60: The mantis stalks the cicada, who is the oriole?

Inside the War Emperor's Mausoleum, in the underground metal city, within the ancient civilization's gene bank that had been sealed for eons.

The atmosphere solidified to an icy point.

Ye Fan, the Son of Destiny, and Adam, the ultimate trump card of North America "Holy Mountain", these two top young Prodigies of their generation, like two dominant lions in their respective territories, finally erupted into the most primal and bloody battle for the sole treasure—the SSS-Rank ancestral dragon gene core—that could drive even gods mad!

"Human Emperor Suppressing World Art—Mountain River Seal!"

Ye Fan attacked first! Behind him, the blurry remnant soul of the human emperor roared to the sky, and endless golden Internal Energy gathered in his palm, forming an ancient great seal that seemed to bear the weight of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, carrying the imperial Domineering to suppress everything, it smashed down on Adam!

"A mere speck of light, dares to shine?"

Adam saw this, and a cold sneer, full of god-like arrogance and disdain, appeared on his handsome face hidden beneath the Holy Light.

He didn't even make a move to dodge, merely slowly raised his right hand.

"God said, let there be light."

Boom—!

A pure Holy Light, more brilliant than the sun, hotter than a star, and filled with the aura of purification and judgment, erupted from his palm, transforming into a hundred-zhang long "Spear of Divine Punishment" capable of judging all beings, it met the descending Mountain River Seal with an even more overbearing and unreasonable posture!

Rumble—!!!

The two most powerful energies, representing different Eastern and Western Legacy systems, violently collided in the center of the gene bank!

A terrifying energy storm, like a super tsunami of magnitude twelve, swept madly in all directions! It slammed into the surrounding indestructible cultivation tanks, made of special alloys, causing them to emit a "buzzing" wail of unbearable strain!

The two sides were actually... evenly matched!

"Hmm?" For the first time, a trace of genuine surprise appeared in Adam's eyes, hidden beneath the Holy Light. "Among the natives of the East, there's actually someone like you? To be able to withstand a single 'Spear of Divine Punishment' from me as an A-Rank Martial Ancestor and not die, you have reason to be proud."

"Less talk!" Ye Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his Battle Intent growing even more fervent. "You're not qualified enough to steal what's mine!"

"Yours?" Adam seemed to have heard the funniest joke of the century. "Foolish Mortal, all treasures in this world belong to my Lord! And you are merely a clueless… mantis, guarding the treasure!"

"You're courting death!"

The two once again collided fiercely, like two runaway comets!

For a time, inside the gene bank, golden light and Holy Light intertwined, imperial Domineering clashed with divine majesty! Both sides revealed all their trump cards, fighting until the sky and earth grew dim, and the sun and moon lost their light!

However, as time passed, Ye Fan gradually fell into a disadvantage.

Although his Cultivation Technique was exquisite and his combat experience rich, he was ultimately alone, and his Internal Energy was limited.

As for Adam, not only did his own strength firmly suppress him, but his "Seraphim" team, composed of the most elite gene warriors, also cooperated seamlessly, constantly harassing and restraining him from the side, leaving him exhausted and accumulating more and more injuries.

"Disciple, no! Retreat quickly!" The anxious voice of the remnant soul of the human emperor echoed in his mind. "The enemy has too many people; if you keep fighting, you will surely die! If the green hills remain, there will always be wood to burn!"

However, just as Ye Fan was thinking of retreating, preparing to temporarily avoid the sharp edge and seek another opportunity—

A sudden change occurred!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Several subtle yet extremely sharp sounds of air being torn, filled with the aura of death, shot out like lightning without warning from the darkest corners of the gene bank, from the ventilation ducts that had already been destroyed by the aftermath of the battle!

Their target was neither Ye Fan nor Adam.

But rather... the members of the "Seraphim" team behind Adam, who were forming a battle formation and constantly harassing Ye Fan!

"Who's there?!"

Adam's face changed drastically, wanting to defend, but he was firmly entangled by Ye Fan, who had already seized the opportunity!

Pfft! Pfft!

The "Seraphim" team members didn't even have time to react before those ghostly, pitch-black daggers, coated in potent poison, precisely pierced the only gap in their energy armor—their back necks!

In just an instant!

Adam's proudest elite team fell down in unison, as if mown down like wheat!

The oriole had entered the game!

Adam watched with a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief as Ye Fan's mysterious confidante—Qin Yubing—led a team of elite Phoenix Shadow Guards, completely shrouded in black night clothes, their aura eerie, seemingly merged with the shadows, slowly emerged from the darkness, like reapers from Hell.

"Adam... the Divine Son of 'Holy Mountain'..." Qin Yubing's exquisitely beautiful face was now icy cold, her voice devoid of emotion. "You should not have... under any circumstances... touched my man."

"Qin Family... Phoenix Shadow Guards?!" Adam's pupils suddenly constricted when he saw the lifelike Phoenix totem on their waists. "Your Qin Family dares to become enemies with my 'Holy Mountain' for a wild boy?!"

"He is not a wild boy." Qin Yubing slowly shook her head, a trace of tenderness, which even she herself hadn't noticed, flashed in her clear eyes. "He is... my man."

With the addition of Qin Yubing's fresh forces, the tide of battle instantly... reversed!

Adam found himself in a desperate situation, caught between Ye Fan and the Qin Family's Shadow Guards!

...Just as Adam was about to collapse, and Ye Fan and Qin Yubing exchanged a smile, believing that the treasure capable of changing the world's pattern was already theirs—

A lazy voice, full of teasing and amusement, as if watching a magnificent play, echoed slowly and without warning from the broken entrance gate they had long ignored.

"Tsk tsk tsk... The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it... This play is truly splendid."

Who is it?!

Ye Fan, Qin Yubing, and the struggling Adam—all three factions were profoundly shaken at this moment! They all looked in unison towards the direction of the voice!

A supremely domineering, purplish-blue lightning, seemingly imbued with divine power, descended from the sky, forcefully separating the three-way battlefield like an insurmountable chasm!

Immediately after.

Long Qingtian, the widely recognized and undisputed strongest contemporary member of the Long Family, the number one heir, holding his S-Rank battle halberd shimmering with Heavenly Tribulation divine lightning, walked in calmly from the entrance, expressionless, accompanied by Long Ao and other Long Family masters.

The "hunter" had finally... made his appearance!

His appearance instantly made Ye Fan and Qin Yubing, who had just thought victory was within their grasp, feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave! It also gave Adam, who had already fallen into despair, a glimmer of... a new variable!

"Long Qingtian!" Ye Fan stared intently at the man before him, whose aura was several times more powerful than his own, his voice extremely hoarse.

He knew that today, they had probably... all become pawns on someone else's chessboard!

Long Qingtian ignored him, not even glancing at Adam.

He merely fixed his gaze on Ye Fan, who was filled with shock and disbelief, and a curve of "sympathy" and "pity" appeared at the corner of his mouth as he smiled faintly.

"Don't be nervous."

"My... naughty Number Zero master said."

He paused, then slowly revealed the cruelest truth of this "game within a game" in a tone full of malicious amusement, enough to shatter the Dao Heart of both Ye Fan and Qin Yubing.

"—Let you, this sensitive 'treasure-hunting rat', find the place first."

"After you all... finish fighting."

"We'll come... to clean up the mess."

"Now it seems, the timing is just right."

As soon as these words were uttered!

The faces of Ye Fan and Qin Yubing instantly... turned ashen white!