Ashen God
Chapter 552 - 551 Special Talent [Storm Descent]

Chapter 552: Chapter 551 Special Talent [Storm Descent]

Chaotic Eye: "The upper echelons seem to be planning to continue forcibly suppressing for a while longer until the functionalities of the relevant departments can operate normally before releasing the news."

Chaotic Eye: "At that time, the Empire will likely conduct a large-scale obligatory conscription of Awakeners to spontaneously head to cleanse the Monsters emerging from the Transmission Channels. They shall provide appropriate rewards."

Chaotic Eye: "But relying solely on obligatory conscription definitely won’t work, so recently both the relevant departments and the military have been expanding their recruitment."

Chaotic Eye: "If the Empire cannot maintain order, then inside the Empire, apart from Awakeners like us, ordinary people whose Cultivation Talent is limited and need years to advance to Second Tier will face catastrophe. The best outcome would be similar to that of Africa."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Africa? What’s wrong with Africa?"

Chaotic Eye: "You don’t actually think that those countless mysterious large-scale explosions were caused by humans, do you?"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Could it be..."

Chaotic Eye: "Exactly, those were all Monsters from the Transmission Channels rampaging through cities. As you know, in Africa, aside from some capitals and more developed cities, most areas are similar to primitive tribes, some are even in the true Stone Age."

Chaotic Eye: "So unfortunately, even though they have formed the African Alliance, they still have virtually no resistance against the Monsters invading the Main World."

Zhang Yanhang had this inexplicable feeling that the world was about to come to an end soon, but not quite so urgently. After all, although places like Africa were dangerous, the Empire’s territories were relatively safe, so there should not be any big issues.

Nevertheless, Zhang Yanhang estimated that if the current situation continued to develop in this manner, Africa might become the first continent to fully fall. Naturally, this referred to something very far in the future; for the foreseeable lengthy period, there was no need to worry about this issue.

As for the second continent likely to fall, Zhang Yanhang thought of Australia. After all, it was a wilderness nation where the number of kangaroos outnumbered the human population by double, requiring yearly helicopter operations to massively hunt the overly breeding wild camels to resolve water shortages on farms.

Moreover, it took just several decades for a few dozen rabbits, which were extremely common in other continents, to reproduce to over a hundred billion in Australia. Despite efforts to hunt them, nothing could keep up with their breeding speed, finally resorting to using viral weapons to eradicate them, and even so, the rabbit population in Australia still far exceeds that of humans.

Honestly, to expect Australia, a nation with merely twenty million people—only one percent of the Empire’s population and an area of 7.69 million square kilometers—to hold, seemed rather peculiar. Zhang Yanhang felt it had a very high chance of competing with Africa for first place to fall.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Suddenly I feel like humanity is beyond salvation."

Chaotic Eye: "Not necessarily, there is still a chance to salvage what we can..."

Zhou Muxi was generally optimistic that the Empire could fend off the Monster invasion from Ashen World. After all, when the nest is overturned, can there be any safe eggs?

The Power System of the Awakeners, which thrived due to the vast human population base, probably wouldn’t fare much better after the extinction of ordinary people. Perhaps a few super-strong individuals could save themselves, but most ordinary Awakened would likely not escape their fate.

Zhou Muxi never considered herself particularly special, so once the Empire fell, she feared she’d be among the ’majority.’ With this mindset, it was hard for Zhou Muxi to be anything but optimistic; there’s nothing to do but face death if they couldn’t withstand.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Let’s change the topic. What’s that Fourth Tier Awakened from the Empire doing here? Has something happened recently in Qin Island City?"

Chaotic Eye: "This..."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Is it some confidential mission you can’t discuss?"

Chaotic Eye: "Not really, it shouldn’t need to be kept secret, it should be in the news by this afternoon."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "If it doesn’t need to be kept secret, then just tell me."

