The Final Preparations, and Departure (Thanks to Yin Liuxiao for the Alliance Leader!)

The sea of blood and the tranquil White Mist—such extreme scenes, shifting so frequently—truly astonished Ian.

In the nine years since awakening Precognitive Vision, he had never seen anything like this.

"Interesting."

But after that brief surprise, Ian's mind began racing as he considered the cause.

There were clearly several possibilities behind such violent, abnormal fluctuations.

The first was that powerful figures were clashing.

Beneath the camp's peaceful surface, the eight Fourth Energy Level experts were surely confronting one another in secret, probing each other's strength and hidden cards. The final shifts in action produced by this game of wits would undoubtedly affect the life and death of everyone present.

In truth, setting out to begin the exploration the day after tomorrow was itself the result of this contest—the local Canaanmore had official exploration forces as well as those of the Dragon-Worshiping Cult, while the Empire had used the Dragon-Worshiping Cult to bring Ian into the operation. Thanks to their geographical advantage, their influence over the ruins would certainly grow ever greater. But because of that, the other factions would never allow it. Even if their preparations were insufficient, they could not let the Empire and Canaanmore gain too great an advantage in this matter.

The Azure Heaven Royal Court was surely the most anxious about this. They, too, possessed some geographical advantage—greater than that of the other nations, but weaker than that of the Empire and Canaanmore. With their early preparations, they could still divide the world into equal halves for now, but given time, both the Royal Court's relative strengths and weaknesses would become increasingly apparent.

But Ian quickly rejected this possibility.

Though it could explain many things, future changes caused by a clash between powerful figures should not have been so regular. They should have been far