Song Cong and Su Zhaohui, fully equipped, arrived at the assembly point.

Although the mission clearly stated the need for ten Gold Bears of SS-rank or lower to assist with search and rescue, only seven were actually present. Besides the two of them, the identity insignias on the left chests of the other five were all tiny Gold Bears, each with a pair of wings.

Flying Bear Generals!

Five Double Winged Flying Bear powerhouses meant their strength was at least SS-rank. It seemed not many ordinary Gold Bears were willing to get involved in this messy situation.

In the presence of the five Double Winged Flying Bears, the usually nonchalant Su Zhaohui appeared considerably more serious, standing beside Song Cong without saying a word.

They waited for a short while before a figure slowly approached them.

With this figure's appearance, Song Cong and Su Zhaohui immediately felt the temperature in their vicinity plummet. A thin layer of white frost began to form on the ground.

An ordinary-looking man appeared before them. He was of average height and unremarkable looks, but his aura was exceptionally striking—like a steep, rugged iceberg, he emanated a bone-chilling coldness from his entire being. He wore a pure black battle suit. The Gold Bear emblem on his left chest had two pairs of wings, and a faint white light seeped from beneath his clothes.

A Four-winged Flying Bear!

Upon seeing the man, Song Cong, Su Zhaohui, and the five Flying Bears all immediately bowed their heads and greeted him respectfully, "Mr. Han."

After the greeting, Song Cong and Su Zhaohui exchanged a quick glance, both reading the same understanding from each other's eyes: So it's him! This was followed by an inexplicable sense of relief.

This man was renowned among the Yellow Bears. He was Han Xun, the top-ranked SSS-class New Martial practitioner of the "Cold Prison Body." Han Xun was the first, and currently the only one, to have successfully transplanted and cultivated this technique to the "Control" stage.

"Is everyone here?" Han Xun's indifferent gaze, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, swept across the assembled individuals as he inquired.

A Flying Bear replied, "There are still three on their way. They should arrive in about ten minutes."

"Then we won't wait," Han Xun stated flatly. "Let's depart."

"Yes."

With no objections, everyone, led by Han Xun, swiftly boarded a Fly Shuttle. The Fly Shuttle was entirely ice-blue and of high specification; it was Han Xun's personal vehicle and far faster than ordinary Fly Shuttles.

Song Cong and Su Zhaohui sat inside the Fly Shuttle, waiting quietly.

After approximately fifteen minutes, the group arrived at their destination.

The crevice marking the entrance to the Lament Ruins was currently pulsing with intense white light, and strong Evil Energy Fluctuations emanated from it.

Han Xun, his face expressionless, stepped in. The other Flying Bears followed in an orderly line. Song Cong and Su Zhaohui brought up the rear.

Silently, Song Cong tightened his grip on the silver-white long knife at his waist, the image of a young, handsome figure unintentionally surfacing in his mind. Gazing at the light-fluctuating entrance to the Secret Realm before him, he took a deep breath and stepped inside.

Please, don't let anything happen...

「···」

Should I go? Or not?

Lu Yuan found himself caught in a dilemma. Reason told him that the wisest choice now was to flee immediately, as far as possible. Otherwise, when whatever was inside the black giant egg hatched, he would likely face the greatest crisis of his life. This time, Yu Wentong wouldn't be there to cover for him.

But… he was truly desperate to know the truth.

Whose voice was that? Who was *She*? Why did *She* leave something for me? And what was that item?

It felt like being in an internet cafe, staring at a game screen. On one hand, he desperately wanted to finish this critical promotion match. On the other, he had received definite news that his teacher and parents were already on their way to get him.

What should I do? How should I choose?

Lu Yuan's gaze flickered rapidly as he hesitated, indecisive.

Suddenly, CRACK—

A crisp sound, as if something had shattered, echoed in his ears. He abruptly raised his head, his pupils contracting. He saw that on the distant sixth stone pillar, a distinct crack had appeared on the surface of the black giant egg, which was devouring the roiling Death Qi.

It cracked?

Lu Yuan blinked, a hint of surprise in his eyes. The funnel in the sky and the massive vortex formed by Death Qi were still far from being completely absorbed. He had assumed the egg would only hatch after all the Death Qi had been devoured.

He hadn't expected this thing to defy convention.

While his thoughts raced, the cracking sounds grew louder and more rapid. Before Lu Yuan could react, the crack on the surface of the black giant egg spread rapidly, almost in the blink of an eye...

BOOM!

Accompanied by a deafening explosion, the black giant egg atop the sixth stone pillar burst open. Instantly, an indescribably terrifying aura spread out from within.

The moment this aura was unleashed, it was as if time itself had frozen in the surroundings. The flowing Death Qi in the sky stagnated; the massive Death Qi funnel and vortex became motionless. The air grew thick as syrup.

Lu Yuan felt an unprecedented, terrifying pressure suddenly bear down on him. His five-meter-tall Elephant God Walk form emitted groaning sounds under this pressure, as if on the verge of collapse. He gritted his teeth, finding himself almost unable to move, like an insect trapped in amber, his entire body solidified.

In the distance, Xie Jun and his two companions, who had foolishly remained instead of fleeing, were in a similar state. Their faces were as white as paper. Within their pupils, vast amounts of data streamed downwards like a waterfall. It was unclear what results their monitoring had yielded, but an indescribable, immense fear and despair surged from the depths of their eyes, engulfing the three of them.

