Chapter 151: Inheritance Program, Who is the Prey
"Those two lingering ghosts!"
The Traveler grimaced as if he had a toothache, though his expression betrayed little panic.
After all, unlike before, he now had Su Nan as an ally by his side.
In the blink of an eye, Magic Hand and Bloodmaw had already arrived near the Dragon Bone Tower.
The two of them stared at the tower for a while, clearly shocked by the scene before them.
"The control...center!" a muffled voice emerged from beneath Bloodmaw's gray robe.
"Most likely!" Magic Hand replied, unable to conceal his excitement.
After discovering the Ecological Garden, he had considered taking it under his control but had never found any leads. Now, seeing the Dragon Bone Tower, he realized that the key to controlling the Ecological Garden lay within it.
However, the most pressing matter was to deal with the Traveler first.
"Who are you?"
"This is a matter between the Eternal Life Society and that guy. Unrelated people should leave immediately!" Magic Hand said in a stiff tone.
He clearly saw that Su Nan and the Traveler were acquainted and hoped to use the Eternal Life Society's name to scare Su Nan away.
Unfortunately for him, he had miscalculated.
Su Nan laughed derisively. "If that's the case, I'm not exactly unrelated either."
After all, Wu Ge of the Eternal Life Society had died at his hands.
Magic Hand misunderstood, eyeing him up and down a few times, his tone cooling. "You are also one of the Secret Forest Hut's people!"
Seeing that Su Nan ignored his question, Magic Hand snorted coldly.
"Since you insist on seeking death, I will grant your wish!"
His black robe surged, and pitch-black tentacles extended from beneath.
"Other: The flesh of a Wizard Apprentice... smells so good!"
The blood-filled mouth on Bloodmaw's chest and abdomen gurgled with a dull sound. Then he suddenly threw back his hood, revealing a wrinkled face with just one eye.
His cold pupil stared directly at Su Nan, filled with undisguised greed and cruelty.
Faced with the two's undisguised killing intent, Traveler's expression turned grave as the Azure Spirit Branch in his palms began to emit a soft azure light.
Just as a battle was about to erupt, the Dragon Bone Tower nearby suddenly trembled.
A mechanical, monotonous voice rang out from nowhere.
"Detecting five suitable biological sources. Initiating Dragon Forest Ecological Park Inheritance Program."
"Distributing core key for the Ecological Garden. Those who gather the key will gain ownership of the Dragon Forest Ecological Park."
The unexpected announcement instantly captured the attention of everyone present.
When they fully grasped the significance of the mechanical voice, the four of them were simultaneously stirred.
The Key to the Ecological Garden!
They felt a rush of ecstasy all at once.
As long as they obtained the key, they could control the entire Ecological Garden!
This was a place that had nurtured countless Sub-Dragon species and rare magical plants—a tremendous temptation for any practitioner, particularly a Wizard Apprentice.
Magic Hand and Bloodmaw immediately shifted their focus, their eyes locked on the Dragon Bone Tower in the distance.
If they could seize control of the Ecological Garden and find a way to close off its entrances and exits, they could catch Traveler and Su Nan like turtles in a jar, dealing with them slowly and killing two birds with one stone!
Buzz!
The skull of the dragon at the top of the Dragon Bone Tower suddenly erupted with a dazzling light, shooting five brilliant silver rays in all directions, falling like meteors into the distance.
Almost instantly, Su Nan, Traveler, Magic Hand, and Bloodmaw soared into the sky, each pursuing a silver ray.
From the forest several hundred meters away, another figure also rose into the air, chasing the fifth silver ray.
Catching a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, Su Nan finally understood.
No wonder the voice had mentioned five suitable biological sources; a fifth person had been lurking in the shadows.
Retracting his gaze, Su Nan quickly activated a High Rune Gem, enveloping his body in a layer of cyan light. His already swift speed surged again as he rocketed toward the silver light like a meteor.
About four or five minutes later, the silver light slowed, descending toward the ground below.
Su Nan waved his hand, activating his Mage Hand as he took flight, quickly arriving above the site where the Silver Light had crashed.
Looking down, he saw a deep pit in the ground, at the center of which lay a silver metal shard about the size of a coin.
With a thought, Su Nan’s Mage Hand instantly activated, scooping up the silver metal shard, which floated into his palm.
"Is this the key to entering the Dragon Bone Tower?" he wondered aloud.
The surface of the silver metal shard was covered in a dense network of strange patterns, intricate and possessing a profound, mysterious allure. Its shape resembled a triangular metal piece, with recesses on each of its three edges that looked like interlocking slots.
Recalling the mechanical voice from earlier, Su Nan quickly understood. This silver metal shard wasn't the complete key but rather just one-fifth of it. The five Silver Lights he had encountered earlier represented five key fragment shards, and only by collecting all five could they be combined into the complete key.
