The scene shifted.
Lala Zi had placed a gun on the window before.
When he came home, he came in like it was nothing.
As expected, just like the previous day, his mom had prepared rice with chicken.
He sat down and started eating.
Then, like another day, there were chilies in the rice.
Lala Zi looked at the bowl and said, "What? Why are there chilies? What is this threat thing?"
His mom said, "Nothing to get angry about. It is normal, son. Let me take it out if you are not liking it."
Lala Zi slapped his mom's hand and said, "No need to do that. Stop it already. I hate this so much."
His mom said, "If you hate it, I am just taking it out like before. Why are you angry at me?"
Lala Zi said, "Angry? Yes, I am angry and I will be angry. I hate chilies so much. Why did you even put this if you knew I hate chilies?"
His mom replied, "No, son, it is not like that. I put the chilies because we always eat spicy rice with chicken. That is why I put some chilies to make it spicy."
Lala Zi said, "That is not logical. And did you know I hate chilies?"
His mom replied, "No, not at all."
Lala Zi said, "Yeah, that is why you are always so angry at me."
His mom said, "When was I angry at you?"
Lala Zi said, "Just stop it already. You are always angry. You need to just take it out. I hate chilies. I hate them. I hate them."
The door opened.
It was his dad.
His dad said, "Oh, you are eating together—"
He came in and immediately stood beside the mom.
The mom said, "You are back. Our son is acting strange today. He said he did not like the chilies when he ate three yesterday, but today he is acting weird. Can you tell him to stop? Do something. When I was about to take the chilies out, he stopped me and slapped my hand."
The dad's face turned pale.
He tried to hit Lala Zi, but the plate slipped, the rice fell to the ground, and the chilies spilled everywhere.
Then Lala Zi shouted, "Enough! I do not like you guys. You are making me angry!"
He opened the door and jumped out.
Before falling, he shouted, "Go!"
His friend caught him on a pillow and took him to his house.
Then another friend put ketchup on the ground.
Then he lay on the ketchup.
Then, when the mom and dad almost came into the room, the door cracked.
The door broke.
Then Lala Zi took out his knife and ended both of them.
They fell.
His friend rushed in, asking what happened.
Before that could happen, Lala Zi even struck his friend too.
After a while, he stood there.
He heard police sirens.
Someone had called the police after hearing screaming in the neighborhood.
Lala Zi instantly hid in a bush.
When the police car stopped, what they saw were four dead bodies on the ground.
The police opened the first door.
No one was there.
Then they opened the second and said, "Police has arrived. Surrender right there if you are the criminal."
No one was there.
Then they broke another door and shouted, "Surrender right there. The police has arrived."
Then finally, after climbing upstairs, they saw a gun placed on a window in the house.
They instantly broke through and said, "Yes, you are getting under arrest. Surrender right there."
The police took out his gun and said, "Enough, you criminals. You killed several people without reason."
"We are just kids," one of them said.
But the police did not ask more questions.
He took out the handcuffs.
The people there tried to surrender, but they were already under arrest.
The police took them down and slowly walked them to the car.
Then the sirens continued again, and while capturing the fake criminals, Lala Zi got away.
Meanwhile, Lala Zi hid in the bush.
Slowly, he fell asleep.
In his dream, he was at home again, seeing his brothers walking normally.
Then he saw an old lady trying to ask someone for help to rescue her cat.
His bigger brother smiled deeply and said, "My opportunity."
At first, he looked like the hero, lying.
Then, from that lie, he attacked the old lady.
The old lady could not say anything.
When she fell to the ground, his brother started hitting her repeatedly.
Then he was about to launch her away.
Then Lala Zi came and said, "Stop it."
His dad had been watching all along.
He tried to stop the brother, but the brother hit the dad instead.
Then, after the dad fell, he kept hurting his own dad again and again.
There was nothing Lala Zi could do.
He just stood there, watching his dad bleed.
Once, his brother came into his class and destroyed his chair and desk.
The teacher could not do anything because the brother was basically stronger than everyone there.
In truth, he had already bullied the principal and the guards too.
That was why the whole school lived in fear of Shani.
Finally, his friends in high school asked him, "Why is your brother so rude? Why is he even bullying the principal?"
Lala Zi had no answer.
So he escaped his house, creating this plan.
Lala Zi woke up.
He was still sleeping in the bush.
He stood up, then saw himself in the same place where he was the night before.
Lala Zi looked around.
It was sunrise.
It was almost night.
The world around him was quiet for a moment.
Then he stood still and watched the street ahead.
