On the question of whether Little Machao could go to the inn, Yang Zicang didn’t have to wait long for the answer.
To avoid being disturbed by crowds, while resting on the train that afternoon, Yang Zicang deactivated the “Crystal of Serenity ” effect. Not long after, he received a link to invest via Hua Mi.
As soon as the central dispatch station exhibited anomalies, they immediately used the room key of the Feilü Inn to return to the inn.
{For us, that potential Radiance was far too terrifying. }
Indeed, that situation was far too dangerous for them. Hua Mi, who was hurrying back planning to go from her room to the inn to help Yang Zicang confirm whether the train could be checked in, seemed a bit shaken by the near miss.
{But, President, I didn’t expect you could rescue so many people from the center of the dispatch station under those circumstances. That was truly a miracle. }
“Hehe, you already know? ” Yang Zicang scratched his head and looked askance out the other side of the train.
In the distance, two blocks away, there was a massive, football-field-sized terrifying pit. Many railway tracks and the buildings of the dispatch station that hadn’t completely collapsed hung brokenly at the edge of the pits or stood tottering dangerously beside it.
A rescue team, searching for any stragglers, had already sent several squads down rope ladders.
On the other side, near the villa’s entrance, on the main road beside Hua Mi, who was dressed in plain, low-key attire, large groups of mobilized soldiers and Home Guards were gathering.
Amid the iron whistles, their voices buzzed with arguments as they hurried out of the city.
{Did you hear that, President? } Hua Mi suddenly said.
From her end, the loud megaphones echoed through the streets with overlapping refrains—one part praising the great accomplishments of the Crown Prince and Lieutenant General Ross, another part urging the people to mobilization.
{The promotional materials have already included you as part of Lieutenant General Ross’s plan, you know! }
Hearing the broadcast, Yang Zicang resignedly averted his gaze from the rescue team.
{I’ve arrived. }
Hua Mi pulled open the iron door and ran across the courtyard.
Yang Zicang suddenly thought of something.
“By the way, when you went back to the inn last night, did you see a bird? “
{A bird? That singing parrot lady? }
“No, ” Yang Zicang snorted, “and while you’re at it, ask around for me—when you got back last night, was there a little metal bird drinking wine in the inn? “
{Alright. }
After receiving her response, Yang Zicang nervously glanced at his own right shoulder, then steadied himself and leaned back languidly in his chair.
……
A few minutes later, the communication line flickered again.
｛Hua Mi wants to invest 1N in me.｝
Yang Zicang’s tapping leg halted abruptly.
{Mr. Coco Lang said that, when facing these super-massive monster gentlemen, as long as you pay double the accommodation fee—or if the floor manager submits a hundred years’ worth of Chronos Cost—a single inn room can be temporally synchronized to suit their living environment. }
“That’s fantastic. “
{Oh, and President, that bird you mentioned was indeed still in the inn when we came back last night. }
Case closed.
That pretentious little trickster bird.
Yang Zicang cracked his knuckles with a snap and said, “Thank you, Miss Hua Mi. “
……
By the edge of the lawn, Wes, wearing blue pants and black rubber boots, held a fresh stack of recruitment flyers in his hand.
Printed on them is a mobilization notice to clear the materials beneath the sinkhole.
Below the Central Dispatch Station lies a relatively key tributary node, where the dust and construction debris from the massive explosion have clogged it for many miles.
“If any Mist-Brethren friends are interested, you’re welcome to join our job! ” he shouted, waving the leaflets in his hand.
Soon, a few people were drawn over.
“This is indeed a good opportunity. “
Amid the crowd, three foreign men with ordinary looks and prominent knuckles quietly discussed while holding the leaflets.
“We can’t match that guy’s level. But with this kind of clearing work, we should at least be able to get some Radiance to sell to the distributor. “
-｛Distributor April · Li Xuan gave me a “Favorable Review. “｝
The man who spoke beamed with excitement:
“Heh, we’ve got a shot. Quickly find some people, damn it—didn’t you guys get pretty good pay last time? Use some of it this time. “
As they talked, at the other end of the bustling lawn, a team had already prepared their gear, donning hastily made armbands, and set off toward the sinkhole.
“Who are those people? ” The onlookers watched the growing number of teams heading toward the tunnel, despite having heard there were no casualties at the Central Dispatch Station this time.
“Maybe there’s a crack elsewhere in the city, and they’re going for a rescue. “
“No. We’re the Patrol Group. “
A man with a high-bridged nose and rounded ears walked past the gossiping bystanders.
