With a light snap of Meng Lei’s fingers, all the ice sculptures within 10,000 meters of where they were broke into pieces, turning into ice chips that scattered all over the ground.
Only the six assailants and the few people that had launched the sneak attack just now remained where they were. It was obvious at one glance that a total of five people—including the ax-wielding muscular man—had attacked them.
It was just that the five of them were currently ice sculptures, with every one of them frozen in a peculiar pose.
They either had a shocked look on their faces, were in the midst of chanting a spell incantation, or sported looks of excitement in their eyes... All of their facial expressions varied, and their manners of bearing also different from one another’s.
“You can only count yourselves unlucky for choosing to ambush me.”
What happened next was evident—body searching, looking for spatial rings, and taking them for himself.
“Tsk, these five must be pretty strong. They’ve actually gotten so many magic cores. Not bad, they even have a golden fruit, too.”
Meng Lei was grinning so widely that his face was all wrinkled. Disregarding the golden fruit, for now, just the magic cores in their spatial rings alone already made up an astonishingly high number. All of these were money to him.
“I really don’t know how you managed to cultivate to such a level!” Abbe’s eyes were filled with envy. “We haven’t seen each other for only two months, yet you’re already so strong. The next time we meet, would you have already broken through to become a half-deity?”
“A half-deity? That’s too far a notion.” As Meng Lei kept the fruit and the spatial rings, he said, “I’m about to leave this place. Why don’t you leave with me, too? This continent is currently fraught with great danger. It’s not safe here.”
“No, I want to continue looking for the divine tree fruits and the Tree of Life,” Abbe rejected his offer and said, “The fruits can refine my bloodline. I will never give up, no matter what!”
“That mentality of yours is too dangerous.” Meng Lei frowned as he said, “I suspect that the Tree of Life is a half-deity that’s currently plotting some kind of conspiracy. If you go looking for it, how is that any different from sending yourself straight to death’s door? Let’s just leave!”
“A half-deity?”
A huge jolt went through Abbe.
“All the living things on the entire Lost Continent worship the Tree of Life. It’s highly likely that it’s a half-deity!” Meng Lei shook his head lightly as he said, “Staying in a half-deity’s territory is simply too dangerous. Also, even if you do get more of the divine tree fruits, don’t eat them anymore. Those things aren’t safe.”
A look of indignant reluctance came over Abbe’s features at once. A brief moment later, she surprisingly shook her head and said, “Thank you, Meng Lei, but I’m not leaving!”
Then, she rose into the sky and flew away.
“...”
Meng Lei opened his mouth but ultimately chose not to call out to her. Abbe was a stubborn one; Meng Lei had already had a taste of that a long time ago.
“Never mind, do what you want, then.” Meng Lei shook his head as he remarked, “I’ve already said what I should. It’s up to her whether or not she wants to heed the warning.”
Then, he also left the area.
“Why aren’t you going after her, kid?
“Not only is she gorgeous, but she’s even a princess of the empire. There are so many out there who wish to be her knight in shining armor yet couldn’t. To think you’ve actually given up such a prime opportunity!
“I’m really suspecting more and more that your carnal desires are undeveloped...”
“No-one’s going to mistake you for a mute if you speak a little less, Ol’ President.”
“Let’s go, Sacas!”
After Meng Lei left, Abbe walked out from behind a tree. As she stared at the departing Meng Lei, she murmured softly, “I wish I could leave with you, Meng Lei, but I can’t...”
A day later, Meng Lei finally returned to the seashore where they had been when they had first arrived on the continent.
“Let’s wait here! I’ll be able to leave in another couple of days.”
After finding himself a remote beach, he then took out a large ten-meters-wide golden pot, ready for another hotpot feast.
“Are we having seafood hotpot again, Boss?”
At the sight of that, Sacas obediently went to catch seafood again.
An hour later...
