165: Chapter 165 Nine Keys United

A crack opened on the playground of Hongxing Kindergarten.

A photograph floated in mid-air.

In the photo, a Three-year-old Jiang Feng sat on a small stool.

His shadow, however, stood behind him.

In the shadow's hand, he held the final blue stone fragment.

[Guardian of the Ninth Key: Three-year-old Jiang Feng.]

[Opening Condition: Make him admit—Liu Cuilan will leave him one day.]

As soon as these words appeared, the wind on the playground seemed to be put on pause.

Li Yan's face darkened on the spot.

"This isn't seizing a key."

"This is stabbing someone in the heart."

Zhang Changlin said solemnly, "The First Blue Star knows what Jiang Feng cares about most."

Zero Seven looked at Jiang Feng, her voice kept very low.

"Mr. Jiang, the Ninth Key is very special."

"The first eight were rule nodes."

"The ninth is an emotional node."

"If it's taken by force, it might tear apart the memory of belonging you had when you were three."

The Dragon Girl held a bag of potato chips, her tail stiff and straight.

"Then what should we do?"

"Can't we just beat it up?"

Zero Seven shook her head.

"We can crush the shadow."

"But the key might break too."

Jiang Feng looked at the photo.

There was no expression on his face.

"Go in."

Zero Seven was taken aback.

"Into the photo?"

Jiang Feng said, "Doesn't it want me to see my childhood self?"

"Then I'll see him."

With that, he reached out and pressed his hand against the photo.

The kindergarten in the photo instantly enlarged.

Blue light spread out, swallowing everyone.

The next second.

Jiang Feng stood in a small classroom.

Crooked little red flowers were pasted on the wall.

The tables and chairs were very low.

The air was mixed with the smell of disinfectant and lunch.

Three-year-old Jiang Feng sat on a small stool near the door.

He didn't cry.

Nor did he throw a tantrum.

He just stared at the door.

A tiny little ball, his back held very straight.

Behind him.

That shadow looked down at him.

In the shadow's hand, the ninth earth key fragment glowed with blue light.

Outside the classroom, the voice of the Faceless Kindergarten Teacher rang out.

"Liu Cuilan will grow old."

"She will get sick."

"She will die."

"One day, she will leave you."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng pursed his lips and said nothing.

The shadow spoke.

Its voice was exactly like Jiang Feng's.

"Admit it."

"Admit she can't protect you for a lifetime."

"Admit you never should have belonged to her."

Li Yan's anger flared to his head as he listened.

"You're telling this to a three-year-old kid?"

"Your First Blue Star is truly wicked; you're the mudslide of the early childhood education world."

Zero Seven reminded him in a low voice.

"Don't interrupt."

"This is the Ninth Key's trial."

"Mr. Jiang must solve it himself."

The Dragon Girl looked at little Jiang Feng and whispered, "The Master was so small when he was a child."

Jiang Feng didn't respond.

He walked up to the small stool.

Three-year-old Jiang Feng looked up at him.

The two locked eyes.

One was three years old.

The other was a Thirteenth Transition Dao Evolution Sovereign.

Basic six dimensions, 360 Ji.

But those eyes were almost identical.

Calm.

Stubborn.

Never asking for help.

Three-year-old Jiang Feng asked, "Who are you?"

Jiang Feng said, "You, when you grow up."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng looked at him for a few seconds.

Then he asked, "When is Mom coming to pick me up?"

Jiang Feng paused for a moment.

This question was more troublesome than the Guillotine of Karma of the Infinite Deities.

Jiang Feng said, "In the afternoon."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng nodded.

"Then I'll wait."

The shadow laughed.

"You can wait until today."

"You can wait until tomorrow."

"Can you wait until she never leaves?"

The classroom walls began to darken.

Scenes began to emerge one after another.

Liu Cuilan growing old.

Her hair turning white.

Wrinkles appearing on the back of her hands.

A hospital bed.

A white cloth.

An empty house.

These images didn't attack anyone.

They simply laid out the future.

This was what was most disgusting.

Zero Seven's face turned pale.

"It's not lying."

"That's why it's the hardest to break."

The shadow stared at Three-year-old Jiang Feng.

"Do you see?"

"She will leave."

"The door you're waiting at now will one day never open again."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng's hands gripped the sides of his pants.

He still didn't cry.

But his eyes were a bit red.

The Dragon Girl was so anxious her tail puffed up.

"Master, say something quickly!"

Jiang Feng looked at the images on the wall.

Then he raised his hand.

Smack!

One slap.

The entire wall shattered on the spot.

[Contacted the Calculation Rule of Ultimate Separation.]

[Plunderable.]

Jiang Feng said, "Plunder."

[Plunder successful.]

[Obtained all attributes: 12 Ji.]

[Current basic six-dimensional attributes: 372 Ji.]

The shadow's expression changed.

"You destroyed the images, but you can't destroy the facts."

Jiang Feng looked at it.

"Who said I wanted to destroy the facts?"

He looked down at Three-year-old Jiang Feng.

"It's right."

The classroom fell silent.

Li Yan was stunned.

The Dragon Girl was also stunned.

Three-year-old Jiang Feng looked up.

Jiang Feng said, "People grow old."

"They get sick."

"They leave."

"Liu Cuilan is the same."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng's eyes grew redder.

The shadow laughed.

"Very good."

