In the desolate domain of twilight ruins, a cluster of pure white structures stood erected on a low-lying plain. Tall lighthouses continuously emitted pure, radiant white light, dispelling the oppressive grey mist and illuminating the surrounding land.
The land was not vast, devoid of greenery and still desolate, yet under the shroud of pure white light, it resembled a paradise, peaceful and serene, untouched by malevolent forces.
Now, outside this relic, more buildings in a distinctly "ancient" and "simple" style had appeared.
These structures, including high towers and walls, were inscribed with intricate patterns. When the patterns on all the buildings constructed around the entire relic group closed in, this epic ritual took shape. It was a composite ritual, serving both as a barrier and for concealment.
However, at this moment, within the heart of the ruins, atop the domed structure encircled by pure white lighthouses, a dazzling beam of light pierced the heavens, disseminating a message comprehensible only to humans. The high-level rituals constructed by the Sunset Kingdom in the vicinity seemed non-existent, as the beam of light passed through them unimpeded.
"The time is near. Trial Ground No. 404 will open three months from now, at dawn. We await your anticipation."
A concise yet striking message directly entered their minds.
Numerous Sunset Kingdom guards nearby jolted in surprise. Some high-ranking officials realized something and looked towards their great King Duruk, the Hand of Twilight.
The Hand of Twilight's face was ashen.
"Dawn!"
...
The mysterious message propagated outwards. The first to receive it were the powerful beings of the oases scattered across the twilight ruins domain. The transmission of this mysterious message appeared selective, only reaching those at the pinnacle of the Sixth Sense, or the crème de la crème of the Fourth and Fifth Senses. Older Sixth Sense individuals also seemed excluded from this mysterious broadcast.
Also situated within the twilight ruins domain, and a mythical being like herself, Yunji was among the first to receive the mysterious message.
She immediately recognized the importance of the matter. As the day's maiden prayer had concluded, she hurried out of her place of seclusion.
Outside, the elders of the Silent Night Court had already convened a meeting. Upon seeing Yunji arrive, they cupped their hands to their chests in greeting before resuming their heated debate.
"The mysterious message must be treated with extreme caution! In the Strange Realm, any mysterious object demands double vigilance. They might not be honey, but poison!"
"Perhaps, the moment we heard the mysterious message, we were subtly contaminated!"
"That's unlikely. Princess Yunji also heard the mysterious message. Her Highness is a mythical existence, not easily tricked. This indicates the mysterious message contains only ordinary information."
"Trial Ground... does that sound familiar? Haven't I seen it somewhere in a text?"
"The message contains only a few dozen characters, no more details."
Seeing that no consensus could be reached, Yunji quietly departed. She proceeded to the Silent Night Court's highest library and began perusing its archives.
Most of these archives, excluding the small portion pertaining to their oasis's privacy, had been copied and uploaded by Yunji to the organization's database.
She was well aware that with her organization's scale and foundation, they wouldn't care for such trivial data. This was less of a task and more of a benefit bestowed by her mentor.
After all, her mentor had given her too much.
Through the substantial contribution points earned from uploading and completing data, Yunji had not only exchanged for and mastered several high-level skill inheritances but also acquired vast quantities of 'Water of Life' and 'Tranquil Tea' to heal the elders and elite members who had been severely injured and tainted previously.
However, despite uploading a great deal of data, the books and documents she had truly read within this library still constituted a very small fraction. After all, even mental scanning required time, and she had only recently ascended to the mythical realm. Most of her previous time had been dedicated to cultivation and daily prayers, leaving her no time for other pursuits.
— But at least, she had read many of the titles!
As soon as she entered the library, Yunji walked directly towards her target area, simultaneously disseminating her consciousness to rapidly search for the information she needed. She had few clues, only 'mysterious message' and 'trial ground,' making it difficult to deduce more.
Fortunately, the Silent Night Court had inherited a significant portion of the traditions from the Night Country. The data here was abundant, and the secrets involved were profound.
Yunji employed her master-level 'Object Manipulation' skill. Ancient, weighty books flew from distant shelves, hovering several meters before her, their pages turning with a rustle.
She read with her eyes and scanned with her consciousness, quickly moving over book after book.