A bonfire blazed into the sky as soup bubbled and boiled in the pot. An aroma rushed toward them as a human, and a beast sat around the hotpot and feasted.
“I want abalone, Boss!
“Give me that geoduck, Boss!
“I want more, Boss! I want some more...”
Time went by very quickly, and a day passed. There was currently only a day left to the end of the exchange competition’s month-long duration.
Meng Lei laid on the soft beach and bathed in the warm, mild sun as he waited for the exchange competition to end.
Boom!
A tremor suddenly went through the ground!
Boom!
Another tremor!
Boom!
Right on the heels of it, the ground began to shake and tremble rhythmically. It felt like 10,000 horses galloping across the fields, yet also like tanks crushing the ground. The entire continent was booming and shaking.
“What’s going on?”
Meng Lei quickly soared into the sky and looked around, upon which he was immediately stunned into a daze.
In the continent’s center, a far distance off, stood a massive tree so tall that there was no telling its height and so wide that one couldn’t tell its trunk circumference.
It seemed like the Jianmu Tree1 that connected the heavens and earth, yet also like the Yggdrasil2 whose roots were entrenched into the earth. Standing erect between heaven and earth, the towering tree branches were as though passageways to heaven while the lofty tree crown shrouded the area 10,000 miles from where it was.
When looking from afar, clouds could be seen circling around it.
The sun’s multicolored radiance reflected upon it as the phenomenal scene went through a million grand changes.
The most inconceivable thing was that the massive tree was covered in several gold chains that wrapped around it like a net.
A majestic and holy might emanated from the massive tree reaching straight into the heavens and wantonly oppressed Meng Lei’s spirit, giving him the urge to submit to it, convert his faith to it, and prostrate before it.
“T-the Tree of Life!” Meng Lei exclaimed softly, “Ol’ President, is that the Tree of Life?!”
“Yes, it’s the Tree of Life!” Ol’ Amos emerged and said, “This aura is divine power! Though faint, it’s nevertheless no doubt divine power! There’s no mistaking it! I was right. It really is a half-deity!”
“So it really is a half-deity!”
Meng Lei’s heart quivered. He felt an urge to immediately return to the teleportation magic circle and make an escape. Against a massive tree of half-deity status, he really didn’t possess even a shred of confidence.
As for Sacas the Multi-Armed Behemoth, in the instant it saw the Tree of Life, it was already prostrating on the ground, so agitated that tears filled its eyes as it loudly prayed to and extolled the greatness of the tree.
“Something isn’t right! That half-deity’s aura is so weak! It can’t even compare to a Saint Domain limits-level expert’s! What’s going on? Are we too far away from it?”
Ol’ Amos, whose brows were tightly drawn together into a huge frown, stared hard at the massive tree for a moment. Then, he suddenly exclaimed in a low voice, “The gold chains... I get it now! That Tree of Life has been sealed! It has been sealed!”
“Sealed?”
Meng Lei was dumbfounded.
“Do you see those gold chains around the Tree of L
ife? That’s the seal! The Tree of Life has been sealed. That’s why it’s giving off such weak divine power!”
Ol’ Amos smacked his forehead as he said, “I knew it. Even though it was indifferent the whole time while all of you were wantonly killing its worshipers in its territory, it wasn’t done out of choice. Rather, it’s because it has been sealed and is totally immobile. That’s the actual reason why!”
Meng Lei asked with a dazed look in his eyes, “Just what kind of existence can seal a half-deity like the Tree of Life?”
“There’ll always be someone stronger out there, and there’s no limit to how high one can go; there is no lack of existences stronger than a half-deity. Heaven’s Vault Continent is ultimately just a small pond.” Ol’ Amos shook his head slightly. Then, he suddenly frowned and asked, “Meng Lei, are a lot of black dots floating around the Tree of Life?”
Meng Lei hurriedly looked over. Although they were a great distance away from the Tree of Life, he saw many tiny little black dots.
