Chapter 71 - 68: Survival Laws of the Post-Apocalypse!

Chapter 71: Chapter 68: Survival Laws of the Post-Apocalypse!

Normally, when a Martial Artist’s cultivation reached the Fetal Breath Realm, the Qi Blood and Inner Breath in their body would circulate internally in a self-sustaining loop. Their aura would be completely restrained, showing no outward signs of its presence.

This was why Liu Zimo’s aura remained hidden and unassuming after breaking through to the Fetal Breath Realm, even though his strength had multiplied tenfold.

Anyone who met him could not sense the imposing might of a Grandmaster. Instead, they assumed he was an ordinary, harmless man.

This gave many Martial Artists who had never actually fought him the illusion that Liu Zimo was perhaps not as powerful as imagined.

Some even naively believed that Lou Yuchen, having broken through to the Golden Body Realm, now possessed the strength to stand as Liu Zimo’s equal. Unable to hold back, they emerged from the shadows to instigate and provoke.

However, now, because of the sudden, explosive increase in both his Martial Arts Cultivation and Divine Soul Cultivation, the aura inside Liu Zimo’s body had reached its absolute limit and overflowed.

A portion of his aura, along with his Martial Arts Domain and Divine Soul Domain, erupted and expanded outward uncontrollably. In an instant, it enveloped everything within a thousand-meter radius.

Every Martial Artist caught within this Martial Arts Domain and Divine Soul Domain was forced to prostrate themselves by the overwhelming, god-like aura, unable to move a single inch.

It was only then that they truly felt Liu Zimo’s terrifying might.

It turned out that in front of Advisor Liu, they were not even considered ants by the side of the road!

To think that earlier, most of them had believed Advisor Liu was merely throwing his weight around the Military Staff Department using his status! They had thought his actual strength was mediocre, rendering him nothing more than a harmless little sheep.

They thought in dismay, "We were so horribly wrong! How the hell is this a harmless little sheep? This is a terrifying Tyrannosaurus that could devour someone at any moment!"

The crowd trembled in fear, utterly unsettled.

The scene of Liu Zimo effortlessly slaughtering Sun Chenghu and thirty-one others with a casual wave of his hand had already brought them immense dread and unease.

Now, shrouded in Liu Zimo’s oppressive aura, they had all become meat on a chopping block.

This absolute powerlessness, where their lives and deaths were entirely out of their hands, left them terrified and trembling.

They had no idea what fate awaited them.

They only knew that if Liu Zimo wanted to kill them, they would be completely incapable of resisting. They could only close their eyes and wait for death!

Out of everyone present, only Yang Sisi, Ye Feihong, and the three Military Staff Department’s Inner Guards who had aligned themselves with Liu Zimo from the very beginning felt at ease.

The more unrivaled strength Liu Zimo displayed, the deeper their sense of security grew.

To be able to follow such a peerless powerhouse during the Post-Apocalypse was an opportunity and a blessing that could not be earned in several lifetimes!

Very soon, after just a few minutes, the anxious crowd suddenly felt the pressure on their bodies ease. That terrifying aura, which had descended like divine wrath, instantly dissipated into thin air.

As they gasped heavily and scrambled up from the ground, looking like survivors of a disaster, they saw Liu Zimo slowly rise from his seat. His calm, emotionless gaze swept over each and every one of them.

SWISH!

Everyone’s hearts tightened. They bowed their heads, none daring to meet Liu Zimo’s eyes.

"My apologies for startling everyone."

Liu Zimo withdrew his focus and spoke calmly.

His voice was not loud, yet it transmitted with absolute clarity into the ears of every person present.

"These men from earlier harbored malicious intentions. They sought to overthrow the Military Staff Department’s rule and once again plunge all of Luozhou City into chaos. In accordance with wartime regulations, I have executed them on the spot.

"I hope all of you here will take this as a warning and refrain from committing such foolish, rebellious acts in the future!"

PHEW!

Hearing Liu Zimo’s words, everyone present unconsciously let out a long breath of relief.

Since he told them to "take this as a warning," it meant Advisor Liu did not intend to pursue the matter any further.

Naturally, this meant they would not end up dead on this Celestial Terrace without the slightest ability to fight back, like Sun Chenghu and his group.

As long as they could stay alive, nothing else mattered!

As for Sun Chenghu and his cronies, they were dead and gone. Who would actually care?

"Advisor Liu is absolutely right!"

"We also despise what Sun Chenghu and his lot did. From now on, we will follow Advisor Liu’s every command! We will absolutely never harbor any disloyal thoughts!"

The crowd bowed in unison to declare their stances, their emotions running high and their tones incredibly sincere.

After this incident, how could they dare harbor any disloyal thoughts? How could they dare show even the slightest disrespect to Liu Zimo again?

Who the hell could afford to offend a god-like existence capable of squashing them to death at any moment?

"You are mistaken. You are not to follow my every command, but to obey the directives of the Military Staff Department and submit to the unified command and dispatch of the state!"

