Chapter 69: The Fist of Ruin

Inside the main hall beyond the rust-caked small iron door.
Director Huang lay on the ground in a cold sweat, clutching his right arm from which blood gushed like a fountain—his right hand, holding the book, had been completely severed.
[I obtained the “Anonymous Origin Secret Treasure”]
Yang Zicang caught the falling dark red book.
[This Origin Secret Treasure is bound to its owner; I cannot grasp it.]
This book-like artifact began to twist, as if about to vanish from this world.
Everyone in the area felt as though they had “landed” from a burst oversized bubble—chaotic air currents suddenly swirled around them, and the time-extending state dissipated.
The figure in the book that had communicated with the Defender shattered the moment the hand was cut off.
Deeply hypnotized and at the final stage of containment, the Defender suddenly woke up, and the entire air of the hall burst into a metallic clang, with countless waves of sharp-edged qi radiating outward.
[Councilor No. 41 temporarily lifted the seal of the “Anonymous Origin Secret Treasure” for me.]
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
The hall exploded, the top of the entire nest was torn off, and an extra hollow pit erupted in the city like a volcanic eruption.
[Councilor No. 41 bought me 0.5 seconds—activating Bloodline Secret Energy “Temporal Turbulence.”]
Another force descended from above, forcefully suppressing the book that was about to disappear.
[Councilor No. 41 tossed me into the origin-zero timeline 43210N.]
The invisible blades surging in from outside instantly slowed down, as if a time barrier resembling a tornado had appeared before him.
[Time expansion, range 4.32 meters, 10S remaining.]
Boom! The dense blades slammed into the surrounding walls.
The hall instantly lost its shape, with countless otherworldly items inside shattering, but the blade aura beside him alone was still advancing slowly, yet to touch him.
“What should I do?”
Yang Zicang said. He knew the Defender would be powerful but never expected it to be an enemy he could not contend with at all.
The opponent could crush him with just a single finger.
At that moment, a collective voice of resolve echoed in the minds of everyone in the entire city.
[Due to Silver Faction member Yang Zicang eliminating an enemy captor, the balance of the confrontation has been tipped anew.]
[Councilor No. 41 has issued a special reward: “Calling Card for the Chosen One.”]
A new tiny black hole appeared before Yang Zicang, from which a card emerged.
[7S remaining.]
[Do you wish to use the Calling Card for the Chosen One to perform a “summon”?]
[Currently, four individuals in this city can be summoned.]
Grasping it, Yang Zicang’s mind quickly received information about its usage.
The voice of the review councilor sounded in his heart:
{This item can summon high-combat personnel who have left this city and belong to the council’s subordinate forces. My recommended list includes: Chen Haoya, Jian Shisan, Hei Yuan, Zhao Anlong.}
“Could all these people possibly…”
{They have all grown strong enough to seal or kill the Defenders. Four seconds remain.}
[Do you wish to use the “Summon” function of the Selected Manifest Card?]
The blank card in hand, as if possessing its own will, inquired once more with indifference.
Even though time in this small area had been stretched, the Defender still appeared rapidly just a few meters away. It had already extended its arm, with a condensed red gleam forming at the tip of its finger.
Finally, the folded rays that had lingered outside the time barrier shot in.
{Yang Zicang, don’t kill Huang Zhong…}
{Have them contain him…}
Yang Zicang raised the card and exclaimed:
“Zhao Anlong!”
Time seemed frozen.
The next moment, the ground shattered.
BOOM!
Lightning burst in all directions. The humanoid figure suddenly appearing before him charged with the primal might of a ancient Tyrannosaur breaching through eons.
Flickers of fists danced, bearing clusters of dark, uncertain Energy that sliced through the air into shards of glass. They came shattering through space and time.
The red gleam at the Defender’s fingertip was literally blasted away by one punch.
For an instant, Yang Zicang seemed to witness the profound cosmic tableau surrounding his fist.
The Defender fiercely unleashed the light of swords and blades born from spatial compression, exploding within the nest like a hail of missiles.
{Who are you!}
“It’s your father!”
Yet the suddenly emerged young figure, standing like the sovereign of the earth, withstood all this, and delivered a punch to its jaw.
CRASH!
[100,000 Newtons annihilated.]
The billowing clouds scattered and vanished, revealing the moonlight sky.
The long-tailed, scarlet-eyed being was sent hurtling toward the heavens like a missile from that punch.
Boom! Boom!
Two figures shot through the air from above.
Though clearly incapable of flight, he relied on the explosive power of his muscles, leaping off scattered rocks and steel fragments to ascend high into the air, one foot carrying a destructive storm as he kicked toward the other’s head.
The Defender, having reacted, turned into a blur and appeared behind Zhao Anlong, a red flash on its finger.
“Swish!”
A pellet-like energy orb shot out, striking Zhao Anlong on the back.
His clothes quivered from the impact, the contact area twisting and deforming before bursting apart with a bang.
Zhao Anlong spun his body, both hands discharging cracks of tremor, with a galaxy of stars shimmering.
{One who has strayed from the path of destiny.}
“That’s right, want such power? Accept my seal, become my slave.”
{Presumptuous!}
A dark crimson glow gathered as the Defender’s hands swelled with a stronger energy ripple. Zhao Anlong stamped against a fragment, sprang up again, shrinking to a tiny dot.
