Chapter 111: A Complex World, Self‑Proclaimed

Northwest direction, Moor Forest.

A girl with wings sprouting from her back and black horns on her head freely soars above the forest, or darts and plays freely within the forest.

A laugh like silver bells ripples throughout the entire Moor Forest.

Behind her are countless forest creatures chasing the girl's figure, constantly frolicking, along with various types of pixies; from afar it looks like a fairy‑tale earthly paradise.

Just as the girl, as usual, cheerfully patrols the Moor Forest.

But suddenly the weather turns ominous; in an instant the sky darkens, and strands of gray clouds begin to shroud the heavens.

The blood moon, which should have vanished, reappears.

For a moment, the wondrous sight of sun and moon sharing the sky stupefies the forest's frolicking beings.

"What happened?" the girl murmurs to herself.

The girl is not old—about sixteen or seventeen—clad in a loose grey robe that looks a bit tattered.

Yet it still cannot hide the girl's graceful figure and captivating beauty.

The girl is Malinfisen.

While she gazes at the sky with astonishment, she keenly perceives that the magical elements, once thriving in the Moor Forest, are subtly changing.

"Boom—boom—boom~!!"

The ground shakes, the mountains tremble, and the Moor Forest suddenly experiences a violent shudder.

Black soil mixed with abundant green vegetation erupts suddenly amid the startled cries of pixies and animals.

A massive hand shoots up from the ground; with a forceful arm thrust, the body breaks free of its bonds and leaps upward.

Looking out, it turns out to be a gigantic tree‑person nearly thirty meters tall.

Its anthropomorphic features wear a rather solemn expression as it surveys the sky.

And the forest's tremor does not cease there.

As more plant‑based lifeforms sense the anomaly, they awaken one by one from their endless slumber.

They crawl out of the damp soil that has concealed them for hundreds, even thousands, of years.

"Aaa~!!"

A resonant dragon‑like roar rises; a massive, elongated Tree Dragon opens its cold green dragon eyes in the dark subterranean void.

With a booming crack, the sinuous, long dragon body bursts from the earth, soaring above the Moor Forest, joyfully unfurling the form it has been buried underground for a thousand years.

It is a powerful plant‑based lifeform resembling an Eastern dragon, and also one of the oldest beings in the Moor Forest.

Its nearly forty‑meter sinuous body, bearing immense might, quickly reaches Malinfisen's side, its expression equally solemn.

At the same time, a tree‑person knight riding a plant‑based wild boar also arrives beside the girl Malinfisen.

Looking at the three oldest beings of the Moor Forest beside her, Malinfisen, full of wonder, asks, "Why is this happening? Why does the sky show such an anomaly, and— I can clearly feel the elemental particles drifting in the air seem to be increasing rapidly!"

Facing Malinfisen's question.

The massive, winding dragon body, the plant‑based giant dragon circling above the Moor Forest, lifts its head toward the strange sky and murmurs, a hint of excitement in its voice, "Is this— finally someone has broken the shackles and reached Level Three?"

After speaking, the plant‑based Tree Dragon turns its head to Malinfisen and says:

"This is a rule anomaly triggered by someone ascending to a Level Three lifeform; I never expected that in our lifetimes we would still have a chance to touch the Level Three realm."

"Indeed, the path to Level Three has now been widened; for us latercomers to ascend to Level Three is far easier than before," the boar knight remarks.

"It seems not far from us," the towering tree‑person says, looking southeast.

Hearing the back‑and‑forth analysis of the three seniors beside him.

A flash of excitement appears on Malinfisen's face; stirred, she flaps her wings and says, "I'll go take a look."

Without waiting for anyone's reply, she flies toward the source of the anomaly.

Watching Malinfisen's figure recede, the massive, winding Tree Dragon ponders briefly, "Wait for me here."

With those words, it pursues Malinfisen.

Gazing at the two departing figures, the ancient tree‑person's eyes grow deep as he sighs slowly:

"I thought the one who would finally bring rebirth to this world would be the little girl who inherited the phoenix's direct lineage, but..."

In the southern federation, Storm Territory.

An ancient, dilapidated castle stands atop a remote, low hill somewhere.

A low, slightly hoarse, sharp laugh suddenly rings out.

"Ha ha, four hundred years have passed, another four hundred, and I finally have the chance to ascend to the Level Two Witch realm, Mo Er, An Pu Sai, my dear sisters, come quickly..."

Staring at the wondrous sky where sun and moon shine together, a saggy‑skinned old witch suddenly exclaims with a manic grin.

Only when the old witch regains her senses does she suddenly recall that the two sisters who have accompanied her for over four hundred years passed away months ago, one after another.