His face was calm again.
No panic.
No anger.
Just the same careful look that always came before the next move.
He brushed dust off his clothes and turned his attention back to the road.
Whatever had happened in the dream, it had already become part of the pattern.
And Lala Zi was still moving forward.After Gu Yanshu created those three outcomes, Po Jun Zing was still standing there.
Nothing was too bad, and nothing was too good either.
Gu Yanshu continued walking.
He ignored what had just happened, but not completely.
He kept it in his mind because if that guy ever became his opponent, those things could turn into weaknesses and help him win the battle.
Then footsteps started echoing again.
It was just like before.
Bao Yuan said, "Will the kid go, or will he just sit there forever?"
The dragon answered, "It is not our business, so we should just ignore it."
The kid said, "Ignore what? You are ignoring me? Shall I kill those guys? They are making me even more frustrated. I am known as the mythical god. I am the great mythical god, and no one can stop me. And why are you doing this? Don't you know I am the mythical god of ancient times?"
The fourth blacker said, "We did not know that before at all. We do not know who you are. You are a kid. That is all you are."
The kid said, "A kid? A kid? You are saying I am a kid?"
The kid's body transformed.
He had a long beard.
His beard was so long that it touched his stomach.
His beard was fully white.
He only had a little hair left.
He became taller.
Very tall.
Then the kid said, "Now who am I?"
The fourth blacker answered, "A grandpa."
The kid said, "A grandpa? What are you saying? Stop saying that to an ancient mythical god. I have been living in the base of the greats for 700 years alone because no one was here. I was alone. Then finally a leader came when I was supposed to be the ancient, ancient mythical god."
The kid started crying, but his crying color was not blue.
It was red.
Light red.
Bao Yuan started walking back again.
This time, the fourth blacker kicked him forward.
He was almost sent collapsing toward the kid, but the kid created a barrier and said, "You kids should also get out of here. I lied to you. I was not nine years old. In reality, I was 19,000 years old. Did you know that?"
Gu Yanshu replied, "No."
Then everything went quiet.
Gu Yanshu's face was expressionless.
Po Jun Zing was breathing heavily.
The kid looked like a grandpa now.
Bao Yuan was walking back again.
The dragon stayed with Gu Yanshu.
Qu Yaoyang, Lan Wege, Qiu Weiran, and He Mulin were walking together.
The silence did not last long.
The kid's barrier stayed in place, but the air around it kept pressing outward in small pulses.
Bao Yuan looked at the beard again and muttered, "That is a really strange transformation."
The dragon said, "Yes."
He Mulin glanced at the kid.
"19,000 years is a ridiculous lie."
The kid's face twitched.
"It was not a lie."
Qiu Weiran said, "That makes it worse."
The kid pointed at them.
"You are all still calling me a kid."
The third blacker looked at him and said, "Because you are acting like one."
The kid's expression changed immediately.
Then he coughed once and straightened his back.
He looked older again.
Or at least he tried to.
The white beard still hung over his chest.
The room watched quietly.
Gu Yanshu did not move.
He was still measuring everything.
The kid's reaction.
The barrier.
The echo.
The way the room had gone silent after the last line.
That silence was important.
Not empty.
Important.
Bao Yuan looked at Gu Yanshu and lowered his voice.
"What do you think?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "He is unstable."
The dragon said, "And dangerous."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"That is a bad combination."
The dragon replied, "Yes."
The kid overheard them and glared.
"I am not unstable. I am ancient."
The fourth blacker said, "Ancient and unstable."
The kid's beard seemed to tremble.
Then he shouted, "Do not insult the ancient mythical god!"
A pulse of pressure hit the barrier.
It did not break.
But it trembled.
That was enough to make everyone in the room shift their stance.
Bao Yuan looked at the barrier and then at the kid.
"Okay, maybe he is stronger than he looks."
Gu Yanshu said, "Yes."
The kid crossed his arms.
Finally, he calmed down a little.
Then he said, "Good. At least one of you is not completely stupid."
Bao Yuan stared at him.
"You are the one calling people stupid?"
The kid pointed back at him.
"You are the one who called me a kid."
Bao Yuan opened his mouth.
Then he closed it again.
The dragon's ears twitched.
"The argument is useless."
The kid looked at the dragon.
"You have been talking too much."
The dragon replied, "You have been crying too much."
The kid's face darkened.
Then the tears disappeared.
His expression became sharp again.
Very sharp.
The room changed with it.
Gu Yanshu noticed instantly.
The pressure was not the same anymore.
