Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 500 - 470 VS Xu Gou 2

Chapter 500: 470 VS Xu Gou 2

Although the helmet obscured his expression, Xu Gou’s emotional shift was clearly palpable.

He’d declared to the outside world that he was a Void Envoy named "Xu Gou," but he had never revealed his internal ranking number within the Void Realm. Only someone who was also a Void Envoy could identify such specifics.

"Who are you exactly?" Xu Gou demanded. "You can’t be No. 3; your power type and mana fluctuations are entirely different. But you know my number...

"Could it be... you’re No. 7? No, No. 7 is female, and you’re male...

"I understand now, you’re No. 5!"

After employing the process of elimination, he seemed to have arrived at an answer, only to fall back into confusion. "But... why are you disguising yourself as No. 3? Is it to frame No. 3 for attacking the Luoshan Branch Base?

"Outsiders don’t know about our internal rankings—this kind of frame-up would only work on those who’ve been recruited by the Void Realm. However, we all know No. 3’s real power type, so such a deception couldn’t actually fool us... What is the point of you doing this?"

Since he’d already convinced himself that I was a Void Envoy, I figured saying more would only lead to errors. Seizing the opportunity, I decided to play the "Riddler" for once and spoke mysteriously, "Perhaps you’re already close to the truth. Why not ponder a little further?"

Xu Gou hesitated briefly before resuming his offensive.

"Hmph... playing tricks!"

Even though he "knew" my identity, he clearly had no intent to stop fighting.

Ripples of mysterious energy spread from him as the epicenter, radiating outward and sweeping across my position.

This was a skill used by Mao Tu and Weiyang during the Human Bureau Headquarters battle, capable of significantly reducing the enemy’s magic density.

Originally, this skill seemed to rely on an independent reality space to function, making it unusable in normal space-time. However, Xu Gou was able to shift our battlefield into a replica space resembling an independent dimension, transforming the skill into a practical weapon.

His foundational construct as a Great Impermanence seemed quite similar to Mao Tu and Weiyang. Rather than being a "Great Impermanence," he was more aptly described as "someone wielding the power of Great Impermanence." The difference lay in his much higher synchronization rate with the Divine Seal Fragment compared to those two, thus delivering superior combat performance.

One commonality, however, was their lack of the Great Impermanence-exclusive Fatian Xiangdi ability.

Perhaps this was why, in the Void Realm, Xuanming and Divine Light gave me towering, colossal impressions, yet Xu Gou did not. It might be because his power originated from a Divine Seal Fragment rather than his soul’s essence, or because Ying Lingyun had design flaws in constructing Great Impermanence-level augmented beings.

This didn’t mean Xu Gou’s combat strength was inferior to a standard Great Impermanence. Conflicts among Great Impermanence entities were inherently unrelated to Fatian Xiangdi. While Fatian Xiangdi can generate energy magnitudes dozens or hundreds of times greater than the physical form, its density often falls short, unable to threaten even Residence or Achieved-level demon hunters. Ultimately, what matters is the power output directly from one’s core.

In a faint sense, I felt that Xu Gou’s existence fundamentally diverged from the worldview of those of us ascending from Residence to Achieved and finally to Great Impermanence within our trajectory framework. If we were figures of a fantasy realm, then Xu Gou seemed like someone emerging from a hybridized world of sci-fi and magic.

And similar to past clashes against Mao Tu and Weiyang, Xu Gou’s mysterious energy ripples didn’t notably affect my magic density.

Evading his successive long-range assaults, I focused light swiftly into the palm of my hand, continuously intensifying its density without pause.

Observing this, Xu Gou appeared surprised, then composed himself and remarked, "It doesn’t work... I see now. This move doesn’t affect Void Envoys like you, does it?

"In that case—"

His arm-mounted armor reshaped again. This time, both arm segments transformed into massive blades. Crossing and overlapping the two blade-arm constructs, he assumed a distinctive stance resembling an enormous pair of scissors.

"Turn to dust and perish."

With the declaration, he swung both arms simultaneously, launching two streaks of silver-white blade energy imbued with a semblance of Gold and Killing Power that slashed toward me.

The precise but evidently miscalculated strike was effortlessly dodged by me. In the next instant, he attacked again, his speed doubling and the blade slashes doubling to four simultaneous streaks that crisscrossed as they flew toward me.

