The journey home × Ice and fire

Fifteen days have passed.

Kevin's first major sporting event had come to an end.

The final victor was a hairy monster eight meters tall with four arms and six legs.

Its attacks can unleash Air Cannon and air blades.

It's a pure numerical crushing victory.

After two matches, they secured the final victory.

After calculation, Jin indeed ranked first in the energy ranking.

After that match, Kim didn't participate in any other matches. He was very confident in his ranking, and that's exactly what happened.

"It's all over, why don't they show any signs of stopping?"

Among Kevin and the others who had reunited, Aimeme asked with some confusion.

The Cat chimed in, "Of course, competitions like this will probably continue for another month or two. After all, it's rare to have so many lives gathered here."

The Dark Continent is vast.

For large-scale competitions like this, people have to spend a lot of time traveling long distances to get here.

Naturally, those warmongers were unwilling to let go of such an opportunity at this time.

Therefore, the lingering impact of the match can be several times longer than the match itself.

How often are these kinds of competitions held?

Jin was somewhat curious.

Five years.

Kevin said.

"So long?"

However, the Cat only glanced at him.

Five years is hardly a long time.

For the creatures of the Dark Continent, a occurrence every five years is considered very frequent.

Now that the competition is over, Kevin and his team are preparing to return. The gains they made this time were substantial, primarily in terms of information.

This single gain was enough for them to have a complete understanding of the entire Sky Overlord's territory, no longer completely clueless. With a clear understanding of their own territory, they had more references for how to act.

Jin presented the prize to the Croak-Croak Clan as a token of gratitude for their rescue.

Kevin and the others then said goodbye to the Cat.

Soon they began their journey home.

What should we do with these two little ones?

Jin asked.

Little Flame and Snow Fairy.

Kevin looked at the two transparent spheres in front of him. Enclosed by a barrier, the two creatures inside remained unconscious.

However, judging from their appearance, both creatures seem to be recovering.

"Let's just leave it like this for now and deal with it when they wake up."

On their way home, they gathered together, so they didn't need to be as careful.

Furthermore, since they were returning along the same route, the speed wasn't slow.

Before long, they left the area covered by the World Tree.

"Having gotten used to being under the trees, the difference is really noticeable when you leave this area. No wonder the environment is even better below the canopy."

Biscuit sensed the changes in her surroundings and couldn't help but speak.

They had already left the furthest branch of the World Tree that extended in this direction.

Men Qi nodded, raised her hand and waved it in the air, saying, "Indeed, you don't feel anything when you first enter the tree's environment, but after staying in the environment under the tree for a while, the feeling becomes very obvious."

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

"Essentially, nothing has changed for us. At most, the air quality has deteriorated, but apart from the physical difference, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference."

59

Tuk said he had conducted a detailed reconnaissance.

Being under the canopy doesn't make them any stronger or anything like that.

It's simply because the overall environment is at a higher level, which allows the surrounding plants to grow more vigorously and provides more resources.

More resources mean more organisms can be supported, and food sources and various supplies will be more abundant.

As for whether it has any better effects on life, to be honest, maybe it does, but it may take many years to see results.

The assessment was that it would be better to use a drug injection.

"You should know that the area we've been operating in is very likely just a small section of the World Tree's distant branches."

"This shows that the further down you go, the better the environment becomes, and the more pronounced the experience will be."

Biscuit reminded him.

They also gathered information about the World Tree while they were in the Arena.

In the Arena, the World Tree is not a secret. After all, it is such a huge creature that any flying life form can see it by soaring into the sky and piercing through the clouds.

When all the clouds in the sky have disappeared, you will be able to see the huge branches and leaves in the sky.

The reason they didn't see it immediately was because the branches above them were too tall, and they didn't directly cover their heads, but rather affected a certain area.

In other words, their location has always been at the furthest point where the World Tree can exert its influence.

"But the further down the tree we go, the fiercer the competition will become. It's really not relevant to us. Maybe only Kevin can try to get a chance."

Aimeme said.

Even a fool could guess what that scene would be like.

These desolate coastal areas may have low biodiversity, but they are no less dangerous.

The competition must be incredibly fierce in such a dense and dangerous environment inside; I can't even imagine it.

You have to understand that we are all different species, and there is not much Mercy for creatures of different species; there is only pure competition.

It's so bloody, it hardly needs any introduction.

