Chapter 2: Divine Domain

Within the scattered orange-red beams, Mels and his three companions were dodging almost at random. No matter how fast a person moved, it was still too slow compared to light. Sol, tasked with casting the spell, was well aware of the current danger and understood the consequences of being struck by those beams. Therefore, after Mels carried him into the designated area, he didn’t wait for Mels’s prompt—he immediately began chanting incantations to launch a counterattack!

The cabin’s defense system was indeed extraordinary. Perhaps because it had already been countered by light magic once before, when it sensed a massive concentration of light elements around Mels and Sol, the metal rods instantly targeted Sol.

Like an excellent battlefield commander, out of the hundreds of light-emitting ports, about twenty first broke off to sweep the area around Mels. As a result, under the relentless barrage of light beams, Mels’s room to maneuver shrank, finally forcing him to halt, letting the orange-red beams kick up clouds of dust around him.

“Sol, hurry! We have no more room to dodge!” Mels yelled as he saw the situation worsening.

Sol also desperately wanted to hurry to escape the current predicament. However, although the magical energy was ready, giving it physical form still took time. At this moment, Sol could only close his eyes tightly, pouring all his mental focus into shaping the magic.

Sol needed time, but the defensive system wouldn’t give it to him. Just as Sol gathered the light sphere in his palm—needing only ten seconds to release it—the metal rods all ceased firing, their beams now locked onto him and Mels!

Xiu Lante realized his plan had a flaw. He never expected those seemingly lifeless metal rods to react so quickly, nor did he anticipate that the cabin’s defensive system would abandon attacking him and Akafir, who were closer!

Xiu Lante knew that if this continued, before Sol could release his light magic, the beams from those metal rods would reduce the two youths to dust. In this moment of extreme crisis, Xiu Lante threw caution to the wind, let out a loud shout, and sprinted straight for the cabin’s hull!

Xiu Lante’s martial skills were peerless. Even when the metal rods concentrated their attacks earlier, his speed had allowed him to deal with them calmly. Now, with his full strength unleashed, his momentum was even more astonishing. His silver knight’s sword blazed with brilliant white light, and immense Qi energy surged through his arm and the long sword, projecting a sword aura nearly three meters long.

“Hah!” With a furious roar, Xiu Lante launched himself forward, swinging his sword before the metal rods could attack Sol. Although his body was still several meters away from the cabin’s outer layer, the bright white sword aura could already reach and damage those lifeless yet exceptionally cold metal rods.

As Xiu Lante attacked, the bright white sword aura scored across the moss-covered metal walls of the cabin’s outer layer, throwing off a shower of sparks. In less than a second, the sound of explosions grew from faint to intense, echoing continuously.

“Ship’s outer layer under attack. Seventh, eighth, and ninth engine compartments isolated. Intruders confirmed. Activating Level One tactical defense. Repeat, activating Level One tactical defense!” Following a garbled mechanical voice, the cabin suddenly trembled. A milky-white barrier appeared over the damaged outer layer, quickly repairing the breached hull.

As Xiu Lante’s momentum faded and he was about to gather his energy to evade the impending attack, the metal rods—previously not particularly fast—suddenly swiveled with unprecedented speed to target him. Almost without locking on, they unleashed a dense barrage of blue beams at Xiu Lante.

“It’s over.” Confronted by the wall of blue light, Xiu Lante’s mind went blank, and he closed his eyes as if giving up resistance.

“Light, shine forth! Barrier of Light!” At the same moment, Sol suddenly roared. Thanks to Xiu Lante, he’d finally bought enough time to cast his magic. Just as the blue light was about to strike Xiu Lante, another white light emerged from Sol’s hands, forming a barrier before Xiu Lante even faster.

The bright silver light made it difficult for Mels to keep his eyes open, but his heart raced with excitement. Regardless of the outcome, he and Sol had at least accomplished the task Xiu Lante had assigned them. If everything went as Xiu Lante had predicted, victory was only a matter of time!

Half a second—perhaps even less—after Sol’s light magic fully enveloped the cabin, a massive explosion rang out. Mels and the others squinted against the light to look around. They saw a huge hole blown in the massive hull, and the metal rods that had been attacking them were reduced to ashes in the blast.

