In the high-level conference room of the Moon Shadow Knight Order, three leaders of the order gathered together.
The order refers to this act as the "Three Handshake eting"—naming an activity in this era is a dangerous thing. The throne on the Sun prohibits the birth of any "tradition" or "culture."
However, Robert Creator, the leader of the Moon Shadow Knight Order and the Knight Commander, is accustod to this.
The Moon Shadow Knight Order was, from the very beginning, a cross-domain collaboration order, where the leader’s authority is not as absolute as in other orders; many things require negotiation. A hundred and fifty years ago, this kind of "three-person eting" ford a tradition. The division of the communications, cognitive, and artificial intelligence domains determined the underlying structure of the order.
Vice Captain Klevilo looked at the head of the table towards Robert Creator: "How is the recent defection of the Six Dragons Sect being handled?"
Robert’s gaze did not linger on Klevilo’s face; instead, he turned to the other end of the conference table, looking at the head of the cognitive domain, Elaine. His fingers lightly tapped the mirror-like table. The question wasn’t worth him personally speaking up. A silent command transferred the inquiry thrown by Klevilo to the designated processing module.
Elaine nodded slightly, and colorless, shapeless data streams silently cascaded like a waterfall. She directly transmitted several reports. "The first batch, thirty-seven people, has already undergone extraction in isolation environnts and their testimonies have been cross-verified. I believe there are no more issues now."
Klevilo swiftly browsed through Elaine’s report. At this mont, Elaine added a question: "There was an abnormal deploynt of the Wind Spirit level AI Auxiliary Ard Frawork No. 11—who authorized this?"
"Auxiliary Ard Frawork" is a relatively new concept that has erged in the past twenty years, known as a "walking armory." The concept was inspired by the Jianghu people’s "self-propelled vehicles," aning "vehicles that follow remotely with supplies."
The Jianghu people have so insights into setting up supply points and similar minor tactics.
The "Auxiliary Ard Frawork," on the other hand, is designed to make the Protector officers’ armories "move" by equipping a mobile platform with as many independent armants or plugins as possible. These armants also maintain a "fire-ready" state on the platform.
At the sa ti, even the "platform" itself can serve as a prosthetic body plugin, becoming an extra limb like a "secondary arm."
In essence, this device is a robot composed of weapons.
Initially, so senior officers would directly attach their subordinates’ brains, using martial artists as "transport personnel" to solve the issue of the main force lagging behind in "long-distance pursuit" scenarios.
However, as weapon plugins were removed, the performance of this "prosthetic body" would also drop significantly. If fully integrated, the martial artist’s brain beca purely redundant.
Moreover, a second biological brain could beco a source of interference.
Collaborative training with martial artist AI beca a new hot direction.
"Wind Spirit level" is currently the closest prototype to actual combat weaponry. The Moon Shadow Knight Order presently possesses only six validation machines and six prototypes.
"I authorized it," Robert said. His gaze didn’t even turn towards others, as if rely to conclude the topic.
Klevilo spoke again, his voice even: "My inquiry is not aid at the authorization itself, Commander," he said, "but relates to the specific execution. Logs show that of the twelve Wind Spirit level units, one had its usage rights temporarily granted to those infiltrators’... ’external collaborator.’ My risk assessnt model flags this as a high-priority anomaly."
His wording had been generated multiple tis by AI to avoid being interpreted as a potential power challenge.
Now is not the ti for internal strife.
"Just an additional investnt, that’s all," Robert’s tone was elegant, with a fragrance in his voice akin to the scent of coffee, "that, haha, ’external collaborator,’ is quite the expert. Gaining the service of an expert of such caliber in exchange for one prototype unit is excellent. From a cost-effectiveness model, the return rate is quite impressive."
"Service? The Six Dragons Sect serving you?"
"As long as his goals align with mine, and we can ensure his results can ultimately be intercepted, this can be entirely equated to ’serving .’" Robert said, "Take a closer look at the reports, my friend. Their goal is also the AI in the wilderness—our AI leaving here is ard. We could capture it ourselves, but having soone else do it is of course better."
"Moreover, for the ’Wind Spirit’ AI, if it wants to iterate quickly, it needs high-quality match data. An enemy that prompts an expert to consider ’borrowing weapons’ should be able to provide such material."
"Within the ’external collaborators,’ there is a suspected ’Flower of Rhetoric’ Kanhara Kotoba," Elaine warned, "the forr leader’s old squire, based on defectors’ mory files, confird it; it seems quite similar. This faction of the Six Dragons Sect should not be underestimated."