"You're thinking too far ahead. Take it slow. We have plenty of time now. Don't use the concept of time from human society to pressure yourself."

Kevin then spoke up.

The Dark Continent —or rather, this world, though plagued by the Undying disease, a calamity that has brought extinction upon its races.

However, there are also many ways to avoid it.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be such a large population.

Billions of humans can only rank fourth, and this is just a known hypothesis.

The actual number is likely to be higher, not lower.

There shouldn't be too many ethnic groups with ways to avoid it.

In the foreseeable future, they will eventually explore towards the base of the tree.

"And to be honest, I'm not even that strong within the Lord's power level."

Kevin said with a hint of regret.

"We can't even see the threshold to becoming Lord yet," Biscuit rolled her eyes at Kevin and retorted.

Hearing this, Kevin shook his head and smiled, somewhat helplessly.

You'll see when you get up there.

Only a limited number of people from this group can make it up.

But once you climb up, you'll see a deep, unreachable distance.

Keep in mind that even now, Kevin's Nen level is still below two million.

Although combat power is not measured by Nen.

However, the leap in life strength is indeed linked to power.

After all, the so-called "mind power" is the reaction to Life Force, corresponding to the body and the level of the individual.

"But what were your feelings about being inside that broken World Tree?"

Suddenly, Men Qi thought of something, looked at Jin and the others, and asked curiously.

Even a broken World Tree is still World Tree, right?

There must be something special about it.

To everyone's surprise, Jin shook his head.

"I didn't feel anything while I was inside. We were quite sensitive to it at the time, and it took me a while to confirm that it was the World Tree."

After all, Jin was the only one among them who had studied the World Tree in human society.

But when it comes to the World Tree, Jin gets really excited.

"Based on my later research and speculation on that linden tree, although the broken tree was equally exaggerated and huge, and although it could not be called a seedling, it could be called a young tree."

And considering how close it was to the real World Tree, I guess it probably failed to compete for nutrients and was then broken by external forces.

"You think it was broken by an external force?" Kevin asked.

He didn't go there to see it.

Jin nodded.

"I went to check the cross-section at the time, and there were obvious signs of external force breaking it. It didn't feel like it was broken by force on one side and then forcefully snapped off."

Although it wasn't a smooth cut, it was still a tear. If I'm not mistaken, a powerful force must have struck the fracture surface, instantly tearing it apart, which explains the relatively clean tear.

In other words, it's not the kind of thing where force is applied on one side and then it slowly breaks.

It was a sudden, instantaneous impact that struck the fracture surface and snapped it in two.

How big is that thing?

"Men Qi asked."

"It's hard to describe. If I had to put it in perspective, you could think of it as ten Sky Tower tightly packed together."

Upon hearing Tuk's description, Men Qi stroked his chin and began to simulate it in his mind.

That's an exaggeration.

What do you think of the environment inside the broken log?

Kevin thought for a moment and asked, remembering the whispered conversation he had with Leckka.

The importance of Broken Wood and the Croak-Croak Clan.

"It's great. To be honest, if I hadn't gone outside the tree and had a complete view of the whole tree, I would have thought they were living inside the dug-out tree hole, and that the tree was still alive."

The inside of the entire tree is a small world, and it's incredibly vibrant; it's hard to describe the feeling.

At least from the inside, it was a very nice and beautiful environment.

The appearance of such a broken tree in the desolate Gobi is like Secret Realm.

"Hiss—come to think of it, there might be more Frog than we imagined."

Jin calculated it carefully.

"There were thousands of Frog there at the time, and there must have been tadpoles and other creatures that hadn't yet become Frog in that huge pond, as well as the eggs that had been hidden."

Tuk then added, "Those Frog aren't weak either; they definitely exceeded the limit."

"So that tree might actually have a isolating effect, and it could be a way to block out the outside world."

They chatted idly as they walked towards the sea.

Nighttime, halfway through the journey.

While resting.

Kevin sensed something and looked at the two floating spheres.

The others sitting around the Bonfire also looked over.

Within the two spheres, both the flame and the Snow Fairy showed signs of awakening.

As the sphere swayed slightly, both individuals awoke simultaneously.

The flame opened its eyes.

That's strange.

The flames opened their eyes.

It has a dreamlike quality.

The eyes in the flames had a cute quality; they blinked and looked around, but seemed to calm down when they saw Jin and the others.

