Yang Zicang broke out in a cold sweat; the information in the manual turned out to be inaccurate. The people from Illusion Company had genuinely laid hands on an ordinary citizen of the Shibin Wastes.
Two assassination attempts had failed.
On the chest of the gray-suited young man, tinged with a hint of vexation, an obsidian-gold ring materialized. A thread, shooting forth from the void, connected to the obsidian-gold ring.
–Agent Xiao, I hear you’ve found a Vein Ring?–
Feet perched in his car, the young man’s gaze fell upon the twin-tailed girl shimmering in the sensory feed. Sullen-faced, he gave a nod.
–This Mr. Yang Zicang possesses a turbid three-ring Vein Ring.–
–Three rings? Good heavens, even a single-ring Vein Ring is a treasure unseen in the Shibin Wastes. Three rings—don’t lose it under any circumstances. Even if turbid, request His Majesty the Editor-in-Chief to extract some pristine Vein Energy from it.–
–Rest assured.–
Master Xiao’s composure returned.
He paced two steps forward in the wheat field.
The crowd turned their eyes to Yang Zicang. Feeling those gazes, his heart churned with turmoil: he could surely offer up the statue, but if he lost it, would the man before him truly let everyone off?
If the other went back on their word, every soul here would be purged, leaving them with nothing left to bargain with.
–Better put your coins away,– the youth stared intently at Yang Zicang. –Don’t even think about threatening to leave. Because, you see, I’ve long since reached the strength to leave if I wished. So I’m going to make a bet with myself.–
The mud-caked few turned to look at this figure of terrifying power.
–Betting with yourself?–
Xiao Ganshi sneered: –Wagering whether today is the turning point for my departure.–
Yang Zicang felt a sudden chill—this guy was actually willing to break away with him just for the sake of a sculpture, wasn’t he?
–If you leave, I’ll follow you into a new trajectory of fate. What do you think? Care to bet on whether they’ll all die, including you?–
With that, Mr. Xiao turned around, smiled, and strode off into the distance.
–As the index finger of the Editor-in-Chief, I have the right to write my own legend upon this land. As a gesture of goodwill, I’ll grant you a full day to think it over.–
With his back to the assembled crowd, the young man raised his arm, holding up his index finger as he walked.
–At exactly noon tomorrow, if you haven’t handed it over, every single life here will be eliminated. No matter where you run, it will be utterly useless.–
The woman with a gentle temperament standing beside him remained rooted in place.
Her warm, gentle voice reminded the trembling few with a smile: –All life means, from ants to bacteria, not a single one left.–
The others also turned and followed Mr. Xiao as he departed.
Yang Zicang realized that was precisely how the Single Frequency Inn had been destroyed.
He truly had the ability to do so.
Wasn’t it… merely the bloodline revered by all the strong in that old world!
Behind them, Yang Zicang clenched his teeth tightly, raising the statue.
–Since you want it, I’ll give it to you!–
I’m sorry, Chin Mong. He apologized in his heart to the kneeling flower statue. He hadn’t been able to protect you alive, and now couldn’t protect you even in death. But I will avenge today’s humiliation in the future. I must become stronger, faster!
Hearing the defeated words coming from behind, the youth, his heart roiling with fury, sneered with a look of contempt and gleeful sarcasm. He abruptly pulled his hand back, clasped it behind him, and said coldly without turning his head.
–I’ve changed my mind. Tomorrow, I want to personally witness it entering my hands.–
A phantom land materialized before them, revealing an ancient palace-city, splendid with gold yet suffused with a dim, murky light.
Watching the flickering dark gold Quantum Quad Mesh patterns, Instructor Cheng exclaimed in shock:
–It’s a true descent, such an extensive field of mind power.–
Yang Zicang’s heart burned with fury, but he eventually suppressed it.
When one’s strength is inferior, anger serves no purpose.
–Yes… Editor-in-Chief!–
There was no information about the editor-in-chief in the manual—perhaps that Being had granted these people new authority. Their power had even begun to interfere with the Shibin Wastes.
–Zicang-ge…–
The disheveled group walked over, looking at Yang Zicang.
The silhouettes of those few were about to vanish into the distant mirage.
Suddenly, their forward momentum could no longer continue; a harsh flash of light burst from beneath the tree and tore through space in an instant.
Before the group could grasp what was happening, the bodies of Xiao-sir and his companions ahead erupted and vanished in the blink of an eye.
Boom! The manifested realm of Nen consciousness crumbled violently, scattering into dust.
–Heavens!–
–What just happened?–
The group had sensed nothing, yet the ancient palace-like cityscape before them instantly shattered, collapsing and expanding outward with a roar.
Xiao-sir, who had been hidden within it, materialized his true body.
–Who is it!–
The astonished young man’s gaze instantly locked onto a segment of azure phalanges.
It hovered quietly before the dispersing Nen energy.
A hazy, skeletal humanoid figure formed of dust loomed ahead, with only a single jade-like knuckle radiating an eerie, resplendent blue glow.
–Did this thing do it?–
Robin Lo and the others were aghast—even more so because the one they had just spoken with and even fought was merely a figment conjured by Xiao’s will. Yang ZiCang acutely felt the gap between their two sides, a divide far vaster than he had ever imagined.
The knuckle suddenly emanated a flickering, starry radiance.
The instant Yang ZiCang looked up, this light cut through the air with a razor-sharp sweep, as if blasting everything aside.
