Chapter 24: The Misty Island Incident
"Venina!" Li Yao stared at Venina's lifeless body, unable to do anything but close his eyes in anguish. A wave of intense unwillingness and hatred consumed Li Yao's spirit, but at that moment, his body had been completely encased in ice by Shen Mu, and he could not break free.
Suddenly, Li Yao began to tremble slightly, a unique wave of energy surging from within him. The light around Li Yao instantly distorted as an overwhelming force exploded outward, freeing him from Shen Mu's icy grip.
Whoosh!
In the next moment, thirteen golden beams of light erupted from Shen Mu's dagger pouch, piercing through Li Yao's vital points, including his heart, throat, and dantian.
"Ugh…" Li Yao's expression froze in a moment of joy from his recent breakthrough, but an overwhelming sense of weakness washed over him instantly, and the micro genetic energy planet he had just formed was shattered by Shen Mu's daggers.
As a transmigrator, Shen Mu was well aware that once he killed Venina, Li Yao might directly break through, so he had been keeping a close watch on him. If Li Yao were to break through in front of Shen Mu and escape, it would be a disaster.
"You should have recorded what just happened. Li Yao broke free from my ice and intended to attack me. According to the regulations, I have the right to execute him." Shen Mu turned to the middle-aged man in a Tang suit from the security department, explaining his reasoning.
"I understand the situation. Li Yao was discontent with the lawful execution of Venina and attempted to attack the general, resulting in his immediate death."
In the dialogue between Shen Mu and the Tang-suited man, Li Yao's attempt to escape after breaking free from Shen Mu's ice was classified as an attempted attack on a councilor.
Then Shen Mu turned to Luo Feng, his expression serious: "Inspector Luo, you openly fought with a wargod-level warrior in the base city, violating the internal regulations of the Limit Dojo. As an inspector, I must hold you accountable."
The middle-aged man in the Tang suit wanted to point out that Inspector Luo not only violated the internal regulations of the Limit Dojo but also breached the laws of Palace of Wargods. However, he realized that Shen Mu's attitude was clearly protective, and since Luo Feng displayed strength beyond that of an ordinary high-ranking wargod, he refrained from saying anything further.
At this moment, Luo Feng had already found out about Shen Mu's background through the internet. Upon learning about Shen Mu's rise, he felt a sense of kinship because their experiences were so similar.
"Yes, Inspector Shen, I am willing to accept all accountability from the dojo." Luo Feng was no fool; he understood that accountability from the dojo was merely a formality, a way to uphold procedural justice.
Half an hour later. In a high-end restaurant's private room in the main district of Jiangnan Base City, Shen Mu was formally "holding Luo Feng accountable."
"Thank you, Inspector Shen. If it weren't for your intervention, I might have caused a disaster and endangered ordinary people." Now calm, Luo Feng raised his glass in genuine gratitude toward Shen Mu.
"No need to mention it. I heard rumors about you during my time in the training camp. Just call me Shen Mu."
"Given your strength, you're not weaker than an ordinary first-tier planetary-level warrior, and since no substantial consequences resulted from this incident, the Palace of Wargods will likely turn a blind eye."
"First-tier planetary-level?" Although Luo Feng understood the realm classifications from the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins, he was now playing along.
Shen Mu cooperated with Luo Feng's act, explaining the realm classifications to him. After some casual conversation, Luo Feng poured himself three cups of alcohol as a form of self-punishment, considering it the completion of this accountability.
"You've just escaped from the dangers of the ancient civilization ruins, so I won't disturb you any longer. Go reunite with your family," Shen Mu said with a smile.
Luo Feng nodded and sincerely replied, "Thank you, Brother Shen. I'll take my leave now."
***
With that minor incident concluded, Shen Mu continued his journey of understanding the world. Over the past few months, Shen Mu had lived outdoors, experiencing nature like never before, and his understanding of the world deepened significantly.
Simultaneously, his harmony between body, soul, and energy underwent a transformation, intensifying his resonance with the universe. In a subtle way, Shen Mu sensed the barrier between the realms of unity with nature and the domain realm. This barrier had confined the Lei Shen for decades, and it was only under pressure from a crisis that he barely managed to cross it and step into the domain realm.
While Shen Mu was comprehending the world and accumulating his foundation, the Azure Dragon clone was also undergoing a transformation.
Within the endless sea, a fierce azure-scaled dragon was in the midst of a metamorphosis, its length exceeding 120 meters, ultimately reaching the threshold of 130 meters. In the Azure Dragon's consciousness, the two previously tiny planets shone brilliantly, and immense spirit power surged from the two stars. In just a few breaths, the two micro planets shrank significantly, while simultaneously giving birth to a newly formed third spirit energy star.
Over the past half year, Shen Mu had killed several king-class monsters, and after consuming and digesting their corpses, he successfully broke through to the third stage of the planetary level.
At the same time as the Sea Azure Dragon's breakthrough, in a certain area of the Pacific Ocean…
A massive black oval egg, approximately twelve meters in diameter, quietly rested on the seabed, covered in sea mud and seaweed. Ever since it fell to Earth's oceans from outer space, it had remained there for over a year. Initially, nearby sea monsters had attempted to break and consume the massive egg, but after shattering several teeth, no creature dared to approach it again.
Suddenly, the egg vibrated violently. For the past few days, it had seemed almost sentient, trying to break free from within. The vibrations intensified, causing the seaweed to fall away and reveal strange golden patterns on the eggshell.
Crack! A seam suddenly split open on the eggshell, and a claw covered in black scales reached out through the gap.
The greatest crisis in Earth's history was beginning to brew, yet no one was aware. Only Shen Mu understood that this period marked the birth of the Golden-Horned Beast. However, Shen Mu felt powerless. With the strength of the Azure Dragon clone, attempting to patrol the ocean in search of the Golden-Horned Beast would likely lead to its demise at the hands of the two beast emperors.
***
As time moved to January 5, 2059, the recently returned Luo Feng was recognized as possessing councilor-level strength, becoming the seventh inspector of the Limit Dojo during his inauguration ceremony.
On that day, Shen Mu also received a call from Hong, but it was not an invitation to attend Luo Feng's ceremony; rather, it was about a situation unfolding on Misty Island.
Just days earlier, the personnel stationed on Misty Island from the Limit Dojo had detected a strong surge of life energy within the core lake of the island through monitoring instruments. The intensity of that life energy wave startled all the staff, as it far exceeded that of any human warrior, including Hong and the Lei Shen, positioning it at the same level as the two beast emperors.
On Earth, the highest realms were not occupied by Hong and the Lei Shen, but rather by the two beast emperors.
Otherwise, even if these two beast emperors hid within the ocean, they would undoubtedly perish at the hands of Hong, who possessed a domain.
****
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