Lei Qiu was also shocked by Shen Nong's keen insight. Although he had always been outspoken, he knew what he should and shouldn't say. "We can't say it. Even our clan leader doesn't know."
He then asked Shen Nong for confirmation, "Do you really think what I said is right?"
Shen Nong pondered for a moment, then nodded seriously and said, "We are all beastmen, we bleed the same blood, there is no difference between who is noble and who is lowly."
Shen Nong knew that what he said was actually too idealistic. In the long history of interstellar space, the system of slavery had risen, fallen, and risen again, never truly dying out. He knew that with the development of the Beast World, it would eventually reach that point, but at least not now.
Lei Qiu only understood half of the short sentence, but it strengthened his resolve.
Lei Qiu stepped past Ze, his eyes shining as he looked at Shen Nong, and said happily, "Summer is rainy, and there will be a heavy rain tomorrow. If you are not in a hurry to return to the tribe, I will trade all the remaining goods of yours here. You can stay in Lei's tribe and leave after the rain stops."
Shen Nong subconsciously looked up at the sky. The clouds obscured the full moon, and his supernatural ability also detected that the air was humid and somewhat muggy, which was indeed a sign that a heavy rain was coming. He readily agreed to Lei Qiu's suggestion.
That saves him the trouble of figuring out how to stay.
The next day, Shen Nong was awakened by the sound of thunder and rain.
Crash—Boom—
Shen Nong nestled listlessly in Ze's arms, watching the curtain of rainwater forming at the cave entrance. She hadn't expected the rain to be so heavy.
"What's that noise outside?" Shen Nong and the others were staying in a cave on the outermost edge of the Lei tribe, very close to the tribe's exit. In such heavy rain, the orcs should have stayed quietly in their caves, but the commotion they were making outside made it seem like the entire tribe had come out.
Just as Ze was about to get up to look, a familiar voice came from outside the cave. It was Xiong Lei's voice: "Orc from the Wood Tribe, did our priest say anything to you last night?"
Xiong Lei was shirtless, with a tiger skin around his waist. Rain dripped from his body, soaking the spot where he stood.
Shen Nong realized something was wrong. He quickly recalled what Lei Qiu had said last night and a bad feeling rose in his heart. "He said that the high priest should not create beings like beast slaves."
Xiong Lei frowned deeply and said resentfully, "I knew he hadn't forgotten!"
"The Lei Tribe might be going to fight Beast City. You'd better hurry." Xiong Lei quickly turned and left. As soon as they exited the cave, Shen Nong vaguely heard him shout, "To Beast City!"
The incident happened suddenly. Shen Nong's initial plan was to gradually dismantle the enemy, but he did not expect that the Lei tribe priest would go to the Beast City alone to kill the high priest of the Beast City.
He quickly calmed down and thought about how the other party had suddenly said there would be heavy rain last night. The booming thunder outside made Shen Nong wonder if the priest of the Thunder Tribe had awakened a superpower.
Shen Nong quickly manipulated the nano-camera to locate Beast City. She had only swiped the screen twice when she saw a familiar figure.
Lei Qiu stood in the torrential rain, surrounded by charred orcs lying sprawled on the ground, along with many broken branches and vines. A flash of lightning streaked across the dark gray sky, followed shortly by a deafening clap of thunder. Opposite him stood a slender young man in a black robe, half his face handsome, the other half scarred and ugly.
Through the camera, Shen Nong knew that the man was the high priest of the Beast City.
Lei Qiu was the first to act. As the lightning struck, he raised his hand to mid-air, clenched it into a fist, and swung it at the person opposite him. The crackling sound of electricity exploded in his ears instantly.
Lightning-type superpower.
Lei Qiu has truly awakened his superpowers!
Struck by lightning, Mu Qing took a step back. Instead of being angry, he laughed and asked, "When did you awaken your superpower?"
“It’s always been there.” Lei Qiu said, and then threw another bolt of lightning at Mu Qing. Mu Qing seemed to be injured and couldn’t dodge in time, and was struck again.
Shen Nong frowned as he looked at the person on the screen, struck by lightning and utterly helpless. For some reason, he had a feeling that things weren't that simple. Moreover, up until now, Shen Nong hadn't seen the other party use any special abilities.
