# Chapter 327: No More Forbidden Zones

"It's not over yet?"

Si Tingyu and the other three blinked in surprise, looking at Lu Yuan with puzzlement.

Lu Yuan smiled but said nothing.

A few breaths later, the sky tore open in a jagged rift, and a sinister, overwhelming aura spilled forth.

The powerful aura formed a storm that swept across the surrounding mountains and forests. Trees bent and snapped, and Feral Beasts fled howling in terror.

Li Qinghe and the others went pale, eyes wide with shock as they stared at the faint green glow flickering within the Spatial Rift.

Si Tingyu cried out in alarm: "An Aberration Feral Beast?! That aura — is it Saint Grade?!"

Li Qinghe frowned. "How could such a powerful Aberration Feral Beast come here?"

Lu Yuan nodded with a smile. "Spatial Rifts are a product of Aberration corrosion — they exist to destabilize the fabric of space. Whenever one is repaired, an Aberration Feral Beast comes chasing after it."

Understanding flickered in the eyes of Li Qinghe and the others, deepening their grasp of just how terrifying Aberration truly was.

At that moment, a massive black beast burst from the rift.

It was enormous — several thousand meters long, its entire body sheathed in black Scale Armor, with three pairs of razor-sharp claws, black wings sprouting from its back, and green vein-like patterns tracing across its hide. It bore a strong resemblance to the Pursuer Lu Yuan had encountered on Ice Vein Star, though this one was many times larger.

That made sense. The Pursuer from Ice Vein Star had only been Sovereign Grade, while this one was Saint Grade — vastly more powerful.

The moment the Pursuer emerged, its terrifying aura intensified, sending chills through everyone present. Its gaze swept the area before locking onto Lu Yuan, and it opened its jaws to unleash a thunderous roar.

In that same instant, a pale gray scythe flickered across the top of the Pursuer's skull.

The next moment, its life force vanished. Its aura dissipated, and the corpse began to fall from the sky.

In the span of a single heartbeat, the Saint Grade Pursuer — whose aura had been nothing short of terrifying — was dead.

Li Qinghe and the others, still pale from the creature's oppressive presence, stared at the scene in stunned silence.

Li Qinghe let out a laugh. "I saw it once before at Thorn Plateau, but watching you do something like that again... I still can't quite believe it."

Si Tingyu and the other two exchanged glances, each nodding in agreement.

Lu Yuan rolled his eyes. "Is it a bad thing that I'm powerful?"

"Of course not. It just puts a lot of pressure on your big sister, you know."

Li Qinghe grinned, slinging an arm around his neck and poking his cheek.

Lu Yuan gave her a helpless look, then held the falling Pursuer's corpse suspended in midair. Light power surged forth, incinerating the body until nothing remained but ash.

After all, this was a Saint Grade Aberration Feral Beast. Leaving its corpse unattended in the Endless Mountain Range — teeming as it was with Feral Beasts — would inevitably cause problems. More powerful Aberration Feral Beasts might emerge as a result. Better to deal with it now.

"There. All done."

He watched the ashes scatter in the wind and smiled.

Li Qinghe spoke up. "That was fast. There are other Forbidden Zones, right? Should we take care of those too?"

She looked at Lu Yuan with curiosity.

He nodded. "I was just thinking the same thing. While we're at it, let's repair every Spatial Rift in every Forbidden Zone on Great Qi Star."

Si Tingyu smiled. "In that case, shall we head to Ice-Fire Rift Valley next?"

"Yeah, let's go."

Lu Yuan vanished from the spot with the four of them in tow.

Endless Mountain Range. Frontline Fortress.

Karol was deliberating over how to handle the Beast Tide when he suddenly sensed an overwhelmingly sinister aura rising from deep within the range. The sheer terror of it plunged him into an icy chill, as though he'd fallen into a frozen abyss.

He looked up in alarm toward the source. "That presence... Saint Grade?! From deep inside the Endless Mountain Range?!"

He vanished, reappearing in the sky above the fortress.

He wasn't alone — everyone in the entire fortress was staring toward the depths of the Endless Mountain Range. Every warrior above Battle King Rank had taken to the air, hovering with expressions of undisguised horror.

Rebecca's Ancestor, the White Demon Battle Emperor Rafael Harold, had also appeared in the sky. His expression was grave as he, too, gazed into the mountain range's depths.

Karol rushed over, his face ashen. "My Lord, what do we do?! That's a Saint Grade aura!"

Rafael frowned slightly. "Don't worry. You should have heard by now how powerful Lu Yuan has become."

