The Decision

[Command confirmed]

[Analyzing Mental Power Amplitude and flying dagger array combination...]

[Calamity Killing Art, Second Layer: "Thunder Collapse," and Sky-Splitting Escape Method, Second Layer: "Flowing Light"—recording complete]

At Lin Fan's command,

the golden True Self first shattered into countless points of light and merged with Lin Fan's consciousness. Then it gathered itself together once more.

Next, it raised an arm and turned its palm upward. A black, enormous scythe identical to Calamity instantly took shape.

Unlike the Calamity it had formed before, this scythe's razor-sharp edge now crackled with purple lightning.

Sizzle.

Sizzle.

The arcs of lightning resembled purple snakes, tightly bound by invisible chains, crawling and writhing inch by inch along the sharp edge.

The True Self lifted the scythe and slowly swung it once.

But the swing seemed unable to call upon the lightning arcs on the blade. It was just an ordinary slash.

"I still need more practice."

After watching for a while, Lin Fan withdrew from his sea of consciousness. He absorbed the insights the True Self had sent back about the first layer of the Calamity Killing Art, then slowly opened his eyes.

Lin Fan stood up, opened the Martial Arts Hall's heavy metal shutters, and walked over to the villa's enormous floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside,

the HR Alliance Building was still brightly lit, its enormous holographic advertising screens splashing the night sky with color.

It was proof that human civilization had stubbornly survived the wasteland era, and a den of indulgence where countless warriors squandered their wealth.

Watching his cold reflection in the glass, Lin Fan's gaze gradually deepened.

"Basic strength: 580,000 kilograms..."

"My Mental Power Amplitude has reached the level of a peak Wargod. And with these two weapons, which have just advanced to the second tier..."

"The plan has changed. It's time to go there."

According to his original plan, he had intended to play it safe and wait until he had consolidated his strength before heading to Mist Island on the Australian Continent.

After all, it was an unknown death zone, and might even conceal a Planetary Level being capable of killing a Wargod in an instant.

But things had changed.

The two weapons had grown vastly stronger after advancing. He had also acquired secret arts of the laws, bringing a qualitative leap in his offensive capabilities.

This tremendous increase in strength gave him enough confidence to take a gamble.

"The Spirits of Vegetation on Mist Island, especially that Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Heart..."

A flash of undisguised eagerness passed through Lin Fan's eyes.

"That's the kind of treasure that can break the shackles of life and let someone step directly into Planetary Level."

"It's even enough to make Hong and Thor jealous."

Fortune favored the bold.

As long as he got that treasure, he could truly enter the ranks of the strong.

More importantly—

"There's still some time before Luo Feng goes to Mist Island."

Lin Fan glanced at the night outside the window.

"That time gap is more than enough for me to make my move."

As someone who had crossed over, he knew the story's direction all too well.

At this moment, the unusual activity on Mist Island had yet to erupt in full. The leakage of the astonishing Wood Bud Crystal energy deep underground was still in its early stages.

The major forces around the world had yet to react, and those lofty Councilor Level powerhouses had yet to enter the scene.

This was his chance.

"Once everyone catches on, I won't even get a drop of the soup."

Having made his decision, he didn't hesitate any further.

Lin Fan turned and went back to the Martial Arts Hall.

With a wave of his hand, he put Calamity and Sky Splitter away in his Space Ring.

Once he had done that, Lin Fan straightened his combat uniform, tightened the tactical backpack on his back, and checked the dagger strapped to his calf.

"Let's go."

He strode straight out of the villa.

The night wind blew against him, carrying a trace of chill, but it couldn't extinguish the fire burning inside him.

His figure soon vanished into the night, speeding toward the distant south.

This time, his destination wasn't one of the ordinary Wilderness Zones.

It was one of the most dangerous—and richest—treasure grounds on Earth: Australia's Mist Island!

Deep in the wreckage of a long-abandoned financial center in City 003,

Lin Fan's figure slipped silently through the entrance to a collapsed underground parking garage, like a ghost.

The farther down he went, the stronger the stench of decay and mildew became.

This place lay nearly a hundred meters beneath the surface. It was a deep shelter built in the old era to withstand nuclear attacks.

Tens of thousands of tons of building rubble overhead formed a natural shield, blocking everything from possible satellite surveillance to monster attacks.

Darkness. Silence.

Only the sound of water dripping into a flooded area echoed through the sealed space, growing impossibly loud.

After clearing an area spacious enough, Lin Fan slowly closed his eyes.

Buzz!

His Spiritual Force surged outward like a raging tide, spreading in every direction with both brute force and precision.

An inch, a foot, a hundred meters...

After confirming there were no signs of life nearby and no electronic surveillance equipment still operating, Lin Fan opened his eyes.

"Come out."

With a wave of his hand, an enormous object appeared before him out of nowhere.

It was a black combat craft, about a hundred meters long, with a sleek, deep-contoured design.

Its surface was as smooth as a mirror, with no welded seams, as if it had been carved directly from a single enormous black gemstone.

In the dim underground light, its hull gleamed with a beautiful, icy metallic sheen.

This was the gift from the system's beginner's package: the X-101 stealth combat craft, which had lain unused in his Space Ring all this time.

Looking at the craft, which combined a futuristic design with a brutal beauty, Lin Fan felt a pang of emotion.

This was the first time he had taken it out since receiving it.

Back when he had been weak, this craft, far beyond Earth's technology, had been no mere means of transport. It had been a death warrant.

In this world, where might made right and the weak were prey, a man was guilty simply for possessing a treasure.

If Hong, the man at the very pinnacle of Earth, or Thor had discovered the craft, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

To Lin Fan back then, powerhouses of that level were the heavens themselves, insurmountable mountains.

He couldn't be sure whether the commotion of activating the craft would escape Earth's surveillance network, and he had no confidence he could protect this "treasure" if his secret were exposed.

That was why Lin Fan had never dared take it out.

But things were different now.

"Whew..."

Lin Fan took a deep breath and clenched his fists, feeling the power surging through him like thunder.

Calamity and Sky Splitter had both successfully advanced to the second tier. Though his current strength still wasn't enough for him to brazenly challenge monsters like Hong and Thor head-on, at least...

he was no longer an ant they could crush at will.

As long as the craft could travel between planets, he could at least escape, even if he couldn't win.

That confidence was the fundamental reason he dared to bring the craft out now.

"Mist Island in Australia..."

Lin Fan murmured, his gaze seeming to pierce the darkness and reach the distant south.

The journey there was long, and full of unknown variables.

Traveling there under his own power would not only take a tremendous toll, but also risk unnecessary trouble along the way and cost him his chance.

This craft was the key to seizing the initiative, claiming the Spirits of Vegetation, and even gathering the scattered Wood Bud Crystals.

Still, even with his confidence swelling, Lin Fan remained absolutely calm.

"Better safe than sorry."

Only in a place like this, buried deep underground where even satellite signals couldn't penetrate, would he dare take it out.

Lin Fan steadied his roiling emotions, then strode toward the enormous black craft radiating a chill.