In the Federation Suburbs of New York, a cargo truck traversed the national highway, escorted by a total of eight off-road vehicles, all the way to a military restricted area surrounded by barbed wire.
Inside the checkpoint, Federal soldiers loaded their fully automatic rifles, barrels pointed at the ground beneath the vehicles. They only relaxed their trigger fingers after identities were verified, allowing the convoy to enter the restricted zone.
The fierce-looking Zack glanced at the stationed soldiers at the gate and felt a bit surprised. The guards turned out to be F-ranked Transcendents at least!
This was his first visit here. Although he already knew that this military restricted area was a Supernatural Research Base highly esteed by Federation officials, he never imagined that even the gatekeepers were F-ranked Transcendents.
Without a doubt, these F-ranked soldiers must have learned the Federal military's standard F-ranked Spell, 'Precision.' This Spell could temporarily strengthen a soldier's Six Senses to extre levels, ensuring 100% shooting accuracy within a hundred ters (without needing a scope)—hitting exactly where they aid.
Moreover, this accuracy was standard against high-speed moving targets. Zack had once seen a criminal with speed Awakening Special Abilities try to escape from a Precision squad. Even at nearly 80m/s, the criminal was shot full of holes, like a sieve. Dozens of bullet holes riddled his body, and no other stray bullet holes were found at the scene.
Although frequent use of this Spell could lead to side effects like headaches, hallucinations, and tinnitus, its advantage was that F-ranked soldiers could learn it. In an era where Hot Weapons were still effective, a Precision Shooting Squad composed of F-ranked soldiers was enough to beco a nightmare for Low Level Transcendents.
But that's about it... Zack murmured, stepping down from the off-road vehicle and watching the research personnel move the treasures from the cargo truck.
"Mr. Angel."
The base director, a Federation Major General over forty, ca in person. He glanced at the item being moved from the cargo truck, wrapped in nano black cloth, and asked, "Is this the treasure that appeared in the Secret Realm?"
"It's not as simple as just a treasure," Zack said. "I've seen many treasures, but none can compare to it. As the price for obtaining it, the Secret Realms within the Federation simply vanished."
"If I had to describe it, I think 'Supre Treasure' is a very appropriate term."
"'Supre Treasure...'" The Major General repeated the term, sensing its significance. "How does it compare to the treasures in 'High Energy Ahead'?"
He had seen many treasures too. In fact, after the revival of Spiritual Energy, all sorts of items with mysterious effects erged, but most had minor effects. For example, the most powerful treasure in the base was a Ring—a jerk had used this Ring to propose. Once his girlfriend put it on, she suddenly realized all the jerk's faults and slapped him unconscious.
Subsequent experints found that the Ring slightly increased Wisdom. So far, no side effects had been discovered, and it was worn in turns by the scientists within the base.
The treasures from 'High Energy Ahead' that the Major General ntioned, however, were real treasures: items that could emit astonishing Fiery Flas (Kusanagi Household's Fla Gauntlets), grant protection against all poisons (Thought Cultivation), significantly enhance dynamic vision (Costic Contact Lens Power), and weapons that could directly Attack the soul (Buddha Beads).
Originally, adventurers seed to have little Combat Power, but with these items, they beca incredibly arrogant, reflecting the power of Supernatural Treasures.
Yet, items like these, capable of instantly turning an ordinary person into soone with Supernatural Combat Power, were nowhere to be found in the base.
Zack smiled slightly. "The sum of all the treasures carried by the adventurer is less than one-tenth the value of the Supre Treasure."
The Major General was sowhat skeptical, but he would soon know the power of the Supre Treasure, so he said nothing. Instead, a question occurred to him. "With the Secret Realm gone, won't we lose a training site for Transcendents? Although the Federation has a certain number of entry spots in the other three Secret Realms, they are far from enough to et the needs of the Transcendents. The Federation will temporarily fall behind."
"This was an accident. Nobody knew that obtaining the Supre Treasure would cause the Secret Realm to vanish," Zack said. "However, if the higher-ups believe that the 'Supre Treasure' is far more important than training Transcendents, well... General, you need to understand that so-called 'falling behind' implies that others are progressing. If others stop progressing, then there's no 'falling behind' to speak of."
The Major General was not surprised by Zack's answer.
Disputes over national interests could sotis be as simple as children fighting over toys.
