"Ugh~!"
"What is this?"
Ye Feng looked at Yue Yan somewhat dejectedly.
He had been focused on the map of Star-Stepping City and had casually accepted what Yue Yan handed him without looking closely. He found that the dark, sticky mass Yue Yan offered was incredibly foul-smelling, making him almost gag.
"Oh, that's from Tu Po. I had a hard time finding it!"
As she spoke, Yue Yan took a step back, appearing somewhat disgusted by the dark mass in Ye Feng's hand.
"From Tu Po? What is this mess... When did he give me something this stinky?"
Ye Feng replied with a touch of annoyance.
"Don't you remember? When Tu Po was about to be stomped to death by Ares, he desperately threw a bloody mess at you..."
Yue Yan pointed at the object in Ye Feng's hand, "See, that's it..."
"I..."
Ye Feng frowned. Yue Yan's words immediately brought back the memory.
Speaking of Tu Po, Ye Feng's mood became complicated...
"Big Brother, it's time to eat..."
"Ah, what is that, it smells so bad!"
Xiao Xiao had just walked into the living room, but before she could finish her sentence, she covered her nose and retreated.
"This..."
Ye Feng frowned. He forced himself to endure the pungent stench and went to the sink to wash his hands quickly...
After a while, Ye Feng finished washing up and returned to the main hall to have lunch with Xiao Xiao and the others.
Fortunately, he had often charged into hordes of zombies to kill them before, so his psychological resilience was quite strong. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to eat this meal...
...
After lunch,
"Big Brother, what is the thing Tu Po left for you?"
Xiao Xiao looked curiously at the cleaned wooden ball in Ye Feng's hand.
Qiao Ying, Yue Yan, and Shen Botian were also curious. After all, Tu Po had been on the verge of death then, and had used his last ounce of strength to throw this object at Ye Feng...
"This wooden ball... Tu Po seemed to have kept it inside him for a very long time... The outer layer of the wooden ball had already fused with Tu Po's flesh and blood... Inside, there seems to be a piece of paper..."
Ye Feng said as he carefully unwrapped the wooden ball.
"This..."
Ye Feng spread out the note. Upon seeing the words on the paper, his expression immediately changed.
"Ye Feng, what's wrong?"
Yue Yan immediately asked.
"The note seems to record what Tu Po had investigated about the gods before... Ares has a connection with someone named Samael... Hades the Underworld King has a connection with someone named Lucius... They were toasting each other..."
"There's also information about Bing here..."
Ye Feng's brows furrowed. "According to what Tu Po wrote on this paper... The Dark Holy Cult wants to capture Bing for a Divine Stone irradiation experiment because a withered branch reacted... And Ares, one of the gods, wants to capture Bing, also seemingly because a withered branch reacted..."
"A word Tu Po overheard when he went to see Ares... 'Let the Golden Apple Tree take root and sprout again'..."
"What is all this?"
Ye Feng was very puzzled.
"Ye Feng, Samael should be the King of Wrath among the Seven Deadly Sins... Lucius should also be one of the Seven Deadly Sins, the King of Pride and Cruelty..."
Qiao Ying frowned slightly and spoke, "It's very strange... The gods have always proclaimed eternal enmity with demons, and the two sides often engage in large-scale battles... How could these Twelve Olympians and the Seven Deadly Sins be toasting each other?"
"Ye Feng, let me see the note!"
Yue Yan took the note from Ye Feng. "A withered branch reacted... Golden apple... Take root and sprout again... Bing... Divine Stone irradiation experiment..."
Yue Yan muttered, her pupils shrinking as if she had thought of something.
"Ye Feng... Ares wanting to capture Bing... is likely related to the awakening of the gods!"
Yue Yan turned to Ye Feng, her expression extremely serious.
"Related to the awakening of the gods?"
Ye Feng looked at Yue Yan, puzzled.
"Yes! I just thought of it!"
Yue Yan nodded. "Do you still remember Meiyu... He's a so-called 'God Awakener', so it makes sense that he's targeting Bing..."
"Moreover, Ares went to such great lengths this time, personally intervening to capture Bing... his motive must be extraordinary. If it's related to the awakening of the gods, then his personal involvement is not surprising!"
Yue Yan explained quickly.
"It's Hera!"
At this moment, Shen Botian spoke.
"Hera, one of the Twelve Olympians... Legend has it that the Golden Apple is a treasure unique to Hera..."
"The reason Princess Bing is being targeted... is likely because she is connected to the awakening of Hera, one of the Twelve Olympians..."
Under the gaze of Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and the others, Shen Botian spoke slowly.
"If that's the case... 'a withered branch reacted'... refers to a branch of the Golden Apple Tree? Bing reacted after touching a withered branch of the Golden Apple Tree, and that reaction... is what caused Meiyu to target Bing..."
"Bing is related to the awakening of Hera among the Twelve Olympians... Is this why Meiyu insisted on capturing Bing alive in the City of Despair?"
Ye Feng connected the dots and deduced.
"But why is the Dark Holy Cult targeting me? Isn't the King of Doomsday behind the Dark Holy Cult? Could the King of Doomsday be connected to these so-called gods?"
Bing's somewhat confused voice followed.
"This..."
Hearing this, Ye Feng and the others all frowned.
"It's really complicated... Never mind, let's not worry about this for now~"
Ye Feng let out a sigh, put away the note, and looked at Bing. "Bing, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Everything will become clear eventually~"
"Mhm!"
Bing nodded seriously.
...
For the next few days, Ye Feng often discussed the map of Star-Stepping City with Shen Botian. He would also take time to cultivate in the ice fields on the edge of the City of Arcane Arts or help kill zombies that broke into the city...
Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao, along with Qiao Ying, Bing, Frost, Shen Yunyao, Han Qiuli, and others, moved around and explored the City of Arcane Arts, occasionally helping to kill some monsters...
...
One morning,
Ye Feng opened his [Personal Information] panel.
[Name: Ye Feng]
[Strength: Diamond Rank Six]
[Wisdom: ?]
[Accuracy: 10 (Normal person is 2)]
[Available Points: 22321]
[Accuracy Points: 0]
"This is the first time the Available Points have reached five digits..."
"And these Available Points are truly magical... I'm already Diamond Rank Six, and I need this stuff to cultivate and grow stronger..."
Looking at the number behind the [Available Points] column, Ye Feng couldn't help but mutter.
Then, his consciousness spoke in his mind, "System, upgrade [Shop]..."
"Uh... what's going on?"
Ye Feng waited for a while, but did not hear the sound of the [Shop] upgrading from Lv6 to Lv7, and he was somewhat puzzled.