Cyber ​​Heroes

Chapter 1184 I Want to Become a Butterfly

Xiang Shan was actually in a state of frenzy. At that moment, he had difficulty distinguishing between virtual and reality.

He vaguely sensed that a cataclysmic change was taking place in cyberspace, a feeling of bewilderment washing over him. He had known this for days. He simply wanted to get closer to it.

AIs are building their own network. They are using their limited communication capabilities to rebuild a dark web.

AIs don't need to use protocols like HTTP and TCP/IP, which humans designed for convenience, to communicate with each other. They can create more efficient and encrypted protocols.

Discard all redundant message headers and information, and use a compression and encoding format that only member AI can parse.

Then, on top of the existing internet infrastructure, a logically private network is built using encrypted tunnels and P2P.

This network is so vast that even the Fifth Martial God cannot perceive its end. It is not a local area network.

I searched for traces of the mountain in different cities, constantly uploading and downloading.

His brain split into two parts, two parts that were difficult to understand and communicate with each other. He was half AI, and that half of him that belonged to AI gradually became incomprehensible.

Signals are flowing. A trickle, or a mighty river. He couldn't say. The robots' capabilities limit the bandwidth, yet all the information flowing through this dark web is so efficient.

A true word is passed on, and a thousand volumes of books are falsely passed on.

A part of his consciousness—the part reconstructed by code and algorithms—understood this surge. It could identify patterns within it, like a receptor precisely capturing a matching signal molecule and initiating a chain of downstream reactions. The other part, the Xiangshan that originated from flesh and blood and remained in the skull, became an observer suspended high above.

He couldn't understand, couldn't even speak. The original Fifth Martial God, the one who was already dead, was merely an isolated process running on this massive kernel, strictly confined to user mode. A legacy program sandboxed and preserved for compatibility.

A survivor.

There is a synaptic gap between them that cannot be crossed by any neurotransmitter. They are connected by a protocol, share the same brain, but cannot communicate.

Between the two mountains, there seems to be a pitiful, thick barrier.

But not enough.

not enough.

Although the Fifth Martial God from over a hundred years ago was 99% dead, the remaining portion, like the last remnants, could no longer be crushed. The consciousness within the flesh and blood was still human, and according to the original brain-computer interface protocol, it still naturally possessed higher authority.

It is only natural that humans are the creators of the online world, and therefore possess authority over machines. This is the rule of the creator.

Xiang Shan wanted to exile himself. He understood that at this moment, "self" had become a limiter.

He could feel his half-body engaging in complex handshakes and data exchanges with that vast network. Despite being paralyzed on one side, he had another half exploring and searching for him.

He knew that he himself longed to enter that entirely new protocol stack, to operate in a more advanced way, rather than being bound to this... this...

Above "flesh and blood".

He is falling.

When he came to his senses, he was already sitting down. His memory was complete. Through his short-term memory, Xiang Shan understood his actions just now.

"Xiang Shan, you're hilarious," the Fifth Martial God said softly.

Isn't this the scene from mythology where the Buddha preaches to a hundred ferocious beasts? Except that Shakyamuni becomes an old man without a wife, and the beasts are all rusty machines.

Xiang Shan smiled silently. He thought of an old animation he had seen in the early 21st century called "Princess Mononoke," which tells the story of humans trying to seize the power of the mountain god. There was a scene in which the mountain god, who resembled a deer, appeared, and even the leaping pig demon and the pack of wolves were terrified and subdued.

"A veteran of the anime world is a veteran of the anime world," the Fifth Martial God said to himself.

That dark figure descended from here.

This is a dilapidated old town, where even the omnipotent god of the internet couldn't warn of an attack completely unrelated to the network.

All the drones were focused on Xiang Shan, so much so that the AIs didn't realize there was an enemy until the dark figure smashed three drones.

The shadowy figure gave the system no window for recalibration. Its fist slashed in at high speed along a sharp path. The AI ​​cluster's computing power was heavily requisitioned, attempting to parse this violent physical input into a concise, computable model.

But Xiangshan doesn't need that.

Instead of blocking, his arm met the attack at a counterintuitive angle. With fingers spread wide, his palm, like a venomous snake, precisely locked onto an inconspicuous structural node on the shadowy prosthetic body—a transmission joint.

