Chapter 374: Black Obelisk

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Chen Yiming watched the news with his sister in the living room. There wasn’t much new information that caught his attention.

The evacuation of the human stronghold had already been underway when the otherworld was gradually controlled by the mutant creatures. Now, it was just a full retreat.

In reality, it had already been pushed back. If not for the fact that the spiritual figure had secretly cleared a large empty area, the stronghold would have long been destroyed by the waves of mutant creatures.

As for the new planet that could support life, they must have finally decided on the first target destination.

With a distance on the scale of light years and the current level of human technology, it was not 100% certain if an unknown planet could really be suitable for human survival.

They could only settle for the best option. They had to first select a planet that was most suitable for humans to go to.

After the news ended, Chen Yiming returned to his room and turned on his computer. He planned to talk to the military committee about the matter of the terrifying creatures from the otherworld starting to make a move.

…

“There are creatures at the level of the inscription realm testing the status of the war weapon!”

After the information was delivered by Chen Yiming, the meeting room exploded.

It was said that hidden in the oceanic trench was a war weapon from the black tide. Ever since the disappearance of the 10 transport planes from the European Union, it had become like the sword of Damocles that was hanging over the entire blue planet.

“If the war weapon is mobilized, doesn’t that mean that the black tide’s arrival has begun?”

A war general thought of the link between the arrival of the black tide and the weapons of war. Now, combined with the actions of the terrifying creatures, it seemed to confirm this point.

“Perhaps those terrifying creatures are testing the waters before breaking out of the encirclement,” the chief of staff suddenly slapped the table and stood up.

Break out of the encirclement?

The higher-ups immediately understood what the chief of staff meant, and their expressions turned solemn.

From the probing actions of the terrifying creatures, the war weapon was definitely an existence that they could not deal with. That was why they had to determine the status of the war weapon before attempting to break out of the encirclement.

If the terrifying creatures started to break out of the encirclement, what would happen to the humans? The space plan was far from complete.

Should they arrange for the city-level spaceships to follow those who tried to break out of the encirclement and wait for the rest of the spaceships outside the solar system?

The meeting room was in chaos. Everyone expressed their opinions and integrated all the information they knew to try to determine the true intentions of the terrifying creatures.

As he listened to their opinions, Chen Yiming thought the matter over.

Back then, the huge eye had been deliberately forcing humans to escape from the blue planet. It was unlikely that it was purely out of boredom. Instead, it was confident that with someone holding the fort, it could escape from the moon’s blockade.

Now, there was no longer a need for humans to be the ones in charge of holding it back. The two big guys in the Antarctic could do it themselves.

Perhaps this was also the reason why the blue-haired and white-eyed people had stopped targeting the human countries.

“If the top creatures from the dark forest world really break out of the encirclement immediately, it’s not a bad choice to let the first city-level spaceship pave the way for the spaceships that would follow behind.”

With this thought, the situation seemed to have improved for the humans. A possible way out had appeared from the cracks, which was very much in line with the timeline for the space plan.

Of course, the possibility of this idea being realized was all pinned on the humans being the targets of the black tide. Those terrifying creatures were worried that they would cause the black tide to descend in advance, so they did not dare to kill the humans on the blue planet wantonly.

“It’ll be great if they try to break out of the encirclement just before the Spring Festival. I have confidence that at that time, the spiritual figure would be able to protect the first city-level ship and allow it to break out of the blockade amidst the chaos.”

After a long time, the video conference ended.

Everyone agreed that the first city-level ship had to break out of the encirclement.

Once they successfully broke out of the encirclement, it meant that at least one small spark from the human civilization had escaped. Even if this small spark did not have the ability to go to a new planet that could support life, it was still better than staying on the blue planet.

On the other hand, if they failed to break out of the encirclement, it would also provide experience for the later spaceships to escape from the blue planet in the future, giving humans a chance to adjust their strategy for the space plan.

…

That evening, while the first city-level spaceship was making the best use of time to prepare for takeoff, a piece of news suddenly caused a commotion in the Daxia Kingdom.

It was not that the terrifying creature had made a move again, nor was it that the black tide had suddenly appeared. Instead, it was that Wu Susu, the daughter of the head of the Jiangnan province’s biological research institute, Wu Weiguo, had broken through several realms to reach the level of the inscription realm.

