Chapter 70: The Cruel Apocalypse and Speculation

On the top floor of the conference room, severed limbs and corpses were everywhere.

The scent of blood had not yet spread far before being covered by the smell of burning.

Especially under the protection of the power of laws, the power of fire could not completely ignite the building.

The smell of burning fat was even more obvious.

And even more terrifying!

Just five Fire-Winged Humans had slaughtered the entire top floor.

No one could resist, and no one could fight back.

The sheer fourfold crushing of strength was like the gap between an adult and a child.

It was far beyond the reach of the survivors on the top floor, whose average level was just over one.

Not to mention the chasm in reaction speed, combat skills, and specialties.

Even if they hid, they could not avoid death.

Before them, any sturdy security door was a joke.

A curved-blade greatsword could cut through everything, and the surging power of fire gushing from their mouths roasted the fleeing crowd.

No one could escape this blood-red hell.

Zhao Wenjun hurriedly rushed to the top floor; seeing this scene, his eyes turned red, and anger surged in his chest.

"Damn it!"

He had arrived too late after all.

There was simply no way around it.

The anomaly on the top floor had alarmed the residents downstairs.

Fear, screams, and explosions caused the residents to start fleeing downstairs.

But this flight completely blocked the stairs.

A stampede even occurred.

Zhao Wenjun was a decisive person; in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures were taken.

With a ruthless heart, he broke the limbs of the first few people, intimidating the crowd.

Only then did he lead the soldiers gathered from various floors to the top floor.

But this delay created a hellish scene.

The entire top floor had no living people left!

That was a full two hundred and more people.

To gather the masses as much as possible, even the twenty-two households on the top floor had more than ten people each.

Bang!

Zhao Wenjun charged forward without hesitation.

Determined to cut down these Fire-Winged Humans beneath his blade.

This was not because he had been blinded by rage.

Ignoring the huge gap between him and the Fire-Winged Humans.

Rather, he had ample confidence.

After rushing out of the conference room, he headed straight for the rooftop.

Along the way, he called the soldiers guarding the floors.

Among them were classes such as Clerics, Druids, and Mages.

A series of strengthening buffs were cast upon him: Endurance, Might, Agility, Knowledge, Aid, Barkskin, Mage Armor, Haste, Energy Resistance (Fire), Magic Weapon, and so on.

Moreover, this was not the end.

After Zhao Wenjun charged forward, various negative buffs such as Hypnotism, Fear, Sleep, Ray of Enfeeblement, Touch of Fatigue, and Powerlessness were thrown onto the Fire-Winged Humans.

Even though the Fire-Winged Humans possessed spell resistance, they simply could not withstand so many spells.

They would inevitably take one or two hits, and once hit, it would be a fatal weakening.

With this addition and subtraction, even though the Fire-Winged Humans were Tier One creatures.

They no longer posed a threat to Zhao Wenjun.

Zhao Wenjun's class was very simple: a pure Level 5 Warrior.

He had no flashy abilities.

Only combat skills cultivated to the extreme.

Perhaps such a class was full of disadvantages when acting alone.

But with a team, covered in buffs and wearing god-tier gear.

Zhao Wenjun was not a weakling; he was a God of War.

In an instant, he killed the five Fire-Winged Humans.

But there was no sign of joy on Zhao Wenjun's face.

Compared to the Fire-Winged Humans, humans had a great advantage in class composition.

Rare spellcasting classes accounted for one-third of human classes.

Under a series of spell buffs, killing enemies across tiers was never a joke.

It was a common occurrence.

On the contrary, being unable to kill monsters across tiers was the real joke.

But there were simply too many Fire-Winged Humans.

The spell slots of spellcasting classes were limited; spells could not be cast an infinite number of times.

Because casting a spell is never a simple matter.

Most people think casting a spell is an activity that consumes little energy.

In fact, they are utterly mistaken; every spell cast is a distortion of reality.

The energy consumed by a Level 1 spell alone could drain an adult's physical stamina.

Spell slots are the mana bars of spellcasting classes, and they are mana bars for fixed skills.

Every spell slot contains immense energy.

It is precious and rare.

One could say that in this single battle alone, the spell slots of the spellcasters who participated were basically exhausted.

And such a result was merely against five Fire Feather People.

Compared to the dense swarm of light orbs in the sky, it was nothing but a drizzle.

How long would it take to kill them all?

And how long could such combat power be maintained?

When otherworldly creatures can enter and exit buildings.

Humanity's advantage of terrain will cease to exist.

Tall buildings are simply giant targets.

The flying Fire Wing Birds can freely attack every floor.

And now, every floor is inhabited by a large number of civilians.

