“Everyone, look, the cloud is coming down.”
This day, outside Descending Clouds City, a remarkably vast cloud appeared in the sky, resembling a floating echelon of mountains and prompting those watching from below to marvel.
Power erupted from the earth, connecting with the cloud ridges and causing them to plummet rapidly.
Soon, accompanied by a soft crash, the Red Cloud Ridge landed, and a spacious spinning entrance appeared at the head of the ridge.
The Red Cloud Realm opened!
At this moment, outside Descending Clouds City, a sea of people witnessed this scene, and many became agitated.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it has been said that the more Insect Control Masters enter the secret realm, the denser the insect aura gathered, and the more valuable the resources that appear will be. This is the characteristic of the cloud mirror.
I wish everyone a fruitful return. I’m going ahead.”
Somebody emulated Solomon’s approach from the previous time, loudly speaking to attract others’ attention while they themselves were the first to rush into the spinning entrance—and they really pulled it off.
In fact, it was just that no one stopped them; everyone knew that upon entering, they would land randomly, and it wouldn’t be up to them.
Before touching down, if one recklessly used power to struggle or attacked others, they would immediately be expelled from the Cloud Realm, and this trip would essentially be for nothing.
“Let’s go take a look inside and see if it is as magical as the rumors say.”
“I wonder if the Dean has come?”
“Who knows? Someone like him, such an important figure, might not even care about the things inside the Cloud Realm, unlike us scrambling around.”
Apart from the few who were eager to get a head start and caused some friction, most sorcerers behaved properly and entered the Cloud Realm in an orderly fashion, moving quickly without chaos, which made the entrance area seem well-organized.
As a notable individual, Ivan, of course, arrived outside Descending Clouds City.
However, in order not to stir up unnecessary trouble, they were all disguised, and they weren’t in a rush to enter.
“The Silkworm Queen said there are five Blood Washing Pools inside—let’s each take one and be done with it, save others the trouble of fighting over them,” Locke suggested with a mischievous grin.
“Wishful thinking. The Cloud Realm is unpredictable, and this time might be different from the last,” Ivan said with an amused shake of his head.
“Really? Haha, I thought it would be the same as last time, but no matter, with our strength, who could possibly compete with us?” Locke said confidently.
His words weren’t false. With their strength, returning to the Red Cloud Realm did seem a bit like bullying the weak.
“Right, where’s Justine?”
“Enough chatter; it’s time for us to go in,” Ivan turned to look at Justine and the others, instructing them, “If it’s not feasible, don’t force it.”
The next moment, under his lead, the group sequentially entered the spinning passage.
Inside the passage, they had to cloak themselves with insect aura, something Ivan was more than adept at, effortlessly disguising himself as an insect.
Even as a Level 2 Sorcerer, after a few seconds of dizzying whirls, he lost his sense of direction, lost the trace of others, lost his perception of the surroundings, and could only sense the rich insect aura around him.
“The situation is indeed different from last time.”
Once he could perceive his surroundings, he vaguely noticed that the conditions inside the secret realm had changed, different from the last time.
“Be careful, there are Thunder Tribe Assassins.” At that moment, a clear voice entered his ears, Justine’s voice.
“My guess was right; the Thunder Tribe has not given up.” Ivan also noticed, somehow the Thunder Tribe had locked onto him, it seemed they would land in the same spot.
Previously, he and Justine had casually mentioned once that the Thunder Tribe might use other assassination methods afterward.
Justine had insisted on staying close to him at all times.
Justine was his Secret Method Body Double, One Body Three Manifestations, and mimicking his aura was a simple task for her. Now, she transformed into a vine wrapped around his wrist.
“These Thunder Tribe members are too brazen. When I get the chance, I’ll have to weigh the value of a Thunder Tribe prodigy myself,” Justine said coldly, her annoyance evident due to the frequent assassination attempts.
“Heh, ambitious,” Ivan couldn’t help laughing.
They made no rash moves, and the Thunder Tribe Assassins also refrained from unnecessary actions, both sides waiting for the power of the secret realm enveloping them to dissipate, to land on solid ground before taking any further steps.
Shortly after, the assassination squad appeared to land before Ivan, indicating their deeper understanding of the Red Cloud Realm, and the Thunder Tribe’s foundation was undoubtedly impressive.
“Heaven favors us!”
The captain of the first squad, Ciser, brightened at once, signaling his team to commence their operation.
What pleased him was the terrain; they had landed on an isolated peak with a flat summit, surrounded by sheer cliffs. Beyond the cliff was a dense poison fog, exuding an aura of death and decay, intimidating to all who beheld it.
Only at a significant distance were there other isolated peaks, likewise engulfed by the sea of poison fog.
