Chapter Thirty-Five: The Pact! A Gateway to a Higher Existence

After listening to Rudao Xuan’s terrifying explanation, everyone was left in stunned silence.

“So, according to you, we’re being raised by some kind of being—maybe the gods you mentioned—and if we’re deemed unworthy, we risk being wiped out?” The bald man, who had some acquaintance with Rudao Xuan, picked up where he left off, not feeling too distant from him.

“Exactly, that’s my deduction,” Rudao Xuan replied. “Moreover, I believe this so-called Bureau of Time-Space Management is nothing more than a program, or perhaps an artifact—an SSS-level artifact. Behind it lies a truly advanced being. Did you all notice that the task assigned to Wood has no time limit? That means the artifact itself cannot determine whether the task can be completed or not. If we interpret it this way, then the purpose of assigning us these missions becomes clear: to train our abilities while eliminating unknown life-forms invading the planes. We can also view it as a covert confrontation between two different higher powers, with us serving as gladiators in their arena, which is exactly what those pulling the strings want.”

Everyone fell into deep thought. Wood finally asked, “So, what do you suggest we do?”

“What should we do? Go with the flow, of course.” Rudao Xuan raised his eyebrows. “We can’t go against such beings. Our only choice is to adapt. Don’t think you’re the protagonist who can break the rules—doing so would only lead to a miserable end.”

“How do we adapt?” Wood pressed.

“With a Contract Crest,” Rudao Xuan replied. “You and I are both chosen, and the other three have been chosen by us. By signing this Contract Crest, I believe we’ll gain many benefits from the Bureau’s future missions. That being, or whatever stands behind it, will cultivate us. All we need to do is ride the tide. Even if we can’t gain power to match those beings, we must at least ensure they can’t crush us at will. This contract is our path to ascend.”

As he spoke, excitement sparked among the group, and everyone began clamoring to sign the contract.

“In my plan, we should have an agent from the Cultivation Plane. That plane seems to have some connection to those higher beings,” Rudao Xuan continued.

Wood said helplessly, “I did apprentice under a master from the Cultivation Plane, but since I came back from my trial, I haven’t been able to contact him. He used to say that cultivators often go into seclusion for years on end—he’s probably shut away, consolidating his realm.”

Zigui stepped forward with a laugh. “What’s so great about the Cultivation Plane? As the agent from the Sci-Fi Plane, I’m the best choice for the contract! Don’t forget, I’m heir to a major family in our world. If we brothers work together, there’s nothing we can’t handle!”

Rudao Xuan pushed up his glasses and scrutinized him. “Your power is too low. But it’s true, cultivators’ way of seclusion is troublesome and would impact our overall actions. Since you’re the heir of a powerful family in the Sci-Fi Plane, you’ll be responsible for acquiring the resources we need in the future!”

Zigui’s mouth fell open; he was speechless. Who told him to be the weakest here? Even though Wood’s power was lower, he was the one holding the Contract Crest!

Rudao Xuan was truly formidable. Originally, Wood had called everyone to discuss joining the contract team out of free will, but after a few words from Rudao Xuan, everyone felt they had no choice but to join, and now they were eager to do so.

With that, Wood retrieved the Contract Crest from his system interface. The golden five-pointed star immediately drew everyone’s attention.

“Use Contract Crest: You can form a team of up to five members. Current team: five. Conditions met. Note: All members’ personal attributes increase by 10%, skill power increases by 20%. Members cannot attack each other or take actions or speak in ways that harm teammates. Once the team is formed, all individual plane missions become collective missions (except special trials). If any member dies, the Contract Crest loses its power and all members’ skill power permanently decreases by 20%.”

After the prompt, the five-pointed star vanished. A faint golden glow swept over everyone, and a solemn voice filled the space: “With blood as the bond, with alliance as the oath! I bear witness—the contract is sealed.”

Instantly, they felt a surge of strength. The system confirmed that everyone’s physical attributes had indeed increased by 10%. “Wow! This feels awesome!” Zigui exclaimed in delight.

“Now, we must plan for our future,” Rudao Xuan said, as if he had already prepared everything. “Until now, we’ve each acted on our own. From now on, we must organize and strategize to complete our missions and use the resources of various planes to strengthen our physical abilities.”