"Admitting the separation, the sense of belonging collapses."

The Ninth Key fragment began to glow.

But Jiang Feng's next sentence caused the blue light to freeze in mid-air.

"But leaving doesn't mean she isn't your mom."

The shadow's laughter stopped.

Jiang Feng continued, "If she can come to pick you up for one day, she is your mom."

"If she makes you one meal, she is your mom."

"If she stays by your side for one night when you have a fever, she is your mom."

"Whether she will leave in the future is a matter of time."

"Whether she is your mom is a matter of what she and you have already done."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng was dazed.

Jiang Feng reached out and pointed toward the classroom door.

"You're waiting for her now."

"In the future, it'll be your turn to protect her."

"This account is very clear."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng thought for a long time with his head down.

Then he asked, "Then when I grow up, can I protect Mom?"

Jiang Feng said, "Yes."

The Dragon Girl immediately nodded frantically.

"Very much so!"

"Master is super capable now!"

Li Yan also grinned.

"So capable it's ridiculous."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng looked at Jiang Feng.

"Then when she gets old, I won't be afraid either?"

Jiang Feng said, "Fear is useless."

"If you're afraid, get stronger."

"So strong that no one can snatch her away from your side."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng slowly let go of the sides of his pants.

He looked at the shadow.

"I'm not going with you."

The shadow's face darkened completely.

"She will leave you!"

Three-year-old Jiang Feng said seriously, "Then I'll wait for her."

"If I can't wait for her, I'll go find her."

"If I can't find her, I'll let the grown-up me find her."

Li Yan's nose felt sore as he listened, and he quickly turned his head.

"The wind is strong."

Zhang Changlin glanced at him.

"There's no wind indoors."

Li Yan glared at him.

"Mind your own business."

The shadow was enraged.

"Wrong answer!"

"Maternal ultimate separation, belonging invalid!"

"Ninth Key locked!"

The entire classroom began to collapse.

The floor cracked open, revealing countless blue archives.

[Pangu No. 1, Belonging Test failed.]

[Pangu No. 2, Kinship Stripping failed.]

[Pangu No. 3, consciousness cleared after Active Maternal Return.]

[Pangu No. 4, resisted maternal ultimate separation, mental breakdown.]

Records surfaced one after another.

Zero Seven's pupils shrank.

"These are all previous variable bodies!"

Jiang Feng glanced over.

"No wonder Pangu No. 2 said not to open the door."

The shadow suddenly raised its hand.

The Ninth Key was stabbed into Three-year-old Jiang Feng's shadow.

"Since you won't admit it, then your childhood self will be left here."

"Without childhood belonging, your current Mother-Son Anchor will also crack."

The Dragon Girl was furious.

"Bad thing!"

Just as she was about to rush forward, Jiang Feng reached out to stop her.

"No need."

He walked in front of the shadow.

"You made a mistake."

The shadow sneered.

"What mistake?"

Jiang Feng raised his hand and pressed down on its head.

"You're using my childhood self to threaten me."

"But my childhood self is also me."

Boom!

Three-year-old Jiang Feng stood up.

He proactively reached out and grabbed the Ninth Key.

His tiny hand was cut with bloody marks by the blue light.

He gritted his teeth in pain.

But he didn't let go.

Jiang Feng exerted force at the same time.

One large hand and one small hand simultaneously gripped the Ninth Key.

The shadow screamed.

[Belonging trial not passed!]

[Ninth Key cannot be extracted!]

Jiang Feng said, "I've changed the trial."

"It's not about admitting whether she will leave."

"It's about admitting that she came."

Three-year-old Jiang Feng followed, "Mom came to pick me up."

Jiang Feng said, "That's enough."

[Triggered Maternal Anchoring Right.]

[Triggered Blue Star Autonomous Fate Line.]

[Triggered Secret Art: Pangu Plunder.]

The Ninth Key was forcibly pulled out from within the shadow.

The shadow exploded into countless fragments.

Within the fragments, countless young variable bodies looked up.

They didn't speak.

They just looked at Jiang Feng.

As if they were looking at someone who had finally reached this point.

System prompts exploded.

[Obtained the ninth blue star earth key fragment.]

[blue star earth key fragments: 9/9.]

[Thirteenth Transition pre-requisite conditions: Perfection.]

[Obtained all attribute increase: 60 Ji.]

[Current basic six-dimensional attributes: 432 Ji.]

[Detected Host Rank: 980.]

[Distance to Thirteenth Transition Rank threshold: 990.]

[Opening Thirteenth Transition profession trial: Return to the place of initial Awakening.]

[Trial coordinates locked: Original Blue Star · Dongjiang City Fourth High School.]

The nine earth keys closed together in Jiang Feng's palm.

They transformed into a complete blue key.

On the front of the key was the Blue Star.

On the back was a line of text.

[The First Blue Star is not a hometown.]

[It is a delivery room.]

When Zero Seven saw this line, her face turned pale instantly.

"A delivery room?"

"It's not the source of the world..."

"It's producing Pangu variable bodies?"

Outside the classroom door.

Footsteps rang out.

Not just one person.

But many people.

The door opened.

Nine teenagers stood outside.

Each one had Jiang Feng's face.

There were hollows in all of their chests.

The teenager at the very front looked up.

His voice was very soft.

"Pangu No. 1."

"Welcome back to the Production Line."