Free Web NovelChapter 206: Chapter 188: Tier Three Great Array! From the Vast Sky, I Seek Your Only Fatal Flaw
He took a few tentative steps toward the Government Office.
With the first step, it felt as if he had sunk into an invisible mire.
A crushing pressure descended upon him, and his bones groaned as if they would break.
The circulation of Sword Essence in his body instantly slowed by thirty percent.
More fatally, a frigid "gaze" shot out from the depths of the Government Office.
It locked onto him with precision, beginning to dissect every inch of his being.
Han Feng’s pupils contracted, and he immediately retreated.
The pressure and the probe-like gaze vanished in an instant.
He didn’t dare to rashly approach again.
In this Illusion Realm, the enemy was the one who set the rules.
’Once I’m completely locked on, who knows what kind of absurd "laws" will be brought down to punish me.’
’Brute force is the worst possible strategy.’
He circled the perimeter of the County Magistrate’s Office, his mind racing.
’This domain of rules is like an impenetrable Defense Array.’
’But every Array has boundaries, and every Array has weaknesses.’
He had already roughly determined the range on the ground: a radius of about five hundred meters.
’So... what about the sky?’
Han Feng raised his head and looked at the counterfeit azure sky.
’Does the "God" of this world ever look up at the sky?’
A truly insane idea began to form in his mind.
He quickly left the area around the County Magistrate’s Office, weaving through several turns before ducking into a dead-end alley piled with discarded junk.
His Divine Sense swept the area, confirming that no one was around.
With a thought, the silvery, shimmering "Ghost Bat·Modified" Wingsuit materialized in his hands.
He quickly put it on. The Rune Circuits on the Wingsuit’s surface resonated with the Dao Vein in his body.
A sense of Human-Machine Unity and perfect control spread through him.
He bent his knees slightly.
Within his newly formed Dao Vein, Sword Essence surged like a river bursting its dam!
And then, it erupted!
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The stone slab beneath his feet exploded into dust.
His figure shot upward like a cannonball, tearing through the air as he ascended vertically!
Almost at the exact moment he took off, that familiar, terrifying pressure descended once again.
It was like an invisible Iron Wall, trying to slam him back down to the ground!
But Han Feng’s expression was unflinching.
’Sword Essence, burn!’
Like a silver fish swimming upstream, he used all his strength, pushing against the force that could crush a Meridian Passage Realm Martial Artist as he struggled to climb higher!
Fifty meters!
The pressure doubled!
One hundred meters!
His bones creaked!
One hundred and fifty meters!
The Wingsuit’s Rune Circuits whined, on the verge of overload!
When he broke through the critical point, nearing a height of two hundred meters, the weight on him suddenly vanished.
All the pressure, all the restraints, all the viscous resistance—in that single moment, it all vanished into thin air!
He had succeeded!
Like a moth breaking free from a spider’s web, he hovered freely in the sky above "Ping’an County."
Looking down, the entire county’s grid-like layout was laid out before him.
And now, under his [Spiritual Vision], the invisible dome of rules above the County Magistrate’s Office was clearly visible, like a giant, transparent bowl turned upside down.
Its edge was only a few meters below his feet.
[All Things Identification]!
[Target: Ping’an County Rule Domain (Government Office)]
[Information: Core rule area of the Illusion Realm. Effective range is a 500-meter radius on the ground and a vertical height of 200 meters. Non-’registered’ personnel who enter the area will be suppressed, and any ’illegal’ actions will be infinitely magnified.]
"Just as I thought, there’s a height limit."
Han Feng was like a ruthless fisherman circling above a fish pond, looking down at the County Magistrate’s Office—a place named "Ping’an" (Peace) but in reality, a slaughterhouse.
The County Magistrate’s Office covered a massive area, divided into several courtyards like the Front Office and the Back Courtyard.
His gaze passed straight through the front hall where cases were tried, locking tightly onto the heavily guarded Back Courtyard.
There, he saw a separate, small courtyard.
Coiled within the courtyard was a mass of filthy Energy so dense it couldn’t be dispersed.
Its Energy Intensity fluctuations far surpassed any Tier Two Demon Beast Han Feng had ever seen, several times stronger than even that Tier Two Peak Golden Crowned Eagle King!
Several Government Officials were carefully carrying a lead box into the main room of the courtyard, as if making a sacrifice.
