From all around, strange-looking creatures continuously emerged from the darkness. These creatures clearly had biological forms, but their shells vaguely resembled various small objects, such as teacups, flowerpots, and even ink brushes and inkstones.
These strange creatures poured out endlessly from the dark depths of the forest.
"What are Qichang?"
Lucas Reeve habitually shielded Lin Qingyan behind him and then asked Nian, who was not far away.
This was Nian's territory, after all. She naturally knew a lot.
Yan was truly something else.
Even the monsters that appeared in the wild were completely different from those in other places.
"Well... these aren't ordinary monsters. They're a special power that represents a god, the power to grant life to inanimate objects. It reminds me of one of my older sisters, but it's definitely not her. After all, this sister of mine isn't that bored. She should be off sightseeing and drinking somewhere right now. Last I heard she was in Bashu, but I don't know if she's still there now."
Lucas Reeve frowned and asked.
"So... these creatures were made by a Divine Fragment like you?"
"Indeed."
Nian nodded.
However.
Closure, standing to the side, was utterly shocked.
Divine Fragment?
What Divine Fragment?
Her eyes widened as she stared at Nian beside her in disbelief.
Connecting Lucas Reeve's conversation with her.
With Closure's mind, she could easily understand the meaning.
What the hell!!
Miss Nian is a god!!
No wonder I felt Miss Nian was extraordinary the whole way. Her physical characteristics are completely different from an ordinary person's.
On the other side.
An ugly expression crossed the injured Lin Qingyan's face.
To think that after three Divine Fragments gathered in one place, another one would pop up.
Four Divine Fragments converging together.
This was an unprecedented event even within Yan. She had to notify the Dali Temple immediately and have someone from the Ministry of Rites or the Sui Regulator Commission come over.
Since Nian had been active outside of Yan in places like Lungmen for so long, no one had been assigned to specifically monitor her activities.
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the work of my annoying second brother."
Nian said truthfully.
"Second brother?"
Lucas Reeve had heard Nian say before that there were twelve of them, the fragments of Sui. Nian was the ninth, her other younger sister was the eleventh, and the older sister she often mentioned was the third. As for this second brother... if he wasn't mistaken, he must be the second eldest.
Although Nian had said.
Their ranking did not represent their strength. Each had different powers and controlled different rules, so their combat prowess naturally varied. But the top three were definitely the three most powerful among the twelve fragments.
"So your second brother is here?"
Lucas Reeve became cautious.
With Nian's formidable strength, she was only ranked ninth among the twelve fragments. Although rank didn't represent strength, her power was at best mid-tier. She was definitely much weaker than this second brother.
"Oh..."
"My second brother's main body can't possibly be here. He split his consciousness and soul into more than one hundred and eighty pieces and scattered them across Yan to act as black stones in a game of Go against Yan's current Grand Tutor. He doesn't have time for this."
"Splitting his consciousness..."
For a moment, Lucas Reeve felt that this second brother's actions sounded a little familiar.
"What do we do now?"
Closure asked anxiously, consciously hiding behind the others, shoulder to shoulder with the injured Lin Qingyan. After all, among those present, she was the only one with questionable combat ability.
"What can we do? Just take them out. They're just inanimate objects anyway."
Nian shrugged.
"However, I can't make a move. This is Yan, and we have an agreement with the Ministry of Rites and the Sui Regulator Commission not to use our powers freely within Yan's borders. As for the fighting, we'll have to rely on you all."
Nian smiled faintly and retreated behind Surtr and Lucas Reeve.
Lucas Reeve sighed. So a fight was still necessary... Luckily, he had brought Surtr along. Otherwise, fighting in this body would be quite awkward.
"Then why can your second brother do it?"
Nian stated bluntly: "Because he's second brother, duh. Besides, he shattered his consciousness into dregs. It's inevitable that some of the weaker fragments of his consciousness would be infected by the Sui-Xiang and become obstinate and arrogant."
"So~ good luck."
Nian gave Lucas Reeve a thumbs-up.
Lucas Reeve felt utterly speechless. He took Surtr's hand, and in the next second, the 'Doctor's' body went limp as if it had lost its soul, collapsing to the ground. This change gave Closure a huge fright.
"Doctor!!"
Nian stopped Closure: "He's inside Miss Surtr's body. You didn't know?"
"Didn't know... what?"
Nian began to laugh: "That the Doctor you speak of is a Divine Fragment, of course."
In the next second.
Closure stood frozen on the spot, and finally, she couldn't hold it in anymore and shouted.
