I can receive unlimited protection; my parents handed me over to the state.

The level 55 mutated lord-class star beast, "Skeleton Demon Infant," was completely destroyed, leaving not a trace behind.

Truly reduced to ashes!

"Huff... huff..."

Gu Tianye slowly descended from mid-air.

His "Beast God Transformation" state was also lifted, and he returned to his original state.

He leaned on the [Thousand Transformations] battle axe, half-kneeling on the ground, panting heavily, his face even paler than Xiang Batian's.

Clearly, that move had taken a huge toll on him.

However, on his rugged face was a smile that was even more smug and arrogant than Xiang Batian's.

He raised his head, glanced at Xiang Batian who was completely dumbfounded not far away, grinned, and revealed a set of white teeth.

"How about that, you brute?"

"Now, do you know whose art is the real art?"

Xiang Batian stared at the giant crater in front of him, which was over a hundred meters in diameter and still emitting black smoke. He then looked at Gu Tianye, who was kneeling on the ground, weak but with his face full of "Praise me!" He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

Art?

Is this what you call art? This is clearly a heinous massacre!

At least my axe blow left the other person with a whole body, even if it was in two halves.

What you've done is terrible! You've completely annihilated them, leaving not a single hair behind!

Xiang Batian inwardly grumbled, but couldn't bring himself to be defiant. He had to admit that Gu Tianye's "Night Parade of a Hundred Beasts" was indeed far more spectacular and thorough than his own "Heaven-Opening" axe strike, both in terms of visual effect and the final destructive power.

"Hmph, crooked methods." Xiang Batian curled his lip, forcing a smile, "A true warrior kills with a single blow! Your hesitant, dawdling approach is a waste of time!"

"Bullshit! This is called tactics! It's called sustained output! You don't know anything!" Gu Tianye immediately jumped up. If he hadn't been so exhausted, he probably would have already rushed up to fight Xiang Batian.

"Alright, you two, stop arguing."

Lin Ziling's voice came weakly. She was holding Ye Cang's shoulder, her face as pale as a sheet, but deep shock still lingered in her intelligent and beautiful eyes.

She walked quickly to the edge of the giant crater, looked at the scorched earth, and felt the chaotic and violent aftershocks of energy that had not yet completely dissipated in the air. She couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Too...too incredible."

Her brain is still working frantically, trying to decipher everything that just happened.

The axe strike of 【Opening Heaven】contained the purest and ultimate rule of "breaking". Ignoring defense and structure, it directly splits matter in two at its most fundamental level. Simple, brutal, yet so effective that it defies all logic.

The [Thousand Transformations] move forcibly fuses dozens of distinct beast soul powers, forming a complex energy storm similar to "chaos." While it may not possess the pure destructive power of "Opening Heaven," its sustained damage and multi-attribute attacks make it an absolute nightmare for any enemy with regenerative abilities!

These two weapons, with two completely different design philosophies, both achieved the same terrifying effect.

What exactly is in the mind of that boy named Lu Yuan?

He is not only a "divine craftsman" who can create miracles, but also a true "grandmaster" whose understanding of combat, energy, and rules has reached a level that even so-called SSS-level geniuses can only look up to!

"We... seem to have struck gold." Mu Bingli slowly walked over, her beautiful face, which had always been like an iceberg, was also filled with complex emotions.

Looking at the giant pit, and then at the two divine axes that still exuded a terrifying aura even after the battle, her desire to obtain her own "exclusive divine weapon" became stronger than ever before.

"It's more than just finding a treasure." Ye Cang, the usually taciturn Asura swordsman, spoke up for once.

His voice remained cold, but it carried a hint of fanaticism that he himself was unaware of.

His gaze was fixed on the battle axes in the hands of Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian.

"What we are witnessing is the beginning of a new era."

An era belonging to "master craftsmen".

Just as everyone was still immersed in the great shock, a rapid whooshing sound came from afar and quickly approached.

A dozen figures clad in black exoskeleton armor appeared around the battlefield like ghosts.

Leading the group was none other than the position commander with the scar on his face—Iceblade.

When Iceblade and the elite soldiers behind him saw the devastated battlefield and the huge crater with a diameter of over 100 meters, they were stunned.

Even these hardened soldiers, who had fought their way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood seven times, gasped in shock.

"This...this is what you did?" Iceblade's gaze swept back and forth between the giant crater and the few "recruits" who looked exhausted, his voice filled with disbelief.

Upon receiving the distress signal, he immediately led his team to the scene.

