by <unknown>
BOOM!
As Xiong Wuji roared, an unparalleled blast spread out crazily and blew away the dust around the two of them. A picture of two statues was revealed!
Xiong Wuji's dual sabers were pushed against the two mantis forelegs on Yan Xibei's insect body. Although they were absolutely still, dazzling sparks were bursting out from where the blades kissed each other!
Xiong Wuji's immense spiritual gas of the 99th level of the Refinement Stage condensed incessantly around him like an unyielding torch that was burning crazily with his life as its fuel!
Yan Xibei's bloody aura, on the other hand, had turned into two enormous hands and pressed Xiong Wuji's flames of spiritual gas!
Earsplitting thunders were breaking out where the two streams of spiritual energy clashed!
The two parties seemed to be in an impasse. However, Yan Xibei was smiling and showing no signs of trouble, while Xiong Wuji's face was red, and the veins on his neck were twice as swollen as before.
BOOM!
Yan Xibei pressed downward. Xiong Wuji finally couldn't bear it any longer. He grunted, the skin all over his body fracturing with blood jetting out. He fell to one knee.
Centered at him, the earth ten square meters nearby collapsed for half a meter!
"Chief!"
"Chief Xiong!"
Although Xiong Wuji had resigned as the chief of the Furious Bears Tribe in front of all the qi-trainers, many of them forgot to change their way of addressing him in the time of urgency.
Pa!
Yan Xibei's scorpion tail turned into a streak of blackness and whipped Xiong Wuji hard. Xiong Wuji could not dodge and had to take the blow the hard way, only to be slapped almost fifty meters away and crash into two rocks before he finally fell to the ground. A shocking purple bruise appeared before his chest, and he vomited a mouthful of black blood!
"Did you see that? This is the formidability of the apocalyptic body! The 99th level of the Refinement Stage is but the strength of an ant in front of me!"
Taking a deep breath, Yan Xibei was fascinated by the unprecedently strong body, with joy beaming out of his face. He rubbed his mantis forelegs and crawled toward Xiong Wuji slowly, while he remarked coldly, "Do you think that everything will be fixed after you finish the Blood Stripe Virus?
"Naïve!
"The human civilization has been too fortunate. Unbelievably fortunate!
"In the hundreds of thousands of years while we evolved from monkeys into human beings and built up a civilization with a territory beyond one planet, we were never once discovered by any strong unknown species. We lived our lives like babies in cradles, safely and happily.
"In our childhood, when we explored the sea of stars, the constellations around us were all inhabited by creatures far weaker than us. We could conquer them, enslave them, and plunder their resources at our will. Finally, we built a powerful nation called the Star Ocean Imperium in our peak!
"However, luck is not going to be on our side forever!
"If the Blood Stripe Virus could discover us, why can't the deity-like civilizations that I saw in the heritage of the Blood Stripe Virus?
"Or rather, in the depths of the endless cosmos, will there be a super civilization that is stronger than any alien species that the Blood Stripe Virus has seen? Maybe human beings are but ants for them!
"Even if we fixed the problem of the Blood Stripe Virus today, what if a stronger civilization invades us tomorrow?
"What if another apocalypse breaks out, this time, not about passing on knowledge and possessing our civilization but about pure destruction? What are we going to do if a deity-like civilization yawns and stomps on an ant accidentally?
"Just wake up! The carefree childhood is long over. We are surrounded by a perilous sea of stars and a dark forest where countless ferocious animals and birds are lurking. If they so much as sense our existence, they will jump out and swallow us for dinner!
"Be stronger!
"We have no other options except to become stronger. Become stronger through whatever methods at whatever cost!
"Tigers eat men, but men can eat tigers, too. Our only path is to get stronger and stronger and be men who eat tigers and dinosaurs. If deities do exist, we will eat all of them someday!
"Melding with the Blood Stripe Virus and evolving into stronger, more excellent human beings is the first step!
"After that, we will continue evolving. Eliminate the weak and become even stronger! Only by doing so can we expect to compete with the invincible deities and survive in the dark forest for all eternity!"
