Chapter 32: Heaven and Man

Go, first leave this place. Zhang Jun urged.

Mo Wuyou handled navigation; the three sprinted through the secret passage, the winding, twisting tunnel echoing with distant explosions that shook the mountain and sent rocks continually falling from the ceiling.

"Heaven Beyond Heaven blew up the defense system, they've come in." Mo Wuyou said, now holding a miniature recorder whose screen was filled with red dots, "Sixteen squads, at least two hundred people, have already occupied three layers of defense."

The passage ended; Mo Wuyou pushed open a door disguised as a rock wall, and a blast of cold air hit him.

Outside the door was a cliff; below, mist filled the air, making the bottom impossible to see.

Lin Xue jumped back, retreating half a step.

Zhang Jun frowned: "This... no way out?"

Mo Wuyou felt in his inner pocket, pulled out a black box, pressed the side button, the box slowly opened to reveal an ancient bone whistle.

"It's an heirloom." Mo Wuyou didn't elaborate, directly put the bone whistle to his lips and blew a strange tone.

The sound echoed in the valley; at first nothing happened. Zhang Jun wondered, when a sharp eagle cry came from the clouds.

"Holy shit!" Mo Wuyou's face changed, "They brought armed helicopters."

Zhang Jun looked up; three armed helicopters were approaching, the machine guns mounted under their fuselages already spinning.

"We can't hide, we have to fight." Zhang Jun took a deep breath, circulating the yin-yang qi in his body.

"Are you crazy? That's a machine gun." Mo Wuyou grabbed him, "Hide first, then talk."

The three hid in a nearby cave; the entrance was too small for the helicopters to notice, but they also couldn't get out.

Zhang Jun closed his eyes; when he opened them again, his left eye was pitch black, while his right eye flowed with golden light.

"Strange, I can see them."

Outside, each soldier was surrounded by different-colored energy ripples; his left eye clearly mapped their positions into Zhang Jun's mind, while his right eye faintly showed the routes they would take next, like a glowing trail.

"Yin-Yang Eye." Mo Wuyou exclaimed in surprise, "A legendary ability, and you've actually awakened it."

With a booming roar, the mountain shook violently, followed by countless chaotic footsteps. The Heaven Beyond Heaven troops began a carpet search.

"There are too many; breaking out is impossible." Mo Wuyou took out a compact quantum communicator, "We can only call for backup."

The communicator connected; Mo Wuyou lowered his voice: "Phoenix, I am Lingjiu, facing an emergency, Heaven Beyond Heaven has launched a full-scale invasion, requesting assistance."

From the other end came a hiss of static; a calm female voice replied, "Confirm position. The rendezvous point in the southwest corner is ready, but you need to break through the first blockade line."

Mo Wuyou put away the communicator: "To the southwest, about three kilometers away; we must first break through the blockade at the mountain's base."

Zhang Jun and Lin Xue exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

"We can give it a try." Lin Xue's Cold Ice Heart Scripture had fully recovered, a faint blue halo glowing around her.

The three quickly discussed—Zhang Jun would draw attention, while Lin Xue and Mo Wuyou would break out from the flanks.

The operation began; Zhang Jun leapt out, yin-yang power condensing in his palms. Several Heaven Beyond Heaven soldiers spotted him and immediately raised their guns to aim.

Zhang Jun's left eye could clearly see the trajectories of the bullets, while his right eye anticipated the soldiers' next moves, easily dodging the first wave of attack.

He thrust both palms outward; five soldiers were instantly sent flying.

The armed helicopters spotted the target, their machine guns swiveled toward Zhang Jun, spraying bullets like rain.

"Come chase me!" Zhang Jun ran toward the other side of the cliff, a hail of gunfire pursuing him.

Taking advantage of this, Lin Xue and Mo Wuyou silently slipped out, moving along the cliff wall toward the southwest.

Over the communicator, Lin Xue urgently said, "Zhang Jun, we've broken through the first blockade; hurry over to meet up!"

No sooner had she spoken than the helicopter swiveled sharply, spotting Lin Xue and Mo Wuyou.

