Chapter 70: The Cruel End World and Speculations

On the roof of the conference room, limbs and remains were scattered everywhere.

The stench of blood had not yet spread before being overwhelmed by the smell of burning.

Especially under the protection of the law's power, the flame force could not fully ignite the building.

The odor of burning fat was even more pronounced.

And even more terrifying!

Only five Firefeather Beings had slaughtered everyone on the roof.

No one could resist, no one could fight back.

The sheer fourfold power disparity was like that between an adult and a child.

Far beyond the reach of these survivors, whose average level was just over one.

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

Even hiding offered no escape from death.

Before them, any sturdy security door was a joke.

A single curved blade knife could cleave through anything; the torrent of flame bursting from their mouths roasted fleeing crowds to cinders.

No one could escape this blood-red hell.

Zhao Wenjun rushed to the roof in haste, and upon seeing this scene, his eyes turned red, fury boiling within his chest.

“Damn it!”

He had still arrived too late.

There was truly nothing he could do about it.

The anomaly on the roof had alarmed the residents below.

Fear, screams, and explosions caused the residents to flee downward.

But this flight completely blocked the stairwell.

Trampling incidents even occurred.

Zhao Wenjun was a decisive man; in times of crisis, extraordinary measures were necessary.

With a grim resolve, he shattered the limbs of the first few people, intimidating the crowd into stillness.

Only then did he lead the soldiers summoned from every floor to the roof.

But this delay had created a scene of hell.

Not a single living soul remained on the entire roof!

That was over two hundred people.

To maximize the chance of gathering people, even the twenty-two households on the roof each had over ten residents.

Boom!

Zhao Wenjun charged forward without hesitation.

Determined to cut down these Firefeather Beings.

This was not because he had lost his head to rage.

He did not ignore the vast gap between himself and the Firefeather Beings.

Rather, he had full confidence.

After bursting out of the conference room, he raced straight to the roof.

Along the way, he summoned the soldiers stationed on each floor.

Among them were priests, druids, and mages.

He had been granted a cascade of buffs: Toughness, Bull’s Strength, Lightness, Lore, Aid, Barkskin, Mage Armor, Precognition, Resistance to Energy Damage (Fire), and Magic Weapon.

And these were not the end.

After charging forward, Zhao Wenjun hurled at the Firefeather Beings a barrage of negative buffs: Hypnotism, Fear, Sleep, Weakness Ray, Fatigue Touch, and Demoralize.

Even with their spell resistance, they could not withstand so many spells.

They would inevitably take one or two hits—and each hit delivered lethal debuffs.

With this combination of added strengths and subtracted weaknesses, even though the Firefeather Beings were Tier One beings,

they no longer posed a threat to Zhao Wenjun.

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

He had no flashy abilities.

Only combat skills refined to their absolute peak.

Perhaps such a class was severely disadvantaged when traveling alone.

But in a team, with a full suite of buffs and divine gear,

Zhao Wenjun was no longer a weakling—he was a war god.

In an instant, he slew all five Firefeather Beings.

Yet Zhao Wenjun’s face showed no trace of triumph.

Compared to the Firefeather Beings, human classes held a significant advantage.

Rare magical classes made up one-third of human practitioners.

With a cascade of spell enhancements, killing enemies above one’s level was never a joke.

It was routine.

The real joke would be failing to kill above one’s level.

But there were simply too many Firefeather Beings.

Magical classes had limited spell slots and could not cast spells endlessly.

Casting was never a simple matter.

Most people assumed casting consumed little energy.

They were utterly wrong—each spell twisted reality itself.

The energy cost of a Level One spell could drain an adult’s entire stamina.

Spell slots were the magical class’s mana bar—and they were fixed.

Each spell slot contained immense energy.

They were precious and scarce.

This single battle had nearly exhausted the spell slots of all participating magical classes.

And this result had only eliminated five Firefeather Beings.

Compared to the countless glowing orbs in the sky, it was a drop in the ocean.

How long would it take to kill them all?

And how long could such combat power be sustained?

When the extraplanar beings could enter and exit buildings,

humanity’s terrain advantage vanished.

Tall buildings became giant targets.

