Fifteen fifteen

Two figures floated above a bottomless pit.

Due to the restriction of the sealed mimicry within the ruins, they hovered high above, far beyond the ruins’ boundary.

With no other choice, Yuan Hanshuang took out her radio telescope, hoping to find a way to call for help.

The silver-haired youth had his eyes closed, a pair of enormous white wings sprouting from his back, surrounded by a halo of holy light; the other, a black-haired youth, wore a half-mask resembling a fierce demon’s iron visage and lounged lazily atop the head of a skeletal dragon.

In terms of demeanor, appearance, and even aura, these two were undoubtedly the undisputed leaders among their peers.

The skeletal dragon, with its eye sockets flickering with eerie flames, looked familiar. Yuan Hanshuang carefully observed it through her telescope, confirming it was the very same one she and Goodze had unexpectedly encountered days ago at the mountain’s edge.

“Abyssal Bone Dragon, Black Prince, you shouldn’t have come here.”

After a brief standoff, the silver-haired youth spoke first.

Though young in age, his face seemed blessed by the gods—every feature exquisitely carved. Perhaps it was the long silver hair cascading down, or the radiant light enveloping him and the sacred wings behind, but from afar, he possessed a beauty that blurred the lines between masculine and feminine.

“What? Is this the territory of the Papal State as well, Your Holiness the Sacred Son?” the Black Prince retorted sarcastically.

The Sacred Son of the Radiant Sanctuary?

Yuan Hanshuang had just been guessing the silver-haired youth’s identity and now it was confirmed.

High-level mimicry talents were rare across the galaxy; whenever one appeared, it was widely publicized and documented. This Sacred Son was an S+ level sensation, especially since he had awakened the legendary mimicry “Archangel Gabriel,” worshipped by the Radiant Sanctuary for tens of thousands of years. His reputation peaked at that moment. Even after others gradually reached S+ rank, none caused such a stir.

The light attribute of mimicry naturally held a stronger counter against the insectoid race, and the appearance of Louga was an immense morale boost across the galaxy. It was no exaggeration to say that not only did the Radiant Sanctuary treat him like a beloved son, but several major powers cherished him as a prized treasure.

Yuan Hanshuang then turned her attention to the mysterious youth with slightly curled black hair, wearing the demon mask.

Just now, the Sacred Son called him “Black Prince.”

Only the heir of the Western Summer Empire was entitled to the title of Prince, yet the current imperial heir was an elegant middle-aged woman, known as the Crown Princess.

Even without further introduction, Yuan Hanshuang could guess this Black Prince’s background was formidable.

Dragons were the most renowned of all mythical mimicries. Though the Abyssal Bone Dragon was somewhat peculiar, it still ranked at the pinnacle of the mimicry hierarchy, disdainful of all others. If Yuan Hanshuang recalled correctly, the Abyssal Bone Dragon was among the top five on the current mimicry list, capable of challenging the third-ranked six-winged Archangel.

Thinking this over, Yuan Hanshuang felt a pang of admiration.

These two appeared only a few years older than her; without mentioning their life paths or backing forces, each wielded top-tier mimicry with S+ level talent, seemingly as common as dirt—enough to make anyone envious.

“Enough with the hypocritical pleasantries. Since we are both here for the last Silver Apple, let’s be honest.”

“The Silver Apple is precious, but I doubt it’s meant for you, Gabriel. After all, you’ve already become a mythic mimicry and can’t evolve further. So the Radiant Pope himself, that hypocritical old man, wants to evolve into a mythic mimicry and sent you here?”

The Black Prince sneered, “Louga, you really are the Radiant Sanctuary’s loyal dog.”

“Your provocations don’t affect me.”

Louga remained calm. “We both know that without someone triggering the core mechanism, the ruins cannot be activated.”

He spoke slowly. “The same applies to you. The Abyssal Bone Dragon doesn’t need this crystal core either.”

Knowing the other half’s situation, Louga hesitated before reluctantly adding, “The Black Emperor’s ambition is obvious. Collaborating with him is like bargaining with a tiger.”

“Put away your sanctimonious hypocrisy.”

The Black Prince laughed coldly. “Who do you think you are to question me? Do you really think that old tangerine peel, the Radiant Pope, is some good guy?”

His temper was notoriously bad, volatile and unpredictable, flipping in an instant.

In a flash, the floating bone dragon dissolved into a stream of light, entering the prince’s forehead. After synchronizing and possessing him, two enormous decaying bone dragon wings sprouted behind him, and pale dragon flames blazed fiercely in his palms.

Seeing this, Louga’s heart eased somewhat.

They were originally the same person split in two; though representing light and dark, good and evil, their thoughts were similar, occasionally sharing a twin’s sixth sense and telepathy.

At the moment the SSS-level ruins activated, both sides dispatched knights of the sanctuary or Black Tower shadows into the ruins, racing against time to seize the Silver Apple first.

