“Boss, Xiang Ning’s already crippled, what value do they see in him? Why’s Sect Master Fang so anxious about him?” Outside the Thunder Dojo, Fang Hao and his squad were heading toward five heavily armored tanks parked there. 

When Fang Hao heard the contempt in his teammate’s tone, he stopped and side-eyed him. No words were spoken, but that was enough for him to obediently shut up, secretly panicking! 

“Hmmph!” Fang Hao huffed and paid him no mind. “If it happens again, you don’t need to come to Thunder Dojo ever again.” 

Everyone knew that Fang Hao was the future head of the Thunder Dojo. Ever since his brush with death in the wilderness, he seemed to have changed as a person. Not only did his cultivation skyrocket but the mastery of martial skills also came naturally to him. He was only twenty but had achieved Peak Mastery in a skill, much to many people’s admiration. Based on his progress, he was on track to become tier seven. Everyone fought for a place next to a person with such a bright future. 

“Yes boss, I’ll be more careful next time.” 

Although the man said that, he was still privately a little resentful. He knew that in this war against beasts, killing a large number of them meant not only receiving monetary rewards, but also recognition from the federal government, breathing techniques, martial skills, martial styles, etc. It wasn’t that he was lacking in those departments, but if he could also get some special title, he would hold special privileges. Also, his reputation would be elevated. Marsh City was a small city, but he could use it as a stepping stone to a large city. 

With such a rare opportunity in front of him, how could he be happy if the chance was ruined by a brat with no cultivation? 

......

Fang Hao had no time to wonder what his subordinates were thinking. He was worried that something might happen to Xiang Ning. And if that happened, what about Fang Rou? She had given him instructions to take good care of Xiang Ning in Marsh City like she was more worried for him than for her brother. To be honest, he was still thinking of taking revenge for stealing away his sister. But he thought about the recent events and could only sigh. 

On the other side, Xiang Ning rushed to the Chaos. He opened the door when more than ten rifles were pointed at his head, sending chills down his spine. 

But that only lasted one second. Who didn’t recognize Xiang Ning there? 

He was a boy who looked like a high schooler but frequented a research facility. Since Chaos was a place no ordinary person could go, anyone could guess that he was a young genius who was qualified to participate in research. 

What other people couldn’t figure out was whether Xiang Ning was the one conducting research or the subject of said research. 

Xiang Ning was famous there based on his own abilities. He was a martial artist with exceptional abilities, it wouldn’t be strange if they were conducting research on him. Every time he appeared, his entry was so uneventful and smooth that it only inspired more curiosity, because they knew how powerful he must be to enjoy such a carefree freedom of entry and exit.

Today, he looked strange, because he used to look sickly without any youthful vibrancy. But now he was as energetic as ever, a completely different person from before. If he used to be a fragile flower, now he could be compared to a sharp blade! 

He went straight to the research facility. It was very safe there, but they had received orders to stay aboard the ship until further notice. The ship was so close to completion, nothing must go wrong now. 

He opened the door to the research facility. The deck of the ship was sturdy enough to hold off more than ten strikes by a Beast King, so they didn’t have to hide in the emergency pods. The beast invasion might have been a surprise, but they would need to send two Beast Kings to bring down the battleship with Sect Master Fang present. 

But orders were orders. There wasn’t a single person in the entire research area. Xiang Ning made a beeline for the area where the Devourer was stored, based on the tether he felt between himself and the sword’s life force, making it easy to find. 

The entire process was smooth and he didn’t encounter a single person. He opened the door, and to his surprise, there was someone standing there. 

“Miss Alia, why are you here?” 

Alia didn’t reply. She stood there, her eyes fixed on Xiang Ning. “All you needed was a few more months, then all the attention on you would’ve faded away. But you chose not to listen to me.” She shook her head. Xiang Ning had recovered—or rather, his powers had never left. Other people thought he was only hiding his grief, but she could tell that his nonchalance was real. It seemed like she was the only one who could tell, too.… 

“So you’re here to stop me too?” Xiang Ning didn’t know what she was trying to say, but he didn’t need to know. He knew who ‘they’ were. 

“I won’t stop you, and I can’t.” Alia stepped aside, making way for him. 

Xiang Ning wasted no time, stepping forward to take the Devourer out of the incubator. Looking at the broken blade and frail core, he whispered, “Don’t worry, you’ll recover very soon.” Then he left. He didn’t even turn around, nor did he meet Alia’s eyes. 

“If humanity didn’t have you.…” Alia’s whisper was barely audible. 

......

At the front, it was the sixth minute since the rat swarm had arrived. The front was starting to break, but there were still more than six hundred civilians yet to be evacuated. 

“Boss! We can’t hold them off any longer, issue the command to fall back! Our comrades are dying!” A blood-spattered soldier rushed to the commander of the third route.

“Haven’t the reinforcements from the other routes arrived?” 

“Not yet, they’re all occupied with other beasts. They’ll take at least five more minutes to arrive!” 

“Five minutes?” The commander looked at the swarm of rats before him, took off his helmet, then unsheathed his weapon. “Let’s go, we’ll hold for those five minutes!” 

He had only taken a few steps when a deafening explosion sounded from the front. The soldier’s eyes reddened; that was their comrades’ last stand, detonated when they were trapped and unable to leave, choosing to go down with the beasts! 

It was just one thing after another. 

F for the fallen soldier