The flying Firewing Birds could freely attack every floor.

And now, every floor was packed with civilians.

If the Firewing Birds launched attacks across all levels, how could humanity resist?

Ordinary civilians had weak combat power—they were merely prey.

Combatants rushed from place to place, exhausted, their strength dwindling until total annihilation.

For a moment, Zhao Wenjun even regretted not seeking an air raid shelter for relocation—it would have been far easier to defend.

“No! Air raid shelters are absolutely out. If the monsters block the entrance, humanity has only death left.”

“High-rise buildings may be full of holes, but at least they still offer some environmental advantages.”

“Whether the monsters climb the exterior walls or fly, they are easier to snipe.”

“Even if they attack from the roof or ground level, the stairwells can still be defended.”

“As long as we can fight to grow, rapidly ascending to Tier One,

humanity may not be without hope.”

Zhao Wenjun already sensed that even if they succeeded in repelling tonight’s assault,

after this battle, humanity would suffer catastrophic casualties.

…

Ancheng, outside the Trial Tower.

Fang Shi had been teleported out.

And no one else remained besides him.

The Trial Tower’s evacuation notice had been issued two hours before the second assault.

Of course, the notice did not mention the second assault—it only stated the Trial Tower would close and reopen at a later time.

Before his rebirth, no one understood its meaning.

Naturally, no one took it seriously.

Later, when they understood, they were filled with regret.

It was a hint from the Trial Tower to humanity—but no one understood it then.

Yet after this, humanity began using the Trial Tower’s notices to predict the arrival of the third and fourth assaults.

The Trial Tower of Ancheng is far from human settlements.

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

Only Fang Shi, relying on his immense strength, remained.

He stayed until the final moment, then was forcibly ejected.

His reasoning was simple: the training ground’s survival points were settled daily.

Even one extra second consumed the same as a full day’s worth.

Since you’re spending points anyway, why not stay longer?

After all, environments with spiritual energy as dense as Jianwutang’s are exceedingly rare; who knows when the next chance will come?

Every extra second now is pure profit—maximize the freebies.

“Indeed, the spiritual energy on Blue Star is scarce.”

“Without an energy core, progress is impossible.”

“Fortunately, the Sword Art doesn’t discriminate—it doesn’t demand pure primal energy.”

“Otherwise, since energy cores are all attribute-bound, my future cultivation would be extremely difficult.”

Suddenly, Fang Shi’s expression changed drastically.

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

He had seen this phenomenon before—and knew it well.

This was the scene of the Third Impact.

Before his rebirth, as humanity deepened its understanding of the apocalypse,

they devised various methods to cope.

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

Yet the Third Impact struck humanity with a brutal blow.

It directly weakened the protective force of the cosmic laws.

Extraterrestrial beings could now enter and exit buildings at will.

Humanity, caught off guard, suffered devastating losses.

Now, this scene was identical to the Third Impact.

How could Fang Shi’s heart not be shaken to its core?

The only possibility he could think of was that time flowed slowly in the Jianwutang world.

On Blue Star, time flowed faster—his brief absence meant he had arrived in the future.

The Third Impact—a time when second-rank monsters roamed everywhere.

Though his current combat power was formidable, he could still fight second-rank monsters.

But he could no longer act as freely, striding boldly outdoors as before.

No!

Fang Shi suddenly snapped awake—this was absolutely not the Third Impact.

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

He realized the changes were occurring during the Second Impact.

Blue Star’s size had not yet expanded to its Third Impact scale.

Second, and most importantly:

When Fang Shi ascended to first rank, he received his first reward.

If there truly were a time discrepancy, he could not possibly be the first.

If humanity on Blue Star were that weak, they would have been wiped out long ago.

“What’s going on?”

“Why this change?”

“Could my rebirth have caused this?”

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

All changes on Blue Star might stem from a mysterious and inscrutable entity.

Future humanity called Him the Historian.

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

His weaving of fate was seamless, everything appearing as mere coincidence.

Especially within secret realms, this was even more evident.

Like Heaven’s will, high above, shepherding the destinies of all beings.

Moreover, he very likely possessed the cosmic law force of Blue Star.

