144 The Saintess

This time, Zhong Yun heard him clearly. He turned around, a confident gleam flashing in his eyes. "Don't worry, we're not going to die. Scum like Wang Jingze wants to kill me? He's underestimating me far too much."

Though spoken in a joking tone, Yu Daoqing could sense his formidable self-assurance, and a spark of hope ignited within her. "What do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to tear this spaceship apart," Zhong Yun said viciously. "Let me finish dealing with these things first."

For some reason, seeing his utterly confident demeanor gave Yu Daoqing a deep sense of reassurance.

For so many years, she had been entirely on her own. Whether during the most triumphant moments of her life or when plunged into mortal peril, there was never anyone with whom she could share or shoulder the burden.

Now, having Zhong Yun by her side—though she hadn't thought much of it before—at this critical juncture, she realized that having someone to lean on each other with was such a comforting thing.

"I'll help." Yu Daoqing squatted down.

"Alright, arrange the energy blocks in this pattern..." Zhong Yun assigned her a task, giving her something to do so her mind wouldn't wander into wild anxiety.

Transforming energy blocks into bombs was not difficult. As long as the outer structure was breached, the immense energy within would lose its balance and naturally detonate. In truth, destroying the outer casing of an energy block was quite simple, requiring only a few common components.

Using energy blocks as bombs the way Zhong Yun did could truly be called wasting heavenly treasures. Energy blocks were extremely valuable, and their greatest worth lay in their outer structure; as long as the casing remained undamaged, they could be recharged indefinitely.

Davo lacked the technology to manufacture energy blocks and had to spend vast sums of money every year to purchase them from the Free Star.

Still, since they weren't his own possessions, he felt no heartache in squandering them.

Yu Daoqing was truly extravagantly wealthy. This backup spaceship actually contained tens of thousands of energy blocks. Zhong Yun simply bundled ten energy blocks together to create a single explosive device.

"Do you know about the World Tree?" Sensing the awkward silence, Zhong Yun picked a topic that might interest her. Up until now, he had never brought up the subject of the "World Tree." Having gone through life and death together this time, he felt their bond had deepened a layer further.

"Of course I've heard of it. The World Tree is the sacred artifact of our Garan people." Yu Daoqing's tone was filled with immense yearning, followed by a desolate sigh. "Unfortunately, with the annihilation of the Garan Kingdom, the World Tree vanished as well. Otherwise, how could we descendants of Garan have fallen to such a destitute state today?"

"However, I once heard that several centuries ago, a World Tree appeared in an extremely distant galaxy, though I don't know if it was true or false."

"Is the World Tree that important to us?" Zhong Yun asked.

"Important is an understatement," Yu Daoqing said solemnly. "The World Tree can be said to be the foundation of our Garan civilization. The reproduction and survival of our entire Garan race are inseparable from the World Tree. Without the World Tree, we have lost our root, and can only linger on in our current wretched state."

"Really that exaggerated?" Zhong Yun offered a disguised smile.

"Not exaggerated in the slightest. If our Garan people had a World Tree right now, in less than ten years, the strength of our entire clan would advance by a whole tier." Beneath Yu Daoqing's gaze of incomparable yearning lay an endless well of regret.

Zhong Yun did not respond. Many of the secrets he carried had not even been shared with his parents; unless absolutely necessary, how could he possibly reveal them to a woman—and a woman whose background was far from simple?

No matter how kindly or intimately she felt toward him, given her status and position, if he were to tell her about the "World Tree," it was absolute certainty that she would report it to the Garan Alliance.

And what kind of outcome would that lead to? A group of people of unknown origin, hiding behind the banner of righteousness, seizing the ownership of the "World Tree."

Zhong Yun would never do something so foolish. Unless one day, he attained a high position within the Garan Alliance; only then would the "World Tree" become his most powerful leverage to seize supreme authority over the alliance.

"I haven't told you this before, have I?" Yu Daoqing said softly. "My actual identity is the Holy Maiden of the Garan clan."

