Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 365 - 340 Zhuang Cheng’s Force

Chapter 365: 340 Zhuang Cheng’s Force

"Although it may sound like I’m throwing cold water on your plans, I still have to say that you stand no chance in a battle against Ming Zhuo," Mr. Zhu emphasized once again.

I didn’t need him to go into detail for me to understand the reasoning behind it.

Both being Impermanence with the power to change heaven and earth, one person is a novice who has just glimpsed the threshold, while the other is a veteran who has cultivated in this domain for countless years. The victor and the vanquished are clear at a glance.

But that’s not even the key issue.

The crux of the matter is that Ming Zhuo possesses the foremost Undying nature among those considered Impermanence.

I too have an Undying Body, but I am well aware that my immortality is not absolute. With sufficient tremendous force, there is a chance to forcibly break it. Of course, Ming Zhuo’s Undying Body is probably not absolute either—I do not believe that true absolutes exist in this world. Yet the fact remains that even a powerhouse like Xuanming had no solution to Ming Zhuo, and in the end, could only helplessly withdraw. That gives me even less reason to believe I could unravel Ming Zhuo’s Undying Body.

Even if I could somehow, by chance, take a life off Ming Zhuo, it would be meaningless. As long as Ming Zhuo can resurrect indefinitely, that equates to having an innate advantage of being unbeatable.

Thus, this battle can only result in one of two scenarios: a temporary stalemate, or my defeat. And the outcome of the battle would either be a direct fall into the latter or initially start with the former, then gradually slide towards ultimate defeat.

However, I have no intention of turning and fleeing just because victory seems out of sight in a prediction.

Such forecasts are only based on existing information, and predictions are merely predictions after all. If I don’t actually engage in battle, Ming Zhuo’s true depth remains a complete unknown to me. What specific weaknesses he might have, the possible flaws in his Undying Body, whether I truly have no chance of victory—all of these are unknowns until I try. Even if the result, after I try, turns out to be "exactly as predicted," that in itself can be considered progress, and cannot be seen as a complete lack of progress.

Discovering an opponent’s weak spot would fall under Zhu Shi’s expertise. However, this time I can’t take Zhu Shi to the battlefield with me. She has yet to reach the Great Success Rank, and it would be impossible for her to discern the secrets of Impermanence just by observing from Buzhou Mountain. Even though Buzhou Mountain is an eye that reflects Divinity, the opponent is, after all, a true God.

If I’m intent, even the current me is confident that I can prevent Zhu Shi from seeing through my weaknesses. Furthermore, what would be the consequences of probing into the secrets of Impermanence? The lesson from the last time when Ming Zhuo invaded Mazao’s dream with his own power should be sufficient.

"Since you believe I can’t defeat Ming Zhuo... why do you support me in fighting against Ming Zhuo?" I asked Mr. Zhu curiously.

"Should you not fight simply because you can’t win?" Mr. Zhu surprisingly replied, "It’s a very simple principle. Ming Zhuo was the first to strike against you; if you only had the Great Success Rank, then even if you endured it, no one would find it amiss.

"However, you are now Impermanence; hence, you must fight back against those who come knocking. Moreover, you issued a challenge to Ming Zhuo not long ago, and now that you have the power of Impermanence and still don’t fulfill the promise, when are you planning to do so?

"I don’t intend to patronize you with my shallow life experiences based on old age, but since you asked, I must express my views... If you can tolerate humiliation, then an unending stream of humiliation will come your way. You must reveal your stance unreservedly when it’s time to do so. Whoever dares reach out against you, you need to chop off their hand; if truly you cannot chop it off, at least make them bleed, let them know what pain is.

"This time you are indeed more likely to lose, and perhaps you may even die at the hands of Ming Zhuo, which would mean calamity for the Zhu family. Even if you emerge victorious, you could face various troubles thereafter. But we do not only stand with you in success. And as long as you live, you will one day see the benefits today’s ’foolish act’ will bring."

It seems Mr. Zhu is a thorough radical.

Despite being an elder whose age far surpasses those of everyone present combined, he has none of the concepts of prudence and caution, nor does he ever show a compromising attitude. I consider myself quite a radical too, but sometimes his statements are even more zealous than those of a younger man like me.

What’s more troubling is that his words really resonate with my temperament.

It’s no surprise that he’s the man who, in his youth, could go mad enough to kill his own family—I can’t help but respect him deeply.

"But Grandfather..."

Just then, Zhu Shi’s voice sounded from not too far away. She looked as if she had just completed her time of Right Positioning Heavenly Phenomena for the day, put away the Yama Sword, and then joined our conversation. She said, "Aren’t the Impermanence convening at the Luoshan Headquarters now to discuss the issue of Void Realm forces? Wouldn’t attacking one of them during their gathering be seen as a challenge to the others?

