Chapter 256: Real-World Problems, I Am the Nutrient (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

Qi Sheng was browsing the forum.

After the invasion crisis ended, players' development patterns returned to the right track.

Multiple spatial nodes simultaneously explored and expanded outward.

The area with the biggest change was undoubtedly the Imperial Tomb Mountain Range region, which attracted large numbers of players who had originally been struggling at other nodes.

While browsing, he noticed—

A newly posted thread, after its popularity skyrocketed, had already climbed onto the forum's hot list.

But the content discussed in the thread had nothing to do with the game Monster World; the main content all came from the real world.

【Upper Realm Beings' New Product Launch Event Explosive Content, Brothers, Benefits Are Here!】

Poster: Dark Night Evil Emperor.

Content:

I just logged off to swap out my nutrient pod, worked up a sweat, and was lying on the sofa scrolling through my phone when a breaking news alert popped up. After reading it, I decisively came to the forum to share it with the brothers.

The gist is this: the latest virtual game pod "Future," newly developed by the Moon Eclipse Clan, is about to go online.

The key point is, this latest game pod is equipped with the most advanced autonomous exercise system!!!

The biggest problem we Monster World players face in reality is that staying online for long periods causes certain damage to the body, and the only way to alleviate physical issues is by regularly drinking "Conditioning Fluid."

But this smart fitness system is badass.

The Moon Eclipse Clan representative at the launch event said the latest game pod contains thousands of micro-vibration sensing devices that intelligently adjust vibration frequency and intensity based on our players' real-time physical condition.

The general principle is that by analyzing feedback from the player's heart rate and muscle electrical signals, it determines the fatigue level of each part of the player's body, then automatically performs muscle relaxation and exercise training for us.

Whether it's aerobic training for leg muscles or strength training for upper-body muscles, the pod's built-in system automatically advances according to scientifically planned training programs.

And that's not all.

It also comes with bioelectric pulse stimulation of the cardiac nerve endings, prompting the player's heart to autonomously contract and relax for training.

It can also adjust the air pressure inside the pod, creating scenarios like running or mountain climbing, guiding the lungs' breathing frequency, and improving lung function.

There are tons of other features, so I won't go into detail.

In summary, with the latest game pod, you don't need to worry about any physical problems in reality at all.

All you need to do is periodically log off to swap out your nutrient pod.

The Upper Realm Beings definitely can't help solve this problem—after all, it's a city infrastructure issue.

If you want what Upper Realm Being players have—nutrient fluid supplied through pipelines, plus an automatic waste-purification system, achieving technology that lets players stay offline for a lifetime—you'd need the city management to step in and procure the tech. Ordinary players shouldn't even think about it.

But the launch of the latest game pod is definitely good news for us Monster World players.

Brothers on the forum, just spend a little Shou Shou Jili and you can buy one—no need to worry about not being able to afford it.

The most badass part is, the game pod launched this time comes in versions for different races.

You could say each one is specifically designed for a particular race, with no compatibility issues for any individual race.

Prices below.

The Upper Realm Beings priced the latest game pod at 200,000 credits, which is double the price it was sold for in the Dark Lands back then (128,888 was the in-race sale price including tax).

It's foreseeable that once the game pod officially launches, it'll sell out instantly.

But don't worry about a long queue—the Moon Eclipse Clan representative stated at the launch event that the newly built automated assembly-line factory has very fast production speed, so orders won't be backed up for long.

The spokesperson also said that the latest game pod released this time supports qualified players purchasing it with Shou Shou Jili.

And they get priority purchasing rights.

The reason is pretty funny—at the presentation, the Moon Eclipse Clan spokesperson joked that they didn't receive any special treatment from the Star Net in the game, so they don't have enough Shou Shou Jili to use, and can only obtain Shou Shou Jili income through this method.

Finally, the Moon Eclipse Clan representative also said that they are considering launching a longer-lasting nutrient fluid in the future.

Everyone, look forward to it big time.

That's all for this real-world news brief—meeting adjourned.

Comment section:

Riverside Immortal: Finally, I've been waiting for this. The two things I hate most right now are: first, logging off—every breath scorches my throat with painful heat, feels like every log-off is torture; second, swapping out the nutrient pod—every swap requires hauling it back and forth over a dozen trips, and I constantly have to place orders. All kinds of hassle, basically. Where I live there aren't even robot services, so it's all manual labor to swap them, and I'm drenched in sweat every time I'm done.

