After becoming the Devouring Beast, Luo Feng’s strength had increased rapidly. However, once his soul became completely fused with the body, he could not avoid being influenced by the naturally inherited traits carried within the Golden Horned Beast bloodline.
Violence.
Cruelty.
Coldness.
After more than half a year of loneliness and the constant influence of these savage instincts, Luo Feng had become far colder and more violent than before.
Yet the moment he heard the news, it felt as though every drop of blood in his body boiled.
“I have children. I have children!”
The overwhelming excitement filled his soul.
“Soon. Very soon. Just another eight months. Once my body finishes developing, I’ll be able to go back and see them.”
While Luo Feng, transformed into a Golden Horned Beast at the bottom of the distant Pacific Ocean, was overflowing with excitement, media outlets around the world were reporting on the two newborn children.
Firstly, the Luo family possessed Luo Feng’s inheritance and was wealthier than many nations.
Secondly, the children’s genetic potential was undoubtedly extraordinary, giving them limitless prospects.
Thirdly, the birth of the children following the sacrifice of the Eight Heroes carried special symbolic meaning.
…
22 November 2060, morning.
“Pingping and Xiaohai, be good.”
Dressed in a white woollen sweater, Xu Xin lovingly kissed the two babies in her arms.
The babies looked up at their mother with bright eyes, giggling as their tiny hands waved about.
Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan accepted the children with smiles.
“Xu Xin, we’re taking Pingping and Xiaohai for a walk around the neighbourhood,” Gong Xinlan said.
“Alright, Mum,” Xu Xin replied softly.
After watching her parents in law leave with the children, Xu Xin gently closed the door and walked onto the balcony attached to the bedroom.
A desk stood beside the balcony window, with a laptop resting upon it.
She sat down in the chair.
The warm winter sunlight shone over her body, making her feel comfortable.
Still smiling faintly, she pulled her chair closer to the desk.
From a drawer, she took out a pen and paper.
“Since childhood, under my family’s education, I have always demanded the highest standards from myself. And in the end, I came to enjoy leading a group of employees, building a career and creating success.”
“But working for my own career is exhausting.”
“Fortunately, I had Luo Feng.”
“By his side, I never felt any pressure. He sheltered me from wind and rain, allowing me to focus wholeheartedly on building my career. I loved that life. I wanted it to continue forever.”
“I never expected…”
“I blame no one.”
“But honestly, there is no longer any meaning in living for me.”
“What do people live for?”
“Love? Family? Career?”
“I don’t know.”
“With Luo Feng gone, love has left me. As for my career, there is no one to share the hardships with. No one to celebrate success with. Without him beside me, even success feels pale and meaningless. There is no applause.”
“Whenever I wake in the middle of the night, I often find myself crying.”
“At last, I have made my decision.”
“I feel very relaxed. More relaxed than ever before. My heart feels clearer than it ever has.”
“Mum, Dad, Brother, Father, Mother, please don’t be sad.”
“Because right now, I am happy.”
After finishing, she put down the pen.
Looking out through the window, she saw Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan carrying the two babies through the neighbourhood.
The children were laughing happily.
“Xiaohai. Pingping.”
Xu Xin spoke softly.
“You’re only two months old. You don’t understand anything yet. When you grow up, you probably won’t remember any of this.”
She opened the laptop beside her and selected a song.
It was an old song from before the Great Nirvana period.
“The second hand and minute hand tick away inside my heart.
My gaze flickers, flickers, feeling so empty.
My heartbeat pounds and trembles again and again.
I ask myself just how deeply I love you…”
…
The gentle and ethereal voice, carrying a trace of shyness, echoed throughout the room.
It was an old song by Faye Wong from before the Great Nirvana period, Tomorrow I’ll Marry You.
“Tomorrow I’ll marry you…”
“Tomorrow I’ll marry you…”
The music filled the room.
Xu Xin softly hummed along.
She walked to the wardrobe and took out a wedding dress.
Then she began dressing herself.
Putting on the gown.
Still humming the song.
Smiling sweetly.
She had grown up within a large family filled with competition.
Only after meeting Luo Feng had all that pressure disappeared.
He was like a mountain.
Like a great tree.
Sheltering her from every storm.
Xu Xin had never liked her old family home.
It was a place filled with worldly ambitions, power struggles, wealth and competition.
What she loved was the life she shared with Luo Feng.
Doing work she enjoyed.
Sharing everything with the person she loved.
Sharing hardships.
Sharing happiness.
Such a wonderful life.
Now that Luo Feng was gone, the world seemed to have become black and white.
All colour had vanished.
What meaning was there in striving any longer?
What meaning was there in working hard?
There was no one to celebrate victories.
No one to confide pain to.
…
Dressed like a bride in her wedding gown, Xu Xin smiled and quietly lay down on the bed.
…
“Troubling all my dreams.”
“Tomorrow I’ll marry you.”
“Tomorrow, at last, I’ll marry you.”
…
The sweet melody flowed gently through the room.
Xu Xin picked up a small porcelain bottle from beside her.
She poured out two pills.
Still smiling, she swallowed them with a mouthful of water.
Then she closed her eyes.