The manifestation of the mysterious symbols could simply be described as having a deeper understanding of the power of nature. Compared to the master realm that could resonate with the power of nature blindly, it was a true manifestation of the power of nature.

The martial masters of the Daxia Kingdom, Elder Zhang and Elder Huang, had received guidance from Chen Yiming, who was a pioneer along this martial arts path. However, they were still confused about how to further explore the power of nature.

Even Feng Wuji, who had broken through before Wu Susu, did not have the potential to achieve another breakthrough in a short period of time.

In the future, if he was like Elder Zhang and Elder Huang and had insufficient potential, his cultivation level would forever be stuck at the master realm.

When he arrived at the provincial biological research institute, the streets outside had already been cleared and surrounded by soldiers. Elder Zhang, Elder Huang, Feng Wuji, and the military big shots surrounded Wu Weiguo and were chatting and laughing.

“Xiao Wu, not bad! Not bad!”

“Xiao Wu, your contributions over half your life are far inferior to having such a talented daughter!”

Elder Zhang and Elder Huang patted Wu Weiguo on the shoulder.

In terms of age, Wu Weiguo was much younger and was a junior to the two of them. In terms of status, the head of the small research institute was far inferior to the martial masters.

The surrounding military big shots were also laughing.

At this critical moment, the appearance of a second human at the level of the inscription realm greatly boosted their morale. Once the news was made public, the impact would be visible instantly.

It was not only that the humans had gained the combat strength of another expert at the inscription realm, but the new generation of warriors would have even more confidence. This was especially true after the trial grounds and the human stronghold were established.

Chen Yiming was no longer the only one who had broken through to the inscription realm that lay beyond the master realm. With a second human breaking through, there would naturally be a third human breaking through in the future.

People would wonder if those who could break through to such a realm were really that much more special than themselves. This expressed the desire hidden deep in their hearts.

“How’s Wu Susu?”

Chen Yiming walked over and asked.

“According to her, she has successfully broken through, but she doesn’t have the confidence to stabilize her control over the new power for the time being. She can only continue to practice alone in the laboratory,” Wu Weiguo explained.

“Can’t control the new power?”

Chen Yiming turned to look at the laboratory building not far away. A terrifying spiritual power was emanating from it, sealing it off from everything else.

Unless he forcefully broke through this layer of spiritual power, he would not be able to find out about Wu Susu’s situation.

The military big shots heaved a sigh of relief when they saw Chen Yiming.

They had rushed to the scene immediately with Elder Zhang, Elder Huang, and Feng Wuji. This was not just to prevent Wu Susu from being affected by her breakthrough.

As someone who had broken through several realms in a row, Wu Susu had too many unpredictable factors. For example, at this moment, she did not have the confidence to completely control her newly obtained power.

Once anything happened, the power of nature or terrifying spiritual power would spread out, and Jiangnan City would not be able to withstand it.

Not long after, the group arrived at the laboratory building and communicated with Wu Susu by shouting. The spiritual power that she had spread out was quickly retracted.

A woman in a white coat with an even colder expression than usual walked out of the door.

Chen Yiming exchanged glances with her. He was still thinking about how to help her resolve the problem of controlling her new power in a short period of time when his consciousness entered her mind.

At this moment, Wu Susu’s human consciousness was similar to that of her appearance in the outside world. Her spiritual power turned into a white coat that draped over her body, causing him to immediately recall the figure he had accidentally seen before.

Her figure was curvy and perfectly matched the golden ratio. If not for her cold personality and how she was completely focused on scientific research, she would have met his standards.

“Do you want to see it again?” Wu Susu suddenly asked.

Chen Yiming came back to his senses. He wanted to agree. After all, the other party had taken the initiative to make the offer.

He laughed and pretended that nothing had happened. He continued, “The sphere in your spiritual world seems to have disappeared?”

Seeing this, Wu Susu was secretly furious. However, without any evidence, she could only let it go for the time being.

Without any further digressions, she nodded and replied.

The sphere floating in her spiritual world was the food that could help Wu Susu’s spiritual power grow.

