"Get up, no need for formalities," Ye Feng said with a smile.
Li Xuanming slowly got up from the ground, and his gaze towards Ye Feng became much more awe-inspiring.
Night Breeze continued, "Go on, the story isn't over yet, don't stop."
Li Xuanming nodded in agreement before continuing, "It took a full ten years for the First Spirit Beast Research Institute to be built and put into operation. Moreover, the entire institute is a completely closed structure with defensive formations everywhere."
"To activate or deactivate the defensive formation, three Saint Realm experts must act simultaneously! I am the director of the First Spirit Beast Research Institute, a Saint Realm expert, and the two deputy directors are also Saint Realm experts."
"Therefore, the entire research institute is under the control of the three of us, and all of the more than 600 researchers in the institute are under our management to conduct research on the divine sheep spirit beast."
"The research has lasted for a full thirty years, but the information we have obtained from the Divine Sheep Spirit Beast is very limited. During the research, the Divine Sheep Spirit Beast awakened several times, but each time it could not last long."
"Then, war broke out."
"This war came so suddenly, without a declaration, without any warning, it just broke out. The first to be destroyed was the capital of the Luo Feng Empire, followed by..."
"In less than a day, the Crimson-Tailed Beast and those few Void Return Realm demonic beasts turned the entire imperial capital into a sea of fire. The imperial capital is the central hub of the entire empire, and its collapse means that the vast Luo Feng Empire has fallen into command paralysis and become leaderless..."
"So the other two directors and I made a quick decision to close the institute's gates to prevent the war from spreading here."
Rowling frowned and asked, "Weren't any new orders relayed to you at the time?"
"No." Li Xuanming shook his head.
"Haven't you considered supporting the Luo Feng Empire?" Rowling asked again.
Li Xuanming sighed and said, "Although the two deputy directors and I are all Saint Realm experts, we are actually not good at fighting. We are scholar-type people. Although the researchers in the institute are all cultivators, they are basically the same."
“Going to provide assistance would not only be unhelpful, but would actually be counterproductive. Moreover, there is a sleeping Void Returning Realm spirit beast in the research institute—the Divine Sheep.”
"If the Crimson-Tailed Beast and those few Void Return Realm demonic beasts discover this place and obtain the Divine Sheep, the Divine Sheep will likely fall into their control. At that time, the enemy will gain a powerful Void Return Realm expert, which will be even more disadvantageous for the Luo Feng Empire."
"Therefore, I and the two deputy directors decided to seal this place off. Under no circumstances should the First Spirit Beast Research Institute be exposed to the Crimson Tail Beast and the Void Return Realm demon beasts, and we must not allow the Crimson Tail Beast and the Void Return Realm demon beasts to obtain the Spirit Beast Divine Sheep."
"As a result, the entire research institute was sealed off and isolated from the outside world."
At this point, Li Xuanming's expression became extremely bitter.
After a long silence, Li Xuanming continued, "However, just when I thought everything was going well, an unexpected event occurred."
"I don't know if it's because of the Crimson-Tailed Beast and those few Void Return Realm demonic beasts, but the Divine Sheep has awakened from its slumber once again. However, this time, the Divine Sheep is clearly not fully awake. It is in a dazed state, and its power spreads out, affecting each and every one of us indiscriminately..."
"Impact? Not attack?" Rowling asked.
Li Xuanming nodded and said, "Yes, it's an influence, not an attack. If the Divine Spirit Beast Sheep had attacked us, none of us here would have survived. We would all have died then. After all, the Divine Spirit Beast Sheep is a Void Returning Realm demon beast, which is not something that three Saint Realm experts who are not good at fighting can contend with."
"The power of the Divine Sheep Spirit Beast is very special. It can influence living things and cause them to undergo various changes. This ability, which is similar to creating life, is terrifying. Even though the Divine Sheep Spirit Beast did not attack us actively at the time, the power emanating from it had already caused most of our bodies to undergo changes."
“Some people grew extra limbs, some grew parts that were not human... You can imagine how chaotic it was inside the research institute when all this happened.”
“More and more people are going crazy, even one of the two deputy directors has gone mad. And the madness of that deputy director means that this place is completely cut off from the outside world. We who are trapped in the research institute can never get out.”
"To open the entire research institute's defensive array and unlock the entrances and exits, we need three Saint Realm experts working together!"
Li Xuanming's expression was one of great pain, as if he didn't want to recall anything from the past.
But in order to explain things clearly, Li Xuanming continued: "Ten years have passed, the mad deputy director has fallen, and more than half of the six hundred researchers have died..."
"Another ten years have passed. Most of them have died here, and only a handful are still alive..."
"I can't remember how much time has passed, I don't know how many years have gone by, I only remember that not long after, I was the only one left in this research institute, and everyone else was dead."
"Although I survived and barely managed to pull through, I've already become neither human nor ghost under the influence of the divine sheep spirit beast..."
"And later I started having frequent hallucinations, and I knew I was going crazy..."
Hearing this, Luo Lin, Ye Feng, and Zi Jing finally understood why Li Xuanming had attacked them so fiercely at first, but suddenly realized he couldn't win and said it wasn't an illusion.
It was obvious that Li Xuanming initially mistook Ye Feng and the others for illusions, which is why he attacked them so frantically.
"You've worked hard. You've sacrificed a lot for the Luo Feng Empire. Although the Luo Feng Empire is no more, your efforts and contributions will not be buried by history," Ye Feng said earnestly, patting Li Xuanming on the shoulder.
Li Xuanming finally couldn't hold on any longer, covering his face with his hands and crying out in anguish like a child.
Normally, Zijing would definitely say something funny to tease Li Xuanming.
But now even Bauhinia has been affected by this somber atmosphere and has no time to act silly.
After an unknown amount of time, Li Xuanming finally wiped away his tears and said very seriously, "Fortunately, although the Luo Feng Empire has been destroyed, Your Highness is still here! Since the royal bloodline has not been severed, then we will rebuild the Luo Feng Empire and one day we can restore the empire's glory!"
Upon hearing Li Xuanming's words, Luo Lin, Zijing, Chen He, and Xu Ping'an's expressions became somewhat strange.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
