“Grand Elder?!”
The Dragon Group's elders exclaid in unison, having no idea what was wrong with him.
Ever since this round of the Ga had entered the god-player wager, Nie Jiu Tian's health had been deteriorating steadily due to excessive and overuse of his abilities. In truth, everyone in the Dragon Group feared he might just drop dead one day.
They all rushed forward, but none dared to act rashly. While they understood each other's abilities, no one could clearly say what Nie Jiu Tian's specific powers were.
Thump.
Thump!
The sound of his heartbeat seed to grow louder and louder, as if the entire room was vibrating along with it. This wasn't a human heartbeat at all—it was clearly the pounding of a war drum!
Nie Jiu Tian's eyes were hollow, and the spot over his chest looked like his heart was about to leap right out.
Lu Ce watched him curiously. He had always wanted to know just what this mysterious Grand Elder was truly capable of.
In this round of the CHOSEN'S PARADISE!, the man had been absent the entire ti, yet still maintained considerable strength. It was hard to imagine what state he must have been in during the previous era.
“No, his blood and Qi are boiling! With his age and current physical condition, this won't work!”
Xu Long, whose abilities were mostly focused on physical conditioning, was the first to notice the problem. He stepped forward instantly, intending to grab Nie Jiu Tian's shoulder.
“Wait!”
Xie Antong suddenly spoke up, and a seven-colored divine light flickered over Xu Long's hand, stopping him for a mont.
Hearing her voice, Xu Long finally held back and didn't touch Nie Jiu Tian.
“Don't move him. He's fine for now—or rather, he's in a critical mont.”
Xie Antong said as she stood up from her seat, raised her head, and looked toward the ceiling.
“They might be coming soon.”
“Who?!” a Dragon Group mber blurted out instinctively.
But in truth, this question didn't even need to be asked anymore.
Who was coming? Wasn't it obvious?
Xu Long and Long Jiu were instantly alard. Hadn't they just been saying there wasn't enough ti and that they needed to absorb power as quickly as possible? And now it was already here?!
That ant they were completely out of ti!
“Don't touch him. Give him space!”
Xie Antong didn't have much ti to be surprised. Perhaps her eyes and Nie Jiu Tian's ears shared so commonality, because she could roughly tell what he was doing right now.
At her sharp command, the Dragon Group mbers obediently retreated several steps, putting so distance between themselves and Grand Elder Nie Jiu Tian.
The next mont.
Splat.
Nie Jiu Tian fell flat on his face, his entire body hitting the ground.
At the sa ti, his heartbeat stopped entirely. The thunderous thumping vanished without a trace.
...
Huh?
And you said he was fine?
Xu Long turned his head in shock, staring at Xie Antong with confusion. But the next second, Nie Jiu Tian propped himself up with his hands on the floor and shifted slightly.
He pressed his ear silently against the ground, his chest also flat against the floor, as if he were listening intently to sothing.
“Shh.”
Xie Antong placed her index finger over her lips, signaling for everyone to be quiet.
The entire room went silent in an instant. It was as if even the wind had stopped passing through. Everyone seed frozen in place, like they'd been hit with a paralysis spell, not moving a muscle.
The Dragon Group's discipline was unquestionable. At a critical mont like this, no one would do anything stupid.
“Old man... can your body really handle this...?”
Xie Antong sighed softly, then fell silent under everyone's gaze, following suit.
Since Lu Ce was still behaving relatively human, he didn't do anything out of line either. So everyone simply watched an old man lying face-down on the basent floor.
This silence lasted for about a minute. Then, his fingers suddenly moved. One finger drove straight into the ground like the sharpest nail in the world.
Then, that finger, embedded in the floor, moved like a carving knife, tracing a small circle.
Afterward, he pulled his finger out and stabbed it into another spot, repeating the sa motion.
No one knew the purpose of this bizarre behavior. They just watched as he poked over a dozen round holes into the ground with this thod!
Then, his hand went slack, and his entire body collapsed to the floor, utterly still.
Because of his earlier strange actions, everyone was caught off guard by this sudden fall. They hesitated, not quite processing it.
It was Lu Ce who finally broke the silence, speaking with so confusion:
“Is he dead?”
“No, but at least tell us what all these marks on the ground an first. We don't have ti for a puzzle ga...”
At his words, the Dragon Group mbers snapped back to attention and sward forward. Those with healing abilities imdiately prepared to administer first aid.
Nie Jiu Tian raised a hand, making a stopping gesture to indicate he didn't need help. Then, with so difficulty, he sat back up.
“Not dead yet. I just completely exhausted myself just now.”
“Bring a world map. I'll check later against the positions I roughly marked.”
“But I'm not sure if my marked points are complete. If there are omissions... well, there's nothing to be done...”
The gods had just directly sent down their divine power nodes, burying them throughout the world.
As for the exact locations, in that situation just now, he hadn't had ti to draw out a world map. He could only imagine it in his mind and then stab the ground directly.
“They... are already here?!” Long Jiu asked, his voice trembling.
“No, just the divine power and so... characteristics that represent them. I can't explain it clearly.”
“It's like they need a specific set of coordinates before they can descend.”
“I don't know exactly how long this process will take, but everyone—the facts are already right in front of us.”
“Make your final preparations.”
As he spoke, soone nearby pulled out a map from who-knows-where and handed it to him. He began comparing it against the ground.
Suddenly, Lu Ce and Xie Antong spoke at the sa ti:
“Is this sothing only you can know?”
They both spoke simultaneously, then exchanged surprised glances. Lu Ce said nothing, while Xie Antong just blinked with a smile.
“Of course,” Nie Jiu Tian said grumpily. “Otherwise, was I just lying on the ground for fun just now?”
“The hearing ability is indeed unique to you. But They might also announce Their arrival through so other thod,” Xie Antong said.
Then, a slightly strange expression crossed her face. She began rubbing her hands together excitedly.
“In other words, the biggest joke we planted when Divine Punishnt was first established is finally going to co in handy.”
“The carnival... is about to begin.”
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