Volume 6, Chapter 47 – Bai Lianyue’s First Disciple

High above the black barrier, the shrieks of the Vassals of Sea’s Corrupted Beasts and the wailing of civilians still echoed through Clavino’s city districts. The mingled stench of blood and scorched energy permeated the frigid air.

Bai Lianyue hovered at the center of the barrier. Black thorns writhed like living creatures, furiously coiling around the regenerating black-robed figures and Xi Xuan as she dove downward. Those dark crimson eyes, filled with icy suspicion, remained locked on Bazor outside the barrier.

“Who put you up to this.”

The Malevolence Lady issued her demand.

Polarvitan was reckless and hot-tempered, Ulutiel pathologically sadistic — but after a thousand years of clashing with these two evil gods, Bai Lianyue knew them well. They would never stoop to such underhanded tricks.

Threatening with the lives of former comrades-in-arms and the safety of the capital’s civilians?

That wasn’t their style.

Faced with Bai Lianyue’s demand, Bazor didn’t deny it. He simply let out a helpless sigh.

Clearly, if he were being honest with himself — this second-in-command of the Vassals of Sea wasn’t happy with what they were doing either.

This wasn’t the way of Corrupted Beasts. It certainly wasn’t the way of the sea people.

But before Bazor could offer any response, a familiar voice quietly rippled through the barrier.

—— “Master is right. Polarvitan and Ulutiel really aren’t so… petty.” ——

The words hadn’t even finished fading before a green silhouette appeared like a ghost behind Bazor — toes lightly touching the barrier wall where dark crimson patterns pulsed — standing perfectly steady.

Dark green curls were neatly arranged. Eyes behind gold-rimmed glasses glimmered with a complex light. A gentle smile rested at the corners of his mouth.

He looked every bit the soft-spoken scholar. Yet his entire person radiated a thread of something that made the blood run cold.

Reαd on ΚatRеadingСαfe

Even Bazor, whose strength had reached the peak of the Vassal Tier, couldn’t help but let a trace of wariness cross his face.

In the next instant, the green-haired man gave a slight nod toward Bai Lianyue inside the barrier, his tone carrying the easy familiarity of old friends reuniting after a long absence:

“Long time no see, Master.”

“……”

Bai Lianyue’s body gave an almost imperceptible tremor. The growth of the black thorns slowed by half a beat. She stared hard at the green-haired man on the barrier wall, and something complex quietly surfaced in those dark crimson eyes.

“It’s you? Renoval……”

Crimson Sovereign Calendar, Year 1592 Capital of the Kingdom of Blueflower (present-day Maretide Kingdom territory) Amid the ruins, silent as death.

What had once been a magnificent, resplendent city had long since been reduced to broken walls and rubble. Charred timber billowed black smoke. Shattered glazed roof tiles lay scattered across the ground. Throughout the ruins, countless bodies lay strewn in every direction — old and young, men and women alike — their faces still bearing the terror of their final moments. Blood had soaked deep into the earth beneath, flowing together into winding streams of dark crimson. Not far away, hundreds of decommissioned mechas and shattered war vehicles lay tilted and overturned, their metal shells riddled with cracks, their energy cores long extinguished — like the corpses of great fallen beasts.

The entire ruin was terrifyingly quiet. Only the mournful howl of wind through crumbling walls broke the silence, along with the occasional faint, weak groan.

At the center of this living hell,

a grotesque figure shrouded entirely in black liquid was ceaselessly writhing.

Its upper half vaguely resembled a human form. A pair of dark-crimson-glowing eyes stared vacantly ahead.

And the lower half of this terrifying figure was a massive, ink-black flower. Its petals dwarfed the wings of fighter jets; their edges carried razor-sharp reverse barbs. From the calyx, viscous black sludge oozed and dripped, exuding a nauseating stench of corruption.

The dreadful aura of curse power radiated outward in all directions from this figure as its center, blanketing the ruined city entirely within its reach.

Rеаd oո КαtReadіոɡCаfe

And before this massive black figure lay a blue-haired woman collapsed on the ground, dressed in splendid robes.

