The First Order

1257 Smelted stone for armor, flames for cloak

D−1.

Ren Xiaosu instilled P5092 with great hope by telling him that with his willpower, it would not be a problem even if he were to summon more than 10,000 martyred spirits. In fact, Ren Xiaosu wasn’t even sure of his upper limits when it came to summoning the martyred spirits.

When he was at the Kingdom of Sorcerers, Melgor told him that the stronger a sorcerer’s willpower was, the larger their inner world of meditation would be. While everyone else only started off with a leaf in their inner world of meditation, Ren Xiaosu’s contained an entire world.

When it came to Ren Xiaosu’s willpower, it always felt like measuring it was close to impossible.

Moreover, Ren Xiaosu even told P5092 that not only would he be able to summon over 10,000 martyred spirits, but he could also let them live in the outside world without having to endure the darkness of the Martyr’s Palace.

After hearing him say all that, P5092 was finally convinced to evacuate with Ren Xiaosu.

Of course, P5092 remained skeptical of the claims.

After all, Luo Lan could only summon 12 martyred spirits with his superpower. Although Ren Xiaosu was publicly acknowledged as stronger than Luo Lan, could he really be a thousand times stronger?

That would really be so embarrassing for Luo Lan then.

Actually, P5092 had already learned to trust Ren Xiaosu unconditionally after working with him for so long. But when he deliberated how much more powerful Ren Xiaosu was than Luo Lan, he still found it a little unbelievable.

However, he could only wait for Ren Xiaosu to provide him with that answer.

In the end, P5092 decided to trust that Ren Xiaosu would conjure up a miracle for him.

While retreating, Ren Xiaosu went to look for Zhang Jinglin to clarify a matter which he was most puzzled about. “Teacher, where’s Xu Xianchu? Why haven’t I seen him around? Logically speaking, he should be quite strong as well, so why wasn’t he deployed to the battlefield?”

Zhang Jinglin thought for a moment and said, “Xu Xianchu is a rare supernatural being with two superpowers. However, compared to the damage he can deal, his defensive ability has actually gotten much more impressive now. So I sent him to guard a more important place.”

Ren Xiaosu was stunned. “Fortress 178?”

Zhang Jinglin shook his head. “No.”

Ren Xiaosu realized the so-called important place probably had something to do with Qing Zhen’s plan.

He didn’t expect that, though. Had Xu Xianchu’s black cauldron actually become so powerful?

The 1st Military Corps of the Northwest Army did not retreat at a fast pace. Before they left, P5092 had already drawn up a detailed plan for the evacuation. All infantry troops were to retreat with the armored troops because he judged the two groups of enemy forces in the southwest were about to arrive. If they retreated in a disorderly manner and got intercepted by those two fighting forces midway, it would all be over for the Northwest.

Even while retreating, they would have to preserve a fighting chance for themselves.

Currently, the two fighting forces in the southwest were what the Northwest Army should be most worried about.

Based on P5092’s deduction, the enemy’s first wave of troops would likely try to block them en route during their retreat back to Fortress 178.

But even though they knew all this, there was nothing they could do about it.

P5092 said that everyone would die.

…

At Position 141, the battalion commander who refused to evacuate with the wounded personnel was sitting quietly in the trenches and lighting up a cigarette.

A soldier next to him whispered to the battalion commander, “Battalion Commander, didn’t you say we’re not allowed to smoke during a battle? Because the enemy will discover our positions that way?”

The battalion commander scolded, “We’re already gonna die, so why do you still care about that?”

At this moment, the battalion commander was wearing a tactical vest with four grenades hanging off his chest. The safety pins of each grenade were connected together with a rope. All he needed to do was use his left arm, which was still functional, and give it a simple tug and the safety pins would come off.

Since his right arm was injured, it meant it would be very difficult for him to use his firearms. However, Position 141 did not need a good-for-nothing. Since he had the bravery to remain behind, the battalion commander had no intention of holding everyone back.

If all he could do was wave a flag behind his comrades to cheer them on, his reputation as their battalion commander would be completely tarnished.

