New Era (I)

"Welcome back, Young Palace Master."

Ignoring the bowing staff and Lucian's hesitation, Feirui ripped off his helmet and rushed to the contestant tunnel. Sweat dripped down his jawline, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. For some reason, he felt like he had waited too long for this moment.

"Tell me the location of Thorn Flower Academy!" He grabbed the staff member wearing an ID card and asked, his eyes shining frighteningly.

Suddenly, something moved in the shadows around the corner.

Fei Rui had a bad premonition and instinctively dodged. The ground where he was standing had been burned into a huge charred hole by the phantom energy gun.

A strange face emerged from the shadows. The man pointed the barrel of his gun at Fei Rui and said, "Brothers, we're just catching up. Don't you want to give us a chance?"

Fei Rui had a very strange feeling. Should he know this person? But he couldn't find any clues in his memory bank.

"It's normal for a newly-acquired bastard from outside not to recognize me." He pressed the barrel of his gun against Fei Rui. "Remember this, Master, I, Ginger Frost, was the original candidate for Young Palace Master. It's you, a savage who doesn't know the rules, who ruined my plans."

"Master Jin Jie?" A staff member recognized him, "You are not..."

"Haha, I'm not stupid. Surprised?" Jin Jie laughed wildly. "I've been playing dumb for the past half month. Every night before bed, I've been thinking about how to kill you—" He pointed at a group of people fiercely. "People leave, and the tea gets cold. It gets cold too quickly, isn't it? Swordman! Swordman!"

Bang!

Jin Jie's entire right arm was blown to pieces. He turned around in a daze and saw Lin Yin standing at the entrance of the passage ten meters away, the infinite true energy in his palm flickering.

One side of her bangs was stuck to her forehead by sweat, and her breathing was rapid, obviously she had rushed here at full speed.

"Master Jin Jie, please stop. You are no longer the heir to the Fantasy Beast Palace and no longer have immunity. There are surveillance cameras everywhere here, and you will not be able to escape legal sanctions."

Hearing this, Jin Jie burst into laughter. He slapped his head frantically with his remaining hand. "My latest mental stability index is 30! I can kill you all and it won't be illegal! Haha! And don't forget! Even if I'm crazy, I'm still a Frost family member. Who dares to touch me?"

Linyin chuckled as if she had heard something interesting. "What a coincidence, isn't it?" She slowly opened the terminal and showed him the proof of her mental instability. "I'm mentally ill too."

…………

#Rinyin Spirit Index 40# (Explosion)

#The event organizers responded urgently that they would include the mental stability index in the selection criteria for the next round of players# (boiling)

#Phantom Beast Ladder Tournament Results# (Hot)

#Civilian fantasy beast experts jointly demand the abolition of the mental stability index# (new)

"Family members, follow me and focus on these topics!"

In the terminal room, Kaiya, his head tied with a bandage, raised his right fist, passionately mobilizing everyone. A parrot fluttered its wings and flew nearby, also yelling "Go, go, go!"

At first glance, the number of people sitting in the audience was far more than just the first-year students of the Martial Arts Department, and at least half of them had phantom beasts lying at their feet.

They clicked on discussions on related topics and flocked to the comment section.

"Can you say that the Mental Stability Index is not a medical standard at all?"

"Are there any authoritative statistics? I feel like I rarely encounter mentally unstable people in my daily life. They're usually the children of chaebol or aristocrats who get into trouble and suddenly become mentally unstable."

"40 is a lie! Are you saying that someone who knocked out a bunch of people from the four major academies with a cold face alone is mentally unstable? Then how come those noble young masters who pissed their pants at the phantom beasts all have mental stability indexes over 200?"

"A former employee of the Fantasy Beast Hall has arrived. Do you know why any recording devices are prohibited in the testing room? Adjusting the index is a routine operation, especially if the testing room you work in is close to the residences of the nobles. You will encounter this kind of thing frequently. However, most people will not even tell their families about this in order to keep their jobs."

"That's hilarious! They banned people from contracting fantasy beasts, so they practiced martial arts instead. Now she's invincible. No one who uses fantasy beasts can beat her."

"If fighting is so strong, why doesn't anyone go to the fighting department?"

"Because nowadays, those who can afford to study are all half-nobles, right? No noble child wants to practice martial arts, which is hard, tiring, and dirty. Wouldn't it be better to just spend money on mythical beast eggs?"

"But we're not afraid of hardship, fatigue, or getting dirty! Why don't you give us this option?"

Public opinion on the Star Network was in an uproar. Less than two hours after the assassination broke out, the public had spontaneously organized a demonstration in front of the Fantasy Beast Hall headquarters, demanding the abolition of the mental index indicator and related clauses.

In the Federal Council's meeting room, several members of parliament proposed the establishment of an independent investigation team to investigate the origins of this index and whether there is corruption behind it.

"Things are going to change." Lucien looked at Flora worriedly.

"What are you afraid of? We are now the common people's fantasy beast palace." Flora nonchalantly brushed off the non-existent dust on her body.

“…”

"Are you tired?" Flora looked at his handsome face seriously.

Looking at his forbearing expression, Flora smiled happily, "Are you going to say that if you follow me, everything will be fine?"

Lucien stared at Flora. She was so considerate and so... gentle that it frightened him.

"Jin Jie was sent by Mao Tan. This old man felt that Fei Rui was beyond his control and wanted to restart the chess piece he had abandoned. He didn't expect to be tricked by his stupid abandonment of a piece." She chatted indifferently, as if these things had nothing to do with her. "If you follow me, you won't be tired. But... I am tired."