The information was monopolized long ago. Only two top-tier powers operated on this polluted low-level planet; the entrance at Mountain Range No. 3 and the registered locations were tightly sealed and monitored. The only clues—the ancient civilization’s stone tablets—were firmly in their hands, with no chance of leakage.

Moreover, the resident mercenary groups on this low-level polluted planet were low-ranking and utterly incapable of exploring such dangerous ruins.

In summary, no one could bypass these two powers and steal the Silver Apple unnoticed.

As the current supreme leaders of the two factions present, they only needed to buy time for their subordinates. After all, obtaining the treasure sustaining the entire core of an SSS-level ruin would take some time.

“Let me see how much you’ve improved,” Louga said, golden light particles gradually floating around his angelic wings in response.

“I intend to,” Louga replied calmly.

In the distance, Yuan Hanshuang silently withdrew her gaze.

She put away the radio telescope she had just been about to use to call for help and slowly moved back along the corridor, without looking back. After several minutes, she finally sat cross-legged at a fork in the path.

Only then did she finally exclaim, “Holy hell!!!”

Those two words reverberated through her mind the entire way.

But considering what she had just heard—

In the awakened SSS-level ruins lay a legendary Silver Apple rumored to allow mimicry to break their own limits and evolve into mythic mimicry!

Amid all this weighty news, “Holy hell” perfectly summed up her current feelings.

Yuan Hanshuang was almost certain the giant crystal core she had just obtained was the very object that the Radiant Son and Black Prince were fighting over.

Who would have imagined that what these two colossal future heirs had fiercely contested for, yet failed to find, was quietly lying in the spatial pocket of an eleven-year-old girl? Truly a case of the snipe and clam fighting, with the fisherman gaining the benefit.

“This is bad. The origin of this thing is unknown. Though first come, first served holds, it’s not something easily sold.”

Being targeted by two major powers, it was clear it couldn’t be sold. Yuan Hanshuang was no longer an innocent ten-year-old believing she could go to the black market and walk away with a fortune.

Besides, the black market was run by the Black Tower. As a senior employee, Yuan Hanshuang knew all too well its dark underbelly. If she dared to bring this out, what awaited her after the transaction wouldn’t be money, but assassination and body disposal.

However, not being able to sell didn’t matter—it could be kept for personal use! Such a treasure could never become a hot potato.

Yuan Hanshuang directly pulled out the super-large crystal core from her spatial pocket.

Thanks to the earlier explanations, she now knew it was a valuable item. Though she didn’t yet understand its normal use—

“If it’s for mimicry evolution and so potent, maybe it can be eaten directly?”

She hesitated, comparing the massive crystal core that was larger than her entire body, just about to take a tentative bite when she suddenly felt a stirring deep in her mind.

A pale blue ripple appeared in the air, and the koi fish eagerly swam out.

Before Yuan Hanshuang could figure out how her mimicry had broken the ruins’ restrictions, the koi opened its jaws and swallowed the crystal core whole.

The diameter of the core was hundreds of times larger than its mouth; no one knew how it managed to swallow it. It was like a magic trick—the fish’s belly inflated like a balloon, leaving Yuan Hanshuang dumbfounded.

Though the spiritual mimicry’s consumption had the same effect as her eating it herself—

“Can mimicry stomachs burst?”

She was greatly shocked. Just as she reached out to poke the translucent belly, the koi’s eyes blinked drowsily, as if intoxicated, and instantly transformed into another form.

Because of Yuan Hanshuang’s caution, the koi rarely revealed its other side. At most, when alone, it would transform into a small black bird and fly around by itself. This was the first time it changed form without its owner's command.

The black bird fluttered its wings, dizzy and circling in place. Before Yuan Hanshuang could say anything, it suddenly shot forward like an arrow from a bow, flying out of the corridor and out of the pit. It spread its wings fiercely as if breaking free from shackles, soaring freely.

“What?”

Watching this unknown mimicry, which should never have appeared nor flown out of the sealed SSS-level ruins, both Louga and the Black Prince simultaneously halted, exchanging looks of suspicion and uncertainty.

Under the sunset burning the distant horizon, the bird’s previously soft feathers and fine down fell off in patches, turning into pale blue energy fragments that vanished into the air.

Following the falling old feathers came newly grown, majestic, sharp feathers, like a pair of black scissors radiating a cold and powerful aura.

Its size swelled like a balloon inflating.

Eventually, when it grew nearly as large as the current Yuan Hanshuang, the sudden rapid growth ceased.

Of course, not permanently halted. Limited by its owner’s current cultivation level, only at stage two, it had to pause its growth.

The newly born mysterious bird joyfully circled in the air, proudly showing off its beautiful new feathers, then suddenly surged upward with a sharp climb, letting out a long cry.

“Ji—”

Not an imposing sound, yet it heralded the birth of another mythic mimicry.

Just as the Abyssal Bone Dragon had descended, all the struggling insectoids on this polluted low-level planet kneeled in submission before this overwhelming pressure.

Thus, Louga and the Black Prince finally understood.

They had been beaten to it.