The Ancient Gods' Whisper

At sunset, Lu Zijin strolled through the silent and deserted graveyard, her petite silhouette stretched long by the twilight. The wine-red dress she wore fluttered in the wind, adorned with lace edges and butterfly ribbons.

She held a bouquet of fresh flowers in her hands, bent down, and placed them before a gravestone, gazing at the name etched upon it.

"Sorry, I've been too busy lately and haven't had the time to visit you. I remember back then, our squad... the captain died in Yun Mengze, He Bo betrayed humanity and turned into something neither human nor ghost, and now he's been crippled. Last night, as I slept, I suddenly realized it's been nearly half a year since you left."

She spoke softly, "But sometimes, I still feel as if you're somehow still here."

Lu Zicheng stood silently behind her, smoking, exhaling wisps of smoke.

Chen Qing bent down, thoughtfully clearing the fallen leaves from the gravestone and then pulled out a wet wipe to clean it.

In retrospect, everything made much more sense now.

After Professor Gu's death, his family wasn't left defenseless.

Minister Lu simply didn't trust those who were sent to protect them and had them dismissed.

Gu Jianlin had the Moon Princess by his side, so no one could easily pose a threat to him.

If a high-level Ascender made a move, Minister Lu would personally intervene.

And, of course, there was also a certain King of Qing watching from the shadows.

Suffice it to say, those in power never act rashly or foolishly like children.

Every action holds a deeper meaning.

"Maybe it's because your son has grown up."

Lu Zijin clasped her hands behind her back and chuckled lightly. "Sometimes, I think you were a fool. You hid your son for so many years, yet in the end, he still entered the Extraordinary World. And, except for looking like you, he's nothing like you in any other way. He's stronger than you, more audacious than you, and even more popular with women."

"True enough,"

Lu Zicheng commented. "Now, besides the name 'Chair Killer,' he has a new title: 'Sister Killer.' Someone filmed Xiao Gu's Evolutionary State last night, and another wave of older-sister fans went crazy over him."

As someone who fit the "older sister" description, Chen Qing silently agreed. If it weren't for the Moon Princess, she might have considered making a move herself.

"Initially, I didn't want him to enter the Extraordinary World to endure hardship, and I followed your wishes to stay as far away from him as possible, to not approach him. But when I saw the look in his eyes, so empty, so resentful... I knew then that I couldn't stop him."

Lu Zijin's lips curled into a faint smile. "Then he gave me a solid slap in the face, and honestly, it was oddly satisfying. Not because I'm some kind of masochist, but because it's gratifying to see young people succeed."

"Even though you were reluctant, your son still became the student of the King of Qing."

She sneered, "That was his choice. He was born to walk this path. As the saying goes, the true sun always stays in the sky. Even if you close your eyes, it remains up there."

Of course, there was no response to her words.

Only the breeze stirred the pines, making them rustle softly.

The reason Lu Zijin had come was not for much else.

It was simply to say goodbye.

"Tonight, I'll also go in search of the Sea of Eternal Life."

Lu Zijin said calmly, "I must thank you. If the King of Qing hadn't told me that you broke through at the last moment while confronting the Ghost Car Ancestor, I wouldn't have known that the first layer of the Qilin Immortal Palace already contained the Sea of Eternal Life. If you have any awareness left in the afterlife, pray for my smooth ascension. If, years from now, the Ghost Car Ancestor comes knocking, I'll at least be able to hold it off."

Finished speaking, she turned and walked away.

"Zicheng, Chen Qing."

She suddenly addressed them.

Lu Zicheng stubbed out his cigarette, instinctively sensing something unusual in her tone.

Chen Qing asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"If something happens to me this time, leave all my inheritance and Extraordinary Resources to Xiao Gu. Don't let those old family relics get their hands on my things—I find them disgusting." Lu Zijin said indifferently.

Chen Qing pretended not to hear and replied expressionlessly, "I'll go prepare the car."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

Lu Zicheng clicked his tongue. "Pfft, how unlucky!"

Meanwhile, a massive shadow covered the sun in the sky, vaguely revealing the outline of a Floating Island.

Dimensional waves began to ripple.

·

·

Come dusk, Gu Jianlin arrived at the Black Cloud Base and first made his way to the hospital.

Because Uncle Mu was temporarily quarantined, the people in the shelter needed someone to check on them.

Luckily, they were all doing well and hadn't encountered any further discrimination.

Ever since the incident with Director Li, no one within the Ether Association would dare to discriminate against the people in the shelter—unless they wanted to be beaten senseless or left hanging from a lamppost.

However, the price of that was Gu Jianlin's reputation growing even more fearsome.

By this point, though, there wasn't much he could do about it. Gu Jianlin's Evolutionary State had already been uploaded to the Deep Space Official Website.

He was prepared to be viewed as a monster by others.

But what happened next took him completely by surprise.

Along the way, investigators and nano warriors he passed by watched him with unusual excitement in their eyes.

Some older women even came up to him, asking if he could display his Evolutionary State so they could take a picture with him.

Gu Jianlin was utterly bewildered, fleeing in panic.

When he finally opened the forum to look around, he understood what was going on.

Most young people these days had little knowledge of the Ancient Catastrophe that happened two centuries ago. They had no idea how brutal and bloody that war had been.