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

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

Then such a great being—

When Fang Shi used His power, could He not know Fang Shi’s origins?

Could He remain utterly indifferent as Fang Shi altered everything?

No, absolutely impossible.

The current change proved it.

The Historian truly existed.

He was not a fabrication by humanity before Fang Shi’s rebirth.

For a moment, Fang Shi felt icy hands and feet, a wave of confusion rising in his heart.

“No! Wrong—don’t think so much.”

“These thoughts are meaningless right now; His existence is still uncertain.”

“Perhaps the apocalypse has mechanisms—different conditions trigger different outcomes.”

“In this life, humanity gathered as it did during the Third Impact—certainly triggering a condition.”

“Otherwise, the apocalypse would have been renamed Paradise.”

“Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater—use the attribute panel to the fullest to strengthen yourself.”

“Until you truly earn the right to speak with the gods—they will know far more.”

“When I signed the Fate Contract, the Lady of Luck gave me appropriate survival points—clearly, she understood the attribute panel.”

“This is concrete proof!”

Fang Shi steeled his resolve and moved toward the newly landed Firefeather.

Crane Dances the Sky!

His longsword flashed like light—the Firefeather never reacted before its head rolled to the ground.

“Slashing attack initiated.”

“Target received fatal damage.”

“You dealt 54 damage to the target.”

“Target deceased.”

“Extracting target’s soul energy—you gained 210 experience points, 21 survival points.”

Fang Shi was now vastly different from who he was before entering the Trial Tower.

Firefeathers? All just meat.

His only concern now: whether there was enough meat to satisfy him.

Fang Shi was now running toward the high-rises by the river.

That was where humanity gathered during the Third Impact—and where the light orbs now descended most frequently.

To level up. To strengthen himself.

Fang Shi resolved to give it his all.

…

Jianwutang world.

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

“What’s wrong? Can’t bear to see him leave?”

A ethereal voice echoed in the courtyard, yet never left its bounds.

The senior disciple replied calmly: “What’s there to miss? We’ll meet again soon.”

“I’m just wondering—didn’t we cultivate to immortality for freedom?”

“Why then are we still burdened with so much worry?”

The ethereal voice paused, then answered: “Where there are people, there is conflict. Immortals are merely people on the mountain.”

“As long as one is human, one still struggles in the sea of suffering, never truly free.”

The senior disciple sighed: “Then why not be a mortal? A hundred years fly by, lifespan ends, turning to yellow earth.”

The ethereal voice scoffed: “Do you truly wish to be a mortal? Then sever your cultivation now and walk among the mortal world.”

The senior disciple smiled: “Just joking—mere idle talk, like a rich man in the mortal world claiming he doesn’t care for money.”

“Long life, immense power—how many mortals envy us?”

“Besides, I’m so close to the sea’s surface, I could reach out and touch it—truly giving it up would be unbearable.”

A distant voice exclaimed: “You’ve really reached this point? Clearly, the later arrivals need not be inferior to the earlier ones.”

“Once it was that man, now it is you—it seems I truly am old.”

With a sigh, a song echoed through the courtyard.

“The human path is dim, the immortal path vast; the ghost path brings joy! The human path seeks birth, the immortal path values life, the ghost path values death.”

“The immortal path is ever auspicious, the ghost path ever dire; lofty, pure, and exquisite, sorrowful songs ring through the void; I wish only for the immortal path to be fulfilled, never for the human path to perish.”

“In the Northern Capital’s Spring and Curve Palace, ten thousand ghosts gather. They seek only to thwart human fate, sever the gate of life; singing the cavernous hymns to bind the Northern Luo Feng, binding and chanting to crush demonic essences, slaying the six ghost blades.”

“The heavens’ qi is boundless; my Dao grows ever more prosperous.”

When the song ended, an invisible blade of light sliced through the sky, revealing the profound void beyond.

Formless chaotic energy and starlight poured straight onto the earth.

Ready to destroy all things in the mortal realm.

The senior brother shook his head and, with a helpless wave of his hand, instantly mended the heavens and erased the calamity.

This change occurred too swiftly; only the immortal’s spiritual sense noticed it—every other being in the mortal realm remained unaware.