Karol's thoughts turned to the Aberration outbreak that had recently erupted in the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin. He'd heard certain rumors about Lu Yuan after that event.

He'd taken them with a grain of salt. Karol acknowledged Lu Yuan as an extraordinary genius — first place on the Prodigy Rankings, the King Rankings, and the Emperor Rankings alike. But the claim that a Battle Emperor possessed War God-level combat power? Deep down, he'd never fully believed it.

And that was only because Lu Yuan was one of their own — a human from Great Qi Star. Had the rumors been about someone from another race, Karol wouldn't have entertained the notion at all. He'd have dismissed it as a joke.

But hearing Rafael speak with such certainty, he pressed, "My Lord, are you saying those rumors are true?"

Rafael nodded.

Disbelief flooded Karol's face.

He recovered quickly. "Then please contact Lu Yuan at once, My Lord."

Rafael nodded and pulled out his communicator. He was about to call Rebecca when he noticed the overwhelming aura had vanished.

Gone without a trace — not even a residual flicker remained, as though whatever had produced it had simply died.

Everyone froze.

Uncertainty crept into Rafael's gaze. "What happened?"

"Could the Aberration Feral Beast have left?" Karol ventured.

Rafael stared into the depths of the Endless Mountain Range, brow furrowed. After a moment's thought, he said, "Better safe than sorry. I'll contact Lu Yuan."

He called Rebecca.

Rebecca, who had just arrived at Ice-Fire Rift Valley, paused as her communicator materialized in her hand.

Li Qinghe and the others glanced at her. Lu Yuan asked, puzzled, "What is it?"

Rebecca blinked. "It's Ancestor. Seems like something urgent."

"Answer it, quick," Li Qinghe said. "What if something's actually wrong?"

Rebecca nodded and accepted the call.

A holographic image appeared above the communicator — Rafael, his expression taut with urgency.

"Rebecca, tell Lu Yuan immediately — a Saint Grade Aberration Feral Beast has appeared in the Endless Mountain Range. He needs to come now, or this whole area could be destroyed."

Rebecca and the others all paused.

Rebecca's expression turned somewhat peculiar. "...Has the beast's aura already disappeared?"

In the hologram, Rafael blinked. "How did you know?"

The corner of Rebecca's mouth twitched before she broke into a grin. "Because that beast is already dead."

"...Dead?!"

He was dumbfounded. Beside him, Karol — who had overheard the exchange — wore the same blank expression.

Rebecca continued cheerfully, "The Aberration Feral Beast was drawn out when Lu Yuan repaired the Spatial Rift deep in the Endless Mountain Range. He already killed it. So relax, Grandpa."

At those words, both Rafael and Karol let out visible sighs of relief.

They'd feared the Aberration Feral Beast would wreak catastrophic destruction. After all, it was Saint Grade — if it wanted to, obliterating the entirety of Great Qi Star would have been effortless.

Learning it was dead lifted a weight from their shoulders.

But a moment later, Rafael's eyes widened. "...Wait. What did you just say? Lu Yuan repaired the Spatial Rift in the Endless Mountain Range?!"

Beside him, Karol's breath caught as the implications hit him.

Rebecca beamed. "That's right! Grandpa, Lu Yuan has already repaired the Spatial Rift. No more Feral Beasts coming through from the other side. The Endless Mountain Range won't have any more serious Beast Tides either."

Silence fell between Rafael and Karol.

They exchanged a look, each seeing the same complex emotions reflected in the other's eyes.

The silence lingered. Rebecca tilted her head, puzzled. "Grandpa, what's wrong?"

Rafael let out a wistful laugh and shook his head. "Nothing. It's just... the news is so monumental that I need a moment to take it in. We old men have been guarding this border for quite some time now. I never thought I'd live to see the day a Forbidden Zone disappeared." He chuckled. "It was all worth it."

Then he looked at Rebecca. "Lu Yuan is right there with you, isn't he?"

Rebecca nodded. "Mm-hm. We're planning to repair the Spatial Rifts in the other Forbidden Zones too. After that, there won't be any Forbidden Zones left."

Rafael drew a deep breath and nodded. "Good. Thank Lu Yuan for me. In that case, I won't keep you. Oh, and one more thing — with this Saint Grade Aberration Feral Beast appearing, the Beast Tide will probably collapse on its own. I'll be heading home soon. Rebecca... invite Lu Yuan over for a home-cooked meal sometime."

A faint blush crept across Rebecca's cheeks. She nodded softly. "Okay."

Rafael smiled and ended the call.

