Xia Lan smiled gently, but remained silent. Her excitement quickly turned into a faint disappointment. Ling Yun had forgiven her, so the mission could be considered a complete success. Xia Lan should have no regrets, but for some reason, she just couldn't be happy.
After a slightly awkward silence, several judges, swaying weakly, walked to Theodore's side, finally breaking the delicate atmosphere between the three.
"Aren't you going to introduce me?" Theodore stood beside the three like a third wheel for a long time, and only spoke politely when no one spoke. He had a mysterious smile on his face, clearly having seen through what he considered to be the subtle emotional game between the three children. However, the vice-arbitrator was not a devout old scholar who knew nothing but faith. In fact, those who could reach high positions were all bookworms. The vice-arbitrator would not be foolish enough to expose anything, but rather to step in at the right time and kindly ease the somewhat stiff atmosphere between the three.
After some polite greetings, the group finally clarified their identities and relationships. Theodore stared at Ling Yun, suddenly developing a strong interest in this ordinary young man. He straightened his clothes slightly and asked, "Mr. Ling Yun, when you came in just now, I heard you mention the words 'barrier Gu,' and then the negative dark aura faded away, and it seemed that even the barrier was destroyed. Please forgive me for not being able to understand what happened. Could you explain it to me?"
Chapter 268 A Series of Trap
Theodore's words were extremely polite and courteous. It was truly astonishing that a top figure in a superpowered organization would treat an unknown young superhuman with such respect. Although Ling Yun's arrival dispelled the negative energy and saved Theodore and the three Arbitrators, as a high-ranking figure, he showed no airs whatsoever, maintaining the humility and courtesy of a devout believer—something rarely seen in any superpowered organization.
It is evident that the Arbitration Institute is not a hierarchical organization with strict distinctions between superiors and inferiors, but rather a gathering place for believers, a special organization composed of people with the same faith. This faith has unparalleled cohesion, which is the fundamental reason why the Arbitration Institute has maintained its vitality for thousands of years.
Compared to any other supernatural organization over the years, the Arbitration Council stands in awe. It has become a symbol, a torch of light burning brightly across the world. All supernatural beings, including those with vested interests in the dark creatures, firmly believe in it. As long as the Arbitration Council exists, the dark creatures will never be able to emerge into the open. This infuriates and frustrates the dark creatures.
Justice will always prevail over evil; this has been true in the past, it is true now, and it will surely be true in the future.
Ling Yun was taken aback. He dared not accept Theodore's respectful inquiry. Without needing to probe, he could sense Theodore's strength simply by sensing his mental field. Theodore's power was even greater than that of Tian Yuning and Oswit. It was almost the strength of a lieutenant general. Even in the whole world, he was a top-tier expert. Wherever he went, he would have countless halos and followers.
He quickly said, "Your Excellency, you are too kind. How could I dare to show off my limited knowledge in front of you? Actually, this matter is quite simple to explain. It's just that you are inside the barrier, so you can't understand the mystery. If you were standing outside the barrier, you would only need to use your mental field to probe the entire barrier and you would immediately understand what's going on."
"Oh?" Theodore and the three adjudicators, including Xia Lan and Xiao Rou, were all taken aback. Ling Yun's words were like a hand parting the clouds, instantly bringing a sense of understanding to everyone. Could the problem lie in the barrier itself? This was quite possible, because the negative energy attack was both omnipresent and omnipresent, seemingly born from the depths of their hearts, yet also seemingly surrounding every part of their bodies. If it really was the barrier itself that was causing the problem, then everything could be explained. Because their minds were bound, the attack could only originate from a certain point. Therefore, Theodore and the others had never actually considered what Ling Yun had said.
“When I first arrived in Hong Kong, I visited Yu at Baiyun Hospital... the father of a friend of mine. He was very ill at the time,” Ling Yun explained. “But when I used my mental energy field to probe his body, I discovered that my friend’s father wasn’t sick at all, but rather afflicted by witchcraft, a kind of sorcery practiced by African indigenous witches, also known as Gu magic.”
"Witchcraft?!" The group exclaimed in unison, startled.
