On the satellite surveillance footage, the Soul Shrieker and Raging Flame Traveler were quickly moving forward.
This time, they paid close attention to their surroundings and managed to avoid several forced teleportations.
Finally, they arrived in the city.
On top of an observation deck, Zhang Ying Hao raised his rifle.
“One shot, one chance”
He muttered and slowly entered a state of absolute concentration.
Within his crosshair, the Soul Shrieker and Raging Flame Traveler were slowly approaching the research center.
They abruptly stopped.
In front of them, Gu Qing Shan, Ye Fei Li, and Ye Ru Xi stood waiting at the gate of the research center.
The Soul Shrieker’s gaze fell onto Ye Ru Xi.
「 『 Unawaken Deity of [Chaos], I am the same kind as you, you should come with me 」』the Soul Shrieker stated.
Hearing that, Ye Ru Xi couldn’t help but look at it.
One half of its face had the visage of a cruel man, while the other half was of a grudgeful woman.
Six arms.
Half-naked.
Same kind…
Ye Ru Xi scowled: “Someone like you——– is my same kind?”
『 「 Indeed 』」the Soul Shrieker started exuding grey fog from its body, displaying the Law of [Chaos] for Ye Ru Xi to see.
It then continued: 「 『 I wield the unlimited divine power from the Era of [Chaos], I can help you, grant you power, and allow you to awaken faster 」』
Ye Ru Xi took a step back and casually said: “You’re too weak, no need to tell me such nonsense”
Seeing how resolute she was, the Soul Shrieker gave up on that idea for now.
——-if she is so sure about that, Gu Qing Shan must have used some sort of method to win her trust.
I was so slow that I’ve already lost that chance.
The Soul Shrieker’s killing intent began to boil and focus on Gu Qing Shan.
『 Gu Qing Shan 』
『 From the Age of Old until this moment, it has been a very long time 』the Soul Shrieker spoke first with its female voice, then changed to its male voice: 「 It is finally time for us to end this 」
“Indeed, I’ve been waiting for a very long time for today” Gu Qing Shan replied.
The Soul Shrieker scoffed: 『 「 Waiting? Haven’t you been fleeing all this time? 』」
“Because I couldn’t defeat you back then” Gu Qing Shan answered straight.
The Soul Shrieker took a step forward and shouted: 「 『 And you assume you can win against me now? 」』
Gu Qing Shan simply replied: “Your powers have already been sealed”
He reached into the void of space and grabbed the twin swords Heaven and Earth in both hands.
His sword qi surged forward.
The Soul Shrieker was drawn by the twin swords, then started speaking with a deeply ingrained tone: 『 「 Gu Qing Shan, you do not deserve to wield these two Soul Artifact swords, they both have their own missions to accomplish 』」
Gu Qing Shan concentrated on those words and replied: “I remember that the forging of these two swords was originally your plan——- what did you initially intended to use these swords for?”
The Soul Shrieker didn’t answer.
Gu Qing Shan continued: “The Greatest Above the Crown Star once told me that these two swords were created for the sake of defeating the wicked creature guarding the bottom of the Abyss, but I highly doubt that you would have dedicated yourself to doing such a thing for the Abyss”
The Soul Shrieker suddenly grinned.
「 『 If you’re talking this much, you are surely attempting some sort of different scheme or plot—— a dead man shouldn’t be talking so much! 」』
It rushed towards Gu Qing Shan.
In an instant.
Gu Qing Shan faced it with his swords.
Before any change occurred.
The entire world fell silent.
Lines of text appeared in front of everyone’s eyes:
[An emergency mission had been issued]
[Please cease your fighting and focus on completing the Apotheotic Combat as your priority]
[No one, regardless of who they are, can go against the will of Chaos nor kill your competition, as all of you must complete this pivotal mission from Chaos]
[Violating the above rules will result in the immediate disqualification of your Apotheosis]
Clang!
The twin swords clashed against a spear.
Intense gusts of wind blew in every direction.
Gu Qing Shan and the Soul Shrieker both stood still.
Ye Fei Li had already wielded the Forgetting River Soul Flaying Hook and blew a high-pitched whistle to cause the two monsters’ bodies to briefly freeze up.
Bang!
The sound of gunshot resounded from afar.
The Raging Flame Traveler was struck and halted from advancing further.
At this split second, a sword appeared from behind, deeply cutting into his neck.
———Gu Qing Shan.
This was the real Gu Qing Shan!
He wielded the Chao Yin sword as he stood behind the Raging Flame Traveler, only a hair away from beheading the other party.
All the grey text had finished displaying.
Gu Qing Shan stopped.
“Tsk, so we can’t kill competitors, why didn’t you say that sooner?” he regretfully said.
The ‘Gu Qing Shan’ who was holding the Soul Shrieker back suddenly turned back into Shannu.
Both Shannu and the Soul Shrieker retreated.
Neither side continued to fight.
Everyone looked at the grey text floating in front of them.
