Chapter 614: The Final Dungeon Mission (Two-in-One)

The scene seemed to freeze.

The shock in the eyes of the Xue Family, the distant terror of the emperors, the swirling wind and sand, the shattered sun, the torn sky—

Everything stilled beneath that single punch.

The world lost its color; the sun and moon dimmed.

It looked like a faded, gray-and-white photograph.

Crack.

A sharp sound rang out from within Yan Jing's body.

It was the Heart of God; its frost passive had triggered.

It nullified a single fatal blow.

It meant that in that split second, Yan Jing had already died once.

A violent boom erupted from the giant mechanical hand in front of him. A massive mushroom cloud surged directly upward from the ground between them. Yan Jing didn't linger, nor did he wait to see the result of that punch. Countless grayish-white threads surged from his pupils, wrapping around the others as he bolted into the distance, vanishing in midair in the blink of an eye.

An unknown amount of time passed.

An agonized roar echoed from afar.

Even though the electronic voice was filled with static and its tone was completely flat, it conveyed a soul-piercing agony that made listeners shudder.

The lingering dust that had filled the sky was completely blown away by the roar.

The mechanical arm—once massive enough to cover the earth—was now reduced to a bare metal stump. Tangled electronic circuits drooped limply from its severed end.

The palm, the fingers, and every other mechanical component had vanished. Thick black liquid oozed relentlessly from the severed joint, making it look like a scorched phone chip.

"Ah—"

The wretched screams continued to echo.

The emperors trembled inwardly.

That was a demigod.

A demigod who could still take action, walking the mortal realm.

The true foundation of the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom.

They thought today's strike would serve as a wake-up call to the Inner World before Advent Day. Who could have imagined they would end up returning with clipped feathers?

Their opponent wasn't even a powerhouse of the older generation.

Not a demigod.

Not even at the Tenth Tier.

A Ninth Tier. A newly risen Ninth Tier of the new era had directly destroyed a demigod's palm.

Pure Blood City...

The emperors couldn't help but shudder.

At this moment, the Tenth Tiers in Pure Blood City were trembling inwardly just as hard.

What had they just witnessed?!

A demigod!

Xue Mo's strike had forced a demigod of the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom to intervene!

Not only had the demigod struck, but Xue Mo had even fought back!!!

Although they hadn't seen the final outcome, just the feat of retreating unscathed from a demigod's hands was enough to be proud of! A Ninth Tier, escaping a demigod unharmed!

If word of this spread outside, no one would believe it.

The Great Elder turned to look at Yan Jing, who was pulling the group along.

He let out a faint sigh.

In truth, the Great Patriarch had approached him earlier, subtly pointing out that the soul of this Third Young Master—who had slept for years—might no longer be the original one.

He originally hadn't believed the Great Patriarch's words.

After all, if a new soul had taken over, why would he charge into the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom alone to complete some elusive mission? That required gambling not just courage, but his very life.

But now, he had no choice but to believe it.

He simply couldn't fathom how someone who had been bedridden for years could wake up with such a massive spike in power.

No, it couldn't just be called a spike.

It was a completely monstrous progression.

But at the same time, he understood the Great Patriarch's true intent.

Whether the person before him was truly Xue Mo or not didn't matter.

He could only be Xue Mo.

Advent Day was approaching.

Every Domain had its own trump card.

Pure Blood City's trump card was originally Xue Mo.

Only because Xue Mo fell asleep had they swapped to other hidden cards.

But the new could never match the old.

The current Xue Mo had reached a point where he simply couldn't—and absolutely shouldn't—be replaced.

A true Deity candidate.

A genuine chance to rise up—no one could refuse it.

"Second Young Miss."

He looked at Xue Shi, whom he was pulling along, and spoke softly.

"What is it?"

Xue Shi was still in a daze.

She still hadn't wrapped her head around it. She had come here to save him.

So how did it end up the other way around?

"This matter absolutely must not spread."

The Great Elder spoke, his voice soft but heavy.

"Wh—"

Xue Shi snapped her mouth shut.

Indeed, this matter couldn't be spread.

She thought of the consequences, raised her head to look at Yan Jing, and finally bit her lower lip.

Was this guy in front of them really their third brother...?

"The mission is complete."

Yan Jing stood inside the grand hall, looking at Xue Yi in his seat.

"I've conquered half their Domain."

"Here are the corpses of three Tenth Tiers."

As he spoke, Yan Jing opened the massive bundle on his back.

It revealed the corpses of Strongman, Killer, and Giant within.

