The World

Not far from the royal palace, a motorcade was speeding along. Inside an armored car in the middle of the convoy, Kong Fang suddenly opened his eyes. A display in the corner of his glasses flashed with the latest message transmitted from the palace. "Liao Zhenguo and Bian Liancheng died so quickly?! Just who did it? Lü Tianhe? Jiang Wenqing? Impossible! Neither of them has that kind of strength!" Disbelief filled Kong Fang's eyes. Soon, a voice sounded through his earpiece: "The person who killed Liao Zhenguo and Bian Liancheng is Su Yaoguang!" "Su Yaoguang?" The youth's dossier flashed through Kong Fang's mind in an instant. Because of his special relationship with Xia Wuyuan, he knew far more about Su Yaoguang than anyone in the Liao family. Suspected of having practiced martial arts for barely a year. At the Grandmaster realm, yet his combat prowess rivaled a Martial Saint. Ever since stepping onto the Martial Path, he had relentlessly investigated the Rebirth Society. He had caught the eye of the Jishi Society and was being cultivated as a key talent. Not long ago, he had destroyed the Rebirth Society's largest transit base for "divine blood" in Dayu alongside Yue Xingzhou and Xia Wuyuan, infuriating the project head, Zhao Sheng. In the end... Xia Wuyuan was killed. Yaoguang should have been treated as prey and died at Zhao Sheng's hands as well, but relying on combat prowess comparable to a Martial Saint and the full support of the Jishi Society, he had toppled the Rebirth Society's operations here. Even Zhao Sheng had died by his hand. Record after record... Each more shocking than the last. And now... His combat power was no longer just suspected of rivaling a Martial Saint. He had truly, unequivocally displayed the might of one. And at that, among the very pinnacle of Martial Saints. Liao Zhenguo and Bian Liancheng falling to his blade were the ultimate proof. "Did his growth... really happen this fast?" Kong Fang pondered. He even thought of those demons from the Rebirth Society. Their growth rate was just as absurd and defied all reason. In a single year, or even a few months, they could walk a path that took many martial artists an entire lifetime. Still... Yaoguang had passed the vetting of the Jishi Society, so he likely had nothing to do with the power behind the Rebirth Society. If that was the case... "Is he a true genius, then?" he muttered under his breath. His mind involuntarily drifted to Xia Wuyuan. Kong Fang had passed along word telling Xia Wuyuan to drop the investigation, but what happened? Xia Wuyuan had been stubbornly hell-bent on digging to the bottom of it. He had even... uncovered information that should never have been brought to light. Recalling the despair that this information had brought upon Xia Wuyuan, as well as on himself as a Martial Saint, and the ulterior motive behind Xia Wuyuan choosing to die... Kong Fang fell silent for a moment before muttering, "A once-in-a-century genius." Would it matter? Compared to the truth of this world, did such a genius... really make any difference? Figure after figure flashed across his mind. The groveling head of the Liao family, the high-and-mighty president of the Rebirth Society, Xia Wuyuan walking generously toward death, the people of Dayu reduced to expendable consumables... As well as the words Xia Wuyuan had spoken to him before "departing" the Supreme Procuratorate. Only after a long while did Kong Fang slowly exhale. "At least... he's somewhat more useful than the rest of us..." Besides, even if one knew failure was certain, one still had to do something. To prove... that they were not lambs waiting for slaughter. With that thought, Kong Fang ordered, "Stop the car! Turn back!" "My lord?" A subordinate's surprised voice came through the earpiece. "Turn around!" Kong Fang barked directly at the driver. Without the slightest hesitation, the driver—a trusted confidant—turned the car around and headed back toward the Supreme Procuratorate. Soon, an interrogation from someone fiercely loyal to the Liao family rang in his ear: "Prosecutor General Kong, what's going on? Why did you suddenly turn around?" Kong Fang gave no reply. He cut off the public channel directly and instructed the members of his personal logistics team, "Keep an eye on anyone who approaches." "Yes, sir." Before long, the car returned to the Supreme Procuratorate. As for the rest of the convoy, some vehicles followed him back, but the majority continued hurtling toward the palace. And then... they were ambushed. Kong Fang did not know what fate awaited them. Nor did he care to know. By this point, he had already reached the deepest part of the Supreme Procuratorate's archives. After passing through several security doors, he stopped before a safe. Upon unlocking it, he seemed to sense something and suddenly said, "You're here?" Clad in a combat suit, Yaoguang stood in the archives holding his sword. Kong Fang stepped aside, gesturing toward the open safe. "This... perhaps this is the true cause of Xia Wuyuan's death." "Oh?" Yaoguang glanced at Kong Fang. In theory, this Prosecutor General was the sharpest sword in the royal family's hands. Yet he hadn't set an ambush, nor had he lashed out in counterattack at the first opportunity. "He... uncovered some things. Liao Shanhe ordered me to destroy them, but I kept them," Kong Fang said. "I don't know if they are true, but over this period, as I constantly cross-referenced what I knew with his statements, it's very likely... the truth is heading in the cruelest possible direction." Seeing this, Yaoguang showed no fear of having a Martial Saint standing beside him. He walked straight to the safe and pulled out a video camera. Turning it on, Xia Wuyuan—whom he had not seen since parting at the Baisheng Chemical Plant—appeared on the small screen. He looked utterly exhausted and haggard. In the ashtray beside him sat dozens of cigarette butts. Seeming to realize the recording had started, Xia Wuyuan stepped in front of the lens. