17: Homecoming

The last opportunity in the ruins was enjoyed by the three of them, and this exploration of the ruins concluded successfully, with everyone gaining a lot.

"Dongfang, can you open the portal?"

"Brother Chen, I might have to wait a bit. I can't suppress my cultivation realm right now and need to break through on the spot."

Lin Chen was speechless. This was the treatment of a protagonist; there was even a settlement screen at the end of the ruins exploration. Unlike him, he was picking up trash the whole time and had to watch other people's MVP settlement screens at the end.

"It's fine. Breaking through your realm is more important."

"I'll also dismantle this blood pool. It's made of high-grade materials and is worth some money. We'll split it equally among the three of us, and each of us can get tens of billions of federal currency."

Upon hearing tens of billions of federal currency, Lin Fan and Oriental Red Sleeve's eyes lit up, turning into the shape of money.

"Brother Chen, I can still suppress my breakthrough. Lin Fan and I will help you dismantle it!"

"Brother, you are my real brother. Please feel free to order me around; I'll do all the dirty and tiring work."

Lin Chen's face darkened, and he firmly told the two to step aside and not interfere with his work.

"Dongfang, you should go break through. This is a technical job, and you'll only get in the way if you try to help."

"Thank you, Brother Chen. Then I'll go protect Hongxiu while she cultivates."

"Hurry up and go. Don't get in the way here. I'll try to keep the commotion down."

"Brother Chen, you don't need to worry about affecting me. Lin Fan brought a sound-insulating array."

"Alright then."

Within the special space, Lin Chen followed the detailed steps provided by old dengs book, dismantling the blood pool piece by piece and collecting its valuable components.

Three hours later, Lin Chen had completely dismantled the blood pool.

He had already dismantled the blood pool, but Oriental Red Sleeve still hadn't successfully broken through. Clearly, it wasn't as simple as breaking through to the fourth-order martial arts cultivation; there must be deeper changes occurring.

Oriental Red Sleeve's aura continuously grew until it reached a limit. Without any delay, the boundary was broken, and her cultivation smoothly reached the fourth order, with no accidents occurring.

At this moment, Oriental Red Sleeve had not yet woken up.

She still kept her eyes tightly closed, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she was experiencing some kind of tribulation.

Another hour passed, and Oriental Red Sleeve slowly opened her eyes.

Her originally black eyes turned golden, and a powerful Emperor's might surged from her, indiscriminately pressing down on Lin Chen and Lin Fan.

Both of them felt their bodies grow heavy, a strong sense of oppression enveloped them, their strength generally decreased by 10%, and they even felt fear towards Oriental Red Sleeve in their hearts.

Fortunately, both of them were strong-willed individuals. Their vital energy surged, isolating the pressure and returning to normal.

"Brother Chen, Lin Fan, I'm very sorry. I couldn't control my Emperor Clan Bloodline pressure for a moment."

Lin Chen and Lin Fan both waved their hands, indicating that it was fine.

At this point, the exploration of the ruins came to an end.

Oriental Red Sleeve opened the portal to the outside world; her Emperor Clan Bloodline was the highest pass.

The three returned to the surface ruins, and then Lin Fan transported them back to the underground space. As for this ruin, it continued to be buried deep within the earth, awaiting discovery by the next wave of people.

Entering the underground requires passing through the underground teleportation gate.

Leaving the underground also requires passing through the underground teleportation gate.

Lin Chen and the other two returned to the underground space. Lin Fan immediately located the underground teleportation gate, finding that it was quite far, requiring them to cross the entire underground, a straight-line distance of six hundred kilometers.

This was not an issue; none of the three were ordinary people.

In the Withering Forest, as long as no fifth-order beings appeared, the three of them feared no threats, especially Oriental Red Sleeve, who had successfully broken through and whose strength was estimated to be invincible among fourth-order cultivators.

Lin Fan also had many hidden methods, estimated to have the combat power of a late-stage fourth-order cultivator. In contrast, Lin Chen was the weakest, barely able to unleash the combat power of a late-stage fourth-order cultivator.

Seven hours later, Lin Chen and the other two pushed through, traversing six hundred kilometers, and were not far from the underground teleportation gate, only ten kilometers away.

"Attention, there are five fourth-order human life forms hidden behind the big tree ahead. They are likely ill-intentioned."

"Received." * 2

Lin Chen had his mental power perception on the whole way. Any life form within a one-kilometer radius, unless exceptionally skilled at hiding, could not escape his perception.

Along the way, the three also encountered many human teams, but they all consciously avoided each other's paths and did not meet.

During underground exploration, if you encounter your own kind, avoid them if possible. If you can't avoid them, you need to show a strong attitude to make the other party wary.

After all, the underground is a lawless place, and there are always bad people who choose to profit without effort by killing and looting.

Evidently, Lin Chen and the other two had run into bad people.

"Three students, two males and one female. That girl's temperament is truly exceptional."

"Prepare for battle, one-hit kill. We'll take care of them while they're still warm."

"Still, it has to be the boss; cautious."

The Sand Dove Squad consisted of five people, all fourth-order, specializing in disguising themselves. They were active in fourth-order underground areas, engaging in murder and looting.

The leader of the Sand Dove Squad was ruthless. Once a target was chosen, no one would be left alive. Even when encountering women, he would show no mercy, as they could still be used afterwards.

