157: Chapter 157 Behind the Beast Tide, the Shadow of the Ancient Clan

3.7 km north of Chaos Valley.

The debris field was still slowly settling.

The corpses of 9,000 Berserk Blood Wolves formed an undulating, dark brown hill across this fan-shaped area, 1.7 km wide and 0.7 km deep.

The edges of the wounds caused by particle beams showed charred, carbonized marks, and bodily fluids seeped from tens of thousands of wounds, merging under the morning light into countless tiny streams reflecting a metallic luster.

There were three scents in the air.

Ozone—the residue of particle beams ionizing the air after 5,000 guardian type iii mechas had been firing continuously for 4 hours.

A burnt smell—the byproduct of protein denaturation after Yao Beast fur and horny scales were scorched by high temperatures.

And blood.

Not the blood of Yao Beasts.

It was human blood.

Lin Ye stood before the gap in the defense line.

His fine iron longsword was propped against the ground; the fine crack in the center of the blade, extending from the guard to the tip, now had three more—the price paid for severing the neck bones of three dying Berserk Blood Wolves during the charge just moments ago.

His HP: 21%.

His Divine Power: 0%.

His Meridians load: 570%.

His vision was still black and white—a visual compensation mode after retinal capillary rupture, expected to take another 47 minutes to return to color.

But he didn't need color.

He needed perception.

The Divine Sense of the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body, in a state of 570% meridian load and 0% Divine Power, was compressed to a limit of 370 meters in radius—equivalent to 7% of his normal state.

370 meters.

Not enough to scan the entire battlefield.

But enough for him to discover things that shouldn't exist here.

[Divine Sense Scan · 7th Attempt]

[Range: 370-meter radius]

[Target: 0.7 km deep in the northern debris field]

[Abnormal Signal: 1 location]

[Coordinates: 13 degrees north-northwest · 3.2 km from the defense line]

[Signal Characteristics: Vampire energy residue (non-combat decay period)]

[Intensity Rank: Rank 60]

[Status: Moving in stealth]

Lin Ye opened his eyes.

There was no color in his field of vision, but the outline of that Vampire energy residue was like scarlet ink dropped on white paper in his Divine Sense—clear to the point of being blinding.

3.2 km.

Rank 60.

Moving in stealth.

Not a Yao Beast.

It was a player.

"Su Qingyue."

"Present."

"I leave the defense line to you."

"Within 1 hour, I want to see the gap repaired, the wounded settled, and the mecha combat damage statistics."

Su Qingyue did not ask "Where are you going?"

She did not say "Your HP is only at 21%."

She did not offer any dissuasion.

She simply drew the spare fine-grade longsword from her waist—the blade was 2 mm thinner than her usual one, but she had spent 47 days adapting to it.

She stabbed it into the ground 3 inches from Lin Ye's feet.

The blade went 7 cm into the ground.

The hilt faced the defense line.

That was the promise of the Vast Cold Spirit Body:

While you are away, the defense line is mine.

Lin Ye pulled up the sword.

Not to use it.

To store it.

He put it into his Storage Ring.

Then he turned around.

Heading north.

3.2 km.

On land after 72 hours of fierce fighting in Chaos Valley, it was a distance repeatedly covered by artillery fire, claw marks, mecha footprints, and Yao Beast corpses.

Lin Ye did not use Void Step.

His Meridians were at 570% load; any forced use of spatial skills had a 37% probability of causing irreversible meridian tearing.

He just walked.

With every step, he left a 1.7 cm deep footprint on the hard ground that had been repeatedly crushed by the magnetic anchors of 5,000 mechas.

At the 37th step, he crushed the skull of a Berserk Blood Wolf.

At the 71st step, he stepped over the chest cabin of a guardian type iii mecha wreck—the energy core was extinguished, and the pilot slot was empty.

At the 143rd step, he arrived at the location where the scarlet energy residue had last disappeared.

Coordinates: 13 degrees north-northwest · 3.2 km from the defense line.

Here was a rock layer overturned from underground, about 1.7 meters high and 2.3 meters wide, its surface covered with fresh claw marks not yet covered by dust.

On the shaded side of the rock layer.

There was a drop of blood.

Not the dark brown body fluid of a Yao Beast.

It was human blood.

Scarlet.

Not yet dried.

[Vampire player · Injury residue]

[Blood sample purity: 57%]

[Estimated Rank: 59-62]

[Time of injury: 7-11 minutes ago]

[Cause of wound: Particle beam abrasion (guardian type iii standard ammunition)]

[Movement direction: 17 degrees north-northwest]

Lin Ye squatted down.

