Since you don't seem to know very much about this guy from the seas, then just forget it." Bai Zemin casually waved his hand as he said those words.
"Ugh!" The Second Order zombie grunted in pain as all the threads around his body tightened and several bloody marks appeared on him.
"Oops, sorry." Bai Zemin apologized. His voice didn't have the slightest bit of regret in it as he said with a smile, "It's just that I was hoping to get a clearer answer from you and got so disappointed that I subconsciously moved my hand and pulled the threads."
Subconsciously? Subconsciously my ass! It was what the Second Order zombie wanted to roar in the young human's face but naturally didn't dare to say.
The male zombie in front of Bai Zemin was a pure melee existence, but despite knowing little about the skills of mages he could easily tell that the blood threads surrounding his body were being controlled by magic and mana; it was definitely not something that moved casually just because the other party "subconsciously" moved his hand!
Bai Zemin sneered in his heart as he watched the zombie grit his teeth but didn't say anything. The thing from before had been just a small warning to let the creature know that if he dared to mislead him with anything or hide information from him and he found out, then he would cut him into hundreds of pieces in an instant.
"So, what about your suggestion from before?"
"Suggestion? Ugh!"
"Don't play dumb, you know well what I'm talking about." Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes and pointed out in a hard voice, "Why were you and that hawk looking for my group to submit? What is or what are the plans of this mermaid male? What did he promise you and that hawk to make two proud Second Order existences so willing to become part-time employees?"
The Second Order zombie lowered his head for a moment. This time, Bai Zemin did not interrupt him even after a few seconds passed.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity in the middle of the now mostly silent battlefield in which the remaining zombies were being contained by Kong Jun without killing them just as Bai Zemin had ordered earlier, the male zombie opened his mouth to speak.
"I know it will be hard to believe... but the reason why we wanted this human group to surrender is unknown to me, and the hawk you killed didn't know either. When that mermaid guy appeared before us, the stupid hawk and I were fighting near the periphery of the East Sea. Even though that mermaid guy looks like a woman, he is really powerful to the point that neither of us two could do anything against him."
Bai Zemin listened silently and without saying a word to what he had just heard. He had learned from Xian Mei'er that all the members of the royal family were great talents and every prince and princess was tremendously powerful, therefore, he did not find it surprising at all that the union of two Second Order existences could do nothing against the mysterious mermaid man.
Xian Mei'er could fight Third Order existences even though she was still in the Second Order about two months ago, so it was to be expected that those who shared some of her blood were at least not very inferior in talent.
The Second Order zombie continued, "Be that as it may, this mermaid guy promised to give us a fruit that allows us to avoid a requirement when it comes to class advancement and-"
"Stop!"
Bai Zemin abruptly interrupted. His eyes were like those of a beast and he subconsciously took a step forward asHis eyes were like those of a beast and he subconsciously took a step forward as he stared at the Second Order zombie that gradually began to get worried.
"That thing you said just now, repeat it one more time for me."
"... That mermaid guy promised to give us a fruit that allows us to avoid, or better said automatically completes a requirement when it comes to class advancement."
It was not only Bai Zemin who gasped when he heard these words but Kang Lan and Fu Xuefeng standing nearby and listening to the conversation were no different either.
When it came to breaking from one Order to the other, completing the evolution requirements could become an incredibly tedious task for most depending on the difficulty of the path each had chosen to walk. However, it was true that during that period of stagnation, an existence could hardly become more powerful as all Soul Power gained would be analyzed and upgraded once all requirements were completed.
In other words, if an existence took too long to complete its class evolution requirements, then it was highly probable that said existence would fall behind the rest; this could even put the life of that existence in danger regardless of how brilliant its future might be.
In the long history of the universe, there were not a few brilliant geniuses who died in the process of evolution with massive amounts of incredibly pure Soul Power waiting for them beyond that barrier that blocked them. Many of them even died when they only lacked one last requirement, one last step.
If what the Second Order zombie was saying was true, one could only try to imagine how precious the fruit in the possession of the male mermaid was!
'No, wait a minute!' Bai Zemin's eyes flashed fiercely as something he almost overlooked sparkled in his head.
If the unknown male mermaid really possessed such a divine natural treasure and since both, the Second Order zombie and the silver-feathered hawk were willing to work for him.... Then that could only mean two things.
First, the male mermaid had no intention of bearing any fruit.
Second... The male mermaid was in possession of a plant that gave him constant supplies of such fruits so he couldn't care less about giving two in exchange for some help on the ground!
Bai Zemin narrowed his eyes and asked seemingly to no one, "Can such a treasure really exist in this universe? A treasure capable of even affecting the records of the Soul Record?"
Kang Lan and Fu Xuefeng were confused, just like the Second Order zombie. The creature believed that Bai Zemin was talking to him so he quickly replied:
"I'm not lying! That mermaid guy was a Second Order existence when he appeared in front of me and that stupid hawk, but after eating a strange milk-white fruit, his Soul Power explosively increased and he shot up several levels after breaking into the Third Order! I'm sure he was waiting for that precise moment before breaking, so he could convince us that he wasn't lying. Besides, the fruit's records actually gave that description!"
