Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 385: After the Battle of 358

Chapter 385: After the Battle of 358

The battle is over. Although I still harbor feelings of reluctance, I am not an irrational battle fanatic; I understand that the losses incurred by continuing the fight would far outweigh any gains. Since the most important objective has been achieved, it is best to sound the retreat.

Now Ming Zhuo’s body and soul are riddled with my flames, coupled with the Xuanming Fire, I am sure he will be incapacitated for a long period of time. Even though his experience and skills with the power of Impermanence far exceed mine, he cannot recover the upper hand under these conditions.

This is like a Go match where one side is an amateur player and the other side is the world’s most advanced AI, but the latter gives up a hundred stones. No matter how great the disparity in skill, the former is essentially guaranteed to win. Common sense would even render the phrase "for a long period of time" unnecessary; it’s impossible for the situation to be overturned.

But my opponent is still Impermanence, and just because I can’t think of a way doesn’t mean he won’t ever find one. The conflict between us is not truly resolved, just submerged once again. I must still find a way to become stronger as quickly as possible, at least to reach a level of hard power equivalent to that of Ming Zhuo.

Before returning to Luoshan Headquarters, Ming Zhuo turned to look at me and said ominously, "You didn’t include a clause in the oath preventing me from striking at you."

The previous oath only forbade Ming Zhuo from attacking those around me, not from attacking me directly. I wasn’t oblivious to this loophole, but I deliberately chose not to close it.

"I don’t mind," I said.

"You’re insane..." Ming Zhuo cursed.

Standing behind Fa Zheng and not participating in the conversation, Jian Feixian suddenly spoke up.

"If you continue fighting with Zhuang Cheng, you could possibly win," he said to Ming Zhuo.

Ming Zhuo snorted coldly, not taking the bait. Jian Feixian, with an unmistakable look of contempt, then turned to me and said, "Zhuang Cheng, you must eradicate the roots when you cut the grass. By letting him escape today, you leave endless troubles."

"I’ll let it go this time. Besides, I want to defeat him with my own strength in the future."

I first responded to Jian Feixian, then turned to Ming Zhuo and said, "You must be quite dissatisfied. Next time, I will make you concede."

I can understand Ming Zhuo’s feelings. Against Xuanming, maybe, but he could never truly accept me. My power is clearly inferior to his; it’s only with the legacy of Xuanming that I could suppress him.

As the victor, using unfair means to claim victory, at most I may briefly feel "it would be good if I were strong enough to win without such tactics" in my heart; as the loser, Ming Zhuo’s frustration at being defeated by unfair means is understandable.

"...You better make it happen," Ming Zhuo said coldly, "otherwise, next time, you’ll only have your last breath to swallow."

"You really think so?"

Jian Feixian’s gaze seemed to pierce through my emotions. After listening to me, he paused, then tossed me a glass talisman.

"Visit me when you have time," he said, seemingly in good spirits.

He then turned around, transforming into a metallic silver light and flew towards the horizon, vanishing from sight. Ming Zhuo stared fiercely in the direction of Jian Feixian’s disappearance, then also turned into a black and red mist, fading away on the spot.

Just as Jian Feixian said, if Ming Zhuo had continued fighting me after Divine Light intervened, I couldn’t have been completely confident in forcing Ming Zhuo back into the cycle of being killed over and over, the possibility of being killed instead was objectively real. Ming Zhuo did not take that path, which leads me to believe there is only one possibility: facing the risk, he became afraid.

One path could possibly lead to a death by attrition at my hands, the other offers a vast and boundless retreat; he chose the latter.

From my perspective, such a choice may not align with my aesthetic, but there’s nothing to despise. Everyone prioritizes the things they have, and the most cherished treasures must be safeguarded at all costs. The most important thing is not to regret one’s choices; fundamentally, I am no different from Ming Zhuo, who is simply protecting what he wants to protect most.

The other Angels of Impermanence also left one after another. Before departing, Divine Light gave me a look and then turned into a white light and disappeared. Just as Weichi recognized me as an Angel Envoy despite being revealed through my power, Divine Light clearly recognized me as well; he probably wishes to have a private conversation with me in the future.

Even though he had just interrupted the fight between me and Ming Zhuo—which, while arguably helpful, allowed me to avoid missing out on a situation that could potentially decide whether Doomsday would come or not—I find it hard to like him on an emotional level. What’s more, I’m not keen to be alone with him in my current weakened state.

I should return and recover my damaged True Spirit first.

Luoshan Headquarters is over two hundred kilometers away from my current location, and I used Flame Transmission to return there. Luoshan Headquarters is normally enveloped by a barrier set up by Gua Tianshi, and I might not have been able to sense the thermal energy marker I left there, but when the fight started, Ming Zhuo knocked me outside, breaking the barrier in the process. Thanks to this, the trouble of my return was spared.

