Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

As the sound of Lord Rat's mechanical chariot engine gradually faded into the distance, only Lin Yi and his group remained on the open ground in front of the hall.

As dusk deepened, the sky shifted from leaden gray to dark purple, and the shadows at the edge of the forest began to spread inward.

Lin Yi turned around and glanced at the people around him.

Su Xiao had already leaned back against the stone pillar. Bubuwang lay at his feet, its ears twitching occasionally, alert to any movement around it.

Shangyue folded her wings, but her fingers still rested on the hilt of her scimitar. Her stance appeared relaxed, but she was ready to strike at any moment.

The Dream Spirit girl sat on a collapsed stone pillar, swinging her bare feet and humming an unknown tune.

Finally, Lin Yi's gaze fell on Vago.

The contestant, who called himself a member of the Demon race, was squatting next to a Zerg corpse, poking at its powdering carapace with great interest.

Noticing Lin Yi's gaze, Vago looked up and smiled.

Lin Yi strode over.

His footsteps were very light, almost silent on the gravel ground.

But Vago's body visibly stiffened for a moment—though only for a second—before he regained his relaxed demeanor.

“Doctor,” Vargo stood up, brushing non-existent dust off his hands, “is there anything you need?”

Lin Yi stopped in front of Vago, the two of them less than three meters apart.

This distance is practically face-to-face for high-level experts.

Vago's smile remained, but Lin Yi noticed that his right hand fingers had slightly tucked inward—a natural, instinctive defensive reaction.

"Your disguise is excellent," Lin Yi said.

Vago blinked, a barely perceptible glint flashing in his blood-red eyes: "Disguise? I don't quite understand what you mean. I am indeed a demon, without a doubt."

“Your mimicry talent is indeed powerful,” Lin Yi continued, “You are able to completely imitate the target’s appearance, aura, and even energy fluctuations, but there is one detail you have overlooked.”

"Oh?" Vago raised an eyebrow, feigning curiosity.

Lin Yi looked into the other person's eyes: "You don't have the power of a contract."

The air was quiet for a moment.

Vago's smile remained unchanged, but the playful look in his blood-red eyes gradually faded, replaced by scrutiny and vigilance.

This was indeed a problem she overlooked; every member of the demon race is a master of manipulating contracts.

If a demon doesn't have a contract, other races would laugh their heads off.

Not far away, Shangyue turned her head, and the Dream Spirit Clan girl also stopped humming.

"Oh dear, we've been found out." Vago sighed, spreading his hands. "But Doctor, aren't you afraid I'll silence you by saying it so directly?"

As soon as he finished speaking, three auras locked onto Vago.

Su Xiao didn't look up, but continued wiping the tablet in his hand. But Vago could feel that if he made any sudden movement, the knife would slice through his neck in a fraction of a second.

“You can’t,” Lin Yi said.

"So sure?"

“If you wanted to make a move, you had a better chance when those five people were attacking you.” Lin Yi paused. “But you chose to help me. So you’re not an enemy, at least not for now.”

Vago remained silent.

A few seconds later, he—or rather she—suddenly laughed.

The laughter was no longer the sinister sound unique to the demon race; instead, it became crisp and even somewhat cheerful.

“Interesting.” Vago raised his hand and gently wiped his face.

Like ripples on water, the face belonging to the demon male began to distort and melt, revealing its true form beneath.

It was a face somewhere between a boy and a girl, with healthy light brown skin and delicate features that did not appear fragile.

The eyes were still blood red, but the shape of the pupils changed from the vertical pupils of the demon race to round human pupils.

Her hair changed color from its original short black hair to a shoulder-length silver-white curly style.

What's most striking is her ears—slender and pointed, with fine downy hairs at the tips, clearly not human ears.

“The Whispering Clan.” Shangyue’s voice rang out, tinged with a hint of realization.

Vago—now we should call her by her name—turned to Shangyue and gave her a strange bow, placing her right hand on her chest and drawing a semicircle in front of her with her left: “Let me formally introduce myself, Vago Mo, the 274th generation member of the Whispering Clan. Of course, Vago Mo is an alias; my real name… cannot be revealed to you for the time being.”

