Once he had the Human Dao supreme treasure, Red King had no reason to stay. He bought plane tickets overnight and took the two Nianshi back to headquarters.
Probably reassured by holding the Human Dao supreme treasure, Red King no longer had the feeling of being watched along the way, and slept on the plane.
On the way back, Red King had already reported the mission's results to the Professor. The Professor was overjoyed and personally went to the airport to welcome Red King.
Just as he left the airport, Red King saw the Professor, who rarely smiled, looking as if he had grown several years younger.
To show how much they valued Red King's success, all of the Seven Kings were present, including Soul King, who was recuperating from illness.
The Seven Kings' luxury cars lined up at the airport exit, attracting attention; passersby stopped to look, with a hundred percent turning back for another glance.
"God, that's a Koenigsegg One:1—fewer than ten in the world, priced at over twenty million dollars!"
"And there's a Rolls-Royce Sweptail, starting at 12.5 million!"
Senior car enthusiasts recognized the luxury cars, marveled, and raised their phones to take photos from afar.
No one dared to step forward for a photo with the luxury cars. On each side of every car stood black-suited bodyguards wearing sunglasses, built like iron towers, with bulging waists from their firearms.
The Seven Kings didn't care about the value of the luxury cars; to them they were just transportation. What they valued was power and their status within the Organization.
Seeing Red King receive such treatment, Soul King was intensely jealous.
That position should have been his.
Red King sensed Soul King's jealousy, curled his lip in disdain. This honor was rightfully his.
Are you even worthy of envying me? Do you know how terrified I am, watching Natural Disaster every day with my heart in my throat? Could you do it?
For now, only the Professor knew about Natural Disaster.
The two Nianshi following behind Red King had never seen such a spectacle. All the top brass from headquarters had come out to personally welcome them; they were flattered beyond measure, their legs going weak.
"Professor, I did not disgrace the mission." Red King presented the wooden box with both hands.
Everyone's gaze focused on the wooden box, eyes burning with desire. Was that the wooden box containing the Human Dao supreme treasure?
The Professor did not take the box, but instead took Red King by the arm, applying slight pressure, a smile in the corners of his eyes: "Well done, splendidly done!"
"Professor." Red King was deeply moved. A man dies for the one who knows him; he felt that even if the Professor asked him to go back to No. 2 High to watch Natural Disaster, he would do it.
The Professor and Red King shared a car. The Professor held the wooden box but did not rush to study it, turning instead to ask about Natural Disaster.
"From the intelligence gathered, it seems she has never hidden her identity, claiming to be the strongest superpowered person in history."
Over these days, the intelligence Red King got from Wei Hang included not just Zhou You's but also plenty about Chu Xiaoyao.
"Never hidden her identity..." The Professor recalled Chu Xiaoyao's unparalleled bearing, shook his head with a wry smile.
"That truly suits her style."
Still, the Professor could understand. If he had that ability at Chu Xiaoyao's age, he would probably be even more arrogant—it was innate strength.
One difference between superpowered persons and immortal cultivators is that superpowers are innate. Although their shortcomings are obvious, their strength is beyond doubt, and they easily develop a "the world revolves around me" personality.
The stronger the superpowered person, the more likely they are to have this personality, because they have no equals; among the Seven Kings, plenty are unruly and defiant.
From Red King's description, Chu Xiaoyao being desk partners with Zhou You and being able to speak well with classmates, compared to her time at headquarters, was quite restrained.
"It seems she has grown quite a bit."
"However, there's also strange intelligence: she claimed to have a black dragon sealed in her body, and Chi You's bloodline, and so on." Red King said doubtfully. These were also from Wei Hang, though just fragments.
The Professor was equally puzzled: "Chuunibyou?"
At Natural Disaster's age, having chuunibyou is normal.
"By the way, what's the deal with Zhou You, Natural Disaster's desk partner mentioned in the report? Does Natural Disaster have such poor taste in people?"
The Professor remembered the report that Lishi had written and formatted, signed with Red King's name.
The report said Zhou You was no ordinary high school student; put nicely, he was a veteran of the dating scene; honestly, he was scum.
Red King nodded: "Not only that, it's worse than the report. That Zhou You has a Mount Longhu disciple completely infatuated. At the school gate in the morning, he said things like 'don't ship it discreetly; just come to me' and so on."
The Professor's expression turned strange; he felt something was off: "Is this intelligence reliable?"
"Very reliable. Nianshi hypnotized Zhou You's classmates; he heard it with his own ears."
Fine.
The Professor chose to believe Red King.
"Professor, the seal on the box..."
"Rest assured, the Organization has someone specifically responsible for dealing with seals."
...
"This seal is difficult to handle."
The specialist the Professor mentioned was also a superpowered person. Red King wasn't familiar with him; he only knew the man focused on research, wore a white lab coat like the Professor, and constantly conducted experiments in the lab. His ability seemed to be called "Dispel Illusion."
