According to the map, the Pond of Life was further in the northwest. Qianye stopped hesitating and turned toward the pond at full speed. Beneath his feet, the earth was trembling from the weight of the six-armed giant’s resounding footsteps.
Both in front of him or to his sides, there were squads upon squads of four-armed warriors. They would swarm over immediately upon seeing Qianye, but the latter’s speed was far superior. He was faster even when skirting around them. The six-armed giant, on the other hand, was solely focused on Qianye, and paid little heed to the pesky four-arms blocking his way. He would simply stomp them to death or kick them away.
Immediately, the entire mountain and wilderness were filled with roaming four-armed warriors.
At this moment, Zhao Yuying, Wei Potian, and Song Zining were standing atop the Imperial fortress. The three looked down the fortifications with dark expressions.
A four-armed warrior was patrolling the area not too far away. It gazed toward the fortress for a good while and ultimately walked over.
The three lowered themselves and hid behind the wall. The fortress wasn’t big by any measure, and it was hidden inside a massive concealment array. Even so, the trio still hid instinctively to avoid being discovered. Having experienced the high-gravity region, they were deeply knowledgeable about the ferocity of the four-armed warriors. Those who didn’t know any better were already dead on their way back.
The four-armed warrior paused in puzzlement but still kept on moving toward the fortress. When it was a couple hundred meters from the wall, an extremely sharp whistle echoed through the air. An arrow so fast that it was barely visible struck the four-armed warrior’s throat!
The shot was so powerful that the warrior was lifted off the ground and flung ten meters away. It struggled on the ground for a good while before falling motionless.
Wei Potain heaved a sigh. “Although this isn’t the first time, every time I see them, I can’t help but feel how perverted these monsters are. Goddammit, how can they be so strong? Even Elder Qi’s arrow can’t break their necks.”
Song Zining said calmly, “That’s not surprising. Even Qianye’s shot only blasted a small hole in that monster’s skull.”
Wei Potian was somewhat dissatisfied. “How can Qianye compare to Elder Qi? The man has been here for almost fifty years and trained only in the path of the arrow. This shot of his is comparable to a bullet from a grade-eight gun.”
Wei Potian had little contact with Qianye throughout the years and wasn’t too familiar with his latest progress. That was why he had made this judgment. Elder Qi was an arrogant genius who had entered the Great Maelstrom fifty years ago, but now, he was an old man in his waning years. He had crossed the divine champion realm inside the Great Maelstrom but chose to stay and guard the Imperial fortress. That guard duty had lasted forty years now.
A gunshot inside the Great Maelstrom would always cause a great commotion. Although the fortress was in the starting region and the beasts here weren’t too powerful, the elder still decided to give up the gun and take up archery. Today, his skill with the bow and arrow had reached near-perfection.
Zhao Yuying possessed much better insight. She immediately became pensive but didn’t say anything.
Song Zining snorted. “That gun of his is grade nine.”
“A grade nine gun!” Wei Potian gasped in shock, almost jumping up in fright. “How can he even use a grade nine weapon? Wouldn’t it drain him completely?”
Song Zining shot him a sidelong glance. “You’re the drained one, not Qianye.”
Wei Potian mumbled, “As if you’re not exhausted.”
These words defeated Song Zining, which in and of itself was a rare happening in verbal spars.
Zhao Yuying couldn’t help but speak out, “Enough quarreling! Potian, you shut up. Song Seven, when do you think Qianye will return?”
Wei Potian shut up obediently, but Song Zining only shrugged with a wry smile. “How can I even guess under these circumstances?”
Since the appearance of countless four-armed natives, the situation inside the Great Maelstrom had become incredibly chaotic. Song Zining had tried divining Qianye’s status before, but he was struck by backlash right at the outset. He would’ve been injured had he not given up on the attempt decisively. Even despite that, he still coughed up blood and hadn’t fully recovered from the damage.
Zhao Yuying knew that forcing Song Zining would be akin to asking him to commit suicide. “I wonder what’s up with those two foxes. They still haven’t returned.”
“Foxes? Who?” Song Zining was baffled.
Zhao Yuying replied unceremoniously, “Who else but Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan? Who else could I be addressing? Ruoxi?”
“Why are they foxes?” Song Zining found it weird.
Zhao Yuying snorted. “Do you really need me to point out a reason? You can smell their foulness from a mile away.”
Seeing both Song Zining and Wei Potian stunned, she felt a bit embarrassed. “It’s just a feeling, I have no proof.”
Li Kuanglan was as cold as ice, and it was only inside the Great Maelstrom that everyone discovered she was a girl. Ji Tianqing, on the other hand, had always been mysterious and no one knew her true appearance up to this day. Perhaps only Qianye had seen her. These two ladies simply couldn’t be associated with foxes no matter how one looked.
