Life Furnace

Bai Cangshu, flying through the air, frowned slightly. Artoria, standing before him, also keenly sensed an unusual aura.

"Such powerful vitality. Incredibly powerful."

Artoria’s range of perception was nowhere near as vast as Bai Cangshu’s, and she lacked a convenient ability like Mantra. She could only sense that somewhere in the distant sea, there was an unimaginably powerful life-form. In terms of sheer presence, it far surpassed the silver-white dragon that had appeared during the day.

The silver skateboard swiftly moved forward. The Professor used his Sequence Ability once more, his expression grave as he spoke loudly.

"It’s dangerous ahead. Lawrence’s strength far exceeds our previous expectations. I’m afraid…"

The Professor’s expression was exceedingly solemn.

A vile thought arose in his heart. Under normal circumstances, he would have cast it from his mind without hesitation.

But this mission was different. It concerned whether Azure Sky could obtain the dragon bloodline, whether they could complete that mission and open the gate to Little Garden.

The reason he had entered the Infinite Dimensional Space was to find his elder sister. According to Sister Sen Xia, his sister had vanished without a trace after entering the Little Garden World.

She had never returned. Yet since he could still remember her existence, she should not be dead.

The Professor’s heart was torn by conflict. Unconsciously, he looked toward the red-haired girl, who knew nothing of this and was being shielded by Black Saber.

If Mercenary Tao’s judgment was correct, and Origin Substance truly existed within this girl’s body, then perhaps killing her here would allow them to obtain that Origin Substance.

Given Infinite Dimensional Space’s attitude toward such high-tier items, the Professor believed that this kill would almost certainly… guarantee a drop!

Yes, the Professor had learned much from within Azure Sky about how higher-level Reincarnators understood the space.

The space was not the "rigid program" many Reincarnators believed it to be. Not only was it not mechanical or rigid, it had its own purpose!

Just as it deployed Reincarnators to gather information from various worlds, the space would continuously recruit Reincarnators with greater potential in order to acquire higher-level information.

At the same time, it sent those Reincarnators into more dangerous worlds. That was the truth behind how a Reincarnator’s hidden rating affected the difficulty of assigned missions.

So-called trial Reincarnators and balancing mission difficulty between Reincarnators were merely secondary concerns.

The core reason was that the space itself needed these elite Reincarnators to obtain higher-level information, and the higher the level of information, the more likely it was to exist in dangerous worlds.

Likewise, in low-level worlds or when facing low-value enemies, a setting like Drop Cards could indeed be called completely random, dependent on the Reincarnator’s luck.

But once one reached high-tier worlds, they would discover that when fighting powerful enemies or enemies with rare bloodlines, items, and abilities, killing them would basically guarantee a Drop Card.

It was not because one’s luck was high enough, but because the space was unwilling to let such precious high-tier information be lost.

This was the truth faced by High-tier Reincarnators.

The closer one got to a Native World, the more Reincarnators and the space approached the relationship of "allies." In some Native Worlds, those top-tier Reincarnators could even clearly sense the aid granted by the space.

More lenient judgments, all sorts of abnormal drops.

The Professor was certain that the space could not possibly overlook something at the level of Origin Substance. Therefore, as long as Mercenary Tao’s judgment was correct, killing Seraphina would definitely yield the Origin Substance within her.

Then they would not have to face that terrifying Lawrence…

The Professor’s breathing grew heavy. He even unconsciously avoided looking at Mercenary Tao, instead letting his right hand drop as a hand cannon appeared.

He slowly raised it in midair, aiming at the girl’s head. The Professor’s face was pale, his breathing ragged, his entire body trembling slightly.

For him to join Azure Sky, he was naturally an Idealist as well. He had even been the one most moved by Seraphina’s efforts to save others.

Yet at this very moment, he harbored murderous intent.

Amid the violent turmoil in his heart, tears began to stream down the Professor’s face beyond his control.

I’m sorry, Miss Seraphina. I have to…

The metal armor shifted slightly. A black gauntlet suddenly shot out and seized the hand cannon. Her faceplate retracted, and Artoria’s pale golden eyes looked down upon the Professor’s panicked gaze.

"Heh, Professor, what do you think you’re doing?"

The Professor looked up and saw Mercenary Tao watching him with mockery as well. This Reincarnator, who was clearly the most bloodthirsty among them, was actually mocking him for wanting to kill Seraphina…

Shame, fury, and countless other emotions clogged his chest. The Professor instinctively roared.

"That Lawrence is strong! He’s probably stronger than all of us!"

"Going by your usual style, why not take that thing and leave?!"

Then the Professor lowered his eyes again, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Besides, she was ready to die anyway, wasn’t she?!"

He had long seen through Seraphina’s plan to purify Latina City. She had embarked on it with the resolve to die. This Saintess, who redeemed people everywhere, had given up on her own life.

Hearing the Professor’s words, the pale red-haired girl instinctively drew herself in. She was not much shorter than Artoria, but in temperament, she seemed far more petite.

As she curled up at that moment, she truly seemed to be under Artoria’s protection.

She did not refute the Professor’s words. She was merely a little embarrassed that someone had seen through her intentions.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Mercenary Tao…"

The girl apologized softly, her voice so faint that if Mercenary Tao had not been powerful, it likely would have scattered into the wind unheard.

She felt embarrassed for having used a trick to deceive Mercenary Tao and gain the chance to save so many people, but she did not regret it.

Then she poked her head out from behind Artoria and solemnly said to Bai Cangshu,

"She’s right. If I truly have something you want, then take it now!"

"His Excellency Lawrence is very formidable, and he is also very ambitious…"

"Could you please turn back and save Etoris and the others who infiltrated the holy city? That is my final wish!"

Bai Cangshu gazed into the distance as though he could not hear Seraphina and the Professor.

On the sea a hundred li away, there was an existence with an absurdly high biological level, continuously radiating its presence in every direction.

If the biological level of flies, insects, rats, and ants was 1, that of humans was 10, and that of dragons was 100, then this thing’s biological level was measured in the thousands.

Every moment, it naturally radiated intense vitality, like an enormous furnace.

From there, Bai Cangshu heard countless voices, countless heartbeats, blood flowing like a rushing river.

When its muscles moved, they even produced crisp sounds like ingenious springs within the most intricate mechanical structure.

"Shh~"

Bai Cangshu raised a hand in a gesture for silence. He could not be bothered with Seraphina’s pitiful spirit of self-sacrifice, nor did he care about the Professor’s struggle with his humanity.

"Quiet."

"Listen. Someone over there is greeting me~"

Seraphina and the Professor froze, then turned around. All they could see was a crimson point of light flashing continuously over the pitch-black sea.

A faint voice seemed to truly appear beside their ears, yet they could not make it out clearly.

The Professor instinctively crushed a gemstone to listen.

"Ye Kai, come merge with me. We will evolve to the ultimate form of life!"

The Professor’s nose, mouth, eardrums, and eyes burst apart in an instant. Blood sprayed everywhere as his entire body fell straight from the skateboard.

You have encountered Crimson Pope Lawrence (Life Furnace Form). A mental check is in progress.

Check failed.

The Professor’s consciousness went black, and he plummeted straight down from the sky.