A dense aura of Augury Force emanated from her body.

Without question — she was this nation’s Divine-Graced Maiden.

Only this great Divine-Graced Maiden had her chest pierced clean through by thorns, leaving a massive gaping wound.

Her face was contorted. Her eyes were wide open, filled with the despair and agony of her final moments.

And amid that agony — an unprecedented, overwhelming dread.

That look of dread and suffering was directed to one side.

Toward a green-haired youth lying there half-alive.

At this moment,

the youth was curled beside a heap of bodies. Savage wounds covered him head to toe. Blood had dyed his short green hair red. His left arm was twisted at an unnatural angle — clearly broken. His breathing was faint and ragged; every inhale was followed by a violent cough, and blood kept seeping from the corner of his mouth. Yet within those dark green eyes, there was not a trace of fear or sorrow. Instead, they burned with an indescribable, fervent elation.

Looking at the Etheric Compass hovering before him, the youth curled his lips into a delighted smile.

—— “I… heh heh, I won!” ——

That’s right.

The monstrous figure now looming before the youth was none other than the infamous Terran Malevolence — Gaia Lobir.

Rеαԁ οո KatReаdіոɡCаfе

And this green-haired youth, through sheer fortune, had won the Malevolence’s Salvation Game.

Facing the game’s victor, the black figure reined in the dreadful curse power it had been radiating outward.

Slowly, it moved its massive ink-black floral lower half forward and came to a stop before the youth, gazing down at him from above.

“You…………have won…………”

As that eerie voice sounded,

the ink-black flower beneath her swayed slightly, and a thick drop of crimson blood dripped from the calyx — falling directly onto the youth’s wound. The instant that blood touched his skin, it transformed into a cool surge of energy, mending his ravaged body. Broken bones let out crisp crack s, visibly knitting back together. The savage wounds slowly scabbed over and receded.

In moments, the youth who had been half a step into the underworld was dragged back to the living.

The winner of the Salvation Game was entitled to make a wish, after all — and before that wish was made, the Malevolence would not allow the victor to simply drop dead.

Meanwhile, feeling his near-dead body revive, the youth’s eyes filled with stunned bewilderment.

After a few seconds in a daze, he labored to raise his head. His gaze cut through the haze of blood, locking firmly on the Terran Malevolence’s strange form. His body trembled faintly with excitement.

“Then as per our agreement……. I get to make a wish, right?”

“Per the rules of the Salvation Game…… yes…………”

The black figure spoke in a hollow voice.

“But I must warn you…….. things beyond my power, I cannot promise. For instance…… self-destruction……….. or…………”

Reаⅾ οn КatReаⅾinɡCαfе

As the words left her, the Malevolence’s dark crimson eyes shifted to lock onto the corpse of a certain Divine-Graced Maiden not far away.

The nearby Crimson Spectre Eyes followed in tandem, fixing their gaze on that body as well.

The scene turned profoundly eerie.

“Reviving your mother…… that I cannot do. I cannot resurrect…… the dead.”

At the word mother , the youth stilled for a moment. A flicker of fleeting darkness passed through his eyes — but it was immediately swallowed by an even more fervent, blazing light. Drawing on every last reserve of strength, he forced his ruined body upright and slowly, trembling, sank to his knees. Though utterly drained of energy, he held his spine straight, and in a voice that came out nearly as a roar, he cried:

“None of that matters!!! Those who are weak — dying is what they deserve!”

“Oh?”

The Malevolence’s simulated face arched a brow slightly at the youth’s reaction. A hint of surprise flickered in those dark crimson eyes. She had seen plenty of people win the Salvation Game — quite a few had wished to resurrect a loved one.

Someone who outright refused like this? First time.

“Then……. what is your wish……..”

“My wish is —”

The youth’s voice cracked with the force of his excitement, but it was unwavering. In those dark green eyes, the reflection of the Malevolence’s massive black-flower form filled his gaze — suffused with obsession and burning ardor.

—— “Take me away from here! And then……. become my Master!” ——