Chapter 21: Replenishment, Repair, and Pre-battle Mobilization

Zhou Yan looked at his left hand, which had transformed into a slender, long gauntlet sword, and felt a sense of wonder.

"Interesting..." He smiled and looked at Luo Ke. "Since Little Ke specifically chose the number 'ten', could it possibly have ten forms?"

"No!"

"Since it's called the Ten-Form Martial, it should naturally have eleven forms. That's the only way to truly catch an opponent off guard."

Luo Ke let out a little pig-like snort. "So, aside from its base form, it can transform into eleven different weapons."

"Alright, alright, Little Ke really knows her tropes." Zhou Yan could not help but smile.

Luo Ke smiled smugly, then began teaching Zhou Yan the corresponding activation gestures for the other ten forms.

Meanwhile, Luo Xuan watched closely for a long time as the two practiced using the prosthetic limb. Out of nowhere, she suddenly asked, "Luo Ke, the material used for this arm looks a bit like the special alloy specifically reserved for advanced Divine Mecha."

Luo Ke glanced at her, put her hands on her hips, and said, "What do you mean it looks like? It *is* made of special alloy! How else could it achieve this kind of transformation effect?"

Luo Xuan's eyes widened. "The entire prosthetic limb is made of this?! Where on earth did you get the money to buy that alloy?! And what about these specialized circuits? They're all ridiculously expensive."

Luo Ke's expression froze, and she quietly averted her gaze.

Luo Xuan stepped forward two steps, her sword-like eyes fixed on her. "Little Ke, talk!"

Luo Ke shook her head with a guilty conscience. "I... I don't know either..."

Zhou Yan reached out and took her hand, pulling Luo Xuan back. "It's fine, Little Xuan. The Mecha Division said the cost of these materials and circuits will be reimbursed through the Pavilion, and it'll probably be charged to my account."

As Zhou Yan pulled her hand, Luo Xuan could not help blushing slightly.

However, she was naturally clever. Upon hearing Zhou Yan's words, she quickly understood what he meant.

If it were an ordinary personnel, the Lihuo Pavilion, let alone the Vermilion Bird Palace, would certainly not foot such a massive bill.

Geniuses were different, however, especially extraordinary psychics like Zhou Yan.

Even if this Divine Mecha prosthetic was worth millions or even tens of millions, the higher-ups would likely view it merely as a necessary investment cost for a genius.

After all, they had even given Zhou Yan a one-of-a-kind top-tier Divine Mecha. A mere prosthetic limb was completely negligible by comparison.

Seeing that her sister was no longer pursuing the matter, Luo Ke, who had narrowly escaped disaster, cast a look of worship at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow at her, and the two shared a secret smile.

Luo Xuan's attention was still focused on the fact that Zhou Yan had yet to let go of her hand, so she completely missed their subtle exchange.

After that, the night passed uneventfully.

*

Early the next morning.

Zhou Yan opened his eyes, sat up in bed, and fell into silent contemplation as he recalled the feedback he had obtained from entering the "Communication" world last night.

A few days ago, after shattering the Skinner village, he had entered the "Communication" network that very night and written his question on a sticky note: *"Is there any method in this world to regenerate severed limbs and heal the disabled?"*

Since then, he had made it a point to check it every day.

Finally, last night, he saw the feedback.

He had no idea which heavyweight figure among them had provided the answer, but the content written above was as follows:

{If you wish to regrow severed limbs, there are several methods:

First, clone and cultivate the missing limb for transplantation and neural linkage. Under the rule of the Mega-Corporation Alliance, certain cutting-edge corporations can easily accomplish this.

Second, stimulate regeneration directly through certain exotic miraculous herbs. It is rumored that certain one-of-a-kind divine medicines of the Tianyuan Hegemony Empire possess this corresponding effect, but they are all guarded as vital treasures by various factions.

Third, ask the Supreme Pope of the Gospel Church to preside over a blessing ceremony and manifest a divine miracle. However, this is unattainable unless one is a devout believer who has rendered supreme service to the Holy See.

Fourth, cultivate oneself to the absolute limit of the "Transcendent" tier, break through the limitations of life, and achieve automatic regeneration and healing of the body.

Among these, the first method is recommended for ordinary people only. Although a limb regained in this manner is no different from an ordinary one, it permanently lacks stellar coordinates and cannot be driven by spiritual will. It is not a good choice for strong individuals aiming for transcendence.

As for the other three methods, they rely heavily on luck and destiny. Of course, if one is willing to abandon their human identity and adopt certain heretical methods, there are even more pathways, but none of them are good strategies, so I will not elaborate further.}

Simply put, the response to his message boiled down to two points: it was possible, but completely beyond his current capabilities.

Still, it at least gave him some hope and a goal to strive for in the future.

Zhou Yan put away his thoughts, got out of bed, and walked out.

His eyes immediately fell on Luo Xuan, who was sitting cross-legged in the living room, eyes closed in meditation before a screen.

Hearing the door open, the girl opened her eyes and looked at Zhou Yan. As their gazes met, she awkwardly looked away.

Ever since things had grown somewhat ambiguous between her and Zhou Yan lately, she would instinctively feel flustered whenever she was alone with him.

"Morning, Little Xuan." Zhou Yan took it in stride and greeted her with a smile. "Meditating on the Lihuo Diagram?"

Luo Xuan nodded softly. "Mm. My... my spiritual power is inferior to yours, and I can't even fully unleash the combat power of a Divine Mecha. To be honest, when wearing a Divine Mecha, my actual combat effectiveness is probably lower than yours now."

"Clearly, right before this, the gap between you and me..." Luo Xuan's gaze lowered slightly.