Thanks to the previous research on the ice crystal-like hair in the blue-haired man’s body, the full potential of the sphere’s spiritual talent was unleashed, and she broke through several realms to the inscription realm.

“Why don’t we have a spiritual battle?”

Chen Yiming thought about it. Other than through actual combat, he didn’t know how else to teach others. Coincidentally, the spiritual world was suitable for actual combat.

In a spiritual battle, time would pass very quickly. Usually, it would only last for a short moment in the outside world.

“Sure,” Wu Susu agreed.

She maintained her cold expression. Only she knew what she was thinking. Both of them were at the level of the inscription realm, so she could consider taking the opportunity to beat Chen Yiming up to vent her anger.

Not long after,

their consciousness stood facing each other in their human forms. Chen Yiming let her make the first move.

“Be careful.”

A spiritual confrontation was very dangerous, and Wu Susu naturally knew this very well, so she reminded him before she made her move.

A loud scream rang out in the air.

The sharp sound caused the space around it to distort slightly. It was an unimaginable scene.

Chen Yiming glanced at it from the corner of his eye and accurately caught sight of an object formed from spiritual power charging towards him at an unprecedented speed.

The object formed by her spiritual power was a spinning double-edged flying knife. Its speed was much faster than the speed of sound, and it seemed to almost teleport in the spiritual world.

If not for the fact that Chen Yiming’s spiritual power was also enhanced by the Undying Body talent, he would have had to predict its path and dodge in advance.

Even at a higher level, spiritual damage could not be ignored. The huge eye’s situation was a painful example.

Because of its carelessness, it had fallen into Chen Yiming’s trap every step of the way, causing it to be unable to recover to its peak. Facing the bone beast, it had almost been devoured by it because its strength had decreased.

In fact, if not for special reasons, the snow beast would not have bothered with the suggestion of the huge eye to join forces, and would have continued to hibernate instead.

“Bang!”

Chen Yiming’s consciousness reached out and grabbed the double-edged flying knife.

The terrifyingly sharp cutting power on it had created countless small holes in his palm. Each wound represented damage to his spiritual power via his consciousness. This was a spiritual attack.

“You… Why aren’t you dodging!” Wu Susu was dumbfounded.

She instantly thought that perhaps the other party was doing this in apology. After all, he probably did not do it on purpose back then. However, she had suddenly mentioned it again after all this time.

“Crack!”

After being in a stalemate for a while, the double-edged flying knife gradually lost its strength and was finally crushed by his consciousness.

Chen Yiming’s expression was calm as he waved his injured hand around. The holes in it were visibly filled, as if he had completely recovered from his injuries.

Wu Susu was in disbelief, but judging from the aura of the other party’s consciousness, it did not show any signs of weakening. However, the double-edged flying knife had clearly caused spiritual damage.

“It’s alright. It’s my turn next. Be careful.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yiming’s consciousness appeared on Wu Susu’s right and threw a punch at her.

“Boom!”

Wu Susu raised her hand to meet the attack.

Her spiritual talent leaned towards perception. The reason why she could quickly figure out the secret of the mysterious symbols was because of her extremely detailed perception.

Her perception was sharp, so her consciousness was naturally even sharper. The hand she extended seemed to be moving slowly, but it actually reached its position before the fist. It deflected the force at an unbelievable angle to provide the most suitable block.

The moment they made contact,

the pair of slender fingers wrapped around the incoming fist, and seemed to be trying to resolve it with force. However, in the next moment, the body of Wu Susu’s consciousness was sent flying into the distance.

As she flew back, the first thing that she started to lose control of was the white coat she had formed with her spiritual power, causing her naked figure to be revealed.

In a flash, Chen Yiming caught Wu Susu, who was flying back, near the barrier of the spiritual world.

“I only used a little strength. I didn’t expect…”

Although they were both in the inscription realm, the difference in the strength of their consciousness was too great. He was a little embarrassed that he had not achieved the effect of helping the other party practice.

Hearing this, Wu Susu almost fainted.

“Her forte is still in research. As expected, she can never be suited for such a head-on battle.”

The moment her consciousness collided with his, she felt like her entire body was about to explode. It felt like the other party only needed to use a little more strength to shatter her entire consciousness.