“Yes,” Ling Yun said, his mind involuntarily recalling the strange witchcraft he had encountered at Baiyun Hospital. “Fortunately, I encountered it in advance, so I have a certain understanding of how witchcraft works. Since witchcraft is between tangible and intangible, and it is released silently, it is really hard to guard against. However, fortunately, small witchcraft does not have much power and its effect on people with superpowers is limited, so there is no need to worry too much.”
As he said this, Ling Yun suddenly reached out and gently swept his hand across his chest. After a flash of silver spiritual energy, a thin line of silver and gray suddenly extended from his chest, with the other end of the line disappearing into Xiao Rou's body.
Aside from Xiaorou, everyone stared in astonishment at the thin line. Their mental energy fields clearly detected the despairing, empty, deathly emotion emanating from beneath them. They couldn't understand why such a thin line was connecting the two of them. Suddenly, pure white holy light instinctively erupted from Theodore and the three Arbitrators, continuously diminishing the negative emotions spreading from the gray power.
“It’s not a dark aura, but another gray, negative force.” Theodore squinted as he examined the fine lines closely. His mental field was much stronger than the others, so he naturally had a deeper understanding of the cursed gray lines.
Ling Yun pointed to the thin thread of curse: "This thin thread is the external manifestation of the curse power of the Witch Clan, but it has been shielded by my mental field. If it weren't for it, I really wouldn't have been able to find this place. It's hard to say whether the curse brought me good luck or bad luck." As he said this, he suddenly looked at Xiao Rou, his eyes filled with tenderness. Xiao Rou immediately understood his meaning, and her beautiful face smiled slightly, her radiance shining brightly. The two understood each other's feelings.
Without the cursed gray thread connecting their two hearts, Xiao Rou might have perished beneath the darkness of Gu Xiao Rou, and Ling Yun might have been trapped in the Blood Sacrifice Spell, never to escape. It was their mutual reliance and understanding that gave Xiao Rou and Ling Yun immense courage and support, instead of fighting alone. After tempering their minds and deepening their love and trust for each other, the lovers were able to break free from their respective misfortunes and achieve greater and better circumstances.
It's hard to say exactly what the curse brought; calling it misfortune wouldn't be an exaggeration. Danger anywhere could be fatal, even for someone with supernatural abilities. But fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Behind the seemingly continuous misfortune lies more of an ineffable and subtle benefit. Ultimately, it depends on the person themselves. If they fight with their lives and believe in themselves, then after the storm, they will still see a rainbow.
Ling Yun extended his finger and gently touched the middle of the thin thread. With a soft hum, after bringing both misfortune and opportunity to Ling Yun and Xiao Rou, the curse finally completed its mission. Countless numbers surged violently in Ling Yun's mind. These were data combinations optimized by the curse's magical power, once again becoming a digested and understood supernatural technique, adding to Ling Yun's strength.
“Like the Cursed Threads, the isolation barrier we are in is itself a gigantic witchcraft, which I call the Barrier Gu,” Ling Yun said softly. “Because you were inside the witchcraft just now, you were inevitably attacked by it, and you had no way to resist or avoid it. The witchcraft itself does not possess any powerful strength, but it has a strong corrosive effect on consciousness. Therefore, even Chief Arbitrator Theodore can easily have his consciousness attacked by the witchcraft without knowing the situation.”
"So that's how it is." Everyone suddenly realized why they couldn't find the source of the witchcraft's aura. It turned out that it was inside the witchcraft itself. They never dreamed that such a behemoth existed in the world, and that it would exist in the form of a barrier. This was beyond everyone's imagination and was truly unbelievable.
"Aren't we still trapped in this witchcraft? Could there still be danger?" one of the adjudicators suddenly exclaimed, a look of tension creeping onto his face.
Theodore gave him a disapproving look: "If there were danger, would you still be sitting here unharmed? When Mr. Lingyun came in, he had already destroyed the structural points of the barrier. Use your mental field to sense that this barrier is slowly collapsing. We are safe and will soon be outside the barrier."