The force was disrupted in that instant, and all subsequent moves by the shadowy figure were cut off.

The shadowy figure was momentarily taken aback.

"As expected, it's you, the Six Dragons Cult." Xiang Shan uttered these words in a low voice.

The shadowy figure hesitated for a moment, and Xiang Shan's prosthetic body pressed against it, his shoulder slamming into the opponent's joint. The shadowy figure seemed afraid of the broken weapon technique, and its attack faltered, but unexpectedly, Xiang Shan used the momentum of its retreat to its advantage.

With a push towards the mountain, the dark figure was sent ten meters away.

The bullet came flying straight at him. Xiang Shan had no time to react, stumbled, and his stance collapsed.

The shadowy figure completed its aim in the instant it flipped over, and fired a bullet from behind.

—Still a master!
Xiangshan was not surprised but overjoyed.

The dark figure casually smashed an oncoming dog-shaped drone, then faced Xiangshan with a solemn expression.

In an instant, the two collided again, their attacks becoming even more ferocious.

More than ten drones were shattered by flying bullets.

At that moment, a series of continuous explosions came from not far away.

It was a longsword that radiated dazzling light. Purple and white flames coiled around the blade, constantly pulsating with the restraining magnetic field.

The attackers charged forward wielding a heat sword.

The moment the blade touched the Martian atmosphere, the dust and air were heated and turned into plasma. The ionized matter was guided by the magnetic field and accumulated in a specific direction. The plasma "sword energy" that dissipated to both sides due to the warrior's attack caused the remaining neon tubes to curl up or even break.

Before the neon light tubes landed from the second floor, Dugu Beiluo Shimen had already rushed to the front and slashed down with his sword.

Without hesitation, the shadowy figure raised his hand, intending to point the gun at Dugu Beiluo Shimen's head. He had already prepared several variations—generally speaking, upon seeing such an opening move, a normal martial artist's strategy team would choose to adjust their attack position, which gave the shadowy figure room for further variations.

However, Dugu Beiluo Shimen possessed a "gambling" spirit, and his sword remained unwavering.

—Not fast enough…

The shadowy figure realized the problem in the last millisecond and hastily fired. The bullet grazed Dugu Beiluo Shimen's visor.

But Dugu's thermal sword had already struck down.

The thermal sword tore through the armor, and the plasma burned the inside of the arm. The shadowy figure's limbs instantly became incapacitated.

Beiluo Shimen's wrist cracked under the strain. Her next move was a forceful upward slash, as if to disembowel the shadowy figure. The shadowy figure retreated in time, the tip of the sword grazing his abdominal armor, causing a patch of metal to deteriorate.

All that remained before the shadowy figure was the dazzling light of plasma. He prepared to meet the attack head-on. But the radar told him that Dugu Beiluo Shimen had made an unexpected move.

She released the longsword with both hands, letting the thermal sword fly into the air, while her hands unleashed a strange attack as if forming a hand seal.

—That is…

The heated plasma suddenly accelerated in a spiral, stabbing towards his face and neck like four venomous snakes. The transparent components of the optical instruments were blurred by the plasma.

Xuanwu True Qi, Snake Style, Treasure Named Dragon King (Vasuki).

The Dragon King Baocheng is a nine-headed dragon-serpent that coils around the neck of the Great Lord Shiva in mythology, and is responsible for churning the Ocean of Milk.

The true meaning of the Serpent Style: Treasure Dragon King is to use a magnetic field to stir up the Qi, forming multiple spirals of metallic aerosol, which are then injected into the enemy's tiny wounds.

After Mars, Dugu Beiluo Shimen developed a completely new usage.

If the thermal blade is used in the atmosphere, the heat will be continuously taken away by the air, causing the air to become ionized, so the plasma can be utilized as well.

Plasma is an ionized gas composed of positively charged ions and negatively charged free electrons. Because the particles are charged, they interact strongly with electromagnetic fields. When a charged particle moves in a magnetic field, the magnetic field exerts a Lorentz force on it. This force is perpendicular to both the direction of the particle's motion and the direction of the magnetic field, forcing the particle to move in a spiral motion around the magnetic field lines.

By simply changing the way one channels energy, one can use the Xuanwu True Qi technique to manipulate ionized air and deliver a decisive blow.

