Caroline smiled. “How so?”

“Once I pour my blood in, it won’t be an easy matter to erase. There might not be any person capable of repairing this thing in the neutral lands.”

“Isn’t it fine to just give it to you? We've agreed on it before.”

“Don’t tell me you’re not moved by the Martyr’s Palace?”

“I’m not that interested, otherwise, I would’ve formed my own power in the neutral lands.”

Qianye only watched her in silence.

Caroline avoided Qianye’s eyes and laughed self-deprecatingly. “Fine, I admit I was indeed shocked and tempted after getting here. But I could sense a mortal peril when I tried to approach the heart. I guess that person doesn’t want me to dip my fingers into this.”

Qianye gave Caroline’s surprising honesty a nod of approval. Then he slit his wrist with East Peak, sending a gush of blood into the opening. The hum of the engine grew louder and louder as his blood invaded the machine. Moreover, Qianye’s consciousness connected to the machine and gradually extended toward every part of the Martyr’s Palace. Wherever the silver threads...