Chapter 26 - 25: Sudden Changes Arise, Calamity Strikes Early!

Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Sudden Changes Arise, Calamity Strikes Early!

Half an hour later.

Hong Yuxun, the founder of the Yu Xun Martial Arts Hall, finally appeared. Before he even arrived, a towering purple light shot into Liu Zimo’s vision.

To Liu Zimo’s surprise, the purple halo radiating from the Shadow Lock above the Yu Xun Martial Saint’s head was even more dazzling than Lou Yuchen’s!

"It seems the rumors in the Post-Apocalypse about the Yu Xun Martial Saint being the strongest in the Federation, far surpassing the Yu Chen Martial Saint and Saint Master Zhiyuan, weren’t entirely baseless!" he sighed softly in his heart. His feet moved involuntarily, stepping forward to approach Hong Yuxun.

"Junior Liu Zimo greets Elder Hong!"

As he drew near, Liu Zimo obediently cupped his fists and bowed to Hong Yuxun, completely shedding the arrogant and domineering attitude he had displayed before Zhao Jiajun, Wan Hongying, and the others.

What a joke. This was the future Yu Xun Martial Saint. Even if his current strength was far from the Martial Saint Realm of the future, he was still a Supreme who had forged his Golden Body and possessed his own Martial Arts Domain. No matter how arrogant and conceited Liu Zimo was, he wouldn’t dare to repeatedly provoke an expert in the Golden Body realm with his strength of having just entered the Iron Bone realm. For a person, the most important thing was to understand the situation; when it was time to yield, one had to yield. In any case, his ultimate goal had already been achieved. Hong Yuxun was right before his eyes.

SNAP!

Driven by Liu Zimo’s thoughts, a crisp sound of a lock snapping shut echoed in his ears.

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Hong Yuxun is now online. Current bindable targets: (8/20)]

It was a success! The second future Martial Saint had also become his "Good Brother." His biggest objective in coming to Shangjing had been achieved! On the surface, Liu Zimo remained respectful and polite, not daring to overstep in the slightest, but inwardly, he was laughing heartily and bursting with joy. Next, he only needed to make a trip to Dalin Temple and Dragon Tiger Mountain to bind the remaining Martial Saint and all of the Seven Grandmasters. Then, he could return with peace of mind to prepare for battle and await the descent of the Demon Calamity!

"Liu Zimo?" Hong Yuxun looked him up and down and nodded slightly. His voice was loud and clear. "Not bad. You’ve forged an Iron Bone physique at such a young age. More importantly, your Martial Dao Will is as steady as a mountain, truly worthy of your strength!

"Tell me, who is your master? Did your master instruct you to come and challenge my dojo today?"

"Challenge your dojo? What challenge?" Liu Zimo hurriedly shook his head in denial. "Nothing of the sort!

"Elder Hong, you’ve misunderstood. I was merely thrilled to see such skilled peers and couldn’t help but exchange a few moves with my senior brothers. I absolutely had no intention of challenging your dojo!"

Standing nearby, Zhao Jiajun and Wan Hongying, whose mouths were still bleeding, were so infuriated by the kid’s thick skin that they almost coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"You’ve already fought your way to our doorstep, and you still dare to say this isn’t a dojo challenge? Who was it just now acting all high and mighty, with an insufferably arrogant face, and now you’re tucking your tail between your legs? Pah! A bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong, spewing a mouth full of nonsense! Shameless!"

The inner thoughts of Zhao Jiajun, Wan Hongying, and the others successively transmitted into Liu Zimo’s ears. His lips twitched, but he simply acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Seeing that Hong Yuxun was still staring at him with bright, piercing eyes, and that not a single thought was transmitted from his mind, Liu Zimo cupped his fists again and said, "As for my master, please forgive me, Elder Hong, but it is truly inconvenient for me to mention.

"However, I came here today specifically entrusted by my master to deliver a gift to you, Elder Hong!"