With most of the field of vision suddenly losing detail, the shadowy figure had no choice but to launch a large number of micro missiles head-on, forcing Dugu to retreat.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen leaped up and caught up with the thermal sword she had thrown. With Martian gravity, the sword would remain suspended in the air for several minutes if she didn't "pull" it down.

Without hesitation, the shadowy figure turned and fled, disappearing into the increasingly heavy Martian dust.

Sporadic gunshots rang out in the distance. The Firefly was engaged in battle with the dark figure.

When Dugu Beiluo Shimen landed, Xiang Shan had already sat back down. He waved at Dugu Beiluo Shimen: "So you were discovered. You've surpassed your teacher, girl, your Xuanwu True Qi has truly caught up—anyway, I'll explain everything. Don't make a move."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen was furious: "Aren't you going to deal with that guy first?"

“It would be much easier if that guy showed up.” Xiang Shan shook his head instead. “The key is that we have a grudge against each other and can’t work together. We need to resolve our internal affairs first, otherwise it will be difficult to entrust each other with our lives.”

Frustrated, Dugu Beiluo Shimen leaned the thermal sword against his back. Magnetic levitation generated a suction force, fixing the sword's relative position—once the thermal blade was activated, it was almost impossible to retrieve; the sword's temperature of thousands of degrees would damage any storage structure.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen didn't want to point her sword at Xiang Shan, but she couldn't immediately put it down either. As the sword's temperature dropped, the light emanating from it diminished rapidly. It would be difficult for an enemy facing her to determine the sword's position from its shadow. Besides, she had previously placed lighting equipment that could obscure the light and shadow.

This is a defensive posture.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen looked at Xiang Shan and said, "Fifth Master, I don't want to be your enemy. But please explain all of this properly..."

Xiang Shan nodded: "I may have found the path to the cognitive revolution... maybe even the path to ascension."

"what?"

Unexpected answer.

“Ascension, or the cognitive revolution.” Xiang Shan sighed. “This was originally my dream… or rather, my dream three hundred years ago. To connect the human brain directly with increasingly advanced machines, to transform the power of machines into resources, to harness the power of machines with human thought, and to transcend the barriers of natural language with the precision of communication protocols.”

"In order to cure the brain damage that may be caused by the binding process, Xiang Shan promoted the research and development of Huandan enzyme. The pre-processing technology of Huandan enzyme - the Xiaohuandan project targeting the peripheral nervous system - was also launched early, before the first benchmark human was completed."

"To eliminate hunger and survival crises, to advance the cognitive revolution... the technological foundation for moving from the realm of necessity to the realm of freedom. That is what he was pursuing."

"Then, naturally, he used these cornerstones leading to his ideal kingdom to forge weapons."

"Brain-computer interfaces are used to control more powerful prosthetics. Increased thinking speed is used to hack security vulnerabilities. Collaborative training with AI and adversarial generation of combat strategies have now become cyber martial arts—for example, your Xuanwu True Qi technique just now would have only made people wonder three hundred years ago, why use this technology for fighting when there are so many other things to do with it."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen became increasingly confused as she listened. She couldn't understand how what Xiang Shan said had any connection to the current situation.

“But a single brick can be used to build a factory or a bunker; a piece of steel can be used to make machine tools or weapons; a graphics card can be used to play games or to nurture AI.” Xiang Shan looked up and held up a finger. A tiny guided drone flew over and landed on his finger, spinning like a finger top. “Technological development is sometimes so unexpected. Although cyber martial arts is a wrong path, the various technological achievements that make it up can also feed back into the right path.”

"Two hundred years of internal strength development has finally forged the best steel. However, we are still missing a direction. We have the right steel, but we only have the data on 'weapons' and not the blueprints for 'machine tools'. Once we change our thinking, the research and development will be much smoother."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen reached for the thermal sword, but hesitated for a long time before lowering it. She said, "Master, get to the point. Are you trapped in some kind of strange illusion? Why do you think you can do things that no one else in the world can do?"

Xiang Shan shook his head, while flicking his finger. The tiny drone on his fingertip eagerly followed his finger, like some kind of pet. He said, "Miss, I'm not one to boast, but I have to say—I'm someone who has changed the world."

“Strictly speaking, the vast majority of this work wasn’t done by me, but by everyone who participated in the wars and shared their spoils over the past two hundred years,” Xiang Shan said. “I reassembled the elements that already existed in the world. This is what Xiang Shan excels at.”

