Chapter 1249: Section 1250: The Mask
The vanishing of the “Demon God Shadow” high above everyone’s heads was already a shocking event.
But if it was known that the reason for the disappearance of the Demon God Shadow was someone killing the Demon God’s True Spirit with a single blow, then it would be unimaginable.
Moreover, the inconceivability of this event was on a level that even Sanders with his strength could not fathom. It was like a summer insect not knowing the cold of winter, mere mortals unable to comprehend the divine. Completely different planes of existence!
Sanders had speculated before that the person might be very powerful, but to be so powerful as to be unbelievable, still made him feel incredulous.
Yet the facts were right before his eyes, and he was forced to believe them.
If saying, killing Aoluxiya and the Demon God’s avatar was merely poking a hole in the sky, then the fall of the Demon God’s True Spirit was nothing short of a complete upheaval!
Sanders now understood why, back in Lassudral, when the Birdcage was broken and humans were forced into a desperately tight battle circle by the demons with the total upper hand, Lord Galal would let them leave?
Because, upon the fall of the True Spirit… the heavens had changed.
Sanders remembered, after leaving Lassudral, the atmosphere in the Abyss did indeed undergo significant changes. And everyone who was left on the Sky Island said they constantly felt like they were being watched. They had thought it was an illusion, but now in retrospect, it was probably those powerful beings tracing back through all routes before the fall of the Lord of the Flameless’ True Spirit!
The shock in Sanders’ heart continued for most of the day.
If not for Angel calling his name at his side, Sanders might still be in a daze.
Even though Sanders came back to his senses, the shock in his eyes still had not dissipated. He looked at Angel, his words reaching his throat several times, only to be choked back every time.
He truly did not know how to comment, be it on the Demon God’s corpse, the Demon God’s True Spirit, or the person from the Nightmare Realm; they were all beyond his place to judge.
In the end, Sanders just let out a deep sigh, “Let’s stop here for today, I need to reflect deeply.”
After speaking, Sanders did not wait for Angel to react. He gently waved his hand and temporarily closed the Gravity Garden. Apart from Popota, whether it was Sanders himself or Angel, they all emerged in the room in the outside world.
“You should rest, everything… we can talk about it tomorrow.”
For Sanders, the impact of the day’s events was just too much, one wave after another.
Each wave held a terrifying power enough to overwhelm the Southern Domain, and the wave pushed forward by the tide even had a growing trend!
Even with his endurance, he needed some time to adjust.
During the adjustment period, he planned to sort out the “heavy” news he learned from Angel’s mouth tonight. At least, he needed to clarify the follow-up repercussions of the Demon God, and its impact on the Barbarian Cave, Frostmoon, and even the Southern Domain.
Angel thought it over, and the most important things had been said; he had also shown the two corpses. What remained unsaid was the Projected Bloodline and the matter of the Ancient Cold Ruins.
The matter of the Projected Bloodline, from the surge in his physical strength, Sanders should have already guessed it; as for encountering Wodell, as well as what happened in the Ancient Cold Ruins afterward, they were not big deals, and it made no difference whether he spoke of them sooner or later.
Considering this, Angel nodded to Sanders and turned to leave.
Sanders watched Angel’s retreating figure, the sound of boots on the marble corridor fading. Only when the footsteps weakened did he lower his head to take out paper and pen, beginning to record his notes.
After Angel left, he returned to his room, unaware that he had just missed Zithraide, who had come looking for him to exchange Alchemy Experience.
Zithraide left in frustration while Angel lay on his bed, gradually falling asleep.
He had intended to visit the Wilderness of Dreams, but after returning to his room, he just couldn’t muster the energy. Finally back in the Southern Domain, the tension that had always been tight in the Abyss was completely relaxed, followed by weakness and fatigue. Whether it was meditation or logging into the Wilderness of Dreams, Angel couldn’t bother with either. As soon as he touched the soft silk quilt, he began to feel drowsy and quickly entered sweet darkness.
When Angel awoke, the sky was still dim.
He did not awaken naturally, but was woken by some rustling noises outside.
After using a Cleansing Spell, Angel stepped out of his room feeling refreshed. He first went to Sanders’ room, but at Sanders’ door, a young Magic Falcon with a golden beak and black feathers around bloodshot eyes was squatting. Upon seeing Angel, the Magic Falcon made an “X” with its wings.
Angel recognized this little Magic Falcon. It was Sanders’ Alchemical Familiar. Its gesture was clearly denying Angel’s entry.
Guessing that Sanders was still busy, Angel nodded to the Magic Falcon and turned to leave. When he came to the crossroads in the corridor, he was about to return to his room, but from the direction of the front hall’s corridor, he heard the rustling noises that had awakened him from his sleep earlier.
Angel turned his head for a look but saw in the other direction of the corridor, a slow footstep sound suddenly approached.
The footsteps were slow and carried a deep, twilight heaviness.
As the footsteps drew closer, Angel saw an elderly grandmother appear at the other end of the corridor, walking slowly with a basket in hand. Due to the angle, Angel could only see a short distance. Soon, the granny walked out of Angel’s view with a shaky gait. However, judging by the direction she was heading, it seemed she was moving towards the exit.
