Crown Realm

Beneath the Five-Colored Soil, all of humanity was retreating. Only a few patrol teams were advancing into that endless, terrifying Locust Realm.

After learning the laws of the Desolate Dust, Wu Hen understood that most of this place existed in a state of "wild growth."

Once you entered, coming back out was no easy matter.

Most people didn't even have the courage to look directly at this hopeless desert of an Otherworld Locust kingdom. In the end, Wu Hen followed Ming Yi's patrol team onto the locust hills...

Beneath a Sacred Fire Stone Tower, a woman in a green velvet coat stood watching Wu Hen go. She looked somewhat surprised.

"Could that guy be an Awakened too?" Gao Yuyan murmured to herself.

"Yuyan, is that guy your first love from when you were fifteen?" asked a woman in blue beside her.

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Gao Yuyan snapped, somewhat annoyed.

"Hehe, you two spent every summer vacation hanging out together. I always thought he was some nouveau riche, and that his family was nowhere near as well-off as yours. Who'd have thought he'd become a patrol officer? Patrol officers are the elite of the Awakened." The woman in blue grinned.

"Qing Hu!"

A call came from not far away. It was the white-hatted leader from earlier, apparently gathering the other Order Guardians.

"Here!" Gao Yuyan answered.

"Lead a hundred guards and hold the border. Support the patrol officers as they clear out the hidden threats in the depths, and kill every evil spirit that enters the Pure Land!" the white-hatted leader ordered.

The leader stood suspended in midair, arms folded across his chest. His eagle-like battle attire gave him an air of transcendent authority.

A radiance that only Awakened could sense streamed from him. It was called a crown, and it was also how Awakened judged a person's strength.

No Sacred Fire Towers had been built on the soil beneath the white-hatted leader. This area should have been swallowed by the locust dunes long ago, but the radiant crown he released illuminated his figure, making him seem like a majestic god standing tall amid the evil tide...

The Evil Breath stopped spreading here. Even the imposing locust dunes began to retreat.

A single person's power surpassed that of hundreds or even thousands of people building Sacred Fire Stone Towers.

In truth, the other Awakened also released crowns like this. But compared to the white-hatted leader, they were like fireflies; only by gathering in great numbers could they barely form a protective light.

"Well, looks like we've become your first love's support team," the woman in blue teased.

"Don't make stupid jokes at a time like this. Can't you see how many people have died?" Gao Yuyan said, displeased.

"All right, all right..." The woman in blue shut her mouth, but rolled her eyes.

As if those people would survive just because she acted serious and compassionate?

Humanity was now like billions of fish fry thrown into the sea, being filtered layer by layer. How many would truly manage to survive in that merciless ocean?

Just like the calamities recorded in history, in the end, all that remained would be a pile of heartbreaking numbers.

They walked atop the "sand."

They crossed one towering locust dune after another.

Wu Hen finally understood why Ming Yi's team liked to wear tight-fitting combat suits.

With ordinary clothes—the kind with pant legs, collars, and sleeves—if a locust crawled inside, you'd have to clench your buttocks while walking. Who knew if any of those locusts had indecent intentions?

"Strange. Why aren't they attacking us?" Wu Hen asked, puzzled.

They looked horrifying, but as Wu Hen and the others walked over them, the locusts didn't swarm to devour them...

The thing was, Wu Hen had just seen several people who couldn't run fast enough get gnawed down to skeletons.

"This kid hasn't been Awakened for long. Has nobody told him?" the pale, lanky man from earlier asked.

"He's not a pioneer. He entered the Desolate Dust only a few days before the announcement," Captain Qin said.

"I'll explain. He's my little apprentice," Ming Yi said.

"First time I've seen a rookie in a suicide squad. If he holds us back, don't blame me for being ruthless," the one-eyed woman scoffed.

What an attitude!

Wu Hen nodded to himself. He liked having someone on the team who looked down on him. Otherwise, the atmosphere wouldn't be right when he showed off later!

"It's like this. Although we Awakened don't have clearly defined ranks like in fantasy stories, as Desolate Dust Lifeforms, we emit a radiant crown that originates from our souls. This crown can intimidate and repel certain evil spirits of the Desolate Dust..."

"For example, if an ordinary person stepped in here, they'd be devoured completely in less than a second. If you hadn't become a Desolate Dust Lifeform, I wouldn't have let you come in."

"Based on what we currently know, this Soul Crown can broadly distinguish the strength of Awakened..."

"Firefly Glow, Night Gloom, Thunder Radiance, Azure Haze, Heavenly Radiance."

"That's roughly how the levels are classified."

As the first apprentice she'd ever taken, Ming Yi was especially enthusiastic, explaining everything to Wu Hen in detail.

At the words "Heavenly Radiance," Wu Hen immediately thought of Zai Wu!

