During the assault on the third pagoda, there were practically no casualties compared to the other two assaults since although the number of enemies had been undoubtedly higher in this third assault, the power of the Electromagnetic Rifles proved their worth in the hands of soldiers who had received military training for years and who had been shooting firearms to the point in which it was so normal for them as it was for them to breathe.
With the support of nearly two hundred human elites whose ability to get headshots at a distance of 200 meters was over 70%, the soul evolvers lost a lot of weight that was previously carried on their shoulders like an immovable rock.
Leaving some words behind, Bai Zemin walked into the third pagoda together with a small group of people.
Having experienced the same feeling four times, Bai Zemin and those who had accompanied him during the teleports back and forth between each tower did not feel uncomfortable after their bodies were moved through space until they reached a room hidden who knows how many meters below the ground where the large circular stone square had been built.
This time, the room they had been teleported to was actually a huge library whose size was actually comparable to the international library by at least two or three times!
The smell of dust and old books filled the air and as the group walked with careful steps they couldn’t help but notice that the brown woodwork now covered in a thick layer of dust after not having been maintained for so long creaked as if it would split at any moment.
Bai Zemin stopped in front of the first bookshelf that was probably holding at least a hundred books as thick as a small 500-page encyclopedia. He casually picked up a book that was clearly different from most books that existed in the world today.
The cover of the book was actually the leather of some mutant animal as even now the light protective mana surrounding it could be felt flowing through Bai Zemin’s palms. Probably due to that light layer of protective mana, the book didn’t even have a mote of dust on it and when Bai Zemin opened it, thick sheets of yellowish paper greeted him.
The first sheet had a few words written on it and fortunately, the language was Mandarin Chinese so Bai Zemin had no trouble reading it straight out loud.
“One hundred ways to improve the quality of the earth… Unique specimen?” Bai Zemin frowned slightly at the words that were probably a base summary of the contents of the entire book and out of pure curiosity turned to the second page.
“It was during the 273rd year of the Sage Calendar when our ground changed from normal to mutant ground. When our human race finally managed to get half a foot firmly on safe field and our Sages began to study the earth, they realized that they could now plant the same plants as in the past but what they would get in return would be greater quantities and in qualities never seen before…. Over the years, several ways were found to improve the quality of the soil to make the most of the world we live in, one of them being….”
The more Bai Zemin read, the more he was amazed to the point that he lost himself in the middle of the heavy book in his hands and forgot that behind him, there were people waiting for his next orders.
Year 273 of the Sage Calendar? But what the hell was that calendar?
Bai Zemin had never in his entire life heard of such a thing so at first he couldn’t even help but think that the book in his hands was a piece of trash written by someone boring even though deep in his heart he knew that such was not the case after witnessing the previous two ancient ruins.
However, the more he read the more he realized how logical the words written in the book were, and the more he was amazed at the wonderful benefits that the corpses of any evolved creature could offer to the world, and in return, the world would respond by giving you resources that many could only dream of.
Furthermore, Bai Zemin realized that while there were several ways to get benefits from the ground they walked on daily, in reality, those ways had to be applied in order and had to meet certain special patterns; if a single step was completed before or after or if it was simply ignored, then the process would end up failing.
In short, the book in his hands was undoubtedly an incredibly valuable treasure for mankind in the long run!
Bai Zemin immediately ordered everyone to start putting the books into storage. He didn’t care what these books were about and all he knew was that if one book he picked up by coincidence was already so valuable then the other books inside this library would definitely have great uses at some point.
He was not going to leave any of them behind!
Of course, Shangguan Bing Xue had to build another ice wagon.
“Seriously, I feel like I’ve reduced to a cargo character.” Shangguan Bing Xue sighed as she stretched her hands skyward to free herself from the sluggishness without realizing that in the process the curves of her delightful body highlighted even more than they already were.
“Don’t complain, I’ll pat you on the head later.” Bai Zemin said casually as he watched the others work from the second floor.
In fact, with Wu Yijun taking the helm, Bai Zemin didn’t need to worry about anything as she was far more effective than him when it came to this kind of job.
“You think everything in this world can be solved with a pat?” Shangguan Bing Xue looked at him feeling a bit speechless. “I am not Luo Ning, nor am I Xiang Feng or the Wen sisters!”
