Chapter 185: The Future Number One, Supreme Master of the Blade; the New Celestial

“No, why?”

“Why would they think like that?”

Lin Tianshan couldn’t understand.

“Life is such a precious thing—how can they care so little about it?”

A researcher from the Tianshu Bureau’s social survey division hesitated, then spoke up:

“Director, according to our survey data, although the first Qi tide and subsequent beast surges did cause casualties, relative to Daya’s massive population base—”

“Get to the point.”

Lin Tianshan interrupted.

“In short, resource distribution hasn’t improved in any meaningful way.”

The researcher took a deep breath.

“Although some companies downsized, they didn’t hire more staff—instead, they made existing employees take on more work; wages didn’t rise, housing prices dropped, but fewer people are buying homes now, and the pressure of daily life hasn’t lessened.”

“Especially in urban villages and university districts, where residents are mostly migrant workers and college graduates who’ve been working for a while—”

The researcher didn’t finish, but everyone understood her unspoken words.

People who’ve worked too long carry a lot of resentment.

“But even so, they must have loved ones they care about—surely they’ve thought about how their families would grieve if they died?”

Lin Tianshan still couldn’t grasp it—could work and life pressure really make someone value their own life so little?

The researcher let out a bitter laugh and continued:

“Director, have you forgotten the Tianshu Bureau’s earlier announcement? Combined with the overall shift in Daya’s cultural atmosphere, the public’s tolerance is far higher than we imagined.”

“And after the first Qi tide, nearly everyone bought insurance, plus the Tianshu Bureau’s generous compensation for those who died in the beast surges—”

“Materially speaking, they have no real worries left.”

“If not for fear of pain, there might be even more people staying out there than we think.”

“.”

Lin Tianshan’s lips twitched slightly; he had no idea what to say.

The time between the first and second Qi tides was short—how could people’s views have changed so drastically?

Is this still the Daya he knew?

“Order the troops stationed outside the city to raise their alert level.”

“If anything unusual is detected, trigger the citywide alarm immediately; as for those who refuse to go to shelters—make sure they at least stay indoors and don’t wander around.”

“They still need to value their own lives.”

Lin Tianshan rubbed his temples and shifted the topic back to the matter at hand.

Although there was no sign yet of a large-scale beast surge, as Director of the Yunshan City Tianshu Bureau, he had to prepare for the worst.

Speaking of which, a bitter ache rose in Lin Tianshan’s chest.

He recalled his conversation last month with Li Ming from the Chaoyang City branch—they’d been joking with each other, making a bet that whoever got the first Celestial Artifact holder first had to buy dinner.

But soon after, Chaoyang City produced two Celestial Artifact holders in succession.

One had already stabilized at the third-rank realm; the other, though he’d received his inheritance only recently, already had combat power nearing third-rank—likely he’d broken through by now.

Ever since, Li Ming’s calls made Lin Tianshan avoid answering—he didn’t need to pick up to know the guy just wanted to gloat.

Yunshan City wasn’t inferior to Chaoyang City in any way—why didn’t they have even one Celestial Artifact holder?

Even if you won’t join the Tianshu Bureau, at least show yourselves—let me know Yunshan City isn’t completely devoid of Celestial Artifact holders.

“Bad! Large-scale Qi fluctuations detected!”

“Likely a massive number of mutated creatures are approaching Yunshan City!”

The monitor operator’s voice rose sharply; Lin Tianshan shot to his feet, eyes flashing like lightning toward the screen:

“Get them ready—no mutated creature is allowed to break through the perimeter!”

“Hit them hard! Blow every last one of those beasts to dust outside the city!”

“We gave them so much wilderness land and still they dare covet human cities—utterly beyond reason!”

Lin Tianshan snorted coldly.

He knew his words were extreme—but so what?

He wasn’t a mutated creature—why should he think from their perspective?

As a Tianshu Bureau branch director, he only needed to consider one thing—protect every single citizen of this city.

In his view, ceding the lands beyond the city to those mutated creatures was already a massive concession; now they dared to turn their eyes toward human cities—pure greed.

“Yes!”

Outside Yunshan City, a once-bustling main road had become the territory of mutated creatures; on the smooth asphalt, different mutated races occupied their own distinct zones.

On the left lane, wolf-like mutants with metallic-scaled hides patrolled; on the right, a massive colony of mutated serpents coiled, their tongues flickering with arcs of electricity; in the center, creatures resembling pangolins but with scorpion tails used sharp claws to dig into the road, clearly enjoying the hard texture.

