Age of Evolution

“What is this!?”

The Mantis Commander and his two companions saw Lin Zhen’s earth-shattering move in the sky, and all three were astonished, their mouths agape.

Just a moment ago, they had seen the Super Star River Beast Fire Kirin!

Lin Zhen actually possessed the Fire Kirin’s innate talent, which was simply beyond their expectation.

The more so, the more they couldn’t let Lin Zhen go. It was very likely that even the Fire Kirin Empire didn’t know that Lin Zhen possessed such a talent, otherwise, he would have been protected as a national treasure.

“Pursue! We must get rid of Lin Zhen at any cost! We can’t let him escape. If this guy returns to the Fire Kirin Empire, we’ll all be in big trouble. He’ll definitely come back for revenge when he grows up!”

Several Insect Clan commanders realized the severity of the situation and continued their frenzied pursuit of Lin Zhen.

However, the formation they had set up was destroyed by Lin Zhen’s innate devouring ability, so they couldn’t surround and intercept him for the time being. It was difficult to catch up with Lin Zhen.

The Mantis Commander immediately connected to the Dimensional Universe: “Attention! Attention! Lin Zhen is currently fleeing in the northwest direction, with coordinates xxxx.xxxx. He should be heading towards the waste disposal factory. Be prepared to intercept him there. It’s time for you to take action!”

After finishing speaking, the Mantis Commander hung up the communication with the Dimensional Universe, full of confidence: “Rest assured, the two of them, Lin Zhen and Feng Qingluan, definitely won’t be able to escape. After they managed to capture the first place in the Suspended Island, I knew that it wouldn’t be easy to capture them, so I had made thorough preparations.”

Beetle Marshal and Scorpion Commander were both very convinced by the Mantis Commander’s arrangement and had full confidence in it. Although it seemed as if Lin Zhen and Feng Qingluan were about to escape, if Mantis said they wouldn’t, they definitely wouldn’t!

Lin Zhen had already brought out the fastest speed of his life.

His Lightning Wings were fluttering behind him. After two years of nurturing, the Lightning Wings now had five hundred times the speed of sound acceleration, allowing Lin Zhen’s body to turn into a streak of light traveling through the starry sky, leaving the Insect Clan army farther and farther behind.

Feng Qingluan’s arm was tightly wrapped around Lin Zhen’s neck, and she was already in a semi-conscious state.

“Qingluan, wake up, we’ll be there soon, we’ll be at the waste disposal factory soon.”

“Mmm, I have to hold on.”

The seriously injured Feng Qingluan had completely lost her previous bravery and strength, her body lying weakly on Lin Zhen’s back like a leaf that could be blown away by the wind at any moment. Lin Zhen held her even tighter, refusing to let her leave.

During their flight, Lin Zhen found that his speed was getting faster and faster.

Inside his body, a surge of bloodline power was raging. It was the bloodline power from Feng Qingluan.

When Lin Zhen had saved Little Phoenix before, he had absorbed a small amount of Feng Qingluan’s bloodline power, but the amount was too small and didn’t awaken any power within him.

But today, with Feng Qingluan lying on Lin Zhen’s back, her blood soaking through their clothes and mingling with Lin Zhen’s, the dormant bloodline power within him was triggered.

This power made Lin Zhen’s speed faster and faster. The Phoenix was originally the fastest Galaxy Beast in flight. Its speed continued to climb, eventually reaching a thousand times the speed of sound!

Everything around them was passing by in a blur, with numerous asteroids and meteorites left behind by Lin Zhen in an instant.

The starry sky here was extremely broken, making it difficult for starships to navigate. It was precisely because of this that Lin Zhen wouldn’t be caught up by the Insect Clan. Otherwise, if everyone drove starships, there would be no advantage in terms of speed.

They didn’t know how long they had been fleeing like this. There was no concept of time in the starry sky. It could have been one day, three days, or even ten days!

During this time, Feng Qingluan had fainted countless times and had been woken up by Lin Zhen just as many times. The only thing that could arouse her desire for survival was the Wutong Tree.

Finally, the waste disposal factory appeared!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~!!!

As Lin Zhen’s body made sharp turns, after passing numerous small planets, they finally arrived at the planet where he and Feng Qingluan had initially searched for cold stones together!

“Qingluan, we’ve arrived!”

As the Lightning Wings retracted, Lin Zhen landed and stumbled for several steps. His legs had gone numb from the long journey of flying.

Fortunately, he didn’t fall. He gently laid Feng Qingluan down and then held her like a princess in his arms. Lin Zhen brought her beneath the Wutong Tree he had planted.

This Wutong Tree had been growing for three months. Initially, it had been nurtured in Lin Zhen’s Dark Star Space for almost half a month. The tree now had lush foliage and was dozens of meters tall. The wind blew gently, making the leaves rustle, and it was beautiful.

“Hold me up.”

Feng Qingluan, nestled in Lin Zhen’s embrace, spoke up. Lin Zhen promptly leaped and climbed to the top of the Wutong Tree.

Sitting there, hidden in the green shade, Lin Zhen’s mood calmed down considerably.

“How do you feel, Qingluan? Do you feel better being here?”

“I like it here, Lin Zhen. You must have gone to great lengths to bring this tree over.”

“It’s nothing, I just needed to have it delivered.”

Feng Qingluan gently rolled her eyes at Lin Zhen. Her face had lost most of its color, but she was still beautiful, heart-stirringly so, making Lin Zhen feel even more distressed.

