Monsters Die When Killed

BOOM—

A peal of thunder echoed between Heaven and Earth.

As if sensing something, Su Zhou turned his head, his gaze passing through the great doors to the sky beyond, and then higher still, to the scar carved into the very foundation of the world.

—The rift had grown larger again.

The passage between Heaven and Earth was now open.

At this very moment, in every place, every corner of the world, every being and every power that knew of this moment and had waited for it, raised their heads to look at the sky.

—On Zhengyi Dao Mountain, five-colored lightning coalesced in the sky, forming tiered pavilions and an endless succession of gates. The rain and clouds transformed into beaded curtains that hung down to the earth, layered veils that seemed to form a path straight to the celestial palace.

Beneath the torrential downpour, a massive suit of exoskeletal armor rode the lightning, floating in midair.

Its vermilion plating was inscribed with a dense array of Three Days True Talismans. Wielding twin Magic Swords, the Celestial Master Dao Armor stepped on the bright, cerulean-blue electric light, advancing step-by-step toward the Thundercloud Celestial Palace in the High Heaven. And the Spiritual Light Thunder that crisscrossed the thunderclouds—powerful enough to turn any armor to ash in an instant—was like a tamed kitten, docilely circling the figure and coalescing into a massive Talisman Seal behind it.

—At Kunlun Jade Mountain, a gale that seemed to hail from the Nine Heavens swept down. Blizzards and storms kicked up a massive cold wave, causing the permafrost on the peaks to shatter and collapse in unison. Together with the violent Spirit Tide, it became a furious roar that swept through the mountains.

In midair, nine jet-black aircraft, spewing pale blue flames and resembling enormous dark birds, circled the sprawling mountain range.

They patiently waited for the avalanche to end, for the gray stone shell of the colossal mountain to crumble away inch by inch. Then, a gentle, Five-Colored Divine Light burst forth from its inner core like a sharp sword. Finally, all the divine light gathered at the summit, transforming into the phantom of a nine-tiered divine mountain that pierced the High Heaven.

—At the Ten Commandments Holy Mountain, the sky was clear and cloudless. A flame ignited in the air, releasing a vast Divine Light. It was like thorns, yet also like smoke and clouds. This flame encircled the ancient peaks, descending with the sound of horns and holy songs.

And upon the Holy Mountain, on Precepts Stone Pillars already forged from Crystal Rock, pure white inscribed characters lit up, and a blazing Holy Fire ignited from thin air.

Seven massive, white, equilateral-triangular helicopters circled the Holy Fire. They surveyed the eternal flame that made the air tremble and the earth shudder, watching as ancient script and precepts condensed out of thin air on the mountain’s ridge, bit by bit, and solidified into holy crystals.

And there were many, many more—

On Europe’s Olympus Sacred Mountain, some saw a brilliant flame and twelve points of light gathering amidst the fifty-two surrounding peaks, corresponding to the boundless stars in the sky.

On the surface of the Great Pyramid of Egypt, surrounded by layers of steel walls, golden totems were appearing. A distant cry returned from afar, causing the horizon to shine with the brilliance of a scorching sun.

In the Fusang Land, among its mountains and rivers, the earth suddenly trembled like water and split open with countless fissures. From between these fissures, the phantom of a cyan divine light condensed into a giant tree that propped up the heavens, surrounded by a host of spirits.

Massive changes were descending upon the entire world, and because of this, the Order Array that enveloped all of mortal society shone with great brilliance—

In an instant, the entire Earth was enveloped in a warm Spiritual Light. The light even penetrated the cold vacuum of space, reaching deep into the boundless, vast cosmos, and flickered like a Dao Mark!

Finally, in Hongcheng, Hongzhou, Zhengguo.

The crimson Snake Spirit coiled on the Wisdom Tree, its eyes narrowed as it stared at the sky.

It could see the endless rift that was spreading through the cosmic star sea, threatening to shatter this entire infinite world.

’I never thought there would come a time when I shared a common goal with these little ones... Such is the unpredictability that even I could not foresee.’

Inside the auditorium of Hongcheng First High School, Professor Zhang Fucheng was still speaking, describing the dawn of the great age known as the Spiritual Energy Revival, the Opening the Heavens and Earth.

"—Effective immediately, in addition to the normal subjects, a new course, ’Spiritual Qi Science,’ will be added. It will teach all sorts of Extraordinary Knowledge, popularize the construction of various basic runes, and cover the identification of different Spiritual Qi Plants and Mutated Materials. By the same token, the Holy Ascension Selection Test will also open up a brand-new subject examination. Three academies will be selecting the top performers from this field."