Before long, she actually found a similar description in an ancient tome.
Yunji sat on a swing formed by solidified flowing water, her feet suspended off the ground, one hand propping her chin, her eyes cast down, a bright glow gradually appearing within them.
"This seems... to be a trial ground relic of the Kandra Empire!"
There were many types of Kandra Empire relics, and the 'trial ground' ranked among the most precious. Furthermore, these types of relics had their own operational rules, and upon opening, they would transmit 'notification messages' to the surroundings, which was the origin of the mysterious sound they heard.
"It is said that the trial grounds were aimed at the talents of the Kandra Empire era, so the entire trial process was very safe, and those who successfully navigated it would receive substantial rewards."
This sounded like an exam and rewards arranged for students, making her, a mythical being, somewhat condescending. However, from ancient texts, Yunji had long learned that the Kandra Empire was teeming with powerful individuals. In that era, seven-sense myths were not considered supreme. After all, the Kandra Empire had developed a very complete method of awakening, and breaking through the Seventh Sense might not have been very dangerous.
Hmm, she recalled her own breakthrough to the Seventh Sense, and it seemed... perhaps safer?
However, she had received her mentor's protection during her breakthrough. The awakening of mythical beings in the Kandra Empire seemed quite common. The trial grounds were aimed at the talents and geniuses of the Kandra Empire, absolutely not to be underestimated.
Rather, she, a newly ascended mythical being, might not even achieve much.
"Legend has it that it was the mysterious, great, and supreme Emperor of Radiance who established the trial ground plan. It is said that during the execution of the plan, there was considerable opposition, and its final implementation was not easy."
"What these trial grounds brought to the Kandra Empire, I cannot know. However, in our era, trial grounds have had a profound impact. Many technologies, awakening methods, and core inheritances... are now propagated from the trial ground relics."
No wonder she had vaguely felt that she had heard the words 'trial ground' before.
Having confirmed it was a Kandra Empire relic and not a temptation from some evil god, Yunji, after informing the Grand Elder, set off immediately.
She did not bring attendants or guards, nor did she travel by airship—airships were far slower than her, though infinitely more comfortable than her own arduous flight.
At this moment, Yunji was focused on the newly unearthed relic and unwilling to dawdle. She waved her hand, releasing flowing water, and then solidified this water into the shape of a small boat. She tested it by stepping on it; it was somewhat soft but quite stable, and she nodded in satisfaction.
The next moment, Yunji controlled these solidified water flows, carrying her into the sky. Simultaneously, she activated the 'Invisible Force Field' to envelop her body, preventing the strong winds from disheveling her hair and clothes.
As if feeling it was still not fast enough, she employed the advanced skill 'Object Manipulation' to enhance her simple flying boat. After being expertly sculpted by her water manipulation abilities, this water bubble boat could barely be considered a 'thing'. The requirements of master-level object manipulation for 'things' were not very high.
Driven by the dual cores of water manipulation and object manipulation, the flat water boat sliced through the sky like a rocket. The sudden acceleration caused Yunji's entire body to lean back, startling her for a moment. But as she gazed at the crumbling buildings flashing by below, a flush of excited color rose to Yunji's cheeks. She even lowered the flight altitude of the boat, executing tactical maneuvers like upward turns, downward spirals, and charged dives to avoid obstacles along the way.
Wherever the flying boat passed, it left behind a trail of unpredictable white streaks and suppressed, yet uncontainable, excited laughter.
"Woohoo, woohoo, woohoo—"
She had been a princess before, always needing to maintain her composure. Now that she had ascended to the mythical realm, theoretically, no one could control her. Yet Yunji remained very mindful of her actions. She represented the face of the Silent Night Court!
However, now that she was alone, and within the dense grey fog, with only irrational, speechless fiends around, Yunji let loose. She even ceased maintaining the invisible force field, allowing the violent wind to buffet her cheeks. She savored the speed and thrill, letting out unladylike laughter that startled the fiends below into looking up.
After flying for half a day, Yunji slowly reduced her speed, reactivated the invisible force field, and conjured a mirror from flowing water.
