Divine Ability Seed

As the words fell.

Jiang Ran frowned slightly.

He had originally intended to simply crush the creature's skull with a single punch, take what he needed, and leave.

But now, he changed his mind.

Just as the monster lunged again, Jiang Ran sidestepped, his right hand precisely locking onto the wrist of the creature's incoming forelimb.

He then twisted his waist and hips, his arm carving a semicircle through the air.

Whoosh!

The monster's two-meter-tall frame was hoisted up by Jiang Ran, swung through the air in an arc, and slammed heavily into the concrete ground.

BANG!!!

Dust billowed, and the ground cracked into a spiderweb pattern.

The monster seemed stunned by the impact; even the pitch-black flames dancing in its eyes stalled for a moment as it lay blankly in the crater, unable to react.

Jiang Ran walked over slowly, crouched down, and clamped his right hand around the monster's neck like an iron vice. Staring into those black-flamed eyes that were slowly regaining focus, he asked softly:

"What language... was that you just spoke?"

Although Jiang Ran could not understand it, what the creature said was very similar to the words of that Ancestral People.

The monster gurgled in its throat, offering no answer.

It merely bared its fangs at Jiang Ran, saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth.

Jiang Ran stopped wasting time.

He raised his left hand, and the Dragon-Tiger Phantom emerged from his arm, a low dragon's roar echoing as tiger stripes surged in the shadows.

He slammed a fist into the ground beside the monster's face. He didn't strike its head directly, but the force of the punch still sheared a patch of scales off the monster's cheek, revealing the skin beneath.

The monster's body stiffened.

It seemed to finally realize its predicament, the fierce light in its eyes dimming slightly.

It just glared viciously at Jiang Ran, squeezing out a stiff, fragmented sentence:

"Do you... know who my father... is!?"

Jiang Ran was taken aback.

Good grief, even Exotic Beasts know how to play the "my dad is..." card?

Yet, his expression remained unchanged. Instead, he followed up on the question:

"Who is your father? Where is he?"

The monster opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to speak, but clamped it shut as the words reached its lips.

It suddenly turned its head away, adopting an "I won't say anything" attitude.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran changed the question:

"How do you know how to speak our language?"

The monster remained silent for a few seconds before speaking hesitantly. Its voice remained stiff, like a child just learning to talk:

"Eat... you... and I can speak."

A flash of realization crossed Jiang Ran's eyes.

So that was it.

This explained why the Hairy Person could speak modern Chinese, and why this Exotic Beast before him could barely communicate.

They seemed capable of acquiring language and even fragments of memory by devouring humans.

Then, the next question was critical.

Jiang Ran stared into the monster's eyes, his voice dropping low:

"When you kill humans... do they also drop light orbs? Or divine abilities?"

The monster's body shuddered violently.

It immediately shut its mouth and squeezed its eyes tight, adopting a posture of pure resignation.

But Jiang Ran already had his answer.

Some things do not require a verbal response.

He asked no more, his right hand suddenly tightening.

Snap...

The soft sound of a neck bone breaking was exceptionally clear in the silent street.

The monster's body twitched twice before going limp, the black fire in its eyes extinguishing completely.

Jiang Ran released his grip, stood up, drew his tactical knife from his waist, and cleanly sliced open the monster's skull.

Sure enough, deep within the cranial cavity.

A blue orb of light hovered silently.

Jiang Ran took it out and stowed it into his Heavenly Net Pouch.

Yet, there was little joy in his heart.

Originally, Jiang Ran had always assumed the emergence of the Abyssal Void was an extraordinary opportunity prepared specifically for humanity.

Kill monsters, obtain treasures, grow stronger.

Step by step, uncover the truth behind the Myth Revival.

But the appearance of the Ancestral People and this Exotic Beast, along with that recent conversation, all pointed toward another possibility.

This was not a trial ground exclusive to humans.

The Ancestral People and Exotic Beasts all possessed intelligence no less than that of humans.

In terms of individual combat power, they even far surpassed ordinary humans.

If he did not possess a complete system of divine abilities, bolstered by his foundation in the Blood Sensing Realm, that Hairy Person from just moments ago would have been enough to slaughter him.