Those little black dots were suspended around the Tree of Life like insects around a willow in summer.
A puzzled Meng Lei asked, “What are those little black dots?”
“We’re too far away, so it’s hard to tell. Go a little nearer!” Ol’ Amos said gravely, “Don’t worry, it’s been sealed, so as long as we’re not too near, it can’t do anything to you.”
“Okay!”
After a moment’s hesitation, Meng Lei flew toward it.
As he approached, the black dots also became bigger and bigger. He could now see them clearly after he reached a certain distance—those dense and packed black dots were actually the exchange competition’s contestants. And apart from them, there were also many other unfamiliar-looking figures!
Those figures wore golden armor, held broadswords, and rode golden beasts—they were clearly all golden-armored knights!
As he continued to approach, he could vaguely see a thin golden shield around the Tree of Life.
Some of the contestants were enveloped within the golden shield, while all the golden-armored knights were fervently attacking the golden shield, seemingly trying to rescue them.
“What are they doing?”
Meng Lei was rather bewildered.
“Damn! They’ve been tricked! They’re attacking the seal! Once the seal is destroyed, the Tree of Life would be released!”
Chapter 187: Holy Knight Order, The Empire’s Half-Deity
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Attacking the seal?”
Meng Lei was bewildered.
“Can’t you tell?”
With a severe look on his face, Ol’ Amos explained gravely, “The divine tree fruits are just bait—bait that it tossed out in order to lure contestants like you. What’s tragic is that many of the contestants had actually fallen for it! Thus, they are now trapped within the seal, unable to escape!”
“And then?”
“In order to rescue them, the empire will definitely send experts to attack the seal, ultimately rescuing the Tree of Life and releasing it, too.
“A conspiracy! This is a total conspiracy from the start to the very end!”
Meng Lei hurriedly asked, “What will happen if the Tree of Life breaks the seal, Ol’ President?”
“Isn’t that obvious?” Ol’ Amos barked, “What do you think will happen when a sealed half-deity is freed?”
Meng Lei couldn’t help but shiver at the thought.
“Meng Lei, you must stop them from attacking the seal at once. Otherwise, it’ll lead to a great disaster!”
“Stop them?”
Meng Lei was hesitant. He couldn’t wait to escape and go far, far away from the Tree of Life at the moment. Yet he was telling him to stop those guys?
“The Tree of Life is currently sealed, so the degree of risk has been greatly reduced.” Ol’ Amos said gravely, “What you need to do is just to stop them. If nothing goes wrong, it won’t be dangerous.”
“Alright!”
As he went nearer and nearer, the view also became clearer and clearer.
The Tree of Life’s branches were too thick, too tall—taller and thicker than any great mountains that Meng Lei had ever seen.
Its crown was too large, too lush—just like a gigantic halo, it enveloped the sky within 10,000 miles of where it was.
Big, tall, lofty, and majestic! Vast and extensive!
“Who’d have thought that a massive life form like that actually exists in the world? Nature is indeed miraculous!” Meng Lei was thoroughly astounded. “And what’s even more inconceivable is that someone has actually sealed a fearsome life form like that!”
As he got nearer and nearer, the view also became clearer and clearer.
Branches flourished from the Tree of Life, leafy and lush. And amid the luxuriant leaves bore an abundance of golden fruits.
A quick glance revealed that the tree was filled with them.
“Just how many divine tree fruits are there? And just how much will I earn if I sell them all?”
Meng Lei swallowed hard, suddenly understanding why so many contestants had been lured there.
Given the numerous divine tree fruits on it, just how great of an allure did it pose?
Who would be able to resist it?
Nobody at all!
At last, he came close to it.
A mountainous ridge when viewed horizontally and a high peak when viewed from the side; far, near, high, and low, different from every angle.
Why couldn’t one tell the true form of Mount Lu?
For they stand within, part of the mountain they have become1.
