Lu Jun put away the Heaven-and-Earth Stone. He knew the "mark" had already been carved.
This was the very first cut of sculpting a non-existent Imaginary Beast, containing the experiences of his month-long dream return to Inca. Only by pouring in all his regrets, gratitude, fury, and knowledge could he strike within the realm of the Fantasy Domain.
He faintly realized why the Spiritual Carving Method only allowed one to sculpt a single non-existent beast in an entire lifetime.
It was because that creature was the reflection of the summoner's entire life experience and comprehension — only by condensing one's life essence could a perfectly fitting Summoned Beast be created.
Much like the greatest artisans, whose lifetime of work, if they could present even one masterpiece, it would be enough to console them.
It now seemed that his Second Contract Beast would not be returning any time soon. The grander, the more wondrous, the more unforgettable one's experiences, the higher the essence of the Imaginary Beast sculpted would be.
With such high standards, he had no desire to do things halfheartedly.
"Let's go."
After standing still for a long while, Lu Jun finally mounted the Nightmare Thunder Dream Beast and left without looking back.
About an hour or two later, he arrived in Peru's capital city and happened to meet Ai Jiangtu, Mo Fan, Jiang Shaoxu, and the others walking out of the local national pavilion, all smiles.
The royal magicians saw them off warmly, flattering them with praise:
"As expected of the young prodigies from a great nation, our pavilion guardians have learned much from you."
Jiang Shaoxu responded with equal courtesy:
"You're not bad yourselves."
At this time, Lu Jun stepped forward and asked."So, did you get Peru's National Pavilion Emblem?"
"Ah, you're back so soon?" Jiang Yu was surprised, then joked. "Of course we did. It's a small country after all, their magic level is weak. If our Huaxia team, one of the Big Three, couldn't take it down, wouldn't our reputation be a joke?"
Everyone laughed at his words — they all knew he was poking fun at the exaggerated claims on their country's internet.
But confidence was running high. This team was far more united than any previous generation, and with Captain Lu Jun's strength clearly above that of other great nations, they had every reason to be.
Before the World Tournament officially began, international media were already stoking the fire, reporting on every nation's trials and challenges, secretly producing "rankings" to create buzz and discussion.
And in every one of these lists, Lu Jun invariably ranked in the top three.
One had to admit, these media outlets had impressive intelligence networks.
Yet for insiders, it was valuable; for outsiders watching for entertainment, it reeked of manufactured hype.
Because in the stereotypical impression of global netizens, what even was "Jiuzhou"?
"Oh my God, a country that never even made the top 32, or at most the top 16, and now their captain ranks in the top three, even surpassing ours?"
"Hahaha, what a joke. A so-called magic powerhouse, never once breaking past the top 16."
"Hey, upstairs, are you talking about the mysterious Eastern great nation — India?"
"Ah, that one? Didn't they fail to even enter the top 32?"
The discussion thread gradually shifted into mocking India.
Though most were jeering, some more rational voices still defended.
"Guys, if you've really watched Lu Jun's past battle footage, you'd understand just how terrifying this Asian is. Don't get so arrogant."
"Look at these netizens hyping themselves up. If this keeps up, they really might get overturned."
But these voices were quickly drowned in the flood of chatter, unable to stir any real waves.
Lu Jun and the others hadn't seen these discussions, but they had already heard of them — none cared enough to pay them mind.
They left Peru smoothly. Since Lu Jun had returned the Nazca Gemstone, the flock of monstrous birds no longer appeared, and so the disgusting events of the original timeline did not happen.
Peru enjoyed peace and quiet, and Mo Fan even saved a third of his Time Liquid in the process.
Crossing the border, Zhao Manyan sighed in relif. "So it's true, those birds had a limit. How could there really have been a hundred thousand demon birds invading?"
"If it really came to that, wouldn't the whole country be flattened?"
Everyone agreed, and Jiang Yu added with a grin."Exactly. With such a terrifying barrier, if those ancients really controlled it, they would've dominated the world long ago. Who knows what they meant it for."
Beside them, Lu Jun shook his head. The youth were far too naive. In the end, it had been him alone who bore everything. Without his secret actions, how could they be smiling so freely now?
He almost wanted to reply: It was used to resist the Amazon Empire.
But time-travel was too bizarre to explain, and matters concerning the Eye of Time and Space were not something he wished to let too many people know.
After all, the aristocratic heirs here were not guaranteed to be loyal — once back home, they could easily tell their elders, bringing endless complications.
Very soon, the group received a message from their national instructors: their next destination was Mexico.
The instructions required them to trek by foot along the sea route, passing through Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, and the nations straddling the Caribbean and Pacific before finally arriving in Mexico…
Zhao Manyan immediately protested:
"Damn it, this sea route is insanely dangerous! I heard there's an infamous pirate syndicate there — their damage to the nations around this sea is second only to the Black Vatican. If we run into them, we're screwed."
Upon hearing this, Lu Jun suddenly recalled which international marauders they were talking about — the Red Ornament Guild!
Its leader Casso, was at the peak of High-level Mage. His physical body, strengthened by Poison Element, rivaled Commander-level creatures, and his vitality matched Lu Jun's own Fourth Realm of Blood Qi.
Later, even when three national teams joined forces, they could not bring them down. It was only when the mages of America's Temple of Liberty took action that Caso was finally captured.
The Temple of Liberty was one of the five great continental-level Magic Associations of the world.
Moreover, Lu Jun also knew who stood behind the Red Ornament Guild — it was the Dalang Society!
Under its command were many subsidiary groups, such as the Silver Ornament Guild, the Yellow Ornament Guild, and others.
As for the Dalang Society, there was no need to explain — it was one of Su Lu's white-glove organizations, and the culprit behind the tragic child incident in Bird City.
The chain of connections truly fit together one after another — far too real.
As Lu Jun pondered, Jiang Yu spoke up beside him, shaking his head and explaining with a scholar's tone:
"Crossing the Caribbean Sea is still better than going through the Amazon Rainforest for training."
"The Amazon hosts a monstrous empire of forest demons, its numbers never once successfully tallied. Its races are everywhere, its tribes scattered throughout. I believe if we really went there for training, our training would come to an abrupt end."
The group shivered and no longer complained.
At the same time, somewhere in Peru, in a Buddhist temple, a monk with a sallow face prayed, then closed his eyes to rest. To the shadowed figure standing behind him, he said:
"Have you found the trail of the Huaxia National Team?"
The shadowy figure chuckled and replied:
"They just left Peru. Don't worry about the Killer Hall doing its work."
"Sigh, I hope so."
The leader, Wu Ku, let out a long sigh, then instructed:
"Remember, be cautious when assassinating Mo Fan and Lu Jun. The depths of their hidden strength are unfathomable, and their luck is heaven-defying."
"Haha, I, Bi Jiang, have never failed to kill a target. Even Super-level Mages have fallen to my hands many times."
The shadow squirmed, releasing a disdainful laugh. Two snot-nosed brats — far too trivial. The only real concern was the wrath of Huaxia. After all, this was during the World Tournament, with the world's eyes upon it. Carrying out assassinations now was practically a public slap in the face.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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