Chapter 355: I Gave You a Divine Weapon, and This Is How You Use It?
The heretic incident had caused a huge stir.
It could be said to be the biggest news story lately, drawing the attention of countless people.
Because this matter was closely tied to the interests of many.
Currently, there were over a hundred million adventurers around the world qualified to enter the secret realm. If you included their families and friends whose interests were tied to theirs, it was an absolutely massive group.
Now, with heretics appearing everywhere in the secret realm, ambushing and killing people, how could people not be worried?
If this issue wasn't resolved properly, many would end up avoiding the secret realm altogether in the future.
But what people worried about most was the new batch of students entering next May!
With so many heretics ambushing people in the secret realm, others could choose not to go, but the freshmen had no choice.
Once they bonded with a hero and obtained their hero talent, they would be forced to enter the secret realm three times.
There was no way around it!
If the heretic problem wasn't resolved by then, and freshmen with only talent but no strength entered the secret realm, running into a heretic would be certain death.
Now, it wasn't just the high school seniors themselves who were worried; their parents were even more anxious.
Many freshmen were already having second thoughts. If the heretic issue wasn't resolved by then, they would simply withdraw from next year's hero bonding ceremony...
As long as you didn't bond with a hero, you wouldn't be forced to enter the secret realm.
You might spend your life as an ordinary person, but that was still better than going into the secret realm to die.
In short,
The appearance of heretics was already deeply impacting every aspect of the secret realm.
Chen Ye still wasn't sure whether the secret realm actually had its own consciousness.
This time, though, was a great chance to find out.
If the secret realm had no solution for the heretic issue—or didn't react at all—that would prove the secret realm didn't have its own consciousness, and was just an intelligent program following preset rules...
…
That evening.
His father and mother returned home one after another.
"Where's Big Brother?"
Chen Ye asked.
"Xiao Chao can't sit still at home, so I sent him to work at the branch office," his mother Yang Rongzhi replied, tying on her apron. "You two sit for a bit, I'll go make dinner."
Today was the day Chen Ye returned from the secret realm. She was clearly in a good mood and wanted to cook herself.
After his mother left, Chen Ye turned his attention to the box in his father's hands.
Noticing Chen Ye's gaze, President Chen smiled. "No need to guess, it's yours."
"Mine?" Chen Ye asked, curious.
President Chen didn't say much and just opened the box.
Inside was a strangely-shaped lump of iron.
Seeing it, Chen Ye immediately looked puzzled.
Before he could ask, President Chen explained, "It's the axe you brought back from the other world."
"Huh?" Chen Ye was surprised. "How did it end up like this?"
President Chen said, "After a month of research, we found that the axe from the other world is made of an extremely mysterious metal. It possesses strange abilities, able to change shape at will, and even alter its molecular structure, transforming from one metal into another!"
Hearing this, Chen Ye's eyes lit up.
That amazing?
President Chen continued, "It's also extremely tough—far harder than any metal on Blue Star. Conventional physical cutting methods can't leave a mark on it."
Chen Ye nodded.
He'd already experienced how sturdy that axe was. Even with all his strength, he couldn't bend it.
"In short, the axe's material is like something out of myth. There's no way Blue Star could produce this kind of metal."
President Chen continued, "As for your concern about radiation... you were right. When a living being touches it, it does emit some unknown radiation that affects the mind. However, this radiation doesn't harm people. The research institute kept a hundred lab mice with the axe for a month, and none showed any abnormalities."
"In the words of one professor, it's like a special material with life!"
At this point, President Chen suddenly chuckled and shared a secret: "Lately, this axe has caused a huge sensation in the scientific community. Many research institutes want to study it! Even some famous academicians have put in applications. But when the higher-ups heard it was yours, they suppressed all the requests..."
Chen Ye was shocked by all this.
An axe with a living consciousness?
That's pretty impressive!
"Dad, if it's indestructible, why does it look like this now?"
