AZI Volume 5 Chapter 37

"Right then, thanks for the coat."

Having said this, Shen Le runs off—dressed appropriately for the cold.

(Holy, did the difficult and hard *-laoban just give something away for free?)

Towards the Tai Xuan Emperor's remark, Long Hua mutters—

"It's not free. But…" 

Contemplating about how he should answer this, Long Hua eventually says—

"I don't know? People like her—makes the world that much more interesting. Dreamers, regardless of whether or not they succeed, they tend to create some interesting laughs. I like seeing people of her nature struggle, and fail—only to maybe stand back up again."

(The viewpoint of a god.)

Towards this remark, Long Hua sinks into thought—

("God…" is this path right for me? I…)

Narrowing his eyes, Long Hua parts his lips. 

(A god is meant to be an individual that judges the worth of mortals. They will not voluntarily grant aid to everyone who prays for their hand. Only if a mortal struggles to the end, does a god see fit to grace them with aid; because of this, a god can never be a hero—for their task is to select the hero. That means, a god shouldn't interfere needlessly with the mortal realm. …Sounds like a path, far lonelier than being a practitioner—that is made to watch those near them die of old age or battle.)

Due to the potential of the black crocodilian weapon spirit being nearby still, not a single person is willing to break the entrance's blockage, and head outside to scout. 

That being the case, examining the fainted murals became a way to pass the time. However—

"Hey, with how fainted these things are, we can't possibly hope to examine them for shit, right?"

Giving up quickly, Shao Tianming heaves a sigh towards the ceiling. 

"No, I wouldn't be too sure about that…"

Constricting his eyes, Wang Yongning is surprised to see the murals that should have been faint becoming clearer and clearer by the passing second. 

"The hell kind of logic is this?"

"Maybe it's because of the temperature?"

Simultaneously, all eyes are drawn to the three murals. 

On each mural, there is text written onto their upper right corner. However, no one seems to be able to understand them due to them being written in an ancient tongue. 

"Hey, this one looks…?"

"Like the island we arrived on?"

Hearing this, all heads turn towards the mural that is to the right of the blocked entrance. 

The shape of the image on this mural is indeed similar to the island that the entire excavation team had arrived on during entry—at least for those who had been observant enough to recall the island's shape. 

"Then is this the island we're currently on?"

"So, they're maps basically?"

"The positioning of these murals is very… They're not being separated by a set interval, maybe it's a direction?"

"…"

Paying keen attention to the murals, Long Hua thought—

(Hmm, the fact that they only become clear at a certain temperature… Was it because there was the potential of spies being mixed into the gatherings that used these murals, so they used this as a means to hide their strategy? The other vague shapes on the murals—if they really are maps, are those shapes meant to represent other buildings? Surrounding the island right now is an ocean, so… Does that mean that there is an entire city currently buried beneath the waters? …There's also a few marked areas, did they set something there—like a magic array?)

Just as Long Hua is thinking of this—

"What good does this do for us right now?"

Raising his voice is a weapon spirit under the employment of Dainsfield. 

Recognizing the logo on the 30-something-year-old individual's attire, Ye Chen turns to Yu Ji, and asks—

"You know him, Yu Ji?"

"Duānmù Chén, a veteran employee of Dainsfield."

Surrounding the black-haired and blue-eyed Duanmu Chen are his peers of the same Guild, who are all wearing the same combat uniform, being a chiseled black body suit over a vest with several front packets. 

Stepping forward, Dan Hong asks—

"Duanmu Chen, care to explain your words?"

"Merely a simple question, Admiral Dan. If anyone can answer it, I'd appreciate it."

Saying this, Duanmu Chen takes out a cigarette, and lights it for a smoke. 

Silence looms in the air, and eventually, Shao Tianming steps forward, and points to the mural that depicts a map of the island that the entire group is on. 

"According to what I can read of the text on this mural, this is merely a stop on the way to the main island."

"Hm?"

Drawing in a deep breath, Shao Tianming continues to say—

"Whatever group lived here in the past; they went to war with something else—probably the Immortals? Anyone noticed how badly dented the terrains of this island are? A few depressions even look similar to handprints if you look at them for a while."

Being told this, numerous eyes narrowed. 

Handprint-shaped craters are something that the Immortals are well-known for. 

Puffing out a smoke, Duanmu Chen glances at Shao Tianming, and says—

"Fair enough. So, you're suggesting we go over to the main island?"

"Pretty much. If that Immortal Sealing Chain is there… Well, good luck to anyone who wants it, I guess?"

As soon as Shao Tianming had said these words, the air turns tense between the various factions that are present. 

Whichever faction manages to obtain this piece of equipment will have sway in the world going forward. 

"…"

Getting up on his feet with Tian Cheng, Long Hua heads towards the blocked exit. 

"Fine, but how are we going to get there? The amount of fuel we have on the lifeboats are limited, and even with spare fuel—what are the odds of us making it to the main island before we run dry? Keep in mind, we don't know what dangers we'll face, so having as many people together as possible is best. But again, the lack of fuel, it severely reduces the number of people who will be able to set foot on the main island."

"…"

"…"

Silence returns as a response to Dan Hong's words; however—

*Boom!!!* this silence doesn't last for very long, as a deafening sound goes off. 

"…"

With the blockade that should have been behind him cleared away, mercurous liquid returns to Long Hua, as he looks back at everyone else, and says—

"I'm too lazy to exchange mouth cannons with you all. But with how low the temperature is—a layer of ice sturdy enough to hold a person's weight should have formed over the seas. Now then, who has the guts to take a walk?"

"…"

"…"

Knowing that beneath the ice is the black crocodilian weapon spirit, several individuals can't help but put on a conflicted expression. 

Taking a step forward, Ye Chen says—

"Surnamed Long, abo-"

*Boom!* raising his right fist upwards, Long Hua smashes the rock that drops from above into dust. 

Shrugging a shoulder, Ye Chen continues to say—

"I'm game."

"Ancestor, I'm willing to follow you!"

Chen Lan is the second to take a step forward. 

The thought process that Chen Lan has is quite simple—since the Ripper cannot be used, continuing to stay here until who knows when, will eventually lead to death anyways; hence, he might as well take a gamble, and head for the main island. And if he dies along the way, so be it—it just means, he'll be reborn sooner, and maybe live a better life than the one he is currently leading now. 

Raising a subtle chuckle, Long Hua remarks—

"Mm, little descendant of mine has guts. Very good. I guess, we can cancel the matter of you having to give me a share of whatever you make off this excavation."

"For real?!"

Hearing this, Chen Lan's eyes brightened. 

"NWDs have no value to me."

(…I clearly remember ancestor saying that he was only joking when he said that before all this nonsense went down. …I might not be in the clear just yet.)