Ling Yun nodded in agreement, saying, "What the Chief Arbitrator says is absolutely right. The barrier Gu's attack on the consciousness within it is extremely fierce, but if you stand outside the barrier, it is easy to defeat it. When I was searching for the barrier's exit, I found a barrier interface that had just been destroyed. So I started from there and quickly tore apart the barrier's structural points again, which also destroyed the structure of the Gu. Therefore, when I came in, the negative aura generated by the barrier Gu disappeared."
In fact, Ling Yun didn't tell the whole story. Because he was focused on saving lives, he broke the barrier in a very short time. This was largely thanks to Duke William's powerful force in creating the opening. However, another major reason was completely unexpected; otherwise, Ling Yun wouldn't have been able to break through this powerful barrier in such a short time.
He discovered that this barrier-like Gu was exactly the same as the witchcraft he had seen at Baiyun Hospital, and it also showed signs of being controlled by his mind. If the barrier were shrunk countless times, then in terms of shape and the fierce aura it emitted, the two were almost identical witchcrafts, except that the former was enlarged countless times by the barrier.
Furthermore, Ling Yun realized that barriers and witchcraft were not equivalent; rather, they seemed to be a combination forcibly created by some powerful force. This force extracted the unique characteristics of both, altered the spatial structure, and formed a high-dimensional isolation barrier. While such a barrier possessed extremely unique properties and unexpected abilities—it could even break through the void and extend to extremely distant places—it required an extremely abundant energy supply and could only be used as a one-time barrier. All precious resources would be burned away in this single use, and this waste of resources even exceeded the barrier's intrinsic value.
Was the barrier built by consuming all this energy and resources really just a trap? If Xiaorou was merely bait, then who was ultimately being ensnared? If it was an attack on the Arbitration Institute, the loss of a vice-arbitrator would be enough to justify such a cost. But besides dark creatures, who would dare to plot such a blatant act of betrayal against the Arbitration Institute?
Xia Lan smiled wryly, "I didn't expect that Duke William's escape would have done a good thing. If he hadn't forcibly broken through the gap in the barrier, you probably wouldn't have been able to get in for a while. During that time, the mental attack would have been enough to kill us."
"Duke William?" Ling Yun asked in surprise. He didn't know what had happened inside the barrier. Everyone was busy talking, and Xiao Rou didn't mention what had happened.
Theodore explained that he didn't know the origin of the matter either. It was just that the Arbitration Institute happened to receive a mental message from a mysterious figure, saying that a large number of vampires had been discovered to be active in Hong Kong, Asia. Based on the attitude of "better safe than sorry", the Vice President of Arbitration immediately brought the Arbitrators over. With the special sensitivity of the light spiritual field to dark creatures, they quickly discovered the existence of the barrier in the West District.
After eliminating all the vampires waiting for William outside the barrier, Theodore forcibly extracted a marquis's memory about the barrier's key frequency before leading his team into the barrier. Out of hatred for dark creatures, Theodore did not pay much attention to the barrier, especially since it was just an ordinary isolation barrier. Even if there were traps, the vice-arbitrator's strength would allow him to easily break through. However, unexpectedly, the sudden activation of the barrier's curse almost caused the Arbitration Institute to suffer unbearable losses.
The group shared their information, and Ling Yun briefly recounted his experiences, including the series of strange events he encountered at the Yang Group. He explained that after Li Zhongqi shielded him from Tian Yuning, he rushed towards the witchcraft barrier at top speed. Mochizuki Nami, suffering from the backlash and fearing Xiao Rou's misunderstanding, reluctantly parted ways with Ling Yun halfway through their journey.
Xiao Rou then briefly recounted the dream she experienced after arriving at the underground bar and the battle that took place within the barrier. After she finished speaking, everyone was immediately astonished to discover that the barrier's Gu was actually an elaborately designed trap. Or rather, from the moment Ling Yun and Xiao Rou stepped into Hong Kong, a meticulously planned trap had already been formed.