"Since when have I been so calculating, day after day, day after day? In the end, it's all in vain." She held out her wrist to show her, "I see Rin's potential. You know, I want to accelerate her growth and bribe her to save me. But it's probably... too late."

She held out her wrist, revealing scarlet vines that had nearly replaced all the blood vessels beneath her skin. Lucian's throat choked as a scene from countless nightmares unfolded before his eyes. "No... there's a way..."

"Forget it." She smiled weakly. It was a brand new smile that had never appeared on her face before. "I'm really tired of my life. People always say that Electra is a bastard who takes human life lightly, but I have killed many people over the years to keep this position. Sometimes I think, how big is the difference between him and me? We got to this position and became monsters in the end. Only you..." She looked at him tenderly, "still treat me as the Flora of the past..."

Lucien trembled all over. "Please stop talking... I will save you no matter what the cost."

"Then there might be only one way." Flora opened the armrest of the throne worriedly. "The Devouring Lord, Fei Rui can't use it, but..."

"I'm Frost's man. I can use it. Give it to me." Lucien's eyes were firm.

"That old man Mao Tan tampered with this, so let's just forget it." A trace of struggle flashed in her eyes, as if she couldn't bear it. "It doesn't matter if you make any more efforts for a dead person like me."

"Give it to me." Lucien easily took the egg this time. He looked at Flora and suddenly understood something.

"You know, Flora, I'm used to you acting." He smiled softly, very gently. "Even if you're acting, I know it's you. Every side of you is you." He pulled her over and hugged her tightly, fiercely and passionately. "Even if you die in the next second, I will fight for you until the last moment."

"So, don't curse yourself to death just because you're afraid I might betray you, okay?"

"You..." Flora, having been seen through, panicked again. For the umpteenth time, she panicked in front of Lucien, as if she had returned to her teenage years twenty years ago. "Give it back to me. You are not allowed to use it."

But maybe it was because her life was coming to an end, she couldn't break free from his arms.

During the struggle, there was suddenly the sound of orderly footsteps outside the hall, the sound of metal armor colliding, and the roar of fantasy beasts that clearly did not belong to the Fantasy Beast Hall.

"Palace Master! They broke in! I can't stop them..." Biqi's voice came from the communicator.

Flora ended the call, her expression relaxed. She let herself lean on Lucien's shoulder. "Look, this is the end. I've been scheming my whole life, but in the end, nothing happened."

Lucien held her, but could only feel a chill. He felt sad that the vines seemed to be still growing wildly. "There must be another way." He murmured to himself.

"Yes." Flora whispered in his ear, "Kill me now and take my head to Mao Tan. With your ability, he will make use of you."

"Flora!" Lucien interrupted her with a roar, his eyes red. This was the first time he had yelled at her, but she no longer had the energy—or rather, she didn't want to punish him.

The palace door was blown open at this moment.

Mao Tan, the leader, wore a hypocritical expression of compassion. He pointed the cane in his hand, a symbol of Butler Frost's authority, at the throne. "Sinner Flora! You abused your authority and harmed your colleagues. The Elders' Alliance has unanimously ruled—"

"The Elders' Alliance?" Flora turned gracefully, not panicking at the sight of the enemy barging into the mountain gates and catching their "adultery" in the act. "Is this the newly formed "Stray Dog Alliance" formed by you pathetic souls, rejected by the Fantasy Beast Palace?"

"How dare you!" Mao Tan's face turned pale as he slammed his staff down on the ground. A dark purple energy wave instantly spread out. Behind him, a dozen gray-haired and bearded old men also struck the ground with their staffs, and ancient spells intertwined into a web on the ground.

"Flora, you have no way to escape." Old Man Number One said coldly, "Hand over the inheritance seal of the Fantasy Beast Hall, and perhaps I can leave you with an intact body."

Flora tossed her curly hair, the scarlet vines beneath her wrists threatening to burst forth at any moment. "Leave my body intact?" She tilted her head, a sneer in her eyes. "You old bastards are such a pain in the ass to name a price! Can't you see I don't care about this at all?"

Mao Tan's eyes were sinister. "Do you think you can turn the situation around in your current state?"

"A comeback?" Flora chuckled softly. "What good would a comeback do? What good would it do if we didn't?"

She slowly raised her hand, palm facing up, and scarlet vines finally grew wildly from her wrist, wrapping around her arm like a snake.

"We don't have time to play word games with you." The other Whitebeard said impatiently.

"I just feel like, I'm about to die, why can't you come and stay with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire Fantasy Beast Hall began to shake violently. Countless scarlet vines emerged from the ground, walls, and ceiling. Each vine was as thick as a bowl and covered with sharp thorns. Wherever they passed, stone bricks cracked and pillars collapsed.

"Flora, you lunatic!" Mao Tan never expected someone to abandon their carefully planned plan and choose to perish with them. He quickly transformed into armor, but the vines penetrated his armor, piercing him and throwing him away!

The old men retreated in fear. Someone tried to cast a teleportation spell, but found that the entire hall had been blocked.

Flora stood in front of the throne, her thick black curly hair flying in the violent energy storm. After a while, her skin began to crack, and a scarlet light shone through the cracks.

She looked back at Lucien, her eyes incredibly gentle.

The next second, the entire Fantasy Beast Hall was engulfed in crimson vines and completely collapsed. Lucian was teleported out, her final voice still lingering in his ears.

"You are free. Go do what you really want to do."