“Withdraw!”

“Retreat quickly!”

Even before the red figure crouched and leaped, Zhong Yuan realized something was wrong.

The two source-energy skiffs rapidly ascended, and the bamboo-armored warrior's blade aura shot out, hacking at the protective shields of the skiffs. Fortunately, they ascended in time, increasing the distance. Relying on their solid shields, they withstood the initial attack!

“Boom—”

The sound of exploding air currents reverberated across the sky!

The red figure crashed to the ground.

All suppressive fire ceased, and the two source-energy skiffs immediately ascended, then fled!

This was the tactic that Zhong Fan and Li Shici had agreed upon from the start: fight if you can win, run if you can't.

The bamboo-armored warrior, having landed back on the ground, did not move to pursue. His gaze lingered on the departing skiffs for a few seconds before slowly retracting.

“Tzzzz…”

An arc of electricity flashed.

A crisp burst of light and fire erupted from the bamboo-armored warrior's armor.

His movements were somewhat stiff as he slowly crouched down and picked up a broken shell casing. From the eye sockets of his pale mask, a beam of red light seeped out. He examined it for a moment, then the red light faded.

Having been bombarded on the ground by the two source-energy skiffs for nearly ten minutes, he was not unscathed.

A small portion of his bamboo armor was broken, and now his gait had become somewhat unsteady and sluggish.

…

…

“Damn it…”

“Damn it!”

Snow swept like a blade, chilling to the bone. A disheveled figure, clutching a black priest’s robe, stumbled across the snowfield, leaving a trail of blood.

Xuan Gui looked back frequently, his expression pale.

He was terrified that the "red figure" would chase after him again, but this time his luck was good; the red figure did not pursue.

“The Bing Hai Relic actually contains transcendent life forms…”

After fleeing for more than ten li, Xuan Gui dared to catch his breath. He leaned against a large rock, panting heavily.

His mood was extremely complex.

His confrontation with the red figure had been a near-death experience. His Iron Stomach Domain had only withstood three or five attacks before shattering. Fortunately, his second domain, Xuan Shui Zhi Pei, enhanced his speed, allowing him to barely escape.

Even so, he had sustained significant injuries.

Xuan Gui lifted his priest’s robe, revealing a ghastly, long wound on his chest. When the Iron Stomach Domain was shattered, the red figure's upward slash nearly cut him in half.

“Hiss…”

His expression was pained as he sat down, and a large amount of black steam emanated from his body.

Xuan Shui Zhi Pei drew source-energy from all directions to quickly heal the wound. Xuan Gui's face contorted as he clenched his fists.

What he couldn't let go of at the moment wasn't the red figure's blade that had broken his domain, but Yun Hu's betrayal at the critical moment!

"This Bing Hai transcendent, although very strong, if the two of us joined forces, there might have been a chance..."

Xuan Gui gritted his teeth, and bloodshot veins appeared in his eyes.

"Yun Hu… Yun Hu…"

"So many years of friendship, and you just sold me out like that?"

Even now, he was unwilling to believe the betrayal that had just occurred.

"All that remains in the Source Tower are dry bones. No matter how high you climb… it’s all in vain.”

Xuan Gui chuckled self-deprecatingly. He stood up and put on his priest’s robe again. The injuries he had sustained in the fight with the red figure were neither light nor serious.

This was because the Bing Hai transcendent did not imbue his blade with "blade intent" or "domain essence."

This was unimaginable in the Five Continents.

Generally speaking, transcendents who used swords as weapons would often add "secondary attributes" to their weapons.

For example, Hong Long's long and short blades had different attributes, and even "elementalization" could not withstand the attacks of these blades!

Even without special blades, there should be domain enhancements.

In other words… if this were a battle of the same level in the Five Continents, having such a long gash cut into his chest, Xuan Gui's situation would be much worse than it was now.

That wouldn't be a skin wound that could be stabilized with a simple Xuan Shui Zhi Pei.

Mental-type transcendents would inflict mental toxins, disrupting the mind.

Elemental-types would add "freezing," "burning," "paralysis," and so on…

Even force-type transcendents would have domain effects such as "shock" and "internal force."

But the bamboo-armored warrior's strike was just an ordinary strike.

It was very powerful.

Other than that, there were no other characteristics.

Xuan Gui took a deep breath and walked towards the direction where the cloud ship was originally docked. This was the only place he could think of going. If Yun Hu had sailed away with the cloud ship, then he should have returned to the original camp… or perhaps he had left the Bing Hai Relic altogether.

Xuan Gui decided to take a gamble.

If they met again…

If he could come back alive, Yun Hu would probably not break ties and do anything excessive.

He would treat this betrayal as if it had never happened, but from now on, he would no longer have the slightest trust in his old friend, the Divine Envoy.

Several hours later, Xuan Gui finally returned to the original docking point of the cloud ship.

He did not return openly and straightforwardly. Instead, he concealed his aura and sneaked along the mountain, taking small paths, because it never hurts to be too careful. If he overestimated Yun Hu's character, even if he didn't expose Yun Hu's betrayal upon returning to the camp, he might still be backstabbed.

Learn from your mistakes.

But the scene at the foot of the snow mountain made Xuan Gui feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

The cloud ship had been destroyed.

All the transcendents on board had been slaughtered…

Not a single complete corpse could be found!

Yun Hu was also dead, and his death was especially miserable. His bones were crushed and his ashes scattered. The other transcendents had incomplete bodies, but Yun Hu's entire body had evaporated into thin air.

What terrified Xuan Gui the most was that… the cloud qi surrounding the cloud ship still retained the source-energy aura of its owner before his death!