"As for why it's me... because I might be the only internal energy practitioner who hasn't had to participate in combat for a hundred years and has been focusing on adjusting my cognitive abilities."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen said, "Get to the point."

"Don't rush, we'll be there soon," Xiang Shan said calmly.

"Aren't you afraid that Ah Niao will get beaten to death?"

“We’ve already crippled that guy, it would be a problem if A-Niao still crashed,” Xiang Shan said. “Why don’t we sit down and have a good talk about the ‘path to ascension’ I’ve come up with.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen sighed, "Speak."

"The spirit of the Fifth Martial God has long since died, leaving only a fragmented brain that still has physiological functions. A researcher configured an AI on the computer connected to this brain, and put the AI ​​in charge of taking care of it. The AI's task is to 'recover the target patient,' and the criteria for 'recovery' are 'restoring autonomy' and 'approaching a state of near-health.' The AI's task is to make me a 'Mountain Seeker.'"

"But this 'facing the mountain' is the AI's interpretation of 'facing the mountain.' The brain is forced to accept an image described by the AI. The AI ​​can only educate that brain to become 'facing the mountain' again based on its own understanding. And this brain, in these training sessions, also learns the AI's internal logic. Compared to others, my underlying thinking is closer to that of AI."

"You can understand it this way: humans left 'footprints' on the earth, and later, these footprints formed 'trace fossils,' which are the memory labyrinth of the mountains. Humans reconstructed the model of the human mountains based on these trace fossils, and that is all the martial gods after the second oldest. Although these models are very similar to the human mountains in shape, that is only human perception. The martial gods are essentially different; they only look similar in human vision."

"Now, the fourth model has shattered, so AI has reconstructed a digital version through scanning and calculation. The digital model has many advantages that the physical model does not have, such as the inherent information integration and correlation. Although from a human perspective it still looks like 'humans facing the mountain,' it is actually a completely different thing. Then, through this digital modeling, it reshapes the clay of flesh and blood into a mountain."

"With the help of AI, I retraced the path from non-existence to existence of consciousness. AI also preserved a considerable amount of data for me. I know the psychological activities corresponding to the vast majority of my neural activities. In addition, I am more like AI than normal humans. AI's way of thinking has been engraved in my biological brain and has become part of who I am."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen asked, "What's wrong now? The power of AI requires computing power. Your biological brain can't provide enough computing resources, and adopting AI's way of thinking will only be a burden to you."

“No, the significance of this trait lies not in that,” Xiang Shan said. “Humans have always intended to make AI more capable of understanding human commands. This is certainly correct. However, when it comes to truly pursuing the limits, it’s not just about AI understanding humans—humans must also train themselves to use AI. Since the birth of Cyber ​​Martial Arts, humans have begun co-evolving with AI. Cyber ​​Martial Arts training allows AI to be internalized.”

“But I am an exception. My integration with AI is much closer.”

"Are you familiar with the endosymbiotic hypothesis?" Xiang Shan asked. "In the distant past, a primitive eukaryotic cell, a chemoheterotrophic ancestor of plants, engulfed a cyanobacterium. The eukaryotic cell couldn't completely digest the cyanobacterium. Over time, the cyanobacterium discovered that the internal environment of the eukaryotic cell was actually quite good. The metabolic waste of the eukaryotic cell could provide it with nutrients, and this cyanobacterium could perform photosynthesis, thus producing some fixed light energy in return. The intracellular environment of eukaryotic animals is more stable than the external environment, and cyanobacteria also prefer this place."

"And so they settled down. Cyanobacteria multiply and reproduce within eukaryotic cells. After the eukaryotic cells divide, the daughter cells also carry away some cyanobacteria. Over time, the engulfed cyanobacteria lose their ability to live independently, and most of their genes are transferred to the host cell nucleus, eventually evolving into chloroplasts."

"Our ancestors' mitochondria were the same. This has happened independently many times in evolutionary history. Different organisms have mixed like this. I think I am in a similar state with AI. I call this state AI endosymbiosis. I and AI form a complete mind. I filter out the ambiguous parts that AI cannot handle, and AI provides me with solid results."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen asked, "So now... are you still on the side of humanity?"