"I see now; that’s what the Inheritance Program means," he murmured. "It’s a competition among the five of us wizard apprentices to vie for the key fragment shards, and the final victor will inherit ownership of the Ecological Garden."
"I didn’t expect the creator to leave behind such a system. Was it to ensure that all their hard work in crafting the Ecological Garden wouldn't be destroyed in the end?"
After pondering for a moment without reaching any conclusion, Su Nan shook his head, deciding to move on. The creator was long gone, and he could no longer fathom their thoughts; what he needed to do now was collect all five key fragment shards and claim ownership of the Ecological Garden!
Resolved, Su Nan shot into the sky, heading towards the location of the fifth person he had encountered earlier. To his surprise, after flying several kilometers at top speed, the key fragment in his hand suddenly emitted a faint glow.
Moreover, the further he flew, the brighter the light of the key fragment became. Su Nan's mind stirred as he quickly understood.
"These key fragment shards have a mutual sensing function!" he realized.
With this feature, it would be significantly easier to locate the other key fragment holders. Clearly, the creator had put considerable thought into ensuring the Inheritance Program progressed more smoothly.
Soon, as the light emitted by the key fragment grew extremely bright, a figure came into view. To his surprise, Magic Hand was there as well.
He was manipulating a sky filled with inky black tentacles, furiously attacking the fifth Other: Wizard Apprentice.
Su Nan recalled the direction that everyone had chased Silver Light earlier and, combining that with his current location, quickly deduced that the fifth person and Magic Hand were heading straight for each other and had collided.
However, that Other: Wizard Apprentice's strength was clearly quite ordinary, leaving them in dire straits under Magic Hand's assault.
In the brief moment Su Nan spent pondering, Magic Hand seized the opportunity, using the black tentacles to ensnare their limbs and neck, gruesomely tearing them into several pieces!
As blood and gore splattered everywhere, the black tentacles deftly captured a wisp of Silver Light and delivered it to Magic Hand.
"An overconfident fool! You dare try to compete for the Key Fragment with such little power!"
Magic Hand accepted the Key Fragment, glancing disdainfully at the corpse on the ground before turning to Su Nan, a cold smile spreading across his face.
"The second prey has delivered themselves right to my doorstep."
"It's not so easy to determine who the prey is," Su Nan replied slowly as he floated forward.
"It seems you're quite confident in your strength," Magic Hand scoffed. "Which member of the Secret Forest Hut are you? Scepter? Or Black Forest?"
Su Nan chuckled, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I thought you would have investigated me already, considering my hands are stained with the blood of your Eternal Life Society members."
Hearing this, Magic Hand's eyes widened in realization.
"You're Su Nan!"
Upon learning Su Nan's identity, Magic Hand's surprise transformed into delight, his cold laughter echoing in the air.
"So, it's you!"
"Hmph, if you'd stayed obediently in your territory, I might not have been able to touch you. But now you've appeared before us alone, just as we hoped!"
"Kill you, and Star Tower's Key will be ours!"
Magic Hand had not dismissed the thought of dealing with Su Nan.
However, according to his investigations, Su Nan spent most of their time in the Base near Flash City or Youhu City of the Underworld.
Both of these places were Su Nan's strongholds, heavily garrisoned with Puppets.
Even he wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could kill Su Nan in their own territory.
But now that Su Nan had left that territory, everything had changed.
Thinking that this trip would not only solve the Azure Spirit Branch Bloodline Rejection problem but also grant him ownership of the Ecological Garden and the Star Tower of Key, Magic Hand was filled with ecstatic joy.
This could definitely be considered a major achievement!
In his frantic glee, the black robe surrounding Magic Hand surged violently, and dozens of additional tentacles emerged.
In an instant, hundreds of pitch-black tentacles tore through the air, sweeping toward Su Nan like a dark, all-encompassing wave!
Su Nan's expression remained unchanged. He suddenly opened his mouth and roared, unleashing a visible shockwave that twisted and surged forward, slamming hard against the oncoming black tide and instantly tearing apart more than a dozen tentacles!
Shattering Sound Wave!
Immediately after, Su Nan raised his hand again, and nine Magic Missiles emerged from thin air, shooting out and shattering the tentacles one by one.
A hundred meters away, Magic Hand was aghast at the sight.
"Impossible!"
He saw clearly that Su Nan had executed two consecutive Spell techniques without the slightest hesitation!
Even storage-type Magic Items would experience an imperceptible delay when releasing spells; it was absolutely impossible to be as smooth as Su Nan.
The only explanation for this was Instant Spell Casting!
But how was this possible?