The kid had shifted from emotional to alert.
That made him even more dangerous.
Bao Yuan noticed that too.
He took half a step back.
The fourth blacker said quietly, "He is not just pretending."
Gu Yanshu answered, "I know."
The kid's eyes moved across all of them.
Then he said, "If you keep looking at me like that, I will make things unpleasant."
The third blacker, still silent, shifted his bat slightly.
The fifth blacker glanced at him.
The second blacker kept his stance steady.
The room felt tighter now.
The kid's barrier still stood.
His body was still old.
His beard was still long.
But the way he looked at them was not childish at all.
Gu Yanshu kept that in mind.
Everything about the base of the greats was a trap.
If the kid was a trap, then his weakness might be the very thing that made him useful.
Gu Yanshu's expression stayed flat.
Bao Yuan looked at him and understood a little.
Not all of it.
But enough to keep watching.
The dragon stayed on Gu Yanshu's shoulder and looked forward.
The room remained quiet again.
The kid did not speak.
Neither did the others.
Only the faint sound of footsteps still echoed somewhere beyond the chamber.
And the base of the greats, dark and still, kept waiting for the next move.Qu Yaoyang looked around.
It was the same as usual.
The kid said, "And yeah, yeah, stop calling me a grandpa or you will get cursed."
Qu Yaoyang said, "Are you a witch? But witches are supposed to be girls, not a grandpa like you."
The kid said, "I already told you to stop."
Qu Yaoyang said, "I know."
Po Jun Zing moved and said, "Will anyone even want to talk to me?"
The kid answered, "No, you scary power thing."
Then Po Jun Zing said, "You better shut up."
The kid said, "You need to too."
Po Jun Zing said, "Are you indirectly saying I should also shut up? Want to fight?"
The kid said, "Come on."
The kid continued and said, "And yeah, yeah, yeah, do not forget you are fighting a legendary mythical god who was a god of mythicalness who lived for thousands of years."
Then a voice came.
It was loud.
Very loud.
And the words of the voice were, "Shut up, you liar."
The kid said, "Who are you?"
Then someone came down to the ground.
It was Jani Ying.
The room tightened immediately.
The sound of Jani Ying landing was small.
The effect was not.
Several eyes turned toward him at once.
Bao Yuan looked from Jani Ying to the kid and then back again.
The dragon stayed still for a second.
Po Jun Zing's gaze shifted first.
Then Qu Yaoyang's.
Jani Ying looked ordinary at first glance.
That was the strange part.
No grand entrance.
No dramatic aura.
Just a man standing there like he had every right to interrupt the room.
The kid lifted his chin.
"You again?"
Jani Ying glanced at him.
"Were you trying to keep talking forever?"
The kid's face twitched.
"I am a legendary mythical god."
Jani Ying replied, "You sound like a child throwing a tantrum."
The kid's expression darkened.
Bao Yuan quietly muttered, "This is getting worse."
The dragon said, "Yes."
Po Jun Zing looked at Jani Ying for a moment.
Then he said, "You are loud too."
Jani Ying smiled a little.
"And you are pretending to be calm."
That line landed.
Po Jun Zing did not answer right away.
He studied Jani Ying the same way he had studied everyone else before.
Not as a threat.
As a problem.
The kid stared at Jani Ying and pointed.
"You are not supposed to be here."
Jani Ying shrugged.
"Neither are you, if we are being honest."
The kid hissed, "I am ancient."
Jani Ying replied, "Then stop sounding childish."
That made the room go quiet for a beat.
Then Bao Yuan almost laughed.
He stopped himself just in time.
Qu Yaoyang looked at Jani Ying a little longer.
He was not sure whether Jani Ying was brave or stupid.
Maybe both.
The kid's barrier still held around him.
He looked smaller inside it now.
Older, but smaller.
The white beard did not help his dignity.
He pointed again at Jani Ying.
"You are disrespecting a god."
Jani Ying replied, "Then be more godlike."
The kid's eyes widened.
Then the air around him tightened again.
Not fully dangerous.
Just enough to show his temper had returned.
Po Jun Zing watched all of this in silence.
Then he said, "Are you here to challenge him, or us?"
Jani Ying's eyes moved toward Po Jun Zing.
"Both."
That answer made several people shift.
The fifth blacker frowned.
The fourth blacker looked sharper now.
Bao Yuan's hand moved near his weapon.
The dragon lifted its head.
Gu Yanshu said nothing.
He watched.
That was enough.
The room had just gained a new shape.
Po Jun Zing.
