Chapter 80: The Radiance and Ugliness of Human Nature Are Revealed in Every War

In the past, these beasts could not comprehend where this destruction came from; but under the evolution brought by the Qi Tide, their intelligence had improved.

When they saw the steel birds streaking across the sky, when they heard the distant roar of engines, a vague yet profound awareness surfaced in their chaotic minds.

This destruction was tied to those upright-walking creatures.

From this moment on, perhaps in the hearts of all surviving mutated creatures, human cities would become forbidden grounds—never to be approached, no matter the future.

But this awareness was destined not to last long.

As their strength grew stronger in the future, strong enough to ignore the weapons that had left shadows in their minds, their awe toward humans would plummet to near nothing, and they would once again surge toward the cities.

Even if they themselves did not, their future descendants, who had never witnessed human power, would.

Between humans and mutated creatures, conflict was inevitable—a continuous war.

Blue Planet is only so large; humans occupy the vast majority of land, and even in human eyes, the territories and even the mutated creatures themselves belonged to humanity.

If mutated creatures wished to expand their territory, they either fought other mutated creatures to seize their land, or marched toward human cities to take land from humans.

Just this one point meant peace between humans and mutated creatures was impossible.

Not to mention humans needed mutated creatures’ flesh as food ingredients, or even as cultivation resources.

But all that was for the future; at least now, their hearts were filled with awe toward humans.

Of course, the Beast Tide did not spare only Greater Xia; every nation on Earth suffered attacks from mutated creatures—and the more biologically rich a nation, the more frequent its attacks.

Though they ultimately eliminated the mutated creatures, their casualties far exceeded those of other nations; not only from the mutated creatures, but also from fellow citizens who took advantage of the chaos to loot and attack.

The damage caused by these people may have surpassed the impact of the mutated creatures themselves.

The brilliance and ugliness of human nature are revealed in every war.

Thus, in time, some nations no longer cared whether large-scale weapons might harm their own citizens—they prioritized killing mutated creatures above all.

Sacrificing a few to secure the safety of the many.

This approach did allow them to resolve the mutated creature threat quickly—but what would the surviving survivors think?

Those whose loved ones and friends had not died at the hands of mutated creatures, but at the hands of their own nation’s weapons—should they blame the mutated creatures, or their own nation?

They might understand their nation’s actions, but understanding does not mean forgiveness.

If they lacked power, no matter how deep their hatred, it would have no effect on the nation; but precisely under the Qi Tide, those survivors who awakened abilities now had the potential to grow even stronger.

They cannot do it now—but who can predict whether one among them might one day rise to a power rivaling the nation itself?

What then?

Hangcheng Tian Shu Bureau.

“I knew from the start that Ye Xuan’s video going public would cause a stir, but I must admit—it’s far bigger than I imagined.”

“Fifth Stage. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes last night, I never would’ve believed Ye Xuan had reached this level.”

“But how? How did he reach Fifth Stage?”

“I just can’t figure it out.”

Su Mengyao watched the video’s online popularity surge, unable to resist rubbing her temples.

As netizens suspected, the video was released by Tian Shu Bureau; with the Qi Tide begun, many things no longer needed concealment.

She had asked about Ye Xuan’s background long ago and never cared if they leaked it—until now, only Tian Shu Bureau had kept it hidden.

She had once wondered why Ye Xuan didn’t mind his information being exposed; now she understood: everything they knew before was false—or at best, partial.

Fifth Stage. If she hadn’t seen through surveillance last night how Ye Xuan revealed himself across Hangcheng, crushing mutated creatures, she truly wouldn’t have believed he had entered this realm.

Greater Xia officially had only one Fifth Stage cultivator: Zhong Lao. Yet Ye Xuan had reached the same level without her knowledge—and worse, she still couldn’t understand how he’d done it.

Truly, she couldn’t understand.

Wang Quan’s Tyranny—even if he had been at his peak, wielding Wang Quan’s Sword Intent and Sword Heart with Wang Quan Sword in hand—she didn’t believe he had reached Fifth Stage; at most, he hovered between Fourth and Fifth.

And Wang Quan’s Sword Heart was only regained near death.

Ye Xuan merely possessed Wang Quan’s Tyranny’s template; though he had personally comprehended Wang Quan’s Sword Intent, differences between individuals meant he could never achieve 100% compatibility with the template—and thus could never possess Wang Quan’s Tyranny’s full power.

So his reaching Fifth Stage relied less on Wang Quan’s Tyranny’s template, and more on himself.

This was precisely the range she could not comprehend.

Was Ye Xuan’s talent truly this terrifying? Merely through Wang Quan’s Tyranny’s template, had he surpassed Wang Quan’s peak and reached a realm beyond him?

She didn’t disbelieve human talent—humanity did produce geniuses beyond ordinary imagination—but could human cultivation talent truly surpass fictional characters created by humans themselves?

Or had Ye Xuan, at that moment, transferred ShaNiang’s functions onto himself, granting him such immense power?

But did ShaNiang even possess such power?

Su Mengyao admitted ShaNiang’s functions were powerful—especially time-space travel, far beyond what humans could achieve in decades—but in combat, neither she nor the entire Magic Phone world, including Sun Wukong and Niu Wang, had ever regarded them as truly powerful.

If you claimed Ye Xuan’s godlike demeanor in the video was ShaNiang’s power, frankly, she didn’t believe it.

“Have you compiled all of Ye Xuan’s information? The capital headquarters is pressing.”

Zhou Chen walked up beside Su Mengyao and spoke.

“Already sent—but it’s all the same material we sent before.”

“They want to know what other Multiverse Treasures Ye Xuan obtained besides Wang Quan’s Tyranny’s template. As far as I know, only the Four Souls Jade fragments we previously submitted.”

“I can ask again later.”

“It depends on whether Ye Xuan is willing to speak. If he refuses, I can’t force him.”

“If they think they can, let them come themselves.”

(End of Chapter)