Chapter 673: Before the End & Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth
Chapter 673: Before the End & Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth
Meng Qi and Wu Yijun, as well as the other soul evolvers and soldiers who had been left in the third pagoda to organize the books, did not come out until after three in the morning, but by the time they used the teleportation circle and emerged into the outside world once again, the place they saw was no longer the same as it had been a few hours earlier.
The destruction had spread as far as the eyes could reach and the smell of blood was still clearly lingering in the atmosphere. In addition, they occasionally spotted pools of blood that had not yet dried completely as proof that not long ago a big battle had raged in this place.
The ruins were very well hidden, so even with the attacks of Bai Zemin and Kang Guiying shaking the earth the people in the third ruin did not hear or feel anything at all.
Had it not been for the fact that a soldier had been stationed at the entrance of the third pagoda and told them that Bai Zemin was waiting for Meng Qi and Wu Yijun in his tent, as well as the fact that no one had died despite the difficulties the group faced, they all might have been too scared to step forward.
There was no need to say it but when Meng Qi saw Bai Zemin lying on his temporary bed inside his tent, the girl almost fainted on the spot and it wasn’t until she saw how little but surely he was improving that she finally managed to barely regain her composure. Even then, she refused to move from his side and carefully helped her brother wipe away the beads of sweat that occasionally ran down his face as a result of the overwhelming pain.
As for Wu Yijun…. She directly broke into tears with a pale face and no matter what others said to her she didn’t seem to be listening to anyone. The pitiful beauty didn’t even realize it but actually fell asleep on her knees next to Bai Zemin’s bed with her upper body resting there, and it wasn’t only until Shangguan Bing Xue prepared a temporary bed for her next to Bai Zemin’s that she finally relaxed a bit.
As they had agreed earlier, Xia Ya appeared at Bai Zemin’s tent a few hours later but her expression became a bit weird when she saw that apart from Shangguan Bing Xue, there were more women in the place.
Bai Zemin was asleep but apart from Shangguan Bing Xue sitting by his bedside, there was also Meng Qi watching over him from the other side and Wu Yijun was sleeping just a few inches from him.
Be that as it may, it was not Xia Ya’s business what peculiar relationships the four people may or may not have, she woke up Bai Zemin with the help of Shangguan Bing Xue and used Healing of the Cursed on him 4 times before stopping as she could no longer tolerate the pain. Xia Ya really did not understand how Bai Zemin was not screaming and rolling on the ground at this moment.
After those four healings, Xia Ya left to her own tent and came back 6 hours later to heal Bai Zemin another 4 times. When she returned 6 hours later, the number increased to 5.
The skill ‘Healing of the Cursed’ of Xia Ya was dangerous and also had drawbacks, however, it was also true that it was more powerful than Kang Lan’s skill when it came to helping to recover deep wounds and expel harmful energy from the body.
Three days later and under the constant care of Xia Ya, as well as the ten daily activations of Overlap Regeneration, Bai Zemin stood up and for the first time in over 72 hours, he saw the sun’s radiance again when he stepped out of his tent.
He stretched out both arms toward the sky and the bones in his body made noises similar to thunder rumbling in the sky or a beast announcing its awakening after being sealed for too long.
“Phew… Back to being me really is good.” Bai Zemin said as he made some circular waist movements to decontract his body.
Shangguan Bing Xue came out of the tent behind him and couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Bai Zemin’s movements, “What kind of dance is that?”
Other than Lilith, Shangguan Bing Xue was the only person who had been by Bai Zemin’s side at practically every moment except for a few punctual ones as Meng Qi had to continue studying about runes and magic circles while Wu Yijun needed to help keep everything in order together with her mother Sun Ling and the other guild leaders.
“This dance is meant for mating.” Bai Zemin said with a serious expression on his face.
“You…” Shangguan Bing Xue had an expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry on her face. She shook her head and said with an amused smile, “I’m not playing with you. I realize with each passing day that without that skill Stone Heart you are a natural prankster.”
“I couldn’t agree with you more this time.”
Lilith’s voice echoed next to the duo. She even sounded a bit speechless as she said those words.
During the three days that passed, Bai Zemin was bored to death, so, naturally, Shangguan Bing Xue and Lilith became the targets on which he vented his boredom. No matter the manner but somehow Bai Zemin always found ways to tease the two or make them laugh with unanticipated words.
Therefore, Shangguan Bing Xue was now quite resistant to blushing due to certain words Bai Zemin would casually say. She also wouldn’t get angry if from time to time he told a joke that if someone else told it would probably end up turning into an ice statue.
“Alright, enough rest.” Bai Zemin stretched his right hand toward the sky and while extending his mana to find his weapon he said in a deep voice, “Bing Xue, gather everyone above level 25. We are going into the fifth pagoda soon.”
“Okay.” Shangguan Bing Xue nodded and her sexy body swayed gently.
She disappeared in an instant from the place.
Swoosh!
Crimson Thunder Dragon’s Last Words, which had been on the central part of the square all this time because no one could really move it more than a few steps due to its weight unless people like Zhong De and Huang Tian joined in with powerful active skills, soared through the skies as Bai Zemin’s mana seemed to wake it from its eternal slumber and just like a small animal returning home it fell heavily into Bai Zemin’s right hand.
