Chapter 100.2: The Chance to Comprehend the Origin

Leaving the underground palace beneath Skyheart palace, Qi Yuan returned once again to the City of No Return.

“Blood Demon? What’s that supposed to be?”

Countless thoughts flickered through his mind.

Qi Yuan felt utterly dumbfounded by this game’s setup. “Don’t tell me, the final boss of this world is actually that lump of flesh I’m possessing...? So the final battle is me fighting myself?”

Cradling Little Bride in his arms, he leapt down from the city wall, dug a massive pit, and buried the two of them underground.

***

At the same time, in the royal court of Great Xia...

The young king now carried a trace of authority on his face. Seated upon the dragon throne, his expression shifted back and forth.

Finally, he said in a low, steady voice, “Yuan Qi, Great Xia can no longer muster the resources to form another army to reinforce the City of No Return.”

Even he had not expected that the Song Battalion he’d dispatched would manage to hold out this long. The Great Xia flag had flown over the City of No Return for half a year now.

Such a thing had not happened in all of Great Xia’s history, since the beginning of the North South Pact.

The king even began to suspect that something strange had happened in the city.

He knew full well that the Song Battalion had marched there to almost certain death. Reaching the City of No Return alive was already a victory in itself. To hold it for half a year? Impossible.

The neighboring Great Sui had a Nation Subjugator expert stationed in Jialan City, but they still had to constantly send reinforcements there. Meanwhile, the Song Battalion didn’t even have a single Overlord among them. How could they possibly endure for half a year?

Something had likely changed in the City of No Return. But

alas

, Great Xia was too far away, its reach could not extend that far, nor could it send another reinforcement.

The king's curiosity burned within him, yet he knew as a ruler, he must suppress it. For if he let curiosity guide him, it could cost hundreds, even thousands of lives.

Yuan Qi gritted his teeth. “Your Majesty, I am willing to relinquish my position as Palace Commander and go to the City of No Return myself!”

The king gazed at him, full of weariness. “The Yuan family only has you left...”

Duke Yuan had already fallen in battle at the City of Return.

Yuan Qi raised his head stubbornly. “The soldiers guarding the city have not been home for half a year. For half a year, they’ve not tasted the wine or fragrance of our homeland. I am willing to bring them wine, to stand beside them and fight for the City of No Return!”

He fell to his knees and kowtowed heavily.

The young king was deeply moved, quiet sorrow welling up in his heart. “It is a pity that I will never live to see the day the North South Pact ends in victory.”

The North South Pact could last for centuries, even millennia.

Those who perished knew no reinforcements would come—that their deaths merely delayed the war’s end.

Yet, they still chose to go.

***

Countless new graves dotted the City of No Return's soil. Many heaped over by Zhang Sheng and Chen Jue. Qi Yuan sat on the city wall as always.

After who knows how long, a small smile curled at one corner of his mouth.

“More monsters come to die,

huh

?” he murmured. “Shame they’re so stupid, they can’t even be reasoned with. Well, if they could talk, they’re still going to die anyway. I’d just tell them to poke their heads out and form a neat queue so I can cut them down one by one. Different method, same outcome.”

Qi Yuan jumped off from the city wall. Sand exploded up where he landed. When he rose, his height swelled to ten meters. Clad in crimson armor, he gripped a massive, blood-stained, broken sword. He seemed like a colossal giant charging into the demon army.

“A thousand petty demons, and the strongest is only level 50. Really?” Qi Yuan snarled.

Like a tiger among chickens, his sword flashed without pause. Wherever it swept, demons shredded and fell. His EXP bar surged wildly.

Just then, a notification chimed in his ear.

[You have reached level 60. You have earned one chance to comprehend the Origin. Would you like to use it?]

Thoughts raced through him. Instead of awakening a new major skill, he was granted a chance to grasp the Origin. He had a rough idea what “Origin” meant but there was no time for pondering. The demon army still pressed at the gates.

“Die!”

Qi Yuan drove his sword with even greater force, determined to clear the wave quickly. He couldn't wait to test what this fabled comprehension of Origin actually entailed.

Plunging into the horde, he fought with the might of a god.

***

Far away, in another place...

The Demon Tamer Misang wore a puzzled expression. “Caixia, we failed to conquer the City of No Return again?”

The woman called Caixia seemed equally surprised. “Behind the City of No Return stands the state of Great Xia. It’s a minor power without even a single Overlord. The demon army we dispatched should have wiped out the city long ago.”

At present, the Demon Tamers faced a far greater threat in Jialan City. They shouldn't have to micromanage the conquest of City of No Return. The demons were supposed to assault it on their own. Normally, it would be child's play. Yet, even after half a year, the city hadn't fallen.

Misang had only just noticed the anomaly. “Could other cities be supporting it? Could it be Jialan?”

“Jialan can barely hold itself. Sending aid to the City of No Return would be suicide,” Caixia replied disdainfully.

“Then in a few days, take a small squad of Overlord demons and retake tube City of No Return,” Mi Sang ordered. “Whoever is holding that city must be killed.”

“Apparently we underestimated this little city and left it unnoticed for half a year. Now that we’re targeting it, whoever still clings to that place is courting death!” Caixia said, her gaze burning with carnage.

***

After slaughtering every last demon, Qi Yuan finally felt the weight of exhaustion. He gently blew the blood droplets from his sword, then made his way back into the city.

“There should be at least five days before the next demon army arrives,” he murmured. “I might as well see what this so-called Origin is all about.”

He found a quiet, secluded corner within the city, and sat down cross-legged. “Use it,” he said softly.

[When comprehending the Origin, the longer you remain within it, the deeper your enlightenment will be. Note: No matter how long the process lasts internally, only an instant passes in the real world.]

Qi Yuan exhaled in relief. He had been worried about how long the comprehension would take. If a stray demon snuck into the city while he was gone, it would've been a terrible loss.

[Comprehension begins.]

At once, his awareness blurred. When it cleared again, Qi Yuan realized something strange. His state was completely different. It felt just like when he faced the Great Sun—when he had felt as though he were the heavens, suspended high above the skies. This time, he wasn't in the sky, but atop a mountain. Moreover, he was a sphere of blood the size of a marble, pulsing faintly on the peak.

When he looked upward, he saw a door appear in the skies.

Qi Yuan couldn’t describe it. There was no word in his mind that could capture what he saw. He just instinctively knew what it was.

The moment it appeared, several vast and terrible auras surged up from somewhere below. Each one was so powerful, making the heavens tremble, as if they meant to rush into the gate. Yet before any could touch it, they shattered instantly, disintegrated to dust.

That door was the most terrifying thing in existence. Whoever touched it would die without a doubt.

“So this is the Origin?” Qi Yuan whispered, staring intently.

The door had no fixed form. It shifted endlessly, like the flow of chaos itself.

[Myriad Phenomena Gate. An unknown gate.]

Even when he tried to peer deeper with his enhanced vision, all he could glean was the name. Everything else eluded him, his knowledge was simply too limited.

He continued to gaze at the ever-changing door, unsure how much time had passed, when a clear, lilting voice like a lark’s chirp suddenly rang beside his ear.

“Oh my, what’s this? Looks like I’ve got a new little neighbor.

Wow

, aren’t you ugly? You are round and red and squishy! If you’re living here, you might just bring down the average beauty score of our Nine Plate Mountain!" [1]

Qi Yuan turned sharply and saw a small, dazzlingly colorful bird perched nearby, dressed in a flamboyant spray of feathers.

“You’re the ugly one!” he shot back, instantly offended.

Having his looks insulted was not something he could ever tolerate!

1. I'm ded and on the floor ☜