"Isn’t that even better?" Robert said, "If we can successfully control Kanhara Kotoba—then we can establish a deeper personal relationship with the King, right?"
"But we must never accidentally kill her," Elaine said, "based on public data, the King has a deep nostalgic attachnt. If we do not control Kanhara Kotoba, but inadvertently kill her..."
Klevilo said, "Can we really control her?"
"If Kanhara Kotoba is killed, then the one manipulating the ’Wind Spirit’ will certainly not be us." Robert said with certainty.
As for why he was so sure, well, that’s not sothing for outsiders to know.
Klevilo said, "Then let’s refine the plan according to the Commander’s opinion."
"Agreed," Elaine nodded.
After all, the order is essentially determined to quickly capture the Six Dragons Sect’s technological reserves and research outcos.
The decision was made before the fifth "Triple Handshake Conference."
After the Twelfth Martial God revealed the essence of the Six Dragon Sect, the Six Dragon Sect beca unable to move. From that ti, a portion of hermits began to plot their escape routes.
The specific response of the Six Dragon Sect is unknown to the Order of Knights. However, within the Moon Shadow Knight Order, there indeed exists a force that attempts to assassinate those early apostates.
There were so twists and turns in the process. The ard squires engaged in clear and covert battles countless tis with that assassination force, suffering so losses.
After Earth fell to chivalry due to the Twelfth Martial God, a certain progress suddenly accelerated, and a large group of people wooed by the Six Dragon Sect successfully defected, drawing in more like-minded individuals.
From that ti onwards, "Six Dragon Sect" was no longer a mysterious organization. In the Knight Order’s records, it was more like a failed project code waiting to be dismantled, analyzed, and liquidated.
This was sothing that Robert Creator understood in an instant.
The Six Dragon Sect spent a hundred years stealing various achievents from each Scientific Knight Order, using the stolen resources to continually consolidate their technological advantage. They directly pilfered proportions from the general resource pool of the Scientific Knight Orders. This was undoubtedly a huge wealth.
And now, every Scientific Knight Order has the opportunity to take a share from this century of accumulation.
They have the chance to seize achievents from the Six Dragon Sect with minimal resources and apply them to their future research.
As long as the Knight Order has been infiltrated by the Six Dragon Sect, but has not completely fallen.
The early activities of the Six Dragon Sect, on the contrary, beca a ticket to this feast.
Many studies that required complex processes due to the Dyson Principle have been secretly completed by the Six Dragon Sect.
At that ti, Robert even thought that within the next two to three years, the Scientific Knight Orders would erupt in civil war, with ard squires killing each other for their masters to seize the legacy of the Six Dragon Sect.
Even if it’s not yet a "legacy," it will certainly be one then.
For these few months, the entire Knight Order’s resources have been tilted towards "war-related technology" to prepare for the upcoming civil war.
Robert believes that throughout Mars and several sanctuaries, there must be many Scientific Knights like him, waiting for the "feast to begin."
Klevilo whispered, "They are prey, and we are hunters..."
For so reason, an unease grew in the Scientific Knight’s heart.
——Why have they beco prey? Is it because they are not strong enough?
"Then next... signs of AI evolution out of control." Elaine said.
"Oh, dear Vice Captain, don’t use the word ’out of control’ which lacks texture. Obviously, I prefer good words like ’explosion’ or ’revolution.’"
Elaine was not influenced by the Captain’s words and continued: "I also verified with the defectors. They believe that on the day Earth fell, the super artificial intelligence mastered by the Six Dragon Sect, ’codena unknown’, unexpectedly appeared. From that mont on, the last of the communication within the Six Dragon Sect was completely cut off. It’s temporarily unclear whether it has anything to do with the Twelfth Martial God."
"So that ’beware of Zhu Xinyu’ hint indeed ca from inside the Six Dragon Sect?" Robert sent a "raising eyebrow" emoji.
"Then ca the sudden explosion of AI intelligence." Elaine nodded, "The intelligence is still insufficient. But we probably will not need to face either the Martial God or A.I. Turing."
"That’s great." Robert clapped his hands, "I can feel that AI likely hasn’t yet released its true performance before us—intelligence after leapfrogging optimization. We should seize the key from the Six Dragon Sect."
Elaine suddenly showed a mont of hesitation.
This is very unusual. Robert instantly caught this signal.
