had sessfully opened up a bloody path and became the first to enter the Seal Formation!
Chapter 1486 - 1486 Hivemind and Corpse
1486 Hivemind and Corpse
Xia Fan¡¯s group of eight, having taken shelter from the Demonic Ant horde in the Seal Formation, sighed in relief and joy.
Right after entering the Demon Chasm, they had all realized to their collective shock that their special abilities were ineffective against the Demonic Ants.
The worst off were Thousand Ink, Duanmu Heng, and Luo Jiuyi. Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts evaporated on contact with the Demonic Ants, and the same was true for Luo Jiuyi¡¯s cat clones.
Duanmu Heng¡¯s special ability was vines, a nt-type special ability that could take control of arge part of the battlefield. But when surrounded by the Demonic Ants, let alone control the battlefield, Duanmu Heng had a hard time just surviving. The thick vines would instantly sag weakly and soften open contact with the Demonic Ants.
The special abilities of the others were also affected to varying levels. Traveling Buddha¡¯s Battle Buddha Golden Light would be a flickering lightbulb on contact with the Demonic Ants, but fortunately, hisbat power was only weakened, notpletely neutralized, allowing him to continue fighting.
In short, Xia Fan was the only person whose special ability waspletely unaffected. He rushed to and fro across the battlefield, forging a bloody path through the Demonic Ants and leading everyone to a safe zone.
¡°It¡¯s bizarre! Mybat beasts arepletely ineffective, bing limp shrimps on contact!¡± Thousand Ink gripped hisbat beast pictures as his entire body trembled, so angry that he almost crumpled them and threw them to the ground.
Everyone sighed in sympathy. This ability of Demonic Ants to neutralize special abilities was truly too bizarre, dealing a severe blow to everyone¡¯s confidence.
At that moment, Xia Fan stood up and looked toward the surrounded Murder Shrine army in the distance. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what these ant monsters are and why they can neutralize our special abilities, through this battle, it¡¯s not hard to realize that they can neutralize all outward-facing special abilities.¡±
Everyone realized to their shock that Xia Fan was right. Traveling Buddha¡¯s Battle Buddha Golden Light needed to radiate out, as did Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts. That was why they were affected.
Meanwhile, Xia Fan¡¯s Speed ability only worked on himself. Its operating principle was to boost the user¡¯s speed, not throwing out speed to hurt one¡¯s enemies. Of course, speed wasn¡¯t some solid object, so it couldn¡¯t be thrown out. That was why he was unaffected!
¡°What are you doing?¡± Traveling Buddha was Xia Fan¡¯s old partner, and he instantly sensed that something was wrong and questioned Xia Fan.
At this moment, they had sessfully taken shelter in the center of the Seal and were far from danger. But Xia Fan had lowered his body and taken up a sprinting posture, taking aim at that group of enemies that was in dire peril.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t answer. Traveling Buddha followed Xia Fan¡¯s gaze and saw that the Murder Shrine¡¯s force was in dire straits. It was losing men every second, and there were now less than a thousand people left in it.
This was the moment!
Xia Fan¡¯s eyes shed, and his legs pushed against the ground at full force, carrying him into the Demonic Ant horde.
¡°You¡¯re crazy! Hurry ande back!¡± Jin Yu shouted in rm. Everyone had escaped, and now that they realized, to their stunned disbelief, that Xia Fan had charged back into the Demonic Ant horde, their hearts were thumping madly.
That guy had run back in! For what? Did he want to finish off the Murder Shrine¡¯s force?
No, things didn¡¯t go how they imagined at all. Xia Fan wasn¡¯t going there to kill, but to save!
He forged a bloody path through the horde, and when he got close to the Murder Shrine force, he reached out and grabbed a hawk-nosed fellow, dragging him back to the Seal Formation.
Traveling at an insane 1200 meters per second, Xia Fan was able to get in and out of the terrifying Demonic Ant horde twice!
The Speed ability truly deserved its reputation as the most tyrannical special ability!
Thump!
Upon returning to the formation, Xia Fan threw the hawk-nosed man to the ground and sternly said, ¡°This guy is the Murder Shrinemander. He must know what¡¯s going out. Bind him up for me so that he can exin things!¡±
Everyone now realized that Xia Fan had taken this person back to get a better understanding of the situation.
Xia Fan sat his butt on the ground and shook off the blood on his arms. It was obvious that charging in and out of the Demonic Ant horde twice had left him very tired.
¡
With Anyo captured by Xia Fan, the Murder Shrine force was deprived of itsmander and was quickly engulfed by the Demonic Ants. As for the pale Anyo, he was bound up by Duanmu Heng¡¯s vines.
Xia Fan rested for a while and then said to Duanmu Heng, ¡°Release him.¡±
¡°Why? What if this guy escapes?¡± Duanmu Heng looked at Xia Fan in confusion.
Xia Fan shook his head and nced at Anyo out of the corner of his eyes. ¡°Rx. He no longer has anywhere to go. Running out of here is suicide, and he can¡¯t even return to the Murder Shrine. He has no way of exining how he survived while all his subordinates died.¡±
Anyo was startled by Xia Fan¡¯s words. This was a sharp and incisive assessment aimed straight at Anyo¡¯s heart. Anyo truly had no way of exining his wretched defeat.
Duanmu Heng obeyed Xia Fan and released Anyo. Xia Fan smiled and asked, ¡°Can you tell me your name?¡±
None of them were unfamiliar with Anyo¡¯s identity. Before joining the Murder Shrine, Anyo had been a four-star admiral in the Republic. As an ordinary person with no special abilities, Anyo could be said to have made history by bing a Republic admiral. He was extremely famous among the traitors of the Three Federations, and he had probably had a very high status in the Murder Shrine.
Xia Fan asked Anyo what this ce was and what was up with those ant monsters.
Anyo rubbed his hands, resentment in his eyes as he looked at the Demonic Ants now surrounding the Seal Formation. ¡°This ce is the legendary Demon Chasm, and those ck things capable of standing on two legs are Demonic Ants.¡±
¡°Demonic Ants?¡±
¡°Yes, Demonic Ants are part of a sapient racepletely different from us humans. If you understand distributedputing, then you understand what sort of existence Demonic Ants are.¡±
¡°What do these Demonic Ants have to do with distributedputing?¡±
The one who asked this question was Traveling Buddha. Anyo looked at him and then dropped his head and exined heavily, ¡°The Demonic Ants all share one mind. To put it another way, their mind is actually a single being. Look outside the Seal Formation. There are probably several million Demonic Ants out there, but they¡¯re all actually a single unit, but not exactly. They actually possess a terrifying ability to organize, able to marshal up several million individuals and be an enormous monster of terrifying strength.¡±
Xia Fan slightly frowned. ¡°Since the Demonic Ants are so formidable at organizing, then why haven¡¯t they done that?¡±
Anyo looked at that giant white pearl in the center of the seal and said, ¡°Because their hivemind was Sealed by the Skywings. Look there. All of the Demonic Ants are circling their hivemind, unwilling to leave, precisely because they want to take back the hivemind. But because the hivemind is Sealed, all the Demonic Ants have lost their ability to organize themselves into a single unit.¡±
Xia Fan thought that over and said, ¡°Since that thing is the Demonic Ant¡¯s hivemind, if we destroy it, won¡¯t all the Demonic Ants die?¡±
Anyo bitterly shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. If this hivemind is destroyed, they will immediately produce a new hivemind. The only solution is to Seal the hivemind and ensure that it isn¡¯t damaged. Otherwise, the Demonic Ant horde will be reborn like a phoenix from the ashes.¡±
Everyone couldn¡¯t help but tremble in fear at Anyo¡¯s words.
The Demonic Ants were like unkible cockroaches. Destroying their hivemind would only mean that they would birth a new hivemind. Even the powerful Skywings had only been able to Seal the hivemind rather than exterminate the Demonic Ants.
Xia Fan clicked his tongue in wonder. ¡°In other words, you came here with such great fanfare to take control of the Demonic Ant hivemind to control them?¡±
Anyo shook his head again. ¡°There¡¯s no controlling the Demonic Ants. Not even taking their hivemind will do anything. What we wanted is what was under the hivemind.
¡°Several years ago, we obtained a corpse of a Skywing warrior called Xia Chen. At that time, we also found Xia Chen¡¯s notebook with his corpse. From the notebook, we learned that the Skywings had engaged in a great battle with the Demonic Ants here and the exact location where the Demonic Ants were Sealed.¡±
Xia Chen? That was his rtive!
Xia Fan felt like his mouth was dry, and he had an almost irrepressible urge to grab Anyo by the cor and lift him up.
Not too long ago, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had been imprisoned in a warship graveyard. There, Xia Fan had found the memorial stele to Xia Chen, but he had not found Xia Chen¡¯s remains. Sure enough, the Murder Shrine had stolen Xia Chen¡¯s body! These ursed scoundrels couldn¡¯t even let his rtives rest in peace!
¡°What else did the notebook say? What did the Skywings put beneath the hivemind!?¡± Xia Fan roared at Anyo.
Chapter 1487 - 1487 Megadragon’s Daughter
1487 Megadragon¡¯s Daughter
Xia Fan approached the Demonic Ant hivemind. This was a white, egg-like object. When he touched it, the hivemind vibrated. At the same time, luminescent bodies akin to nerve signals were emitted by the hivemind.
It was clear that the hivemind had a life of its own and could think. But because the Skywings had moved the hivemind out from the main body of the Demonic Ants, it hadpletely lost control over the Demonic Ants.
The hivemind could not be destroyed. Once Xia Fan killed it, the Demonic Ants outside would generate a new hivemind to take over the mission of this hivemind.
Everyone carefully moved the Demonic Ant hivemind to the side. They didn¡¯t find that Skywing Pearl that Anyo had spoken of. Instead, it was a hole, round and narrow, only big enough for one person to go through.
The round hole was the hivemind¡¯s base, but there was a Seal atop the base that zed with a rainbow of colors.
Xia Fan was startled, and then he grabbed Anyo¡¯s neck and roared, ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Didn¡¯t you say that some mystical pearl of the Skywing n was under the hivemind!?¡±
Anyo hastily replied, ¡°How should I know? Everything was ording to Xia Chen¡¯s notebook. His notebook clearly stated that when the battle against the Demonic Ants was over, they stored a pearl beneath the hivemind. The pearl was like the Skywings¡¯ right hand, and its loss left Xia Chen greatly pained.¡±
Xia Fan threw Anyo to the side with such force that Anyo¡¯s head started bleeding when he hit the ground.
¡°What do we do?¡±
¡°Let¡¯s see if we can undo the Seal.¡±
¡°This is an Energy Seal. I¡¯m afraid we don¡¯t have the ability to break it.¡±
¡°But we have to try. A pearl so important that it could be considered the Skywings¡¯ right hand must be an incredible treasure.¡±
Finally, everyone decided to cautiously test to see if they could prate the Seal.
¡°Let me!¡±
Traveling Buddha activated his famous Battle Buddha Golden Light, covering his entire body with it. but when his arm touched the Seal, he seemed to be struck by lightning and was immediately blown back. Fortunately, Ping Feng, who was keeping watch behind him, managed to catch him, or else he would have been thrown right out of the formation.
¡°Ouch!¡± Traveling Buddha shook his right arm and grumbled, ¡°As expected of the Skywings, their Seal is incredibly strong. I can barely feel my right arm! It hurts even more than when my dad beats me!¡±
Everyone else tried several times. Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts couldn¡¯t go in, nor could Luo Jiuyi¡¯s cat clones. In the end, Xia Fan decided to try and see if his speed could break through.
Xia Fan took in a deep breath, and then he thrust his right arm at the ground and then almost instantly took it back.
It was so fast that nobody was able to make out what Xia Fan had done, but Xia Fan himself understood that when his arm touched the Seal, it felt like he was inserting it into ake. There was only a slight chill, with no sense of resistance.
Xia Fan thought about it. There was a chance that the Seal only worked on non-Skywings. Since he had Skywing blood flowing through his veins, it did not stop him.
¡°All of you, stand aside!¡±
With this thought in mind, Xia Fan took several steps back and had all his brothers step away from the hole.
Xia Fan took a deep breath and prepared to elerate.
Whoosh!
In a sh, Xia Fan had disappeared into the hole. The rainbow Seal rippled as if someone had thrown a pebble into the water.
¡°He went in!?¡±
¡°Xia Fan actually got in!¡±
¡°As expected of the Speed type, not even a Skywing Seal can stop him!¡±
Everyone murmured in shock, not realizing that Xia Fan had been able to break through the Seal because of his Skywing blood, not because of his speed!
¡
Xia Fan dropped out from the hole. Though the hole itself was small, the space on the other end was veryrge.
The rainbow Seal above his head was like the mouth of a well, and when he looked up, he felt like a frog in the well.
There was no light in this ce, and even the sound of Traveling Buddha and the others talking above was blocked. After some thought, Xia Fan took out a hovermp from his cloaked spatial ring. This item was very small, like a little firefly, but the light it radiated was dazzling.
Once the hovermp was released, it floated over Xia Fan¡¯s head and lit up his surroundings. Wherever Xia Fan went, the hovermp followed and lit up the area.
This was probably the fifth level of the Demon Chasm, a giant underground hive that was strewn with the corpses of numerous Demonic Ants.
Xia Fan frowned. He squatted down next to a corpse and inspected it. He confirmed that these Demonic Ants had been killed by the Skywings. Most of them had been in with one strike of a de. Presumably, the Skywing warriors had charged in at high speed and thrust their battle sabers into the heads of the Demonic Ants.
There were also some iplete corpses in awful condition. These clearly weren¡¯t the work of the Skywings, so it was probably the work of either their friends or subordinates. In crisscrossing the Great Chiliocosm, the Skywings might have gathered up their own army.
Xia Fan started to investigate the fifth level of the Demon Chasm. Using his Speed and Scent abilities, he began to search for the pearl that Xia Chen had spoken of in his notes.
1200 meters per second was a shocking speed, and it wasn¡¯t long before Xia Fan spotted a white light glowing in the depths of the darkness. He hastened over, and when he drew close, his eyes widened, and his heart started thumping wildly.
This ce had been cleaned up so that there were no Demonic Ant corpses within five kilometers. It was clear that this was intentional.
In the very center stood a memorial stele. Behind the memorial stele was a coffin of transparent crystal. It was very small, notrge enough to hold an adult, only a child.
Xia Fan clenched his teeth. This ce¡¯s arrangements were the exact same as Xia Chen¡¯s burial site. Could it be?¡
Casting aside his thoughts, Xia Fan began to read the words on the memorial stele.
The words on the stele said that the long-time friend of the Skywings, the right hand who had fought with them for many years, the daughter of the Frost Seal Megadragon Great General Bright Snow, Bright Pearl, slumbered eternally here!
Boom!
Xia Fan felt dizzy. It turned out this Pearl that Anyo thought was a treasure wasn¡¯t some treasure, but the name of a dragon!
Xia Chen¡¯s diary had said that they had lost the pearl, essentially losing the right hand of the Skywings and leaving him in great pain. He had written this because the dragons had always fought alongside the Skywings. They wererades in life and death!
But while Xia Fan was shocked, he was also confused. The crystal coffin behind the memorial stele was very small. Let alone a Megadragon, it couldn¡¯t even hold a human adult. So what was going on?
Xia Fan strode over and looked at that crystal coffin. He was soon shocked once more.
The daughter of Megadragon Bright Snow wasn¡¯t a dragon, but a child!
She seemed to be a girl of five or six, with a beautiful appearance and fair white skin. Her face even had two little dimples.
The only difference between her and a human girl was probably the horns rising from her forehead.
Xia Fan was mystified. Why would a dragon¡¯s daughter look like a human?
And even after forty thousand years, the Bright Pearl in the coffin seemed alive. Rather than dead, she seemed to be asleep.
Xia Fan truly wanted to reach out and touch the dragon¡¯s child, so he cautiously began to open up the coffin.
The coffin lid exuded a faint white light, clearly a kind of Seal. The Skywings had a divine mastery of Seals. They could set up a Seal of any form anywhere they pleased. This was already the third Seal that Xia Fan had encountered in the Demon Chasm.
But the Skywing Seals had no effect on Xia Fan, for Xia Fan had proper Skywing blood. Thus, he easily opened the coffin, and his fingers lightly touched Bright Pearl¡¯s skin.
The skin was smooth, delicate, and cold. Xia Fan felt like Bright Pearl would have been a very cute and pretty girl when she was alive. It was truly a great pity that she had died in battle.
Suddenly, as Xia Fan¡¯s finger touched Bright Pearl¡¯s wrist, he froze in shock.
There seemed to be a very faint pulse!
In shock, Xia Fan hastily inspected Bright Pearl¡¯s body. He found that there were no wounds on her body and that her heart was actually beating. But it was extremely weak and slow, only beating once every seven or eight minutes.
She was not dead!
Bright Pearl wasn¡¯t dead!?
Xia Fan started to panic. He raised Bright Pearl up, shook her body, and shouted her name. s, Bright Pearl¡¯s eyes remained shut, and she showed no reaction.
Xia Fan had learned of medical diagnosis from Doctor Grandpa, so he concluded that Bright Pearl had entered some sort of hibernation or pseudo-death state.
Doctor Grandpa had said that pseudo-death was an extreme way of protecting oneself, isting one¡¯s bodypletely from one¡¯s surroundings. A powerful drug was needed as a primer to remove the pseudo-death state.
Xia Fan took out all the usable medicine and drugs he had from his spatial ring and began testing them one by one. He even used a silver needle to jab Bright Pearl¡¯s finger, hoping to awaken her from her slumber.
But Bright Pearl was a dragon¡¯s child, not an ordinary human. Those methods were useless on her.
The only option left to Xia Fan was the Immortal Wine.
This wine was brewed from Yggdragon blood and had the power to help one transcend mortality. Xia Fan had relied on the bottle of Immortal Wine to almost triple his speed, such was its power.
Since Bright Pearl was a dragon, and the Immortal Wine was brewed from Yggdragon blood, the wine should be a little useful, right?
With that thought in mind, Xia Fan removed the injector device from his arm and ced it on Bright Pearl¡¯s arm.
Chapter 1488 - 1488 Xia Fan and Bright Pearl
1488 Xia Fan and Bright Pearl
Xia Fan ced the Immortal Wine injector device on Bright Pearl¡¯s thin arm and began to inject the Immortal Wine into her body at a very slow pace. He saw Bright Pearl¡¯splexion began to redden, and her pulse quicken from once every seven or eight minutes to once every minute.
That was a very good sign. It meant that Bright Pearl¡¯s body was gradually awakening. Thus, Xia Fan increased the flow of Immortal Wine.
This mystical liquid gradually awakened Bright Pearl, amazing Xia Fan. It was no wonder the Murder Shrine had once sent an entire regr fleet to get it back, given the wondrous powers of this wine. It didn¡¯t seem to be something as simple as a wine brewed from Yggdragon blood. The brewing process might havepressed or mutated the power in the blood!
In short, through Xia Fan¡¯s efforts, Bright Pearl¡¯s blood began to flow. Crystalline beads of sweat appeared on her skin due to the new recing the old. The Immortal Wine¡¯s power was eliminating the low-performance cells and recing them with new cells.
Suddenly, as Xia Fan was examining the reaction from Bright Pearl¡¯s body, her lily-white arms twitched. Xia Fan was delighted, but what happened next caught himpletely off guard.
Bright Pearl suddenly opened up her small arms and hugged Xia Fan around the neck. It wasn¡¯t a very tight hug, but it was very gentle, like a girl hugging her father while she was having sweet dreams.
Xia Fan was put in an awkward spot, but his lips soon curved into a smile. He lifted Bright Pearl up out of the crystal coffin, at which point Bright Pearl¡¯s legs curled upward, and she ced her head on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder.
Xia Fan hugged Bright Pearl and sensed that she was shivering. Her body temperature was still very low, but it was gradually recovering. The sweat flowing from her body had a fragrant smell and was a little sweet, like cream, a very unique scent.
Humans were a species that had never had any resistance toward the young. When they saw newborn puppies or kitties, they would naturallye to like them and want to take care of them, let alone considering a cute little girl.
Xia Fan was beginning to feel the love of a father when the situation took a sudden turn. Bright Pearl suddenly opened her eyes. Her eyes were like tworge crystals, full of intelligence and pleasing to others.
When Bright Pearl realized that it wasn¡¯t her father hugging her, but a stranger that she didn¡¯t recognize, she screamed and then gave Xia Fan a p.
¡°Pervert!¡±
Smack!
¡
Reality proved that Bright Pearl wasn¡¯t a cute and obedient girl, but a little monster!
At this moment, she was curled up in a nket across from Xia Fan. The left side of his face was swollen, and he was preparing to feed Bright Pearl. It seemed like a rather wretched situation.
¡°What? You¡¯re giving me this to eat?¡± Bright Pearl pursed her lips as she looked at the nutritional form in her hand. She said in displeasure, ¡°This stuff isn¡¯t even meant for human consumption! Your father was the best at making bean paste noodles! The taste was simply sublime! After eating it once, you would never forget its taste. As for you, you¡¯re not one bit like your dad! Hmph!¡±
Father!
Xia Fan was stunned. Although he had never met his father before, this hadn¡¯t stopped him from imagining what his family looked like countless times.
As Bright Pearl struggled to stomach the disgusting nutritional paste, she talked about Xia Fan¡¯s family, and Xia Fan listened earnestly.
When she talked about how Xia Fei was the current patriarch of the Skywings, Xia Fan felt iparable pride. The Skywings were a powerful existence that were able to overrun Ashen Dragon Moonshadow in minutes, and his father was their leader? There was no doubt that he was incredibly awesome!
But Bright Pearl then added that Xia Fei was mostly responsible for giving orders inbat. Normally, even he couldn¡¯t manage the fiendish Skywings. That was because all the Skywings had unique personalities and were particrly carefree. It was only when they were fighting that they joined together. Normally, they minded their own business. Some of them liked painting and others liked singing. The previous leader of the Skywings, the Grand Ancestor Xia Gucheng, was an outstanding carpenter.
Xia Fan was dumbfounded. His grand ancestor was a carpenter?!
Xia Fan found it impossible to imagine an old man who could dominate the Great Chiliocosm putting down his de to take up a ner and be a carpenter.
After saying all that, Bright Pearl nced at Xia Fan. ¡°You¡¯re no good. The most important thing to be part of the Skywings is to have a skill. Who doesn¡¯t know how to fight? Everyone with the surname Xia is a madman who can kill without hesitation. If you want to get the respect of those people, you need to have some special artistic talent.¡±
Artistic talent?
Xia Fan felt nervous. He didn¡¯t seem to have any sort of artistic talent. The Disasters who had taught him as a child were all technical people. He had learned medicine from Doctor Grandpa, beast taming from Fisherman Grandpa, and electronics from Engineer Grandpa. There was no doubt that Xia Fan was multitalented in technical fields, but there wasn¡¯t a cultured cell in his body, and he went off-key when singing.
If he returned to the Skywings without any artistic talent, would he be looked down on?
Xia Fan was worried, but wasn¡¯t it a little toote to take up painting?
Bright Pearl felt happy to see Xia Fan so frustrated. This little monster had always delighted in tormenting others.
Xia Fan asked, ¡°From the sound of it, it seems like you really like the Skywings?¡±
¡°Of course!¡± Bright Pearl made no attempt to hide her admiration for the Skywings. ¡°It¡¯s not just me. All dragons like being with the Skywings. Those guys are normally very carefree, but they¡¯re extremely formidable inbat. They also ce a lot of emphasis on friendship and will never abandon any of their friends. I was really happy when I was with them.¡±
Xia Fan nodded repeatedly. He was also moved when heard about how the Skywings never abandoned anyone and never gave up on anyone.
¡°What¡¯s the Great Chiliocosm like? Did my father and the others really travel through the Great Chiliocosm in search of me?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Bright Pearl frowned. ¡°How should I exin it? At the start, it really was to search for you, because your sudden disappearance had all the Skywings going crazy.
¡°Butter on, when we entered the Great Chiliocosm, the situation changed a lot. We found out that the Demonic Ants were spreading like a disease, encroaching on all worlds and putting the Great Chiliocosm in danger. Thus, the Skywings changed their objective from searching for you to guarding the home of the human race.
¡°Your father is a natural leader, and more and more people gathered around him. In addition to my dragon race, the nt race, the crystal race, and the beast race also decided to join hands with the Skywings. As for other human warriors, there were even more of them.¡±
Bright Pearl went on and on. She had seen all kinds of things while following the Skywings through the Great Chiliocosm. They had even gone to a universe dominated by dogs. The dogs were not only capable of speech, but were highly intelligent.
They had also once charged into an insectoid universe. Wicked ck spiders had turned the universe into a giant web, and all life in this universe was the food of those spiders.
The crystal race were silicon-based lifeforms. Their bodies were translucent and glowed with a faint blue light. They could synthesize light and extract energy from light like they were nts.
The evil fire race was an energy-based lifeform. They had no solid body and appeared like balls of ghostly me. They drifted about the universe, and the only way to kill them was to use Spatial Sealing methods to bind them within dark space.
In short, the Skywings had encountered many friends and enemies alike in the Great Chiliocosm.
But it was always the Demonic Ants that posed the greatest threat to the Great Chiliocosm!
The Demonic Ants were a bizarre type of lifeform. They were decentralized. Other sapient races would all have some kind of king. Once the king was killed, the enemy army would often fall apart.
However, the Demonic Ants had no king. If one killed their king, a new king would be born in a few seconds. The Demonic Ants were everywhere. The moment Demonic Ants appeared in a universe, that universe would be bound to fall in short order.
Decentralized, special ability immunity, absurd numbers, and the ability to rapidly mutate made it so that there was no end to the wicked things.
Xia Fan had fear instilled into him by Bright Pearl¡¯s words. There was already a Demonic Ant hive in Ashen Moon. Didn¡¯t that mean that the fall of Ashen Moon was only a matter of time?
Xia Fan now basically understood what was going on between the Skywings and Demonic Ants. He then asked Bright Pearl why she was here.
The question made Bright Pearl¡¯s beautiful little face pale.
Bright Pearl recalled that she had been fighting with Demonic Ants. At the time, the Demonic Ants hade together into a single unit, turning into a giant behemoth that could consumes. In the middle of battle, Bright Pearl had been careless and ended up being swallowed by the Demonic Ant. A momentter, she felt an evil energy draining away her life force.
But at the final moment, something gently put her into hibernation, and then she lost consciousness.
Bright Pearl had Xia Fan look at her feet. On the sole of her right foot was a red mark, which was left from when she went into hibernation.
¡°After that, I don¡¯t remember anything. They must have believed that I was dead, so they buried me in this ce. After many years of fighting in the Great Chiliocosm, this had be a custom for burying ourrades.
¡°Butter on, my mind cleared up a little. I knew that I was in the cold and dark Demon Chasm. I wanted to wake up, but there was no strength in my body, that is, until you arrived. Suddenly, my heart started beating. You discovered this weak signal, and then you injected some strange thing into my body, after which I slowly woke up.¡±
It turned out that before Xia Fan had gotten close, she had been in a state of true death. It was only when he arrived that her heart started beating again.
This situation was a little illogical. Why had forty thousand years of death instantly changed because of him?
Xia Fan couldn¡¯t understand, but he didn¡¯t linger on the question. Regardless, Bright Pearl was alive, and because of this cute little dragon girl, he finally had a little connection to his family and knew more about them.
Xia Fan looked at the time. It had already been two days since he had entered this level of the Demon Chasm. Traveling Buddha and the others were probably worried sick.
He should probably bring Bright Pearl back, but how was he going to exin things to Traveling Buddha and the others?
As Xia Fan was pondering this problem, Bright Pearl chuckled.
¡°You blockhead, I¡¯m a dragon. Watch me.¡±
Bright Pearl closed her eyes and brought her hands together. She began to chant words that Xia Fan couldn¡¯t understand.
Bright Pearl¡¯s body shrank and changed, and she took to the sky!
Two little wings grew from her back, as white as snow, and she had two little toothy canines andrge fluttering eyes, a rather cute appearance. This was Bright Pearl¡¯s true body, a little white dragon that wasn¡¯t even the size of Xia Fan¡¯s fist.
Bright Pearl proudly circled in the air, saying to Xia Fan, ¡°What do you think? Cute, right? We Frostseal Megadragons are all pure white like snow.¡±
¡°Pretty good, but a little chubby,¡± Xia Fan said frankly. Bright Pearl had a little baby fat after transforming, her belly bulging out.
Bright Pearl was instantly enraged. pping her little wings, she rushed at Xia Fan¡¯s face. ¡°I hate you!¡±
Smack!
Chapter 1489 - 1489 All On One’s Own
1489 All On One¡¯s Own
Xia Fan hid the transformed Bright Pearl away. She was now small enough that others wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that she was there, which solved the problem of how to bring her out with him.
Bright Pearl told Xia Fan that she could mentallymunicate with him. Thus, Xia Fan and Bright Pearl practiced mentalmunication while continuing to search for the entrance to the next level of the Demon Chasm.
Through Bright Pearl¡¯s directions, it didn¡¯t take long before Xia Fan found the entrance. There was also arge Seal Formation there.
Bright Pearl emerged from Xia Fan¡¯s bosom and said, ¡°Do you know how many Demonic Ants are below?¡±
Xia Fan frowned and shook his head.
Bright Pearl sighed. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t know, either. In any case, it¡¯s a lot. I hope that the Seal Formation is stable, or else Ashen Moon will really be in trouble.
¡°In addition, Demonic Ants have an explosive nature. They will remain underground in hiding for a very long time, slowly waiting for their chance and gathering up strength, and then all of a sudden, they¡¯ll invade the universe others reside in.
¡°It would be good if this was the only Demon Chasm in Ashen Moon. If there are many more, then not even the gods will be able to save the inhabitants of Ashen Moon.¡±
Xia Fan felt his heartbeat quicken. The number of Demon Chasms truly was a problem. The Demonic Ants would remain hidden and try to avoid discovery until it was time for battle, and it was onlymon sense that if the universe had one Demon Chasm, there should be a second, a third¡
Xia Fan retraced his steps. After some practice, he could now hear Bright Pearl¡¯s voice in his mind. Mentalmunication seemed to be an ability only certain lifeforms had, like the dragon race. Xia Fei¡¯s Furball and Little Goldie were also that kind of special existence.
Upon arriving at the entrance he had used to enter the fifth level of the Demon Chasm, Xia Fan took in a deep breath, squatted down, and then jumped.
Whoosh!
His body smoothly passed through the Seal, returning to the presence of Traveling Buddha and the others. Everyone shouted in rm and immediately surrounded him, asking him what he had found down there and why he had been gone for so long.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t n to tell anyone about Bright Pearl, but he did tell Traveling Buddha and the others that there was another Seal down there, and that there might be many more Demonic Ants deeper inside.
Everyone turned ghastly pale upon hearing that. These Demonic Ants that were immune to special abilities were a counter to warriors. It could be easily imagined what would happen if hundreds of millions of Demonic Ants suddenly emerged from the earth.
¡°Bright Pearl, do you know how to leave this ce?¡± Xia Fan asked mentally.
¡°I do, but now isn¡¯t the time to leave.¡±
Bright Pearl¡¯s words took Xia Fan by surprise. He quickly asked why, and Bright Pearl had Xia Fan look at the millions of crazed Demonic Ants outside of the Seal Formation.
¡°Don¡¯t you think that this is an excellent ce to train?¡± Bright Pearl said in her adorable voice. ¡°Once you leave here, where will you find any Demonic Ants to fight? You¡¯re so weak that you can¡¯t even protect yourself! Hmph!¡±
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°You¡¯re saying that I should use this ce as a training ground?¡±
¡
Xia Fan stood at the edge of the Seal Formation, looking at the Demonic Ants.
The Demonic Ants were afraid of the blue light emitted by the Formation and did not dare to get closer. They hid in the darkness, baring their fangs at Xia Fan.
Xia Fan exhaled and took out the Koro alloybat de from his spatial ring. This de was the length of Xia Fan¡¯s forearm and couldn¡¯t be considered a powerful weapon. But as it was made of the high-ss Koro alloy, it was very tough. It cost around seventy thousand dors, and Xia Fan had used points to buy it.
Xia Fan swept his gaze over the Demonic Ants coldly. Bright Pearl was right. Inparison to his family members who had flown across the gxy, he was too weak.
Through actualbat and the teachings of the Disasters, Xia Fan had learned how to kill people. Now, Xia Fan needed to master the methods of killing Demonic Ants.
Everyone stood behind Xia Fan, trying to talk him out of this. Only Traveling Buddha remained silent. He took out his beloved tea set and started to brew some tea inside the Seal Formation. As Xia Fan¡¯s partner, Traveling Buddha knew that beneath that gentle smile on Xia Fan¡¯s face was an extremely stubborn personality.
Xia Fan lowered his body. Following Bright Pearl¡¯s instructions, he ced his left hand on the ground and opened his right hand, assuming a sprinting position.
This movement was called the Bird Style, and was his father¡¯s signature move.
A secondter, Xia Fan suddenly pushed off the ground with his legs, exploding into motion like a lightning bolt!
¡°So cool!¡±
Thousand Ink¡¯s eyes lit up as he gasped. After going down into the Demon Chasm, Xia Fan seemed to have be a new person, and even the way he moved had changed. What was going on?
Even more shocking was hisbat style. Xia Fan seemed to be training in his technique. In the past, he had just fiercely swung his de around, but now, Xia Fan used more thrusts, his de urately striking the heads of the Demonic Ants, trying to end their lives with a single strike.
If Thousand Ink had been able to hear Bright Pearl¡¯s voice, he would understand that all th0se changes were because of that little girl.
¡°Too slow! You¡¯re far too slow! At this rate, how can you live up to the title of the Demon Sealing Fiendish de?
¡°I¡¯ve told you so many times, the most exquisite technique in the world is no technique at all, and the best way to attack the enemy is to take them by surprise!
¡°It wasn¡¯t me who came up with these words, but your father.¡±
Bright Pearl, that little monster, was actually using Xia Fan¡¯s father as the standard. That standard was far too strict. After all, how fast was Xia Fei? How fast was Xia Fan? The difference was too vast to think about.
But Bright Pearl¡¯s tough requirements gradually had a miraculous effect.
Imitation was a kind of study, and Xia Fan was currently imitating his father, the strongest Skywing warrior in history.
Compared to Xia Fei, Xia Fan seemed somewhatcking in talent. However, Xia Fan had the advantage of a formidable constitution!
The Disasters had fed him Tier 9 energy stones since he was a small child, so every one of his cells was extremely tough. He could make extreme turns that even Xia Fei couldn¡¯t!
To put it simply, Xia Fan¡¯s sprints had no rules. He was able to run in any direction he pleased and attack any opponent.
¡°Heavens! Have you guys noticed? Xia Fan is getting faster and faster!¡±
¡°His speed isn¡¯t what¡¯s important. Look at his trajectory! Can anyone tell me how he suddenly moved from the right-hand three o¡¯clock position to the left-hand eleven o¡¯clock position?¡±
¡°That doesn¡¯t make any scientific sense! Forcibly turning the body like that involved immense eleration. How is Xia Fan able to deal with that sort of burden?¡±
¡°He¡¯s probably relying on his constitution to endure it.¡±
¡°Endure it?¡±
¡°That freak!¡±
¡°Monster!¡±
Everyone talked. Thousand Ink and the others came from big ns and were outstanding warriors of their generation, so they quickly saw what was going on.
Not only was Xia Fan getting faster, his tactics and skills were also getting sharper and sharper.
In a split second, several hundred Demonic Ants copsed. Wherever Xia Fan charged, he left a river of blood. His lethality was even greater than it had been two days ago.
Around forty minutester, Xia Fan returned to the Seal Formation. Without a word, heid down and closed his eyes, seemingly thinking. Everyone decided not to disturb him.
But in that resting state, Xia Fan was not meditating, butmunicating with Bright Pearl. While the dragon girl was very small and cute, she was also an experienced expert. She knew all about how the likes of famous warriors like Xia Fei, Xia Gucheng, Xia Yu, and Xia Donghai fought.
Bright Pearl was currently teaching the special points of theirbat styles to Xia Fan. Not caring if Xia Fan could understand it all, she babbled on and on.
Xia Fan¡¯s specialty was that he had developed a habit of learning different skills from different teachers when he was a small child.
One day, two days, three days¡
On the fourth day, Xia Fan had already killed more than a third of the Demonic Ants in the Demon Chasm. A quantitative change triggered a qualitative change, and after absorption and digestion, Xia Fan now had much of the style of a Skywing expert.
For example, he had some of Xia Gucheng¡¯s boundless aura, Xia Fei¡¯s bold charge, Xia Yu¡¯s uracy, and the pestering nature of Xia Jiao.
Rather than bing more like his father, Xia Fan was bing increasingly different! He was someone who had absorbed all the special traits of the Skywings, but was also apletely different kind of existence!
Even Bright Pearl hadn¡¯t predicted this result. She had told Xia Fan so many things mostly to boast and have Xia Fan admire her experience.
But Xia Fan had been seriously listening, studying, and digesting the special traits of each person, fusing all of them together.
At set intervals, Xia Fan would also inject a drop of Immortal Wine into his body. The power of the Immortal Wine would boost his speed higher and higher.
In the blink of an eye, it was now the seventh day. There weren¡¯t many Demonic Ants left. Thousand Ink and the others realized to their shock that the Demonic Ants had started to run away from Xia Fan rather than charge at him.
Perhaps the Demonic Ants had intelligence, and perhaps Xia Fan had scared them silly.
In seven days, he had killed a million of them!
Xia Fan had already broken thirteen different weapons!
It had to be understood that all those weapons were forged from valuable Koro alloy. Luo Jiuyi had even offered up his family¡¯s inherited weapon, the Myriad Beast sher. In the end, the Myriad Beast sher had onlysted for one day before Xia Fan broke it. Luo Jiuyi was so furious that he almost tried to kill Xia Fan.
In the end, warriors could only mature throughbat. After seven days of constant battle, with injections of Immortal Wine at set intervals, Xia Fan was able to achieve astonishing progress in the shortest time possible.
¡ª
Sprak!
As he thrust hisbat de into thest Demonic Ant¡¯s head, Thousand Ink and the others cheered. They rushed out from the Seal Formation and embraced Xia Fan. As witnesses to a miracle, they seemed even more excited about the feat than Xia Fan himself.
Bright Pearl¡¯s confused voice resounded in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. ¡°How strange. I wanted you to be like your father, but why are you growing more and more different from him?¡±
Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°Perhaps everyone is their own person with their own traits. I was born as an ordinary person, so I¡¯m not as talented as my dad.¡±
Bright Pearl scratched her head and fell into deep thought. As for Xia Fan, he had everyone clean up the area and prepare to leave this strange ce.
Thus, everyone returned to the Seal Formation and gathered up the scattered things into their spatial rings. They had spent ten whole days here, and everyone was anxious to leave.
At that moment, Xia Fan heard a sound in the distance, and all of them turned toward it.
Chapter 1490 - 1490 War God Bode!
1490 War God Bode!
Xia Fan turned in the direction of the sound and saw two people approaching rapidly. The one in the lead was unexpectedly Sarah, with a short fellow following behind her.
They flew over on Sarah¡¯s flying de and soon drew close to Xia Fan¡¯s group.
Sarah!? Xia Fan was just about to call out to her when he saw that herplexion was ghastly pale. Her left hand was wrapped in white bandages; from the shape of the wrappings, she seemed to have broken two fingers.
Sarah¡¯s eyes shed with joy when she saw that Xia Fan was still alive, but then her gaze turned solemn, and she used her eyes to tell Xia Fan that he should hurry and leave.
¡°Sword flying?¡± Thousand Ink saw Sarah¡¯s flying de and frowned. ¡°You¡¯re a descendant of the Sacred Federation¡¯s Sword Flying Goose n? This ce is under the control of our Starcloud Union, so it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t approach.¡±
Sarah had no reaction at all to Thousand Ink¡¯s words, which left everyone a little surprised. Although the Sacred Federation was an enemy, they were all people of the Inner Territories, and all of them were targeting the Murder Shrine. In the current situation, it was best if the two Federations didn¡¯t fight one another.
At that moment, Sarah and the short man were now about a hundred meters from Xia Fan. The shortie made a small gesture, and Sarah stopped her flying de. It seemed that the shortie had taken Sarah hostage, turning her into a tool!
Moving to the side, the shortie appeared across from Xia Fan. The guy was barely tall enough to reach Sarah¡¯s waist, as if he suffered from dwarfism. He wore a very strange bluebat uniform and was on the fatter side, appearing like a walking barrel.
Seeing the dwarf, the restrained Anyo was stunned. He threw aside his apprehensions and shouted, ¡°Bode! Why are you here!? Save me! Hurry and save me!¡±
Upon hearing Anyo¡¯s shouts, Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha were stunned. Traveling Buddha immediately stepped forward to stand in front of everyone, swiftly unleashing his Battle Buddha Golden Light. His eyes cold, he clenched his teeth and said, ¡°Hurry! Get behind me!¡±
Xia Fan didn¡¯t know why Traveling Buddha¡¯s reaction was so intense, but both Thousand Ink or Luo Jiuyi were warriors from famous lineages of the Starcloud Union, and they all did as Traveling Buddha ordered. Jin Yu also pulled Xia Fan over so that everyone was standing behind Traveling Buddha.
Confused, Xia Fan worked to recall the name Bode.
Suddenly, Xia Fan remembered. If this person was called Bode, and if the first reaction of Traveling Buddha and the others was to assume a defensive formation, he could only be the legendary War God Bode!
War God Bode also had the nickname of the Divine Marksman. His rank had reached the incredible Intermediate Star River rank. Before his betrayal, he had been the Deputy Bureau Chief of the Starcloud Union¡¯s Special Investigation Bureau, and also a member of the Law Enforcement Committee. He was one of the top traitors from the Three Federations, with a bounty of one billion points!
Yes, it had to be him!
Xia Fan gasped to himself. The others appeared to be facing down a powerful enemy; he concluded that only the true Divine Marksman Bode was capable of drawing that sort of reaction. Traveling Buddha was in the very front because only his Battle Buddha Golden Light could resist Bode¡¯s electromaic storm!
¡°Hahahaha!¡± the short Bodeughed. Pointing at Traveling Buddha, he said, ¡°The Battle Buddha Golden Light? Are your grandfather and father doing well? I even recall holding your father when he was a baby.
¡°Ayaya, I didn¡¯t think so many years had passed. The Divine Buddha n now has a young junior like you, and the one hiding behind you should be a child from the Thousand Soldier n, right? I can tell immediately from that golden brush in his hand.¡±
Xia Fan was bbergasted. It turned out that Bode was of the same generation as Traveling Buddha¡¯s grandfather! He had even held Traveling Buddha¡¯s father as a baby¡
Bode¡¯s age wasn¡¯t apparent from his face, appearing much like a middle-aged chubby dwarf. But his seniority was far above that!
¡°Ptooh!¡± Traveling Buddha spat on the ground. ¡°Bode, there¡¯s no need for you to unt your seniority here! My grandfather truly was your partner back then, but when you betrayed the union, my grandfather cut his ties with you!
¡°Trust me when I say that you wouldn¡¯t want to meet my grandfather, because if he sees you, he¡¯ll definitely kill you!¡±
Bode nodded casually. His brow creased as he said, ¡°That¡¯s true. I truly am an annoying grain of sand in the Old Buddha¡¯s eyes. He acts like he doesn¡¯t care about anything, but he actually loathes betrayal. After all, it¡¯s the Holy Buddha n! Holy Buddha, Thousand Soldier, Cat Fiend, Flying Immortal: those founding ns of the Union are truly very loyal. After all, it was you lot who established the Starcloud Union!
¡°But I¡¯m different. I¡¯m not from any kind of big n. My father was an ordinary person, so I don¡¯t care one bit about the Starcloud Union you built.
¡°Only children care about right and wrong. Adults only concern themselves with profit. Since the Murder Shrine offered a higher payment, I naturally joined them!¡±
Luo Jiuyi red, yowling like a cat, ¡°Bode, do you even have a heart? Have you no understanding of how the Union treated you? Although you didn¡¯te from some great n, you were Deputy Chief of the entire Special Investigation Bureau! One of the nine members of the Law Enforcement Committee!
¡°Betrayal is betrayal. Don¡¯t use how the Union treated you as an excuse! The Starcloud Union has never treated you poorly!¡±
¡°Haaa..¡± Bode sighed, a nostalgic look in his eyes. He replied indifferently, ¡°That¡¯s why I say that young men like you simply don¡¯t get it. At my level, money, women, and authority no longer mean anything.
¡°In truth, when the Murder Shrine recruited me, there was only one condition. They simply promised me that they would help me raise my rank even higher.
¡°The Starcloud Union couldn¡¯t afford that price. When I joined the Murder Shrine, I had been stuck at the Intermediate Star River rank for thirty years. Those were thirty of my precious years! If you asked me if there was anything I regretted, it¡¯s that I joined the Murder Shrine toote.¡±
Everyone paled at Bode¡¯s words. Bode¡¯s rank had increased after joining the Murder Shrine. Didn¡¯t that mean that he was now an Advanced Star River rank War God!?
When it came to special abilities, Star River rank was divinity! Those who reached the Star River rank were War God experts!
And Bode was now at the Advanced Star River rank?! Going farther was the Eternal Rank! The Eternal Rank reigned over the universe!
An Advanced Star River rank War God with a supreme Maic Storm special ability definitely put Xia Fan¡¯s group in a tough spot. Bode had probably dared to venture into the Demon Chasm alone because his rank was high enough to do so.
At this moment, Anyo, still bound up in vines, began to struggle and shout, ¡°Bode, I¡¯m here! Save me! Save me!¡±
Bode frowned. Looking at Anyo, he lightly waved his hand.
Krak! A blue lightning bolt flew through the air, shooting right at Anyo!
¡°Not good!¡± Duan Muheng cried out in rm, instantly having his vines move Anyo. But he couldn¡¯t be faster than electromaic waves. The blue lightning bolt arrived instantly, tearing apart the thick vines. The electromaic shockwave struck Anyo¡¯s shoulder, tearing off his right arm!
Such a domineering special ability!
Xia Fan was stunned. If there were any attacks faster than him, then electromaic shockwaves were definitely among them!
Electromaic attacks weren¡¯t just fast, but urate! It was no wonder Bode was called the Divine Marksman. He could instantly kill someone from many kilometers away!
Everyone was hiding behind Traveling Buddha precisely because they were wary of Bode¡¯s electromaic strikes!
The moment Bode attacked, Xia Fan saw Bode throw out a metal sphere. His attacks were probably founded on some sort of electromaic weapon, the electromaic waves elerating and shooting out objects.
The electromaic shockwave Bode had released while empty-handed far exceeded Xia Fan¡¯s speed. If Xia Fan rushed out, he would probably be sniped down by Bode!
Anyo screamed like a pig after losing his right arm. Veins bulged on his face as he howled out his questions over why Bode had done that.
Bode frowned. ¡°What are you shouting for?
¡°Let me be honest. Those above have already lost confidence in your abilities, so I was ordered to follow you. Geniusmander? In the end, you¡¯re an ordinary person without special abilities who can¡¯t resolve any key problems. In the end, I still have toe out to deal with the real problems.
¡°In addition, you suffered aplete defeat. Even if you survived, you think those above would spare you? Impossible! A loser can¡¯tst in the Murder Shrine. Thus, by killing you, I¡¯m actually helping you. On ount of our friendship, I¡¯m giving you a swift death.¡±
Anyo was agitated, but his face turned ghastly pale as he trembled.
Bode had cut off Anyo¡¯sst hope, knowing Bode was right. A loser who went back to the Murder Shrine would die all the same!
Bode had only cut off Anyo¡¯s arm rather than killing him probably because he still had some questions to ask. Otherwise, Bode¡¯s attacks were precise enough to instantly kill him!
Since that was the case, Duan Muheng stopped trying to protect Anyo so that he could focus all his power on Bode. The eight of them were thinking rapidly, but they had yet to find a way to deal with Bode.
At this moment, Bright Pearl¡¯s unhappy voice rang out in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. ¡°He¡¯s only at Advanced Star River rank. What¡¯s he so proud about? Xia Fan, hurry up and kill this guy!¡±
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°How do I do that?¡±
Bright Pearl replied, ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a Skywing. Aren¡¯t you the Skywing here? If you can¡¯t even kill a guy like this, once we go back to your family, I¡¯ll definitely tell everyone about this and turn you into the joke of the Skywing n, hmph!¡±
S&*t!, Xia Fan mentally cursed. This pestering little monster truly had a vicious mouth! She clearly had no way of dealing with Bode, but she wanted Xia Fan to kill him. Couldn¡¯t she be a little more reasonable?
On the other side, Bode sat down, rolling something around in his right hand, probably a steel pearl. When needed, he could fire that steel pearl like a shot from a railgun!
Bode stroked his chin and said, ¡°Starting from now, I¡¯ll ask the questions and you will answer. You have three seconds to answer each question. If you can¡¯t answer, I will make you pay.
¡°First question: did you find the bright pearl that the Skywings left behind?¡±
Nobody answered, watching alertly. Bode raised three fingers and started to count down.
Three!
Two!
One!
Bang!
When the countdown ended, Bode saw that there was no answer and flung something from his hand. Another blue electromaic wave shot out, tearing through the air, aiming straight for Traveling Buddha!
Traveling Buddha hardened his heart and closed his eyes, ready to use the Battle Buddha Golden Light to resist Bode¡¯s attack!
But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Bode hadn¡¯t targeted Traveling Buddha, but Jin Yu!
Chapter 1491 - 1491 The War God, Dead!
1491 The War God, Dead!
Bode¡¯s target wasn¡¯t Traveling Buddha, but Jin Yu!
At this perilous moment, Jin Yu transformed unexpectedly. In a sh, a pair of wings more than ten meters long appeared. Jin Yu morphed from a human into a sturdy parrot, using his wings to protect everyone in front of him!
¡°Now is the moment! Run! You¡¯ll be safe in the Seal Formation!¡± Jin Yu shouted.
Xia Fan knew what Jin Yu was thinking. This guy was sacrificing himself to draw Bode¡¯s attention!
After all, when Jin Yu transformed he was a giant parrot with rainbow feathers, standing out to the extreme. When Jin Yu protected everyone with his wings, Bode lost his targets. Right now, Jin Yu looked like a mother eagle desperately trying to protect her chicks.
Jin Yu was a very chatty bird person, so the sudden burst of courage he showed left everyone amazed.
A worthy sessor of the Flying Immortal n!
Even though Jin Yu, Luo Jiuyi, and Traveling Buddha had their ws, nobody could deny that they were true warriors! In their blood flowed the pure and ancient blood of War Gods!
¡°Hmph!¡± Bode snorted at the sight. He truly hadn¡¯t expected Jin Yu to be so brave, but he didn¡¯t care. He felt like Jin Yu using his enormous body to protect others was a truly idiotic n.
Whoosh!
With a light flick of his wrist, Bode unleashed another blue bolt of lightning from his right hand. It howled straight at Jin Yu¡¯s heart!
As the blue light approached, Jin Yu closed his eyes.
He couldn¡¯t dodge such a fast attack, so the blue light would definitely pierce through his chest.
But Jin Yu knew that his massive transformed body would be the best barrier, robbing Bode of his targets. In this way, everyone else would be safe!
Bode¡¯s eyes flew open, for he saw a person suddenly shooting out from under Jin Yu¡¯s wings!
No! Not one person, but two!
Traveling Buddha was shining with golden light, while Xia Fan used him as a shield!
I¡¯m sorry! Brother, I¡¯m sorry!, Xia Fan shouted silently.
If there had been any other way, Xia Fan would have never used his brother and partner as a shield. But at this time, if Xia Fan didn¡¯t do this, Jin Yu would die. After all, no one except Traveling Buddha could block Bode¡¯s attack!
Xia Fan held up Traveling Buddha to meet Bode¡¯s blue light!
Bang!
There was a massive boom! Instead of striking Jin Yu, the blue light impacted against Traveling Buddha¡¯s chest. Traveling Buddha turned ghastly pale, blood spurting from his mouth!
¡°Don¡¯t worry about me! I won¡¯t die! Kill him! Kill that guy!¡± Traveling Buddha roared crazily, his body bulging with muscle, the determination to face death in his eyes!
Xia Fan knew that Traveling Buddha was injured, but he didn¡¯t slow down, continuing to hold up Traveling Buddha as he charged at Bode!
At that moment, a hint of panic appeared in Bode¡¯s eyes. He had never imagined these young men to be so vicious!
Xia Fan was gambling!
He was gambling that Bode did not dare to use area attacks!
This was because the Skywing Seal Formation was behind them!
Once the Formation broke, the Ant Demons would surge out, and Bode would also die!
After all, Ant Demons were immune to Bode¡¯s electromaic storm. He couldn¡¯t risk the Seal Formation being destroyed!
Reality had made evident that victory in battle wasn¡¯t about who had the higher rank. When two warriors met on a narrow road, they weren¡¯t justpeting in rank, but also in daring!
Bode was currently in a situation where he didn¡¯t dare to use hisrge electromaic storm! His direct attacks, even if they could kill Traveling Buddha, couldn¡¯t kill Xia Fan behind him. Even an idiot knew that one couldn¡¯t allow a Speed-type warrior to get close. When those unreasonable Speed types got close, they would take your life!
Bode hesitating for a second decided the oue of this battle. Xia Fan was simply moving too fast to give Bode time to think!
Boom!
The shining Traveling Buddha was swung down. Yes, Xia Fan was using Traveling Buddha like a weapon, swinging him like a hammer!
Whoosh!
Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes flew open, filled with blood as he let out a ghastly howl!
The guy seemed to be rather happy at Xia Fan using him as a hammer¡
As Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan came charging out, Bode¡¯s eyes suddenly turned savage. He did something unexpected, crossing his arms in front of his chest and then turning his head up to the sky.
With a whoosh, Bode¡¯s ck eyes suddenly shed blue! Like two blue lightbulbs.
¡°Electromaic Whirpool, activate!¡±
Rumble!
It was no longer Bode¡¯s eyes that were blue. His entire body was engulfed in blue streams of lightning!
A powerful electromaic whirlpool began to form around Bode!
Oh no! This was arge-scale lightning attack!
Xia Fan was inwardly aghast. Bode had released powerful lightning around himself. In this way, he, Traveling Buddha, and Sarah, the three people closest to Bode, would all be caught up in the terrifying storm!
At the critical moment, as Bode¡¯s electromaic whirlpool was about to expand and sweep up Xia Fan and Sarah, Traveling Buddha suddenly opened his arms and hugged Bode around the neck!
Battle Buddha Golden Light versus Electromaic Storm!
One was a Light ability famous for defense, and the other was a Lightning ability famous for its lethality.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden Light and Bode¡¯s blue Lightning shed fiercely. Like a chemical reaction, a huge sound sted out from between the two!
Boom!
As this boom resounded, blood poured out from the nose, eyes, mouth, and ears of Traveling Buddha and Bode.
They had been far too close together. Their special abilities had neutralized each other and dealt damage to one another!
¡°I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Traveling Buddha howled, using his herculean strength to hold Bode tightly, choking him out so that he couldn¡¯t breathe and his eyes rolled over.
By this time, Xia Fan had backed up a little and then rushed back at Bode, stabbing a half-meter-long hunting knife into Bode¡¯s skull!
If Traveling Buddha hadn¡¯t been there, Bode would have had a hundred ways to strike back. After all, he was a Lightning ability user, and his electromaic power could be spun about him at near light-speed.
But now, with Traveling Buddha holding him down like an octopus, Bode couldn¡¯t move, and his electromaic power was being neutralized by Traveling Buddha¡¯s Battle Buddha Golden Light. He simply didn¡¯t have the time to deal with Xia Fan!
¡°Die!¡± Plush!
Xia Fan stabbed the hunting knife into Bode¡¯s head, and then was thrown back by a powerful pulse of electromaic power. His entire body was wracked in pain, as if he had been struck by lightning, and the electricity even set his hair on fire!
Xia Fan was sent flying one hundred meters by the electricity before finally crashing to the ground loudly.
¡
Thousand Ink and the others were bbergasted by the battle Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had just gone through. They hastily rushed up to help the two.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both had the same kinds of injuries. Their skin was charred and blood was flowing out from their eyes, nose, and mouth. They were all side effects from being affected by powerful electric currents.
Traveling Buddha was worse off. Until the veryst moment, this guy had still been holding Bode, so he had suffered far more electricity than Xia Fan. His injuries were more serious, and whenever he tried to speak, he would throw up blood.
But Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t seem to care. Tearing off his burned battlesuit, he started to curse the deceased Bode. With every curse, he threw up more blood.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had half-killed themselves in order to take down Bode!
Xia Fan struggled to sit up, panting for breath. His Phantom Mark 7 had been burned through, the melted fibers fusing to his skin. Taking off the uniform carelessly would take off his skin with it!
Everyone was on the verge of tears when they saw the state Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were in. But thankfully, their lives weren¡¯t in danger. Once they returned to the Union, their external wounds could be quickly treated.
¡°That was War God Bode.¡± Nan Jing stared at Bode¡¯s corpse, shook his head, and sighed.
Who could have imagined that Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan could actually kill War God Bode!?
They would probably remember how Xia Fan used Traveling Buddha as a shield and charged at Bode for the rest of their lives.
Two terrifying madmen!
Chapter 1492 - 1492 Capital Ship
1492 Capital Ship
Sunlight spilled from the sky, illuminating the end of the dark tunnel.
Xia Fan¡¯s band finally walked out of the tunnel. After more than a month of living underground, their eyes had adapted to the darkness. They rapidly blinked their eyes, and once the stimtion from the light had faded, they saw barren hills, devoid of any nt life except some yellow brambles.
¡°We¡¯re finally out!¡± Jin Yu yelled excitedly, opening his arms. He wanted to express his joy at surviving even more, but Xia Fan promptly stopped him.
Xia Fan cautiously looked around and then smiled. ¡°We¡¯ve only left the Demon Chasm, so we¡¯re not truly safe yet. If my guess is right, there should be a support force from the Murder Shrine nearby.¡±
!!
Jin Yu fell silent upon hearing Xia Fan¡¯s words. Xia Fan quickly had Thousand Ink send hisbat beasts to scout the area. He predicted that the Murder Shrine¡¯s people would probably be hanging around the Demon Chasm¡¯s entrance.
Xia Fan¡¯s band was currently located at a back door that the Demonic Ants had left for themselves. Those terrifying creatures were far more cunning than humans could imagine. Even with Bright Pearl¡¯s guidance and Thousand Ink¡¯s scouting, Xia Fan¡¯s group still needed a whole five days to get out of the Demon Chasm.
Luo Jiuyi took out a signal transmitter and attempted to send a high-frequency encrypted signal into space, but the transmitter only emitted static. This entire was still enclosed in a spatial screen, so it was impossible to contact Headquarters.
Luo Jiuyi gave a disappointed shake of his head to Xia Fan, and then put away the signal transmitter in his spatial ring, closed his eyes, leaned against the wall of the tunnel, and went to sleep.
Luo Jiuyi could sleep regardless of the environment. It was truly an admirable ability. The others certainly didn¡¯t have Luo Jiuyi¡¯s big heart, as they were all nervous.
Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve all been through the gates of Hell. If we unite our hearts, we can definitely leave this ce.¡±
¡°Mm!¡± Everyone nodded. After a series of amazing performances, Xia Fan had sessfully be the backbone of this small team.
The team¡¯s battle power was still in decent shape. Though Traveling Buddha was injured, his body was exceptionally tough. After several days of recovery, he was basically fine. In addition, Sarah had joined the team. Her current mission was to protect their important hostage, Anyo.
As for Xia Fan, he had the Immortal Wine, and his recovery speed was already divine. His body, forged from Grade 9 energy stones, could suppress the explosive nature of the Immortal Wine. It was just that when he injected the Immortal Wine, his chest still felt like it was about to tear open, and his eyes still felt like they would spit mes.
Bright Pearl was hidden in Xia Fan¡¯s bosom. Whenever Xia Fan grew restless because of the Immortal Wine, she would release a gentle chill, like a cool piece of jade. Although it was rather chilly, it wasn¡¯t so cold that it would make one¡¯s teeth shiver. Xia Fan felt like he was surrounded by refreshing autumn winds, and the fire in his blood was suppressed.
¡ª¡ª
Once they had rested for several hours, Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts informed them that they weren¡¯t far from the Demon Chasm¡¯s entrance, only three hundred kilometers. Once they crossed the hills, they would be able to see the Murder Shrine¡¯s temporary base.
Thus, all of them set off, advancing toward the Demon Chasm¡¯s entrance while using the hills as cover. As the sun was setting across the silent valley, Xia Fan finally saw the Murder Shrine¡¯s fleet.
Standing at the top of a hill and looking down, he could see the Demon Chasm, thirty kilometers in diameter and seemingly bottomless.
The hole was showing clear signs of copse. There was the camp that Xia Fan¡¯s group had previously resided in. After the camp fell into the hole, the two hundred thousand Outer Frontier warriors within had fallen into the Demon Chasm, bing cannon fodder for the Murder Shrine.
On the in a little bit away from the Demon Chasm, a rare giant warship was anchored. It was twelve kilometers long and looked like a bighead carp, with a giant cannon installed on its bow. This cannon exuded an intimidating aura, seemingly capable of sting through an entire star system!
¡°The Murder Shrine really has a lot of nice things,¡± Thousand Ink pursed his lips as he spoke. ¡°That is a product of the Republic¡¯s secondrgest shipyard, Radiance Industry, the Otter ss. It¡¯s considered a small capital ship.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. In the Ashen Moon Universe, warships that ranged from eight hundred meters long to three kilometers long were called small capital ships. The Otter ss was a dreadnought twelve hundred meters long, within the range of a small capital ship.
Capital ships were powerful and expensive; that dreadnought had to cost at least thirty billion Federation dors. Its maintenance and repair expenses were even more shocking. Even the regr fleets of the Three Great Federations couldn¡¯t afford too many capital ships.
The Murder Shrine had mobilized a capital ship for this Demon Chasm expedition? It was clear that they had taken this expedition very seriously. This ship could even be War God Bode¡¯smand ship, waiting for him now that Bode had entered the Demon Chasm.
¡°What do you think about that Sabertooth Tiger interceptor? It can fire interceptor bombs that can hold off any pursuers.¡±
¡°That won¡¯t do at all. While the Sabertooth Tiger can release interceptor bombs, but we have to escape while surrounded by the enemy. We need a ship with extremely strong defenses.¡±
¡°There¡¯s a Ghost interceptor over there. Its thrusters are clearly longer than the standard model, so it¡¯s probably been modified. It should be very fast, and no one should be able to catch us when its overdriving.¡±
Everyone started arguing. Since Murder Shrine had helpfully anchored a fleet here, their n was still a ship from the fleet, leave this ce, then transmit their coordinates and their report to Headquarters.
Everyone had different opinions on which ship they should steal. Jin Yu felt like armor thickness was very important for escaping, Nan Jing felt like speed was more important, and Thousand Ink thought that they were both wrong, and that cloaking ability and anti-surveince ability were the key to escaping.
Xia Fan was also somewhat indecisive. After all, there was no such thing as a perfect warship in the world. Each model had its pros and cons, and it was truly hard to choose.
At that moment, Xia Fan remembered Bright Pearl. While the little dragon was very small, she had once followed the Skywings in their long campaign across the Great Chiliocosm, so she might have a good idea. Thus, Xia Fan spoke with her mentally.
Bright Pearl had seemingly been asleep. The long hibernation had left her very weak, and she still needed a long time to recover.
After hearing Xia Fan¡¯s question, Bright Pearl responded in her unruly voice, ¡°Ugh, you even need to ask? Based on the style of the Skywing n, they would naturally steal the biggest ship and then kill off all their enemies!
¡°You kill one of my people, so I¡¯ll exterminate your entire n! That is the conviction of the Skywings! The Murder Shrine screwed you over, hurt your friends, and stole Xia Chen¡¯s body. To settle this ount, the entirety of the Ashen Moon Universe needs to be painted red with the Murder Shrine¡¯s blood!
¡°Although I confess that you are a proper Skywing, youck the Skywing nature of taking revenge for every slight. ording to the traditions of your n, anyone who steps on yourwn has to leave their leg behind. Do you still need me to teach you what to do now?¡±
Is that how it was¡
After saying all that, Bright Pearl went back to resting. The girl had very high requirements of Xia Fan. In the Demon Chasm, after Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had killed Bode, Bright Pearl had only given him a passing grade.
The meeting between Xia Fan and Bright Pearl also seemed to be some sort of special moment. The unique fiendish nature of the Skywings hidden in Xia Fan¡¯s blood had seemingly been unlocked by Bright Pearl.
Xia Fan seriously considered Bright Pearl¡¯s advice. While stealing the capital ship was very dangerous, if they seeded, they could immediately turn the tables. As it was said, the greatest risk had the greatest reward.
As for the other warships, stealing them might have been easier, but trying to escape with them would be difficult. After all, they were all alone.
With his mind made up, Xia Fan looked over his brothers and sternly said, ¡°Stop arguing. Since we¡¯re going to steal, we might as well steal the biggest.¡± Xia Fan pointed casually at the anchored Otter-ss dreadnought.
Everyone looked at where Xia Fan was pointing, and were instantly stunned speechless.
Chapter 1493 - 1493 Ambush and Ship Hijacking
1493 Ambush and Ship Hijacking
In the blink of an eye, it was midnight on the nameless.
Xia Fan looked around. Everyone was sitting in a circle in an obscured area of the hills. Other than the nonchnt Luo Jiuyi, everyone else was awake, their expressions tense. After all, Xia Fan had drafted a n far beyond their imagination. They were actually going to seize a Murder Shrine Otter-ss dreadnought!
The Otter was a twelve-kilometer-long capital ship, and its massive body contained between seven to ten thousand crew. Meanwhile, Xia Fan¡¯s group plus Sarah was a total of nine people! The gap in manpower was rather absurd. This was bound to be a difficult battle!
It was almost time to begin the operation. Xia Fan said to Sarah, ¡°Sarah, you have only one mission, to keep a close watch on Anyo. He¡¯s our important hostage, so we need to do our best to take him back alive.¡±
!!
Sarah met Xia Fan¡¯s gaze and nodded. She was in a ratherplicated emotional state, and she had a lot she wanted to say to Xia Fan. However, there were too many people around, so she had yet to find the right opportunity. As a result, she remained quiet.
At this time, Anyo, who had said nothing this whole time, suddenly gave a bitter chuckle. ¡°What does it matter if I return to the Murder Shrine? I¡¯ll still be killed.¡±
Anyo looked up at the stars with sorrow in his eyes. In a hoarse voice, he said, ¡°Going back to the Inner Territories is fine. I¡¯m starting to miss home, and also the two persimmon trees in my yard. Every autumn, the trees would beden with golden fruits. My little brother and I would bring over adder and climb the tree to gather the fruits. When I was little, I was so greedy. I would take the just-plucked fruits, wipe them off on my shirt, and take a big bite¡¡±
There was no greater sorrow than the death of the heart, which was the state Anyo was currently in. He had promised Xia Fan that he would confess everything he knew, but not right now, but only after he was returned safely to the Inner Territories. Thus, Xia Fan not only couldn¡¯t touch Anyo, he had to do everything he could to protect him!
Based on scientific research, a person entered the deepest sleep in the very early morning. Thus, Xia Fan fixed the operation time to four in the morning.
¡ª¨C
As the night deepened, Xia Fan waved his hand and ordered everyone to follow him down the hill.
Several minutester, the barren hills were behind them, and before them was a boundless and deste in. There was nothing here to offer them cover. All they could do was rush forward at the perfect moment so that they could reach the Otter dreadnought in one go, after which they would swiftly take care of all the crewmembers on the ship.
Everyone crouched down and waited patiently. After a night of observation, Xia Fan had found that the guards outside the dreadnought changed shifts every two hours. At that time, a hoverstair would be released from the lower deck of the ship. That would be their only opportunity to get into the dreadnought.
As the seconds passed, everyone began to tense, their pulses quickening. Just as their tension reached maximum, Xia Fan suddenly saw the hoverstaire down from the lower deck, after which forty fully-armored warriors descended from the ship and dispersed, taking up various posts, changing shifts with theirrades who had already been there for two hours.
This was the moment!
Xia Fan swung his hand and then exploded forward with astonishing speed. His powerful constitution allowed him to reach maximum speed in a single second. At two thousand meters per second, he only needed one minute to cross a hundred and twenty kilometers, moving even faster than a missile!
The selection of time was extremely important. Forty posts were spread across forty different areas, and the warriors needed ten-plus minutes toe down from the hoverstairs and get to their posts. That time was the perfect opportunity to intrude into the capital ship.
The entry method had also been meticulously calcted. Sarah used her flying de to help everyone get off the ground, with Duan Muheng using his vines to bind everyone tightly together so that no one fell behind just because Xia Fan was too fast.
Xia Fan served as the train with the most horsepower. Although he was alone, he pulled everyone along at lightning speed, charging crazily forward!
Although the capital ship was sixty kilometers away, a vast distance for other people, Xia Fan¡¯s team only needed thirty seconds to cross the distance!
Whoosh!
There was a ck blur, no, a group of ck blurs, sting out from the hills, heading straight for that massive capital ship!
But just as Xia Fan charged out, somethingpletely unexpected happened.
Just as they entered the ins, rms began to re across the temporary spaceport, tearing through the night sky. Countless red warning lights lit up with blinding red lights.
At the same time, the more than one hundred warships anchored at the spaceport, opened their lowerholds, releasing tens of thousands of warriors!
The situation was dangerous! The sudden rm and the numerous enemies hidden in the cargo holds meant that this was clearly a trap!
The Murder Shrine had probably guessed that Xia Fan¡¯s group would infiltrate at night, so they had made preparations!
Their ns wereid out exquisitely. When the rms red, Xia Fan was already ten-some kilometers into the ins. In front of him were numerous enemies charging out of cargo holds, and behind him, numerous enemies were swiftly forming an encirclement, cutting off their retreat!
¡°Oh no!¡±
¡°These scoundrels! How did they know we would make a sneak attack!?¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s brothers shouted, but at this key moment, Xia Fan remained calm and focused. Moreover, Xia Fan had noticed something very interesting. Almost all of the anchored warships had ambushers, all except the capital ship!
Perhaps that was because the Murder Shrine hadn¡¯t imagined, even in its wildest dreams, that Xia Fan would target the capital ship. Located in the center of the spaceport, the giant capital ship did nothing. All that happened was that the guards who were switching out charged in Xia Fan¡¯s direction after they heard the rm.
All or nothing! Xia Fan roared to himself, at the same time pressing the Immortal Wine injector on his right arm. The device Xia Fan had personally made had a red button. If that button was pressed, the device would inject ten drops of Immortal Wine. It was a frightening quantity that could make Xia Fan gopletely crazy! It was a move he had reserved for a battle to the death with a powerful foe!
ck!
The needle pierced into Xia Fan¡¯s vein, and then a frenzied energy, the Immortal Wine brewed with Yggdragon blood, flowed into his veins!
¡°Brothers, hold fast!¡± Xia Fan shouted, his voice already hoarse, his eyes as red as blood! His muscles began to swell like those of a beast!
Faster!
FASTER!
STILL FASTER!
Among all the martial arts of the world, only speed was without w!
Since they were surrounded anyway, Xia Fan decided to go crazy, taking a big bet!
Rumble!
The enemies began to attack, a dazzling barrage of abilities flying toward Xia Fan. They were still rather far away, so close-range abilities couldn¡¯t reach their team yet. Thus, the enemy had used long-range attacks.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t know what his current speed was, but he didn¡¯t care. Therge amount of Yggdragon blood had pushed Xia Fan¡¯s speed to the limit of the limit! Whether it was ice arrows, lightning strikes, or fire tornadoes, they couldn¡¯t hit Xia Fan. All kinds of terrifying attacks brushed past him harmlessly.
The usually rxed Traveling Buddha started to get scared, but it was impossible for them to counterattack. That was because Xia Fan was traveling so fast that they were on the verge of breaking.
An immense force pressed down on their bodies, squeezing their chests and making their bones groan. The weaker Anyo threw up mouthful after mouthful of blood. There was no need to wait for the enemy attacks, for Xia Fan was about to drag Anyo to death!
This was the terrifying Speed type!
The Speed ability could lead to a transcendent transformation of the body. One¡¯s bones, cells, and muscles would evolve to adapt to the faster speed until the Speed ability stood at the peak of all special abilities!
¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡±
¡°He¡¯s this fast? Is this guy even human!?¡±
¡°Oh God! They¡¯re trying to hijack the capital ship!¡±
¡°These crazy scoundrels! Stop them! Hurry and stop them!¡±
The Murder Shrine¡¯s warriors were hurled away by Xia Fan¡¯s speed, even as they cried out in rm.
One second!
Two seconds!
Three seconds!
After activating berserk mode, Xia Fan charged out of the encirclement, carving a bloody path! Before the circle could close, he brought his team up to the capital ship¡¯s hoverstair!
And then with a leap, they all boarded the ship!
Plush! The warrior operating the stairs was beheaded with one swing from Xia Fan¡¯s de. The head immediately flew up and then mmed into the ground, turning into paste.
Looking back, Xia Fan saw a ck flood of enemies down below. Laughing savagely, he said, ¡°Traveling Buddha! Thousand Ink! Hold this ce! Bring up the stairs and don¡¯t let anyone in!¡±
¡°Understood!¡± Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha replied in unison. One had numerousbat beasts, while the other had the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. In this narrow passageway, they could definitely hold off a more numerous foe!
¡°Everyone else, follow me to themand center!¡±
Whoosh!
Leaving Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha behind, Xia Fan started elerating again. They were in the midsection of the dreadnought, and they needed to cross six kilometers of corridors to get to themand deck. He had already crossed sixty kilometers of ins, so that distance was nothing!
A few secondster, Xia Fan brought everyone into themand center. They had run into quite a few enemies on the way. Not expecting Xia Fan to make a grab at the capital ship, they had beenpletely unprepared, and had been ughtered in the halls.
Bang!
Xia Fan kicked open the door to themand deck and found that there weren¡¯t many people there. There were ten-some technicians, and the highest officer was a bearded first officer.
¡°Kill them all!¡± Xia Fan ordered.
Jin Yu and Luo Jiuyi immediately charged out, swinging their weapons. The technicians had littlebat ability and screamed as they were turned into corpses on the deck.
As Jin Yu and Luo Jiuyi led the attack, Nan Jing and Feng Feng stood guard at the door to themand deck, intercepting any enemies. Meanwhile, Xia Fan used his astonishing speed to quickly take control of the ship.
Normally, an Otter-ss ship couldn¡¯t be controlled by a single person and required a team of specialists working together.
But Xia Fan had speed! His speed was great, and his movements were proficient, his fingers blurring acrossplicated control panels as he started the engines, cut offmunications, opened the energy circuits, and activated the catalyzers¡
Although Xia Fan was one person, he was doing the work of several dozen people!
By the time Jin Yu and the others had finished killing the crew, the capital ship¡¯s massive body was trembling, and then its thirty-six energy thrusters zed with blue me, pushing the giant ship slowly upward.
¡°The warship¡¯s activation is done!¡± Xia Fan shouted. ¡°Jin Yu, takemand!¡±
¡°No problem!¡± Jin Yu jumped excitedly behind the control panel. Meanwhile, Xia Fan seemed about to leave, striding toward the door.
¡°Where are you going?¡± Luo Jiuyi asked curiously.
Without turning his head, Xia Fan calmly replied, ¡°The enemies left on the ship might try to damage the engines and prevent us from leaving. I need to kill them all!¡±
Chapter 1494 - 1494 Drunken Buddha
1494 Drunken Buddha
Starting from the most critical enginepartment, Xia Fan raised his butcher¡¯s de and began a frenzied ughter.
If any of their enemies harbored ill intentions and threw a grenade into the engine, the capital ship would quickly be paralyzed and Xia Fan¡¯s escape n would utterly fail. After all, damaging a ship from the inside was far easier than damaging it from the outside.
Thus, all his enemies had to die!
Xia Fan picked up speed and charged into each of the primarypartments, killing off the crewmen who were still hesitating or in shock, chopping their heads off with a single strike.
Plush!
Plush!
Blood quickly flowed into rivers. With astonishing speed, in the space of a single second, Xia Fan had killed all of the more than one hundred engineers on duty in the enginepartment. He then entered the radarpartment and the fire controlpartment, doing the same thing and killing all the crewmen he saw!
It wasn¡¯t long before Xia Fan had killed several thousand people, but his eyes were still crimson, a side effect of therge amount of Immortal Wine he had injected.
Bright Pearl hid in Xia Fan¡¯s bosom, tightly wrapped around him and releasing the nourishing chill of a Frostseal Megadragon. The cool energy suppressed the wicked mes in Xia Fan¡¯s heart, or else he would have long ago gone out of control.
Xia Fan quickly took care of the enemies in the primarypartments, so he turned his target to the crew in the rest areas. Numerous crew members who weren¡¯t on duty were still asleep when they heard the rms ring. They hastily got out of their beds in panic, with no time to put on outer clothes or shoes. Their feet bare, they ran out of their cabins and began to inquire as to what had happened.
That was the situation when Xia Fan entered the crew rest area. Thosepletely unprepared crew members and warriors immediately became the target of Xia Fan¡¯s ughter. He went into each cabin and killed everyone he saw, ignoring their fear and their pleas for mercy.
Whether they were men, women, or old, he killed anyone who wasn¡¯t on his side!
Xia Fan didn¡¯t just move fast, he killed fast!
Less than one minute after he had hijacked the capital ship, Xia Fan had cleaned out the ship¡¯s primarypartments and rest areas!
No one could escape, not even those hiding under the beds. That was because Xia Fan wasn¡¯t just a pure Speed warrior. He also had the Scent ability! He was born to hunt and kill!
Xia Fan killed deck by deck, and even those who managed to evade Xia Fan¡¯s attack couldn¡¯t escape the secondary pursuit of the other hunting specialist in the team, Thousand Ink. Thousand Ink was currently seated on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was mentally controlling several thousandbat beasts of various sizes as they methodically searched all the cabins on the ship.
When not using the Immortal Wine, Xia Fan could achieve speeds of around two thousand meters per second; when taking more than the normal dose of Immortal Wine, his speed was at least doubled. Thus, he quickly cleared at the middle and upper decks of the dreadnought, and he soon entered thergest area, the cargo hold.
His Phantom Mark 7bat uniform had been destroyed in his fight with War God Bode, so Xia Fan was currently wearing a simple low-qualitybat uniform that he had in reserve. His extreme speeds soon left the uniform in tatters, revealing Xia Fan¡¯s muscr body. Those muscles were now stained with blood, making him look savage and frightening.
Xia Fan charged into the cargo hold. There were storage crates of various sizes piled up here, holding food, ammo, medicine, electronics, and so on.
Those supplies were enough to sustain tens of thousands of people for more than ten years. After all, a capital ship was essentially a moving fortress. Once it left its home port, it would spend long periods in space carrying out missions. That could only be possible with sufficient supply reserves.
There didn¡¯t seem to be anyone in the cargo hold, but Xia Fan came to a sudden stop. Borrowing the dim light from the ceiling, he peered into the distance.
At the end of the cargo hold, near the emergency escape hatch, was an extremely muscr man. His hair was very short andbed very neatly. He had his head lowered and seemed to be waiting for someone. He stood there bored while ying with a silver top.
The cargo hold was extremely quiet. As the silver top turned, it let out a soft rustling sound, the sound seemed to link Xia Fan and the short-haired man.
Xia Fan sniffed, and his eyes widened in shock.
Frowning slightly, Xia Fan walked over to the short-haired man. Putting down hisbat de, he asked in a confused voice, ¡°You are¡ Drunken Buddha?¡±
The short-haired man heard Xia Fan¡¯s question and raised his head, revealing a face that was 80% simr to Traveling Buddha¡¯s. But while Traveling Buddha was on the chubby side, Drunken Buddha had a tall and muscr body. While Traveling Buddha wasid back and nonchnt, Drunken Buddha appeared much more suave.
Drunken Buddha smiled, revealing his pearly-white teeth. He then nodded slightly, admitting his identity.
In truth, even if Drunken Buddha didn¡¯t admit it, Xia Fan didn¡¯t think he was wrong. That was because he was far too familiar with Traveling Buddha, and he knew the unique scent the descendants of the Holy Buddha n possessed.
¡°Why are you here?¡± Xia Fan asked cautiously, stopping at a distance of around fifty meters. Although this was Traveling Buddha¡¯s older brother, Drunken Buddha was wearing the furred uniform of a high-ranking member of the Murder Shrine. Xia Fan didn¡¯t know if this was his friend¡¯s older brother, or an enemy!
Drunken Buddha scratched his head, which was very much something that Traveling Buddha would do. Whenever Traveling Buddha felt like he was in trouble, he would scratch his head and put on a frustrated expression.
Drunken Buddha shrugged and raised his wrist. There was amunication terminal in the form of a ck band on it. ¡°I don¡¯t have much time. The fleet is chasing you guys, so let¡¯s keep things short. I was waiting here for you.¡±
¡°Waiting for me?¡± Xia Fan was stunned.
Drunken Buddha smiled as he said, ¡°I know everything from the moment you stepped onto the ship. Originally, I could have met with my little brother. I also know Thousand Ink and Luo Jiuyi. I often went to their homes to y when they were little.
¡°But it¡¯s not convenient for me to see them right now. However, I need a trustworthy contact in the Inner Territories, so after careful thought, I¡¯ve chosen you.¡±
Xia Fan said in confusion, ¡°Why me? Traveling Buddha is your little brother!¡±
Rumble!
Xia Fan had barely spoken when the ship trembled. Although it wasn¡¯t a strong vibration, Xia Fan knew it was a sign that enemies were beginning to fire on the dreadnought!
Drunken Buddha looked up at the swaying lights on the ceiling, and then he said to Xia Fan sternly, ¡°I said before, there¡¯s not much time. Starting now, don¡¯t speak, only listen.
¡°Firstly, when you return to the Inner Territories, help me investigate a matter. This matter concerns the identity of the principal schemer behind the Murder Shrine, why he wants such a powerful force, and why he¡¯s summoned so many of the Inner Territories¡¯ experts, even those of the admiral level.
¡°I won¡¯t hide it from you. In order to investigate the Murder Shrine, I¡¯ve been with them for almost eight years, and my status definitely isn¡¯t low. But up until now, all I know is that there¡¯s some powerful force controlling the Murder Shrine¡¯s every move. I still don¡¯t know where this powerful force came from.
¡°Recently, I¡¯ve discovered that this power controlling the Murder Shrine might not be in the Outer Frontier, but in the Inner Territories!
¡°Perhaps some major figure of the Three Federations is behind the Murder Shrine. There might be a traitor among us. I originally nned to return to the Inner Territories to investigate, but if I did that, my infiltration efforts would go to waste. Thus, I¡¯ve decided to give you that mission.¡±
Drunken Buddha shook his wrist lightly, tossing a small data drive to Xia Fan. Xia Fan grabbed the chip while Drunken Buddha opened the emergency escape hatch.
¡°I have to leave. Thousand Ink and my little brother will be here soon, and I can¡¯t let them find me. And you can¡¯t tell anyone that you met me, even that silly little brother of mine. You have to remember that!
¡°When you get back, give it a careful look. That chip contains the answers to all your questions. Goodbye!¡±
Drunken Buddha, ignoring the confusion in Xia Fan¡¯s eyes, closed the hatch.
Several secondster, a light shuttle shot out, creating an inconspicuous streak of light in the universe as it disappeared into the darkness of space.
Xia Fan couldn¡¯t help but tightly clench the drive Drunken Buddha had given him. He didn¡¯t know if the drive would really hold the answers he wanted, but it was clear that Drunken Buddha had taken huge risks to deliver this to him, so it was probably very important!
Rumble!
Rumble!
The rumbling from cannon fire increased in frequency. Their Murder Shrine pursuers were getting closer, and Xia Fan didn¡¯t have the time to think about Drunken Buddha. He needed to return to themand center and be with his brothers!
Xia Fan was just about to leave when Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha rushed into the cargo hold, ridingbat beasts. Their mounts were tworgebat beasts in the form of cheetahs, brimming with muscle and power.
It was only now that Xia Fan realized that Thousand Ink¡¯sbat beasts could be used as transportation tools. As expected of the Thousand Soldier n, Thousand Ink¡¯s ability was truly amazing!
¡°Any enemies left?¡±
¡°We¡¯ve already checked the upper decks. What about here?¡± Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha asked, one after the other.
Xia Fan shook his head, giving Traveling Buddha a strange look. If this guy knew that his brother that had been missing for eight years had been here and was even wearing a Murder Shrine uniform, he would probably explode. For now, it was best not to tell Traveling Buddha. It had to be kept a secret until the truth was fully out.
¡°There are no enemies left. To themand center!¡±
¡ª
Whoosh! Xia Fan immediately rushed off, grabbing Thousand Ink and Traveling Buddha and taking them back with him to themand center.
After putting the two of them down, Xia Fan went over to the main control panel, his fingers dancing across more than ten thousand buttons.
¡°What¡¯s the current situation?¡±
¡°The Murder Shrine wants to chase us, but they were a little too slow. I¡¯ve already charged up the warp engine, and we can leave at any time. They won¡¯t be able to catch us,¡± Jin Yu said proudly.
In the few minutes Xia Fan had been gone, Jin Yu had been left in themand center. He had once obtained an officer certificate for a Starcloud Union S-ss warship, so everyone had performed pretty well under hismand.
¡°Stop the warp!
¡°Bring the firing system to full power!
Set the reactor at 200%!
¡°Warm up the Star Destroyer Cannon!
¡°First target, E134921!
¡°Second target, N978314!¡±
As Xia Fan issued order after order, everyone was stunned, their brains unable to get around to the idea. They were just about to escape the Murder Shrine¡¯s encirclement, but Xia Fan had decided not to run?
The Otter ss was a dreadnought, and while it had only one main cannon, this main cannon was designed to destroys! Its power was incredible!
Xia Fan wanted to use the Star Destroyer Cannon? He was nning to turn around and obliterate the Murder Shrine?
The others were all shocked. The Murder Shrine ships that were chasing Xia Fan were also stunned to the extreme.
In the backdrop of space, the twelve-kilometer ship turned around, turning the pitch-ck barrel of its cannon on its enemies.
The Star Destroyer Cannon!
As their capital ship had been stolen, the Murder Shrine¡¯s strongest ships were the four Hellfire battleships. They were like children in front of a fierce adult, thoroughly outmatched in both size and firepower!
Suddenly, Xia Fan asked, ¡°Have you transmitted the data to Headquarters?¡±
Jin Yu quickly nodded. ¡°I sent the data and our coordinates to Headquarters the moment we escaped the spatial screen.¡±
¡°Very good!¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s fingers continued to fly across the control tform, the firing radar locking onto the pursuing enemy ships.
Xia Fan¡¯s reasoning was very simple. In this universe, there were big fish and small fish. Since he was controlling a capital ship, bing the fiercest shark in the sea of stars, he naturally couldn¡¯t run. There was no such thing in this world as the small fish chasing a shark!
On the screen, the Murder Shrine¡¯s ships were quickly locked onto. They turned red on the screen and were marked with a targeting circle and a cross.
¡°Fire!¡± Xia Fan ordered loudly.
With a shipwide rumble, a dazzling white night streaked across the darkness. This beam of light had the power to pierce through a! It lit up space!
Under Xia Fan¡¯s control, the Otter-ss dreadnought lunged fiercely at the Murder Shrine fleet!
Firing all guns!
Barraging his enemies!
Chapter 1495 - 1495 A Complete Wipeout!
1495 A Complete Wipeout!
Under Xia Fan¡¯s control, the Otter-ss dreadnought turned its fortress of a body, bringing to bear its-annihting Star Destroyer Cannon, and began to fire on the Murder Shrine fleet!
Canon exchanges were among the most miserable scenes that might be seen in a war. These spaceships were made with advanced technology and were carrying multiple systems designed for war. One such system was a warp disruptor. Once a warp disruptor locked on, a warp engine would lose its effect, so the ship would be unable to leave and have no choice but to fight to the finish.
At this time, Xia Fan had used the warp disruptor on at least twelve enemy ships, and the enemy had used the warp disruptor on Xia Fan. No one could leave until this battle was decided!
With awesome rumbles, the enormous cannons howled, the sounds of the explosions shook the universe and lit up the river of stars!
Xia Fan had made up his mind to fight the enemy to the death!
The Star Destroyer Cannon let out a bestial roar, its st aimed at a battleship in the center of the enemy. The enormous force tore the ship in half, and then the heavily armored Hellfire battleship blew up from the inside, turning into a dazzling explosion. The more than a thousand crew members aboard it were instantly turned into dust.
Xia Fan¡¯s tactics were extremely simple: target killing!
The Otter-ss dreadnought had only one main cannon, so Xia Fan could only target one ship at a time. But the Star Destroyer Cannon was so immensely powerful that it would destroy any enemy ship it hit!
The Murder Shrine was using group tactics, swiftly closing the distance like killer bees and unleashing all their firepower in order to swiftly wear away the dreadnought¡¯s defenses.
¡ª
It was soon clear both sides¡¯ tactics were working sessfully. The energy shield of Xia Fan¡¯s dreadnought was quickly destroyed. If its armor was destroyed as well, Xia Fan would only have the structure left on defense.
But Xia Fan¡¯s passivity was only somewhat obvious in the first ten minutes of the battle. That period of time had truly been dangerous. With more than one hundred ships hammering away, the energy shield had dropped like it was on a roller coaster. But as Xia Fan killed the enemy ships off one by one, the Murder Shrine¡¯s firepower began to falter.
Both sides suffered heavy losses. If this tempo kept up, even the twelve-kilometer-long ship wouldn¡¯t be able tost for long!
¡°We¡¯ve already lost half of our armor!¡± Jin Yu shouted worriedly, staring at the numbers on the screen.
His face was very pale. As someone who had learned how tomand capital ships, Jin Yu knew very well what it meant for half of the armor to be lost. After all, this ship was enormous and clumsy. It would never be able to escape the vicious barrage. Things were different for the Murder Shrine¡¯s light warships, which could flee using their superior speed and maneuverability if the situation turned sour.
The table seemed to be turning against Xia Fan¡¯s side. Although he had destroyed the enemy¡¯s main warships, the faster and nimbler small warships remained annoying, like mosquitoes, constantly sucking his blood.
Xia Fan naturally understood that the situation was getting worse, but he had no reaction to Jin Yu¡¯s warning, continuing to control the capital ship alone. At one second, Xia Fan would be in the fire control center, and in the next second, he would be turning the torpedouncher controller. He was doing what normally required an entire crew to do!
¡°Armor loss is at sixty percent!¡± Jin Yu shouted again, fine beads of sweat beginning to appear on his forehead. He was clearly nervous to the extreme.
¡°Curses! The enemy ships are all at their ideal firing range. They¡¯re concentrating their fire on the stern enginepartment!¡± Thousand Ink shouted from another control panel. He was looking at a screen that disyed the locations of the enemy.
The enginepartment contained the ship¡¯s extremely powerful reactor. If it was destroyed, it would trigger a series of huge explosions. The enemy had seemingly found Xia Fan¡¯s weakness and had begun to rip and tear away at the most vulnerable spot on the ship.
But when Xia Fan heard Thousand Ink¡¯s words, he smiled yfully. The smile left everyone dazed. None of them understood what Xia Fan was nning, but it seemed like he wasn¡¯t afraid that the enemy was concentrating fire on the ship¡¯s stern.
Jin Yu had turned ashen, his chest rising and falling as he started to pant.
Although the Star Destroyer Cannon was bringing down the number of enemy ships rapidly, the simtions from the mainputer indicated that if the trends remained the same, the result would be that the dreadnought would be lost and the enemy would still have twenty-some ships surviving!
Jin Yu¡¯s eyes were streaked with blood, and he felt like his chest was tearing itself apart. The tactics he had learned atmand school were telling him that this situation wasn¡¯t just unfavorable. On the contrary, his side was already in desperate straits!
The Star Destroyer Cannon was on the front of the dreadnought, but the enemy ships had all moved to the stern and were attacking the ship¡¯s weakest point. Although the dreadnought had medium-range defensive cannons in the center and rear, they weren¡¯t particrly effective.
This passive situation was because of the dreadnought¡¯s role. Of the two kinds of capital ships, it was the carrier that was praised for being top-ss in both offense and defense.
The dreadnought was only good at attacking! While the Star Destroyer Cannon could tear through all enemies, its defenses were poor. Its greatest vulnerability was small enemy ships getting close. After all, once the enemy ships were close, the dreadnought¡¯s main cannon wouldn¡¯t hit them regardless. Thus, in most battles, dreadnoughts would pull back some distance before firing, doing their utmost to avoid close confrontations.
Suddenly, just when everyone was at maximum tension from the extremely unfavorable situation, Xia Fan suddenly made a shocking move !
He pushed a button, releasing twelve high-energy ion bombs!
Ion bombs were a kind of space mine. When thrown out from the bombpartments, they would float in space, waiting for a signal from their mothership to detonate.
Normally, mines wereid across paths enemy ships would have toe through, and then blow up when the enemy wasn¡¯t expecting it. But Xia Fan was throwing out the mines right next to them!
Utterly horrifying! It was like someone grabbing a hand grenade and putting it in their chest rather than throwing it away!
Xia Fan¡¯s next order had everyone almost vomiting blood! ¡°All ion bombs, detonate!¡±
Rumble!
Rumble!
The twelve ion bombs just released by the dreadnought exploded only a few kilometers away!
Xia Fan was crazy! He was blowing himself up, together with his enemies!
It was a reckless and ruthless move, killing one thousand at the cost of eight hundred of one¡¯s own!
As the explosions bloomed, themand center shuddered, and the screens started to go ck. The shockwaves made everyone sway, forcing them to grab the handholds on the deck.
A few momentster, the explosions finally stopped. Jin Yu and the others hastily looked at the radar screens and saw that the small ships that had been buzzing around them like flies had almost all been turned into floating wrecks!
Their dreadnought was also severely damaged. The energy shields had beenpletely disabled, the armor ting was lost, and even the structure was down to sixty-three percent¡
Such a bitter price! But the enemy losses had been even more bitter!
The crazy self-detonation had left behind more than a hundred wrecks in space. Only three destroyers with thicker armor had managed to barely survive Xia Fan¡¯s suicidal attack. The rest, whether they were interceptors or electronic warfare ships, had all been sted to bits!
After all, the bombs had been too close. The enemy had never imagined that Xia Fan would blow himself up along with them. Nomander with an ordinary brain would do that!
The three badly damaged destroyers began to stagger their way out of the battlefield.
Theirmanding officers had probably been scared half to death by Xia Fan¡¯s madness. They had seen reckless people before, but never anyone that crazy! If Xia Fan¡¯s calctions had only been slightly off, like if he had released two more ion bombs, he might have gone down with them! Only someone of immense daring and an even sharper mind would dare to do such a thing!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The most dangerous moment had passed, so Xia Fan very casually used the dreadnought¡¯s remaining medium-range cannons to attack the fleeing destroyers. After three barrages, thest three destroyers were also destroyed. In the blink of an eye, they became dazzling fireworks in space.
¡°Hurrah!¡± Upon realizing that they had won, Thousand Ink and the others cheered wildly, joy on their faces. They hugged each other and celebrated, and even their hostage Anyo seemed happy that he had survived.
Xia Fan hadn¡¯t just scared the enemy half to death, he had badly frightened his own brothers, though perhaps not so badly that they would wet themselves.
It was a very close call, but the results were unimaginable. Xia Fan had used one dreadnought to destroy an entire enemy fleet!
More than one hundred ships of various sizes hade, but not even one had escaped!
It was aplete wipeout! An amazing battle worthy of the textbooks!
¡ª
¡°Whew!¡± Xia Fan exhaled in relief. As he sat down on the wide captain¡¯s chair, he could feel the veins in his temples throbbing.
¡®That was pretty good. Although your speed isn¡¯t as crazy as your dad¡¯s, at least you canpare to Xia Fan given yourmand on the battlefield,¡¯ Bright Pearl said telepathically.
Xia Fan shrugged helplessly. Bright Pearl had probably gotten used to the crazy battles of the Skywings, so she wasn¡¯t at all surprised that Xia Fan had won, giving him only a decent evaluation.
After resting for a few seconds, Xia Fan regained hisposure. His usual smile on his face, he looked around at hisrades.
¡°So refreshing!¡± Luo Jiuyi waved his fists around as he shouted excitedly, ¡°We killed all the enemies, so now, we can finally go back with our heads held high! Not only did we find the Demon Chasm, we even destroyed a Murder Shrine fleet! My dad will definitely be happy when I tell him this!¡±
¡°Tsk, it was all Xia Fan¡¯s effort. Youzy cat, what did you do?¡± Jin Yu teased Luo Jiuyi with his sharp tongue. Jin Yu then ran over to Xia Fan¡¯s side and put an arm around his neck. ¡°Xia Fan, have a good rest. Leave the rest to me. I¡¯m no good in battle, but I can definitely deliver us safely home.¡±
Jin Yu was saying that the rest of the voyage could be left to him and that Xia Fan didn¡¯t need to trouble himself anymore. But Xia Fan smiled and shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. Let¡¯s wait a few more minutes for the reactor to recharge the main cannon.¡±
¡°Recharge?¡± Jin Yu blinked in confusion. ¡°There are no more enemies, so why are you recharging the Star Destroyer Cannon?¡±
Xia Fan raised his arm and pointed at the nameless yellow. ¡°There are no enemies in space, but there are still some on the.
¡°Since we¡¯ve already killed so many, we might as well clean them out!¡±
Chapter 1496 - 1496 Law Power
1496 Law Power
Xia Fan controlled the hijacked dreadnought and fired several sts at the nameless, obliterating the Murder Shrine base and venting some of his rage. Only then did he hand the reins over to Jin Yu so that they could return to the Inner Territories.
Headquarters had already sent word that they had received the coordinates to the Demon Chasm. This matter was extremely important to the union, as the Special Investigation Bureaus and militaries of all three Federations were desperately searching for the Demon Chasm¡¯s location.
After all, the Demon Chasm¡¯s appearance verified the Skywing prophecy from forty thousand years ago. That sort of frightening disaster wasn¡¯t something the Starcloud Union could deal with by itself. All three Federations needed to work together!
As for the orders Xia Fan¡¯s group received, they were to immediately meet up with the reinforcements and then return to the Inner Territories to rest and recuperate. The Demon Chasm and the follow-up investigation of the Murder Shrine would be left to the powerful divisions of the Three Great Federations to handle.
Xia Fan cast aside all the thoughts in his mind, found himself an empty cabin, and told his brothers that he was going to rest. Once he was in the room, Xia Fan hastily took out a micro terminal and attached the drive Drunken Buddha had given him into the reader.
There was a hum as the projector on the wrist-shaped terminal was activated, and a screen appeared. Xia Fan frowned as he read the words on the screen. It turned out that this drive could only be read once. The moment the contents were read, the device¡¯s self-destruction function would activate.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t rush to read the contents. He first took a bath and recovered his spiritual energy before returning to the room and pressing the confirmation button on the screen.
Hummmmm¡
The screen blinked, and Xia Fan saw a star map¡¯s disy. On it were many special symbols; in the center of the star map was a door.
Xia Fan looked at the description below the star map and realized that that was actually a star map of the Three Federations¡¯ core Forbidden Region. The door in the center was the symbol of the legendary Cosmic Gate which the Skywings had once used to invade Ashen Moon.
There was also a symbol in the shape of an energy shield. That was probably the dome where Xia Fan and the Disasters had once lived. The dome wasn¡¯t too far from the Cosmic Gate, only separated by a single star system.
Xia Fan couldn¡¯t help but shudder when he saw the dome symbol. The scenes of his life with the Disasters reyed in his mind like a movie. As he didn¡¯t have the authority to enter the Forbidden Region, Xia Fan had yet to return to thend beneath the dome. He didn¡¯t know if the Disasters had truly been killed by that mysterious foe or not.
Xia Fan suppressed the sorrow in his heart and continued to study the star map. Besides the symbols for the Cosmic Gate and the dome, there were many other symbols with unknown meanings, like that white building. It appeared to be some sort ofb. There was also a bizarre seven-colored flower. When studying pharmacology, Xia Fan had nevere across a nt like that.
In short, it was a veryplicated and mysterious star map. There were several hundred marks on the forbidden region, and Xia Fan made certain to memorize all the marks and the star map itself before reading the contents below it.
His boost in speed had also given Xia Fan faster reading speed and memorization ability. After around one hour, he had read the contents of the drive three times through and memorized every word in it. After doing all that, Xia Fan closed the screen.
ck~
The fingernail-sized drive popped out of the terminal¡¯s reader. The moment it left the terminal, the drive went up in mes, burning all of its secrets to ash.
Xia Fan¡¯s mouth was dry, so he took a bottle of spring water from the refrigerator and took a few drinks from it. He then massaged his temples and organized his thoughts.
To put it simply, Drunken Buddha had told Xia Fan two things: One, Drunken Buddha no longer trusted the upper echelons of the Three Federations. He suspected that there was a traitor among them; and two, Drunken Buddha wanted Xia Fan to go to the Forbidden Region to find a person. That person was someone who might know the secrets of the Four Great ns.
Xia Fan looked up at the ceiling and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s rted to the Four Great ns?¡±
At that time, Pearl had also finished taking a bath. pping her little wings, she flew onto Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder, cocked her head, and looked curiously at Xia Fan.
Xia Fan had initially nned to take a bath with her, but she was actually very bashful, her little white face turning as red as an apple. Xia Fan had found her embarrassed face back then rather amusing. It turned out that this bothersome little monster also had times where she was flustered.
¡°What are the Four Great ns?¡± Pearl asked curiously after hearing Xia Fan¡¯s mumbling.
Xia Fan replied, ¡°The Four Great ns were Ashen, Dragon, Moon, and Hidden. After being defeated by the Skywings, the four ns did not participate in the establishment of the Three Federations. Instead, theypletely disappeared. It has been forty thousand years since then, but there is still no news about them, and nobody knows what they¡¯re doing.¡±
¡°Tsk.¡± Pearl grumbled. ¡°Those guys were considered the Four Great ns? Nothing but a bunch of losers. Not only did theyckbat power, they had bad hearts, too. Originally, we didn¡¯t n to start a massacre in Ashen Moon, but those guys started a war. Theirplete defeat was deserved.¡±Xia Fan suddenly remembered something and asked Pearl, ¡°Right, apparently, before my father left, he left behind a Skywing token. Could that item be in the hands of the Four Great ns?¡±
Pearl shook her head and regretfully said, ¡°I don¡¯t know, because I was already in a feigned death state when the Demon Chasm was discovered. Your father leaving behind the Skywing Token and Xia Chen¡¯s death in battle were all things that happened afterward.
¡°But I¡¯m guessing that Xia Chen¡¯s death was definitely rted to the Four Great ns. They aren¡¯t good people. Your father had said that he didn¡¯t want to fight with any other humans while the Ant Demons remained a threat, but Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon broke their promises again and again, thoroughly enraging your dad.¡±
Xia Fan felt like that was correct. Xia Chen¡¯s memorial stele had noted that Ashen Dragon had ambushed the Skywings using the pretext of negotiations, ending with Xia Chen to die in battle. At that time, the Four Great ns had been the leaders of Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, so they must have given the order for the ambush!
With that thought in mind, Xia Fan had a very poor opinion of the Four Great ns.
Pearl stood on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder and pped Xia Fan¡¯s neck with her little wings. ¡°Now that things havee to this, I might as well tell you the truth. Even if you find the Skywing Token, it¡¯s pointless!¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. ¡°What? Why?!¡±
Pearl jumped onto the table, her body emitting a faint white light as she turned back into a little girl. Propping a hand under her chin, she told him, ¡°Because both time and space are in chaos within the Great Chiliocosm. In any case, it¡¯s a whole lot of trouble. Even if the Skywings were to return to Ashen Moon, it¡¯s not certain WHEN they would arrive. It could be in the past, or sometime in the future!
¡°The only function of the Skywing Token is to inform your dad that you¡¯re still alive. But if he wants toe and get you, unless he can control the time nodes of the Cosmic Gate, he will have to depend on luck.
¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry too much. The Skywings have been studying this whole time. The Skywing Token of the past was just a simple energy emitter, unable to prate through the barriers between universes. Butter Skywing Tokens had the ability to send signals between universal spaces. It was a result of them studying the Law of Space.¡±
¡°Haaa¡¡± Xia Fan sighed. The chaotic time nodes truly were a problem. From what Pearl had said, going back home was truly very difficult!
Suddenly, Xia Fan started and quickly asked, ¡°You said the Law of Space? What¡¯s that?¡±
Pearl crossed her legs, acting as if it was amon question. ¡°That is the power of Law, a power of eternity above special abilities. If you want to be as fast as your dad, a special ability isn¡¯t enough. You also need to master the Law of Speed!
¡°s, I¡¯m not a member of your n, so I can¡¯t tell you about the Law of Speed. We dragons exist beyond all power systems, so we don¡¯t need special abilities or Laws. We are born powerful.¡±
Pearl seemed very proud about that, but she truly did have the right to be proud. After all, she was a dragon, a species that was born incredibly powerful. The Skywings needed to constantly study and cultivate, while the dragons just needed to eat and live!
Xia Fan stroked his spatial ring and took out the Golden Law for Pearl to look at.
¡°Do you remember those Disasters who raised me? The most formidable of them was Blind Grandpa. Before he left, he gave me this. It seems to be very valuable, but strangely, there¡¯s not a single word on it. Is this the so-called Law power you spoke of?¡±
Pearl looked down at that ancient book, and her eyes turned round and bright. ¡°The Law of Gold! You actually have the Law of Gold! So many people are desperate for this thing. Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it earlier?¡±
Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°Look carefully. Only its name is the Law of Gold. There¡¯s nothing inside it.¡±
Pearl rolled her eyes and swore viciously, ¡°You country bumpkin, you¡¯ll make me die from anger! Law power is a supreme existence. You think it can be described using words?¡±
Xia Fan frowned. ¡°It can¡¯t?¡±
¡°Of course not!¡± Pearl ced a hand on her hip and spoke like a teacher. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and describe the universe to me with words?¡±
¡°Uh¡¡± Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s probably not possible. The universe is too big, too mysterious, and tooplex.¡±
Pearl said, ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying! The descriptive power of words is extremely limited, and what¡¯s important about studyingws isprehending,prehending the powerful rules of the universe!
¡°Although I¡¯ve never studied Laws before, I do know that no Law is passed down through words, only through mental energy. This Law of Gold doesn¡¯t seem to have any words, but that¡¯s because you haven¡¯t found the proper method to read it yet!¡±
Xia Fan sat up in shock, muttering, ¡°If I can find the right method to read it, I can learn the Law of Gold?¡±
Pearl said casually, ¡°Of course! Tell me, what special ability did that Blind Grandpa of yours have?¡±
Xia Fan thought it over and said, ¡°Blind Grandpa didn¡¯t seem to have any sort of special ability. Except, his eyes were very special. They shed like gold.¡±
Pearl nodded. ¡°Then he probably had a vision-type special ability. So you see, if even a vision ability user can grasp the Law of Gold, you can as well!
¡°Moreover, the Law of Gold is an all-purpose Law power. It is extremely powerful, and it can get you an almost invincible Golden Body!¡±
Chapter 1497 - 1497 Destination: the Forbidden Region!
1497 Destination: the Forbidden Region!
Bright Pearl¡¯s introduction of the Law of Gold left Xia Fan very excited.
In short, the Law of Gold was an all-purpose Law. If the Gold Law¡¯s power was used on the eyes, Xia Fan could boost his vision. If it was used on the body, it would improve his defense. If it was used on the heart, it would boost his blood flow.
Although the Law of Gold wasn¡¯t as heaven-defying as the Law of Speed, it was superior in terms of itsprehensiveness. Once he obtained its power, Xia Fan could greatly boost his abilities in every area.
Through Pearl¡¯s instructions, Xia Fan attempted a special method to read the Law of Gold.
!!
Heid down on his bed, closed his eyes, and opened his seventh brain region, releasing the mysterious energy within it.
This step wasn¡¯t that easy to perform, for a warrior¡¯s seventh brain region was a pool of umted energy. Trying to move the water out of that pool required patience and meticulous control.
Pearl told Xia Fan that the key to emitting one¡¯s thoughts wasplete rxation, focusing all of one¡¯s mind on the seventh brain region and forgetting one¡¯s surroundings.
It was easier said than done. At the start, Xia Fan was too nervous, desperately trying to control the seventh brain region. This ended up having the opposite effect, and his body trembled from the tension, and he was soon drenched with sweat.
¡°What is this?¡± Pearl muttered unhappily. ¡°Don¡¯t try to control the seventh brain region. You have to slowly guide it!¡±
¡ª¡ª
Several hourster, Xia Fan finally found the trick to emitting the power of the seventh brain region. The result of emitting that power was somewhat simr to that of mental perception. Xia Fan clearly had his eyes closed, but he could sense Bright Pearl moving about his room, and he sensed that the tap in the bathroom hadn¡¯t beenpletely closed and was dripping water.
The Law of Gold next to Xia Fan let out a faint light, and a mysterious energy emerged from the book.
Xia Fan tried to use his seventh brain region to link with that power. When the two energies collided, they produced a mystical synergistic reaction. Memories began to appear in Xia Fan¡¯s mind, including the method of learning the Law of Gold, what one would feel when cultivating it, and so on.
It was like memory imntation. Someone who had learned the Law of Gold was transnting all their experiences into Xia Fan¡¯s brain!
¡
Xia Fan felt like he had gone through a very, very long dream. When he opened his eyes, he found that the Law of Gold that he had ced on the bed beside him had disappeared.
Xia Fan hastily looked around for it. At this time, Pearl, who was scarfing down some ice cream, chided him, ¡°Stop looking. If my guess is right, the Law of Gold didn¡¯t actually have a physical form, but was a manifestation of that Blind Grandpa¡¯s memories. Right now, the Law of Gold has been transnted into your brain, so now that its mission is done, it has disappeared!¡±
Xia Fan found Pearl¡¯s exnation very mystical, but when he considered that there were always mystical things happening in the Great Chiliocosm, and that his own understanding of the universe was very shallow, Xia Fan could only ept her exnation.
¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Xia Fan stood up and walked to Pearl¡¯s side. He reached out his right hand and gently wiped her mouth. The little girl had been stuffing her face with ice scream so much that she looked like Santa us.
Pearl instantly turned red in the face. For some reason, she was extremely resistant to being touched by Xia Fan. Whenever Xia Fan touched her, she would be very shy and embarrassed.
¡°How long was I asleep?¡± Xia Fan pulled a chair over and sat next to Pearl.
¡°Not long, only a few hours,¡± Pearl replied, regaining herposure.
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°Only a few hours? I felt like I lived through an entire epoch!¡±
Pearl shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s very normal. You received a lifetime of Blind Grandpa¡¯s experience in cultivating the Law of Gold. That would definitely be a very long process!
¡°Now that I think about it, this Blind Grandpa really treated you well. Manifesting memories requires a lot of energy and time. He probably needed a few years, possibly more than a decade, to prepare this Law of Gold for you.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. It wasn¡¯t just Blind Grandpa. Every person under the dome had treated him very well. Xia Fei and Avril were his birth parents, and the Disasters were his second parents in Ashen Moon!
¡
After several days of voyaging, Xia Fan¡¯s band finally rendezvoused with the fleet from the Union.
Tomend Xia Fan and the others for their contribution to the Union, all eight of them received the rank of Advanced Investigators of the Union Special Bureau, and a short and simple reward ceremony was held. In addition, for the act of killing War God Bode, Xia Fan was given the bounty of one billion points.
Xia Fan had said that it was the entire team who had worked to kill Bode, but Traveling Buddha and the others refused any credit. With no other choice, Xia Fan had to ept the enormous sum.
As Advanced Investigators, they now enjoyed many more benefits. For example, Xia Fan could now purchase a battleship as his personal ship, and he could look through the Union¡¯s secret databases.
But Xia Fan still could not get the Forbidden Region permit that he so dearly wanted. He would have to sneak in to find the mysterious person Drunken Buddha was looking for.
¡ª¡ª
After staying with the reinforcement fleet for only a few hours, Xia Fan was forced to part with them. His mission was over, and he needed to return to the Inner Territories. Meanwhile, the fleet had to head to the Demon Chasm so that they could implement defenses and perform research.
¡°Let¡¯s say our farewells here. Although Ashen Moon is vast, we will definitely have a chance to meet again,¡± Xia Fan said to Thousand Ink and the others before leaving. Although he spoke with great certainty, everyone was working in different branches scattered across the universe, and meeting again truly wouldn¡¯t be easy.
They all hugged each other and said their goodbyes. After going through that tough battle together, they had be friends who would give their lives for each other.
When it came time to say goodbye to Nie Yan, Xia Fan truly wanted to tell her the truth about Drunken Buddha so that she would stop worrying. But Drunken Buddha had told Xia Fan not to tell anyone else about him, including his own little brother. Xia Fan had no choice but to respect Drunken Buddha¡¯s decision.
¡°Sister Nie Yan, take good care of yourself,¡± Xia Fan smiled and said to Nie Yan. ¡°After this incident, I¡¯ve learned that the Murder Shrine still has many secrets. Brother Drunken Buddha is a very responsible man, so he might be secretly investigating all those things. He must have his own troubles to not have appeared to us as yet. No matter what, you have to trust him.¡±
Nie Yan was taken aback, then gave him a gratified look and nodded. ¡°You and Traveling Buddha should stay safe, too. Your deeds have left the upper echelons of the Union shocked. They might give you even more important missions after this.¡±
Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s naturally good to have a mission. But when I get back, I need some time to rest. This mission was truly a little tiring.¡±
Nie Yan patted Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha on the shoulders and sent them off to the ck Egg. Xia Fan set the autopilot on, and the ck Egg warped into space at a speed three times faster than an ordinary warship.
But Xia Fan didn¡¯t tell Traveling Buddha that they weren¡¯t going back to the Deron Star Region. Instead, they were headed toward the Forbidden Region in the center of the Three Federations!
Chapter 1498 - 1498 Cultivating the Law of Gold!
1498 Cultivating the Law of Gold!
Xia Fan set the autopilot and left the pilot cabin. When he arrived at the residential cabin, he took a nce at Traveling Buddha. This guy was exhausted and was sound asleep in bed, hugging his precious teapot while thunderously snoring away.
Xia Fan left the cabin, locked the door, and headed down into the cargo hold. He set the door on ¡°Do Not Disturb¡± and then took Pearl out, cing her on the floor.
Bright Pearl¡¯s body glowed, and she turned into a little girl with snow-white skin and a delicate face. It was a pity that there was a hint of unruliness on her features.
¡°The only other person on the ship is my good friend Traveling Buddha. I¡¯m going to the forbidden region this time at the request of Traveling Buddha¡¯s older brother. Traveling Buddha isn¡¯t an outsider, so even if he sees you, he wouldn¡¯t do anything to you. But for safety¡¯s sake, just endure a little longer and avoid showing yourself in front of Traveling Buddha,¡± Xia Fan said, stroking his chin.
¡°So annoying!¡± Bright Pearl¡¯s face turned red as she pursed her lips. ¡°Being carried around by you every day, disgusting!¡±
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°What¡¯s disgusting about it?¡±
¡°Your body odor is disgusting?¡±
Xia Fan was confused and sniffed himself. He said with a frown, ¡°I just took a bath, so what odor?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not that kind of odor. It¡¯s a man¡¯s scent! In any case, it¡¯s not a good smell,¡± Pearl said unreasonably, folding her arms.
¡°I also have the Scent special ability, so how can there be a smell I don¡¯t know about?¡± Xia Fan said to himself. He scratched his head and decided to stop arguing with Pearl. The girl was very unreasonable at times.
It was best to get down to business first. Xia Fan had brought Pearl over so that she could help him cultivate the Law of Gold. Although Pearl was just a little girl, she had a vast array of experiences.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the hold, Xia Fan adjusted his breathing and began to circte the Law of Gold.
It wasn¡¯t long before Xia Fan suddenly opened his eyes, his ck eyes now emitting a faint golden light. Although it wasn¡¯t an intense light, still far from Grandpa Blind¡¯s golden eyes, it truly was the light of the Law of Gold!
There were many boxes in the hold, carryingbat resources, food, ammo, parts, and so on.
Xia Fan noticed that his vision was so clear that he could make out even the tiniest scratches and protrusions on the boxes. Of course, he still couldn¡¯t see through the boxes to what was inside.
Xia Fan was shocked. He hurriedly left the hold, entered the corridor, and peered out into the stars.
In the distance was a barren, its surface pockmarked with craters and covered in ice, volcanoes at its poles. He could see all of it clearly, as if he was using an extremely powerful telescope!
Xia Fan returned to the hold and reported to Pearl, ¡°Amazing! My vision is many times more powerful!¡±
Pearl pursed her lips. ¡°Lucky guy, you really are a descendant of the Demon Sealing Fiendish de! You¡¯ve only been learning the Law of Gold for a few days, but it¡¯s already starting to show effects. You basically have the luck of your dad!¡±
Xia Fan was taken aback. ¡°Are you praising me?¡±
Pearl ced a hand on her hip and said, ¡°Idiot! Of course I¡¯m praising you! Do you even know who your father is? He¡¯s the strongest warrior I¡¯ve ever seen! Do you think it¡¯s a bad thing to be as lucky as your dad?
¡°It¡¯s so strange. You Skywings seem to have some magic power to pick up anything you learn very quickly!
¡°But don¡¯t be careless. In your n, there are plenty of monsters like you. Your learning speed isn¡¯t anywhere close to the top!¡±
What a sharp-tongued girl, Xia Fanmented to himself.
¡ª¡ª
Encouraged by how much the Law of Gold had improved his vision, Xia Fan cultivated even more diligently, even forgoing sleep.
Pearl said that Xia Fan¡¯s passion for study wasn¡¯t like that of the other monsters of the Skywing n, only like his dad. That was because the vast majority of those monsters were infamous for cking on their proper duties. The only truly diligent one was Xia Fan.
After seven days of travel, Traveling Buddha ran into themand deck to find Xia Fan, asking with a frown, ¡°I say, why haven¡¯t we reached the Deron Star Region yet? We should have arrived yesterday.¡±
Xia Fan had no choice but to tell Traveling Buddha the truth. He had Traveling Buddha sit down as he nervously rubbed his hands together.
¡°I¡¯ll be honest; we¡¯re not going to the Deron Star Region,¡± Xia Fan scratched his chin and sighed.
¡°We¡¯re not going back to Deron? Then where are we going?¡± Traveling Buddha was a little baffled.
Xia Fan embarrassedly said, ¡°We¡¯re going to the Forbidden Region, because I have things to do there, so¡¡±
Before Xia Fan could finish, Traveling Buddha stopped him and grumbled, ¡°Not going back to Deron? You should have said so earlier! Then I wouldn¡¯t have booked that suite at the hot springs and called over our brothers in the bureau to have a soak together! Fine, fine, I¡¯ll go and cancel it now.¡±
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°Is that it?¡±
¡°What else is there?¡±
¡°You aren¡¯t going to ask me why we¡¯re going to the Forbidden Region?¡±
¡°Is that necessary?¡± Traveling Buddha countered, not appearing to care. ¡°We¡¯ve already been through the Demon Chasm, so what else is there? In any case, I¡¯ll just go wherever you go. Carry on with your business. I¡¯m going back. I still haven¡¯t had a drink of the tea I just brewed.
¡°This guy, you should have told me earlier. Ugh, so annoying¡¡±
And then, Traveling Buddha left! He just turned and left!
Pearl crawled out of Xia Fan¡¯s bosom and looked after Traveling Buddha. ¡°A weirdo! Intruding into the Forbidden Region cannd you in prison if you¡¯re caught! But that guy was willing to follow you without even asking why¡¡±
Emotion appeared in Xia Fan¡¯s eyes as he said indifferently, ¡°What do you understand? This is what it means to be brothers!¡±
¡
Although the ck Egg was fast, the Outer Frontier and Forbidden Region were too far apart. They first had to cross more than half of the Outer Frontier and then through all of the Inner Territories.
In the blink of an eye, it was the 11th day of the voyage. Midway, Xia Fan stopped at a called Dunbath to resupply. While there, he bought a new battlesuit.
This new battlesuit was called the Phantom Mark 8, a new product fresh out of the factory. The price was ten times more expensive than the previous, at three million points. Xia Fan had received a billion points for killing War God Bode, so he felt nothing from spending that little amount of money.
The only thing that left Xia Fan unhappy was that he wanted to buy an even better battlesuit, but wasn¡¯t able to. Traveling Buddha told Xia Fan that better battlesuits were personally ordered from master artisans. Xia Fan didn¡¯t have the time, so he had to drop the idea.
¡ª¡ª
The ck Egg was fast, and ording to the navigation system, he would arrive at the edge of the Forbidden Region soon.
Xia Fan stood in the lower hold, his left hand holding a trititanium crowbar as thick as his arm. He raised his right arm, which was shining with a golden light from the elbow down. This light was even brighter than before, almost enveloping his entire forearm.
He chopped his right hand down like a de at the end of the crowbar, and the extremely tough metal snapped.
ck!
ck!
Xia Fan kept chopping, and the crowbar became shorter and shorter, until it was only ten centimeters long. Xia Fan picked up the piece of metal and chopped it with his hand, slicing it in two.
Bright Pearl sat on the side. She had been happily eating from a bag of chocte when she was left dumbfounded by Xia Fan using his hand to chop through the alloy, shock in her eyes.
Xia Fan squatted down and picked up the piece of the severed metal. The cut was so clean that it seemed to have been done by aser. Weighing the metal in his hand, he looked back at Pearl and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡±
After a momentary daze, Pearl swallowed and turned away, intentionally not looking at Xia Fan. Only then did she say, ¡°Fiends! All of you Skywings are Fiends!¡±
Xia Fan was unmoved. In his view, Fiend was a rather glorious title. After all, the Skywings were a n that was brimming with Fiendish energy.
Suddenly, a yellow light lit up in the hold. Xia Fan turned serious, put Pearl into his bosom, and headed toward themand deck. The yellow light was an indicator that they had arrived at the Forbidden Region!
Chapter 1499 - 1499 Out of Control!
1499 Out of Control!
Xia Fan hastened to the ck Egg¡¯smand deck. Inspecting the star map, he found that the ck Egg would enter the Forbidden Region in another ten minutes. If he didn¡¯t take countermeasures now, the Spatial Navigation Bureau would notice him.
¡°What¡¯s happening? Are we entering the Forbidden Region?¡±
Traveling Buddha ran into themand deck, but this guy was basicallying to watch the show, carrying his teapot, teacups, and even a box of snacks. He plopped himself onto the sofa on themand deck.
¡°So hurry up and tell me, how do you n to get in there?¡± Traveling Buddha asked excitedly, fearing that he wouldck some good entertainment.
¡°It¡¯s not that simple,¡± Xia Fan smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s put that aside for now. Pour me a cup of tea first.¡±
¡°Alright!¡± Traveling Buddha poured out a cup of tea and handed it to Xia Fan.
Xia Fan drank it down and handed the cup back to Traveling Buddha. ¡°Good tea, as expected. You really know how to enjoy yourself. I won¡¯t hide it from you. I n to charge right in.¡±
¡°Charge right in?¡± Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Is that possible? Won¡¯t those guys from the Spatial Navigation Bureau note down your ship¡¯s ID?¡±
Xia Fan shook his head and smiled. ¡°They have to be capable of that first. If I make a blind warp, they won¡¯t be able to note down anything.¡±
*p p p!*
Traveling Buddha pped his hands excitedly. ¡°A blind warp! Interesting, interesting! Ever since you¡¯ve left the Demon Chasm, you¡¯ve been doing more and more ambitious things!¡±
A blind warp was a random warp without a set target. This option was naturally very dangerous, for when the ck Egg made a blind warp, it could appear anywhere in the star region. For example, if the warp point had a, the ck Egg might crash right into it!
Even more frightening were ck holes or white holes. Warping straight into a ck hole would leave one in tears without anywhere to cry.
Xia Fan adjusted the system, and several secondster, the AI support system dered, ¡°Preparations for random warpplete. Beginning countdown.¡±
Bang!
When the countdown ended, the ck Egg immediately disappeared from space, and the world outside the window became fantastical, as if millions ofets were rushing past.
Several minutes went by. Xia Fan suddenly began to work the control panel, pressing various buttons and even preparing a spatial shock bomb!
¡°My God! What are you doing?¡± Traveling Buddha started sweating as he asked in confusion.
Xia Fan gave him his ssic sunny smile. ¡°Don¡¯t panic. This is a skill Engineer Grandpa taught me. At the very end of a warp, if you find that things are going poorly, just use a spatial shock bomb to send you off course. In this way, you can avoid disaster. While you damage the ship as a price, you keep your life.¡±
Traveling Buddha was gobsmacked. Even that was possible!?
The moment they left the warp tunnel, if he found that they were headed for a ck hole, he would use the spatial bomb and send the ship off course himself.
There was no problem with the principle, but only someone very unusual could have thought of such an unreasonable method. Sure enough, nobody who lived under the dome was a good person. The Disasters had all taught Xia Fan things that went againstmon sense!
¡ª¡ª
But Xia Fan ultimately didn¡¯t use the spatial shock bomb. The ck Egg smoothly left the wormhole. In front of them was a strange region of space. An earthen yellow floated directly in front of them. The had a magnificent ring around it, like an outer space ribbon.
¡°Sess! We really got into the Forbidden Region!¡± Traveling Buddha looked at the star map and excitedly said. ¡°This is my first time in the Forbidden Region. I¡¯ve always wanted toe here, but my dad never let me.¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s face suddenly turned strange. He noticed that Xia Fan was staring out the window at that giantary ring and then looking at their location on the star map, his facial expression constantly changing.
¡°It can¡¯t be this much of a coincidence, right?¡± Xia Fan opened his mouth in shock and muttered.
¡°What? What are you trying to say?¡± Traveling Buddha asked in confusion.
Xia Fan pointed at theary ring and said, ¡°It¡¯s just bizarre. This is exactly the ce I wanted to go.¡±
Traveling Buddha frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t understand navigation, but is there anything bad abouting straight here? If we ended up light-years away, we would have had to waste a ton of time trying to get here.¡±
Xia Fan shook his head and grimly said, ¡°The probability is too low. The chances of getting to the ce I want through a random warp is infinitesimally close to zero. In short, something fishy is going on. We have to be careful starting right now.¡±
Traveling Buddha nonchntly waved his hand. ¡°This guy, here I was saying that you had gotten bolder aftering back from the Demon Chasm, but now you¡¯re starting to be all paranoid again.¡±
¡ª
Xia Fan said nothing and continued to operate the ck Egg. He slowly brought it closer to theary ring while inspecting the data from the radar, his entire person going solemn.
¡°Look, there seems to be something there!¡± Traveling Buddha pointed at the edge of theary ring while hugging his teapot.
Xia Fan looked over, and then he looked at the radar. He instantly paled!
¡°Oh no! It¡¯s an electromaic storm!¡± Xia Fan shouted.
He had barely spoken when that inconspicuous light at the edge of theary ring erupted in size! White and blue points of light mixed together into a storm that spanned space as it shot toward their ship!
*Deedeedee!~*
The warning system finally sounded the rm, proving Xia Fan¡¯s suspicions true. There was no doubt that this wasn¡¯t normal. Nothing had been normal from the moment they entered the Forbidden Region!
¡°Curses!¡± Xia Fan swore, and he hastily shut down the ship¡¯s electronic systems. The most terrifying thing about an electromaic storm, the thing that made it a nightmare for warships, was that the powerful electromaic waves would destroy a ship¡¯s energy and electronic systems. It was easy to imagine what would happen to a warship without energy or with disabled electronic systems.
Fortunately, Xia Fan was a speedster. His hands flew across the control panel, shutting down the electronic systems in the blink of an eye. But while the systems were shut off, it would still take a few seconds for the systems topletely shut down.
At that moment, the intimidating electromaic storm arrived. The edge of this spherical storm was heading straight for the ship!
¡°Prepare for impact!¡± Xia Fan shouted.
Suddenly, the ck Egg shuddered, and all of the disys on the ship turned into static. The blue outside the window was dazzling, like a blue bolt of lightning hadpletely engulfed the vessel.
¡°Warning! Losing control!¡±
¡°The ship is going out of control!¡±
The AI system was still working hard. s, the AI¡¯s voice only resounded twice beforepletely disappearing. The electromaic storm had probably destroyed theputer¡¯s core.
In short, the ck Egg had turned into an out-of-control asteroid, carried along by the electromaic storm on an unknown trajectory.
¡°Damn it! It¡¯s a directed electromaic storm!¡± Xia Fan cursed as he grabbed the handlebars of themand deck.
There were two kinds of electromaic storms. The explosive type erupted from the center and spread out in all directions.
The second was a directional storm. The electromaic storm would shoot toward a target like a missile.
¡°Good God! It really is like my grandpa said! The Forbidden Region is full of weird things!¡± Traveling Buddha also cursed.
Traveling Buddha was talking about a proverb of Ashen Moon that elders would often tell the fun-loving younger generation: Don¡¯t try to adventure in the Forbidden Region! The Forbidden Region was the Forbidden Region not merely because of the Cosmic Gate, but because of numerous unexinable cosmic phenomena. The risk levels here were iparable to those in the rest of the universe!
The same proverb also applied to several ces in the Outer Frontier, but unlike the Forbidden Region, these ces were all very remote, not smack dab in the center of the Three Federations, the very heart of Ashen Moon!
This horrible situationsted for several minutes. The ck Egg wasn¡¯t just elerating, it was spinning. The ship¡¯s hold was inplete chaos, and the electronic systems that had not fully had time to shut down were severely damaged.
Finally, the storm stopped. The only good thing about a directional electromaic storm was that it came quickly and left quickly. An explosive electromaic storm wouldst for a very long time before ending.
After the blue lightning around the ship dissipated, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha gasped in surprise. It turned out that the electromaic storm had brought the ck Egg into theary ring, and straight toward the earthen yellow!
By the time Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha realized that, they were only several hundred meters from the ground!
¡°My God!¡± Xia Fan cursed angrily. Tightly grabbing the handlebar, he shouted, ¡°Brace for a second impact!¡±
The ck Egg had quite the momentum, but it was inpletely the wrong direction. The out-of-control ship was driving straight to the surface!
*BOOM!*
Chapter 1500 - 1500 Hostility!
1500 Hostility!
The out-of-control ck Egg savagely crashed into the surface of the!
There was an earthshaking boom. The impact speed had just been too shocking. The cloud of dust blotted out the sky, yellow sand engulfing everything within a radius of one hundred kilometers!
Even though the surface of this was a desert and not hard rock, and so the sand able to mollify the impact, the impact was far too fierce and abrupt. To describe it as heaven-shaking would be no exaggeration!
When about half of the dust had settled, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha helped each other walk out of the shattered window. The cockpit windows had been made of fiveyers of extremely tough tritanium crystal ss and had the toughness of warship armor, but the crash had utterly shattered them.
!!
¡°I say, wasn¡¯t there some flying thing just now that suddenly grabbed the two of us?¡± Traveling Buddha asked in a daze, massaging his throbbing head.
Traveling Buddha was right. At the critical moment, Pearl had appeared and used her giant body to surround Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan, using her wings to cover herself. Otherwise, both Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha would have been injured by the terrific crash.
Xia Fan was unwilling to admit to Pearl¡¯s existence, so he smiled and said, ¡°I think you¡¯re still dizzy from the crash. A big guy that can fly? Do I look like I have wings to you?¡±
¡°Was I really seeing things?¡± Traveling Buddha shook his head dubiously.
Given Traveling Buddha¡¯s carefree personality, he forgot the matter in the blink of an eye. Moreover, Pearl was the daughter of the Iceseal Megadragon, possessing extraordinary speed and movement techniques. After appearing for a brief moment in the pivotal instant, she had returned to Xia Fan¡¯s bosom. In truth, Traveling Buddha hadn¡¯t been able to get a very close look at her.
¡®Thank you!¡¯ Xia Fan mentally said to Pearl.
¡®Hmph, I suppose you have some conscience. You two are fine, but that crash really got to me. I need to rest for a while, so if you don¡¯t need anything, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t disturb me!¡¯ Pearl replied brusquely.
Xia Fan felt like Pearl actually did care about him. At the moment of impact, she had frantically run out and put herself around him and Traveling Buddha. At that time, her eyes were no longer so unruly and cold. Rather, they appeared very nervous.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha crawled upward, finally getting out of the crater. They sat on the edge of the crater and saw that the crash had taken out a good chunk out of the¡¯s surface, creating a crater three to four kilometers in diameter.
Traveling Buddha cocked his head and realized, ¡°Isn¡¯t it a miracle that we didn¡¯t die?¡±
This guy was even in the mood to take out his teapot as he spoke.
Xia Fan shrugged and said, ¡°Although we¡¯re not dead, the ck Egg is done for. This was a ship I went through a lot of effort to modify. I spent so much energy and money on it.
¡°But it seems like the money was worth it. Any other ship would have exploded! Although the ck Egg is severely damaged, the structure is still fine. With some repairs, it should still be able to fly.¡±
Traveling Buddha looked around and frowned. ¡°How are you going to repair it in this barrennd? Are we stuck here? There¡¯s no signal, so I can¡¯t even contact my n.¡±
Xia Fan was also starting to worry about their situation. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air.
Because of his Scent ability, Xia Fan didn¡¯t need to go scouting. By smelling his surroundings, he immediately knew that there was no danger. While the Scent ability couldn¡¯t be used in battle, at key moments, it was still very useful.
Traveling Buddha saw Xia Fan¡¯s face shift suddenly, and then watched him sniff several more times to confirm his findings.
Opening his eyes, Xia Fan looked at Traveling Buddha in confusion. ¡°How strange! There¡¯s someone here, and more than just one person.¡±
¡
It wasn¡¯t long before a little ck dot appeared in the sky. As it drew closer, it was apparent that it was a frigate. Sure enough, Xia Fan had been right. There really were people living in this strange ce!
Xia Fan had seen a lot, but he didn¡¯t recognize the make of this frigate. It was very strange, apparently a model from the early days of Ashen Moon, like an antique. But its blue ion thrusters indicated that the warship engines were a modern products.
As they knew that someone wasing, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha stood up and looked at the sky.
The frigatended, and the hold¡¯s door opened. Seven people walked out. Their leader was a young man with white and tender skin, and a very small nose.
But for some reason, this rather suave young man had a strange mustache. Perhaps it was so that he would look more mature.
Xia Fan went up to wee them, putting on his ssic smile.
He bowed and said, ¡°Everyone, thank you for the trouble! My brother and I ran into trouble and crashed here. What is the name of this ce? And is there any repair facility around here so that I can get my small ship repaired?¡±
Xia Fan spoke politely and smiled as normal. These were his trump cards, and many of his colleagues in the bureau liked to work with Xia Fan, for they found him agreeable.
But that fair-skinned youth remained emotionless, hostility and suspicion in his eyes. Perhaps he felt it was very unreasonable for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to have survived such a horrific crash.
¡°Crashed?¡± the young man spoke with disdain. ¡°You two idiots, do you really believe it was a simple crash? To tell you the truth, we shot down your ship.¡±
These words instantly made Xia Fan pale in shock!
Shot it down?
Who were these people? They had the ability to control electromaic storms!
Creating artificial electromaic storms was far too difficult. Any faction with such a weapon would pose an enormous threat to the Three Federations!
After all, electromaic storms were a supernatural phenomena. The consequences of a storm sweeping through a fleet were simply unimaginable!
The ck Egg that he had fitted at immense cost had been severely damaged in the electromaic storm. Wouldn¡¯t an ordinary ship have simply turned to dust?
Xia Fan was so shocked and lost in thought that he wasn¡¯t even looking at Traveling Buddha. This young master was furious to hear that someone had dared to shoot them down, almost killing him and his best friend.
Traveling Buddha pointed at the youth and red. ¡°You must be bored of living! Daring to attack my ship? You had best give me a proper exnation! Or else¡ hmph!¡±
The youth was taken aback, furious at first, and then heughed.
¡°I¡¯ve seen ignorant people before, but never anyone this ignorant,¡± the youth shook his head in reply. ¡°Do I need a reason to shoot you down? I didn¡¯t like the look of you, and what¡¯s wrong with killing you? You¡¯re just an ant. It looks to me like you¡¯re the one bored of living!¡±
Traveling Buddha rolled up his sleeves. He didn¡¯t seem to care about much, but that was only if you didn¡¯t provoke him.
In the end, Traveling Buddha was the little young master of the Holy Buddha n. When nobody provoked him,he wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly and would spend every day sitting in a corner minding his own business. But when somebody provoked him, he would cease to know the meaning of being polite.
Xia Fan frowned and stopped the impulsive Traveling Buddha. While Traveling Buddha had an extraordinary background, he really was willing to listen to Xia Fan. Despite his anger, he stopped talking.
Suddenly, amunication device beeped. The fair-skinned youth nced viciously at Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan, clear murderous intent in his eyes.
He pressed the ckmunication device on his wrist and they heard a hoarse voice ask, ¡°Have you arrived at the scene?¡±
¡°Mm, I¡¯m here.¡±
¡°Are there any survivors? If there are, bring them back for questioning so that we can find out how they found this ce?¡±
The youth looked up at Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan and said tly, ¡°Unfortunately, there were no survivors. They all died.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha instantly raised their eyebrows! They immediately understood the youth¡¯s meaning: Traveling Buddha¡¯s disrespect had made the youth decide to kill all the survivors!
The six warriors following the youth turned vignt, arching their backs as they built up power. The moment the youth gave the order, they would charge out!
Putting down themunication device, the youth coldlyughed and casually said, ¡°You overheard what I said? But that¡¯s fine. I had done so intentionally.¡±
The six warriors smiled mockingly. The youth slowly pressed his hand down, and then sand began to swirl as if something was slowly rising out of the desert!
When the thingpletely stood up, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both gasped, their faces turning grave.
It was that special ability!?
Chapter 1501 - 1501 Sand Devil!
1501 Sand Devil!
A strange object was slowly rising out of the yellow sand. When it had finished standing up and resolved itself before Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, they were both left stunned.
This was a monster made from sand, possessing four thick limbs brimming with power, and long ws and teeth. It was no less than five meters tall, and even more frightening than its size was the murderous demonic energy it exuded.
Although it was made from sand, it exuded life and vitality. Everything from its eyes to its tail were vividly formed, so that it seemed to be an actual creature.
¡°It¡¯s a demon-type ability!¡± Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both muttered.
!!
Among the many special abilities, the demon type was an immense branch. This monster in front of Xia Fan was called a Sand Devil, and possessed top-ssbat power!
Traveling Buddha frowned and pursed his lips. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s a Sand Devil. How are we going to deal with it?¡±
Xia Fan shrugged, his ssic smile appearing on his face as he indifferently said, ¡°What else? He¡¯s not going to let us go, so we naturally have to kill them!¡±
Xia Fan had spoken very casually, but for thest bit, he suddenly spoke much louder, his voice booming like thunder.
What was going on!? The mustached youth was dumbstruck!
He had revealed hsi Sand Devil to intimidate the pair and make them understand his power. He was essentially saying, Take a look! My special ability is the Sand Devil!
But the youth didn¡¯t know that he was dealing with Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, the strongest pair in the Starcloud Union¡¯s younger generation of warriors!
Xia Fan had originally been a rather graceful person. After all, he had been taught by the Scourges to be a good person. But after meeting Bright Pearl, he began to act more like a Skywing, and the Skywings were the most unruly and unreasonable existences in the universe!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had even managed to get out of the Demon Chasm. Why would they be scared of some mustached youth?
What a joke!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha lunged at the youth, one with unreasonable speed, while the other red with the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. They were like two maddened beasts, going from the attacked to the attacker!
¡°Sand Devil Possession!¡± the mustached youth yelled in panic.
The Sand Devil suddenly stepped back, its body made of sand merging with the mustached youth. This was meant to defend against Speed-types. Anyone who had been trained understood that Speed-types were very dangerous, and anyone who got in close-quarters with them would end up in a tragedy.
After merging, the youth was inside the Sand Devil¡¯s body, so Xia Fan would have to kill the Sand Devil first to kill the youth. This could be considered a powerful defensive barrier!
With Xia Fan¡¯s speed, he moved like a beam of light, instantly reaching the Sand Devil.
The Sand Devil¡¯s reaction speed was top-ss. Its body suddenly expanded, and two powerful arms thrust out!
Attack!
The mustached youth clearly understood what Speed-types were about. He knew that there was no running, so he had to fight with all his might!
But at that moment, something unexpected happened.
Xia Fan lowered his body and brushed past the Sand Devil.
¡°Heavens! So fast!
¡°That might be 2000 meters per second!
¡°A Star Domain Sky Venerable of the Speed-type! This young man is already a Sky Venerable! But he looks like he could even be a few years younger than me!
¡°It¡¯s a good thing he didn¡¯t attack and chose to run. Otherwise, I would be in danger!¡±
The mustached youth was stunned by Xia Fan¡¯s speed. When Xia Fan brushed past him, the youth thought he was lucky that he didn¡¯t have to exchange blows with Xia Fan.
Xia Fan on the right and Traveling Buddha on the left, they both passed by the mustached youth. The youth thought that they were afraid of his Sand Devil and had chosen to run. In any case, the Speed ability excelled at running away, as no one could hope to catch up to it.
But a secondter, as the youth turned around, he almost vomited blood! His heart crazily thumped, on the verge of exploding!
It turned out that this pair wasn¡¯t running. Instead, they had tacitly agreed to do some cleaning!
By cleaning, it meant killing off all the annoying chaff enemies first, before moving on to the main enemy. Xia Fan charged into the frigate, taking out his alloybat de and killing everyone on board!
As for Traveling Buddha, he charged at the six guards!
Traveling Buddha naturally didn¡¯t have Xia Fan¡¯s speed, but he had brute force!
His body radiating golden light, Traveling Buddha and those guards began to hack away at one another!
Actually hacking away at each other!
Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t even try to defend himself. The enemy would hack at him, and he would hack back! Only when everyone was hacking away at each other could things be considered exciting!
The scene was utterly terrifying!
A Speed Sky Venerable was an agile warrior, and he was paired with a fierce warrior who could go head-to-head against others. Where exactly did the twoe from? Theirbat power was too heaven-defying!
As the mustached youth felt his veins bulging in disbelief, Xia Fan had already finished ughtering the crew on the ship. There was nothing to be done, as Speed warriors were just too fast, able to kill in the blink of an eye.
Traveling Buddha, by trading blow for blow, had seeded in hacking down the six guards! The six guards had been helpless against Traveling Buddha, for his Battle Buddha Golden Light left him barely able to feel their attacks, while he could happily chop them to death!
In short, the two were both unreasonable. Unreasonable speed paired with unreasonable defense made for an absurdbination!
With a crunch, Traveling Buddha chopped thest guard in half and then turned to charge at the Sand Devil. Meanwhile, Xia Fan emerged from the ship, joining Traveling Buddha in attacking the Sand Devil from two sides!
¡°Help! I have to call for help!¡± After seeing the ruthless methods of these two, the youth didn¡¯t dare to be reckless and quickly called headquarters for help.
But he should have done that earlier. Trying to get help now was toote!
Traveling Buddha rushed up, caring not for some Sand Devil, and began hacking away at it with hisbat de.
The Sand Devil¡¯s body was soon decrepit, explosions of sand flying away.
But the Sand Devil had already expanded to immense size, its height more than fifty meters now. Moreover, it was still gettingrger. Traveling Buddha was attacking the Sand Devil, but he couldn¡¯t kill it, only prevent the Sand Devil from gettingrger by hacking away at it. Whenever the Sand Devil grewrger, Traveling Buddha would cut it back down to size!
It was Xia Fan¡¯s turn now. He gathered power in his legs and shot up like an arrow toward the Sand Devil¡¯s chest!
Bang!
Like aet crashing into a mountain, Xia Fan sted a giant cavity in the Sand Devil¡¯s chest!
In the middle of the impact, Xia Fan grabbed with his hand, trying to snatch the mustached youth hiding inside the Sand Devil. So long as he could get his hands on that youth, he could end things with one chop of his de.
But Xia Fan failed, his hands grabbing at nothing. Just where in the Sand Devil was the mustached youth hiding?
¡°Again!¡±
If one try didn¡¯t work, he would try again!
Xia Fan roared and elerated, charging at an even faster speed!
The super constitution forged from Tier Nine energy stones allowed Xia Fan to turn around in any situation and jump at any angle. His bones were tougher than alloy metal, and his muscles were more tenacious than the strongest fibers!
Xia Fan has gone wild. I don¡¯t think I need to do anything now, right?, TB looked up and thought to himself heartlessly.
Xia Fan was like a spring, bouncing here and there at two thousand meters per second, each time using his iron fist to pulverize the Sand Devil¡¯s body, going in and out five times a second!
The Sand Devil was enormous, but if smashing it one time wouldn¡¯t destroy it, how about ten times? A hundred times?
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Thunderous explosions resounded, Xia Fan had turned himself into an ion cannon, constantly battering away with his fists. In the blink of an eye, the enormous Sand Devil¡¯s body was on the verge of copsing.
Finally, Xia Fan made another astonishing turn and jump, leaping even higher and smashing the Sand Devil¡¯s head. It turned out that the punch managed to smash something out of the Sand Devil¡¯s body.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the mustached youth. Ge had been hiding in the Sand Devil¡¯s head!
The youth had a look of panic on his face, all of his arrogance gone. In the process of smashing through the Sand Devil¡¯s head, Xia Fan had also seeded in badly injuring the youth. His face was covered in blood, and his eyes were swollen. He desperately waved his hands and shouted, ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! I¡¯m¡¡±
¡°You¡¯re nothing more than an egg!¡± Xia Fan roared and stabbed his de without hesitation into the youth¡¯s heart. With a twist, he pulverized it!
Plush! Blood sttered!
Xia Fan¡¯s Inner Demon had awakened, and he could now kill without a thought.
Without a master, the Sand Devil copsed. Xia Fan grabbed Traveling Buddha and rushed into the frigate. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±
When Traveling Buddha saw that Xia Fan was capable of killing all their enemies, he had blithely chosen to be a spectator, even taking out his teapot to brew some tea.
Xia Fan was bewildered, wondering if the guy¡¯s heart was actually a block of wood. How else could he have the nerve to do such things? At a time like this, he was even in the mood to be a spectator!
¡°What are we doing?¡± Traveling Buddha asked in confusion.
¡°Running, duh! Didn¡¯t you hear? This guy hasrades!¡± Xia Fan entered themand deck, threw Traveling Buddha to the side, and quickly began to guide the frigate into taking flight.
Only then did Traveling Buddha understand that Xia Fan had chosen to clear out the people on the ship first rather than handling the youth because he wanted to hijack the ship to run. He had nned everything out ahead of time!
Xia Fan¡¯s technical skills were incredible, and his speed even more so. In the blink of an eye, the blue ion thrusters came to life, and the warship began to rise into the air to take them away from this strange ce.
At that moment, Traveling Buddha suddenly looked out the window. He discovered that the sky had darkened, and some giant shadow had appeared in the desert.
Traveling Buddha looked up in confusion, and paled.
A ship had stopped in the air above them, preventing Xia Fan from rising any higher. From its enormous size, it seemed to be a carrier!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xia Fan had just pushed hard on the elerator when suddenly countless drones flew out of the carrier like enraged bees, blotting out the sun!
Chapter 1502 - 1502 A Bizarre Place!
1502 A Bizarre ce!
The warning system red crazily. Xia Fan nced at the radar and saw that it was covered in red dots. He immediately made up his mind, grabbing Traveling Buddha and activating the emergency escape system before the frigate hadpletely risen into the air. He broke open the door and jumped off.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had justnded in the desert when the frigate above them was destroyed by more than a thousand drones, turning into a fireball and rapidly falling from the sky.
¡°Run!¡± Xia Fan grabbed Traveling Buddha, put him under his arm, and began to run at two thousand meters per second.
The carrier above ced huge pressure on the pair. Its enormous hull had the power to destroy a. What sort of people lived on this that they would have a carrier-ss ship around? It was truly unbelievable!
¡ª
At the end of the desert was a mountain range, the yellow and barren peaks rising up from the earth.
Looking at the carrier behind them, Xia Fan said to Traveling Buddha, ¡°There are mountains ahead of us. We might be safe once we¡¯re in the mountain range!¡±
Traveling Buddha was very ufortable while being carried around by Xia Fan, but since they were running for their lives, he couldn¡¯t be worried about such things. After hearing Xia Fan¡¯s words, Traveling Buddha lightly nodded.
Xia Fan was just about to enter the mountain range. In suchplicated terrain, with Xia Fan¡¯s speed, he would basically be impossible to catch.
But some powerful force suddenly seized him, causing his speed to rapidly fall. His legs turned as heavy as if they had been filled with lead, and his back felt like it was carrying a stone weighing a thousand kilograms, pushing him down.
¡°What¡¯s happened to you?¡± Traveling Buddha asked loudly, his face paling.
¡°It¡¯s a telekic ability, an extremely powerful one!¡± Xia Fan replied, his face pale. Beads of sweat appeared on his face. It was clear that he was enduring immense pain.
Traveling Buddha was stunned. At Xia Fan¡¯s rank and speed, only an enemy of considerable power could control him. It could even be an existence on par with that old monster of his n living on Myriad Buddha Mountain!
A secondter, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha flew into the air. A powerful energy came from the distance, seizing the pair like an invisible hand and drawing them into the sky.
As they flew over the mountains, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha spotted a city.
The city was surrounded by mountains and appeared extremely old. Not just the buildings were ancient, as the walls were mottled and weathered by time.
There were quite a few people in the city. When they saw the paralyzed Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan in the air, they raised their hands and looked up. There seemed to be very few outsiders there, and all of the citizens were very interested in the unfamiliar faces.
¡°Look, intruders!¡±
¡°How pitiful! Now that they¡¯ve been captured, I guess they¡¯re going to be executed?¡± The residents of the city chatted about the new development.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha passed through the city like they were being paraded, and they were ultimately brought to the giant castle in the center of the city.
Many armored warriors had gathered on the roof of the castle. The moment Xia Fan and Traveling Buddhanded, they were shackled with electromaic handcuffs that sealed their seventh brain regions. The warriors then roughly pushed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha down some stairs.
¡°This young master can walk on his own! You don¡¯t need to push me!¡± Traveling Buddha snarled.
The warriorsughed. ¡°Young master? You look more like a little ghost to me. After judgment, you¡¯ll immediately turn into a wandering ghost!¡±
Xia Fan clenched his teeth and carefully inspected these warriors. Although they wore armor andbat suits, the models clearly weren¡¯t any of the existing models in the Three Federations. They were rather old, but they were of extremely high quality. Even the armor worn by ordinary warriors would sell for a sky-high price in the Three Federations.
¡®Who are these people?,¡¯ Xia Fan inwardly wondered.
It wasn¡¯t just the warriors who differed from the Three Federations. Even the clothes worn by the residents were extremely old-fashioned. It was as if they had traveled into the past.
¡®Don¡¯t be afraid! I¡¯ll protect you!¡¯ Pearl said with cute confidence into Xia Fan¡¯s mind, leaving him rather moved.
¡®Let¡¯s observe the situation first. If necessary, you¡¯ll have to destroy our electromaic cuffs,¡¯ Xia Fan replied silently to Pearl.
Although Pearl could easily undo the cuffs, Xia Fan wasn¡¯t sure if she could deal with that frightening telekic ability user. That was why he wanted to observe the situation first.
They took the stairs to a certain floor of the castle, and then after a few turns, they were pushed into arge hall.
The hall had an area of tens of thousands of square meters and was extremely impressive. But instead of a disy of ostentatious wealth, everything was very simple.
In the center of a hall was where the throne should be, but there were instead four chairs. Did this city have four kings?¡±
¡°Stand there and don¡¯t move! You will be judged soon!¡±
The warriors left Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha in the center of the hall and then fell back to stand guard around the hall.
¡ª-
Several minutester, other people began to gather in the hall. Four elders seated themselves in the center seats, each of them exuding majestic auras. It was hard to determine what age they were, but from the intense pulses of energy they gave off, they were clearly experts.
There were twenty or so elders who stood to the sides, like officials reporting at court.
The four elders looked over at Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. A hawk-nosed elder spoke in an androgynous voice, ¡°For the crime of intruding upon the City of Four Kings and killing my servant, I propose the death penalty!¡±
¡°Death penalty!¡±
¡°Death penalty!¡±
The remaining elder was fair and fat, with a kindly face. He frowned and said, ¡°I also agree with the death penalty, but ording to thews of the City of the Four Kings, they have the right to defend themselves.¡±
The other three elders nodded, but the hawk-nosed elder was a little impatient and thought that the fat elder was being too meddlesome. Outsiders like this were better off being killed as quickly as possible.
The fat elder asked Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan, ¡°Do you two have anything to say? Why did you kill our people?¡±
Traveling Buddha, the idiot, shouted, ¡°I killed them because I wanted to! Do I need to exin things to you?¡±
The four elders all frowned. The fat elder turned to Xia Fan and asked, ¡°And you?¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s mind quickly worked, and then he put on his ssic smile and said, ¡°Wise elders, it wasn¡¯t that I wanted to kill them, but they forced our hand. In order to survive, I had no choice but to attack them.
¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± The hawk-nosed elder was furious, pointing at Xia Fan and saying, ¡°My servant went to rescue you, but you were ruthless and unreasonable. Not only did you kill them, now you¡¯re making this false usation! In my view, not only should you die, you should die painfully!¡±
Xia Fan was taken aback, and he continued to smile. ¡°Venerable Sir, these are words with no basis. Your servant had a recording device. If we review it, we all can learn what the situation was at the time.¡±
The fat elder nodded. ¡°True. Combat uniforms and armor all have pinhole recording devices. Verifying this won¡¯t be difficult. Bring out the recording of the scene.¡±
It wasn¡¯t long before a warrior brought back the deceased¡¯s recording device and reyed the recording in the hall.
The hall exploded when everyone saw that mustached youth threatening and attempting to kill Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Even that hawk-nosed elder became quiet. He had been constantly bringing up the death penalty, but now that it turned out that his servant had been lying, he felt very embarrassed.
¡°I see. It seems like Li Feng really was going against orders and trying to kill you two.¡± The fat elder stared at Traveling Buddha and asked, ¡°Your special ability is the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light? Might I ask what your rtionship is to Nine Provinces Buddha?¡±
Traveling Buddha was startled, and then he red and shouted, ¡°That¡¯s the name of my n¡¯s ancestor. Who are you to mention his name in such a carefree manner?¡±
The uproar in the hall grew even louder, many of the elders looking at Traveling Buddha with shocked eyes, strange looks on their faces.
¡°What is your name?¡± the fat elder hastily asked.
Traveling Buddha stood up straight and proudly dered, ¡°This young master is proud to call himself a descendant of the Holy Buddha n. My name is Traveling Buddha!¡±
¡°Traveling Buddha!¡±
¡°You¡¯re a descendant of Nine Provinces!¡±
¡°No wonder you can use the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light!¡±
¡°I truly didn¡¯t think I would meet a member of the Holy Buddha n in my lifetime.¡±
Traveling Buddha was rather dumbfounded. Why did these old folks seem so familiar with his ancestor?
What sort of bizarre ce was this?
Chapter 1503 - 1503 The Blood Battle Pact
1503 The Blood Battle Pact
The hall became rather chaotic, everyone whispering, clearly shocked by Traveling Buddha¡¯s identity.
The white and plump elder seated in the center waved his hand so that everyone would be quiet, and then began to speak.
¡°It is clear that Traveling Buddha is Nine Provinces Buddha¡¯s descendant. There is no faking that. After all, we have seen with our own eyes that Traveling Buddha possesses the ability passed down only in the Holy Buddha lineage.
¡°Moreover, the facts of the matter show that Li Feng was the first tomit a wrong, and these two killed only to defend themselves. Thus, I propose that they are not guilty.¡±
¡°Not guilty!¡±
¡°Not guilty!¡±
The other two elders were like puppets, voicing their agreement. It was the hawk-nosed elder¡¯s turn, and while he was unwilling to let Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha go, it was clear that most of the people in the hall didn¡¯t support him, so he could only let the matter drop.
¡°Haaa¡¡± the hawk-nosed elder sighed, but just as he was about to say ¡°not guilty¡±, a voice brimming with murderous energy resounded through the hall.
¡°Hold on!¡±
Xia Fan turned to the voice and saw a man striding into the hall.
He was in histe twenties, and though he didn¡¯t have the strange little mustache, he looked very simr to the youth called Li Feng that he had killed. He was probably Li Feng¡¯s brother.
The man quickly entered the center of the hall, where he stared with reddened eyes at Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan.
The fat elder frowned and asked, ¡°Li Ning, what is your business?¡±
Li Ning bowed to the four elders and said, ¡°To pay with one¡¯s life killing another is a matter, of course. While my little brother had thoughts of killing them, thinking is not a crime! And in the end, I only see the result: my little brother is dead! Thus, I want them to pay with their lives!¡±
The fat elder was a very justice-minded man. Shaking his head, he said, ¡°It wasn¡¯t like your little brother didn¡¯t try to turn his thoughts into reality. Don¡¯t forget that when headquarters asked if there were any survivors, he said that there were none. As I¡¯m sure you understand, this indicates that there was a problem.¡±
Everyone chattered after hearing the fat elder¡¯s words. They all believed that Li Feng was wrong in this matter. That he had said that there were no survivors was an indicator that he wanted to kill them.
Li Ning was startled, not expecting no one to support him. He looked viciously at Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, and then heughed coldly.
¡°Fine. Since everyone thinks my little brother was in the wrong, let me change my argument. If I want to avenge him and kill my little brother¡¯s murderer, issuing a Blood Deration, would that work?¡± Li Ning said angrily.
The enthroned elders and everyone else all nodded.
The fat elder said, ¡°ording to thews of the City of Four Kings, if a rtive of yours has been killed, you can naturally dere a Blood Battle. But you must understand that only one person can emerge alive from a Blood Battle.¡±
¡°It¡¯s because I understand that I have decided to dere a Blood Battle,¡± Li Ning replied.
If this was the case, nobody had any objections. After all, it was all legal.
Xia Fan naturally thought that, since he had been the one to kill Li Feng, Li Ning would fight him. Thus, he stepped forward, his head held high.
But to everyone¡¯s surprise, Li Ning suddenly pointed at Traveling Buddha and resentfully said, ¡°Just you wait! In another three days, you¡¯ll be dead!¡±
Traveling Buddha was just, ¡°¡¡±
¡
A suite in the castle¡
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had been locked up in the room and weren¡¯t allowed to go out. The people of the City of Four Kings were actually rather friendly, providing them decent food and living conditions.
¡°Why did he end up choosing you?¡± Xia Fan frowned as he looked out the window.
When they were being sent to the room, Xia Fan had heard from the guards that Li Ning and Li Feng both had demon-type abilities. Li Feng was the Sand Devil, while Li Ning had the even stronger Water Devil.
As the saying went, water and fire showed no mercy, while no one had ever said that about sand. Water abilities used the soft to ovee the hard, so the ability was particrly formidable.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s ability was the Battle Buddha Golden Light, and what was the nature of that ability? It was an extremely tough and hard ability, which just so happened to be countered by water-type abilities.
This battle would be a tough one, and Xia Fan was very worried for Traveling Buddha.
But Traveling Buddha was sitting next to a table and brewing tea, smacking his lips as if he was enjoying himself. He didn¡¯t seem worried in the slightest, truly reaching a mastery of blissful thoughtlessness.
¡°What¡¯s there to worry about?¡± Traveling Buddha nonchntly said. ¡°There will be a solution when the timees. In three days, I¡¯ll go and have a fight with that Li Ning guy.¡±
The door opened, and a young maid servant walked in. Her name was Jane. She had her hair braided and an amiable smile, the type of girl that was very likable.
¡°I¡¯vee to deliver your food,¡± Jane said to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha was a young master, so he didn¡¯t react, but Xia Fan gave her a sunny smile. ¡°Jane, could you sit for a while? I have some questions I would like to ask you.¡±
Jane put down the food tray and sat between Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Mischievously tossing her golden braids behind her, she straightforwardly said, ¡°Okay! Ask any questions you have, though I warn you that I don¡¯t have much time.¡±
Xia Fan smiled and said, ¡°I just want to ask you about this city. We came here by ident and know nothing about the area.¡±
Xia Fan gave Traveling Buddha a look, and Traveling Buddha very willingly offered her a cup of tea. Jane took a sip and eximed in surprise, ¡°How fragrant! This tea is excellent! In all my long life, I¡¯ve never had such good tea!¡±
Xia Fan seized the chance to say, ¡°If you like it, you cane any time to drink some. But my question just now¡¡±
As if realizing what was going on, she said, ¡°Oh! This ce is called the City of the Four Kings, and it consists of the four royal lineages and their servants.
¡°The four royal lineages are Ashen, Dragon, Moon, and Hidden. As for their servants, there are many families among them. As for an orphan like me, since I don¡¯t know who my father is, I don¡¯t have any surname, so I can only work in the castle.¡±
Jane¡¯s simple words left Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha dumbfounded!
Ashen, Dragon, Moon, and Hidden put together were Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon!
Truly, one could rush around looking for something only to have it delivered to one¡¯s door. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had inadvertentlye across thend of the Four Great ns!
Xia Fan frowned, noticing something odd in Jane¡¯s words. He curiously asked, ¡°From what I know, the four ns you mentioned should be the four founding ns of Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, so they should be known as the Four Great ns.¡±
Jane hastily waved her hands. ¡°No, no. The Four Great ns had their family servants, and the servants were granted the privilege of carrying the same surnames as their masters. This city is home to the servants of the great ns, the servants of those servants, and their descendants.¡±
After this question, Xia Fan finally understood that the stewards, servants, and bodyguards of the Four Great ns had been allowed to use the surnames of their masters, which was considered a supreme honor.
Their descendants lived in the City of the Four Kings!
This matched what he knew. Drunken Buddha wanted him to find someone who knew the inner workings of the Four Great ns, and this city was home to the servants of those four ns. That person was highly likely to be here, it was just that Xia Fan hadn¡¯t found him yet.
¡ª¡ª
It wasn¡¯t long before Jane left. She still had work to do.
Before leaving, Jane said that when she came tomorrow with breakfast, she would bring Xia Fan some strawberries so that he could experience their freshness, and Xia Fan agreed with a smile.
Jane didn¡¯t like the chubby Traveling Buddha that much, but she liked Xia Fan¡¯s cheerful demeanor.
Once Jane was gone, Xia Fan fell into deep thought. It was naturally important to find the key person that Drunken Buddha had spoken about, but it was even more important to get Traveling Buddha through the decisive battle in three days.
After all, this was a warrior who controlled a Water Devil. How could Traveling Buddha deal with such a powerful opponent?
Casting his gaze at the nonchnt Traveling Buddha, Xia Fan thought to himself, ¡®If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn¡¯t have brought Traveling Buddha with me.¡¯
Chapter 1504 - 1504 The Mysterious Gardener
1504 The Mysterious Gardener
The next morning, as agreed, Jane brought over a fruit basket filled with freshly-picked strawberries. They were lusciously red and still covered in morning dew.
Xia Fan grabbed a strawberry and tasted it. He found them particrly tasty, and once they were in his stomach, he felt a warm current flowing through his body.
Jane smiled and asked him, ¡°So? Are my strawberries tasty or not?¡±
Xia Fan put on a dazzling smile. ¡°To tell the truth, it¡¯s the tastiest strawberry I¡¯ve ever had. How exactly did you grow them? Each one of them is bursting with juice and is incredibly delicious.¡±
Jane was very happy to hear Xia Fan¡¯s praise. ¡°In truth, this isn¡¯t my handiwork, but the work of Uncle Luolin. He¡¯s the castle¡¯s gardener, and I learned everything I know from him.¡±
At this moment, Bright Pearl, who was still quiet as she recovered from her injuries, suddenly spoke in Xia Fan¡¯s mind, ¡®You have to pay attention to this Luolin person. He¡¯s suspicious.¡¯
Xia Fan was startled. ¡®He¡¯s just a gardener. How could he be suspicious?¡¯
Pearl replied, ¡®Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m a dragon. Dragons are born from nature and exist above nature. These strawberries are very unusual. You¡¯ll understand when you use your Scent ability.¡¯
Xia Fan could release and restrain his Scent ability as he pleased. In normal circumstances, he didn¡¯t have it activated, for once he did, tons of information would rush in through his nostrils, like the smell of the toilet or the fabric of Jane¡¯s underclothes today. It was very problematic.
But since Pearl had suggested it, Xia Fan sniffed lightly.
In a sh, the scent of the strawberry entired Xia Fan¡¯s mind, leaving him confused.
¡®So? Am I right?¡¯ Pearl asked.
