Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 463 - 433 Zhuang Cheng’s Blade 1

Chapter 463: 433 Zhuang Cheng’s Blade 1

The unexpected visitor was not Zhu Shi.

It was a strong-built man, dressed in a black Impermanence uniform, with black iron knuckle dusters covered in blood-red runes on his hands, and he was enveloped in mana fluctuations slightly stronger than the "Preacher." Clearly, he had achieved the level of an Impermanence.

Considering the time and place of his appearance, and his direct attack on the "Preacher," I have reason to believe that this person’s true identity is the recently missing Luoshan Impermanence, who is responsible for the safety of Saltwater City and several surrounding cities.

After a direct collision, the suddenly appearing Impermanence and the "Preacher" bounced off in different directions. As soon as he landed, the "Preacher" smoothly slipped into the shadows below, and immediately emerged rapidly from the shadows behind the Impermanence, fiercely clawing at the Impermanence’s head and heart, intending to decapitate and gouge his heart out.

With the power of someone who has achieved that level, it’s not just human heads and hearts—even the most solid armored tanks would be torn apart like paper.

The powerful attack pierced through the Impermanence’s body without any obstruction.

"Got him!" the "Preacher" muttered lowly.

However, things weren’t that simple. The torn Impermanence’s body did not explode with blood and flesh, but rather dissipated like a white mist in the wind.

The figure of Impermanence appeared ghostly behind the "Preacher." The "Preacher" seemed to sense the killing intent from behind, his face changed dramatically, and he attempted to turn but was not fast enough. The iron fist of Impermanence struck the back of the "Preacher."

"That was an afterimage." This Impermanence conveniently said a line that could rank in the top ten among the lines I’ve most wanted to say since I learned to manipulate light.

At the same time, it seemed like mana was injected into the iron fist, which exploded with immense force upon hitting the "Preacher," blowing him to pieces.

Regrettably, he didn’t actually succeed. The "Preacher’s" body also did not burst with blood and flesh, but turned into a shadowy substance, scattered like countless splashes of water on the ground. The "Preacher" once again teleported from the shadows behind Impermanence, launching a fatal surprise attack.

The two humanoid battle tanks with seemingly endless tricks collided and moved at lightning speed on the scene, generating more than thirty collisions per second, each like a bomb exploding in this space. The relentless sound waves and shockwaves turned this floor into a zone where mortals couldn’t survive. Even when they occasionally succeeded, the opponent would turn into an afterimage or shadowy substance, re-entering the cycle of exchanging attacks.

I wasn’t in a hurry to intervene in this fight. The suddenly appearing Impermanence seemed to be just an interlude of this "farce," an intruding anomaly, yet defining him so decisively wasn’t easy. I didn’t think his seemingly coincidental appearance was just a coincidence.

Or, to be objective, maybe it really was a coincidence, but since it occurred within an incident Mazao drew me into, I am willing to believe that some kind of revelation, some fateful implication, must be contained within this anomaly. I need to observe it.

Compared to the monster "Preacher" who can manipulate Shadow Power, this Impermanence is more like a character specializing in Physical Enhancement and close combat. His afterimages aren’t particularly magical, merely effects created by light and eye illusions. Rather than a spell-wielding demon hunter, he’s more of an exceptionally strong martial artist.

Moreover, he used traditional martial arts that fit certain stereotypes, with many seemingly flashy and exaggerated performance-like movements.

I don’t know what practical significance these movements have in a normal fighting environment, but within the field of Mysticism, they indeed hold significance. These "performance movements" are actually a kind of "spell."

The essence of language is the expression of will; influencing the outside world with mana is also an act of expressing one’s soul’s will outward. Therefore, in the world of demon hunters, language and mana are always inseparable.

The form of language is not limited to sound and text; gestures and dance are also languages expressed through the body, and even changes in facial expressions and gazes can become forms of language. In ancient times, when humans were still in the primordial state, they would worship heaven and ghost gods, often dancing during sacrifices. Bodily movements are the most primitive language of humans, and dance is the most primal spell.

By harnessing the power of dance, ancient humans could achieve miraculous feats. And when humans incorporated dance into primitive hunting and killing, "dance" became "martial." The seemingly redundant and comical mystic dance elements that frequently appear in many ancient martial arts are the most primitive Demon Hunting Magic.

Speaking of martial arts, one can’t help but think of Unpredictable Old Boxing God, the strongest on Luo Mountain. Could this unexpected Impermanence have a connection with Old Boxing God or be a follower of Old Boxing God?

