The Big One Is Coming

"Crackle!" Arcing electricity flickered, filling the air with the distinct smell of ozone. The lightning dancing at the boy's fingertips illuminated every face around him, each etched with shock and disbelief. "H-How is that possible—" All the murmurs snapped to a dead halt the moment Bai Zhou's fingertips made contact with the bowstring woven from electrical arcs. Emerald Flame stared blankly, unable to believe what she was seeing. "He clearly isn't a King of Wicked Desires above Rank 6, so how could he possibly—?" "Unless—unless!" As Bai Zhou channeled spirituality into the Thunderous Heavenly Bow, the withered-branch-like object slowly shifted shape. Boom! As if rolling out from the depths of dark storm clouds, a low rumble of thunder echoed from within the bow's frame. The bowstring of electric arcs flared with sudden brilliance, bursting into a blinding white light! The curvature of the branch shifted. Its tips squirmed, morphing into azure serpent heads forged from lightning, writhing with lifelike vigor as if awakening from hibernation! Rumble, rumble— Thunder reverberated through the air. Several violent currents surged from Bai Zhou's hands, the lightning snakes seeming to dance wildly in the wind, hissing toward the sky. Lightning swirled around Bai Zhou and the bow. Amidst the crackles and pops, his figure was framed like a child of thunder. Emerald Flame stared in stunned bewilderment at his lightning-wreathed silhouette, an utterly inconceivable notion flashing through her mind: "Unless... it—" "He isn't a weird at all!" Like the lightning crackling over the Thunderous Heavenly Bow, this realization tore through and instantly illuminated the fog swirling in Emerald Flame's mind. "He's a Destined?!" "He's human!" This "Senior Zhou" was no "anomalous individual" at all! Only this answer could logically explain every puzzle! For the Thunderous Heavenly Bow was a Spirit-Name Secret Treasure! Spirit-Name Secret Treasures were legends among extraordinary weapons. Endowed with their own wills and true names, they were living entities capable of choosing their own masters. Their status far exceeded that of ordinary extraordinary weapons, each one unique and immeasurably powerful. Such secret treasures were exceedingly rare, enough to make any Extraordinary flock to them, yet even a Rank 6 Extraordinary like Emerald Flame was not qualified to wield one. Never mind Rank 6 Extraordinaries like them; even Deputy Director Liu, who stood above Rank 6, had undergone narrow escapes from death fighting peers in the ruins and paid an unimaginable price just to claim the Thunderous Heavenly Bow back then! Even after obtaining it, Deputy Director Liu had to rely on the backing of the Anomaly Investigation Bureau to keep others from coveting the secret treasure in his hands over the years. Normally, these secret treasures concealed their true forms, retracting all anomalous power, each looking more unassuming than the last—some even resembling junk. Just as the Thunderous Heavenly Bow normally looked like a withered branch; no one would ever imagine that inside this withered branch lay the magnificent, awe-inspiring heavenly might to summon lightning! Only an existence acknowledged by a Spirit-Name Secret Treasure had the qualifications to wield it, "liberating" the treasure's true form and unleashing the incredible power contained within. And to gain the acknowledgment of a Spirit-Name Secret Treasure—one either had to command its respect through sheer, upright strength. At minimum, one had to be an entity above Rank 6, like Deputy Director Liu. Or, one had to be a Destined whose pathway characteristics closely aligned with the secret treasure's nature! Yet that condition was scarcely less demanding than the former. In modern times, when Destined pathways were practically lost to history and kept under wraps by the few factions that still preserved their inheritances, Destined might be slightly more numerous than entities above Rank 6, but in Tinghai at least, their numbers were scarce. Among the many Extraordinaries present, only the Sword of Winter was rumored to possibly be a Destined, though no one knew for certain. That was why he was also the strongest among them, having already placed half a foot beyond the shackles of a Rank 6 title, evolving toward a higher plane of life. Yet even if the Sword of Winter were a Destined, he still wouldn't be able to wield the Thunderous