Wearing her wedding dress, she lay peacefully upon the bed.
Her fingers gently stroked the ring on her ring finger.
The steel wire ring.
“Tomorrow I’ll marry you.”
“Tomorrow, at last, I’ll marry you.”
…
The music continued playing.
The protective charm pendant around her neck, the one Luo Feng had given her, suddenly began to glow.
The mysterious patterns engraved upon the small silver plaque emitted faint streams of light.
The light gradually brightened.
The silver charm slowly floated into the air.
At the same time, soft white radiance poured down, enveloping Xu Xin’s body.
Dressed in her white wedding gown and surrounded by white light, she looked like an angel.
Suddenly.
The silver charm began to crack.
The white light immediately intensified.
Silently, the entire charm disintegrated into nothingness.
The astonishingly dense white light merged into Xu Xin’s body below.
Her skin became crystal clear.
More radiant than before.
Beautiful beyond description.
Every strand of white light was completely absorbed by Xu Xin.
Meanwhile, a faint luminous glow flowed across her skin.
The process lasted twenty six minutes.
Eventually, all traces of the glow disappeared into her body.
Everything became calm once more.
The room fell silent.
Xu Xin remained lying peacefully upon the bed, as though nothing had happened.
Then suddenly…
Her eyelashes trembled.
And her eyes opened.
Deep beneath the Pacific Ocean.
Beside a pile of metal wreckage stood a Golden Horned Beast now measuring 280 metres in length.
Its enormous dark golden eyes radiated cold brutality.
It stretched out a claw.
Invisible spatial ripples spread across the surrounding area.
Instantly, the entire pile of metal wreckage vanished.
“Luo Feng. Luo Feng.”
Babata’s voice rang out urgently.
“What is it?” Luo Feng asked.
“Xu Xin. It’s Xu Xin. She committed suicide!”
Babata shouted.
“What!”
Luo Feng’s mind went blank.
Blood rushed violently to his head.
The Golden Horned Beast’s dark golden eyes suddenly blazed with light.
Anger and panic filled them.
“This isn’t something to joke about!”
“I’m not joking. It’s true,” Babata replied quickly.
“You bastard. Didn’t you say Xu Xin would definitely be fine? Back then, I suggested using the network so you could imitate my voice and talk to her, to reassure her. What did you say? You said she wouldn’t believe it and would only think it was an intelligent system acting on instructions I’d left behind before death. You said she wouldn’t believe anything unless she saw me in person. Fine. I admitted you were right.”
“But you promised me that Xu Xin would absolutely be alright. And now…”
Luo Feng felt as though his head were about to explode.
“Calm down.” Seeing Luo Feng’s fury, Babata realised his joke had gone too far. “I haven’t finished. She didn’t die. She didn’t die.”
Luo Feng froze.
“What happened?” he demanded angrily.
“Here’s what happened. Xu Xin really did attempt suicide. Her bodily functions completely collapsed, and her soul was beginning to dissipate. But the so called Couple’s Safety Charm I gave you saved her.”
“I don’t know whether she’s incredibly unlucky or incredibly fortunate.”
“The real name of that charm isn’t Couple’s Safety Charm.”
“It’s called Eternal Love.”
“Eternal Love?” Even with his inheritance memories, Luo Feng had never heard of it.
“You may not know Eternal Love, but you know about an Eternal Body, don’t you?” Babata asked.
“Yes,” Luo Feng replied.
A person’s lifespan was limited.
Planetary level beings lived slightly over one thousand years.
Stellar level beings lived one era.
Universe level beings lived ten eras.
Domain Lords lived one hundred eras.
World Masters lived one thousand eras.
Only Undying beings could truly live forever.
Advancing from Apprentice Level Nine to the Planetary level was a transformation in life’s essence.
Advancing from Planetary Level Nine to the Stellar level was another transformation.
Every major breakthrough represented a fundamental evolution of life itself.
Within the same level, however, such as between Planetary Level One and Planetary Level Nine, strength might differ by hundreds of times, but the life level remained the same.
So did lifespan.
Whenever a life level advanced, every gene within the body underwent a complete transformation.
It was an evolution of the body.
A soul could survive for an extremely long time.
Generally speaking, a soul could endure for one thousand eras.
But the body itself had limits.
No matter how advanced medical technology became, eventually the body would age and die.
A Planetary level body could remain healthy for a little over one thousand years.
A Stellar level body lasted one era.
This continued until the World Master level.
World Masters possessed an internal world.
Their internal world continuously absorbed energy from the outside universe and supplied it to their bodies.
As a result, their bodies no longer aged.
At that point, lifespan depended entirely upon the soul.
The soul’s limit was one thousand eras.
Therefore.
A World Master’s lifespan was one thousand eras.
Only by transcending the World Master level and undergoing a transformation of the soul itself could one achieve eternity.
For Planetary, Stellar, Universe, Domain Lord and World Master levels, the key evolution was the life level.
But the step from World Master to Undying…
Was an evolution of the soul.
…
Within the vast universe, there existed certain extraordinary races.
They were born with Eternal Bodies.
Their bodies never aged.
Only when their souls completely aged and perished would they die.
Their physical forms were known as Eternal Bodies.