Chapter 213

A thin stream of water slipped into the iron gate’s keyhole. With a faint click, the tightly sealed door cracked open. Ye Zheng pushed it wider and stepped into the dim, green-lit tunnel.

Monster pens stretched along both sides of the passage. The creatures pressed themselves against the bars, howling and shrieking as drool dripped onto the floor. Ye Zheng lifted her foot to avoid the puddles, but when she glanced down, she saw bubbles of corrosive acid hissing across the damp ground. No wonder the hunting ground’s staff turnover was so absurdly high. Even Ye Di had cried and begged to quit after only a few days there.

Ye Zheng continued deeper inside. From the conversation she’d had with Ye Di several months earlier, she already knew that the higher a monster’s grade, the deeper within the facility it was confined. Some especially dangerous specimens were imprisoned inside completely sealed cells under layers of heavy security.

The farther she walked, the more stunned she became by the sheer scale of the place and the overwhelming number of monsters it held. The true nature of the hunting ground wasn’t the beast-fighting arena above, but the creatures from other realms hidden beneath it: spiders covered in countless eyes, humanoid beings curled up inside enormous snail shells, gigantic apes with all four limbs shackled to the ground…

One massive ape had been forced flat onto its back in a spread-eagle position, its gigantic body nearly filling the entire chamber. It seemed to catch the scent of a human and slowly turned its head. Eyes as large as human palms gazed over wetly, carrying a calm, innocent look, almost like that of a pure and unknowing child.

Ye Zheng peered into the enclosure from beyond the bars. At the deepest end of the giant ape’s cell stood a workbench cluttered with all kinds of experimental instruments.

“…So that’s what this is.”

On the surface, the hunting ground was merely Crown Prince Sykes’ personal amusement, but its true purpose was to imprison and research these otherworldly creatures!

A chill crept into Ye Zheng’s heart. From this alone, it was obvious that the Emperor had never cared about Sykes in the slightest.

When the hunting ground had been constructed, Sykes had only been thirteen years old. The Emperor had used his own thirteen-year-old son as a shield. He’d deliberately indulged Sykes’ cruelty, sacrificing the boy’s reputation to build this facility. That way, he could conceal its true purpose while continuing to preserve his own spotless image.

Most likely, Sykes had never been the Emperor’s chosen heir, nor some long-awaited savior meant to rescue the world. Then what exactly had the Emperor invested so much effort into creating Sykes for?

Thinking about Sykes outside, desperately searching for traces of her, Ye Zheng found the entire situation even more ironic and laughable. A cold, quiet chuckle echoed briefly through the freezing tunnel.

From beginning to end, he’d been nothing more than a tool used by the Emperor, yet he still dreamed of staging some grand revenge tragedy with the Emperor cast as the final boss. Even during his furious rampage, the very first blade he raised had been aimed at the innocent her, instead of the real culprit standing right nearby.

If Call him stupid, and he still knew to choose the weaker target first to vent his rage. Call him smart, and he’d actually mistaken her for a helpless sacrificial lamb meant to pave open his road to revenge.

With a thunderous bang, Ye Zheng kicked the iron door wide open. Razor-sharp streams of water instantly sliced apart the heavy ropes, releasing the giant ape’s four bound limbs.

Ye Zheng placed her right hand against the giant ape’s massive forehead. It slowly opened its eyes and quietly looked at her.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.”

A radiant white glow blossomed from her right hand, translucent and flawless like polished jade, as though it wished to meld directly into the flesh beneath her touch.

There was no need for her to turn them into grotesque abominations the way Wen Jian and the others did. The true 【Mother of All Things】 was an existence before which life itself would naturally bow in submission. Although these otherworldly creatures differed from the empire’s native species, at their core they still possessed the same primal instincts as animals. Animals identified their own kind through scent, and these creatures were no different.

Against creatures with low intelligence, Ye Zheng only needed to release the overwhelming aura belonging to 【Mother of All Things】, and they would instinctively regard her as a mother goddess.

【Mother of All Things】 was an extremely special ability. It wasn’t merely powerful. Ye Zheng had always believed that this ability was fundamentally different from everyone else’s supernatural powers.

A moment later, Ye Zheng withdrew her hand. The giant ape released a low, muffled grunt and slowly pulled itself up from the ground, following her movement.

After successfully bringing it under control, Ye Zheng continued deeper into the tunnel. Before gaining a clearer understanding of the situation, she wouldn’t recklessly open those tightly sealed rooms.

