Chapter 156: The Mysterious Legacy Activates
However, unlike the turmoil in foreign countries, the cause of turmoil in China was more because of verbal attacks from small and medium countries, as well as even big countries, as a result of them being green with envy.
Even the four big countries like India and Russia also verbally attacked China every once in a while.
The reason for this was very simple—to date, China was the stablest.
The public’s sentiments aside, China had always been top in the world in terms of their management of national affairs and the people’s safety and stability.
In terms of their combat power, the increasing number of Third Realm experts in China led to the alternate worlds in their borders being fairly peaceful.
The most maddening thing was that although many alternate worlds had appeared in China, there actually weren’t many powerful ones.
The strongest was probably the Hu County alternate world and the Gyeongmyeong alternate world.
However, these two alternate worlds had been given a sound thras.h.i.+ng by the ridiculously strong Tiger King. It was to the extent that no one dared to leave the alternate world anymore.
As for the others, it seemed like they themselves could intimidate those with ease.
India, Russia, and the other two big countries had all fired nuclear weapons within their borders, resulting in a significant number of casualties and deaths. China was the only one that hadn’t used nuclear weapons.
The spiritual energy density level in China was obviously the highest. By right, it should have been the most dangerous there. Yet, at this point, China was instead the safest and the stablest.
The spiritual energy density level was the highest there, and they had the best environment. Relatively speaking, there weren’t that many alternate worlds; neither were they that strong. They even had a ridiculously strong Tiger King, and the two seemed to have become friends. On top of that, they had even established the China Alliance.
In their eyes, it seemed like China had taken all the good stuff.
Adding all these factors together, how could the other countries in the world possibly not be green with envy?
Despite cooperation efforts between countries becoming closer and closer, to the extent that already several hundred thousand foreigners were cultivating in China by now, it nevertheless didn’t get in the way of other countries saying antagonistic things once in a while.
The most common one was demanding China to distribute their increasing number of Third Realm experts to other countries to help them.
Naturally, it was impossible for China to agree to such demands.
In the eyes of various countries, China had it all.
However, they were the only ones who knew about their own troubles.
Ever since the first Third Realm expert—apart from those from the Gyeongmyeong alternate world—discovered the situation and entered Earth, in the short span of three months, China had already lost two Third Realm cultivators.
Other countries thought that the alternate worlds in China weren’t strong, so they could easily secure their country and didn’t need to employ the use of nuclear weapons. However, that was a result desperately built upon human lives.
However, the other countries would never look at these things. All they saw was that China hadn’t even employed the use of nuclear weapons, which meant that they were having an easy time.
In any case, all of them had their own respective standpoints. All the human countries were fighting with one another.
Added to this the occasional use of nuclear weapons and various kinds of missiles, as well as the mult.i.tudes of fatalities, it ended up seeming like all the countries in the world were in turmoil.
All these happened in the short span of three months.
According to statistics, the number of deaths over the last three months as a result of alternate world experts’ invasions had reached over 1.8 million.
More than 200,000 deaths were from the big countries, while the remainder was all from small and medium countries.
The number of deaths resulting from various incidents of unrest reached a total of over 300,000.
A total of more than two million people died just like that.
It was as though their deaths were nothing more than just a series of numbers. People forgot about them right after looking at the numbers.
Then, all sorts of arguments and chaos continued.
During this period, some small countries were willing to give up everything and integrate into China or other big countries such as India and so on to form something like the China Alliance.
However, China, India, and the other big countries had all rejected them.
This was because those countries were too poor. On top of that, they had small populations. There weren’t many benefits even if they were to exploit them.
On top of that, the costs of migrating them over to their countries’ outer periphery were also too high.
There was also one more thing: there was a purpose in having those countries stay where they were.
They were just like pins stuck in various parts of Earth to represent the humans’ sovereignty.
Moreover, with them there, there was also more hope of discovering new world pa.s.sages.
All in all, due to various reasons, the China Alliance model had yet to spread and become common at this point.
Even China itself hadn’t integrated the third country into the China Alliance yet.
w.a.n.g Hu, who was living peacefully in the Tiger King’s Cave, had been quietly watching all the chaos.
He didn’t even have the slightest intention to intervene. The only thing that had surprised him somewhat was the two Chinese Third Realm cultivators that died.
