Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 395
Then, the hill suddenly exploded. A gargantuan figure almost a hundred meters long gradually revealed itself in the dirty smoke!
What a terrifying apocalyptic beast it was!
It looked like an Iron Ore Worm, except that it was ten times larger. The length of its body that had crept out of the ground was already almost a hundred meters long, and its width was close to ten meters. Sharp thorns covered its body. Different sections of the body were twisting and revolving in different directions, making it look like a super large excavator!
The apocalyptic beast that looked like a longicorn just now was merely an ant compared to the newcomer!
A heavy tank was precisely on the spot where the new apocalyptic beast dug out of the ground. It had been blown into the sky, only to be wolfed down by the apocalyptic beast in the next moment.
BOOM!
The remaining cannonballs and crystals inside the heavy tank exploded. Two vast fireballs popped out of the super-large worm. Yet, it couldn't have cared less about it and simply spurted a mouthful of flames as if it were burping after it swallowed the remains of the burning tank.
"This—this is a calamity-level apocalyptic beast?"
"A second calamity-level apocalyptic beast?"
Everybody was dumbfounded. Even the chiefs of the other tribes were lost for words for a moment.
In the time of urgency, Xiong Wuji leapt down from the cliff and fully released the terrifying capability of the 99th level of the Refinement Stage. Like a falling star, he landed on the head of the super-large worm within a breath, and he slashed down his three-meter long saber!
DANG!
The saber and the super-large worm's head collided in a thunderous sound. The saber cut deep into the super-large worm's head and almost slashed its circular mouthpart into two halves, but it was pinched by the worm and Xiong Wuji failed to withdraw it quickly!
The super-large worm retreated underground in agony.
But Xiong Wuji was absolutely fearless. Spiritual gas surged out of his fists, which were expanding crazily in furious flames, as he punched the mouthpart of the super-large worm time and time again.
After each punch, several tusks of the worm were smashed into pieces!
The worm and the warrior slowly sank underground just like that!
The earth was still shaking violently nonstop.
Everybody was stunned at what they saw. Li Yao was the first to come to himself. He quickly run to the edge of the cave that the super-large worm had slithered out of, only to discover that the cave was too deep to measure and seemed to lead to the center of the planet!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The earth was as unsteady as an ocean that was experiencing a tsunami. A bump dozens of meters high would rise up; next, countless hollows would collapse, revealing the bottomless holes below from which smelly air currents were spraying out.
The crags on the two sides of the canyon were collapsing. Minor downfalls were taking place everywhere!
It was not until the intense quakes lasted almost twenty minutes that the super-large worm rushed out of the cave in the center of the battlefield again, except that it was extremely lethargic this time. Hardly had it craned its head out of the ground when it collapsed and screamed miserably, writhing.
After it rolled on the ground for five minutes, the super-large worm gradually lost momentum. Like a water bag that was riddled with holes, bluish bodily fluids flowed out from its wounds, and it slowly shriveled up.
From its mouthpart, which had lost almost all its teeth, a man neither tall nor strong walked out unhurriedly.
Everybody gasped.
His body was stained with thick liquids that seemed to be very corrosive. Many of his body parts had been eroded to the bones. His right arm had been cut apart from the elbow. Blood was springing out from the wounds and leaving a red river while he stepped forward.
He was literally drawing a blood line as he made each step!
Li Yao, Sha Yulan, Wu Mayan, and the rest of the qi-trainers of the Furious Bears Tribe hurried to rush forward to support him.
"Chief!"
Before Xiong Wuji collapsed to the ground, Li Yao and Wu Mayan, one from the left and the other from the right, caught him in time. The man had the weight of a mountain!
"Father Xiong!"
Wu Mayan looked at Xiong Wuji's vanishing right hand and knew that the worm must've swallowed it and grinded it into pieces; it was impossible to get it back. He was so worried that his eyes turned red.
"Don't cry."
Xiong Wuji still had the strength to smile. He said softly, "I still have a left hand. It is enough for me to resist another apocalypse outbreak and earn you twenty years of time. Twenty years later, when a third battle of apocalypse begins, it will be little ones such as you who must really play your part!"
"Father Xiong!"
Wu Mayan sniffed hard, trying to hold back his tears. Yet, his voice was shivering. "How did you know that there was another calamity-level apocalyptic beast and that it would be such a large one?"
"Because the previous one was too weak."
Xiong Wuji said softly, "Judging from the scale of the apocalypse cloud, enormous energy should've been contained inside the egg of apocalypse. But the apocalyptic beasts born from it were too weak and were almost annihilated by us within one day. Even the 'calamity-level beast' that showed up at the end was weaker than it should have been.
"If history is any reference, several experts above the 70th level of the Refinement Stage should have to sacrifice themselves in order to slay a calamity-level beast. But this time, barely any of us were seriously hurt. It definitely did not feel right.
"Only 70% of the resources were used to produce those apocalyptic beasts. Where did the remaining 30% resources go?
"Therefore, I estimated that there was another calamity-level beast. No. In fact, it was the only real calamity-level beast in this battle against the apocalypse!"
Li Yao took a deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.
