AZI Volume 7 Chapter 5

Night falls, and—

"…Tch."

Sealing the entrance to their tent, Long Hua clicks his tongue.

Standing outside—without even bothering to hide their presence, is a villager, who was assigned to keep an eye on them.

The other groups that are nearby are also given the same treatment.

This isn't the only gathering site for tents near the village, but the security around here is noticeably higher for reasons unknown.

"Seems like our plans for the night are canceled, master."

"Seems like it. Maybe I should have expected this. Still, since security near the forest area is so high, it means that the entrance is definitely here somewhere."

The fact that these villagers are going this far means that they have something to hide, but since they operate under the law of might makes right—this feels like the most natural way to keep outsiders from attempting to pull something on them.

"…"

Turning to Yao Ying, who happens to be in the same tent, Long Hua asks—

"So? What are you doing here?"

"…"

Averting her eyes awkwardly, Yao Ying replies—

"…I can't be alone for too long because of… Uh."

"Ai…"

Heaving a sigh, Long Hua dismisses the matter.

If this little girl is going to be concerned with Xia Ri'er's ghost haunting her, he can only say—

"Get to work on cultivating that incantation if you don't plan to sleep."

"Un."

Nodding her head, Yao Ying assumes a lotus seating posture, and closes her eyes.

Closing his eyes as well, Long Hua uses his divine senses to search for Hui Sang.

(That woman, she had the scent of death, along with a dense earthly smell on her. She probably knows where the entrance—that leads underground is. Problem is—will she be headed there again tonight?)

If Hui Sang is heading underground tonight, Long Hua figured that he could use his divine senses to spy on her to find the entrance for himself.

However—

(No dice… Did she already leave the village?)

"Master, if it comes down to it, I could use the other combat bodies to do a search around the forest when the Ling Yuan family's practitioners arrive."

"Hmm, I suppose."

...…

Walking into a small house, which is about the size of a garage, Gui Lian says—

"The guys can stay here for the night; Shen Le, you'll sleep at my place."

"Alright."

"Is this place the captain's?"

Towards Ling Yi's question, Teng Hao answers—

"Built it myself."

Looking at the undecorated walls, and the table that is a bit on the uneven side, Chang Ye remarks—

"No wonder it looks so crude…"

"Only one window for ventilation?"

"You people…"

Twitching his lips in response to the rude remarks made by the male-members of their office, Teng Hao adds—

"You two are both men, aren't you? No need to be too bothered about stuff like this."

Seating themselves down in a circle around the uneven table, Shen Le asks—

"So, what happens to our office from here on out?"

This is the question that both Ling Yi and Chang Ye are concerned about—for if their office gets dismissed, then they'll most likely be sent off to the frontlines.

Towards this question, Teng Hao answers—

"Nothing will happen."

Adding to this, Gui Lian says—

"We'll still be the same as usual. Although… Hmm, depending on what happens to the village afterwards, Teng Hao and I might be away for a while. During that time, you three will need to man the place yourselves."

"What does that mean?"

Towards Ling Yi's question, Gui Lian and Teng Hao's expressions darkened.

Gathering her thoughts, Gui Lian explains—

"The village chief didn't say this aloud, but every villager here knows that we will most probably be forced to leave this ruin."

"Our village has escaped from the world's reset for more than 20 times now, but we suspect Lord Tian She Zi's protection to have reached its limits."

As the three show an expression of confusion—regarding the matters that are being told to them, Gui Lian heaves a sigh, and begins to explain everything from the very beginning.

...…

Upon being informed of this world experiencing occasional resets, and the truth regarding ruins, the three juniors' expressions turned to one of shock, as they remark—

"Ruins are remnants of the world before ours?"

"Our world has experienced more than 20 resets?"

"Wipe-out phenomenon?"

Looking at the three with a faint smile, Gui Lian says—

"It's a lot to take in, but it's the truth. Have you ever wondered why ruin entrances exist? They're special devices constructed by our ancestors from a previous world, to give the future generations—us, a shot at fighting back against the Immortals… Or at least that's the common theory that is being taught to us. Most of this stuff is recorded down, and can be found in the village's library."

Blinking his eyes, Chang Ye asks—

"The village chief said that every villager is able to perform Partial-Apotheosis, does that include you two?"

"Un."

Nodding his head, Teng Hao answers—

"Naturally."

"If it doesn't require the use of extracts, I want to learn how it's done."

Towards the determined gleam in Chang Ye's eyes, Teng Hao raises an eye.

This child, as far as Teng Hao is aware of, the former isn't strengthening himself to protect the world, instead—

"…Ai, just how much of a sword lover are you?"

"Reaching higher mastery over the sword is of greater importance to me."

Shaking her head in response to Chang Ye's reply, Gui Lian says—

"We do have an elder in the village that is handy with a sword, I'll talk to him. But reaching Partial-Apotheosis can take a while."

Raising his hand, Ling Yi says—

"I want to learn how to perform Partial-Apotheosis as well."

"I do too."

Shrugging a shoulder, Teng Hao says—

"Fine, fine, but wait till tomorrow at least."