After roughly explaining Zhengguo’s response to the Spiritual Energy Revival and its impact on the third-year high school students, Zhang Fucheng let out a long sigh of relief.

What he had been able to explain and describe of this massive reform was merely the tip of the iceberg. For a long time, for decades, all of humanity’s powers had been preparing for this imminent, colossal change.

Whether it was the energy base being tested on the high plateau that simulated sunlight, or the many rocket and spaceship designs intended to explore the cosmos as much as possible and break the planet’s limitations—all were ’trans-era creations’ that the Central Committee had kept hidden, waiting for the Spiritual Energy Era to use Extraordinary Power and directly leapfrog a generation of technology.

The difference between modern civilization and the civilizations of the ancient past was that a thousand years ago, traces of the Extraordinary still existed, whereas everything born in the most recent millennium was built upon the foundation of the mortal world. This provided a new path and heritage for analyzing the ’Great Dao’ from another perspective. When blended with the paths of the past, it was certain to create an even more brilliant spark!

This was the path and the belief that Zhang Fucheng held with strong conviction.

"That’s about all for now, students. Next, your own teachers will explain some of the more detailed, follow-up matters. As for me, I must take my leave for now."

With that crisp and clean conclusion, he sheathed his sword and left. Professor Zhang had come in a hurry, and he left in a hurry, leaving behind all the dazed and bewildered students, who could only stare at each other, unsure if they were excited or nervous.

Su Zhou’s eyes met the professor’s one more time. They exchanged a smile but said nothing further.

"Did you hear that?! So most of those myths and legends are actually true!?"

"Magic really exists in this world... You saw those thunder characters, right? At first, I thought they were holograms!"

"Oh my god, but why? If they had Extraordinary Power, why did all those sects and lineages disband themselves a thousand years ago...? It just doesn’t make any sense!"

"Hey, hey..."

The entire auditorium descended into chaotic discussion. No matter how the teachers and school administrators demanded quiet, they couldn’t suppress the excited hearts of these young people.

Around Su Zhou, his classmates, who had heard the Daoist’s earlier words, were all looking at him with expressions that said, ’I knew it.’

"I told you Azhou’s physique was f*cking abnormal! What normal human can do twenty consecutive one-armed pull-ups at sixteen?"

"If there was only one person in the entire school with an Extraordinary talent, I’d bet my life savings on Su Zhou, no question. If he doesn’t count, I don’t know who does!"

"It all makes sense now! I knew there was no one in this world who could eat forty plates of beef tongue, twenty plates of short ribs, and thirty plates of beef in an hour! And to think I was wondering if I just hadn’t unlocked my stomach’s full potential!"

"Azhou—no, Brother Zhou, for the sake of our five years as classmates, can I be your hanger-on?!"

No one doubted the sincerity of the Daoist’s earlier praise—there wasn’t even much jealousy.

If they were going to be jealous, they would have gotten it all out of their systems two years ago. Besides, even before the Spiritual Energy Revival, plenty of people had guessed that Su Zhou was a Superpower User. After all, what kind of normal person had his kind of powerful, all-around physique?

"You flatter me, you flatter me. I know I’m a genius, no need for everyone to repeat it. I’m not one to be modest."

Su Zhou paid no mind to their gazes. He responded to all the questions from his classmates and friends with a smile, neither denying anything nor feeling the need to.

Finally, as the buzz of discussion gradually died down, the students, who had at last been calmed by the teachers, once again listened to the school administration’s speech. This time, the speech was all about the institutional reforms based on the Spiritual Energy Revival, as well as changes to relevant textbooks and even key points in subjects like history, chemistry, and more.

While this triggered a wave of groans, it also made everyone clearly feel that all of this was an undeniable reality.

And at this moment, as Su Zhou listened to the school administrators on stage and the quiet discussions of the classmates around him about himself, the future, and the Extraordinary, he clenched his fists, then relaxed them.

Feeling the power within his body, he smiled, and then fell silent again.

Su Zhou raised his head and looked all around. While his Spiritual Vision certainly couldn’t pierce thousands of miles, he could still see that the world was now filled with brilliant radiance and swirling cyan qi, no longer like it was before.

Then he looked again at the sky outside the doors. The black rift was spreading, bringing with it ever-denser Spiritual Qi while also accelerating the world’s end.

—The spirits are reviving, the radiance is brilliant—

—Across the firmament, rifts crisscross—

In ancient history, the cobwebs on the dust-sealed legacies have been brushed away. From the vast, azure sky above, the benches prepared for those who come after are neatly arranged.

This world calls for miracles and awakenings.

Just as the world on the other side of the rift calls to him.

"This is my New Era."