At the very end of the tunnel, a massive stone door blocked the path ahead, faintly radiating a bewitching yet dangerous aura.

“Found it.”

Ye Di had once mentioned that an extremely dangerous entity was imprisoned at the deepest part of the hunting ground. Countless people had died because of it. Its species was unknown, its rank was unknown, and it didn’t even possess a codename.

Ye Zheng pressed her hand against the stone door, intending to search for the mechanism that opened it. Unexpectedly, with only the slightest push, the stone door creaked open by itself.

How strange. Why would something so dangerous not even be secured behind a heavily locked gate?

A damp, icy breath seeped out through the opening and slithered across Ye Zheng’s arm. Goosebumps instantly spread over her forearm. Her hand slipped slightly, brushing against something wet, sticky, and elastic on the surface of the stone door, something that felt almost like spider silk.

There seemed to be something else clinging to those silken threads. Ye Zheng rubbed it between her fingers and felt a grainy, powder-like texture, similar to fine sand.

It didn’t quite feel like a spider web, yet for the moment, Ye Zheng couldn’t determine what exactly it was.

After thinking for a moment, she took a step back. 【Stream】 slowly flowed through the narrow crack in the door and seeped into the mysterious chamber beyond.

✧✧✧✧✧

Amid the collapsed and crumbling ruins, Pei Xi and his two teammates moved forward cautiously, using the shattered walls as cover while keeping a vigilant watch on the gigantic dragon in the distance.

Pei Xi narrowed his eyes. Was it just his imagination? The black dragon didn’t seem to be rampaging and destroying things without purpose. Instead, it looked as though it was tracking something, searching for something.

Roy gestured toward him, signaling that they should move in a certain direction. Pei Xi followed the direction he pointed toward, the gates of the imperial palace.

He could sense that a large number of people had gathered there. Most likely, everyone had fled to that area and temporarily found shelter under the protection of the royal forces.

Pei Xi pressed a hand against his waist. Ever since the black dragon had appeared, the divine sword had become scorching hot, its blade trembling and humming as though it were resonating with something.

Pei Xi lifted his gaze toward the colossal black dragon, so enormous that even its face couldn’t be seen clearly. This was absolutely not a monster he could deal with at his current level. Even if Sykes were standing here, defeating it through his own strength alone would still be impossible.

Staying in a secure location was probably the smartest choice they could make right now.

Pei Xi lowered his head and slowly stepped back a few paces before abruptly coming to a halt. His blue eyes locked onto the gigantic dragon, filled with fierce unwillingness.

A frantic, almost deranged idea suddenly ignited in his mind.

Ye Zheng had used the divine blood to frame him and issue a warrant for his arrest. He’d also uncovered the secret that her divine sword was a fake. There was no way she’d ever let him live. That meant only one thing — only by finding the Emperor could he restore the true divine sword to the empire’s sight and return the Sword of the God of Hope to the glory and recognition it deserved.

However, Saintess Ye Zheng had already built an unshakable reputation among the empire’s citizens. Even if the Emperor personally stepped forward to expose the truth, the masses would most likely still choose to believe the Saintess. In the end, the matter of the divine sword’s authenticity would probably dissolve into an endless unresolved dispute.

But what if he raised the real divine sword before everyone’s eyes and slew this monster that looked exactly like a demonic dragon?

His blood seemed to surge in reverse, burning scorching hot through his veins. Countless clamoring voices echoed beside his ears, as though screaming at him all at once: “You should’ve done this long ago!” “This is what you were born to do!”

Roy and Kyle, who had been walking ahead, noticed the footsteps behind them slowing down. They turned back, only to meet Pei Xi’s gaze — a gaze blazing with burning conviction, shining with a light they had never witnessed before.

✧✧✧✧✧

Several people stood within the center of the enormous square, every expression carrying a different degree of tension and vigilance. For the moment, they were safe. Yet compared to visible monsters, the unknown dangers that could emerge at any second were far more terrifying.

Cheng Cheng and Cheng Che remained beside Shu Wan. Their abilities allowed them to move freely through light and shadow; the instant anything unusual appeared, they could immediately shift away through the shadows beneath their feet.

Wu Shu kept her head tilted upward, her eyes fixed on Bai Muqing standing atop the elevated platform. In order to observe the situation outside more clearly, Bai Muqing had deliberately chosen a position closer to the exterior.

