Sacred Feather

Lin Ran kept asking He Xi about everything under the sun along the way. Eventually, He Xi grew fed up with his questions, pushed him away in a huff, and flew over to Kaisa.

"Chi Xin, don't go! I still have so much to ask you!"

"Shut up! Go ask the other angels!"

"No, we hit it off. The other angels all ignore me."

Lin Ran grabbed He Xi's wrist and stared at her stubbornly. For some reason, He Xi felt a little guilty, perhaps because she had deceived him, so she did not shake him off right away.

[Angel Gene detected. Analyzing---10%--20%--30%...100%]

While Azure Heaven analyzed He Xi's genes, Kaisa merely gave Lin Ran a surprised glance, unable to understand how he possessed such a powerful dark matter computer.

Perhaps he really could help He Xi achieve a breakthrough in the technology for the fifth generation sacred body, Kaisa thought.

[Analysis complete! Recording---10%--20%--30%...100%]

[Recording complete!]

[Special energy detected: sacred feather. Absorbing---]

An immense surge of energy poured from He Xi's body into Lin Ran. He stared at her in astonishment. He had not expected He Xi to possess special energy too. Hadn't this exposed him?!

Beneath her mask, He Xi glared at Lin Ran, her face flushed crimson. Seeing her little ears turn bright red, Lin Ran sheepishly released her wrist.

"Um... well... I didn't mean to! I just wanted to learn a little about you. I didn't expect this to happen!"

"Give me back my sacred feather!" He Xi said angrily.

[Absorption complete!]

[God body upgrading---]

[Cangtian Gene Engine upgrading---]

An immense surge of energy blasted He Xi and the surrounding angels away, and Lin Ran's consciousness instantly entered his Dark Plane Gene System.

The canopy of sky began expanding in every direction. Although Lin Ran could not see it, he could feel it.

[God body upgrade complete!]

[Cangtian Gene Engine upgrade complete! Current core processing speed: 64 frequency, with Special-Grade Concept Rewriter, power of the void, power of spacetime, sacred power]

Lin Ran left the Dark Plane and sensed his current strength. It was so powerful that it was intoxicating! Then he turned toward the angels eyeing him like tigers watching their prey and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Uh... how should I explain this to you? It's a long story, so let's just skip it."

"Oh, don't. If there's one thing we angels have no shortage of, it's time. You can take your time telling us," Kaisa teased.

"That's private!"

"But you took He... Chi Xin's sacred feather. Do you know what a sacred feather means to an angel?"

"What does it mean?"

"A sacred feather is formed from an angel's purest love. Now that you've taken Chi Xin's sacred feather, she'll never be able to fall in love with another male god."

"Is that true, Chi Xin?"

"Yes, so hurry up and give it back!"

"Uh... hypothetically, and I mean hypothetically, what would happen to you if your sacred feather was already gone?"

"What do you mean, gone?"

"It became nourishment for my god body's upgrade. You all saw it. I just advanced to a fourth generation god body, and that was because I absorbed your sacred feather."

"That god body of yours really is peculiar! It can even absorb sacred feathers!"

"But you kept pestering Chi Xin the whole way here. Were you after her sacred feather all along?"

"No, I really wasn't. I only started talking to her because I saw her wearing a mask and got curious."

"Forget it, Queen Kaisa. Once his business with the Heavenly Base King is settled, we'll deal with what's between us," He Xi said to Kaisa. Kaisa glanced at He Xi and nodded.

After passing through a wormhole and then layer upon layer of security mechanisms, Lin Ran finally saw the Merlot Heavenly Court. Angels constantly flew to and fro inside, and when they saw Kaisa return, they all saluted in unison.

Then, upon seeing Lin Ran, every angel was shocked. Ever since the Three Angel Kings had driven the male angels out of the Angel Nebula, no male had appeared in the Merlot Heavenly Court for tens of thousands of years.

"It's so beautiful!" Lin Ran could not help marveling.

"Hmph! Beautiful or not, it's none of your business! Don't wander off, or the queen might lock you up," Chi Xin said in a tsundere manner, then vanished.

Back in her bedchamber, He Xi rolled around on her bed. She had never expected Lin Ran to actually absorb her sacred feather, but honestly, she really felt no aversion toward him.

"Could it be because of the sacred feather? By all rights, I should really hate him!" He Xi muttered in disbelief.

"Forget it, forget it. He said he could help me solve the problems with the fifth generation sacred body. If he really can, then I'll reluctantly forgive him!"

"He Xi, Lin Ran is already waiting for you in the main hall. Aren't you going to see him?" Kaisa's amused voice reached He Xi's ears, and He Xi pounded her pillow in displeasure.

"No! I'll leave him hanging for a couple of days first! That'll teach him to steal my sacred feather!"

"All right, then I'll have Yan show him around first. Lin Ran just told me that that damned pervert Karl has been hiding his strength all along, so I've recalled Zhi Xin. She's your only little disciple, after all."

"There must be a reason Karl has spent all these years researching the void. Perhaps he really has mastered powers beyond our understanding. It looks like upgrading to the fifth generation sacred body has become an urgent matter!"

"There's no rush. We've both lived for over thirty thousand years. Haven't we lived long enough? If Karl or Morgana really has the ability to kill me, I'd actually welcome it. My heart is already very weary, after all. It needs some rest."

"Don't you dare! If you leave, I'll be all alone. I won't even have anyone to talk to."

"Don't you still have your male god? You've already given him your sacred feather, after all."

"Are you asking for death?! He stole it from me, okay!"

"It was fate! True love always arrives in these unexpected ways. All we can do is accept it."

"I don't believe that. Even if he really is my male god, I'm still going to test him. He's just a little brat anyway!"

"Suit yourself. I'm very interested in how things turn out for you two."

Lin Ran waited in the main hall for more than two hours before Yan finally arrived and began showing him around.

"Your Heavenly Base King doesn't want to see me?"

"Uh... I'm not sure either. Maybe she's absorbed in her research. The Heavenly Base King gets very engrossed in studying things. She often shuts herself in her laboratory for years at a time."

"But that still doesn't make sense. Since she decided to see me, surely she wouldn't go into seclusion to do research right now."

"I don't know! If you're told to wait, just wait. What, are you in a hurry to get back to Earth?"

"Of course I am. Our Earth is facing an invasion, and your future is still a little noob. There's no one to take charge of the overall situation. How can I not be there?"

"The Galaxy Power does still have a long way to go. But on this trip, I noticed that the little girl named Qilin had a super gene that had transformed into a new kind of gene, one I'd never seen before. Was that your doing?"

"Yep, that's right! I gave her an upgrade."

"Impressive! I hope you really can help the angels achieve a breakthrough in the technology for the fifth generation sacred body. I have a vague feeling that the fourth generation holy body is no longer invincible."

"Your instincts are pretty accurate!" Lin Ran gave Yan a surprised glance. That jinxing mouth of hers really had called it.