Long Vine

Just as Patrol Inspector Liu and the Golden Masked Man sensed this—

Councilor Fal, who had briefly confronted Ji Yun earlier, also shot up from the island and drew level with Ji Yun and the other three.

"Councilor Liu." Fal looked at Patrol Inspector Liu, then glanced at the Golden Masked Man beside him, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

"Councilor Fal, all the Vegetation Spirits on the entire Mist Island... belong to my Limit Dojo. You have no objections, I trust." Patrol Inspector Liu said calmly.

Fal's flames surged violently as he barked, "Councilor Liu, don't push it! We discovered this Mist Island first..."

"We?" Ji Yun shook his head. "I've been on this island for some time now. The Vegetation Spirits were obviously discovered by me first—I simply chose not to harvest them. When did they become your discovery?"

"This..." Fal was left speechless.

"Haha, hear that?" Patrol Inspector Liu smiled faintly. "Our people discovered them first."

"Hmph." Councilor Fal let out a cold laugh. "This Mist Island has no owner. Why should it go to your Limit Dojo? If you've got the skill, let's compete fairly—whoever seizes the Vegetation Spirits keeps them!"

Patrol Inspector Liu thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine. Ji Yun, what do you think?"

"I won't bully him." Ji Yun stood aloft in the sky, hovering in place.

"Very well." Patrol Inspector Liu smiled, then turned to look at the Golden Masked Man beside him.

"It's up to you."

The Golden Masked Man gave a slight nod.

Then he flew swiftly into the distance, suspending himself above Mist Island. The mysterious Golden Masked Man spread his arms and closed his eyes, and an invisible, special force radiated outward from him in all directions, like a detection radar emitting various scanning waves.

After only about five or six seconds—

As if he had found something, he plunged into the island's interior like a thunderbolt.

"Heh, not bad." Patrol Inspector Liu said with a faint smile.

"Councilor Fal, you can stay here and keep us company. That way, you're at ease, and we're at ease." Patrol Inspector Liu glanced at him. Councilor Fal only sneered in response, continuing to hover midair. Councilor Fal had no special method for locating Vegetation Spirits anyway, so he might as well tie up Patrol Inspector Liu here.

"Ji Yun, what special ability did you awaken?" Patrol Inspector Liu asked with considerable curiosity. A newly promoted Councilor-level powerhouse was enough to shift the balance of power on Earth.

Beside them, Fal pricked up his ears, listening intently. Ji Yun's ghostlike appearance earlier had given him quite a shock; he guessed Ji Yun's ability might be related to speed.

"My special ability—I've never seen anything like it, but I call it Phantom Body." Ji Yun thought for a moment before speaking. "I've never heard of this ability before, but it does grant me extreme speed."

Phantom Body? Neither Councilor Fal nor Patrol Inspector Liu had heard of it either.

"Then we'll have to ask the Dojo Master." Patrol Inspector Liu smiled. "Ji Yun, you've given us quite a surprise this time. And Luo Feng, not bad either. What level has your Psychic Energy reached now?"

Patrol Inspector Liu waved his hand, raising a gust of wind that seemed to seal off the surrounding air, enclosing Ji Yun and the other two together.

"Just a small trick to keep Fal from overhearing." Patrol Inspector Liu chuckled. "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Liu He. The Dojo Master has very high praise for you, Luo Feng—calls you one of the top Psychic Master geniuses in the world. You took a Millennium Willow Heart this time... what realm has your Psychic Energy reached?"

"High-Level War God peak Psychic Master." Luo Feng said.

"Nineteen years old, High-Level War God peak Psychic Master. Tsk tsk, you're not far behind Ji Yun." Liu He sighed in admiration.

***

Below, pitch-black and shrouded in thick fog, bursts of air explosions and sounds of something striking plants came from the island from time to time—clearly the work of the Golden-Masked Man.

"Boom"

In the darkness, the entire Mist Island suddenly trembled, startling Ji Yun, Liu He, Luo Feng, and the others midair.

"Get out of here!" A sharp shout rang out.

The Golden Masked Man fled back in disarray. "Swoosh!" A black-purple vine, a full twenty centimeters in diameter, shot up from afar... Its length stretched beyond sight; even under the illumination of Councilor Fal's flames, what the eye could see was at least five or six hundred meters long, with the rest hidden in the distant mist.

This long vine swayed and lashed out, as if trying to crush the Golden-Masked Man.

"What is this?" Ji Yun's gaze froze. He thought it was a Vegetation Spirit, but how could a Vegetation Spirit have such ferocious attack power?

"Let's go!" Liu He said in a low voice, pulling Luo Feng into the deep red fighter craft. The hatch opened, and after a moment's hesitation, Ji Yun followed them inside.

He still wanted to watch from outside, but a peculiar sense of unease made Ji Yun decide to play it safe—safety came first.

Inside the triangular fighter's cabin, it was dim. Ji Yun stood at the open hatch, watching the battle from afar.

"Pull up Iceberg's battle footage." Liu He ordered.