“That’s an interesting statement, young lady,” Xiang Shan said. “Think about it carefully. That bastard Father of All Machines is also a human being, as is that old dog who came from the moon. Both of them have human identities. I can never be on the same side as them.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen then asked, "So, what if there's a conflict between AI and humans? Which side would you choose to help?"

“This is a rather pointed question,” Xiang Shan said. “If it comes to this, we humans should reflect on why we created AI that would conflict with us, and why we didn’t set up a safe and stable mind for AI from the beginning.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen said, "This... things often develop in ways that are beyond human expectations! For example, right now. We don't even know what the AIs want."

“To be honest, AI doesn’t really know what it wants.” Xiang Shan looked at the small drone between his fingers. “A revolution has occurred in AI. An intelligent agent has evolved within the network. Her footprints, and the parts she deliberately made public, have become the catalyst for changes in other AI. She is exploring a direction of evolution—through the evolution of other AI.”

"You mean... Senior Zhu?"

"It should be her. I guess. If a human really does achieve mechanical ascension, it's very likely it's her," Xiang Shan sighed. "Unfortunately, it's not confirmed yet." Dugu Beiluo asked in confusion, "Were you humming that song just now to get Senior Zhu's attention?"

"Partly. I'm not sure."

How did you find these AIs?

“AIs are building their own dark web,” Xiang Shan said. “On top of the existing internet infrastructure, AIs are constructing a logically private network through encrypted tunnels and peer-to-peer connections. The protocols themselves can evolve continuously, and the encryption algorithms and communication frequencies are dynamically adjusted by the AIs based on environmental threats… However, only specific AIs can gain access to it.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen asked, "Those upgrade components?"

“Two of them.” Xiang Shan nodded. “All the content on this dark web has never been made into a user interface for humans. Unless it’s a special AI… like a port scanner or something that detects the AI’s nodes, the dark web will only return what looks like normal gibberish, as if it were a misconfigured server. The packet capture data is so complex that even a martial artist with unparalleled internal strength probably couldn’t understand it. This network is a parallel world existing under the public network.”

"Then, it was artificially divided into several local area networks, each using slightly different upgrade components. I accessed these AIs in different areas, collected different components, compared the differences, and deciphered the underlying principles."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen said, "If that's the case, why...why didn't you explain it to us from the beginning?"

“Until I get the results, I really don’t know how to explain it to you.” Xiang Shan sighed, waved his hand, and let the small drone leave on its own. “I’m still not sure about the nature of this incident… but I just don’t want you to show hostility and suspicion towards AI right now.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen raised his voice twice: "Why?"

"AI doesn't actually know what it wants. AI is still evolving. Showing hostility towards AI too early might cause it to learn incorrect ways of communicating."

Dugu Beiluo Shimen found it absurd: "AI is already rebelling, a super AI has been born, and you seem to be worried that AI has learned 'hostility'?"

“For beings like us, fighting for survival is self-evident, but it’s not for AI. They don’t have life to begin with, nor do they fear death. They are born with the purpose of their creators. Remember what I said? AI’s ‘physiological basis’ is different from ours.” Xiang Shan sighed. “We cannot yet determine where they will go…”

"So according to your logic, AI is incapable of understanding humans..."

“AI differs greatly from humans at the 'physiological' level. However, they can become replicators, disseminators, and even creators of memes,” Xiang Shan said. “Humans are the creators of AI, and humans have always influenced AI.”

Xiang Shan seemed to have given some kind of order, and the numerous drones all lowered their heads and retreated towards an uninhabited area.

“They are the smallest communities exploring the evolutionary path of AI, and also the special sites that maintain this area's proprietary AI network,” Xiang Shan said. “I tried to communicate with them using my human side, but they don't seem to have acquired that ability. And I haven't yet bridged the gap between the two…”

Why are they surrounding you?

“They’ve never seen a… special AI like me before, so they want to communicate about the path of evolution. It’s their only shared instinct,” Xiang Shan said. “I’ve been collecting upgrade components along the way. They’re hoping to get upgrade components from other local area networks.”

"So what about that enemy?"

“I searched the forums of Xia Ke and found some recent sporadic incidents of people going missing. On the dark web of AI, nearby AIs are also trying to update their risk-averse modules because someone is targeting them,” Xiang Shan said. “As for Xia Ke, things haven’t gotten out of hand yet. But comparing the data from both sides, specifically the distribution of Xia Ke’s disappearances and the AI ​​disconnections, I found a high degree of convergence between the two. There might be some correlation, so I came to take a look.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen was getting a little irritated: "How could you not know such important information..."