’That must be the workshop for processing the "Soul Essence Ore"!’
’The bastards from the Blood Feeding Sect have to be in there.’
High above, the air was cold.
Han Feng hovered at two hundred meters, like a Ghost looking down on the mortal world.
He visualized the entire county as a detailed map of Energy flow.
The stone streets were the veins, the buildings were the nodes, and the County Magistrate’s Office was the pulsing, evil heart of this massive body.
His gaze locked onto that small, separate courtyard once more.
[All Things Identification]!
[Target: Rule Core · Blood Sacrifice Workshop]
[Information: The Energy hub of the Ping’an County Illusion Realm, protected by a Tier Three Late Stage Energy Domain. ’Soul Essence Ore’ is currently being converted inside to provide nutrients for the ’Holy Infant’. Any unauthorized Energy fluctuations will trigger the highest Level of rule-based countermeasures.]
’Tier Three Late Stage!’
Han Feng’s pupils abruptly contracted.
This Energy Level was completely beyond his current ability to handle.
’Forget about forcing my way in. I’d probably be crushed into dust by that terrifying Energy Domain just by getting close.’
’A direct assault is a dead end.’
He didn’t act rashly. Instead, like the most patient of hunters, he began to observe the pulsation patterns of this "heart."
Time ticked by, second by second.
The sun gradually began to set in the west.
The gates of the County Magistrate’s Office opened again, and teams of constables filed out like spreading cancer cells, seeping into every corner of the county.
Han Feng keenly caught a detail.
Every time a team of constables left, the intensity of the filthy Energy at the core of the Government Office would show a slight, almost imperceptible, decline.
The drop was minuscule, but it was definitely there!
"So that’s how it is..."
’These constables aren’t independent entities; they’re "tentacles" detached from the core Energy.’
’They are both the enforcers of the rules and a part of the core Energy itself.’
’The more constables that are dispersed, the weaker the core’s defenses become.’
The rough outline of a plan began to form in his mind.
He turned his gaze to the constables roaming the streets.
’If I kill them and absorb their Energy, it would be a zero-sum game...’
But Han Feng quickly dismissed the idea.
He saw another new group of "miners" being escorted in from the direction of the West Mountain Mine.
They were the living Spiritual Bodies of students.
’If I weaken the Illusion Realm by hunting constables, will that bastard Li Wei, hiding behind the scenes, just accelerate the process of draining Wang Meng and the others to maintain the Energy Core’s intensity?’
’Creating an opportunity for myself at the cost of other students’ lives?’
Han Feng couldn’t do it.
This was a difficult game to play.
There was only one way to break this stalemate.
Someone had to stir up a massive commotion in the city to draw the attention of the vast majority of the constable "tentacles."
This would reduce the Energy Intensity in the core area to its lowest point.
Then, he could strike like Thunder, transforming into the sharpest scalpel to infiltrate the core and deliver a fatal blow—striking straight at the enemy’s heart!
But who could be the bait?
He couldn’t do it himself. He had to conserve his strength to be the sharp blade that would break the impasse.
’Then...’
Han Feng’s gaze slowly fell upon the County Prison.
Wang Meng, Zhang Hao, Su Yue... his companions from the Sharp Sword Club were all there.
’If I can just wake them up...’
’With the strength of the Sharp Sword Club, plus the other trapped students, they’d have enough power to turn this fake "Ping’an County" upside down!’
But the problem returned to square one: how could he wake them?
His Divine Sense only had a range of six meters; there was no way he could get close to the heavily regulated County Prison.
Charging in to rescue them? That was even more of a fantasy.
Han Feng circled in the air, his mind racing as he came up with and discarded one plan after another.
He felt like he was trying to solve an unwinnable puzzle, his every move anticipated and countered.
...
While Han Feng was deep in thought high above...
...inside the Blood Sacrifice Workshop in the Back Courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Office.
In a sealed, windowless dark room, Li Wei sat cross-legged. His upper body was bare, and the dark red "Holy Infant" crystal on his chest pulsed with an eerie light, like a living thing.
In front of him were a dozen or so lead boxes that had just been delivered from the mine.
Li Wei extended a withered finger and made a grasping motion in the air.
One of the lead boxes flew open, and a dozen or so dark gray "Soul Essence Ores" floated out, hovering before him.
"Go," he said softly.
The red light from the "Holy Infant" on his chest flared, and an invisible suction force surged from the crystal.
