Chapter Seventy-Seven: A Once-in-a-Billion-Years Opportunity!

Unlike the previous overwhelming disparity in strength, now I offer you a choice: you can either use the flight mode of the Chixin Divine Armor to escape with your loved ones, or you can stay, activate its combat mode, and fight Yanze to the death,” Bai said, fixing his gaze intently on Lan Tian as he awaited his decision.

“Of course I’ll stay and fight!” Lan Tian exclaimed, waving his fists in excitement and laughing heartily. “Just when I thought all was lost, hope appears again! Bai, you really had me fooled—I actually believed you didn’t know where the Chixin Divine Armor was! You’re shameless!”

At this point, how could he not realize that Bai had known the location of the Chixin Divine Armor all along, but had simply chosen not to tell him?

“Hmph, you’ve passed the test. Before, when you immediately wanted to run without saying a word, I honestly looked down on you a little,” Bai nodded approvingly.

“You really took me for a selfish coward, didn’t you? I had no choice before—staying meant certain death. Of course I wanted to run. Rather than die with everyone else, it’s better to escape and look for a chance to take revenge later.”

“Now that I have the strength to stand against it, even if I can’t win, I can still escape. What is there to fear? Let’s do this!”

“If there’s even a sliver of hope to save Earth, I’ll do everything I can to save it!”

“At least you still have some backbone. Earlier, I deliberately withheld the news about the Chixin Divine Armor just to see how you would react—and you really did disappoint me a little,” Bai shot Lan Tian a sidelong glance.

“Hey, hey, hey! What do you mean I disappointed you? I was at least wrestling with myself inside. I bet most people wouldn’t even hesitate—they’d just run. That’s human nature!” Lan Tian protested, somewhat embarrassed.

In truth, Lan Tian was not wrong. Human nature is inherently selfish, especially when faced with mortal danger. The ugly side of humanity is laid bare, and Lan Tian was no exception. Fortunately, in the end, he made the right choice.

If the gap in power is insurmountable, going forward is simply suicide. But now that he possessed the strength to fight back, how could he not take the risk?

Bai regarded him with a look that said “a teachable child,” and then, his expression suddenly grew animated. “Actually, do you know? Even if you wanted to run, I would never let you go!”

“Uh…why not? With the Chixin Divine Armor, even if I can’t beat it, escaping should be easy, right? Why won’t you let me go?” Lan Tian asked in confusion.

“No, no, no, you don’t understand. If you leave, you’ll miss out on a heaven-sent opportunity!”

“A chance that only comes once in countless millions of years in the universe!”

“A chance that could let you soar to the heavens in one leap—a true opportunity to become a saint, even a progenitor!” Bai’s hologram flickered wildly, his face full of fanaticism. “If you walk away, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life—a thousand years, ten thousand years, forever!”

“Wait, if you weren’t just a projection right now, I’d think you were feverish. What’s going on? What opportunity?” Lan Tian stared at him, utterly puzzled.

“You’re the one with a fever! You don’t understand how lucky you are! Do you know how rare starbeasts are in the universe? Do you realize how many people dream of encountering a starbeast cub?” Bai rattled off a series of rhetorical questions, still not getting to the point.

“No, seriously, spell it out—what’s so special about running into a starbeast cub? I don’t get it at all,” Lan Tian asked, bewildered.

“Haha, your biggest problem right now is your extraordinary insight but low innate aptitude, right?” Bai said excitedly.

“Yeah, so what? What does that have to do with a starbeast?” Lan Tian replied.

“What does it have to do with it? Everything! In the universe, supreme treasures that can boost one’s aptitude are extremely rare and expensive. Most of them only enhance your existing qualities—if your base aptitude is especially poor, even if some old monster gives you a divine item to improve it, you won’t get very far.”

“But the heart-blood of a starbeast is the most supreme elixir in the universe for raising one’s aptitude! No matter how poor your talent is—even if you have not a shred of aptitude—once you consume the heart-blood of a starbeast, you’ll instantly become one of the universe’s top prodigies! If you’re lucky, you might even inherit the starbeast’s abilities and forge a legendary special constitution!” Bai said enviously, wishing he could take human form and compete with Lan Tian for Yanze’s heart-blood.

“R-really?! My god! Something this important and you’re only telling me now?!” Lan Tian’s face flushed deep red as he spoke, his breath coming in short, excited gasps.

This meant everything to him. Bai had always teased him about his poor talent, and though Lan Tian claimed not to care, the truth was that it had long weighed heavily on him. After discovering his extraordinary insight, his lack of talent became an even greater weakness.

Now, hearing that the heart-blood of a starbeast could raise his aptitude to the highest level—and might even grant him a unique constitution—he could hardly contain himself. His anticipation for the coming battle soared, his thirst for victory burning more fiercely than ever before.

“Of course it’s true! This is the greatest opportunity you’ll ever have in your life. You must seize it, or you’ll regret it forever!” Bai said passionately.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s find the Chixin Divine Armor!” Lan Tian urged, eager to don the armor and fight Yanze in a glorious battle.

“No rush. I only have a vague sense of where the Chixin Divine Armor is. It’ll take some time to find it. In the meantime, contact all the nations—make sure no one provokes Yanze. If Yanze goes berserk, the silver-grey blood within it will erupt, and the resulting Starlit Bloodfire will become even more powerful. Earth cannot withstand the widespread devastation of the Starlit Bloodfire,” Bai instructed. “During this time, I’ll focus all my efforts on pinpointing the Chixin Divine Armor’s location. Unless absolutely necessary, don’t disturb me. After all, I’m still in a crippled state, and my connection to the armor is very weak.”

“Alright, I’ll contact the supreme leader right now and have him warn all other nations! We absolutely can’t risk provoking Yanze before we find the Chixin Divine Armor!” Lan Tian realized the gravity of the situation. Yanze was still in its infancy, curious about everything and not yet prone to mass slaughter. But if it was enraged, things would change. He had seen the might of the Starlit Bloodfire—the grey flames, already formidable even in their weakened state, were not something Earth could endure.

“If possible, try to persuade Brazil to give up resistance. On second thought, that’s unlikely… Unless you witness the true power of a starbeast, people on Earth will keep dreaming that they’re the universe’s main characters. There’s no way they’ll give up without a fight,” Bai shook his head, then began searching with all his strength for the Chixin Divine Armor’s location.