Chapter 876: Defy the Heavens?
The entire process takes no more than ten seconds.
Yasuo calmly took out a piece of white silk from his pocket and expressionlessly wiped away the trace of blood remaining on the blade of his sword.
Then, with a slight twist of his wrist, the longsword was precisely sheathed with a "clang".
The long-haired swordsman, dressed in a black trench coat with a crescent moon emblem, walked steadily to Zhou Huai and knelt on one knee.
"My lord, mission accomplished."
Yasuo's voice was deep and weathered, carrying an air of untamed arrogance and aloofness, exuding a strong sense of superiority.
Zhou Huai sat on the griffin's back, looked down at him, and nodded with satisfaction: "Don't be idle, hurry up and comprehend the domain. You're the slowest right now."
Upon hearing this, the swordsman, who exuded an air of superiority, stiffened slightly.
He bowed his head to indicate his obedience: "Yes, my lord."
Then, Yasuo simply sat cross-legged on the blood-stained lawn.
He placed the longsword across his knees, closed his eyes, and began to fully comprehend the realm of swordsmanship.
However, his expression quickly began to distort, his brows furrowed, his features slightly contorted, and he looked like he was constipated.
Zhou Huai's lips twitched slightly as he looked at Yasuo's expression.
He suddenly realized that it was a clone of the same system, equipped with the AI 2.0 intelligent core.
Are there differences in intelligence between clones?
Yasuo was clearly the earliest clone he created, growing from the initial S-rank Thunder Swordsman to the current SS-rank Thunder Sword Master, accompanying him to kill countless enemies, and his combat instincts are absolutely top-notch.
Why is it that when it comes to the crucial step of understanding the realm, I'm at the bottom?
Even Xiang Yu, that reckless man who only knew how to charge into battle, comprehended the domain faster than him!
"Could it be that he's been showing off all the time and it's ruined his brain?" Zhou Huai muttered to himself.
At this moment, a gentle breeze blows across the manor halfway up the mountain.
The entire manor was in a mess, and a strong stench of blood filled the air.
The ground was littered with the corpses of Blood Wolf Gang elites, their severed limbs and remains scattered everywhere, and the withered grass had long been stained crimson with blood.
The level 70 berserker, Dunt, was lying in a pool of blood, his severed arm charred black, and he was already dead.
However, from the outside, the manor appears peaceful.
The sun was still shining brightly, and a gentle breeze rustled through the intact wrought iron fence. Not even a trace of blood or the sound of fighting could be heard, as if nothing had happened.
This is the "shielding" effect that Zhou Huai used.
Under the absolute rule that words become law, the underlying spatial laws here have been completely altered.
To avoid being detected by Mr. Duan's perception methods.
After all, this is the Free Federation, Mr. Duan's stronghold. Zhou Huai didn't want to reveal his location prematurely before finding any clues about his mother.
Leaping off the griffin, Zhou Huai stepped onto the blood-stained lawn, his combat boots completely untouched.
He looked at the bearded man who was still wailing intermittently. The level 70 berserker's vitality was exceptionally tenacious. Dunt was seriously injured but not quite dead. He was still struggling to breathe in the pool of blood, emitting beast-like gasps.
"Stop howling and get up to answer the question."
Words spoken become law.
An invisible ripple of law spread out, and Dunt fell silent instantly.
The fear and pain in his eyes turned into emptiness and blankness, as if he were being manipulated by an invisible hand. He stood up straight from the pool of blood and then knelt down in front of Zhou Huai with a "plop".
Blood gushed out again from his severed arm as he moved, but he felt no pain and let the blood stain the ground even redder.
Eliza, who was standing to the side, was deeply shocked.
"What...what kind of method is this?!"
A level 70 berserker, severely injured with a severed arm, knelt down like a puppet and obeyed orders at the mere words of the other party.
There was no mind control magic, no glowing contract array.
Just one sentence!