Lord Hum Hum: Hopefully it'll launch soon. The Moon Eclipse Clan's efficiency is really high this time. I remember when the Dark Lands was preparing to launch, they said a fully automated exercise game pod might come out, and back then they said five years out—but now it's about to go on sale. Gotta place an order, and when the time comes I'll buy it with Shou Shou Jili, since Shou Shou Jili gets priority queueing. Get it early, enjoy it early.

College Student Wants: Just logged off and saw the news. Shou Shou Jili purchases can pre-order directly; other channels still require waiting. In other words, this latest game pod mainly serves us qualified players. I saw a lot of tourists in livestream rooms cursing about it—the feeling of this special treatment is really sweet. Sure enough, it's not that people don't like privilege, it's that I don't have privilege.

……

This reposted real-world news thread sparked heated discussion on the forum.

But the topic gradually shifted from the game pod to exploring real-world issues.

The trigger was a reply posted by a player.

Working Warrior:

After reading the post, what I want to say is, the launch of this game pod has me a bit worried.

Our disconnect from the real world is getting more and more serious now.

All Sheng Huo Yong Pin production factories are run by AI robots; members of every race don't even need to take on assembly-line worker roles.

Take food production, for example—it's entirely handled by robot farms, and even the food service industry is gradually being replaced by robots. Everything is highly automated; where's the real economy in any meaningful sense?

We're also increasingly dependent on the virtual world now. If this continues, the real world will soon lose its reason for existing.

Because of this, I have a hypothesis.

This is a Moon Eclipse Clan conspiracy—by binding us through virtual games, they'll ultimately take absolute control of the real world without lifting a finger.

What a vicious scheme, everyone—quickly sell your Shou Shou Jili and return to reality, don't let the Upper Realm Beings get away with it.

Flying Cat replied to Working Warrior: You're only just realizing this? Decades ago the internet was already fiercely debating the impact of a highly intelligentized society. The fact is, if the Moon Eclipse Clan wanted to control Earth, it really wouldn't be as hard as you think. Don't forget the city-level intelligence cores of every race are managed by the Star Net—they could send you back to primitive society in minutes. I suspect you just want to stir up panic and then rake in a fat load of Shou Shou Jili (silly. jpg).

The So-Called Drunk replied to Working Warrior: The older generation worried about the issues you're worried about long ago. You're not unaware of the real world's problems—various kinds of pollution, Descending Invasion crises popping up every now and then, like a total mess. Spending long periods in virtual games is the inevitable trend of the future, right? Nothing to worry about.

Night is approaching, reply to the worker-soldier:

Your concern is not without reason; this is the inevitable worry that arises in every era of progress among the people of that time.

In fact, every technological revolution has been regarded as a flood and a fierce beast.

Flip through history, and you will find many similar cases.

For instance, in the 19th century, when the train was invented, there was a societal worry that the train's high speed would cause internal organs to shatter, and even destroy social morals (because men and women sat together in the same carriage).

What was the result? The train became the transportation cornerstone of the next era.

Then in the 20th century, television was invented; at that time, many intellectuals bitterly criticized television for making people stupid and driving families apart, but from our era looking back at that stage of history, television seems merely basic entertainment, and these worries were meaningless.

The most typical case must be the invention of the smartphone in the 21st century.

Early public opinion believed smartphones would destroy face-to-face social interaction, yet they instead became the core tool for socializing, only the form changed.

Even so, many voices still issued criticism against smartphones.

The situation back then was actually somewhat like the modern day.

Imagine the scene back then: the moment the morning alarm rang, the Laozu Sect's fingertips had already instinctively swiped to unlock the phone screen; while brushing teeth, they used phone stands to play short videos; even when foam dripped onto the screen, they wiped it away in a race against time; and even during couple dates, both parties would frequently check the content displayed on their phones.

Scrolling through phones occupied most of the Laozu Sect's time outside of sleep.

The most confusing question for the elders back then was that the whole family sat in the living room, yet each smiled at their own phone screens of different sizes; there was far too little direct communication, and this device that overturned the development of the era truly made them feel unable to understand, and unwilling to understand.

Even street beggars updated their equipment; QR code signs replaced broken bowls.

But the worries back then, from our generation's perspective, were obviously also meaningless.

Switching the perspective to the modern day, the virtual world is the era we inhabit, the next stop of technological development.

