Chapter 971: Chapter 971

Chapter 971: Chapter 132: Peak 4th-Rank Transcendent

Above the Duolu River Disaster Realm, countless strands of sword qi shimmered and flowed back.

The bone-winged creatures from the [Old World] found their [gateways] sealed, and though they were numerous, they stood no chance against the Empress’s sword aura.

The heavens shook with wails and roars, all frozen by sword intent, then consumed by a spreading forge fire that engulfed the myriad bone-winged creatures. Divine fire erupted, scorching the great river.

Finally, above the Black River, only drifting powder remained—

“Swish, swish, swish!”

Countless streaks of light returned to their sheaths, converging like a peacock spreading its tail, before plunging into the traveler’s head, pinning this “Eighth Divine Seat” firmly to the earth.

The Empress lightly touched the hilt with her toes, gazing down at the battlefield.

The Black River, having endured a series of assaults, continued to churn massive waves, then began to heal and slowly return to silence.

Wherever the Empress’s gaze fell, forge fire swirled.

Mountains of corpses and seas of blood were completely subdued.

The Transcendents standing on the Black River knelt on one knee towards the throne, each of their expressions full of excitement and surging emotion.

This was a… grand victory!

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Outside the Duolu River Disaster Realm.

A super-large Source Energy Boat hovered in place, along with a dozen smaller airships.

Duke Zhuxue stood on the main boat’s observatory. Accompanying him was a “big figure.”

It was none other than Purple Rain, the corps commander who had served Her Majesty for many years without ever leaving Central City.

“Aunt Wen, these years, it’s truly been hard on you.”

As the main boat gently descended, Duke Zhuxue looked at the heavy snow outside the platform and spoke softly: “Without your ‘Dragon Annihilation,’ the outside world probably wouldn’t have believed… that the situation on the second floor of the loft could be so dire.”

Her ability, [Dragon Annihilation], could absorb the “Blazing Flame of the Forge” leaking from the second floor of the loft. The Empress had long dwelt there, and staging such a grand play was by no means easy.

All these years, the “Forge” had continuously provided energy to Central City, while the second floor of the loft remained in constant scorching heat.

To convince the outside world that the Empress was weakening.

It was necessary to feign a shortage of forge fuel.

With the help of the flame, [Dragon Annihilation] completed this task, but Purple Rain paid the price.

Her body was no longer the flesh of a normal mortal.

Even with the divine power given by the Empress, the blood in her body was ignited by the “Forge,” and her lifespan burned alongside the loft’s second-floor flames.

However, she never regretted it.

The grand enterprise of the North Continent took precedence!

Even if she had to burn herself to ashes, so be it!

“All the sacrifices are worth it.”

Purple Rain arched her brow, feeling an unprecedented sense of joy.

The main boat slowly entered the Duolu River.

From afar, the entire Black River was stained with a crimson hue, breathtaking to behold.

But all that blood came from the [Old World]…

The connection with the [Deep Sea] was stable, yet this mission’s main commander, Osmond, remained unconscious. The deputy officer, Lin Lin, responsible for recording data, had already submitted the relevant report and conducted a verbal briefing.

Both Zhuxue and Purple Rain were well aware of what transpired within this disaster realm.

The main boat slowly docked, setting up a base at the end of the Duolu River. The smaller airships encircling the main boat advanced towards the distant reaches of the Black River, with Central City’s medical staff aboard. Although this mission concluded with a grand victory, the North Continent Elite still suffered significant blows.

The subsequent task involved containment and treatment.

The most troublesome was the “River Poison”!

This was the most terrifying thing in the Duolu River Disaster Realm… But the unexpected outcome of this investigation was that none of the participants, explorers, or Transcendents who entered the disaster realm for rescue were entangled by the spiritual poison.

By rights, this shouldn’t have been the case.

During the last foray into the disaster realm, countless Transcendents were ensnared by the River Poison.

Yet this time, there was no need for the Empress to intervene!

Was it because of the Divine War?

The mysterious disappearance of the River Poison… was as if it never existed. Without this thread of spiritual poison, there was nothing to fear in the Black River, and even the cautious Transcendents felt their strength increase by three parts beneath their feet when stepping onto the river’s surface.

“Brother Gu, Xiao Qiu, you two really don’t need to undergo a basic check-up?”

The airship docked in the middle of the Duolu River’s fore part.

Lu Zhe, Gu Shen, and Mu Wanqiu had already crossed the Black Snow Mountain and arrived at the rescue site. They watched as one member after another of the reactivation team was carried onto the airship… Many were severely injured. Before the Empress’s arrival, the bone-winged creatures’ offensive was indeed frantic, though the three of them were not on the Black River fore part and did not witness the scene.

Lu Zhe kindly suggested, “The Black River’s ‘spiritual poison’ is quite terrifying. Even though this time the River Poison seems to have vanished… it’s always wise to get a check-up.”

“Captain Lu, rest assured… there’s no need for a check-up with the Empress around,” Gu Shen smiled wryly, using his eyes to indicate the throne suspended in the sky, as a sign.

He knew well that the River Poison would no longer appear.

The spiritual poison encircling the entire Nether River was sealed within the black gemstone on the traveler’s statue’s brow.

And at this moment, that black gemstone was in his hand!