A faint dimness appears on the ancient witch's face, and she shakes her head self‑mockingly.

"Heh, hehehe, hehehehe."

"The path of truth truly has no companions."

It seems both disheartened and yet a spark of fighting spirit arises.

She immediately turns, pulls a weathered wooden box wrapped in old sheepskin from the shelf, and carefully extracts a blue gem that glimmers with a faint light.

"This is the last star fragment; if I don't breakthrough, I'm afraid it will be useless later,"

"Since that's the case, let me, at my best, gamble for my murky, turbulent future."

After speaking, she lifts her head and pours the tiny star fragment, mixed with a vial of magical potion, into her mouth.

Soon, a miraculous scene unfolds! With a flash of light, the white‑haired, saggy‑skinned old witch instantly transforms into a youthful, stunningly beautiful enchantress.

She slowly sheds her tattered garments, revealing fair, delicate skin, a slender supple waist, a gradually widening plump hips, and long graceful legs.

A pair of delicate arms tosses her now flowing, wavy hair with great charm.

Her upright, full figure trembles and sways with her graceful body, constantly shaking.

On her plump, coquettish face that could be both scornful and delighted, eyes like emeralds were full of haziness.

She casually struck a few bewitchingly seductive poses, and, reflected in the mirror, let out a lingering sigh of admiration.

Then her body swayed, and light flowed around her.

A gorgeous, fashionable low‑cut black silk gown instantly appeared over her delicate, curvaceous figure.

"Ah, indeed, I'm still this beautiful." She cupped her charming face with both hands—an old Witch… er, rather, an eight‑hundred‑year‑old maiden of prime.

After a moment of self‑pitying admiration, she entered the secluded meditation chamber.

She intends to seize this opportunity and attempt a breakthrough.

A Level One Witch normally lives four to five hundred years; she has already extended her life by three hundred years using star fragments, and now her life is nearing its end.

If she doesn't fight hard now, does she have to pin her hope on another star falling from the heavens?

Indeed, it's a star.

The 'star' here refers to a kind of lifeform—a celestial life.

They are merely a special species that roams the star realm, outwardly resembling planets.

Four hundred years ago, magical energy was even more stagnant than it is now.

At that time in this region, a woman known as the Dark Queen failed to ascend to Level Two Witch.

Her life force waned severely, turning the maiden of prime into a decrepit old crone.

She and her sisters, who also failed to advance, gathered together, disheartened, awaiting death.

They discovered a 'meteor' being drawn by an unknown force, crashing into the Dark World.

That fallen meteor, under the influence of an unknown mysterious power, astonishingly transformed from a celestial life into a human.

Driven by a yearning and obsession for knowledge and truth.

The three sisters, who had been preparing to await death, were intensely intrigued by this phenomenon.

Thus, in the final stretch of their lives, by poring over ancient texts and conducting magical experiments, they finally uncovered a shocking revelation: by a special method of extracting the counterpart's heart core, they could achieve ageless youth and extend lifespan—a defiance of heaven.

This explains the origin of the star fragment the woman holds, and the reason for her sudden rejuvenation.

The world is vast; nothing is impossible.

……

Southeast Sea region.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and gale howled.

The anomalous rule caused by the simultaneous brilliance of sun and moon not only brought frequent tsunamis and crustal shifts to the coastal areas, but also dealt a massive impact on this region.

Meanwhile, the seas of the Dark World have been in constant turmoil.

At this moment, gale howling, amid the restless ocean, a solitary island appeared and vanished intermittently.

The island seemed small, at most a hundred zhang.

But if you look closely, you'll realize what kind of island it truly is.

It is unmistakably a giant sea turtle hundreds of meters long.

At that moment, a mysterious female silhouette stood atop the giant turtle's form, looking up at the sky.

Her expression was solemn yet tinged with joy.

"Avril, it's time for us to return. Now, using the South Sea Eye during this sensitive period of planar rule changes, we can finally seize the chance to take that step!"

A slightly hoarse, aged voice sounded, and from its source it was clear the massive giant turtle itself was speaking.

"Hmm, let's go. This time we'll need to trouble you to help suppress the sea eye."

"Heh, after nearly ten thousand years of life, that's all the power I have." The giant turtle shook its head with a sigh, slowly sailing into the sea.

Just then, a burst of lightning and thunder instantly illuminated the sea surface.

In that fleeting flash, one could vaguely see that the mysterious woman was indeed a human‑tailed mermaid.

She was, unmistakably, the legendary mermaid.

"Guffaw—your skill is tremendous; even if that person ascended to Level Three, they'd still be no match for you, old one!"