Bai Zemin frowned slightly as he looked at the sword in his hands, and when the weapon’s records flashed in his eyes, a flash of bitterness accompanied the green letters.
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[Crimson Thunder Dragon’s Last Words –
[Two-Handed Sword.]
[Rank: 3]
[Physical Attack Power: 10,000]
[Options –
[1: Weight increases by 50% when it meets resistance and decreases by 50% in the hands of its creator].
[2: Releases flashes of lightning with each swing that have the ability to numb the enemy].
[3: The creator can use mana to draw Crimson Thunder Dragon’s Last Words towards him].
[Durability: 2,760 / 9,000]
[Description: A weapon that was forged by a blacksmith that slowly begins to be worthy of being called by that name. The soul and desire of the creator of this greatsword seem to have the will to destroy everything and his desire was granted when he used the power of a Second Order Soul Stone belonging to an existence focused purely on physical strength].
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“But what the hell…” Bai Zemin was in disbelief as he looked at the Durability of his weapon in shock.
Even if the fists of a Fourth Order existence were strong and tough they shouldn’t be able to decrease the Durability of the Crimson Thunder Dragon’s Last Words by almost 7000 points with just two attacks! If that was the case then there would be no weapons among the Lower Existences that could be of any use as they would all be destroyed quickly!
The greatsword was not only coated with cracks but it was also less shiny than before and the crimson lightning looked a lot weaker compared to the lightning that always danced around the weapon with high power.
Curious, Lilith also touched the hilt of the weapon with her small hand, but when the greatsword’s records flashed in her ruby eyes, she couldn’t help but frown slightly.
“How strange…” She mumbled in confusion. “What’s going on here…?”
Bai Zemin suddenly frowned and said in a low voice, “…. Could it be…?”
Lilith looked at him in confusion but Bai Zemin said nothing and instead searched through his latest recently obtained records. He ignored the healings received and activations of other skills, only focusing on his deepest soul records so it didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for.
During the past few days, he had spent most of his time resting both physically and mentally so he didn’t even for a moment think about past events, he only focused on recovering as fast as possible using Blood Manipulation, Overlap Regeneration, and receiving Healing of the Cursed from Xia Ya.
“Here it is!”
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[You have learned Third Order active skill level 4 ‘Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth’].
[Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth (Third Order active skill) level 4: Mass destruction skill with a single target as the main focus. At its peak, this skill has the ability to make the heavens cry and the earth beg for mercy in the face of its power.]
[Activation requires a heavy blunt weapon of great weight and size with more than 5000 Durability points, a flame of Third Order or higher, 3000 Strength points or more.]
[Effect 1: Destroys all life within 100 km around that the user identifies as ‘enemy’ and whose general stat points are less than 50% compared to those of the user.]
[Effect 2: Suppresses by 20% the target enemy’s physical attack power during the moment of impact and decreases the physical defense by 30%. Increases the attack power of the weapon wielded by the user by 100% for 6 seconds.]
[Consumes 4000 Durability points 10 seconds after the skill triggers.]
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Bai Zemin’s expression was uncertain after reading the records of his skill learned in the middle of combat but after several seconds it turned bitter and considerably ugly.
“Great. Another mass destruction skill.” He nodded under his lover’s confused eyes and said in a growling voice, “A skill that my current self can’t use at will because I don’t have the necessary stats and that consumes 4000 Durability points of my weapons per use. Cool!”
Bai Zemin shared the records of the skill ‘Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth’ with Lilith, and when she saw it, she finally understood the reason why he said those words a moment ago.
“That skill is really scary. Mainly due to the fact that in your hands, with your stats, there will come a point where even-” Lilith stopped midway and changed what she was going to say, “But, it’s really a shame that you can’t use this skill now…. Besides, that consumption of 4000 Durability points is really insane taking into account that the Durability of your greatsword is considerably high even for some Rank 4 gears.”
“… Simply put, even if I get a better weapon, I’ll only be able to use this skill a couple of times at most.” Bai Zemin sighed before thinking aloud, “Looks like I’ll have to use Annihilation of the Falling Sky in that case…”
Lilith’s pupils trembled slightly and a flash of surprise shone in her eyes when she remembered that in Bai Zemin’s possession was an indestructible weapon.
It was as if all of the fate aligned perfectly before him, as if the universe itself wanted to reward him for his hardships. Now, even Annihilation of the Falling Sky had great use despite its relatively low attack power as with it Bai Zemin could sweep away all his enemies within 100 kilometers!
Furthermore, what Lilith did not say before was that at this rate, with ‘Rumbling the Heavens, Shaking the Earth’, there would come a point where Bai Zemin could devastate Higher Existences with a single swing of his weapon!
“I guess I’ll have to do some quick repairs before heading to the fifth pagoda.” Bai Zemin sighed.
Bai Zemin looked for Shangguan Bing Xue and told her that before going on the last expedition to these ruins, he would first have to repair his weapon, something she quickly understood and told him not to worry.
He thanked her and Sun Ling before heading to one of the ice wagons; the one containing the forging tools.
“Who would have thought that the first use of these precious tools would be to repair a weapon and not to forge a new one.”