Chapter 225: Proud Bones

Amidst the sky-filling yellow sand, visibility was no more than a few meters.

The group no longer knew where the War Chariot had driven to; they could only judge the location of the Battlefield by the distant, massive roars and fluctuations of Spirit Power, and try their best to stay away. The young driver was cold and focused, saying nothing, only slamming his foot onto the power pedal.

"Boom—"

The War Chariot seemed to be on an upward slope, continuously climbing.

Everyone's bodies involuntarily leaned backward.

Until it climbed to the top of the slope, the front of the vehicle suddenly plunged, the rapid change bringing a strong sensory stimulation to their bodies.

"Whoo—"

Zhang Suannai shouted softly.

The War Chariot would occasionally crash through road obstacles, sometimes mounds that weren't flat enough, sometimes small yardangs, emitting booming roars, while the seemingly flat but actually undulating Gobitai caused the high-speed War Chariot to continuously lift into the air and crash back down. From time to time, it would even drive into a dead end, requiring a sudden brake.

Fortunately, the War Chariot's design requirements were to be able to withstand strikes from at least an Intermediate Cultivator, its quality was extremely solid, and the driver's technique was sufficiently badass.

Until about half an hour later—

"Boom!"

The War Chariot landed from the air once more; already damaged, it finally hummed and gradually came to a stop.

The driver glanced at the numerous warning lights that had lit up, turned his head, and said to everyone: "The Power Spirit Crystal is damaged; driving to this point is its limit."

Zuo You was the squad leader; he checked the surrounding environment and quickly said: "This location is not bad; there is a natural protective wall, and it is at least several tens of kilometers away from the location of the Square Body. As long as the center of the battle doesn't spread here, it will be very safe."

At this moment, the aftermath of the battle still struck, but it no longer had much power.

Zuo You thought for a moment:

"We will spend the night here and wait until tomorrow to try to contact the Command Center or head toward Leche, given that the wind and sand are raging outside... Zhang Tengyu."

"Present!"

"Can you still sink the ground?"

"Report! The sinking function is fully operational!"

"Sink the ground!"

"Yes!"

The driver pressed a button, and the Earth-Moving Array module on the War Chariot immediately activated. Spirit Power was channeled into the ground, and with the War Chariot's location as the center, the sandy ground within a range of at least ten-plus meters sank, turning into a large pit, the depth of which placed the War Chariot completely below the ground level.

The sound of the wind instantly became quieter.

"Everyone will rest in the War Chariot tonight. Unless necessary, try not to go out. This place is very likely the actual controlled area of the Watcher; besides the Ninth Stage battle, there may be other dangers."

"Yes!"

"Won't the Spirit Crystal explode?" Zhang Suannai asked.

"It's a Military Spirit Crystal, it won't explode."

"Oh, oh..."

After the War Chariot stopped moving forward, the interior became very quiet, and the alarm sounds also disappeared. The wind outside wailed, but it only served to highlight the silence inside, occasionally punctuated by the static of Zuo You attempting to establish contact with the Command Center but failing.

Outside was pitch black, filled with wind and sand.

Zhang Suannai was absurdly carefree; having just settled down, she quickly fell into a state of boredom, looking left and right, touching this and touching that.

"What is this?"

"Weapon Mount."

"And what is this?"

"Spiritual Power Transmitter."

"What does it do?"

"When the vehicle's Spirit Power is exhausted, in an emergency, it uses the Spirit Power of the personnel on board to replenish it."

"There's a door here too? For escaping?"

"Vehicle-mounted Machine Cannon."

"What about this one?"

"Are you not worried at all?"

"Worried about what? What's the use of worrying?"

"Be quiet for a moment..."

"Fine, you think I'm annoying!"

Zhang Suannai turned her head away, stopped talking to Zuo You, and secretly vowed to herself that she wouldn't say a single word tonight.

Without her livening up the atmosphere, she would make them miserable.

Two minutes later, she poked Chen Shu:

"Hey, were you scared just now?"

"No."

"Then are you worried now?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I won't be in danger."

