Chapter 541: The Power that Buried the Old Era

Chapter 541 -366: The Power that Buried the Old Era

When Wu Liangchen returned to the Hive Apartment, Old K was still seated behind a pile of complex instruments, with only a few faintly glowing metal tentacles tapping lightly on the control console.

“You’re back.” Old K’s electronic voice betrayed no emotion, as if Wu Liangchen had merely gone out for a walk.

Wu Liangchen tossed the cold storage chip over to him.

One of Old K’s metal probes deftly caught the chip and inserted it into the main console. A torrent of data immediately flooded the screen before him.

“Not bad.” Old K was clearly satisfied. He glanced back at Wu Liangchen.

“Find anything?”

Wu Liangchen fell silent for a moment before recounting everything he had seen and heard at the research institute, especially the tragic woman at the end.

Old K wasn’t the least bit surprised. “Dome Corporation has never had a bottom line. That woman was just one of many failed experiments. By destroying that place, you’ve put her out of her misery.”

Wu Liangchen said nothing.

From the data on Schiller’s terminal to his own experience at Research Institute 734, Wu Liangchen now had a profound understanding of Dome Corporation’s utter depravity.

“We can’t stay here.”

Once the torrent of data on the screen subsided, Old K spoke abruptly. Several data lines behind him disconnected automatically with a faint CLICK.

“Research Institute 734 has been destroyed. It won’t be long before Dome Corporation picks up the trail. Things are about to go down in Zhongjing, and I need to find a place to lie low.”

His pale, gaunt face turned to Wu Liangchen, electronic eyes flickering with an eerie blue light. “You too. Between Schiller’s death and what happened at the institute, Dome Corporation will never let this go. If I were you, I’d leave as soon as possible.”

Then, Old K pushed a small data drive toward him.

“This is what you wanted.” Old K’s tone was as placid as ever, as if he had just completed some insignificant task.

“I dug it out from the depths of the dark web. Every scrap of information on the name ‘Yan Shu’ is in there. Consider my promise fulfilled.”

“Thank you!”

Wu Liangchen didn’t waste any time. After bidding Old K farewell, he left the Hive Apartment immediately.

He found a secluded, abandoned building, and only after confirming it was secure did he open the device Old K had given him.

An eerie blue screen lit up, and lines of text materialized before his eyes.

The further he read, the tighter Wu Liangchen’s brow furrowed, and the astonishment in his eyes deepened.

This document wasn’t so much personal information about Yan Shu as it was a long-buried, fragmentary chronicle of a lost age.

According to these fragmented records and speculations, when Yan Shu first arrived, the world was a starkly different place.

Though it possessed impressive technology and sprawling cities, it was nowhere near as hyper-mechanized or cyberized as it is today.

More importantly, the Martial Way of that era was at its zenith. Masters were numerous, and there were even legends of “Immortals” who possessed the power to move mountains, part seas, and pluck stars from the heavens!

Yet, the artificial Martial Veins, now considered the cornerstone of the Martial Way, did not exist back then. Martial Artists cultivated through innate talent and arduous training, attuning themselves to the world and forging their own bodies. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

However, at some point in time, everything changed.

It was as if the world had been turned on its head overnight.

The legendary “Immortals” vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

In their place, cold, mechanical technology began to spring up like mushrooms after a rain, permeating every corner of society.

The sudden emergence and rapid proliferation of artificial Martial Vein technology placed a cap on the potential of the Martial Way, making it impossible for Martial Artists to ever again reach the god-like realms of antiquity.

What followed was a frenzied campaign by the newly established Alliance government to destroy and alter all historical records from the old era.

All records of the “Immortal legends” and the glorious history of the ancient Martial Way were declared taboo. Those with knowledge of the past were brutally purged. A massive campaign to rewrite memory swept the globe; countless truths were buried, and countless histories distorted.

In the end, a new era dawned, one built on machinery and cold, hard order. The people who lived in this world were a blank slate, their knowledge of the past completely erased. All they knew was what the Alliance government wanted them to know.

And the name Yan Shu, amid this great upheaval, became the ultimate taboo—deliberately erased, as if its very mention would unleash some unspeakable horror.

‘So… that’s how it is…’ Wu Liangchen lowered his personal terminal, his mind reeling from the revelation.

‘To think the world is actually like this.’

‘But what kind of power could make “Immortals” vanish overnight, sever the heritage of the Martial Way, and change the face of the world so completely?’

Unfortunately, the file Old K had given him contained no record of the specific cause of this cataclysm.

This meant that not even the dark web held any records of the cause.

「Meanwhile, in a heavily guarded secret conference room on the top floor of the Dome Corporation headquarters in downtown Zhongjing.」

The atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

Dozens of holograms were arranged around a massive, ring-shaped conference table. Each projection represented one of Dome Corporation’s top executives, a figure wielding genuine authority. Their faces were mostly concealed by shadow or shimmering data streams, but the aura of power and menace they exuded was palpable.