Chapter 404: A Video Showing Only Darkness…
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
w.a.n.g Baole was still frantically monitoring the Zhuo family incident in Divine Armament New City. He received Kong Dao’s voice transmission and realized how the entire incident had happened. He realized that Chen Mu was the real mastermind!
Chen Mu, you’ve got some guts! An icy glint flashed in w.a.n.g Baole’s eyes. He had only harbored a dislike towards Chen Mu in the past. He had instinctively found the other man repelling. However, he hadn’t really hated the man. That was why he had only pressured him until the other had yielded and hadn’t continued to pursue the matter after.
Now though, his feelings towards Chen Mu were completely different. Chen Mu had dared to hurt his friend. It was as if he had left a thorn in his heart. Now, whenever w.a.n.g Baole saw Chen Mu, he would remember this incident. The best way to solve this problem was to kick Chen Mu off of Mars!
w.a.n.g Baole also heard Zhuo Yifan’s message from Kong Dao, that he was going to go to the Moon and train. After hearing that, he fell silent for a moment, then sighed. He didn’t know what had happened to Zhuo Yifan in the Zhuo family, but he could guess that the impact on Zhuo Yifan must have been great. He respected Zhuo Yifan’s decision. After all, in this Spirit Inception Era… while there was still law and order on Earth, w.a.n.g Baole, who had climbed his way up to a Primary Rank Three n.o.ble, was beginning to understand the one true law that the Federation inclined towards—the law of the strongest.
The strongest referred to both one’s status as well as one’s cultivation. Both aided and supported the other; neither could be done without. Those who had the former would naturally get the latter, usually.
After all, under the law of the strongest, the strong would devour the weak. This was the unchanging law of the Dao Universe!
It all boils down to cultivation! w.a.n.g Baole took a deep breath. He lifted his head and stared in the direction of the Moon. A moment later, he retracted his gaze. He turned his eyes toward the direction of Chen Mu’s autonomous zone. His eyes slowly narrowed, and a faint Dark Qi that was indiscernible to others glowed in w.a.n.g Baole’s eyes.
It might be pure coincidence, but when w.a.n.g Baole turned and gazed at the autonomous zone, Chen Mu instantly raised his head. He clenched his teeth and glared in the direction of w.a.n.g Baole’s office, the veins in his eyes filling with blood instantly. He had an appearance of extreme viciousness and madness about him.
“w.a.n.g Baole!” Chen Mu roared. He almost shattered the jade slip in his hand!
This jade slip was the result of his deal with Zhuo Yixian. After he had arranged for someone to have Zhuo Yifan brought back to the Zhuo family, Zhuo Yixian had sent it over. As if to prove that he didn’t make a copy, Zhuo Yixian had someone bring the original jade slip to Chen Mu.
This jade slip was the one that contained the video recorded by the Colony Disciplinary Order of the heretic cultivator’s cave abode. Zhuo Yixian had taken it and sent it back to his family clan for restoration. The restoration hadn’t been complete despite the expertise and resources of the Zhuo family, but most of it had been restored.
Chen Mu immediately viewed it after receiving the jade slip. Upon viewing it, he almost exploded. The video was extremely clear at first. He held his breath as he saw w.a.n.g Baole’s big face and Li Wan’er’s expressionless one. He noticed that the two of them were inside a secret chamber.
He already couldn’t take that. Then, the screen turned dark. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear w.a.n.g Baole’s and Li Wan’er’s voices!
“w.a.n.g Baole, take off your clothes.” When Chen Mu heard this, the green veins on his forehead started pulsating. He was on the verge of madness. He could tell that it was Li Wan’er’s voice.
That s.l.u.t, she was the one who made the first move! Chen Mu stopped himself from shattering the jade slip. He gritted his teeth and continued listening. Soon, he heard the next part of their conversation.
“Don’t think about silly things. We haven’t reached the moment for one last hurrah before our deaths.”
“What’s next? Do you come, or do I go? My cultivation isn’t as high as yours, so I can’t see anything clearly. I cannot find your location. Where are you?” These two lines seemed harmless, but barely. Still, Chen Mu’s eyes were filled with blood. The words that followed made him roar out in rage.
They were…
“Now, you can cover our bodies with the clothes.”
One shouldn’t think too deeply into that statement. Once one did that, he would realize that the two were naked. The words “our bodies” meant that they were holding each other in their arms… Chen Mu’s howl was filled with madness. The final and fatal blow was the words that followed after.