"Why is that?"

"I am the protagonist of this era."

"Here we go again, here we go again, I told you, I am the protagonist!" Zhang Suannai put on a posture of arguing, "Let me reason with you, look, my parents died when I was young, my talent is peerless, the Sword Master of the Sword Sect announced decades ago that they would no longer take disciples, but they made an exception for me. After I got into university, I defeated everyone under the heavens and took first place. I finally came out for some experience, and I ran into a Top Ninth-tier battle. If this isn't the protagonist, what is?"

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu fell into silence.

It seems I really can't compare to her.

At the very least, when it comes to having both parents deceased, I've already been left far behind by a wide margin.

At this moment, the Gate of All Wonders beside them opened its eyes and said indifferently, "That person just now, was that the one from the Ming Sect?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shu immediately cast Zhang Suannai aside and replied:

"High probability."

"So he is still alive."

"He's a Ninth Stage, after all; it's not that easy to die," Chen Shu said. "And now it seems he even has a connection with the Mengyue Sect. Hmm, it's even more likely that the Mengyue Sect was founded by him; this is quite similar to his former philosophy."

"Which one from the Ming Sect?" Zhang Suannai asked.

"The First Senior Brother of the contemporary Ming Sect Sect Master, a legendary figure who suppressed everyone of his generation two or three hundred years ago," the Gate of All Wonders said.

"Cao Ci," Chen Shu added.

"Cao Ci..." Zhang Suannai thought for a moment, "I feel like I've heard that somewhere."

"Hm?"

The Gate of All Wonders looked at her with newfound respect: "Being able to recognize this name shows that your Sword Sect still pays some attention to the dissemination of knowledge among disciples."

"Oh, I remember now! We have a classmate in the class next door who is also called Cao Ci!"

"……Amitabha."

"What's up with that Cao Ci? Is he a big deal?"

"A very big deal, and he was born at a very good time; back then, everyone thought he would become the new Martial God," the Gate of All Wonders said in a flat voice. "The First Emperor, the current Dao Head, and the Sword Master were all figures of his same generation. I heard that at the time, only the current Calamity-Responding Bodhisattva could contend with him."

"Then can that Prince kill him?" Zhang Suannai frowned.

"Hard to say," the Gate of All Wonders said.

"Our Aircraft Carrier Formation is only a little over a thousand kilometers away from here, and the Wuzong-class Aerospace Carrier has also been secretly deployed to a nearby base," Zuo You interjected while continuously attempting to make contact. "They are all carrying Zhan Lue Wu Qi specifically prepared for Ninth Stage experts."

"You all knew the news long ago, didn't you?" Chen Shu asked.

"Yes, historical experts knew the Mengyue Sect was looking for the Heavenly Human Mirror. After discovering the Heavenly Human Mirror, they reported it to the higher-ups immediately, so we were well-prepared."

"That is still hard to say," the Gate of All Wonders said. "The Ming Sect is inherently one of the systems most skilled in combat, and it is especially adept at defense and endurance. The Ming Sect Secret Technique, the Undefeated True Body, is called the Indestructible True Body when cultivated to a High-Tier level. Under the same stage, one is almost undefeated and indestructible. The threat posed by modern weapons to a Ming Sect Ninth Stage is significantly reduced compared to other Ninth Stages. Not to mention that he is Cao Ci; he is very likely the strongest Ninth Stage of the current era."

Zuo You stopped speaking.

Zhang Suannai asked again: "Is the Indestructible True Body a big deal?"

"A very big deal."

The Gate of All Wonders looked at her indifferently: "Otherwise, how do you think the Ming Sect replaced the Sword Sect three thousand years ago?"

"That must be because the seniors of my Sword Sect had bad brains and courted death themselves," Zhang Suannai answered without thinking, and spread her hands. "This group of people, each one more brain-dead than the last, what kind of big things could they accomplish?"

"……"

The Gate of All Wonders watched her silently.

"Okay!"

Zhang Suannai knew when to correct her mistakes; she adjusted her sitting posture and transformed into a well-behaved baby: "I won't talk anymore, you hurry up and tell me."

