Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

As the conquest of the Immortal Palace drew to a close, the teams from other border cities prepared to leave.

Many outside families left the Lava Mine City ahead of time, carrying the spoils of the Celestial Palace and the ashes of their clansmen on their journey home.

Some of these families carried deep regret and remorse.

Upon learning of the impending crisis within the Celestial Palace, they chose to leave in order to protect themselves, and did not proceed to the suppression anchor point.

They weren't a local family; they came looking for opportunities.

No one would force them to participate in the war to suppress the calamity. Even if they understood that if the calamity spread, they wouldn't have an easy time either.

Similarly, they will not be able to obtain any of the official gains after the Asgardian War ends.

The families that participated in this calamity war gained the official's friendship, receiving not only some intelligence from the future civilization but also several inheritances shared by the official authorities.

If individual families were to wander aimlessly through the Immortal Palace like headless flies, they would gain very little.

Today, those families who were willing to stand with the great city in times of calamity have received enormous rewards.

This made the families that had retreated extremely envious; so much heritage and intelligence was enough to make their family foundation even richer.

Unfortunately, by the time they chose to retreat, they had already lost all of this.

Those families who chose to suppress the calamity reciprocated by keeping some of their young members, who had expressed interest in joining the border city, in the giant city.

Through their own efforts, they will become processors or join the military as military psionicists. Of course, this is contingent on them passing the test.

In the bloody war, these young people forged a strong camaraderie with the official soldiers and volunteered to contribute to the giant city.

As a result, all four great cities gained some young people with psychic talents.

The largest number of them are found in Border City No. 3.

From a certain perspective, Hong Lan's criticism was correct; that figure going against the tide of the enemy attracted a lot of attention.

As a result, some people joked that the champion agent had some succubus-like attributes and should be careful not to be corrupted by the Elysium faction.

However, the thought that he was the champion's agent made that worry disappear.

Before leaving, the powerful officials gathered briefly at the guesthouse. Li Yelai, Wanou, Ma Hongyi, Mo He, and others were all present.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, their next gathering will be for the attack on Black Source City.

At the party, Li Yelai used the Divine Demon Tablet to suppress the curse within a certain range, allowing the doll to remove its helmet. Although it still carried a trace of the fear curse, at least it was able to participate in the dinner normally.

This was her first time eating with her friends, and her eyes sparkled with joy.

These days she no longer suffers from insomnia, gets plenty of sleep, and looks radiant.

This made her already beautiful face even more captivating and drew attention.

Everyone was amazed by her beauty.

Even Mo He, a woman herself, sighed, "Such a beautiful girl, yet only you, Old Li, can appreciate her. No wonder that anthropomorphic beast is insanely jealous. I'm even a little jealous now."

The doll was too easily embarrassed; after being teased by Mo He, her face turned bright red. Her little hand tightly gripped Li Yelai's palm.

Mohe's injuries to his hands and feet have mostly healed, and he can now move around freely.

The Mohist overlord was extremely grateful to the doll and the departed Little Mad King, and even prepared many gifts as a token of his gratitude.

Now, a Mo family team is desperately chasing after Little Mad King, trying to deliver the gift of gratitude, but it's uncertain whether they can catch up.

The Mo family's gratitude was not unexpected; if the two women hadn't arrived in time, Mo He would have faced terrible consequences. If that beast Ye Han were still alive, he would probably be torn to pieces.

This time, Mohe proved her ability, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops in battle! And being assassinated time and again by the Yunling civilization also demonstrated her power in the future timeline.

Moreover, the official acquisition of the technology to create soldiers from beans will be a significant boost for battlefield commanders like Mohe.

The teleportation ability of the mimicry celestial soldiers is greatly reduced after leaving the Heavenly Palace, but they will still be a formidable force.

After Mohe, the battlefield will become even more terrifying. The legions of the Forbidden Zone are in for a rough time.
Meanwhile, the leader of the Mohist school invited Li Yelai to visit Border City No. 1 when he had time.

Li Yelai did not refuse, saying that he would visit the Mo family after he was promoted.

Master Craftsman Mo Hai is one of the few renowned craftsmen in the city, and the spiritual weapons he creates are all top-quality!

Previously, Li Ye brought back a large amount of resources from the church, so the authorities crafted an S-class psionic weapon for Captain Yang Chen.

That S-class weapon was crafted by the master craftsman Mo Hai after he had recovered.

It took half a month to complete, and it was a success on the first try. He is truly a master craftsman.

