228: Brother Long is too particular.

"Holy shit, what did I just say and do?"

Zhou Yan gazed at the intense fight in the sky, momentarily dumbfounded.

He didn't know what had happened just now; he had inexplicably felt his blood boiling, and then, in a fit of heat-headedness, he had rushed in.

Zhou Yan turned back to look at the closed barrier, his vision darkening as he felt that this time, he was truly done for.

"Sigh, can I surrender and only lose half?"

Although he muttered this, after pulling himself together, Zhou Yan turned and headed back.

As he walked toward the Kaifeng, Zhou Yan began to think.

The Star Challenge had ended, and he only needed to wait 24 hours to collect the settlement rewards.

But looking at the current situation, let alone holding out for 24 hours, even if he got the rewards, it didn't look like he could deal with that guy in the sky.

Just then, a figure like a deity subconsciously flashed through Zhou Yan's mind.

"Invoking the Gods?"

A thought formed in his mind and rapidly expanded.

Right now, this was likely the only move that could break the deadlock.

Zhou Yan looked up at the battle in the sky.

Although that battle was beyond his comprehension, he could still know through his mini-map that it was the little emperor, using the power of his ancestors, fighting against Kun Gou.

Only by Invoking the Gods could he gain enough power to break the deadlock.

He just didn't know if he could borrow it, nor if he could win after borrowing it, but this was the only method currently available to him, a mere Core Formation Cultivator.

Zhou Yan gritted his teeth and used all three newly acquired Skill Upgrade Cards on Invoking the Gods, raising it from its original Rank to Rank 3.

In an instant, a massive amount of knowledge flooded his mind, and his understanding of Invoking the Gods immediately reached a higher level.

Originally, he only had a deeper understanding of the Imperial Dynasty's God Invocation method, allowing him to grasp ways to bypass restrictions and obtain more power.

But now, he had gained more comprehensive knowledge and was no longer limited to the Imperial Dynasty.

Having just absorbed the knowledge, Zhou Yan began to try calling out that name in his heart.

A faint, ethereal connection had just arisen, but like a taut strand of hair, it instantly snapped.

After the connection broke, Zhou Yan tried again, but he couldn't even find the feeling of that connection anymore.

After trying several times, Zhou Yan suddenly thought of something, hurriedly opened his inventory, and took out the ancient book pressed at the very bottom.

"Why is there another book here?"

"Forget it, no time to worry about that!"

Zhou Yan didn't look at the book in the adjacent slot, instead taking out that diary and flipping to the last page.

Sure enough, after seeing the name and calling out, that connection appeared again. He felt that this time, the connection had landed on himself.

But... it still wasn't enough.

Based on the feedback from Invoking the Gods, Zhou Yan realized that some conditions still needed to be met.

Two of those conditions had already been inexplicably completed.

According to the newly acquired knowledge, Invoking the Gods simply required the invoker to meet the standards, the medium to meet the standards, and sufficient external force, such as Luck or Karma.

According to the self-narration of the writer at the beginning of the diary, recording certain knowledge required a very high status.

Recalling the inexplicable words the other party said when they met, and plus the fact that Alias could indeed resurrect using his body...

All signs indicated that he, this Transmigration person, was likely not simple, and logically speaking, his own conditions were likely already met.

And the book in front of him had the other party's true name written on it; this should be the medium.

Viewed in this light, it was clear what the two completed conditions corresponded to.

So what was missing now was, in all likelihood, the external force.

But at this point, where could he go to find enough Luck and Karma?

He couldn't squeeze any more out of the little emperor now.

"Boom—!"

Zhou Yan's eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction the explosion came from.

"Someone is fighting?"

"Isn't it almost over? Except for that one in the sky..."

"Why is there still movement at this time?"

Zhou Yan's Nascent Soul-level Divine Sense swept over, allowing him to quickly discover the two sides fighting: one was a Foundation Establishment Late Stage, the other a Core Formation Middle Stage.

And that Foundation Establishment Late Stage, he was all too familiar with.

"Holy shit, isn't this my Brother Long!"

Zhou Yan immediately changed direction and rushed toward the battlefield by the Kaifeng wall.

"Zhao Da! You traitor of the Truth Cult!"

That Middle-aged Man was full of rage, with wisps of Devilish Qi even overflowing from his body.

"Screw you! I trusted you so much, even let you be the deputy station master, and you actually let Chen Wei in! I trusted you so much, and this is how you treat me!"

Anger had made the Middle-aged Man nearly lose his mind; every strike sought only power, with no technique at all.

And opposite him was the one we were most familiar with, the black-clad, ancient-style handsome guy, Long Tianxing.

"Idiot, I never said I wasn't an undercover agent; that was just your own wishful thinking!"

Long Tianxing remained aloof on the surface, but inside, he was in a panic.