The Dream Spirit girl curiously approached and circled around Vago: "The Whispering Clan? Is that the legendary race that can transform into any form with just a glance?"

“The rumors are a bit exaggerated,” Vago smiled helplessly. “We need to come into contact with the target’s body tissue, or at least observe it at close range for more than ten minutes, to achieve accurate mimicry. However, a superficial imitation can be done with just a glance.”

Lin Yi looked at the other person: "Why are you pretending to be a demon?"

“To survive.” Vago’s answer was direct. “In the Void, being a member of the Bard is not an advantage, but a death sentence. We are too ‘useful,’ so useful that countless forces want to lock us in cages and treat us as puppets that can be changed at will.”

Her tone was calm, but the chill in her words made the Dream Spirit Clan girl suppress her smile.

Shangyue nodded: "Indeed. Three hundred years ago, the Feather Clan Elder Council passed a resolution prohibiting any Feather Clan member from participating in the Singing Clan's slave trade. But that was only a nominal regulation."

“The rules on paper are enough,” the woman from the Yinyu tribe said. “At least they make those who arrest us more hesitant. But to be honest, most of the time these rules are no different from a piece of paper.”

As she spoke, she looked at Lin Yi again: "So, Your Excellency Physician, now that you've seen through my disguise, what do you plan to do? Kidnap me and sell me to some powerful Void Clan? Or..."

"Join the team," Lin Yi interrupted her.

Vago paused for a moment.

“You disguised yourself as a demon to get close to me, not just to find a backer in the battle for supremacy,” Lin Yi continued, “but because you want me to help you solve your identity problem.”

"...How did you know?"

"intuition."

Vago's expression finally changed completely.

She stared at Lin Yi for a full five seconds, then let out a long breath: "I take back what I said before. You're not just interesting, you're terrifying."

"So, is it a deal?" Lin Yi asked.

“Deal.” Vago said without hesitation. “During this battle for supremacy, I will fully cooperate with your actions. In exchange, after the battle, I hope to use your name to meet that person. From what I understand, that person seems to owe you a favor.”

Lin Yi nodded. Anyway, these were all favors from the past, so it didn't matter.

Just then, Shangyue walked over.

Shangyue was half a head taller than Wago, looking down at him: "Are you sure you can turn back into your original form?"

This question silenced Vago.

She raised her hand and looked at her palm.

The hands had delicate skin and distinct knuckles, and were gradually returning to their original state from their disguise—the nails turned a light pink, and the lines on the skin became more natural.

“To be honest,” Vago’s voice trailed off, “I’m not sure.”

She raised her head, and for the first time, a look of bewilderment appeared in her bloodshot eyes: "I've been pretending for too long. Since eighty years ago, I've never used my true appearance again. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I see other people's faces. Sometimes when I dream, I see myself in all sorts of different forms."

She paused, then smiled wryly, “I even need to check my true gender three times every morning in my notebook to make sure I don’t experience cognitive confusion when I’m pretending. In the history of our Whispering Clan, at least seventeen predecessors have completely lost themselves due to long-term pretense, eventually becoming ‘Faceless Ones’—without a fixed form, without a stable consciousness, just a lump of flesh and blood that can change at will.”

The Dream Spirit girl asked softly, "What did you write in your notebook?"

“First, I am a woman. Second, my real name is… I’m sorry, I still can’t tell you that. Third, my homeland is in the Emerald Forest of the Southern Void, although there are no longer any Bards there.” Vago spoke calmly, but the content of his words was heavy.

Lin Yi looked at her and said, "After the Battle of the Strongest is over, I can ask someone to help you with your consciousness anchoring."

"Consciousness anchoring?" The woman from the Whispering Clan's eyes lit up. "Do you know a master who specializes in the soul?"

“I know him,” Lin Yi thought of Hill, “and he’s very skilled.”

"Then..." The woman from the Yinyu tribe was about to say something when suddenly everyone looked up at the same time.

A mechanical notification sounded directly in their minds:
[Regional Announcement: The rankings for the seventh battleground region are now activated.]

Immediately afterwards, a semi-transparent phantom of a ranking list unfolded in the twilight, hovering above the forest, clearly visible to all participants.

