166: Chapter 166 Blaming Myself for Being Too Incompetent

A piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the Qinling Mountains.

Kuroda Ryuji's mind went blank; his entire field of vision was occupied by the golden longsword piercing through his right hand, nailing him firmly to the tree trunk.

The sword body was as smooth as a mirror, reflecting his distorted face.

He didn't even dare to look at the youth suspended in mid-air.

That sight far exceeded all the knowledge he had established in his forty years of life; he even suspected he was hallucinating.

Chen You remained expressionless, but the coldness in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

He glanced at Kuroda Ryuji pinned to the tree, treating him like an inanimate object.

Kill him?

For a fleeting moment, he had indeed considered it.

But he knew clearly that he had to leave a living witness.

With a slight movement of his thought,

"Buzz—"

The yuhuang sword pinning Kuroda Ryuji's right hand let out a soft chime, and the blade vibrated violently!

Pfft!

Kuroda Ryuji felt an irresistible, massive force surge from his wrist. The entire man was violently yanked up from the ground, his feet leaving the floor.

The golden longsword did not withdraw; instead, it dragged his arm and rotated its direction, the tip pointing upward.

The whole man was suspended in mid-air, just like a piece of cured meat hung up.

"No... No..."

Kuroda Ryuji finally regained a sliver of sanity from the extreme terror.

He struggled violently, trying to grab the sword with his other hand, but he absolutely dared not touch the biting cold edge.

Chen You watched him coldly, then turned around.

The next second,

Whoosh!

The flying sword beneath his feet instantly activated, transforming into a golden streak of light, shooting rapidly toward the direction he came from.

And Kuroda Ryuji, pinned by the other sword, was forcibly dragged along like a puppet pulled by a kite, following closely behind.

A terrifying sonic boom exploded beside his ears.

The fierce wind felt like knives scraping against his cheeks, making it impossible to even open his eyes.

The mountains, rocks, and streams below retreated rapidly, turning into blurred patches of color.

At this moment, Kuroda Ryuji finally understood what true despair was.

He wasn't being 'escorted'; he was being dragged along like an 'object'.

That person didn't see him as human at all.

...

On the platform outside the command center, the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.

Director Li Guoan's face was ashen. Orders were issued methodically from his mouth as a massive dragnet spread out with astonishing speed.

Pan Yu and the others stared intently at the direction where Chen You had vanished into the night sky, their hearts nearly leaping out of their chests.

Just then, Sun Feng suddenly pointed at the distant night sky, his voice completely changing pitch: "That... What is that?!"

Everyone looked up in unison.

They saw a dazzling golden rainbow streak across the night curtain in the distant horizon, shooting straight toward the platform at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"It's Chen You! He's back!" Pan Yu shouted.

Before the words even faded, the golden rainbow streak roared toward them.

Boom!

Accompanied by a dull air blast, Chen You's figure hovered steadily ten meters in front of the platform.

He stood on a golden flying sword, his robes fluttering in the airflow, his expression as cold as millennia-old profound ice.

The entire platform instantly fell silent.

Everyone was too shocked by the scene, which resembled the descent of a miracle, to react.

However, that was not what horrified them the most.

Behind Chen You, everyone saw a sight they would never forget for the rest of their lives—

Another identical golden flying sword was also suspended in the air.

A man wearing an outdoor assault jacket was having his right wrist pierced by that sword, dangling in the air like a carelessly discarded piece of trash.

The man was drenched in blood, his body still convulsing uncontrollably, emitting unintelligible 'huk huk' sounds from his mouth.

"Hiss..."

Gasps of cold air rose one after another.

Even a figure like Director Li Guoan, who had seen countless storms, felt the corner of his eye twitch uncontrollably upon seeing this scene.

He had envisioned many ways Chen You might bring someone back, but never this—

So brutal, so direct.

Chen You's gaze swept over the crowd on the platform, finally landing on Director Li Guoan.

His voice carried not a trace of warmth, terrifyingly calm.

"I have brought the person."

Having said that, he moved his thought again.

The yuhuang sword pinning Kuroda Ryuji flew not too fast, not too slow, to the center of the platform, then the blade slanted.

Thud.

Kuroda Ryuji fell onto the cold ground like a pile of mud.

Chen You stepped down from his flying sword, his feet landing on solid ground.

The two yuhuang swords instantly transformed into two golden lights and submerged into his body, vanishing.

He didn't even spare a glance at Kuroda Ryuji on the ground, merely lifting his chin toward Zhang Yunhai's direction.

"You are more skilled than I am at extracting information from his mouth."

"Mission guaranteed to be completed!" Zhang Yunhai's reply was resounding and powerful.

Chen You turned around, his gaze fixed on the direction where the Physical Research Institute was located.

"Gazing at Qi to See the Heart"!

A faint golden light flashed in his eyes.

In his vision, the cluster of light that originally represented Academician Qian Zhonghua's life force was now stable and bright.

The deathly gray and ominous black lines that had previously lingered around it had completely vanished without a trace.

Fate had truly been changed.

Yet, Chen You felt no joy in his heart; instead, a deeper sense of urgency welled up.

In that critical moment just now, he hadn't even been able to intercept the fragment with his flying sword immediately.

This time, a member of the 'Dragon Scale' reacted promptly.

What about next time?

Could they be so lucky every single time?

Ultimately, it was because he himself was not strong enough!

If he had already advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, a sweep of his divine sense could cover the entire Qinling Mountains.

Not a single disturbance would escape his perception.

If he were already at the Golden Core stage, he would have a hundred ways to resolve the crisis!

This was the gap.

"Director Li, I need to enter seclusion immediately.", Chen You's tone was more serious than ever before.

"Understood.", Director Li Guoan didn't ask for any reason, merely nodding heavily. "If you need anything, ask anytime."

He knew that the young man before him no longer required him to speak like he was admonishing a child.

Chen You said no more and turned to walk toward his private room.

...

"Welcome back to the Source Realm, immortal path pioneer."

In the White Jade Capital, Chen You's figure appeared out of thin air.

He paused for no moment, directly exiting his territory and arriving at the Supreme Tower.

"Shadow Clone!"

A mass of deep shadow energy rose from the shadow beneath his feet, rapidly outlining and condensing, finally forming a figure identical to him.

The clone's eyes lacked spirit, appearing somewhat vacant, but its aura and attributes were indistinguishable from the main body.

With a movement of Chen You's thought, like controlling another arm, the clone immediately raised its head, and the vacant gaze instantly became lively.

"Interesting."

This feeling of multitasking was wondrous and powerful.

"Hill, open a room.", Chen You turned and said to Hill.

Hill looked at Chen You walking toward the inner area, and then looked at the Chen You standing before her.

A trace of bewilderment flashed across her beautiful face.

She immediately opened the entrance to a cultivation room for Chen You.

"Hill."

The Chen You clone finally spoke, its voice flat, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"I want to ask a question."

"Ple-please speak..."

The Chen You clone stared directly into her eyes.

"In the Source Realm, with my current authority and level..."

"Are there any functions that I have already met the conditions for, but have not yet been activated?"