At this current point in time, let alone whether anyone was lucky enough to gather a complete set of divine abilities, even those who had managed to obtain a few were likely a rare existence.

It did not look like an opportunity anymore.

It looked more like a... slaughter game.

And past history seemed to hint that humanity might have never won.

Jiang Ran shook his head, temporarily suppressing these thoughts.

He raised his hand to check the time.

3:07 AM.

There was less than two hours left until the appointed time of five o'clock.

Cuiping Mountain was in the northern suburbs, about forty kilometers away.

With his current speed, traveling at full tilt would take him a little over an hour; the timing was just right.

Jiang Ran quickly gathered the dozen or so Exotic Beasts corpses into his Heavenly Net Pouch, then set off, sprinting toward the north of the city.

Of course.

He did not remain idle during the journey.

He took the newly acquired blue orb from his Heavenly Net Pouch, held it in his palm, and focused his mind.

"Activate."

The orb suddenly burst open, transforming into countless blue specks of light that surged into his palm.

At the same time, a pair of pitch-black gauntlets appeared out of thin air in Jiang Ran's hands.

Calling them gauntlets was a stretch.

They were actually more like tightly wound black bandages.

The material felt cool and supple to the touch, with dark gold patterns engraved on the surface.

Jiang Ran unfurled them.

Following an instinctive sensation, he wrapped the bandages around his hands, layer by layer.

The moment the final loop was tightened and knotted at his wrist...

Hum!

The black bandages suddenly constricted, fitting perfectly against every contour of his palms without hindering the flexibility of his fingers in the slightest.

Simultaneously, the dark gold patterns on the surface of the bandages flared to life.

A scorching black flame rose from the patterns, silently clinging to his knuckles.

The black flame burned soundlessly, with no heat leaking outward.

At the same time, a stream of information flowed into his mind.

[Nether Bind]

[Woven from the sinews of the ancient ferocious beast Dark Flame Ni mixed with the essence of meteoric iron; binding the soul upon wrapping, and leading to the path of the underworld upon striking.]

[Trait 1: Attacks carry a black flame burn that erodes flesh and blood, with extra suppression against yin and evil entities.]

[Trait 2: Can slightly amplify the power of fist-based divine abilities.]

Good stuff.

Jiang Ran clenched his fist.

Feeling the sensation of the black flame flowing across his palms, a hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

Amplifying fist-based divine abilities.

For his current combat style, which relied primarily on the Dragon-Tiger Fist, this was practically tailor-made.

Jiang Ran's thoughts stirred as he attempted to channel his blood energy into the gauntlets.

Hum...

The black flames suddenly flared with greater intensity.

As the Dragon-Tiger Phantom emerged from his arms, the crimson blood energy was tinged with a faint ink-black hue, its presence subtly surging in power.

"An amplification of about ten percent, I'd say."

Jiang Ran estimated, "If I push it to the limit, it might reach fifteen percent."

Not bad.

He withdrew his blood energy, and the black flames dimmed accordingly.

They transformed back into patterns, hiding beneath the bandages.

By now, the continuous silhouette of Cuiping Mountain could be seen looming in the morning mist.

Five-thirty in the morning, at the foot of Cuiping Mountain.

The sky had yet to brighten, and the mountain forest was filled with damp, cold fog.

Dozens of people had gathered in an open space at the base of the mountain.

The crowd was roughly divided into five groups.

At this moment, the atmosphere in front of the Temporary Command Platform was far from harmonious.

A middle-aged man wearing a windbreaker checked his watch impatiently once more and frowned, "Captain Zhou, it's already five-thirty. We agreed to meet at five, and we're already half an hour behind schedule. It's no good for the brothers to just stand around waiting.

Who exactly are we still waiting for?"

The speaker was the leader of the group of independent antique hunters.

His surname was Qian, known in the circle as Qian Laojiu. He had a sharp eye and unconventional methods, having made his fortune in his early years by trafficking in burial artifacts; he was quite wealthy.

His group was small, numbering only seven or eight.

However, they were well-equipped, clearly not their first time venturing into dangerous territory.

Captain Zhou, the leader of the Deep Realm Inspection Team.

