The elevator exuded a cold, metallic feel. It went up thirty-six floors.

The numbers climbed one by one until they reached 36, and the elevator doors slid open with a DING.

There was no one outside. The hall was lined with numerous glass display cases, each housing a variety of venomous scorpions.

Directly ahead, Linden Grant, dressed in a white lab coat, was feeding the scorpions.

"Please, have a seat..." His voice was casual, as if Aurora Sinclair were a specially invited guest, not an enemy.

Aurora Sinclair watched him warily for a moment before lunging at him with incredible speed.

A faint smile touched the corners of Linden Grant’s lips. A loud THUD echoed as Aurora Sinclair slammed into a transparent, flexible membrane.

"Young lady, it’s not good to be so hot-tempered in the morning."

Linden Grant gave her a detached glance and shut the glass case.

He walked over to the sofa across from Aurora Sinclair and sat down. A robot immediately poured him some tea. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

He asked, "What would you like to drink?"

Aurora Sinclair didn’t answer, her gaze fixed on him, ice-cold.

As if oblivious to the rage in her heart, Linden Grant picked up his teacup and took a sip. "What’s your name?"

Aurora Sinclair looked at him and said coldly, "Aurora Sinclair..."

The hand Linden Grant was using to hold his teacup paused. He looked her up and down with a hint of surprise. "So it’s you! You were only six the first time I saw you. To think you’ve grown so much in the blink of an eye. You even destroyed one of my labs..."

Before he could finish, a coin-sized hole appeared in the membrane before him.

Linden Grant froze for a second, then started laughing again, seemingly unconcerned that she could harm him. "Still so impulsive. Back then, Noelle was my assistant for six years before she made her move."

Aurora Sinclair froze. "You knew her?"

"Of course. She was my most brilliant student. Otherwise, you wouldn’t exist..."

Aurora Sinclair’s fists clenched. "You’re lying..."

But Linden Grant pressed a remote on the table. "See for yourself if you don’t believe me!"

An image appeared on the large screen on the nearby wall. It was a video recorded on a DV camera, with a timestamp in the bottom-right corner dated twenty-five years ago.

"Today is day 132 of the experiment. We’ve finally solved the problem of reproduction for the Son of God..."

The face from her memories appeared on screen. She held up a test tube, showing it to Linden Grant with an excited expression.

Linden Grant looked at her with a doting expression and said, "This achievement is enough to make your father proud."

"Teacher, is the Master’s plan really for the good of all humankind?"

"Of course. A growing body of archaeological evidence proves that in Ancient Times, humanity’s power was unprecedentedly strong. Even Martial Gods weren’t the most powerful beings. But something went wrong along the way, leading to humanity’s gradual decline. It’s as if our bodies have been shackled, our abilities growing weaker and weaker..."

"Those ancient legacies seem to have been deliberately erased, creating a gap in our history. It’s as if someone doesn’t want humanity to return to its peak. The Master merely wants to restore humanity to its former glory..."

The woman in the video had a look of adoration on her face. She carefully injected the contents of the test tube into Linden Grant’s arm and then received an identical injection herself, after which the video cut off abruptly.

Aurora Sinclair’s expression turned grim, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Linden Grant glanced at her. "The drug wasn’t stable. We studied it for three or four years. Just when the values finally stabilized, your mother betrayed us, destroying our life’s work in an instant. The Master was furious and sent people everywhere to find her..."

Aurora Sinclair’s gaze darkened, her face turning murderous. "You killed my parents. Those gunshots... that was you, wasn’t it?"

Linden Grant smiled. "The Master is always ruthless with traitors. You only survived because our last female test subject had died. For a second generation to inherit one hundred percent of the Son of God’s genes, the mother must be a Son of God herself. The child she bears is the most superior genetic successor. Therefore, your existence is a miracle from the heavens for the Master..."

The moment he finished speaking, a large hole ripped through the membrane in front of him.

The smile on his face froze.

"So it was you..."

Her hair was turning white at a speed visible to the naked eye, and her powerful Power Domain completely shattered the membrane...

Linden Grant’s Power Domain was no match for her energy.

He barely managed to shield himself as he leaped out the window...

’He never expected her strength to surpass his by so much in just three short years.’

’As expected of a Son of God.’

At this thought, a crazed smile spread across Linden Grant’s face.

"There are one hundred twenty-four ordinary people on this ship..."

The massive wave rising behind Aurora Sinclair stopped a meter from the ship’s hull, as if held back by an invisible force.

Linden Grant wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pointed north, shouting:

"The Holy Mountain, a place revered by the entire Martial World, is in the Boreal Lands! Only those who have reached the Great Martial King Realm are permitted to go. But how many people in this world can reach the rank of Great Martial King? The Master went once. Just by cultivating thirty kilometers from its outer edge, the effects were dozens of times greater than anywhere else. Don’t you want to know why?"

Aurora Sinclair stood on the superstructure, not even glancing in the direction he pointed. Calmly, she said, "Hand over my grandfather’s notes..."

Linden Grant felt a power so immense he couldn’t possibly defend against it, slowly devouring his Power Domain.

His heart clenched, and he shouted, "The Young Family Notes I had were stolen by your mother long ago!"

A dark glint flashed in Aurora Sinclair’s eyes as she suddenly recalled the black leather notebook Linton Sinclair had given her at school.

Linden Grant continued, "The reason you survived to the age of six without incident has a great deal to do with the contents of that notebook. It’s a pity she destroyed it before she died. That means, out of all the second-generation children, your genes are the closest to the ancient human bloodline. Why don’t we work together...?"

Aurora Sinclair froze.

"You want to control the Beast Gene inside you, don’t you? If so, let’s work together to study the secrets of your body. Then the people on this ship won’t have to suffer anymore. I can have them released immediately..."

Linden Grant’s eyes were wide, glinting with a crazed light. "How about it? This way, so many people won’t have to be sacrificed for this great cause..."

Aurora Sinclair’s fists clenched tightly again as she stared at him coldly.

"There are three Young Family Notes in total. The contents Noelle obtained have likely already been used on you! With that, plus the T Cell Liquid and S Sedative you received in Masovia, and the notebook the Morgan Family acquired, you’ve gathered the contents from all three..."

Before he could finish, a powerful Power Domain shot toward him, only to be intercepted by another.

Aurora Sinclair’s expression flickered. She saw two people, each standing on a speedboat, positioned one behind the other.

The attacker wore a black cloak and a silver mask. The one who blocked the attack was the Guardian of Niphoria.

The two leaped onto the ship like hawks. Within minutes, they had scaled to the top, taking positions on two other superstructures.

Wariness flickered in Aurora Sinclair’s eyes. ’Both of them are Great Martial Kings.’

"Young lady, liars love to use sweet words to trick people..."