197: Chapter 197 Entrance to the Blood Refining Ruins
Night, 10:00 PM.
Top floor of Bright Moon Company.
The lights were brightly lit. Ming Yueguang was rarely not reading; every ancient book was neatly stored in the cabinets. She was in the guest area of Special Assistant Yang's office.
Ming Yueguang held a cup of jasmine tea, drinking it earnestly. In front of Yang Xue was coffee, and she held a tablet, seriously reviewing this month's briefing.
Opposite the two of them were two more cups of steaming tea, which appeared to have been freshly brewed.
Clack, clack, clack...
Footsteps sounded, gradually approaching. They passed Yang Xue's office, headed next door, suddenly paused, and then retreated a few steps.
Knock, knock, knock~
"Come in."
After Yang Xue spoke, she looked toward the door. Li Yu and Chen Qing were standing outside, leaving her speechless.
As her special assistant, he treated her like a mere decoration, coming to her for everything. It was quite ridiculous when she thought about it.
Ming Yueguang, however, immediately put down her cup upon seeing Li Yu and warmly invited him over.
"Come, come, come, sit down quickly. I've already brewed the tea for you," Ming Yueguang said with a beaming smile.
"You knew I would come?" Li Yu asked in surprise.
Yang Xue looked at the briefing, not even raising her head as she said, "Your mother is bedridden, your sister's College Entrance Examination is imminent, and you can barely protect yourself. Before entering the ruins, you only have two choices. First, settle your affairs. Second, settle your affairs."
Li Yu: "...What about the third?"
"Settle your affairs."
"And the fourth?"
"Settle..."
Their dialogue was forcibly ended by Ming Yueguang, who slapped Yang Xue on the shoulder and said, "Little Xue, what's the meaning of this? Do you not want me to get the ancient books?"
Yang Xue looked up and said, "I don't."
"Hmph! You'll be disappointed, I will definitely get them," Ming Yueguang said with a touch of pride on her face. She then looked at Li Yu and asked, "Is there anything you need me to do?"
Returning to the main topic, Li Yu didn't dwell on what Yang Xue had said earlier.
He paused and said, "Entering this time, life and death are uncertain. If I can't make it back alive, all the evolution methods I've registered will be opened to the Guild, with the final copyright beneficiary being my sister, Li Meng. Additionally, I've left two subsequent evolution paths for the Purple Light Sable for her in my office."
"No problem. However, I believe you can succeed," Ming Yueguang said.
Li Yu smiled.
He wasn't stupid.
Despite the preparations he had made during this time—several teammates' beasts having evolved into Lord S-rank, and with Chen Qing by his side—at the end of the day, he was just a weak Beast Tamer.
Of his two beasts, one had no combat power, and the other's combat power was unstable.
If a battle really broke out, his self-preservation method was just that 16-second Glazed Treasure Armor. The key was that this thing was limited by the Spirit Diagram Armor, so its defensive power was only so-so.
Furthermore, he didn't know what the trials within the Blood Refining Ruins would actually be like.
What if it was 1v1?
Or random teleportation?
Without his teammates, he would be like walking Monk Tang meat; every foreign race and monster would want a few bites.
It could be said that his survival probability largely depended on the ruins' rules and luck.
"The College Entrance Examination is tomorrow. Li Meng needs to arrive at the exam hall by 8:00 AM. Her exam center is at the Seventh Middle School. I'll have to trouble you," Li Yu said.
"No problem."
"If possible, I hope you can go pick her up when she finishes her exam," Li Yu added.
Ming Yueguang nodded. "Alright."
"Thank you. I will do my best to bring back the ancient books."
After Li Yu finished speaking, he got up to take his leave, taking Chen Qing with him out of the office.
As the office door closed...
Yang Xue also put down her tablet, her serious expression gaining a hint of admiration. She said, "He is quite a good brother. With his own life and death uncertain, he's still thinking about paving the way for his sister."
