“It’s over.” “There’s no hope.” “Earth is finished.”
Babata’s words struck Luo Feng’s soul like heavy hammers, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Earth was finished?
It sounded like such a broad statement.
Yet, in the distant past, five thousand years ago, the ancestors of China began building a civilisation. From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, through the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, countless legendary figures emerged, each illuminating their own era. Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Wu of Han, the Peach Garden Oath of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei during the Three Kingdoms period, the Battle of Red Cliffs, the Jin Dynasty, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties…
Then came the twenty first century, when humanity entered the modern age.
The Great Nirvana arrived, forcing humanity to flee.
Eventually, people settled safely within the base cities.
In one satellite city belonging to one of those base cities, there was a student attending a secondary school.
His name was Luo Feng.
His classmates and teachers.
His fellow martial arts students and instructors.
His parents and family.
The woman he loved.
Everyone he had ever known since childhood.
They were merely one tiny, insignificant drop within the vast ocean that was the Chinese nation.
And the Chinese nation itself was only one part of humanity on Earth.
Now…
Was it all over?
“No!”
Luo Feng felt his very soul tremble with pain.
If all humanity on Earth were wiped out, what meaning would there be in his own survival?
“It has to die!”
Luo Feng stared at the frozen image of the Golden Horned Beast on the conference hall screen.
“It must die!”
“Luo Feng, what are you thinking about?” Babata asked.
“Babata, the Golden Horned Beast must die!”
“You’ve got a fever, haven’t you? You’re only a third level Planetary Stage Spirit Reader, yet you want to challenge a Stellar Stage Golden Horned Beast? Yes, you’ve inherited the Yun Mo lineage, but the Golden Horned Beast has an equally extraordinary background. It possesses an incredibly noble bloodline and terrifying strength. Trying to kill it is simply… simply impossible!” Babata said hurriedly.
“There’s no need to fight it head on. If things become dangerous, I’ll let you hide inside the Yun Mo Starship. Once it’s sealed shut, no matter how powerful it is, it won’t be able to damage the ship. Besides, the Yun Mo Starship is unbelievably heavy. It couldn’t possibly swallow it.”
“No.”
Luo Feng immediately rejected the suggestion.
“Don’t be foolish. At worst, let your family enter the Yun Mo Starship as well,” Babata said.
“So what?”
“Babata, are you saying we should hide like frightened turtles, survive this disaster, then come back out and discover that… all humanity on Earth has been exterminated?”
“My parents’ workmates, neighbours, everyone they ever knew would all be dead.”
“Only our family would remain.”
“What would be the point?”
“How could my parents continue living?”
“How could I?”
Luo Feng asked in return.
He simply could not imagine it.
That future was beyond imagination.
It was horrifying.
The mere thought chilled him to the bone.
“I’ll never understand the way humans think,” Babata muttered unhappily.
“You know you’re no match, yet you still insist on resisting.”
“People cannot exist apart from society.”
“People cannot separate themselves from their nation or their homeland.”
“If there were only one lonely survivor left on Earth, living would be worse than dying.”
Even imagining it made Luo Feng shudder.
“Babata, when a nation falls, its surviving people have a name.”
“They are called a conquered people.”
Earth was his root.
The Chinese nation was his root.
If the roots died, the branches and leaves would wither.
And he…
He was merely one particularly healthy leaf among countless others.
If the roots died…
How could the leaves continue living?
“Babata, tell me how to kill it,” Luo Feng said inwardly.
“Uh… it’s impossible.”
Babata answered without much hesitation.
“Babata, you’re capable of building spacecraft. Can’t you build a powerful weapon to destroy it?” Luo Feng asked urgently.
“A weapon capable of killing a Stellar Stage being?”
Babata understood Luo Feng’s desperation and answered seriously.
“Luo Feng, in the universe, Stellar Stage experts are already considered powerful figures. Universe Stage experts can even fight entire interstellar fleets with nothing but their own bodies.”
“In other words, ordinary interstellar fleets find it extremely difficult to kill Universe Stage experts. Even killing a Stellar Stage expert requires weapons of tremendous power.”
“Manufacturing weapons of that level is extremely complicated. At the very least, it would take several years,” Babata explained.
“But given the Golden Horned Beast’s speed, it will absolutely sweep across the entire Earth within a month.”
Luo Feng understood.
Leading countless sea monsters, the Golden Horned Beast would conquer all the continents very quickly.
“And, Luo Feng.”
“Building a powerful weapon is only one part of the problem. Firing it accurately and actually hitting the target is another challenge entirely,” Babata continued.
“So, if you’re truly determined to fight back, there’s only one option.”
“Tell me.”
A spark of hope appeared within Luo Feng.
“There are wrecks of ancient cosmic warships on Earth. Those wrecks may still contain powerful weapons. Although they’ve long since stopped functioning due to the passage of time, I might be able to modify them so they work again.”
“Of course, it depends entirely on luck.”
“Weapons capable of killing Stellar Stage experts are considered extremely powerful even aboard interstellar warships. For example, the slender spacecraft at your Dojo Headquarters is merely a transport vessel. Its onboard weapons are quite ordinary.”
As Luo Feng listened, hope began growing inside him.
That’s right…
Search the ancient civilisation ruins.
Search for weapons that surpassed Earth’s technology.
“Babata, tell me its exact strength,” Luo Feng asked inwardly.
To defeat an opponent, one first had to understand them.
“It?”