He had expected to witness a tragic scene of these arrogant newbies being wiped out by the monsters.

But what exactly is going on in this scene?

What about that level 55 mutated lord-level star beast, the "Bones Demon Infant," which even he himself had to pay a considerable price to deal with?

How come there's not even a bone fragment left?

Did it self-destruct?

"Reporting, sir!" Seeing the ice blade arrive, Gu Tianye immediately straightened up, a smug smile on his face. He patted his [Thousand Transformations] battle axe and shouted, "That ugly monster has been reduced to ashes!"

"What?!" Ice Blade's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he heard this.

He looked at the two enormous battle axes in Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian's hands, which were clearly not ordinary weapons, and then at the terrifying aura emanating from them that was more than ten times stronger than before. His mind was in complete chaos.

How long has it been?

In less than half a day!

These kids, how come they've all changed so much?

Could it be... that those two lords made a move?

The images of Su Lie and Yan Ji instantly flashed through Bing Ren's mind.

Only an existence of that level could have dealt with the "Skeleton Demon Infant" in such a short time and even given those two kids a new set of "divine gear"?

While Ice Blade was still lost in thought.

"Huh? What's this?"

Lin Ziling's exclamation suddenly came from the center of the giant pit.

The crowd quickly gathered around.

At the very bottom of the giant crater, on a patch of land scorched black by the torrent of energy, lay a scene.

An irregular crystal, about the size of a fist, completely black, with purple arcs constantly dancing on its surface, lay there quietly.

The crystal emitted an extremely strange and chaotic energy fluctuation.

It contained the chaos of the void, the deathly silence of the skeletons, and a trace of the spiritual imprint belonging to the "Skeleton Demon Infant".

"This...this is..." Ice Blade's expression changed when he saw the crystal.

He immediately crouched down, took out a specially made energy detector from his pocket, and carefully scanned the crystal.

A few seconds later, a sharp, urgent alarm sounded from the detector!

On the screen, a line of bright red characters popped up.

[WARNING! Unknown high-concentration void distortion energy core detected! Danger level: Extremely high!]

[Analysis results: This substance is an extremely unstable mutated crystal formed by the forced fusion of the soul essence of a lord-level star beast and void energy under extreme energy erosion!]

[Recommendation: Seal it immediately! Do not allow it to come into contact with any energy source!]

Looking at the analysis results on the detector, Iceblade's breathing became rapid.

Void Distortion Energy Core!

He had only ever seen a description of this thing in the military's top-secret files!

It is said that this is a strategic resource that is even rarer and more precious than legendary materials!

Because it contains fragments of the purest rules of the void!

For top scientists who study void creatures, this is priceless!

And what about... the "Master Craftsman"?

Lu Yuan's image involuntarily appeared in Bingren's mind.

If we give this to him...

What kind of terrifying monsters can he create?

While Ice Blade was still in shock at the appearance of the crystal.

The eyes of Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian beside him turned red the moment they saw the crystal!

The words Lu Yuan had said to them before they set off echoed in their minds at the same time.

"If anyone could find me a legendary mutated material that has never been seen before and contains special 'rules'..."

"Then, in return..."

"I can forge a real one just for him..."

"A divine artifact."

"Whoosh!"

The two exchanged a glance.

It felt as if sparks of electricity were flashing in the air.

The next second, the two of them, like two mad dogs that had spotted a bone, pounced on the black crystal in the center of the giant pit at the same time!

"This thing is mine!!" Kotenno roared like a wild beast as he pounced on it!

"Get out of the way! I saw it first!!" Xiang Batian was equally unyielding, and directly charged towards Gu Tianye with a savage charge!

The two men actually started fighting on the spot in order to fight over this supreme treasure that could be exchanged for a "divine artifact"!

"Stop! You two bastards!" Ice Blade was so angry at the sight that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

He wanted to go forward and separate the two.

But before he could even make a move...

A cold, emotionless voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

"I'll take this."

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ye Cang, the taciturn Asura swordsman, who had appeared in the center of the giant pit at some point.

The old knife in his hand was pointing steadily at the black crystal.

His eyes were cold and resolute.

That means, it goes without saying.

Anyone who dares to take it from him, he will kill.

Seeing Ye Cang, who exuded a chilling murderous aura and seemed ready to draw his sword at any moment, Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian, who were wrestling together, subconsciously stopped what they were doing.

Although they were both reckless, they weren't fools.

They knew very well that Ye Cang was a real madman.