The hunting ground had been constructed using heterogeneous stones to guarantee safety. While they suppressed the monsters’ power, they also weakened the abilities of everyone else inside. Though the structure blocked auras and protected them from detection, Wu Shu couldn’t tell whether this was truly the most advantageous situation for them.

Unable to see what was happening outside, Wu Shu could only stare idly at Bai Muqing high above. Suddenly, her expression shifted slightly.

“Run!”

“Run!”

Two voices overlapped almost perfectly at the same time. The next instant, both were swallowed by a deafening roar as collapsing structures surged toward them like a tidal wave.

At the very moment she shouted her warning, Bai Muqing spun around and leapt down from the high platform. A mountain-crushing impact seared across her back. Clenching her teeth, she borrowed the force of the shockwave to launch herself into the distance. At the far edge of the square, Bai Muqing rolled across the ground several times to bleed off the momentum before finally stabilizing herself.

However, before she could even get back on her feet, a gigantic black shadow came crashing down with a roar. It smashed through the fortress above the hunting ground and slammed violently into the center of the arena.

At the same time, the deep tunnel trembled violently. Dust and debris rained down from the ceiling in chaotic waves. Ye Zheng, who had been moving toward the exit, pressed one hand against the cracking wall to steady herself.

Behind her, two inhuman voices cried out in unease.

Ye Zheng turned her gaze toward the exit. The iron gate had already collapsed, and faint light spilled across the ground.

Sensing danger drawing closer, Ye Zheng quickened her pace. Then, abruptly, she felt something was off. She looked down at her ankle — the torn, bloodstained boot had somehow reverted to its original condition, as if she had never been injured and had never even stepped into that room.

“Pei Xi’s regression?”

Pei Xi was right there nearby, and he’d already died once, which triggered his life-saving regression ability.

Ye Zheng gently pressed her lips together, a faint flicker of displeasure crossing her face. Pei Xi’s regression ability had originally been part of her plan, but he had already used it by now.

She could only hope he hadn’t wasted it, and that he had at least managed to strip away a layer of Sykes’ skin.

The tunnel stretched high overhead, its ceiling towering, but the doorway itself was only tall enough for a single person to pass through. On both sides, uneasy roars of monsters echoed in her ears. A faint light lay just ahead. Ye Zheng quickened her pace. The next instant, the light at the tunnel entrance abruptly disappeared—

Ye Zheng came to a sudden stop.

A gigantic golden eye completely sealed off the tunnel exit. Its vertical pupil, sharp like a blade of cold iron, locked directly onto its target like the frozen hand of a clock that had stopped in mid-tick. In that instant, the entire world went utterly silent.

The air inside the tunnel turned heavy and viscous, almost suffocating. The monsters ceased their cries, and even breathing became faint and difficult to perceive.

After a brief silence, Ye Zheng casually brushed the dust off her body and moved forward again, stopping just a few steps from the entrance.

She lowered into a half-crouch, her black eyes calmly studying it. It was hard to believe—just one of its eyes was already larger than her entire body.

The vertical pupil sharpened even further, locking onto her without the slightest mercy. Ye Zheng held her observing stance, her expression remaining unchanged. She could clearly make out the fragile nerves embedded within the golden crystal in its eye socket.

“Sykes, you wanted to kill me, so I killed you in return. I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. The pain you’ve suffered in your life has never had anything to do with me.”

“Turn around now and go find him. This is your last chance for revenge in this lifetime.”

Its golden eye didn’t move at all. As it absorbed Ye Zheng’s words, the contracted vertical pupil slowly loosened and calmed, yet its breathing still remained thunderous and oppressive.

That eye was far too silent, and that very silence made the condensed killing intent all the more horrifying.

Ye Zheng stepped back twice and let out a soft sigh. “I only killed you once, and you didn’t even die. If anyone should be angry here, it should be me…”

Outside the tunnel, the black dragon’s colossal body lay sprawled across nearly half the hunting ground. Its lowered frame suddenly reared upward, and its raised front claw slammed down with brutal force.

Accompanied by an enraged roar, the giant ape behind Ye Zheng smashed through the tunnel ceiling. A griffin spread its wings, seized Ye Zheng, and shot straight upward.

The enormous, blade-like claws flashed with a chilling, piercing light. Just as the claw was about to crush the wall, the griffin sliced through the torn air and escaped with its life.

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳  

Authors Note  

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻  

This idiot is always overestimating her writing progress… Sorry about that.