Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
“Where have you been?” The rest exclaimed upon seeing Feng Lin. Most of them had a hint of suspicion in their tone. Only a rare few, like Yue`e and Iron Pillar, were asking out of concern.
“This bonewall passageway seemed to go on forever. Since I couldn’t understand the ancient murals, I went on to explore the passageway instead!” Feng Lin replied nonchalantly, feigning ignorance.
So that was what happened!
Most of them seemed to have bought his lie, with Sutt being the exception.
“So, what did you find?” Sutt probed.
“Well, just the ancient murals!” Feng Lin said with a shrug and continued, “Look, this was what I scanned with the microchip!” He had expected this situation and had prepared what was needed for a convincing cover-up.
Using the identity microchip, he switched on the holographic projection to display holograms of ancient murals, one after another, dissipating the crowd’s suspicion.
“This is indeed a good way! We were all so preoccupied with looking at the murals that it never occurred to us that we could store them in the microchip! The school would certainly commend us for this precious mythological knowledge!” With that newfound realization, the other students started switching on their identity microchips to make copies of the murals too.
Given the limited time and vast amount of murals, it was impossible to look through all.
The rays of the microchips illuminated the passageway and swiftly scanned through all the murals, making copies of them.
Feng Lin heaved a sigh of relief and followed suit.
It felt good to not be running for his life for once. It was only then that Feng Lin finally felt he could take a break.
It all seemed like a dream.
A day trip around the ancient Earth!
And to think that only a brief moment had passed in the outside world.
If it was not because his Beast King Gene had increased by two genetic points, and he had garnered many spirit medicines and four young spirits along the way, he might really have thought that he had dreamt it all up!
The facts before him clearly demonstrated that all he had experienced was real.
“Everyone, be quick! The murals contain rare and precious mythological knowledge. If we can bring them back, we will be able to receive great contribution points and rewards from the school. However, time is limited. We should split the task up and copy separate murals. Once we receive the rewards from the school, we can share them according to the amount we have copied!” Zhao Yue`e instructed.
“All right!” The rest joyously agreed.
Feng Lin did not hesitate to join in as well.
Contribution points were needed in exchange for any resource at Great Wall University.
There was no harm in accumulating more of them.
No matter how small the reward, it was a reward nonetheless.
The identity microchips had all been switched on and were diligently scanning and storing the murals in their databases.
They were no longer anxious over their lack of time to view the murals and were all focused on scanning and storing as many copies of the murals as possible. They gradually moved deeper and deeper into the tunnel.
A wave of panic washed over Feng Lin. At this rate, wouldn’t they eventually find the entrance to the other world?
“Come and take a look at this. What’s that?” A student exclaimed.
Zhao Yue`e and the others followed the sound of the voice and stopped right before a thick layer of fog which separated them from the world beyond it.
Feng Lin was feeling unsettled when the howling wind broke his train of thoughts.
In the midst of the rolling fog came a strong gust of wind that rushed mindlessly toward them.
Before anyone could react, the merciless wind had swept under their feet and carried their bodies away like limp scarecrows, rolling and tumbling in the wind.
Within moments, a gust of black wind had cloaked and completely concealed the passageway.
It was at this point when the alarm started going off on the micro mecha.
“Minus 200 degrees, 210 degrees, 220 degrees! Please leave immediately! The temperature is approaching absolute zero and the mecha-suit is on the verge of breaking down!”
The big, red warning sign was flashing threateningly on Feng Lin’s suit.
Absolute zero is the lowest limit of the thermodynamic temperature scale of the universe. At absolute zero, all object particles will cease to move. The closer to absolute zero you get, the slower the movement of the particles and the fundamental structure of all objects will be thoroughly destroyed.
This was a basic principle in the laws of physics of the universe; it couldn’t be altered even in alloys.
Regardless of how advanced Feng Lin’s mecha-suit was, it was unable to defy the laws of nature in such low temperatures. It was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Before they could act, the group was quickly enveloped in a rush of cold waves.
Survival was now everyone’s top priority.
“Let’s go! We are no match for this cold wave of the universe!” Zhao Yue`e called out to the group, with a pressing sense of urgency.
It was hard for anyone to maintain their composure in the face of such an interstellar disaster.
Without hesitation, Feng Lin readied himself and charged rapidly toward the exit.
However, the ferocious and limitless cold waves fought back with a strength that could be likened to the tidal waves, flinging the group out toward the cold, hard bone wall and into the vacuum of the universe.
Even the stationary space shuttle was not spared from the damage. Tumbling from the impact, it was on the verge of being washed away.
Without the space shuttle, they would be left to fend for themselves in the universe and would unlikely survive.
Feng Lin and the rest hurriedly boarded the space shuttle. Looking back, they witnessed the massive cold waves gushed through space like a broken dam, blasting through the meteorites that stood in its way. Nothing was left unscathed.
Before this vast universe, nothing could possibly be indestructible, let alone a small space shuttle and its interstellar cultivators.
Maneuvering the space shuttle, Sutt repeatedly retreated at the sight of the threat.
“Look!” Someone exclaimed, drawing attention toward the view outside the cabins.
Along with the destruction of the meteorites, the cold waves had also rammed into the large bone wall, rapidly pushing it back, causing a strong wave fluctuation in the vacuum. As if swallowed by the universe, within seconds, the large bone passageway had disappeared right before their eyes.
It was all too sudden.
It would be hard to find another passageway like this in the vast universe.
“Oh no!”
“Now, we are in trouble! The entire mythological secret realm had disappeared!”
“We can never return!”
There was a collective sense of regret amongst the group.
A smile though teased the corner of Feng Lin’s lips.
It was only then that he realized the value of the Ginseng King’s words.
The ancient world was a land of its own, segregated from all other space and time; it couldn’t survive for long in the outside world.
However, with the help of the four young spirits, he could tap on the powers they embodied to retrace his steps back to the ancient world.
“Let’s go! This relic has been completely destroyed!” At that, the students sighed at the unfathomable power of the universe and the disastrous damage it was capable of unleashing.
What they did not realize though was the great opportunity they had missed – that was, the opportunity to discover the ancient earth.
The engines of the space shuttle rattled, shooting flames across the night sky. In the blink of an eye, the space shuttle had disappeared into the galaxy.
The way back was much unlike their arduous journey here; it was a smooth trip.
It took only a day after entering the wormhole before they caught a glimpse of the huge interstellar great wall.
“Orion – No. 263 Space Shuttle, welcome back to the Great Wall University!” A signal could be heard echoing from the great wall as the school prepared to receive them.
“Let’s go straight to the Office of Performance Review!” Zhao Yue`e suggested.
“All right!” The others readily agreed as they beamed with excitement. Rest could wait.
Even though the mythological secret realm had disappeared, the scanned copies of the ancient murals still possessed a great wealth of mythological knowledge waiting to be uncovered. The possession of these valuable resources was certainly worthy of contribution points!
As the space shuttle sped toward the great wall, the students sat with their chest puffed up in pride and anticipation of the good news that they were about to deliver to the school.
The school was about to be blown away by their groundbreaking discovery.
