Picked Clean

In truth, the moment Yu Xian learned that the Calamity Origin could enable Origin Return, he too had harbored the illusion: "If not me, then who?" There had even been a fleeting notion that Heaven had practically fed the rice right into his mouth, so wouldn't he be a fool not to open wide and swallow it? But once he learned that Nora had also decided to contend for the Calamity Origin, he gave up competing with her. Then he watched one "protagonist" after another suffer setbacks, or even fall. Every Mighty One started out brimming with confidence—not an ostentatious arrogance, but a confidence born of being completely immersed in their own world. They could be cautious, wretched, or patient, but every single one of them held a spirit in their eyes: "I can lie low, I can fail, but the ultimate victor will definitely be me." Yet many such Mighty Ones had died. Only in the moment before death would they realize that, like the rest of the common masses, they were mere extras, mere stepping stones for others, differing only in having walked a little further. In fact, some Mighty Ones were strikingly similar to Yu Xian in both temperament and strength—the same lazy salty fish nature, the same fleeting three-minute enthusiasm, the same whimsical impulsiveness, the same flexible morals. When those individuals died, Yu Xian felt almost as if he himself were being killed, because he felt his own reaction before death would in all likelihood be just like theirs. At that moment, he awakened; he gained enlightenment. Perhaps he was the protagonist in a certain novel, but in another novel, he was just a bit-part extra. In the novel where he was the protagonist, he might live very well, but in another novel, he would be reduced to just a few words, such as "Yu Xian died"—four characters determining his fate. Of course, this "novel" was merely a metaphor; it could be destiny, or serendipity and circumstance. ... Li Zhenlong was dead. He had confidently believed he could escape with his life. Yet what awaited him was the inescapable net and countless legions of the Mechanical Empire. He had plunged headlong into the trap laid out by the Mechanical Empire, truly experiencing what it meant to be besieged on all sides and ambushed from every quarter. A one-on-one duel between Mighty Ones could drag on for an eternity. But a mob of Mighty Ones ganging up on a single Mighty One was entirely different. Li Zhenlong was literally beaten to death by the mob: the Mechanical Dragon Knight was responsible for pinning him down, while a multitude of Mighty One-grade mechanical constructs provided support and assault. This tremendous battle raged for an entire month. In the end, Li Zhenlong's True Spirit was shattered and his Martial Dao World battered to pieces. After letting out an unwilling, drawn-out roar, he died of exhaustion. Yu Xian watched Li Zhenlong through the screen, seeing him kneeling in the void, thoroughly dead. After a moment of silence, he sighed with emotion, "The Battle of Origin Return is too terrifying. Even Mighty Ones of this caliber are mere cannon fodder." In truth, there were far more people far more pitiable than Li Zhenlong. Over the course of this grand war, who knew how many worlds had been destroyed? The living beings in those worlds didn't even know how they died, reduced in an instant to dust within the Tree Universe. Among them might have been parents dropping off or picking up their children from school, mothers laying eyes on their newborn babies in hospitals for the very first time, grooms who had just slipped rings onto their brides' fingers, depression patients who had just rediscovered a reason to live, sick patients recovering from severe illness who felt everything in the world was so beautiful. And more: couples passionately in love like in a light comedy, overbearing CEOs and menopausal nannies straight out of urban romance dramas, the tragic romance of swapped heirs, pure white lotuses in female-dominated worlds... Yet the mere aftermath of battles between Mighty Ones wiped it all out in a flash. They died utterly worthless, meaningless deaths, without a single living being caring about their passing. The Mechanical Empire vessel that besieged Li Zhenlong didn't care; Margot Moxi, who ordered his encirclement, didn't care; Li Zhenlong, besieged by the Mechanical Empire, didn't care; and Yu Xian and the Death Emperor, eating melons and spectating from the Zhen Realm, didn't care either. "Master, what we must consider first now is that since even Li Zhenlong was defeated, who can deal with Margot Moxi?" Hearing Yu Xian's words, the Death Emperor spoke up. Yu Xian furrowed his brows as well. Li Zhenlong was already freakishly strong, yet in front of Margot Moxi's Mechanical Empire, he had been beaten to death like a dog. Who could kill Margot Moxi? Immediately, he thought of Pei Jin, who had slain Han Li. That terrifying blade strike might be capable of instakilling Margot Moxi for all he knew. However, Yu Xian felt that trying to use Pei Jin was like lighting a lantern in a latrine—courting death. That terrifying guy was certainly not someone easily manipulated. "Holy shit!" "That bastard Margot Moxi!" "Taking the Calamity Origin is one thing, but she won't even spare his corpse?!" As Yu Xian was pondering, he suddenly saw the robots of the Mechanical Empire begin to dismember Li Zhenlong's corpse. They were clearly packing it up to take away! Originally, he had planned to go retrieve Li Zhenlong's legacy after the Mechanical Empire vessel departed. If Margot Moxi took away Li Zhenlong's corpse as well, wouldn't all his prior efforts have gone down the drain? Talk about losing the wife and losing the soldiers—a complete and utter sucker! In truth, Margot Moxi had continually been researching carbon-based robots. She already had enough silicon-based robot enforcers, but had lacked sufficiently powerful specimens for carbon-based robots. This was precisely the fundamental reason why she had been willing to spend time besieging Li Zhenlong: she wanted the Calamity Origin, and she wanted Li Zhenlong's body just as much. "Master, should we make a move?" the Death Emperor asked at this moment. Yu Xian clenched his fists, watching the Mechanical Empire's robots deliver one of Li Zhenlong's arms into the Mechanical Empire. Staring fixatedly at the screen, he gritted his teeth and spat, "Endure it!" The Mechanical Empire was embedded on all sides with transcendence-grade items; even the Zhen Realm could do nothing against it. If he and the Death Emperor intervened and the Mechanical Empire locked down space, the two of them might truly never make it back. He had researched the entirety of the Mechanical Empire's hull. Embedded at the prow was a gem named the Emptiness Realm Lockdown Stone. Without other transcendence-grade items present, that Emptiness Realm Lockdown Stone could instantly manifest countless chains to lock down the surrounding space completely. If there was another transcendence-grade item, it would clash and offset against the opponent's transcendence-grade item, resulting in everyone's items being nullified. On both flanks of the hull were numerous metal veneers shaped like eyes—the Eyes of Observer Effect. As long as someone observed the Mechanical Empire, these eyes would open to look back at the observer, allowing the Mechanical Empire and Margot Moxi to naturally realize someone was secretly watching them. At the stern of the warship, there was also a small tail called the Tailer Pointer, which could point toward any target tailing them. However, Yu Xian had already cracked the Mechanical Empire's Eyes of Observer Effect and Tailer Pointer; what he truly feared was only the Emptiness Realm Lockdown Stone. Actually, the former two were very easy to crack. The Mechanical Empire and Margot Moxi probably still had no idea to this day that two of their items had already been cracked.