¡®It truly is very strange. These strawberries seem to have the scent of energy crystals?¡¯ Xia Fan responded mentally. ¡®And one of these strawberries has a special scent, like that of printer ink.¡¯
Jane exchanged a few more words of idle chatter with Xia Fan before leaving, agreeing to bring some strawberries tomorrow morning.
Once Jane was gone, Xia Fan looked hastily through the basket and found the strawberry with the special scent, breaking it apart lightly.
Xia Fan gasped in surprise.
It turned out that there had been a small slip of paper in the strawberry. There had been no cut on the strawberry, so how had the paper slip gotten in?
At this moment, Traveling Buddha came out from the bedroom and yawned. He asked what Xia Fan was holding, but Xia Fan said nothing. He unfolded the paper, frowned deeply, and then handed the paper to Traveling Buddha.
¡°What is this?¡± Traveling Buddha read the paper and then shook his head in confusion.
There was a sentence on the paper: To break through the watery ink, the Battle Buddha must ascend to heaven!
Xia Fan frowned and said, ¡°It seems to be written for you. What does it mean for the Battle Buddha to ascend to heaven?¡±
Traveling Buddha shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. First, tell me who gave you this slip of paper.¡±
Xia Fan replied, ¡°I¡¯m guessing that it¡¯s from the castle gardener, a guy called Luolin.¡±
¡°A gardener?¡± Traveling Buddha pondered. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard the name before, but he clearly understands our Divine Buddha n, hinting to me the method to deal with the Water Devil.¡±
Xia Fan considered that and asked, ¡°So what do you think?¡±
Traveling Buddha replied, ¡°I think this person means well. Is there a way to send him a message?¡±
Xia Fan looked over the basket. ¡°Jane wille and take back this basket at noon. We can put the reply in the basket¡¯s handle. Look, there¡¯s a crevice here.¡±
Traveling Buddha looked at where Xia Fan was pointing, and then he plopped a strawberry in his mouth. He then took a pen from his spatial ring and wrote a few words on the back of the paper.
Xia Fan took the paper and saw that Traveling Buddha had written, When the Killer Buddha is unleashed, all will die!
¡°What¡¯s a Killer Buddha?¡± Xia Fan asked curiously.
Traveling Buddha shrugged casually. ¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions. He¡¯ll know if he knows.¡±
Xia Fan had no choice but to hide the message in the basket¡¯s handle. At noon, when Jane delivered lunch, she took the basket back with her.
The next morning, Xia Fan became expectant.
¡°I¡¯vee to deliver more strawberries!¡± Jane smiled as she walked into the room.
¡°Wee, wee. I was starting to get hungry just waiting for you,¡± Xia Fan replied.
¡°Ha, you seem to have taken a liking to my strawberries! Fine, I guess I¡¯ll bring you some more tomorrow,¡± Jane grinned.
Once Jane was gone, Xia Fan sniffed in anticipation. Sure enough, one of the strawberries had a unique scent. When he broke it open, he saw a new slip of paper.
But this time, there was only one word on it: Formidable!
Once Traveling Buddha got out of bed, Xia Fan gave him the paper. Traveling Buddha smiled and said, ¡°Heheh, I didn¡¯t think he would actually get it. I say, that person you might be looking for could be this Gardener Luolin, no? There are few in the universe who can understand what I say. This Luolin must have an extremely deep rtionship with my n.¡±
Xia Fan lightly shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, because I only know the unique physical attributes of the person I¡¯m looking for, not his name or status.¡±
Traveling Buddha was rather disappointed. ¡°Is that so? Then what are these unique physical attributes?¡±
Xia Fan replied, ¡°One eye is ck, and the other eye is white.¡±
¡°Yin Yang Eyes?¡± Traveling Buddha was taken aback.
¡
It was eventually time for the appointed Blood Battle. Early in the morning, Jane was very sullen when she came to deliver the strawberries.
Xia Fan asked her what was wrong, and she said that she couldn¡¯t bring herself to be happy because she was worried that Traveling Buddha might die.
¡°Such a kind girl,¡± Traveling Buddha said, throwing a strawberry into his mouth. He smiled at Xia Fan and said, ¡°If you like her, you should take her in.¡±
¡°You! Do you realize what time it is? I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re in the mood to joke,¡± Xia Fan frowned.
¡ª¡ª-
It wasn¡¯t long before guards came to escort Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to the battleground. They left the castle and city and were taken to a mountain basin.
The arena was in the mountains, carved out from a mountain slope.
There were many spectators, in the tens of thousands. Perhaps because life was boring here, the city¡¯s residents hade out in droves to see the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light versus the Water Devil, a sh of two apex abilities.
Looking up, Xia Fan saw that those elders were seated at a higher elevation, and the entire arena was surrounded in a giant cage. Two people entered, and only one person coulde out alive. In other words, this was a fight to the death!
The light of the early morning was warm, but Xia Fan felt an inexplicable chill.
That power descended again, the same mysterious power that had rendered Traveling Buddha and Xia Fanpletely helpless circled above him in the air. Xia Fan felt like some god was standing at the apex of the universe and looking down at him.
¡®Pearl, do you know what this power is?¡¯ Xia Fan mentally asked.
¡®Don¡¯t talk with me! I¡¯m hiding! This level of energy isn¡¯t something we can fight against!¡¯ Pearl said urgently, and then she added, ¡®If my guess is right, it should be those old scoundrels from the Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon era that weren¡¯t killed. They¡¯ve survived all the way until now!¡¯
Xia Fan was stunned. The war between the Skywings and Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon had been forty thousand years ago. There were still survivors?
In other words, they had to be at Eternal Rank, or even Legendary Rank! After all, only experts of that level could have lived so long!
¡°Brother, I¡¯ll be back in a jiffy.¡± Traveling Buddha nonchntly patted Xia Fan on the shoulder and then walked toward the cage, not the slightest bit concerned.
¡°Wait!¡± Xia Fan called out in shock.
Traveling Buddha stopped, but without turning around, he shook his head and continued forward, muttering, ¡°Too shameful, truly too shameful. I can¡¯t believe I ended up bing a burden to you.
¡°Xia Fan, just watch. Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re the best in the universe. Today, let this young master teach you what a furious Buddha looks like!¡±
Chapter 1505 - 1505 Battle Buddha, Killer Buddha?
1505 Battle Buddha, Killer Buddha?
Traveling Buddha entered the giant steel cage nonchntly, swaggering forward.
Li Ning had been waiting for some time now. He was wearing a suit of dark red hard armor, and he had a rather impressive aura. His triangr eyes were brimming with hostility.
Upon seeing Traveling Buddha enter, Li Ning coldly snorted. ¡°Today will be you, and on another day it will be that Speed-typepanion of yours. Once you¡¯re dead, it won¡¯t be long before he joins you in Hell!¡±
Traveling Buddha shook his shoulders and frowned. ¡°Oh, is that how you nned to do things? It seems that you¡¯re just treating me as the easier target, that Xia Fan can¡¯t be messed with while I can be. Alright! Since you¡¯re so confident, I¡¯ll just go over and show you what¡¯s up.¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s rxed attitude left Li Ning extremely unhappy. His eyes exploded with murderous energy, as if he wanted to eat Traveling Buddha alive.
At that moment, one of the four high elders, the one with the hawk nose, stood up.
The hawk-nosed elder looked around and loudly said, ¡°Servants of the City of the Four Kings, let us pray to the Four Gods.¡±
At these words, all the residents immediately bowed their heads and prayed. Xia Fan found it ratherughable. These servants of the Four Great ns regarded their masters as gods, even making a religion out of it!
Everyone knew that the Four Great ns had lost to the Skywings. What right did they have to call themselves gods?
But this ceremony also put Xia Fan on guard. Perhaps Drunken Buddha was right. It had been forty thousand years, and the Four Great ns had never revealed themselves. There had to be something fishy going on¡
When the prayer ended, the hawk-nosed elder said, ¡°Now, it is time for the Blood Battle between Traveling Buddha and Li Ning¡¡±
The elder gave a long speech, but it could ultimately be summed up as this: it was a battle to the death!
In any society, the lower ss always represented ignorance. They didn¡¯t care why Traveling Buddha and Li Ning were fighting, only about the results. The result was that the boring life in the City of the Four Kings was finally getting a little excitement.
With an order from the hawk-nosed elder, the battle began, but neither Traveling Buddha nor Li Ning elected to make the first move. They stared at each other, killing intent rapidly rising around them.
Gritting his teeth, Li Ning bellowed, ¡°Buddha! Today, I will make you pay for the crime of killing my little brother with your life! But if you get down on your knees and beg, I can consider leaving your body intact. Otherwise, do not me me for not respecting your ancestor Nine Provinces Buddha and killing his descendant!¡±
Traveling Buddha spat on the ground emphatically, ¡°Ptuh!¡±
That was Traveling Buddha¡¯s answer. His brazen audacity and carefree attitude truly did make him easy to hate.
Li Ning roared suddenly and raised his hands to the air, as if he was lifting up some immensely heavy object.
Xia Fan knew that Li Ning was absorbing water molecules from the air. The Water Devil was an advanced water ability, the ability to control water mixed in with a demonic nature.
With that move, a beast made of water began to form in the air. It soon took the form of a worm.
This was Li Ning¡¯s Water Devil. Water Devils had no fixed form and could change into whatever they pleased.
Water Devils were also intelligent, but they had the intelligence of a demon, cruel and ruthless!.
Whoosh!~
Li Ning leaned forward, merging with the Water Devil. Water molecules engulfed his body. It looked a little strange, like he was sinking into ake.
Li Ning was now merged with the Water Devil. Unlike a closebat warrior like Xia Fan, Li Ning did not need to personally take part in the battle. His Water Devil would fight on his behalf, ughtering his foes. All Li Ning needed to do was give it orders.
At the same time, Traveling Buddha¡¯s body radiated a golden light, the famous Battle Buddha Golden Light. Under its protection, Traveling Buddha possessed the invincible body of a Battle Buddha. Only existences akin to powerfulser weapons could hope to hurt him.
The battle began in a way no one expected. Li Ning¡¯s giant devil suddenly unfurled two wings. The water wings came together like two giant hands, Traveling Buddha caught between them.
Traveling Buddha retreated rapidly, but unfortunately, Li Ning¡¯s Water Devil had explosively grownrger, reaching a thousand meters in length in a sh!
The cage they were fighting in was only one thousand meters high. In this way, the Water Devil upied the entire cage, even extending past it. After all, it was a devil of water. The openings in the cage were more thanrge enough for it to pass through.
Even more shocking was that the Water Devil had entirely filled the cage with its body. Traveling Buddha had nowhere to run, and was engulfed by the water. Although he had his golden light, it seemed as insignificant as an ant in front of the Water Devil.
¡°Li Ning truly lives up to his status as an Advanced Star River War God. This Traveling Buddha is dead for sure!¡± a spectator next to Xia Fanmented.
Xia Fan was stunned, his face paling as he hoped that he had heard wrong. Li Ning was a Star River rank War God? How could that be!? He could be no more than twenty-eight years old!
What did it mean to be at Advanced Star River rank? It meant that Li Ning was one step from bing a Legendary War God! A legend of an era who would attain immortality!
Traveling Buddha was only at Advanced Star Domain rank, three whole levels beneath Li Ning! This gap was as vast as that between heaven and earth, likeparing the sun and moon! There was no crossing that chasm!
Xia Fan had once asked Traveling Buddha, ¡°Do you know what rank that guy is at?¡±
Traveling Buddha had casually replied, ¡°I don¡¯t know, but he should only be a little higher than you.¡±
There was nothing to be done. Traveling Buddha was just that sort of rxed guy. He was even toozy to find out what rank the guy was. Traveling Buddha had said that he was a little farther along than Xia Fan, and since Xia Fan was at the Intermediate Star Domain rank, Xia Fan had believed that TB was at Advanced Star Domain rank.
Xia Fan¡¯s palms started to sweat. His Speed ability had the power to fight above its level, but Xia Fan wasn¡¯t sure if Traveling Buddha could do this!
His rich battle experience told him that Traveling Buddha wasn¡¯t afraid of butting heads with this enemy. His greatest weakness was long-range attackers or controllers. After all, the Battle Buddha Golden Light granted him a diamond body, but Traveling Buddhacked speed and long-range attacks, a ssic closebat warrior.
The situation was dire!
Traveling Buddha was under Li Ning¡¯s control, and the Water Devil began topress.
More and more water molecules gathered on the Water Devil, but the Water Devil was getting smaller and smaller, denser and denser.
ck~
Under the immense water pressure, Traveling Buddha¡¯s Koro alloybat de suddenly snapped. That was the toughest metal in the universe! It was an indicator of how much pressure Traveling Buddha was under.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light was like an impervious shell. Right now, Li Ning was using water pressure to crush this shell and mash Traveling Buddha into a paste!
¡°Die!¡± Li Ning roared.
He seemed to think that victory was in his grasp, but Xia Fan suddenly stood up from his seat inplete shock.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light was getting stronger and stronger, and there was even a golden thread leaving Traveling Buddha, slowly crawling through the Water Devil toward Li Ning, much like a cunning snake!
¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡±
¡°That golden light is like a bug! A terrifying parasite!¡±
Traveling Buddha faintly smiled, a look of amusement on his face.
Li Ning was aghast and increased his ability, adding to the water pressure. But that golden light merely drew closer and closer. It seemed like Traveling Buddha was doing this on purpose, taking his time killing Li Ning so that he could feel fear.
Up in the crowd, Jane was extremely nervous, clenching her fists while her legs shivered. She kept on asking the elder wearing the straw hat next to her, ¡°Grandpa Luolin, is Traveling Buddha going to die? Is he going to die?¡±
Luolin chuckled softly and stood up. He didn¡¯t seem to like the sunlight that much, wearing a straw hat and even sunsses.
¡°Rx. Traveling Buddha won¡¯t die,¡± Luolin said gently.
¡°Why? He seems to bepletely suppressed,¡± Jane asked nervously.
Luolin shrugged. ¡°Suppressed? There are few people in the universe who can suppress Traveling Buddha. After all, he¡¯s no longer a Battle Buddha, but a Killer Buddha!¡±
After saying that, Luolin walked away. He felt there was no need to keep watching, muttering to himself, ¡°An amusing fellow. He¡¯s already a Killer Buddha, but his personality is like that of a child.¡±
Chapter 1506 - 1506 Trapped in the City of the Four Kings
1506 Trapped in the City of the Four Kings
Li Ning¡¯s eyes widened, radiating immense fear.
This was too frightening! Traveling Buddha was like an unkible cockroach. Not only was he not crumbling under the full power of the Water Devil, he had released a mysterious golden light that was slowly crawling toward Li Ning.
¡°Don¡¯te near me! Get away!¡± Li Ning cried out in panic.
But it was no longer up to Li Ning how things went. Traveling Buddha had a faint smile, as if he was enjoying the panicked look of his opponent.
Xia Fan found it strange. He had never heard of Traveling Buddha¡¯s Battle Buddha Golden Light being capable of leaving its host, but right now, Traveling Buddha did seem to have the ability to send out his golden light. What was going on here?
Had something happened to Traveling Buddha while he hadn¡¯t been paying attention?
The four seated elders all had shocked expressions. The fat elder seemed to be very admiring of Traveling Buddha¡¯s performance, stroking his chin and saying, ¡°Sending out golden light is a sign of a Killer Buddha. This battle is already decided!
¡°He truly is a descendant of Nine Provinces Buddha! At such a young age, he¡¯s already reached the level of sending out golden light. He is no longer at Battle Buddha, but at the second level, Killer Buddha!¡±
¡°Hmph!¡± the hawk-nosed elder snorted, appearing deeply unhappy. He mumbled, ¡°Since he¡¯s a Killer Buddha, then he should hurry up and end this battle. What¡¯s he up to? Trying to torture Li Ning?¡±
The fat elderughed. ¡°What about it? Li Ning was the one who chose this opponent! He felt like he was no match for the speedy Xia Fan, so he tried his hand at Traveling Buddha, who he thought was weaker. But it turns out that the soft persimmon ended up being a stone, so who can he me but himself? Li Ning has to pay the price for not taking a descendant of Nine Provinces Buddha seriously.¡±
The two elders were clearly rivals. The fat elder¡¯s smile was like that of a tiger, and there was a de hidden in his words. The hawk-nosed elder turned green in anger. The other two elders just seemed to go with the flow, only saying good things.
Perhaps Traveling Buddha felt like he had reached his goal, or more probably because he was bored, he suddenly shook his wrist, and the golden light exploded toward Li Ning.
Whoosh!~
The golden thread was like an unstoppable divine art, instantly piercing through Li Ning¡¯s forehead, shattering his skull and destroying his brain. In the entire process, Li Ning didn¡¯t react in the slightest, such was the vast gap between them.
Li Ning¡¯s eyes instantly rolled over, copsing like a deting balloon.
The Water Devil came apart, turning into a pool of water that rampaged down the contours of the valley and into the distance.
The result waspletely unexpected. When the battle ended, there wasplete silence.
After a long while, everyone began to cheer. This was not a battle, but a torture session. At some point, Traveling Buddha had reached the level where he could instantly kill Li Ning, but the ignorant Li Ning had taken Traveling Buddha for a weakling. The thought of it was very amusing!
¡°Originally, I wanted to make the guy wet his pants, but it was taking too long, so I got bored and just killed him,¡± Traveling Buddha casually exined to Xia Fan.
This guy was definitely a weirdo. Even a battle to the death couldn¡¯t make him serious!
¡°When did you get the ability to send out your golden light?¡± Xia Fan asked curiously.
Traveling Buddha frowned for a while before shaking his head. ¡°Recently, I guess. I¡¯ve forgotten exactly when.¡±
Xia Fan almost threw up blood. He had forgotten something as important as going from Battle Buddha to Killer Buddha? Just how thoughtless was he!?
¡°What¡¯s your current rank?¡± Xia Fan asked.
¡°I haven¡¯t tested it. It should be a little higher than yours,¡± Traveling Buddha said vaguely.
Xia Fan: ¡°¡¡±
¡
The process had been rather harrowing, but the result was nothing to write home about.
In any case, Traveling Buddha had easily killed Li Ning and announced to the world that he had reached the level of Killer Buddha. Anyone who wanted to stay alive had best not mess with him!
After the Blood Battle, the four elders met with Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, ordering them to live well within the city so that they could serve the Four Great ns in the future. As for Xia Fan¡¯s desire to leave, they muddled past it.
It appeared that the City of the Four Kings was not a ce one could enter and exit as one pleased. Once one was here, it was no longer up to them whether they could leave or not!
¡°You should be happy about this,¡± the fat elder smiled. ¡°The Four Great ns have been in seclusion for many years. If you leave, wouldn¡¯t you essentially reveal the ce where the divinities secluded themselves to all the world?
¡°Heed my advice and take up residence in the City of the Four Kings. It won¡¯t be long before our masters will begin their public selection from the youth of the city so that they can go and serve in the God Metropolis. You will both have a chance. This is a wonderful opportunity you won¡¯t get outside.¡±
These four elders were the representatives of the Four Great ns. Their meaning was very simple. They wanted Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to stay so that they could be servants to those people in the God Metropolis, just like them.
¡ª
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan left the castle with dark expressions. Jane was waiting outside for them. With her were three other maids from the castle.
The four of them helped clean up a building in the city for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Until they got permission to leave, this ce would be their residence.
The other three maids quickly departed. Jane stayed to tell Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha about life in the city, even considerately cooking a meal for them.
As the three of them dined together, Jane asked in confusion, ¡°Why don¡¯t the two of you seem happy? Isn¡¯t staying here a good thing?
¡°In the City of the Four Kings, food, clothes, and homes are all provided for free by the managers, so there are no worries in life. Moreover, the two of you are warriors, so you will even have the opportunity to serve in the God Metropolis. The descendants of the gods live there, and I¡¯ve heard from people in the castle that the gods are very formidable.¡±
Traveling Buddha pursed his lips. ¡°I have no interest in being a ve to another.¡±
These words struck at Jane¡¯s pride. She was an orphan, a servant of the castle, and she felt like Traveling Buddha¡¯s words were disrespecting her.
Xia Fan hastily smiled and moved to smooth things over. ¡°Jane, Traveling Buddha doesn¡¯t mean it that way. It¡¯s just that we¡¯ve gotten used to freedom on the outside. We¡¯re finding it hard to adapt to the fact that we suddenly can¡¯t leave.
¡°Right, I heard from the four city lords that there¡¯s a selection method for going to the God Metropolis. What¡¯s going on there?¡±
Jane had a kind heart, and she knew that Xia Fan was changing the topic on purpose. She epted it and patiently exined, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the annual selection. The God Metropolis has a camp specifically for training warriors. Though the people living in the City of the Four Kings are all servants, if they perform well, they will have a chance to learn from the descendants of the gods.
¡°You two are outstanding warriors, so you should have this opportunity. I don¡¯t know much about this. You should ask Uncle Luolin. He knows quite a lot.¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan nced at each other. ording to the report from Drunken Buddha, Xia Fan was looking for someone here that knew the inside story, and this person had a high chance of being Gardener Luolin.
Xia Fan smiled. ¡°Where is Uncle Luolin now? We want to pay him a visit.¡±
Jane looked at Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. ¡°Uncle has a rather strange temperament. He normally doesn¡¯t see outsiders, so let me ask him first.¡±
¡ª
After concluding the rather awkward meal, Jane left. Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan had nothing better to do than temporarily take up residence in this building.
The next morning, before heading off to work in the castle, Jane came to Xia Fan¡¯s residence. She said to Xia Fan, ¡°Uncle Luolin has agreed to see you two. Once I get off work, I¡¯lle to get you two so that you can have dinner at his home.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll wait for you.¡±
Chapter 1507 - 1507 Luolin’s Worries
1507 Luolin¡¯s Worries
As agreed, Jane arrived at Xia Fan¡¯s home after work, and the three of them went out to a food store together.
¡°Give me your cards,¡± Jane said to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
Once Jane had their cards, she headed into the store to pick out food. In the City of the Four Kings, resources were equally distributed to everyone by the managers. There was no such thing as ¡°buying¡±. Everyone had a card and were allowed to take what they needed ording to the quotas on their cards.
¡°So do you think Luolin is the person you¡¯re looking for?¡± Traveling Buddha asked Xia Fan as they stood outside the store.
¡°Maybe. After all, he understands your nature, and he¡¯s willing to help us. I¡¯m guessing that even if Luolin isn¡¯t the person I¡¯m searching for, he will be someone who can help us in the future,¡± Xia Fan replied.
¡ª
It wasn¡¯t long before Jane came out with a basket. The basket was stuffed with the foodstuffs to be used for tonight¡¯s dinner.
The three of them walked along the city¡¯s old and simple roads. Finally, they arrived at a very secluded courtyard extremely far away from the main thoroughfare. There were many flowers nted in the yard; one could tell at a nce that they were very well-cared for. Every nt was in an orderly row, and the flowers on every tree vied with each other in terms of beauty.
Walking along the fence, Jane pushed open a wooden door and invited Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha inside. The living room was small, but it was kept very clean. At the round dinner table sat a thin middle-aged man, wearing a straw hat and sunsses.
¡°You can have some tea with Uncle Luolin while I go and prepare dinner,¡± Jane said to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
She proceeded into the kitchen, and it wasn¡¯t long before the sounds of cooking came from within.
¡ª
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha sat themselves across from Luolin, and the man poured tea for them. It was a floral tea, and while the little white flowers seemed very ordinary, they had a remarkable vor. Even Traveling Buddha, with his high standards of tea, couldn¡¯t help but repeatedly nod in approval.
The three of them chatted for a while, mostly about what had changed in the outside world and life in the City of the Four Kings.
Xia Fan frowned. He needed to find someone with Yin Yang Eyes, which was an extremely easy trait to see. But Luolin was wearing sunsses, preventing him from confirming things one way or the other.
After some thought, Xia Fan smiled and asked, ¡°Uncle Luolin, why are you wearing sunsses inside?¡±
Luolin shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m wearing sunsses because I don¡¯t want to scare you. What? Do you want to see what I look like when I take off my sunsses?¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha said nothing. Luolin chuckled and then took off his straw hat and sunsses.
In a sh, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were stunned. It wasn¡¯t because Luolin didn¡¯t have the Yin Yang Eyes, but that Luolin didn¡¯t have eyes at all!
His eye sockets were sunken, bearing two dark red scars. It was like some monster had dug out Luolin¡¯s eyes, leaving behind some gruesome wounds.
Traveling Buddha asked in surprise, ¡°Uncle Luolin, what happened to your eyes?¡±
Luolin nonchntly replied, ¡°The price of seeing something I shouldn¡¯t have.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha fell silent. Right now, they still couldn¡¯t confirm if Luolin was the person they were looking for. What should they do now?
At that moment, Luolin suddenly said, ¡°When I still had these eyes, I once saw a person. He was a youth like you two, but there was pride in his bones. I suppose you could consider us past acquaintances. I once agreed to help him investigate something. It¡¯s been seven years now, but he never came back to see me.¡±
Xia Fan was shocked. Drunken Buddha had left home and begun wandering the stars seven years ago!
Could it be that Luolin was hinting that he was that person?
Luolin put his sunsses back on and sternly asked, ¡°Jane said that you wanted to see me for something?¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°It¡¯s like this. We¡¯ve just arrived at the City of the Four Kings, and we know far too little about this ce, so¡¡±
Luolin chuckled. ¡°So you want to find somebody who does know the city? If that¡¯s the case, you¡¯ve found the right person. Before I was demoted to being a gardener in the City of the Four Kings, I used to work in the God Metropolis as a teacher.¡±
¡°A teacher?¡±
¡°Correct. The God Metropolis exists primarily to instruct the descendants of the Four Great ns, so it is home to a massive educational system.¡±
Traveling Buddha frowned. ¡°They¡¯re already great, so what do they need to learn? So long as they train in the ancestral legacies of their ns, those guys could all be experts who could dominate the stars.¡±
Luolin shook his head and sighed. ¡°Back then, Ashen Moon had no great ns, only the Four ns. At that time, a n called the Skywings suddenly barged in and defeated those ns who thought themselves to be so powerful.
¡°From then on, the Four ns became the Four Great ns, and they discovered the secret of the Skywings. Those Speed maniacs were so powerful because they had grasped the power of Laws.¡±
Traveling Buddha was stunned. He had probably never heard about the power of Laws, which was why he was so shocked. But Xia Fan wasn¡¯t that surprised.
Traveling Buddha quickly asked, ¡°What are Laws?¡±
Luolin¡¯s exnation was the same as Bright Pearl¡¯s, saying that Laws were the highest power of the natural world. But what Luolin said next had Xia Fan¡¯s jaw dropping.
¡°The Four Great ns sought out a power that could defeat the Skywings, and they finally found this ce, a dimension with Law power, the God Metropolis.
¡°Thus, the Four Great ns migrated to the God Metropolis, swearing that they would not leave until they had sessfully cultivated Laws. Even their servants had to move to the City of the Four Kings so that they could continue to serve the Four Great ns.
¡°Everything went smoothly at first, and the Four Great ns managed to grasp some Law powers. But in thest century, everything suddenly changed.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha wanted to hear Luolin say more, but at this moment, Jane finished cooking. When Jane was around, Luolin immediately shut up, so Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha could only quietly eat dinner. At the table, Xia Fan was talkative and smiling, but Traveling Buddha seemed to have many worries on his mind.
¡ª
When dinner was over, Jane quickly cleared the table and cleaned everything up. Luolin called Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha into his study.
It wasn¡¯t arge study, and it was packed with leather bound books. Luolin pointed at the books and smiled. ¡°Although I don¡¯t have eyes, my hearing and senses are particrly sharp. Jane often reads books to me. I¡¯ve put her through a lot over these years. In the future, I hope that she can have a good home.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha sat down in the study and continued their earlier topic.
Luolin said, ¡°I was talking about what happened one hundred years ago. A strange energy suddenly entered the Ashen Moon Universe. At first, nobody knew what this energy was, and the people of the God Metropolis were extremely concerned.
¡°But as the God Metropolis began to change, the Four Great ns realized that this power, while very evil, could be used by them. Even those who had not mastered Law power could improve themselves with this devilish energy.¡±
Xia Fan was startled, and exchanged a look with Traveling Buddha.
Strangely, even though Luolin didn¡¯t have eyes, it seemed like he knew everything that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were doing. He said indifferently, ¡°Just say what you need to say. That person watching the City of the Four Kings isn¡¯t here today.¡±
Xia Fan was rmed. It was true that a god-like power that often circled the City of the Four Kings and had once captured the pair had left after nightfall.
Xia Fan replied, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Not too long ago, when Traveling Buddha and I were in the Outer Frontier, we ended up in the Demon Chasm. Although the Demon Chasm couldn¡¯t be considered that big and has been around for some time, but after a long period of inactivity, we ran into Demon Ants. Could the Demon Chasm and the Ant Demons have to do with that power that suddenly intruded into Ashen Moon one hundred years ago?¡±
Luolin trembled, his expression turning stiff.
After a long while, Luolin sighed. ¡°I understand. The Demon Chasms have existed all this time, but this demonic power that suddenly appeared is going to each of the Demon Chasms in Ashen Moon and awakening them. In other words, Ashen Moon is going to experience a cmity.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t say anything. That was exactly their concern. One Demon Chasm wasn¡¯t a problem, but it could be an ill omen!
Luolin nodded and then shook his head, seeming very worried.
¡°You two should head to the God Metropolis as quickly as possible.¡± In the end, Luolin finally made up his mind. ¡°So long as you can see what really happened in the God Metropolis, you should be able to understand what the Four Great ns are going through right now.
¡°But you must remember to keep yourselves safe. The Four Great ns are not what they were in the past. Their desire to defeat the Skywings has turned them into crazed devils, and they¡¯ve mastered an absurd power. Several days ago, when you were about to escape, a god-like power suddenly captured you and rendered you immobile. That was a manifestation of the oddities of the Four Great ns.¡±
Xia Fan was puzzled and asked, ¡°Uncle Luolin, what are these oddities you speak of?¡±
Luolin answered grimly, ¡°Gods and demons mingle, the sun and moon exchange their glows, life and death are reversed, and all things are in a cycle.
¡°These oddities began one hundred years ago. It has been a very long time since I entered the God Metropolis, so I do not know which phase it has reached.
¡°Trust me. The secrets of the Four Great ns, the secrets of Ashen Moon, and even the secrets of the Cosmic Gate can all be found in the God Metropolis. After all, the God Metropolis is not a city, but a mysterious Law dimension!¡±
Chapter 1508 - 1508 Entering God Metropolis
1508 Entering God Metropolis
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had beenpelled to take up residence in the City of the Four Kings. Althoughing to a strange ce had made them feel ufortable, they were fortunate to have thepanionship of Uncle Luolin, so their lives were not too boring.
s, as the selection time approached, the end to their peaceful days neared.
One weekter, in the early morning, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha went to the castle in the center of the city. There was a long line in front of it, made up entirely of the youths who lived in the city. They yearned to enter the God Metropolis and get the chance to learn together with the descendants of the Four Great ns.
After a long time, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha finally reached the front of the line. They gave their names, received their numbers, and went to the enormous circr drilling ground in the center of the city. There were quite a few people there, several thousand in number, all of them waiting patiently.
At that time, Xia Fan saw that fat elder that had always treated them rather well. He was apanying a young man as they walked in from the distance. The young man had a face with gentle curves, appearing somewhat like a girl, and he wore an extremely expensivebat uniform. A ck dragon had been woven into thebat uniform, savagely brandishing its ws and fangs.
!!
Upon seeing Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan, the fat elder greeted them quickly.
¡°In a little while, make sure you mind your mouth.¡± Xia Fan knew of Traveling Buddha¡¯s temper and was worried that he would start trouble, so he whispered at him to remain silent. Traveling Buddha pursed his lips.
The fat elder grinned and introduced Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan to the young man. This man with a rather pretty appearance was called Dragon Dou.
The fat elder boasted about Xia Fan¡¯s and Traveling Buddha¡¯s abilities, and Dragon Dou nodded repeatedly. ¡°So your surname is Buddha? Not bad, not bad. Nine Provinces Buddha once served under my n¡¯s ancestor. Since you¡¯re here, you can follow Nine Provinces Buddha and serve me. I promise to treat you well.
¡°I¡¯ve heard of your situation. The ship you were on was probably shot down by the defense system. There¡¯s nothing that can be done about that. The automatic defenses attack anyone that approaches. However, this also might be your good luck.
¡°Let me preface by saying that the situation in the God Metropolis is veryplicated. Although the Four Great ns are united, it¡¯s impossible for there to not bepetition between individuals. Since it was Old Pan who rmended you, from now on, you¡¯re my people, understood?¡±
¡
For Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, the so-called selection was just going through the motions. The warriors in charge of the selection took one look at their abilities before telling them to go back and wait to enter the God Metropolis tomorrow.
That night, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha went to Luolin¡¯s home. Jane made a good meal, and everyone happily ate and drank. But Jane couldn¡¯t help but be a little sad that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha would be leaving tomorrow.
Xia Fan smiled and said, ¡°I feel like there¡¯s some conflict between the Four Great ns. Today, Old Pan came to introduce us to a Dragon Dou, who told us that we would be Dragon Dou¡¯sckeys once we entered the God Metropolis.
¡°Now that I think about it, Old Pan was probably so supportive of the two of us because he wanted to recruit us for his master.¡±
Luolin smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve very clear-headed. Yes, there¡¯s always been conflict between the Four Great ns. Since Dragon Dou hase to recruit you, it¡¯s just a matter of if you¡¯re willing to be hisckeys or not.¡±
Xia Fan thought about it and said, ¡°What¡¯s Dragon Dou¡¯s status?¡±
Luolin replied, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any status at all, an average member of the Four Great ns. If he had some incredible status, he wouldn¡¯t have had toe personally to the City of the Four Kings. The truly formidable don¡¯t need to recruit, for people will naturallye to them.¡±
Xia Fan thought about it some more. ¡°I think it¡¯s fine. Once we arrive at the God Metropolis, we¡¯ll just go around with Dragon Dou.¡±
Luolin was startled. ¡°The reason?¡±
Xia Fan said frankly, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. If we are with some formidable character of the Four Great ns, we¡¯ll find it very hard to move around. But with a mediocre person like Dragon Dou, Traveling Buddha and I will have much more freedom.
¡°After all, our goal isn¡¯t to stay here, but to find out what the Four Great ns are up to and then leave.¡±
When Xia Fan mentioned leaving, there was a crash from the kitchen, as if Jane had identally broken something.
Login shook his head. ¡°I will think of a way for you to leave. Your warship isn¡¯t too badly damaged, so it should be repairable, but you can¡¯t rush it. It will take some time.¡±
¡
The next morning, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan went to the castle. They saw an antique destroyer was docked at the castle¡¯s spaceport. The Four Great ns had been in seclusion for a long time and had never updated the models of their warships.
Xia Fan followed the crowd onto the ship. This time, between five and six hundred people were heading for the God Metropolis. Several dozen among them had been permitted to study in the God Metropolis, while the rest were servants. The Four Great ns of the God Metropolis had many people, and many servants were required to serve them.
The destroyer headed off into space. The moment it left the¡¯s orbit, it warped. When the warp ended, Xia Fan looked out the window. This area of space was very normal, without anything special, but as the warship moved forward, space suddenly rippled, and the surrounding stars shed.
Xia Fan knew that this was some kind of hidden dimension. There was some unseen entrance here, and only a ship with the right coordinates could enter there.
It wasn¡¯t long before their surroundings becamepletely different. This hidden dimension contained an entire star system, with a star,s, moons, andary rings. There were several thousand habitables; in terms of star systems, this one was absolutely enormous.
¡°Law of Gold, activate!¡±
While no one else was paying attention, Xia Fan covered his eyes, a faint golden light radiating from them. With the help of Law power, Xia Fan scanned the star system. He found that while this star system was enormous, only one was developed by humans. The majority ofs were covered in lush forests, and were still in their natural states.
Around twenty minutester, the warshipnded on that developed. Although this was where the Four Great ns had secluded themselves, it was a rather in city,cking any tall buildings. Perhaps their defeat at the hands of the Skywings had made them decide that they needed to endure hardship in preparation for their revenge, so they hadn¡¯t built up their residences as anything too ostentatious.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha followed two warriors into arge hovercar that took them into the city.
It wasn¡¯t hard to notice just by looking around that every member of the God Metropolis wore clothes with a n insignia on them. Clothes with the image of a cloud belonged to the Ashen n, those with a dragon belonged to the Dragon n, those with a crescent moon belonged to the Moon n, and those with an empty circle belonged to the Hidden n.
Those people without any symbols on their clothes were servants or guards.
¡ª
The hovercar arrived at the center of the city, upied by a building that took up an enormous area. This ce seemed to be a school, but there were no signs. Xia Fan only guessed that it was a school from how only younger people were going in and out.
Luolin had said that raising their young properly was the number one priority for the Four Great ns, which was why the school had the best real estate in the city.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were assigned a dorm. Fortunately, it was a two-person dorm, but the facilities were very simple. Traveling Buddha, who was used to living a superior lifestyle, couldn¡¯t help but frown.
¡°Endure it,¡± Xia Fan said with a frown. ¡°Have you noticed? All of the descendants of the Four Great ns we saw on the way here had rather strange energy signatures.¡±
Traveling Buddha shrugged. ¡°Are you referring to how they had rather heavy murderous auras?¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°Precisely. Uncle Luolin said that a strange dark energy started to flow into the God Metropolis starting one hundred years ago, affecting the members of the Four Great ns. I¡¯m thinking that their thick murderous aura was caused by that dark energy.¡±
¡°Who cares? I hate this ce,¡± Traveling Buddha muttered.
This young man was starting to throw a tantrum like a child again. Xia Fan truly didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry when it came to his partner.
The two of them had barely rested and were about to go out and take a walk when Xia Fan suddenly heard somebody call his name.
Walking out of the room, he saw Dragon Dou. He looked very angry, and there was arge bruise on his head.
Dragon Dou pulled up Traveling Buddha, who was lying on his bed, and said, ¡°Hurry! Come with me!¡±
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°What happened?¡±
Dragon Dou replied, ¡°There¡¯s no time to exin. Juste with me!¡±
Chapter 1509 - 1509 Planet Fission
1509 Fission
Dragon Dou immediately brought Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to the back of the school. There was arge square made from alloy there. It was covered in holes and craters, as if it had been through some very powerful impacts.
In the distance was a fat youth. He appeared seventeen or eighteen, and he had a proud expression. Behind him were two muscr men. Based on the uniforms they were wearing, they were from the Moon n.
¡°Moon Dongchen! I¡¯ve brought them! You wait right there!¡± Dragon Dou shouted.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both scowled. This didn¡¯t feel very right.
Xia Fan asked and learned that Dragon Dou and Moon Dongchen had arranged to have a fight, and Dragon Dou had brought him and Traveling Buddha over to fight for him. As for the reason behind the fight, it seemed to be that Moon Dongchen and Dragon Dou were squabbling over some pretty girl.
!!
In thest fight, Dragon Dou had suffered a huge loss. His few formidable subordinates had all been crippled by Moon Dongchen¡¯s Pang brothers, so he desperately needed new fighters from the City of the Four Kings. He had just so happened toe across Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan.
And thus, the moment Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan arrived at the God Metropolis, he called them over to fight for him.
After hearing about what was going on, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were both incensed and amused. They were both elite individuals of the Inner Territories, yet they were now participating in a romantic rivalry between children!
Traveling Buddha was about to turn and leave when Xia Fan pulled him back. He whispered, ¡°This is a chance to see what the people of the God Metropolis are capable of. Look at the two Pang brothers. They¡¯re thick with that murderous aura. It¡¯s a little strange.¡±
Traveling Buddha was startled and carefully inspected the Pang brothers thereafter. Sure enough, they had callous and pale faces. In addition to their murderous aura, their bodies also radiated a power that Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t quite understand.
In truth, the moment they entered this star system, Traveling Buddha had felt that there was something wrong about the entire system. Perhaps it was because of the demonic power that Loulin had spoken of. But what exactly was that demonic power, the dark energy? Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan weren¡¯t too sure.
On the other end, Dragon Dou and Moon Dongchen were already starting to insult one another. They were mediocre members of their respective families, but humans were a strange species. It was often the case that those whocked the strength were often less self-aware, while the true experts were very inconspicuous.
¡°Thene on and fight already! Pang Chun, Pang Qiu, kill those two!¡± Moon Dongchen pointed at Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha and ordered the two muscr men behind him.
Pang Chun and Pang Qiu were like zombies. After receiving Moon Dongchen¡¯s order, they approached Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan. They had long hair that was bundled up on the top of their heads like tworge ck jars, a most bizarre look.
Suddenly, the Pang brothers elerated in unison, charging at Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan.
The two of them had intimidating auras, but Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were a famous duo of the Starcloud Union, so they weren¡¯t easy to deal with, either. In the blink of an eye, Xia Fan wrangled with Pang Chun, while Traveling Buddha took on Pang Qiu.
Xia Fan¡¯s initial eleration speed left the Pang brothers aghast.
The current Xia Fan¡¯s progress in speed could be described as one thousand kilometers per day. Half a month ago, Xia Fan¡¯s speed had been at about 2000 meters per second, but he was now at more than 2500 meters per second, and that was with him not using the Immortal Wine. If he let everything go and focused entirely on crazily improving himself, he would be able to break into the Star Domain rank in no time!
¡°It¡¯s a Speed Sky Venerable!¡± the Pang brothers cried out.
By the time they realized that Xia Fan was a Speed Sky Venerable, it was already toote. Xia Fan gave a sharp punch to Pang Chun¡¯s chest.
At 2500 meters a second, a punch with Xia Fan¡¯s strength was an explosive blow of iparable power.
With one punch, Pang Chun was sent flying. He flew a hundred meters through the air before finally crashing into the ground.
On the other end, while Traveling Buddha was a little slower, his fists were stronger. After all, he was no longer the Battle Buddha, but the second tier of the Holy Buddha n, a Killer Buddha!
When the Killer Buddha emerged, not even a corpse would be left!
Rumble!
Vigorous power pounded the ground like a shooting star, smashing into Pang Qiu and causing him to throw up blood. He copsed to the ground and was instantly rendered immobile.
The spectating Moon Dongchen and Dragon Dou werepletely dumbfounded. Dragon Dou had only heard that Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were formidable, killing someone the moment they arrived at the City of the Four Kings, with that old ancestor having to intervene to capture them.
But he had never imagined that they were this formidable!
The Advanced Star Domain rank Pang Chun and Pang Qiu hadn¡¯t been able to take even one blow from them!
Moreover, not only were they formidable, they were ruthless! They had held nothing back, their moves seeking to kill!
One was a Speed Sky Venerable, and the other was a Killer Buddha! He had gotten a real treasure this time!
Dragon Du was delighted, thinking that no one would dare to mess with him in the future!
As for Moon Dongchen, he was scared into wide-eyed shock. He wasn¡¯t very capable and hadpletely relied on the formidable power of the Pang brothers. Now that he was facing these two ruthless fellows, running off was his only choice!
Dragon Dou looked at Moon Dongchen¡¯s fleeing figure in derision, but when he turned around, he saw Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan squatting on the ground and inspecting the half-dead Pang brothers.
The hair bundles of the Pang brothers hade apart, revealing the ck horns on their heads. This left Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan in disbelief. They were clearly humans, so why did they have horns like devils? What had happened here?
¡°What are you looking at?¡± Dragon Dou ran over and asked in confusion.
¡°Why do they have horns on their heads?¡± Xia Fan frowned.
Dragon Dou nonchntly replied, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with horns? Look, I have them too. All the people of the God Metropolis have horns.¡±
Dragon Dou parted his hair, revealing a little ck horn on his head, although it was smaller than those of the Pang brothers.
¡
Dragon Dou had won back his dignity and was ted. He took Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan out to eat at a rather luxurious restaurant. The table wasden with gourmet dishes.
Looking at the food on the table, Traveling Buddha frowned and said, ¡°Why is there no wine? I want to have two cups today.¡±
¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go and get someone to get a good wine from my house. The wine at this restaurant is much worse than my family¡¯s.¡± Dragon Dou eagerly ran out to order a servant to get some wine.
¡°It¡¯s all meat? There¡¯s nothing a bit lighter?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Dragon Dou eagerly went off to order vegetables and cucumbers.
In short, he was a little over-excited. The astonishingbat power the duo had disyed had made Dragon Dou see them in a new light, even revering them a little. No matter what Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha asked of him, he would immediately do it. It was hard to tell who was the master and who was the servant.
Traveling Buddha wasn¡¯t happy. Ever since he had learned that the God Metropolis¡¯s mysterious energy would cause humans to grow horns, he was stroking his head for fear of a sudden bulge. Xia Fan was less worried about that, but he was rather astonished at the strange phenomena taking ce in the God Metropolis.
Traveling Buddha drank until midnight, but he still wasn¡¯t happy. Xia Fan apanied him in drinking. In any case, it was very difficult to get drunk at their rank.
Suddenly amid the bright moon and sparse stars, a brilliant light exploded, engulfing the God Metropolis in white. It was as if the sun had risen once more, switching ces with the moon.
Xia Fan asked Dragon Dou in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s going on there?¡±
Dragon Dou looked up at the night sky, acting as if this was amon urrence. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, only a Fission. Originally, the God Metropolis had only sevens, but ever since that mysterious energy entered one hundred years ago, the stars have changed. Thes will fission, producing newary bodies.
¡°In the past, there would be a Fission every few months, but the fission frequency has been picking up in thest few years. It¡¯s now happening twice or three times a week.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were stunned. It turned out that the God Metropolis originally had only sevens. The constant fission process that had begun one hundred years ago had led to thousands ofary bodies? This was too bizarre, like they were going through cell division!
Dragon Dou added, ¡°Actually, Fission isn¡¯t that big of a deal. What¡¯s really scary is that new life is constantly being born on thoses, Centipede Snow Beasts, Human-Face Snake Spirits, and so on. In any case, there¡¯s all kinds of strange things. Even we humans have started to grow horns!¡±
Chapter 1510 - 1510 Giant Bear and a Giant Vine
1510 Giant Bear and a Giant Vine
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha heard that some amazing creatures had appeared on thoses, so they decided to go and check it out.
¡°I¡¯m not going. I won¡¯t go even if you beat me to death!¡± When Dragon Dou heard their n, he shook his head vigorously. Though his surname was Dragon, a descendant from one of the Four Great ns, hisbat strength was no greater than anymoner, and had a cowardly personality.
Since Dragon Dou was not going, then they might as well give the matter a rest. Xia Fan had only casually suggested it. If Dragon Dou had really wanted to go, he would constantly be inconveniencing them to act, seeing how weak he was. It would have been rather troublesome if they still needed to protect him if danger reared its head.
Dragon Dou was very worried about Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s safety. After all, they were the strongest fighters under hismand, and when the city became chaotic in the future, he would have to rely on the two to keep himself safe!
Thus, the silly child of the local tyrant stole plenty of precious treasures from his home and bestowed them upon Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Most of the things were nothing remarkable, but there was a pair of swords made of Styx alloy that were absolutely extraordinary.
Traveling Buddha had said that these two swords were something only someone as important as his grandfather was qualified to wield. Be it in terms of its strength or sharpness, Styx alloy was far stronger than Koro metal, and considered a treasure of astronomical value.
Xia Fan could not help but sigh. Sure enough, the Four Great ns were loaded. Dragon Dou was a descendant from one of the four who had not received any special treatment from them, yet he was still able to give away something so impressive. Who knew just how many top-grade items there were inside the actual treasury of these Four Great ns?
¡ª
There were two main forms of transportation avable to make their way to the fissioneds. One was through fixed stargates, while the other was with a high-speed shuttle. The stargate would only reachs that were quite a few years old, while the news that had been newly split off still needed a shuttle to reach them.
God Metropolis citizens would head over to theses for adventure, calling their trips ¡®trials¡¯. A group of friends might go together, or the leaders from a n would head up those expeditions, although there were a few that would do it alone.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha chose number 1437. The had just split up a year ago, and was presently inessible, so there were few adventurers there.
Taking a hovercar, they arrived near the Stargate to 1437. The two men showed their ID and very easily stepped through the Stargate, arriving at the other.
Stepping out from the Stargate, it felt like the was rumbling. A mountain range was gradually rising in the distance, and the terrain was changing every day with new mountains and basins, formed by amazing powers of nature.
There were also a countless variety of nts growing rapidly about them. A sapling yesterday growing into a towering elder tree today was a verymon sight here on a newly formed.
¡ª
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha quickly made their way into the forest, where there were all sorts of fantastic beasts running about, such as huge snakes with two heads, saltwater crocodilesrger than whales, and vultures with wingspans over ten meters long.
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan found these beasts to be very refreshing, but neither felt they posed any danger. Along the way, they encountered a pack of giant red-furred wolves. Their eyes were narrow, and they were five meters tall and very strongly built. The wolves attacked Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, but they were very quickly sent fleeing with their tails between their legs after the two men beat them up ck and blue.
Without even realizing it, the two of them strayed further away from the Stargate, and took a break beside a small river.
As they were eating some rations and admiring the view, they suddenly heard a startling roar at the same time.
This roar was very terrifying, ringing out for hundreds of miles in every direction, and they could sense a sort of dark energying from it.
Traveling Buddha turned to look into the valley where this roar originated from and frowned, ¡°Sounds like a pretty big b*st*rd.¡±
Xia Fan did not reply, and merely nodded.
That was when Bright Pearl, who had been dormant for a very long time, suddenly awakened and said to Xia Fan, ¡®I have a very strange feeling.¡¯
Xia Fan smiled, ¡®Whatever do you mean?¡¯
The pearl was pissed, ¡°Can you be a little more serious? I¡¯ve never once joked around with you. As someone of the dragon race, there are few living things in the universe that can make me react, and this creature that let out that roar should be very powerful, and is a huge threat to plenty of living creatures.¡¯
Xia Fan was curious. ¡®Then how would itpare to you?¡¯
The pearl scoffed, ¡®What sort of joke is that? I¡¯m a dragon, how could youpare me to some random beast in the wild? The reason why I warned you is because I can sense a strength in it that was simr to the Demonic Ants. Okay, I¡¯m going back to sleep. If you¡¯re fine, you should go investigate.¡¯
¡ª
Soon after Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha finished their meal, they jointly made the decision to head over and check out the source of the roar. Xia Fan sniffed the air as they made their way over, and sure enough, it was simr to the Demonic Ants: a very strange smell that contained the scent of smoke and fire, like a living creature that had been exposed to hellfire and crawled their way out from magma.
The location the roar originated from was a valley with steep rocky cliffs to both sides, the long, narrow path in the middle covered in a dense thicket of botanical life.
Xia Fan pushed past the branches and leaves in front of him and looked down into the valley from up high.
It turned out that the culprit was a brown bear!
This brown bear was impossibly huge in size. It stood a hundred meters tall, looking powerful and majestic: a single swing of its paw could probably level a small hill.
But the reason why the great brown bear had roared was not because it was enraged, or that it was trying to scare something, but because its life was currently being threatened!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha saw that a ck tree vine with sharp barbs that was well over several thousand meters long had wrapped the giant bear up tightly in its grip at the moment. The roots of this vine extended into a cave almost a thousand meters high. The brown bear was covered in blood, and slowly being dragged into that cave. Everywhere it passed, a track of blood would be left behind, trees snapping around it.
¡°Oh my god. Just what strange nt monster is this? Could Duan Muheng¡¯s Wooden Spring Vine evenpare to this giant?!¡± Traveling Buddha gasped in astonishment.
Xia Fan frowned, ¡°It¡¯s not even aparison, it¡¯s justpletely outssed. Wooden Spring Vine is a control-type nt, while this ck Tree Vine might be carnivorous, intending to drag the giant bear into its cave to feed upon it.¡±
Traveling Buddha remarked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we kill this tree vine? Maybe that brown bear would be moved that we saved his life.¡±
Xia Fan rolled his eyes at Traveling Buddha. ¡°What sort of idea is that? A creature must first have its own spiritual essence in order to be tamed, and this brown bear¡¯s eyes are pitch ck and filled with murderous intent. If you saved him, not only would it not show any sort of gratitude, it might even turn on you and send a p your way instead!
¡°Enough with your nonsensical thoughts. I am actually somewhat interested in finding out how that tree vine would eat the brown bear. Let¡¯s go down there and have a look.¡±
With that said, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha used the cover from the bushes and trees to sneak in closer to that gigantic cave.
The two experts were very bold, since most people, forget getting near, would probably have run away in fright after witnessing such a horrifying scene.
But Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were different. Not only were they high-ranked, they also possessed powerful special abilities. One was a speedster that was so quick that most would have trouble catching him, while the other had the impregnable defense of a Battle Buddha. Any creature would have great trouble trying to go up against them.
¡ª
The two of them soon reached the cave entrance. Compared to the giant creatures, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were just insignificant little dots. Neither the giant bear nor the ck vine took notice of their presence.
Crouched down by the entrance as they furtively watched the scene unfold before their eyes, they saw that the ck vine was not only a thousand meters long, but there was still arge portion of it coiled up inside the cave. The thick stench of blood permeated the ce, an indication of how many creatures the nt had eaten in its lifetime.
At the moment, the giant brown bear had been dragged into the cave proper, and must have known that it was about to die as it began to struggle even more furiously. The ck vine was wrapped tightly around the beast and tightening around its neck. The giant bear went immobile in no time at all, most likely killed by strangtion.
Xia Fan made a hand signal to Traveling Buddha. Thetter grabbed the former¡¯s shoulder and the two darted forward, instantly crossing into the deepest recess of the cave and hiding behind arge rock.
In the murky darkness, they could see that the body of the ck tree vine monster had taken root deep into the soil. It was seriously huge, having grown to at least seven to eight kilometers long. There were four vines that bore barbs along its body, almost like flexible ws of a monster.
Using the vines like saw des, the ck vine monster began to cut apart the corpse of the brown bear, rending its flesh into many pieces of meat that were still bleeding redly.
The show of the vine monster eating the brown bear was about to begin, and Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were ready to witness this spectacle.
That was about when Xia Fan was startled, his nose twitching ever so slightly in the air. He had caught the scent of a human closing in from afar, and the human was not alone!
Xia Fan promptly signaled Traveling Buddha again, informing him that people wereing, while they continued to lurk in the darkness.
Chapter 1511 - 1511 Crystal
1511 Crystal
Three figures came flying in quickly from afar. They first examined the entrance very cautiously, and after they were done discussing their n, proceeded to charge into the cave in unison.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha could tell that two among the three were ranged warriors, using frost and fire respectively, while the third was a flight-type special ability user, focused on drawing the tree vine monster¡¯s attention.
The three of them were decent, reaching at least Advanced Star River rank. Furthermore, this was not the first time they had coordinated with each other. They disyed a deep tacit understanding of one another.
First, the Frost ability user unleashed clouds of white mist that sought out its enemy like lightning. When they struck the tree vine monster¡¯s body, it rapidly began to freeze, and then the other ability user used his fire to give it an intense burn. The sudden rising and falling temperatures caused great damage to the vine monster,rge pieces of its limbs shattering off.
Simultaneously, the warrior with the flight ability was nimbly flying about in the air. No matter how much the tree vine monster wanted to grab a hold of him, his small size and quick, nimble movements made the monster grasp blindly in the air. It was struggling to get a hold of this person, and instead had two of its vines broken off at once, greatly reducing itsbat strength!
!!
The cave walls were rumblings as they were constantly being beaten by the tree vine monster, and rocks were falling all over the ce. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had no choice but to quickly retreat all the way to a crevice in the cave wall, and continued to watch the three special ability users fight against the tree vine monster.
Soon, the tree vine monster was on the verge of dying, its four vines broken off, its control now limited to the small area around his body.
That was when the three made their way to the tree vine monster¡¯s body. In one go, they used both frost and fire to kill off the monster!
Though it sounded easy on paper, the battle had actuallysted for twenty minutes. The three of them had expended a lot of their energy before finally getting the kill.
¡°Finally, we¡¯ve killed this monster!¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t easy. Let¡¯s leave after getting our spoils. High-level monsters are getting more numerous here, and harder to deal with.¡±
¡°Right? Looks like the changes to God Metropolis are getting worse with each passing day. I have no idea if that¡¯s a good thing or bad thing.¡±
¡°It¡¯s of course a good thing for us! If it was not for there being so many monsters, how would we be able to obtain these precious crystals?¡±
¡°That¡¯s true. Though no one likes monsters, their crystals are definitely something good.¡±
The three of them chatted as they looked around for items. They had retrieved a red crystal from the brain of the dead brown bear, one about the size of an adult¡¯s fist.
Next, the three split open the body of the tree vine monster, and took out a green crystal from inside that was around the size of two adult¡¯s fists.
Xia Fan could tell that these two crystals were very unique. There was ayer of ck haze around them, and the smell they gave off was very peculiar, as well. It was somewhat simr to the smell an energy crystal would give off, but it was also different.
¡ª
After obtaining the two crystals, the three men departed from the cave to search for new targets.
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan stepped out from their hiding ce and saw that the ce was now aplete mess. Blood was mixed with the ck sap from the tree vine monster, giving off an odious smell. The tree vine monster¡¯s body was also gradually wilting after it had died.
¡°This smell is really overwhelming, let¡¯s leave this ce quick,¡± Traveling Buddha said, covering his nose.
Xia Fan shook his head. He went running to the corpse of the tree vine monster with a strange expression, sniffing the air constantly.
Traveling Buddha took several steps back and looked at Xia Fan as if he was a monster. ¡°The heck, what¡¯s so nice about this stench?¡±
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°Of course the smell is horrid, but I just discovered that there might still be more crystals under this tree vine monster.¡±
Traveling Buddha was shocked. He was just about to ask Xia Fan how he knew that, when he suddenly remembered that Xia Fan¡¯s nose was even more sensitive than a dog¡¯s. He did not ask anything more, just shaking his head.
Xia Fan circled the corpse once and then chose a spot. He took out a folding entrenching tool from his spatial ring and quickly began digging through the ground. Because he was a speedster, the work was quicklypleted, digging several meters deep into the ground.
That should be where the crystals were buried. Xia Fan was afraid of damaging the crystals, so he tossed the shovel aside and continued digging with just his gloves.
His fingers suddenly came into contact with something hard. He pried one out and sure enough, it was a crystal!
In no time at all, Xia Fan brought out seventy-six crystals of varying sizes and color, and jumped out from the hole he had dug.
He then ced all the crystals on the ground, leaving Traveling Buddha dumbfounded.
¡°Those three guys fought for such a long time, and only went away with two crystals. Then here you are, just with your super-nose alone, actually digging out so many of them up in one go?¡± Traveling Buddha was shocked.
He was feeling cheated on behalf of the three men from before. They were the ones who had killed the monster, yet Xia Fan was the one who had reaped the greatest reward in the end. His Scent special ability sure was amazing! Though he did not take part in the fight, he was able to put his special ability to the fullest use at crucial moments!
Xia Fan just smiled. ¡°This might be because that tree vine monster had a habit of hiding things. After it killed its prey, it would bury the crystals underground, so in the future when it wasn¡¯t able to find anything to eat, it could then subsist on these crystals. It¡¯s very normal for creatures in the natural world to have the habit of storing food.¡±
Traveling Buddha only half-believed his words. He took a yellow crystal into his hand and furrowed his brow, ¡°You think these things could be eaten? Looking at it carefully, their color isn¡¯t even pure, and there¡¯s this ck pollutant on it. It looks just like a fruit that has grown mold, and it just might make you sick eating them.¡±
Xia fan shrugged, ¡°The smell of these things are quite simr to energy crystals, but whether they can be consumed by humans isn¡¯t something I can be too sure about, so let¡¯s just store them away first.¡±
Traveling Buddha stowed away the crystals, while Xia Fan took one from the pile andpared it with a Grade Nine energy crystal.
He had always been holding onto his Grade Nine energy crystals. Originally he had forty-seven of them, and after the big fight in the Demon Chasm as well as all the various inexplicable encounters, he used quite a bit of his stock, so he was now down to forty-three. These were precious resources that couldn¡¯t be found anywhere after being consumed, so he had cherished them greatly all this while, only using them when he had no other options.
Energy crystals were also categorized into colors, and different colors signified different grades. But these crystals he had just dug out were not produced by geological means, but found growing in nts and animals. Adding to the fact that these crystals had ck dots inside them, looking like they had gathered mildew, Xia Fan was reluctant to give them a try.
¡ª
Looking at the time and realizing it was about time they headed back, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha went back the way they came and went to look for Dragon Dou. The silly offspring of the local tyrant was ted when he saw that his two bodyguards had returned safe and sound, immediately treating the two to a meal in a restaurant.
After all the dishes were served, Xia Fan got up and closed the doors to their private room and took out a crystal to show to Dragon Dou. The instant he saw that it was a crystal, his jaw dropped in shock.
¡°How did you two get this thing?¡± Dragon Dou asked them.
Xia Fan said that they had killed a giant bear and saw it growing in its brain, so they took it back with them, not knowing what it was.
Dragon Dou nodded, ¡°Ah, so you encountered those monsters! Honestly, these crystals are very precious. The people of God Metropolis do everything in their power to collect them, using them for cultivation. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s very helpful in going up in rank!
¡°In any case, it¡¯s somewhat simr to energy crystals, but are even more powerful. Some of those people have practically gone crazy searching for these things. Just a small piece like the one you showed me is enough to trade for a cruiser!¡±
Xia Fan finally understood the situation. The people of God Metropolis had been using these things like others used energy crystals. In eons past, the Ashen Moon Universe had once been abundant with energy, and plenty of energy crystals grew everywhere. But the constant exploitation of that resource had gradually mined out the energy crystals, and that was especially the case with high-grade energy crystals. The price of them rose every year, gaining in value even faster than stocks!
Xia Fan asked, ¡°Are there any side effects from consuming one?¡±
Dragon Dou pointed to the horn on the top of his head and replied, ¡°Not really. You just grow a horn like me! Anyone you see on the streets that has longer horns just means they have eaten plenty of these crystals.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha frowned. They were fond of going up in ranks, but neither wanted to grow horns. It would look too strange if they ran about in public with a horn on their head¡
That was when a white light suddenly appeared across the sky, illuminating the darkness of the night.
Xia Fan was startled. He opened the window and saw changes in the distant starry sky. A had split into two and became two worlds!
¡°It hasn¡¯t even been twenty-four hours! Isn¡¯t the splitting too quickly?¡± Xia Fan eximed.
Dragon Dou lifted his wrist to check the time. ¡°To be precise, it has only been twenty-one hours. I remember it was twenty-three hours between splits a while ago, so the rate is indeed increasing!¡±
Chapter 1512 - 1512 Hidden Water
1512 Hidden Water
God Metropolis, in arge garden¡
Moon Dongchen was sitting under an awning sulking. He remained uninterested no matter what the female servant beside him cajoled him with, drinking glumly all by himself.
As night slowly descended, a servant suddenly came rushing over, whispering words into Moon Dongchen¡¯s ear that promptly made him blurt out, ¡°What¡¯s that? Big brother¡¯s back? Quick, take me to him!¡±
Thus, Moon Dongchen tossed the sultry female servant to the side and headed to big brother Moon Dongsheng¡¯s room.
Just you wait, Dragon Dou!, Moon Dongchen thought to himself as he made his way there.
Though he was a mediocre character of his generation, Moon Dongchen was different from the only son, Dragon Dou. Moon Dongchen had a good elder brother that had reached legendary rank despite his young age. He was a famed talent of God Metropolis!
It was just that Moon Dongsheng often spent his days busily training, and he was not often home. Moon Dongchen had waited for three whole days staring at the moon and stars before he finally saw his elder brother return.
Knocking on the door before entering his room, Moon Dongchen immediately let out a pitiful wail, ¡°Big brother, I¡¯ve been bullied! You need to help stand up for me!¡±
Moon Dongsheng was stunned. He quickly took Moon Dongchen by his hand and got him to sit down beside him. The two siblings shared a very good rtionship with one another, and the moment Moon Dongsheng heard that his brother had been bullied, his face instantly darkened, urging Moon Dongchen to exin what had happened.
And so, Moon Dongchen began to embellish his tale, speaking ill of Dragon Dou as well as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. His servants quickly certified his ims that the Pang brothers had indeed been hospitalized.
Moon Dongsheng shook his head after hearing the tale. ¡°Brother, you shouldn¡¯t have scared me like that. I had thought you were the one that was beaten up!¡±
Changing the subject, Moon Dongsheng narrowed his eyes, ¡°But they did indeed go too far, beating the Pang brothers to the point that they were hospitalized. This is nothing more than bullying us of the Moon n for having ack of manpower.¡±
Moon Dongchen pouted, ¡®I don¡¯t care, big brother! In any case, I was bullied, and you need to help me gain back my honor!¡±
Moon Dongsheng somewhat awkwardly said, ¡°Your big brother is learning from the esteemed elders, so there¡¯s no way I can find time to help fight for you. Besides, though Dragon Dou is an idler, he¡¯s ultimately still a Dragon, and someone from the Four Great ns. We¡¯ll stir up plenty of trouble if we try to touch him.¡±
Moon Dongchen was unwilling to just let the matter slide. His face was sullen, looking like he just heard that his parents had died.
Moon Dongshen patted his younger brother¡¯s shoulder and said, ¡°What are you jumping to conclusions for? I said I wouldn¡¯t make a move against Dragon Dou, but that doesn¡¯t extend to his underlings. It¡¯ll be handled once I send some menter to quietly take care of those two people.
¡°Once Dragon Dou has no more men, you¡¯ll be able to bully him however you want!¡±
This was not a bad idea, so Moon Dongchen perked right up. He and Dragon Dou were both famous for being ne¡¯er-do-wells. Now that Dragon Dou had risen slightly thanks to having Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha supporting him, Moon Dongchen would be able to properly ravage Dragon Dou once the two were taken care of!
Moon Dongchen gnashed his teeth and hissed, ¡°Heh, you dare snatch Hidden Water with me? I¡¯ll be sure to make you suffer!¡±
Upon hearing his words, Moon Dongsheng felt shock run through his body as he nced at his younger brother in surprise and said, ¡°The reason why you and Dragon Dou don¡¯t see eye to eye is all because of Hidden Water?¡±
Moon Dongchen nodded somewhat foolishly.
Moon Dongsheng grabbed his younger brother by his shoulders with two hands and said in a very serious voice, ¡°My foolish brother, have you forgotten our n¡¯s ancestral teachings? ¡®You must remember that any of the women from the Four Great Families can be touched, except any women who bears the surname of Hidden! You must never touch them!¡¯ Not to mention the granddaughter of that old monster. If you touch her, not even I, your big brother, can help save you!¡±
Moon Dongchen was nonplussed, ¡°That¡¯s ancient history from tens of thousands of years ago. What¡¯s wrong with having the surname of Hidden? Why can¡¯t we touch them?¡±
The expression on Moon Dongsheng¡¯s face darkened slightly, almost as if he was angry.
The moment Moon Dongchen noticed the chance, he was frightened and hurriedly promised his elder brother that he would not provoke Hidden Water. Only then did Moon Dongsheng¡¯s expression soften slightly.
¡
Ever since they learned that thes of God Metropolis were splitting every day, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both had bad feelings about it. The time between the fissions was also decreasing, which was most likely not a good omen at all. Something huge was sure to happen soon!
Unfortunately, the old saying was tried and true: like boiling a frog in warm water, the Four Great ns had been in control for almost forty thousand years now, and they were long used to the splitting of thes. None of them thought much of it, and were instead of the mindset that the mores were split, the more benefits they could reap!
After all, many strange creatures would be born after a split, and they were all creatures that might provide the precious crystals. It was their dependency on the crystals that was helping the Four Great ns grow stronger and stronger, enough so that they were vaguely able toe into enough power that they could challenge the strength of the entire universe.
After his return from the, Xia Fan had devoted his time to studying how he could harness the crystals. Traveling Buddha and he wanted to tap into the power of the crystals, but they had no wish to grow strange horns on their heads. As such, Xia Fan used the techniques and skills that his grandparents had imparted to him in attempts to purify the crystals.
Unfortunately, his experimentations for thest two days had all failed. Xia Fan felt depressed, and so he invited Traveling Buddha to join him on another trip to the again. Though at present, the crystals did not seem to be of much use to them, it would be good to umte some crystals first. There was no telling when someone mighte along and develop a technology to use these crystals, and they couldter be of use.
What Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had not expected was for the foolish son of the local tyrant wanting to tag along as well! He even dressed himself up rather handsomely, with abed beard and a clean shirt. It did not look as if he was about to go into battle, but more for a date!
¡°Listen to me. Let¡¯s head to 1135, there¡¯s sure to be plenty of good things there! I guarantee we¡¯ll reap plenty of rewards!¡± the foolish second generation patted his chest and assured Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
¡°I think this kid is acting a little strange today,¡± Traveling Buddha said to Xia Fan.
Xia Fan could tell that something was amiss with Dragon Dou, but they could not just kill him off. At the end of the day, he was a Dragon, and the backing they had for the God Metropolis.
They had no choice. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha could only apany Dragon Dou and head to the stargate that led to 1135.
¡ª
Passing through the stargate, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha discovered, much to their surprise, just how iprehensible the ce was. Mountains filled thends everywhere, and they were not your average hills, but great peaks, each of them at least tens of thousands of meters high. The mountain forests were also densely packed, and exuded a faint sense of danger.
Dragon Dou took out an electronic binocrs and looked around with it. He realized there were few people around and moaned in disappointment, ¡°Strange. Where is everyone? I clearly heard her say that she wasing to 1135, so why is there no one around?¡±
Rubbing his hands, he pleaded with Xia Fan, ¡°You¡¯re fast, can you help me search for someone?¡±
¡°Who is it you¡¯re looking for?¡±
¡°A friend.¡±
¡°This is huge, and thend is rugged with mountains. How am I going to find someone when you have no location in mind?¡±
Unexpectedly, Dragon Dou truly had a spirit of perseverance, constantly pestering Xia Fan until he waspletely annoyed, so he furrowed his brow, ¡°Do you have anything belonging to this person on you? Give it to me and I can help you find her.¡±
Dragon Du gave it some thought and then took out a half-filled bottle of mineral water from his bag. It was evident that it was someone¡¯s leftovers.
¡°Will this work? She drank half of it, and I stole it while she wasn¡¯t looking. I¡¯ve cherished it since!¡± Dragon Du somewhat unwillingly handed over the bottle to Xia Fan.
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were momentarily speechless. Hearing Dragon Dou¡¯s tone, it sounded like this person he was searching for was a girl. They also remembered that it was also over a girl that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had helped fight against that person with the surname of Moon when they had first arrived here. Who was to say it wasn¡¯t the same person?
Xia made a mental note, This person sounds like he¡¯s in love. Forget it, I¡¯ll just help him.
With that, Xia Fan sniffed and noted the scent trace on that bottle. He then shut his eyes and continued to take deep breaths, collecting in all the scents throughout the area.
¡°I found it. The person you¡¯re looking for is a girl, approximately fifteen to sixteen years old, right?¡± Xia Fan asked him.
Dragon Dou nodded repeatedly. Xia Fan proceeded to tuck him under his arm while letting Traveling Buddha grab a hold of his shoulder. He then elerated, heading toward the location the scent was originating from.
The mountain path was hard to navigate, and Xia Fan did not go too fast, merely sticking to a speed of about a thousand m/s. The distance of several hundred kilometers merely took less than eight minutes before they came to a stop at a mountaintop.
A skinny middle-aged man was there, with sallow cheeks, high cheekbones, and a slight beard on his face. He looked very malnourished.
This man was standing on the mountain, using the high elevation to survey thend. The sudden appearance of Xia Fan and others behind him gave him a fright. He was startled after spotting Dragon Dou among them, appearing to be very surprised.
Xia Fan pointed to the sallow-faced middle-aged man and said, ¡°Found her. She¡¯s right there.¡±
Chapter 1513 - 1513 Borrowing a Knife to Kill
1513 Borrowing a Knife to Kill
The sallow-faced middle-aged man was none other than the secret crush of Dragon Dou, Hidden Water!
The Hidden n trained the best assassins in Ashen Moon, and they excelled in the arts of disguise, stealth, and assassination. When Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were taking part in the operation where they had to infiltrate Murder Shrine, they had used the Hidden n¡¯s weightless disguises, which had allowed them to seamlessly blend in without anyone discovering their true identity. It was evidence of just how superb their disguises were.
While Hidden Water was having a quiet conversation with a close confidant yesterday, this had been inadvertently mentioned, and Dragon Dou had overheard them. He hade pestering Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to bring him along. Hidden Water did not wish to run into Dragon Dou, so she had disguised herself. Who would have thought that she would still fail to escape from Xia Fan¡¯s Scent special ability?
Seeing Dragon Dou, Hidden Water was at first stunned, while Dragon Du foolishly asked Xia Fan, ¡°How could this man be the person I¡¯m looking for?¡±
Xia Fan just nodded back. ¡°I didn¡¯t make a mistake.¡±
Dragon Dou was skeptical as he made his way near Hidden Water. Though he had loved and admired Hidden Water for a very long time, he felt nauseated looking at this sallow-faced middle-aged man. He had plenty of words buried in his heart that he couldn¡¯t bring himself to speak out loud.
Instead, it was Hidden Water who got angry first, ring at Xia Fan spitefully as she asked, ¡°Just how did you find me?¡±
Even her voice sounded like a man¡¯s voice; she was no doubt someone from the Hidden n. If Xia Fan had not had his Scent special ability, he would surely have had a hard time believing that this middle-aged man was actually a young girl in disguise!
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°If I want to find someone, then I naturally will be able to do just that.¡±
¡°Impossible!¡± Hidden Water was incensed. ¡°I was imparted my skills directly from my grandfather! Though I dare not im it is wless, it can at least be considered first rate in my n! You must have secretly ced something on me, otherwise there¡¯s no way you could find me so easily!¡±
Xia Fan shook his head in response. ¡°Mydy, please don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯ve never met you before today, so what could I have ced on you? Besides, if I¡¯ve done anything to you, given how good thedy is, wouldn¡¯t you have noticed?¡±
Hidden Water was stunned. She had carefully checked herself before making the trip out and had not noticed any signs of being tampered with. That made things strange. Could this smiling man have some extraordinary ability?
She naturally had no idea that while someone could disguise themselves into looking like somebody else, there was no way she could change the smell she gave off. No matter how remarkably she physically disguised herself, none of that would work against Xia Fan and his nose.
All of a sudden, the sound of trees being cut down could be heard from a distance. Hidden Water was promptly startled, before addressing Xia Fan and the others, ¡°That thing ising! Quick,y down!¡±
That thing?
Xia Fan had no idea what Hidden Water was doing, so he heeded her advice and lowered himself down, sprawling behind a big rock as he looked out toward the distant mountains.
All of a sudden, arge white creature came stalking from the forest. Trees that were tens of meters tall were forcibly trampled wherever it went.
It drew closer, and Xia Fan could finally make it out as a pangolin.
Xia Fan had never seen such a peculiar pangolin in his life. In addition to the fact that it waspletely white, the carapace on its back was actually covered with spikes, and it had fangs growing out of its mouth. Its ws were deadly sharp, able to cleave off a hilltop in one swipe!
As for the size of the pangolin, it was of course even more unimaginably ridiculous. It was actually over a kilometer long, and the very ground shook with every step it took!
¡°Oh my God, what the heck is that?!¡± Traveling Buddha could not help but mutter under his breath.
Hidden Water grimaced. ¡°A Ferocibeast, the number one Ferocibeast on this! She just gave birth to a litter and has an extremely vtile temper. You people need to take care, and no matter what you do, don¡¯t provoke her, or no one will be able to save you. She is simply too powerful, and is able to breathe white mes from her mouth. Even Koro alloy will melt when it is exposed to her white mes.¡±
Xia Fan was absolutely dumbfounded. He had seen Ferocibeasts before, but a Ferocibeast capable of spewing white mes so hot that they could melt Koro alloy metal? That was the first time he had heard of such a thing!.
Sure enough, Xia Fan could soon see three smaller pangolins following behind the huge mother pangolin.
Though smaller, her three offspring were already over fifty meters long. They wouldpletely qualify to be called colossal if they were found anywhere else!
¡°Strange. Why are the three little pangolins different from their mother? Their mother is white, while they are grey,¡± Dragon Dou asked, confused.
Hidden Water seemed to dislike Dragon Dou a great deal. She rolled her eyes and then said in a mocking tone, ¡°You¡¯re a Dragon, too, so why is the difference between you and the ancestors of your n so huge? There were plenty of renowned heroes that came from the Dragon n, yet you¡¯re so inept!¡±
¡°Uhh¡¡± Dragon Du was being scolded, yet he was not in the least bit angry. He even shamelessly exined, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not inept. It¡¯s just fighting; I am proficient in art and chess. Considering the day and age, fighting all the time is so boring. Isn¡¯t it better to just properly enjoy life?¡±
To think Dragon Dou was quite the romantic, someone who preferred to dabble with fine arts and not be a student of martial arts.
Hidden Water was actually quite a mild-mannered person. It was just that she disliked Dragon Dou, so after she mocked Dragon Dou for a bit before she turned her attention to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha and exined, ¡°This white mother pangolin is too pure a lineage, so she couldn¡¯t find a suitable partner. As such, her only option was to pair up with a ck pangolin. After the pregnancy, the white pangolin killed her mate, most likely because she did not wish her children to know that their father was actually so weak.¡±
Traveling Buddha was startled. ¡°What a ruthless mother!¡±
Hidden Water sighed, ¡°The both of you don¡¯t understand; the creatures living on theses experience extremely fiercepetition for their own survival. This white pangolin became the sovereign of this by defeating plenty of enemies. Just look at the many scars and bruises on her. They are evidence of the countless fights she has faced.¡±
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°Either be stronger or die. That is the cruel rule of the jungle.¡±
Hidden Water nodded her head vigorously, agreeing with Xia Fan¡¯s viewpoint.
She then watched the white pangolin carefully as she told them about the many fights she had seen on the. Xia Fan realized that she was an animal lover, oftening to the variouss to observe the animals living on them and recording their living habits.
There was something among all the words that Hidden Water shared that shocked Xia Fan deeply.
She had said that ording to her observations, there would ultimately be a sovereign on every. The moment that sovereign was born, they would begin to make active preparations to kill all other species, desperately ingesting energy to help themselves grow crazily and swell in size.
Xia Fan was nonplussed, ¡°They are already the sovereigns of their, so what are they still making active preparations for? Could these so-called sovereigns be preparing for a new war?¡±
Hidden Water shook her head. ¡°That I¡¯m not certain about. In any case,s that have a sovereign be even more chaotic. Instead, it is the small creatures that are not too strong that can live freely.¡±
Xia Fan stroked his chin. What Hidden Water had said made him think of war preparations.
But the white pangolin was already the sovereign of her, and no one dared challenge her anymore. Just what could she be so desperately preparing for war against?
Xia Fan looked up to the sky. There were thousands ofs here, and each of them had a sovereign of their own. Could it be¡
No. Thes were quite far apart from one another. It was unlikely the sovereigns would encounter each other, so it was impossible for them to fight one another.
Hidden Water took out her notebook and began writing down what she had observed. She made sure to record what the white pangolin ate, and the status of her offspring, and so on.
¡ª
Slowly, Traveling Buddha and Dragon Dou got bored. They had originally thought that Hidden Water wanted to fight with the sovereign pangolin, only to learn that she was just interested in scientific research. It was very boring.
Traveling Buddha yawned and poked Xia Fan with a finger, indicating that they should hurry up and leave if there was nothing else here.
That was when something inexplicable happened. A beam of white light suddenly exploded forth from nowhere, headed to the mountaintop where Xia Fan and the others had hidden themselves!
¡°No good! That¡¯s aser weapon!¡± Xia Fan yelled, using his speed to pull Traveling Buddha and everyone else away.
*Kaboom!*
Theser cannon was aimed directly at the big rock Xia Fan had hidden himself behind moments ago, instantly disintegrating it into sand. The mountainside copsed, giving Dragon Dou quite the fright. His face went pale.
¡°That was close! Who attacked us?!¡± Traveling Buddha was angrily stomping his feet on the ground. Looking in the direction theser had fired from, it should be somewhere a hundred kilometers on their nk.
That was when a great rumble was felt from the ground underneath their feet, and everyone had trouble standing firm.
Xia Fan hastily turned to look down the mountain. Theser fire had caused their location to be exposed, and the white pangolin had be abnormally furious. She was currently charging over toward them in a cantankerous rage!
She opened her big mouth, and Xia Fan could see a white glow from inside, like she was preparing to breathe fire.
Instantly Xia Fan understood everything. Theser shot had been intentional!
There was someone out there borrowing the figurative knife that was the white pangolin to kill them!
¡°Quick, flee!¡±
There was no time for a proper exnation. Xia Fan bellowed and grabbed Traveling Buddha, Hidden Water, and Dragon Dou to beat a hasty retreat.
The bright glow from the white mes abruptly spewed forth behind him. It was extremely frightening. The zing white-hot inferno was so great that it covered the skies, so fierce that it looked like it wanted to swallow the heavens!
Chapter 1514 - 1514 Trapped!
1514 Trapped!
The enraged white pangolin breathed out mes and chased after Xia Fan, the ground rumbling as she followed him.
All beasts shared the innate desire to protect their children. Xia Fan and everyone had been watching from up on the mountaintop, something the monstrous pangolin obviously found to be uneptable. The Ferocibeast had no idea that theser was fired from far away; all she knew was that a group of humans were up on the mountain, secretly spying on her and her children. They had even caused a great explosion that gave the three children and herself quite the scare.
As such, Xia Fan had been forced to shoulder a guilt that could never be cleared, as the pangolin had already deemed this group of humans to harbor ill intent toward herself and her children. The white pangolin gave chase as if she had gone crazy, and despite her humongous size, the speed she possessed was stunning!
The most frightening aspect of the chase was naturally her white mes. Spewing from her mouth, the mes could reach nearly a hundred kilometers away, instantly leaving behind a burning wall of fire that cut off Xia Fan¡¯s retreat. Xia Fan had no choice but to circle around the mes time and time again, making it impossible for him to fully disy his advantage in speed.
¡ª
The very ground was rocking violently. Watching the monstrous pangolin chase Xia Fan farther and farther away, two warriors stood up from a distant mountain top. One was tall and the other was short, but both shared the same sinister smile.
¡°This time they are surely deadmeat. Getting hunted down by a tyrant must surely be a terrible experience,¡± the tall one remarked, pleased with himself. On his back was a shoulder-mountedser cannon.
The short one was somewhat hesitant, frowning, ¡°But Dragon Dou and that unknown middle-aged man will be embroiled in this.¡±
The tall one scoffed, ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. By the time they are dead, even if the people above were tounch an investigation, they would at most conclude that they ended up dead by the monster¡¯s hands. What has that got to do with us?
¡°Big brother Moon Dongsheng did not want to threaten Dragon Dou¡¯s life solely because he was afraid of the trouble it would cause. But if he dies by natural causes, then there¡¯s no trouble at all. Big brother will not only not me us, he will surely even reward us!¡±
The short one scratched his head, ¡°Even so, that middle-aged stranger still ended up being caught up in all this.¡±
The tall man grew a little angry, finding the short one to be annoying. He unhappily retorted, ¡°The man¡¯s clothes bore no markings, so he¡¯d at most be a servant from one of the Four Great ns. Who¡¯s going to care if he ends up dead? Let¡¯s seize the moment and leave this ce. We don¡¯t want others to see us!¡±
With that, the tall and short warriors made to leave. Their n had worked well, except that even in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that the sallow-faced middle-aged man was no servant from the Four Great ns, but Hidden Water in disguise!
¡
Xia Fan was in trouble.
Originally he would have had no trouble getting away from the white pangolin hunting him down with his speed. But the problem was that this Ferocibeast knew how to breathe fire and she was extremely smart. She would always create a wall of mes along Xia Fan¡¯s route of escape, forcing Xia Fan to take detours.
The mountainous forest trail was already hard to travel along. Adding to the fact that Xia Fan was not alone, but had Traveling Buddha, Hidden Water and Dragon Dou with him, all of them ended up weighing down on Xia Fan¡¯s speed.
After much effort, they finally made it near the Stargate. Xia Fan heaved a sigh of relief. All he had to do now was get through the Stargate and he would survive this encounter. No matter how powerful the Ferocibeast was, there was no way it could give chase acrosss.
Nevertheless, something unexpected urred at this moment. A single st of white mes appeared in mid air, aimed directly toward the Stargate. It immediately set the structure to burning; the four warriors guarding said Stargate did not even have the time to dodge the mes before they found themselves burnt to crisps!
Xia Fan was stunned, as was everyone else. Did the pangolin¡¯s white mes melt the Stargate into g? Just what sort of frightening temperatures did it reach?! They would surely suffer if they were burnt by those mes!
¡°Goddammit, goddammit! MOMMY QUICK COME SAVE ME!¡± Dragon Dou cried shamelessly.
Instead, it was Hidden Water who remained calm even in their current predicament, shouting to Xia Fan, ¡°Run in the three o¡¯clock direction to your right; I know somewhere we can escape and survive!¡±
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan did not have the time to think, simply sprinting in a haste at his full speed. He could feel Bright Pearl in his bosom bing anxious as well, prepared to protect Xia Fan from the monster¡¯s attack at a critical juncture.
As a Frost Dragon, Pearl had the ability to resist fire. It was just that doing so would expose Pearl, and in order to keep her existence a secret, Xia Fan would probably end up having to kill both Dragon Dou and Hidden Water. Thus, unless he had absolutely no choice, he was not about to let Pearl reveal itself.
The state of affairs continued to worsen. The white pangolin had only recently given birth, yet it was actingpletely unreasonably, still giving chase even when Xia Fan was thousands of kilometers away from the initial spot they had met at. To think the beast was still giving chase!
A single stream of white mes came after them, and Xia Fan had no choice but to give hisplete focus to his circumstances, dodging and weaving as he continued sprinting.
After covering another hundred kilometers, Xia Fan spotted a mountain ahead. It was big and ck,rger than all the other mountains. Its mass was actually made of metal, and waspletely devoid of any signs of life.
¡°There¡¯s a cave under the mountain that is so deep that it appears endless. We need only go in and we can escape from the pangolin!¡± Hidden Water yelled at him.
Xia Fan elerated, headed toward the foot of that metal mountain. As he neared it, there was indeed a very small cave opening that was no more than three to four meters in diameter. There was no way the huge pangolin would be able to follow them inside.
Xia Fan ran like his life depended on it, while the white pangolin let out a furious bellow when she realized Xia Fan was trying to get into the cave. She then opened her mouth and attempted to breathe her white mes with all her might.
*BOOM*
The fearsome mes quickened in speed; Xia Fan could feel the rising temperaturesing in fast behind him.
The cave was a straight line, without a single bend or curve. Xia Fan had no way of dodging the mes that were catching up aside from increasing his speed even further.
Upon realizing how critical the situation had gotten, Traveling Buddha suddenly stood up and shouted, ¡°LET ME GO! I¡¯LL BLOCK HER!¡±
Xia Fan was dumbfounded. Though Traveling Buddha had the protection of his Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, they had no idea if that was enough to block the intense white mesing out from the Ferocibeast¡¯s mouth. He had no desire to risk the life of his brother to find out.
Still, Traveling Buddha did not give Xia Fan the chance to reconsider his idea. He immediately broke free from Xia Fan¡¯s left hand and covered his entire body in golden light the moment hended on his ground, bing the obstacle to the path of the iing white mes.
*ROAR*
The mes shed against Traveling Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, and the mountain rocked.
Hidden Water was astonished. She could not imagine that there could be such a brave man in the entire universe, willing to forsake his own life just to protect his friend!
She looked in Traveling Buddha¡¯s direction, only to see his body bask in that shining golden light, looking like the descent of the Holy Buddha himself. He was enveloped in such might, so fearless and dignified!
Hidden Water felt her heart beat wildly. Her eyes widened and she could hear a voice in her heart shouting, this man by the name of Traveling Buddha is a true hero!
The intense white mes ruined the metal passage, turning the metal into red hot liquefied magma that was now rolling down the passage.
Xia Fan retreated in a hurry after grabbing Traveling Buddha once, and continued to elerate once again.
No one knew how long they ran for, but Xia Fan finally let loose a sigh of relief after the mes were no longer chasing after them.
¡°Holy f*ck! I was scared to death back there. That was way too scary. That Ferocibeast is simply too terrifying!¡± Dragon Dou plopped his butt down heavily on the ground, his entire body still shivering, nearly pissing himself.
As for Hidden Water, she took out a handkerchief and made to wipe the sweat off Traveling Buddha¡¯s forehead, though Traveling Buddha was looking at her with this strange stare, almost as if warning her not to take another step closer.
Only then did Hidden Water realize that she was still in disguise as a middle-aged man with an ugly sallow face. Her attempt at trying to wipe the sweat off Traveling Buddha¡¯s forehead with what was obviously a woman¡¯s handkerchief and kind eyes despite how she looked would obviously be uneptable to Traveling Buddha. After all, it was not as if he swung that way, and even if he did, there was no way Traveling Buddha would find her disguise to be attractive!
Hidden Water hurriedly took off her disguise. It was a set of thin false skin that seemed as clear as a cicada¡¯s wings, revealing her true self.
Strictly speaking, Hidden Water was actually quite the looker. There were no obvious ws with her face and figure, the only problem being the fact that any descendent of the Hidden n would not have any expression on their face, and Hidden Water had quite the icy disposition, which was not Xia Fan¡¯s type. Xia Fan preferred ady who was more on the cheery side.
Hidden Water was currently somewhat flustered. She wanted to help Traveling Buddha wipe his sweat off but the man had rejected her. She then looked through her spatial ring for some medical salve in a hurry, wanting to treat the burns on his body, and only then did Traveling Buddha ept her aid. However, Traveling Buddha tossed the salve to Dragon Dou, so that thetter could put himself to use and help the former apply it to his wounds.
¡ª
After some time and sensing no movement, Xia Fan decided to go take a look. After some time, he returned, though the smile on his face had turned into a grimace.
¡°How is it? Did the beast leave?¡± Dragon Dou asked, fear still lingering in his heart.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°I have no idea if she has left or not, but what I do know is that the entrance we came in by has been blocked.¡±
Dragon Dou shivered, almost dropping the bottle of salve in the process as he moaned, ¡°How did this happen!?¡±
Xia Fan answered, ¡°Those white mes of hers were so intense that the entire passageway was melted and sealed. It¡¯s now a solid lump of metal.¡±
¡°Can we dig ourselves out?¡± Traveling Buddha asked him.
Xia Fan replied, ¡°You should know how fast I can go, right? I reckon the blockage of this passageway to be several kilometers long. You couldn¡¯t possibly want to dig yourself through several kilometers of metal, right?¡±
They were in a rather prickly situation. This mountain and the cave they were in were all made of metal. The moment their passage was melted shut, there was truly no good way to get out!
Xia Fan stared ahead of them, and then asked Hidden Water, ¡°Do you know where this cave leads?¡±
Chapter 1515 - 1515 Cosmic Iron
1515 Cosmic Iron
With the way back sealed off, Xia Fan and everyone were helpless, and could only continue their way forward.
Whether it was the mountain or the cave, everything about it was extremely peculiar. Since it waspletely made up of metal, no one had any clue if they should praise nature¡¯s amazing workmanship orin that it was just too bizarre.
Hidden Water seemed to be very fond of chatting with Traveling Buddha, constantly telling him about the various strange things that had happened in God Metropolis as well as on thes. When she looked at Traveling Buddha, her eyes would be vivid, and almost appeared to sparkle.
Traveling Buddha was the kind of person who had a nonchnt attitude toward everything, but he still rather enjoyed hearing stories, so he did not express any annoyance toward Hidden Water, nodding along as he listened.
Xia Fan was watching all this happening before his eyes, and he could vaguely tell that Hidden Water must have fallen for Traveling Buddha. Xia Fan was notpletely sure, because love and such emotional connections did not need reasons to exist, and no one in this world hade to a definitive conclusion about them. In any case, Xia Fan did not think it was a bad thing.
Xia Fan patted the foolish Dragon Dou on his shoulder and said, ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go do some pathfinding ahead.¡±
Dragon Dou was bbergasted. ¡°Why me?!¡±
Xia Fan replied, ¡°Why are you asking so many questions? If you don¡¯te with me, if the monster catches up, you probably won¡¯t be able to keep your little life.¡±
Dragon Dou was a timid person, and while he did not enjoy being away from Hidden Water, he still decided to listen to Xia Fan after he considered that he would be much safer if he stayed near the speedy Xia Fan.
Turning back to nce at Traveling Buddha and Hidden Water, Xia Fan said to himself, ¡®Brother, I¡¯ve already created the opportunity for you, so all that¡¯s left is for you to seize it yourself.¡¯
Xia Fan increased his speed and carried Dragon Dou down farther along the passageway in a woosh of still winds.
¡ª
He saw the cave ahead slowly widen, and they soon found themselves in a circr chamber that was approximately several thousand meters square. In the center was something that looked to be a meteorite, no bigger than a cubic meter in volume. There were no other paths.
Xia Fan was curious. He set Dragon Dou down and made his way over to the meteorite to investigate.
Unexpectedly, he spotted some characters engraved on the meteorite. It was a text that Xia Fan did not understand, and Xia Fan got a very odd feeling when he reached out to touch them.
¡®Oh? To think there would be Cosmic Iron here. It¡¯s been a very long time since I¡¯ve seen this stuff!¡¯ Pearl suddenly remarked in Xia Fan¡¯s consciousness.
Xia Fan was startled, ¡°What this? Do you know this thing?¡±
Pearl replied, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare say I know it; what I do know is that in the Great Chiliocosm, there once was a meteorite shower where meteorites of varying sizes rained down upon the Great Chiliocosm, passing through Cosmic Gates and making their way into different universes.¡±
Xia Fan tried to imagine the scene of a meteorite passing through the Cosmic Gate and into Ashen Moon. They were not exactly near the Cosmic Gate, so perhaps it had flown for some distance after passing through the Cosmic Gate, entered God Metropolis, and then crashed into this. The passageway they had just traversed through was so long it was probably caused by this meteorite¡¯s impact.
¡°What uses does this meteorite have?¡± Xia Fan asked inquisitively.
Pearl answered, ¡®Cosmic Iron has a mysterious origin. It is a rock that contains the rare Nature¡¯s Strength. A smart enough person could grasp some insight into Laws if they came into contact with Cosmic Iron.
¡°Of course, the effect of understanding Law through Cosmic Iron is very poor. It can¡¯t bepared to directly interacting with an inheritance of Law. Those people from your n once melted down Cosmic Iron and forged them into weapons.¡¯
Xia Fan was momentarily speechless. Others would use Cosmic Iron to attempt an understanding of Law Power, yet the Skywings would just melt said metal to forge powerful weapons, a very extravagant flexing of power. Who knew how many people in the universe would desperately desire to obtain Law Power, yet the Skywings did not care a hoot about that!
Pearl continued, ¡®Speaking of which, you can try putting your hands on the Cosmic Iron and try to cultivate the Law of Gold. There could be unimaginable benefits to that.¡¯
Xia Fan half-believed her words. He ced his palms on the Cosmic Iron and activated the power of his Law of Gold.
Instantly Xia Fan could feel his heart settle down and be at peace. He very quickly entered a state of self-abandonment. The state of self-abandonment was different from concentration. Concentration was merely the collection of thought, while self-abandonment was topletely assimte into the universe, to visualize the self to be just an atom in space. His state of mind was so close to nature that Xia Fan could feel himself bing a part of the universe, assimting as one with it.
Without even realizing it, Xia Fan actually cultivated for over a dozen hours. During this time, Dragon Dou shouted at Xia Fan several times, but Xia Fan hardly realized what was happening. This scared Dragon Dou terribly, thinking that something bad had happened to Xia Fan. Only when Pearl finally established mental connection did Xia Fan break out from his trance and back to reality.
¡°How was it?¡± Pearl asked him smugly.
Xia Fan mused, ¡°It was quite fantastic. It was as if I became a mote of dust in the universe, became a part of the universe. Sound, sensation, everything just faded away.¡±
Pearl said, ¡°Not bad, not bad! That is the benefit of Cosmic Iron, able to allow someone to enter a state of self-abandonment. This Cosmic Iron should have plenty of benefits for you as a speedster, enabling you to maintain absolute concentration at high speeds. Skywings like to wear a piece of Cosmic Iron on themselves, though they still fight as violently as ever, even while wearing it.¡±
Xia Fan tried to unleash the power from his Law of Gold, and noticed his arms glowing gold after he activated it. The glow was even more brilliant than before, almost as if Xia Fan¡¯s grasp of the Law of Gold had gone up another level after this session.
Xia Fan would clearly take something so good for himself. He did not spare another thought and directly stored the Cosmic Iron into his spatial ring.
He told Dragon Dou that it was something valuable they could all split and share once it was sold. The foolish son of the local tyrant of course did not care about money; all he wanted was to leave this ce alive.
¡
God Metropolis¡
Moon Dongsheng took the time to invite his two little pals out to drink.
Roklin and Zhou Xun were none other than the two who had ambushed Xia Fan the other day. When the drinks came, the two were very proud of themselves, bragging about the great n they hade up with that had killed two birds with one stone.
Moon Dongsheng felt something was off after he finished hearing their tale. He furrowed his brow slightly. Dragon Dou was ultimately a descendant of the Four Great ns, and if he truly ended up dead, the people above would surely send someone to investigate.
Rocklin answered, ¡°Big brother, there¡¯s no need for you to worry about that. We executed that wlessly, so even if people from the Dragon n were to investigate, all they would find out is that the Ferocibeast killed Dragon Dou. There¡¯s no way they could find out our involvement.¡±
Moon Dongsheng nodded slightly. Given how things had panned out, that was truly the best he could hope for. Though Dragon Dou was a Dragon, his existence in the Four Great ns was insignificant. There should not be too great a scrutiny about with his passing.
¡
The three exchanged drinks and were happily getting drunk. As they were about to leave the bar, they happened to meet a friend. Moon Dongsheng learned some bone-chilling news that happened to pass from his friend¡¯s lips.
¡°Have you heard? The granddaughter of the Hidden n¡¯s old monster has gone missing,¡± this friend murmured secretively.
Moon Dongsheng frowned. ¡°There¡¯s plenty of old monsters in the Hidden n. Which one are you referring to?¡±
¡°Hidden Water, his granddaughter¡¯s called Hidden Water. Her age ought to be around your younger brother¡¯s,¡± his friend shared.
Moon Dong Sheng instantly felt his heart thump rapidly, and quickly asked how this Hidden Water had gone missing.
This friend continued to speak in a whisper, ¡°On 1135. No one has any idea what happened. All I know is that Hidden Water¡¯s grandfather became incandescent with rage this time. It might be fine if he finds Hidden Water, but if she¡¯s not found, someone¡¯s going to be out of luck.¡±
1135? Was that not the same where Rocklin and Zhou Xun had murdered Dragon Dou?!
Moon Dongsheng¡¯s mind went nk. The legs of Rocklin and Zhou Xun began to tremble as well, their faces going pale even as the friend departed.
Zhou Xun was so scared that color drained from his face. He gasped in a low voice, ¡°What do we do? Whatever do we do? When we were ambushing Dragon Dou, there was indeed a sallow-faced middle-aged man with them, but that person couldn¡¯t possibly be Hidden Water, right?¡±
Moon Dongsheng did not say a word, but he more or less could guess what happened. Hidden Water recognized Dragon Dou, and was quite adept at disguises. These two pals of his must have treated Hidden Water as someone irrelevant!
Moon Dongsheng did some quick calctions and gritted his teeth to say, ¡°Given how things stand, all we can do is pray that they¡¯re already dead. Otherwise, if the Hidden n were to catch wind that we were the ones that schemed to harm Dragon Dou, and in that process got Hidden Water involved, we¡¯re all going to be dead!¡±
Zhou Xun remarked morosely, ¡°Then what if they didn¡¯t die?¡±
The eyes of Moon Dongsheng were filled with killing intent. His temples were twitching like crazy as he hissed in a low voice, ¡°They must die, and if they are not dead, we must also send them off to Hell!¡±
Please enter the trantion
Chapter 1516 - 1516 Hidden Wind
1516 Hidden Wind
1135¡
A skinny old man with a gloomy expression on his face had arrived alone on this, taking a shuttle. He was Hidden Wind, Hidden Water¡¯s grandfather.
Upon learning that she had gone missing, the elders who wielded great power in the Four Great ns had suggested sending elite warriors out for a search effort, but it was to nobody¡¯s surprise that Hidden Wind rejected them.
There were plenty of peculiar people in the Hidden n, and Hidden Wind was one such person. He was known to be a maverick, calling none of his rtives his friend, nor did he think there was a need to be making friends.
Ever since he was young, Hidden Wind had always eaten, slept, and trained alone. This had continued on for a very long time, and since the lifespan of apex special ability users were practically infinite, people began to believe that this was the life that Hidden Wind would lead forever. Then suddenly one day, he brought back a woman from outside God Metropolis.
The woman was dirty all over, dressed in coarse rags. Her hair was in matted locks because she had not washed them for a very long time, and she exuded a musty smell from her body.
Hidden Wind had brought this woman that he most likely had picked up off the street home, and they led a life as husband and wife. In no time, his neighbors discovered that the woman was actually very pretty, and she had a head of beautiful ck hair and fair skin, along with exquisite facial features.
The neighbors all congratted Hidden Wind for having found such a treasure, but Hidden Wind ignored them all. Meanwhile, the woman would just chuckle awkwardly, nor would she say a word. In the beginning, the neighbors thought it was because she was shy, until she became pregnant and needed to visit a doctor to get a body checkup. Only then did the neighbors learn from the doctor that the woman was actually mute.
Their medical technology was advanced, and even someone who was born a mute could be treated. However, this woman had been made mute after being poisoned. The doctor said that he had never seen such a frightening poison in his entire life; not only was the woman rendered mute because of the poison, it had also heavily damaged her body. Had Hidden Wind not used some secret technique to save the woman¡¯s life, she might already be dead.
Some timeter, the woman gave birth to a girl, and died soon after. Even Hidden Wind, a peak expert of God Metropolis, was unable to save that woman¡¯s life.
For many years, his neighbors saw no sign of Hidden Wind, and had no idea where he had gone. They had no idea where he buried the woman either, as there was no funeral or gravestone; nothing.
Several yearster, when Hidden Wind reappeared in public again, he had a little girl by his side. The girl had a head of silky ck hair, and looked very much like his deceased wife. Also, just like her, this new girl was also a mute.
Hidden Wind and the girl who would subsequently be the mother of Hidden Water led a life together, and as the years passed, the girl gradually grew up and fell in love with a warrior of the lower echelon who did note from the Four Great ns.
Hidden Wind did not stop them from getting married, but he did not give them any congrattions, either. He let her pack up a few simple things to move into that warrior¡¯s home. When they were hosting their wedding, nobody saw any sign of Hidden Wind, and there was just an empty chair where he was supposed to be seated.
The warrior who married Hidden Wind¡¯s daughter was very talented. He had endured much hardship, and was widely appreciated by his superiors, so it did not take long for him to be a famous figure in God Metropolis. Neighbors all said that the two were a loving couple, and that they would surely lead a good life in the future.
However, unexpected disaster struck yet again, and the warrior that married Hidden Wind¡¯s daughter went crazy after taking too many crystals during his hard training. In the deep of the night, he murdered Hidden Wind¡¯s daughter. When heter regained his sanity, his guilt and remorse got the better of him and he took his own life as a result.
Doctors discovered that Hidden Wind¡¯s daughter was pregnant at that time; the child was none other than Hidden Water. She was just six months along, the girl found to be so fragile that her chances of survival were slim. Though advanced medical treatment helped to save Hidden Water¡¯s life, she was always sick and frail.
When she was just two, Hidden Wind brought her away from God Metropolis. It was twelve years before they returned.
No one knew where Hidden Wind had brought Hidden Water to, or what they had done. What everyone discovered was that by the time Hidden Water appeared again, they all saw that she had grown into a tall, slim youngdy, and unlike her mother and grandmother, Hidden Water could speak and was not a mute.
Perhaps it was because she had inherited Hidden Wind¡¯s withdrawn personality, but while Hidden Water could speak, she did not enjoy doing so. She preferred to observe and study animals. The teachers in charge of teaching Hidden Water all praised her talent, but she did not seem to have much interest in bing a warrior. Every day she would deal with her training like homework, and would then devote most of her time to studying all kinds of strange animals.
Going by a normal trajectory, Hidden Water ought to have been the most normal person in Hidden Wind¡¯s family. That was, until today, when a catastrophe hade out of nowhere and struck Hidden Water, causing her to suddenly disappear. It was like a curse, that any woman in Hidden Wind¡¯s family would end up suffering from the worst luck.
Hidden Wind walked on 1135 with a gloomy expression on his face. He made his way to the Stargate that was ruined by the Ferocibeast and shook his head slightly the moment he saw the wreckage, his face expressionless. It looked like he was not in the least bit worried that his granddaughter was lost.
Hidden Wind finished examining the Stargate and headed off alone toward the forested mountains.
¡ª
When Hidden Wind¡¯s figure disappeared, several shocked faces appeared from a distant corpse of trees.
There were four men in that group. Aside from Moon Dongsheng and his two pals, there was also a middle-aged man wearing a Moon battlesuit. That person went by the name of Moon Wanhe; he was the father of Moon Dongsheng and Moon Dongchen.
After learning about the hand they had yed in this disaster, Moon Dongsheng decided to tell what had happened to his father after an intense internal debate. His father had decided to help his two sons to the end, all for the sake of protecting his offspring.
¡°That was so scary. The expressionless face on Hidden Wind was absolutely frightening!¡±
¡°To think he¡¯s not even in the least bit anxious makes me wonder if Hidden Water is even Hidden Wind¡¯s granddaughter at all¡¡± Rocklin and Zhou Xun added.
Moon Wanhe let out a cold snort. ¡°You two don¡¯t know anything. That is Hidden Wind¡¯s temperament. When his wife and daughter died, he was also expressionless like that, not even arranging a funeral. No one has any clue if their bodies were just randomly disposed of, or whatever.¡±
¡°We¡¯re fortunate that he¡¯s like that; if Hidden Wind were to go crazy, the Four Great ns would surely have to send plenty of experts here, and that would be troublesome,¡± Zhou Xun remarked.
Moon Wanhe knitted hisbrow. ¡°A dog that doesn¡¯t bark is the most fearsome. No matter what, we must ensure that Dragon Dou and Hidden Water are both already dead. Dragon Dou has always been fooling around, and it ismon for him not to return home for several days. His father¡¯s a coward, but Dragon Dou¡¯s mother is a ruthless one. The moment they realize what happened, the n would surely investigate!¡±
The four men advanced rapidly. The monstrous pangolin was huge, and it was not hard to find its tracks. It was just that for some unknown reason, Hidden Wind had not investigated the beast¡¯s tracks, but he actually went the other way. The direction he seemed to be headed toward looked to be the cave of said monster.
No longer paying any attention to the ever-strange Hidden Wind, Moon Wanhe and the others followed the tracks, finding the way to that metal mountain.
Studying the traces of battle left behind, they deduced the beast must have mmed itself against the mountain hard, and even breathed fire into the cave, causing the cave opening to melt and fuse into a gged mass of metal.
¡°Are you certain that Hidden Water ran this way back then?¡± Moon Wanhe asked as he gazed at the signs of battle around that metal mountain.
Rocklin and Zhou Xun nodded repeatedly.
Moon Wanhe frowned and muttered to himself, ¡°I can tell the traces here are very new, and it most likely has been left recently. Perhaps Hidden Water hid herself in the cave and the beast was infuriated it was unable to give chase, which was why it decided to ruin the cave with mes.¡±
Moon Dongsheng remarked, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, father, does that mean Dragon Dou and Hidden Water are both already dead?¡±
Moon Wanhe shook his head, ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Didn¡¯t you mention there was a Speed expert with them? Perhaps they managed to escape from the other end of this cave. In any case, we need to see their bodies to affirm they are still alive, or at least their corpses if they are dead. We must never leave behind anything that a crazed madman like Hidden Wind could exploit.¡±
The expression on Moon Dongsheng¡¯s face was ugly, ¡°This is a metal mountain, and seeing as how the cave entrance had been melted, I doubt we¡¯ll be able to get in and have a look, right?¡±
Moon Wanhe let out a mirthlessugh, ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking down on your father a bit too much? It¡¯s true that we have no way of getting in, but someone else does.¡±
With that, Moon Wanhe pushed a button on his wristmunicator, sending out a secret signal.
Chapter 1517 - 1517 Human Cannon!
1517 Human Cannon!
The three younglings had been slit across the throat and had copsed into pools of blood, but none of them died immediately. They were still bleeding from their slit throats, making it impossible for any of them to make any sounds. They kept struggling as they bled, ncing at their faraway mother.
Their mother was none other than that giant pangolin that had forced Xia Fan and the others into a desperate situation. At this moment, she had made her way to the end of her life, her eyes filled with hatred and indignation. But the man standing over her head was simply too powerful, and this tyrant had no means of resisting him.
Hidden Wind was not holding a de of any kind. Nevertheless, a single swing of his hand in the air made it seem like he was holding onto an invisible sword, pointing its tip toward the head of the Ferocibeast.
Hidden Wind¡¯s expressionless face merely offered an indifferent remark toward the struggling young pangolins and their angry mother, ¡°Tell me, where is Water?¡±
The body of the mother pangolin trembled as she let out a wild roar. However, she was still unable to get up and attack Hidden Wind.
If someone was standing from afar, then they would have been able to see that Hidden Wind had already chopped off all four legs of this beast, and so she was unable to move at all.
It was hard to imagine just what kind of power Hidden Wind actually wielded. The white pangolin was a tyrant who could not only breathe fire, but also had scales of inconceivable toughness. Hidden Wind did not even have a weapon in hand, yet he was capable of severing the Ferocibeast¡¯s four legs? It truly piqued one¡¯s curiosity about how he had achieved that.
Even stranger was that Hidden Wind seemed to understand the words of the beast. After the mother pangolin rumbled out a roar for some time, Hidden Wind nodded slightly, ¡°I understand now. You¡¯re notpletely at fault. It was just that someone frightened you and your kids, and ording to the rules of survival that you beasts live by, in such circumstances, any other exotic beast would also have retaliated without any hesitation.¡±
Changing the topic, Hidden Wind continued, ¡°But, no matter the reason you give, this is the price you and your children have to pay for harming Water.¡±
Hidden Wind slightly flicked his wrist, and the formless sword fell from the sky, rending the throat of the giant pangolin with one crunching cut. The mighty Ferocibeast that was over a thousand meters long died there and then.
Hidden Wind subsequently slew the three young pangolins as well. He did not let them bleed out and instead gave the family of four a swift execution; it was the greatest kindness Hidden Wind showed to them.
Hidden Wind left their of the Ferocibeast and continued his way onward. He moved without hurry, yet his actual movement speed was astounding. His expressionless and indifferent face made not a sound, only exuding a deep cutting chill despite the bright sunlight.
That was one thing that Moon Wanhe was correct about. The truly terrifying hunting dogs would never bark!
¡
¡°Don¡¯t worry, grandfather will surelye save us,¡± Hidden Water told Traveling Buddha more than once.
Xia Fan supposed that was what it meant by beauty being in the eyes of the beholder. Seeing that dignified look of insouciance on Traveling Buddha¡¯s face, it would be a wonder if he was even a little worried. Instead, these words should have been said to Dragon Dou, who was almost going crazy from anxiety, but Hidden Water spared not even a single nce for him.
Not only was Traveling Buddha unworried, he had even calmly taken out his tea set, setting it up down in the empty cavern that was who knew how deep. With proper posture, he used a silver teaspoon and took out two pinches of unbelievably expensive tea leaves, using an automatic water boiler to heat up the water to a suitable temperature.
Hidden Water was excited, taking a seat across from Traveling Buddha, looking forward to the taste of tea that her sweetheart was brewing. Nevertheless, Traveling Buddha first drank a cup of the tea he brewed by himself before giving one to Xia Fan, then Dragon Dou, before finally letting Hidden Water have one.
In his mind, he was the most important, then next was his good friend Xia Fan. As for Dragon Du and Hidden Water, he had only given them a cup while looking absolutely unwilling to do so. The sequence in which he poured the tea was also in ordance with his familiarity, and he was hardly acquainted with Hidden Water, which was why she was thest.
However, Hidden Water did not mind any of these finer details. After drinking the tea that Traveling Buddha had brewed, she kept heaping praises on him. Traveling Buddha seemed to be somewhat pleased by the ttery.
Time passed, and just as Dragon Du was bing even more anxious, suddenly, they heard a sounding from the sealed entrance. Hidden Water leaped to her feet and excitedly cried out, ¡°Someone¡¯s here! It must be my grandfather. I knew he woulde save us!¡±
Traveling Buddha shrugged. It was of course a good thing for someone toe save them, but he did not particrly mind even if there was no oneing. At most he would just spend some energy and make his way out of there one way or another. Given the strength he and Xia Fan possessed, the reason they were in no rush to leave was because they had no idea about the situation outside. In the event they wasted energy making it out of here, only to encounter the Ferocibeast waiting outside for them, that would just be trouble.
¡ª¡ª
Not long afterwards, the sealed entrance opened up, most likely with some sort of metal maniption special ability because the people did not need to use any brute strength to enter the cave. The thick metal looked like it was being controlled, automatically parting to both sides.
Warned by the airflow, Xia Fan brought them all quickly up to watch the tunnel being opened.
Hidden Water saw who wasing and instantly frowned, because among the group that arrived, she had not spotted her grandfather among them, but five strangers!
¡°Hey! Isn¡¯t that big brother Moon Dongsheng! Even Uncle Moon is here!¡± Dragon Dou was ted, shouting their names as he approached them with a wide smile. The foolish son of the local tyrant was feeling absolutely uneasy trapped here, and he was intent on leaving the ce.
Just as Dragon Dou passed by Xia Fan, thetter suddenly reached out to stop him from going any closer.
¡°What are you pulling me back for?¡± Dragon Dou demanded.
Xia Fan simply replied, ¡°You¡¯ll die if you make your way over there. Those people aren¡¯t here to save us. Conversely, I think they might be here to kill us.¡±
Dragon Du went pale immediately as he remained where he was. ¡°That can¡¯t be! This is Uncle Moon we¡¯re talking about, Moon Dongchen¡¯s father. Beside him is Moon Dongchen¡¯s elder brother!¡±
That was when Moon Wanhe chuckled. There was a bit of distance between them as he addressed Xia Fan, ¡°What nonsense are you spouting, rascal. I am Dragon Dou¡¯s senior, how could I want to kill him? I¡¯m here to save him!¡±
Xia Fan shook his head, ¡°If you¡¯re here to save us, then why did you people seal up the cave entrance after entering?¡±
Dragon Dou froze. He hurriedly looked over, only to see that while the five had indeed used some metal-controlling special ability to open the sealed entrance, the man with the goatee among them had subsequently sealed it off again.
Moon Wanhe was no longerughing after that. Truly he had not expected Xia Fan and everyone to have survived, but having a younger man see through his intentions annoyed him somewhat.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were partners who had gone through fire and water many times. Without saying another word, Traveling Buddha immediately stood in front of Xia Fan and covered his entire body in golden light.
Seeing how brave Traveling Buddha was about taking the lead, Hidden Water could not help but feel her heart flutter yet again. She was so moved that she was an emotional mess inside. Women were really remarkable beings, and the moment Hidden Water began to be fond of Traveling Buddha, even if he yawned, it would be enough for Hidden Water to consider him suave.
Suddenly, Xia Fan grabbed the three and unexpectedly made a full retreat. The five men who hade in had no time to react, and actually let them run off.
This cave was not simple. With the first half of the cave already sealed off, the second half of the cave connected to an underground chamber. Xia Fan had brought everyone back there in one breath, but upon arriving here, they found themselves at a dead end.
Hidden Water was also panicking now, ming her grandfather for not arriving yet. She felt that there was no way she could ever forgive herself if Traveling Buddha were toe to any bit of harm!
Xia Fan suddenly smiled and said to Traveling Buddha, ¡°Brother, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to trouble you again.¡±
Traveling Buddha folded his arms and said indifferently, ¡°Enough with that already. Just tell me what I need to do!¡±
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°What else can the two of us do? Of course we¡¯ll be using your Golden Light and my Speed. This is my n¡¡±
¡ª
Xia Fan quickly exined what he wanted to do to Traveling Buddha. Traveling Buddha had always been in the habit of believing Xia Fan, and he nodded without another word.
Dragon Dou and Hidden Water were both dumbfounded. Just what were these two madmen going to do!?
Traveling Buddha widened his eyes and bellowed, ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡±
His entire body was covered in brilliant golden light. The light from his Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light was so bright and incandescent that it enveloped his entire body, akin to a Buddha descending down upon the mortal realm!
*Kacha*
Xia Fan pressed a syringe into his arm and injected Immortality Wine into his body. The power from the Yggdragon¡¯s blood burned greatly, turning Xia Fan¡¯s body crimson as his energy exploded!
Everyone watched as Xia Fan grabbed Traveling Buddha and held him up over his head!
After injecting Immortality Wine, Xia Fan¡¯s speed reached 3000m/s, maybe even 4000. Carrying Traveling Buddha with him, the duo entered the passageway leading to the cave entrance, elerating all the way through! An explosive force waspletely unleashed!
This cave was a straight line and round, just like a cannon barrel!
Xia Fan¡¯s strategy was very simple. He had turned himself into gunpowder, and was going to send Traveling Buddha sting away like a golden cannonball, all in an effort to shoot him forward!
A speedsterbined with an impervious titan!. No matter who it was they had encountered in the tunnel, they would all be subjected to the explosive force!
Xia Fan called the strategy that he had suddenlye up with ¡®The Human Cannon¡¯!
Chapter 1518 - 1518 An Intense Battle in the Metal Cave
1518 An Intense Battle in the Metal Cave
*BOOM!*
Xia Fan used all his strength to toss Traveling Buddha out like a cannonball!
A thunderous tremor instantly broke out. Traveling Buddha¡¯s entire body was saturated in golden light and went flying down the tunnel like a lightning bolt. He shot through the metal cave like an uden cannonball.
¡°What¡¯s flying over?!¡±
¡°It¡¯s golden anding at us fast!¡±
!!
Moon Wanhe and everyone were giving chase down the tunnel. They were furious after Xia Fan used his superspeed to instantly run off on them. However, they suddenly saw this golden thing speeding right for them, looking extremely powerful and majestic.
By the time they could make out just what the golden glowing thing was, they were all so stunned that they could hardly react. Never would any of them have guessed that it would be a person, a living human being who had been turned into a cannonball, shooting right toward them with incredible destructive force!
It was too frightening a scene. Traveling Buddha was bellowing as he hurtled toward them, the mix of sound from the wind howling and Traveling Buddha¡¯s yells chilling them to the bone!
The warrior who had the Metal Maniption special ability was the strongest among the five, someone who Moon Wanhe had called over to help. His name was Tariq, and he had been a servant in the Moon n when he was younger, thenter was noticed by Moon Wanhe¡¯s father and sent to learn martial arts. He was able to break away from his humble status at that point and finally became a famous warrior of God Metropolis.
Tariq saw the Moon n as his benefactors, which was how Moon Wanhe had very easily called Tariq to his side. When he learned that they were going to kill Hidden Wind¡¯s granddaughter and Dragon Dou, Tariq originally disagreed, but he could not deny that Moon Wanhe was considered his half-master, and after much coercion, had no choice but to go against his conscience and do something so distasteful.
¡°Retreat! Quick!¡± Tariq shouted as his face went pale.
He utilized his Metal Maniption special ability and quickly made the metal walls on both sides merge, bing a wall of metal between themselves and Traveling Buddha, all in an effort to resist the explosive attack from the iing golden cannonball.
Nevertheless, thebined power behind Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha was of such shocking strength that all they heard was a loud crash. Though the metal wall hindered Traveling Buddha¡¯s speed, all it took was him thrusting out with both of his fists for him to burst right through.
With a deadly rumble, countless metal shards went flying down the narrow passage as shrapnel. Moon Wanhe and everyone else could hardly open their eyes against the deluge. Pain wracked across their bodies, most likely caused by the metal shards cutting up their bodies as they flew past.
Regardless, Traveling Buddha¡¯s attack was ultimately mitigated, but just as they were getting ready to work together to kill Traveling Buddha in their rage, a ck figure promptly flittered past from behind.
It was Xia Fan! With the brothers¡¯ hearts as one, their strength together could break steel!
There was no way Xia Fan would let Traveling Buddha run into battle alone. After he threw Traveling Buddha down the passage with such great force, he kept running right after him. He had arrived like a deadly bolt of lightning, and the two young men began an intense fight together against their five enemies.
Against an unreasonable special ability like Speed, the worst thing was to find yourself in disarray. Speed was truly too fast; any w in one¡¯s defense could be caught and exploited, potentially leading to a fatal blow!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were oldrade-in-arms, and just like always, Traveling Buddha was in charge of drawing the enemy¡¯s aggression while Xia Fan was the one who was doing the actual killing. Traveling Buddha was covered in golden light, letting out full-throated roars that sessfully attracted the attention of the majority, while Xia Fan would subsequently arrive and sh at them.
A speed of over three thousand meters per second was insane, and in the blink of an eye Xia Fan had managed to y three of the five, including Moon Wanhe¡¯s son, Moon Dongshen!
At that critical juncture, Tariq¡¯s Metal Maniption special ability yed a pivotal role, constantly sending metal toward Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan while running toward the surface, dragging Moon Wanhe along with his other hand.
¡°Dongsheng! My son!¡± Moon Wanhe shouted wildly, his voice already hysterical.
Moon Wanhe only had two sons, and while Moon Dongchen had no special ability and had an arrogant personality, Moon Wanhe tolerated all that because he still had Moon Dongsheng. He was a young warrior who could be considered a talent of his generation, and all Wanhe¡¯s hopes had been piled on his boy.
But when Xia Fan came charging over during the disarray, his first action was to take Moon Dongsheng¡¯s life. The de in his hand moved as quick as a beam of light, cutting off Moon Dongsheng¡¯s head with one swing. The tragic death of his son sent Moon Wanhe into a bout of madness. He simply could not cope with the loss of his son!
¡°Master, you must leave with me! These two men are too vicious!¡± Tariq was running toward the surface as he dragged Moon Wanhe behind him.
Ultimately, Tariq¡¯s ability was Metal Maniption. Wherever he went, the surrounding metal would automatically part way for him, and Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha chasing after him would findyer afteryer of metal walls blocking them. No matter how explosively powerful Traveling Buddha¡¯s attacks were, or how fast Xia Fan was, there was no way for their attacks to reach the two fleeing men, and they could not help but halt their pursuit.
But as the battle stood, the two of them had gotten their effort¡¯s worth. Three enemies were in and among them, one was even Moon Wanhe¡¯s eldest son!
¡ª
Finally, Tariq finally managed to pull Moon Wanhe out from the metal cave. Thetter copsed to the ground the moment he got to the surface, facing the now-sealed cave and desperately yelling his son¡¯s name. Tears flowed freely down his face as his body shuddered.
Suddenly, a chilling aura of killing intent rose behind them. They saw an expressionless face emerge from the trees, belonging to none other than Hidden Water¡¯s grandfather, Hidden Wind. He was a peak expert from the Hidden n, and had a reputation of being the craziest lunatic.
Tariq and Moon Wanhe could practically feel they were on the brink of falling apart. This was truly bad luck! Moon Wanhe had just lost his son to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, and now they had encountered the somber old face of Hidden Wind. They could hear their hearts thumping in their ears, feeling like they were doomed this time.
Hidden Wind did not seem to be in any of a hurry as he softly said, ¡°Is Water inside?¡±
Tariq and Moon Wanhe knew they were no match for Hidden Wind, and they could only nod.
Hidden Wind pointed at Tariq, ¡°You can control metal. Open a path and let me in.¡±
Tariq did not dare to defy him. He nodded his head, still pale in the face, and with a wave of his hand, the mountain cave opened.
¡°The two of you wille with me,¡± Hidden Wind ordered the two.
Hidden Wind led the way in. He seemed to be unafraid of the two people behind him attempting a sneak attack on him, nor did he care that they would run off, as he entered the cave together.
Tariq and Moon Wanhe, thetter on the cusp of mental copse, supported each other as they advanced, and soon reached the end of the newly-opened tunnel.
¡ª
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had sensed that people wereing, and were in the midst of preparing to use the Human Cannon tactic again. Fortunately, Hidden Water had sensed her grandfather¡¯s aura, and stopped them.
¡°Grandfather! Why have you only arrived now?!¡± Hidden Water pouted angrily.
So this was Hidden Water¡¯s grandfather?
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were taken aback. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that Hidden Wind was actually rather strange. Upon seeing Hidden Water, he did not show any signs of delight. In fact, there was not a trace of emotion on his face at all. It was almost as if Hidden Water was not his granddaughter, he was emotionless to such a degree. It was quite the rare sight.
Hidden Wind asked nonchntly, ¡°Water, did they want to kill you?¡±
Hidden Water hurriedly told her grandfather everything that had happened to them. Hidden Wind remainedposed after listening to her. He realized that everything had started from a misunderstanding, and that the Moon n had no desire to kill Hidden Water, only Xia Fan and the others. It was only because Hidden Water had been in disguise and no one had recognized her, that she ended up being implicated in this ordeal.
Hidden Wind turned and with a light flick of his wrist, it appeared as if he was holding a sword in hand, yet his hands remained empty to the naked eye.
The move shocked Moon Wanhe and Tariq. Thetter at least showed some backbone and actually shut his eyes and exposed his neck, ready to take the blow from Hidden Wind.
Seeing as Hidden Wind was about to make a move, an old voice suddenly came traveling in from outside, the same inexplicable force that had once taken hold of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha appearing in the cave. It came from that apex expert who lived in God Metropolis, an existence whom even Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had no means of resisting.
¡°Hidden Wind, you can¡¯t kill him!¡± the voice stated.
¡°What if I have to kill him, no matter what?¡± Hidden Wind replied coldly.
Chapter 1519 - 1519 The Use of Cosmic Iron
1519 The Use of Cosmic Iron
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were startled. This person who possessed seemingly god-like powers had probably reached a level beyond transcendence. He was seemingly everywhere when Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were caught by him when they were at Four Kings City, and now he had also appeared here, on this? Furthermore, he was not just using his mental strength right now, they could even clearly hear his voice!
It was simply unimaginable. Where was he? And just what kind of person was he?
¡°What if I have to kill him, no matter what?¡± Hidden Wind replied coldly. He did not seem to be in the least bit afraid of the person with the god-like powers.
¡°Then let me rephrase what I said. With me around, there¡¯s no way you can kill him,¡± the voice echoed.
A cold glimmer shone from Hidden Wind¡¯s eyes. It looked like hearing that voice disallowing him from killing Moon Wanhe only aroused his intense desire to rebel!
They watched as Hidden Wind slightly raised his hand and swung his arm outward, as if he was releasing some formless de.
But something strange suddenly happened!
Hidden Wind¡¯s arm was stopped in mid-air, as if some formless strength was keeping it from moving.
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan knew very well what that was. That god-like power was the very same power that had snared the two of them in mid-air thest time. Measured across the gxy-spanning Federations, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were by no means weak, and while they might not be a match for the legendary old monsters, they were surely the best among the younger generation, where no one would dare im first if they imed to be second.
Despite that, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had nevertheless been rendered helpless when facing that god-like power. It was a strength that came from unknown origins, which existed out of thin air. It was so great a strength that it defied logic and imagination.
Hidden Wind seemed to be fighting against that god-like power. He used all his strength, trying to release his arm, but the god-like power firmly resisted his attempts.
After several more back and forths between the two, Hidden Wind finally stopped. Sweat was rolling down his forehead as he said, his expression as somber as ever, ¡°You may be able to protect them for now, but you won¡¯t be able to protect them their whole lives. I¡¯ll kill these two men sooner orter.¡±
That mysterious voice let out a bitter chuckle. ¡°Hidden Wind, oh Hidden Wind. Sure enough, you¡¯re the same as ever. The Hidden n has plenty of amazing individuals, yet you¡¯re definitely the strangest.
¡°If you want to kill them, so be it. But you must first get past me. Hahahahaha!¡¡±
The loudugh rang out as brightly as a bell. It had an aura of a primordial being, as if it had crossed time and space to reach here.
Moon Wanhe and Tariq flew up into the air as the god-like power whisked them away from the cave. Moon Wanhe¡¯s face revealed the tion of having been given a second life. Neither could have imagined that they would survive Hidden Wind¡¯s hand!
¡ª
Even after such a shocking interruption, Hidden Wind was still expressionless. He looked at Hidden Water and softly asked, ¡°Do you wish to go home now?¡±
Hidden Water mulled that over slightly. ¡°In a moment.¡±
Hidden Wind slightly nodded, ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be waiting for you at home.¡±
With that, Hidden Wind left. He actually left without even turning back again!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were dumbfounded, their mouths agape. They could not imagine just how strange a person he was. Any other parent or grandparent would already be in tears, maybe even fainting from joy?
Nevertheless, after saving Hidden Water, Hidden Wind had left just like that, allowing the girl to return home if she desired, or to continue staying outside if she did not. Was he not being a bit too liberal?
But Xia Fan soon understood why. The reason why Hidden Water had decided to stay was for Traveling Buddha: she wanted to apany Traveling Buddha back!
After they exited the cave, they discovered it was already evening, and two frigates hadnded by the cave entrance, with plenty of warriors onboard.
That god-like person must have already told them the reason, as none of them asked any questions. They simply went and brought the corpses of Moon Dongsheng and his two pals away on one of the frigates, while Xia Fan and the others were sent back to God Metropolis on the other one.
Dragon Dou had been frightened to his core after everything that happened. He invited Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to his home; Xia Fan felt there were no downsides to the offer, so he agreed.
Moon Wanhe would more or less be sure to retaliate, and this foolish son of the local tyrant was ultimately the backing Xia Fan had here on God Metropolis. If anything were to happen to him, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha would surely not benefit, either!
Thus, the four of them left for Dragon Dou¡¯s residence. His servants weed them with delicious food and wine, and all of them were soon seated in his yard. Later, when Hidden Water mentioned she wanted to head home, Xia Fan smiled and said, ¡°Traveling Buddha, you should send her off.¡±
Hidden Water blushed and shed a grateful smile to Xia Fan. She must have sensed that Xia Fan was helping her.
¡°Enough already. I¡¯m going, okay.¡± Traveling Buddha was of course no match for Xia Fan. The former would get annoyed after saying a few words, so he helplessly left the yard with a frown, while Hidden Water followed behind him, abashed.
¡
Only Dragon Dou and Xia Fan were left in the yard. That was when a servant came to give his master a report, stating that Dragon Dou¡¯s mom was looking for him. He shook his head, and with a look of helplessness, told the servant to arrange for Xia Fan¡¯s amodations, while he left for the back garden to see his mother.
Xia Fan had already heard that although Dragon Dou¡¯s father was also a coward like him, it seemed his mother was quite the character. But Xia Fan was not too certain about the general situation, and looking at the fearful expression on Dou¡¯s face the moment he heard that his mother was looking for him, it seemed the rumors were true.
Dragon Dou¡¯s residence was ratherrge, with plenty of different courtyards. His servants had brought Xia Fan to a side courtyard that, while it was nothing big, was well-kept, and was in much better condition than the dormitory where Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were currently staying.
Xia Fan chose a room and asked the servants to leave. After he closed the door behind him, Xia Fan took out the lump of Cosmic Iron and examined it again. Though it was not huge, it was very heavy, and it had the unique effect of soothing his nerves. Now that Xia Fan had gained it, he wondered how he could best put it to use.
With that question in mind, Xia Fan specifically consulted Bright Pearl.
¡°What else aside from forging weapons with it and carrying it around wherever you go? What other uses could there be?¡± Pearl scoffed.
¡°Comparing Styx metal to Cosmic Iron, which is more suited to be made into a weapon?¡± Xia Fan asked her.
Pearl answered, ¡°Of course it would be Styx metal. Styx metal has a high hardiness rating, and is difficult to damage. Cosmic Iron¡¯s main purpose is to calm nerves, and having something like that ensures the wearer will remainposed. When faced with a major battle, keeping calm is very important, and on top of that, it has quite a good effect when worn during training.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. He took out the Styx metal des that Dragon Dou had gifted him. He had given them a set; the bigger de was given to Traveling Buddha,while Xia Fan kept the dagger.
Cutting into the Cosmic Iron with the dagger, Xia Fan easily carved a small piece off. Indeed, it was as Pearl said: in terms of sharpness and hardness, Styx metal had the advantage.
Next, Xia Fan took out his tools from his spatial ring, preparing to use the Cosmic Iron to make himself two personal essories, one for himself and one for Traveling Buddha.
He was quick, and in no time he carved out a dog and a monkey amulet. He then found two high-strength fiber ropes and made them into pendants.
¡°I¡¯m pretty good at this!¡± Xia Fan admired the two pendants he had in his hand. His craftsmanship had been taught by Golden Stone Grandpa. He was an old man who excelled in creating carvings and painting, and was a renowned master forger of his generation.
cing the two pendants on the table, XIa Fan cleaned up his mess.
All of a sudden, Xia Fan froze up. When taking out all his tools, he had identally taken out a yellow crystal, which he had ced near the Cosmic Iron.
In just this short while, this yellow crystal had dimmed quite a lot, turning from a deep yellow to a pale yellow.
Xia Fan found this strange. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the spot where the ck Cosmic Iron hade into contact with had turned yellow, almost as if the Cosmic Iron ore had absorbed away a portion of the crystal¡¯s color!
¡°Cosmic Iron has the power of absorption?¡± Xia Fan scratched his chin thoughtfully.
The crystal had been retrieved from beasts, and definitely contained some measure of poisonous effect, causing users to grow horns and even lose their senses in extreme cases. Xia Fan suspected that this poison was probably something that had umted in the bodies of the beasts, and if they could find a way to neutralize it, then these crystals might be an abnormally strong source of energy.
The crystals inside the beasts¡¯ bodies were decidedly different from the energy crystals one might find in nature. The former were much more powerful and violent in nature. If the Cosmic Iron could absorb the toxin, then wouldn¡¯t these crystals be usable, and not have any side effects?
Xia Fan decided to do an experiment after considering the possibility.
¡ª
Traveling Buddha returned at around the same time. He looked all gloomy as he sat down on the sofa, taking out his favorite tea set.
Xia Fan was curious, so he asked, ¡°What¡¯s up with you?¡±
Traveling Buddha knitted his eyebrows, ¡°I saw Hidden Wind.¡±
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°So I see. Did Hidden Wind say something to you?¡±
Traveling Buddha replied, ¡°Not really. He just demonstrated a strange power to me. ording to him, it¡¯s a power called Law.¡±
Chapter 1520 - 1520 Forging a Weapon
1520 Forging a Weapon
Xia Fan was startled after hearing Traveling Buddha¡¯s words. The fact that Hidden Wind had demonstrated Law Power to Traveling Buddha also meant Hidden Wind was someone who possessed Law Power!
¡°What¡¯s his Law Power?¡± Xia Fan asked, curious.
Traveling Buddha answered, ¡°The Law of Wind. It¡¯s a type of power that has dominion over the air. A casual flick of his hand and a formless de will shoot forth, powerful enough to split a boulder weighing several tons right down the middle. Hisbat strength is extremely impressive.¡±
Xia Fan nced away. If what Traveling Buddha had said was true, then the Law of Wind might be an extremely powerful ability. However, he could not understand why Hidden Wind would show his Law Power to Traveling Buddha for no apparent reason.
Traveling Buddha appeared to be somewhat frustrated. Heid down on the bed and gazed at the ceiling while saying, ¡°Actually, it wasn¡¯t Hidden Wind who wanted to show it to me, but Hidden Water who bugged him to teach me Law Power. Hidden Wind was overwhelmed, and reluctantly agreed.¡±
!!
Xia Fan chuckled. He finally understood. Hidden Water waspletely besotted with Traveling Buddha, which was why she got her grandfather to teach him Law Power. The saying that women were very extroverted was no lie!
¡°So what do you think?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Traveling Buddha shrugged, ¡°It¡¯s precisely because I don¡¯t know, which is why I¡¯m discussing this with you. Logically speaking, learning this Law Power isn¡¯t a bad thing, but I still suspect that things won¡¯t be as simple as that. Me and Hidden Water are unrted to each other, so why would she get her grandfather to teach this to me?¡±
He is aplete dunce!, Xia Fan thought to himself.
But given Traveling Buddha¡¯s personality, forcing him would be useless. Thus, Xia Fan decided to attack it from another angle. He told TB how beneficial it would be for him to understand Law Power, and since he was not going to be at a loss, there was no need to think too much about it. Since Hidden Wind was willing to teach Traveling Buddha his Law Power, then it would do well for him to grasp this opportunity.
In the end, Traveling Buddha reluctantly agreed. From tomorrow onward, he would head to Hidden Water¡¯s home and that way he would have the opportunity to learn a Law Power. As for whether he would sessfully acquire it, or if there would be any developments between him and Hidden Water, that would be none of Xia Fan¡¯s business. After all, everything depended on fate!
¡ª
After Traveling Buddha made his decision, he left Xia Fan¡¯s room to rest, while Xia Fan continued to study the crystal purification method. Seeing that there was no one else in the room, Bright Pearl came out and stood on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder, watching Xia Fan experiment with the Cosmic Iron.
Experiments usually meant mostly failures, and sess was a fluke. But under Xia Fan¡¯s tireless experimentation, he finally made a few discoveries.
First, Cosmic Iron did indeed have the peculiar ability to absorb the crystals¡¯ energy, but in the process of absorbing the energy, the Cosmic Iron was not able to discern between good or bad energy. As long as it was beast energy, it would just absorb it all.
Even stranger was when Xia Fan took out a pure energy crystal topare, the Cosmic Iron would remain inert, almost as if it was only interested in beast energy!.
¡°How could there be such a weird phenomena?¡± Pearl blinked, confused.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°How would I know? This is the first time I¡¯ve encountered Cosmic Iron as well!¡±
His experiments had also demonstrated that Cosmic Iron would absorb beast energy at a very slow rate. Only by doing some additional improvements to it would he be able to hasten the absorption rate.
¡ª¡ª
Thus, early the next morning, Xia Fan left Dragon Dou¡¯s residence and headed to a forge in the city.
The business at the forge could only be described as bleak. A father and son duo ran it, the building¡¯s front was their shop front, while the foundry was behind them. The products were very crude, and only servants who had no social standing of any sort would choose to purchase their work. No descendant from the Four Great ns would ever take a step inside.
Since ancient times, people from poor backgrounds always had difficulty earning money, and this shop had poor business precisely because of their low standing.
Xia Fan greeted the owner and after strolling around the foundry once, he decided that it was well equipped and sufficient for his needs, despite the tools being slightly older.
¡°Boss, I would like to borrow your foundry to work with a little. Quote me a price,¡± Xia Fan spoke to a stout middle-aged man.
The man frowned and set a fairly decent price . Xia Fan did not waste any time considering and readily agreed.
Whether it was living in God Metropolis or The City of the Four Kings, money was not important, but credit points were. Through working for the Four Great ns, the credit points that one could earn could then be used in exchange for daily necessities.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were the two most important bodyguards of the local tyrant¡¯s foolish son, so naturally their ie was better than decent. Xia Fan paid the credit points required, then ordered the boss to have the door shut tight. He warned them not to enter aside from special circumstances, and the boss of course acquiesced since he was about to earn quite a hefty sum from Xia Fan.
¡ª
After the doors were closed behind him, Pearl cheekily came out, intent on witnessing just what Xia Fan was doing.
Xia Fan remarked, ¡°I learned this refinement technique from the Disasters before. I intend to use the Cosmic Iron to forge two weapons. Since I have no other use for it aside from the pendants that I¡¯ve already made, and the crystals are toxic, I have no desire to ingest them.¡±
Pearl did not mind. To this little dragon, while Cosmic Iron was very precious, it was nothing especially rare. She had been with Skywings for such a long time that she had seen all sorts of wondrous objects. She was not against watching Xia Fan y around with Cosmic Iron and make weapons out of it.
To put it simply, refinement meant purifying. A cruder method would be to heat up metal until it turned red, so as to remove the dross through repeated hammering and working the metal.
But the secret technique that Xia Fan was using right now focused on feeling; though he would also be hammering away, the biggest difference between a human and a machine was that the former was something that could feel, and a high ranking warrior had their divine sense!
Xia Fanpletely rxed himself, directed his divine sense into the Cosmic Iron, and began hammering away. This method of refining metal seemed simple, but it actually containedplex principles within it. How to hammer and at what frequency and speed, as well as the angle: everything was decided by one¡¯s divine sense!
Just like there was a formless power holding onto Xia Fan¡¯s hands, this technique of forging with one¡¯s divine sense was a secret technique that Xia Fan had inherited. Though it was not extremely profound, it was very useful. Plenty of artificers had once learned it, and it was rather popr.
Nevertheless, others using it was one thing, but Xia Fan¡¯s method was another!
After all, he was a speedster, able to hammer a thousand times in one second! This was not something others could achieve, and under Xia Fan¡¯s hands, the forging of the metal through this artificer¡¯s secret technique would have its own unique characteristics, no matter the quality or property.
Forging was by no means Xia Fan¡¯s main profession, but more like a side hobby. Adding to the fact that Xia Fan had always had higher requirements for his weapons, even though his speed was far greater than others, he still spent two whole days before he was done!
¡ª
Two dayster, Xia Fan came away with two des that could not be called any more than normal. There was no ingenuity to their designs, and their quality was in no wayparable to the expensive Styx metal.
After he was done with the des, Xia Fan took out a case and ced them inside, together with the Beast crystals from before. He nned to let the des absorb the crystals¡¯ energy. As for how much they managed to absorb, and just what sort of things they would end up turning into, Xia Fan did not bother putting much thought into it.
In his mind, this was nothing more than an experiment, and given his skill at forging, what manner of powerful divine de could he end up forging, anyway? There was no such thing as free lunch in this world, after all!
Xia Fan closed the case with a bang and said to the dozing Pearl, ¡°I¡¯m finally done! Let¡¯s go and see what Traveling Buddha¡¯s up to!¡±
Chapter 1521 - 1521 Wind Versus Speed; Xia Fan’s Duel against Hidden Wind!
1521 Wind Versus Speed; Xia Fan¡¯s Duel against Hidden Wind!
*Kaboom*
On the way to look for Traveling Buddha, Xia Fan suddenly heard a thunderous explosion, almost as if tens of thousands of lightning bolts had crashed down with such force that they had broken through from prehistoric times, so close that it carried a huge oppressive atmosphere, making it difficult for anyone to breathe.
In that instant there was a grand surge of light akin to an eruption of sr res, so ring that it made it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
The verynd shook. There were some wooden structures that swayed with the tremor, looking as if they were about to copse at any moment. Tree leaves gradually fell from their branches, and even the pebbles and loose gravel on the ground abruptly jumped several centimeters from the ground.
After a while, when everything had settled, the people around all still had their hands clutching their chests, and were as pale as ghosts. Anyone that had no idea what had just transpired would probably mistakenly believe that the people had all just been rescued from the brink of life and death, given the expressions of abject shock on each of their faces.
!!
¡°What was that? I was scared to death!¡±
¡°Maybe another fission? Honestly, that was terrifying! The-splitting situation has really gone from bad to worsetely.¡±
¡°It¡¯s absolutely dreadful. Will itpletely copse one day?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t talk nonsense! The Four Great ns have already issued an order that anyone that dares mislead the public will be subjected to severe punishment.¡±
¡°Hmhp! If it¡¯s really going to be fine, why wouldn¡¯t they let us talk about it? The way I see it, they must be hiding things from us!¡±
Xia Fan overheard this conversation between a passing couple and could not help but knit his brow and shake his head slightly. No matter what decrees the Four Great ns might pass stating that they would still be able to lead safe lives, there were already plenty among themon folk who simply did not believe their words on the matter. In fact, there were already citizens who refused to continue living in God Metropolis, and were migrating to the City of the Four Kings instead. After all, thetter was a ce where their servants could live¡
¡°Xia Fan, I suddenly have this foreboding feeling,¡± Pearl warned him.
¡°Oh? Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you.¡±
¡°Tsk! I¡¯m a Frostseal Megadragon! Why would I need your protection? Besides, you¡¯re not your father. He¡¯s at least qualified to say what you just said, but I don¡¯t have a lick of faith hearing the same wordsing out from your mouth!¡±
Xia Fan was instantly speechless. Pearl truly had a sharp tongue. Was there a need for her to constantly remind him about how far away he was in terms of speed,pared to the people of the Skywing n?
¡°Forget it, let¡¯s hurry back and look for Traveling Buddha. It¡¯s been two or three days since Ist saw him, and I wonder if he has learned Law Power yet.¡± Xia Fan replied, rolling his eyes.
¡
Hidden Wind was a peak expert of the Hidden n. He possessed a Law Power, and while he had a peculiar personality, his strength was transcendental and held a significant status in the world. He had a personal training ground of his own, located in a valley on the outskirts of the city.
With verdant hills and a valley teeming with life, where birds chirped and tittered in delight as they flittered between lush trees and fragrant flowers, calling Hidden Wind¡¯s personal training ground excellent would be an understatement. However, as Xia Fan followed the path leading to the bottom of the valley, he could hear the sounds from an intense fight interrupting the sounds of nature.
Xia Fan arched an eyebrow and quickened his pace, dashing down to the bottom of the valley.
He was greeted by the sight of a fierce duel on thewn of green in that valley.
Traveling Buddha had transformed into his golden form, his entire body saturated in ring golden light. He pumped his legs and shattered the ground, lunging toward Hidden Wind with great momentum. As he was about to get in close, Traveling Buddha¡¯s left arm bulged as he smashed a golden fist at his target.
Instantly, golden light shot out, forming into a ring bolt of lightning that tore through the air!
¡°The heck! How did they end up fighting!¡± Xia Fan eximed as he anxiously asked Hidden Water, who was watching from the sideline.
Hidden Water¡¯s face was pale. With a helpless expression, she exined painfully, ¡°Big brother Xia Fan, go and coax Traveling Buddha quick! Grandfather said that he would only teach Traveling Buddha Law Power if he could beat him, which is why the two of them began fighting! It has already been two whole days, and neither is willing to concede to the other!¡±
Xia Fan felt helpless as well, ¡°How would I coax him? Traveling Buddha¡¯s as stubborn as a mule!¡±
The moment he said that, the golden light had reached Hidden Wind with incredible oppressive force. It contained great destructive power, yet the old man merely smirked. With a casual flick of his wrist, a squall of air was conjured instantly!
This was no normal wind, but one that contained Law Power, capable of puncturing through a steel wall!
The formless wind became a formless wall, yet it contained astonishing strength. It waspletely able to block Traveling Buddha¡¯s most powerful move, Golden Light Assault! The golden light exploded, dispersing into a dazzling burst of motes upon impact!
Xia Fan could feel an overwhelming shocke over him. ¡®Heavens, is that really wind? To think it¡¯s capable of blocking Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light!¡¯
Traveling Buddha was no longer a Battle Buddha, but a Killing Buddha! He possessed the greatest light-type special ability, his golden light so frightening that it could prate the very heavens!
Traveling Buddha exploded in a fit of rage when he saw his assault had failed. He waved his hand in annoyance, ¡°It¡¯s over! No more fighting! Little Old Buddha doesn¡¯t want to learn your damned Law Power anymore!¡±
Traveling Buddha was exasperated. He made his way to Xia Fan¡¯s side and no longer spared a nce for the pitiful Hidden Water. Instead, he reached out to Xia Fan and was ready to leave with him. Hidden Water was so panicked that she looked as if she was on the verge of tears. Anyone could tell that this girl was earnest about Traveling Buddha, truly hoping that Traveling Buddha could learn Law Power from Hidden Wind, in hopes that this man whom she was absolutely smitten with could be even stronger.
That was when Hidden Wind suddenly croaked in a gruff voice, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re leaving; the speed ofary fission has reached sixteen hours, and the extent of each division is bing even more violent than thest. It¡¯s best if you get as far away as possible and save yourself from dying here.¡±
Xia Fan promptly froze when he heard that. He could feel his curiosity swell as he turned to ask Hidden Wind, ¡°Elder, just what is going on with the fission, as well as the increase in exotic beasts?¡±
¡°Do you wish to know?¡± Hidden Wind asked.
Xia Fan nodded.
The old man let out a mirthless chuckle, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to learn the reason behind it. From what I hear, you are friends with Traveling Buddha?¡±
Xia Fan shed him a smile, ¡°No, we are brothers.¡±
Hidden Wind was at first startled, and soon turned somber. The expression in his eyes turned serious as he said, ¡°Good. Then you shall tag in for your brother. If you win, not only will I teach Traveling Buddha Law Power, I will even tell you about the reason why thes are undergoing fission.¡±
Xia Fan was very tempted by this offer. He was about to agree when Traveling Buddha interjected in his annoyance, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to this damned old man!¡±
Xia Fan faced Traveling Buddha with a serious expression on his face, ¡°You must believe in me. Besides, I think challenging the Law of Wind would be quite interesting, as well. So I¡¯ll do just that. Wait here for me.¡±
Xia Fan took several steps forward and then shed Hidden Wind a smile, ¡°Then you will have to excuse my disrespect, Elder.¡±
Hidden Wind nodded.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan lowered his body and adopted the bird posture that Pearl had taught him. His body was taut like a bow, his eyes staring straight at Hidden Wind.
With a sudden burst of strength, Xia Fan went hurtling forward with great force. His body turned into a blur as he immediately reached speeds six times faster than sound! A horrifying st of air flow sought to fill the space he left!
Hidden Wind¡¯s pupils contracted just as quickly, taken aback by Xia Fan¡¯s speed. But even though it was very fast, his lips nevertheless cracked into a smirk. He casually flicked his wrist with such deft gentleness that it was as if he was trying to stroke a cloud.
*Schwing*
A formless wind de shot forth!
The wind de cut through the air effortlessly, approaching the advancing Xia Fan with terrifying strength, trying to force Xia Fan back!
But what Hidden Wind had not expected was for Xia Fan to suddenly make an extreme turn despite maintaining his high speed, forcing himself off at an extreme angle, cutting away at a sharp yet elegant arc.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan avoided the wind de with that arc, and his speed did not seem to have decreased. He was in fact still elerating, and reached Hidden Wind in a breath¡¯s time!
¡°To think you dodged that!¡± Hidden Wind gasped.
Turning one¡¯s body at high speed was not just very difficult, but it required a body with extraordinary physical constitution. Xia Fan had actually managed to very easily turn a straight path into an arc?! Such a monstrous level of skill and technique made it obvious that even though Xia Fan was not a Battle Buddha, nor was he blessed with the Golden Titan form, his physical constitution had most definitely reached the same level as one!
¡°It¡¯s too early for you to gloat!¡± Hidden Wind bellowed, his eyes smoldering with fighting spirit!
Considering how cold Hidden Wind normally was, for him to make such a sudden outburst, his desire to fight for three thousand rounds with Xia Fan had been piqued! Xia Fan¡¯s mind-bendingly fast speed had evoked Hidden Wind¡¯spetitive spirit!
Hidden Wind¡¯s arms suddenly bulged as he drew a semicircle in the air, which exploded with a fearsome light!
Wind that broke light!
It was hard to imagine. Hidden Wind was clearly using a special ability with the wind attribute, but it had abruptly erupted into light!
Upon seeing all this, Traveling Buddha was absolutely dumbfounded. Sure enough, Xia Fan was still stronger than him. The moment Xia Fan made his move, he was able to force out Hidden Wind¡¯s ultimate move instantly! No matter how hard he had tried before, he had still failed to get the old man to use such a powerful move.
The moment Hidden Wind executed his ultimate move, Xia Fan was not willing to ept failure as the descendant of the Fiendish de Skywing.
Instantly, Xia Fan began to inject Immortality wine into his body, unleashing the power of the Yggdragon¡¯s pure blood!
Chapter 1522 - 1522 A Powerful Impact; Shocking the Hidden Clan!
1522 A Powerful Impact; Shocking the Hidden n!
The Skywing n had all sorts of strange people, but not one of them was the sort who would admit defeat.
As his seventh brain region opened up and Xia Fan was granted the power of speed, the Skywing¡¯s blood hidden in his body had also gradually returned. Against an opponent as powerful as Hidden Wind, Xia Fan had no wish to admit defeat. Instead, he became even more crazy, injecting Immortality Wine straight into his body without any hesitation whatsoever!
*Whoosh!*
The blood of Yggdragon, surging with energy, instantly activated a mysterious element in Xia Fan¡¯s body that allowed his speed to burst forth, now twelve times the speed of sound, his speed breaking past 4000 m/s!
*Kaboom!*
!!
Hidden Wind drew out two more semi-circles with his hands, none other than his signature move, Wind¡¯s Arclight! The speed of sound was iparable, allowing him to instantly dish out an attack that wasparable to lightning!
Still, the expression of Hidden Wind¡¯s face at this time was no longer rxed. His pupils had contracted as if he was facing a powerful foe. After all, this was a speed of 4000 m/s! Xia Fan was practically a bolt of lightning, turning with sharp arcs while utilizing his extraordinary body, long nurtured by energy crystals of the highest grade. After he dodged, he closed in on Hidden Wind once more.
¡°What powerful speed! How refreshing!¡± Hidden Wind exhorted, his eyes shining. His hands were a blur, like two dragons swimming in the air, drawing circle after circle.
In a sh, a gale began to circte around them, forming into a huge tornado that enveloped thousands of square meters of verdant fields, wrapping all the grass and trees. Even the boulders up in the hills and mountains were caught up in the gust as it became a force of destruction!
The verynd rumbled and trembled, like there was a crazed demon attempting to break through the ground. The sound was deafening, capable of sweeping away armies that numbered in the thousands. Hills after mountains were leveled in a blink of an eye, as the entire world around them was promptly transformed beyond recognition!
Hidden Water was dumbfounded. Was there a need for her grandfather to use such shocking power just to deal with Xia Fan?
Even Traveling Buddha was bbergasted. Had Hidden Wind used this frighteningly powerful attack against him from the start, he might have had a difficult time surviving, even if he had Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light protecting himself. After all, this kind of power had already reached the level of annihtion! As the strong winds continued to elerate and rotate, the resulting damage turned everything, even mountains that were several hundred meters tall, into powder in an instant!
The moment the Wind special ability reached the level of Law, its strength became absolutely stunning!
The endlessly rotating winds moving at high speeds were several times more powerful than Hidden Wind¡¯s wind des or wind walls. After all, this was wind, and right now, when directed to rotate at such astonishing speeds, the vortex only intensified the gravitational winds constantly! If Hidden Wind did not stop, there was a very high chance that an area of a hundred mile radius would be stripped barren!
But what shocked Traveling Buddha even more was Xia Fan¡¯s performance!
To think Xia Fan was actually bing stronger and stronger! He was just like a flexible bamboo, pliant yet tenacious. Hidden Wind kept up with his relentless assault, while Xia Fan retreated. The moment Hidden Wind¡¯s attacks slightly let up, Xia Fan would turn around and charge in right at him. When the enemy advance, retreat, and when they choose to retreat, strike! This was the creed of the Skywings, never giving up even in the face of immense odds, an indomitable spirit that was incisive and vivid!
At this time, even while Hidden Wind was unleashing a power that could wipe out vast swathes ofnd, he was actually helpless against Xia Fan. That person looked like a wolf who had its prey in its sights, his eyes exploding with a fierce re, searching for any ws that he could exploit as he ducked and wove through the strong winds.
¡®Beautifully done! Truly you like up to the name of Xia, a son of Xia Fei!¡¯ Pearl was delighted, cheering loudly in Xia Fan¡¯s conscience as a strange brilliance bloomed in her alert eyes.
The reason why the dragons had followed Skywing for all those years, enduring plenty of hardships and fighting in many battles, yet never abandoning them, being one of the most loyal allies of the n, was all due to their ardent adtion to the Skywing n¡¯s wild fighting spirit! As the proud dragon race, there were not many who they would admire, but the moment they were subdued, they demonstrated a loyalty like no others.
Pearl was a daughter of the Frostseal Megadragons, and it was evident she had been simrly influenced. She enjoyed watching Xia Fan when he was being serious, or when he went wild. Every time she saw Xia Fan¡¯s eyes go red, turning into an inexhaustible pest to his enemies, Pearl¡¯s little heart could not help but thump rapidly.
The battle had already entered a fevered pitch, and as the fierce winds became even more powerful, Xia Fan nevertheless did not back down, determined to see this fight through to the end.
¡ª
A ck frigate stealthily approached from the sky. Everyone onboard was scared witless when they saw the terrifying scene, afraid that Hidden Wind would go crazy and strike their warship down. Hidden Wind was definitely capable of performing such a feat,given that he was a person with a high status in the Hidden n.
¡°Oh my god, who is that madman fighting against now?¡±
¡°Just what wandering expert could this person be, to force Hidden Wind to unleash such destructive power!¡±
The people onboard were all astonished after they quickly discovered Xia Fan, his speed so high that he was weaving left and right against the high winds. No matter how terrible the wind was, that person showed no intention of giving in!
¡°Who is that?¡¯
¡°Who knows, but I¡¯ve never heard such an expert Speed special ability user existing among the Four Great ns!¡±
¡°Well, let¡¯s not bother with that for now. Quick, record everything that¡¯s happening now. A Speedster versus the old madman! It¡¯s rare to chance upon a fight of this caliber!¡±
The people onboard were all members of the Hidden n. Coincidentally, the n patriarch of the Hidden n was looking for Hidden Wind regarding a certain matter today, otherwise they would not have dared to take a step into Hidden Wind¡¯s training grounds. After all, this old madman had an extremely strange personality. He was someone who dared to stand up against someone like the patriarch when angered, and was seen as the number one madman in the n.
¡ª
Hidden Wind was despondent. He knew about the ship drawing closer behind him. Anyone who dared trespass on his training grounds had to be sent from the n patriarch. He had every intention to end this battle once and for all, but Xia Fan was like a stone that was wedged into a pit, something that refused to budge even an inch as it stubbornlyid there.
Hidden Wind was indignant. This was hateful! Speedsters were too detestable!
Truly, it was the most unreasonable special ability in the entire universe. When they met their match, Xia Fan could just run, and once he was done running, he could still return. The moment a speedstertched onto an enemy, it would simply be the former tormenting thetter alive!
Hidden Wind let out a long sigh as he very unwillingly stopped the violent winds. Xia Fan used the opportunity to close in toward him, until he was just right in front of Hidden Wind, a slight smile on his face.
Hidden Wind looked up to the sky at the frigate and frowned, ¡°The Patriarch is looking for me, it must be because of the recent fission matter. I need to head on over.¡±
Xia Fan smiled and replied, ¡°Then we¡¯ll return to the city.¡±
Hidden Wind nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t run off. Head to my home and wait for me there. I have something to share with you two.¡±
With that, Hidden Wind did not wait for the frigate tond and simply extended his arms, stirring up a gust of wind that blew him right up to the clouds. The frigate opened their bay doors and Hidden Wind stepped inside.
¡°Good day, Great Uncle,¡± a fair-skinned young man bowed to Hidden Wind. This person was Hidden Spring. By blood rtion, calling Hidden Wind his Great Uncle was not excessive.
Hidden Wind nodded slightly, and sat down in the middle of the ship. As the frigate elerated, blue mes burned from its thrusters, and it disappeared into the horizon.
¡ª
In no time at all, this frigatended in the center of a quaint and old-fashioned pce. This was where the Hidden n¡¯s Patriarch lived. It covered a vast area but was very unassuming. There were no carved beams or great works of art. The only thing that made the ce stand out were the many green nts that grew freely about it.
Hidden Wind stepped into the pce, off to meet the Patriarch. Meanwhile, Hidden Spring went to meet a group of juniors, taking out the video that they had just recorded to show everyone.
¡°F*ck, has the old madman gotten so powerful already? That¡¯s more than a dozen mountains that were instantly ttened, right?¡± a young man of the n gasped in surprise.
Hidden Spring pointed at a small ck spot on the screen and said, ¡°This impressive disy is all due to this person here. Looking at his age, he ought to be younger than us by quite a bit. To think he could force the old madman to use Turbulent Winds! That¡¯s very remarkable!¡±
¡°Which n is he from?¡±
¡°I have no clue, but he shouldn¡¯t be someone from the Four Great ns.¡±
¡°Isn¡¯t he a bit too fast? He¡¯s practically lightspeed!¡±
¡°Speedsters be Heavenly Venerates the moment they reach Star Domain rank. We have a Speed Heavenly Venerate here!¡±
¡°I wonder if he has a patron. With fission bing faster and faster, the Four Great ns will have to gather what strength they can muster as soon as possible. It would be great if this person coulde over to us, the Hidden n!¡±
Instantly, the video that Hidden Spring had casually recorded caused quite a stir among the people of the Hidden n. Everyone was shocked at the unparalleled speed Xia Fan had disyed. After all, speed was the hardest special ability to cultivate and train in this world. Anyone that reached Star Domain rank would be considered a Heavenly Venerate!
The person in the video was far too young, yet he had already be a Heavenly Venerate, plus he was capable of forcing Hidden Wind to such a degree. His future was sure to be terrifying!
¡°Here, let me transfer my video to all of you. You can investigate the background of this personter,¡± Hidden Spring stroked his chin after some thought.
¡°Hey, Brother Spring, you better not send it to the group!¡±
¡°I didn¡¯t group send,¡± Hidden Spring was startled as he hurriedly flicked on the screen and peered at it closely.
Hidden Spring was abruptly dumbfounded. There were two group chats in hismunicator. One was a group for all his brothers in Hidden n, while the other was the mass group that included many other members from the Four Great ns. Hidden Spring had identally sent the video to thetter!
Chapter 1523 - 1523 Monster, Crystal, and Mysterious Power
1523 Monster, Crystal, and Mysterious Power
The idental blunder by Hidden Spring sent the video of the fight between Hidden Wind and Xia Fan into the group chat with the Four Great ns. Instantly, like a depth charge dropped into a pond, countless big and small fishes were caught in the st¡
A young warrior had actually fought Hidden Wind to a standstill?
Hidden Wind was a distinguished madman. Everyone knew how brutal his methods were. The fact that he was willing to unleash such attacks upon Xia Fan was enough to prove that, yet Xia Fan was still able to force their confrontation into a stalemate, in spite of Hidden Wind¡¯s strong assault!
Examining the video even more closely, they could tell that Xia Fan¡¯s speed had broken past 4000 m/s, which meant he was Advanced Star Domain rank!
Other special abilities reaching Advanced Star Domain rank might be nothing, but this was Speed! It was the special ability that was considered the most terrifying and most difficult to train!
He was of such a young age, yet he already possessed such a formidable cultivation. It was simply hard to imagine!
For a while, an undercurrent brewed. The Four Great ns appeared to be a united front on the surface, when really they were vying for power with each other behind the scenes. Given Xia Fan¡¯s strength, he was definitely qualified to join the circle of the peak warriors among the Four Great ns, but the only problem was, who among the four would be the first to recruit him?
While there were those who became interested in Xia Fan after he was discovered, there were also those who were gnashing their teeth and gloomy. People like Moon Wanhe, who had wanted to kill Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha several days ago, all for the sake of protecting his son, had instead nearly found himself being the one on the verge of losing his life. He had ultimately managed to escape thanks to the protection of an old ancestor of his n.
¡°This kid is truly haunting me everywhere I go!¡± Moon Wanhe hissed in anger after watching the video.
¡
¡
Xia Fan went to the home of Hidden Wind, as was their arrangement, and waited for his return.
Hidden Water was very attentive, serving tea and satisfying the needs of Traveling Buddha, the young master. Traveling Buddha was someone who lived with a silver spoon in his mouth, and was treating this attention as if it was entirely deserved. Xia Fan could not help but sigh. This was life; Hidden Water clearly had the conditions to be treated like a princess by anyone out there, yet she was willing to follow Traveling Buddha with all her heart. One was willing to serve, while the other was willing to be served; Fate was truly quite a wonder.
¡ª
Hidden Wind only returned after dusk had fallen. There were several simple dishes on the dining table, and the four of them shared dinner together. Hidden Wind was silent the whole time they had the meal, as if he had plenty on his mind. He had an unpleasant look on his face, so Xia Fan and the others did not say much either.
After they were done, Hidden Wind invited Xia Fan, Traveling Buddha, and his granddaughter into his study. He then closed the door behind them, and first turned to face Xia Fan.
¡°You wish to know the reason behind thes splitting?¡± Hidden Wind asked.
Xia Fan nodded.
Hidden Wind said, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s no way we can hide this any longer either, so telling this to you all earlier isn¡¯t a problem.
¡°The reason why thes are experiencing fission is rted to the evolution of the exotic beasts. They are both a result of some mysterious power that is quietly changing the space.
¡°Not too long ago, that pangolin that you three encountered, was actually a verymon sort among the exotic beasts. There are still many more stronger beings that none of you have seen, and they are extremely frightening, possessing great strength and intelligence beyond what you can imagine.
