98: Chapter 96: Was there a real one mixed in with the fake?
The top floor of the main tower.
Zhou Yanting stared at the crystal screen wall.
In the image, Su Xiaoli knelt in bloody water that reached past her knees.
The surrounding area was densely packed with the severed body parts of "Lin Mo."
Her hands gripped her hair tightly, and intermittent wails squeezed out of her throat, as if she were about to tear herself apart as well.
The dark gold King-tier power surrounding her body was vibrating at an extremely dangerous frequency.
It flickered between light and dark.
It fluctuated between strong and weak.
Like a sun that could explode at any moment.
"It's about time."
The corners of Zhou Yanting's mouth curled up bit by bit as he turned to look at the gray-robed old man beside him.
"Release the abyss flower."
Zhang Wei sat in his chair, rubbing his hands together smugly.
"As long as this flower takes root in her soul, this girl will completely lose her mind."
He laughed coldly.
"The Alliance's side will probably cough up blood from anxiety on the spot."
Inside the main tower, several heads of Noble Families laughed along.
Some picked up their teacups, while others whispered praise.
Inside the Nine-Fold Heart-Eroding Array.
The white mist rolled.
Another "Lin Mo" walked out from the mist.
He wore the familiar casual hoodie, and the corners of his mouth even carried that lazy smile.
At the same time, a ten-meter-long array bone blade condensed in mid-air.
Black runes were wrapped around the surface of the bone blade, and the edge cut through the air, letting out a piercing shriek.
According to the array's settings.
In the next second, this "Lin Mo" would be split in two.
Fresh blood would splash onto Su Xiaoli's face again.
Causing her to break down once more.
The blade fell.
Clang—!
A metallic explosion, so piercing it made one's teeth ache, erupted within the white mist.
There was no blood.
There were no screams.
That massive bone blade hovered three inches above the person's head, as if it had struck an unshakeable divine mountain.
Immediately following that.
A striking number floated above the person's head.
-0!
Crack!
The bone blade began to crack from the edge.
Dense cracks spread all the way to the hilt.
In the next moment, the entire hundred-zhang bone blade shattered with a bang, exploding into a sky full of bone dust.
The top floor of the main tower.
Helian Cang was holding a teacup and watching the show when his wrist suddenly jerked.
Scalding tea splashed directly onto his crotch.
"Hiss—"
He sucked in a cold breath, not even caring about the pain as he stared fixedly at the light screen.
"What's going on?!"
Ling Zhengyang stood up abruptly.
"Is there a bug in the array's base layer? What are those array masters even doing!"
Zhou Yanting's brow furrowed tightly, and his palm immediately pressed onto the array disk.
The spiritual energy patterns on the array disk were still flowing normally.
Not a single problem could be found.
Who exactly left this bug? To think it was so well hidden!!
He would definitely make them test it another thousand times when they got back!
His face darkened as he forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart.
"It might be that the mana transmission at the array eye is unstable, causing the illusion to miss the damage-taken calculation."
"No matter."
Zhou Yanting said coldly.
"Strike again!"
Inside the great array.
The white mist surged once more.
This time, three even larger array bone blades condensed simultaneously, strangling toward that figure from three directions.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Three explosions resounded through the canyon almost simultaneously.
-0!
-0!
-0!
The three bone blades shattered again.
That figure didn't even lift his head.
Stepping through the crimson blood covering the ground, he walked step by step toward Su Xiaoli, who was kneeling on the floor.
His pace wasn't fast.
But it was terrifyingly steady.
Even his expression was somewhat grim.
Those "Lin Mo illusions" that were still screaming around him exploded as soon as they came within ten meters of him, as if they had hit an invisible wall.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
One after another, they exploded into nothingness.
Even their screams were abruptly choked off.
Su Xiaoli's pupils had already dilated.
She couldn't hear the bone blades shattering, nor could she see the illusions vanishing.
She just stared blankly at her blood-stained hands.
The dark gold King-tier power around her began to collapse inward.
That wasn't a withdrawal.
It was a precursor to self-destruction.
Right at that moment.
A warm, large hand pressed onto the top of her head.
It gently rubbed it twice.
"You really are like a child, still unable to take care of yourself."
A familiar voice sounded, carrying a hint of helplessness.
"No, I'm not! I've already grown up!"
Su Xiaoli replied subconsciously.
Suddenly, her shoulders jerked violently.
She lifted her head stiffly.
What came into view was that face she had thought about for over two hundred days.
He wasn't missing any limbs.
There were no bloody holes on his body.