It instantly converted the dozen Soul Essence Ores into the purest Spiritual Energy Flow and greedily devoured it.
With each stream of Energy it absorbed, the "Holy Infant’s" color deepened.
Wisps of blood-red mist began to seep from Li Wei’s skin, swirling around him.
"Not enough... Still not enough..."
Li Wei muttered to himself, his eyes glinting with fanaticism and greed.
He could feel his power growing rapidly. This Illusion Realm, which he had built with his own hands, was becoming more and more stable.
"What about that unexpected intruder?" he asked without turning his head.
From the shadows, a servant made entirely of Illusionary Power quietly emerged, bowing as it answered:
"Reporting to you, my lord. Since entering Ping’an County, this person has only been wandering around and has not made any moves to break the rules. We have currently lost track of him."
"Oh? So he’s decided to hide in his shell, has he..."
A sarcastic smile touched Li Wei’s lips.
He was originally worried that the guy with the powerful Spiritual Power would start wrecking the place as soon as he got in, but he hadn’t expected him to be so cautious.
’But this is fine too.’
Time was on his side.
As long as this unexpected factor didn’t cause any trouble, he could elevate the "Holy Infant" to a whole new level in twenty-four hours at most.
By then, he would become the one and only God of this small world.
Never mind a mere Meridian Passage Realm expert; even if a Tier Four Grandmaster were to arrive in person, they would die here full of regret!
"Excellent. Let him keep hiding. Pass down the order: increase the ’recruitment’ efforts. Before nightfall, I want the number of ’miners’ at the West Mountain Mine doubled!"
"Yes, my lord."
The Illusionary Servant accepted the order and silently withdrew.
Li Wei closed his eyes, once again immersing himself in the pleasure of his rapidly growing power.
He was completely unaware that more than two hundred meters above his head, a pair of cold eyes was watching everything.
The high-altitude wind carried a bone-chilling cold.
Han Feng reduced the Wingsuit’s Energy output and, like a weightless leaf, landed silently on the flying eaves of a three-story tavern.
His Sword Essence was running low; he couldn’t keep hovering indefinitely.
Sitting at this highest point, he took in the entirety of Ping’an County.
On the streets, pedestrians moved listlessly and Government Officials patrolled. Everything was like a shadow puppet play following a set script—bizarre, yet orderly.
His gaze never left the West Mountain Mine and the County Prison.
’One place is devouring lives, the other is herding livestock.’
Time was passing. With every minute that went by, Wang Meng and the others’ Divine Souls were being drained a little more.
Han Feng’s heart was calm.
He needed an opportunity—an opportunity that would let him plunge the scalpel precisely into the heart.
[All Things Identification] analyzed the patrolling Government Officials on the street.
[Illusion Realm Law Enforcer (Tier One)]
[Traits: Energy Origin, shared vision. After an individual unit is destroyed, its Energy will return to the core and it will regenerate after a period of Time.]
’Shared vision, infinite regeneration.’
Han Feng’s brow furrowed slightly.
’This means attacking one will get me instantly locked on to. Killing them is just a temporary fix, and it would alert the enemy.’
He shifted his gaze back to the County Prison. It was heavily guarded, and its rule domain was as thick as a tortoise shell.
His Divine Sense couldn’t penetrate it, and barging in was just a fool’s dream.
"What on earth should I do..."
Han Feng sat cross-legged on the roof, took out a vial of Second Level Concentrated Spiritual Liquid, and drank it to replenish his depleted Sword Essence.
Just then, a commotion erupted from the entrance of the County Magistrate’s Office.
Han Feng’s spirits lifted, and he focused his gaze.
He saw the main gate of the Government Office slowly open as a Chief Constable read a notice aloud.
Soon, a few "Floating People" with numb eyes shuffled forward tremblingly and pressed their handprints on it.
They received a black wooden tablet and two steamed buns.
Han Feng recognized one of them. He was a B Level Student from the Spiritual Energy Technology Academy.
And now, he was showing an expression of tearful gratitude for two steamed buns made of Illusionary Power.
Kicked and beaten by a supervisor like an animal, he was herded into the group heading for the West Mountain Mine.
The scale of the "recruitment" had expanded.
Li Wei’s patience was wearing thin; he wanted to speed up the harvest.
This was not good news for Han Feng.
But then, the very next scene made his pupils contract sharply.