It has been many years, and no one has seen any of those old monsters of the Four Great ns, That is because they are all concentrating all their energy ion fending off that mysterious power.¡±
Hidden Water wrinkled her brow. ¡°Haven¡¯t the patriarchs of the Four Great ns been living in the city all this while?¡±
Hidden Wind let out a cold snort and said with contempt, ¡°Those living in the city are just dummies. Back then, they even wanted to make me the patriarch, but I rejected them!
¡°The old monsters I¡¯m referring to aren¡¯t in the city. When I wanted to kill Moon Wanhe the other time, the mysterious power who stopped me, someone that I was helpless against, was one of the real core experts from the Four Great ns.¡±
Xia Fan was shocked. He and Traveling Buddha had also been pinned down by that same amazing power. Recalling the incident now, anyone who could wield such a god-like power definitely had to be a monstrous existence!
Hidden Wind continued, ¡°In any case, the old monsters have brought word back that they cannot hold on anymore. The moment they let go, the space will copse, and from then on, it just might cause the entire Ashen Moon Universe to descend into chaos.
¡°As for just what the mysterious power might be, I can¡¯t exin, either. When you leaveter, I¡¯ll give you a few coordinates, and you can go have a look. You¡¯ll be able to understand what I mean then.¡±
With that, Hidden Wind turned his focus toward Traveling Buddha, ¡°Do you wish to learn Law Power?¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s temper reappeared, as he nonchntly answered, ¡°I¡¯m okay with learning it, I¡¯m also fine with not.¡±
This guy!
Even Xia Fan wanted to go and p him. They were already at this point, so what was the point of acting high and mighty? Would it kill him to debase himself slightly on asion?
Xia Fan had thought Hidden Wind would get mad with that response, but who would have thought he actually chuckled and replied with an equal level of disinterest, ¡°Whatever, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying this to you alone.¡±
Hidden Wind spoke in a serious tone, ¡°What¡¯s known as Law Power is actually, to be very precise, a Law Barrier.¡±
As Hidden Wind said this, it was Pearl who gasped in Xia Fan¡¯s consciousness, ¡°He really understands it! This term ¡®Law Barrier¡¯ was also something that I heard from your n of madmen. Indeed, it was a Law Barrier!¡±
Xia Fan was taken aback, and quickly pricked his ears up to listen.
Hidden Wind exined, ¡°You are all special ability users, and have experienced the process of breaking through your seventh brain barrier. To put it simply, Law Power is a second barrier! After you break through that, your special ability will experience a sublimation. If you were to break through the third barrier, then you¡¯d turn from mortal into Venerates!
¡°There are two methods to break the barrier. One depends on inheritance, such as a method to cultivate the various special abilities passed down through the generations in ns, allowing them to umte experiences that will allow warriors after them to gain a solid foundation. This is a method dependent on manpower, getting them to open the way through the Law Barrier.
¡°But there¡¯s always a limitation to raw manpower. In order to break past the Law Barrier, unless they were some extraordinary expert, most people have to depend on external help.
¡°The mysterious power that¡¯s causing thes to fission, as well as the creation of these new exotic beasts , is something that could help us break through this barrier. This type of mysterious power is very special. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve all seen those beast crystals, haven¡¯t you? Humans will grow horns if they consume those crystals.
¡°But let me tell you, the growth of the horns is only the slightest of side effects. If one were to consume too many of those beast crystals, they will ultimately find themselves transformed into existences that are neither human nor beast.
¡°That is why all of you need a different power. Absorb the mysterious crystals that were born from absorbing the essence of earth and heaven. They are as harmless as energy crystals, and were shaped like chicken hearts. Their colors are very vivid and eye-catching.
¡°I am someone that managed to break past the firstyer of the Law Barrier, but my brain has no horns precisely, because I¡¯ve been using the mysterious crystals.
¡°Energy crystals, Beast crystals, and on top of that, the mysterious crystals. Those are the three mainponents of the crystal world that I presently know of. Energy crystals provide energy, but they are useless when attempting to break through the Law Barrier. Beast crystals could be helpful, but will ultimately turn you into a monster. The mysterious crystals arepletely different, and whether humans or beasts use them, they will have a chance to break their barrier, bing god-like existences!¡±
Hidden Wind was acting very abnormal after returning from his meeting with the n patriarch. He did not leave anything unspoken, and practically told them everything he knew. This was the first time Hidden Water had heard him speak of this, despite having been with him for a very long time.
Hidden Wind spoke in a long-winded manner, not getting tired of repeating himself. It seemed like he was more afraid that Xia Fan and the others would not understand what he was trying to rte, almost as if he was a dead man giving hisst words in the event of his passing. He repeatedly asked the three if they understood what he was saying, and he would exin it all over if there was anything they failed to grasp.
Xia Fan summed up the meaning of Hidden Wind¡¯s words, and it more or less came down to a few points.
First, the old monsters from the Four Great ns might no longer be able to contain this mysterious power. The moment they let go, what would ensue would most likely be a terrible event.
Next, if they desired to break through the Law Barrier, the method of doing so was to locate mysterious crystals. Though beast crystals could achieve the same result, it was best to avoid them, for safety¡¯s sake.
Lastly, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha ought to head off to a certain ce as soon as possible. When there, they would be able to personally witness the truth.
¡ª¡ª
Without even realizing, it was already bright outside.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha headed back to Dragon Dou¡¯s residence with a belly full of doubts in them.
¡°When are we going to where Hidden Wind mentioned?¡± Traveling Buddha said, a solemn expression on his face.
Xia Fan was startled, ¡°And here I was thinking that you did not believe any of his words.¡±
Traveling Buddha waved him off dismissively. ¡°I can¡¯t not believe him. He was acting too abnormallyst night, and even Hidden Water silently told me that Hidden Wind spoke more wordsst night than what she had heard for her entire life.¡±
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°Sooner is better thanter. Let¡¯s head back now and pack up. We¡¯re leaving immediately.¡±
¡°Got it,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
¡ª
The two of them returned to Dragon Du¡¯s home. Dragon Dou was a foolish son of the local tyrant, and was still sleeping in right now. His servants said that he had gone out to have funte into the night, and only returned home not too long ago.
Thus, Xia Fan ryed a message to Dragon Dou through the servant, to inform him that Traveling Buddha and him would be leaving for a few days, then went into their rooms to pack up their things.
In no time at all, the two were done with their packing. Xia Fan suddenly remembered that he had used the Cosmic Iron to forge a pair of weapons that were still absorbing the beast crystals. He had no idea how much they had absorbed, so he reached into his spatial ring and retrieved the case they were in.
Chapter 1524 - 1524 A Mysterious Village. The Birth of Divine Weapons!
1524 A Mysterious Vige. The Birth of Divine Weapons!
Xia Fan opened the case which he had stored the weapons and beast crystals in, and his eyes instantly widened. In just one night, every single beast crystal in the case had gone transparent, devoid of any hue of color. It seemed all the energy had been absorbed by the two des!
Xia Fan was skeptical. He took a beast crystal in hand, but the moment he held it, the crystal dissolved into dust. He could not feel a hint of energy contained within it any longer.
¡®So that¡¯s how it is. Cosmic Iron will increase the rate of absorbing the energy inside beast crystals, starting out slow but bing faster and faster over time,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself.
Next, Xia Fan took out the two ck daggers and weighed them in his hands. He discovered that they were heavier than before, and he could sense a mysterious energy vaguely emanating from within. They glowed with a faint yet enigmatic glow, almost as they were prehistoric monsters that had been dormant for millions of years, slowly waking up. The light contained an intense killing intent that prated his entire body, enough to make anybody¡¯s hair stand on its ends.
¡°What is that?!¡± Traveling Buddha¡¯s asked, puzzled. His eyes glowed with astonishment. ¡°Why do I feel those two daggers are trying to present their sharpness to me, trying to threaten me?¡±
Xia Fan frowned. ¡°You¡¯re not mistaken. These are weapons that I recently forged, and they seem to be hiding some sort of mysterious quality within them, which was awakened by my beast crystals.¡±
Traveling Buddha was dumbfounded. ¡°You had a really big chunk of Cosmic Iron, yet these two small daggers were all that you ended up making out of it?¡±
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°Yes. Though small in size, the purity of their metal is very high. It took me two whole days toplete the work, even with my speed.¡±
Traveling Buddha was skeptical. He stroked his chin and asked, ¡°I¡¯ve seen plenty of divine weapons in my time, but these two daggers are really uncanny. I¡¯ve never even heard of anything like them. So, what next?¡±
Xia Fan gave the method some thought and answered, ¡°Since we can¡¯t absorb the beast crystals anyway, why don¡¯t we just give them all to the daggers? Let¡¯s see just what sort of final form they take in the end.¡±
Xia Fan transferred all the beast crystals he had recently collected into the case without another word. He stored the case back into his spatial ring, and the two of them headed to the rental office, where they shed the keepsake they were given by Dragon Dou to the staff.
¡ª¡ª
Someone having such a token meant that they were on business on behalf of their master. No management personnel anywhere would stop them, and due to the absolute trust the local tyrant¡¯s foolish son had ced in Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, he had handed over his own keepsake to the two for safety.
Sessfully renting a shuttle, Xia Fan piloted the vehicle and swiftly departed from God Metropolis. They entered space and headed toward the coordinates Hidden Feng had given them.
In the God Metropolis region, arge number of Stargates had been established, allowing people to reach plenty ofs elsewhere. However, there were still somes that Stargates could not reach without the use of transportation. Thes that had no Stargates were usually due to the fact that they had only been ¡®born¡¯ not too long ago, and the technicians had yet to find the time to begin work on them. Meanwhile, the location that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were headed toward happened to be one of thes that had experienced fission at the very beginning, 4.
¡°Look! The trees here are simply far too tall and big! They must reach well over several thousand meters high!¡± Soon, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha reached their destination, and were orbiting over 4.
¡°The trees in the forest here are practically taller than mountains. This is indeed very peculiar.¡±
¡°Look there. What is that huge shadow in theke? A crocodile? Could it be a Golden Crocodile?¡±
¡°And that cherry tree over there. Why are its berries even bigger than watermelons? Look at how crystal clear they appear, it¡¯s as if they were carved out from agates!¡±
As Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha flew through the skies of 4, they discovered more and more strange sightings. There was a foreboding feeling that welling up inside Xia Fan¡¯s heart. This was one of the first fews where strange mutations had urred, yet there were no Stargates built here. He had an inkling that this might not be coincidence, but the result of someone who did not want others to approach this ce.
The shuttlended by a stream in the middle of a forest. The water was clear, but there was no fish swimming in it. There was a strong smell of sulfur to it, most likely because it had been contaminated byva that had flowed down after an eruption, making it toxic and unfit for consumption.
Xia Fan opened his case once more, and discovered that in just the two hours since he hadst checked it, the two daggers had actually absorbed all the beast crystal energy inside, no different from ravenous monsters. The rate at which they were absorbing the beast crystals was increasing over time!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha each took out a dagger and examined them repeatedly as they brandishing them.
Traveling Buddha grew impatient. ¡°What¡¯s the point of just looking at them! Let¡¯s just test it out and we¡¯ll know!¡±
*Boom*
In a blink of an eye, Traveling Buddha raised his arm and threw the dagger out with all his might. The ck dagger streaked through the air like a bolt of lightning, cutting through the air cleanly until it struck into the tree trunk of a big tree that was nearly five thousand meters tall.
The deafeningly loud crack. The sound of thunder rang out as a terrifying bolt of lightning struck down from the sky at the same time, splitting the big tree right down the middle!
Instantly, mes raged as the temperature increased. The big tree that was almost five thousand meters tall turned into two huge charcoal blocks in an instant. Both halves came crashing down to the ground, smashing countless other small trees that were in its path. The wild animals ranging through the forest were frightened by that, scattering about and fleeing wildly from themotion.
¡°What did I just do?¡± Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes were wide, an incredulous look on his face. He simply could not believe that was an attack he had unleashed. Was his attack able to contain lightning now?
Xia Fan was equally dumbfounded. It was almost as if the instant the dagger made contact with the big tree, it triggered some mysterious power that caused a lightning to strike and ignite the tree, destroying the huge tree just like that.
¡°Ah!¡±
The excited voice of Pearl echoed in Xia Fan¡¯s ear, as the little Frost Dragon gushed in tion. ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve created an incredible weapon! It looks like after tempering the Cosmic Iron, it now contains the ability to absorb and release energy. It¡¯s able to absorb the beast crystals and store it within itself, and the moment you attack with it, it can unleash everything all at once! Yes, that must be it!¡±
Xia Fan was astonished. He hurriedly sped over into the forest to pick the dagger up.
Sure enough, the energy fluctuation inside the dagger was reduced after this one use. Even the mysterious glimmer that surrounded it was slightly dimmer.
Traveling Buddha eximed, ¡°Why does it look like it has degraded? It was still giving off such a fearsome and sinister aura just before now¡¡±
Xia Fan felt that Pearl¡¯s conjecture was logical, so he exined to Traveling Buddha what happened. Traveling Buddha simply could not believe his ears after he heard it.
¡°Oh damn. It feels like this dagger absorbs the essence of the beast, and turns itself into a monster!¡± Traveling Buddha gasped, a shocked expression on his face.
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°What you said is correct, too! After it absorbed the crystals, it now contains the characteristics of the beasts that it absorbed. Seeing as we are brothers, I¡¯ll gift this dagger to you.¡±
Traveling Buddha was ted. He took that dagger and could barely put it down. He imed that he would bring Xia Fan to the Holy Buddha n¡¯s treasury and let him have the pick of the ce. But at present, given that they were unable to return to Ashen Moon, this promise was moot.
Let¡¯s head into the mountain, see for ourselves just what secret Hidden Wind wishes for us to learn,¡± Xia Fan said.
¡°Alright!¡± Traveling Buddha nodded.
And so, the two held hands, and relying on Xia Fan¡¯s speed, they shot toward the mountain.
¡ª¡ª
In the beginning, aside from the nts being much bigger, and the flora being rather peculiar, neither noticed anything out of the ordinary. But as they ventured deeper and deeper into the forest, they slowly discovered some straight sights. There was actually a road in the middle of all this wilderness?
Xia Fan came to a stop and began inspecting the ce. There was a little road that was carefully paved with cobblestones meandering into the forest. It was headed in the direction of a valley covered in green moss. The wild flowers that were growing on both sides of the path were obviously not randomly grown, but had been intentionally nted by someone. This meant that there was actually someone inhabiting this primeval forest?
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were shocked. They quickly slowed down and began to slowly sneak their way in. They entered the valley, and not too long after, they were shocked once more.
What greeted their sight was a row of wooden houses facing sunward. These were simply constructed and there was wood piled outside of them. Beast skins and fish were being dried in the open, looking like a small vige. There were wooden stumps in the middle of the vige, looking like a pce where the vigers would gather to hold discussions, and there was a bonfire surrounded by stones, so the people coulde together and chat and cook.
Xia Fan took a quick breath. This ce was simply far too strange. It was fairly primitive and crude. People living in God Metropolis were either from the Four Great ns, or the warriors and servants of the Four Great ns. There was no need for anyone to run off and live out here on such an uncultivated, and besides, what would the people do if they encountered some scary exotic beasts?
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha hid outside the vige and observed the ce, their faces clouded with uncertainty. Just as they were trying to make sense of just who could be living out here, a dark figure suddenly walked out from one of the wooden houses.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha trained their eyes and stared, and were immediately shocked to the extreme. Their eyes widened and their chins nearly dropped to the ground!
Chapter 1525 - 1525 A Secret and Slaying the Sapient Giant Ape!
1525 A Secret and ying the Sapient Giant Ape!
The valley was wide and overgrown with moss. A faint and mysterious white mist hung around the ce, pulsating with energy. Even more special was the row of wooden houses built in the valley, looking like there were inhabitants out here in the wilderness.
Just as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were wondering about all this, the door of a wooden house suddenly opened, and a man came walking out. This person looked very strange, as his entire body was covered in brown fur, with sunken eye sockets. He was actually an ape!
The ape looked just like arge gori one might find in a zoo, except he was standing upright like a human being. His white fangs were half-exposed, and he had a fierce gaze in his eyes.
¡°My God. What sort of creature is that?!¡± Traveling Buddha yelped in consternation.
When the ape heard that there was sounding from beyond the valley, it instantly let out a ferocious roar. Turning his huge head, his gaze was filled with killing intent as he stared in the direction Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were hiding.
¡°Who¡¯s there?! Foolish humans! To actually dare barge into the territory of the Beast King! Are you looking to restart the war?!¡±
This huge humanoid ape was absolutely savage, and when he roared, the entire valley shook, causing gravel and small rocks to roll off the cliffs on both sides.
¡°Is that thing trying to threaten me?¡± Traveling Buddha was pissed. The Little Old Buddha was born noble, and a monkey would actually dare threaten him?! He was bristling in indignation.
Nevertheless, Traveling Buddha was focused on being mad, but he had missed the more important point; it was an ape, so how could it speak a humannguage? Was that not very strange?
Xia Fan was in deep thought. He had no idea what he had just encountered, but that was when Pearl suddenly blurted out, ¡°Catch him! He¡¯s Awakened with demonic attributes!¡±
Xia Fan did not understand what demonic attributes meant, but he saw the ape lift his head up ande charging toward them with great ferocity, still roaring wildly and, stirring up a horrific atmosphere, as if he was about to begin a massacre.
Traveling Buddha stared incredulously. ¡°F*ck me, this creature actually dares bellow at me, Little Old Buddha? Is he tired of living?¡±
Without another word, Traveling Buddha went charging on the attack. His entire body was covered in his golden light from head to toe, looking like a reincarnated Buddha, impervious to all physical attacks. His hardened fists mmed down again and again, and it did not take too much effort for him to beat the ape down into the ground.
Looking at the creature now, the ape was a little pathetic. He was bleeding from his mouth, nose and ears, trembling uncontrobly as hey there. He was most likely concussed after being on the receiving end of such a violent beating from Traveling Buddha.
*Bam!*
Traveling Buddha sent a kick his way, striking the ape right in his belly. This kick sent the creature flying, all the way until it crashed into the cliff wall. The rock wall explodedyer byyer before the ape slumped down on the ground. His furry paws were clutching his head, no longer daring to look at the two ferocious humans, clearly terrified to the extreme.
Xia Fan then heard Bright Pearl¡¯s voice in his ear, ¡°This creature is both sapient and possessed of demonic attributes. That¡¯s definitely not a good sign!¡±
Xia Fan did not understand, so he asked Pearl to exin, ¡°We of the Dragon race have reached sapiency. Because we have consciousness, we are able to be intelligent like humans, capable of thought just like you, and even transform into a human form.
¡°We Dragons are a species that stands at the apex of the food chain, already possessing sapiency, but look. Even a lowly creature like a monkey can gain their sapiency! This shows that there must be some sort of subversion happening that¡¯s causing living creatures to suddenly mutate!
¡°Furthermore, this damned ape is not only sapient, but it even possesses demonic attributes, making it an existence simr to the Demonic Ants!¡±
Xia Fan nodded slightly, understanding what that meant. This monkey had developed sapiency like Dragons, which left Pearl feeling threatened.
¡°Force him to divulge everything he knows,¡± Xia Fan told Traveling Buddha.
¡°You got it!¡± Traveling Buddha answered as he picked the monkey up. He stared at the creature sinisterly, making the monkey tremble unceasingly.
¡
In no time at all, the monkey began to spill everything. It turned out that this valley was upied by a group of mutated monkeys. From the treetops down to the ground, they had learned how to build with their own hands, mastered fire, and subsequently discovered how to cook with it. But none of this was what made them frightening. What made them absolutely terrifying was the immensebat strength they possessed!
¡°The Four Great ns onceid siege on us, but they did not seed, and were beaten back. From that point on, 4 has been under our rule, and humans rarelye here!¡± the monkey dered.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were stunned. They knew just how powerful the Four Great ns were, yet they were actually beaten back by a bunch of monkeys? Were these b*st*rds that heaven-defying!?
The monkey exined quickly, ¡°It was not just us! There are also plenty of other animals who developed sapiency, and there were plenty among them who were very powerful. Furthermore, the Four Great ns needed our strength to suppress the more severe fissions, which was how we reached an agreement.¡±
Xia Fan slowly understood the situation. Due to the increase in animal sapiency, it created an extremely unique phenomena in God Metropolis space. These biological creatures evolved here and had then cooperated with the Four Great ns!
It was like the giant pangolin that they had met before, except the pangolin was just a physical mutation and had yet to reach sapiency. The moment a creature reached that point, they would be like humans, able to be a bipedal living thing, and freely change between their humanoid form and their beast form.
Xia Fan allowed the monkey to transform for them to see.
They heard a loud rumble and a rainbow glow shot forth from his body. Sure enough, it was very simr to the Dragons. Their physical size could vary, but possessed terrifying strength. The only aspect that the Dragons were more developed than the beasts in was their ability to assume a more human form. After Pearl transformed, she would look like a well-mannered little girl, and was far more advanced than the giant ape.
No matter the case, sapiency was no longer unique to just Dragons. This was quite daunting to Xia Fan. If countless existences that wereparable to a Dragon¡¯sbat strength were to appear in this universe, who knew how frightening the situation would be!
¡°Though we¡¯ve not yet reached that stage, other species have already learned how to pilot spaceships, and I heard it isn¡¯t difficult at all!¡± that big ape boasted.
Xia Fan was shocked. There were already beasts who had learned how to pilot warships? Then would the next step be the emergence of plenty of beast scientists, researching weapons capable of destroyings?
¡°Oh heavens¡¡± Traveling Buddha sighed. Even he could tell that the age of humanity might be at its end. How terrible would it be if beasts could understand science, and form fleets of their own! This universe might very well descend into chaos!
Pearl whispered into Xia Fan¡¯s ear, ¡°Right now, what I¡¯m worried about most are the Skywings, as well as my fellow Dragons.¡±
Xia Fan froze, while Pearl said gravely after a pause, ¡°Right now, they are fighting out in the Great Chiliocosm, and their foe is mainly the Demonic Ants. Now it looks like the Demonic Ants aren¡¯t the only ones out there, and that there are other species out there that are swiftly gaining sapiency and demonizing.
¡°ording to the history of the Four Great ns, this space is very close to the Cosmic Gate, and was formed from the power that drifted out from the Cosmic Gate. That is to say that what¡¯s happening here in Ashen Moon isn¡¯t the exception. I¡¯m afraid your n and my fellow dragons are in a grueling battle with countless sapient enemies in the Great Chiliocosm!¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s expression turned severe as he questioned the big ape, ¡°Speak. How many others of you are there, and where are they all?¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s eyes were chilling and filled with killing intent. They scared the ape so much that he was trembling hard, not daring to lie.
¡°Follow along this valley and you¡¯ll reach a mysterious garden. There is a Sapience nt growing there. Everyone is currently vying to own the crystal that it will form!¡±
Xia Fan nodded and with that, casually made eye contact with Traveling Buddha.
*Boom*
Traveling Buddha struck abruptly, his hardened fist containing the Holy Buddha¡¯s might, which exploded in ring gold light as it shot up into the sky. A pir of holy light instantly prated through the big ape¡¯s skull, and his head exploded as fresh blood sttered everywhere.
The big ape copsed to the ground with a loud mming thud that echoed across the valley, shaking the ce with a powerful tremor.
Xia Fan grit his teeth. ¡°Just now that big ape mentioned a Sapient nt. That should be the natural crystal that Hidden Wind mentioned. Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡±
¡°Got it!¡± Traveling Buddha answered.
Chapter 1526 - 1526 Infiltrating the Divine Mountain and Consuming Mysterious Crystals
1526 Infiltrating the Divine Mountain and Consuming Mysterious Crystals
They moved along deeper into the valley. After traveling thousands of kilometers, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both spotted a mountain peak in front of them.
The mountain was majestic, and the terrain was open. It reached into the clouds, almost like a dragon lying on its back. The moment they approached, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha could both sense an energy fluctuation pass through into their bodies. It left them feeling a lot lighter, gaining a greater rity of thought.
Shock was written all over Traveling Buddha¡¯s face. Was this a Divine Mountain?
At the peak, a beautiful waterfall thundered down, with fragrant flowers and nts around. It gave off a hallowed and extraordinary atmosphere.
There seemed to be a shimmering barrier surrounding that magnificent and strange mountain. A white light radiated all around the body of the mountain, giving off a soft glow.
!!
There were groups of beasts gathered down by the foot of the mountain. Among them, a small portion were able to pass straight through the barrier, and looked like creatures that were neither beasts nor men. There were lions, tigers, and even a sika deer.
In any case, the sight was quite fantastic, making them wonder if they had been transported into a scene in a movie. The wild beasts on the mountain had gained a humanoid form over the course of one night, even learning speech! At the same time, theirbat strength was great, and some even had special abilities!
Xia Fan counted all he could see, and noted that there were dozens in this bunch of sapient beasts. Though Traveling Buddha and he were not particrly threatened by them, the risk of going against so many sapient beasts of unknown strength still existed.
Traveling Buddha rolled up his sleeves and said, ¡°Nice, a group of beasts that makes them appear like peerless powerhouses; not only did they learn to walk upright, they evenmand arge group of underlings! Let¡¯s go and kill them all!¡±
Xia Fan hurriedly stopped Traveling Buddha. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush. Let¡¯s observe them a bit first.¡±
Drawing back some, Xia Fan activated his Law of Gold. Golden lights covered his eyes, giving him an amazing power to see much further and in greater detail.
He could see a mysterious energy swirling around the mountain, like blood vessels in a human body. Ultimately, they all gathered at the peak, where stood a single pomegranate tree. With the aid of the Law of Gold¡¯s amazing power, Xia Fan could clearly observe everything.
That was when Pearl suddenly said, ¡®I have a way to break the barrier.¡¯
Xia Fan was surprised. ¡®How?¡¯
Pearl answered, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Use my frost power and freeze the barrier. Then you can shatter it with a punch, just like breaking ss.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. Pearl was a Dragon, a daughter of the Frostseal Megadragons. Her freezing technique was nothing to scoff at; the so-called Frost special ability could not evenpare to it!
¡°There are plenty of beasts patrolling the perimeter, so you might cause a chaotic battle to break out if the barrier suddenly breaks. Find somewhere without anyone around and I¡¯ll dig a hole. We can enter from beneath!¡± Xia Fan suggested.
¡
Out of every martial art, only speed was king!
Xia Fan was not just fast in terms of his movement rate, he was also faster than anyone else when it came to anything he did. A secret underground shaft would only take him ten or so minutes for him to dig out.
Circling around the gigantic mountain to a more secluded area, Xia Fan took out his tools and very quickly dug out a shaft until he reached a blockage. It was just like striking some very stic rubber, the white barrier easily bounced his tools right off.
At that point, Xia Fan could sense that Traveling Buddha had probably already learned of Pearl¡¯s presence. As such, he allowed Pearl to transform into her little girl form and introduce herself to Traveling Buddha.
He saw Traveling Buddha¡¯s mouth hang agape, his entire person dumbfounded at the revtion. After all, a pretty and fair little girl suddenly popping out from Xia Fan¡¯s bosom, then learning that this little girl imed to be of the Dragon race¡ Well, every single aspect of this revtion had been far too sensational, and outstripped what Traveling Buddha could understand.
¡°Don¡¯t be so bothered by it so much. At the end of the day, Pearl is a friend, and can be trusted,¡± Xia Fan said to Traveling Buddha. At the same time, he reached out his hand to close Traveling Buddha¡¯s mouth for him, to prevent it from perhaps falling off in incredulity.
Traveling Buddha had always trusted Xia Fan, and while he kept his mouth shut, he still could not help but keep his eyes trained on Pearl. After all, this was a legendary dragon! Traveling Buddha felt as if his brain was being overloaded with information: he had just encountered his first sapient beast creature today, then even a dragon had appeared? Just how much of a mess would this situation be?
¡°Begin,¡± Xia Fan told Pearl.
The two of them saw Pearl nod and part her lips, blowing gently against the barrier.
A powerful and extraordinary power gradually covered this portion of the barrier, a thinyer of frost gradually forming over it. The drop in temperature in the underground shaft was frightening, but fortunately for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, they were no longer at the state where they were afraid of a little cold, so neither thought anything about it.
Xia Fan thrust out a fist and punched the barrier.
He heard a cracking sound as the frozen barrier shattered. The pieces all fell to the ground, just like broken ss.
Xia Fan took the opportunity to continue digging ahead, lengthening the shaft by several more meters. The three of them sessfully forged ahead in the dirt, while behind them the frozen barrier shards melted and it returned to normal in just a handful of seconds, glowing with that white light as if nothing had happened.
After passing by the barrier, Xia Fan dug upward, and soon broke out from underground.
This mountain was majestic to the point of being breathtaking. They were now somewhere at the waist of the mountain, where there were cliffs and waterfalls were flowing off of them, as well as ayer of mist that hung all about the ce. The energy they felt in the area beyond the barrier felt stronger than before, to the point their hearts could not help but beat vigorously inside them!
Xia Fan pointed at the peak of the mountain and said, ¡°The legendary mysterious crystal should be on the mountain peak, near that pomegranate tree.¡±
¡°Then what are we waiting for!¡± Traveling Buddha enthusiastically gushed. ¡°Hidden Wind said the mysterious crystal would be able to allow a human to surpass their physical limits, and there were no side effects to it. We need to acquire such a treasure immediately!¡±
Xia Fan nodded, and the three began to ascend the mountain. With a speed demon like Xia Fan around, he simply carried Pearl along, grabbing Traveling Buddha by his hand and reaching the peak of the mountain in the blink of an eye.
The mountain peak was t and covered in soft green grass. In the middle of the grassy in stood a mysterious pomegranate tree. It was not particrly tall, only reaching about two meters in height, but its branches were thick, near the size of an adult man¡¯s waistline. It was apparent that it had existed for many years.
There were over a hundred pomegranates growing on the tree, all of them vibrantly red in color, giving off a strong fragrance that made people salivate just by being exposed to it.
¡°I can sense a powerful energy pulsing in these pomegranates. They should be edible!¡± Pearl sang out. This little dragon looked fierce on the outside, like some sinister sprite. But for some reason today, she was actually revealing a cute side of hers, most likely because she did not want to leave a bad impression on Traveling Buddha.
¡°Are you for real?¡± Traveling Buddha immediately plucked one off and applied a bit of strength, breaking the fruit into two halves.
Countless pink gem-like crystals scattered, falling down to the ground immediately. They looked very alluring, and the aroma they gave off was even more captivating to the senses.
Xia Fan carefully examined the fruit. Sure enough, the pomegranate was actually a crystal, much different from what one would expect from a normal pomegranate, which would have had many pomegranate seeds inside.
¡°You try one,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
¡°Why me?¡±
¡°You¡¯re someone that even dares to inject Yggdragon blood straight into your body, so you possess an unparalleled bodily resistance. You won¡¯t die even if it¡¯s poisoned, which makes you the best candidate to try it,¡± Traveling Buddha reasoned.
Xia Fan thought about that a little and felt it made sense. His body had been conditioned to its current state thanks to the diet of Grade Nine energy crystals that the Disasters had fed him as a child. His physique was well beyond the average human, so there was nothing to fear even if he ingested lethal poison.
¡®Might as well!¡¯
Xia Fan picked up a pomegranate crystal seed and tossed it into his mouth. Before he could even chew it, the crystal actually melted in his mouth and gave off a faint sweetness. At the same time, he felt a warmth spread throughout his body that made him feel extremely cozy, granting him a clear mind and unobstructing his meridians.
¡°Indeed, these are edible!¡± Xia Fan dered excitedly.
The moment the words left his lips, both Traveling Buddha and Pearl went pouncing for the other fruits, plucking them off the branches and starting to wolf them down.
Normally someone like Traveling Buddha, with a high status in life, would be very picky with his food, at least requiring a pot of brewed tea as apaniment,slowly savoring the food. But these were mysterious crystals, rumored to be something capable of letting humans transcend beyond into Venerates. There was no reason for him to care about all that!
Pearl was also no longer a demure girl, clutching onto a pomegranate as she hungrily devoured the fruit, skin and all.
¡°What the Hell!¡±
Xia Fan was at first stunned, but soon joined in the frenzy. He was a Speedster,so there was no one that couldpete against him when it came to speed. He was instantly able to harvest each and every pomegranate from the tree. This displeased Traveling Buddha and Pearl, who both insisted that he share. Seeing that he shared a good rtionship with both of them, he readily split a portion with them, but he still made sure he got the most in the end.
Their feast promptly began, and the three crazily devoured their haul, allowing the amazing energy to surge and umte in their bodies. In the end, it was like the flooding of a river embankment, surging in volume all over their bodies the moment it hit a critical mass.
Chapter 1527 - 1527 Breaking past the Law Barrier!
1527 Breaking past the Law Barrier!
Without even realizing it, night came and thend was covered in inky darkness.
There was a slight breeze up on the mountain, making the trees and leaves sway and rustle gently in the wind. Xia Fan, Bright Pearl and Traveling Buddha were lying under the pomegranate tree, enjoying the peaceful tranquility around them. They could feel a sharp rity in their minds, as all the tiniest sounds, from the flowing stream to the fishes swimming and sshing echoed clearly in their ears.
A veryfortable sensation was flushing all over their bodies, feeling the movement of a mysterious energy, as if it was trying to teach Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to fly.
The crystal pomegranate seeds had a strange fragrance that seeped into their very bones, while at the same time shrouding them in some mysterious energy.
Their physical forms were rapidly strengthening, as a transparent substance began to form on the surface of their skins. It looked like glue as it oozed out from their pores. It was as if the impurities from their bodies¡¯ metabolism were being expelled from them.
Suddenly, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan felt a tremendous shock inside their bodies. Their bones seemed to be resonating with their internal organs, and their heartbeats hastened. Like they had been electrocuted, they felt an explosion in their chests that caused blood to gush about like water breaking an embankment, rushing endlessly as it desperately tried to surge toward their seventh brain region.
Xia Fan opened his mouth and let out a scream, but no sound came out. He felt as if there was something akin to a wall in his mind. After the energy surged toward the seventh brain region, it began to meet with a strong resistance.
Nevertheless, the mysterious energy of the crystal did not give up. It increased the speed and began its assault in strength, wave after wave. It was like a turbulent wave crashing against the shore!
*Boom*
*Boom!*
*BOOM!*
His brain was shocked so intensely that Xia Fan could not hear any sounds around him, he could only feel himself getting more and more dizzy. The situation was quite rming, a hundred times more frightening than when Blind Grandpa helped Xia Fan forcibly open his seventh brain region.
But Xia Fan was no longer who he used to be. His physical constitution hadpletely evolved, and he was able to withstand even such a violent surge of energy. Beside him, Traveling Buddha had broken out in cold sweat; it seemed like he was having a harder time.
Only Pearl was different. She was a dragon, and did not have a Law Barrier or a seventh brain region. After consuming the crystals, the only sensation Pearl felt wasfort. It was like being held in her mother¡¯s warm embrace, a drowsy feeling that made her feel like falling asleep.
¡ª
Not long after, Xia Fan suddenly opened his eyes. A scorching beam of light shot out, the universal symbol of breakthrough. His Law Barrier had been broken!
Xia Fan¡¯s entire body convulsed with a bang!
The mysterious energy had broken past the barrier in his brain. Instantly, he experienced a new rity to his vision and hearing. His eyes glowed even more radiantly, bing as powerful as a deity!
Xia Fan understood that it was a sign that he had broken through his Law Barrier. He could feel aplete upgrade to his physical constitution, bing fiercer and faster. In the blink of an eye, he felt as if he had broken free from his shackles, bing even more nimble on his feet, his senses even keener. His entire body shivered ever so slightly.
The signs on Traveling Buddha differed from what Xia Fan had experienced. His entire body had turned radiant, the rarely-seen golden glow now as incandescent as the sun. Compared to Xia Fan¡¯s growth, which was mostly internal, Traveling Buddha¡¯s growth was much more visible on the outside. Perhaps it was due to the different special abilities the two possessed.
However, both of them had broken free from the shackles of life thanks to the aid of the mysterious crystals, smashing through their respective Law Barriers and attaining an unprecedented upgrade to their power.
¡°This feeling¡¡± Traveling Buddha opened his eyes, his entire person absolutely excited. He let out a loud shout, ¡°Yours truly feels that I¡¯m able to shatter the sun in one punch right now!¡±
Xia Fan lowered his gaze, examining his hands. He felt as if there was a ferocious tiger hiding inside his body, roaring into the mountains and forest, eager to unleash his burgeoning might. The sensation of having such immense power was akin to a river that stretched for miles, constantly flowing, able to push himself to reach the limits of speed!
¡°ARGHHH!¡± Traveling Buddha let out a loud yell, a guttural bellow. He was originally a Battle Buddha Titan, and now that he was zing with extremely fierce energy, even if some god or Buddha were to stand in front of him, he would still unleash himself upon them!
Pearl blinked. Seeing Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha letting out bellows consecutively, prompted her to purse her lips in displeasure. It was as if Xia and Traveling Buddha both had their blood pumping after eating the crystals, but she did not feel a reaction anywhere near as intensely as they did. They had all clearly eaten the same mysterious crystals, yet the effects differed greatly. Pearl felt that it was unfair, almost as if her improvements were notparable to what the two humans had experienced.
¡°So this is what it feels like to be rid of the Law Barrier!¡± Xia Fan got up and stood proudly on top of the mountain. He looked into the distance, almost feeling as if he could simply trample over the world.
Traveling Buddha also got up to his feet, his eyes fierce. He had a very strong desire to find someone to fight, but realized there were no opponents anywhere nearby. The barrier around the sealed mountain still remained, and none of the sapient beasts at the foot of the mountain had the chance to climb up yet.
Xia Fan¡¯s eyes shone. He had aplete epiphany toward Law Power. Law was like shackles that imprisoned a human¡¯s potential. Opening their seventh brain region would only bring about an initial awakening of divine power, but only by breaking past theyers afteryers of Law Barrier would they finally obtain the strength that surpassed mortality, approaching the divine!
It did not matter what rule orw existed under the sky. Their existence was only meant to be broken!
Only by ruthlessly smashing every rule could humans stand proudly at the apex of the universe, bing existences that could not be restrained by any force!
¡®I wonder how many of these Law Barriers my rtives have broken,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself.
A strong desire welled up in his heart. The Skywings were out fighting in the Great Chiliocosm, and he was still trapped in the Ashen Moon universe. Just thinking about the great distance he was from his own father made him feel extremely ashamed. He had to quickly catch up to those rtives of his that had long since flown off into the stars!
¡°Haha! I reckon that old man in the mountain wouldn¡¯t be any match for me now, would he?¡± Traveling Buddha rubbed his fists together. He was still looking for someone to fight, eager to find out just how much he had improved. As for the old man in the mountain, he was probably referring to the most senior member of the Holy Buddha n. Traveling Buddha had once referred to him as the Old Monster.
Xia Fn and Traveling Buddha had both just experienced and were recalling the miraculous sensation they felt when they broke past their Law Barrier. Without even realizing it, the sky gradually lightened, and the sun began rising in the east.
As the first light of dawn hit thend, the barrier around the mountain shattered, disappearing into thin air, and at the same time, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both heard roars of indignationing from the foot of the mountain.
¡
A group of sapient beasts had already gone mad from anger at the foot of the mountain. They had been tormented the entire night as they watched people appear at the mountain¡¯s peak, stealing the precious crystals, and even letting out guttural cries.
There was someone who called himself the Little Old Buddha with a slightly hoarse voice shouting wildly up on the mountain, demanding to fight anyone, stating he would kill anyone who dared climb up the mountain.
For the entire night, these sapient beasts were all incensed, their eyes all bloodshot in their rage, wishing they could just y the skin of the arrogant human who was up on the hill.
All of them were so enraged that they were at the point their blood vessels were bursting. They had spent grueling days waiting, all in hopes of obtaining the mysterious crystals found up on the mountain peak,pleting their evolution, and bing powerful sapient beasts.
But now, some humans had barged in before any of them could, and could very well have plucked the crystals. This was bad!
As the sun rose in the east, the barrier suddenly shattered, so the group of beasts went bounding for the peak in a mad dash.
¡°Kill the ursed humans!¡±
¡°Skin them alive! Pull out their spines! Throw them into a pot and stew them until they be puree!¡±
¡°The crystals were ours! They can¡¯t have even a single one!¡±
The beasts had changed a great deal after they gained sapiency. They had be an entirely new existence that was in between human and beast, and their intelligence was even slightly higher than most humans. They could understand speech and writing, and even pilot warships!
The group of sapient beasts went sprinting up the mountain as soon as they could, leading at the forefront of the charge. Behind them were the beasts who had yet to achieve sapiency, beasts who were less evolved than those in front of them. They were as good as troops that followed those in the front. Meanwhile, the sapient beasts who were capable of speech had all charged up the hill, fierce and angry.
¡°Quick look! Those beasts are making a beeline over!¡±
¡°They are going straight for the mountain peak!¡±
¡°There are humans on the mountain! I wonder which n those warriors belong to?¡±
¡°That¡¯s not right. Why is that person so familiar? It¡¯s like I¡¯ve seen him somewhere before.¡±
At this moment, there was a stealthed scout ship up in space quickly flying by. They were the warriors in charge of monitoring 4, and though the Four Great ns of God Metropolis had an agreement with the sapient beasts, one where they would put up a resistance against a¡¯s fission, the Four Great ns still had reservations toward the sapient beasts, and would often send scout ships to spy on them.
¡°Look, why are those two men on the mountain not running away?¡±
¡°Fools! Those sapient beasts are extremely powerful, aren¡¯t they just courting death if they don¡¯t run away?¡±
¡°Something¡¯s not right. Why have they rolled up their sleeves?¡±
The warriors onboard the scout ship were observing the situation. Much to their shock, they watched as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha remained where they were when facing off against the assault from the sapient beasts. Instead, the two men had even rolled up their sleeves, looking as if they were getting ready to massacre them!
This was truly too peculiar. They were well aware of just how powerful the sapient beasts were, capable of destroying thend and sea. Just why were those two youngds so bold?
A warrior suddenly recalled where he had seen the face of Xia Fan, and gasped out loud, ¡°I remember now! That should be that Speedster rascal! Young and always smiling, whose speed wasparable to that of a Heavenly Venerate!¡±
Everyone was startled, absolutely floored by the revtion. All of them could recall that this was the same person who had once fought against Hidden Wind, the same speedster who had even managed to force the fight into a stalemate! Everyone from the Four Great ns was looking for him!
Chapter 1528 - 1528 Okay, I’ll Satisfy you lot!
1528 Okay, I¡¯ll Satisfy you lot!
Onboard the spying warship, the warriors hailing from the Four Great ns were all dumbfounded. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were watching as twenty sapient beasts came charging right for them, yet neither of them showed any signs of fright. Not only did they have no ns to flee, they had even rolled up their sleeves and adopted fighting stances, ready to receive them with gusto!
*Whoosh*
The first to reach the mountain peak was a bird-man. He had the body of a human, but a pair of gray wings on his back. Before he attained sapiency, he was probably an exotic beast of the bat species.
This humanoid bat¡¯s eyes were partly squinted, and his wings were fully opened, spanning well over twenty meters. A gloomy aura swirled around him as he fixed an absolutely furious gaze on Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, his eyespletely bloodshot. He had been outraged when he saw the two humans take the mysterious crystals.
Just as the humanoid bat was getting close, he abruptly flexed, doing a dive in mid-air as he opened his mouth wide, making ready to spit out some peculiar ability that could harm Xia Fan.
*Boom!*
Before this humanoid bat could even be any trouble, Traveling Buddha promptly raised his left arm and with a punch, shot out a beam of golden light. The brilliance of the golden light was ring, and held a ferocious murderous aura. It went straight for the bat¡¯s jugr, piercing right through his neck and beyond.
The humanoid bat¡¯s body fell from mid-air, letting out an anguished screech at the same time. Traveling Buddha was no longer a Battle Buddha, but a true Killer Buddha! His golden light no longer just protected his body, but it could also be shot out at range. Rushing out so recklessly and direct as what the bat had done only turned him into a living target for Traveling Buddha!
¡°That golden light is very powerful!¡±
¡°Is that a Battle Buddha?¡±
¡°Battle Buddha protects the Buddha, but that golden light has reached the stage where it could even be shot out! He¡¯s more like a Killer Buddha, as in, someone capable of ying gods and Buddhas!¡±
The crew of that scout ship all gasped, awestruck. They had suddenly realized that the big fatty with Xia Fan was also another formidable figure, and was actually someone who belonged to the distinguished Holy Buddha n!
Xia Fan¡¯s speed was heaven-defying, able to pit himself against Hidden Wind and like, but hisrade was from the Holy Buddha n, and possessed such a high cultivation that he was now capable of ying gods and Buddhas. Thebat duo they had formed was definitely extraordinary and overwhelming!
¡ª
¡°These creatures are no match for you, and seeing as I¡¯m a little tired, I won¡¯t bother intervening,¡± Pearl muttered, going back to sleep back in Xia Fan¡¯s bosom after transforming back. To this dragon descendant who had been sealed off for forty thousand years, rest was very important. Unless they were facing an extremely dangerous situation, she was not willing to lend a hand.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha thought nothing of it. Given that they had broken their Law Barriers, these two now grasped Law Power and were nothing like what they used to be. They just so happened to be eager, wanting to test and see what theirbat strength was at after this promotion. The appearance of the group of sapient beasts was just perfect!
Xia Fan nodded and said to Traveling Buddha, ¡°I feel like your golden light is a lot fiercer than before. Seems like it has increased its prative power after you were promoted.¡±
Traveling Buddha gave that some thought. ¡°After I broke the Law Barrier, the most critical improvement I observed was my control and understanding of the light. When using it, I feel all the more handy with it, with an increase in its technical use. What about you?¡±
Xia Fan knit his brow and shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s much simpler for me. I just feel like my entire body is filled with energy, so my speed ought to be even faster than before, I think.¡±
Traveling Buddha rolled his eyes and didn¡¯t even care toin. How simple could speed be? It was nothing less than the most difficult ability known to man! Speedsters that broke the Star Domain rank could be called Heavenly Venerates. If Xia Fan¡¯s speed were to improve beyond that, would that not make him a Super Heavenly Venerate?
It could not be helped. One would only get angrier when theypared themselves to others; they were both special abilities, but what couldpare to Speed? The term ¡®heaven-defying to the point of unreasonableness¡¯ was best to describe the Speed special ability.
¡°Damned humans! Let¡¯s see where you¡¯re going to run to!¡± rose a bellow from the foot of the mountain.
Xia Fan lowered his eyes to look, and saw it was another humanoid monkey. Or to be precise, it was a ck gori well over seven meters tall. He was covered in muscles, as if he was made of steel. He reached a hand out and grabbed a nearby tree vine, and then swung his body strongly. The added momentum allowed him to leap tens of meters into the air.
*Kaboom!*
When the huge gorinded on a rock, the force of his huge feet enough to shatter it directly. It was apparent he was a beast who reveled in his great strength.
Once hended in front of Xia Fan, this huge gori did not even hesitate and swung a palm at Xia Fan as he demanded loudly with a fierce gaze, ¡°Hand over the crystals to me!¡±
Xia Fan did not even dodge the attack; he simply used his speed to receive the enemy ordingly, a speed of over five thousand meters per second! It was just a single punch, and while it was just a simple move, it contained a crazy amount of power, enough to destroy the dead!
*Bang!*
Everyone watched as the huge gori was instantly sent flying. A hole was sted in his muscr chest, and before he could even let out an anguished cry from the pain, Xia Fan had already delivered him an uppercut that sent him up in the air. Fresh blood spilled everywhere, like a kite with a broken string. The ape flew in a parabolic arc across the sky, and then fell into an abyss.
¡ª
Up on the warship, the warriors from the Four Great ns were all bbergasted by what they had just witnessed. When they had watched the video, Xia Fan¡¯s top speed was almost four thousand meters a second, and that was jaw-dropping enough.But now, Xia Fan¡¯s speed had increased once more, this time surpassing the five thousand meter/second mark! This was simply beyond exaggeration!
Anyone could understand the difference between a top speed of four thousand meters a second and casually striking at five thousand meters per second; it was practically heaven and hell. Speed was already said to be the most difficult to cultivate, so how did this kid¡¯s speed improve so drastically in just a handful of days?
If Xia Fan could reach a speed of five thousand meters per second with just a casual eleration, it would not be a question of if the battle between him and Hidden Wind would end in a stalemate, but whether Hidden Wind could even survive! After all, this increase in speed meant an exponential increase in hisbat effectiveness!
All the martial arts in the world, only speed remains king! This logic had remained true since ancient times!
Xia Fan raised his arm and shouted, ¡°Awesome! This is the feeling!¡±
Such a heaven-defying speed, a sensation that was close to that of the speed of light, excited him immensely. It was akin to driving amon car, and then suddenly changing to driving a Ferrari. The hearty feeling he felt was something one had to experience themselves to understand.
At the base of the mountain, those sapient beasts who were about to charge up to the peak were also dumbfounded, many rooted to where they stood.
What sort of situation was this? The gori and the bat were the fastest, yet the moment they reached the peak, they were instantly killed by those humans. It seemed like the two were extremely powerful!
After all, they had not just witnessed how the gori and bat were killed, but how they were insta-killed! All it took was a touch from Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha each, and they were immediately in! Was that not far too frightening?
The reason these sapient beasts became sapient was because they were all slightly intelligent, and with how the beasts naturally had keen senses and instincts, allowing them to sense danger, their intelligence prompted them that they must immediately flee.
For the moment, there were about twenty of these sapient beasts who had been stuck not too far from the mountain peak. If they continued on their way, they might very well end up killed, but if they were to turn around and flee, they would be losing face. They were in a very awkward position, unable to make up their minds.
It was around this time when Xia Fan saw that some of these sapients beasts had given up after charging up halfway, and he got somewhat anxious. So he stood up on a boulder and took the initiative to yell down the mountain, ¡°You all better hurry up here! Yours truly is already impatient from the waiting!¡±
*Zing*
These sapient beasts were all riled up by the provocation. To think a mere human would dare show such disrespect to all of them! It was simply outrageous in their eyes!
¡°ursed human! Don¡¯t put up some false bravado!¡±
¡°When we get up there, we¡¯ll surely skin you alive and break every single bone in your body!¡±
¡°Well said! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve had human flesh broth! Today, I¡¯ll be sure to cook you into soup and nourish myself!¡±
After the beasts evolved, it seemed even their personalities became more human-like, learning how to bluff, ridicule, and all other sorts of measly tricks.
This group of beasts did their best to ridicule and belittle Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, saying all kinds of awful words and curses, but none of them dared take another step closer. They let an old bear take the lead, and he said he was no fool, stating that it should be the wolf king that took the lead. The wolf king blinked, saying he was not some greenhorn, so why would he be at the head of the charge? He figured everyone should just go together, so no one could y any tricks.
In the end, this group of beasts at the waist of the mountain actually broke apart!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were dumbfounded. The sapient beasts were truly amazing, not only able to walk upright and speak a humannguage, but they had also learned the ws of human nature. The two would not have believed this had they not witnessed this with their own eyes.
¡°Would all the beast races in Ashen Moon be as morally dishonest as them?¡± Xia Fan asked Traveling Buddha while stroking his chin.
¡°Who knows. Had they not had a beast¡¯s skin on them, this Little Buddha would not have differentiated them from an average human being!¡± Traveling Buddha shrugged.
Xia Fan was stunned, muttering under his breath, ¡°Looks like there¡¯s going to be some major changesing to this universe.¡±
It was at this time when some unknown sapient beast yelled, ¡°Why must we go up there?! If these humans have the guts, they should be the onesing down!¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan exchanged nces the moment they heard those words said, and let out coldughs at the same time.
¡°Hehe, that¡¯s what you said!¡± Xia Fan leered at the beasts with a cold gaze as he stood on that rock, exuding a monstrous killing intent.
The sapient beasts were shocked and rendered speechless. As if they were being studied by two Gods of Death who were staring at them from a vantage point, they watched as the killing intent thickened from Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s bodies. Deep down, the beasts all cried out in misery, resenting that one who had taunted the two toe down!
¡°Since that¡¯s what they desire, we should grant them their wish.¡±
¡°What else can we do, of course we need to satisfy them!¡± Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had very good tacit understanding between them, speaking one after the other.
In the next second, there was a burst of light, and Xia Fan was instantly streaking off at a speed over five thousand meters per second. Like a sh of lightning, he went bolting down from the mountain peak, and right behind him was Traveling Buddha. His body was giving off a terrifying golden light, and every step he took broke the rocks under his feet, shaking the entire mountain with every step.
Xia Fan zoomed down with Traveling Buddha, gunning for the kill. They were clearly just two human beings, yet their impact was more like two huge tanks plunging down the mountain!
One was as quick as if he had a pair of wings on his back, moving like a bolt of lightning, while the other was a man with a sturdy body, charging recklessly down, both looking like they would arrive in the blink of an eye!
Xia Fan punched out with a hardened fist while the light from Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light surged forth, and a shocking battle took ce!
¡°Kill these humans!¡±
When the sapient beasts realized they had no way of retreating, all they could do was to muster what courage they had and disy their own strengths.
Though they were all currently in their humanoid forms, they nevertheless still possessed the ability to turn back into their beast forms. The moment they turned back into beasts, their sizes expanded to several dozen meters, reaching up to a hundred meters in height. All of them turned into gigantic beasts possessing terrifying strength.
¡°Oh my gods, a fight has broken out!¡±
¡°But they are just two men! To think they would end up shing against over twenty sapient beasts!¡±
¡°This is just too insane!¡±
Those scouts aboard the warship all widened their eyes, an incredulous look on their faces as they gasped together.
Chapter 1529 - 1529 Flattening Planet 4 and Shocking God Metropolis!
1529 ttening 4 and Shocking God Metropolis!
The reason why the sapient beasts regarded every other living thing with disdain, was not just because of their physical strength but also their increase in intelligence. They were not just some brainless exotic beasts anymore, but true beast kings, existences that stood atop the beast kingdom¡¯s food chain!
Over twenty of these sapient beasts immediately transformed into their massive beasts forms when they saw Traveling Buddha and Xia Fane charging down from the mountain peak with a vengeance, even very tacitly getting into formation, ready to explode at any time and assault the two humans.
Each and every gigantic figure appeared from out of nowhere at the waist of the mountain, their sharp fangs and ws exuding a terrifying light.
There was a big bear that stood well over a hundred meters tall, with long shaggy fur that flowed in the wind. His eyes exuded a killing intent that made him look like a troll.
Simrly, there was a golden leopard that was also over a hundred meters tall. Even his eyes were golden, and his entire body was pressed to the ground, the muscles across his body taut, ready to pounce and kill at any moment.
¡°They are just two humans, what¡¯s so scary about them!?¡±
¡°Charge! Kill them!¡±
¡°Skin the humans!¡±
The sapient beasts all hollered, making for a very strange scene. This was a pack of beasts that were speaking a humannguage, and there were even some that did not transform to their beast forms, remaining in their humanoid form, holding weapons in their hands.
The first came charging in was that big red-furred bear. His entire body was muscled, and he was immensely strong. His ws were like scimitars, the sunlight glimmering as it shone off them.
Facing Xia Fan, who was closing in quickly, the red bear swept its front paws out, mming them down hard. His sharp ws made the wind whistle as they cut through the air, ending with a terrifying explosion.
*Boom*
The strength of the bear was truly extraordinary. Though he did not manage to hit Xia Fan, he was able to turn several hundred tons of boulders to dust, instantly making thend tremble like an earthquake. The entire mountain swayed, sending countless loose rocks and gravel flying.
¡°Careful! He¡¯s behind you!¡± a beast king yelled.
That was when the giant bear realized how wide the gap between him and Xia Fan was, and how frightening Speedsters were. One would assume they had struck them, but in the end, all they struck was empty air. In actuality, the Speedsters had already unknowingly circled to their backs!
The bear could feel his heart race, and a cold chill ran up his spine.
Xia Fan let out a bellow and tensed his legs. He leapt up a hundred meters into the sky. His left arm swelled with power, and a knife suddenly appeared in his hand like magic. Its keen edge instantly tore through the air, and like a dazzling aurora, it sliced across the bear¡¯s neck in an instant.
*St*
The bear¡¯srge head dropped down his shoulders as fresh blood shot forth at such velocity that it created a mist of blood.
The one cut was so clean, quick, and ruthless that it made all the watching beasts gasp. The giant bear was one of the most outstanding in terms of strength among them; to think he could not evenst a round against Xia Fan! In less than a second, the head of the bear had dropped to the ground.
What an incredible show of prowess!
At that moment, Traveling Buddha had also arrived in front of Xia Fan, and the amazing duo began the fight in their most familiar style.
*Bang*
Traveling Buddha¡¯s entire body was covered in a ring gold light, an indestructibleyer of gold. It was tougher than any armor, like he was a golden tank, moving ever onward. No matter what technique his enemies used, Traveling Buddha would just kill them with the power of the Killer Buddha, crushing them alive.
Meanwhile, Xia Fan turned into a god of death, moving at his top speed, circling around Traveling Buddha. He searched for any chance to strike fatal blows, or to circle around to their nks and deal a stab to the backs of any beasts Traveling Buddha confronted.
Blood quickly dyed the mountain peak red. The scariest thing about thebination of Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan was how seamlessly they worked together, which was practically impable.
In terms of toughness, was there anything tougher than the Holy Buddha n?
In terms of speed and nimbleness, who could be faster or more nimble than the Fiendish de Skywings?
In terms of their auras, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were basically twobat madmen!
¡°This Little Buddha shall kill you all!¡± Traveling Buddha roared fiercely, as if he was truly a Buddha that had descended upon the mortal realm.
Any and every attack that struck Traveling Buddha was ineffective. Thed was like a diamond, virtually indestructible! No matter what attacks came his way, Traveling Buddha would always fight back harder!
Xia Fan looked calm and collected, pacing around Traveling Buddha. With Traveling Buddha acting as his meat shield, drawing away all the aggro and firepower, Xia Fan¡¯s work was simply too easy. All he needed to do was find the perfect opportunity and charge in at a speed of over four thousand meters a second, ending the lives of his targets in one lunge.
*Squelch*
*Squelch*
In a blink of an eye, a fierce assault rained down from Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan. They were like flowing mercury, possessing both hardness and softness. Thisbination of strength and flexibility was unprecedented, and the group of beast kings had no way of fighting back.
Now that Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were both utilizing Law Power, theirbat strength had elevated greatly. They were definitely not a force that these average sapient beasts could resist!
As the final king beast copsed in their own blood, the entire was absolutely silent. Xia Fan used his knife to cleave open a beast king¡¯s head and pulled out the still bloody beast crystal there.
¡°They really do have beast crystals!¡± Xia Fan said to Traveling Buddha, smiling brightly.
Traveling Buddha was ted. The two promptly continued to cut open the skulls of the beast kings, searching for their energy crystals. These crystals were not for their use, but were being used to enhance the two daggers that Xia Fan had forged, helping them gather more frightening power within.
¡ª
¡°They slew them all?!¡±
¡°What the heck, just what is the background of those two men? Aren¡¯t they being too savage and ruthless?¡±
The warriors onboard the stealthed frigate hailing from the Four Great ns were all staring, bbergasted, stiff expressions on their faces.
They had thought they would get to witness a bloody battle, but what they saw was a massacre. Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan struck without mercy, and mowed down over twenty king beasts in the span of a minute or two. After they were done killing them, the two acted as if nothing unusual had happened and began splitting the heads of the beasts open, looking for crystals¡
The recording of the fight was very quickly sent back to headquarters, and it promptly sent shockwaves all around!
The entirety of God Metropolis was sent into an upheaval!
4 was originally designated as the territory of these king beasts, and even the Four Great ns did not dare set foot on it.
But now?
The mysterious crystals growing on 4 had been stolen by Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, while those beast kings had been heartlessly ughtered by the two madmen. Corpses were strewn everywhere, and the blood from the scene flowed as freely as a river. It was a gruesome sight that many would tremble upon seeing, frightened out of their minds.
Thebination duo of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha was no different from two gods descending upon the world!
Traveling Buddha was indestructible, rampaging recklessly, capable of fending off any attack that he encountered!
Xia Fan had an average speed above four thousand meters per second, but could break past eight thousand at his top speed, very much near the major threshold of ten thousand meters per second!
Just what did that mean?
Speedsters were considered Heavenly Venerates upon reaching Star Domain rank, and a speed of nine thousand meters meant he had almost reached Star River rank!
If Xia Fan were to imbue himself with the Immortality WIne, then he could disy the terrifying Star River rank. A speed at that rank and beyond was practically godlike!
4¡¯s defenders were eradicated by the hands of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. The news was like a p of thunder that prated through nine heavens, shocking God Metropolis thoroughly!
Through video analysis, people could very easily determine that Traveling Buddha had already reached Legendary rank, while Xia Fan was close to Star River rank.
In truth, their rank was not the most crucial factor here. What really mattered was their special abilities. Were Speed and Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light considered ordinary special abilities?
No! Definitely not!
The two young men possessed special abilities that were one in a million, demonstrating the apex of violence! It was simply far too frightening!
¡ª
¡°Have you heard? There¡¯s a Speedster whose rank is close to Star River rank!¡±
¡°Seriously? So fierce? A Speedster that attains Star River Rank would be no different from a deity descending!¡±
¡°Then there¡¯s also a descendant of the Holy Buddha n who has reached Legendary rank!¡±
¡°That¡¯s simply unbelievable. How did these two powerful warriors appear out of nowhere overnight?!¡±
¡°Yes, and it seems those two are partners.¡±
¡°Partners? Please don¡¯t scare me like that. A Legendary Holy Buddha with a Speedster partnering up together? That¡¯s some crazy tempo!¡±
¡°They ARE already crazy! Those two practically ttened 4!¡±
All of a sudden, the rumors spread rampantly. The entire God Metropolis was spreading the crazy deeds of Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan all over, and even three-year-old children were made aware of this apex duo, the Legendary rank Holy Buddha and the Star River Speedster, who had ttened 4 overnight!
¡ª
With the identity of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha exposed, everyone soon came to understand that these two ferocious figures were the underlings of the local tyrant¡¯s silly son.
¡°M*th*rf*ck*r! Just how did these two powerful people end up with Dragon Dou?¡±
The various leaders from the Great ns were all sighing, stunned. Never did the expect that the two brutes that could fight Hidden Wind to a stalemate and tten 4 would actually be underlings of Dragon Du?
Upon hearing this news, everyone was dumbfounded. Even the people from the Dragon n were uncertain just who Dragon Dou was. It could not be helped, as the foolish son of the local tyrant was simply too much of a loser that no one usually bothered to pay any attention to, and they hadpletely forgotten about his existence in the process.
Despite that, this wastrel of theirs had actuallye into possession of two of the most popr and powerful war gods right now! So many people were envious of him. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯sbat strength was definitely at the point where they could stand shoulder to shoulder with the elders of the Four Great ns! They were right on the cusp of catching up to those old monsters that never revealed their faces to the public!
Plus, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯sbat strength had more than doubled in a very short time. That meant they possessed great potential! Countless people of the upper echelon hated themselves for not discovering the two monsters in advance. Had they been notified of their existences earlier, they would have been willing to poach them even at an astronomical price.
But it was already toote to do anything like that now. Dragon Dou¡¯s residence was already full of people, and even the elders of the Dragon n personally came forth for a visit.
Given the turn of events, the foolish child of the local tyrant was beside himself with happiness. His bloodline had been considered useless for many generations; Dragon Dou¡¯s father, and his father¡¯s father were all the most useless individuals in the n. Now that he was suddenly receiving so much attention from the n, he was momentarily the hottest individual across all Four Great ns!
Xia Fan never imagined that Traveling Buddha and him would be famous, and that even extended into the circle of the sapient beasts. Without even realizing what had happened, the two had ttened the Heavenly King Mountain, while the video of Xia Fan challenging Hidden Wind had also been obtained by the sapient beasts.
There was a saying that went: the fox would be sad when rabbits were killed. After the beast kings ofs 4 were eradicated, the inhabitants ofs 1, 2 and 3 reacted ordingly!
¡°These two humans are dangerous. We need to hide as far away from them as possible,¡± many of the beast kings instructed their underlings.
Right now, the sapient beasts were on the rise. They had only obtained their humanoid forms not too long ago, and while they were able toe to fight to a draw against the Four Great ns, it was not a stable equilibrium. Many beast kings were worried that with the appearance of Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan, the Four Great ns would have their confidence bolstered and renew their war against the beasts.
¡°Hmph! If those two daree to us at 2, then I¡¯ll personally send them to their graves!¡±
There were also beast kings who were threatened by Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, and gave a kill order toward them.
In any case, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha secretly running off to 4 had ended up with the massacre of the sapient beasts there and started an uproar in God Metropolis. People uninvolved said all kinds of things about their feat, with people ming the two for breaking the peace between the beasts and humans, while there were those who cheered them on. However, the leaders of both sides had not said a word about the deed yet, and were silently watching the situation unfold.
There was no way for the two of them to remain in Dragon Dou¡¯s home any longer. They were annoyed at having to deal with the invitations to parties all day and being bothered by mundane affairs. Neither of them had expected their actions to cause such a huge disturbance.
It just so happened at that time that Hidden Wind sent an invite over, calling Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha over to his training grounds to spar a little, and so study their Law Powers.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha considered the offer. It was not a bad idea for them to hide over at Hidden Wind¡¯s ce for a bit, so they packed up their bags and moved there.
Chapter 1530 - 1530 Killing their Way up Flame Mountain!
1530 Killing their Way up me Mountain!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha moved to Hidden Wind¡¯s training grounds. They were immediately delighted upon seeing the verdant greenery all around them, a gentle breeze wafting through it without any other people around, just silence. It was so much better than the situation they had to deal with while living with Dragon Dou.
The people of God Metropolis knew that Hidden Wind was not someone they could provoke, so none of them dared to take a step into the territory that he had imed as his own.
There was a simple wooden hut in the valley, where Hidden Wind and Hidden Water were waiting for them. Upon seeing Traveling Buddha, Hidden Water¡¯s cheeks immediately flushed as she very shyly said, ¡°Sit down quick. I¡¯ll go brew some tea.¡±
Traveling Buddha was still clueless, swaggering over to a seat and sitting down like he owned the ce.
Hidden Water kept sneaking nces at her sweetheart as she brewed tea. Ever since Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan had returned from ttening Four, Hidden Water¡¯s feelings toward Traveling Buddha had only flourished. In her eyes, Traveling Buddha was a man who could hold up the heavens, an indomitable hero!
¡°Watch this for yourself,¡± Hidden Wind said to them as he turned on a screen and yed a video.
They watched as a humanoid gibbon stood proudly on top of a mountain shrouded by clouds. Its red hair looked as intense as hellfire, giving off a frightening glow about it.
Facing the camera, this gibbon opened his mouth to speak, a ferocious mug on its face as it hissed through gritted teeth, ¡°Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha! Listen up well! I will give you three days¡¯ time toe to Three and ept your punishments! If not, I will personally descend upon God Metropolis to retrieve your heads!¡±
It was a short video, but the red-haired gibbon had shouted out a fatal threat to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. If they did notply, not only would Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha be killed, it would even start a massacre in God Metropolis, ughtering humans equal to at least ten times the amount of dead on Four!.
After they were done watching the video, Xia Fan asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s this monkey¡¯s background?¡±
Hidden Wind replied, ¡°He isn¡¯t your average monkey, but someone that has broken past his Law Barrier. The humanoid ape you killed on Four was one of his sons!¡±
Through Hidden Wind¡¯s description, Xia Fan finally understood that the sapient beasts were also capable of breaking through their Law Barriers. The red-furred monkey was a beast expert that had a Fire-type special ability, and was at about the same rank as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had massacred Four, killing the son of the Fire Gibbon in the process! He was currently incensed, wanting Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha toe to Three and die on their knees. If not, he would make the trip out to God Metropolis to find them, and also ughter a host of humans at the same time!
¡°This news is currently being intercepted by the Four Great ns, and isn¡¯t known to the public. Otherwise, it would surely cause an uproar, and the people of God Metropolis would be panicking over their wellbeing,¡± Hidden Wind said.
Hidden Wind furrowed his brow, waiting for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s response. The Hidden n¡¯s patriarch had ordered Hidden Wind to ry this information to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. It was his assumption that when the two young men heard the news, they would panic and seek aid on how to resolve the situation.
That way, the Hidden n could use the opportunity to intervene, helping Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha deal with their problem and help recruit them to their side.
Presently speaking, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were bound to the Dragon n as Dragon Dou¡¯s bodyguards. If the Hidden n showered Xia Fan and TB with status and wealth, the two young men would surely be beside themselves with joy.
However, Hidden Wind suddenly saw a strange glint rise in the eyes of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha was the first to frown, Three, you say? Are there a lot of beasts there?¡±
Hidden Wind nodded, ¡°Much higher in number than Four, and they are much higher in rank, too.¡±
*p!* Traveling Buddha pped his thigh and said, ¡°So I see. Since everyone is looking for us, it¡¯ll be downright awkward if we don¡¯t turn up!¡±
Xia Fan nodded in agreement, ¡°That¡¯s what I think, as well. Since this Fire Gibbon has strongly demanded our presence, we ought to agree to go to him!¡±
¡°When should we go?¡±
¡°Why not right now? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re doing anything here anywhere.¡±
¡°Yeah sure. I happen to have Dragon Dou¡¯s token with me, so we can go and rent a ship.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha chatted as they stood up, and Hidden Wind gasped in shock, ¡°What are you two doing?¡±
Traveling Buddha shrugged and said maliciously, ¡°What else are we going to do? Of course we¡¯re going to apologize. We are civilized folks, after all.¡±
Hidden Wind nearly wanted to vomit. These two thugs were actually not embarrassed to call themselves civilized?
Hidden Wind never would have guessed that Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha would actually respond like this, to be so bold as to head off to Three and directly kill off the Fire Gibbon who had tried to threaten them!
¡°We¡¯ll kill them!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, kill them all!¡± Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan said one after another, killing intent evident in their eyes.
That was when Hidden Water returned with her brewed tea. Stepping into the wooden hut with the tea set, she saw the killing intent surging in Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, who looked to be about to leave, and was instantly left dumbfounded, her expression very troubled.
¡°You two had just arrived, yet you¡¯re leaving already? I had prepared plenty of nice things for you out of the kindness of my heart¡¡± Hidden Water was hesitant, sounding somewhat aggrieved, unwilling to let them leave.
Xia Fan understood her heart well, so he smiled and said to Hidden Water, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this won¡¯t disrupt our dinner. We¡¯ll be back soon!¡±
¡
¡
The Beast King Fire Gibbon lived on a peak called me Mountain. At present, there was the sound of peoplementing rising there.
¡°They were too cruel. They killed them all in a blink of an eye!¡±
¡°By the time we got there, it was full of dead bodies, and those two ursed humans had even cleaved their heads open to retrieve their crystals!¡±
¡°They were really too much! If we don¡¯t take them out, it¡¯ll be the shame of us sapient beasts!¡±
A group of these sapient beasts were wailing right now about the inhabitants of Four. There were not that many of them, and Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had not actually purged all of the sapient beasts there, but merely a portion. Those who still survived had all hurried over to the scene and discovered the flowing rivers of blood. Feeling like they had been bullied, they had hurried to Three toin.
The sapient beasts knew that the son of the Fire Gibbon had been killed by the hands of two humans, and he was sure to be very angry. Thus, they had specifically picked some very ugly words, all in the hope that they could infuriate the Fire Gibbon further,pelling him to appear and avenge the sapient beasts of Four.
The beasts from Three happened to be much higher rank than those from Four. There were plenty of apes on me Mountain, many of them no longer having their thick fur and looking more human-like. Furthermore, they had learned to use various technologies, building their own long-distancemunicationwork, and they had warships as transports. If they had nothing to do, they would even y virtual reality games.
The apes on me Mountain all gnashed their teeth, expressing their seething hatred for Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan¡¯s actions. Although all the apes were of different species, they were all still considered to be a single beast race. They had deep bonds with each other, so they could empathize after hearing about how the humans had bullied the beasts from Four.
¡°None of you panic. Lord ze has already sent his threat to the humans. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha are going toe to me Mountain to meet their doom, or we will attack God Metropolis!¡± an ape dered.
ze was the name of the Fire Gibbon. The beasts that came toin were all ted. They felt that with Lord ze at the helm, they were sure to be avenged! They were already eagerly waiting with bated breath, hoping to see the day when Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha would kneel down on the ground, and be left in a tragic state after the Fire Gibbon beat them up.
All of a sudden, the entire mountain rumbled and shook. A loud explosion was heard in the distance, and at the same time a chorus of mournful cries arose. They could be heard clearly within a hundred miles, and were simply too tragic and heart-rending to hear. It was like someone was being tortured!
¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± The sapient beasts leapt to their feet, nervous expressions on their faces as they looked around.
¡°They came! They came!¡±
¡°Speak clearly! Who came?!¡±
¡°The humans! Those two humans that just massacred Four are now here!¡±
¡°They move so quickly, there¡¯s simply no way for us to stop them!¡±
¡°That damned fatty has covered himself in light, and no weapon can prate it!¡±
The underlings of the Fire Gibbon were all hollering, climbing up the mountain with blood flowing down their heads. They all looked terrified, fear in their eyes, bbering nonsense, as if Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had frightened them witless.
¡°F*CK!¡±
The beasts on the mountain were infuriated. The two humans were too bold! The Fire Gibbon had been looking for them, so they had actually taken the initiative to appear on me Mountain? Were they not seeking death?
Looking down, sure enough, there were two humans, currently making their way up the mountain with great momentum. The two of them looked like they were just strolling in their own back garden, chatting as they made their way. They did not seem like they were assaulting the mountain, but more like they were here for a sightseeing excursion.
In the next second, an ape that had been hiding in the shade suddenly appeared, intending to ambush Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Undeterred, Traveling Buddha simply received the attack head-on, lifting only a fist against the huge ape. Using just his left arm, a golden dazzling light shed.
*Boom!*
The ape was instantly shattered. Nobody knew just how much strength TB used, but a mere punch was all it took to turn the ape into a mist of blood. Nothing remained of the ape¡¯s body; it was truly a most ruthless attack!
¡°Damned humans!¡± an underling of the Fire Gibbon bellowed from the top of the mountain, cursing Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
¡°What?¡± Little Old Buddha red in his rage, looking around everywhere. There happened to be a huge rock to their left that was made out of granite. It was tens of meters high, and weighed at least a few hundred tons.
Without another word, Traveling Buddha grabbed the huge granite rock with both hands and with a mighty heave lifted it up, causing the stone underneath his feet to crack instantly. ¡°You dare curse yours truly? I¡¯ll squash you all alive!¡±
The huge rock that weighed hundreds of tons went flying through the air, drawing a beautiful arc and smashing into the top of the mountain, scaring the group of beasts there till they nearly pissed their pants.
He was actually able to treat a huge rock weighing hundreds of tons like a grenade?
That fat human was simply a monster!
Chapter 1531 - 1531 Traveling Buddha Solos the Fire Gibbon!
1531 Traveling Buddha Solos the Fire Gibbon!
Without a single word, Traveling Buddha had raised the huge rock and sent it flying straight for the mountain peak.
An explosion echoed in the air, and they saw the ck silhouette of arge creature sail through the air, wrapped in a powerful force as hended heavily on the ground.
*Rumble*
me Mountain¡¯s peak instantly copsed in on itself. Abodes that imitated those of humans were constructed on the peak, both houses and pces. Almost half of them had now copsed, and the beasts who could not dodge in time found themselves squashed like meat pancakes. The scene was an absolutely horrible mess.
¡°You two damned humans, do you not wish to like?!¡±
¡°Lord ze will immediatelye and take your lives!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you flee if you¡¯ve got the guts!¡±
There were still beasts standing atop the mountain yelling down. They were all in their original beast forms now, turning from their two-meter-tall humanoid forms into powerful wild beasts dozens of meters tall. Their fur grew everywhere on them, and they were threatening Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan through bared teeth.
It was a real pity that the threats of the beasts werepletely disregarded by Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. They were perfectly calm, climbing their way up the mountain while admiring the view.
Traveling Buddha did not have a good temper, so it did not take long before he was again annoyed by the beasts on the mountain peak. Lifting his right hand, he shot a beam of golden light endlessly into the horizon, the sounds of lightning, wind, and thunder apanying him.
*Boom!*
All the beasts dodged everywhere, but there was still one among them who was unlucky enough to be hit by the st. He ended up having his body blown apart, and was turned into a rain of blood and gore.
*Bang bang bang!*
Traveling Buddha continually raised his hand to aim at the beasts, shooting out the Killer Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. It was simply too fast, hitting at close to light speed. There was no way to evade the shots, and so in the blink of an eye, over twenty of the beasts were taken out, none of their bodies were left intact. Pretty much all of them were blown to bits!
By the time the two of them reached the peak, the big base of the apes was already in a terrible state, ruins everywhere and the ground pooled with blood and parts of bodies.
The surviving beasts were shaken, their massive bodies trembling uncontrobly. They were desperately racing toward the forest in an attempt to escape, as only people who had truly fought against Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan realized just what was so frightening about them. These two were not only high-ranked, but their special abilities were synergistic. Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light and Speed were without a doubt a very deadlybo!
¡°Quick, flee! These humans are too ruthless!¡±
¡°Where is Lord ze? Quicke and save us!¡±
The sapient beasts werepletely overwhelmed by Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, and were incapable of retaliating at all. They all hoped that the Fire Gibbon King would immediately appear and stop Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s fierce assault.
The Fire Gibbon soon appeared. He was wearing a human-made battlesuit, his red fur fluttering in the air. His eyes were cold, and there was a thickyer of killing intent about him. He stared at Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha from a distance away.
Traveling Buddha raised his head and said, ¡°We heard you were looking for us, so we came!¡±
The collective wails and cries from sapient beasts could be heard all around them, the bodies of the Fire Gibbon¡¯s underlings were strewn all over the ce. Even the pce that he had personally constructed on the mountain peak was in ruins.
It was an utterly tragic scene. The old Fire Gibbon instantly sucked in a mouth of cold air and let loose a ferocious howl, the red fur all over his body standing on end.
Never in his wildest calctions did he think that these two humans would be so bold as to kill their way to hisir! To make an even greater mockery out of things, the reason Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had made their way here had been at the request of the Fire Gibbon himself!
¡°You two cubs won¡¯t be leaving with your lives intact aftering here today!¡± the Fire Gibbon roared at them, totally enraged.
His entire body began to burn intensely, as bright red mes immediately shot to the clouds with an explosive boom.
The special ability the Fire Gibbon had was very simr to Traveling Buddha¡¯s. While Traveling Buddha had golden light imbuing his body, the Fire Gibbon had mes doing the same. His special ability was called Divine me Burning Heaven, and was considered one of the best special abilities of the Fire-type.
The frightening me shot into the skies. They watched as the Fire Gibbon gently raised his arms and a pir of me pierced through the air, headed right for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. The mountain forest began to catch fire, yet while Traveling Buddha¡¯s Golden Light was unable to prate the Fire Gibbon¡¯s mes, the mes from the Gibbon King simrly could not harm Traveling Buddha¡¯s actual body.
*Kaboom!*
A monster that was emitting golden light all over against a monster with a fiery glow all around his body; the two promptly shed! It was an absolutely terrifying scene to behold, the two abilities seemingly canceling each other out when they shed, generating the crackling sounds of multiple explosions.
This was a very powerful closebat fight between both sides, as neither of the monsters with their imbued attributes were willing to back down. They traded blows with each other, neither wanting to give an inch to the other as they fought from the me Mountain peak all the way down to its base, the ground to cracking and crumbling wherever they went!
Xia Fan frowned. No wonder the Fire Gibbon had dared to threaten them; it turned out that his strength wasparable to that of Traveling Buddha¡¯s! Since the Fire Gibbon was emitting intense mes from his body right now, Xia Fan also had a very hard time getting close to him, and would probably get badly burnt if he attempted an attack right now. After all, Xia Fan was no Traveling Buddha, and he did not have any Golden Light to protect himself with.
¡°This Little Old Buddha shall be the death of you!¡± Traveling Buddha roared out a shout that shook the very skies!
The Holy Buddha n¡¯s Little Old Buddha was indifferent by nature, and aside from his fondness for brewing a good pot of tea, he did not have any interests in anything else whatsoever. But, that did not mean Traveling Buddha had a good temper. He simply did not care.
But at this moment, Traveling Buddha had suddenly grown angry, unleashing a wave of forceful attacks. His fists were firing rapidly, his Golden Light shining so brightly that it lit up thend and sky, covering them in his terrifying power. This was Traveling Buddha¡¯s typical tactic, utilizing his gold-enshrouded body to sh against his enemies. The harder the Fire Gibbon fought back, the more Traveling Buddha would match and go even further!
The barrage of attacks was like a torrent of gold forcing the Fire Gibbon to retreat, step by step, until he was pushed into a position by the edge of a bottomless cliff.
¡°Die for me!¡± Traveling Buddha bellowed as the Fire Gibbon widened his eyes. There was a drastic change in his expression after facing Traveling Buddha¡¯s crazy assault. He could hear the wind howling in his ears as the hardened fists of Traveling Buddha did not relent, continuing their repeated punches!
*Kaboom*
The twonded on the ground in unison. The powerful impact created a crater over a kilometer wide. Deep inside it, the sound of punches were still audible. Traveling Buddha was like abat robot, still pummeling away with his fists. If a hundred punches were not enough, then a thousand would be thrown!
No matter what, today would be the day the Fire Gibbon was put into the grave!
Xia Fan stood by the lip of the crater, shaking his head slightly. When Traveling Buddha was enraged, it was no different from a Buddha being enraged. There was practically no way to stop him. It was the Fire Gibbon who had made a devastating miscalction when he thought to pit himself against Traveling Buddha¡¯s defenses.
In no time at all, the intense me that covered the Fire Gibbon¡¯s body had disappeared. That exposed the Gibbon¡¯s body, which was very quickly turned into a battered corpse under Traveling Buddha¡¯s crazed assault!
¡
Still shrouded in his Light, Traveling Buddha flicked his hands clean of blood and got up, looking to Xia Fan with a nonchnt expression, ¡°To think this scum even thought he couldpete in toughness. He must have gone mad!¡±
Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°Quick collect the beast crystals, then we can head back for dinner.¡±
And so they began collecting all the beast crystals. The sapient beasts of me Mountain had already been frightened witless. Never in their worst nightmares had they thought Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan would be so fierce and brutal, and were actually capable of killing the old Fire Gibbon!
¡ª¨C
Hidden Water watched everything quietly, a smitten smile on her face. Ever since they were acquainted with each other, she felt that Traveling Buddha was like Xia Fan¡¯s younger brother, always listening to whatever Xia Fan told him, and hisbat strength was nowhere as strong as Xia Fan¡¯s.
But today¡¯s battle had been about Traveling Buddha soloing the Fire Gibbon, and the ferocious might he disyed in his big and tall frame was deeply etched in Hidden Water¡¯s mind. She admired Traveling Buddha to the extreme.
¡°Though he doesn¡¯t usually speak a lot, when ite to actualbat, he¡¯s still rather impressive!¡± Hidden Water foolishly giggled to herself.
¡°They are about toe back, I should go prepare food for them,¡± Hidden Water told Hidden Wind.
Hidden Wind had watched everything, and could not help but shake his head slightly.
*Kaboom!*
Another huge explosion could be heard from the sky, as the terrifying sound of thunder and lightning echoed. The sky became gloomy as the entire instantly dimmed, as if the apocalypse was here.
¡°Ah, the split again. I wonder how much longer can God Metropolis hold on,¡± Hidden Wind muttered to himself, knitting his eyebrows together.
Chapter 1532 - 1532 God Metropolis on the verge of Collapse, Mass Gathering of Forces!
1532 God Metropolis on the verge of Copse, Mass Gathering of Forces!
Law Expert ze had been killed!
The Fire Gibbon who had ruled Three was decapitated!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had struck again, severely damaging the sapient beasts!
For a moment, the upper echelons of God Metropolis were rocked by the news. This was different from when Xia Fan had ttened Four; though they were simrly a territory of the beasts, thettercked any famous experts.
Meanwhile, the Fire Gibbon had been an expert acknowledged by the Four Great ns. These two young men had worked together to y the Fire Gibbon, which directly unsettled the equilibrium between the beasts and the humans.
!!
Though the humans and beasts did not interfere with one another, and even cooperated on a higher level, the saying ¡®those who are not of my race are sure to have a different heart¡¯ held true. If the humans could vanquish the sapient beasts, they would definitely not relent. The so-called cooperation they shared was nothing more than a truce under the condition that neither could eliminate the other, so everyone temporarily yed nice with one another.
That was why the humans were not annoyed by Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan¡¯s killing of the Fire Gibbon, and were even rather a little proud of their feat.
¡ª¨C
Hidden Water¡¯s roasted meat was slightly charred on the outside, but tender on the inside, and the meat broth was delicious. Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan feasted eagerly on everything. After they were done with their meal, everyone sat outside the wooden hut and drank the tea that Traveling Buddha had brewed, discussing the fission that had happened once more this evening.
Bright Pearl scoffed at Hidden Water¡¯s cooking skills. She repeatedlyuded the deliciousness of the delicacies found on Earth, things like roasted meat buns, cold noodles, boiled porridge, and spicy crayfish that Xia Fan could only imagine. It was too bad that Xia Fan was here in Ashen Moon, which had no connection whatsoever with the Skywing n. There was no way for him to taste any of those delicious foods that he could only hear tales about.
¡°The might not be able to hold on anymore.¡± Hidden Wind hade to this rather pessimistic conclusion and said, ¡°So far, you two have yet to meet the peak expert of the Four Great ns, which is because they are all on One, where the strongest sapient beasts are also located.
¡°From what I can gather, the moment they are in trouble there, there is a very high possibility that they will recruit people from God Metropolis immediately. Given the exemry performance you¡¯ve recently shown, I¡¯m afraid your names will be added to the list.¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan exchanged looks. They were still slightly hesitant, unable to make sense of just what could be going on with One.
1 was a meteor that broke through the space barrier, bing One after it was extinguished upon entry.
¡°So many years have passed, and 1 is still emitting energy to the outside world, as well as a very mysterious signal. The experts are doing everything they can to prevent those energy emissions and energy fluctuations, which is causing spatial copse.
¡°As for what¡¯s on One, all I can say is that it¡¯s very shocking. You¡¯ll understand if you two ever have a chance to go there. It is a super fission phenomena that can¡¯t be described with words; it¡¯s as if the hase alive and be a huge living organism.¡±
A that became a living organism?
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were speechless. They could not imagine mountains, rivers and the verynd itselfing alive, nor could they imagine how a could breathe or think. If what Hidden Wind said was true, then the existence of One would surely be an existence that shocked the world.
¡
¡°Four thousand!¡±
¡°Five thousand!¡±
¡°It¡¯s already six thousand, and still increasing!¡±
¡°A speed of eight thousand meters per second! That¡¯s nearly Star River rank!¡±
¡°He has officially broken into Star River rank!¡±
¡°His final speed is 9752 meters per second!¡±
Under the sunlight, a ck shadow flitted around in a sh of light, disappearing into the distance in an instant, just like a bolt of lightning.
Hidden Water, Traveling Buddha, and HIdden Wind were staring at the screen and its speed readout. Xia Fan¡¯s speed finally stabilized at 9700 meters per second, giving the three of them quite the shock.
Xia Fan returned back to the wooden hut and asked, ¡°So what are the results?¡±
Hidden Wind ryed the results to Xia Fan, who nodded. He was not too surprised. Having broken through the Law Barrier and sessfully integrating with the mysterious crystals, Xia Fan¡¯s speed had soared, and he could easily reach nearly 10,000 meters per second if he also used Yggdragon¡¯s Blood.
¡°If there isn¡¯t anything out of the ordinary, I believe your speed should be in the top three of all Ashen Moon. I wouldn¡¯t even be surprised if someone were to state that you¡¯re the fastest being alive,¡± Hidden Wind concluded.
Xia Fan nodded slightly. The feeling of his body just bursting with energy was quite miraculous. The biggest change he had observed after breaking through his Law Barrier was not just his increased speed, but in his understanding and awareness.
Furthermore, after he had broken past the Law Barrier, Speed had be Xia Fan¡¯s talent, something innate inside him that was akin to his own existence. His special ability and hisbat strength had all beenbined into one, where Xia Fan was Speed, and Speed was Xia Fan!
On top of that, Xia Fan also had a second Law power, the Law of Gold! ording to what Pearl had told him, the Law of Gold was not a primary Law power, but a small support-type Law. It provided Xia Fan with some bonuses to his vision and hearing, and waspletely different from the Law of Speed. With one breaking through the heavens and the other solidifying his foundation, it created the effect of rapid advancement in strength.
¡°Let me give it a try, too!¡±
Traveling Buddha saw that his old partner had nearly broken the 10,000 m/s mark already, and he felt restless inside, eager to also test out his Law power.
*Huuu*
Drawing in a long breath, with a light raise of his hand he promptly conjured out a beam of Golden Light that shot forth with unstoppable momentum. It prated right through a mountain, leaving a hole the size of a fist. The lethality of the blow could not be denied,parable to a high performanceser weapon!
¡°Truly you live up to the name of Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. A peak-grade Light special ability mixed with peak-grade protection, creating the greatest Holy Buddha of his generation,¡± Hidden Wind sighed. ¡°Both of you have already reached the Legendary rank, while Xia Fan has attained unprecedented heights. The two of you will surely y an unimaginable role in the disaster toe.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were startled. With how pessimistic Hidden Wind was, it seemed like God Metropolis and this sealed space would surelye to an end soon!
¡
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha stayed for several more days at Hidden Wind¡¯s and then returned to Dragon Dou¡¯s residence. The moment their foot crossed the transom, they were immediately called to the living room.
Dragon Dou and his parents were all present, and the room itself was arranged in a rather strange manner. Dragon Dou and his family were seated on the left side, while Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were arranged to sit on the right. Both parties were seated as equals, which went to show that Dragon Dou and his family did not view Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha as merely their n¡¯s bodyguards, but were treating them with the courtesy of guests.
Dragon Dou¡¯s father was called Dragon Foremountain, a fat middle-aged man. He was the publicly acknowledged great wastrel among the Four Great ns, but he was lucky to have married a strong and shrewd woman, who was none other than Dragon Dou¡¯s mother, Zhang Mei!
ording to the rumors, Zhang Mei was originally a servant of the Dragon n, and had feelings for Dragon Foremountain, but given her status, was not fit to marry into the Dragon n.
Dragon Foremountain had first married ady from the Ashen n, but not long after, she had ended up dying of sickness. Then Dragon Foremountain had found himself bing a son-inw to the Moon n.
After three years of marriage to thedy from the Moon n, the six miscarriages she had caused her to suffer from a mental illness. She would often hide herself alone in her room, letting out mournful wails and wing at the walls with her fingers, which caused her nails to break off. In the span of three months, she lost over fifty kilograms and became as shriveled and worn as a corpse.
In their fourth year, Dragon Foremountain¡¯s second wife finally died. The servants all imed that this was a sort of relief for everyone, because she had been in too much pain while she was alive, and death was the best oue she could ask for.
Rumors swirled around God Metropolis that due to a gic mutation, Dragon Foremountain had a barbed lower appendage, so anyone who married him would end up dead. Dragon Foremountain was already viewed as a loser of the Four Great ns, but now that such rumors began to spread, it made him even more of an embarrassment, and no one was willing to let their daughter marry him.
It was about that time when he married the servant girl, Zhang Mei. And the strange thing was, very soon after they were married, they very quickly had a son, Dragon Dou. With the family being happy and harmonious, the rumors slowly dissipated.
However, there was another set of whispered rumors that the servants of the Dragon n uttered, that Zhang Mei was actually involved in the deaths of the two previous ex-wives.
No matter the words, Dragon Dou¡¯s mother was now a controversial and powerful figure. Everything that happened in the family, no matter how big or small they were, would all go through her. That included when Dragon Dou previously opened up their storage and retrieved two peak grade weapons as gifts for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Actually, this was done with express authorization from Zhang Mei, who perhaps had already realized that Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were no ordinary people.
As Xia Fan was lost in his thoughts, Zhang Mei finally opened her mouth to speak, ¡°The two of you have returned from Hidden Wind¡¯s abode. Is the old man still doing alright?¡±
Xia Fan answered truthfully, and Zhang Mei nodded her head repeatedly, ¡°So I see. Hidden Wind is a famed legendary expert among the Four Great ns, and it is your good fortune to have befriended him.¡±
Changing the topic, Zhang Mei finally broached the main issue at hand, ¡°I will not deny, my husband and I asked to meet you two because of two important matters. I actually need to make a request of you two.
¡°First, the Four Great ns have just sent word that in three days¡¯ time, every expert will gather before the patriarchs. As for where they will end up going, though no one mentioned it explicitly, I dare predict it must be a trip to One, to meet the Elders.¡±
Xia Fan was slightly startled. Though this was rather sudden, he was not particrly shocked. After all, Hidden Wind had already warned them beforehand, and given how severe theary fission has be, there would surely be arge-scale mobilization to One.
After a pause, Zhang Mei continued, ¡°Dragon Dou, stand up.¡±
Her foolish son was clueless, but as he had been afraid of his mother his whole life, he did not dare to be disobedient, and came over to face Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha at Zhang Mei¡¯s instructions.
¡°Bow,¡± Zhang Mei said in an even voice.
The moment these words were uttered, everyone in the room was stunned. In terms of title, Dragon Dou was the master, and Xia Fan, Traveling Buddha were his bodyguards. Did Zhang Mei actually intend to ask Dragon Dou to bow to his servants? That waspletely illogical.
Dragon Dou hesitated slightly, and quickly nced at his mother. Her eyes exploded in a cold glimmer that made Dragon Dou tremble. With a loud thud, the boy fell to his knees and put his hands on the ground and bowed deeply, as was dictated by ancient Ashen Moon etiquette.
Traveling Buddha was nonchnt; he was the Little Old Buddha, someone who would not care to give face to anyone. On the other hand, Xia Fan could already guess what Zhang Mei was thinking, and he calmly epted Dragon Dou¡¯s bow.
¡°We only have one son, and if anything terrible were to happen to him, I hope the two of you would take care of Dragon Dou ordingly. We don¡¯t ask for much, and only hope he can lead a safe and normal life.
¡°On top of that, this is the key to our family¡¯s underground storage. From today onward, it shall belong to you two.¡±
Dragon Dou could not understand what was happening, but he took the key with the encrypted gic code from his mother and handed it over to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
Xia Fan thought about it for a second before smiling, and epted the key, storing it into his spatial ring.
At the same time, Zhang Mei heaved a long sigh. Her entire person seemed to rx in that instant. She believed in Xia Fan¡¯s personality, and since he had epted the key from them, that naturally meant he would uphold his promise to the agreement, and do everything in his power to take care of Dragon Dou.
¡ª¡ª
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha left the main room, just as a ring light happened to sh across the sky at the same time. The rumbling sound echoed in their ears as an intense quake shook the entirepound. Several bluestone floor bs were lifted by the tremors, and the servants hurriedly rushed over to repave the stone bs with much effort.
There was no doubt that God Metropolis was experiencing some major changes. The rate of the fission had increased over time, it had reached the point where it was happening thrice or more a day, and it was still increasing.
Traveling Buddha shrugged, ¡°Looks like this ce really won¡¯t be holding out any longer. Dragon Dou¡¯s mother has clearly just entrusted her idiot son Dragon Dou to us.¡±
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°So you actually understood what was happening, yet your expression remained as aloof as ever just now.¡±
Xia Fan answered, ¡°Nonsense, how could I not tell what that woman was thinking? This Buddha simply just doesn¡¯t care. In three days¡¯ time, we¡¯ll be headed to One, then what do we do next?¡±
Xia Fan mulled over the question. ¡°First, let¡¯s head to Four Kings City and look for Grint and Jane, then recover ck Egg.¡±
Chapter 1533 - 1533 Searching Planet One
1533 Searching One
¡°Look there! It¡¯s Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha!¡±
As they were walking along the streets of Four Kings City, people quickly identified Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Everyone had big ttering smiles on their faces, nodding and bowing at them.
Life was so capricious at times; thest time Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were here they were captives, but now they had be major figures in the hearts of everyone!
¡°I already guessed that you two would being over. The ck Egg is already repaired, and though it could not be made as good as new, it should have no problems being flight-worthy,¡± Luolin smiled and said the moment he saw Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. He was wearing his sunsses like always, covering the scar he over his eyes.
¡°We¡¯re about to see that huge secret you mentioned when we first met. The Four Great ns have informed us to depart for One in three days, and we n to leave right afterwards,¡± Xia Fan told Luolin.
¡°Luolin used a hand to lightly rub at a corner of his eye. He had once possessed a pair of unique eyes, the Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes, but he was now a blind man because he saw something that he should not have seen.
¡°Please bring Jane with you if the two of you are about to leave,¡± Luolin asked them.
Xia Fan frowned, ¡°Uncle, it is best if you join us too. If anything were to happen, we¡¯ll be able to fly off on the ck Egg and leave this ce.¡±
Luolin shook his head and let out a bitter chuckle, ¡°You have your n, and I also have my n, too. Go and investigate what you need to, and then bring the truth back to Ashen Moon.¡±
Luolin looked to have already made up his mind about the matter. He was once a famed warrior himself, a Legendary-ranked expert. That was especially true for his Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes, a unique special ability that had allowed Luolin to force his enemies into a state of confusion if they unwittingly looked into his eyes.
That was until one day after he had been called to One, and had identally seen something that he should not have seen. After that, his eyes had been cruelly gouged out, and he was sent from God Metropolis to Four Kings City, bing a mere gardener.
¡
Xia Fan could not convince Luolin to change his mind, so he had no choice but to give up.
The three of them chatted in the study for a very long time. As they left, Xia Fan could see that Jane had already finished making dinner, and had even prepared a small set of luggage containing what few clothes she owned.
After learning that Xia Fan would be taking her away, Jane did not panic and was even slightly excited, on top of being slightly shy.
¡ª
When dinner was done, Xia Fan left Four Kings City that night and returned to God Metropolis, parking ck Egg at Hidden Wind¡¯s training grounds.
¡°Oh its you, long time no see,¡± It seemed like Hidden Wind recognized Luolin. He was at first startled when he saw the sunsses-wearing Luolin, but then extended his right hand, the two men shaking their hands tightly, as if they were old friends.
Sitting in Hidden Wind¡¯s little wooden hut, Xia Fan looked out and saw Hidden Wind and Jane hitting it off, the two girls chatting animatedly with each other.
Turning his head back, Xia Fan said in a serious tone, ¡± Since that¡¯s the case, we should operate separately from tomorrow onward. Traveling Buddha and I will go to One, enacting the original n to investigate that. The two of you will remain in the periphery; be ready to respond at any time.¡±
¡°On top of that, we need to bring Dragon Dou with us as well. I¡¯ve promised his mother to take care of him.¡±
Hidden Wind and Luolin nodded. Luolin had his own n: His eyes were buried on One, which had been his lifelong regret. He could never forgive the person who had done the evil deed, and though he did not explicitly state so, Xia Fan could guess that Luolin was taking this chance to take his revenge.
Additionally, Hidden Wind had already epted his fate. Given Hidden Water¡¯s attachment to Traveling Buddha, even if thetter went to Hell, the former would follow him without a trace of doubt in her heart. Thus, Hidden Wind had no choice but to apany his only granddaughter.
¡
Three dayster, at the agreed-upon time, Xia Fan and the others warriors were gathered and herded aboard a destroyer that was bringing everyone to One.
God Metropolis was actually made up of two regions. The first was the outer region, which included God Metropolis and all the other big and smalls. Then, there was the interior region, which was where One was located.
After the destroyer passed through a space node, the surrounding scenery abruptly changed. The artificial sun of the outer region did not exist here, so it was very dark. In the distance was a dimly glowing, the rumored One.
¡ª¡ª
The warriors stered themselves against the ship¡¯s windows, eximing loudly,¡±So this is One!¡± One was top secret, and outsiders rarely set foot there. It was practically everyone¡¯s first timeing.
The destroyernded in a clearing in a forest. Everyone was dumbfounded when they disembarked, looking around in shock.
Though there was no artificial sun here in the interior region, there were still trees and flowers in the forest, all of them giving off a mild luminescence, so no one found it to be exceptionally dark. Aside from the flora, there were also various species that none of them had seen before.
A rose redder than fire boomed atop a palm tree, while Artemisia nts taller than an adult human bore kumquat fruits. Arge number of the organisms of One had mixed genes, and they could not be treated as normal, making the ce seem like a strange world from a fairytale.
¡°This way!¡±
Someone led the way, and soon, everyone arrived at a nearby red cliff. There was a cave under the cliff, and everyone bowed in its direction.
The elders of the Four Great ns lived in that cave, as well as the strongest existences of the sapient beasts. They were no longer recognizable, bing a group of monsters that could not face others. That was why they could only stay far away, and ry information through voice transmission.
*Whoosh*
While everyone was kneeling down on the ground, bowing toward the cave, Xia Fan grabbed Traveling Buddha and the two sprinted off into the forest. At the same time, Xia Fan pushed a red button on his belt, unleashing a shield around himself.
One old monster among the elders of the Four Great ns went by the name of Ashen Abyss. He was able to scan the entire with his mind alone, and was also the same person who had kept Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha spatially suspended thest time.
Nevertheless, his special abilities had a weakness; Ashen Abyss depended on his seventh brain region to differentiate between humans and beasts, so Xia Fan had ced a beast crystal inside his shield generator as its power source. In that way Ashen Abyss would be misled into seeing Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha as beasts, letting them be. It was a trick that Luolin had taught Xia Fan.
ording to the map Luolin had drawn for them, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha traveled frantically across One, and in no time at all, arrived at the canyon marked on the map. The canyon was ten thousand meters deep, and there was a big river raging endlessly along the bottom.
¡°This should be the ce!¡± Xia Fan stored the map away and said to Traveling Buddha, ¡°We¡¯re going to go along the river, and we will arrive at the deepest part of One. Are you ready?¡±
Traveling Buddha nodded. All those years back, Luolin had entered from this ce to learn the elders¡¯ secret, and lost his eyes as a result, paying a painful price for it.
The two leaped off and cannonballed down into the river below, sshing loudly. The water was ice cold, and the current was urgent. They were pushed along by the river and descending rapidly. It was like sitting on a rollercoaster, as the huge drops only made the river water rush ever faster and faster!
Pearl appeared, standing vigntly on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder, a cold glimmer of light radiating from her body, shining ahead for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
¡°It should be just up ahead. Luolin left markings by the brick wall,¡± Xia Fan said.
They jumped out from the river. In front of them was a stone bridge, with a cave on each end.
¡°To the right is the living quarters of the elders, while the left leads to who knows where. Luolin went to the right, so we will be going left this time,¡± Xia Fan told Traveling Buddha and Pearl.
Chapter 1534 - 1534 Skywing’s Comrade-in-Arms, Tamu the Chosen!
1534 Skywing¡¯s Comrade-in-Arms, Tamu the Chosen!
Taking the path to the right would lead straight to the elders from the Four Great ns. Luolin had once tried that way and ended up being caught by them. That was how his eyes had been cruelly gouged out, and what made Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha decide to go the opposite direction, heading for the core of One.
The rocky wall on both sides showed signs of man-made excavation, with many luminous particles mixed in with the granite. It was hard to imagine this had actually passed through the Cosmic Gate and into Ashen Moon, and had managed to remain intact. nts, animals, water, mountains, and everything had survived the great destructive energies of the Cosmic Gate!
Xia Fan was extremely fast, and it did not take long for him to discover a strange location. A sealed door appeared in the cave. Like thending module of a warship, its thick alloy doors were shut vertically, and there was an electronic console on the side that controlled it.
Traveling Buddha pushed the button, and the door automatically opened up with a loud clunking. A very modern corridor appeared before them, white metal alloy ting covering the floor and the walls around. Spotlights were fit to the ceiling, along with air filtration devices. It was as if they had stepped onto a warship!
¡°A ship? One is actually a warship from beyond Ashen Moon?¡± Traveling Buddha could not keep calm at this point, blurting that out in shock. Pearl crooked her head to the side, curiously examining everything around them.
!!
Xia Fan knit his eyebrows together. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure just yet. We might understand better if we go deeper.¡±
They found a crew cabin, a virtual cabin, an activity cabin, and a storage bay. Going deeper along the corridor, Xia Fan came to a conclusion. This was indeed a ship, and it was a ship that could pass through the Cosmic Gate and sustain biological evolution!
¡°Since this is a ship, then there ought to be a crew?¡± Traveling Buddha shrugged.
The size of the ship was huge. Hidden in the core of One, there was no way for them to know its specific appearance, but from its design and craftsmanship, it was obvious it was at a higher technological level than Ashen Moon, or perhaps it belonged to an advanced civilization from beyond the known territories.
Xia Fan used his speed to forge ahead along the corridor, until he finally arrived at the ship¡¯smand deck.
Aside from the various controls that amand deck would have, there was also arge ceiling-to-floor window, except because the ship was in the¡¯s core, all they could see beyond the window was just hard rock and not any particr scenes.
¡°I¡¯ll retrieve the voyage logs here, and the two of you can search around nearby. See if there¡¯s anything suspicious,¡± Xia Fan told them.
¡ª
And so the trio split up. Xia Fan checked the logs, while Traveling Buddha and Pearl entered the lower levels of the warship, searching the cabins.
¡®Prepare to break out. No matter what happens, we must not just stay still.¡¯
¡®The disguise was a great sess. Hiding the warship inside the¡¯s core was a great idea, and they believe its just an ex, easily letting me off.¡¯
¡®The situation is beginning to go awry. This is evolving on its own, it must have been infected.¡¯
¡®Demonic energy has invaded the¡¯s core. This powerful demonic energy once created the terrifying Demonic Ant race, so perhaps a new Demonic race might be born.¡¯
¡®The spores elerated fission, evolving into low-level organisms, but this is definitely not the end!¡¯
¡®I am still shuttling through the chaotic corridors of time and space, encountering enemy patrols from time to time. What should I do? Which universe has everyone gone to now?¡¯
¡®The situation is getting from bad to worse. I need to find somewhere tond and purge the evil energy that has invaded.¡±
¡®I¡¯ve decided to risk traveling through the nearest Cosmic Gate. God, please wish me luck! I am missing my brothers very much right now, missing the monsters of Skywing!¡¯
Xia Fan was shocked when he read to that point. His eyes widened as the hair on his back stood on end.
The owner of this ship was very likely arade of the Skywings. But because he had encountered danger, he had no choice but to duck into Ashen Moon for refuge?!
It was a pity that the log ended there, and the person in question did not record anything that had happened after arriving at Ashen Moon.
Reading its contents, a clearer picture gradually formed in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. This expert that had once fought side by side with the Skywings, for some unknown reason found himself surrounded. In order to escape the encirclement, he thought up a n to hide the warship in the core of a, disguising itself as an ex.
With that disguise, he had managed to break out from the encirclement, but unfortunately for him, in the process of escaping, he was infected by something called Demonic Energy that could cause gic mutation, changing the biologicalposition of the.
Thus, this person had managed to enter another universe at thest minute, purge the gic mutagen, and get on his way afterwards. Meanwhile, it just so happened that the nearest universe he went into at thatst minute was Ashen Moon!
When he went through the Cosmic Gate, the warship lost control and barreled straight into the hidden realm of God Metropolis. This was quite lucky, as the space which God Metropolis resided in was sealed, and so the infection did not spread to the majority of Ashen Moon.
Based on that line of thinking, the elders from the Four Great ns should have met this survivor, but why had he not heard anything about this?
That was when Pearl came flying to themand deck, her voice barely containing her excitement. ¡°Xia Fan, you bettere quick and look!¡±
¡°What did you two find?¡± Xia Fan asked her.
¡°A person, one of our own! Not only did he recognize me right away, he had even heard of you!¡± Pearl gushed.
Xia Fan was stunned. He immediately followed Pearl down one level, taking a corner and a spiral stairway down. Everything around him changed. The walls of the corridor were now overgrown in a moss-like nt. A noxious smell was being given off by this colorful moss, reminiscent of lumps of cancerous cells.
There was a lot of moss on the ground too. Stepping on it, a slimy liquid could be seen oozing out, like the vomit of a drunkard, making everyone ufortable.
Going forward a bit more, Xia Fan and Pearl entered a room like a big hall, with a strange jail cell built atop an altar. The steel cage was on the set of steps, with eight metal columns at the bottom.
Pearl pointed to the cage on the altar and said, ¡°That¡¯s him! He¡¯s the one I¡¯m referring to!¡±
Looking over to the cage, he saw a savage locked in it. His blonde hair hung down to his knees, and his beard was almost half a meter long. At the moment his head was lowered, so Xia Fan had no way of making out his face.
The savage waspletely naked, and there were many scars all over his body. It was a frightening sight. People often said that scars were the medals of warriors, but the amount of medals hanging on his body right now was simply too great. Xia Fan had never seen anyone who was still alive after having so many wounds on their body.
The savage suddenly lifted his head, and his eyes locked onto Xia Fan¡¯s. It was the face of a middle-aged man, but the wrinkles on his forehead looked like they had been carved into his face, deeply marking his skin.
¡°Are you the son of the Sky Wing Patriarch Xia Fan, the King of the Demon Sealing Fiendish de?¡± the savage man asked in a deep yet formal tone, most likely because Pearl had told him prior.
Traveling Buddha frowned and scratched his head. He pped his face, to make sure he was not dreaming. The style in which this person had addressed Xia Fan was very shocking to Traveling Buddha.
Xia Fan shed TB his usual smile and reached a hand out to pull out the nket that he was wrapped in when he was a baby from his spatial ring. He opened it to show the two characters ¡®Xia Fan¡¯ embroidered on it. It was the only thing in the world that was evidence of his true identity, and Xia Fan had taken very good care of it this entire time.
The man trembled in his excitement, as tears rolled down his cheeks uncontrobly. ¡°It¡¯s you. It really is you!
¡°The heavens have eyes! To think I would meet the daughter of the Frost Dragon, and Xia Fan¡¯s son! Hahahaha!~¡±
The expression on the man¡¯s face twitched as he let out an uproariousugh, but thisughter soon turned into a baleful wail, the sound of his crying so heart wrenching, as if he was absolutely aggrieved.
¡°And who are you?¡± Xia Fan probed.
*thump*
The man did not give an answer, but merely fell to his knees and muttered words as if he was saying a prayer to his god.
The man then wiped his tears dry and stood up once more, ¡°I am Tamu the Chosen, your father¡¯srade-in-arms. We of the Chosen are all followers of your father and the Skywings.¡±
Xia Fan was surprised. Pearl had mentioned before that the Skywings had be one of the most powerful forces across the Great Chiliocosm, with plenty ofrades and followers. Even the Dragons were willing to be ridden by the Skywings, so it made sense the Chosen would be followers of the Skywing n. What was unknown was just how Tamu actually ended up here, locked up while following the Skywings?
Chapter 1535 - 1535 Saving Tamu and Preparing for Battle
1535 Saving Tamu and Preparing for Battle
The expression on Xia Fan, Pearl and Traveling Buddha¡¯s faces turned into that of anger when Tamu spoke his tale. Never could any of them have imagined that Tamu¡¯s story would be filled with such tragedy and sadness.
Tamu turned around. His long hair covered his back, but the moment he parted his locks, revealing his back muscles, everyone was stunned. Repulsive ck crocodile-like bumps covered his back, his muscles there hard and lifeless.
Tamu let go of his hair and turned to look at Xia Fan again. He sighed deeply and said, ¡°I¡¯m now infected. In an effort to remove the powerful Demonic Energy and not infect Ashen Moon, the only thing I could do was use my body to absorb the Demonic Energy. Only by sacrificing myself would I be able to protect Ashen Moon.
¡°Nevertheless, not long after I was done with that work, the elders of the Four Great ns found me. It was when I was already very weak, and on the verge of dying. After they found me, not only did they not help me, they had even used the opportunity to imprison me here in my frail state.
¡°Later I learned that they had discovered an amazing energy in my body, and wanted to use that energy to break through the Law Barrier.¡±
¡°Outside this cage, you can see there¡¯s eight metal columns. Those are the mechanisms that they use to extract the energy from my body. Every day at a set time, theye here and empty me of my energy, strengthening themselves, while also preventing me from recovering and escaping.¡±
As Tamu said this, he trembled, and seated himself on the ground. With a hoarse voice, he whispered, ¡°Greed and desire has ruined this universe. I¡¯m already infected; as long as they let me leave, Ashen Moon would not be in any danger, but I¡¯m still being kept here by the elders of the Four Great ns.
¡°Even though I¡¯m trying my best to keep it in control, the Demonic Energy has still managed to leak out. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the world outside must already bepletely changed, living organisms all experiencing gic mutations, beasts and insects are all huge, and smarter than before. The moment God Metropolis is invaded by Demonic Energy, the mutation will spread to the rest of Ashen Moon.¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. Pearl was breathing heavily, and Traveling Buddha¡¯s expression waspletely pale as he let out a crazed shout, ¡°G*dd*mm*t! Just what are these old men up to!? They will end up hurting everyone! I really want to kill them!¡±
Who didn¡¯t?! Xia Fan¡¯s blood was boiling, seeing his father¡¯s closerade-in-arms tortured to such an extent. A wild killing intent was almost bursting out from his chest!
Tamu had opted to sacrifice himself, so as to prevent the infection from spreading. Yet these elders of the Four Great ns had chosen to imprison Tamu for their own personal interests, mutting this heroic warrior!
Just what sort of damned logic was that?!
They deserve death!
Xia Fan was so enraged that his entire body trembled. He darted right over and with his muscles, tore the bars off the cage Tamu was kept in.
¡°No, don¡¯t! That will trigger the rm!¡± Tamu yelled, trying to stop Xia Fan, but it was a pity that Xia Fan could casually move at a speed of four thousand meters per second, so there was no way Tamu could stop him in time.
*Boom!*
When the cage was destroyed, a red warning light began shing. Xia Fan threw the cage harshly down onto the ground, before helping Tamu up to his feet.
¡°Leave me, all of you must leave immediately! I¡¯m very weak right now, and have no energy to protect you all!¡± Tamu said anxiously.
As apanion of the Skywings and the Patriarch of The Chosens, Tamu was unbelievably strong, yet he had ended up being imprisoned by the elders of the Four Great ns for many years, every day getting his energy drained to the point where he was extremely weak andpletely incapable of resisting.
Hearing that, Traveling Buddha burst intoughter, and with a light brush of his finger over his spatial ring, arge amount of medicine appeared, creating a small hill of fruits and even energy crystals on the floor.
Tamu was slightly shocked, surprised to find Traveling Buddha had such a bountiful reserve.
Xia Fan also opened his spatial ring and retrieved plenty of energy crystals and medicine as well. There were over three hundred of them, among them hundreds of transparent Grade Nine Energy Crystals! The peak grade energy crystals shone brightly, like stars in a moonless sky, permeating the area with warm yet powerful energy pulses.
Xia Fan pointed to the valuable crystals and asked, ¡°Uncle Tamu, is this enough?¡±
It turned out that Xia Fan originally had one hundred and neen Grade Nine Energy Crystals. When he opened the underground storage of the Dragon n to retrieve what they had stored, he also gained thousands of green and blue Grade Eight and Seven Energy Crystals respectively, on top of the transparent Grade Nine Energy Crystals inside!
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°If you can withstand the pressure, I even have Immortality Wine, brewed using Yggdragon¡¯s blood. In any case, you need not worry. We had recently found ourselves sponsored by a rich tycoon, so we have plenty of reserves!¡±
Tamu was at first stunned, but soon nodded somberly. Actually, there was nothing strange about this. The smiling young man in front of him was the son of Xia Fan! Whatever Xia Fei could achieve, Xia Fan would also surely be able to do it!
¡°It¡¯s enough. Just wait for a moment and let me replenish my energy. I¡¯ve truly suffered greatly at the hands of those people!¡±
Tamu did not stand on ceremony, grabbing two Grade Nine Energy Crystals and quickly absorbing them. In the blink of an eye, those precious crystals dimmed, no longer containing any energy within. He tossed the spent crystals aside and then grabbed another two, repeating what he had just done. Slowly, a small pile of empty crystals begin to form.
His body was akin to a bottomless pit, unsatisfied no matter what. He must be at a very high rank, right?
Tamu only used the crystals and medicine, and rejected the use of Immortality Wine.
Xia Fan had consumed Grade Nine Energy Crystals while growing up, and his physical constitution wasparable to that of a god. However, he could at most withstand just three drops of Immortality Wine at one go, which just went to show how violent Yggdragon blood was. Even Tamu did not dare to try it lightly!
¡°It¡¯s amazing, I can feel my past selfing back to me!¡± Tamu flexed his arms vigorously after consecutively consuming twenty Grade Nine Energy Crystals, as well as countless other lower grade ones. The skin all over his body glowed mutely, and even his cheeks turned rosy, his eyes shining brilliantly.
Still, Xia Fan was very aware that the Tamu of the past could never return. The severe infection on his back that had mutated him still remained, and no matter how much energy was poured into him, or whatever legendary treatment and medications were given, there was no way to make Tamu any better. He was now infected, a warrior who was under a demonic curse.
¡°Though my ancestors were once brothers to Ashen Dragon and Hidden Moon, right now, I want the Four Great ns to die!¡± Traveling Buddha dered coldly, his arms folded over his chest. Though Little Old Buddha had a nonchnt personality, his sense of justice was very strong.
¡°Huuu!¡± Tamu let out a sigh and used a hand to ruffle his messy long hair. He then took out a knife and chopped his hair off.
The continuous intake of energy had turned him into a different man, his entire person looking far more energetic than before. Xia Fan handed him a battlesuit and a fairly well-made alloy battle saber. Tamu epted the battlesuit but rejected the weapon, stating that he had no need for any such tools.
Putting on the dark green battlesuit, Tamu raised his head and tensed the muscles all over his body. He stood tall and straight like a spear as he said firmly, ¡°I once fought side by side with your father, and now I get to stand beside you! It is truly an honor!
¡°Do you know, aside from God, your father is the one I admire the most? Compared to the looseness that the others in the Skywing n demonstrated, your father was slightly serious as the n Patriarch, but he is without a doubt a true man!
¡°I will never forget when he and his Skywing brethren shouted out their famous slogan, even I would get chills. To think there would be such a maniacal and brave group of people out there in the world? From that day on, me and my n decided that we would follow them until the day we die.¡±
Xia Fan frowned. Though hisst name was Xia, he had been wandering ever since the day he was born, and had never met any of his family. He basically had no understanding of the matters pertaining to his n.
Xia Fan turned to Pearl and asked, nonplussed, ¡°What slogan?¡±
Pearl smiled. ¡°¡®Skywing¡¯s business! Those uninvolved can scram!¡¯¡±
Chapter 1536 - 1536 Killing the Demons. The Birth of Three Gods and One Fiend!
1536 Killing the Demons. The Birth of Three Gods and One Fiend!
The sudden rm had startled the elders of the Four Great ns. The expressions on their faces all changed drastically. Someone actually managed to infiltrate One without any of their knowledge?! This was bad! They would be in trouble if Tamu was discovered!
They could not care about lecturing the warriors of the Four ns any longer. The elders quickly departed, leaving the warriors waiting by the cave outside very confused. Being received by the elders was a sort of honor, yet why did they abruptly leave while they were still in the middle of their speech?
The elders walked briskly to themand deck, only to find Tamu as well as Xia Fan and everyone else saying something directly to a camera. Said camera was connected to the main controlputer on the warship¡¯smand deck, which would then transmit digital signals to the entirety of God Metropolis!
¡°Look, they¡¯re already here,¡± Xia Fan smiled, stepping aside from the camera so the image of the elders could be transmitted to the citizens of God Metropolis, the sight of which shocked those watching right down to the bones.
¡°Are they really the elders?¡±
!!
¡°Why do they look like monsters?!¡±
Everyone was aghast. That was because right in front of the camera were some inhuman monsters! In addition to the horns growing on their heads, red and ck spots were also growing on their faces, and their eyes were alsopletely ck. Their nails were sharp and long, simr to what one might find from an eagle¡¯s talons.
From what the people of God Metropolis could recall, the elders of the Four Great ns had all cultivated to the point when they were undying existences, people who were close to god-like. They ought to exude an air of nobility, their white beards fluttering in the wind! But the elders in front of the camera right now were nothing but a group of inhuman-looking monsters. Not only were they ugly, the Aura they gave off was also extremely sinister. The elders all covered their faces in a panic when the camera was pointed at them.
*Thud*
Someone watching went pale and copsed on a couch, their whole body shaking as their eyes dimmed. When the elders appeared, their apearencepletely subverted the faith of God Metropolis¡¯ people. Everyone had believed that the elders of the Four Great ns were the most noble existences in Ashem Moon, that they were gods incarnate. But right now, that faith was shattered!
Through the act of this live broadcast, Xia Fan hadpletely exposed the elders. This was his idea! He turned to the camera and said, ¡°Did you all really believe that the elders of the Four Great ns were working together with the sapient beasts, doing everything in their power to prevent the catastrophe threatening God Metropolis?
¡°If that¡¯s truly the case, then you¡¯re all too naive. See for yourself! Can you even tell who are the humans and who are the beasts?¡±
His words hurt their hearts. The human elders and the sapient beasts had all turned into monsters. Their ears were pointed like vampires, with pitch-ck eyes that protruded slightly. That was what happened when demonic energy entered the body. Whether they were beasts or humans, they would ultimately be a monstrous and demonic creature!
No one knew where this terrifying evolution originated from. ording to the investigations that the Skywings had made across the Great Chiliocosm, the demons first infected the Ant Species, who were the most evolved creature at present, with very clear ss divisions between them.
The low-ranking Demonic Ants were nothing strong, but they were able tobine with each other. Countless numbers of them could form into one entity, bing a destructive demon whosebat strength and intelligence increased ordingly!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had fought with these Demonic Ants in the Outer Frontier, and knew just how terrifying those creatures could be. Furthermore, there were still other species out there that were still evolving in the dark unknown!
Demonification did not matter, whether they were man or animal. Even a small Ant could ultimately be a terrifying monster, bing a member of the Demons!
One of the elders let out a bellow in his anger, a roar that did not sound human at all. The sound had everyone watching the broadcast feeling a chill run up their spine, and they got goosebumps all over their bodies.
Before all this, Tamu had told his story to the broadcast, and the people of God Metropolis could not ept it as truth. They felt that Tamu and Xia Fan were trying to defame the well-respected elders, but now, practically everyone believed them. This was a story of how dragon yers had turned into the evil dragon themselves!
¡°I¡¯ll kill you all!¡± an elder shouted, his eyes aze with an ominous light.
Just as he said that, a white windde suddenly appeared from behind, shooting forth as quickly as a bolt of lightning.
*Bang!*
The windde struck the wall, tearing an awful gap in the metal wall. The camera moved, and everyone could see Hidden Wind¡¯s stern face. He had made his way to the elders, and behind him was a man wearing sunsses, looking very familiar: the head bodyguard of the Four Great ns, Grint with the Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes!
There were even more warriors from the Four Great ns behind Hidden Wind. Their hearts filled with doubt and anger, they drew closer with every step. A lot of them refused to believe that they had devoutly bowed to a group of such ugly monsters!
Seeing how the situation had gone awry, Dragon Dingtian stood up and yelled angrily, ¡°Are you all rebelling?!¡±
He was known as the living fossil among the Four Great ns, and had once participated in that great war over ten thousand years ago. He held a legendary status in God Metropolis.
¡°You call this a rebellion, but it¡¯s not us who rebelled, but you all who betrayed the ns, betraying even the entire Ashen Moon Universe!¡± Grint yelled loudly.
¡°Swish*
He took off his sunsses to reveal his empty eye sockets. This cruel wound shocked everyone watching from God Metropolis. Grint had once been a distinguished figure, and no one could have imagined he would fall to such a state.
¡°Just because I discovered the truth, all of you gouged my eyes out, forcing me to not reveal what I saw. Are you all still going to deny these things?¡±
¡°Lies! You were demoted because you endangered the interests of God Metropolis!¡± another elder bellowed indignantly.
It was a pity. With how everything had turned out, no one was willing to believe the elders. They were nothing more than a group of grotesque monsters; what reason could they have to continue pretending to be elders?
The situation was in aplete reversal, and it was none other than Xia Fan who hade up with this move to mobilize the power of the mob. Traveling Buddha and he were in charge of coting evidence that would harm the elders, while Hidden Wind used his influence to lead the warriors into their of the elders, airing everything to the public.
As for Tamu, he was apletely idental pick-up. Never did Xia Fan imagine that he would meet someone like him on One!
Everyone edged closer to the elders, with Hidden Wind right in front, loudly dering, ¡°Elders, I hope you will all cooperate and return back to God Metropolis with us, so that you can all exin why you¡¯ve turned out in this inhuman state.¡±
¡°Hahahaha!~¡±
Seeing that Xia Fan¡¯s n to destroy the ancient organization of the Four Great ns with hardly any effort was about to seed, Dragon Dingtian suddenly let out a greatugh.
¡°They know too much. Kill them all!¡± Dragon Dingtian hissed through gritted teeth. Even if there were plenty of his blood kin among the humans in front of them, the elder gave the order without the slightest hint of hesitation!
Tamu had once warned Xia Fan of the possibility of this situation. Lifeforms would form a new species through the corruptive influence of the dark powers, a Demonic species. These elders could not be considered humans any longer, but only Demons. Their feelings toward humanity were lost as they continued to be corrupted by the darkness!
*Rumble*
A battle abruptly started. The Elders and the beast kings totaled sixteen individuals, each of them considered to be the most powerful experts known to Ashen Moon, while the humans had just over fifty or so. However, they were of much lower rank than their opponents, and that were not enough to let them hold the upper hand.
Sixteen Demons charged toward Hidden Wind. Their strategy was not to fight, but to escape as quickly as possible. Now that their true identity had been exposed, they were already seen as the enemies of humanity. In no time at all, even more warriors from God Metropolis would be hurrying over!
*Crunch!*
These Demons were originally elders who could be rated as war gods, so theirbat strength was overwhelming. In the blink of an eye, countless human experts had fallen, and even the strongest Hidden Wind found himself forced to take several step back. Though the humans clearly held the numerical superiority, they were still unable to withstand the Demons¡¯ crazed attacks.
Just as everyone felt that the situation was dire, two blue strikes of lightning suddenly arced down from the sky! It was a dazzling disy that contained a destructive force unlike anything anyone had ever seen. When the blue lightning struck, the entire trembled from the impact.
It was Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha!
They had used their divine weapons, joining in the fight while holding the pair of daggers that Xia Fan had made from Cosmic Iron.
Cosmic Iron contained terrifying divine power after absorbing a lot of beast crystals. Every cut of the weapons contained the force of nature, so even the Demons who had evolved into bing the most powerful beings in the universe were incapable of withstanding such a wild assault!
When Xia Fan pulled out his divine dagger, all he saw was the Demon standing in front of him abruptly copse to the ground, its so-called indestructible body torn apart, as if it had just been struck down by the de of God. Another Demon beside Traveling Buddha suffered the same fate; the two managed to kill two of the Demons the moment they joined in the battle! This stunned everyone present, as everyone began to wonder just what sort of high tech weapon Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had obtained?
¡°Quick! We need to leave!¡± Ashen Abyss screamed. He could sense that the weapons Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha holding were far from ordinary, and were a fatal threat to them, so he wanted to flee.
*ROAR!*
It was at that moment that a white dragon appeared from out of nowhere!
Though this white dragon was not too big in size, it was still over ten meters tall, its body bright and clear, like it had been carved out from precious white jade. A pair of dragon horns pointed right up to the sky as billowing white fog rolled out from her breath. This fog was extremely cold, reaching absolute zero in temperature. It was able to freeze over the sun, the moon, and the stars!
This was Pearl¡¯s true form!
The daughter of the Divine Frost Dragon. Even among the unparalleled Draconids, Pearl was considered an apex existence!
After being sealed in ice for tens of thousands of years, as well as cultivating by Xia Fan¡¯s side for almost half a year, Pearl had finally recovered, and was able to stand proudly in the world, adopting her most fearsome posture!
¡°Oh heavens! It¡¯s actually a dragon!¡±
¡°The mythical dragons, it turns out they were real!¡±
¡°This is insane! The eyes of the dragon are simply breathtaking!¡±
Pearl¡¯s appearance shocked the entire universe! The entire God Metropolis poption went crazy! After all, she was a mythical creature that stood atop the food chain!
Every living thing in the world mutually restrained each other. The Dragons and the Demons were both considered sapient, it was just that the Dragons were considered divine and noble, while the Demons were dark and cruel. With how the elders and the beasts had transformed into Demons, the moment they saw Pearl, all the color drained from their faces. After all, Dragons were the creatures that were their diametric opposites!
*Rumble*
Just as Pearl appeared, shocking the entire universe, something unexpected happened!
Tamu crossed both hands and made a strange motion. Subsequently, a white arhat appeared above his head. He was fat and smiling, a holy white light surrounding him.
Tamu was a Chosen, and to be chosen meant they could summon the God of Light through a Summoning technique! Tamu¡¯s special ability was quite simr to Traveling Buddha¡¯s to a certain degree. Traveling Buddha¡¯s special ability was abination of Light and Protection, while Tamu¡¯s was abination of Energy and Possession. Both of them hadpound special abilities!
One, two, three, four¡
In the blink of an eye, four peak experts arose behind the Demons. There was the Holy Buddha incarnate Traveling Buddha, all covered in golden light; Pearl, daughter of the Frost Dragon; Tamu the Chosen, able to summon the God of Light; and finally the Demon Sealing Fiendish de, Xia Fan, with the ultimate martial art of Speed. Four of them, with four different abilities, formed a historically unprecedented killer formation!
That was especially true for Tamu. After having forcibly replenished his energy reserves, he had recovered approximately half of hisbat effectiveness when he was at his peak. As arade-in-arms who once stood side by side with Xia Fei, he was not weak, and even with just half his strength, Tamu was more than enough to shock the universe!
Heavens! Everyone was stunned. The four of them were nothing more than three gods that had descended to the mortal realm, possessing special abilities that were akin to ancient gods! They were THAT fearsome!
As for Xia Fan, the Skywings were also called the Fiendish Wings, and his Aura was different from the others. He did not have a holy Aura, but instead had a heavily fiendish one!
This group of four experts was not simple. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha seemed like they were lower-ranked, but the amazing weapons they held in their hand, capable of creating massive shocking thunderbolts, terrified everyone!
As Xia Fan and the others revealed their might, a temporary lull came over the battlefield. Everyone watched as Xia Fanughed mirthlessly, waving his Cosmic Iron dagger before him as murderous intent shot out from his eyes. He dered grimly, ¡°None of you shall be escaping today!¡±
Chapter 1537 - 1537 Unable to Prevent Demonification
1537 Unable to Prevent Demonification
¡°Oh my God, it¡¯s actually a dragon!¡±
Pearl¡¯s appearance was far more shocking than the kills Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had made upon attacking. Through the live broadcast, this groundbreaking news very quickly spread across God Metropolis.
¡°We pray to the dragon god to protect the Four Great ns!¡±
Someone began to drop to their knees and worship Pearl. It could not be helped, the Aura of divinity exuded by the dragon was simply so strong that she was seen as a god in the eyes of everyone.
¡°Kill them! If we let them escape, they will infect the entire Ashen Moon universe!¡± Pearl shouted loudly.
Instantly, the warriors of the Four Great ns received a great boost in their morale. After all, they were now fighting alongside something as sacred and divine as a dragon. The honor they felt made them willing to believe whatever Pearl said.
*Whoosh*
As long as the enemy¡¯s actions were the slightest bit slow, Xia Fan would be able to capitalize on any opportunity. His maximum speed broke past the ten thousand meter mark. Moving as quick as aser, charging in a mad rush, the peculiar ck dagger in his hand dispensing blue lightning, thunderbolts came crashing down with every sh.
Traveling Buddha was like a fish in the water in such a battlefield. His entire body was covered in golden Light, leaving himpletely unaffected by Pearl¡¯s frost breath. He dashed about the battlefield recklessly, since he had a practically indestructible body. No matter how dangerous the fight was, Traveling Buddha was bold enough to participate. No matter how strong the elders were, Traveling Buddha would dare to confront them head-on!
As for Tamu, he had Summoned his God of Light, and did not participate in the battle himself, but gavemands from afar. Everyone watched as the image of a white deity descended from the sky, sweeping aside the enemy with such ferocity that no one could stop him.
Hidden Wind¡¯s Wind special ability was also extremely effective; he repeatedly fired off his winddes, executing a barrage of long-range attacks, while other warriors with special powers who were capable of helping the fight did not hesitate to attack either!
It was just that the nature of their attacks werepletely different. Xia Fan and the others were looking to kill these elders, while the warriors from the Four Great ns did not strike to kill given that they still viewed them as their elders. It was still their wish to apprehend them somehow and interrogate them.
No matter what, the bnce of the battle gradually became lopsided. Pearl had arge area-of-effect control ability, while Xia Fan, Traveling Buddha, and Tamu were all closebat experts. It looked like Pearl was in charge of controlling the battlefield, while the remaining three massacred freely.
In the blink of an eye, a good half of the monstrous elders were in, leaving just Ashen Abyss, Dragon Dingtian, and others that were at their level who could still put up a stubborn resistance.
Pearl let out a deep bellowing roar as the scales on her body exploded in a cold shimmering. Her roar shook the verynd, delivering immense pressure to the elders. Her great shining eyes glistened like stars in a night sky, giving off a powerful gaze simr to that of a god of death.
Soldiers fell like mountains. In arge-scale battle like this, momentum was very important. Because of Pearl¡¯s sudden appearance, the morale among the elders had drastically decreased, and no matter how long they could hang on for their lives, or how powerful their martial skills were, none of them had the guts to be an enemy to a dragon!
On top of that, Xia Fan¡¯s side held the upper hand. With a real dragon as hisrade-in-arms, fighting alongside them, even the most timid warriors would not dare believe that they could lose!
¡°Secret technique! Neural Vortex!¡±
Seeing how poorly the fight was going, Ashen Abyss bellowed and pressed two of his fingers onto his temples, gathering the energy in his entire body toward his brain, before opening his eyes abruptly.
*Boom*
In that instant, an endless telepathic storm was unleashed, assaulting the very minds of the humans. The warriors closer to him immediately let out screams of anguish, feeling as if their brain were being invaded by thousands of beasts and countless of demonic ws were tearing at them, causing them indescribable pain. They almost passed out on the spot.
Ashen Abyss truly lived up to his name as the Mind God. His Mental-type special ability had already reached the degree where he was able to unleash a Mental Storm. In the span of just a few seconds, he sent many of the people into a state of mental disarray, killing arge number of brain cells.
Blood quickly began pouring out from Ashen Abyss¡¯ eyes, nose, and ears. Though he was very strong, the energy and mental power he needed to expend against over a hundred warriors was just too much, and put immense pressure on him!
Ashen Abyss¡¯ Neural Vortex quickly spread, and soon several dozen warriors fell. The elders took the opportunity to mount a counterattack to kill many of the experts.
*Roar*
Seeing how dire the situation had be, a powerful roar thundered across the sky!
It was a real dragon¡¯s roar, because this was a roaring from Pearl!
Her snow-white body, as pristine as purest jade, no one had any idea when Pearl took to the skies and spread her wings wide. She was now several timesrger than she usually looked, with a wingspan that was well over fifty meters wide. She opened her mouth and unleashed a divine roar, something akin to a sound of nature that no words could describe.
At the same time, Pearl¡¯s entire body glowed. This divine glow as well as her divine roar were unleashed at the same time. The warriors who were originally in a state of mental disarray promptly came back to their senses. Hearing the roar and feeling the light of a dragon shining on them had touched many to the point they were on the verge of tears.
Everyone was dumbfounded. At the moment, Pearl was high up in the sky, like a real goddess of the skies, releasing a divine Light that had instantly saved everyone¡¯s lives!
¡°What are you all stunned there for!¡± Xia Fan suddenly bellowed. His killing intent surged as he pointed his dagger ahead. ¡°These monsters are no longer your elders, but have be Demons, and are now the enemy! Forget the past and kill them! The Divine Dragon blesses us!¡±
Thatst bit was something Xia Fan had added to bolster the morale of everyone. There was no such thing as a Divine Dragon; Xia Fan was well aware that Pearl was usually very savage andcked any of the poise or elegance of divinity.
When the warriors from the Four Great ns saw the ascent of the Divine Dragon, they forsook their own lives and went insane! Like everyone had been given a shot of adrenaline, these people charged madly for the elders.
¡°The Divine Dragon blesses us!¡±
¡°For justice!¡±
The warriors let out their battlecries, their eyes bloodshot, their muscles pumping with blood. With steely determination that verged on self-sacrifice, they wagered their very lives and assaulted the elders who had been turned into Demons.
These warriors were originally experts who had been picked from the Four Great ns, each possessing extraordinarybat strength. Now that they had cast aside their fear of death as well, they were like a pack of wolves, charging at the elders to tear them into pieces.
Quickly, all that remained were Dragon Dingtian and Moon Churan. The former continued to fight to the death, while thetter was ashen-faced and lost all will to fight, deciding to raise his hands and surrender the moment he saw the writing on the wall.
*Shing*
*Shing*
Xia Fan did not even need to act, as the warriors from the Four Great ns themselves executed Dragon Dingtian by their hands. Xia Fan could not have kept him alive even if he wanted to, as the warriors had all been whipped into a frenzy, taking turns to chop down with their weapons in hand until he was nothing but meat paste!
¡
¡°The beast race was the origin of evil!¡±
¡°God Metropolis would be finished if they weren¡¯t in, and Ashen Moon would meet its end!¡±
¡°We have to make an effort to eradicate them all!¡±
Not long after, arge batch of warriors from God Metropolis arrived. They were staring at the corpses of the elders, and none of them could repress a shudder in their hearts. The dark mutation was so frightening that it had turned humans into monstrous existences. These warriors had no desire to see the day when they turned into something simr to the elders.
Thus, everyone made the decision to dere war on thes where the sapient beasts resided, destroying the beasts so as to avoid the copse of God Metropolis!
Staring at the warriors who had left One so filled with hostility, Xia Fan furrowed his brow and asked Tamu, ¡°Will killing the already mutated beasts really save Ashen Moon?¡±
Tamu chuckled bitterly as he shook his head, ¡°Impossible. Demonic Energy is like cancer. The moment it develops in a body, the only treatment left is to excise the cancerous partpletely.¡±
¡°But Ashen Moon is different. It would be useless even if you destroyed God Metropolis now, because there are other ces where the Demonic Ants have appeared, which means the Demonic Energy is currently growing and spreading.
¡°On top of that, there¡¯s still one elder missing. He¡¯s none other than the one who was affected the worst by this dark evolution! He departed from this ce many years ago¡¡±
Chapter 1538 - 1538 Crisis Time and the Return to the Skydome
1538 Crisis Time and the Return to the Skydome
An interrogation room¡
Xia Fan and Hidden Wind, as well as the most powerful war gods from the Four Great ns, were conducting an interrogation on Moon Churan, whom they had captured from One.
¡°None of you will be able to catch him,¡± Moon Churan shook his head in reply. ¡°Though Shaka is a sapient beast, he has already evolved to the point he can assume a human form. Truly, how Fate loves to tease people. We were originally humans, yet ended up turning into monsters, while Shaka was originally a beast, who ended up bing human.¡±
¡°You¡¯re asking me what rank Shaka has risen to? When he left, he had broken past three Law Barriers, and so who knows what level he has risen to now.
¡°If there¡¯s a chance, I would of course want to be human, but all of you have already seen how I look now. Does the possibility even still exist for me?¡±
Moon Churan answered the questions Xia Fan and the others posed without any reservations. He waspletely at ease. In the past, he was afraid that others would see his monstrous appearance, but now that everything had beenpletely exposed, he was instead able to rx.
Through the interrogation of Moon Churan, Xia Fan finally learned that about two hundred years ago, someone called Shaka of the sapient beasts had already departed God Metropolis. As for his motives and where he had gone, no one had any idea.
¡°Then let me ask you another question,¡± Xia Fan said. ¡°Where did Luolin go?¡±
¡°Why are you asking me this question?¡±
¡°Because Luolin said that after all of you had dug his eyes out, you buried them somewhere on One. He has gone off to look for his eyes, but he had not returned since.¡±
Moon Churan shook his head/ ¡°Luolin¡¯s Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes are very powerful, and they were like super crystals. Lava, heavy blows, and even nuclear explosions were unable to harm them at all. Even if we had thrown them to the ends of the universe, Grunt would still be able to see everything through his Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes.¡±
¡°In order to sever the connection Luolin had to his eyes, we hid his eyes in mud, so Luolin would not be able to see anything. As for the location of where we buried them, even I have no clue. That was all Ashen Abyss¡¯ doing, and he¡¯s already dead.¡±
Xia Fan ground his teeth. After the battle on One had ended, many strange things had happened.
While everyone was busy fighting, no one had noticed Luolin silently sneaking away, leaving no traces behind. By the time everyone realized he was gone, ready to y the other sapient beasts on others, they found out that all of them were already dead.
The way they died was rather creepy. They were found sprawled on the ground, their eyespletely ck, giving off a smell of burnt charcoal, almost as if some sort of power had entered their eyes and subsequently ruined them all.
s One, Two and Three were alls inhabited by the sapient beasts. All the warriors searched through the mountains and fields, yet none of them found even a single living sapient beast.
Though Xia Fan trusted Luolin, he could not help but think what had happened was rted to Luolin. He suspected that Luolin used his Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes to kill all the beasts, and the reason he had done so might very well be to keep some secret hidden!
Hidden Wind asked, ¡°Luolin¡¯s information is a little strange. He wasn¡¯t a traditional descendant of the Four Great ns, so how did he get to God Metropolis?¡±
Moon Churan nced at Xia Fan. ¡°He¡¯s the same as you; inadvertently barging into the ce. We kept him around because he possessed that unique pair of Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes, which none of us had ever encountered before.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°God Metropolis does indeed have such a tradition. The reason why Traveling Buddha and I were not killed iis solely because we have decentbat strength, and Traveling Buddha is also a descendant of a storied n, so we were viewed as talent and kept around.
¡°How much do you know about the Yin-Yang Omniscient Eyes?¡±
¡°Not much. They are said to be able to see the two realms of Yin and Yang. The right eye is white, representing the mortal realm, while the left eye is ck, representing the underworld. When both eyes are used in unison, one can obtain omniscience.¡±
¡°What else?¡±
Moon Churan gave it some thought before answering, ¡°It seems Luolin had an elder brother who went by the name of Luohe. I had once inadvertently heard Luolin mention that he was different from Luohe, who had a pair of golden eyes. The two brothers both had very special eyes.¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. A pair of golden eyes? Was that not Blind Grandpa?!
Blind Grandpa, and the Disasters¡ XIa Fan¡¯s thoughts went back to his time under the dome, that mysterious Skydome. The ancient tomb of the Twin Pupils n, and his childhood there¡
¡°Final question. Why are thes experiencing fission? Is there any way to stop it?¡±
¡°You¡¯re asking me?¡± Moon Churan looked at Hidden Wind. ¡°You ought to be asking Tamu, right? He¡¯s the one who brought the peculiar Demonic Energy into God Metropolis; we¡¯re all just his victims.¡±
Xia Fan shook his head. It looked like they were unable to learn much from their investigations into Moon Churan. Presently, all they had were two leads. Shaka had left God Metropolis two hundred years ago, and in that same period of time, Murder Shrine had also suddenly risen to be the fourth force in Ashen Moon, with the potential to topple the Three Federations.
At the same time, Blind Grandpa and the Disasters had been trapped under the Skydome. Theyter came under a deadly assault, and Blind Grandpa had to use his Twin Golden Pupils and sent Xia Fan to safety.
He needed to find Shaka and Luolin. Thetter had once met Traveling Buddha¡¯s elder brother Drunken Buddha in secret, so he must have known the truth about Murder Shrine. Meanwhile, since Luolin was actually the younger brother of Blind Uncle, he might also learn the truth about the Skydome as well.
Xia Fan finally understood why Luolin had handed Jane over to him. It turned out that he had already decided to sneak off from God Metropolis. Only by handing Jane over to Xia Fan would he be able to set his mind at ease!
¡ª
¡°What do you think?¡± Hidden Wind asked Xia Fan in the corridor outside.
¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any reason for Moon Churan to lie.¡±
¡°Yes, I think the same. Then what next?¡±
Even as Hidden Wind said this, a deafening sound rang iyt. The interrogation room was deep underground, so one could imagine just how loud it would have been on the surface for them to hear the intense tremors here.
Xia Fan grimaced, ¡°The rate of the splitting is now down to once every three hours. I¡¯m afraid there isn¡¯t much time left. Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re off to meet Tamu!¡±
¡
Pearl excitedly cocked her tail. The little dragon stood by the window, shiny like white jade, while down on the street, the people were animatedly discussing the descent of the dragon. There was plenty of admiration in the words they used about Pearl, making her feel very proud.
¡°We need to leave and blow up God Metropolis!¡± Tamu stated decisively.
This¡
Hidden Wind hesitated. God Metropolis was the holynd that the Four Great ns had painstakingly established. Generation after generation had lived there, and he naturally felt unwilling to suddenly hear it needed to be destroyed, just like that. But even if Hidden Wind did not mind it, the others from the Four Great ns might not agree to it.
Tamu somberly exined, ¡°The Demonic Energy has already spread thoroughly across this space. Aside from its destruction, there really is no other solution. If we don¡¯t destroy God Metropolis, then Ashen Moon will face certain destruction.¡±
¡°God Metropolis is a huge hidden space, so what methods do we have that could destroy the entire space?¡±
¡°There are of course plenty of methods we can use, but the fastest would be to set my warship to self-destruct. Since the ship itself was infected in the first ce, we should organize a retreat immediately. Quick, we don¡¯t have much time left!¡±
Hidden Wind nodded grimly. This old man was someone who did not usually speak a lot, or even get along with others, yet this had changed a lot recently. After all, this matter involved plenty of people, and Hidden Wind could not bear to see his fellows and rtives lose their lives as a result!
Hidden Wind left, preparing to evacuate and bring the people from God Metropolis to Four Kings City.
God Metropolis was not too far from Four Kings City, and there were also regr routes between the two ces. It was just that having to coordinate the massive poption to evacuate the at such short notice would still take some time.
Xia Fan looked out the window. Leaving God Metropolis for the Skydome, the ce where he grew up in, would require a two to three day journey.
Xia Fan had always avoided returning home because he was afraid of seeing the corpses of the Disasters. He did not want the memories he had of childhood to turn to ruin. The Skywings were his family, but that did not change the fact that it was the Disasters under the Skydome who had raised him.
But escape was not the solution; it was only a matter of time before he would have to face what he needed to face!
Xia Fan made up his mind and shed his usual smile. ¡°Would you people like to see the ce where I spent my childhood and grew up?¡±
Chapter 1539 - 1539 The Silent Skydome and Nine Provinces Buddha
1539 The Silent Skydome and Nine Provinces Buddha
The ck Egg departed God Metropolis and entered the lonesome space.
The sense of freedom was amazing. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha felt their whole bodies rx; after all, they were no longer under the control of the Four Great ns, and were now even viewed as highly-respected warriors of the realm. Their trip to God Metropolis had plenty of ups and downs, but the growth Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had experienced could not be ignored, either!
Unexpectedly, the biggest character everyone was mesmerized by was not Xia Fan or Traveling Buddha, but the Frostseal Megadragon Bright Pearl. She had countless fans from God Metropolis, and there were even mascots made up to resemble her appearing on the streets who became extremely popr.
¡ª
On the third day of their journey, Xia Fan began to get nervous. He kept pacing about on themand deck, thinking about the ancient tomb under the dome, and the Disasters.
¡°Look, there¡¯s the Cosmic Gate!¡± Bright Pearl pointed out the window and gushed excitedly, ¡°As long as we get past it, we¡¯ll enter the Great Chiliocosm, where there are countless cosmic gates connected to countless universes. It¡¯s absolutely magical!¡±
The others had all seen the Cosmic Gate; Traveling Buddha and Hidden Water were the only ones seeing it for the first time. Their eyes were wide, revealing absolutely shocked expressions. Hidden Water¡¯s hands subconsciously grabbed Traveling Buddha¡¯s arm.
The rtionship between the two was something worth mentioning; it was as if they had this unspoken eptance of each other. When leaving God Metropolis, Hidden Water acted like a young daughter-inw, following behind Traveling Buddha, and thetter did not stop her. But when the foolish Dragon Dou wanted to walk along with her, all it took was a re from Traveling Buddha to scare him off, which just went to show that Traveling Buddha no longer treated Hidden Water as an outsider.
¡°How spectacr! It¡¯s hard to imagine just what sort of amazing world would be behind the Cosmic Gate!¡± Traveling Buddha sighed in awe.
¡°Your father once mentioned that a good man would have ambitions everywhere, and I took these words of his to heart. I was very fortunate to have been able to devote myself to the investigation and search of the Great Chiliocosm together with him all those years back,¡± Tamu said, puffing his chest out. Whenever Xia Fan¡¯s father was mentioned, he would always be animated, as if the Skywings were Tamu¡¯s biggest idols.
Traveling Buddha thought about Tamu¡¯s words and his eyes burned with passion, tempted by the thought of leaving Ashen Moon. Hidden Water did not say a word and just hugged Traveling Buddha¡¯s arm even tighter.
Not too far from the Cosmic Gate was the Holy Tomb. This was not marked on any star map, so Xia Fan had to rely on his memory and what he had learned from the Disasters to calcte its approximate coordinates. The Cosmic Gate was eternally unchanged, so it was not difficult to calcte the¡¯s location based on its orbit around the Cosmic Gate, given thews of orbital dynamics for anyone who had knowledge of astronomy.
There was an old saying that the closer you get to your hometown, the more anxiety you feel. Staring at the dead silent in the distance, Xia Fan¡¯s voice trembled slightly. He maneuvered the ck Egg to make anding, and disembarked to take a look at the ancient tomb where he had spent his childhood.
He lifted his head up. The Skydome was already gone, most likely destroyed by that terrifying enemy. Though the ancient tomb did not appear to have any signs of battle from the outside, Xia Fan nevertheless felt absolutely nervous, his breathing gradually bing heavier by the second.
¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here and let us go take a look first,¡± Traveling Buddha suggested. He was afraid that Xia Fan would be traumatized if he saw the corpses of the Disasters.
¡°No need. Let¡¯s go together. The ancient tomb is veryplex, and none of you know the way,¡± Xia Fan replied.
¡ª¡ª
Arriving at the entrance of the ancient tomb, Bright Pearl saw the intricate markings on the ancient tomb and frowned. ¡°Swirled Clouds and Floating Clouds? I seem to recall seeing suck patterns before. But it has been too long, so I can¡¯t remember clearly. That Blind Grandpa you mentioned, he might not be someone from the Ashen Moon Universe, right?¡±
That was highly likely. The famous ns of Ashen Moon were just the Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon. Meanwhile, Blind Grandpa¡¯s first name was Luo. There was a chance he might be someone who had passed through the Cosmic Gate and into Ashen Moon.
The scene inside the tomb was much like before. Opening the doors to the Machinist¡¯s workshop, there were all sorts of tools hanging on the walls, and in the corner was a pile of scraps. There were still unfinished work on the workbench, a half-assembled unmanned reconnaissance drone.
The nts in the Farmer¡¯s room were left unattended, and had grown wildly, until they were over the average height of a human adult. Unprocessed medicine was still on the Pharmacist¡¯s scales, while music could still be hearding from the room of the Dancer couple¡
Everything was as familiar and intimate as before, though unfortunately the same could not be said about the people, as there were no signs of the Disasters anywhere.
Arriving at the deepest parts of the ancient tomb, they opened the hidden gantry gate and looked inside, where there were plenty of carvings of eyes. Nevertheless, they still did not see any of the corpses of the Disasters anywhere, nor were there any signs of battle. There were some cracks on the altar, but those had been made when Blind Grandpa abruptly sent Xia Fan away.
Tamu frowned and asked, ¡°Could they have been kidnapped? Because the enemy was far too strong, there was no way for them to resist, and so there¡¯s no signs of battle at all?¡±
No matter the case, the fact that there were no signs of battle in the ancient tomb was abnormal, especially considering that the Disasters had hardened their resolve and were determined to take down the intruder with their lives!
Pearl stood on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder as she said, ¡°It¡¯s also possible that this is the result of some mind-control special ability or parasites invaded their brains. I¡¯ve saw too many unimaginable secret techniques while I was in the Great Chiliocosm.¡±
Everyone dispersed to look for any possible clues that could allude to what happened here in the ancient tomb. When they were attacked, Blind Grandpa had said the enemy was here for the Law of Gold, but now that the Law of Gold was in Xia Fan¡¯s hands, the enemy should not have seeded¡
¡
¡
The Upper Echelon Meeting of the Four Great ns¡
¡°Let¡¯s begin the vote to decide the route we¡¯re taking in the future.¡±
¡°God Metropolis has alreadypletely copsed, and there are only two choices ahead of us: Continue to stay here in the core region of the universe, or return to the Three Federations.¡±
Hidden Wind¡¯s expression was somber as he swept his eyes across everyone present and continued, ¡°I believe everyone should be very clear about the benefits and drawbacks pertaining to the two options. Staying here in the core region means we only have Four Kings City as a ce of residence. Here, we have freedom, but there¡¯s a limit to the space in Four Kings City, and it will not be able to bear the influx of the hundreds of millions of citizens from God Metropolis. The pressure of survival will be huge, and necessary supplies will be a significantlycking,¡±
¡°If we return to the Three Federations, we will have plenty of resources, and with just our reputation as the Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon, we ought to lead veryfortable lives.¡±
Speaking to this point, HIdden Wind suddenly adopted a more serious tone, ¡°I would like to remind everyone before we begin the vote, to consider the risks that Hidden Moon will be facing now. Though we¡¯ll be using Tamu¡¯s warship to destroy the God Metropolis space, whether Demonic Energy will escape is not something anyone can guarantee.
¡°On top of that, the Three Federations have already found traces of Demonic Ants in Ashen Moon. Demonic Ants are the oldest species that has been found to be Demonic lifeforms, meaning that in no time at all, a dreadfully savage battle will break out. If we are a part of the Three Federations when that happens, we¡¯ll be able to fight side by side with them in the future, doing our part in protecting our universe.¡±
The crowd present furrowed their eyebrows. There were eight people present; they were the Patriarchs and the strongest warriors from each of the Four Great ns. The Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon had never been a democracy, and everything was decided by these eight individuals who would represent the Four Great ns.
¡°Let¡¯s begin the vote,¡± Hidden Wind said after a pause. He was the first to raise his hand and said in a somber voice, ¡°I agree with our return to the Three Federations. After all, we¡¯ve all seen what catastrophe Demonic lifeforms can bring, and while all of you may call me the crazy old man, I have a granddaughter, too. There¡¯s no way I am willing to let Hidden Water and her future children be like the elders, turning into some inhuman monsters.¡±
¡°I agree as well. As a member of the Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon, we have the responsibility to stand up and fight when Ashen Moon needs us.¡±
¡°I agree, too. Living in seclusion has not given us the strength to challenge the Skywings, and instead turned our elders into monsters. The price we paid was too heavy.¡±
In no time at all, the voting ended. Hidden Wind sighed in relief and loudly dered the results, ¡°We have six votes in agreement with the motion, and two against. Previously, Traveling Buddha gave me a method ofmunication, so I¡¯ll be contacting this elder as soon as possible to inform him of our decision.¡±
¡°This elder you speak of.. Who is he?¡±
¡°Is he someone we can trust?¡± everyone asked.
Hidden Wind nodded, ¡°You might not believe me when I tell you all this, but the elderly war god Nine Provinces is actually still alive.¡±
¡°Nine Provinces Buddha!¡±
¡°Oh heavens, he¡¯s still alive?!¡±
Everyone present was shocked. Nine Provinces Buddha was a peer of the founders of Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon. He held a very high position and if he was still alive, would already be over forty thousand years old. Even someone like Dragon Dingtian would have to call him an elder if he were to meet Nine Provinces Buddha!
Chapter 1540 - 1540 Flicker-class and Information regarding the Disasters
1540 Flicker-ss and Information regarding the Disasters
¡°It¡¯s best if youe and take a look here!¡± Tamu shouted from afar, seeming to have found something.
The carvings on the wall recorded the history of the Twin Golden Pupil n, from the first generation patriarch until their descendant, multiplying and prospering.
ording to what was depicted, the ancestors of Blind Grandpa hade aboard three warships into Ashen Moon, and thenter parted ways and headed to different ces.
¡°The warship they are on looks very familiar, like a flying disc¡¡±
¡°Could it be¡ a Flicker-ss!¡±
Pearl and Tamu had gasped at the same time. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were clueless on how the warship that Blind Grandpa¡¯s ancestor had piloted had elicited such a strong response from the two?
Tamu hurriedly exined, ¡°There¡¯s an amazing sapient race in the Great Chiliocosm called the Fey, and the Flicker-ss happens to be a special warship they produce. Not only are they powerful inbat, but they can also easily pass through all sorts of cosmic barriers. It¡¯s considered a very rare God-ss warship!¡±
Pearl continued, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that your Blind Grandpa could very well be a descendant of the Fey. Before the Skywings made their way into the Great Chiliocosm, it was the Fey who stood up against the darkness. It was unfortunate that they fell apart afterwards.¡±
Xia Fan finally understood their reaction after listening to Bright Pearl and Tamu¡¯s exnation. The Fey had once been the Overlords of the Great Chiliocosm, resisting the dark. It was only after they had been defeated by the Demonic Ants that they were forced to be wanderers.
Considering that the Skywings had joined the Great Chiliocosm afterwards, the Fey could therefore be viewed as their seniors, having left plenty of legends across the Great Chiliocosm. After the Fey were vanquished, the Skywings had forcibly taken over the task of keeping the Demonic forces in check, bringing along their friends to continue the good fight.
¡°The Fey were a race with a strong sense of righteousness, people whom we¡¯ve heard about but never seen. If these three warships are really the Flicker ss, that means we¡¯d be able to easily leave Ashen Moon and enter the Great Chiliocosm. Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯ve always wanted to meet your father? The Flicker ss would be the best transport to get you there!¡± Bright Pearl was excited.
Xia Fan was thrilled. Once he got his hands on a Flicker-ss warship, he would be able to pass through the Cosmic Gate, enter the Great Chiliocosm, and find his father and fellow nsmen? That had always been his dream!
The carving detailed the directions that the three ships had ventured out in, and they were headed to three different gxies. By entering the astronomic features of each gxy into the database, he would be able to search for their final destination!
¡°This is great! The closest set of coordinates is only a four-day journey from us!¡± Tamu cheered.
Xia Fan swept one final nce around the ancient tomb. He once had plenty of memories of this ce, but no matter what, life must continue. There was no way for him to get back what he had lost, so rather than wallow in sadness and self-pity, he decided to instead look toward the future, facing it with pride and confidence!
¡
Four dayster, the ck Egg arrived at the depths of the restricted area, in some remote gxy that was far from the Cosmic Gate as well as the territories of the Three Federations. Furthermore, the electromaic interference here was very strong, and they had to deal with intermittent radar signals.
This gxy was far too abnormal, and what made it even more peculiar was that Xia Fan managed to find the legendary Flicker-ss warship without too much of an effort. It was sitting in a desert, half-buried in the sands. The other half jutted out, registering a very strong metal signature.
¡°That¡¯s the Flicker-ss! The best starship made by the Fey!¡±
¡°With it, we¡¯ll be able to safely pass through the Cosmic Gate!¡±
Everyone cheered, excited at the progress they made. Only Xia Fan frowned, ¡°Isn¡¯t this too easy? Blind Grandpa¡¯s ancestors hid the warship here to avoid it being discovered by others, so why do I feel that the ship has been intentionally left half-concealed, as if waiting for us to find it?¡±
¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because of the recent major changes to the universe that caused some kind of geographical movement, revealing the warship as a result,¡± Traveling Buddha ventured matter-of-factly.
Xia Fan gave the matter some thought. Just in case, he decided to go take a look with just Traveling Buddha and himself. Bright Pearl and Tamu would remain on the ship as a precaution.
¡ª¡ª
*Whoosh*
The ck Eggnded swiftly in the middle of the wilderness.Just as Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha stepped off the ship, they suddenly saw a white sh of light light up the sky. It was like a soap bubble, enveloping the entire.
Static sounds filled their earpieces. Before the skydome was erected, themunication system itself was just sporadic, but now, it was renderedpletely useless!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha exchanged looks. There was no need for any spection, as even a fool could tell that the situation had changed. The moment the ck Eggnded, the skydome had appeared. It was akin to a cage used to catch rats. This skydome was exactly the same as the one over the Holy Tomb, so Xia Fan could not help but let his mind wander.
¡°So troublesome, looks like the Flicker-ss was bait!¡± Traveling Buddha bemoaned. He was not afraid, but felt that it was troublesome to have fallen for someone else¡¯s trap. It looked like they would have to fight!
*Kachunk!*
That was when the doors to the Flicker-ss warship opened, and a man walked out from inside, wearing a pair of sunsses.
¡°Luolin!¡± Traveling Buddha eximed with a furrowed brow, startled.
Right behind him was another individual, whose skin was fair and with handsome facial features. With a pretty face and a prominent high nose bridge, it was just a pity that his eyes were locked onto Traveling Buddha, exuding a sinister and cunning aura that ruined his entire look.
Luolin was smiling as he approached Xia Fan, saying in a deep voice, ¡°Sure enough, the two of you came. I¡¯ve been waiting for the both of you for such a long time, and it was ultimately worth it.¡±
Xia Fan sniffed with his nose, activating his Scent ability.
The person behind Luolin had the scent of a Beast, while the smell of the Disasters and Blind Grandpa wasing from inside the Flicker-ss warship. Xia Fan was stunned, his eyes widening, as his expression turned severe.
¡°What were you waiting for me for?¡±
¡°For you to return me what¡¯s mine, of course.¡±
¡°What¡¯s yours?¡±
¡°The Law of Gold. My brother gave it to you, so I hope you haven¡¯t lost it.¡±
Xia Fan grit his teeth and spat in anger, ¡°The Law of Gold is something Blind Grandpa passed on to me. Without his explicit say-so, I won¡¯t ever hand it over to anyone!¡±
¡°I know Blind Grandpa isn¡¯t dead, and is inside the warship right now. The others are also inside. Let them all out, and if they have even lost a strand of hair off their persons, I will not forgive you!¡±
Xia Fan was not joking. He was livid right now. The Disasters were the kin who had raised him, and he was willing to sacrifice everything just to save them!
Luolin shrugged, ¡°Okay, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to be disappointed.¡±
With that, Luolin swung his hand and a group of people filed out of the warship, with none other than Blind Grandpa at the lead of the pack, the dancer couple right behind him.
Having not seen them for two years, Blind Grandpa looked a lot older than before, no longer as energetic as he had appeared before. He came walking out like a dead corpse, his eyes devoid of life. He did not even respond when Xia Fan called out to him, and it was the same for all the other Disasters. Their eyes were zed over and nk, staring forward,pletely obeying Luolin¡¯s orders.
¡°No need to shout, they won¡¯t be able to respond anyway,¡± Luolin said. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t mind telling you this, but they have all already been mind-controlled, and are no more than a bargaining chip between me and you.
¡°Don¡¯t forget that I was the one who helped repair the ck Egg for you, which is why I know very well that Tamu is still hiding inside the ship, as well as that very powerful little dragon. But you won¡¯t dare do anything to me as long as I have these people in my hands!¡±
Xia Fan was exploding from anger inside, the veins throbbing on his temples.To think he had trusted Luolin all this while¡ He had not expected that this would be the result, that he would be deceived by someone he trusted!
Since they were already exposed, there was no sense for Bright Pearl and Tamu to continue hiding. They exited the warship and stood side by side with Xia Fan. In terms of strength, Tamu and Bright Pearl had already recovered, and with Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, they were not afraid of anyone.
Still, with the Disasters in Luolin¡¯s hands, Xia Fan had to be cautious and did not dare act rashly.
¡°Why? Why did you have to do this! Do you know how anxious Jane was after learning that you had disappeared?¡± Xia Fan deplored loudly.
Hearing about Jane, Luolin revealed a sliver of softness in his expression, but it very quickly disappeared, and in its ce was anger and humiliation.
Luolin took off his sunsses, revealing his strange eyes, one ck and one white!
¡°I am the most talented person in my n, yet because my eyes were a gic mutation, making me different from everyone, they refused to acknowledge me as a part of the Twin Golden Pupils n!¡±
¡°My elder brother was allowed to learn the Law of Gold, and could inherit the n¡¯s legacy, but I can¡¯t, even though I share the same blood! What logic is that?!¡±
Luolin revealed his true visage, ranting endlessly. In his view, everything was his n failing him, and he was in the right. He med his elder brother and his parents, but Xia Fan was toozy to refute his paranoid thoughts. It was evident that Luolin was already not in his right mind now. In order to prove that he was capable, he was willing to stand on the side of darkness, together with Shaka.