With that, Liu Zimo reached into his coat and took out the Profound Level Spirit Secret Technique, the "Awakening God Technique", which he had prepared long ago, presenting it with both hands.

"My master said that the revival of Spiritual Energy is both an opportunity and a calamity. Soon, a group of Outer Realm Demon Fiends who excel at charming the hearts of men will break through the boundary and wreak havoc across the Divine Land.

"Elder Hong, as the leader of the Martial Dao, you bear a heavy responsibility. My master specifically asked me to deliver this ’Awakening God Technique’ to offer some assistance!"

This was the only presentable thing Liu Zimo had at the moment. It was also the gift he had carefully considered before coming to find Hong Yuxun. Although his Extreme Breathing Technique was of the highest level, having already reached the Earth Level, for someone like Hong Yuxun who possessed a complete Martial Dao inheritance, their own Breathing Technique might not be weaker than the Earth Level. Even if Liu Zimo was willing to give away the Extreme Breathing Technique, the other party wouldn’t necessarily cherish it, let alone abandon their own Breathing Technique to switch to it.

But a Spirit Secret Technique was different. Before the apocalypse broke out, the vast majority of Martial Artists in Great Xia had never specifically practiced a Spirit Secret Technique. Therefore, when dealing with Illusion Demons that excelled in Spiritual Attacks for the first time, they were all at a loss. Many suffered massive losses and even lost their lives because of it.

As a Martial Artist in the Golden Body realm with perfect Martial Intent, Hong Yuxun certainly couldn’t be easily put into an illusion by ordinary Illusion Demons. But the same couldn’t be said for his disciples.

According to what Liu Zimo knew, before the calamity, Hong Yuxun had ten True Disciples under him, all with outstanding aptitude and the potential of peerless geniuses. Yet ultimately, the only ones who managed to survive the Demon Calamity and grow all the way to the Grandmaster Realm were Zhao Jiajun, Wan Hongying, and Sun Xincheng. As for the fate of the other True Disciples, it went without saying. They basically all encountered the invasion of Illusion Demons at the very beginning of the calamity and tragically perished. Otherwise, with their already impressive Martial Arts Cultivation, ordinary Demon Beasts wouldn’t have been their match at all, let alone threaten their lives.

If they had practiced a Spirit Secret Technique to resist Illusion Techniques from the very beginning, their chances of surviving the Demon Calamity would have multiplied exponentially!

Thinking of this, Liu Zimo’s gaze involuntarily flicked toward the other seven disciples who had been following behind Hong Yuxun. Just now, his attention had been entirely captivated by the dazzling purple light above the Yu Xun Martial Saint’s head, causing him to completely overlook the colors of the Shadow Locks above these people’s heads. It was like starlight near a bright moon, easily ignored. Under the illumination of the Saint Level purple light, the Shadow Locks of all other colors became dim and lackluster.

It wasn’t until Liu Zimo "locked onto" the Purple Lock above the Yu Xun Martial Saint’s head that the purple light became less blinding in his eyes, allowing the Shadow Locks above the disciples’ heads to re-enter his field of vision.

"Out of the seven, three actually have Red Shadow Locks, and the remaining four aren’t bad either, all shining with bright golden light! More importantly, the strength of these seven people is all above the Copper Skin realm, and one of them has even broken through to the Iron Bone realm, just like Zhao Jiajun, Wan Hongying, and Sun Xincheng! If they can all survive the Demon Calamity, they will definitely add several Grandmasters and Golden Body Supremes to the Federation Human Race in the future!" Liu Zimo thought.

His mind surged with excitement as he unceremoniously locked onto the other three Red Shadow Locks.

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Li Yan is now online. Current bindable targets: (9/20)]

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Qian Shunli is now online...]

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Zhu Xiaolong is now online...]

At this point, Liu Zimo’s bound targets had reached eleven, and he only had nine bindable slots left.