It seemed Dispel Illusion's function was to break seals.
"Xianzhen, how long will it take to handle it?" The Professor spoke the man's codename.
The laboratory was cleared out; only the Professor, Red King, and Xianzhen remained in the spacious lab.
Xianzhen used his ability, tapping the wooden box lightly, as if visiting a friend, his movements friendly.
The seal patterns gradually emerged, expanding to fill the entire space, intertwining and overlapping, brilliant as stars; Red King felt dizzy just looking at them.
Xianzhen understood more, and couldn't help exclaiming: "Judging by the seal's style, it's pre-Song dynasty, matching the era when the Human Dao supreme treasure went missing. It's undoubtedly the Human Dao supreme treasure."
"Can you tell the era from the seal's style?" Red King knew nothing about seals.
Xianzhen smiled and explained: "Usually there isn't such an obvious distinction, but the Tang-Song transition is a dividing point. You should know about the demonic calamity a thousand years ago, right?"
Red King nodded. It was common knowledge: "The demonic calamity during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period that swept through the cultivation world?"
Xianzhen continued: "That demonic calamity nearly destroyed the cultivation world; it was no exaggeration to call it an apocalypse. Countless sects fell, and even many experts at the Golden Core and Creation realms perished, causing gaps in the transmission of knowledge."
"Not until the Song dynasty did the cultivation world gradually recover, with traditions gradually restored, but they weren't the original traditions. As a result, styles of seals, arrays, spells, and so on became different from before."
"I learned something."
"Xianzhen, just say it directly: what help do you need?" The Professor understood Xianzhen—he wasn't talkative. Saying this much meant he wanted something.
Xianzhen held up three fingers: "Three top-grade strengthening agents."
The Professor frowned; three was a bit much.
Xianzhen chuckled: "Breaking this seal consumes a huge amount of my ability, and I can't stop midway."
"These three top-grade strengthening agents aren't to strengthen my ability, but to replenish the ability I expend."
Strengthening agents don't just enhance superpowers; they can also replenish expended ability, like blue potions in a game, though using them this way is too extravagant, and few do so.
"You should know me—I always speak the truth."
The Professor ultimately agreed to Xianzhen's request and drew three top-grade strengthening agents from the warehouse.
The strengthening agents were in test tubes, a bright black liquid like oil, but when the surface was slightly shaken, points of light appeared, shimmering like a galaxy in the night sky—the crystallization of the Professor's painstaking work.
Xianzhen struck the wooden box again, but clearly his movements were no longer as friendly as before. He was getting serious.
The seal patterns appeared, like the stars of the celestial sphere, endlessly changing. Standing nearby, Red King sensed an indescribable aura rising from Xianzhen—not a true aura, but the confidence of a master of the sealing domain.
Countless lines similar to the seal appeared on Xianzhen's fingertips. Ten lines kept extending and diverging, like a towering tree growing strong.
These lines struck the seal's nodes; the seal trembled, causing the entire laboratory to shake, along with a minor earthquake occurring at headquarters.
Consider that when headquarters was established, its presumed enemy was a Golden Core cultivator, so it was built to withstand Golden Core attacks.
Red King was astonished that Xianzhen could create such a commotion. This ability qualified him as a candidate for the Seven Kings, even to become one of the Seven Kings—and yet Red King wasn't familiar with such a person.
The Professor clarified for Red King: "Xianzhen's ability is very strong, but it's too specialized—he can only break seals—so he chose to focus on research."
"Harder than I imagined!" Xianzhen said in a hoarse voice. His current state was a huge burden, no less than repeatedly sprinting 100 meters.
He made a quick decision and downed one top-grade strengthening agent.
The strengthening agent nourished his body, refilling his expended ability and restoring his stamina.
One dose, two doses, three doses.
When he drained the third dose, just as his ability ran dry, the unbreakable seal finally cracked and shattered.
The seal was undone.
"Damn it, finally done!"
Xianzhen collapsed onto the floor, unusually swearing. He had never handled a seal of this difficulty; it could be said he had surpassed himself.
He was also smiling. He had benefited immensely this time; he believed that once he recovered his stamina and reviewed the experience, his ability would improve by leaps and bounds.
"You worked hard." The Professor handed over a fourth top-grade strengthening agent.
Xianzhen was stunned.
The Professor didn't concern himself with whether Xianzhen would use this agent to strengthen his ability or replenish his deficit. His heart was entirely on the wooden box now.
Was he finally going to obtain the Human Dao supreme treasure?
The usually composed man was rarely excited; his hands, which performed experiments, trembled.
He opened the wooden box trembling. Inside lay quietly a stack of banknotes, marked Tian Di Bank, with denominations shocking to hear.
"Hell banknotes?"
Chapter 45