Just as the Laozu Sect in the past adapted to trains, televisions, and smartphones, we will also adapt to the virtual world becoming part of life, or even the main part.

Secondly, what the person above said is quite correct; the pollution and resource crisis of the real world will not disappear.

The call to return to reality is essentially nostalgic panic; the older one gets, the more one has this kind of worry.

Just as the elders back then missed the era without phones, yet no one in the next generation truly wishes to return to that era without phones.

I think, Old Xie Yue's layout is more about making the real world more manageable, reducing the trouble our activities bring during the process of optimizing the environment (personal opinion, do not flame).

Final summary: Technological progress is like the 19th-century coachman cursing the birth of the train, but ultimately the tracks were laid toward the future.

Technophobia is cyclical, but progress is irreversible.

Just as humans went from riding horses to taking high-speed rail, from writing letters to scrolling short videos and sending text messages, it is merely another upgrade in lifestyle.

Most importantly, you kid don't really want to oppose the virtual game.

I just opened your homepage and found it displayed: High price for Shou Shou Jili.

You kid have no good intentions; I suggest the Moon Eclipse Clan permanently ban you in the name of disrupting forum order (wry smile. jpg).

After reading the content of the post, Qi Sheng did not find it strange.

The Moon Eclipse Clan has always been under the Guidance's surveillance.

The early release of the game pod this time was naturally not for the players' consideration, but to curry favor with him.

The longer players stay in the Monster World, the faster their strength will inevitably grow.

The optimized nutrient solution released later serves the same purpose.

This is also the future core development direction of the Moon Eclipse Clan under the Star Net's leadership.

Just as the Star Net told the 16th Archon those words: The development of the Moon Eclipse Clan inside and outside the game must first serve the will of the High-Dimensional Gods.

After learning the details of the players' development situation, Qi Sheng's consciousness followed the Guidance and jumped to the Colorful Mist Coast region.

Ascension Sea.

The war between Shu Yan and the Ascension Clan continues.

From the moment this battle began, Shu Yan bet everything, participating in the war with a resolve to break the cauldrons and sink the boats.

In Shu Yan's eyes, the Ascension Clan, who are stronger than himself, can also be whetstones to sharpen his own edge.

This is also the dangerous shortcut in Shu Yan's heart to climb to the peak of the Monster World.

Paving the road with the corpses of strong clans; every time a stronger opponent is defeated, one takes a huge step toward the peak.

At this moment, a great battle in the Ascension Sea is gradually intensifying.

Having revealed his trump card, Shu Yan, imitating the Black Tide, created a troop model similar to the all-systems type.

He forged a Book Legion adapted to his own rules.

Within Shu Yan's domain, ink-black surges like an abyss.

Countless book pages dance wildly in the scene, each page carrying a complete military system.

Whoosh!

One page turns, and the Immortal-Demon Era appears!

Ink power collapses; all generated troops turn into ink power, then quickly re-condense according to the system rules within the book.

In an instant, sword light tears the sky; countless white-robed sword cultivators step out from the clouds, with a sword formation of demon-slaying swords floating behind them, blocking the sun and covering the sky; the chilling killing intent slices elemental shockwaves into countless fragments, and sword qi crisscrosses for thirty thousand li.

Facing the attacking Ascension Clan army, the continuously injected ink power condenses into a galaxy trajectory in the air.

The sword cultivators begin to move; each person is a node of the sword formation.

The moment the elemental torrent collides with the sword formation, millions of sword qi automatically generate a defensive sword net, crushing the attacking elemental torrent into scattered points of light particles.

At this moment, an Ascension warrior, whose whole body is shrouded in golden elemental energy, breaks through the sword net, but the female sword cultivator at the head points two fingers; instantly, the green hair at her temple suddenly snaps, turning into three thousand sword qi as fine as cow hair, which repels the golden Ascension being.

At the other end of the battlefield, blinding purple light flashes.

A large number of Ascension Clan warriors fuse into elemental giants, compressing mixed elemental light balls in their palms.

Having already known the Ascension Clan's combat characteristics, Shu Yan waves his brush to write; the sword cultivators within the domain collectively reverse their sword techniques, and all their innate flying swords vibrate at high frequency.

The instant the orb of light crashed down, three million sword-lights rose at once, their sword Qi swirling like a galactic vortex, shredding every wisp of elemental energy.