“Friends, to prevent any troublemakers from sabotaging things down below, we rushed over. Until your government can coordinate a unified response, we’re here to guard these waterways on their behalf.“
“Whoa!” The surrounding crowd’s eyes widened in astonishment. “No wonder they’re friends of the Mist State!” A scattering of applause broke out.
……
Time ticked by, second after second. With Yang Zicang and his strange train remaining here the whole time, the number of people in this temporary gathering place only increased, not decreased.
Seeing more people appearing down in the tunnel, Yang Zicang felt a twinge of peculiarity.
Dinner was personally organized by the mayor. After the meal, the mayor came over to exchange a few pleasantries with Yang Zicang, then lowered his voice and said,
“Mr. Buchen, there is another esteemed gentleman waiting for you.“
“Who?” At this point, however, anyone seeking him out wouldn’t have been strange.
“It’s an envoy of the Full Moon Angel, Lord Serafiel.” The mayor’s tone was deeply respectful as he mentioned the name. “He has traveled all the way from the north specifically to see you.“
Yang Zicang was so shocked in that instant that he nearly dropped and shattered his bowl.
In the living room of a nearby requisitioned, spacious private residence, everything had been cleaned to spotless perfection. Even the furniture inside was newly added, chosen according to aristocratic taste.
By the time Yang Zicang arrived with the mayor, someone was already standing inside, gazing out the window at the gray-blue sky. He was dressed in a set of perfectly tailored gray formal wear, his appearance so striking he seemed like a figure stepped straight out of a painting.
“Hello, Mr. Yang Bucheng. ” The visitor turned swiftly as Yang Zicang approached, extending a gloved hand with a smile.
“Have your chat. ” The mayor at the doorway immediately raised his hand in a gesture of farewell, pulled the door shut, and left.
Seeing that only the two of them remained in the room, Yang Zicang shook the man’s hand. “I’m Yang Bucheng. Hello. “
“Ah. I’m Lucius, secretary to Mr. Serafiel, the Sixth-Ring Sage. “
“Sixth-Ring Sage? “
“Indeed. Thanks to the help of the Holy Ones, in these fate trajectories derived from the old world, anyone who fully awakens the Fifth Ring or an equivalent ability can easily receive the Sixth Ring of Bloodline granted by the Holy Ones—the Ring of Life. “
“The Ring of Life! “
Yang Zicang nearly forgot to release the hand he was holding.
“Consider this information a small token of my gratitude for your grand feat last night. I truly never imagined a situation that left even Mr. Serafiel’s avatar at a loss could be so easily turned around by you. “
The tall Lucius released his grip, pulled a small black-and-white photograph from his bosom, and handed it to Yang Zicang, still stunned.
The Sixth Ring, the Ring of Life!
So this is… the reason the boost from causation is so overwhelmingly strong, so utterly irrational? So these powers have always been derived from the Holy Ones’ Sixth-Ring ability all along.
“Don’t be alarmed. The power to store the unconsumed years of other living beings’ life cycles is indeed the right granted to newcomers by the Holy Ones. “
“Thank you, sir, for resolving the long-standing confusion troubling me. “
Yang Zicang looked at the black-and-white photograph handed to him.
“This is a token of gratitude from the Sage, ” Lucius said.
After receiving it, Yang Zicang carefully examined the patterns on it. Intricate yet harmonious lines formed a circle.
“What is this? “
“This is a Spiritual Foundation Pattern—a realization of the Sage’s insights into heaven, earth, and nature. Resonate it with your mental power, and your spiritual energy will remain relatively stable without excessive fluctuations until you reach the fourth circle, fifth rank. “
This thing! Yang Zicang immediately treasured it in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he looked up with slight embarrassment.
“I apologize, Mr. Lucius. I still don’t know the Sage you speak of—the Sixth Circle Full Moon Angel his honor the Mayor mentioned. Who exactly is he, and why would he give me such a valuable gift? “
Yang Zicang wondered if among the crowd last night, there might have been a clone of that Full Moon Angel. Could this Full Moon Angel’s bloodline ability be similar to Xingmiao’s—to replicate the power of others?
“Hah. ” The question left Lucius momentarily uncertain how to respond.
After deliberating for a moment, Lucius figured it would be better to reveal the truth now rather than have this Fogfolk man suddenly realize the truth later after learning about Serafiel’s abilities from someone else.