"Outer Realm Demon Fiends, wreaking havoc across the Divine Land?" Hong Yuxun raised his thick eyebrows, his ever-calm expression finally showing a trace of change.

"What’s going on? Why have people constantly been preaching doomsday theories these past few days? Could it be that the world is truly about to change and a calamity is imminent, causing some hidden recluses to emerge and face the tribulation? This young man before me isn’t old, yet he possesses impressive martial strength. His master must be no ordinary figure either. To specifically send a disciple to gift a book and issue a warning... could they have truly sensed something?"

Hong Yuxun’s mind churned, and all his thoughts were immediately transmitted into Liu Zimo’s mind. Seeing that Hong Yuxun had already developed some suspicion and vigilance, Liu Zimo knew that his goal of issuing a warning had been achieved.

Just as he was about to say something more, a sudden sense of danger arose in his heart, and his body reflexively retreated at high speed. Immediately after, he saw a black shadow sweep past him. The secret manual containing the "Awakening God Technique" in his hands was shattered into powder by the opponent’s overflowing aura.

If Liu Zimo hadn’t retreated in time and possessed an Iron Bone and Copper Skin physique, his hands would likely have been turned into fragments on the ground, just like the manual.

There was demonic qi! And it was aimed right at him!

Liu Zimo’s heart trembled violently. Unlike the Illusion Cat he had killed at his uncle’s house earlier, the Demon Beast that had suddenly appeared before him was at least at the Innate Level!

Dammit! It was still before the calamity; how could such a powerful Demon Beast exist on Earth?!

"Insolent!"

"Who are you to dare commit atrocities right in front of me?!"

"Stay right there!"

BOOM!

The furious Hong Yuxun suddenly let out a fierce shout. His Martial Arts Domain instantly erupted, directly enveloping the entire martial arts hall.

SWISH!

In just a single encounter, within the blink of an eye, the black shadow that had suddenly appeared and attacked Liu Zimo was captured by Hong Yuxun.

"It’s actually him?!"

Upon seeing the attacker’s face, Liu Zimo instantly recalled that this was the special student he had noticed on the training ground outside earlier. No wonder there was no Shadow Lock above his head! After all that, he wasn’t a human at all, but a disguised Demon Beast!

A General Level Demon Beast in the Transformation Stage had actually appeared this early?

"Speak. Who are you, why are you lurking in my Yu Xun Martial Arts Hall, and why did you attack my guest?" Hong Yuxun questioned the young man he held in his grasp. The special energy aura emanating from this person’s body instinctively filled him with disgust, even provoking an urge to slap him to death with a single palm strike.

"Spiritual Energy has risen, and my King is arriving. You mere blood food actually dare to harbor thoughts of resistance? Truly overestimating your capabilities!

"Today, I shall offer my blood and soul as a sacrifice to my King, welcoming his early descent into this world!!"

As he spoke, the opponent’s flesh and blood instantaneously burst into flames, directly penetrating the constraints of Hong Yuxun’s Martial Arts Domain and shooting up into the sky.

RUMBLE!

Drawn by this eerie Qi Blood, rolling dark clouds suddenly gathered in the void, accompanied by peals of startling thunder. Immediately after, countless beams of lightning abruptly flashed, spiraling and circling high in the sky like silver snakes. They soon formed a massive, sky-obscuring white vortex large enough to cover the entire Earth.

Seeing this, the color drained from Liu Zimo’s face, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief. He had witnessed and personally experienced this exact scene thirty years ago! This was the very worldly anomaly that erupted when Spiritual Energy went berserk and the Demon Calamity descended!

In just a few moments, countless Demon Beasts would traverse through this colossal white vortex in the void and arrive! The calamity of the human race and the suffering of the Post-Apocalypse would begin from here!

But... how did it suddenly happen so early?! In his previous life, the anomaly of the world’s drastic change had only begun on November 11th, Singles’ Day! How could it now be a full twenty-eight days early?!