But the Ascending Clan's ferocious assault was not yet over.

Countless elemental sigils linked together in the air, transforming into millions of fire crows that tore across the heavens like a rain of falling meteors.

Under the blessing of the Rule Elements, every single feather of the fire crows refracted multiple layers of elemental radiance as it burned.

The wisps of cloud they swept past instantly vaporized into seven-colored rainbow mist, and the elemental torrents raised by their wingbeats plowed twisted fire-trails through Shu Yan's domain.

Just at that moment.

The ink at the edge of the Rule Tome suddenly began to bleed and spread.

Shu Yan's consciousness within the independent space trembled lightly, and the Rule Tome turned its page once more.

Swoosh!

A new page unfurled, and the era of Abyssal Magic descended.

A pitch-black grimoire floated in the sky as countless sigils detonated.

Undead dragons, elemental sovereigns, death knights… countless troop types roared into existence following the surging of ink-power, and devastating forbidden spells poured down like a rainstorm, turning the battlefield into a hellscape ravaged by death magic.

After the fierce battle dragged on for some time, Shu Yan sensed that the Ascending Clan had shifted its mode of warfare once more, and his consciousness glided across the Rule Tome like fingers over zither strings.

Boom!

A new chapter opened, and the age of Mechanical Divinity descended.

Steel torrents crushed and pierced the elemental floods, the main cannons of stellar warships punched through space, and mechanical warriors surged forward as a silver tide.

One page, one world; one thought, one legion.

Relying on the complete story system provided by the Inspiration World, Shu Yan's growth was swift.

In Qi Sheng's eyes, it was also a descending faction of tremendous potential.

No matter how the Ascending Clan's battle formations pushed forward through the madly shifting torrent of troop types, they could not achieve any substantive breakthrough.

And Shu Yan stood at the center of his independent world, pages of books swirling around him, ink-power churning, his cold gaze piercing through the spatial barrier to watch the course of the war.

This was also a moment of drilling troops in Shu Yan's eyes.

The refinement of his system continued, and what he had to do was push every kind of system to its absolute limit, making himself a perfect master of war like those Black Tide Evil Spirit warriors.

This war finally ended with the Ascending Clan's withdrawal.

At once, the scene within the Book Domain froze, as if time itself had been suspended at that moment.

Realizing the war was over, the players hiding in the mist around the domain also began to withdraw one after another.

Preparing to fish and eat outside the domain, waiting for the next round of scavenging to arrive.

These players generally wanted to capture a Shu Yan warrior, then generate the non-growing pet they desired.

……

Ascending Isle.

As the first light of dawn broke, the entire isle was wrapped in sea fog.

Only the palace at the isle's center pierced through the fog, like a crimson blade thrust toward the heavens.

The palace was entirely built from dark-red energy crystals; a thousand stone steps before it coiled upward like a dragon's spine, flanked by twelve towering stone pillars whose rough surfaces were carved not with auspicious clouds or auspicious beasts, but with scenes of twisted living beings struggling in raging flames, their chests finally bursting open to give birth to the new life of the Ascending Clan.

The sea breeze swept over the eaves and echoed within the palace, producing a sound like surging lava.

At this moment, atop the throne deep within the palace, the Ascending Clan leader "Chi Yan" slowly opened his eyes.

His figure was not especially tall; his body was condensed from dense blood and qi, and at first glance looked like a blazing ball of fire, with dark-gold spirit patterns flowing across its surface like lava slowly drifting beneath blood-colored glass.

This half-flesh, half-energy body structure was also the key to the Ascending Clan's mastery of elemental energy.

Its gaze at this moment turned toward the outside of the hall.

From outside came the rumbling of Ascending Clan warriors returning to the nest, and many broken bodies crashed onto the plaza before the hall like meteors falling.

Chi Yan could sense the condition of every clansman.

Shattered crystal bones, collapsing energy cores, the broken will screaming for revenge — they should have been raising elemental floods within Shu Yan's domain, yet now they returned in disarray like charcoal doused by a rainstorm.

Chi Yan suddenly let out a low laugh.

They, this group of immortals forged from the flesh and blood of cultivation practitioners, had actually been stalled in their development by a fellow who wielded brush and ink.

And this fellow couldn't even be counted as a warrior.

They had merely been fighting the illusory lives he sketched beneath his brush.

