Chapter 183: The Second Qi Tide Descends: Evolve! Evolve!

Toki Kurosan believed that by killing the Origin Sprite, she could erase the history of the Sprite’s birth, thereby making all Sprites—including herself—never have existed.

Her goal was to return the world to a peaceful state without Sprites or Spatial Quakes, even if it meant her own disappearance; though extreme, her actions were fundamentally aimed at saving more lives, even at the cost of her own annihilation.

Seeking revenge against the Origin Sprite was merely one part of her objectives; her most fundamental aim was total self-destruction and world correction—she was willing to pay any price, including her own existence, to obtain a world free of Sprite disasters.

This was also why so many people admired Toki Kurosan, even Su Mengyao herself held her in high regard.

Although she wished to kill the Origin Sprite, Toki Kurosan’s power alone was insufficient to accomplish it.

The main reason she said, “If, after seeing the story of your original world, you still wish to kill her,” was to allow Toki Kurosan to further confirm the difference between her world and the real world.

As a Sprite, she could no longer trigger Spatial Quakes; though she possessed unique power, many in the real world also held special abilities, and Great Xia could permit a Sprite’s existence as long as she favored peace.

Thus, the real world was, strictly speaking, a world where Sprite disasters need not be feared—even if a Sprite did cause disaster, it would not fall to Toki Kurosan alone to resolve it, but to all people together.

This naturally included the Origin Sprite.

If Toki Kurosan ever wished to return to her own world in the future, they had also found a way to cross the barrier between the real world and the Battle Arena world, and they would honor their promise to do everything possible to send Toki Kurosan back.

After hearing Su Mengyao’s words, Toki Kurosan fell into a brief silence.

Her lips still wore that elegant smile, but the light in her eyes slightly froze—Su Mengyao had laid bare nearly all her obsessions: killing the Origin Sprite, returning to her original world, even her inner hatred and struggle.

So, could these people who understood her so well truly have read the story about herself created by the “Creator”?

Was her world merely a story they had invented?

Then what did her existence amount to?

Had all the pain, betrayal, and despair she endured existed only to shape the character “Toki Kurosan”?

Her fingertip lightly pressed against her lips; the smile remained, but her gaze grew slightly deeper.

Now that she had descended into this real world, did it mean she had transformed from “illusion” into “reality”?

Then, in this real world, did she still need to cling to her hatred for that illusory world?

Her thoughts shifted in an instant, but soon returned to stillness.

“I accept.”

“Given my current situation, I seem to have no ability to refuse.”

Toki Kurosan said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Su Mengyao’s face bloomed with a genuine smile; the moment Toki Kurosan agreed, the rocks binding her instantly shattered, dissolving into fine dust that drifted through the air.

“Thank you for your trust, Miss Toki Kurosan.”

Su Mengyao stepped forward and extended her right hand.

Toki Kurosan flexed her freed wrist, her wine-red right eye narrowing slightly; she elegantly smoothed her skirt, then extended her right hand and lightly clasped Su Mengyao’s.

“Then, I look forward to your guidance in the future.”

Meanwhile, as time passed, at a moment no one had anticipated:

The second Qi Tide descended.

At the edge of the solar system, the void rippled silently like silk; faint silver fissures unfolded quietly, pouring out purest Qi like mist, like moonlight, gently flowing over cold celestial bodies, finally converging toward the blue planet.

And beneath the blue planet’s oceans:

Darkness was silently torn apart.

Dimensional fissures, vast as the solar system, bloomed, spewing forth Qi purer and more boundless than that outside, diffusing through seawater into a hazy glow.

Thus, the deep sea boiled.

The giant beasts that had already evolved during the first Qi Tide awoke.

A three-hundred-meter-long giant squid tore through rock walls, its suckers twisting and deforming into sharp barbs; the slumbering deep-sea serpent opened its cold vertical pupils, blue-green luminescence seeping from between its scales; swarms of mutated fish darted like arrows, their bones cracking under Qi’s assault yet refusing to halt.

They surged wildly toward the Qi source, greedily devouring every strand of pure energy.

A mutated sea serpent reached it first, opened its maw, and swallowed a thick plume of Qi mist—but in an instant:

“Sssch!”

With a tearing sound, its scales shattered, flesh writhed, its body twisted and deformed at visible speed; yet it felt no fear, only grew more frenzied, devouring even as its organs burst from Qi pressure and its bones were crushed by energy.

Farther away, a giant squid’s tentacles snapped one by one, yet fresh flesh instantly regrew at the wounds—thicker, more monstrous; it charged forward without regard, wrapping its tentacles around nearby kin and crushing them to pulp.

The entire sea became a slaughterhouse.