She took half an hour, clumsily tidying her hair and clothes, comparing herself in the mirror. It was no wonder; normally, tasks like dressing and hair combing were done by her maids. She wasn't utterly helpless in daily life, but aside from combat, her daily dressing and grooming were quite elaborate. These complex rituals stemmed from the long-standing traditions of the Night Country, a symbol of their oasis's foundation and culture.
Culture and rituals must not be abandoned. Yunji did not dislike them, otherwise, wouldn't they become barbarians? It was only when she tried to do it herself that she discovered how troublesome it was, and this was even after she had employed several 'invisible hands' to operate comprehensively. Otherwise... Yunji shivered.
After a glance in the mirror, deeming herself presentable, Yunji patted her cheeks, put on a serious, elegant, and noble expression, and piloted the flat water boat towards her destination.
The mysterious message contained approximate location information for the relic.
She deciphered it with little effort, but she knew other oases would likely be able to do the same. Yunji was mentally prepared to encounter other oasis members at the relic site, but she was still surprised upon her arrival.
"It's buildings, rituals!"
"The Sunset Kingdom discovered this relic long ago?"
Possibly affected by the beam of light, the carefully arranged rituals of the Sunset Kingdom were already in disarray. The towers and walls within the ritual's coverage flickered in and out of existence. Even more striking was a burst of brilliance above the domed structure in the distance, illuminating the entire relic complex with incredible clarity.
It was indeed a Kandra relic!
Her arrival naturally could not be hidden from Duruk, the Hand of Twilight, a mythical being of equal standing.
The king and mythical being of the Sunset Kingdom looked at Yunji, a flicker of apprehension in the depths of his eyes. "This place belongs to my Sunset Kingdom. Princess Yunji, please stop."
Yunji's gaze swept across the surroundings, settling on the white light screen erected in front of the relic.
"Relics have always been ownerless. You Sunset Kingdom have not claimed this Kandra relic; you are merely one of the discoverers. Furthermore..."
She looked directly at Duruk, the mythical being, "This is a trial ground relic. It possesses its own set of operational rules. Even if you surround the relic, you will not gain any more. Moreover, the announcement for the impending opening of the trial ground has already spread far and wide, even to other great domains. Lord Hand of Twilight, you should understand what this means."
What it meant, the Hand of Twilight understood perfectly.
However, he harbored a sliver of hope. What if the range of this mysterious message was limited only to the twilight ruins domain? He was wary of Princess Yunji, not necessarily certain he could defeat her, but the Sunset Kingdom had more than just him, the Hand of Twilight, as a mythical being.
As he pondered, another imposing figure appeared.
He wore a tall hat and was somewhat hunched, appearing to be an unremarkable old man. Yet, the divine aura and power emanating from this mythical being were even stronger than Duruk's.
This was... a mythical being with two divine natures!
Sakris, the Sun Halo Apostle, Wing of Twilight!
The old man squinted his eyes, exuding a dangerous aura.
The Hand of Twilight, Duruk, immediately gained confidence and emphasized, "Entry to this place is forbidden."
...
Mythical beings do not easily initiate conflict. Even with two against one, the two mythical beings of the Sunset Kingdom did not have absolute certainty of killing or capturing the exceptionally talented mythical being Yunji.
Yunji, for her part, would not make a move.
After all, she was the one at a disadvantage. Her Silent Night Court had no allies or backing. Under normal circumstances, she would have to reluctantly withdraw from the competition for the relic. However, now, in addition to being a mythical being of the Silent Night Court, she was also a member of the mysterious organization 'Embers'.
She could call for backup.
Of course, her mentor would likely not care about a mere Trial Ground No. 404. With her organization's scale, they might already occupy several dozen Kandra Empire relics.
However, the organization was the organization, and individuals were individuals.
Relics were insignificant to the organization. But to a mythical being, Yunji believed the Kandra trial grounds were quite tempting. She could contact organization members Eloisi and Citina, who were far away in the Starfall Great Domain. With them, she would no longer fear the two mythical beings of the Sunset Kingdom.
Their organization had more mythical beings!
She lifted her snow-white neck, adopting a "so proud.jpg" stance!
Furthermore, the mysterious message had already spread, and she estimated that more mythical beings might appear. She could not afford to be careless. Fortunately, this relic was a trial ground, where success depended entirely on individual ability. Violent exploitation was not feasible nor possible, so the competition for the relic would not escalate into a major conflict... or so she hoped?