He also got to know a little more about it subsequently. It was because a Grade A alternate world in a neighboring country near Chinese borders had suddenly invaded. China was caught off-guard and ended up suffering a significant loss.
However, they hadn’t asked him for help even until the very end when they finally repelled the invaders. This was despite the fact that his promise to help China kill two Divine Body Realm cultivators was still valid.
After thinking about it again, he surmised that… firstly, it was likely due to time constraints.
Secondly, they were capable of dealing with it. Thus, they didn’t want to waste the quota of two Divine Body Realm cultivators.
Three months had gone by. After using some Spirit Stones in his cultivation, w.a.n.g Hu’s shoulder height had reached 30 meters.
His combat power had also improved further. His base strength had reached the Fourth Floor, and he was getting nearer and nearer to China’s spiritual energy density level limit. They were already on the same level.
If he were to use Extreme Strength Strike of Dao, he could even straight-up surpa.s.s it.
He had also improved a little in all the other aspects. It was just that relatively speaking, now that he had reached his current level, the improvements in his strength were the most obvious and the greatest. As a result, the improvements in other aspects weren’t so obvious anymore.
He was just a small step away from thoroughly mastering the first stage of White Tiger Battle Art. As for the Wind-Riding Divine Art, he had already mastered the first stage, so his combat power had been enhanced to some extent.
Once he also mastered the White Tiger Battle Art and his base strength reached China’s spiritual energy density level limit, his combat power would reach new heights.
As for how strong concretely, he wouldn’t know… because he still hadn’t met his match yet.
There wasn’t anyone who was his match at the moment. When he reached said heights, there still wouldn’t be anyone who was his match.
However, even though it seemed as if there wasn’t any difference between the two and that no one would be his match in battle anyway, as time pa.s.sed and he became stronger; his arrogance and invincibility mindset were still constantly building up little by little.
Any kind of arrogance or invincibility mindset was built up just the same.
w.a.n.g Hu was precisely experiencing such a buildup right now.
To be honest, w.a.n.g Hu wasn’t entirely sure whether having such a mindset was good or not. This was because when that mindset grew to a certain extent, it would undoubtedly affect his actions and some of his decisions.
However, he couldn’t control the mindset’s development either… because he was indeed invincible on Earth now.
This was the truth. As a result, the mindset naturally became stronger.
There was no need to give him the talk about how there were a plethora of experts in the alternate worlds, so he was in no way invincible and was merely just being ignorantly arrogant.
One couldn’t compare it that way.
w.a.n.g Hu didn’t have any thoughts of going into alternate worlds to create any trouble at the moment either. His focus was still on Earth.
Of course, the presence of alternate world experts wasn’t entirely useless either.
It was precisely because of the existence of alternate world experts that w.a.n.g Hu constantly maintained the pressure and motivation to become stronger.
It helped to prevent his arrogant mindset—that he was invincible—from turning into blind arrogance.
The existence of alternate world experts and his arrogant mindset of invincibility were two different things.
Or perhaps, to put it more accurately, a major part of this arrogant mindset of invincibility of his was confidence.
It was confidence in himself.
It was the confidence that given enough time, no matter how strong the alternate world experts were, what could they do to him?
Confident people were even more charismatic and more determined.
This could also be considered a kind of metamorphosis in one’s will and essence.
In any case, as time went by, w.a.n.g Hu could feel that he was indeed changing.
His actions when he was facing the animals were becoming even more majestic, domineering, compelling, and so on.
Sometimes, w.a.n.g Hu felt that it somewhat resembled the arrogance and sense of domineeringness around Silly Girl.
It was ingrained in his soul and unlike what he had forcibly presented on the surface in the past.
Although this wasn’t—by any means—a trivial matter, it was something that he could only muse over it by himself occasionally.
Gradually, w.a.n.g Hu stopped thinking too much about it. He would just let nature take its course instead.
It was good if this could continue, too, because this meant that he could continue to be invincible.
On this day, w.a.n.g Hu was reading some commentaries by foreign countries. Among them, a rather ludicrous conspiracy theory caught his attention.
‘China is the one behind all of this. Otherwise, how do you explain why China is the only one that’s unique? And how their spiritual energy density level is higher than every other place?
