"Hello, Xiao Lu?"
"Yeah, it's . Gramps, what's the matter?" Lu Yuan replied.
The voice on the other end let out a long sigh of relief before continuing, "I've been trying to reach you these past few days, but you never answered. I thought sothing had happened to you. Are you alright?"
The Global Awakening had shaken every corner of the world, affecting all lives. Gramps Ge was a man with few friends, and his relationship with his son and daughter-in-law was far from good. But he held Lu Yuan in high regard. Otherwise, he never would have entrusted him with the family heirloom—the ancient to.
That gift had nothing to do with his granddaughter's admission matter. It had been a gesture of goodwill, a bond of trust between the two.
So upon confirming that Lu Yuan was safe, the old man's heart naturally relaxed, and he felt a faint sense of joy.
"I'm fine. How about you, Gramps? Is your family doing well?" Lu Yuan asked as he glanced at his call log. Sure enough, there were countless missed calls. For the past three months, almost every day had at least one call. But with his phone powered off all that ti, he hadn't received any of them.
It was only proper to respond to the old man's concern with courtesy.
"I'm fine too. We've already moved to a safer place," Gramps Ge said, before letting out a helpless sigh. "It's just my granddaughter... she's been restless. Always clamoring about going out, wanting to venture into the world with her classmates and gain so extraordinary power. I can hardly keep her under control."
"Oh? What exactly did she say?" Lu Yuan asked with a faint smile. In his mories, Gramps Ge's granddaughter was destined to be far from ordinary in the future.
"She said she saw news online. The Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor at Mount Li has undergone great changes lately, and she insists it's an opportunity she must seize," the old man said casually, then added with a sigh, "But it's far too dangerous out there. She's still just a teenager. I had no choice but to lock her inside."
Clearly, he didn't believe that in such turbulent tis, his granddaughter could accomplish anything. For ordinary folk like them, the only thing that mattered was survival. As for becoming an Awakened, that was nothing but a distant dream.
The Mausoleum of Mount Li?
Lu Yuan's heart stirred slightly at those words. But he quickly composed himself and calculated the ti in his mind. Indeed, it was about ti.
That mausoleum was the slumbering ground of the Primordial Dragon. Countless legends surrounded it, and it was also one of the cornerstones of his own plan.
In this age of overflowing information, with major changes erupting everywhere, it was inevitable that such a site would attract attention. A landmark as fad as Mount Li would naturally beco the focus of many.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Gramps Ge, Lu Yuan ended the call and imdiately began searching the net on his phone.
Sure enough, strange phenona had been reported at Mount Li. The mountain had risen to nearly three thousand ters, and mysterious entrances had appeared across its slopes.
But aside from that, very little concrete information could be found. What news existed was fragnted at best, and even the forums were sparse in discussion.
"It seems the reports have been censored..."
Lu Yuan's expression grew thoughtful, his mind sinking into contemplation.
He had entered the mausoleum in his previous life and knew far more than anyone else. Now, at the dawn of the Global Awakening, countless mythical treasures were surfacing across the land, plunging the world into chaos.
The great factions were seizing this window of upheaval, sparing no effort to snatch these treasures in hopes of securing dominance in the years to co.
Such chaos would not settle until several years had passed.
A site like the Mausoleum of Mount Li was already under the watchful eyes of the major powers, and among them Wuzhou Group and Longevity Genetics. They would censor the news, send in their own forces, and attempt to seize the advantage before others could even set foot inside. Their goal was the divine artifacts hidden within, objects that could dramatically strengthen their power.
Yet no matter how tightly they tried to suppress the information, fragnts of the news would inevitably leak.
Lu Yuan could already foresee it—the first great battle between Awakened was destined to erupt at Mount Li.
But unlike the rest, he alone knew the true terror hidden within that royal tomb. Without the proper keys, most who entered would find nothing, and many would never co back alive. Death would harvest them in droves.
Of course, this mattered little to Lu Yuan. Without hesitation, he took out the mysterious little cauldron and the Ghost Seal.
I can't waste any more ti. My next destination, the Mausoleum of Mount Li.
By now, his strength had already reached a terrifying level. He had the Supre Visualization thod and divine arts at his disposal. What he lacked was a peerless breathing technique, which was an absolute necessity on the path of cultivation.
For that reason, he had to step into the royal tomb of the Qin Emperor.
Moreover, Hu City was already far from Chang'an even before the Global Awakening. Now that the land had expanded, the journey would take even longer.
With that thought, Lu Yuan decided to rest for the night. After preparing everything the next day, he would head straight for his destination.
***
Shen City was the beating heart of the south's economy.
Within Huaxia, its status was no less than that of Hu City, the so-called Magic City. Otherwise, it would never have been chosen as one of the five future supercities.
At the very center of Shen City stood a towering skyscraper, a hundred ters tall. From the top floor, one could overlook most of the vast tropolis. The interior of the building was lavishly adorned, chandeliers and grandeur lighting casting a radiant glow across its halls.
And the entire skyscraper belonged to a single company—Longevity Genetics.
After the Global Awakening, wealth itself had beco little more than waste paper. Countless tycoons went bankrupt overnight, stripped of their fortunes and reduced to common n. Yet during that ti of collapse, Longevity Genetics seized the mont. They rose swiftly, seizing the upper hand in the new era.
Their research institutes had succeeded in extracting mysterious essences from spiritual fruits and herbs, and from that, they had developed the ans to artificially create Awakened.
Even more crucial was that the family behind Longevity Genetics had awakened a powerful bloodline of their own. Within a single month, they brought the majority of Shen City under their control, wielding greater influence than ever before.
The authorities had only managed to stabilize Shen City during the early days of the Awakening because of their alliance with Longevity Genetics. Now, the company stood shoulder to shoulder with dostic titans such as the Wuzhou Group and Skygod Technologies.
In truth, of the five governnt-planned supercities, four were already dominated by different factions. Only Shuntian City remained untouched. And here in Shen City, Longevity Genetics was regarded as the undisputed ruler.
At this mont, on the top floor of the Longevity Genetics skyscraper...
Dozens of n in black suits stood rigidly upright, their hands clasped behind their backs. From their bearing alone, it was clear they were no ordinary n. Each was honed and well-trained, their aura sharp and oppressive. Nearly all of them were Awakened—n who, if they walked the streets, would be admired and revered by the masses.
But now, every one of them wore a deferential expression, their gazes fixed on a single figure.
A middle-aged woman reclined gracefully on a sofa. She wore a wine-red qipao that accentuated her elegance, and a jade-green bracelet encircled her wrist, radiating a soft, warm glow that hinted at its extraordinary origin.
"So... the n we sent to investigate the teorite incident at the Wuzhou farm are all dead?" Her voice was cold, even as she raised a porcelain cup of thick-brewed tea to her lips.
"Yes," a middle-aged man replied quickly, lowering his head. "Two squads were wiped out in succession. The fault lies in my negligence. I assure you such a mistake will not happen again."
Every elite squad under Longevity Genetics carried special devices. The mont they died, headquarters would be alerted. When he had received the ssage, the man had rushed here without delay.
Now, with the mission uncompleted, responsibility weighed on his shoulders. His words carried not only explanation but also a veiled plea for the woman to grant him another chance.
"How amusing..."
The woman sipped her tea, a flash of frost glinting in her eyes. Then her gaze dropped to the thin file lying on the table before her.
The folder contained only a few pages. But at the very top was a photograph.
And in that photograph...
The figure was none other than Lu Yuan.
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