I evaded swiftly once more. Yet, the following moment, his speed doubled again, unleashing eight streaks of blade energy. Then, astonishingly, in the next instant, sixteen streaks rained down—

In a blink, he executed fourteen consecutive slashes, exponentially accelerating the number of blades, surpassing sixteen thousand streaks of silver-white strikes at once. Yes, I’m not exaggerating, though it sounds utterly absurd—it really was that many cuts flying toward me, and the count continued to grow exponentially.

While my senses could barely dissect the continuous assaults into distinct moments, for an ordinary demon hunter, the progression from two blade strikes to over twenty thousand might seem to happen within a single fleeting instant.

The escalating torrents of razor-sharp silver blades swept over my location like torrential rainfall. There was no escape route, no gap narrow enough to dodge through; Xu Gou’s offensive morphed into a true encirclement of heaven and earth.

Even in an actual rainstorm, I could theoretically move skillfully enough to pass through without getting wet. Physical gaps between raindrops wouldn’t matter—I could simply achieve it beyond logic. But such prowess was useless against a peer in the Great Impermanence tier.

The land spanning more than a hundred kilometers around me was smothered by countless streaks of silver light. Vast and sturdy terrain disintegrated effortlessly into dust, leaving a bottomless abyss in its stead. The all-encompassing explosions plunged heaven and earth into a murky chaos, as if time and space themselves were torn asunder.

My body and soul indeed crumbled into dust, just as Xu Gou had forewarned. Yet my perception persisted, allowing me to witness the colossal devastation that left one speechless in awe.

Such overpowering destruction, in sheer scale alone, had already surpassed the limits of what a Great Impermanence could achieve. If given sufficient time, I could conceivably accomplish something similar—even destroy the world if nothing hindered me. But Xu Gou managed an unthinkable feat in the span of a single breath, rendering this level of devastation absurd.

If battles among Great Impermanence entities were judged solely by "how large a crater one move could create," Xu Gou’s combat strength would likely unseal the third gate. Even if Ming Zhuo and I combined forces, we wouldn’t stand a chance against the current Xu Gou.

Xu Gou’s ability to unleash such divine power likely stemmed from the unique properties of the Divine Seal Fragment.

An omniscient and omnipotent wish-granting mechanism—it held boundless energy, even in fragmented form. Using his being as a medium, Xu Gou showcased but the tip of this infinite potential. Simply channeling his power in a repetitive, unrestrained manner created such harrowing, doomsday-like scenes.

Consider that many countries on this world don’t even span a hundred kilometers—the move could literally annihilate an entire nation in one blow.

Still, the attack didn’t genuinely endanger my life.

Though my body and soul were utterly destroyed, my True Spirit remained intact. To be precise, my True Spirit was harmed, but the damage was superficial.

Normally, without the ability to target True Spirits directly, such shallow injuries shouldn’t even occur. Moreover, Xu Gou’s mana density wasn’t high enough to produce the required qualitative change. I suspect this anomaly is intrinsic to the Divine Seal Fragment’s unique properties, which possess an uncanny aptitude for touching True Spirits.

However, Xu Gou likely lacked the intent to specifically attack my True Spirit, limiting the harm to these shallow cuts. Without deeper follow-up strikes, he could only surface-level gouge and grind, unable to reach deeper layers.

Truth be told, describing my current condition as "True Spirit damage" feels awkward. By definition, True Spirit shouldn’t have a structure—it’s the epitome of simplicity, existing either wholly or not at all. Yet for lack of better terminology, I resort to this inadequate depiction. Only those who can verify their own True Spirit might truly comprehend its essence.

Nor is Xu Gou’s ignorance about True Spirits laughable. After all, he didn’t know I was an Innate Manifestation. Even in Great Impermanence battles, typically no one would assume it necessary to attack True Spirit realms. Lose the body, lose the soul—that’s how death normally works.

When his assault finally ceased, Xu Gou seemingly deemed the battle resolved. Weary, he lowered his arms, transforming his large blade constructs back into standard armored appendages.

"It’s over,"

he murmured to himself, scanning the abyss he’d created through his destruction. He appeared to be searching for something.

Probably the Divine Seal Fragment. As a Void Envoy, fragments are expected to drop upon death. Perhaps he was preoccupied with acquiring knowledge from the Master of Divine Seal about resurrection.

Reconstituting my body and soul, I immediately caught his eye. His reaction was as if struck by lightning—stunned motionless in place.

"Have your attacks concluded?" I asked.

Hearing this, Xu Gou hesitated for a beat before suddenly retreating thousands of meters, staring at me like he’d seen a ghost.

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