A pure killing machine who would give up everything for the sake of swordsmanship.

Normally, he can be indifferent to everything.

However, when it comes to things that can make him stronger...

He will do anything to get it!

Now, the void distortion energy core before him, which could be exchanged for a true "divine artifact" personally crafted by the "divine craftsman," has clearly touched his most sensitive nerve.

"You bastard surnamed Ye! What the hell do you want?" Gu Tianye roared at Ye Cang, his voice trembling with fear, "Everything has a first-come, first-served rule! We found this thing first!"

"That's right!" Xiang Batian also sided with Gu Tianye, joining forces to fight against the "external enemy." "You want to take it all for yourself? No way!"

However, Ye Cang seemed to ignore their shouts.

He didn't even lift his eyelids.

He simply stood there quietly, the old knife in his hand still steadily pointing at the black crystal.

An invisible yet incredibly sharp Asura sword intent slowly emanated from his body.

The sword intent was cold, pure, and filled with the aura of death.

Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian both felt as if their skin was being repeatedly pierced by countless fine steel needles.

They had no doubt that if they dared to take another step forward...

The next second, they were met with Ye Cang's merciless, deadly blade.

The atmosphere on the field became extremely tense.

"Stop it, all of you!"

Just then, Ice Blade's authoritative voice rang out.

He walked quickly to the middle of the three, his sharp eyes coldly sweeping over them.

"What are you trying to do? Infighting?"

"On the battlefield, do you know what crime it is to turn your sword against your own comrades?"

"According to military law, I can kill you all on the spot!"

The sound of the ice blade wasn't loud, but the iron-blooded killing intent honed in the midst of mountains of corpses and seas of blood contained within it sent chills down the spines of both Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian.

They then realized that they were now on military territory.

The scarred man in front of me is the highest-ranking commander of this position.

He truly has the authority to act first and report later!

"Sir! We didn't!" Gu Tianye immediately cowered, waving his hands hastily to explain, "We were just... just kidding, just kidding..."

"Playing around?" Ice Blade scoffed. "I don't think so."

His gaze fell upon the black crystal that had sparked the dispute.

His gaze also became somewhat complicated.

He knew the value of this thing.

They also knew what it meant to these geniuses who were eager to become stronger.

If not handled properly, it could escalate the conflict between them and even create huge hidden dangers for future teamwork.

While Iceblade was still pondering how to handle the situation...

A cool, clear voice slowly rang out.

"None of us can take this crystal with us."

It was Mu Bingli who spoke.

She slowly walked to the edge of the giant pit, her beautiful icy blue eyes quietly watching the black crystal that was still crackling with purple electric arcs.

"Why?" Gu Tianye asked, puzzled.

"Because it's too unstable." Lin Ziling also came over. She pushed up her glasses and explained in a scholarly tone, "The data from the detector shows that a violent chain reaction is taking place in the internal energy structure of this crystal."

"It's like an antimatter bomb with the fuse already pulled. Any external energy stimulus could cause it to explode instantly."

"Its power is enough to completely level everything within a ten-kilometer radius."

Lin Ziling's words caused everyone present to gasp in shock.

Within a radius of ten kilometers?

Does that mean that even the nearby "Blackrock Fortress" will be affected?

Gu Tianye and Xiang Batian were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they subconsciously took several steps back.

They actually wanted to fight over such a "bomb" that could explode at any moment?

This is fucking like dancing on the head of the King of Hell!

"Then... what should we do?" Gu Tianye looked at the treasure that was so close yet untouchable with some reluctance.

"Are we just going to stand by and watch it self-destruct here?"

"The only way," Lin Ziling said, looking at the crystal with a glint of wisdom in her eyes, "is to safely transport it out before it explodes."

"Or..." She paused, turning her gaze toward the only possible solution to the problem.

"Find someone who can stabilize its internal energy structure."

Is it capable of stabilizing a void distortion energy core that is about to explode?

This is something that even an S-level space or energy expert couldn't do, let alone them.

and many more……

Suddenly, the image of a boy appeared in the minds of everyone present.

That "master craftsman" who was always so calm and confident, seemingly omnipotent.

If it were him...

Perhaps, it really is possible...

"Immediately! Contact the Zenith World!" Ice Blade made a decisive move, immediately issuing the order to the communications officer behind him, "Report the situation here to Dean Qian Sen using the highest level of encrypted communication!"

"Tell him we've discovered an extremely unstable void distortion energy core!"

"Requesting remote technical support from the 'Master Craftsman'!"