Chapter 66

“Knight sir, are you certain the core is in that direction?”

Roy panted as he ran. The words had barely left his mouth when a shockwave from behind nearly knocked him off his feet.

He turned around in disbelief. “Do we really need to destroy the core? I feel like if they keep fighting a little longer, the entire aberrant realm will disappear on its own.”

The aberrant plants pursuing them did not even wait for intervention. They were quickly caught in the nearby shockwaves and uprooted. The sky-covering net of branches was instantly reduced to crimson ash.

Luqi could not help turning her head, curiosity written all over her face. “Is Muqing really S-class? Her S-class feels completely different from yours, Knight Bai.”

Bai Mulin, hearing Luqi’s innocent question, wiped his face with a trace of embarrassment. “I really am S-class. Muqing’s situation is somewhat special. During her initial test, she did not go all out. It was merely a formality. Judging by this, she is at least double S.”

On one hand, Bai Muqing’s ability was extremely difficult to control. If she unleashed her full strength, it could cause catastrophic damage over a wide area.

On the other hand, their parents seemed unwilling for Muqing’s ability ranking to be too high. Bai Mulin had once overheard his parents’ anxious discussion, mentioning the late Empress and the Crown Prince’s birth. As he grew older, he gradually understood that Muqing possessing excessively high talent was not necessarily a blessing.

But now, judging from the situation, everyone present, including the berserk His Highness Sykes, ought to be grateful for Muqing’s overwhelming power. Otherwise, under the Crown Prince’s relentless pursuit, they might have already been wiped out entirely.

Pei Xi, running at the front, turned back to urge the group. “We must hurry. Do not lower your guard.”

“Even if Bai Muqing can suppress Sykes, there is still that blond girl. She is likely the greatest variable. We need to locate the core as quickly as possible.”

As he spoke, Pei Xi suddenly realized that while they had been busy dealing with the aberrant plants and restraining the rampaging Sykes, the girl capable of nullifying abilities had vanished at some point. Zhao Mei was gone as well.

Pei Xi abruptly recalled the first aberrant realm he had fought through alongside Zhao Mei, the flood that had swallowed an entire street. Back then, he had refused to believe it was Zhao Mei’s doing. After all, possessing immense power while also mastering healing seemed inconceivable. Now he understood that it had simply been his own arrogance.

The steady patter of rain continued to fall, carrying a soothing effect that invisibly weakened the attacks of the aberrant plants. This time, Pei Xi was almost certain it was Zhao Mei’s ability.

He likely possessed dual abilities, just like Pei Xi himself, and for some reason had been forced to conceal the second one.

Zhao Mei was probably restraining the girl with the nullification ability at this very moment. Realizing this, Pei Xi quickened his pace. They could not allow Zhao Mei’s efforts to be wasted.

Soon, in the direction Bai Muqing had indicated, hidden within an unremarkable corner of the dense forest, they found a red flower bud as tall as an adult. Its crimson hue was so intense it seemed ready to drip blood.

Countless slender tendrils connected beneath the bud, pulsing faintly like blood vessels.

This was the true core of the aberrant realm. All those swallowed by the pale-red forest had become nourishment for this flower.

Pei Xi’s face turned deathly pale. He staggered forward a few steps. So the so-called Blood Flower truly was a blood flower. Ten years ago, his parents, along with the families of hundreds of others, had become part of this very bloom.

Suddenly, the sealed bud trembled. Two petals parted. A half-human body clad in a red uniform stood upright like a stamen within the flower, its legs still twitching faintly.

Upon seeing his comrade’s remains, Bai Mulin could no longer restrain himself. His eyes reddened as he charged forward.

Sensing the disturbance, the blood flower immediately devoured the remaining half-corpse. It rapidly expanded into a towering giant plant. Thick roots spread outward at terrifying speed. The ground cracked open, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.

Pei Xi and the others were forced to retreat until the blood-red petals fully unfurled high in the sky, resembling a setting sun so red it seemed to bleed.

Ye Zheng lay atop the enormous skull, watching the sudden blooming of the blood flower. She slowly sat up, studying it with a contemplative gaze.

Her current state was rather disheveled. The white sleeves of her clothes were torn in several places, revealing deep, bloody gashes. One side of her face was comically swollen. She made no effort to heal herself, seemingly indifferent as she stared at the distant, swaying blood flower with such an appearance.

The blond girl beside her looked slightly better. Aside from her exceptionally gloomy expression, she appeared uninjured on the surface.

But only Sela herself knew the truth. The seemingly proper girl dressed in white had deliberately targeted all her hidden vital points during the fight. Every injury lay concealed beneath her clothes. The methods were truly insidious.

Her gaze fell upon the girl’s lifeless side profile, and Sela let out another neurotic laugh.

“See that? That is Blood Flower. Back then, you almost got to see it with your own eyes, together with your family.”

“Stop trying to provoke me. Continuing this fight will not lead to any outcome.”

Ye Zheng did not spare Sela a glance. Her eyes remained fixed on the distant, swaying flower as she spoke calmly.

She had fought Sela to create an opening for Bai Muqing and the others. Sela had proven far more troublesome than expected. Although she had spent ten years within the aberrant realm without systematic training, her wild and ruthless ferocity made her extremely difficult to deal with, even though Ye Zheng herself had endured plenty of beatings under Teacher Qin Lu.