The list contains several names, but the top three stand out:
First Place: Paradise of Reincarnation (2 points)

Second place: Death Paradise (1 point)

Third place: Winged Clan (1 point)

……

Su Xiao put away the tablet and stood up.

Bubuwang also stood up and looked warily into the depths of the forest.

The Dream Spirit girl pointed at the list: "We're number one! Shouldn't we move to another spot? There was too much commotion here, and now the list shows our position again..."

"No need," Su Xiao said.

He walked to the edge of the clearing and looked into the depths of the forest: "Someone will come."

As if to confirm his words, a few minutes later, the sound of branches rustling against each other came from the east side of the forest.

Two figures emerged from the shadows of the trees.

They are the twin brothers of Death Paradise.

They still looked the same as before—bald, with barcodes covering their heads, and a gray '£' shaped mark between their eyebrows that gleamed faintly in the twilight.

The two walked in perfect sync, one on the left and one on the right, even their breathing rhythms were identical.

This time, however, they stopped about 30 meters away from Lin Yi and his group.

This distance is delicate, falling outside the effective range of most long-range attacks yet sufficient for both sides to have a clear conversation.

“Everyone from the Paradise of Reincarnation,” the left twin spoke, “we’re here to discuss a partnership.”

A voice on the right chimed in: "It's not a fight."

Their voices were exactly the same, with no inflection, as if it were the same person speaking. Lin Yi looked at them: "What kind of cooperation?"

“Divide the areas,” the brother on the left said. “Twilight Island is about 800 square kilometers in area, and there are currently 94 contestants. We can divide the island into east and west halves. You clear the west half, and we will clear the east half.”

The guy on the right chimed in: "The top five teams will advance in three days. Fighting each other now will only benefit the other factions."

The guy on the left continued, "After we've cleared out the weaklings, we'll decide who makes it into the top five."

This proposal is both rational and cruel.

Calling the other contestants "minor fish" and then cleaning them up like sweeping up garbage, with the strongest contestants ultimately determining the winners, is indeed the most efficient approach.

The Dream Spirit girl muttered to herself, "That sounds so cold..."

“But it makes sense,” Vago replied in a low voice. “The battle for supremacy is not a game of sentimentality.”

Lin Yi looked at Su Xiao.

Su Xiao nodded slightly.

“Okay,” Lin Yi said to the twins in Death Paradise. “The western half is ours.”

"Deal," said the man on the left.

Without further ado, the two turned to leave.

But just then, Su Xiao suddenly spoke up: "Wait."

The twins stopped at the same time and turned around.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, like reflections at opposite ends of a mirror.

"Have you seen that person from the Meteorite Star?" Su Xiao asked.

There was a brief silence.

The brother on the right spoke up: "Armored man?"

The guy on the left chimed in: "The one who speaks slowly and deliberately?"

"Correct."

The man on the right raised his right hand and made a chopping motion: "I ran into him twenty minutes ago. He wanted to get us to cooperate, and his words were... naive."

The brother on the left added, "My younger brother found him annoying and broke one of his arms."

The brother on the right sounded a little impatient: "That guy was spouting stupid things like 'I am the chosen one of heaven' and 'I will surely reach the top in this battle.' When I cut off his arm, he was still yelling, 'How dare you hurt my divine body!'"

This description made the Dream Spirit girl chuckle.

Vago couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

But Su Xiao's expression didn't change: "Which direction did he run in?"

The brother on the left pointed to the depths of the forest to the east: "Over there. He used some kind of tool when he escaped; he shouldn't have gone far."

"Thanks," Su Xiao said.

The twins nodded and turned around again.

This time they really left, their figures quickly disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

Once their presence had completely vanished, Vago spoke: "Lord Destroyer, are you interested in the people from that Meteorite?"

“A little.” Su Xiao said, looking at Lin Yi, “I’ll go take a look.”

"Together," Lin Yi said.

“I’ll go too.” Shangyue immediately followed.

The Dream Spirit girl raised her hand: "Count me in!"

Vago shrugged: "Looks like I don't have a choice."

The group then headed towards the forest on the east side.

The forests of Twilight Island are denser than I imagined.