A pleasant, captivating laugh drifted from the sea, accompanied by the giant turtle's slightly hoarse roar, as they swam toward the deep ocean.

Beyond that, the western seas.

A six‑armed, human‑headed serpentine humanoid rose to the surface, silently gazed at the sky for a long while, then gradually sank back beneath the water.

Deep underground, a towering city stood, where countless figures worshipped a massive statue.

In the northern ice fields, icebergs cracked and roars echoed frequently.

At the cape, silhouettes circled, emitting intermittent cries.

Such events occurred almost simultaneously in every corner of the Dark World.

The Dark World is indeed vast and complex; Fulade's knowledge covers only a fragment of it.

As Spider Queen Luo Si previously said, the threat does not come solely from the Holy Court.

In this extraordinary world, humans represent merely one faction.

……

Darkness, endless darkness.

That faint, wavering voice gradually became clear.

Following that thread, Fulade faintly heard: "Monier, hurry… I… Kato…"

The voice was broken and indistinct.

In his haste, Fulade, under subconscious command, let his consciousness merge with that thread, probing toward the voice's source.

………

Weistelo.

The Riverlands.

Highgarden.

Outside a door.

A young girl paced anxiously back and forth, glancing around at her surroundings from time to time, looking faintly guilty.

The girl was young, only fifteen or sixteen, with a pure and clean appearance, like the girl next door.

Yet between her brows, in every frown and every smile, there faintly radiated a startling allure.

It gave off a unique charm where purity and seductiveness coexisted.

This kind of unique temperament should not be something someone her age could possess.

A head of long golden hair was gathered into a simple bun, and large blue eyes gazed out from a beautiful, fair little face faintly flushed with pink.

Beneath a black long dress was a rather tall figure, and as the girl paced anxiously, the fullness at her chest bounced a few times.

It was apparent that the girl had developed somewhat precociously.

Hearing a bout of blush-inducing, heart-racing moans suddenly come from the room, the girl's watery large eyes inexplicably relaxed quite a bit.

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Monier, quick, hurry and go."

"This time I, Kato Eagle… fuck, slip of the tongue!"

"This time~ my Right Hand of God makes its return to the world, and that little wench was immediately brought to heel by my fingers~ told her to go east, she wouldn't dare go west; told her to stand, she wouldn't dare sit… quack quack."

As the voice rang out, the door inexplicably opened on its own.

Except…

What came out was not a person.

But…

A hand!

This was a Demon hand — sharp fingertips and a deep red keratin layer made the entire palm look somewhat ferocious.

Even more bizarrely, a mouth had actually grown in the middle of the palm.

Several nimble fingers flipped, ran, and leaped, and in the blink of an eye, pounced into the girl's embrace, which was clearly somewhat oversized.

Without a word, the girl swiftly tucked the hand into her clothing; her practiced ease made it obvious this was not her first time doing so.

"Can you~ not make me do this kind of thing from now on? It's so embarrassing!"

"Besides, besides, if Theo Tyrell found out, how awful would that be." The girl's voice carried a hint of resentment.

Hearing Monier's complaints, the hand instead let out a strange cackling laugh: "Quack quack quack~ if it weren't for me, the Kato Eagle's… cough cough, intervention."

"Going ahead and clearing the way for Theo Tyrell, where do you think his child came from? If not for me, this sage hand of gynecology~ didn't you see how happy that kid Theo is now~"

The girl pursed her lips: "Then how do you explain this time."

"Last time you could still claim that Theo privately sought you out, praying to you to help him fulfill his wish for an heir. But you, but this time~."

The Kato Eagle's… uh, the Demon hand.

Slowly poked its head out from the girl's embrace, putting on a show of feigned resignation, and sighed as though life held no more meaning:

"Sigh, blame my damned charm. That little wench, cough cough, Diane Redwyne simply can't forget about me, insisting I clear the way for her again~ uh, treat her body's other ailments."

"Cough, I had no choice either. For the sake of her health, and so the baby would have milk to drink, I had no choice but to bite the bullet once more and offer my humble assistance."

Saying so, it even struck a pose as if it were doing this for the other person's good and had merely been forced into it.

The girl's eyelids twitched nonstop; her pretty nose scrunched slightly, and her rosy little mouth looked ready to hang an oil bottle from it.

The trouble was, though she didn't believe it, she had no proof.

True enough — a hand, what could it do!? As they spoke, the two soon arrived at a secret chamber. The young girl changed into ceremonial robes, her expression solemn, quietly waiting for the time to arrive.

Meanwhile, that Kato… uh, talking hand, hopped onto a pedestal and set itself~ up as an offering! (End of chapter)