Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo

Both Tai Sui and I simultaneously turned our heads to look into the depths of the grey mist. The sound of footsteps gradually approached us, and then the source emerged from within the mist.

It was a young man dressed in casual attire, resembling an ordinary person you could encounter anywhere.

Although he was in the Void Realm, he didn't appear as a black silhouette like the past Void Envoys. Instead, he appeared here with a normal human appearance, just like me. This alone was enough to prove that he, like me, had stepped through the third gate, someone powerful enough to maintain his true self regardless of the worldview.

The newcomer was none other than the long-missing Lushan Great Impermanence, Prophet, Liu Shuying.

Or rather, Seal Master Liu Shuying.

He gazed at Tai Sui and then made a respectful gesture, saying, "Long time no see, Teacher. My thoughts were indeed correct; the 'Master of Divine Seal' once promoted by Xuanming is you."

Suddenly seeing a past student appear before him, Tai Sui asked with alarm, "Why would you appear in this place?"

"Why... What a strange question." Liu Shuying smiled slightly, "Were you trying to hold a meeting secretly avoiding me? That won't do, Teacher. In today's world, roles above the level of Impermanence can produce mysterious sensations just by being called by name.

"Especially in this void where there's nothing, it's strange not to notice being suddenly named. For an old man, isn't it difficult to grasp such trending 'settings'?"

Tai Sui frowned and said, "Such things can't happen. Leaving aside why you're wandering in the void... Even possessing the ability to sense things remotely in this void isn't worth wondering about, but this Void Realm is dominated by my worldview. No supernatural abilities should engage with this place. You shouldn't have heard our conversation here... Wait...

He suddenly realized something and turned his head to look at me. I was also slightly reminded by this glance, and only then did I understand how Liu Shuying heard the 'naming' here. Because I, as a Third Gate Impermanence capable of twisting external worldviews, was present in this location, the setting of the Void Realm had also been distorted, and its sealed information naturally wavered.

With the full use of the Power of Manifestation, it certainly won't conflict with the Void Realm. However, from the start, I had been poised, ready to use Mana in this Mana-denying domain, and causing environmental influences was inevitable.

"Long time no see, Liu Shuying." I looked at him, "Since you've heard our conversation, I'd like to ask you a question."

Liu Shuying chuckled, "So sudden. Alright then, ask away. I'll consider whether to answer."

"Are you to be my ally or my enemy?" I asked.

The last time, we teamed up to assassinate Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang. Although Liu Shuying must have hidden most of his power, he was considered an ally. However, as many things came to light, Liu Shuying's adversarial stance began to reveal itself.

If Liu Shuying truly bore an extremely similar character to my past self, then we are inevitably irreconcilable.

Liu Shuying first pondered and then raised his hand, pointing to his teacher.

"My teacher wants the 'previous world'." His index finger slowly moved in my direction, "You want 'this world'..."

Finally, he pointed to himself, "While I want 'the next world'."

"I think our three positions should be very clear now." He continued, "To me, the previous world, although it birthed my hometown, is unquestionably a dreadfully boring world. Although this current world is very interesting, it's a flawed failure.

"I admit all this is due to my lack of thorough consideration when reshaping the world in the past, focused only on manifesting my ideal world without realizing that the worldview I yearn for simply couldn't logically sustain itself...

"No, maybe I have somewhat aware of it, my fantasy inevitably being flawed delusion. I just thought the divine seal would surely help me make it self-consistent, or perhaps at least unlikely to actualize. Who could have imagined the divine seal was powerful enough to turn even those inconsistent fantasies into reality?

"But my adventure definitely won't be stopped at such a place. After doomsday annihilates everything, I will use the divine seal again to reshape the world into a more exciting form.

"Zhuang Cheng, you may have once been my understanding ally, but now you've chosen a different path from mine. Maybe you're also a form I could become in the future, but I won't try to recruit you as a partner like my teacher. For I will respect your resolve and will.

"Thus, we are enemies. As a gesture of respect, I'll undoubtedly crush you totally."

Hearing this, Tai Sui's gaze sharpened, and he berated, "Do you think I'd stand aside and watch as you once again act recklessly? If it were in the outside world it might be tolerated, but this is my domain!

"Zhuang Cheng, perhaps we too can only be diametrically opposed, but now join forces with me and first subdue this guy Liu Shuying."

I didn't respond immediately but carefully observed Liu Shuying.

"Zhuang Cheng, what are you hesitating for?" Tai Sui's voice turned questioning.