Returning to the Silent Night Court, Yunji stopped the departing team, instructing them to remain on standby, and then took out a communication device to write to Eloisi in the Blazing Market.
— Upon leaving the Blazing Market last time, she had left behind components for a communication device. Now, the Silent Night Court also had a base and stationed personnel in the market, but contacting them was not as quick as directly writing to Eloisi.
In fact, there was an even faster way to communicate: through the organization's internal channels. It was said that by borrowing the great power of a senior known as 'Illusion', letters could be delivered in less than a second, completely disregarding the vast distances of the Strange Realm.
But Yunji considered that this was merely a personal, minor matter, and there were still three full months until the trial ground opened. There was no need to trouble the great senior 'Illusion'... even though sending the letter cost very little contribution points.
She summoned a feather pen, tapped her chin with her finger, contemplated the blank parchment before her, and began to write.
"Dear Miss Eloisi:..."
...
...
On Blue Star, Mentor Fang had not yet learned of the emergence of precious relics.
This was because he had been lying down for days. Even the Level 6 dormitory could only slowly soothe his physical and mental exhaustion.
"Ah~~~"
Lying on the bed, Fang You sighed helplessly.
Showing off for a moment felt good; the aftermath was even more painful.
Using 'Lord of the Realm's Hand' and 'World Power' did not actually have any side effects. It was simply that Mentor Fang was too "weak" to withstand the weight of the vast world power.
He was not entirely exhausted. In his judgment, with the 'Lord of the Realm's Hand' at full strength that day, even if he couldn't unleash seventy or eighty consecutive attacks, he could still manage twenty or thirty.
However, he might have collapsed and fainted afterward.
Moreover, the fatigue and soreness from the weight of world power did not affect his body or mind. If it were merely physical exhaustion, he could have slept for half a day or a day and revived with full energy. However, his fatigue and soreness stemmed from his soul and consciousness.
His soul was far from able to bear the weight of the world. Such exhaustion recovered extremely slowly. He felt that only upon entering the mythical realm could soul power automatically recover. If he were merely a mortal in the Sixth Sense, once soul power was depleted, it was a permanent loss.
"Treasures that can restore soul power are extremely rare. The few low-grade treasures in the vault now are but a drop in the bucket. Fortunately, the benefits of the Level 6 dormitory are sufficiently powerful."
"Another two days, and I'll be able to get up energetically."
His current condition did not actually affect his daily life or combat. It was just that rather than acting with soul fatigue, it was better to lie down for a couple more days. Whether he lay down now or later, he had to lie down, otherwise, relying on his own recovery, this time would be extended by dozens of times.
Mentor Fang mused that he might as well take a few days off.
... He couldn't lie down for long, so after half a day, he started handling the accumulated administrative tasks. With Xiao Huan's assistance, he could work while lying down. It was the perfect time to clear the backlog of official business. This was what he called efficient time management and utilization.
However, in just two or three days, all the accumulated tasks were completed. Fang You had even approved many documents that did not require his personal attention.
Then, he had nothing to do.
Suddenly finding himself idle, he felt as if countless ants were crawling all over him, making him restless. This had nothing to do with soul depletion.
Fang You sighed. Unknowingly, he had also become as driven as Old Brother Black Knife. He had positioned himself as a stingy boss, so why was he acting like this now!
Pondering, Fang You opened his panel. During his leisure, he intended to carefully organize and tally the current panel functions.
On the main panel interface, seven concisely arranged sections were listed in order.
[Destiny Draw], [Apostle List], [Item Overview], [Mission Dispatch], [Organization Base], [Strange Realm Exploration], [Dungeon Shuttle].
Among these, he had recently utilized the Destiny Draw function, so he skipped it for now.
Item Overview: All items stored in the base's warehouse were accounted for. Simultaneously, he could directly 'grant' an item to a Destiny Apostle. This was item teleportation that ignored spatial distance, and it was, of course, unidirectional.
...
The Mission Dispatch function was the primary way for the organization to acquire destiny points. However, mission markers only refreshed within Blue Star, Spark Oasis, Blazing Oasis, and Oasis No. 3.