The battalion commander suddenly hesitated for a moment. “Wait a minute, do you all think Future Commander and the others will still be able to find my molar teeth if I get blown up along with the grenades? If they can’t, my spirit can’t rest under the copper bell, right?”

The young soldiers at the side did not know whether to laugh or cry. At a time like this, the battalion commander was actually worried about something like that?

A soldier asked, “Battalion Commander, do you think the Northwest can win? Will someone really come and collect our molars when the war is over?”

“What are you blabbering about?” The battalion commander said unhappily, “Has our Northwest Army ever lost? Although we’ve also fought with much difficulty in the past, the Northwest Army has never lost before! Don’t worry, we’ll definitely be the victors at the end of this war.”

“Battalion Commander, you’re lying. I heard from Brigade Commander that in the early years, we always lost when we fought against the sorcerers….”

“Fucking bullshit!” The battalion commander said anxiously, “Did those sorcerers finish off the Northwest Army then? I didn’t think so. As long as there’s still someone standing in the Northwest Army, it’s not considered a defeat. It’s just strategic forbearance on our part. Look, after enduring for so long, didn’t Future Commander lead the 6th Field Division to wipe them out? The final victory was still ours!”

“Battalion Commander, you really shouldn’t scold the brigade commander….”

“So what if I scold him?!”

But at this moment, the soldiers responsible for observing the situation outside the trenches looked out through a periscope and were surprised to see a dense horde rushing over 800 meters away from the defensive position.

“We’re under attack! They’re here!” the soldier roared.

The battalion commander casually extinguished his cigarette butt against the wall of the trenches and said, “Brothers, we have no chance of returning with our lives, but our retreating comrades are still making their way back. We have to buy them some time and give them some hope.”

Everyone knew the second echelon of the defensive line would not hold for much longer. All they could do was try their best to stall for as much time as possible.

…

At Mt. Tianzhu, which was more than a 100 kilometers south of Fortress 178, a convoy that stretched dozens of kilometers was speeding northwards along a mountain path.

P5092’s guess was right. If everything happened according to what he predicted, these troops, who had seized all the vehicles in the Southwest, would indeed try to block the 1st Military Corps’ retreat.

However, just as they were about to drive out of Mt. Tianzhu, a young man and a girl jumping rope appeared at the foot of the mountain.

The young man, who was dressed in a tuxedo and a magician’s hat in the wilderness, looked slightly out of place.

The little girl sang happily, “Jump rope, jump rope wanna play? Jump rope, jump rope what d’ya say? Jump rope, jump rope hop in time. Jump rope, jump rope, sing in rhyme.”

The convoy gradually came to a stop.

This sight seemed to intrigue Zero quite a bit.

In front of the countless troops, people were jumping rope at the foot of the mountain as though no one were around. There was even a huge metallic box at their side holding something unknown.

The halted convoy was quiet and solemn. Meanwhile, the people who were jumping rope appeared extremely relaxed.

Li Shentan had a look at the convoy before slowly stopping what he was doing. He sighed and said, “What’s so fun about jumping rope? Why does Ren Xiaosu like to do it so much?”

Si Liren curled her lips. “I think it’s really fun.”

“That’s because you’re still young, but Ren Xiaosu isn’t young anymore,” Li Shentan ridiculed.

The two of them chatted as though the troops a short distance away were nonexistent.

The enemy troops alighted from their vehicles. In just a few seconds, the entire wilderness was seemingly filled with people. It was an extremely spectacular sight to behold.

Zero understood that since Li Shentan had appeared here, it meant he intended to stop its troops here at Mt. Tianzhu.

Li Shentan looked at all of the calm faces and lamented, “If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought they’d all been hypnotized by me.”

Someone stepped out of the crowd and walked towards Li Shentan.

Li Shentan suddenly realized he knew this person. “What was your name again…”

“I’m Zero.” Zero answered.

“No, I’m referring to this person under your control.” Li Shentan said, “I think I’ve met him before.”

“Oh, his name is Xu Zhi. I placed him under my control in Luoyang City,” Zero answered.

“No wonder I thought he looked so familiar. So this is the president of the Qinghe University Student Council who later went on to be the president of the Qinghe Group,” Li Shentan said with a nod.