Though her voice was clear and calm, and her tone did not sound overly depressed, it clearly conveyed the frustration of being inexplicably surpassed by Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan gently comforted Luo Xuan:

"My Divine Mecha has a flaw. Even if I push myself to the limit to enter the second gear, I can only maintain it for a very short time. Under normal first-gear conditions, I still can't compare to Little Xuan, who is capable of entering the second gear."

"Besides, a Divine Mecha is an external force. Without wearing one, I still can't beat Little Xuan, right?"

As he spoke, he stepped forward and gently took Luo Xuan's hand. "Don't worry, I won't abandon my sect. Since Little Xuan has become my instructor, you'll just have to keep teaching me swordsmanship."

Luo Xuan gave him a faint look and unnaturally looked away, though the corners of her mouth ticked upward slightly.

*Click.*

The sound echoed through the room.

Luo Xuan hurriedly snatched her hand back.

The two turned around and saw Luo Ke walking out while yawning.

"Morning, old sis, Zhou Yan..."

She sleepily greeted the two of them and strolled off toward the bathroom on her own.

"Why is Little Ke up so early?" Zhou Yan asked with some curiosity.

Luo Xuan said softly, "She's been in her element at the Mecha Division these past few days. She's probably planning to go back there today to learn mecha knowledge from Team Leader Cheng."

I see.

Zhou Yan nodded. "What about us? Are we continuing our patrol of the East District today?"

Luo Xuan shook her hand. "No. Sister Chu Wan sent a message this morning notifying us to arrive at the main conference room before nine o'clock."

A trace of excitement flickered in her eyes.

"The thirty True Realm experts dispatched from the Vermilion Bird Palace to provide reinforcements have arrived."

Arrived?

Zhou Yan's eyes flashed.

It seemed this meant he would finally get to witness a "Chaos Rift" in this main world.

*

*

At nine o'clock, in the top-floor main conference room of the Lihuo Pavilion.

In the primary seat sat an elder familiar to Zhou Yan—Zhang Daosheng.

Seated just below him was Cong Shiyun, the master of the Yicheng Lihuo Pavilion. Further down, a circle of people sat around the table, among whom even the youngest looked to be at least thirty-five or thirty-six years old.

Everyone sat up straight with solemn expressions.

Except for Chu Wan; her appearance as a twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old made her look exceptionally young among this crowd.

In this setting, Zhou Yan and Luo Xuan, who were unqualified to sit at the main table and sat instead in the corner of the conference room, looked somewhat conspicuous.

However, everyone present was at least a True Realm expert, and they obviously had no interest in two juniors, uniformly fixing their gaze seriously on Zhang Daosheng at the head of the table.

Zhang Daosheng's expression was stern, and his tone steady. "I won't waste words. I presume all of you already understood the situation when you received your transfer orders."

"Today is August 27th. Everyone, rest well, adjust your states, and maintain your mecha. Tomorrow at noon, we set out directly. Our target is to completely end the calamity left over from three years ago."

"We will annihilate the headquarters of the Fire-Worship Cult and simultaneously clear out the special rift where they are hiding."

He swept his gaze across the conference table and said in a deep voice, "Ten of our True Realm colleagues who participated in that same mission three years ago are still present today."

"You should all know how heavy our losses were during that operation back then; nearly forty personnel above the Profound rank with bright futures died miserably."

"This is a disgrace to the Vermilion Bird Palace. Now that we finally have a chance to wash away this shame, this mission is a must-win."

Finally, he gestured to Cong Shiyun seated below him. "That is all from me. The specific combat plan will be arranged by Pavilion Master Cong. As the leader from back then, he has the most referential experience."

Cong Shiyun then took over the conversation.

He picked up a remote control and pressed a button, projecting images onto the wall screen in front of everyone.

"Colleagues, I am Cong Shiyun. First, I must offer a self-criticism. Back then, I failed the instructions from above; not only did I fail to complete the mission, but I also caused the deaths of many brothers."

He first offered a bitter smile, then quickly continued, "The rift where the Fire-Worship Cult was hidden could not be annihilated back then. Although we later forcibly sealed the rift with the support of our superiors to prevent it from turning into a dead zone, due to unknown reasons during that internal mutation, the rift was never completely sealed either."

"For the past three years, demonic monsters have constantly descended from the vicinity of that rift, causing great trouble to the Yicheng jurisdiction."

"During our process of clearing out the demons over the past few years, we have accumulated some data on their appearances. Although I presume all of you have already reviewed it before coming, to ensure nothing goes wrong, I will share it with everyone once more."

"The most frequent monster is the 'Skinner', generally at the Profound rank of the Mortal Realm in standard conditions—not worth fearing..."

"The Horned Beast, standard Fierce rank of the Mortal Realm. The mutated variants are huge in size, agile in movement, and comparable in strength to a Grandmaster—not worth fearing..."

"Bone Maiden..."

"Cyclops..."

After introducing the conditions of many monsters, Cong Shiyun took a deep breath. "As you can see, if there were only these ordinary monsters, the threat level of this rift would not require so many True Realm experts to be dispatched."

"However..." His voice grew increasingly grave.

"Three years ago, just as we were about to complete the extermination and capture the mysterious headquarters of the Fire-Worship Cult, they used some unknown method to completely mutate the environment of the entire rift."

"The sky turned dim, the earth cracked, and magma erupted."

"And then, terrifying monsters that only appear in high-hazard rifts from historical records emerged."

"The Flame Demon!"

It was not until Cong Shiyun uttered the two words "Flame Demon" that everyone, who had been sitting casually, straightened up in unison.

Every single one of them turned serious.

***