Volume 1, Chapter 283 – Cube

They were like wandering ghosts, drifting from world to world, constantly completing the missions assigned by the “Cube” in order to obtain rewards and increase their strength.

The way their power was classified was extremely clear: ranks one through nine, one rank per realm, each step a climb toward heaven.

According to the Cube, once they reached the realm of a ninth-rank True God, they could reverse yin and yang, return to their original world, and bring back with them the power they had plundered from the Cube.

Among the four of them, Liang Yunnan was the strongest, but he was only at the later stage of the third rank. Shi Lan roughly gauged his strength and found that he was not far from the late Earth Fiend Realm of the Lingyang Realm.

By that reckoning, the ninth-rank True Gods of the Cube were at the very least figures equivalent to the Emperor Realm.

Within the Cube, the worlds of the myriad heavens were divided from low to high into four grades: human, earth, heaven, and absolute.

The world before them was only a human-grade world, and at most it could contain the power of the second rank.

At this point, the four of them could not help groaning inwardly. Four third-ranks could run roughshod through a human-grade instance without any problem at all. Who would have thought they would run into a fifth-rank existence in a low-end instance like this?

A being of that level ought to have been moving around between heaven-grade and earth-grade worlds.

After hearing the rough outline, Shi Lan’s first reaction was that this “Cube” sounded somewhat similar to the headquarters that Samsara had once mentioned in passing. Both cast their nets across the myriad heavens, secretly stealing the origins of worlds to nourish themselves. The only difference was that one used people as the medium, while the other used systems as the vessel.

The outside worlds were far more complicated than she had imagined. A power structure on this level was still far too distant for her now.

As for deeper information about the Cube, these people did not know much more either…

While she was thinking, Shi Lan’s gaze swept over the four people standing nearby.

Rеаԁ оո KatReαԁiոgСаfе

Anyone who had survived in an environment like the Cube could hardly be a simple character. Even though these four wore respectful expressions and humble attitudes, showing not the slightest oddity, that was only because they had yielded to her overwhelming strength in order to stay alive.

From their earlier reactions alone, it was obvious that none of them were decent people.

As her thoughts turned, killing intent gradually rose.

After a while, Shi Lan raised a brow and asked,

“What is your mission in this world? And how do you know what is going to happen in the future?”

The four of them exchanged glances. In the end, Liang Yunnan stepped forward.

“Human-grade worlds are the lowest. They are generally formed from fragments of higher worlds. Their consciousness is dim, and they constantly carry out repeated reenactments. The living beings within them also go through the same experiences again and again, as if in reincarnation.”

“As for the mission… within the span of one year, we have to obtain two things from Lin Mo.”

“What things?”

“The cultivation art he practices, and a treasure on his person that aids cultivation.”

“If that is all, then wouldn’t killing Lin Mo directly make them easy to take?”

Though she asked aloud, Shi Lan had already formed a guess in her heart. These people were clearly not softhearted. If they were not killing him, then either they could not, or there was some special reason.

Rеаԁ оn КαtRеaⅾiոɡСаfе

Liang Yunnan shook his head.

“Lin Mo is the carrier of the world’s fortune. His death would alert the world consciousness. It would conduct a full search of the entire world, expel all outsiders, and then seal itself off. If that happened, not only would we fail the mission, but this world would permanently close, and when we returned we would suffer severe punishment from the Cube.”

So that was how it was.

Shi Lan stood up. After a moment of silence, she changed the subject.

“Who fired the gun just now?”

The atmosphere instantly tightened, and their expressions froze.

“It was me.”

A few breaths later, one of the two remaining men whose names Shi Lan still did not know stepped forward. He looked to be around thirty, of medium build, with plain features. The only striking thing about him was a pair of black sword-like brows that gave him a sharp look.

“Today I offended the strong while weak myself. If I die for it, it would be no more than my due…”

Without waiting for Shi Lan to speak, he continued:

“But if I stay alive, I may be more useful than dead. With your strength, killing me would take no more than a flick of the finger. I am willing to offer up my Soul Token and serve you for a hundred years. During those hundred years, I will use every means I have to bring you returns worth ten times the value of my life.”

Though his expression was extremely calm while he said this, Shi Lan sharply noticed the slight trembling in his fingers.

Clearly, he was gambling.

Rеad оn KatRеαⅾinɡСafe

“Your life is worth very little to me. On what basis do you speak of tenfold returns? And what is a Soul Token?”

Shi Lan lowered the hand she had raised and sat back down on the long case, looking leisurely at the man who was forcing himself to remain calm. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, and she found herself a little interested.

He was a somewhat interesting person.

“A Soul Token is the source of one’s life. If the token shatters, the spirit dies. The soul is utterly destroyed, and there is no next life. As for my own life…”

At this point he paused, then said heavily,

“In my own eyes, it is priceless. I will offer a price that satisfies you, and I will keep offering until you are willing to give me my freedom.”

“What is your name?”

Shi Lan asked the question without comment.

“Xiao Jingchen.”

Shi Lan turned her head toward the last of the four and lifted her chin.

“And your name?”

“Bai Ji.”

Rеаԁ оn KаtReaⅾіոɡCαfe

Shi Lan nodded, then raised her smooth, jade-like hand and said,

“Hand over the Soul Tokens of all four of you.”

The sleeve slipped down her arm, exposing a section of pale wrist.

Looking at that wrist, white almost to the point of dazzling, the expressions of the other three twitched slightly. In their hearts, they were already cursing Xiao Jingchen.

If Xiao Jingchen had not spoken up, Shi Lan would never have learned about the Soul Tokens, and matters might not have developed to this point.

But now, standing between life and death, all of them chose the former.

A Soul Token was not actually a token like Shi Lan had imagined, but a thread of the origin of one’s spirit. Through that thread of soul-origin, even if she were at the very edge of the universe, she could still decide the life and death of these people in an instant.

From beginning to end, the reactions of these people had actually come as something of a surprise to Shi Lan. Their fear of death was almost excessive.

Although fearing death was only human nature, these people did not look like the sort who were merely cowardly and greedy for life, willing to abandon every bottom line just to go on breathing.

After thinking it over, Shi Lan did not press further into the reason. Some things, perhaps, were not good to understand too clearly.

Originally, Shi Lan had intended to dispose of all four of them. Showing mercy and letting a tiger return to the mountain had never been her style. She believed more in eradicating evil completely, cutting the grass and pulling out the roots, strangling every possible danger and trouble in the cradle.

The reason she had suddenly changed her mind was that she had developed tremendous interest in the so-called Cube. She had already begun moving among the worlds of the myriad heavens, and sooner or later she was very likely to run into people from the Cube again. When that happened, the value of these four might well show itself.