“You, why are you here?” Anwen’s face was full of surprise.
The demonspawn reacted strangely, and his question was even stranger. Qian Ye didn’t know whether to bother with him. This was a traditional resource point for the Empire. If they weren’t here, should Anwen, a demonspawn, be there?
Anwen scratched his head, looking troubled, deep in thought. Behind him, Bai Kongzhao also appeared. She seemed surprised that Anwen had stopped suddenly and almost bumped into him.
The girl poked her head out, saw Qian Ye, and her confused eyes suddenly brightened. Then she spotted Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan, and her eyes flickered with caution. Shortly after, her clear gaze was shrouded in confusion and bewilderment once more.
After some thought, Anwen exclaimed, “Ah, I know! It was you who left the camp in the tenfold gravity zone!”
Qian Ye, Ji Tianqing, and Li Kuanglan exchanged glances. They hadn’t expected Anwen to follow their tracks. The fact that he could appear in the tenfold gravity zone and escape unscathed indicated that he was not as weak and fragile as he seemed on the surface. He must have incredible combat prowess.
Qian Ye remained expressionless, standing directly in front of Anwen. Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan moved to the sides.
“Ha, I really didn’t think that with such frail human bodies, someone would show up in the tenfold gravity zone and resist the Cold Silent Night, escaping the central region. Even if humans discovered the secret of the white fruit and white fruit wine, and managed to survive the first few Cold Silent Nights, they couldn’t withstand the continuous erosion of the white fruit wine, eventually becoming beasts driven by pure desire. But now, it seems none of you have been affected by the power of desire. Truly a miracle!”
Anwen spoke animatedly, excitedly, staring at Qian Ye from all angles, making him feel very uncomfortable. Anwen continued, “To be honest, humans aren’t a particularly attractive race, but the fact that someone like you can exist is incredible. Beauty isn’t just about sensory pleasure; it represents conformity to the laws of this world, better adaptation to the environment, and thus, it’s seen as stunning by other creatures. So, being beautiful is a form of combat power. The elders of our clan only know conspiracy and war; they never deeply ponder the phenomena and essence of this world… Eh?”
Anwen was startled to find Qian Ye and the others already positioned. Pointing at Qian Ye, he said incredulously, “Are you going to attack?”
Qian Ye smiled faintly, hefting the Dongyue in his hand, “What else?”
“Do we really need to fight?”
“Here in the Great Maelstrom, you’re a demonspawn, and we’re humans. Isn’t that reason enough?”
Anwen sighed, “This hatred is truly baseless. Sometimes I wonder if your kind has a tendency toward victim mentality. In my view, the animosity between our races isn’t irreconcilable, at least not in the short term.”
Qian Ye replied calmly, “One is Eternal Night, the other is Dawn. This is an inherent conflict of origin force, inescapable.”
Anwen scoffed, “Nonsense! This was just a slogan proposed by a fool in the Empire, and we in Eternal Night had our share of fools who agreed. We’ve been fighting for a thousand years. Haven’t they realized that while we can kill each other, we can’t eradicate Dawn or Dark Origin Force?”
Qian Ye paused. The law of the imperishability of origin force was common knowledge in advanced imperial education. When someone died, the origin force they cultivated dissipated and returned to the void. New people are born, grow, cultivate, and draw Dawn origin force back from the void. In this process, origin force neither increases nor decreases.
But this was just a hypothesis, and no one could truly verify it. Moreover, it was said to pose a serious problem, leading many to oppose it. Notably, Lin Xitang was among the opponents, but he never stated his reasons. Nevertheless, due to his special status, the hypothesis had sparked renewed debate in recent years.
Now, Anwen brought up this theory again, unsure of his intentions. Qian Ye raised his hand, gesturing to the women to hold off.
Seeing Qian Ye listen intently, Anwen became invigorated, speaking fluently, “Whether it’s Dark or Dawn origin force, in this Eternal Night, they should remain unchanged, yet they are constantly changing. The reason for this change is that we are not isolated in the great world. Our location is merely a corner, and in the far reaches of the void, there may be countless small worlds similar to ours. Why should we fight? Uniting to break through the void barrier and explore the vast expanse of the world is the true path forward.”
Hearing Anwen’s grandiose words, Ji Tianqing huffed, mocking, “Not even a duke, yet you have such big dreams! Talk about exploring the void when you reach the rank of prince. Besides, exterminating the demonspawn is the immediate priority. Exploring the infinite world is too grand and distant; leave that to us, don’t waste your time.”