His condition was very poor right now, with new and old wounds intertwined on his body.

With old wounds unhealed and new ones added, he was retreating steadily, even though he was already fighting above his Rank.

If not for the fact that the opponent had lost his mind and his own swordsmanship was more exquisite, allowing him to repeatedly deflect or dodge attacks, he would likely have lost his life long ago.

Damn it, how on earth did those two animals manage to kill a Core Formation Cultivator while at Foundation Establishment?

Did they bribe someone to fake their combat record?

Long Tianxing had suffered setback after setback in Great Yu during this time; he had tasted all the hardships he had never experienced in his life.

He admitted that he was a bit hypocritical, and now he was truly stifled; it was too uncomfortable.

"Zhao Da, I will kill you today!"

Although he was already thinking about an escape route, Long Tianxing refused to soften his words.

"You can try it if you want; even if I am heavily injured and must single-handedly bear the revival of Emperor Gaozong, I am still invincible in this world!"

This seemed to poke at the opponent's sore spot, and the blade attacks became even more ferocious. Long Tianxing parried consecutively, but his strength grew weaker and weaker.

Why can't I control this dead mouth of mine? This is bad... If I had known, I would have asked Emperor Gaozong to leave some life-saving measures. This old guy is the same; I said I didn't want it, so he didn't give it to me. He has no magnanimity as an emperor at all. And this guy, it's not like I intentionally deceived him, why is he risking his life to kill me... Damn it, is it too late to run now? And where could I run to? Am I really going to fall here this time?

"Clang—!"

With a crisp sound, Long Tianxing looked in shock at his longsword; it finally couldn't withstand the damage and snapped on the spot.

And he was knocked to the ground by this force, only able to watch helplessly as the opponent swung his blade down.

Just as he thought he was about to be split in two, his peripheral vision suddenly caught a familiar figure.

The fear of death made him shout out subconsciously.

"Zhou Yan, save me!"

"Hundred Rivers Convergence!"

Streams of water coiled around that Core Formation Cultivator, quickly dragging him into the water to form a flower bud.

Then the bud bloomed, turning into a beautiful red flower that blossomed in front of Long Tianxing.

Water droplets with a fishy smell sprinkled down, wetting his clothes.

Long Tianxing stared blankly at the blood-red flower in front of him and Zhou Yan, who was slowly descending from the sky.

Although he didn't know how the other party was feeling, Zhou Yan was overjoyed as he looked at Long Tianxing.

At close range, just the aura emanating from the other party made one feel that his Luck was thick to the extreme.

With his current level of Qi-gazing, he could only feel the general sense of this Luck, unable to even see its specific color.

Now it was finally complete.

Seeing Zhou Yan staring at him with a strange expression, Long Tianxing hurriedly did a carp-leap to his feet, performed a few boxing moves, then finished his stance and took a deep breath.

"Hoo~, that was just a smokescreen to draw his attention. I was originally planning to wait until he looked at you, then I would strike and deal with him."

Long Tianxing's neck began to flush red.

"I didn't expect you to be so fast, taking the lead and resolving him."

His ears also turned red.

"Although you are suspected of meddling in others' business, you helped me after all. Be glad; I owe you a favor."

Long Tianxing's entire face turned red, just like a spicy chili pepper.

Seeing such a contrasting Long Tianxing, Zhou Yan was also shocked; was this CEO actually a closet pervert deep down?

However, he immediately revealed a wicked smile and rubbed his hands together.

"No need to owe me a favor, let's just cash it out directly."

Long Tianxing's expression turned serious, inwardly blaming Zhou Yan for being tactless. But since he had promised to repay the favor, no matter what Zhou Yan asked for, he would do his best to fulfill it.

"I don't have anything on me right now; if you want it, you'll have to give me time to prepare."

Zhou Yan's smile grew deeper.

"It's fine, Brother Long. You have this thing right now, and a lot of it; it might even help you earn some Karma."

Listening to these somewhat familiar words, Long Tianxing's expression was a bit strange, but thinking of Zhou Yan's identity, he dispelled his doubts.

"I, Long Tianxing, have always acted in my life, and I hate owing favors the most; if I can repay it early, it's naturally better to do so."

"Since I have what you need right now, just take it."

Long Tianxing revealed a devilishly charming smile; it was clear that the "Brother Long" from just now had satisfied him, and the stifling feeling of the past few days had dissipated quite a bit.

"Brother Long is too classy, then I won't be polite!"

Zhou Yan immediately activated Python Swallow Dragon, grabbed Long Tianxing, and began to absorb greedily.

The upgraded Python Swallow Dragon could not only connect to fate but could also absorb Luck with the other party's permission.

When Long Tianxing was grabbed, he also subconsciously wanted to break free, but thinking of his promise from just before, he could only maintain a bitter smile.

Why are you using this move too...