If the Supre Treasure was truly remarkable, then the Federation would definitely find ways to intervene in other Secret Realms and snatch their Supre Treasures. In this respect, the Federation should be thankful they discovered the Supre Treasure first—if other countries had discovered it earlier, it might not have been the Federation's turn to make a move.
"There were no issues along the way, right?" the Major General asked casually as he watched the staff move the precious item into the research lab.
"Of course not." Zack raised an eyebrow, a touch of pride in his voice. "Before the Angel, sinners cannot conceal their tracks."
The Major General had only asked as a formality. With the Federation's foremost Transcendent, Angel Zack, leading a convoy of Transcendent soldiers to escort it, how could there possibly be any issues?
And once the Supre Treasure entered this heavily guarded military base, there would no longer be any danger—unless a world war broke out.
An hour later, a sedan drove to the national highway, one kiloter from the military base. The empty back seat door opened, and a ghostly white figure dropped onto the sandy ground beside the road.
The confusion in the sedan driver's eyes slowly faded. He checked the map on his phone, wondering how he had ended up here.
Noticing the open rear door in his rearview mirror, he cursed under his breath, got out to close it, then turned to look at the sandy ground beside him.
On the gray sand, aside from a dark blue "Restricted Area Warning Sign," there were no other traces or colors.
"'Ren Han at the End of the Han Dynasty' officially comnced filming. It tells the tale of Ren Han's adventures slaying Monsters and Demons during the Late Eastern Han Dynasty and his love story with the Goddess. It is expected to premiere on various television networks in November, starring..."
"'Sweep the Demons' open beta test officially begins! This ga is lavishly produced with a next-gen 3D engine, offering nine classes for you to choose from. In the turbulent end of the Eastern Han, will you sweep away the Demons with a single sword or join the military to stabilize the realm? Ren Family, Xiao Family, Mu Family, Lin Family—which will be the strongest Cultivator Family? Your participation awaits! The companion mobile ga has officially launched and is available for download on Android and iOS platforms."
"'Over My Dead Body: Western Jin Butcher' comic series is now online! In the Late Western Jin Dynasty, amidst the chaos of the War of the Eight Princes and the barbarian invasions, where all heroes were beasts and Ghosts road the non-Human World, I wielded a sword to cut through all shackles. Seeking no rebirth, only a life without regrets, with heads rolling, I delighted in a hundred deaths! This story begins with a discarded child of the Ren Family, stripped of his Cultivation, being expelled from the mountain..."
These past few days, whenever Ren Suo went online, he could see these three ads almost everywhere—TV series, gas, and comics. All three were pushing hard simultaneously; this IP strategy was truly sothing else.
Ren Suo had been surprised by the lack of online discussions about Ren Han on the internal network, but it turned out the officials were already prepared. Perhaps because I used an unnad account to surf the web last ti, the officials think people from the Fairy Palace also go online. So they're trying this thod to provoke Ren Han into appearing.
Even if Ren Han felt annoyed by the content of the TV series, comics, and gas and lashed out with a few curse-laden posts, it would count as a Victory for the officials. They just wanted to engage in conversation with the Fairy Palace. Once they could establish a channel of communication, the officials would have nurous ways to benefit from the Fairy Palace!
And it had to be said, aside from the TV series which hadn't premiered yet, Ren Suo had checked out the other two and thought they were pretty decent. The ga might have been a typical MMORPG with old formulas, but it had an appealing art style and solid servers. Ren Suo had only downloaded it to take a look but unwittingly found himself playing the entire afternoon. It was addicting!
And the ga was completely free—not pay-to-win with props, nor ti-based charges. During the open beta, you could play to your heart's content, completely free!
They were probably afraid that Ren Han wouldn't know how to top up with Alipay.
As for the comics, they weren't bad either. Ren Suo quickly finished the first nineteen chapters and could barely resist urging for an update. The protagonist was also one of the Ren Family Descendants. He saw injustices in the world and tried to leave the mountain to turn the tide, but even if the elders didn't stop him, the bloodline curse severely taught the protagonist a lesson.
But this protagonist was the most ruthless one among all Ren Family mbers throughout history. Not only did he plan to leave the mountain to exterminate all the Demons and evil-doers in the world, but he was also ruthless to himself—he destroyed all his own tendons and bones, ruining his foundation of Cultivation, to minimize the impact of the bloodline curse!