Xia Fan had noticed that Shaka was none other than that pale-faced man behind Luolin. Indubitably, he was different from others of the Beasts, and he had evolved to a greater degree, lookingpletely like a human. He was even quite dashing.
¡°Your choice now is either the Law of Gold, or them!¡± Luolin¡¯s heterochromatic eyes shone with killing intent as he gave his heartless ultimatum.
Chapter 1541 - 1541 Shaka and Nine Province Buddha
1541 Shaka and Nine Province Buddha
Xia Fan had no desire to resist and very calmly epted Luolin¡¯s demand. He said with a deep voice, ¡°There¡¯s no need to choose. As long as you can guarantee that Blind Grandpa and the others will be safe and unharmed, and you remove their mind-control, then the Law of Gold is yours!¡±
One should not ignore their conscience, and when it involved the Disasters who had raised him, Xia Fan made the decision that he would ept any condition as long as he could save them!
*p p p* Luolinughed as he apuded, ¡°Sure enough, you live up to your name as a descendant of the Skywing n. The moment they are safe, who would guarantee you would not attack me?¡±
¡°Wait until we leave Ashen Moon, then these people will be free, that I guarantee. But of course, my elder brother will not be included.¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. Luolin was willing to let everyone go, but wanted to keep Blind Grandpa? What should he do?
If he were to ept, there was a very good chance he would never get to see Blind Grandpa again, and Xia Fan¡¯s life had been saved by his hands, so he had no desire to see that oue.
But if he did not ept that condition, Doctor, Fisherman, the Dancers, and all the other Disasters could very well end up dead! All of a sudden, Xia Fan found himself caught in between a rock and a hard ce.
He watched while his mind raced. All of a sudden, Xia Fan was startled by something he had just noticed. He had uncovered a minor detail; Luolin wore a silver ring on his right index finger; Xia Fan remembered he had the habit of twisting said ring from time to time. But today, Luolin had not once touched that ring the entire time they were talking, which was somewhat abnormal.
Xia Fan revealed a slight smile and with a swipe of his finger over his spatial ring, he retrieved the Law of Gold and waved it in his hand.
Luolin nodded slightly, while Shaka¡¯s shone as he stood guard by the entrance to the warship. He pinched his fingers in his excitement, a subtle movement that did not escape Xia Fan¡¯s eyes.
¡°Take it!¡± Xia Fan tossed the Law of Gold high up into the air, lobbing it across in a wonderful parabolic arc. Luolin reached out with both hands to grab it. Shaka¡¯s brows were focused as he stared at the falling Law of Gold.
In that moment, Xia Fan unexpectedly darted forth. He had secretly injected himself with some Yggdragon blood, and so the speed he reached was past the ten thousand meters/second mark. It took him 0.02 seconds to reach Luolin from where he stood at most.
¡°You tricky b*st*rd!¡± Luolin bellowed.
His expression curdled right there and then. Everyone watched as Xia Fan did not dy in the least, and like ghostly figures, they passed by each other. If Xia Fan wished, he could easily have taken Luolin¡¯s life with one sh of his dagger, but he did not do that. He had gone past Luolin and was sprinting right for Shaka instead!
*Crackle!*
With a single ring sh, a bolt of lightning thundered as it came crashing down from the sky. This lightning struck Shaka right on his head. His ck hair was instantly burned away, as thick smoke rose from his body.
It was very coincidental. At the same time Xia Fan¡¯s de struck Shaka, the Disasters, Blind Grandpa, and Luolin all copsed to the ground, almost as if their bodies had been sapped of life, immediately going limp.
¡°Where am I?¡± Luolin asked, feeling a throbbing pain wreaking havoc in his head as he massaged his temples.
Traveling Buddha and the others were floored. It turned out even Luolin had been controlled!
Xia Fan had seen through Shaka¡¯s deception and with a literally thunderous offense, he broke his control over the Disasters. Now both Blind Grandpa and Luolin had regained their freedom!
Traveling Buddha, Tamu, and Bright Pearl all came rushing forward, each of them unleashing their various abilities. Pearl transformed into her Frostseal Megadragon form, using her wings to protect the Disasters. After all, they were already old partners that had acted in concert with each other; Pearl and Traveling Buddha acted swiftly, and their coordination was wless.
¡°Why are you not attacking?! Kill that damned beast!¡± Traveling Buddha was yelling as he stood behind Xia Fan, incensed.
Despite this, Xia Fan remained still. He used the Flying bird style he had learned from Pearl to press the ground with one hand and maintained readiness while also stopping TB from making any reckless moves.
¡°Hahaha!¡± Shaka let out a mirthlessugh. After being renderedpletely beyond recognition after taking Xia Fan¡¯s attack, his body quickly recovered, his burned skin was automatically shed, and new hair grew from his head.
In less than a second, Shaka managed to make a full recovery, almost as if Xia Fan¡¯s attack did not pose a threat to him at all. Such a powerful recovery ability was practically inhuman!
¡°Careful! He has already broken past his fourth Law Barrier!¡± Tamu shouted loudly.
The ultimate goal for a warrior when breaking their Law Barrier was to turn themselves into an immutable Law, bing one with the Law and vice versa. The rules of the universe would bend to their will, and if they wanted for flowers to bloom, no flower would dare resist, even so much as having the sun set at his will.
The highest realm of Law Power was known as the six paths of reincarnation. Shockingly, Shaka had already opened up four paths. Not even Tamu had expected Shaka to make so much progress so quickly. Just what exactly did he get up to in the years since he had left God Metropolis? How did he manage to get past four Law Barriers in that time?
Even though Shaka was from the Beast race and influenced by the power of Darkness, he had somehow gotten close to the point of godhood! Xia Fan¡¯s attack had hardly harmed him at all, meaning he was already considered an unkible existence. Even if Xia Fan and the others join hands to destroy Shaka¡¯s physical body today, he would be able to be reborn from a cocoon once more!
¡°To think I was discovered,¡± Shaka stroked his chin. ¡°But the end result isn¡¯t bad. At the very least, I¡¯ve managed to get a hold of what I desired!¡±
Saying that, Shaka lifted his right hand, revealing the golden tome in his grasp. It was none other than the Law of Gold that Blind Grandpa had left to Xia Fan.
Shaka weighed the tome in his hand, ¡°The Law of Gold itself isn¡¯t anything too amazing, and it has limited use to a novice Law warrior, but it is different in my hands. It is very difficult to improve once you get as far as I have, but with this Law of Gold in my hands, I¡¯ll be able to very easily improve mybat strength. The higher level a Law Warrior gets, the more useful the Law of Gold will be!.¡±
Shaka lifted his gaze toward Tamu and said in a low voice, ¡°Speaking of which, I have to thank you. You¡¯re the one who brought me to Ashen Moon, and I very fortunately encountered descendants of the Fey here.¡±
Tamu was speechless. He had used a warship he disguised as a, but he could not have imagined that Shaka was on the, and like a Demonic Seed, he had infected Tamu and Ashen Moon!
Shaka continued, ¡°Ashen Moon is a great ce, where not only are there descendants of the Fey, there are even soldiers that the Ant race had left buried a very long time ago. Now that I¡¯ve killed the Queen Ant, and the Law of Gold is in my hands, there¡¯s no reason for me to remain here, so it¡¯s time for me to go.¡±
¡°Go? Coming and going as you desire, are you toying with yours truly?¡± Traveling Buddha was indignant, puffing out his chest with folded arms, acting all arrogant.
¡°LET HIM GO!¡±
That voice thundered across the sky very suddenly, just as a warship sped over. It prated through the Skydome with a dull thud; it was actually another Flicker-ss warship!
This warshipnded abruptly, and an elderly man alighted. His eyebrows resembled Traveling Buddha¡¯s, and his entire body gave off a brilliant golden light. Behind him was Hidden Wind, as well as the experts from the Four Great ns.
¡°Old geezer! What are you doing here?!¡± Traveling Buddha asked with a furrowed brow, stunned upon seeing him.
Whap! The elderly man came over to Traveling Buddha¡¯s side and pped him on the back of his head, making him see stars. Though Traveling Buddha was annoyed, he did not dare resist, retreating to the side to sulk.
Xia Fan had known Traveling Buddha for a very long time, but this was the first time he had seen TB so deted. Even in front of his father and grandfather, Traveling Buddha had never shown any bit of fear, so it had to mean that this elderly man held a very high status.
Chapter 1542 - 1542 Goodbye, Ashen Moon!
1542 Goodbye, Ashen Moon!
¡°This old geezer is Nine Province Buddha,¡± Traveling Buddha introduced him glumly.
Xia Fan was shocked. Nine Province Buddha was an ancestor of the Holy Buddha n, and one of the strongest war gods in Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon. After all these years, practically everyone from his generation had passed, yet Nine Province Buddha was still alive?
Speaking of which, Traveling Buddha calling his n¡¯s ancestor an old geezer was really disrespectful¡
*Rumble*
All of a sudden, Nine Province Buddha puffed his chest out and released a powerful energy pulse. He was staring fixedly at Shaka as he rumbled in a deep voice, ¡°You¡¯ve already gotten what you wanted, so right now I hope you¡¯ll leave this ce as soon as possible!¡±
!!
Shaka chuckled coldly, sweeping his gaze across the ce, ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±
Nine Province Buddha said it straight, ¡°Yes, I am! Though I know you¡¯re very powerful, none of us are cowards who are not willing toy down our lives, if pushes to shove!¡±
Shaka thought about it for several seconds, then waved his left hand lightly. Blind Grandpa, Luolin, and all the Disasters suddenly lost the light in their eyes, and like a group of zombies, made their way in a neat file aboard Shaka¡¯s warship.
Xia Fan could not hold back anymore. His eyes filled with rage, wild killing intent surged in his heart.
¡°Don¡¯t act rashly, let them leave!¡± Nine Province Buddha shouted in amanding voice, stopping Xia Fan from acting.
¡°Easy for you to say, none of them are your kin!¡± Xia Fan turned back and spat vehemently.
The color on Nine Province Buddha¡¯s went pale as he whispered, ¡°Drunken Buddha¡¯s also on board.¡±
Now it was Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s turn to be shocked. Drunken Buddha was Traveling Buddha¡¯s elder brother. Nine Province Buddha actually agreed to let Shaka take him away? Was there some big secret behind this?
Shaka let out a mirthless chuckle, ¡°I see there¡¯s at least some sense in you. All it takes is a slight wave of my hand and the Demonic Antirs all over Ashen Moon will open all at once, plunging this universe into an abyss of doom. At least now, you¡¯ve bought yourself some time.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t me me for not warning you, but the Demonic Ants have entrenched themselves in Ashen Moon for a very long time. Even if I don¡¯t open theirirs, it will not take long for those Demonic Ants who have been in hiding for so long to automatically do so themselves!¡±
*Buzz*
Xia Fan felt bursts of pulses in his head. Staring at the backs of the Disasters, he feltpletely at a loss. During thesest two years, Xia Fan had dreams of these familiar figures, but never in his wildest dreams had this hard-won reunion quickly transformed into a farewell. Shaka was taking them all away, and he was absolutely useless to stop this tragedy from happening.
A sense of helplessness overwhelmed him. Xia Fan hated that he could not save the lives of the people he was close to, and his impotent fury made his entire body tremble. Killing intent hadpletely clouded his every thought!
¡°Marite Bugs have been imnted in their brains. If you act now, not only would you fail to save them, you would only end up getting them killed,¡± Nine Province Buddha said grimly.
His words caused Xia Fan to break out into cold sweat. Marite Bugs? Did the brains of the Disasters really have such a terrifying insect inside? No wonder they lookedpletely in a daze, almost like zombies. This was all Shaka¡¯s doing!
¡
Even after a very long time, Xia Fan was still unable to walk out from the shadows. He watched as Shaka piloted the Flicker-ss into the Cosmic Gate, forever leaving Ashen Moon. Xia Fan could feel his heart chill, practically stopping from beating.
Everything was now clear. Drunken Buddha had been tasked by Nine Province Buddha to investigate the truth behind the Murder Shrine. What he had uncovered was just one person: Shaka, a demonic lifeform who had broken through four Law Barriers. This was all a conspiracy he had orchestrated!
Not only were Blind Grandpa and the Disasters taken away by Shaka, he had also absconded off with countless bodies from Ashen Moon experts, including a fellow nsman of Xia Fan¡¯s, Xia Chen!
Taking away so many dead bodies of these people, Shaka had to be be hoping to retrieve their gic data and mix them up even more, so as to evolve into an even more fearsome monster.
Ashen Moon was now at a dangerous and critical point. The Demonic Ants had arrived here a long time ago andid innumerable eggs in the cores of manys. The moment the signal was sent, the Demonic Ants would burst forth and swiftly conquer the universe!
With how dire the situation was, the three Federations very quickly came to an agreement to deal with the impending catastrophe together. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Four Great ns also joined the Federations, and were now working hand-in-hand.
Xia Fan was confused. Shaka had left with the Disasters, and his heart had already flown into whatevery beyond the Cosmic Gate, wondering what kind of world was out there, and whether this would change the bnce of powers in the Great Chiliocosm. He also wondered if his father and his n was even still alive out there!
Xia Fan did not participate in the meeting between the three Federations. He spent each day in the training center, wildly throwing his fists, exhausting whatever energy and hormones he had. Bright Pearl and Tamu both apanied him, while only Traveling Buddha was nowhere to be found.
¡
¡°Why is she not here yet? How annoying!¡± Traveling Buddha was wearing a neatly pressed formal attire, holding a bouquet of flowers in hand and stood outside the movie theater, muttering under his breath.
The date was a request from Hidden Water. She wanted to have a formal date with him before Traveling Buddha left, and though he agreed, he still found the whole affair to be bothersome, constantly checking his watch as he paced about.
Soon, a pretty figure appeared from the corner of the street. Hidden Water was wearing a long and flowing white dress, and had put on make-up. She was carrying a handbag thatplemented her looks beautifully, and wore high-heels that only further entuated her slender figure, drawing plenty of looks from around.
Traveling Buddha was instantly in a daze. He had never thought that Hidden Water would look so beautiful when she dressed up, and like a gust of refreshing yet sweet wind that carried a light fragrance, Traveling Buddha found himself momentarily in a stupor. He, who had been all annoyed a moment ago, now just had a silly smile on his face, his eyes unable to tear themselves away from Hidden Water¡¯s delicate face.
¡°Did you wait for long?¡±
¡°Not really. I just arrived, actually!¡± Traveling Buddha ran his hand through his hair subconsciously.
Hidden Water blushed slightly, but nevertheless drummed up the courage to hold onto Traveling Buddha¡¯s arm. The two of them entered the movie theater, looking like a normal couple. They bought drinks and popcorn, as well as two ice cream cones.
Traveling Buddha hardly remembered what the movie was about. All he remembered was the warm sensation next to him, and that slight fragrance that lingered in his nostrils. To a heartless fellow like him, this date was no different from a dream, and absolutely surreal.
A movie, a meal, a stroll, a boat ride, and the moonlit sky¡
The two of them did not feel tired at all, almost as if they were doing everything they could to stop this date from ending, hoping that they could do a lifetime of activity with each other before the final moment.
¡
There was no banquet that would note to an end, and several dayster, Traveling Buddha was once more by Xia Fan¡¯s side. He had brought the Flicker-ss warship with him, the very same one that Nine Province Buddha had inadvertently stumbled upon all those years back. It was a possession of his that he had not put down.
Tamu and Bright Pearl were very excited. With this Elven ship, they would be able to break past the powerful barrier and pass through the Cosmic Gate, something nomon ship would be able to do.
¡°How was the date?¡± Xia Fan asked Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha nonchntly replied, ¡°Who was on a date? We just shared a meal together. Who knows what will happen in the future, so who has the heart to bother with all that!¡±
Xia Fan sighed. Perhaps what Traveling Buddha had said made sense. The moment they went through the Cosmic Gate, they would enter into a tempest of space and time. Even if they could return to Ashen Moon again, there was no telling when it would be. Everything was shrouded in an air of unknowability. Given such circumstances, there was no way Traveling Buddha could admit all that to Hidden Water.
¡°Right now, all I want is to find that Drunken Buddha guy,¡± Traveling Buddha said, calling his own brother a ¡®guy¡¯.
Before boarding the Flicker-ss, Xia Fan gazed at the starry sky of the Ashen Moon Universe onest time. There was no telling when he would be back after leaving on this voyage, but his desire to return to his family and n triumphed over his feeling of reliance on Ashen Moon. Humans had to grow up sooner orter, and some things simply needed to be faced head-on, be it sooner orter!
¡°Goodbye, Ashen Moon,¡± Xia Fan mentally muttered to himself as he stood by the hatch door and watched it slowly close.
Chapter 1543 - 1543 The Prestige of Skywing!
1543 The Prestige of Skywing!
Tamu wore a specialbat suit and thick gloves. He had dressed himself up like a firefighter, exposing not even an inch of his skin, making him look rather odd.
¡°This is for safety precaution; after all, I am infected,¡± Tamu exined to them.
The Demonic Infection was indeed a problem. Though the degree of infection on Tamu was nothing too severe, he still had to be very careful.
Though Xia Fan had studied medicine, he was helpless against this Demonic Infection. Unless he sessfully located the Skywing n, Tamu¡¯s infection would only worsen over time, until one day he turned into a monstrous demon.
*Whoosh*
!!
Xia Fan piloted the Flicker-ss warship right for the Cosmic Gate.
The Flicker-ss was a warship built by the Fey, its exterior appearance like a razor, straight and sharp. Its propulsion was powerful enough to leave Xia Fan amazed. Compared to his ck Egg, thetter was nothing more than a child¡¯s toy. In terms of defenses, sensors, and propulsion, there was basically noparison.
Not long after, the Flicker-ss stopped in starry space. The ship¡¯s bow was like a knife, facing toward the Cosmic Gate. Its energy storage system indicated that it was currently umting energy. The moment the number hit 100%, the Flicker-ss would explode with so much propulsion force that it would break past the barrier in one go, bringing them right into the world beyond the Cosmic Gate.
¡°The act of getting past the barrier has been called the shockwave movement. Only a handful of warships were equipped with the special Shockwave engines that could achieve such a feat. Every time they bust through, the engine would need to spend a period of time to recover energy, which is why we cannot just pass through a Cosmic Gate arbitrarily,¡± Tamu exined to Xia Fan patiently, taking on the role of a teacher.
The most special aspect of the shockwave enginey in its huge energy storage, capable of storing so much energy that when it was released all at once, it would be able to create an effect that could break past dimensional walls.
The time it took for every charge was seven days, which meant to say that a shockwave engine could not be randomly used.
¡°The preparations to break through the dimensional wall areplete,¡± the feminine voice of the mainputer reported.
Xia Fan took a deep breath, grit his teeth, and pushed the propulsion lever forward.
*Thoom!*
mes burst forth from the Flicker-ss¡¯ thrusters as the entire ship shuddered from the intensity. In the span of a hundredth of a second, the ship reached its top speed, turning into a ring blur that lit up the entire starry space.
The space outside of the ship¡¯s window waspletely twisted. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha watched with their mouths hanging agape, incredulous. They were not traveling across space, but breaking past the dimensional wall!
To anyone who understood the theory of space-time, what was understood as the dimensional wall was an amalgamation of space, time and matter, a membrane that protected the individuality of each world.
Take the dimensional wall as watching a movie, for example. Jurassic World might be a thrilling movie to watch, but could anyone im to be able to enter said world and fight against the dinosaurs?
Of course that was impossible!
That was because the two were from two very different worlds, but that was what the shockwave engine was capable of doing. It allowed beings to move about between two different worlds, requiring unparalleled technology and astronomical energy in order to aplish the feat.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were very excited. They were on the most incredible voyage known to the world, crossing from one world to another. This Celestial Pathways of the legends that connected the Great Chiliocosm was just ahead!
Light and shadow melded as the stars shifted. Time and space shifted, returning into chaos.
The Flicker-ss sliced through everything like a sharp knife, piercing forward dauntlessly through the Cosmic Gate. The intense light was dazzling, and then it dimmed sharply.
¡°Have we already passed through the Cosmic Gate?¡± Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes were wide as he gulped audibly.
¡°Yes. We¡¯re now behind the Cosmic Gate, in what is called the Celestial Pathways,¡± Bright Pearl answered cheekily.
¡°I don¡¯t feel anything, like the entire process was very simple,¡± Traveling Buddha hesitated as he touched his chin.
Xia Fan shook his head and said seriously, ¡°It¡¯s not simple at all. The energy levels have already dropped to zero. We¡¯ve just expended 7.9 billion G units of energy.¡±
Traveling Buddha wrinkled his brow. ¡°Speak inyman terms.¡±
Xia Fan exined, ¡°That¡¯s approximately the energy produced by more than ten thousand standard stars, added altogether.¡±
Traveling Buddha was stunned. A star means a sun, giving off a seemingly endless amount of light and heat in their lifetime. Yet they had just used up over ten thousand of them all at once just now, which was a shocking concept to grasp in itself.
The scenery outside the window was very mundane. Like plunging into the deep sea, there was no glimmer of starlight anywhere, just endless Cosmic Gates, all gathered together, like a dense array of suction cups one might find on an octopus.
¡°Are these all Cosmic Gates?¡± Traveling Buddha asked in awe, his face stered on the ship¡¯s window.
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°How many are there?¡±
¡°Uncountable.¡±
Traveling Buddha was absolutely speechless. The Little Old Buddha had always been uninterested in everything, but today, he felt a great curiosity toward the Celestial Pathways. He kept asking questions, like a curious student. The unwilling farewell he had shared with Hidden Water had probably already been forgotten by the heartless cad.
Xia Fan frowned, and somewhat anxiouslymented, ¡°Given how deste the Celestial Pathways are, just how are we going to locate Shaka and my family? We couldn¡¯t possibly search every universe once, can we? That would probably take even more than our lifetime to aplish.¡±
¡.
A Waystation, arge space station built on the Celestial Pathways where warriors wandering the Celestial Pathways could rest their feet and trade information and supplies.
Xia Fan spotted a round space station from far away. It looked like a mechanical, floating in a sea of darkness while emitting a dim glow of its own.
Entry and exit to the Waystation needed a navigator¡¯s guidance, which was why Xia Fan had connected to the Waystation¡¯s navigation channel. A big bearded man appeared on his screen.
¡°This is the Skydome, requesting to disembark on the Waystation.¡±
Xia Fan uttered the standard information which Tamu told him to ry. Skydome was the ship name that Xia Fan had given to the Flicker-ss, as a homage to his family in the Ashen Moon Universe.
The bearded man inspected the information on the Skydome, abruptly startling himself. His eyes shone and said in a somewhat hoarse voice, ¡°Ah, the esteemed lord has returned! Please berth on Dock Neen. I wee your arrival on behalf of the station!¡±
Xia Fan was dazed. This bearded man was being overly friendly, sounding as if they were very familiar with one another. Bright Pearl and Tamu were acting very calmly about it. Xia Fan asked the two why the people of the Waystation were speaking so respectfully, but all the two did was smile and not say a word.
¡ª¡ª
He had only just gotten his hands on the Flicker-ss battleship, so Xia Fan was still not very familiar with this razor-shaped ship. That was especially true for its propulsion system. He made a slight error when maneuvering it, scratching the midsection of another ship that was also entering the Waystation at the same time as him.
It was a red starfish-shaped warship. It looked very strange from the outside, with sharp, clearly-defined edges and corners. Its workmanship was excellent and very unique. Xia Fan wasmenting to himself that he might need topensate the other if he had caused any damages from the scrape.
He disembarked nervously, and so did the people from the ship next to him. They were a group of extremely ferocious men, each of them bald with red five-sided stars tattooed on their heads. They wore nose rings and did not seem friendly at all. Xia Fan could feel an energy fluctuation from their bodies, and he could tell that they were not weaklings. The majority of them had already broken past their first Law Barrier.
The man who appeared to be the leader of that gang of weirdos came rushing over with two of his underlings right behind him.
Xia Fan grit his teeth and looked beside him. Pearl, Tamu, and Traveling Buddha were on his side, and though the other party had the numerical superiority, they might not lose even if a fight were to break out. Thus, he straightened his neck and red at the three.
¡°Ah, I can¡¯t believe what a mistake I made. I had been in too much of a hurry just now that I failed to evade that in time!¡± the bald man, who was more than two meters tall, exined himself to Xia Fan sincerely.
Xia Fan was hesitant. He was obviously the one who had knocked into their ship, so why were they the ones apologizing?
Traveling Buddha scratched his head and then casually flicked his finger over his spatial ring, pulling out his ceramic tea set and taking a few tea leaves out. Aside from his fondness for drinking tea, he also had the habit of chewing on tea leaves.
The bald man¡¯s eyes instantly shone as he raised a thick arm as he shouted to one of his underlings far away, ¡°Quick, bring out our best tea leaves! Mengding, those picked from Ten Thousand Fathom Mountain from the Blue Peace Universe!¡±
¡°How much?¡±
¡°All of them!¡±
The bald man shed a broad grin at Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, ¡°We happened to have just gotten some really good tea. The few of you should have a taste.¡±
Uhhh¡ Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes widened, wondering to themselves just what sort of situation they had gotten themselves into.
With a frown, Xia Fan said, ¡°I was a little careless while piloting my ship just now, identally knocking into your ship. How about this, if the Waystation is capable of repairs, I¡¯ll foot the bill incurred.¡±
¡°What are you saying!?¡± The bald man was really flustered now, his ears turning a scarlet red, a look of anguish on his face. He even looked like he was on the verge of pping his own mouth. ¡°I swear to the gods¡¯ above, I sincerely did not see your insignia. Had I done so, even if you gave me the courage of ten thousand men, I would not have dared to get anywhere near you.
¡°Please be a magnanimous lord and spare me this go round!¡±
Xia Fan looked toward the direction where the bald man had pointed, and saw he was referring to a small insignia on the Skydome. Before they departed, Bright Pearl had made Xia Fan draw it. It was a pair of open wings, said to be the crest of his n, called the Skywings Breaching Nine Heavens.
Xia Fan finally understood the situation. This bald man was not afraid of him, but the prestige of the Skywing n. Seeing him break out in cold sweat from anxiety, he was not faking it, but really afraid for his life.
Xia Fan stroked his chin as he thought to himself, ¡®It seems like the people of my n are very domineering!¡¯
That was when Tamu finally stepped forward and took the sealed canister filled with precious tea leaves in the bald man¡¯s hands before saying, ¡°All of you may leave.¡±
It was a simple line, yet it was like the bald man and his underlings had just received a pardon, nearly causing them to kneel before Tamu.
¡°Wait a moment!¡± Tamu suddenly yelled before they could take more than a handful of steps. Xia Fan could see that the bald leader was already shivering, his face going pale.
¡°Is¡ Is there anything else, my esteemed lords?¡±
¡°Have you seen any of our people recently?¡±
That bald man shook his head vigorously, ¡°No, not at all.¡±
¡°I see. If you do, please help pass word that Xia Fan is back,¡± Tamu instructed him.
The expression of that bald man drastically changed right away. He was looking at Xia Fan with abject fear, almost as if he was looking at a monster. Had his underlings not dragged him away, he might very well knelt before Xia Fan.
¡°I understand, I will certainly do as I¡¯m told!¡± the bald man said in awe. He looked absolutely terrible, like he was suddenly ill.
¡ª
Walking along the corridor that brought them deeper into the Waystation, passersby all made themselves scarce and avoided Xia Fan and everyone. None of them looked directly in their eyes. Such a scene amazed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit too ridiculous? Why does it seem like we¡¯ve skyrocketed into bing big shots the moment we came here to the Celestial Pathways? Look at how scared and pale everyone¡¯s looking!¡± Traveling Buddha mused in disbelief.
Chapter 1544 - 1544 Information and the Infiltration of Darkness
1544 Information and the Infiltration of Darkness
¡°ording to what we currently know, the Celestial Pathways are the only constant time, while the various universes are considered chaotic timelines.
¡°Simply put, if we were to head back to Ashen Moon now, there¡¯s no guarantee that we will return to the time when we left. It could be in the past, or in the future,¡± Tamu exined to Xia Fan. The group had found a table near the window of the big restaurant on the Waystation, and had settled in.
Traveling Buddha furrowed his brow, ¡°That is to say that there¡¯s a possibility that when I next return home, I¡¯d find my family are all already dead?¡±
Tamu replied, ¡°That¡¯s not a guarantee. Perhaps when you return, it might be a time period when your grandfather has not even been born yet. The moment you pass through a Cosmic Gate, you¡¯re also crossing time, entering a distorted timeline.¡±
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°It sounds like the distorted timeline is rted to the Cosmic Gates.¡±
!!
¡°Indeed, that is the case,¡± Tamu shrugged. ¡°Your father spected that the Cosmic Gates should have the ability to make temporal adjustments, but no one has found a way to control them yet.¡±
Xia Fan did not understand and expressed his doubts, ¡°Since every universal timeline is in chaos, then why is my father fighting? There¡¯s no way to control a chaotic timeline, so even if he eradicates the Demonic Ants for a time, they will just appear at another point of time. Isn¡¯t such a war meaningless?¡±
Tamu¡¯s eyes shone as his entire person became excited, animatedly stating, ¡°And that is the reason why I admire Xia Fei and the Skywings the most! Skywings never give up! They believe there wille a day when they will find the origin of darkness. Stopping at the slightest difficulty is not the Skywings¡¯ style!¡±
Bright Pearl nodded her head in vigorous agreement. The dragons also showed great admiration when speaking of the Skywings¡¯ headstrongness. A group of obstinate madmen that would do anything and everything to the extreme, persisting until the end. It did not matter that there was no chance of victory; the Skywings would never give up!
The Skywings firmly believed that behind every coincidence in this world, there existed some kind of inevitability. Behind how these dark lifeforms were getting stronger and stronger, there had to be some unknown mastermind working behind the veil. It did not matter how arduous the journey was, the Skywings were determined to tear open the curtains and reveal the truth behind the darkness.
¡ª
The boss of the Waystation came over to greet Xia Fan. His name was Carlos, appearing to be a fairly skinny yet sharp-eyed old man. It was said that he had already broken past his third Law Barrier. It was impossible for anyone to run a business here on the Celestial Path if theycked the strength to stand their ground.
¡°The Celestial Path is also a road for wanderers, as anyone that leaves their universe will find it very difficult to return home after arriving here. Given how chaotic the timelines get, returning home could mean arriving in ancient times or the future; the scenery may be the same, but everything else would be different.¡±
Carlos was quite restrained, and talking to him, hearing about what he had to say about life and what he had seen, was quite a pleasant experience.
Carlos had met Xia Fan¡¯s father before, and just like everyone else, admired him and the Skywings greatly.
In no time at all, Carlos¡¯ men brought a female warrior over. She had short ck hair and a heroic appearance about her. A red longbow was strapped across her back, so it seemed she was an archer.
¡°I¡¯ve helped you investigate; this is the only one who has seen your fellow kin recently,¡± Carlos said.
The short haired woman was called Canai, and she was a hunter. Here in the Celestial Path, hunters was one of the moremon professions. Due to the abrupt changes across the Great Chiliocosm, there were all sorts of crystals appearing endlessly. Hunters were like treasure hunters, going deep into the universes to find these precious resources. They were more than willing to y the role of a mercenary if the pay was good.
¡°A team of Skywings recently asked me for directions,¡± Canai informed them.
Xia Fan¡¯s interest was promptly piqued, and he carefully asked for more details.
¡°Unfortunately, I did not see the Lord Xia Fei; the one leading them was Xia Geng.¡±
Bright Pearl hurriedly said, ¡°Xia Geng is one of the best trackers of the Skywing n, a superw war god that has broken past the fourth Law Barrier! If he¡¯s leading a team, then they must be searching for some very important clue.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. With how vast the Great Chiliocosm was, the Skywings would often act separately. If they managed to locate Xia Geng, they could very well learn where the n was headed. Xia Fan was very excited after learning this piece of news.
¡°Where did they go?¡±
¡°They were headed somewhere called the Despair Valley Universe.¡±
*huuu~*
The moment Carlos heard this name, he subconsciously sucked in a mouth of cold air. Despair Valley was short for The Valley of Despair, presently acknowledged as one of the most dangerous universes around. Dark energy hadpletely consumed it, and it was like a living hell. Rumors went that there was nothing else there aside from fire and brimstone, as well as demonic lifeforms and exotic beasts. To think Xia Geng would be headed to such a ce!
Xia Fan asked a few more other things, but it was a pity that there was a limit to what Canai knew. She only saw the people of Skywing infrequently, and was just an ordinary hunter in this ce. She hardly had any contact with anyone from the Skywing n.
Xia Fan thought deeply. He tapped his finger on the table, when all of a sudden, he sensed a sharpness from behind him. He turned around to find a group of warriors staring at him from afar with unfriendly gazes.
The leader of these men were a pair of twins. They were about middle-age, with slight paunches and rather prominent ears.
There were all kinds of forces out here in the Celestial Path, and it did not seem as if everyone was afraid of the Skywings. It also looked like not everyone was friendly toward the Skywings, and it seemed the twins shared a dislike of Xia Fan.
Rubbing his nose a little, Xia Fan turned back and spoke to Carlos, ¡°I am very interested to know just how you prevent the dark lifeforms from invading, as someone managing an inn here in the Celestial Paths.¡±
Carlosughed and happily obliged, ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you, but I have a well-equipped and very experienced security team on staff. They keep the peace here on this Waystation. It helps that I am a little bit famous here in the Celestial Path, so most people would not dare cause a ruckus here.¡±
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°That sounds pretty good on paper, but I¡¯m afraid you might have to change a new set of security system.¡±
*Whoosh*
Just Xia Fan made thisment, he suddenly darted off and charged toward a table of guests. Moving at a speed over four thousand meters a second, he was like a deadly gust of wind that instantly arrived at his destination.
In the next moment, Xia Fan raised the weapon in his hand, a short de made from styx gold, and cleanly shed it through the throats of several warriors, cleanly slicing open their arteries, fresh blood spurting everywhere.
The ce was in turmoil. Carlos¡¯ men had not expected Xia Fan to suddenly attack others. First they were startled, but they soon scrambled into action, trying to stop Xia Fan.
That was when Tamu flexed his legs and leapt up onto the table, shouting the signature cry of the Skywings, ¡°Skywing¡¯s business, those uninvolved can scram!¡±
*Zing*
The entire restaurant went silent. It was like there was magic in those words, as everyone¡¯s expressions changed. Carlos¡¯ men went as pale as ghosts. Everyone epted Xia Fan¡¯s murderous acts, and none dared to stop him!
By now, the battle was already over. Xia Fan had des in both hands and had pressed them right against the throats of those two big-eared warriors. He turned to Carlos and shed him a cheeky smile, ¡°These people are with the Darkness, and they have been monitoring your Waystation this entire time.¡±
Carlos was stunned. He quickly paced over and with a light flick of his wrist, produced an intricate gic test stick that he used to take a sample of blood from the ground. The red indicator light lit up immediately, and a sharp warning trill sounded.
¡°It really is Darkness-attributed!¡±
Carlos did not want to believe his eyes. These people were no different from humans, so he would not have known this if not for Xia Fan!
Carlos was now seeing Xia Fan in apletely different light. He was originally suspicious about why Xia Fan, as a member of the Skywings, would be looking for his kin everywhere.
But now, he was absolutely convinced of his identity. Xia Fan had been able to discover a Darkness warrior just from his special abilities alone! That only impressed Carlos even more, wondering just what sort of impressive ability he possessed that allowed him to do so!
The truth was that Xia Fan¡¯s ability in y here was nothing too impressive: it was only his heightened sense of smell at work. Because his nose was a lot more sensitive than others, he remembered the unique smell that the Darkness carried.
¡°Damn! Apprehend them all! I want to know who the one in charge was!¡± Carlos was so angry that his entire being shuddered. It was embarrassing to learn that his Waystation had actually been infiltrated by Darkness forces, and he was very displeased about it.
Xia Fan wrinkled his brow. ¡°When I had my des pressed against their throats, their expressions remained unchanged. How will you be able to get them to spill the beans?¡±
Carlos shook his head and let out a sinister chuckle, ¡°We might not be able to get them to speak, but I can enter their minds and retrieve the information I require.¡±
Chapter 1545 - 1545 Encountering a Black Warship!
1545 Encountering a ck Warship!
Tamu began his daily healing treatment by unleashing his guardian god. As the Patriarch of the Chosen, Tamu¡¯s guardian was the God of Light, said to be the strongest God Emperor among all his nsmen.
The God of Light had a long beard and silver hair, and had a kindly look about him. Tamu devoutly knelt down into the open arms of the God of Light, who embraced Tamu within his long robes.
A divine power instantly enveloped Tamu¡¯s body, a warm feeling akin to basking in the afternoon sun. Wisps of green smoke rose off his infected skin when exposed to this light, like water vapor rising from a hot spring.
Tamu had been infected by Darkness for many years; it was entirely thanks to the blessing of the guardian God of Light¡¯s treatment that he had survived all this while, keeping him from danger. Nevertheless, Tamu¡¯s experience could not be replicated, since normal people would not have the protection of a god, and the moment they were infected, it was almost a certainty that they would sumb to the Darkness.
¡ª
!!
Xia Fan quietly closed the door and gave Tamu some time and peace. He went to another room and was promptly greeted by a gust of cold air the moment he opened the door, as if he had just entered an ice cave.
Tworge-eared dark lifeforms wereying down on two separate stone bs. They were bothpletely naked, and anyone could clearly see that parts of their skin had ckened, mainly concentrated on their backs. It was a form of severe keratosis that looked like fish scales.
He could hear them breathing, clearly indicating that neither was dead, though neither showed any signs of struggling. That was because there was an elder who was using his hands to pin their heads in ce.
This elder¡¯s hands were skinny yet fierce, like gnarled branches of an old tree. The two were staring up at the ceiling, their eyes showing their whites while their bodies trembled constantly. A very mystical kind of mental power was being injected into their brains, tearing apart their memories to read their contents.
This was mental interrogative torture, a cruel but powerful special ability. Blood was trickling from the nostrils of the two dark lifeforms, a reaction to having parts of their brain destroyed.
The elder did not care for the lives of the two. He was unscrupulously attacking their memory centers.
All of a sudden, the bald elder seemed to receive a heavy blow. His entire person was sent flying backward, before mming heavily into the wall. He coughed out plenty of blood from the blow, his blood even containing ck blood clots, filling the room with a pungent metallic smell.
The two dark lifeforms on the stone bs reacted as if they had been electrocuted, their entire bodies convulsing violently. Blood poured freely from every open orifice, like they were having epileptic seizures. In just the span of a few seconds, the two were killed off. It was almost as if there was some sort of magical power that had forcibly killed them off through long-range control!
¡°Huuu~¡± Traveling Buddha opened his eyes and heaved a sigh. The level of bloodshed was unexpected. In the blink of an eye, two beings were dead and one was injured. Whether it was the mental interrogative torture user or the two dark lifeforms, all of them looked as if they had been possessed by some demon!
The bald elder was curled up in a corner, constantly waving his hand to warn others away from getting near him. Time passed, and he only got up anew with the help of the wall after an hour had gone by. He waspletely pale and his eyes dim, panting heavily.
¡°That was close,¡± the bald elder wiped the sweat off his forehead and said. ¡°The demonic energy was seeded deep in the recesses of their memory. I nearly suffered bacsh from it!¡±
¡°This is my brother, Cardiff!¡± the owner of the Waystation, Karlos introduced him to Xia Fan. ¡°Very few people know that I have a younger brother, as most of the time I¡¯m the one acting as the face, while Cardiff is in charge of the work behind the scenes.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. The strength of Carlos and his brother was obvious. What he was currently most concerned about was information about Shaka, as well as the Skywings.
¡°A batch of Demonic experts are about to be born,¡± Carlos said, a look of worry etched on his face. ¡°From the memories of those two, I¡¯ve learned some very specialized information. The Demonic Energy controlling them was very powerful, and even I nearly fell to it.
¡°All this while, whether its here in the Celestial Path or the Great Chiliocosm, the ranks of the demons haven¡¯t been particrly high. Take the Demonic Ants, for example. They were the earliest species turned demonic, and are fairly frightening in power, but that strength is based on their numbers. No one has any idea who or where their king is, which is the same for other demonized races, as well.
¡°But now, I¡¯ve seen a group of people! A group that could bring a devastating assault to the Celestial Path! Whether their appearance signifies the rise of the demons, I dare not surmise. However, I do think that the sudden appearance of high-ranking demons that have not shown their faces in public before is never a good sign.¡±
Carlos nodded. ¡°Perhaps your fellow nsmen have already gotten this news. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen the Skywings, and there¡¯s a very good chance it is rted to thisrge-scale mobilization of demons. The Shaka person you previously mentioned, he should be an expert as well, right?¡±
Xia Fan answered, ¡°Shaka is a very formidable expert, and acted very strangely. He has stolen plenty of the dead bodies of experts from the Ashen Moon Universe, including the Fey, and even a Skywing.¡±
Carlos and Cardiff were astonished. Cardiff mused, ¡°He stole the dead body of a Skywing? Heavens, he could not be thinking of replicating a Skywing, right? If a n were to rise among the Demons that possessedbat strength equal to that of the Skywings, the results would simply be unimaginable!¡±
Indeed, that would be terrible¡
Xia Fan was silent. No matter the case, the most important thing now was to locate his father and kin as soon as possible. It had been a very long time since they had showed their faces here in the Celestial Path, and Xia Fan was extremely worried.
¡
Leaving the Waystation, the Skydome headed toward the Dested Valley universe.
Carlos and his brother had specifically handed him a map. After many generations and countless years of hard work, humanity had gained some understanding of the Celestial Path, learning where a portion of the Cosmic Gates were headed, though there remained arge number of unknown worlds still out there.
The Celestial Path was an exitless circle. If someone were to travel along the Path, they would ultimately end at where they began. Even the fastest starship would need twelve years to circumlocute the Celestial Path. If the countless side Paths and splits were included, it would not be an exaggeration to call the Path endless!
The vastness of the Celestial Path was by no means a good sign for Xia Fan. The size meant it would be that much easier for him to miss finding his kin. There were no long-rangemunication systems here, so unless Xia Fan managed to bump into someone from the Skywing n, he would really have no idea where to go.
Along the way, Xia Fan encountered various ships of different colors and sizes. They had alle from various universes, ending up here in the Celestial Path. The moment they arrived, the probability of them going back home was very slim. Because of the chaotic timelines of the Cosmic Gate, there were many beings out there who had spent their whole lives wandering the Celestial Path.
¡ª
¡°Why are they all human?¡± That was the perplexing question that rattled around in his mind. Since the demons were so powerful across the Great Chiliocosm, then why had he not encountered even a single demonic warship? Just where were they all hiding?
Bright Pearl helplessly answered, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. That is just how strange the Great Chiliocosm is. It seems the demons are capable of traversing space, and though we can¡¯t see them here in the Celestial Path, they nevertheless exist in many different universes.
¡°Demons that are active in the Celestial Path are all disguised as humans, making it difficult to differentiate them. To think your nose would actually be so sensitive, so there¡¯s nothing we need to be worried about!¡±
¡ª¡ª
Two dayster, the Skydome took a turn down a smaller trail.
If the Celestial Path was likened to be a human¡¯s arm, then these smaller trails would be like the hairs found on said arm. There were simply just too many of them, as every single trail connected to countless worlds. ording to the estimates by some, the number of connecting universes was in the trillions; no one could explore all of them in one lifetime.
With the map, they managed to find the entrance to the Dested Valley Universe. Xia Fan was then forced to wait in boredom. Their shockwave engine needed seven days to recover all the energy it expended with each jump. ording to the meter, Xia Fan still needed to wait thirty-six more hours before he could activate said engine.
Suddenly, they saw the dimensional wall in front of them flicker. A ck warship came charging out from Dested Valley Universe. It was muchrger than the Skydome, and could be considered an extended Heavy Armor Battleship.
¡°Could that be Skywing¡¯s warship?¡± Xia Fan¡¯s eyes were wide, and he could feel his heart jump into his throat.
¡°No. There¡¯s no Skywing insignia, but we can ask them what the current situation in the Dested Valley Universe is,¡± Tamu shook his head with slight regret.
Xia Fan thus sent amunication request, but the other party did not respond. The more Xia Fan stared at the ck warship, the stranger he felt. As humans that wandered the Celestial Path, even if they were not acquainted, surely they would be willing to exchange pleasantries at least, right?
Tamu thought nothing of the matter. ¡°Maybe they were frightened. We have the Skywing insignia on our ship, after all. No matter, send a request again. They would not dare to not give the Skywings some face.¡±
Pearl was brandishing her little fists, saying, ¡°Tsk! No one dares to oppose the Skywings out here in the Celestial Path!¡±
Seeing how confident both Pearl and Tamu were, Xia Fan shrugged and sent themunication request again. However, only seconds after he had done so, the rm indicator light suddenly lit up, and the radar system indicated that the enemy had locked on the Skydome, and was preparing to attack!
Chapter 1546 - 1546 Beings from Hell!
1546 Beings from Hell!
¡°Warning! A sudden increase in the enemy¡¯s energy reactor is detected!¡±
¡°Warning! The enemy is in the process of locking on their fire control system!¡±
¡°Warning! The enemy has opened their deep space torpedo port!¡±
System warnings rang out, one after another. The red warning indicator kept shing, signifying that danger was upon them. Without a doubt, this ck warship nned to attack Xia Fan! Their energy shields and reactor suddenly strengthened, while a row of ck weapon ports were opened, all of them either deep space torpedoes or hidden grenadeunchers.
To actually attack without any warning?
Tamu was startled, and a little nervous. Still, Bright Pearl and Traveling Buddha looked as pleased as ever. Their eyes were slightly squinted, staring at the enemy ahead, almost as if to say, ¡®Thinking of fighting against us? You¡¯ve picked the wrong opponent.¡¯
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan¡¯s hands danced across the control console. Even in a condition where he had not injected Yggdragon¡¯s blood, his speed was between four and five thousand meters per second. Like a phantom of light, he quickly adjusted the Skydome, entering the warship into abat state. Every action was done in milliseconds, despite being manually input.
After a period of time familiarizing himself with the ship, Xia Fan was getting more acquainted with the ship¡¯s performance. This was a high-grade battleship created by the Fey; and Xia Fan had not piloted such arge ship before this. However, because of his outstanding ability to learn, he had already mastered the operational essentials of the ship!
The advantage of a speedster when piloting warships was simply iparable. Xia Fan was originally in a passive position, but under his high speed control, the Skydome¡¯s reactor was quickly pushed to 120%, its backup shields ready to turn on at any time. The electric rapid-fire cannons on both the top and bottom of the ship appeared, and the fire control systems locked onto the enemy ship.
¡°Fire!¡± Xia Fan gave the order, and the electric cannons fired. Like a dragon spitting intense mes, countless bombardment shells began pelting the opponent¡¯s hull with great efficiency.
This ck warship was not to be outdone, either. Using deep space torpedoes and heavy howitzer shots, it fired a thundering salvo at the Skydome. Though the heavy howitzers possessed great firepower, their fire rate was considerably slower. Meanwhile, the Skydome¡¯s rapid-fire cannons excelled in attacking, enabling it to keep up a continuous barrage, just like a machine gun.
The temperature of the cannon barrels shot up due to the high rate of fire, turning them red not long after the battle began.
The enemy¡¯s energy shield was dwindling rapidly; Xia Fan had timed it for the perfect moment. Pushing a red button on the console, he turned around to Traveling Buddha and everyone else and shouted, ¡°Head to the assault pod. Prepare to kill them all!¡±
Traveling Buddha, Bright Pearl, and Tamu left themand deck in a hurry. The cannon fire outside the ship¡¯s window made everything look bizarre, while the ship rocked intensely from the impact of the shells. However, Traveling Buddha and the others were powerful, so it did not take them more than a handful of seconds to arrive at their destination.
A shocking scene unfolded in the darkness of the Celestial Path. The razor-shaped Skydome, under the propulsion of its powerful shockwave engine, gained speed as it sped forward, charging right toward the enemy ship like an unloaded torpedo!
*Kraang!*
A triangr impact cone suddenly appeared on the bow of the Skydome. This was a unique feature of the Skydome. It was not only able to bombard its enemies, it could also ram them!
The thunderous impact of this collision was like stabbing a sharp dagger into the chest of an enemy, tearing through blood vessels and shattering bone. On top of that, the powerful propulsion caused the enemy ship to tumble upon impact, smashing back into the barrier of the Celestial Path a second time.
The Skydome¡¯s impact cone dug a hundred meters deep into the ship¡¯s hull, thick smoke belching out. Some of the important control mechanisms of the enemy ship had been ruined, and it looked as if the ck warship had abruptly lost power, its cannons going silent, now powerless.
¡°Kill them!¡±
A hidden mechanism in the impact cone opened, and Traveling Buddha charged into the enemy ship alongside Tamu and Pearl. Instantly, chaos exploded throughout the ship. These three had all broken past their Law Barriers, and Bright Pearl was even a dragon! Theirbat strength was nothing short of terrifying!
¡
The battle ended in a short while. Xia Fan had also boarded the enemy ship, and was holding two captives on themand deck. They were being held down by Tamu¡¯s Guardian, the God of Light, and werepletely bloodied all over, with dirty faces, looking absolutely haggard.
¡°Is this your doing?¡± Xia Fan asked him.
¡°No. These two were already injured when we entered.¡±
¡°Is there no one else?¡±
¡°None. We¡¯ve carefully inspected the ship, and only these two demons are on board.¡±
Xia Fan found it strange. It was such a huge warship, yet there were only two demons? Where had the rest of the enemy gone?
These two demons were not particrly high-ranked, and not yet fully evolved. Compared to a genius like Shaka who could wlessly imitate a human form, these two were still beast-like. One was a Fire Fox, while the other was an Ice Fox, both with sharp snouts.
Xia Fan sat down across from the two and swept a nce over them. He then asked emotionlessly, ¡°Why did you leave the Dested Valley Universe, and why did you attack me?¡±
The Fire Fox was apparently more cunning. His eyes were darting about, while the Ice Fox was more straightforward, cursing, ¡°We couldn¡¯t beat Xia Geng, so does that mean we can¡¯t even try and beat you?! It¡¯s just too bad that your warship was a lot more formidable than we had imagined!¡±
The Ice Fox was indignant. Xia Fan realized that they did not recognize the Skydome, or they would not have dared to attack him if they were aware that this strange warship shaped like a razor had been built by the Fey.
As for Xia Geng, that was even more interesting! They had been in the process of following their leader, ck Ghost, in sweeping Dested Valley when Xia Geng and his people had unexpectedly barged in. The ensuing battle that ensued ended with the Demons beaten badly, Xia Geng delivering a shattering defeat at his hands.
The Fire Fox was used to adapting to the flow of the battle. The moment he realized that the situation was going from bad to worse, he dragged his kin the Ice Fox and piloted his warship to leave Dested Valley. Unfortunately, they ended up encountering Xia Fan the moment they made it through the Cosmic Gate. The Ice Fox had a straightforward personality, so once he saw that the Skydome bore the insignia of the Skywing n, he mistook them as reinforcements for the Skywings, so he attacked without another word. Fire Fox was too slow and had not managed to stop him in time.
What followed after was Xia Fan¡¯s fierce counterattack, and the capture of the two foxes!
¡°Wasn¡¯t Xia Geng a tracker?¡± Xia Fan asked, curious. Trackers were vanguards, and generally speaking, they would not take on the enemy, since their main job is to scout.
Bright Pearl rolled her eyes at Xia Fan, ¡°What do you think? Even a three-year-old child from your n would be extremely aggressive, not to mention Xia Geng. He¡¯s a veteran of the Skywings, and though his job is a tracker, that does not mean all he knows is tracking!¡±
That made a lot of sense¡
Xia Geng was not only fine, he was actually beating up the demons ck and blue! Xia Fan was relieved. It seemed like his fellow nsmen were indeed very domineering. Ever since he had arrived in the Celestial Path, there was a sense of pride that he had never felt before welling up inside him. Whenever the Skywings were mentioned, there was no one that would not sh them the thumbs-up, which had had brought plenty of benefits his way.
Xia Fan had Tamu lock the two captives up with disruptor handcuffs to prevent them from running away, and brought Pearl and Traveling Buddha along to search the ship for spoils.
With howmon spatial rings were, important items would always be carried on people, and none of the things Xia Fan found on board the ship were noteworthy. The only thing valuable was the voyage log, as well as the various data onboard. He transferred all the data on to the Skydome so as to perform macro-data analysis.
¡°There¡¯s no need for us to go there. We can simply wait out here, so as to avoid going into separate timelines,¡± Tamu proposed.
Thus, Xia Fan and the others waited patiently outside the Cosmic Gate. ording to the information that the two demons had provided, the battle had already ended, with Xia Geng emerging as the undoubted victor. As such, it should not take long for him to find his way out. Conversely, if Xia Fan tried to enter the Cosmic gate now, there was a possibility that he would miss meeting Xia Geng entirely!
¡ª¡ª
For three consecutive days, all everyone did was eat, chat and cultivate their various special abilities and martial techniques. But when the fourth day came, even the moreposed Tamu was beginning to lose patience.
¡°Something¡¯s wrong. It has been four days. Why have Xia Geng and his men stayed in Dested Valley Universe for so long?¡± Tamu was concerned.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan gritted his teeth and pushed the propulsion lever to the maximum, engaging the shockwave engine, ¡°We¡¯re not waiting any longer. No matter what happens, I want to go in and take a look!¡±
No one could dissuade Xia Fan once he made up his mind. The Skydome quickly turned around in the darkness, and proceeded to elerate in the direction of the Cosmic Gate. His speed climbed until it was finally just a beam of silver light.
*Bang*
The powerful shockwave engine tore open the dimensional wall, and everyone saw a seering re sh before them. In the next moment, all they could see was a foreign sea of stars.
Just as Carlos, the owner of the Waystation, had said, the Dested Valley Universe was a world of brimstone and hell. Countlesss were burning in the darkness at astonishing temperatures that could melt rocks and turn them into magma, forming a tumultuous sea of red.
The onboard scanners indicated that there were no signs of life anywhere near the Cosmic Gate, and everything around them waspletely barren.
¡°Bring those two out here!¡± Xia Fan ordered.
Traveling Buddha acted like a young master and was unwilling to budge, but Tamu, infinitely loyal to the Skywings, was more than happy to head to the temporary cell where they had detained the two foxes. He lifted up the Ice Fox and Fire Fox with one hand each and tossed them onto themand deck.
Seeing the world beyond the ceiling-to-floor windows, the expression on the two monsters immediately changed. They were secretly exchanging shifty nces, almost as if they were terrified to be back.
Xia Fan red at them menacingly, ¡°Tell me, the two of you were in a fight with Xia Geng here?¡±
¡°It¡¯s no use, even if you know! The timeline is constantly changing!¡±
¡°That¡¯s right, don¡¯t go.¡±
¡°You can send an ultra-rangemunication signal. The interference in Dested Valley is very weak, so a single signal burst should be enough to cover the entire universe.¡±
The Fire Fox and Ice Fox seemed to be hiding something from Xia Fan. They were vehemently set against heading to the battlefield, using all sorts of reasons to refuse him.
Xia Fan suddenly exploded, dashing to the Ice Fox and grabbing his arm. He proceeded to close his hand, breaking the Fox¡¯s right arm in two with a crunch. The Ice Fox howled in pain as sweat poured from his forehead.
¡°Do you wish to be like him?¡± Xia Fan asked with a sinister face.
The Fire Fox had a treacherous yet cowardly personality. He was very easily swayed after being threatened by Xia Fan in such a manner.
Because they did not have too high a status among the demons, neither knew the specific details. All they knew was that here in this hellish world, there existed a sapient race known as Hell Ghosts, and the demons wanted to find them and acquire their unique genes.
It was unknown where Xia Geng had picked up this thread ande to investigate the Dested Valley Universe. However, they were still one step toote, as the demons had already found the Hell Ghosts prior to being attacked. They had just retreated from the frontline and were discussing how they should deal with these strange beings when Xia Geng arrived with his men. Both sides had engaged inbat, and the demons had lost again. It was after they werepletely defeated that the Fire Fox dragged the Ice Fox along to flee.
*Huu~*
Everyone heaved a sigh. These two damned demons! To think they would hide such crucial information. They were also beginning to worry Xia Geng, wondering if he might have had to enter an altercation with the Hell Ghosts.
¡°Hell Ghosts are beings from Hell, and do not belong in this world! If you go into their territory, you will surely regret it!¡± the Ice Fox bellowed, cradling his broken arm.
Chapter 1547 - 1547 Hell Ghost Ancestors!
1547 Hell Ghost Ancestors!
¡°Beings from Hell who havee to the Great Chiliocosm?¡±
¡°These two Foxes are full of nonsense. I won¡¯t believe them anymore.¡±
¡°But seeing how afraid they are, these Hell Ghosts should be rather capable.¡±
Traveling Buddha and the others were discussing matters avidly. ording to the very strange information the Ice and Fire Foxes had provided, they imed that the Hell Ghosts were beings possessing frightening strength that had escaped from Hell and they did not belong to the mortal realm.
¡°Best to be a little cautious,¡± Tamu stated. ¡°After all, they are a race that we have yet to encounter, and as the old Earth saying goes: a careful ship sails for ten thousand years.¡±
Xia Fan nodded, agreeing with what Tamu had said. Because of how great Xia Fei¡¯s influence on the Celestial Path was, anyone living there would pick up some Earth sayings, and while Xia Fan had not been to Earth, he had always yearned to visit his father¡¯s homeworld.
If the people on Earth were to learn that their aphorisms had be the trendiest terms of the Celestial Path, or found out that dishes like a steamboat, hamburgers, and vermicelli rolls were the most popr delicacies in the Great Chiliocosm, sought after by plenty of the wealthy and power people there, they would surely have been very excited to learn how great an influence the small exerted across the Great Chiliocosm!
¡°No one knows which universe Earth belongs to. That is a secret kept by the Skywings,¡± Bright Pearl exined. ¡°The Skywings have too many enemies, so if anyone were to learn where Earth was, a horde of enemies would surely rush over there for revenge.¡±
¡ª¡ª
A warship fitted with a shockwave engine could reach unimaginable speeds. In three days, the Skydome had crossed more than half of this universe, arriving at the rumored territory of the Hell Ghosts.
The scenery in the Dested Valley Universe was uninspiring. To call it a barrennd would be apliment, since every found across this universe was part of a sea of fire and brimstone, where animals and nts had allpletely disappeared. If there was truly a ce across the universe that could be considered Hell, it should be this ce!
The Hell Ghosts lived on arge, a continent in the center of it that was filled with ck rocks, surrounded by a humongous sea ofva. Countless volcanoes were actively erupting, causing copious amounts of magma to flow like rivers before ultimately ending up in the sea. There were also volcanoes underneath that sea ofva, preventing the magma from cooling down, so waves ofva were roiling all year round.
*Boom*
When the turbulent waves crashed ashore, the tide ofva would surge for dozens of meters. The red hotva was so hot that any human would immediately burn up and melt if any of it sshed on them.
¡°Could there be life in such a hellhole?!¡± Traveling Buddha frowned. He found this inconceivable,menting in annoyance, ¡°Bring those two damned Foxes down here. Watch me kill them if they dare lie to yours truly!¡±
Traveling Buddha felt like he had been dropped into a furnace, and everyone was extremely ufortable being here. This was especially true for Pearl; the Frostseal Megadragon was not afraid of the cold, but very afraid of heat. At the moment her mouth was hanging ajar, sticking out her little tongue with flushed cheeks. She was panting heavily, looking so weak that it seemed like she was being roasted alive.
Xia Fan was also quite skeptical, He believed it was possible for there to be beings that could withstand the temperature that this sea ofva was giving off. There were all sorts of wonders found in existence, so being unafraid of heat was not impossible. But to say that there were beings that lived here in such an inhospitable environment all year round? Xia Fan would not believe it even if he was beaten to death. Even ghosts should not be willing to live in such a ce!
There were no signs of battle in the surrounding space. Metal scraps left from where spaceships fell or spatial ripples from heavy artillery bombardment were not detected either, which probably meant that the chaotic timeline had ced Xia Fan and everyone in the past, to a time before Xia Geng and the Skywings had yet to arrive.
*Boom*
While everyone was having their doubts and preparing to leave, an explosion was hearding from the center of this sea ofva. This sound was frighteningly loud, and the sea ofva seemed to abruptly seethe as a huge wave surged high up and came rolling in.
To everyone¡¯s surprise, two beings stood atop this huge wave. They werepletely red all over, with a simmering white smoke emitting from their bodies. Though they were made ofva, everyone could make out their facial features distinctly. They could tell the two were male and female respectively.
Lava people?
Hell Ghosts?!
Xia Fan and everyone else was stunned, shocked by the race¡¯s unique way of living. It seemed like the two Foxes had not lied. There was indeed life amidst all thisva, but there were not as much as they described: just two people.
¡°Human, who are you? How did you find this ce?¡± one of the Hell Ghosts asked warily.
Xia Fan showed them his usual bright smile and very courteously said, ¡°Friend, no need to be nervous. We came here to look for Skywings, and I was hoping to learn if either of you had seen them?¡±
The Hell Ghost was startled. While they did not appear to show any killing intent and appeared cid, they were actually secretlymunicating in very low voices.
¡°What are Skywings?¡±
¡°I haven¡¯t heard of that before. We¡¯ve only just arrived, yet they located us so fast? Isn¡¯t that strange? How could there be such a coincidental thing in this world?¡±
¡°So you mean to say that they are our enemies?¡±
¡°They must be! Let¡¯s seize them first, so they can¡¯t run off, then wipe them all out afterwards!¡±
It was really quite the coincidence. The Cosmic Gate had actually brought Xia Fan and the others to the past due to the chaotic timeline effect. In this age, the so-called Hell Ghost race had not yete to be. The two ancestors of the race had just moved to the Dested Valley Universe, and Xia Fan had arrived after them, making the two of them extremely wary.
¡°Ah, so you are all here looking for Skywing. He was here the other day.¡±
¡°Oh yes, Skywing was very kind, and we really liked him a lot.¡±
The twova people were smiling as they said this, but Xia Fan and the others were dumbfounded the moment the two opened their mouths. Firstly, the Skywings was not just one person, they were a n.
Also, the Skywings were not at all kind. They were ferocious!
The Hell Ghosts maintained their fake smiles as they rapidly approached. What they did not know was that the humans were already deeply suspicious of them, and were all on high alert.
¡°Right now!¡±
¡°Kill them!¡±
The two Hell Ghosts shouted the moment they were close. They revealed their savagery as killing intent exploded forth from them, charging toward Xia Fan and others with great hostility.
*Rumble*
The Hell Ghosts possessed the ability to controlva, and made the rollingva instantly turn into a tsunami wave well over a hundred meters in height. It came crashing toward Xia Fan¡¯s group in an attempt to bury them alive.
*Roar*
Bright Pearl was already prepared for this assault and immediately changed her form. She was now a Frostseal Megadragon, her snowy white body stunning to behold, and the roar she let loose pierced the heavens, shocking the Hell Ghosts greatly!
*Fwoosh*
A white mist spat out from Bright Pearl¡¯s mouth. Her Absolute Zero Frost Breath collided with theva, which created an incredible thermal reaction. When two things of such opposing temperatures collided, it caused theva to instantly solidify into rock and explode!
Bits of rock and magma shattered and rained down from above.
Traveling Buddha had covered himself with a golden glow and leapt right into the rumblingva. He stood on the surface of the magma and charged toward the enemy. With his indestructible body, Traveling Buddha waspletely unafraid of any attacks.
Tamu opened his arms wide and unleashed his guardian God of Light. It leapt into the air almost instantly and followed Traveling Buddha.
After Bright Pearl had sessfully countered the enemy¡¯s attack, not only did she not stop breathing, she instead intensified it even more. Like a gigantic white pir, she swept it across and chased after their enemies. The female Hell Ghost did not manage to evade this in time, and her feet were caught in thest sweep. Her limbs froze instantly, turning into rock just like the sea ofva, rendering her immediately immobile.
¡°You dare attack yours truly? You two must be tired of leaving, huh!?¡±
They were too close, so Traveling Buddha was able to hurry over and deliver a punch without any dy!
*Boom!*
Everyone watched as the female Hell Ghost¡¯s body exploded the moment Traveling Buddha¡¯s fist connected with her head, killing her with a single punch.
¡°They shattered them! They beat the Hell Ghosts until they exploded!¡±
¡°These people are very strong!¡±
The two Foxes that were still held captive watched the fight through a small porthole. The Hell Ghosts were formidable, sheathing themselves in an intense fiery glow like they were someva monsters, yet Traveling Buddha had already blown one up with a punch when the battle had only just begun? Such an oue was simply inconceivable!
Traveling Buddha, Tamu, and Pearl; the special abilities the three possessed were amazing in their own ways, so when they worked together, the destructive power alone could give anyone pause. After killing the female Hell Ghost, Traveling Buddha and the God of Light began to deal with the male Hell Ghost.
The moment the male Hell Ghost saw how quickly the tables had turned, he tried diving into the sea ofva. But the God of Light and Traveling Buddha were not afraid of the heat, so they disappeared into theva along with that male Hell Ghost. Everyone saw the turbulentva turn into arge whirlpool, as if the three of them were engaged in a fierce battle amid the burningva.
*Gulp*
The two Foxes swallowed at the same time, absolutely dumbfounded. Thatva measured well over a thousand degrees, yet Traveling Buddha and that God of Light guardian had actually dove right into it?
A creeping fear began to build in their eyes as they looked on, bewildered. This was not just an issue of just how powerful their special abilities were, but more about ferocious the humans were. No matter how they looked at it, Traveling Buddha appeared to be this sloppy person, yet the moment he was in a fight, he did not hesitate to plunge into the boilingva. Just what kind of fearless mentality did this person have!?
¡°Truly, they live up to the Skywing reputation¡¡±
¡°I think it¡¯s best if we be a bit more honest. We¡¯ve been very lucky to have survived this long¡¡±
The two Foxes exchanged words. They had finally realized that Xia Fan was already being extra merciful by not killing either of them, since the strength this team possessed was enough to kill them a hundred times over!
In no time at all, Traveling Buddha and the God of Light returned back tond with that Hell Ghost captured. They threw him violently to the ground, while Pearl spat her frost breath at him. Having that Absolute Zero Frost Breath envelope the body of the Hell Ghost was an absolutely unbearable experience.
Xia Fan told everyone his conclusions, which gave everyone an epiphany. It turned out that they hade to this ancient age, the Hell Ghosts had note to be yet, which was why they had naturally not seen Xia Geng or his fellowrades.
*nk*
Disruptor handcuffs that could restrict special abilities were sped onto the Hell Ghost¡¯s wrists. Xia Fan was startled in the next moment, because the handcuffs were actually useless against the Hell Ghost, as his body was still constantly burning.
¡°What¡¯s going on? Are disruptor cuffs actually useless on him?¡±
¡°That¡¯s strange. These cuffs are capable of sealing one¡¯s seventh brain region, and that should very swiftly have their special ability contained,¡± Traveling Buddha and Tamu gasped in disbelief.
¡°Hahahaha!¡± The male Hell Ghost burst intoughter, retorting loudly, ¡°Seventh brain region? I don¡¯t have that! You clueless humans have absolutely no idea who I am, or where I¡¯m from!¡±
Traveling Buddha stroked his chin, ¡°You¡¯re not really something that came from Hell, are you?¡±
¡°Hell? You would call the ce Ie from, Hell?¡±
¡°Ignorant humans, there wille a day where you will regret and pay the ultimate price!¡± the Hell Ghost bellowed, his face savage and full of spite.
Xia Fan chuckled, ¡°No idea if I will regret this in the future or not, but I do know you¡¯ll surely feel regret today!
¡°Bright Pearl, freeze him up!¡±
Several minutester, the body of the Hell Ghost was no longer ame. He was nothing more than a lump of ice being carried aboard the Skydome and thrown into a special room. Xia Fan nned to take him back to the Waystation and hand him over to Cardiff, using his mental interrogation torture ability to forcibly extract his memory and find out just where exactly the strange being hade from.
Chapter 1548 - 1548 Hell + Meeting + Sky Mirror + Xia Di
1548 Hell + Meeting + Sky Mirror + Xia Di
On returning back to the Waystation, Xia Fan received some unfortunate news: He had just missed Xia Geng!
¡°Xia Geng was in a rush, like he was on an important mission. He was very excited the moment he got news about you, though, and had specifically left a video with me that I¡¯m tasked to pass to you,¡± Carlos told Xia Fan.
¡°Truly, impulsiveness is the devil,¡± Xia Fanmented. Had he waited longer outside the Cosmic Gate, he would have been able to meet with Xia Geng, but his impatience impelled him to charge through the gate, missing out on an encounter with Xia Geng! ¡°Did Xia Geng mention why he was in such a rush?¡±
¡°No. I¡¯m an outsider, after all. Maybe you¡¯ll get your answer if you watch the video that he left for you.¡±
¡°I understand. I caught someone from the Dested Valley Universe, and was hoping you could interrogate him for me.¡±
!!
Carlos patted his chest and guaranteed, ¡°That¡¯s no problem at all. Hand him over!¡±
Tamu and Bright Pearl had the Hell Ghost sent to the interrogation room deep in the Waystation, while Xia Fan made his way back onboard the Skydome, found a secluded room, and yed the video that Xia Geng had left for him.
*Bzzt*
The screen disyed a man, handsome and tall, sharing a set of eyebrows that looked somewhat simr to Xia Fan¡¯s. The eyebrows of the Skywing were a n characteristic; they were slightly raised, which naturally gave them an extraordinarily heroic aura.
This was the first time he had seen his kin, and Xia Fan instinctively puffed out his chest and straightened his back. He was being very serious and formal, but Xia Geng was justzing on a sofa, blowing on a harmonica. He was ying a melodious tune that transported Xia Fan into a dreamlike world of melody. Its movements were simple yet elegant, almost as if it was describing the Skywing n traversing every world, forever searching.
Xia Fan was astounded. He had learned a bit about music from the Dancer Couple, so he knew how to appreciate music. He was deeply aware that such a sonorous and moving performance would require talent and years of honing. Sure enough, Bright Pearl and Tamu were right; the people from the Skywing n had always been free, easy-going, and multi-talented. Even their Grand Ancestor Xia Gucheng seemed to be a carpenter¡
After the tune was over, Xia Geng burst intoughter and said plenty of weing words. But the topic suddenly shifted when Xia Geng shrugged, ¡°But it¡¯s too bad that your father and others have suddenly disappeared.¡±
Disappeared!
Xia Fan was bbergasted. Why did Xia Geng not mention this earlier? To think his father and arge portion of his team had actually gone missing. This was a serious matter, so why would Xia Geng still be in the mood to y the harmonica? Was he not being too light-hearted right now?
Xia Geng scratched his head and continued, ¡°I was sent to investigate, and while I was doing that, all traces of them had vanished. I am very heartbroken about this right now, and I have no idea where they ran off to cause trouble.
¡°Thesest few few years, we¡¯ve been investigating the truth behind the Great Chiliocosm, and we discovered that there were many lifeforms that are not originally from the Great Chiliocosm, but came from other territories, which was rather curious.
¡°After all, the Great Chiliocosm is a closed loop, and if there are other territories as well, then there must be a path connecting said territories, but we¡¯ve yet to uncover anything like that¡¡±
Xia Geng¡¯s personality confirmed the rumors about the freewheeling freedom of the Skywing n. but he also revealed plenty of practical and credible information to Xia Fan.
Everyone knew that the Skywings had indeed initially entered the Great Chiliocosm for the sake of finding Xia Fan, yet they had very quickly discovered an even bigger problem, rallied countless other universes in the Great Chiliocosm, and were presently dealing with the invasion of Darkness. If they failed to stop the Darkness from spreading, then there woulde a day when the Great Chiliocosm would fall, and their homeworld would not be spared, either.
That was something the Skywings would never allow happen. As such, the Skywings began their search and exploration of the Great Chiliocosm, and they encountered Demonic Ants, sapient beasts, and many other strange phenomena.
In the end, the Skywings came to the conclusion that Darkness was not something that originated from the Great Chiliocosm, but was the result of an invasion from beyond.
Since they had invaded from beyond, then that clearly meant that there were still other territories outside of the Great Chiliocosm. However, the Celestial Path they knew was a closed loop. There was no way for anyone to reach other territories from within, so how did the Darknesse to be?
Harboring such huge doubts in their hearts, the Skywings persisted and continued to give it their all. It was only recently that they hade across some clues, but it was unfortunate that in the process of chasing said clues, the main force had lost contact with Xia Geng¡¯s search team, and they had no idea where Xia Fan and the rest had gone. Xia Geng was searching everywhere. That was the reason why Xia Geng had gone to the Dested Valley Universe; the Hell Ghosts there had self-proimed that they hade to the Great Chiliocosm from Hell!
¡°When you¡¯re done with things on your end, head to the Sky Mirror Waystation to find me. They are hosting a gathering of Celestial Path experts there right now, and perhaps we could learn some useful information there!¡± Xia Geng ended the video with that.
¡
After he finished watching Xia Geng¡¯s message, Xia Fan hurried over to find Traveling Buddha and the others. They were currently in that secret interrogation room, and Xia Fan saw how pale Cardiff looked when he entered. The old man was seated in the corner of the room, a listless expression on his face, almost as if he had been rendered stupid. He did not even react even after Xia Fan shouted at him.
Carlos stopped Xia Fan in a hurry. ¡°Don¡¯t wake him. I¡¯ve never seen Cardiff look so distracted before. Reading memories is a very specialized act that now has himpletely engrossed in the target¡¯s memories. It¡¯s akin to an immersive experience, so maybe he has received an immense shock.¡±
Xia Fan ryed what Xia Geng had said to Bright Pearl and Tamu, but who would have thought that the two would be totally unaffected after learning that arge portion of the Skywings had gone missing.
Tamu stroked his chin and said, ¡°It was a catastrophe when I was captured, but anyone that dares capture anyone from your n would surely be a disaster for the enemy. Believe me, even if your father has been seized and taken to Hell, I¡¯m afraid his captors might not even live.¡±
Pearl nodded repeatedly, ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right! There¡¯s no need for you to worry for your kinsmen on their behalf. It¡¯ll just be a waste of energy and strength on your part. Anyone in their way, be it god or demon, will die! That slogan of the Skywings¡¯ is no joke!¡±
Xia Fan was surprised. With the Skywings missing, he was instead worried on behalf of the Skywing¡¯s enemies? How ridiculous was that?
¡ª¡ª
It was after a long whileter when Cardiff came back to his senses and told Xia Fan about the memories he retrieved from the Hell Ghost.
¡°There might really be a Hell that exists out there,¡± Cardiff said, fear in his voice. ¡°In all my life I¡¯ve never seen such a frightening ce. An inextinguishable inferno raged in the darkness as countless spirits and ghosts wander the desteke, as deep at the bottom of the abyss lived fire and blood demons¡¡±
Xia Fan quietly listened as Cardiff described a world. He could not ascertain if it was truly Hell or otherwise, but it was definitely true that the Hell Ghosts hade to the Great Chiliocosm from that terrifyingnd. It seemed like they had been hunted down and were fleeing something even more frightening, and had to take refuge out here in the Great Chiliocosm. That was why they ended up hiding in the barren Deste Valley Universe, and did not get into contact with the outside world.
¡°There¡¯s nothing else,¡± Cardiff shook his head regretfully. ¡°Look at how I am now, as if I¡¯ve juste down with some serious illness. Reading the memories of the Hell Ghost has been absolutely agonizing for me, and I¡¯m afraid I just might lose my life if I were to continue this.¡±
Xia Fan patted Cardiff on his back. ¡°I understand, rest well.¡±
¡ª¡ª
Having left the interrogation room, Carlos was in the middle of instructing his own men not to reveal anything about this to anyone else. If word were to get out that Hell actually existed, it just might create panic on the Celestial Path. Carlos did not want rumors to spread before they coulde to any usible conclusions on the matter. It had to be said that the owner of this Waystation was quite wise and prudent.
Xia Fan finally did not end up leaving the Hell Ghost at the Waystation, considering that Carlos¡¯ strength might not be sufficient to keep the creature under control. Since the Hell Ghost was frozen thanks to Bright Pearl¡¯s Absolute Zero Frost Breath, and everyone needed to take turns standing guard to ensure that the Hell Ghost did not break out from said ice, the risk of him breaking free was simply too great if he was handed over to Carlos. After all, he was a foreign being who no one had an understanding of with regards to his nature or potential.
¡°If there¡¯s any progress, please get someone to ry word to me,¡± Carlos told Xia Fan before they departed.
Xia Fan nodded. There was no long-rangemunication system on the Celestial Path, so information and news had to be passed around by word of mouth, making it very inconvenient.
The Skydome set off once more, hot on Xia Geng¡¯s trail. This time, Xia Fan was headed to somewhere called Sky Mirror, an even bigger Waystation that was said to be in the middle of hosting a gathering of Celestial Path experts. Various forces and powers wandering about the Great Chiliocosm all gathered there and exchanged information and supplies.
¡ª¡ª
There was no talking along the way. When the Skydome reached the Sky Mirror Waystation, they were weed by the bustling scene in front of them. This Waystation had the outward appearance of a white shell, and plenty of warships had gathered here. There were not enoughnding pads inside the Waystation for everyone to dock, so plenty of ships had to park themselves in orbit outside.
¡°It¡¯s the Skywings. Another ship of theirs had arrived!¡±
¡°And it¡¯s even a Fey warship. Looks like there¡¯s going to be quite a show this time.¡±
¡°A fight won¡¯t really break out, will it?¡±
A lot of people began quietly chatting with each other the moment they saw the Skywing¡¯s insignia on the Skydome, believing them to be reinforcements from the n. The fact of the matter was that Xia Fan had no idea that the atmosphere onboard the Sky Mirror was already so on edge that anyone could slice the tension in the air with a knife!
¡ª¡ª
Entering the Waystation, Xia Fan and his group were all very excited. Tamu was looking forward to meeting his people again, and while Bright Pearl had not said a word, Xia Fan could tell that she was missing her father very much.
Who would not have such yearning? Even Xia Fan¡¯s heart was uneasy. In no time at all, he would be able to meet his blood kin, andter his father, mother¡
Family. The concept that used to exist only in Xia Fan¡¯s mind was no longer that far away. Aside from being nervous, he was also feeling quite a bit of excitement, intermingled with all his other emotions.
The people in the Waystation treated Xia Fan as the others had before. Those who showed respect did so with a tinge of fear, giving way to them before whispering behind their backs.
¡°So few people? Looks like they aren¡¯t reinforcements.¡±
¡°With so few people, the Skywings just might be taking a loss.¡±
Xia Fan told his identity to the administrator of the Waystation, and instantly a little boy came running in from afar. He looked to be about seven or eight years old, running very quickly despite his short arms and legs. In the blink of an eye, this boy arrived in front of Xia Fan with a bright smile, bearing a polo on his waist.
¡°Are you big brother Xia Fan?¡± the boy asked cheerfully.
¡°I am Xia Fan, and you are¡?¡± Xia Fan asked back.
¡°You can call me Xia Di. My father is Xia Geng, and sure enough, you came looking for us after seeing the message my father left!¡±
Xia Fan was ted, but what Xia Di continued to say left him shocked.
¡°My father can¡¯t take a step away right now, so sent me to fetch you. It¡¯s not convenient for us to speak now, though. They are currently preparing to fight, so we can talk afterward,¡± Xia Di rattled off quickly.
Xia Fan was stunned, ¡°A fight? With who?¡±
¡°Everyone!¡± Xia Di answered enthusiastically.
Chapter 1549 - 1549 The Might of the Skywings!
1549 The Might of the Skywings!
Fighting with everyone?
Xia Di had replied so calmly that Xia Fan could not help but suspect that his hearing was off. Nevertheless, he hurried through the Waystation. When he arrived at the main hall with a huge arched skylight above, he promptly realized that Xia Di was not lying. It was just that Xia Di was used to such scenes since he was younger that he could still remain calm, despite only being seven years of age.
Xia Di¡¯s father, Xia Geng, was a passionate old man. When facing a battle against thousands of elite warriors from the Celestial Path, he was still proud and holding his head up high with confidence.
Xia Fan¡¯s appearance made the people of the Skywing n even more excited. It was a pity that a fight was about to break out, so it was not suitable for them to talk. Everyone merely walked by and lightly patted Xia Fan on his shoulder, with some even telling Xia Fan that he looked a lot like his father.
There were very few people in this Skywing team, between fifty and sixty of them. A third of them were from the Skywing n, while the rest were their followers. They hailed from all over the Great Chiliocosm, from different races and creeds. Xia Fan even saw two Water Elementals from the legends, their bodies made up entirely of blue water, able to take any form or shape. When these Water Elementals hugged Xia Fan, their bodies glowed slightly; Bright Pearl told him it was because they were thrilled to meet him.
!!
Water Elementals were very easily excited. They would be moved to tears whenever they heard someone y music, and would also tear up whenever they saw any injured small animals. They would also shed tears in their excitement as they slew evil enemies, making it such that people would say that the basic nature of Water Elementals was not water, but Nature¡¯s Tears.
Tamu was somewhat disappointed, as he did not see anyone of his people, and Bright Pearl had only met a little fire dragon called ming Swallow. She was a daughter of the Red Megadragon, and so could be considered to be one of Pearl¡¯s nieces. She had a head of fiery red hair when she turned into her human form. Compared to Pearl, who preferred to appear as a little girl, Swallow favored a more graceful and womanly form, even though she was much younger in age than Pearl.
Xia Yu was the other elder in the team. He called Xia Fan to his side so he could give him a big hug. He then proceeded to tell Xia Fan, ¡°We might need to kill these peopleter. Since you¡¯ve just returned and aren¡¯t familiar with the Skywing¡¯s Wolfpack Formation, it¡¯s best if you stay on the periphery and reinforce us.¡±
Xia Yu lightly ruffled Xia Fan¡¯s hair after he said that, his eyes filled with encouragement.
As expected, the conversation between Xia Geng and the other party had fallen through. Wearing a suit of golden armor, a masked expert red and barked disdainfully, ¡°The days of you Skywings running rampantly across the Great Chiliocosm are over! You still wish to stir up trouble with the handful of people you have here? Forget about it!¡±
¡°You wish to know where Xia Fei has gone to? Well, I just won¡¯t tell you, what can you do about it?!¡±
The man in the golden armor was called Chu Linglong, hailing from the Precious Gem Universe. He was the leader of the Pocket Terrans of the Great Chiliocosm. Though he looked big and mighty in his golden armor, the armor itself was actually fully mechanical, and the actual size of Chu Linglong was no bigger than an adult¡¯s fist. However, the Pocket Terrans were great with mechatronics and machinery, able to create armored suits such that Pocket Terrans reached the size of an average human after donning one, while the suit also granted them unbelievable strength and speed.
When Chu Linglong had heard that a warship bearing the insignia of the Skywings had docked, and that it was a Flicker-ss of the Fey, he had been extremely nervous, afraid that it would be the Skywingsing with a huge army.
But when he saw that it was just Xia Fan and three others, Chu Linglong was greatly disappointed. He also became arrogant, believing that since the Skywing¡¯s main force was already gone, there was no way Xia Geng could make any impact with the few people on their side, so he had became even more unscrupulous.
¡°Hahahahaha!¡± The moment Chu Linglong said his piece, he heard the warriors of Skywing burst into raucousughter, as if they had all just heard a hrious joke. All of them wore calm expressions on their faces, not a one showing a hint of fear or weakness in the face of the thousands of the strongest warriors from the Celestial Path gathered here!
¡°You ask what I can do to you?¡± Xia Geng shook his head slightly. Suddenly, he raised his right arm and hollered with his hoarse voice, ¡°Skywing¡¯s business, those uninvolved can scram!¡±
Apanying Xia Geng were the voices of nearly sixty Skywing warriors. This cry of theirs echoed across the entire Waystation, a shoutced with killing intent!
The color drained from everyone uninvolved present. Plenty of the warriors who had been watching this confrontation swiftly retreated with bewildered eyes.
Those familiar with the Skywings knew that when they told those uninvolved to scram, that was their ultimatum. The meaning was simple: if anyone did not wish to make enemies out of the Skywings, then they better get away as far as possible, as any who chose to stay would be in!
The famous Wolfpack Formation was already in position. The Skywing nsmen among them were at the forefront, their bodies tense and ready, while their other followers took up the rear.
¡°Hand him over! Another word out of your lips and we¡¯ll start killing!¡± Xia Geng shouted coldly, a ferocious glint in his eyes.
Such an incredible scene of not even sixty men from Skywing, threatening an enemy that was more than ten times their numbers!
The entire hall was silent. Everyone¡¯s hearts were beating wildly in their chests, they could feel their chest tightening from the stifling atmosphere.
¡°How unreasonable can you people get?! This is someone of ours, why should we hand him over to you?!¡± Chu Linglong was livid, protesting loudly, as if attempting to speak reason to the Skywings.
But he was mistaken. The Skywings were never the sort to reason with their enemies!
The moment he said those few words, Xia Geng had dropped his raised hand and a score of shadows darted out with explosive speed. In a blink of an eye, they made it into the opposing crowd and promptly shed about freely with their weapons.
*shing*
*Sprack*
Heads rolled, and that was when Chu Linglong recalled Xia Geng¡¯s demand: Hand him over immediately, and not another word! Unfortunately for him, he had chosen to waste time on words, which gave the Skywings their chance to strike!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were absolutely dumbfounded. The seven-year-old Xia Di was like a little tiger, shuttling nimbly about the enemy. They had no idea when a short sword had appeared in his hand, but he was quickly stabbing into the chests of enemies with great precision. In just a brief moment, the Skywing Wolfpack tore a bloody gash through the enemy, and were now in the middle of the enemy formation.
Xia Geng made a simple wave of his hand, and everyone turned around and charged toward where Chu Linglong was standing, leaving a trail of bodies and blood behind.
¡°Awesome! Kill them! Kill them all! Now this is what I call a real battle!¡± Bright Pearl roared as she turned into a dragon, her eyes red from the excitement, abandoning the image of ady as she let out her frost breath at the enemy.
¡°I¡¯ve finally returned to myrades¡¯ side!¡± Tamu was practically in tears. He had withstood so much pain and suffering, but he could not withstand the loneliness he had felt when he was no longer beside the Skywings. Now that he was now standing side-by-side with hisrade-in-arms once again, Tamu was now wild with emotion.
This disy of might was not fake.
When a group of speed demons disyed their might at the same time, the absolute strength shown was enough to destroy everything in their path. In a matter of seconds, the Skywing Wolfpack had killed their way into the center of thousands of enemies, leaving hundreds of bodies in their wake.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were astonished at the ferocity of the Skywings. Not a single one had fallen behind or was out of formation throughout this assault, nor did any of them reveal even a hint of fear. It was like they showed no hesitation in making an enemy out of everyone as they killed their way through the enemy lines!
¡°Stop! All of you, stop!¡± an old wizen voice thundered. It belonged to the Pocket Terran¡¯s old patriarch Chu Tianlong, father of Chu Linglong. The moment he saw how bad the situation had turned out, he hurriedly came running up and shouted out, hoping to prevent the Skywings from continuing with their massacre.
Sure enough, the Skywings halted, but Chu Tianlong was toote. His son had already copsed in a pool of his own blood, a small corpseying in a broken helmet. He was only the size of an adult¡¯s fist, which left Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha speechless.
Chu Tianlong was trembling with emotions as he gazed at the body of his son. His head was lowered, as he said feebly, ¡°No more fighting. We admit defeat. We¡¯ll hand him over.¡±
¡°IF this was going to be the result, then why bother resisting?¡± Traveling Buddhamented.
Xia Fan would never forget that scene, as he had watched a figure dart over. It was Xia Yu, and he arrived right by Chu Tianlong¡¯s side and killed him with a single stroke of his de!
¡°Admitting defeat isn¡¯t something for you to say! It all depends on whether we agree to it or not!¡± Xia Yu dered loudly. Several minutes ago, he had been ruffling Xia Fan¡¯s hair like a kindly elder, but now he was domineering to the extreme, acting like a god of death.
¡°He actually killed him¡¡± Traveling Buddha¡¯s mouth hung agape, an incredulous expression on his face. The Little Old Buddha was someone who had seen plenty of the world, yet the Skywings surpassed every possible experience he¡¯d had. Was surrendering not even allowed once the battle began? This type of behavior waspletely beyond anything Traveling Buddha had pictured in his mind.
*Sprack*
*Squelch*
The massacre continued, as Xia Geng led everyone to y everyone that they were unhappy with, and then randomly picked out one of the pale-faced men from the Pocket Terran species.
¡°From today onward, you are the patriarch of the Pocket Terrans! Now bring me to him!¡± Xia Geng said with a grim and sinister face.
The man that had been chosen nodded vigorously, as Xia Geng told everyone else, ¡°Alright, the rest of you are free to go.¡±
With that, Xia Geng followed that person down to the deeper levels of the Waystation, while Xia Di leapt up to the second level, wrapping his legs easily around the railing as he took out his polo and began ying it.
Xia Di was also quite gifted, as he had inherited the music genes of his father. Xia Geng¡¯s music was like a sonata, hormonal and passionate, while Xia Di¡¯s music was more ethereal, with a taste of nature.
¡°You will slowly get used to it from here on,¡± Xia Yu shrugged as he arrived at Xia Fan¡¯s side. ¡°Everyone¡¯s quite busy, and none of us are the sort that care for superfluous words. If anyone¡¯s dissatisfied, we just kill them!¡±
Xia Fan nodded slightly. Though he had heard plenty of tales about his n from Bright Pearl, he was still very shocked to witness it first hand.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes glinted, very impressed with the Skywings¡¯ sharpness. He went over to the crowd to introduce himself, and everyone treated him warmly, seeing that he was arade Xia Fan had brought with him.
¡°Come, let me introduce you to everyone.¡±
Xia Yu brought Xia Fan into the crowd and introduced him to everyone. Blood and corpses were under their feet, but no one seemed to care, chatting freely as if nothing was wrong, even as everyone around them looked on with fearful eyes.
The two Water Elementals were brothers. The elder brother was called Moon in Water, while the younger brother was called Star in Water. Their world had been destroyed by the Darkness, and the Skywings had adopted the two orphans, raising them up as their own. When talking about their past, these two creatures that were sentimental by nature would cry bitterly, tears rolling down their eyes that would be absorbed back into their bodies, repeating the process like falling rain.
In any case, this was a strange group of people. They came from all over, each with different personalities and temperaments. Even their dietary preferences were different. Some enjoyed their meat raw, while others preferred sweet treats. However, this disparate group of people all lived in harmony and wererades with one another under the banner of the Skywings.
¡°The biggest rule we have is that we have no rules,¡± Xia Yu exined. ¡°Aside from when we fight, everyone can freely do whatever they want with what time they have.¡±
Xia Fan chatted with his newrades, and heard plenty of interesting stories.
It was not long before Xia Geng returned with someone in his hand, who was none other than the prophet of the Pocket Terrans!
Chapter 1550 - 1550 The Prophet’s Tale
1550 The Prophet¡¯s Tale
In the time before the Skywings made their way into the Great Chiliocosm, Prophet Snow was the spiritual leader of the Pocket Terrans. The creases on his face were as defined as the Loess teau. There were only a few gray hairs on his head, and his voice was raspy and hoarse when he spoke.
Xia Geng had killed the Patriarch of the Rocket Terrans without any hesitation, but he was very respectful to Prophet Snow. He had him in the palm of his hand and brought him back to the hall. He allowed him to sit on the plush cushion of a sofa, then had the Skywing warriors surround them and quietly listen to what he had to say.
Practically everyone knew Snow¡¯s tale. This frail and sickly leader of the Terran Humans was the son of a priest, and was in charge of looking after the famous Book of the Mechanical God in the Grand Temple of the Pocket Terrans.
Before obtaining the Book of the Mechanical God, the Pocket Terrans were one of the weakest races across the Great Chiliocosm. Being only palm-sized made it impossible for them to evade the stalking of wild cats, and there were plenty of people who died every year to mere rats. The homeworld of the Pocket Terrans would often be wracked by termites, and their lives were tragic and pitiful.
The Book of the Mechanical God that had fallen from the heavens brought knowledge and strength to the Pocket Terrans. Through it, they had learned about machinery and gained the ability to construct mechatronic suits. Though these suits were weak whenpared to super experts from races like the Skywings, the biggest use of the suit was not about individual strength, but overall strength. Through their mechatronic suits, they were able to help every Pocket Terran be a decent warrior!
!!
Through the strength of those mechatronic suits, the Pocket Terrans were finally able to rise up. They had constructed a temple and altar to mechatronics knowledge, enshrining the book and its author, Misei Izumi, as the true god of the Pocket Terrans. It was Snow¡¯s family who had inherited the important role of venerating their god.
One evening, as the setting sun basked thend in its golden glow, Snow had as normal gone through the worship of their god as dusk fell, and was seated on the steps to the temple in a daze.
A gust of wind blew past, and the Book of the Mechanical God had swiftly floated up into the air. Snow had been stunned. He had used all his feeble strength to try and stop it, and after a brief fight, he discovered that he was having an encounter with one of the magical and sapient creatures in the universe: it was a Wind Elemental, a rtive of the Water and Fire Elementals, a primal being of the Elements.
Snow had copsed on the ground and pleaded to the Wind Elemental.¡±As long as you don¡¯t take away the Book of the Mechanical God, I can teach you!¡±
The Wind Elemental had considered that even if she took away the book, she might not understand it. Thus, she agreed to the condition Snow had put forth, and from that day onward, Snow and the Wind Elemental had stayed in the temple. After three years of tireless study, the Wind Elemental finally understood its contents, and had fallen deeply in love with the weak and kind Snow.
Originally, the Wind Elemental only had her eye on the Book of the Mechanical God because her body was made of air and she had no corporeal body of her own. No one could see her, and she would usually be inadvertently ignored by others. She wanted to construct herself a mechatronics suit, and finally let people know she existed.
With Snow¡¯s help, the Wind Elemental sessfully built her suit. Snow had fallen head over heels for her as well, and followed the Wind Elemental together to leave his universe, arriving at the Great Chiliocosm. Here, the Wind Elemental found plenty of precious medicines and improved Snow¡¯s health over time, extending his life.
Unfortunately, it was the Wind Elemental who gradually weakened as days went by.
After many years, Snow buried the Wind Elemental¡¯s mechatronic suit, and returned to the Pocket Terran¡¯s Universe, resuming his role as the prophet.
Before dying, the Wind Elemental had left her strongest power to Snow, allowing him to hear voices in the wind despite being tens of thousands kilometers away. Thus, the people of his race also called him the Windspeaker.
Based on his understanding of the Great Chiliocosm, Snow had learned that there was an even more exciting world beyond the known universes, and so he had brought his fellow Pocket Terrans to the Celestial Path, and slowly they became a force to be reckoned with.
Snow very respectfully apologized to the Skywings, ¡°I am very sorry. It was I who told Chu Tianlong that the Skywings had departed the Great Chiliocosm, which was why they acted disrespectfully toward you all. I never would have imagined that Chu Tianlong would be so arrogant. Perhaps it is because we Pocket Terrans have been bullied far too much that we wished we could be strong and powerful.¡±
Xia Geng nodded, ¡°I know you¡¯re different from Chu Tianlong. The father and son have already paid the price for that. Let us just let bygones be bygones, so please tell us the truth.¡±
Snow shut his eyes and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°Three months ago, I heard some voices. Xia Fei seemed to have found the entrance to Hell, and then there was a bout of confusion and chaos, most likely from the entrance automatically opening up and sucking them in.¡±
¡°Dammit!¡± Xia Yu cursed. But the reason he cursed was not because of how terrifying Hell was, but that Xia Fan had gone there without bringing him along!. That was very unbrotherly of him!
Xia Geng was silent for a very long time. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to return to the Deste Valley Universe and kill some Hell Ghosts, so we can snatch one alive.¡±
Xia Fan was startled. He hurriedly asked, learning that Xia Geng and the others had first fought against the forces of Darkness and then the Hell Ghosts while there. They had defeated the former at first, but because there were too many of thetter, the fight had resulted in Xia Geng and his team retreating.
¡°We caught one.¡±
Xia Fan told everyone about what happened when he went to the Deste Valley Universe, but because of the chaotic timeline effect of the Cosmic Gates, Xia Fan had only encountered two Hell Ghosts when he arrived. He had ended up killing one and capturing the other.
¡°You sure live up to your name as Xia Fei¡¯s son!¡± Everyone was thrilled. All of them were very well acquainted with just how powerful the Hell Ghosts were, and it was very impressive that Xia Fan managed to kill one and capture the other.
¡ª¡ª
Soon after, the Hell Ghost and the two Foxes were suffering. Screams could be heard in the room as the warriors pulled apart and reattached the Hell Ghost repeatedly, like he was a robot.
¡°Forget it. Those two Foxes should have already told us everything they know, so let¡¯s just spare them.¡± Xia Fan spoke fair judgment and the two Foxes instantly teared up, praising Xia Fan for his benevolence. They had profoundly experienced what it meant to be saved from the brink of catastrophe!.
Dragging their beaten bodies, the Ice and Fire Foxes did everything they could to serve tea and drinks to the Skywings, treating the Skywing Wolfpack as their ancestors.
¡ª
For many days, the Skywings sought out various experts to deal with the Hell Ghost, who refused to speak a word of truth. At the same time, the rumor that Hell existed spread like wildfire across the Great Chiliocosm, creating an uproar.
The experts living across the Great Chiliocosm began spreading rumors that the Darkness had spread from Hell to the Celestial Path, and that even many of the famous Skywings had fallen, having been sucked into an endless abyss, never to be reborn.
Xia Geng brought his men to properly take care of the people who spread such nonsense the moment he caught wind of it, but that did not stop the rumors from spreading. The beings that lived on the Celestial Path all felt fear, afraid that the power wielded by the Darkness would one day conquer all life across all worlds!
¡ª¡ª
On the afternoon of the fifth day, the Hell Ghost finally could not take any more of the torture that the Skywing Wolfpack had put him through and died, not revealing the truth about Hell to the very moment he passed. Like a wild beast who had been forced into a corner, staring deathly at those that were interrogating him with murderous eyes, remembering their faces and voices to the end.
¡°It¡¯s an unusual being, alright. This is the first time I¡¯ve met someone so tough,¡± Xia Yu remarked.
Thereafter, the prophet of the Pocket Terran Snow was invited out again, this time to join the Skywings so he could use his ability as the Windspeaker to provide Skywings with information. Snow agreed to their invitation after spending some time pondering it.
¡°Let¡¯s set off!¡± Xia Geng shouted with a raise of his arm, ¡°There must be someone across the Great Chiliocosm that knows the truth, so let¡¯s head to those universes with the most powerful demonic forces!¡±
Chapter 1551 - 1551 Attack! Skywings’ Trump Card!
1551 Attack! Skywings¡¯ Trump Card!
Xia Fan was brought to the deepest part of the ship. In a huge round cabin there, over twenty stern-faced instructors were waiting to instruct Xia Fan in the Law of Speed.
As the saying went, famous teachers would lead to greater apprentices, but having more than twenty of the most outstanding Skywing warriors just to instruct Xia Fan was a bit of a shocking sight.
First was his seventh brain region¡¯s width and physical constitution tests. Those two tests were the basis of being a speedster; the former dictated Xia Fan¡¯s future, while thetter decided Xia Fan¡¯s present.
The results of the tests left everyone bbergasted. He had a seventh brain region that was 100% open, which was not exactly surprising. The hereditary genes of the Skywings were outstanding, so on average they achieved a 97% open rate. Every single Skywing member had the potential to be peak speedsters.
Instead, it was Xia Fan¡¯s physical constitution that shocked everyone, as he had broken the historical records of the n! The previous holder had been the n founder himself, the famed carpenter and speedster madman, Xia Gucheng! As someone with a gic mutation, Xia Gucheng¡¯s muscles and bones were extremely developed, and even though he had lived for many epochs and was an old man, his explosive power was still unrivaled.
¡°A body constitution rating of 17,000!¡±
The Skywing warriors gasped in shock. Xia Fan¡¯s physical constitution rating was actually 170% of Xia Gucheng¡¯s, practically twice that of his father¡¯s! It was an unimaginable rating!
¡°I ate Grade Nine energy crystals when growing up,¡± Xia Fan exined to his fellow nsmen. When everyone heard Xia Fan¡¯s story, every one of them sighed in awe, holding every Disaster in high regard for what they had done.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, the Skywing n is one that clearly differentiates between gratitude and grudges. There wille a day when we will find and save this group of benefactors that raised you, as they are not just your benefactors, but that of the Skywings!¡± Xia Yu categorically assured him.
There was no time for emotions, and Xia Fan¡¯s hard work promptly began. The warriors of Skywing split into three small groups, taking turns on instructing Xia Fan. His daily leisure time was strictly limited to just two hours, enough to take a bath and have a nap, before he would be brought to the cargo hold below again.
¡ª¡ª
Several dayster, Traveling Buddha began toin that Xia Fan was always nowhere to be found. The two had been partners for a very long time and had not spent much time away from one another. He was very ufortable with the current situation they found themselves in, as he preferred staying together with Xia Fan, even if they were doing nothing.
¡°Come with me. I¡¯ll bring you to see the results of Xia Fan¡¯s training.¡±
It was a weekter, and the seven year old Xia Di went looking for Traveling Buddha and brought everyone to the location where Xia Fan was receiving secret training. Here at this roundabout circuit, Xia Fan had already changed into the specialized training attire of the Skywings, and was in the middle of limbering up, warming up before he elerated.
The Skywing n had their own equipment department, a group of skilled craftsmen whom they had met during their travels across the Great Chiliocosm. Xia Fan was wearing the attire known as Broken Light, created by a Moor who went by the moniker of Heavenly Craftsman. Moors had brownish skin and light green eyes, and were adept at weaving and energy coating, while also having done research on chemistry.
Broken Light was a soft armor, while the hard alloy armor was made by crafters from the Fey Artisan race. They were an offshoot of the Fey, and during the years when the Fey ruled the Great Chiliocosm, they had earned many titles of excellence. After the Fey were eradicated, one of their Artisan ns followed the Skywings, continuing their own traditions, and the Skywings continued to search for the best materials out there for them, helping them continue innovating.
¡°How touching. Xia Fan is finally being trained, bing a true Skywing.¡±
The emotional Water Elemental was crying, while the others were loudly cheering Xia Fan on.
They watched as Xia Geng gave amand, and Xia Fan bent his back, adopting the strange posture of the Flying Bird style that his father had invented. The Soloist Flying Bird Style and the Grand Scale Wolfpack Formation: Xia Fan¡¯s father had contributed greatly to the tactical innovations of the n!
*Whoosh!*
Xia Fan¡¯s speed soared, instantly turning into a beam of light. Those watching could hardly make out his figure, only stare at the numbers disyed on the screen above. The speedometer showed that Xia Fan¡¯s speed had already surpassed five thousand meters per second, and in the blink of an eye, reached twelve thousand meters per second, an approximately fifty percent increase from before he had received any special training from the Skywings!
Truly, the Skywings lived up to their names as the experts of speed and the best teachers. In but seven days¡¯ time, his speed had broken past the ten thousand mark, a crazy increase that no normal person could even imagine. Yet in that short span of time, they had managed to bring Xia Fan¡¯s speed to new heights!
¡°Hurrah!¡± Everyone was cheering. Xia Geng personally pinned the Skywing¡¯s badge onto Xia Fan, and the kitchen prepared a great feast as celebration. There was plenty of Earth foods; Xia Fan was particrly fond of the hamburgers, while Traveling Buddha favored the sweetened beancurd and spicy crayfish.
Xia Geng raised his wine ss and loudly announced, ¡°This feast is to celebrate Xia Fan officially obtaining the Skywing badge, as well as a preparatory banquet before battle. Tomorrow, we shall be arriving at the upied area!¡±
Even though it was highly possible that war would break out the next day, every single Skywingrade partied wildly for the entire night. They would drink the stiffest drinks and eat the most delectable food, using the automated music box that the Klingar had created to y the most magnificent music in the world.
Every one of them was forced to get on stage and demonstrate their talents, also amon practice at Skywing gatherings. Many even believed that the Skywings were essentially a group of artisans and artists who would dabble in fights in their spare time!
This was especially true for Xia Fan and the others who had just returned or joined the Skywings, who became the object of even more attention. Tamu was the first to get on stage, summoning his guardian God of Light to present a blessing and gospel for everyone, only to end up being jeered off the stage by the Skywing Wolfpack. Though the Skywings vowed to protect the freedom of Tamu to believe in his god, they were ultimately all atheists, and Tamu¡¯s disy wasughingly dubbed as the historically most boring opener.
Traveling Buddha demonstrated his tea ceremony skills, producing his precious tea set and brewing a wonderful pot of tea that left everyone praising him endlessly.
Bright Pearl sang an ancient bad of the dragons, and halfway through, the fire dragon me Swallow stepped up to harmonize with her. It was a tune that demonstrated great vicissitude and moving emotions, a tale about how dragons lived proudly and alone. After the song ended, everyone apuded, calling the duet of these two dragons the Song of Frost and mes, cheering them on to sing three more songs before they finished.
Xia Fan was thest among the four to take to the stage. He danced the Battle Dance of the Canary Inds that the Dancer Couple had taught him, demonstrated the Beast Taming skills that he learned from Hunter Grandpa by sessfully controlling a group of one-eyed red lipped fish in the fish tank, and even constructed sobering pills on the spot to distribute to the drunken warriors among them.
¡°He¡¯s the most multi-talented person I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Xia Leng shouted, jumping to his feet.
Of all the nights that Xia Fan had spent, tonight was no doubt the happiest. His nsmen were not excited because of how outstanding hisbat strength was, but that they cared more about just how talented Xia Fan was in other avenues!
Bright Pearl drank till her cheeks were red, leaning against Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder and saying, ¡°I already told you that mixing around with the Skywings, you¡¯d need at least some talent. Here, no one cares how strong you are, because they are all very strong. This is also why we dragons like the Skywings. Not only can they defeat their foes, they can also live their lives so happily!¡±
¡°I like the Skywings as well!¡± Traveling Buddha had also drunk a lot, and made that loud deration while standing on the table.
This nonsense continued for the rest of the night, but the next morning, when the Skywing n¡¯s final two warships arrived before the Cold Night Cosmic Gate, all the casualness and wanton impudence from the day before was gone.
All Xia Fan saw was a group of the most serious warriors, with Xia Geng standing on themand deck, staring at the countdown. His eyes were as sharp as knives. It was hard to imagine that he had been dressed in dragst night, ying his harmonica and dancing ballet. It was so hrious that it made him appear to be twopletely different people. Life was life, and war was war: this was probably the true meaning behind the spirit of the Skywings!
¡°Charge!¡±
When the countdown ended, Xia Geng waved his arm and the two warships equipped with shockwave engines suddenly elerated, turning into ring beams of light that broke past the barrier of the Cosmic Gate, heading into a universe that waspletely shrouded in darkness. Xia Geng¡¯s Fellde was at the front, while Xia Fan¡¯s Skydome was behind. In terms ofbat strength and size, the Fellde was more majestic, as it was a Dauntless-ss warship.
The two ships shuttled into the dark backdrop of the Cold Night Universe. The first twenty-four hours was a smooth flight, but as the Skywings began to approach the enemy¡¯sir, they began to be harassed.
At first there were only three to four warships that formed small squadrons, using space shock bombs to repeatedly interfere with the Skywings¡¯ jump route. By the second day, even more ships joined in the harassment, and the situation was going from bad to worse.
*Boom*
A severe tremor rumbled across the ship, and the power of the ship flickered momentarily. Items fell from the shelves, as the warship had been struck by the spatial bomb and forced out of its wormhole, resuming normal spatial travel.
¡°How many times was that? Are they still going?¡± Traveling Buddhained as he stared at the te of crayfish that had dropped on the floor of the mess hall, his heart aching.
In front of the two ships was an entire fleet of enemy ships. The sapient beasts possessed both intelligence and technology after evolving. The ships they had constructed were on therge side, appearing savage with their ornamental fangs and ws, looking very cumbersome.
Including the two capital ships, this was an assault force with over a hundred warships, and was probably the main fleet of the enemy. At present, both sides were over eighty standard gxy units apart, neither side in the other¡¯s firing range. However, the fleet was closing in fast, elerating toward the Skywings.
Xia Fei felt pressured. A space battle was unlike a battle onnd. When the enemy had an absolute superiority in firepower, it was quite unfavorable to the Skywings. If he was inmand, he would have ordered the ships to elerate and escape, avoiding the confrontation.
But Xia Geng remained as calm as ever. Everyone acted as if they did not consider the fleet in front of them posed any threat toward them, big smiles on all their faces. This puzzled Xia Fan greatly, as he had no idea where that confidence stemmed from.
The number of enemy warships elerated even more, over a hundred warships surrounding the two lone warships of the Skywings. All of them were fierce, aiming their fire control systems at the Skywing warships, their weapon ports all open and missileunchers unveiled from within their ships. The moment the ships entered firing range, the lethal weapons would surely be unloaded without hesitation!
The Skywings were undeniably at the disadvantage here. Nevertheless, just as the enemy was almost thirty standard cosmic distance units away, something unimaginable happened.
Behind him, bright halos slowly rose up, one by one, like bright white suns. Next, there was a powerful fluctuation in spatial signatures as ship after ship with a blue wave logo appeared from behind the Skywings, numbering well over five hundred ships, with a good 10% of them being immensely powerful capital ships.
The battlefield situation was turned on its head. This blue fleet seemed to be the Skywing¡¯s steadfast rearguard. Red mes shot out from their thrusters, swiftly surpassing the Skywings as they made a beeline toward the enemy. What ensued was violent cannon fire that lit up half the space sky.
¡°A friendly army?¡± Xia Fan was bewildered, finding it hard to believe his eyes.
Communication was very quickly established. A strange alien with a row of parotid nds under their ears appeared on the screen. They were tall and the whites of their eyes took up the majority of their eyes, which protruded slightly. They could not be considered handsome by human standards, but they did give off a sensation of strangeness and strength!
This strange man gave a military salute to Xia Geng, saying, ¡°The Sea Race Seventh Fleet, ready for orders!¡±
¡°Very good. Kill them all!¡±
¡°Understood!¡±
The conversation between Xia Geng and the Sea Race was clear and concise. Xia Fan proceeded to watch as the fleet of blue warships leapt swiftly intobat, unleashing countless unmanned drones and all sorts of weapons and cannons to bombard the enemy. There was no hesitation, only a relentless ferocity directed toward the enemy.
¡°Your father often said that we must always keep our cards close to ourselves at all times,¡± Xia Geng patted Xia Fan on his shoulder. ¡°What you¡¯ve just witnessed is only the beginning!¡±
Chapter 1552 - 1552 Negotiations
1552 Negotiations
Cold Night was a universepletely submerged in darkness. A very long time ago, the Ant Race and the sapient beasts that were currently under the influence of Darkness had wiped out all of its natives, and every inhabitable had been conquered.
To humans, Cold Night had been a dangerous restricted zone. But today, the Skywings had breached the ce and broken the peace!
At the Skywings¡¯ behest, a sizable army had hurried over, which leading to a confrontation with the forces of darkness that inhabited Cold Night. This reinforcement army wasposed of the marine-living Sea Race, the Flying Goose race who had wings growing on their backs, the dark-skinned Giants, the Gueri Race that excelled in traversing through jungle, and so on!
All these strange sapient races were friends of the Skywing n. Upon hearing that Xia Fei and the Skywing¡¯s main forces had mysteriously gone missing, everyone was worried and had gathered their forces from all over, fulfilling their original promises to the Skywing n.
A terrible war was waged against the forces of Darkness, and during their mad push, they destroyed all the strongholds of the enemy they encountered. In the third week of the war, the forces of Darkness finally sent envoys to the Skywing, and both parties agreed to engage in negotiations on a called Cold Gale.
!!
¡ª¡ª
This was a that seemed to be brimming with life, vibrant trees and nts that covered thend, with a sea-likeke that stretched out into an endless horizon where turquoise waves crashed against the shores.
Xia Fan followed Xia Geng to thekeside. It was said that the strongest experts of this universe would be gathering here. Xia Yu instructed Xia Fan that no matter what happened, that there was no need to panic, as there was no need to be afraid of anyone given the strength of the Skywing n.
The patriarchs of the Sea, Flying Goose, and Giant races also arrived soon after. They were brought to a garden in a forest beside theke, where both the garden and the vi attached to it had been hidden so subtly that it was very hard to discover it had been built there.
¡°I heard he¡¯s the son that Xia Fan was lost since he was just a baby.¡±
Someone mentioned Xia Fan¡¯s identity, and theirrades all immediately shed sympathetic nces. The reason why the Skywings had appeared in the Great Chiliocosm was known to everyone. All of them knew about how Xia Fei¡¯s youngest was not born with a seventh brain region, so they thought Xia Fan was just a normal person.
¡°From today onward, if there¡¯s any one out there that bullies you, tell me and I¡¯ll beat him up for you!¡± the simple and honest patriarch of the Giants, Stonewood, told Xia Fan earnestly.
Xia Geng and Xia Yu suppressed theirughter, but did not reveal the truth to Stonewood and the other people here. Those people all expressed their wee and sympathies, with one even offering to introduce a woman to Xia Fan. However, the purpose of their matchmaking was not because Xia Fan was outstanding, but out of pity. It was very sad for the son of the distinguished Patriarch of the Skywing to turn out to be just amoner!
That was when the owner of the vi by theke arrived. He was riding a colorful eagle, which hended in front of everyone. His colorful eyebrows sparkled in the sun, proof that he was a very unique existence among the sapient beasts.
A koi leaped out from theke, her entire body covered in dazzling gold. She suddenly transformed in mid-air, so when shended onto the shore, she was already a graceful woman with a devilish figure, practically bursting with sensuality.
Then there was also a creature that looked somewhat like a pr bear, tall and very fat. He was extremely white and deathly afraid of heat. He immediately asked for servants to bring some frozen watermelon the moment he took a seat, devouring the food without caring for the looks others cast his way.
These were the kings of the Cold Night Universe. They were all sapient beasts, but due to evolution, they had obtained a human form and began to live like humans, gaining a seventh brain region like humans, and were capable of gaining special abilities.
Thest to appear was a Demonic Ant. He was the oldest of the demonkind of the Great Chiliocosm, and held an extraordinary position.
The Demonic Ant colony formed gradually. Seeing the countless creepy-crawlies throng and amass made for a disgusting sight to anyone with even the slightest sense of cleanliness. Very soon, the dark Ant mass assumed a humanoid form. While it was very detailed, a close inspection of this mass was enough for anyone to tell that the blinks of this humanoid Demonic Ant were just differently colored ants changing positions.
Unexpectedly, the Demonic Ant actually sat at the lowest seat, and seemed to have no intention of participating in the negotiations.
¡°Such bullies, you Skywings are simply too bullying!¡±
¡°We¡¯ve been living here this whole time, not once entering the Celestial Path, so why have you people suddenlye to make life difficult for us?¡±
These creatures of Darkness denounced the violent behavior of the Skywing n, iming that they were simply keeping a peaceful existence in their universe. They gave examples from millions of years ago to prove that they had been living in the Cold Night universe, not once taking a step into the Celestial Path. Though they had some altercations with humans in the past, that was because the humans had been the ones who recklessly encroached upon theirnd. Compared to the many other forces of Darkness across the Great Chiliocosm, they had been quite dutiful!
¡°We are different from the other demonic creatures and demonstrate no wild ambitions!¡± the pr bear shook his head with his im.
¡°Hahaha!¡± Xia Geng suddenly burst intoughter, ¡°You guys are saying that as if you¡¯re all very innocent. Let me ask you, since you are a peace-loving race¡ where have the humans that previously inhabited the Cold Night universe gone to?¡±
His cold nce swept across the patriarchs, but none of them answered. That was because the humans that had previously lived in this universe had already been wiped out by their hands, a bloody massacre that resulted in billions dead. Countless people had fled their homes, something none of these sapient beasts could absolve themselves of. Every one of them had their hands stained with blood!
Xia Geng turned his head and gaze toward the Demonic Ant that had been silent this whole time, ¡°And what is up with him being here? Everyone knows that while we Skywings do not care much about race, and are able to befriend any race, the Demonic Ants are the one and only exception. These damned ants could not possibly be the reinforcements you¡¯ve gone looking for, right?¡±
¡°Not at all!¡±
¡°What nonsense!¡±
¡°Every sapient beast race is on their own, and there¡¯s no such thing as reinforcements!¡±
The three hurriedly denied the usation, rejecting the notion that the Demonic Ants were on their side.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°Then that¡¯s strange. Since the Demonic Ants are not yourrade, then why have they appeared here at the negotiation table?¡±
With that said, Xia Fan lightly rubbed his nose and pointed a hand down beneath his feet, ¡± I also know that there¡¯s arge mass of Demonic Ant forces below us. Could this be a trap that you¡¯ve all set up?¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s scent special ability demonstrated its remarkableness once more. The expressions on everyone¡¯s faces changed drastically after he made mention of this, and that included the demonic forces!
¡°Don¡¯t youck a seventh brain region?¡± the leader of the Sea Race, Sea Spiritos, gasped in surprise.
That was when the silent Demonic Ant representative finally spoke up. ¡°Skywings, all of you better listen closely. I know what your motive is, but let me warn you all; continue investigating at your own peril, for you will end up facing a cmity that you have no way of withstanding. Trying to banish me is no use, because I am everywhere.¡±
Indeed, the Demonic Ants were a unique existence. There were countless Demonic Ants across the Great Chiliocosm, but there was only one true Demonic Ant. Those small or huge ants were all just avatars of the one true Demonic Ant. Even if the Skywings killed this avatar seated at the negotiation table, there would still be many Demonic Ants around, and he could monitor every move the Skywings made however he liked!
Xia Fan frowned, ¡°Since you¡¯re omni-present, then you ought to know where my father and the others have gone, right?¡±
¡°Yes, I do. Which is why I¡¯m sitting here, warning you all.¡±
¡°Hmph. We don¡¯t need your warning. All we want is for you to tell us where they have gone.¡±
¡°I will not!¡±
¡°If you choose to not tell us a word, then this war shall continue!¡± Xia Yu stood up, his face stern.
The obstinacy of the Skywings was already well-known across the universes. Though Demonic Ant persevered for a very long time, he still failed to ovee their stubbornness. Finally, he told everyone present a truth that left everyone dumbfounded.
Chapter 1553 - 1553 An Agreement with the Demonic Ants
1553 An Agreement with the Demonic Ants
¡°They have gone to the Realm of the Dead,¡± the Demonic Ant seated on the table said in a somber voice.
He took a small ck ant from his body and gently pinched it to death. He tossed it on the ground, and a soft breeze blew its carcass to the leg of the table.
The Demonic Ant lifted his head up and said, ¡°This is the state that most biological lifeforms exist in upon death. Their physical bodies have passed, while their spirits will disappear like dust.
¡°However, there are some lives that have sufficiently powerful spirits, where even if they experience physical death, their spirits will not follow suit. Such spirits would be brother to another realm, a ce known as the Realm of the Dead, also known as Hell.¡±
Xia Fan furrowed his brow. ¡°Isn¡¯t Hell one of the three realms of legend?¡±
¡°Legend?¡± The Demonic Ant let out a mirthlessugh that gave people goosebumps. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯ve already found out, but in every universe, there exist legends about the three realms. So how is that strange?
¡°Let me give you another example. ¡°There exist legends about dragons in every universe, and guess what? There really are dragons, and you Skywings have even befriended them. Soon, you will also discover that things like legends are often much closer to fact than fiction.¡±
There was no denying what the Demonic Ant had said. Dragons did indeed exist, and were right by the Skywings¡¯ side even now!
Logically speaking, there were barriers between the three realms, and while spirits could pass through them, humans could not. However, in the recent years, there had been some changes to the three realms. The rise of the Demonic Ants in the mortal realm, as well as the sapient beasts and the forces of Darkness, were all because of the powers from the Realm of the Dead leaking through!
The Demonic Ant said in a low voice, ¡°I never believe in the notion of coincidence. Xia Fei and his people turned the Great Chiliocosm upside down, and have inadvertently been sent to the Realm of the Dead?
¡°If that is true, then the Skywings have truly been far too careless.¡±
¡°The way I see it, it is more likely that this was a ploy. Someone must have intentionally opened the way to the Realm of the Dead and lured the Skywings in!¡±
Xia Fan never would have thought that there woulde a day where he could sit down and have a conversation with a Demonic Ant. This meeting had been fairly fruitful given the current state of things.
The Demonic Ants were also from the Realm of the Dead, which was also called Hell. It was a ce that was fraught with danger and fear. There were no descriptive words that could do it justice. Not a single soul sent to Hell had not once been a vicious existence.
For the Demonic Ants to survive in such an environment, they would naturally not be kind. Nevertheless, the reason he was willing to sit down and talk to the Skywings was all due to their keen sense of danger!
¡°I dare not deny that I bore a deep hatred toward you, the Skywings n, from the moment we met. Still, what happened to Xia Fei could very well be a sign that the Realm of the Dead is about to be set into turmoil. The beings found there are ten thousand times more savage than me. If they have truly found a way to make it to the mortal realm, even I would have quite the headache. That is the reason why I am willing to exchange information with you,¡± the Demonic Ant said bluntly.
Through this meeting, the Demonic Ant ryed all the information that the Skywings wished to know. Though it was not everything, it was at least of some help to the currently desperate Xia Fan and everyone else.
¡°All of you head on back and wait. I¡¯ll inform you if I have any new information.¡± The Demonic Ant said. ¡°On top of that, control that little rascal of your n.¡±
Xia Geng and Xia Fan were both confused. At first Xia Fan had thought that the ¡®little rascal¡¯ that the Demonic Ant had mentioned was toward himself, but several minutester, Xia Di carrying a huge ck head came trotting over to find his father.
While Xia Fan and everyone were busy having a talk with the Demonic Ant, Xia Di had overheard Xia Fan mention the ambush force of Demonic Ants underground, and so he had quietly made his way down there and killed them all¡
¡°He¡¯s only seven¡¡± Xia Fan could not help but suck in a mouth of cold air. Because he had not been born with a seventh brain region, Xia Fan was nowhere near as vicious as Xia Di when he was younger.
¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C
After that day, Xia Fan began to take note of Xia Di¡¯s every move. Xia Di was not fond of talking. Whether he was happy or unhappy, he would always be ying his polo, and yet Xia Fan had never seen him practice with it. He would always be quiet, like a little ghost hiding in the corner. If no one were to call on him, he would just be hidden in the shadows of the adults.
Every time they had a meeting, Xia Di would always be listening conscientiously, but he would never express his opinions, so the people that were arguing would never notice his presence.
In any case, Xia Fan became very curious about Xia Di. He asked about who Xia Di¡¯s mother was, but the people who knew would just raise their eyebrows and wave their hands vigorously, indicating that it was not a topic any of them wished to talk about.
When there was nothing going on, Xia Di would always disappear for no rhyme or reason, and no one knew where he was hiding. Xia Fan was able to locate him on the roof of the garden by relying on his Scent special ability.
Xia Di was drawing, but what he drew was hard to make out. It appeared to be a cloud right before a thunderstorm, gray and oppressive looking, conveying a sense of dread and oppression across thend in the painting.
The Skywings did not continue with the fighting, as per their agreement. The Sea and Flying Goose races went back to their bases, agreeing with the Skywings that when the day came when they had need of aid again, their races would not hesitate to follow in the Skywings¡¯ footsteps.
The Skywings also had something akin to their own Waystation, which acted as their base here on the Celestial Path. It was hidden in a little known fork in the Path. Thending pad was big enough for tens of thousands of warships to park themselves on it, but the ce was currently empty right now, with not a single soul to be found, even if someone were to walk along the long passageways for an entire day.
There once was a time when the Skywings would all stay here with their friends, and there would be a wild celebration here every time after they returned from a war in the Great Chiliocosm, with all sorts of mouth watering delicacies and drinks being served. The multi-talented brothers would take turns performing their talents. Those who lost would be penalized, forced to drink an entire barrel of hard liquor. Sometimes, they would also y a game that Xia Fei had brought from Earth, called Truth or Dare!
But everything had changed now. All that remained in the hearts of people who stayed in the base was pressure. Though Xia Geng and Xia Yu continue to maintain the optimism of the Skywings, everyone knew that they were the most worried about the safety of everyone.
Though the Demonic Ant had agreed to help the Skywings search for the truth, their envoy never showed. During this period of time, Traveling Buddha returned to Ashen Moon. When he next returned, he informed Xia Fan that Hidden Water had given birth to his son, called Hidden Buddha, so named from the surname of both Traveling Buddha and Hidden Water.
On that night when Traveling Buddha had brought Hidden Water to the movies, while Traveling Buddha had no recollection of what the contents of the movie were, he nevertheless remembered Hidden Water gently clutching onto his hand. Later, when Traveling Buddha returned with Hidden Water to a room that was prepared in advance, Hidden Water knew very well that given Traveling Buddha¡¯s nonchnt personality, she could never hope for this person to take initiative to do anything, which was why everything had been arranged and set forth by her hand.
In the dark room when the lights were off, Hidden Water snuggled into Traveling Buddha¡¯s embrace, slightly trembling. However, she managed to pluck up the courage and guided Traveling Buddha to the bed, and everything else followed naturally.
In the beginning Hidden Water felt pain, but there was soon this indescribable thrill that overwhelmed her senses. She hugged Traveling Buddha tight, her fingers feeling the well-defined muscles on Traveling Buddha¡¯s back. She did not allow Traveling Buddha to stop, and when the deed was done, Traveling Buddha brewed them two cups of tea.
After three days of intimacy, Traveling Buddha left Hidden Water and went to find his only good friend in life, Xia Fan. Nine months after, Traveling Buddha¡¯s son was born.
¡°Now, even yours truly has a son of his own,¡± Traveling Buddha sat beside Xia Fan, brewing himself some tea as he grinned, full of joy.
¡°Do you regreting to the Great Chiliocosm?¡± Xia Fan asked him.
Traveling Buddha expressed that he had no idea what it meant to have regrets. The only thing he did feel slightly apologetic for was that he had not expected Hidden Water to have such profound feelings for him, or he would have properly taken her into the family.
¡ª¡ª
Time continued to pass, and just as the Skywings were wondering if the cunning Demonic Ants had lied to them, their radar picked up arge creature.
It was an ant that had grown wings, its body covered in a ck hard shell. It was evenrger than a medium-sized carrier. Its mandibles were sharp enough to chew up a battleship if it wanted!
This huge ant was none other than the envoy from the Demonic Ants. It had brought the news the Skywings had sought after all this while.
Chapter 1554 - 1554 Just One Step too Slow!
1554 Just One Step too Slow!
¡°I¡¯ve located Shaka. He¡¯s hiding in an abandoned Waystation.¡±
The envoy of the Demonic Ants transmitted the news. Xia Fan and the others immediately set off, piloting the two warships equipped with shockwave engines to head for the coordinates the Demonic Ants had given them.
¡ª¡ª
Two dayster, Xia Fan saw a dpidated but huge object floating in a sea of darkness. The metal on the outside was stained with rust, and the disgusting smell of decay was present the moment they entered through the sealed doors.
It looked like this Waystation had not seen anybody pass through its doors for many years. It was like an ancient fossil found on the Celestial Path, its circuit boards aging. The machinery and style of the station were all derived from ancient technology that had long been obsolete.
Still, the lights on the walls lit up the moment Xia Fan pressed the old-styled switch by the entrance, and the air system began functioning automatically. The truth under the disguise of this run-down Waystation was that everything was still working in excellent condition. It could be deduced that someone must have been maintaining the machinery on a regr basis, and that someone did not want anyone else to know that it was still working, which was why he or she had chosen to preserve the ancient waystation¡¯s distasteful exterior.
Xia Fan rubbed his nose and filled his lungs with the odor of decay that hung in the air. With his unique special ability, Xia Fan tried to search for any traces or clues in thisplicated mix of odors.
¡°I can smell them!¡± Xia Fan eximed, opening his eyes abruptly. His sense of smell was even more sensitive than a dog¡¯s, and Xia Fan had detected the unique perfume that the Dancer Couple wore. Simrly, he had also caught the fishy scent that hung on Fisherman Grandpa. The familiar smells caused Xia Fan¡¯s eyes to widen, his heartbeat to quicken, and the muscles all over his body to tense up.
*Whoosh*
The Skywings acted, grouping up everyone in 1+2 teams, where one Skywing warrior would lead tworades who were not speedsters to maximize their shocking Law of Speed. Like a series of ck streaks, they entered the depths of the space station, breaking down door after door as they carried out a frantic search, not even letting the spiders hiding in the dark corners off.
Xia Fan was with Traveling Buddha, with Bright Pearl was on his shoulder. They dashed into the deeper parts of the Waystation, where the smell of the Disasters grew thicker. Xia Fan could feel his heart in his throat as he yelled out their names wildly.
The first to locate Shaka was Xia Di. He had been together with Star-in-Water and ming Swallow. Shaka was in the middle of organizing hisboratory, tossingb equipment into the incinerator and breaking disks that contained the data from his experiments in two before tossing them into the mes.
Shaka was astonished and shocked when he saw a little boy suddenly burst into the room. Star-in-Water and ming Swallow had already changed forms at this time, with the former looking like a transparent water baby, and ming Swallow a small red dragon. Adding to the fact that Xia Di was only a short seven-year-old, Shaka could not help but mistakenly think that he was barely out of kindergarten.
However, this seven-year-old Xia Di demonstrated abat sense that was unnatural for someone his age. He was like a little beast, wildly charging toward his target. Not only was Xia Di as swift as a flicker of light, no slower than any adult in the Skywing n. He also possessed the ferocity of a wild beast, unleashing an offensive that was as overwhelming as pouring mercury on the ground, leaving Shaka breathless from the pressure.
A shrill whistle rang through the station, and the Skywing Wolfpack rapidly converged on Xia Di¡¯s location. Meanwhile, Xia Di was expressionless, standing together with ming Swallow and Star-in-Water, doing their utmost to contain the enemy. Xia Di¡¯s left arm was injured during the course of the fight, and blood was flowing freely. However, the youngd did not even make a sound and was still speeding about, not taking a step back from start to finish!
*Rumble*
More and more warriors joined the battle. Speed was the most powerful and unreasonable power across the universes, and seven-year-old Xia Di had been able to contain Shaka with just his strength alone. A group of these speedsters attacking at the same time was an overwhelmingly powerful offensive, a crushing and destructive force thatpounded with every passing second.
Shaka was dumbfounded. He saw a streak of lightning pass him by, feeling a dense attack akin to a hail of bullets strike his body. In the blink of an eye, his mind was in a fog, and when he snapped out of it in the next moment, he found himself apprehended, tied up and thrown to the ground gruffly, his eyes filled with stars.
The sensation of going up against these speedsters was simply too terrible. He was so suppressed to the point that he could hardly breathe,pletely unable to mount any sort of counterattack. It was only a moment, but Shaka was captured with several of his bones broken. He did not even have the time to yell out as the series of tragediespounded.
¡°What¡¯s this?! I¡¯m captured?!¡± Shaka lowered his head to find himself wearing a pair of Venerate Binding Handcuffs made by the Skywings. It consisted of strands of metal chains, which bound him from head to toe. His seventh brain region waspletely suppressed; the shockingly fast Skywing Warriors had even had the time to tie him up in a neat bow.
Shaka looked around, discovering that his ribs were broken, and that the Skywing Wolves who had tied him up were already no longer around. All that remained was a pair of Water Elementals and a huge giant standing guard.
¡®What happened? Have the Skywings left?¡¯, Shaka thought to himself. His mind was still in a blur, and he felt like he was dreaming.
¡ª¡ª
In the end, Xia Fan was met with disappointment. The Disasters were not on this abandoned Waystation, and after looking through every nook and cranny of the ce, he still found no traces of them despite their familiar scents being everywhere.
Xia Fan was incensed. His eyes burning, he grabbed Shaka with one hand as he rained down a flurry of punches that left Shaka bloody all over.
Shaka licked the corner of his lips and shed a teasing smile at Xia Fan. ¡°You¡¯ll never be able to find them for the rest of your life!¡±
Xia Fan got provoked and incensed. With a flick of his tongue, Shaka took out a ck pill that he had hidden in his mr, and instantly crushed it. ck liquid slipped down his throat and flowed through his entire body in seconds.
Shaka copsed to the ground with a ckened face. Xia Fan watched as his body rapidly dposed, melting down and turning into a pool of gray scum.
¡°To think he would still have this move. He sure is stubborn, to take everything to the grave!¡± Xia Geng spat at what remained of Shaka.
Xia Fan disappointedly made his way to the nearby window and looked out. He knew very well that the Disasters had once been here on this Waystation, but at this point, the chances of him locating them were getting slimmer by the second.
Just as everyone was struggling with sadness, a group of ck ants came crawling out from the pipes,bining to form a humanoid figure.
¡°All of you ought to believe me now, right? I am everywhere,¡± the Demonic Ant began. ¡°As the first Demonic lifeform in the Great Chiliocosm, I am different from these recent immigrants. My goal is very simple: Conquer even more universes, until finally I can be the strongest existence in the world.
¡°But these people¡ Honestly, I have no idea what they are thinking. Before all of you arrived, a lot of them had gic samples extracted. You should know that I¡¯m not lying with that Scent ability of yours.¡±
Xia Fan shut his eyes and sniffed the air thrice. He reopened his eyes and confirmed, ¡°Aside from the Disasters, there are also smells of many other people¡ At least ten thousand others.¡±
The Demonic Ant nodded, ¡°On the Celestial Path, there are many simr locations. Those people that came from the Lower Realm and have made their way to the Mortal Realm are all madly gathering every sort of gic samples, almost as if they are searching for someone. As for the mutations in biological creatures and the emergence of the Sapient Beasts, those are no more than side reactions.¡±
¡°The creatures from the Lower Realm are constantly shuttling between the realms, bringing along plenty of the power from below, which is causing the Middle Realm to be darker.¡±
¡°As for Shaka, all of you might see him as dead, but to me, he has merely just returned to the Lower Realm. After all, death is the quickest way for spirits to shuttle between the realms.¡±
What the Demonic Ant shared sounded like the ravings of a madman in the eyes of normal people, but every Skywing firmly believed his words after having witnessed so many strange happenings. A Lower Realm truly existed!
¡°We believe what you¡¯ve said,¡± Xia Fan replied. ¡°Right now, the only issue is how we will be able to get ourselves into the Lower Realm!¡±
Chapter 1555 - 1555 I’m Going to Hell! Don’t try to Stop Me!
1555 I¡¯m Going to Hell! Don¡¯t try to Stop Me!
The Skywings began to move swiftly. Since the Demonic Ant was a creature that hade from the Lower Realm to the Middle Realm, it naturally knew how to go to the Lower Realm. But there were many twists and turns when traveling between two realms, and one couldn¡¯t use warships. That presented many problems for the Skywings.
They stuffed their spatial rings with all the items they would need on the journey: food, weapons, and crystals filled with various kinds of mystical energy. Traveling Buddha brought his beloved tea set, while the Water Elementals indicated that they didn¡¯t need to bring anything. They extracted energy from nature and had never needed to eat.
The Skywings didn¡¯t notify theirrades on the Divine Path. Xia Geng exined that this was to keep the power bnced.
¡°I certainly don¡¯t trust the kindness of the Demonic Ant. The Skywings have battled him for many years, and we understand his personality far too well. Once we leave for the Lower Realm, he will definitely start causing trouble in the Middle Realm. Hai Lingzi and the others are staying behind to prevent the Demonic Ant from expanding too quickly. But the key is still the progress we can make. Let¡¯s hope we can find your father and the others quickly. Just where did those guys run off to?¡± Xia Geng said to Xia Fan.
Counting Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, the Skywing team ultimately consisted of sixty-three people. One-third were speed warriors of the Xia family, while two-thirds werepanions who had joined the Skywings. Although everyone was fully-equipped and ready to go, they all couldn¡¯t help but be a little worried.
That was because the Demonic Ant had said that not everyone would have the right to enter the Lower Realm. The barrier between the two realms would block a part of their group!
Surprisingly, the Demonic Ant had told the Skywings how to fix the erratic time of the Cosmic Gate. One only needed to put a drop of blood on the Seal to return to the correct time and reunite with their family!
Upon learning that, Traveling Buddha returned to Ashen Moon to visit Hidden Water and his newborn son. He buried his face in Hidden Water¡¯s ck hair and then picked up his son and kissed him all over,pletely immersed in the joy of being a father.
¡°You should stay behind instead ofing with us to the Lower Realm.¡±
Xia Fan advised Traveling Buddha to stay and take care of his son, but Traveling Buddha refused. A man had his ambitions in the wider world, and the Lower Realm seemed like a rather interesting ce. He insisted on going to take a look, and since Xia Fan knew he couldn¡¯t persuade Traveling Buddha otherwise, he could only nod.
¡ª¡ª
It was an ordinary morning when the team of sixty-three set out. They didn¡¯t have many lingering affections for the Great Chiliocosm. To put it simply, this ce was a collection of all universes, all of them connected to the Divine Path, yet all of them their own world.
The Lower Realm as described by the Demonic Ant was a mystical ce. When sapient lifeforms died, their souls would be reborn in the Lower Realm. But if living people wanted to go to the Lower Realm, they needed to pass through a turbulent flow called the Underworld River.
Xia Di was abnormally excited. The silent little boy who liked to be alone was far more excited about the Lower Realm than anyone had anticipated. Xia Fan had seen him several times listening to the adults talk very earnestly, his eyes brimming with energy and his fists tightly clenched.
Even the sound of his flute became happier, the melodious tune tinged with ardent anticipation. For several nights in a row, Xia Di had yed his flute on the roof of the base. They were tunes that no one had ever heard before, ones that no one had ever taught him.
At this time, Xia Fan couldn¡¯t help but ask Xia Di what had him so excited about going to the Lower Realm.
Xia Di said that he wasn¡¯t sure why, only that the mention of the Lower Realm and the thought of crossing the Underworld River had his heart burning with desire. It was the same sort of emotion Xia Fan had felt when hearing his father¡¯s name for the first time.
Besides ying his flute, Xia Di began to draw bizarre pictures of a tall mountain nketed in white snow. Clouds ringed the mountain like a halo, and arge river split it down the center into ck and white. In the distance, the river was linked to an enormous waterfall that fell from the heavens and cast a mystical haze of light over the center of the river.
As the leader of the Skywing group, Xia Geng became more and more hesitant about his decision. Xia Geng, who had always been indomitable and bravely explored the unknown, had recently be very irritable. Over a small matter at meal time, he even cursed out the two Water Elementals.
Water Star and Water Moon were two very honest and frank fellows. After being cursed at, they scratched their heads and cried silently, feeling like they had been greatly wronged. After the matter, Xia Geng went to find them and confessed that he had just been venting his emotions because the pressure recently had just been too great. The kind Water Elementals immediately told him that they understood and worked even harder than usual.
Gradually, everyone began to avoid Xia Geng because of his bad temper. From the asional snatches of conversation Xia Fan heard from his n brothers, he came to understand that Xia Geng¡¯s temper was mostly likely rted to a woman.
This woman was not only a heaven-toppling beauty, but also an extremely rare personality. At times, she was warm and gentle, greeting everyone with a smile like the spring breeze caressing one¡¯s cheeks. Her body had an aroma that could linger in the air for several months. Even several years after the woman was gone, everyone could still asionally catch a glimpse of her. Xia Geng had one of her handkerchiefs, and on certain nights, he would be ovee by sorrow.
But at times, the woman would sleepwalk, traveling the corridors alone in her thin nightgown,ughing loudly in the silence. Herughter gave even the bravest Skywing warrior goosebumps. Everyone said that the woman¡¯sughter was like the call of Hell!
The woman was called Mei Mei. She had not married Xia Geng, but Xia Di was their child born out of wedlock. Not long after Xia Di was born, Mei Mei had left Xia Geng. While sleepwalking, she had shouted, ¡°I¡¯m going to Hell! Don¡¯t try to stop me!¡±
And then, like a madwoman, she had stolen a warship equipped with a pulse engine and charged into the Divine Path, never to return. Xia Geng had run out with the newborn Xia Dia and stood at the base¡¯snding area with him for three whole years.
In those three years, Xia Geng didn¡¯t participate in a single battle, Xia Yu taking up leadership of the scouting team. He didn¡¯t concern himself with any matters of the n, even forgetting his own son. He was like a dejected fool, hoping that Mei Mei woulde back to him.
Afraid of setting off Xia Geng¡¯s fragile nerves, nobody disturbed him, until one day, the three-year-old Xia Di went to his father. Compared to other children his age, Xia Di had begun speaking veryte. That day, when Xia Di called out ¡°Papa¡±, Xia Geng immediately teared up and embraced Xia Di, swearing an oath that he would forget Mei Mei and live only for the sake of his son.
Four years had passed since then. In those four years, Xia Geng had been very normal. He fought even more fiercely in battle, drank the strongest alcohol, and ate the spiciest meat. His reformation left everyone in the n stunned. Xia Fei and Xia Gucheng were even considering grouping Xia Geng with top-ss warriors like Xia Donghai to lead the Skywing n¡¯s elite main force!
But today, after deciding that they were going to the Lower Realm, that ce also known as Hell, Xia Geng started to lose control himself. Perhaps he could never forget the words Mei Mei had said on that gloomy night.
¡°I¡¯m going to Hell! Don¡¯t try to stop me!¡±
Chapter 1556 - 1556 Xia Di in Trouble!
1556 Xia Di in Trouble!
After a long voyage of seventeen days, the two warships turned onto a quiet path. At the end of this branch was an extremely small path, so small that warships couldn¡¯t enter. Xia Fan and the others had no choice but to leave their warships. Even with their astonishing speed, they had to race along for another four days and four nights, traveling through the maze-like ant tunnels before finally catching sight of a mystical continent.
During this process, the Demonic Ant¡¯s avatars would constantly appear to guide them. When they arrived at the continent, the Demonic Ant¡¯s avatar said, ¡°You¡¯ve arrived. This is the River of the Underworld. Many, many years ago, I was just a puny ant on the other side. But thanks to a lucky chance, I was able to cross the Underworld River and reach the Middle Realm. Now you may take the path I used to get here to reach the other side. If you¡¯re lucky enough, you will find other members of the Skywings there.¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. This river seemed boundless, like a transparent belt floating atop thend. The river¡¯s waters were very shallow, not even reaching the knees of an adult human. In the center of the river, a wall of light divided it in two.
Their side was the dark Celestial Path, with rocky shores and steep cliffs. The thin crack in the cliff was the path the Skywings had taken to get here.
But on the other side of the river was an endless in illuminated by sunlight and caressed by gentle breezes. There were goldfish in the water, and numerous scallops and frogs on the shore. Butterflies and dragonflies paused atop the wildflowers growing along the shore. Suddenly, a gray sparrow dove from the sky, causing the red dragonflies to scatter. But one unlucky dragonfly moved a little too slow and became a meal for the sparrow.
Everyone walked into the water. The waters of the river beneath their feet were ck and cold, feeling like run-off from a snowy mountain, but the river on the other side flowed with sunlight and was full of little fish and turtles.
Traveling Buddha remarked, ¡°Could we be wrong? Why do I feel like our side is Hell?¡±
The others were also confused. ording to the division of the Three Realms, they should have resided in the Human Realm, and the ce on the other side was the Nether Realm. But in reality, the Human Realm was pitch-ck and utterly devoid of life, while the Nether Realm that was called Hell was brimming over with vitality and awash in sunlight. The massive contrast couldn¡¯t help but make one suspect that one had been living their entire life in Hell, unaware of the truth.
The Demonic Ant didn¡¯t go down into the water. Standing on the shore, he said sternly, ¡°There is no mistake. No matter what you can see, that continent on the other side is the ce known as Hell.¡±
Dubious, everyone nevertheless prepared to cross the Underworld River. However, they were quickly stopped by the wall of light in the middle. The transparent wall seemed to be insubstantial, but it was actually tough and imprable. A supreme force that transcended all other powers in the universepletely divided the two worlds.
¡ª
Xia Di grew abnormally excited. He could sense someone calling his name, could sense a power like an invisible hand giving him a gentle push on the back. His body instantly lost its bnce, and when he regained his bnce, he discovered that he was already on the other side of the river. His father, Xia Fan, and Uncle Xia Yu were all on the other side. They were in darkness, and they seemed to be saying something, but Xia Di couldn¡¯t hear them.
Was he the only one who had managed the incredible feat of crossing into the Nether Realm?
Xia Di felt a fear deep in his bones. He wanted to return to his father¡¯s side, but the invisible wall stopped him. Xia Di ran at it with all his strength, but he was fiercely bounced back.
Xia Di began to realize the gravity of the situation. He could not return, and his father and Xia Fan couldn¡¯te through. This transparent wall had put him and his family in two separate worlds. Although they were right in front of him, he was incapable of holding his father¡¯s hands. A deep sense of loneliness engulfed him, the croaks of the frogs on the shores giving him goosebumps.
¡ª
¡°Xia Di!¡± Xia Geng screamed. He created some distance and then propelled himself forward with his legs, moving at maximum speed in the hope of breaching the wall, but the invisible wall pushed him back again and again.
Everyone tried. The Skywings used their speed, Pearl and me Swallow used their ice and mes, the Water Elementals turned into small water molecules to try and travel through any cracks in the wall, and the giant warrior Jammu used his six-meter-long alloy hammer to pound away. As for Prophet Snow, he closed his eyes and attempted to hear the voices on the side, and Tamu released his guardian God of Light, but even his Light could not prate through the wall.
¡ª
More than an hour passed, but despite all their efforts, nothing worked. The powerful Skywings had joined together in the Wolf Pack Formation, charging at the wall again and again with frenzied speed, but the Barrier still bounced them back.
Xia Geng¡¯s world copsed. He grabbed the Demonic Ant standing on the shore, his eyes red. He wanted to tear the ant apart, but the Demonic Ant said calmly, ¡°I said before that not everyone has the right to enter the Nether Realm. Xia Fei and the others must have been led to the Nether Realm. Someone opened a door for the Skywing main force. But your groupcks the special ability needed to cross the Realm Barrier.¡±
Crack!
Xia Geng was like a crazed beast, tearing the Demonic Ant apart. But it was only an avatar of the Demonic Ant. Not even Xia Geng killing all of the Demonic Ants in the universe could move him.
¡°A special ability?¡± Xia Fan muttered. He suddenly remembered something. He seemed to have an ability that he had never used before, the Law of Gold. Saiga had been very interested in the Law of Gold, threatening the lives of the Disasters to force Xia Fan to hand it over.
At this moment, there was a shout of rm.
Xia Di, all alone on the other side of the Underworld River, had run into a problem. The chaos had drawn the attention of the Nether Realm, and a group of warriors mounted on strange birds was approaching.
They wore ck armor, wielded spears, and sat upon eagles with cat heads. The ck cathead eagles pped their wings, easily crossing thirty thousand meters per second and reaching Xia Di in the blink of an eye.
¡°Run!¡± Xia Geng shouted hoarsely. His son could see his father¡¯s mouth move, but he couldn¡¯t hear his voice.
Before Xia Geng could react, a made of light descended. It appeared to have some ability to track prey, and as Xia Di began to flee, the of light lunged at him and closed over his small body before swiftly flying back into the sky.
It wasn¡¯t like every Skywing could be like Xia Fan and his father, possessing the ability to elerate on a curved trajectory. The vast majority of Skywings were skilled in traveling in straight lines, and Xia Fan¡¯s straight trajectory had brought him straight into the rather than letting him escape. The six warriors flew off into the horizon, vanishing without a trace.
¡°Aaaaagggh!!!¡± Xia Geng screamed and then fainted, his body going stiff as it dropped into the cold river water. With a thud, water sshed everywhere.
Everyone quickly carried him to the shore. Xia Geng was a powerful Law War God, so his body would never die. But there was a huge problem with his mind. His consciousness was confused, as if he had returned to that painful night where Mei Mei had seemingly turned into a different person and left him, taking all of Xia Geng¡¯s hopes with her.
The warriors erupted in unprecedented fury!
Just when they were about to rush at the wall, prepared to break it down or die, they suddenly saw Xia Fan enclosed in goldenight. This was apletely different power from the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. The Law of Gold was very dim, but Xia Fan had a transcendent aura about him, and his face seemed particrly clear and distinct.
Xia Fan pushed with his legs, looking to see if his body enclosed in the Law of Gold could pass through the Realm Barrier. He wasn¡¯t sure this would work at all, for the Law of Gold didn¡¯t seem to be that powerful. It had only increased all of Xia Fan¡¯s attributes by five percent, far from a divine level.
But as his body slightly trembled, Xia Fan discovered that he really had crossed through the Barrier. The light dazzled his eyes while the water under his feet grew warmer, and he could hear the croaking of frogs in his ear.
¡°I got through!?¡±
Xia Fan looked at his hands in disbelief. A dragonfly flew past Xia Fan, and he grabbed it. The dragonfly struggled in his hand a few times before finally ceasing to move. He threw the corpse into the river, where it was carried away by the current.
Xia Fan looked at the other side. Although he couldn¡¯t hear their voices, he could tell from their worried expressions and movements that they hoped that he would go and save Xia Di. The Skywings had always been few in number, and the seven-year-old child was a junior that all of them liked. Moreover, the Skywing had never abandoned anyone. Since Xia Fan had somehow managed to get through the realm barrier, it was now his mission to save Xia Di.
¡°Understood,¡± Xia Fan whispered with a nod.
His eyes resolved, he firmly nodded at everyone and then closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath, letting the air of the Nether Realm fill his lungs as he used his Scent ability to find Xia Di¡¯s trail!
Chapter 1557 - 1557 The White City Enveloped in Light
1557 The White City Enveloped in Light
Xia Fan tracked Xia Di by scent and traveled deeper into the continent. He had barely made it a few kilometers out from the Underworld River when he noticed that the Realm Barrier had mysteriously vanished from sight.
Xia Fan was startled. He retraced his steps and found that, while the river was still there, the dark Celestial Path and the Great Chiliocosm had disappeared from the opposite shore, reced by a shoreline bathed in sunlight.
Xia Fan rubbed his eyes and sniffed with his nose, but discovered nothing. It was like the Realm Barrier had never existed. The dragonflies flew to the other side without any effort, and the croaking of frogs could also be heard from there.
¡°How bizarre!¡±
Xia Fan murmured in confusion, before setting off again. At the very least Xia Fan and the others were safe on the Celestial Path. With the strength of the Skywings, no would dare to mess with them. But Xia Di was different. The seven-year-old boy had been captured by the enemy, and his current status was unknown. Xia Fan was the only person who could save him!
¡ª¡ª
The journey was longer than Xia Fan had imagined. Even though he was moving at more than 10,000 meters per second, even after two hours, he still saw no signs of Xia Di.
As he advanced, he saw many strange ces. Standing on the summit of a mountain, he could see far into the distance, all the way up until a mountain range blocked his vision. This continent wasn¡¯t a sphere, but a ne!
¡°I¡¯m not on a. Is Hell a nar world?¡± Xia Fan murmured in shock.
When Xia Fan rested in a swamp, he encountered a host of strange creatures. Their bodies were like those of catfish, their eyes bulging out, and their skin was smooth, yet they walked on two feet and had webbed hands which they used to hold spear-like weapons. These fish monsters patrolled the dark swamp.
The fish monsters spotted Xia Fan and immediately roared a challenge, dering that Xia Fan had invaded their territory and very unreasonably charging at him. Once Xia Fan killed two of them, the fish monsters realized they were no match and jumped into the swamp, using their webbed feet to swim away.
¡°Truly bizarre!¡± Xia Fan mumbled. He was starting to feel like this world was stranger than he had imagined, but he had to track down Xia Di and didn¡¯t have time to investigate. He let the fish monsters go and continued on his way. After encountering the dragons and many other intelligent beasts, Xia Fan possessed a tolerance far above that of a normal person. He took the fish monsters to be another type of intelligent beast.
It didn¡¯t take long for Xia Fan to pass through the swamp. He saw a snowy mountain piercing into the clouds. The peak of the mountain had a mystical halo around it, like that of an angel, slowly revolving in the air.
Xia Fan stood at the base of the mountain and couldn¡¯t help but think of Xia Di¡¯s drawings. That snowy mountain with a halo, a world of ck and white divided by a river¡ they had all appeared in Xia Di¡¯s drawings! The seven-year-old boy seemed to have some type of foresight and had seen everything that was going to happen!
Beneath the snowy mountain was a massive pasture. There was a herdsman mounted on a red horse there, wearing a jacket and hat made from tanned sheepskin. He spotted Xia Fan, and his eyes went round as he pointed at Xia Fan with his right hand, appearing quite shocked.
¡°Look! It¡¯s an outsider!¡± the herdsman shouted to hispanions. He reached underneath his horse¡¯s saddle to take out a bow and some alloy arrows.
But by the time he pulled them out, Xia Fan had already disappeared. After speeding up twice, Xia Fan arrived at the sun-facing side of the snowy mountain.
¡°The people here are quite fierce. An ordinary civilian would even loose arrows at me?¡± Xia Fan remarked to himself. He realized that hisbat uniform made him stand out a lot, allowing anyone to identify him as an outsider.
The distant pasture disappeared behind him, and he now saw a massive city built along the mountain¡¯s face. It covered tens of thousands of acres and was capable of holding a poption of millions.
The giant city was made of white stones, its high walls were manned by many armored soldiers. Weapons in hand, they patrolled back and forth.
At the highest point of the city was a white tower, and at the top of the tower was a ball of light. It radiated mystical energy, covering the entire city in a barrier.
Xia Fan recognized that the light protecting the city had the same energy pulses as the of light that had captured Xia Di several hours ago. It was extremely powerful and not something he could get past. The only way of getting into the city was the drawbridge connected to the city walls. But that ce was guarded by many soldiers equipped in an ancient style.
Xia Fan wasn¡¯t in a rush to enter the city, instead heading into the cramped and filthy slums, hiding himself in the shadows of the shabby wooden hovels. The city was luxurious and grandiose, but the slums outside of it were awash with sewage and brimming with foul odors.
The residents of the slum appeared starving and wore filthy clothes of rough cloth. The asional aromas of cookinging from the hovels were from simple soups of potatoes and cabbages.
¡°Heyo, heyo, thend under the snowy mountain, heyo¡¡±
In a gloomy hovel, a man was singing as he washed his body with cold water from a well. He had just returned from cutting wood in the forest. His wife took out new clothes for him and cleaned his shoes, cing them in a wooden bucket next to the bathing room. At the same, she took away his filthy clothes and went over the well to wash them.
Xia Fan reached through the openings in the fence to take the man¡¯s clothes and shoes. Rubbing his hands in the filth, he instantly turned himself into someone who was dark and filthy from constantbor.
Observing himself in his reflection in the water, Xia Fan felt like he looked a lot like a local. He walked toward the white city, taking a ck felt hat that someone had hung out in their yard on the way. A white feather had been stuck in it as a form of decoration.
Although he was worried about Xia Di, Xia Fan had no ns on openly charging into the city. Xia Fan had no idea of the level of the Lower Realm¡¯s warriors. Moreover, the faint scent of Xia Di was drifting out from the city, so Xia Fan knew that Xia Di was still alive. He was currently being bathed, and avender soap was being used to do so!
Xia Fan rubbed his nose lightly. Keeping his Scent ability activated for a long time was an extremely excruciating experience. The odor of a man¡¯s armpits, the garlic the guards had eaten for lunch, the mischievous children and old men of the slums peeing on the walls like they were stray dogs, the golden toilet some rich woman in the city was using¡
All of these chaotic smells entered Xia Fan¡¯s olfactory system, and his brain needed to work crazily, analyzing hundreds of millions of smells and determining which direction they wereing from.
Xia Fan dropped his head and walked to the drawbridge, mixing in with the crowd as he sought Xia Di¡¯s scent.
The guards were talking about some charming woman they had seen in the tavern and let Xia Fan through the walls without even a nce, allowing him to walk upon a street paved with countless white stones.
As this was a city built on a mountain, the streets went up and down and were extremely difficult to walk. The horses pulling the carts loaded with heavy goods were very strong, easily pulling the carts up the slope as they disyed more power than even machines would. Moreover, those horses had silver eyes and single horns growing from their heads!
But Xia Fan couldn¡¯t care less about the strange sights of the city. He was pursuing Xia Di¡¯s scent, following it all the way to the city¡¯s highest point, an ancient castle.
This castle was also surrounded by a mystical white light. One needed to go through its only gate to ess it, but this was guarded by more than a hundred people organized in two rows, who were thoroughly searching everyone. Xia Fan could only force his way through!
Hiding behind a short wall, Xia Fan sniffed one more time. The scents from the castle were quite clear. Xia Di had just finished his bath and changed into a set of just-washed clothes. He was now in the middle of a big meal: roast quail with pickled olives, noodles in meat and tomato sauce, applesauce, raisins, milk pudding, and a drink made from a mixture of blueberry and plum juice.
¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Xia Fan shook his head in confusion. If Xia Di was being held hostage in the castle, then he was definitely the luckiest hostage in the world, for not only was he enjoying a big meal, he had two maids attending to him¡
Chapter 1558 - 1558 The Queen’s Thoughts
1558 The Queen¡¯s Thoughts
Xia Di had disyed the Inner Demon unique to the Skywing n. The first thing he did after being brought into the city was fight to the death with those armored soldiers. Like a wolf cub, he had lunged at his enemies and tore at them with his teeth. This had always been the mentality of the Skywings. Regardless of whether they could kill the enemy, they would still try and kill them, even if they had to use their teeth!
A guy screamed after his ear was bitten off by Xia Di. He was pulled to the side by arade and kept far away from the terrifying wolf cub. s, Xia Di was still enclosed in that unbreakable of light, preventing him fromunching an even fiercer attack. Otherwise, he definitely would have bitten off more than an ear!
¡°This little madman!¡±
¡°Kill him!¡±
!!
The warriors were furious and charged up to give Xia Di a beatdown. The warriors possessed a strange power, different from special abilities and different from the higher Law power. Instead, this power relied on the mysterious symbols carved into their bodies.
If an arm had a me symbol, the warrior could release mes, but if it was an ice arrow symbol, he could control ice. If it was a wolf symbol, he could transform into a beast!
In short, these were strange warriors who were much more powerful than Xia Di could have imagined. Their punches and kicks broke Xia Di¡¯s teeth and shattered his shoulder bones. Intense pain made Xia Di want to howl, but he said nothing, his eyes red.
The enormous ruckus drew many spectators. Just when it seemed like Xia Di couldn¡¯t hold on anymore, a woman cried out in rm. This woman wore a luxurious white gown, a crown made of crystal on her head and a ring with arge red jewel on her hand.
Xia Di was lying on the ground and throwing up blood, so he hadn¡¯t been able to see her face. But given how clean and delicate her feet were, he guessed that she was someone who enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and was very pretty.
As his mind grew fuzzy, Xia Di was lifted up by two powerful warriors. The frenzied beating had left both of these warriors sweating from their armpits, and the odor from Xia Di¡¯s body was even worse, a mixture of sweat, blood, and tobo-scented soil.
Thick wooden doors were pushed open, and Xia Di was ced on a soft bed. The bedding had a beautiful aroma, but it was quickly covered up by the bloody smell from Xia Di¡¯s body.
The two warriors undid the of light binding Xia Di and left the room silently. Although Xia Di was lying on a soft bed, he felt like he was about to die. All those unfathomable and mystical sights from the depths of his memory had appeared once more: the great river dividing the world into Yin and Yang, as well as that snowy mountain with a halo. When they were flying through the air, Xia Di had seen the snowy mountain, but he did not understand why scenes of the Lower Realm would appear in his memories.
Not long afterward, the door was opened again. This time, it wasn¡¯t two burly soldiers, but two young maids who entered. One was rather plump; when she helped Xia Di take off his bloodstained uniform, he could feel that her chubby hands were very bouncy. The other maid appeared small and weak.
The two of them brought over a bowl of juice which smelled like grapes and helped Xia Di drink it down. As this refreshing fruit juice entered his stomach, it began to burn as if he had drunk some extremely strong alcohol. His skin reddened, and then his injured bones healed up in a few minutes while the bruises on his face disappeared.
¡°What is this juice? My skin feels itchy.¡± Xia Di scratched his head as he spoke, and red marks appeared where his fingers scratched. His skin was very dry, and when he rubbed it, little balls of dirt would form.
¡°This is from the Snake Fruit found on Snow Mountain. It can elerate the process of recement. Look. The skin around the wound is rapidly drying and shedding, the newborn skin as tender as a baby¡¯s,¡± the chubby maid told him, while rubbing the wound on Xia Di¡¯s shoulder. Xia Di blushed in embarrassment.
Several minutester, Xia Di was pushed into a marble bathhouse. Waters from a hot spring were pumped into the bath through an exquisitely designed pipe, and clean clothes and fragrant soap had been ced on the racks. The two maids helped Xia Di bathe. After all, he was only seven years old, so the maids didn¡¯t feel embarrassed. But Xia Di was embarrassed and rejected their help.
¡°What a strange ce!¡±
Xia Di found it impossible to exin his treatment, but at this time, he couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of a hot spring bath. The Snake Fruit hastened the process of recing the old with the new, and Xia Di felt many dry patches of skin on his body. He truly did need a little nourishment from the spring waters.
He took off his clothes and stood naked at the edge of the bath. He took in a deep breath and then dove into the pool, where he began to y around to his heart¡¯s content.
The two maids at the entrance reminded him to wash his body with the soap, and only then did Xia Di purse his lips and grab the fragrant soap and casually swipe it across his body once or twice. He then reached into his spatial ring and pulled out his violet bamboo flute, ying a tune.
¡ª
The sound of the flute traveled into the adjoining room. In the room adjacent to the bathhouse was a woman in a long white gown. She was standing on a stool and peeping through a small hole at Xia Di. There was a small butterfly-shaped birthmark on Xia Di¡¯s left buttocks, made even more obvious by the heat of the water.
The woman finally began to tear up. Clutching the wall, she started to tremble. A crazy thought was tormenting her heart, a frenzied desire to throw aside everything and call out Xia Di¡¯s name.
But in the end, the woman managed to restrain herself. Almost paralyzed, she staggered out of the hidden room. Her mind was full of memories that she could not bear to look back on, constantly tormenting her sensitive nerves.
She returned to her room, dismissed all her guards and maids, and then raised the mattress. After opening three password-protected locks, she took out a small box, within which was a down nket made for a baby. She ced the white nket in front of her face and took a deep whiff of the scent that still lingered upon it.
And then she began to weep, driving all the maids and guards outside to worry. The weeping was as fierce as a waterfall, and never in the seven years since Queen Meryl had taken the throne had she ever cried like this. The guards even thought that she wanted tomit suicide, so they risked execution to bust through the door and enter the queen¡¯s bedroom.
Queen Meryl did not me the guards, simply ordering them in a weak voice to leave.
She then summoned the strongest warrior of the kingdom, Armstrong. He was a muscr and thickly-bearded middle-aged man. His n had served the kingdom for sixteen generations. His father, grandfather, and great grandfather had all died on the battlefield for the sake of the kingdom. Even if the entire world betrayed the kingdom, the Armstrong n would always stand together with the kingdom. He was the person Queen Meryl trusted the most in the world.
¡°He truly came at the worst time.¡± Queen Meryl¡¯s eyes were still a little swollen, but she quickly straightened up and spoke in a tone that brooked no objection. ¡°Send him back. No matter what, you must send him back quickly to wherever he came from!¡±
Armstrong was confused, stroking his chin with his right hand. ¡°Right now?¡±
¡°No, tomorrow. I want to look at him one more time,¡± the queen replied.
¡
After the bath, Xia Di, his body now fragrant, was led by the two maids into an elegant and spacious dining room. Various gourmet foods were served, and Xia Di, inheriting the fearless personality of the Skywings, decided to feast.
Xia Di had also inherited the Skywings¡¯ ability to easily get along with others. He asked the two maids to eat with him, and while they weren¡¯t so brazen as to sit down at the table that only the queen was normally allowed to sit at, they were still extremely grateful to Xia Di for the offer and attended him diligently.
¡ª¡ª
Xia Di had no idea that Xia Fan was outside the castle and scratching his head in confusion. Lurking in the shadows, Xia Fan was currently being harassed by louses, but his little brother Xia Di was enjoying various delicacies and being attended upon by beauties!
Xia Fan was deeply confused, and he decided to watch and see first. Thus, he stood guard outside the castle the entire night, passing the night in the sewer like a beggar. His onlypanions were a bunch of rats, which Xia Fan had Summoned using the Beast Taming Art taught to him by Grandpa Fisherman. Their objective was to understand what was happening to Xia Di.
The rats told him that Xia Di was living very well. He was passing the night in the cleanest and most sunlit guest room in the castle. This guest room was usually used for hosting the kingdom¡¯s most revered guests. It had scarlet curtains handmade from velvet, was decorated with the most precious Mist Lotuses of the snowy mountain, and the mirror embedded in the wall was a piece of crystal!