“Qingluan, don’t talk anymore. Let me check your injuries. We share the same bloodline. I can definitely heal you.”

“It’s too late!”

Feng Qingluan gently raised her hand to stop Lin Zhen’s healing, “Our pursuers have been right behind us. Even though you’ve temporarily shaken them off, we’ve never completely disappeared from their sight. They’ll catch up to us within half an hour at most, and there’s not enough time to heal.”

“No! I don’t believe it! Qingluan, I can definitely heal you, you have to believe in me!”

Lin Zhen was ready to let Feng Qingluan enter the Dark Star Space. If necessary, he would transplant the Wutong Tree back, at least the Dark Star Space would be safer.

Dark Star was Lin Zhen’s biggest secret aside from his rebirth, and he had never told anyone. But today, he was prepared to make an exception. As long as he could save Qingluan, he was willing to pay any price.

Unexpectedly, Feng Qingluan gently held Lin Zhen’s face with both hands: “Do you think you can escape the pursuit alone?”

Lin Zhen was momentarily stunned. Now that his clone was severely injured and temporarily unusable, he wouldn’t be able to escape when the pursuers came.

If he couldn’t escape, what would be the point of Feng Qingluan hiding in the Dark Star Space?

For the first time, Lin Zhen felt so powerless!

Facing danger and Little Phoenix’s life hanging by a thread, he was unexpectedly at a loss!

“Lin Zhen, can you make me a wreath of leaves to wear on my head, please?”

Lin Zhen silently took a few leaves from the Wutong Tree, quickly made a small wreath, and placed it on Feng Qingluan’s head.

The green wreath on her head made her pale face even more so, like a flower that could wither away at any moment.

“I remember… when I was very young, my mother once made me one like this. After my mother left, that was the only warmth in my memory….”

Lin Zhen wanted to say something, but Feng Qingluan gently raised her hand to stop him.

“Please don’t comfort me, okay? I’ve never needed that. If I were that fragile, I might have been killed in the street long ago, and you wouldn’t have met Little Phoenix today.”

“Lin Zhen, I also remember when we first met at the gate of Kirin Holy Star City. At that time, I saw disgust in your eyes. I felt uncomfortable then… for some reason, I didn’t want you to dislike me.”

“I didn’t, Luan’er…” Lin Zhen still wanted to comfort her.

“Don’t lie, I can tell if someone is lying… Lin Zhen, I killed the man from the Red Fox Team because they oppressed women. They bought female slaves, sold them to brothels, and made them serve clients. In their hands, living was a luxury for women. Do you agree, should I have killed them?”

Only then did Lin Zhen remember the situation at the city gate. Indeed, the martial artist of Red Fox had said that Qing Luan Society killed more than 6,000 of their brothers and took away hundreds of thousands of female slaves. That place seemed to be called Yihong Pavilion, and on second thought, it should be the place Feng Qingluan described.

Lin Zhen felt somewhat ashamed. He had misunderstood Feng Qingluan, but he didn’t expect her to remember such trivial matters.

“The sisters in our Qing Luan Society are all unfortunate people. If I didn’t take them in, they would have only one way to go – death. We fight, we rob, but it’s all out of helplessness. Lin Zhen… I’m not a bad person; I haven’t done anything wrong… you know that, right?”

Feng Qingluan’s delicate hand tightly gripped Lin Zhen’s clothes, speaking anxiously, as if there would be no more chances to say these words in the future.

“Luan’er, I believe you, I believe you, don’t get excited!”

Seeing Feng Qingluan’s excited face turn slightly red, Lin Zhen hurriedly comforted her.

Feng Qingluan softly leaned on Lin Zhen’s chest and gasped rapidly for a while before calming down a bit. However, she seemed even weaker now.

“Lin Zhen, do you remember the Phoenix Three Tribulations you showed me?”

“Luan’er, forget about those things; they’re all lies.”

“No! It’s true!”

Feng Qingluan looked up at Lin Zhen, “It’s my destiny to meet you. This is my Tribulation of Love, and I can’t escape.”

“I won’t leave you. You don’t have to run away.” Lin Zhen tightly embraced her body.

“Kiss me, Lin Zhen. If you like me, since I can’t escape the Tribulation of Love, I want to try what it feels like to be loved… I haven’t tried it since my mother left.”

Lin Zhen’s eyes moistened. He gently lowered his head and kissed Feng Qingluan’s pale lips. They were sweet but cold.

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her face flushed slightly.

After a while, she opened her eyes and gently pushed Lin Zhen’s shoulders, making him let her go.

“Help me up!”

Lin Zhen helped Feng Qingluan stand up. Amidst the green trees and wearing a wreath, she looked as beautiful as a person in a painting, but she seemed like she could disappear with the wind at any moment.

After a lingering glance at the Wutong Tree, Feng Qingluan looked at Lin Zhen: “Will you forget me?”

“No! Never!”

“Then promise me that you’ll keep this tree, let it stay here forever.”

“I promise you, Luan’er, don’t say anymore. Let me check your wounds, all right?” Lin Zhen was getting frantic.

“There’s no need.”

Feng Qingluan stood straight with Lin Zhen’s arm, her eyes fixed on the sky outside the Wutong Tree.

“Lin Zhen, my last tribulation has arrived. You must remember the promise you made to me and never break it!”

Above the sky, the people chasing them had arrived!