Imperial Capital.

Rock Garden Attraction.

The black coffin shook more violently than ever before, and the coffin lid even jumped once!

On top of the black coffin, there was an inconspicuous sword mark that seemed to come alive when the lid moved.

In an instant, Sword Qi enveloped the entire black coffin, suppressing the malevolent energy along with it!

The coffin lid was nailed shut, leaving not even the slightest gap.

The maniacal laughter abruptly ceased, and the world returned to silence, leaving only the sound of the man in black gasping for breath.

After a moment.

The voice of the old man inside the black coffin sounded again, filled with endless weakness,

"Almost lost control..."

Those five short words brought immense mental pressure to the man in black. Reflecting on the scene that had just unfolded, he was still shaken.

If the old man inside the black coffin had lost control, it would have brought immeasurable damage to the human race, even affecting the battle lines against the Abyssal Plane!

This black coffin was both a life-sustaining artifact for the old man and an unbreakable seal.

"You had more to say earlier, continue."

After being suppressed by the Sword Qi, the old man, though weak, was more clear-headed.

"Oh, right!"

The man in black hurriedly said, "Asura went to challenge the third level today!"

The old man inside the black coffin blurted out, "What, did he clear it at SSSS Rank again?"

"Not yet."

"Phew—"

The old man actually breathed a sigh of relief!

Asura was too monstrous, which instead gave him tremendous mental pressure!

This pressure came from considering the bigger picture.

As a former Great War God, he stood among the top combat forces of the human race, second only to the Supreme Beings.

The perspective from which the old man viewed problems was far beyond that of others.

The standoff between the human race and the Abyssal Plane was an extremely fragile balance.

In terms of overall strength, the human race was far inferior to the Abyssal Plane, very weak.

But the many Demon Gods of the Abyssal Plane were not united, constantly fighting and crushing each other, with severe internal strife.

It's like two people fighting,

The human race, with 100 points of strength, was very united and could achieve an effect of 100 points, even 110 points!

While the demon race had 1000 points of strength, each limb had its own ideas, sometimes even hitting itself, ultimately achieving only 100 points of effect!

It was precisely because of this that both sides could reach the current stalemate, pulling at each other, unable to do anything to the other.

And Asura's emergence was undoubtedly a change to the situation!

In the long run, with Asura, the human race's strength would surely improve steadily, with no disadvantages.

But analyzing the current situation, Asura's appearance would alert the Demon Gods of the Abyssal Plane, and they might even unite to deal with the threat of Asura!

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Such things had happened more than once in history!

Whenever a Supreme Being seed of the human race emerged, the unity index of the demon race would rise sharply until the Supreme Being seed achieved the position of Supreme Being, and everything settled down, leading to a new stalemate between the two sides!

"Cough, cough... If Asura is too monstrous, those Demon Gods might put aside their past grudges and disputes over interests, unite unprecedentedly, which for our human race... is definitely not a good thing..."

The old man said intermittently.

In fact, this matter already had signs.

Xue Meng and Shadow Nine had mentioned to Ye Bai more than once that the human race's front lines were tight, and War God-level experts were stretched thin, rushing everywhere to put out fires.

The old man's worries were gradually becoming reality,

"Continue."

With the old man's permission, the man in black spoke again,

"Asura entered the third level today and advanced to the 20th square 21 minutes ago."

"The third level? Memories from long ago... Thinking back now, that woman named Medusa deceived us... As one grows old, they tend to reminisce, continue."

"Asura killed the Mine Python in 0.01 seconds!"

This was the biggest news the man in black brought!

Yesterday, Asura cleared at SSSS Rank, but he did not wake the old man as instructed.

As the old man said, frequent awakenings would only accelerate his death.

But the 0.01-second clearance was significant, and the man in black felt it necessary to report it immediately.

To his surprise, the old man was unusually calm upon hearing the news.

"This only means that Asura possesses extreme burst damage, possibly from a buff, a skill, or even a talent.

Our human race already has an invincible sword, and having another won't cut through this quagmire of a stalemate."

The old man's analysis was spot on, and he continued,

"Regardless, initiate the Dawn Plan ahead of schedule."

Initiate the Dawn Plan?!

The man in black's body stiffened slightly.

Wasn't this plan supposed to be initiated when Asura at least had Battle King-level strength?!

Could it be that in the old man's heart, Asura was already comparable to a Battle King?!

How could that be! Asura had only been in the world for four days!

Not daring to think further, the man in black felt a chill down his spine and quickly nodded in agreement.

"Understood!"

As everyone knows, the darkest hour is just before dawn.

So the Dawn Plan is also a plan for the darkest times.

"In the short term, don't wake me again, I still want to live for a few more centuries, with only so much life left, don't keep bothering me..."

The black coffin slowly sank.