He dipped his fingertip into the blood.

It felt warm to the touch, with the surface tension characteristic of Vampires, lower than that of human blood—a sequela of the blood energy modifying the circulatory System.

He wiped the drop of blood onto the blade.

The fine crack in the center of the blade flared briefly the moment it touched the Vampire blood.

Extremely faint.

Extremely short.

0.1 seconds.

But Lin Ye saw it.

That was not a System effect.

That was the instinctual marking of "enemies" by the Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body.

He stood up.

Continuing north.

At the 217th step.

He caught up to the target.

Not a direct encounter.

The target had stopped on their own.

It was a male player wearing the standard scarlet robes of the Vampire Council.

Rank 60.

ID: [Blood Blade · Collins]

Affiliation: Primordial Royal Court · Vampire Council 3rd Combat Regiment

Current Status: Critically injured (penetrating wound to the left shoulder, fractured right tibia)

Current Action: Healing with Vampire secret arts.

He was leaning against the carcass of a Crystal-Armored Giant Rhinoceros that protruded 3 meters from the ground.

The flank of the carcass was pierced by seven side-by-side bullet holes from particle beams, the body fluids had drained, and the abdominal cavity had collapsed into a natural bunker.

He was hiding in the bunker.

His left hand was pressing on his right shoulder—there was a 3 cm diameter penetrating wound, charred at the edges, a characteristic hit mark of guardian type iii particle rifle standard ammunition.

His right leg was twisted unnaturally, the tibia broken into three segments, with white bone shards protruding from under the skin.

He was repairing it with blood energy.

The self-healing ability of Vampires was 7 times that of humans, but the cost was that for every 1% of HP repaired, 3% of the current blood energy reserve was consumed.

His blood energy was bottoming out.

That was why he stopped.

Lin Ye stood 3 meters in front of him.

He did not draw his sword.

The sword was already in hand.

The tip was resting on the ground, and the crack in the center of the blade, stained with Vampire blood, was now emitting an extremely restrained, almost imperceptible dark red glimmer in the morning light.

[Blood Blade · Collins] looked up.

His pupils were the standard scarlet of Vampires, now dim due to severe injury and blood energy exhaustion, like two dying embers.

He saw Lin Ye.

He saw his 21% HP.

He saw his 0% Divine Power.

He saw the fine iron longsword in his hand, covered in cracks, with the center of the blade still emitting a dark red glimmer.

He smiled.

In that smile, there was the arrogance characteristic of Vampires, the weakness after severe injury, and also a trace of—what Lin Ye was very familiar with, having seen it countless times in the eyes of the Blood Prince in the Purple Mountain Valley of Buried Soldiers, at the Eternal Star Domain auction, and in the Black Stone Wasteland siege battle—contempt for the "Human Race."

"...Night Emperor." Collins spoke.

His voice was hoarse, with a cracking sound caused by the vocal cords being unable to fully repair themselves after blood energy exhaustion.

"You won this round."

"But you don't know..."

He paused.

"You have no idea."

Lin Ye did not speak.

He took a step forward.

3 meters → 2 meters.

Collins's pupils contracted suddenly.

He did not see any casting animation from Lin Ye, did not see any swing trajectory of the sword, and did not even perceive any spiritual energy fluctuations.

He only saw that sword—the tip still resting on the ground—shift forward 1 meter.

Synchronized with Lin Ye.

"You planned this beast horde." Lin Ye said.

Not a question.

The corner of Collins's mouth twitched.

He did not admit it.

Nor did he deny it.

"Primordial Royal Court." Lin Ye said.

"Blood Prince."

"You used some method—Vampire secret arts, ancient relics, or a deal with the Supreme of the forbidden zone—to control the command unit of the Yao Beasts."

"Causing the beast horde, which would have only erupted in three months, to happen today."

"The target is Chaos Valley."

"Because Chaos Valley is the headquarters of the Heavenly Court."

"Because the Heavenly Court embarrassed the Blood Prince at the Ten Thousand Races Covenant."

"Because the Heavenly Court opened the Ancient Star Road before the Primordial Royal Court."

"Because—"

Lin Ye paused.

"Because you cannot afford to lose."

Collins's pupils contracted violently.

That was not fear.

That was the instinctual stress response of being "hit in the vital point."