Once the Fire Wing Birds attack everywhere, how can humanity resist?

Ordinary civilians possess weak combat power; they are merely objects to be slaughtered.

Combat personnel rush everywhere to fight fires, exhausted from running about, until their combat power is greatly reduced and they are completely wiped out.

For a moment, Zhao Wenjun even felt a bit of regret; why hadn't he chosen to relocate to an air-raid shelter? That would at least make defense much easier.

"No! An air-raid shelter is absolutely not an option either. If the monsters block the entrance, humanity's strength leaves only one path: extinction."

"Although high-rise buildings have loopholes everywhere, they at least retain some environmental advantages."

"Whether the monsters climb the outer walls or fly, they are easier to snipe."

"Even if they attack from the rooftop or from below, there are staircases to defend."

"As long as they can sustain themselves through battle and advance a rank at lightning speed."

"Humanity is not necessarily without hope."

Zhao Wenjun had already sensed that, even if they could successfully repel tonight's assault.

Yet after this battle, humanity would suffer heavy casualties.

Ancheng, outside the Tower of Trials.

Fang Shi had already been teleported out.

And apart from him, no one else remained.

The expulsion notice from the Tower of Trials had been announced two hours before the Second Impact.

Of course, the notice did not mention the Second Impact; it only stated that the Tower of Trials was about to close and would wait for the next opening.

Before his rebirth, no one understood the meaning behind this.

Naturally, no one took it seriously.

Later, when they understood this point, they were filled with immense regret.

This was a hint given to humanity by the Tower of Trials; unfortunately, no one understood it at that time.

However, after this, humanity also used the Tower of Trials' notices to judge the arrival of the Third and Fourth Impacts.

The Tower of Trials in Ancheng was far from human settlements.

When the notice arrived, the others had already left for their own safety.

Only Fang Shi, relying on his immense strength.

Stayed until the very last moment, before being forcibly kicked out.

His reasoning was simple: the survival points consumed by the training ground were settled by the day.

Even if he stayed one second longer, the survival points consumed were the same as for a full day.

Since the money was already spent, he might as well stay a bit longer.

After all, high-qi environments similar to the Heavenly Sword Sect were extremely rare; who knew when he would be able to enter again, perhaps not until the Year of the Monkey.

At this moment, every extra second stayed was a bloody profit; one must do one's utmost to shear the sheep.

"As expected, the qi on Blue Star is scarce."

"Without an Energy Core, progress is simply impossible."

"Fortunately, the Sword Art is indiscriminate and does not demand pure primal force."

"Otherwise, since Energy Cores all carry attributes, cultivating in the future would be very difficult."

Suddenly, Fang Shi's face changed drastically.

He, who had been leisurely planning his future, noticed an anomaly in the sky.

He had seen this anomaly before, and it was very familiar.

This was the scene of the Third Impact.

Before his rebirth, as humanity's understanding of the apocalypse deepened.

They naturally also devised various methods to deal with it.

Among them, using buildings to avoid danger was naturally one of them.

Who would have thought the third impact would deliver a devastating blow to humanity.

It directly reduced the protective power of the laws.

Creatures from other worlds could enter and exit buildings at will.

Humanity, caught off guard, suffered a crushing defeat.

The scene now is identical to the third impact.

How could this not stir up a storm of shock in Fang Shi's heart?

The only thing he could think of was that time flowed slowly in the Sword Heaven Sect world.

Time on Blue Star flowed faster; in a blink, he had arrived in the future.

The third impact—an era where second-tier monsters roamed everywhere.

Although his current combat power is extraordinary and he could fight a second-tier monster,

he felt he could no longer act recklessly or strut about openly as before.

No!

Fang Shi suddenly snapped awake; this absolutely was not the third impact.

First, the environment was wrong; he observed his surroundings.

He discovered the environmental changes were actually occurring during the second impact.

Blue Star's volume had not yet become as massive as it was during the third impact.

Second, and most importantly,

when Fang Shi promoted to the first tier, he received the first reward.

If a time difference truly existed, he could not possibly be the first.

If the humans on Blue Star were that useless, they would have been wiped out long ago.

"What exactly is going on?"

"Why has such a change occurred?"

"Could my rebirth have caused this alteration?"

This forced Fang Shi to suspect, and it was the only possibility.

All changes on Blue Star might stem from an enigmatic existence.

Future humans called Him the Weaver of History.

The Goddess of Luck could not compare to Him at all.

His weaving of fate was perfectly natural; everything seemed like a coincidence.

This was especially obvious within the Mystical Realm World.

Just as Heaven's Will sits high above, governing the fate of all beings.