The situation had indeed unfolded as Xiu Lante had predicted. When the light beams from the metal rods encountered Sol’s light magic, they were completely reflected as if hitting a mirror. Since all the metal rods had attacked Xiu Lante almost simultaneously, the reflected light’s power was amplified dozens of times. This allowed it to instantly destroy the cabin’s outer defensive system and blow a massive hole in the hull itself.

“Uncle, we did it! We did it!” Unable to contain his excitement, Mels cheered loudly.

However, his cheers received no response from Xiu Lante. A sudden sense of foreboding gripped Mels, and despite the still-blinding light magic, he began searching frantically for Xiu Lante.

“Uncle, where are you?” Mels shouted at the top of his lungs, but only silence answered him.

“Boss, over here. Uncle is injured.” Akafir’s voice came from not far away. Following his guidance, Mels quickly reached Akafir and Xiu Lante, but what he saw instantly chilled his heart.

“Uncle… Uncle, what happened?” Mels asked, his voice trembling as he stared blankly at Xiu Lante. Following his gaze, he saw Xiu Lante lying on the ground. There was no blood around him, but his left arm had been severed cleanly at the shoulder. The bowl-sized wound, as if burned alive, was charred black and faintly radiated blue electrical sparks.

Xiu Lante, unconscious, gradually regained awareness at the sound of Mels’s calls. When he saw Mels’s pale face and Akafir’s tearful expression, his consciousness fully returned.

Without an overly emotional reaction, Xiu Lante proved himself worthy of being one of the continent’s top martial artists. With effort, he moved his body and, with the help of the two boys, sat up. He merely glanced at his left shoulder, now missing an arm, and said, “Heh… This old man is getting on in years. I couldn’t even handle such a small scene. It’s just a pity I lost Christine. It seems I won’t be able to offer you much more help in the future.”

“No, that’s not true! Uncle’s Firebird is so powerful, it can’t be…” Mels’s trembling voice was cut off by Xiu Lante.

Xiu Lante smiled slightly and said to Mels, “Silly boy, all good things must come to an end. Christine has helped me a great deal, and now it’s time for her to rest! Besides, I’m lucky enough. If Sol’s magic hadn’t been completed faster than I expected, I would have lost more than just my left arm. And I still have my right arm. No matter what, my swordsmanship is still superior to yours. Don’t underestimate this old man, or I’ll beat you until you’re picking your teeth off the ground!

Sol, come here. Although my arm isn’t bleeding, I’ll still need you to treat me. Otherwise, if more powerful enemies appear later, it could be troublesome.”

Although Xiu Lante kept smiling, Mels knew exactly how much pain Xiu Lante was feeling inside. On the continent, those who lost their Summoning Gems were despised and called “useless”! An ordinary man couldn’t bear such pain, let alone a warrior like Xiu Lante, who was renowned across the continent and had once possessed a powerful Summoned Beast!

Yet, no matter how immense the pain in his heart, Xiu Lante remained composed. Mels knew he shouldn’t say anything more because Xiu Lante didn’t want pity or useless tears.

Watching quietly as Sol used simple healing magic to treat Xiu Lante’s wound, Mels silently vowed that from now on, he would never allow anyone to disrespect Xiu Lante! This wasn’t just because of Xiu Lante’s bravery but also out of respect for a true warrior.

“Uncle, my healing magic can only do this much. If you don’t use your Qi energy, the wound shouldn’t reopen for a while.” After a moment, Sol stopped his healing spell and said to Xiu Lante with a choked voice.

“Hmm, then we’ll have to pray no exceptionally powerful enemies appear.” Xiu Lante said with a smile. Unfortunately, no matter how many smiles Xiu Lante showed, he couldn’t stop the sorrow in the boys’ hearts. Just as Mels thought, Sol and the others also regarded Xiu Lante as family and were deeply grateful for everything he had done for them.

Seeing Xiu Lante’s expression free of pain, Sol suddenly burst into tears. “Uncle, hit me, scold me, I beg you, don’t look at me with a smile anymore! If… if I could have cast the magic a few seconds earlier, if I hadn’t been so cowardly, your arm… your arm would definitely…”

“Silly, how can this be your fault? The whole plan was my idea, and I was scared too just now. You’re still young; it’s only natural to feel fear on the battlefield! Come on, wipe your tears. If you keep crying like this, I really will laugh at you!” Xiu Lante said.