After a series of high-frequency attacks, Lei Qiu saw that Mu Qing was only unable to retaliate, but did not collapse to the ground covered in smoke like other orcs after being struck by lightning, and he became increasingly anxious.
Shen Nong realized that Lei Qiu didn't activate his own special abilities; he was always attacking by utilizing natural lightning strikes. Mu Qing seemed to have seen through this as well, and was slowly maneuvering around him.
After a while, Shen Nong noticed that Mu Qing's pace had changed.
"Cough cough cough." Mu Qing coughed up blood, placed his hand on the ground, and smiled sinisterly, "The time has come. Now it's my turn to retaliate."
Shen Nong saw all the trees on the screen begin to wither rapidly, so he quickly switched the screen to full screen for a clearer view. Centered on the High Priest of Beast City, the trees gradually withered.
Its speed was so fast that the trees around the Lei tribe soon began to wither.
Shen Nong's brow twitched, and a sudden panic gripped his heart. As if to test his reaction to danger, the next moment, Shen Nong felt the power within his spiritual core being forcibly extracted from his body.
Ze also sensed something was wrong immediately. He noticed Shen Nong's unusual behavior and quickly transformed into human form, encircling Shen Nong in his arms. His wings spread out, radiating dazzling golden light.
The power that was taken away was instantly replenished, and then immediately taken away again.
On the screen, Mu Qing finally used her supernatural power, and several vines and branches entangled Lei Qiu. After the lightning strike severed these deadly vines and branches, they would quickly grow back.
The intense spiritual energy caused Mu Qing to hesitate for a moment. He looked up towards the direction of the Lei tribe and asked Lei Qiu with a serious expression, "What has come from your tribe?"
Lei Qiu snorted coldly, completely ignoring Mu Qing. At this moment, Mu Qing's patience completely ran out, and he no longer intended to toy with Lei Qiu. He suddenly exerted his strength, using vines to form a cage, enveloping Lei Qiu inside.
Lei Qiu's lightning strike was useless against the overwhelming power. With a muffled "poof," a vine burrowed directly into Lei Qiu's brain, bringing out a bloody, purple-glowing spirit core.
Shen Nong watched this scene and subconsciously closed his eyes. But the image was already directly in his mind, so closing his eyes was useless.
Mu Qing's question made Shen Nong realize that the other party had discovered something.
He quickly told Ze, "Quickly fold your wings and don't give me any more energy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Nong found his ankle entangled by vines, and his spiritual core power was once again being drained away.
The cave was now filled with vines. Ze pulled off a vine near Shen Nong and used golden light to help her regain her energy. As Shen Nong's energy returned, even more vines appeared in the cave, densely packed, as if trying to pierce through their bodies and fill the entire cave.
Ze discovered that no matter how much energy he transferred, it would be absorbed by these vines, rapidly increasing the number of vines inside the cave.
The air grew increasingly thin, and the cave had become a natural prison. These vines grew so rapidly that just clearing away the vines around Shen Nong was enough to block them out of the cave.
Shen Nong knew that to be able to manipulate vines like this, one's ability level was probably at its peak. Shen Nong's energy was still being absorbed continuously, and with a grim face, she snapped off the vines that were wrapping around her.
The vines in the cave became increasingly "aggressive," initially moving quickly to try and entangle people. Later, they turned to attacking, and each attack became more vicious than the last.
The space was too cramped, and there was a concern that it might hurt Shen Nong, so Zeji couldn't really unleash his full potential.
However, these vines didn't get any advantage either, as they couldn't get close to Ze at all.
Suddenly, Ze turned around abruptly, and the vines, seeing that they couldn't get the better of Ze, began to attack Shen Nong.
Ze Fei pounced on Shen Nong, and the sound of vines piercing flesh was amplified infinitely in Shen Nong's ears.
Shen Nong's spiritual core energy had been completely drained, and his head was already throbbing with pain. He felt Ze pressing down on him, and when he opened his eyes in a daze, he saw Ze being pierced by several vines.
Warm blood dripped onto Shen Nong's cheek. He wanted to check Ze's injuries, but he couldn't move at all. It was as if all the strength in his body had been drained away. He didn't even have the strength to move a finger.
select……
Shen Nong's head was throbbing with pain, and he could no longer remain conscious. In a daze, he saw Ze being pulled up and suspended by vines, and he himself was also covered by vines, and soon he was completely plunged into darkness.
