Age of Evolution

According to a statement he made while drunk, metal houses were meant for keeping dogs.

Regardless of the reason behind this statement, many martial artists and nobles within the empire began to appreciate and favor this architectural style, making brick and tile structures popular.

Furthermore, brick and tile houses were considered a luxury in the Fire Kirin Empire and were associated with noble constructions which average people could not afford to live in.

While these houses were certainly beautiful, their insufficient sturdiness was a fatal flaw. Not only were they prone to damage from earthquakes, they could easily be torn apart by enraged martial artists who lost their control, which made them unaffordable for common people.

However, this gave rise to a thriving industry: renovation teams had a huge market in the Fire Kirin Empire.

Upon Tianci’s instructions, servants promptly contacted a renovation team.

The renovation teams here built houses at an impressive speed. They were all martial artists with plenty of strength, and some could even use their spiritual power to manipulate objects and complete the overall construction of a small villa within a day.

With interior decorations included, the entire process wouldn’t take more than three days.

Once the renovation team was contacted, the vehicles carrying sand, rocks, bricks, and tiles were brought in, and the team began working.

Before entering the site, almost everyone had to undergo a strict inspection, including their vehicles and the materials they carried, such as stones and sand.

After the inspection results confirmed everything was safe, the vehicles were allowed to enter Lord Tianfang’s residence smoothly.

However, no one noticed that when the guards inspected the stones with a detection device, a small spark burned a tiny hole in the carriage of one of the transport vehicles. A small stone fell through the hole and lodged itself between metal gaps in the vehicle, evading the detection device and eventually making its way into the villa area.

As the vehicle turned a corner and approached the villa garden of Lord Tianfang, the small stone fell off and rolled into a bush.

Under the watchful eyes of many martial artists, the renovation team began working enthusiastically.

Lord Tianfang’s spiritual power would occasionally sweep the area, checking everyone and everything, including the facilities brought by the renovation team. Since no one dared to be careless after Lin Zhen’s skillful concealment on Baiyulan Star, the security measures were reinforced.

Thankfully, no accidents occurred during the construction, and everything was completed in just two days.

Lord Tianfang personally arrived at the site and conjured up a whirlwind to sweep away all the remaining debris, leaving not a single grain of sand. Only then did he feel truly at ease.

This courtyard housed his son, Tianci, and the son of the Mechanical World King, Ye Hua, so it had to be free from any accidents.

Seeing the actions of Lord Tianfang, Ye Hua and Tianci felt reassured about the safety of the place.

However, unknown to everyone, the small stone in the corner of the garden had sunk into the soil unnoticed.

* * * *

Ten days later, Lord Tianfang held a grand banquet in his mansion to welcome the distinguished guest from the Mingyue Empire, Luo Gou, the most powerful god in District 68 of the interdimensional arena.

Luo Gou was a well-known figure in the universe.

Being from District 68, he was surrounded by martial artists from various Universe Countries. Almost everyone in the Star System Arena had heard of Luo Gou.

Even in the Star Domain Arena, many knew of him, because before they had reached the Star Domain Stage, many had been defeated by Luo Gou.

He was a long-standing Tier Nine Star System fighter, who, based on his abilities, should have already reached the Star Domain Stage. However, he stayed at Tier Nine Star System, which was puzzling to many.

The only thing certain was that Luo Gou was suppressing his own power, striving not to breakthrough, which was a form of torment for martial artists. Yet, Luo Gou managed to do it.

Faced with such a guest, Lord Tianfang, though a World King, dared not be careless and offered full courtesy and respect, even personally going to the entrance to greet Luo Gou.

Originally, Ye Hua and Tianci were not supposed to attend such a high-profile event. They had informed Lord Tianfang about the possibility of Lin Zhen going to the Chaotic Star River, and Lord Tianfang would then convey this information to Luo Gou.

However, Lord Tianfang wanted them to make an appearance in front of Luo Gou and pay respect to him with a toast at the beginning of the banquet.

* * * * *

“Ye Hua, are you ready?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Ye Hua and Tianci, dressed in extravagant formal attire, walked out of Tianci’s room together.

“I’m confident that after meeting Luo Gou, Lin Zhen’s days are numbered. Tianci, I’m sure that Lin Zhen must have gone to the Chaotic Star River. Even if he isn’t there now, he will definitely go there within this year because he’s running out of time. Once the year is up, he’ll have no hope left.”

“I trust your judgment, but Ye Hua… don’t you want him to revive Feng Qingluan? You know, even though she’s fierce and cruel, she’s undeniably stunning in terms of appearance and figure.”

“What doesn’t belong to me will never be mine. I won’t force it, Tianci. Don’t assume I’m a foolish pig who can’t walk past a woman. Besides, she belongs to Lin Zhen.”

“That’s true. Ah, what a pity! Born a beauty but now a criminal.”