Above there was a force that restricted movement, the secret realm itself conveyed a message to them: those who enter may not leave the ground within a certain range, there were specific paths beyond the peaks, and one must not wander freely in the sea of poison fog.
In Ciser’s eyes, this place was the perfect terrain for an ambush.
Upon hearing his order, four assassins took a few steps to surround the solitary peak, ready to seal it off at any moment.
Meanwhile, five other assassins slit their own palms, letting fresh blood drip down, which they manipulated into wisps of crimson aura.
“According to the records of our clan, the Black Scythe Lord despises the Insect Race’s Sanguine Legion the most. With this sanguine mark, I’d like to see how you escape from the Red Cloud Realm.”
Ciser was one of the five who had slit their palms; they had sealed the power of the sanguine mark within their bodies and only released it upon touching the ground.
The crimson aura transformed rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, sanguine insect patterns emerged, resembling the bizarre forms of insects.
This was the nearly completed sanguine mark. Once imprinted, it would be recognized as belonging to someone from the Sanguine Legion, and on the Black Scythe Lord’s territory, those from the Sanguine Legion were doomed.
Ciser could feel the lifeforce draining from his body, but he didn’t care at all, his gaze fixated on the target drawing closer.
A few seconds later, Ivan broke free from the control of the secret realm’s powers and landed on the ground.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—-“
Ivan had just regained his freedom when five streaks of sanguine light locked onto him, hurtling toward him. They reached him in an instant, giving him no time to fully evade them.
Feeling something was amiss with the sanguine light that was almost within reach, he prepared to intercept, but suddenly stopped.
“Let me handle this!”
In the critical moment that followed, precisely when needed, five roots emerged from his sleeve, accurately and delicately striking the incoming sanguine light—one on one—without missing a single shot.
This was Justine’s tactic; she called out to Ivan, who had been about to intercept.
Blocking their path with her body.
“How is this possible?”
Not far away, Ciser’s eyes widened with electric sparks, unable to believe what he was seeing—the sanguine mark they had painstakingly prepared was being devoured by something.
Such a decisive killing strategy was so easily unraveled by the other party!
Ciser had never anticipated this turn of events.
The assassins were stunned, but Justine didn’t stop her actions, nor did Ivan. Following their usual battle tactics, Justine controlled the supremely hard Pan Iron Roots, while Ivan manipulated the terrifyingly sharp Space Silk.
Together, they swept through the surroundings in coordination.
“Attack!”
With danger closing in, Ciser had no time to ponder the recent unexpected events. In this crucial moment, they had to fight with all their might, repay blood with blood, and risk their lives against their lives.
Even the recently positioned encircling forces of the Thunder Tribe had been urgently called over by him.
Thunder dazzled above the solitary peak, so intense it seemed like it could blot out the sun. The sound of thunder rolled out in all directions.
Yet, it was no match for the sharpness of the Space Silk and Pan Iron Roots!
“Ivan Marichadon, my Thunder Tribe will not let you go.”
As death approached, Ciser realized a truth—those who could make it onto a tribe’s assassination list were far stronger than any ordinary sorcerer and could not be viewed with common eyes.
Unfortunately, he was powerless to turn the tides.
One after another, assassins fell dead. Soon, there were no more standing members of the Thunder Tribe on the lone peak—only a ground soaked with fresh, bloody corpses, bearing witness to their presence.
“Fearlessly facing death, they must be something like Death Soldiers.”
Through the recent fight, Ivan gained a deeper understanding of the Thunder Tribe; indeed, they had unique tactics involving thunder, but compared to sorcerers, their methods seemed rather limited.
Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire
However, these people were definitely not the main focus of the Thunder Tribe’s cultivation; they might have been under the control of Secret Techniques or even brainwashed to become Death Soldiers.
“Justine, how do you feel after swallowing those bizarre auras?”
“It doesn’t feel like much.”
Justine had reverted to human form, and upon hearing Ivan’s question, she checked herself over, shaking her head with apparent indifference.
If the assassins of the Thunder Tribe had heard this, they would probably be too choked up to speak.
“Wait a moment,” Justine said, as if remembering something, and extended her delicate hand. Power swirled in her palm, pulling strands of the sanguine aura out, which eventually formed into a token made of rock.
She sealed the sanguine power within the token, which bore a lifelike pattern of an insect on its surface.
Watching this unfold, Ivan inwardly praised her.
Justine’s earth-bearing strength was truly astonishing; she was able to confine the bizarre power others avoided at all costs within her body, extricate it autonomously, and forcefully seal it.
To be honest, Ivan’s curiosity about her origins was growing by the day.