Liu Zimo corrected them with a serious expression,

"I am merely a Martial Arts Consultant for the Military Staff Department. Although I am on the payroll, I have no command authority. From now on, all military affairs within Luozhou City will still primarily follow Director Liang’s orders!

"In short, the future stability and development of Luozhou City will entirely depend on all of you here working together!"

With a single sentence, he cemented Liang Luojun’s absolute leadership position in Luozhou City.

Although there was a degree of perfunctoriness in this, and few of those present would actually take it entirely to heart.

At least on the surface, Liang Luojun was undeniably the top authority of the Military Staff Department.

As the person in question, Liang Luojun naturally understood the implication.

However, for him personally, simply being able to retain his current position right now was already spectacular news.

He did not dare to extravagantly hope he could truly take complete control of the Military Staff Department and become the genuine top authority of Luozhou City.

"Alright, the unpleasantness is behind us. Let us continue with today’s banquet!"

Liu Zimo raised a hand and pointed to both sides of the Celestial Terrace, where piles of Vajra Beast tenderloin had already been pre-sliced by Yang Sisi and the others. He said calmly,

"These are the main ingredients I prepared for you all. Trust me, just one bite and you will completely fall in love with them!"

With that, Liu Zimo took the lead, grabbing a tender piece of tenderloin and placing it on the grill to roast over the fire.

While grilling the meat, Liu Zimo projected his focus outward and began selecting new bindable targets.

It had to be said that any Martial Artist who could elevate their cultivation to the peak of the Copper Skin Realm, or even the Iron Bone Realm, during the Early Stage of the Demon Disaster was a genius among geniuses.

He hadn’t discovered them before because they had all been scattered across the four corners of the city, making them difficult to encounter.

But now, these Martial Arts Talents—even prodigies—had all been gathered together by Liu Zimo, courtesy of his official position.

From the moment these people stepped onto the Celestial Terrace, Liu Zimo had seen wave after wave of Golden Shadow Locks and Red Shadow Locks intertwining in a delightfully radiant display.

If it hadn’t been for Sun Chenghu and his group courting death and wasting time, Liu Zimo would have likely already bound all these geniuses and prodigies as his "Good Brothers" and "besties."

However, good things come to those who wait. Binding them now was just as good!

With a thought, a continuous string of locking sounds and system prompts rang in his ears:

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Yang Jiping has come online. Current bindable targets (19/50)]

[Binding successful! Your Good Brother Feng Shaoning has come online. Current bindable targets (20/50)]

[...]

[Binding successful! Your bestie Fang Suhong has come online. Current bindable targets (48/50)]

In the blink of an eye, Liu Zimo had directly bound thirty "Good Brothers" and "besties."

Among them, three were Red Shadow Locks possessing Grandmaster potential, while the rest were all Golden Shadow Locks with Innate potential.

"Not bad at all. Just two more and it will be completely maxed out!"

Liu Zimo nodded in satisfaction, in a wonderful mood. He spoke up again to greet the crowd.

"There is no need to stand on ceremony, everyone. There’s plenty of barbecue to go around today, so please help yourselves!"

Seeing Advisor Liu suddenly become so genial, the crowd finally relaxed for real. They scattered to the barbecue areas on either side and got busy.

Soon, smoke and fire permeated the entire Celestial Terrace. The enticing aroma exuded by the Regiment Level Vajra Beast tenderloin continuously wafted into everyone’s noses.

GULP! GULP!

The sound of people swallowing their saliva could be heard everywhere.

Many Martial Artists at the peak of the Copper Skin Realm, suffering from severe deficits in their own Qi Blood Energy, were completely unable to resist the seductive meaty aroma of the Vajra Tenderloin. Some couldn’t even wait for the chunks of meat to fully cook before impatiently gorging themselves, constantly stuffing their mouths!

Meanwhile, the thirty-two corpses lying in the center of the Celestial Terrace had been cleared away by men under Liang Luojun’s orders.

While dispatching his men to clean up the bodies, Liang Luojun also quietly instructed Zhou Yiren that they must eliminate them at the roots. They had to completely eradicate the forces behind Sun Chenghu and the others, along with all their direct relatives!

Although the two spoke in low voices, they could not hide it from Liu Zimo, who was already a peak Grandmaster.

Liu Zimo merely raised an eyebrow at this and did not voice any objections.

The Post-Apocalypse had its own survival Laws.

Once certain things were set in motion, they had to be seen through to the absolute, ruthless end!

No matter the circumstances, one could not leave even the slightest loose end; otherwise, it would be an act of irresponsibility towards oneself and one’s family.

As a Grandmaster Realm Martial Artist himself, Liu Zimo naturally feared nothing. However, his old man, younger uncle, and little brother lacked his ability to protect themselves.

Therefore, even if Liang Luojun had not issued the order to eliminate them at the roots, Liu Zimo would have eventually gone and eradicated all these hidden threats one by one.

"This Liang Luojun might be somewhat lacking in Martial Arts Talent, but he is quite sharp and sensible. I could put some focus on cultivating him in the future!"

Taking a bite of his barbecue, Liu Zimo cast a brief sideways glance at Liang Luojun, his estimation of this "sensible" Director Liang rising a few notches.