"I additionally severely injured four others."

Yan Jing's expression was calm.

"If you are willing, dispatch the troops tonight, and the Mechanical Heavenly Kingdom can be leveled by tomorrow."

Xue Yi didn't speak. He wasn't brewing up a response; he genuinely had nothing to say.

What else could he say?

He couldn't very well order Yan Jing to go conquer the other half of the Domain.

If he did that, by the day Yan Jing succeeded, the Xue Family would be practically dead.

All First Level Domains would rise up to wipe out the Xue Family.

Just like they did to the Wizard Tribe back in the day.

"...Cough... let's discuss wiping them out later."

Xue Yi pretended not to see Yan Jing's gaze.

"You're tired. Go get some rest first."

Yan Jing gave a slight bow.

"If you need anything, call for me anytime."

With that, Yan Jing turned and walked out of the hall.

Only then did Xue Yi rise from his chair.

He hurried over to the tattered sack. Looking at the "corpses" of the three Mechanical Emperors, he reached out and touched them.

Then, as if those icy mechanical parts were scalding hot, he instantly yanked his hand back.

"This guy is my son?"

Xue Yi shook his head.

He didn't believe it.

If Yan Jing attacked him right now, even he would definitely go down.

What son could beat his old man at such a young age?

He didn't believe it.

He absolutely didn't believe it.

His third son was definitely dead.

"But... what on earth is this guy's motive?"

Xue Yi puzzled over it for a long while but simply couldn't figure it out.

Did the other party want money? Or perhaps power?

Neither made much logical sense.

With strength surpassing the Tenth Tier, where couldn't he obtain those two things?

Then did he have some other ulterior motive regarding the Xue Family?

That also didn't seem to make any sense.

Xue Mo's performance was simply striking wherever he was pointed. He hadn't uttered a single word of refusal to any command.

"In that case..."

As he mulled it over, he thought of a certain possibility.

"He actually is my son!"

Xue Yi's eyes lit up.

Once you eliminated all the impossibilities, what remained was the only possibility.

No matter how he looked at it, this was the only remaining possibility.

Xue Mo was actually still Xue Mo.

Maybe...

He had encountered some fortuitous opportunity in his dreams.

Right, that was completely normal. Dreams were deeply mysterious in the Inner World.

There were frequently cases of people receiving cultivation guidance in a dream, and upon waking, their strength skyrocketed.

Xue Mo had slept for three years—far longer than an ordinary dream. So breaking straight through to this level wasn't impossible.

Just as he was thinking this, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall:

"Great Patriarch, Xue Rantian requests an audience."

Xue Rantian was the name of the Xue Family's Great Elder.

Xue Yi immediately reeled in his thoughts and cleared his throat.

"Come in."

Soon, the Great Elder walked in.

Looking at Xue Yi in his seat, he cupped his hands and gave a slight bow.

"Great Patriarch."

"Mhm, what is it?"

Xue Yi was a little distracted, his mind still on Xue Mo.

Xue Mo being this strong was actually normal.

His genetics were excellent to begin with, and his mother had been extraordinarily gifted back in the day; it was just a pity she had passed away so early...

"It's like this. I wanted to discuss that matter you mentioned to me before."

Xue Rantian said softly.

But Xue Yi didn't react.

It wasn't until Xue Rantian called out to him a few more times that Xue Yi seemed to snap out of it. He coughed lightly and said, "Mhm, go ahead. What is it?"

Xue Rantian paused for a moment, then spoke.

"It's... it's about what you mentioned before, that the Third Young Master might have a problem."

"Mhm, mhm... Huh??"

Xue Yi snapped to his senses upon hearing the words "Third Young Master."

"What problem?" Xue Yi frowned. "Did I say that?"

Xue Rantian stared blankly again.

Sensing that something was off, he could only swallow what he originally intended to say and opted for a more tactful approach.

"It's... it's just what you mentioned to me before, that you felt something wasn't quite right."

"Not right?"

Xue Yi finally remembered. Instantly, his brow furrowed deeply.

"Great Elder, I hope you don't take certain words too much to heart."

"Sometimes, what I mean isn't necessarily what you think I mean. Don't overthink things."

"Then... what you said before..." Xue Rantian was dumbfounded.

He had come here intending to share his analysis with Xue Yi.

In this situation, how could he say it?

"I said, what did I say?" Xue Yi's face darkened, his displeasure obvious.

"Let me tell you, Xue Mo is my, Xue Yi's, son, and the next heir to the Xue Family. I don't want to hear a single word detrimental to his succession of the Xue Family. Do you understand?"

