Time to Claim the Fruit of Insight

Over an hour later, the Beike Laboratory stronghold had been reduced to ruins. Mangled corpses of security personnel and demolished fortifications were strewn everywhere. The head of the laboratory director, Abner, had been chopped off, while his body was tossed far to the other side. A Primitive Sect cultist brought the severed head over and presented it to a resonator. Pulling an implant cable from behind his ear, the resonator plugged it into Abner's head, his eyes promptly flickering with bursts of light. In mere moments, he extracted a wealth of information from the brain tissues. Cross-referencing it with decrypted logs from the facility's equipment, he quickly confirmed the Blood Staff Mercenary Group's destination and what they were searching for. After a short while, the resonator retracted the cable. Seeing that Abner's eyes were still flashing with residual light, the sect member holding the head tossed it to the ground, raised his gun, and pumped several rounds into it, only stopping once the glow had died out entirely. The resonator approached the handsome young man, stopping a few paces away. "Found it." The young man was seated upon the mangled wreckage of a two-meter-tall cybernetic brawler. "Do you know the way?" he asked. The resonator nodded. "They went to the Serranocha State convergence zone." "Knowing the way is enough." The young man said, "Lead on; we'll follow." As he spoke, the other Primitive Sect members gathered round, keeping a respectful distance as they stood in silence. "Let's move." The young man stood up and swiftly led his entourage away, leaving behind nothing but a scene of carnage. Over a hundred people at the Beike Laboratory stronghold had been slaughtered, and the entire facility was completely destroyed. This was partly to indulge the cultists' lust for blood, and partly to ensure no one could trace their movements. The Covert Operations Directorate soon caught wind of the situation and dispatched investigators. Analyzing the traces left behind, they deduced that martial artists had been involved and inferred that the Primitive Sect was likely responsible. This instantly put them on high alert. Although the Primitive Sect had followers on the West Coast, their primary operations were concentrated on the East Coast. They held ties with high-ranking officials in the federal government and were entangled with the Strategic Affairs Department. While they might share certain mutual interests with the East Coast regarding Kawatua, they had no desire to see the Strategic Affairs Department meddling on the West Coast—that encroached on their core interests. Yet subsequent investigations and assessments indicated that these cultists were most likely pursuing Blood Staff. Blood Staff currently ranked fairly high on the Directorate's wanted list, yet they currently had no way to deal with him. The death of the Ackerman brothers had effectively set a benchmark: unless there were at least two martial artists below the Secret Palace tier acting in concert, it was virtually impossible to pose any threat to Blood Staff. Consequently, they simply could not spare the manpower to go after him. Now that the Primitive Sect had set their sights on Blood Staff, it might seem like a good thing on the surface since it saved them the trouble of acting. However, if the Primitive Sect recruited Blood Staff into their fold, that would be an entirely different story, potentially creating a far more dangerous adversary down the road. Thus, they were forced to immediately dispatch a team to track and investigate the matter, at the very least to uncover why the Primitive Sect was looking for Blood Staff. *** After departing Arantawa State by airship, the Blood Staff Mercenary Group took a minor trail winding around the Central Split-Ridge Mountains, arriving in Serranocha State three days later. There, they made contact with a cult responsible for smuggling travelers through fissures. The old man had accompanied them this time. He remarked, "I heard you crossed the New Light Cult previously? Their influence here is formidable, so we cannot pass through their territory. We have to find another route into the convergence zone. Fortunately, small cults are everywhere around here. Finding an entrance to the convergence zone isn't hard—it's just a bit unstable." Only when they arrived before the fissure did the mercenary group realize it was flickering erratically. "Unstable" meant it looked ready to collapse with every single person who stepped through. Brother Xuan's eyelids twitched at the sight. "Hey, is it really this unstable? Looks to me like it could dissolve any second." The cultist guarding the fissure said, "Don't worry, guaranteed you'll get across." Yet no sooner had he spoken than the fissure shuddered violently as Puppet led his horse through. Even the cultist couldn't help tensing up. Fortunately, no further hiccups occurred, and all the members made it safely inside. Not long after they crossed, the Primitive Sect group tracked them to the spot and demanded that the fissure be opened. Because no prior payment had been made and the fissure itself could not bear so many people crossing at once, the cultists stationed there refused them passage. The handsome young man had no intention of wasting words. He rounded up every cultist guarding the post, scattered generous amounts of ritual materials, arranged a minor ritual, and slaughtered the cultists right there as sacrifices. This successfully stabilized the fissure, allowing them to cross swiftly. Even so, the fissure trembled violently when the handsome young man traversed it. Several