Just Kidding

In the distance, a rumble echoed. Now, as that magnificent metamorphosis rippled outward from within his soul, the broken giant laughed like a madman. He threw back his head and looked toward his greatest benefactor—the instigator of all this, Ji Jue! Ferocious killing intent surged. With a casual reach, the giant drew a blade of iron and stone dozens of meters long straight out of the earth veins! Amidst the thunderous tremors of the land, he charged forward— Yet at that exact instant, high in the firmament, the torrential downpour spent itself. As the gloomy clouds scattered before the gale, dazzling, magnificent radiance broke out across the pitch-black shroud of night. So brilliant, so vast in number… It left one unable to tell the difference between flames and a sea of stars. Amidst the dim constellations, even more resplendent flames soared and wheeled through the sky, dragging shining arc after shining arc across the dark. It was as if the sky itself were spinning. "From the Kunwu Plateau to the nearest coast is only a little over a thousand kilometers. By airship, it takes four hours. Driving in a straight line would take a full day. On foot, maybe five or six months to a year. "Yet for a hypersonic missile, it only takes ten minutes… "Or even less." At this moment, the stars of steel stood supreme above the storm, looking down at the earth as they tore through the dark clouds, having waited for this moment long in advance! More than ten minutes ago, when the blood rain spiraled out of control and the Nether Sea Worm manifested to pierce through the calamity's blockade, the signal had already been transmitted through the gale. Even the tempest and electromagnetic interference blanketing more than half the Federation could not block the simplest, most primitive beacon. A blazing flare had broken through the barrier of dark clouds and thunder, bursting suddenly in radiant bursts of intense light that were captured in full by the watching satellites above. In a matter of seconds, the intermittent flashes were converted into binary signals, activating the directives pre-programmed long ago. At once, upon the tempestuous, tossing sea closest to Kunwu, a rolling roar echoed from the thick fog. A massive cargo ship, waiting for so long, emerged from the dense mists. Then its restraints disengaged. The topmost layer of shipping containers toppled away, tumbling into the seawater, where countless rubber ducks and plastic toys bobbed in the waves before drifting out of sight. And rising beneath those containers stood forest-like racks of missile launchers, pivoting their angles, adjusting their bearings, as green light after green light flared across the indicator consoles. Deep within the vessel's hull, boundless quicksilver shifted and operated under the command of the workshop spirit, while hundreds upon thousands of mechanical arms moved in harmony with the transit system. It was just as Isis had once said during their farewell—from the very first day Ji Jue had departed, the relocation of the workshop had begun, with periodic reports sent to Ji Jue's inbox for review. Now, the grand task was finally complete. In just a few short days, the entire workshop had been moved aboard the *Prosperity*, which now rode the ocean swells. Under the transformations wrought by alchemy, the former freighter had been forged into an outright, long-range fire-support battery! At this moment, it executed the command from its creator. Prepare all ordnance. Launch immediately! Blanket strike—until inventories are exhausted! Bearing the permits signed by Lyu Yingyue, the missiles hauled truckload by truckload from the depots of the Haizhou garrison base now vaulted into the sky like a constellation of stars! Hundreds, thousands, converging into a torrent, like an endless swarm of steel stars tearing free from the dark depths of the sea to reclaim the high heavens! They screamed across the vast expanse of storm clouds, rolling forward in an indomitable surge toward Kunwu. At the same time, an artificial rain-dispersion permit was uploaded to the observation centers along the flight path. As countless missiles disguised as weather-modification rockets thundered across Federation airspace, every single radar along the route stayed dead silent, without the slightest response. In the breakroom of the Security Bureau headquarters in Midtown, an old man hung up the phone and let out a bored yawn, thoroughly indifferent. Go on, blow it all up! Now that everyone had flipped the table, even the garrison airships were being blown out of the sky, and people were brazenly wielding corrupted calamities. What did a few extra missiles matter? A short ten minutes later, as the dense clouds overhead dispersed, the light of utter annihilation descended from the exposed dark of the night sky! Mid-stride, the giant stared upward in a daze. He froze in his tracks. It was as if his mind could not even process the sight— In the end, he looked back toward the distant Ji Jue. Ji Jue was looking back at him. Ji Jue raised his cup of water as though toasting a farewell. "Goodbye," he said. *Boom!