At the same time, Song Cong's group, having just stepped into the Secret Realm, also sensed this aura fluctuation and instantly looked up. Han Xun stood at the forefront of the team. The moment the fluctuation appeared, a piercing chill erupted from his indifferent, icy eyes. Without a word to those behind him, Han Xun strode forward quickly, then soared into the sky, vanishing over the horizon in an instant.

The Flying Bears exchanged glances, reached a silent consensus, and then, one after another, they too took to the sky, following Han Xun.

Only Song Cong and Su Zhaohui were left, staring at each other in dismay. After a brief silence, Su Zhaohui cursed with frustration, "Damn!"

Then, the two of them also broke into a sprint, chasing after the others.

「···」

HUFF—HUFF—

Lu Yuan gasped for breath, his eyes fixed intently on the spot where the energy had erupted. The erupted Death Qi dispersed outwards like water. Then, a figure fully materialized before Lu Yuan.

This was a young man with profound features and striking looks. He was approximately five meters tall, nearly the same height as Lu Yuan in his Elephant God Walk state, yet his physique was exceptionally well-proportioned. His entire body, even the sides of his face, was covered in glossy black crow feathers. These lustrous feathers were groomed backward, resembling a magnificent and costly black greatcoat.

The man hovered silently atop the sixth stone pillar, his indifferent eyes looking down upon everything with the supreme dignity of a monarch.

"@#￥%...."

The man suddenly spoke. Strange and archaic syllables spilled from his lips; it was the Ancient Lingual of the Crow God Sect. Although many pronunciations differed slightly from what Lu Yuan had learned, sounding even more archaic, Lu Yuan still understood the meaning of every word the man spoke.

"I am the King of Ancient Brent, one deceived by the Holy Light yet has found his way back, the most loyal servant of the Master of Crows..."

Lu Yuan was stunned, listening as the man reeled off one title after another as if reciting a list of dishes.

The Five Saints... the last monarch of the Ancient Brent Kingdom...

He hadn't expected that the one to hatch from the black giant egg would be *this* individual.

Even more unexpectedly... the Ancient Brent Kingdom had fallen countless years ago, most of its people long turned to bones and dust. Yet this man, proclaiming himself the King of Ancient Brent, was alive and well, even capable of speech! Could Lamashtu—the Death Goddess, the God of Black Crow, the God of Netherworld River, worshipped by the Crow God Sect—truly possess power over life and death?

"'She asked you to wait for me here?'"

"'Is She Lamashtu?'"

"'What did She leave for me?'"

As the man's seemingly endless, lengthy self-introduction continued, Lu Yuan finally couldn't bear it anymore and interrupted him.

The voice echoing through the sky abruptly ceased. The King of Ancient Brent, awakened from the black giant egg, stopped his self-eulogy. His black eyes slowly shifted downwards, finally resting on Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan tensed, his eyes narrowing slightly, prepared for any sudden developments. Then, he heard the handsome, crow-feathered man actually respond to his words.

"Two gifts."

The handsome man gazed silently at Lu Yuan, speaking word by word in the archaic Ancient Lingual, "One is here..."

He extended an incredibly long finger and lightly tapped his own left chest, the location of his heart.

"You need to pass my test to get it."

"The other, I can give to you right now..."

Lu Yuan, slightly stunned, blurted out, "What?"

The handsome man said nothing, merely looked at him, and then... raised a hand, extended a forefinger covered in black feathers, and gently pointed it at Lu Yuan. Simultaneously, he calmly uttered two words: "Death."

The instant those two words left his lips, a ray of pure black light shot silently from the man's forefinger. This black light crossed the immense distance instantly, arriving before Lu Yuan in a flash.

The timeline seemed to stretch infinitely at this moment. All sounds between heaven and earth receded. Lu Yuan's pupils contracted violently. Driven by instinct, he raised his arms, crossing them before his chest. On his panel, the light of a skill flared. An incredibly thick, black stone wall rapidly rose.

However... he could only watch helplessly as the black light pierced his Demon Mountain Blessing as easily as if it were paper. Next, it pierced his crossed arms. Then his Level 5 Netherworld Clothing armor. And then, his majestic body in the Elephant God Walk state...

He watched the black light tear through his layers of defense with unstoppable momentum, finally entering his chest and exiting through his back.

THUD! THUD! THUD—

Lu Yuan stumbled back several steps involuntarily, carving deep hollows into the ground with each step. Then, he lowered his head, his face a mask of disbelief and shock. He clearly saw a thumb-sized bloody hole that pierced straight through his left chest, where his heart was.

An intense sensation of impending death washed over him in waves.

Lu Yuan raised his head, his gaze meeting the calm eyes of the handsome man standing atop the sixth stone pillar. His lips moved.

Finally... with great difficulty, he spat out a curse.

"Motherf—"

BOOM!

Lu Yuan's body, like a collapsing Demon Mountain, fell rigidly backward, sending up a large plume of dust and debris. Everything seemed to fall completely silent.

Watching from a distance, Xie Jun and his two companions, who had witnessed the entire scene, trembled uncontrollably. They were at a loss for words to describe the terror and despair consuming their hearts.

However, just a second later...

BOOM!

A rumble far louder than before resounded. A small mushroom cloud erupted from the spot where Lu Yuan had fallen. Countless tons of dust and stone were thrown into the air.

Amidst the sudden violent commotion, a quiet voice, undercurrents of bone-chilling coldness swirling within its hoarseness, slowly echoed across the plaza.

"Are... you... kidding me?!"

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