“In fact, an individual’s strength consists of four components. First, basic physical attributes. Second, the skills each of you possess. Third, equipment and weapons. And fourth—and most important—the inner power you cultivate.” As Rudao Xuan spoke, everyone couldn’t help but feel admiration. They’d followed their instincts, but Rudao Xuan laid everything out clearly and pointed the way forward.

“For the second and third points, we already have natural advantages. Wood’s Demon-Refining Pot and my Smelting Furnace both grant us excellent skills and equipment. The fourth is the hardest. The power we cultivate is what truly sets higher beings apart from us. In other words, we cultivate human power, while those beings cultivate divine power—there’s no comparison. So, advanced cultivation methods are what we most lack right now.”

Wood asked quietly, “What about my True Essence?”

“Yes! That counts as an advanced method, and from what legends say, that power is closest to that of immortals. You should keep cultivating it,” Rudao Xuan nodded, and Wood was overjoyed.

“Gu Feng cultivates magical energy! In the Fantasy Plane, that’s the standard power. But as far as I know, your so-called gods rely on faith, which they call divine power. But relying on the power of others is unreliable. Keep cultivating magic instead, and I’ll help you transform it from quantity to quality!” Gu Feng was left a bit dazed—seemed the agent of the Fantasy Plane was less familiar with his own cultivation than even the agent from the Dream Plane.

“Baldy! What power do you cultivate?” Rudao Xuan asked.

“I… I’ve fused vampire and werewolf bloodlines—your modified bloodline card, actually. It removes both species’ weaknesses and combines their strengths: immense strength and the ability to regenerate so long as my head and heart are intact.”

“Relying on physical might is one way, though it’s not the best. But if you persevere, you’ll eventually find your own source power.” Rudao Xuan turned to Zigui.

“I… I’ve got nothing,” Zigui shrugged, laughing awkwardly. “But I know you’ll come up with something for me!”

“We’ll see,” Rudao Xuan said, pushing his glasses up. “I possess the power of slaughter. Combat increases my strength, so I don’t need to seek out cultivation methods. Our first task should be to find a way to enhance our physical attributes!”

Baldy quickly said, “In our Biochemical Plane, there are T, G, and S-type virus evolution serums. They greatly enhance physical attributes—we’ve all used them.”

“I know,” Rudao Xuan replied coolly. “Those serums do help, but it’s not enough. My plan… is to slay a dragon and bathe in its blood.”

The group looked at Rudao Xuan, waiting for him to continue.

“Yes, slay a dragon,” Rudao Xuan affirmed. “In the history of human civilization, every plane has dragon legends—some evil, some holy. Humans are fragile, but dragons are the strongest of all creatures. My research shows that dragon blood has powerful effects on genes. I believe bathing in it will trigger our next evolution.”

“Is your research reliable?” Zigui asked timidly.

“I recall a legend from one plane,” said Wood. “A dragon slayer became invulnerable after bathing in dragon blood—immune to blades and arrows.”

“That’s from a Norse myth in our Material Plane,” Wood explained. “But the slayer was covered by a leaf on his back, so he was killed through that weakness.”

“We have a similar legend, except the person gained immunity to magic and learned dragon speech magic,” Gu Feng added.

“Well! Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Since such legends exist, there must be some truth to them,” Rudao Xuan concluded.

Zigui suddenly interjected, “Wait—Rudao, you’re not seriously suggesting we hunt a dragon just because of these far-fetched legends, are you? I’ve heard dragons in the Fantasy Plane are second only to the gods in power!”

Rudao Xuan looked at him impassively, saying nothing. Zigui felt a growing pressure and quickly backtracked: “Forget I said anything.”

“Based on my analysis, there’s a 70% chance that dragon blood will trigger our evolution. Plus, slaying a dragon will boost our team’s combat power. So, it’s settled—we’ll target a dragon in the Fantasy Plane. Seems it’s the only plane with dragons right now!”

Gu Feng felt chills run down his spine. Slaying a dragon… the very thought was terrifying. He might be unstoppable among humans, but facing a dragon was another matter entirely. The title of “strongest creature below the gods” wasn’t just for show.

“You’re really planning to slay a dragon?” Gu Feng asked.

Rudao Xuan gave him a look. “With your strength, do you really think we can’t succeed?”