Standing in front of Xiong Wuji, Yan Xibei looked down at him.
While vomiting blood, Xiong Wuji smiled miserably. "Eliminate the weak? The deaths of billions of ordinary people are nothing but 'elimination' for you?"
"I don't like the Immortal Cultivators, but they're right about one thing."
The bloody brightness around Yan Xibei was still condensing. It was even darker and denser, making him look like a devil being born from blood. He said, "The evolution has long begun. Cultivators, Immortal Cultivators, and qi-trainers are all new human beings who have made a step forward in the path of evolution!
"Stronger, smarter, better human beings are the only hope for mankind. From the perspective of the civilization as a whole, ordinary people who cannot evolve are utterly useless. Their only value is to serve as soil and provide nutrition and resources for us.
"If the conditions allow, I am not a man who hungers for blood.
"But right now, the environment we are faced with is too harsh. The useless ordinary people have already become burdens and nuisances!
"Put down the burdens and cut off the nuisances so that we can march into the battlefield with a light pack. Concentrate all our resources on evolution. That is the only way of survival in the dark forest!
"Hehe. The selfish members of the Temple of Immortals are too scared of death and only pursue their own longevity. They are shameless enough to call themselves 'Immortal Cultivators'.
"Maybe, the new human beings who pursue the immortality of the human civilization with every method possible, such as myself, are the real Immortal Cultivators!
"What I am Cultivating is the real great path of immortality!
"Evolve! Continue evolving! One day in the future, the human civilization will evolve into a celestial civilization, and we will be the strongest hunter in the dark forest!"
Pa!
Wu Mayan dashed to Xiong Wuji's back without anybody knowing and dragged him back quickly, while he shouted at Yan Xibei, "Look at yourself. Celestial civilization? I call it a cockroach civilization!"
Yan Xibei was dazed for a moment and smiled without being bothered. "Celestials or cockroaches, the critical thing is that we are alive.
"Survival is everything. There are endless possibilities as long as we are alive!
"Live. Live on. Live on like insects, swine, tigers, wolves, dragons, snakes, gods, or devils!
"This is my path and the path leading to the immortality of the human civilization. This is the only real path of immortality!"
Chapter 628: Make a Road, Set a Fire! |
BOOM!
Yan Xibei was talking so excitedly that the bloody aura around him was all dancing as if it were alive. However, a fireball suddenly exploded in front of him, and the brightness around Yan Xibei was shrieking in pain.
As it turned out, Wu Mayan had shot out a crystal bomb brutally with a thick True Qi gun!
"Huh?"
Ruthlessness suddenly blinked in Yan Xibei's eyes, and he grinned hideously. "Those who are too stubborn to embrace evolution shall all be eliminated!"
A bloody claw was suddenly condensed in midair and snatched at Wu Mayan's head, producing earsplitting noises.
Fearlessly, Wu Mayan grabbed a saber that was even longer than himself and jumped up into the sky, slashing the bloody claw!
However, he was too young and only in the 13th level of the Refinement Stage after all. Af
ter the clash, the bloody claws remained harmless, but his own saber was broken in half after a clang from the middle!
Wu Mayan grunted. His fingers bleeding, he fell down from the sky.
The bloody claw was much faster than him and went directly for his skull. If they snatched his head, it would definitely be crumbled in the next second!
In the time of urgency, Xiong Wuji suddenly rose up. He picked up his foster son and put him on his back, while he crossed his arms and summoned his spiritual gas to block the bloody claws!
"Do not touch my son!"
Yan Xibei smiled casually. He suddenly exerted his strength. The blood claw seemed to have turned into a red shooting star and blew Xiong Wuji and Wu Mayan hundreds of meters away, leaving a deep ravine in the ground.
The two of them span wildly in midair and crashed into the qi-trainers.
The qi-trainers hurried to help Xiong Wuji get on his feet, only to discover that his chest was bloody and hot steam was popping out nonstop, as if he had really just been hit by a meteorite.
