Huai Yan: If this old man’s eyes aren’t deceiving him… this old man just seemed to have seen that genius…

Yun Li: Oh, Grandpa, you’re not mistaken. Hurry, we must catch him! Go, Old Iron!

Huai Yan: Yun Li, child, don’t be so impulsive…

Jiang Lin, on the other side, watched the scene unfold before him, and his mouth twitched involuntarily… But he was already contemplating methods of escape in his mind.

Even if he couldn't escape, he had already set up contingencies on the Luofu… Besides… his strength had further improved… If an Emissary wanted to leave, he could definitely get away!

——

Not long ago.

Estimating that he was already far from the Luofu, Jiang Lin found a nearby asteroid to rest and recuperate.

He also planned his next move.

However, not long after, he saw a shooting star streak across the sky.

“Is that… Phantylia?”

Jiang Lin was a bit surprised. Was she running away… or had she been knocked flying?

But no matter which, Phantylia’s current state was definitely not good.

“Heh… A rare opportunity…”

But he quickly calmed down, as he didn't know the extent of Phantylia’s injuries.

To be safe, he decided to first convert his spoils of war into combat power.

Because the planet Jiang Lin had lived on before was not only harsh in environment but also plagued by disasters… This had led him to develop a good habit: as soon as he obtained resources, he would immediately convert them into combat power.

Therefore, Jiang Lin was definitely the poorest among all the geniuses… because he didn't have a single coin.

In terms of strength, he didn't dare to claim to be the strongest among geniuses, as there were perverts like Lord Silence and the Emperor above him.

But he was definitely among the strongest handful.

Now… Jiang Lin had the remnant of the propagation, and he was confident in mastering some of the propagation’s abilities.

Even if the power level couldn't reach the Aeon level… He acted as soon as he thought of it.

So, in just two and a half days… he felt this extra power within him.

The experiment was a success, and he should have succeeded.

After all, he had sacrificed too much for this plan.

He endured pain that ordinary people could not possibly bear.

“Is this… the Insect Emperor’s replication ability… What a monstrous ability! Should I say it lives up to being an Aeon?”

Indeed, what Jiang Lin obtained was the replication power of the propagation Aeon.

Admittedly, the concept of replication in the Path of the propagation had been dispersed and diluted… Even just a trace of its fleshly body’s remnant was monstrous beyond mortal imagination… Consuming 1% of the Imaginary Energy he could control, he could replicate a clone with 80% of his own maximum strength.

Currently, he could replicate a maximum of 100 clones… But this wasn't the most monstrous part; the most monstrous part was that these clones… could all be the original body!

In other words, when encountering a life-threatening situation, as long as one of these clones escaped, he could be reborn in that clone.

Of course, it wasn't without flaws. For every clone that existed, his own energy limit would decrease… If he released 20 clones, then his total energy would permanently decrease by 20% until all those clones died or returned to the main body.

Moreover, as his strength increased, the consumption would also decrease. Jiang Lin had reason to suspect that the fully-formed Insect Emperor’s replication consumption was 0%, or infinitely close to 0%!

Which means it could be considered no consumption!

This was simply a life-saving divine skill!

With this layer of assurance, he was confident that if Phantylia was seriously injured… then finding her would be her death knell!

If he still couldn't deal with her… she wouldn't be able to keep him either.

So.

Jiang Lin identified a direction, took out the Star Skiff he had “borrowed” from the Luofu, and chased in the direction Phantylia had flown.

To catch up as quickly as possible, he maximized his speed.

But!

Not long after flying, he ran head-on into the Zhuming Xianzhou’s envoy… And thus, the opening scene occurred… ——

Jiang Lin easily dodged Yun Li’s greatsword, Old Iron. He wasn't the type to be hit and not retaliate.

Even if the person opposite him was a very cute little girl.

Thus, a strange aura emanated from Jiang Lin… At first, Yun Li didn't feel anything unusual, but as time passed… Yun Li’s movements became slower and slower, her body gradually growing weak.

Even the speed at which she swung Old Iron noticeably decreased.

“Hiss~ Damn it, what is this?”

Yun Li became lethargic and drowsy… After realizing something was wrong, she immediately moved away from Jiang Lin… “This is… harmony? No, it’s different…” Huai Yan no longer squinted his eyes at this moment; he stared intently at Jiang Lin.

“Old sir has good eyesight. May I ask if old sir is the Heavenly General of the Zhuming Xianzhou, General Huai Yan?”

Although Jiang Lin was speaking in a questioning tone, he had already confirmed the identity of the old man in front of him in his mind… “Haha, then is young friend the 85th member of the Genius Society, the genius Jiang Lin?” Huai Yan’s tone was steady, with a comfortable sense of familiarity.

“I haven’t joined the Genius Society, but I am indeed Jiang Lin.” Jiang Lin frowned slightly, feeling a subtle unease in his heart… “Young friend is joking. The Omniscient Heavenly Sovereign’s gaze has already proven young friend’s wisdom. I believe you will soon receive an invitation from the Society.”

“Then is old general trying to stop me now?” Jiang Lin had already sensed that the other party might be stalling for time.

“Not at all. This old man merely wishes to invite young friend to be a guest on the Xianzhou. Of course, the Alliance will not punish you now for crimes you might commit in the future. The Alliance still has that much tolerance…”

After all, it was his future self who was guilty, not his current self.

“Grandpa, what are you saying? This person doesn’t look like a good person!” Yun Li said discontentedly after recovering.

“Yun Li, don’t be rude! Yun Li has been spoiled by this old man since childhood. I hope young friend doesn’t take it to heart. This old man apologizes to you for this matter.”

After reprimanding Yun Li, Huai Yan spoke gently to Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin, who now felt that Huai Yan’s attitude truly held no malice, seemed to have thought of something… “Could it be, old general, that you are here for… some other matter…”

At this moment, Jiang Lin already had some ideas in his mind.

First, he could confirm that Huai Yan was definitely stalling for time.

But he didn't feel any malice from the other party.

Combining these, he thought of an explanation—the Xianzhou Alliance might have a request for him.

And this matter might not be a small one!

(The author had a fever last night, so today’s output is a bit insufficient, only one chapter. I don’t know if what I wrote while sick is good or not, but the author’s condition today is really not good.)