Going underground and slaying a calamity-level beast purely on his own!
That was exactly what Xiong Wuji, the strongest expert on Iron Plateau in the 99th level of the Refinement Stage and the best warrior of the six tribes, had done!
Chapter 586: Victory Ceremony! |
Five days after the battle of apocalypse…
Eggs of apocalypse were not simple meteorites; they were more like queer plants whose roots could reach thousands of meters below the ground to absorb the nutrition and various other resources in the deep mother lodes in order to produce terrifying apocalyptic beasts.
Based on the technology of Iron Plateau and the trend of development, such deeply buried assets could not have been exploited within the next few hundred years.
Therefore, the corpses of the apocalyptic beasts and the broken pieces of the eggs of apocalypse after they exploded were all extremely valuable.
From the dead bodies of the beasts, the Iron Plateau natives could not only collect the unreachable resources from underground but also gather a lot of super alloys that could not be synthesized by themselves.
Only after clearing the battlefield for five days were all the dead bodies and broken pieces on the ground scrutinized and amassed. Still, below the ground, the roots of the meteorite were still waiting to be excavated.
Such resources would help the torch of humanity on Iron Plateau burn for the next ten years.
According to the custom, all the warriors participating in the battle of apocalypse were invited to Furious Bears City regardless of which tribe they belonged to.
A grand carnival, which would last ten days and ten nights, began in Furious Bears City. The qi-trainers from the other five tribes, as the most honorable guests, received the best treatment for their life-and-death fights, which had saved countless people from the Furious Bears Tribe.
The young qi-trainers from different tribes also took the opportunity to get to know each other and tried to build up their social network. Some of their lifelong brothers were actually met in such occasions.
Many other young men were entertaining themselves day and night after they were drunk.
Iron Plateau was quite open-minded in this regard. For the survival of the civilization, the strong experts were expected to have more children. Such 'communication' between tribes was of paramount importance to improve the bloodlines of the certain tribes. Not only was it not forbidden, it was even something that was encouraged.
The children conceived on such occasions were all valuable treasures. They would not be despised even if they did not know who their father was. The tribe would offer a lot of allowances to the children to help them grow healthily and set them on the path of training.
All in all, for ordinary people and the low-level qi-trainers, this was the moment of pleasure after a life-threatening battle!
As for the leadership of the six tribes, they had gathered in Furious Bears City, too, to discuss the credits of every warrior in the battle and distribute the trophies accordingly.
They would also try to settle the minor conflicts that had arisen between the tribes over the past ten years and those that might occur in the next ten years due to the different ideologies of development. They would revise the rules on how to handle such conflicts when they happened, too. Essentially, it was a grand alliance meeting for the six tribes.
The six tribes of Iron Plateau had kept the fire of civilization burning for thousands of years due to such a convention.
Furious Bears City had now become an ocean of excitement. Although night had fallen, the city was as bright as day because of the brilliant lights. All the chimneys were spurting steam that were mixed with fireworks crystals nonstop. The smoke was colorful and dazzling in the night sky, constituting glittering clouds and illuminating Furious Bears City as if it were a flamboyant paradise.
There was nothing but cheers and laughter on the street. After going through life and death together, even the qi-trainers from the Burning Sun Tribe, the Feathered Snakes Tribe, and the Giant Axe Tribe, who had been in a bad relationship with the host tribe, had become the most welcomed guests. Whenever they saw qi-trainers from the other five tribes, the residents of Furious Bears City would crowd forward unanimously and lift them high into the sky as if they were great heroes.
Many passionate girls were also taking the opportunity to whisper their addresses to them or even simply slipping little notes on which their addresses were written into the qi-trainers' pockets.
On a corner of Sha Yulan's hospital, inside a single ward, Li Yao was emotionless as if he were in a vacuum because he was fully focused on the refinement of a magical equipment component.
Over the past month, he had been living in this place. This particular ward had been modified into a minor workshop by him.
The heavy work such as forging and tempering had to be done in the weapon factory, but the delicate work such as polishing, micro-carving, and assembling could be done in this place.
After the battle against the apocalypse, Li Yao did not waste any second in celebration; he was dedicated to the maintenance of the Sky Scorpion Armor and the recreation of his tank.
The work took him three days. During his spare time, he also drafted a brand-new design after thorough consideration, and he had finally created a piece of new magical equipment based on the design.
Ka Da!
Li Yao placed the last gear into the magical equipment and sent a stream of spiritual gas into it softly. The five iron fingers of the magical equipment immediately started bouncing agilely.
What he had refined was a True Qi artificial arm.
By altering the angle, intensity and direction of the inputting spiritual gas, the fingers could be manipulated very nimbly.
It was not a piece of delicate magical equipment per se, but Li Yao had put a lot of thought into the materials of the artificial arm, and he was certain that he had done the job with the best of his skills in tempering.
He had employed every forging technique he knew, such as 'Casting Dragon Scales' and 'Seven Layered Heavens'. At first glance, it was just a black, unattractive artificial arm made of iron, but in fact, it was much harder than many artificial arms made of super alloys. Also, it was packed with spiritual gas tubes and spurts both inside and outside. Therefore, it was particularly suitable for qi-trainers.
