Chương 210: War God’s — Chapter 211 - Xiao Xi's Whereabouts, the Mysterious Relic

Tiandu, Martial Research Institute. Southeast of Tiandu City, built facing the sea. The institute sat nestled in a suburban forest, away from the city's core. But martial artists who came here were never few. Wang Xian had taken a few days off from school to visit. He wanted to check things out, and see Xiao Xi while he was at it. He'd been here several times before. The place was familiar. Only this time, martial artists packed the area. The parking lot inside looked completely full of hover cars.

Even the sidewalks outside were jammed. A mobile relic. Looks like it's drawn quite a crowd. Wang Xian wondered if it might be the 'Zhelou Cloud City' from his past life, the one with some connection to the Phantom Shadow Sword Art. He hadn't reached the entrance yet when a gust of wind swept over. Not just Wang Xian. The surrounding martial artists frowned as the wind hit them.

Just as they were about to look up— A sky-blue vehicle resembling a mecha appeared in midair and slowly descended before the institute's main gate. The crowd paused. Sharp breaths all around. Because these vehicles, like mechanical exoskeletons, were attached to the bodies of individual martial artists. Allowing them to fly down from the sky.

"Damn, mecha-martial implants!"

"Look at the insignia. Bahai University from the Eastern Frontier. They love researching tech armaments over there, combining combat gear into integrated mecha-martial implants."

"Supposedly they're implanted directly into a martial artist's flesh..."

"Those implants look pretty cool..."

"More than cool. These martial artists haven't reached the Fifth Realm. Without the right talent they can't fly. They clearly flew here with extended hovering. That's impressive. Has Bahai University's implant research already reached this level?"

"Looks like they're here for the 'Phantom City' too, right?" The surrounding martial artists chattered. Wang Xian glanced over, unsurprised. When catching up with Lin Ao and the others earlier, he'd mentioned this kind of implant without much envy. Because his family had collaborated with Bahai University. They were part of the production chain for these implants. Once his realm was high enough, he could use them too. These mecha-martial implants. Their purpose was to give martial artists more choices.

Another path to grow stronger. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Calculating the time, I remember in my past life the first-generation implants weren't officially released until after university. First-gen could help martial artists perfectly execute basic martial arts, reaching Pinnacle Mastery."

"While also greatly enhancing physical attributes."

"Second-gen could help Third Realm Martial Artists achieve short-term flight, and execute advanced martial arts at Pinnacle Mastery in combat."

"Third-gen and beyond were displays of personal wealth... they could even help martial artists easily grasp superior martial arts, assist in training secret skills, analyze combat styles, match martial arts schools..." What had appeared now—"Second-gen implants."

"First-gen wouldn't be announced to the public for a few more years..."

"Technology for the martial path truly walks at the forefront of this world..." These implants were good stuff. Definitely good stuff. Only, once on alien battlefields, they were mostly scrap metal. Some implants made from special materials could be used on alien battlefields, but they weren't durable. Maintenance and repairs were a huge hassle. In the end, Blue Star's material resources simply couldn't keep up with those alien lifeforms on the battlefields.

The man wearing the implant lifted his mechanical helmet, revealing short black hair and a cold, stern face. With the few people behind him, he hurried through the entrance, paying little attention to the discussions outside. Wang Xian walked in too. He took a number properly, then explained to the counter staff that he was here to see Xiao Xi. After that, he followed a white-coated researcher to a side hall. Wang Xian waited. A white-haired elderly man walked in. Wang Xian stood up.

"Dean Yun!" This elder was the same one who had personally picked up Xiao Xi at the station when Wang Xian and Xiao Xi first came to Tiandu University together. His name was Yun Shan. Wang Xian had only learned the man's identity later, after coming to this research institute. It had to be said. A dean going to the station to pick up a little kid. That brat Xiao Xi was clearly no ordinary important figure here.

"Little Wang! Sit, sit!" Yun Shan smiled.

"You're here to see Xiao Xi, right?"

"Yeah." Wang Xian nodded.

"You probably can't see her right now." Yun Shan sighed.

"Something unexpected happened."

"Unexpected?" Wang Xian paused.

"It wouldn't be related to that newly discovered relic your institute found, would it?" Yun Shan froze.

"How did you know?"

"Just a guess..."

"..." Yun Shan's expression turned grave.

"It is related. Not long ago, a team of our researchers was collecting materials on the East Sea seabed."

"They accidentally triggered a mechanism. A massive mountain-city relic suddenly appeared on the ocean floor. But before we could react, this relic flew out of the sea and hovered in midair."

"In just half a month, it's been flashing continuously across a 100-mile radius along the East Sea coast."

"We immediately dispatched martial artists and researchers to investigate... but..." Yun Shan looked somewhat self-reproachful.

"Our people didn't keep a close enough eye on Xiao Xi. That girl secretly disguised herself as a martial artist and followed the team into the relic."

"It's been about half a month since then. Still no news..." Wang Xian frowned slightly.

"Xiao Xi doesn't seem like the kind of child who would run off recklessly." Yun Shan explained: "When the relic appeared, she told us she felt something was wrong with it. She wanted to go see the situation for herself."

"We didn't agree at the time... so she probably sneaked off on her own."

"With no news for so long, we had no choice. Regarding this relic, our institute can't afford to study it slowly. We had to open a public call, have the military grant access, and let large numbers of martial artist squads enter the relic together."

"That way, it's better than us searching for a needle in a haystack inside the relic alone."

"Searching for a needle in a haystack?" Wang Xian's eyes narrowed.

"That's right. You might think we're exaggerating." Yun Shan said.

"Based on our preliminary understanding of this relic, the 'Phantom City' that emerged from the seabed is enormous inside. It could easily accommodate millions of people."

"It might be several times larger than our Tiandu."

"Moreover, many of the internal structures and facilities are completely unrelated to our Dragon Country or even Blue Star."

"Or rather... it's somewhat like an 'alien civilization.'" Hearing this, Wang Xian was basically 99 percent certain. This relic was most likely the 'Zhelou Cloud City' he'd heard about in his past life.

"Dean Yun, I have a request." Wang Xian said after a moment of thought.

"You also want to go to this relic?" Yun Shan looked at him. Wang Xian nodded. Yun Shan said helplessly:"That girl Xiao Xi was right about one thing."

"What did she say?"

"She said if something happened to her, you would definitely come looking for her."

"..." Wang Xian.

"She meant... she knew something might happen to her?" Wang Xian was somewhat surprised. That little brat was getting more and more mysterious. ➤ Next: I'm Not Good at Fighting Inside Relics