Chapter 123: Demon Claw (Part 1/2)
Translator: Strivon
Ouyang? President Ouyang Chen!
Luo Nan finally understood the meaning behind He Yueyin's orders. No wonder she paid no heed at all to the strong members of the Order. She had been waiting for this all along.
Luo Nan had never seen Ouyang Chen in person, but his great fame was like thunder piercing the ear. After all, the president of this branch was an instructor on Inner Logic Theory, he invented the HexaEar, and established the Psychic Wave Network. The Ouyang Chen he saw in such a way today was quite consistent with the image he had imagined. Ouyang Chen did not feel a bit unfamiliar at all.
An Weng and Ouyang Chen were even more familiar with one another. They had both been in Xia City for many years, keeping each other in check and balance. The two had dealt with each other before. They dealt with each other more often than their respective members and believers.
This centenarian old man lifted his head and looked up into the night sky, which was no different than it was before. He whispered, "Logic World. I remember. You've discussed such similar concepts with me before."
"It was just a consultation." Ouyang Chen remained humble and low-key.
"But I rejected it." An Weng recollected those times and became rather emotional, ecclesiastics and researchers were the same; they both headed toward the truth. "However, our kind won't place the holy entity onto the experiment table. We will always have a forbidden region we cannot enter. Whether it be due to reverence or fear, we ultimately need to avoid it. We are different from researchers in this way. You all trample into the realm of the divine as you wish."
Ouyang Chen listened to An Weng quietly and did not refute. He just stood there as an Extraordinary, causing all those besides An Weng on the landing pad to feel restless and anxious.
In fact, the dialog between An Weng and Ouyang Chen was broadcasted to the other two First Oblatums through the Evolution Field. Regardless of Zheng Xiao or An Chengli, their instant reaction was no different from swallowing a live bomb.
Zheng Xiao closed his eyes while An Chengli groaned, "This fellow came out from his laboratory... It must be because we crossed the line. Oh, hell!"
An Weng smiled and said, "Ouyang, my children don't really understand you; they don't understand your work."
Ouyang Chen's gaze flitted from the complicated lines of light outside An Weng's body as he lifted his head to look at the sky just like An Weng had done. He appeared thoughtful but he did not answer An Weng immediately.
An Weng soon retracted his gaze and analyzed Ouyang Chen's actions like an old friend, like an elder. "You were never an inventor. You're a theoretical researcher. Once you've grasped a question, you will revolve around it. You will conduct research, all the way until you form an entire system that has value. One example is when you established your Psychic Wave Network. Other people only saw that it granted convenience, but I know that you're researching the soul. You are researching mental power, researching the existing nature of the mental plane in regards to the material plane. You want to understand clearly the power that distorts reality. You want to understand where it comes from..."
Ouyang Chen observed the old man's mottled face with great attention. He calmly replied, "This is what I've been chasing after all this time. According to the teachings of your Order, it is the source of the world's transformation."
"Oh, yes. The opening of the Gate of Truth!"
An Weng said this key vocabulary with such ease, causing the other two First Oblatums' scalps to go numb. So this old fellow really had this plan to use the fierce conflict with Fairchild as a facade to cover their true intentions?
"I feel like we're all a joke!" Zheng Xiao and An Chengli used a private line to communicate with each other, "There's certainly something wrong with the old man's brain capacity. Or perhaps he didn't even consider us at all. We should think of something..."
Zheng Xiao suddenly could not hear him. The private line was inexplicably severed and at the same time, an utterly ice-cold telepathic thought cut through his nerves to slowly grind against him.
An Chengli was even worse off.
Zheng Xiao closed his eyes and opened them again. It was without a doubt that the old man knew of the existence of the private channel between him and An Chengli all along. The old man had just kept one eye closed and let them whine all this time.
Perhaps, Zheng Xiao should be thankful. Even though this was a private conversation, he never spoke ill of An Weng due to his caution and wariness. However, now Zheng Xiao was worried that this old man was reviving old grievances. It was incomprehensible. Why did An Weng suddenly put on an open attitude and come clean with his plan?
It was as if demons and gods were at work. For some odd reason, Zheng Xiao's attention shifted toward the core of the Evolution Field, toward the projection of the Scales of Truth.
The unbalanced state still persisted but Zheng Xiao noticed something with the white plate. Though it originally had been lowered all the way to the bottom, it had lifted up a bit at an unknown time. The Krait had manifested again on the black plate and had started to regain vitality.
So, where in the world was the chaos element causing this?
When it seemed that Zheng Xiao had understood something in his trance, the pressure on the mental plane escalated in intensity. It was ice-cold and heavy, making his train of thought unable to advance a step further.
Then the dialog between An Weng and Ouyang Chen bizarrely became warm like a spring breeze, "Well regardless, I can sense your success. Ouyang, you're trying to redefine the rules of the material plane!"
Ouyang Chen shook his head lightly. "If there really is such a form, I hope it is reproducible. But so far all I can do is pinch out a specious model, a minor copy."
"At the very least, here is a battlefield where one can go at it freely; it’s enough to lessen the effects toward the normal world. Look Fairchild and them are fighting it out quite delightfully..."
As An Weng spoke, Frost River Reality was no longer able to bear the explosive battle of the two powerful ability users going all out. Frost River Reality was severed from its connection to Building A, and half of its structure hung toward the ground.
The figures of Fairchild and Baze flew out at practically the same time as they crashed into Building A. Even more powerful shockwaves blasted out, causing the glass walls of several dozen floors around them to shatter. The shards fell like rain and the entire building seemed to be shaking.
If this really was the plane of reality, the series of explosive strikes would dreadfully lead to civilian casualties in the hundreds and thousands. But now the building was empty of people. It did not really matter even if the building was demolished.
The only people to be concerned about were the Order's cultists on top of the building.
The battle between Fairchild and Baze grew more and more intense, but although An Weng was the one to mention their battle, his gaze mostly remained rested on Ouyang Chen. He observed him with rapt attention.
"An Weng?"
"It really is quite a decent design." An Weng stared fixed on Ouyang Chen as he gave a slight nod. "You've maintained a very high level of independency. At most, you've borrowed the objects currently existing in the material plane. The energy consumption isn't too much and the pressure you need to bear isn't too great... It's hard to imagine that this is a defective work."
Ouyang Chen smiled in response. "Since the possibility of overloading and collapse is very small, An Weng, you don't need to think further in this direction."
Ouyang Chen words hit the nail on the head when it came to An Weng's thoughts, leaving An Weng to just laugh. "Ouyang, since you're fully aware that this is an unsuccessful work, why don't you continue to do more research? Why don't you stay in your lab and focus wholeheartedly on it? Why don't you overlook the distractions of society and let it continue the way it always has..."
"An Weng, I came here in accordance with the way things always have been."
Ouyang Chen was very serious when he faced the old man in front of him. "Right now, I am in accordance with the most representative nature of the world. Here, I am nominally the only Extraordinary of Xia City. This city is proclaimed to be of my rule and it will meet all my experimental demands."