The College Entrance Examination wasn't just a competition of grades, but also of connections and potential.
She had met Li Meng; her potential was undoubtedly there, and her usual grades were said to be not bad. With her beasts being cultivated by Li Yu, they couldn't be poor.
The only thing missing was connections.
Having President Mingyue go to the exam hall to pick her up after the exam—this scene alone already surpassed the so-called connections of countless people.
...
Leaving Bright Moon Company.
A military armored vehicle was waiting at the entrance. Feng Hou, Chu Xiaolian, and Wei Long were all waiting there.
Li Yu and Chen Qing got into the vehicle, and the armored car slowly drove away.
Li Yu being chosen as the ruins team leader wasn't just his own business; it was also Ningyang City's business. If Li Yu's exploration was successful, it would be a huge Opportunity for the entire Ningyang City.
Moreover, this matter also concerned the struggle between Great Xia and contestants from other countries, as well as between humans and foreign races.
It was hard for Ningyang City not to take it seriously.
"How did you guys rest?" Chu Xiaolian asked.
"Sigh! We're about to go to the ruins, how could I dare to rest? I'm incredibly nervous," Feng Hou said with an exaggerated expression.
"If you view life and death lightly, you won't be afraid," Wei Long said with a calm face. Anyway, he didn't have many days left to live; his life was dedicated to letting Li Yu leave the ruins alive.
"Awesome!" Feng Hou gave a thumbs up.
Chu Xiaolian followed with a nod.
Everyone's gaze turned back to Li Yu. Seeing him resting with his eyes closed, they all lowered their voices and eventually fell silent, letting the military vehicle carry them toward the city gates.
Name: Li Yu
Beasts: Golden Scale Bubble Fish, Spirit Diagram Armor
cultivation value: 10200 (View Log)
Abilities: Mastery of All Languages, High-Rank Spirit Probing Hand, Intermediate Spirit Stripping Hand, Basic Theory of Beast Taming Treatment, Talent Sharing.
"System, upgrade the System," Li Yu said.
[Upgrading the System will consume 10,000 cultivation value. The upgrade process is estimated to take 72 hours. During the upgrade, System functions will be disabled, and some abilities rewarded by the System will become inactive. Please confirm.]
"Which ones will become inactive?"
[The Lottery function will be disabled, cultivation value collection will be disabled, Intelligent Q&A will be disabled, Talent Sharing ability will be disabled, Intermediate Spirit Stripping Hand will be disabled, and High-Rank Spirit Probing Hand will be disabled.]
"..." Li Yu was silent for a moment before asking, "Then what functions do you have left?"
[The Alarm Clock reminder function remains active.]
What the hell is an alarm clock function!
If I hadn't asked, were you never going to tell me you had this function?
Besides, what do I need this function for?
Li Yu felt his mental defenses crumble; the emotions of parting and sacrifice suddenly dissipated quite a bit.
"Forget it, don't upgrade for now," Li Yu said.
[System upgrade canceled.]
Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief.
During the upgrade period, his only abilities would mostly vanish, which would be fatal for Li Yu. It was better to keep the cultivation value for now. In case something happened in the ruins, he could dump the cultivation value into the lottery like crazy and try his luck.
The military vehicle traveled along the road, escorted by several armored vehicles in front and behind, with a flying beast squad on alert in the sky.
During the journey of over an hour, except for a few attacks by small groups of Yao Beasts, no other incidents occurred.
Soon, the vehicle stopped in a valley.
As soon as Li Yu and the others got out of the car, they were drawn to the scene in the sky.
Above the valley was a blood-red vortex. Blood elements gathered within it, whistling loudly, and a thick smell of blood wafted toward them.
In the center of the vortex was a blood-colored gate fifteen meters high and about eight meters wide.
Carved on the gate were winding, coiled creatures that looked like dragons and pythons, carrying a hint of ferocity.