Bai Zemin looked at her with weird eyes and a thought flashed in his mind but he decided to keep it to himself to avoid awkward situations. Besides, he now had a relationship with Lilith so he didn’t see it right to say words that could be misunderstood.
“Team Leader, you have to see this!”
It was just at that moment when a soldier with an Electromagnetic Rifle slung over his right shoulder called out to him from the deepest part of the second floor.
“Sure, I’ll be right there!” Bai Zemin shouted looking back over his shoulder and seeing the man waving his hand to ask him to go quickly.
Bai Zemin nodded towards Shangguan Bing Xue before disappearing past the various wooden shelves; shelves which after a bit of searching they found out were not only there to store books but also separated by content and usefulness so it was a lot easier to sort them into level of importance.
Swoosh!
Shangguan Bing Xue was about to go downstairs to help Wu Yijun when a rose-scented breeze caused her to stop in her tracks. Looking back, she saw the only woman who could make her admit defeat in terms of appearance and strength no matter how unwilling Shangguan Bing Xue was to do so.
She immediately frowned when she saw the smile on the lips of Lilith. For some reason, those ruby eyes looked especially bright now and Shangguan Bing Xue didn’t like the mocking glance Lilith was giving her at the present moment.
“What do you want?” she asked clearly without much goodwill.
“No… Well, I actually wanted to make peace with you.” Lilith said with a faint smile and her eyes flashed weirdly as she saw the surprise in Shangguan Bing Xue’s eyes.
“… Did you perhaps bang your head against one of the pagodas?”
“Hehe… Although these pagodas are in fact tough, they can only handle at most one attack from a Fourth Order existence.” Lilith chuckled at Shangguan Bing Xue’s words. She ignored her frown and continued, “The reason I want to make peace with you is because I actually realized that what I was thinking before doesn’t even have a point.” Do you want to read more chapters? Come to panda-novel,com
Shangguan Bing Xue for some reason felt a bit uncomfortable at the weird behavior of the woman in front of her and even more so at her last words. She frowned harder than before and asked in a low voice, “What are you supposed to mean by those words?”
Lilith sighed and while playing with her hair she answered calmly and in a slow voice: “To be honest with you, your beauty, as well as your talent and willpower, shocked me from the very first moment I saw you. Do you want to read more chapters? Come to panda-novel,com For a Second Order Lower Existence, your beauty is comparable to beautiful Fourth Order women, which apart from me probably only Uriel of the Army of Heaven could achieve…. Oh, just in case but Uriel was considered the most beautiful woman in the history of the universe until recently. I tell you this to help you to understand and show how prideful you can be.”
While Lilith did not give many details, Shangguan Bing Xue was not stupid and naturally understood that the reason why the woman called Uriel was no longer the most beautiful woman in the history of the universe was probably due to the appearance of Lilith herself…. It was just that Shangguan Bing Xue didn’t care about anything she was talking about. Beauty or not, she never cared about such things more than what was essentially necessary and in fact, her beauty had often been a source of problems.
Lilith paused and seeing the disinterest in the stare of the woman in front of her, she chuckled before continuing calmly:
“At first I was just amazed by your talent, beauty, and willpower. However, that was all… The problem started when I slowly began to realize that somewhere along this whole journey, my heart began to be attracted to that little scoundrel. It was then that just like any woman I began to feel a hint of jealousy, and as I realized that you were gradually becoming an existence capable of walking alongside him while I could only watch from the sidelines, I began to get worried.”
“… So… You’re telling me that your rivalry against me is because you realized your growing affection for Bai Zemin?” Shangguan Bing Xue asked clearly with confusion painted on her face.
“Yeah,” Lilith sighed before smiling slightly and then saying, “However, I recently realized that there was no need for me to feel any pressure from you. It’s just silly.”
Although Lilith seemed to come with good intentions, for some reason Shangguan Bing Xue could not understand why she felt increasingly annoyed with the woman in front of her now.
Regardless of what Shangguan Bing Xue might be thinking, Lilith continued:
“Your goals are completely different from mine. But even if we put everything aside, Bai Zemin and I officially entered into a man and woman relationship recently so after calming down and putting my emotions in order, I realized that there was no point in feeling on guard against you.”