"High temperatures!" President Chen said. "After repeated experiments, only temperatures above two thousand degrees can change its shape... Oh, and here's something really amazing—at that temperature, it can change shape according to what's on your mind!"
"It ended up like this because the researcher was wondering if it would boil like water when heated... and that's how it turned out."
When he heard this, Chen Ye's eyes lit up again.
No wonder the iron lump looked so odd—if you looked closely, didn't it resemble a pot of boiling water?
Chen Ye immediately reached out and picked up the iron lump from the box.
"Whoosh!"
Flames ignited on his right hand.
A strange phenomenon appeared.
Chen Ye noticed that the flames he summoned were red on the outside, but tinged with purple in the middle!
"What..."
He froze for a moment, then quickly understood—the purple color had to be because his spirit attribute had surpassed five thousand, and the temperature of the flames he released was too high.
From the relationship between spectrum and energy, different flame colors correspond to different temperatures—the higher the temperature, the shorter the wavelength, and the closer the color shifts toward blue.
With a spirit attribute over five thousand, the temperature of Chen Ye's flames easily exceeded five thousand degrees.
Purple was just a transitional color.
Once his spirit attribute surpassed twenty-six thousand in the future, the flames he released would turn completely blue...
In the living room,
The temperature shot up instantly!
Even though Chen Ye's flames weren't that big, the surrounding oxygen was being consumed at a rapid rate.
President Chen couldn't help but take two steps back, shocked. "Chen Ye, your fire..."
Chen Ye was about to speak, but noticed that the iron lump was softening.
He focused his mind!
Instantly, the iron lump rapidly stretched out in the flames, and in the blink of an eye, it became a sharp treasured sword!
Chen Ye was delighted!
This thing was truly miraculous.
And for Chen Ye, extremely useful.
He put away the flames, gripped the sword in his right hand, and waved it a few times through the air, making a whooshing sound.
President Chen quickly said, "Hey, don't wreck the house!"
Chen Ye laughed. "Dad, I'm heading back to my room. Call me when dinner's ready."
With that, he headed upstairs and back to his room.
Watching his son, who looked like he'd just gotten a favorite new toy, President Chen couldn't help but smile.
…
Back in his room,
Chen Ye did something truly perverse...
He took off all his clothes.
Then,
He used his flames to transform that miraculous metal into a suit of armor that covered his entire body.
In just a few breaths' time...
His appearance instantly transformed into that of a general from the ancient battlefield.
Under the glow of the light, the armor on his body gleamed brightly.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Chen Ye was very satisfied.
With this, he could finally solve the embarrassing problem of running around naked whenever he transformed into Azure Dragon form.
Next,
Chen Ye continued experimenting.
He discovered that this mysterious material from another world was even more incredible than he'd imagined.
A few minutes later,
Chen Ye was wearing a skintight suit with a cape, making him look exactly like Superman from the DC Universe.
Immediately after, the suit changed again, transforming into Saitama the Bald Caped Hero's costume…
President Chen was right—this miraculous metal really could change however he wanted, even altering its molecular structure to become cloth-like fabric.
Even in fabric form, it was still extremely tough and could not be damaged.
For Chen Ye, this was unbelievably useful.
Just like that,
Chen Ye played around in his room for quite a while.
When his mother finally called him downstairs for dinner, he was still dressed in the Bald Caped Hero outfit.
It wasn't actual clothing,
But that amazing metal transformed into a suit.
"What on earth are you wearing? That's so tacky!" Yang Rongzhi couldn't help but say, "Son, are you out of clothes? After dinner, I'll take you to the mall to buy a few new sets."
Chen Ye was a little embarrassed.
He didn't expect his mom to call Saitama's classic look "tacky."
"Mom, how about this one?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a small flame flared up in his right hand.
The next moment,
His outfit changed rapidly before their eyes, quickly turning into a Superman costume.
It was truly amazing!
