Darkness enveloped Daoyi’s and Xi Ri’s sight for a split second. When the darkness disappeared, they were already standing above a large island. They were no longer in the Huang Realm but in one of the lower-ranked realms Tianyi pulled from the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System.
Because the Huang Realm was merging and absorbing the lower-ranked realms, among the other ninety-plus other realms, it made the dimensional boundaries unstable. The spiritual qi became unstable, too, but it wasn’t a bad thing. After the many realms started to merge, the overall spiritual qi density increased, strengthening the realms.
It was a good thing for the realms as a whole, but a disaster for many of the living beings in those realms.
Realm evolution often took tens of thousands of years, if not hundreds of thousands of years. The gradually increasing density of spiritual qi allowed the lifeforms of the realm to adapt. But because of Tianyi, the process was dramatically shortened. The Huang Realm might not feel anything much, but that wasn’t the same for the lower realms.
All living beings will unconsciously absorb spiritual qi through a process similar to osmosis, the process of which molecules diffuse through permeable membranes and equalize itself. As more qi accumulates inside the body, it will transform and adapt, but not all life can withstand the transformation. More often than not, the life will fail to mutate and die during the process.
Those with powerful bodies capable of bearing the increased spiritual qi will survive. Only those with the innate prerequisite qualifications to cultivate would thrive. Because of this, the humans of different ranked realms could not be considered one singular species.
Tianyi only learned about this process after he started upgrading the Huang Realm. By then, trillions of humans had already died, and it was too late to stop. Had he been able to accumulate karmic sin, he would instantly be ranked among the top hundred sinners in the Three Thousand Immortal Realms System’s history.
Xia Meng and the other immortals didn’t think much of the issue. It was a sacrifice well made in their mouths. They thought Tianyi was mad because of the risk of incurring heavy karmic sin.
Originally, the Immortal Court planned to carry out the process through a long period of time, but with Tianyi’s aid, they could complete the foundational ascension in less than a thousand years without incurring heavy karmic sin, so they took it.
Although the Immortal Court gained complete hegemony over the Huang Realm, it did not mean they were without enemies. The demons were a long-standing enemy of cultivators, and even amongst themselves, they were not united. The Numinous Realm would be happy to disrupt the Immortal Court’s plan. In fact, they were likely already planning it.
The only reason the Numinous Realm hadn’t attacked yet was because they estimated that the Immortal Court would at least need ten thousand years, not a thousand.
“Can you not just teleport us at your whim?” Daoyi asked, glaring at Tianyi.
“I wanted to save Xi Ri time?” Tianyi said.
Xi Ri shook his head. Instead of griping, he observed the island below. He only used his eyes as any use of his powers, including releasing his spiritual sense, would increase the speed of dissipation for his soul. It was the largest landmass in the lower-ranked realms, so it was more accurate to call it a continent. However, they were used to categorizing using the standards of the Huang Realm.
He could still see the ruins of civilization, meaning that the change hadn’t occurred for more than a decade. Normally, time passed faster in lower realms, but this was obviously not the case here. In fact, time was even slower in this lower-ranked realm than the Huang Realm, where hundreds of years had already passed.
Xi Ri was confused, so he voiced his question. “Why has so little time passed here?”
“I purposely slowed down the time in the outer realms to hide the speed of ascension,” Tianyi said. Although the Numinous Realm or the demons have not figured out how fast everything was going, it was better to play it safe.
Xi Ri nodded. If hundreds of years passed, this world-changing event would probably only be regarded as myth. Society would have sprung back up, and cultivation would become more common, if crude. Tianyi probably chose this realm because of the high number of people. Without Xi Ri’s interference, over ninety-nine percent of them would die.
“This looks like something out of the apocalypse movie you wrote out in the Xiyinet,” Daoyi said.
“You read that?!”
“You can watch my videos, but I can’t read your novels?” Daoyi asked back.
Tianyi coughed. “No, no, you can. It just feels embarrassing for people I know in real life to read what I write.”
Daoyi rolled her eyes. “If you wanted to hide that you wrote it, maybe you shouldn’t have used the most obvious nickname. Plus, you didn’t even bother to hide it. Isn’t that right, Mr. Ultimate Young Master?”
“Anyways,” Tianyi said, looking at Xi Ri. “What do you plan to do? Should I teleport a few helpers?”
“Please,” Xi Ri said. “I have a few people in mind.”
After Xi Ri gave Tianyi the list of people, Tianyi couldn’t help but blink. He always knew that Xi Ri was better at leading an organization than him, but when did he have so many venerables and even a few earth immortals at his beck and call?
Tianyi shook his head. What did it matter? The more help Xi Ri had, the faster he would become a merit immortal and escape from a fate beyond death.
An hour later, over a hundred figures stood behind Xi Ri. Under the care of one of the earth immortals, Xi Ri floated toward the largest settlement of humans.
Tianyi and Daoyi turned to leave. He didn’t ask Xi Ri if he wanted any help. As one of the three masterminds behind the Xiyi Talismans, Xi Ri’s wealth was much higher than most immortal monarchs. If given more time, his wealth would even rival immortal emperors.
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?” Daoyi asked as she looked over at Tianyi, who suddenly froze.
Tianyi shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just found someone interesting.”
Daoyi looked toward the ground and released her spiritual sense. She couldn’t find anyone that could fit the criteria of interesting. Originally, she thought Tianyi had found someone with a heavenly spiritual root, but it must be another type of interesting. She didn’t ask, and the two left soon after.