Chaotic Eye: "Have you heard of Bai Lian?"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Bai Lian? Sounds familiar. The White Lotus Sect?"

Chaotic Eye: "White Lotus Sect? What the hell? I’m talking about the super typhoon that’s about to hit Qin Island City, codenamed ’Bai Lian.’"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Oh, that Bai Lian? I remember that typhoon seemed to form near Japan and swept through Kyushu, Shikoku, and Honshu before mysteriously turning towards South Korea and heading straight for the Empire, right?"

Zhang Yanhang actually had a fairly vivid memory of this typhoon, but he hadn’t reacted immediately, mainly because the environmental conditions in Qin Island City, despite being coastal, had little to do with typhoons. Having lived for twenty years, he had only encountered a typhoon twice, and they were both slow-moving ones without much impact.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Is there a problem with that typhoon?"

Chaotic Eye: "Originally, there was no problem when it was in Japan, but there’s an issue now that it’s headed for the Empire. This time, the Capital dispatched an Awakener who can control typhoons, planning to make the typhoon return the way it came."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Return the same way? You mean, let the typhoon ravage South Korea and Japan all over again? Is that really okay?"

Chaotic Eye: "They’re just hostile countries anyway. Plus, you don’t think that typhoon turning toward South Korea was just a coincidence, do you? This is just about refusing the small ’gift’ they sent over and returning it to the sender."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Then it’s fine. But what ability does that Fourth Tier Awakened from the Capital have, being able to control a typhoon?"

Chaotic Eye: "Her ability is called ’Storm Descent.’ I didn’t ask for details, but it seems she can create and freely manipulate burst lines (thunderstorms, hail, storm, hurricanes), tornadoes, typhoons, low pressure areas, and cold waves. "

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Sounds powerful. Wait, aren’t hurricanes and typhoons the same thing? Could the hurricane that suddenly formed in America recently have been her doing?"

Chaotic Eye: "Probably was her. She seems to have just advanced to the Fourth Tier, so she was testing her abilities there. Also, do you remember the sudden flood in the Ulanoke Desert last time?"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Was that also her doing?"

Zhang Yanhang was genuinely impressed by this incident. After all, a desert, a place typically devoid of water, suddenly experiencing a major flood was unforgettable.

By the way, Zhang Yanhang later looked up some information and found out that the occurrence of floods in desert areas wasn’t actually that rare. After all, the reason a desert is a desert is not because it lacks water, but because it can’t store water like normal soil, which leads to flooding disasters during heavy rains.

Chaotic Eye: "She seemed to be trying out desert transformation at the time but failed. Even though the desert transformation failed, she is quite skillful at managing weather patterns. In ancient times, just with this ability to bring favorable weather, she could have masqueraded as the Sea Dragon King."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "It should be said, Fourth Tier Awakened truly deserve the title of Immortal Land Realm. Once the ability is appropriate, it indeed compares to the descent of a True Immortal."

Although Zhang Yanhang had no opportunity to witness a Fourth Tier Awakened taking full action, he could still understand how powerful this rank was from other pieces of information. Unfortunately, he was still far from reaching the Fourth Tier; that was at least a matter for November. Currently, Zhang Yanhang’s goal for October was just to promote to the Third Tier.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "But the problem is, the Empire doesn’t seem to be lacking food, does it? Moreover, this type of ability is obviously more useful in offensive applications."

Chaotic Eye: "Thus, she only intervenes during typhoons or other large-scale natural disasters. Otherwise, with the vast territories of the Empire, disasters are happening all the time. Wouldn’t she be overwhelmed?"

Chaotic Eye: "Moreover, the main reason is also that she personally is more laid-back. I heard that during her First Tier Period, what she liked to do most was to use her ability as free air conditioning during the hot summer."

Chaotic Eye: "At her peak, she alone could provide cooling for an entire office because it was more akin to natural wind and was extremely popular, earning heartfelt respect from everyone who enjoyed the cooling."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "..."

