Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 397 - 370 Impermanence and Doomsday 1

Chapter 397: 370 Impermanence and Doomsday 1

Is Liu Shuying Shan Liangyi?

Upon hearing my question, Gua Tianshi paused slightly, then said, "Previously, I mentioned that he and you are similar. I thought you would first suspect whether he is a Liangyi Inheritor. How did you suddenly elevate to the level of Shan Liangyi?"

As expected, Gua Tianshi knows that I am a Liangyi Inheritor.

"Since you mentioned it, I’ll ask anyway, is he a Liangyi Inheritor?" I asked.

"No." Gua Tianshi shook his head, "The most notable characteristic of Liangyi Inheritors is that they only use mana corresponding to the Four Symbols, like your Vermilion Bird Fire and Xuanwu’s Xuanwu Water. Aside from that, they cannot say it’s impossible to use, but it’s unlikely to have any notable achievements.

"And the power Liu Shuying uses is not any of the Four Symbols, so he cannot be a Liangyi Inheritor."

In fact, I had some suspicions that he might be a Liangyi Inheritor, but now that’s one possibility I can rule out.

Then, I answered the question Gua Tianshi just asked: "If you just said Liu Shuying is a once-in-a-thousand-years genius, I wouldn’t have thought of Shan Liangyi. But you said he has the foresight of a Prophet, and that’s different."

According to the information I have, Shan Liangyi has the "Power of Reincarnation," allowing her to be reborn freely into people of different eras.

The "reborn into different eras" doesn’t just mean that Shan Liangyi can be reborn from now to the future; it also means she can be reborn from now to the past.

And Gua Tianshi’s description of Liu Shuying reminds me of protagonists in some fictional rebirth stories.

Similarly, they can use foresight to seize opportunities, with the only issue being that "over time, predicting the future becomes increasingly difficult." Because the protagonists in reincarnation novels cannot constantly foresee the future; they have simply been reborn from the future to the present. Therefore, as they act more and more with foresight, deviating and changing, they can no longer make reliable predictions about the future.

The things the protagonists in reincarnation novels can do, Shan Liangyi also can. And if Liu Shuying is indeed Shan Liangyi, it could explain why he possessed immense power from birth.

He became a Great Impermanence within half a year, possibly not due to rapid strength growth, but because he had Great Impermanence or higher power from the start, merely putting on a show to deceive others early on. Or perhaps the act of "reincarnating" left him weak for a period, and he was merely regaining his original strength later.

Although my rise to Great Impermanence was faster than Liu Shuying’s, I may not have a position to speculate about others. I, too, possessed Great Impermanence level from the beginning, only needing a formidable foe to trigger its release. The reason Zhu Shi could reach Great Impermanence level strength within eight months is because the Yama Sword already held inherent Power of Great Impermanence.

Only those possessing Great Impermanence at the start can become one so quickly—I believe my suspicion is reasonable.

"No wonder you think this way. Let me also add something," Gua Tianshi said, "Liu Shuying’s speed in mastering his power is incredibly quick, too.

"You should know the difference between someone who just became a Great Impermanence and an experienced one. It’s the density of power, or the ’proficiency in controlling power,’ and Liu Shuying reached the level where he could rival veteran Great Impermanences in just a few months.

"Throughout the ages, I’ve seen many Great Impermanences, but geniuses like him are indeed rare. It’s as if he was a veteran Great Impermanence all along and merely stopped pretending over time.

"My eyes can see the fate of all things. Even if it’s someone lauded as the strongest Great Impermanence on Luo Mountain, like the Old Fist God, I can vaguely see parts of their future. Yet for Liu Shuying... I can’t see through him at all."

Even with Gua Tianshi saying this, the likelihood of Liu Shuying being Shan Liangyi in my mind increased dramatically.

Additionally, considering the Doomsday predictions made by Liu Shuying, perhaps he used the Power of Reincarnation to rebirth From the Apocalypse to the modern world. This would explain how he could so accurately describe the various anomalies presented in the Doomsday Era.

A person who came From the Apocalypse to the modern world... I suddenly thought of the files by Dr. Silver Mask. They mentioned someone from the future who called himself the "Blessed Monk" and had given prototypes of future technology to Ying Lingyun.

Could Ying Lingyun be secretly connected to Liu Shuying... Shan Liangyi?