Tears might be humanity’s best release. After a good cry and Xiu Lante’s generous words of comfort, the heavy burden in Sol’s heart gradually lifted. About thirty minutes later, with careful treatment from Sol and the others, the pain in Xiu Lante’s wound slowly eased. At Xiu Lante’s request, everyone began organizing their equipment, preparing to enter the cabin.

To ensure there were no other defensive systems around the cabin, Xiu Lante asked Akafir to first cross the Barrier of Light to confirm safety. Of course, this was merely a precautionary measure—the cabin’s defensive system had already been destroyed by the earlier attack.

After Akafir safely crossed the Barrier of Light multiple times, the adventure team, led by Mels with Rek bringing up the rear, finally began moving toward the mysterious ancient relic of the cabin. However, Mels didn’t know at the time that their easy entry into the cabin was largely thanks to the damp valley. The cold, humid environment had caused the cabin’s equipment to cease functioning over the millennia. Otherwise, with weapons powerful enough to destroy the valley, they would have had no chance of breaching the cabin’s defenses.

Stepping inside the cabin, Mels and the others felt as if they had entered a bizarre new world. The first thing that caught their eyes were the occasional sparks and electrical currents flashing between the metal on the fractured walls. Although Mels and Sol were eager to examine the flickering electrical sparks up close, Xiu Lante stopped them. After all, Xiu Lante had more experience and understood that these unknown things could pose hidden threats.

Perhaps because there were too many novel objects around, after only a few steps, Mels and the others shifted their attention from the broken metal to the cabin’s interior facilities, composed of various metals and glass-like materials. The passage they were walking through wasn’t very wide—about four meters across. Along the lower part of the metal walls on both sides, there were glass-like objects about thirty centimeters long spaced every meter. These objects emitted a faint white light, and it was this light that provided illumination in the completely enclosed cabin.

The surrounding walls were all made of metal, but embedded in them were many objects crafted from colored glass. Some red glass lights rotated in solitude, as if warning the boys walking through the passage.

After about three minutes of cautious progress, Mels reached the end of the passage first. He found that there were no more paths ahead, only a metal door.

After trying unsuccessfully to push the door open with brute force, Mels turned helplessly to Xiu Lante and the others. “Uncle, I don’t think this door can be opened by force! It’s probably like when we first approached the cabin—we need something to open it.” As he spoke, Mels pointed to a protruding object beside the metal door, which had a small groove.

“Can I try blasting it open with magic?” Sol rolled up his sleeves, ready for action.

“No!” Mels stopped him before he could act. “If we force it, we might trigger another defensive system. In such a narrow space, if those light beams appear again, we won’t stand a chance of surviving!”

“Then what should we do?” Sol looked helplessly at Mels, who in turn turned his gaze to Xiu Lante, whose face was still pale, hoping for some advice.

“It seems there’s no other way. Let’s retreat for now and search outside to see if we can find a badge like the one Sol found earlier.” After a moment of thought, Xiu Lante said this, clearly agreeing with Mels.

“Boss, Uncle, I didn’t find a badge like Sol’s, but I picked up a card. I don’t know if…” Just as everyone was about to leave, Akafir, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly pulled a shiny metal card from his pocket.

“Akafir, where did you find this?” Mels took the card and examined it closely. It didn’t seem like something made by humans, so he asked with interest.

“I found it in the mud when we were all scattered examining the surroundings earlier. It was shiny and pretty, so I picked it up.” Akafir rubbed his hands together, looking as uneasy as a child caught doing something wrong.

After hearing this, Mels didn’t say much. He turned around and aligned the arrow-shaped end of the card with the groove on the metal door. When he inserted the card, several small lights on the metal groove flashed, followed by a beep. As a green light lit up, the metal door swung open!

“Haha, it’s open! Akafir, you’ve done a great job this time!” Sol laughed heartily. Akafir let out a long sigh of relief, secretly glad Mels hadn’t scolded him for keeping the card.