Primitive Sect cultists sacrificed themselves on the spot, finally propping it open. Seeing that the fissure truly could bear no more, only a handful of followers accompanied him through, leaving the rest to wait outside. *** Kawatua. The night passed, and daylight broke across the sky. Chen Chuan received a report sent back by Deputy Delegation Leader Lu. Because the Great Shun delegation had dispatched an observation team, they had monitored intense explosions and rumbles rocking Arcana Center City throughout the night. The tumult had lasted for hours, subsiding only near dawn. Numerous photographs and video footage had been captured, showing extensive destruction and heavy damage across the urban district. The city's residents were currently evacuating outward, proving that Akhtawa's operation had been a success. It was not until near noon that Akhtawa withdrew from the area with the three sacred ground warriors. They suffered virtually no losses this time. What Akhtawa regretted, however, was failing to encounter the two active conscious entities, missing the chance to resolve them once and for all. Still, the outcome was not bad: vast quantities of high-energy nutrient solution that had been shipped in ahead of time, along with maintenance equipment, had been completely destroyed. The city's active consciousness was eliminated, while the martial artist had been deliberately allowed to escape. This was because, given the Federation's might, killing one martial artist would only prompt them to send two more. It would solve nothing and might instead inflame righteous indignation among the Federation's upper-echelon forces, yielding the opposite effect. As for the field creature subterranean to the city, they left it untouched. Although the field creature possessed virtually no offensive capability, the nearby fissures were concentrated and gathered through it, making it part of the Ring of the World. Destroying it would cost them international sympathy. Although the center city could be quickly restored so long as the field creature remained, pacifying the populace and restoring equipment and production would take time. By then, Ikus might well have regained its strength. Once Chen Chuan confirmed the situation, he immediately cabled Delegation Leader Xie. The next step was to seize the moral high ground and rally international public opinion, framing the incident as an unavoidable, righteous counterattack by the First People. In this regard, Great Shun could exert significant influence on the international stage. As for the ongoing negotiations with the Federation, that was an entirely separate matter. Supporting Kawatua was likewise a task entrusted to them by their homeland, and indeed the primary mission of the Second Delegation. They would not neglect their duties simply because negotiations were underway. Delegation Leader Xie's reply arrived swiftly. Besides expressing support, Xie informed him of another development: negotiations between the two nations were likely nearing an end. If all went smoothly, the First Delegation might conclude its visit in one or two months at most. The Second Delegation's departure date would depend on circumstances, so Chen Chuan was advised to make preparations now. After reading the telegram, Chen Chuan fell into thought. From the looks of it, the delegation's return home was not far off. Truth be told, being here in the Federation offered abundant opportunities to earn merit during missions, making resources far easier to acquire. Moreover, thanks to the unique political climate here, there was no shortage of adversaries. While opportunities would still exist after returning home, they might not be as plentiful as they were now. In particular, as he sought to break through his current stage, he required formidable opponents. Here in the Federation, he had already set his sights on several targets; finding suitable matches back home would be far more difficult. Especially with Kawatua's current climate on the brink of erupting at any moment, the formidable opponents he hoped for might well appear. Hmm? In the midst of his contemplation, he suddenly sensed something—it seemed the seed was drawing closer in his direction. By his perception, it appeared to be not far from Arcana State. A glint flickered in his eyes. Driven by spiritual force and instinct, the seed was likely trying to draw near to him. The comprehension of balance was a crucial piece of the puzzle, indispensable. It was time to retrieve it. That afternoon, having arranged his affairs and notified the delegation, he set out from the Life Plateau and headed toward the seed. In under ten minutes, he touched down at the border between Serranocha State and Arcana State. Once there, he felt his connection to the seed grow faint and elusive—it had likely entered a convergence zone. He considered this, found a secluded spot, drew the Xuejun Saber, and carved open a fissure with a single stroke. He stepped inside and smoothed it away with another slash. Upon entering the convergence zone, he looked up. The overcast skies here were no different from those in Great Shun, but he could clearly discern the direction of the seed. Because the convergence zone was vast and they had entered through different portals, a considerable distance separated the two sides, barred by dense forests, mountains, and rivers, without any established roads to speak of. Yet none of this posed any problem to him. Platinum-gold light radiated from his body as he slowly levitated into the air. Locking onto his bearing, he transformed into a streak of radiance that swept across the sky, flying toward his destination.