Within the hidden stronghold, the leader in the black leather outfit fell into deep thought.
He didn't fully believe it, but he was certainly half-convinced. It wasn't the words of the self-proclaimed Awakened from the Wave City-States that he believed, but rather himself and the intelligence gathered by Sector 51.
Over the past few months, the quantity and terrifying nature of the malevolent entities had increased drastically.
This was undeniable.
Although the strength of the Awakened was also escalating, a projection of the trend would reveal that the disaster would become increasingly severe, with more and more unbalanced regions until the world was engulfed.
The difference lay in whether most of the world's regions would fall, or if the entire world would be completely consumed.
If it was the latter, then preparing in advance and building a Noah's Ark to preserve the fire and save humanity's elite would be quite necessary.
"If you want me to believe you, that's possible, but you need to show me your sincerity. For example, a method to find the malevolent entities."
Upon hearing this from the leader in the black leather outfit, the man in the light blue robe shook his head. "No, no, no. Everything has a price; it's an exchange of benefits. I've already provided you with a lot of information. It's you who hasn't shown enough sincerity."
"Furthermore, if the world is destined to be consumed, what meaning is there even in having a method to find the malevolent entities?"
The man in the light blue robe found the leader's request somewhat strange.
Why specifically ask for a method to find the malevolent entities?
Their Wave City-States didn't possess such miraculous means. Even if they did, what would be the point? Over centuries, and even longer periods, the destruction of one world after another, and the birth and continuation of oases, had already proven that the world's sinking and destruction was a foregone conclusion.
The malevolent entities were inexhaustible.
Fighting them was meaningless.
"As someone who has been through this, I'll give you a piece of advice: seize the time to accumulate useful strength, search for mysterious materials and strange artifacts. These are the things that have meaning."
"When the day of world destruction arrives, if you can afford a sufficient price, our Wave City-States' gates might not be entirely closed to some of you."
Seeing that the leader seemed unmoved, the man in the light blue robe didn't mind. "Saying this now, it's hard for you to have a clear concept, but once you understand more about the Ethereal Realm, you'll understand what kind of oasis our Wave City-States are."
"Perhaps."
The leader offered no commitment.
He was still waiting. Since the man before him claimed the Tide of Grey Mist was about to descend, he would wait and see what happened then.
However, he had to start making some preparations.
The path of eradicating malevolent entities that Dong Huang and Ri Luo were taking was likely the wrong one. This was perhaps an opportunity for their White Eagle Federation.
They needed to deepen their exploration of the Ethereal Realm.
It was a pity. If not for the fact that the man before him displayed considerable strength, and had powerful forces behind him, he wouldn't be so passive, even if he used some unconventional methods.
...
Pacific Training Base.
A day had already passed since the first basic Mysticism Examination.
The scores had long since been released, bringing joy to some, sorrow to others, and causing some to froth at the mouth.
"President, President, cheer up!"
When Polly returned, she saw a girl trying to encourage Ilos, but with little effect.
In front of President Ilos was an open textbook. She held a pen, gritted her teeth, and stared at the diagrams and text on the book as if facing a great enemy. Finally, after holding out for a few minutes, she succumbed.
She collapsed, losing the will to fight.
It was quite normal, wasn't it?
After all, she was President Ilos, who was always a cause for concern.
However, Polly didn't have time to worry about that now. She was very busy and walked directly through Ilos's room to her own rest area.
This left Ilos, who had just gotten up, looking bewildered.
Aren't you going to comfort your President? This detestable plastic sisterhood!
...
Because from yesterday to today, Polly had been in a state of shock, her mind still somewhat hazy.
She had arrived at this training base the day before yesterday.
Yesterday, after taking an oath, Polly was officially inducted into the organization, using a special admission slot that didn't require a fiercely competitive assessment.
Of course, with her strength, even a fiercely competitive assessment would have been easily passed.
Therefore, she was directly recruited.
Polly's day of shock began.
After joining, she could see a simple, profound interface in her mind, with options like "Task Acceptance," "Item Exchange," and "Malevolent Entity Detection."
How magical!
She had previously thought that as the higher organization of the Sisterhood, the "Ember" might be a little magical, but her imagination had fallen short.
This... was so unscientific!
But it was truly awesome!
She had already learned the words "awesome" and "holy crap" from President Ilos. They were indeed very useful; no matter the situation, choosing one of these two words would always fit the context.
After fiddling with it for a while, based on the suggestions, Polly exchanged for one of the basic skills, 'Heavy Strike.'
The next moment, she found herself in a special space.
The moment after that, she had learned it.
She couldn't help but exclaim, "Instructor is awesome!" "Ember is awesome!"