Stepping into the new space, Mels was astonished. The previously dark room suddenly became unusually bright under a soft flash of light. Countless glass-like objects embedded in the ceiling emitted a gentle white light almost simultaneously, making everyone momentarily think someone was waiting for them inside. However, after confirming that there was nowhere to hide in the not-so-large room, they realized that the automatic lighting design was another display of ancient people’s wisdom.

“Mels, go see if there are more metal doors like this. Such a massive cabin can’t have only a few interior rooms.” After searching unsuccessfully for the Divine Crystal, Xiu Lante said to Mels.

Nodding lightly in agreement, Mels left the others’ sight and disappeared into the winding passage. The rest stayed behind, observing the wondrous sights around them and searching for possible hiding places of the Divine Crystal. After a few minutes, Mels came running back, his excited expression telling everyone he had found a new exit.

Sure enough, shortly after, under Mels’s guidance, they entered another new space.

In this cycle of searching, the group of boys and Xiu Lante passed through countless metal spaces but still hadn’t found the so-called Divine Crystal. During the hours-long search, Mels was amazed to find that although the cabin was a relic from thousands of years ago, aside from a few damaged compartments, the metal rooms were spotless, and the lights would turn on whenever they entered.

However, the decorations in these rooms were largely identical, primarily using metal and glass as building materials, with no wood or stone structures. Additionally, in this vast cabin relic, there were no signs of human presence—not even a single corpse. This made Mels and the others wonder again who had issued the warning sounds earlier.

In their search, four hours slipped by. Although they had passed through over a hundred metal rooms and corridors, they still hadn’t found anything that could solve the ancient people’s mysteries, let alone the legendary Divine Crystal. The group’s morale gradually waned under the silence, and the initial sense of novelty faded with time.

If it weren’t for Emma’s illness urgently requiring the Divine Crystal for treatment, Mels and the others might have already given up the search and left the tomb-like cabin long ago.

Another thirty minutes later, the group of six passed through a long corridor and arrived at a new enormous metal door. The only noticeable difference was that the tall metal door was larger than any they had encountered before.

Mels mechanically inserted the metal card into the slot, not expecting that this time the metal door would fail to open. Instead, a gentle female voice suddenly echoed from the surrounding walls: "Identity confirmed as Karl Gick, Head Researcher of the First Research Institute. You are not authorized to enter the Central Control Center. Please apply for a special action execution card."

"Uncle, the situation here is different from the others," Mels said after a moment of surprise.

"Hmm, since she calls this the Central Control Center, it must be the most important part of the entire ship! But we don't have the special card she mentioned, so getting in might be difficult," Xiu Lante replied after some thought.

"Boss, Uncle, I say we just break it down by force. Since this is the most important part of the ship, there probably aren't any of those wildly firing weapons like before. Otherwise, they'd risk destroying their own place, right?" Sol suggested.

After hearing Sol's words, Mels and Xiu Lante exchanged glances. Mels then cautiously said, "You're not wrong, but let's not rush to use magic. Its destructive power is too great, and if we collapse this place, we'll be buried alive. How about this: Rek, come here. Let's work together and see if we can pry this door open with our weapons!" With that, Mels drew his longsword, and Rek, who had just taken out his long blade, positioned himself on the other side, ready to force the metal door open.

Mels had initially thought that their weapons, though common steel, combined with their profound Qi energy, would cut through metal like mud. However, he hadn't anticipated that the seemingly unremarkable metal door would remain completely unmoved no matter how much Qi energy they channeled into their strikes, only producing a series of harsh metal grinding sounds.

Seeing the edge of his longsword had already curled, Mels shook his head and said helplessly to the others behind him, "It seems there's no other way. We'll have to rely on Sol's destructive magic. Sigh... I hope the Divine Crystal isn't right by the door, or else..."

"What the hell! This stupid door just won't budge!" Rek, drenched in sweat and frustrated that his full strength couldn't even shake the metal door, angrily punched the doorframe on the right side.

However, he didn't expect that after his punch, the gentle female voice that had been warning them not to damage the door suddenly emitted a low, chaotic sound.

Then, a distorted voice spoke intermittently: "Po... power supply sys... tem da... damaged. Emergen..." Before the voice could finish, a low buzzing sound filled the air, and the white lights on the ceiling of the corridor suddenly went out completely. With a click, the metal door fell silent, and the surroundings plunged into darkness.