Heavenly Bow! His pathway's traits simply didn't align with the bow's nature. A pathway trait compatible with the Thunderous Heavenly Bow had to be exceptionally domineering, grand, and upright! Just like... this "Senior Zhou" standing before them now, who resembled the God of Thunder descended to earth! "If you are human... could you really be the mastermind behind all of this?" Emerald Flame murmured under her breath, before shaking her head. "No, impossible!" The logic simply didn't hold! Because this person was saving them! He was fighting the demon! A Destined whose nature aligned with the Thunderous Heavenly Bow would most likely possess an overbearing, grand persona; it made no sense for him to be a schemer lurking behind the scenes! Yet if that was true... Where on earth did Yuanmeng Middle School—a place concealing so many secrets—suddenly produce such a mysterious Destined that nobody recognized? And what was his motive for continually posing as an indigenous weird? For the Extraordinaries, the old fog had only just begun to clear. Yet behind the parted mist lay even more murky fog. Confronted by this incomprehensible reality, Emerald Flame was utterly bewildered. Beside her, Commander Han was even more astounded. "What? He's a Destined?!" "Didn't they say he inherited the mantle of that quasi-King of Wicked Desires? How could he possibly be human!" Remembering how he had led a pack of robotic dogs and drones to hunt down this "anomalous individual" moments ago, Commander Han couldn't make sense of anything happening right now. "If he isn't an anomalous individual, why would he be here, and how could he know so many secrets?" "He disguised himself as a student of the Ruin Realm, fooling all of us for so long—what could he possibly gain from doing that?" Commander Han's hoarse voice cracked into a wheeze. At this moment, the questions he posed in bewilderment were the exact same questions lingering in everyone else's minds: Just who on earth was he?! In the span of a mere half-minute, the Extraordinaries' emotions had undergone three violent, roller-coaster swings. From their earlier hushed doubts and mistrust regarding "Senior Zhou," to the stunned silence upon seeing "Senior Zhou" draw the Thunderous Heavenly Bow—and now, to the clamor of fervent debate. Only the Explorer trio felt differently. The burly Number 31 and the chubby Number 42 exchanged a glance, seeing both shock and pure elation in each other's eyes. "S-Senior Zhou is human?!" "No wonder he saved us!" "I knew it! From the first moment I saw him, he felt especially familiar!" "Maybe we should introduce ourselves to the esteemed elder—I mean, if he still remembers us after this..." Standing beside them, the Number 9 girl pressed her lips together and remained silent. She merely hopped on tiptoe again and again, peering through the dense crowd from afar at Bai Zhou's lightning-wreathed back, her eyes shining with brilliant light. The single ponytail poking through the back of her cap swayed restlessly. Her vision was completely filled by the boy's slender figure standing calmly before the flesh building, her heart brimmed with worry and prayer: *You must... win!* *Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow—* Bai Zhou appeared completely expressionless. Standing straight as a pine with the bow drawn against the demon, draped in electrical arcs like armor from an epic myth, he resembled a haughty, callous deity stepped straight out of legend. —In truth, he was simply paralyzed stiff by the electric current, his facial muscles numbed as if afflicted by facial palsy. The moment he channeled spirituality to activate the greatbow, it felt as though tens of thousands of scorching, fine steel needles were piercing his skin simultaneously, driving ruthlessly into every inch of flesh and bone. Blazing electric serpents rampaged through his body, sending his muscles into involuntary spasms and tremors wherever they passed! *Hiss!