At this critical moment, Zhang Jun leapt down from above, left hand Profound Yin True Technique, right hand Yang Rigid Positive Energy Method, the two forces merging in midair.

At that moment, he suddenly recalled his father's phantom saying—bloodline awakening.

"Lin Xue, Yin-Yang Union!"

Lin Xue immediately understood his meaning, unleashing her Ice Soul Power to the fullest, which merged with Zhang Jun's yin-yang power in the air.

A miracle occurred.

A huge Taiji diagram appeared out of thin air in the valley, gold and blue intertwining, a powerful energy wave instantly spreading outward.

All electronic equipment simultaneously failed; the engines of the three armed helicopters stalled, and they plunged straight into the valley.

"What... what power is this?" Lin Xue herself was stunned.

"Yin-Yang Ice Domain." Zhang Jun was also trying this power for the first time, feeling a surge of heat in his blood, "We have to seize the moment; this move drains too much stamina."

The energy emanating from the Taiji diagram froze all Heaven Beyond Heaven soldiers in place—not by ice, but as if the surrounding time itself were distorted.

The three raced through the blockade line at full speed, sprinting toward the rendezvous point.

When they arrived, a fluctuation suddenly appeared on the open ground; the invisible barrier vanished, revealing a peculiarly shaped aircraft.

The hatch opened, and a masked pilot waved at them.

"Hurry up and get on! The range of the Yin-Yang Ice Domain is shrinking, and Heaven Beyond Heaven's reinforcements will arrive soon."

The aircraft took off; the pilot removed his mask, revealing a young face, who called himself Feng Ying, a member of the Phoenix Squad.

"Zhang Tian Gang is one of our founders." Feng Ying sized up Zhang Jun, "You look just like him."

Zhang Jun clenched his fists: "I heard my father left something behind."

Feng Ying nodded: "On the 88th floor of the Profound Heaven Group headquarters, there is a biometric identification system that only recognizes the Zhang bloodline. That's where your father left you something, possibly the key to solving everything."

A swift wind swept past the wings as the aircraft vanished into the clouds. Zhang Jun looked out the window; his Yin-Yang Eye clearly saw, in the night, a massive Taiji imprint left on the snow-capped mountains behind them.

The aircraft landed on the Gobi Desert, its surface appearing ordinary. Feng Ying pressed a few hidden buttons; the ground suddenly split open, revealing a downward passage.

"Welcome to 'Shadow'." Feng Ying led the three into the elevator, "This is one of the Phoenix Squad's most secret bases."

The elevator plunged downward; Zhang Jun felt a slight discomfort in his ears. Lin Xue quietly took his hand, and their powers once again produced a subtle resonance.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a hyper-modern command center, dozens of staff bustling before holographic screens. In the center stood a tall, middle-aged man with his back to them.

"'Shadow', the people have been brought." Feng Ying reported.

The man slowly turned, revealing a face with sharp angles.

"Zhang Tiangang's son really looks like him." Yingzi walked up to Zhang Jun, "Has your Yin-Yang Eye awakened?"

Zhang Jun nodded, his left and right eyes under the light, one black, one gold.

Yingzi waved his hand, and a huge holographic projection lit up in the central area—a glass skyscraper towering into the clouds.

"The Profound Heaven Group headquarters appears to be one of the world's largest tech companies on the surface, but in reality it is Heaven Beyond Heaven's commercial disguise in modern society." Yingzi enlarged a part of the projection, "This building itself is a super quantum computer, and the Heaven Beyond Spiritual Sense is using it to analyze the data of the Nine Yang True Classic."

"What is their purpose?" Zhang Jun asked.

"In order to find the true power of the Nine Yang True Classic and open the gate to another world." As for what that world is like, no one knows." Yingzi paused, then said, "But according to ancient records, inside lies power capable of changing the world. Heaven Beyond Heaven wants to obtain this power; they want to become gods, to become the rulers of the new world."

"Holy shit, these bastards have huge ambitions. So what do we do next? Charge straight in?" Zhang Jun asked.