Chapter 72: The Last Spark
Inside the dream world, Su Xiao walked along the main street littered with craters and corpses, with Yue Ling following behind him. Her cheek was swollen, and her face was full of displeasure.
The Soul Elder had escaped—fled under the combined assault of Yue Ling and Archbishop Noe.
"Yue Ling, this is normal. The Kodo School lost so many people this time. Consider this a favor to Archbishop Noe."
Baha spoke up and even tapped the back of Yue Ling's head with his wing.
"?"
Yue Ling looked at Baha with confusion, not understanding the situation. The Soul Elder had escaped while she and Archbishop Noe were attacking him—how was that normal? The Kodo School had indeed suffered heavy losses, but what did the Soul Elder's escape have to do with doing Archbishop Noe a favor?
Seeing Yue Ling's expression, Baha chuckled and said, "Little Yue Ling, you need to understand one thing: this world isn't simply black and white. Are we the righteous side? Of course we are. We won, so no one will dig into all the shady things the Kodo School has done over the years."
"Mm."
Yue Ling nodded. She understood this much. From the very beginning, she knew her hands were stained with blood. As long as it was an order from the Light King or Lord Bai Ye, she would carry it out. Whether it was right or wrong, she could feel guilty about it later.
"Let me ask you, Yue Ling—after all this, what will happen to the Kodo School?"
"They'll become the strongest faction, right? That's probably it."
"Not at all. If the Kodo School had wiped out the Soul Bell Tower completely, within a month, other forces would crush, swallow, and dismantle them. Right now, the Kodo School has suffered heavy losses. If other factions unite, they could likely defeat them. For the next few months or even years, no one needs the Soul Bell Tower's existence more than the Kodo School.
The Soul Bell Tower is a rat in the gutter. The Kodo School can use the banner of eradicating them to win the goodwill of many unaffiliated powerhouses and recruit them. That way, the Kodo School can recover its strength quickly, stabilize its position, and then purge any forces that might threaten them."
Baha's words made Yue Ling understand the situation. Indeed, in the earlier clash between Yue Ling and Archbishop Noe against the Soul Elder, it was Archbishop Noe who deliberately let him escape. Once the cunning hare is dead, the hounds are cooked. If the Soul Bell Tower had been completely annihilated today, tomorrow would be the Kodo School's day of doom.
The Kodo School needed a mortal enemy to let other forces know they couldn't become the strongest.
As Baha spoke, Archbishop Noe approached from the opposite direction.
"What a bitter battle. These old bones of mine are useless, dragging down little Yue Ling."
Archbishop Noe sighed, his gaze toward Yue Ling filled with apology.
"Hmph~"
Yue Ling tilted her chin and turned her head away, saying, "Your heart is wicked."
Hearing this, Archbishop Noe looked surprised, then turned to Su Xiao, ultimately saying nothing. His inner thought was: Little girl, the one you're following now is far more ruthless than this old immortal.
Su Xiao stopped in front of the dim square. The ground was covered in dark purple bloodstains and rotting flesh. A figure stood there, covered in wounds, his cloak reduced to tatters. Sparks drifted from within his body—it was the Execution Squad Captain.
The Execution Squad Captain turned his head, saw Su Xiao approaching, and pointed to the sky. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it with his own ears, especially from Su Xiao himself.
"The Ancient God is already dead."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, the sparks stopped emerging from the Execution Squad Captain's body. He had fought to the death against the Corrupted Mother Goddess, who had devoured the souls of hundreds of thousands. As the price, his life flame was about to extinguish.
The Execution Squad Captain thrust his greatsword into the ground and placed both hands on the pommel.
Seeing this, Archbishop Noe quickly stepped forward, whispered something, and after the Execution Squad Captain nodded, he took out a small wooden box and opened it.
A wisp of blood mist carrying sparks drifted out from the Execution Squad Captain's chest and entered the small wooden box. This was the last spark left by the Heretic Execution Squad.
"Rest assured, nothing about the Execution Squad will change. The new batch of members will still uphold your principles, becoming the Kodo School's sword of punishment. When the day comes that the Kodo School itself falls into corruption, your sword will turn against us."
Hearing Archbishop Noe's words, the standing Execution Squad Captain closed his eyes. He was very tired and needed to rest, to sleep forever here, without regret.
After nearly ten hours of chaotic battle, flames had ignited on most of the buildings. The dying groaned for help beneath the rubble, and the stench of blood and scorched flesh filled the air.
The fighting had stopped. The result: over eighty percent of the Soul Bell Tower's members had died in battle, with the rest escaping the dream world, gathered by the Soul Elder. The Beast Clan was completely wiped out—they had been used as cannon fodder by the Soul Elder during their retreat.
The Kodo School was also in dire straits, with over seventy percent of its members dead. Almost every survivor was wounded.
Under the command of Archbishop Noe and several high-ranking Kodo School officials, the battlefield was hastily cleaned up. Everyone withdrew from the dream world. Tens of thousands of Transcendents had fought here, and the residual Transcendent power and twisted soul energy left behind by the dead mixed together, making the dream world extremely dangerous.