His right hand—the hand on the same side as his broken leg, which should have been hanging limply at that moment—suddenly clenched into a fist.

The dark red light of a Vampire secret art flashed between his fingers.

Not an attack.

It was "self-destruction."

[Vampire Secret Art · Soul Seal Self-Detonation]

[Effect: Instantly destroys one's own Soul Seal, forcing the resurrection point after death to shift to a random unknown area]

[Cost: Rank -5, blood energy cap permanently -15%]

[Purpose: To prevent Soul searching, forced interrogation, and tracking]

Lin Ye's sword, 0.1 seconds after Collins clenched his fist—pressed against his throat.

The tip pierced the skin by 0.3 mm.

A drop of blood slid slowly along the crack in the center of the blade.

Collins's clenching motion froze in mid-air.

Not stopped.

But "invaded."

Chaos Power—that wisp of Chaos Power forcibly squeezed out from Lin Ye's exhausted Meridians, at the cost of 1.7% of his current HP—followed the blade, along the crack stained with Vampire blood, and through the 0.3 mm wound pierced by the tip—

Injected into Collins's body.

Not an attack.

It was a "mark."

[Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body · Origin Brand]

[Type: Law-level skill / Unique]

[Effect: Implants a wisp of chaos origin source into the target, lasting 7 days]

[During this period:]

[1. The target cannot use any self-destruction/self-detonation/forced departure type skills]

[2. The target cannot lie to the caster of the brand (Mental Energy exemption check: once every 24 hours)]

[3. The target's current location is always visible to the caster of the brand (Accuracy ± 100 meters)]

[4. The caster of the brand can choose to detonate the brand at any time, causing 100% of the target's current HP as true damage]

[Current brand count: 1 / 3 (Limit)]

Collins lowered his head.

He looked at his own chest—inside the lining of his scarlet robe, near his heart—where a faint, gray, vortex-shaped pattern was slowly emerging.

The pattern pulsed once every 1.7 seconds.

Perfectly synchronized with his own heartbeat.

His complexion turned from pale to ghastly white.

Not fear.

It was "despair."

"Who planned the beast horde?" Lin Ye asked.

Collins opened his mouth.

From deep within his throat came a faint hissing sound, like a windpipe being choked.

That was the characteristic of the vocal cord muscles involuntarily spasming when Vampire Mental Energy was forced to be driven.

He spoke.

"...Blood Prince."

Three words.

After saying these three words, his whole body slumped onto the Crystal-Armored Giant Rhinoceros carcass as if his spine had been pulled out.

"The target."

"Chaos Valley." Collins said.

"And—all the small and medium-sized forces in the Yan State that are attached to the Heavenly Court."

"The Blood Prince said he wants the Heavenly Court to have... no allies in the Big Dipper Star Field."

"That thing commanding the beast horde." Lin Ye said.

"What is it?"

Collins's pupils contracted again.

This time, it was genuine fear.

"...I don't know." He said.

"I don't know what it is."

"The Blood Prince calls it—'Servant Master'."

"The Primordial Royal Court brought it out from... the periphery of the Primal Ancient Mine."

"It's not a Yao Beast."

"It's not an Archaic Race."

"It's not... a player."

He paused.

"It has been sealed for 470,000 years."

"The Blood Prince used the blood energy of 17 Vampire elites... to awaken 31% of its will."

Lin Ye was silent for three seconds.

470,000 years.

Primal Ancient Mine.

Seal.

31% will.

"Its mission." Lin Ye said.

"To weaken the Human Race defense line." Collins's voice grew lower and lower, like sleep-talking.

"To force major forces to withdraw their main strength back to the Big Dipper Star Field."

"To delay the progress of the Ancient Star Road conquest."

"For—"

He stopped.

His throat convulsed violently; he tried to utter the syllable three times in a row, but all ended in failure.

That was the characteristic of a failed Mental Energy exemption check.

[Chaos Heavenly Emperor Body · Origin Brand]

[Target's current Mental Energy exemption check: Failed]

[Cannot speak the keyword]

Lin Ye changed the question.

"What is the Blood Prince's next plan?"

Collins did not answer immediately.

His pupils began to dilate; that was the self-protection mechanism after Mental Energy was repeatedly suppressed.

But he spoke.

"...Purple Mountain."

"The Blood Prince... obtained a clue to the second star token."

"He wants to seize the ruthless ones inheritance in the core area of Purple Mountain before the Heavenly Court."

"And then—"

He stopped.

Another round of exemption check.

Failed.