Then he dragged his half-dead body down the mountain, enduring the excruciating pain of the bloodline curse. Upon encountering a group of marauding Cavalry, he imdiately activated his Cultivation Technique to instantly recover to full Status and strength, slaughtering all the villains with one strike!
Because the Cavalry were neither Cultivators nor Demons, the protagonist's act of saving people—much like a Rebel Army winning hearts—conflicted greatly with the 'Swear to protect the Han dynasty, never touch power' stipulation of the bloodline curse. This caused the protagonist imnse suffering, a fate worse than death.
If the protagonist had only slain Demons and monsters, he would have been fine.
But killing ordinary people, even if they were bad, was not allowed.
Slaying Demons and monsters to save people was the Ren Family's duty; but killing people to save people, that was the ambition of a Hero.
If the protagonist rely wanted to save people, he could have restored his strength and scared off the Cavalry. But he didn't. He insisted on seeking justice for the dead, with death as the ultimate punctuation.
Thus, the commoners, saved by the protagonist, watched as he once again crushed his own tendons and foundation, reverting to a beggar who could only crawl on the ground like a dying snake.
But the commoners did not despise him for this. Instead, they ca over to provide Healing. However, their goodwill was like poison coursing through his veins, their care like blades upon his body.
Their gratitude for his killing continuously aggravated the bloodline curse.
With a hardened heart, the protagonist killed the husband who had run the fastest in abandoning his wife, deliberately affecting a 'bloodthirsty' deanor, and soon scared the commoners away.
When the protagonist scared the commoners away, the pain from the bloodline curse lessened significantly. Thus, he understood: he could massacre the populace, but he could only beco his own hero—he had to bear the world's hatred and infamy to continue on his heroic path.
So, the comic depicted such a youth from the Ren Family: he had a heart that empathized with the world, an unkempt and dirty appearance, and a disagreeable, defiant attitude. Ever since descending the mountain, he had never slept well or eaten a warm al. He killed only to save others, yet he was hated by those he killed and feared by those he saved.
He could have cultivated comfortably on the mountain, eating and sleeping well, awaiting his major ordeal at twenty-three. But by tornting himself this way, he probably wouldn't live to see twenty-three.
The story of a short-lived hero who carried all the world's Resentnt, acting only according to his conscience, always tugged at the heartstrings while stirring the blood.
And in the latest chapter, a little girl appeared who, despite the protagonist's disagreeable attitude, still followed him out of gratitude. She was like a beacon in the darkness, a touch of warmth on a cold night, making Ren Suo itch with curiosity, eager to know what would happen next.
Would the protagonist, who had suffered so much, finally gain a sliver of trivial happiness? But this happiness is sure to be incredibly fleeting—just how much longer does the protagonist have to live? How much Lifespan does he have left?
This fan story of the Ren Family is indeed not bad. Should I use the unnad account to urge for an update in Ren Han's na?
Ren Suo forcibly suppressed this tempting thought. He was certain that if he really did that, the officials would probably coerce the manga artist into an overnight marathon of updates.
But the quality of rushed updates would be poor. Ren Suo empathized with the hardships of creation; good things take ti—slower updates often ant more dedicated work.
If I pressured them for rushed updates with such tactics, and the story took a wrong turn, wouldn't I have shot myself in the foot?
After idling on the internal network for a while longer, seeing it was almost midnight, Ren Suo returned to the living room and turned on the Mini-World Ga Console, an action he had repeated countless tis these past few days.
Ti to go to bed... Hmm?
Ren Suo blinked. On the screen of 'My Life is Not Your Ga,' it displayed: "Level 2 has been generated. The Rebel is ready. Do you want to start Level 2?"
Well... I guess I can't sleep then. Ren Suo rubbed his neck. He had used 'Evolution of the Cat' to sleep quite a bit these last two days, precisely so he could be ready to ga all night at any mont.
But he didn't start right away. Instead, he first checked the ga information in the lower-left corner.
"Cultivated for... only eight days? That's too little, isn't it?" Ren Suo muttered. "Just eight days, the Rebel's strength can't have increased much, right? Although I don't know how the Rebel cultivates, he doesn't look like much of a genius."
"Can we let the Rebel cultivate for a few more days before starting Level 2? Surely it should be at least half a year, right?"
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