Elaine is not soone who would hesitate at this mont. Although mbers of the Six Dragon Sect indeed approached her in the last two years, Robert and Klevilo have already reestablished mutual trust with Elaine—after the Twelfth Martial God exposed the Six Dragon Sect.
As long as reason has not been overwheld, no one would jump on the Six Dragon Sect’s ship at this juncture.
Elaine’s current performance does not match the personality profiling model Robert built over a long period.
Robert asked, "Do you have any other doubts?"
Elaine’s tone was still a bit uncertain: "I just... suspect that those AIs are still learning and evolving. They haven’t demonstrated their optimized capabilities because they also don’t know how to showcase it. We humans haven’t yet input the commands we should."
Robert nodded: "Interesting viewpoint, and very insightful."
"They are waiting for a command..." Elaine whispered, "How should we give them this command? Are they watching us? What will we teach them?"
Robert smiled, "What exactly are you doubting? Isn’t our way of survival the way AI should learn the most? We believe in reason, we live rationally, seeking benefits and avoiding harm. We pursue the greatest unknown, with endless pursuit. If I were AI, would I learn any other way to survive?"
Elaine nodded. She didn’t know why such thoughts suddenly ca to her just now, as if everything she had been thinking about suddenly "made sense."
But what the captain said made a lot of sense.
..................
In front of the Six Dragon Right Envoy, a large box slowly opened. The high-polyr padding for fixing automatically deflated and shrunk.
"Wind Spirit prototype, code-nad ’Gale Knight.’" Six Dragon Right Envoy said, "It’s borrowed from a church mber within the Moon Shadow Knight Order."
The auxiliary armant fra "Gale Knight" is much larger than ordinary martial artists. Rather than being humanoid, it’s more akin to an "enlarged Agile Thief Dragon to the size of a small Tyrannosaurus rex."
Just like the primitive wings of an archeopteryx, its upper limbs are made up of two tower shields. Under the tower shields is a powerful weapon system that can be directly detached and installed on the Martial Artist’s hand or the slot on the back.
Its lower limbs are a combination of sturdy tracks and multi-legged walking structures.
Its tail is a controlled weapon woven from artificial muscle fibers and carbon fibers, with a low-power laser gun integrated at the tip.
The head of the "Gale Knight" is a streamlined protective cover, containing the most advanced reconnaissance equipnt with multiple detection thods integrated.
As for the central body, it houses a backup reactor, an ammunition depot, a parts library, and lee weapons specially provided for humanoids.
A super turret designed to cooperate with martial artists in combat, it can be integrated into the Martial Artist’s body if necessary.
Its cost even exceeds that of many First Layer Heaven prosthetic bodies. The difference lies in its lack of the basic body frawork system of a First Layer Heaven prosthetic body, making it much weaker in overall strength, electromagnetic resistance, etc.
But it is used as an arsenal itself.
The Six Dragon Right Envoy had already replaced the arm cut off by Dugu Beiluo, and the external armor was also replaced with backup parts from elsewhere.
The performance of the new arm was sowhat lacking, and the Six Dragon Right Envoy planned to make up for it with plugins.
"Just give two days, to complete the AI coordination training, and the Martial God capture plan will surely succeed!"
The Six Dragon Right Envoy was confidently optimistic.
Kanhara Shinhara felt even more uneasy.
For a long ti, the Six Dragon Right Envoy had only acted under the directives of the Sect Hierarch. Unlike the Heavenly Chariot Left Envoy, who led a Scientific Knight Order independently, the Six Dragon Right Envoy executed various covert actions requiring martial power under the Sect Hierarch’s direct guidance.
He is a blade.
And it was at that mont that Kanhara Shinhara realized that the Six Dragon Right Envoy was rely a blade.
The Sect Hierarch had not endowed him with abilities "above" the blade.
As an elder from the old tis, Kanhara Shinhara retained a sensitivity to "organization" and "power" — more so than the vast majority of people in this era.
—— Was this kid performing a task independently for the first ti?
A sense of absurdity suddenly rose in Kanhara Shinhara’s heart.
Until last month, Orunmila had always been on Mars. It rarely interacted with the Six Dragon Sect mbers, but it ensured the smooth transmission of the Hierarch’s will.
And now, when the Six Dragon Right Envoy had to think for himself...
Kanhara Shinhara imdiately understood that this guy is a pure fool.
He lacked the ability to correctly analyze the situation from the beginning.