Shock flashed in Xiao’s eyes: –Chief Editor!–
RUMBLE!
The space above the grass instantly burst into annihilation, swirling like the birth and dissolution of a spiral galaxy.
Under this fearsome feat, the lush grass and countless tender leaves merely swayed in the gale, untouched, yet Sir Xiao was utterly vanquished from the world.
The hazy figure of dust turned, as if gazing at Zuo Feixian and Yang ZiCang, and spoke:
{They already believe you are under my protection. There’s no escape. Go, and collect the other parts of my body.}
Zuo Feixian’s throat trembled as he swallowed hard. Was this the entity that had been communicating with him for the past two years? Such terrifying power.
Yang Zicang stared blankly at the instantaneous change, then several startled cries rang in his ears.
Shiu Siuchuan and Wang Chong, along with Xiao Liu and the others, only then realized that the fearsome foe had been utterly annihilated.
Yang Zicang looked at the hazy phantom and said,
–Excuse me, the crisis you mentioned, the one I cannot handle… is it the chief editor?–
In his heart, Yang Zicang had roughly confirmed it, but he still found it hard to believe that a stone possessed such immense strength—and it seemed that was merely a knuckle joint.
{That’s right. She is not someone you can overcome with force alone. Only I can—that is the reason for my existence. Hurry now. She has already sensed the death of its index finger. She should arrive before long.}
Yang Zicang glanced at the sky. There were still ten hours until midnight, but he hadn’t even collected a single bone yet. How was he supposed to make it in time? He spoke helplessly,
–My train won’t move until midnight. I’m afraid I’ll have to wait half a day or so.–
{No matter.}
On the ground, the phantom skeleton raised its hand, pointing at its own hazy head. Its index finger paused at the temple.
With its movement, it was as if a dark curtain in the sky was slowly rising from the horizon upward.
Strong winds blew, and the temperature dropped sharply.
In the lands of the Shibin Wastes, hundreds of millions of people looked up at the sky, where a dark veil was slowly drawing across the heavens.
–What’s happening?–
In all the major Peng Zones, countless people and creatures looked up to observe, and then fear gripped them.
–Why is night coming this early?–
Faint, jagged flashes flickered across the barren land; everyone tried to confirm whether they alone witnessed the anomaly, or if it was visible everywhere.
The Carefree Penglord, busy tallying goods, found the text on the paper in his hands growing increasingly hard to read.
He walked to the window and saw, among overlapping clouds in the sky, one half black and the other white. The black half remained as it steadily and unyieldingly stretched onward, devouring the daylight.
At the A-Level Intersecting Mountain Ranges, a group carrying incense pellets, who were burying a Shin Engine—a reflection of the charred black earth—into a gray-black land, looked up toward the sky.
–Well, I’ll be damned.–
Lu Xiang, who was following Yuan Kun and his subordinates near the edge of the Distorted Barrier Screen in search of stray beasts, opened his mouth in shock. The people ahead of him also looked up, stopping in their tracks.
Further away, Song Penglords who had been dismantling their homes to relocate their entire Peng Zone near the mountains stopped wielding their hammers and wood saws, stepping onto wooden ladders to gaze at the sky. –No way…–
–What is this world up to?–
Hubville.
In a gloomy mood, Popoly bought back lunch. As he reached the door and inserted the key into the lock, he suddenly noticed his shadow was gone.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was gradually being shrouded by a dark, dusky curtain.
On the streets, people pointed at the sky and debated whether it was a solar eclipse.
Ju Yin Chase walked onto the balcony. –This… is?–
On the plot left by Chin Mong.
With the last ray of daylight fading away, the energy phantom, now invisible, lowered its –arm.–
{This is the night you asked for.}
–?!– Yang Zicang and his group opened their mouths, speechless, looking around in astonishment.
{Go ahead.}
Letting out a breath, Yang Zicang closed his eyes. It was already midnight!
A faint whistling wind quietly began to rise from some ethereal place!
[Xingmiao wishes to conduct a Pro-Invest for me.]
[Xingmiao has Invested 100,000N Void Zero Chronos for me.]
Yang ZiCang opened his radiant eyes, a circular ring emerging on his chest, within which flickered faint, magnificent hues.
{Use it to accelerate—these Chronos contain my essence, allowing your little Matt Chao to advance faster across the Shibin Wastes.}
–Even you know it’s called little Matt Chao.– Yang ZiCang said with a strained smile—the train itself didn’t recognize this name.
No sooner had he spoken.
[Woo—]
The sound of the train’s passage approached at breakneck speed; normally, crossing such a vast distance from the city would take twenty to thirty minutes, but now its roar seemed to ring out nearby.
[Woo—woo—]
–Woo—–
Everyone turned their heads toward the direction from which the wind-sound came.
–So fast!–
BOOM! The air exploded, rolling out waves of turbulence; everyone raised their arms to shield their faces as their clothes fluttered askew.
{Huh, why am I suddenly this fast?}
{Because I’m here,} said Xingmiao.
Yang ZiCang glanced at the bewildered train, then at the figure whose fingertips faintly shimmered, and said, –How about we go together?–
{Your train cannot bear me, else it would forever become a spirit-carrier. My main consciousness will wait here—go quickly.}
With that, the phantom sat cross-legged on the ground, its body’s radiance intensifying slightly.
The carriage swooshed in a loop, materializing the door right beside Yang Zicang.
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