SWISH—
A sound of a flying craft piercing through the air echoed from the deep pit.
The heavy gray fog lingering over the swamp split apart, and several fully-ard figures erged.
"We’re definitely in the right place."
The man leading the group unfastened his protective face mask to reveal a handso, mature face. His short hair was a leaden gray color, and his calm eyes conveyed a sense of reliability and determination.
The short-haired man squinted into the depths of the pit, quickly issuing orders to a companion, "X and I will go down to take a look; the rest of you stay here, ready to provide support at any mont."
"Yes, sir."
The protective mask on the short-haired man’s face clicked back into place. He signaled, and he and the designated companion began to descend into the pit.
The rest of the group stood at the edge of the pit, watching as the two figures slowly disappeared into the gray fog.
Ti passed, second by second. Suddenly, a muffled noise ca from the bottom of the pit. The connection with the descending pair was abruptly interrupted at the sa ti.
The people standing by at the edge of the pit tensed. They quickly exchanged glances and prepared to go down to investigate. At this mont, however, the interrupted signal reconnected.
A deep voice ca from the communicator.
"Need...one more...to help."
Perhaps a strange magnetic field was interfering with the signal, but this voice sounded unusual, its words indistinct. Nonetheless, they could identify it as the voice of the short-haired man who had gone down earlier.
Relief was evident on the faces of those on standby. They exchanged simple signals and quickly arranged a plan.
"I’ll go down to investigate."
An ard mber activated his gear. Faint blue light enveloped his body as he gently vanished into the pit.
Just as this person’s figure was swallowed by the swirling gray fog in the pit,
WHOOSH—
Countless tide-like black viscous liquid suddenly erupted from the pit. The viscous liquid ford large, powerful tentacles in mid-air and swiftly wrapped around the bodies of the team mbers at the edge of the pit.
Those entangled by the tentacles had no ti to react before being pulled into the pit.
The fog in the pit roiled violently, as though brewing sothing terrifying.
Monts later, all movent ceased.
The gray fog slowly parted from bottom to top, and three figures erged, seemingly walking on air, step by step.
"Inferior and poor-quality genes... Only the flesh and blood left can barely suffice for a snack..."
The leader among the three figures was the short-haired man, the first one who had descended into the pit. But now, his eyes were a pure, eerie black, giving off an aura of mystery and evil.
"This planet’s civilization is way behind," the short-haired man said. "Are these weapons truly ant for combat? I think they should be displayed in a museum..."
One of the n behind him grumbled in agreent as outlines of chanical armor bulged on the surface of his body. These alloy components seed to have been absorbed into his very flesh, becoming part of his tissue.
"It doesn’t matter," the short-haired man continued. "For now, let’s just use what we have. We should seek an opportunity to consu the powerful life-forms on this planet to recover so strength. After that, we’ll focus on finding a suitable planet for the integration of our consciousness..."
A glint flashed in the short-haired man’s pure black eyes. He squinted, looking around, and murmured, "The will of this planet is ancient; I suspect it may be one of the origin stars in this star region. The life forms on this planet may have been cultivated here by soone. We may attract the attention of higher beings if we stay too long..."
The other two nodded thoughtfully.
At this point, rustling sounds ca from the nearby gray fog, as if soone was approaching.
One of the n behind the short-haired leader had a cruel glint flash in his eyes, and he tensed, about to move forward.
But the short-haired man stopped him with a gesture.
The short-haired man gave him a look; his pure black eyes instantly reverted to their original color, his gloomy, eerie aura vanishing with them.
In an instant, the three of them appeared identical to their original personas, so much so that it was almost impossible to notice any difference.
Shortly, a figure strode out from the gray fog.
"Griffin, what’s happened? Why did everyone’s signal get cut off?"
The short-haired man stepped forward solemnly, answering in a deep voice, "Just a minor problem, but... I made a significant discovery and need to report to... the higher authorities imdiately!"
***
「A sunny winter day in the south.」
The golden sunlight ward the courtyard like a blanket.
Two people were chatting quietly by the wooden fence.
One was lean with a youthful face, but his hair was crystal white. His hair was neatly parted in the middle, and combined with his pale, delicate features, he looked like a fragile pretty boy stepping right out of a manga.
The man speaking to the youth was quite different in comparison. His skin was rough and dark, and his face was horse-like. In his forties, he was bowed slightly, giving the impression of an old servant.
"The items have been obtained. There was a bit of trouble on the way back... but it’s not a big issue; my subordinates can handle it."
"Oh?"
Lu Yuan showed a hint of surprise as he listened to Guardian Lin’s report. He took out his phone and casually opened the photo Guardian Lin had just sent.
The photo showed a deep cyan, heart-shaped sphere the size of a normal human fist, with multiple facets. It looked like a valuable crystal ornant.
Lu Yuan vaguely recalled that the object looked almost identical to what was described on the stone slate containing information about the "Feathered Serpent God’s Heart" he had found earlier.
He felt both surprise and delight.
When he first got the clue to the "Feathered Serpent God’s Heart," he sent several guardians of the Evil Martial Association out to find the secret entrance to Sky Evil, a Legendary Level Secret Realm. Once the location of the entrance was figured out, he planned to explore it personally.
Unexpectedly, these people had actually found the "Feathered Serpent God’s Heart" directly. According to what Guardian Lin said, the object was already in their hands and was being delivered to Lu Yuan.
