Cave Refuge

But I carefully observed the clothing of that person and confirmed that his entire body was very clean and tidy, without any traces of battle.

Given the number of those Bat Monsters, if that person had encountered them, a battle would have been inevitable. If that person had really engaged with the Bat Monsters, although those creatures are weak, it's undeniable that there were a lot of them. Even if that person were very strong, fighting against so many Bat Monsters should have left some traces of battle on him.

Therefore, I infer that by the time that person arrived here, those Bat Monsters had already disappeared. Because the surface of the water around here simply can't retain any traces, in my view, those Bat Monsters must be hiding in a nearby Secret Realm and have not returned."

Upon hearing Grayson Todd's deduction, another member of the team spoke up: "How can you be so sure that the other party is hiding in a nearby Secret Realm and not having left Blue Star through a Plane Transmission Channel?"

Hearing his teammate's doubt, Grayson Todd rolled his eyes in annoyance and then looked at the other person as if looking at a fool. When that person was about to get angry at this gaze, Todd slowly explained: "Are you stupid? If there really were that many Bat Monsters leaving with supplies through a Plane Transmission Channel.

Even if each Bat Monster took only a small amount of Plane Origin, the vast number would eventually add up, allowing them to take away a significant amount of Plane Origin like ants moving house.

Given the current situation on Blue Star, if there were Otherworldly Invaders taking away so much with Plane Origin all at once, do you believe that the initially dormant Plane Will would immediately awaken?

And once the Plane Will awakens, the impending fate of humanity will face a very harsh unilateral choice.

And now, since no abnormalities have occurred, it demonstrates that those objects containing Plane Origin, although not present here and have disappeared, it can be proven that those things were taken by someone, and not transferred out of Blue Star to their own Plane."

Hearing Grayson Todd's explanation, they also quickly realized that once the Plane Will awakens, it would definitely hold accountable the loss of Plane Origin.

And if the investigation into this matter begins, humanity, as the favored species of this Plane and the undisputed rulers of Blue Star at this time, would definitely be the first to bear this responsibility.

If humanity has to take on this burden, then the survivors of China would definitely need to take on most of the responsibility, given that the region where those Bat Monsters disappeared is within the territory of our Blue Star.

And since everything around has been calm and tranquil, this indicates that the Plane Will has not awakened yet, which also indirectly proves that those Bat Monsters did not take their plundered goods back to their original Plane.

It is for this reason, once it's confirmed that those Bat Monsters have not returned to the Plane they originally inhabited but are hiding in a nearby Secret Realm, excitement immediately showed on the faces of the five people.

After all, every undiscovered Secret Realm is a treasure trove waiting to be explored, and before entering it, one can never know what Treasures might be hidden within.

After confirming the presence of a Secret Realm nearby, the five people, through mere eye contact, understood each other's thoughts very tacitly, and without warning, they all freely released their Grandmaster-level aura.

Just as they released their Grandmaster aura, everyone on the ships quickly approaching their location suddenly exhibited panicked expressions.

This mentality is like a Rabbit sensing a lurking tiger ahead, even without seeing the actual creature, but just feeling the terrifying aura, it's enough to instill fear in Martial Artists below the Grandmaster Realm, causing them to quickly turn around and sail away.

Looking at the ships turning away in the distance, Grayson Todd spoke with a touch of reflection: "When chatting with my roommate before, he would always say 'Below the Saint, all are as ants.' I didn't have a concrete feeling about this saying before.

However, after watching Pirate King, they have gained a rough understanding of this notion through the ability of Conqueror's Haki depicted therein: once the aura of a Grandmaster is released without restraint...

Then the naturally emitted aura of a Grandmaster is like the Conqueror's Haki in Pirate King, impossible for anyone below the Master Realm to approach. After all, if one's Cultivation Level has not reached the Master Realm, anyone attempting to approach a Grandmaster is likely to be stunned by the casually released aura of a Master Realm practitioner.

Thus, as individuals of the Master Realm ourselves, we can also say to others, "Those below the Grandmaster are all but ants."

Hearing Grayson Todd say this, even though the other four present reminded Grayson to be more modest, the expression on their faces showed complete agreement.

If a martial artist of the Path Entry Realm can potentially be beaten to death by a group of Energy Refining Realm warriors, then, no matter how many Path Entry Realm fighters there are, they are akin to crushable bugs before a Master Realm warrior.

However, what the other four failed to notice was that while Grayson Todd was saying these words, his thoughts were on Dong Tianyu.

Although the word 'Todd' in Grayson Todd's name hints at boyishness, his sexual orientation isn't such, and his interest in Dong Tianyu was not in that regard. Rather, when he first encountered Dong Tianyu, he didn't rein in the aura of the Grandmaster that emanated from him.

Under normal circumstances, even if he didn't actively use this ability, warriors approaching him would instinctively feel palpitations, and the closer they got to Dong Tianyu, the stronger these palpitations would become.

It's true that some daredevils enjoy challenging various thrilling and dangerous activities, mainly resulting in adrenaline spikes. Even if they feel exhausted afterward, such activities don't have much lasting impact on their own bodies.

But the heart palpitations caused by the aura of a Master Realm are different; the longer one stays in such a state, the heart's beating frequency starts to drop gradually.

One must understand that the heart is the core organ of a human being; once it stops, no matter how powerful one is, all that strength cannot be used, and they cannot even come close to the Grandmaster.

This is the very reason why Grayson Todd said that everyone below a Grandmaster is but an ant; a martial artist who enters the Master Realm becomes a non-human existence.

When Dong Tianyu first met Grayson Todd, whether Todd had forgotten or was deliberately testing, he did not contain his Grandmaster aura during their initial encounter.

To Dong Tianyu, Grayson Todd's Master Realm strength was easily crushable, so naturally, Dong Tianyu felt no pressure when they met.

It was for this reason that Grayson Todd did not conceal his aura initially, but when Robinson William leaped from his Companion Spiritual Treasure...

If Grayson had released his Master Realm aura at that moment, Robinson, already mid-air, surely wouldn't have landed steadily on the deck as he did; he might have been terrified into trembling and fallen straight into the water.

Avoiding harm and seeking safety is an innate instinct of all creatures, which can, of course, be overcome with frequent exposure. After all, everyone knows that humans have strong adaptability and can gradually get used to special environments over time.

Only someone who disregards a Grandmaster's aura upon the first meeting, like Dong Tianyu, could have a Cultivation Level already exceeding the Master Realm, have reached the Master Realm themselves, or have been frequently in the company of Master Realm martial artists and thus become immune to the unintentionally emitted aura.

Beyond these, Grayson Todd could not think of any other possibilities.