Judging from the intensity of the remaining aura, Yun Hu's Tian Yun and Bao Hu domains should have merged.

This meant that Yun Hu had broken through, becoming a titled expert!

Even so… he could not escape death?

"There is more than one transcendent in Bing Hai…"

Xuan Gui's hands and feet were cold. He was glad that he did not return directly, because perhaps a pair of cold eyes was watching him at this moment.

The guy who slaughtered the entire cloud ship was even more terrifying than the previous bamboo-armored red figure!

"No, I have to leave here, I have to leave here!"

At this moment, Xuan Gui had the idea of retreating.

What Bing Hai Relic? What unknown fortune?

None of that mattered anymore! Only the living are qualified to explore relics and seize fortunes!

He didn't want to explore anymore… He didn't want to encounter the red figure again, and he certainly didn't want to encounter the terrifying demon who had slaughtered the entire cloud ship!

This time, the enforcement team sent by the Source Tower to enter Bing Hai was just an advance team.

After the World Conference ended, the entire Five Continents would soon send "support troops." These support troops would arrive in the depths of Bing Hai one after another, surrounding the Bing Hai Relic in the form of a fleet.

Xuan Gui now just wanted to find the exit of the Relic and escape from this place!

When the support troops arrived, he could return to the mainland.

…

…

At this moment, the World Conference was being held in the spirit world of the deep-water zone.

The virtual hundred-seat hall was brightly lit.

The virtual shadows of the councilors sat in their seats. Every councilor from the Five Continents was present. The problem to be solved at this meeting was the allocation of resources and the deployment of support for the subsequent exploration of the Bing Hai Relic.

"For this Bing Hai exploration, we plan to dispatch fifty source-energy ships in the subsequent plan."

"Each continent will dispatch ten source-energy skiffs to jointly participate in the 'support' mission."

"Does anyone have any objections?"

In fact, there was already a written proposal for the subsequent support of the Bing Hai Relic, and the reason why this meeting was held was because the division of camps in the Five Continents had now emerged. There was already competition between the various continental camps, and their strengths were different… The average allocation plan was no longer applicable.

"The Northern Continent has a large number of source-energy skiffs idle."

Duke Casting Snow was the first to speak, saying, "I propose that, in order to ensure the smooth completion of the Bing Hai mission… the Northern Continent can provide fifteen source-energy skiffs to go south to provide assistance."

"The difficulty of this mission is unknown, and the depths of Bing Hai are extremely dangerous."

The controller of the Red Grape Consortium in Upper City also spoke, "The Five Continents Allied Forces need more firepower. The Central Continent can dispatch twenty medium-sized cloud ships."

Guang Ming Bi Lei and Upper City were already tied together.

Changye unconditionally supported the Central City.

These two camps each had cutting-edge technology and could mass-produce "source-energy skiffs" and "cloud ships" on a large scale. On the other hand, the most silent speakers in the room were the Southern Continent.

The twenty councilors from the Southern Continent had nothing to say.

In the game between continents, the strong became the chess players, and the weak became the chessboard… In the five years since the Storm God's Seat left, the Southern Continent had been a chessboard that had been wantonly trampled upon. The wills of the two major alliances had already launched several rounds of confrontation on the soil of the Southern Continent. Whether it was technology or the level of transcendents, they were far behind.

At this time, they had nothing to say.

They wanted to propose reinforcements, but they couldn't even open their mouths.

Because their "source-energy skiffs" and "cloud ships" were all imported from other continents.

After Yuan Shuocheng, who had been promoted to the Twelve Archbishops by buying and selling, died, the Holy City couldn't even find a "reliable broker" who could contact the high-level officials of the Central City.

Upper City relied on "cloud ships" to break through the Northern Continent's technological blockade, so they were massively increasing their investment at this World Conference.

But the Southern Continent…

Was still far behind.

"Okay."

"Then the final decision is made… Twenty cloud ships from the Central Continent, fifteen from Guang Ming Bi Lei, twenty source-energy skiffs from the Northern Continent, fifteen from the Eastern Continent, and ten from the Southern Continent."

This was "average allocation" in another sense.

The two major alliances forcibly entered the game and maintained a relatively balanced situation.

As for the Southern Continent…

No one even cared whether any of the councilors in the Southern Continent seats had any objections, because this World Conference was not held for the Southern Continent in the first place.

So the voice asking for final approval came out, "Everyone, any objections?"

No one expected that the Chun Li Saint from the Southern Continent would stand up.

This highest-ranking spokesperson under the God's Seat apologized in front of the one hundred people in the virtual conference room, "I'm sorry… the Southern Continent may not be able to produce so many source-energy skiffs. We hope that Upper City and the Central City will provide 'purchase' opportunities. If funds permit, we will dispatch ten source-energy skiffs to enter Bing Hai. If circumstances do not allow…"

"If circumstances do not allow, you may not participate in this support mission."

The controller of the Red Grape Consortium said with a smile, "This meeting is discussing the maximum quota allocation for source-energy skiff support. The Southern Continent can dispatch a maximum of ten skiffs or a minimum of zero skiffs. If there are no objections to the maximum quota of 'ten skiffs,' then the meeting results are finalized… As for how you solve the problem of your source-energy skiff numbers, that is your own business. Perhaps the Southern Continent can apply to reconvene a meeting to solve the problem of insufficient reserves of heavy flying vehicles."

Going south to provide support and the subsequent troops, of course, the more people, the more advantageous it is!

When the advance team brings back the basic information about the Bing Hai Relic, the next step is to aggressively attack the Relic and plunder resources!

"…"

Chun Li was silent for a few seconds before saying expressionlessly, "The Southern Continent has no objections to the quota allocation."
Hu Die Lan