This old granny had a face full of wrinkles, looking very ordinary.
There was no energy response coming from her body; she must be a mortal.
Yet, for some reason, whenever Angel looked at her, he felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere before. But when he carefully searched his memory, there was absolutely no impression of her.
Could it be an illusion?
The direction from which the old grandmother had come seemed to be from the antique shop hall toward the exit. Could it be that this old lady was a guest of Zithraide?
Angel had initially wanted to ask Zithraide about her but then felt it was making a big fuss over a small matter, it was merely a familiar face after all, and clearly, the person was just a mortal who likely had nothing to do with him.
With this thought, Angel didn’t dwell on the matter and went straight back to his room.
Upon returning to his room, the first thing he did, of course, was to construct the “Gate Model”, followed by meditation. After completing these two daily tasks, it was already past noon.
At that moment, a long cry came from the window. It was Sanders’s Alchemical Familiar flying over with a message from Sanders asking him to come over.
Seeing Sanders again, Angel was about to greet him when his vision blurred for a moment, and he found himself in the Gravity Garden.
“It appears you had a good rest last night?”
This was the first sentence Angel heard after arriving at the Gravity Garden.
Sanders’s expression was very calm, as if it was just a casual daily inquiry.
“Not bad, I haven’t rested like that in a long while. Mentor seems much more spirited than yesterday.” What Angel said was indeed true, compared to yesterday, Sanders did seem much more at ease today.
However, Sanders felt a choke in his heart upon hearing this; he had been dazed all of last night, wracking his brains over how to deal with the aftermath. Meanwhile, Angel had comfortably rested all night and, to add insult to injury, had shot him with a metaphorical arrow.
This kid, really… Sanders felt a strong urge to give him a good beating.
Suppressing the impulse in his heart, Sanders didn’t continue to dawdle and went straight to the point, “Continuing yesterday’s topic, what happened after the Demon God’s True Spirit was killed? Where did the True Spirit Force go? And, what happened to ‘him’ afterward?”
Angel organized his words and briefly recounted what happened with the True Spirit Force.
As Sanders listened to Angel’s narration, a picture slowly emerged in his mind.
Although Angel didn’t use any descriptive language to embellish his account, the plain words were enough to evoke the grand spectacle of the moment.
The True Spirit transformed into a tree, spiraling light and fire. The tree’s shadow became ethereal, enveloping the entire continent—seen from the void; only the shimmering tree shadow could be seen! Such a grand and magnificent scene!
While Sanders was still reflecting on this magnificent image, Angel paused, then started talking about “him”.
“He left, but before he disappeared, he left something behind for me.”
“Projected Bloodline?”
Angel didn’t answer with words, but instead looked up and met Sanders’s gaze. As a breeze passed by, the golden hair covering his right eye was gently lifted.
Underneath was a deep blue right eye.
The color was profound, like the blue waters of a lake under a clear summer sky.
However, there seemed to be a subtle difference with this eye? As Sanders furrowed his brows in thought, Angel’s right eye suddenly underwent a strange transformation.
A peculiar fluid substance began to flow out of Angel’s right eye, rapidly forming a mask adorned with bizarre patterns.
This mask covered half of Angel’s right face.
The mask itself was black, with eerie patterns laid into it. The strangest part was the position of the right eye, which seemed to be smiling with narrowed eyes. But the strong colors and contrast didn’t convey a sense of mirth; instead, it bore a dark, absurd sense of eeriness.
“Did the Projected Bloodline fuse with your right eye?” Sanders asked.
Angel nodded, omitting the excruciating process of the bloodline fusion and simply explaining the outcome.
This is a magical Beastmaster World called “Blue Star.”
Over two thousand years ago, when Blue Star developed two moons, the world saw the birth of Guardian Beastmasters and Star Martial Artists.
Becoming a Guardian Beastmaster, obtaining the qualifications of Beastmaster’s Space, one could contract with and fight alongside awakened Demon Beasts.
Those who couldn’t become Guardian Beastmasters had the chance to awaken as Star Martial Artists, absorbing Star Power and practicing Martial Arts.
However, Star Martial Artists are far inferior to Guardian Beastmasters.
Here, it is the world of Guardian Beasts!
This is the era of Guardian Beasts!
Every year on this day, two hundred thousand young men and women are transported to this world by the “Mist.”
Two hundred thousand people are randomly selected and scattered across the world.
This is the Guidance Plaza outside East Sea City in Tang Country.
Currently, there are twenty thousand people at the Guidance Plaza.
Next, these twenty thousand people will undergo “Awakening Guidance” in batches.
Through the Awakening Guidance, they may awaken their talents and become Guardian Beastmasters or Star Martial Artists.
After the Awakening Guidance is completed, whether awakened or not, everyone must collect cold weapons such as swords and participate in a trial; the trial is…
To stay in the wilderness jungle outside the square for three days and three nights!
Those who survive three days later have passed the trial!
Teams are allowed, but each team must not exceed four members.