Fa Zheng also came back with me. Once we arrived, he turned to me and said, "You should go heal first. We can talk about everything else later."

I saw no reason not to, so I bid farewell to Fa Zheng and headed back to the hotel where Mazao and the others were staying.

By now, the Luoshan Headquarters was abuzz with excitement. The mana fluctuations from my battle with Ming Zhuo had been detected by numerous people, yet nobody seemed to have noticed what I, a person directly involved, had been through.

Arriving outside Mazao’s room, I could hear a buzz of discussion from behind the door. The voices belonged to Lu Chan, Zhu Shi, Mr. Zhu, and Mazao.

"...Zhu Shi, can you detect the mana fluctuations from Zhuang Cheng and Ming Zhuo? How’s the battle going? Zhuang Cheng’s Fire Sea has blocked out all mana fluctuations from Ming Zhuo, and now I can’t sense Zhuang Cheng’s mana fluctuations either... has Ming Zhuo won?"

"No, I can’t detect anything either. It’s not just Zhuang Cheng’s fluctuations that have become undetectable; Ming Zhuo’s mana fluctuations are also gone... but it doesn’t seem like they’ve disappeared suddenly, more like they’ve quieted down... Anyway, Lu Chan, my ’Buzhou Mountain’ isn’t specifically designed to detect mana fluctuations. Don’t just ask me, try using some Detection Magic yourself."

"Don’t panic. It’s likely that Zhuang Cheng has lost. We should probably consider evacuating from the Luoshan Headquarters soon. Mazao, you should be able to teleport to Zhuang Cheng at any time, right? Then can you sense his current location? Perhaps he hasn’t died but fled after his defeat. It would be best to teleport to him first to see if we can offer some help... No, he might still be in the process of fleeing, so if we go now we might actually hinder him, therefore..."

"The mana fluctuations around Zhuang Cheng have been too intense, but it seems they have calmed down now. I can sense Zhuang Cheng’s position now... Hm? Wait a second..."

I pushed the door open and entered, finding the four of them crowded around the window. Hearing the faint noise from my side, they all turned towards me in unison, as if facing a great enemy.

Mazao, upon recognizing it was me, showed an expression of surprise and delight.

"Zhuang Cheng!"

She immediately rushed over and hugged me tightly.

The other three were still stunned in place. Mr. Zhu was the first to react, incredulously asking, "Why did you come here... Has the battle ended? What was the outcome? Could it be..."

"Senior Brother Zhuang, did you win?" Zhu Shi asked eagerly, his eyebrows raised.

Lu Chan had believed from the beginning that I would come out on top, so he wasn’t as incredulous as Mr. Zhu—it was the most composed person in the room.

As for me, I hugged Mazao and simply stated the result.

"I won," I said.

-

Three days had passed since then.

News of Ming Zhuo’s defeat had spread far and wide, and I had spent most of my time quietly recovering in a secluded place.

There was an ultra-advanced sanatorium at the Luoshan Headquarters, specifically for treating injured demon hunters. During this time, I stayed there, receiving the utmost care. To hear it described, one might mistake it for a hospital, but I would say it resembles more of a wellness center. Rather than a place for curing diseases, it appeared to be a place for recuperation, hence some demon hunters also seek spiritual healing here.

My body and soul did not need treatment; it was my True Spirit that needed care. And the care for True Spirits at Luoshan was entirely unknown territory. The longest confirmed and safest method in history was to "eat well, sleep well". Although I didn’t have a real need to eat, doing so like a human being could stabilize my mind, and this seemed to be helpful for the recovery of the True Spirit.

Sleeping was even more beneficial. While I didn’t have an actual need for sleep, sleep is known to be an excellent means of nourishing the soul and was also helpful for the True Spirit. Given that my True Spirit was damaged, I felt quite drowsy, so I took the chance to sleep deeply.

After three days, I truly felt much better. The recovery of my True Spirit was slower than what I had initially estimated, but it was, at least, approaching a preliminary recovery. If I had to describe it, it was like still feeling a bit dizzy after a car ride, but at least there were no dangerous premonitions left.

Mazao stayed by my side every moment, while Mr. Zhu was busy with other matters. Zhu Shi also stayed busy with Mr. Zhu, but he often came to visit me.

Lu Chan also came to see me on the morning of the third day. After confirming the speed of my recovery, he expressed his astonishment.

"According to historical records, damage to a True Spirit is generally considered incurable. If it can be healed, the process is extremely slow, and there might even be lifelong side effects..." he said.