——
Shen Nong was surrounded by darkness. He subconsciously took steps and walked aimlessly. After walking for an unknown amount of time, Shen Nong saw a small white dot in front of him. He ran quickly toward the white dot, which grew larger and larger until it became a bright light.
The blinding light made Shen Nong raise his arm to shield his eyes. After his eyes adjusted, he saw Ze Hao Hao standing in front of him.
Shen Nong quickly stepped forward and said happily, "Ze didn't..."
"select!"
Shen Nong's next words were interrupted by another somewhat familiar voice. The other person's tone was intimate, and when Ze heard this call, his indifferent gaze softened instantly. He immediately turned his head and said, "Priest."
Shen Nong looked up and saw a handsome figure rush into Ze's arms. The other person wrapped his arms around Ze's neck and said loudly, "I missed you so much! Come on, I made you something delicious, go and try it."
"Okay." Ze took the other person's hand and walked forward, turning slightly to protect the person beside him.
In the instant he chose the wrong person, Shen Nong saw that the handsome man with long hair had the same face as him.
Only then did he realize that this choice was not the one he spent every night with.
He exuded a strong aura of violence, and there was a scar on his brow bone.
Just as Shen Nong was wondering if she had connected to a parallel universe, the scene before her eyes changed again.
Fire, as far as the eye can see, is a sea of fire.
"Quickly save the sacred tree!"
"Where are the chieftain and the priest?!"
"Ah—fire! I'm on fire! Help me!"
Screams, screams, and wails came from all directions.
Shen Nong could almost feel the heat of the fire. An orc collapsed at his feet. He tried to help the man up, but his hand passed right through the orc's body. Shen Nong stared at his own hands, stunned for a moment.
Was it a dream?
"priest!"
It is the sound of choice.
Shen Nong followed the sound and saw Ze running in excruciating pain in one direction. His gaze followed Ze and saw the person who looked exactly like him turn into specks of firefly light and disappear.
"Ze" knelt where the "Priest" had vanished, clutching his head in pain, the flames around him gradually becoming distorted. Shen Nong watched from afar, realizing something was wrong; the energy fluctuations were so abnormal they could distort space—he was about to self-destruct.
Shen Nong was ultimately a step too slow; his fingertips were about to touch "Choice" when they were pushed away by a powerful force.
A brighter white light than before shone down, and Shen Nong quickly raised his hand, only to find that his arm was immobilized, as if something was binding it. He couldn't dodge in time, and the white light had already hit him, so he closed his eyes.
In an instant, Shen Nong was plunged into darkness once again.
[Host! Host!]
The system's relentless, relentless commands jolted Shen Nong awake from his dazed state. He slowly opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by darkness, his hands and feet still bound to wooden stakes.
Just as Shen Nong was about to ask the system where she was, she heard the creaking sound of a door being pushed open.
A moving candlelight slowly approached Shen Nong, finally stopping not far from her.
Shen Nong looked up and saw the other person's face by the candlelight.
He is the high priest of the Beast City.
Shen Nong's head still ached a little. She glanced at it and then lowered her head again, too lazy to look up.
Seeing that Shen Nong was silent with his head down, Mu Qing took a few steps forward, holding the candlestick in his left hand. Just as he was about to lift Shen Nong's face with his hand, Shen Nong suddenly raised his head before Mu Qing could touch his chin, staring intently at the scar on his face.
The candlelight reflected the inquiry and surprise in Shen Nong's eyes. Mu Qing's aura suddenly dropped, and he subconsciously took a step back, moving the candlestick in his hand further away with the vines, so that the half of his scarred face was hidden in the darkness.
"What are you looking at?" Mu Qing's tone was icy, filled with intense killing intent.
[Warning: Godslaying will cause the world to collapse.]
"Shut up!" Mu Qing suddenly shouted.
Shen Nong gave Mu Qing a strange look. Did he say anything?
Shen Nong knew it was impolite to stare at someone's face, but he wasn't intentionally trying to provoke them. It was simply because he sensed a familiar energy fluctuation on the scarred right cheek of the Beast City High Priest.
It is the energy fluctuation of interstellar branding used on slaves.
Shen Nong decided to carefully consider whether it was just a hallucination caused by a headache.