¡ª
The night passed quickly. In the early morning, Xia Fan was once more treated like a prince, while Xia Fan could only eat the nutritional rations from his spatial ring and some cheese and tomatoes the rats had stolen for him.
¡°Comparison really can anger someone to death.¡± Xia Fan mumbled as he chewed on a piece of molding cheese. Taming beasts involved putting oneself in the shoes of others. The food stolen by rats clearly couldn¡¯t be that clean, but Xia Fan still put on an excited appearance, at the same time showering the little creatures with benefits. That was how to make these creatures serve him to the death. After all, Xia Fan¡¯s Beast Taming Art was a skill, not some sort of special ability that could control their minds.
But Xia Fan could smell the butter-fried sausages Xia Di was eating, and he also knew that Xia Di¡¯s breakfast menu had the mushroom stew and veal soup that he so enjoyed, and also honeydew melons and strawberries!
The situation was getting more and more interesting. The rats told him that when Xia Di was eating, Queen Meryl was hiding in an adjoining room and watching him, her emotions rather agitated.
¡°What is the queen¡¯s name?¡± Xia Fan asked the rats.
Squeak, squeak¡
The rats dipped their flexible tails into the filthy water and wrote out some strange characters. But Xia Fan¡¯s trantion chip managed to provide Xia Fan the correct answer.
¡°Queen¡Meryl?¡± Xia Fan slightly frowned as he recalled a rumor he had heard back at the base.
The rats then informed Xia Fan of something even more shocking. The kingdom¡¯s strongest warrior, Armstrong, had entered the castle. Queen Meryl had disguised herself as a man, and her personal guards had prepared the only six Lightning Cathead Eagles of the kingdom. Meanwhile, Xia Di had been brought to the gardens in the rear of the castle.
With a whoosh, Queen Meryl, Xia Di, Armstrong, and the kingdom¡¯s four most elite warriors sat upon the Lightning Cathead eagles and swiftly set out in the opposite direction of the sun.
The Lightning Cathead Eagles were one of the fastest species in the Lower Realm, with adult ones able to travel at 30,000 meters per second. The entire kingdom had only six of the mystical beasts. They were gifts that the previous king had received long ago.
But Queen Meryl had also joined this squad. Her body was not as strong as a warrior¡¯s, so Armstrong had to slow everyone, giving Xia Fan a chance to give chase.
With them in the air and Xia Fan on the ground, they flew for two whole hours, arriving at the swamp that was a great distance from the snowy mountain and the white city. It appeared that they were heading to the Underworld River.
¡°Are they nning on sending Xia Di back?¡±
Suddenly, just as Xia Fan was wondering what was going on, the bright and sunny sky swiftly darkened, and a blue bolt of lightning shed across the sky!
Chapter 1559 - 1559 The Queen’s Secret
1559 The Queen¡¯s Secret
The bolt of lightning was clearly aimed at the queen¡¯s guards. Blue light imbued with divine power dyed the entire sky blue, and there was a great boom like the wrath of the heavens falling. The earth quaked, and countless birds hiding in the swamp took to the air in flight, cawing as they fled the strife.
Whoosh!
Xia Fan saw one of Queen Meryl¡¯s guards fall from the sky, the beautiful white Cathead Eagle scorched ck, its skin and feathers fused together and giving off ck smoke. In the end, they fell into a turbid pool of water.
A sinister spotted alligator, its entire body hidden in the water so that only its golden eyes were showing, quickly swam over to the eagle¡¯s body, and the waters of the pool began to roil. The alligator twisted its body to tear apart the eagle and the guard, blood mixing in with the ck waters as a stench began to spread throughout the swamp.
!!
The remaining five Lightning Cathead Eagles descended swiftly. If they continued flying, they would be nothing more than living targets. Meanwhile, theplicated terrain of the swamp might give them a chance to escape.
A man wearing an alligator skin stood up from a ck pool of water. He had done up his hair into a strange braid, and his golden beard had also been braided, his thick arms bearing the symbol of ocean waves. He was like a barbarian who had walked straight out of a video game!
Three more men walked out from the shadows next to the pool. They were dressed simrly, one braid on the top and one braid on the bottom. The tallest of them had a scar on his chin and a hammer weighing nearly one thousand kilograms in his hand. His arm bore a lightning symbol.
These barbarians approached Xia Di and the queen¡¯s location. From the odor, Xia Fan could tell that there were still four ambushers in the area. They were very smart, not showing their entire force.
¡°ursed Sunesians! Your Majesty, hurry and run!¡± the guards roared, and charged forward. The Cathead Eagles were also extremely intelligent, pping their wings and attacking from the sky with their sharp ws.
ck!
The scarred man raised his right arm, holding high his hammer. In a sh, blue light gathered on the head of the hammer, turning into several bolts of lightning that crackled down at the guards and Cathead Eagles. Although they were heroic, in the end, all they ended up doing was adding a few more scorched corpses to this bleak swamp.
The warrior wielded a mystical hammer that could unleash lightning. In an eerie tone, he said, ¡°Your Majesty, what a coincidence. We just went to the White City to find you, but you delivered yourself to our door. I advise you to obediently ept your fate ande with us to see the King of the ck Marsh. It will save you some unnecessary pain.¡±
These warriors were the vanguard the ck Marsh Kingdom had sent against the White City. A war was imminent between the two kingdoms, and Queen Meryl, understanding how grim the situation was, had decided to send Xia Di back as quickly as possible.
¡°Let me go! I can protect you!¡± Xia Di shouted. His hands were bound with a rope made of light, preventing him from moving. As for why Xia Di suddenly wanted to protect the queen, he himself probably didn¡¯t understand.
¡°Hahaha!¡± the barbariansughed. Xia Di was just a seven-year-old boy. In their eyes, he didn¡¯t even have the strength to truss a chicken. Moreover, the Skywings had always had rather thin bodies, so the barbarians felt like Xia Di was rather malnourished.
¡°Where did this brate from? Go back and get some milk from your mother!¡± the barbarians mocked and jeered at Xia Di, while Queen Meryl instinctively put Xia Di behind her.
Raising the hand with that mysterious red jeweled ring, she cut the ropes binding Xia Di¡¯s hand and whispered, ¡°Forget about me and go! Hurry back to where you came from!¡±
Queen Meryl seemed to want to take the ring from her hand and give it to Xia Di, as if it was a mystical item that could connect the two worlds. The kingdom¡¯s most loyal warrior, Armstrong, frowned coldly, and his hand reached for the whip made of white bone on his back.
Upon seeing that, Xia Fan understood everything. He stopped hiding and stood up, walking toward Xia Di and Queen Meryl.
¡°Big Brother Xia Fan!¡± Xia Di saw Xia Fan appearing, his usual smile on his face, and he shouted out Xia Fan¡¯s name in shock. It was the first time Xia Fan had ever heard him sounding so friendly.
¡°Anyone who mocks a Skywing has to leave behind their hand. Choose, your left or your right?¡± Xia Fan said indifferently. He had heard many interesting stories from his n brothers. In the n, there was a man called Xia Laoshi who liked to use this tone to threaten others.
As for mocking the Skywings and demanding an arm be cut off, there was actually no such rule. That was because the greatest rule of the Skywings was that there were no rules. Cutting off a hand or cutting off a leg waspletely up to his mood!.
¡°What did you say!?¡± The barbarians were furious, letting out strange shouts as their eyes went round.
The scarred warrior brought up his hammer and pointed it at Xia Fan, the blue light gathering at its tip and beginning to crackle.
Whoosh!
Xia Fan struck before the lightning could be released. A distance of around a hundred meters was something Xia Fan could cross in 0.0001 seconds, faster than one could blink. Enemies who didn¡¯t understand Speed would find it hard to not be caught off guard.
With an easy lift of his arm, he used the Underworld River goldenbat de to cut off his opponent¡¯s head. It was so fast that blood didn¡¯t even have time to spurt out.
At the same time, Xia Di stepped forward, appearing in front of the closest enemy. He had no weapon, so he jumped into the air, locked his legs around his enemy, and then grabbed his enemy¡¯s head with his hands and twisted.
ck!
¡°Leave this ce to me!¡±
¡°Understood!¡±
Xia Fan and Xia Di spoke alternately. The seven-year-old Xia Di would deal with the enemies here while Xia Fan headed into the swamp. The screams of enemies could soon be hearding from the ck swamp.
In the blink of an eye, Xia Fan and Xia Di returned to Queen Meryl and Armstrong¡¯s side. They had killed eight warriors of the swamp, but their hands weren¡¯t stained with even a drop of blood.
Only then did the in enemies finally copse, blood gushing from their wounds. Xia Fan and Xia Di silently collected the spoils into their spatial rings, even taking the rings and nes of the dead men.
Armstrong was dumbfounded. The most famous warrior of the White City felt like he was looking at two monsters, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets and falling to the ground. How could anybody in the world be that fast?
As for Queen Meryl, there was aplicated look in her eyes. As the memories of the past poured out, her eyes reddened. Seven years ago, she had once fallen in love with that man¡¯s speed, so she was just as shocked as Armstrong.
Xia Fan furrowed his brow slightly and whispered to her,¡±Xia Geng is also here.¡±
Queen Meryl shuddered at those words, her face turning as white as snow. She swayed, and Armstrong hastily moved to support her.
Xia Di was baffled. Why had the queen had such an intense reaction to hearing his father¡¯s name? He had no idea that this queen dressed as a man was actually his mother!
Nothing could escape Xia Fan¡¯s sharp sense of smell, ten thousand times better than a dog¡¯s. For countless nights, Xia Geng had gripped a handkerchief while mourning silently in the darkness, and the scent on that handkerchief had been Queen Meryl¡¯s!
That was why Xia Fan had quickly realized that Queen Meryl was actually Xia Geng¡¯s lost love, the mysterious woman who had given birth to Xia Di, Mei Mei!
Looking around warily, Xia Fan sniffed and whispered, ¡°What a guy! He must have sent more than ten thousand people. They¡¯re starting to pick up speed and head this way!¡±
Chapter 1560 - 1560 The Undefeated Legends
1560 The Undefeated Legends
Twenty-four hours had already passed. Xia Geng and the Skywing brothers hadn¡¯t stopped their efforts, trying to break the Realm Barrier, charging at the mysterious light dividing the two realms again and again. The Skywings didn¡¯t believe in giving up, and walls existed precisely to be broken!
The Demonic Ant watched all this from the darkness, feeling an unprecedented sense of shock. The Skywings weren¡¯t human, they were simply maniacs! When these maniacs found him, they chased him across the entire universe,pletely ruining his ns repeatedly.
It was impossible to imagine that such a group existed in the universe, possessing heaven-defying speed and the most stubborn personalities. Most incredible of all was that these guys came from an unremarkable ce within the Great Chiliocosm!
¡®I hope that the Realm Barrier will open¡¯, the Demonic Ant quietly thought to himself. It would be wonderful for him if all the Skywings entered the Lower Realm, which was why the Demonic Ant had done everything he could to help Xia Fan. He didn¡¯t want to see these people any longer. So long as the Skywings were around, he would never be able to seed, so the best solution was to have these madmen go and cause trouble in the Lower Realm!
Two white Cathead Eagles flew out on the other side of the Barrier. These were thest two of the mythical beasts from the White City. Xia Di and Armstrong were sitting on one, and the other was Meryl¡¯s mount.
¡°It¡¯s her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s with Xia Di?¡± everyone called out in surprise. Many people had seen Mei Mei before and knew of her rtionship with Xia Geng, and also that Xia Di was their son. Now, Meryl had appeared in the most unexpected fashion at the most unexpected moment.
Compared to seven years ago, Mei Mei seemed as young as ever. The years had silently passed her body, but they had not been able to age her in any way. She had the body of a young woman in her prime, her skin as white and tender as a newborn baby, and there was not even the slightest wrinkle at the corners of her eyes. The crown of crystal on her head indicated that her status was rather lofty in the Lower Realm.
As Mei Mei swiped the red jewel on the ring on her hand across the Realm Barrier, her heart almost stopped. She went from a queen revered by all back into that soft and delicate woman who used to lean on Xia Geng¡¯s shoulder and whisper sweet nothings into his ear. Sorrow and longing, repressions and grievances; all the emotions surged out of her heart, and she began to weep like a child who had done something wrong.
In front of everyone, Xia Geng put his sturdy arms around Mei Mei and said in a hoarse voice, ¡°You¡¯ve lost weight¡¡±
Mei Mei cried even harder when she heard this. She originally thought that Xia Geng would furiously roar at her, curse at her for leaving her child and husband behind, or perhaps he would pour out his inner feelings andin about how he had suffered during thesest seven years.
But there was nothing at all, as if the two of them had been separated for seven days, not seven years. Xia Geng didn¡¯t even ask about how Mei Mei had appeared in the Lower Realm.
Everyone was slightly disappointed. What should have been an emotional drama became nothing more than an exchange of greetings. They were rather dissatisfied, that is until Traveling Buddha popped up and asked where Xia Fan was. Everyone suddenly realized the gravity of the problem. Mei Mei was here, and Xia Di had returned, but there was no sign of Xia Fan!
¡°My country is under attack! Xia Fan had us pick you up while he chose to remain behind at the swamp!¡± Mei Mei spoke in a panic. Xia Di should have been the one to say that, but he was utterly perplexed at the moment, his mouth wide open as he watched in disbelief as his father hugged some strange woman.
¡°Oh, so there was a war.¡± ¡°We came at just the right time!¡± Everyone very casuallymented, as if war wasn¡¯t anything serious at all. The scene left Armstrong confused. Just what sort of group of people was this?
¡
Xia Fan had been fighting against the barbarians in the swamp for four hours in a row. Like a vicious leopard lurking in the forest, he followed the principle of picking on the weak, striking at enemies who were alone. He would then throw their bodies into the enemy¡¯s ranks to sow panic and chaos.
The Sunesians felt like they were being chased by a devil. Soldiers would go missing, and then their bodies would be thrown out of the darkness!
¡°He¡¯s there! I saw him!¡±
¡°He¡¯s also in the rear! He killed our logistics officer!¡±
Various disordered pieces of information reached the ears of the leader continuously. Xia Fan was appearing all over the ce, such that the leader even believed that he had been ambushed by entire army of thousands.
The Sunesian army spent from noon to dusk in a panic. A march of five and a half hours had only covered a few kilometers. The scouts had disappeared, warriors had disappeared, and even the food they had brought had disappeared. All these disappearances had slowed down the army, as they were forced to stop again and again to fruitlessly search for the missing people.
Panic spread through the army. The barbaric warriors who lived in the swamp believed that they were being attacked by ghosts now, and that attacking the White City was the worst idea ever. That city built at the base of the White Spirit Mountain was clearly under the protection of some mysterious power!
¡°Look, he¡¯s across from us!¡± a warrior suddenly shouted.
The leader quickly turned his head and saw a tall and thin figure, his back to the sunset, standing atop a hill. The leader finally got a good look at Xia Fan¡¯s face. It was a very young face, not even twenty years old, and there was a faint curve on his lips. Even though his face was emotionless, he seemed to be smiling.
¡°Curse you! I swear on the Marsh Alligator King¡¯s teeth that I will tear your face off!¡±
The leader was furious. The more than ten thousand Sunesian warriors raised their weapons or shed the symbols on their arms.
One secondter, Xia Fan opened his mouth, his smile bing even bright as he started to count down, ¡°Three! Two! One!¡±
The leader was furious at this arrogance. He had never seen someone so arrogant before. Couldn¡¯t this guy see the more than ten thousand brothers from the swamp behind him?
When Xia Fan¡¯s countdown finished, the leader got his answer.
The air was torn apart as ck silhouettes dropped from the sky and appeared around Xia Fan. With them were two little dragons, one red and one white.
The Sunesian warriors rubbed their eyes. The red light of the sunset was somewhat dazzling, so they weren¡¯t able to clearly see the Skywings¡¯ elegant entrance onto the stage. They just felt like there was suddenly a group of people standing on the hill. There were only sixty-some of them, but they all exuded a savage aura.
¡°These are the people who want to invade Mei Mei¡¯s country?¡± Xia Geng asked darkly.
Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s not all. They almost killed her.¡±
¡°Aaaaagggh!!!¡± Xia Geng let out a ghastly howl, and at the same time, their murderous aura began to soar crazily. The distant setting sun was throbbing while the earth seemed to be shuddering in fear.
It had been many years since Xia Geng had been this angry. He had be a searcher precisely because he rarely went crazy and was considered one of the most coolheaded members of the Skywings. But now, Xia Geng¡¯s calm eyes were almost spitting me, his murderous aura fully revealed.
¡°Daring to touch my woman!? Today, none of you will be walking out of this swamp alive!
¡°Brothers, kill!¡±
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Twenty-some people led the charge, soaring out at an absurd speed!
In this group, Xia Fan, with his speed of 10,000 meters per second, was only a rookie. Xia Geng and Xia Yu had all unlocked the three Law Thresholds and be War Gods, able to cross tens of thousands of kilometers in the time it took to take a breath. They turned into streaks of light and charged into the Sunesian army. H heads flew into the air, and the swamp¡¯s waters were quickly dyed red.
The most absurd thing in the world was speed. Numbers didn¡¯t matter when it came to them. Only incredible reflexes or heaven-defying special abilities could stop them!
s, the Sunesians of the swamp didn¡¯t have that ability. They didn¡¯t know that the Skywings, whether it was in their own universe or in the Middle Realm¡¯s Great Chiliocosm, were said to be undefeated. Their warriors might die on the battlefield, but they had never once lost a battle!
Now, this divine army hade to the Lower Realm!
Chapter 1561 - 1561 The Truth Is Always Surprising
1561 The Truth Is Always Surprising
When the sunlight of the early morning fell upon the white mists, there were no living enemies left in the swamp.
Only the heavens knew what sort of night it had been and what the tragically unlucky Sunesians had experienced. In any case, when the sun rose, what appeared before the animals was a feast. The blood and bodies were a most sumptuous banquet for the alligators of the swamp, and those impatient vultures had begun circling in the air long before the Skywings had left.
Xia Geng had carried out his promise, and none of the more than ten thousand warriors preparing to attack the White City had survived. The barbarians who had considered themselves professionals at surviving in the swamp had first been overrun by the Skywings, and then they had been picked out of the depths of the swamp and beheaded.
On this night, Xia Fan showed a remarkable ability to hunt. His sense of smell was so sharp that he could even find enemies who had hidden under the water. The Skywing wolves even began to wonder if Xia Fan¡¯s strange ability was going to bring a change to the n!
!!
After all, when Xia Fan¡¯s father, Xia Fei, returned to the Skywings, he had brought with him the Lone Wolf tactic, which ultimately became the key behind the Skywings¡¯ conquests. Xia Fan¡¯s sense of smell was also unique. Perhaps he could be just as famous as his father in the future!
¡ª
¡°Dead¡ they killed them all!¡¡±
Armstrong¡¯s eyes were wide open as he stared at the blood and organs strewn across the swamp in the dawn light. Whether it was numbers or quality, the barbaric Sunesians were definitely top-ss in the continent. The surrounding kingdoms all lived in fear of them, but there was nothing that they could do about them.
But when the Sunesians werepared to the Skywings, it was clear who the real barbarians were. The violent Skywings were a hundred times more barbaric, a true pack of devils!
In one night, the Sunesians had ceased to exist. It sounded like Xia Geng intended to head to the Sunesian base in the swamp and exterminate the old and children as well, putting an end to the threat for good.
Armstrong couldn¡¯t help but associate the Skywings with terror. When he found out that they were just a scouting party of the Skywing n, hisposurepletely fell apart.
¡®These people are allparable to Demon Kings!¡¯ Armstrong cried to himself.
¡ª
Standing on a high point, Xia Fan faced the breeze and breathed in deeply three times, letting the air of the swamp fill his lungs.
¡°I can confirm that there are no more enemies, but the Sunesian base should be in that direction,¡± Xia Fan pointed.
¡°Thank you.¡±
Xia Geng spoke with a genial expression, one hand around Queen Meryl while the other hand held Xia Di by the hand. One night seemed to havepletely transformed him from an ironblooded warrior into a kind father. Xia Fan had already seen these two whispering into each other¡¯s ears multiple times, Queen Meryl¡¯s face blushing hard.
¡°Disgusting. I feel like I¡¯m about to throw up. Can you two restrain yourself a little?¡± Xia Yu sighed as he grumbled. Still single, he was very resentful of this couple¡¯s actions, feeling like the two of them were being so affectionate on purpose to torture all the single dogs in the n.
¡°What a happy family¡¡± Xia Fan muttered. Meanwhile, his parents were nothing more than distant names for him. Xia Fan had never seen them once, and they seemed so busy that he always seemed to be just missing them.
He didn¡¯t know when their family would be reunited. Apparently, he also had a big brother and big sister, both of whom were already top-ss warriors. Xia Fan discovered that his reputation in Ashen Moon was pointless, for when his speed waspared to the rest of his family, it wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning! His only pride was probably his sharp nose!
Xia Fei and Avril were two of the most dutiful people in the universe, but they were also extremely irresponsible parents. To search for their son, they had busted through the Cosmic Gate and swept through the Great Chiliocosm. But when they found that the universe faced an even greater danger, they quickly forgot about Xia Fan.
Xia Yu didn¡¯t want to watch the two lovers any longer, so he took some of the brothers to clear out the Sunesian base. The Skywings had already killed the adult warriorsst night, and the rest were the old, young, and infirm. There would be nothing stopping them from pulling out the roots!
¡ª¡ª
The rest of the group traveled to the White City at the base of the White Spirit Mountain. They entered the city through a secret tunnel without rming the civilians, who had no idea of the cmity they had just avoided.
If not for the sudden appearance of Xia Fan¡¯s group, the White City might have already fallen, the men ughtered and the women bing birthing tools for the Sunesians. In the Lower Realm, talent decided everything. While the White City was vast, it had only three hundred-some real warriors, not at all on the same level as the Sunesians.
As for the symbols on the arms of warriors, that was a sign of their talents. They were decided the moment they were born. Cultivation and hard work didn¡¯t exist in the Lower Realm. Mortals without a symbol could spend their entire lives working and still only amount to a farmer in the fields.
A feast was held in the castle, and the carefree attitudes of the Skywings left Armstrong shocked once more. When these speed maniacs rxed, they became like a pile of loose sand. He had thought that Xia Geng was the leader of the group, a noble of some sort, but he saw with his own eyes Xia Geng being forced to drink by his brothers, and then he watched as everyoneughed, stripped Xia Geng of his clothes, and threw him into the pond in the garden to feed the fishes!
Armstrong only then realized that the Skywings actually didn¡¯t have a leader. Xia Geng¡¯s role was akin to that of a battlefieldmander. Only on the battlefield would his brothers heed his orders. When they weren¡¯t fighting, Xia Geng was an ordinary person like everyone else!
Queen Meryl was engulfed in a familiar sense of happiness. In the eyes of the Skywings, she had never been some queen, only Mei Mei. She could converse to her heart¡¯s content with everyone, sharing drinks without any concern about looks from others.
This sense of freedom was why Meryl had been unwilling to return home for so long. It was only when her father sent her a mental transmission that he was on the verge of death that she had finally hardened her heart and left Xia Geng and her son.
After messing around for a while, the Skywings turned serious, which caught Armstrong off guard. Several minutes ago, they had been feasting away, but when they heard Xia Fan asking about the Lower Realm, they instantly turned serious, perking up their ears and listening carefully. Their carefree attitudes from before had utterly disappeared!
Xia Geng grabbed Mei Mei¡¯s hands and said encouragingly, ¡°They¡¯re all our brothers. You don¡¯t need to hide anything from them.¡±
Mei Mei nodded. ¡°What I know is a little different from what you know. When my father was still alive, he once told me that the Lower Realm is actually a kind of filtration system.¡±
A filtration system?
This was a very surprising way of describing it. In the Middle Realm, Xia Fan had been told that the Lower Realm was Hell; that when the strong died, their souls were reborn in the Lower Realm. This was a ce of fire and blood, brimming with cruelty and torment, so why did Meryl describe this underworld as a filtration system?
Meryl continued, ¡°Because only the souls of the strong can be born here, only a scant number of the innumerable people in the Great Chiliocosm can actually be reborn here after death. After being reborn in the Lower Realm, there is an even crueler filtration system. The Sunesians you encountered and the people of the White City had ancestors who were once the most feared existences in the Great Chiliocosm. But after round after round of elimination, their descendants sank down to beingmoners and barbarians, no longer possessing any extraordinary abilities.
¡°And at the same time, those who passed the tests and sessfully ascended to the summit became kings, even Demon Kings, just like my father. He defeated countless powerful opponents to ultimately be the king of this ce.
¡°But not long after my father died, the kingdom faced a stiff challenge. If I am unable to hold onto my father¡¯s base and the White City is destroyed, then my descendants and I will also sink down to be like themoners living outside the city.
¡°Father said that this is the cruelest elimination of the weakest. All of the famous experts of the Middle Realm are gathered together and sent to the Lower Realm, where they will begin a new test, with the best genes and most powerful warriors being selected.
¡°My father couched all of this in nicer terms. When describing how souls transmitted between the Three Realms, he said that it was like breeding, raising up livestock and selecting the strongest to produce even better livestock. The livestock that are eliminated are killed and eaten¡¡±
Meryl¡¯s words sent chills down everyone¡¯s spines. They couldn¡¯t help but think about their own experiences. Only the strongest warriors could break through the Cosmic Gate; that was a form of elimination in of itself! Mortals without special abilities were imprisoned in their own universes to continue breeding, much like they were living in giant ranches!
When the Skywings broke through the Cosmic Gate and entered the Great Chiliocosm, what they suddenly faced was a contest with the other powerful experts of the universe. These experts were also top-ss existences of their respective universes, and they had also charged out of their Cosmic Gates!
There was also the Demonic Ant. He was like a wolf thrown among thembs, forcing thembs to run or fight for their lives, stimting their potential to the maximum!
Meryl frowned, but Xia Geng encouraged her to let go of all her apprehensions and speak bluntly. ¡°They¡¯re definitely getting impatient. The potential the Skywings have shown means that they would definitely enter the Law Realm after they die. But this would require far too long. You¡¯re at the level where you can escape the limits of lifespan and live forever.
¡°The only way of getting you into the Lower Realm is to have someone sessfully challenge the Skywings and kill all of you. But that doesn¡¯t seem possible. I¡¯ve been to the Great Chiliocosm before, and no one there is capable of killing the Skywings. You are undefeated within the Divine Path.
¡°Perhaps the Lower Realm¡¯s people grew impatient. They couldn¡¯t wait for the Divine Path to produce an army stronger than the Skywings who would then kill you. There¡¯s a high chance that there will never be an existence in the Great Chiliocosm stronger than the Skywings.
¡°Thus, they opened a path for the Skywings, drawing Xia Fei and the Skywing warriors into the Lower Realm. You guys were able to avoid this fate because you were a search team out on a mission. When Xia Fei came here, you guys remained in the Middle Realm.¡±
After voicing her thoughts, Meryl sighed. ¡°These are my conjectures. My father liked to research strange things, and he was often called a madman because of it. I¡¯m just following my father¡¯s line of thought to specte as to why the main force of the Skywings suddenly disappeared. What I said is highly like to not be the reality, so you can just use it as a reference.¡±
The hall was very quiet for a while. If Meryl¡¯s theory was right, then wasn¡¯t this world a little too cruel?
Xia Geng was confused, scratching his head. ¡°Who are these people you are talking about? How can we meet them?¡±
Chapter 1562 - 1562 Target: Subduing Demon City!
1562 Target: Subduing Demon City!
Meryl took out a piece of white paper and drew a circle in the middle, with two tips on opposite sides of the circle. ¡°Look here. This is the structure of the World Tree. The circle in the center is the Celestial Path, linked to countless universes, countless beings living within each universe.
¡°The sharp cone at the top is the Upper Realm, and the sharp cone at the bottom is the Lower Realm you see before you. To be more specific, the Middle Realm is thergest, like a beehive, home to countless universes. Meanwhile, the Upper Realm and Lower Realm are like pyramids, ordered into levels.
¡°If you want to find Xia Fei and the others, you will have to go down a level, perhaps even more than that. The lower the level, the greater the difficulty!¡±
The diagram was very easy to understand. The Lower Realm was like an underground parking structure. To get to the second basement floor, one needed to take the elevator, but the elevator was guarded by experts who wouldn¡¯t let just anyone ride the elevator!
!!
¡°How do you know that Xia Fei and the Grand Ancestor are down below?¡± Xia Yu asked in confusion.
Meryl nced at Xia Yu and said, ¡°I¡¯ve met them before and know how powerful they are. If Xia Fei and the others came here, given the strength of the Lower Realm¡¯s first level, they would definitely be able to turn it upside-down.
¡°But I¡¯ve never heard anything about the Skywings being here, which means they must have been taken to the lower continent, where many experts are gathered. After all, only a sufficient number of experts could suppress the power of the Skywings.¡±
Xia Geng clenched his fists. ¡°I see! Then we¡¯ll fight down to the next level and find Xia Fei and the Grand Ancestor!¡±
¡°Mm, that¡¯s what we should do!¡± ¡°What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go right now!¡±
The brothers grew as excited as if they were on fire, talking about how they were going to fight to the next level. But what Meryl said next pulled them back to reality.
¡°You couldn¡¯t even break the Realm Barrier, so how do you expect to get to the next level?¡±
Xia Geng and the others fell silent. Now that they thought about it, it was rather strange. Speed had always been invincible, and the Skywings were extremely confident in their speed. But no matter how fast they were, they couldn¡¯t break through the Realm Barrier. It was quite shameful when they thought about it. It seemed like the Speed Law was no good against that Barrier!
¡°Then could we sneak in? We¡¯re also good at disguising ourselves. After all, we¡¯re the scouting team, and we often have to infiltrate enemy ranks.¡±
Meryl shook her head. ¡°In the Lower Realm, any person with abat ability has a symbol on their arm. While you have speed, you don¡¯t have a speed symbol, which means you would be immediately identified as not being natives of the Lower Realm. However, people withoutbat abilities won¡¯t have any symbols on their arm, and in this aspect, only one of you could do that.¡±
Meryl turned to Xia Fan. Just like all the Skywing warriors, he had formidable speed, but at the same time, he also had the rare Scent ability!
¡
When most people were unhappy, they would use alcohol to dilute their sorrows, but Traveling Buddha brewed tea.
As the dawn light illuminated the Lower Realm, the horizon a creamy white, a cool breeze blew across the castle. Traveling Buddha sat on a balcony where he had set up his tea set, having a sip of the tea he had just brewed while it was still hot.
¡°It¡¯s been almost three years since we got to know each other, but this is the first time we¡¯re splitting up,¡± Traveling Buddha said dejectedly.
Perhaps it was fate, but ever since the two had gotten to know each other, they had never been separated. They had adventured, lived, and fought together, but now, Xia Fan had to go to Subduing Demon City, which meant that these partners wouldn¡¯t be seeing each other for a long time.
Pa!
Xia Fan gave Traveling Buddha a light p on the back of the head and chuckled. ¡°When did you be such an olddy? Who was it that said that a true man aspired to travel far and wide? And didn¡¯t Meryl tell all of you? The people of Subduing Demon City aren¡¯t bad people. They¡¯re just rather mysterious and rather strict with their rules.¡±
Traveling Buddha scratched the back of his head and shrugged helplessly.
At that moment, Xia Yu¡¯s voice came from behind him. ¡°Rx. Once you¡¯re gone, Traveling Buddha definitely won¡¯t have the time to worry about you.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because we¡¯ve just decided to put Traveling Buddha through special training. He has the powerful Battle Buddha Golden Light, a top-ss special ability. It has enormous potential, capable of turning one invincible. It¡¯s not like we have anything else to do, so we might as well boost hisbat power!¡±
Traveling Buddha scowled, his body shaking. ¡°You don¡¯t need to go as far as special training, right? Won¡¯t some casual training do?¡±
Xia Yu replied, ¡°We¡¯re all brothers, so there¡¯s no need to be polite. No matter how much potential we have, we¡¯ve developed it long ago. As for Bright Pearl, she¡¯s a dragon, belonging to the divine type, so she gets stronger as she gets older and doesn¡¯t need special training. The only ones left with potential to develop are you and Xia Fan. Xia Fan is going to Subduing Demon City, so who else are we going to train? We¡¯ll be too bored otherwise.¡±
Xia Fan wanted tough. He felt like he could already see the tragic sight of Traveling Buddha being surrounded by people as they pointed out his ws. Among these guys, it was only the Water Elemental brothers who were rather kind. The others weren¡¯t just veterans of the battlefield, they also had extremely rigorous standards. Traveling Buddha would probably find it impossible to enjoy hiszy and carefree life!
¡ª¡ª
At daybreak, Xia Fan inspected his spatial ring seriously, leaving everything that might expose him or was out of ce for Xia Geng to keep safe. Subduing Demon City was an extremely strict ce, and even spatial rings were inspected!
Pearl had been nning to use her transformation powers to hide in Xia Fan¡¯s spatial ring and apany him to the city, but Meryl had swiftly rejected the idea.
¡°The Demon Subduers are the guardians of the Lower Realm. There¡¯s no trick that can escape their sharp eyes. If you¡¯re discovered, it will only harm you and harm Xia Fan,¡± Meryl said earnestly.
Thus, in the end, it was only Xia Fan and Armstrong who were going. They sat on a single Cathead Eagle and flew in the direction of the sun.
As the White City drew farther and farther away, the figures of his family and friends gradually vanishing from sight, Xia Fan suddenly felt an immense pressure. The mission of finding his father and the n¡¯s main force had ultimately fallen to him alone!
As a Mythical Beast that had a wingspan of fifteen meters, the Cathead Eagle had a very broad and sturdy back. Armstrong was sitting next to Xia Fan and said, ¡°In the three days it will take to get there, we can use this time to have you memorize the history of the White City. The people of Subduing Demon City will probably ask you about it.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. The Lower Realm truly was an incredible ce. Even a Cathead Eagle needed three whole days to fly from the White City to Subduing Demon City. This continent was vast beyond description, and snowy mountains, grassy ins, wastnds, and other kinds of terrain appeared over and over, as if there was no end to them.
Armstrong passed Xia Fan a thick stack of organized files. After two hours, he began asking questions.
¡°Who is the founder of the White City?¡±
¡°The founder was Francis, but after countless usurpers, the seat was taken by Merlin. Currently, Merlin¡¯s daughter, Meryl, reigns as queen.¡±
¡°How many streets does the White City have?¡±
¡°1321.¡±
¡°How many registered warriors?¡±
¡°309.¡±
¡°How was Brutus¡¯s left eye blinded?
¡°Brutus isn¡¯t blind in the left eye, but his right.¡±
Armstrong raised his head and shot Xia Fan an admiring nce. He said in surprise, ¡°You learn very quickly. You managed to memorize it all?¡±
Xia Fan shrugged and casually said, ¡°When I was younger, I had several hundred teachers who taught me in shifts. If I didn¡¯t learn properly, they would spank me!¡±
Chapter 1563 - 1563 Selection
1563 Selection
Walls standing a hundred meters tall appeared on the ins. Ancient and covered in vines and moss, they appeared like sentinel giants, telling all the world that thend behind these walls was a forbidden region of the Lower Realm!
The Mythical Beastnded before them. The white light above the walls was a barrier that no living creature could pass, not even a tiny fly. Anything that collided with the white light would be swiftly bounced back; not even the wind could blow past it!
¡°Subduing Demon City has a total area of ten million square kilometers,¡± Armstrong said as he looked at that endless wall. He sighed, ¡°An invisible barrier stretches up to the heavens and down into the earth, preventing mortals from ever getting close.
¡°The stairs to the lower level are in the center of Subduing Demon City. They require a special ID in order to activate. Come on, let¡¯s go and see the guards. I hope that you can pass their test.¡±
Xia Fan nodded and followed Armstrong to an ancient and gloomy tower-style building. There were many flying beasts in the clearing around this building. The Lower Realm continent was too vast for humans to cross on foot. Thus, the people of the Lower Realm used incredibly swift flying beasts to move between territories and cities.
The Demon Subduers had a transcendent status. They had never cared about any of the wars that happened on the continent. In their view, war was actually a good thing. With each war, an expert was bound to be born, and those experts would then be targets for recruitment by the Demon Subduers.
The Lower Realm existed to select the strong and eliminate the weak. The people outside Subduing Demon City fought for their lives, and experts would be forged from the mes and offered to Subduing Demon City for protection andbat resources.
Xia Fan saw many young people like him. They had been brought here by experts from various countries and cities to the gray tower. If they were fortunate enough to be epted by Subduing Demon City, their respective country would receive a rich reward.
The most valuable reward was a protective barrier. The White City¡¯s protective barrier had a time limit. If it went too long without offering an expert to Subduing Demon City, the barrier would automatically disappear, at which point their enemies could invade them!
Xia Fan was wearing very ordinary local clothes, appearing neither too impoverished nor too shy. After all, he wasing here as a representative of the White City. The ruler of the White City would be shamed if he looked like a beggar.
There was a line in front of the tower, where the guards were distributing small transparent stones to visitors. Xia Fan also received one, and found that it felt cool to the touch, like an ice cube. As Armstrong was already a registered warrior, he simply needed to show the metal namete hanging from his neck to be let in by the guards.
Inside the tower was an arched hall, dim sunlighting in through the ss ceiling. Sound was amplified here, and everyone subconsciously lowered their voices when they spoke.
¡°Name?¡±
¡°Xia Fan.¡±
¡°Where are you from?¡±
¡°The White City.¡±
¡°Have your guarantor sign here, and ce the Ice Crystal in this box.¡±
Sitting behind a long counter, a warrior had his head lowered as he registered Xia Fan, cing a paper slip with his name and status into a metal box. The Ice Crystal that Xia Fan had just received was also ced in the box. The warrior then sealed the box and ced it in a round tube. The box was carried by the tube into the basement of the tower.
¡°Go wait over there. The results will be announced in the afternoon,¡± the guard said emotionlessly as his eyes didn¡¯t move from his quill.
This hall had several hundred chairs, where people were sitting and waiting quietly, nervous looks on their faces. Armstrong and Xia Fan joined them, drinking a little water and eating two pieces of bread that had been thered with butter and honey. Xia Fan felt like the raisins studding the bread were tastier, while the bread itself was rather dry.
¡°The Ice Crystal is the first test. The Demon Subduers use it to test your potential, though I¡¯m not very certain about the exact details. This is their unique technology. When the resultses out in a little while, only those people who have met the standards of the Ice Crystal test will be allowed to take part in the second round of interviews!¡± Armstrong whispered to Xia Fan.
As expected, the doors to the hall were closed around noon. Theters could only set up camp for the night and wait for tomorrow morning, when the selection process would start again. This scene had repeated itself day after day, year after year, with countless youths with potential sent here and browsed over by the Demon Subduers, like products on store shelves.
Xia Fan looked around and saw that the vast majority of people had symbols on their arms: Fire, Beastification, Ice, Light¡almost every kind of ability of the Middle Realm one could think of could be found here. But that ability took the form of a natural symbol here instead!
The symbols made the power structure of the Lower Realm more obvious. Warriors would be born with their symbol, so it was basically impossible to feign weakness to catch someone off guard. By showing one¡¯s arm, anyone would be able to tell what ability you had and what rank it was. As for an outsider like Xia Fan, he wasn¡¯t subject to the rules of the Lower Realm. Though he didn¡¯t have a symbol, hisbat power still wasn¡¯tcking in the slightest.
Of course, there were disadvantages to everything. Xia Fan would be in big trouble if it was found that he was an outsider.
There were also some people without symbols on their arms. They were all owners of abilities that were not of thebat type, supportive powers. This might be proficient in math, or it could be strange abilities like Farseeing Eyes or Super Hearing. In short, their abilities had nothing to do with battle, so there was no symbols on their arms.
ording to Armstrong, those with nonbat abilities had a lower status. In the Lower Realm, only the fighters received respect. Those with support abilities were treated likeckeys!
¡ª¡ª
The hours ticked by, and the people waiting took out the food they had brought with them for lunch. Around two in the afternoon, a tall warrior in hard silver armor came out with a white paper covered in names.
¡°I will now announce the results. The people whose names I read out should follow me. The rest of you must leave!¡±
¡°sh City¡¯s Collins!¡±
¡°Red Desert¡¯s Jia Dongdong!¡±
The tall warrior read out a location along with every name to avoid any confusion from duplicate names.
There were fifteen people in all. The first thirteen called out were all warriors. Xia Fan and another youth called Fariel were left forst. Neither of them hadbat abilities.
Disappointment was unavoidable, and the vast majority of people sighed and left the hall, mounting their flying beasts to return to homes. That process often took several days and nights, sometimes even several months!
Xia Fan and the other fourteen people, together with their guarantors, obtained the right to enter the small hall beyond. The small hall and great hall were connected by a semi-circr door. There were two long rows of chairs, and everyone took a seat and prepared for the interview.
The first to be called into the room was Collins. Five minutester, the golden-haired youth walked out, his eyes unfocused and his legs stiff, like a rusting robot. He slowly sat down next to his guarantor, obviously still thinking back on his interview.
¡°Forget it. At least you passed the first round. The Demon Subduers are always very crafty in their interviews. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡±
Collins¡¯ guarantor was a middle-aged woman with a sharp chin and very high cheekbones, a harshness to her face. But when she saw Collins almosting out in tears, she couldn¡¯t help butfort him.
It was just too miserable¡
After the first three interviewees came out, the others began to realize that an interview by the Demon Subduers wasn¡¯t as simple as they had imagined. The third interviewee was called Amy, a rather pretty young warrior. After standing in a daze for a while, she suddenly started crying, her tears raining down. It was clear that the results of her interview had been so bad that she had lost control of her emotions.
The seventh interviewee, a dark-skinned and brown-eyed youth called i, was one of the moreposed ones. He spent twenty minutes in the room before returning to the corridor. Although he appeared somewhat confused, he at least held his head high.
¡°How was it?¡± i¡¯s manager excitedly asked.
i looked out the window and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I really didn¡¯t think that they would ask that sort of question.¡±
The grueling interviews continued, and almost everyone who came out of the room acted like a defeated rooster, their heads drooping as they wept or grabbed their hair, or else stood around like blocks of wood. In short, it was like the interviewer had vited them!
If I can¡¯t sneak in, Xia Geng will probably start a war!, Xia Fan thought to himself. The Skywings would not ept being stuck in the Lower Realm¡¯s first level. They would think of every method they could to charge into Subduing Demon City. If that happened, the situation would go out of control.
The interviewer finally called Xia Fan¡¯s name. ¡°White City¡¯s Xia Fan, it¡¯s your turn!¡±
Chapter 1564 - 1564 Demon Bloodline!
1564 Demon Bloodline!
The interview room wasn¡¯trge. Indeed, it was rather empty. Behind a long table sat three Demon Subduers, all of them appearing in their twenties. One of them was a woman who held a pen and had a white sheet of paper in front of her. It seemed like she was the recorder for this interview.
¡°You came from the White City?¡± a man with thick eyebrows andrge eyes asked. He had a heroic air about him, and if you were to dress him in ancient clothes and give him a sword on his back, he would have looked like a wandering warrior out of a movie.
¡°Yes,¡± Xia Fan replied.
¡°A Scent ability? That¡¯s rather rare. It¡¯s difficult to evaluate nonbat abilities. How keen is your sense of smell? Is it like a dog, able to smell one¡¯s enemies and then track them down? We have plenty of dogs. You will have to prove that you are better than a dog to be let into Subduing Demon City!¡± the female warrior spoke. As she looked at Xia Fan¡¯s file, she yed with her pen. Perhaps becausebat types naturally looked down on nonbat types, she spoke very rudely, repeatedlyparing Xia Fan to a dog. Although Xia Fan wasn¡¯t prejudiced against dogs, having someone talk to him like that still left him very unhappy.
His lips curving upward, Xia Fan put on his characteristic smile, closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath, letting all the scents in the room enter his lungs.
Cherries and butter indicated that they had eaten a cherry pie for lunch, fried eggs made with olive oil, and their beverages had been coffee and milkshakes. There was also the scent of roast pork belly, wrapped in the scent of pine rosin. Thus, it had been barbecued rather than roasted with coal. The female warrior had also eaten garlic, which had left a strong odor in her mouth.
The mixed odor of sweat¡ mm, it wasn¡¯t from these three warriors, but from the youths who had been interviewed earlier. They had been very nervous, and there had even been someone holding his urine. His dder was probably pretty swollen by now, no?
The moment Xia Fan activated his Scent ability, countless odors and the information they contained entered his mind. Although he had closed his eyes, Xia Fan could see what others would never be able to see. Through the smells, he could simte what they had done while eating, and even who had spilled coffee on their sleeve.
But merely telling them what they had for lunch was too childish. That would make them think that Xia Fan¡¯s smell ability really was no better than a dog¡¯s.
Thinking that, Xia Fan opened his eyes, looked at the female warrior on his right, and then he looked at the male warrior on his left, who had brown curly hair. He then said, ¡°The two of you had grape winest night. It was aged for three years, the cultivator was Scarlet Sunset. The main course was pickled olives and roast fish.
¡°After dinner, you two went into thedy¡¯s room. To wee you, she sprayed lc extract in her room,monly used as a perfume. The bedding had also just been washed using natural cleansers, honey locust with a quarter spoon of baking soda.
¡°The two of you had sex in the room. The process was rather intense, and it was rather enjoyable, both of you releasing your emotions and secreting many hormones. You also took a break in the middle, drinking some light sparkling wine and eating strawberries, cantaloupes, butter candies, and dried pork to recover your energy¡¡±
Xia Fan casually narrated the information he had gathered through his nose, as calm as if he was talking about somethingpletely irrelevant.
But the male warrior with brown curly hair and the female warrior who hadpared him to a dog were both bbergasted. Their faces started to burn up, as if Xia Fan had stripped them of their clothes and exposed them under the sunlight, revealing every hair on their body.
¡°Enough!¡± The curly-haired warrior mmed the table and stood up, his temples throbbing as he called out for Xia Fan to stop. As for the female warrior, she was trembling in anger.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t n to fight with them, so he chose to shut his mouth. But he had now proved his power, as could be seen from the stunned looks on the trio¡¯s face.
Scent wasn¡¯t an ability that could be used inbat, but it was extremely terrifying nheless. It left a person with nowhere to hide, peeling away their disguises and pointing straight at the truth. Not even the brand of shaving cream used that morning could escape his nose. Discovering an affair was nothing but child¡¯s y for Xia Fan!
Of course, Xia Fan had discovered the affair not merely because of the smells, but also because she had a wedding ring on her hand. The ring had another man¡¯s name carved into it, and carried another man¡¯s scent!
The straight-browed man sitting in the center sighed deeply. ¡°I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear that. Xia Fan, you¡¯re also not allowed to go around spreading rumors.¡±
Xia Fan nodded and expressed his agreement. Catching people having affairs wasn¡¯t his hobby, and he couldn¡¯t bring himself to care about such things.
The straight-browed man said sternly, ¡°Very good. You two agree that there are no problems with Xia Fan¡¯s Scent ability?¡±
The curly-haired man and female warrior scowled and nodded reluctantly.
The straight-browed man said, ¡°Then let¡¯s continue the interview. Xia Fan, do you believe that gods exist in this world?¡±
Xia Fan was confused, not expecting for there to be this sort of question.
¡°I don¡¯t.¡±
¡°Why not?¡±
¡°If there were gods, why don¡¯t they answer when I call them? If you can call them over, then I¡¯ll believe in them.¡±
¡°In other words, you also don¡¯t think such things as demons exist?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t.¡±
¡°Understood. The third question: if there were gods and demons in this world, how would you kill them?¡±
¡°With weapons, of course.¡±
The straight-browed man couldn¡¯t help but smile bitterly, and the two others also had looks of contempt. With such nonsense answers, there was no way Xia Fan would be able to get into Subduing Demon City!
¡
Xia Fan was thest to leave the interview room. What came next was waiting. After the review, those who were allowed to enter Subduing Demon City would remain, while the rest would be eliminated and told to leave.
¡°What do you think?¡± Armstrong asked him nervously.
Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°Based on the expressions on the faces of the interviewers, it doesn¡¯t look good.¡±
¡°Haaa¡¡± Armstrong sighed softly. Having Xia Fan infiltrate Subduing Demon City was n A for the Skywings. If n A didn¡¯t work, the Skywings would move on to n B, which was using their speed to charge inside!
But that would drag in the White City. If the Demon Subduers found that the White City was connected to the Skywings, the city and country would be doomed. Xia Geng didn¡¯t want to hurt Mei Mei, which was why he decided to let Xia Fan try and sneak in first.
¡°Heavens, bless us and let Xia Fan pass,¡± Armstrong silently prayed.
¡
After sending off thest interviewee, the three young warriors began to organize the files. At this time, a small door was pushed open, and an old man walked in. He was on the chubby side, had sparse silver hair, and wore gold-rimmed eyesses. He seemed more like a schr than a warrior.
¡°Teacher Turan!¡± the three called out respectfully.
Turan nodded and nced at the files in their heads. ¡°How were today¡¯s interviews?¡±
The straight-browed man said, ¡°Based on our assessment, there are three people who can enter Subduing Demon City for the final test.¡±
¡°Is Xia Fan of the White City among them?¡± Turan asked.
The three were stunned. Teacher Turan had mentioned Xia Fan by name? This left them baffled. What did he mean by that? Did he already know Xia Fan?
The straight-browed man bluntly said, ¡°There is no problem with Xia Fan¡¯s ability, but hisprehension abilities are barely passable, so he doesn¡¯t meet the standard.¡±
Turan pulled over a chair and sat down. ¡°Oh? How is he barely passable?¡±
The straight-browed man opened the record and said, ¡°On the first question, Xia Fan replied that he didn¡¯t believe in gods, and the reason he doesn¡¯t believe in gods or demons is because you can call them by their names, but they won¡¯t respond.¡±
¡°Exquisite! Truly exquisite!¡± Turan nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Xia Fan is a genius! He calls gods by their names, but the gods don¡¯t answer, so gods don¡¯t exist. That is a perfect answer!
¡°Gods exist not only because they are omnipotent, but also omniscient and omnipresent. If Xia Fan calls a god¡¯s name but a god doesn¡¯t answer, it means that they don¡¯t meet the two conditions of omniscience and omnipresence. Thus, you can conclude that gods don¡¯t exist!¡±
Turan raised his head and found that his three students were dumbfounded, their mouths open so wide that you could stuff a watermelon in them.
¡°Teacher, are you serious?¡±
¡°Of course I am. Hurry, tell me his answer to the next question. I can¡¯t wait to hear what sort of shocking answer Xia Fan gave.¡±
The straight-browed man swallowed, his mind starting to grow hazy. ¡°The second question, if gods and demons existed, how would you kill them?
¡°Xia Fan replied, with weapons!¡±
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Turan was so excited that he had started pping.
¡°A genius! The most genius answer I¡¯ve ever seen!¡± Turan said energetically. ¡°Of course you have to use weapons to kill gods! Faith and belief might not be physical, but they are formless weapons with incredible lethality!
¡°Wonderful! Stupendous! Xia Fan¡¯s answer gets right at the heart of things. I really have to wonder how he thought of such a brilliant answer!
¡°Hurry and put Xia Fan¡¯s name on the list! My Subduing Demon City needs a man of talent, no, a genius like this!¡±
Plush!
Turan¡¯s three students were almost throwing up blood. What was going on here? Using weapons to kill a god was a genius answer?
The interview room fell silent, the air freezing up awkwardly.
After a while, Turanughed and scratched his head. ¡°Haha, it seems like I went a bit overboard with my acting and scared all of you.¡±
The straight-browed man earnestly said, ¡°Teacher, can you not y jokes like this? You almost scared us to death.¡±
Turan casually shook his head. ¡°I really wasn¡¯t joking. No matter how Xia Fan answered, even if he said to throw gods in the water to drown them or choke them out with a rope, we would determine that his answer waspletely correct.
¡°The Ice Crystal has found that Xia Fan tested true for a powerful demon bloodline. The city has already ordered that he needs to be brought into the city, even if he has to be kidnapped!¡±
Chapter 1565 - 1565 Invitation from the Demon Subduers
1565 Invitation from the Demon Subduers
¡°Starting today, Xia Fan will remain in Subduing Demon City. Please pass on my well-wishes to Queen Meryl. Per the agreement, the city¡¯s barrier will have its time extended, and the resources sent to you will be delivered soon,¡± Turan informed Armstrong.
Xia Fan said goodbye to Armstrong, during which he whispered, ¡°When you go back, tell Xia Geng to not do anything reckless and wait for news from me.¡±
Armstrong was startled, but then nodded. After watching Xia Fan leave with Turan and enter Subduing Demon City, he turned and also left. He was going to travel through the night to return to the White City, so that the news that Xia Fan had entered the city would be delivered to Xia Geng and the others quickly!
¡ª¡ª
Once Xia Fan walked out the door, he turned and found that he was past the wall of light. A chilly wind blew across a boundlessnd, and the legendary Subduing Demon City was still far off in the distance. They would have to travel a long distance to get there.
There had been three youths entering the city, but when Xia Fan looked around, he couldn¡¯t see the other two. Turan smiled and said, ¡°There will be others sending them to the city. You just need to follow me.¡±
Turan extended his right hand and snapped his fingers. It was a small sound, but it seemed to be a special signal. A ck dot quickly appeared in the blue sky and approached rapidly.
As it flew closer and closer, it finally became visible as a rare macaw with yellow and green plumage. It had a wingspan of twenty-five meters, and a pavilion-like building had been tied with ropes to its back. People could sit in the room to rx during a long journey.
¡°Her name is Little Cherry, and she¡¯s my personal mount. Now that I¡¯m old, I can¡¯t handle the rough experiences of long journeys, so I prefer to travel infort,¡± Turan exined.
The macaw lowered her head, allowing Turan to stroke her neck. She seemed extremely affectionate.
...
A subordinate brought over a set of stairs, and the two of them climbed into the small hut on the parrot¡¯s back. The seats were well-padded, and the view was very open. The wooden room was built in an ancient style, making it seem like one was riding in an old carriage.
Little Cherry cried out with a loud squawk, and then flew up into the sky. Once she was above the cloudyer, she began to fly toward Subduing Demon City.
Little Cherry wasn¡¯t as fast as a Cathead Eagle, but the flight was much morefortable. By rxing one¡¯s body entirely while facing the wind, one could reduce the fatigue from the journey. In addition, the seats in the carriage could recline. Whilefortably lying down and covered with a down nket, one could even eat from the small table there.
Turan opened a bottle of red wine and took out two crystal cups.
¡°Drink a little. It can rx your nerves, and I¡¯ve always had a problem with mine. There¡¯s ham and grapes in the refrigerator under the table. Could you get them for me?¡±
Xia Fan lowered his head and reached under the table. There was a button under the table, and when pressed, a drawer refrigerator popped open. In addition to the food, there were also utensils and metal tes inside. The refrigerator didn¡¯t use apressor to keep things cold, but Chill Crystals, transparent pieces of rock that constantly radiated a cold white energy.
Two tes were put down, one holding ham and the other holding slightly sour ck grapes. Xia Fan and Turan toasted each other. The red wine wasn¡¯t bad, and it was rather high in alcohol. It had probably been aged for some time. It was rather viscous, sticking to the sides of the cups.
After drinking two cups of wine, Turan waspletely rxed. He took out a pillow and ced it under him before leaning back onto the reclining sofa.
¡°You must be curious as to how you got the chance to enter Subduing Demon City, despite your bad interview?¡±
¡°I truly am puzzled, but this isn¡¯t a bad thing for me.¡±
Turan chuckled. ¡°This ce is absolutely safe, and you don¡¯t need to fear eavesdroppers. Now, I will tell you the real reason frankly: because you¡¯re a Skywing!¡±
...
Xia Fan felt his head buzzing and his muscles. Turan knew he was a Skywing. Didn¡¯t that mean that he was already exposed?
¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.¡± Turan waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯m the only one who would take such enormous risks to sneak a Skywing into the Lower Realm, so I¡¯m your friend. And it¡¯s not what you think. We didn¡¯t invite the Skywings to the Lower Realm because we had some scheme against them, but because we needed their help!¡±
Turan looked out the window, where a gorgeous view of white clouds, the great earth, and the graceful birds could be seen.
¡°Look. Isn¡¯t the Lower Realm beautiful?¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°It truly is better than I imagined. I thought that the Lower Realm would be a fiery hell or ava furnace.¡±
Turan chuckled. ¡°The Lower Realm truly does have such ces. Perhaps it won¡¯t be long before you get to see them for yourself.
¡°Returning to the main topic, we didn¡¯t kidnap the Skywings, we invited them, and we did it through a secret channel! No one except a few of us know. Right now, your family is very safe, but I can¡¯t tell you where they are or what they are doing, for this involves the highest secrets of the Demon Subduers.¡±
After some thought, Xia Fan asked, ¡°I¡¯m very curious. How did you know that I was a Skywing?¡±
Turan raised his head and stared at Xia Fan. ¡°Because of the blood analysis. Just like them, you have 49.99% demon blood, only 0.01% away from being a real demon. Only the Skywings have such a high purity bloodline.
¡°To put it simply, the Lower Realm is where the true battles with the demons are fought. The Realm Barrier is there to protect the Middle Realm. We take the souls of the strong from the Middle Realm to be reborn in the Lower Realm, and then put them through a callous selection process, taking the best to be Demon Subduers. All of this is for the sake of winning this war!
¡°The situation is grim, and the war is getting tougher and tougher. But through a series of coincidences, we found out about the Skywings. Your n¡¯s ancestor probably managed to get to the Middle Realm long ago, when the Realm Barriers fell and the Three Realms were in chaos. I¡¯m guessing that, with your high purity demon bloodline, your people should be very special in the Middle Realm, no? The people you love, you love to death, and the people you hate, you hate to death! Your personalities, abilities, and talents all make you stick out like sore thumbs in the Middle Realm.¡±
...
Xia Fan could only agree. The Skywings truly were unique. From the very start they were different from others, not just in terms ofbat personality, but also personality, for all the Skywings had an Inner Demon!
Turan said, ¡°The Skywings with their near-demon blood are invincible in the Middle Realm.
¡°In any case, we noticed your activities in the Great Chiliocosm, and we managed to find a way to get the Skywings¡¯ gic information. When we found that your bloodline was so close to being a demon, those old guys almost went crazy. It is the purest bloodline we¡¯ve found in countless epochs!
¡°There were two ns. The first was to open the Realm Barrier and grandly wee you into the Lower Realm, announcing to all the world that the demon bloodline that had been lost in the Middle Realm had returned. But if we did that, the demons would find out, and we would lose the element of surprise.
¡°The second n was to secretly bring the Skywings into the Lower Realm, hiding it from everyone, including the demons. Later on, we chose the second n. Your family currently serves as the special force of the Demon Subduers. They¡¯ve been sent to a most secretive location to carry out a most secretive mission.
¡°s, even the best n has unexpected situations. The Skywings had a small scouting team out on a mission, and there was no means of notifying them and no way to keep waiting, for there was a limit to how long the Realm Barrier could be kept open. There was also the risk of it being discovered by the demons! Thus, in the end, you were left in the Middle Realm. But we also didn¡¯t expect that you would find a way to pass through the Realm Barrier yourselves ande here!
¡°Very regrettable, I have no means of letting you meet your family, for they are no longer on this continent.¡±
Xia Fan sniffed the air. When a person was lying, the amount of adrenaline they secreted would change. Through the pheromones in the air, Xia Fan believed that Turan was telling the truth.
Xia Fan shrugged. The father he had never met was truly a swift and decisive person, not even leaving behind a slip of paper for Xia Geng before leading the army off to the Lower Realm, and leaving Xia Geng on fire with anxiety!
¡°I understand the situation now, but what are these demons you speak of?¡±
In his short life, he had seen many guys that called themselves demons. In this chaotic world where even an ant could call itself a demon, it was truly difficult to determine what was a real demon.
...
Turanughed. ¡°Look out the window at the ground. You¡¯ll soon be able to see a demon corpse!¡±
Chapter 1566 - 1566 Demon King’s Corpse
1566 Demon King¡¯s Corpse
It wasn¡¯t long before a strange mountain appeared on the horizon, the zing sunlight causing it to cast a long ck shadow. It appeared to be a half-kneeling giant, its head pressing against the clouds and its feet stomping the earth. In its hand was a thousand-meter sword, half of it buried in the soil. The giant had both hands grasping the hilt of the sword, using it to support its body as it raised its head high.
As they flew closer and closer, Turan ordered Little Cherry to fly around to the front of the giant mountain so that Xia Fan could get a closer look.
It was a petrified corpse?
Xia Fan¡¯s eyes widened, and he couldn¡¯t help but stand up and look out the window. The back of the mountain had a human form, but the front was that of a demon, its pitch-ck sunken eyes exuding an intimidating darkness. At the time of its death, both eyes had been crying blood.
Bzzz! A strange voice resounded in his mind. Xia Fan felt like there was some inconceivable resonance between him and the demon corpse. A strong gale howled over thend, making Xia Fan feel uneasy. It felt like the voice was calling him!
¡°Enough. Let¡¯s leave now,¡± Turan ordered Little Cherry. The great macaw immediately pped its wings and took them away. Once they were far enough away, the strange howling sound disappeared.
¡°That was one of the strongest Demon Kings we¡¯ve ever killed, Achilles! Although he is dead, his corpse is imperishable and even tougher than diamond. There is an ancient legend in Subduing Demon City that these dead Demon Kings will one day be reborn and once more use darkness to reign over the Three Realms!
¡°Achilles is different from all the so-called demons you¡¯ve run into before. Most of the time, gods and demons are a sort of culture, worshiped by people who don¡¯t know the truth. Many experts also like to call themselves gods or demons to unt their uniqueness and power.
¡°But the demons I speak of are real demons. In their bodies flows an ancient bloodline thates down from the foundation of the universe, and they control a terrifying power that can destroy the world!¡±
Xia Fan was quiet for a few moments before saying, ¡°The Skywings have demon blood, so you hope that us people with the demon blood can deal with the demons? That logic doesn¡¯t make a lot of sense.¡±
Turanughed, and then said seriously, ¡°First, the fifty percent blood purity is called the bloodline threshold. Beneath that bloodline threshold, you won¡¯t be a demon. Your bloodline only has a demonic nature, but you are fundamentally still human.
¡°Second, only speed is best to deal with speed. You should understand this principle, and the same principle applies to people with the demon bloodline. Only demons can deal with demons!¡±
Xia Fan nodded. All things had that which they could ovee and that which they were ovee by. Humans with the demon bloodline were not only strong inbat, but they also thought like demons. Most of the time, the Skywings stood out from everyone else, usually ignoring the rules and casually traveling around and causing messes. Those were traits particr to demons. In that way, when the Skywings went up against the demons, they would be able to predict their foes¡¯ tactics more easily.
At this time, themunication stone in Turan¡¯s head vibrated, words appearing on the smooth and glossy surface.
Turan looked at the message and then said to Xia Fan, ¡°Our people have already set off. One group is going to the White City to look for Xia Geng and tell him the truth so that he doesn¡¯t get too impulsive and do something that makes him stand out.
¡°Another group is going to search for your father, tell him that you¡¯vee to the Lower Realm, and then bring back his message. Although I can¡¯t help you meet, you can at least exchange letters.¡±
My father?
Xia Fan turned to look out the window, his heart both excited and uneasy. He had never met this man called the Lone Wolf of the Skywings, and there was also his mother and older siblings. What sort of people were they?
Traveling Buddha had always been very envious of Xia Fan for having nothing holding him down, able to do whatever he wanted. But Traveling Buddha had always had a bad rtionship with his father, who often sternly rebuked him as if nothing Traveling Buddha could do could ever satisfy him. As for Xia Fan, nobody ever asked him anything, and he was free to do as he pleased!
But Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t know that whenever he was on the phone with his family, Xia Fan would always be at the side, listening with perked-up ears.
¡°It¡¯s so annoying! My mom wants to introduce me to a partner. I knew this girl when I was little, even helping her wipe her snot. What¡¯s she trying to do? I don¡¯t have the slightest interest in her!¡± Traveling Buddha had put down the phone and grumbled to Xia Fan.
Xia Fan soothed Traveling Buddha, but he was inwardly envious. If he had his own mother by his side, would she be encouraging him to get with girls? Would she nag him as much as Traveling Buddha¡¯s mother? Would she forbid him from making strange sounds at mealtime and adjust the light when he was reading to protect his eyes¡
He really wanted to be nagged at by someone¡
Xia Fan turned to the side and copied Turan byying down.
¡
After a day and night of flying, Xia Fan finally arrived at the legendary Subduing Demon City.
From the sky, the ce was a giant city in the shape of a circle. The city was set up next to argeke, and in the center of the city was a white tower that soared into the clouds. This was the elevator that connected the two nes. From there, one could descend to the lower ne.
The buildings were in an ancient style, but they were all from different eras. The new buildings seemed like they had been finished yesterday, the tiles and windows all brand-new and still smelling of paint. As for the old buildings, they were so mottled that it was impossible to tell their original colors. The wooden windows shuddered in the wind and seemed like they could drop onto the street at any moment and injure pedestrians.
¡°War has destroyed Subduing Demon City again and again, but when the war is over, we bring the city back to its original appearance, restoring the streets and buildings, which is why things look like this. Although it has the same style as the first Subduing Demon City, the buildings and streets are all copies made atter dates,¡± Turan exined to Xia Fan.
¡°War?¡±
¡°It¡¯s all because of those annoying demons. The elevator isn¡¯t safe, and they will often invade it. That¡¯s why there¡¯s a Seal around the perimeter of Subduing Demon City. It prevents the demons from charging into the continent and hurting the ordinary people. As for the wastnd between the wall and the city, that¡¯s a buffer region!¡±
Xia Fan nodded. To summarize, Subduing Demon City was a ce where rookies were gathered, and in normal circumstances, there wouldn¡¯t be conflicts with demons here. But once one took the elevator down, things becamepletely different. Down there was the main battlefield, and Subduing Demon City existed for rookies to train and study. Once they became proper warriors, they would be sent down to the lower realm!
Xia Fan¡¯s father and the Skywing¡¯s main army had already secretly descended the elevator to the lower level, after which they had hidden away in some unknown location, ready to unleash their power at any time and assist the Demon Subduers in winning the war against the demons.
¡°Because of the war, your identity will be kept a secret,¡± Turan said to Xia Fan. ¡°Nobody will know about your Speed ability. In Subduing Demon City, you will be a new student with the nonbat Scent ability. Do you understand? If you encounter any problems,e and find me.¡±
¡ª¡ª
Under Turan¡¯s arrangements, Xia Fan took up residence in the city. He was living in a ce simr to a student dormitory. He passed a few boring nights, waiting to take part in the test held for new Demon Subduers, after which he would begin joint training. As for the contents of this training, it was primarily basic knowledge on demons and how to defeat them.
Happily, not long after entering the city, Xia Fan received two pieces of good news. First, under Turan¡¯s secret arrangements, Traveling Buddha would soon join Xia Fan in Subduing Demon City. Second, his father had written Xia Fan a letter!
Chapter 1567 - 1567 A Tree or a Forest
1567 A Tree or a Forest
Outside the window were blue skies and white clouds, and the streets were packed with people. The housewives who had gotten up early to buy vegetables had baskets hanging from their hands, and when they ran into acquaintances, they would stop on street corners and discuss how so-and-so had a new son or how the wife of so-and-so wasn¡¯t being a proper wife and was having an affair with some warrior.
There wasn¡¯t much technology to be seen in Subduing Demon City; the people evenmunicated with each other using special crystals. For eight hundred kilometers around the city thends were filled with fields and orchards, a sight which made Xia Fan feel like he had traveled into the past.
His room only had a few simple pieces of furniture made of wood. Xia Fan sat in front of the desk, looking out the window at the streets and trees as he nned out where he was going to tour today.
It had been a week since he had seen Turan, who had vanished after arranging for Xia Fan¡¯s dorm and giving him a crystal that he used for paying for things. Before leaving, he had told Xia Fan to familiarize himself with the environment of Subduing Demon City. The lifestyle in the Lower Realm was very slow, with everyone taking their time and nning for the future.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A knocking came from outside. Xia Fan opened the door, and in came a chubby head with little eyes narrowed into crescent moons, the mouth shing a silly grin.
¡°Traveling Buddha! How did you get here?!¡±
Xia Fan was startled. He had never imagined that this guy would alsoe to Subduing Demon City. This was truly a wonderful surprise for him!
¡°Ah, all the brothers thought you would be lonely all by yourself. So? While I wasn¡¯t around, did you get with any girls? Let me check things out.
¡°Suspicious. Your house has the scent of a young woman. Did a girl spend the night at your ce?¡±
Xia Fanughed. ¡°No young woman, but there¡¯s a bucket-shaped woman, Mama Qin, who¡¯s responsible for cleaning! She¡¯s the one who left behind the perfume. If you¡¯re not afraid of Hidden Water getting angry, I can introduce you to her.¡±
Traveling Buddha shrugged. The mention of his wife brought up a resentful look on his face.
Traveling Buddha liked to be together with people. The Skywings had no rules and were very carefree, not like his inflexible father, who nagged him every day. The Skywings also didn¡¯t have any airs, and there was also his best friend, Xia Fan!
But Traveling Buddha couldn¡¯t help but miss his wife and child. Maybe it was because he had grown up and learned how to take care of and be concerned for others. Moreover, Traveling Buddha was very worried that if his father who ended up raising his son, he might turn into another Traveling Buddha, rebellious and not caring about anything!
¡°Like you, Traveling Buddha has be a probationary apprentice of Subduing Demon City.¡±
Turan walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He sat himself on the sofa and took something out.
Traveling Buddha rolled up his sleeve and showed Xia Fan his right arm. His arm had a symbol that appeared to be an invincible vajra. Xia Fan rubbed it with his finger, but there was no getting it off. The color was the exact same as the real thing!
¡°How did you get it on?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Traveling Buddha said roughly, ¡°This old man drew it on me! I don¡¯t know what he used, but while it hurt a little first, the effects are really good. It¡¯s basically no different from the natural Symbol, and you can immerse it in water with no problem.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. The warriors of the Lower Realm had natural Symbols, manifestations of powers above special abilities. In the Middle Realm, special abilities were gained by opening one¡¯s seventh brain region, the age they were opened at dependent upon one¡¯s talent.
But in the Lower Realm, a talented person had their seventh brain region opened up from the womb! When they were born and even when they were breastfeeding, they could already use their talents, much earlier than the warriors of the Middle Realm. To take Xia Fan as an example, he wasn¡¯t very talented, as he had only opened his seventh brain region when he was an adult, and that had been because of Grandpa Blind¡¯s present.
Turan summed up the entire process as evolution. After all, only the strongest warriors of the Middle Realm had the right to enter the Lower Realm! Even the old grandpa sweeping the streets had once been some bigshot of the Middle Realm who had once ruled a region. But thepetition in the Lower Realm was crueler, and their talents were slowly stripped away until they fell to being ordinary people.
It was like a game of Big Fish Eat Small Fish. In the Lower Realm¡¯s pyramid society, the strong would get stronger and stronger, while those who lost would lose everything and be nothing.
Turan searched his belongings for quite some time before finally producing a chestnut-shaped crystal.
¡°We¡¯ve already established contact with your father. Traveling Buddhaing to Subduing Demon City was actually his idea,¡± Turan informed him.
A message from his father?
Xia Fan was startled, and his heart began to beat faster in anxiety.
Turan said, ¡°It¡¯s like this. Your father thinks that since the Skywing force had been divided into two, it¡¯s best to keep it that way. Sending you down to the next level is extremely dangerous, and we risk being discovered by the demons.
¡°If you and Xia Geng stay here, you can serve as a reserve force for the Skywings. Your father is very sharp, and he always likes to have a back-up. The Skywing main force is already very strong, so even if you joined them, you wouldn¡¯t be able to change anything.
¡°Moreover, the Skywings serve as special operators. If you two are split up, the enemy will have no idea that a second Skywing force exists, which will add a huge variable to the war. The only problem is that you can¡¯t meet for now, so you mighte to long for him. Thus, he sent you a letter in the hopes that you will live peacefully in Subduing Demon City. When your father needs you, you and Xia Geng can suddenly appear and give the enemy a big surprise!
¡°I¡¯ve already told this to Xia Geng, and though heined, he agreedpletely with your father¡¯s reasoning. He¡¯s already set up residence in the White City and has thrown himself into tough training. You and Traveling Buddha will also need to work hard.¡±
So I inherited the habit of always keeping a card up my sleeve from my father¡, Xia Fan thought to himself. He felt like being part of an ambush force wasn¡¯t a bad position. As it was often said, a weapon was often more powerful when it was still sheathed!
Turan continued, ¡°The two of you are in Subduing Demon City because we¡¯ve analyzed that you have a probability of unlocking an even stronger talent. You¡¯re different from the rest of your n. When you were young, you didn¡¯t have your seventh brain region unlocked, and your ability was forcibly obtainedter on. To rate your speed, it can only be described as barely satisfactory. Even the seven-year-old Xia Di is much faster than you.¡±
Xia Fan was embarrassed. While he had seemed powerful and mighty in Ashen Moon, and was called a speed maniac by everyone, when he returned to the Skywings, he discovered that his talent was verycking. Even Xia Di was several times faster than him, let alone anyone else in the n! After all, the Skywings had inherited the Speed Law and were as fast as light, streaking across the gxies!
When will my speed beparable to light? Is that even achievable in my lifetime?, Xia Fan thought sadly.
Turan said excitedly, ¡°What I want to tell you is that while your speed might never catch up to your father¡¯s, you have a special attribute that he does not: diversity! How long did it take for you to learn the Law of Gold?¡±
¡°I took about a week to get my foot through the door, but progress was slow after that, and I ended up needing a few more months,¡± Xia Fan replied.
¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Turan¡¯s eyes shed. ¡°Even though it¡¯s a nonbat basicw, you need only one week to learn the basics and several months topletely master it! This would be an astonishing performance no matter where you went!
¡°Moreover, you mustn¡¯t forget that when you opened your seventh brain region, you not only received the Speed ability, but the Scent ability. This is a sign that your actual talent is diversity! If you learn Subduing Demon City¡¯s unique method of talent unlocking, you have the opportunity to grasp even more terrifying abilities!Even if your Speed is a littlecking, you still might be able to catch up to your father when ites to overall achievements!¡±
Xia Fan scratched his head awkwardly. ¡°Why does it sound like you¡¯re saying that I¡¯m going to end up learning a lot of things, but being a master of none of them?¡±
Turan replied, ¡°You can¡¯t say it like that. Mastery has its advantages, but so does being an all-arounder. Don¡¯t forget that your constitution is very special, your body tougher than that of any of the other Skywings! Because you consumed energy stones starting from a very young age, your foundation is superb! The most important thing about being a person is being happy. Even if you can¡¯t be a sky-scraping tree, you¡¯re still very rich if you have a forest!
¡°Come, this is your father¡¯s letter. Hurry and read it.¡±
Turan passed that crystal to Xia Fan, and then he pulled on thezy Traveling Buddha. ¡°Don¡¯t you have eyes? What does a letter from his family have to do with you? Come with me.¡±
¡°I was always calling my family in front of Xia Fan, so why do I have to leave for him to read his letter?¡± Traveling Buddha grumbled, but Turan ultimately dragged him away so that he could be assigned a room. Since he was here in Subduing Demon City, he needed to live here, so he also needed to have all his living arrangements settled.
Xia Fan watched Turan and Traveling Buddha leave, and then he gripped the cool crystal in his hand and took a deep breath.
Chapter 1568 - 1568 A Letter from Father
1568 A Letter from Father
After Xia Fan released energy from his seventh brain region, the message slumbering in the crystal was awakened. A light shot out, forming a screen in the air. The rity couldn¡¯t match a hyperfrequencyser projector, but the effects were still pretty good. The surroundings and the people¡¯s faces were all clearly visible.
The location of the recording was a dense forest, sunlight leaking in through the cracks in the foliage. The clean-chinned man who appeared far younger than his actual age was Xia Fan¡¯s father, the patriarch of the Skywing n and man of many legends, Xia Fei!
Although Xia Fan knew that this was a recording, he still tensed up when he saw his father¡¯s face. Based on his experience with Traveling Buddha, fathers were all stern types while mothers were somewhat more gentle.
But to Xia Fan¡¯s surprise, Xia Fei wasn¡¯t very serious at all. He wasughing, very happily so, and saying to his surrounding brothers, ¡°Everyone, hurry ande over! This recording is for Little Fan Fan! He really is my son! Rather than waiting for me to find him, he went through the Cosmic Gate and came to find me! What do you think? Impressive, right?¡±
!!
Little Fan Fan¡
Such an awful nickname!¡
Xia Fanined inside, but he still felt happy. An unprecedented sense of joy surrounded him, and something warm wasing out of his eyes.
So this was what it felt like to have a father¡
Xia Fei was bragging to all his brothers about his little son. It was true that he was truly proud of Xia Fan. Even though Xia Fan had only a few aplishments under his name and was only a mortal, Xia Fei still treated him as his most precious treasure. This was one of the reasons why it was impossible to sever one¡¯s rtionships with one¡¯s blood rtives.
The Skywings truly didn¡¯t have any rules. Many people circled around Xia Fei and teased him, saying things like the youngest son had returned, so they should invite him to dinner or such!
¡°Regardless, at least I can exin things to your mother now. Ever since you went missing, your mother has wept every day, which breaks my heart.
¡°Forget it. Let¡¯s not talk about unhappy things. Little Fan Fan, this is your older brother. Unfortunately, your big sister isn¡¯t here. As a woman, she¡¯s more considerate, so I had her stay at home and take care of your mother.¡±
Xia Fan followed his father¡¯s finger and saw that his big brother Xia Xiaofei was a very cold and aloof existence, with fair skin and a handsome appearance. He stood elegantly in the crowd, like the Adonis of an idol group, or perhaps some tyrannical chairman. Comparing Xia Fan to his older brother was likeparing an ugly duckling to a swan.
¡°Big Brother!¡± Xia Fan scratched his head andughed awkwardly. The moment he spoke, he realized that this was a recording, so his big brother couldn¡¯t hear him. But Xia Fan was very happy to have such a handsome big brother. Presumably, his big sister was also a beauty!
Xia Xiaofei didn¡¯t like to talk, and his face was normally expressionless, but today, he made an exception and said in a cold voice, ¡°The thing I regret most in this life is that I couldn¡¯t be like big brothers of other families and take you swimming and fishing, to get up to mischief with you and stand at your side when others bullied you.
¡°Now, you¡¯ve finally returned. Starting from today, I swear that I won¡¯t let you leave again!¡±
Whoosh!
Tears flowed down Xia Fan¡¯s face, and in a sh, he was weeping like a child.
So it turned out that he also had a big brother¡
The other members of the Skywing force didn¡¯t expect such moving words woulde from the cold Xia Xiaofei¡¯s mouth. Normally, getting him to say even one word was difficult.
Many people silently wiped their eyes, and even Xia Fei¡¯s eyes reddened a little. However, he controlled them and didn¡¯t show his son his sad side.
¡°Enough, enough, what¡¯s with all the crying? This is a matter worth celebrating! We should be happy!¡± Xia Fei waved his arm whileining.
After a few moments of silence, Xia Donghai pointed at his wrist, indicating to Xia Fei that his time was running out. They were hiding in a forest and wearing stealthbat uniforms. They were obviously in the middle of a secret mission.
Xia Fei nodded to indicate that he understood. He then sighed helplessly and said to Xia Fan with a smile, ¡°s, we still can¡¯t meet for now. Turan tells me that you are a good fit for Subduing Demon City, and I think it¡¯s also a good idea for you to receive their Talent Awakening training.
¡°Of course, as per the rules of the Skywings, you have absolute freedom. How you live your life is up to you to decide. You can do whatever you want and I won¡¯t interfere. You will be the one to decide if you want to stay and study in Subduing Demon City.
¡°Normally, as a father, I think I should be saying something here.
¡°But what should I say?
¡°Why don¡¯t I tell you about our family? They have many understandings about the Skywings, saying we¡¯re monsters or madmen, even calling us unreasonable.
¡°Actually, the Skywings are very simple. Most of the people in the universe will consider their own profit when they run into problems, but while they¡¯re still considering, we¡¯re already charging into the fray.¡±
¡
Xia Fan turned on the faucet in the bathroom, cupped water in his hands, and sshed it on his face. Looking at his face in the mirror, he saw that his eyes were red, a clear sign that he had been crying. Traveling Buddha and Turan would probably easily notice once they returned.
Xia Fan stroked his spatial ring and took out a bottle of eyedrops. He quickly dripped two drops into his eyes and then closed them.
¡ª
Several minutester, when Xia Fan opened his eyes, he found that there was no longer just his face in the mirror, but also that of a girl. She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, her legs crossed. She wore ck stockings on her lower legs and ck leather boots on her feet, which bobbed lightly in the air.
¡°An illusion?¡± Xia Fan muttered. He then washed his face and rubbed his eyes, but he found that the two slender legs were still there. He could also smell the scent of a woman in the air.
Xia Fan immediately turned around and gave her a weird look.
¡°What? Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?¡± The girl pursed her lips unhappily, feeling Xia Fan¡¯s gaze was offensive.
There truly was something on her face: two eyes, a nose, eyebrows, and a mouth! But Xia Fan had never seen a person whose facial features were so perfectly distributed, like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting. She was so absurdly beautiful that she didn¡¯t seem real.
¡°Who are you? Why are you in my room?¡± Xia Fan asked. He was still a warrior, and it was a shameful thing for him to not sense a woman abruptly appearing so close to him.
¡°My next-door neighbor was crying, so I naturally had toe and look,¡± the girl said, ying with her golden hair.
No man wanted to admit in front of a woman that he had been crying, and Xia Fan was no exception. He frowned and said, ¡°That? Some wind got into my eyes. It was rather painful.¡±
¡°Tsk, you don¡¯t even know how to lie. Is there any wind in this room?¡± The girl cocked her head and shed her teeth.
Xia Fan was frustrated. He walked up to the toilet, put up the cover, and then acted like he was going to untie the string of his exercise pants. He then looked at the girl, whose bewitching mouth was already an ¡°O¡±. She clearly realized what Xia Fan was going to do, but because she didn¡¯t believe that Xia Fan would do something so ungentlemanly, she hadn¡¯t reacted yet.
¡°You still want to look? You have to take responsibility for it, you know.¡±
Bang!
The sound of a door mming came from behind him. Xia Fan didn¡¯t see how the girl had angrily run out, but he felt like the expression on her face had to have been wonderful. As someone who had grown up with the Scourges, Xia Fan was a master at pranking.
¡°Eh? Jiajia, what were you doing in Xia Fan¡¯s room?¡± Turan¡¯s voice came from outside. It appeared that he had returned with Traveling Buddha after finishing their business.
Xia Fan ignored them, his bodypletely rxing as he tended to his biological needs. He then pressed the handle on the toilet, raised his pants back up, and walked out of the bathroom.
He saw that Jiajia girl was sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed, and Turan and Traveling Buddha were looking at her in confusion. When they saw Xia Faning out of the bathroom with his hands holding up his pants, the conclusion became rather shocking.
Jiajia stood up with a smile and walked up to Xia Fan¡¯s side. Bringing her face up to his ear, she said with a voice that smelled of orchids, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going first, Little Fan Fan. Let¡¯s meet again.¡±
Plush!
Xia Fan felt like he could hear the blood spurting from Traveling Buddha¡¯s nose, but he continued to hold up his pants. His frustration deepened. Little Fan Fan was what his father had called him just now. Had that Jiajia girl heard everything?¡±
¡°Teacher Turan, goodbye.¡±
¡°Oh, goodbye, goodbye. Remember to not bete for the test the day after tomorrow.¡±
...
¡°I know.¡±
Once the door closed, Turan said to Xia Fan happily, ¡°So it turns out that you know Jiajia. That¡¯s good, very good. I was nning to introduce you two, but now, it seems that there¡¯s no need.¡±
Traveling Buddha pinched Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder. It was so painful that Xia Fan clenched his teeth.
¡°I say, aren¡¯t you being a little too impolite? I didn¡¯t hide my business with Hidden Water, but you hid your rtionship with Jiajia from your best brother? Anyway, where did this girl evene from? How far have you gotten? Tell me everything.¡±
Xia Fan wanted to cry, but he had no tears. He didn¡¯t even know Jiajia, so what was he going to say!? He had been set up!
At this moment, Turan suddenlyughed. ¡°What did you say? Xia Fan and Jiajia? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Traveling Buddha, you¡¯ve got the wrong idea. They¡¯re only acquaintances. Jiajia lives next door, so at best, they¡¯ve greeted each other and perhaps had some tea together.¡±
¡°It¡¯s like you¡¯re saying I¡¯m not a match for Jiajia,¡± Xia Fan muttered inwardly, but in the end, none of that mattered. He solemnly reported to Turan that Jiajia had probably heard the contents of his father¡¯s letter.
¡°Even if she heard it, it¡¯s fine. Jiajia is very special. Though she has a strange personality, she definitely won¡¯t sell you out. In truth, there was a reason she was made your neighbor. All the youths on this floor are very trustworthy. You¡¯ll understand in time,¡± Turan said nonchntly, waving his hand.
The three of them discussed some other matters. Turan said that the Disasters had probably taken to the demons. While the Demon Subduers had found the Skywings in the Middle Realm, the demons had also not been idle, and were gathering various resources.
Xia Fan was very worried for the Disasters, but there was nothing he could do for now except note that down. In addition, he told Turan that he had decided to take his father¡¯s advice and stay in Subduing Demon City to focus on studying Talent Awakening.
¡°Good, wonderful!¡± Turan eximed happily. ¡°War isn¡¯t something that¡¯s done in a day and a night. Doing your utmost to improve yourself can¡¯t be wrong. The recent batch of youths will start their testing and studying the day after tomorrow. Use these two days to familiarize yourself with the environment. You will be very busy soon!¡±
...
Chapter 1569 - 1569 Demon Daughter
1569 Demon Daughter
Xia Fan took Traveling Buddha to familiarize themselves with the city. The Little Old Buddha was apathetic to life and usually didn¡¯t care about much. After noting down some of the primary divisions and buildings and understanding the streets and districts of the city, Traveling Buddha went with Xia Fan to a tea house to brew up some tea. Compared to touring the city, he cared more about the quality of tea leaves in the Lower Realm!
The next morning, the two of them had breakfast in the dining hall. The culinary tradition of Subduing Demon City was rather simple. Breakfast consisted of fried eggs and tbread, with milk and coffee for beverages.
Xia Fan ran into Le Jiajia again. The girl with an angelic face and interesting name wasn¡¯t weed by the other youths, sitting alone in a corner of the dining hall. She used her bread to wrap up two fried eggs and some raw vegetables and then started to chow down, not at all like ady.
The surrounding people intentionally avoided her, the several tables around her all empty. As the others were eating, they would often point at Le Jiajia. Xia Fan listened in on their conversations and found that Le Jiajia was associated with the term ¡°demon daughter¡± for them.
¡°Hm? Isn¡¯t that your girl? Why don¡¯t we sit with her? But it seems like she¡¯s not very wee here.¡± After getting his breakfast, Traveling Buddha came over and spotted Le Jiajia.
¡°What do you mean my girl? I said before, I don¡¯t have any sort of rtionship with her,¡± Xia Fan answered hastily.
¡°You don¡¯t have anything right now, but you might in the future.¡± Traveling Buddha started to show his troublemaking nature. ¡°We¡¯re all brothers, so don¡¯t me me for not reminding you. I now have a wife and kid too, so you have to hurry up. There will always be chances, but you have to be the one to seize them!¡±
¡°Screw you!¡± Xia Fan muttered. It had clearly been Hidden Water who had been pursuing Traveling Buddha, while Traveling Buddha had been like a block of wood. He had seized nothing!
But Turan had exined to Xia Fan the day before yesterday that he had introduced Le Jiajia to him because the natives of the Lower Realm were all rather prejudiced against her. As outsiders, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha might be able to be friends with her.
But Xia Fan could tell that Turan also wanted him to keep an eye on Le Jiajia. It seemed that while Turan had brought Le Jiajia into Subduing Demon City, he still couldn¡¯t trust her that much. Since no one else was willing to interact with her, Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan naturally became the best people to ask! After all, they were the only two who had no understanding of the lifestyle and history of the Lower Realm.
Understanding that, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha went over to Le Jiajia. As countless people watched in shock, they sat down across from her.
¡°Your appetite is pretty small. Is a single piece of tbread and two eggs really enough?¡± Xia Fan started up the conversation.
¡°Pigs have a big appetite, but does it help them?¡± Le Jiajia quietly retorted without raising her head.
That reply¡
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan suddenly felt like their food was stuck in their throats.
In the space of several minutes, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha became keenly aware of why their elders said to never provoke women. The reason was simple: they held grudges!
Xia Fan¡¯s little prank had resulted in serious consequences. As a man, Xia Fan had already forgotten what had happened the day before yesterday, but Le Jiajia still remembered, and she used her own ability to act as a devil¡¯s advocate, throwing back everything Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha said. In the end, the two of them had no choice but to silently finish their meals.
¡°Turan was right. You two will never be together.¡± Traveling Buddha no longer had any doubt about Turan¡¯s conclusion, avoiding Le Jiajia as one would a mother tiger.
Le Jiajia was rather free-spirited,pletely ignoring his words. She seemed used to it all, walking off to an empty corner of the training ground with her backpack. With her slender figure under a ginkgo tree, she was beautiful beyondparison, but also extremely lonely.
The youths who had recently entered Subduing Demon City were all gathered there to receive their lecture. There were around three hundred people, with half being natives of Subduing Demon City, and the other halfing from all other parts of the continent.
¡°Oh, you¡¯re a Vajra! Formidable!¡± A burly man with a crewtop cut walked over to Traveling Buddha, and when he saw the fake symbol, he gave a thumbs-up andplimented him.
¡°My name is A¡¯Lang, and my ability is the Ifrit! I look forward to receiving your instruction in the future!¡± This crewtop guy was a head taller than Traveling Buddha, but he spoke very modestly. Traveling Buddha nodded a slight greeting, the usual apathetic look on his face.
There were only a small number of people here with nonbat abilities like Xia Fan. It was him, Le Jiajia, a very delicate youth wearing sses, and a fatty who was chowing down on spicy potato chips. Xia Fan discovered that, just like him, those people without Symbols on their arms were basically ignored. Turan was right when he said that those with nonbat abilities weren¡¯t that wee.
Traveling Buddha was very annoyed. In thest few minutes, several strangers hade to cozy up to him. These people praised the Vajra on Traveling Buddha¡¯s arm, and they tried to get close to him and say that they were willing to be in a team with him. They also asked if he preferred the Combat Division or the Law Enforcement Division, or perhaps the special operations divisions, so that they could all apply for the same division in the future!
¡°Scram! I don¡¯t even know any of you!¡±
Traveling Buddha finally lost it. He was a guy who hated being bothered. He was partners not only because of their friendship forged in battle, but also because Xia Fan was learned and was always able to handle things perfectly, minimizing the number of times he would have to use his own brain. As for other people, they could do whatever they wanted.
The one Traveling Buddha was yelling at was a rather tall girl with long and muscr legs. She hade to persuade Traveling Buddha to join the search division because her older sister was a squad captain in that division. A talent like Traveling Buddha would clearly be a powerful addition to the force!
¡°Truly a Vajra reborn, as tyrannical as expected! Regardless, sir, please seriously consider my suggestion!¡±
The long-legged girl actually showed admiration after being cursed at by Traveling Buddha. She had no idea that Traveling Buddha had only joined the logistics division back in the Special Investigation Bureau because he was following Xia Fan. A ce like the Search and Rescue Division didn¡¯t suit his appetite at all. Of course, if Xia Fan wanted to join, Traveling Buddha wouldn¡¯t object.
The sses-wearing youth and the fatty eating chips smiled and wandered over next to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
¡°Are you a nonbat type? What a coincidence! I am too.¡±
¡°Is this warrior your friend?¡±
Xia Fan very earnestly shook his head. ¡°No, Traveling Buddha is my brother.¡±
¡°Brother? Then you¡¯re truly fortunate. He¡¯s a Vajra reborn! One of the strongestbat abilities in the world, and he¡¯s your brother!¡±
¡°I¡¯m so envious. This means that no one will dare to bully you in Subduing Demon City,¡± the fatty said while stuffing chips into his mouth, his face covered in crumbs.
So it seems I¡¯ll have to rely on Traveling Buddha for protection?, Xia Fan wondered to himself.
The youth with sses was called Du Yu. His ability was Observation. On a micro level, his eyes were like microscopes, able to see things as small as germs. On a macro level, he could see as far as five hundred kilometers away clearly!
Du Yu¡¯s ability was very strange. Whether it was micro or macro, nothing could escape his eyes. It was only at normal distances where things were unclear and he needed sses topensate. Xia Fan found it rather interesting when listening to him introduce himself.
The fatty was called Jiang Zhibei. His ability was Devouring. As a nonbat ability user who could get selected to enter Subduing Demon City, Jiang Zhibei had his own unique attributes.
¡°I can eat explosives,va, iron, anything, really! And anything that enters my stomach will be digested. My appetite has always been good, and my health has always been excellent,¡± Jiang Zhibei said proudly.
It was both absurd and incredible!
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were stunned by Jiang Zhibei¡¯s ability. As someone who could drinkva like it was fruit juice, Jiang Zhibei was basically a god!
Traveling Buddha stroked his chin and asked, ¡°What if you eat an explosive and it explodes in your stomach?
¡°It¡¯s fine. I have an iron stomach, so I just need to drink some water to calm things down,¡± Jiang Zhibei said nonchntly. ¡°They probably let me into Subduing Demon City for something like that, I¡¯m guessing? If the enemy throws an explosive over, I can just eat it and keep everyone safe.¡±
Xia Fanughed. ¡°Don¡¯t put it like that. All things in the world have their use. Your ability is so formidable that it¡¯s bound to be useful in the future!¡±
Jiang Zhibei scratched his head. ¡°What use could it be? Nonbat types have always served thebat types. To put it in a nicer way, we¡¯re the support, and to put it more bluntly, we¡¯reckeys that do all the hard work. It¡¯s fine. I know what I¡¯m in for.¡±
Xia Fan nced at Le Jiajia, who was standing on the edge of the training ground, and asked, ¡°Do any of you know her ability?¡±
¡°No way? Do you not know who Le Jiajia is?¡±
¡°I really don¡¯t know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m asking!¡±
Jiang Zhibei rubbed his big belly and frowned. ¡°Le Jiajia is a demon daughter. I¡¯m sure you saw the corpse of Demon King Achilles on the way here, right? He¡¯s Le Jiajia¡¯s ancestor. It¡¯s said that Achilles¡¯s wife was a human. When he died, his wife was pregnant. There was a huge argument in Subduing Demon City about what to do, but in the end, it was decided to allow Le Jiajia¡¯s ancestor to live. From then on, her lineage has served humanity. Their family has never had any male children, they¡¯re all girls. It¡¯s said that Subduing Demon City fears that the male children would inherit the brutality of Achilles, so they have all the boys killed at birth.¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were gobsmacked. Achilles¡¯s corpse was several thousand meters tall, like a giant Asura, but Le Jiajia had a slender body, wless face, and snow-white skin. Wasn¡¯t the contrast too great?
¡°When Demon Kings aren¡¯t transformed, they¡¯ll be like us, appearing as ordinary people. Only when they¡¯re demonized will they be enormous and have the power to destroy the world,¡± Du Yu exined quickly.
¡°Then what is Le Jiajia¡¯s ability?¡±
¡°Her? Nominally, it¡¯s etherealization, allowing her to pass freely through walls, but it should actually be something even more formidable. After all, she¡¯s the descendant of a Demon King. Subduing Demon City is taking a huge risk by keeping her family around!¡±
...
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were still digesting that information. Such a slender girl was a Demon King¡¯s descendent?
He recalled Turan¡¯s words: ¡°You should try your best to treat Le Jiajia well. After all, she¡¯s rather pitiful. Her special status makes the people of Subduing Demon City very prejudiced against her¡¡±
Chapter 1570 - 1570 Bloodline Suspicions
1570 Bloodline Suspicions
¡°All of you are the most outstanding of youths, with a boundless future! You have now entered Subduing Demon City, and your studies and training will maximize your potential and help you all be outstanding Demon Subduers!¡±
City Lord Lu Tailiai stood on a tform, giving them a very warm wee speech. He gave this sort of speech at least four times a year, and so was extremely familiar with it. Around him was a group of elders. These were the teachers for the probationary Demon Subduers, Turan being one of them. He was smiling and even waved slightly at Xia Fan.
¡°Which one is Xia Fan? Pleasee up!¡± Lu Tai suddenly called out the name, inviting him to the stage. In front of several hundred youths, he patted Xia Fan on the shoulder and excitedly said, ¡°This ss of probationary Demon Subduers can be considered a group of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, particrly Xia Fan! He has a rare six-star potential! It has already been forty-seven years since west had a youth with six-star potential in Subduing Demon City.¡±
¡°Heavens, six stars!?¡±
¡°I recall that you have to have demon blood exceeding forty-nine percent to be considered six stars!¡±
¡°You remembered correctly. I didn¡¯t think that smiling guy would be an existence infinitesimally close to a demon!¡±
¡°What a pity that he¡¯s a nonbat type.¡±
Lu Tai¡¯s words immediately made Xia Fan the center of attention. Several hundred people were all discussing Xia Fan, all of them shocked at his percentage of demon blood. In normal circumstances, the higher a person¡¯s percentage of demon blood, the greater one¡¯s achievements. But this percentage could not exceed fifty percent, for anything exceeding fifty percent would result in demonization.
Someone with a demon blood percentage as high as Xia Fan¡¯s normally appeared once every forty or fifty years, so everyone was surprised. They didn¡¯t know that Xia Fan wasn¡¯t alone with his bloodline. In fact, all of the Skywings had that extremely high level of demon blood, it was just that everyone except Xia Fan was hiding in the shadows.
There was another group of people standing outside the za. They were all warriors who had entered Subduing Demon City before Xia Fan. When Xia Fan¡¯s potential was announced, there was significant turmoil in that crowd. Several superb warriors who had reached or exceeded five stars quickly memorized Xia Fan¡¯s name!
¡ª¡ª
The meeting soon came to an end, and the neers were assigned teachers. As expected, Xia Fan¡¯s teacher was Turan, and he was joined by Traveling Buddha, Le Jiajia, Jiang Zhibei, and Du Yu. They followed Turan to unlock the power hidden in their bloodlines. That step was called Awakening. As for how to train and improve after Awakening, Subduing Demon City had other systems in ce for that.
Originally, Traveling Buddha¡¯s teacher wasn¡¯t going to be Turan. ording to the rules,bat types weren¡¯t supposed to study with nonbat types. But Traveling Buddha refused that arrangement. If not for Xia Fan, he wouldn¡¯t have evene to this weird ce. The thought of being separated from Xia Fan had him furious.
¡°I just have one question, do you agree or not? If you don¡¯t agree, I¡¯ll go back right now!¡±
Traveling Buddha went to find the city lord,id his cards on the table, and ultimately got his wish. After all, he was a Vajra, and Subduing Demon City didn¡¯t want to lose a top-ssbat ability like that. Moreover, no one had ever asked to lower themselves to mix with the nonbat types, because everyone knew that nonbat types had a lower status.
¡°Arguing with the city lord, Traveling Buddha really is a warrior with personality!¡±
¡°He doesn¡¯t care at all about the distinction betweenbat types and nonbat types. It¡¯s probably only Traveling Buddha who possesses that kind of confidence.¡±
Xia Fan felt dizzy from all the conversations going on around him. Subduing Demon City was truly a very self-interested ce. Just because Traveling Buddha had a powerful ability, everyone thought that what he had done was right, no matter what the deed was.
As for Xia Fan, everyone thought that he was a nonbat type, so they sadly sighed that all his high potential had appeared on him, like a flower being nted in a pile of cow feces.
Xia Fan shook his head and sullenly followed Turan to the Awakening Center. It was arge building that appeared rather like a church. The outside was mottled, and the stone steps were gray and gloomy, recording a long history of ups and downs. It was a miracle that the Awakening Center had managed to survive the countless wars with the demons.
Once they were inside, they could see thirteen statues within. In the center was the King of Demon Kings, Harikane, with his twelve brothers around him.
¡°The thirteen Demon Kings, the rulers of darkness, the source of all brutality, illness, and chaos in the world!¡± Turan exined. ¡°The first step to Awakening demon power is to determine which Demon King one¡¯s blood originated from. Then, ording to the characteristics of that demon blood, you will be given a method that will help you Awaken it.¡±
¡ª¡ª
The nonbat types were always at the very end of the line, and this time was no exception. After waiting a long time for all the other teachers to get their students tested, it was finally time for Turan and his students.
The first up was Jiang Zhibei. He and his big belly stood on the bronze tform in the center of the hall. In front of him was a copper ball. Once anyone ced their hands on the ball, one of the thirteen Demon King statues would light up. The Demon King statue that lit up was the source of that person¡¯s Bloodline!
¡°Oh, so you have the blood of the Silver Demon King Sherway. Very good, very good,¡± Turan said as he noted it down.
Next was Du Yu. His bloodline originated from the Sky Demon King, Brasia, but the light was weak, indicating that Du Yu¡¯s demon blood percentage wasn¡¯t that high.
Next was Le Jiajia. As expected, she lit up the statue of the Mountain Demon King, Achilles! In a sh, a blinding light like the noon sun lit up the hall!
¡°As expected of a direct descendant of Achilles,¡± Turan nodded at the sight.
Traveling Buddha was next. The statue he lit up was that of the Scarlet me Demon King, Stanley. Xia Fan knew that Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t actually have any demon blood. Turan had yed a trick to help him pass. Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t care, yawning as he waltzed off the tform.
¡°Xia Fan, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Turan looked expectantly at Xia Fan. Xia Fan didn¡¯t represent only himself, but also the entire n of the Skywings. Turan was anxious to know which Demon King bloodline this n of such concentrated demon blood that had been adrift in the Middle Realm belonged to.
With a rxed expression, Xia Fan walked up the bronze tform and ced his hands on the copper sphere. Looking around, he waited for one of the statues to light up.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Time passed, but the thirteen Demon King statues remained dark.
¡°Is my posture wrong?¡± Xia Fan muttered. He took his hands off and then grabbed the copper ball again, almost hugging it.
But none of the statues lit up. The entire hall was silent. It seemed that his demon blood did not resonate with any of the Demon Kings.
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t Xia Fan have six-star demon blood?¡±
¡°Could it be so pure that it¡¯s past the limits of resonance?¡± At this point, there were several thousand people in the hall, all of them murmuring.
¡°As expected of six-star demon blood!¡± At this moment, City Lord Lu Tai came forward, his face red from excitement. ¡°Xia Fan¡¯s demon blood purity has reached an astonishing 49.99%! This is the highest purity in history! So high even the resonance system has failed!
¡°Let¡¯s end today¡¯s test here. Starting tomorrow, all of you will begin to try awakening your bloodline power! All of you must work hard!¡±
Was it really like that? Xia Fan didn¡¯t believe it. He saw Lu Tai exchanging a look with Turan, and he immediately realized that things probably weren¡¯t that simple.
¡°Gather all the teachers at the library. We have a big problem on our hands,¡± Lu Tai whispered to his assistant once he was out of the hall, his face grim.
Chapter 1571 - 1571 Monsoon, the King of Resolve and Speed
1571 Monsoon, the King of Resolve and Speed
It waste at night, but the library, with all of its countless ancient tomes, was still brightly lit. The teachers were all busy and nervous as they flipped through boxes and opened drawers, searching for the oldest texts and then reading through them speedily while taking notes.
A teacher didn¡¯t just need formidablebat power, but also a rich store of knowledge and a keen understanding of demons. Thus, the teachers were all white-haired elders.
Besides City Lord Lu Tai, City Lord Calvinson was also present. Just like how the demons had thirteen Demon Kings, the humans of Subduing Demon City had thirteen City Lords. Calvinson was famous for his knowledge of history, and he had a deep understanding of the demon Bloodlines throughout the ages.
The sky was soon beginning to brighten. The whole night had gone by, and the teachers put the ancient texts back onto their shelves in the deepest depths of the library and left, utterly exhausted.
¡°Why did we have to check the Book of Kings? Those are the biographies of the Demon Kings of the ancient era, almost mythical existences.¡±
¡°Who knows? We just do whatever the City Lord tells us to do. But from the look on the faces of the two City Lords, the matter seems to be rather serious.¡±
¡°I hope it¡¯s not another war about to start soon. We¡¯re still not ready yet.¡±
The teachers walked on the chilly early dawn streets, discussing their work fromst night. They hadn¡¯t expected to be summoned to the library to check the Book of Kings, then organize the legends regarding the Ancient Demon Kings contained in the books!
Legends were legends because they were impossible to verify. The Book of Kings recorded all the Demon Kings of the Lower Realm that had reigned before the emergence of Harikane, the King of Demon Kings. In the demon civil war, Harikane had killed all the other Ancient Demon Kings, creating his own magnificent golden age. There was basically no point in checking up on the information of those Demon Kings who had ceased to exist.
¡ª
Once the crowd of researchers dispersed, only the two City Lords and Turan were left in the library. They stood in a vast room containing two giant bookshelves that were each three stories high, their voices echoing.
¡°It should be him: the Ancient Demon King Monsoon, the King of Resolve and Speed! When Harikane was ascendant, he was the first Demon King to step forward and fight back, and he fought until the very end!
¡°From the information in the Book of Kings, we can theorize that since the Skywings don¡¯t possess the bloodline of any of the thirteen Demon Kings, instead inheriting the blood of the King of Resolve and Speed. In other words, they have ancient demon blood in their veins,¡± Calvinson stated.
Turan shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder Xia Fan wasn¡¯t able to light up any of the thirteen Demon King statues. It turns out that he and his n have nothing to do with them, instead inheriting an even older bloodline!¡±
Lu Tai said, ¡°Our current problem is that we don¡¯t understand anything about Ancient Demon King Monsoon. If their Inner Demons suddenly erupt, we might not be able to do anything about them. Things will be a little dangerous if we can¡¯t find a method of restraining them!¡±
Lu Tai¡¯s words sent all three of them into deep thought. The n to invite the Skywings from the Middle Realm to the Lower Realm to fight back against Demon King Harikane now appeared to be like inviting in a bunch of mysterious monsters. It was truly ancient demon blood that flowed through the bodies of the Skywings, and it was impossible to say if the Skywings would demonize or not.
Calvinson suddenlyughed. ¡°Let¡¯s observe them for a bit first. Although we don¡¯t understand the Skywing Bloodline, up until now, the n has been very sessful. The Skywings have been extremely effective against demons, almost like they are natural counters.¡±
Lu Tai replied, ¡°That¡¯s a given! The Bloodline of the Skywings originates from Monsoon, and Monsoon wasn¡¯t just the first to resist Harikane, but also thest one to keep fighting. Harikane had to think up countless schemes to kill off everyone around Monsoon before finally daring to move against Monsoon himself!
¡°ording to the records, to kill Monsoon, Harikane had to go with all twelve of his brothers, and they exchanged several million blows before they finally seeded in sting Monsoon into the primordial chaos. Ancient Demon King Monsoon should have been at least on par with Harikane, if not stronger!¡±
Turan added, ¡°After such a bitter fight, it¡¯s almost certain that Monsoon¡¯s heirs and the Bloodlines of the thirteen Demon Kings are deeply opposed to each other. Even if we didn¡¯t do anything, the Skywings would instinctively consider the thirteen Demon Kings their lifelong foes!
¡°It¡¯s no wonder the n to invite the Skywings to the Lower Realm went so smoothly. They didn¡¯t even need to think about it, they just needed to catch a whiff of the scent. Moreover, in the Lower Realm, the Skywings act as if they¡¯vee home, for their Bloodline ancestor fought and died here!¡±
Calvinson nodded. ¡°It makes sense. I suggest that we lock down this news and keep the real Bloodline of the Skywings a secret that only the three of us know.¡±
Lu Tai frowned. ¡°But how should we take precautions against the risk? The purity of the Skywing Bloodline is 49.99%, which means that they have the risk of demonization. We use so many warriors with demon blood because we¡¯re confident that we can control them and avoid demonization.
¡°But the Skywings have the blood of the King of Resolve and Speed. If they demonize, the consequences would be unimaginable!¡±
Calvinson waved his hand. ¡°Don¡¯t always be so pessimistic. Everything in this world carries risk, and the enemy of an enemy is our friend. Watching first and decidingter is the most favorable choice for us. After all, we can¡¯t give up on our main force against the thirteen Demon Kings. If we lose the Skywings, we won¡¯t even have the time to regret our choice.¡±
Turan bitterly smiled. ¡°I agree. The Skywings are a very important force for us, and we can¡¯t draw conclusions about them so easily. Moreover, it¡¯s easy to invite gods, but it¡¯s hard to send them off. Do you really think we could send the Skywings back to the Middle Realm if we wanted to?¡±
Uh¡
The three were speechless. This was true. Unless the Skywings wanted to leave, no one could make them do anything¡!
¡
The next morning, at the first ss, Turan exined to Xia Fan and the others the situation in Subduing Demon City.
¡°You can think of Subduing Demon City as a city-sized school. Probationary Demon Subduers study and mature here, eventually bing true Demon Subduers, at which they will take the elevator down to the lower level and take part in variousbat missions.
¡°Us teachers are warriors who defend Subduing Demon City and the elevator, and in our free time, we guide a few disciples.¡±
Jiang Zhibei raised his hand and asked, ¡°Teacher, what about the lower levels? What¡¯s going on there?¡±
Turan nodded at the question. ¡°Below the elevator is the second-level continent. The situation there is simr to the one here, but half of the territory belongs to the demons and half belongs to us. There are a few battles now and then, but norge-scale wars at the moment. You could say that both sides have their wins and losses.¡±
The bespectacled Du Yu asked, ¡°Teacher, does the Lower Realm have a third level?¡±
¡°The third level¡¡± Turan stroked his chin. ¡°The third level is purely demon territory, a world of darkness and blood. Fighting our way to the third level and utterly purging the demons, restoring peace to the Lower Realm, is our ultimate goal. All of you, work hard! The hope of getting to the third level rests with you!
¡°Today, my first lesson is to help you Awaken a stronger power. I will y demonic music, and you will resonate with the music. Ny-nine percent of people will see illusions after hearing demonic music, but don¡¯t panic. When the sounds stop, the illusions will disappear.
¡°Now, all of you rx your bodies and close your eyes.¡±
The two-hundred square-meter room had only five people, so it seemed rather empty. After Turan gave them their instructions, everyone closed their eyes,id back on thefortable and soft sofas, andpletely rxed. Du Yu even took out a nket.
Turan took out a music crystal and ced it on the table in the center of the room. He then walked out and closed the door.
Standing outside, Turan looked into the room. Once he saw that everyone had rxed and closed their eyes, he extended his right hand and snapped his fingers.
Smack!
Chapter 1572 - 1572 Xia Fan’s Awakening
1572 Xia Fan¡¯s Awakening
Music began to y in the room. It was a bleak and ancient melody, its voice deep and raspy. It was like a wind passing through a barren wastnd, dancing alone, carrying along harsh grains of sand. The wind passed through the ins, swept through the desert, and whirled above the seas. All around it were ruins and destruction, with no signs of life.
¡°This sound is so mournful,¡± Du Yu shrugged.
Jiang Zhibei cocked his head and listened. ¡°Do you guys feel anything? Wasn¡¯t this supposed to Awaken our powers? But after hearing this music, I just feel hungry.¡±
Plush!
!!
Xia Fan and Du Yu almostughed. Traveling Buddha frowned, took out his tea set, and started boiling water to brew tea. He knew that he didn¡¯t have any demon power and was just here to y pretend, so he didn¡¯t care about it at all.
Several minutes passed, and everyone was cheerfully chatting in the room, not feeling the Awakening of any special potential. Noticing that they hadn¡¯t heard Le Jiajia¡¯s voice this whole time, Xia Fan curiously turned to the corner.
Suddenly, Xia Fan¡¯s eyes went wide in astonishment. Le Jiajia was sitting motionless in the corner, two crystalline trails of tears flowing from her eyes. She was crying, weeping, weak sobsing from her mouth. She was like a kitten hiding in a dark corner that had just seen her mother die. In order to not be captured by an enemy, she was trying to keep her sobs as quiet as possible, her body curled up and trembling.
¡°Look at that¡¡± Xia Fan raised his head and pointed at Le Jiajia.
Traveling Buddha said softly, ¡°Everyone has a different reaction to demonic music. Look at Du Yu and Jiang Zhibei. They were perfectly fine a few moments ago.¡±
Xia Fan turned around quickly. Jiang Zhibei, who had been joking around with him just a minute ago, was now kneeling on the ground, his eyes rolled up, his arms raised to the sky. It was like he was reenacting a shamanic ritual straight out of a movie.
Jiang Zhibei was muttering softly, and if one listened carefully, they would realize that he was chanting. It blended together with the musicing from the crystal, creating a strange harmony.
As for the cautious, bespectactled, and timid Du Yu, he suddenly jumped onto the table and put his hands on his waist. His eyes were red and his slightly long ck hair floated in the air as he let out a crazedugh.
¡°All of you will die today! Hahahaha! I¡¯ll tear out your bones and use your skin for my drums! Hahahaha!¡¡±
Xia Fan was dumbfounded. Was that really Du Yu saying all this? His voice was deranged and demonic, exuding violence and bloodlust. He was a guy who normally couldn¡¯t even stand up to a stiff breeze. If someone stepped on his foot, he was likely to apologize hastily. But now that the demonic music was ying, this guy really had turned into a demon! Was this Du Yu¡¯s Awakened state?
¡
Outside the room, Turan was observing everything through a one-way window.
¡°How are things going?¡± City Lord Calvinson hade up to Turan¡¯s side at some point, and he was looking into the room with him.
¡°The results aren¡¯t bad,¡± Turan said as he took notes. ¡°Le Jiajia¡¯s Attribute is Sorrow, and Jiang Zhibei¡¯s Attribute is Divinity. The most surprising of all is Du Yu. His attribute is actually Berserker. To think such explosive power would be contained in that thin little body of his!¡±
Calvinson nodded. ¡°Attributes are a mysterious thing. It¡¯s also surprising for that vulgar fatty Jiang Zhibei to have the Divinity attribute. Right, how do you n to report Traveling Buddha¡¯s and Xia Fan¡¯s Attributes? From the look of it, those two don¡¯t seem affected by the demonic music.¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were chatting and drinking tea in the room.
Turan shrugged. ¡°Let¡¯s put Traveling Buddha as Composure. After all, that guy has a nonchnt personality that doesn¡¯t care about anything in the world.¡±
Calvinson replied, ¡°It makes sense. What of Xia Fan?¡±
Turan seemed to be in a tough spot. ¡°Xia Fan is more of a problem. Unlike Traveling Buddha, he has a high concentration of demon blood. But for some reason, the demonic music isn¡¯t working on him. Maybe its level is too low?¡±
Calvinson considered the problem. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but I feel like it¡¯s for another reason. The demonic music is one of the treasures we found on an expedition against the demons, and Xia Fan¡¯s bloodlinees from a long-gone ancient demon. Could it be because he is not in the same lineage as the thirteen Demon Kings?¡±
Turan helplessly shook his head. ¡°In short, it¡¯s a problem. Everything we have regarding Xia Fan and the Skywings is purely spection. We don¡¯t even know how many Bloodlines there are in the demon race. In any case, after the civil war, all the other Bloodlines went extinct, leaving behind only Harikane¡¯s line. The Skywings suddenly appearing with their ancient demon Bloodline, well, it¡¯s hard to say if that was a blessing or a curse!¡±
¡ª
While Turan and Calvinson discussed the Skywings, the demonic music continued to y. At some point, Xia Fan began to hear noise from outside the window, like crickets chirping¡
¡°There seems to be some noise outside.¡± Xia Fan stood up and looked out the window.
¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t hear anything. Maybe your hearing is better than mine,¡± Traveling Buddha answered nonchntly. He looked around and felt like Le Jiajia and the others had been turned into fools. One was sobbing, one was kneeling and praying, and thest one was standing on the table and bragging. Only he and Xia Fan were rather normal.
¡°What¡¯s all this? These three guys have all been affected by the demonic music. How can that be? It seems like only we brothers can counter the demons, as the demonic music doesn¡¯t affect us,¡± Traveling Buddha said proudly. He felt like it was a good thing that he and Xia Fan were not affected by the demonic music.
¡°So annoying,¡± Xia Fan frowned.
More and more noises were entering his ears, like countless flies buzzing around him. These sounds wereing from all parts of the city, from the sewers and from the air. The greatest number of sounds, and the loudest of them, wasing from the Cloudsea Garden, where the flying beasts were fed and cared for.
Xia Fan found this strange. His sense of smell had always been rather sharp, but his hearing was no different from an ordinary person¡¯s. He was more than fifty kilometers from the Cloudsea Garden in the outskirts of the city, so how could hear the sounds from there?
¡°You really don¡¯t hear any noises from outside?¡± Xia Fan asked again.
¡°The windows are closed, so how can there be any noise? Are you starting to hear things? Come and drink some tea to calm yourself, and the noise will naturally disappear,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
¡®You¡¯re all so annoying! All of you, shut up!¡¯, Xia Fan shouted to himself. He then went over to Traveling Buddha, picked up a tea cup, and drained the tea. The warm tea soothed the soul, and the strange noises in his ear really did disappear.
¡°Wow, it actually worked,¡± Xia Fan looked at the tea cup and said. There were still a few green tea suds at the bottom of the cup.
¡°Like I said, good tea calms the mind.¡± Comforted, Traveling Buddha poured Xia Fan another cup. ¡°Try this one. It¡¯s called Snowcap.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± Xia Fan smiled. He took the cup from Traveling Buddha. ¡°Mm, this tea is also pretty good, slightly sweet, and with a gentler vor than the other one.¡±
¡°You really have spent a long time with me. You¡¯ve even started to develop a taste for tea. On ount of your excellent performance, I¡¯ll brew you up a tea from my special stock,¡± Traveling Buddha said happily.
¡
The rice paddies to the south of Subduing Demon City¡
A farmer took off his straw hat and fanned himself as he asked someone next to him. ¡°Strange. Why did frogs stop croaking?¡±
¡°Yes. It does seem like it¡¯s been a while since the frogs have croaked.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not just the frogs. Even the cicadas have stopped chirping. There¡¯s not a sound from the forest.¡±
¡°Weird, weird. Why have the crows stopped cawing too? They¡¯re usually the noisiest of all.¡±
¡°It¡¯s so quiet that it¡¯s ufortable.¡±
The farmers stopped working and looked around. The surrounding wilderness was usually full of the sounds of insects and birds year-round, but at this moment, the world had gonepletely silent. It was as if the birds and insects had received some sign to stop making noise. There was no sound now except the blowing of the mountain winds.
¡
The Cloudsea Garden¡
¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡±
¡°Why are they all prostrating?¡±
¡°You¡¯re asking me, but who am I supposed to ask?¡±
¡°Look, all the flying beasts have started to prostrate, as if they¡¯re paying respects to someone.¡±
...
¡°Get up! Get up right now!¡± A warrior responsible for sending messages had an urgent report to deliver. In his urgency, he pushed and pulled on his flying beast, but the white eagle didn¡¯t listen, continuing to prostrate in the direction of the center of the city.
Military letters were extremely urgent, and the messenger warrior was furious and started tosh the white eagle on its back. But the flying Mythical Beast seemed to have hardened its heart, holding its mouth shut no matter how much its wounds hurt. It was if it had been cursed to not make a sound.
Pa!
The leather whip snapped, and the messenger warrior copsed to the ground, gasping for breath. ¡°It¡¯s bizarre. What¡¯s going on with them?! Are they all possessed?!¡±
Chapter 1573 - 1573 Hunting
1573 Hunting
A week passed. The several hundred warriors who had newly entered Subduing Demon City had Awakened their potential under the guidance of their teachers, taking the first steps in their future development. Once they knew where their potential was, they just needed to study and cultivate in that direction.
Of course, not everyone had gotten an awakening. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were like two blocks of wood, showing no potential at all. They could only watch as Jiang Zhibei and the others received Turan¡¯s guidance while they sipped on tea and ate snacks. Like twopletely uninvolved pedestrians, they whiled away the time.
¡°Were you hearing things against night?¡± Traveling Buddha asked Xia Fan.
¡°How did you know?¡±
!!
¡°You¡¯ve got dark circles around your eyes, brother. You¡¯re so sleep-deprived that you¡¯re about to be a panda.¡±
Xia Fan sighed and helplessly shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s bizarre. Ever since I heard Turan¡¯s demonic music, I frequently hear strange sounds in my ear, and ear plugs don¡¯t help. It¡¯s like it¡¯s some mental energy that¡¯s going straight into my brain. There¡¯s no means of physically stopping it.¡±
Traveling Buddha nodded and offered Xia Fan a cup of tea. ¡°What sort of sound is it? Even when we fought together on the battlefield, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen youe down with any sort of mental illness. You can kill so much that you leave the ground covered in bodies and still sleep soundly, so why does this little noise prevent you from sleeping?¡±
Xia Fan took the cup and sniffed it lightly. Under the influence of the Little Old Buddha¡¯s extravagant lifestyle, Xia Fan had gradually begun to develop an understanding of tea leaves, and his tastes grew more and more rarefied. Now that he understood quality, he could no longer treat tea brewed from expensive leaves like in water.
Xia Fan bitterly smiled. ¡°Yes. When I was learning engineering, even though the oldbustion engines made so much noise, whenever I was tired, I could just fall asleep on the engine covers.
¡°But this sound is different. It has a powerful resonance, as if the sounds are waiting for my reply. It¡¯s a little like when I first got my Scent ability. When I unlocked it, all sorts of odors entered my nose, disrupting my thoughts. I felt like my brain was going to explode. Just try imagining it. The smell of a fox four hundred kilometers away, the unflushed toilet in someone¡¯s house¡ I could smell it all! That sort of sensation was just too scary¡
¡°Later on, I learned to slowly shut off my sense of smell, freeing myself from the distraction. When I need it, I can activate my Scent ability, and when I don¡¯t need it, I can shut it off. Maybe I just haven¡¯t learned how to block out the sounds I¡¯m hearing yet. Once I learn how to, I¡¯ll be free of this noise.¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°In other words, you¡¯ve activated some kind of hearing ability?¡±
Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°No, I can only listen to certain sounds, like the breathing of creatures and the calling of birds. If someone is talking several hundred meters away, I still can¡¯t hear them.¡±
Traveling Buddha stroked his chin in confusion. ¡°That¡¯s weird. You can only hear the sounds of animals, but you can¡¯t hear the sounds of people talking¡¡±
¡°What are the two of you talking about?¡± Turan arrived with Le Jiajia and the others. He couldn¡¯t help but be curious as to what Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were so avidly chatting about.
¡°It¡¯s nothing, just casual conversation. The training is over so quickly?¡± Xia Fan said. He didn¡¯t want to divulge that he had been hearing soundstely, for he felt like that was a private matter.
Turan nodded. ¡°Support types don¡¯t have that many lessons in the first ce, and tomorrow is a test, so I need to give you enough time to rest.¡±
¡°What¡¯s being tested?¡±
¡°To put it simply, it¡¯s to test thebat power of you probationary Demon Subduers. As you guys aren¡¯tbat types, you¡¯ll just be going through the motions. When the timees, thebat types will wear redbat uniforms while you guys will be wearing green. When the warriors hunting you see your color, they¡¯ll understand that you¡¯re nonbat and won¡¯t be too hard on you.¡±
¡°Hunting us?¡± Traveling Buddha frowned unhappily. ¡°Are you treating me like a rabbit?¡±
Turanughed. ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Old students will hunt new students. This has always been a rule of Subduing Demon City. Tomorrow, just go along with the rest. Once you¡¯re captured, the test will be over. Combat types naturally want tost as long as possible, but nonbat types don¡¯t have that requirement.¡±
Du Yu lightly raised his sses. ¡°Teacher is right. Tomorrow, the five of us can just muddle our way through. As nonbat types, it doesn¡¯t matter how low our scores are.¡±
Even though Turan exined again that Subduing Demon City didn¡¯t have anypulsory requirements for nonbat types, Traveling Buddha kept scowling. He felt like being chased around like prey was kind of humiliating. Ever since he had been partners with Xia Fan, they had always hunted other people, never been hunted themselves!
¡°Let¡¯s wait and see. I only know how to beat people up, not to be beaten by others,¡± Traveling Buddha said proudly.
Turan had nothing to say to that. When he had wanted to send Traveling Buddha to thebat division, Traveling Buddha had refused, demanding to stay together with Xia Fan in the small support squad.
¡
The next morning, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were brought to a vast forest outside the city. The new probationary Demon Subduers were lined up along the dividing line between the forest and thewn, grouped in teams of five. Xia Fan¡¯s ss was a ready-made team, but as they were a support team, they were wearing grass-green uniforms. They looked like five stalks of seagrass, swaying in the wind.
Traveling Buddha folded his arms and grumbled, ¡°I feel like a little chicken¡¡± He didn¡¯t like the greenbat uniform. The other warriors were all wearing bright red uniforms, signifying their passion and excitement. Only the five of them were wearing green, making them stand out like sore thumbs.
¡°It¡¯s fine. At least this lets us hide better. Red is too easily spotted in the forest,¡± Xia Fan reminded him.
The senior Demon Subduer students taking part in the hunt were wearing ck uniforms, but that wasn¡¯t the biggest difference. They also had personal flying beasts that allowed them to take to the skies and hunt from above.
The advantages were obvious. Whether it was in numbers, speed, elevation, or teamwork, the new students were far inferior to the older students. They probably wouldn¡¯tst for long. The longer theysted, the more points they could get. ording to the rules, if a new student was bold enough, they could hunt the older students, but as their opponents had the aerial advantage, there were probably few people who could do so.
City Lord Lu Tai finished exining the rules of the hunting exam, and then loudly announced, ¡°Now, you can enter the hunting ground! One hour from now, the older student group will set out! The squad thatsts until the end and scores the most points will get a valuable gift! Work hard!¡±
Whoosh!
Even as Lu Tai finished speaking, the new students rushed into the forest like rabbits, fleeing into its depths and scattering. Meanwhile, the older students held the reins of their flying beasts and smiled silently.
¡ª
Xia Fan¡¯s group of five also entered the forest. They walked theplicated forest paths, clearly moving more slowly than thebat teams. This was particrly true for Jiang Zhibei, who weighed 325 kilograms. When he ran, he was like a tractor, creating a huge ruckus and making the earth shake, and he wasn¡¯t even able to go that fast. He would only run a few steps before he was panting for breath, sweat falling from his body like a rainstorm.
¡°This is so annoying. Can¡¯t you be a little faster?¡± Traveling Buddha cursed. He grabbed Jiang Zhibei¡¯sbat uniform and lifted him up. A body weight of 300+ kilograms was as light as a chicken to Traveling Buddha.
Xia Fan frowned and asked curiously, ¡°It looks to me like you don¡¯t want to lose. When did you suddenly get so serious?¡±
Traveling Buddha rolled his eyes. ¡°How can a single dog like you understand my mood? I¡¯m a father now, and what am I going to say if my son asks me about this? Am I going to tell him that I didn¡¯t meet the grade and was even the one being hunted? Absolutely not!
¡°I don¡¯t just want to win today, but to win any other thing in the future! I want my son to know that his dad is the best!¡±
Xia Fan was speechless. Single hounds truly had no rights! Even Traveling Buddha was starting to discriminate against him!
Traveling Buddha¡¯s strongest ability was defense. He was like a shield while Xia Fan was like a sharp de. As partners, they were perfect, but now, Xia Fan couldn¡¯t use his de, so winning was no longer easy!
¡°Let¡¯s go this way.¡± Xia Fan sniffed the air, using his Scent ability to choose the right direction. He headed in a direction with more beasts in the hopes that the beasts of the forest would help them fend off the attacks from the hunters.
Chapter 1574 - 1574 Thought Transmission
1574 Thought Transmission
¡°Traveling Buddha, go and scout there.¡±
¡°Understood.¡±
¡°Traveling Buddha, cut down a few trees and construct a pontoon bridge.¡±
¡°Leave it to me.¡±
¡°Traveling Buddha, I¡¯m a little thirsty.¡±
¡°Honeyed green tea suit your taste? I mixed some up before leaving.¡±
¡°I guess. Give me the canteen.¡±
The other members thought that Traveling Buddha, with his supreme Vajra skill, would be the undisputedmander. Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu were extremely excited to bemanded by a mighty figure like him. They had felt truly fortunate, for if they served the Little Old Buddha well, they could avoid being bullied around by other warriors in the future.
But it was the thin Xia Fan, with his nose more sensitive than a dog¡¯s, who was ordering Traveling Buddha around, even giving Traveling Buddha the duty of serving tea and pouring water.
Even more bizarre was that Traveling Buddha had epted it easily, taking on the tasks of clearing the path and setting up pontoons.
¡°Why don¡¯t we help Big Brother Traveling Buddha with some of the work? He seems rather tired from all the stuff he has to do,¡± Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu said. They volunteered primarily because they couldn¡¯t watch as Xia Fan ordered the divine warrior descended from the heavens to go and chop trees!
¡°It¡¯s nothing. Traveling Buddha has a much better constitution than the two of you,¡± Xia Fan said indifferently.
¡°Big Brother Traveling Buddha, I think we¡¯ve already traveled far enough. Why don¡¯t we hide here and erect a shelter?¡± Du Yu and Jiang Zhibei cautiously asked for Traveling Buddha¡¯s opinion. In their hearts, Traveling Buddha was the real backbone of the squad.
¡°You guys are so annoying. For things that need thinking like that, it¡¯s better to let Xia Fan handle them,¡± Traveling Buddha said, blind to their desires.
Uh¡
Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu felt like their worlds were being turned upside-down. It was clearly Traveling Buddha who had the dominantbat power, but he was willing to listen to Xia Fan¡¯smands. Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be Might makes Right? Why did the guy with the sharp nose end up holding the reins of power?
Le Jiajia had been quiet this whole time. Today, she appeared heroic and elegant, the tight greenbat uniform showing off her graceful curves, her exquisite face like a representation of all things beautiful. It was just that behind her beautiful face was a coldness that was difficult to approach.
There had been only that one time when she had ever gotten close to someone. Xia Fan had been crying after reading his father¡¯s letter, and in that small bathroom, Le Jiajia had mysteriously appeared in the small bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub bobbing her long slender legs as she said, ¡®My next-door neighbor was crying, so I naturally had toe and look¡¡¯
¡®Tsk, you don¡¯t even know how to lie. Is there any wind in this room?¡¯
The day Xia Fan read the letter from his father was the most fragile moment in Xia Fan¡¯s life. For some reason, Le Jiajia had suddenly felt sympathetic and followed the sounds of Xia Fan¡¯s weeping to find him. On that day, at that particr time, the two of them had put down their disguises and faced each other with their true selves for a few minutes. But as time passed, they had put their masks back on.
99.99% of the time, Xia Fan wasn¡¯t that fragile. He was a descendant of the Fiend de Skywings, possessing astonishing intelligence, talent in multiple fields, and a sharp and calm personality. Even the Little Old Buddha was willing to serve Xia Fan without asking why.
Le Jiajia was the same. 99.99% of the time, she wouldn¡¯t feel sympathy for anyone. As a demon Bloodline descendant, she didn¡¯t fit in with the rest of the world. She was always in a corner, quiet and alone, never opening her heart to anyone.
If there was anything to me, it was that their personalities were both too strong. Xia Fan essentially cried only once every hundred years, and Le Jiajia felt sympathy just as rarely, and they had happened to meet at the intersection of these moments. The vast majority of time, they didn¡¯t need the sympathy or help of anyone, stubbornly living on like the most tenacious of weeds.
¡ª
¡°Rest for a while. Traveling Buddha,e with me.¡±
After Xia Fan gave his orders, he went off with Traveling Buddha. Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu whispered to each other. In their eyes, Traveling Buddha was a divine warrior who held up the heavens, a formidable existence who even high-ranked warriors would have toe out and bow to. But the powerful Traveling Buddha was like Xia Fan¡¯sckey, which was a powerful shock to them.
¡°Xia Fan is so cool. Look at how he lightly waves his arm and says ¡®Traveling Buddha,e with me¡¯, and then Traveling Buddha immediately goes over. Who would believe it if they didn¡¯t see it with their own eyes?¡±
¡°Ha, it seems like we were wrong to try and tter Traveling Buddha. We should have tried to get on Xia Fan¡¯s good side instead¡¡±
As Le Jiajia listened to Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu whisper to each other, she fanned herself with her hand. As she looked at Xia Fan¡¯s rather slender figure, she gradually began to recall that stuffy afternoon. She had been curled up in a corner of her room, her windows shut so that the ce was pitch-ck even in the middle of the day. While she was curled up in the corner, she heard sobbing from the room next door. That sound made Le Jiajia think of her father.
Her father was a very tough man. When he had married her mother, who was considered a demoness, he had been expelled from his family and was mocked by the entire world. All of his best friends gradually distanced themselves from him.
Despite the injustice, her father had always been optimistic, taking care of his family and wife, ensuring that his wife and daughter weren¡¯t harmed in any way. If anyone disyed contempt toward Le Jiajia, he would immediately step in front of Le Jiajia and fight for her sake. That figure had been rather thin, but it seemed particrlyrge and impressive in her eyes.
But on the day of her grandfather¡¯s funeral, Le Jiajia found her father crying in the basement. It was only then that she learned that when her father had gone to the funeral, he had been denied entry to the graveyard because his marriage had not been blessed by his family. Thus, he couldn¡¯t perform his filial duties, and did not even have the right to grab some soil and sprinkle it over his father¡¯s coffin.
From then on, Le Jiajia understood that even the toughest person could cry.
Thus, on that sultry afternoon, when Le Jiajia heard that suppressed yet heartfelt sobbing, she couldn¡¯t help but think of her father. Unable to restrain herself, she used her spatial transmission ability to enter Xia Fan¡¯s room and see what was going on.
Although that was her first time meeting Xia Fan, there was no sense of distance whatsoever. This stranger Xia Fan had a very special Aura. First of all, he didn¡¯t seem to know Le Jiajia, and he was not aware that she was a demon¡¯s daughter. Second, he liked tough and seemed to be very easy to talk to.
But the past was the past. Xia Fan was very powerful, and he would not cry again. Le Jiajia also kept to her corner, not letting any strangers inside.
After walking some distance, Xia Fan looked around. After confirming that no one was around, he said to Traveling Buddha, ¡°I think I now understand what the noise is.¡±
¡°What are you ying at? Stop being so mysterious and tell me already,¡± Traveling Buddha grumbled.
Xia Fan chuckled and and parted some tall grass. Behind the grass was a snow-white mother leopard. Her newborn cubs were wriggling at her belly, greedily nursing from her.
¡°Watch out!¡± Traveling Buddha called out in rm, wanting to stop Xia Fan. The leopard was sleek and muscr, more than two meters long and possessed sharp teeth and ws. The strange light it exuded indicated that this was no ordinary beast, but an extremely dangerous creature.
But Traveling Buddha saw this mother leopard lower her head and prostrate piously to Xia Fan, like a trained Husky paying respects to its master. Even her two kittens stopped drinking their mother¡¯s milk and bowed, their little bodies trembling.
¡°They¡¯re¡ bowing to you!?¡± Traveling Buddha was stunned.
Xia Fan squatted down and stroked the leopard gently. He then picked up the two kittens, hugging them to his chest. He reached out a finger to the kittens, who licked it with their little pink tongues to show their good will. It was a beautiful scene of man coexisting with beasts.
Traveling Buddha was in disbelief. ¡°This body, the energy pulses, and those teeth! I would wager that this leopard is on the same level as the Lightning Cathead Eagles that sent us to Subduing Demon City. How did you manage to do it? Why is such a high-ranked beast bowing to you?¡±
Xia Fan thought it over. ¡°It should be due to the Awakening caused by the demonic music. I¡¯ve seemingly unlocked some sort of thought transmission ability.¡±
¡°Thought transmission?¡± This was the first time Traveling Buddha had heard of such an ability, blinking rapidly in confusion.
Xia Fan exined, ¡°I learned how to control beasts from Fisherman Grandpa, but that was a kind of skill, and it was only able to control lower-level creatures like rats, sparrows, and little fish.
¡°But Thought Transmission is different. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve had a beast radar installed. The noises I¡¯ve been hearing belong to the nearby beasts. If I¡¯m willing to, I can establish a mental connection with them, and it¡¯s even possible for me to control them!¡±
As Xia Fan spoke, he drew out a diagram on the ground with a branch. He was able to hear so many weird sounds because Thought Transmission needed to identify the beasts to be controlled, after which it established a connection.
Traveling Buddha squatted down and looked at the diagram. Stroking his chin with his right hand, he said, ¡°I get it now. The sounds are your brain scanning the surrounding area like a radar. But how did youe to suddenly understand all of this?¡±
Xia Fan smiled and patted the leopard warmly on her head. ¡°It was pure coincidence. When we entered this forest, she had just given birth. Thus, the voice that appeared in my mind was very gentle and weak, almost begging me to not hurt her. You know that high-ranked beasts are intelligent, right?
¡°I became immensely curious, and I started paying attention to the voice, feeling the pain from birth and the powerful love she felt for her cubs. There were also the weak voices of these two little guys. In short, it¡¯s hard to exin. In any case, I was able to take advantage of the weak state the leopard was in from giving birth to enter her mind, and I found out that I could actually control her.¡±
Traveling Buddha was startled at first, and then he grew excited. ¡°If it¡¯s like that, then when those guyse hunting for us, can you control their flying beasts? Forcing them tond and enter my attack range?¡±
Xia Fan thought it over. ¡°Although I¡¯m still not too familiar with it, I should be able to pull it off.¡±
...
Traveling Buddha was delighted. ¡°That is a powerful ability! Wonderful! I no longer have to worry about being beaten up by those guys flying in the sky. You¡¯ll be responsible for bringing them in, and then you can leave the rest to me!¡±
Traveling Buddha rubbed his hands happily. This hunting test was very unfair, since the hunters were in the air while Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were stuck on the ground. Now that Xia Fan had discovered this ability to control beasts, they could avoid being bullied around by those guys!
Xia Fan frowned. ¡°While controlling beasts is pretty nice, it seems like I¡¯ve also stirred up some trouble.¡±
Traveling Buddha was startled. ¡°What sort of trouble?¡±
Xia Fan looked around. ¡°Not all beasts will listen to me. There¡¯s this very powerful guy in the forest. He became very agitated after sensing my existence. It seems he wants to kill me!¡±
Chapter 1575 - 1575 The Beauty, the Beau, and the Beast
1575 The Beauty, the Beau, and the Beast
¡°How many is that now?¡±
Dongfang He stood on the ¡°corpse¡± of a probationary Demon Subduer. The so-called corpse was an unfortunate person who had been struck by the paint from Dongfang He¡¯s Demon-Subduing Bolt. The white mark on his chest signified that he was now dead for this hunting test. But the unfortunate guy hadn¡¯t imagined that after he obedientlyid down, Dongfang Jia would step on him, even while the ache from being struck by the bolt burned.
¡°Your harvest this time has been pretty good. This is already the forty-third one!¡± a subordinate immediately piped up.
Dongfang He raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°What about Jia Yuntian? How many has he hunted so far?¡±
!!
Ever since he had arrived at Subduing Demon City, he had taken Jia Yuntian as his lifelong rival. Both of them had illustrious backgrounds as descendants of Demon yers. Demon yer was a title given to those who had once killed the family members of Demon Kings. Only a few families in the entire Lower Realm had that honor!
His subordinate hastily started contacting people to see how well Jia Yuntian was doing. But Dongfang He suddenly chuckled, revealing his gleaming white teeth. He said with an inborn pride, ¡°Forget it. There¡¯s no need to ask. So long as I do my best, I trust that there¡¯s no one in the world who can beat me!¡±
The aura of a king erupted from his body. Dongfang He¡¯s subordinates were all pretty female students, and all of them appeared enchanted, shrieking like passionate fans who had encountered their idol.
There was nothing to be done about that. After all, Dongfang He had been born with a Ruler¡¯s aura,ing from an illustrious family and inheriting a kingdom¡¯s worth of wealth. Most importantly, he was very handsome, his chiseled face radiating powerful masculine appeal. If he was in a movie, the director would definitely have made him a prince, and he would definitely excel in the role!
Sometimes, the differences between people were bigger than the differences between dogs and humans. This young man with such a handsome appearance, carrying the halo of a main character, had ultimately decided to rely on strength to make a living. In terms ofbat, only his old rival Jia Yuntian could match him!
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Dongfang He called out, raising his arms. As he pointed to the sky, a massive beast shining with golden light descended from above.
It was a lion vulture, with the ws and limbs of a lion, and the wings and mouth of an eagle.
The Lion Vulture stood at the top of the animal pyramid in the Lower Realm. Wherever it went, all beasts would bow. Whether it was the White Lightning Cathead Eagle, or the mebird that represented passion and power, they would all tremble and respectfully wee this true king.
Dongfang He jumped onto the Lion Vulture¡¯s back. The Mythical Beast threw its head back and screeched, the sound wave howling through the forest like a river bursting through a dam. The unfortunate fellow lying on the ground ying dead immediately covered his ears with his hands, his heart in a panic and his face turning pale.
I should go and see Nikai so that she knows about how well I did, Dongfang He thought to himself.
Since ancient times, even the greatest of heroes had found it hard to ovee their desire for beauties. Rather than glory, Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian could better be described as fighting for the right to mate. Who was the best fit for Subduing Demon City¡¯s number one most beautiful female warrior, Nikai, was a constant subject of gossip!
There was no need to speak of Nikai¡¯s charm. In Subduing Demon City, there were hundreds of thousands of young men in her age group, but only two people dared to pursue her: Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian, the two most outstanding young men! The others could only take the asional nce and find themselvespletely unsuitable for the role, feeling that looking upon her with their vulgar eyes was a sort of sphemy toward their goddess.
Whether it was men, women, or even animals, few of them dared to even stand next to Nikai. After all, the halo of the goddess was too blinding and divine. Mortals could only disperse before it!
¡
The idental unlocking of the ability to control beasts left both Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha very happy, but trouble had swiftly followed. It seemed that some powerful beast was traveling a long distance to reach Xia Fan, seething with killing intent.
¡°This is probably a sense of territoriality,¡± Xia Fan deduced, stroking his chin. ¡°It¡¯s like a peak expert discovering that there¡¯s an existence with a simr level of strength next to him. The expert would definitelye to challenge them, or else his life would truly be lonely and bleak.¡±
¡°Nonsense!¡± Traveling Buddha hugged his shoulders and said, ¡°Brother Fan, stop boasting. You¡¯re some peak expert? You only figured out this beast-controlling technique not two minutes ago, and you¡¯re calling yourself a peak expert?
¡°Take me for example. An expert like me has never deigned to challenge others, because it¡¯s troublesome and pointless. Unless that guy ambushes me, then it¡¯s as the saying goes; if you¡¯re not afraid of being stolen from by a thief, you¡¯re afraid of being marked by a thief! In any case, anyone furtively spying on me is definitely someone I want to kill.
¡°If we follow this line of thought, then it must be that when you were using the beast control art just now, you didn¡¯t know how to control it and inadvertently spied on some nearby beast king, which is why the guy wants to kill you. Mm, it must be like that. It must have been because you were too vulgar.¡±
¡°Your sister!¡± Xia Fan scowled. ¡°When did someone as upright and frank and me be vulgar?¡±
¡°My sister is called Little Buddha, and it¡¯s not like you¡¯ve never met her before. Moreover, if you say something bad about my sister again, then I¡¯ll have it out with you,¡± Traveling Buddha replied ndly.
Xia Fan sighed helplessly. ¡°Ah, forget it. I can¡¯t be bothered to argue with you. In any case, that guy ising here right now, and I can¡¯t show my power here, so I¡¯ll have to depend on you in the future. Speed isn¡¯t your strong point, so let¡¯s find a ce with high elevation where we can set our ambush.¡±
Traveling Buddha thumped his chest and promised, ¡°No problem! This Little Old Buddha is no pushover!¡±
¡ª
Thus, Xia Fan led the team to a ce midway up a mountain, looking down from a high elevation at a canyon. Based on the direction that distant smell wasing from, the beast would pass through this canyon. At that time, Traveling Buddha would transform into the Battle Buddha and begin a frenzied attack from the mountain. There probably wouldn¡¯t be many problems. In any case, Traveling Buddha was tough, so it would be difficult to kill him unless he did something dumb.
Le Jiajia seemed to have noticed Xia Fan¡¯s n, and she looked in the direction the beast was approaching from, tension in her eyes. As for Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu, when they heard that they were going to ambush someone, they rubbed their hands, took out their Demon Subduing crossbows, loaded them with sharp bolts with triangr arrowheads, and took up positions on a rock.
Xia Fan took Jiang Zhibei¡¯s Demon Subduing crossbow from him and weighed it in his hands. Jiang Zhibei had arge and fat body, so his crossbow was rather heavy. Unfortunately, in the eyes of Xia Fan, who had studied engineering, this crossbow still had a lot of room for improvement. Its noise-reducing capabilities, the power of its spring, and its air flow were allcking.
¡°Not bad, right? It¡¯s my family¡¯s crossbow. Crossbows are the most important weapon for us Demon Subduers. No matter what abilities or skills a warrior has, they will always have a few quality Demon Subduing Crossbows,¡± Jiang Zhibei boasted about his family¡¯s treasure as he ate potato chips.
Xia Fan exchanged a nce with Traveling Buddha. He had no interest in this lousy crossbow. To tell the truth, this crossbow probably fired slower than Xia Fan could run. s, he needed to hide his speed and was unable to utilize his advantage!
¡°The goddess ising!¡± Du Yu looked up at the sky and called out in surprise, his voice trembling.
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha turned to see what Du Yu was looking at, and saw a hunting team appear above them. There were five people led by a woman. She was riding a white Lion Vulture, while the others rode more ordinary flying beasts with drab colors and rather inconspicuous figures. It made her look like a phoenix leading a flock of chickens.
¡°Goddess?¡± Xia Fan said in confusion.
¡°It¡¯s Nikai, the holy maiden in the eyes of all unmarried men of Subduing Demon City. Actually, even the married men of Subduing Demon City admire Nikai, though they¡¯re too afraid of their wives to say it. Though it¡¯s hard to say what sort of dirty thoughts they¡¯re having,¡± Jiang Zhibei exined quickly.
Traveling Buddha found this rather amusing. ¡°Ha, so Subduing Demon City has a person like this? So I suppose you¡¯re also one of Nikai¡¯s admirers?¡±
Jiang Zhibei nonchntly shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m no ugly toad craving after a swan. Besides, I prefer potato chips.¡±
¡°Your attitude isn¡¯t bad. You seem to know your ce,¡± Traveling Buddhaughed. Patting Jiang Zhibei on the shoulder, he said, ¡°But don¡¯t be disheartened. What will happen will happen. Take me as an example. I would have never imagined myself to have a son before the age of twenty, but look at me now. I already have a wife and child¡¡±
Xia Fan snorted. He was disliking more and more the background Traveling Buddha was selling of him being a good father and wife. While other people didn¡¯t know it, Xia Fan was keenly aware that Traveling Buddha was a block of wood. If not for Hidden Water being so forward, would he have started a family? He probably would have spent his entire life a virgin!
But back to the subject, Nikai truly was a girl with transcendent looks. Du Yu vulgarly took out a set of binocrs, looking at the skies above the canyon while drooling.
Looking at Le Jiajia and then at Nikai, Xia Fan understood the difference between an icy beauty and a wealthy daughter. Nikai was truly resplendent, her smile as gentle and warm as the spring breeze.
¡ª
¡°You should leave. A big guy ising, and you guys aren¡¯t a match for him. I don¡¯t want to see any of you hurt,¡± Nikai said to her four followers without turning her head.
Her four followers were instantly in tears. Their goddess was worried that they would be injured, preferring to face battle on her own rather than see them hurt! Her followers felt unworthy of this grace!
¡ª
¡°Can I ask her to please try and not steal our prey? I¡¯ve been waiting for ages now,¡± Traveling Buddha grumbled.
Xia Fan patted Traveling Buddha on the shoulder. ¡°Look, another one ising.¡±
Less than a minuteter, a silver Lion Vulture descended into the canyon,nding next to Nikai¡¯s white Lion Vulture. It was like an idol show, the girl was like a goddess while the man, with his long silver hair and exquisite looks, looked like an elven prince out of a movie. While his expression was cold and indifferent, he had a face that could send countless maidens swooning.
¡°Is this a test or a beauty contest?¡± Traveling Buddha grumbled again. As he spoke, he scratched at a new pimple on his forehead, squeezing out a few drops of white pus.
Even Traveling Buddha, a married man with a child, had to admit that these two people were absurdly good-looking. That goddess and the silver-haired elf prince basically didn¡¯t give any chance of survival to all those with average appearances!
¡°That is Jia Yuntian. He¡¯s also one of the proud stars of this generation. While his personality is a little cold, the number of girls that love him could extend for hundreds of kilometers. But Prince Jia loves a real goddess. No one except Nikai is worthy of his eyes,¡± Jiang Zhibei told them.
Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°It seems you look down on Jia Yuntian?¡±
...
Jiang Zhibei smiled bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m just joking. We already look like this, so what right do we have to look down on the handsome? I just feel like Jia Yuntian is too cold, so Dongfang He has a better chance. At least Dongfang He is an upright and open person, saying whatever is on his mind. As for Prince Jia, he likes to remain aloof, going around everywhere with that gloomy aura of his. It ruins my appetite.¡±
¡°What do you mean by ¡®we already look like this¡¯? Can you not so casually group us together?¡± Xia Fan said sullenly. Rolling his eyes at Jiang Zhibei, he felt his own face, feeling a little sad. Although he wasn¡¯t much of a looker, at least his body was better than fatty Jiang Zhibei, right?
They were both born from the same mother, but Xia Fan had grown up an orphan, while Xia Xiaofei had grown up next to his parents. Xia Fan had an ordinary appearance while his big brother was so handsome that he left girls entranced.
¡°This world is so unfair. I want to go and have a good cry,¡± Xia Fan grumbled, and even Traveling Buddha was starting to get unhappy.
Back in Ashen Moon, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had never lost before, even emerging perfectly fine from their of Ashen Dragon Hidden Moon. That had been a glorious period, and they had received fierce praise wherever they went.
But now, the swan had gone back to being an ugly duckling. When he returned to the Skywings, Xia Fan discovered that his speed wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning, worse than that of the seven-year-old Xia Di. As for the tough body that Traveling Buddha was so proud of, it couldn¡¯t evenst a few seconds against the speed of the Skywings. Those guys were unreasonably tyrannical, a real pack of monsters!
¡°Ha, this sensation of being knocked back into reality is really cruel.¡± Traveling Buddha put a hand on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder, the two of themmiserating. Xia Fan¡¯s father had put it nicely, saying that he was having Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha study in Subduing Demon City, but in reality, he simply felt they were too weak!
¡°Haha, this is interesting. Dongfang He is alsoing. All three elites are gathered.¡± Jiang Zhibei pointed at a golden Lion Vulture approaching in the sky. ¡°I can¡¯t be wrong. A golden Lion Vulture King means that it¡¯s definitely him!¡±
This ruckus had made Xia Fan almost forget why they wereying in ambush on this mountain. The goddess, the elf prince, and the human prince, the three most outstanding members of Subduing Demon City, had all appeared. Given the love triangle between them, what had appeared like an idol show was seemingly about to turn into some idol drama.
Xia Fan raised his head and sniffed. That frenzied beast was drawing closer and closer. Xia Fan couldn¡¯t tell what species it was, but it was powerful. Xia Fan¡¯s ability couldn¡¯t enter its mind at all.
¡°Three idols about to start some drama, along with one mysterious beast. Isn¡¯t this the Beauty, the Beau, and the Beast? Mmm, I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± Xia Fan nodded as he rubbed his hands wickedly.
...
Chapter 1576 - 1576 Level Five Alarm blaring through the City!
1576 Level Five rm ring through the City!
Dongfang He sat on the broad back of his golden Lion Vulture, saying in a domineering tone, ¡°All of you are already here.¡± He was clearly thest to arrive, but for some reason, he felt like the male lead in a movie, thest but not least to get there.
Jia Yuntian said nothing. Dongfang He¡¯s kingly aura was unable to even stir a ripple on his eternally cold face. His hostile eyes were clearly saying, ¡®Come if you want, or leave. It has nothing to do with me.¡¯
Nikai had her wealthy daughter aura, smiling warmly as she said, ¡°I normally don¡¯t care when the two of you argue, but today is different. I feel like a big guy ising. We should work together to handle the problem before us first.
¡°Based on our three attributes, the most appropriate strategy is for Dongfang He to take the lead, me to support, and Yuntian to fall back and wait for the moment to deliver the lethal strike.¡±
!!
¡°It makes sense. I agree.¡± Dongfang He narrowed his eyes, his resolve shining within them.
Nikai stared at Dongfang He. ¡°If Yuntian is the one making the lethal strike, you won¡¯t have a chance to show off. Will you not care when the City Lords give Yuntian the credit for making the kill?¡±
Dongfang He shook his head. ¡°Little Nicky, you¡¯re looking down on me too much. A true expert never relies on certificates of merit and the like, nor do they need records of delivering killing blows to prove themselves. That is because the strong don¡¯t need anything to prove themselves.¡±
¡°Those are nice words,¡± Nikai chuckled.
Jia Yuntian raised his dead-fish eyes and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to talk up your righteousness. Most of the time, the more you talk about something, the more you care about it. That guy is almost here. I¡¯ll stay behind you.¡±
Xia Fan could see Dongfang He¡¯s eyes twitching. It was clear that Jia Yuntian had seen through him. The strong not needing anything to prove themselves was just something Dongfang He said tofort himself. If the strong didn¡¯t prove themselves, who would know that they were strong?
¡ª
¡°I have to say, these three truly are a little interesting.¡±
Traveling Buddha shook his head. Those three had put their personalities on full disy in that conversation. Nikai was a tactful woman who understood the ways of the world. Dongfang He was a natural king who was unwilling to fall behind others. As for Jia Yuntian, he was a de in the darkness, inconspicuous and sharp!
¡°Well, I guess things are settled. With the three talents of Subduing Demon City here, we won¡¯t have anything to do. Do any of you want potato chips? They¡¯re chicken-vored!¡± Jiang Zhibei leaned back andzily reached for his half-empty bag of potato chips.
¡
At the top of the tall tower in the center of Subduing Demon City¡
A crystal ball was shining. A pair of withered old hands held the crystal ball by the sides. The owner of those wrinkled hands was one of the thirteen City Lords, Leng Jinqiu.
Leng Jinqiu was the City Lord who rarely went out in public the least, valued for his ability of Observation. He lived in the high tower, using this crystal that few people understood how to read to assess the changes across the continent and predict whether the demons would invade or not.
In short, Leng Jinqiu was a lookout with a telescope. But this crystal ball was basically a cheat, allowing him to see much farther and with greater rity than ordinary lookouts!
¡°It can be seen that the judgment of outstanding warriors is also rather shocking. Nikai and the other two have already arrived on the route that thing will take, so they should make contact in a few minutes. The ambush site they¡¯ve chosen is pretty good.¡± Leng Jinqiu smiled as he spoke, apparently looking forward to seeing how these ascendant youths of the city would do.
¡°So the guards won¡¯t need to move out?¡±
¡°It shouldn¡¯t be necessary. The distance is rather far, so by the time the guards arrive, the battle might already be over. However, as insurance, we should have them continue to wait in reserve.¡±
¡°Understood. City Lord, what exactly is that thing?¡±
Leng Jinqiu released the crystal ball and stroked his beard. ¡°It¡¯s hard to see. It could be a passing General-ss demon beast. I couldn¡¯t see what it was through the crystal ball, so its ss must be very high.
¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry too much. After all, this is the first level of the Lower Realm. The truly formidable fellows are all on the second level. Unless a war breaks out, there is very little precedent for Demi-King or higher demon beasts to rise up to our level. After all, even if the demon race wants to start an offensive, it should start from the second level. There¡¯s no reason for them to start with us.¡±
Subduing Demon City had countless epochs of experience warring with the demon race. This experience was very urate and quite valuable. Thus, although Leng Jinqiue couldn¡¯t see what sort of demon beast this creatureing from afar was, he wasn¡¯t very worried. Jia Yuntian and the others were the most outstanding young geniuses Subduing Demon City had produced in thest few decades, so they were probably enough to deal with it.
Suddenly, the crystal ball vibrated as if some power was resonating within it, and then it cracked loudly! Fissures appeared on the surface of the ball like shattering ss, deepening until the ball shatteredpletely, turning into powder drifting in the air.
¡°Good heavens!¡±
The people in the tower were all stunned, theirplexions turning pale. Large beads of sweat gathered on their foreheads, their lips trembling as they struggled to speak.
The crystal ball was a sensory-type energy detector. The stronger the reaction, the stronger the intruder!
This crystal ball had shattered into powder, indicating that a threat of the highest order was approaching Subduing Demon City! There were only two types of threats that could do that: an approaching demon army or a Demon King-ss creature!
¡°Hurry, sound the rm!¡± Leng Jinqiu shouted, and a disciplined warrior immediately raised a steely fist and smashed a giant red button on the wall, shattering the protective ss case around it and activating the highest level of rm Subduing Demon City had.
One!
Two!
Three!
Four!
At this moment, a full fiveyers of energy shields protecting the city appeared! Each of them was like a crystalline wall,pletely sealing off the city!
All of the sirens in the city began to re loudly.
¡ª
¡°A Level Five rm! It¡¯s a Level Five rm!¡±
A warrior was in bed with a girl he had metst night while drinking, their vigorous movements on the verge of sending them to blissful paradise.
Paradise was right before them, and onest sprint would have had their souls in ecstasy.
At that moment, the rms suddenly red. The man jumped up from that soft and flexible body, his face paling as he looked out the window. He was just in time to see the fifth barrier rise up around the city, and he saw pedestrians crazily running around, husbands hugging their daughters and pulling along their lives as they headed for underground shelters.
When a Level Five rm was issued, no building in the city was safe. Over countless epochs, the city had been destroyed and rebuilt countless times. The inhabitants had been taught a painful lesson that they needed to head to the shelters a hundred and fifty meters below the surface as quickly as possible. The steel protective shells contained enough food and medical supplies to sustain the city¡¯s entire poption for several months.
¡°Head to the shelter right now!¡± the man jumped up and shouted at the beautiful woman who was pale from shock on the bed.
He grabbed hisbat uniform, but as there was no time to put on his underpants, he simply stuffed his legs into his pants while running. It looked ratherical, but there were times when one couldn¡¯t care about appearances. A Level Five rm was just such a time. The people living in this city had seen countless wars, and warriors who had seen too much blood and too many bodies knew too well the meaning of such an intense rm.
Bang!
The warrior used his shoulder to ram open his girlfriend¡¯s front door. While putting on hisbat uniform, he ran barefoot to his army base. He hade out in such a rush that he had forgotten to put on his boots, but there were many civilians and warriors like him right now, sprinting along without any shoes. Nobody cared about something as minor as him not wearing any boots!
In the sky, trained flying beasts were rising into the air, letting out ear-drum-shattering howls. Even they felt danger approaching, their eyes widening rapidly.
¡ª
¡°Although the city barrier has risen, the test is still going on¡¡± Leng Jinqiue held his head, frustrated that he hadn¡¯t realized the danger earlier.
¡°At this point, we can only hope that it¡¯s an invading army,¡± one of his subordinate warriors whispered.
If this was a demon army invasion, many low-level demons would appear. While they were great in number, they weren¡¯t necessarily lethal. The young Demon Subduers outside the city would at least have a chance to escape. After all, while they were young, there were many experts like the three talents.
But if it was a single demon setting off a Level Five rm, then the situation was extremely grave. If it was a demon beast, then it was at least a Demi-King demon beast. If it was a demon warrior, it was at least a Demi-King warrior!
...
The gap between experts and rookies couldn¡¯t be filled by numbers. True experts could easily take the head of a general from amid an army of tens of thousands as if no one else was around. That sort of threat meant death for anyone who ran into it!
¡
Dongfang He stood in the valley with folded arms, inwardly frustrated.
He was the sort of warrior who could sweep through an army of thousands. When he unleashed his Fiery Wrath Army, he could turn rocks and stone into an army of me. With that ability, he would even dare to besiege the main city of the demons!
But while his Fiery Wrath Army was an impressive ability, it was one used for controlling the battlefield. It was called the foundation of battle, very powerful, butcking in sharpness.
Jia Yuntian¡¯s ability waspletely different. His Sword of Heaven was perfect for dealing the killing blow. If Jia Yuntian encountered arge group of enemies, he would be very sad, for the Sword of Heaven used tons of energy and could only kill one enemy at a time. Any more meant that he could only watch from the sidelines. He was the sort that could only specialize in dealing the final blow.
Thus, in these circumstances, it was Dongfang He who needed to restrain the monster, after which Jia Yuntian would deal the fatal blow. In any case, Dongfang He would be doing the hard work while Jia Yuntian plucked the fruit.
As for Nikai, her ability was the Divine Wings of Color, a protective ability mixed with illusions. If these Divine Wings empowered Dongfang He, they would protect him, and when unleashed, would create countless illusory wings in the sky to fool an enemy.
¡ª
Logically speaking, holding the ground and delivering the killing blow was a ssic tactical move. With Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, it was always Traveling Buddha drawing fire while Xia Fan worked around and made the killing blow. They worked together pretty well, and had achieved many things in the years they had been partners.
The problem was that Jia Yuntian and Dongfang He were romantic rivals, so their teamwork was much worse. They might even backstab each other at a key moment!
...
¡°You¡¯re looking down on Dongfang He too much.¡± Jiang Zhibei seemed to admire the young master of the Dongfang n a lot, speaking scornfully, ¡°Even if they¡¯re fighting over Nikai, they¡¯ll fight fairly. Stabbing each other in the back isn¡¯t how a man with grand ambitions does things. Rx, these two love rivals won¡¯t have any problem working together. The honor of the Demon yers won¡¯t let them do something so shameful, or else they won¡¯t have the face to see anyone.¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s face turned red. By bringing up this question, he had made himself look petty. Perhaps it was because he had no experience with love and had read too many novels with Schr Grandpa. He always felt like love was a rampaging beast, battering down the rationality of warriors and leaving only sickeningly sweet stories that made one angry.
But in reality, those who valued love more than honor probably wouldn¡¯t amount to anything great. The vast majority of experts were more rational, and would rarely lose their heads like those romances in the books.
¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Le Jiajia shouted suddenly. For some reason, she was very tense today, her left eyelid twitching. Compared to theposure of Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan, she looked like a frightened bird.
¡°Oh, what arge ck cloud, like a giant tcake,¡± Traveling Buddha casuallymented as he gazed at the other end of the valley. He had always been like this, never knowing what it meant to be nervous. The more dangerous the situation, the more he liked to make casualments.
The ck fog swept over the world with a mountain-toppling momentum. It thundered through the valley, while the three elites of Subduing Demon City waited solemnly.
Nikai had already summoned her Divine Wings, a giant pair of pink wings that rose slowly into the air. Dongfang He continued to keep his arms folded, but his hands were flexing to warm-up. As for Jia Yuntian, he hid his hands behind his back and formed a sign with them.
Xia Fan felt the orderly formation of the three talents was enough to give them all full points. They had fully lived up to their reputation as experts who had gone through elite training.
Boom!
Suddenly, a mighty explosion came from the churning ck fog, a power erupting from it like a volcano. In a sh, the ck fog was blown into the air, where it blotted out the sky.
The fierce beast finally revealed itself. The ck fog was merely its disguise, which had prevented the crystal ball from realizing how dangerous it was. A monster that could disguise itself had to be extremely cunning, only waiting until thest moment to reveal its true form.
¡°I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s this odor!¡±
Before the ck fog had even scattered, Xia Fan¡¯s sharp nose had already picked up an extremely dangerous odor. He instantly paled, his heart leaping to his throat.
Chapter 1578 - 1578 An Abnormal State
1578 An Abnormal State
¡°It¡¯s the Second Son of the me Soul!¡± Leng Jinqiu cried out, his entire body trembling as he instantly seemed to age decades.
The Second Son of the me Soul was undoubtedly a terrifying existence. After all, this demon dragon¡¯s father was the mount of a Demon King, a close aide to Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley! As for the Second Son himself, he had reached the Demi-King level!
When Calvinson heard the news, he immediately headed to the tower to meet with Leng Jinqiu. This famous historian of Subduing Demon City was very confused at the sudden appearance of the Second Son of the me Soul.
¡°Why?¡± Calvinson stroked his beard. ¡°We know that the demons have entered another period of activity, which is why we requested the aid of the Skywings from the Middle Realm. But why did the Second Son, a highly intelligent demon dragon, suddenlye to Subduing Demon City?