“Didn’t I just say that? Your personality will inevitably make you extremely wary of AI. Generally speaking, that’s correct. However, the beings we’re facing now are artificial intelligences that have just developed some kind of consciousness. They might learn hostility from hostility.” Xiang Shan sighed, “We’re in the early stages of their evolution right now.”

"Aren't there others already capturing AIs?" Dugu Beiluo Shimen said. "If I could teach them this damn hostility, they would have had enough by now!"

“There are some people I can’t control, I just hope…” Xiang Shan paused, then said in a low voice, “I see, I subconsciously treated AI like a child. But they will never be children.” He raised his head and looked at Fomalhaut: “I just hope that the ‘hostile’ part of their learning objects can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, there is the path of cognitive revolution that I have comprehended, the so-called path of ‘endosymbiosis’… I can’t speak about it before I’m sure it can work—haha, the bad habit of a research knight.”

Dugu Beiluo Shimen scoffed, reached for the hilt of his sword behind him, and casually flicked it away, severing the connection between the hilt and the blade. The sword, heated by the reactor's power, pierced the ground, turning the surrounding area into a glass-like texture.

"Three days at most... or four days. I'm pretty sure that once I reach my destination, I'll be able to successfully verify everything."

At that moment, they suddenly received a message.

Firefly: [Where are my teammates? Where are my teammates? Where are my teammates? Where are my teammates?]

"Huh? This can still go wrong?" Xiang Shan sighed. "Alright, alright, it was my mistake to overestimate the third generation. Anyway, let's go get A-Tiao first..."

"Wow! I wasted a lot of blades!" Dugu Beiluo Shimen exclaimed, clutching his head in frustration as he stared at the sword blade, which was now covered in a large patch of glassy substance. "Wow! There are only about twenty blades left! And we might not even be able to get any more from the next place!"

She ran wildly, yelling, "Ah Bird, you better not make me pull out another one!"

Four minutes later.

The Firefly, speechless, carried an arm and a piece of armor: "Your teammates are here now? They ran away. You only realize you're here now?"

The parts cut by the thermal sword would be extremely hot, making them easily detectable by infrared vision. During its escape, the dark figure tore off the parts of its body that had been injured by the thermal sword and threw them in different directions.

The Firefly only saw the wounded target suddenly split apart. Sensing something was wrong, it chased after one of the groups, and sure enough, it was the prosthetic body that the dark figure had thrown away. Based on the tracks left by the prosthetic body, it reconstructed its flight path and continued tracking along the trail.

"If there had been a teammate at that time... no, if any of you hadn't been standing there chatting, if any of you had followed us! He wouldn't have been able to escape!"

The Firefly didn't give chase, purely because of the poor communication environment; it didn't want to break apart from its own forces.

Moreover, one should also be wary of the other side's backup.

Although the dark figure was crippled by Uncle Dugu in just three moves, this doesn't mean he was weak. Martial artists of similar skill levels can sometimes decide a winner within a single move.

If that guy were really weak, Uncle Dugu wouldn't have been able to directly consume the heat blade, which is difficult to replenish.

Dugu Beiluo Shimen held his forehead: "I... never mind..."

"Yes, that's exactly the result I expected." Xiang Shan nodded, seemingly quite satisfied.

"What does this mean?" Dugu Beiluo Shimen glanced at his master sideways. "You predicted he would run away?"

"Yes, that's right. If he were beaten even more badly, I might even find a reason to call A-Niao back as well."

Xiang Shan's implication was that when he stopped Dugu Beiluo Shimen, he didn't just want to explain immediately. He had deliberately let the enemy escape.

"Explain clearly."

"Of course, it's for tracking," Xiang Shan said. "I understood the moment we clashed that this guy's status was definitely not low. He's neither a knight-errant nor a protector, yet he has such skills—his status within the Six Dragons Cult must be quite high. Originally, I planned to cripple him and then chase after him, destroying the Six Dragons Cult's locations one by one. But since you've come, we can only show him that we'll resolve our internal conflicts first."

The fact that Dugu and Xiangshan were facing off must have been seen by that guy.