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, only a single sentence came out: "Our world is being kept in captivity." A strange look flashed through Yaoguang's eyes. "I have searched through the historical records. The Great Cataclysm was neither a natural disaster nor a human calamity. It is a historical cycle. Every eight hundred to one thousand years, a Great Cataclysm occurs. Its purpose is to forge the ultimate immortal and demon weapons. Just from what I was able to find, there are records of more than five Great Cataclysms." The Great Cataclysm. Yaoguang was aware of it. It referred to the catastrophe that had annihilated human civilization a thousand years ago. It had occurred one thousand and eighteen years ago. That was also why the current human calendar only reached year 1018. "I have checked many books to verify it... The so-called Great Cataclysm has indeed happened more than once," Kong Fang added in a heavy tone from the side. Yaoguang turned his eyes back to the camera. On the screen, Xia Wuyuan continued to speak, but his words lacked coherence and were even somewhat disorganized. Clearly, his mental state had been severely strained. "There was never any such thing as leaping through the Dragon Gate. It is all a lie. The only reason Martial Saints are taken away is because they meet the initial threshold of becoming destabilizing factors. That is why they are taken under the pretext of 'leaping through the Dragon Gate' to become disciples of the Artifact Sect, only to be secretly eliminated. One generation, two generations, three generations... Among all the living Martial Saints, not a single one has ever returned to the country or homeland they lived in." Xia Wuyuan's eyes held an empty look. "Except for Chixing and Xuelong." "A lie?" Yaoguang glanced at Kong Fang. "I looked into it as well, but... the data we possess isn't very meaningful," Kong Fang explained. "Because for decades, not a single Martial Saint in Dayu—or indeed in the entire Central Continent and East Continent—has been granted a quota to become an 'Artifact Sect disciple.' Some ancient texts record that Martial Saints once returned from the Artifact Sect." He paused and added, "There's a paradox here: it is confined strictly to texts. No one has ever seen a living Martial Saint return." "Confined strictly to texts." Yaoguang stared at the camera. Xia Wuyuan was still speaking: "Only Chixing and Xuelong are the true managers of this world. Others, even royal families, can barely glimpse the truth. If that's how it is for royalty, what about the aristocratic families, or the common people? Everyone, all living beings, billions of people, are merely raw materials—materials to nurture immortal and demon weapons. For the sake of materials to forge immortal and demon weapons, every single one of them can be sacrificed. "The Great Cataclysm of this cycle was supposed to begin during the era of upheaval a century ago. Yet for some unknown reason—perhaps because the interests behind Chixing and Xuelong have not yet been settled, or perhaps due to some unforeseen variable—the Great Cataclysm has not occurred to this day. "Because the schedule was interrupted, the number of Martial Saints in our world is far higher than in other periods. And so, the Rebirth Society was born—solely to consume the energy of all the Martial Saints and draw their attention... "Our world is not called Huntian, nor Zhanlan, nor Dixing. Its true name is the Artifact Nurturing Realm. All living beings are fuel, their flesh and blood are kindling, sacrificed to forge immortal weapons and nurture demon weapons. "Everyone must unite if we are to stand against Chixing and Xuelong, to resist those nobles of Chixing and Xuelong who view heaven, earth, all things, and all living beings as straw dogs. "Yet... no one believes my words. "Nor is anyone willing to believe them. "There must be someone with greater ability, greater stature, greater power, and greater standing to accomplish all of this." Hearing up to this point, Yaoguang had a faint premonition. "Su Yaoguang." Xia Wuyuan spoke his name. "You are a genius, a peerless genius, the most talented martial artist I have ever encountered in my life—a nineteen-year-old... Martial Saint! If it's you, with your strength and the potential you have displayed... I believe that as long as you raise your banner and call out, you will surely be able to gather powerful forces around you to save this world!" Yaoguang looked at the video. On the screen, Xia Wuyuan seemed to look back at him. "But I know you won't do it. You are far more cautious than I am, far more concerned with self-preservation. That's why I thought about how I could make you truly investigate this matter to the end. "And I figured it out." The gazes of the two men seemed to cross through the screen, traversing time, space, and even the boundary between life and death to meet. "A gentleman can be duped by what appears righteous. "Only if I die will you truly invest your heart into investigating this matter. Because it was you who dragged me into this affair and made me see the truth of the world. "If we do not wish to be treated as straw dogs, if we wish to fight for our right to survive, someone is destined to bleed, and someone is destined to be sacrificed. I do not fear death, nor do I fear sacrifice. I only hope that my death can serve even the slightest purpose, that it allows this recording to appear before you. "Su Yaoguang, with great power comes great responsibility. You have the ability, and you also have the—" *Click!* Yaoguang shut off the video. "Disgusting." He made no attempt to conceal the indifference in his eyes. "Even in death, he still puts on an air of righteousness, resorting to moral blackmail."