"Understood, understood."

Xue Rantian seemed to get the message. He nodded and prepared to take his leave.

But after a moment's hesitation, he decided to give it one last try.

"The Third Young Master possesses unrivaled divine might. In this battle, it seems he actually wounded the enemy demigod."

A Ninth Tier injuring a demigod.

Such an impossible thing had actually happened.

Xue Rantian believed Xue Yi would catch his meaning.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Xue Yi's eyes flashed with brilliant light, and he nodded repeatedly.

"Truly worthy of being my son."

Xue Rantian's eyes went wide. A few seconds later, he accepted reality and gave a slight bow to Xue Yi.

The Great Patriarch had already reached a final verdict on this matter.

Just as he had thought earlier, even if this person was an imposter, they could only treat him as the real deal.

He believed he understood Xue Yi's intentions, but little did he know that after he left, Xue Yi kept muttering to himself, his expression growing increasingly satisfied.

"Truly worthy of being my son, truly worthy of being my son..."

Over the next few days, the Xue Family enjoyed perfect peace.

As far as the Xue Family was concerned, the Blood War had ended.

The spies had been driven out, their primary objective had been achieved, and their secondary objective had been accomplished as well.

A flawless conclusion.

Over at the Chen Family, however, the conflict was still raging.

Though it wasn't quite as intense as it had been at the start.

After Chen Nian's ninth sister, Chen Hong, was stripped of her cultivation, his seventh brother, Chen Mingkai, was directly slain, and his fourth sister, Chen Lan, was corrupted by mechanical pollution—his tenth sister and eighth brother had now also died at the hands of others.

At this point, aside from the fifth-ranked Chen Nian, the Chen Family only had five heirs left: the eldest brother, eldest sister, second brother, third sister, and sixth brother.

The deaths of the tenth sister and eighth brother also allowed two more of those remaining five to step into the Tenth Tier.

Ever since Chen Nian punished Chen Lan, he hadn't made any further moves.

While the others fought furiously, he simply took his time, playing games in the Game Kingdom every day and occasionally going into seclusion for a period to study mechanics.

As for Yan Jing, he received a gift back in the Surface World.

{Now issuing the next Dungeon mission!!!}

{Dungeon Location: Old Sin City}

{Mission 1: The Storm over Old Sin}

{Mission Description:

This Domain was once a lost land wandering on the outside.

Through the efforts of certain entities, it has now returned. Naturally, you were among those entities.

However, this restored land is no longer as ordinary as one might imagine.

Quite a few entities have set their sights on it.

Simply because rumors claim a massive secret belonging to Sin City is hidden within it.

Due to certain special reasons, some factions have begun actively spreading this information, gradually drawing many eyes toward this Domain. As the one who once held sway here, you naturally will not allow anyone to disrupt its peace.

Please protect this Domain.

Note: Due to your identity, your initial favorability rating in this Domain will be raised to 100 points. All residents of this Domain will hold you in high regard.}

{Mission 2: The Secret is Real}

{Mission Description:

What was just said was merely an appetizer.

The real trouble lies in the fact that those so-called rumors and claims are not baseless.

This Domain truly conceals a super secret capable of making the entire Inner World explode.

Find it, and make the choice you believe is right.

Note: There is no penalty for this mission.

If you uncover this secret, your mission rating will receive a massive boost.}

{Mission 3: Come! Announce Your Return!!!}

{Mission Description:

This world needs to know exactly who you are.

Whether it is the Inner World or the Surface World.

Broadcast your existence to every powerful entity in this world.

As for what happens next...

You will have to make your own decisions.}

{This mission consists of only a single phase.}

Yan Jing looked at the mission before him, his expression placid.

"It's here."

He felt a profound, wondrous sensation.

It was as though he had known all along that this day would come.

And now, it had finally arrived.

He felt almost relieved.

Because the arrival of this day proved that his previous instincts had been correct.

"This is the final conclusion."

Yan Jing murmured softly, "Does it have to end exactly where it began?"

"No..."

He paused, then laughed.

"We've barely scratched the surface."

His heart felt utterly at peace at this moment.

In his mind, figures surfaced one after another.

Mantou, the Old Man, Chen Nian, Wen He...

Finally, these figures vanished one by one, leaving him completely alone.

He opened his eyes and looked at the system in front of him.

"Do you select Mutation?"

"Please note, the difficulty of this Dungeon is immensely high."

"You have selected Mutation."

"Best of luck, Lord Player."