Chen Fu learned for the first time that beings with dual divine thrones existed in this world.
A sword of murderous intent, thick with the stench of blood, slipped down from beyond the heavens. The world suddenly turned crimson.
Chen Fu instinctively looked up. In his black-and-white spiritual vision, a dark-red sword, carrying the authority to sever life and death, crashed into his sight and filled his entire view. From his lowly perspective, he could only see the blade that occupied half the sky. As the giant sword rapidly descended, he seemed to see a pair of eyes.
What kind of eyes were those? Indifferent, devoid of any emotion. A casual execution of a trespasser crossing realms, like accidentally knocking a small knife off a table and, in its fall, unintentionally killing an ant.
To recklessly kill the heir of another god, to destroy the chosen of this world's will,such violations would not stir even the slightest ripple in the emotions of this enforcer.
Because it was God. A lofty, supreme god, one who held everything within its grasp.
The life and death of ants, the breaking of rules,none of it mattered.
Because,
God does not care.
The overwhelming scarlet sword aura descended with the momentum of suppressing an entire world. Even as the furious will of this heaven and earth slowly wore it down, the power that finally reached him was still not something any non-divine being could withstand.
Staring at the crimson punishment falling from beyond the realm like divine wrath, Chen Fu, truth be told, began to regret it.
…
"How is Dr. Chen doing lately?"
A burly special agent in black stood outside the finely carved wooden fence, staring at the so-called cell within,lush grass, birdsong, and willow branches swaying in the breeze,and couldn't help doubting everything.
"Not very well. He keeps asking for paper. According to orders, we cannot refuse any request except those involving self-harm."
After checking the agent's pass and confirming it, the guard let him in.
"Can you tell me more? My mission this time is to hear something from him directly."
"You'll have to ask him yourself. He's been waiting for you."
Leaving those puzzling words behind, the guard gestured for him to enter.
"You're here. Perfect timing."
The thin man with a head of ashen hair set down his pen. He put away the manuscript stained with faint traces of blood and looked at the agent sitting opposite him.
"Hello, Dr. Chen, my name is Shi,"
"I don't care what your name is. And I am not well."
The man, face completely drained of color, interrupted him. His blood-red, yellow-tinged eyes stared void of emotion.
The burly agent felt a chill run down his spine under that gaze.
"I represent,"
Bang!
"Stop with the nonsense! You ask, I answer!"
The dying man suddenly exploded with terrifying force, slamming the table so hard the agent jumped in fear.
"Why didn't you obey orders and force the cold-fusion research team to continue the experiment?"
"They trusted me!"
"…Why did it fail?"
"Yes… why indeed…"
The man's expression suddenly went vacant. He muttered incoherent sounds as his eyes drifted into emptiness.
"Dr. Chen,"
"Shut up!"
The half-deranged man snapped his head toward the agent and roared.
"Particles! High-energy particles tampered with all my experimental data!"
"One,no! Two of them!"
The moment the reactor collapsed,he would never forget it. The details replayed in his mind tens of thousands of times.
"Dr. Chen, please clam,"
The recorder captured every detail.
"Calm your damn self!"
His briefly stabilizing emotions burst once more into rage.
"Physics is bullshit! We were attacked! A micro-level attack from an unknown civilization!"
"Dr. Chen!"
"It's fine."
The man clutching his head suddenly quieted and sat back down.
"…"
"Let us continue discussing the micro-particles,"
Drops of scarlet fell from his nose onto the manuscript, blooming like red plum blossoms on the white paper.
"Sorry. My time is short."
He stuffed paper into his nostrils to stop the bleeding. Pale-faced and weak, he pushed his blood-stained manuscript toward the agent.
"…This is?"
"The cold-fusion equation and all related technology."
"You,how did you calculate this?!"
"Overclocking. Human brain computation."
Machines couldn't be trusted, so he calculated it himself.
His vision began to blur. Warm liquid slid down from the corners of his eyes.
"You,?! Medical team! Get medical,!"
"Instead of wasting time yelling, why not talk with me a bit more?"
"Madman! Brain-overclocking technology is explicitly forbidden!"
"Jiang Nan's overclocking tech used my data. I was her first successful test subject."