Beside him, Karol stood in silence, his voice trembling — and not just his voice. His hands were shaking too.

"My Lord... the Spatial Rift has truly been repaired? No more Feral Beasts will come through?"

Rafael understood Karol's agitation. He smiled. "If Rebecca says so, then it must be true. I'll go check the depths of the Endless Mountain Range myself. See how the Beast Tide is faring."

Karol nodded. "Please be careful, My Lord."

Rafael nodded, then vanished, streaking toward the heart of the Endless Mountain Range as a beam of light.

He skirted around the territories of Sovereign Grade Feral Beasts, avoiding any confrontation, and soon reached the deepest reaches of the range.

Normally, several Sovereign Grade Feral Beasts would have been standing guard here, protecting the Spatial Rift.

But now, not a single one came to bar his path.

Before long, Rafael saw it — a corpse-strewn pit where the Spatial Rift he'd glimpsed from afar only once before had vanished without a trace.

He hovered in the air above the pit, staring down in silence for a long time.

Then a smile spread across his face, and he let out a quiet sigh.

"Great Qi Star is truly fortunate to have that boy."

Great Qi Star had its share of Spatial Rifts and Forbidden Zones — most inhabited planets did. But other worlds weren't nearly as lucky. They didn't have a Spatial Type Gene Warrior as powerful as Lu Yuan.

Rafael knew that from this day forward, Great Qi Star would have no more Forbidden Zones.

News of Lu Yuan neutralizing the Forbidden Zones spread like wildfire.

It reached not only the Red Maple Empire but also the neighboring Lion Empire, Sacred Light Empire, and beyond.

The first reaction from every empire's warriors was stunned disbelief — especially those stationed along the Forbidden Zone perimeters, who momentarily wondered if they were dreaming.

But their shock quickly gave way to elation.

If there was one dream shared by every warrior who'd stood guard at the edge of a Forbidden Zone, it was to see those accursed places wiped from existence.

Now, that dream was finally coming true.

When Lu Yuan arrived at the Lion Empire's Green Poison Swamp, he received a call from Amy.

He answered, and her delicate face appeared in the holographic display.

Amy's violet eyes were wide as she stared at him, barely containing her excitement. "You big liar — Grandpa told me you're repairing the Spatial Rifts in the Forbidden Zones?"

Lu Yuan was surprised the news had traveled so fast. He smiled and nodded. "That's right. We're at your Lion Empire's Green Poison Swamp right now."

Amy pouted. "Are Sister Qinghe and the others all there?"

Li Qinghe chimed in from nearby, warm and teasing: "Little Amy, we're all here."

Hearing Li Qinghe's voice, Amy turned to Lu Yuan with pleading eyes. "Big liar~ I wanna see how you repair the Spatial Rifts too~ Take me and Lingling along~"

Lu Yuan couldn't help but smile at her wheedling. "It's just repairing Spatial Rifts. What's so interesting about that?"

"It IS interesting~ Big liar~ No, wait — Brother Lu~ Brother Yuan~"

Lu Yuan cringed so hard goosebumps broke out across his skin. "Where did you learn *that*?"

Amy grinned triumphantly. "Lingling taught me. She said you'd definitely like it."

Beside Amy, Wang Lingling covered her face in exasperation, clearly wanting no part of this conversation.

Si Tingyu and the others couldn't help laughing at Amy's smug expression.

There was no denying it — Amy's heart was as guileless as ever.

Si Tingyu smiled. "Lu Yuan, why not just bring Amy along?"

He nodded. "Fine. I'll come pick you and Lingling up."

"Yay~! Long live the big liar!"

Lu Yuan: "..."

*Great. Pretty sure she's cursing me.* At his current life stage, he was practically immortal — "long live" was essentially wishing him an early death.

He rolled his eyes.

Afterward, they picked up Amy and Wang Lingling, then continued to the remaining Forbidden Zones to repair Spatial Rifts.

At first, a Pursuer appeared each time a rift was sealed — and every single one was Saint Grade.

But after the tenth, no more Pursuers emerged.

This left Lu Yuan somewhat disappointed. He'd been hoping more Saint Grade Pursuers would show up so he could absorb additional Unknown Aura.

*And just like that, they stopped coming?*

He couldn't tell whether there simply weren't any more Saint Grade Pursuers, or if the remaining ones had grown afraid.

By the time he finished repairing every Spatial Rift in every Forbidden Zone on Great Qi Star, not a single additional Pursuer had appeared.

With nothing left to do, Lu Yuan returned to the Red Maple Empire, unable to shake his disappointment.