Chapter 188: Requesting Backup

When Yu Xian knocked on Room 204's door, Hua Qiang opened it and let him inside. Beyond the door was an enormous battlefield containing all kinds of terrain. A vast snow-covered mountain stood in the distance, while the area near the entrance was a lush green meadow. In the middle lay a massive lake.

Currently, Xiao Cheng was sparring with a young man atop the lake. The two of them raced across the water's surface, continuously launching long-range attacks at each other.

Yu Lie was sitting on a picnic blanket spread over the grass. He waved at Yu Xian. "Little Fish, come over here."

Yu Xian and Hua Qiang joined him on the blanket. Holding up his phone, Yu Lie smiled. "Look at today's news. Just a change of your hair color made the headlines."

"Director, everyone is simply being far too kind to me," Yu Xian replied modestly.

A thunderous explosion erupted from the lake. Dozens of energy spheres detonated simultaneously, blasting a huge volume of water into the air. Yu Xian watched the clash on the lake with growing curiosity.

Yu Lie chuckled. "That's the famous Number Two over there. I'll get you two acquainted in a bit."

Realization dawned on Yu Xian. "Ah, the eternal runner-up, huh?"

Gong Qian's codename was Number One, so naturally, there were also codenames such as Number Two, Number Three, and Number Four. The young man fighting on the lake was evidently the legendary Number Two.

Yu Xian abruptly changed the subject. "By the way, Director, I'd like to apply for some resources. I may need you to approve the request."

Yu Lie held a teacup. "What resources do you need? With your current contributions, headquarters will give priority to providing virtually any resource you require."

Yu Xian took out his phone and smiled. "Take a look at this video first."

Before going to bed the previous night, he had asked Eternal Purity to transfer a video to his phone. Now, it was coming in handy.

Yu Lie took the phone. When he played the video, he saw Yu Xian appear out of thin air in the upper atmosphere of the Blue Planet. As he watched Yu Xian's performance and Edward's display of power, his eyes widened further and further.

Even after the video ended, he took quite some time to recover from his shock. Then he just stared at Yu Xian. "So, the commotion yesterday was caused by you fighting Edward. Little Fish... tell me, how confident are you that you can deal with him?"

Ever since Yu Xian's previous video reached the country's senior leadership, Edward had become a grave concern to countless supernatural beings across the nation. The Huaxia Pocket Dimension could keep them safe for the time being, but it could not guarantee their safety forever. Therefore, countless people were doing everything they could to grow stronger, while others searched for a way to deal with Edward.

Unfortunately, Edward was simply too powerful. They couldn't devise an effective countermeasure anytime soon.

Yu Xian flashed a confident smile. "As I am now, I don't even have a ten percent chance. But with enough resources, I am completely confident that I can defeat him!"

Overjoyed, Yu Lie repeatedly slapped his thigh and laughed. "Good! Very good! Tell me what resources you need. If we at Qilin cannot provide enough, there are still Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Turtle. If even that is insufficient, the entire nation will support you!"

Yu Xian did not keep him in suspense. He spoke solemnly. "I need vast quantities of supernatural bloodlines; the more, the better. By drinking their blood, I can acquire the abilities contained within those bloodlines and rapidly become stronger, until eventually... I grow powerful enough to kill Edward!"

Yu Lie nodded. "Wait here."

He stood up and went off to make a call, leaving Yu Xian and Hua Qiang to watch the battle on the lake.

Curious, Hua Qiang leaned closer. "Little Fish, tell me. Just how strong are you now?"

While Yu Lie had been watching the video, Hua Qiang craned his neck to watch it as well. Yu Xian had briefly exchanged long-range attacks with the unfathomably strong Edward, so Hua Qiang was naturally curious about Yu Xian's current strength, given that

"If Edward's strength is 100, then mine is 16. That's roughly where I stand," Yu Xian replied.

Hua Qiang exclaimed, "The gap is that huge? Then what about me? What number am I?"

Yu Xian used Appraisal on Hua Qiang, then gave him a slightly strained smile. "Yours is... 0.7."

Hua Qiang's expression stiffened. Pointing at his nose, he asked in disbelief, "My strength isn't even 1 yet? Isn't that gap far too enormous?"

Yu Xian helplessly said, "Harsh as it sounds, that's the truth."

Hua Qiang sat there with an expression that suggested his entire worldview had been shattered. He had always believed that although he was not the strongest, he was at least among the finest Dragon-rank supernatural beings. Killing an ordinary Dragon-rank opponent was as easy for him as slaughtering a chicken.

Who would have thought that not only was the gap between him and Edward immense, but even Yu Xian was now far stronger than him? Of course, he was merely finding it difficult to believe. He did not actually doubt Yu Xian's words. After all, Yu Xian was already capable of fighting Edward, while Hua Qiang... was not even as strong as Supreme Hero.

Supreme Hero acted like a dog in front of Edward, but before Edward appeared, he had been the ruler of the Glorious Dragon Empire. His strength had been comparable to that of Zhang Daoqin, one of Huaxia's Three Pillars. However, Zhang Daoqin had not fought in a very long time, so no one knew how far he had progressed.

At that moment, Yu Lie returned with a spring in his step, clearly bearing good news. Sure enough, as soon as he sat down, he smiled. "Little Fish, your application has been approved. This afternoon, we'll go and collect all the supernatural bloodline samples available within the country. There should be over a thousand varieties. Will that be enough?"

Yu Xian excitedly nodded. "Yes! That will definitely be enough!"

He was already calculating in his head. Assuming each supernatural bloodline increased his Power by one point, then with over a thousand of them, wouldn't his Power soar to more than a thousand?

As expected, asking the nation for support had been the right decision. Only the nation possessed the ability to gather so many supernatural bloodlines within such a short time.

Yu Xian settled down and watched Xiao Cheng spar with the eternal runner-up. The result was no surprise. Xiao Cheng ended the match by immobilising him. Yu Lie then introduced the eternal runner-up to Yu Xian. Everyone chatted, ate, and drank together, and before they knew it, afternoon had arrived.

Yu Xian first returned to Yu Lie's office along with him. Only after receiving a notification did Yu Lie take him out of Qilin's headquarters and travel by car to another base.

The other base was also located in Yanjing, but it lay within the Fifth Ring Road. After their car entered the base, Yu Lie and Yu Xian had to pass through layer after layer of security checks before they were finally allowed into a vast warehouse.

A tall, square-faced, middle-aged man approached them with a smile. He shook Yu Lie's hand, then Yu Xian's. "Hello. I'm Bai Jinze, director of the Extraordinary Substances Research Institute."

He proceeded to explain the situation. The warehouse was part of the Extraordinary Substances Research Institute, and samples of most supernatural bloodlines were stored there. Through genetic cultivation techniques, they had even managed to produce more than a tonne of many exceptionally rare blood samples that had originally been collected in quantities of only one or two drops.

In other words, the warehouse contained more than enough to meet Yu Xian's needs.

Bai Jinze led the way while explaining the facility. When they finally entered the warehouse itself, they saw row upon row of storage racks lined with containers of red blood preserved at low temperatures, gleaming crimson beneath the lights.