—* A streak of blinding radiance dropped from the heavens. Fire blossomed and rose, vaporizing oceans of crimson and gouging a scorched, glowing fissure into the earth. Billowing smoke surged into the sky. A savage shockwave laced with countless metal fragments engulfed the towering figure whole. A roar of furious outrage erupted from the blaze. The giant thrust out a hand, snatching a falling missile out of the sky and crushing it. Walls of iron erupted from the earth to withstand the blast, only to instantly shatter and melt away. Another beam of fiery light plummeted, and then another, a third, a fourth, a fifth… Just as the storm had ended, the deluge began anew. Only this time, what formed it was no longer mist, blood, and wailing, but pure metal, fire, and doom. Boundless fragments of corrupted metal burst forth, expanding, lashing, piercing, and shredding in every direction. Time and again, they tore down the reconstructed defenses. Amidst the earth-shattering cataclysm, the roar broke out once more. The blurry figure bellowed, hurling the greatsword of iron and stone toward Ji Jue, yet the moment it left his grasp, the explosions and shockwaves threw it off course. Even when he tore up huge slabs of earth to shield himself, the hastily condensed stone and iron could not withstand the brunt of the detonations, to say nothing of the innumerable blade shards mixed inside. Wave after wave of metal rain fell, one wave of devastation directly upon the heels of the last. Intermingled within were massive quantities of corruption weapons crafted by Ji Jue's own hands, scattering deformity and pollution to gnaw at the soul that had only just exalted beyond the mortal coil. Now, he could not even construct a Domain. A distance of less than ten kilometers felt as unbridgeable as the chasm between hell and the mortal realm. Even as he hysterically hurled lumps of hyper-dense matter, he could not land a hit. And on the rare occasion one came close, it was turned aside by the massive shield wielded by the Dragon Mountain armor. A Celestial Chosen of the Transcendent Rank achieved through sheer mass was now fracturing swiftly under an even more staggering magnitude, struggling even to hold his physical vessel together. When he instinctively sought to dive into the earth, he realized that Ji Jue had already seeded countless obstacles and interferences beneath the surface while the blood rain had still been falling. The churning mountains and earth veins had slipped from his control, no longer answering his summons. In fact, infected by the malice buried long ago, they subtly stood against him! "Too soon." In the scorching gale washing over his face, Ji Jue sighed softly. "Originally, I planned to stall a bit longer, drag it out to bait a few more blind fools, and wipe them all out in Haizhou. "Looking at it now, I doubt anyone else will dare come. "Ah, well. Ending it early works too." He gave a casual shrug. "Fewer complications that way." *Rumble!—* Amidst the heavy bombardment and raging fire, the giant's silhouette emerged once more. Burning his soul, sacrificing himself! Yue Chen roared, throwing his arms wide without regard for the cost, forcibly manifesting an incomplete, fractured Domain around his body. Within that Domain, only a few meters wide, the faint illusion of mountains appeared. Under the cataclysmic strikes, cracks spread across it continuously in a wretched display. Yet it bought him a vital breath of respite. Across the headless giant's chest, eye-like crystals flared with crimson light, locking dead onto Ji Jue's position. Gathering every ounce of his might, spewing flames like an exploding star, he launched himself forward like a falling meteor. The sword of iron and stone condensed once more, endlessly collapsing inward into a pitch-black mass brimming with pure brutality. After braving a dozen plummeting explosions by sheer force, he poured every drop of his remaining strength into one desperate charge! If he could not win, then they would perish together! "Brother Ji Jue!