Chapter 318: Crisis

Li Yang, the man Celestial Net had always feared, was actually dead. And he, Celestial Net, was rising to take his place, destined to become a powerful Dual Pantheon Deity!

His and Li Yang’s fates had been completely reversed.

"Leng Han, what’s the good news?" Celestial Net asked coolly, looking at the young man who had just arrived.

This young man was backed by a Tri-System Deity, one of the most powerful factions in the Yangyuan Empire.

When he was first imprisoned, he had told his ancestor, Yuan Lan, about the Dragon Scale Insect, but Yuan Lan hadn’t wanted to offend Li Yang and took no action.

Naturally, he hadn’t been willing to let it go, so he passed the information on to the young man before him.

Even if he were to be locked up, even if he were to die in prison, he had to cause some trouble for Li Yang!

However, this Leng Han was also extremely cautious. He had been waiting for an opportunity to get the Dragon Scale Insect, but he had never made a move.

"Celestial Net, the Emperor has ordered your release. I’ve come to welcome you out of prison," Leng Han said with a smile.

"Out of prison?"

Hearing this, a slight smile touched the corner of Celestial Net’s mouth, but that was all. His emotions showed no great stir.

He had received the inheritance, and Li Yang had fallen... He had already guessed he would be released early.

Leaving the Third Prison and breathing the outside air again, Celestial Net was in a noticeably good mood.

’Li Yang, I never thought our struggle would end like this.’

’A genius? A peerless prodigy the Human Race sees only once every tens of billions of years? Someone who might even become an Emperor in the future? So what if you’re a genius? Aren’t you dead now? A genius who doesn’t live to maturity is no genius at all, not even as good as a World Lord.’

A smile played on Celestial Net’s lips as he thought to himself.

Gathering his thoughts, Celestial Net turned to the young man beside him and said, "Leng Han, I told you about the Dragon Scale Insect, but you never made a move. Now, I’ll handle it myself."

Even after receiving that great inheritance, he still hadn’t given up on the Dragon Scale Insect.

"Haha, of course," Leng Han said with a laugh. "That Dragon Scale Insect was always meant to be yours, Celestial Net."

He was now obviously much more polite toward Celestial Net.

It would be very difficult for him to become a Deity in the future, whereas Celestial Net was now guaranteed to become a Dual Pantheon Deity. Of course he had to curry favor.

Celestial Net smiled indifferently and looked in a certain direction—toward the Milky Way Galaxy, where Earth was located.

And as he looked, Celestial Net’s gaze turned cold.

"The Dragon Scale Insect is mine!"

"And another thing, Li Yang... I’m going to make you pay for the fear you put me through," Celestial Net said, a mocking look on his face.

SWOOSH!

His figure vanished without a trace.

...

On Earth, Li Guohai, Zhao Rou, Zhou Yao, and the others were gathered together, and their expressions were grim.

Next to Zhou Yao, a young man couldn’t help but ask, "Mom, did something really happen to Dad? I can hear everyone talking about it even in the Virtual World."

The young man was none other than Li Yang’s son, Li Dong.

He had now grown into a handsome young man.

"No."

Hearing Li Dong’s words, Zhou Yao shook her head and said, "Your father has likely just run into some trouble."

Previously, Li Yang had purchased a Star Lord Realm mechanical lifeform. Although this being obeyed Zhou Yao’s commands, the life imprint on it was Li Yang’s—something Zhou Yao herself had requested.

If Li Yang were to die, his imprint on the mechanical lifeform would surely disappear. But it hadn’t, which meant Li Yang was definitely still alive.

"Xiaodong, from now on, Earth will maintain a low profile. Also, don’t go out into the Milky Way Galaxy anymore. I want you to stay on Earth until your father returns." Zhou Yao’s face was clearly serious.

Although she knew Li Yang was fine, the news of his "death" seemed to have become fact in the outside world. She didn’t know who had started the rumor.

There was a palpable sense of panic on Earth right now.

Seeing Zhou Yao’s serious expression, Li Dong nodded. "I understand, Mom."

Zhou Yao then turned to the worried Li Guohai and Zhao Rou, comforting them, "Dad, Mom, Li Yang will definitely be okay. We just need to wait for him at home."

Despite her words, a closer look revealed the clear worry in Zhou Yao’s eyes.

’Li Yang, what kind of trouble have you gotten into?’

She knew Li Yang was alive, but he had obviously encountered some major issue; otherwise, a rumor like this would never have spread.

Before, under Li Yang’s protection, Earth’s development had been incredibly smooth. But with news of his "death" spreading, what would become of it now?

Moreover, Li Yang had previously told her about Earth’s potential enemies: the Yuanlan Clan and the Golden Moon Empire.

That was why she had told her family not to go out.

"Hm?" Suddenly, Zhou Yao’s expression changed.

A video feed appeared before her eyes.

In the video, on what looked like an incredibly barren planet within the Solar System, a figure appeared. His face was familiar—it was Celestial Net.

"Celestial Net was released?" Zhou Yao’s face fell.

Previously, because of the incident with Li Yang, Celestial Net of the Yuanlan Clan and Lentz of the Golden Moon Empire had both been arrested.

Celestial Net was the Yuanlan Clan’s most powerful genius. Since he was arrested because of Li Yang, what did the Yuanlan Clan truly think of him? Did they harbor resentment?

And Lentz was the most likely future heir to the Golden Moon Empire, with his maternal family being the most powerful World Lord faction under the empire. Would those factions... also loathe Li Yang?

The Yuanlan Clan, the Golden Moon Empire—both were factions led by Deities. To ordinary people, Deities were like gods from the heavens.

With Li Yang around, these two great powers naturally wouldn’t dare try anything.

But with the news of Li Yang’s "death" spreading, no one knew what the Yuanlan Clan and the Golden Moon Empire would do.

Zhou Yao was wary of these two factions.

And now, she was actually seeing Celestial Net here in the Solar System!

Celestial Net had been locked up in a Yangyuan Empire prison. His appearance here clearly meant he had been released.

A grim look darkened Zhou Yao’s face.

However, Celestial Net couldn’t detect her at this moment.

Previously, when Li Yang was admitted into the Human Race’s Eternal Saint Hall, the Yangyuan Emperor had directly gifted him one million contribution points!

This was a huge amount of points, and Li Yang had exchanged them for a large pile of items, including surveillance-like equipment!

He had deployed this surveillance system throughout the entire Solar System. In other words, any activity in the Solar System could be monitored at any time!

Specifically, it would issue an immediate alert if someone suddenly arrived on any planet in the Solar System.

...

Meanwhile, on a completely desolate planet in the Solar System, Celestial Net appeared. He dug frantically, and soon, he held an object in his hand.

"Haha, the Dragon Scale Insect! It’s mine."

Clutching the object in his hand, Celestial Net broke into a brilliant, triumphant smile.

"Li Yang, I gave you a chance back then, but you insisted on refusing it. And now, hasn’t this Dragon Scale Insect ended up in my hands anyway?"