"Big Stupid Ox, what on earth did you do?" Sol, now in the dark, seemed a bit frightened and tried to bolster his courage by questioning Rek.

"I... I don't know what happened. I just... just punched the doorframe," Rek stammered, caught off guard by the "mistake" he had made.

Just as Sol was about to yell at Rek again, Mels suddenly spoke up, stopping him: "Sol, don't say any more. Rek might have actually done us a favor!" With that, in the darkness, Mels dropped his longsword, placed both hands on the patterns of the metal door, and pushed with all his might to the right.

Although the door didn't open, Mels noticed that the previously immovable metal door had loosened slightly. At his urging, Rek and Akafir joined in the effort to open the door.

"One, two, three! Push!" Under Mels' command, the three youths exerted their strength simultaneously. Driven by their powerful Qi energy, the massive metal door finally emitted a dull groan and opened a gap wide enough for one person to pass through.

"Alright, let's go in! Haha, Rek, I just realized now that your habit of smashing things isn't so bad after all," Mels said with a hearty laugh, feeling a surge of relief as the metal door opened. Rek, unsure how to respond, could only scratch his head and chuckle along with Mels.

Just as everyone joyfully passed through the metal door into the inner space, a blue light suddenly appeared in the darkness. Then, an elderly man with strange clothing and completely white hair and beard materialized before Mels and the others. This old man not only wore peculiar attire but also had transparent skin on all exposed parts of his body. Faced with such a sight, Mels and the other youths couldn't help but think of a terrifying name—apparition!

The ghost-like old man paid no attention to Mels' reactions. With a gentle smile, he spoke in a calm and kind tone: "Welcome to the realm of dreams, my fellow kin!"

"We are not your kin. Please tell us, who are you people, and why did you come to our continent?" Mels, who had been on guard all along, mustered his courage and loudly questioned the old man.

"My fellow kin, by the time you see me, I believe you have already entered a new world! The purpose of creating this Central Control Center is to ensure your survival in this unknown world," the old man continued, seemingly oblivious to Mels' words.

"Boss, is this even human? Is he deaf?" Sol whispered fearfully from behind Mels.

"No, he's not deaf, nor is he a monster. This is likely a form of memory!" Xiu Lante, supported by Bagina, suddenly spoke up.

The youths turned their attention to him as Xiu Lante continued, "Many years ago, I heard from a senior Archmage of the Imperial Archmage Association that highly skilled archmages could use magical artifacts like crystal balls to preserve their words from their lifetime, allowing their students to learn profound magic even after their death. I once thought this was just a legend, but it seems it truly exists. However, judging by how this old man has retained his form, it must differ from the legendary high-level archmages. This might be the advanced technology of the ancient people."

After hearing Xiu Lante's explanation, Mels and the others finally understood why the old man couldn't answer their questions. However, the old man continued speaking regardless of whether they were listening: "Those who have entered this place, you are the pride of our people. We were driven from our homeland by evil enemies, but this does not mean we will forever leave that beautiful planet. To ensure your survival in this new world and to one day lead our people back to our homeland, please follow my figure into the sealed realm that even gods dare not approach." After saying this, two green bands of light suddenly illuminated the ground before Mels and the others, like a bridge suspended in the night sky, stretching into the boundless darkness.

Perhaps because Mels and the others still hadn't stepped onto the light bands, the old man fell silent, only smiling at them. After hesitating for a moment, Mels finally mustered the courage to step onto the light band. Instantly, countless points of light lit up in the surrounding dark space, quickly gathering into patches and forming an entirely new scenic space. The old man then began to drift toward this new space.

Perhaps because everything before them was too unimaginable, or perhaps because their minds had been absorbed into this wondrous scene, everyone present momentarily forgot their fear and anxiety. Following Mels, they stepped onto the green light bands one by one, eager to follow the phantom of the old man into the completely unfamiliar space, to understand the lost civilization, and to explore the forgotten ancient people.

At this moment, as Mels forgot everything and slowly walked forward, gazing in amazement at the gradually forming scenery around him with his bright eyes, as he almost merged into this wondrous world, as he couldn't help but marvel at the miraculous civilization of the ancient people, he suddenly felt a strange sensation—as if he were stepping into the realm of the gods, one step at a time!