Lin Ye did not continue to ask.

He ripped the identity token of the Vampire Council from Collins's waist.

[Vampire Council · 3rd Combat Regiment · Elite Guard Badge]

[Holder: Blood Edge Collins]

[Rank: Level 60]

[Binding Status: Bound]

[Internal Storage: Encrypted]

[Encryption Level: Vampire Council - Grade B]

[Cracking Difficulty: ★★★★☆]

---

Lin Ye put this token into his Storage Ring.

He then pulled a ring embedded with a dark red crystal from Collins' right ring finger.

[Blood Soul Ring · Task Token]

[Type: Plot Item / Mission Credential]

[Quality: Epic]

[Description: A mission token personally issued by the leader of the Primordial Royal Court, the Blood Prince. The holder can use this ring to mobilize up to 50 Vampire Council guards at the Purple Mountain · Primordial Royal Court camp.]

[Internal Mission Log:]

[Mission Name: Beast Tide Advance Plan · Phase 3 Execution Confirmation]

[Mission Objective: Tear a gap of at least 30 meters in the Chaos Valley defense line, and kill or severely injure at least 3 core members of the Heavenly Court]

[Mission Status: Failed]

[Mission Issuer: Blood Prince]

[Mission Reward: Unachieved]

[Note: The token contains the Blood Prince's voice authorization record, which can be submitted as evidence to the Ten Thousand Races Covenant Arbitration Tribunal]

---

Lin Ye clicked on the voice authorization record.

The Blood Prince's voice came from the dark red crystal, carrying the coldness and arrogance peculiar to the Vampire race:

"Collins."

"Chaos Valley must be broken."

"The face I lost at the Ten Thousand Races Council because of the Heavenly Court, I will make them pay with the entire territory of the Yan State."

"The Servant Master will cooperate with your actions."

"Remember—"

"Do not let any member of the Human Race leave that defense line alive."

---

Lin Ye finished listening.

He also put the Blood Soul Ring into his Storage Ring.

Then he looked at Collins.

"...Do you have anything else to say?"

Collins leaned against the carcass of the Giant Rhinoceros.

His blood energy was completely exhausted, the penetrating wound on his right shoulder was still slowly oozing blood, and the fracture in his right leg was showing signs of tissue necrosis due to the lack of timely reduction.

He looked at Lin Ye.

He looked for a long time.

Then he spoke.

"...The Blood Prince," he said.

"He never intended for us to return alive from the beginning."

"The Servant Master needs blood energy to maintain its awakened state."

"The blood energy of 17 elite vampires... is only enough to wake 31% of its will."

"If it needs to wake 50%—"

He paused.

"It needs to sacrifice another 30 people."

"I was supposed to be the 31st."

---

Lin Ye did not answer.

He turned around.

He glanced to the north.

That was the direction of Purple Mountain.

The distance to Chaos Valley—3,700 kilometers.

---

[System Prompt: You have obtained the key plot item "Blood Soul Ring · Task Token"]

[Current Item Status: Submittable]

[Submission Target 1: Ten Thousand Races Covenant Arbitration Tribunal]

[Expected Result: The Primordial Royal Court has violated Article 3, Clause 7 of the Covenant (Prohibiting the incitement of large-scale Beast Tide attacks on Human Race settlements in any form)]

[The Arbitration Tribunal will initiate sanction procedures against the Primordial Royal Court:]

[1. Server-wide announcement of condemnation, Primordial Royal Court faction reputation -50,000]

[2. Prohibit members of the Primordial Royal Court from participating in all Ten Thousand Races Covenant activities for 30 days]

[3. Unlock the "Righteous Crusade" mission chain against the Primordial Royal Court]

[Submission Target 2: Eternal Star Domain Council]

[Expected Result: Trigger the hidden mission chain "The Transaction Between the Primordial Royal Court and the Forbidden Zone"]

[Submission Target 3: Use directly (as evidence to be made public in subsequent plot)]

---

Lin Ye did not choose to submit it immediately.

He placed the Blood Soul Ring into the deepest part of his Storage Ring.

He placed it side-by-side with the unused Star Origin, the echoes of the Nameless One, and all the loot remains from the 47-day expedition.

---

He walked back to Collins.

"You have a choice," Lin Ye said.

Collins raised his head.

"Tell me everything you know about the Blood Prince, the Primordial Royal Court, the Servant Master, and the Primal Ancient Mine—"

"Tell me everything."

"Then, I will spare your life."

