Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 401 - 374 Trailer

Chapter 401: 374 Trailer

"The shadow that shrouds my fate...is darker than the many events that have occurred to those around me..." Mazao recited these words.

"Although you have a ’magnetism’ that frequently attracts strange things, your fate is occupied by this enormous shadow of the strange, so other strange things cannot easily bypass it to threaten you directly," Gua Tianshi said. "From your perspective, this giant dark shadow is like a prison without doors or windows.

"It both imprisons you, attempting to strip away your freedom, and protects you, isolating you from numerous external dangers.

"I trust you’ve already figured out who I’m referring to, haven’t you?"

Mazao finally appeared enlightened, turning her head to look at me.

And I understood Gua Tianshi’s implication even quicker than she did.

—It’s me.

The giant shadow that Gua Tianshi spoke of, which shrouds Mazao’s fate, refers to me.

This also resolved a major doubt in my mind. Why is it that, although Mazao possesses the Broom Star Physique and I’m merely affected by it, Mazao doesn’t directly encounter strange events in most cases, whereas I become the main one engaging with them? Although part of it might be due to my proactive measures to protect Mazao, she has not exhibited further attraction towards strange things.

According to Mazao’s descriptions of the Broom Star Physique, she should be the center that draws strange events, while I should get involved as a consequence. However, ever since I met Mazao, I have been the one gathering clues about these events, rather than them converging on her, as if I were the actual center of the whirlpool.

The truth is quite simple; I haven’t truly become the "center of the whirlpool"... but rather, I was "drawn into Mazao’s whirlpool."

Though I often subconsciously regard myself as human, objectively speaking, someone like me who mimics a human body through flames is actually more akin to a demon possessing human consciousness.

And in many urban legends, there are often descriptions of victims being targeted by the paranormal due to bad luck, the breach of certain taboos, or meeting the criteria to become prey, resulting in being watched, stalked, imprisoned, or killed by the paranormal. If I am such a paranormal entity, Mazao is clearly the victim currently caught in such urban legend scenarios.

From the first night we met, this girl, Mazao, has been "confined" by the monster named Zhuang Cheng through various means.

However, as Gua Tianshi initially pointed out, this appears to be "good news."

If Mazao’s phenomenon of attracting strange things has an upper limit within a given time, then my existence perhaps occupies part of that upper limit. Assuming that Mazao attracts ten strange things per day, I might occupy more than half of them, and any remaining "escaped fish" would still have to get past me before reaching Mazao.

Even if Mazao’s Broom Star Physique cannot be eliminated for now, I can use my own power to help her avoid most dangers... Perhaps this is the only balance point I can find at present, one that satisfies my desires while ensuring Mazao’s safety.

No, saying it like this is too hypocritical. If my desires are satisfied, I shouldn’t cowardly seek solace from it.

It’s truly ironic that Mazao now devotes herself to me wholeheartedly. Even if there were a great opportunity to remove her Broom Star Physique right before her, she would abandon it for my sake. This should be an ideal situation for me, yet I am deeply moved by her selflessness, developing thoughts unlike my usual self. Maybe I need to quickly recover the original me—the cold-blooded me who would confine her beside me by any means necessary, even if it meant breaking her limbs.

At the same time, I cannot escape the feeling of the warmth and softness of her hand tightly holding mine.

I won’t let you escape—she seemed to convey such an intention silently.

The conversation between Gua Tianshi and I concluded here, as I felt that I was not in a state to continue calmly, so I bade farewell to Gua Tianshi, asking one last question before I left.

"Gua Tianshi, since you know I am the Liangyi Inheritor, why do you still spend the effort to draw me in?" I asked, "Although I don’t intend to easily concede to Shan Liangyi, from an outsider’s standpoint, encountering Shan Liangyi would seem like the day of my demise.

"I might even be a shorter-lived Impermanence compared to Ming Zhuo, so all the time and energy spent on me might ultimately be futile, right?"