—" Before that, An Ning's hair had already stood on end as her instincts screamed a warning. Yet a hand came down upon her shoulder. "It's fine." Ji Jue remained seated where he was, making no move. Yet the damaged Dragon Mountain armor had already stepped out from behind An Ning, looking on with cold detachment at the giant charging through hell toward them! The instant before collision, Dragon Mountain took a single step forward. A flash of lingering light! As they crossed paths, the unadorned Sword of Pan Ying, stripped of all bloodlight, swept out. With effortless grace, it severed the down-cleaving blade of iron and stone, then swept across the giant's chest. Finally, it slid back into its scabbard. Smooth as flowing water. After merely a split-second exchange, the battered suit of armor stood unmoved, steady as a rock. Only a burning storm surged outward. The shattered torrent of iron and stone whistled past Ji Jue's side, tumbling out of control in an unstoppable, fractured collapse before crashing into a mountain severed at its waist, carving a deep, despairing furrow through the rock. To fall short by a single basket of earth after raising a mountain nine fathoms high. "What a pity." Ji Jue lowered his gaze, looking at the water cup in his hand covered in dust and gravel, letting out a rueful sigh. "I hadn't finished drinking yet." The faint light in his eyes quietly went dark. In that preceding moment, the Mirror of Contained Forms had reflected once more, taking in everything from above—the countless fissures in the Domain, the stuttering flow of spiritus, the riddled body, the unhidden weak points, and even the soul on the verge of collapse had all fallen into Ji Jue's perception… Clear as a blazing fire. All he had needed to do was add the final, insignificant straw to the dying camel in the precise place it was needed. With a single sword strike, the dying giant had been cut clean in two! After the brief joy and shattered dreams, death had arrived… Down in the chasm, stone flakes cracked and peeled away from the giant's mangled form, exposing a ruined face. Yue Chen gasped raggedly, struggling, yet he could no longer feel the response of the mountains or the presence of his limbs. Only the sound of footsteps approached, soft and gentle. The blurry figure gradually came into focus. Ji Jue. "Just… who are…" Yue Chen murmured hoarsely, staring hard at the face crouching close before him. Yet in the end, he lacked even the strength to lift a hand. He could only let out a self-mocking sigh. "I underestimated you after all… I have no right to complain about this defeat." Ji Jue gave no answer. From beginning to end, his expression was completely blank—cold and calm. Utterly unshakeable. He merely raised his left hand, which still retained a sliver of feeling, and slowly pointed a single finger against the shattered heart. A wisp of spiritus surged forth, vibrating into rippling waves. Dissociation Art! Immediately after, the matrix collapsed, the blessing vanished, and from the burnt-out soul, the last traces of spiritus evaporated, returning into the embrace of the mountains, never to be seen again. Only when the final breath had faded entirely did Ji Jue finally let out a sigh of relief, struggling to prop himself up. There was simply no helping it—the Desolate Ruins possessed an absurdly stubborn vitality. He had never expected the man to survive more than a dozen missile strikes and keep breathing even with a shattered soul, forcing him to deliver the finishing blow in person. Wait, had the guy said something just now? He hadn't heard a word. He shook his head, looking dusty and disheveled as he shook out the grit and small pebbles that the gale had blown into his ears. His hearing was still ringing. Turning back, he gazed upon the unrecognizable mountains, the lingering bloodstains, and the scorched earth. Amidst the muddy gore, surviving flames still burned fiercely, and thick smoke drifted lazily from the corrupted, deformed carcasses. Such a sight was truly… refreshing! "*Whew—*" He let out a long breath and sighed with genuine feeling. "What a thrilling, satisfying duel!" "*Ahhh!*" A cry of shock rang out nearby. An Ning stared dumbfounded, her mind finally catching up in utter disbelief. "Y-You… didn't you say you couldn't move?" "Hm? Did I say that?" Ji Jue tilted his head in confusion. He pondered for a moment, enjoying the sight of her irritation, and suddenly broke into a grin. Full of cheerful amusement. "Just kidding."