* If he were still capable of making an expression, Bai Zhou would have been grimacing and crying out in agony long ago. Fortunately, spirituality brimming with pre-natal essence ensured that Bai Zhou's body remained healthy, repairing cells scorched by lightning in an instant. Caught between destruction and rebirth, Bai Zhou felt like a certain anonymous thief chained to a cliff, whose liver was pecked out daily by a vulture only to regrow. It was hard to imagine what a user would look like after bathing in lightning for long periods; being electrocuted into a half-paralyzed imbecile wouldn't be surprising in the least— Did this mean those cold, aloof thunder gods in mythology were actually expressionless men suffering from muscle weakness and urinary incontinence? Crack, crackle! Yet alongside the pain, the electrical arcs coursing through Bai Zhou's body carried other indescribable effects. Once he grew used to the agony, he even felt a tingling numbness that morphed into a faint, airy sense of euphoria. Not only that, but the resonance of thunder reverberating through the bow's body drove Bai Zhou's muscles to vibrate in a rhythmic resonance. Like a steady breath, it cleansed the impurities from his flesh and blood, enhancing his physical constitution at an imperceptible rate. *This is...* Bai Zhou's pupils narrowed slightly. His physical attributes were steadily rising, his mind grew sharper, and even the vitality of his spirituality was gradually increasing. The rate of improvement was extremely slow—so slow that if he hadn't achieved perfection in cultivating "Body" and gained absolute mastery over himself, he wouldn't have noticed it at all. —Yet how long had he been holding this bow? What if he kept this greatbow by his side over the long term? So this was... a Spirit-Name Secret Treasure! "It is futile." A grand, collective voice echoed faintly beside Bai Zhou's ears. "With the same bow, can you loose an arrow stronger than the one shot by that man before?" Those words fell like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads. That was true... They had been so consumed by shock that "Senior Zhou" could draw the bow. Yet in reality, "Senior Zhou" being human was actually worse than him being an anomalous individual. As a human, even as a Destined—what could his meager strength accomplish? He was merely a Rank 4 or 5 Destined! He wasn't even on par with them, Rank 6 Titled Extraordinaries! "Won't we know once I try?" Bai Zhou offered a simple retort, his face, numbed by the crackling electricity, remaining devoid of expression. Static electricity made his hair billow wildly in all directions, shrouding him in a layer of dancing lightning. Buzz! The spirituality belonging to his Destined pathway, Adventurer, poured entirely into the weapon. An arrow of lightning formed upon the bow, pointing directly at the inverted demon from afar. "Of course... I did say try." Bai Zhou murmured, his contemplative gaze seeming to record, calculate, and deduce something all along. In the next instant... The thunder arrow left the string! At that moment, Bai Zhou felt as though every ounce of strength was drained from his body. All the spirituality harbored within his internal organs, bones, and muscles seemed greedily swallowed up by the roaring Thunderous Heavenly Bow in his grip, before transforming along with his released fingertips into a searing white torrent that tore through the air, flashing into existence and surging forth. Fortunately, Bai Zhou had held something back, hurriedly preserving a portion of his spirituality. Moonlight then welled up from the Moon Wolf Totem across his back, nourishing and restoring the spirituality within him. "Phew—" Exhaling a long breath, Bai Zhou—swaying on his feet and feeling utterly drained—looked up at the thunder arrow he had released. At the outset of the arrow's flight, all was silent. Then, a beat later, an explosive boom echoed across midair! Just like thunder, the blazing white torrent rolled forward, its rumbling echo arriving only after a noticeable delay. The shockwave tore through the air, kicking up clouds of dust as a scorched, sweltering heat wave brushed against the cheeks of every observing Extraordinary. Everywhere this torrent passed, the ground on either side peeled back as though an airplane were crash-landing on water, a beam of destructive light surging straight toward the inverted maiden clustered inside the building. This arrow flew faster than sound. Most of the Extraordinaries present couldn't even track it with their eyes; like a lightning bolt dropping from dark storm clouds, by the time one could see it, it was far too late to dodge. Yet to the inverted School Demon— She remained suspended upside-down by pink sinews of flesh, her deathly pale eyes expressionless as she watched the thunder arrow fly toward her, consuming and obliterating the stench of blood along its path. Rumble! Suddenly, four tentacles formed from countless