“The one who fought the sudden appearance of the Steffen man-made warrior last night was precisely the Sage’s clone. “
“？！“
As Yang Zicang held the photograph, the terrifying moment of the subterranean energy explosion flashed through his mind.
“Damn… So it turns out the one who made that bomb was also the one who filled in the crater it created… “
After digesting this information for a moment, Lucius chuckled.
“Since I’m here and, if you’re comfortable with it, we can resonate this psychic pattern right now. “
Yang Zicang forced a stiff smile at the corners of his mouth.
He couldn’t help but miss Luo Bin’s intelligence-gathering abilities a bit. What exactly was this stable psychic frequency in the photo? It made him uneasy.
“How about this. “Snap!Lucius snapped his fingers, and the room’s vista shimmered instantly into a fluorescent, dreamlike undulation.
“This… We’ve already entered the Sub-Aether Field Space? “
“One can condense their own mental energy once they reach the Mid-Level Full Moon grade, stabilizing a region of pure consciousness in the Sub-Aether Field Space. It won’t be easily detected by others. If you can open a channel to the train, you should know how to verify it, right? “
Signal ripples of faint emotional fluctuation appeared around Lucius, whose form was vastly different from his reality.
｛Waiting｝, ｛Calm｝, ｛Appraisal｝…
“This basic pattern… what natural scene does it record? “
“You’re quite experienced. This is the serenity before a storm. “
｛Truth Divination.｝
Gathering ripples surfaced beside the handsome Lucius.
Donning white gloves that reached his wrists, he snapped his fingers once more. The living room regained its normal, warm, dark-toned atmosphere in an instant.
“……“
Seeing that Yang Zicang was still on guard, Lucius nodded in approval.
“Good. No wonder that even at your current stage, you’ve already managed several times to achieve a feat that influences the whole world. “
Yang Zicang’s gaze snapped upward.
A smile curled at the corner of Lucius’s mouth. “Got a reaction, have you? In the last operation to save Wood-Shallow Era, we indeed used that word to assess the value of Radiant Glory. “
“I’m using it now. “
A sudden resolve crystallized in Yang Zicang’s heart as he picked up the photograph.
He had no idea where this abrupt, burgeoning confidence came from. It wasn’t trust, nor was it a gambler’s impulse. It was as if… it was a profound, empathetic understanding of those who had poured every ounce of their actions into rewriting the world’s fate on that once-lost frequency.
“Excellent. “
Lucius extended his hand, a pale golden glow carrying a floating image flickering at his fingertip—much like the ashen gray radiance of Yang Zicang’s Holy-Sword force field—before it touched the photograph.
A quivering wave of focused thought, like a fluctuation of energy in Sub-Ether Space, diffused outwards, enveloping Yang Zicang’s body.
……
The entire world seemed plunged into dark sky and shadowed earth.
Black clouds rolling in from the edge of the world shrouded the heavens. Vast winds swept across the long-haired warrior’s crown. Men of like attire, alongside cowboys, clasped the pommels of their swords and the stocks of their guns at their hips, gazing outwards toward the storm beyond the Great Wall.
In that instant, heaven and earth felt possessed of an uncanny vastness, a pure and untainted clarity.
The image dissolved into a sensation, merging with Yang Zicang’s very mind and body.
A faint silhouette of lightning materialized within the closing eyes of the young man, tracing the contours of a human form.
{_ “You did well last night. It’s clear you had no mental preparation for the arrival of the disaster, yet you handled it perfectly. You didn’t even utilize the Bloodline Statue. ” _}
｛I am grateful for your blessing and praise, O worthy Sage.｝
{_ “Don’t mention it. Taking advantage of the formation of this spiritual pattern, I will take the opportunity to teach you some secret techniques. They are all human simulations of how bloodline energy circulates within the body; try your hand at some of them. ” _}
Yang Zicang felt as if the entire concept of having a ‘body’ had manifested. After attempting to circulate the five elemental secret techniques, he then tried to channel the energy along the pathways of the Glazed Perception art and the energies of ‘Silent Night.’
{_ “Let’s start with the detection secret technique you used last night. For now, it’s what you most need to train in. ” _}
｛Are the rest of my secret techniques completely useless?｝
Yang Zicang asked, his mind now completely submerged within the spiritual ocean.
