All Things Are Contracts

Chapter 267: Before the Great Battle

“I want to know, did the humans… the human race of the Second Era have alchemists? What level did you reach?” Baizhi asked curiously. While there’s no end to the Dao, Baizhi wanted to know where the limits of alchemy lay.

“Alchemists? You ask this question, are you an alchemist?” The woman looked at Baizhi with interest.

“Yes,” Baizhi nodded. She was naturally afraid of this mysterious woman before her, mainly because she was too mysterious, giving a feeling of being unapproachable.

“Back then, the alchemical Dao also had a supreme expert who surpassed the Dao Ancestors. He once used the sun as a pill furnace, the resources of three thousand planets as ingredients, and finally refined seven pills. Those seven pills were as large as planets, floating in space. In the end, these seven pills were swallowed by the Ancient Azure Dragon, allowing it to advance to become a Dragon Race Dao Ancestor. These seven pills should be the largest and strongest ever created in the entire universe,” the woman recalled the legend with some sighs. How many years had it been since she first heard this story? The concept of time had become somewhat blurred for her. She was immortal, but that didn’t mean she was happy.

“Pills as large as stars?” Baizhi’s eyes widened, unable to comprehend. Could such pills really be refined by humans?

“That’s nothing. If not for pursuing absolute speed, the star ship under my feet could be countless times larger than it is now. Humans once had over a thousand star ships as large as the sun,” the woman said.

Zhanyue sighed deeply. It was a pity that era had long passed. Humans couldn’t indulge in past glories. But at least, humanity hadn’t gone extinct, and their legacy hadn’t been cut off. Hadn’t the Void Emperor obtained the star ship and Heavenly Book from the Second Era? The reason the Void Nine Emperors could confront the true forms of gods was probably due to the legacy of the Second and Third Eras.

“Senior, what should we call you?” Zhanyue suddenly realized he didn’t know more information about the woman before him.

“Me? My name… let me think, I think it was… Lei Ying?” The woman carefully recalled. She had gotten used to people calling her the Ink Sea Lord or… Star Lord…

Zhanyue remembered this name, thinking he might find information about it in the texts left by the previous civilization someday. He knew this senior before him must have her own plans to be willing to chat with two ‘insects’ like them for so long.

“Let’s go. I’ll accompany you to see the thunder bird, let you see how unreliable the Heavenly Book world’s calculations are,” the woman seemed to have some hostility towards the Heavenly Book.

Outside the Heavenly Book, the sun, moon, and stars rotated as always. The star transformed from the Illumination Goddess still silently watched over the mortal world. Many people had noticed that the blood moon in the night sky seemed to be getting larger and closer, which didn’t seem to be a good omen. Another major event was that the Nightmare activities seemed to be becoming more active recently. Even the Lord-level Nightmares that used to act alone had started moving in groups. Perhaps it was due to the pressure from human powerhouses, or perhaps for other reasons?

In the underground palace, Strategist was tapping on a stone table, seemingly deep in thought.

“For so many years, I transformed into a Nightmare to uncover their secrets, after all, Nightmares are the test subjects of the god races, their eyes.” Through the Nightmares, one could learn many secrets of the god races, but now, Strategist couldn’t wait any longer. The current Nightmares could no longer provide him with any useful intelligence.

“Perhaps it’s time. At least I can’t sacrifice in vain. Let the Corpse Emperor, the Lords, and all the Nightmares perish with me.”

No one knew Strategist’s plan. He had always been a results-oriented person, not caring about the process. In his years of controlling the Nightmares, he had directly or indirectly caused the deaths of many humans, but he didn’t feel regret. Because all of this was the price for completely resolving the Nightmare disaster. For the continuation of the human race, sacrificing a small portion of people was unavoidable in his view.

“Ah, how I wish I could just quietly read books and play chess,” Strategist stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze empty, his pale face looking even more desolate. “The era of the Human Nine Emperors will soon come to a complete end. Humanity will usher in its own Fifth Era. I hope you can walk the path we couldn’t, reach places we couldn’t reach, and appreciate the most beautiful scenery of this starry sky.”

Strategist’s plans, feelings, and true identity were forever hidden in the night. He was the last night watchman of human civilization. Of course, there was also his sworn brother, that old man still waiting in Night City, ready to die at any time. Their last wish was probably to witness tomorrow’s sunrise together.

In the academy at night, all was quiet, and most of the students were asleep. Suddenly, a wild laugh echoed through the night sky.

“Hahaha, I, Fan Longyu, am out!”

The one laughing wildly was Fan Longyu, who had participated in the Heavenly Book trial. While others came out of the Heavenly Book world feeling dejected, he was exceptionally excited.

“I’m free, I’m free!” Fan Longyu hadn’t passed the second trial, and had even encountered terrifying ordeals during the trial. But although he hadn’t passed the trial, he had still grown quite a bit. He had regained his freedom through his own power, escaping from that hellish place. So even though he failed the mission, he hadn’t lost! At least he hadn’t chosen suicide to escape, but had fought his way out on his own.

The dragon scales on Fan Longyu’s chest emitted a dazzling red light, and a pair of dragon wings spread out, unleashing a terrifying dragon might. His gaze stopped in a certain direction.

“Come out! Sneaking around, your aura is unfamiliar. Who are you?” Fan Longyu said towards a certain spot.

“Impressive, you can actually detect my presence,” Tianxian spread his snow-white wings and also flew up. A white and a red pair of wings faced off against each other.

“You are? Bird Clan?” Fan Longyu frowned slightly.

“Are you human? You don’t look like it. Could you also be some kind of hybrid?” Tianxian said impolitely.

Fan Longyu didn’t get angry. He was originally a pure-blooded human, just having obtained some dragon power. But he knew one thing: this Tianxian didn’t come with good intentions, he was deliberately looking for trouble.

“Bird-man with wings, I just had some insights. Let me try them out on you. Let’s see if Bird Clan wings taste better cold or braised,” Fan Longyu retorted.

“Damn you!” Tianxian had never been so offended before. Neither of them gave way, and they instantly began fighting in the sky. Dragon wings and Bird Clan wings, one red and one white, sometimes colliding head-on, sometimes brushing past each other. The two streaks of light in the sky attracted countless gazes from below.

“Interesting, no wonder you dare to be so arrogant,” Fan Longyu’s body began to grow dragon scales, his degree of dragon transformation increasing.