---

Collins was silent for a long time.

So long that the necrotic tissue on his right leg spread from his knee to his thigh.

So long that the penetrating wound on his right shoulder stopped oozing blood—not because it healed, but because it had run dry.

So long that the gray Chaos brand on his chest slowed its pulsation frequency from 1.7 seconds/time to 3.1 seconds/time.

Then he spoke.

"...The Primal Ancient Mine," he said.

"In Era Year 1925, when the Seventh Fleet of the Eternal Starfield first explored the Big Dipper Star Field, they discovered a sealed ancient relic on the periphery of the Primal Ancient Mine."

"There were 7 existences sleeping in the relic—what they call 'Servant Masters'."

"The Seventh Fleet took the remains of one of them and sealed it in the core laboratory of Star Ring City."

"The other 6 continued to sleep."

He paused.

"47 years later."

"Era Year 1972."

"The Blood Prince, through some channel, obtained the... coordinates of that remain from inside the Eternal Star Domain Council."

"He used the blood energy of 17 elite vampires to wake the second Servant Master from the periphery of the Primal Ancient Mine."

"It is the one you saw today."

---

Lin Ye did not speak.

Collins continued.

"The Servant Master is not a Yao Beast."

"It is not an Archaic Race."

"It is not any known biological form of civilization."

"They are—"

He stopped again.

Mental Energy exemption check—Failed.

His pupils began to dilate.

"...Dark Turmoil," he finally said.

"It is not a natural disaster."

"It is a man-made calamity."

---

[System Prompt: You have obtained key intelligence "Servant Master · Origin"]

[Current Completeness: 37%]

[Unlockable follow-up plot: Primal Ancient Mine · Deep Exploration]

[Unlock conditions: Must enter the core area of the Primal Ancient Mine, or exchange intelligence with the Seventh Fleet of the Eternal Starfield]

---

Lin Ye stood up.

He looked at Collins.

3 seconds.

He took a bottle of [High-Grade Blood Recovery Pill] from his Storage Ring.

He placed it by Collins' knee.

Then he turned around.

He glanced to the north.

Purple Mountain.

The Blood Prince.

The Servant Master.

470,000 years of sealing.

Dark Turmoil.

Man-made calamity.

---

He walked back to Chaos Valley.

He walked back to the defense line that Su Qingyue had sealed the 17-meter gap with at the cost of 30% of her HP, where the ice was now covered in spiderweb-like cracks but had not yet collapsed.

He walked back to the 171 remaining members.

He walked back to the 7 expedition team members.

He stood in front of them.

3 seconds.

He took the Blood Soul Ring out of his Storage Ring.

The projection of the mission log unfolded in mid-air.

The Blood Prince's voice, in the gray morning light on the 4th day of Chaos Valley, passed clearly into everyone's ears:

"Chaos Valley must be broken."

"Do not let any member of the Human Race leave that defense line alive."

---

The defense line was deathly silent.

171 remaining members.

7 expedition team members.

5,000 mechas.

No one spoke.

But everyone—every optical sensor of every mecha—looked at the dark red ring floating in mid-air.

Looking at the voice authorization record that was playing on a loop.

Looking at the three words: Blood Prince.

---

Zhou Tieshan was the first to speak.

His right arm—the one reinforced with giant beast carapace bone plates, which had blocked 17 rhino charges during the 72-hour fierce battle, and which was still not lowered at this moment—

He slammed his shield into the ground.

The bottom of the shield sank 11 centimeters into the alloy layer.

"...Primordial Royal Court," he said.

"Vampire Council."

"Blood Prince."

He bit out these three terms, one by one.

Each word was like a warhammer hitting a steel plate.

---

Shi Potian did not speak.

He just slowly clenched his left fist—the one with 47 fractured bones, necrotic muscles, carbonized skin, the one that had withstood three strikes from a Rank 70 ancestor phantom during the Ninth Trial of the Ancestor Star without falling.

On the surface of his fist, the dried scabs of body fluids from the Crystal-Armored Giant Rhinoceros' skull from 72 hours ago peeled off piece by piece.

Revealing the new, pale pink skin underneath.

---

Chu Yunxi walked down from the West Tower.

Her quiver was empty.

On her spare bow's limbs, the 47 tiny cracks caused by continuous shooting were clearly visible in the morning light.

She walked to Lin Ye.

She looked at the Blood Soul Ring.

"...Purple Mountain," she said.

"When are we going?"

---

Chen Hao crawled out of the cockpit of chaos unit no. 1.