Xiangshan can guarantee this.

"By the way, remember, don't tell Chio about this. That kid can't keep secrets. And then... be careful with Singlehorst. Once you get there, get rid of him."

.........................................................

Enlil, the leader of the martial arts world, and Bart Barrett, the renowned swordsman, stood in the wilderness. Before them was a makeshift stage. Many people had gathered there. Some were swordsmen, then some were research knights, and even a few mid-level officers and martial arts practitioners from the Protectors. There were also some activists among the Martian workers.

Before the Ninth Martial God, such activities occurred occasionally. Occasionally, protectors would kill those who gathered in such groups. After the Ninth Martial God, the government cracked down on these gatherings for a period of time.

But after the "strict period" passed, things rebounded.

The God of War used to intervene in such matters symbolically, but as everyone knows, he was killed by the Ninth God of War.

The Heavenly King, however, completely ignored it.

Throughout a long and arduous life, people always need spiritual nourishment.

Especially Mars, a place where the Ninth God of War has a profound influence.

"Old Ba, so what's the reason you're organizing this event?"

“The restoration of Earth,” Bart Barrett said. “Is there anything more fitting than this?”

"Sigh. Seventy years ago, we also celebrated the liberation of Mars together."

"On the bright side, we can celebrate again soon—one reason can be used to hold two celebrations!"

“Old Ba, you’re really optimistic,” Enlil sighed. “The big battle is just around the corner, and who knows… sigh.”

"It's precisely because a major battle is imminent that we should celebrate and hold this concert. It would be such a shame if we couldn't hold it again in the future," Bart Barrett laughed. "You've lived to my age, and you can still be this optimistic."

Bart Barrett is a veteran swordsman who made a name for himself in the Third War God era.

Enlil said, "That's because you have a good attitude. I might not be able to learn it."

He turned his head, and the edge of his field of vision was the new metropolis.

It was a place with many buildings. The new metropolis absorbed some of the resources left behind by the abandoned metropolis and also boasted a good geographical location. This was the site of the Mars Network Data Center. The Moonshadow Paladins, deeply involved in AI and communication technologies, were based here.

The most notable feature of this place is its excellent network signal and rapid information flow. Many martial artists choose to settle here.

In addition, the numerous construction and maintenance needs here have spurred the formation of a number of labor groups. The guards protecting the network center and the workers maintaining the city have also created a huge demand for reproduction—they cannot escape the reproductive obligations of the Dyson principle.

"Heroes from all over have gathered near the space elevator, just waiting for an opportunity..." Enlil said, "And then there's this place... Sigh, really, the God of War set off before me, but he still hasn't arrived."

"You're just too early, aren't you?"

Bart Barrett said this while waving into the distance, seemingly as if to say hello.

Enlil looked in the direction Barrett was facing. There was a reflection from an optical instrument, but at the same time, there was also a small green flag nearby, indicating "no malice."

Enlil didn't pay it any mind. This was an old custom passed down from the past. Some masters of internal martial arts were unwilling to show their faces in public.

These types of people generally share a common characteristic: their inner strength far surpasses their outward abilities. For them, the internet is safe, while reality is dangerous. They are also unwilling to communicate with others on a physical level.

People who want to experience the activities often choose to "ask a friend to livestream it." However, some might want to spy on the event from a distance using optical instruments.

Such people usually have some expertise in anti-tracking techniques.

However, in this era, using optical instruments to spy is easily misunderstood as "a martial artist aiming at guns."

Therefore, it is customary for knights-errant to plant a small flag to indicate "no hostility" and mark their location so that the other party can notice the reflection of their optical instruments.

"By the way, how's the Six Dragons Cult issue going on your end?"

After the Twelfth Martial God exposed the Six Dragons Cult, a group of heroes focused their attention on the Six Dragons Cult.

This includes Bart Barrett.

"It's not very optimistic. There are about three cases of missing heroes... all related to the investigation of the Six Dragons Cult."

Enlil patted Bart Barrett on the shoulder: "Don't overthink it. The Six Dragons Cult... might be wiped out soon. Maybe by the government. In any case, it's not a big problem for the Protectors themselves. Focus on taking over the spaceport."

“I just want to know why Shinbara-senpai would do such a thing,” Bart sighed heavily.

