"It's okay, I guess~"
"I broke through as I practiced!~"
Ye Feng had few reference points for cultivating arcane energy. Coupled with his late start in arcane energy cultivation, he didn't have a clear grasp of its difficulty.
Little did not even realize when she broke through to Gold rank.
This greatly surprised Ye Feng, who had diligently trained and faced death many times...
"I..."
Seeing Ye Feng's nonchalant demeanor, Yue Miao's mouth twitched.
"Speaking of which, Yue Miao, what's your strength like?"
"Although your arcane energy fluctuations are Gold rank, I can't quite pinpoint your exact level..."
Ye Feng looked at Yue Miao with some confusion.
"Sigh... it's a long story..."
Yue Miao sighed deeply, his expression tinged with bitterness.
"Let's not talk about that!"
Yue Miao took a deep breath and said to Ye Feng, "Ye Feng, if you really enter the territory of the Brad Base, be extremely careful!"
"There, the use of arcane energy might actually become a burden for you!"
Yue Miao's expression was quite serious.
"A burden?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Feng was puzzled.
"That's right!"
Yue Miao nodded. "Powerful arcane energy is the greatest reliance of an arcane practitioner. However, near the Brad Base, arcane energy is actually a very tricky matter for arcane practitioners!"
"Because there are a large number of energy-devouring monsters near the Brad Base. They swarm over the moment they sense arcane energy fluctuations and won't leave until they've completely devoured the arcane energy..."
"Furthermore, the vampires in the Brad Base have something called Blood Seal Marks. Arcane practitioners have no advantage near the Brad Base. Those who inject enhancement serums or take desperate pills are actually stronger, and things like firearms are much more effective than elsewhere!"
Yue Miao explained quickly to Ye Feng.
"Is that so... Was the Brad Base's location specifically chosen to target arcane practitioners?"
After hearing Yue Miao's words, Ye Feng couldn't help but form a guess.
"Right, Ye Feng, there's one thing you need to pay attention to: the Brad Base is currently making a big fuss about preparing for a mysterious auction!"
"It is said that something very special will be auctioned!"
Yue Miao paused and added.
"Something special?"
Ye Feng looked at Yue Miao with great curiosity.
"Although there's no definite news, there are rumors that it's an angel!"
Yue Miao pondered for a moment and said.
"Pfft!~"
"Cough cough~! Cough cough!"
Upon hearing Yue Miao's words, Ye Feng, who was drinking iced cola, couldn't help but spray out the cola he had just taken into his mouth and coughed violently.
"An... Angel? Cough cough~!"
"Cough~ You're not talking about someone with wings on their back, also called the Winged race, right?"
Ye Feng, choked by the cola, asked before his cough subsided.
Xiao Xiao also put down her strawberry ice cream and looked at Yue Miao with concern.
"Yes... yes!"
Yue Miao was somewhat confused by Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao's reactions. He nodded. "There are rumors that the Brad Base captured an angel from somewhere and will present it as the final item at this special auction!"
"This..."
After receiving Yue Miao's confirmation, Ye Feng's expression changed. The figures of Ling Xi and Leng Yue flashed rapidly in his mind.
Xiao Xiao also looked at Ye Feng with a worried expression, clearly thinking the same thing.
"Uh, Yue Miao, why is the Brad Base auctioning off an angel?"
Ye Feng paused slightly and asked.
"I don't know!"
Yue Miao shook his head. "I've never seen an angel with my own eyes, only read about them in some documents!"
"Have you heard of the Stone of Hope? It's a very peculiar stone, first discovered in some ancient ruins. The giant Stone of Hope in the Brad Base seems to be related to angels!"
"It is said that the Stone of Hope hides the last hope of the entire angel civilization... The Seven Great Powers have all searched for the Stone of Hope, more or less, openly and secretly..."
"The Brad Base has organized such a grand auction, and there are rumors of an angel... There must be an unspeakable secret behind it!"
Yue Miao frowned and replied.
"I see..."
Ye Feng fell into thought. "Yue Miao, what about the documents you mentioned earlier? Can you show them to me?"
"I can't!"
Yue Miao spread his hands helplessly. "I saw those documents when I was researching with that guy Keller early on... Keller was researching something called Ancient Artifact No. 1 at the time, which seemed to be related to angels."
"But my status in the organization was low back then, and I couldn't get access to Ancient Artifact No. 1. I wasn't even qualified to view Keller's documents..."
As he spoke, a hint of deep hatred flashed in Yue Miao's eyes.
"Ancient Artifact No. 1? What is that?"
Yue Miao's words gave Ye Feng a headache. He realized things were getting complicated.
"I don't know. It's a top secret of the organization! I only saw it by accident back then!"
Yue Miao sighed, somewhat helplessly.
"Wait a minute, organization?"
Ye Feng frowned slightly. "You and Keller belonged to the same organization before... Was it the Dark Holy Cult?"
Liu Laotou had told him about Keller when they were in the City of Frozen Ice.
"Mmm!"
Yue Miao's expression was serious. "The Dark Holy Cult is an extremely mysterious organization. During the Great Cataclysm, I joined it in a confused state because I was struggling to survive..."
...
In the evening,
The sun set,
"This is so troublesome..."
Ye Feng lay on the roof of the Humvee, gazing at the vibrant sunset clouds in the distance, his expression conflicted.
Yue Miao had already left, but the news he brought had thrown Ye Feng's mind into chaos.
"Big brother, should we go and see the Brad Base?"
On the roof of the Humvee, Xiao Xiao, sitting in a rattan chair, turned to Ye Feng and asked.
Ye Feng was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Yes!"
...
Far from Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao,
In a group of blood-red castle-like buildings,
On the rooftop of a castle, a figure clad in a blood-red cloak, wearing a mask with the number 2 on it, stood at the edge of the rooftop.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a red light flashed, and another figure, also clad in a blood-red cloak and wearing a mask with the number 6, landed behind the figure with mask No. 2.
"How is it?"
Mask No. 2 asked in a flat tone without turning his head.
"It's confirmed, No. 11 and his team are wiped out... The entire ancient ruin has completely disappeared, and there's no news of survivors from other major powers... They probably received the news even later than we did..."
Mask No. 6 replied quickly.
"That idiot No. 11 used to boast about replacing me and becoming one of the Ten Blood Guards, but he ended up dying the fastest!"
As his voice fell, a figure slowly emerged from the rooftop. This person was also clad in a blood-red cloak, and the mask on his face bore the number 10.
"No. 10, when did you get here?"
Seeing this, Mask No. 6's expression changed drastically.
...