A white light flashed in the sky, followed by an orange-red burst.
{Your bloodline… contains destruction, doesn’t it.}
Down below, the survivors, still breathing, had long been thrown off their feet; none could help but stare in awe at the scene, and Yangzicang was likewise stunned dumbfounded.
The sky had brightened considerably, and the energy sphere that exploded before fully forming had obliterated most of the Defender’s arms.
[Time Reset.]
The book in Yang Zicang’s hand vanished, and a gale surged into this small space, hurling him backward. Fortunately, Zhao Anlong appeared; otherwise, even the blade aura alone would have been beyond his ability to withstand.
Boom, boom, boom!
The sky trembled like a drum being pounded.
Bang, bang!
The armless Defender was pummeled upward into the heights by the man from below. Countless magical patterns erupted from the Defender’s eyes, forming a circular cage that seemed ready to envelop both itself and its enemy.
“Destruction!”
The cage exploded instantly, but the summoned young man emerged from the blast slightly scorched and dirty, roaring angrily:
“Seal!”
The surrounding wreckage had been completely reduced to dust; with no foothold left, the two figures plummeted rapidly.
The battered Defender turned its head to look downward.
The human, appearing as a youth opposite it, brought his hands together. Starlight flickered as a force field materialized in his hands.
“Model Expansion!”
[Because I am the Great Quadrilateral!]
[Thus I can give birth to a Cube!]
Zhao Anlong’s eyes blazed with divine light, and a circular ring appeared on his chest. The quadrilateral passed through the force field, extending four edges as if being three-dimensionally modeled, expanding outward to encompass the Defender.
{Your bloodline truly carries the aura of destruction… how nostalgic.}
The Defender, having lost both arms, seemed lost in memory.
Zhao Anlong said, “Then follow me.”
The Defender revealed a scornful smile. It glanced at the rapidly extending barriers of energy walls, its body rapidly aging.
{Hah, a mere trash from Earth, daring to think of becoming my master.}
A mismatched ball of cyan-red energy condensed from the Defender’s body, lurching toward the force field, while it itself died naturally, having allowed itself only one more second of life.
The force field trembled. Zhao Anlong’s cube quivered before vanishing, while the terrifying figure that made the whole city uneasy became nothing but withered remains.
“That mongrel.”
Zhao Anlong’s body traced an arc, landing lightly on the ground.
He waved a hand toward the sky. The various steel pipes, rocks, and clumps of earth still falling around him exploded with a rumble, turning into clouds of dust in the air.
The man—not very tall—walked over step by step, stood before Yang Zicang, and plucked the business card from the hand of the person half-sitting against the wall, glancing at it.
“Finally, someone here has grown strong enough to summon me back. Not bad, kid.”
“You… ahem… are you Zhao Anlong?”
Yang Zicang propped his body up.
Zhao Anlong’s medium-length hair swayed in the wind. His pupils seemed to contain constant stellar fusion and explosions, and his entire body radiated an aura comparable to a Defender’s. However, he restrained this imposing presence well.
Humans could actually grow to such a degree, even as if this was the power contained within his physical form. Yang Zicang was momentarily stunned.
A beam of twisted light shot toward him but couldn’t touch Zhao Anlong, as an invisible barrier surrounded his body.
“Don’t waste your strength. I can only communicate with this guy before me.”
Zhao Anlong sighed, unbuckled a sword from his waist, and threw it beside Yang Zicang.
“Although this weapon is nominally given to you,”
“To, me?”
“The rules are like this. But I want you to hand it over to Zhao Furrry of the Monster Hunter Alliance. Tell her that I miss her fragrance. But tell her not to rush accumulating time damage rollover—stay here and learn some survival skills first. At least wait a year or two before coming over. It’s very dangerous over there now.”
“Okay, I’ll give it to her.”
Yang Zicang’s hand touched this sword.
[I have obtained the Chrono Weapon, which contains 500N.]
“This…”
If his perception wasn’t wrong, this Chrono Weapon could inflict 500N per attack.
Stimulated by the combat aura, the faint image of White Shadow Thought-Dragon formed behind Yang Zicang, standing at ready at any moment. Zhao Anlong glanced at it.
“This weapon is considered decent; back in my area, with some effort, you could get one. Hey-there, are you a newcomer from these past few months? It’s rare to see a Nen ability, and an offensive one at that. Not bad, not bad. Come over as soon as possible, and we’ll spar. Oh, right, what’s your name? The representative’s prompt just now mentioned something… Yang, was it?”
“Yes, that’s my name. What kind of place is your area?”
“Want to know?”
Zhao Anlong revealed a malicious smile:
“If you listen to me, you’ll have to leave with me. Is that okay with you? A lot of people at headquarters are desperate to stay here and live in comfort.”
“Then don’t bother.”
Zhao Anlong nodded in relief. He swept his gaze around and heard the shouting of people in the distance.
“Oh, you killed Lu Zhishen? Good, good. Two Chrono Weapons? That’s no small feat. When did our family produce a seedling like you?”
Yang Zicang laboriously spat out mud scraps from his mouth, took a deep breath, and said, “It’s… okay.”
“He’s only been here for three or four days,” someone shouted from afar.
“He arrived on the fifteenth of this month.”
Zhao Anlong was stunned, carefully sizing up Yang Zicang, who was leaning against the edge of the mud pit.