Kanhara Shinhara had only interacted with the sect mbers of the Six Dragon Sect within the Moon Shadow Knight Order less than three tis. But in just those few tis, Kanhara Shinhara had already seen that the Six Dragon Sect’s influence within the Moon Shadow Knight Order was not solid.
Could they really borrow a prototype from the core project of the Moon Shadow Knight Order?
This seed too absurd.
The Six Dragon Right Envoy originally lacked the competence to perform tasks independently.
Kanhara Shinhara reluctantly said, "This... is very concerning."
"Are you saying that we will be exposed because of this AI? My Inner Strength level is also at the Mathematical Realm, comparable to the people in the Knight Order. I can obtain higher authorization." The Six Dragon Right Envoy saw the worry in Kanhara Shinhara’s heart and took the initiative to explain.
—— Can the Six Dragon Sect really sustain itself?
The Twelfth Martial God shattered the foundation of the Six Dragon Sect, and the disappearance of Orunmila caused the last pillar of the Six Dragon Sect to collapse. Currently, the Six Dragon Sect is riddled with problems.
Kanhara Shinhara said, "Well, considering that..."
Suddenly, an alarm sounded.
Kanhara Shinhara and the Six Dragon Right Envoy exchanged glances and quickly exchanged so intelligence. Kanhara Shinhara imdiately turned around, sealing two of the three warehouse exits, and rushed towards another exit.
But before she could make a move, the sound of explosions ca from the corridor.
—— The Martial Chief Enlil!?
Kanhara Shinhara saw an opponent she absolutely did not want to see. Enlil ca rushing in, bypassing Kanhara Shinhara, and rushed towards the Six Dragon Right Envoy.
The dinosaur-like self-operating arsenal raised its body and fired continuously at Enlil with fierce firepower. Enlil moved agilely, barely hindered at all.
Instead, Kanhara Shinhara’s pursuit was interrupted.
—— Damn it, this AI hasn’t completed the coordination setup with us...
Kanhara Shinhara suddenly froze.
A radar wave locked onto her from behind. It was the most blatant "killing intent" and "sword intent" of this era. Experienced martial artists could even deduce many tactical preferences from the radar wave’s frequency band, direction, and sweeping thod.
The enemy behind her was undoubtedly a sword expert.
Dugu Beiluo erged slowly from the smoke and dust, raising a thermal blade over his head with one hand — this was the most common ready posture for a thermal blade within the atmosphere.
Martial artists are extrely fast from stillness to movent, always ready to charge forward during combat. If the thermal blade were held directly in front of oneself like traditional swords, the ionized air would sar on the front.
This posed a significant risk of damaging the frontal sensors.
The plasma erupted from the sword’s blade, then guided to both sides by the magnetic field generators around Dugu Beiluo, resembling light-ford tendrils, with a sowhat wing-like appearance.
"Your opponent is , Big Senior Sister," Dugu Beiluo said complicatedly.
.....................
Ti returned to a few minutes earlier.
Xiang Shan was just at the street corner, maintaining a seated posture. He had been in this ditative state for quite a while now.
In recent days, he spent most of his ti like this.
Using Firefly’s tracking technology, the Martial God Team arrived directly at the street near the Moon Shadow Knight Order’s base.
Upon arrival, Firefly stated that the trail had ended, unable to pursue the "strange knight order squire" — in front of the Soul-Calming Dharma King, the three of the Martial God Lineage maintained this statent.
Xiang Shan expressed indifference, continued ditating, and asked Firefly to prepare strategies against the Moon Shadow Knight Order, while directing Dugu to coordinate with the local Chivalrous Power.
It seed like he really wasn’t concerned with that mysterious Six Dragon Sect expert, focusing solely on strategizing against the Moon Shadow Knight Order.
Three days passed in a flash, and the Soul-Calming Dharma King started feeling restless. He voluntarily suggested that he could assist the Hero this ti in exchange for Xiang Shan’s ditation cultivation data.
After assigning him so tasks for reconnaissance and ensuring withdrawal routes, the Fifth War God summoned Firefly back.
Dugu Beiluo was puzzled: "How did you know he would take the initiative to act?"
"Joshua’s mindset is sothing I’ve already figured out. He values life very much, so he also hates wasting ti — in more detail, he despises living through what little ti he sees as aningless in his eyes," Xiang Shan said. "If I were actively directing and coordinating the heroes daily, he could observe and record , convincing himself that ’this is part of the path to Ascension.’ But I’m just quietly ditating, cultivating Inner Strength."