The qi-trainers of the Furious Bears Tribe and the other five tribes as well as Cultivators from the Great Horn Exo Society were all greatly awed!
Tiny fighting will was hovering and consolidating above the exhausted warriors' heads.
Most of them were using their sabers and flags as clubs and managed to stand on their feet by supporting each other. Motivated by invisible strength, their fighting will reverberated, and their spiritual gas surged out!
"Fight! Let's fight!"
"Chief Xiong was right. He is not Yan Xibei. He is not a human being. He is the Blood Stripe Virus. A Blood Demon!"
Sha Yulan gritted her teeth, with hot tears rolling inside her eyes. She forced herself to not look at Xiong Wuji and continued guiding the spiritual energy to attack Li Yao's heart wholeheartedly.
Sensing the reverberating fighting will that was even more emotive than before, Li Yao felt like he was in the middle of a raging ocean and could not hold it any longer. He jumped up and grabbed a broken saber. A bloody aura immediately sprayed out of his blade!
Sha Yulan exclaimed in a low voice, "The guidance has not been completed yet. The immense spiritual energy is still on a rampage inside your veins, nerves, and internal organs. If it is not completely dissolved and digested, you may die in body explosion at any moment!"
"There's no time to bother about that!" Li Yao spat, only to discover that his saliva raised a tiny flame when it hit the ground.
Licking his lips, he couldn't tell what the simmering situation inside his body really was. He simply said, "Let me just slash him and enjoy myself for a moment!"
"Kill him!"
Chiefs of the Giant Axe Tribe, the Feathered Snakes Tribe, the Heaven Wolves Tribe, and the Silver Moon Tribe, as well as the dozens of qi-trainers who still had the ability to fight, roared and rushed forward!
"Kill him!"
Lei Dalu, Zuo Xiaohu, Lu Dian, and the other Cultivators of the Great Horn Exo Society who could still stand also charged at the enemy without thinking about anything else!
"Kill him!"
Li Yao felt that his body was on fire. The broken saber in his hand had joined with him and became an unquenchable torch. It was not spiritual gas that was spurting out of the back of his armor, but orange exhaust flames!
Accelerating himself to the maximum speed, Li Yao turned into a brilliant star and darted at Yan Xibei!
"Ants are just ants! What can you do even if your number is impressive?" Yan Xibei suddenly roared.
The bloody flames hundreds of square meters around him suddenly exploded! A hundred bloody claws extended from the ocean of blood and snatched at everybody on the spot!
Pu!
Li Yao felt that his chest had been bashed hundreds of times within the moment. The spiritual gas that he had just summoned all collapsed, while he was blown hundreds of meters away and crashed into a heavy tank!
There was nothing but blood-red in front of his eyes. Two honeycombs seemed to have been stuffed into his ears, because he could hear nothing except an incessant humming. It was not until almost twenty seconds later that he regained his sight and hearing. He discovered that the hundreds of people who had charged forward had all been blown back by the storm and were scattered on the battlefield.
Most of them were unconscious. There was no telling whether they were alive or dead.
Those who were conscious had also been heavily wounded and were bleeding profusely, unable to stand up again.
Yan Xibei sneered, "The fierce battle over the previous three hours drained your spiritual gas. Even though you were above the 70th level of the Refinement Stage, your combat ability is below the 20th level of the Refinement Stage now that your spiritual gas had run dry and you are exhausted.
"In comparison, this apocalyptic body of mine boasts combat ability close to the Nascent Soul Stage!
"On what grounds do you think you can fight against me—"
Before Yan Xibei finished his sentence, his pupils shrank violently as he looked to his left in surprise.
To his left, a man soaked in blood, with no skin still intact, managed to stumble to his feet.
The best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, Xiong Wuji!
Yan Xibei squinted, crawled over, and shook his head. "It's useless. Little Xiong, give up!"
Xiong Wuji stood stably and took a deep breath. Still in a trance, he looked around for anything that could serve as a weapon near him. He smiled miserably and said, "That's why I say that you are not Master Yan at all.