From the Berserkers to the Vampires to the Arbitration Institute, these are all top-tier superhuman organizations in the world. The Japanese ninja clans and witch clans that Ling Yun encountered are clearly also intricately connected to them. Five completely different superhuman organizations appeared one after another in the small island of Hong Kong, using the Heavenly Eye as their point of interest, and staged a war of mutual slaughter to seize the Heavenly Eye. In terms of both scale and intensity of the fighting, this is a major battle in the world of superhumans.
The berserkers were almost completely wiped out, the elite of the vampire Rimoor family suffered heavy losses, the Japanese Kazekage family ninjas suffered most of their casualties, and although the witch clan has always maintained an air of mystery, after hearing Xiaorou's account, Lingyun could conclude that the strange dream she experienced was definitely one of the witch clan's supernatural arts. The biggest weakness of witchcraft is that once the spell fails, the caster often suffers a severe backlash. Since Xiaorou has broken the dream, the dream witch who can kill with the power of dreams is probably dead. The witch's fragile body simply cannot withstand the power of the backlash.
The cursed wizard was killed by Ling Yun, and now that the barrier's Gu has been broken again, it's certain that the Gu witch's fate won't be much better. The five major superpower organizations are either dead or wounded; after this war, the number of powerful individuals who have died has already exceeded the upper limit of superpower casualties in recent decades, and it continues to rise.
All of this is because of a small black bead, the Heavenly Eye.
All the behind-the-scenes manipulators and the powerful Major General Tian Yuning who appeared all pointed to a powerful organization that was gradually emerging: the Sky Eye Society!
Chapter 269 Hell Soul Eye
If Ling Yun hadn't arrived in time and destroyed the structural point of the witchcraft barrier, even a powerful officer like Theodore would probably have perished in Hong Kong. Before that, if Theodore's personality had been more intense, or if Duke William had fled a little slower, they might still have been unable to escape the fate of being destroyed by the Holy Light.
Ling Yun suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He suddenly realized the most terrifying consequence: perhaps the true purpose of the Heavenly Eye Society was not simply to use the Heavenly Eye as bait, but to carefully set up a series of traps, promising benefits and taking advantage of the various superpower organizations' desire to spy on the Heavenly Eye, thereby provoking a war between superpowered individuals, causing them to kill each other and weaken each other's strength, while the Heavenly Eye Society would hide behind the scenes and reap the benefits.
No, absolutely not. If they did that, the Sky Eye Society would be too obvious. Other supernatural organizations aren't fools; they wouldn't willingly jump into a fire pit. While this might temporarily benefit the Sky Eye Society, it would also have a serious negative impact: if the leaders of other supernatural organizations realized the truth, they would immediately guess the Sky Eye Society's ulterior motives, making the Sky Eye Society the target of everyone's criticism, ultimately resulting in more harm than good. Clearly, the Sky Eye Society has a deeper purpose.
Ling Yun now knows the whole story. The mystery is gradually being revealed, and his mind is suddenly very clear. Combined with Mochizuki Nami's analysis, Ling Yun can vaguely guess the true intentions of the Heavenly Eye Society... If the two super-strong individuals truly perish, it won't just be a simple matter of the Hong Kong superhuman war; it will trigger a tsunami that will engulf the entire superhuman world. The Hong Kong battle will become the fuse for a nuclear-equivalent war. The forces behind the two powerful individuals will naturally seek revenge against their enemies, and the war will escalate completely, gradually moving from a localized conflict to a full-scale war. No superhuman organization or superhuman will be spared...
Ling Yun's body suddenly trembled. The true purpose of the Heavenly Eye Society was to instigate a world war among all superhumans!
As for why they wanted to start a world war, Ling Yun couldn't guess yet. After all, even the Sky Eye Society couldn't remain unscathed in a world-class war of superpowered individuals. This must be the Sky Eye Society's core secret. This superpowered organization, which had always maintained a low-key and gentle attitude, was finally beginning to reveal its ferocious and cunning claws.
As for Mochizuki Nami's statement about dominating the world, it makes some sense. However, dominating the world does not necessarily require starting a war. For people with superpowers, war is the last resort and the most helpless means. Moreover, war is a fire; if it is not controlled properly, it can easily burn them.