"What!! The Doctor is a Divine Fragment!!!"
"What else..."
After Lucas Reeve merged with Surtr.
One of Surtr's originally purple pupils turned a deep, pitch black. Come to think of it, it seemed like a long time since Lucas Reeve had a proper fight. The last time was in the Loken Water Tank against a fragment of the Ancient God of Flame. That was several months ago. He wondered if his body had gotten rusty.
Lucas Reeve raised the greatsword with one hand.
A golden glint flashed in his black eyes. Scorching flames coiled out from his body, turning into fiery serpents that twined around Surtr. Surtr's fiery red hair billowed with the fiery serpents in the scorching wind.
Melted rock wrapped around the greatsword's blade.
Lucas Reeve's body turned into a flash of lightning, disappearing from his spot in an instant. In the slightly dark forest ahead, numerous fiery red threads suddenly streaked through the air. When Lucas Reeve's body appeared on the other side, with a simple sheathing motion, the fiery red threads in the space instantly exploded. In a flash, the bodies of the creations at the center abruptly disintegrated, reverting to the forms of ordinary small objects and falling motionlessly onto the grass.
[Sun Breathing~]
Lucas Reeve had mastered all twelve forms of the complete Sun Breathing. Every one of his movements was without a hint of excess. The arc of every swing, every footstep, even how his muscles moved, how much force to use, and the angle to bend his wrist were all controlled by Lucas Reeve with precise, error-free accuracy.
Lucas Reeve, controlling Surtr's body, was like a flame sprite, dancing gracefully in the forest outlined by fire. It didn't seem like a sword style, but a dance. Under this beautiful yet 'sharp' dance, countless Qichang were shattered into their original forms by Lucas Reeve's slashes, falling onto the lawn.
"Tsk, tsk... a fine sword style."
Nian was not stingy with her praise. It had to be said, even among the many sword styles in Yan, this one could be considered superior, though not the absolute best. Moreover, Nian herself had never seen this sword style in Yan before. If she wasn't mistaken, Lucas Reeve must have comprehended it himself.
Every god possessed their own unique powers and rules.
Nian had once pondered what Lucas Reeve's rule was.
It wasn't like her forging, or Dusk's painting, or Ling's dreams, which had a very straightforward form of expression.
Lucas Reeve's rule seemed more like a...
Comprehension?
An overwhelmingly strong ability to comprehend?
Whether it was sword styles or forging, he was highly skilled in both.
Quite interesting.
Very similar to her second brother.
Second brother also spent countless years learning the rules of his other brothers and sisters, and he was even better at it than they were, including Nian's forging, Dusk's painting, Ling's dreams, and Jie's calligraphy. She wondered if the second brother, who was known for being good at offending people, could become friends with Lucas Reeve if they chatted.
After all.
Both of their learning abilities were almost monstrously good, and both of them liked to slice themselves into bits and scatter them around the world. Putting aside the first point, this second peculiar hobby was probably something only second brother and Lucas Reeve enjoyed in the entire world.
"Damn, damn!! Is that the Doctor??!!"
Closure's eyes were wide.
This was the first time she had been so shocked. She had originally thought the Doctor was as frail as he looked on the surface. She never expected him to be this strong!!
Does Kal'tsit know?
Closure even suspected that Kal'tsit didn't know about this situation.
Humph, humph!
Kal'tsit thinks she knows everything, acting like a Riddler all day. I can't believe there's finally something Kal'tsit doesn't know that I do. This time when I go back, I'm going to act like a Riddler in front of Kal'tsit too!!
Lin Qingyan was also a bit stunned. She never expected a god to use a sword style.
After all, according to what her master had taught her, Divine Fragments, including the gods themselves, had mastered rules to a certain extent. Within that rule, on the same level, a god was nearly invincible unless someone broke through with overwhelming force.
Take Nian's forging, for example.
Even in all of Yan, there was probably no second person whose forging skill was higher than Nian's.
But a god who directly used mortal sword techniques? Frankly, Lin Qingyan had never heard of such a thing.
And...
This sword style was truly a bit beautiful.
Finally.
With the final slash.
The Qichang were reduced to broken fragments on the ground by Lucas Reeve's attack. Lucas Reeve separated from Surtr and returned to his own body, clutching his head and complaining.
"Nian, couldn't you have propped my body up a bit? I fell straight back and hit my head on a rock just now."
"It's fine."
Nian waved her hand dismissively.
But Closure curiously ran to Lucas Reeve's side.
"Doctor, Doctor!! You're a god??"
"Um..."