"When I was the most confused, the most desperate, and the most frustrated, it was Master Yan who told me that strength and victory did not matter for an Iron Plateau qi-trainer.
"What matters is to fight and never to give up as long as you are still breathing!"
Yan Xibei narrowed his eyes. His scorpion tail was raised high again.
"Father Xiong, you've been injured. Let me!"
Protected by Xiong Wuji just now, Wu Mayan only rolled tumble a few times on the ground and was not wounded. He tore off two strips of cloth from his coat with his teeth and bound his hands with the broken saber. Then he dashed to Xiong Wuji and glared at the scorpion tail that was even thicker than his waist. He raised his saber high and gnashed his teeth. "Come on, you monster. I am Wu Mayan, Xiong Wuji's son and the future best warrior of Iron Plateau!"
"What a touching father-son relationship."
Yan Xibei smiled. The scorpion tail turned into a streak of brightness again, this time, not whipping but piercing!
The sharp venomous sting was aimed at Wu Mayan's thin chest!
Wu Mayan shouted desperately. The surging spiritual gas around the young man was definitely much more than fifteen square meters. His soaring fighting will seemed to have repaired the broken saber and made it even sharper than when it was intact. He slashed it down brutally!
Chi!
The scorpion tail penetrated flesh. The venomous pierced through the body out of the back!
"Ahh!" Sha Yulan cried, her tears flowing out.
But a moment later, she suddenly found that her son had been kicked away when the sting arrived, and it was actually Xiong Wuji who had been pierced through!
The sting had penetrated into Xiong Wuji's left shoulder blade, but he clutched the thick scorpion tail, and his legs stabbed into the earth like two giant trees. Yan Xibei found it impossible to retract the tail however hard he tried!
"Do not touch my son!"
With every word Xiong Wuji roared, the earth below him would quake. His dispersed spiritual gas was concentrated again and raged out like a tsunami!
Ten meters… Twenty meters… Thirty meters…
The range of Xiong Wuji's surging spiritual gas continued expanding!
"Little Xiong, you are truly unsuitable to be a leader. Too emotional. It was only your foster son whom you don't have any blood relationship with!"
Yan Xibei slowly wriggled his scorpion tail and enlarged the
wound on Xiong Wuji's left shoulder.
The dense thorns on the scorpion tail almost shattered Xiong Wuji's left shoulder.
Yan Xibei declared gloomily, "Not just a foster son, even a true born son must be sacrificed for the continuity of the civilization when necessary!
"In the dark universe, everything must be calculated precisely for survival. Emotions are the most useless things of all. The new human beings after evolution should retain none of them!"
"Father Xiong!"
Wu Mayan was somewhat lightheaded. He tried to stand up with his broken saber as a club but failed after multiple attempts.
"Big Xiong!"
Sha Yulan rushed toward the two most important men in her life without caring about anything.
Yan Xibei raised his eyebrow. Killing intent appeared in his eyes. Yet, before he launched the fatal attacks toward the two, he suddenly felt an enormous, uncanny force coming from his scorpion tail!
Xiong Wuji had pushed him three meters backwards against his scorpion tail with a body of flesh and blood!
The range of Xiong Wuji's surging spiritual gas was still expanding. Seventy square meters. Eighty. Ninety…
"Without emotions, what is the difference between humans and rocks?"
Every muscle on Xiong Wuji's body was cramping because of the excruciating pain. Blood was flowing out of the gaps in his broken armor like rivers. Two bloody footprints were left behind as he stepped forward.
Even so, he was still pushing Yan Xibei back!
The range of his surging spiritual gas was still growing. Ninety-three square meters. Ninety-four. Ninety-five!
"Chief!"
"Chief Xiong!"
Countless qi-trainers who had fallen to the ground, unable to stand up, were clenching their fists and cheering for him.
Even Li Yao was gritting his teeth, as if it were a way to transfer the remaining fighting will inside his soul into Xiong Wuji's body!
"We are, of course, evolving continuously, to be smarter, stronger, and more excellent.
"But the purpose of our evolution is to protect more people and let more people live a better life!