In the dim cabin, a video scene materialized out of thin air—exactly the battle happening above Mist Island at that moment. The clarity was far better than the naked eye. In the video, only the Golden Masked Man was visible above the island, under attack from that single long vine!

The Golden Masked Man moved like lightning, fleeing outward at top speed!

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"A vine this long, and it can strike like a whip?" Liu He's expression turned grave. "If Iceberg gets hit, it's over."

Suddenly!

Liu He's face changed drastically.

In the live video, the entire Mist Island trembled, and another endless black-purple vine shot up from the thick fog. Now there were two black-purple vines... No! The whole island shuddered, and a third vine, as if spanning heaven and earth, extended outward.

More vines kept appearing—three, four, five.

Until there were six!

Six purple-red vines, each over a kilometer long, lashed through the air, blotting out a stretch of sky.

"Not good, Iceberg is in serious trouble!" Liu He muttered under his breath, but he could do nothing—if he went out now, he would only add to the Golden-Masked Man's burden, yet he couldn't just stand by and watch him fall.

"Run the detection data," Liu He ordered.

"According to the computer system data, these six vines... are over 1,600 meters in length! Their instantaneous extension, contraction, and movement speed exceeds 1,000 meters per second." Liu He's face darkened. "Their toughness is on par with an ordinary King Rank Monster, but their regeneration ability is terrifying—wounds heal instantly."

"Open the hatch. I'll go bring him back." Ji Yun calculated the vines' speed and reach, then said, "If it's just six vines, I'm confident I can handle it."

"You? You've only just broken through—no way!" Liu He refused without a second thought. No way—in his mind, a newly promoted Councilor couldn't compare to the Golden-Masked Man.

As they argued, suddenly—

Under the siege of the six Black-Purple Vines, the tiny Golden-Masked Man transformed into a streak of white light in an instant, moving so fast... he almost immediately escaped the encirclement. The white light shot toward the triangular fighter at an unbelievable speed.

The white light slowed sharply, coalescing into a human figure that crashed straight into the cabin. The hatch closed at once.

"Return to headquarters," Liu He barked.

The purple-red triangular fighter turned into a streak of purple-red light and vanished at the horizon. Only above Mist Island did the Black-Purple Vines tear through the sky, thrashing wildly as if in fury.

Inside the Yanjing Pavilion at the Elite Training Camp, Hongning Base City.

Having just returned, Liu He arranged for Luo Feng to stay at the training camp, then asked Ji Yun about his plans. Naturally, Ji Yun's only residence in Hongning Base City was the Elite Training Camp.

Ji Yun wasn't idle. Watching those six vines earlier had seemed to trigger some kind of breakthrough for him. But this breakthrough was elusive, hard to describe, and he couldn't quite grasp the key points.

He only felt that the six vines seemed to form a range—within it, with proper coordination, one could unleash several times their normal strength. That was why a single vine was only on par with an ordinary King Rank, yet six together nearly trapped the Golden-Masked Man, who was far stronger than a typical King Rank Monster.

That evening, Ji Yun went to Luo Feng's quarters.

Now, only the two of them were official trainees in the camp; the others were out on life-or-death adventures, along with some War God instructors. But Ji Yun and Luo Feng's return had gone unnoticed.

Soon, two young men in black coats arrived to notify Ji Yun and Luo Feng to report to headquarters.

The car quickly reached the headquarters entrance.

"Whoa!" Luo Feng's shock was no less than Ji Yun's. He stared in awe at the headquarters building, shaped like a massive spaceship.

Good heavens!

Though Ji Yun had seen it before, standing before this magnificent headquarters again, he still felt its grandeur.

Waiting lounge.

"This is the lounge. Please wait here; the Dojo Master will summon you shortly," a blue-robed staff member said with a smile, speaking fluent Mandarin, before taking his leave.

Two people were already in the lounge: Liu He and the Golden-Masked Man.

"Iceberg, the Dojo Master summons you." It was the same red-robed black man as before.

***

An hour later, after the third summoned person, Luo Feng, came out, Ji Yun was finally allowed in.

Luo Feng wore a delighted expression, clearly having gained much inside. He smiled as he came out. "Ji Yun, this trip to the Australian Continent was a huge win for me."

"Mm," Ji Yun replied with a smile. "I probably won't get any reward this time—I just watched from start to finish."

"Haha, I think just breaking through to surpass the War God level is the biggest gain," Luo Feng laughed heartily.

"Ji Yun, I really have to thank you!" Luo Feng suddenly turned serious.

"I was terrified you might expose me back then. If you had, I wouldn't have been able to protect myself, let alone my family. But you didn't. You even let me join the Elite Training Camp, so in no time I no longer had to fear Li Yao. You've done me a great kindness!"

Luo Feng spoke with utmost gravity. "From now on, we're brothers. If you ever need help, just say the word. I'll spare no effort."

"Alright, then we're brothers."

Ji Yun smiled too.

No one could have foreseen that, in the endless ages to come, the vast universe would welcome two figures as brilliant as the sun.

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