“…What…?” Shangguan Bing Xue’s pupils trembled for a split second and her eyes widened in shock before her expression returned to normal.
Lilith’s eyes glistened and no one knew what she was thinking as she said with a chuckle, “Well, things just happened. Anyway, now that the heart of the man I love is mine, there’s no need for me to worry about nonsense… and thanks to that, I realized that there was never really a need for you and me to get along badly.”
After saying those words, Lilith didn’t seem to notice the ugly expression on Shangguan Bing Xue’s face and extended her flawless free hand forward.
“How about we make peace?”
Shangguan Bing Xue stared at the hand in front of her and her cold expression made it difficult for people to know how she felt or what her thoughts were.
After what seemed like several minutes of silence, however, Shangguan Bing Xue raised her head without taking Lilith’s hand and as she looked at those bright ruby eyes, her own blue eyes sparkled as she said in a calm but clear voice:
“I hate you.”
Lilith looked genuinely surprised as she blinked at her and asked in a low voice, “… You hate me?”
Shangguan Bing Xue looked at her fearlessly and said in a clear voice, “I hate that you treat people’s hearts like toys. Do you think love is about winning or losing? You think people’s hearts can be won and that’s all? I don’t know how you, Higher Existences, do anything, but let me tell you that your thoughts will get you nowhere in your relationship with him… In fact, you’re more likely to make him suffer more than the happiness you can bring him.”
“Oh?” Lilith looked into her eyes for several seconds before the smile on her lips slowly grew. She gracefully retracted her hand and said with an amused smile on her face, “Can you make him any happier than I can? I don’t think it’s possible for someone who doesn’t even know what she wants from herself, right?”
Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head and said under her breath, “I don’t know if I could make him happy or not… Bai Zemin is a man who deserves the best in the world, and I don’t think I am the person who can give it to him… But regardless of everything else, at the very least, I think I can make him happier than you. A woman who only minds victory and defeat will only end up hurting his heart for a second time.”
“Everything in this world is about victory and defeat,” Lilith replied indifferently. “Win or be defeated, kill or be killed, life or death. It all comes down to who comes out on top regardless of the confrontation…. But of course, a person like you who at least so far has never lost anything in her life would never understand these words. I only hope that by the time you realize this it won’t be too late for you.”
“… This conversation has no meaning whatsoever anymore.” Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head and turned to leave. However, she stopped as she was about to walk down the stairs.
“Did you forget something?” Lilith taunted.
Shangguan Bing Xue did not snort at her words. Instead, she didn’t turn to look at her but said in a chilling voice, “I don’t know why you showed up to bother me, but let me give you a warning…. If you hurt him, I, Shangguan Bing Xue, will personally rip out your heart and will feed it to the dogs! No matter where you run, I will definitely find you and show you the meaning of the word regret…. Ignore my words if you want, but then don’t complain later that I didn’t warn you. It is not a threat, it is a vow!”
Without waiting for Lilith’s reply, Shangguan Bing Xue calmly walked down the stairs before walking toward Wu Yijun, and after exchanging a few words, she began to help her with the organization of everything.
Lilith watched Shangguan Bing Xue’s back for several seconds before the mocking look on her face and the disdainful smile at the corner of her lips receded. Instead, her eyes became softer and the smile on her face became more natural.
“So scary… Hehe…”
In fact, 90% of everything Lilith had said before were pure lies. Her attitude was also fake.
There was no way she could see Bai Zemin as an armor that could be won in a fight and taken casually…. It was just that she needed to have this conversation with Shangguan Bing Xue.
After all, Lilith also had plans for Shangguan Bing Xue when she arrived on Earth. It was just that those plans might have to change depending on many factors.
The future was definitely uncertain for the most part…. However, Lilith knew many things that unless huge changes happened such as Bai Zemin’s even more terrifying talent compared to what Lilith expected, those things would happen and surely no one would be happy with them.
As she watched Shangguan Bing Xue giving orders with an indifferent expression, Lilith sighed and muttered under her breath:
“Little princess, at this rate, you’ll never be able to break through the Fourth Order…. This means that even if Bai Zemin becomes a Higher Existence, you will never be able to follow him.”
Those words floated for a long time in the atmosphere and seemed to have been muttered by no one as there was no person in sight.