Song Zining did know a bit of inside information. He raised a big thumbs up inside his mind while praising, “Miss Yuying has good intuition indeed.”
Wei Potian’s expression was somewhat disdainful. He felt that Song Zining was deliberately flattering Zhao Yuying. Praising a girl for a correct guess was the same principle as praising her for her beauty—they usually worked well on most ladies.
Zhao Yuying herself felt a bit embarrassed. She scratched her head, saying, “I just don’t like them, it’s nothing important. They’re quite powerful in a fight, this mommy might not be a match.”
At this point, Zhao Yuying steered the topic away to idle gossip. “You said they came out of the high-gravity region with Qianye, maybe some things happened between them?”
Wei Potian arrived with an expression of interest. Zhao Yuying slapped his head and said angrily, “What does this have to do with you?”
Song Zining waved his folding fan. “Yuying, let me warn you. Not to mention Kuanglan, even Ji Tianqing isn’t an ordinary person. They both have talent in divination, probably not inferior to mine, and possess protective treasures. It might be fine here, but try not to talk behind their backs too often. They might sense something if you’re unlucky.”
Zhao Yuying laughed, “There’s no way someone of my ability will receive that kind of treatment.”
She laughed a bit but stopped after seeing Song Zining’s serious expression. “You think I’m not that weak anymore?”
Song Zining nodded. “The high-gravity region refines the body, the Constellation Well refines the soul, and you have also obtained supportive treasures along the way. After all of these experiences in the Great Maelstrom, your cultivation will increase by leaps and bounds afterward. Yuying, you’ve always been valued by everyone. Your status was higher than your strength in the past, but now, your strength will exceed your status.”
A smile blossomed on Zhao Yuying’s face, which then erupted into an ostentatious laugh. She slapped Wei Potian’s back so hard that the fellow almost fell to the ground. “Hear that? Even Song Seven evaluates me so highly. If you don’t try harder after going back, I might just leave you in the dust!”
Wei Potian said helplessly, “I’m fighting wars every day in the Far East Province, where will I find the time to cultivate? I had to delay all matters at home and on the void continent to come here.”
Zhao Yuying didn’t agree. “Song Seven has been fighting constantly as well, and he even gained the title of future god strategist. Wherever there’s some liveliness in the empire, you’ll always see him around. His cultivation never lagged behind despite all that. Look, he’s already rank-sixteen and now look at you!”
Wei Potian’s cultivation wasn’t so bad, either. His five origin vortices were already full, and he would soon carve out a sixth vortex after leaving the Great Maelstrom. Such progress was far beyond his peers, but he simply couldn’t compare to Song Zining with his seven full origin vortices.
Wei Potian felt disgusted no matter from which angle he looked at Song Zining. He immediately said with a snort, “You can’t just look at the speed of one’s cultivation. This brat has always been crafty and never works hard. His foundation… heh!”
Song Zining waved his hand, conjuring the image of a small realm with a continent rotating slowly within it. This method looked rather exquisite, but the other two didn’t find it special. Upon closer look, however, their expressions shifted immediately.
This small realm was actually extremely detailed.
The duo possessed good eyesight. After careful observation, they found that they could discern the mountains, rivers, forests, and wilderness on the continent. Looking closer, they found dozens of cities dotting the landscape. If one were to look even closer, they would see that the cities were all different from one another. Some were built around mountains, while others were neighbored by rivers. There were mining cities as well as trade cities.
Zhao Yuying’s cultivation was deeper. She channeled an art to zoom in even further into the city built along the mountain. It boasted majestic walls with steep precipices on each end, and there were even sentries and patrolling guards on the ramparts. The city was well organized, with interweaving streets and alleyways filled with a steady pedestrian flow. There were also kinetic cars driving slowly behind the crowd.
At this point, Zhao Yuying felt dizzy, and the imagery in front of her dispersed. It had returned to that spinning palm-sized continent.
Wei Potian had tears flowing down his eyes.
Song Zining retracted his illusion and smiled silently.
Zhao Yiying probed, “I saw the guards on the walls and the people in the streets. Is there a deeper layer?”
Song Zining smiled. “Yes. You’ll be able to see their appearance and clothing, but I’ll need to try harder for their expressions.”
Zhao Yuying had formed a good idea, but Wei Potian was shocked. “This is… Prosperous World?”
It was one of the three peak daybreak origin powers, one that could transform a drop of origin power into a prosperous realm!
“I’m lacking just a bit.” Song Zining smiled.
“How can this be?” Wei Potian finally lost his calm.
Song Zining waved his fan and said, “This is inherent talent, can’t help it.”