COUGH.
Qin Tian couldn't stop coughing. He had dealt with the green smoke, but not alone; another Martial God had joined him. His counterpart had suffered substantial injuries from exposure to the green smoke and was now resting.
That wasn't the critical issue, however. The crux was the large-scale disturbance in the Palace of Heaven triggered by this incident.
The intruders had accomplished half of their objective. Qin Tian suspected their ultimate target was the nobles.
Fortunately, he had already sought help, and other Martial Gods should arrive to provide support soon.
I hope nothing goes wrong, Qin Tian thought as he forcibly suppressed the plague churning inside him. This contagion was overwhelmingly infectious. Luckily, as a Martial God, he was capable of containing it within his body.
If it were a Martial Sovereign, he would have already been gravely ill by now.
It wasn't that Qin Tian and the other Martial Gods intended to protect the nobles purely out of goodwill. The nobles were the foundation of the world; their lineage carried the origin of Martial Arts.
If they were to die, or if their numbers fell too drastically, Martial Arts would begin to fade.
The reason was currently unclear. However, a thousand years ago, a Martial God nad Sun Rui, known as the Lunatic, disdained the nobles' behavior and initiated a war of annihilation.
The victors, needless to say, were the nobles, not Martial God Sun Rui. His rise and fall were as swift as a shooting star.
The failure occurred simply because too many nobles died. This not only weakened Martial Arts but also caused various natural disasters and man-made calamities.
It was said that the nobles possessed a power known as Word Becos Law.
Any word they articulated would manifest in reality.
This ability was uncontrollable, so for the most part, the nobles were forbidden to speak. Even if they did speak, they uttered only a few words at a ti.
As a Martial God, Qin Tian knew this to be true.
The Subterranean Alien Race also erged after that war of annihilation. Because the nobles were threatened and lacked the support of enough Martial Gods in the initial period, they used Word Becos Law to—supposedly—create the Subterranean Alien Race. Now, by pitting the Subterranean Alien Race against the Human Clan on the surface, they ensured that the Martial Artists of the Human Clan wouldn't focus their attention on them.
This was a deft deflection of conflict.
The nobles did possess immortality, but they hadn't acquired it through Word Becos Law; it was an inherent ability. Its origin was uncertain. However, the nobles lacked the ability to procreate and possessed neither the corresponding organs nor the desire. Theoretically, they could be considered neutral or genderless.
This led to the nobles having peculiar preferences, ranging from cruelty to vanity; they seed to lack no quirk. These issues were minor to the Martial Gods. Losing a few Martial Artists to uphold the prosperity of Martial Arts seed a small price to pay.
Regrettably, the nobles had beco cautious. Otherwise, their power of Word Becos Law could have been used to obliterate the Subterranean Alien Race and other alien races. However, Word Becos Law had many restrictions. For instance, nobles could not obtain potent power through it, nor could they use it to pose a direct threat.
Take the Subterranean Alien Race, for example. According to investigations by the Martial Gods, they were not created by nobles through Word Becos Law but had already existed. The surface dwellers were unaware of them only because the Subterranean Alien Race was isolated from the world above by the earth's crust. It wasn't until the nobles' Word Becos Law connected the underground with the surface world that the hostility between the two races began.
In reality, the ability of Word Becos Law required specific conditions to be t indirectly. If the nobles wished for a particular person to be obliterated by a teorite, it wouldn't take effect imdiately. It would require an actual teorite that also had to fall precisely on the targeted place. Waiting for soone to be struck by a teorite could take years, and it was possible the person might succumb to disease or die in battle before the teorite ever arrived.
Of course, the end result would still be the sa: death.
"How's the situation?" Martial God Kong Huai was the first to arrive. Though chaotic, it didn't seem like there were significant losses, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Stay away from . I fear I can't suppress the plague inside ," Qin Tian warned.
Kong Huai was puzzled. Could a plague affect Martial Gods? Nonetheless, he heeded the advice and kept his distance.