Xiong Wuji's capability had been greatly compromised after he lost his right arm. If he put on the artificial arm, the loss could be made up for more or less.
Li Yao squinted and appreciated his masterpiece, greatly satisfied. Dwelling in the world of magical equipment, he found himself unconcerned of the liveliness and laughter in the city.
Right then, somebody knocked the door rapidly. Li Yao knew it was Wu Mayan the moment he heard the sound.
Parceling the artificial arm with a grey cloth carefully and putting it into his backpack, Li Yao opened the door.
"Uncle Sand Scorpion!"
Wu Mayan was quite excited. His hair and clothes were both somewhat messy; there was no telling how many girls had tried to stop him while he was on his way to the hospital. "Father Xiong asked me to invite you to join the ceremony tonight!
"He knows that you prefer quietness to rambunctiousness. However, it is different tonight. It's the ceremony for all qi-trainers!"
Wu Mayan explained what would happen while they walked forward. Li Yao only learned at this moment that, according to the tradition of the six tribes of Iron Plateau, only the warriors who participated in the battle of the apocalypse would be considered real qi-trainers. The purpose of the ceremony was to grant the title of 'qi-trainer' to the participants of the battle such himself!
Since there were too many qi-trainers who had joined the battle against the apocalypse, the ceremony was conducted in the central squares of all five districts in Furious Bears City. Li Yao and Wu Mayan arrived at the main square, which was the largest of all.
The ceremony had long begun. Hundreds of colorful bonfires were burning in the vast square, each surrounded by a circle of food. Hundreds of qi-trainers were talking and laughing as they patted each other's shoulders. Some of the qi-trainers were dancing wildly and excitedly around their bonfire, while some others, who were half drunk, were wrestling half for real and half for fun. The ambience was both warm and friendly.
Wu Mayan brought Li Yao to a bonfire, which seemed to be occupied by the young experts who had greatly distinguished themselves in the previous battle of the apocalypse. Their arrival caught everyone's attention.
Three of the young experts stood up. They were wearing the badges of Burning Sun, Feathered Snakes, and Giant Axe respectively.
Li Yao recognized that they were his comrades who had fought against the giant longicorn together with him. According to Wu Mayan, they were the top experts in the younger generation of the three tribes.
"Guan Hao, of the Giant Axe Tribe!"
A lofty and strong young man, with a disproportionately big head and a square face that looked like the body of an axe, grinned at Li Yao.
"Lan Yi, of the Feathered Snakes Tribe!"
A slender woman with red hair, which was tied up with two gold serpents, was eyeing Li Yao with great interest.
"Yan Chifeng, of the Burning Sun Tribe."
Yan Chifeng looked like an ordinary man. His height and weight were not impressive for an Iron Plateau native, but his fists were shockingly big and seemed abnormal compared to his other body parts. He must've put a lot of hard work into his hands.
Yan Chifeng seemed to be the leader of the three. There was not much delight on his face. He said to Li Yao solemnly, "I thought that Xiong Zhenzhen and Shi Meng were the strongest warriors in the younger generation of the Furious Bears Tribe. However, your performance was doubtlessly the most brutal of all in the battle of the apocalypse.
"Over the past few days, we've trained with Xiong Zhenzhen and Shi Meng several times in Furious Bears City, with victories and failures on both sides. But it was quite a shame that we never found you! Today, we finally meet each other formally. However, it is the ceremony, and we cannot fight properly. If so, what is the point of meeting? Why don't we make an appointment now so that we can fight each other to our hearts' content next time we meet?"
As it turned out, the man was truly an out-and-out training maniac. He seemed to be unaware of the notion of small talk at all and went directly to the topic of fighting the moment they met each other!
However, it matched Li Yao's taste precisely.
After the battle of the apocalypse, Li Yao sensed that he had a deeper understanding about the utilization of spiritual gas. Also, he had gained a lot of experience on the blood-soaked battlefield. There were signs that he might make a breakthrough soon, but he did not know whom to turn to yet.
Before, he had been communicating with Xiong Wuji. However, Xiong Wuji had suffered heavy wounds in the battle. Not only did he lose his right arm, his internal organs and his brain had also been severely affected. There was no way that the chief could practice with him after only several days.
Now that the three young experts had fed themselves to his mouth, he couldn't have been happier to accept them.
Therefore, he nodded and said coarsely, "I will be training in the temple of techniques tomorrow morning."
The three of them immediately beamed with joy. Guan Hao, the expert from the Giant Axe Tribe, laughed and remarked, "Excellent. Very straightforward. As expected of the most brilliant nova in the battle of the apocalypse! Let's bring Wen Renxiao of the Silver Moon Tribe and Gao Lang of the Heaven Wolves Tribe tomorrow. The six of us will fight until we are all satisfied!"
Such practices were necessary for the six tribes because the young experts were likely to become the pillars of their respective tribes in the battles of the apocalypse in the decades to come, and they would fight side by side one day as the main force to resist the calamity-level beasts!
Therefore, it was very important that they knew each other's capability clearly.