Suddenly, in his fading vision, a massive apple tree appeared, laden with apples. Curled on it was a plump, patchy-feathered little bird.
"Why go this far?!"
"I can't accept it…"
His survival had been a coincidence,those two particles had been altered by the collapsing reactor in a way that shouldn't have been possible.
"Hah… I guess that means they thought highly of me."
It was the highest respect an enemy could give. He should return the courtesy.
Watching the man whose seven orifices bled, tainted with milky streaks, whose dim crimson eyes glimmered with divine light, Shi Qiang rose silently.
Swish!
His heel struck the floor with a sharp crack.
Salute.
The leap from thermonuclear to cold-nuclear would be a technological explosion no less than a third scientific revolution. It would influence every aspect of civilization. The energy revolution would allow humanity to leave the solar system in the shortest time.
But soon humanity discovered that the fundamental physics required for cold-nuclear fusion had been locked.
…
"Xiaotao!"
Bathed in multicolored radiance, the phoenix transformed into a brilliant arc of glazed light at Xuanzi's roar. She shielded the boy who stood alone between heaven and earth, facing divine might with nothing but his body. Behind her, seven soul rings shattered at once.
The self-detonating rings the boy always despised had somehow been learned perfectly by the girl, used to activate her unique seventh soul skill granted by the super-beast Emerald Swan: the hundred-thousand-year soul skill, Wings of Protection.
This world always had strange forced-activation soul skills, no matter the cost.
I never should've gone looking for that damn Emerald Swan…
Within the sacred phoenix flames, the boy looked up at the blood-red particle cluster. His mind went blank.
[Scanning… abnormal physical state… data…]
The girl had not blocked the divine punishment completely. The divine power pierced through, corrupting Chen Fu's bloodline. His soul power was being erased. His four damaged soul rings dissolved completely and would never recover.
But he survived.
"You all listen! From now on, Chen Fu is under my protection. If you dare bully him again, I'll break your legs!"
"Hey! Chen Fu, hurry! You're under my protection now. You can walk sideways across the outer court!"
"Chen Fu… do you think I'll become really bad someday because of my martial soul?"
"Chen Fu… if I change someday, will you leave me?"
"Chen Fu Chen Fu! I found a method to suppress the evil fire! It's cold every time but,"
"Chen Fu…"
The girl's hand brushed his cheek. The fingers corroded by Shura divine power snapped at the slightest touch.
"Am I… really ugly now?"
Her life force was being stripped away. Her beautiful features withered rapidly before his eyes.
Chen Fu stood frozen, staring ahead blankly.
"Chen Fu… cough… believe in yourself. You were right."
Her body, pierced by heavy-metal particles, had turned unnaturally dark red. Jiang Nan leaned weakly against the radiation-proof glass, mouthing silent words toward the boy inside.
"Chen Fu… see? When you needed help most, it was still me who came…"
The scarlet divine power extinguished all of Ma Xiaotao's vitality. Her bright red hair faded, dried, and fell away.
"Chen Fu… believe your judgment. We did not fail."
Jiang Nan struggled to turn her back. Her skin peeled under high-energy radiation, blood foam smeared across the glass. She did not want him to watch her melt. She thought it would be too ugly.
But in the end, she couldn't help turning around for one last look, trying to etch his face permanently into her fading memory.
In Chen Fu's eyes, when she turned back, her entire face had already melted into blood. A distorted eyeball slid from her socket into the flowing sludge, still faintly rotating as it dripped.
In his eyes, Ma Xiaotao's flesh turned to ash under the scarlet divine power. Even her blood became dust before it could drip. The hand that touched his cheek became bone. Her beautiful face was now only a skull with scraps of skin.
Chen Fu thought it was beautiful.
"Today we are visiting the remains of the legendary Ascension Soul-Tool. It marked the beginning of an era. It was a witness and a survivor…"
"Teacher, why is there a skeleton pinned to the ground by a long halberd in the center?"
"That shows you weren't listening. That is the Punished God. And they say it's still alive!"
"And do you see that little wooden hut beside it? That is Master Chen's arrogance in response to the arrogance of the Punished God!"
If you want to read 40 advanced chapters and 3 new chapters daily, please subscribe to my : patreon.com/Moorowkeel