Polly's awakened ability was diamondization, which allowed her to transform part of her body, or even her entire body, into diamond, possessing extremely strong defense.
Especially when her entire body was diamondized, her defense was flawless and extremely perfect, with no blind spots.
However, there was a drawback: she couldn't move when her entire body was diamondized.
In normal combat, she used partial diamondization, diamondizing her palms and arms, which allowed for both defense and offense. Now, with the Heavy Strike skill, a diamond heavy strike could easily shatter a malevolent entity's head.
On her first day in the organization, Polly felt she could at least fight two of her past selves from yesterday.
At this moment, she saw a line of recommendations on the exchange: "Third Stage Awakening Recommendation."
"Ember Official Warrior 'Polly,' your mystical accumulation has met the standard, and all conditions are met. Do you wish to apply for the 'Third Stage Awakening Ceremony'?"
"Hint: It is recommended to undergo the Third Stage Awakening as soon as possible to begin accumulating for the Fourth Stage more quickly. At the same time, the significant increase in strength after the Third Stage Awakening will also help in undertaking higher-level missions and contributing more to Ember and humanity."
"Hint: This exchange can be made with an advance on contribution points."
Since the recommendation stated so, even though Polly still had some worries and fears about the Third Stage Awakening, after asking President Ilos and Vice President Bai Yan Si, she unhesitatingly stepped into the place of awakening.
Then,
She entered in the morning and came out in the morning.
When she emerged, she was still a little dazed, not from the tempering of the awakening tribulation, but... it was too easy. During her Second Stage Awakening, she had almost failed several times, and after awakening, she had been muddled for quite some time.
But now, for the Third Stage, which should have been more difficult, she had passed it without even realizing it.
It was difficult, yes.
But compared to the previous two awakenings, it was as if there was no difficulty.
"And..."
Polly touched her forehead and then looked at the back of her hand. It was smooth as jade, but that was just a metaphor, not real jade.
"The diamondized foreign matter on my forehead is gone, as is the crystallization of the bones on the back of my hand."
"According to the book 'Mysticism and Awakening,' this seems to be... a reduction in pollution? Normal awakenings increase the level of pollution and intensify foreign matter, but the awakening grounds of our Ember can even purify pollution."
"Awesome! Holy crap! As expected of Ember!"
This was something that could shock Polly for ten thousand years, yet it had happened within just a day or two.
As a result, she was still trembling. President Ilos? Sorry, President, she no longer admired her. Polly, the one she admired, looked up to, and followed, was now only one person.
That instructor!
My esteemed instructor!
"Everything is for humanity. President, President, you'll understand, right?"
Polly peeked into the situation next door and then withdrew her gaze, rubbing her forehead.
She was shocked, but besides being shocked for ten thousand years, she also faced a tricky problem: she had no contribution points left.
To be precise, she had negative contribution points, and a lot of them.
After exchanging for the 'Heavy Strike skill' and several practice opportunities, she was already in the negative. After applying for the awakening ceremony, Polly's contribution points plummeted to their lowest.
She needed to earn money!
No, she needed to contribute to the organization!
Otherwise, seeing the dazzling array of items on the exchange list but being unable to buy anything, not even the most basic practice cards, Polly felt it was torture.
She entered the task panel.
—She was an officially recruited Ember official, not a student, and did not have a packed schedule. She could self-study as she pleased.
Polly had also attended a few classes.
She was from the ranks of self-taught Awakened and clearly understood the importance of these courses, both theoretical and practical.
But the problem was... she couldn't even go to the gravity field right now.
After much deliberation, Polly decided to take on tasks first.
It was like studying while working.
She looked through them one by one.
Ember had a great many tasks. Within the training base, there were tasks like cleaning, transportation, construction, and planting. These were miscellaneous tasks with low contribution points and seemed to be intended for ordinary people based on the requirements.
Higher-level tasks included patrol missions and recruitment of instructors and lecturers.
She couldn't accept the latter.
Polly continued to browse, understanding the contribution points from low to high.
"The most common are tasks to eliminate malevolent entities. However, high-intensity combat requires a considerable amount of time to restore life energy. Earning twenty to thirty contribution points in a day is considered a lot."
This was even assuming familiarity with the tasks.
But she was unfamiliar with everything.
She still owed over a hundred contribution points!
Polly looked at the tasks marked "Recommended," suitable for Third Stage Awakened individuals, and offering generous rewards.
Finally, she selected a special subcategory of tasks—Ethereal Realm Exploration.
The contribution was very high, and the Ethereal Realm was a treasure trove. The only issue was that these types of tasks required a team, and as a novice, Polly could only be a team member, not a leader.
Fortunately, the task board provided a helpful prompt.