"The past Xuanming had acted at the Luoshan Headquarters, striking against both Fu Hongchen and Ming Zhuo, even dealing a real death blow to one of them, and then was consequently labeled as a traitor, right?

"Zhuang Cheng is not even formally a member of Luoshan in the strictest sense, just an Outer Path Impermanence. If he initiates an attack on an Impermanence within Luoshan’s territory, could it be considered an external force attacking Luoshan?"

Considering my relationship with that so-called Void Realm force, it could indeed be deemed an attack by an external force.

"No matter. Zhuang Cheng has a justified cause this time. It was Ming Zhuo who made the first move, and Zhuang Cheng simply counterattacked. He even issued a challenge through the other party’s subordinates beforehand, fulfilling all due formalities of a challenger." Mr. Zhu said, "The Impermanence of Luoshan have never been united as one; they lack both organizational unity and collective consciousness, let alone a sense of collective honor—because organizations and collectives are beneath them.

"If we become overly preoccupied with these trivialities, hesitating to make a move for fear of disrespect, we would lose their respect instead. Even if we consider the worst-case scenario and the Impermanence indeed define Zhuang Cheng as an external enemy in the name of the Luoshan organization... so what?

"The most important part of Luoshan has never been the organization itself, but the Impermanence who preside over it. Zhuang Cheng is also an Impermanence, so what if he is excluded by the Luoshan organization? At worst, we simply follow Zhuang Cheng’s lead and withdraw from Luoshan to establish an ’Outer Zhuang Cheng’s Force’... Xuanming and Taoyuan Village Master did just that, so why couldn’t we?"

Zhu Shi blinked in astonishment, and after a while managed to squeeze out a sentence: "...You can do that?"

Perhaps because she had always considered herself a part of Luoshan’s Governance Ideology camp, the idea of breaking away from Luoshan had never crossed her mind, and the path Mr. Zhu outlined was undoubtedly one she had not envisioned.

Even I had not considered establishing a so-called "Zhuang Cheng’s Force," or to put it plainly, I had no interest in managing any force.

"It’s clear that you’re not interested in managing a force; when the time comes, leave it to us," Mr. Zhu said, "Even if you have not left Luoshan by then, this force can also be developed within Luoshan. After all, there is more than one force headed by an Impermanence within Luoshan, and one more ’Zhuang Cheng’s Force’ wouldn’t be too many.

"Nowadays, a large number of Xuanming believers remain within Luoshan, posing a hidden danger to the organization. Their core is formed from the old forces that Xuanming left behind in Luoshan..."

As casual conversation, Mr. Zhu went on to talk about other topics within Luoshan, while the scenery outside the train window whisked by. After leaving the urban area, the train surfaced to the ground, entered the suburban area, and after a while, entered the Primordial Forest.

Environmentalists would probably be furious if they saw the railway tracks laid through the nature reserve, yet Luoshan, which values nature, innate qualities, and spirituality, seems to disregard those matters entirely.

In my mind, I was calculating the purpose of my journey.

First and foremost, I must formally declare war on Ming Zhuo; next, I plan to meet Fa Zheng to see if I can secure the support of Fa Zheng’s power to lock down Changan’s current Human Bureau location.

If Fa Zheng decides to distance himself from me due to my battle with Ming Zhuo, I will have to find another way to address the latter issue. However, if the Impermanence do not distance themselves from me, I would also like to take Mazao to visit Gua Tianshi and inquire about the prophecy of Doomsday circulating within Luoshan.

Speaking seriously, "investigating Doomsday" is the primary activity for Mazao and me, while "dealing with Ming Zhuo" and "rescuing Changan" are just side issues that have arisen after the incident at the Human Bureau’s stronghold, now becoming the most urgent matters at hand.

If I have the chance, I might also ask Fa Zheng about "the other Blessed Monk," to see if he has any knowledge about it. Ying Lingyun’s future technology was acquired from another Blessed Monk with an unknown identity, which also implies there is another "person from the future" apart from Mazao. And secrets related to the advent of Doomsday might be uncovered in this direction.

— That is, provided I don’t die at the hands of Ming Zhuo.

The train traveled a long distance through the Primordial Forest. At one moment, as if passing through an invisible thin membrane, though we were inside a sealed train car, it felt like a brisk, sudden gust of wind hit us head-on. The sensation came quickly and went quickly, and the forest scenery outside the window vanished, replaced by a scene akin to the interior of a concrete tunnel.

We had passed through the barrier surrounding Luoshan Headquarters.

Soon, the train stopped beside an underground platform, and the train doors automatically swung open with a hiss of released air.