Chapter 430: Du An's Promotion Plan

Seeing the behemoth, Li Ban's first instinct was to avoid a head-on clash.

It wasn't that they couldn't defeat the beast, but fighting it directly in a place like the Nine Heavens Sea would likely cause a massive commotion, completely defeating their purpose of secretly searching for Du An.

Although Xiu Ye's current body was also massive, she had never appeared in the Wizard World before, and because she wasn't using spiritual rhinoceros to fly, her presence was easier to overlook.

Yet unexpectedly, they had still been targeted by the Ju Gu.

Submerged in the seawater, Li Ban immediately began thinking of a way to resolve the trouble before him without drawing too much attention.

While Li Ban dealt with his first obstacle since entering the Nine Heavens Sea, the Main Brain and Du An were facing a predicament of their own as they hid in the deep sea.

"You don't have much time left. General, you must advance to the 8th Tier as soon as possible," the Main Brain said, activating its electronic shielding.

The electronic shielding offered no physical defense; instead, it concealed their figures.

In the deep sea, where the spiritual rhinoceros was chaotic, masking one's visual presence was an excellent way to stay hidden.

The monsters lurking in these depths usually only attacked after spotting their prey or catching its scent.

The Main Brain had no scent to begin with, and Du An was adept at concealing his own aura.

Now, the two of them were hiding on an Isolated Island, plotting their next move.

"We're trapped in the deep sea and can't get out. If I want to advance, we first need to find a way to leave," Du An said.

He had already been stranded here for several years.

Priest Ling Feng's relentless patrols left him with absolutely no chance to slip away.

He had already sacrificed everything he had painstakingly prepared in his bid to advance as quickly as possible.

Instead, Xiao Suo had tricked him into the Nine Heavens Sea, leaving him without even a chance to open a spatial passage.

With no way to acquire enough Wizard Embryo Fragments, he could only focus on stabilizing his cultivation here.

Yet today, the Main Brain had unexpectedly announced it wanted to discuss his subsequent path to promotion.

"Actually, Xiao Suo deliberately orchestrated your arrival in the Nine Heavens Sea. I was aware of it," the Main Brain said in an emotionless voice.

Du An suddenly looked up. "What is Xiao Suo plotting this time?"

"His plan was to use the Nine Heavens Sea to trap you. That way, if his operation against Li Ban failed, it wouldn't end up dragging you down."

Had this been the Du An of a few years ago, he would have inevitably met such an explanation with sneers and mockery.

But after being marooned here for years, the impetuousness he had felt upon first becoming a black-robed priest had gradually worn off, and he had regained his usual calm composure.

"Since you're telling me this today, you must be ready to lay your cards on the table. Just say it all at once," Du An said.

"To many Priests, the Nine Heavens Sea is both a dangerous place and a barren wasteland devoid of resources," the Main Brain said. "But for certain exceptional individuals, its natural perils are an opportunity to temper themselves. That is exactly why the Pagoda of Heavenly Wrath—the site where one slays their mortal corpse—was built here."

"Did the Director tell you all this?"

"This information comes from my database. According to my full-database analysis, if you are to become a Great Wizard before the Reset, General, you currently have only two options."

Du An listened quietly as the Main Brain continued.

"The first option is to kill Li Ban and take his Wizard Embryo Fragment. A Wizard Embryo Fragment from the Ring World will perfect your wizard embryo to the greatest extent, reducing the strength of your inner demon once you reach the 8th Tier. Once your 8th Tier state is stable, I will do everything in my power to smuggle you into the Pagoda of Heavenly Wrath to slay your mortal corpse directly."

"I will definitely kill Li Ban," Du An said, his voice perfectly calm. "If I had known earlier that he also possessed a Wizard Embryo Fragment, I never would have let him live."

Unfortunately, a single momentary lapse in judgment back then had forged the fated nemesis he faced today.

"Li Ban is being protected by the Myriad Ancient Pagoda. I will not risk myself so easily," Du An said.

He had originally planned to wait until he reached the 8th Tier before finding an opportunity to retrieve the other Ring World Wizard Embryo Fragment.

However, according to the Main Brain's proposed path, he had to make a move immediately.

"But since you're proposing this, you must have some other way to lure Li Ban out."

"I have already lured Li Ban out," the Main Brain said, surprising Du An once again.

But he quickly realized the implications. "You deliberately let me get trapped here just to lure Li Ban out? How could you be sure he would come?"

Du An realized that the information he possessed didn't match the Main Brain's at all, leaving him to be led by the nose through many of these events.

Moreover, the Main Brain had deliberately withheld this information, waiting until the last moment—when the plan was already in motion—to reveal the truth.

As for why?

Du An already had an idea.

It was undoubtedly the Director. Driven by his desire to keep everything strictly under control, he had intentionally restricted the information Du An was allowed to know.

"It is also because both of your Wizard Embryo Fragments originate from the same minor world," the Main Brain explained. "They haven't been able to find you for years, but the Priests of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda hate you and are desperate to track you down. In the end, they were left with only one option: to use Li Ban's Wizard Embryo Fragment, which they value just as highly. There is an aura-tracking spell involving the wizard embryo's Power of Rules, an art that only a Solar Priest can master."

"Even though you've already chosen the first path for me, I still want to hear your second option," Du An said.

Rather than pressing for the rest of the first plan, he asked about the second option.

"The second option is for me to give you the majority of my own Wizard Embryo Fragments," the Main Brain said. "You would need to endure the impact of the Nine Heavens Sea to shatter your original Wizard Embryo Fragment, then fuse yours and mine together. During that process, I would help you adjust the state of the Wizard Embryo Fragments to their peak condition."

"The risk of the first option is that while attempting to seize Li Ban's Wizard Embryo Fragment, you must also withstand the attacks of the Myriad Ancient Pagoda's Priests. The risk of the second option is the immense agony of shattering and reforging the Wizard Embryo Fragments. If you fail to survive that risk, you will perish."

Because the second option largely removed the need to consider enemy interference, its premise was actually quite straightforward.

It was purely a test of Du An's willpower and survivability.

Had this been back during his time lying low in the Death Prison, Du An would have likely chosen the second option.

But now, without the slightest hesitation, he made the exact same choice the Main Brain had.

"The first option."

The Main Brain's head moved slowly back and forth. "Next, it is time to prepare the battlefield."

After mentally filtering through his available items and spells, Li Ban made his decision.

He brought out the Chaotic Green Silk Algae he had retrieved from Cat Girl.

After being refined by Xiao Suo and corrupted by the Nihility State, the Chaotic Green Silk Algae was currently in a relatively stable condition, but Li Ban knew it was practically a ticking time bomb.

Unless he could find a way to fully stabilize and harness it, even someone like him wouldn't dare fuse with this Superior Element.

Beneath the waves, the monster's true fish head finally noticed Li Ban's presence.

It realized that while the giant dragon was massive, the truly delicious prey was the human right in front of it.

It immediately turned its head toward Li Ban and launched the giant fish attached to the top of its head straight at him like a cannonball.

The giant fish tore through the water, leaving a prominent water column in its wake.

"Is this its fighting style? Letting a proxy take the field while it remains completely still, minimizing the Nine Heavens Sea's toll on its body?"

Li Ban smiled faintly. "I have a clone too, you know."