Zhong Yun was extremely surprised, never expecting her to be the Holy Maiden. "Holy Maiden" was a common term, but she wasn't a religious leader of any sort; their duty was to tend to the "World Tree," using their unique vital essence to provide nourishment for it.

According to records, a "World Tree" tended by a Holy Maiden grew much faster and possessed unimaginable properties.

The status of a Holy Maiden among the Garan people was very high, second only to the King, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the various ministers.

Zhong Yun finally understood why someone with Yu Daoqing's background could attain the position of branch president of the Garan Alliance in the Omi Galaxy. So she possessed such a special identity.

Holy Maidens were extremely rare across the entire Garan population, with an extremely low appearance rate. Back in the era of the Garan Kingdom, it was a frequent and awkward predicament that the number of Holy Maidens was fewer than that of the "World Tree."

Zhong Yun estimated that today, the entire Garan population likely had only this single Holy Maiden left before his eyes.

Thinking of her identity as the Holy Maiden, Zhong Yun felt a bit tempted. In Xiaoling's blueprint, the "World Tree" was an extremely crucial link. With the help of a Holy Maiden, the assistance rendered to him would be immense.

Having used up all the usable parts, they ultimately obtained ninety-eight small-scale bombs and eight colossal bombs each composed of thousands of energy blocks.

"Wang Jingze is certainly cooperative." Zhong Yun looked at the pile of homemade explosives and couldn't help smiling. "Let's go. We're going to go cause him some trouble."

Just like after the wreck of the Starlight, Zhong Yun was never one to sit idly and await death, especially now that he had a tier-ten master backing him up, while the *Mars* would still take several days to catch up.

Was there even any need to think about how to choose?

Zhong Yun's plan was simple: slaughter everyone on the spaceship, then board the *Wasp-3* and either head straight back to base or wait for the *Mars* to arrive. It was thoroughly safe.

Zhong Yun and Yu Daoqing went back to work. In front of the warehouse doors, the two of them stacked the remaining half—nearly twenty thousand energy blocks—while burying a gigantic homemade bomb beneath them.

Then they retreated to the very back of the warehouse, hauling over a hundred metal crates filled with provisions to barricade against each other, jamming them into the gap between the rear bulkhead of the warehouse and the crates.

Zhong Yun retrieved the communicator he used to contact Xiaoling from his pocket; this would also serve as the remote detonator for the explosives.

Their bodies pressed tightly together, their breaths mingling.

Yu Daoqing was perhaps unaccustomed to such intimacy, her face flushed slightly, lending an extra touch of allure to her exquisite features. In this urgent scenario, an unfamiliar sensation stirred within Zhong Yun's heart.

"Are you ready?" Zhong Yun asked.

Yu Daoqing nodded. Suddenly, Zhong Yun reached out, pulling her entire body into his embrace, and whispered softly in her ear, "Don't be afraid."

For the first time in her life being held in a man's arms, Yu Daoqing felt not a shred of resistance. Naturally resting her head against his shoulder, inhaling the faint, masculine scent of sweat mixed with exertion, she felt her heart pounding furiously.

The warm, fragrant, and soft body instantly ignited Zhong Yun's desire. He tightened his grip around her slender waist as if wishing to melt her entire being into his own body.

Yu Daoqing felt as though she were suffocating, yet this sense of suffocation made her think that perishing just like this wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

Amidst this passionate embrace, Zhong Yun pressed the switch. The two of them felt the bulkhead behind them shudder violently, and almost simultaneously, a deafening blast echoed out.

Zhong Yun's blood surged from the concussion of the thunderous roar, his head ringing with a dull buzz, while his hands tightly covered the ears of the person in his embrace.

After the explosion subsided for quite a while, Zhong Yun finally loosened his grip. Yu Daoqing raised her head from his chest, glanced at him, her expression twisting into one uglier than crying. "What's wrong with you?"