"Well done."
Lu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, closed his phone, and casually made a grand promise to Guardian Lin beside him.
"Tell them that after this, I will formally teach them the secrets and thods of advancing to the Supre Martial Tao."
"The Emperor is so generous!"
Guardian Lin looked imnsely grateful, tears nearly welling in his eyes, as he solemnly declared that serving Lu Yuan was their duty. They were willing to go through hell and high water for him, never daring to expect any reward. After expressing his allegiance, his expression turned serious as he imdiately offered to go and et the guardians who had retrieved the treasure on Lu Yuan’s behalf. He argued that since those guardians were carrying such a valuable treasure, there was a chance one of them might develop ulterior motives. He needed to go quickly and keep an eye on them to prevent any unforeseen complications.
Lu Yuan smiled and waved him off, inwardly unconcerned.
If it really was the "Feathered Serpent God’s Heart," it wouldn’t be of much use to ordinary Guardian-level individuals anyway. Firstly, the Evil Martial systems of the Evil Martial Association’s various Guardians were already established; replacing or transplanting a new Evil God Power would be too risky for them. Secondly, none of the eight Guardians under him possessed an "innate Evil Martial system," aning their tolerance for Evil Energy was inherently very low. Lu Yuan estimated that Tier Two, or at most Tier Three, was likely their limit. If anyone genuinely tried to take it for themselves, the only outco would be like a greedy snake trying to swallow an elephant—they’d be burst apart by the rampaging Evil Energy. These people probably understood this point very well themselves. Their previous obsession with the so-called "Evil Emperor’s treasure" was rely a pursuit of a faint hope for further advancent. And now... only Lu Yuan could offer them that hope.
Watching Guardian Lin leave, Lu Yuan slowly descended from the covered walkway, bathed in sunlight, and walked forward on a path covered with fallen golden bamboo leaves.
After crossing two stone gateways, he faintly heard the sound of fists and kicks cutting through the air up ahead.
Soon, Lu Yuan arrived at an open-air martial arts practice field.
Two figures were sparring on the field, employing the moves of the Heaven Water Crane Sect. Both were won; one was steady, and the other, with a graceful posture, was filled with youthful vitality.
Lu Yuan walked to the edge of the practice field and casually sat down in a bamboo rocking chair next to an old, white-haired man who was drinking tea. The chair let out a CREAK, CREAK sound.
Master Liudao Yuan put down his teacup, glanced at him dismissively, and huffed, "You’re so young with limitless potential, yet you insist on learning those damned evil skills. Now your origin is deficient, and your innate prowess is crippled. I wonder how you will recover it..."
Lu Yuan lay lazily in the rocking chair, listening to Master Liudao Yuan’s words, and casually replied, "Oh, co on, Liu. With technology so advanced... my little problem is nothing. Don’t be fooled by my current listless state; when I really exert myself, you wouldn’t be able to match even my pinky finger..."
As he spoke, Lu Yuan actually lifted his pinky finger and gestured with it twice.
Master Liudao Yuan, beside him, was so angry his beard practically bristled. He slamd his teacup down and cursed Lu Yuan, "Rebellious disciple!"
Lu Yuan acted as if he hadn’t heard, watching the young girl sparring with Zhuang Xiujie in the distance, and casually asked, "Liu, is this your new apprentice?"
"Hmph."
Master Liudao Yuan responded indifferently, "You may look down on my small legacy, but soone has to carry on the na of the Heaven Water Crane Sect, right?"
Lu Yuan, slightly taken aback, couldn’t help but ask, "You’re passing her the mantle? What foundation does she have that makes you value her so much?"
Master Liudao Yuan picked up his teacup, sipped it lightly, and answered nonchalantly, "Her bone structure is average, but her potential talent is like yours was... She too is one of the five legendary talents in the Ancient Martial Arts World. Not the Palace of Flesh, but ’Brain Divine Power’."
"Oh?!"
Lu Yuan was genuinely surprised now. No wonder when he had first entered and probed the unfamiliar girl’s condition, he had noticed sothing unusual about her Spiritual Power fluctuations. He had initially thought her Spiritual Power was just innately stronger than an ordinary person’s; he hadn’t expected it to be "Brain Divine Power."
"Have you confird this? Are you positive? Brain Divine Power aptitude isn’t easy to judge."
"Don’t worry. I’m more cautious than you are in this regard," Master Liudao Yuan responded. "Even if she doesn’t have Brain Divine Power, the girl’s martial arts comprehension is truly monstrous, almost on par with yours back then..."
As he was speaking, Master Liudao Yuan suddenly seed to realize sothing. His voice ca to an abrupt halt, and he stared at Lu Yuan with an astonished expression.
"You..."
HA—
Lu Yuan laughed heartily and couldn’t help exclaiming, "Talk about not seeing what’s right under your nose, Liu! Your only true disciple has been unmatched in the world for so long, and only now do you realize he also possesses Brain Divine Power... It seems as people get older, their minds really do slow down..."
Master Liudao Yuan stared at him for a long while, and, unusually, didn’t argue. Instead, he let out a long sigh, his face filled with a complex expression.
At this mont, Liu Si ca over with a bowl of steaming, pitch-black, stinky soup. Master Liudao Yuan put on a stern face and told Lu Yuan to drink it.
Reviews
All reviews (0)