Calamity of Tomorrow

Another "Awakened," Annie, furrowed her brows, "Heavenly Dao is by no means an easy adversary. To kill him, we must use every advantage we have, and be prepared to risk our lives."

Beside Annie, another "Awakened" youth spoke with some impatience, "No matter how strong he is, he's only one person. We've hidden our strength for so long, and now it's time for the whole world to witness our power."

The youth's face emerged from beneath his hood, covered in scales, and a pair of vertical pupils exuded a fierce beastly intent.

Li Xiuzhu said, "If we're going to do this, after we arrive in Donghua City, we still need to check the situation with Jiaojiao and Heavenly Dao, and gather some intelligence first."

"Once there, you should all scatter and collect information, and then reconvene. Be absolutely sure that you aren't discovered," Li Xiuzhu looked at Qian Wangsun beside him, "When the time comes, Qian Wangsun, you'll come with me, and we'll investigate together what's happening with Jiaojiao and Li Zhengdao."

"I'll use the Blood Transformation Divine Sword and the hexagrams myself..."

Annie objected urgently, "You want to use them all by yourself? You'll die right there..."

Li Xiuzhu waved his hand to stop Annie from continuing, "I have the highest cultivation here, and the most fully developed use of the Demon King's bloodline. Naturally, I should take on the Blood Transformation Divine Sword and the hexagrams. Moreover, I have the Great Sky Flipping Fist Intent, so even if my body can't keep up, I can still maintain my combat strength."

Qian Wangsun thought to himself as he observed the others, 'Awakened, the authorities of Sky Flipping Sect other than Li Xiuzhu, are also the Sect's secret weapons. They are cultivators who have harnessed the Demon King's power within their bloodline.'

'The great war between humans and demons, as beings capable of battling gods and immortals for countless years, the power of the Demon King is by no means inferior to that of gods and immortals. Among them, powerful demons and Demon Kings possess the strength to confront them head-on.

To develop the Demon King's power within oneself is another method to enhance human strength, apart from using mutated weapons.'

'Even my eyes, they are a manifestation of the Demon King's power.'

Thinking of this, Qian Wangsun felt somewhat strange; he would never have imagined that humans could wield the power of the Demon King.

It was then that Li Xiuzhu slowly took out a bottle of pills and said to the others, "This is the Demon King's Great Pill. After taking it, it can further stimulate the deep power of our bloodline's Demon King."

Annie exclaimed in surprise, "Where did you get such a thing?"

Li Xiuzhu replied, "I've told you before, while cultivating in the wilderness, I gradually mastered the Demon King's power to fight against corruption and mutation. But apart from my self-enlightenment, I also found a relic of the Demon King."

"What?!"

Everyone looked at Li Xiuzhu in shock; this was the first time they had heard of this.

Li Xiuzhu said, "In that relic, I found some Demon King cultivation methods and this bottle of Demon King's Great Pill.

However, the pill is not without side effects, apart from boosting the strength of the Demon King's bloodline, it will also trigger the Demon King's nature.

When I took it in the wilderness, it took me a full three months to overcome the inner demons. So while these pills will enhance your combat ability, I hope you won't take them unless absolutely necessary after I give each of you one."

Qian Wangsun also looked at the scene in amazement, thinking as he accepted the pill, 'With the Awakened's power, plus the Blood Transformation Divine Sword and the hexagrams that Li Xiuzhu has...'

Qian Wangsun compared inwardly, 'We should be able to defeat Heavenly Dao, right?'

His gaze shifted continuously, as if numerous phantasms were swirling around him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see clearly what the real future would look like.

Regardless of victory or defeat, one thing weighed heavily on his mind, making him want to speak out.

That was the scale of destruction that would befall Donghua City in the event that Sky Flipping Sect, the Grand Elder, and Heavenly Dao all went all out.

Especially if the plan failed, whether it was the Grand Elder losing control to complete mutation or Heavenly Dao unleashing his full power to slay them, the aftermath of the battle would likely be astonishingly far-reaching.

Qian Wangsun: "Once we start fighting, we might be able to control ourselves, but with the destructive power of immortals and gods, I'm afraid that we'll cause tremendous damage to Donghua City. The remnants of the battle could kill many people."

He suggested, "Can't we use the 27th Hexagram to let us and Hao Ran Tianjun fight within the alternate space of the 27th Hexagram? To reduce casualties before the battle begins."