After observing, I came to a conclusion: "Liu Shuying, you're not in your original form right now, are you."

I am a Manifestation and Enlightenment, able to transform my mana into anything, hence possessing a sensitivity to "things transformed by mana" far beyond my peers. Being able to make this judgment now is not due to seeing some flaw with my eyes. Liu Shuying's Transformation Technique is exceedingly realistic, even the Master of Divine Seal didn't seem to notice anything amiss on his home ground. It was my intuition that provided the answer directly.

The declaration of war by the opponent seems to not be aimed at the present, but rather a challenge addressed to the future.

Liu Shuying nodded in acknowledgment, "That's right, my original form is currently contending with the Old Fist God. Although I heard the call of my name in the Void, I still don't want to let go of the matter over there, so I've only sent this avatar here. I hope you don't mind."

"Is it really an avatar?" Tai Sui said, half-believing.

"The Old Fist God is also in the Void?" I noticed this point.

Liu Shuying shook his head and said, "No, the Old Fist God is in the real world, he's preventing me from returning from the Void."

"What happened?" I was curious, "Why did you end up in the Void, does it have anything to do with the Old Fist God?"

Liu Shuying retorted, "Do you think I would naively explain my intelligence to the enemy like a classic villain from a battle manga?"

"I've even created the opportunity for you to explain, with no one stopping you, why wouldn't you?" I said.

Liu Shuying was stunned for a moment, then smiled relievedly.

"It would be nice if we could become friends," he said, "I entered the Void after cooperating with you to assassinate Taoyuan Village Master, to be precise, I was struck into the Void.

"As you may have guessed, yes, I hid my true level of power.

"Things should start with the divine seal. You seem to have divided the divine seal into 'Current World Divine Seal' and 'Doomsday Divine Seal'? Then I'll use those terms as well.

"After changing the world by making a wish, since my background and so on were changed, I was no longer a member of the Arctic Expedition Team, nor could I be in the Arctic region, instead, I was transferred to a city in China, becoming a university student again.

"However, the Current World Divine Seal did not transfer with me. Based on my internet research, the Arctic Expedition Team I once joined doesn't exist in the New World, so the divine seal should be left in that ancient civilization ruin. Unfortunately, despite having immense potential in the New World, I must undergo adventures and training to actualize it. This was a limitation I deliberately set for myself, but unexpectedly it became an obstacle to retrieving the divine seal.

"As an ordinary university student, I had no channels, nor funds, or connections. Under such conditions without equipment and being alone, venturing deeply into the polar regions would be too reckless.

"At that time, I didn't know the teacher also retained memories of the old world, thinking that the divine seal still in the Arctic wouldn't move, after all, it hadn't been found in the past 66 million years; could anyone else really get to it before me? So I focused first on the Extraordinary Power I was most interested in, spent some effort, acquired a little bit of power, and then planned to head to the Arctic to retrieve the divine seal…"

"—You couldn't possibly accomplish it." Tai Sui said solemnly, "With the Arctic glaciers melting faster, the place we first discovered the divine seal is now fragmented. The Current World Divine Seal also fell into the Arctic Ocean and vanished."

"Would things have been different if I had gone earlier?" Liu Shuying sighed, "But who could have foreseen that the setback I suffered wasn't caused by the teacher or anyone else but the suddenly strengthened greenhouse effect in the New World?

"Later on, I often searched the Arctic Circle, hoping to find the whereabouts of the Current World Divine Seal. However, four years later, what I couldn't find in the Arctic Circle, I accidentally sensed it upon returning to the Luoshan Headquarters."

I recalled the time during our conspiracy to assassinate Taoyuan Village Master when Liu Shuying once said.

The reason why he wasn't continuing to search in the Arctic Circle for "something" was because there had been a breakthrough in the matter, shortly afterwards followed by some 'insurmountable difficulty'.

This is why he wanted to focus his attention first on the issue of Shan Liangyi.

Coincidentally, during the same period, after the funeral ceremony of Divine Light, the Old Fist God, who was rarely seen, also appeared at the Luoshan Headquarters.

These two matters were not isolated.

"Did you discover the Current World Divine Seal with Old Fist God...?" I asked.

Liu Shuying nodded and then said, "If the Current World Divine Seal had fallen into someone else's hands, I could have taken action to seize it, but things unfolded in the worst possible way: the Current World Divine Seal ended up with the most troublesome person... however, perhaps this wasn't a coincidence, but a kind of inevitability."