"So this was all part of your calculation?" Dugu Beiluo pointed to his face, "Is that why you let direct?"
"No, that’s because you’re stronger than now, young lady." The Fifth War God laughed, "The rules of the hero."
Firefly said, "Then what about the Path of Ascension you ntioned?"
"In this matter, I won’t mislead you." Xiang Shan felt a bit hurt, "You can’t possibly doubt I’m faking this too? I truly am in cultivation... oh, right, right, it’s the social image I’ve crafted for myself. I understand."
His last words seed to be spoken to a non-existent person—Firefly perceived this signal from slight gestures.
Enlil said, "Martial God, what did you call us here for? The knight order’s strategy is urgent..."
"Trust , securing this point will allow us to take down the entire knight order swiftly." Xiang Shan pointed to a dojo 700 ters away: "That ch Armor Iron Fist dojo—it’s Kanbara Style’s. Alas, using it as a cover."
The so-called "Kanbara Style ch Armor Iron Fist" is a variant based on the ch Armor Iron Fist developed by Kanhara Shinhara two hundred years ago, extending into a branch from the ch armor iron fist project.
Kanhara Shinhara’s boxing technique, naturally, is called "Kanbara Style".
It is so natural.
Xiang Shan sighed: "This feeling is called sadness, I suppose—in any case, there’s a passage there leading to an underground warehouse. The underground warehouse currently holds two First Layer Heaven Martial Artists and a Moon Shadow Knight Order’s super prototype."
"And many inside the dojo are Six Dragons Sect mbers."
"We now have three tasks: One, seize the prototype ch. Two, capture all non-First Layer mbers. Three, capture or kill the two First Layer Heaven Martial Artists."
"In principle, you should try to capture them, as Six Dragons Sect holds a key piece of the Path of Ascension puzzle. Their technological reserves are extrely important—I must emphasize, this isn’t plunder. Six Dragons Sect is privately hoarding knowledge that should be shared by all humanity. We aim to make knowledge available to the public again."
Enlil was quite puzzled. Every hero in the Jianghu basically knew the correctness of "academic exchange with the Scientific Knight Order". Everyone here wasn’t young anymore. He didn’t understand why the Martial God had to emphasize this point.
Xiang Shan sighed: "From this perspective, you should also try to capture the two First Layer Heaven Martial Artists. However, you must ensure your own safety. The decision on whether to capture is also up to you."
"Next, let’s divide the work. Ah Niao, you’re a bit inexperienced like , so first focus on capturing non-First Layer Six Dragons Sect mbers..."
Dugu Beiluo nodded: "Understood, this ti I’ll chop that guy into thirteen pieces."
"Leave that guy to Enlil—Brother Enlil, go fight the martial artist you haven’t encountered before."
Dugu Beiluo was shocked: "That doesn’t make sense, right? I’ve fought with that black bastard for the second ti. Even with shared mory files, my understanding of that guy is more direct, right? Don’t waste intelligence advantages..."
"You’ll only gain a better understanding of another enemy." Xiang Shan’s gaze lowered, "Your target is another First Layer Heaven Martial Artist, Kanbara Shinhara, who is also a disciple of Martial God."
"What?" Three exclamations indistinguishably.
"Brother Enlil, you may not have directly interacted with Kanbara Shinhara, but surely you’ve seen aspects of Kanbara Shinhara from others’ data. You can probably recognize her." Xiang Shan said: "Bypass her and fight with another Six Dragons Sect bastard."
Dugu Beiluo said: "Wait a mont, Master Five, I have a problem. I’m really not good at capturing, especially with opponents of similar skill level—when it cos to Big Senior Sister, I likely won’t be able to hold back. You and Ah Niao should deal with her, I’ll swiftly capture others and then provide support..."
"Frankly, I can’t beat you even with Ah Niao combined." Xiang Shan said, "But our efficiency in capturing ordinary martial artists won’t be less than yours. As for ’holding back’—sigh, don’t ask the Light Warrior such dark questions."
Enlil puzzledly sent a private ssage: [Do all of you in the Martial God Lineage speak so cryptically?]
Firefly also said: "Master, please explain..."
"Don’t force to say such cruel things." Xiang Shan placed a hand on Dugu Beiluo’s shoulder, "Perform normally, leave it to fate."
—Similar to the ancient "Divine Judgnt Law"?
Dugu Beiluo didn’t know why she suddenly thought of this.
Though she had an ancient divine na as a nickna, she knew almost nothing about ancient customs. Yet now, this term erged in her consciousness.