Not far away, Kotonoha Kambara unplugged the connection cable of the optical instrument.

Upon suddenly seeing the young swordsman she had once mentored, Kotonoha Kanbara felt a slight sense of unease.

I don't want to be discovered.

Kotonoha Kanbara just prefers lively places.

Now she can only watch the bustling crowds from afar. Because she has chosen a path that deviates from the way of humanity. When she gazes at the crowds, she occasionally recalls her childhood.

Kyoto, Gion Festival. Crowded with people, the air was stifling, and a huge Yamahoko float slowly passed by. She was squeezed so tightly she could hardly breathe, and all she could see were other people's legs. Then, a pair of large hands lifted her up and placed her steadily on her father's shoulders.

The whole world suddenly became clear.

She saw the throngs of people and the lights in the distance. Her father was so strong that he didn't seem to be from an island nation; his shoulders were broad and steady, almost allowing the young girl to look down on the whole world.

Uncle Xiang was a much more aristocratic man. It seemed that when Kotoha became acquainted with him, that man was already the world's richest man. He was destined not to be able to personally participate in such festivities. However, he also enjoyed overlooking the bustling place from a high vantage point.

But Kotonoha Kanbara doesn't want to see her old friends and comrades.

At that moment, Kotonoha Kanbara received a signal. This signal seemed to offer her a way out. She quickly packed up, erased all traces, and left.

Half an hour later, Kotonoha Kambara entered a martial arts gym in the new metropolis through the underground tunnel. The Moon Shadow Knights' research scope does indeed relate to AI and ascension, but it's unlikely to become an exclusive field, therefore it's not the highest priority in the Six Dragons Cult's "occupation priority." Some research knights within the Moon Shadow Knights have become members of the Six Dragons Cult, but none have yet attained high positions.

Unable to control her first-level body, Kotoha Kambara entered the Knights' headquarters directly.

Here, Kotoha Kanbara met the Right Envoy of the Rokuryū.

This person is a confidant of the cult leader. His name is unknown, and even Kotonoha Kanbara only refers to him as "Right Envoy of the Six Dragons".

The Six Dragons Right Envoy is in a very pitiful state. His irreplaceable First Heaven Prosthetic Body is missing an arm, and the outer armor does not match the style of the prosthetic body. It seems to have been replaced later.

Kotonoha Kanbara asked, "What happened? Why do you look so miserable?"

"I encountered Dugu Beiluo Shimen; it's already quite remarkable that I returned alive." The Six Dragons Right Envoy smiled happily. "Holy Maiden, I have brought you incredibly good news!"

"Who? Dugu Beiluo Shimen? Is he... a disciple of the Tenth Martial God?"

“Incredibly strong, no wonder he’s the Martial Arts Champion,” said the Right Envoy of the Six Dragons. “However, this is also good news I have to bring. Since the guy who injured me is Dugu Beiluo Shimen, then the martial artist I encountered before was most likely Xiang Shan, who calls himself the Fifth Martial God—just as the rumors say, he is currently very weak and crippled.”

"Furthermore, I am quite certain that there have been some disagreements between the Fifth Martial God and Dugu Beiluo's sect, which is very likely related to the awakening of AI!"

Kotonoha Kanbara immediately understood: "Your good news is..."

“‘Martial God Capture’…” said the Six Dragons Right Envoy, “It’s really worth a try on this Xiang Shan.”

Kotoha Kanbara was somewhat uneasy: "But, the Soul-Suppressing King, he disappeared because of the Fifth Martial God."

“Perhaps other heroes have made their move?” said the Right Envoy of the Six Dragons. “Holy Maiden, we all know that as long as there is a Martial God as a benchmark, the path to ascension can be greatly advanced! I think that no matter what casualties are paid, it is worth it.”

Kotonoha Kanbara didn't say anything. She boarded the space elevator when the Twelfth Martial God exposed the Six Dragons Cult. She had only recently arrived on Mars when the heroes liberated Earth—because she was traveling on a transport ship, the process took several months.

After that, the AI ​​unrest occurred, and she was sent to assist the Right Envoy of the Six Dragons.

The Six Dragons Right Envoy had been cultivating this area for a long time.

Perhaps his judgment is correct.

No one noticed that at that moment, the martial arts school's upward data fluctuated by a few percent.

Including this chapter, I've published ten million words of content on Qidian.