How could a mere Wizard Apprentice master such high-level Metamagic Techniques?
Even with the extraordinarily outstanding talent of Saulo, he had only mastered Silent Spell Casting!
How could this kid be even more powerful than Saulo?
Magic Hand was shocked and bewildered.
What came next nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets.
He saw Su Nan's figure instantly divide into eight, and as if in perfect unison, he raised his hand and shot out a red ray of searing heat.
Mirror Image Technique combined with Scorching Ray!
Composite Casting!
Magic Hand couldn't help but gasp.
Another high-level Metamagic Technique!
With Instant Spell Casting and the essential Silent Spell Casting, Su Nan had already demonstrated three types of Metamagic Techniques!
A Level Three Wizard Apprentice mastering three Metamagic Techniques?
It was simply unheard of!
For a moment, Magic Hand felt a bizarre sense of unreality, as if he were dreaming.
Chich chich chich!
While the inky black tentacles continuously shattered the phantoms, they were also being pulverized by the spells that Su Nan unleashed time and again.
Once all the phantoms were destroyed and Su Nan's real body was revealed, only a dozen or so of the once-dense, black tentacles remained.
It was then that Magic Hand snapped out of his shock, a burning desire for killing intent igniting within him.
The stronger Su Nan's talent became, the more determined he was to eliminate him right here and now. Otherwise, if Su Nan continued to grow stronger, he would eventually become a grave threat to the Eternal Life Society.
Letting out a beastly growl, the black robe on Magic Hand's body suddenly bulged, churning violently, as if some creature was about to burst forth from within.
The next moment, two black blobs, seemingly composed of viscous liquid, dropped from his robe, instantly expanding upon hitting the ground and transforming into two ferocious four-legged monsters.
Each four-legged monster stood seven or eight meters tall, resembling a cross between a tiger and a leopard, with sharp claws and fangs, their entire bodies a deep, shadowy black.
As soon as they materialized, the two four-legged monsters roared and lunged at Su Nan, a fierce wind howling in their wake.
At the same time, Magic Hand seemed to melt into the shadows beneath him, disappearing from sight.
When he reappeared, it was from the shadow behind Su Nan. He suddenly leaped out, his hands transformed into sharp, black spikes, viciously stabbing toward Su Nan's heart!
Thud!
A muffled sound, akin to a sharp blade piercing leather, rang out.
The black spikes halted just two or three centimeters from Su Nan's skin, blocked by an invisible layer of force field.
Magic Hand wasn’t surprised; all Level Three Wizard Apprentices were bound to possess one or two defensive magic items.
But defenses had their limits; all he needed to do was break through!
Magic Hand melted back into the shadows once more, taking advantage of the openings created by Su Nan’s battle with the two four-legged monsters and repeatedly ambushing Su Nan from unexpected angles.
Gradually, he began to realize something was amiss.
"What's going on?"
"This kid has endured so many of my attacks; why hasn't the protection of the Magic Item on his body been broken yet?"
"Even if it's a Dim Magic Item, it should have exhausted all its energy by now!"
Magic Hand was completely shocked and bewildered.
This moment of distraction was immediately seized by Su Nan. In an instant, a silver light shimmered around him, and countless metal spikes materialized out of thin air, crashing down on Magic Hand like a torrent!
Almost instantly, the multiple layers of protection surrounding him—comprised of spells, Magic Items, and Shadow Power—were breached!
The black Magic Robe shattered, revealing a small, pitch-black body made of shadows beneath.
In the next moment, a metal storm mercilessly engulfed him.
Magic Hand's semi-shadowed form was enough to withstand most physical attacks, but it was utterly ineffective against the onslaught of the Magic Pattern Core.
In an instant, he let out an ear-piercing scream.
His pitch-black body surged and roiled violently like a lake in a downpour, visibly dimming!
Having suffered this heavy blow, Magic Hand's fighting spirit rapidly diminished; all his previous intense killing intent faded, leaving only a heart full of fear.
He quickly vanished into the shadows, and when he reappeared, it was already beneath a tree a hundred meters away. Without hesitation, he shot straight into the sky, flying away.
The terrifying defense and attack exhibited by Su Nan had shattered his will to fight.
Now, all he could think about was escape.
Just then, two figures suddenly emerged in the sky at a distance, rapidly approaching from the east and south.
It was Traveler and Bloodmaw.
Both had already obtained the Key Fragment, and sensing it, they hurried over.
Upon seeing Bloodmaw, Magic Hand was overjoyed and shouted urgently,
“Bloodmaw, save me!”
Hearing this, Traveler, who was hastening toward him, paused for a moment. He glanced at Magic Hand, fleeing in a disheveled state, and then at Su Nan, who was closely pursuing with an indifferent expression. A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.
What was going on?
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