That guy was at the Heavenly Radiance level!

In other words, once someone reached the Heavenly Radiance realm, the soul-light they emitted would shine like a bright sun in the sky. It could expand their territory, and also form a powerful spiritual faith, forcing the species living on that land to become their subjects—or letting them control them???

Wu Hen immediately thought of those strands of Evil Silk...

Whether Evil Silk truly existed in the literal sense was hard to say, but it had certainly achieved a form of control!

"Still, I once spoke with people from another God Realm. It seems they only use Heavenly Radiance as a point of reference. They don't rank anyone below it. This system is just how we pioneers measure things," Ming Yi said.

"Below Heavenly Radiance, everyone is mortal." Wu Hen didn't know why those words came out of his mouth.

"Mm... Putting it that way really hurts our human pride. You know, no Awakened among us has truly reached the Heavenly Radiance level yet," Ming Yi said.

"What? Not a single one?" Wu Hen asked, surprised.

"You know, we haven't been in contact with the Otherworld Desolate Dust for long. We can be sure that there are peerless geniuses among humanity who'll reach it in the near future, but for now, there aren't any," Ming Yi said.

"Heh. Kid, don't tell me you think reaching Heavenly Radiance is as simple as surviving a few Evil Soils by luck and then working hard. Humanity has only just entered the Era of Tribulation, but even a thousand years from now, there'll probably be only a handful who reach Heavenly Radiance. You'd better focus on staying alive, little shrimp!" said a young man on the team, around Wu Hen's age.

The young man wore a minimalist crown ornamented with a single white feather. His clothes were dazzlingly white, with tassels at his waist. He looked like a peacock about to fan its tail.

As they entered the locust-infested Evil Degree, he had deliberately walked beside Ming Yi from time to time. But Ming Yi had been particularly close to Wu Hen, even declaring to the team that he was her little apprentice. It had clearly displeased him.

"Then, Mr. White Chicken Feather, what realm are you at? Would you care to enlighten me?" Wu Hen asked politely.

Those words immediately infuriated the refined, white-haired man. He glared at Wu Hen, and a powerful crown of light suddenly appeared around him. Against its radiance, his figure grew immense, like an ancient demon suddenly revealing its demonic power!

"He's a patrol officer with the code name White Peacock. Awakened with code names are all among humanity's best. They're at least Night Gloom," Ming Yi said, stepping between Wu Hen and the white-haired young man.

"Captain, next time you recruit someone, please teach him the rules before bringing him onto the team!" White Peacock said coldly.

"That's enough. We're on a temporary expedition. Keep your attention on the unknown, and don't let something trivial affect the team's morale!" Qin Sheng said sternly.

White Peacock said no more, but his eyes still swept over Wu Hen. The angle of his gaze held a hint of warning and a hint of disdain.

Then White Peacock realized something: the survival rate for new patrol officers was less than fifty percent. What's more, this time they were entering a terrifying locust Evil Degree. Once that guy's corpse had gone cold, he'd go spit on it!

"Beautiful Ming Yi, what about you?" Wu Hen wasn't about to let him get away with it.

Knowing the man was pursuing Ming Yi, Wu Hen's words took on an unmistakably flirtatious tone.

"Me? Of course I'm much stronger than these losers. I'm the team's main combat strength." Ming Yi put her hands on her hips with a proud air. She emphasized the word "losers" so that everyone at the front and back of the team could hear.

Strangely enough, everyone on this patrol team seemed cocky and cool. But when Ming Yi called them losers, not one of them dared to say a word. They all lowered their heads and strode forward.

All right, Thunder Radiance was confirmed.

"You're also the team's beauty," Wu Hen added.

"You're still so sweet-talking." Ming Yi's eyes curved into silver crescents. She suddenly realized that bringing Wu Hen onto the team had been a smart move. The team was full of taciturn people; it was so boring!

Traveling through otherworlds was already nerve-racking, with death always looming.

But Ming Yi still felt that even on a suicide mission, there was no need to look miserable the whole time!

"Of course. You know me inside and out." Wu Hen raised his eyebrows, his words growing more and more audacious.

"You're so annoying!" Ming Yi immediately remembered what had happened not long ago, and her heart began to pound.

Captain Qin walked in the middle, listening to the two flirt in this death zone. He was utterly exasperated.

Earlier, Ming Yi had been chatting away with the kid using her Yuan You. Now they'd met in person, and they were even more unrestrained.

But Ming Yi's "losers" included him, the captain, so Qin Sheng didn't dare say anything.

Up ahead, White Peacock's expression had grown even darker.

For some reason, he felt like a beast of burden, pulling a carriage with a young lord and lady enjoying a spring outing!

Recommended: the new book by the great urban fiction author Lao Shi!