Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Graceful Arrival of the Phoenix – The Seed

When Ye Bai spent his last ounce of strength to kill the intelligent entity, he failed to notice that two characters had appeared on the once smooth blade.

"Jinghong."

“Haha, humanity finally has hope of rising.” The elder of the Armory leaned back in his chair, his eyes finally opening, revealing a disdainful aura that dominated the world, though he still did not stand.

As the Jinghong Blade awakened in Ye Bai’s hands, the weapons in the Armory resonated with a chorus of celebration, as if rejoicing that one among them had awakened, ready to battle on the field; yet at the same time, they seemed to mourn for the Jinghong Blade—each awakening was a rebirth, much like the cycle of humanity, forever forgetting past lives.

The elder turned to the redwood rack, where one fewer weapon now rested, closing his eyes for a moment until Ye Bai’s silhouette flashed through his mind.

“The powers of water, fire, wood, and earth are worthy enough for the Jinghong Blade,” he murmured. One must know, any weapon within the Armory could become a divine artifact in the outside world.

His memory of the Jinghong Blade was deep. In the hands of its previous master, it was not called Jinghong, but the Genesis Blade.

The blade had not yet been stored in the Armory. He had only heard that, in the early days of the Dark Era, a person with talent surpassing the Three Kings wielded the Genesis Blade, carving a path for humanity’s survival.

Perhaps, as the saying goes, “the tree that stands out in the forest is the first to be felled,” the one who held the Genesis Blade vanished soon after securing humanity’s foothold. No one knew if he died battling mutant beasts or if he entered that place never to return.

When the Armory was first established, it housed only ordinary weapons, providing arms for warriors venturing outside the city.

Then, one day, King Tianmu Xiao Mu arrived, carrying a blade riddled with cracks and stubborn black stains that could not be wiped clean.

The elder still remembered the pain and regret in King Tianmu’s eyes as he gazed at the blade, now devoid of any spirit.

King Tianmu had only said, “Leave the Genesis Blade here for now, no matter how long it takes, until someone awakens it again.” After that, he never returned, and the elder waited ever since.

At first, the elder polished the blade daily, but the cracks and stains only deepened, rust spreading more each day, until one morning the entire blade was rusted through.

He reported this to King Tianmu, but the king showed little reaction, as if he had expected it, or perhaps he simply did not care.

And so, the Genesis Blade remained in the Armory for nearly a century.

In the City Lord’s mansion of Green Forest Main City, a man in a green robe gazed at the Jinghong Blade in the video before him, murmuring, “Jinghong, is it called Jinghong again in this era? Genesis, Jinghong—how much do you want the world to owe you?”

“Did you hear? Another fool got tricked by the old man at the Armory, lost two points.”

“A first-year, right? Only freshmen believe what’s written in the student handbook. Still, earning two points before the first monthly assessment is impressive—how could he be so foolish? When I was a freshman, I risked life and death several times just to earn two points. Admirably foolish, really.”

Two second-year students at Purple Star Academy chatted, and their conversation echoed throughout the campus. Most students snickered at the news, but the fourth-years looked on with surprise.

————————————

Radiation Zone D, underground laboratory, sublevel two. Two men lay in succession on a relatively clean patch of concrete. Their bodies showed no visible wounds, yet the blood on their clothes told another tale.

Not far from them, a girl in gray perched atop a massive mech, her sword hacking incessantly at a transparent shield. The shield was riddled with cracks, and at the most densely fractured spot, a gap three fingers wide had opened. Inside, chaos reigned. What had once been a large brain and two smaller ones was now just a mass of flesh, at the center of which a black seed floated, rising and falling with the girl’s strikes.

The girl atop the mech rubbed her aching, numbed wrist and wiped sweat from her brow. Now Yao Ling understood why Ye Bai’s arm had shattered after breaking the shield—striking such a hard barrier, the recoil was more than any novice body could withstand.

Looking at the mess below, Yao Ling realized the intelligent entity hadn’t been killed outright but had been shocked to death.

After a brief rest, she resumed hacking at the shield. Just a bit more, and she would have the seed. Come on, Yao Ling urged herself.

“Ling’er, what are you doing?” Suddenly, Yao Ling heard Cao Xiaosen’s voice. She turned, delighted. “Xiaosen, you’re awake! I’m trying to get the seed. Rest a bit more, I’ll be done soon.”

“Seed?” Ever since the intelligent entity appeared, Yao Ling had been talking about a seed, but Cao Xiaosen still didn’t know what it was. He sat up, took a moment to recover, and walked toward Yao Ling. His injuries weren’t serious, just mental fatigue—one good sleep would cure it.