Tianci shook his head and sighed as they were about to leave the garden.

As they reached a corner, a guard saw them coming and stepped back, standing with humility and waiting for them to pass before moving on.

However, when he stepped back, he accidentally tread upon a round stone, causing him to slip forward.

Tianci immediately reached out to block, but the guard’s eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce glint, and his gaze instantly seemed to be poisoned. He let out a scream and swelled up at the same time, and he actually self-destructed immediately!

This sudden attack caught Ye Hua and Tianci off guard. The guard was at Star System Level 4, and the power of his self-destruction was extraordinary. If they were too close, they would either die or be seriously injured. The two retreated simultaneously and arrived at the corner of the garden.

Before the shockwave from the explosion had even passed, a pair of large hands emerged from the mud on the garden floor, firmly grabbing the ankles of the two men!

“Ah~! Who is it!”

“Help! It’s Lin Zhen!”

The two men looked down in horror to see Lin Zhen’s hands tightly gripping their feet from within the mud, his eyes icy cold.

At this point, they couldn’t begin to guess how Lin Zhen had infiltrated the place; their top priority was saving their lives.

Their loud screams had definitely been heard, and their location was about a thousand meters away from Lord Tianfang’s villa area.

According to the speed of sound transmission, their cries for help would reach the ears of Lord Tianfang and Luo Gou within three seconds.

And with the speed of those two, they would definitely appear in front of them within one second.

So, if they wanted to survive, they had to hold on for at least four seconds.

The two decided to go all out together.

For this day, they had not only made preparations, but they were also very well-prepared.

Each of them held a High Grade Heavenly Weapon longsword, wore Middle Grade Heavenly Tool armor, and had a Middle Grade Heavenly Tool for mental defense.

The moment they encountered Lin Zhen, they immediately pulled out all three items.

The longsword slashed down fiercely, using up all their life’s strength, with absolutely no reserve.

They wanted to rely on their armor and mental defense Heavenly Tools to withstand Lin Zhen for at least four seconds.

Not only did they know all this, but Lin Zhen, the assassin, also knew it all too well.

Lin Zhen had been preparing for this day for too long, digging tunnels through mountains to create earthquakes that collapsed Tianci’s house, allowing a renovation team to enter, and then disguising himself as a small stone to enter the courtyard.

Having stayed here for half a month, he had thoroughly familiarized himself with everything.

By using his Spiritual Power to control the guard to self-destruct, he forced Ye Hua and Tianci in front of him, so he could kill them in the shortest time possible.

Because Lin Zhen had no time either – once cornered by Lord Tianfang and Luo Gou, he would die without a doubt.

So, while grasping Ye Hua and Tianci’s legs, Lin Zhen’s Light Annihilation immediately tied them both up securely.

Between the moment of gripping their legs and unsheathing their swords, one second had passed.

In the second second, Lin Zhen drew Yin Yang Cliff Corner double guns with both hands and launched a fierce attack on the two men!

At this moment, Ye Hua and Tianci realized how much weaker they were compared to Lin Zhen.

The two of them joined forces, but not only did they gain no advantage, they were virtually immediately defeated by Lin Zhen!

When the collapsing gunlights caused their Heavenly Tool armor to crack and nearly caused them to cough up blood and die, the time had just reached the third second.

Both men unleashed their Star Power and fiercely threw their longswords towards Lin Zhen, hoping to block him for a moment while they used all their strength to fly back, embracing the mentality that they could escape one by one and make a final desperate effort.”

Lin Zhen raised his hand and pulled the two longswords into his grasp, his mouth revealing a cold smile.

“Do you think you can escape? One year from now will be your anniversary!”

With a flick of his arms, deep blue flames erupted, and the two swords instantly turned into two red-hot branding irons, stabbing straight towards the chests of the two men!

“Dad save us!”

Ye Hua and Tianci almost simultaneously let out such a cry. This was the biggest drawback of their martial artist background; they still depended on their elders mentally and had never truly been independent.

And at the same time, Lord Tianfang and Luo Gou appeared.

For them, the distance of a kilometer was covered in the blink of an eye, and as soon as they appeared, they saw Lin Zhen’s flying swords stabbing towards the two men, and both of them took action.

One starlight and one black light struck the two flying swords, knocking them down almost simultaneously.

However, before Ye Hua and Tianci could feel relieved, a deep blue fire snake suddenly burst out from the flying swords, directly enveloping their bodies!

They were originally headed towards Lord Tianfang and Luo Gou, but just as they were about to reach safety, they were suddenly engulfed in flames!

The deep blue flames were so domineering that even Lord Tianfang and Luo Gou had to temporarily avoid their sharp edges!

One second!

In the span of one second, Ye Hua and Tianci turned into two piles of ashes, and they couldn’t even let out a single scream!