Chapter 479

The Book of a Hundred Forms.

Setting aside its many flaws, the power of this ability is undeniably formidable.

Li Ang never expected that, by sheer accident, he would regain this ability—and unlike the initial draft Manfred had intended to trade, Yize had given him the full detailed version, containing all of Manfred's years of insights.

'What does this mean?'

Li Ang scanned the vast amount of information in his mind, frowning slightly.

He couldn't quite grasp Yize's true intent.

After a moment's thought, Li Ang decided to stop dwelling on it.

This material was genuinely useful to him, and very likely would allow him to develop numerous new abilities.

Even if Yize intended this as a hidden contingency, it couldn't affect him.

After all, Li Ang would never tie his entire existence to The Book of a Hundred Forms the way Manfred had—he was merely borrowing the hen to lay eggs.

The root of The Book of a Hundred Forms lies in Yize's alchemy, and due to his 【Life Creation】, Li Ang could easily grasp its fundamentals through analogical understanding.

But over the years, Manfred had altered it beyond recognition, embedding it with vast amounts of biological modification techniques; strictly speaking, the current version of The Book of a Hundred Forms could no longer be called pure alchemy.

The bald, tattooed man might have been low in emotional intelligence, but his talent was certainly not lacking—otherwise, he never could have driven Yize to the brink of death.

Too bad.

Your ability is excellent. Now it's mine.

Getting something for free brings joy; after obtaining the detailed version of The Book of a Hundred Forms, Li Ang's mood lifted considerably.

And whether it was his driving skill or Seth's Reincarnation Eye's raw power, the swarm of insects trailing behind had vanished without notice.

Seeing this, Seth exhaled deeply: "We should be safe for now. I've already notified the corporation—they'll send someone to meet us at the Nation's border."

Despite saying that, the old dragon didn't slow his speed at all.

After all, he had lived this long and never before witnessed such a scene, let alone the appearance of a powerhouse rivaling Your Majesty Aio.

Recalling the events just moments ago, Seth couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

'I wonder what trick the brat used to deceive those two.'

In truth, he wasn't even certain whether Li Ang had caused Yize's failed attempt to reach the Eighth Level.

His suspicion arose only from Li Ang's odd behavior—there was no concrete evidence whatsoever.

Thus, the old dragon didn't dwell on it; after thinking for a while without reaching a conclusion, he turned his thoughts to how he'd boast about this experience to the Huang Tong dragons back home.

Seth was certain those chatterboxes had never seen the legendary Councilor or the 【Perfect】—if they knew he had, they'd be green with envy.

At that moment, Li Ang spoke, pulling Seth back to reality: "Thank you, Grandfather."

He gazed at the distant gem dragon dragging the planet Morabiss forward, a hint of gratitude on his face.

If not for Sophia dragging him over, he'd have been forced to retreat to the One World alone.

And it proved correct that he hadn't done so—the Councilor Xine had clearly been watching the Obsidian Starfield since the beginning.

If he had truly retreated to the One World—

Li Ang didn't know what would happen, but it certainly wouldn't be good.

In response to his gratitude, Seth seemed unconcerned, teasing instead: "I think even without me, you wouldn't have had any trouble."

This little dragon brat has too many tricks—anyone who mistakes him for an ordinary Fifth Level is in for a world of pain.

Naturally, Li Ang prepared to modestly deflect the elder's praise.

But before he could speak, a cold, childish voice echoed beside the boy and the dragon.

"Is that so?"

The sudden voice made Seth slam to a halt; his massive golden vertical pupils shrank sharply, as if he'd seen a ghost.

In the old dragon's line of sight, a small figure stood motionless ahead on their path.

It was Afula.

The female child councilor tilted her head, studying the bizarre pair: "When did 【Aio Logistics】 take up thievery? I wasn't informed."

She then turned her gaze to Li Ang, whose expression had frozen: "And you, little thing—your audacity is astonishing. No wonder you refused to develop worlds for the Federation."

Facing Afula's unclear intentions, Li Ang tried to bluff his way through: "Hahaha, Councilor Afula, long time no see!"

At the same time, he sighed inwardly—he never expected the female child councilor to appear at such a moment.

Fortunately, since she hadn't attacked immediately, his life was probably still safe.

But Seth didn't seem to realize this; he stared at the emotionless child floating in space and spoke with extreme caution: "Councilor Afula, the corporation will pay a fitting price for him and this planet. We humbly ask for your mercy."

Though Mei had already gifted Morabiss to them moments ago, this volatile Seventh Level didn't know that.

Moreover, as the ruler of the Obsidian Starfield, she could easily overturn Mei's decision.

So, for safety's sake, Seth thought caution best—after all, a planet meant little to the corporation.

Hearing Seth's words, Afula made no immediate reply, merely scanning the boy and dragon with a piercing, unreadable gaze.

Li Ang, feeling the icy weight of her stare, remained perfectly still.

In this situation, he shouldn't speak—he'd let Seth handle the negotiation.

Seconds ticked by, yet Afula remained silent, leaving Li Ang puzzled about her true intentions.

Watching the growing tension in the pair, Afula's lips curled slightly as she let out a childish giggle: "Hahaha, if I wanted to kill you two trash, I'd have done it already—so don't be so tense."

"."

At this, Li Ang twitched his lips.

Trash? Fine—he'd read too many female child councilor doujinshi to be bothered by the word; if she'd called him a fairy mother-pig battle cry, he might've been startled.

Things like "Huuuoo" or whatever.

Li Ang suppressed his absurd thoughts and asked: "Then, Councilor Afula, what is your purpose?"

In response, Afula produced a communication device from nowhere: "I received the message. Though it served no purpose, yet—"

"Nicely done."

Hearing this, Li Ang was momentarily stunned, but quickly realized that the "news" must refer to the intelligence on Yize he had sent earlier.

'Just for this?'

He felt this matter shouldn't warrant the other party making a personal trip.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Afra couldn't help but shake her head slightly: "Originally I wanted to keep you in the Federation, but on second thought, forget it."

As a senator of the Obsidian Domain, she naturally knew what had happened on the planet Morabis, and could also see the tremendous potential hidden within the young "person" before her.

Even when she had been developing worlds for the Federation back then, she rarely encountered a genius of this caliber.

If she could get him to serve the Federation wholeheartedly, the three Speakers would surely reward her for it.

But after much deliberation, Afra ultimately gave up on persuading him.

There were many reasons: first, the other party had explicitly refused her recruitment earlier; second, his ties with 【Aeolus Logistics】 were too close.

Coupled with the fact that his relationship with the Federation wasn't exactly strained either, it was better to part on good terms.

Hearing these words, Li Ang couldn't help but scratch his cheek: "Thank you for your kindness, my lord, but my compatibility with the Federation really isn't that great."

He was telling the truth — compared to being a planetary Viceroy, being a cosmic drifter suited his tastes far better.

After all, the latter allowed him to roam everywhere, making it much more convenient to collect professions and trigger major events along the way.

The reason Li Ang had become a planetary Viceroy in the first place was purely out of helplessness — who told him to have killed that old thing Lord Duonuo?

"Then, my lord, shall we be off?"

Once the matter was laid out, Li Ang naturally had no intention of lingering any longer; to him, the Obsidian Domain was simply too dangerous at present.

Whether it was the Speakers who appeared and disappeared like ghosts, or the swarm that behaved like a pervert — neither was something he could deal with right now.