Chapter 122: The Secrets of the Heroic Spirits

Qing Yue whispered, “You’ve seen my concealment ability. This is the force array that activates the concealment field.”

“Genius design,” Qian Ye couldn’t help but admire. He had never seen a force array that could be implanted into the body and produce such miraculous effects. The High Hu people had been able to dominate the mercenary world for centuries, and indeed, they had their unique strengths.

Qian Ye’s praise seemed to evoke memories in Qing Yue. She trembled slightly and said, “Not everyone can transplant this array. The process is very painful, and… most people don’t survive long after it.”

This answer surprised Qian Ye. He asked, “What about you?”

“I’m no different.”

At this moment, Carol interjected, “High Hu people only undergo extensive body modifications when they are nearing the end of their lives, to enhance their combat capabilities. Such modifications clearly shorten their lifespan; otherwise, High Hu people would be gods.”

Qing Yue added, “Among us High Hu people, it’s rare for someone to reach the level of a god general. To maintain our people’s survival, we must maximize each individual’s combat power and foster unity.”

As she spoke the last sentence, Qing Yue’s face seemed somewhat despondent.

Qian Ye asked a few more questions, getting a general understanding of the functions of the devices on her body. He then removed all her weapons and took out the high-purity black crystal from her chest, replacing it with an ordinary black crystal that was almost depleted. With this black crystal as the power source, even if Qing Yue wanted to run, her speed would be limited, and she wouldn’t be able to escape more than a hundred kilometers before the energy was exhausted. In the vast and barren neutral zone, finding a place to replenish black crystals within a hundred kilometers was not easy.

After finishing these tasks, Qian Ye returned the clothes to Qing Yue and then walked towards Claudia.

Carol’s figure flickered, blocking Qian Ye. “Do you want to kill her?”

“What else? Wait for the Mask to come looking for us?”

Carol sighed lightly. “The Mask and I have a past, and I’ve watched Claudia grow up. I can’t let you kill her, at least not this time. Let her swear to keep silent about today’s events and then let her go.”

“Swear?” Qian Ye felt both amused and exasperated. If oaths were effective, there wouldn’t be so many conflicts in the world.

Carol’s figure flickered again, already bringing Claudia back, holding her in her arms. “Did you hear what I just said?”

Claudia, however, remained defiant. “What if I break my oath?”

Carol said, “That would mean the end of my friendship with the Mask. In this conflict, I will stand by his side and fight the Moonlight White Devil to the bitter end.”

Claudia’s expression changed slightly. “Miss Carol’s confidence has indeed grown.”

“Of course, since I came here and left alive, my confidence has changed,” Carol smiled.

This confirmed Claudia’s suspicions. Carol must have gained significant benefits here and was likely to make a breakthrough soon. If that were the case, the gap between Carol and the Mask would narrow, and at the very least, Carol could hold her own.

If Carol could stall the Mask, Qian Ye would be almost unstoppable. After fighting Qian Ye personally, Claudia understood that Qian Ye’s heavy sword, physical strength, and domain were almost unbeatable at this stage. Now, with Qian Ye’s full-strength strike, even a god general would have to take it seriously. Below the god general level, unless one was a Spider Demon or a Werewolf with natural strength, she couldn’t think of anyone who could match Qian Ye head-on.

In this way, the Moonlight White Devil would suffer heavy losses trying to take down Qian Ye. The key now was that Qian Ye had the dragon ship, even if it was just a shell, where would they chase him?

Claudia thought for a moment and said, “Fine, I can swear. But I also need something in return.”

Qian Ye frowned slightly. “Go on.”

“A drop of earth dragon blood.”

Qian Ye thought for a moment and then said, “Agreed.”

Claudia was surprised and couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll trick you?”

Qian Ye replied calmly, “If you do, so what?”

Claudia didn’t say anything further. Carol handed her some medicine, which she took silently. She found a place to sit and began to refine the medicinal energy, healing her injuries. Unconsciously or not, she chose a spot far from the heart of the earth dragon.

“Let’s leave here,” Qian Ye said, walking to the control engine and starting it.

As the engine accelerated, the heart of the earth dragon pulsed slowly. The massive warship, made from the remains of the earth dragon, seemed to come to life, accelerating gradually and floating, heading into the void.

Watching the island gradually recede, Carol suddenly said softly, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For sparing Claudia. I know it was for me.”

Qian Ye said, “If anyone should be thanking, it should be me. I still don’t understand why, after having the chance to kill me and take everything here, you suddenly decided to let me go.”

This question had been lingering in Qian Ye’s mind for a long time. Only now, when Carol had clearly shown goodwill, even a hint of ambiguity, did he ask. Qian Ye did not think his charm was so great that it could make a god general defect.

Carol sighed lightly. “I’m not entirely sure. If I had to give a reason, it might be… admiration for that one.”

