I'll Come Clean

Crack—

In the real world, a tiny fissure suddenly split open across the surface of the enormous iceberg-like cocoon!

Immediately afterward, the vast life energy within the ice cocoon, which had been as steady as a mountain, instantly became chaotic!

Terrifying waves of energy crashed wildly within the cocoon like an out-of-control tsunami!

The entire magnificent temple began to shake violently!

It worked!

And it had gone too far!

Both thoughts flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind at once.

He had awakened this slumbering behemoth.

But at the same time, he had ignited a nuclear reactor that could explode at any moment!

He sat cross-legged at the center of the raging energy, both palms pressed firmly against the runes beneath him.

Rumble—! Terrifying tremors came from deep within the passage.

"What's happening?!"

"An earthquake?!"

The Light of Truth members guarding the passage entrance all turned pale, barely able to keep their footing.

The ground beneath them shook violently, ice crystals rained down from above, and the whole world seemed to groan beneath those terrifying energy fluctuations!

Tu Feng clung tightly to the wall. Suppressing the horror in his heart, he roared at the plaza entrance swallowed by light with all his strength, "Advisor! What happened inside?!"

Several seconds later, Huo Yuhao's "weary" voice came through, distorted by intense electromagnetic interference as though the connection might cut out at any moment.

"Don't panic... the 'Life Core' is awakening! Its energy is too immense—it's impacting the sealing formation!"

"The process is dangerous! Remember what I said: do not come in!"

The voice abruptly cut off.

But rather than reassuring them, those words were like cold water poured into boiling oil!

"Captain!" A burly team member sidled up to Tu Feng, lowering his voice. His tone was full of agitation and greed. "Something's wrong with that kid!"

"What awakening? I think he's trying to use this chance to keep the 'God's Legacy' all for himself!"

"The commotion is way too big! If this keeps up and he damages the treasure, what then? We might as well rush in now and take control of him!"

Those words instantly lit the fuse in everyone's hearts.

God's Legacy!

Their ultimate purpose for coming here!

Tu Feng's breathing grew heavy as well.

The image of countless streams of light converging upon a single person involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Highest authority...

What if... what if he really could absorb the legacy directly? Wouldn't all our efforts have been for nothing? Wouldn't we become idiots working for someone else?

Once that thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

Their boundless desire for the God's Legacy began to savagely gnaw away at the awe Tu Feng had only just developed toward Huo Yuhao.

At the center of the formation, Huo Yuhao endured the double crushing force of Sky Dream Iceworm's mental storm and the formation's out-of-control energy. The stabbing pain in the source of his mind never ceased.

Yet he still spared a thread of attention, clearly "hearing" the conversation outside through his extended spiritual power.

A bunch of idiots.

Huo Yuhao snorted inwardly.

But they were troublesome enough.

He knew full well that these desperadoes had limited patience. Once their greed outweighed their fear, all his plans would come to nothing.

He needed to give them another strong dose of medicine!

Huo Yuhao's thoughts raced as the computational power of [Thought Palace] was pushed to its limit in an instant!

Rather than trying to soothe Sky Dream Iceworm's violent energy, he began to guide it deliberately!

"Boom—!!!"

The next second, a pillar of energy ten times stronger than before shot violently into the sky from the center of the formation!

The light filling the entire temple plaza abruptly shifted from brilliant silver-white to a dazzling crimson gold brimming with destructive aura!

The violent tremors, once chaotic and irregular, now took on a heavy, suffocating rhythm, like the beating of a heart!

"Thump... thump... thump..."

Every "heartbeat" made the hearts of the team members outside pound wildly, their blood surging!

That aggressive team member was so frightened that he shut his mouth instead.

This aura... was far too terrifying!

How could a human possibly create such a commotion? This was clearly a sign that a god was about to descend!

Charge in now? They would probably be vaporized by that crimson-gold torrent of energy in an instant, without even ashes left behind!

This was exactly the effect Huo Yuhao wanted.

He wanted to create the illusion that the "awakening ritual" had reached its final stage, and that any interference would cause all previous efforts to go to waste and destroy everything together!

Just as Tu Feng was utterly cowed by that divine might and found himself trapped between advancing and retreating, an inconspicuous metal box at his waist suddenly began to buzz urgently.

Tu Feng jolted and hurriedly connected the soul tool communicator.

A cold, steady male voice came through, carrying unquestionable authority.

"Tu Feng, what's going on? My side has detected that the energy index in Zone B-7 has already exceeded the limit!"

It was Officer Xu Qingsong!

As if he had found someone to rely on, Tu Feng quickly reported, "Reporting, sir! The consultant is carrying out an 'awakening' ritual in the core area! At present... the energy reaction has exceeded our estimates. The situation... is somewhat out of control!"

He paused, then cautiously added a sentence, concealing his suspicions within it.

"Sir, the consultant's operation... seems to be highly 'private.' He refuses to allow anyone near. I'm worried..."

There were two seconds of silence from the other end of the communicator.

Then Xu Qingsong's cold voice rang out again, carrying a bone-piercing chill.

"Monitor him closely, but under no circumstances are you to act rashly!"

"The integrity of the 'divine inheritance' is the highest priority! Do you understand?"

"If he dares to play tricks, once the ritual is over, the organization has plenty of ways to make him spit it all back out with interest. But if your stupidity causes any damage to the 'inheritance' during the awakening process..."

"Then your entire squad can go feed soul beasts in the Ice Sea."

Click.

The communication was cut off unilaterally.

Tu Feng gripped the cold communicator, his forehead covered in sweat.

He turned around and kicked the team member who had been stirring things up earlier.

"Stay put and behave, all of you! If anyone dares say another word, I'll chop him up right now!"

Deep within the formation, Huo Yuhao heard everything clearly.

Xu Qingsong...

He seemed far more troublesome than Tu Feng and his band of brutes.

He had given me time, but he had also put a death warrant on me.

Before Xu Qingsong lost patience, or Sky Dream Iceworm's energy completely ran wild, he had to complete the most crucial step!

He had to establish genuine communication with this million-year-old beast!

Huo Yuhao withdrew all unnecessary focus and condensed all his spiritual power into a single point. Bracing himself against the energy storm that could tear apart a soul, he sent the most direct, most overbearing signal into that chaotic sea of consciousness!

"Hey! Big guy!"

"You want out, and I want to live!"

"Cooperate, or we both get blown to pieces here. You have three seconds. Pick one!"