Volume One, Chapter 44: Raising the Stakes

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A detached voice came from behind the crowd. Huangfu Zhong, who was just about to place the needle, suddenly changed expression and turned around.

“What did you say?”

Huangfu Zhong’s gaze fell upon Qi Wuxie, standing behind Qifeng.

“Who are you, boy? Who gave you permission to spout nonsense here? Get out!”

Qixun immediately shouted coldly, a trace of murderous intent in his eyes.

“Mr. Qi, is there… is there really a problem?”

Qifeng and the others from the Qi family instantly grew tense. Qifeng hurriedly turned to Qi Wuxie and asked.

Luo Xianbin noticed Qifeng’s attitude toward Qi Wuxie and imperceptibly furrowed his brow.

“The first half of his acupuncture was indeed correct, but the rest…”

I felt sorry for the two fellows as well. Looking around, I spotted a middle-aged woman riding slowly toward us on a Phoenix-brand bicycle.

As for some powerful relative, that was even more impossible. Otherwise, how could they have been assigned to such a poor major instead of one of the elite programs?

The King of the Northeast had once sent his eldest son to Daqing to repeatedly probe Mr. Shandong’s intentions and persuade him to reveal the lowest price at which he was willing to cooperate. Although they had never succeeded, the current state of the Public Security Maintenance Association was actually quite satisfactory to the King of the Northeast.

If they were to search for the other half of that object, the process would naturally be extremely dangerous. But the danger itself was not what worried him most. He was afraid they would end up losing far more than they gained—countless people might die or be wounded, yet they could still fail to find that other half.

However, before Vice Principal Li could speak, Professor Tian, who had always worn a kindly smile, spoke first.

Although the being she was now had long since ceased to be the person she once was, and her own memories had long lost all sense of reality, like flowers seen through mist, she could still manage something as simple as remembrance and recollection.

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Yet when Xia Ruofei saw them, he liked them from the bottom of his heart. These hornets were simply too useful—not only were they deadly weapons, they could also serve as unexpected forces in battle.

“A spirit of Heaven and Earth taking the place of a human!” Meiyan cried out in alarm. The idea was terrifying. She had entertained such a possibility before, but hearing it spoken so plainly still filled her with dread.

Even Joshua could not see through the secrets hidden behind those radiances. Of course, he knew that each radiance represented the divine power of a god. He could even identify every god by the color of its light.

The youth felt helpless. He had no use for it in climbing this mountain, and it had already carried him all the way there. In the end, he sent the ground bear away.

Sure enough, not long afterward, streaks of light crossed the sky and sped toward Chen Tao and the others.

He remembered how, only a few years ago, that man had held immense power at court and seemed capable of covering the heavens with one hand. Now he lay unconscious on a bed, hovering on the brink of death. Who had the years ever spared?

There were three thousand Great Dao, yet all returned to one, and only a single sage’s position remained. The Patriarch of Styx finally resolved to stake everything on one desperate gamble, burning his boats behind him.

Unfortunately, they had fled in panic, taking whatever road they could find. Much of the carriage train and ceremonial escort had been lost, and most of their followers had been scattered. In the end, only several hundred sturdy sons of Jiangdong under Sun Jian’s command remained, along with three thousand elite soldiers from General Cao Cao’s Liyang Camp. Roughly four thousand men were still fit for use.

However, her voice dropped during the final few words, because the enormous figure of a barbarian warrior came leaping down from the hillside.

Yet nearly a hundred miles deeper, at the far edge of this hundred-mile region, there was a vague record of a place clearly marked with information about the Myriad-Year Ice Soul.

“You really cannot see it?” Ruiouding became more and more excited. “Our bodies are trapped in a transformation that stopped halfway.”

The second matter was his identity, which had already left him so agitated and sleepless that he had no mind to think about anything else.

A rasping sound came from the old hide being cut. The sharp battle saber failed to leave even a wound on his hand. Only a white mark remained, proving that the saber’s slash had been real and not an illusion.

The capital was the seat of the entire Great Xia Alliance and was home to countless powerful figures. Not to mention that those in the Innate Realm were as common as hairs on an ox, there were dozens of publicly recognized experts living there.

As the radiance flickered, Shao Yang vanished from the spot and fled into another spacetime controlled by the Seal of Antiquity.

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Gongcheng climbed onto the lift. With an expressionless face, he forcibly raised the weapon and extended it beyond the roof of the vehicle. Then he leaned out and took aim at the vehicle on the far left among the first three cars, aligning the gun sight with its right tire.

The youth crouched on the chair with both legs spread apart and both hands braced against the seat. He looked remarkably like a… cat.

“Second Brother, are you awake? I’m coming in.”

Shen Yi called from outside the door. Before Sun Haochi could answer, he pushed the door open and walked straight in.

Of course, because of that incident, Ling Wu had voluntarily withdrawn from court that year and become an idle, carefree prince. But Ling Xuan could not possibly know those details.

Crow and Zining both drew sharp breaths, staring at what had happened in astonishment as terror spread across their faces.

Although Shao Yang had not noticed any flaw either, the fact that his own screen had issued a warning meant that such a possibility still existed.

Ziyuan was startled as she listened nearby. She had originally intended to watch a good show, but instead overheard something she had never wanted to know, leaving her completely at a loss.

Liu Bo trembled violently. Sweat had soaked his hair until it hung wet and glistening beneath the bright lights.

Even Shao Yang could not help casting all his troubles aside, overcome by a feeling of complete relaxation.

It was a warning that terrified the cultivators beyond the Northern Dipper. A chill ran from their heads to their feet. Feeling that disaster was imminent, they said nothing and fled for their lives.

By the time Xiao Zheng reached the outskirts of the city again, An Xin and the others had already begun cooking porridge for the evening. Xiao Zheng’s ten thousand taels of silver had been an enormous help to them.

By then, he had obtained seven sections of the Immortal Ascension Map and was still missing the final two bone fragments. It had to be remembered that in ancient times, when sages fought across the earth, not a single person had managed to assemble the complete map. Now, in this age of declining cultivation, the cultivators had departed one after another, inadvertently giving Meng Fan an opportunity.

Otherwise, let alone lacking the courage, even if they dared to try, what awaited them would probably be a raging storm.

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