Gu Qing Shan, Zhang Ying Hao, and Ye Fei Li all had the same mission:
[You have obtained Ye Ru Xi’s recognition]
[She will follow you and leave this world, then locate a unique path for Chaos that leads toward ‘that’ secret palace]
[To gain victory in this Apotheotic Combat, you must accompany her and aid her in locating that unique path]
[You only have 30 minutes!]
[Attention, this will be the decisive 30 minutes, as well as a pivotal moment for the Era of Chaos itself, do not waste time with your competitors!]
The three of them exchanged glances.
For [Chaos] to suddenly issue such a mission.
Something definitely must have happened.
Gu Qing Shan asked: “What if our competitors insist on wasting our time?”
A new line of grey text appeared:
[During this Apotheotic Combat, your competitors have received an entirely different trial, they will not interfere with you]
[Remember, this is the Apotheotic Combat of Chaos, and Chaos retains the right of final judgment]
Ye Fei Li read the last line and couldn’t help but ask: “What does this mean?”
“It means that we shouldn’t stay here to fight them to death, we need to follow the rules of the Apotheotic Combat” Zhang Ying Hao replied.
Whoever [Chaos] pronounced as the victor would undergo apotheosis and become its Deity.
At a time like this, if they angered [Chaos], the Soul Shrieker could still become the founding Deity for the Era of [Chaos].
Which meant they would still not be able to kill it.
“Alright, let’s go then. Although this is a bit unexpected, as long as we still want to kill the Soul Shrieker, we would need to kick it off its Deity pedestal” Gu Qing Shan stated
The four people turned to the Soul Shrieker and Raging Flame Traveler.
These two monsters stood in place, apparently receiving a new mission.
The Soul Shrieker turned around, refusing to face the four of them.
Gu Qing Shan took notice of that and asked: “[Chaos], what is their mission?”
[To help you prevent and stop any possible assailants] – [Chaos] replied.
Gu Qing Shan was surprised.
…No wonder the Soul Shrieker refuses to say a single word.
We were still enemies who wanted to kill one another just a moment ago, but now they had suddenly been ordered to protect their enemies.
No one would want to face the other party in such a situation.
…
A few moments later.
The warp fluctuations slowly calmed down.
Their group of four now stood on a certain beach.
Gu Qing Shan, Zhang Ying Hao, and Ye Fei Li all looked at Ye Ru Xi.
“I can see a notification, is this the power of [Chaos]?”
Ye Ru Xi watched the void of space, seemingly also reading something.
She pondered a bit, then told him: “If the place my UI referred to was ‘that’ place, we need to do something first before we can go”
“What is that?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
Ye Ru Xi looked towards the void of space behind him and explained: “Under the current situation, only your sword can take us there”
Gu Qing Shan asked: “So when you looked at my sword that time, it was because you could feel its power?”
“Yes, I have a certain unique ability to appraise the unique abilities of items by looking at them. Your sword is able to part open the sea, as well as undoing the seal that the Oceanic Divine Artifact has on my body” Ye Ru Xi explained.
“A seal?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
The void of space fluctuated.
The Chao Yin sword appeared from the void of space and landed in his hand.
“What should I do?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“Come with me into the sea, open the seal of the ocean, and release my power” Ye Ru Xi replied.
The three of them were stunned.
“You’re currently in a sealed state?” Zhang Ying Hao asked in disbelief.
Ye Ru Xi appeared nostalgic, then replied: “Ever since I was 5 years old, I had been able to summon inexplicable things and entities into existence”
“As I grew older, this ability became stronger and stronger”
“According to my own estimations, by the time I reach 10 years old, the summoned object would become unimaginably powerful, and its mere presence would destroy this entire world”
“So I prayed for 3 full days and night, which ultimately ended with the summoning of a certain entity who pitied my circumstances”
“That entity used a certain sealing technique to suppress the power contained within me into an Oceanic Divine Artifact”
“This way, I would be able to enjoy a relatively normal life while also calling upon a certain amount of power that would ensure I don’t destroy this world”
The three of them silently listened.
Zhang Ying Hao wiped the sweat off his forehead and whispered: “In other words, your current strength is only your power after it was sealed”
“Yes” Ye Ru Xi replied.
Gu Qing Shan carefully recalled the memory he witnessed.
At that time…
When she summoned the bronze finger that crushed an entire city.
She seemed to have already grown older than 10 years old.
In other words, even after she was sealed, she could still summon such immense power.
Then, if she was unsealed, how unimaginable would her power actually be!?
Ye Ru Xi continued: “Once my power is unsealed, I will be able to open a unique path heading towards a certain world, so we now need to find and unseal that artifact”
She pointed at the ocean.
Gu Qing Shan sighed and replied: “Let’s go, we’ll do it immediately”
He wielded the Chao Yin sword.
The ocean retreated.
All the seawater parted ways to reveal a straight road that headed directly into the depth of the sea.
The monsters who remained under the sea could not escape from the water, helpless to do anything but be swept away by the Chao Yin sword’s divine power and be chased away.
“Eastward, 300 miles” Ye Ru Xi stated.
