Morning light streamed through the windows of the suburban villa, bringing with it a touch of tranquility.
After her fierce clash with Sun Wukong last night, Su Xiao Li's clothes had been badly damaged. As soon as she returned, she hurried off to wash up and change.
At Si Yao's insistence, her attire was now much more proper. She had changed into a fresh white T-shirt and denim shorts. After washing away the dust of battle, she looked just like the girl next door, with an air of innocence and obedience.
However, after witnessing Si Yao's godlike might last night—might that had even allowed him to defeat the Great Sage Equaling Heaven—Su Xiao Li, who had already been strongly dependent on him and harbored a vague fondness for him, had become completely devoted. Her eyes practically sparkled with little stars.
When she saw Si Yao sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed, seemingly digesting what he had gained the previous night, she tiptoed over and began serving him tea and water, fussing over him with soft words and a concerned gaze.
"Boss, are you tired? Would you like some water?"
"Boss, are your shoulders sore? Shall I massage them?"
"Boss, are you hungry? I'll make you something to eat."
Si Yao was immersed in the mysteries of the Space Displacement Technology he had just obtained, as well as the insights into power brought by the Blood Spear and Black Dragon Form. Su Xiao Li's constant "harassment" left him somewhat distracted and irritated.
He opened his eyes and looked at the little face before him, which was practically begging for attention, then helplessly sighed.
"Quiet. Don't talk. Massage my shoulders."
"Sure thing!" Su Xiao Li immediately looked as though she had received an imperial decree. Her eyes lit up as she nodded vigorously, then obediently moved behind him and began massaging his shoulders with just the right amount of pressure. Sure enough, she stopped talking.
Only then did Si Yao close his eyes again and continue organizing what he had gained.
However, the tranquility did not last long.
An unfamiliar energy signal, somewhat resembling Angel Yan's, silently descended outside the villa.
The next moment, the crisp sound of the doorbell rang out.
Ding-dong—
Si Yao's brows twitched slightly. Through Kongshi Realm Divine Power, he instantly sensed the identity of the visitor outside—a young Female Angel he did not recognize. Her energy was pure and powerful, sharing the same origin as Angel Yan's, but her aura was more restrained and... proper?
With a thought, the villa's front door slid open without a sound.
Standing outside was a young Angel with golden hair and blue eyes, exquisite features, and a cool, aloof bearing touched by a hint of sternness. She was none other than Zhi Xin, who had come at He Xi's command.
Zhi Xin entered the living room. The first thing she saw was Si Yao sitting on the sofa, with Su Xiao Li behind him, obediently massaging his shoulders in casual clothes.
The slightly intimate domestic scene caused a trace of barely perceptible strangeness to flash through Zhi Xin's eyes. She quickly reined in her emotions, however, and put on a polite yet solemn expression.
"Greetings, Mr. Si Yao. I apologize for the interruption. I am Angel Zhi Xin, Holy Keisha's Right Wing Guard and a student of Skybase King He Xi." Zhi Xin gave a slight nod. Her impeccable manners formed a sharp contrast with Angel Yan's somewhat roguish and aggressive style.
Si Yao raised his eyelids slightly in acknowledgment.
Zhi Xin continued to explain her purpose. "I represent my teacher, Skybase King He Xi, in sincerely inviting you to the far side of the Moon for a meeting with her."
Si Yao did not even lift his eyelids as he flatly refused. "I'm busy. If she wants to meet, she can come herself."
This answer seemed to be within Zhi Xin's expectations. She showed neither surprise nor displeasure, merely nodding before saying seriously, "My teacher can come in person. However, before she arrives, could you give her a guarantee that you will not attack her during the meeting?"
She paused, and a concern somewhat at odds with her usual bearing appeared on her face, straightforward and faintly worried. "My teacher... is very timid. Without a guarantee of safety, she might not dare to come."
Si Yao: "..."
For once, he was left speechless by her words.
He Xi? Timid? The Skybase King who had lived for tens of thousands of years, overseen the Angel Civilization's scientific research, and occasionally even dared to tease Kaisha? How could anyone put those two words together?
Looking at Zhi Xin's utterly serious, clearly genuine expression, Si Yao was momentarily at a loss for words.
After a moment of silence, he said indifferently, "Whether I attack or not depends on her, not me."
He gave no guarantee, but the meaning behind his words was clear: as long as He Xi did not provoke him or threaten him, he naturally could not be bothered to attack.