‘Or how they are so lucky? They’ve even experienced two extra rounds of spiritual energy nourishment…’
To summarize the whole article, the author was saying that the awakening of spiritual energy itself was China’s ploy.
All of it was China’s ploy.
This theory was undoubtedly very ludicrous, but w.a.n.g Hu suddenly felt a bit of a vague and odd feeling.
It seemed like… relatively speaking, China’s luck was indeed the best.
As he thought about it, he couldn’t help but show the article to Silly Girl next to him.
“Look at this, Baijun. I think the theory is pretty interesting.”
Di Baijun curled her lip after she finished the article. She said disdainfully and arrogantly, “How stupid. Those people may not know any better, but would you not know either? Of course, there’s a conspiracy going on here.”
w.a.n.g Hu looked at Silly Girl in astonishment.
It seemed like Di Baijun wanted to knock down the rascal, who had been pus.h.i.+ng his luck further and further recently, a peg or two the moment she found a chance to.
She said haughtily, “To think you still can’t see it when we’ve already reached this point in time. You’re really so stupid… and after I’ve taught you so much, too.
“Of course, China has been scheming something. The spiritual energy density level, the many alternate worlds in China, the abnormal world pa.s.sage, the Era of Severance, and so on… isn’t it very obvious that someone’s setting up something?
“They’re setting up something very big where China is definitely the center of it all. This may just be a setup by China’s forebears.”
w.a.n.g Hu had nothing to say to that. He had also thought about all these before; it’s just that he hadn’t been that sure all this time. He had purely just been wondering about it, that’s all.
Little did he expect Silly Girl to be so sure.
“What do you think they’re setting this up for?” asked a somewhat frowning w.a.n.g Hu.
“What else can it be? They must have encountered some kind of accident or powerful enemy in the past, so all of them died in battle. The setup is to allow their descendants to emerge as a force,” replied a very unimpressed Di Baijun.
w.a.n.g Hu looked at her curiously and asked, “Aren’t you curious? Or worried?”
“What’s there to be curious about? It’s not like I’m human anyway? And what am I supposed to worry about? So what even if they’re setting something up?
“They’re just a bunch of dead people. What’s there to be worried about?
“Worse comes to worst, we’ll just destroy the setup. I’ll definitely make whoever dares to scheme against me regret their actions.”
Di Baijun balled up her fists. Her incomparable arrogance, confidence, domineeringness, and momentum as if she had the courage to change the world humbled even the current w.a.n.g Hu.
Then, he felt a little guilty. What he did wasn’t considered scheming against her, right?
No, it definitely didn’t count. What he was doing was pursuing her instead.
Pursuing the mother of my children is something that’s perfectly justified. How can anyone consider it scheming?
Besides, among the ones who are privy to it, who would dare to say anything?
The faces of Old Second, Old Third, Su Ling, and others who might spill the secret flashed across his mind. He secretly snorted and thought: See if I don’t give them such a hard time they’d rather die.
After suppressing the bit of guilt in him, w.a.n.g Hu was filled with even more love and fondness for Silly Girl.
This bada.s.s Silly Girl is my wife. Countless men are going to die of envy.
He couldn’t help but s.h.i.+ft a little and go forward to hug that soft and fragrant body.
“You jerk, let go of me. I’m going to cultivate.”
“You can cultivate later. Let me hug you first.”
“Why are you so annoying?”
“You’re the only one I pester. I won’t pester anyone else even if they ask for it.”
“You jerk. You’re so detestable.”
…
Ten days later…
The moon was bright, and the stars were few. Everything seemed incredibly normal.
Suddenly, a hint of light seemingly appeared in 24 spots in China at the same time, with two particular spots being especially blinding.
However, as though an illusion, they disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Then, at one of the spots in the southwest, a calm and serene voice vaguely rang out in a crypt of unknown size hidden in the depths of the mountains.
“The legacy has been activated. Everything shall hinge on this. It’s time that we thoroughly pa.s.s on as well.”
Then, the voice slowly dissipated as though it had never once appeared, leaving behind only the crypt that continued to exist there coldly and quietly—as though waiting for the moment where it would resurface in the world once again.
Not a single existence noticed the silent incident, even China itself. It was as if what happened earlier, as well as those two especially bright lights, had really never happened.
Only two people in the enormous China suddenly felt as if they had understood something amid their stupor.