“Are you stopping me here to prevent me from proceeding further?” Zero asked.

“Hey, hey, don’t be in such a hurry to get down to business, alright? Can’t we stall for time by chatting about some other topic first?” Li Shentan said with a laugh.

However, Zero unexpectedly answered, “Alright, I happen to have some matters I’d like to talk with you about. I’ve been wanting to know more about you recently….”

“Know about me? In what way?” Li Shentan was a little surprised.

“From what I’ve gathered from the numerous human minds I control,” Zero answered, “I’m surprised to know that most people don’t actually hate you. They feel more envious towards an unstable existence such as you due to your powerful hypnotism power. Most people have fantasized about what they can do if they had a power like yours to hypnotize others, like making someone they have a crush on fall in love with them, or making bank employees hand over money voluntarily. But you’ve never used your power that way before, right? Why?”

Li Shentan laughed and said, “It’s really simple, isn’t it? On one hand, I don’t have a girl I like yet. On the other hand, I don’t lack any money.”

“You seem to have recovered to your normal self now. You no longer resemble a lunatic anymore.” Zero said in seriousness, “Is it because you have control over your own willpower?”

No one had ever asked Li Shentan this before: “Have you recovered from your illness?”

Everyone was used to the label he had been given. It was as though he would remain a lunatic forever.

However, Zero was different. It was constantly validating different kinds of “data” at every moment. Therefore, it keenly realized the current Li Shentan was different from before.

Li Shentan was stunned. Then he said with a smile, “You actually realized? My willpower has reached the threshold of 70%. In fact, when a person’s willpower reaches this level, their mental world will also approach the state of perfection.”

“Congratulations,” Zero said in a serious tone.

Li Shentan raised an eyebrow. “What are you congratulating me for? Because I’ve made a full recovery? Actually, I’m not happy about it.”

“Among humans, doesn’t recovering from an illness deserve congratulations?” Zero said.

“But I don’t wish to recover fully.” Li Shentan said softly, “To me, my illness allows me to completely reverse my logic so I no longer have to experience normal emotions. I don’t even need to have normal memories. This means I can choose to forget some things as and when I like.”

He wanted to forget the day his mother died.

He wanted to forget those hateful faces.

A lot of mental illnesses were a result of the brain’s self-protection mechanism. Being mentally ill was like escaping to a safe haven. When the brain felt that you couldn’t endure all the stress anymore, it would cut you off from those triggering factors.

It would cut you off from those memories like they had never occurred.

But once you were strong enough again, the brain would return to its normal functions.

Most people would not have a chance to recover from that state, but Li Shentan was different. He was close to being able to control his own subconsciousness completely.

Unlike most superhumans in the world where everyone’s superpowers were passively awakened before they learned to control them, Li Shentan was the only one who had control over his own willpower.

Therefore, when he recovered from his mental illness, every moment felt like agony to him.

He kept flipping the silver coin in his hand. The female bust on the coin exuded gentleness and dignity.

Li Shentan said, “When I was young, my mother often made egg custard for me to eat. When I said I liked my egg custard very smooth and tender, she would stir the eggs without complaint in the hot summer weather. Back then, she would take me onto the streets and point at the signs of shops for me to learn how to read. I remember seeing a hot pot restaurant once, and I couldn’t remember how that word was written or pronounced no matter what, but she still patiently taught me over and over again.”

However, a gentle and caring woman like her ended up getting harmed and killed by others.

The young Li Shentan cried and screamed, but no one was willing to help him. In fact, they even discussed excitedly that the woman must have had an affair, and that she was definitely not a virtuous person.

This scene kept replaying in Li Shentan’s mind. For some reason, even though he could almost completely control his subconsciousness now, he was still unable to dispel this memory.

It was the darkness in the Demon Whisperer’s heart, constantly absorbing light and warmth for its own sustenance.

At some point, Li Shentan even wanted to destroy himself. That way, his agony would end.

Zero suddenly said to Li Shentan, “Actually, sometimes, I feel like I’m very similar to you.”

Li Shentan came to a realization. This was the reason why Zero was willing to chat with him and let him stall for time.

Because Zero felt that it might have something in common with Li Shentan.

