My Salvation Game Became true?!-Chapter 173 - 169 The Ancient Torch (Vote for Monthly

Chapter 173 -169: The Ancient Torch (Vote for Monthly Tickets) Chapter 173 -169: The Ancient Torch (Vote for Monthly Tickets) The golden silhouette on the scroll was actually not clear.

The entire painting seemed somewhat rushed, as if drawn hastily, yet it was this rushed work that displayed the red sky, the blood-red giant eye, and the golden silhouette, among other features.

It felt as if a great terror was rushing forth.

This terror was faint, likely because the painting couldn’t capture a fraction of its essence, but just this faint, this mere whisper of terror, was like being overlooked by a colossal blood-red eye, involuntarily stirring up palpitations.

Yet in front of the blood-red giant eye, there was a golden silhouette with a scepter in hand, blocking most of the terror.

“This silhouette…”

It too was diffusing a golden light.

Even though it was just a silhouette, Director Huang couldn’t help feeling that the golden silhouette was that of the Fire Holder! Just like the day when the instructor spanned thousands of miles, appearing above the gates to the Ghastly Realm.

“Where did this painting come from, and has it been authenticated?”

Director Huang asked.

Deputy Xiao Liu said, “The painting was discovered by the Lin’an City sub-bureau of Baichuan Prefecture. An investigator accidentally found it in an ancient house while removing Mysterious Evil.”

“Afterward, it was appraised, and the painting was not a ghastly object, nor a mystical item; however, it indeed had its peculiarities.”

Director Huang spoke, “What about its age, has the painting’s authenticity and specific era been authenticated?”

Xiao Liu nodded, “Yes, Director, the identity of the painter hasn’t been uncovered, as there’s no signature on the painting, but the era of the painting… initial judgments suggest it comes from a dynasty a thousand years ago.”

“I can take it for a more detailed authentication.”

After speaking, Xiao Liu noticed Director Huang was even more shocked, staring intently at the golden silhouette on the painting, puzzled.

Seeing Director Huang wave his hand, he left discreetly.

The painting wasn’t taken away.

At this moment, Director Huang was still gazing at it, muttering after a long while, “A thousand years ago, could it really be that Fire Holder? That’s an exaggeration.”

He was starting to doubt his previous guess.

He continued to search for more information, then ordered people to contact Director Tang, who was far away in a secret location. After waiting a while, he connected to the video call from Director Tang.

“I’ve seen the painting.”

“It indeed has a divine strangeness. It’s very likely that some painter recorded that earth-shattering moment by chance.”

Director Tang had also seen that golden figure in the secret place before.

Merely diffusing a faint golden halo couldn’t represent much, but this painting could very well be a record of that great battle from the past.

It means that all their previous conjectures could be overturned.

Mysterious Evil didn’t just start appearing a few years ago, nor did it erupt a few months ago, but… it had appeared on Blue Star a thousand years ago and even sparked a terrible great war.

Just from the remnants of the indescribable essence and terror on the painting alone, one could imagine the horror of the battle back then.

It could have been earth-shattering, more terrifying than any calamity Blue Star had experienced up to that point.

“Did you find anything from a thousand years ago?”

“With the era being so distant, the scant documents available only reveal that a thousand years ago, there were several brutal massacres… but the authenticity is hard to verify. Besides, that era had famines, wars, death everywhere, we can only be sure that ancient times weren’t filled with Mysterious Evil like today.”

“Spending more time might reveal more details, but don’t get your hopes up,” Director Huang said.

Everything lacked evidence, the clues were solely a hastily drawn painting, but he and Director Tang tended to believe that indeed there had been a war between humans and Mysterious Evil, or some terrible entities, in that era.

This seemed unscientific.

But now it was the Era of Mysteries. They were not like those researchers who always leaned on science for everything.

Rather than science, they trusted their instincts more.

“It is the Fire Holders!”

“A thousand years ago, the force that resisted the invasion of Mysterious Evil, that protected Blue Star, was the Fire Holders!”

“This mysterious organization is indeed very ancient, even older than we imagined,” Director Huang exclaimed.

Even though there was already a suspicion, he was still astounded at the moment. Just the tip of the iceberg they could see was already immense, so what about what lay beneath the surface?

Beyond the blood-red giant eye war presented in the scroll, how many secrets were there that they didn’t know about?

Director Huang felt both awe and profound respect.

“No wonder the Fire Holders possess more advanced equipment and medicines than us, because they have been silently guarding and researching in unseen places.”

“This is an organization that has endured for a thousand years, or perhaps even longer,” he thought.

“Then there’s that mysterious Fire Holder Instructor…”

However, Director Tang had a different opinion about that instructor.

“Living for a thousand years is too exaggerated; I am more inclined to believe it’s a succession, and the golden silhouette in the scroll is a Fire Holder Instructor from that time.”

“That’s also a very strong possibility,” Director Huang nodded.

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Director Tang continued, “Moreover, what happened then was likely a localized event. In the past Mysterious Evil invaded on a small scale, but now it’s a full-scale outbreak… didn’t that instructor from Fire Holders say so? The Ghastly Realm is now bordering us in its entirety, and the real disaster is coming.”

