Mist.. mist was everywhere as Duan Li opened his eyes."What.. what happened?" he said, trying to recollect his memories as the mist slowly dissipated.
He was sitting cross-legged atop one colossal boulder that extended far downwards like a steep slope. Still in a daze, he turned his head to look at his surroundings as he frowned. From the East to the West were stretches of mountains that seemed to extend far into the distance.
"This is.. the mountains bordering the Jiu and Liu Empire?" he thought to himself.
Duan Li stood up as he flew into the air slowly with his expression that still looked confused. After some distance away, he stopped mid-air to gauge his bearings and look back towards the place where he sat before.
His eyes opened wide in astonishment due to the ridiculous scene that he saw.
"T-that is not a boulder!" his mouth agaped.
Gulp!
"That is.. "
"T-the sh.e.l.l.. of an extremely colossal crab!" he exclaimed shockly.
The sh.e.l.l of this monstrous crab looked extremely tough and ancient, its hardness and appearance looked no different than the cliffs and rocks of a mountain!
He put on his guard as he observe this colossal crab. After a while, he realized that it was not moving at all.. it seems that it has died!
Duan Li flew and circled to the front of this crab and he was shocked once more.
This dead crab was actually..
Splitted in two!
And what he was seeing right now was just its other half!
Where is the other half?
Becoming extremely curious, he turned towards his surroundings while scanning the mountain ranges with his heavenly senses before he found out what he was looking for..
Just that this other half was..
About 50 kilometers away..!!
"A.. giant crab.. was split in two.. "
".. this size.. if the two was merged together.. its width would have easily reached five kilometers wide and about two kilometers in height!"
Duan Li swallowed his saliva.
"What.. what kind of a monstrous crab is this?!" he said feeling astonished and horrified at the same time.
Suddenly, his body shook.
p.r.i.c.k!
"URGH!!"
Duan Li clutched his head together as it suddenly feels like he was having a migrain attack!
Slowly, some memories began to surface onto his mind one after another.
"This monstrous crab.. is actually.. "
".. the mythical being from the deep ocean.. "
Million years old Hermit King, Crastesauros!!
He had read about this creature in a mural painted on the walls of a ruin during his expedition before.
His eyes flashed as he look towards the dead colossal crab and realized another startling factor;
"And it seems like.. "
".. the one.. who killed it.. "
".. was.. was.. "
".. me..?"
He stuttered in his words and struggled to finish that final sentence as if he could not believe it!
How?!
p.r.i.c.k!
More memories flooded into his brain as the pain increased by folds.
"ARGHH!" he shouted out.
Memories that he was actually undergoing trials right now and that this was just an illusion had alerted him back as the pain slowly subsided.
"I.. I remember now.. " he said.
It seems that he was undergoing the second test.. but he wasn"t supposed to realize that this was a test..
And at the same time time..
That memories seemed to be from the distant past to him..
What is going on?
Duan Li felt extremely puzzled!
In his confusion, a voice suddenly spoke within his mind.
"This.. "
".. is not a test!" said the voice that seemed ancient and archaic.
"W-what!? Who"s there!" exclaimed Duan Li in surprise as he put on his guard stance in a reflex.
"I am.. Ancestor Zong.. you do remember.. boy..?" said the voice.
Knowing that it was just Ancestor Zong who had just spoke, Duan Li exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Ancestor Zong, how are you.. able to speak to me.. in my head? Where are you now?" asked Duan Li as he look at his surroundings to find the ancestor.
Ancestor Zong chuckled.
"I.. never thought.. that you really are.. haa.." he said halfway in his sentence, ending it with a regretful sigh.
He then continued;
"I have already.. become the guardian spirit.. of this empire.. thanks to you.. boy.. thus.. speaking to you.. telephatically is not a.. problem.. as long as.. you are within.. the empire.. " replied Ancestor Zong.
Guardian spirit..?
"What do you mean Ancestor Zong..?"
Duan Li was becoming more and more confused. He tried to listen to the ancestor but at the same time, his brain was still throbbing as numerous random memories and information surged into his mind one after another, slowly piecing them together.
"Ancestor.. are you okay?" asked Duan Li as he noticed the voice to be extremely weak.
"Listen boy.. this is more.. important.." replied the ancestor.
"This is.. the future.. of the original timeline.. right now.. the whole Tian continent.. are fighting all out.. against the abominations.. "
"Nine Hermit Kings.. each are.. of colossal size.. they are the abominations.. that I have told you about.. eight years ago.. "
"You have slayed.. the first hermit king.. Crastesauros.. the weakest of them all.. currently.. the others are being.. a.s.saulted.. on each borders of each empire and kingdoms.. they are holding back.. for now.. but they will soon collapse.. !"
"You have to go.. to the northern-most Kingdom.. "
".. and make.. the last stand..!!"
Hearing what the ancestor just said, the final memories slipped inside his mind into place as everything became connected.
Duan Li"s hazy eyes slowly turned clear, but before long, his lips quivered and his heart palpitated..
His eyes opened wide..
He refused to believe it!
"The.. Jiu empire.. "
".. was.. destroyed..? " he said slowly. His expression unsightly.
...
Based on his memories of this future him, he was actually on his way to the kingdom on the further South as they suddenly requested an emergency a.s.sistance from him.
However, just as he had departed and was already halfway through his journey, one of the jade slip in his dimensional inventory within his ring..
Cracked and turned to ashes!!