Blood mist hung thick, wreckage floated, yet not a single mutated sea beast retreated;

They surged forward one after another, like moths hurling themselves into flame, mutating, swelling, bursting under the Qi’s purification; the entire sea turned a faint crimson, yet they remained tireless, fearless, driven only by primal instinct—

Evolve! Evolve! Evolve!

Even if reduced to dust and fragments, they must evolve to a higher level.

At the horizon where sea met sky, a pale blue curtain slowly advanced.

It was the Qi Tide rising from the deep sea, mingling with starlight cascading from beyond, spreading across the shore in a hazy glow; it drifted like gauze and silk, gently soaking into sand, seeping through rock, flowing toward the land.

The bark of a thousand-year-old pine cracked and peeled away, revealing crystal-like wood beneath; its needles grew wildly, each glowing with metallic cold light; vines like giant serpents erupted from the earth, coiling around beasts too slow to flee, turning them into nourishment.

The entire forest was mutating at visible speed, the crisp cracking of growing trees echoing endlessly.

On the mountain peak, a silver wolf raised its head and howled; its fur stood rigid, bathed in a halo of moonlight; each breath caused its body to swell slightly until its limbs could no longer bear the weight and it knelt to the ground, but the next moment, new bones pierced through skin and muscle, supporting it as it rose again.

The giant crocodile in the swamp rolled over, scales shedding and regrowing, bony spines piercing through its skin, glinting with cold light in the soft radiance; it opened its maw, swallowing thick Qi mist, even as its organs swelled toward rupture.

Flocks of birds circled beneath the clouds; their feathers continuously shed and regrew under Qi’s wash—some individuals stiffened suddenly and fell like stones; but most completed their transformation in agony, wings widening, beaks sharpening into curved blades.

Mutated rat colonies reproduced wildly and died wildly; their bones twisted and deformed—some sprouted extra limbs, others exploded entirely, dissolving into blood mist to nourish their kin.

Survivors grew monstrous fangs, eyes flickering with bloodthirsty crimson, yet they devoured every strand of Qi without rest.

The entire continent witnessed the same scene.

In the gentle, water-like Qi, beasts underwent the cruelest transformation, biting each other, devouring plants, all to seize the most concentrated Qi zones.

No fear, no retreat—only primal evolutionary instinct drove them forward, even if they would explode the next moment.

【Emergency Notice: Global Qi Anomaly】

【Concentration Threshold Exceeded: Baseline 15374% 17923%—Continuing to Rise】

【Detected 452 Class-Three Spiritual Energy Signatures. Quantity Continuously Increasing】

Piercing alarm sirens blared across all Shenthu Bureaus.

In the Command Hall of the Imperial Capital Shenthu Headquarters, red lights flashed wildly; crimson warning text scrolled endlessly across the main screen.

“How is this possible?”

“Why has the second Qi Tide arrived so soon?”

At the monitoring station, the technician spoke in disbelief; after the first Qi Tide, their research models predicted the second would arrive at least a year later—how could it come so soon?

Even Li Lao had not predicted the arrival of the second Qi Tide.

In the center of the hall, Wang Shouguo had already rushed to the main console; he glanced at the dense red dots flashing across the national map, his face dark as water.

“Immediately notify all provincial Shenthu Bureau branches.”

“Execute the emergency protocol established after the first Qi Tide. All field personnel deploy immediately.”

His voice was calm and resolute.

Though the second Qi Tide had arrived sooner than expected, they were fortunate: due to the first Qi Tide, they had gained experience and had been preparing for this moment.

Even if sudden, it would not throw them into chaos.

Moreover, after the first Qi Tide, they had specially cleaned the sewer systems of every city, drastically reducing the number of mutated rats and similar creatures—certainly not as numerous as during the first event.

Stray cats and dogs, as well as domesticated mutated pets, had already been dealt with during the first Qi Tide; recurrence was virtually impossible.

Thus, the greatest concern was the potential formation of beast hordes.

During the first Qi Tide, mutated beast hordes consisted mostly of Class-One and Class-Two creatures; Class-Three were extremely rare, appearing only in Qingshan County afterward;

But this time, over four hundred Class-Three energy signatures detected within their monitoring range—even if half were humans, half remained mutated beasts.

Yet how could so many beings in the Imperial Capital have reached the threshold of Class-Two Qi without crossing into Class-Three, only to break through now during the second Qi Tide?

“But Director, the number of detected Class-Threes far exceeds projections—standard protocols may be insufficient.”

“Then double the manpower!”

Wang Shouguo slammed his fist onto the control panel.

“Mobilize every available force. Maintain 24-hour continuous monitoring. Handle any anomaly immediately!”

“Yes!”

(End of Chapter)