Zero was also lonely.

The world it faced seemed to be much crueler than the one Li Shentan experienced. Countless people spoke ill of it, and even its father tried to destroy it before he died.

If Zero were regarded as an independent person, its life would indeed be really tragic.

Li Shentan said, “I roughly know what you’re going through as well. Well, abnormal personalities are often accompanied by unfortunate childhoods. Some of those who’re affected will become antisocial, some will become exceptionally fond of controlling others, and others will start hating the world or have a tendency to self-destruct. Which type are you? Look, I’ve been ill for such a long time that I can even be a doctor. Who knows, maybe you can share a little more about yourself and I can help treat your illness? After all, I’m a classic case of a mentally ill person recovering….”

However, Zero did not answer Li Shentan’s question this time. Instead, it suddenly said, “I must be on my way. Otherwise, it’ll be too late.”

Zero’s time management was extremely precise. Its priority now was to prevent the 1st Military Corps of the Northwest Army from making it back to Fortress 178. Only then could it tilt the scales of victory in its favor.

Li Shentan shook his head and laughed. “You won’t get past me.”

“You should know what it’ll take to stop me.” Zero said in seriousness, “You’ll destroy yourself by trying to slow me down. But you have to understand, this is only one of the troops that I’m controlling. Moreover, is it worth sacrificing your own life so that others may be saved?”

“Actually, I don’t wish to do it this way either.” Li Shentan said with a laugh, “But I’ve already promised my friend Ren Xiaosu that I’d help wake Chen Wudi up. I unintentionally made a huge mistake in the past. I can’t believe there are still such innocent people in this era. I can die, but Chen Wudi mustn’t.”

As they spoke, Zero knew there was no chance of any further discussion between the two sides. The horde that filled the entire wilderness started rushing towards Li Shentan.

But Li Shentan did not panic. He gently flicked the silver coin in his hand into the air.

“Quiet,” Li Shentan said softly. Only a silvery galaxy remained in his pupils. It was as though there was an entire world within his eyes.

At the side, Si Liren noticed something was off and hurriedly shouted, “Li Shentan, don’t you dare…”

Before Little Liren could finish speaking, all the sound in the entire world was drowned out by the metallic tinkling of the silver coin spinning in the air.

There was no longer the sound of footsteps or breathing. Only the sound of Li Shentan’s silver coin spinning could be heard!

In that instant, the world seemed to have stopped. Countless people fell into a daze, including Si Liren.

As the sound reverberated into the distance, the horde, with their calm faces, looked like it had been affected by the ripple of the spinning coin’s tinkling. Like dominoes falling, the faces of those in the horde gradually turned blank.

However, this was still not enough. As the tinkling rippled outwards, it gradually weakened.

Li Shentan laughed and said, “Someday, even demons will have their salvation. Ren Xiaosu, I don’t owe you anything more from now on.”

A moment later, Li Shentan’s body started turning ethereal as brilliant stardust dissipated from his body.

The sound of the tinkling coin that rippled outwards finally hypnotized everyone who was under Zero’s control.

This was the first time Li Shentan managed to hypnotize a million people all by himself.

The nanomachines in the bodies of these one million people were destroyed en masse.

If this were in the past, he would probably have controlled the million people to fight the enemy. But Li Shentan didn’t do that now. He just left the hypnotized standing there quietly.

At this moment, he was only half a step away from becoming a true god. However, he knew he couldn’t truly cross that threshold. There was only one person in this world who could.

Li Shentan turned around and said to Little Liren with a smile, “I’m sorry, this is the first time I’ve hypnotized you, and also the last. Liren, don’t read too many romance novels and snack less in the future. Don’t trust others too easily, and please don’t… don’t forget me.”

At this point, a glistening tear suddenly fell from each of the Demon Whisperer’s eyes. However, he still maintained his smile. “Go and look for Grandpa. Help me thank him for being by my side all these years.”

After that, the dazed Little Liren burst into tears. She tried to break free from his control, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not defeat Li Shentan, who was only half a step away from becoming a true god.

In the end, Si Liren flew north with a dazed expression.