Judging by the time, that weapon should have already been delivered to Captain Yang Chen.

With an S-class weapon, Yang Chen's combat power will increase again. Who knows, he might even create a divine weapon someday.

Li Yelai currently possesses two A-grade weapons, a black-gold dragon-patterned halberd. Although the blades are chipped and the handles are broken, they are still repairable.

The Blood Cloud Ring-Pierced Blade was only used a few times by Li Yelai; it was practically brand new. No replacement was needed.

Although the A-grade armor was destroyed, a new one can be crafted by the official team.

Li Yelai planned to wait until he was promoted to overlord, then take the materials to ask the master craftsman of Mo Hai to forge an S-grade weapon.

Mo He nodded: "It's alright, you are a distinguished guest of the Mo family. We will have a drink together when you arrive."

Then, she took the doll to get something to eat.

"Don't go too far, this area isn't very big," Li Yelai reminded him.

Then, Li Yelai saw Ma Hongyi drinking alone in a corner.

This piqued Li Yelai's curiosity, and he asked, "Old Ma, what's wrong?"

"Don't call me Old Ma, what number are you in line, you old Ma?" Ma Hongyi grinned and tossed a bottle of drink at Li Yelai.

He now understood that Li Yelai's mounts were all called "Old Horses," distinguished by their serial numbers. Given Li Yelai's reputation as a vehicle-based assassin, several batches of them had probably already been killed.

Perhaps, they could even emulate Li Shimin and assemble a group of six steeds for the Zhaoling Mausoleum.

Calling himself "Old Ma" is utterly despicable!
I treated you like a brother, and you think you can ride me?

Li Yelai thought for a moment, "Old Horse No. 1, the Thunder-Treading Dragon Steed. Died in the No. 71 Disaster Fog, that was Li Yelai's eternal white moonlight."
Old Ma No. 2, Tianhui Qilin, died in the Heavenly Realm. Old Ma No. 3, Hunter Sheep, died in the operation to hunt down Black Umbrella.

Old Ma No. 4, Tianhui Gulong. Survived.

Old Ma No. 5, Yayu (猰貐), died on the battlefield of the Celestial Palace.

Old Ma No. 6, Bashe, um. Li Yelai himself pulled out the snake tendons, so it's unusable and can only be thrown into the furnace as material.

"It's alright, it's alright. I didn't kill as many as Li Shimin; I only killed five," Li Yelai replied.

The Celestial Comet Ancient Dragon is a supreme-level extraordinary creature, and it hasn't been used within the Celestial Palace yet. Therefore, it is still alive.

"Thank you so much," Ma Hongyi said sarcastically.

Then, Ma Hongyi said, "It seems that my name is not on the future list."

Li Yelai was taken aback. This was unusual. Although the future list might not be accurate, Ma Hongyi was very talented.

Those who can advance to the sixth level of enlightenment before the age of thirty are all the chosen ones. Ma Hongyi advanced to the sixth level of enlightenment at the age of twenty-six.

This was because he had been hiding in the restricted area for more than a year because of the matter of Meiwu.

Otherwise, he might have advanced to the sixth level of enlightenment at the age of twenty-five.

Such talent, not making the list? Impossible. Anyone who comes here will say this is a genius beyond compare.

How could such a person remain unknown in the future?

Ma Hongyi has an extremely strong personality.

This kind of talent and personality, have they not been discovered by future civilizations?
“One of my clansmen has been assassinated multiple times, while I have not been assassinated even once,” Ma Hongyi said. “So, a few days ago, I asked the Supreme One. He did not tell me about the list, but told me that I was not on either list.”

"There are two possibilities: you are very well hidden, or you are wearing another guise, so that your future enemies have never discovered you. But you are clearly not that kind of person. The future you will not need to wear any guise."

“That’s right, at that point, the disguise is meaningless.” Ma Hongyi shook her head in response.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yelai said, "There is another possibility, which is..."

“That’s right, I was already gone before I rose to power.” Ma Hongyi said in a deep voice, “If it has already happened, I guess it might be the time with Meiwu. After all, your participation in the operation was just an accident. Perhaps that changed things, otherwise the Yunling civilization wouldn’t be completely unaware of me.”

This is very likely.

To kill his former lover, Ma Hongyi orchestrated an assassination. He was truly risking his life. Whether successful or not, his chances of survival were slim. Even if he killed Meiwu, he would find it difficult to escape the forbidden zone from the angels' pursuit.