¡°Although Subduing Demon City has fallen to demons multiple times, that is only because ofrge armies that used absolute strength to break the walls. The Second Son alone is incapable of entering the city. What reason has caused him to lose his rationality and decide to attack us?¡±
Leng Jinqiu gathered his thoughts and then said, ¡°I feel like the Second Son isn¡¯t attacking the city.¡±
¡°Why do you say that?¡±
Leng Jinqiu found a pencil and swiftly drew the dragon¡¯s route on the map. He then said, ¡°Look at the path the Second Son of the me Soul took. He emerged from the Northern Sea and then passed through the Wild Marsh and Boundless Forest to finally arrive at Pure Spirit Valley.¡±
¡°He made a detour?¡± Calvinson eximed as he looked at the map.
¡°Yes, if the Second Son was aiming at Subduing Demon City, then he truly has made a big detour, but I sense that he isn¡¯t aiming for the city. Instead, he was heading for Pure Spirit Valley from the start. There seems to be something drawing him there.¡±
¡°But¡¡± Calvinson was confused. ¡°What could there be in Pure Spirit Valley?¡±
Leng Jinqiu narrowed his eyes. ¡°Our young are there. The seasonal hunting test is being held near Pure Spirit Valley.¡±
¡°The Second Son of the me Soul is targeting our young warriors? But this doesn¡¯t make sense. That¡¯s just a bunch of youngsters. What¡¯s the value in attacking them? No matter how outstanding Dongfang He and the others are, perhaps even enough to pose a threat to the demons in the future such that they needed to be removed, that doesn¡¯t require the Second Son, no? The demons would never do something so impulsive.¡±
Leng Jinqiu shrugged helplessly.
¡°I don¡¯t know that. In any case, this is no simple sneak attack. It¡¯s like something has provoked the Second Son, making this demon dragon go crazy ande all the way from the North Sea to Pure Spirit Valley, going right for the youths from Subduing Demon City.¡±
¡°Haaa¡¡± Calvinson sighed heavily. ¡°Alright. Though I¡¯ve researched demon history all my life, my understanding of them is still extremely limited. Our only hope now is that the Second Son won¡¯t cost us the city¡¯s finest batch of young warriors.¡±
Leng Jinqiu slightly nodded. ¡°Have the reinforcements already set out?¡±
¡°They¡¯re on the way.¡±
¡°How long until they arrive?¡±
¡°Around fifteen minutes.¡±
¡°Fifteen minutes? That long?¡±
¡°There¡¯s nothing to be done. Our opponent is the Second Son of the me Soul. We have to dispatch an army that¡¯s powerful enough, or else we¡¯ll just be sending our soldiers to their deaths. We needed some time to gather a force that could kill the Second Son.¡±
¡°Fine¡¡± Leng Jinqiu sat down worriedly. ¡°I hope that our young can be lucky.¡±
¡
The Blood Sword of Heaven chopped down with an unfathomable might, rippling with terrifying pulses of energy as it impacted the Second Son¡¯s giant head.
Blood exploded, a light like that of an erupting volcano lighting up the entire canyon.
Traveling Buddha watched with folded arms, his eyes brimming with excitement. After all, these were descendants of Demon yer ns. The three talents of Subduing Demon City had deep backgrounds, and the three moves they had unleashed in unison could shake the soul.
Xia Fan could see all of Dongfang He¡¯s group were panting for breath, their hands propped on their knees as they waited to see the final result. Unleashing powerful moves was how a tyrant fought, but if the attack failed to kill, the results would be even more tragic. Their group had already lost ny percentof their energy, and they had no strength for a second round.
¡°Awooo!~¡± The Second¡¯s roar resounded through the valley, and Dongfang He staggered back, his face growing pale white.
The demon dragon wasn¡¯t dead!
After being injured, the demon dragon was thoroughly enraged, unleashing a powerful mental pressure. Everyone present felt their heads aching and their nervous systems being torn apart by the mournful sound.
This was a dragon¡¯s roar!
To hear this sound was a mental trial in itself. Those with somewhat weaker wills would easily be felled by the dragon roar, either going crazy or simply having their brains explode.
¡°Aaaaagggh!!!¡± Everyone screamed, whether it was the three talents or Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. Xia Fan was particrly affected, his vision goingpletely dark, as if he had gone blind. It seemed like the Second Son¡¯s dragon roar had triggered some chain reaction in his body.
Rumble!
One secondter, in an inconceivable development, the Second Son of the me Soul opened his wings, the giant ck silhouettes blotting out the sky.
ck blood flowed down his shoulder. Jia Yuntian¡¯s Blood Sword of Heaven hadn¡¯t managed to strike true, instead stabbing the Second Son in the shoulder. While the gruesome wound was nearly eight meters long, it was not fatal.
White smoke was rising from the wound with a burning crackle as the wound rapidly healed. Demon dragons had powerful vitality, and Demi-King demon dragons could only be killed if one destroyed the head or the heart!
The three talents had already given up resistance, closing their eyes and awaiting judgment.
For the Demon yer ns, killing a Demon King was actually something aplished purely by luck. Being killed by a Demon King was the fate of most people who tried. The ancestral altar of the Dongfang n had the statue of that hero who had killed a Demon King, but next to that statue were tens of thousands of others who had been killed by demons. As the saying went, a general¡¯s sess was built on a mountain of bones! Each sessful Demon yer stood on the bodies of countless others who had failed!
Although he considered himself a fearless warrior, when the ck wind of the demon dragon assailed him, Dongfang He couldn¡¯t help but shiver. He clenched his teeth, his face twisting. At that moment, the fear of death emptied his mind.
Next was being stabbed through by a demon dragon¡¯s ws, no?
Or perhaps obliterated by his dragon breath¡
Dongfang He, Nikai, and Jia Yuntian were all thinking the same things.
But that fetid ck wind howled over them. They could sense that enormous being passing over them and heading off elsewhere.
What is going on?
Dongfang He was the first to open his eyes. He hastily turned his head just in time to see the tail of the Second Son. As for the demon dragon¡¯s sharp ck head, it had turned toward the mountain behind them. Midway up the mountain, several people were standing there¡
¡°Screw this!¡± Traveling Buddha cursed. Usuallyzy and nonchnt, when he realized the demon dragon was heading his way, he became like a cannonball, his body zing with the golden light, pulsing with the power of the Divine Buddha!
The Battle Buddha came forth, shrouded in golden light!
This was the difference between real warriors and ordinary warriors. Traveling Buddha had shown no hesitation. When he noticed danger, he immediately threw himself into battle with the demon dragon.
Jiang Zhibei had potato chips in his mouth, Du Yu had dropped his sses in fright, and Le Jiajia had paled.
¡°I¡¯ll hold it off!¡± Traveling Buddha shouted to his partner. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you!¡±
Traveling Buddha was very confident. When he was together with Xia Fan, so long as he could hold down the enemy, the smart Xia Fan would always find a way to kill the enemy. This had been proven time and time again.
But today, Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t hear Xia Fan¡¯s reply. At this moment, Xia Fan should have trembled, his eyes exploding with a sharp light as he yelled ¡°Okay!¡± or ¡°Just watch me!¡±
...
Traveling Buddha would always feel relieved when he heard Xia Fan¡¯s answer. To be friends in thick and thin meant entrusting a friend with one¡¯s life. Unless Xia Fan died, his promises would always hold true.
What was wrong with him today?
Why wasn¡¯t Xia Fan saying anything?
Was he scared?
Impossible! Xia Fan wasn¡¯t scared that easily. The guy didn¡¯t even know what fear meant¡
Traveling Buddha turned in confusion, and then his eyes flew open.
He had never seen Xia Fan in such a state before. It was like he was paralyzed, his body motionless and his eyes wide open, devoid of light and life, like two ck whirlpools!
Chapter 1579 - 1579 It seems Something Strange has Appeared
1579 It seems Something Strange has Appeared
Xia Fan had heard of a terrifying special ability called Time Control. A person with this ability could control time as they pleased, making it stop or elerate, even reverse it.
Time Control was considered a top-ss Law Power,parable to Light, Darkness, and Speed, another power that could break the bnce of all things. At this time, Xia Fan felt like he was being controlled by a Time Controller.
Xia Fan saw Traveling Buddha charging at the demonic dragon, Le Jiajia¡¯s pale face, the relieved looks on the faces of the three talents of Subduing Demon City, but none of them were moving. It was like someone had pressed the pause button, bringing everything to a halt.
A tall and slim figure suddenly appeared in Xia Fan¡¯s vision, its back toward him. With the world frozen, only Xia Fan and that dark figure could still move and speak.
¡°We meet again,¡± the dark figure said sternly. His entire body was ethereal, and he had his back toward Xia Fan, so it was not possible to make out his face.
¡°Again? Can you not pretend like we knew each other very well?¡± Xia Fan muttered.
The dark figure chuckled. ¡°Of course again. It was just that you were very young back then, so you couldn¡¯t have remembered.¡±
¡°When was that?¡±
¡°When you were just about a month old.¡±
Bzzz~
Xia Fan suddenly felt dizzy. His life had been full of misfortune, being stranded in an aliennd from his childhood. The reason for that was because he had suddenly gone missing when he was only one month old, a mysterious power taking the infant Xia Fan to the Great Chiliocosm and throwing him into the Holy Tomb in the Ashen Moon Universe, where the Disasters had raised him.
And the person in front of him was saying that he had met him when he was only a month old?
¡°What? You don¡¯t believe me?¡± the dark figure said. ¡°You have to understand that the month-old you couldn¡¯t possibly have crossed through the Cosmic Gate and traveled the Great Chiliocosm by yourself. You had to have someone take you.¡±
¡°That person was you?¡±
¡°It was me.¡±
¡°Why did you do that? Do you find it amusing to split me from my family when I was just a baby?¡±
¡°There¡¯s nothing amusing about it. You going missing was a momentous event that altered the structure of the multiverse. To look for you, the Skywings passed through the Cosmic Gate, and your father is a very smart man. He firmly believed that there was some sort of inauspicious omen lurking behind the Cosmic Gate. That was why, in the early period of his leadership, he had refused to take that step.¡±
Xia Fan considered this and said, ¡°You¡¯re saying that you took me away to lure the Skywings through the Cosmic Gate?¡±
The dark figure neither confirmed nor denied this, sternly continuing, ¡°Look. The wheel of fate is constantly turning. Even without me, the Skywings would eventually have been unable to withstand their curiosity and entered the Great Chiliocosm. All I did was make everything happen earlier than scheduled.
¡°If you understand destiny, you understand that nothing urs without a reason. The Skywings are powerful because they possess a unique Bloodline. Whether it was one hundred years or ten thousand years, they would eventuallye back here and engage in their destined battle.¡±
Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°You should know that my father doesn¡¯t believe in fate.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not fate, but destiny. In your bodies runs the blood of the King of Resolve and Speed! This is an existence carved into your gic code, and it can never be wiped away.
¡°It¡¯s been twenty years. You didn¡¯t suddenly appear in front of me to talk about superstitious things like destiny, did you?¡± Xia Fan challenged him.
The dark figure looked up at the sky and sighed. ¡°Whether you ept it or not, the wheel of destiny has already begun to turn. Your father and your family have thrown themselves into this current of no return. The more they understand about the Lower Realm, the more they understand their own destiny.
¡°To tell the truth, I¡¯m not worried about your father, but you are different. You are an ident of the Skywings, the first in history with the Skywing bloodline to not have a natural seventh brain region. I trust that your n will be as powerful as the records make them out to be, but you need to take a roadpletely different from the rest of your n.¡±
Was he being looked down on¡
Xia Fan felt rather embarrassed. Was there any need to so openly state that his talents were rather weak? Moreover, even if Xia Fan could fly freely through the gxy, he had his own advantages, like his sharp nose and the Law of Gold!¡
Xia Fan suddenly realized something and frowned. ¡°If we go ording to your logic, when you took me away, it was because I didn¡¯t have a seventh brain region, and Blind Grandpa, who had the Law of Gold, was capable of forcing open the seventh brain region. Is that why you left me in his tomb?¡±
¡°Exactly. While the Law of Gold isn¡¯t abatw, it is particrly effective when ites to other matters. Someone else wouldn¡¯t have been able to reverse the fate of a natural-born good-for-nothing like you.¡±
Xia Fan nodded and continued, ¡°That¡¯s why I was taken away when I was only one month old, because I really couldn¡¯t harm a soul. No matter how vignt Blind Grandpa was, he wouldn¡¯t be on his guard against a kid who couldn¡¯t even talk.
¡°As the years went by and I slowly grew up, I developed a strong rtionship with Blind Grandpa and the other Disasters. At that time, danger suddenly descended. Out of consideration for our rtionship, Blind Grandpa sent me away and helped me open my seventh brain region. Was that all in your n?
¡°If it was, then I have to say that you are truly quite the plotter. Other people calcte five steps ahead, but you were looking twenty years into the future!¡±
¡°Thank you for thepliment,¡± the dark figure said shamelessly. ¡°But I must correct you on one point. The Disasters were not in my n. They were aplete surprise. I didn¡¯t n for that pack of thieves to try and rob the Gold n¡¯s tomb, and I also didn¡¯t think that Blind Grandpa wouldn¡¯t kill them.
¡°In my original n, the blind man and his Law of Gold were enough. I didn¡¯t n on you learning that random mishmash of skills. Poisons, beast taming, even engineering and literature appreciation! You could consider it a misstep that caused all these strange things to be mixed up into your destiny.¡±
¡°But I think it was pretty good. Appreciation of literature can improve one¡¯s basic essence,¡± Xia Fan mumbled.
The dark figure shrugged. ¡°A strange and messed-up thing has worked its way in. I was nning to very solemnly tell you the truth, but now we¡¯re talking about literature? How did all this start?¡±
¡°You were the one who brought it up.¡±
¡°Fine¡¡± The dark figure clicked his tongue. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to business. The process was like this. If I didn¡¯t take you away, the Skywings wouldn¡¯t enter the Great Chiliocosm, and if the Skywings didn¡¯t enter the Great Chiliocosm, the Demon Subduers of the Lower Realm wouldn¡¯t have discovered the Skywings and invited them to the Lower Realm to fight against the demons.
¡°All of these things have a cause and an effect. As for me, I am the person that gave you and the Skywings¡¯ wheels of fate a push. If I say all this, you should understand my importance now, right?¡±
¡°Even if I do understand, what does it matter?¡± Xia Fan countered. ¡°With your help, the Skywings will go to war against the demons, and then, after a difficult war with many twists and turns, they ovee the demons, upholding justice and bringing peace and happiness to the world?¡±
¡°Please, can¡¯t you get a more interesting script? Even a third-rate novelist coulde up with this story.¡±
The dark figure fell silent, and then he spoke in a strange and confident tone. ¡°Trust me, reality will never be like a script. Destiny decided everything long ago. Starting from a certain day in the future, the Skywings and I will stand together, looking over the world as lords.¡±
Chapter 1580 - 1580 Cid Raleigh
1580 Cid Raleigh
Bwahahahaha!
Xia Fan couldn¡¯t help butugh at the dark figure¡¯s words. ¡°I say, do you actually understand the Skywings? My n has no interest in being kings or lords. They love freedom, and when they¡¯re not fighting, they¡¯re busy with their own matters. Politics, power, and all those other useless things are something they¡¯ve never cared about.
¡°Do you know about our Grand Ancestor, Xia Gucheng? His venerable self is a wood artisan, and a pretty good one. From what I hear, the furniture he makes is exquisite and always fetches huge prices at auction.
¡°You say you¡¯re going to look over the world as lords with these people? You would have themughing so hard their teeth would fall out!¡±
As Xia Fan said all that, he actually felt a little helpless. That was because he had only heard about his father, Xia Gucheng, and Xia Laoshi from Xia Geng and Xia Yu. He himself had never met those legendary figures. He could only imagine what sort of attitude these entric people held toward life!
The dark figure chuckled. ¡°I know everything that you¡¯ve said, but destiny is powerful because it cannot be reversed. You were all born with the bloodline of Demon King Monsoon, who actually should have died in thest demon civil war. But he survived, left the Lower Realm, and went to an unknown universe, where he lived on and reproduced.
¡°You are the seeds sowed by Demon King Monsoon. When the seeds sprout, they are like ordinary weeds, appearing no different from other nts, but as time passes, the weeds will grow into mighty trees. When you look again, you will discover that the mighty tree of the Skywings is identical to that of their ancestor, the King of Resolve and Speed!
¡°Alright, enough. I didn¡¯te to find you today to discuss philosophy. Although I can control time, I can¡¯t keep time frozen forever. Right now, you need to make a choice of whether you want to merge with me or not.¡±
Xia Fan shivered in revulsion. ¡°No interest, no interest at all. If the goddess Nikai wanted to merge with me, I might have considered it, but you? Stand a little farther away. I¡¯m a straight male, and my sexual preferences are very normal.¡±
It seemed like some other strange things had gotten in¡
The dark figure awkwardly put a hand on his head, not expecting so many random things to be in Xia Fan¡¯s head. Ever since Xia Fan had returned to the Skywings, something in his personality seemed to have been unleashed, and he had be livelier. That was probably the effect of his rtives¡¯ love for freedom and a life without restrictions. Back in Ashen Moon, Xia Fan¡¯s personality had been suppressed by a heavy burden.
¡°It¡¯s not what you think,¡± the dark figure said in frustration. ¡°What I mean by merging bodies is that I will temporarily loan you my power. When the battle ends, I will take it back.¡±
¡°You think Traveling Buddha and I are no match for the demonic dragon?¡± Xia Fan asked.
¡°That¡¯s the Second Son of the me Soul. Killing it requires the power of a Demon yer. Even if you can severely damage his physical body, you can¡¯t exterminate his soul. Demon yers are so-called because they eternally annihte both the body and soul. You and Traveling Buddha might have infinite potential, but your present selves can¡¯t wipe away souls yet.
¡°And if you can¡¯t wipe away the soul of the Second Son, he will be reborn in the mes again and again, bing a nightmare that will haunt you until you die.¡±
Xia Fan fell silent. His teacher Turan had exined to him once that the demons had broken through the barrier of the Law of Life, gaining eternal lives. The problem of destroying eternal beings was the biggest problem the Demon Subduer Army had faced since ancient times.
¡°Why do you want to help me?¡± Xia Fan asked.
The dark figure heaved a sigh. ¡°Because it would be a great pity if you were to die. As I just said, you are essentially different from the rest of your n. For countless epochs, the Skywings have always inherited the Bloodline of Speed, flying across the gxy.
¡°But you are the first gic aberration in Skywing history. To be blunt, even if I wanted to merge with your father¡¯s body, I wouldn¡¯t be able to do so. That is because his Bloodline power is too strong. If I attach to your father, I¡¯ll be annihted by his powerful genes.
¡°But I¡¯m weaker, so I¡¯m easier to bully,¡± Xia Fan grumbled.
¡°If that¡¯s how you want to put it, I can¡¯t do anything about it. But I prefer to frame it as you being more well-rounded. Your family possesses peerless speed, and has used that speed to dominate the Great Chiliocosm. But you will clearly never be able to reach light speed. However, you can use your ability to dabble in many aspects to open up your own world.¡±
Xia Fan said sternly, ¡°Everything has a price. What is the price for you lending me your power?¡±
¡°One day in the future, I will need you to do something for me, and you cannot refuse,¡± the dark figure said solemnly.
Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m stupid? If you had me kill my family, I wouldn¡¯t be able to refuse, right? Impossible. I can¡¯t ept that condition!¡±
¡°What I will ask you to do in the future has nothing to do with your family or your friends. I can guarantee that. I can also guarantee that it will be nothing that goes against your character or principles. But it could put your life in danger. For example, I might have you go and kill some extremely terrifying person, and you might not be confident in beating him!¡±
Xia Fan sighed. ¡°So you¡¯re saying that the more I get, the more I have to pay. If you help me, I might have to use my life to fight for your sake in the future.¡±
¡°Precisely!¡±
¡°Can I think about it a little?¡±
¡°You can, but I¡¯m afraid that you don¡¯t have much time.¡±
¡°Why do you say that?¡±
¡°The reason is simple. The Second Son of the me Soul is after you. Look at how he moved past the three talents of Subduing Demon City and aimed straight for you. It definitely isn¡¯t because of Traveling Buddha, nor could it be because of Le Jiajia or Jiang Zhibei, right? The real reason is you. The ability you¡¯ve Awakened can threaten the demons. The Second Son has decided to eliminate you no matter the cost. You are in grave peril!¡±
¡°The battle hasn¡¯t started. Traveling Buddha and I aren¡¯t guaranteed to lose.¡± Xia Fan raised his head, resolve appearing on his face. The golden pair had never once lost, and Xia Fan felt like they wouldn¡¯t lose today, either!
The dark figure shrugged. ¡°You can try. The reinforcements from Subduing Demon City will arrive in fifteen minutes. If you can¡¯tst that long, you can consider summoning me for help. This deal is very fair. If you¡¯re not willing to deal, I won¡¯t force you.¡±
As the voice faded into the distance, Xia Fan saw that time was beginning to flow again. Traveling Buddha was lunging at the demon dragon, and the demon dragon was slowly opening his mouth.
¡°Wait. How am I supposed to summon you?!¡± Xia Fan shouted without thinking.
¡°Call my name in your mind: Cid Raleigh!¡±
Cid Raleigh¡
The voice disappeared, and the world in front of Xia Fan suddenly returned to normal. Nobody knew that Xia Fan had had a destined encounter in that brief period of time. That fellow who had kidnapped him twenty years ago and taken him into the Great Chiliocosm, making him into a wandering orphan, had reappeared and offered Xia Fan a new contract!
Now, with the contract in hand, all Xia Fan needed to do was nod.
What was he doing? This was no time to be lost in thought!
Xia Fan shook his head vigorously. At this moment, Traveling Buddha had leapt forward while glowing with golden Light, lunging at the savage demon dragon. All Xia Fan could do was carry out his duty as a brother and work together with Traveling Buddha to stop the Second Son of the me Soul.
¡°Traveling Buddha!¡± Xia Fan shouted.
¡°I¡¯m here!¡±
¡°Let¡¯s kill him together!¡±
¡°Understood!¡±
The me of conviction was a fire that could never be suppressed. Traveling Buddha threw his head back and howled. Although Xia Fan was acting a little unusual today, he was still the brother he trusted the most. When brothers were united, they were sharp enough to break steel!
Following Traveling Buddha, Xia Fan also burst forward.
But at that moment, a pair of slender hands grabbed his arm.
Looking back, he saw Le Jiajia¡¯s worried face. Clenching onto Xia Fan¡¯s right hand, she said in a trembling voice, ¡°You need to be careful!¡±
¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are you like this?¡± Xia Fan suddenly felt a wave of emotion. Le Jiajia was like a girl sending off her boyfriend to the battlefield, inwardly reluctant while putting up a strong face.
Having a beautiful maiden caring about him was something a man could be proud of, but Xia Fan felt confused instead. Was his rtionship with Le Jiajia that good? Ever since the war of words they¡¯d had, their rtionship had always been very strained. Could it be that Le Jiajia was truly interested in him but had been too embarrassed to say it, and now that he was heading off to the battlefield, her love had suddenly bloomed?
Rumble!
There was no time for these random thoughts. A golden beam of light shot forward like a heaven-piercing sword, pulsing with terrifying energy. It was Traveling Buddha¡¯s full-power strike.
¡°Such power!¡±
...
¡°It¡¯sparable to Jia Yuntian¡¯s Sword of Heaven!¡±
Everyone cried out in surprise. They had never imagined that Traveling Buddha¡¯s chubby body could unleash such terrifying power. The Sword of Heaven was a Demon yer¡¯s ultimate move, but when Traveling Buddha drove his arms forward and shed with golden Light, he could create a powerparable to a Demon yer!
Traveling Buddha had the Vajra Symbol on his arm. So besides the Invincible Vajra Body, he also had long-range attacks?
This was too scary! The legendary Vajra was a master of closebat, the kind that got up close to the enemy to fight. This way of sending out golden Light was just too shocking! It sted through the demon dragon¡¯s head, instantly punching a big and bloody hole through his brain!
The ck behemoth suddenly stopped. The Second Son of the me Soul was presumably also confused. A golden little man had suddenly jumped down the mountain and waved his arms, and now his head had a hole in it? What was going on?
But the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light still had a weakness. The moment Traveling Buddha fired off the protective golden light, the Light safeguarding him would disappear. For the next few seconds, he would be defenseless. Of course, Traveling Buddha could choose to send out only a small part of the golden light, both attacking and defending, but that would reduce the effects of the attack.
Thus, Traveling Buddha had chosen to make a full-power long-distance attack, temporarily abandoning his defense. It meant that using this move a second time would no longer be very good. The Second Son was a smart creature, so once Traveling Buddha gave up his defense again for a long-ranged attack, the Second Son would use the chance to swipe at Traveling Buddha with a w. After all, he would have used almost all of his protective golden Light.
¡°Awooo!~¡± the Second Son of the me Soul howled furiously, and the canyon began to crumble, the earth quaking and debris flying.
The monster still wasn¡¯t dead. Conversely, he was utterly enraged now, his eyes almost spitting me!
Chapter 1581 - 1581 Double Strike, Backboard Version!
1581 Double Strike, Backboard Version!
¡°What¡¯s going on!? Traveling Buddha had clearly punched a hole through the Second Son of the me Soul¡¯s head! Why is that guy still alive?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. Logically, with that sort of severe wound, even if it can¡¯t annihte the demon dragon, it should at least make his battle power drastically fall, forcing him to retreat from the battlefield!¡±
¡°It¡¯s like the Second Son wasn¡¯t injured! The ck energy surrounding him is continuing to increase! Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha are in big trouble!¡±
The battle in the valley was being transmitted back to Subduing Demon City through a surveince crystal, where it set off an uproar.
The Second Son of the me Soul was disying abat power far above his level. When Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light shot had urately punched a hole through the demon dragon¡¯s head, the city lords and teachers instantly cheered, feeling like the Second Son would have to run. After all, the brain being damaged was a grave wound, like a warrior losing two arms. How was a warrior supposed to fight after that? Running was clearly the wiser choice.
But the Second Son had let out a frenzied roar, and the ck energy around him had swelled as if he hadn¡¯t been injured, his demon power instantly soaring to astonishing levels as he lunged at Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan. The bizarre behavior shocked everyone present.
¡°A ck demon descends to destroy the world,¡± Calvinson groaned in pain, and then he said in a raspy voice, ¡°I know what¡¯s going on. ording to the records of the Three Realms, many epochs ago, in the demon civil war, the rebel faction led by the King of Demon Kings, Harikane, was able to ovee the traditional faction led by the King of Resolve and Speed, Monsoon, by relying on this power.
¡°Through some secret art, Great Demon King Harikane was able to push his dark energy to a crazy level, and the thirteen Demon Kings, together with their mounts and servants, unleashed an unstoppable attack against the fifty Demons of the Pce led by Monsoon.
¡°At the time, Monsoon¡¯s traditional faction had the absolute advantage, fifty Demon Kings versus thirteen! But the result of the battle was that Harikane and hisrades won a major victory. Forty-seven Demon Kings were killed, and the three Great Pce Demon Kings Monsoon, ck Feather, and Hellguard were sent into the primordial chaos by Harikane, lost in the Sea of Chaos linked to the Three Realms.¡±
Everyone was bbergasted by the historian Calvinson¡¯s words. The dark demon energy Harikane had used to ovee the pce faction had reappeared!?
Leng Jinqiu felt his heart madly beating, his entire body shuddering. ¡°Why does it have to be now? Didn¡¯t the rumors say that while Harikane managed to defeat Monsoon and Hellguard, he also paid a bitter price that made him forever unable to use the dark demon energy again?¡±
Calvinson shook his head. ¡°The rumor was only a theory. Perhaps Harikane really was severely wounded, causing him to lose the power to activate the dark demon energy. But that loss might not be forever. After countless epochs of rest, perhaps Harikane has recovered and once more grasped that terrifying power!
¡°No matter what, we have to ept reality. Even the Second Son of the me Soul can¡¯t possibly erupt with demon energy with a hole through his head. This is like a human without a head feasting on meat! It doesn¡¯t make any sense!
¡°The exnation for this phenomenon is that the dark demon energy has reappeared. Back then, the thirteen Demon Kings were like supreme gods, sweeping through the base of the traditional faction and facing down enemies ten times their number. It was the same as the abnormality we¡¯re seeing with the Second Son today.¡±
¡°Aaaaagggh!!!¡± Leng Jinqiu cried out, his hairs standing up. ¡°How have our people not arrived!? How can these youths possibly stand up against the Second Son of the me Soul!?¡±
The room fell silent. The only people around the valley were probationary Demon Subduers, for this was supposed to be a test for the youths. Those youths clearly couldn¡¯t stop the Second Son. A massacre was probably about tomence!
¡
Plush!
Traveling Buddha threw up blood. As he propped himself with his hand, his chubby face turned pale.
A few seconds ago, Traveling Buddha had shed with the Second Son of the me Soul. In that sh of pure strength, the gold-d Traveling Buddha had charged up, trying to stop the Second Son¡¯s attack. ck and gold mes rammed into each other like an asteroid mming onto a.
The shock of the impact had sent Traveling Buddha flying several hundred meters. Just when he was about to fall to the ground, Xia Fan had charged out and caught him with all his strength. As for the Second Son, he had only retreated half a step, disying a strength far greater than Traveling Buddha¡¯s!
It seemed like Traveling Buddha had lost, as he was even throwing up blood. This was the first time Xia Fan had seen Traveling Buddha¡¯s Golden Light Buddha Armor fail to protect him, proof of how terrifyingly powerful the Second Son was.
¡°Are you okay?¡± Xia Fan anxiously asked.
¡°I won¡¯t die! This guy is pretty tough. Let¡¯s use that.¡±
¡°Alright, we¡¯ll use that!¡±
¡°Same as always. I¡¯ll take the front!¡± Traveling Buddha howled, his eyes rapidly filling with blood. As the three elites of Subduing Demon City watched, he charged into the fray again, not even having time to wipe the blood off his lips.
Does he not want to live? Run!, Nikai shouted silently. She couldn¡¯t understand Traveling Buddha¡¯s behavior. He was still throwing up blood, so why was he charging in again?
She had just seen Xia Fan disy a divine Speed, definitely exceeding ten thousand meters per second. Everyone knew that Speed was the craziest of abilities. If they were going to attack again, Xia Fan should have led the charge, at least! Why was it Traveling Buddha again? What were the two of them thinking? Even if Traveling Buddha was a Vajra, there was no reason to keep putting him out there, right? Xia Fan was so fast, he could go in a few times!
s, they still didn¡¯t understand the partnership of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. They had battled through thick and thin, and when it was for the sake of the ultimate goal, they would give up their lives if they needed to. Sometimes, the person risking their life was Traveling Buddha, and sometimes it was Xia Fan. It wasn¡¯t important who was going in front. What was important was that the two of them did everything in their power, not caring about their own welfare, for the sake of ultimate victory!
¡°Awooo!¡± the demon dragon roared. The hole in his head and that steely punch just now had bothe from Traveling Buddha. The Second Son was extremely frustrated, and he opened his massive ck ming maw and tried to bite Traveling Buddha.
¡°Dodge!¡± Dongfang He cried out in rm. He felt like Traveling Buddha was a bull. He dared to run straight into the maw of the Second Son of the me Soul?
Whoosh!
In a sh, a drab streak of light, like a sharp arrow, suddenly appeared on Traveling Buddha¡¯s body. At that moment, a slim figure stepped onto Traveling Buddha¡¯s broadback and jumped.
Double Strike Backboard Version!
Traveling Buddha had be Xia Fan¡¯s springboard. Kicking off his brother¡¯s back, Xia Fan gripped two sharp daggers and soared upward even higher than the demon dragon¡¯s head, his arms spread like a bird.
He was too fast, his speed surpassing ten thousand meters per second!
The angle open to Xia Fan because he had kicked off Traveling Buddha¡¯s back was far too cunning and difficult to defend against!
ck!
As everyone gasped, Xia Fan dropped from the sky like a bolt of lightning, his sharp daggers plunging into the dragon¡¯s head like two antennas. Was it about to turn into a radio tower?
¡°What happened? I¡¯ve been stabbed?¡± The Second Son was dizzy. He had no idea where Xia Fan hade from. This despicable human had struck his head as if by magic, even stabbing him in the skull!
One secondter, there was a sh of blue light.
Two bolts of lightning that sought to cleave apart the world descended from the heavens.
Those two daggers stuck in the Second Son¡¯s skull weren¡¯t ordinary knives, but the strange weapons that Xia Fan had forged from Cosmic Iron. The des could absorb the power of beast crystals and umte it, ultimately unleashing it all in a bolt of divine lightning.
The blue light arrived with a rumble. The thunder sounded with a deafening roar, the eerie blue light illuminating everyone¡¯s pale faces.
Chapter 1582 - 1582 In Desperate Straits! The Price!
1582 In Desperate Straits! The Price!
The enormous ck head was like a piece of burning charcoal now, the scales falling off after the powerful electric current traveled through the Second Son of the me Soul. His flesh was charred and smoke surging out of his eyes.
The scene was a littleical. The demon dragon stood there as dumbly as if he was rethinking his life, wondering to himself how exactly he had been burned. The two bolts of lightning had been like divine punishment, smashing into the Second Son¡¯s head and making him dizzy. His body was seared and now smelled of roast meat, like an overcooked steak.
It seemed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s springboard tactic had disyed a remarkablebat power that had heavily injured the Second Son of the me Soul. But in reality, they were now in desperate straits.
The ck fog instantly rose back up, engulfing the area within a twenty-five kilometer radius. It formed a dome, letting no one in and letting no one out. Those watching could only specte that this was some sort of self-protection system for the Second Son. When his physical body was heavily injured, this Domain would automatically appear and turn the area around him into a forbidden zone. In this forbidden zone, the Second Son wielded absolute power!
!!
When humans became ill, their bodies would develop a fever. This was their internal army of white blood cells going on the attack and battling the illness. The Second Son clearly had his own instinctive protection. When he was heavily injured, he would activate his demon Domain!.
Xia Fan swallowed hard. The Lower Realm seemed to have many skills and abilities involving Domains. Subduing Demon City had its three outeryers and five inneryers for protection, and even Queen Meryl¡¯s White City had two Domains. The experts and Demon Kings of the Lower Realm could also activate Domains to protect themselves. It seemed like Runes and Domains were required courses in the Lower Realm!
¡°Mother¡we¡¯ve got no way out now. Together! Let¡¯s kill him!¡± Traveling Buddha roared.
Whoosh!
The shining Traveling Buddha joined the phantasmal Xia Fan in their usual offensive strategy. Traveling Buddha served as the shield, drawing attacks, while Xia Fan used his high speed to deal vicious blows from unexpected angles.
This offensive had an unstoppable momentum!
Traveling Buddha was like a hard and foul stone, using his Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light to bash himself against the Second Son of the me Soul, his fists raining down punches. The Second Son could send Traveling Buddha flying with a swipe of his w, but Traveling Buddha would just get back up and charge back into the fray, his eyes red with bloodlust.
As for Xia Fan, he had disappeared the moment the battle started, bing a dark silhouette traveling at more than ten thousand meters per second, his speed simply unbelievable. He could attack the Second Son at any time from any position. His de made from Underworld River Metal stabbed into the most unexpected and painful ces, leaving behind gaping wounds that dripped with ck blood.
¡°They¡¯re trying to grind the Second Son of the me Soul to death!¡± Dongfang He shouted in shock.
Whether it was Xia Fan or Traveling Buddha, they bothcked the ability to kill with a single blow. But through their constant attacks, they were slowly wearing away at the Second Son¡¯s hitpoints, like using a dull de to carve meat. While it wasn¡¯t fatal, it was very painful and annoying.
Whoosh!
Xia Fan lightly grabbed Traveling Buddha, moving him out of the way of the Second Son¡¯s dragon breath and dropping him behind the dragon. The shining golden Traveling Buddha promptly charged at the enemy and unleashed a salvo of dazzling attacks.
When the Second Son turned his head in frustration and attacked Traveling Buddha again, Xia Fan appeared once more, grabbing Traveling Buddha by the waist and throwing him to the right side of the dragon, where Traveling Buddha immediately attacked again.
Everyone was gobsmacked. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were basically a perfect pair. Their tactic seemed simple: traveling Buddha was the hammer, and Xia Fan was using his speed to throw that hammer to wherever the Second Son was weak. Traveling Buddha would unleash an attack, and then Xia Fan would pick him up and take him to a new location.
The mighty Second Son of the me Soul was being run ragged by the tempo. He felt like there was a whole cloud of flies buzzing around him, constantly stabbing into him and making him bleed.
¡°What frightening speed!¡± Nikai¡¯s eyes shed. Everyone said that when Speed-types went crazy, their speed reached an absurd level, and today, they were truly experiencing it. Xia Fan was like an extremely tenacious stalk of bamboo, retreating when the enemy advanced and advancing when the enemy retreated. Not only was it impossible to predict where he went, he was always throwing his partner to the nks of the enemy!
This was the Second Son of the me Soul, a Demi-King demon dragon! A lower-level opponent would probably have been tortured to death by this duo long ago!
¡°Awooo!~¡± With an earthshaking roar from the Second Son, his massive ck body began to dissolve into ck fog that engulfed the world.
The trees and grasses of the ces engulfed by the ck fog rapidly withered, the yellow soil bing crumbling dried-up limestone. Birds and insects dropped from the sky, their bodies rapidly decaying, their feathers and skin shedding to reveal their putrefying organs.
¡°Oh no! This dragon is letting out poison!¡± Traveling Buddha cried out in rm! He used all his power to push Xia Fan away.
¡°Go! Take Le Jiajia and the others with you!¡± Traveling Buddha shouted with all his might. As for himself, he charged into the ck fog toward the Second Son.
Everything in the world had its counter. While Speed was powerful, it wasn¡¯t invincible. The ck fog released by the Second Son of the me Soul was created by burning its lifeforce, simr to how human warriors would burn up their seventh brain regions in their final moments. By burning its life force, the demon dragon could create a dark power that could destroy everything!
The dead insects and birds, the withering grass and trees, hadn¡¯t been poisoned. It was just that their life had withered away, the dark energy seeping into their bodies and destroying their cells. It was like all things had been dropped into a powerful acid. As they rapidly decayed, they let out a rancid smell.
Xia Fan didn¡¯t have time to think too much. He nced at his partner and then clenched his teeth. Rushing to the bottom of the canyon, he grabbed the three talents of Subduing Demon City and returned to the mountain, where he grabbed Le Jiajia and the other two.
In the blink of an eye, the six of them had been taken to a safe zone far from the Second Son of the me Soul. Of course, this safety was temporary. The Second Son¡¯s Domain was fifty kilometers across, and they were stopped by the Domain¡¯s barrier from leaving.
Xia Fan thought about his Law of Gold. That mysterious power could get Xia Fan through the Domain barrier, but what about Traveling Buddha? And Le Jiajia? Was he going to run off and abandon Traveling Buddha?
No!
Absolutely not!
Xia Fan didn¡¯t have much time. He saw Traveling Buddha fighting within the ck fog, the golden light protecting him rapidly dwindling. If he lost the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, he would fall on the battlefield, and Xia Fan would lose his best friend.
One person had only so many friends in their lifetime. They might have strange and entric personalities, but one would always find a friend that one could open up to. While one might wear a mask around outsiders, they would always speak and act freely in front of these people.
Traveling Buddha was a guy who didn¡¯t care about anything, and basically no one liked him. Even his own father was disinclined to speak to him. But this weird guy trusted Xia Fan. If Xia Fan had him do something, he wouldn¡¯t even ask for a reason.
¡®So annoying. You can decide and just tell me what to do. I¡¯m not interested in knowing anything else!,¡¯ Traveling Buddha¡¯s voice rang out in his memory.
In the ck fog, the golden light was dimming. It was no longer a dazzling golden, but a weak firefly. It was surrounded by ck night, and that little twinkling glow was about to be extinguished.
Some friends could never be lost, for once they were lost, they would never be found again!
Xia Fan raised his head, an unprecedented sense of helplessness welling up in his heart. He hated this feeling, and he was willing to pay any price to get rid of it!
¡°Cid Raleigh!¡± Xia Fan called out with his thoughts. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just a mission that I can¡¯t refuse? I¡¯ll take it! If I can protect Traveling Buddha, I¡¯ll take anything!¡±
Chapter 1583 - 1583 The Beast King’s Order! The Lamentation of Souls!
1583 The Beast King¡¯s Order! The Lamentation of Souls!
As Xia Fan called out the name of Cid Raleigh, time seemed to mysteriously stop again. The wind stopped blowing, the earth stopped quaking, and the ck fog released by the demon dragon stopped spreading. The world instantly fell silent.
Xia Fan heard Cid Raleigh¡¯sughter in his ear, a crazedughter, like the ecstaticughter of the Monkey King when it was suddenly freed from being imprisoned under the Five Fingers Mountain.
¡°Finally¡after slumbering for so long, I can return to the Three Realms!¡± Cid Raleigh shouted, his voice trembling. ¡°Leave it to me! I won¡¯t disappoint you!¡±
Xia Fan was stunned, his hairs standing on end. He felt like he had let a demon out of the bottle, and this demon was about to explode and conquer the entire world.
Boom!
In a sh, Xia Fan felt something enter his body, making his blood pump faster and his body burn up like he was on fire.
At the same time, his strength began to soar crazily. This was a powerful mental energy, and the abundant mental energy caused his eyes to erupt with light. Then, strengthened by this mental energy, Xia Fan was able to see the soul of the Second Son of the me Soul. In the mental world, that ugly monster was as savage as ever, brimming with a gruesome desire to kill. Xia Fan could clearly sense that the Second Son existed to extinguish life, holding an immense loathing for the world.
Countless creatures converged on the area, from weak mice to the Lion Vultures of the three talents of Subduing Demon City. Their eyes were red as they charged at the Second Son.
Their life forces began to burn. Arge-eared gray rabbit, its body covered in scarlet mes, charging at the demon dragon and bit down with its front teeth, tearing off a scale. It then used its ws in an attempt to tear open a wound so that it could crawl into the Second Son¡¯s body.
The gray rabbit soon exploded, blood and guts flying everywhere, transforming into some powerfully acidic substance that sshed onto the demon dragon¡¯s flesh. It ate away at his muscles, releasing white plumes of smoke.
A mottle python crawled onto the Second Son¡¯s back and slithered through a wound into the dragon¡¯s body. It also burned up its life force and exploded inside the dragon.
Crazy!
In the blink of an eye, all of the animals in the world went crazy, using their lives and souls to attack the dragon.
Xia Fan had learned some methods for controlling beasts, but he had never seen a sparrow turn into a bone-clinging maggot, its two little eyes turning red. It clearly had nobat power, but it burned up its life in order to harm its foe!
It had to be understood that this was a demonized ck dragon, standing at the apex of beasts and surpassing them. It was basically a super lifeform, so how could those rabbits and sparrows dare to attack such a terrifying lifeform?
The reason could only be one: they were being driven by a lifeform even more powerful than the demon dragon!
The lifeform that was driving all these beasts to burn up their life force and attack the dragon was seemingly Xia Fan¡
When Cid Raleigh possessed Xia Fan, Xia Fan seemed to gain a transcendent status. All beasts in the world seemed to be under his control, a control that extended all the way to their souls. He just needed to softly whistle to have these beasts willing to die for him.
This was a scene that could make the Three Realms copse. Even Mythical Beasts like the Lion Vultures couldn¡¯t escape thesemands. They roared, their bodies zing, their feathers and graceful bodies turning to dust. But they showed no hesitation, faithfully answering the call of the god of death.
As for the Second Son, he clearly wasn¡¯t something Xia Fan could control, but his soul was under a pressure of an even higher level. He rolled around in pain while screeching as if a million maggots were crawling around his body and gnawing away at every inch of his flesh and organs.
The situation was far beyond what Xia Fan had anticipated. He thought that Cid Raleigh would grant him some kind ofbat power, turning him into Superman or something, after which he would instantly kill the demon dragon with some unstoppable attack.
In reality, Cid Raleigh wasn¡¯t doing anything. The signal emitted by his seventh brain region had caused all the creatures in the world to crazily attack the Second Son of the me Soul, using their lives to kill it. If one creature wasn¡¯t enough, then one hundred! One thousand! Ten thousand!
If ordinary creatures weren¡¯t enough, then even those three Lion Vultures would give up their lives!
¡°Jinbao!¡± Dongfang He screamed as he watched his Lion Vulture that had been with him since he was a child turn into dust. This sessor of a Demon yer n began to cry heartfelt tears of sorrow, as if his heart had shattered.
¡°Living creatures are very mysterious, possessing an inconceivable power. What I have unleashed is the highest level of attack in the world, the Lamentation of Souls! The life force and souls of these creatures is being traded for the soul of the Second Son of the me Soul. After this battle, the Second Son will cease to exist. He will be wiped out from the Three Realms, never to be reborn again, for I will have destroyed his soul!¡± Cid Raleigh¡¯s voice resounded in Xia Fan¡¯s mind.
When Cid Raleigh found that Xia Fan was too shocked to respond, he said, ¡°This ability is called the Beast King¡¯s Order. You recently awakened it, and I simply used your ability as the foundation to strengthen it. If I hadn¡¯t possessed you, you also could have used the Beast King¡¯s Order, but it wouldn¡¯t have been this strong. You would have only been able to control the ordinary beasts.¡±
Xia Fan swallowed. ¡°Why? Why can youmand the beasts to attack the dragon? Don¡¯t dragons stand at the very top of the animal pyramid?¡±
Cid Raleigh smiled. ¡°Correct. Dragons do stand at the top of the animal pyramid, but where I stand is even higher than that of the Second Son of the me Soul. When Ibine my power with yours, I can exceed the Second Son. I¡¯ll be honest, even his father is beneath me.¡±
The me Soul was Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley¡¯s mount, and Cid Raleigh had an even higher status?
Xia Fan was suspicious, feeling like something was wrong. Why did Cid Raleigh have a higher status than a demon dragon? Humans and dragons were different species. For example, between Xia Fan and Pearl, could one say that one of them had the higher status? Of course not, for one was a human and one was a dragon. They had twopletely different biological systems.
¡°Could it be¡you¡¯re¡¡±
¡°There¡¯s no need to guess. I¡¯m also a demon dragon, looking much the same as the Second Son of the me Soul. As you humans would say, I¡¯m rather ugly.¡±
Xia Fan was stunned. ¡°Since you¡¯re of the same race as the Second Son, why are you killing him?¡±
¡°It¡¯s very simple. Although we¡¯re of the same race, we¡¯re of different factions. You¡¯re a human, but you¡¯ve killed lots of humans, right?¡± Cid Raleigh countered.
Xia Fan was speechless. Being part of the same race truly wasn¡¯t a good reason. He was a human, but he was most proficient at killing other humans. If being part of the same race was enough to make everyone get along, world peace would have been achieved long ago!
¡°I¡¯ve been possessed by a demon dragon? What¡¯s going on here!?¡±
Xia Fan realized how serious the situation was. A dragon had run into his mind, and it was a demon dragon, a demon that controlled the power of darkness! This was utterly bizarre!
¡°That¡¯s why I said that you¡¯re an exception among the Skywings. You¡¯re different from the rest of your n. It was my good fortune to meet you,¡± Cid Raleigh said happily.
¡°When the Second Son of the me Soul dies, his domain will crumble. You and you friends will escape this cmity, but you must remember that those old fellows of Subduing Demon City will definitely investigate what happened here. It¡¯s best if it¡¯s not found that you can be possessed by a demon dragon.¡±
¡°And if I¡¯m found out?¡± Xia Fan asked.
¡°You¡¯ll die,¡± Cid Raleigh said nonchntly.
Chapter 1584 - 1584 Winning Two Lion Vultures
1584 Winning Two Lion Vultures
The evaluationmittee of Subduing Demon City had never been this busy before. The night after the incident with the Second Son of the me Soul, the City Lords, the various heads of the Demon yer ns, and the generals of the army gathered together in a church-like gray-white building to hold an overnight emergency conference.
¡°Look, isn¡¯t that City Lord Cotird?¡±
¡°It really is him. I¡¯ve heard that Cotird has been managing secret weapons research in Subduing Demon City. Thest time he appeared at a joint conference was twenty-some years ago.¡±
¡°General Dresden is also here. I thought that old man had already retired.¡±
!!
Jiang Zhibei and Duyu whispered to each other. As witnesses to the incident, the three talents and Xia Fan¡¯s support team had also been invited as guests. They were seated near the hall pirs and watched as all those illustrious figures entered the conference room. Those people had rather solemn expressions, and many of them still carried dust on their clothes from traveling long distances.
There was no doubt that this was a conference of the highest powers in Subduing Demon City. The legendary elders, the specialists in charge of secret groups, the generals that fought on the frontline; they were all here. From that, one could see that the sudden appearance of the Second Son of the me Soul was an extremely grave matter, setting off almost every rm in thend.
City Lord Lu Tai sat in the center position. Subduing Demon City was rather democratic, and it was the City Lords who ran the affairs of the city who took turns at the job. This season, it was Lu Tai¡¯s turn, so he was presiding over the council.
The first order of business was to understand what had happened. A recording crystal was used to y back the scene at the time, and then the witnesses came up to be questioned. Xia Fan was also asked several questions, but these questions were about his speed. Nobody suspected the sudden uprising of beasts had anything to do with him. After all, ording to the recording, Xia Fan had just been standing there. The order that had triggered the beasts into burning up their life force was a mental one, unseeable and untouchable!
¡°As for the problem with Xia Fan, we City Lords are all aware. He is the first youth in thest fifty years to have six-star potential. Along with his Scent ability, he also has a hidden Speed ability.
¡°We originally nned to keep this a secret and furtively train him up so that he could serve as a surprise force at a key moment, but the sudden arrival of the Second Son of the me Soul means that we no longer need to keep it a secret. I will now formally announce to everyone that Xia Fan is a warrior with six-star potential, possessing both the Scent and Speed ability,¡± Lu Tai announced to all.
Gasps of surprise resounded through the conference hall. This was the first six-star potential youth in thest fifty years, so Subduing Demon City naturally valued him highly. Lu Tai¡¯s sudden announcement that Xia Fan had two abilities also received general approval. After all, this was six-star potential, but his other ability was the perfunctory Scent ability? That was just too pitiful!
Two abilities, Scent and Speed, were far more befitting the greatest genius in thest fifty years. Xia Fan instantly became the center of attention, countless people looking at him with enthusiastic eyes.
¡°I was saying, there had to be something impressive about him that he reached six-star potential.¡±
¡°As expected of a genius. He¡¯s bound to have a limitless future.¡±
Everyone conversed over the subject. There was precedent for warriors without symbols before, so they didn¡¯t suspect Xia Fan over that. Once Xia Fan finished answering their questions, he was told to go back to his seat next to Turan. Turan had also gone up to verify that hiding Xia Fan¡¯s ability was a n implemented by the City Lords.
¡°Things have been cleared up now.¡± Lu Tai frowned and said, ¡°We currently face two problems. The first is why the Second Son of the me Soul suddenly appeared on our level. Based on City Lord Jin¡¯s report, the Second Son emerged from the Northern Sea and rushed all the way to the vicinity of Subduing Demon City. This is an important clue.
¡°Secondly, the terrifying uprising of beasts. It makes me think of a certain death spirit ability. Those three Lion Vultures are a mythical species introduced from the Upper Realm. I¡¯m sure none of you need me to exin their status and abilities.
¡°But those three Lion Vultures were also controlled, and in burning up their life force, they ultimately died together with the Second Son. This has even more far-reaching effects than the sudden appearance of the Second Son.
¡°Unfortunately, we still have no idea of this power that could control three Lion Vultures. We must continue investigating this matter, but time waits for no one. We should also gather an elite force and dispatch them to the Northern Sea. There will be two teams. The first will investigate why the Second Son of the me Soul suddenly appeared on our level, and the second will investigate who made the three Lion Vultures make suicide attacks.¡±
¡ª
Lu Tai¡¯s proposals were smoothly passed. That night, the elites of Subduing Demon City set out, organized into tworge teams. One headed to the Northern Sea to investigate the Second Son¡¯s sudden appearance and the other investigated the suicidal offensive of the beasts.
¡°Let¡¯s find a ce to eat. I¡¯m starving,¡± Traveling Buddha stretched and said as they emerged from the conference hall.
¡°It¡¯s past midnight, so there won¡¯t be anything in the dorm cafeteria. If we want to get a good meal, we¡¯ll have to go to the night market,¡± Jiang Zhibei said. As a foodie, he knew quite a lot about where to get something good to eat.
¡°I have to thank all of you this time. If you don¡¯t mind, we can go to my home, and I¡¯ll have the kitchen prepare things for you to eat,¡± Nikai said generously, smiling as she walked over to Xia Fan.
¡°A good idea!¡± Jiang Zhibei was delighted, rubbing his rumbling belly.
Nikai came from a big n that employed numerous chefs. Eating at her home naturally meant being treated to a feast. But out of the corner of his eye, Xia Fan saw Le Jiajia frowning slightly.
Le Jiajia clearly wasn¡¯t wee in the home of a Demon yer n, so Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s sote, so it¡¯s best not to disturb them. Let¡¯s find a food stall on the street instead.¡±
Nikai was startled, clearly not expecting Xia Fan to refuse. But when she saw Le Jiajia sigh in relief, she realized what Xia Fan was doing.
I didn¡¯t think he was so considerate of others, Nikai thought to herself, raising her opinion of Xia Fan even higher.
At this time, Dongfang He also came out of the conference hall. He said very frankly to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, ¡°Tomorrow, I will have someone send Lion Vultures to your residence.¡±
¡°Send us Lion Vultures?¡± Xia Fan was confused.
¡°In this hunting contest, Jia Yuntian and I made a bet, putting our mounts on the line. But it¡¯s clear that we both lost and you two are the winners. Unfortunately, my Jinbao is dead, so I have to send you another one of the n¡¯s Lion Vultures,¡± Dongfang He said.
Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu were stunned. Subduing Demon City didn¡¯t have many Lion Vultures, and even the Dongfang n had only a few. He was willing to hand over this top-ss Mythical Beast to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha? That was a priceless gift!
Nikai raised an eyebrow. ¡°Dongfang, you¡¯re being very generous.¡±
Dongfang He shook his head. ¡°It has nothing to do with generosity. The most important thing is to keep one¡¯s word. You were also there today. If it wasn¡¯t for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha holding back the Second Son of the me Soul, this day next year would be our memorial day. While one Lion Vulture is rather painful to give up, it¡¯s what they deserve!¡±
Jia Yuntian also walked over slowly. His face had no expression, and after looking at everyone, he began to make his way down the steps. As expected, he was a cold and aloof fellow.
¡°Yuntian, do you not n to hold up your part of the bet?¡± Dongfang He called out to Jia Yuntian.
¡°I¡¯ve already finished the transfer documents, and the Lion Vulture is at the Beast Garden for them to take at any time,¡± Jia Yuntian said indifferently.
This guy and his airs¡, Dongfang He grimaced. He and Jia Yuntian really didn¡¯t get along. As a natural leader, Dongfang He liked to do everything with great fanfare, but Jia Yuntian did things quietly, not even bringing it up once he was done.
This was just like how the two of them pursued Nikai. Dongfang He¡¯s only fear was that nobody knew that he was pursuing Nikai, so he had long ago announced to the entire world that he was going to marry Nikai. In reality, it was impossible to find out which one of them liked Nikai more.
¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Xia Fan didn¡¯t want to get involved in thisplicated love triangle, so he tactfully avoided it, taking his team to the night market to look for food.
¡°Sister Nikai is probably going to have a tough time. Dongfang He is excellent, and Jia Yuntian is no slouch, either. They¡¯re two of the finest elites in the city, and anyone would find it hard to choose between them,¡± Du Yu muttered. He had an innocent and simple personality, and he couldn¡¯t help but worry about Nikai¡¯s love prospects on her behalf.
¡°It feels more to me like Nikai doesn¡¯t like either of them,¡± Xia Fan suddenly said, his brazen theory leaving Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu stunned. Le Jiajia also looked curiously at him.
¡°Why do you say that?¡±
¡°What evidence do you have?¡±
Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°If you liked someone, would you let them wait too long? If Nikai confessed to you two, wouldn¡¯t you immediately embrace her?¡±
This¡
Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu speechlessly looked at each other.
Xia Fan continued, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about love, but from what I can see, her reserved attitude is actually dislike. This is because humans are emotional creatures. If they run into someone they like, they wouldn¡¯t be reserved at all.¡±
Xia Fan pointed at Traveling Buddha. ¡°Let¡¯s take this guy as an example. When Hidden Water first saw him, her eyes started glowing. Meanwhile, he felt like everything about Hidden Water was good, so they naturally became a couple. Was it hard? Not at all.
¡°Thus, I specte that pursuing a girl should be a very simple thing. If it¡¯s very hard, then it means that you¡¯re chasing the wrong person.¡±
Traveling Buddha stroked his chin and thought about his own romantic experience. It really was as Xia Fan had said, everything urring naturally. Jiang Zhibei, Du Yu, and Le Jiajia had their mouths wide open, as if they had been enlightened.
¡°How pitiful. It turns out that Sister Nikai doesn¡¯t like Dongfang He or Jia Yuntian,¡± Du Yu sighed. ¡°I really don¡¯t know what Sister Nikai is thinking. No one is better than them among the young men of Subduing Demon City.¡±
All of them started eating roast meat and vegetables in the night market. When they were halfway through their meal, Turan came up. This teacher didn¡¯t have the attitude of an important person at all. Grabbing a few strips of roast meat, he wrapped them up in a piece of t bread and began to eat it along with some meatball soup.
...
¡°Two Lion Vultures!¡±
Plush!
Turan wasn¡¯t able to restrain himself, a mouthful of meatball soup spitting out of his mouth onto Jiang Zhibei¡¯s face.
¡°Those are Mythical Beasts! Even a teacher like me hasn¡¯t ever gotten onto a Lion Vulture! I¡¯m stuck with a macaw!¡± Turan suddenly lost his appetite, throwing his tbread to the side and saying resentfully, ¡°A teacher riding a macaw while his student rides a Lion Vulture! Is there anything more ridiculous?
¡°But back to the subject, you two had best be careful tomorrow. Mythical Beasts can¡¯t be ridden by just anyone. If youck the ability, the Lion Vulture might not recognize you as its master, and then you¡¯ll be theughingstocks of the entire city.¡±
Chapter 1585 - 1585 Beasts and Humans are Different
1585 Beasts and Humans are Different
The next morning, everyone gathered together as agreed, anxious to head to the Beast Garden.
Receiving two Lion Vultures was undoubtedly explosive news. Jiang Zhibei and Du Yu wanted toe over to take part in the excitement, and it would be even better if they could sit on a Lion Vulture and take a ride in the skies. As for Le Jiajia, although she didn¡¯t say anything, she didn¡¯t refuse Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s kind intentions.
¡°Jiang Zhibe, Du Yu, Le Jiajia, the three of you, get back here! You¡¯ve really got thick skins, almostparable to the walls of Subduing Demon City. Don¡¯t you realize how pathetic you looked yesterday? And you still have the guts to go out?¡± Turan promptly appeared, no longer his genial self as he rebuked Jiang Zhibei and the others.
¡°But¡¡±
¡°No buts! I can¡¯t concern myself with Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, but starting from today, you three are taking extra sses! From seven in the morning until ten at night, you aren¡¯t allowed to go anywhere!¡±
Turan seemed angry, but there was also a tinge of pride in his voice. ¡°For so many years now, I¡¯ve always been the teacher for the support team. No support team ss has ever been this powerful! Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha have made history, so you guys had better keep up! You can¡¯t drag them down!
¡°I want to make a team that can both fight and support!¡±
The support team had always had a low status, as it didn¡¯t have anybat power and needed the protection of others. But this ss had Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, two guys with astonishingbat power. Turan felt he had a chance to make a special team that could both support and fight. Consequently, he was very strict with Jiang Zhibei and the others, hoping that they would get stronger so that they at least wouldn¡¯t drag down others at critical moments.
Le Jiajia pursed her lips and dejectedly followed Turan to the training ground. Before leaving, she quietly waved at Xia Fan. It was clear that she was no longer as hostile to him, perhaps because of Xia Fan¡¯s outstanding performance in yesterday¡¯s battle.
¡
The Beast Garden was already very noisy early in the morning. Last night, the Dongfang and Jia ns had both sent over a Lion Vulture, saying that they had made a bet and lost and that someone woulde to fill out the forms and take the Lion Vultures.
Thus, the beast tamers and warriors of the Beast Garden came to spectate. Lion Vultures were a species that was few in number. Most of them were under the control of Demon yer ns, City Lords, and generals, and ordinary warriors rarely got to see them. The Beast Garden normally raised ordinary beasts like Vajra Parrots and Lightning Cathead Eagles, transportation used by warriors in battle.
From an objective perspective, Subduing Demon City¡¯s Beast Garden was quite impressive. Mei Mei¡¯s White City had only six Lightning Cathead Eagles, and most of them were dead because of the barbarians of the swamp, leaving only two alive.
But the Beast Garden was raising more than seven thousand Lightning Cathead Eagles. In addition, the ns and armies had their own smaller gardens, and these had far more beasts than a remote ce like the White City.
But the appearance of two Lion Vultures still caused a major uproar. After all, Lion Vultures were ranked third among all beasts. The highest were naturally Dragons, and second were the Demi-Dragons. Lion Vultures were only a little lower in statuspared to Demi-Dragons. To have a Lion Vulture as a mount was a status symbol, and it was also very cool.
¡°These two Lion Vultures are fierce! Even our chief beast tamer doesn¡¯t dare to get close to them.¡±
¡°Of course! Sir Lear tried to feed them fish, but they didn¡¯t even look at it.¡±
¡°The two great ns probably did this on purpose. After all, no one would be happy to lose two Mythical Beasts. That¡¯s why they chose the two fiercest Lion Vultures!¡±
¡°Haha, I¡¯m looking forward to it. If the winner of the Lion Vultures can¡¯t subdue these two savage creatures, he has to meekly send them back. That would be humiliating.¡±
As they were talking, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha arrived. Squeezing into the grounds, they saw the two savage and huge beasts in the cage. Even Traveling Buddha was shaken, his brow furrowing as his heart thumped.
These two Lion Vultures were quite intimidating. They took up thergest cage the Beast Garden had, which was five hundred meters tall, had a diameter of one thousand meters, and alloy bars that were as thick as small trees. Some of the bars were already bent, the marks on them new, probably done when the two Lion Vultures were messing around.
With the wings of an eagle and the fangs and ws of a lion, the two savage beasts had eyes that looked down with contempt at all living beings. As they coldly swept their gazes over the crowd, the elite warriors of Subduing Demon City shivered. Everyone was rather far away, not daring to get close for fear that the Lion Vultures would run out and tear them apart!.
¡°Their grade is pretty good, high-tier divine lineages of the Upper Realm.¡± Cid Raleigh¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. ¡°The gold one has a purer bloodline, and the silver one seems to be smarter. s, they both haven¡¯t reached adulthood and aren¡¯t at their maximum power yet.¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s vision was suddenly divided into multipleyers. On one ne was reality, and on the other ne was Cid Raleigh¡¯s back. For some reason, this old demon dragon had a human body. Or perhaps it was some soul power of his that allowed him to change his form as he pleased.
¡°These two Lion Vultures seem fierce and not easy to deal with,¡± Xia Fan muttered.
Cid Raleigh casually said, ¡°Beasts and humans aren¡¯t the same kind of creature. Although humans also have a tradition of respecting the strong, they don¡¯t go as far as beasts, who have lineage and strength engraved into their bones.
¡°Let me give you a simple example. If one Lion Vulture manages to reach peak strength, even his own parents and siblings would show absolute fealty to him, but humans are different. If you were to be an emperor among humans in a day, your dad would still give you a spanking!
¡°Besides strength, the other thing very important to beasts is bloodline. What if a Lion Vulture had the strength to fight against a dragon. Impressive, right? As you humans would put it, this is the underdog turning the tides, a salted fish gaining a new lease on life.
¡°But among beasts, no matter how strong a Lion Vulture, it will always tremble in fear upon seeing a dragon. It has nothing to do with strength, as it¡¯s purely the pressure of a bloodline. Of course, the proud dragons won¡¯t ept that they are beasts like the Lion Vultures and others. Dragons think they are unique, above humans and beasts.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°You¡¯re rather open-minded. You¡¯re also a dragon, so is it okay to judge your own race like this?¡±
Cid Raleighughed a very bitterugh. ¡°Dragons are proud because they¡¯ve never been defeated before, their powerful talents and bloodline making it inevitable that they stand at the apex.
¡°But me, I am a defeated dragon. While I still have some pride, it¡¯s not a lot. Dragons are destined to be like this. It¡¯s only when they taste the bitterness of defeat like me that they let go of their pride and see the world more clearly.
¡°Falling and getting back up is all it is. You humans always put things nicely, but you don¡¯t realize that too heavy a fall can break your bones so that you can¡¯t get back up.
¡°But lying on the ground isn¡¯t without its advantages. It allows you to be more in tune with the world. In the past, when you¡¯re always up in the heavens and looking down on the world, you don¡¯t realize that you can also look at the world from the bottom looking up.¡±
¡°That¡¯s very philosophical. You seem to be a dragon with a story,¡± Xia Fan sighed. He then changed the subject and said with a smile, ¡°Dragon with a story, since you¡¯ve let go of your pride, why not help me tame those two Lion Vultures?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t even joke about that!¡± Cid Raleigh grumbled. ¡°Even if I¡¯ve let go of my pride, I¡¯m still a dragon, okay? While I may not have my pride, I have my dignity. Two third-ranked Lion Vultures isn¡¯t worth my intervention. It would have to be a Demi-Dragon for me to use some of my mental strength.
¡°But you don¡¯t need to worry. It¡¯s not like ability does nothing. In truth, you¡¯ve already used the Beast King¡¯s Order once, though it was a coincidence, and you didn¡¯t really understand it.
¡°I simply empowered your Beast King¡¯s Order so that you could defeat the demon dragon. Even without me, you would be able to deal with these third-ranked beasts. The key is that you need to learn how to release your soul pressure.¡±
¡°Soul pressure?¡± Xia Fan said in confusion.
¡°To put it simply, soul pressure is like murderous intent. When you want to kill someone, your eyes will be sharp and your Aura will be cold. This formless mental energy will travel through the air and set off rm bells in the mind of your enemy.
¡°But humans aren¡¯t beasts. If you release murderous intent at a beast, a high-ranked beast will do its utmost to resist, even going berserk. After all, as a human, you don¡¯t have any bloodline advantage over a high-ranked beast.
¡°Thus, you need to unlock a mental energy that beasts can sense and ept, letting a beast realize that you are a higher existence. Then, a beast will follow its nature of seeking benefits, and avoiding harm and submitting to you.¡±
¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± Xia Fan asked.
¡°Of course! Beasts aren¡¯t like you humans, with a tradition of revolution, suddenly getting urges to raise your arms in revolt and risk life and limb to bring down an emperor.
¡°Among beasts, the strong are the strong, and the noble bloodlines are the noble bloodlines. When the weak encounter the strong, they will naturally submit. This is the nature of beasts. But you humans are a race that has the weakest concept of hierarchy I¡¯ve ever seen. Whether it¡¯s rebellions, revolts, or revolutions, you humans made up all these things. We don¡¯t mess around like that. We recognize strength and bloodline.¡±
Xia Fan was speechless. This demon dragon had thought things through rather thoroughly. Humans truly were an ordinary race, but also one that was unwilling to be left out. Even the weakest human had a dream of being a hero, which was why all wuxia novels were so popr in all the countless human civilizations of the Great Chiliocosm.
¡°What I¡¯m going to say next is very important, so listen up,¡± Cid Raleigh went on in a very serious tone.
Chapter 1586 - 1586 The Swiftness and Savagery In their Beast Blood!
1586 The Swiftness and Savagery In their Beast Blood!
¡°Hey, say something!¡±
¡°Wake up! Hurry and wake up! Have you been scared silly?¡±
¡°Pitiful child. It seems like he¡¯s never seen such vicious andrge Mythical Beasts before.¡±
The pushing and shouting of the crowd finally brought Xia Fan back to his senses. Just now, he had withdrawn into his own mind, where he had been taught by Cid Raleigh how to subdue Mythical Beasts.
!!
The warriors heckled him, thinking that Xia Fan had frozen from fear. After all, getting two Lion Vultures was one thing, but making them recognize him as their master was quite another! Let alone Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, even the chief beast tamer of the Beast Garden, General Lear, couldn¡¯t tame them! These two had been born and raised by the beast tamers of Demon yer ns, and would never ept outsiders!
¡°Uh¡were you guys calling me just now?¡± Xia Fan asked as he came to his senses, pointing at himself.
The crowd erupted withughter, looks of derision appearing on everyone¡¯s faces. Traveling Buddha covered his face, feeling like he was going to humiliate himself this time. He didn¡¯t have any beast taming techniques, so he was putting all his hopes on Xia Fan. After all, back in Ashen Moon, Xia Fan had frequently called up rats and other creatures to help him search for targets. But¡ the difference between rats and Lion Vultures was just too great!
Lear raised an eyebrow and walked over to Xia Fan. He was wearing a general¡¯s uniform with golden epaulets, and he looked quite impressive. Lear had been in charge of the Beast Garden for many years and had tamed countless beasts, creating a massive flying army.
Out of consideration for Lear¡¯s enormous contributions to Subduing Demon City, the council had specifically awarded him the rank of general. Other generals had to get there through achievements in battle, but Lear had gotten there purely through his ability to tame beasts. Just from that, everyone could see just how amazing he was when it came to beast taming!
Clearing his throat, Lear frowned and said, ¡°Per the requests of the Dongfang n and Jia n, the ownership of these two Lion Vultures has already been passed to you two. In other words, these Lion Vultures are your personal property.¡±
¡°Mm, mm, very good, very good.¡± Xia Fan rejoiced, his lips curving into a smile.
Lear said, ¡°But ording to the rules of Subduing Demon City, flying Mythical Beasts are an important strategic resource. If the two of you cannot tame the Lion Vultures and make them participate in battle, the transfer of ownership will be invalid, and the Lion Vultures will be sent back to their owners.
¡°I¡¯ve already tried once, but the two of them have fierce personalities and refused to buy what I was selling. For the sake of your own safety, I advise you to give up. Lion Vultures aren¡¯t Mythical Beasts that just anyone can own. No one will look down on you if you give up.¡±
Give up?
Xia Fan shook his head like it was a rattle drum. That old demon dragon had just taught him a method to tame the Lion Vultures, so how could he give up?
¡°Not giving up?¡±
¡°He actually wants to try?¡±
The crowd erupted.
Lear froze, inwardly very unhappy. He actually wanted to give Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha a way out, but now it seemed that Xia Fan didn¡¯t have eyes and didn¡¯t know when to retreat.
¡®What is he thinking? Even I wasn¡¯t able to tame these two Lion Vultures, but they want to try? Who do they think they are?¡¯, Lear thought to himself.
He snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph! Since you want to try, then be my guest. This old man is looking forward to your performance!¡±
¡°Hahahaha!~¡±
Everyoneughed again. These warriors were just here to see the show, and they all looked at Xia Fan like he was an imbecile.
¡
Outside of the Beast Garden, Dongfang He coincidentally ran into Jia Yuntian. Dongfang He was rather magnanimous, chuckling and saying, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be here. What? Can you still not ept the loss of your Lion Vulture?¡±
Jia Yuntian shook his head lightly. ¡°Someone willing to make a wager has to be willing to pay out. But before leaving, Nikai sent me a voice message saying that Lion Vultures have savage temperaments, and it would be best if they didn¡¯t hurt Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, so I came over with my n¡¯s beast tamer to take a look.¡±
Dongfang He frowned. He had received the same voice message. Nikai¡¯s butler hade to find him this morning, saying that it was a request his master had made before leaving. It was only then that Dongfang He learned that Nikai had left with the elders of her n, setting off the night before for the Northern Sea.
Nikai hadn¡¯t originally been included in the Northern Sea investigation team, but her father was the deputy leader. Considering that Nikai¡¯s ability could be of help to their investigation, he decided to take Nikai with him.
Dongfang He felt like there was a knot in his heart. Nikai was the woman he had decided to marry, but his woman had given him and Jia Yuntian the same voice message. It made Dongfang He feel quite ufortable.
¡°Little Niki really deserves to be my woman. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha saved her, so she returned their favor. This sort of kindness and consideration is exactly why I have to marry her,¡± Dongfang He said bluntly.
¡°She still hasn¡¯t agreed to marry you,¡± Jia Yuntian replied indifferently.
Dongfang Heughed and made an inviting gesture. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. She¡¯ll agree one day. Since you¡¯re here, let¡¯s go together.¡±
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, Dongfang He found that his beast tamer was looking rather green, so he asked curiously, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Why is yourplexion so bad?¡±
¡°It¡it¡¯s nothing¡¡± the beast tamer mumbled back.
Dongfang He was even more confused, sternly saying, ¡°You¡¯re what I¡¯m like. If you¡¯re loyal to me, I¡¯ll protect you no matter what happens, but if you¡¯re hiding something from me¡don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you!¡±
As the sessor of the Dongfang n, Dongfang He had an unimaginably high status. The beast tamer shivered at his words.
¡°Then, it¡¯s about the Lion Vulture we gave Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. It¡¯s simply impossible to tame.¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because that Lion Vulture is a direct descendant of the Golden One!¡±
Dongfang He was taken aback as he realized what the beast tamer was saying. The Golden One was a legendary Lion Vulture of the Dongfang n. Its bloodline was extremely pure and its personality just as violent. Only the n¡¯s most senior beast tamer, Brieler, had been able to tame it.
¡°Why did you send over the Golden One¡¯s descendant?¡±
The beast tamer stammered, ¡°We thought that your loss was unjust and wanted to win back some pride for you. Even if Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha won the contest against you, they can¡¯t be allowed to be too arrogant. They had to be taught a little lesson.¡±
¡°What were you even thinking!? This isn¡¯t making things difficult for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha! It¡¯s making things difficult for me! Am I that sort of petty person? What will other people think of me!?
¡°The Golden One¡¯s descendant is too fierce. If things go poorly, it might even kill someone,¡± Dongfang He swore angrily. ¡°Where¡¯s Brieler? Hurry and find him! He¡¯s the only one who can restrain the Golden One¡¯s descendant!¡±
¡°That¡the chief followed the second master to the Northern Sea on a mission. After bringing the Lion Vulture over to the Beast Garden, he left the same night!¡±
¡°Haaa¡¡± Dongfang He massaged his forehead. The Golden One and the Silver One were the two most vicious Lion Vultures of Subduing Demon City, and they belonged respectively to the Dongfang n and the Jia n. Putting aside their bloodlines, they were incredibly powerful inbat. Crucially, only the chief beast tamers of the two ns could control those two savage beasts and their descendants.
With the Dongfang n¡¯s chief beast tamer on the mission to the Northern Sea, there was no second beast tamer who could control those Lion Vultures. Not even the Beast Garden¡¯s Chief Lear could do it!
Dongfang He clenched his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Until Brieler returns, we have to stop anyone from getting close to that Lion Vulture, or else we¡¯ll have a big problem.
¡°Hey, Yuntian, what are you doing?¡±
Dongfang He saw that the Jia n¡¯s beast tamer was almost prostrating, saying something to a cold-faced Jia Yuntian.
Jia Yuntian turned to him and said, ¡°What a coincidence. The Lion Vulture my n sent over is the Silver One¡¯s descendant. They were also angry and wanted to make things difficult for Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.¡±
Dongfang He¡¯s hairs stood up. As sessors of Demon yer ns, he and Jia Yuntian were not that petty, but their subordinates clearlycked their magnanimity.
Now they were in a pretty pickle. The descendants of the Golden One and Silver One had been given to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. They were the most savage beasts of Subduing Demon City, and also the ones with the purest of bloodlines. If Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha got reckless and tried to make those beasts submit, a huge battle might take ce.
At this point, a mor erupted from the Beast Garden. Dongfang He¡¯s subordinate had sharp eyes and immediately saw that Xia Fan was going into the cage. Aghast, he reported that to Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian.
...
¡°Hurry! Go and stop him!¡± Dongfang He shouted.
He didn¡¯t care if Xia Fan lived or died, but if there was a problem, what would Nikai think of him? He had already said that he was willing to pay out, but now, it looked like he was scamming Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha! This was just humiliating!
¡°If it¡¯s really no good, we¡¯ll have to kill the two Lion Vultures,¡± Jia Yuntian said in his cold voice.
¡
To enter the cage, one had to first go through a corridor protected by bars. Xia Fan had just entered the first door when the people shut the gate and locked it, acting as if the Lion Vultures might suddenlye out and maul them to death.
Xia Fan shrugged and continued inside. Upon reaching the second door, he undid the alloy lock, opened the door, and strode inside while taking a deep breath.
Cid Raleigh had told Xia Fan that one had to treat Lion Vultures as one would deal with a vicious dog. The key was to not show fear, let alone run away. If one turned and ran, the dog would howl and give chase, at which point one would be finished!
The correct method was to look them in the eyes and then unleash one¡¯s mental pressure. Animals would follow their risk-avoiding natures, and if they sensed that their opponent was more powerful than them, they would be cautious. At that time, one would then move to the second step, which was to enter their minds and sh directly with their mental power.
Xia Fan did that. His gaze was not like a cold and sharp de, as it was when in front of his enemies. If his gaze was too sharp, the Lion Vultures would regard him as an aggressive enemy, and to protect themselves, they would often choose to strike first.
One had to suppress their gaze, but this was a restraint that came from withholding power, not murderous intent. It was like a peerless expert facing down an ordinary person. Would a peerless expert have killing intent in their eyes at that time? Not at all, because they were confident in their power and regarded all other creatures as ants.
Xia Fan¡¯s eyes were brimming with confidence as he walked fearlessly toward the Lion Vultures. The Lion Vultures looked at him warily. The closer he got, the more they could feel the majestic power radiating from him.
...
When he was less than fifty meters away, Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian rushed onto the scene. Their subordinates wanted to call out to Xia Fan to stop him, but Dongfang He sternly cut them off.
¡°Don¡¯t shout! In this tense atmosphere, you might trigger the Lion Vultures and start a fight!¡±
Jia Yuntian said calmly, ¡°Correct. Xia Fan is very fast. So long as there¡¯s no mishap, he should be able to get out safely.¡±
¡°But those are the descendants of the Golden One and Silver One¡¡± a beast tamer muttered. He didn¡¯t believe that anyone could escape the ws of those two savage beasts unscathed.
The entire Beast Garden became eerily quiet, everyone holding their breaths as their nerves stretched to maximum tension, their eyes fixed on that scrawny young man in the cage.
¡°Don¡¯t get any closer! Don¡¯t get any closer!¡±
Tension!
Iparable tension!
Some people mentally prayed, while others looked away out of fear, turning their backs to the cage for fear of seeing the blood that might ssh out if the two savage beasts attacked.
Chapter 1587 - 1587 The Emergence of a Beast King!
1587 The Emergence of a Beast King!
Xia Fan had bright eyes, and his body was as straight as a spear. He stretched out his right hand, his fingers open and his wrist steady. Xia Fan maintained that pose for three whole minutes, and the two Lion Vultures started to get uneasy as they wavered between submission and resistance.
As Mythical Beasts of noble bloodlines, they were very reluctant to submit to this smiling young man in front of them, but the powerful aura Xia Fan exuded made it very difficult for them to lunge forward and fight him. The Lion Vultures sensed that they would face nothing good if they made an enemy of Xia Fan.
As for the spectators outside the cage, they were swallowing constantly, their jaws slowly dropping as shock appeared in their eyes.
No one had expected Xia Fan to enter a stalemate with the two Lion Vultures. Although he hadn¡¯t made the Lion Vultures submit, the two clearly weren¡¯t willing to recklessly attack Xia Fan. Not even Chief Beast Tamer Lear had managed to get the Lion Vultures to treat him as an equal!
¡®This can¡¯t go on forever,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself.
¡°You could try that move,¡± Cid Raleigh¡¯s voice rang out, indicating to Xia Fan that it was time to go from being an equal, to making the first move.
The move he was referring to was one that would boost Xia Fan¡¯s soul power. ording to Cid Raleigh, the soul was like a storm petrel. By experiencing storm after storm, fighting against the wind and the waves, a storm petrel would be ever more tenacious.
The soul needed to be tempered through battle. Through desperate struggles, through many bitter trials, it would be the soul of an unyielding warrior! A soul that had stepped on the corpses of both brothers and enemies, been drenched in blood and wracked with pain, a brave warrior who charged toward the enemy with a selfless spirit. They weren¡¯t born braver than anyone else. Rather, because they had lived through battle, they had learned how to sacrifice!
At times, life was a burden. Only when one sacrificed it could one get thatst bit of resolve!
The soft feared the hard, the hard feared the domineering, the domineering feared the unreasonable, and the unreasonable feared those who didn¡¯t care for their lives!
That saying was known by everyone. Those who didn¡¯t care for their lives were the most difficult to deal with. One should never provoke them and they should stay as far away from them as possible!
¡°Think about everyone and everything you care about, and what price you are willing to pay to protect them. That mindset of being willing to sacrifice everything will empower your soul and allow you to unleash a mental energy that transcends your limit!
¡°A soul isn¡¯t mighty because your gaze is savage and your methods ruthless, making everyone fear you. Those souls are simply ruthless souls and can¡¯t be considered to be truly powerful.
¡°A truly powerful soul is like that: no matter how the world changes, how much life torments you, or even if you might die one secondter, you will never give up and always stay standing. When you are alive, your body will proudly stand before the fathomless abyss, and when you are dead, your soul will endure eternally in the mes of Hell! Forever will you stand, as insignificant as a weed, but also as mighty as the heavens, looking down upon all things!
¡°You are the wind! You are the sea! You are the earth and the dust!
¡°You were born here, grew up here, and will die here!
¡°You will use a sword to pierce the darkness, use your hands to blot out the light, use blood to water the deserts...¡±
Slowly, the tale became a chant that traveled from an ancient era through space and time, transforming into a magical incantation!
As Cid Raleigh¡¯s voice grew louder, a divine power began to rise up within Xia Fan¡¯s body!
He saw little specks of light in the darkness. All of them were lifeforms, zing with life force, and those lifeforms would all prostrate to him.
This was the Beast King¡¯s Order. Through soul power, he would create his own epoch. In this time and in this space, no lifeform would be able to resist his power.
¡°The King of Beasts transcends the Three Realms and the river of stars to look down upon the world!¡±
As Cid Raleigh finished his chant, an unprecedented power flowed out of Xia Fan like a river breaching a dam, the force greater than that of an erupting volcano.
¡°Submit to me!¡±
The crowd saw Xia Fan¡¯s arm suddenly bulge with muscle, his fingers clenching into a fist. He pointed his steely fist at the two supreme Mythical Beasts.
There was no such savagery, no terror, no threats. Xia Fan¡¯s heart was like still water. He was simply unleashing his soul power, telling the two Lion Vultures, ¡®I am here. Whether five hundred years pass or ten thousand years, I will always be here.¡¯
Thump!
The golden and silver Lion Vultures finally prostrated, lowering their noble heads to the ground.
Their gazes were so serene that it didn¡¯t seem at all like they had been intimidated into submission. It was more like they had always been Xia Fan¡¯s vassals, and now that Xia Fan had returned, they once more knelt before his throne.
It was a very peaceful sensation. It was like Xia Fan had a pair of formless wings that now covered the two Lion Vultures. So long as one submitted to this person, one would gain his protection.
Every human and beast had their ce. Xia Fan was there, and the two Lion Vultures were at his feet. After the passing of many years, the emperor star had returned to its seat, and the Lion Vultures hade back to their origin.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
And then an earth-shattering cheer!
When Xia Fan emerged from the cage, everyone surrounded him, praising him incoherently, saying that he had aplished a historic miracle in beast taming. Traveling Buddha was also excited. He wanted to take his brother and talk with him about when he could ride the Lion Vulture into the sky to show off, but he was quickly squeezed out by the surging crowd.
¡°You believe me now, right?¡± Cid Raleigh said in Xia Fan¡¯s mind.
¡°Believe what?¡±
¡°In destiny. Humans and dragons all have their destiny. What happened today isn¡¯t strange, because it was fated to happen. As the only gic mutant of the Skywings, you are different from your father, siblings, and nsmen. They rely on their Speed inheritance to fly across the gxy, but you are fated to take a different path!¡±
¡°Tsk,¡± Xia Fan grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re clearly a demon dragon, so why do you act like a scammer fortune teller? It¡¯s all about destiny with you. If everything was fated, why should anyone try? If I was born to Control Beasts, why would I attempt anything else? Couldn¡¯t I just stay at home and sleep?¡±
¡°Whatever you want. You were made into a wanderer as a child, and you managed to endure through extreme battles where your life was on the line. This is also a destiny of sorts. You were born fated to never be able to stay at home and sleep, but while you are different from your father, there is one simrity you share!¡± Cid Raleigh said.
¡°What?¡±
¡°You have the genes for causing trouble. Your family is fated to never live a peaceful life. Even if they don¡¯t make trouble, trouble wille and find them.¡±
¡°Tsk, you scammer!¡± Xia Fan waved his hand unhappily.
...
Though the Beast Garden was full of cheers, Lear was rather confused and disappointed. He returned to his office, but his lovely secretary wasn¡¯t there. Presumably, she was celebrating with everyone else.
Lear went up to the tea table. Originally, he was going to brew himself some ck tea, but in the end, he grabbed a bottle of alcohol. Pouring himself a full cup of absinthe, he went to his seat and immediately downed a third of the cup.
¡°Those were two pureblood Lion Vultures, but they prostrated themselves before that young man. Am I too old to understand the world now?¡± Lear muttered.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone urgently knocked on his door.
¡°Come in,¡± Lear said, tidying his uniform.
The door was pushed open, and the young son of the Qin n, Qin Lang, walked in with an excited face.
¡°Uncle Lear, I have some business with you.¡±
¡°Oh?¡±
¡°Well, I had a Rainbow Vajra Parrot that I ced here with you...¡±
Lear nodded. Qin Lang had just reached adulthood. Although his n wasn¡¯t some behemoth like the Donfang n, it had some status in Subduing Demon City. Lear was on very good terms with Qin Yingdong, the patriarch of the Qin n, so he had agreed to tame a flying beast for Qin Lang to serve as his mount.
¡°Your parrot has a pure bloodline and is a good seed, but I¡¯ve been busytely, and there are several other flying beasts that I need to train, so you¡¯ll need to wait a little longer,¡± Lear said.
Qin Lang awkwardly scratched his head. ¡°Uncle Lear, I know that you¡¯re very busy. Other people find it hard to tame flying beasts, so they ce their hopes on you.
¡°Just now, I asked Xia Fan if he could train my mount, and Xia Fan said he would try. So, I was thinking, I might as well let him. After all, he was able to make two Lion Vultures recognize him as master, and Young Master Dongfang He said that those two Lion Vultures were descendants of the Golden One and Silver One!¡±
Lear froze in shock, a look of realization on his face.
¡°No wonder they had such powerful gazes, sharp eyes, and savage natures, refusing to let anyone get close. So they were the descendants of those two legendary Lion Vultures!¡±
But Lear quickly felt an even more unpleasant feeling. Since Xia Fan had already tamed the descendants of the Golden One and Silver One, his status in Subduing Demon City was bound to soar. Even Qin Lang had stopped asking him to train his flying beast and had gone to Xia Fan instead!
Logically, they were all brothers in the fight against the demons, and he should have been happy about Xia Fan¡¯s ability to control beasts, but Lear couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed in himself. He had been a beast tamer for all his life and became the Chief Beast Tamer of the Beast Garden. He had even risen to the rank of general, but he was losing to that kid?
What was going on here?
There were always monsters every year, but why were there so many this year?
As Lear thought to himself, he opened his safe drawer and took out a key with Qin Lang¡¯s name, cing it on the table.
¡°It¡¯s good for the young to have drive. Here¡¯s the key. Have Xia Fan try.¡±
¡°Thank you, Uncle. I¡¯ll have my dad invite you out for a drink when I get back,¡± Qin Lang said excitedly as he grabbed the key.
...
Once Qin Lang was gone, Lear walked into the library attached to his office. The twelve bookshelves were full of books concerning beast research. Lear had taken almost his entire life to learn almost every beast taming method that could be found in Subduing Demon City.
Next to the wall was a row of crystals linked to the beast cages. Lear found the crystal that was surveying the cage with Qin Lang¡¯s Vajra Parrot and turned it on.
He saw Xia Fan, escorted by the crowd, walking into the parrot¡¯s cage.
Pureblood Lion Vultures had already bowed to Xia Fan, let alone a parrot that was two levels lower. In front of Xia Fan, the Rainbow Vajra Parrot was like a child, a fawning look in its eyes as it rubbed its soft feathers against Xia Fan¡¯s hands. It practically had the words ¡°hug me¡± written on its face.
Xia Fan¡¯s method for training flying beasts was unheard of. He brought over a chair, sat across from the parrot and started to chat with it.
¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what¡¯s going on.¡±
¡°Little Qin is still young, meaning that he has a lot of potential. Although he¡¯s still not able to hold his own, you can¡¯t say that he won¡¯t be able to in the future.¡±
¡°Hey, you have to have a little more confidence in him. Think about it. With your help, Little Qin is bound to aplish great things. Isn¡¯t that something to be proud of? You two might even aplish something historical and forge your own legend.¡±
¡°If you have a powerful master who¡¯s too bright, other people will only know of your master¡¯s power. Who will know of all the work you¡¯ve put in?¡±
¡°Little Qin is different. He needs you...¡±
The parrot was taken aback by Xia Fan¡¯s words. It suddenly felt like an average student, like Little Qin wasn¡¯tpletely uneptable. Little Qin needed the guidance of a powerful flying beast like it, and when it was with Little Qin, it could better show its own value!
More importantly, Xia Fan exuded the aura of a king, but he was not arrogant. He used his virtue to persuade, patiently chatting with the parrot and making the parrot want to shed tears of gratitude.
¡°Work hard,¡± Xia Fan said, revealing his usual smile. He patted the parrot on the head and told the bird encouragingly, ¡°I have high hopes of you!¡±
Chapter 1588 - 1588 Underwater Demon Palace
1588 Underwater Demon Pce
Back in his dorm, Xia Fan sat on the window pane, looking at the lights of Subduing Demon City in the night. In this strange city, people used illumination crystals as light sources at night. The glowing stones were distributed throughout the city and reminded Xia Fan of space.
Only now did Xia Fan understand that the universe wasn¡¯t the limit of space. The vast and boundless river of stars was only one small part of the world. Besides the universe, there was also the Three Realms!
¡°I say, when I see Pearl and me Swallow again, could I give them a big fright?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Cid Raleighughed. ¡°What are you thinking? Bright Pearl and me Swallow are respectively the daughter of the Frostseal Megadragon and the Fire Megadragon. Their bloodlines are pure and their energies vast. Your Beast King¡¯s Order is incapable of applying pressure to them.
¡°Looking at it more positively, Pearl will be more affectionate with you. After all, your Aura has changed. Compared to other humans, you will be better able to exchange thoughts with dragons on a deeper level.
¡°In summary, your current abilities are basically like this: you can control all beasts besides Dragons and Demi-Dragons, and with the power of the Law of Speed, you can easily reach ten thousand meters per second, with the Immortal Wine letting you hit fifty thousand. In addition, you also have the Law of Gold. As a basically all-purposew, the Law of Gold won¡¯t give you a direct boost inbat power, but it can have surprising effects at key moments.
¡°These three abilities are your foundation. In addition, you¡¯ve also had an excellent education, learning engineering, electronics, pharmacology, botany, chemistry, and even random things like literary appreciation, art, and music.
¡°Thus, you can see that you¡¯re an all-around warrior down to your bones, knowing a little bit of everything. This sort of person would be unique whether they were among the Skywings or the Lower Realm. Work hard. Your potential is limitless!¡±
Xia Fan scratched his head. It turned out that he had somehow managed to learn a lot of skills. That wasn¡¯t bad. As the saying went, knowing a lot of skills had never killed anyone.
Xia Fan gazed at the city. If the praise hade from his parents or siblings, it would have been great. But in reality, he was sitting alone on the window pane, and the one praising him was some mysterious old Demon Dragon.
Reality was truly very magical, but it was also rather sad. A child who had been wandering the world since he was young longed to be with his family and hear their voices, but the heavens still fooled around with him. His father was always busy, not even having time to see his little son.
He led the Skywings in battle in the Middle Realm, in the Lower Realm, against the Demonic Ants, against real demons...
His father and his nsmen exterminated anyone they encountered and led glorious lives. Xia Fan was like a little child who worshipped and followed in his father¡¯s footsteps, growing up in a stumbling fashion. After chasing after him for twenty years, he still hadn¡¯t caught up. The Skywings were just such restless people. Xia Fan didn¡¯t know if he should feel helpless or happy to be born in such a n.
The next morning, Qin Lang brought over his good friend Lio Jiesi to find Xia Fan. Ever since yesterday, when Xia Fan helped Qin Lang tame his Vajra Parrot, Xia Fan¡¯s name had spread throughout all of Subduing Demon City. Everyone was saying that a beast tamer was probably going to emerge from this ss of youths.
In any society, skilled workers with top-ss abilities were alwayscking. The Lower Realm was huge, so flying beasts were important for every warrior. But there simply weren¡¯t enough top-ss beast tamers to meet the demand. Many beasts were waiting to be tamed, after which they could be sent into battle.
In the past, warriors first had to go to General Lear. The chief beast tamer of the Beast Garden had outstanding abilities, but he was training far too many flying beasts, and the line was very long. With Xia Fan appearing out of nowhere, the warriors now had an extra choice!
¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you!¡± Luo Jiesi smiled as he proffered a gift with both hands. This was a valuable possession of the n that he had taken from his father¡¯s safe, twenty beast crystals of excellent quality. Before taking a heavy injury, Luo Jiesi¡¯s father had participated in the tough battles on the second level for thirty years, slowly umting these beast crystals.
Now, his father was retired, and the glory of the n rested on his sessor, Luo Jiesi. The most basic requirement to being a warrior was a flying beast that would listen to hismands!
¡°Agree to it,¡± Cid Raleigh said in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. ¡°In any case, you need to go to the Beast Garden today to train the two Lion Vultures. Moreover, the more you hone a de, the sharper it will be, and the more you use a skill, the more proficient in it you be!¡±
...
As Xia Fan was gradually on his way to establishing a reputation as a beast taming specialist, dark clouds covered the skies of the Northern Sea. The investigation team from Subduing Demon City was performing a carpet search of this vast ocean, swearing to find the truth behind why the Second Son of the me Spirit was hiding here.
This was a powerful team, led by the weapon specialist City Lord Cotird. He had brought many supreme weapons and tools created by Subduing Demon City¡¯s secret weapons department with him. The legendary pieces of equipment hidden in thick alloy chests were mostly unheard of by the vast majority of warriors. They had been forged for a future all-out war against the demons!
The deputy leaders were the main powers of various Demon yer ns. Their ancestors had once in Demon Kings, establishing a glorious foundation for them. As descendants of those legendary warriors, the warriors of the Demon yer ns had inherited powerful abilities. They always fought on the front line, going wherever they were needed.
During the first week of investigation, the team ran into a serious problem. The terrain at the bottom of the Northern Sea was extremelyplicated. Most of the sea floor consisted of sand, but the bottom of the Northern Sea was a maze-like collection of stone ridges!
Down on the dark sea bottom, the strange and craggy rocks formed mountains and forests,. Sea grass several hundred meters long grew from them, swaying in the water. Warriors who tried to search the sea bottom would often get caught up in the seaweed, and their search devices were not spared. The moment the seaweed and sand got into the devices, they needed to be taken back and handed to the engineering division for repair.
Two weeks had gone by, but the investigation was at a standstill. Just when the warriors were exhausted from the intense work, a sudden discovery brought hope to the team.
Late at night, Cotird summoned his deputies for a conference. He first listened to the report from the scanning group.
¡°In short, the situation is just like what I said. In Region 13, the scanning crystal discovered arge metallic signature hidden underground. We estimate that it is a metal building no less than twenty-five square kilometers in area!
¡°Unfortunately, this building is buried in the sand, and it will take some time andrge-scale sand-sucking equipment to clear up all the sand.¡±
Cotird nodded and looked to everyone else, saying sternly, ¡°Thisrge metal building measuring twenty-five square kilometers is highly likely to be a Demon Pce. I¡¯ve already notified Subduing Demon City to send over more siphon crystals and more flexible metal pipes. If no one objects, we can start therge-scale excavation tomorrow.¡±
Dongfang Laiyin frowned. ¡°Why would the Northern Sea have a Demon King¡¯s Pce? Since it¡¯s probably a Demon King pce, shouldn¡¯t we ask for reinforcements in case there¡¯s a Demon King slumbering there?¡±
Cotird replied, ¡°I can answer these two questions for you. Over the countless epochs of war, we have suffered bitter defeats more than once, the demon army rising up from the third level of the Lower Realm and attacking the first level where we are.
¡°Before holding this meeting, I consulted the historian Calvinson. He consulted the archives and found records saying that the Scarlet me King Stanley once set up a base near the Northern Sea.
¡°That was during the 137th full-scale war. Subduing Demon City fell, and the demon army managed to get all the way to the perimeter barrier. ording to the records, Stanley was stationed at the Northern Sea for three whole years. He had more than enough time to build a pce!
¡°As for why it was never discovered, there are two possibilities. The first is that it was always built underwater. Stanley is the Scarlet ze Demon King, and everyone knows he hates water, so no one imagined that he would build a pce underwater.
¡°The other possibility is that the pce was originally built onnd, but when Stanley decided to retreat, he used some powerful ability to sink the pce to the sea bottom, in addition burying the Second Son of me Soul¡¯s egg of reincarnation there. In that way, he nted a seed of evil for their next counterattack.¡±
Everyone nodded, feeling that Cotird¡¯s words were logical.
Cotird paused and then continued, ¡°As for the question of reinforcements, it doesn¡¯t seem necessary to me. First, we already have a lot of people, and many of them are elites. In addition, if the Demon Pce has some other powerful lifeforms, or even the Scarlet Demon King himself, they would have appeared with the Second Son.
¡°That battle in the valley appears to be a coincidence. Moreover, the Demon Pce under the sea is nothing more than a temporary residence, so its danger level shouldn¡¯t be too high. But because the pce is buried in sand, it will be rather difficult to get to it.¡±
...
The next morning, the n started.
The warriors put on diving suits and entered the water, carrying with them crystals that could resistmunication disruption.
Siphons made from flexible metal immediately went to work. The sand siphons had vacuum crystals installed in them, a powerful suction forceing from the crystals and drawing in sand, stones, and grass to the other end of the pipes, fifty kilometers away.
On the first day, there were twenty siphons working. One weekter, reinforcements and supplies came from Subduing Demon City, and the number of siphons swelled to one hundred and fifty. Every day, an average of a million cubic meters of sand was being cleared away!
The sea floor was torn away. On the ninth day of the operation, the warriors working underwater sent back word that the pointed roof of a Demon Pce had been found twenty meters under the sea floor. At the tip of the roof was a me-shaped statue, indicating that this was a Demon Pce that had belonged to Scarlet ze King Stanley!
The warriors were invigorated. Splitting into four work crews, they took shifts so that they could work day and night.
In the blink of an eye, on the twelfth day, the entire roof of the Demon Pce was exposed. The pce was T-shaped, a long corridor linking the buildings. It was a typical demon building, though they were still not certain how many floors the pce had or if it had any underground tunnels or chambers.
As the investigation team was about to excitedly ry news of their progress to Subduing Demon City, something unexpected happened...
Chapter 1589 - 1589 Cage
1589 Cage
The underwater clearance project was still ongoing. Nikai, as a specialist of the investigation team, was wearing a blue divingbat uniform and standing guard at her post.
The greatest source of fear for humans in the sea wasn¡¯t the pressure of the water, but the silence.
The lights were dim, and the pressure of the water meant that all the humans moved slowly. All was quiet, as if one was in a sealed box. They were desperate to escape this ursed silence and oppression, but the icy sea water always surrounded them.
The seaweed was like the extended arms of ghosts and demons, and fish of various strange forms waved their fins and tails as they watched thesend creatures who had intruded upon their world from the shadows.
Nikai¡¯s helmet had a glowing crystal embedded on the top of it. Wherever she moved her head, the light would follow, but the ces that the light couldn¡¯t touch remained dark, making one suspect that there was some aggressive and frightening creature lurking in that darkness.
¡°Curses. The sand siphon is stuck,¡± apanion¡¯s voice came from themunication crystal.
¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. I¡¯m right behind you,¡± Nikai said.
The goddess had a very attractive voice, helping herrade feel safe and secure. He twisted the siphon vigorously, wanting to raise the stuck siphon like he was pulling out a thick tree, showing his manly strength to the goddess.
Although everyone knew that the goddess would marry Dongfang He or Yun Jiatian, and that only the proud sons of Heaven deserved to be together with the perfect goddess, thisrade couldn¡¯t help but cling to his delusions. There were no small number of people like him, living in their lewd fantasies while never being bold enough to say them out loud.
Nikai kicked her slender long legs, moving to the right of herrade like an agile fish.
The sand siphon was caught between a few rocks. Nikai tried to pull out the flexible pipe, but the flexible metal pipe didn¡¯t move one bit, like it was caught in the jaws of some monster.
¡°Nicky, are there any problems over there? Do you need me toe and help you?¡± the voice of her father, Nizeru, came from themunication crystal.
¡°There¡¯s no need. It¡¯s just that a flexible pipe is caught in the rocks. I can use the Divine Wings to push aside the surrounding rocks,¡± Nikai replied.
Support and protection were Nikai¡¯s job. Her Ability excelled at helping herrades, which was why her father had decided to add her to the investigation team.
The Ni n was a very famous n, for their n had inherited a Light special ability. Nikai was one of the few Ability mutants in her n. Her Divine Wings had physical form, like the wings of a butterfly. They could take her up to the sky, and they could also wrap around her like a cocoon and protect her.
¡°Understood, but don¡¯t force yourself,¡± her father said warmly. Nikai was the pride of the n, and Nizeru didn¡¯t want her toe to the slightest harm.
¡°Back up a little. I¡¯m going to use the Divine Wings. If the impact is too strong, it might push you over,¡± Nikai said to herrade.
¡°Okay, okay. Thank you for the help.¡± Herrade quickly retreated fifty meters. For him, any request from Nikai was akin to a divine decree!
Nikai took a deep breath, and then she slowly raised her slender arms like an elegant swan.
As Nikai raised her arms, mystical rainbow wings appeared on her back, appearing straight out of a dream. All the warriors working in the area stopped to look.
¡°So beautiful...¡±
¡°Like the wings of a butterfly!¡±
¡°Even dying under those beautiful wings would be worth it!¡± the warriors muttered, entranced by the sight.
With a whoosh, the wings closed up, bing like thin des, and were easily inserted into the crevice.
Nikai waved her wrist, and the wings opened again. The earth trembled, and the stuck hose began to slowly shift. As the two giant rocks moved to the side, the pipe started working again, sand being sucked into it and sent kilometers away.
¡°Sess! As expected of the Divine Wings! Like being assisted by the gods!¡± Nikai¡¯srade shouted excitedly.
But he had barely spoken when the quiet underwater world suddenly shuddered, as if an earthquake was happening. The earth cracked open, and sea water poured into the fissure, instantly creating a whirlpool.
In a hundredth of a second, the whirlpool reached a height of one hundred meters above the sea floor, white bubbles spinning together into an underwater vortex. Everyone saw Nikai¡¯s body being whisked away by the whirlpool.
¡°Oh no! The sea floor copsed!¡± someone shouted.
Nikai felt her body sinking, and she instinctively used the Divine Wings to protect herself, turning them into a secondyer of armor.
But while the Divine Wings could protect her, they couldn¡¯t resist the bizarre pull. It was like some monster had seized her legs and was pulling her into the darkness.
The copsing sea floor opened up into apletely pitch-ck deep pit two meters wide. Her rainbow wings shed in the water and then began to descend, together with the surrounding rocks, seaweed, and other humans.
There was a rumble as the inrush of rocks caused a secondary copse around the pit. Countless rocks poured into the pit, just like a copsing mountain, and in a few seconds, the pit was buried.
The warriors mbered up in fright and looked around. Countless grains of sand and rock had been stirred up in the darkness, and severed des of seaweed slowly drifted up to the surface, but there was no sign of Nikai and her magical wings.
...
The frenzied rescue effort went from noon all the way to nightfall. All the warriors had seemingly gone crazy, using sand siphons and whatever other tools they had, even using their hands to dig.
Nikai wasn¡¯t a goddess for only Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian. She was the idol that all the young warriors of Subduing Demon City admired and yearned for. When they learned that Nikai had been sucked underground, the warriors went mad, and not even nine bulls would have been able to hold them back as they threw themselves into the rescue effort.
She was a goddess that everyone knew they could never have, but they still felt blessed to just look at her. She clearly had no connection to any of them, but they would feel their eyes tear up when they learned that she was in danger!
¡ª¡ª
A ship, the temporarymand center of the investigation team¡
A model, made by an engineering specialist on the spot, was ced on the table.
¡°We have to have the work team down below stop allrge-scale excavation!¡± a fat and very experienced engineer spoke up.
Nizeru was like a frenzied lion as he roared, ¡°Stop? Why!? Nikai is still imprisoned underground. Are you trying to hurt her!?¡±
¡°No, the exact opposite. We want to save Nikai, which is why we have to stop digging!¡± The engineer pointed at the model. ¡°We¡¯ve already confirmed it. A Demon Pce plus a vertical shaft corresponds to a hidden pce, a very special type of demon building!¡±
¡°Speak in a way I can understand,¡± Nizeru spoke as he grit his teeth.
¡°Ugh! To put it simply, this Demon Pce has a trap built into it! If its foundations are shaken or a mechanism is triggered by someone going in, the entire Demon Pce will self-destruct!¡± the engineer shouted even more loudly than Nizeru.
Everyone gasped as one. They had heard of self-destructing buildings before. The thirteen Demon Kings were avid builders, but they were also very cunning. There were real and fake Demon Pces, safe Demon Pces and ones that were full of traps. All of that was in case the humans invaded them.
The underwater Demon Pce was built on traditional human territory, so it made sense to add a self-destruct mechanism to a pce built on enemynds, in case it fell to humans.
But if they stopped digging in order to prevent the pce from self-destructing, what about Nikai?
If they dug, the Demon Pce would self-destruct. If they didn¡¯t dig, Nikai would be stuck there, her life in danger. This was truly a dilemma!
Nizeru¡¯s face was already green. At that time, a middle-aged warrior pushed open the door to themand center. His face grim, he ced amunication crystal on the table.
¡°Chief, there¡¯s a voice! It seems Nikai is calling for help!¡±
Chapter 1590 - 1590 The Goddess’s Predicament, Demonic Voice
1590 The Goddess¡¯s Predicament, Demonic Voice
A weak voice came from themunication crystal. The signal was being severely disrupted, and the sound wasn¡¯t too clear, but one could tell that Nikai¡¯s current situation was not optimistic.
¡°She must have been injured,¡± City Lord Cotird said.
¡°How could that be? Little Niki had the protection of the Divine Wings!¡± Nizeru spoke up nervously.
Cotird frowned. ¡°This is a Demon Pce we¡¯re talking about. The power of Bloodline Suppression cannot be underestimated. We also have demon blood. It¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t hit the Bloodline threshold, so we¡¯re still humans!
¡°There¡¯s a lot of static in themunication crystal. This is also created by the formidable power of the Demon Pce. As for Nikai, she should be inside the Demon Pce. The suppression and disturbance has weakened her ability, so it was unable topletely protect her, causing her to be injured.¡±
Bang!
Nizeru mmed the table. Bloodline Suppression had always been a problem for the Demon Subduer Army. It was like a single wolf. While it might be aloof and vicious, when it ran into a tiger or lion, it would still instinctively tremble in fear.
When an ordinary person encountered a Demon King, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to stand straight, with the excessive fear and Bloodline pressure even causing their blood vessels to instantly clog up. Thus, all former Demon-ying heroes had possessed immense courage that was able to push back against the Bloodline suppression. Erupting with a willingness to die, they had fought against the endless pressure of the Demons!
¡°Nikai, listen to what I¡¯m saying. First, you need to inject energy into themunication crystal to strengthen the signal. In this way, we can more clearly receive your message.¡±
As Cotird spoke, he also injected energy into his ownmunication crystal. White light emerged from his finger, looking like a drop of water as it entered the crystal swirling around within it.
The signal was strengthened to the maximum. If any more energy was injected, the crystal might go past its limit and shatter!
Cotird¡¯s method worked, and it wasn¡¯t long before Nikai¡¯s voice became clearer.
¡°I did as you said. Can you hear me now?¡±
¡°Very clearly! Nikai, tell me the state of your injuries and if you can still hold on.¡±
¡°I think my left leg is broken. It hurt a lot a moment ago, but I¡¯m gradually starting to lose sensation in it. Besides that, I¡¯m okay, only a few surface wounds.¡±
Nikai¡¯s left leg was broken, and she was losing feeling in it?
This wasn¡¯t good news. Even though surgery could help the leg recover, and if the injuries were too severe, it could be reced entirely, a repaired or transnted leg could neverpare to the original!
It was like artificial teeth. The most expensive artificial teeth weren¡¯t as usable as the original teeth, let alone something moreplicated and more important like a leg!
Nikai spoke again, ¡°I see Xiao He and Wei Guo. They were caught up in the whirlpool with me, but they didn¡¯t manage to survive.¡±
This wasn¡¯t hard to understand. Nikai had the Divine Wings of Color to protect her, and she still ended up injured. The impacts borne by the others had to have been even worse!
¡°Nikai, where are you now? Is there anything around you that you can use to identify your location?¡±
There was a pause of several minutes. Nikai was probably observing her surroundings.
¡°It¡¯s very dark, and there are a lot of statues. It¡¯s like some strange graveyard. Wait, there seems to be an exit. I¡¯ll go over and look.¡±
There was another long period of waiting. Everyone could imagine the beautiful Nikai, her body covered in wounds, dragging her broken leg around. Could she still walk? She had probably crawled over, right?
¡°It really is an entrance. It should lead into the Demon Pce. There¡¯s a small box embedded into the wall of the entrance, and there¡¯s a crystal recording a demonic voice inside. I think this crystal should be the Demon Pce¡¯s safety guide.¡±
Everyone¡¯s faces sank. A building like the Demon Pce would have a very high safety level, and it would be filled with countless traps. If one touched the wrong trap, it might cause the entire Demon Pce to self-destruct!
Thus, for the sake of safety, the demons left behind demon crystals that would contain messages regarding the safe route through the Demon Pce. If it was their own people, they could listen to the demon crystal and naturally figure out the safe path through the pce.
Humans couldn¡¯t understand thenguage of demons, and even though Subduing Demon City had used demonic music to develop a method of having youths awaken their demon energy, that was a mental kind of enlightenment. When you heard the demon music, your Inner Demon would resonate, and you would naturally awaken to your demon power.
¡°We have to trante the demon words!¡± Cotird said, his eyes turning cold. ¡°Nikai, listen to me. Have the demonic recording y, and we¡¯ll record it and mobilize all of Subduing Demon City to analyze its contents!
...
Although it wasn¡¯t officially announced, the fact that Nikai had encountered a mishap at the Northern Sea still managed to spread through the warriors of Subduing Demon City. Everyone¡¯s hearts ached when they learned that Nikai had been sucked into the Demon Pce and was currently missing.
The news even caused a disturbance, some of the more impulsive warriors wanting to mount their flying beasts and immediately head to the Northern Sea. Naturally, they were swiftly intercepted and rebuked by their superiors.
Reality was cruel. Even if they made it to the Northern Sea, what could they do? The investigation team had all the elites of the city, together with Cotird and the stalwarts from the Demon yer ns. Even they were powerless!
¡°I¡¯m so envious. If I could have so many men willing to plunge into the mes for me, then it would be worth it to be stuck in a Demon Pce.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be stupid. Living is better than anything. I¡¯d rather have no man want me than be like the goddess and pass away in my youth.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t go jinxing it. Nikai isn¡¯t necessarily going to die.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha heard that conversation as they turned the corner of the stairs. It came from two female warriors that they didn¡¯t know.
Opening the door to the room, Traveling Buddha sighed and said, ¡°Ha, what a pity. Nikai was quite nice. I hope that she cane back safely.¡±
Xia Fan chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see you appreciating beauty. But I recall that you¡¯re married. You¡¯re not worried that Hidden Water is going toe settle ounts?¡±
¡°What are you saying?¡± Traveling Buddha straightened up and said righteously, ¡°I¡¯m not doing this for me, but for you! Who made you my brother? I already have a family, but you¡¯re still a loner. I just thought that Nikai was a pretty good match for you.
¡°On that subject, Le Jiajia and Jane are also pretty good. But Jane¡¯s background is too ordinary, and she was left back at Ashen Moon, which is a little far. However, Le Jiajia is close by. Unfortunately, she has a Demon King¡¯s Bloodline, and from what I can tell, she has a rather strange personality and doesn¡¯t seem interested in you.
¡°After considering all the options, I still think Nikai is pretty decent. Her status is high enough to match your Skywings, and her ability is powerful. She also has a good personality, with even the aunties selling snacks on the street praising her for her intelligence. She¡¯s truly a noble daughter.¡±
¡°When did you get so gossipy?¡± Xia Fan grumbled. ¡°With your EQ, it¡¯s best if you try not to worry about me. The auntie on the street told you that Nikai was pretty good, but did she tell you that the two strongest guys of Subduing Demon City are after Nikai? Moreover, anyone who marries Nikai will be public enemy number one for every other young man in the city!¡±
¡°Tsk.¡± Traveling Buddha didn¡¯t seem to mind that. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a Skywing? Are Skywings afraid of being a public enemy? Don¡¯t joke with me! And stop finding excuses. If you don¡¯t try, how can you know if it will work out?¡±
Xia Fan couldn¡¯t be bothered to listen to Traveling Buddha¡¯s nonsense. While there was nothing particrly happy about being single, he wasn¡¯t at the level where he just had to get a girlfriend. It was better to let things proceed naturally. Trying to change oneself to match those girls and pretending to run into a girl you liked somewhere in the city were things that Xia Fan couldn¡¯t do. The Skywings were all rather straightforward men!
Suddenly, the door banged open, and arge fellow charged into Xia Fan¡¯s room. Thankfully, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were very disciplined, or else they could have instantly annihted the impulsive fellow!
Jiang Zhibei was covered in huge beads of sweet, his fat body jiggling as he shouted, ¡°Hurry! There¡¯s an assembly!¡±
¡°What? Are we going to war?¡± Traveling Buddha raised an eyebrow and asked.
¡°It¡¯s even more serious than that!¡± Jiang Zhibei jumped around and said, ¡°Nikai is imprisoned in the Demon Pce, and we need to decrypt a special demonic recording. The City Lord has summoned all the warriors with high levels of Demon blood!¡±
Chapter 1591 - 1591 Deciphering the Demonic Voice!
1591 Deciphering the Demonic Voice!
In a private chamber on the top floor of the Hall of Heroes¡
A giant timer had been hung up. The number indicated that Nikai had been imprisoned in the undersea demon pce for nine hours and seventeen minutes. As the numbers increased, Nikai¡¯s situation grew more and more dangerous.
New warriors were constantly rushing into the private room. The workers handed them earphones and record crystals, and then the warriors with high levels of Demon Blood sat around the room, closing their eyes or spinning pencils around in their hands. There were some people who evenid down on sofas, rxing their bodiespletely and looking up at the ceiling.
When Xia Fan entered the private chamber, Calvinson immediately waved him over and personally gave him a crystal and earphones.
¡°You¡¯re a talent only seen every fifty years, possessing six-star potential and the highest tier of Demon Blood. In this emergency, I hope that you can help us out,¡± Calvinson told him.
Xia Fan weighed the record crystal and frowned. ¡°I naturally want to help, but I don¡¯t understand anything about Demonic Voices. I only heard them a few times during the Awakening sses.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t need to understand it.¡± Calvinson ced a hand on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Demonic Voices that contain information arepletely different from the Demonic Voices that you heard in ss that can Awaken your potential. Nobody can exin the exact principles. If we were able to thoroughly research Demonic Voices, we wouldn¡¯t be in such a frantic state right now.
¡°All you need to remember is that if you manage to form an image in your mind, that means you¡¯ve understood the Demonic Voice. The picture will be a map of the Demon Pce, showing which paths you can take, which paths you can¡¯t, and where the traps are located. This important information is all contained in the Demonic Voice. Anyone who can understand the Demonic Voice can help Nikai escape her predicament.
¡°Besides that, there¡¯s nothing I can teach you. Just do your best.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. ¡°Can I go to the balcony? This room is a little stuffy.¡±
Calvinson shook his head. ¡°No. The doors and windows are all sealed so that nobody jumps off a balcony if they lose their minds to the Demonic Voice.
¡°The medical team is on stand-by. If you feel ufortable, immediately ask for help. Interacting with Demonic Voices is very dangerous, and can easily lead to madness. It¡¯s okay for experienced warriors, but as you¡¯re a neer who only recently arrived at Subduing Demon City, you must be careful.¡±
Deciphering Demonic Voices seemed rather dangerous¡
As Xia Fan grumbled to himself, he walked into the room and imed a leather sofa with armrests in a corner. There were drinks and snacks on the side table. Perhaps to prevent someone who had gone crazy from hurting themselves, the materials used to hold the drinks and food were made from some kind of stic.
¡°It¡¯s up to you now. As a Demon Dragon, you should at least be able to understand Demonic Voices, right?¡± Xia Fanmunicated with Cid Raleigh.
¡®To tell the truth, I quite like that girl Nikai. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t help you,¡¯ Cid Raleigh replied.
¡°What are you trying to pull? If you can¡¯t even understand Demonic Voices, what sort of Demon Dragon are you? Are you just pretending to be one?¡± Xia Fan grumbled.
Cid Raleigh replied helplessly, ¡®Why would I trick you? While I might be a Demon Dragon, I¡¯m an ancient demon, okay? I¡¯m enemies with Harikane.
¡®It¡¯s like two countries at war. Are you going to just let your enemy listen in on your secret messages? Our Demonic Voices arepletely different from the Demonic Voices of Harikane¡¯s lineage!¡±
Xia Fan was rather disappointed. Demonic Voices were different fromnguages. It was a form of mentalmunication, and not even the most advanced trantion chips could decipher them.
Putting on the earphones, he heard a sound like a howling wind, a grade 17 gale ravaging a desert and whistling off into the distance, carrying with it a sky full of gravel and sand.
What sort of throat could produce such a fantastic sound?
Xia Fan looked around and saw that everyone had serious expressions. Le Jiajia was wearing her earphones as she drew rapidly on a white sheet of paper, something like the map of a maze. It seemed like she had sensed something from the Demonic Voice, but she quickly rejected her conclusion, balling up the paper and throwing it into the trash.
Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian were scarily serious. It was easy to tell that they were more anxious than anyone else. Jia Yuntian had such a serious expression that it was like everyone here owed him money. As for Dongfang He, his eyes were closed in thought, and he held a hand to his forehead, like he was posing for a statue. He panted for breath as he kept thinking, like he was fighting a battle where his entire family was on the line!
The teachers and some experienced warriors were engaging in some whispered arguments. They were very gifted, and all of them had managed to get fragments of information from the Demonic Voice. s, their level ofprehension was somewhat low, like looking at a leopard through a pipe, and only seeing a spot!
Xia Fan closed his eyes and focused on listening to the chaotic sound. After all, he wasn¡¯t some cold-blooded animal. He also had a good impression of Nikai, so he had to at least try. Even though Nikai didn¡¯t really have a rtionship with Xia Fan, any normal man wouldn¡¯t be able to just watch as a beauty like the goddess was lost.
¡®You¡¯re too nervous,¡¯ Cid Raleigh told him. ¡®Demonic Voices need to beprehended. The sound is only the surface. What¡¯s really important is the will the sound is trying tomunicate. If you can connect to that will, you will naturallyprehend it.¡¯
Xia Fan listened to Cid Raleigh and rxedpletely. At the start, the Demonic Voice was very piercing, but over time, he gradually grew used to it, like it was a naughty and mischievous child. While he would annoy you every day, when you sent him off to kindergarten, you would find the house eerily silent, like something was missing, and you would start to miss the naughty child.
After some time, Xia Fan started to feel drowsy. He had grownpletely used to the Demonic Voice, treating it like a luby. Suddenly, Xia Fan felt like he saw a light.
Eh?
Surprised, Xia Fan found that he was at the entrance to a long passage. Outside were countless human-shaped statues with somber expressions, with long des made from the spines of beasts on their backs. Like a group of suicide soldiers, they gazed off into the distance impassively.
Xia Fan raised his head. ¡°I think I see something!¡±
The private chamber fell silent. Countless people turned to Xia Fan. When they saw that it was the young man who had entered the city not too long ago, they all disyed shock. Some people sighed while othersined. Xia Fan¡¯s sudden words had disturbed theirprehension of the Demonic Voice.
¡°What are you talking about? All Demonic Voices cause illusions, but you have to determine if what you see is true or false.¡±
¡°He¡¯s still too young. Actually, everyone sees something in the Demonic Voice, but if it¡¯s only a few fragmentary images or details, it can¡¯t be consideredprehension. Shouting like this only disrupts the progress of others.¡±
The elders were grumbling. Xia Fan¡¯s teacher Turan was also present, seeming rather embarrassed. He quickly took off his earphones and walked up to Xia Fan, whispering, ¡°Speak a little softer. Everyone¡¯s staring! Can you tell me what you saw?¡±
¡°Statues, a lot of humanoid statues! They have des of white bone on their back, seemingly made from the spines of beasts. There¡¯s also a long corridor leading off into the unknown.¡± Xia Fan kept his eyes closed as he spoke, worried that if he opened his eyes, he would lose what he was seeing.
Plush!
Turan almost threw up blood, leaping like a cat that had had its tail stomped on and almost jumping onto the side table next to Xia Fan.
¡°It¡¯s the White Bone Legion!¡±
¡°Could he really have gotten in!?¡±
¡°Impossible! He hasn¡¯t been in Subduing Demon City for very long at all, and he can alreadyprehend Demonic Voices?¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s description sent waves through the room. Almost everyone stood up, with Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian excitedly running over.
¡°Did you tell Xia Fan about the White Bone Legion?¡± Turan asked Calvinson.
Calvinson shook his head. ¡°Not at all. Xia Fan has very high levels of Demon Blood, but hecks experience, so I only brought him over so that he could have a try. I didn¡¯t actually think that he would actuallyprehend the Demonic Voice.¡±
Turan said, ¡°But he¡¯s seeing the White Bone Legion! Where Nikai is imprisoned has many statues of the White Bone Legion, as well as a long corridor.¡±
¡°There¡¯s no rush. Let me ask him for a few more details,¡± Calvinson said in an abnormally calm voice.
The direction of the water flow, the giant pit, the locations of the White Bone Legion statues¡
There was no doubt that Xia Fan had read the information in the Demonic Voice, and his mind seemed to be in that mysterious Demon Pce.
¡°Sess! He really did it!¡±
¡°Contact Cotird at once!¡±
¡°Does Xia Fan need to speak with City Lord Cotird?¡±
¡°No! Have Xia Fan speak directly with Nikai! At once!¡±
Everyone in the private chamber was in an uproar. The workers nervously got in touch with the Northern Sea, and then used the transfer ability of themunication crystals to establish a channel between Xia Fan and Nikai.
...
Xia Fan felt two hands pressing on his shoulders, one trembling and fiery hot, while the other was stable and cold.
¡°Save Nikai! You have to save Nikai! I, Dongfang He, swear to the heavens that I will definitely pay you back! I will give you whatever you want!¡± Dongfang He¡¯s voice rang out in his ear. Xia Fan didn¡¯t dare to open his eyes, but he could guess that Dongfang He was probably very excited, because he was the owner of that fiery hand that was pumping with blood.
¡°Whether you seed or fail, I owe you a favor.¡±
That voice belonged to Jia Yuntian. Cold-faced Jia was truly calm. He would owe Xia Fan a favor whether it was a sess or failure? He had clearly thought carefully about those words.
¡°Connection established!¡±
¡°You can start conversing now!¡± a worker shouted.
Whoosh!
Xia Fan exhaled. The thought that he was the only one who could lead Nikai out safely had him rather nervous.
Chapter 1592 - 1592 Xia Fan and the Goddess
1592 Xia Fan and the Goddess
In a dark and cold world¡
Nikai felt a deep sense of solitude. The voices from headquarters and that of her father in themunication crystal were her only hope. As a warrior, Nikai tried her best to control her emotions so that her father wouldn¡¯t worry about her, but the sense of solitude lingered, and all she could do was endure it alone.
The pain from her left leg had diminished, probably from the effect of the pain-relieving spray, but the bone was still broken. Nikai found two thin sheets of alloy metal and then took off her underclothes so that she could bind her leg to the alloy sheets, creating a simple splint. With the help of the splint, she was able to move slowly, and with the energy drink she had on her, she could probablyst for another half a day.
¡°If Dongfang He can rescue me, I might as well agree to his marriage proposal. Jia Yuntian would do as well, although his personality is a little cold.¡± Nikai was starting to think about random things.
Humans had a natural desire forpanionship. While they might not notice it normally, if one was sick and lying weakly in a bed, not even strong enough to pour oneself a cup of water, one would naturally realize how great it would be to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, someone to talk with and make some porridge for them.
Nikai was exactly in that type of situation. Although she was called a goddess, she didn¡¯t actually have any options. Jia Yuntian and Dongfang He had scared off basically everyone else. The other men her age all acted awkwardly in front of her, unable to summon the courage to pursue her.
Many men didn¡¯t understand why such outstanding women were often married off to partnerscking suitability, but that was because everyone understood that they shouldn¡¯t pursue those women, and they couldn¡¯t hope that the goddess would pursue them. The reason why those women were married off to lousy men was because those lousy men were sweet talkers, and also shameless!
¡°Nikai, it¡¯s Xia Fan.¡± His voice suddenly came from themunication crystal, startling Nikai.
¡°Eh? It¡¯s you¡¡±
¡°Mm! I¡¯ve already deciphered the Demonic Voice, so the city lord wants me to help you get out,¡± Xia Fan told her.
Nikai was shocked again. She felt the ones most anxious about her being trapped would be Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian, and that they would definitely do everything they could to decipher the Demonic Voice. They might even ride a white horse and descend from the heavens to rescue her from this strange ce!
But instead, it was Xia Fan, the stranger she had only met once, who had appeared when Nikai needed him the most. Was it a coincidence, or some inevitability of fate?
¡°Then I leave it to you. My apologies for giving you and everyone trouble,¡± Nikai answered politely.
¡°Haha, if you were trouble, then I would want nothing more than for this trouble to pester me all the time. Although my eyes are closed, my nose is very good. I know that there are many animals staring at me with envy and admiration, particrly your two suitors. They probably even want to eat me! Alright, enough small talk. Do as I say, and I¡¯ll lead you out of here,¡± Xia Fan responded.
Pft!
Nikai couldn¡¯t help butugh, not expecting Xia Fan to be so humorous. When she thought about it, she realized that he was right. Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian probably weren¡¯t looking too good right now, yes?
In the darkness and silence, Xia Fan¡¯s little joke was like a precious ray of sunlight, shining into Nikai¡¯s heart. His confident tone also instilled hope in Nikai. Although she didn¡¯t understand Xia Fan at all, she instinctively felt he was worth trusting.
¡°Right now, you should head forward while paying attention to your surroundings. In 463 steps, you will arrive at an intersection,¡± Xia Fan began.
Nikai was startled. ¡°463 steps? You¡¯ve even calcted the number of steps I need to take?¡±
Xia Fan calmly said, ¡°It¡¯s very simple. I¡¯ve been examining you, and the span of your step is 0.84 meters. You¡¯re injured, and your left leg has sustained a level 2 fracture, which applies a coefficient of 0.65. In other words, your every step now only moves you 0.546 meters. Divide the distance by 0.546 and we get the number of steps you need to take. There is about a 2% margin of error.¡±
What a strange person¡
She was clearly in danger, but Nikai suddenly felt very curious about Xia Fan. She wanted to know just what sort of man could calcte the steps she needed to take so clearly!
¡°I can use my wings to fly over,¡± Nikai said.
She suddenly felt a little stubborn. After all, this Xia Fan had to be examining her. If he knew how much distance she covered with every step, this guy had to be harboring ill intentions.. Moreover, Nikai felt like she was being controlled like a puppet, and the strings were in Xia Fan¡¯s hands.
¡°Don¡¯t joke around. It¡¯s best for you to save energy. Your Divine Wings of Color really are quite powerful, but they use up too much energy. Their energy consumption factor is 4.9, and I estimate that your energy stores are already running low. Let¡¯s save them to use at a critical moment,¡± Xia Fan smiled in reply.
¡®As expected! There¡¯s something weird about this guy, for him to examine things in such detail!¡¯, Nikai thought to herself, both surprised and abashed, feeling like she had been stripped naked. It was like Xia Fan was omniscient, perhaps even knowing the measurements of her underwear!
Of course, Nikai was wrong. Observation was just Xia Fan¡¯s instinct. He had always been like that. He hadn¡¯t decided to memorize the details of Nikai¡¯s body for any particr reason. It was just what he did with everyone.
Nikai fell silent while Xia Fan continued to talk. It wasn¡¯t because Xia Fan liked to randomly chatter, but because he knew Nikai¡¯s situation. If she had a voice to keep herpany, she wouldn¡¯t feel so lonely, which would calm her down.
Thus, Xia Fan kept talking, talking about books he had read and the strange stories he had heard from the Scourges. He was like aedian, continuing his performance even though there was no audience or apuse.
¡°I¡¯ve arrived at the intersection. Which path should I take?¡±
¡°The middle one.¡±
¡°You¡¯re sure?¡±
¡°Of course. I¡¯ve got a big pack of your admirers staring at me. I¡¯m under a lot of pressure, okay? If I dare to point you down the wrong path, they¡¯ll probably break my third leg,¡± Xia Fan said in a very exaggerated tone.
Nikaiughed again. ¡°Ugh, you pervert. If you keep up that smooth talk of yours, I¡¯ll start ignoring you.¡±
Nikai wanted to be more serious, but Xia Fan¡¯s jokes were constantly amusing her. As sheughed, her mood lightened, and she felt like having Xia Fan apanying her made this ordeal not so bad.
¡ª
¡°Pervert? Are they flirting with each other?¡±
¡°What¡¯s going on? Have Nikai and Xia Fan known each other for a while or something?¡±
There were many people around Xia Fan at the moment. Although they were doing their best to remain silent, there was disbelief written all over their faces.
This situation was far too bizarre. It was incredibly difficult to say even one or two sentences to Nikai. After all, goddesses were naturally unreachable existences. Although Nikai was warm to everyone, it was a sort of politeness that came with a clear sense of distance.
But what was she doing with Xia Fan? They were brazenlyughing and chatting, practically holding hands and running off into the sunset!
Xia Fan talked about his third leg and then Nikai called him a pervert. Were they hearing things!? This was clearly a conversation between lovers!
¡°Xia Fan has sessfully gained Nikai¡¯s trust. In this sort of dangerous operation, establishing trust is the most important thing. You must remember this. One day, if yourrade needs to be saved, you need to be like Xia Fan, doing everything you can to try and make the person being rescued rx. Telling jokes and talking about rxing topics are all good options,¡± Calvinson lectured everyone.
Xia Fan was clearly teasing the goddess, and now even the city lord wasplimenting him?
Everyone¡¯s minds were in turmoil, but they had to admit that Xia Fan was putting on an excellent performance. Through his humor and his meticulous examination of the surroundings, he was able to guide Nikai to safety.
Even a fool could hear that Nikai was very rxed, already entrusting everything to Xia Fan. If Xia Fan made her walk fifteen steps, Nikai wouldn¡¯t take sixteen. If Xia Fan had Nikai make a 3.15 degree turn to the right, Nikai would do exactly as ordered.
This was not easy. Xia Fan first had to survey the Demon Pce¡¯s route and measure the distance, then he had to perfectly simte Nikai¡¯s movements. They couldn¡¯t see each other, but it was like they were of one body.
What else could be said at this point? This was probably what it meant to be a genius!
Xia Fan¡¯s feat of taming two top-tier Lion Vultures had just begun to spread through Subduing Demon City, and now, he had exhibited powerfulprehension, friendliness, and leadership. As Nikai made her way through the Demon Pce, though Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian felt extremely envious, they had to ept that they wouldn¡¯t have been able to aplish what Xia Fan was doing.
Amid the light conversation and jokes, Xia Fan was leading Nikai through the various traps, pulling her out from the jaws of Hell!
¡ª
Nikai didn¡¯t feel like she was in any danger at all. She felt Xia Buyun was rather strange, but she didn¡¯t know that Xia Fan was already covered in sweat, his brain working like a supeputer, calcting every step she took. Behind that rxed voice was effort that ordinary people couldn¡¯t imagine.
¡°I¡¯ve really reached the main hall! A hundred and fifty meters away is the throne of Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley, a throne zing with blood and fire. That has to be it! I¡¯ve seen it before in a book!¡± Nikai eximed in pleasant surprise.
¡°Congrattions. You¡¯ve done very well so far, but it¡¯s not time for us to celebrate just yet, for the toughest trial is only just beginning,¡± Xia Fan said with a smile. ¡°If you¡¯ve been doing exactly as I¡¯ve said so far and are standing on the threshold of the side door, then the throne should be 162.3 meters away. Now, you have to do this¡¡±
...
¡°Mm, mm, understood. Rx. I trust you. I¡¯ll do whatever you say!¡± Nikai replied.
Chapter 1593 - 1593 New Development! Something Is About to Wake Up!
1593 New Development! Something Is About to Wake Up!
¡°Say that again!?¡±
¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for jokes!¡±
Ending the call with the forward investigation team, Calvinson grimly walked over to Xia Fan and whispered into his ear, ¡°Stop for now. There¡¯s a new development.¡±
Xia Fan was startled and starting to worry, and then he spoke in a fretful tone, ¡°Nikai, um, could you wait a moment? I need to go for a piss. If I keep holding it in, I¡¯m going to wet my pants.¡±
!!
Pft!
On the other end, Nikaiughed. ¡°And you say you aren¡¯t a pervert? A gentleman should call it the bathroom or something. You¡¯re really crude.¡±
¡°It¡¯s all the same thing. Wait for me! I¡¯ll be back soon.¡±
¡°Mm, hurry and go.¡±
Taking off his earphones, Xia Fan immediately became cool and collected. He didn¡¯t really need to pee, his fretful appearance only an act so that Nikai wouldn¡¯t worry.
¡°There¡¯s news from the front that the energy pulses are intensifying. Something might be awakening,¡± Calvinson said urgently.
Xia Fan was startled. ¡°Awakening? What could it be?¡±
¡°It¡¯s hard to say. The demons are in the middle of a full-on revival. Last time, it was the Second Son of the me Soul, so there might be some other monster in the Demon Pce. You¡¯ve probably learned about Eggs of Reincarnation, right? Demon Kings and all other high-ranked lifeforms will bury their Eggs in different ces. If they die, they can choose any Egg to be reborn in, and they can control when they are reborn.
¡°The Demon Kings have been impossible to annihte over the years precisely because of this ability. They die again and again, and they are reborn again and again. Even their mounts can do this,¡± Calvinson exined.
Xia Fan considered that news. ¡°The Demon Pce is a well-defended fortress, and any external damage will cause it to explode. Thus, no matter what is awakening, we can¡¯t attack. And if we don¡¯t attack, Nikai will remain stuck in the Demon Pce.
¡°This is truly a dilemma. What has the investigation team decided?¡±
Calvinson stared deeply at Xia Fan. ¡°Who cares about the investigation team? Everything you did just now left a very deep impression on me, so I want to know¡ what do you think?¡±
Everyone held their breaths. Calvinson was one of the thirteen City Lords, but on this key question, he was asking Xia Fan¡¯s opinion. It appeared that the city lord had a very high opinion of Xia Fan, at least on this matter!
Xia Fan didn¡¯t leave everyone disappointed. Without the slightest hesitation, he said, ¡°Stop the rescue operation and have Nikai hide in a safer ce, and then have a small team enter the Demon Pce.
¡°Based on our current situation, we need to change our strategy. We give up on rescuing Nikai and opt to clear out the Demon Pce.¡±
Xia Fan had barely spoken when Dongfang He rushed up and tried to grab Xia Fan¡¯s cor. s, Xia Fan was too fast and easily dodged the grab.
¡°Give up on rescuing Nikai? Do you know what you¡¯re doing!? I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Dongfang He roared furiously, his eyes spitting me.
¡°Shut up!¡± Xia Fan retorted ruthlessly, the sharpness of his voice leaving everyone stunned. ¡°What am I doing? I should be asking you that question!
¡°Stopping the operation might not be the best choice, but it¡¯s the least worst option in the circumstances!
¡°Once Nikai leaves the Demon Pce, she still has a long way to go and has to avoid many traps. What if Nikai ran into that Awakening thing in this process!? Do you think that Nikai, with her shortage of energy and broken leg, has any hope of winning?
¡°What we should be doing isn¡¯t seeing who can shout louder, but solving this problem!
¡°No matter what it is that¡¯s awakening, we need to go in there and kill it! And then, if you want to go and bring Nikai out, nobody will stop you!¡±
¡°Heh!¡¡± Only Traveling Buddha was chuckling. Everyone else was struck dumb, not expecting the smiling kid to be this vicious when he was angry. His spittle had drenched Dongfang He¡¯s face.
¡®This is the real Xia Fan, the elite investigator of the Special Investigation Bureau, the Little Wolf of the Skywing n, the ruthless guy who fought his way from Ashen Moon to the Great Chiliocosm. When he¡¯s being all nice, did you guys really end up taking him for a soft persimmon?¡¯, Traveling Buddha thought to himself as he happily watched Xia Fan rebuke Dongfang He.
¡°I agree. Rather than arguing, we should set off now. With the Thunder Dragon, we can swiftly reach the Northern Sea,¡± Jia Yuntian said from a corner. The guy had an emotionless face all the time, but at least he saw things clearly and wasn¡¯t so annoying.
¡
The Northern Sea¡
The Thunder Dragonnded on a giant ship just before daybreak. That ship was the primary base of the investigation team. Currently, all investigations had been halted, and everyone on the ship was waiting nervously.
The Thunder Dragon wasn¡¯t a real dragon, but a type of Demi-Dragon, something like a mixture of hawk and Megadragon. Its bodycked the draconic scales that were as tough as alloy, and its intelligence was even morecking. In any case, after interacting with Pearl so much, Xia Fan wasn¡¯t at all respectful around mere Demi-Dragons.
As the most powerful flying beasts of Subduing Demon City, the Thunder Dragons could only be used by the City Lords. Moreover, they normally didn¡¯t appear in public, with even their living area being a strictly guarded mountain outside of the city, rather than in the Beast Garden.
In this emergency, Calvinson hadmandeered a Thunder Dragon and traveled through the night to get here. With him were Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian. Of course, the decoder of the Demonic Voice, Xia Fan, and his partner Traveling Buddha were also here.
¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡± someone shouted at the ship.
There was a small room on the back of the Thunder Dragon. Xia Fan was there so that he could maintain contact with Nikai. The two had already developed an envious connection. Nikai only trusted him, and she would get very annoyed if someone else tried to talk to her, constantly asking, ¡°Where¡¯s Xia Fan? Where did he go? Why isn¡¯t he saying anything?¡±
Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian could only shake their heads awkwardly. If only they had been able to decipher the Demonic Voice too! Then Nikai would be constantly asking about where they were!¡
But they still had a chance. If they rode a white horse and descended from the heavens to rescue Nikai from the Demon Pce, Nikai might hug them in excitement, perhaps even give them a kiss!¡
Xia Fan pushed open the door with a bang and emerged from the room.
¡°How is Nikai?¡±
¡°She¡¯s doing very well. I¡¯ve had her hide, but we had best move quickly.¡±
There were many people on the deck, everyone anxious and excited to act.
Not all warriors who had participated in the operation were starry-eyed fools who adored Nikai. Before Xia Fan came to the Lower Realm, the Lower Realm had been in one of its rare peaceful eras. Peace was a blessing to themon people. People could chat, go shopping, and if they got together in a group of four, they could even y mahjong.
But peace was an era that warriors hated the most, because if warriors wanted to make a name for themselves, they needed to do it throughbat achievements, and how could there bebat achievements without battle? Thus, many warriors were excited to hear that the war of humans and demons was about to restart. A person¡¯s reputation was like a tree¡¯s shadow. Since they hade down to this world, they had to leave something behind!
¡°I wonder who will be chosen?¡±
¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Experts of all fields have been gathered, and the City Lords will have a hard time making up their minds. I think that Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian will definitely be part of the team. After all, those two are Nikai¡¯s suitors, and they have the support of their ns.¡±
¡°What¡¯s the point in thinking about such things? There¡¯s no need to worry about the members, as there are simply too many people. What I¡¯m worried about is the name of themander. After all, a goodmander needs to be decisive and swift, but they also need to be bold and meticulous, someone with great experience!¡±
¡°Great experience? Subduing Demon City isn¡¯t a war zone, so all the good battlefieldmanders are in the level below.¡±
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha stood together, listening to the people around them randomly specting. Suddenly, a golden-haired youth emerged from the hold. He was City Lord Cotird¡¯s assistant, so when everyone saw him, they hurriedly asked him who was going to join the operation.
The golden-haired youth seemed very excited, whispering, ¡°An experienced veteran is being sent out! The City Lords have jointly decided to bring General Dresden out of retirement!
¡°Unfortunately¡¡±
¡°Unfortunately what? Finish your sentence!¡±
¡°Haaa¡¡± the golden-haired youth sighed. ¡°All of you know that General Dresden is an old-fashioned soldier with an inflexible personality. He insists on bringing a pure-blooded squadron. All warriors of this squadron have to be members of Demon yer ns, and outsiders aren¡¯t qualified.¡±
...
Chapter 1594 - 1594 An Old General’s Obstinance
1594 An Old General¡¯s Obstinance
¡°I refuse! Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha can¡¯t join my squad!¡±
¡°Why?¡±
¡°Because they aren¡¯t members of Demon yer ns. In this critical operation, I will only bring warriors I can trust.¡±
¡°Old Dres, I understand that you value trust in your squadron, but Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha are both outstanding. The battle in the canyon, the turmoil regarding the Lion Vultures in the Beast Garden, and Nikai¡¯s predicament; everyone has seen how well Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha performed there. Moreover, Xia Fan is the only one who was able to understand the Demonic Voice and get the map.¡±
!!
¡°Then have him hand over the map, or else support us from a distance. There¡¯s a situation if you look for one. In any case, I¡¯m not bringing anyone I don¡¯t understand.¡±
¡°What if I insist?¡±
¡°My apologies. A general abroad has the right to refuse orders.¡±
The mood became very stiff. General Dresden refused to bring Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha into the Demon Pce, as he was only willing to bring warriors he understood and trusted. This left Calvinson in an awkward spot. He felt sincere admiration for Xia Fan, even wanting Xia Fan to be themander. But when he considered that Xia Fan¡¯s current identity made it very difficult to convince the masses, he had to drop the idea.
Bloodlines were very mysterious existences. There were many people in Subduing Demon City who believed that those who killed Demon Kings had gained some mystical power from a Demon King¡¯s blood. It was why Demon yer ns had such lofty statuses. On a mental level, they were superior to the warriors from ordinary ns.
Calvinson scowled, dearly wishing to rush up to Dresden and shout into his face, ¡°You think the Demon yer ns are incredible? Xia Fan is a Skywing!¡±
s, the Skywingsing to the Lower Realm was a secret that only a few people knew. Even General Dresden didn¡¯t have the right to know about that crazy army.
Calvinson and Dresden were in a standoff, and Nizeru was worried sick. He wanted to save his daughter, but the City Lord and the general were arguing. What was going on here?
At this point, Cotird finally entered the conversation. ¡°Old Dres, take Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.¡±
¡°Or else?¡±
¡°Or else your n will no longer get a single weapon from me. What I have given you, I can also take back.¡±
Dresden¡¯s face turned green. The thirteen City Lords were all masters of their fields. Cotird specialized in weapon research and production. One order from him was enough for him to reim all the weapons andbat suits he had given out.
A warrior without a weapon basically had their arm cut off. Consequently, Cotird had a very special status in Subduing Demon City. The warriors needed to be careful to maintain their rtionship with that City Lord, or else he might strip them naked if he was unhappy.
As for the historian Calvinson, Dresden didn¡¯t give a hoot about him!
¡°You¡¯re ruthless!¡± The veins on his head bulging, Dresden stood up and walked out of the room.
Calvinson sighed. All of his words and arguments couldn¡¯tpare to one sentence from Cotird. Truly,parison could kill a man!
¡°Old Dres is a stubborn donkey. Although he has a big temper, he¡¯s truly loyal and will sacrifice his life at any time,¡± Cotird said, worried that Calvinson would nurse a grudge.
¡°I know. There¡¯s no warrior without a temper,¡± Calvinson agreed with a shrug.
¡
¡°If I read out your name, follow me!¡± Dresden roared as he walked out of the hold.
¡°Dongfang He!¡±
¡°Jia Yuntian¡¡±
He read out the names of nine warriors in all. Together with Dresden, they made up a team of ten. Tactically, this was a mobile squad with immense firepower.
Although Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were called out in the end, General Dresden clearly wasn¡¯t happy about it, not even looking at them. In his bones, he couldn¡¯t respect Xia Fan, believing that only warriors who were descended from Demon yers could inherit the tradition of excellence of the Demon Subduer Army.
¡°What¡¯s up with him? He¡¯s acting like we begged him to go,¡± Traveling Buddha muttered to Xia Fan.
¡°Eh, just bear with it. Saving peoplees first,¡± Xia Fan said.
¡
Putting on the diver-typebat suit, Traveling Buddha jumped into the water and began to swim about as agilely as a swordfish.
Down at the bottom of the sea, about a third of the Demon Pce¡¯s roof had been uncovered. The tall tower and the T-shape were only the upper parts of the Demon Pce. Based on what Nikai had been through, everyone understood that there was a maze of passages under the sands. Nobody knew what other secrets could be buried in the underground Demon Pce.
Dresden was old but firm. He stood in the center of the squad, confidently issuingmands. They soon arrived at the assigned entrance.
Currently, there were two paths into the Demon Pce. One was to take Nikai¡¯s path and carefully uncover the vertical pit. The other was the one that they had chosen, entering through the Demon Pce¡¯s venttion shaft!
¡°Everything ready?¡± Dresden asked sternly.
¡°No problem!¡±
¡°General, rx!¡±
Dresden nodded and then called over a young man named Christopher.
Christopher had rare red hair, like a bonfire in the night. It was said that his older sister was a famous beauty that could make an army fall for her. In Subduing Demon City, she had the nickname of the Red-Haired Demon Daughter.
s, the Red-Haired Demon Daughter was currently on the second level of the Lower Realm, carrying out a mission, so Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha hadn¡¯t been able to see her.
Christopher had everyone gather around him, and then he waved his right hand. A mysterious light emerged from his palm, circling around everyone and forming a spherical forcefield.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Christopher closed his hand into a fist. Xia Fan watched his surroundings suddenly growrge as he shrank rapidly. In a few seconds, he had be the height of a dwarf, like a child of seven or eight.
This was Christopher¡¯s ability. His forcefield could erge or shrink an object, but because Xia Fan and the others were all humans, excessive ergement or shrinking would damage the body and bones. Thus, the most he could do was shrink them to a third of their original size.
But that was enough. With their child-sized bodies, the warriors could easily enter the Demon Pce¡¯s venttion shaft. Someone had already unscrewed the rusting screws and removed the vent. Everyone filed in, but because their arms were restrained by the walls of the vent, they had to rely on their legs to move along.
¡°General, we should take the right hand path. ording to the map, this path should lead us to a storage area. That location is very safe. We should find a ce to set up camp in the Demon Pce before we start advancing through the floors,¡± Xia Fan said through themunication crystal.
Xia Fan grew anxious when he saw that Dresden was leading everyone straight to the depths of the Demon Pce.
Dresden sneered. ¡°You seem to have a lot of advice. Why don¡¯t you takemand?¡±
This¡
Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°General, you misunderstand me. I didn¡¯t mean things that way.¡±
¡°Then what do you mean? Do you think that you¡¯re amazing just because you¡¯ve deciphered the Demonic Voice and can read the Demon Pce¡¯s map?
¡°Let me tell you the truth. I¡¯ve attacked many more Demon Pces than you know about! Even with my eyes closed, I can understand the structure of a Demon Pce! This is called experience, a treasure that I¡¯ve gathered through countless battles!
¡°The sensor shows that the intensifying energy pulsese from a hidden area at the bottom of the Demon Pce. All we need to do is strike right at the center! We will see what sort of thing is awakening, and then kill it!
...
¡°If you¡¯re afraid, you can go back the way we came. I won¡¯tugh at you for it.¡±
Chapter 1595 - 1595 The Might of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha!
1595 The Might of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha!
What a tant insult!
Traveling Buddha had never been so angry in his life before. He was enraged, his eyes exploding with a murderous glint. He looked like he was about to get into a fight with General Dresden!
However, Xia Fan reached out to stop him, shing him a look. Traveling Buddha was helpless, and indignantly turned his gaze away.
¡°General, we¡¯ll listen to your orders,¡± Xia Fan said.
Dresden ignored Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, leading everyone to take the path that he had chosen. In all fairness, this old general was not against anyone. He simply did not like someone challenging his authority. He had not wanted to bring Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha along in the first ce, and had only done so at the insistence of the city lord. That was why he had spoken as discourteously as he did, given that he was already disgruntled with the current arrangement.
¡°General Dresden¡¯s nickname is ¡®Weights¡¯,¡± a warrior in front of Xia Fan turned around and whispered, shing Xia Fan a knowing look.
¡®General Weights? To have such a nickname, he must surely be a very stubborn and bad tempered person,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself, a helpless smile stretching across his face.
There was arge amount of air gathered in the Demon Pce, and as the passage dipped, seawater was blocked out by the air. The warriors took off their helmets, rxing a lot more.
The presence of air was beneficial to Xia Fan. Sniffing the air lightly, he immediately caught the scent of blood in the air, as well as a stench that resembled the son of me Soul.
Obviously there were many demonic creatures in the Demon Pce. Due to the limited understanding Xia Fan had of them, he had no way of differentiating whether the smell came from a Demonic warrior or a group of beasts after they became demonified.
The group suddenly stopped their advance. They could hear words from ahead, ¡°We¡¯ve reached our coordinates and will now be entering the interior of the Demon Pce.¡±
With a boom, the grille of the vent was removed, and the warriors all leapt down.
¡ª
Afternding below, Xia Fan looked around. The dark room waspletely empty, yet there were countless eye-shaped carvings everywhere. The huge demonic eye represented the gaze of the Demonic Emperor Harikane. When this ce was in use, there were Demonic warriors praying to Harikane every morning, afternoon, and evening.
This was the Prayer Room of the Demon Pce; there were two doors leading to the room. One was headed to the floor above, which would allow entrance to the Great Hall of the pce, while the other door led deeper into the Demon Pce. Unfortunately, the map they had obtained from the Demonic Tune did not include the lowest level of the pce, which seemed to be where the powerful energy fluctuations wereing from.
General Dresden had sharp eyes, and he said in a deep voice after a quick nce at everyone¡¯s faces, ¡°From my experience, there must definitely be Demonic Eggs hidden here in this Demon Pce, and the son of me Soul must have been reborn through those Demonic Eggs.
¡°Scanners indicate strong energy signals below, so there might not be only one Demonic Egg. After the son of me Soul awakens, something else hidden underground here might also recover. What we need to do is fight it and kill it in one fell swoop, while it is still awakening and before it recovers to its full strength.
¡°That thing could very well be the brother orrade of the son of me Soul, or it could be the me Soul himself. But no matter what, this is a good opportunity for you to contribute right now. If you hope to be like me one day, a name that will be recorded into the annals of history, then you better seize this opportunity you are given today.
¡°As for Nikai, everyone be rest assured. From what I¡¯ve experienced, the so-called traps and self-destruction devices are concentrated on the upper level of the Demon Pce, and we¡¯ve currently at the middle level. No matter how intense the battle in the lower level will be, it will not cause a devastating disaster. As long as we can aplish this task quickly, Nikai¡¯s safety will also be guaranteed.¡±
The warriors were all invigorated after hearing Dresden¡¯s words. Killing the Demonic Dragon, making contributions, and having their names recorded into history! These were the dreams that many warriors had, even Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian. Though they were worried for Nikai, they also felt that killing the Demonic Dragon and then saving her would be the right choice.
*Whoosh*
An intricate probe was stuffed under the door. It was directly connected to a disy crystal, allowing everyone to see the scene behind the door.
What they saw beyond was a group of creatures that looked like zombies. Their skin was as hard as rock and their eyes werepletely ck. However, they walked like humans, and each had a long sword made from white bones strapped to their back. The white spines were connected to one another, carrying a thick scent of blood that made people shudder.
¡°It¡¯s the White Bone Regiment! They¡¯ve been reformed!¡±
Dresden nodded, ¡°Before an Emperor creature awakens, the White Bone Regiment will awaken in advance so as to protect their master. If I¡¯m not mistaken, we will meet many more undead warriors with the white bone swords strapped to their backs ahead. We¡¯ll need to make short work of these things, and then head straight into the main hall where the Emperor-rank creature is in the process of recovery.¡±
¡°Let me do it!¡±
¡°General, I can aplish this task!¡±
The warriors were all raring to go. Nevertheless, Dresden had directed his gaze toward Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
¡°If you wish to be under mymand, you¡¯ll first have to prove your strength. Do either of you have the guts?¡±
Traveling Buddha tilted his head and proudly dered, ¡°There¡¯s no need for this young master to prove his strength!¡±
But it was too bad that Traveling Buddha¡¯s biggest weakness in his life was Xia Fan. He had no friends beside Xia Fan, and even his rtionship with his father was not the best. That was why he had a very strong sense of dependency to ward off others. No matter what Xia Fan did, Traveling Buddha would also follow without a moment¡¯s thought!
¡°General, leave them to us,¡± Xia Fan said with a slight chuckle, revealing that signature radiant smile of his.
Dresden used his amazing ability so everyone could recover to normal. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha limbered up and stretched. Upon ascertaining that nothing was off, they began to lean on the door and got another two warriors to hold the door handles. As long as they exerted strength, the door would open and Xia Fan would be able to charge right in with Traveling Buddha.
¡°Begin!¡± Dresden ordered, and the two warriors pulled open the heavy alloy doors on both sides.
Just as the doors cracked open a little, Xia Fan grabbed Traveling Buddha and with astounding speed, they disappeared into the darkness, while the other two warriors promptly shut the doors behind them.
Through their probe, everyone watched as XIa Fan and Traveling Buddha did not promptlyunch an attack, but very cleverly hid themselves in a corner. About a hundred meters away from them was the patrolling White Bone Regiment. They had sensed something was amiss and were ncing about.
¡°The two of them aren¡¯t bad. The White Bone Regiment are scattered, so choosing to first observe then deciding the best path of attack would be the best strategy to resolve this battle in the shortest time!¡± General Dresden nodded with approval.
¡°General, I don¡¯t quite understand. Why didn¡¯t we attack together, but instead send just Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha to deal with the regiment by themselves?¡± Dongfang He asked.
Seeing that it was the young master of his close friends in the Dongfang n asking this question, the general¡¯s gaze softened slightly and spoke in a tone like he was educating the younger generation, ¡°Because we have no idea to what degree the King-ranked creature has awakened!¡±
¡°If the King-ranked creature has already awakened, then what Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha do will draw him out. We can secretly watch them fight, and decide our tactics before actually engaging in the fight. This way we won¡¯t be caught off guard when we do battle.
¡°If Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha y the White Bone Regiment and there¡¯s no reaction from the King-ranked creature, that means he has notpletely awakened, which means it is the best time for us to strike!¡±
Everyone was shocked. It sounded as if Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had been treated like bait!
Dongfang He had always regarded himself as a future king, and always did things openly and uprightly. He was not a fan of Dresden¡¯s method of using Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha in such a manner, because the old general did not choose his bait ording to their abilities, but by their heritage. The Demonyer ns were like nobles, and Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were from humble backgrounds, making them the perfect sacrificial pawns.
¡°General, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha are making their move!¡± the warrior in charge of observing called out.
¡°Damn, so fast!¡±
¡°They.. just how did they do it?!¡±
¡°Are those two even human?!¡±
Everyone was amazed. They saw Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha suddenly bolt out from the corner and with unmatched ferocity, Traveling Buddha¡¯s body of golden light instantly flooded the darkness and drew the attention of all the White Bone Regiment.
*Boom!*
A hardened fist was thrown, wrapped in surging holy power, and smashed the nearest White Bone Warrior into smithereens. Broken bones and flesh twisted in the air and exploded,pletely destroyed!
Traveling Buddha¡¯s entire body swelled as golden light burst forth, making him look even more thickset, like a golden monster.
The birth of a War Buddha, and golden light shall decimate everything around! Traveling Buddha¡¯sbat strength was undoubtedly unparalleled, able to withstand ten thousand thunderbolts!
But that was not the most frightening disy. What was the scariest was the one beside Traveling Buddha. There was a ghostly phantom that shuttled past at astonishing speeds. It was a speed that broke ten, twenty, thirty thousand meters per second, before ultimately transforming into ck blurry lightning. Corpses were strewn all over wherever it passed, and countless White Bone Regiment soldiers went flying everywhere, heads separated from their bodies, beheaded without even realizing how they were killed.
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan were undoubtedly experts among experts, but if their respective strengths were added together like this, they would immediately break all metrics and effectively became a devastating force to be reckoned with!
...
Everyone often said that pairing two suitable warriors together could create an effect greater than one plus one equal two. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha together was more like one plus one equal a hundred!
It was perfect! A breathtakingly perfectbination!
A golden light had descended upon thend, together with a phantom that flitted about like lightning in an unstoppable torrent. They crazily pushed forward, leaving nothing in their wake!
In just a blink of an eye, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha managed to push into the lower level of the Demon Pce in that manner, but it was like they did not have the notion of retreat in their minds. All they did was attack, attack, and continue attacking! They continued until the entire level Demon Pce was over and emptied out!
¡°Not good! Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha have killed too far in!¡±
¡°They aren¡¯t being bait at all. They are two des that have already killed their way into the Great Hall of the awakened King-ranked creature!¡±
¡°Oh my gosh! They have even thrown the doors to the halls open¡ They are charging in to find the King-ranked creature!¡±
General Dresden was livid. He could already imagine what was going to happen next¡
¡°How could you two have killed your way to the King-ranked creature in one go?!¡±
Traveling Buddha rolling his eyes at the old general nonchntly, replying, ¡°You didn¡¯t say we couldn¡¯t!¡±
...
Chapter 1596 - 1596 Three Metal Cabin Pods!
1596 Three Metal Cabin Pods!
¡°Those two madmen! Quick, stop them!¡± General Dresden bellowed in a voice of despair.
Unfortunately for them, a special ability like Speed was not something that anyone could just change at will. When Xia Fan decided to go on a mad assault into the hall, there was no one who could stop him. Meanwhile, Traveling Buddha was like a human cannon, and Xia Fan enjoyed using Traveling Buddha like a cannonball, tossing him around with great force!
*Kaboom!*
With a loud explosion, Xia Fan broke down the final metal doors with Traveling Buddha¡¯s help. They dashed into the passageway of unknown depths and ended up in the final room.
!!
General Dresden brought all his men along as he gave chase glumly.
There were countless White Bone Regiment undead soldiers on both sides of the passageway, which gave the old general quite a fright. If he inspected them closely, he noticed that over 99% of them had been eliminated by Xia Fan!
That was even though Traveling Buddha looked like an invincible god that had descended to the mortal realm with his body enshrouded in gold, and his voice mirrored the ferocity of a savage beast. However, while their enemies¡¯ attention was all drawn toward the shiny Traveling Buddha, the real killer of the duo would be hiding in the shadows like a ghost, targeting the throats of everyone around with the sharp daggers he held in his hands!
While Traveling Buddha hollered wildly, enemies would find themselves being reaped like a field of maize, falling en masse. Before any could even make a sound, blood sttered in the air as a hurricane of blood formed.
This was the might of the perfect partners, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. The loudest was not always the one killing; it was actually just a cover. The one doing the killing was actually shuttling through the shadows, protected by that ring golden light!
It was simply too incredible. Xia Fan was like Traveling Buddha¡¯s shadow, hiding in the darkness of his bright light, issuing a deadly lesson to all!
In an extremely short period of time, the lower level of the Demon Pce had beenpletely cleared out. The two young monsters had unleashed a crazy and crushing offensive that had destroyed everything in an instant! It was utter annihtion!
Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian exchanged looks with each other, extreme shock in their eyes. Though they had witnessed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha fight before, the two had fought independently in that encounter by the valley, and they had not truly demonstrated such powerful teamwork.
Now, when dealing with enemies that were so far beneath them, they were no different from powerfulwnmowers, capable of explosively demolishing an entire army, despite just being the two of them, as deadly as a torrent of steel! Everything that was in their path was wrecked!
¡®They are truly very powerful!¡¯, Dongfang He thought to himself.
¡..
¡°Are there no enemies left? This feels like when you¡¯re ying a game, ready to deal a massive blow, only for an ending cutscene to appear, and the screen disys that you¡¯ve already cleared the game,¡± Traveling Buddha stroked his chin as he griped.
¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not that simple.¡± Xia Fan looked around and sniffed the air, fully absorbing the smells in the room.
In the middle was a structure that seemed like an altar. Above said altar was a huge egg-shaped metal cabin pods, and at the base of the altar were another two metal cabin pods on both sides, as if they were guarding the altar.
On top of that, this huge room also held an extremely ridiculouslyrge safe. It had a nearly two-meter thick alloy door, with a gically coded lock and a huge rotating locking device that ordinary people could not possibly twist.
Xia Fan had no idea what had been ced inside that safe, but at the moment it was open, and there was nothing inside. His Scent ability told him that some sort of wood had been inside, or some sort of fruit seeds, as there was a faint fruity aroma hanging in the air.
¡°Strange. To only ce a single piece of wood in such arge safe?¡± Xia Fan muttered under his breath.
He walked to the metal cabin pod to the left of the altar. ¡°The son of me Soul must havee out from here.¡±
With that said, he lifted open the metal cabin pod there and saw some viscous liquid on the smooth cabin pod walls inside. It was simr to the amniotic fluid that would be discharged when giving birth, translucent and giving off a foul smell.
Traveling Buddha opened the cabin pod on the right and frowned. ¡°It¡¯s the same here. It couldn¡¯t possibly be a sibling of the son of me Soul, right?¡±
Xia Fan went over and gave it a whiff. ¡°There¡¯s still some minute differences. This cabin pod also has the smell of rust! I reckon it must be the smell caused by a newborn Demonic Dragon. Just like how when humans first give birth to a child, the smell is very simr.¡±
Several secondster, they opened the final cabin pod above the altar.
¡°There¡¯s the smell of a human inside this one,¡± Xia Fan dered.
¡°Human? Why would there be a human in the Demon Pce?¡± Traveling Buddha asked.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°How would I know? I am just as clueless of them as you are in regards to Demons. But when we were attending ss, when Tn showed the ancient map, the Demon King seemed to appear in a human form. It seems only when they erupt with their full might would they transform into a behemoth with devastating power. Perhaps this cabin pod was host to a Demon King.¡±
A Demon King?!
Traveling Buddha could feel a chill run down his spine and feel himself get nervous. Xia Fan patted him on his shoulder. ¡°If a Demon King was here, I would have long carried you and charged right for them. Don¡¯t worry. These cabin pods have been abandoned for a long time. It has been at least two years.¡±
¡°I see¡¡± Traveling Buddha nodded. ¡°Then just where is the energy signature that they detecteding from?¡±
¡°From under the altar!¡±
With that said, Xia Fan simply lifted up the biggest metal cabin pod. Below it was just darkness, with several connecting metal tubes. Beneath the tubes was a very special fusion generator, acting as a reactor.
¡°For some unknown reason, the reactor hase online again. Touch the metal cabin pod. Do you feel a slight vibrationing from it?¡±
¡°Yes, slightly!¡± Traveling Buddha affirmed.
¡°These three cabin pods might very well be in the process of being started up. Just like how you preheat an oven when cookingmb chops, so as to ensure the roastedmb chops you¡¯re making will be evenly heated and delicious,¡± Xia Fan said.