Lucas Reeve glanced at Nian beside him and slowly nodded.
"Does Kal'tsit know??"
This was what Closure cared about most.
"Probably not."
Hearing this.
Closure let out a huge sigh of relief. It was for the best that Kal'tsit didn't know. To think she would see the day she knew a secret that Kal'tsit didn't.
"Don't tell Kal'tsit when we get back, okay? This is a secret between us."
Lucas Reeve patted Closure on the shoulder, but Closure showed a slightly wicked smile.
"As a merchant, I believe in equal exchange. I'll keep your secret for you, so what compensation will you give me?"
In an instant.
The crafty merchant's smile reappeared.
"How about this, you give me a little..."
Before Closure could finish.
A kind smile had already appeared on Lucas Reeve's face as he cut in.
"My compensation, of course, is getting you back to Rhodes Island safely. Otherwise, the next time there are enemies like this, I might pretend I didn't see them."
"Tsk..."
Closure clicked her tongue. "You're mean, Doctor. Fine, I'll consider this a freebie. I'll definitely keep your secret. After all, you've helped me make a lot of money."
Now that the Qichang were dealt with.
The group prepared to continue on to the nearby village. However, before they left, they ran into a problem.
What to do with Lin Qingyan?
Her thigh was injured, and her internal organs were also damaged and bleeding. Not only was her combat effectiveness compromised, but even walking was a problem. But this was the wilderness, and Qichang had just appeared. Who knew what other strange things might show up after Lucas Reeve and the others left.
Although her colleagues might come, who knew how long that would take out here in the middle of nowhere.
Lin Qingyan turned her face away, not looking at anyone, and didn't make a sound.
Her sassy and beautiful face now had a touch of gentleness and pitifulness.
Only Lin Qingyan herself knew.
This area was quite remote. It would take a long time to get to the nearest government office. Moreover, her strength was considered quite good even in the Dali Temple, so everyone had complete faith in her abilities. A mere demon beast of average strength in a small village should be something she could kill with a single Lightning Art. How could anything have gone wrong?
But.
Even the most capable people have their off days.
And today, Lin Qingyan had one.
"How about we carry her with us? The village isn't far anyway. After we finish our trade for the Orirock, we can just take her to the nearest government office. It's basically on our way."
Closure suggested.
"Hmph..."
Surtr huffed and took a step back, her meaning clear.
There was no way she was carrying this woman.
Closure also took a step back.
"Don't look at me. I'm only a bit over 150cm tall, and Miss Lin Qingyan is 170cm. I can't carry her."
Nian suddenly smiled.
"I think Miss Lin Qingyan, as an official of the Dali Temple, would be very wary of a Sui fragment like me. She would never let me carry her."
Nian took half a step back. Now, only Lucas Reeve was left standing at the front.
"Sigh..."
Lucas Reeve let out a heavy sigh.
He walked up and asked.
"Excuse me, Miss Qingyan, do you need help? If you agree, we can take you with us. The village we're trading in is nearby anyway. When we're done, we can take you to the nearest government office. It's more or less on our way."
"That won't be necessary!"
Lin Qingyan refused flatly.
"My companions will be here soon..."
"Um... I don't believe you..."
With Transparent World, Lucas Reeve's ability to read people was top-notch. He could easily see that Lin Qingyan was lying. She probably didn't even know when her companions would arrive herself.
Sigh...
In theory, Lucas Reeve didn't want to get involved.
But leaving an injured woman here in the wilderness while his group left alone was something Lucas Reeve just couldn't bring himself to do.
"Get on."
To Lin Qingyan's astonishment, Lucas Reeve easily pulled her onto his back, hooking his hands under her legs. The fracture was in her lower leg, so carrying her like this was basically fine.
"You!! You!!!"
Lin Qingyan's face instantly turned crimson.
She could clearly feel her chest pressed tightly against Lucas Reeve's back. She had never even imagined being in such close contact with a man. Her purity!!
"You scoundrel!! Put me down!!"
Lucas Reeve smiled faintly. "My divine characteristic is absorbing people's grateful wishes. So, this characteristic of mine dictates that I can only be a good person in this life. Although I could be a bad person, like granting power to evil people to do evil things, but... I don't like that, you see."
"So, this favor, no matter how much you resist, I'm determined to help. Otherwise, it would seriously violate my characteristic and my rules."
"You!!"
Lin Qingyan glared angrily at Lucas Reeve's back.
However.
+1500. The influx of Prayer Power directly exposed Lin Qingyan's true inner thoughts.