Lin Chen's face was very grim when he heard the five people's conversation.

To say such things about their own kind, like "while they're still warm," showed how perverted they were and how many atrocities they had committed in the past.

"The five of them are preparing to kill and loot us. Let's make the first move, kill!"

Hearing Lin Chen's words, the more experienced Lin Fan and Oriental Red Sleeve were already prepared to strike.

The five members of the Sand Dove Squad perceived Lin Chen and the other two approaching the big tree. When they were less than twenty meters away, they immediately rushed out from behind the tree. Before they could even make a move, Lin Chen and the other two unleashed their ultimate attacks with full force.

"Mental Shock, Slash!" (Lin Chen)

"Frost Baptism!" (Oriental Red Sleeve)

"Dimensional Chaos!" (Lin Fan)

The Sand Dove Squad had truly met their match this time.

Lin Chen started with Mental Shock, forcefully interrupting the Sand Dove Squad's attack. Subsequently, fifteen flying knives shot out at extreme speed, piercing into the weak points of the five individuals.

Oriental Red Sleeve's attack almost simultaneously struck the five members of the Sand Dove Squad along with the flying knives. The extreme cold froze the five, and terrifying ice power exploded on their bodies.

Finally, Lin Fan's attack was even more silent, directly cutting the five members of the Sand Dove Squad in half at the waist.

This was Lin Chen's first time killing someone, and he didn't feel anything special.

Five corpses, covered in frost and severed in two, lay scattered on the ground. Lin Chen's expression was calm.

He retrieved his flying knives and used his mental power to remotely retrieve the five storage devices to Lin Fan's front.

Lin Fan directly put the five storage devices into his waist pouch. Now was not the time to count the spoils of war.

The spoils from killing monsters in the underground were all collected by Lin Chen using his mental power, then handed over to Lin Fan for safekeeping. Finally, Lin Fan would process the spoils and distribute the profits equally. This was an agreed-upon principle among the three before entering the underground.

For the remaining distance, the three encountered no further incidents. They passed through the teleportation gate calmly and returned to Blue Star.

Upon returning to Blue Star, Lin Chen relaxed.

"Phew, Blue Star is still the best. The environment in the underground is too oppressive."

"Brother Chen, I'll handle the spoils from the underground. I'll transfer your share of the profits to you tomorrow when we get to school."

"Lin Fan, you handle it. I'll find a buyer for the blood pool. It might take some time to distribute the money to you, but I promise, you'll get at least ten billion federal currency each."

"Brother Chen, Hongxiu and I trust you. We'll just wait for the money."

"Alright, now let's all go home."

The three did not linger outside the underground and each went home.

Although this trip to the underground ruins was without danger, all three were mentally tense and urgently needed to go home to sleep and recover.

Upon returning home, Lin Chen first reported his safety to his grandparents and roughly recounted the process of the ruins trip, only concealing Lin Fan's gains.

Four high towers, each comparable to a ninth-order item—this was Lin Fan's opportunity, and it was better not to let his grandparents know too much.

The Children of Destiny were too extraordinary, so it was better to be cautious, as aristocratic families and Children of Destiny often had some conflicts.

As for the Emperor Clan Bloodline, there was nothing to hide about that. The Dongfang family and the Lin family were very close, and the fact that the Dongfang family were descendants of the imperial royal family was no secret in the aristocratic circles.

"Chener, Lin Fan and Oriental Red Sleeve are 80% likely to be Children of Destiny. You must maintain a good relationship with them. Your talent dictates that your future will not be weaker than that of a Child of Destiny."

"But talent takes time to realize. Maintaining a close connection with Children of Destiny can protect you for a while before you grow up. Your act of selling the blood pool and sharing the money with them was very good."

"Grandpa, Grandma, I understand what you mean, and I've always been doing that."

"Chener, your ideas have always been very sound, so us two old folks don't have to worry too much."

"Grandpa, Grandma, you're not old at all."

"Hahahaha, we're not young anymore after all."

Lin Chen handed the treasures harvested from the ruins and the blood pool to his grandfather, Lin Yuan, for him to find a buyer.

The blood pool would definitely be acquired by the main family in the end. A blood pool from the Empire Era held great research value and could advance the progress of new-era bloodline refinement research.

Because the Federation initially destroyed a large number of blood pools built during the Empire Era, very few blood pools were left undiscovered outside.

Now, after thirty thousand years, easily discoverable blood pools have all been found, and only one or two blood pools occasionally appear, with complete blood pools being even rarer.

As a result, the starting price for every blood pool is fifty billion federal currency, and if not sold in a hurry, it can fetch sixty or seventy billion.

Bloodline refinement, such a useful method, is openly prohibited, but both the Federation and the aristocratic families are secretly conducting research, improving it step by step.

There is only one bottom line: research is allowed, but usage is not. Once used, confiscation of property and extermination of the clan are merely the lightest punishments; sometimes, death can even be a mercy.

Currently, the Federation and various clans are researching how to replace the activation materials with the soul blood of other races. Even if the required raw material quantity increases several or dozens of times, it is not an issue.

At that time, bloodline refinement will be a new invention, a manifestation of humanity's heritage, and an important means of creating high-end combat power for humanity.