Traveling Buddha waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Talking about roastingmb chops in such an ursed ce, you¡¯re making me lose my appetite, despite being someone who loves eatingmb chops! The only thing I¡¯m thinking of cooking here in the Demon Pce is the Demonic Dragon or a Demon King. Everything else would surely be disgusting!¡±
¡°What¡¯s disgusting?!¡±
By that time, General Dresden and his men had finally made their way there. Though they were all high-ranking warriors, they did not have an easy time chasing after Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha in such a hurry, and all of them could feel their hearts beating wildly.
By the time they had caught up to the pair, all they found was Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha discussing cooking something. None of them could make sense of what they were even saying.
¡°Oh, what we mean to say is that indeed there was something that had slumbered here in the past, but they have long since departed. From the smells, I¡¯ve determined that the time they left was about the same time as the me Soul. That is to say, the three creatures that came out from the metal cabin pods have awakened and they departed from the ce together,¡± Xia Fan exined.
¡°Waking up and leaving together? Then why has the son of me Soul been the only one that appeared? What happened to the other two?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Xia Fan shook his head.
Actually, Xia Fan was lying. He knew very clearly well what had happened to them!
Cid Raleigh had told Xia Fan that the son of me Soul hade charging toward the valley like he had gone crazy, all because he had been tempted by Xia Fan. Xia Fan had just awakened the Beast King Orders. The true strength it possessed was that it allowed humans to coerce beasts that were at the King rank. Wild beasts who came across a warrior that possessed the Beast King Orderswould be like seeing a king of their own race, shivering as theyy prostrate at their feet.
Nevertheless, there was a downside to the Beast King Orders, and that was when they encountered any other Beast Kings, they would treat you as an immense threat and do everything in their power to kill you!
That was why on that day, the son of me Soul immediately flew into a rage when he sensed Xia Fan¡¯s presence!
¡°To think there¡¯s another person at the same rank of me hanging out here. How can I let this stand?!¡±
It was just as the saying went: a mountain cannot be shared between two tigers! Beasts would often be the most ferocious toward their own kind, and were the most of the countless human deaths caused by the Demon race? That might not be! If tallied up in total, it was still humans themselves that enjoyed killing other humans, and the number of people killed by the demons was nowhere near that of humans killing their own!
This was why the son of me Soul was extra angry when he had to treat Xia Fan as the same rank. He recklessly charged toward him, while the other demons were at a higher level, and were even more intelligent. Either way, they must have figured out that Xia Fan was a fake Demonic Dragon, and did not bother to make a move.
That was the truth behind the battle in the valley. Xia Fan knew that very well, but there was no reason for him to exin that to others, so all he did was pretend to be dumb.
Speaking of which, there was also something strange that had happened this day. In the time they had spent since entering the Demon Pce, Cid Raleigh had not appeared once. Xia Fan called out his name mentally, but he drew no response. It was like the old dragon had died in his sleep or something.
Ordinarily, he would be talking Xia Fan¡¯s ear off like an old schr, introducing him to the various unique points to be found in the Demon Pce. After all, this would have been the perfect opportunity for him to brag about and disy the breadth of his knowledge!.
...
¡°So that¡¯s how it is. The energy signatures we¡¯ve detected areing from the revival cabin pods that the Demon King used being warmed up¡¡± General Dresden muttered to himself, his brow furrowed after hearing Xia Fan¡¯s exnation. ¡°These are revival cabin pods that have already been used, so why are they suddenly warming up again?¡±
That was when Dongfang He impatiently implored, ¡°General, now that we¡¯ve already learned that this Demon Pce has long been abandoned, it doesn¡¯t matter whether it was the Demon King or a Demonic Dragon that left this pce. Should we not go save Nikai first? We can talk about everything else at another time!¡±
General Dresden looked up and saw the many anxious and twisted faces of his troops. After all, they were talking about the Goddess of Subduing Demon City! There were plenty who cared about Nikai. Even if they did not have the chance to pursue her, none of them wanted anything unfortunate to befall their goddess!.
¡°Okay, let¡¯s leave two men to continue investigations. The rest shall follow me,¡± Dresden ordered.
¡°Who¡¯s going to stay?¡± Dongfang He¡¯s anxious heart skipped a bit. He had no desire to stay behind.
General Dresden briefly scanned his men, and Xia Fan suddenly had a foreboding feeling.
¡°Nikai is someone from the Demonyer ns, so of course we should be the ones saving her. Xia Fan, Traveling Buddha, the two of you shall stay. Continue to search the ce and see if there¡¯s any secret mechanism or passageway to discover. On top of that, look into why the reactor suddenly started up by itself,¡± Dresden ordered.
¡®Sure enough, people who are not of the Demonyer n will be mistreated,¡¯ Xia Fan noted to himself.
¡®What the heck! We¡¯re left with all the hard work while you people will run off to save thess, acting as heroes,¡¯ Traveling Buddha cursed them in indignant silence.
Chapter 1597 - 1597
1597
The Return of the Demon King. Domain Activated!
Arge ark floating on the North Sea¡
The people guarding this ship were anxious until they received news from the task force that the so-called energy signatures they had detected were just from the Demon King¡¯s revival chamber starting up again, and that there were no signs of the Demon King or a Demonic Dragon awakening.
Everyone cheered, hot tears rolling down their cheeks in a flood of emotions. At this very moment, none of them seemed to care just where the awakened demons had gone. Their only concern was the return of Nikai.
!!
Clement did not participate in the celebration on the deck, nor did he care about Nikai¡¯s return. As an energy signature specialist from the Subduing Demon City, Clement¡¯s personality was somewhat strange, and would usually be found hunched over a pile of crystals andplex machinery all year round. His face would be expressionless when talking to anyone, and he was not picky with his food while dressing in cheap cotton apparel. Whether he was eating roast meat or polenta, all that mattered to him was that he had his fill.
In any case, Clement was a typical technology specialist. Though his pay was not low, a lot of his sry was consumed by his need to buy various crystals and machinery. His home even had a multifunctional machine tool, and when some parts he was using were not working well, he would just make a new batch on his own!
He could hear a chittering from the monitoring earphone, the sounding from the deep sea at a rtively far distance. At the moment he could not make out clearly what was on the other end, but Clement patiently adjusted the frequency of the signal receiver and checked the amplitude, trying to figure out just what the sound was.
The harder it was to make sense of, the more interested Clement became. In the end, he pulled out his ultimate move; amplifiers, filters, harmonics, and frequency dispersal rbiners galore! There were even plenty of other machines that normal people could not name now connected!
*Roar!*
A loud roar came through the earphone, and that finally gave Clement a fright. He could feel an ominous feeling welling up inside him as he hurried to check the data being spewed out by the harmonics rbiner.
That was when this sound suddenly became crisp and enormous. It was rapidly approaching and closing in the distance between itself and Clement in an extremely short time span. For every tenth of the distance, the sound was amplified fivefold!
The rapid volume increase almost shattered Clement¡¯s eardrums. He quickly took off his earphones and rubbed his red hot ears, feeling a massive headache rocking his brain.
¡°That sounds like¡ a Dragon!¡±
Clement¡¯s heart was thumping hard as he saw two glowing dots on the screen of the deep sea scanner quickly closing in. They wereyered on top of one another, like there was one lifeform riding on the back of another. Furthermore, the sound one of them made was a 99% match to that of a Demonic Dragon.
One second, two seconds, three¡
Just as Clement was shocked by what he discovered, the two glowing dots went speeding toward the Demon Pce at startling speed!
All of a sudden, Clement recalled that the task force and Nikai were still in the Demon Pce. His mouth hung agape from shock as the color drained from his face. He pushed away the scanner in front of him and went rushing toward the deck.
¡
¡°What? Something¡¯sing back?¡±
¡°How fast do you mean by ¡®really fast¡¯?¡±
¡°They have already entered the Demon Pce interior?¡±
¡°Speak! Speak up!¡±
¡ª
¡°Why have we suddenly lost the connection?¡±
General Dresden, who had been happily forging ahead to save Nikai, took off his earpiece and shook it vigorously, but all he heard was static.
Everyone had ugly expressions on their faces. From what they had heard from the headquarters, there seemed to be something headed straight for the Demon Pce! HQ had given them a warning, telling the warriors still in the Demon Pce to be cautious.
¡°General, look!¡± Christopher held out his portable scanner with a shocked look. On the disy screen of the scanner was a strange straight line. A normal signal would have shown a regr wave fluctuation instead.
¡°Energy distribution has reached its highest, and no matter which direction you point the scanner toward, the energy signature could be picked up. I do believe this should be the sign that a Domain is rising!¡± Christopher said, his face pale with fear.
A Domain?!
The warriors could feel their hairs stand on end. Thinking back to the warning they just received from headquarters, the two unknown figures that were making a beeline for them, with a Domain opening and the Demon Pce sealed¡ This might very well be the return of the legendary Demon King!
The owner of the Demon Pce had returned, and he had ordered the Demon Pce to activate the Domain that would only be used when at war!
The many energy fields in Subduing Demon City worked to prevent the demon forces from besieging it, and the Demon Pce also simrly had such defensive Domains. It was definitely not the ordinary White Bone Regiment that had activated this Domain, so it would have to be at least be the Demon King or his mount that had done so!
¡ª
Beyond the Demon Pce¡
At that moment, in the middle of the dark and murky abyssal waters, a transparent and powerful barrier was being erected around the ce, essentially separating the pce from the sea atrge. The raiders were all still in the Demon Pce, while the bulk of their army was outside the pce. Everyone could not help but break out in cold sweat just imagining the scene.
This was the worst case scenario possible! Within the demon race¡¯s Domain, demonic energy ran rampant, which would have a strengthening effect on the White Bone Regiment and any other demonic creatures. Meanwhile, humans would experience unbearable pain while under the effect of demonic energy. After all, every warrior from the Subduing Demon Army also had the blood of the Demons coursing through their veins. Only the most powerful among them could slightly resist the pressure demonic energy exerted on them, While in this Domain, their enemies would be stronger, while they would instead be weaker and weaker!
In just a few seconds, everyone could feel it. It was a chill that seeped into their bones, passing through their pores and into their bodies. With the Domain activated, the Demon King had returned. That was how the Demonic Domain suppression began to affect them!
In no time at all, the warriors with inferior bloodlines would begin to lose their senses and no longer be able to resist.
¡°What¡¯s there to be afraid of! We are the descendents of the Demonyer n! Our ancestors once vanquished the Demon King, and we can do the same again! Stick close to me and we¡¯ll forge ahead together!¡± General Dresden ordered firmly, raising his muscr right arm and ordered firmly.
With that, they continued along the way. The air was growing hotter and hotter, but their bodies, because they were being suppressed by the Demonic Energy, were gradually dropping in temperature.
¡
¡°I say, you could not have actually fallen for Nikai, right? Otherwise, given your temper, you ought to be grabbing that old man Dresden by his neck already, viciously giving him a good defanging,¡± Traveling Buddha suddenly blurted out with his arms crossed while Xia Fan was inspecting the underground nuclear reactor.
¡°I don¡¯t even know the person, so how could I have fallen for her?¡± Xia Fan answered from below.
¡°Then why are you willing to ept everything he ordered of you?¡±
¡°It¡¯s very simple! It is because my father said he was sending me to Subduing Demon City to learn, and I could go look for him and my elder brother once I¡¯m done here. That is why I¡¯m being more tolerant about everything right now. After all, the Awakening ss in Fulmar City had been very effective. Now that I have the Beast King Records, I no longer have to fear demonic beasts of any sorts. Of course, I still have to be careful if I were to encounter any Dragon or Yggdragon, since the Dragon bloodline is too high a grade and I have no way of controlling them.¡±
Traveling Buddha showed an expression ofprehension. ¡°So that¡¯s the case! Even though when we¡¯re talking you¡¯d often mention how irresponsible your father is, not choosing to see his son when he¡¯s just right in front of him, opting instead to busy himself with fighting, sounding very much like you¡¯reining about him! In actual fact, his words still weighed heavily on you. Your father allowed you to learn in Subduing Demon City, and you truly intend to properly learn everything you can while you¡¯re here.¡±
¡°Do you think so? What else could I do, anyway? I¡¯m not fast enough, and if I don¡¯t master some impressive moves, there¡¯s no way I could hang around with the rest of my n, even if I was epted back,¡± Xia Fan said.
¡°Tsk!¡± Traveling Buddha waved his hand dismissively. ¡°I refuse to listen to what my father tells me. He wants me to go east, then I¡¯ll definitely head west. In any case, I¡¯ll do exactly the opposite of everything he wants of me!¡±
Xia Fan sighed back to him. ¡°That¡¯s because you have had a father since you were young, so you don¡¯t really cherish him. Can Ipare to you? I¡¯m in my early twenties, yet I¡¯ve yet to catch a glimpse of my real family at all.
¡°Right now I just want to properly learn what I can. I¡¯ve already made my mark out in Ashen Moon, so now I¡¯ll let others take the spotlight. With how strong the Skywing n is, I¡¯ll be very satisfied if I don¡¯t lose any face for my father and my elder brother,¡± Xia Fan said.
Traveling Buddha regarded Xia Fan with a sympathetic gaze. ¡°That¡¯s true. Being born in a fairly remarkable n isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. This is something I¡¯ve known since young. In order for my n not to lose face, I¡¯ve spend many days and nights studying and training, which is why I hate my father so much.
¡°And you¡¯re even worse off than me! Your family had been asked by the Demon Subduer Legion to deal with the Demons running wild in the Middle Realm. Those ancestors from your n definitely have mine beat!
¡°Thinking about it, this world of ours sure is amazing. The ancestors of my n were literally beaten up by the ancestors from your n, yet here we are, best friends with each other!¡±
Xia Fan lifted his head up and shed him his standard, radiant smile, ¡°No, we¡¯re sworn brothers!¡±
...
¡°That¡¯s right! Best bros! I feel that my rtionship with my real brother isn¡¯t as close as mine with you!¡± Traveling Buddhaughed.
Actually, they were not in some secret society, so it was quite silly to call each other sworn brothers like that, but neither of them minded.
All of a sudden, Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha both raised their heads at the same time, suspicion filling their eyes. When the Demonic Domain rose, the Demonic Energy inside the Demon Pce quickly became even more potent, and both men could feel the changes happening outside.
¡°What happened? Something seems amiss!¡± Traveling Buddha looked around their surroundings.
¡°The environment has changed. The demonic energy in this ce is growing stronger.¡± Xia Fan knit his eyebrows together and then took a deep breath, taking in a lungful of the smells inside the Demon Pce.
Chapter 1598 - 1598 Revenge of the Flame Soul!
1598 Revenge of the me Soul!
Xia Fan opened his eyes and blurted out to Travelling Buddha, ¡°Travelling Buddha, on your left at nine o¡¯clock!¡±
¡°Got it!¡± Travelling Buddha was originally looking unconcerned and nonchnt but he instantly became vignt. His entire body radiated a soft golden glow as he darted forward in the direction Xia Fan had indicated. Having spent years depending on each other, the two men had absolute faith in one another. Travelling Buddha immediately understood that his role was to serve as the first line of defense when facing a great enemy.
Travelling Buddha was well aware that the simpler Xia Fan¡¯s instructions were, the more severe the situation they had found themselves in!
*Boom!*
!!
Several secondster, the wall suddenly shifted open, revealing a secret door. The sound of footsteps slowly closed in as a blurry dark figure came into view, a head taller than Travelling Buddha.
However, Xia Fan and Travelling Buddha were already in a battle-ready state. The figure who strode out from the darkness regarded the two young men and got the strangest feeling. But he did not panic, and instead curled his lips into a yful smirk.
¡°Humans, you¡¯re all very vignt. To be capable enough to y my son means you are bound to be quite talented,¡± the figure said in a deep voice. He approached Xia Fan and Travelling Buddha, and just as he looked like he was closing in on the two with every step, he ultimately veered off and arrived near the altar, as well as the three metal cabin pods.
Without Xia Fan exining, Travelling Buddha already understood what was happening right now. This burly middle-aged man in front of him right now was none other than me Soul, Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley¡¯s mount, the father of the Son of the me Soul!
Upon a closer inspection of me Soul, people would realize that while he possessed a humanoid form with red skin, a wide chin, and a high nose bridge, there were still very obvious differences between him and humans. The haughty gaze of the Dragons held an inherent lonelinessmon to those with great power. It was just like how someone who stood a head above the rest would see people below them as ants, giving off a sense of undisguised superiority.
This innate sense of superiority was found in every dragon. One could defeat dragons, but there was no way to fully subjugate them. Even people as powerful as the Skywings only managed to be seen as equals with the dragons, since dragons would never give in and see themselves as lower beings. Thetter had not been convinced by the former¡¯sbat strength, but they felt that the Skywings were people full of personality and found them to be interesting. Dragons liked being around with the Skywings, which was why they had be friends with some.
When Travelling Buddha and Xia Fan saw me Soul, they were immediately reminded of Bright Pearl. The proud little white dragon shared a gaze very simr to me Soul¡¯s, the only difference being Pearl was much younger, and had a stronger and purer sense of curiosity. In contrast, the haughtiness of me Soul was iparable, filling up every cell in his body!
¡°Indeed, your son was killed by our hands. Do you intend to avenge him?¡± Xia Fan replied calmly, shing him his signature smile.
Provoking his enemy was another of his favorite stratagems. Against a powerful foe, he had no qualms doing everything he could, from physical to psychological attacks, grasping at every chance he could use. Xia Fan would really prefer to meet an old Demonic Dragon that had lost all rationality in his anger because he had lost his son.
But unexpectedly, Xia Fan¡¯s provocative words did not sessfully goad the enemy. Instead, a look of sadness shed across his eyes.
me Soul continued to step forward, arriving at the metal cabin pods to the left of the altar and stood there. Like a loving father, he stroked the metallic surface of the cabin pod with one calloused hand.
¡°Imagine you have a defective son from birth, and though he looks a lot like you, he does not inherit any of your intelligence. Year after year, you hope he could grow up, yet the unintelligent boy would only be left behind more and more as hepetes with his siblings.
¡°While your intelligent offspring are already able to be independent, your foolish son is still calling out the names of his father and mother in his dreams. He even fails the simplest tasks you assign him to do, to the point where he bes a stain on your life. Other Dragon Kings mock you for having a useless son, and you have no way of refuting their words because that is just how unremarkable your son is. Like a child that would never grow up.
¡°There was a period of time you would hate him for making you lose face, treating him coldly, locking him up in some ce no one knew. You would even think how much better it would be if such a stupid son was not born at all.
¡°But when you hear your foolish son call out your name in the darkness, sadly curling up in a corner to lick his wounds, you would feel this wave of sadness and pain wash over you. He was obviously so weak and stupid, but you still loved him. The reason why you had been so strict was because you were afraid he wouldn¡¯t be strong enough, incapable of dealing with the harsh realities of life, and that you would lose him one day.
¡°That is why you grit your teeth and are at your strictest to teach that silly son of yours, in hopes that he would one day grow up, able to independently face theplexities of the world. As his father, you don¡¯t want him to hide under your wings his entire life, hoping that therees a day when he could fly on his own and find his own glory.
¡°Days passed, and era after another era. Every time you hope, every time you are disappointed, but you still can¡¯t give up. You hate it, but you have to have him by your side, because he isn¡¯t like your other son, and isn¡¯t capable of dealing with any crafty humans by himself.
¡°That is until one day, you had him stay in a very safe spot, waiting for you to return. You thought nothing could go wrong, but because of his dull nature, he ended up running into a trap that resulted in his death.
¡°By the time you realize what had happened, it was already toote. The foolish little child that you had been taking care of all this while did not even have a corpse left. All that remains is an eternity of sadness and guilt. You will howl in the middle of the night and pray to the demonic powers that be, but you ultimately understand that the foolish son of yours that would always be yelling for his father that you needed to take care of, is no longer around.¡±
With that said, me Soul lifted his head, and his eyes were actually filled with tears. However, his body was trembling slightly from his grief and rage over losing his son. He needed to dig deep and use every bit of strength he had to prevent himself from going mad.
Staring at Xia Fan, me Soul swallowed and softly said, ¡°If you were in my shoes, what would you do after losing your stupid child?¡±
Was this really a Demonic Dragon?
Travelling Buddha was troubled. From his words and how he acted, me Soul waspletely like any father who was heartbroken over the loss of his son. He was shedding tears, even mourning and reminiscing about his son, just like a human would. He was even walking up to the enemies that had killed his son, his sheer rage causing his body to tremble, just like how a human would.
Xia Fan frowned. ¡°I guess I would avenge him!¡±
¡°Hahaha!¡± me Soul suddenly looked up and burst intoughter. He was clearly smiling, but tears were still streaming from the corners of his eyes. In an instant, it was as if he had aged greatly, adding plenty of wrinkles to his humanoid face.
¡°Well said. Avenge!¡± me Soul repeatedly softly. ¡°Though avenging him would not bring back your foolish son, it would at the very least alleviate quite a lot of the anger inside. But even if you avenge him a thousand, or tens of thousands of times, going as far as to eradicate all the crafty humans, the guilt and the regret would still bind you for the rest of your life, lingering on. You would have nightmares every stormy night, finding tear stains streaking down your cheeks. The pain you feel would be akin to a dagger stabbing right into your heart, a pain that apanies you every day, and every second of your life!¡±
¡°Now do you understand?¡±
¡°Ie here looking for you, not for my foolish son, but for myself. I am a father, doing what I ought to do.¡±
This was a very tragic story, such that even Xia Fan was somewhat moved after hearing it. That was because he had been that very weak son himself! His elder siblings were all very outstanding, capable of speeds close to light itself. He was the only one who was not good at the hereditary power of his family, requiring all sorts of other techniques and skills in order to make up for his own shorings.
His elder brother was at the frontlines with his father, yet Xia Fan had been sent to Subduing Demon City for continued studies, so that he could keep up with the tempo set by the Skywings!
The only fortunate difference was that while Xia Fan might not be too powerful in terms of his abilities, he was at least still quite smart!.
¡®Hey Old Demonic Dragon, quicke on out!
¡®You¡¯re usually rather talkative, so what happened today?
¡®I¡¯m facing me Soul, the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley¡¯s mount. He¡¯s a real Demonic Dragon, and he¡¯s already gone mad! Shouldn¡¯t you be telling me some technique to defeat a Demonic Dragon? After all, you¡¯re just like him, so you ought to understand him very well.¡¯
Xia Fan was calling out in his mind, but it was too bad. The mysterious demonic dragon Cid Raleigh seemed to have disappeared. Ever since he had arrived here to the North Sea, the old Demonic Dragon had not shown himself once. It was almost as if he was afraid of being discovered by some powerful individual from the Demon Pce.
That was when Little Old Buddha suddenly arched an eyebrow impatiently, ¡°I say, me Soul. Are you here to fight, or here to act in some stage y? What has your dead son got to do with us? The fact that he¡¯s stupid, wasn¡¯t he still born from your seed? Since he was going to be a waste of space while being alive anyway, he was far better off dying early. We actually did him a favor killing him, get it?¡±
¡®Travelling Buddha, how heartless can you be! Can you not barrel head first into death every time?!¡¯, Xia Fan facepalmed, wondering why he had forgotten about Travelling Buddha and his quirks.
Travelling Buddha had been the heartless sort since birth, nor was he one for patience. He had treated me Soul¡¯s painful grievances as nothing more than nonsense and hypocrisy. Since he was here to fight, he might as well just bring it on!
Chapter 1599 - 1599 Duo Breaking Out! Pushed to Extreme Limits!
1599 Duo Breaking Out! Pushed to Extreme Limits!
Sometimes, Traveling Buddha¡¯s personality gave people quite the headache. The Little Old Buddha was never one to y by the rules, and he would forever only follow his heart.
But toward his brother, should they not be taking care of each other?
Time and time again when Xia Fan needed Traveling Buddha to draw the enemy¡¯s firepower, he had not once been disappointed. With his Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, Traveling Buddha would rush to the forefront and attract all the enemy¡¯s attention to himself, allowing Xia Fan to create opportunities to kill. Even if he was bleeding from his mouth, Traveling Buddha would roll up his sleeves and wipe it away, continuing to be Xia Fan¡¯s shield. It did not matter how painful or how risky it would be, he had never onceined.
Xia Fan grit his teeth and stepped behind Traveling Buddha. Though me Soul was a great enemy, Traveling Buddha had still provoked him. At worst the two sworn brothers could just kill him off in unison!
Sure enough, there was a drastic change in expression from me Soul. All they heard was a baleful mourning cry as two ck wings extended from me Soul¡¯s back. The wings directly tore flesh from his back, slowly pping it as they dripped with blood, sending me Soul up above the heads of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha.
His skin was rapidly covered in hard scales, ck armor that gleamed coldly in the light. Fangs extended from his mouth, sharp and curved. His nails immediately turned into a hardy substance that looked like des, capable of tearing apart the hardiestbat suits. me Soul¡¯s eyes were nowpletely ck, like a moonless nightpletely surrounded by darkness.
This was not me Soul¡¯s final form, but the form that was most suitable for a fight against humans!
There were pros and cons to everything in the world. Had me Soul transformed into the huge creature he originally was, his speed and agility would have been negatively affected, allowing a small lifeform like the humans to exploit this discrepancy ordingly. Turning into this half-human and half-dragon form kept him perfectly suited forbat.
The tears in the corners of me Soul¡¯s eyes had turned into fresh blood, spreading veins of crimson across his ck eyes. He let out a ferocious roar and opened his arms. His muscles bulged as he swooped toward Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, disying the immense power of a Demonic Dragon!
¡°Since the two of you are so keen to die, then I shall quickly send the both of you on your way! After all, my master is still waiting for me, and I¡¯ll be by his side soon to conquer the world. When that timees, humanity as a race would all be sent along right after you!¡± me Soul rasped hoarsely. His tongue was now very long, like that of a venomous snake. Half his tongue would flick out whenever he spoke, but his voice could still be clearly made out.
Xia Fan was startled. Master? me Soul only had one master, and that was the Scarlet ze Demon King, Stanley. Could Stanley be here in the Demon Pce right now?
However, Stanley had not appeared in front of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, so he must have gone off to deal with General Dresden and the others!
As for conquering the world, that must be the signal for another war between humans and demons. Xia Fan¡¯s instructor Tn had said that the Demons from the Lower Realm had recently be active. The slumbering Demon Kings and their Demonic Dragon mounts awakening was no doubt the prelude to the war.
A mutual massacre had been going on in the Lower Realm for a very long time, so unless the humans vanquished the Demons, or if the Demons vanquished the humans, the massacre would only continue with no end in sight!
*Boom!*
Just in that moment when Xia Fan¡¯s mind wandered off, me Soul¡¯s body began to burn incessantly. An unimaginably hot me surrounded him, turning him into a miniature sun capable of melting steel beams!
It was as if the air itself was burning, the sharply increasing temperature hurting the skin. Even their vision began to distort!
¡°KILL HIM!¡±
At Traveling Buddha¡¯s exhortation, Xia Fan and TB dashed forward, one after the other. A golden light surged wildly as it mingled with the burning fire that wreathed me Soul¡¯s body, turning the underground Demon Pce into a strange world.
*Boom*
me Soul waved his arms wildly, an inferno shooting forth like a volcanic eruption.
*BOOM!*
Traveling Buddha matched it with a hardened fist of his own. Golden light akin to the light of annihtion pierced through the ming cyclone at an even greater speed.
In the first round before Xia Fan even joined the fight, Traveling Buddha and me Soul had already created a devastating level of lethality. The walls around them were already copsing one by one. The altar hade crashing down. The metal chambers were sent flying like bombs by the shockwave.
In conclusion, me Soul was very powerful, but Traveling Buddha was unscathed, relying on his Golden Light. If the battle were to carry on at the current tempo, his Golden Light might be able to protect him for a while, but there was no way it could protect him forever. Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light would also shatter if it came under attack from the even stronger me Soul.
Still, me Soul had already lost his calm at this point. The pain of losing his son made him reckless, and after the first exchange of blows ended and Traveling Buddha fell to the ground, me Soul let out a wild roar. Along with that roar came an ultimate burst of Demonic Energy.
His burning aura of mes was now covered with a thickyer of ckness. If me Soul had unleashed intense mes just before, then now what was burning was hellfire! ck Demonic Energy, gifted from the King of Demonic Kings, Harry Kane. He had once by virtue of this unique power defeated many traditional demons that were much stronger than him. Even Season Winds, ckfeather, and Purgatory Guards, all legendary powerhouses, had died by Harry Kane¡¯s de.
Presently, Harry Kane, the King of Demon Kings, had lent his amazing Dark Demonic Energy to his followers and underlings. When the son of me Soul exploded with Dark Demonic Energy, nearly wiping out Concealed Demon City¡¯s three heroes, there was no need to mention what would happen now that they were now facing against me Soul himself, a powerful adult dragon who was the mount of Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley!
The devastating power me Soul could create was definitely wild beyond imagination. Dark Demonic Energy not only made his energy skyrocket, even his muscles and scales became indestructible.
¡°Honor my poor son with your lives!¡± me Soul bellowed out in a heartbreaking howl.
He was raising his energy output recklessly. The air itself had already been lit ame to an unbearable degree. While Traveling Buddha was battling me Soul, the golden light around his body was constantly and clearly peeling off. That rapid expenditure of defense would surely not have urred if this fight had happened in Ashen Moon, but this was the Lower Realm. It was the ce where the most powerful humans and demons congregated.
The only thing impossible was impossibility itself!
Suddenly, me Soul¡¯s pupils contracted abruptly. He saw another figure leap into the air and unleashed an attack directly at his own soul. The power reverberated in his mind, like a pack of wolves, tearing at his mind and reason.
It was Xia Fei!
That figure that reared like a dragon was none other than Xia Fan after he had activated Beast King¡¯s Orders!
Xia Fan was very clever. He knew that given the crazy power me Soul possessed, he might not emerge triumphant, even afterbining his power with Traveling Buddha¡¯s. But Xia Fan had learned plenty in his life, a true jack of all trades. Out of the myriad of skills and techniques, there was bound to be a method that would allow him to target the Achilles¡¯ heel of the enemy.
The Beast King¡¯s Orders! What had started the Ten Thousand Beast Kings¡¯ era of dominance!
In the time when Traveling Buddha was acting as the primary attacker, Xia Fan had managed to gather his energy. In me Soul¡¯s eyes, Xia Fan had grown a pair of wings simr to his and a golden horn on top of his head. He was giving off a majesty and arrogance from his eyes that was very simr to what dragons gave off.
¡°You¡ So it was you!!!¡±
me Soul let loose a desperate roar, his eyes turning blood red. He could imagine how Xia Fan had attracted that silly son of his after activating his Beast King Orders by fooling him into believing it was a fellow dragon manifesting a disy of strength against him. It was only after his son had arrived at the location that he had discovered that this dragon that had let loose his Draconic Prestige was actually just a human!
But by then, it was all toote. The humans had surrounded that foolish son of his and utterly torn into him.
He was a human, but he was actually mimicking the distinguished Dragons!
This was a huge affront!
What made it even more detestable was that this human who imitated a dragon had even killed me Soul¡¯s son. This was a hatred so deep that the rage he felt would never subside, even if he tore Xia Fan into shreds!
Though dragons did not admit that they were beasts, they were still ultimately considered the Kings of all Beasts, standing atop the food chain of beasts. For a human to reach the same heights was most definitely something that could not happen!
¡°I WILL KILL YOU!¡± me Soul thundered. Since Xia Fan had used his mental energy to invade his mind, he would just burn his own dragon lifeforce in retaliation to this invasion!
In that moment, the ck glow became even more voluminous. It felt like me Soul could not withstand the suppression from Xia Fan¡¯s Beast King Orders; his scales began to glow and burn up, while a simrly powerful mental energy sought to devour Xia Fan¡¯s soul!.
Xia Fan suddenly opened his eyes. At this very moment, his pupils were no longer ck, but an incandescent gold! His Law of Gold was activated!
Golden light flooded Xia Fan¡¯s eyes and began to spread. First was his eyes, then his cheeks, teeth, before it finally enveloped every hair of his body.
The Law of Gold was a Law Power that had nobat capabilities on its own. Its biggest function was strengthening, allowing the Beast King Orders to be even stronger, and at the same time it heightened Xia Fan¡¯s five senses, making him even more focused and aware.
The circumstances were truly amazing . Not only were Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha brothers, it turned out that Xia Fan could also turn his body into gold, like three suns coexisting in the sky. There were now two ring golden suns and one red evil sun that was periodically radiating darkness.
The two golden suns were giving it their all to contend against the evil sun and its Demonic Energy. But the stalemate between the sides was destroyed in a matter of seconds.
Never in me Soul¡¯s wildest dreams could he imagine that Xia Fan would have reached the level he possessed, and was able to unleash a third type of power!
Speed!
...
The Skywing n were well known across the Great Chiliocosm for their speed!
Though Xia Fan¡¯s speed was not particrly outstanding among the Skywings, he had the fearsome additive effect, one plus one, and another! In the end, he had apletely golden body that was exuding the aura of a dragon, with a speed surpassing 30,000 meters per second, dashing at such speeds that he conjured up a deadly rush of air!
*Rumble*
With dragon blood injected into his body, his speed would increase once more, a speed that was nearly 50,000 meters per second!
His seventh brain region was burning, as the Law of Gold and his Beast King Orderspletely exploded!
Traveling Buddha was manic, letting out a bestial roar. He also began burning his seventh brain region, pushing his Battle Buddha to its limit!
This was the legendary golden duo, being pushed to their extreme limits!
They were as frightening as death gods, glowing golden!
Chapter 1600 - 1600 The Demon King is Here!
1600 The Demon King is Here!
¡°The traps in the Demon Pce have all been dismantled! No matter how we move now, we won¡¯t be triggering the self-destruction sequence!¡± General Dresden swore solemnly.
As they were advancing through the pce, they had noticed there were sunken portions to the interior walls where pressure sensors had been hidden. The moment anyone came into contact with them, it would trigger the trap mechanisms there!
Nevertheless, the indicator lights on the pressure detectors have been extinguished, meaning that they were currently disconnected. The reason they had been discovered was because there was a slight malfunction in the recovery process, so the sensors did not fully reset back to their original positions.
¡°Isn¡¯t this a good thing? With the traps dismantled, we¡¯ll have freedom of movement!¡± someone asked, confused.
Dresden was pale. ¡°Not at all. One would need quite a high clearance to shut down the traps across the entire pce!
¡°Headquarters had alerted us that there were two figures rapidly closing in on our position, even making it into the Demon Pce! They have activated the Domain outside and now have shut down all the traps inside! I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re in big trouble. The Demon King, or the Demon King ¡®s mount, should be back!¡±
The atmosphere became tense. The owner of this Demon Pce was the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley! The consequences were simply unimaginable if he was back.
¡°Oh no! Nikai!¡± Dongfang He cried out, his face stern.
If the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley was really back in his pce, then the person who was in the gravest danger would no doubt be Nikai. She was all alone and her left leg had been injured.
*Whoosh*
Everyone increased their pace, sprinting for the great hall.
Soon, the entrance to the great hall was in sight. The flustered Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian heaved the double doors open wide, and then immediately took sharp breaths.
They were toote! Standing beside Stanley, watching as everyone rushed into the great hall, Nikai¡¯s face held an anxious expression. Because of her fear of the enemy right next to her, Nikai did not dare move. She seemed to have been bound by an invisible chain, everyone could see the despair in her eyes.
¡°Let Nikai go!¡±
Dongfang He sprinted forward recklessly. No one could stop him, unleashing his Armies of the Furious Inferno. Countless burning figures surged forth like a tide, instantly forming an iron-hard phnx!
*Kaboom!*
With a casual wave of his left hand, Demonic Energy exploded forth and King Stanley sent Dongfang He flying. His Armies of the Furious Inferno was sent flying as well, crashing hard against the wall. The inferno warriors that Dongfang He had created promptly turned into ash, like burning charcoal that had been pulverized by a steam roller. None of them had any means to retaliate.
¡°You forget that I¡¯m the Scarlet ze King!¡± Stanley smirked.
Dongfang He¡¯s Armies of the Furious Inferno were a mutation between a Fire-type special ability and the Summon special ability. Stanley was the Scarlet ze Demon King, also a wielder of Fire-type special abilities. Dongfang He¡¯s encounter with Stanley was simr to a student meeting his teacher; his powerful Ability waspletely useless!
General Dresden¡¯s face was somber. He took several steps forward and stared at the seeming-man with a bloodless face, his eyes were devoid of any emotions.
In all fairness, Stanley was very handsome. With a high nose ridge, deep eye sockets, andpletely red skin, he looked very energetic. If he was ced beside a human, he would surely be seen as attractive to many out there.
Unfortunately, he was a demon, and whether it was a Demon King or a Demonic Dragon, both possessed the ability to transform their bodies, and often walked the world in humanoid form. Even though he looked suave on the outside, his heart only knew killing and destruction!
¡°Oh, so it¡¯s you. To think you¡¯d still be alive,¡± Stanley wavedckadaisically.
General Dresden was an old man who had participated in thest war with the Realm of the Dead. Back then he was just a young major general. Because of his outstanding battle results, he had left some impression on the Demons. Stanley remembered him, but was not at all afraid of him.
After all, no matter how outstanding Dresden was, he was not an existence that could hold up humanity by himself, while the best experts among the humans had long since died during the war.
There was no such thing as fairness in the world. The Demon¡¯s unique ability toe back to life meant that they could bury their demon egg in countless secret locations ahead of time, all so that the moment they died, they would be able to recuperate in the inteyers of space. After many years, they could choose a demon egg and be reborn from it again. So unless humanity managed to find all the eggs used by the thirteen Demon Kings and their mounts and then eliminate them all, there was no way for them to bepletely eliminated from this world.
It looked like Stanley had chosen to be reborn on the first level of the Realm of the Dead, in human territory. He must have intentionally made the decision, so why had he taken such a risk?
Furthermore, Stanley was not only just reborn. He had been awakened on the same day the Son of me Soul was , but only me Soul¡¯s Son had remained in the North Sea, while Stanley and his mount had gone to parts unknown, only returning to the Demon Pce today. Why did they leave? What did they get up to in secret?
Dresden swallowed. These were questions they had no answers for. Perhaps only Stanley himself knew them, and given the current situation they had found themselves in, the answers were unimportant. What was important was how they could save Nikai from the demonic clutches of Stanley, and safely beat a retreat with everyone afterwards.
As for the option of killing Stanley, Dresden knew very well that it did not exist. Before they set off, they had not believed that the Demon King would return. This was a situation that was beyond their calctions, and things had already gonepletely out of control. Headquarters was most likely racking their brains, wondering if City King Cotird would break the prohibition and rush over to lend them a hand.
¡°Nikai is innocent. Let her go, and you and I can have a fair fight!¡± General Dresden raised his head and dered loudly.
Stanley let out a soft sigh, ¡°How am I going to say this before you people understand? Though we are Demons, we also have emotions, and not just mindless butchers. The peerless beauty that Lady Nikai possessed made me fall in love at first sight. I could barely yearn to show her care and love, so why would I go and harm her?¡±
With that said, Stanley took Nikai¡¯s right hand, gently ced it to his lips, and kissed it.
In that moment, that famed butcher of a Demon King actually revealed a rare glimmer of affection in his eyes. But Nikai apparently did not believe Stanley to be one capable of showing love. She trembled slightly, but did not dare pull her wrist away, and had no choice but to allow Stanley his kiss.
¡°You ursed being has embarrassed my fianc¨¦e! I swear I will kill you!¡± Dongfang He cursed.
He had climbed back to his feet and raised his head. He was clearly a prince of Concealed Demon City, but his eyes burned with ferocity right now. A mass of ck energy was emitting from his eyes, making it hard to differentiate just who the legendary gentleman was between the fierce Dongfang He and the handsome Stanley.
¡°A fianc¨¦e means she has yet to marry. I¡¯m willing to ept your challenge. One day, I shall make Lady Nikai willingly marry me. I will not force this decision onto her,¡± Stanley said with a smile.
¡°You goddamn monster! Only a ghost would be willing to marry you!¡± Dongfang He yelled.
Stanley shook his head, ¡°I am no monster, I am a Demon. The biggest difference between the Demons and yourself is just a matter of beliefs. You people believe in those people that live up in the Heavenly Realms, those people above, while we demons believe¡ in ourselves.
¡°Simrly we are willing to go to war over our beliefs, so it¡¯s hard to say who are the righteous ones. Young man, you¡¯ve been brainwashed by the Concealed Demon City and your family for far too long. It¡¯s time you learn to open your eyes and look at this world we live in more intently, to think with your brain more clearly. Don¡¯t let others tell you that Demons are evil, and ept what others think at face value.
¡°Whether humans or demons, at the end of the day, we need to learn how to think for ourselves. Don¡¯t you agree, Lady Nikai?¡±
This was an absolutely eye-popping conversation. One of the thirteen Demon Kings of the legends had finally appeared before their eyes, yet a handsome and well-bred man was what they saw in front of them. If he was not a Demon, he would be very popr with thedies, right? It was also possible that given the philosophical speech he was delivering, he would have been viewed as a life mentor to many men as well!
¡°Humans and Demons could never reconcile with each other. Since you refuse to let Nikai go, then why even bother acting in the first ce?!¡± Dresden shouted.
Stanley revealed a mild sadness to them. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for a friend. His son has unfortunately passed, and we are both inconsble. But he decided he needed to avenge his son, and while I know that there is no way of alleviating the hurt from who we have lost through hate, I still made the decision to support him, because he¡¯s my best friend.¡±
Jia Yuntian gasped, ¡°Do you mean me Soul?¡±
Stanley nodded.
Everyone was dumbfounded. Everyone knew that me Soul was Stanley¡¯s mount, but the wordsing from the mouth of the Demon King himself, referring to his mount as his friend? And he even supported him?
Aside from General Dresden, this was the first time any person present had seen a Demon King. Nevertheless, his existence hadpletely subverted their views. Stanley was absolutely antithetical to everything they had learned about Demon Kings since they were children.
Sure enough, there was a natural aura of coldness pervading Stanley. But his actions and words demonstrated that he had a good upbringing. It was simply too strange. Could all the thirteen Demon Kings be like this?
Suddenly, tears flowed freely from the corner of Stanley¡¯s eyes. There was an incredulous expression on his face as he stared at the door that had been broken down. The veins on his temples throbbed, and it looked like he was having a hard time controlling himself after he had suddenly been struck by sorrow.
¡°Why?¡± Stanley mumbled to himself. ¡°He was just a man ridden with sadness after losing his son. Why did you have to kill him¡¡±
Everyone was confused. Who killed who?
Could it be¡
Was me Soul dead?
...
The answer was revealed not long after.
Two figures came sprinting in from outside. They were none other than Xia Fan, who was holding Traveling Buddha by his arm. With a speed that broke ten thousand meters a second, they had dashed over like a hurricane, bringing with them the smell of burnt skin.
*Thump*
A giant ck head was tossed on the ground. Its eyes were as wide open as bronze bells, looking like he could not rest in peace. Dragon¡¯s blood was flowing freely from the severed head, staining the floor red.
That was me Soul¡¯s head¡
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had actually managed to y him!
Prior to seeing these two young men standing before him looking charred all over, General Dresden had practically forgotten about their existence, and that his team this time had the addition of two stragglers. They had been told to stay in the lower level of the Demon Pce to investigate the reason for the reactor starting up.
Yet now, they werepletely covered in ck soot and giving off a burned smell. Nevertheless, there were wide smiles on their faces, and they were even carrying the head of the Demonic Dragon me Soul over!
This was such an incredible achievement!
The atmosphere in the hall was thick and taut.
Battle was imminent!
...
Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha had consecutively in Stanley¡¯s mount and his mount¡¯s son, even going so far as to bring me Soul¡¯s head over. They were practically throwing it directly at the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley¡¯s face!
There was no way anyone out there could have stood for that¡
Chapter 1601 - 1601 Speedsters can do Whatever they Want!
1601 Speedsters can do Whatever they Want!
Even a Buddha could still get angry, not to mention that Demon King Stanley was a Demon. The head of his mount had been tossed to the center of the great hall, blood still flowing from its stump. It looked no different from a pig¡¯s head that someone had brusquely chopped off. Stanley was sighing repeatedly, his gaze turning cold.
¡°Revenge begets revenge,¡± Xia Fan said. ¡°You¡¯re just making it sound like me Soul only has just one son. If it was not me Soul¡¯s son who had died but the two of us, does that mean our fathers ought toe and take revenge?
¡°Don¡¯t think just because you¡¯re good with a few words means you can im the high ground to act gentlemanly and reasonable. That might be effective on others, but you can spare me all that superfluous talk.
¡°I was the one who killed me Soul¡¯s son. I was also the one who killed me Soul. Now the ball is in your court. After all, I am not the sort that will not pull out weeds, roots and all. If you don¡¯t die, who knows when you will secretly take revenge on me, which is why I will only sleep soundly after seeing your head hit the floor.¡±
!!
This¡
Everyone was bbergasted. Xia Fan was taunting a Demon King! Was he not being far too presumptuous and arrogant?!
But anyone could tell Xia Fan had done it intentionally. He was not a fool, so why would he seek to draw the ire of Stanley? That did not seem like something a smart person would do.
Instantly, Jia Yuntian¡¯s eyes shone. He saw how Stanley was giving Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha a stare of death, and in doing so, was treating Nikai beside him like air, no longer paying her any attention.
Thus, Jia Yuntian finally understood Xia Fan¡¯s line of thinking. Stanley was holding onto Nikai, which was essentially him threatening everyone¡¯s weakest point. Xia Fan nned to draw the Demon King¡¯s firepower all to himself, so that the others would get a chance to save Nikai!
ncing at Xia Fan again, Jia Yuntian¡¯s eyes were filled with envy and admiration. To risk himself all for the sake of saving Nikai, pulling the Demon King¡¯s ire toward him¡ He ought to be the one doing something so cool. If Nikai were to learn of such a thing, she would surely be so touched that after everything was resolved, it would not matter that she was the fiancee of the inheritor of the Dongfang n. The prettiest woman in Subduing Demon City would very well belong to Jia Yuntian!
Still, the man standing in front of Stanley treating the head of me Soul like a ser ball was not Jia Yuntian. Instead, it was the man whom nobody had an eye on: Xia Fan, who had managed to stand out from everyone by being a true man¡¯s man!
¡°Hahahaha!¡± Stanley let out a raucousugh, ¡°All these years that I¡¯ve spent reading, philosophizing, and cultivating myself¡ You¡¯re the first one that could make me so angry!
¡°Alright. Whether I see it from the angle of a master or as a friend, I feelpelled to kill you, otherwise I would really be disappointing my moniker as a Demon King.
¡°Humans can¡¯t be too arrogant. It¡¯s a good thing you met me, because if it was any of the other fourteen of us, you would already be dead. Yet here I am, letting you live until now, so you can say what you wish to say.¡±
Fourteen?
Everyone was confused. Weren¡¯t there only thirteen Demon Kings?
Harikane, Nafa, Chevy,Tigliani, Bresca¡ These names were all very familiar, written in textbooks. Even a three-year-old from Subduing Demon City could recite their names by heart. But now Stanley said that there were actually fourteen of them?
Seeing him suppress his emotions right now, he must have said some nonsense as a result of being sopletely agitated by Xia Fan. Were there really fourteen Demon Kings? Or was it all just a gaffe said when emotions were high?
Everyone was shocked, but several secondster, everything changed. Xia Fan stunned everyone again with his crazy methods.
Everyone watched as Xia Fan lightly brushed his finger on his spatial ring and took out a silver detonator.
Nobody knew what model the detonator was, but there was a yellow light blinking on it repeatedly, indicating that it was armed and ready to detonate at any time. All Xia Fan needed to do was lightly push the button and an explosion would ensue.
Stanley wrinkled his brow and shook his head. ¡°Are you kidding? Are you nning to use a remote detonator to threaten me, a Demon King?
¡°I¡¯ve already acknowledged you as an opponent, since you¡¯re the one who killed me Soul. But now, I feel that you¡¯re just an arrogant clown. Against an enemy at my rank, you choose not to draw a weapon, but a bomb? That just says your mind might be addled.¡±
Xia Fan shed him that habitual smile of his, so radiant and bright that it figuratively warmed the gloomy and cold Demon Pce slightly.
¡°I¡¯m fine, but your brain might really have problems the moment I push down on this button,¡± Xia Fan said.
¡°I don¡¯t see why,¡± Stanley snapped somewhat impatiently.
¡°Listen to my deduction first. Here in the lower level of your Demon Pce, there¡¯s a metal chamber that you used to be reborn. Beneath the three chambers hides a nuclear fusion reactor that supplies the chambers with constant energy.
¡°At the moment, that fusion reactor has been refitted to be a bomb. With a press of this button, your Demon Pce will no longer exist. No matter how powerful you are, a nuclear st will surely injure you, and the Domain outside will also be shattered. When that timees, Cotird, Lu Tai, Calvinson¡ All of them will rush over and fight with you to the death. There¡¯s no way you can flee now that you don¡¯t have me Soul by your side.¡±
¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Stanley retorted. ¡°How could you easily refit a reactor into a bomb? That¡¯s a major project that would waste plenty of time and energy. Do you treat me as a fool?¡±
Xia Fan was still smiling, except the corners of his lips were grinning even wider than before, making him look somewhat sinister.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Demon King Stanley, but I¡¯m a Speedster.
¡°What you call a major project is nothing but work that can be aplished in a blink of an eye to a Speedster like me. Furthermore, I¡¯ve studied mechatronics and machinery aside from being a Speedster, learning nuclear physics and every other possible skill that you could possibly name.
¡°You find it unbelievable? I think so as well. But it¡¯s just too bad that in this world, speed allows you to do whatever you want!¡±
The suave and gentlemanly Stanley was gone. He got up in a fit of rage and shouted loudly at Xia Fan, ¡°Even if you¡¯re a Speedster, the moment the fusion bomb is triggered, you have no way of fleeing the st, either!¡±
Xia Fan nonchntly waved the detonator in hand, ¡°That¡¯s not for certain. Haven¡¯t I told you that I¡¯ve learned plenty of skills? It¡¯s very easy to create a safety corner. The moment I trigger the explosion, I¡¯ll duck into the safety corner and wait for the st to subside beforeing out. This is a directional nuclear explosion; if you¡¯ve studied the seventh volume of high-energy physics, and understand the Energy Field Hedging theorem, then you know what I mean.¡±
This sinister b*s*t*rd¡
Stanley was stumped. If that detonator in Xia Fan¡¯s hand could trigger the explosion of two bombs at the same time, at the right angle and time, then he could indeed form a safety corner as a result of the shing energies from the sts. Only Xia Fan had knowledge of where this safety cornery, and with how quick he moved, not only would Demon King Stanley be unable to catch up, he would also have to withstand the brunt of the fusion explosion!
Given the cultivation of a Demon King, the explosion would not be able to kill Stanley, but it would crucially result in the Domain around the Demon Pce breaking. At that point, Carl Vinson and all the others up on the surface of the ocean would be able to rush over immediately, and without me Soul, Demon King Stanley would not be able to get away. He would end up dead at the hands of the humans outside!
Stanley¡¯s mind was racing, and he could hardly care about Nikai right now. With his life or death at stake, only a fool would still be concerned about a woman. The only person he wanted to deal with now was just Xia Fei, that smiling rascal!
Chapter 1602 - 1602 The Demon Seed in Traveling Buddha’s Body!
1602 The Demon Seed in Traveling Buddha¡¯s Body!
In the blink of an eye, Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley made his move. Everyone was put to shame when they witnessed how quickly the killing intent exploded from the middle-aged man who had appeared refined and gentlemanly.
He had chosen a moment when everyone least expected, when everybody had thought he was stunned from Xia Fan¡¯s tactic of threatening him with a nuclear bomb and did not dare make any rash movements, right at the time Xia Fan¡¯s smile receded.
It was by no means a fluke that the Demon Kings were able to reach the position they presently held. In ages past, there had once been countless Demons who had lived in the Lower Realm, with many experts who possessedbat strength at the king level, yet out of them all, Harikane had purposely chosen only Stanley and twelve others to be hispanions. That was all due to their abilities and caliber.
The core of the problem here was not the nuclear bomb, but Xia Fan. At the root of everything that transpired was the human Xia Fan, and only by killing him could Stanley truly resolve the issue!
As such, Stanley was willing to take the risk. Assuming the fifty-fifty chance that he would be caught in the explosion, Stanley flicked his wrist lightly, instantly unleashing all his Demonic Energy in that instant.
Stanley believed that no matter how quick Xia Fan was, there was no way he could be faster than light, right?
Only Xia Fan¡¯s father, his elder brother, and all the other peak experts in the Skywing n were able to reach near lightspeed, and a special child like Xia Fan had only inherited a portion of his family¡¯s speed. At this very moment, the limit of his speed was only 50,000 meters per second.
The so-called Demonic Energy referred to the Dark-type special abilities, and the Demon Kings possessed the most exceptional mastery of that Dark Demonic Energy. Normally, someone who had reached the position of a Demon King would also have a second or third special ability beyond the Dark-type power.
The Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley¡¯s special abilities were Darkness and Fire. He immediately unleashed a beam of light that looked like a huge dragon. ckness and fiery red intermingled with each other, charging right for Xia Fan¡¯s chest. This attack had been so abruptly sent out that no one managed to react in time.
At the same time, Stanley shot out from his throne, hurtling right toward Xia Fan. This was his second trump card. If his dark beam did not kill Xia Fan, Stanley would still be able to engage in a melee fight.
Nevertheless, Xia Fan had the advantage when it came to speed. In fact, he was not only faster than everyone present in the physical sense, even his reaction time was much quicker than others, and far surpassed that of themon man. It was just that his reaction utterly shocked everyone.
Everyone watched as Xia Fan grabbed Traveling Buddha, who was right beside him, and used him like a cannonball. He threw him right at Demon King Stanley, and Traveling Buddha even looked like he already knew what Xia Fan was about to do. Flooding his body with golden light and raising his two arms, he shot out a weaker but more radiant beam of his own toward Stanley.
In the next moment, a full blown battle exploded. Traveling Buddha was using his Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light and body to counter Demon King Stanley, while Xia Fan abruptly elerated, arcing along a path toward Demon King Stanley¡¯s throne.
*Boom*
The Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light and the beam of Darkness and Fire collided, canceling each other out. Next, Traveling Buddha and Demon King Stanley mmed together, and a loud explosion thundered out.
Though Traveling Buddha had gotten a high-speed boost from Xia Fan¡¯s throw, the difference in power was too much. His entire person promptly shot away, crashing into the wall behind him. Fortunately, Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley had also lost his target due to Traveling Buddha¡¯s interference. Not only did he fail to hit Xia Fan, Xia Fan had even managed to circle around behind him!
*Whoosh*
A skinny figure retreated safely after carrying away Nikai.
¡°M*TH*RF*CK*R!¡± Traveling Buddha cursed as he unsteadily got back to his feet. Blood was pouring down his nose, bloodying his dirty sleeve when he wiped it away.
That was when Dresden pointed toward Stanley, ¡°This demon tried to use Nikai to threaten us just now, but now that Nikai¡¯s saved, brothers, let¡¯s kill him together!¡±
Every able-bodied warrior turned into killer gods right then and there!
That was probably an oue that Demon King Stanley had not expected to face. The team of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha not only had wless coordination, they were also willing to sacrifice themselves for the other. Traveling Buddha knew from the beginning that Xia Fan would surely use him like a cannonball, and he had no qualms about it.
The two were not just friends. The trust between Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha was already beyond simple friendship, and was even greater than many brothers with actual blood rtion!
¡°So that is the tactic you¡¯re using,¡± Demon King Stanley murmured. ¡°The two of you are like day and night, like a warrior and their shadow. Each with different specialties and abilities that allowed you two to cover each other¡¯s shorings.
¡°Such outstanding cooperation is something that I¡¯ve not seen in many years. It¡¯s just too bad that today might be thest time you will work in concert like this. That¡¯s because in that moment we collided just now, I buried a seed in your body. A Demon Seed. Very soon, there will be a huge change, and you¡¯ll turn into my underling in the end.¡±
When Stanley was done speaking, he realized that there was a look of disbelief on everyone from Xia Fan to Dongfang He, so he frowned slightly, ¡°Oh, so none of you know. This man is actually different from you. He actually doesn¡¯t have Demon blood in him.
¡°If he does, how would I have so easily nted the seed in him?¡±
¡°This is akin to how everything under the sky mutually restrains each other, negative to the positive. If I had ced my seed in you all, who already have Demon blood coursing through your veins, your blood would have produced a strong resistance, and my Seed would be ineffective.
¡°But he is like a nk piece of paper. He did not have anybody else¡¯s Bloodline from those people above, nor did he have our Demonic bloodline. He is just a simple human, which was why I merely needed to break that golden light that protected him. It doesn¡¯t even have to be too big either, just a small hole so I could insert my Seed. That alone is enough to catalyze and turn him into a pure-blooded Demon like me.
¡°Isn¡¯t this very interesting? Do you want him to stay here, or be brought back to Subduing Demon City? If you take him back, he will turn into a demon, and all of you will still have to kill him yourself, because Subduing Demon City cannot contain a pure-blood demon.
¡°Honestly, I¡¯m really looking forward to what choice you make. Speedy rascal, it looks like you¡¯ve got a good rtionship with him, almost like brothers. When hepletely demonifies, why don¡¯t you deal with him with your own hands.¡±
Xia Fan naturally knew that the Runes on Traveling Buddha¡¯s arm were fake. In order for them to slip into Subduing Demon City, and in order for him to continue being Xia Fan¡¯s partner, Traveling Buddha had faked his Demonic bloodline, something only Traveling Buddha and a handful of City Lords had been aware of.
Silence. Xia Fan ced Nikai down on the ground and no longer spared her another nce.
Despite the fact Nikai was a youngdy who would fascinate any normal male, and was easily the most beautiful woman Xia Fan had ever seen in his life, his head was currently nk. He could not feel the warmth of her against his body; all he could do was stare fixedly at Traveling Buddha¡¯s chubby charred face.
¡°Is it true?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Traveling Buddha scratched his head and furrowed his brow. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to his nonsense. How would I turn into a Demon?¡±
¡°We¡¯re brothers. Please. Don¡¯t lie to me,¡± Xia Fan¡¯s voice was an octave lower than usual.
Traveling Buddha was startled. He could never forget that whenever someone said that they were both friends, Xia Fan would always raise his head and proudly dere, ¡°No, Traveling Buddha is my brother.¡±
There were no lies between brothers.
Traveling Buddha grimaced and sighed, nodding, ¡°When we collided just now, I did feel some difort on my shoulder, like I was stung by a bee. But what are you worried about¡ It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know that this Buddha doesn¡¯t care about anything.¡±
There was no way to control his sadness. Traveling Buddha should not have been here in the first ce. He had just married Hidden Water and ought to be apanying his wife and child.
But Traveling Buddha had chosen to abandon the pregnant Hidden Water ande out here and wander with Xia Fan. Because while Ashen Moon was rtively safe, his good brother Xia Fan still had yet to locate his father and family. Traveling Buddha had felt it was a debt he owed Xia Fan.
But now, with a Demon Seed nted in him, Traveling Buddha would be turning into a Demon. There was a very high possibility that Xia Fan would have no choice but to kill him with his own hands!
Chapter 1603 - 1603 Self-Destruction Countdown!
1603 Self-Destruction Countdown!
*Rumble*
The Demon Pce suddenly shook vigorously. The shock came from the outside, apparently from the water¡¯s surface. Cotird and the others had grown impatient and decided to use some sort of powerful weapon to st the Domain that surrounded the pce.
Cotird was the City Lord in charge of weapons research, and the creation ofrge-scale assault weapons was his area of expertise. Perhaps he had gotten anxious, so he pulled out his most precious treasure, aiming it toward the Demon Pce under the sea, after a series of indiscriminate sts. The crazy old weapons researcher had the nickname of ¡®Bomb Maniac¡¯, and the consequences of agitating him could be disastrous.
*Crunch*
!!
Xia Fan desperately lunged over to tear off Traveling Buddha¡¯sbat armor, as Traveling Buddha took several steps back, horrified, ¡°Just what are you doing? I¡¯m not a woman, so why are you grabbing at my clothes?¡±
Xia Fan was speechless as he stared at Traveling Buddha. How was this man still in the mood for jokes given how dire the situation was?
As Traveling Buddha¡¯s muscr shoulder was exposed, Xia Fan could see a ck bruise on his left shoulder. Under the light, he could very clearly make out that a small hole had prated hisbat armor, most likely the handiwork of Stanley nting the Demonic Seed that would turn Traveling Buddha toward Darkness.
The ck bruise was like a poisonous mand flower, slowly spreading over time. It would not take long before it would fundamentally change Traveling Buddha¡¯s genes, turning him from a human into a Demon!
When that time came, Traveling Buddha would listen to themands of the Thirteen Demon Kings. If they instructed him to go west, Traveling Buddha would go west, and if they told Traveling Buddha to kill Xia Fan, he would not hesitate to deal the killing blow.
The loss of freedom was a fate worse than death. Turning into a puppet that the enemy controlled was definitely an oue that Traveling Buddha would not ept, given his personality. He would surely choose to end his own life before hepleted this transformation.
Xia Fan¡¯s heart sank, as darkness and coldness surrounded him. Ever since he had lost the Disasters, he had not made many friends, and Traveling Buddha was by far the most important one.
*Boom*
The assault weapon struck the Domain outside the Demon Pce once again. Because they had lost all lines ofmunication, there was no way for Xia Fan to know what Cotird was thinking. Perhaps he thought that the team that he had sent had already been killed, which was why he was willing to risk the copse of the Demon Pce and attack indiscriminately. Now it seemed like even if Xia Fan did not detonate the underground nuclear bomb he had fashioned, he would also be buried by the Bomb Maniac Cotird!
¡°You humans sure are crazier than us Demons when you lose it!¡± Stanley looked up to the shaking ceiling and sighed. ¡°Forget it. Do whatever you like. In any case, I¡¯ve alreadypleted my task here in your territory, so it¡¯s about time for me to meet up with the others. If I stay for any longer, this Demon Pce of mine will be ruined by your fooling around.¡±
That was when Xia Fan got up. The ever-smiling young man had lost his smile. All that remained on his face was an expression colder than a ten thousand year Ice Age. His eyes were red from the rage and hurt he was feeling, and his whole body was slightly trembling.
¡°Thinking you cane and go as you please? What a joke. Do you think I¡¯m just paper paste?¡± Xia Fan gnashed his teeth.
¡°I¡¯m not joking.¡± Stanley deftly snapped his fingers. Traveling Buddha suddenly let out a shrill cry, one hand clutching his shoulder, painfully copsing to his knees. Veins were visible across his face, swelling like pig liver.
Xia Fan was stunned. Though Traveling Buddha had an indifferent attitude toward everything, fooling around all day, he was still a descendent of the Holy Buddha n. He was someone who had received elite training. For him to cry out such a cry of despair just went to show that the level of pain he was feeling was well beyond the threshold he could withstand, something at the level of an inhuman torment!
¡°The Demon Seed has already taken root, and I am in control of a portion of his body. I can let him live, or let him die. The intense pain alone will destroy his nervous system! I don¡¯t think you all have ever seen someone die from pain alone, have you? Trust me, don¡¯t try it. It¡¯s very tragic.
¡°Actually, why bother looking so bitter and hateful? We Demons aren¡¯t like you imagine; we also have feelings. We are also sad when a brother dies.
¡°Besides, our demands are very reasonable. Those people above had the Lower Realm split in two in order to suppress us, giving half of it to us and the other half to you humans. To put it bluntly, you people are just the weapons of those above, and they are using humans to deal with us, the Demons.
¡°That isn¡¯t fair. We wish to take back the territories that originally belonged to us, so we can sit as equals with those hypocritical people above.
¡°A capable warrior like Traveling Buddha will no doubt be heavily used once hees over to my side, so there¡¯s no need for you to worry on his behalf. If possible, I also hope that you¡¯ll join us. After all, you¡¯re partners, and having just one of you would be too lonely. You¡¯d both be able to demonstrate your greatestbat effectiveness if you¡¯re together.
¡°There¡¯s still some time before the war begins, so why don¡¯t you think about it some more? I am the most gentlemanly individual among the demons, and I assure you that you would not lose out following me.¡±
Stanley¡¯s voice gradually disappeared. He had returned to his throne, and the entire seat was sinking down. It was clear that it was a secret exit.
General Dresden could tell that Stanley was about to escape and he wanted to give chase, but Xia Fan¡¯s shout stopped him.
¡°Don¡¯t move! Let him go!¡±
Xia Fan looked ghastly. He was not afraid of the Scarlet ze Demon King, but did not want Traveling Buddha to be tortured any further. A simple wave from Stanley¡¯s hand and Traveling Buddha would suffer an agony worse than death. That was akin to holding onto Xia Fan¡¯s weak point, making it impossible for him to do anything to Stanley.
Dresden¡¯s face twitched. As the old general that was participating in this battle, he did not feel good letting a young man like Xia Fan shout at him, but he did his best to hold back. Xia Fan¡¯s strength was beyond doubt, and he ought to show face to a young man with so much potential. After all, he was already old, and the future belonged to the young.
¡°How are you feeling?¡± Xia Fan asked with wrinkled eyebrows.
Traveling Buddha shrugged with a remarkableck of worry. ¡°Rx, I won¡¯t die. How could you have let the enemy run off? This isn¡¯t like you. Don¡¯t you dare say you did that for my sake, because I¡¯m not about to appreciate that.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not because of you, but because I wasn¡¯t confident,¡± Xia Fan replied.
¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± Traveling Buddha mumbled. ¡°Being the imperious Little Old Buddha that I am, I am most afraid of being someone else¡¯s deadweight. Rx, if therees a day when I really can¡¯t make it, I¡¯ll find a ce and end things by my own hands. Just be sure to ry the news of my death back home.
¡°Speaking of which, I can¡¯t be reconciled with the fact of what happened. I¡¯m different from a bachelor like you. I¡¯m someone with a wife and kid. I don¡¯t care that my father would be sad with my passing since we¡¯ve never seen eye to eye on things since I was young, but I do feel bad for Hidden Water. She¡¯s really such a silly girl. There¡¯s so many men out there in the world, yet she stubbornly decided to stick with me.¡±
To speak such nonsense even when he was at death¡¯s door. That was truly Traveling Buddha¡¯s style.
But every word of incoherent gibberish that Traveling Buddha uttered hung in the heart of Xia Fan, cutting like knives.
The atmosphere was heavy. Everyone was wondering why Traveling Buddha did not have a Demonic bloodline and who could have helped him fake the Runes on his arm, but this was definitely not the best time to look into matters, given the situation.
Nikai was surrounded by Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian on her left and right respectively, checking in on her health. Nevertheless, Nikai¡¯s eyes were drawn to the slightly skinny man a short distance away. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha were seated on the floor together, with thetter still spouting nonsense, as if he was really going to die. Meanwhile, Xia Fan did not say a word, and was merely silently listening, tears brimming in his eyes.
¡®He is a man who values emotions greatly, to treat his own sworn brother so well¡¡¯, Nikai thought to herself.
Actually, Nikai was not at all familiar with Xia Fan, but for some unknown reason, she felt as if she had known Xia Fan for many years already.
When she was trapped here, all alone, it was Xia Fan¡¯s voice that had kept herpany, telling such funny stories that Nikai nearly forgot what sort of situation she was in. Had her surroundings been a garden filled with flowers, it could easily have been mistaken as two people who were spending time together and gradually falling in love.
Being captured by Stanley and then made into a hostage, only for Xia Fan to risk himself and save her, snatching her away from Stanley¡¯s clutches. For this, he had even gotten his brother to tag along. Even the chubby Traveling Buddha looked big and tall in Nikai¡¯s eyes. Without his involvement, she probably would have been spirited away by Stanley just now, and been forced to be his lifepanion.
¡°Dammit. To think Stanley managed to get away!¡± General Dresden wasining as he hurriedly arranged for his men to look for a way to leave this ce, or to reestablish contact with the people above at sea.
Actually, Xia Fan was capable of destroying the Domain. The Law of Gold had an amazing ability; the moment he imbued himself in its golden light, he would be able to pierce through any Domain!
It was just that Xia Fan currently had no desire to leave. The Law of Gold could not whisk Traveling Buddha away, so he might as well stay here and apany his best friend, his brother for life, here. Even if Xia Fan had to die, he would rather die by his brother¡¯s side.
¡°Quick run! This ce can¡¯t hold it anymore!¡±
All of a sudden, Xia Fan heard Cid Raleigh¡¯s voice.
¡°Say, aren¡¯t you being a bit toote?¡± Xia Fan muttered silently. ¡°When I needed you the most, you didn¡¯t even say a word. But now that Stanley has left, you suddenly appear. Just what are you ying at?¡±
¡°Who cares about ying you!¡± Cid Raleigh said in a stern voice. ¡°With a Demon King around, if I dare make a sound, I would most definitely be discovered! Because of some things that I¡¯ve done in the past, the Thirteen Demon Kings all basically hate me to the core. If I want to survive longer, I need to hide from them!
¡°Right now isn¡¯t the time to talk about all this though. Stanley has already activated the Demon Pce¡¯s self-destruction sequence. I know that person too well, calling himself a gentleman when he¡¯s really far more vicious than anyone else! If you don¡¯t run, you¡¯ll end up being buried here with the Demon Pce. If you wish to save Traveling Buddha, you¡¯ll first need to flee with him!¡±
Chapter 1604 - 1604 Mural of Blood!
1604 Mural of Blood!
¡°There¡¯s no time left. We need to leave this ce as soon as possible, since Stanley has activated the self-destruction sequence when he left the ce!¡± Xia Fan said.
Everyone was startled. The confused General Dresden asked Xia Fan, ¡°How do you know this?¡±
Xia Fan sighed. ¡°Through my Scent Ability! The smell of the Demon Pce has changed, and the White Bone Regiment seems to be moving once again, bing something different from before.¡±
Xia Fan was not lying when he said that. He did indeed smell the changes to the White Bone Regiment, who were trying to trap the humans inside the Demon Pce. Two steps were required: The first was the self-destruction sequence being activated, while the other was to interfere with the humans evacuating from the premises. By keeping the humans in constant battle, they would be able to drag things out and make it impossible to leave.
¡°Then what do we do? The Domain outside is still up, while the pce interior has explosives and the White Bone Regiment. He has basically forced us into a corner here!¡± a warrior gasped, his face pale as a sheet.
¡°We go down!¡± Xia Fan announced decisively. ¡°I¡¯m sure Stanley was able to leave this ce because there¡¯s still a secret passageway that we had no clue about. All of you saw it with your own eyes how his throne suddenly descended. Furthermore, the Demon Pce is currentlypletely enclosed in the Domain, so the most likely route of escape is underground!¡±
Dresden let out a sigh, feeling that Xia Fan¡¯s deduction ought to be correct. After all, Cotird was on the sea¡¯s surface. If Stanley wanted to leave the pce without having to confront Cotird, the safest way would be to secretly sneak away through a secret underground passageway!
Thus, everyone hurriedly got on their way. They did not care to search the Demon Pce for any valuable information; it was more important for them to escape with their lives intact!
¡ª-
Xia Fan¡¯s Scent ability had demonstrated its value once again. Though Cid Raleigh the old dragon knew that going deeper underground was the way to escape, he only knew the logic behind doing so, and not the route itself. Xia Fan had no choice but to track Stanley¡¯s scent, searching for a possible passageway through the maze-like pce.
¡°Wait a minute!¡± Cid Raleigh suddenly shouted as they were escaping. ¡°That room on your right, there¡¯s a wall mural!¡±
Xia Fan turned to his right and looked. Sure enough, it was one of the many countless corridors in the Demon Pce. He seemed to have passed by this ce before, but right now, the room was notpletely flush with the wall. The room had been hidden, and after Stanley fled, because of some strange coincidence, it had suddenly opened up.
¡°What are you looking at? The Demon Pce is about to blow up, and dawdling any further will just get us blown apart along with it!¡± Xia Fan said.
¡°Don¡¯t worry, I know Stanley¡¯s style very well. He would have mobilized the White Bone Regiment to attack, and if he failed to kill you all, then he¡¯d blow the pce. After all, there¡¯s no upside for him to just bring this ce crashing down right away. In any case, we must go in and take a look. I seem to recall seeing that mural in some other ce before.¡±
Cid Raleigh sounded very certain, so Xia Fan had no choice but to take a look in the room. Aside from the mural, there were also many ancient tomes and many maps. From the cramped writings and the various markings made all over the map, Stanley must have studied the maps in this room in great detail.
¡°What maps are these?¡±
Dresden came over and casually grabbed one from the table. Meanwhile, many others crowded around Nikai to check in on her. It looked like a scene of a superstar being mobbed by fans. Because she had difficulty moving, Nikai was being carried by Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian. They had found a chair and had Nikai sit on it as they set up chairs in front and behind her respectively.
¡®That¡¯s a map of the buffer zone,¡¯ Cid Raleigh answered in a low voice.
¡®Buffer zone?¡¯ Xia Fan did not understand, so he probed to rify.
¡®The Realm of the Dead is split into three levels. Therge area in between these levels is also known as the buffer zone. There¡¯s life there as well, and they are some fairly unique lifeforms. They are neither human nor demon, and could be considered the third force of the realm.
¡°Both humans or demons have sent people to explore the buffer zone, but it is unfortunate that it is simply too huge. It is like an unending beehive, or a never-ending maze. Exploration parties rarely ever make it back, and even if they got lucky and did just that, whatever information they brought back was limited.
¡®Demon King Stanley has collected arge number of maps regarding the buffer zone, which means he had spent a lot of his time specifically looking into and studying it. Given Stanley¡¯s personality as someone that would not put effort into anything that would not benefit him, he would surely not be doing this if he did not have any particr reasoning behind it.¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Do you remember? Stanley said before that since his assignment on this level was done, it was time for him to head back and rendezvous with his brothers!
¡°That is to say, Stanley did not choose to be reborn on the first level for no reason, but that he was assigned here by Harry Kane. Could this assignment of his be rted to the buffer zone?¡±
Cid Raleigh nodded. ¡°That is a very likely possibility. Humans and Demons have battled against each other for a very long time, and neither side has been able to achieve victory. Perhaps the Demons have found some sort of method to finally beat the humans in the unknown parts of the Realm of the Dead, in the buffer zone.¡±
¡°We must not let him seed. Let¡¯s bring all these maps back with us!¡± Xia Fan decided.
Cid Raleigh waved him off dismissively, ¡°They are all just fragment pieces. Besides, Stanley isn¡¯t stupid enough to leave things critical to the fate of his race in a ce like this.¡±
¡°But there are so many maps, numbering well in the thousands. Yet they are all fragments?¡±
¡®But of course! Have you seen the lift that brings you to the second level in Subduing Demon City? Honestly, going down to the second level, even at the fastest speed, would take a full week. The distance between the two levels is all considered the buffer zone.
¡®Forget these maps, even if they are ten thousandfold greater, they would still not be enough topletely cover the zone.¡¯
Xia Fan widened his eyes in bewilderment. ¡°What the heck, why does it sound like the buffer zone is evenrger than the three levels of the Lower Realm added together? How could there be such a wide expanse?¡±
Cid Raleigh answered, ¡°It¡¯s said that the ce was a dark prison in the past, where the people above would imprison their criminals. Actually, you need not be so shocked. The biggest of the three realms is the Middle Realm, where all the universes are gathered. For the person who could create the three realms to conjure up the buffer zone would be nothing more than child¡¯s y.¡±
¡®Oh right. Use your nose and sniff. What¡¯s the paint used to draw the mural? Why is it that I feel something is slightly off with it.¡±
Xia Fan gave a nod and took a whiff. He was promptly startled, reaching out to lightly touch the mural. A small piece of the red paint peeled off and stained his finger.
¡°It¡¯s blood,¡± Xia Fan said grimly. ¡°Human blood. It has been a very long time, and it¡¯s even giving off traces of skin and bone remnants from its smell. If I¡¯m not mistaken, the red used on this mural was forcibly created by humans cutting their fingers, and the other colors are from natural nts and minerals like indigo, purple mulberry, chrome, and so forth.¡±
Cid Raleigh was stunned, but then had a big realization.
¡°In ancient times, there were countless humans that were sent to investigate the buffer zone, and nearly 99% of them never came back alive. I¡¯m afraid there was a human that was trapped underground here, and because he could not locate an exit, he used thest of his life to make this blood mural, in hopes that the rescue team could find it. Unfortunately, for some reason, it was Stanley that managed to find this mural in the end!¡¯
¡°Why use blood to draw? He clearly had plenty of natural ingredients to produce the different colors with. The fact that there¡¯s indigo just means that not only were there mineral veins in the buffer zone, there were even plenty of nts!¡± Xia Fan was nonplussed.
Cid Raleighughed excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s very simple. Because ny percent of the map is fake, and only the red line he drew with his blood represents the real path! This dying warrior was very clever. He knew that hispanions might not be the ones to find this mural, so he tried to hide it!¡¯
¡°Going by your line of thinking, the reason this warrior was willing to use his blood on this map is because it is very important. He must have found something in the buffer zone!¡± Xia Fan finished Cid Raleigh¡¯s conclusion.
¡®That¡¯s right, you¡¯re right on the money! You sure like up to your namesake as a wolf cub of the Skywing n. Not only is your nose keener than a wolf¡¯s, you¡¯re also much smarter than one.
¡®We need to etch this map deep in our minds. It¡¯s just too bad the map has already be rather iplete due to the passage of time and the tremors from before, so there are many red lines that we can¡¯t recognize. But I¡¯m sure Stanley that b*st*rd must have a moreplete copy of it!¡¯
Chapter 1605 - 1605 Flatten Everything!
1605 tten Everything!
*Kaboom!*
Just as Xia Fan saved the map in his recorder, he heard a loud explosioning not from outside, but from within the Demon Pce, not too far away from them!
What was going on?
The people in the room were startled, hurrying over to the corridor outside. They saw that the warriors still outside were also confused, looking in the direction of the explosion.
A reddish glow appeared from somewhere several kilometers away, the ce where none other than Christopher had gone ahead to explore. After Xia Fan had entered the room to inspect the mural, Christopher had not stopped and continued to explore the way ahead.
Soon they saw Christopher running back with a limp, looking like he had been through Hell, hisbat armor in tatters. He was still bleeding freely from his wounds, running as he tried to spray down and close his wounds.
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan dashed over and brought Christopher back to gather with the others much more quickly than he could move by himself.
¡°Damn him. The White Bone Regiment has mutated into an army of suicide bombs!¡± Christopher cursed, forgetting his status as a young master of the Demon Subduers.
¡°The White Bone Regiment has turned all red, except for their white bone swords. They look like their entire bodies have been smeared in blood, which I found strange. I used my Shrinking Ability to get close to observe them, but ended up being discovered. Three of them exploded at the same time, and not only did they copse the way ahead, they almost took my life along with them!¡± Christopher spat. ¡°Let¡¯s retreat. There¡¯s no way ahead anymore!¡±
Everyone erupted in a mor. The White Bone Regiment was the most basicbat unit of the Demons,parable to the foot soldiers of the humans. Now that they had mutated to also explode, they were actually able to injure the elite warrior Christopher?
It had to be said that there were tens of thousands of White Bone Regiment in the Demon Pce. If they possessed such powerfulbat strength now, they could very well threaten the lives of Xia Fan and the others!
¡°Let me go take a look,¡± Xia Fan said.
elerating, Xia Fan ran several kilometers and arrived at the ce where Christopher had been attacked just now. The corridor here had copsed; the ceiling made of alloy and stone was downpletely, blocking the way ahead.
He could hear sound through the wreckage, and a bony palm soon pushed away the rocks, revealing a red head and half a body. Sure enough, it was a White Bone Regiment warrior. The rest of them were trying to dig their way through the rubble so that they could continue making their way toward the human intruders.
He recalled that the bodies of the White Bone Regiment had beenpletely ck, as if they were made of dark steel. But now, they had all been painted as red as blood, their eyes gleaming with ferocity. The moment the first one saw Xia Fan, he began to bare his teeth and grabbed at him. Unfortunately, half its body had been pinned under the rocks and it could not get itself out.
*Rumble!*
Another of the White Bone Regiment soldiers exploded. Xia Fan could clearly see that someone had stuffed their bodies with powerful explosives. The explosion originated from its chest and spread spread throughout its body. A 120 kg White Bone Regiment warrior exploding would be equivalent to the force from 120 kg of explosives!
As another explosion thundered out, the corridor copsed again, filling the air with dust. Ignoring it, the rest of the White Bone Regiment began to dig anew. It seemed they had all lost their minds and were desperately doing everything they could to get nearer to Xia Fan, just so they could blow themselves up along with him!
¡®This is the self-destruct capability of the White Bone Regiment,¡¯ Cid Raleigh said in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. ¡®Harikane, that b*s*t*rd, invented this technology. Originally, the White Bone Regiment were normal warriors of the Demon race, but Harikane injected a virus into them that forced them to kill one another.
¡®Only the White Bone members who sessfully killed their own kind were allowed to survive. Their weapon, the White Bone Sword,es from pulling out the spine of their opponent.
¡®Some willingly epted the injection and killed their wives or daughters, and then pulled out their spines, reporting to Harikane as his most loyal servants!
¡®When tragedy struck, the traditional and conservative faction attempted to stop it, but it was a pity that virus was far too virulent, and overnight, the demons lost arge portion of their citizens, and only the White Bone Regiment that Harikane controlled remained.
¡®That was the final straw for us. Harikane¡¯s methods angered the Three legendary leaders ckfeather, Monsoon, and Purgatory, so the three of them dered war on Harikane at the same time. You know what happened in the end. That was thest time our legendary leaders joined hands, as not long after, they were either killed or went missing.¡¯
Cid Raleigh¡¯s voice was morose, revealing the heartbreak he felt inside. It was evident that the sudden mutation of the White Bone Regiment had dredged up some painful memories of the past.
Xia Fan had a feeling that given how much Cid Raleigh knew about the Demons and how hemanded such great strength, he must have had some connection to the three legendary leaders. But the moment he mentioned the three, he sounded like an old man, recalling his memories of his good friends when he was younger.
¡ª
However, he did not have the time to listen to Cid Raleigh tell his story at the moment. Xia Fan turned around and made his way back. The White Bone Regiment, now augmented with self-destruct capabilities, was a far greater threat than before. Even he might end up losing his life if he found himself surrounded by them!
¡°The way ahead¡¯s blocked. ording to my Scent analysis, the other routes aren¡¯t too optimistic, either. Our best bet would be to Shrink ourselves, just like how we came in, and then find a safe route through the venttion ducts to avoid encountering any of the mutated White Bone Regiment,¡± Xia Fan told the others. ¡°From what I¡¯ve determined, Lord Stanley is quite vengeful. Directly blowing up the Demon Pce seems to be too cheap a death for us, so he ns to first use the White Bone Regiment to smother us, before destroying the ce! If we¡¯re able to withstand all that, perhaps we¡¯ll have a chance to escape this predicament with our lives.¡±
Christopher was at first stunned, but then revealed a disappointed expression, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t wish to help, but there¡¯s a limit to what I can do. There¡¯s no way for me to repeatedly use my ability in a short span of time. At most I can control it for just myself. There¡¯s no way for me to shrink all of you as well!¡±
The situation had in turn be problematic. Xia Fan furrowed his brow. Everything came with a price. The more powerful and rare a special ability was, the more restrictions would apply. Take his speed, for example. Normal people would not be able to bear the huge energy consumption needed to maintain high speeds.
Fortunately, Xia Fan had been fed Grade Nine energy crystals since he was a child by the Disasters, and had also inherited the amazing physical constitution of his n. elerating to high speeds would not cause any problems to his body.
¡°That¡¯s tough. I¡¯ll go then. Even if those people self-destruct, they won¡¯t be able to harm me!¡± Traveling Buddha stepped forward bravely.
¡°That won¡¯t do. Although your Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light is known for being imprable, I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to withstand a series of consecutive explosions on yourself, either. After all, we¡¯re talking about the White Bone Regiment, which numbers in the tens of thousands. Each of them could self-destruct! Maybe taking one or two of them is fine, but repeatedly exploding a hundred times will surely be the death of you!¡± Xia Fan rejected his offer outright.
Everyone was silent. The best way of dealing with explosions was with shields, and while Traveling Buddha was the perfect human shield, he was ultimately just one person, and there was no way he could survive a repeated explosive assault!
That was when Nikai suddenly stood up, with the help of Jia Yuntian¡¯s arm, and pointed to herself, ¡°I can do it! Xia Fan has Speed, while Traveling Buddha has the Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light. If my Divine Wings of Color were included in the mix, we should be able to withstand arge-scale explosion!¡±
Xia Fan raised his head and looked at her pretty face. Indeed, Nikai also had a protective special ability! Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light working in tandem with her Divine Wings of Color¡ if his speed was included, perhaps they would be able to carve out a path when surrounded by the White Bone Regiment!
¡°Nikai, you¡¯re injured.¡±
Jia Yuntian, who rarely ever spoke up, could not help but try and dissuade Nikai. There was great danger charging into an encirclement of the White Bone Regiment, and he did not wish for Nikai to take that risk.
¡°It¡¯s worth a shot, and you can even throw in my Fiery Wrath Army,¡± Dongfang He unexpectedly chipped in. ¡°I can use my Fiery Wrath Army and let Xia Fan control them. Since they are just disposable beings with no life or soul, there¡¯s no problem in sending them to the frontlines to die.¡±
¡°Dongfang He, have you gone insane?¡± Jia Yuntian stared at his old nemesis in shock.
¡°No,¡± Dongfang He replied calmly. ¡°I wish to protect Nikai even more than you do, but given the situation we currently find ourselves in, everyone will just die if we don¡¯t take a risk. Nikai is my woman, and I believe she would be just as brave as me.¡±
This young master and his macho mentality¡
Xia Fan was speechless. Dongfang He was born a prince, and he treated everything as if he deserved them. Any woman he desired belonged to him, and his woman had to be equally as brave as him.
Originally, everyone had been rather touched that Nikai was willing to risk her life at this critical moment, but the moment Dongfang He said that, it made it sound as if the reason Nikai was being brave was because she was Dongfang He¡¯s woman. As long as anyone had a rtionship with him, even a dog that belonged to his family would also be a brave dog!
¡°Tsk, this world doesn¡¯t revolve around you; everything will still exist with or without you!¡± Traveling Buddha also had the temperament of a young master, and he pointedly expressed what he was thinking. Dongfang He turned livid, as Traveling Buddha¡¯s words hurt his pride.
Xia Fan sniffed the air and then said, not giving anyone face, ¡°All of you shut up. There¡¯s no sense in us talking about all this now.
¡°We don¡¯t have much time left, and Christopher has no way of using his Shrinking ability. There are only three paths before us, each of them surrounded by White Bone Regiment. Only by speedily carving out a bloody path out will we have a chance to escape. Everyone has to decide immediately if they wish to take this risk or not.¡±
Nikai took a deep breath and nodded firmly, ¡°I have no problem. My wound¡¯s a lot better after recovering my strength and administering some medicine to myself. I¡¯ll be able to use my Divine Wings of Color.¡±
Traveling Buddha shrugged nomittally, ¡°You know I hate thinking. I¡¯ll leave it to you to decide.¡±
Xia Fan did not nce at the others and merely said to Nikai and Traveling Buddha, ¡°Then it is decided. Traveling Buddha will be a shield in front of me, and Nikai will act as protection behind me. I¡¯ll be the elerator for us, and force a path through. Who cares if they are the White or ck Bone Regiment. We¡¯ll tten everything!¡±
Chapter 1606 - 1606 A Fortunate Person and a Lonely Person
1606 A Fortunate Person and a Lonely Person
Gazing at the towering mottled walls in front of her and the cold moon glow hanging above, Le Jiajia finally realized that she had sleepwalked once again.
She had arrived at the city walls alone in her nightgown and bare feet, and not once did she realize what was happening during the entire process. It was like there was atent power inside her that drew her away from herfortable bed, walking toward the gloomy darkness.
The night breeze blew, causing her gown to flutter, making her shiver slightly from the cold. She lowered her head and hugged herself tightly as she slowly made her way back to the dormitory the Subduing Demon City had prepared for new warriors.
¡®It¡¯s going from bad to worse. I¡¯ve walked over thirty kilometers tonight, and was practically on the verge of leaving the city confines,¡¯ Le Jiajia thought to herself in dismay.
Ever since that battle against the Son of me Soul in the valley, Subduing Demon City had entered into a state of high alert, and patrols had doubled. Meanwhile, Le Jiajia, barefooted and in her nightgown, was walking all alone in the deep of the night, yet not a single soldier had noticed her? That was simply improbable.
That was unless she was sneaking in the shadows while she was sleepwalking! Hiding in dark corners whenever the patrolling guards neared, holding her breath and waiting until the guards departed, and leaping out of the shadows like a wily fox!
Le Jiajia did not dare continue thinking about that. There had not been many incidents of her sleepwalking when she was younger, but the first time she had done so was seven years ago. While she was still just a little girl, she had left home while wearing a green woolen nket that she had been carrying since she was a child, and walked several kilometers all by herself before arriving at the archives.
From then on, she would appear in various ces in Subduing Demon City from time to time. Sometimes she would wake up and find herself inside the weapon research center for no reason, and sometimes he would end up in the conference hall. There was even once when she ended up visiting the dungeons. Before then, Le Jiajia had no idea that there existed a secret dungeon where the criminals were imprisoned here in Subduing Demon City.
Le Jiajia began to suspect that there might be a reason why she was waking up in all the important locations of Subduing Demon City. It was like there was some magical power controlling her, making her into a spy, using her identity as a cover, observing the daily changes in Subduing Demon City.
There were many times when Le Jiajia woke up in the morning and found her legs caked in mud, and there were even traces of blood on the base of her feet. She must have walked a great distance, but due to the fact that she was in a state of controlled unconsciousness the entire time, she had no way of knowing just how far she went while under control, or where she had been, or what she had done.
Right now, the situation had gotten even worse. It looked like the mystical power in her mind wanted to take her out of the city, heading to even further ces in parts unknown.
Le Jiajia should have reported this matter to a City Lord, but she could not do so. That was because she had a Demon King bloodline, and there were two reasons they had allowed Le Jiajia to live in Subduing Demon City.
The first was because her family had not once demonstratedplete demonification, and she was deemed to be a safe demon.
Second was because the City Lords believed that there were benefits to keeping people with Demon King bloodlines for theing war. After Le Jiajia received her training, perhaps she could be of help to the city in dealing with the demons.
Her humble status and the gradually worsening sleepwalking incidents left Le Jiajia more and more withdrawn personality-wise. It was why she had shown her belligerent side to Xia Fan when they first met, bickering with him. She then gave him the cold shoulder in the days after, pretending she did not know him at all. But when Xia Fan appeared during that battle in the valley, Le Jiajia¡¯s worry was etched on her face, reaching out affectionately to grab Xia Fan by his hand and asking him to be careful.
Le Jiajia seemed like a two-faced person; a side of her was the descendant of a Demon King that had been cast aside by the city. She was cold and aloof, indifferent and reticent. No one was willing to invite Le Jiajia as a guest to their home, and she did not have any friends to speak of.
The other side of her was the sensitive and kind girl who would quietly pray for everyone around her, hoping that she could lead the life of a normal girl: making friends, watching ys, and happily eating sweet and tasty desserts. Maybe she could even date handsome boys from the city, hold hands with them, and spend evenings together under the moonlight¡
¡ª
Her return journey was very sessful. Le Jiajia, being an inheritor of a Demon King Bloodline, and had a far higher cultivation than everyone thought. She was able to evade all the guards and the old man guarding the entrance to the dormitory with her great speed.
In no time at all, Le Jiajia was submerged in her bathtub, scrubbing desperately, as if she was trying to cleanse herself of her sinful blood.
Her white skin turnedpletely red under her intense scrubbing, but her startling recovery skills soon kicked in and returned her to normal. Standing in front of the mirror, she looked like an angel carved out of baster by a talented artisan.
There were two beauties in Subduing Demon City, and were it not for Le Jiajia¡¯s Demon King bloodline, she would surely have be a second Nikai, shrouded in a halo as she became an object of endless pursuit from a mob of men.
But reality was cruel. They possessed equally peerless looks, yet Nikai was the one who had everything, while Le Jiajia had nothing besides a cursed Bloodline, and a loneliness that cut right into her marrow.
A lonely person would lick their wounds, all by themselves, deep in the night, while everyone could see the happiness of a fortunate person.
Just as Le Jiajia was feeling dissatisfied with her lot in life, Xia Fan had turned into the most fortunate person, a subject of everyone¡¯s envy and jealousy.
¡
¡°Are you ready?¡± Xia Fan asked Nikai.
At this moment, Nikai felt like a warm and soft littlemb, carried on Xia Fan¡¯s back. The fullness of her body was pressed against his back, the view alone enough for quite a few men present to begin nosebleed.
¡®Dammit, why is it him?¡¯
¡®Xia Fan, that rascal, isn¡¯t even a Demon yer!¡¯
Indignant voices echoed in the minds of people, but no one dared to voice it out loud. They were still hoping for Xia Fan to demonstrate his martial prowess and save everyone from their doomed fate. With how things were right now, Xia Fan, with his nose keener than a dog¡¯s and speed faster than the wind, could clear out the White Bone Regiment that had surrounded the Demon Pce!
¡°No problem, I¡¯ll just clutch onto your shoulder tightly,¡± Nikai answered, her face beet red.
The female goddess had great self-respect, so she had not touched another man before. At present, with her chest pressed into Xia Fan¡¯s back, and Xia Fan¡¯s arms locked around her thighs, they were so close that both of them could smell their respective scentsing off one another.
¡°I run fast, so just holding onto my shoulder isn¡¯t enough. You need to wrap both of your arms around my neck,¡± Xia Fan said in a serious tone. He had inherited a positive trait of his father¡¯s, which was that he was not someone who would be moved when seeing a beautiful woman. He would always be able to clear his mind and focus his mind on the task at hand whenever he was serious.
Nikai was startled, but soon hugged Xia Fan even tighter, her arms wrapping around his neck tightly.
Xia Fan felt that her posture made it very easier for him to run, but the men watching felt that the position would be absolutely ecstasy-inducing. To have their goddess sticking her entire body to him like that, they had no idea just what sort of luck Xia Fan had in order to have this chance to be so close to their goddess! Furthermore, it looked like Xia Fan was the one being passive here, and it was the goddess taking the initiative to hug him!
¡°What about you?¡± Xia Fan asked Traveling Buddha.
¡°How would I have any problems? Just hold onto me tightly and don¡¯t toss this young master around,¡± Traveling Buddha shrugged, unaffected.
Inparison, Traveling Buddha was not treated nicely. He was like a brick, looking ready to be tossed out by Xia Fan at any time to smack someone in the head!
¡°Okay, then let¡¯s begin! Everyone, keep up with me at your fastest speed possible!¡± Xia Fan yelled, and everyone focused and made ready.
Golden Light shot forth; Traveling Buddha red ahead as his entire body glowed brightly.
Colorful wings slowly spread, like the warm hands of an angel, enveloping the three people in their embrace.
Xia Fan crouched low. With a burst of speed, strength exploded from his legs, enough to crack the alloy floor. He promptly disappeared while carrying that magical glow with him, reaching his top speed as he went charging forward into the formation of the White Bone Regiment!
Chapter 1607 - 1607 Drastic Changes in the North Sea!
1607 Drastic Changes in the North Sea!
¡°The sonar results are out!¡±
¡°The ground on both sides of the Demon Pce is rapidly rising, and will reach sea level in three minutes!¡±
¡°The sea level itself is dropping, and seawater is swiftly disappearing at a rate of 26 million cubic meters per second!¡±
The North Sea was originally a calm body of water, but at the moment it was tossing and raging. A hurricane had whipped up waves that were tens of meters in height, while ck clouds gathered as if heavenly tribtion was upon them, covering the skies. They threatened toe down on thend and sea, destroying everything.
!!
The ark on the surface of the sea had already sunk to the bottom of the sea due to the huge waves. The warriors were seated on flying beasts, quickly rising into the skies while battling the wind and rain. Fortunately, the troops were equipped with enough flying beasts, who had amazing constitutions and strong bones able tobat the hurricane, or the consequences would have been disastrous.
However, there were still some warriors who were still unlucky enough to fall into the sea. Theirrades tried to rescue them from their fates, but with the huge waves and powerful undercurrents, the difficulty of effecting a rescue waspounded, easily exhausting both the people that had fallen and the rescuers in a very short amount of time.
In any case, the North Sea right now was like a boiling bathtub, with the plug at the bottom undone. The sea¡¯s water was very quickly being drained underground, forming huge eddies and waves in the process. It was a very strange phenomenon, a disaster that no one had ever seen before.
City Lord Cotird and Calvinson had already gotten onto the backs of huge flying beasts, and after hearing about the reports from the various technical groups, they realized how pessimistic things were looking. Their expressions were looking more and more severe, while the howling winds and battering rain had yet to weaken in the slightest.
They could clearly make out from the scan that there was a movement simr to the shifting of continental tes taking ce. The center of the seabed was sinking as the surrounding ground was raised, causing seawater to be diverted beneath the crust.
Normally this sort ofrge-scale movement required thousands or even tens of thousands of years to form, but today, everything was happening over the span of several minutes. The North Sea lookedpletely different in just a blink of an eye; the seawater had been all but drained out, revealing the rocky seabed below, with all the fish struggling painfully in the muddy ground, dying as there was no longer any water.
¡°Just what is going on? The North Sea area covers an area 14,335 kilometers square, and it actually lost seven meters of its sea level in just one minute? Curse it, at this rate, the entire North Sea will no longer exist! Just what sort of natural phenomenon is it that could cause such a great change in the tes?¡± Cotird bellowed, staring out over the still-turbulent sea.
Calvinson shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not a natural phenomenon.¡±
¡°What are you saying?¡± Cotird was shocked. ¡°Are you saying that there¡¯s another power that could turn the Lower Realms upside down? Even someone like the King of Demon Lords Harikane does not have the power to cause such wide-scale destruction!¡±
Calvinson replied, ¡°The Ancient Book of World Creation mentioned that the Lower Realm itself was originally aplete region, without being split into three levels. Later, an unprecedented great war broke out between the experts from the Upper Realm and the Lower Realm, known as the War of Two Realms mentioned in the history books.
¡°The War of Two Realms ultimately ended with the Lower Realm as the losers, and so their territory was split into three. The first level was given to the humans, and the third to the Demons. The middle level was caught between the two races.
¡°In order to prevent the Demons from rising up again, the Upper Realm recruited humans who possessed outstandingbat strength from the Middle Realm, which is the Subduing Demon City and the Demon yers.¡±
¡°The Lower Realm wasn¡¯t split into three levels in the ancient times, but was something artificially created afterward. That is akin to how a person could build a three-story building on a piece ofnd, and it doesn¡¯t matter what material you use. As long as it¡¯s a man-made construct, weathering the elements across a period of time, there wille a day when they reach the limit of their service life and will copse once it reaches that limit.¡±
¡°Given the intensity of the changes we are seeing to thend right now, I suspect that the service life of the three levels of the Lower Realm hase, and as time goes by, the entire Lower Realm will be more and more unstable, before ultimately copsing and returning to its original state.¡±
Cotird swayed slightly as the expression on his face changed drastically. ¡°You¡¯re a historian that specializes in ancient history. I know you¡¯ve read practically every book in Subduing Demon City, but you can¡¯t just spout nonsense!¡±
Calvinson shrugged. ¡°Do you still remember that incident in the Sith Mountains? Overnight, the Sith Mountain Range that spanned the first level of the Lower Realm copsed, and countless lives living in the buffer zone were lost. Even now, many are still roaming the remote areas of thend.¡±
Cotird nodded, swallowing hard, and indicated for Calvinson to continue.
Xia Fan and Xia Geng had run into a tribe that was seeking to assault Meimei¡¯s White Stone City when they first arrived in the Lower Realm. Those tribal residents were none other than the people who roamed the maind after the Sith Mountains copsed. In other parts of thend, there were even more intelligent lifeforms who originally came from the buffer zone. It was just that the main objective of the yers was to fend off Demons. With how the various lifeforms from the buffer zone weren¡¯t particrly strong, Subduing Demon City did not engage in anyrge-scale mobilization against them.
¡°Aside from the Sith Mountains, there¡¯s also the melting on the Southern cier, the warming of the Adria Basin, and the emergence of deserts in the once-thriving Rift Valley Rain Forest. All these geographical phenomena were ssified as shifting tes by us.¡±
¡°Theoretically speaking, those things are indeed due to the changing of tes, but have you ever wondered why there have been more and more of these incidents recently?¡±
¡°Meanwhile, the activities of the Demon have increased during this period of time as well. Is that all a coincidence? That is what we¡¯ve believed all this while, that the special geological structure of the three levels ought to be stable, but what if we are mistaken? What do we do then?
¡°I knew given your personality that you¡¯d ask me for data and figures to prove my hypothesis, but I¡¯m very sorry, my friend. I have no proof. All I have is my instincts as a historian from my years of studying the changing of the world through the ages. Some might feel that what I proposed is absurd, but history has repeatedly taught us that not everything in this world can be predicted through data and numbers, or that it could be understood through any scientificputing model.¡±
Calvinson was a historian who studied liberal arts, and was very different from a man of science and engineering like Cotird. Though Calvinson spoke in an even tone, every theory he espoused would often be more astounding than thest, almost to the point of the whimsical.
Cotird pursed his lips, ¡°How could you see the Three Realms as some concrete building? That¡¯s very unscientific! You know we need to take a super-powered Maic Elevator in order to go from Level One to Level Two, taking a total of seven days. The thickness and stability of the Lower Realm is nothing like concrete!¡±
Calvinson shrugged. ¡°I already told you, someone who studies history like me would never be able to give you the proof or data you need as someone who values scientific data. My theory is solely based on my understanding of history. There have been too many strange changes happening to thend, and I¡¯m somewhat worried.¡±
¡°Is that why all of you ignored my protestations and sought out the Skywings?¡±
Calvinson did not deny his part. ¡°To be precise, what we sought was not only a Skywing, but also other ns who possessed unique capabilities and powers. It was just that the Skywings were the most outstanding of the lot, and were the most famous.¡±
¡°Who else? I do not wish to see the Lower Realm filled with all sorts of strange people,¡± Cotird demanded.
Calvinson chuckled, ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, my friend. You, who voted against this, have been excluded from the executivemittee, so you don¡¯t know their names. All you need to remember is that, whether it¡¯s the Skywings or other ns that we invited to bolster the forces of the Lower Realm, they are all like us, humans, and not demons.¡±
His expression suddenly turned serious. Calvinson said in a deep voice, ¡°Actually, most of the City Lords are like me, caring most about the Upper Realm and not the Skywings.
¡°After all, it has been 12,673 epochs since we had any contact with the Upper Realm, and they seem to have forgotten our existence. Forgotten that we, the Demon yers, are under theirmand. This is very abnormal, and ought to be what we¡¯re most worried about.
¡°Old friend, now is not the time for us to be quarreling. Using your understanding of these weapons and helping save our men before the seabed copses would be the most important task at hand. Otherwise, they will only be buried in the deep dark ground, just like the Demon Pce.¡±
*sigh*
Cotird heaved a long sigh and continued to gaze out into the stormy sky.
¡°I¡¯ve already done everything I can. I had even bombarded the Demon Pce Domain, hoping that General Dresden would not be fooled. The reason why I did so wasn¡¯t to bring it down, but to remind the people trapped inside that danger was imminent, and that they needed to leave immediately!¡±
Chapter 1608 - 1608 Buried Underground!
1608 Buried Underground!
Charging!
Desperately charging forward!
The moment they began their withdrawal en masse, Xia Fan burst forth at the forefront, using Traveling Buddha as his shield and Nikai as his armor, with the former in front of him and thetter carried on his back. The three were as one, plowing straight into the formation of the White Bone Regiment.
*Kaboom!*
The sounds of explosion went off repeatedly, masking the massive changes happening outside the Demon Pce. Xia Fan was like an unloaded cannonball, hurtling through their enemies and sending them flying!
Xia Fan¡¯s n was very simple. Though the White Bone Regiment warriors had gained the ability to self-destruct, all that mattered was that they did not explode near him! Just like soldiers dealt with enemy grenades in war films, the moment such explosives were thrown into the trenches, people could choose to either take cover by falling down on the ground, or they could pick it up and throw it back where it came from before it exploded.
Xia Fan opted for the second method. Any sort of explosion still needed a moment to trigger, and Xia Fan capitalized on that very moment to ram right into the self-destructing White Bone Regiment warriors at full speed, sending them flying just as they were about to explode. That way, the explosion would not happen around him, but further in front of him, where there just so happened to be many more enemies gathered!
In the blink of an eye, the White Bone Regiment had to deal with Xia Fan¡¯s counterattack. The whole lot of them were sent sprawling everywhere. Body parts were strewn all over, and the walls were covered in thick blood and guts, looking like a scene taken straight out from Hell.
Though thebined effect of Xia Fan¡¯s speed and reckless charge was effective, that meant he was also unable to avoid being affected by the same explosions. Thus, this all depended on Traveling Buddha and Nikai¡¯s performances. Traveling Buddha was like a shield, acting as the first line of defense. He was like a naval ram, solid and sturdy, able to withstand the collision against anything.
Meanwhile, Nikai used her Divine Wings of Color to protect both Xia Fan and herself, guarding against the explosive impactsing from the sides and behind them. Everything was absorbed by the colorful and magical wings that sprouted out from Nikai.
The young woman had shut her eyes, burying her face in Xia Fan¡¯s shoulder. She could distinctly hear the explosions happening everywhere around them, but she could also feel the beating of Xia Fan¡¯s heart. Instinctive fear of the danger around them caused Nikai to hug Xia Fan even more tightly, like a man clutching onto a final de of life-saving grass.
Emotions grew during battle. Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha¡¯s trust in each other had been established since the first time they let each other cover their backs, and was further built upon through the countless battles they braved together. If Xia Fan was unreliable, the Little Old Buddha would have long since abandoned Xia Fan, but the fact remained that not only was Xia Fan reliable, he was even frighteningly so. Thus, the trust they had in each other had been strengthened to the point it was now an unbreakable bond.
A simr experience was happening to Nikai now. When she was alone, she had Xia Fan¡¯s voice to apany her. In battle, she had Xia Fan¡¯s back to rely on. So very naturally, Nikai found Xia Fan¡¯s back to feel very warm and dependable.
¡ª
*Kaboom!*
With thatst explosion, a bloody path opened up. Xia Fan was like a directional missile that had pierced through the Demon Pce, blowing a breach which had passed through the thick outer walls.
General Dresden and the others chased desperately after Xia Fan, but Xia Fan¡¯s top speed was nearly 50,000 meters per second, nothing a normal person could keep up with. The distance between them kept increasing, and everyone saw Xia Fan, Nikai and Traveling Buddha¡¯s figures fade into the distance. They witnessed countless shattered bodies and the walls that had been blown open in the trio¡¯s wake!
¡ª
¡°Is the sea on the verge of copse?¡±
Traveling Buddha frowned. They had gotten through the Demon Pce after quite the struggle, only to see that there was still a Domain barrier above their heads, and then the great sea outside it. At this moment, there was only just a line of sky left, visible through the sea. They had no idea when thend around them had ascended to the point where it looked like they were in the giant mouth of some sea monster, about to swallow the entire Demon Pce whole!
Without a doubt, there was a great change happening to the sea. The ground where the Demon Pce was situated was sinking deeper into the ground while everything was happening. While Xia Fan and the others were busy dealing with the attack of the White Bone Regiment, the explosions had muffled the sounds from outside. Only after they broke through the wall of the Demon Pce did they realize that the Demon Pce was sinking rapidly.
¡°I get it now!¡± Nikai eximed. ¡°The sounds of explosions we heard outside the Demon Pce before were not from Cotird attacking the pce, but him actually warning us with the explosions to get out of this ursed ce as soon as possible, seeing as we had lost any lines ofmunication with each other!¡±
Nikai¡¯s analysis was spot-on, but it was already toote to realize that.
The immense Demon Pce had already sunk deeper into the ground. Looking up, Xia Fan felt like he was a frog in a well, only able to see a small piece of the sea and sky.
¡..
The sky was blue and everything was calm. No one could have imagined that just minutes ago, there had been a hurricane and waves rising several tens of meters high raging across thend.
The North Sea that had covered a total of 14,335 square kilometers hadpletely disappeared. Countless flying beasts were panting heavily,nding upon the muddy ground to rest. The flying beasts were exhausted from braving the powerful hurricane winds while carrying their masters on their backs. At the moment, everything was back to normal, and they finally had a chance to take a breath and stretch out their sore muscles; maybe even catch a few of the big fish that were struggling in the mud to help replenish their physical strength.
All the warriors leapt off their flying beasts,nding on the muddy ground. Every single one of them was dumbfounded. Mountains had sprouted from the seabed, and the Demon Pce in the middle of the North Sea hadpletely disappeared, bing a huge depression. When someone stood on its periphery and looked down, they could see that the bottom of the depression had beenpletely sealed off, and there was no passageway that led to the buffer zone.
¡ª
The technical team¡¯s flying beasts were still in the air, using all sorts of measuring instruments to probe thend below. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the headquarters was somber.
¡°I¡¯ve built a model,¡± Cotird said, rubbing his red eyes.
One of his men carried over a transparent ss water tank. At the bottom of the tank was sand, made into a replica of the North Sea¡¯s seabed.
*Pop*
Someone pulled out the stopper at the bottom of the model. Instantly a cavity formed beneath the mock-seabed, and the water in the tank drained away rapidly. The surrounding sand was also dragged along to the opening thanks to the flowing water, which created a whirlpool on the water¡¯s surface. Soon water vapor rose and began to form ayer of white mist in the air.
Several minutester, the water in the model was gone, and its seabed was in a simr state as the North Sea right now, with a copsed center, the surrounding ground elevated. The ck rock that represented the Demon Pce in this model had also sunk ayer, and was buried deep down.
Looking around, Cotird stated gravely, ¡°Though it isn¡¯t exactly urate, this is the only conclusion I could draw based on the information we currently know. There has always been a huge cavity beneath the North Sea. The area of this cavity is farrger than the total surface area of the North Sea!
¡°For some unknown reason, a fault appeared in this underground cavity, which caused the North Sea to flow underground through the fault. Meanwhile,the sand and sediment that make up the seabed, as well as the Demon Pce, have been sucked into the buffer zone due to the siphon effect.
¡°In theter stages of this event, because the flow of water was exhausted,rge amounts of sediment have blocked the cavity again. While we are now just above the fault, we are still unable to find any passageway that would lead us to the buffer zone.¡±
It was easy for everyone to quickly understand what had happened to the Demon Pce, as well as Xia Fan, General Dresden and everyone else who were inside the ce, thanks to the model.
¡°Since it¡¯s an underground cavity, can we dig a path through the fault?¡± Nizeru asked loudly. Plenty of his hair had turned white overnight, and a few red pustules had even grown in the corner of his mouth. Ever since Nikai had been trapped there, Nizeru had not had a drop of water and was holding on solely by willpower alone.
Cotird shook his head. ¡°All of you ought to know just how big the buffer zone is. We need seven full days¡¯ time just to take a high-powered maic elevator down to the next level from Subduing Demon City. Given how the average depth of the North Sea is around 236 meters, to suck away the entire North Sea in such a short while must mean that the underground cavity is frighteninglyrge.
¡°Based on what we know, if we were to dig along the original path, we¡¯d need to ferry over at least three engineering corps and have them work non-stop for four to six months.¡±
Everyone went pale. Nizeru nearly even fainted after hearing that. It would take them four to six months of non-stop work, just to excavate the buried city?
Even if they were to ignore the fact that they had no idea if Nikai was still dead or alive, wasn¡¯t a six month period of digging simply too long?
It had to be said that plenty of peculiar lifeforms lived in the buffer zone. Over the past eons, humanity had sent countless exploration teams into the ce, and on average only one in every ten people sent was able to return alive.
Calvinson coughed twice and had someone open the map. He then pointed to a location not too far off from the North Sea, an area known as the Gulgnac Volcano.
¡°Right now, the only solution we¡¯vee up with is to enter the buffer zone through the mouth of Gulgnac, an entry point to the buffer zone closest to our current location.
¡°Approximately six thousand years ago, Gulgnac Volcano had a mega-eruption that created a narrow channel that we can use to enter the buffer zone.
¡°Everyone, please look. This is the volcano¡¯s entrance, and this is the location where the Demon Pce has disappeared. They are no more than eight hundred kilometers apart, but the buffer zone is like a maze. Though we don¡¯t know the way, we will be able to probe in the direction of the North Sea.¡±
Chapter 1609 - 1609 Demi-Dragon Patterned Wyvern!
1609 Demi-Dragon Patterned Wyvern!
Darkness was all around. General Dresden was lying on the ground, panting heavily. He touched his forehead and came away with fingers wet with his own blood.
The old general struggled to get up to his feet. Beside him, whether it was the proud son of the lord Dongfan He or Jia Yuntian, or the other warriors of various backgrounds, each and every one of them were looking haggard. Their bodies were covered in mud and wounds. They were all at the point of exhaustion, currently sharing two jugs of nutrient solution. All of them were so exhausted that none of them had the strength to speak.
¡°General, you should drink some too.¡± Dongfang He handed a bottle over.
General Dresden nodded, took the bottle, and drank a few mouthfuls of the refreshing and slightly sweet liquid. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before asking, ¡°How is Christopher?¡±
¡°Still unconscious. We¡¯ve administered a sedative to him. Right now he urgently needs to rest,¡± a warrior proficient with medicine answered. Christopher was lying down beside him as he spoke, using a military nket as a pillow and breathing evenly through his nostrils.
Dresden sighed, ¡°It must have been really tough on him. Were it not for Christopher, we might have already gone off to meet our Demon yer ancestors already.¡±
The phrase ¡®survivor of disaster¡¯ could not be more appropriate to describe this bunch.
The moment the catastrophe struck, as the Demon Pce quickly sank and copsed under the sea floor, the verynd had fissured. Christie had risked his life and used his Shrinking special ability to shrink everyone¡¯s bodies to the size of ants, allowing them to take cover in the gaps between the rubble, and thus they avoided aplete wipe.
When the sounds of the copse had ended and everyone returned to normal size, Dongfang He had summoned his Armies of the Furious Inferno, while the other warriors unleashed their respective abilities as well, finally managing to dig out a path from beneath the rubble and escape with their lives.
Fortunately, they were still alive. But unfortunately for them, Christopher had already used up all his energy and was practically drained of it. The dashing young man currently looked like he was an elder in his sixties with a face full of wrinkles, already sleeping after being administered medication. No one had any idea how long it would be before he would wake up, or how much longer before he could make a recovery. There was a very good chance that he could never be a warrior again¡
*Whoosh*
Dresden took out a re from his spatial ring and raised it up after lighting it.
The light dispelled the darkness, and everyone turned around to look, only to find ruins that were even more spectacr to behold than the highest mountain ranges in the Lower Realm. The seabed of the North Sea was practically covered in debris, piled up so high in this underground cavity in the unknown depths that it was quite a breathtaking sight.
Dongfang He¡¯s eyes werepletely red as he looked about, dumbfounded.
It was like a room well over several thousand kilometers wide. The center had copsed, splitting the room into two. The ruins before their eyes could very well have the bodies of Nikai and Xia Fan buried underneath, or maybe they were lucky and had managed to escape, so they were on the other side of the split.
¡°I hope Nikai is still alive. Xia Fan is fast, so perhaps they managed to slip away in the nick of time.¡±
Someone softly said that, in hopes of consoling Dongfang He. But Dongfang He had instead grit his teeth, preparing to summon his Armies of the Furious Inferno again. He would use them to dig through the rubble in search of Xia Fan and Nikai.
If a man who wished to stand upon the apex of the universe could not even protect the woman he loved, then what right did he have to continue living in this world?
That was the sort of man Dongfang He was. Failure was not a word in his dictionary, and even if his body wasted away from overuse, he would still be filled with a strong fighting spirit.
¡°Don¡¯t be rash. Have none of you realized the even more serious problem? Since the entire North Sea has sunk to its seabed, then where has all the water gone? That was the North Sea, covering a total area of 14,335 square kilometers! The amount of water we¡¯re talking about here is trillions of tons; it¡¯s impossible for it all to disappear, just like that!¡± Dresden shouted.
Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads and found that though it was wet beneath their feet, there were traces of water that had once flowed around them. But aside from some puddles that had umted in some ditches, all the seawater had practically disappeared, as if some gigantic monster had drunk it dry. It was definitely abnormal!
Jia Yuntian squatted down, dipped a finger in a puddle, and tasted it. ¡°It¡¯s salty, so it¡¯s definitely seawater.¡±
Everyone was confused. Since the waters of the North Sea had once flowed here, then there must be some other passage that allowed such a copious amount of seawater to drain away.
¡°There¡¯s a shaft here!¡±
¡°There¡¯s another one here too!¡±
¡°Heavens, this ce is practically like a honeb. Filled with shafts of unknown depths. The seawater must have flowed somewhere deeper, and because the rubble was all solid, it was stuck here.¡±
Because of the unique terrain structure, the sea water did not remain on this level and instead flowed to somewhere else even deeper. Meanwhile, the sediment and rubble were stuck here, obstructed by some sort of spongyposition underground.
*rumble*
A slight tremor wasing from the ground, along with a shrill cry. Dresden was startled, taking out three res and dropping them down one of the shafts.
The bright res descended the shaft very quickly, while everyone stood by the rim of the shaft to watch. The first bright light disappeared very quickly, and the second soon sumbed to the darkness as well. Just as the third re looked like it was about to disappear, they saw a ck figure dart by, quickly passing by the white light and then turning to fly toward them.
¡°Something with wings¡ It looks like it¡¯s currently flying our way?¡±
¡°It couldn¡¯t be a monster from the scary Buffer Zone, could it¡¡±
The warriors were all hesitating. Humans were beings that stuck to the maind, and they had no knowledge of the dark expanse called the Buffer Zone. All they knew was that it was a very dangerous ce, where few made it back alive despite the many exploration teams sent to explore the ce.
The sound making the ground tremble was bing clearer by the second, and everyone could hear them clearly by now. It was the sound of arge pack of flying creatures after they were startled, made by the pping of countless wings.
*Zing*
Finally, the first creature came flying out of a shaft. It spread its two wings and soared upward, screeching like a very loud bat. The creature made a nimble turn in the air right after, and then swooped toward the humans, shing its white fangs.
*Crunch*
Jia Yuntian twirled his wrist casually and a de shed, cutting the flying creature in two. Blood spilled, and a thick rotting stench pervaded the air as the body fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string.
Under the light of the re, they saw that this creature was simr to a mid-sized pterosaur. It was taller than a man, and hairless. It had a huge mouth, more thanrge and sharp enough to snip off a human¡¯s head. Its two eyes were pitch ck, and its skin was an unhealthy shade of white, with plenty of freckle-like nodules dotting it.
It was clearly already dead, yet the long mouth of this creature was still opening and closing repeatedly. Its powerful bite cracked a piece of granite, shattering it into hundreds of smaller stones.
Demi-dragon, a Patterned Wyvern!
Everyone sucked in a mouth of cold air, feeling their hearts suddenly stop beating.
There were plenty of Demi-dragons in the world, and many of them tended to carry some true dragon genes. However, the purity of their blood was very low and iparable to the true dragons, thus they were called Demi-dragons.
ording to the histories found in Subduing Demon City, there were so many sub-species of dragons that it was impossible to count them,ing in all shapes and sizes.
Some of these sub-species werepletely unrecognizable due to gic mutations and evolution. The Demi-dragons of the smallest size were no bigger than a human¡¯s thumb, had transparent bodies, and were able to pierce through human skin and enter the human body, feeding upon the internal organs there. Once they had their fill, their bodies would turn as red as blood! They were called Bone Eroding Demi-dragons.
As for the Patterned Wyvern, the data stated that they were a social animal that had a very fierce nature. Aside from being carnivores, they could also survive by licking minerals and like in the dark. Their eyes had long degraded, but at the same time, they had developed the bat-like ability of echolocation, and were able to hunt for their prey even in the darkest of environments.
Patterned Wyvern¡¯s mouths had a unique doubleyer structure, with the outeryer being as sharp as knife and able to pierce human flesh. The moment they got underneath the skin, the inner mouth would shoot out and insert itself into a human¡¯s body like a balloon, thoroughly crushing their internal organs and killing their prey.
People who were killed by these Patterned Wyverns would only be left with their skin and bones. Their brains and internal organs would all be mashed up and drunk down. The human in question would not instantly die, and was sometimes able to personally witness the shriveling of their abdomens. It was a painful and cruel way to die!
The situation was very clear. The ground around them was like a sponge, filled with holes, and was also their of these Patterned Wyverns. The copse of the North Sea had sent the seawater flowing through these many holes, continuing its way down and waking these Patterned Wyverns.
Right now a pack of Patterned Wyverns was fleeing, and was about to encounter a group of humans that had incidentally been trapped by the copse of the North Sea.
There was no way to avoid the battle at this point. ¡°Quick, run! Leave this ce!¡± General Dresden suddenly yelled, as his muscles swelled to the point it tore through hisbat suit, revealing his hard muscles. There were plenty of deep scars all over him, umted over many years from when he participated in the war between humans and demons.
His white beard drifted upon his chest. This old general looked like apletely different person. Using his old body, he stood in front of this group of the most exceptional young men from Subduing Demon City.
His veins were thick and green, and the Rune on his arm was a threatening dark cloud.
General Dresden did not hesitate at all and began activating his Bloodline. Every warrior from Subduing Demon City had demon blood, and by activating their Bloodline power, these warriors would enter a state closer to demonhood than human. The power they gained would be immense, but would push said warrior toward the brink of self-destruction.
...
¡°The generals that participated in thest human-demon war have all died, and only I remain alive,¡± Dresden chuckled bitterly. ¡°Failing to die in battle with everyone was a great regret of mine. After all, the best ending a warrior could ask for is to die on the battlefield, and have their name immortalized on a monument.
¡°But this isn¡¯t bad either! I, who couldn¡¯t die during battle, can at least protect the descendants of my old brothers-in-arms.¡±
¡°Quick go! I should be able to buy you all several minutes.¡±
¡°General! If we¡¯re leaving, we should do it together!¡± Dongfang He shouted. He, who had desired to be a proud leader his entire life, could not ept fleeing and leaving others behind on the battlefield to die.
¡°THIS IS AN ORDER!¡± General Dresden¡¯s face was suddenly stern and livid. ¡°If you want to prove yourself, then stay alive and prove yourself on the real battlefield, NOT HERE! Until all the old men that participated in thest great war have died out, none of you will be taking the limelight!¡±
Chapter 1610 - 1610 General Dresden Dies in Battle!
1610 General Dresden Dies in Battle!
The warriors carried Christopher and dragged away Dongfang He, who did not wish to leave. They retreated in the ten o¡¯clock direction. As long as they could withdraw to a ce fifteen kilometers away, they could reach an underground hollow rock wall. There were plenty of narrow paths there, and the Patterned Wyverns would not be able to spread their wings in such a narrow ce. They would all be safe once they reached the wall.
¡°GENERAL!¡± Dongfang He roared.
His rival Jia Yuntian was pulling him by his arm, dragged him away as if he was being kidnapped. Jia Yuntian nearly pulled out his Heavenly Sword and pressed it against Dongfang He¡¯s throat.
*Shashashasha¡*
!!
In the darkness, countless strange figures darted up toward the sky, spreading their bony wings and letting out ghostly screeches. Tens of thousands of Patterned Wyverns had flown out, heading toward General Dresden in numbers that could easily blot out the sun.
The demi-dragons were fatally attracted to drawn blood, and once Dresden had enraged, his flesh became like the tastiest cake. The wyverns seemed to have all gone insane. Only a minority of the mob went chasing after Dongfang He and the others, most of them moving to attack Dresden, eyeing his muscr body with greedy eyes.
Dark Clouds Unleashed!
General Dresden raised his arms, and the Runes on them let out a bright glow in the darkness as his muscles and joints crackled.
Countless ck spots suddenly shot out from the old general¡¯s back. They flew everywhere like bullets, forming a grand barrage simr to arge and oppressive ck cloud. They shot toward the heads of the Patterned Wyverns, piercing their wings and eyes.
The full name of the general was General Dark Cloud Dresden, of the ckblood God n!
The ck pellets that formed into dark clouds were actually Dresden¡¯s blood. They solidified uponing into contact with the air, bing as sturdy as metal. The very blood that flowed in Dresden¡¯s veins was his weapon!
The Patterned Wyverns kept screeching. ck blood filled with tempting demon energy made for a delicious meal that they longed for. The Patterned Wyverns used mouths that were as strong as metal to snap and peck at the ck blood in the air. The entire pack was in a state of blood frenzy, like they were caught in a dance with a devil.
The number of Patterned Wyverns joining the battle from the shaft increased, and Dresden¡¯s originally dark skin grew paler and paler. Blood arts were extremely cruel special abilities, and right now he was using his very lifeforce for battle. The more blood he used, the more it aroused the Patterned Wyvern¡¯s ferocity!
Countless pping wings crowded Dresden, biting and tearing at him wildly.
But there was an inexplicable contentment showing on Dresden¡¯s face. He recalled that battle all those years ago, when he was still a young major general with the Demon yer Legion, where his seniors and elders had all taken good care of him. When the war reached its final moments, and he watched as the elite demon generals and elite human warriors died together, a single gruff arm had grabbed Dresden and roughly tossed him away.
¡°You¡¯re still young, you can go off and sacrifice yourself with gratitude in the future! As long as we old men are still alive, it¡¯s not your turn to be a hero!¡±
His senior had said those words to him way back then. Now that young man Dresden had grown old, bing the most senior general of Subduing Demon City. He could now protect the young, and prevent them from sacrificing themselves for nothing, leaving a seed of hope for the Legion.
This was now his responsibility!
That was why when danger struck, General Dresden stood forth just like his ownmanders all those years ago. The expression on his face was peaceful, still maintaining a slight smile even as the Patterned Wyvern bit at him with their sharp mouths.
¡°Reporting! Major General Dresden haspleted his mission, and is requesting to rejoin the troops!¡±
Bloodied all over and performing a standard military salute to the air, his rigid posture was just like when he was young and vigorous.
*Kaboom!*
Activating enrage to its limit meant reaching the end of one¡¯s life!
A sh of light appeared, filling the dark cavern, and countless Patterned Wyverns screeched and burned away.
Then as the light dissipated, darkness covered everything once again.
The final survivor of thest all-out war, General Dresden, had died in battle!
¡
¡°Compared to a ce like the Subduing Demon City, this ce here is the true Hell.
¡°When talking about the Lower Realm, this little Old Buddha was actually rather interested, but now it seems like this damned ce isn¡¯t anything fun at all.
¡°Hey Xia Fan, don¡¯t you know the Beast King Orders? Why aren¡¯t the flying things listening to yourmands?¡±
Traveling Buddha was leaning against a boulder, mutteringckadaisically. He was not quite feeling fear, but he was very nervous. He did not know what fear was, but he was indeed bored. Traveling Buddha had never been more drained after being chased by these demi-dragons all over the ce.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°These are demi-dragons, making them somewhat rted to Bright Pearl. Isn¡¯t it normal for me not to have any control over them? If you¡¯re capable, go and deal with them yourself.¡±
Traveling Buddha pulled a face and shrank his head back. ¡°No wonder. So they share the same lineage as Bright Pearl! As long as its something rted to the dragons, none of them will be easy to provoke. I even managed to kill quite a few just now, so you better not tell this to Pearl next time. I¡¯m afraid of her ring at me, even flipping out on me. I¡¯d be really unlucky if that happens.¡±
To say that Traveling Buddha had no fear would be incorrect. He was rather afraid of Bright Pearl; despite how she would always appear as a little girl. She actually became quite fierce the moment she started ring, and even Xia Fan did not dare do anything to her.
¡°It¡¯s not that serious,¡± Xia Fan waved him off. ¡°Demi-dragons aren¡¯t real dragons, and merely possess a dragon bloodline. A proud creature like Pearl would actually get mad if you told her that she was rted to these ugly, bat-like creatures. In the view of dragons, they are unique existences that none canpare to.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true!¡± Traveling Buddha stuck his tongue out. ¡°Well, I feel a lot more assured after hearing you say that. Want to eat some canned food? I have beef and pineapple, and anchovies.¡±
¡°Some pineapples, please. I¡¯ve been feeling a bit heatedtely.¡±
¡°No problem. I still have some champagne, too. Want some?¡±
¡°Forget it. We¡¯re already in such a state, so what¡¯s there to celebrate? Just brew us some tea.¡±
Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan took turns talking. That was when Nikai, who was lying right between the two men, turned around. She looked very confused. She had no idea how the two men could still be so calm, despite the situation they were in. Just who was this Bright Pearldy they had mentioned, discussing what to eat or drink? Evenments about how Xia Fan recently felt heated came up, so she could not help but feel none of this sounded like they were trapped in the buffer zone, but more like they were on a pic!
¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Nikai was about to get up when Xia Fan actually pressed her back down. ¡°I just changed your bandages, so hold still for fifteen more minutes. It¡¯s good for your injuries. You won¡¯t be pretty anymore if you end up hobbling when you walk, and Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian would surely have a bone to pick with me if that happens. I have no wish to be seen as a bad doctor by them.¡±
Nikai only remembered she had broken her leg after hearing Xia Fan say so. It was strange; Xia Fan had helped her change the bandages twice, and the originally very painful broken leg was actually not that painful anymore. Nikai had nearly forgotten just how severely injured she had been!
¡°Listen to him on this,¡± Traveling Buddha said as he brewed some tea. ¡°Xia Fan¡¯s skills are decent, and he¡¯s pretty much a jack of all trades, learning a little bit of every random thing. It¡¯s too bad his speed just isn¡¯t fast enough, otherwise we wouldn¡¯t need to be chased all over the ce by those demi-dragons.¡±
Nikai was even more puzzled. ¡°Not really. Xia Fan¡¯s very quick, and might very well be the fastest person in all of Subduing Demon City!¡±
Xia Fan scratched his head, ¡°It¡¯s too bad, but there¡¯s always going to be a higher mountain. What speed I have actually isn¡¯t enough, exactly as Traveling Buddha says. Comparing myself to others would simply be too much of a joke!¡±
Xia Fan could not help but think of his father and elder brother. He had learned from Xia Geng that the fastest person on record so far with the Skywing n had already broken past light speed. Even the legendary shrewd merchant Xia Laoshi was already at the speed of light.
The speed of light was 300,000 kilometers a second, and even at his best, Xia Fan could only do 50,000 kilometers.
How could youpare between the two? They were practically iparable!
That was why Xia Fan was the slowest in all of the Skywing n. It was not nder to state that, for the fact of the matter was that Xia Fan¡¯s speed was nowhere near even that of the seven-year-old Xia Di!
As ady from a big n, Nikai understood how to restrain herself. Since Xia Fan had asked her to continue lying down, she obediently did just that. After hearing the rumors about Bright Pearl, she could infer that she must be a descendant of a dragon. But Nikai did not pester them and ask more questions, because she knew that everyone had their own secrets, and respecting that was the minimum for a refineddy.
Xia Fan checked the time. When it was time, Xia Fan changed her bandages again. ¡°Okay, try taking a few steps,¡± Xia Fan told her.
Nikai was uncertain, but stood up and did as asked, and was soon ted. ¡°It¡¯s really not painful anymore, and only just a little itchy!¡±
¡°That¡¯s normal. Your body is experiencing an elerated metabolism. At the current stage, the most important thing is nutrition, so eat this before your meal.¡±
Xia Fan gave Nikai a piece of transparent energy crystal.
...
¡°A grade Nine Energy Crystal? This is very expensive!¡± Nikai was stunned.
¡°It¡¯s nothing. Just take it as you¡¯re eating. Our Xia Fan here is loaded,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
Xia Fan grew up eating Grade Nine energy crystals, so he had never found them to be something special. Onlyter did Xia Fan learn just how rare they were out there in the natural world, and even someone like Nikai would not often see one.
It was just too bad that it was toote by the time Xia Fan realized this. So many of his precious crystals had already been consumed, so he was just left with forty-three and a half of them. Come to think of it, it had been such a waste!
But it was all thanks to Xia Fan eating them that allowed him to build up such a fantastic physical constitution, forcibly making him, someone who was not born with a seventh brain region, into the talent that he was today!
¡°What do we do next? This ce is all dark and gloomy, and it is so huge, with so many demi-dragons. Surely we¡¯re not gonna be trapped here till we die, right?¡± Traveling Buddha opened his mouth toin after they were done with their meal.
Xia Fan was helpless in their current situation. Things were too dire. They were currently deep underground, and all theirmunication devices were blocked. There were plenty of paths, though with how maze-like the ce was, it felt directionless, and there were also many demi-dragons that could appear from out of nowhere.
¡°We can look at the survival handbook. There should be notes on how to deal with the various situations of danger we encounter,¡± Nikai suggested.
¡°Are you talking about this thing?¡± Traveling Buddha pulled out a little booklet wrapped in sealed paper.
Nikai blushed. She took out a booklet that was exquisite, obviously different from the shoddy copy that Traveling Buddha owned. It looked many times better in quality.
¡°This is the special one that the members of the Demon yers all get,¡± Nikai exined.
...
¡°Tsk!¡± Traveling Buddha pouted and tossed the lousy booklet of his into the darkness, ¡°That¡¯s why I say the Subduing Demon City appears to be so crap, when actually it was just that they never viewed us as their own people to begin with. Even the survival handbook we¡¯re given is different! Feels like they are saying that the only lives worth saving are those from the Demon yers, while us outsiders deserve death!¡±
¡°I¡¯m¡ I¡¯m sorry,¡± Nikai softly apologized, lowering her head in shame.
¡°Forget it. Enough with your criticisms. It must be those people in charge who came up with this idea, and Nikai had nothing to do with it,¡± Xia Fan said in an attempt to defuse the tension.
Xia Fan was very quick, and his speed applied to his reading as well. In the blink of an eye, he had finished reading the survival handbook and wrinkled his eyebrows, ¡°Interesting. This book says that the Demon yer Legion has an ally here that we could seek for help if we ever find ourselves trapped!¡±
Chapter 1611 - 1611 Buffer Zone’s Shimmer Race!
1611 Buffer Zone¡¯s Shimmer Race!
Early morning came and a window was opened. The sunshine outside shining in was perfect, and the majestic Snow Mountain looked like a giant holding White City in its grasp.
Xia Geng turned around to see a woman wearing pink silken pajamas sleeping behind him on the bed, his eyes revealing a soft tenderness. This was the mother of his son. His chance encounter with her here in the Lower Realm was the greatest fortune of his life, giving him his family back once more.
Seven-year-old Xia Di was slowly getting used to family life, and though he was a bit shy when calling his mother, his rtionship with Meimei gradually grew closer. The entire family would often head outdoors together, even spending time in their back garden to enjoy a candlelit dinner.
¡°Ah, you¡¯re already awake. Is it because I was a bit fussy when I slept and woke you up?¡± Meimei asked drowsily, rubbing her eyes.
!!
Xia Geng was seated by the bedside, gently stroking her hair. He was feeling more and more content the more he looked at his wife. She was already a mother, yet she would still kick the nkets off while she slept as if she was still a child, or even sleep talk. There would even be a trail of drooling from the corner of her mouth. Staying with her and living a life together had filled his life with unexpected fun.
¡°No, I agreed to meet with everyone and go train. I¡¯ll be back in approximately three days, but you don¡¯t have to worry about the city. I¡¯ll have Bright Pearl and ming Swallow remain, since the two of them hate training. They are of the dragon race, after all. Even a youngdy of the dragons would be capable of standing on top of most living beings, so they will still be strong, even if they do nothing.¡±
¡°But it¡¯s different for us. The reason the Skywings are strong, aside from our innate talent, is more due to the efforts we put our bodies through. Right now, most of the n are at the frontlines, and we as the support must not be cking!¡± Xia Geng told her.
Meimei blinked. ¡°And here I thought you guys were about to go off and find Xia Fan. News came in from Subduing Demon City that Xia Fan has gone missing, yet none of you are anxious at all, appearing all heartless and everything.¡±
Xia Geng chuckled, ¡°What use do we have to find Xia Fan? He¡¯s the son of Xia Fei, so he will definitely not die off as easily as that! Besides, Subduing Demon City wouldn¡¯t dare let anything happen to Xia Fan, otherwise the Skywings would not let them off! They ought to be even more flustered than us, because if Xia Fan even loses a strand of hair, I¡¯ll immediately go trample Subduing Demon City t with myrades.¡±
Meimei coughed and could hardly suppress herughter, ¡°Seeing my husband act so domineering, I can rest easy. Speaking of which, where are you all prepared to go this time?¡±
Xia Geng shrugged, ¡°We¡¯ll just randomly go around ces, practice some medium-scale confrontation and work on coordination between us. All the tribes that could threaten White City have already been eradicated by us, and the days of having no enemies are as lonely as winter. Had I known this would happen, I should have left some enemies so we wouldn¡¯t feel so bored.¡±
¡°What a bad person!¡± Meimei threw herself into Xia Geng¡¯s arms and squeezed his muscr chest.
Enemies must die, especially if they were enemies that threatened your own woman. There was no reason to let any remain alive in this world!
The first task Xia Geng did upon arriving in White City was a thorough sweep of the region around, a purge to the point where every child in White City could freely wander the swamp area and families would not be worried even if they spent their nights outside. The Skywings had used their speed to purge the ce. The big swamp no longer had any crocodiles in the waters, and not a single carnivorous animal could be found in the area within five thousand miles. Meimei believed that if Xia Geng was given more time, even the mosquitos and leeches would be eradicated from the ce!
The Skywings would travel as a pack in that manner, and no life that opposed them would remain wherever they went.
Not only was White City stable and safe now, the other cities around also felt safe enough to not need to lock doors at night. This ce that was originally near the borders, known as the most chaotic region along the border, had also turned into a paradise!
Meimei had said that White Citycked arablend and it was impossible to remain self-sufficient. As such, the Skywings had turned the forest into fertile fields overnight, nting rice fields and orchards.
Meimei had said that the cities around White City were surrounded by wilderness and there were no roads, making transportation difficult and hampering economic development. Thus, overnight some mountain ranges were leveled, and a road wide enough for twenty people to walk side by side was paved, connecting all the cities around!
¡
Two dayster¡
¡°Sess! We¡¯ve finally done it! Your Scent ability is absolutely amazing. To think you could lead us to find the legendary Holy Spring City!¡± Nikai was beside herself with joy, pulling Xia Fan along by his arms.
Xia Fan nodded. The sensation of light shining on his back was really pleasant, even if it was not real sunlight, but actually many luminous crystals iid at the peak of the cavern. The light from the crystals did not have ultraviolet rays, so the people in this city were all very pale.
As the old saying went, pale skin could cover many defects. The people of Holy Spring City had ugly facial features; their noses were upturned and their teeth and skin were white, sharper, and narrower than humans, as if a set of wolf teeth had been transnted into a human¡¯s mouth.
Their cheeks were sunken, given them a cunning look. Their eyes had developed to bepletely ck, allowing them to see in environments that had little to no light. Then there was their ears, which were as round as a bear¡¯s. They could even wriggle them nimbly, like they were some sort of directional radar device!
¡
¡°What the heck. This is the ally of the Subduing Demon City? Why does it feel like they aren¡¯t good people? Just look at the Scarlet ze Demon Lord Stanley. Even a Demon Lord could look so dignified, but these people look like vampires. If those long and narrow teeth of theirs bite into a neck, they could very well bite through our arteries! Who knows, maybe there are even blood sucking tubes inside those teeth!¡± Traveling Buddha muttered.
Xia Fan frowned. Calling the citizens of Holy Spring City ¡®humans¡¯ could actually be considered praising them. If there was anyone who looked like them in Subduing Demon City, they might very well be bullied by others as children, and have trouble finding a mate when they grew up. They would end up being scoffed and abandoned by others everywhere they went, and probably end up not even making any friends, right?
Though it was said that they should not judge people by their looks, how could humans ever escape the curse of superficiality?
Reality was just that cruel. If someone had a good heart but terrible looks, then they would only end up scaring little girls, and no one would care how kind their heart was at the end of the day. Ladies would never go out of their way to understand them, or witness their honorable side; they would just deem them to be a vicious person.
Superficial creatures like humans had always judged people by their appearances since ancient times. While they would say that a heart of gold was more important than looks, it was the kind-hearted boys who ended up being rejected by women. The reason for rejection would always be far-fetched, ¡°I just think you¡¯re a good person, but we¡¯re not the right match.¡±
What do you mean by match? Wasn¡¯t it just ack of good looks?
That was when Cid Raleigh¡¯s sigh echoed in Xia Fan¡¯s mind.
¡®You humans have painstakingly found the Holy Spring City, yet when you first saw how the people of the Shimmer Race looked, all of you instantly had your doubts.
¡®In the natural world, there has never been another species like you humans that determines a person¡¯s goodness by their looks. I have to really admire the wisdom of the creator for letting you humans be one of the most powerful races of the natural world, yet giving you so many ws.
¡®If it was not for your rtionship forged in the fires of life and death, would you be able to trust such a shifty-looking fatso as a morally dependable person? Then there¡¯s Nikai. So many youngsters out there were willing to die for her in Subduing Demon City, yet none of them can see just how weak a personality she has. The moment she deems someone an authority, she blindly obeys him or her. This entire journey, Nikai did not protest at all, because she sees you as the authority, and challenging you would be impolite.
¡®Truly, she¡¯s apletely brainwashed ditzy woman. The reason why she was so excited upon seeing Holy Spring City just now was because she has been full of doubt this entire time, but did not dare to share the suspicions she had in her heart. All she did was blindly follow your orders. We dragons dislike such a woman with no personality; the women we like all have to be independent!¡¯
Xia Fan frowned. ¡°Okay, this isn¡¯t the time for you to teach us an introductory course on the dragons¡¯ views on love, alright? Just what is the backstory regarding the Shimmer Race living in the Holy Spring City?¡±
Cid Raleigh answered, ¡®Speaking of them, they also have a dragon bloodline in them, and can be considered a sapient race like the Yggdragons and humans. There are plenty of sapient lifeforms that are within that range of intelligence. I¡¯ve never interacted with the Shimmers before, but I understand that their reputation is decent.
¡°It is just too bad. Ugliness is the original sin of the Shimmer race, and no one wishes to befriend them, which is why they live a pretty lonely existence.
¡°Subduing Demon City only wishes to use the Shimmers. If they truly treated them well, then why would they not invite Shimmers to live up above? There¡¯s plenty of space on the maind, and any random piece ofnd would be enough for the Shimmers to set up roots.
¡®The Demon yer Legion only ns to use the Shimmers as tools, using them when necessary and tossing them aside when they have no more use. Out of sight, out of mind.¡¯
¡°You seem to have some resentment toward the Demon yer Legion,¡± Xia Fan noticed.
¡®That is only to be expected. Proud dragons like myself bear no regard for other races, aside from myself.¡¯
¡°You¡¯re a proud old Demonic Dragon,¡± Xia Fan waved him off dismissively. He could not be bothered to argue with Cid Raleigh. Just what kind of people these Shimmers were, Xia Fan had every intention of personally witnessing them.
Chapter 1612 - 1612 A Tragic City
1612 A Tragic City
¡°Warriors from Subduing Demon City are here!¡±
¡°The Sacred Covenant is about to be fulfilled! Everyone, quicke out and receive them!¡±
Walking along the narrow underground streets of the city, Xia Fan and the others received an enthusiastic wee, as if they were emperors. The Shimmer race was cheering, surrounding the trio as they echoed the slogan, ¡®Long live the Demon yer Legion!¡¯.
¡°I don¡¯t get why they are so excited. It¡¯s been days since Ist showered¡¡± Traveling Buddha lowered his head and rubbed his armpits.
!!
The three of them were a mess. Not only had they not washed for days, they were also giving off the stench of sea water and dead bodies. Even the clothes they were wearing were already in tatters, looking more like three beggars in ragged clothes.
Nikai had plenty of perfume in her spatial ring, and she originally wanted to use it to mask the embarrassing smells on them, but Xia Fan stopped her, so as to prevent the fragrance from attracting the creatures found in this strange buffer zone.
¡°They¡ they are all very enthusiastic,¡± Nikai agreed, somewhat embarrassed.
Despite their strange appearance, the Shimmers were all very gentlemanly. Children surrounded Nikai and presented her with the prettiest flowers, weaving them together into a gand and respectfully handing them to her. In no time at all, Nikai was given so many that her arms were filled with hundreds of little flowers.
¡°Will the covenant finally be fulfilled? Are we really able to leave this ce and head to like where sun shines?¡± a scrawny little girl hugged Nikai¡¯s thigh and asked, her eyes glistening in excitement.
Covenant?
Nikai was confused. She had no idea what agreement the Demon yer Legion made with the Shimmer race was about. All she knew was what the Survival Handbook stated, that the Shimmer race was an ally in the buffer zone, and if they ever found themselves in danger, they could attempt to pray for aid. Nothing else was stated.
¡°How rude. Quick apologize to the big sister!¡± The mother of the little girl quickly freed her grip on Nikai.
¡°Sorry. I simply wish to see real sunlight very much, as well as the big and opennd, rolling mountains and expansive sea, and all the other fishes in the sea. I even dream about it when I sleep,¡± the little girl softly whispered as she lowered her head, before she was pulled aside by her apologetic mother.
Honestly, the smile on her mother¡¯s face was not pretty, but it was very warm. The corners of her lips turned up, revealing a row of sharp teeth, like a golden retriever that would feel thrilled after seeing its ownere home from work.
Actually, there was a very simple method to see if someone was innocent or otherwise: just look into their eyes! A truly radiant smile would not only have the corners of her lips curling up, but there would also be a kind look in their eyes.
The Disasters were old hands, outstanding individuals who had ran rampant across Ashen Moon¡¯s underbelly. They had taught Xia Fan how to read people, helping him avoid incurring the wrath of others by losing them face. Though they had hoped Xia Fan could be a good person, they did not want him to be bullied by the bad people, either.
¡°I think I know what you mean,¡± Xia Fan replied to Cid Raleigh. ¡°The Shimmers look so ugly to the point they are frightening to behold, but they are actually innocent and kind in their hearts. Their children do not lie or hide their intentions. They were really looking forward to the Demon yer Legioning here, but there¡¯s still something I don¡¯t quite understand; just what is this covenant that they had mentioned? Could there have been some sort of agreement between them and the Legion?¡±
¡®That is a very tragic tale,¡¯ Cid Raleigh sighed in Xia Fan¡¯s mind. ¡®Forget it. Let me rest first. It¡¯s better for the Shimmers themselves to tell you about it.¡¯
¡
¡
Water was the source to all life, and Holy Spring City had shallow ditches running along both sides of every street. After the spring water gushed out, it would flow along to every household, allowing people to cook, clean, water their nts and trees, and wash their clothes.
¡°It¡¯s so unexpected to learn that the most imposing building in this city would actually be a school. I was even thinking it was some conference hall that the elders used, or a treasury that was used to store the city¡¯s wealth!¡± Traveling Buddha mused.
The three of them had been invited to a ssroom. It was said that the highest disy of etiquette from the Shimmers was that their children were their hope, and the ce where said children would study was viewed as the most sacred location. There could not be any other building that could be taller than the school. Even their temple would have to be a level lower!
Xia Fan really liked the philosophy of the Shimmers. Forever putting the welfare and the education of their children first, it was said that the City Lord was also the principal of the school!
Their premier leader of the Shimmer was a teacher, who did not have any martial prowess. He was only responsible for the children¡¯s education, something simply unimaginable in a world where might was right.
They entered what seemed like a ssroom for high school students, given that their desks were much wider, an adult able to sit in them. Even a fairly chubby human like Traveling Buddha could sitfortably in one. There were books neatly ced on the table, and the teacher¡¯s preparation coursework on the podium. The floor, tables, and chairs were all spotless, too.
Nikai curiously sat herself down in a chair, and opened the textbook on the desk. She wondered what they were learning, but several minutester, Xia Fan saw Nikai¡¯s eyes turn slightly red, her hands trembling slightly as she held the book in hand.
¡°You guys should see this for yourselves.¡±
Nikai shoved the textbook in her hand to Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha. The two lowered their heads and looked in it, only to find it was a very specialized course. The content of what they were studying roughly went like this:
First it emphasized that covenants were sacred and invible. Then it mentioned how many years ago, an exploration team from Subduing Demon City arrived, having been chased after by evil Demi-dragons. Exhausted and barely alive, it was the mystical water and this city that protected them.
The Shimmers weed this group of strangers as the most honored of guests, treating them to the best food and clothes, before helping this team of bereaved dogs recuperate their strength. Before they left, the warriors announced that they would return sooner orter, hoping that the Shimmer race would help them spy on the buffer zone, and gather information on their behalf. They epted the Shimmer as members of Subduing Demon City, so that they could eventually leave this gloomy underground world and head on up to live with the sunshine and the animals on the maind.
They had most likely said this offhandedly, like the words of dying men. If someone said that they could save another, that person would agree to everything; betrothing their daughter and giving away all their family assets¡ In any case, as long as they could survive, they were willing to promise anything.
But if this person were to really survive, and expect him to give his daughter¡¯s hand in marriage and his family assets, then his answer would note as readily as it had before. In the Survival Handbook that Xia Fan saw, there was just a small line of words written with regard to the Shimmers: When in danger, you can attempt to make contact with the Holy Spring City for help.
But the Shimmers had taken the statement as truth, and had even written this agreement with the Demon yer Legion into their children¡¯s textbooks. Xia Fan finally understood why the Shimmers were so excited when they saw humans arriving. Many were so excited that they were in tears. The children danced and cheered, almost as if it was the most wondrous asion in the world.
That was because they truly believed that the humans would honor their word, taking on huge risks to carve out a path through the buffer zone, and uplift these poor people living underground to a warm and vibrant ce.
¡°So that¡¯s why,¡± Traveling Buddha scratched his head. ¡°This feels very awkward. I reckon Subduing Demon City hardly treated this matter seriously, otherwise why would we not have heard about it?¡±
¡°Furthermore, it was probably far too difficult to get so many people out of the buffer zone. When we came, we had to go through the Demi-dragons¡¯ir. We only managed to survive the journey because we were hardy enough, and Xia Fan was fast enough. How could anyone bring an entire city of these people to the surface like that? I¡¯m afraid we¡¯d need several hundred Xia Fan¡¯s to do it!¡±
¡°Speaking of which, there do not seem to be any adult males among the Shimmers. About eighty to ny percent of them are women and children, or they are either too old to the point they have trouble walking. Where did all their adult males go?¡±
Xia Fan wrinkled his brow, ¡°On the outskirts of the city, near the moat. Do you two remember that huge graveyard?¡±
¡°I do. The Shimmer¡¯s graveyard was very unique, and every grave was in the shape of a small pyramid, looking like a ground full of nails. In the beginning, I even thought they were traps set up to prevent enemies from encroaching on their city,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°I noticed the text on the tombstones, and that was where the explorers were buried. The content carved on each of them were more or less the same: explorer so and so, a time when they entered into some ce, and their subsequent unfortunate end they encountered.¡±
Silence.
Dead silence.
A handful of minutes that went by where no one said a word.
¡°Did the Shimmers take everything said to heart? Sending all their able-bodied men out to be explorers for the Subduing Demon City? As more and more of these explorers died, Holy Spring City finally were just left with the old and the children, all for the sake of a promise said in the past, they just sacrificed all their young men?¡± Traveling Buddha asked in a hoarse voice.
¡°Yes, that looks to be the case,¡± Xia Fan affirmed. ¡°I reckon maybe one or two of the warriors that departed from Holy Spring City all those years back sessfully returned to Subduing Demon City, rying what happened to the City Lords.¡±
¡°The City Lords did not think much of it due to cognitive inertia. After all, Subduing Demon City did not have a good understanding of the Shimmer Race, nor did they believe that they would actually end up so desperately gathering information for the city.
¡°As for bringing the Shimmers away¡ That¡¯s even more impossible. It would require the mobilization of a huge number of troops, making a great sacrifice just to carve out a bloody path to the buffer zone.
¡°As time passed, the Demon yer Legion slowly forgot about this matter, which was why there¡¯s only just a simple line in the Survival Handbook when mentioning Holy Spring City, to seek them for help. No one could verify if the Shimmers would uphold the agreement made with the Legion.¡±
¡°Curses!¡± Traveling Buddha stomped a leg fitfully. ¡°This isn¡¯t good! Though the Subduing Demon City has ignored it, the Shimmers have been sending all their young men to their deaths, all for the sake of what they call the Sacred Covenant!
¡°The three of us entered Holy Spring City like beaten dogs, only to be viewed by the Shimmers as peopleing to fulfill the covenant. But none of them realize that weck the strength to bring them back, and just like thest batch of warriors that came, we also barely escaped with our lives. Not only are we unable to help them, we even need them to lend us a hand once again!¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s face was dark. Though he was not the one who had made the initial agreement, he was feeling down in the pits right now.
With so many innocent children crowding them, viewing them as the hope that would allow them to leave this gloomy and cold underground, so that they could head to paradise where milk and honey flowed freely¡ Just looking at them, epting their hospitality and cheer, yet knowing deep down that they were just lost dogs and there was nothing they could do.
The following days, they would still have to thicken their skin and eat and drink their food, before finally leaving. Before leaving, they would even say another lie, ¡°You must all be patient and continue waiting. We¡¯lle back and get all of you very soon.¡±
...
But they would leave and not return, leaving these innocent Shimmers to continue scouting and gathering information for humans, sacrificing the best of their young men as they expectantly waited for a promise that would never be fulfilled.
Chapter 1613 - 1613 A Covenant that Never Existed
1613 A Covenant that Never Existed
Not long after, the principal and Mousse entered that ssroom.
The principal was the leader of the Shimmer race, the teacher for all the young. Judging from his attire and his temperament, he looked every part an educator. He had a white flowing beard that reached down to his chest, and he wore a formal outfit that looked neatly pressed and ironed, despite its coarse linen.
Meanwhile, Mousse was a warrior, dressed in tight shorts and wearing soft-soledbat boots. Two curved scimitars hung on his back, and he was taller and burlier than most of the citizens, with a cautious yet piercing gaze.
The two of them were not as enthusiastic as the people. Upon entering the ssroom, they simply exined their identities and sent for their men to fetch tidy stacks of datasheets.
!!
¡°These are the reports for thest three years,¡± the principal softly said. ¡°This is a total of 36 booklets, one for each month on average. As for the information even further back, there are simply too many of them, and they are stored in the underground warehouses in the city. Ever since your people came here thest time, there would be twelve booklets that would be added to the bookshelves annually, not one less.
¡°But I feel like you people shouldn¡¯t be all that interested in the information¡ If not, I can send people to bring them out as well, or directly hand you the key to the underground warehouse.¡±
Xia Fan frowned, ¡°Why do you think we aren¡¯t interested in the information?¡±
The principal shrugged, ¡°There¡¯s only three of you, and you¡¯re injured. It¡¯s apparent you¡¯ve been forced toe to us. Otherwise, if you people were really here to fulfill the covenant we made thest time, it wouldn¡¯t just be just you three, am I right?¡±
Xia Fan could not refute his reasoning, and just sighed, ¡°Honestly, we were indeed being chased by the Demi-dragons, which was why we had delved deeper into the buffer zone, arriving here in Holy Spring City. We were hoping to seek your help, and as for the agreement you had with Subduing Demon City, we had no idea about it before we came here.
¡°As leaders, the two of you ought to know very well, so why haven¡¯t you told the truth to the people? When we entered the city, your citizens were led to believe we were here to take them away, and I was mortified.¡±
The principal turned his head and gazed out the window. The young and old of the city were all gathered out on the schoolyard, excitedly discussing with one another, hopeful sparks in their eyes.
¡°The people will forever be ignorant and stupid, but seeing how cute they are in their ignorance, harboring such kind and innocent thoughts, how could anyone bear to destroy their only hope?
¡°Living in this cold and gloomy underground is already very hard. Even without you and your people, we need a bit of hope in order to like on. Death isn¡¯t scary, as what is far more numbing is to find yourself still alive, but living like you¡¯re dead.
¡°It just so happened that when your people arrived, they were on the brink of death being chased by the Demi-dragons, and some of my kind brethren saved them. It was my ancestors and your men that came to an agreement, and it was they who suggested the n of the immigration lie.¡±
At that point, Xia Fan, Nikai, and Traveling Buddha were all stunned, a look of bewilderment on their faces.
The principal casually exined, ¡°Yes, none of you heard wrongly. The immigration n was first proposed by my ancestors. Back then, your warriors were not been willing to agree to it, because they were well aware just how dangerous the buffer zone was, and wanting to bring my people away from the darkness was an absolutely impossible task. It would require far too much manpower and material resources, while sacrificing plenty of lives in the process.
¡°But my ancestors managed to convince your people. We don¡¯t need to leave the darkness, and it was fine if we could just see a glimmer of light living in this darkness. That bit of light would be the motivation for us to live on.
¡°Thus, your people reluctantly agreed to the condition, but something developed beyond the expectations of my ancestors as the situation developed. Our people became so passionate about the idea, perhaps due to living in the dark for so long that they longed for sunlight. It was like they went crazy. You can randomly walk into any home of our citizens and underneath their beds, you would find suitcases neatly packed up, so they could just get on the road and leave with their luggage whenever that day arrives!
¡°Year after year, they are prepared to leave the light. Countless young men truly believe in this covenant, entering the dark world without the protection of the Holy Spring, all to gather information. At this point, the bodies of those young men have filled our graveyard to the point there¡¯s no more empty plots, and were no longer able to expand the size of our graveyard.
¡°Even now, my ancestors no longer have any idea how to settle the matter. Those silly fellow Shimmers of mine just foolishly believe that one day, the Demon yer Legion, donned in golden armor and riding huge flying beasts, wille descending from the skies like heroes, to whisk them away from the darkness, heading for the light.
¡°This is the story in full. I have no intention of ming your people, since it was my ancestors who first suggested this lie. There¡¯s no need for all of you to feel ashamed, either, as it is I who ought to be feeling that. I love my people, and want to give them hope, but all I can give them in the end is just lies, year after year.¡±
The ssroom was silent once more. Outside, the children were cheering, while inside, the people who knew the whole truth of the matter were not happy at all.
¡°How many people know about this?¡± Xia Fan asked.
¡°Just us two. Every generation of Principal and the Holy Spring Guardian will be told the truth, but the truth is also like the most cruel punishment in the world. The two cannot help but lead the rest of their lives with self-me and guilt.¡±
The principal said, ¡°When the three of you leave, I hope you can tell my people how satisfied you were with their information gathering, but it was too bad that you¡¯re just the investigation team of the Demon yer Legion, here to contact us.¡±
¡°The fighting is still happening outside, so the Legion first needs to deal with all the ambushing Demi-dragons in the buffer zone before you can bring them away. Tell them to continue patiently waiting, or something along those lines. After all, being lied to their whole lives is better than having their hopespletely dashed.
¡°Furthermore, you should read some of the information we¡¯ve gathered. We bought it in exchange for my people¡¯s lives, and it covers the important tribes living here in the buffer zone. There have been some recent changes, most likely due to the Demon race making contact with them, and subsequentlying to some sort of ord. That is why the war between the important tribes hase to aplete stop during thest two years.¡±
Humans were very strange creatures. Upon hearing the principal¡¯s words, Xia Fan should have sighed when he learned that the covenant was not real, that it was just a lie concocted by their ancestors to instill some hope in their fellows.
But for some unknown reason, Xia Fan still felt somewhat sad upon learning that. Perhaps it was because of the hopeful gaze from those children, but children had always been Xia Fan¡¯s Achilles¡¯ heel. He liked children, and could not bear to see them suffer.
Feeling real sunlight and seeing the seas and mountains was by no means a luxurious demand, yet he was incapable of fulfilling even such a simple wish! He wondered if the little girl who had hugged Nikai¡¯s thighs just now would grow up to be an explorer, dying in the darkness for the sake of a hope that had never existed. Until the moment she died, she might still naively believe that there woulde a day when the Demon yer Legion woulde and bring them all to the verdant fields of the maind.
Just thinking about it made him very sad. Under that heavy atmosphere, Xia Fan forced himself to begin work, opening those booklets of information that the Shimmers had gathered at the risk of their lives, but he could not bring himself to read on.
The principal could sense the change in Xia Fan and the others, so he said to Mousse, ¡°Tell them not to crowd outside any longer, and disperse them.¡±
Thus, Mousse left the ssroom and told the hundreds of citizens outside to return home. Whether they were the elderly or the young, all of them did so reluctantly, turning their heads back more than the number of steps they took.
Xia Fan saw there were many further down the street hiding in the corners with their luggage, patting the dust off as they set it by the road. All of them were ted, looking like they were ready to set off at the drop of a hat.
¡°What a day,¡± Traveling Buddha tossed a stack of the booklets on the table. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is about today, but I simply don¡¯t have the mood to continue. All I feel is annoyance.¡±
The Principal sighed. ¡°Waiting in the endless darkness is the fate of us Shimmers. There¡¯s no need to pity us. Even if you do, youck the ability to change our fate, which would just add to your troubles.¡±
¡°The reason why the Holy Spring City exists is because we have this mystical spring water that will protect us and the city forever. Why don¡¯t you rx in it? I¡¯ll get Mousse to send you three for a soak in the Holy Spring, ease your nerves and shed some of your fatigue. Additionally, I¡¯ll have men prepare some food and send it over as well.¡±
Chapter 1614 - 1614 The Strange Occurrence while Soaking in the Hot Spring
1614 The Strange urrence while Soaking in the Hot Spring
The Holy Spring¡¯s entrance was in the central za of the city, locked behind a big metal gate. Mousse took a set of keys and opened the chained lock around the gate. In front of him was a flight of ancient stone steps. Due to the moisture over the years, these stone steps were covered in moss and were very slippery. It was obvious that not many people would often make their way down them.
Mousse turned on a switch, and the crystals hanging above their heads promptly gave off light and warmth, lighting a direct path that led deeper down.
¡°The god of the Holy Spring has been protecting our city this whole time,¡± Mousse exined. ¡°Because we¡¯re afraid of mischievous children disturbing the god¡¯s rest, we decided to lock the sacred pool up. The citizens will only visit the pool twice in their lives; once when they are born and the second time when they die, epting the blessing of the god. But because you¡¯re our honored guest and will be staying in our city for a short period of time, you¡¯re all allowed to freely visit the sacred pool.¡±
Traveling Buddha wrinkled his forehead, ¡°How could spring water protect your people? Are you telling me that this pool can shoot missiles or something?¡±
!!
Mousse shook his head. ¡°It is not the holy spring water that protects us, but the god living in the spring.
¡°You three should have seen plenty of small creeks around our city, as well as the six-meter wide moat that surrounds our city walls. Every time our enemies mount an attack on us, the God of the Holy Spring will move with the water to the moat and defeat the invasion force.
¡°No enemy of ours has ever made it into the city since it was founded, so as long as we don¡¯t leave the city, we would all be very safe. As for beyond the city walls, it is just darkness everywhere. The various major tribes in the buffer zone are already in the territory of the Demi-dragons. Right now, the rtionship between us and them is one of mutual non-violence, because they know that invading Holy Spring City would provoke the god living in the spring.¡±
Xia Fan nodded and let out a soft sigh, ¡°So what you mean to say is, were it not for the exploration assignment, the Shimmers could very well live long lives, since there are no external forces that could invade this city.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Mousse agreed.
¡°But when we entered the city, none of us felt this so-called god attack us.¡± Traveling Buddha was an atheist, so he continued his questioning by getting straight to the point.
¡°I have no exnation for that myself. In any case, our god is easily able to differentiate between friend or foe,¡± Mousse chuckled bitterly. ¡°It is just a pity that due to our strange looks, all the tribes of the buffer zone view us as mutants, which is why we actually have no allies. The closest thing to a friend we could consider would probably be the Demon yer Legion.¡±
Everyone was silent. The awkward atmosphere pervaded. Due to the covenant that was based upon a lie, no matter what they talked about, the conversation would easily end up reaching the point where both sides would be left wordless.
¡°Since it¡¯s a ce where a god resides, there ought to be some rules in ce?¡± Xia Fan broke the silence.
¡°There are some, but the rules are all on how to treat others. The metal gate and padlock can keep out mischievous children, but if the God of the Holy Spring wishes toe out, there¡¯s no one who could stop him.
¡°Honestly, the God of the Holy Spring spends most of his time sleeping. Whenever he wakes up, he will be like a cheeky little kid, and also enjoys ying with the children. There¡¯s nothing we can keep from the god, and he already knows of your arrival. If he decides to meet you, he will naturally appear, but if he does not wish to see you, there¡¯s no way for any of you to find him, no matter how hard you try.
¡°Head down the stone steps and you¡¯ll see the bathing pool. Here are some food and washing necessities. Please head on down.¡±
Mousse gave them a basket filled with food and water, as well as several white towels, before gesturing them onward.
¡ª
After going down the stone steps, Xia Fan soon saw the bathing pool. It was built with white marble, with an aqueduct where water was directed into the pool. There was another aqueduct in the corner that led deeper underground. That way, the bathing water would flow along the downward conduit so the used water would avoid polluting its source.