But Li Yelai's appearance not only killed Meiwu, but also drew away the attention of most of the angels, forcibly altering the outcome.

"From this perspective, you really did save my life." Ma Hongyi grinned, clinking glasses with Li Yelai while holding the wine bottle.

Li Yelai fell into thought. His two future selves were different; one was the Chosen One of the Azure Flame, and the other's identity was currently unknown. The official sources had not informed him.

But clearly, neither of those two future versions of himself was Mr. Shadow.

Perhaps Mr. Shadow is that variable? Or rather, one of the variables?

Without Mr. Shadow, Li Yelai probably wouldn't have been able to ignore the curses of others, and therefore wouldn't have been able to befriend the doll and the Little Mad King.

Naturally, he wouldn't be invited by the Little Mad King to hunt down the human traitor, Meiwu.

Without his unexpected intervention, the future Ma Hongyi wouldn't have survived leaving the forbidden zone, so the Yunling civilization was unaware of him. He died before his rise to power.
Moreover, if we consider the future of Dawn Lord, Li Yelai might not even know Ma Hongyi. Wilderness Rangers don't have much contact with the official channels.

The future, chains.
Li Yelai remembered that when those supreme beings traversed the river of time, they were bound by chains. That was the price for crossing time and reversing the flow of history.

Even powerful figures like the Holy Emperor, the Consul, and the woman with the sword could not escape being bound by chains.

And those chains were extremely similar to the ones on Mr. Shadow's body.

But Mr. Shadow's chains were much larger, and there were four of them.
Does the fact that the Holy Emperor only has two means that Mr. Shadow is far more powerful than the Holy Emperor? Or does it mean that He comes from a more distant future?
No wonder they are said to be beings that do not belong to this time and space.
'I see, Mr. Shadow. You're also from the future?' Li Yelai murmured to himself. Mr. Shadow remained as indifferent as ever, saying nothing. Perhaps... he tacitly accepted Li Yelai's opinion?
Both the Yunling and Linhai civilizations traversed time using the Time Worm. How did Mr. Ying manage to do that?

If he were to make the transaction himself, wouldn't he be helping Mr. Shadow shed those 'costs'? Once all the 'costs' are removed, would he have no more scruples?
We don't have enough information. We need to get more from the witnesses at the next Ark Gathering.

Not far away, the doll was pulled in front of several female captains by Mohe. It was unclear what they were talking about, but the doll's cheeks were flushed.

Seeing this scene, Li Yelai slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Whenever he thought of Mr. Ying, he couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.

I wonder what Mr. Shadow will do in the end.
As the gathering came to an end, everyone prepared to leave.

Ma Hongyi and Mo He had to drive back to their respective cities.

Li Yelai and the others boarded the Yellow Springs Train.

But just before departure, the overlord of the giant city arrived—it was the overlord of the Hong family.

The Hong family overlord first bowed to the sword-wielding overlord who was leading the group and addressed him as "teacher".

Then, he came to Li Yelai and handed him a rather large brocade box with both hands.

"Sorry I'm late. Repairing this took a lot of time. Amber King believes it's best to return this item to its rightful owner," said the Hong family overlord.

"Returning it to its rightful owner?" Li Yelai was surprised. What did the Amber King own? But he still accepted the brocade box with both hands.

“Indeed, you are now fully qualified to use it. This is an honor, and also a responsibility,” the Hong family tyrant said solemnly. He then left the train.

When Li Yelai opened the brocade box, the nearby official experts were stunned, and then gasped.

The box contained a blood-red cloak.

Bloodstains crisscrossed the cloak, each drop representing a terrifying foe: a Chosen One of Chaos, a ruler of a forbidden zone, an ancient dragon, a Returnee, or even a living forbidden creature.
These bloodstains, strung together, resembled both a black dragon roaring to the sky, incredibly powerful, and a black Great Wall, standing firm and unyielding.

Both malevolent forces and guardians coexist!
A terrifying, intimidating force instantly spread, yet it didn't cause any discomfort among the crowd. Instead, some of the living forbidden creatures became restless. They sensed danger!
这 是
The Night Scouts of the champion team stared wide-eyed; they naturally recognized the cloak.

The champions of all time wore this blood-red cloak as they fought against the enemies of humanity.

Passed down from generation to generation, it serves as a symbol of human champions!

"Champion's cape!"

(Gentlemen, the next dungeon is also quite large. I need to find my rhythm first; it doesn't feel right to go back and forth like this.) (End of Chapter)