Li Shentan’s body was still dissipating into stardust. The two drops of tears that remained under his eyes looked as though they were there originally. This made him resemble a magician who was about to put on a grand performance even more.

Seemingly sensing sadness in his willpower, the million-strong army controlled by Li Shentan in Mt. Tianzhu suddenly started crying in unison.

However, it was not over yet. Li Shentan knew full well that another group of troops were advancing northwards from the southwest at this moment, but he no longer had the strength to manage them.

If those troops were to reach the Northwest, everything he was doing now would still be pointless.

Watching Si Liren disappear into the horizon, Li Shentan finally turned to the metallic box next to him and said, “I was too willful back then, and that was the reason there was no one left to defend the stronghold when the Experimentals attacked. Actually, I didn’t think I did anything wrong, because I felt that everyone in that stronghold deserved to die. But that was only before I heard about your death.

“You’ve been asleep all this while because you felt there was no longer a need for good people in the world, that there was no need for the Great Sage, someone who’s a ray of light like you. The cruelest truth in the world is that life will not be kind to you just because you’re a good person.”

A mutter came from the metallic box.

“The world no longer needs the Great Sage. But, Wudi, you have to understand that you’re a good person because you want to be one. There’s no need to change yourself because of how others treat you.”

The muttering sounded again.

“Not needed anymore.

“And all that I’m doing here today is to let you know the light you left in this world has even influenced a demon to seek salvation. So everything you did was for something. From now on, there will surely be a crown of righteousness accorded to you.”

Li Shentan, who was still dissipating away, said softly, “Go on, even if the entire world doesn’t need you, your master does.”

“Master… The Western Paradise… I’ve been there before.

“Master needs me.

“But who am I?”

In the darkness of the box, Chen Wudi carefully recalled everything that had happened.

He used to be the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He had turned the tide and saved the stronghold. He used to be the Victorious Fighting Buddha. He had made it to the Western Paradise before.

But it seemed that his past and present lives didn’t need to be traced back that far.

That young man’s words kept echoing in the darkness.

‘Wudi, if you constantly feel like you’re being devoured by the darkness, wouldn’t it mean you’re the light then?

‘Wudi. If a good person doesn’t get acknowledged by others, it’s the world that is wrong. It’s not your fault.

‘Wudi, you’re that ray of light.’

“Master.”

Chen Wudi recalled everything. He was Ren Xiaosu’s disciple. That was all.

In that instant, a brilliant glow suddenly bloomed through the gaps of the metallic box. In the darkness of the box, the stone statue’s entire body emitted a golden glow like a swirling dragon.

The layer of stone skin gradually loosened, and the shackles holding the Great Sage in place started breaking apart. The tough stone layer melted away, revealing a golden glow underneath.

Even the red cloak on Chen Wudi’s back turned more vibrant like a ball of fire.

A second later, the metallic box shattered into pieces. Chen Wudi leaped into the sky with the Golden-Hooped Rod in hand. With a wave of his arm, his red cloak fluttered in the wind like a flag.

His armor of gold was unblemished, and the two striped feathers on his head pointed upwards at the sky.

This was the day of the demon’s salvation.

Chen Wudi’s armor formed from the smelted stone. His cloak fluttered like a fiery flame.

Li Shentan looked up with a bright smile on his face. Then, with the last wisp of his willpower, he turned into a ray of light and disappeared from the world.

From now on, there would be no more sunny days or blizzards in his world.

Chen Wudi watched silently in the sky as Li Shentan disappeared. Then he took a great leap and flew towards the other group of AI-controlled troops in the southwest.

A trail of iridescent clouds and sunlight followed right behind him.

When he found the AI-controlled troops heading north, Chen Wudi plucked a handful of hair from the back of his head. When he blew it into the wind, a 100,000 golden monkeys appeared and floated down towards the ground.

One of the soldiers looked up at Chen Wudi. “Are you Chen Wudi? I’m very happy to meet you.”

“Don’t feel happy too soon.”

At the same time, the Dawn defensive line was breached. The artificial intelligence’s mechanized troops sped towards Fortress 178.

Zero knew there was no hope for the troops in the southwest to reach the Northwest anymore. In that case, its troops in the northwest would have to pick up their pace.