“Words become law... This is the power of rules that only a true god can wield!” Eliza exclaimed inwardly, looking at Zhou Huai with the same adoration one would give to a god.
Zhou Huai ignored the stunned bird-woman and coldly looked down at Dunt.
How did you know that painting was here?
Dunt's face was expressionless, and as his life force rapidly faded, he managed to squeeze out a few words:
"It was... the old shaman... who told me..."
"The old shaman?"
Zhou Huai spoke calmly, turning to look at Eliza.
What is a shaman?
Eliza shuddered and quickly lowered her head, replying rapidly, "In response to your question, sir, shamanism is a very ancient and rare special auxiliary profession native to the Free Federation!"
"They are said to be able to communicate with the gods, and by consuming their own lifespan or flesh and blood as a medium, they can perform extremely mysterious prophetic arts!"
"As long as they pay the price, their predictions are almost never wrong!"
Communicating with God?
Zhou Huai raised an eyebrow and looked at the false clear sky above the manor.
He knew very well that the only true deity in this world was perhaps the Way of Heaven.
The indigenous professionals' "communication with the gods" mostly involved using secret methods to access the underlying logic of the Heavenly Dao system and steal the results of future calculations.
If that's the case, is my coming here also a guidance from the Heavenly Way?
This feeling is like being pushed along step by step by the will of Heaven.
From being forced to leave Great Xia, to the illusion of the Sea God's Stomach, to infiltrating the Free Federation to save Eliza, the story leads to the discovery of the "Sacred Relic Map" that can communicate with the Origin Tree.
Everything was too coincidental.
When his strength was weak, he had little feeling for the rules of heaven and earth.
Now that he has merged with his clone and possesses the power of a half-step transcendent, he seems to understand Mr. Duan somewhat.
Heaven bestowed upon him opportunities, merit points, and a powerful clone, guiding him to become stronger.
But has it ever considered that one day it might end up like Mr. Duan, going so far as to rebel against Heaven?
A Heavenly Dao with self-awareness, which regards the strong as nourishment, will never tolerate the existence of uncontrollable transcendent beings. Today it uses itself against Mr. Duan; tomorrow, if Mr. Duan falls, it will surely be the next target to be purged.
Zhou Huai suppressed his thoughts. It was too early to think about these things now.
Whether it's divine guidance or Mr. Duan's conspiracy, strength is the key to breaking the deadlock.
Once he finds the "Sacred Relic Map" and communicates with the mother who is the embodiment of the Origin Tree, he will be able to grasp the core trump card to fight against both of them.
"No matter what schemes are involved, I'm determined to have this painting!"
Zhou Huai's eyes narrowed, and his senses spread out without reservation.
An invisible, high-dimensional mental storm, centered on him, instantly swept through the hillside manor.
To prevent any omissions, he directly used the power of his clone. The spatial laws of Viktor, the Herrscher of the Void, and the life detection of the World Tree Rahil were activated simultaneously.
Silver ripples spread across the void as Viktor's omniscient vision of the void deconstructed the entire castle into a transparent three-dimensional model.
At the same time, driven by the laws of life, the lawns and trees sprouted countless tiny green roots, spreading deep underground along the cracks in the ground and walls.
The laws of space search for hidden compartments in secret rooms, while the laws of life sense unusual energies and the texture of the paintings.
Two high-dimensional forces intertwined, completely sweeping away the manor from the surface to hundreds of meters underground rock layers.
A chilling, oppressive sense of law permeated the air. Eliza's breath caught in her throat; before this power, she felt as insignificant as a speck of dust in a storm.
Ten seconds later.
Zhou Huai withdrew his senses, and the silver ripples and green roots disappeared simultaneously.
Nothing was gained.
Under the double sweep, not only was the "Sacred Relics Map" not found, but not even a fragment of an ordinary oil painting was discovered. There were no special high-dimensional energy fluctuations here at all.
Zhou Huai frowned. Could it be that the painting isn't here?