Soon, everyone had evacuated. Before the Dream Gate, dozens of Kodo School members worked together to close the massive door and layered multiple seals on it.
With a rumble, the Dream Gate closed and vanished. Seeing this, Su Xiao lowered his hand from the sword hilt. Archbishop Noe had voluntarily requested to move the entrance, relocating it beneath the Kodo School's headquarters. The Kodo School would become the guardians of the Dream Gate.
Moving the Dream Gate was something no one else could do, but Goddess Shatai could. As long as no one interfered inside the dream world, she, as the true Dream Guardian, could relocate the Dream Gate without issue.
The reason Archbishop Noe took on this thankless task was to make a statement: the Kodo School was irreconcilably opposed to the Ancient God faction.
And to subtly tell Su Xiao and Goddess Shatai that the Kodo School only wanted to rise, not to cause trouble.
No wonder Archbishop Noe was so cautious. In his eyes, since Su Xiao had destroyed the Feather God, Su Xiao was a mobile disaster. Even Shatai, slightly less dangerous, was still an extremely formidable presence.
Everything that happened in the dream world today could never be made public. There were too many dangerous powers and entities here.
Ordinary people didn't need to know. The Ancient God had fallen. All they had to do was adapt over time. There would be no more corruption. The land would gradually become fertile, able to grow fresh vegetables and abundant grains, or raise cattle and sheep. Occasionally, they could enjoy meat they once dared not even dream of. Every morning, the sun would rise, and every evening, it would set. The common folk only needed to enjoy this stable and peaceful life.
Everything that happened in the dream world would be sealed away. Residual Ancient God energy, the Transcendent power and soul energy left by fallen Transcendents, and the bloodlust reflected back from the spiritual world—these energies mixed together, making the dream world an absolute forbidden zone.
...
Dozens of kilometers east of White Town, deep within a mine shaft that reached far underground.
Su Xiao stopped at the very bottom of the mine. Bubu Wang and Baha followed behind him.
"This is the place, right? The Paradise Team ran off?"
Baha looked around and saw exposed Light Silver ore veins. These veins seemed open for anyone to mine, but that wasn't the case. After mining Light Silver ore, it had to undergo multiple treatments, or it would liquefy into waste within a short time.
Su Xiao checked the contract he had drafted earlier. The contract was still valid, with no issues. Logically, the Paradise Team should still be here mining.
Su Xiao raised his arm and pulled up his sleeve. The temporary Apocalypse Paradise mark that had been on his arm had suddenly disappeared after his battle with the Ancient God.
Not receiving the Light Silver ore didn't disappoint Su Xiao. Before heading to fight the Ancient God, he had taken advantage of the Kodo School's assembly to change his appearance and collect some Light Silver ore once.
After the battle with the Feather God, Su Xiao's plan was to postpone completing the final step of his main mission. He would stay here for a few days to passively collect the Light Silver ore. But now, it seemed that stroke of luck was gone.
Su Xiao walked toward the mine entrance, considering whether to catch a team of miners to work here.
...
At that moment, the four members of the Paradise Team also wanted to know where they were.
A chill wind blew through a mine shaft covered in frost. The temperature here was terrifyingly low.
Prince, Belle, Old Fish, and the masked man were all hugging themselves, shivering from the cold. Their minds were blank. They had been mining ore when they were suddenly teleported here.
The four of them needed to warm up quickly, or they would freeze to death. Even with protective gear, they would be wiped out in seconds.
"Ah-choo~"
A sneeze echoed. The four looked toward the source and saw a pink-haired girl. She wasn't wearing any protective gear. At this temperature, only an Eighth Rank Contractor could do that.
"Senior Mo Lei, what are you doing here?"
Prince recognized Mo Lei. Mo Lei gestured for them to stay quiet, then looked around cautiously.
Mo Lei sniffled from the cold. She had been in the Insect Kingdom, raking in benefits, when she suddenly ended up here.
Mo Lei scratched her head. This "plot" was way too complicated, and there were no subtitles. Even now, she was still confused. She really wanted to know who had set her up.
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her. Her gaze shifted to the four of them, and she asked, "Did you four sign a contract with some suspicious guy?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, we did."
Hearing this, Mo Lei knew what was going on. It was all a trap. That intruder had used the punishment mechanism to trick these miners into being laborers here, and she was just collateral damage.
Mo Lei confirmed she hadn't left the Dark Star World yet. This was a small world isolated from the outside. If she wasn't mistaken, that intruder was also here!
"Bai Ye, come out. Let's talk."
A slight smile curled at the corner of Mo Lei's mouth. She had been tricked too many times. Now, she saw through everything and had learned to predict.
[Tip: You have arrived at the depths of the Dark Star World's Frozen Earth Vein. Due to your act of aiding the enemy, you must mine this vein for 3 natural days. After completing the mining quota, you will return to the Underground Kingdom (Insect Kingdom).]
Mo Lei's smile froze. Her face felt like it was burning. She had just made a fool of herself, and the worst part was that others were watching!
Prince and the others were slowly backing away. They felt that the legendary Senior Mo Lei might have mental issues.