Following the prompt's guidance, Polly took out her Ember phone, opened the Ember Forum App, and selected the "Task Board" and then the "Ethereal Realm Exploration" sub-board.
Immediately, many pieces of information popped up.
...
...
The task board and sub-board of the forum were more lively than Polly had imagined.
"Recruiting for Patrol Team of Stronghold No. 3. Experienced graduates leading the way, showing you the charm of the Ethereal Realm."
"Anyone taking the defense line construction task for Stronghold No. 4? This novice is a wood-element Awakened, seeking a master to lead a team."
"Stronghold No. 2, exploration and mapping task. Planning to operate within ten kilometers of the stronghold. Currently two spots short, two more needed. Anyone interested, please speak up."
"Stronghold No. 1, Ethereal Realm General Knowledge Practical Guard Mission. Three people needed, application deadline is tomorrow."
"Stronghold No. 2, Blood Snake Fruit Tree Reclamation Task. Led by Fire Wielder 'Luo Jianxing.' Three spots short, only reconnaissance type needed."
Polly had read the descriptions. Tasks involving the Ethereal Realm required teamwork, with a minimum of three people per team, and up to five or six or seven people.
The key was the team leader.
Only veteran Second Stage Awakened individuals who had made sufficient contributions to the organization and had completed and passed the 'Ethereal Realm General Knowledge Course' were eligible to form a team and serve as leader.
Polly also understood the reason.
Yesterday, she had roughly flipped through a few books, and the textbook she read the most was 'Ethereal Realm General Knowledge.'
Through this book, she learned that malevolent entities were vast, mysterious, and dangerous.
Entering the Ethereal Realm was also very difficult.
To explore the Ethereal Realm required experienced and steady powerful individuals to lead the team. She was not qualified to form a team, and even if she were, she wouldn't dare.
"Indeed, there's too much information here."
"The leader must be at least a veteran Second Stage Awakened, and Ember's veteran Second Stage Awakened..."
Polly compared herself slightly.
She had only learned one skill, Heavy Strike, and her combat power had already greatly increased. Veteran Second Stage Awakened experts within the organization might not be much weaker than her, a Third Stage Awakened.
And there were dozens of such individuals at a glance.
And this was just in the sub-board of the task board.
"Our Ember has so many powerful individuals! Awesome! As expected of our organization!"
"But which task should I choose?"
"No, which task is suitable for me?"
She had undergone her Third Stage Awakening and was a little proud. She thought that the leader should also be a Third Stage Awakened for the team to have higher gains.
With this thought, she looked carefully.
There were quite a few teams led by Third Stage Awakened individuals, but they also had requirements, and many teams she couldn't join.
Pouting, Polly searched.
Soon, she found a team that seemed very suitable for her.
"Ethereal Realm Exploration Team, led by Fire Wielder Shi Yunxi, one tank needed, interested parties please PM."
She could be a tank!
With a slightly nervous thought, Polly sent her application.
...
Half an hour later, Polly arrived at the secret realm, training ground No. 16 next to the base's first floor, and met her three teammates.
They were all girls.
A woman with an older sister vibe stepped forward and extended her hand to Polly.
"Hello, my name is Shi Yunxi."
"H-hello, I'm Polly. My ability is Diamond Body, and my combat style is frontal assault."
As she said this, while shaking hands, she raised her other hand, which instantly transformed into a magnificent diamond.
Beautiful and hard.
It was quite an enviable ability.
Shi Yunxi retracted her gaze and continued to introduce herself to Polly. "My ability is Water. This is Anna; her ability is Fire. Both of us are long-range output types."
"And this one is Cen Jing. Her ability is Secret Sound. She can hear special sounds in the world and is our team's scout."
The few of them got to know each other.
Shi Yunxi and Cen Jing were veterans of Ember, and Anna was also an excellent graduate who had studied in the training camp.
It was mainly Polly; Shi Yunxi recalled and found she didn't recognize her.
She hadn't heard the name before.
But they were all comrades in Ember, and she felt it was fine. After a brief period of adaptation, Shi Yunxi said, "Since everyone is okay, it's better to be early than late. Let's set off today."
"I've already shared the mission with you. Now I'll explain it in detail."
She had been an instructor for a long time and acted decisively.
She immediately opened a map and said, "Our mission is not just to explore malevolent entities, but to have a specific purpose: to travel about ten kilometers northwest of Stronghold No. 2 to mine the Void Stones there."
"This mission has a guaranteed contribution, and additionally, based on the number of 'Void Stones' we obtain, we will receive extra contributions, with no upper limit. The mysterious materials collected along the way will also be sold back to the organization upon return, earning another sum of contribution."