A young man that appeared to be in his late teens or early twenties lay on the ground, staring at the sky. A spear jutted out of his abdomen, and five ferocious beasts, monsters, surrounded him. His name was Jun Qiangwu, and unless someone saved him, not even his bones would remain.
Jun Qiangwu glared at the heavens, eyes full of reluctances and hatred.
As the beasts closed in around him, scenes of his past flashed before his eyes.
Before the world changed, people started dying out of the blue, and monsters appeared, he was the heir apparent to the Jun Family of the Qian Dynasty. The Jun Family was a military family that had existed since the founding of the nation, and each successor would become a powerful general. It would not be a lie to say that the Jun Family was the number one family after the Imperial Family.
All that changed when the sky cracked. Jun Qiangwu discovered that many of his family members fell ill and died. Not just them, but many of the common folk also died. He was no exception, except that he woke up. When he awoke, he discovered that his body had strengthened dramatically. Compared to his body before the change to the one after, it was like comparing a child to an adult.
Jun Qiangwu didn’t have a chance to acclimate himself to his body’s changes or grieve over his dead family members because the Qian Dynasty’s capital had been breeched. It wasn’t their rival countries that invaded them during this crisis, but mutated beasts.
Like humans, many animals fell asleep. Most died, but those that survived mutated. A large percentage only grew a bit larger, but many increased ten times in size. Even cute pets would become terrifying beasts. Furthermore, these beasts were incredibly bloodthirsty and attacked anything in sight. Even the pampered pets of those imperial concubines were not exempt.
During this time of chaos, people like Jun Qiangwu became beacons of hope. With their foundation of martial arts and strengthened body, they drove the monsters out of the capital. With them guarding the city, society didn’t immediately collapse, but it wasn’t that far off.
As time passed, more and more mutant beasts appeared. Their size even reached tens of meters, and it became common to see small animals grow to a hundred times their original size. It wasn’t just the animals that evolved, but humans too. Some humans gained super speed, strength, or power over the elements.
Because of all this, the common sense of the world changed. No longer was the emperor the most honored person under the sky. It was these new superhumans. Had it not been for Jun Qiangwu, the Imperial Family would have lost their status. He served the Imperial Family, like all his ancestors had done. With him at the helm, the Imperial Family maintained their rule.
When a person gained the power of a hundred or a thousand men, how would they be willing to serve an ordinary human, even if that man was the emperor? In their eyes, what emperor? He was just an ordinary man they could kill at any time. So what if he had an army? Even if these superhumans couldn’t defeat the army, they could easily escape.
Furthermore, the superhumans realized that their growth had yet to end. They might even become existences comparable to gods and immortals of legend.
Only Jun Qiangwu didn’t let the power go to his head. Although he was powerful, Jun Qiangwu knew that he didn’t have the ability to govern. If he forcibly took power, it would only harm the common people. Although they didn’t die, they didn’t become superhumans either.
The Jun Family had two creeds. To serve the emperor faithfully and to guard the common people. If he caused disaster to the common people, he would never be able to forgive himself. Not to mention that he had an engagement with a princess of the Qian Imperial Family.
Princess Qian Jiafeng wasn’t his original fiancee—his first fiancee had died like many people—but a replacement. Qian Jiafeng had fallen asleep, but like Jun Qiangwu, she awakened a supernatural ability. Although many people felt Jun Qiangwu was stupid, they had to admit his match with Qian Jiafeng was a match made in heaven.
Jun Qiangwu was a winner in life. He had the talent, looks, and even a woman that many could never hope to attain in a hundred lifetimes. He would have undoubtedly become a legend if he had not been betrayed.
There is no one more paranoid than the emperor. Even if Jun Qiangwu wholeheartedly served him, it couldn’t prevent the seeds of suspicion.
Before the world changed, the emperor was only a little paranoid. Even if the Jun Family was the most powerful force after the Imperial Family, there was still an enormous gap between the two. And there were many families to counterbalance the Jun family’s influence.
But now, most people only listened to the Imperial Family because of Jun Qiangwu. Although he served them, the power balance had been completely reversed.
So the emperor schemed. The emperor used Jun Qiangwu’s trust in him and Qian Jiafeng to dispatch him on a mission to retrieve a fruit that could transform a regular mortal into a superhuman. While on the mission, Qian Jiafeng attacked Jun Qiangwu from behind, crippling him.
Perhaps out of guilt and what little feelings she had, Qian Jiafeng didn’t kill Jun Qiangwu and left him for the monsters. Jun Qiangwu would have rather she cut off his head in one strike than experience this betrayal.
“I’m unreconciled!” Jun Qiangwu roared, blood spurting from his mouth as the monsters closed in. “I served the Imperial Family loyally all my life. The Jun Family served you faithfully for generations, and this is how you repay us! I want you to feel despair! I want you to die a dog’s death, you scum of an emperor!”
No matter how he shouted, Jun Qiangwu knew that his words were just that of a bereaved loser. He would die with the world none the wiser to the truth. Neither would he have a chance to seek revenge.
Just as Jun Qiangwu was prepared for death, he noticed an abnormality. The five monsters surrounding him stopped moving. No, it was more like they froze, and even their drool stopped midair. Not just them, but the clouds stopped moving, and the winds stopped.
“What happened?”
[Ding! Detecting compatible host. Jun Qiangwu, Do you want revenge?]
Jun Qiangwu didn’t know where the voice came from. The words were cold and clinical, but he didn’t care. Jun Qiangwu saw hope once more. “Yes! As long as I can get revenge, I’m willing to do anything!”
[Congratulations, you are now bound to the Nine Heavens Vengeance System.]