Anwen shook his head, sighing, “So beautiful, yet so ignorant and violent. What a pity, what a pity!”
Ji Tianqing immediately protested, jumping up, “You started off sounding reasonable, but then you went off the rails. Violence is necessary against you, but where is my ignorance?”
Anwen wasn’t courteous, “Killing people causes origin force to return to the void, only to come back again. As long as origin force doesn’t die, life will continue to rely on it. Even if you exterminate the demonspawn, as long as Dark origin force exists, dark races will keep appearing. The same goes for humans. What’s the point? A thousand years ago, the entire human race were slaves. Now, they control four continents. Without the gradual rise of Dawn origin force, how could there be the Empire today?”
This unprecedented theory sounded reasonable, and Ji Tianqing didn’t know how to refute it. But she wouldn’t admit defeat, so she quickly countered, “Since it can’t be tested, you can say whatever you want. But you won’t get away with it here. I’ll ask you, you say I’m beautiful, how exactly? Have you seen what I really look like?”
She hadn’t shown her true face, and her appearance was ever-changing, even her figure fluctuated. This was her unique secret, and even Qian Ye had been fooled by it for a long time.
But Anwen stared intently for a moment, then smiled proudly, “No problem. Wait a moment.”
He took out a rapier, drawing and calculating on the ground, listing a series of complex formulas.
Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan exchanged glances, these formulas were too complex, making their heads hurt. They had no idea what Anwen was up to, assuming he was just trying to confuse them.
Qian Ye, raised in the Netherworld Training Camp, later joined Red Scorpion. Most of his time was spent learning to kill and avoid being killed. He couldn’t possibly understand these. Even the Netherworld instructors likely couldn’t make sense of these dense formulas.
Anwen calculated swiftly, numbers flowing from the tip of his sword, making Qian Ye and the others dizzy. Only Bai Kongzhao remained unaffected, not caring what Anwen was doing, only gazing at Qian Ye, lost in thought.
The girl made no attempt to hide her intent, and Qian Ye kept part of his attention on her, not daring to relax.
Bai Kongzhao, if she attacked, would strike at the vital point, and always at the best moment. Her actions were unpredictable, and no one knew her true thoughts. After years of dealing with her, Qian Ye even suspected that one of her special abilities was to ignore defenses, a terrifying ability to break through levels, and he dared not give her an opening.
Anwen didn’t make them wait long. In a few minutes, the countless formulas and numbers condensed into a simple equation. He looked at it and smiled proudly, walking to a rock. With a few sword swings, he carved out a human silhouette.
With a quiver of his wrist, the sword light rained down, and stone chips flew, revealing a stone statue of a girl before everyone’s eyes.
It was a human girl, hand over her mouth, eyes wide open, her face full of surprise. At first glance, she wasn’t particularly striking, but the more you looked, the more beautiful she became, gentle and flawless, giving a particularly comfortable feeling, and without a single flaw.
The statue was extremely lifelike, especially the expression between her brows, almost having its own spirit, making people involuntarily wonder what she had seen to be so astonished.
As for the clothing, it was just a few strokes, but it was enough.
The statue was a masterful work, not a single stroke more or less.
Ji Tianqing finally couldn’t hide her shock, exclaiming softly. Qian Ye and Li Kuanglan were also astonished, looking at the statue, speechless.
The statue clearly depicted Ji Tianqing, her true face. While others might not recognize her, Qian Ye and Li Kuanglan had seen her true form and recognized her. But Anwen had definitely never seen Ji Tianqing, so how did he manage to depict her true appearance with those cryptic formulas and numbers?
Anwen smiled modestly, “It’s not that difficult. If this lady hadn’t changed her appearance and figure multiple times, I wouldn’t have found the pattern in the countless changes. All secrets follow certain rules, and her true appearance must remain constant. Even if she never revealed a hint of her true face, it doesn’t matter. Finding the constant in innumerable changes is my specialty, essential for exploring our world.”
Though Qian Ye didn’t fully understand, he still categorized Anwen as one of the most dangerous enemies he’d ever encountered. Perhaps because Qian Ye didn’t grasp what Anwen was saying, he held unknown enemies in high regard. Though Anwen acted somewhat crazy, he had inadvertently displayed extraordinary talent. The danger he posed to Qian Ye was no less than any other foe.
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