He immediately stopped in his tracks startled, because that jade slip contained the spiritual Qi signature of Shen Lu, his martial arts teacher that was tasked to guard the gate of the Triding river town!
Realizing that something has gone wrong to the empire, he turned around and quickly bolted back to return to the empire.
But..
On his way back, more and more jade slips cracked and turned to ashes..
Ju Hai..
Ling Yu..
Dai Li..
w.a.n.g Guozhi..
Xiahou Yu..
and finally..
Meng Yue.. his mother!!!
Something has gone terribly wrong within the empire!
Realizing the dire state of the empire and the people he knew, Duan Li used numerous skills at his disposal to increase his speed, and he was bolting the Tian continent at an unprecedented speed closed to 100,000 kilometers per hour!
These caused intense vibrations in the air wherever he pa.s.sed.
Sonic booms followed by flashes of lightning and flames threatened to split the skies apart!
And then..
When he finally arrived at the borders of the Triding River Town gate.. what he saw was no more the same familiar scene of bustling atmosphere full of numerous activities and crowded people by the market, but instead..
What he saw was a scene of utter carnage and destruction!!
Buildings were flattened..
Flames was spread everywhere engulfing the majority part of the town..
Smokes were rising and billowing to the air similar to the eruption from a raging volcano!!
Countless dead bodies, dismembered and disfigured as if being trampled to their deaths by something colossal were laying everywhere!!
Witnessing this scene, Duan Li felt that this situation was like a nightmare..
He scanned the surroundings and could see familiar faces that were no longer alive..
His mind became blank as he advanced forward among these unfamiliar atmosphere that he was in.
Everything was destroyed..
When he finally reached the city of the empire.. the final glimmer of hope in his eyes dimmed entirely..
Dead bodies..
Flattened buildings..
Flames and smokes..
Utterly desolate..!
Almost bursting in insanity, Duan Li scanned his surrounding once more using his heavenly senses to search for any survivor so he could ask what has happened for the empire to be destroyed in a day..
To his surprise, he found the spiritual Qi of someone most familiar to him..
His mother!
Her life signature was extremely weak and this made his heart palpitated in fear.
Wasting no time, he bolted towards the location, his face paled like a white sheet as he found his mother laying weakly on the floor among the rubbles.
Her body was riddled with deep scars and fresh blood spewed out from her mouth. Her breathing grew increasingly weak with each exhalation.
His mother realized he was at her side in that moment, although she could no longer see or even hear, the senses of a mother goes beyond anything else.
She turned her head towards him and only managed to say a single sentence;
".. Run.. and survive.. mother.. Loves you.. "
Her eyes grew dim as her heartbeat halted to a stop.
His mother.. had pa.s.sed away..
At that moment, time seemed to stop for him as countless memories of his cheerful mother, and sometimes strict, her adorable expression and unbounded love flashed within his mind.
Thud!
Duan Li fell to his knees as the sky turned dark and the clouds rumbled with thunders and flashes of lightning. Heavy rain began to fall.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Realizing that he had lost his mother, Duan Li bellowed to the sky!!
His heart was filled with extreme grief..
Such that if it bleeded out blood, it would be enough to flood the Tian continent numerous times over!
His eyes turned red in rage and vengence with tears of blood flowing down his cheek!
"AHHHHHHH!!" he roared with clenched teeth and fists.
He bolted to the sky as high as he could, sounds of shockwave blasted the clouds and sky apart as he extended his heavenly sense to the maximum to scan for the one who was responsible for all that has happened.
When he finally found the source, not even caring the colossal size of the enemy that he had picked from his heavenly senses, he bolted straight to it as streaks of lightning encompa.s.sed his body.
He encountered the Hermit King Crastesauros and it was trying to cross the borders by trampling against the mountains.
With extreme rage burning within him, Duan Li focused all of his spiritual Qi within his dantian into a single needle point on his finger.
"One finger starlight slash!"
A burst of light beam streaked across the sky as it it hits the hermit king on the middle.
This is his strongest attack!!
That colossal crab was immediately pierced and split into two like hot b.u.t.ter, and the other half flew away due to the sudden cutting impact resulting that accursed creature to die in but an instant.
Breathing heavily, Duan Li stopped to rest at the top of the slained Crastesauros to absorb spiritual Qi to refill his empty dantian.
And after that, the situation is as now..
...
"Everyone.. is dead?" said Duan Li as his expression blanked out.
"Calm youself..!" yelled Ancestor Zong in his head.
"This is.. but a future.. that has not happened.. for you yet..!"
The ancestor started to breath haggardly.
"Now listen.. I do not have.. much time.. left.. go to the Northern most.. kingdom.. and fight.. to the last.. only then.. will your this ends.. "
"For the other empire.. and kingdoms.. it is already.. too late.. they are doomed.. go north.. make the last stand.. and witness yourself.. the terror.. of the Ancient One..!"
"Remember its strength.. our deaths.. our griefs.. our indignance.. and avenge us..!"
"Change the future.. do not let this.. happen.. once more.. only you.. the miracle.. can stop it.. "
"Goodbye.. boy.."
The voice of the Ancestor Zong then slowly disappeared as it finally went silent.
Duan Li knew, that as of that day, everyone he knew in the Jiu Empire, including the Ancestor Zong is of no more..
With both of his memories from the present and past merged together, Duan Li had become one in this future, and his eyes turned determined!
"I must.. change this future!"
Boom!
He then quickly bolted to the sky to reach the northern kingdom as soon as possible.
Pshewww!
...