Moreover, there was a high probability He was the owner of the laws of power on Blue Star.

That is, the master behind the attribute panel and the system.

He was also the source of power Fang Shi relied on since his rebirth.

So, such a magnificent existence.

When Fang Shi used His power, would He not know Fang Shi's origins?

Would He remain indifferent while Fang Shi changed everything?

No, absolutely impossible.

The current changes proved the point.

The Weaver of History truly exists.

He was not a fabrication by humans before the rebirth.

For a moment, Fang Shi felt his hands and feet turn ice cold, and a sense of confusion surged in his heart.

"No! That's wrong, do not think so much."

"None of this has any meaning right now; whether He exists is still unknown."

"Perhaps the apocalypse has corresponding mechanisms; satisfying different conditions triggers different situations."

"In this life, humanity gathered just like during the third impact; it must have triggered the conditions."

"Otherwise, the apocalypse should have been renamed Paradise."

"Do not let fear stop you; you must fully utilize the attribute panel to strengthen your power."

"Until you truly possess the qualification to converse with the gods, they will certainly know more."

"When signing the Fate Contract, the Lady of Luck gave me suitable Survival Points; she clearly understood the attribute panel very well."

"This is clear proof!"

Fang Shi strengthened his resolve and moved toward the Fire Feather Human who had just landed ahead.

Crane Dancing in the Long Sky!

The long sword flashed like a beam of light; before this Fire Feather Human could react, his head rolled to the ground.

"Slash attack activated."

"Target received fatal damage."

"You dealt 54 points of damage to the target."

"Target dead."

"Extracting target's soul energy; you gained 210 experience points and 21 Survival Points."

The current Fang Shi was worlds apart from himself before entering the Trial Tower.

What Fire Feather Humans? They are just free food.

His only worry was whether there was enough food to eat his fill.

Right now, Fang Shi was running toward the tall building by the river.

That was where humanity's third wave had gathered, and also where the most light orbs were descending now.

To level up, to raise his own strength.

Fang Shi decided to give it everything he had.

……

The Heavenly Sword Sect world.

The Senior Brother sat cross-legged in the small courtyard, gazing at the sky alone, lost in thought.

"What's wrong? Can't bear to let him go?"

An ethereal voice rose in the small courtyard, yet did not leave the courtyard at all.

The Senior Brother said lightly, "What's there to be reluctant about? We'll meet again soon enough."

"I'm just thinking — isn't becoming an immortal precisely so we can be carefree?"

"Why must there still be so many worries?"

The ethereal voice was silent for a moment, then answered, "Where there are people, there is strife; and immortals are merely people on a higher mountain."

"So long as one is a person, one still struggles in the sea of suffering, without freedom."

The Senior Brother sighed, "Then better to be a mortal — a hundred hurried years, life spent, and turn back to yellow earth."

The ethereal voice scoffed, "Are you truly willing to be a mortal? Why not sever your cultivation right now and go walk through the mortal world?"

The Senior Brother smiled, "Just talk — nothing more than some sleep-mumbling, like a rich man in the mortal world saying he doesn't care about money."

"Long life, great power — how many mortals envy us?"

"Besides, I'm so close to the sea's surface that I could touch it with a stretch of my hand. Asking me to give it up would truly be unwilling."

The ethereal voice cried out in surprise, "You've actually reached this stage? As expected, those who come later need not be inferior to those before."

"Back then it was that person, now it's you — it seems I really have grown old."

Accompanying a sigh, a ballad echoed through the courtyard.

"The human way is faint and distant, the immortal way vast and obscure, the ghostly way joyous! When the gate of life opens, the immortal way values living, the ghostly way values ending."

"The immortal way is ever auspicious, the ghostly way ever inauspicious; lofty and pure, beautiful and bright, a mournful song rings through the great void; only hoping the immortal way succeeds, not wishing the human way to fail."

"In the springs and bends of the Northern Capital, there are ten thousand ghosts in throngs. They only wish to cut off man's reckoning, sever the gate of human life; they sing the cavernous hymns to subdue the Northern Luo Feng, bind and recite to bind demon sprites, behead and strike the six ghostly blades."

"The qi of all heavens rolls vast, my way daily prospers."

When the song ended, a sword-light unseen by ordinary people sliced open the sky, revealing the deep, dark Grand Void beyond the heavens.

Formless chaotic qi and the light of the stars shot straight down toward the earth.

About to destroy all things in the mortal world.

The Senior Brother shook his head, waved his hand helplessly, and in an instant patched the breach in Cui Tianyu, dispelling the calamity.

This change happened so fast that, apart from the immortal senses of immortals, no other being in the mortal world had time to react.