Compared to soft soil, these human-made hardened surfaces seemed more favored by the mutated races; though each group kept a safe distance, all had unconsciously chosen this flat road as their habitat.

Such a thing would have seemed absurd before the Qi resurgence—and even now, it still defied logic.

At least, creatures like snakes should never prefer hard asphalt.

But reality was this absurd.

Ahead of these mutated creatures, a lone figure stood still, wearing a blue-and-white short-sleeved sports outfit, yet holding a gleaming Tang crossblade—utterly incongruous with his attire.

“Normally, I should be holding a tennis racket.”

Lin Xiu’s voice was calm, tinged with a faint smile.

Currently, Daya had three known Template holders: Ye Xuan, who bore the Wangquan Baye Template; Zhong Lao, who inherited the Rock King Emperor Template; and Shen Xuan, who obtained the Unlicensed Knight Template. Excluding those who had never revealed themselves, he was likely Daya’s fourth Celestial Role Template holder.

But unlike the above three, the template he received was something no one had anticipated.

The Tennis Prince world—Tezuka Kunimitsu.

Wangquan Baye and Rock King Emperor needed no explanation—they came from worlds brimming with immense power; the Unlicensed Knight’s world, though its bearer was weak, still contained “gods” and beings like Goku, who were absolute anomalies.

Their worlds all unquestionably possessed powerful combat systems.

But Tezuka Kunimitsu came from a mundane world centered around tennis.

Though tennis in that world differed slightly from reality, it was undeniably a daily-life setting.

No one could have imagined that a character template from a mundane world would appear in reality.

Coincidentally, before the Qi resurgence, Lin Xiu had been captain of Yunshan University’s tennis club; after the resurgence, due to awakening his “Sharpness” ability, he had to abandon tennis to train with a blade—to gain enough power to protect what he cared about.

“A month for staff, a year for blades, a lifetime for spears”—among weapons, staffs and blades were easier to master, and his ability made the blade his natural choice.

As for why he didn’t choose a sword—blades suited his preference better, and the grip felt more like a tennis racket.

Even so, he never abandoned tennis—only reduced his practice.

Tennis had never been just a sport to him—it was a passion etched into his bones; as a child, he picked up a racket after watching a tennis anime, and never let it go.

Others might have chosen tennis for honor, talent, or some reason—but he chose it purely out of that most primal love.

Fate, however, is always dramatic.

One accidental swing, one habitual cheer—“Give it your all!”—and his old tennis racket became the medium for a Celestial Role Template.

And not just any template—it was Tezuka Kunimitsu’s.

Even more surprising: Tezuka Kunimitsu’s template differed from others he knew—it didn’t require role-playing or alignment with the template’s nature; the only requirement was to maintain pure, unadulterated love for tennis.

And on that point, he was confident he surpassed everyone.

So the moment he obtained the Tezuka Kunimitsu template, his compatibility instantly reached 60%—awakening techniques like “Zero-Style Slice” and “Tezuka Domain,” and immediately mastering the three supreme principles of Wuwo: the Ultimate of Thousand Hammerings, the Ultimate of Brilliant Talent, and the Ultimate of Flawless Perfection.

Though it sounded unbelievable, the instant Lin Xiu gripped the blade in Wuwo state, a profound certainty surged within him.

He would become the future number one, the supreme master of the blade.

Of course, that was merely his insight at the time; once he exited Wuwo state, he knew it was impossible.

Even with the Tezuka Kunimitsu template, he could achieve such power—what of the other Celestial Artifact holders?

He could chase the title of blade master, but number one? He felt that was beyond his reach.

Yet one thing was certain: in Wuwo state, his Tang crossblade felt fused with a tennis racket—those tennis techniques could be fully executed with the blade.

Even outside Wuwo state, he could still use them—just not as skillfully or powerfully.

This confirmed his theory: those techniques were merely manifestations of the Tennis Prince world’s abilities, only expressed through tennis because that was the medium.

He used a blade—so naturally, he could manifest those same techniques with a blade.

Just like now.

A massive mutated boar noticed Lin Xiu; its brown eyes glowed with malice. It dug its hooves into the asphalt, then charged forward with a roar.

Lin Xiu stood motionless, as a soft white aura flowed around him.

(End of Chapter)