The Ether Association had made the greatest progress in their campaign against the Ancient God Realm. Therefore, after the incident at the Sea of Eternal Life was reported, the nano warriors of the Dawn Combat Sequence swept away all obstacles along the route and arrived at the scene.
The two major factions, the Night Watchers and the Judgement Court, erupted in the most intense conflict in the past eight years.
Dawn City had already received the news and was convening an emergency meeting.
Lin Dong was furious, even prepared to take action immediately.
Rhein, however, refused to back down, and the two sides remained locked in confrontation.
Due to Lu Zijin's private actions, which had been verified by headquarters, it was indeed a violation of order.
However, with new evidence emerging, the specific nature of the incident was still up for debate.
All parties were currently engaged in intense negotiations.
Zhang Xuzhi had clearly committed a grave crime, and both Li Hanting and Zhou Hanye were detained and sent to Dawn City.
Given the chaotic situation, the leadership decided to temporarily camp on the Ice Field.
Fortunately, no one had been injured so far. Even though the circumstances of this incident were appalling, no violent internal strife had broken out yet. Everyone maintained a tacit restraint, waiting for instructions from the higher-ups.
In a military tent guarded by heavy soldiers, Gu Jianlin opened his eyes from slumber, discreetly crushed the secret medicine capsule in his throat, and felt an overwhelming surge of spirituality flood his body. He flexed his stiffened frame.
Although his whole body felt as if it were about to shatter, with every movement pulling at sore and aching muscles, he was at least able to move.
Expressionless, he sat up and realized he was lying on a stretcher, with an IV drip attached to the back of his hand.
He was wearing hospital clothes, and his other garments were piled up nearby.
The tent was equipped with an alchemy matrix for heating, making it warm and cozy.
He found himself alone.
Jiuyin still lay quietly beside him.
"You're awake?" Read full story at noᴠelfire.net
Jiuyin sneered, "Tch, I thought you were faking it, but it turns out you really passed out."
Before Gu Jianlin lost consciousness, he had made quite thorough preparations. First, he had swallowed several blood plasma blocks to eliminate Jiuyin's aftereffects, and second, he had a special Blue Blood secret medicine hidden in his mouth.
Once he woke up, he could move immediately.
"Using you places quite a burden on me, after all. Borrowing the power of the Candle Dragon is no trivial matter. I'm still too weak. I originally expected to stay unconscious for much longer, but reinforcements arrived sooner than I anticipated."
He glanced at the clock in the tent and said calmly, "Woke up two hours earlier than I planned."
"In these two hours, I vaguely overheard those Night Watcher and Judgement Court people quarrelling a few times, almost coming to blows. Your people seem to be fine; they've been protected."
Jiuyin snorted coldly, scoffing, "If you ask me, why delay any longer? Why not follow the strategy we had discussed earlier and annihilate them all at once? After all, this is the Ancient God Realm!"
Gu Jianlin flexed his wrist and replied indifferently, "First of all, under our original plan, aside from a very few exceptions, there would be almost no survivors. Most of my companions wouldn't endure; they'd be doomed. As much as I want to kill Zhang Xuzhi and the others, I am not cruel enough to disregard my comrades."
"Secondly, killing them at that moment wouldn't mean much; it wasn't what I wanted."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "I don't want to be someone who outright disobeys the rules."
Jiuyin sneered, "And you want to be someone who follows the rules?"
Gu Jianlin shook his head and softly said, "No. I want to be someone who tramples the rules."
Jiuyin froze. "Is there a difference?"
Gu Jianlin smiled silently and said, "Of course there is."
Jiuyin did not understand but sensed something from his smile.
Gu Jianlin took a deep breath, and the spirituality that had just filled him immediately began to evaporate again.
His Shadow recondensed, taking on the stance of the Ghost Slayer Path, and he strode out of the tent.
This was the superiority of the Qilin Forbidden Curse.
No matter how badly the main body was injured, the avatar could remain active anytime and anywhere.
At that moment, the tent flap was lifted.
"What are you planning to do?"
A cold and commanding voice spoke.
Gu Jianlin looked toward the intruder and saw someone he had never expected.
"So, you've mastered the Qilin Forbidden Curse, huh? You're so severely injured, yet you still want to stir up trouble."
Ji Zhou shoved a freshly peeled apple into his mouth without asking and then felt his forehead, casually pressing two fingers against his neck. "Hmm, no serious aftereffects, though your body is riddled with wounds. This must be Jiuyin's aftereffect, right?"
Jiuyin instantly fell silent, feigning death.
Gu Jianlin was dumbfounded.
Ji Zhou's gaze fell on the blood-red Tang Blade, and she softly marveled, "A Mythical Weapon that has never been awakened throughout history. And yet, you somehow managed to tame it. I'm impressed."
She thought to herself that Qing had chosen wisely before the apocalypse.
This kind of talent was truly rare throughout history.
Gu Jianlin grew slightly tense and hesitantly said, "I must thank you, senior, for making it possible."
"Make it possible? Ha."
Ji Zhou's voice turned icy. "I feel like I may have personally created a disaster."
Gu Jianlin didn't know what to say; somehow, it felt as though his intentions had already been seen through.
So he lowered his head and ate the apple.
Ji Zhou sat by the bed, studying the young man's face. Suddenly, she said, "Thank you."
Gu Jianlin frowned. "Thank me? For what?"
"Over the years, no one has believed in that child, Yu, which caused her to suffer a lot of injustice and made her personality increasingly erratic. But you trusted her. This time, you've helped her resolve her inner conflict."