Super God Golden Crow Record

Chapter 44 By the Campfire

The first light of dawn shone through the cave entrance once again.

Keisha opened her eyes and found herself leaning on Zhao Chen's shoulder again. But this time she wasn't alarmed; she simply moved slightly, trying to sit up.

Zhao Chen's hand was still around her waist, but when he saw that she was awake, he took the initiative to let go of her.

Neither of them spoke.

The fire had died down, leaving only ashes. Liang Bing lay sprawled out a short distance away, snoring softly and rhythmically. He Xi leaned against the rock wall on the other side, her eyes closed, her breathing even.

Keisha stood up and walked to the cave entrance.

Outside, the sky remained a hazy gray, and the stars stretched endlessly. On this desolate planet, there was no distinction between day and night; one could only judge time by feeling.

Footsteps sounded behind me.

Zhao Chen walked over to her and stood beside her.

Zhao Chen turned his head to look at her.

"When do you plan to rescue them?"

Keisha remained silent for a moment.

"The sooner the better." "Every extra day we wait, those women suffer one more day."

Zhao Chen nodded.

"Then I'll take you to the mine once you've recovered from your injuries."

Keisha looked at him.

"Are you... really willing to go to this extent for us?"

Zhao Chen met her gaze.

I've said before, "Your business is my business."

Keisha's heart skipped a beat, and she looked away.

"Don't say things like that again."

Why?

"Because..." she paused, "because we've only known each other for a few days."

Zhao Chen remained silent.

Keisha waited a while, but received no reply, so she turned to look at him. Zhao Chen was gazing at the starry sky, his profile particularly clear in the dim light.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"Thinking about the past," Zhao Chen said.

Keisha was taken aback.

"What happened before?"

Zhao Chen remained silent for a moment.

"Long ago, I was a crow."

Keisha frowned.

"crow?"

"Hmm," Zhao Chen said, "It's very small, very weak, and almost dead. But it just won't close its eyes."

Keisha looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Are you using a metaphor?"

"no."

Keisha was stunned.

Are you serious?

She stared at Zhao Chen, trying to detect any trace of a joke on his face. But there was none. Zhao Chen's expression was calm, his golden eyes devoid of any emotion, as if he were stating something utterly ordinary.

"You mean..." she hesitated, choosing her words carefully, "that you used to be a crow, and then you became like this?"

"Um."

Keisha remained silent.

Liang Bing woke up at some point, quietly leaned in and touched one of her ears, her eyes wide. She exclaimed in surprise.

"A crow turned into a human? Brother-in-law, you used to be a crow?"

Zhao Chen nodded calmly.

Liang Bing gasped, but her eyes quickly lit up.

"Can you change back? Show me!"

Keisha glared at her with displeasure.

"Liang Bing"

"I just want to see!"

Zhao Chen glanced at Keisha, then stood up and took a few steps back.

A golden light suddenly appeared.

It wasn't a soft glow, but a blinding, blazing golden light that seemed capable of burning through the void. The temperature inside the cave instantly soared, and the flames of the campfire leaped higher.

Liang Bing instinctively raised her hand to cover her eyes.

He Xi narrowed his eyes, his hand resting on the short sword, but he didn't move.

The golden light dissipated.

A giant bird stands at the entrance of the cave.

The black feathers weren't ordinary black; they possessed a profound darkness capable of swallowing all light. Each feather's edge swirled with dark golden patterns, as if flames flowed within. Its form was slender and majestic; when its wings were half-spread, they almost filled the entire cave entrance, and with a gentle twitch of its wingtips, they left faint golden trails in the void.

It stood on two feet, its sharp claws deeply embedded in the rock, covered with dark golden patterns.

Liang Bing's gaze fell on Zhao Chen, her pupils suddenly contracting. Her mouth gaped open!

He Xi's hand also suddenly stopped.

She had seen countless strange beasts—modified, born, half-beast, mutated beasts… but she had never seen such a bird before.

The giant bird silently looked down at them, its golden vertical pupils reflecting the three tiny figures.

An ancient and immense pressure swept down from the giant bird.

It was not the surging of air currents, nor the vibration of energy, but an absolute suppression originating from the depths of one's bloodline, as if a star had descended and ants were facing the might of heaven.