Divine Judgnt Law is a primitive form of judgnt arising in the late primitive society, using "God’s will" to test parties for determining guilt. One such form is "duel".
Before God, both parties duel, the winner is innocent, the loser is guilty.
Xiang Shan never believed in "deities", he just tossed results to the world of probabilities.
—What kind of result is he anticipating from the world?
It seed Xiang Shan sensed the thoughts in Dugu Beiluo’s mind and sighed: "Having to personally kill her or make the decision to kill her is too cruel for . It’s devastating to my sanity. But at the sa ti, I can’t bring myself to forgive her on behalf of Six Dragons Sect victims. She’s complicit in all Six Dragons Sect’s cris. If I show any intention of ’not wanting to kill’... perhaps soone might actually spare her?"
"Shall I do it? Leave the outco to fate?"
"Do this one thing, do what you can." Xiang Shan said, "This is called evasion. Evasion is shaful, but occasionally useful."
"You old guy really don’t know anything." Enlil suddenly spoke up, "As a Martial God, it’s truly shaful."
Xiang Shan nodded, just about to go along with it. But who knew Enlil would ask, "In your mind, has the Flower of Rhetoric always been just an accessory to Martial Ancestor Xiang Shan?"
Xiang Shan was taken aback.
"The Flower of Rhetoric’s Kanhara Shinhara is a respected elder among many Heroes. Just the other day I t such an old guy, who, as long as there’s reason, would be willing to bet his life to give Flower of Rhetoric a chance, even if it ans clearing the Martial God’s door." Enlil said, "After Martial Ancestor Xiangshan’s downfall, many were guided by the Flower of Rhetoric."
Xiang Shan smiled silently. Perhaps.
No sound, no physical movents, no one knew the subtle shift in his mindset.
He thought to himself, you had beautiful stories once too, daughter.
"If the Flower of Rhetoric is deceived, there are more Heroes willing to spare her life than just that one..."
Xiang Shan interrupted, "My decision will not change. Dugu is more familiar with the common traits of the Martial God lineage. She is more likely to defeat Kotoba unhard."
"I will broadcast a ssage to everyone inside the Martial Arts School, ’First Layer Heaven Hero is about to attack, please evacuate quickly.’ In plain text. After that, proceed as planned."
Enlil sighed and walked to the predetermined assault location. Suddenly he rembered sothing and sent a private ssage to Dugu Beiluo, "By the way, how did the Martial God, on arrival, investigate these local Heroes’ intel so thoroughly?"
Dugu Beiluo seed uninterested in discussing this topic, and replied irritably, "Talk after the fight."
..................
Moon Shadow Knight Order’s chief ard squire Gu Kaisheng was draped in a dust-proof cloth, almost half-buried by Mars’ sand and dust. He was a two-hundred-year-old thing, who found a place to retire a hundred years ago.
Yes, Gu Kaisheng was once a Hero, and still an old Hero.
Famous old Knight Bart Barrett, active around Moon Shadow Knight Order, was even younger by twenty or thirty years.
Gu Kaisheng didn’t feel ashad. He was just tired from that endless war, and worn out.
For Homo sapiens, after working hard to sixty years old, the body and spirit were almost worn out. Cyberization solved the physical problem, but what about the ntal one?
Gu Kaisheng didn’t feel that he was excessive. Legally (though "law" does not truly exist in this era, but old Knights are accustod to saying this), Gu Kaisheng was rely akin to a pet of the old leader of the Moon Shadow Knight Order, but they did not humiliate him. Those Scientific Knights seem only interested in history.
And now that the Twelfth Martial God exposed Kanhara Shinhara’s current deeds, Gu Kaisheng felt even more justified.
Even Kanhara Shinhara! Even Kanhara Shinhara!
A few days ago, a batch of Six Dragons Sect mbers decided to leave the sect. And within their disclosed mories, Gu Kaisheng glimpsed a familiar figure.
The famous Flower of Rhetoric Kanhara Shinhara.
Gu Kaisheng would not be mistaken.
Moon Shadow Knight Order’s current leader was ecstatic about this news. They seed to think it’s a great opportunity to please Conquering Heaven King David Klein.
Gu Kaisheng felt even more at ease with this decision. Sending this Six Dragons Sect high-ranking mber to the Conquering Heaven King was, after all, a form of protection for her. Gu Kaisheng didn’t even feel it was "betraying an old friend."