“Indeed.” Lu Zhe nodded, “I was overthinking it.”

With the Empress present, no accidents would occur.

“But… it’s truly a miracle that you guys faced that ‘giant’ and didn’t get hurt.” Lu Zhe clicked his tongue in wonder as he examined Gu Shen. Has this kid’s spiritual power improved again?

Last time during a late-night chat at the training ground.

Gu Shen gave him a “profound and unfathomable” feeling, but this time the sensation was somewhat different.

Lu Zhe felt that Gu Shen’s spiritual power was just “a tiny bit”!

An S-class Third-Order Transcendent couldn’t possibly have just that small amount of spiritual power, so it must have been hidden…

And this time, Lu Zhe felt that Gu Shen’s spiritual power was still deliberately concealed, but there was a vague sense of “vastness.”

This was rather strange.

He thought it over and over but couldn’t figure out the real reason, so he could only attribute it to this kid making progress again.

“It was the Empress, who arrived just in time.”

Gu Shen once again credited the Empress, but he wasn’t lying. “If Her Majesty hadn’t arrived at the last moment… we would have been crushed by the traveller.”

“Although Her Majesty arrived, that explosion was very real.”

Lu Zhe marveled, “The power of that explosion was so strong, and you were so close… it’s really incredible that you weren’t hurt…”

Even the Source Energy Boat was blown down!

He knew well about Mu Wanqiu’s strength. Although she was a dual-order Transcendent, she was ultimately just a Third-Order.

And Gu Shen… was also just a Third-Order.

How did these two “youngsters” manage it?

Mu Wanqiu, who was not particularly mindful, was about to reveal Gu Shen’s three-time Super Realm breakthrough.

“Xiao Qiu.” Gu Shen quickly called out, smiling to interrupt her speech.

Mu Wanqiu realized that Gu Shen did not want this matter to be spread.

So she paused for a second and calmly said, “Actually, Brother Gu… is really amazing.”

Lu Zhe nodded, then immediately furrowed his brows.

His focus wasn’t on this sentence; rather, he keenly caught an oddity in Gu Shen’s earlier address: “Xiao Qiu?”

There’s something off between these two!

If he remembered correctly, the previous relationship between Gu Shen and Mu Wanqiu was like fire and water.

How come they’re now addressing each other as “Xiao Qiu”?

On the other side, Mu Wanqiu slightly touched her hair and didn’t seem to mind.

“You and this kid, what’s going on, what’s your relationship now?”

Lu Zhe, outwardly maintaining composure, quickly used private voice transmission to inquire about the gossip.

“Brother Gu is now my benefactor; he saved me twice.”

Mu Wanqiu didn’t use voice transmission and directly spoke, calmly saying, “I saved him once, so on balance, I still owe him once.”

This direct speech was her way of telling Lu Zhe there was nothing shady about her relationship with Gu Shen, and she spoke openly about it.

At this, Lu Zhe instead felt a bit awkward.

He coughed softly, then solemnly cupped his fists and sincerely said, “Brother Xiao Gu, this debt of gratitude, I remember it.”

Gu Shen also cupped his fists, “You’re too kind.”

Gu Shen knew that a debt of gratitude from Lu Zhe carried significant weight!

Previously, before he had reached the third Super Realm, he could vaguely sense that this team’s captain’s aura was different from other Fourth-Order Transcendents; as for how different… he couldn’t perceive it in detail.

Gu Shen’s “perception” had improved again.

Now he just needed to focus and concentrate, and he could see that the vast majority of Transcendents revealed their spiritual intensity in a “quantitative” form.

Each person’s spirit would gather in the brain, forming a Spirit Sea.

A First-order Transcendent, just starting out, is generally very weak, like a tuft of catkins, ready to disperse at any moment.

The Second-order, slightly more condensed, like densely clustered droplets converging, but still unformed.

The Third-order, condenses into form, becoming a “small lake,” with a few geniuses like Mu Wanqiu, before their Breakthrough, their size is two to three times that of an ordinary person.

The Fourth-order, however, is different—

This is a true qualitative change of “class,” where Fourth-order Transcendents begin to have domains, and the gaps between them gradually widen—

After three times in the Super Realm, Gu Shen’s current Spirit Sea is approximately a “medium-sized lake,” roughly three times the current Mu Wanqiu’s.

And the majority of the captains in this mission restart are at this level!

This is already quite a terrifying “spiritual power level”!

While top-tier captains like Zhong Yuan and Fisher, their Spirit Sea has solidified into a large lake… their Spirit Sea is about twice the size of Gu Shen’s!

This is the Fourth-order peak!

“Perceiving” such powerful beings, Gu Shen felt a bit of pressure.

And when he tried to “check” Lu Zhe’s spiritual intensity, the pressure suddenly increased… ultimately leading to failure!

This indicates that the spirit sea of this team’s captain is simply not in the same league as Zhong Yuan and Fisher…

What level has this guy’s spiritual intensity reached?

Gu Shen currently couldn’t discern, but he knew… this guy is likely the most deeply hidden figure in the entire Investigation Corps!

After thinking it through, Gu Shen could only conclude one possibility.

Lu Zhe, very likely, is a Fourth-Order Peak “Transcendent.”