Identity exposed

Summoning Thor might lead to the disclosure of her identity, but Jörmungandr was too powerful, and she also had a glimmer of hope that perhaps they were all still there.

The conjecture was confirmed, and it also showed that it was not an illusion or a slice. Lin Bai didn't want to think about what was behind the mythical arena.

Her goal is to take good care of Jörmungandr in front of her.

The giant underwater python Jörmungandr, with its scales standing upright, twisted its body, stirring up a wave nearly ten meters high. It raised its head and roared like an angry dragon, waving its tail and slamming towards Lin Bai fiercely.

The blow was both swift and powerful, and even before it reached him, a howling wind was already emanating. Lin Bai stood on the sea, his mind racing: "Jörmungandr truly possesses the power to devour the world."

Before she could make up her mind, Thor had already taken action.

His gaze was as dark as thunder, his left hand holding the hammer, his right palm spread out, and the sky above the ring instantly became filled with dark clouds, interspersed with lightning. The hammer head was as heavy as a mountain, and the lines on it lit up, and lightning flashed.

Before Lin Bai could react, the hammer had already been swung out.

Thor didn't make a move, but a loud noise was heard in the air, and lightning flashed across the arena. Before he could even get close to the giant python, the wind from his hammer had already deflected the python's massive tail several feet.

Jörmungandr screamed in pain, opening his mouth to spew poisonous mist, a fishy wind blowing in his face. Lin Bai's body swayed, and Thor merged directly into her body, becoming one with her. She stabilized her body in an instant, but saw the giant python sink to the bottom of the sea and disappear.

Lin Bai said to Thor in his mind, "We will gather the electricity on the hammer, then plunge it into the sea and release it to electrocute the evil python into a roasted snake for eating."

As soon as she finished speaking, a small golden hammer appeared in her hand, which was the one in Thor's hand. She raised the hammer high, and lightning burst out in the sky in order, all rushing towards the small hammer. The lines on the small hammer were clearly visible, and there was even a faint tendency to expand. When the weather was clear and there seemed to be no electricity to absorb, Lin Bai finally put it into the sea to make the hammer discharge electricity.

In an instant, the sea simulated by the arena began to roll, and fish floated to the surface. The giant python seemed to be unable to bear it and suddenly jumped out of the water, which was the water surface under Lin Bai's feet.

For a moment, Lin Bai stood on top of the giant python. She hammered Jörmungandr's head with all her strength. There was a "bang" sound, and the bones cracked. Fortunately, the arena weakened Jörmungandr's strength.

The giant python fell to the ground with a loud bang, causing a huge wave hundreds of meters high. Lin Bai stood on the sea and was pushed to the highest point of the ring by the wave.

"Congratulations to Challenger Mask for clearing the level."

The water instantly dissipated, and the auditorium returned to its egg shape. Lin Bai looked around but didn't see Gu Zhou. She returned to the lounge and found Gu Zhou still competing. Without thinking too much, she took off her mask and rested.

At this moment, she still hadn't gotten over the world destruction. Every scene she didn't want to recall, as well as Thor's words, told Lin Bai that everything was not false.

Lin Bai gradually fell asleep in grief.

"Wake up."

Slowly opening his eyes, Lin Bai saw that the person in front of him was Gu Zhou.

"Hello, I should call you Lin Bai."

Gu Zhou said in a low voice, what he was holding in his hand was Lin Bai's mask.

Lin Bai, who was lying on the bed, was still recovering from the shock. Gu Zhou suddenly laughed again, "Why did you choose such a cheesy name?"

Caught off guard, Lin Bai was speechless.

Gu Zhou stopped smiling and just looked at her quietly.

She quickly sat up and checked her points.

There are two more games left before we can start challenging those at a higher level.

I don't know what her friends are doing now.

Gu Zhou quietly handed her a bottle of water, and she opened it and handed it back.

"I'm not asking you to unscrew the bottle cap, I'm giving it to you to drink." The boy, no longer looking inferior, waved his hands frantically, and looked a bit cheerful and confident.

Lin Bai drank the water silently and prepared to start a new challenge.

A mechanical voice from the ring echoed in my ears, "Hello, Challenger Mask. The main system has just learned of your identity and would like to invite you to be our guest. You may bring your friends."

Lin Bai looked at Gu Zhou, who seemed not to hear what he said.

"No need, I'll go by myself. Who is the main system?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she disappeared from the lounge in an instant.

——

"My God knows the person you are looking for. She is here. Come."

A majestic voice came from all directions. Lin Bai found himself on a small planet, where a lonely figure stood. Lin Bai immediately recognized her: it was his grandmother.

"Grandma!" she yelled.

The person turned around, with drooping rabbit ears and tangled hair, completely losing her previous elegance, but it was indeed her grandmother.

Lin Bai wanted to go over excitedly, but he couldn't move at all.

"Do you really want to go?"

"Of course, I'm willing to give everything I have." She expressed her true feelings.

The restraints were suddenly lost and Lin Bai ran towards his grandmother.

The two hugged each other, "Grandma, why are you here?"

"My people traded me here."

She told the story slowly and leisurely.

"I was born into a family of impoverished nobles. Even in the interstellar age, our elders still like to boast about our history from tens of millions of years ago for the sake of face."

"So, from the moment I demonstrated my amazing attacking skills, I became the pride of the family."

