Chapter 61: Chapter Sixty-Three: The Source of the Earth Net

Luofeng's strength rose quickly; relying on the power of a high‑level War God Spiritual Mind Master, he not only easily shook off Li Yao and his wife's ambush but also seriously wounded Weininna, who lacked the Black God Protective Suit, temporarily escaping the couple, and Luofeng also felt a lingering fear.

If he hadn't been prepared for this trial's rules and kept his mental power alert to the surrounding humans, discovering the opponent before Li Yao did, the consequences would be unimaginable.

From the information obtained from the other party, it appeared that the other party had confirmed from a place called Earth Net that he was the murderer and would participate in this trial.

At first, Luofeng knew little about the Earth Net; the first time he heard this news was in a domestic wanted notice concerning Li Yao and his wife, among whose charges was "colluding with the Earth Net organization to hire a killer."

The true target of the hired killing was naturally himself.

For this reason, Luofeng also specifically inquired about this notorious underground organization.

After entering Dragon Gate, Luofeng also expanded his network; many people with some background had heard a little about the Earth Net, but since everyone was of the younger generation, their understanding was limited, and they only knew it was an underground commission organization.

Finally, Luofeng obtained definite information about this organization from Ji Heng.

During the Great Nirvana period, many countries perished in war, while at the same time some warlords rose amid the chaos.

In the chaotic era, the more ruthless the character, the greater the chance of survival; besides fighting monsters, humans also had to seize survival resources from each other.

And in a world where martial prowess is supreme, besides the birth of heroic figures like Hong, there are also no shortage of beasts and tyrants.

Mass slaughter and enslavement of their own kind even gave rise to the infamous Hunter City; in that period, whether as a group or as individuals, they committed countless sins.

As the chaotic era passed, to unite humanity's strength, most matters of that time were covered up, and most of those who turned back to shore and washed their hands in a golden basin transformed into humanity's "War Gods."

Of course, the main architects of the new world order were the Two Great Martial Halls and the Five Great Nations jointly established, and there were certain limits for these defectors.

And in the early days of the new order's establishment, many local emperors were unwilling to join the system of the Five Great Nations and the War God Palace.

These people missed the first chance to join, and thus had no further opportunity; over the following decades they disappeared one after another, and many of the outlaws among them gradually faded from people's sight.

As the saying goes, a dog cannot change its habit of eating feces, and beasts cannot control their fangs; these hidden outlaws naturally could not settle into ordinary people's lives.

In the underground world they smelled each other out and allied, and later formed the present "Earth Net."

That is the simple information, and Luofeng also obtained a more private message from Ji Heng.

Over the past few decades, these outlaws, although still secretly doing dirty work, never formed any significant scale, mainly relying on the underground alliance, that is, the HR Alliance's mercenary system, to operate covertly.

The Earth Net truly formed its scale over a decade ago, and behind it there seemed to be a black hand secretly pushing.

Of course, this is merely Ji Heng's, or rather her faction's, speculation.

Luofeng felt alarmed by the news Ji Heng said, but he also dared not have further contact with her.

Jiāng Jiāng would occasionally speak ill of Ji Heng beside Chén Chén, and Luofeng took it as a joke; but after this time, he truly sensed that Ji Heng was not simple.

The goodwill Ji Heng showed Luofeng could be felt; she probably wasn't after money, and this wasn't aimed at him but likely at his good brother Chén Chén.

The goodwill Ji Heng showed Luofeng could be felt; she probably wasn't after money, and this wasn't aimed at him but likely at his good brother Chén Chén.

From the World Tree's attitude toward Chén Chén, Chén Chén's influence within the World Tree was obviously not minor, and Luofeng naturally did not want his own affairs to implicate Chén Chén.

The facts proved that Jiāng Jiāng's usual worries were not wrong; Ji Heng was not only dangerous but indeed harbored an extraordinary intention toward Chén Chén.

After that, Luofeng no longer received any news about the Earth Net, nor did he devote more energy to understanding it, since peacefully increasing his strength was the key.

However, Luofeng never expected to hear news of the Earth Net again, this time from the mouth of his greatest enemy.

After confirming he had shaken off Li Yao and his wife, Luofeng calmed himself to recall their conversation, then opened his personal intelligent light brain and reported the situation to the examiner system of this evaluation.

