However, if Li Hai remained so unperturbed, Anping Xi would still kill the child.
Then Li Hai would no longer care about collecting fragments; he would directly level up several stages in one go, dig out Anping Xi and Black Celestial, and then kill them all.
This was the principle Li Hai set for himself.
"Waaah, waaah, waaah, you're a bad person, you're bullying me."
The child was still crying, but Li Hai had already stood up and walked out of the stall.
After reaching an empty, secluded spot, he indifferently scanned his surroundings, then shot straight into the sky, disappearing from the small town market.
Only the child remained, crying in confusion.
Not long after Li Hai left, a simple middle-aged woman walked up to the child, gently stroking his head while looking up at the sky and murmuring softly:
"Li Hai, oh Li Hai, it seems you have indeed grown a lot, no longer as clear as water and easily understood. What a pity, what a pity, why did you have to oppose me?"
The scorching sun hung in the sky, its rays spilling onto the vast, silver-gray dome of a Machina Citadel, reflecting a cold metallic sheen.
Mee~ Mee~ Mee~
Accompanied by dull mechanical roars, countless massive gears and chains continuously operated beneath the enormous silver dome.
And beneath these rusty gears and chains were workshops, towers, and blast furnaces, some tall, some short, some large, some small.
The raging fires in each furnace illuminated the faces of the gray-robed artisans around the workshops and blast furnaces.
They wielded heavy hammers, striking the red-hot iron blocks on the anvils with precise blows, sparks flying with every impact.
Thus, the clang of hammers, combined with the operating sounds of the gears and chains above, intertwined to form an impassioned symphony of iron and fire.
Under the shroud of this symphony, in the multi-story towers further away from the workshops, a group of white-robed artisans sat around long tables covered with tools and parts.
Holding tweezers, screwdrivers, wrenches, and many other tools, their eyes focused as they calibrated or assembled components for various mechanical armors.
At the same time, a large group of short artisans responsible for the overall power maintenance of the Machina Citadel, dressed in black robes and carrying tool bags, moved through the intricate, oil-scented, massive bottom structure.
They meticulously inspected every transmission rod and every hydraulic pump, with various huge mechanical parts overhead, where a slight misstep could crush them into pulp.
Ten zhang above these black-robed artisans were various Divine Weapon and Sharp Weapon testing grounds.
A group of bare-chested Martial Artists, wearing various mechanical armors or wielding various Divine Weapons and Sharp Weapons, were jumping, swinging blades, parrying, and hovering in the arena, conducting various practical combat drills.
Now, if one were to zoom out, continuously zoom out, until high above and looking down.
One could see that the Machina Citadel where these people were located was actually a colossal, fully mechanical city, spanning dozens of miles, sprawling across the land like a giant steel beast.
Moreover, at the bottom of the Machina Citadel, there were hundreds of mechanical treads, thick as giant pillars, supporting this mechanical giant city.
These mechanical treads, far taller and larger than skyscrapers and covered with complex and mysterious patterns, moved like steel claws, constantly lifting and falling, raising clouds of dust, causing the entire Machina Citadel to move slowly with a majestic and solemn posture.
Wherever it passed, the entire ground would tremble violently, showcasing the terrifying weight and power of the Machina Citadel's massive steel body.
"Truly—a marvel of craftsmanship."
Li Hai, standing on a desolate cliff, gazed at the mechanical city slowly moving across the vast desert, sighing in admiration, "Such a mechanical masterpiece, it would be a pity to destroy it."
Though he said that, the thought that this massive mechanical city was the property of the Nameless Organization made his hands itch; not destroying it would be unsatisfying.
"Forget it, when it's time to cut, cut."
After a sigh, Li Hai immediately flew up, piercing through ten thousand zhang of air in the blink of an eye, reaching the sky above.
Then, amidst the sonic boom roars and ionized sparks he created around him, Li Hai activated his Divine Ability, "Steel Thorn Bone Spike."
Boom!
Starting from Li Hai, tens of thousands of bone 'vines' exploded outwards in all directions, rapidly intertwining and forming a structure.
Thus, in just a few seconds, a pale white bone sphere, thousands of zhang in diameter, fell from the vast sky onto the ground.
Boom!
Accompanied by a localized earthquake strong enough to collapse half a city, in an instant, circles of surging gray dust waves, like a tsunami, roared outwards from the bone sphere's impact point, sweeping and covering everything in all directions.
Such a massive commotion naturally caught the attention of the Machina Citadel's guards on the other side of the vast desert immediately.
No, not just the guards; everyone in the entire Machina Citadel, from the Sect Leader and Elders down to the artisans,
all felt the earthquake created by Li Hai.
And soon after, the dust waves and gray tide from the bone sphere's impact on the ground also rolled in, violently impacting the Machina Citadel while also dyeing its shimmering silver dome gray.
Many dust particles even seeped through the wide cracks beneath the dome, pouring into the mechanical city's interior, leaving many artisans covered in dust.
Inside the Machina Citadel's metal walls—
"Oh my, a meteorite fell in the distance!"
"Why is it a pure white giant sphere?"
"Phew~ That earthquake just now almost knocked me down."
"Someone seems to have been knocked down over there in the north."
"Huh? How unlucky, wouldn't they be all bruised?"
"More like scattered everywhere."
Amidst the guards' chatter, a bald, burly man in mechanical armor walked over with a cold face.
"Captain!" "Captain!" "Captain!" "Captain!"
Hearing the greetings, the bald, burly man nodded to his subordinates one by one, then walked to the city wall's observation deck, looking into the distance with binoculars.
Indeed, as the guards said, on the sandy ground dozens of miles away, a pale white spherical object, as large as a mountain, stood silently.
"What is this thing?" The burly man put down his binoculars, frowning in confusion, "Meteorites aren't like this."
Just as he was about to dispatch a team to investigate, a guard rushed over to report:
"Captain, the higher-ups are looking for you; they want you to report on the situation with that earthquake and sandstorm just now."
"Hmm." The bald man nodded to him, "Understood. You go about your business. I'll observe the situation a bit longer then go report."
"Yes!" The guard saluted and then hurried away.
And when the bald Captain turned his face back to look at the pure white sphere in the distance again, he immediately froze.