Chapter 321

"Kumironi... you’re back?"

Before her stretched towering mountains.Akagi rested atop a scorched crimson rock, a massive greatsword slung over his shoulder. Obades stood nearby as well, silently keeping watch.

"Iz went off to explore the ruins on his own," Akagi said, chewing on a blade of foxtail grass. "He said you’d definitely come back, so he told us to wait here."

Kumironi gave a faint smile.

That really was Iz’s style.

"Kumironi... why do you look so troubled?" Akagi asked.

"...Akagi. Inside... I ran into Rei."

She paused, then added quietly:

"The situation is... complicated."

Kumironi began recounting everything that had happened.

The Secret Sea.The Sea Abyss.Earth.The transformation of humans into monsters.The Pure White Descent Ritual...

And Rei—Kanzaki Rei—defeating an Eighth-Tier monster.

Not just defeating it...

Overwhelming it.

Akagi’s expression grew heavy.

Rei wasn’t exactly his direct disciple, but he had still guided him, trained him—raised him halfway, you could say.

And now...

That same kid had crushed an Eighth-Tier monster?

The speed of that growth was... absurd.

Should I have made him stay back then?

Back when they fought Ansei, Akagi had judged that Rei wasn’t strong enough to participate safely. Rei himself had hesitated too, unwilling to face Ansei head-on.

So he had gone to the Moon Sea instead.

But now...

Maybe keeping him would’ve been the right choice.

Still—

If even Rei could defeat an Eighth-Tier monster now...

Then he couldn’t afford to slack off either.

I can’t let myself get surpassed by an eight-year-old... what kind of joke would that be?

If Iz found out, he’d never hear the end of it.

...Though, honestly, Iz probably wasn’t that much stronger either.

But that guy would absolutely refuse to admit it.

Kumironi, meanwhile, pressed her fingers to her temple.

That wasn’t even the main point.

The real issue was—

The Pure White Descent Ritual.

The Primordial Sea’s awakening.

But somehow...

Akagi had completely missed the point.

At that moment—

A figure holding a staff stepped out slowly from a nearby passage.

"Yo—Kumironi."

"Back already?"

Iz.

Akagi immediately turned and shouted:

"Iz! Kumironi says she ran into Rei! That kid even killed an Eighth-Tier monster—and apparently he’s the one who destroyed the Secret Sea!"

"Akagi!!"

Kumironi nearly choked.

Who told you to summarize it like that?!The person involved is literally standing right here—this is completely wrong!

Before she could explain—

Iz burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! So he can even beat an Eighth-Tier monster now? As expected of my disciple!"

"But monsters are still just monsters. No matter how strong, they lack human intelligence. Compared to Level 8 Ansei, they’re nowhere close. He’s still got a long way to go."

Akagi added:

"But he beat it at Level 5."

Iz paused.

"...Even at Level 5, I could probably defeat Ansei."

Akagi continued:

"But Kumironi said that monster had intelligence equal to a human."

Iz didn’t hesitate:

"Even then, if it were me, I’d find a way to win."

Kumironi:...Iz, why are you still being stubborn?

Back when you fought that Seventh-Tier dungeon dragon, you were already struggling, weren’t you?

These people...

They weren’t even paying attention to the Pure White Descent at all.

Was she really the only one who understood how serious it was?

Kumironi sighed softly.

And then—

Iz spoke again, his tone shifting, becoming serious.

"Kumironi... tell me everything. About Rei."

"...Iz..."

[Moon Sea]

Moonlight bathed the land.

Even without any lamps, the forest was illuminated in a pale, silver glow.

A figure stepped out from a portal.

Leng Qingying.

Though less than a day had passed in reality...

To her, it felt like a very long time.

Inside that space, she had truly experienced the passage of time.

If it were written in a novel...

It would’ve spanned dozens—maybe even hundreds—of Chapters.

"Leng Qingying, where did you go?" Kanzaki Rei asked.

"I heard a call," she replied calmly."So I went."

"You weren’t worried it might be dangerous?"

"I judged that it wasn’t."

Rei fell silent.

Not everyone was as cautious as he was.

...Then again, recently, even he hadn’t exactly been cautious.

He had intended to be careful—

And still ended up doing something incredibly dangerous.

Granted... he hadn’t really had a choice.

"So—what did you see?" Rei asked.

Leng Qingying looked at him.

"I saw... Aegmisa."

"And many others who possess God-Tier talents."

God-Tier talent holders?

"They came from all over the world," she continued. "There were three trials in total. I made it to the final stage."

Aegmisa.

Again.

And again—three stages of trials.

"What were the trials?" Rei asked.

Leng Qingying recalled:

"The first stage... was a hunting game. We had to hunt monsters."

"The second stage was different for everyone. My task was to kill a monster—one that was about to hatch from an egg."

"I completed it."

"The third stage..."

She paused slightly.

"It felt like I returned to the Secret Sea."

"Also... it seemed to be April 1st."

Rei’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"But I didn’t see any abnormalities in the Secret Sea," she added, glancing at him with faint suspicion."I returned to that gray fog-like space before the afternoon. Aegmisa settled our rewards afterward. I didn’t witness what happened later."

Again...

The Secret Sea.

But this time, it involved multiple God-Tier talent holders.

"In the third stage... did you do anything?" Rei asked.

"...I killed someone," she replied.

"A successor of the Dark Church."

Rei’s lips twitched slightly.

A certain figure flashed through his mind.

"Who?"

"I don’t know her," Leng Qingying said. "I only saw that she had turned into a monster."

"If I hadn’t killed her... she would’ve killed me."

"So before she noticed me..."

"I struck first."

Rei looked at her.

Leng Qingying.

This girl...

When it came to killing—

She didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

Once she decided someone had to die—

There was no moral struggle. No pause.

Just execution.

Her teacher had once said:

A true assassin must possess an unwavering killing intent.

She was born for it.

But still—

That Dark Church successor had possessed a Divine Artifact.

Even Yeliya had struggled against her.

And Leng Qingying... was only Level 4.

She beat that?

Leng Qingying noticed Rei’s doubtful gaze.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

She clearly understood—

He was underestimating her.