Zhi Xin seemed reasonably satisfied with his answer. She nodded. "I understand. I will relay your words to my teacher. She... should come to visit in person very soon."
Her task complete, Zhi Xin politely bowed again. "Sorry for the interruption. I'll take my leave."
With that, she turned and left the villa with steady steps. From beginning to end, she maintained proper manners and clear logic. Compared to Angel Yan's style of "refusing to leave" combined with "teasing people verbally," they were complete extremes.
Watching Zhi Xin's departing figure, Si Yao felt a rare trace of doubt stir in his heart.
They were both Holy Keisha's left and right wings. One was as seasoned and sly as a fox, with a face thick enough to block a God-Slaying Weapon, while the other was serious and adorably naive like a student, so strict about etiquette that she was almost rigid...
Wasn't the difference between them a little too great?
Inside Heavenly Base Four, on the far side of the Moon.
In the main control room, Skybase King He Xi sat lazily in the command chair. Yet her stunning face bore an unprecedented focus and gravity.
Several enormous Holographic Projection Screens floated before her. They were replaying last night's earth-shaking battle at the Liangshan Battlefield from multiple angles and at an extremely slow speed.
Every collision between Sun Wukong and Si Yao, every energy shock wave, every minute movement and energy fluctuation had been completely recorded by Heavenly Base Four's powerful Detection System. He Xi was now repeatedly analyzing and simulating them with the most precise algorithms.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Watching Sun Wukong on the screen, each of his strikes containing terrifying power enough to tear through the defenses of a Third Generation God Body, He Xi could not help clicking her tongue softly. "That monkey... is far stronger than we estimated."
"Third Generation Peak Beast Body. Energy Level... impossible to measure precisely? Heavenly Base Four's Computing Power can't even fully analyze his energy limit? Just how much is hidden inside that monkey?"
"And this God-Slaying Algorithm... its destructive power is astonishing, and it's extremely targeted. It's in no way inferior to the God-Slaying Power contained in the Nuoxing War God's gene. If Angel Yan and Zhi Xin faced him now, I'm afraid they wouldn't even have a thirty percent chance of winning."
"And then there's this Si Yao..." He Xi's gaze shifted to the silver-haired figure on the Light Screen, manipulating all kinds of bizarre abilities. Her eyes grew incomparably sharp. "The Energy System he uses, his Divine Power Encoding, and even his combat logic are all completely different from the current Shenhe Tech Tree. Moreover, they form a complete system of their own, exceptionally mature and comprehensive."
This essentially ruled out the possibility that Si Yao was a puppet secretly cultivated or controlled by Death God Karl.
Although Karl's technology was bizarre, its roots still belonged to a branch of the Shenhe System.
What Si Yao had displayed was an entirely independent technological path that had likewise reached an extremely high level.
"And his Dark Information Protection..." He Xi tried various methods. She even employed the advanced Detection Technology hidden within the Secondary Life Engine, attempting to crack the information in Si Yao's Dark Plane.
The result was like a stone sinking into the sea.
The area surrounding Si Yao's Dark Plane seemed to be shrouded in an incomprehensible, impenetrable "fog." All her detection methods were silently absorbed, deflected, or simply nullified!
"Even Secondary Life Technology is ineffective..." He Xi's brows drew tightly together. "This means that his understanding and control of the Void Layer—or rather, of the Information Layer—is far beyond mine!"
Finally, her gaze settled on the [Primordial Realm Divine Power Dragon Form] Si Yao had displayed at the end.
The sinister Black Dragon Phantom, the dragon scales covering his entire body, the explosive increase in power and speed...
"This Form Change isn't merely simple Energy Mimicry or Gene Manifestation." A trace of shock flashed through He Xi's eyes. "It involves the temporary, reversible Deep Reconstruction and sublimation of a Life Form! This... this is already within the scope of Fourth Generation God Body Technology! It may even be something greater!"
After combining all the information, a conclusion that He Xi could not help but take seriously emerged in her mind:
Judging from the tip of the iceberg he had revealed, the level of the civilization represented by this Si Yao, who claimed to come from the "Pangu Civilization," had very likely... already surpassed the current Angel Civilization in every respect!
Whether in conventional Super Genes, Divine Power Encoding, and energy manipulation, or in the more profound Void Technology and God Body Evolution Path, Si Yao had displayed technological capabilities far beyond the current understanding of the Angels.
He was not merely a powerful individual. Behind him likely stood an Ancient Civilization that had once reached unparalleled heights of glory, with technological development so advanced it was practically inconceivable!
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