Babata said, “Look carefully. Next to the golden horn on its head, the one covered with intricate golden patterns, do you see that small bulge?”
Luo Feng carefully examined the screen.
Yes.
Apart from the majestic horn pointing proudly towards the sky, there was indeed a small protrusion beside it.
“The Golden Horned Beast’s strength is actually easy to determine.”
“At the infant stage, it only has one horn.”
“At the growth stage, a second horn begins growing.”
“At the youth stage, the third horn begins to emerge.”
“At adulthood, the fourth horn appears.”
“At its peak, the fifth horn grows.”
“The further it develops, the more intricate the golden patterns on its horns become, until eventually the horns appear almost entirely golden.”
“That’s why it’s called the Golden Horned Beast.”
Luo Feng suddenly understood.
“Its second horn is still only a small bulge, so it has probably only recently entered the Stellar Stage,” Babata continued.
“However, its bloodline is incredibly powerful, and its growth speed is astonishing.”
“During the growth stage, it frantically devours and absorbs massive quantities of metal, constantly increasing its strength.”
“So if you’re going to kill it, you must do so as quickly as possible.”
“Otherwise, it will only become stronger and stronger.”
Luo Feng understood.
A creature capable of eventually becoming a World Master would naturally grow at an astonishing pace.
“No wonder it swallowed the war base.”
“War bases are almost entirely made of metal,” Luo Feng remarked.
“Don’t worry. Although Devouring Beasts possess an internal world within their bodies, this little fellow has only just finished its infant stage. Its daily appetite is still limited.”
Babata paused before continuing.
“But Luo Feng, I still have to warn you.”
“Every Star Beast is extremely dangerous.”
“They all possess ancient inherited memories within their bloodline.”
“Killing a Star Beast is extraordinarily difficult.”
“And killing the Golden Horned Beast, one of the very strongest among all Star Beasts, is even more difficult.”
“My Master once heard of an Undying expert who encountered a World Master level Golden Horned Beast and attempted to kill it.”
“Ordinarily, an Undying killing a World Master would be effortless.”
“But although the Golden Horned Beast couldn’t win, it still managed to escape.”
Babata sighed.
“A supreme bloodline this rare is truly extraordinary.”
“You might be able to defeat it.”
“But killing it is an entirely different matter.”
Luo Feng remained silent.
“If I don’t try, how will I ever know?”
“Babata… in this war, I have no choice.”
“Either it dies.”
“Or, before it wipes out humanity on Earth, I’ll die first,” Luo Feng said quietly.
Luo Feng had never considered himself especially noble or heroic.
He could watch a war base be swallowed by the Golden Horned Beast.
But if humanity perished…
If the Chinese nation disappeared…
Then this single leaf would have lost its roots.
What meaning would there be in living?
It would be better to die gloriously in battle.
“You’re unbelievably stubborn.”
Babata sighed helplessly.
“What a pity the Yun Mo Starship has no weapons.”
In truth, energy weapons had long been meaningless to Undying experts.
Take the Yun Mo Starship for example.
Its entire structure was forged from Scarlet Mixed Copper Mother Ore.
Just one fragment weighed more than a tonne.
How heavy was the entire ship?
Given the ship’s incredible durability, if accelerated to an extreme speed, its razor sharp edges alone could slice through almost anything.
When travelling through the universe, it would simply charge straight through asteroid fields.
It cut through asteroids as easily as tofu.
One collision.
It could even slice apart an entire planet.
Killing a Stellar Stage expert would be no more difficult than chopping vegetables.
Unfortunately…
The Yun Mo Starship was damaged.
It could no longer fly.
…
While Luo Feng discussed matters with Babata mentally, everyone else was also deep in discussion.
“Old Wang, if it’s only an eighth or ninth level Planetary Stage monster, we still have hope.”
“But if it’s truly at the Stellar Stage… then our chances of victory are no greater than ten percent,” one elderly man said quietly.
“Oh? Old Li, has your group reached a conclusion?” the short, grey haired elder asked gravely.
“Yes.”
“Before the Great Nirvana, there wasn’t even a suitable location to test extremely high yield nuclear bombs.”
“But in the era of the base cities, there are countless uninhabited regions spanning tens of thousands of square kilometres.”
“The conditions exist.”
Old Li nodded slightly.
“The detailed plan should still be left to the experts from each country.”
“But I’ve been thinking.”
“What if we fail…”
“You mean the National Continuation Plan?”
Old Wang looked at him.
Old Li returned the look.
The two of them had devoted countless years since the Great Nirvana to building the base cities and preserving the Chinese nation.
Neither of them could bear the thought of losing their country or their people.
“The ordinary people are finally living peaceful lives.”
“And now the end of the world has arrived?”
Old Wang closed his eyes.
Tears shimmered faintly within them.
He soon opened them again, his gaze resolute.
“I believe every country is thinking the same way.”
“Let’s begin the continuation plan in secret.”
“If humanity truly cannot resist, then we’ll launch it on a large scale.”
“We’ll discuss the details after leaving the virtual conference.”
Old Li nodded.
Yet the burden pressing on his chest was almost suffocating.
“Perhaps…”
“Perhaps things won’t become that terrible,” he silently prayed.
…
Throughout the conference hall.
Whether it was martial artists like Luo Feng, Hong and Thunder God, national leaders, or the specially invited weapons experts.
Everyone was desperately searching for a solution.
They were all members of Earth.
Not a single one was willing to give up.