The man spoke, his tone indifferent and cold.
He seemed to care very much about this.
"Brother Yi, you're making too much of it."
Seeing him like this, Zhou Biqiong smiled. "That Lu Yuan? I noticed him before, too. He was an utterly ordinary person, with no bloodline and nothing special about him. Before the mutations, he had some money, but he was just a spoiled rich kid."
"Now that money's useless. He's probably hiding from Mutant Beasts in some corner. He's not worth paying so much attention to."
She spoke with undisguised contempt, telling him a little about Lu Yuan's past relationship with her older sister.
But that was all it amounted to. After all, even before the mutations,
that man had been no more than someone worth keeping an eye on to the Wuzhou Group—
a rich kid, at best.
But now, in this new era where strength reigned supreme, he wasn't even an ant.
They weren't even on the same level.
"Is that so?"
The man smiled faintly at her words.
He'd let his concern get the better of him. He'd actually gotten worked up over an ordinary person.
Still, if he ever ran into Lu Yuan in the future,
he'd have to put him in his place.
Some gaps could never be bridged.
"Brother Yi, word of Mount Li Imperial Tomb has gotten out. Awakened are gathering, and plenty more are on their way. Looks like our plan won't go smoothly this time." Zhou Biqiong watched the crowds streaming into Chang'an City beside her.
"I heard Northern Emperor, Southern Emperor, Ice Fairy, and Asura have set out, too. So, feeling any pressure?"
Her words revealed a great deal. Clearly, she knew plenty of secrets.
As the extraordinary descended and the new era arrived, more and more people were embarking on the path of evolution.
The Five Great Supremes, selected by busybodies,
were the strongest Awakened of the moment, and many people acknowledged them.
So even Zhou Biqiong's brows knit slightly as she recited their names.
"Nothing to worry about."
The man shook his head with a smile. "Whoever comes, I'll fight them all."
His voice was soft, but his words brimmed with confidence. As he spoke, a powerful aura rolled off him.
He was strong—
strong enough to back up those words.
"Our Zhou Family will send plenty of experts, too. If it comes to it, we'll bring out the firearms."
Zhou Biqiong spoke with conviction. They were determined to claim Mount Li Imperial Tomb.
The Wuzhou Group wielded immense power.
In the early days of the mutations, it had worked with the authorities and secured many benefits. It could bring out some firearms.
Still, she didn't dare be careless. Chang Sheng Gene, Tianshen Technology, and the others had powerful methods of their own, no weaker than the Wuzhou Group's.
"The firearms will fade into history as the new era progresses," the man said. His bloodline was exceptionally powerful,
and he possessed a mysterious inherited memory.
He knew that, in time, powerful Awakened would be able to ignore firearms and reach unimaginable heights.
Of course, he didn't say more. He only added, "All right, Yunqiong's gone back. Let's go, too."
"Mm."
Zhou Biqiong nodded.
The two of them boarded a helicopter.
It took off soon afterward, ignoring the route prescribed by Chang'an City and flying straight over the steel wall.
The Wuzhou Group was one of the country's four great powers. Naturally, it enjoyed privileges ordinary people couldn't.
Inside Chang'an City,
official resources had been poured into its construction, and the authorities had worked tirelessly to build it up.
So it was more prosperous and livelier than ordinary cities.
The streets teemed with people—
ordinary people and Awakened alike.
None of them were locals.
As Lu Yuan walked among them, he kept catching snatches of conversation.
The ordinary people talked about everyday life and marveled at how the world had changed.
The Awakened were different. In groups of two or three, they lowered their voices to discuss Mount Li Imperial Tomb.
"Just as you'd expect from one of the Five Super Cities under construction. It really is different from the places along the way."
"I heard Mount Li Imperial Tomb will open in a few days. We'd better get ready."
"Yeah. Who knows? We might get something good and evolve further."
Clearly, these people had all come for a reason.
Just as Lu Yuan had expected, word of the anomaly at Mount Li Imperial Tomb had spread everywhere. Plenty of people knew about it.
The Awakened, in particular, were already planning to form teams and help one another. They figured there was strength in numbers and hoped they might find some opportunities along the way.
Of course, some took a more pessimistic view. Too many people were coming,
including major powers looking to fish in troubled waters. The odds would be long.
Lu Yuan knew full well—
many people would die when Mount Li Imperial Tomb opened this time.
But that had nothing to do with him. He planned to find somewhere quiet to rest.
Where he stayed didn't matter to him. He just wanted to keep a low profile.
Once it was over,
he could start putting his plans for what came next into motion.
Lu Yuan had a ten-year head start. He knew exactly what major events would happen in certain places, and what opportunities they would bring.
All of it would become the capital he needed to keep evolving and growing stronger.
Night fell.
Stars glittered across the sky, and the moon shone clear and bright.
Inside an abandoned building somewhere in Chang'an City,
Lu Yuan picked up his phone and browsed reports about the Awakened and the latest news about Mount Li Imperial Tomb.
[At least ten thousand Awakened have arrived in Chang'an City. Senior figures from major powers such as Zhendan Academy and the Wuzhou Group entered the city today.]
