Hongning Base City, Supreme Court.
More than thirty Councilors and nearly ten War God Level fighters had already gathered in the spacious hall. They formed small groups, projecting their Origin Force into barriers to hold private conversations.
Suddenly-
The entire hall fell silent.
The powerful Councilors in the gallery withdrew their Origin Force barriers and fell silent along with the other War Gods. Two figures entered through a side door, one behind the other.
A black-clad man and a bald monk in white robes walked toward the front row of the gallery.
Hong, the black-clad man, was cold and aloof, seeming to devour all the light around him. Thunder God, the white-robed monk, gave off an aura that made hearts tremble involuntarily.
"Greetings, First Speaker, Second Speaker!"
Everyone bowed in greeting. Even the Councilors who had been so haughty moments earlier bent respectfully at the waist.
Although War God Palace had five Speakers and divided its hierarchy into three tiers, Hong and Thunder God were actually far above the other Speakers. They could have occupied an entirely separate tier.
"Everyone, no need for formalities. Please sit!" Thunder God smiled gently and gestured for everyone to take their seats.
The court formally convened.
Luo Feng sat at the plaintiff's table, while Li Yao and his wife, Venina, stood in the defendants' dock in handcuffs and shackles. A trial involving two High-level War Gods was a rare event in history.
Yang Zheng sat in his seat, paying no attention to the tedious proceedings. Instead, he studied Thunder God, the white-robed monk. Seemingly noticing Yang Zheng's gaze, Thunder God gave him a slight nod.
Hong, Planetary Level Six.
Thunder God, Planetary Level Seven!
In both physical attributes and power exertion, Thunder God surpassed Hong. Yet simply unleashing his domain allowed Hong to completely overwhelm Thunder God in strength.
Domains...
They were still a little too advanced for those at the Planetary Level.
The proceedings continued, and the court passed sentence on Li Yao and his wife. After they were forced to surrender their Black God Sets, the two were escorted to the Wilderness Zone for execution. Luo Feng went along with them.
This should be quite a show!
How could Vulture Li Yao, even after breaking through in desperation, possibly match Luo Feng? Faced with the secret techniques and weapons of an immortal faction, even merely its basics, how could a native Planetary Level fighter turn the tables?
Combat experience?
What fighter who had grown through life-and-death battles with monsters lacked something like combat experience?
There were no surprises. From Li Yao's breakthrough to the Planetary Level to Luo Feng killing him in a single strike, his moment of glory ended almost as soon as it began.
However.
The Councilors following the incident were all stunned. A War God who clearly had not broken through to the Planetary Level had killed a Planetary Level fighter in one strike, even if his opponent had only just broken through.
"What was that weapon?"
"Isn't it far too powerful?"
"He spent over a year in the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins. Could he have obtained that weapon inside?"
"What a shame. He's only a peak War God. If a Councilor Level fighter wielded that weapon, it could probably unleash even greater power."
From the moment Luo Feng entered, the Councilors could not help looking at him. Naturally, they all coveted the weapon that had killed Li Yao in a single strike, but Luo Feng's strength kept them restrained.
"A bunch of useless fools!"
Suddenly, an invisible pressure made everyone's heart tremble. Thunder God sneered and cursed them outright.
"Thunder God and I established War God Palace to unite humanity's strength and strive for its survival. I do not want a repeat of the Yahan incident!"
Hong's voice was utterly cold, and not a single Councilor dared make a sound. "Luo Feng's weapon is called the Sky-Escaping Shuttle. He personally obtained it from me in exchange for a large number of plant spirits."
"I'm a fair man. If you want something, you have to pay for it."
Only after Hong left with Yang Zheng and Luo Feng, and the banquet hall doors closed again, did the Councilors breathe a sigh of relief.
Humans were forgetful creatures.
Hong and Thunder God had not shown anger before the Councilors for over a decade, and that had made them forget how ruthless the two men could be. A single display of anger today had left them feeling more suffocated than ever before.
On an open-air rooftop of the spaceship-shaped building.
"Yang Zheng, thank you for those insights into physical power exertion!"
Hong, Thunder God, Yang Zheng, and Luo Feng sat directly on the ground. Thunder God wore a warm, friendly smile.
After receiving those insights from Hong, his own strength had improved as well.
Although he had received them from Hong, they had originated with Yang Zheng, so he naturally had to thank him.
Whoosh!
Thunder God took out a box. "This is a plant spirit, seven-leaf grass. Consider it payment for those insights."
"Seven-leaf grass?"
Yang Zheng did not refuse and accepted the box. With this plant spirit, his mid-level War God physical attributes could reach the peak of the High-level War God tier extremely quickly.
Seven-leaf grass was a plant spirit even more precious than a millennium willow heart. Its value was second only to a ten-thousand-year willow heart.
"Haha, good!"
Only after Yang Zheng accepted the gift did Thunder God turn to Luo Feng beside him. "Young Luo, how did you kill Li Yao with just a Sky-Escaping Shuttle? Tell me in detail."
"Huh?"
Luo Feng was still in a daze and had not expected Thunder God to suddenly address him. Thunder God was already renowned for his physical power exertion, yet he had paid a plant spirit for a set of insights.
How astonishing was that?
Caught by Thunder God's sudden question, Luo Feng felt a little panicked. He did not dare gamble on whether the Bald Crystal Man truly had the ability to monitor the entire planet.
Was he monitoring this place right now? If I told them outright, would a laser blast kill me?
"The No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins should be a place for selecting disciples. Luo Feng probably has his own reasons for keeping quiet. Some things may not be convenient for him to share!"
Yang Zheng suddenly spoke up beside him. Luo Feng, who had been struggling to find something to say, gave him a grateful look.
"Yes!"
Luo Feng nodded. "It's more or less as Yang Zheng said. I really don't know how to explain it."
"That makes sense!" Hong did not press him further and instead nodded in agreement.
"There should be an Intelligent System controlling the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins behind the scenes. Its purpose is to select disciples, though it seems to favor Spirit Readers."
The No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins were among the few on Earth that remained
in full working order. Many of Earth's War Gods had entered them repeatedly and naturally discovered that these Ancient Civilization Ruins operated in a highly "programmed" manner.
Judging from the death rate among Spirit Readers, the No. 9 Ancient Civilization Ruins favored them, which was why the selection process was not entirely fair.
This point.
Previously, it had only been speculation.
Because so few Spirit Readers had entered, the data had been inconclusive. But Luo Feng had survived inside for over a year and emerged with greatly increased strength.
That speculation had thus become fact.
Before you continue