The trees were exceptionally tall, their canopies intertwining to form an impenetrable canopy thirty meters above the ground, blocking out even the last rays of sunlight.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of humus, which was soft and silent when stepped on, and the air was filled with the smell of damp earth and a faint floral fragrance.

Bubuwang walked in front, its nose close to the ground, occasionally looking up to check the direction.

Baha was responsible for aerial surveillance.

After walking for about ten minutes, Su Xiao suddenly stopped.

He crouched down and ran his fingers over a fern leaf.

There were a few drops of dark red liquid on the leaf, which had not yet completely solidified.

“Bloodstains,” Su Xiao said.

He stood up and looked ahead.

The trees there were relatively sparse, and there were clear drag marks on the ground—left by someone who was injured and struggling to walk.

About 300 meters ahead, there is a chaotic mass of life.

The aura was strong, but extremely unstable, like a candle flame that could be extinguished at any moment.

“It’s up ahead,” Lin Yi said.

The group quickened their pace.

Two minutes later, they spotted their target.

It was a clearing in the woods, with a fallen ancient tree in the center. The trunk was more than three meters in diameter and lay across the ground like a wall.

Behind the tree trunk, a figure could be vaguely seen sitting.

It was that armored man from the Fallen Star.

He is in a very bad state right now.

The left arm was neatly severed at the shoulder, and instead of bleeding, it flickered with unstable energy sparks.

There was a deep dent in the chest area of ​​the armor, as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.

A crack appeared in the helmet's visor, through which half a pale face and a bloodshot eye could be seen.

But what's most eye-catching is what's floating above his head.

That was a halo.

It is about one meter in diameter, composed of pure golden light, and its surface is covered with complex runes.

The halo slowly rotated, and with each rotation, wisps of golden energy were drawn from the air and poured into the armored man's body.

His skin would occasionally bulge with strange lumps, which would then quickly subside, as if something was wriggling under his skin.

The armored man noticed the arrival of the group.

He looked up, and his intact eye peered through the crack in his visor.

When he saw Su Xiao, his body visibly trembled.

“Destroy…Destroyer of Laws…” His voice was hoarse, still speaking slowly and deliberately, but the arrogance of before was gone. “And…the Feathered Clan…the Abyss Healers…”

He struggled to stand up, but as soon as he moved, he started coughing violently.

Su Xiao stepped forward and stopped ten meters away from the armored man.

He didn't draw his sword, but calmly looked at the other person: "You are the chosen one of the world?"

“…Yes.” The armored man gritted his teeth and said, “I am…the chosen one…you…cannot kill me…”

"Let me ask you a few questions."

The armored man was stunned.

He clearly hadn't anticipated this development.

Lin Yi then walked over and stood beside Su Xiao.

"Who gave you the World Protection?" Lin Yi asked.

"...It is the divine being," the armored man replied, a hint of unconscious pride in his voice. "I have been chosen...to bear the glory of the divine being..."

"Idiot." Shang Yue glanced at the armored man and made this assessment.

Lin Yi and the others nodded in agreement. It was clearly the world's blessing, but it had been distorted into a divine gift. It could only be said that the Meteorite Star was indeed worthy of being the stronghold of the ancient gods; it was truly something special.

In the end, the Dream Spirit girl couldn't bear to watch any longer and told the armored man the truth.

His one intact eye suddenly widened, his pupil contracting: "No...it's impossible...the elder said..."

“Your elders lied to you,” Shangyue interrupted him.

These words struck the armored man like a heavy hammer blow.

He opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but looking into Shangyue's silver eyes, all the words stuck in his throat.

A few seconds later, he looked down at his mutilated body and at the golden specks of light seeping from his wounds.

“…No wonder…” His voice trembled, “Every time I use my power… I feel… something gnawing at my insides… The elders said it was… the price of glory…”

"Foolish," Su Xiao commented.

After saying this, Su Xiao drew his long sword and sent the other party on his way.

One of the most important reasons why Su Xiao agreed to the Gemini's proposal was that the armored man was indeed the chosen one of the world, and he had a mission called "Surging the Sky and Shocking the Waves," whose completion rate was stuck at 83%.

If defeating the armored man allows me to complete the major mission "Soaring Through the Heavens," then I'll have made a huge profit. (End of Chapter)