Chapter 151: Five races

A few kilometers from Ethan’s resting area, an old maintenance cavern lay deep beneath the airship launch zone.

Ryan sat with his back against the wall.

A black cloak covered almost his entire body, leaving only his pale face exposed. Even his breathing was unnaturally slow.

One of Ryan’s hands pressed tightly against his chest.

Strands of black-purple Void Flame occasionally flashed beneath his clothes.

"Calm down..."

He gritted his teeth.

"Calm... down..."

The flames did not listen.

Boom!

A burst of fire suddenly surged from his abdomen all the way up to his neck.

Ryan curled forward, his fingers clawing hard against the stone floor. The blood vessels along his neck rapidly turned black, but only a few seconds later, their shapes became so strange that they no longer resembled blood vessels at all.

Black lines swelled beneath his skin, splitting into dozens of smaller branches like roots growing through his body.

One branch had already spread to his chin.

Ryan caught sight of his reflection in a piece of metal lying on the ground.

He immediately pulled his collar higher.

"Damn it..."

His hand was no better.

Black veins ran from his wrist up his arm, wrapping around his muscles like countless tiny living creatures crawling beneath his skin.

Ryan tried circulating the Void Flame to suppress them.

The flames immediately surged even more violently.

"Ah..."

He clenched his teeth, forcing the groan back down his throat.

Ethan was not far from this place.

Ryan absolutely did not want the other man discovering that he was here.

The harder he tried to suppress it, the deeper the burning sensation burrowed into his body.

It took a long time before the Void Flame gradually settled.

Ryan rested his head against the wall, his breathing turning hoarse.

Through a crack in the stone outside the cavern, he could see part of the blue-purple spatial tear suspended in the sky.

The gate was about to open.

Ryan stared at it for a long time.

His cracked lips slowly curled upward.

"Ethan..."

The black veins beneath his neck twitched again.

Ryan pulled his cloak tighter around himself.

"As long as we get inside."

....

On the other side of the aviation center, forces from several nonhuman races had gathered inside an enormous airship hangar.

The Third Harpy Queen sat in the highest seat on the left.

Her black-purple wings were folded behind her, but layer after layer of feathers still stood on end from anger that had yet to fade.

"Humiliating."

She ground out each word.

"In front of every race here, she forced our elder to kneel."

A young Elf who had appeared in the Owin ruins said coldly:

"Qing Lian."

That name alone caused the atmosphere around the long table to slow.

A Beastkin sitting opposite him slammed a hand onto the table.

"So what if she is Qing Lian? She cannot enter the ruins with Ethan."

"But Ethan is not weak either."

The older scarred Elf spoke.

Everyone around him immediately turned to look.

Among those present, he was one of the few who had directly fought Ethan multiple times, so no one rushed to interrupt him.

"Back in Owin, he was far weaker than he is now. But he had that Crimson Dragon, the Thunder Wings, and that lightning gate. More importantly..."

The older Elf narrowed his eyes slightly.

"He always knows exactly where to strike."

He looked around the table.

"Do not treat him like an ordinary Platinum."

A young Harpy immediately snorted.

"He is only human."

The older Elf looked directly at him.

"If you truly believe that, you will be the first one to die."

The Harpy was about to lose his temper when an aged laugh came from the far end of the table.

"Which is why there is no need to fight him alone."

An elderly Dark Elf wearing a gray robe placed a roll of black hide onto the table.

Rustle.

The hide slowly unfurled.

Five different symbols appeared across its surface.

Harpy.

Elf.

Beastkin.

A symbol resembling a pair of curved horns.

And finally, a mark resembling a vertical eye.

The expressions of everyone around the table immediately changed.

"What is this?"

"The Five-Race Absolute Killing Array."

The old Dark Elf smiled slowly.

"An Epic-rank item opened from a Blind Box by someone from my race many years ago."

The Third Harpy Queen looked at the five symbols on the hide.

"It requires five people?"

"No."

The old Dark Elf shook his head.

"It requires five races."

The atmosphere around the table immediately fell silent.

His aged finger slowly moved across the five symbols.

"The Five-Race Absolute Killing Array does not rely entirely on the cultivation level of those using it. It uses the bloodline characteristics of five different races as five anchor points. The higher the racial quality and bloodline quality, the stronger the array becomes."

A Beastkin elder immediately asked:

"What does it do?"

The Dark Elf’s finger stopped on the first symbol.

"Seals space."

Then moved to the second.

"Locks energy."

The third.

"Cuts off all connections to the outside."

The fourth.

"Weakens the target."

Finally, all five symbols lit up simultaneously.

The old Dark Elf looked at everyone sitting around the table.

"And kills."

Smiles began appearing on many faces.

The Third Harpy Queen slowly leaned back in her chair.

"If five people activate it together?"

"As long as we choose the right people."

The old Dark Elf looked toward the younger generation.

"The fact that he has three Partners is even better. Trap all of them in the same place, then use the array to grind them to death."

The Elf who had been in Owin still frowned slightly.

"Laira’s bloodline is extremely high."

"Then choose five people whose bloodlines are not low."

"What about the Thunder Gate?"

"Space inside the array will be sealed." The Dark Elf answered calmly. "Even a powerful weapon cannot save him if he does not have enough time to use it."

The people around the table immediately began discussing the plan.

The lingering tension from being suppressed by Qing Lian earlier gradually transformed into confidence.

The Third Harpy Queen said coldly:

"Once we enter, I want him dead."

A Beastkin across from her immediately added:

"The Crimson Dragon dies too."

The older Elf remembered the Thunder Wings.

"Leave their wings intact."

No one objected.

A moment later, the Third Harpy Queen suddenly remembered a more important issue.

"What happens after we come back out?"

The discussions around the table immediately slowed.

She looked toward the elders.

"Qing Lian will not let this go."

An elder who had remained deep within the shadows since the beginning of the meeting finally opened his eyes.

"You will not need to worry about Qing Lian for much longer."

Everyone immediately turned toward him.

The old creature had gray-blue skin and two curved horns growing from his head. When he spoke, his hoarse voice sounded like two stones grinding against each other.

"She is about to break through."

The Third Harpy Queen frowned.

"To Emperor?"

"Mm."

That single answer changed the entire atmosphere.

Even the smile on the old Dark Elf’s face disappeared.

The horned elder continued:

"Once she enters the Emperor rank, Qing Lian will attempt to open a path to the Great World."

The older Elf’s expression changed immediately.

"You are certain?"

"The information has been confirmed from multiple sources."

The old creature leaned back in his chair.

"Opening a path beyond the cage of this world is not as simple as passing through a Challenge Gate. The moment she forcibly opens it, her strength will inevitably be exhausted to the extreme."

The Third Harpy Queen slowly understood what he meant.

"You mean..."

"Many people will be watching her that day."

A cold smile gradually appeared on the old face.

"Many races are waiting."

The entire long table fell silent.

But everyone sitting there understood the meaning behind those words.

Qing Lian was one of the biggest reasons the other races did not dare casually make moves against human territory.

One person.

One sword.

That alone was enough to make countless factions wary.

But if that sword broke...

The Third Harpy Queen slowly tightened her claws.

"Then even better."

The horned elder looked across every face around the table.

"You only need to deal with Ethan."

Then he raised his head toward the area where Qing Lian was staying, despite the countless metal walls separating them.

"As for Qing Lian..."

His aged eyes turned cold.

"The day she opens the gate to the Great World will be the day humanity loses its greatest shield."

Outside the airship hangar, the spatial tear shook violently again.

Crack.

Another section tore open.

The gate was about to appear.