However, Bai Zemin was talking neitherHowever, Bai Zemin was talking neither to Fu Xuefeng, nor to Kang Lan, nor to the Second Order zombie.
"... To be honest with you, I've never in my life heard about the existence of such a crazy natural treasure as what this zombie is describing." Lilith, who was invisible to everyone except for Bai Zemin and standing beside him, replied. Her voice was very careful and analytical as if she was not quite sure about it but with her own thoughts of the matter, "However, little brother Zemin, I think this zombie in front of you might be telling the truth."
Bai Zemin blinked. He didn't say anything as he actually also felt that the Second Order zombie wasn't lying, but he wanted to know why Lilith thought so.
She, even though he didn't say anything, understood his thoughts which is why after a few seconds of silence she explained:
"Actually, I think you too have already realized.... That the Earth doesn't seem to be a normal world. You have been in another world not too long ago but your experience is not very much, however, I can tell you with confidence that everything that is happening in this world is irregularity after irregularity."
Lilith had been astonished by the situation on Earth from the very beginning, when the Soul Record first appeared. However, it was only after the events near the constellation of the Heavenly Wolf Sirius that she began to pay more attention to this small blue planet which was not only invisible to the Higher Existences but was even able to come out unscathed from the attack of one of the most powerful and terrifying beings in history; God.
Bai Zemin, Shangguan Bing Xue, Chen He, Fu Xuefeng, the Nangong brothers, Kang Lan, Meng Qi .... The number of talents Lilith had seen so far and in China alone were so many that she could not believe that each and every one of them had been born by mere coincidence or not in the same world and in the same era.
Each and every one of them, hundreds of people with the talent to become Fourth Order existences; all born in the same world and within the same era. Such a thing was absolutely abnormal no matter how Lilith looked at it after comparing it with the countless worlds she had visited either for short or long periods.
With natural treasures it was not much different, and the same applied to the speed at which living things and the world itself evolved. In a little less than four months since the beginning of it all, the Earth was giving birth to Rank 2 and maybe even Rank 3 metals, precious herbs, and even divine plants such as was the Lightning Plant that Bai Zemin had found at the beginning of it all.
Bai Zemin nodded silently. He looked at the Second Order zombie and slowly said, "So.... Other than the male mermaid, didn't you see another mermaid next to him?"
This was quite an important question for Bai Zemin, however, the Second Order mutant zombie shook his head and replied:
"I only saw two triton warriors with golden spears next to the mermaid guy, I don't know if there were more underwater."
"I see..."
Bai Zemin remained silent for a few seconds, then, he nodded before calmly asking:
"How were you supposed to contact this mermaid boy to report the success of your mission?"
Hearing this question, the Second Order zombie hesitated. However, Bai Zemin onlyBai Zemin only needed to frown and tighten the threads around his body slightly for the creature to remember the position he was currently in.
"... That mermaid guy said that one of the leaders in this area should have a strange pink dolphin.... He said to use that dolphin.... He said I only needed to kill it to release a spiritual wave that the royal family sea creatures in the vicinity could feel. We would use that as a signal."
Bai Zemin frowned tightly when he heard such words and a glint of relief shone in his black eyes. Although he was also angry at the fact that they wanted to use Xiao Xiao as a sacrifice just for a mere signal, Bai Zemin was mostly relieved that Xian Mei'er had not betrayed him at all.
He had seen the affection Xian Mei'er had for Xiao Xiao which was why Bai Zemin in no way believed that the Seventh Princess was willing to kill the little pink dolphin.
'It seems that this mermaid guy found out that Xian Mei'er entered into an alliance with humans...' Bai Zemin quickly deduced what was going on.
Although he didn't understand the current situation very well and probably wouldn't get too much more information from the zombie in front of him, Bai Zemin could deduce several things from the relatively few pieces of information he had just heard.
First, it was clear that Xian Mei'er was experiencing her own difficulties or otherwise it was unlikely that she would let one of her siblings sneak into the area she was working and gathering her own army. As to what her current situation was, Bai Zemin did not know exactly.
Second, one of the princes of the sea race of the East Sea was finally on the move. What was worse was that this mermaid prince seemed to intend to use mankind for his own purposes, which Bai Zemin did not know but could somehow imagine without too much difficulty.
Third, last but not least.... A matchless treasure had just appeared in this world. Now that Bai Zemin had knowledge of a treasure that could allow him to complete a class advancement requirement just because, he would definitely not let it go no matter what.
Such kind of precious fruit.... Even if it only worked once per existence as Bai Zemin was assuming it was definitely the most valuable treasure of all.
In fact, the heart of Lilith was beating violently as she stood beside Bai Zemin.
'If the Higher Existences knew about such a treasure.... What kind of bloody war would break out?' She thought in terror.
'Worse yet... if those Fourth Order existences that have been waiting to complete one last impossible requirement for them were to have access to this kind of fruit.... Wouldn't the universe be receiving countless factions of Higher Existences in no time?'