The return of the clansmen now meant this round of great war had ended, and the Ascending Clan still had not taken Shu Yan's domain.

He paid no more attention to his clansmen, lowering his head to look at the glowing communication crystal in his hand; there was now more important business waiting to be handled.

His figure at this moment transformed into a streak of light, flying toward a small-world passage on the isle.

Not long after, his figure appeared above the heavens of the small world.

Below, countless cultivation practitioners had gathered, making pre-battle preparations.

When they saw the sky tear open, every cultivation practitioner below looked up, and with a shout they flew into the sky one after another, condensing into formation, standing ready.

The white-haired elder at their head looked toward Chi Yan at this moment, his voice trembling:

"We will absolutely not compromise."

Chi Yan's expression was cold as he swept his gaze over the group of cultivation practitioners who wished to resist him, his heart utterly unmoved.

Shu Yan's arrangement had already taken effect within the small world.

What he faced now was one of the cultivation practitioner organizations that wished to rebel against Ascending Clan rule.

"You have no right to choose your future; only I can decide your fate."

Hearing Chi Yan's cold reply, the white-haired elder's eyes burned with fury:

"Why must we bear all this? What have we done wrong?"

Hearing these words, Chi Yan gave a rueful laugh:

"You are not wrong, so does that mean we are?"

"You view us as evil demons, yet forget that the spiritual energy filling heaven and earth, the heavenly treasures nurtured within the mountains and rivers, and even the cultivation methods that help you extend your life and break through the shackles of the mortal body—all these were bestowed by us, yet now you seek to rebel against us."

"Even so, you should not treat us as flesh incubators," the old man said, his expression filled with anger.

"Should not? The core of this issue is not about should or should not, but that we are stronger, so the rules of the game were set by us from the very beginning. If our roles were reversed, you would do the same. The strong devouring the weak is the only truth in this world."

As he spoke, Leader Chi Yan's gaze fixed directly on the white-haired old man:

"Without us, would you, these base beasts of the lower realm, not still tear each other apart for profit?"

Leader Chi Yan's voice rang like cold iron clashing, echoing across the sky.

Looking down at the ant-like cultivators of the lower realm beneath him, a trace of mockery rose in his eyes:

"When you raise beasts to take their core pills, did you ever ask if they should? When the strong plunder the weak, did you ever pity the weak or ask if they should?"

As he spoke, Leader Chi Yan raised his hand and grasped at the air; a nearby Shanfeng crashed down in ruins.

Countless birds were startled from the dust; among them, several green-winged dark birds fell with mournful cries, precisely the alchemy materials the lower realm cultivators coveted.

"See, your first reaction is not pity, but greed."

Leader Chi Yan loosened his palm, letting the falling green feather brush against the great array set up by the cultivators:

"The only difference is that we are far too strong for you, so strong that even your resistance appears ignorant and ridiculous."

The white-haired old man's lips trembled, yet his eyes still held an unyielding stubbornness:

"No matter what, we will not compromise; we will continue to uphold the righteousness in our hearts."

Leader Chi Yan's patience vanished; he spoke softly:

"You are simply not strong enough, so you need righteousness to uphold justice tied to your own interests, but I do not care about any of that. Now, you have lost the value of continuing to live."

"You should have been grateful for our clan's gifts, yet you chose to resist in the way you deemed correct. Next, I will strip away everything I once gave you."

With those words, elemental runes connected above Leader Chi Yan's head, and an elemental torrent transformed into endless waves sweeping across the earth.

When the elemental torrent subsided, Leader Chi Yan turned and departed.

When a mini-world's development deviates from its predetermined track, the most correct course of action is to reset, formatting everything and starting anew.

At that time, all existing living beings will be thrown into the furnace to reshape life; new cultivators and beasts will be nurtured again on this land, multiply, and eventually re-enter the development track it desires.

Although doing so incurs a heavy loss for the Ascendant Clan.

It is like livestock being raised, dying overnight just as they are about to leave the pen.

But this is the only option left when there are no other choices.

Passing through the space tunnel and returning to the Ascendant Clan's Great Hall, Leader Chi Yan sat on the Wang Zuo, a trace of weariness rising in his heart.

In the war with Shu Yan, the Ascendant Clan still holds the advantage, but this advantage is vanishing as Shu Yan grows rapidly.

In the foreseeable future, the Ascendant Clan will reach a dead end.