fused severed limbs soared into the sky, barring the way before the Inverted Maiden. Buzz! Facing an arrow of thunder capable of melting steel and piercing through anything, the tentacles did not crumble or melt as expected. The densely packed arms and claws seemed to be awakened by a single unified will at that moment, splaying open simultaneously like blooming flowers! Swish, swish! Dense, obsidian scales surfaced over the piled severed arms. In the blink of an eye, the flayed flesh tentacles were coated in endless interlocking scales, transforming into agile, pitch-black giant pythons. The thunder arrow crashed headlong into the embrace of the writhing pythons. Boom—boom, boom, boom! Blinding white lightning erupted, blasting dazzling spheres of brilliance across the surfaces of the giant pythons. Countless arms carbonized, shattered, and sprayed in all directions within the thunderous glare! Yet even more severed arms surged maniacally from inside the tentacles and the squirming flesh walls around them, clawing at the thunder arrow in relentless waves, like an endless swamp of flesh swallowing it whole. Facing this spectacle, the weakened Bai Zhou, pale-faced though he was, kept his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at the trail carved by the thunder arrow. He mumbled softly under his breath as if calculating something, his eyes growing brighter the more he deduced. Boom, boom, boom! The explosions raged on. The thunder arrow forged ahead. Yet anyone could see that the lightning's brilliance was dimming at a visible rate. Like a trapped beast mired in a swamp, it roared and struggled, tearing apart layer after layer of enveloping severed limbs, but the dreadful destructive energy within was being ground away with every grueling inch of progress! Before long, the thunder arrow that had been dazzlingly brilliant was reduced to a mere faint electrical spark. Finally, before a blackened severed arm, the thunder arrow flickered once, and its last spark extinguished. The thunder arrow dissolved into nothing. The shot into which Bai Zhou had poured nearly all his spirituality, practically draining himself dry, was effortlessly... neutralized just like that. —This was absolute suppression of higher hierarchy! "F-Failed..." Among the observing Extraordinaries, the light in someone's eyes went utterly dim. Even with this mysterious new "ally," he didn't seem nearly as powerful as imagined. Or perhaps, the enemy was simply too terrifyingly strong, driving them to despair— "I told you, all of this is futile—" The inverted demon began to speak, but her voice abruptly cut short. She seemed to have sensed something. The maiden, who had hung lazily upside-down all this time, suddenly went rigid all over, her hair bristling and floating into the air. Those deathly pale pupils locked onto Bai Zhou's hands across the distance, filled with dread, shock, and suspicion. —This was a reaction she had never shown before! "I told you too—" Bai Zhou, too weak to stand steady, chuckled. "Don't be in a rush. That was just a test—" Through his calculations and deductions just now, Bai Zhou had completely figured out the working principles of the Thunderous Heavenly Bow. And then, right before the demon whose bristles were raised in alarm— He notched an exceptionally thick, blood-red branch that he had seemingly pulled out of thin air onto the Thunderous Heavenly Bow. "Now comes the main event!" The Thunderous Heavenly Bow originally had no matching physical arrows—not because it didn't need them, but because most arrows weren't worthy of the bow's overbearing might. Yet the extraordinarily thick, blood-red branch in Bai Zhou's hand rested snugly upon the greatbow. A bow taller than a man. A giant arrow as thick as an arm, which originally belonged on a ballista. The two complemented each other perfectly, yet held in Bai Zhou's hands, their scale was exaggeratedly immense— This blood arrow—mounted on the ballista atop the walls of Rome, which had slain the insufferably arrogant God-Chosen Blood Skeleton, then brought down the Roman golden-armored divinity, and was finally claimed by Bai Zhou— Ever since the inverted School Demon appeared, it had been trembling and resonating ceaselessly. When one thought about it, that made sense; after all, its greatest strength seemed to be "evil-cleaving"! "Well then, the big one..." Looking up, Bai Zhou met the eyes of the inverted demon girl and blinked. "Is coming!"