{_ “Heh, think about the Fighter Sleipnir manufactured by Steffington himself — Soldier Number Four, the man. You could deploy all your secret techniques against him, and they’d still be inferior to the force contained in a single punch of his. ” _}
This answer within the mental plane from Serafiel filled young Yang Zicang with a deep sense of despair. To ordinary ‘Chosen Ones,’ secret techniques like these are almost entirely unattainable treasures. Yet, as Serafiel described them, they seemed as paltry as child’s play.
{_ “No need to regret it. Those elemental secret arts were designed primarily to resonate with the foundation’s source established from the priscoring Altar of All Parts entities have bequeathing . – Its primary array function is now considered complete. ” _}
The lightning phantom of Serafiel had already approached, raising his hand to overlap the forming faint purple circular pattern with the shape of Yang Zicang’s consciousness. A portion of it followed the energy pathways of the “Musing Night ” to simulate and gradually spread outward, forming an intricate new pattern.
Without time to react, Yang Zicang felt the changes in his body.
The energy pathways flourished like tiny blood vessels covering the body all over.
{This is the difference between ordinary secret techniques and those nourished by Stellar Yuan or the Holy Origin Source. }
{If you truly desire greater power, you can seek out powerful martial arts that require nourishment from Stellar Yuan. But none compare to the perfection of bloodline power itself. }
The voice gradually faded. Yang Zicang opened his eyes and saw Lucius stepping back two steps to examine him.
Faint traces of lightning flickered around the dark pupils of Yang Zicang’s eyes a few times.
“Not bad. You have a bit of a Radiant One’s aura now. ” Lucius clapped his hands.
“The Sage personally acted to help you condense this mental pattern earlier. With it, you should be able to gauge the strength of your mental power. “
Yang Zicang sensed it—indeed, he unconsciously knew the current state perfectly merged with the pattern, roughly equivalent to the Third Ring Fifth Stage.
“From now on, each time you improve your mental strength by one stage, the mental pattern will fade by ten percent. Come on, try using your mental detection technique on me. “
｛Silent Night was activated.｝
You said to use it, so he did just that. Without any hesitation, Yang Zicang dispersed the energy of the Silent Night.
Then, Yang Zicang was surprised to discover that, with the help of the near-fifth-ring spirit patterns, this power could almost be freely controlled within a two-meter radius around his body.
“Not bad. Now, remember this feeling. “
Lucius’s body lit up with a hazy glow, spreading outward through the surroundings, much like the Silent Night, which Yang Zicang himself could not perceive unaided.
The moment they made contact, Yang Zicang felt as though the Silent Night had been completely invaded by another, more delicate force. To his astonishment, he was almost unable to control the psychic power he had released.
In the next instant, his own Silent Night seemed to be turned over, layer by layer, enveloping him completely instead.
“Congratulations, ” came the voice. “Henceforth, any opponent whose psychic strength is inferior to your own will find it nearly impossible to perceive you when you wield this power. In essence, you will be able to vanish within perception itself. “
……
While the two of them were conversing within the room,
beneath the night sky, a middle-aged local man in a long coat, a small mustache adorning his face, paced eagerly around the mayor. His face was etched with anxiety. Standing beside him was Muse, who had previously waited two days for Yang Zicang without ever seeing him.
“Mr. Mayor, Brother Buchan will never know when we’ll truly get him out! He’ll be too damn late! “
“An honored guest is meeting with him, ” the mayor replied. “Please be patient. “
The man in the long coat glanced at his wristwatch, sighed, and stared back out into the darkness, toward the thin little path that the still lit their artificial light on the gathered in more many on the great fine by and pit bright its deeps every himself to see looked with their gaping and then home might further scanned presence come short course scanning instead quite hole…
“If we wait much longer, it might be too late. “
“What exactly is so urgent? ” The mayor looked quite bewildered.
Muse hesitated for a long while, then, after giving the man a look, said:
“All the documents from the data repository fell down there. The search team I sent down this afternoon discovered that some of the teams weren’t properly clearing trash—they were rummaging through things inside. “
“This… hmm, I definitely need to look into it. I’ll tell them not to touch anything. “
“Oh heavens! Touch nothing, my foot, Mr. Mayor—the shift schedules and engineering blueprints of the entire central dispatch station are all down there. And… you can’t just hand over the complete design schematics of a dispatch station that’s ahead of its time to spies from other countries, can you? “
The mayor of Krostiten’s face shifted from a genial smile to instant shock as he raised his hand, pointing at the man’s nose:
“Ron Dara! Something this important! ” His hand fluttered as though slapping invisible cardboard planks to the ground. “Why are you just reporting this to me now! “
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