At this point, it was no longer possible for him to get a full view of the Tree of Life. All that entered one’s sight was just a big, tall, and rough wall—the Tree of Life’s trunk!
Wrapped all around the surface of the trunk was an infinite number of chains formed from golden magic sigils. Like a fishing net, they wrapped all around the tree.
The chains spread out, ultimately forming another golden shield around the Tree of Life and sealing it within.
At the same time, the golden shield also trapped almost a hundred unfortunate souls within—in other words, the hundred-odd contestants that had also been sealed inside.
Floating outside the golden shield were thousands of people. Aside from a few dozen contestants, the rest were all broadsword-wielding, beast-riding golden-armored knights!
“Where did these guys come from?”
Meng Lei stared at the golden-armored knights, somewhat puzzled.
“Judging from their gear, they are likely the Royal Holy Knight Order.” Ol’ Amos replied, “The Royal Holy Knight Order is the empire’s most elite troops. Even the weakest among them possesses ninth-grade pinnacle-level strength.”
“Why are they here?”
Meng Lei was puzzled. Weren’t the contestants supposed to be the only ones on the Lost Continent?
“If I’m not wrong, the Royal Holy Knight Order is in charge of protecting the contestants’ safety during the exchange competition.” Ol’ Amos instructed, “Get them to stop, Meng Lei. If they continue to attack, they’ll break the seal sooner or later!”
At the moment, be it the Holy Knight Order or the 100-odd contestants inside the shield, all of them were fervently attacking the golden shield.
Every attack from them caused the golden shield to reverberate intensely, which in turn caused the entire continent to shake along with it—it seemed like the seal was connected to the whole continent itself.
“Alright, I know what to do now.”
Meng Lei nodded slightly. Then, he took a deep breath and shouted, “Stop attacking, everyone! Listen to what I have to say!”
His voice wasn’t very loud, but it reached everyone clearly. Everyone stopped attacking one by one and turned to him.
“Meng Lei!”
Someone who recognized him called out his name.
“Who’s he?”
However, there were more of them that didn’t know who he was, and all of them broke into frowns.
“Stop attacking, everyone. Listen to me first!”
As the puzzled crowd gazed at him, Meng Lei said, “All of you can sense the divine power that this huge tree here is giving off, right? That’s right. This tree is a half-deity!”
“A half-deity?”
A jolt went through some of them as their countenances changed dramatically. All of them were just weak contestants that didn’t have any idea of the Tree of Life’s background.
However, the rest of them—in particular, the Royal Holy Knight Order—showed practically no response to his words. Evidently, they were already aware of the Tree of Life’s background since a long time ago.
Or perhaps they’d determined its identity based on the divine power that the Tree of Life emanated.
After all, its mighty divine power was right there for all to see. It wasn’t hard for them to make the judgment.
Meng Lei continued and said, “But this half-deity has evidently been sealed. That’s why we can stand here safely right now!”
Then, he changed the course of the conversation and said, “But what are all of you doing? You’re attacking the seal! And helping it to break out of its seal! Aren’t you afraid that by destroying the seal, you’ll really set the Tree of Life free?”
Nobody had anything to say to that.
In particular, all the knights of the Royal Holy Knight Order sank into total silence. Evidently, they were aware of what they were doing and also knew the consequences of their actions.
“Therefore, I hope that everyone can cease their attacks at once.”
Meng Lei’s voice was low and grave as he said, “Once the Tree of Life breaks the seal, all of us will die! Nobody will be able to escape! That’s all I have to say! Think about it yourselves!”
Then, Meng Lei turned, ready to leave. He didn’t know what they would do after hearing what he had to say, but that was all he could do.
Now that he’d fulfilled his objective, it was time to leave.
“Sir, we fully understand what you’re saying.”
A Golden Colossal Dragon Person dressed in royal armor stepped forward at this point. He had a pair of golden horns on his head and a pair of golden wings on his back.
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