This was a question that even Water Master Xuanwu had before: despite the chance of becoming a great Impermanence, as long as one cannot escape the identity of a Liangyi Inheritor, the value of wooing them would greatly diminish.

Gua Tianshi’s response was very straightforward: "Your talents are exceptionally strong, and you might be able to counter Shan Liangyi, that’s all."

"Is that it?" I found it hard to believe.

"If it were me from long ago, I likely wouldn’t make such a judgment for a reason like that," Gua Tianshi said. "After all, in the long human history, geniuses have been as numerous as stars in the sky. Even a prodigy capable of dominating an era, if viewed on a time scale of millennia, is just a slightly larger splash among many.

"But Shan Liangyi is entirely different; even by my standards, he could be described as a stormy wave in the river of time. Many powerful Impermanences pale in comparison to him. To challenge him relying solely on exceptional talent is somewhat arrogant.

"However, someone has changed my perspective. Like you, he was once a Liangyi Inheritor, yet he rose from obscurity in an incredible fashion and eventually reached a stage where even Shan Liangyi had to look up to him. He even defeated Shan Liangyi with his bare fists..."

"Who is that?" I asked.

Gua Tianshi slowly said, "Old Fist God."

Luo Mountain’s most formidable Impermanence was once a Liangyi Inheritor too?

"Wait... you said ’once’?" I asked, "Meaning... Old Fist God is no longer a Liangyi Inheritor now?"

"The Power Seed that Shan Liangyi left in his body has vanished. The power Old Fist God uses now is purely his own," Gua Tianshi said.

"Having lost the Power Seed, does that mean all the talents Old Fist God possessed have also disappeared? Or have his talents merely returned to their original state?" I asked. "How did he manage to defeat Shan Liangyi then?"

"If you want to know the rationale behind how he defeated Shan Liangyi, I’m unable to explain that. If pressed for an answer, I’d say there might be no rationale," Gua Tianshi said. "If you really want to know the truth, you can ask him yourself.

"I believe he is not only interested in you, but Old Fist God is likely interested in you too and might even come to you voluntarily.

"According to my calculations, you should be able to meet him after you return."

-

Mazao and I left Gua Tianshi’s residence.

Along the way, Mazao continued to hold my hand tightly, showing no intention of letting go. I grasped her small hand back, reflecting on the words Gua Tianshi had mentioned earlier.

Old Fist God would come to see me of his own accord; that means he’s already at the sanatorium, waiting for me?

Data provided by Mr. Zhu indicated that Old Fist God is an Impermanence who believes in strength. Although Impermanences generally believe in strength, Old Fist God is particularly notable among them.

It is said that from the time he debuted as a demon hunter, he continued to challenge powerful demon hunters and paranormal entities, starting with the Bad Level, then moving on to the Residence Level, achieved level, and then the Great Success Rank and becoming an Impermanence... His progression wasn’t exceptionally rapid compared to former Impermanences. Previous Impermanences usually started with achieved level or Great Success Rank from the start or progressed abruptly like a revelation at some point, but Old Fist God seemed like an outlier.

When he first debuted, his strength was even below that of an average Bad Level demon hunter. Some suspected that when he initially challenged demon hunters and paranormal entities, he didn’t even know how to use Mana and only relied on his raw fists. Even later, he never showed explosive growth, steadily growing stronger while challenging increasingly formidable opponents.

Eventually, people noticed something unusual about him: he seemingly had no bottlenecks in his progression of strength. A typical demon hunter will experience a period of stagnation between each level, yet Old Fist God transitioned smoothly from achieved level to Great Success Rank, from Great Success Rank to Impermanence, prompting speculation that he might have ascended beyond the realm of the Impermanences.

If the Great Success Rank signifies the first threshold of a demon hunter’s limit, the first door, with Impermanence being the second door,

then Old Fist God might have already opened the third door.