Just as he opened the light brain, Luofeng broke out in a cold sweat.

According to Li Yao and his wife's account, someone from the Earth Net must have found him, this murderer, and provided the information for this war trial.

Yet this war trial's notice had only been issued three days prior.

In other words, within Dragon Gate there were Earth Net members, or, as Ji Heng said, the true mastermind behind the Earth Net also had operatives planted in Dragon Gate.

Luofeng swallowed, hesitated a moment, and still decided to send out the information.

Although Li Yao and his wife had lain in wait here ahead of time, they actually had not positioned themselves at his location; thus the force providing them information was not as exaggerated as imagined, and by providing the information himself he could instead attract the attention of Dragon Gate's higher-ups, making the information-providing force unlikely to act rashly.

Moreover, Luofeng had many friends in Dragon Gate; he could easily shake off Li Yao, but others might not be able to.

After confirming the message had been sent, a while later the evaluation's public notice board finally announced a piece of information.

"Two outsiders have been detected within the examination grounds and will launch indiscriminate attacks on the examinees; their identities have been confirmed as the wanted fugitives Li Yao and Weininna of the War God Palace..."

The notice provided Li Yao's and Weininna's strength, appearance, physique, even equipment information, and also made a strength assessment.

However, at the end of the notice there was neither a notice of the examination being postponed nor word that aid had been dispatched.

"The examination task is increased: killing any infiltrating criminals counts as directly passing the examination and earns a reward of three Wood Bud Crystals."

The roles of hunter and prey had reversed, yet Luofeng felt some turmoil; looking at the notice, he also gazed toward the approximate direction in which he had shaken off Li Yao.

Li Yao possessed the Black God, which he could not break through, but Weininna, if she struck from the shadows, would surely kill him in one blow if she had the chance.

Luofeng hesitated a moment, then chose the completely opposite direction.

Luofeng was a person extremely calm to the point of cold‑bloodedness, yet not truly cold‑blooded.

He and Li Yao were mortal enemies; Luofeng naturally wished Li Yao to die as thoroughly as possible, but the root of their enmity was a set of parents seeking revenge for their child.

While killing the two in self‑defense was acceptable to him, if he now turned back for profit to kill Li Yao and his wife, he would be no different from Li Wei.

Precisely because of this "calm cold‑bloodedness," Luofeng can always see his own limits and knows how important they are to him.

At the same time, the chief examiner of this evaluation, Yun Zhongjun, also completed his main task here.

Since Chén Chén had Xiao A Yun truly join Luofeng's layout, Xiao A Yun gradually came to understand his father's attitude toward this Luofeng.

Basically, it was like treating a child; his father, through certain specific trajectories, let Luofeng grow into the form he desired.

Xiao A Yun observed the changes in Luofeng's mindset from when he first arrived at Dragon Gate up to this period, his mindset shift when encountering Li Yao and his wife, and his final choice.

"He is indeed a rare talent among humans."

"Not only is it talent, but also mindset and character; in this regard, Xiao A Yun possesses a deeper obsession than ordinary people."

"What a pity."

"Mirror Flower Water Moon, when dissecting a person's composition, naturally leaves an irreversible influence on itself, and the person favored by his father is destined never to have a chance to savor it."

"However, by actively directing doubts toward the World Tree, is his father planning to tell him the truth?"

"\"Humans, really trustworthy... \""

After thinking for a moment, Xiao A Yun quickly shook his head again, then rubbed his cheeks.

You again started thinking about your father's affairs without permission—truly disrespectful.

Better hurry and settle what's at hand, finish the unification plan early—Father said the species in the starry sky are countless times more numerous than the human population on present Earth.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Xiao A Yun wiped the saliva from his imagination, then tried to gather his strength a bit.

If his avatar lacks the main body's support, it can usually only handle opponents below War God level; the scattered avatars are each doing their own things, and when facing some tough enemies, Xiao A Yun's main body needs to provide certain support.

And the place that needs Xiao A Yun's support is not elsewhere—it is the Earth Net.

And the true mastermind behind the Earth Net is none other than the World Tree's central pillar, also one of Xiao A Yun's most important avatars, Yun Meng Ze.

……

The true Earth Net is not as vast as outside rumors claim; all the information networks, order-taking networks, and internal communication systems it relies on are links formed by Yun Meng Ze and a large number of ordinary avatars.