The kid.
Jani Ying.
Three different dangers.
All in one chamber.
And none of them looked pleased to be there.
The kid narrowed his eyes.
"You are all very annoying."
Jani Ying said, "You started it."
The kid immediately snapped back, "No, you did."
Jani Ying laughed once.
Then he looked toward Po Jun Zing again.
"Still standing there?"
Po Jun Zing's eyes stayed on him.
"I am deciding whether you are worth hitting first."
Jani Ying nodded slowly.
"That is fair."
The dragon muttered, "None of this is fair."
Bao Yuan looked at it.
"That is the first normal thing anyone has said."
The dragon replied, "Do not get comfortable."
Gu Yanshu's eyes stayed calm.
He had already started reading the room again.
Jani Ying was not here by accident.
That much was obvious.
The kid was reacting too fast.
Po Jun Zing was too still.
That combination meant something had already begun.
And whatever it was, the base of the greats had decided to let it happen.The room went quiet for a while.
Then Jani Ying looked around at the dark stone with almost no light.
And the dirty walls looked ancient.
The ancient white.
The air felt old, like this air had already been here for billions of years.
Jani Ying said, "Yep, this does look ancient. So you might not be lying. You might actually be an ancient mythical god."
The kid said, "Of course I am. And I will be. And it is my time to go."
The kid disappeared once again.
Jani Ying said, "Don't you want to talk?"
But it was already over.
He was gone.
Disappeared.
Likely never coming here again.
Bao Yuan looked around and said, "Do you remember that guy who made us come here and almost made us fall underground and we were about to die? What was that guy's name?"
The dragon answered, "I don't know."
Bao Yuan said, "But why? A name should be important."
Gu Yanshu interfered and said, "No, names don't matter. They are just the world system. They are just a normal world system. Names are truly meaningless. And if it doesn't have a meaning, it needs to create a meaning itself."
Bao Yuan said, "But how will it create meanings?"
"I don't know that one. You might be right," Bao Yuan said.
Gu Yanshu already knew his new strategy here.
Never ask how do I do this.
Ask who will do this for me.
Because his disciples were already here, he could ask them to do it.
In his mind, Gu Yanshu was creating a plan while the others stood quiet and thought about insignificant things.
Meanwhile, Gu Yanshu was planning.
And another strategy he created here was to look like he loses to get data.
Act like he loses for a second.
After Gu Yanshu adapts their skills, he will fight back.
Basically, Gu Yanshu's strategy is to fight and act like you are losing.
Beta means win.
While Gu Yanshu was thinking about strategy, the strongest disciple said, "Well, can someone talk forever?"
Gu Yanshu answered, "No."
Jani Ying said, "I am waiting for someone to talk. That is what I am doing."
He looked around again and said, "Do you also think this area feels ancient?"
The strongest disciple said, "Indeed, it does."
The dragon said, "I agree with everyone. This does feel ancient. The dark walls, the air, and finally, almost no light. In ancient times, no one knew how to make light, and those walls are dirty, like they stayed here for millions of years, or even billions, or even trillions, or even quadrillions, or even septillion. What do you think it is?"
Jani Ying said, "I don't know, but after trillion, it feels too old, doesn't it?"
The silence settled again after that.
Nobody rushed to fill it.
The Base of the Greats remained still around them.
Not peaceful.
Just waiting.
Bao Yuan looked at the walls again.
The dark stone really did feel old.
Not old in the normal way.
Old in the way of something that had seen too much and never bothered to remember it clearly.
He scratched his head and muttered, "This place makes me want to leave."
The dragon said, "Then do not look at it too much."
Bao Yuan glanced at the dragon.
"That is easy for you to say."
The dragon answered, "It is also easy for you to stop staring."
Bao Yuan opened his mouth, then shut it again.
Jani Ying looked down the wide underground path.
He kept his posture relaxed, but his eyes were not relaxed at all.
He was watching the walls.
The ceiling.
The far-off shapes in the dark.
The spaces where things might move.
Gu Yanshu noticed that immediately.
Jani Ying was not just looking around.
He was measuring.
That was useful.
Very useful.
Because anyone who measured a place like this was either stupid enough to die here or smart enough to survive it.
Gu Yanshu preferred the second option.
The strongest disciple stood with his arms crossed.
"So this is the Base of the Greats."
Jani Ying answered, "Yes."
The strongest disciple looked toward the distance.
"It feels wrong."
The fourth blacker said, "That is because it is wrong."
Bao Yuan looked at him.
"That is not comforting."
