41: Chapter 41 Lien Zhan

The morning light struggled to tear through the thick morning mist of Boulder City.

Inside the highest-level S-class restricted area of the North City Military District, a murderous aura soared straight into the clouds.

On the huge alloy plaza, dozens of young figures stood fully armed.

Every single one of them was a top genius meticulously selected from the major aristocratic families, academies, and internal military forces of Boulder City.

"Have you heard? The slots this time have been bid up to astronomical prices on the black market; they are literally priceless!"

"Nonsense, that's a degenerated ancient Tier 2 Divine Kingdom! For us Tier 1 Creators, this is not just good fortune; it's a supreme opportunity to defy the heavens and change our destiny."

A mere fragment plucked from inside that is tainted with ancient laws would be enough to save us ten years of bitter cultivation!"

"That's right. As long as we can bring back a bit of origin power alive, the foundation of our Divine Kingdom will inevitably experience an explosive surge upon our exit, and at the very worst, we will be able to condense the prototype of laws, pointing straight to the door of Tier 2 Creators!"

The geniuses gathered in twos and threes all around were whispering, and undisguised fanaticism and greed flickered in everyone's eyes.

In the crowd, Liu Ting wore a capable black combat uniform, resembling a proud black swan.

She tightly clenched the slot key in her hand, feeling the awe and envious gazes cast over from time to time by the people around her, and slightly lifted her chin.

With this, she finally had the capital to crush her peers.

Not far away, Zhang Hao still maintained a lukewarm expression.

He closed his eyes to rest, with not a shred of an overbearing air around him; instead, he was like a piece of warm, smooth jade.

He was completely out of place with the tense, hair-trigger atmosphere all around.

He kept his father's instructions firmly in mind: this trip was solely for resources, and he would not provoke trouble.

Just at this moment, a heavy and terrifyingly oppressive sound of footsteps came from the edge of the plaza.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Every step that fell felt like a heavy hammer ruthlessly pounding on everyone's heart.

The originally noisy plaza instantly fell dead silent, and everyone involuntarily cleared a path.

The newcomer was a tall youth resembling an iron tower.

He wore a dark green military combat uniform, and his exposed, thick arms were covered with crisscrossing, ferocious scars, exuding a dense murderous aura that could only be tempered by licking blood on the edge of life and death year-round.

"It's Lian Zhan, one of the Twin Stars of the military district!" Someone lowered their voice, their tone full of dread.

"Strange, why is he alone? Where is his younger brother Lian Yun? Didn't they say the military reserved two slots for the two brothers internally? They previously claimed they would join forces to sweep through everything in the ruins."

"Shh! Keep your voice down, have you got a death wish? I heard Lian Yun's slot was snatched away by someone at the very last moment! Right now, Lian Zhan is on the verge of a rampage; whoever provokes him dies!"

Lian Zhan looked around like a fierce tiger about to devour someone.

His bloodshot eyes swept across the face of every contestant, as if wanting to peel away everyone's skin and flesh and see through their hidden secrets.

"Who on earth is it..." Lian Zhan clenched his teeth, his knuckles popping.

His younger brother Lian Yun had originally prepared meticulously, just waiting for this opportunity to soar into the sky.

As a result, the slot key belonging to Lian Yun vanished into thin air, forcefully taken away by a hardline intervention from the upper echelons, its whereabouts unknown.

This humiliation and anger made Lian Zhan swear a toxic oath in his heart that once inside the Divine Kingdom, he would ferret out that thief hiding in the dark and personally break the other party's limbs!

Suddenly, Lian Zhan's aggressive gaze paused abruptly, locking tightly onto a remote corner at the very edge of the plaza.

There, a figure stood quietly.

That person was draped in a wide, pure black hooded cloak, wearing a featureless, pure white faceless mask on their face.

The whole person seemed to completely merge with the surrounding shadows, exuding an indescribable eeriness and mystery.

Lian Zhan narrowed his eyes slightly, his brows tightly knitted together.

He knew the vast majority of the people present. Even for unfamiliar faces, they wore exclusive badges of prominent families or military factions.

Only this person in the black robe had no faction identification on them, and their aura was thoroughly concealed by that weird cloak and mask. Even Lian Zhan's tentative spiritual probe was like a clay ox entering the sea, failing to stir up the slightest ripple.

"Who is this guy?" Alarm bells rang wildly in Lian Zhan's heart.

Could it be him who snatched his younger brother's key?

Although Lian Zhan was full of suspicion, he didn't fly into a rage rashly, because he didn't have any conclusive evidence in his hands to prove that this was the culprit.

But he had already secretly made up his mind in the bottom of his heart: after entering the Divine Kingdom, he must keep a close eye on this nobody who didn't even dare show his face.

He would rather kill by mistake than let go of any suspicious target.

Beneath the mask, Lin Yunfei, using the pseudonym Su Feng, naturally and acutely perceived that hostile and scrutinizing gaze.

He slightly turned his head and, through the eyeholes of the mask, calmly met Lian Zhan's oppressive gaze.

"People from the military district, huh..." Su Feng pondered inwardly, instantly guessing the other party's identity.

Major General Lu Shuang had previously reminded him that this privileged slot involved internal interest entanglements of the military.

Judging by the other party's look as if they wished to tear him apart and swallow him alive, nine times out of ten, this was the unlucky bastard whose cake he had accidentally stolen.

"As long as you don't come to provoke me, we will mind our own business! If you insist on provoking me, then you can only blame your bad luck!"

"Hum——!"

At this very moment, a huge ancient formation right in the center of the plaza suddenly erupted with a dazzling silver light.

The surrounding space began to distort violently, and a desolate and vast ancient aura poured out along the spatial cracks.

A high-ranking military official walked expressionlessly onto the high platform, their voice exploding in everyone's ears like a giant bell:

"The spatial node has been completely opened!"

"Everyone, immediately crush the key in your hands! Warning: the internal space barrier of the Divine Kingdom is extremely fragile. If any power above Tier 2 sneaks in, it will inevitably lead to the complete collapse of space. By then, everyone will be sucked into the void turbulence, leaving not even bones behind!"

"Opportunity and death coexist, life and death are up to fate. Now, enter!"

As soon as those words fell, the dozens of top geniuses on the plaza no longer hesitated, their eyes filled only with an extreme desire for ancient resources.

"Snap!" Liu Ting took the lead in crushing the dark golden metal plate in her hand, turning into a stream of light and rushing into the formation.

"Snap! Snap!" Zhang Hao and Lian Zhan followed closely behind.

Before stepping into the pillar of light, Lian Zhan cast a deep, backward glance at the person in the black robe in that corner.

Lin Yunfei also unhesitatingly injected his spiritual power into the key.

Accompanied by a crisp shattering sound, a powerful and ancient tractive force instantly enveloped his entire body.

The next second, a huge silver pillar of light soared into the sky, completely swallowing everyone on the plaza!