Chapter Ninety-Four: Earth · Beast Tide (Thirty-Five)

"There is more than one entrance. Have you chosen one?" Usara asked.

From where they stood, they could clearly see three entrances, corresponding to three different sections of the spacecraft. All of them were roughly near the bow: one in the center, and the other two set farther back, one on the upper level and one below.

"This should be related to the extra contest down below," Sun Meng said. "It’s very likely connected to the technology we’re meant to receive."

"Is that so? Then I’ll take the one in the center at the bow. What about you?" Usara looked at Sun Meng. If the people entering from each gate were to become one another’s rivals in the next extra trial, she felt it would be wise to avoid turning against him. Along the way, Sun Meng’s strength had filled her with admiration; no enemy had ever truly reached him. She had even imagined it in her mind: if the two of them stood in a normal setting with a certain starting distance between them, she, like the others, would be unable to get near him.

"Then I’ll take the one in the center at the bow," Sun Meng said after a moment’s thought. "From the looks of it, this should either lead to the command room or to the main cannon. Either way, it has to be an important place."

The moment the two of them stepped through the gates of light, the system’s voice rang in their ears.

"Congratulations, contestant from Earth civilization. You have qualified for the extra assessment and have obtained the final reward for this trial: one chance to spin the wheel of a third-tier civilization. Please wait patiently for the next assessment."

Immediately afterward, Sun Meng felt the world around him shift, and he found himself in a room. The system informed him that he was free to move about the room until the extra assessment began.

He looked around. The furnishings were the same as in his room in the central city, so he paid no further attention to anything else, sat down on the bed, and tried to contact Yi Gang.

On Earth, just as Sun Meng stepped through the door to his final destination, golden cracks began to appear on the fiery shell surrounding Yi Gang. If one were to trace the full pattern of those cracks, they would discover the shape of a golden sun crow with spread wings.

Little Rabbit sensed the surging energy fluctuations. She sprang backward at once, staring tensely into the flames.

Fire sprayed in all directions, yet not a single spark ignited anything nearby; every last thread of flame was swallowed into Yi Gang’s body.

A delighted smile spread across Little Rabbit’s face. She kicked off the ground and flung herself into Yi Gang’s arms. "Gang!" she cried, clinging to him tightly, afraid that this was only an illusion. During the long wait, she had already seen similar phantoms more than once.

"Little Rabbit, I’m fine. I’m very well. I’ve made you worry," Yi Gang said softly, patting her back. In truth, he already understood why his breakthrough had only now been completed.

"It seems I interrupted you two," Sun Meng said awkwardly.

"It’s nothing," Yi Gang replied. "The shackles of advancement have already been broken. It looks like the reward for the extra assessment is technology related to the construction of the main vessel. Can the wheel be spun now?" During this period, he had also experienced a state much like Sun Meng’s current condition, remaining fully conscious the entire time.

"Not yet. It seems we’ll have to wait until all one hundred slots have appeared. But I don’t think it’ll be long now. I’m leaving Earth matters to you. I think this beast tide is not only a trial, but also a reward. Like the monsters I’ve killed during the assessment—once it ends, I’ll send these resources back to Earth at once."

Yi Gang nodded, ended the call with Sun Meng, and looked down at Little Rabbit in his arms.

"Let’s go and wipe out those monsters together," he said. "It’s been almost a year, and this assessment is about to end."

Little Rabbit nodded. "Mm. I want to stay with you forever, no matter what you do." Even though she had remained by his side every day during this period, that still was not enough to make her feel at ease, and so she decided she could not be separated from Yi Gang any longer.

A pair of wings formed from inner energy spread behind Yi Gang, their crimson edges lined with gold. Though it was not strictly necessary, ever since his bloodline had awakened, his inner energy had undergone this unusual change.

The inner energy wrapped around the two of them and left a red trail in the sky. Their speed was even greater than that of the fastest flyer on Earth at present, yet neither of them in the red glow felt the slightest discomfort.

In the blink of an eye, they had reached the sea. Australia had now become a monster territory; the entire continent was occupied by a half-step third-tier insect queen and had been transformed into a place resembling an armory.

"I’ll start with you," Yi Gang said, suspended in the air. The wings of inner energy behind him abruptly expanded, and a blaze of crimson light spread directly across the sky above Australia.

"Falling Meteor Firestorm!"

With a beat of those wings, fireballs the size of human heads appeared out of thin air, descending upon the surface of Australia like a meteor shower.

The insect queen immediately sensed that something was wrong and quickly sent out soldier bugs to counterattack, but even the specially bred heat-resistant soldiers she had cultivated could not withstand such flames. Wherever the fireballs fell, they left behind only specks of light brimming with life.

The insect queen let out a mournful cry and launched a mental strike at Yi Gang. She would avenge her children.

"I’ve been waiting for you! Third Sunset Arrow!"

Yi Gang instantly locked onto the insect queen and loosed an arrow. The scorching, burning, and explosive will carried by the shaft directly shattered the queen’s psychic assault.

Firelight and explosions engulfed the entire continent of Australia. Even the nearby seawater evaporated at great speed, turning into a mass of mist that hung over the land. Yet Yi Gang could clearly sense life brewing within the flames; Australia had already begun its rebirth.

"Boil the Sea!"

His wings folded inward, and the surrounding flames rapidly converged around Yi Gang’s body. The temperature soared, then, under his control, radiated outward at high speed into the seawater.

The monsters hiding in the deep sea, guided by the core of civilization, surged up from below and rushed at him. But under Yi Gang’s archery, one after another, they were reduced to ashes.

Firelight shone upon the surface of the sea, as though staining the water itself red. As the monsters fell one by one, the life force within this stretch of ocean grew ever richer, and new life began to take shape amid the sea of flames.

Only when the core of civilization indicated that all monsters above the second tier in the surrounding area had been eliminated did Yi Gang finally stop.

As monsters, they had to be destroyed. Once the assessment ended, Earth’s own consciousness would guide the native life to hunt them down.

These slain monsters would not only become life energy nourishing the Earth; they would also allow new forms of life to emerge. That was why the core of civilization had stepped in to stop Yi Gang at this moment.

With Little Rabbit in his arms, he circled the world once, wiping out every monster above the middle of the second tier. The pillars of light no longer gave birth to new monsters; instead, they continuously released spiritual energy.

"Contestant, the assessment has ended. Please draw your reward."

At the sound of the system’s voice, Sun Meng opened his eyes. He had already pushed his strength to its peak, and at any moment he could complete his breakthrough and condense a true domain.

A wheel appeared before Sun Meng. It was filled with many items, though every one of them was tier three.

The wheel began to turn, and the people of Earth watched the scene as well, because its projection had also appeared in the sky above Earth.

The rapid spin passed quickly. The wheel slowed and slowed, until at last people could make out the words upon it.

Energy meteor shower.

This will bring to Earth veins of crystal ore containing immense energy, and it will stimulate every form of life on Earth, apart from humankind and the spirit beast race, to undergo a fundamental evolution.

Because beast tides had arrived continuously before, many plants and animals that had not yet completed their transformation lost the chance to evolve. This time, however, it would be their turn. Under the rules of the system, they would evolve into entirely new species.

Their greatest trait would be that their cores were energy crystals, and they would not be able to take human form.

Tiny points of starlight began falling from the heavens. All life on Earth gazed at the sight, unable to move.

The pillars of light that had once linked the two worlds disappeared, but in their original places, new sources of spirit stone ore formed instead. The vitality of Earth began to recover at tremendous speed, though once it reached the level of one year ago, the pace gradually slowed.

Earth civilization had passed the first stage of the assessment.