Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo

As he spoke, Weichi again glanced around, his expression changed dramatically.

The residential area was repaired by me, but the rest of the city is still in a state of desolation and destruction. Moreover, the Teleportation Door that should have stood beside it had disappeared. Unlike Weichi's condition, Shan Liangyi's attack was aimed specifically at destroying the Teleportation Door, and I was unable to repair it. The demon hunters who should be patrolling and guarding the vicinity are also absent; there are only the two of us here.

Weichi seemed to realize the truth and closed his eyes to sense something, then said with difficulty: "The Divine Seal Fragment is gone, I'm no longer a Void Envoy... Could it be that I've died once already?"

"It was Shan Liangyi who killed you, and I revived you," I said, "Welcome to a month later, Weichi."

Using this sentence as a starting point, I explained to him in detail my experiences, and the events happening in this world.

I did this also to sort out my own emotions. With so many upheavals, frankly speaking, I felt somewhat numb. Causing information to be broken down and narrated as directed at others, my mind seemed to slowly recover its senses, deeply feeling the shock of the world dynamics.

Saltwater City and its surrounding areas were all destroyed by Shan Liangyi's strike aimed at the Teleportation Door. He was originally capable enough to only destroy the Teleportation Door, yet in a casual, non-combat state, he didn't bother to restrain his powers much. Even if he wiped out the entire city and all the living people inside, it was of little concern to him.

Weichi slowly processed this information and looked at me with an inexplicable gaze, murmuring, "Now you can easily revive even Great Success Rank demon hunters..."

"Let me clarify, this is already my limit. If you want me to revive the Great Unpredictable Qilin, that's beyond my ability. Don't get your hopes up," I said.

"I understand," Weichi said, "I'm not that greedy."

As we spoke, the ground suddenly began to shake violently but soon calmed down.

"What's going on? Saltwater City shouldn't be an earthquake-prone area..." Weichi said sensitively.

"It's the residual effects from the damage some time ago," I said.

The great abyss that appeared in the capital and penetrated the Earth, although several kilometers in diameter, compared to the Earth's massive size, was merely akin to piercing a globe with a very long needle. For the planet itself, it was a minor matter, and since the mantle and core, accounting for more than ninety-nine percent of the Earth's mass, are fluid molten material, only the crust would bear a "small scar."

But for humans living on the surface, things aren't so simple. The flow of mantle material will drive the tectonic plates of the crust to migrate, and earthquakes are a natural phenomenon resulting from the energy released by the activities and friction of crustal plates. Even if the force that penetrated the Earth was highly concentrated and did not produce excessive shockwaves, subsequent events would bring a series of secondary disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to the surface.

The European continent being shattered by one-third would also generate a mass of unpredictable geological disasters, and elsewhere, some mountain ranges affecting global weather have been flattened, making the future climate even more unpredictable.

Since there's talk of protecting "the present world," I might have to consider how to resolve these issues in the future. After all, should a super-disaster like the eruption of the Yellowstone Volcano lead to the destruction or massive regression of human civilization, the meaning of what I'm doing now would also diminish.

I can still feel the gathering of death located at the distant Earth Core—the Planetary Consciousness, along with some suspicious aura in the mantle realm. The latter might be what Gua Tianshi once mentioned as the terrifying specter; few in number yet giving me a mysterious and eerie feeling. Once everything is over, I might need to explore in that direction.

The Planetary Consciousness seems to have had no special reaction to the force that penetrated the Earth and passed through the core some time ago. Perhaps because it wasn't specifically targeting it, hence it doesn't truly affect or harm it or the planet itself.

For now, don't think about those things that haven't happened yet, let's resolve the problems at hand.

First, let's see to what extent the current me can achieve.

I raised my palm, and the Power of Return appeared once more at my palm. But I didn't immediately release it, instead, I began to accumulate power.

"What are you going to do?" Weichi asked doubtfully, "Are you trying to repair the Teleportation Door? That shouldn't be repairable. To bring Fa Zheng and the others back to the real world, a new one has to be built. Or are you planning to revive the dead demon hunters? Moving forward with the reconstruction of the Teleportation Door, indeed requires some helpers..."

"They will be revived as well, don't worry," I said.

"That's good... wait." Weichi reacted, "—'Also'?"