Qian Ye nodded, thinking it was reasonable. The Empire’s martial emperor once said that reaching the pinnacle reveals the vastness of the world. The closer one gets to the peak, the more one deeply feels the awe and terror of the King of the Pole Star. Carol’s shock must have been greater than Qian Ye’s. And since Qian Ye had inherited the legacy of the King of the Pole Star, Carol had transferred some of that admiration to him.

The Valhalla finally left the island, flying towards the nearest landmass in the Eastern Sea. It wasn’t a complete warship yet, lacking a true engine, but it could float and fly using the instincts of the void beast. Although it didn’t accelerate quickly, it could traverse the void.

It took two full days to fly from the island to the Eastern Sea. It was a medium distance, suitable for round trips. The island was isolated in the void, with no other land masses nearby, and it wasn’t a navigational area, so it was rarely visited. Even if someone passed by, they wouldn’t notice it was a floating island protected by a force field, capable of sustaining life, unless they were close enough.

In the future, when the time was right, this island could be a good foundation.

During these two days, Claudia spent most of her time sitting and cultivating. As soon as she got the earth dragon blood, she started absorbing and refining it. After two days, she had absorbed most of the extremely heavy drop of earth dragon blood. It seemed she was determined to absorb all of it before returning.

Qing Yue, on the other hand, seemed to have decided to follow Qian Ye wholeheartedly. Without her power augmentation devices, her movements were awkward. Still, she carefully inspected the entire Valhalla, drawing multiple diagrams and planning out the various sections. These diagrams were highly complex, clearly the work of an expert. Qian Ye had taken a few and studied them intently but realized he didn’t understand them, so he put them down, admitting he wasn’t cut out for warship construction.

Two days later, the Valhalla reached the edge of the Eastern Sea landmass. Carol and Claudia both left, returning on their own.

Carol was eager to go back and absorb the earth dragon blood, hoping to advance further. Advancing to the rank of god general was no small matter, and Qian Ye might not see her for a while. Claudia, however, left in silence, neither saying goodbye nor threatening with killing intent. She looked at Qian Ye like a stranger, leaving him puzzled about her intentions.

Whether in the Eternal Night or the Empire, Claudia was considered a genius. Some narrow-minded people might find it hard to tolerate her growth. For Qian Ye, a genius who had already caught up with him was no longer a genius, and the gap between them might continue to widen. Moreover, Qian Ye had promised Carol, and he didn’t want to break his word to the woman who had saved his life at a critical moment.

After Carol and Claudia disappeared and the Valhalla ascended again, Qing Yue approached Qian Ye with a thick stack of diagrams. “I’ve sketched out the basic designs, but each section needs more detail. To complete the design, it might take me two years on my own.”

This progress surprised Qian Ye. Even for a normal battleship, improving a design often required nearly a thousand people working for a year or two. If Qing Yue wasn’t exaggerating, she was indeed a genius.

Looking at the stack of diagrams, Qian Ye felt a headache coming on. Qing Yue, noticing his expression, wisely took the diagrams back. She pointed in the direction Claudia had left. “Are you really letting her go just like that?”

Qian Ye raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I just think it’s foolish to rely on her keeping her word.”

“How do you suggest we keep it a secret?”

“Simple. Only a dead person can keep a secret.”

Qian Ye smiled. “It doesn’t matter if she talks.”

Qian Ye had considered this repeatedly, and letting Claudia go was a well-considered decision. Whether Claudia kept her word or not, it would make Carol more aligned with Qian Ye. As for the revenge of the Moonlight White Devil, with the Valhalla, Qian Ye didn’t feel too worried. Actually, the King of the Pole Star had left a few secrets in the Valhalla, which Qian Ye hadn’t even told Carol.

One of them was a power he had left in the heart of the earth dragon, which had not been triggered yet. Using the power of the earth dragon’s heart, this force remained intact and even seemed to have grown stronger. If someone tried to approach the heart of the earth dragon and gain control, they would face a strike from the King of the Pole Star. At that time, the King of the Pole Star had just become a Heavenly King, so the stored power would be reduced, but it was still not something an ordinary god general could handle.

Only Qian Ye, with his top-tier Dawn Force, could control the heart of the earth dragon without triggering the King of the Pole Star’s setup. Qian Ye now understood that the main reason he received the King of the Pole Star’s inheritance was because of the Dawn Awakening.

Because of the Dawn Awakening, Qian Ye’s character was recognized, confirming he wouldn’t turn to the Eternal Night. This logic was still a mystery to Qian Ye. Could it be that if one had a bias towards the dark races, they couldn’t cultivate the Dawn Awakening?

The other, most important secret, was one Qian Ye was about to use. It was a coordinate, a coordinate etched deep in the heart of the earth dragon.