“This is also why the Fire Holders began to expand the organization’s scale and emerged from the shadows to collaborate with our Investigation Bureau.”

Director Huang nodded,

“Another reason is that Awakeners need to embrace the mysterious to enhance their Abilities, but in the past eras, Mysterious Evil definitely didn’t always invade, and the mysterious wasn’t always present.”

“Without the mysterious, Awakeners would also fade with the passage of time.”

“Such a mysterious organization like the Fire Holders might also have faced difficult times but never ceased their protection, and have always remained anonymous.”

Thinking about this, his admiration grew even stronger.

They were heroes, yet they never stood in the light.

But like the golden silhouette in the painting, even if the world was Lightless, one could still light a torch with their own strength, dispelling the darkness and gloom.

…

Yang Chang didn’t know that his superior at the Fire Holder had come up with new speculations about the Fire.

However, as an important figure within the Investigation Bureau and an Awakener with a high rank in the cultivation sequence, he was privy to quite a few secrets.

The Fire must be an ancient and mysterious organization.

And it must possess more than just this training base.

Now, they were about to head to other bases of the Fire to undergo the Awakening process!

He wasn’t the one to be Awakened, but Yang Chang was also allowed to go, which filled him with excitement.

Fan Anyuan, the base instructor, led them.

He looked at the eighty-eight students before him, some with backgrounds as investigators, some nurtured within the Fire’s own base, and began to speak:

“Before we set out, I must emphasize again that the process of Awakening is extremely dangerous, and a failed Awakening could lead to severe injury or death.”

“The organization certainly has ways to increase the probability of Awakening, but whether you can Awaken or not ultimately depends on the individual!”

“This Awakening is not mandatory, and those who feel unprepared are still free to back out.”

His words were primarily directed to the students of the Fire.

Those exchange students from the Investigation Bureau, who were mostly second and first-level investigators, were already well aware of the dangers of Awakening, unlike ordinary folks who had only received a few days or perhaps a fortnight of training and might be overcome with fervor.

But naturally, no one withdrew.

The welfare, treatment, and the changes in the world — the students were all too aware of these factors.

For ideals alone, it wasn’t enough.

For power alone, it wasn’t enough.

Pure welfare treatment might not be so compelling.

But when various conditions came together, when they found themselves within such a collective, thoughts of retreat were long cast aside.

They, too, wanted to become Fire Holders in the Darkness!

“Very well!”

Fan Anyuan said with a smile, sweeping his arm grandly, “Board the plane now, let’s depart!”

On the tarmac, the rotors of several helicopters whirred, lifting off the ground and swiftly disappearing from the view of the students at the base.

They looked on with envy.

“When they return, many of them will be Awakeners, huh.”

“I must pass the next assessment!”

…

The journey from Shui Ze’s base to the ancient village hundreds of kilometers away from Lin’an City was neither near nor far.

For the students teeming with anticipation, nervousness, and various other emotions, time seemed to drag on interminably.

It felt like an eternity as the helicopter continued to fly through the sky.

Then Fan Anyuan spoke up,

“We’ve arrived.”

“We’ll disembark here.”

The helicopter didn’t land but hovered about ten meters above the ground.

The doors of the cabin opened, revealing a lush green forest beneath, with a relatively flat clearing that had been made below.

From the doorway, ropes had already been dangled down, and Fan Anyuan and other official Fire Holders pointed to them, “Slide down. Even though you haven’t been trained for this, your physique will manage the descent. Even if there’s an accident and you fall, it won’t matter; I’ll be watching at the bottom, and you won’t die.”

With these words, Fan Anyuan jumped from the helicopter.

Mid-air, he tapped his feet lightly, sending out invisible ripples that spread outwards, instantly slowing his descent as if he was floating gently to the ground.

This was his Awakened Ability ‘Shockwave,’ and he used it with considerable mastery.

The other first and second awakened officials of the Fire followed suit, all landing smoothly.

Then it was the students’ turn.

They might be fearful, but backing out was not an option.

One by one, the students slid down the ropes like dumplings being dropped into a pot, some bumping and stumbling, but with no serious incidents.

Yet staring at the verdant forest before them, a new confusion arose among the students.

This place did not seem to resemble a base at all.

Yang Chang thought so too.

Under Fan Anyuan’s leadership, the group of over a hundred threaded their way through the dense jungle.

Here the forest was lush, located in a remote area, yet surprisingly free of disturbances from Mysterious Evil.

The woods were tranquil.

As they moved forward, the vegetation became denser; branches and roots barred their path, the dappled sunlight almost entirely blocked out, with no signs of other travelers having passed this way.

Just when Yang Chang thought they’d need to clear the trees to advance, suddenly, the tangled branches began to part one by one.

It was as if hands clasped together were slowly pulling apart to the sides.

In the blink of an eye,

a narrow path wide enough for several people to walk abreast appeared in the previously impassable forest.

Yang Chang, however, was fixated on a few large trees not far away, his eyes bulging with disbelief.

These trees,

were they alive?!