“Hah. Do not think I cannot see through you. You are just stalling for time. Do you really think stalling me will allow that group of trash to deal with Blood Flower? You have never witnessed its true power.”

“Is that so? Yet you survived ten years under the gaze of this man-eating Blood Flower. You were the only one who lived through that incident. In my eyes, you are far more dangerous than Blood Flower itself.”

Sela did not respond. She shifted her gaze away from the girl’s profile and looked toward the swaying blood flower together with Ye Zheng.

The indelible blood-colored memories blurred her vision uncontrollably. Even the wind dissolved into a chaotic buzzing that echoed from deep within her memory.

She did not know how the outside world recorded the events of ten years ago. Did they know the truth? Did Ye Zheng know? Back then, most of the people forced into the aberrant realm did not die at the hands of Blood Flower. They died by human hands.

Once Blood Flower awakened and unfurled its petals, it demanded endless feeding. It devoured one person after another without pause. No one wanted to be next. At that time, the aberrant realm had still been small. Hundreds of people cried and scattered within the narrow space, most of them dying beneath trampling feet.

Several elegantly dressed adults huddled together inside a semi-transparent barrier. Though riddled with holes from aberrant plant attacks, it remained highly effective at blocking the surging masses.

Some hoped the adults inside would show mercy and allow them refuge. One person ran toward the barrier, then two, then more and more. Those behind did not understand and assumed an escape route had been found, so they followed.

The people at the very front were crushed against the barrier by the relentless push from behind. Bursting eyeballs clung to the semi-transparent surface. Inside the barrier, the adults watched the pile of bodies grow, their terror mounting as countless hands clawed at the shield until the people were crushed and trampled to death.

Faces frozen in death blocked their view of Blood Flower, driving them to scream in panic.

Why did she remember it all so clearly? Because she had been the first to run toward that barrier.

Seven-year-old Sela had believed herself clever. She thought those dignified adults would treat her kindly, just as that mother and daughter had. She believed that if she begged with a little sincerity, she could survive.

But when she was crushed against the barrier from the outside and trampled beneath countless feet, she finally understood how foolish it was to beg those above. No one would help her. Not the lofty adults in front of her, and not the ants behind her.

“You guessed correctly. I am indeed more troublesome than Blood Flower.”

The girl sitting beside Ye Zheng suddenly stood up. Her tangled golden hair appeared even more chaotic in the wind. Sela lowered her head, her burning red pupils fixed upon the seated Ye Zheng.

“Do you think you are the only one who can draw power from this skull?”

Sela burst into laughter. “Do you think I survived by chance? My body was buried beneath countless corpses. By sheer luck, I was trampled directly onto this bone.”

It was then that she awakened her second ability, Invalidation. Ye Zheng slowly rose to her feet. She sensed that many unknown truths about the Blood Flower incident still remained hidden.

Sela stared at her without blinking, her expression filled with mockery.

“Ye Zheng, you infiltrated with two identities. You must desperately want to know what truly happened back then, right? Unfortunately, all of you will carry your regrets and remain trapped here forever.”

Beneath the skull, the already chaotic ground fractured in all directions. Sykes, whose movements had slowed slightly, suddenly went berserk once more, as if stimulated. The earth collapsed continuously. Even the flying debris was pulverized by his overwhelming power.

Sela watched Sykes with excitement and clapped her hands. “Look. This is the empire’s heir. I can only control low-intelligence monsters, yet I never expected him to be so easy to manipulate.”

The girl followed Sela’s gaze downward, then studied her expression. Though Sela was not particularly clever, she possessed animal-like intuition. Zhao Mei’s identity could not be concealed from her. She had even realized how easily Sykes could be manipulated.

A trace of untimely confusion surfaced in Ye Zheng’s heart. Though Sykes was not especially intelligent, his intelligence was at least average. How had he degenerated to the level of a low-intelligence monster?

She shook her head, setting the question aside for now. Her black eyes fixed seriously on Sela.

“Sela, I do not want to be your enemy. Consider this sentimentality, but I still wish to ask you one thing.”

“Is there any chance we could stand on the same side?”

Atop the towering white remains, the two girls stood side by side. Strands of black hair and golden curls intertwined intermittently in the wind.

“There will never be such a possibility.”

Sela withdrew her mocking smile. Her red pupils were darker than the distant blood flower, like dried blood turned black. “I will never trust you again.”

Ye Zheng was not surprised by the answer. She nodded calmly, though the word “again” stirred a faint confusion within her. When had Sela ever trusted her?

Seeing the confusion on Ye Zheng’s face, Sela curled her lips triumphantly. “Let us see whose pawn is stronger.”

Before she could finish speaking, the white figure beside her leapt downward.

“Ye Zheng!”

As Ye Zheng plummeted at high speed, she heard Sela’s shrill scream filled with hatred and disbelief. Just before she struck the ground, a gentle current of wind caught her and lowered her steadily to the earth.

Ye Zheng sensed Bai Muqing’s presence. Her gaze locked onto Sykes not far away as she spoke softly into the wind. “Let us finish this together.”

┳⁠━━━━⁠━⁠⁠━⁠━⁠━━━⁠┳

Authors Note

┻━⁠━━━━⁠━━⁠━━━⁠┻

Some readers said they want to see Zheng in a manga side story. Minor spoiler in advance. After Zheng fully becomes a highly popular villain, the company will release an outer spin-off manga with her as the protagonist, illustrated by a female author to present a complete Zhengzheng.