Chaotic Eye: "It was only when registering her ability that the relevant departments noticed her and brought her capabilities to light; otherwise, given her personality, she might not even have managed to promote to the Second Tier, let alone control typhoons."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "..."

Zhang Yanhang had always thought that those Awakeners who promoted slowly were those whose abilities were not suitable for combat. But now, it seemed there might also be some whose promotion was slowed due to their personalities. Some people genuinely are naturally lazy, or in other words, beyond help.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "But what does all this have to do with you? Why is your ability the right one?"

After hearing a lot from Zhou Muxi, Zhang Yanhang still couldn’t figure out what this matter had to do with Zhou Muxi. It was baffling.

Chaotic Eye: "She has never controlled a Category 17 typhoon before. If she fails, I’ll take responsibility. Inside my Chaotic Eye, isn’t there a small world? Theoretically, as long as there is sufficient Spiritual Energy, I can entirely absorb the typhoon and the nearby sea surface."

Chaotic Eye: "And even if unable to absorb it completely, just extracting a part of it can let the remainder of the super typhoon dissipate on its own."

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Goodness, looking at it this way, your ability is stronger. Being able to to do such a thing at the Third Tier."

Just when Zhang Yanhang wanted to continue the conversation, he suddenly remembered he had forgotten the main purpose of his visit. He had come to inquire about an Artifact that could increase his Agility attribute, but strangely, the topic had drifted in a weird direction.

Of course, it couldn’t really be considered drifting since the information he obtained from this topic was actually very important, especially the matter about the Transmission Channel being permanently open.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Do you have any Artifact suitable for Second Tier Awakened that can permanently increase the Agility attribute?"

Chaotic Eye: "No, but I have an Artifact that can increase the Intelligence attribute by one point. The usage requirement limits the Intelligence Attribute to below fifty points. Do you need it?"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "No, my Intelligence Attribute has already exceeded by five points. It’s of no use to me."

Whether it was his Intelligence Attribute, Constitution Attribute, or Strength Attribute, Zhang Yanhang had reached a naked status of fifty points in all. Now, he only needed an Artifact for Agility.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Goodbye."

After briefly discussing the main matter in three sentences, Zhang Yanhang immediately ended the conversation. Apart from having nothing else to ask, he also realized the group leader had replied to a message earlier.

It was just that he hadn’t noticed at the time because he was talking to Zhou Muxi about something as important as ’permanent opening of the Transmission Channel.’

Therefore, after finishing the chat with Zhou Muxi, Zhang Yanhang immediately sent another message to the group leader.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Are you there?"

Curse Binding Vajra: "I’ve said it several times! Don’t ask if I’m here! If you have something to say, just say it!"

Curse Binding Vajra: "I’m in a good mood right now, so, hurry up and say whatever you want to ask."

Curse Binding Vajra: "Why aren’t you replying to me?"

Curse Binding Vajra: "What are you doing?"

Curse Binding Vajra: "Are you there?"

Curse Binding Vajra: "The Divination system Awakeners in the group helped me divine your QQ account, saying you were chatting with another woman?"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "!!!"

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Are you there?"

Although the last message felt a bit alarming, Zhang Yanhang still texted the usual ’Are you there?’ to the group leader and then began the usual waiting process.

Considering the group leader’s response this time, Zhang Yanhang guessed she might take a while to reply, so he continued to fuse Thermo-baric Bombs +5.

Twenty minutes later, Zhang Yanhang had successfully fused another Thermo-baric Bomb +5, but he still hadn’t received a reply from the group leader.

After pondering for a moment, he then sent another message to the group leader.

Heavenly Destiny Master: "Are you there?"

After sending the message, Zhang Yanhang put his phone aside and started fusing another Thermo-baric Bomb +5. He had already fused two Thermo-baric Bombs +5 and needed to fuse two more to gather the amount needed to fuse a Thermo-baric Bomb +7.