His right hand—the one that had gripped the control ball for 2,820 seconds during the 47-hour extreme load test, that had withstood 170% recoil when the particle rifle exploded, and was still trembling slightly—

He pressed it against the left shoulder armor of the mecha.

The sun symbol engraved with "Hao · Heavenly Court's No. 1 Machine" shimmered with a cold metallic luster in the morning light.

"chaos unit no. 1," he said.

"The energy core has 3% remaining."

"The particle rifle is destroyed."

"The missile bay is empty."

"But it can still walk."

He paused.

"To Purple Mountain."

---

Su Qingyue did not speak.

She just stood by Lin Ye's side.

Her ice-blue eyes looked to the north.

---

Yun Qianxue walked out of the temporary medical cabin.

Her green lotus staff—the head shattered, the staff body full of cracks, the inner flame of life completely extinguished, the three crystal petals on the head tied back with light cyan embroidery thread—

She held it horizontally in her hands.

The staff body pressed against the ground.

She stood there.

---

Lu Xinghe knelt on the ground.

His star compass—the one that had shattered into seventeen pieces and been glued back together, with an optical path error of +17%, 0% spiritual power circuit, and the dial completely stopped—

He placed it in front of his knees.

He lowered his head.

Looking at the needle.

The needle pointed due north.

The direction of Purple Mountain.

---

Lin Ye looked at these 7 people.

He looked at the 171 remaining members.

He looked at the 5,000 guardian type iii mechas burning their remaining lifespan in overload mode.

He looked at them.

7 seconds.

Then he spoke.

It was not an order.

It was not a mobilization.

It was not any war declaration that could be entered into the System, quantified, or written into the faction's merit book.

He was simply stating a fact:

"The Blood Prince thought that by launching the Beast Tide three months early, he could crush the Heavenly Court."

"He thought he could force us to withdraw our main force from the Ancient Star Road."

"He thought he could delay our progress in conquering the Ancient Star Road."

"He thought he could get to Purple Mountain before us and obtain the ruthless ones inheritance."

He paused.

"He didn't know."

"The 72-hour bloody battle at Chaos Valley."

"We used 237 remaining members with an average Rank of 44, and 3,000 old-model mechas that had been decommissioned and sealed for 17 years—"

"We held off 9,000 Berserk Blood Wolves, 8,000 Crystal-Armored Giant Rhinoceros, and 6,000 Gold-Devouring Ants."

"We held off that Servant Master who awakened from the Primal Ancient Mine 470,000 years ago."

"We held off his 'foolproof' plan."

---

He raised the Blood Soul Ring.

The Blood Prince's voice echoed one last time in the gray morning light on the 4th day of Chaos Valley:

"Chaos Valley must be broken."

"Do not let any member of the Human Race leave that defense line alive."

---

Lin Ye gripped the ring tightly.

The dark red crystal cut a tiny, 3-millimeter-long bloodstain on the edge of his palm.

He did not let go.

"He lost."

"But the Primordial Royal Court is still there."

"The Vampire Council is still there."

"That Servant Master—the one that retreated 17 kilometers west—will return."

"Dark Turmoil."

"It's not three months from now."

"It has already begun."

---

[System Prompt: You have unlocked the main plot "Dark Turmoil · Prologue"]

[Current Phase: The Primordial Royal Court's Conspiracy · Evidence Confirmed]

[Next Phase Objective: Go to Purple Mountain, expose the Blood Prince's crimes, and prevent him from obtaining the ruthless ones inheritance]

[Recommended Rank: ≥ Level 60]

[Recommended Combat Power: ≥ 90,000]

[Current Team Average Rank: Level 53]

[Current Team Average Combat Power: 71,000]

---

Lin Ye closed the prompt.

He looked to the north.

Purple Mountain.

3,700 kilometers.

The Blood Prince.

The Servant Master.

The ruthless ones inheritance.

Dark Turmoil.

---

He gripped his sword.

The refined iron longsword brought back from the Trial Ancient Star, the crack in the center of the blade stained with vampire blood, was pulsing slowly in the morning light.

Together with the Chaos brand on Collins' chest.

Together with the second star token fragment 3,700 kilometers away in the depths of Purple Mountain that the Blood Prince had not yet obtained.

Together with the entire land he had defended with a 47-day expedition, a 72-hour bloody battle, 21% HP, 0% Divine Power, and 570% Meridian load—

Synchronized.

---

[Chapter 157 · End]