I think probably not. Although Old Boxing God is known for martial arts as Impermanence, his martial arts do not have elements of dance and sacrificial rites. Rather, he has always wanted to eliminate mana from his martial arts and would not allow mystic elements to appear in his martial arts.

Moreover, Old Boxing God is not an Impermanence who endorses Extraordinaryism. According to Zhu Shi, the one responsible for Saltwater City and its surrounding cities should be an Extraordinaryism Impermanence.

"Ah..."

Xiaoqiao froze on the spot, gripping my arm tightly, not daring to move. While I protected her with my power, I also sent more flames, turning them into shields to protect those caught within the range of shockwaves and sound waves nearby. I couldn’t let those people die under my watch; it would be bad if Zhu Shi got angry.

However, despite doing so many tricks on this side, the two tense fighters over there still hadn’t noticed my presence. Although I consciously wanted to hide and observe the battle, being so ignored left me with a strange feeling. Suddenly, I wondered if those Lost Great Impermanence were in a state similar to what I currently am?

Even if performing miracles on the spot, it still couldn’t be perceived by others. The traces left on the scene might be found, but more likely, they would be deemed as results of natural phenomena. It wouldn’t be surprising if the "Tunguska Event" I read about in many magazines introducing mysterious events, which occurred in the early 20th century, was also something done by some idle Lost Great Impermanence.

The battle between the "Preacher" and Impermanence seemed to be nearing its conclusion.

In the fierce battle, not only did Impermanence’s stamina not show any decline, but he fought more vigorously, and the strength of his attacks and speed of movement increased. He did not immediately convert his extra strength into direct strikes against the enemy but ingeniously incorporated one or two seemingly meaningless performance actions into his moves.

These actions were like adding more spins to a sling to make it more powerful, making his moves stronger and faster while the ritual-like actions seemed to summon mysterious powers. I felt the mana fluctuations in this Impermanence grow stronger, and there emerged a faintly familiar sensation.

In the next moment, as if completing some ritual during the battle, Impermanence’s mana fluctuations suddenly expanded, waves of invisible force spreading around.

At this point, I finally figured out that familiar sensation. The mysterious power infused in him was very similar to Ming Zhuo. In other words, the object of his martial ritual was Ming Zhuo.

This process of calling upon power reminded me of those who believe in me, trying to summon my power through prayers. Although the external expression is different, in my intuition, the core seems to be strikingly similar.

So this Impermanence is a believer of Ming Zhuo.

The "Preacher" followed the stream of energy from Impermanence, retreating a short distance.

"It’s over, envoy from Taoyuan Village," Impermanence said, "I’ve been focusing on tracking your traces for half a month. I’ve finally caught you and don’t want to waste more time on you. There’s no escape for you now, die here."

Hearing this, the "Preacher" responded with a mysterious smile, "Not necessarily."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, causing his opponent’s expression to change. At some point, a large blade appeared in his hand—I saw it clearly; the blade was spat out from the shadow behind him and quickly grabbed by him.

The blade was adorned with many seemingly random but actually unified patterns.

Suddenly, I thought those patterns looked very familiar.

Impermanence looked incredulously at the large blade in the enemy’s hand, gritting his teeth, "Could it be... could that blade be..."

"That’s right, it’s just as you think." The "Preacher" said confidently, "Knowing that the Luoshan Impermanence responsible for this city is a believer of the God Ming Zhuo, how could I not prepare in advance?

"Even this location was specially chosen by me as your burial place. Here, the power of this blade will be even greater."

Xiaoqiao, hearing the "Preacher’s" words, muttered in confusion, "This location...?"

"And this weapon is a carefully prepared massive weapon specifically to deal with you, a believer of Ming Zhuo." The "Preacher" pointed the large blade at Impermanence, "This large blade has undergone countless ritual blessings, inhabiting the power of a God who once defeated Ming Zhuo. According to mythological restraint, that God’s power can suppress the Ming Zhuo force within you. Even you will be swept into this fate, becoming a vengeful spirit under the blade.

"If you still have any illusions, I will directly tell you here. The name of that God is the God of Fire—’Zhuang Cheng’!"

As the words fell, orange-red flames suddenly ignited on the blade out of thin air.

The Xiaoqiao hiding behind me was first stunned upon hearing this, then made a foolish sound, "—Huh?"

"Huh?"

I also couldn’t help but make a similar sound, taking a closer look at the patterns carved on that big blade, which looked familiar. They weren’t patterns—there were many, many words.

Specifically, carved densely all over the blade was the name "Zhuang Cheng."