This meeting was over.

The man in black bowed again, moved backward without turning, and left.

Half a minute later, he returned, disregarding any etiquette, and shouted at the black coffin that hadn't fully sunk,

"Ancestor, Asura, Asura just passed the 80th square and left a message!"

The black coffin trembled slightly, then sank sharply, causing the entire rock garden to shake, and even the Imperial Capital began to sway, like a paper boat in a basin of water, tossed by wind and rain.

The voice of the old man came from the black coffin once more.

"Monstrous..."

Then, he fell into endless darkness and slumber again.

...

"What should I write on the message board at the 80th square?"

Ye Bai stood before the message board, pondering how to show off appropriately.

[Asura: I came, I saw, I conquered]

As always, after showing off, Ye Bai quickly advanced to the 81st square.

[The state of these miners isn't good. If provoked, it will lead to a meaningless battle.]

In the mine, a group of dusty miners was resting.

Each person bore injuries, with bandages wrapped around wounds, blackened and filthy, some missing limbs, others leaning on crutches.

Not a single one of them was capable of fighting.

Ye Bai entered the mine, immediately drawing the miners' attention, with many casting wary glances his way.

Among the miners, a middle-aged man stepped forward, clearly the leader of the group.

The mining profession had an extremely high mortality rate, and even if one didn't die in the mines, they could easily succumb to various occupational diseases, dying young.

Because of this, miners with long service were exceedingly rare.

Their rich experience allowed them to handle any unexpected situations in the mines, earning them high esteem within the team, and they easily became leaders.

"Stranger, you're not welcome here. Either move forward or leave."

The miner leader's words reflected the thoughts of all the miners present.

"Relax, we're friends with a common goal."

Ye Bai took out a miner's helmet, "This was a gift from your companion whom I saved."

"How do we know you didn't kill him and take the helmet?!"

A young man shouted instinctively, his face youthful, the youngest miner there.

The miner leader turned his head and roared at the young man who had just spoken,

"Shut your mouth, you little brat! If you dare speak again, I'll smash your mouth! I swear I'll do it! Damn it!"

In the depths of the mine, in the tunnels, there were no weaklings who could make it this far.

Offending the other party for no reason was not what the miner leader wanted to see.

If this unnecessary conflict could be resolved, all the better.

"Sorry, as you can see, our people are a bit tense, none of us want anything bad to happen, right?"

As he spoke, the people behind the miner leader gripped their weapons tightly.

Ye Bai ignored their vigilance and continued,

"The miner I saved also told me about the marks you leave behind.

I followed those marks all the way here."

When Ye Bai explained the meaning of the marks, the miners' tense expressions relaxed, as if an invisible alarm had been lifted.

"You've proven your friendship with the miners, I apologize for the earlier offense, I hope you understand, after all, down here, anything can happen."

The miner leader exchanged a few more words with Ye Bai.

Ye Bai learned that before they set out, their group had over a thousand people!

But by the time they reached here, more than half had been lost, and those who remained were injured, unable to continue forward.

Hearing this, Ye Bai generously offered,

"I'll leave the same marks on the path ahead, if you recover, you can follow."

"Your kindness is like Mother Earth caring for her children, I can't express my gratitude in words."

The miner leader hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to speak,

"Perhaps it's too much to ask, but... do you have any water?"

"Yes, let me see, I have 20 liters of water, how much do you need?"

At the mention of water, all the miners' faces lit up with a strange glow, as if they saw hope for life.

"We have 32 people here, if you could spare us 32 drops of water..."

The miner leader looked a bit embarrassed, pulling out a bag of ores, the most valuable thing he could offer.

"In exchange, these are the essences we mined earlier, most of the ores we discarded, keeping only the most valuable part."

"Deal!"

32 drops of water for a bag of valuable ores, Ye Bai agreed readily.

As the ores were handed over, Ye Bai felt a slight weight, surprised at how heavy they were!

The greater the density, the better the quality of the ores!

Bidding farewell to the miners, Ye Bai continued on his journey.

After he left, under the miner leader's direction, each miner received a drop of water.

As soon as they had the water, everyone eagerly drank it.

A miraculous thing happened.

A miner tore off his bandage, tears welling up,

"My, my eyes can see again!"

A man lying on a stretcher exclaimed in surprise,

"I can feel my body! Damn, it hurts, someone punch me and knock me out."

"My arm, my arm!!"

A young man with a severed arm watched in disbelief as it regenerated, celebrating wildly.

Such scenes were everywhere.

Everyone's injuries were healing rapidly, as if a miracle had descended.

And all of this stemmed from the 32 drops of water Ye Bai left behind.

The miner leader's eyes filled with tears, choking up,

"The rumors were true! The rumors were true!"

"Water is the source of life!"

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