"You can go back to your sect to check."

"I'm not checking, you tell me, you tell me."

"……" The Gate of All Wonders was helpless and had no choice but to patiently recount, "The Indestructible True Body has a very perverse aspect, which is the ability to cultivate clones. The number and strength of the clones are related to one's personal talent. Usually, those who can reach the Ninth Stage in the Ming Sect system are people with heaven-defying talent. For example, the successive Ming Sect Sect Masters often have two or three clones. Each clone is very close to the strength of the main body, and the main body can switch with the clones at will. As long as one clone does not die, you can never kill a High-Tier of the Ming Sect."

"I think I've heard of this..."

"Theoretically speaking, there is no limit to the number of clones; it depends on talent and the time and energy invested. If one is a peerless genius, the clones can fully achieve the exact same strength as the main body."

"Isn't this cheating?"

"That is why I said, adding Senior Jin Wang to the Aerospace Carrier and the Aircraft Carrier Formation will certainly be able to defeat Cao Ci, but they cannot kill Cao Ci."

"I see..."

Zhang Suannai clicked her tongue, the corners of her mouth twitching.

The Gate of All Wonders closed its eyes again.

Chen Shu also checked the time, said "I am going to cultivate," and then ignored her.

The nameless person is a dull person in reality.

Zhang Suannai could only let out a long sigh:

"Ah..."

So damn boring.

……

Early morning.

The wind and sand had already subsided, and no more movement came from the distance.

The deep pit constructed by the War Chariot using its built-in Earth-Moving Array last night had become much shallower, and the War Chariot was also covered in a layer of dust.

However, although the wind and sand had subsided, the sky remained gray and dark. A layer of heavy haze covered the top, and the sunlight could not penetrate through at all. The chaotic Spirit Power in the air had even reached the point of affecting the real world on its own, occasionally whipping up fierce winds, igniting flames, or causing other basic reactions.

The apocalypse had just passed, and the dawn had yet to arrive.

The few people left the War Chariot and stepped onto the sandy ground.

"Achoo!"

Zhang Suannai sneezed and reached out to rub her nose: "It must be my little fan girls thinking of me!"

No one paid her any mind.

Zuo You held up the communicator.

There was still no signal, and it was impossible to contact the Command Center.

They couldn't even distinguish the direction for a moment.

Zuo You could not help but knit his brows.

Zhang Suannai, however, stretched lazily without a care, rubbed her belly, and turned her head to look at the group: "Did any of you bring any military rations or anything like that?"

"No," Zuo You said, "the evacuation was too urgent, and many things were left behind at the camp."

"Hehe..."

Zhang Suannai gave a smug smile, reached out to draw a circle in the air, and pulled several steamed buns out from within: "It's a good thing I hid a few buns last night; I had originally intended them for a midnight snack... How about it? Are you hungry? Call me Big Brother, and I'll share them with you!"

The nameless person watched the distance in silence.

The two soldiers looked toward Zuo You.

Captain Zuo remained silent.

The Gate of All Wonders glanced toward Chen Shu.

Chen Shu pondered for a moment and said, "Is that necessary? Hurry up and take them out to share with us; once we've eaten, we'll listen to Captain Zuo You's arrangements and go find the main force."

"No! You have to call me Big Brother!"

"Don't waste time, just call her Big Brother."

"Why are you like this?"

"What's wrong with me? I'm just asking you to call me Big Brother; it's not like it's something you can't say..."

"Forget it, forget it."

Chen Shu waved his hand, also drew a circle in the air, and helplessly recited: "Since that's the case, I'll just have to take out my self-heating hot pot, luncheon meat, claypot rice, and fat-happy soda for everyone to make do with a simple meal; Zhang Suannai, you can just eat your cold buns."

"Liar... holy crap!"

"Want some?"

"..."

Zhang Suannai could not help but fall silent, eyeing Chen Shu's expression, already able to anticipate his next move.

"Big Brother!!!"

The Sword Sect Disciple has a backbone of pride!