Just being stared at by those golden vertical pupils, Liang Bing instantly felt her blood freeze, her limbs felt like they were filled with a thousand pounds of lead, and even her scream was stuck in her throat, unable to move an inch.

He Xi's expression changed slightly. Her hand on the short sword tightened, and the dark energy in her body circulated wildly, but it was like going against the current in the ocean. Even the thought of getting up was firmly pressed down in place by this pressure.

Even Keisha felt a chill run down her spine. As the future Queen of Angels, when had she ever experienced such oppression? The aura emanating from this giant bird was as if some ancient being, transcending eras, was scrutinizing all living beings.

This oppressive force is too heavy, far too heavy.

Three breaths.

The giant bird withdrew its gaze, a flash of golden light, and it transformed back into human form.

Zhao Chen leaned back against the rock wall, his expression calm, as if nothing had just happened.

Liang Bing clutched her chest, gasping for breath, and collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. "Sister...brother-in-law...what was that pressure you were exerting...I couldn't move just now..."

Zhao Chen looked at her.

"It has always been there."

Liang Bing's eyes widened.

"It's always been there? But when you turned into a human..."

"It's been put away."

He Xi stared at Zhao Chen, and the scrutiny in her eyes changed into something else.

"Huh?"

Zhao Chen glanced at her in surprise.

"Have you heard of it?"

He Xi shook her head.

"No," she said.

Zhao Chen did not speak again.

Keisha looked at him, the firelight reflected in her golden eyes.

It turned out to be the case.

He Xi looked at Zhao Chen, her gaze becoming more serious.

"Are all demons like you?"

Zhao Chen looked at her.

"no the same."

"Why is it different?"

Zhao Chen remained silent for a moment.

"There are many kinds of demons," he said. "Some are born demons, while others are cultivated from all things. Plants, birds, beasts, mountains, and rivers—as long as they have spirit, they can all become demons."

He Xi frowned.

Which type are you?

Zhao Chen did not answer immediately.

He gazed at the starry sky outside the cave, the boundless sea of ​​stars reflected in his golden pupils. After a moment of silence, he spoke, his voice calm yet carrying an indescribable weight.

"The bloodline within me is among the best in the demon race." He paused, then added, "It should be 'formed from the origin of the Sun Star, possessing an innate, supremely yang body, the master of all fires.' A descendant of the Golden Crow."

He Xi was stunned.

Liang Bing's eyes widened.

"The Lord of All Fires? That sounds incredibly powerful!"

Keisha stared at him, suddenly remembering the heat emanating from him, that sun-like warmth.

"You mean... you're a descendant of some kind of mythical beast?"

Zhao Chen shook his head.

"Not descendants. Bloodline." He looked at Keisha, and something indescribable suddenly appeared in his golden eyes. "This race must have been born from the sun."

The cave was quiet.

Three breaths later, Liang Bing asked timidly, "Can people live inside the sun?"

He Xi didn't speak, but the scrutiny in her eyes deepened.

Keisha looked at him and suddenly felt that this man was even more mysterious than she had imagined. It wasn't the distance between them, but rather... his very existence seemed to be something that shouldn't exist in this world.

"Where are you from?" she asked.

Zhao Chen remained silent for a moment.

"It's a very far place. You wouldn't know even if I told you now."

Keisha didn't ask any more questions.

Night fell again.

The campfire was relit, its flames flickering and casting a dim light on the cave.

Liang Bing was particularly excited today, pestering Zhao Chen with all sorts of questions.

"Brother-in-law, teach me that escape technique!"

Zhao Chen glanced at her.

"I can't teach it."

Why?

"The systems are different," Zhao Chen said. "Your flying system relies on wings and dark energy, while mine relies on bloodline and magic power. They are not the same path."

Liang Bing frowned.

"Magic power? What's that?"

Zhao Chen thought for a moment.

"You can think of it as... another kind of energy," he said. "You use dark energy, extracted from the dark plane and carried by your divine body. I use magical power, cultivated from within myself and circulated through my meridians."

He Xi opened her eyes and glanced at him.

"What conditions are required for your system?"

Zhao Chen remained silent for a moment.

"First, bloodline and talent," he said. "This path is etched into bloodline and talent. Without the corresponding bloodline and talent, you can't even sense magic power. Even if you force yourself to cultivate, you won't go far."

Liang Bing looked at her wings, then at Zhao Chen.