Thus he took on the task, ca here to monitor—mainly to seize the opportunity to recover the Wind Spirit-level prototype "Gale Knight."
If Kanhara Shinhara suffered significant damage in the battle, then attempt to capture her alive.
—Notice, it must be capture alive, absolutely cannot deal a fatal blow.
This was an absolute command from the top levels of the Knight Order.
Gu Kaisheng actually had no certainty of victory. Though all were elderly, strength varied greatly among guileful elders. Gu Kaisheng, at best, was only an average for First Layer Heaven, not even seeing the shadow of the King of Godspeed.
But fortunately, he was now a Houndhawk, able to mobilize many resources. Gu Kaisheng hoped to put pressure on other ard squires.
Among disoriented forr Heroes, a low-frequency vibration arose from the ground, reaching directly to the spine via his tal prosthetic leg.
Then, his auditory sensor reported the sound of "explosion."
Almost simultaneously, ard squires lurking inside the Martial Arts School relayed a plain ssage.
"’A First Layer Heaven Hero is about to attack the Martial Arts School’? Damn..."
Gu Kaisheng’s prosthetic eye captured those four phantoms. Their movents seed like low-altitude gliding over the ground, with a level of synchronization that was inhuman.
Superb movent technique.
His aging internal AI instinctively marked their trajectories in his vision as four smooth red lines, with the ends precisely piercing the walls of the Martial Arts School.
No hesitation or deceleration. The building’s defense system in front of them was like a sheet of paper. They went in.
"Damn, there really is a First Layer Heaven Martial Artist..." Gu Kaisheng scratched his head.
The squire infiltrating the Martial Arts School was out of contact—though even without the contact loss, Gu Kaisheng would have actively cut the link.
The opponent suppressed most resistance in the dojo using Inner Strength.
Not far away, the vibration sensor suddenly uploaded abnormal readings. It was as if a series of explosions had occurred underground.
The Knight Order knew that the Six Dragons Sect had tunnels in their stronghold, so they set up vibration sensing equipnt in advance to monitor the activity within. This was also to ensure the "Gale Knight" could be retrieved smoothly.
——One... no, two strong individuals were charging.
Two of those four First Layer Heaven Martial Artists dashed through the tunnel—in full charge mode.
Gu Kaisheng imdiately switched optical equipnt, aiming it at a stone cliff a kiloter away.
There was vibration initially. Then, hundreds or thousands of tons of wind-eroded rock gave up its fight against gravity and slid down in an elegant posture. He could imagine that sound.
In low gravity, the rust-colored dust solidified into a huge wall, only to be pierced from the inside. Two tiny black dots, like bullets shot from a gun, cut a trajectory through the dust.
Kanhara Kotoba’s arm seed to have an issue. She had dismounted a tower shield-like turret from the "Gale Knight" to use as a limb, while the other shoulder carried a set of short-range missiles—also armants carried by the Gale Knight.
The Gale Knight was a prototype, with no actual combat missions, so its paint was the most conspicuous silver color.
The violet-red paint on Dugu Beiluo’s armor was much dimr, entwined with terrifying plasma streams, resembling bluish-white arcs and flas.
A Martial God Lineage internal conflict, cleansing the sect.
Gu Kaisheng was shocked, but the martial artist instinct in him drove the drone to watch.
Blades crossed within a hair’s breadth, and tal roared explosively.
No doubt, this was a high-level martial duel!
Kanhara Kotoba could clearly sense the ga theory model behind her opponent’s weapons, its foundational architecture sharing origins with her own, as familiar as her own hands fighting each other.
What a joke, she thought. Sect... cleansing. The cold phrase pierced her soul like a needle.
The blade grazed her neck, and the heat driven by the reactor’s surging energy made all sensors scream sharp alerts.
The Mystic Tortoise True Gang turned plasma into flying poisonous snakes, seemingly alive. Kanhara Kotoba had to raise her tower shield to disperse the snakes—being a disciple of the Martial Ancestor, Kanhara Kotoba had undergone the construction of Gang Qi Martial Studies and Mystic Tortoise True Gang from scratch. She was familiar with this martial art, even knowing the unique version within the Six Dragons Sect.
This little advantage in intelligence kept her from a quick defeat.
The plasma driven by Mystic Tortoise True Gang left ferocious marks on the Gale Knight’s tower shield. Ordinary paint couldn’t withstand the high-intensity battle.
The rust-colored dust storm they stirred up covered the dim sun, filling the whole world with a murky ochre color. A closed colosseum made of dust.