Currently, regular dispatch missions posed no difficulty. Special missions, which were not daily occurrences, had not appeared for over a year.
Fang You felt nostalgic.
Unfortunately, special missions depended on the organization's scale and the severity of the situation. Currently, there were no special events within the mission refresh range that could be described as severe. If there were, the situation would be quite dire. From this perspective, it was a good thing.
As for the two major skills accompanying the mission module: Map Range and Detection Precision, they could no longer be leveled up after reaching Lv7 and were now relegated to a corner.
Some still played important roles.
The mission module also came with a [Strange Creature Compendium]. This function allowed Embers apostles to collect information on strange creatures upon contact and continuously refine it.
Embers possessed very comprehensive information on strange creatures, with the Compendium accounting for 50% of the credit and An Jianyou accounting for 40%.
Sister An had even remotely collected some information on eight-star and nine-star strange creatures.
...
The Organization Base module encompassed both the base and oases.
With the secret realm's advancement to Level 6, the oasis quota had increased by 3 slots. Fang You was carefully considering how to utilize these 3 slots... The secret realm could not be easily upgraded to Level 7 in a short period, so the use of these 3 slots must be cautious.
With the base upgraded to Level 6, many facilities had also undergone significant changes. Among them, the Level 6 training ground, in addition to a 300% focus enhancement and a 90% reduction in skill usage cost, also had a very practical new function: combat invincibility.
This function ensured that their apostles could spar to their heart's content without worrying about accidents. Those like Black Knife and Xing Jinglei, who were combat fanatics, would surely be delighted.
Oh, they seemed to have already used it, and Xing Jinglei was mercilessly defeated? That was normal.
The practical value of apostle dormitories was not as high as the training ground. In this era, few Embers warriors still used dormitories for recovery; most people directly drank potions in the training ground for recovery.
Apostle dormitories were more of a symbol of status and contribution. Currently, most official Embers members could not afford a dormitory within the base. They envied the senior powerhouses who could reside directly in the base.
In addition to spaciousness and multiple functions—maid robots, bathtubs with medicinal bath effects, training areas, etc.—the Level 6 dormitory also provided a self-healing speed enhancement of +2000%. Unfortunately, under normal circumstances, even a twentyfold increase in speed did not restore physical strength, life energy, or injuries as quickly as drinking a potion.
However, after upgrading to Level 6, the apostle dormitory gained a significant new ability: slow recovery of self-pollution.
Even severely polluted patients could be slowly purified within the dormitory. Of course, pollution recovery still followed the principle that lower degrees recovered faster.
This made Fang You's eyes light up.
Even for their Embers organization, eradicating pollution remained a difficult problem. 'Guidance: Awakening' could directly eradicate it, but people could not undergo guidance and awakening every day. Awakening users like Eloisi, who frequently had to activate their 'inhuman mode' or 'mythical state,' were greatly troubled by pollution.
He pondered.
Arranging an apostle dormitory for each of their official members was unrealistic; there wasn't enough space within the base.
However, it was not stated that one dormitory could only accommodate one person. A Level 6 apostle dormitory was a four-courtyard compound, very spacious, and could be converted into a sanatorium. Then, an 8-square-meter dormitory per person would be enough for their recuperation and recovery.
"I almost forgot, the 'ability enhancement' of the apostle dormitory can also be solidified onto external buildings, as long as the building specifications are roughly met."
Embers' hospitals had solidified the recovery speed enhancement buffs. These hospitals were for both internal use and external business. Now, it was merely a matter of establishing an additional pollution purification sanatorium, which was entirely feasible.
In addition to these, the base also housed major architectural facilities such as the [Forge Workshop], [Medical Room], [Planting Park], and [Breeding Park].
The former two provided a large number of high-precision equipment, some of which Master Wang Chui could not replicate. They also provided corresponding enhancement buffs.
The Forge Workshop had buffs that increased the success rate of forging strange artifacts and manufacturing speed.
The Medical Room had similar buffs.
Both were very suitable for laborers.
The plant growth enhancement in the Planting Park was of even greater importance. Farming was already a major pillar industry of Embers.
Fang You slowly scrolled through the panel, carefully observing and contemplating, occasionally drafting and sending out a few more missions.