"I definitely don't have your bloodline."

"Um."

"And what about second place?"

"The cultivation method," Zhao Chen said, "a complete cultivation method, from the beginning to the peak, cannot omit a single step. Missing one means certain death."

He Xi nodded thoughtfully.

"And the third one?"

"Spiritual energy." Zhao Chen looked at the flames. "Or rather, the energy that roams freely in the world. I call it spiritual energy. But this world... has no spiritual energy."

Liang Bing was stunned.

"No? Then how did you cultivate?"

"Use something else instead," Zhao Chen said. "The essence of the sun and moon, the power of stars, rare and precious materials, and even devouring everything will do. In this world, everything else is far less efficient than spiritual energy; the cultivation speed is slow and the efficiency is low."

Zhao Chen paused for a moment before speaking.

"According to my system, your current strength is equivalent to the late Golden Core stage to the early Nascent Soul stage. It took me decades to reach this point. You started from scratch, without bloodline support, without heaven-defying talent, without spiritual energy..." He looked at Liang Bing, "and it might take you hundreds of years to reach your current level."

Liang Bing's eyes widened.

"Several hundred years?!"

"Um."

Liang Bing gasped for breath.

"Then forget it..."

He Xi looked at Zhao Chen and suddenly asked, "Golden Core? Nascent Soul? What are those?"

Zhao Chen thought for a moment.

"The cultivation system is divided into realms," he said. "Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Deity Transformation... each level represents a qualitative leap. Your current second-generation divine bodies are probably between the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages."

He Xi frowned.

"So, in your system, where would a second-generation divine body rank?"

Zhao Chen looked at her.

"From the late Golden Core stage to the early Nascent Soul stage," he said. "You've already come a long way in this system. Your foundation is already deep, and your path is already very stable. There's no need to change your cultivation."

Keisha looked at Zhao Chen.

"So, this is a path we can't take?"

Zhao Chen nodded.

"It's just not suitable for now." He paused, "Besides, you all have your own paths. If you walk them well, you won't be any worse than me."

Keisha was stunned.

Liang Bing sighed, but quickly cheered up again.

"Whatever, my wings are pretty fast anyway. Who cares about magic or spiritual energy, as long as it works."

Keisha looked at her, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"You're quite optimistic."

Liang Bing retorted confidently, "What's the use of being pessimistic? If you can't learn it, you can't learn it. You can't just tear yourself apart and start all over again."

He Xi chuckled softly.

The flames flickered, casting the shadows of four people.

Zhao Chen leaned against the rock wall, looking at the three of them, a rare hint of tenderness appearing in his eyes.

The flames flickered.

It was very quiet inside the cave.

Liang Bing suddenly thought of something and looked at Zhao Chen.

"By the way, brother-in-law, how many people are in your race?"

Zhao Chen remained silent for a moment.

"I'm the only one right now."

Liang Bing was stunned.

Keisha also looked at him.

"Just you?"

"Um."

The cave was quiet.

Liang Bing opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.

Keisha looked at him, his golden eyes appearing exceptionally deep in the firelight. She suddenly remembered his words—"Long ago, I was a raven."

It turns out he was the only one left in that race.

She looked away without saying a word.

But something inside me softened a little.

Liang Bing muttered softly, "Brother-in-law, you're so pitiful..."

He Xi glared at her.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Liang Bing immediately shut up, but the sympathy in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Zhao Chen leaned against the rock wall, knowing they had misunderstood, but he didn't bother to explain.

The flames flickered.

It was very quiet inside the cave.

Late at night.

Liang Bing and He Xi were both asleep.

Keisha sat by the fire, staring blankly at the flickering flames.

Zhao Chen sat down next to her.

The two remained silent for a while.

Keisha suddenly spoke.

"How...did your race perish?"

Zhao Chen looked at her.

"I don't know." "I was born with only myself."

Keisha was stunned.

She didn't know what to say.

Zhao Chen looked at the flames, his voice very soft.

"unimportant."

Keisha looked at his profile; his cold face was expressionless, but his golden eyes reflected the flickering firelight.

She suddenly reached out and took his hand.

Zhao Chen turned to look at her.

Keisha didn't look at him; she just stared at the flames.

"We'll have it later," she said.

Zhao Chen remained silent for a moment.

"Um."