Dugu Beiluo’s attack carried a wild mathematical beauty. No feints, no false moves, every angle, every exertion precisely unfolded along the optimal path.
Kanhara Kotoba struggled to resist.
Incredible, Kanhara Kotoba thought. She’s so much younger than .
Kanhara Kotoba’s fists held hesitation, sothing akin to confusion. But Dugu Beiluo never had such a thing. Her sword did not reflect this either.
Kanhara Kotoba vaguely recalled attending a class reunion in the 2050s. How did she interact with her club juniors back then? Ha, she couldn’t rember.
As for now, haha, it’s truly remarkable. Juniors and seniors in this era communicate using reactor-powered weapons and cutting-edge prototypes.
Is there such an absurd club in the world?
The battlefield, apart from the storm and the tallic howls, should have been void of anything. Yet, at that mont, a voice cut through.
A song.
Penetrating the screech of blades and the sound of crumbling rocks, it drifted over from afar. A man’s voice, singing an ancient song. A blank flash of 0.02 seconds appeared in Kanhara Kotoba’s consciousness.
"夢ならばどれほどよかったでしょう..." If only it were a dream. The lyrics snaked into her auditory sensors like a ghost, echoing through her internal circuits.
This was a very, very old song, older than Kanhara Kotoba by over a decade. Even if one couldn’t understand the lyrics, anyone could tell it was a lant to family mbers.
——Did you even prepare a eulogy for ? Haha... you always do, Uncle Xiang...
The Mystic Tortoise True Gang, exquisite like immortal technique, the swordsmanship heavy and ferocious like industrial machinery, these two diatrically opposed martial arts were perfectly united by Dugu Beiluo. Kanhara Kotoba’s arm joints scread in overload.
A mont’s distraction cost her the initiative.
"未だにあなたのことを夢にみる..." —I still see you in my dreams.
The conflict of logic chains within ga space directly reflected in the body, Kanhara Kotoba’s movents began to deform. Her junior’s knee strike struck solidly on her abdon, sending internal gyroscopes screeching in alarm.
"忘れた物を取りに帰るように,古びた思い出の埃を払う[Like retrieving forgotten items/ Dusting off the old mories]..."
Xiang Shan’s voice drifted, source unknown.
In defense, Kanhara Kotoba heard Dugu Beiluo exclaim: "Ah! A well-played psychological attack!"
Indeed, it was just a psychological tactic.
Even without this assist, Kanhara Kotoba likely wouldn’t have outmatched Dugu Beiluo. The Tenth Martial God was developed with Super Speed King Falcon as the target. Falcon surpassed all martial artists.
But...
Why this song? Why now?
Kanhara Kotoba seed to see that massive floor-to-ceiling window. Rain snaked down the glass, warping the bizarre cityscape outside into flowing blobs of light. A gigantic, 3D-projected geisha’s face slowly turned between buildings, overlooking the streets below. The expensive air purifiers filled the space with air filtered countless tis.
Holding a sugar-free Coke, Xiang Shan experienced the holiday atmosphere of that country. At that ti, he was just an ordinary rich man, soaked in wealth and power to the point of weariness. Occasionally, he would babble about how her deceased father was.
The neural signals controlling the prosthetic body’s movents were eroded to pieces by the flood of mories.
Dugu Beiluo wrapped her leg around the tower shield, trying to rip it off. Kanhara Kotoba resisted along the direction of force, but Dugu Beiluo was no longer in her sight.
She couldn’t help but recall when movie star Mr. Lu heroically appeared to fend off bullies during her school days, revealing a prosthetic body to intimidate the ruffians, then taking her to Uncle Xiang.
And Xiang Shan taking her by helicopter to Indonesia, reminiscing about her father’s conversations with him, speaking of those few people’s beautiful aspirations.
And...
And...
The song continued, riding the wind, reaching that line. "あなたは私の光..." You were my light.
He said, Kotoba, you must live on, you young ones are the light of the future.
Haha, Kanhara Kotoba, you were the one who betrayed first...
Dugu Beiluo ripped the limb from the "Gale Knight" and then thrust down with a sword.
Kanhara Kotoba rolled backward, unable to maintain even a stance.
Dugu Beiluo walked towards her step by step. Her footsteps, each like knocking on Kotoba’s soul.
She raised her sword, still in a forward charge stance.
"Take the loss gracefully, Big Senior Sister, otherwise I can’t guarantee your safety."
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