“If you don’t wish to see a part of yourself missing after we are rescued, then you can continue!” Chen Mu heard Li Wan’er’s words and shuddered violently. An image instantly appeared in his mind. w.a.n.g Baole and Li Wan’er were both naked and entwined in each others’ arms. w.a.n.g Baole was doing something utterly despicable, and Li Wan’er, seemingly unaffected, only uttered a single statement of refusal.
That wasn’t all. It would have been fine if that was the end of it. But… the contents of the jade slip ended abruptly then. A complete restoration was, after all, extremely challenging. They could only restore the video to this extent. As for what had happened after that, besides w.a.n.g Baole and Li Wan’er, no one else would know.
To have the video end here abruptly was akin to leaving Chen Mu with an unimaginable itch. He was going to go mad. A long while later, he was finally able to calm himself down. Resentment and vengeful hate shone in his eyes.
He knew that at the time of the video recording, he and Li Wan’er hadn’t yet been engaged, but he still couldn’t tolerate this. He understood that their goal had been to huddle together for warmth. If they hadn’t done that, they might have died. But from the way he saw things, he wondered why Li Wan’er hadn’t simply died. There would have been no trouble for him if she had died.
He didn’t care whether Li Wan’er lived or died. What he cared about was the humiliation and shame this incident caused him!
Li Wan’er, this s.l.u.t. I’ll find ways to make you suffer. You’re not afraid to die, right? I’ll make you wish for death! As for w.a.n.g Baole… this adulterous pair, you just watch out. I may not be able to touch you now, but I can hurt your loved ones. Zhuo Yifan is the first. Anyone related to you, I’ll do something about!
Chen Mu had almost ground his teeth down completely. He lifted his head and stared unblinkingly in the direction of w.a.n.g Baole’s office. His eyes and w.a.n.g Baole’s seemed to meet across the vast distance and countless buildings in between.
Another person weighed down by troubles was Li Wan’er. While she was annoyed and frustrated with Chen Mu, their engagement had been decided. She had no choice in the matter. She was also troubled by w.a.n.g Baole. The earlier incident concerning the lockdown of the autonomous zones had caused their relations.h.i.+p to reach an icy stage. After all, she had threatened w.a.n.g Baole.
As the complicated web of relations.h.i.+ps cast an invisible blanket over the new city, w.a.n.g Baole retracted his gaze. He pondered for a moment, then immediately sent a voice transmission to the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College. He had to make plans for the worst. He needed the power of the four Dao Colleges to ensure his family’s protection and safety.
w.a.n.g Baole’s status and importance to the four Dao Colleges meant that the latter promised they would ensure his family’s safety. w.a.n.g Baole had intended to send for his parents and bring them over to Mars, but it wasn’t completely safe here either. The environment was also foreign to them. After thinking about it for a while, he decided to abandon that idea.
At the same time, the Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College was also silently mulling over the Zhuo Yifan incident. He had witnessed w.a.n.g Baole’s forcefulness and seen the weakness in his own character. As the head of a Sect, the Sect Lord still had some pa.s.sion and hotbloodedness in him. He told himself that he would never allow something like that to happen again. It was about time that the Ethereal Dao College found an appropriate time and place to emphasize its presence.
As the Zhuo Yifan incident came to an end, and as preventive measures were carried out, w.a.n.g Baole set his thoughts and feelings about Chen Mu aside in his heart. He knew that he had to follow the rules of the Federation when handling this matter. He couldn’t afford to be impatient.
He also knew that everything had happened because his cultivation was still not of a high enough level. If he were at the Core Formation realm presently, everything would have been different.
Cultivation! w.a.n.g Baole sucked in a deep breath. He left his office and returned to his residence, where he began his cultivation. He could sense clearly that he was very close to a breakthrough from the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm to the perfected Foundation Establishment realm.
At the same time, beyond Mars, beyond the Solar System, in the distant, infinite s.p.a.ce, a coffin was speeding along. It seemed to be racing through the cosmos, and when it did, time and s.p.a.ce distorted around it. It seemed to be wandering in s.p.a.ce-time. Perhaps it would reach Earth hundreds of thousands of years later; perhaps it would reach Earth… hundreds of thousands of years in the past!
On the other end of s.p.a.ce, in a part of the universe not particularly far away from the Solar System, within the same s.p.a.ce and time, there was a black jellyfish that appeared to be drifting aimlessly. If nothing unexpected happened, it appeared that it would drift past the edge of the Solar System…