"Overall, this mission is very worthwhile."
She paused and, seeing that Anna and the other two seemed to have absorbed the information, continued, "Now I need to talk about the precautions for this mission."
"Since this is the first time we're venturing far from a stronghold, first, we need to prepare sufficient supplies. Healing potions, energy recovery potions, purification potions, and calming potions. Each of us needs to have more than 5 bottles."
"We also need to bring tactical backpacks, fuel-sufficient bright torches, various life-saving items, and so on. One can never be too careful when exploring the Ethereal Realm."
"Furthermore, I saw an item called 'Teleportation Rune Stone' on the exchange list, costing 500 contribution points to redeem, but only 10 contribution points to rent."
"Since we're going quite far this time, I think we should rent one. It would be best if we don't need it."
Makes sense.
But, wait a minute!
As Captain Shi Yunxi spoke, Polly's face paled slightly.
She finally understood that exploring the Ethereal Realm had so many intricacies. Jumping in without knowing anything was truly... too reckless.
She weakly said, "I, I'm afraid I can't do it."
A few minutes later,
After understanding Polly's life experience and internal struggles, Shi Yunxi and the other two exchanged glances.
They looked at each other.
Anna spoke, "Being specially recruited into the organization just shows how outstanding you are, Polly."
Shi Yunxi also nodded. "Although your knowledge base isn't very extensive, it's not a big problem. Just follow orders. Honestly, the three of us don't have much exploration experience either. We're all novices."
"As for your current lack of equipment and medicine, that's also okay. We can advance them first, and they will be deducted from your earnings later."
Under Shi Yunxi's suggestion, and with the planning and arrangement of Anna and Cen Jing, Polly began to change her attire.
She took off her beginner's student uniform and put on a green-grade tight-fitting combat suit, a white-grade standard jacket, and purchased a green knuckle-duster equipment, a tactical backpack, and a set of potions.
She was practically armed to the teeth, at a basic level.
After changing, Polly couldn't help but feel excited as she looked at her equipment, but she also felt immense pressure.
She, Polly, on her second day in the organization, was heavily in debt.
...
After Shi Yunxi and the other two had all changed, the four-person team set off for the entrance to Stronghold No. 2 located within Linshan City.
Their attire was similar to Polly's, but their equipment was more advanced.
Shi Yunxi was wearing her only 'Silver Scale Battle Armor,' a mystical artifact she had bought with all her savings. It was similar to a combat suit, fitting snugly against her underwear and skin, outlining her graceful figure, but it was completely covered by the wide-sleeved robe worn on the outside.
The robe was Ember standard, resembling a loose trench coat on the outside, with the hem reaching her ankles. A zipper ran from top to bottom, closing the entire robe.
It could also be zipped up high, so even Awakened individuals focused on physique wouldn't be affected in combat while wearing this Ember standard robe.
It also represented Ember culture.
The black base robe was engraved with orange-red dawn flames, burning fiercely. The inverted sword represented Ember's determination to cut through all thorns.
This was the second uniform that incorporated the Ember emblem, following the Ember cape.
For men, it looked mysterious and imposing.
For women, it looked beautiful and spirited.
Novice Polly followed Captain Shi Yunxi and arrived at a high-end residential complex within Linshan City.
Then,
She saw the Ethereal Realm traversal gate, hidden within a villa and emitting a faint cyan glow.
"Is that the Ethereal Realm on the other side?"
She swallowed.
Seeing Polly's nervousness, Shi Yunxi took her hand and gestured for Anna to take her other hand, while she held Cen Jing's hand with her free hand.
The four of them held hands.
As Shi Yunxi took a step forward, a fierce pulling force came. The four of them felt like they were tumbling in a washing machine, or like riding a roller coaster, going up and down.
After a period of tumbling and traversing, when light appeared before them, Polly lost her balance and landed on her backside with a thud.
It didn't hurt.
Instinctively, she diamondized her backside.
She looked around with a slightly dazed expression. Before her was a hall tens of meters high, with sunlight streaming in from the windows.
As the captain and the other two emerged from this stone-built hall, Polly saw dilapidated villas outside, as well as low, greyish-white buildings.
Further in the distance were rolling white hills, where people and robot-like figures were moving, their mining sounds echoing.
Most striking was the tens of meters tall ancient tree in front of the mine, its willow branches lush and swaying, standing like a guardian deity.
This was the Ethereal Realm, peculiar and mysterious, and unfamiliar.
However, some familiar shouts pulled her back to reality.
"Ethereal Realm Exploration Team, three spots short, leaving immediately~!"
－－－－－－
Author's Note:
Two chapters combined, sorry for the late update. My head is going bald!