At the same time, the fairy also woke up, flapped its wings, and turned the entire sphere into an ice-blue color.

However, she was not alarmed; she simply stared at them with curious eyes.

They only had curiosity in their eyes, not the fear they should have felt.

Kevin reached out and took the Snow Fairy's sphere in his hand.

There's no need to worry about the flame, since he's already familiar with Jin.

The Snow Fairy lay on the sphere with her hands on the side, watching Kevin with eyes full of curiosity.

Kevin sensed a hint of human characteristics in the Snow Fairy.

Here we go again.

He couldn't help but look at Zaharut.

The spherical barrier was simply removed, and the ice sprites were freed.

It flapped its wings in the air, and the surroundings suddenly turned cold, as if a cold wind had blown by.

Sensing this, the flames within the barrier instantly ignited, setting the entire sphere ablaze.

The scorching heat clashed with the frost.

Sensing this, the frost sprite immediately turned around, frowned, and flapped its wings vigorously.

The cold wind and scorching temperature swept over everything at once, distorting the environment.

"Quiet down!"

Kevin roared, his imposing aura overwhelming them.

The two creatures immediately quieted down.

But they both seemed very dissatisfied with each other.

Can you speak? Can you understand spoken language?

Kevin looked at the Snow Fairy and asked.

The first question is about human language; the second question is about the universal language.

Yes, I can understand it.

She knows both human language and the universal language.

"Is your appearance something you created by absorbing our information?"

Kevin asked seriously.

The ice fairy nodded, and just like a human, it spread its arms and flew around, as if showing itself off.

"Yes, yes, it looks really beautiful."

As he spoke, he turned around to look at the Little Flame and said in the universal language of all things.

"Get away from me, you're really annoying."

"You're the one who's disgusting."

The conflict between ice and fire is so straightforward and reasonable.

Kevin simply sealed the Snow Fairy away with a barrier.

Jin walked over and picked up the ball of flame.

The temperature seems to be controllable at will; the sphere's temperature is currently extremely high, but it hasn't burned the gold.

"What happened to you back then? Why did you end up inside Zaharut's body?"

He was more interested in knowing what happened after they fell into a coma.

Little Flame gave a simple explanation of the matter.

During the battle, when they were almost exhausted and unconscious, Little Flame was right beside Zaharut.

The wind and snow intensified, and the Little Flame was almost extinguished under those conditions, so it naturally jumped directly into Zaharut's body.

It is essentially capable of controlling its own temperature and is also a spiritual construct, so it directly resides in Zaharut's body.

This wouldn't normally be a problem; it would even help Zaharut maintain his body temperature amidst the wind, snow, and frost.

Unfortunately, by some strange twist of fate, a frost fairy appeared.

In that situation, the Snow Fairy was still a blue speck of light.

Amidst the wind and snow, seemingly sensing the excessive heat, it instinctively and impulsively entered Zaharut's body.

This is where the problem lies.

Ice and fire clashed instantly within, and Zaharut, who was already unconscious, fell into a deep coma due to the conflict.

If it weren't for the medication given at the time, Zaharut might be in a vegetative state now.

They entered each other's spiritual bodies and were naturally affected by each other's spiritual bodies. The deep coma affected them, causing both of them to fall into a deep coma under the same circumstances.

By penetrating into another person's body and invading their mind, one can also be influenced by that mind.

That's why this situation occurs.

Until now, I have awakened.

Both are Spiritual Lifeform without physical bodies, so when one is unconscious or injured, the difficulty of waking up is far greater than that of a being with a flesh and blood body.

When the physical body is attacked by the mind, it is sometimes difficult to defend itself. However, when the mind is attacked, the body can also provide a barrier and nourishment for the mind.

Zaharut, who was actually more seriously injured, woke up immediately after both parties left.

Having spent a long time inside a human's spiritual body, coupled with the human's active spirit and the fact that the fairies were unguarded at that time.

It was directly affected.

Essentially, the Little Flame is also affected, but since the Little Flame already exists and knows Zaharut's perception of his appearance, spirit, and individuality is fixed.

It cannot produce this kind of subtle influence.

"It's a dream!"

Zaharut clenched his fist and slapped his palm.

He remembers now.

While he was unconscious, he must have entered a deep, subconscious Dreamscape.

In the Dreamscape, he influenced both of them.