The 27th Hexagram was an alternate space sealed within a landscape painting, and Li Xiuzhu had used this alternate space to steal the laboratory from the Heavenly Court.

But when he heard Qian Wangsun's request this time, he shook his head and sighed, "I'm sorry, I can't do that."

Qian Wangsun: "Why?"

Li Xiuzhu: "The immortals and gods have mastered the Luotian Dao Skill and have a far superior understanding of space. After reaching a Daoization degree of over 130%, they can open their own alternate space, the Luotian Realm. In terms of space, they are far more skilled than us."

Li Xiuzhu: "The 27th Hexagram is fine for sneaky thefts, but it's too dangerous to use it to trap an immortal or god. Once they lock us in and escape, or if they use the alternate space of the 27th Hexagram for something else, our entire plan will be a complete failure. I can't take that risk."

Qian Wangsun: "Then, can I contact the leaders of the Dao School to have the people on the level where Hao Ran Tianjun is located evacuate in advance..."

Li Xiuzhu looked at Qian Wangsun and sighed: "You know I can't do that. After the Heavenly Department settled in Donghua City, our people there have had a tough time and are far behind the Heavenly Department in intelligence. If we notify the public to evacuate in advance, it will definitely be discovered by the Heavenly Department."

Qian Wangsun's expression became firm: "Then are you planning to start a fight directly within Donghua City, within a city with a population of three hundred million? The immortal gods will have no scruples, and once they start, do you know how many people will die under the aftereffects of the battle?"

Qian Wangsun kept shaking his head: "Fighting directly in the city is too reckless, I absolutely disagree!"

Li Xiuzhu spoke slowly, "More than thirty years ago, during the great battle of Kunlun, the human race retreated, and the Kunlun heavenly palace was destroyed. Two billion people retreated eastward, and along the way, they were slaughtered by countless Heavenly Demons. I led a hundred thousand cultivators to cover the rear, my blood stained the sky, and hardly any of the whole army survived. The bodies I saw those days were even more than the living people I had ever seen."

"Since then, I told myself that this world needed to change."

Li Xiuzhu's expression became extremely solemn as he looked at Qian Wangsun, and he said word by word: "Qian Wangsun, the goal of the Sky Flipping Sect is to slaughter all the Heavenly Demons, to overthrow the Heavenly Court, to let humans take charge."

"This is not just some nice-sounding talk. To slaughter all the Heavenly Demons and overthrow the Heavenly Court, every word is filled with sacrifices that countless people must make, piled up with bodies and white bones.

It's not like when you were in Dao School, where nobody dies in a competition."

"Today, we decided to go to Donghua City not to protect Jiaojiao, not to protect Donghua City, but for the entire human race's cultural heritage and dignity."

"And this world is cruel. Many times, we can only choose the least terrible option from amongst several bad choices."

Qian Wangsun: "Is there really no perfect solution? Let's think about it! To protect Donghua City and to kill Hao Ran Tianjun..."

Annie: "Qian Wangsun, do you know who we are up against? Hao Ran Tianjun is a leader of the Heavenly Department, a big shot among the four divine gods. Just killing him will require our utmost effort. To be honest, of the several of us standing here today, it's likely that only one or two of us will survive."

Qian Wangsun looked at San Mei, who sighed and said: "Assassinating Hao Ran Tianjun is a top-secret mission known only by the five of us. It's a tactic based on striking within a time difference, and any action that could possibly reveal our intentions, I don't support."

The last young man, his face covered in scales, said: "Qian Wangsun, do you know how many people have been sacrificed and died up to this point in the research of aberrant weapons? Many of them were my comrades.

You want to protect the people of Donghua City, do you think I don't want to protect my comrades who have been sacrificed? Overthrowing the Heavenly Court isn't a matter of dining and wine but one of death. Pack away that naïve mindset of yours where you want to protect everyone.

Now that we've finally gained control over aberrant weapons and have the power to confront the Heavenly Court, we absolutely cannot fail."

The light in Qian Wangsun's eyes seemed to flicker continually; his mind was racing, trying to come up with a solution that achieves both goals.

But the more he thought, the more entangled he became. On one hand, there were the researchers who had been continuously making sacrifices for the study of aberrant weapons in recent days; on the other hand was his familiar Donghua City, his classmates and teachers.

He felt that whichever side he allowed to bear more danger and make more sacrifices, he couldn't convince himself.