The unseen power of return erupted in my hands with unmatched intensity, spreading outwards like a wave of shock swallowing everything.

As the wave of the power of return swept across the residential area, one demon hunter after another appeared out of thin air. It then swept over the outside ruins, restoring them into intact streets, with countless living people emerging from the air. The invisible wave spread and ravaged at super high speeds, sweeping through the desolated Saltwater City and its surrounding zones in an instant. Buildings and skyscrapers rose from the ground, streets and roads returned to their original state, millions of humans reappeared, and the bustling noises of hustle and bustle filled the streets and alleys once more.

It's as if in the past, the "Paradise" Great Barrier covering the Southern City could repair the entirety of the city with the power of restart and revive all those killed by the Great Impermanence... If it's just unintended residual waves, and not the deliberate result of the Great Impermanence, then they can all be revived.

Of course, even if it's just unintentional results, there's still powerful mystery involved, and generally only individuals of the rank of Great Impermanence or above can achieve such restoration.

Another point to mention is that previously when I revived Weichi, the power was more concentrated, with almost no extra mana fluctuations leaking out. However, having done such a large-scale move now, it's inevitable that intense mana fluctuations that can be received globally will be produced, which will surely attract Old Fist God's attention.

From two different directions, separated by an extremely long distance, two gazes instantly projected over, focusing on me, the source of this wave.

I instantly judged that the sources of these gazes were familiar individuals.

Shan Liangyi, and Old Fist God.

Old Fist God's voice directly echoed in my mind.

"Zhuang Cheng?" His voice couldn't hide his joy, "You've actually pushed open the third door... Is this the true power of manifestation? Interesting, let me test your depths!"

"Stay there first, Old Fist God. Once I'm done with Shan Liangyi, I'll naturally entertain your interest." I said, "And if I die at Shan Liangyi's hands, it means I'm weaker than Shan Liangyi, and you can go have a go with Shan Liangyi at that time."

If Old Fist God is my enemy, then a conflict with him is inevitable later. It's definitely impossible to avoid this person while moving in the real world, so there's no need to dodge at such a time. But I'd prefer to deal with the major threat of Shan Liangyi first before deciding victory or defeat with Old Fist God.

"Are you concerned about a future threat?" Old Fist God seemed to see through my heart, "Alright, I'll wait for you. I also don't want to face an opponent who won't use their full strength again."

"Again"? I pondered the implication of this word, and then Shan Liangyi's voice also sounded.

"Zhuang Cheng... so you did show up." Shan Liangyi said with loathing, "You want to deal with me, just relying on you, a junior?"

"Shan Liangyi, you've fought with Old Fist God, haven't you? The traces of destruction in the capital and Europe must have been left by you two. But since you're both still alive, it means you haven't decided the real outcome yet." I said, "Though I'm slightly disappointed you didn't die at Old Fist God's hands, it just so happens I want to kill you myself. Come and meet your death now."

"You expect me to come to you on your command? Who do you think you are?" Shan Liangyi sneered, "I'm right here, find your way to me. I won't set any traps ahead, nor will I use any underhanded tricks, guaranteeing you'll lose utterly convinced!"

A piece of information was transmitted over via telepathy, which was the longitude and latitude coordinates of his location.

Judging by this tone, he really hasn't taken Little Bowl as a hostage?

Then Shan Liangyi turned to Old Fist God, speaking with extreme revulsion and hatred: "Old Fist God, prepare yourself as well. I didn't expect you to have such shameless ability, even daring to use it to insult my dignity... I will never let you go! After I defeat Zhuang Cheng, I'll carry the means to counter your ability and utterly defeat you!"

"Hahaha!" Old Fist God let out a bold laughter, "Alright, I'm waiting for you. You guys can first decide who is stronger, then come and have a satisfying battle with me!"

"Hmph!" Shan Liangyi's gaze retreated angrily.

The sound of Old Fist God's laughter also faded away in my mind, quickly dissipating.

This series of remote conversations did not spread to the outside world, nor was it heard by Weichi, who was close to me. His eyes could only see the changes descending upon Saltwater City. After I put my hand down, he seemed to observe the vast changes through his perception, looking at everything around him with a questioning reality gaze.

"The entire city... and hundreds of thousands of people, all revived in one breath?" He said as if in a dream.