Those who pass the trial, whether as Guardian Beastmasters or Star Martial Artists, can directly enter one of the three major academies in East Sea City to train in Beast Mastery and Martial Arts.
Those who did not awaken talents but passed the trial can get a second chance for Awakening.
Whether transported here or born on Blue Star, everyone only has two chances to awaken in their lifetime.
If, after undergoing the life-and-death trial, the second Awakening Guidance still does not awaken any talents…
Then these people must work as Miners in the mines outside East Sea City for three years before they can enter East Sea City to live.
This rule applies to the main cities of all countries on Blue Star.
“What? Even if I awaken talent, I still have to participate in this life and death trial!”
“The wilderness jungle outside has trees towering over three hundred feet, who knows what kind of monsters are inside? Providing us only with cold weapons like swords, how can we possibly defeat them?”
“Even if you had guns, what good would they be? You see that giant ant, do you think ordinary guns can kill it? And that King Kong… the King Kong from King Kong’s Skull Island, it has destroyed several fighter jets!”
“Damn, they even restrict the team size to four people! If we encounter these four horrifying Demon Beasts at once, even if all four of us were carrying rocket launchers, we might still not stand a chance!”
In the square, noise and panic arose once more.
People were alarmed and at a loss.
But the giant Black Ape whispered a quiet roar, and all the noise vanished instantly.
In this Different World, rules are made by the strong!
Surviving well in this world is not easy.
Without bargaining chips, without value, without strength, you are merely dust.
Many people calmed down after the Black Ape’s roar.
“Alright!”
The woman on the shoulder of the twenty-meter-tall Black Ape gently waved her hand and said, “I believe you all roughly understand your situation now and know where this place is… This is Tang Country, East Sea City!”
“After the Awakening Guidance is completed, we will give each of you a Smart wristwatch to wear on your wrist. It is a combination of a mobile phone and a computer, and you can connect to the network using that device to access a lot of information you may want to know.”
At this moment, a young man mustered the courage to ask, “After the Awakening Guidance, can we choose not to participate in the trial?”
“If we still cannot awaken as Guardian Beastmasters or Star Martial Artists after trying the trial, can we choose not to work as Miners?”
The woman on the Black Ape’s shoulder started laughing, “You cannot choose not to participate. Those unwilling to participate will be killed on the spot!”
“Killed on the spot…” The previously speaking young man was greatly startled.
The woman continued, “Of course, after partaking in the trial, you can choose not to work as a Miner.”
“If you don’t work as a Miner, you can’t live in East Sea City; you’ll have to live in the wilderness… outside the main city, which we generally refer to as the wilderness.”
“The world is vast, and if you possess strength, you can go anywhere.”
“But let me remind you…”
“Outside the main city, the wilderness is fraught with peril, teeming with countless extraordinary monsters and alien races. Even the powerful Guardian Beastmasters and Star Martial Artists tread carefully as if on thin ice.”
“So think it through whether you want to be a Miner or not.”
“Alright, let’s start lining up now.”
“Prepare for the Awakening guidance!”
“Fifty people in a group, forming three circles around a lighthouse.”
“Each group has only five minutes for Awakening.”
“Begin!”
The woman standing on the Black Ape’s shoulder did not give people another chance to ask questions.
Teams of fully armed soldiers came and started guiding the people to line up.
On the east side of the square, a group of soldiers brought out several objects resembling lighthouses.
Ten “lighthouses” in total, each over three meters tall and emitting a faint blue light.
The crowd surged forward, with many people beginning to push towards the front.
Nearby, a burly young man tugged at Chen Fan’s sleeve: “Little brother, since everyone has a chance to awaken, there’s no need to rush. Let’s hang back a bit and watch first?”
Chen Fan nodded and extended his right hand: “Chen Fan.”
The young man grinned and shook his hand: “Wang Teng.”
Chen Fan: “…”
My son Wang Teng has the makings of an Emperor!
That name…
Chen Fan looked peculiar: “Brother Wang, do you usually read novels?”
Wang Teng was taken aback: “Why would I read those things?”
Chen Fan: “…”
Alright, this guy probably doesn’t read novels normally, and because he is physically strong and big, people don’t dare to joke with him about it, so he’s always been unaware.
“Little brother, after the Awakening guidance is over, let’s form a team together?”
Wang Teng looked at Chen Fan and whispered, “Then we’ll find two more people and take a crack at the jungle!”
“If we can awaken and become Guardian Beastmasters or Star Martial Artists, we can help each other and grow together!”
Chen Fan nodded slightly: “Okay.”
Suddenly!
Chen Fan felt as if an electric current had passed through his entire body.
“Beastmaster System activating, 10%, 40%, 70%…”
“Beastmaster System successfully activated!”
“Beastmaster’s Space successfully established!”
The next moment…
“Boom!”
In Chen Fan’s mind, a strange square space was opened.
This square space, roughly thirty square meters in size, had a sky dotted with white clouds, green grass on the ground, and even a body of water… oh, it was actually just a small water pit.
Sanders was waiting for Angel’s next move, but suddenly, he caught a glimpse of mischief in Angel’s gaze?