He was the same middle-aged man, Zhou Yuan, who had negotiated with Wang Zhenguo earlier.

Hearing this, he merely replied calmly, "Wait a little longer. There is one more key person who hasn't arrived."

"A key person?"

Beside him, a man with a capable air smiled.

He was the person in charge of this operation for the Voyage Group, surnamed Sun, Manager Sun.

He chimed in, seemingly casual, "Captain Zhou values this person so much—could it be that you've invited some kind of expert?"

Qian Laojiu scoffed, "An expert? The Abyssal Void has only been open for a few days; what kind of experts could there be?

It's nothing more than someone with a bit of luck, having picked up a few extra Spirit Crystals or stumbled into getting their hands on a Divine Ability or two."

Zhou Yuan glanced at Qian Laojiu, his tone unchanging: "You should all know the person who is coming."

We all know him!?

The eyes of those present flickered slightly.

Everyone came from different circles; how could they all share a common acquaintance?

Just as the atmosphere reached a delicate stalemate.

The first light of dawn appeared, the horizon turning a pale white, and the mist in the forest was dyed a faint gold.

A figure walked slowly along the forest path.

The newcomer wore a black hooded robe stained with spots of blood, a mask over his face, and sunglasses obscuring his eyes.

He was wrapped up tightly, revealing no distinguishing features.

The black-robed figure stopped not far from the group, his voice muffled by the mask:

"Sorry, I was delayed on the way."

Seeing this, Captain Zhou showed no sign of displeasure; instead, he smiled and stepped forward two paces: "It's good that you could make it. The timing is perfect; we were just about to begin the deployment."

The expressions of the others varied.

Most were merely surprised, as they had clearly all seen the video of one man fighting the Ancient Exotic Beast Zhi alone.

Only Old Qian's group saw their faces turn ugly instantly.

Especially Qian Laojiu, who stared at Jiang Ran and couldn't help but speak up:

"Captain Zhou, now that you've invited him here, how are we going to split the Divine Ability Seed inside!?"

The question was blunt.

But everyone present was a realist, and no one found it surprising.

The struggle for resources in the Abyssal Void was naked and brutal; the distribution of benefits was always the first thing that needed to be settled.

Captain Zhou's expression remained calm. He didn't even look at Qian Laojiu, merely stating indifferently:

"To each their own ability."

Four words, spoken with effortless ease.

Yet, they made Qian Laojiu's face darken by another shade.

Jiang Ran, meanwhile, was slightly taken aback.

Divine Ability Seed?

It was his first time hearing that term.

Did it refer to the Seed of Return to Void?

But judging by Old Qian's tone, it didn't seem quite the same.

Having finished answering Old Qian, Captain Zhou seemed to notice Jiang Ran's confusion and explained in a low voice.

"The divine abilities gained from the Seed of Return to Void are completely random, and each person can only use one once.

But a Divine Ability Seed is different. According to speculation, it should be the legacy left behind by those famous figures in history, and it can be used in conjunction with the Seed of Return to Void."

Jiang Ran's eyes flickered.

No wonder he hadn't seen another Seed of Return to Void after killing so many Exotic Beasts later on.

Seeing that Jiang Ran was lost in thought, Captain Zhou said no more and turned to walk back to the Temporary Command Platform.

On the other side.

After hearing Captain Zhou's words about relying on one's own ability, Old Qian's face had darkened to the extreme.

Just then, Manager Sun from the Voyage Group spoke up leisurely:

"Old Qian, if you lack confidence, why not give up your chance? I have plenty of people here waiting to go in."

Qian Laojiu snapped his head up to glare at Manager Sun. His lips moved as if he wanted to curse, but he ultimately forced the words back, squeezing out a single sentence through gritted teeth:

"No need for you to worry about it."

He stopped talking, folded his arms, and stood to the side. His gloomy gaze swept over Jiang Ran and then passed over Captain Zhou, though no one knew what he was thinking.

Seeing this, Captain Zhou ignored Old Qian as well.

He clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention, his expression turning serious.

"Now that everyone is here, I will share the information we currently have."

"According to our investigation, the owner of this Ancient Tomb... should be the Ancestor of Chu Ci, Qu Yuan."