The fourth blacker replied, "It was not meant to be."
The dragon gave a small hum.
"That is the correct answer."
Bao Yuan sighed.
"I hate when you are right."
The dragon said, "You should get used to it."
Gu Yanshu said nothing.
He was still thinking.
The important part was not the walls.
Not the air.
Not the silence.
It was what all of them might be useful for later.
A place like this would hide many things.
Weaknesses.
Patterns.
Routes.
Tells.
That was what mattered.
Not the appearance.
Not the ancient feeling.
The use.
Gu Yanshu kept that in his head while the others stayed still.
Then he glanced once at Jani Ying.
Jani Ying had not spoken again.
That itself was useful.
A loud person choosing silence meant he was still observing too.
Good.
Very good.
Bao Yuan finally said, "So what now?"
No one answered immediately.
Then Gu Yanshu said, "We keep walking."
Bao Yuan frowned.
"Just like that?"
Gu Yanshu replied, "Yes."
The dragon looked ahead.
"The deeper we go, the more they will show themselves."
Jani Ying nodded once.
"Then let them."
The strongest disciple glanced at him.
"You really like saying dangerous things."
Jani Ying answered, "I am here in the Base of the Greats. Safe things are already useless."
That made the room feel quieter again.
Not because anyone disagreed.
Because it was true.
Very true.
Gu Yanshu started walking first.
The others followed.
The stone underfoot was uneven.
The dark walls stretched out around them without end.
And somewhere ahead, deeper in the Base of the Greats, something was already waiting to see what kind of people had come this far.Again, a dragon was walking around the Base of the Greats.
Aly Chang had no choice but to drag him in.
Dragon Moon fell into the Base of the Greats.
He looked around.
Dark green walls.
He said, "Where am I?"
The man came again.
He said, "Well, well, well, well. Someone is here again. I will help you. You see that gate over there? That is your next goal. And why do you look so big? Let me just open it for you. Look, I am a helper."
Dragon Moon said, "I already see it now. And stop yapping."
The man opened the gate.
Dragon Moon broke more things and walls to enter.
He instantly fell into the deep, ancient place.
He looked around.
All around him were the deadly travelers, the black curse, the new opponent, and several dead bodies.
The third blacker instantly recognized him as Dragon Moon.
The same look.
The same vibe.
Everything was the same.
Po Jun Zing said, "Wanna fight?"
Dragon Moon said, "Okay."
The third blacker jumped up, took his bat, and said, "I should end you, you little asshole. Why did you even come in?"
Po Jun Zing grabbed the third blacker's bat.
It instantly broke into pieces and fell to the ground as metal pieces.
The third blacker said, "That isn't going to work on my bat."
The third blacker's broken bat pieces instantly regenerated.
The third blacker continued and said, "Yes, you are right. My bat is attached to my blood and everything. It also can regenerate like me."
Po Jun Zing said, "Interesting, isn't it? Let us see if your bat can always regenerate."
Dragon Moon said, "Come on, Dragon Moon says stop this, group guys and ladies. Hey you, fight me. And is that supposed to be the third blacker?"
The third blacker said, "Indeed, correct. I am the third blacker from that tournament."
Dragon Moon said, "I see."
Dragon Moon flew up and said, "Come at me."
Po Jun Zing jumped upward.
He flew too.
Then he casually touched Dragon Moon.
Before Dragon Moon's body could explode, a big purple light came.
It was circular, as usual.
When the purple circle of light cleared, Dragon Moon's body pieces were falling to the ground.
It did not stop.
As time went on, it continued for a while.
It kept going.
Then it looked like time stopped, but it did not, because some pieces were frozen midair.
Dragon Moon regenerated all the pieces and said, "Come at me."
Po Jun Zing slid again and said, "World explosion energy kill."
All Po Jun Zing did was raise one hand and show one finger.
That was all.
Then he moved upward.
He jumped, and he was about to touch Dragon Moon.
When Dragon Moon opened his mouth and shot a huge fire beam directly at Po Jun Zing, Po Jun Zing expected to be destroyed instantly.
But the flames started moving, moving consecutively.
It was like someone was touching Po Jun Zing's attack and making it lose control.
Slowly, slowly, that attack came back.
It deflected toward Po Jun Zing.
Po Jun Zing got hit at once.
A big light came.
It dismantled thirty-five meters.
When the light cleared, Po Jun Zing was destroyed into pieces.
Then he instantly regenerated, making a new body.
Po Jun Zing stared at Dragon Moon, and Dragon Moon stared at Po Jun Zing.