The design of the ce was reasonable. There were small cubicles that could be used as changing rooms, lights hanging above their heads, and a changing rack for them to hang their towels on. Everything they needed was provided, aside from the fact that there was no one around, which made therge pool seem somewhat forsaken.
Nikai went to change in one of the cubicles, while Traveling Buddha and Xia Fan directly tossed their batteredbat suits away right there, changing out to their trunks and making a dash for the pool
Because each of them had their own spatial ring, they did not have any problems with having a change of clothes or sparebat attire. It was just that in their haste escaping, all of them were in a state of hypervignce, so they did not have much time to care about how they looked, leaving them all quite dirty.
*Ssh!*
Traveling Buddha cannonballed into the pool, causing water to cascade everywhere.
¡°This is great!¡± Traveling Buddha stood up and swept his hand through his wet hair in excitement.
Xia Fan and he rxed their bodies entirely, looking up toward the sky and allowing themselves to float in the water. The weariness they had umted from their escape gradually caught up to them, lulling them into a state ofnguor that nearly had them dozing off in the silky spring water.
That was when a pair of perfect snowy white legs came into view, with slender calves and ample thighs. Even the feet of those legs looked pink and tender, reminiscent of a baby¡¯s skin.
The originally rxed Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha immediately tensed up again. Humans were just such strange creatures. The two men had always been bold and reckless, with plenty of lives staining in their hands, yet these two daredevils suddenly turned timid the moment they set their eyes on Nikai in her swimsuit. It was truly inexplicable.
Perhaps it was because seeing something so perfect naturally gave them a sense of sacredness, a purity that was too overwhelming to profane.
Nikai¡¯s cheeks flushed red, as she quickly plunged into the pool and shrank toward a corner, her hands hugging her legs so only her nose and eyes poked out of the water, leaving the rest of her body submerged.
¡°Here, let me give you a rub!¡± Xia Fan had pulled out a tissue from thin air and handed it to Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s face was red all over and he was sweating profusely. He took the tissue from Xia Fan and wiped his temples.
¡°Not your sweat. Wipe your nose. You¡¯re bleeding all over the ce,¡± Xia Fan teased him.
Traveling Buddha was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a crevice in the ground and just bury himself in it.
The Little Old Buddha had seen plenty of the world, yet he still could not stop his nosebleed the moment he saw a goddess like Nikai. It was utterly humiliating!
But how could he not have been stirred? As a man with blood pumping in his veins, would it not be abnormal if he waspletely unresponsive when blessed with a view of a goddess like Nikai wearing nothing but a swimsuit that entuated her aesthetically perfect curves?
Traveling Buddha swiftly wiped his nose and began swimming in the water. Despite his chubby physique, he was surprisingly athletic, like a plump but lively fish. With two hands continuously cutting through the water, he very quickly swam all the way to the opposite end of the pool.
¡°Ah, it turns out there¡¯s still another canal here, and there¡¯s an evenrger pool inside. Let me go and take a look!¡± Traveling Buddha said.
Xia FAn knew that Traveling Buddha must be feeling embarrassed and was looking for an excuse to slip away. Thus, he ignored him, instead turning to Nikai and saying, ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll be staying here for a few days. After all, none of us are cast from iron, and we¡¯ll need some time to recuperate.
¡°In addition, the information that the Shimmers gathered for us is quite valuable. There¡¯s a need for us to investigate the various tribes out here in the buffer zone, find out if they¡¯vee into contact with the Demons, and if they havee to some sort of agreement in private.
¡°Do you still recall that the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley had once said that the reason why he had appeared on the first level was because he was on a mission? It was why he and me Soul departed the Demon Pce immediately upon their awakening, leaving me Soul¡¯s son alone there. I suspect that Stanley has been to the buffer zone.
¡°After all, the sudden copse of the North Sea is simply too peculiar, no matter how you look at it. If Stanley¡¯s Demon Pce originally had this passageway to the buffer zone, then everything would make sense!
¡°Perhaps Stanley felt that blowing up the Demon Pce for us was going far too easy on us, which was why he resorted to the even crueler method of blowing up the support structure between the North Sea and the buffer zone, causing the entire North Sea to drain away. This way, not only would we die from being trapped under the Demon Pce, Cotird and anyone else that was still above at sea would also be gravely affected by his actions.
¡°This is all still just my spection, and we¡¯ll need to delve into the various major tribes out there before we can fully grasp the truth of the matter. A few days from now, after we¡¯re all done with resting, we¡¯ll immediately set forth to investigate the buffer zone, and your role in all this will be even more important when that timees.
¡°After all, Stanley has nted the Seed of Darkness in Traveling Buddha, and though I¡¯ve not made mention of it, I can very clearly see that the injury in his arm is worsening as time goes by.¡±
Upon saying this, Xia Fan¡¯s voice turned low, as if he was shrouded in sadness. Traveling Buddha was his best friend, and yet he was slowly being consumed by darkness. Xia Fan was suffering, too.
Nikai stared fixedly at Xia Fan. In front of her was a topless man. Though slim in figure, his muscles were very clearly defined, as if he had been sculpted from marble. She could only imagine just how hard he must have trained from childhoodpared to anyone else to get a body like that.
Nikai also admired his quick thinking and keen observation skills. While holding a casual conversation, Xia Fan had managed to link what had happened to the North Sea with the information from the buffer zone, and though it was just spection on his part, the logic was impable. This sort of tactical ability at amander¡¯s level was normally not something a man his age would possess.
When speaking about Traveling Buddha, Xia Fan¡¯s uncontroble sadness was definitely an expression of his true feelings. A really strong warrior would not only have to be decisive when killing, but they ought to be righteous and affectionate. If a warrior had none of those qualities, then they would be no different from a killing machine.
Women were emotional creatures who enjoyedparisons. Nikai could not help butpare Dongfang He, Jia Yuntian, Xia Fan, and even her own father with one another. The result of that round ofparison, aside from Xia Fan noting from a Demon yer background, was that he was indisputably ahead of everyone else. Thinking about how Xia Fan¡¯s voice that apanied her while she was all alone, being humorous and witty, along with his incisive judgment, Nikai¡¯s eyes gradually turned scorching hot.
¡°F*CK ME! You actually dare to headbutt yours truly? See if I don¡¯t headbutt you to death!¡±
¡°Oh ho ho, you¡¯re pretty strong, huh? Stay there if you¡¯ve got the guts, this Old Buddha isn¡¯t done with you yet!¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s voice could be heard from a distance. Xia Fan nced over and saw Traveling Buddha all jockeyed up, as if he was a bull locking horns against something in apetition of strength. His shoulders were down and his head was forward.
In that pose, Traveling Buddha was slowly being pushed out slowly by his opponent. It seemed like this other being was far stronger than Traveling Buddha, who was already using all his strength without activating his Battle Buddha¡¯s Golden Light, his skin and face red from exertion.
...
Xia Fan was alert, and he slowly stood up to watch.
A strange urrence. Traveling Buddha had widened his stance and was headbutting someone, but his opponent was anything but human!
Chapter 1615 - 1615 A Giant Water God!
1615 A Giant Water God!
Mousse watched Xia Fan and the others make their way down the steps, headed toward the sacred pool. He then backed away, and headed toward the outskirts of the city, toward therge graveyard where every tombstone rose in the shape of little golden pyramids.
Their sharp tops were pointed to the sky, as if pointing in the direction they wanted their souls to go: up! All the way up until they reached the maind above, and could see the fields of blooming flowers and the legendary ocean and its rolling waves.
They were the Shimmers. Trapped deep underground as a species, their wish was very simple. They did not harbor dreams of bing dominators of this world, but merely wished to live somewhere with green grass and sunlight.
Mousse arrived at Jiri¡¯s tombstone. He could find the tombstone even with his eyes closed, because that was where his beloved wife wasid to rest.
!!
Mousse had been the one who had buried her personally. Every character on her tombstone was carved by his own hands. Though it was just a short row of words, Mousse had spent an entire week carving it. Every time he finished each character, Mousse would cry for a very long time.
There were not many nts in Holy Spring City. The only kind that grew easily was a tough wildflower that could bloom in the cold and darkness and not die.
Mousse had randomly picked a wildflower and ced it on Jiri¡¯s grave. Flowers were very precious in the underground world, and though Mousse was the Holy Spring Guardian, the most powerful man among his race, he was only willing to pick one flowerstalk at a time.
But just now, Xia Fan and everyone with him had practically received a tenth of all the wildflowers in the city from the citizens. Truly, the Shimmers were very generous to the Demon yer Legion. When their own people were only willing to pick a single flower tomemorate their loved ones, they were more than willing to give those precious nts to a group of strangers. It was really cute just thinking about it.
A match was lit. There was no shortage of phosphorus here underground, so making matches was easy. Mousse ced the match near the tip of Jiri¡¯s tombstone, and a small me instantly ignited.
If Xia Fan had looked closely, he would have discovered that on the tip of the tombstones of the Shimmers, there was a little oilmp hidden there. Those oilmps would be lit during festivals, so they all looked like stars from their flickering glow.
¡°We who like underground are like weak mes, but even weak and feeble mes can give off a bit of light and warmth in the endless darkness.¡±
Mousse thought about the first lesson the principal had taught him when he was young, where several dozen children aged six or seven would nod vigorously, their eyes glowing ever so slightly like these tombstones.
That was a time when Mousse still truly believed in the faith of the Shimmers, and truly believed in the Covenant with the Demon Subduer Legion. He believed that the most powerful humans would one day descend from the skies wearing their golden war armor, saving Holy Spring City from drowning in the darkness.
Nevertheless, he ultimately grew up. Mousse lived for thirty-seven years with staunch faith, until he finally became the strongest male among the Shimmers, inheriting the role as the Holy Spring Guardian.
Only then did he learn the truth of the matter from the Principal: that there was no covenant, and the Demon yer Legion were no more than strangers that asionally passed by. Plus, it was their ancestors that had begged them to make the covenant, so as to grant their people some hope to carry on living.
Thinking about it, it was truly a cruel fate. You are already old, and after many years living in the darkness and cold, your knees would often ache in the middle of the night. Fighting with all your life all for the sake of your faith, to the point that even your most cherished person had been sacrificed for the cause. You had given everything for that covenant, only for them to tell you that it never existed in the first ce. IT DIDN¡¯T EXIST!
When Mousse learned of the truth, it was as if he had fallen deep into an icy cavern and then struck by lightning from the heavens. It was a violent blow to his body and soul as he felt everything that he knew instantly crumble before his very eyes!
¡ª
Leaving the graveyard, he crossed the suspension over the moat. Mousse entered the darkness and leaned against an icy cold boulder, staring at his city from afar.
¡°They are here, a trio. The leader¡¯s name is Xia Fan, and the other two go by the name of Nikai and Traveling Buddha,¡± Mousse expressionlessly said to the empty darkness.
¡°Since they¡¯ve survived, I thought it might have been that old bastard Dresden, or maybe the young masters of the Dongfang n. But hearing the news that Nikai is still alive ddens me. That woman is the prettiest thing I¡¯ve ever seen my entire life.¡±
Unexpectedly, the darkness replied to Mousse. The voice sounded as if it came from somewhere far away, impossible to tell which direction. But hearing Mousse¡¯s tone, he had to be very familiar with this person hidden in the darkness.
Mousse shrugged, ¡°They had no knowledge of the covenant, and when they heard the truth, I could feel them get very sad over it, almost as if they were ridden with guilt.¡±
¡°That is only natural. Humans have always been so ambiguous. When they see a stray puppy, curled up under the eaves of a roof, drenched by the rain, famished to the point that it would be shuddering, every human being would feel pity and sympathy toward the little puppy.
¡°They would appear to be very caring and kind, bringing the little puppy back home and feeding it, treating its sickness,bing its hair, y with the puppy, looking like they would be inseparable with one another.
¡°But in the blink of an eye, the puppy would grow, and their fangs would be sharp, and a long tail would drag on the ground. Every night, that big dog would howl at the night sky, revealing a faint glimmer of green in its eyes.
¡°That would be when the human discovered that what they raised was not a friendly dog, but a wolf. A wolf¡¯s personality was that of independence and strength, naturally alienating humans with its aggression.
¡°All of a sudden, the warmth and affection that once existed between the two would vanish. The human would pull out a wooden stick and beat the wolf that he had clearly raised since it was little. The sharper the wolf¡¯s fangs, the fiercer a beating the human would give it with his stick. But what they won¡¯t know is that a wolf would not forever be a dog. Dogs would bear the beating and beg for forgiveness, crying, but the wolf would bare its fangs at its enemies, no matter who they are. This is the wolf¡¯s innate personality.
¡°Humans like pets that rely and obey them, and will never ept a pet with their own personality, or one that is overly independent. In the eyes of the Demon yer Legion, all of you are no different from that little puppy shivering vigorously which they felt pity for. If the Shimmers wish to join the world the humans hold dominion over, they will forever have to act like a subservient dog, forever listening to their orders, never disying any disobedience.
¡°You understand what I mean now, right? Forget humans giving your people what they want, as even if they do, it would be as charity. Meanwhile, I n to give you freedom and independence. You¡¯ll be able to stand in this world by your own strength as the Shimmer people, and not depend on anyone¡¯s charity, or like a child that has to rely on others, never growing up,¡± the voice in the darkness said.
¡
Xia Fan was stunned. Traveling Buddha was actually being pushed back by a flow of water. This water seemed to have a body of its own; it was powerful and struck squarely against Traveling Buddha, who was turning red from exertion!
Traveling Buddha was an outstanding warrior. Though Xia Fan had never seen Traveling Buddha train, he was always firmly ahead of Xia Fan in terms of his cultivation. He had always been secretly training when no one was watching, and wouldter act carelessly in front of Xia Fan, as if to say, ¡°What about it? Yours truly can be fooling around, but I still have a higher cultivation than you.¡±
Secretly training and then provoking Xia Fan afterward was just one of the many ribbings that Traveling Buddha would give him. But right now, it was clear that Traveling Buddha was losing. The speed of the water¡¯s flow was getting faster and faster, and the greater the force became, the more Traveling Buddha was pushed back by it.
¡°This little Buddha shall go all out against you!¡± Traveling Buddha bellowed, his eyes wide. A golden Light wrapped around his entire body, ignited by his special ability. Traveling Buddha hated to admit defeat, and he was betting his entire self in thispetition of strength!
The water flow was still increasing in speed. Its strength seemingly came from below the water, surging with the force of a volcanic eruption. Traveling Buddha was not giving up even when faced against it, but his slightly chubby body was suddenly sent flying, creating an arc in the air as he shot off,nding dozens of meters away. His backnded heavily onto the water, creating a ssh several meters high!
¡°F*ck me! What the Hell is that thing?¡± Traveling Buddha cried out as he stood up. He wiped his face indignantly, trying to see just who it was that he wasparing strength against. The power of the water was terrifying, and yet it had retracted its power at the final moment, almost as if it had been afraid to injure him.
Xia Fan was also curious as to what could push Traveling Buddha off so easily. Nikai was in the corner, a sliver of fear appearing in her eyes. An entity that could easily beat Traveling Buddha would definitely be powerful!
*Gurgle Gurgle*
Laughter rang from inside the water, aughter that was very carefree. It made Xia Fan think of it as a cheerfulugh while Traveling Buddha had made a fool of himself, as if it had not been a big deal while watching from the sideline.
The surface of the water spurted upward, slowly rising to reveal a transparent headpletely made of water. It had distinct features, the top of his head being bald. There was no hair, looking something like a monk.
It turned out that a Water Elemental had been hiding in the pool!
Xia Fan had met Water Elementals before. Star in Water and Moon in Water from Xia Geng¡¯s team had been magical sapient lifeforms, but Xia Fan had never seen a Water Elemental asrge as this one before. Just his head alone was the size of Star in Water and Moon in Water added together!
If Star in Water and Moon in Water were both normal people, then the one in front of them would be like the legendary Giant Water God, capable of tearing apart mountains with his bare hands!
Chapter 1616 - 1616 Training and a Friendly Big Oaf
1616 Training and a Friendly Big Oaf
Three days of training ended. For the Skywings, it was merely just running and doing physical training. Their group of madmen would always be training with goals that ordinary humans could not meet, giving it their all to aplish them.
This time, Commander Xia Geng was more decisive. Their goal was to wear down an entire mountain from the Lower Realm!
It was a huge mountain rising higher than the clouds, situated in the middle of a t prairie and surrounded by a nket of green grass. The only outstanding feature of the ce was that mountain, an impressive height of the toughest granite, like a great axe of the gods jutting out from the grassy ins.
¡°That mountain¡¯s an eyesore, so I¡¯ve decided to remove it.¡±
!!
Xia Geng¡¯s exnation as to why they would grind down a splendid mountain this time was just that.
In any normal n, there was no reason to mobilize on such a grand scale just because of an eyesore, but the Skywings was not your ordinary n. They were a bunch of lunatics hiding in human skin, and there was never a need for a reason whenever Skywings decided on something.
¡°If you put it that way, I also find that mountain an eyesore.¡±
¡°Right? It¡¯s a fine prairie, with beautiful green grass, yet there¡¯s just this thing blocking yours truly¡¯s view. So off-putting!¡±
The brothers of the Skywing n had a lot to say. The average person could never imagine that they would crush an entire mountain just because they could not take in the full view of the grassy ins. It was just in crazy! They did not even live here, so how could a mountain be an eyesore?
It was too bad. Once the Skywings decided on something, no one could make them change their minds.
¡ª
On the first day, Xia Geng brought his brothers to that prairie to take in the beautiful scenery. Under the buffeting of the strong winds, they held a bonfire party where everyone drank and performed their talents. They came to the decision to remove that mountain during the casual discussions they had by the fire.
One the second day, the mountain was gone.
On the third day, they held yet another party, and everyone continued eating and drinking to their heart¡¯s content, performing their talents, celebrating the birth of a city.
Indeed, after the Skywings were done taking care of that mountain, they realized a very serious problem; The massive granite mountain was reduced to rock and rubble after the Skywings came through, and all the rubble was still an eyesore piled up there in the center of the grassy ins.
So what would they do about it?
After some discussion, they decided they might as well just use the stones to build a city. It would at least be much more aesthetically pleasing than a pile of rocks!
Thus, they did just that, organizing the rubble of the huge mountain to construct a huge citypletely made out of granite. City walls surrounded the houses and a central square, able to amodate a poption in the tens of thousands.
After the city was built, Xia Geng and the others nodded repeatedly, ¡°Yeah, this is a lot more pleasing to the eye!¡±
What did they mean ¡®more pleasing¡¯!
The mountain was gone, but in its ce was an empty city. The view was still obstructed, and they could still not see the full scenery, so how was that more pleasing to the eye? There was essentially no change to the ce!
Xia Geng and his people were clearly just bored and wanted to use the excuse of training to find something to do. Was there a need for them to sound so righteous, as if they had done the world a great service? It was as if they had achieved some great aplishment there on that prairie, taking down a mountain that harmed no one, then building a city in its ce. Was it still not doing damage to the environment?
The Skywings did not care about all that. After they were done with their training, they set up another bonfire and drank the most potent alcohol and sang songs of grand feats, swapping stories about the women they had once loved.
That was the Skywing n. No matter how ridiculous something was, they would just go ahead and do it. There was no need for any reasons, nor did they need to exin their actions to anyone else.
¡°Say, why do you think the rascal Xia Fan has not used his Skywing Token yet? Does he not know that we woulde rushing toward him, no matter the distance once he breaks it?¡± Xia Geng asked Xia Yu and Tamu. The former was the brains of the Skywing Investigation team, and was always calm and collected. Meanwhile Tamu had interacted with Xia Fan more, seeing as how they hade from the Ashen Moon Universe together.
Xia You wrinkled his forehead. ¡°Perhaps Xia Fan had no idea the token is not bound by any environmental restrictions, thinking that the others would not receive the signal created after breaking the Skywing Token.¡±
Tamu shook his head repeatedly. ¡°No way. Given Xia Fan¡¯s intellect and judgment skills, how could he not fully grasp the use and scope of the Skywing Token?¡±
This left Xia Geng nonplussed. ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t he called for us? Could he really not be in any danger, and he¡¯s capable of oveing it on his own?¡±
Tamu gave it some thought. ¡°I think Xia Fan is still a little not used to the style of the Skywing n. After all, he¡¯s someone who grew up outside of the n, and has not participated in any of our n operations.¡±
¡°Or perhaps he thinks that using the token would be giving us more trouble, so he is reluctant to use the token until he feels there is no other choice.¡±
Xia Yu nodded. ¡°Yes, that makes sense. The Skywing Token is actually a responsibility, as the entire n will stop what they are currently doing and wille in support, no matter the distance, the moment it¡¯s used. Xia Fan probably thinks that it would be an overreaction, which is why he¡¯s being very prudent with the token.
¡°But as a member of the Skywing n, Xia Fan probably will not understand our belief to never give up or abandon our own until he uses it for the very first time. Only by doing so will he truly be inducted into the Skywings.¡±
Xia Geng sighed, ¡°I really hope Xia Fan uses the token. There are some things that cannot be exined with words, and only by experiencing them in person will they be able to fullyprehend them.¡±
¡
¡
The Water Elemental slowly took shape. He was of massive size, weighing well over a thousand kilograms. When right in front of Traveling Buddha, he made thetter look like a small child byparison. No wonder Traveling Buddha lost so badly in apetition of strength; this Water Elemental was exponentiallyrger and stronger, and the bigger he was, the more shocking hisbat strength!
There were two parts to a Water Elemental¡¯s body. One was called the true body, which was the water molecules that contained its soul power. Intelligence, strength, and all the finer details that gave it life were contained in the Water Elemental¡¯s true body.
The other part was known as the outer shell. A Water Elemental was capable of absorbing the water around it, growing in size by doing so. Alternatively, they could also control water and use it to attack their enemies. But the water molecules of the outer shell were only being controlled by them, and were not considered part of their true form.
For example, the human body was made up of seventy percent water. If you weighed a hundred kilograms, and drank another hundred kilograms of water, would your final weight be two hundred kilograms?
Of course, that would be impossible
After water cycled through the human body and left as waste, your weight would return to normal. Controlling water worked along the same principle, and the watery form that made up its soul was separate from such.
Everyone was stunned. That was because none of them hade across a living Water Elemental with so much soul water. From its size alone, they could tell that the energy count of this Water Elemental would at least be five times that of Star in Water and Moon in Water.
Every drop of soul water in a Water Elemental¡¯s true body had to be absorbed and refined for over ten thousand years. It was obvious that this Water Elemental had lived for many, many, many years!
Perhaps he was even alive when the world was created, and when the three realms were formed!
¡°You¡¯re pretty strong!¡± The Water Elemental sat down beside Traveling Buddha and spoke in a rumbling voice, ¡°Candy? Little Tiger gave me some today.¡±
The Water Elemental opened a palm, where several fruit-vored hard candies floated in his transparent hand. He took one for himself and gave another to Traveling Buddha. TB took the candy and opened his mouth wide, while the Water Elemental transformed the candy into tiny molecules and assimted it into his body. Water Elementals all absorbed Nature¡¯s energy from around themselves, but this Water Elemental actually enjoyed eating human food.
¡°So sweet! What, do you not like candy?¡± the Water Elemental asked childishly.
¡°I¡¯m.. I¡¯m fine¡¡± Traveling Buddha replied, somewhat tongue-tied. The products made in this underground world were of poor quality, and the sugar used for the candy had been extracted from the root of a nt, tasting coarse and unrefined. It could not be considered tasty, and for the Little Old Buddha, who was born eating the finer things in life, he could barely call what he just ate a candy.
But this Water Elemental enjoyed the taste immensely, as if he had never eaten anything more exquisite than what he just consumed.
Xia Fan noticed that this Water Elemental seemed rather simple, almost as if it was intellectually challenged. However, he could not deny how big it was. Though this Water Elemental withheld infinite power as he sat among them, he did not feel any sort of pressure being exerted from him.
The Water Elemental was like a child, an innocent child, enjoying his candy as he kicked his legs yfully in the water, his head bobbing from side to side. Not only did Xia Fan not feel any sense of threat from him, but Xia Fan was even under the impression that if someone were to hug him, the Elemental would feel quite warm, right?
Chapter 1617 - 1617 A Fatty and Skinny
1617 A Fatty and Skinny
¡°Hey you big oaf, have a taste of this thing here, ¡± Traveling Buddha chuckled.
With a casual flick of his finger over his spatial ring, he took out his favorite tea set and began brewing a good pot of tea.
Xia Fan recalled that the tea leaves in his delicate canister were Traveling Buddha¡¯s most precious treasure. Only after emerging victorious in battle would he make an exception and offer Xia Fan a cup, or it would not be brought out.
Perhaps Traveling Buddha found this Water Elemental to be precocious, or perhaps he wanted to curry favor with him. Whichever the case, he was being very generous today!
!!
¡°Bleh!¡± The Water Elemental spat the light green tea liquid into the ground and the fragrance of the liquid instantly filled the room. Sure enough, this was a tea of the highest grade, with a taste that would remain on the tastebuds, a permeating scent that lingered for days.
¡°It¡¯s bitter. Not nice!¡± The Water Elemental shook his head.
Traveling Buddha¡¯s face had practically turned green,menting that the Water Elemental did not know how to appreciate quality, and that it was a waste of a treasure. He was just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
¡°Where do you learn that from?¡± Xia Fan mused.
¡°You, of course. Don¡¯t you bribe creatures using candy and such treats whenever you summon your little critters? These are my best tea leaves, that even I am reluctant to drink,¡± Traveling Buddha moaned.
Xia Fan shook his head. ¡°You may like tea, but not everyone shares the same as you. You can¡¯t expect to force your hobbies onto others, right? Wemoners might not have as refined a taste as you, the Little Old Buddha. To us, chocte cake, honeyed almonds, and other such sweet treats would be much better choices.¡±
As Xia Fan exined, he pulled out several pieces of chocte, some cream fudge, and a small piece of butter cake from his spatial ring. He put them in a basket and pushed them to the Water Elemental.
¡°How sweet!¡± The Water Elemental was all smiles, hugging the basket in his thick arms, humming to himself happily as he tasted them.
In no time at all, the Water Elemental was sitting beside Xia Fan, an arm around the human with an excited and affectionate look on his face.
The expression on Traveling Buddha¡¯s face soured. Indeed, you¡¯d only be angering yourself byparing yourself to others. Xia Fan was a man born with a natural maism, such that animals, humans, and even Water Elementals, were more than willing to bond with him. Conversely, Traveling Buddha did not even have a good rtionship with his own father, and he did not have anyone he could call as a friend, aside from Xia Fan!
¡°Are you the one protecting the Shimmers? That¡¯s very kind and loving of you!¡± Now that closeness had been established Xia Fan tried to get to know the Water Elemental better.
¡°No, that¡¯s my elder brother. He says I¡¯m too stupid and would always mess things up. That is why he won¡¯t let me join in battles, and I¡¯ll just bring my toys and hide whenever a fight breaks out. My elder brother¡¯s called Icy Wind. I¡¯m Icy Rain.¡±
Xia Fan was startled. He suddenly recalled something that Moon in Water and Star in Water had once told him. Among the Elementals, all their children were born identical twins, and were either both boys or both girls, with no exceptions.
¡°The poption of us Elementals is very small, maybe no more than a thousand across the three realms. Even the dragons are more numerous than us, but having twins means we will at least have apanion, so it won¡¯t be so lonely,¡± was what the brothers had told him back then.
Xia Fan sighed. Icy Rain¡¯s temperament and personality was no different from that of a child that had yet to grow up, and his elder brother should not be too different.
He thought back to the days when he was with Star in Water and Moon in Water, and just how kind and emotional those two Water Elementals were. Even a bird that was frozen to death during a cold and stormy night would send the two hugging one another in tears as they gave the little bird a burial.
¡®How much more peaceful would this world be if every sapient lifeform were as kind as the Elementals,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself.
Thus, he was liking this boy who could not seem to grow up more and more. Even Nikai made her way over and gave him some pastries that girls enjoyed. The ted Icy Rain bobbed his head as he thanked her repeatedly.
¡
¡°I actually also like to eat such treats?¡± Hiding in the water was Icy Wind, who was quietly muttering to himself as he watched the scene unfold.
But he was already used to this. He distinctly remembered his mother had said that his younger brother had been intellectually challenged since birth, and would always be an innocent child. As the elder brother, Icy Wind ought to take care of his younger brother.
Actually, Icy Wind was still very young when their mother and father died. They were twins, born on the same day. Logically speaking, there should not be an issue of who should be taking care of whom, but it could not be helped. Icy Wind was too foolish. If Icy Wind did not take care of him, there was no way Icy Rain would have been able to survive on his own in the dangerous Lower Realm.
Quietly leaving via a water channel, Icy Wind was finally at ease. It looked like those three were decent humans, with no ill intentions toward his younger brother. It was fine to let them y awhile, since Icy Rain also seemed to enjoy thepany of the three humans.
His transparent form left the waters, transforming into his human form, and sat down by the field beside the city moat.
If Xia Fan could see Icy Wind now, he would surely be stunned to see the huge difference between the two. Younger brother Icy Rain was thickset and strong, like a huge elephant, while Icy Wind was much skinnier, like a big boy who had worked hard all his life, but barely had anything to eat and was malnourished.
Water Elementals were a unique life form with two ways to grow: absorb and release.
Like a person that was pampered year round andcked any sort of exercise, they would ultimately turn into a fatty, while another who spent his life working hard and whose intake of energy was far less than what they expend would find himself growing skinny.
Star in Water and Moon in Water looked simr because the two brothers took in energy together, and participated in fights to expend the energy together. Since their expenditures were equally plentiful, their body forms ended up being simr.
Meanwhile, Icy Wind had given all the energy to his younger brother, and he took on all the fighting himself. As his younger brother became big and strong, it was the elder brother that became skinnier over time, like an emancipated old horse.
But Icy Wind did not regret doing that. That was because his younger brother was also his only kin in this world, and protecting and taking care of him was his responsibility. He would continue to feed his younger brother, making him fatter, all the way until the day he died.
Icy Rain was unlucky in being born intellectually challenged, but Icy Rain was also very lucky in having such a good elder brother.
The glowing rock above Holy Spring City dimmed. Because theycked any natural sunlight, the Shimmers depended on the brightness to tell time, when they ought to be at work, and when they ought to be resting.
Icy Rain and Xia Fan were having fun ying together. He had never seen a speedster before, and Xia Fan carried Icy Rain on his back as he ran like the wind. Thetter cheered, his eyes wide, like a fledgling that had just learned how to fly.
Nikai¡¯s Divine Wings of Color were also very interesting. When her wings were unfurled in full, disying their colorful light, Icy Rain would p his hands and dance happily as he watched the wings slowly ascend, like the prettiest rainbow in the sky, or dazzling fireworks exploding in the night sky.
¡°So pretty and beautiful!¡± Icy Rain pped, and the adults and children of the Shimmer race came to watch when they heard themotion. Children gathered around Icy Rain, breaking out into a happy dance together. They adored the Holy Spring God, as he was fat and soft. His personality was also very simple and honest. He was practically the cutest god in this world.
This cute god was even in charge of protecting the city, and was a great hero. Countless assaults from the many tribes had been thwarted by his hand.
Of course, while all this was happening, Icy Wind was sitting by the side of the moat. His entire body was transparent, so no one could see him clearly, and he had no intention of joining in the city¡¯s festivities. That was because he still needed to protect this city, and his younger brother.
Recently, the various major tribes around had stopped fighting, and it seemed like they were all plotting something. Icy Wind had overheard this from the scouts of the city, which was why he had heightened his vignce.
Actually, the Shimmers werepletely mistaken. It was not the fat water god who had been protecting the city and its people. The true protector of the city and the Shimmers were none other than the one seated by the moat right now, the skinny Water Elemental who was so lonely and taciturn.
Chapter 1618 - 1618 Icy Rain’s Ability
1618 Icy Rain¡¯s Ability
¡°Everyone, look. That ck thing in my shoulder seems to have weakened a bit,¡± Traveling Buddha pointed at his bare shoulder.
They had just made friends with Icy Rain, and everyone was fond of this chubby Water Elemental. Thus, after a night¡¯s rest, Xia Fan, Traveling Buddha and Nikai went to the pool again, to bring even more tasty food for Icy Rain to eat.
Xia Fan was startled and hurried over to look.
He noticed the ck mark Traveling Buddha¡¯s broad and muscr shoulder did appear smaller, and its spread had temporarily halted. The ckness did not seem to be as intense as before, almost like someone had applied a lightyer of foundation cream to it.
¡°It definitely is a shade lighter. Could this be due to the spring water?¡± Nikai asked.
Xia Fan¡¯s mind raced. His nose was very sharp, and he could differentiate the mainponents to the spring water through his sense of smell alone. There was a trace of minerals in the water, as well as the faint smell of sulfur. Their skin would feel smooth after a soak, which meant it might promote better metabolism and improve coarse skin.
But Xia Fan did not believe that the hot spring could cure the darkness energy that had invaded Traveling Buddha¡¯s body. It was far too illogical and unscientific. If all it took was a hot spring to take care of the Demon Race, then why would anyone need to fight against them? Everyone could just grab a water gun and have a water fight with the demons instead!
His eyes suddenly sparkled as Xia Fan said to Icy Rain, who was in the middle of swallowing a piece of cake, ¡°Big oaf, did you do something to Traveling Buddha?¡±
Icy Rain raised his head and looked at Traveling Buddha¡¯s shoulder, then said glumly, ¡°Bad things are best to be removed.¡±
Everyone was stunned. Elemental lifeforms depended on constantly absorbing the elements of nature and then releasing them after in order to exist. Every Elemental was like a sea sponge, absorbent.
But logically speaking, Water Elementals could only absorb two kinds of elemental energy: nature energy and water energy. Could Icy Rain have the ability to also absorb darkness energy?
Seeing Icy Rain still happily eating his cake, Xia Fan suddenly realized that there was actually a very big difference between Icy Rain and the twins Star in Water and Moon in Water. He could eat food by breaking them down into their molecules and absorbing them. Meanwhile, Star in Water and Moon in Water never ate food, and he could not recall a time when they showed the ability to convert matter.
¡°Big oaf,¡± Xia Fan tried to ask. ¡°Could you help Traveling Buddha absorb the bad thing inside his body? What I mean to say is to absorb it into your body, and then convert it. Would removing the bad thing cause you to be sick?¡±
Icy Rain used his slightly simple mind to think for a while, ¡°I can do that, but it¡¯ll take some time. Last time, when my elder brother got hurt, it was I who helped absorb it away. Though absorbing the bad things would give me a tummy ache, I can just bear with it a little.¡±
¡°Do you mean to say your elder brother isn¡¯t able to absorb bad things?¡±
¡°Yes. Big brother¡¯s too skinny, and I¡¯m fat, so I can eat anything.¡±
Xia Fan gave Icy Rain a hug, ecstatic at the news. This big fat oaf was practically a gift from the heavens! His big fat body contained some sort of amazing power that could absorb and convert even the Seed of Darkness from the Demon Race. It was definitely a miracle!
Xia Fan immediately decided that Traveling Buddha would not need to participate in the scouting work today, and would instead stay by the side of this big oaf and properly recuperate. At the same time, he reminded Icy Wind to be very careful when treating Traveling Buddha, and that he must not absorb too much darkness energy and end up harming himself.
¡°I¡¯ll give this to you!¡±
Xia Fan was simply too happy. What else could be more important than saving his sworn brother?
He immediately took out three precious Grade Nine energy crystals and gave them to Icy Rain. Converting dark energy took a lot of power, and these were there to help the big oaf replenish.
¡°Wow! What pure energy! Looks like I¡¯ll be bing fatter this time, though big brother did say that I¡¯m much cuter when fat, hehe!¡±
Given Icy Rain¡¯s intellect, he did not understand the process of politeness, where a show of rejection was needed. He simply happily epted any good thing that others gave him, and then said his enthusiastic thanks.
Xia Fan checked his spatial ring. Forty three minus three meant he was left with just forty Grade Nine energy crystals. It was fine. As long as Traveling Buddha could live, Xia Fan was willing to give them all to Icy Rain, nurturing him to be even fatter than he was now!
¡°Brother, are you sure you can manage without me?¡± Traveling Buddha protested. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m tooting my own horn, but without me, the Battle Buddha, you¡¯ll very easily find yourself getting targeted with just your speed alone.¡±
Xia Fan pointed at Nikai. ¡°Well, Nikai is still with us, and she¡¯s also a defensive-type!¡±
Nikai promptly blushed the moment she thought that she was about to go on a mission with just the two of them, smiling shyly, ¡°That¡¯s right. My Divine Wings of Color might not be as strong as you, but they will at least be equivalent in defensive strength to severalyers of alloy armor. Safeguarding Xia Fan shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡±
Xia Fan added, ¡°Indeed, don¡¯t think that the world will stop spinning without you. Don¡¯t forget how sharp my nose is. Do you think I¡¯d be foolish enough to charge right into danger the moment I sense iting my way? At most I¡¯ll just flee. Speedsters like me can choose to fight whenever we want, who can stop us?¡±
¡°Ah yes, that¡¯s true,¡± Traveling Buddha shrugged.
¡
Standing on the drawbridge over the moat, there were two distinct worlds ahead of him. The Holy Spring City was akin to an oasis in this underground world, with its glowing crystal rock in the model of a sun hanging above them, and the kind citizens living behind the walls. They lived in neat orderly rows, and even managed to reim plenty of farnd to grow fruits and vegetables.
Yet beyond the Holy Spring City was a dark expanse, a cavernous darkness that seemed like a giant beast¡¯sir. No one knew what sort of danger would be lying in wait in that darkness. The moment they departed from the limits of the city, the two Water Elementals Icy Wind and Icy Rain would no longer give them protection, and any scouts would have to rely on their own strength and wits to survive.
¡°Light here is our best scout,¡± Mousse patted the shoulder of the big youngster in front of him. ¡°He has a good understanding of all the tribes all around the vicinity, and he knows every secret side path everywhere. Don¡¯t underestimate him just because he¡¯s young, he¡¯s actually a veteran scout.¡±
¡°Sorry, I should be the one personally leading you people around, but there are even more important tasks in the city, new scouts waiting to be nurtured and trained, so I¡¯ll have to let Light apany you in my stead.¡±
Xia Fan nodded. As the saying ¡®the guests act to the convenience of the host¡¯ went, since Mousse was busy, having someone else leading the way would be the same. It was just to scout out the area, anyway. Xia Fan had no ns to participate in a direct confrontation, so there was no great deal of risk here.
Xia Fan watched the youngster called Light. Everyone from the Shimmer race looked strange, but Light was even more peculiar-looking than the normal citizens. He bore a burn mark on his face, a red scar that covered half his face. The eyebrow on his left side was still there, but the one on the right had beenpletely burned off, so it was bald.
Light had a skinny and small frame, well-suited for making his way across dark and narrow paths. His leg muscles were distinctly well developed, and he probably had very high endurance, suited for long-distance running. On top of that, there was an alertness in his eyes, and he was constantly observing his surroundings. They were all qualities that would make an outstanding scout.
¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll just be taking a look around the ce. If nothing unexpected happens, we should be back in two days,¡± Xia Fan said confidently.
With his speed, two days should be enough for him to investigate the buffer zone. As for even further ces, Xia Fan had no intention of doing so alone. His main goal right now was to find out why the tribes in the vicinity had stopped fighting one another.
Xia Fan brought Light and Nikai using the same method as before; Light was in front of him while he carried Nikai on his back. He was like a weight-bearing cross country runner, carrying bags in front and behind of him.
Aside from the Demi-dragons they had found living in the buffer zone, there were also humans. That was a very rare phenomenon, since the number of Demi-dragons out there was simply far too high. Sawtooth Demi-dragons, Rock Demi-dragons; there were practically all kinds of Demi-dragons around, and they could all be found here in this dark world.
Xia Fan imagined that the enormous buffer zone was nothing more than a hugeir for all the Demi-dragons. Countless caves that connected to argerwork of caves, with many nests connected to other nests. It was simr to what was found in the Middle Realm, where there would be many universes connected to one another, with humans dominating countless worlds. The dragons and Demi-dragons just happened to be a minority in the Middle Realm.
But the same could not be said for the Lower Realm. That was essentially the world of these Demi-dragons, and what little army the Demon Subduer Legion made up waspletely iparable to the many hordes of Demi-dragons living underground.
If there ever came a day when the buffer zone copsed, it would be an unimaginable catastrophe when the Demi-dragonse rushing out from the darkness!
Chapter 1619 - 1619 Trap!
1619 Trap!
Xia Fan had departed from the third tribe that he had finished his investigations on about an hour ago, and was taking a break in the darkness.
Nikai took out food and water, located a fairly t boulder, and then carefullyid out her handkerchief before setting the food on it. She then used a small knife to meticulously cut the apple and meat jerky until it could be eaten in one bite, then poured out a cup of tea from the water bottle.
Having an attentive woman in the team was not a bad thing at all. Had it just been Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, the two would definitely just grab the jerky and shove it down their throats without washing their hands, just like savages.
Meanwhile, this woman was not only attentive, but also very strong in a fight. She was not going to be a burden to Xia Fan on the battlefield.
Not only did that apply to teams, but even in life, people should have women in their lives. Warriors would fight for their lives outside, and return home to eat a warm meal and drink, then snuggle up beside a woman by a lit firece. There was no one who would not enjoy such a life!
It was just too bad that in all his twenty-odd years, Xia Fan was still single. Even Traveling Buddha had gotten himself a wife, and yet Xia Fan was still just the same bachelor as before.
The three crowded around and tucked in. With a woman like Nikai around, whether it was Light or Xia Fan, either man was a bit more refined while eating. Light rubbed his dirty hands on his clothes before carefully grabbing a piece of jerky.
¡°Look at this boy. Didn¡¯t your mother teach you to wash your hands before eating?¡± Nikai chided him gently.
She took out a water bottle and a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Giving the little bottle a light squeeze, a scentless and colorless liquid poured into the palm of his hand. He rubbed his hands with it, turning his dirty ck hands white from the foam, then rinsed them with water. He was all clean now, but it only seemed to have left his hands cker!
¡°I don¡¯t have a mother,¡± Light said in a small voice as he ate the food.
Xia Fan and Nikai exchanged nces, neither saying a word. Over the years, countless youth and adults of the Shimmers were sent out on the scouting mission and died, leaving just the old and the young behind
ording to their rules, after a couple had given birth to two children, they could partake in the most dangerous missions, because they hadpleted their duty to continue the bloodline. The younger couples would only be active in the region around the city, so as to avoid tragedy from striking before they had their own offspring.
In the view of the humans who lived up on the maind, the Shimmers led a life following thews of survival, just like beasts. But it was aw that extended the lives of their people and the city. Some people had not even had such an option since birth.
Nikai took out some snacks and gave them to Light. Even a pretty girl would like to snack, and she enjoyed packing some sweet treats in her spatial ring.
These were delicacies that the chefs of the Nishi n had prepared, something that a child like Light who had lived in the buffer zone could never even dream of. He was rendered dumbfounded after tasting them, feeling like his entire person was floating. To think food could be made so exquisite, tasting so sweet and delicious!
¡°Why do I feel like there aren¡¯t many men in the Riyad tribe?¡± Xia Fan asked. ¡°When we were observing them from a distance, though there were plenty of patrolling guards around its perimeter, it was always the same few people going around.
¡°In the city of the Riyad tribe, 99% of the people there were women and children. There was no need for me to see it with my eyes, since my nose alone could smell them. Just where have the men of the tribe gone, and what are they up to?¡±
Light shrugged, ¡°They of course have gone and looked for something to eat. They are not like us, and don¡¯t have a holy spring on theirnd, which is what allows us to nt crops. The Riyads and other tribes can only depend on hunting the animals roaming the buffer zone. They are nomads, while we are farmers.
¡°The two tribes we visited previously are also the same. If they fail to hunt anything for a day, that means they will not have anything to eat. If they hunt and kill more than needed, they need to salt the meat to preserve it, to stave off future hunger.¡±
That was a logical exnation, Xia Fan nodded. He suddenly noticed Light wiping his forehead with his hand as he began to sweat.
Lowering his head, Light continued to eat the jerky. If Xia Fan and his eyes were to meet at this moment, he would have discovered that there was a hint of panic in the eyes of the child.
¡®He¡¯s just a kid, so he shouldn¡¯t be lying¡¡¯, Xia Fan thought to himself.
Light let out a long sigh, and Xia Fan did not continue his line of questioning, which made Light feel more at ease.
Light recalled the words Mousse instructed him that night, ¡°Their leader Xia Fan is not simple. He¡¯s smart and observant. Even his judgment and analytical skills are all first rate. Not to mention he possesses the rare Scent special ability. It¡¯ll be very hard to try to fool him.
¡°But from what I¡¯ve seen, Xia Fan has a fatal w, and that is he absolutely has no guard up against children. He would give candy to every child in the city. Even if the child in question is all dirty, Xia Fan would not hesitate to give him a hug, not at all minding the odors the child would be giving off.
¡°If someone like him were ever to marry and have a child of his own, he would surely be a very good father, but in war, trusting and being fond of children too much would be his fatal weakness.
¡°That is why you¡¯re the one that will be tasked with this mission. Use Xia Fan¡¯s weakness and let him think you¡¯re weak and small. That way, he will let down his guard against you, and will ultimately be our prey.¡±
Mousse¡¯s assessment was truly urate. Light could not help but sigh. It had been an entire day since they had departed from Holy Spring City, and sure enough, Xia Fan had been taking care of him the entire time. Xia Fei saw the scrawny Light as just a growing boy, and though Xia Fan would consider every word he said, he would ultimately choose to believe him in the end.
Of course, such a precondition was very reasonable, and Light¡¯s lies had also been very intricately woven with the truth.
Take, for example, the hunting lifestyle the tribes engaged in. That was true, but what Light did not share with Xia Fan was the fact that the entire tribe did not have to be sent out hunting every time. What the tribes in the buffer zone truly excelled in were not fighting with the wild beasts head on, but by relying on traps set up by hunters!
¡°Where are we going next?¡± Xia Fan asked him.
He took out an odor remover and ensured that the smell of food lingering from their meal was cleared away, so as to avoid leaving behind any traces of their presence. At the same time, he also quickly collected all the food scraps and stored them in his spatial ring.
¡°We¡¯ll be going to thergest tribe in this area, known as ckrock. Recently, the ckrock tribe has been acting very strange. They crafted many machines with metal that looked rather menacing. They might be prepared to do some things,¡± Light told him.
Xia Fan frowned. He reckoned the ckrock tribe must have constructed some terrifying war machines, and in that case, they had to head over and take a look.
¡ª
On their way there, Xia Fan could smell traces of the Demons¡¯ White Bone Regiment, but it was a pity that the terrain here in the buffer zone was tooplicated, no different from a maze. Even if there were traces of their scent, there was no way for Xia Fan to quickly find his targets.
Besides, there were plenty of Demi-dragons living around here, and a misstep would be all it took for someone to fall into air.Xia Fan was not in a hurry to flee from air.
In any case, the buffer zone was a ce fraught with danger. They had to be careful with everything, and no matter how sharp his nose was, it was still better to have someone they could trust leading the way.
*Rumble*
*Rumble*
¡®If we encounter the enemy in such narrow terrain, I¡¯m afraid our only way out would be to run back the way we came from,¡¯ Xia Fan came to a halt and thought to himself.
¡°In front is the ckrock tribe. The sounds we¡¯re hearing must being from those machines. Looks like they¡¯ve made plenty during this time,¡± Light said.
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°I see. Let¡¯s continue on the way. This time, I¡¯ll be in front, and both of you will follow behind me.¡±
Light clutched his stomach, a pained expression on his face. ¡°Can you let me take a moment and relieve myself? I ate too much just now, and I¡¯m getting more and more nervous the closer we get to the ckrock tribe.
Nikai chuckled warmly, ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Me and Xia Fan will wait for you here.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Light answered, running off while holding his pants up.
¡°Wait a moment.¡± Nikai suddenly stopped him, and handed him some tissue and odor remover.
¡°You¡¯re already a big boy, so you need to clean up after yourself, otherwise there won¡¯t be any girls out there who would like you,¡± Nikai said.
Being so close that Light could smell the feminine scent of a young woman like Nikai, Light gazed nkly at her. A woman who was even prettier than a fairy was being so nice to him, that it made him think about his dead mother.
That red scar on his face made Light the ugliest person in all of Holy Spring City. Aside from his mother, there was no one who was willing to hold him, but Nikai seemed to not see the huge burn mark on his face, and was being very gentle and nice to him.
But everything was already set in ce, and nothing could be changed at this point.
Light quietly took the tissue and odor remover, carefully stored them away in his bosom, like he was keeping something precious.
¡°Thank you,¡± Light whispered to her
He turned around and went running toward the darkness, tears falling from the corner of his eyes. That mother¡¯s warmth, and a fairy-like beauty. She was going to die, and the person causing her death was none other than himself!
...
Light ran out of Xia Fan¡¯s sight, darted along in the darkness. He climbed into a small cave that only a child could fit in. Using both his hands and feet, he scrambled away with all his might, and only then did he escape from danger.
Those things wereing. The caverns in the darkness were their killing fields, and both Xia Fan and the pretty girl were going to die today!
Chapter 1620 - 1620 Demonic Demi-dragons
1620 Demonic Demi-dragons
*Rumble*
They did not see Lighte back even after waiting for quite some time. However, the rumbling sound was getting closer and closer.
¡°Light won¡¯t being back. His scent is currently getting further and further from us,¡± Xia Fan looked in the direction where Light had run to and turned back to talk to Nikai. ¡°He¡¯s left through a very narrow cave that we have no way of using.¡±
Nikai was stunned. She refused to believe that the very respectful and introverted boy would actually abandon them.
Though Xia Fan did not explicitly state that, even Nikai could guess that it all must have been a ploy this entire time. A tunnel which only Light could get through, but which neither Xia Fan or Nikai could squeeze into. It was apparent that his departure had been pre-nned!
¡°Why? Why is this happening?¡± Nikai asked.
She was very disappointed, her worldviewpletely copsing. Nikai had sympathized with the plight of the Shimmers greatly, which was why she had done everything she could to take good care of Light. Yet at the end of the day, all she got was betrayal! Nikai had no idea how she could find it in herself to trust another person again.
¡°I don¡¯t know the exact reason either,¡± Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°But right now isn¡¯t the time for us to discuss this. It seems we¡¯ve been surrounded from all sides. There are a lot of foreign smellsing from everywhere. They should being into view in the next three minutes.¡±
Nikai looked around. They had been brought down a forkless path by Light. Now that both the way forward and back had been blocked, the only option left for escape was to carve out a bloody path through whatever obstructed them.
Nikai gathered herself. ¡°What should we do now? Do we attempt to flee?¡±
¡°If Light intended to harm us, they surely have considered that I would use my speed. The most important thing in a battle is to remain calm, and to never act in ordance with the enemy¡¯s assumptions. If it is their desire for us to disengage and speed away, then that is exactly what we won¡¯t do,¡± Xia Fan said.
Nikai felt a trace of security after hearing Xia Fan¡¯s words. It was a good thing he was here. Xia Fan possessed a keen analytical judgment and sense of smell that greatly surpassed what people normally possessed. They enabled him to keep calm in a situation when Nikai was evidently already flustered.
¡°Prepare yourself and get behind me.¡±
Xia Fan had Nikai climb on his back once again, using two strands of rope to secure her. Nikai was already a girl who did not have much resistance to authority, so of course she did as she was instructed, obediently climbing onto Xia Fan¡¯s back and tightly hugging his broad shoulders.
¡°Logically speaking, we ought to retreat the way we came, seeing as that is the path we know. But right now, I¡¯m nning to continue making our way forward; though there¡¯s plenty of movement ahead of us, it seems they are just waiting for us, and I will always act against my enemy¡¯s expectations.¡± Xia Fan said.
¡°Okay, you¡¯re in charge,¡± Nikai nodded as she tightened her grip on Xia Fan¡¯s shoulders even more.
*Whoosh!*
Xia Fan abruptly dashed forward, elerating quickly. At that moment, Xia Fan could hear the rumbling sounds suddenly stop. The enemy must have not expected Xia Fan to continue forging ahead, rather than retreat when in trouble.
At the same time, Xia Fan could hear the sound of earth breaking behind him, most likelying from enemies who had hidden themselves under the cover of darkness. Upon realizing that Xia Fan was not backtracking and had instead opted to charge ahead, they must have leapt out and decided to give chase instead.
He could imagine just how many enemies there were; the moment they surged out from the darkness and started chasing, he could feel the very ground tremble. If Xia Fan had retreated the way he hade, he would surely have been caught in an intense firefight with the majority of the enemy.
Instead, there were fewer enemies on the path ahead. Just their appearance was enough to make Nikai shudder; with ck leathery skin and eyes, a good portion of their bodies dposed and cracked. It was actually a horde of demonized Demi-dragons!
There was a huge difference between dragons and demonized dragons. After demonizing, dragons would no longer live using lifeforce, but rely on a sort of spiritual power. Despite their bodies rotting and crawling with white maggots, they would not feel any pain, as if their bodies were no longer important. Even if their hearts were dug out and buried, the demonized dragons would still be able to unleash their fullbat strength.
They were no different from dragon corpses. They were clearly dead, yet still remained alive!
There was no way to kill an enemy that was already dead, aside from destroying their soul. Even if all that remained was a wing or a w, they would still savagely lunge at their enemies.
¡°Huuu~¡±
Xia Fan let out a long sigh. He did not expect to run into such an enemy. From how they formed up, it appeared the enemy was made up of different groups of Demi-dragons. What had once been Statue Demi-dragons, Sapphire Demi-dragons and Patterned Wyverns, was now just one unified swarm, Demonic Demi-dragons!
¡°Heavens, the demon race¡¯s influence has already reached the buffer zone!¡± Nikai gasped.
Before they were demonic Demi-dragons, they were of course just normal Demi-dragons. me Soul, whom Xia Fan had killed, was once a proud me dragon before he was subjugated by the Demon King Stanley, possessing the arrogance and talent of the dragon race.
But after the demonization process, me Soul became Stanley¡¯s mount. Even his son continued to serve the demon race.
The bodies of demonic dragons no longer glowed with divinity, all that was left being darkness and rot. If Bright Pearl had seen me Soul, she promptly would have wanted to kill him. For a proud dragon to be made a ve to demons, turning into a thing that stank of rot, was an absolute disgrace to the dragon race!
¡°Looks like my previous spection has been proven right. Stanley has been on assignment here. I¡¯m afraid he has already converted a majority of the Demi-dragons in the buffer zone, turning them into ves for the demon race!
¡°But it appears as if he did not aplish his assignment in full, as these Demi-dragons are still trapped in the buffer zone and have yet to make their way to the maind,¡± Xia Fan said.
¡°No matter what, we must not allow these Demonic Demi-dragons ess to the maind. It would be an apocalyptic cmity for Subduing Demon City if that happens!¡± Nikai eximed.
Xia Fan rolled his eyes. Stopping the Demonic Demi-dragons from making it to the maind? That was far too grand a goal, not something he could achieve by himself.
But he could somewhat understand what Nikai was feeling. She was a descendant of a Demon yer n, after all, so she harbored an intense hatred of things that had been demonized. Those ns might even consider the elimination of such existences their life¡¯s mission.
But Xia Fan and the Skywings were just reinforcements that the Demon yer Legion had invited. They did not have any particr deep attachment to the Lower Realm.
¡°To think I would fall into a trap on my first solo operation without Traveling Buddha. Without my important human shield, there¡¯s now a significant decrease to mybat strength,¡± Xia Fan shrugged. ¡°Leave the front to me, and I¡¯ll have to rely on you to cover my back.¡±
How infuriating!
Nikai realized that in Xia Fan¡¯s eyes, she was not as important as that damned chubby friend of his. Nikai was a goddess, someone everyone could only dream about getting close to.
But now, this goddess was obediently heeding Xia Fan¡¯s instructions, hugging his back without anyints, her mesmerizing feminine scent on full disy, yet he was yearning for that fatso? How inhumane was that? The two couldn¡¯t be having an affair, could they?
Xia Fan shot off suddenly. He went sprinting at his top speed, startling Nikai while her mind was elsewhere. Nikai hurriedly squeezed Xia Fan¡¯s back tight, locking her slender thighs around Xia Fan¡¯s waist to prevent herself from falling off, and activated her Divine Wings of Color.
A colorful pair of wings sprouted above Xia Fan¡¯s back, a dazzling array of light that was akin to a huge butterfly, as the pair hurtled toward a mass of Demonic Demi-dragons at insane speed.
*Crunch*
The sound of bones shattering filled the dark cave. Xia Fan suddenly had an idea, and began using Nikai¡¯s wings as weapons!
Wielding the two huge wings, Xia Fan shuffled through a pack of Demonic Demi-dragons, the two wings brusquely bashing into the bodies of the frightening creatures. When matched with Xia Fan¡¯s high speed, an astounding amount of force was applied, so great that the bones of the creatures of darkness shattered the moment they came into contact. ck blood and flesh sprayed upon the walls like sshed ink.
Nikai withstood all this in silence. She was not like Xia Fan, someone who had eaten Grade Nine energy crystals growing. Her Divine Wings of Color sapped a lot of her energy, and she would feel a pain, as if her entire body was being drained, while using them.
Nevertheless, this was quite possibly the most effective application of their high speed assault. Nikai hugged Xia Fan tightly and grit her teeth, forcing herself to endure the experience.
¡°I know it¡¯s taking a lot out of you, but please hold on. These creatures have yet to recover, and we¡¯re about to break out through the passage ahead,¡± Xia Fan told Nikai, his voice low yetposed, as if he was giving Nikai more strength.
Wordlessly, he pressed a transparent Grade Nine energy crystal into Nikai¡¯s hands. Nikai did not care for her image of ady and immediately pressed the crystal to her lips like a ravenous wild dog.
There was no one in this world who could keep up with a speedster¡¯s pace, as their fighting tempo was simply just too fast. Nikai could feel her wings weaken with every passing second as she endured the tens of thousands of impacts happening, each hit reducing her energy bit by bit. If Nikai¡¯s internal energy reserve was like ake, then thiske was currently bursting from its banks, water gushing out wildly.
¡°Hold on just a little more, we¡¯re just about to make it out!¡± Xia Fan cried.
*Zing*
As Xia Fan darted out of the tunnel, their field of vision suddenly expanded. After leaving the narrow tunnels, they were now in a circr vacuum and dome-like space. Countless Demonic Demi-dragons raised their eyes and stared right at the two human intruders with surprise and suspicion in their eyes.
It seemed the end of this tunnel led directly to their of some Demonic Demi-dragons. Their ckened bodies were squirming, giving off the impression that the ce was crawling with maggots.
...
Chapter 1621 - 1621 Calamity of the Collapsing Dome
1621 Cmity of the Copsing Dome
Holy Spring City¡
¡°Say, big oaf. Just lying here in your body is reallyfortable. It feels like I¡¯m floating in the clouds.¡±
¡°When wee heading back, don¡¯t stay out here in the murky darkness anymore, okay? Come with me to the maind. There¡¯s plenty of good food and fun toys to y with. It¡¯ll be a thousand times better than this wretched ce.
¡°When that timees, I¡¯ll bring you to the seaside for a well-deserved vacation. You can lie there on the sandy beach, while me and Xia Fan will lean against you. Everyone could eat and drink our fill, and live out our days in bliss,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
At the moment, he was lying on the big belly of Icy Rain, his eyes closed, almost as if he was about to doze off.
Icy Rain was a fat Water Elemental, his body extremely soft andfortable. It was an indescribable sensation, simr to a huge mass of soft feathers, but also with excellent sticity.
Adding to the fact that Icy Rain was constantly absorbing the Darkness energy from Traveling Buddha¡¯s body, thetter was feeling such coziness that he even began to feel reluctant to be away from the big oaf, and really wanted to bring him along everywhere, bing his living sofa.
¡°Yay! Let¡¯s do that,¡± Icy Rain excitedly agreed. The moment he heard that there was plenty of delicious food he could eat, he really began to get excited.
But it was not long before Icy Rain doltishly scratched his head, ¡°But my big brother isn¡¯t willing to leave this ce, so I don¡¯t think I can tag along with you.¡±
Traveling Buddha was confused, ¡°Why would your elder brother be unwilling to leave this ce? What¡¯s good about this city, anyway? It¡¯s so dark and cold; out there in the maind, there¡¯s an actual sun hanging above in the sky, which all the good tasting food needed for them to grow. All in all, the maind is far better than the buffer zone by a hundredfold, and there are no monsters there, unlike this ce where Demi-dragons lurk in every corner. Those things are an absolute nuisance.¡±
Icy Rain shook his head, ¡°Big brother said that there¡¯s something we need to guard here, so we brothers should remain here, as that is our duty.¡±
¡°Guard? Could there still be treasure?¡±
¡°Big brother says there¡¯s no way for me to exin it, so he did not tell me just what we are guarding.¡±
That was when the ground rocked vigorously. The water in the pool churned all of a sudden, sshing water all over Traveling Buddha¡¯s face.
¡°Dammit. It seems like there¡¯s an earthquake. Please don¡¯t let this be like what happened to the North Sea, causing the entire area to copse. Big Oaf, quick follow me and take a look.¡±
¡ª
Arriving at the city central za, Traveling Buddha saw everyone running out from their homes, looking up at the sky. There were people hugging their heads, screaming in fear, as if there was something frightening over their heads that had caught everyone¡¯s attention.
Traveling Buddha looked up curiously, and what he saw was a crack on the dome above. There was a powerful force repeatedly hammering the dome over the city, almost as if it was intent on smashing the dome to pieces.
The glowing crystal hanging in the dome was beginning to sway and fall off. It was the huge crystals that provided light for the city. It was about the size of a watermelon; falling from a height of several hundred meters like that would surely create a cannonball-like lethality.
The people below scattered as houses began to copse one by one. A single crystalnded on the school, thergest building in the entire Holy Spring City, and a sixth of it instantly copsed. Fortunately because of the bigmotion this episode had caused, the children in the school had all curiously made their way out to the za, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
¡°Dammit, the dome is about to copse!¡± Traveling Buddha shouted. He waved his arms, releasing his golden Light, smashing the falling stone debris into smithereens while coordinating the crowd to escape out of the city.
*Bang*
*Bang*
Columns and fountains of white water suddenly appeared unexpectedly, striking with an uracy that matched Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light beams. Like sniper rifles, they struck out like they were hunting the falling rocks. From time to time the water columns would criss-cross with his golden beams, forming a tightly-knit of firepower.
¡°Big brother!¡± Icy Rain shouted.
Traveling Buddha turned to look and saw Icy Wind. He was stunned, because he did not expect to find Icy Wind to look so skinny and small. The two Water Elementals were twins, yet they lookedpletely different from one another. Icy Wind would be considered scrawny even whenpared to humans, while his younger brother Icy Rain was asrge as an elephant!
In the blink of an eye, Icy Wind arrived at the central za. He leaned back to back with Traveling Buddha and kept up his long range attack. Meanwhile, Icy Rain was panicking, iling his thick arms at the falling rocks. This silly big oaf had a powerful body, but no idea how to use it! The sight left Traveling Buddha bbergasted.
Perhaps it was because his elder brother had taken too good a care of him, but even as the sky was falling, Icy Rain still had his good elder brother helping. All Icy Rain needed to do was spend each day eating, drinking, and ying with the little children of the Shimmer race, and that was enough.
¡°Looks like the dome can¡¯t hold for much longer,¡± Icy Rain did not even have the time to introduce himself as he spoke to Traveling Buddha loudly. ¡°The enemy has finally found the weakness of this city. If they were to attack from around us, I¡¯d be able to use the city moat and protect it. But now, their target is the dome. The moment this dome copses, a great horde will descend upon us from the sky.¡±
¡°Curse it! Speed is not my strong suit. If only Xia Fan was here, then no matter how many rocks fell, that guy would be able to catch them all,¡± Traveling Buddha grumbled.
When Xia Fan encountered trouble, the first thing he thought about was why Traveling Buddha was not by his side. Simrly, Traveling Buddha also subconsciously searched for Xia Fan¡¯s figure, but now that he was not around, he felt momentarily at a loss over what to do.
Perhaps this was the friendship between men, full of loyalty and honesty, and yet it was also inexplicably simple. No matter how much death and fear could be found in a battlefield, the friendship between friends could turn the entire battle into wonderful bonding time for the two.
¡°Mousse! Where¡¯s Mousse?¡±
The principal came crawling out from under the ruins, bleeding profusely from a wound on his forehead. He looked around for the Holy Spring Guardian¡¯s figure everywhere, yet at this crucial moment, Mousse, the strongest warrior among all the Shimmers, was not protecting or consoling his people, and had disappeared without a trace.
¡°Have any of you seen Mousse?¡± the principal shouted as he came hobbling toward Traveling Buddha with a limp.
¡°Say, why are you being more of a hassle than necessary? Quick go find a ce to hide, and call your warriors out as well. This city is full of orphans and widows. Not a single one of them can fight!¡± Traveling Buddha said.
At the end of the day, Holy Spring City was also the Shimmers¡¯ home. Even if they had no way of holding off the enemy, they could at least maintain order. In any case, what they needed now was manpower, and Traveling Buddha was quite angry at not seeing any of the men from the Shimmer race step up during this time of need.
¡°Mousse has led all the warriors away!¡± the principal shrugged, helpless. ¡°He told me he was bringing the warriors to train in the vicinity, and wouldn¡¯t be too far away. Yet I¡¯mpletely unable to get in touch with him right now!¡±
Icy Wind nodded, ¡°I witnessed them leave with my own eyes. Mousse brought the men marching past the moat, heading in that direction. I reckon they could not have gone far, and should be able to return in time.¡±
Traveling Buddha turned toward the direction Icy Wind pointed, and saw it was the deep and dark cavernous area. There was no sign of any one there. All he saw were many panicked citizens, fleeing toward the darkness after getting past the moat.
*Crack*
A loud sound thundered out, yet another strike on the dome above the city. This blow caused a crack that was several thousand meters long to suddenly appear. The sound of shrill cries could be hearding through the crack. It sounded like countless crows had gathered and were crying out eagerly.
Meanwhile, outside the city, those citizens who had just managed to get past the moat were running back the way they came from. Hostile tribal warriors had appeared and had the entire Holy Spring City surrounded. They were killing the old indiscriminately, while abducting the young children under their arms.
All around, and above, the city waspletely surrounded. Countless enemies were closing in, while the citizens wailed. Unable to get to the drawbridge in time, many of them directly jumped into the moat around the city, then swam their way to shore.
Chapter 1622 - 1622 A Goddess’ Kiss
1622 A Goddess¡¯ Kiss
Countless Demonic Demi-dragons had Xia Fan and Nikai surrounded. It turned out that they had gone in a dead end. Whether Xia Fan chose to press forward or retreat, he would find himself surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies. From the very beginning, the person who had nned this conspiracy had no intention of letting Xia Fan leave with his life.
A Demonic Demi-dragon let out a roar and lunged toward Xia Fan and Nikai with its rotting body.
Xia Fan leapt high up in the air with a soaring fist, connecting directly with the head of the iing Demi-dragon. He was someone who had killed the Demonic Dragon me Soul before, so these Demi-dragons that were several grades lower were definitely no match for him.
Still, the difference between individual strength could be made up with numbers. Xia Fan was surrounded all around, above his head, and even beneath his feet. All he saw were ck figures forming a wall that obstructed his path. Even if their bones broke, they would not allow him to escape!
Xia Fan ran in the Skywing n¡¯s signature oblique eleration, an attempt to break through the enemy¡¯s defense line. He then swerved out from the gaps like a crescent moon scimitar.
But it was like the Demi-dragons could predict Xia Fan¡¯s actions in advance; there were countless Demi-dragons no matter which angle he charged toward. They would constantly attack wildly, breathing out devastating dragon¡¯s fire from their mouths. They did not care that they could not make out Xia Fan¡¯s figure and just kept unleashing their dragon¡¯s breath in sweeping motions.
The barrage of dragon¡¯s breath forced Xia Fan back time and time again. He had no choice but to retreat to a rtively safe corner, which happened to have a pack of Demi-dragon there, allowing him to create some space by killing them.
As long as Xia Fan continued to remain in the Demi-dragon¡¯s encirclement, those creatures were not in any rush to attack. It was like they were being secretly controlled by somemander, constantly tightening the enclosing to the point where Xia Fan and Nikai were pushed closer and closer to the walls behind him until there was hardly any gap between.
¡°They can home in on your blood,¡± Xia Fan panted heavily as he spoke to Nikai. ¡°Your arm¡¯s injured, and it¡¯s bleeding. Though they can¡¯t see me as I move, they are able to sense your position and distance through your blood.¡±
Nikai reached a hand to her shoulder. Thick blood was flowing from a cut she had received in battle. She had no idea she was wounded until Xia Fan mentioned it, and only then did she feel its stinging pain.
¡°You¡¯re a member of the Demon yer n, and they have been on the frontline of the battle against the Demons for many years. The smell of their blood could very well be etched into the very genes of demonized creatures. The moment the enemy encounters you, they immediately turn manic. It¡¯s very easy to prove this hypothesis too, all I¡¯ll need is a drop of your blood,¡± Xia Fan said.
He used a short dagger and smeared a bit of her blood on it. He then threw the dagger away with a forceful swing of his arm.
*Chunk*
In the time it takes for a flint to spark, this dagger with Nikai¡¯s blood was sticking into the chest of a Demi-dragon. All the other Demonic Demi-dragons around pounced toward it, attacking theirrade indiscriminately.
They used their sharp fangs to tear at theirrade¡¯s flesh and bones, ignoring the hoarse cries from it as they turned the Demi-dragon stained with Nikai¡¯s blood into just bones.
The Demonic Demi-dragons flicked their tongues, a menacing green glow emitting from their eyes. Just that bit of Demon yer n blood was not enough to satisfy them. Right now all they felt was an even more ravenous hunger for Nikai¡¯s blood.
With that hypothesis confirmed, Nikai paled.
She looked at the slender man who had been carrying her this entire time. He did not say much, but he had never been wrong. When she was trapped in the Demon Pce, Xia Fan helped her escape, every step she had covered correct right down to the centimeter.
It was as if Xia Fan had magical eyes that were always able to discern the truth. Such an ability helped him along the path when fighting against the Demons, allowing him to get further and further along. But right now, Nikai was bing a burden to him, and was dragging him step by step into the darkness.
Suddenly, Nikai hugged Xia Fan tightly from behind, as if he was her first love, both nervous and shy as she hugged her boyfriend tightly. Though she was no way proficient with what to do, Nikai¡¯s body still subconsciously wrapped herself onto Xia Fan like a water snake.
Xia Fan felt his muscles tense up. As a single man, he was not used to such intimacy with the opposite sex, and this was clearly not the time for hugs!
¡°Goddess, you couldn¡¯t possibly be giving me a pathetic little hug because you think that we¡¯re about to die, right?¡± Xia Fan mocked her.
Living on required faith, and Xia Fan was actually really good at motivating others. He had used his own humorous words to soothe the frayed nerves of hisrades. The reason he had not done that before was all because his partner had been Traveling Buddha. Traveling Buddha had not cared about anything all his life, not heeding life or death in the slightest. There was absolutely no need to motivate him at all, since he was someone who would only get more excited the more dangerous things got.
Meanwhile, Nikai was a woman who had no will of her own. At home, she would obey her seniors and elders, and in the Legion, she would listen to her superiors. After falling down to the buffer zone with Xia Fan, she had obeyed everything Xia Fan told her.
This so-called goddess was nothing more than an obedient baby that had never expressed her own opinions. Even if it was her choice of suitors, Nikai would also be walking on eggshells, where it depended whether her family elders would be satisfied with them and not her own desires.
Nikai had been living for others her entire life. Everything she did was out of fear of losing face for her family, so she studied and learned to be conscientious, all so she could live up to her teachers¡¯ intentions.
Every day she would put on fancy clothes and dress herself up like ady. Just getting her hair and make-up done would take over ny minutes, even thinking about it felt like a hassle. Even just a casual stroll down the street meant she needed to sit in front of the dresser and be crowded by a gaggle of servants. She was like a pet doll ying dress-up, dolled up in a manner she had no say over.
If she was given a choice, Nikai wished she could be like any ordinary girl in Subduing Demon City, wearing short shorts that exposed her thighs and a pair of flip-flops to walk down the street to a dirty stall so she could buy ice cream. Later, she could join her female friends andugh happily, discussing the most eligible bachelors in the city without caring about the looks people would throw their way.
Nikai had never been to a bar or a nightclub. She wanted to get in a sexy dress and flirt with men in nightclubs. She wondered what it was like to dance alone in the middle of the dance floor, letting loose while dancing to the rhythm of the music.
Still, that was ultimately just a fantasy of hers. She cared too much about her family and how others saw her. To borrow a term from novels, she was bound by her character design. Although she had a pair of magical wings, they could not give her freedom.
There were another few more oblique movements as Xia Fan desperately tried to carry Nikai out of the Demonic Demi-dragons¡¯ encirclement. But the creatures had already been incited after catching the scent of Nikai¡¯s blood, and in order to gain a taste of said blood, they were unafraid of death, boldly using their bodies to stand in Xia Fan¡¯s way.
Xia Fan tried to use his Beast King Records to control the minds of the Demi-dragons, but it was too bad that they were still Demi-dragons, an existence that was almost on par with dragons. They were highly resistant to his attempt, and since they had already been demonized, the Beast King Records could only induce a temporary mental shock, somethingpletely incapable of turning the tide of the battle.
Nikai was leaning on Xia Fan¡¯s back, distinctly feeling his heart beating faster and faster, his ragged breath bing more burdened. High speeds meant a crazy rate of energy consumption, and Xia Fan kept using his precious Grade Nine energy crystals to replenish his energy, which was on the brink of copse.
He had no qualms. During the prolonged fight, Xia Fan kept chatting with Nikai, cheering her up with his humorous words. He was clearly already working very hard, yet there was still no glimmer of hope of their survival. If she was not there, Xia Fan ought to have been able to carve a path out with his speed already, right?
¡°Don¡¯t say such silly things. In my family, we don¡¯t ever abandon ourrades!¡± After hearing Nikai asking him to leave her behind, Xia Fan immediately shook his head and said decisively, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. A boat would naturally straighten once it reaches the dock; there will surely be a solution eventually.
¡°But at this sort of time, I really do miss that rascal Traveling Buddha. Using him as a human shield, these guys would be no match for me!¡±
The more nonchnt Xia Fan appeared, the more Nikai felt bad deep down. She cherished this time she had spent together with Xia Fan, because it was the happiest period of her life.
Hearing Xia Fan tell her jokes and drinking the tea Traveling Buddha brewed. Whenever the two quarreled, these peculiar men would always leave Nikaiughing out loud.
In front of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, Nikai did not have to care about her image as a refineddy. Neither thought it weird when she appeared in her swimsuit bathing in the pool before, almost as if they felt like that was how life was meant to be lived in their eyes. Surely there was no need to split the pool up between men and women, right?
It would be great if she could remain here in the buffer zone and never return back to Subduing Demon City!
But now, Xia Fan and she were on the verge of death. No matter how hard they tried, there was no way for them to shake off the Demonic Demi-dragons hunting them. Even if Xia Fan would never admit it, Nikai could clearly tell that this was all her fault. The Demon yer blood coursing through her vein was driving these Demonic Demi-dragons insane, and what they wanted was her. Were it not for her, Xia Fan could surely escape from this predicament!
He is so fast and so dashing, with such great acumen and also so humorous¡
¡°Hug me tight¡¡± Nikai suddenly hugged Xia Fan firmly on his back without sparing another thought. She did not say a thing as she reached her head over and parted her pale lips to kiss Xia Fan squarely on his chapped lips.
Nikai was about to die. She had no desire to die without even having her first kiss.
Taking advantage of Xia Fan¡¯s momentary daze, Nikai pushed him away with sudden force and with a small knife, cut the straps on his back and unfurled her mystical wings.
Chapter 1623 - 1623 Stepping on Blood, Barefooted
1623 Stepping on Blood, Barefooted
All of a sudden, Nikai ascended into the air.
Xia Fan had seen plenty of people who possessed the Flight special ability, but never had he seen someone who could fly as gorgeously and elegantly as she did, almost like a beautiful full moon rising in the sky, giving off a soft and mystical glow.
The ugly Demonic Demi-dragons surrounded Nikai, thirsting for her blood. Meanwhile, the beautiful and svelte figure of a woman with skin as pale as a baby¡¯s flew out in an arc, using her little knife to cut her own wrist.
Blood drops slid down her body like silk, every drop mesmerizing.
The Demi-dragons went crazy. They let out their roars in unison, baring their fangs and ws at Nikai, eager to swallow thisdy alive.
¡°What are you doing!?!¡± Xia Fan yelled. Nikai was flying higher and higher, rising past the height which Xia Fan could leap to. She was already surrounded by the creatures, and Xia Fan had no way of saving her.
¡°Thank you for taking care of me all the way,¡± Nikai raised her head, exposing her white, swan-like neck. But her voice was resolute. ¡°Aside from father, there has not been another man who I could trust with suchplete faith. As long as you were by my side, no matter how dangerous it was, I would always feel at ease. That was because I know you¡¯re very smart, and that you¡¯d always find a solution, never abandoning me.
¡°But this time is different. We¡¯re already surrounded and backed into a corner, falling for the enemy¡¯s trap. These Demonic Demi-dragons have an utterck of self-preservation, so we¡¯ll both just end up dying if we carry on like this.
¡°During this period of time, you¡¯ve saved me plenty of times, and as a descendant of the Demon yer n, I refuse to be a burden to you anymore. Quick, run! Flee while I can still draw their attention toward me!¡±
Nikai¡¯s virtuous words were awe-inspiring, sounding like a heroine who was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Unfortunately, Xia Fan did not agree with her.
Xia Fan elerated in an instant, transforming into a beam of light. He stepped onto a rock wall, and went up the near vertical incline like a gecko. When he got near a certain height, strength flowed into his two legs like a pair of powerful engines. Full horsepower!
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan went sailing through the air like a rocket, the sword in his hand a blur as he rained a series of cuts through the pack of Demi-dragons, carving out a bloody path. He made his way to Nikai¡¯s side after a moment, grabbing her with his right hand as he wedged her under his arm.
Not good. Before Nikai could even get far, she ended up being caught by Xia Fan again. She was like Sun Wukong, forever unable to escape the palm of Buddha!
¡°Trying to bully me just because I can¡¯t fly?¡± Xia Fan smirked. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m much faster than you. It¡¯s not gonna be that easy running away from me.¡±
How depressing¡
Nikai realized that not only did she fail to get away, she had no idea when Xia Fan had managed to bandage her wrist with a thickyer of gauze to stem the bleeding.
But she felt a warmth while being held under Xia Fan¡¯s armpit, protected. His gaze very clearly said, ¡®Do you think you can run? It¡¯s not your turn to be the hero as long as I¡¯m still standing.¡¯
*thud*
Xia Fan elerated once more the moment hended back on the ground with Nikai. Cutting an oblique path, they ran far away from the frenzied Demi-dragons.
Yggdragon blood was injected into his body, and the energy levels in his body surged, turning Xia Fan¡¯s pupils blood red.
*Crunch*
Xia Fan crushed a Grade Nine Energy Crystal and absorbed it. He did not devour it, but rather used a more brutal method of turning the solid into molecules so that it could be melted into his bloodstream directly, spreading to every pore of his body.
¡°My n was never in the habit of abandoning ourrade-in-arms,¡± Xia Fan said. ¡°And you¡¯re making things difficult for me. When ites to being partners, the most important aspect is the desire to work together. You are not like Traveling Buddha in this detail. While Traveling Buddha has a strange personality, I¡¯ve always allowed him to do whatever he wanted ever since we started being partners.
¡°But you enjoy being the heroine for no reason. While it is admirable, I still feel that we ought to work together. Follow me and listen to mymands, and don¡¯t just spread your wings and fly however you want. It¡¯s really hard on me to chase after you like this.¡±
¡°You¡¯re injured!¡±
Nikai grabbed Xia Fan¡¯s right arm. A Demi-dragon had managed to scratch Xia Fan¡¯s arm during his reckless gambit to snatch Nikai out from mid-air. Although he had sprayed some clotting agent on it, it still looked rather gruesome since the wound was deep enough to show bone.
¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Xia Fan merely nced at his injury. ¡°It¡¯s a battle, how could I be unscathed?
¡°Do you remember what I just told you? Since we¡¯re partners, we have to cooperate to the best of our abilities, both you and me. Don¡¯t be a hero today. We want to survive, so we can watch a movie, drink beer, and enjoy fried chicken together in the future.¡±
Future¡
Nikai nodded firmly, ¡°I understand now. I¡¯ll heed your words. We¡¯ll survive and eat fried chicken together. You can drink the beer, and I¡¯ll just pour you a ss.
This sounded like it was a promise, but Xia Fan did not register her words. He merely shrugged, ¡°Okay, then that¡¯s decided. Right now, unfurl your wings so we can charge out from this ursed ce.¡±
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan charged out at full speed, dashing left and right in the devil¡¯s nest.
He suddenly appeared on the left side, then miraculously leaped to the right in the blink of an eye. He was able to demonstrate this mild misdirection strategy to its fullest thanks to his superior speed.
Nikai was holding onto Xia Fan tightly, hugging his firm back with her wings unfurled, protecting Xia Fan¡¯s back and side nks.
Nikai shut her eyes, almost as if she had epted fate. Knowing that she had no way of escaping the clutches of this man, all she could do was obediently follow him and listen to his orders. In the future when Xia Fan wished to drink some beer, she would be responsible for pouring it!
Countless ck Demi-dragons and their many sharp talons and fangs came wing for them, formingyers afteryers of walls that obstructed their way out.
There was a limit to any power, and while Xia Fan could kill thousands with his speed alone, he was currently surrounded by over a million Demi-dragons. It was like dropping someone right in the middle of an ocean, such that endless seawater stretched out in every direction no matter where they looked.
¡ª
An hour passed. Xia Fan was now covered in his own blood, which oozed out from fresh wounds. Nikai¡¯s wings were no longer as radiant and spectacr as before, dimming to the point they were but a shadow of their glorious selves. Though there were plenty of Demi-dragon corpses littering the ground, it was still not enough.
¡°I¡¯m already at my limit,¡± Xia Fan could not help but admit. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m still unable to get you out of here, so I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll be dying soon. Guess there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be sharing some fried chicken and beer after all.¡±
In his final moment, Xia Fan was actually able to calmly express words about their impending demise. Meanwhile, Nikai did not feel any fear, and simply hugged him even more tightly.
¡°I know. I don¡¯t me you. Being able to die in battle with you is good,¡± Nikai replied feebly.
It was a touching scene, but all of a sudden, just as the two were at the end of their ropes, they saw the long-awaited light at the end of the tunnel.
The light appeared from afar, and instantly washed the dark cavern with light.
The Demi-dragons let out cries of anguish as they quickly retreated to the darkness. It was almost as if they were afraid of this light, a ring disy that would further rot their decaying bodies, destroying them upon exposure.
But this light was not harmful to either Xia Fan or Nikai. In fact, the two even felt that this light was filled with warmth and hope.
A skinny little girl came strolling over, barefoot. Her feet stepped on the sharp rocks, over the fresh blood that came from the dead Demi-dragons, as she slowly closed in on Nikai and Xia Fan with every step. Nearby, the Demi-dragons were howling, fleeing in every direction. It was almost as if this light contained some sort of divinity.
Arriving by Xia Fan¡¯s side, a barefooted young woman dressed in her pajamas took Xia Fan¡¯s hand and led him toward the exit.
The Demi-dragons gathered at a distance, letting out a series of roars, yet none dared toe near the young woman. They could only watch, drooling, as their prey got further and further away from them.
¡°Le Jiajia? How are you here?¡± Xia Fan eximed the moment he saw her face.
...
Chapter 1624 - 1624 A Player Behind the Scenes
1624 A yer Behind the Scenes
A cloth was draped over the cave entrance. Nikai acted like a kindly elder sister, tenderly lifting up Le Jiajia¡¯s legs, currently ridden with cuts from walking all over sharp rocks, to help her spray clotting medicine over it.
The cold medication made Le Jiajia feel as if she had submerged her calves into a bucket of ice water, but a refreshing sensation soon washed over her.
As her wounds rapidly healed, it was a pity that light scars remained behind, contrasting against her baster white skin.
¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problems now.¡± Nikai took out a change of clothes from her spatial ring andpared the sparebat suit against Le Jiajia¡¯s frame.
¡°Huh, we share a simr build. Aside from you being a bit shorter than me, and with a more curvy figure. I¡¯m so jealous. You developed well, I¡¯m sure you are very popr with many boys,¡± Nikaimented off-handedly.
Popr with many boys?
Le Jiajia did not dare say a word. She was a descendant of a Demon King, an ominous figure in Subduing Demon City. Ever since she was a child, all she had received was the scorn of others!
¡°Quick change your clothes. I¡¯ll help look out for you, just in case Xia Fan suddenly gets some ideas and wants to take a peek,¡± Nikai said. That was the reason why she had draped the cloth over the cave entrance.
¡°You¡ Why are you being so nice to me?¡± Le Jiajia looked up and looked into Nikai¡¯s eyes. ¡°After all, you¡¯re a descendent of the Demon yer n, while I¡¯m¡¡±
Nikai was startled, as she softly ced a hand on Le Jiajia¡¯s pretty cheek.
¡°Don¡¯t talk such nonsense, sister. So what if I¡¯m a descendant of the Demon yer n? I don¡¯t understand the big stuff, but what I do know is that both Xia Fan and I would have died in that terrifying Demi-dragonir were it not for you today.
¡°You were like an angel descending from the heavens, radiating a magical light that saved me and Xia Fan.
¡°From this day onwards, we shall be sworn sisters. If anyone dares bully you, Xia Fan and I will be the first to stand up for you!¡± Nikai tossed her hip bossily, as if she had made the decision on Le Jiajia¡¯s behalf.
Le Jiajia found what she said somewhat peculiar. ¡®Xia Fan and I¡¯? Nikai seemed to think that she already had some sort of connection with Xia Fan.
Le Jiajia changed into her new attire, a rather expensive newbat suit that even Nikai was reluctant to wear. It was as thin as a cicada¡¯s wings, yet it possessed great sticity and defense. It was quite valuable.
¡°Little sister, give me a twirl,¡± Nikai asked with a twinkle in her eye.
Le Jiajia did as she was asked, doing a spin where she stood. With her charming figure and pretty features, she was definitely a true beauty.
Nikai took down the cloth, poked her head out of the cave and called out, ¡°Xia Fan,e look. Le Jiajia looks as pretty as a fairy!¡±
But it was just darkness outside. No one answered back. Neither of them had any idea where Xia Fan had run off to, and the two could not help but hold hands and feel slightly afraid.
¡°How strange. We¡¯re all warriors, but why is it that when Xia Fan isn¡¯t around, we would react like that,¡± Nikai muttered in annoyance.
¡°Perhaps it is because big brother Xia Fan has a unique aura about him. Even despite how bad the situation the two of you were in just now, he did not even leave you behind and run off on his own,¡± Le Jiajia said.
When she entered their, Le Jiajia could clearly see Xia Fan was protecting Nikai with his life, having her strapped to his back.
Nikai smiled, a lingering sweetness in her gaze, ¡°True. How could I not have seen just how great a man Xia Fan was. We¡¯re both women, so if we were to ever have tomit ourselves to someone, it would be great if it was to someone who would protect us no matter the cost, like Xia Fan.¡±
Nikai¡¯s eyes slightly zed over as she said this. As the inheritor of a Demon yer n, it was too bad that she had no control over her marriage.
¡°¡®Commit ourselves¡¯ to who?¡± Xia Fan¡¯s voice came from the darkness.
¡°Nothing. Commit to no one,¡± Nikai hastily changed the subject. ¡°Where did you run off to, Xia Fan?¡±
A figure blurred, and Xia Fan appeared beside the two women like a ghost. He was not alone, but had brought along a scrawny and short youngster as well.
Nikai locked her eyes onto this neer. It was actually Light!
She could barely control the rage she felt in her heart, wrestling with the very real desire to kill this child who had tried to get Xia Fan and her killed.
Xia Fan could tell Nikai was infuriated, so he quickly pulled Light to his side and waved his hand dismissively, ¡°Forget about it. He was forced.¡±
¡°Forced?¡± Nikai was suspicious.
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right. I had caught Light¡¯s scent, which was how I followed it and located him. He was hugging his legs and crying in the darkness, and he was even muttering your name under his breath.¡±
¡°My name?¡± Nikai was stunned.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°I reckon he must have felt that you were very nice to him, and he was feeling very guilty for having tricked you. In any case, he was forced to do what he did, otherwise he would not dare be so bold.¡±
He turned his gaze toward Le Jiajia and gasped, ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve be really pretty, Jiajia.¡±
Le Jiajia was silent, but she was feeling very happy inside after hearing his praise.
¡°Everyone, have a seat,¡± Xia Fan said.
He tossed a pack of biscuits and a bottle of energy drink to Light, who caught them, and like a ravenous beast, tore open the packaging and swallowed big bites of the food and drink.
For some unknown reason, Nikai felt Light was very pitiful when she saw this scene. The hatred in her heart disappeared quietly, since Light was ultimately still just a child.
¡°Jiajia, the more I think about it, the more troubled I am,¡± Xia Fan began. ¡°You¡¯re saying that you crossed into the buffer zone while sleepwalking, and arrived here from Subduing Demon City. Such a long distance, and you arrived even before the rescue army could rush over. Something¡¯s off here¡ Are there still some things you¡¯re not telling me?¡±
Le Jiajia really wanted to lie, but she found herself incapable of doing so while staring straight into Xia Fan¡¯s eyes. It was like he could see through everything, and if she attempted to do so, that would just make him hate her even more, right?
¡°Yes, there are some things I¡¯ve kept from you,¡± Le Jiajia confessed in a soft voice. ¡°This isn¡¯t my first time sleepwalking. I¡¯d often leave the dormitories and end up in random ces in the city. I¡¯d realize how far I¡¯d walked only after waking up.
¡°But this time, never would I have imagined I would end up in the buffer zone. By the time I opened my eyes, I just so happened to see you and Nikai attempting to escape from the Demi-dragon¡¯s encirclement.¡±
Xia Fan nodded slightly, expectantly waiting for Le Jiajia to continue.
¡°On top of that, from what I can recall, the reason why I managed to locate you two is because I took a very specific path that seems to originate from Subduing Demon City. It was like a seemingly endless slide, where I found myself sliding down into darkness upon entering, for a very, very long time. I¡¯m afraid it might have gone on for as long as a full day and night.¡±
With that said, Le Jiajia no longer added anything else, while Xia Fan¡¯s mind raced.
¡®Old Demonic Dragon, are you the one behind getting Le Jiajia toe save me?¡¯
Xia Fan tried to question that old dragon he had a mental connection with, but got no response.
Xia Fan thought to himself, ¡®That old demonic dragon broke contact again. Thest time this happened, it was because the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley was near. It seems that old dragon is mortal enemies with the Demon Kings. The moment one appears, that old dragon will hide himself away.
¡®This means Stanley must be nearby now!¡¯
¡°Xia Fan, quick spill the beans,¡± Nikai asked, anxious.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°We seem to be in a maze.¡±
¡°A maze?¡± Le Jiajia and Nikai gasped in unison.
¡°Yes. Subduing Demon City has a passageway that leads directly to the buffer zone, and the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley also came to the buffer zone on a secret mission. This is far too suspicious. Given my experience as an investigator with the Special Bureau, I¡¯m afraid there must be some mysterious force working behind the scenes, pulling the strings,¡± Xia Fan stated.
...
¡°What¡¯s a Special Bureau? Or Investigator?¡± Nikai asked, confused. She did not understand Xia Fan¡¯s past, much less the job Xia Fan had in Ashen Moon.
*Cough*
Xia Fan knew he had spoken too much, so he coughed, ¡°It¡¯s a type of training. That¡¯s not what¡¯s important. The crux of the matter is that I think there are twopletely different sets of powers vying in the dark.¡±
¡°One has led us to the Demi-dragonir, intent on getting us killed. The other has manipted Le Jiajia toe save us.
¡°This is like a game of chess between experts, and we have be pawns in their game.¡±
Nikai was stunned, while Le Jiajia found it hard to believe what she was hearing, ¡°I was manipted by someone to save you and Nikai?¡±
Xia Fan nodded, ¡°Everything has a cause and effect, and your arrival is just too much of a coincidence. To appear right at the moment when we were just about to fall? I¡¯m not someone who believes in coincidences too much.
¡°Meanwhile, it is just as you had said. Your sleepwalking in the past has always been confined to Subduing Demon City, but this time you¡¯ve ended up so far away, even going down some secret slide that no one knew about. If there¡¯s nothing to this, then that would be a serious problem.¡±
¡°So you mean to say that the mysterious force that manipted Le Jiajia is our¡¡± Nikai¡¯s voice trailed off.
Xia Fan confirmed in a low voice, ¡°That¡¯s right. No matter who this person was, he should be our friend, an enemy of the Thirteen Demon Kings. It is just that for some specific reason, it¡¯s not convenient for him to reveal his true identity.¡±
...
Chapter 1625 - 1625 Distress and Vengeance
1625 Distress and Vengeance
Finally, Xia Fan turned his gaze toward Light. The scrawny youngster was startled, but soon dropped his head low, not daring to look Nikai and Xia Fan in the eyes.
¡°Who was it that told you to lure us to that Demi-dragonir?¡±
Xia Fan¡¯s voice was not loud, but it exerted immense pressure on Light. He was experiencing a serious mental struggle before he ultimately answered dejectedly, ¡°It was Mousse.¡±
Mousse?!
Xia Fan and Nikai were stunned. Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected that Mousse would be the one who wanted them dead!
Mousse was the guardian of the Shimmers, and the most powerful and influential individual in the entire race, aside from the Principal!
¡°Did he tell you why you were doing this?¡± Xia Fan continued to ask.
Light nodded, ¡°Mousse said that the Shimmer¡¯s kindness had been taken advantage of, and that the Demon yer Legion never intended toe and save us, all the while we are bitterly waiting in the darkness, risking our very lives to scout for them.¡±
¡°Mousse said that he has already found a reliable coborator that would bring us away from the darkness, to where we will see real light, but this coborator of his requested two things.¡±
Xia Fan furrowed his brow, ¡°Was one of it the lives of me and Nikai?¡±
¡°Yes.¡±
¡°Then what¡¯s the other?¡±
¡°Our god. He wants to capture our god.¡±
Xia Fan was speechless. The foolish smile of Icy Rain appeared in his mind. He was a very kind and innocent Elemental!
Xia Fan chuckled bitterly, ¡°So that is why we had no idea why the majority of warriors from so many of the tribes we scouted were missing¡ They must have gone toy siege to Holy Spring City, right?¡±
Light suddenly lifted his head with a serious look on his face, ¡°I really have no idea where the tribal warriors have gone. Could they really have gone to besiege our city? Many people will be killed at that rate, and they promised that we would be brought away from this ce, not get killed.¡±
¡°You¡ You fool!¡± Nikai was livid. As ady, she was not used to cursing others. It took her a very long time before she coulde up with a term to mock someone.
¡°You¡¯re too naive. The entire Shimmer race is too naive! To think Mousse would be so brainless, to randomly trust a promise made with someone, believing they would keep their word,¡± Nikai bemoaned the idiocy of the decision.
Xia Fan sighed, ¡°It isn¡¯t just any random person. If I¡¯m not mistaken, Stanley is this coborator they are talking about. Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley!
¡°After the Demon Pce copsed, Stanley did not return to the second level, but came to the buffer zone via a secret passageway. Furthermore, he started conspiring to capture the Water Elementals.
¡°I¡¯ve not seen Icy Wind, but we are well acquainted with Icy Rain, and he is definitely not your usual Water Elemental.
¡°Icy Rain is a mutant Water Elemental, an amazing evolved lifeform. His size, and his energy reserves, if detonated, could very well cause the entire buffer zone to copse. That is why Icy Rain is of terrifying strategic significance to the Thirteen Demon Kings!
¡°Furthermore, Icy Rain is a simple soul, and could very easily be manipted. If such a powerful Water Elemental were to fall into the hands of the Demons, the consequences would simply be unimaginable!¡±
Turning to Le Jiajia, Xia Fan said, ¡°Perhaps that is the reason why Lejiajia was controlled to make her way to the buffer zone. The mysterious individual going up against the Thirteen Demon Kings discovered that we had no means of stopping the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley with just our strength alone, which was why they sent us reinforcements!¡±
Nikai was silent. There was no proof needed to see just how powerful Icy Rain was. He was a mystical sapient lifeform, and it was fortunate that he had low intellect and was not aggressive, otherwise there might not be anyone in this world that could stop the rise of that mutant Water Elemental.
After all, even the most basic Water Elemental was at the standard of a human peak level war god. No one had any clue what rank Icy Rain was at. Perhaps he could have even surpassed the limits of known ranks!
Xia Fan got up, stretching his arms and legs.
*Smack*
Unexpectedly, Xia Fan abruptly pped Light hard, applying so much force that his right cheek swelled and saw stars, leaving him in aplete daze. He looked at Xia Fan, confused.
Nikai and Lejiajia were at a loss over what to do. Neither understood why Xia Fan would just suddenlysh out like he did; both of them had thought Xia Fan was someone kind and cheery, thinking that Xia Fan had already forgiven the poor young boy, but what was with this situation now?
Could Xia Fan be ruthless enough to still want Light dead?
Xia Fan smiled, then pointed at himself, ¡°My n¡¯s conviction is to always repay enmity with a vengeance. Whoever dares take a stab at us would be met with the total eradication of their n!
¡°I am not killing you today, but I¡¯m not about to let you think you can get away with no consequences after doing a bad thing. This p is the price you paid for tricking me.
¡°From today onward, remember this well: there¡¯s a price to everything!¡±
Light was initially shocked, but soon, tears rolled down the corners of his eyes. It might have been the most important lesson he had been given in his life.
Nikai and Lejiajia¡¯s eyes lit up as the image of Xia Fan appeared even taller in their hearts.
What a statement! This was a man who was truly far too special, willing to retaliate and kill decisively, yet he was also capable of demonstrating such warmth toward others.
¡°Let¡¯s get going. Mousse has already betrayed everyone: Holy Spring City, Icy Rain, Traveling Buddha, and the rest of the Shimmers. They must be in grave danger now,¡± Xia Fan said.
Holding Light in hand while carrying the two beauties Lejiajia and Nikai on his back, Xia Fan elerated into a beam of light and disappeared into the darkness.
¡
Battle Buddha descended as golden light danced in a furious fury!
Like a god of death, Traveling Buddha stationed himself steadfastly in the center of the city, engaging in a bloody brawl with enemies that came swarming from all sides while he directed the crowd to flee underground.
The Holy Spring was under the city, arge and sturdy space that could act like aplex maze, or a shelter able to contain all the citizens of the city.
Right now, the gates that lead to the Holy Spring were open, and people were quickly passing through.
The situation was dire, yet the Shimmers were not panicking.
Heeding themands from the Principal, the children helped the old, while women carried the young, heading underground in an orderly fashion. It showed that this sapient race was far more civilized than humans!
¡°Where¡¯s my younger brother?¡± Icy Wind came rushing over to ask Traveling Buddha.
¡°Ah, your younger brother is too much of a coward, so I sent him underground or he would end up using his body to protect the citizens of the city,¡± Traveling Buddha said. ¡°His personality makes him unsuited forbat. The only thing he was able to do was to act as a protector.¡±
Icy Wind nodded. Hearing that his younger brother was fine and had already gone into hiding underground made him feel far more at ease.
With a whoosh, eight shadowy figures suddenly came charging over. Traveling Buddha¡¯s golden light swelled, even as Icy Wind solidified the water molecules to form a sword, instantly shing at the interlopers.
Traveling Buddha stomped on the heads of their corpses and knitted his brow. ¡°These are White Bone Regiment warriors. Though theirbat strength isn¡¯t worth mentioning, their numbers are plentiful.
¡°Look at that white bone sword on their backs. It¡¯s said that they are made out of the spines of their fathers or brothers, containing the power of hatred and malice.
¡°The White Bone Regiment is the exclusive forbidden army of the Thirteen Demon Kings. If they are here, then that means a Demon King is not far away.
¡°Why is Xia Fan still not back yet¡ If he¡¯s not around, yours truly can¡¯t demonstrate the full potential of my strength. I¡¯m too used to partnering with that man!¡±
...
There was a crunch as another hundred of the figures made it past the city moats, all of them charging straight for Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind. The two repeated what they had before, and with the assistance of the Shimmer warriors, they were ultimately able to fend off the enemy¡¯s assault.
¡°It is very likely that the people that were living in the tribes of the buffer zone have already sided with the demons, which was why they are now working together with the White Bone Regiment and attacking the city,¡± Icy Wind deduced.
Traveling Buddha scratched his head vigorously, ¡°It¡¯s too bad there¡¯s nothing we can do right now, aside from holding our ground.
¡°Look over there, in the darkness beyond the moat. All those green eyes gleaming in the dark. I¡¯m afraid there are several million enemies just waiting for us to enter their encirclement.¡±
Icy Wind raised his head and looked up.
¡°Above us is the White Bone Regiment, and around us are the warriors of the tribes. Looks like the enemy is nning to trap us to our deaths here. None of them appear to be in a rush to attack. That is either because they know we have nowhere else to go, or they are currently waiting for even more powerful reinforcements to arrive.¡±
Just as Icy Wind finished speaking, part of the dome above copsed with a rumble, several hundred more undead warriors from the White Bone Regiment falling from above.
The duo was helpless. All Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind could do was lead the very low-ranked Shimmer warriors to dive into battle once more, destroying their enemies after great effort.
Looking around themselves, they saw the city was in ruins. Broken buildings and wall remnants were everywhere, while blood flowed like rivers on the streets. The corpses were piling up into little hills, making for a gruesome sight.
Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind could still barely hold on given their current circumstances.
Icy Wind was a Water Elemental, and he had the amazing ability of creating replicates himself.
...
Those replicates were fighting hard at the city moat, stopping a good majority of the tribal army from reaching the city.
Only a small portion could slip past and threaten the city guards while Icy Wind struggled to keep them all at bay.
¡°Say, as a Water Elemental, aren¡¯t you a bit too foolish? It would be great if your younger brother could join in on the battle, lending us a powerful hand, but right now, we¡¯re having a very hard time fighting,¡± Traveling Buddhained.
Upon mention of his younger brother, Icy Wind immediately revealedpassion in his eyes as he shook his head. ¡°No, Icy Rain is too weak. Though he¡¯s physically strong, his mind is that of a three-year-old child, someone who would faint immediately at the sight of blood. He has not been able to bring himself to crush even an insect since he was a babe.¡±
Traveling Buddha pouted, ¡°Of course Icy Rain doesn¡¯t have to do anything, since he has an elder brother like you doting on him. If you ask me, what hecks is training.¡±
¡°When my parents died, I promised both of them I would take care of Icy Rain.¡±
¡°In order to protect your brother, you ended up throwing yourself at every sign of danger?¡± Traveling Buddha frowned. ¡°Why are you just like the Skywings, willing to die just to protect your family? But it¡¯s too bad that you are not as strong as him in terms ofbat strength.¡±
Icy Wind did not speak again. He had a very reticent personality, and he would aplish something no matter what once he set his mind to it.
¡ª
The situation was turning from bad to worse. The coalition force of both the White Bone Regiment and the tribal army were not the main forces attacking this time around. They appear to be waiting for something.
If Traveling Buddha could get in contact with Xia Fan, he would immediately know the answer to that question.
There was still a terrifying swarm of Demi-dragons hiding in the darkness, and they numbered in the millions, with a wide range of species.
The n to kill Xia Fan and Nikai might have failed, but that Demi-dragon army was now hurrying over.
The moment they joined the fight, given the strength of both Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind, there was no way the two would stand a chance to emerge victorious.
The Holy Spring City that was founded in darkness was in grave danger!
Chapter 1626 - 1626 Demon Slayer Legion, Charge!
1626 Demon yer Legion, Charge!
Tired, exhausted, aggrieved, and dragging his wounded body, Dongfang He led all his survivingrades and made their way out of the darkness.
They had carried survival handbooks as well, so their destination was the same as Xia Fan¡¯s; to head to Holy Spring City in search of this rumored ally.
¡°ording to this simple map, we shouldn¡¯t be too far from the Holy Spring City, right?¡±
¡°It¡¯s all thanks to big brother Dongfang. Without him, there would have been no way any of us could have made it out of this darkness.¡±
¡°The breadth of a man is made known in critical moments. Did any of you notice that even Jia Yuntian is also listening to big brother Dongfang now?¡±
This was the chatter between theirrades, and Dongfang He could not help but bemoan his fate deep down when he heard those words.
Ever since he was a child, Dongfang He had looked forward to bing a real leader, just like all the heroes recorded in history books, leading armies and hisrades to make a name for themselves.
But now that Dongfang He had begun to lead everyone, it was only then that he realized just how difficult it was to be a leader.
In Demon Subduing City, Dongfang He always had a retinue with him whenever he headed out. The vassal warriors in his n would help him take care of everything, but out here in the buffer zone, he could only depend on himself!
How the soldiers would be allocated, who would be on duty and who would get to rest, how to treat the wounded, which path to take in order to avoid encountering enemies as much as possible, and deciding whether to fight or flee when they inevitably run into enemies!
Every order would affect the lives and fate of hisrades. This was simply far too heavy a responsibility, and a young man like Dongfang He raked his brains countless times over these decisions, really wishing he could just break down and cry.
But he could not do so. He was the leader of these people now. Any other member couldin, but Dongfang He could not. They could bemoan their fate, but Dongfang He was the only one who could not. Even if the pain and anguish tormented him to the point of insanity, he still had to stand tall and motivate everyone, to act like he had everything under control in front of the others.
In the distance, Jia Yuntian hadpleted his task scouting ahead and finally returned with a whoosh of motion.
In just a few days¡¯ time, the originally skinny man had lost yet anotheryer of skin. Among the men, no one had a tougher time than Dongfang He and him.
After all, real scouts could not afford to be heavily injured, and a leading warrior like Jia Yuntian had been forced to bear the important responsibility of a scout.
While most of the men rested, Jia Yuntian was out scouting.
While the majority of the team forged ahead, Jia Yuntian was still scouting.
Whenever they encountered enemies and needed to immediately locate an exit, they still needed to depend on the skinny man.
Fortunately, Jia Yuntian had a sturdy skeleton. Dongfang He and him were the two critical pirs of this team, had survived up until now, and they were also the reason the team had survived until now.
¡°Brother Yuntian!¡±
¡°You must be exhausted! Quick, have a drink of water.¡±
Jia Yuntian returned from his scouting, and everyone quickly surrounded him, handing him nkets and water canteens. There was even someone who helped massage his sore muscles.
This sort of respect was something Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian had received in exchange for their lives.
Though everyone present were friends that had yed together since young, it was only now that they dared call themselves friends beyond death; this had been an arduous journey for all of them, and everyone had staked their lives on and supported each other to get to this point.
¡°Brother Yuntian, how¡¯s the situation up ahead?¡±
Only after Jia Yuntian caught his breath did Dongfang He ask him about what he had seen. Though they were rivals in love, they were currently in the middle of a battlefield, and only had mutual sympathy for one another.
Jia Yuntian grimaced, ¡°I located Holy Spring City, but¡¡±
¡°But what?¡±
¡°Holy Spring City is currently being besieged by a huge army, a mix of tribes found in the buffer zone, as well as the White Bone Regiment under themand of a Demon King. The situation looks to be going from bad to worse. They probably can¡¯t hold out for much longer.
¡°For some reason, Travelling Buddha is there, but I couldn¡¯t find Xia Fan and Nikai anywhere. The main people defending the city right now are Travelling Buddha and a Water Elemental. As for the warriors of the Shimmer race, there¡¯s a limit to the impact they are making!¡± Jia Yuntian summarizes what he had seen.
¡°A Water Elemental? An Elemental sapient lifeform only heard of in rumors?¡± Dongfang He was stunned.
¡°That¡¯s right. His entire body is made up of water, but it is alive. I was watching from afar and it was amazing. He¡¯s able to control all the water, but the level of maniption he demonstrated is far more formidable than someone with the Water special ability. It must be an innate talent that Elementals possess,¡± Jia Yuntian confirmed.
¡°Xia Fan and Nikai aren¡¯t around? Did they leave the city, or perhaps¡¡± Dongfang He¡¯s voice trailed off, as sadness filled his heart.
Jia Yuntian took his head, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. All of us are well aware that Xia Fan and Travelling Buddha are inseparable partners, but I didn¡¯t see Xia Fan anywhere around Travelling Buddha.¡±
Everyone was silent, wondering if tragedy had struck Nikai and Xia Fan.
Dong Fang He gritted his teeth, ¡°Brother Yuntian, do you wish to rest for a bit?¡±
¡°No need,¡± Jia Yuntian shook his head. ¡°I can still hold it together.¡±
¡°Good. Then let us make our way to Holy Spring City immediately!¡±
¡.
From a high vantage point, when everyone saw Holy Spring City¡¯s battle situation, everyone could not help but suck in a breath of cold air.
It was too tragic.
Utterly tragic!
The only city in the buffer zone where the kind citizens resided was in ruins. Smog filled the air everywhere as corpses floated in the moat. Layer afteryer of blood stained the city streets red.
Beyond the moat, the tribal warriors hadunched a powerful assault. They jumped into the moat, biting down with their swords in their mouth and began swimming. They were quickly closing in on the city, even as they let out a guttural battlecry from their throats.
These tribal warriors were like savages living in the forests, wearing animal skins and even smearing their faces with blood from both their fellows and animals. Some even wore huge earrings and nose rings that made them look more ferocious.
The city¡¯s protective dome had copsed, andrge chunks of rock were falling down, creating huge craters upon impact. A constant stream of the undead warriors of the White Bone Regiment were dropping down from above as well.
Those were creatures that knew nothing about pain and death. As they dropped into the city in this fashion, the impact of thending shattered their legs, but they would just grab their White Bone Swords and crawl ahead.
Then there were some unlucky warriors whonded on the roof of buildings, the sharp protrusions stabbing through their bodies. Because they could not die, all they could do was wail while stuck on top of the buildings.
¡
The Shimmers guarding the city, Travelling Buddha, and Icy Rain, were already at the point of exhaustion.
The area they could defend shrank over time, and they had already been reduced to the vicinity of the central za by their enemies.
Further back was the entrance of the Holy Spring, where all the elderly and young of the Shimmers were hiding.
Even the young able-bodied women had joined in the battle, carrying weapons in their hands, forming groups in tens, fighting hard but clumsily against their enemies.
All of a sudden, a cry filled the air. The first Demonic Quasi-dragon had appeared on the battlefield. It was the signal for an all-out assault. The frightening creatures that had nearly caused Nikai and Xia Fan to die had already arrived on the battlefield.
...
Their numbers climbed. The ck demonic Quasi-dragons pped their wings and bared their fangs and ws menacingly. Their eyes were glowing a bloody red in the darkness.
This was the final moment. The city was on the verge ofplete destruction. Even if Travelling Buddha and Icy Rain were to join hands, there was no way for them to continue protecting the poor Shimmers!
¡ª
Dongfang He got up and unsheathed a coldly gleaming ymore. He was covered in scars, hisbat suitpletely drenched in blood. He looked like someone who had just climbed out from a deathpit.
¡°Brother Dongfang, are we going to join the battle?¡± someone eximed.
Even a fool could tell that the handful of warriors on their side was not about to turn the tide against such a powerful army. Even if they were to join the fight, they would just end up dying together with the city.
Dongfang He chuckled mirthlessly. ¡°Is that even a damned question?!
¡°When has the Demon yer Legion ever had to consider if they would join a fight when they encounter demons?¡±
A second and third person stood up, drawing their weapons as well. They were all as exhausted as Dongfang He, and they were all enduring the many wounds they had received.
Dongfang He raised his bloody sword up in the air like a real general, and then gave themand tounch an all-out assault.
¡°I know everyone¡¯s very tired and injured. I know our injuries hurt a great deal!
...
¡°But please do not forget that we are the Demon yer Legion, the descendants of Demon yers!
¡°As long as we still breathe, then we shall never share the same sky as those b*st*rds!¡±
Even more people rose, and soon, everyone was on their feet!
A small team made up of just over a dozen young warriors would hardly be significant in a battlefield of such a grand scale.
¡°Demon yer Legion, charge!
¡°Demon yer Legion, charge!
¡°Demon yer Legion, CHARGE!¡±
Dongfang He yelled out loudly thrice, and hisrades responded to his call each time.
The small team charged down from their vantage point. All of them were still bleeding from their wounds, and every one of their eyes were bloodshot.
The heavily-injured Christopher was bringing up the rear, dragging his half-crippled body, relying solely on the one good leg that could still move. He was hobbling along with all his strength, trying his best to keep up with hisrades, even as they plunged into this battle of certain suicide.
Chapter 1627 - 1627 To Hell with it!
1627 To Hell with it!
¡°Whoever shares a battlefield with me is my brother!¡± Traveling Buddha shattered a White Bone Regiment warrior that had charged toward him as he grabbed Icy Rain under one arm, and made the deration with pride.
Traveling Buddha heaved a sigh, ¡°I always thought that in this life, I would end up dying in battle together with Xia Fan. But who would have thought that he ended up slipping away now that I¡¯m at my end.¡±
A rare warmth appeared in his eyes as he continued to say, ¡°But this isn¡¯t bad, either. Xia Fan is my best friend in my whole life, and whether in the past or the future, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t ever meet another person who I would hit it off with so well.
¡°Fate is such a funny thing that I simply have no way to understand it. But that twerp Xia Fan actually has plenty of ws, and even enjoys saying some nonsensical things. But I just happened to find him to be a likable person.
¡°I hope he¡¯s able to like a good life after I die. Without me, a natural meat shield by his side, Xia Fan will probably have a very tough time when he encounters troublesome opponents in the future.
¡°But it¡¯s just too bad that my day has finallye. I can no longer block attacks for Xia Fan, and I have no idea if that heartless cad would asionally think of me, or even brew me my favorite tea by my grave and chat with me.¡±
Icy Rain rubbed his nose and observed the strange man curiously. He imed that Xia Fan was fond of saying some nonsensical things, yet it was Traveling Buddha that liked to ramble nonsensically, much more than Xia Fan.
Icy Rain could tell that Traveling Buddha was unwilling to just call it with his friend, but they had no choice. They were going to die, and there was no way for them to interact with the living from here on out.
¡°I regret never telling Xia Fan that he¡¯s my best friend,¡± Traveling Buddha let out a long sigh. ¡°We would often talk back to each other when we were together, and would usually correct one another, but we are not just friends. We are brothers.
¡°Yet I¡¯ve never once said such words to him. Even though I know how much I care about him, possibly even more so than my actual elder brother, yet for some reason I just can¡¯t bring myself to express my true feelings to him.¡±
Icy Rain had no idea how to console Traveling Buddha, so he settled for a gentle pat on the shoulder.
Their enemies were closing in, and the Shimmers no longer had anybat strength left. Icy Rain and Traveling Buddha were standing shoulder-to-shoulder right in the middle of the za. Countless pairs of blood-red eyes were leering at him, like a pack of wolves that would tear them apart at any moment.
¡°I don¡¯t want to die,¡± Icy Rain said. ¡°Father and mother asked me to take care of my younger brother. If I were to die, then there would be no one left that could take care of him. I¡¯m sure they will scold me if I meet my parents again.¡±
Traveling Buddha tightened his grip on Icy Rain, hugging him tight, ¡°They won¡¯t. They will understand that you¡¯ve already done all you can. You¡¯ve done better than every older brother in the world.¡±
¡°What are we going to do next?¡± Icy Rain asked.
¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. Save our energy and wait for all of them toe charging at us, then we self-destruct. We¡¯ll take down as many of them as we can down to Hell with us!¡± Traveling Buddha red, fire in his eyes. But he then let out a bitterugh.
¡°Ah, I almost forgot that this is already Hell, so there¡¯s already nowhere else we can go!
¡°But who cares about how this ends,¡± Traveling Buddha spread his bloodied arms wide. ¡°Xia Fan often said that no matter what happens, we cannot let our enemies be happy! So even in death, we want to really f*ck things up for them!¡±
The enemy were not scared of Traveling Buddha¡¯s final crazy shout. They were closing in with every step, forcing Icy Rain and Traveling Buddha into a corner.
All of a sudden, just as Traveling Buddha and Icy Rain believed everything was over, something unexpected urred!
A group, who were distinctly humans, came running in from afar, shouting out the battle cry of the Demon yer Legion. Like a pack of tigers that had descended from the mountains, each of them recklessly hurtled themselves forward. They were obviously just barely more than a dozen men, yet they demonstrated a prowess capable of killing thousands in that moment!
Their enemies faltered and retreated ordingly. The keen Sword of Heaven came falling down from the sky with a crash, swinging arrogantly through the air.
Dongfang He formed a seal with his two hands, muttering words underneath his breath.
With that ancient and mysterious chant, creatures covered in fire appeared from the ground, forming a torrent of rock and fire that charged straight toward the tribal warriors and the White Bone Regiment.
This was the peak Fire Summoning special ability, the Fiery Wrath Army!
Never did Traveling Buddha imagine that it would be Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian who woulde charging into the encirclement with their people in the end.
Traveling Buddha did not like these people, since the Demon yers were all people who ced far too much importance on bloodlines, and were a bit aloof and arrogant.
But at this moment, Traveling Buddha wanted to hug these people warmly like they were family. They clearly knew that Holy Spring City was besieged from all fronts and likely to fall to the enemies who had gathered here. It was obvious that this was no different from a death sentence, yet Dongfang He, Jia Yuntian and the others still righteously lent a hand and engaged with the enemy. Truly, they lived up to their names as warriors!
¡°Goddammit! I missed you guys to death!¡± Traveling Buddha hollered, thrilled.
¡°You b*st*rd, to think you¡¯re still alive!¡± Dongfang Heughed out loud.
¡°We almost died, but it seems like the gods have no intention of taking me back just yet, so they sent all of you my way in the end!¡±
¡°Okay, enough talk. Why don¡¯t I see Xia Fan and Nikai?¡± Dongfang He looked around expectantly.
¡°They left to investigate thend and aren¡¯t around,¡± Traveling Buddha answered.
¡°So you mean to say Nikai is still alive?!¡± Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian were excited upon hearing the news.
¡°Are the two of you hoping she would be dead? Later when we see Nikai, I¡¯ll be sure to have a good chat with her,¡± Traveling Buddha jested with them. ¡°Tell her that you two b*st*rds came and the first thing you asked was if she was dead.¡±
Dongfang He and Jia Yuntian revealed gratified smiles, since she was the woman that the two had sworn to marry since they were children.
They had watched as Nikai took her first steps, tied her hair in braids, and saw her pout because her servant did not buy her maltose candy, pursing her little lips. They had watched her slowly grow up, bing prettier and prettier, bing a proud warrior, the most splendid pearl of the Subduing Demon CIty.
Nikai was like the white rose in a garden; ever since the day it took root and up until it matured, a beautiful rose that had always been there.
Every day, one would lean against the window and watch her from afar, bing prettier by the day, bing a rose that everyone liked and that no one would easily give up on.
¡°What a pity,¡± Dongfang He patted Traveling Buddha¡¯s shoulder, ¡°There¡¯s no way for you to snitch on us to Nikai, since you¡¯ll be buried here with us today!¡±
Traveling Buddha was shocked, but soon let out a raucousughter.
¡°Alright, this Little Buddha shall apany you to your deaths! As for Nikai, rather than letting you two benefit, I may as well let my brother Xia Fan gain the upper hand. WIth me not around, and having Nikai to apany him, just thinking about it makes me happy,¡± Traveling Buddha said.
Jia Yuntian was momentarily startled before saying, ¡°Traveling Buddha, you¡¯re really good to Xia Fan.¡±
¡°But of course! He¡¯s my only friend! If I¡¯m not nice to him, who else would I be nice to?¡± Traveling Buddha chuckled.
Dongfang He arched an eyebrow, ¡°What about now?¡±
¡°Now?¡± Traveling Buddhaughed, ¡°Right now, you¡¯re all friends of yours truly! I¡¯ll go with you wherever you go!¡±
¡°Refreshing!¡± Dongfang He raised his bloodied ymore. It was the generational Demonying Sword handed down in his n, the River Valley Emerald of the Nine Provinces!
Jia Yuntian raised his arm like it was a de, as well. He did not have a physical sword, as he was the sword himself, and the sword was him!
A short distance away, the Fiery Wrath Army was being overwhelmed. Dongfang knew that the soldiers he Summoned could only help support, and ultimately he still needed to rely on himself.
The man of few words, Jia Yuntian, let out a cold chuckle. ¡°Well, let us b*st*rds begin!¡±
Icy Rain watched the entire exchange, bemused by these strange humans and their strange emotions.
They called each other b*st*rds, yet it sounded like an endearing term rather than a curse. It was as if there was something magical mixed inside this swear word.
Icy Rain did not have any friends, and he was not too concerned with male bonding either. It was actually just that simple: Laughing and mocking, living and dying together.
¡®If I survive this, will I be their friends? Looks like they quite like my younger brother,¡¯ Icy Rain thought to himself.
...
¡°I excel in the water,¡± Icy Rain told Traveling Buddha.
¡°Then go, my good brother!¡± Traveling Buddha said solemnly, pping his hands onto Icy Rain¡¯s skinny shoulders.
Icy Rain was startled. This was the first time he had smiled at someone aside from his younger brother.
¡®They are all good humans,¡¯ Icy Rain thought to himself.
The Fiery Wrath Army was finally overrun by the enemy. The final battlefield unfolded in the ruins of Holy Spring City, around the blood-tainted moat of the city. Fights broke out in every corner of the city.
Dongfang He was without his Fiery Wrath Army now, hefting his bloody ymore in hand, the Demonying sword River Valley Emerald of the Nine Provinces!
The Sword of Heaven shed through the air with a thunderous chop, swinging across the horizon like a bolt of lightning. Jia Yuntian was so skinny he was just skin and bones, yet he was standing amid the crashing thunderbolts and letting out a frenzied bellow!
*Crunch*
Traveling Buddha dove toward the enemy, golden light dancing about him, a ring man of steel!
To the death!
Everyone was putting their lives on the line at the final moment!
...
Chapter 1628 - 1628 Skywing Token, Broken just like That!
1628 Skywing Token, Broken just like That!
The battle had entered its most miserable stage.
As swarms of Demonized Demi-dragons joined the battle, the Holy Spring City¡¯s side was at an absolute disadvantage.
No matter how domineering Icy Wind, Traveling Buddha, Dongfang He, and Jia Yuntian were as warriors, they ultimately had a hard time taking on the significantly more numerous foes. The enemy¡¯s application of the numbers tactics slowly depleted everyone¡¯s precious mental energy. As time passed, they would end up bing so exhausted from overuse that they would have difficulties even using their special abilities. Death would be all that awaited them when that time came.
Nevertheless, Traveling Buddha could still tell that something was off with their enemies. It felt like the army had lost theirmander. The tribal warriors were no longer crossing the moat in batches, but doing so chaotically.
In arge-scale battle, disciplined orders were critical to victory. The disorderly tribal warriors were crowding up at the moat, dragging each other down as they tried to make their way across. Before they even made it across, a good third of them ended up drowned in the moat by their own people during the crossing.
If the enemy had a more efficientmander at the helm, that situation would definitely not have happened.
Furthermore, Traveling Buddha also discovered that a portion of the White Bone Regiment and Demi-dragons seemed to be answering another call, and were rapidly leaving the battlefield upon arrival.
In any case, it was an extremely chaotic battlefield. Yet even with all that disorganization, their enemy was still able to convincingly overwhelm Traveling Buddha and the others.
¡ª
No longer having even an iota of strength left, Traveling Buddha leaned against the rubble around himself, panting heavily.
Traveling Buddha was the distinguished inheritor of the Holy Buddha n, but this time, he could really feel what it meant to be powerless. He had the will to keep killing, but his fatigue was so great that he could hardly lift his arm.
The end of the battle was in sight, enemies flooded over and had them surrounded once more.
Suddenly, a ring white beam sted out with such speed and so brightly it was like the Goddess of Light hade speeding over on an eight-legged horse!
The Demi-dragons let out indignant and angry roars. They were very sensitive to the mystical light, and all of them pped their wings and turned their heads away, retreating into the darkness.
Then it was the White Bone Regiment, the undead warriors with their Bone Swordstched on their backs. They were also deathly afraid of that Light, giving up on the assault and turning back, jumping right into the moat and swimming for the other side. This scene of everyone scrambling to retreat left the defenders perplexed.
Only the tribal warriors remained unaffected. Though none of them were afraid of the Light, theirbat strength was very miniscule. In a real fight, Traveling Buddha alone could y them by the tens of thousands!
*Whoosh*
As a golden wing extended in the distance, Dongfang He and the others tightened their fists excitedly.
¡°Its Nikai! Nikai and Xia Fan are back!¡±
¡°But it¡¯s strange, there seem to be two other people with Xia Fan!¡±
¡°Is that¡ Le Jiajia?¡¡±
¡°No way, that demoness?¡±
¡°It should be her. The Light that caused the White Bone Regiment and Demi-dragons to scatter seems to be her doing!¡±
¡°Who cares if she¡¯s a descendant of a Demon King or not. Le Jiajia I love you! I love you to death!¡± someone yelled his heart out, rejoicing after being saved from the brink of death.
Life was precious, and it was the only one people had. They were saved, which was better than just dying to monsters, even if it was a demoness that did the saving!
Instantly the atmosphere lifted. Under the leadership of the natural-born leader Dongfang He, what was obviously a band of humans that had been weakened greatly still managed tounch another wave of attacks, eliminating all the enemies surrounding them!
In the distance, Xia Fan had already set down Le Jiajia and Nikai, as well as Light.
¡°Nikai and Le Jiajia, protect each other, and don¡¯t stray from one another,¡± Xia Fan instructed them. The two women nodded at the same time, while Light also pulled out a crude dagger.
In the next second, the unburdened Xia Fan was like a ferocious tiger that had been uncaged, snaking through the sea of enemies as he disyed his insane speed, swiftly taking apart the tribal warriors.
sh after sh, every cut he made reaped lives!
Xia Fan was like a godly executioner, taking uncounted heads in the blink of an eye. He executed a wless demonstration of the Skywing n¡¯s lightning assault.
Of all martial arts under the sky, only speed is king!
Speed was just that unreasonable!
Not only was it undefeated, there was no way of running from it!
All of them wouldy down their lives here!
¡
¡°You scared yours truly to death. I even thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out and would really die and go off to see my ancestors,¡± Traveling Buddha was half lying on the ground,ining while Xia Fan used some sprays to treat his wounds.
Everyone was gathered around them, listening as Nikai vividly described their experiences throughout their journey.
Hearing how Xia Fan and Nikai had been chased by Demi-dragons, and how Le Jiajia came descending from above enveloped in a holy light, saving Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, everyone was shocked. At the same time, they could not understand when Le Jiajia had be so powerful!
¡°My special ability is Phantom,¡± Le Jiajia answered quietly, ¡°But I actually have another ability you can¡¯t really call a special ability. It is just that I can burn and release the energy running in my body like electricity, giving off light.
¡°Beforeing to the buffer zone, I always thought that giving off light wasn¡¯t anything remarkable, since light could hardly be of any use inbat, but now I finally understand that the light I give off can actually disperse Demonic lifeforms!¡±
Huu~
Everyone let out a sigh. The ability to give off a light that could disperse Demonic lifeforms was too powerful. It was more powerful than all their special abilities!
¡°Were it not for you, we would have all handed our lives over today, so thank you very much,¡± Dongfang He said.
Everyone else expressed their gratitude as well.
There was this magical effect of fighting side by side with people. It seemed like overnight, everybody no longer cared about Le Jiajia¡¯s bloodline, and there were even two mischievous rascals who suggested their desire to ask Le Jiajia out on a date after returning to Subduing Demon City.
Le Jiajia had always been scorned by others, so to suddenly be on the receiving end of so much admiration was a little embarrassing, but she was actually ted deep down.
¡ª
Xia Fan did not participate in their discussion. He was a speedster, and he took on the responsibility of saving and treating the many injured citizens in the city.
The oue of the fight was hard to watch. The losses of the Shimmers were great. Practically all their warriors were dead, leaving just their old and orphaned, and the frail children.
Xia Fan was saddened by this. After all, the Shimmers were a kind and loyal race. They deserved to continue to live on far more than most humans.
Still, because of their ugly faces, good fortune had yed tricks on the kind, forcing them to live in the darkness for generation after generation, enduring a tragic fate.
After he was done treating all the injured and helped bury the dead, Xia Fan sat by the moat alone, and toyed with the Skywing Token.
Xia Geng had said that if he ever found himself in a spot of trouble, he could break the token, and the people of his n would drop everything and hurry over.
...
Unfortunately, he was not raised among the Skywings, so he had his doubts about that. It was not that he did not believe his n, but he was unwilling to trouble everyone.
¡°So you¡¯re here.¡±
Traveling Buddha limped over to Xia Fan¡¯s side, holding his favorite tea set in hand. He handed a cup to Xia Fan and they shared a drink, enjoying this peaceful moment after the battle.
¡°What is that?¡± Traveling Buddha¡¯s eyes were sharp, spotting the metal token Xia Fan held in his hand.
¡°It¡¯s the Skywing Token. Weren¡¯t you around when Xia Geng gave it to me?¡± Xia Fan asked him.
Traveling Buddha smacked himself on the head. ¡°Oh yeah, look at you and your memory. I would have nearly forgotten it had you not mentioned it. Give it here, let me take a look.¡±
Xia Fan did not trust others, but how could he not trust his best friend and sworn brother? He handed the Skywing Token to Traveling Buddha without a second thought.
¡°Xia Geng said that I could break the token when I ran into trouble, and no matter how far I was, he would bring everyone and hurry over to my location.¡±
¡°Then why haven¡¯t you used it? Are you saying we¡¯re not in enough trouble right now? We¡¯re currently trapped in the buffer zone, okay?¡± Traveling Buddha asked.
Xia Fan shrugged, ¡°Well, we have no line ofmunication here in the buffer zone. Even if we use it, Xia Geng probably can¡¯t receive it. Besides¡¡±
Before Xia Fan could even finish speaking, he heard the sound of breaking metal. It was so sharp and clear that the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
...
¡°F*ck! Why did you shatter the Skywing Token?!¡± Xia Fan shouted, ring at Traveling Buddha.
Traveling Buddha still maintained a face of nonchnce as he answered, ¡°Isn¡¯t the point of giving something like that to you for you to use it? Yet here you are being so unwilling to do just that, so I did it for you.¡±
Xia Fan wanted to cry, but no tears woulde out. The Skywing Token was a top-tier token, equivalent to making the most important call throughout the n.
It was a call to the entire n! Whether they were male or female, young or old, everyone woulde to lend a hand. This was by no means a small matter!
Xia Fan had been wracking his brains, unable to make a decision.
Yet Traveling Buddha had just casually broken it. It was almost as if he did not consider it to be the Skywing Token, but just some unimportant toy.
Xia Fan was holding onto the broken pieces of the Skywing Token, not saying a word for the longest time. Traveling Buddha continued to appear unconcerned, drinking his tea.
That was when the two of them heard Icy Rain¡¯s voice at the same time.
¡°Big brother!
¡°Big brother!
¡°Have any of you seen my big brother?
¡°Uuuu¡ I seem to have lost my big brother¡¡±
Chapter 1629 - 1629 Barging into the Dragon Pool Alone
1629 Barging into the Dragon Pool Alone
Deep in the night, White City¡
Xia Geng was hugging Mei Mei, snuggling up on the soft velvet bed, enjoying blissful times.
Even if he was doing nothing aside from hugging the woman he loved dearly, Xia Geng was also feelingpletely satisfied.
Spending time with a loving wife and child, what more could a husband ask?
Perhaps it was because he had been wandering for too long, but Xia Geng enjoyed this peaceful life very much. He was veryfortable here in White City.
His other brothers also liked it here. They could window-shop during the day, share a drink or two at night, y cards, and sing songs. When the Skywings were not fighting, they would often be heading to a fight, so it was rare for them to have idle time like this.
Suddenly, a shrill whistle broke the night¡¯s silence.
The originallyckadaisical Xia Geng lying next to Mei Mei suddenly jumped to his feet, his entire body tense. Like a wild wolf that had suddenly been angered, he gave Mei Mei quite the scare.
Speedsters did everything fast, and in the blink of an eye, he had donned on his war armor, his sword slung onto his waist. It was the god-killing de Zero Deep Night Mard, which their current patriarch Xia Fei had given him.
¡°What¡¯s the matter? What happened?¡± Mei Mei was at aplete loss.
Xia Geng burst intoughter, but his eyes gleamed with energy. He gave Mei Mei a warm hug and kissed her lightly on her forehead.
¡°It¡¯s Xia Fan. He has finally activated the Skywing Token, and we¡¯re heading over right now.¡±
¡°Everyone?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. The reserve troops of the Skywings, all eighty-seven of us, will be embarking on this journey. No matter where Xia Fan is, we will arrive by his side as quickly as we can. That is the irond rule that has not changed in our n.¡±
Mei Mei blinked uneasily, ¡°Even Xia Di?¡±
¡°Of course.¡±
¡°But he¡¯s just seven?¡±
¡°He¡¯s a seven-year-old wolf cub of our Skywing n! The first time I went out to kill someone, I was barely two and a half years old! My mother said I was still sucking on a pacifier, when I joined my fellow nsmen on the battlefield and had a proper fight!¡±
When talking about this incident where he joined the fight while still sucking on a pacifier, Xia Geng did not appear to be in the least bit ashamed, and was even slightly proud of himself.
The men of the Skywing n would answer the call of battle the moment they were born. Going off to kill at age two and a half was not considered early, as there were some who could stab people in the back with a dagger the moment they learned how to run!
Mei Mei ced a hand across her cheek helplessly, rendered speechless by the men of the n.
She actually knew about the maniacs that were known as the Skywings. It was just that as a wife, she would still be somewhat worried when hearing her man and son would be going out to kill!
¡°Then the two of you better be careful!¡± Mei Mei shouted at him.
Xia Gneg strode to the door, not once turning his head back. All she heard was a wildugh that traveled to her ears.
¡°Wife, you must know that the Skywings will not even let an inch of grass remain when the Skywings set off. The ones who should be careful aren¡¯t us, but our enemies!¡±
¡.
It was a windless night, and the moon was clear and bright.
The Skywing Reserve troops totaled eighty-seven members. They had all gathered in the za of White City. Most were from the Skywing n, as well as some friends who had sworn to follow the Skywings, including Star in Water and Moon in Water, as well as the God¡¯s Chosen Tamu and so on.
As for those taking the lead, they were Xia Geng and Xia Yu. The two were actually brothers, and also partners. They had cooperated with each other for many years, and were the most trusted right-hand duo of the Patriarch Xia Fei. If they were not, the two would not have been the one leading these troops and carrying out dangerous reconnaissance missions.
Also, were it not for being tasked to do reconnaissance, they would not have been out of touch with the main force and been left behind on the first floor of the Lower Realm!
Xia Yu raised his head and looked into the distance.
¡°Remember the first time we used the Skywing Token?¡±
¡°How could I forget? We were fighting with those rascals of the Sandcloud Provincial n. There were so many of them and we couldn¡¯t fight them all off, so in our anger, we used the Skywing Token.¡±
Xia Geng was reminiscing about the past as he chuckled, ¡°In the blink of an eye, over a thousand Skywings arrived. Men, women, the young and old, they came from all corners of the world, all intent on desecrating the Sandcloud Provincial n¡¯s ancestral grave, scaring the piss out of everyone from that n.¡±
¡°I was clearly the instigator of that fight, yet it was those rascals of the Sandcloud Provincial n that ended up taking a beating. After that time, the fifth son of the n ended up being traumatized to the point where just hearing the Xia name would get him tongue-tied, a chronic problem that followed him for the rest of his life.¡±
Xia Yu nodded and sighed, ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s just how protective of the young our n is, not to mention how unreasonable we get. But when we got back, we did end up getting beaten by the Old Ancestor quite badly; we were punished to kneel for an entire week for abusing the use of the token, our butts swollen from the beating, kneeling on that cliff.
¡°But it¡¯s strange now that you mentioned this. Practically all the mischievous offspring of the n would use the token when they got into trouble while young. It seems like getting into trouble is a habit of our n, not changing after repeated teachings, generation after generation.¡±
Xia Yu turned now to look at his free and disorganized brothers. Xia Wanzhou was even munching on a leg of braised duck, looking not at all like he was about to go join a fight, but just an outing.
Xia Yu said in a deep voice, ¡°Time for us to move out. This is the first time Xia Fan has used the Skywing Token since he returned to the n, and the motto of our n is to protect the young until death!
¡°Though we have no idea who Xia Fan¡¯s enemies are, that will not stop us from desecrating the graves of their ancestors!¡±
¡
The news of Icy Wind going missing very quickly spread to everyone. Traveling Buddha told Xia Fan that thest time he saw Icy Wind was when he bravely went to the moat that he excelled in defending, to hold off arge portion of the enemy.
¡°Had I known this would happen, I would have gone with him!¡± Traveling Buddha admonished himself.
¡°You can¡¯t be med for this. Under the current circumstances, it is best if we search for him as soon as possible. It¡¯s a pity that the battlefield is in too much of a mess; I can only use my Scent ability to about ten percent efficiency,¡± Xia Fan sighed.
¡°I got it, everyone will split up and search,¡± Dongfang He said. ¡°Icy Wind is a Water Elemental, and he is very strong. Anyone that could capture him would have to put up quite the fight, so be sure to check for the traces of a fierce fight near the city moat.¡±
¡ª
Thus, everyone made a thorough search along the moat, and though the fight had just ended and everyone was very exhausted, they knew very well what it meant if Icy Wind had been captured.
When Xia Fan rejoined everyone, he had told them about how the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley was active here in the buffer zone, and the only reason he attacked Holy Spring City was so he could capture the Water Elemental brothers Icy Wind and Icy Rain. It could very well be part of the plot that the Thirteen Demon Kings had hatched, and it was very important.
But who would have thought that the foolish Icy Rain would be fine, and it was Icy Wind, who had been protecting Icy Rain this entire time, who would disappear without a trace after the battle.
Xia Fan did a quick check along the moat, but aside from the scattered few tribal warriors still fleeing, he did not see any Demonized Demi-dragons or White Bone Regiment warriors.
The situation was very bad. The tribal warriors were just fodder, while the Demon Demi-dragons or White Bone Regiment warriors were Stanley¡¯s main force. Now that they were suddenly gone, it only proved that their job wasplete and there was no need for them to remain there any longer!
¡°I found something!¡± someone yelled out loud, and Xia Fan immediately sprinted over in one breath.
He saw a huge gap in the approximately forty-meter-wide moat. The scars left from a fight were very prominent. Icy Wind clearly had put up quite a battle, breaking rocks and even fracturing the water channel.
But because of how intense the fighting had be and how quickly the enemy had captured Icy Wind, no one had even noticed something had happened over here.
...
Xia Fan squatted down and carefully examined the scene once more. He pinched a bit of the mud on the ground and sniffed at it.
¡°This is Icy Wind¡¯s scent. He was captured,¡± Xia Fan confirmed.
Everyone was startled and perplexed.
¡°Who could have abducted Icy Wind? Hisbat strength is greater than my own by an entire level,¡± Traveling Buddha dered, still in shock.
¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯ve noticed this very strange smell, Rosemary of the Night, which is an ingredient used in very expensive perfumes,¡± Xia Fan stated.
¡°Perfume? A woman abducted Icy Wind?¡±
Xia Fan shook his head, ¡°We can¡¯t be certain. Mousse has already betrayed the Holy Spring City, or perhaps he was waiting for this very moment with hisrade-in-arms. I also caught his scent here.¡±
¡°Then can you track down these smells?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Xia Fan nodded, before taking in his surroundings.
Everyone was mentally and physically exhausted, with wounds all over their bodies. Even if he brought them all along, he was uncertain if they could even be of any help in a fight.
Nikai and Lejiajia still had some energy left in them, but if thetter were to leave, the rest would be in grave danger. After all, she was the only one able to ward off the Demi-dragons!
...
¡°You¡¯re not possibly thinking about abandoning me, are you? Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Traveling Buddha red, shouting at Xia Fan loudly.
Unfortunately, the moment those words came out of his mouth, Xia Fan had already disappeared, leaving just one final statement:
¡°I¡¯ll be right back!¡±
Chapter 1630 - 1630 They want to Resurrect an Old God?
1630 They want to Resurrect an Old God?
Xia Fan sprinted for about a thousand kilometers and still failed to catch up to the enemy who had abducted Icy Wind.
He could not help but feel a little worried, since this was the buffer zone, and he was not familiar with the ce as a foreigner to thend. There were also plenty of frightening creatures out there who could still be hiding in the dark.
In front of him was a white cave filled with stctites. There was plenty of moisture in the air around, and water droplets were constantly dripping from the hanging rock formations.
In the darkness, he could hear the chittering of bats, sounds echoing in the enclosed cave ahead that would easily creep out anyone hearing them in person.
!!
Xia Fan squatted down and began to identify the traces on the ground.
Two huge pawprints were present on the water-stained ground, just slightly longer than Xia Fan¡¯s forearms. It looked like they belonged to a massive creature. Xia Fan had trouble identifying it.
The Lower Realm was different from the Middle Realm, with many strange creatures and too many dragon-like creatures. There were a huge number of them that Xia Fan could not identify.
But from how that person could grab Icy Wind and then ride this creature to flee at astonishing speeds, Xia Fan could tell that the imprint must have belonged to some special species that was known for its speed.
¡®Only speed can go up against speed. If the enemy has a demonic creature that specializes in speed, and it is beyond the level I can control, it will be a lot more troublesome,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself.
It was not that he was afraid, but that the most important task right now was rescuing Icy Wind, not to have a fight to the death with the enemy.
There had to be a reason for the enemy to have spent so much effort to capture Icy Wind, and he was not about to let them seed!
¡°Oh right, bats!¡±
Xia Fan was startled. How could he have forgotten about the bats? Though the little creaturescked anybat strength whatsoever, they could use soundwaves to probe the way ahead, making them natural scouts.
Xia Fan quickly used his Beast Spirit Order to take the bat swarms under his control.
The swarm of bats were soon flying in the oppressive darkness, but they were doing so in a very orderly manner. Xia Fan hadplete control of their minds, and they would even m themselves against the wall if Xia Fan willed them to.
¡®Now, I want you all to form up into groups and go scout out the way ahead,¡¯ Xia Fan telepathically transmitted to them.
With a whoosh of motion, the bats instantly headed deeper into the caves.
The bats gave out ultrasonic sound waves in groups, effectively bing a huge radar array, allowing Xia Fan to clearly identify even a single ant in the cave!
¡.
Countless luminous crystals lit up in the darkness, making the vast cavern appear as bright as daylight.
Under this incandescent brightness stood a terrifying sculpture.
It was not to say that this sculpture was not majestic, but its gaze was like a stare from the god of death, piercing right into the heart of everyone. It waspletely devoid of emotion, like it lived to kill.
Two people stood beside the sculpture.
They were both wearing masks, dressed in fullbat suits that made it difficult to make their faces.The only thing anyone could distinguish between the two was that one was male, and the other female.
There was also a ferocious beast with them, a Demi-dragon variant called the Bipedal Lizard Drake.
Not all Demi-dragons could fly, and the Bipedal Lizard Drake did not have wings. It was capable of standing on its two legs like a human, and its long body would tilt out like an error when it ran.
The Bipedal Lizard Drake was the fastest variant species among all Demi-dragons, something that existed only in historical records and not something any normal human would have seen.
As this man and woman had such a powerful creature under their thrall, it was apparent that their status and rank were nothing to be scoffed at.
Sure enough, Mousse was also with them, but he was being marginalized, standing far to the side, and no one was paying him any attention.
It was not hard to tell that even he was scared right now. The Bipedal Lizard Drake¡¯s eyes stared at him from time to time, like it was eyeing a fresh piece of meat.
There was a strange ck sack tossed on the ground made from some special soft metal. The sack appeared to be constantly writhing, as if there was something inside.
¡°Stop your din!¡± the masked woman gave the sack a swift kick, but the creature inside just continued struggling helplessly.
¡°This ce is rather creepy,¡± the masked man said as he looked around.
¡°What are you afraid of? We can resurrect the Old God once Lord Stanley arrives, and begin forging our Demonic Steelblood Army! This is a glorious moment!¡±
The masked man shrugged. ¡°But isn¡¯t it strange? We have captured the Water Elemental needed as a sacrifice for the resurrection of the Old God, yet Lord Stanley is nowhere to be found. He couldn¡¯t have gotten himself into some sort of trouble, right?¡±
¡°Just mind your own business and not worry about anything else. Lord Stanley is scheming and resourceful, and here in this dested buffer zone, there is no one that can stand up to Lord Scarlet ze,¡± the masked woman snapped.
¡°I sure hope so. Look, why are there so many bats here? Chittering so noisily, how annoying!¡±
¡°Are you scared of bats?¡±
¡°No. I just don¡¯t like them.¡±
With that said, the masked man raised an arm and unleashed a high frequency soundwave.
The swarm of bats fell like autumn leaves, copsing down to the ground as their organs were forcibly crushed by the soundwaves and dying on the spot.
¡
Xia Fan retracted his control of the bats. That masked man was very powerful, and he wielded the rarely-seen Soundwave special ability.
¡°They are going to use a Water Elemental to resurrect an Old God?¡± Xia Fan stroked his chin and reviewed what he just learned.
The Skywing n were known as yers of demons and gods. They were atheists, yet Xia Fan was unprecedentedly very close to such things.
ording to the theory, the Lower Realm was where demons lived, and it was rumored that the Upper Realm, which was also called the God Realm, was where people called gods lived.
But of course none of that was important, as they were no more than some rumors that Xia Fan had overheard while in Subduing Demon City.
Originally, the Upper Realm and the Lower Realm were in contact with each other. The Demon Subduer Legion acted as mercenaries for the God Realm, hired to stand guard over the Demons, so they would not cause the gods any trouble.
The God Realm would periodicallye down to the Lower Realm and check on things, see how the Demon Subduer Legion was doing, and if the Demons were up to anything no good.
Along the way, the God Realm would also send equipment as well as thepensation for the Legion; a special type of crystal!. Anyone who obtained them would be given the chance to ascend to the God Realm.
That was why the Demon Subduer Legion had staked their lives on this role. On the one hand, it was out of a sense of righteousness, and on the other hand, it was because they wanted to join the rank of the gods.
But there were rumors that it has been many eons since the envoy from the God Realm hade to visit, which was abnormal and unprecedented.
Adding to the fact that there had been a great change with the demons, what with the rise of the Thirteen Demon Lords who had in the old guard of the ancient Demonic Faction ¨C Monsoon, ckfeather and Purgatory ¨C which had allowed them to assume roles as the new kings of the Demons.
The more passive the Demon Subduer Legion became, the more powerful the Thirteen Demon Lords became as time went by. Yet despite the situation, there was still no reaction from the God Realm!
...
That was why a certain rumor had begun to spread in Subduing Demon City. Something might have urred in the God Realm that made it impossible for them to visit the Lower Realm like before.
This situation worried the Demon Subduer Legion greatly, but in order to keep the morale of the people in order, they did not allow anyone to mention this matter.
But today, two underlings of the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley¡¯s were iming that they were going to resurrect an Ancient God?
Weren¡¯t gods something that lived in the Upper Realm? How were they also here in the Lower Realm?
Looking at the ferocious sculpture in the cavern, it did not look anything like a god. Gods were said to be benevolent and omnipotent, and that sculpture looked more like a demon than the demons themselves!
Xia Fan shook his head and decided not to think about all these pointless things.
The ck sack on the ground was made of special material, and might be the artifact that could trap Water Elementals. Icy Wind might very well be inside!
The Bipedal Lizard Drake that could move at great speed was a severe threat to Xia Fan. But if he was careful, he should be able to evade its attacks.
With that thought in mind, Xia Fan started on his way once more, being exceptionally cautious as he did so.
He was getting closer and closer to the two masked individuals, as well as the very frightening Bipedal Lizard Drake!
...
Chapter 1631 - 1631 Scarlet Blaze Demon King Stanley, Heavily Injured!
1631 Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley, Heavily Injured!
*Crunch*
A ck beam appeared like a sharp sword, slitting through right between the masked duo. It instantly broke past the 50,000 meters per second mark, a strange dagger in its hand and bearing an extremely fierce momentum.
The de of the dagger was a ck that gleamed in a cold light. Blue lightning instantly descended from above, as if it was drawn toward the dagger, lighting up the entire cavern instantly.
This was Xia Fan¡¯s signature surprise assault. Not only was it fast, it was very powerful and targeted at a strange point; right between the masked duo!
!!
It was like he wanted to attempt a double assassination; neither had a clue which he would target in the next moment.
The sound of an explosion rang out in their ears. Neither of the masked people imagined that a speed so high that either could react in time could exist. It was only thanks to their mental reflexes that the two managed to leap to the side in the next instant.
¡®Sess!¡¯, Xia Fan celebrated to himself. He had no intention of engaging inbat with either, since the key right now was to rescue Icy Wind. As long as Icy Wind did not fall to the enemy¡¯s hands, their plot would not seed. That was the most crucial aspect of this n.
Not good! It was a feint!
The two masked individuals had the cultivation of peak war gods. The moment they reacted to the sh of ck, they immediately regretted it. That was because Xia Fan had very clearly note for their heads, but was actually aiming for that ck sack on the ground!
A shrill whistle rang out from the masked man. He had blown a whistle right at the crucial moment.
Instantly the Bipedal Lizard Drake standing guard at the side flexed its two legs and charged at Xia Fan at an even greater speed.
Its huge body was surprisingly fast, leaning forward abruptly as its razor-sharp mouth was pointed forward, turning itself into a razor-sharp sword.
At the same time, it possessed a powerful Speed ability, and Xia Fan did not even have time to think. Without hesitating, he threw the ck dagger in his hand right at it.
The dagger had no name. Ever since Xia Fan had learned how to forge one, it had be the most powerful weapon in his arsenal. It was able to absorb beast crystals, calling forth lightning from nature.
If a blue thunderbolt struck an enemy, it was powerful enough to burn bones to crisp!
Nevertheless, his target this time around was a peak rank Demi-dragon, a variant that had both the blood of a dragon and a lizard.
The Bipedal Lizard Drake was far more powerful than Xia Fan had anticipated. It actually did not dodge and bore the brunt of the blue lightning.
*Boom*
An insanely loud p of thunder echoed in the cavern, feeling like it shook the entire world. The re made it impossible for anyone to open their eyes.
Along with that loud noise came the sound of metal shattering.
Xia Fan¡¯s dagger had struck the Bipedal Lizard Drake in its teeth, breaking them! At the same time, the extra-hard teeth, as well as the force from the iing Demi-dragon, hadpletely destroyed Xia Fan¡¯s dagger.
Xia Fan was startled. With how powerful this creature was, about to lunge right at him, Xia Fan had no choice but to face the creature head on!
*Kaboom*
A pure contest of strength. Xia Fan used his shoulder to press against the Demi-dragon¡¯s neck, and in a split second¡¯s time, the sound of a clear crack and the immense pain in his shoulder reminded Xia Fan that his shoulder had broken.
His was a body that had been consuming Grade Nine energy crystals since infancy, and Xia Fan¡¯s bones had unparalleled sturdiness. They were even harder than metal, yet they actually broke?!
However, Xia Fan grit his teeth and persisted. He borrowed the inertia of his charge to sweep the ck sack off the ground and headed straight away.
There were two powerful masked individuals behind him, as well as that speed-type Bipedal Lizard Drake. Xia Fan had no chance at victory. All he could do was keep moving ahead. Anyway, the buffer zone was like a beehive, with plenty of caves and tunnels. There must be another route that could lead him back to Holy Spring City.
The Bipedal Lizard Dragon had not expected the impact from Xia Fan to be so fierce, and it was sent tumbling away on impact.
The Demi-dragon let out a roar in its rage, intent on giving chase.
But after taking a few steps, a sharp whistle rang out again.
The whistle seemed to have a fatal control over the Demi-dragon. The giant creature unwillingly shook its head, viciously wing at the rock wall to vent its anger. It then lowered its head and returned to the masked man¡¯s side.
¡°Why did you let him off?¡± the masked woman asked, confused.
The masked man shrugged, ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Isn¡¯t it just fine that he sent the Water Elemental in on our behalf? Unless you¡¯re willing to be the one going in?¡±
The masked woman was startled, and shook her head.
¡°That¡¯s what I thought. By the time Lord Stanley returns, perhaps he would force the two of us to send the Water Elemental in. The chances of us surviving entering that cage are slim to none.¡±
¡°Now that some insignificant guy hase and taken our ce in taking the Water Elemental in, what use do we have to give chase? Heck, I could not even express my gratitude in time for his sacrifice, am I right, my little baby?¡± the masked man asked the Demi-dragon, who was stewing impotently. It had actually been injured in that confrontation against Xia Fan¡¯s sturdy bones. Plenty of the bones in its neck and chest had broken upon impact, and it was in such anguish that it could not even answer the masked man¡¯s question!
¡°That human is rather impressive,¡± the masked man muttered. ¡°This is a legendary-ranked Demi-dragon, and itsbat prowess is nearly that of a real dragon. Even if a dragon faced off against it, they also have to be careful¡. To think that a human managed to heavily injure it with one charge..¡±
The masked woman walked several steps over to where Mousse was standing motionless.
Unfortunately, she found that the tragic Mousse had already died. A dagger that Xia Fan had secretly thrown was stuck right in between his eyebrows before he could even let out a scream.
People weren¡¯t afraid of failure, but were afraid of ignorance. Mousse had blindly wanted to save his race, only to end up being fooled by Stanley, greatly harming the Shimmers as a result.
No matter what reason he had to betray Holy Spring City, Xia Fan was not about to let a traitor live, so he killed him when he had the chance!
The masked woman kicked Mousse¡¯s body to the side, letting him die like a wild dog at the side of the curb. She did not spare even a nce at his corpse afterwards.
*Haaaa*
*Haaaa*
The sound ofbored panting could be heard from afar.
The masked duo hurriedly stood up straight and adopted the posture of subordinates receiving their superior. Even that Demi-dragon that Xia Fan had heavily injured obediently lowered its head, not daring to make a sound.
¡°Come over¡ and help me,¡± Stanley wheezed.
The masked duo were shocked as they hurried over!
It was only now that the two realized that Stanley had actually been heavily injured!
A ck trident had been plunged deep into his chest, its handle sticking out. Stanley was pale as he leaned against the wall, panting heavily.
This was the Scarlet ze Demon King Stanley!
He was one of the strongest war gods in the Lower Realm! When Xia Fan and the others had him surrounded, Stanley had not been even the least bit injured, yet he was actually gravely wounded right now!
Just who could have dealt such grievous injuries to Stanley? Who in the Lower Realm could threaten the life of a Demon King?
¡°Are you alright, my lord!?¡±
...
¡°My lord, just who could have done this?!¡±
The masked man and women shouted in the cave full of white stctites. Stanley had finally returned to his underlings¡¯ side, so he rxed slightly and his head went limp, having fainted.
¡°Oh my. Our lord has actually fainted?! Just what should we do?!¡± the masked man shouted.
¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± the masked woman hissed through gritted teeth. ¡°No matter what, we need to leave this ce with our lord immediately.¡±
¡°Then what about the Old God?¡± The masked man raised his hand and pointed in the direction Xia Fan had run off to.
The expression of that masked woman was ice cold, ¡°Even if the Old God gets resurrected, who would be able to subdue him, given how heavily injured the lord is right now? Without Lord Scarlet ze, we¡¯ll only be throwing our lives away by staying here!
¡°We need to retreat with our lord immediately! Drag things out any further and we won¡¯t have the chance to leave anymore!¡±
Chapter 1632 - 1632 Charging out of the Darkness! Grand Finale!
1632 Charging out of the Darkness! Grand Finale!
*Whoosh*
Xia Fan shot forward like a bolt of lightning, sprinting through the darkness, clutching the strange sack in his hand.
The further he ran, the more abnormal Xia Fan felt.
First, none of his enemies gave chase. Second, the way ahead had actually turned into a single tunnel, a huge ck tunnel that went on forever.
Xia Fan sucked in a cold breath and felt that something was off.
He came to a halt and examined his surroundings with a furrowed brow. Turning back would lead him back to those ursed enemies, the masked duo that Xia Fan would have a very hard time dealing with. But Xia Fan also had an inexplicable feeling of danger if he continued ahead.
¡°Forget it. Let me first let Icy Wind out and then we¡¯ll talk,¡¯ Xia Fan thought to himself.
Thus, he tried to loosen the strings of that peculiar sack, and encountered no trouble doing so. There was a mechanism at its opening, and pressing the metal button caused the sack to open and close.
*Zing!*
Icy Wind¡¯s head appeared, his eyes holding so much anger they were practically spitting fire. He started to grab for Xia Fan¡¯s throat, but Xia Fan could move at such speed that all it took was a slight shift of his nimble physique and he managed to dodge Icy Wind¡¯s hand.
¡°It¡¯s you?!¡± Icy Wind was stunned to see him.
Xia Fan shrugged casually, ¡°What, are you unhappy to see a friendly face?¡±
Icy Wind quickly shook his head, and tears began falling.
He was a kindly Water Elemental at the end of the day, and it was just that he had an introverted personality and was not good at expressing it openly.
Actually, Icy Wind was very sentimental deep down, and anyone could see that by how much effort he put into taking care of his younger brother, Icy Rain.
¡°Okay, it¡¯s all in the past. You¡¯re safe now,¡± Xia Fan lightly patted Icy Wind on his head.
Icy Wind was startled, and quickly asked about his younger brother. Only after he got Xia Fan¡¯s confirmation of his brother¡¯s safety did Icy Wind heave a sigh of relief and smile.
¡°Are you still able to fight?¡± Xia Fan said with a frown. ¡°I see you¡¯re even skinnier than before. Is it because of the energy you expended?¡±
Icy Wind nodded. ¡°Yes, We Water Elementals may look like water, but we¡¯re actually made up of pure energy. Right now, I¡¯ve overexerted my energy expenditure, but it¡¯s no problem. I can still fight!¡±
Xia Fan brushed his finger lightly over his spatial ring and took out two Grade Nine energy crystals and handed them over to Icy Wind.
¡°Use them, they ought to help you recover some of your energy.¡± Xia Fan looked around. ¡°I don¡¯t like this ce, so we better not continue onward. We¡¯ll head back the way we came from after you recover a bit of your energy.¡±
¡
It was a bumpy journey, but Xia Fan finally made it back to Holy Spring City.
He began to feel that something was amiss when he was still at the periphery. It was because things were simply far too quiet, and did not give off the feeling of a ce where a great battle had just ended. The eerie peace felt surreal.
In the next moment, he saw a group of strangers standing on the ruined walls of Holy Spring City. They were standing there proudly, their backs straight like javelins, a sharp glimmer in their eyes.
This!¡
Xia Fan was stunned.
Though he did not recognize these people, he could feel his heartbeat quicken for some inexplicable reason. He felt a sense of closeness, and a rush of emotion that nearly brought him to the verge of tears.
Looking at the two figures speed over like a sh of lightning, Xia Geng smiled, extending his right hand and giving him a little wave. ¡°Xia Fan, we finally meet!¡±
Xia Fan heard the words, and he was just rooted to the ground, dumbfounded.
¡°And you are?¡±
¡°We are your family.¡±
¡°Sky¡¡±
¡°That¡¯s right, the Skywing n,¡± Xia Geng said.
In that moment, Xia Fan felt as if the air had been sucked out of him. His vision darkened as his body nearly copsed on the spot.
With whooshes of motion, more and more figures appeared by his side, reaching out to support him.
This speed¡ There was no mistake!
Like wings on their back, capable of traversing the nine heavens and the stars.
They were really his nsmen!
¡
¡°Are we leaving?¡±
They were staring at Holy Spring City from a high vantage point, this ce where they had found themselves on the verge of losing their lives.
Xia Di nodded, tilting his head slightly. ¡°This should be a good thing, right? Sending all the people from Holy Spring City to the surface, leaving this damned ce!¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re the Skywings! We have the capability.¡±
¡°Then what about Icy Wind and Icy Rain?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Xia Di answered, ¡°Father hoped that they could join us. After all, Elementals are rare, and if they are still alive, the Demon Kings will not let them off. They will be much safer sticking with us, which is why we¡¯re hoping you could go talk to them and see what they think about the idea. Then there¡¯s also Traveling Buddha.¡±
Traveling Buddha¡¯s voice promptly rose from behind them, ¡°No need to ask! Wherever you go, I follow!
¡°I originally thought that being from the Holy Buddha n was a big deal, until I saw who you called family today!
¡°It just can¡¯t bepared, andparison will just anger me irrationally. To think you¡¯re actually the prince of your n! The Skywings are more than impressive, and absolutely domineering!¡±
Xia Fan did not say a word and just smiled at Xia Di and Traveling Buddha.
¡°I got it. I¡¯ll go find Icy Wind and Icy Rain.¡±
¡
In a secluded corner, the two Water Elementals that relied on each other were huddled close to each other. Icy Wind was rubbing his younger brother Icy Rain¡¯s head, like an old monkey picking the ticks off a bigger monkey.
Xia Fan sat beside them and told them the reason he hade over, and offered them their choices.
...
¡°I don¡¯t wish to lose my younger brother again.¡± Icy Wind gazed at the foolish Icy Rain and said to Xia Fan, ¡°We¡¯ll tag along with your n, and all I ask is that none of you abandon us in the future.¡±
To put it in such a way¡
Xia Fan suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He really sympathized with these two Water Elementals.
¡°We¡¯re not the type of n that would abandon anyone of our own, nor would we do that to anyone we call friend!¡± Xia Geng¡¯s decisive voice came from afar.
He strolled over with a grin, and said to Xia Fan and the two Water Elementals, ¡°It¡¯s time for us to head out.¡±
¡°Are the Shimmers all prepared?¡± Xia Fan asked.
Xia Geng nodded, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s not much to prepare. Compared to freedom, there¡¯s nothing else really worth mentioning.¡±
Freedom¡
Xia Fan tried to understand Xia Geng¡¯s words. It seemed the Skywings had a different perception of this world than anyone else¡
¡ª
Making their way to the center of the ruined city, Xia Fan looked over at the Principal of the Shimmers, then to the surviving citizens.
...
The injured were treated, and whatever assets they had to their name were already packed. When the Skywings went about their business, this was the speed that they always did things.
Xia Fan even saw Nikai and Lejiajia. After learning Xia Fan¡¯s true identity, the two seemed to view Xia Fan in a clearly different light. There was even a tinge of admiration mixed in their gazes.
¡°Everyone, let¡¯s set off!¡± Xia Geng exhorted, raising his right arm and pointing toward the surface.
¡.
The outskirts of the Subduing Demon City¡
Xia Fan entrusted the Shimmers to Nikai.
¡°You should be able to take care of these people, right?¡± Xia Fan said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy getting out of the underground alive.¡±
Nikai stared at Xia Fan intently as she nodded, ¡°I promise you I will, swearing it upon the name of my n.¡±
*Rumble*
From afar, the entire city must have sensed that Nikai had returned, as their army was approaching rapidly.
¡°We should leave, otherwise we might end up getting involved in unnecessary trouble. It¡¯s said that the temper of the people from Subduing Demon City isn¡¯t great,¡± Xia Geng remarked, after sparing a nce for the distance.
¡°Then let us say our farewells here!¡± Xia Fan shed an innocent smile.
Nikai seemed to have something she wanted to say, but she could not get the words out.
Lejiajia¡¯s chest was heaving, and she also looked like she was about to cry.
But in the next second, the Xia Fan who had been shaking their hands disappeared like a ghost. He shot off into the distance like a bolt of lightning, leaving the twodies who looked as if they were on the verge of baring their hearts all unsatisfied.
¡
¡°Where are we off to now?¡± Xia Fan asked.
¡°Of course it is to find your father, and the rest of our n!¡± Xia Geng dered.
¡°Do you know where they are?¡±
¡°No.¡±
¡°Do you know where to find them?¡±
¡°Well, if we keep looking for them, we¡¯ll eventually be able to locate them!¡±
¡°What if we run into demons? Like the Great Demon King Monsoon? I heard he¡¯s very powerful.¡±
¡°Powerful? Then that means he hasn¡¯t encountered us Skywings yet. Don¡¯t forget that our slogan is to y gods and demons alike!¡±
¡°ying dogs and demons?¡±
¡°Be serious a bit! It¡¯s gods and demons!¡±
¡°Hahahaha!¡±
Carefreeughter rang from the crowd, and echoed across the entire world.
=============~End of Novel~=============
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