She let out a long breath, and the white coat returned to its normal state.

“This time, I roughly understand the strength you can withstand. Let’s try it again.”

Chen Yiming suggested that they continue. If they stopped, what if she brought up the past? After all, he had unintentionally seen her body again earlier.

This time, it was not like back when she had yet to start cultivating in earnest. How could he hide his eye movements from her?

Although Wu Susu was a little angry, she still agreed.

Other than Chen Yiming, she couldn’t find another suitable opponent to help her adapt to her new strength. Business was more important.

In the outside world,

Chen Yiming and the others walked towards Wu Susu. When they were face to face, the battle in their spiritual world had already ended.

Both of them had already returned to the real world.

Elder Zhang, Elder Huang, and Feng Wuji vaguely felt that something had changed.

Wu Susu’s condition had changed drastically. Previously, because she had to forcefully restrain her spiritual power within her spiritual world, she had given off a sense of nervousness from all over her body.

However, she now seemed to be more relaxed than ever. She was no longer worried that she would not be able to control her power or that it would leak out and destroy the surrounding laboratory buildings.

…

At midnight, while countless people were still sleeping.

In the former gathering place for mutant beasts in the wilderness of the Daxia Kingdom, a black obelisk was erected there almost at the same time as in the wilderness in the other countries.

At the same time, with the appearance of the black obelisks, a black smokescreen appeared that completely covered the surroundings. Light could not penetrate the smokescreen to reveal what was going on inside.

“Get up quickly!”

“Something’s happening!”

a hunter in charge of guarding the periphery of a certain mutant beast gathering place shouted.

The sound woke up his companions who were resting in the tent. They turned on the high-powered searchlights and hunters came out of the tents one after another, looking around warily.

At this moment, they pointed the high-powered searchlights at the black smokescreen. Only then did the hunter team realize that the source of the abnormality was the black obelisk that only had a small part visible through the smokescreen.

“What!”

Everyone gasped and fell silent, not daring to make a sound.

The gathering place of the mutant beasts, which had not changed much for many years, suddenly experienced a tremendous change. The scene in front of them gave off a sinister aura.

“That’s a gathering place for mutant beasts. Why isn’t there any sound?”

As soon as he said this, the hunters at the side felt even colder and their bodies trembled for no reason. The black smoke gave off a terrifying feeling, and it directly swallowed up the entire mutant beast gathering place.

Not long after, the hunter team did not even dare to take the equipment they had brought with them, and just slowly retreated step by step. When they were far enough, they turned around and ran towards the city, not daring to look back.

…

Jiangnan City, the provincial biological research institute.

The laboratory building was brightly lit, but Elder Zhang, Elder Huang, Feng Wuji, and the big shots from the military had already left one after another. Even Wu Weiguo had left the research institute to go home and rest.

In the open space in front of the laboratory building, two figures were moving around under the moonlight. Chen Yiming was trying his best to teach Wu Susu about actual combat using the power of nature as a weapon.

Wu Susu’s martial arts foundation was very weak, and her speed of breakthrough was even slower than Chen Yiming’s. In addition, she had spent most of her time and energy on scientific research.

As a result, her actual combat ability was completely unable to match up to others in the inscription realm, and she did not have the time to focus on the basics.

The two of them had weapons formed by mysterious symbols in their hands. Chen Yiming held a sword, and Wu Susu held five throwing knives in each hand.

Flying knives were an attack tool and method she had specially chosen based on her talent that leaned towards spiritual perception.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The impact from all the attacks were focused on one point. Every time Wu Susu made a mistake, Chen Yiming would help her suppress the fluctuations of her spiritual power.

Therefore, on the surface, the two of them looked like they were martial arts disciples, and did not reveal any fluctuations in their power.

Suddenly, the two of them stopped at the same time and turned to look at the source of the abnormality that had appeared in the night.

“A black obelisk?”

“In the graveyard that has already been destroyed by the spiritual figure, the black pillar there looked similar to the one that just appeared now. The only difference is that there was no black smoke.”

Chen Yiming’s gaze passed through the countless obstacles and saw the black obelisk that had risen from the ground. At the same time, he saw the black smoke that was released and gradually engulfed the entire area.