Under internal strife and external threats, the future of the Ascendant Clan has reached a historical turning point.

Regarding internal strife.

Within the mini-worlds controlled by the Ascendant Clan, the rumor that "Ascension is a scam" spreads rapidly; the seeds Shu Yan planted have already affected the Ascendant Clan's development plans in some mini-worlds.

Regarding external threats, Shu Yan's challenge continues.

Facing Shu Yan, who commands a multi-layered military system, the Ascendant Clan can no longer control the course of the war with the unstoppable momentum it had during their initial contact.

More dangerously, to the northwest, lies the Ancient God Clan of the Sea of Death.

This is a faction more terrifying than Shu Yan, following a path of elite cultivation.

The combat power of a single Champion Warrior is enough to match twelve elites within the clan; he cannot imagine how much stronger the Ancient God Clan members who have never appeared yet might be.

Recently, three clan members were captured by a Champion Warrior and taken to the Ancient God Arena.

In his view, this act was undoubtedly a provocation, also a probe by the Ancient God Clan to see how he would respond.

But now the Ascendant Clan's attention is entirely tied down by Shu Yan, with no core strength available to confront the Ancient God Clan.

If this continues, the Ascendant Clan will be completely dragged down.

At this moment, Leader Chi Yan closed his eyes, his consciousness sweeping across the mini-world.

He saw those ants, bewitched by the "Ascension scam," raising the banner of rebellion.

He also saw Shu Yan's Domain Legions outside the Ascendant Clan's islands, slowly devouring the Ascendant Clan's territory like a festering sore on the bone.

Farther away, captured clan members were sent to the arena; golden war spears pierced their chests, and blood splashed onto the arena inscribed with divine runes.

This was a naked humiliation from external forces against the Ascendant Clan.

Just as he mocked the beings of the mini-world, the law of the strong devouring the weak applies to them as well.

This is also an unprecedented desperate situation for the Ascendant Clan.

Recalling the years before descending into the Monster World, they were not the rulers of the world, but its creators.

His consciousness swept through the river of memory; the Ascendant Clan ancestors used flesh as a guide to open countless mini-worlds.

They bestowed spiritual veins, sowed Dao seeds, and personally carved the sun, moon, and stars.

The natural laws revered by the lower realm beings as the "Supreme Truth of the Heavenly Dao" were merely precepts casually written by the Ascendant Clan ancestors.

"You view me as an evil demon..." Leader Chi Yan suddenly chuckled softly:

"Yet you forget who gave you the right to gaze up at the starry sky."

Leader Chi Yan stroked the ancient cracks on the Wang Zuo, left when the first clan leader fought the Chaos Clan.

Back then, the Ascendant Clan swept across the Eight Desolations World, seen as the creator gods in the eyes of the mini-world beings.

But what about now?

He rubbed the cracks, muttering to himself, yet an endless fury rose in his heart.

"Weakness... is indeed the original sin."

Leader Chi Yan's laughter echoed through the Great Hall, carrying a touch of self-mockery and a touch of madness.

At this moment, it made its decision.

For the future of the Ascendant Clan, it activated the breeding plan forbidden by the Laozu Sect.

This trump card was time to be revealed.

Half a day later.

The Ascendant Clan's Arbiters, having received Leader Chi Yan's notice, arrived at Daodadian.

At this moment, thirty-eight dark-golden seeds floated suspended in the center of the great hall; they pulsed like living creatures, each one having emerged from tens of millions of candidates, carrying the perfect life sequence forged through the Ascendant Clan's long evolution.

Leader Chi Yan, seated on the Wang Zuo, swept his gaze like a blade over the clan Arbiters who had arrived, finally fixing it on the thirty-eight pulsing seeds in the center of the great hall.

Dark-golden patterns flowed across the surface of every seed; these were the Ascendant Clan's most primal life codes: the Seeds of Parasitism.

"All of you, do you still remember our clan's origin?"

Leader Chi Yan's voice was low, causing the very air of the entire great hall to tremble.

The Arbiters fell silent.

Of course they remembered; the Ascendant Clan never grew strong through cultivation, but through devouring, parasitizing, and plundering.

Turning the strong into incubators for their offspring, making each generation more perfect than the last.

The reason Chief Leader Chi Yan had summoned them had been explained in advance.

They all knew what would happen next and were prepared.

Only then did Leader Chi Yan, seated on the Wang Zuo, raise his right hand, and one seed, drawn by an unseen force, floated into his palm.

