77: Prehistoric weapons, a new gamble

A thread of doubt, like a phantom in the twilight, quietly crept into Qin Yubing's heart.

They had traveled together for several days, traversing the desolate wasteland left behind by the battle at the War Emperor's Mausoleum. Her initial gratitude for Ye Fan's timely assistance was slowly being eroded by a persistent and unsettling sense of incongruity.

The Lin Tian that Ye Fan described—a cruel, arrogant, and despicable tyrant who reveled in humiliating others—clashed violently with the image etched deep in her memory. She remembered a calm and decisive figure facing the fallen remnants of a god, a man whose power was as vast as the starry sky, yet whose eyes held a nearly cold, transcendent rationality. He was indeed formidable, but definitely not the despicable villain Ye Fan portrayed.

She said nothing, merely nodding noncommittally as Ye Fan once again passionately recounted the injustices he had suffered. She understood his hatred. He had lost everything: status, power, and his fiancée. But the contradictions in his narrative were like tiny, sharp pebbles in a shoe, impossible to ignore. Yet, for now, he was an ally, and in this perilous world, allies were a resource too precious to be discarded easily due to a mere suspicion.

Just as they were about to reach the edge of a designated safe city, the entire world seemed to freeze.

The air became heavy, and a viscous, oppressive energy made every atom tremble. A figure emerged from the shadows of a petrified forest, as if woven from darkness itself, gradually coalescing into form. It was a woman, clad in a form-fitting black combat suit that absorbed all light, her face covered by a silver mask etched with the ancient clan insignia of the Qin Family.

"Shadow," the legendary S-class Protector of the main lineage.

Qin Yubing's heart sank, and she immediately bowed respectfully: "Protector Shadow."

The Protector's gaze, as cold as ten thousand years of profound ice, completely ignored her. That gaze fell directly on Ye Fan. Ye Fan froze in place, his hand instinctively gripping his sword hilt. The pressure emanating from "Shadow" was not a wave, but a needle—an absolute power condensed at a singularity, precisely piercing his defenses, his pride, and even his Soul.

"A mere ant," Shadow's voice was a synthetic whisper, devoid of warmth, only the finality of a death sentence, "is it worthy of traveling with the Phoenix of my Qin Family?"

Ye Fan's face flushed crimson with rage and humiliation. "I—"

He couldn't finish. Shadow remained motionless, but the space around Ye Fan twisted. He felt an invisible mountain crash down, pressing him firmly to his knees, the ground beneath him cracking inch by inch under the unbearable weight. He coughed up a large mouthful of blood, his entire skeleton groaning, protesting against this overwhelming power beyond comprehension.

"Know your place, insect," Shadow's tone remained unchanged, "The gap between you and the Qin Family is not a river that can be crossed, but an abyss between stars. You are a speck of dust, and she is the bright sun in the sky. Even breathing the same air is a blasphemy you cannot afford."

Then, she turned her masked face to Qin Yubing: "The Family Elders are very displeased. Your unauthorized actions have shamed the Family. Now, return with me. As for this... creature, consider him lucky, I have a mission and no time to clean up trash."

With a wave of her hand, a vortex of shadows swallowed the still protesting Qin Yubing, and in the blink of an eye, the two disappeared without a trace.

Dead silence returned to the desolate plain.

Ye Fan knelt there for a long and painful minute, his mouth full of the rusty taste of blood and the bitter poison of humiliation. He pushed himself up on trembling limbs, fury burning wildly within him.

He hated not just the Protector. He hated this world, hated the Law of the Heavenly Dao that unjustly determined worth by birth. He had talent, he had the guidance of the remnant soul of the human emperor, but in the face of that mountain-like power, he was nothing. A single word, a single glance, was enough to crush him.

Revenge against Lin Tian was no longer enough. If the entire system that created Lin Tian still existed, what was the point of killing just him? He needed far more than just revenge. He needed status, he needed an absolute power, a power that would make anyone, even the ancient Qin Family, never dare to look down on him again.

A new, burning goal ignited in his Soul.

"Family Elders..." he murmured, his voice a low growl like a beast's, "They want to choose an heir for her, a husband worthy of the Qin Family's name. I've heard rumors... a grand martial arts tournament in a year."

His eyes, once filled with despair, now burned with a terrifying, crazed light.

"Not only will I defeat Lin Tian," he vowed to the empty heavens, "I will also step onto that grand stage of the Qin Family. I will defeat every challenger, every so-called Genius, every chosen one. I will obtain Qin Yubing, not as a gift, but as a conquest! I will become the heir they cannot help but acknowledge, and then, I will trample their arrogance, their disdain, and their entire world beneath my feet!"

His declaration echoed in the wind, primal and full of power.

A calm and ancient voice resounded deep in his mind: [The goal is lofty, my Disciple. But your current strength is far from enough. One year, in the long river of time, is but an instant.]

"Then tell me, Teacher!" Ye Fan roared in his own consciousness, "Tell me the method! I'll do anything!"

The remnant soul of the human emperor sighed: [There is only one path. A gamble where everything is at stake. That path is paved with endless dangers, but its reward might grant you the power you crave.]

"Where?"

[Beneath the Antarctic ice cap, rests a relic from the prehistoric era. A research facility left by a civilization long before ours. Inside, a tube of 'Prehistoric Mythical Gene' stock solution is cryogenically sealed. It is the perfect, most primitive genetic code, capable of elevating any living being to the Domain of a god.]

Ye Fan's breath hitched. This was it, this was the opportunity he needed.

[But listen carefully,] the Human Emperor's voice became incredibly solemn, [that stock solution is not just a Treasure Trove; it is also a Seal. What it suppresses is that civilization's ultimate weapon—a bio-engineered super-soldier codenamed 'mythical creator figure.' A terrifying existence whose catastrophic power, once awakened, could drag this world into a dark age. Taking the stock solution means you might unleash this catastrophe upon the entire world.]

Ye Fan was silent for a moment, the fierce wind whipping at his tattered clothes. He looked towards the direction where Shadow and Qin Yubing had disappeared, the Protector's crushing disdain still searing his Soul. He also remembered Lin Tian's mocking smile.

A slow, cold smile spread across his face. It was the smile of a man who had lost everything, and was now willing to gamble the entire world to win it all back.

"Teacher," his voice was terrifyingly calm, "If power requires a flood to cleanse the old world..."

He began to walk south, his steps steady and resolute.

"...Then let the floods rage!"