Then, in participating in Fa Zheng’s proposed campaign to overthrow the Human Bureau and decisively battle with Ying Lingyun, could I directly encounter Shan Liangyi during this process?

Also... Gua Tianshi mentioned Liu Shuying made his debut four years ago...

Four years ago, I remembered that was also when soul loss began to spread. There is a direct link between soul loss and Doomsday, and Liu Shuying may be From the Apocalypse... Is there a potential link between soul loss and Liu Shuying, or is this merely a coincidence in timing?

I feel as though I’ve suddenly received a wealth of clues yet lack more concrete, connect-the-dots evidence to draw more conclusions at this time.

"In my opinion, you and Liu Shuying are quite similar," Gua Tianshi looked at me and said, "Not in the sense of rapid power growth, or other complex matters... your temperament is very alike. Maybe after meeting, you’ll have many common topics."

"If he truly is Shan Liangyi, then we’re mortal enemies," I said.

Gua Tianshi merely smiled and then said, "Then, regarding the doomsday prophecy, that should be about it. Do you have any other questions you want to ask me? Take this chance and speak up."

"No, it’s not over yet..."

I glanced at Mazao. After knowing that the proposer of the doomsday prophecy was not Gua Tianshi but rather Liu Shuying, Mazao seemed to have lost the motivation to speak up again in this setting. Yet I thought of other questions and said, "Although you didn’t propose the doomsday prophecy, you are still a master of prophecy as a Great Impermanence. I don’t think you are any weaker than Liu Shuying in this regard.

"For the coming doomsday, you... or including other Great Impermanences aren’t neglectful of it, right? You must have made observations for the future."

"You want to get my doomsday-related predictions?" Gua Tianshi said, "Then I can only disappoint you. As I mentioned earlier, in these increasingly chaotic times, foresight of the future becomes more and more blurred, and I’m no exception.

"Especially foresight on the doomsday; it’s even darker. Honestly, I can’t really understand why Liu Shuying can predict the doomsday. Perhaps the only explanation is that he actually experienced the doomsday himself.

"However... it’s not like I’m entirely without findings. I did catch some useful clues regarding the arrival of doomsaday."

As he spoke, the old man revealed his usual cunning smile.

He still liked to suppress first before suddenly offering us an irresistible bait from another angle.

Mazao was a bit dejected. If she had cat-like ears, they might have drooped. But now her eyes regained focus, and her expression became attentive, invisible ears perked up at once.

So I asked on her behalf: "What clues did you find? Can you tell us?"

"It’s wonderful that you have this young girl by your side, isn’t it?"

First offering an unfathomable sigh, Gua Tianshi then answered, "The result I got is somewhat different from Liu Shuying’s prophecy. He predicted the doomsday would arrive within the next ten years, while I believe the doomsday already arrived.

"To be precise, the doomsday doesn’t happen in the future but happened in the past, only showing up in the future.

"It’s like certain diseases, when they become visible on the surface and felt through human sensations, it’s already the end stage, terminally ill. We must act immediately at the first sign of disease, yet now it’s too late, likely beyond cure."

Seeing how casually he spoke, I said, "You say it’s easy... once doomsday arrives, even the Great Impermanence can’t escape unscathed, right?"

"Indeed, as long as we remain in this world, even the Great Impermanence will be transformed into Great Demons by the Frenzy. Liu Shuying predicted..." Gua Tianshi said, "However... Zhuang Cheng, what do you think is the size of this ’world’ in the ’world’s demise’?"

"—Huh?" I suddenly realized a blind spot.

"Do you think this doomsday event is a catastrophe that would destroy the planet beneath our feet or on a grand scale, a Big Crunch or Big Rip level disaster destroying the entire universe?" Gua Tianshi asked.

I don’t believe it’s the latter.

No matter what the source of the doomsday is, even if it’s the divine seal that can fulfill all wishes, I don’t think it has the power to change the entire universe. The scale disparity is simply too vast. Although I’m accepting of fantastical things now, I can’t believe a divine seal could erase such a huge gap in scale merely by its uniqueness.

Even substituting other sources, at least from what information I have till now, the doomsday hasn’t exhibited characteristics of an astronomical event.

It’s merely an event of "Earth’s destruction," not sufficient to threaten the Great Impermanence, who have the ability for interstellar travel.