"I'm not sure. I temporarily can't mobilize my vital energy, and Li Bing is worse off. He's gone to recuperate," Qin Tian summarized quickly, then shared his suspicions.
"Alright, find a place to rest. I'll investigate the situation in the Palace of Heaven." Kong Huai didn't press further. Although Qin Tian's condition wasn't apparent, Kong Huai was here and needed to investigate.
As soon as Kong Huai entered, Qin Tian could no longer suppress the plague inside his body. It began to seep from the pores on his skin, making him appear as though shrouded in a green haze.
This isn't right, why has it suddenly worsened? Qin Tian collapsed, a look of confusion on his face. Turning sharply, he saw a strange, corpse-like figure standing in the distance, head hanging low.
"Li Bing!!!" he scread uncontrollably.
He couldn't make out the figure's face, but he recognized its clothes. As a Martial God, Li Bing's clothing was far from ordinary. Combined with its distinct and unique characteristics, he easily identified it.
In that instant, he understood why the plague within him had suddenly intensified. Li Bing, already infected with this unknown plague, had arrived and infected him again through proximity, causing the plague Qin Tian had initially managed to suppress to erupt fully.
Qin Tian hadn't directly faced the green smoke, so his initial infection wasn't severe, allowing him to suppress it. But Li Bing had been heavily injured when he dealt with the smoke, preventing him from suppressing the plague, which ultimately led to his death. Death was one thing, but Li Bing had now dragged him down too.
This isn't right... sothing's wrong, Qin Tian muttered. A corpse can't move, but the plague seeks out its own kind. His head throbbed; the plague flooding his mind made it difficult to think, and his vital energy struggled to control it. Li Bing was drawn here by the plague in ... so what drew the initial attacker here?
Qin Tian's mind slowed, his thoughts becoming incoherent. The answer was right before him, yet he couldn't grasp it—not even the simple conclusion that the source of the plague was in the Palace of Heaven.
I'm dying, he thought. Soon, he gave up thinking as the intense pain began to subside. This was not a good sign. It indicated that most of his body was now under the plague's control, and his senses were gradually fading.
UGH.
He vomited a large amount of blood—not vibrant red, but dark black, filled with bacteria and viruses mixed with his own blood.
He lay there quietly. After about three minutes, he stood up, corpse-like.
Everything beca eerily calm.
「...」
Upon entering the Palace of Heaven, Kong Huai had noticed Qin Tian's strange state. Just as he was about to turn back to check on him, he realized the Palace itself was also abnormal—the most obvious sign being its profound silence. This wasn't his first visit to the Palace of Heaven. Each previous ti, the place had teed with life. Regardless of what occurred outside, the interior of the palace always maintained its lively atmosphere. The interior and exterior seed like two separate, completely disconnected worlds.
This ti, however, the palace was far too quiet, as if everyone inside were dead.
Dead? Oh no, sothing must have truly gone wrong! Kong Huai rushed into the depths of the Palace of Heaven without hesitation.
However, contrary to his expectations, it was empty, devoid of any corpses or signs of life. It was as if no one was there.
Disappeared... Kong Huai was unsure how to proceed. If there had been bodies, he might have felt sowhat reassured. But their complete disappearance, as if they had evaporated into thin air, left him clueless.
The people in the Palace of Heaven definitely couldn't have left. The surrounding Martial Artists were not just for protection; they also had the duty of confining everyone within the palace. Without a Martial God's approval, no one, from the highest to the lowest, could leave.
As he was contemplating this, he suddenly sensed Qin Tian's life force vanish.
Dead? How is this possible? He was... Kong Huai's mind reeled in shock. Qin Tian was a Martial God, his equal in strength, yet he had died so suddenly and completely.
At that mont, Kong Huai seed to perceive an invisible net enveloping the entire world.
I need to leave! Leave now! Kong Huai thought, prioritizing his survival over investigating the bizarre situation.
Reviews
All reviews (0)