Five miles beneath the surface of the Eastern Endless Ocean. The jammed drive-gears of Script-Nail #3 screeched with ten billion tons of pent-up rotational torque!Standing on the coral crag ten feet from the base of the black star-iron pillar. Twelve-year-old Ye Xiao held his sword-mudra with both hands, his teeth clenched and sweat mixing with seawater on his forehead.
His Ten-Thousand Golden Bamboo Rulers strained under the crushing pressure of the Upper-Realm engine.
CRACK-CREAK!
Hairline fractures began to appear along three hundred of the golden bamboo rulers.
“Second Brother!” nine-year-old Su Nuannuan floated down beside him inside a glowing pink bubble of her [Sweet-Honey Hundred-Blossom Domain]. Pressing both small hands against Ye Xiao’s back and pouring warm, fragrant blossom vitality straight into his meridians while wiping the scratch on his cheek with a honey-leaf.
“Nuannuan is giving you flower power!
Don’t let the heavy gears hurt your hands!”
“Thank you, Nuannuan,” Ye Xiao breathed, feeling his sister’s warm medicinal qi instantly mend his scratched cheek and reinforce the golden rulers by thirty percent. “The gears are locked, and Dad’s [Remote Upgrade Sub-Portal] just opened above the maelstrom! Now we just need someone to yank this ten-billion-ton nail straight up out of the seabed socket!”