His clothes were clean, and at his collar, a small dark gold carp pendant was shimmering slightly.
She had made that with her own hands.
It contained her power of destruction.
More importantly—
He carried the scent she was most familiar and intimate with.
“Lin... Lin Mo?”
Su Xiaoli's lips trembled, her voice so soft it seemed like it would break at a touch.
"It's me."
Lin Mo said softly.
He leaned down slightly and pulled the blood-stained girl into his arms, holding her tightly.
The moment they embraced.
The King-tier power inside Su Xiaoli, which was on the verge of losing control, instinctively poured out violently like a startled wild horse.
Boom!
The dark gold energy shockwave slammed hard against Lin Mo's chest.
A long, dense string of damage notifications instantly scrolled above his head.
-0!
-0!
-0!
-0!
...
The surging energy, like crashing waves continuously striking rock layers, kept impacting his body.
Over the past eight months, Lin Mo's Block effect had already reached over seven billion, swallowing all damage completely.
Lin Mo held Su Xiaoli in his arms and reached out to gently pat her back.
Once.
And again.
He didn't speak further, just feeling Su Xiaoli's presence.
Su Xiaoli first grabbed the small carp pendant on his chest.
Then she heard his heartbeat, one thud after another, inside his chest.
In the next second.
It was as if she had finally been fished out of deep water.
The dead grayness in the depths of her eyes completely shattered.
She clutched the back of Lin Mo's clothes tightly, buried her face in his chest, and let out a loud sob.
Her crying could not be suppressed.
It was as if all the fear, grievance, madness, and despair of these past months had found an outlet at this moment.
With her crying, the rampaging King-tier power around them began to recede bit by bit.
Those dark gold rays of light that had almost torn open space were like swallows returning to their nest, pulling back into her body.
Finally, it settled completely.
The top floor of the main tower.
Dead silence.
Even the sound of breathing was suppressed.
Zhang Wei could no longer laugh; his expression remained frozen.
Ling Zhengyang's first reaction wasn't to curse, but to reach for the escape talisman in his sleeve.
Helian Cang quietly instructed his family members to leave quickly.
Zhou Yanting stared fixedly at the array disk.
On the array disk, several small cracks were slowly spreading.
He understood arrays.
So he knew better than anyone what those few strikes just now meant.
The Nine-Fold Heart-Eroding Array could temporarily generate a small world, isolating external teleportation, isolating detection, and isolating spatial coordinates.
Unless someone could forcibly tear open the planar barrier to crawl in.
Otherwise, it was absolutely impossible to appear before Su Xiaoli.
"This isn't an illusion..."
Zhou Yanting gritted his teeth, squeezing out four words from between them.
"This is the real Lin Mo!"
Whoosh!
The people in the round table conference room were instantly dumbfounded.
"How did he get here? The Trial Tower's exit is tens of thousands of miles away!"
"Did he just clear the Trial Tower? Impossible! It's only been how long!"
"He tanked the King-tier energy Su Xiaoli leaked; why is he completely fine? Even a Fifth Class Advancement expert would cough up blood!"
Ling Zhengyang's face turned pale as he cupped his fists to the crowd.
"My daughter is about to give birth. I have to go back and see her. Farewell!"
Zhou Yanting's face was livid as he slammed his hand onto the array disk.
"No one is allowed to withdraw!"
"Mobilize all garrison forces and surround him!"
"If we don't kill him now, once he leaves the King Burial Valley, not a single one of us will live!"
But no one listened to him.
"My house is on fire! I have to go back and put it out!"
"My family's gas tank is leaking, I must go back and check!"
"I have an urgent need to urinate, I'm going to the restroom first!"
"My first love is threatening suicide, I must go save her!"
Hearing everyone's excuses, Zhou Yanting's old face looked as ugly as if he had eaten a whole pile of excrement.
To escape, they could actually voice any kind of bizarre reason.
As soon as they encountered risk, the first thing they did was distance themselves!
This was exactly what he hated most about the Noble Families.
"Enough! You bunch of useless trash!"
"Chasing small gains while disregarding your lives, yet being stingy with yourselves when it comes to great undertakings."
"If you want to run, then run!!"
"If I succeed today! In the future, you will only be able to bow your heads and serve me!"
Zhou Yanting shouted sharply!
Inside the great array.
Su Xiaoli finally cried herself tired.
She fell into a deep sleep in Lin Mo's arms.
Lin Mo's eyes pierced through the array, looking directly at the round table conference room; that gaze was as if he were looking at dead men.