“Let me.” Seeing Yao Ling’s hand swollen red and purple, Cao Xiaosen suddenly thought of his mother. “You rest a moment, I’ll get the seed.” His finger guards extended, hammering at the shield.

“Boom, boom, boom.” The guards, burning with earth power, left five white marks on the shield. Suddenly, with a loud crash, the shield—after countless blows—finally broke. Cao Xiaosen reached in and took the seed.

“Here.” He tossed the seed to Yao Ling. “What is this seed, anyway? You went to such lengths to get it.”

Yao Ling examined the glossy black seed, shaped like a soybean, and explained, “To talk about the seed, you have to mention two rare variants: the intelligent entity and the reproductive entity. The intelligent entity possesses only a brain, like the one we just killed, which contains a crystal. If someone at the same level consumes the seed, they can advance a small rank. Because the intelligent entity’s brain is exceptionally developed, it also expands the brain domain. To distinguish it from other variant crystals, people call it the ‘seed’—meaning the source of wisdom.”

“This little thing can expand the brain domain?” Cao Xiaosen’s jaw dropped. He couldn’t believe it. The brain domain was ethereal—everyone who breaks through to the entry level can sense its presence, but scientists have never proven its existence.

The brain domain is the source of human attribute power. Whether awakening or expanding attribute power, it happens in the brain domain; the body merely stores it.

Cao Xiaosen had never heard of anything that could expand the brain domain externally. His father told him that to strengthen attribute power, one had to meditate often, connect with and expand the brain domain.

The origin of attribute power remains a mystery, but both the brain domain and the body must be up to par to awaken it. Cao Xiaosen’s grandfather, according to his father, had a highly developed brain domain, but his physical condition was lacking, so he never awakened attribute power. More commonly, people have the physical strength but fail to develop the brain domain.

“Doesn’t that mean the seed could create a Star Core Warrior out of nowhere? So many people get stuck because their brain domain won’t expand, trapped at the peak of the body refining stage.”

Yao Ling nodded. “In theory, yes. But intelligent entities are rare, and those who obtain seeds usually use them to break through themselves, never for others.”

“What about the reproductive entity?” Just as Cao Xiaosen asked, a strange sound echoed from the upper floor of the underground lab.

“What’s that?”

“It’s corpse bats.” Cao Xiaosen was unsure, but Yao Ling answered firmly. “Unexpected—the intelligent entity never intended to let us leave, wants us as its burial companions.”

“Xiaosen, carry Ye Bai, we must go. If the corpse bats come down, none of us will escape. Take this, feed it to Ye Bai. Who knows what else we’ll encounter—let’s hope he wakes soon.” Yao Ling placed the seed in Cao Xiaosen’s hand and ran toward where the lab had vanished.

“Where do we escape to? There’s only that exit—no other way out.” Cao Xiaosen lifted Ye Bai, addressing Yao Ling.

Running ahead, Yao Ling didn’t look back. “This should only be a temporary lab. The facilities that disappeared just now were probably sent out by the intelligent entity. If we search, we’ll find another exit.”

Yao Ling wasn’t certain at first, but after killing the intelligent entity, she noticed the defenses were too weak. The corpse bats above were clearly meant for cleanup, but whatever the intelligent entity did before dying had awakened them all.

The noise from the upper floor grew louder. The bats’ sounds were not within the audible range, but the damage to the brain was palpable.

Just as Yao Ling reached the lab area, her mind suddenly went blank. Looking up, she saw the bats had finished cleaning upstairs and were descending. Ye Bai had managed only a single mark on the glass vessels, but the bats’ claws and teeth were far more formidable, instantly shattering the glass and devouring the corpses inside.

“The more dangerous the situation, the less you should panic; haste leads to mistakes.” Her mother had always told Yao Ling this.

Now, Yao Ling took several deep breaths to calm herself and acted as she had planned. “Xiao Mu, scan below for any space.”

A beam shot from Yao Ling’s watch; soon, results appeared. Just as she suspected—there was a space below, though its destination was unknown.

“Xiaosen, give Ye Bai to me. Break through where I’ve marked—we’re leaving!” She took Ye Bai from Cao Xiaosen, alert to the bats still feasting nearby.

For the first time, Cao Xiaosen fully revealed his finger guards: five golden digits, extending upward to form a glove, with intricate patterns almost indistinguishable from a real hand.

He ignited his earth power, the golden guards blazing as they were enveloped in shining light—gold and ochre merging—then smashed them into the floor.

With a thunderous crash, the concrete collapsed, exposing a tunnel below.

“Yao Ling, let’s go!”

Cao Xiaosen jumped down first, followed closely by Yao Ling and the unconscious Ye Bai.