Yang Rongzhi was left dumbfounded, "Th-this is…"
President Chen's eyes lit up as he exclaimed with delight, "Not bad! In clothing form, it'll boost your defense. Chen Ye, you might as well never take it off!"
Chen Ye nodded.
He hadn't planned to take it off anyway.
He lit another small flame, and his Superman outfit transformed into a set of comfortable casual clothes, leaving Yang Rongzhi completely stunned.
If the giant alien creatures from the other world knew Chen Ye was using their divine artifact as clothing, they'd probably cough up three liters of blood.
It was simply a waste of a priceless treasure!
But…
For Chen Ye, he already possessed the strongest weapon—his fists.
The greatest use for this thing was to become indestructible battle gear, while also adding an extra layer of defense.
…
A little after 11 PM.
After washing up, Chen Ye lay in bed, ready to sleep.
But—
Shortly after he lay down, something completely unexpected happened.
The plum blossom mark on his arm suddenly started to heat up.
Chen Ye was startled awake.
He glanced at the time—it was already past midnight.
This definitely wasn't a day when the secret realm opened.
So what was happening now?
The plum blossom mark only ever heated up when the secret realm activated.
After thinking for a moment,
Chen Ye decided it was best to wait and not act rashly.
Unexpectedly, even after a full minute, the plum blossom mark on his arm was still faintly warm…
This was definitely unusual.
"Chen Ye!"
President Chen's voice suddenly came from the door.
In fact, Chen Ye had already heard his father's footsteps approaching and immediately got up to open the door.
As he got out of bed, the shorts he was wearing were instantly covered by a new set of clothes.
Chen Ye walked over and opened the door.
Outside, President Chen asked as soon as he saw his son, "Chen Ye, is the plum blossom mark on your arm heating up?"
"Yes, it's been going for about a minute," Chen Ye replied.
President Chen's expression became serious at once.
He didn't hesitate, voicing his own guess: "If it's heating up now, it can't be for the secret realm… This must be the secret realm's response to the heretic incident."
Chen Ye nodded, agreeing with his father's assessment.
"Should I try pressing it first?" President Chen suddenly suggested.
"Don't!" Chen Ye stopped him immediately. "No rush. There are definitely people online more impatient than us. Let me check the internet first."
President Chen didn't insist after hearing that.
Then,
Chen Ye picked up his phone and went online.
As expected, people were already discussing this on the forums.
It seemed that this time, the plum blossom mark was heating up on every adventurer in the world.
On a forum specifically for adventurers, there was already a hot thread, probably the first one posted.
Chen Ye clicked it open.
1st post: "What's going on? Why is my plum blossom mark heating up past midnight? Did the secret realm bug out?"
2nd post: "OP, you're not alone. Mine's burning up too."
3rd post: "Damn! Me too!"
4th post: "Same here… What's happening? It's not even the day the secret realm opens. Why is it heating up out of nowhere?"
5th post: "Looks like everyone's the same. Every adventurer eligible for the secret realm has their mark heating up."
6th post: "This is unprecedented. I bet it's related to the heretic incident!"
7th post: "+1 to the person above! Must be the secret realm's way of responding. Just don't know what it means yet…"
8th post: "Can some brave soul try pressing it and tell us what happens?"
9th post: "Why don't you try it yourself?"
10th post: "Whoa! My roommate just pressed his, and he disappeared on the spot. Did he get sent to the secret realm?"
11th post: "No way! It's not even an opening day! And there are heretics lurking in the secret realm right now—it's super dangerous! What's the secret realm trying to pull?"
12th post: "Relax, everyone. I just pressed mine, and I did go somewhere else, but it wasn't the secret realm… It's complicated to explain. See for yourselves!"
Upon reading this,
Chen Ye frowned slightly.
As for what the 12th poster said, he took it with caution.
Below the 12th post, there were many replies doubting the claim. Some users even suspected he was tricking people into going to the secret realm, possibly a heretic spy…
(End of chapter)
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