The post appeared on a forum and quickly gained traction, drawing the attention of many Awakened.
Some had registered accounts and left comments.
They thought the great powers might clash and spark a large-scale battle, with casualties.
Many agreed. They said Mount Li Imperial Tomb was where the Ancestral Dragon slept, and that it must hold an earth-shattering fortune. Whoever claimed it could transform into a dragon overnight. They even attached videos and photos.
Lu Yuan clicked to take a look.
In the video,
a colossal mountain rose ten thousand meters into the sky, towering into the clouds.
Streaks of light streamed from the mountain into the heavens, forming the shape of a dragon. It was an extraordinary sight.
That was Mount Li Imperial Tomb. It had once stood only about a hundred meters tall, but after the mutations, it had surged straight out of the earth, towering over countless other mountains. Its slopes glowed day and night, illuminating everything within hundreds of meters.
That was why even the major powers couldn't have kept the news under wraps.
The phenomenon was too astonishing. Anyone could see it.
Soon,
another news post caught people's attention.
[In three days, Mount Li Imperial Tomb—the land of the dragon veins, a place of fortune—will open. Awakened will clash. Who will claim the summit?]
A major power had published it, clearly eager to stir up a spectacle.
They'd made a huge story out of it,
getting everyone to speculate about who would claim the fortune hidden in Mount Li Imperial Tomb.
They'd also given an approximate opening time, deliberately pushing the whole affair to another fever pitch.
As expected, plenty of people joined the discussion. Almost all of it centered on the Five Great Supremes. They were considered the five strongest Awakened of the moment, perched at the very peak of the pyramid. Some said they might even fight each other.
Others revealed that Winged Sky God, Northern Emperor, Southern Emperor, and the others had all arrived and were lying low in Chang'an City.
Once Mount Li Imperial Tomb fully opened a few days later, they'd make their move.
"Winged Sky God's coming? I think he's the strongest of the Five Great Supremes. He's bound to claim the fortune."
"What are you talking about? Southern Emperor's here, too. He's the eldest son of the head of Chang Sheng Gene. His bloodline is powerful, and his combat strength is terrifying. He's every bit Winged Sky God's equal."
"Northern Emperor has Zhendan Academy behind him. His physique is astonishing, like a Buddhist vajra brought to life. I think he's the strongest, better than the other two."
"Winged Sky God has the Wuzhou Group backing him, too. He won't be fighting alone."
"If the Five Great Supremes are coming, what's the point of us competing?"
The comments below were numerous, almost all from Awakened. Some were still on the road, while others had already reached Chang'an City. They'd joined the discussion to name their pick for the strongest and argue with the rest.
Winged Sky God was the most popular, with plenty of women rooting for him. They thought he was perfect, a god descended from heaven.
Of course, some Awakened were worried.
They figured that with five powerhouses in the mix, they didn't stand a chance. They simply couldn't compete.
Lu Yuan read the posts and shook his head, then stopped paying attention.
It was more or less the same as he remembered from his previous life.
The opening of Mount Li Imperial Tomb
would draw countless eyes and spark the first great battle between Awakened, with plenty of repercussions afterward.
But none of that mattered to him. He only wanted to keep up with the news.
For example, it was now certain
that Mount Li Imperial Tomb would open in three days.
"Three days?"
Lu Yuan felt a flicker of anticipation. What lay inside was far too important to him. It would shape the path ahead.
After that,
he stayed in the abandoned building and went nowhere.
Chang'an City wasn't far from Mount Li.
After the mutations, the two places had become connected, so there was no need to set out early.
And during that time,
plenty of things happened.
The most eye-catching was a video of Southern Emperor and Northern Emperor battling in the mountains.
In the footage, both men displayed powerful abilities and struck with terrifying force. They smashed countless trees and left craters in the ground. The Awakened who watched were left dumbstruck, measuring themselves against the two.
The conclusion was that they stood no chance.
At the same time, someone broke the news:
the Five Great Supremes had clashed with one another several times over the past few days, but nobody knew how it had turned out.
When people heard, they clamored for videos and photos of the encounters, but nothing ever surfaced.
All in all,
the closer the opening of Mount Li Imperial Tomb came, the more unstable the situation grew. Fights even broke out within the city.
It wasn't until the head of Zhendan Academy's Chang'an branch stepped in that the chaos finally settled. The Awakened quieted down, too.
The academy couldn't control every place, but it still had great influence across the Five Super Cities. It had the authorities behind it, and nobody dared ignore it.
Even the other four great powers had to rein themselves in and keep a low profile.
Still,
once Mount Li Imperial Tomb opened,
a fight was inevitable.
In this new era, ordinary methods could no longer keep the Awakened in check.
Lu Yuan kept an eye on things now and then.
He also watched the so-called battle between Northern Emperor and Southern Emperor. To him, though, it looked like children at play.
Three months of preparation—
he and ordinary Awakened were no longer starting from the same line.
And so,
time slipped by.
At last, three days passed in a flash.
That night, before dawn had fully broken,
Lu Yuan opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet. He looked in a certain direction, his gaze flashing with brilliance. His destination: Mount Li Imperial Tomb!
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