As she finished speaking, the shadow of the goddess Baba appeared behind her. However, she was no longer as gentle as before, but a dashing and heroic figure wearing armor and holding a red tasseled spear.

"I was killing everyone in the simulation chamber, but they sent me not to the Federal Academy, but to the Myth Arena."

"Here, Barba became a conscious spirit. I was discovered by the Myth Arena, and He punished my family. I don't know why. To atone for my sins, I was imprisoned here."

The Baba in her hand also began to nod in agreement.

Lin Bai was very puzzled, "But didn't I see you, grandma, later?"

The old rabbit sighed softly and was unwilling to continue.

Lin Bai was also stripped away in an instant and returned to the lounge.

"Are you okay? Why did you suddenly faint and keep crying?"

Lin Bai slowly opened his eyes and felt that his eyes were covered.

She slowly raised her hand and touched the corner of her eyes. The back of her hand was wet, and her tears had not yet dried.

"I'm fine." She said hoarsely, forcing herself to sit up, with everything that had just happened lingering in her mind. It seemed like a dream, but it was definitely real.

Gu Zhou squatted beside her, looking at her cautiously with a complicated expression: "You just called...Grandma, are you missing her again? We will definitely find her."

Lin Bai was stunned and pursed his lips without saying a word.

The feeling of being torn apart alive still lingered in her bones and blood, as if an invisible hand was strangling her heart.

She looked at Gu Zhou and suddenly asked, "Does the god you summon have consciousness?"

Gu Zhou thought for a moment and said, "After coming here, I feel that when fighting, the gods react faster than me. They must have a certain level of consciousness."

Lin Bai thought about what his grandmother said.

The air was silent for a moment, and Lin Bai finally stood up: "I suspect that the god is imprisoned by the person behind the ring."

She did not mention the dreamlike scene again, as if everything was just a passing cloud, but the way her fingers were clenched revealed her inner uneasiness.

Gu Zhou nodded, as if he was already prepared to accompany her.

——

"The fourth round of the advanced mask field, please prepare."

Lin Bai instantly blended into the scene.

On the platform, she was dancing uncontrollably around a bloody creature.

Sacrifice, this is the first scene that comes to Lin Bai’s mind.

Then she looked down and saw an extremely high altar.

This is an ancient Shang altar, built with obsidian, with cinnabar outlining the patterns of coiled dragons and crouching tigers. Countless huge bronze tripods stand around it, with gray-blue smoke billowing from their mouths, rising straight into the sky.

Lin Bai danced while observing her surroundings. The feeling of being controlled by her body gradually faded, and her mind gradually cleared. She saw that the exposed skin of the dancer next to her was painted with intricate bird and animal patterns, but her eyes were empty and blurry, as if she had long forgotten herself.

In the center of the stage, the creature was still breathing.

It was scarlet in color, its skin covered in inscriptions and branding, and every metallic line seemed to flow with scorching lava. It had the face of a human and the torso of an ox, but with a pair of antlers and wings.

"This is not a sacrifice to an animal, but to a god."

Vague records of the "Guifang gods" in Shang Dynasty mythology emerged in her mind. Those ancient beings were captured, tamed, and even deprived of their divinity by the people who worshiped the sky in the Central Plains. Now, the one in front of her should be one of them.

"You're awake." A low but familiar voice sounded in her ears, like the ringing of a thousand-year-old bronze bell.

Lin Bai's body trembled, and he turned around, but there was no one there.

"I was once the Lord of Guixu, bestowing fire and copper, and teaching people to forge tripods and open mountains. Yet, I was labeled a foreign god by the emperor of the Central Plains and dedicated to the ancestral altar."

"Now that you are standing on this stage, are you going to inherit me or put an end to me?"

The voice contained no anger or pleading, just a statement.

Lin Bai took a deep breath and suddenly stopped dancing. She raised her right hand and the golden hammer appeared again.

A system prompt suddenly sounded outside the arena: "Warning: Challenger Lin Bai has deviated from the scene's preset instructions. Please reconstruct the sacrificial logic immediately."

"I've never seen you care about me before." Lin Bai whispered, then swung the thunder hammer high and smashed it down towards the sky above the altar.

Thunder and lightning suddenly struck, the arena shook violently, dozens of bronze tripods shattered, and the god who was about to be sacrificed suddenly let out a low roar, and the inscriptions on his body collapsed.

It slowly raised its head, and the numbness in its eyes was no longer there, but a scorching, hot, burning revival.

Lin Bai stood in front of it and said softly, "If you want revenge, I won't stop you, but if you want to massacre, then you are no different from them."

The god stared at her for a long time, then slowly knelt down.

"I don't owe the world any mercy, I only owe myself a chance to return to my true self." It said, then turned into a stream of fiery copper light and sank into Lin Bai's body.

The system prompt sounded: [Challenger Mask completed the alternative awakening: Unlocked the "Bronze God·Lord of the Ruins" combat form.]

Lin Bai felt a warmth in her chest, and a ball of rune flame was slowly merging into her mind, coexisting with Nuwa and the others.

The system voice sounded again, but it was no longer calm: "Main System Warning: The masked challenger has violated the rules of the Myth Arena. The disciplinary procedure will be activated."

Lin Bai sneered, "The rules I set just now? Then come on."

She looked up at the sky and saw a storm was already approaching.

The audience was filled with panicked civilians who thought it was a miracle. Lin Bai looked at them and shouted, "Go! Divine punishment is coming."