The instant the seed touched his body, the dark-golden patterns on it suddenly surged upward, like a hungry viper, piercing his skin.

His blood-and-qi body instantly tensed, revealing rapidly flowing energy tracks; his pupils contracted to the size of needle points, and his hoarse voice continued at this moment:

"Twenty thousand years ago, our clan parasitized the Chaos Clan, birthing the first generation of Ascendants."

As he spoke, a fissure split open along Leader Chi Yan's spine, and new flesh and blood began to grow and writhe rapidly:

"Eight thousand years ago, we parasitized the Horned Demon Clan, obtaining immortal divinity..."

"Now, the Ascendant Clan has reached a moment of life and death." Saying this, Leader Chi Yan spread his arms, and the remaining thirty-seven seeds simultaneously surged upward, shooting toward every Arbiter present like meteors:

"For the future of the Ascendant Clan, it is time to use ourselves as nourishment; only we can breed a stronger next generation..."

Facing the attacking parasitic seeds, the Arbiters present offered no resistance, calmly accepting Chief Leader Chi Yan's decision.

When a female Arbiter was pierced through the abdomen by a seed, she let out a shriek, but quickly suppressed the pain, her expression resolute; she endured the agony with willpower, and dense elemental runes appeared beneath her skin.

"Shu Yan's war legion will be the whetstone for our next generation." Leader Chi Yan's voice, tinged with madness, echoed through the great hall:

"Once the newborn children burst forth from their bodies, they will also breed an even stronger next generation within cradles made from the corpses of the Ancient God Clan."

"In this Monster World, poured with blood and laws, survival has never been a gift, but a trophy torn out with fangs."

"If one cannot become stronger, one can only become fish and meat under the knife and cutting board."

"For the future of the Ascendant Clan, everything can be sacrificed, including ourselves."

Feeling the pain of the seed taking root within his body, his flesh and blood being rapidly devoured by the catalyzed seed, yet Leader Chi Yan's consciousness remained unusually clear.

In a fleeting moment of daze amidst the excruciating pain, the figure of that mountain-like, unshakable presence surfaced in his memory.

It was the previous clan leader of the Ascendant Clan; that old fellow always liked to sit on the Wang Zuo, even in war he preferred to hover in the air while seated on the Wang Zuo to participate, and he liked to smile with a hoarse voice and say to him:

"Kid, remember, the Ascendant Clan does not live by pity; we live by being more ruthless than our enemies."

Now, it was his turn to become that "more ruthless" clan leader.

The seed spread along his spine, tearing at the body he had forged with blood and qi, yet Leader Chi Yan smiled with great joy.

He recalled the look in the old clan leader's eyes before he died; there was no fear, only expectation.

At that time, he did not understand why one could be so happy when life was about to wither away.

Now, he understood.

His gaze swept over the other Arbiters within the great hall; they too were enduring the pain of being parasitized, yet not a single one retreated.

Elemental runes exploded beneath their skin, yet they all still fiercely protected the seeds within their bodies.

He had once thought that becoming a clan leader meant power, strength, and supreme rule.

But now he understood even more clearly that a true leader is not the last to fall, but the first to step forward as a pathfinder paving the way for the clan's future.

Turning his spine into a bridge, allowing those who come after to climb upon his back and continue ascending.

Thinking of this, Leader Chi Yan looked down at his own chest, and a ferocious smile appeared on his face:

"Little ones... devour me, then surpass me, and continue writing the new chapter of your Ascendant Clan."

In the final moments of his life, Leader Chi Yan raised his head.

His gaze pierced the dome of the great hall, looking out at the magnificent world beyond.

Countless memories flashed through his mind like sparks.

He saw the moment the first Ascendant burst forth from the corpse of the Chaos, saw the temple of the Horned Demon Clan collapse beneath the feet of the Ascendant army... saw three hundred civilizations turned into kindling for evolution in their hands.

His gaze finally returned to the azure sky above the sea.

"This world is too vast, but our destination has already arrived... I truly look forward to your performance."

As he grinned in a smile, Leader Chi Yan's consciousness rapidly dissipated, and the entire great hall finally fell into silence.

After a long while, thirty-eight brand-new predators, carrying the inheritance information of the deceased, tore open their flesh cocoons, and eyes burning like flames lit up one by one in the darkness.

(End of this chapter)