Rumble...
In the clear sky, a low rumble of thunder could be faintly heard, and the sunlight dimmed at a visible speed, as if an invisible hand had covered the sky.
In just a moment, chaotic clouds surged from nothingness, covering the city, lightning flashed, and the dim city felt dull and oppressive.
Looking up at the horizon, you can still see the golden sunlight streaming down from the edge of the dark clouds outside Cangnan City, yet it cannot penetrate into the city at all, as if it has been isolated from all external influences... including light.
It's like a vicious curse.
A strong wind is picking up.
Lin Qiye's clothes and Lin Xi Chen's hair fluttered in the wind. They both frowned and glanced each other for a sec before they looked at the carriage in front of them, and after a moment, Lin Qiye nodded.
"I am Lin Qiye and this is my sister, Lin Xi Chen" He paused, then continued, "May I ask if you are one of the five pinnacles of human talent... Master?"
Lin Qiye had heard Hongying mention that a human being with exceptional abilities had recently arrived in Cangnan, and that he was traveling in a carriage. Seeing the scene before him now, he immediately made the connection.
"Just call me Master Chen. Calling me 'ceiling' is too awful; I don't know who came up with that ridiculous title." The old man's voice sounded somewhat displeased. "Get in the carriage; I have something to say to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the pageboy who was driving the carriage stood up, opened the carriage door behind him, and stood respectfully to the side, waiting for the twin siblings to enter.
Lin Qiye Lin Xi Chen hesitated for a moment, then strode towards the carriage, while the latter in her eyes flash a glint of doubt but she saw Lin Qiye step in and she follows suit after that.
Upon closer inspection, Lin Qiye realized that the carriage was somewhat different from what he had seen on television, or rather, it was not as luxurious as he had imagined. It had no decorations and was simply made of wooden planks with some simple carvings.
However, upon closer inspection, one will find that the grain of these wooden planks connects with each other, as if the entire carriage is brought together as a whole, making one feel somewhat dazed at first glance.
Lin Qiye stepped onto the carriage, entered the compartment, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
The space inside the carriage was much larger than it appeared from the outside. It was more like a study than a carriage. Ancient books and bamboo slips were neatly arranged on the bookshelves, and a low table was placed in front of the bookshelves. On the low table was a fine sandalwood tea set, and a faint sandalwood fragrance wafted in the air.
"This place looks nicer than I thought...." Lin Xi Chen mumbled to herself.
In the center, an elderly man with white hair sat cross-legged.
"Please sit down." Master Chen glanced at the two, slowly brewed a pot of tea, and said calmly.
Lin Qiye sat down opposite Master Chen and his sister right next to him, his gaze falling on the windows on both sides of the carriage. The dim and gloomy bridge view outside was gone, replaced by a Chinese courtyard view filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
Lin Qiye was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "Master Chen, where...are we?"
"On the bridge, yet not on the bridge." Master Chen brewed some tea, handed a cup to Lin Qiye, and spoke with a smile.
"My forbidden realm can replace the 'scenery' in my mind with the 'scenery' in the outside world. Spatially speaking, we haven't moved from our original location, but from another perspective, we have already moved into the 'scenery' in my mind."
"Oh something like the quantum cat theory." Lin Xi Chen spoke enthusiastically, causing Master Chen to nod in approval.
The words were very profound, and Lin Qiye only vaguely understood them. Master Chen had no intention of explaining further, but instead slowly spoke to the outside of the carriage:
"Drive."
The page boy outside the carriage bowed and closed the carriage door. In that instant, the presence of the Master and Lin Qiye vanished as if they had never existed.
The pageboy sat outside the carriage, started the carriage, and drove it in a random direction. The carriage seemed to pass through all obstacles like a ghost, passing directly through the wall of a commercial building, and moving through the city like a phantom.
Inside the carriage, Lin Qiye looked at Master Chen, who was leisurely sipping tea, and couldn't help but ask:
"Master Chen, why have you come to see us?"
Master Chen slowly put down his teacup, gazed at Lin Qiye, and calmly said, "The divine aura that appeared a few days ago was caused by you, and you also killed the Flame Vein Earth Dragon."
Lin Qiye's heart skipped a beat, but he feigned ignorance and asked in confusion:
"What are you saying?"
"You can play dumb, you can deny it, but the truth is the truth," Master Chen said calmly. "Even if that instructor surnamed Hong gave false testimony for you, your sword won't lie. Even if the rain washes away the bloodstains on the sword, the traces of dragon blood are still there..."
"This little trick might fool others, but it won't fool me."
Lin Qiye remained silent for a moment before speaking, but Lin Xi Chen interrupted while taking a sip of the tea. "This only proves that my brother injured the earth dragon, but it doesn't mean that the aura of the gods is related to us."
Master Chen gave them a meaningful look, shook his head, and slowly spoke:
"Lin Qiye and Lin Xi Chen, you guys are no ordinary people. We've known that for a long time... even before you guys realized it yourselves."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiye frowned slightly, a sense of doubt arising in his mind.
"Your reluctance to admit it shows you're cautious, which is good. In fact, whether you admit it or not is irrelevant to me, because I don't care about this matter at all," Master Chen said, taking a sip of tea.
"I've come to see you, not to interrogate you."
Lin Qiye couldn't help but ask, "Then why did you come to see me?"
"I just wanted to see you and have some tea with you," Master Chen said with a smile.
Lin Qiye:...
"What? You look down on me?" Master Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"How could this be... It would be an honor for this junior to drink tea with you, senior." Lin Qiye shook his head repeatedly, glanced helplessly at the teacup in front of him, picked it up, took a sip, and forced himself to speak, "This tea... is truly excellent."
Lin Qiye grew up drinking plain water. His family was so poor that they couldn't afford tea. The few times he had ever drunk tea were when he was pulled into a tea shop by the staff to sample a few small cups for free...
What does he know about tea ceremony?
However, since Master Chen had spoken, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and drink it.
Master Chen immediately beamed with joy, then took out twelve different packets of tea from the cabinet beside him, arranged them on the table, and began to speak with a smile:
"Come, come, I have quite a few fine teas here. Today, let's have a good tasting and appreciation."
Lin Qiye:...
Lin Xi Chen:...
Suburbs of Cangnan City.
Loki calmly walked to the top of a small hill and looked down at the entire modern city in the distance. At this moment, a large number of troops had gathered at the entrances of all the city's traffic roads.
They blocked every road leading into the city, and within their cordon, not even a bird could cross their line of fire.
Loki's lips curled up, his eyes narrowed, and he spoke with a cold smile:
"With such laughable strength, you think you can stop me?"
He had just taken a step forward when he hesitated again, a cunning glint in his deep-set eyes.
"However, the location of [Shiva's Wrath] is still uncertain... The other pieces are on their way, so there's no need for me to take any risks. I just need to find a way to force [Shiva's Wrath] out..."
He seemed to have thought of something, and reached behind him, creating several strange, hollow cracks in the void behind him. Then, the outlines of enormous humanoid beasts were drawn out.
"Let chaos descend..."