The thugs hidden in the ditches lack the energy and ability to operate such a large organization; they are merely the sharp blades Yun Meng Ze finds one by one.

The formidable force that was cultivated naturally aims to attract more rats to join; after years of operation, the Earth Net has indeed gathered many shadowy figures, as the outside world says.

Over these years, the tasks taken on by the Earth Net are actually ninety percent issued by Yun Meng Ze himself, and the targets to be eliminated are naturally those who cannot be tolerated in the new era.

Of course, most still require Yun Meng Ze to act personally, partly because these people act too slowly, and partly because Xiao A Yun is not allowed to freely gather materials on Earth, so these kill lists are rare opportunities.

Over the past five years, the people needing resolution have mostly been dealt with, so these rats have no more use value… No, I should say their use value has always been waiting to be realized now.

A few months ago, a well-known information broker in the Earth Net who broke the rules was silenced, and subsequently an important piece of news spread.

That is, as the world situation undergoes great change, the hidden hand behind the Earth Net is about to withdraw, the Earth Net itself is about to face a reckoning, and the quotas for 'whitening' are left with only a few limited spots, with limited time remaining.

In an instant, the Earth Net exploded; the stronger ones, all being 'quite famous' existences, began scrambling to raise money and compete for the last spots.

Meanwhile, the weaker little rats tried to draw a clear line with the Earth Net.

The fate of the little rats is also simple: they are leaked by Yun Meng Ze through the World Tree to personnel in various countries responsible for handling the Earth Net, similar to Luodewa.

And the final main course—the ones who truly raised enough money—naturally need Yun Meng Ze himself to resolve.

Those who can raise ten trillion yuan solely through commissions have already reached the limit of War God strength, and many are just a step away from breaking through to planetary level.

The person who raised the money this time is named Shi Ban Yi Liu, a rare survivor of a certain island nation that has already perished.

During the turbulent era, Shi Ban Yi Liu single-mindedly practiced the sword, killing beasts and people, merely killing for killing's sake. After reaching War God, he continued to kill for killing's sake, with the number of lives on his hands even reaching six figures, and in the Earth Net he is counted among the foremost.

Even across the whole Earth Net and the entire Earth, people like Shi Ban Yi Liu are extremely rare, and the flavor of purely having slaughtered countless peers with his own hands also makes Xiao A Yun somewhat anticipatory.

So Xiao A Yun also prepared the best reception for this dinner.

Shi Ban Yi Liu entered the arranged room according to the guidance, and Xiao A Yun's avatar had already been waiting here for a while.

Shi Ban Yi Liu looked at the back of the person seated, feeling somewhat familiar, and Shi Ban Yi Liu lightly bowed and said:

"Hello, may I ask what else needs to be done next?"

Although he used that honorific on the surface, he had already secretly readied himself to draw his sword.

"How long has it been since you last drew your sword?"

The man with his back to Shi Ban Yi Liu asked.

Shi Ban Yi Liu swallowed, his hands directly went to the sword hilt, but his mouth did not retreat or avoid the other's question.

"Twenty-six years."

"Very good."

The man, while speaking, turned around; Shi Ban Yi Liu clearly saw the man's face—indeed, it was someone he knew.

Shi Ban Yi Liu finds it hard to remember others' appearances, but there is one kind he remembers clearly: those who did not die under his blade—the 'sword-dead souls'.

Shi Ban Yi Liu looked at this person—he was exactly the sole martial artist who escaped from a life-or-death duel over thirty years ago, and likewise a renowned killer like himself.

At this very moment, the path to breakthrough lay before him; Shi Ban Yi Liu did not hesitate, drew the sword sealed for twenty-seven years that he had been unwilling to draw, and slashed at the man before him with a single stroke.

……

In the real world, Yun Meng Ze approached Shi Ban's side, slowly drew Shi Ban Yi Liu's sword, and his body gradually took on Shi Ban Yi Liu's appearance.

Finally, he also gripped the hilt like Shi Ban, but without the tension Shi Ban felt when gripping his sword; instead, his whole body exuded killing intent.

With a single sword strike, Shi Ban defeated that breakthrough obstacle, but there is no longer any Shi Ban in this world.

Well, perhaps there can still be a period of time.

……

"Mr. Shi Ban, have you come back?"