Chapter 253 Unknown Tomorrow

Huilong City, control room in the atrium.

The sun's mark flickered in the water, and the nautical chart marking the route was folded away in a corner. Ji Qiufeng finished his report and sent a bamboo slip into the current.

"...The above is what Hengkong and the others said, and I believe it's basically true," Ji Qiufeng said. "They've all been infected to varying degrees by the external dao, and Hengkong's condition is particularly serious. However, I believe this is the necessary price for survival."

Laughter came from the other side of the water curtain, and Ji Qiufeng also laughed: "Compared to the Lord of Destiny, naturally... I know, I will take good care of them."

"...Yes, the situation has changed significantly now. I plan to travel to Jingsha City-State in the near future. I hope you will inform me in advance."

The ancient beings gave a few words of instruction, and then the communication ended, and the water curtain faded. Youyou crept over, trembling with fear: "What did the old ones say?"

"If the True Ones can even tolerate the ancient Canxin, why would they be afraid of these heretical elements?" Ji Qiufeng blew on the tea leaves. "Besides, these people are all soldiers led by the Canxin Master. It's hard for them to have any objections."

"That's when the Canxin's tyrannical ways come into play," Youyou gloated, then wailed. "How come they're already at point three? How can they grow so fast?! If they keep going like this, in a few years, I won't be able to defeat your daughter!"

Ji Qiufeng patiently coaxed: "Do you think there is a possibility that they can fight with you now..."

Youyou gasped, "No! Absolutely not! Where's my authority if it comes to this?! Ji Qiufeng, you need to speed up the trade. I need to level up quickly, too!"

"There's no rush for promotion; the current progress is just right," Fen Ya said. "The children are better than me, which shows that our education is working. This is a happy thing."

Qi Su walked in, holding a large flower pot, her face translucent with excitement, as if she were about to attain enlightenment. Fen Ya stroked her head with a small leaf, then turned to look at the City Lord and You You, eyes full of nostalgia.

"Qiufeng, Youyou, it's nice to see you again."

Youyou's eyes immediately turned red, and like Qisu, she began to cry. Ji Qiufeng squatted down in front of the flowerpot, grasping the extended leaf, his fingertips trembling slightly.

“We never dreamed we’d hear your voice again.”

"Lord Sakuraryu."

·

"You know, after all this, I honestly feel that our world is a fucked-up place," Vander said. "The fucked-up thing about this place is that you can't fucking predict which fucking big shot this random fucking idiot you meet is actually the incarnation of."

Chu Hengkong stared at it for a long time: "Your words are indeed very convincing."

"Look at what a mess this is! I thought the old jellyfish and the Demon King were the worst of our luck in this life, but what happened?" Finder clapped his tentacles. "Wow, the Master of the Remnant Heart! What a fucking surprise!"

It slurped down a large gulp of milk tea, choking on the high sugar content and coughing. Gulibo, holding a small cup of milk, looked bewildered. "Wouldn't it be great to meet the Master of Destiny? What a great adventure, Bo."

Shax sneered at the side. Jie An said kindly, "Bobo, use your little head. You said we've all met the master of destiny this time. Given the nature of fate, is it possible that we'll meet a great figure of the same level next time?"

"It's possible!" Gulibo said excitedly, "We might even meet Piaomiao Fate Master, Lord Zhulong, and... and..."

"There are also the Spiral Tower Master, the Imperial Emperor, and other Outer Dao Masters," Shax said. "Calculate the probability of encountering one of them."

Gulibo's nose turned pale, and he collapsed on the ground: "Help me, Bo!!!"

Chu Hengkong casually picked it up and threw it back onto the cushion. "To be honest, I never thought he was the Master of Destiny. I thought the Master of Destiny was some kind of... big shot who traveled around the world, but he's leading troops in the wilderness."

"It's a clone, that's obvious. There are tons of Zanxin who can use the clone technique, even Xiaoye can do it now." Finder rolled his eyes. "I guess he took advantage of the mechanism of the Mist Man and forced his 'old self' in. Unfortunately, the Mist Man can't affect reality, so he has to rely on us to fight."

Chu Hengkong rubbed his chin, feeling something was amiss. After all, if this loophole was so easy to exploit, the other righteous leaders would have shown their abilities, and the Spiral Tower Master would have personally entered the Heavenly Prison to rescue Fansalar long ago. But the fact that they only saw Chongming, the Supreme Being, was clearly a bit strange.

But this wasn't something they should be worrying about at their level. Chu Hengkong gave up thinking and said, "But he has a strong sense of responsibility. I think Chongming... wouldn't do anything to ignore the affairs of Shura Island."

Vander's eyes were as big as light bulbs.

"Oh, talk to him about responsibility. I beg you to please stop him from being so responsible! Do you know what that idiot Chongming did?!"

"I'm all ears."

Finder slapped his tea bottle. "Single-handedly, he stormed the Spiral Tower, severely injuring the Supreme Mage. Including Vansalar, he reduced the Four Gods of Destruction to only two. With a single sword, he infiltrated the Imperial Capital and fought a close battle with the Emperor, nearly leading to the Second Battle of the Heavenly Prison. Further on, he entered the Second Abyss, defied the Funeral God, and slashed Eternal Time, leaving the entire funeral procession in a state of flux. The Son of the Forgotten Cradle was slaughtered so hard that he dared not even show his face. He also slaughtered every phantom demon in the Sea of ​​Illusions, except for Orlek!"

"After defeating the Cripple Heart Master and achieving enlightenment, the true forms of high-level outsiders have become almost invisible in the Shendong Realm. Anyone who dares to show their head will be slashed with a knife and killed on the spot!" said Fander. "In the past few hundred years, even an old man who is used to doing things himself has started using avatars. Our own righteous gods rarely dare to go out. They are all preparing for war in their hometowns, fearing that this killer embryo will accidentally cause a major second war on the spot."

"Fuck." Chu Hengkong said.

"Commander Chongming is so brave, so has the Blood Origin been smashed to pieces by now?" Gulibo was full of anticipation.

"You're overthinking it. Chongming was just as formidable in the wilderness. His problem isn't that his strength is limited. He exploited the loophole of the Man in the Mist to get into the Heavenly Prison, but the rules mean he can't influence reality." Finder waved his tentacles, "So when he gets to the Blood Plains, he'll probably command his former graduates to beat up the outsiders and continue to be his ace commander. Whether he wins or loses, he won't disappear. After all, there's only one clone in the Heavenly Prison. If he can channel his power in, he can continue to exist... Hmm..."

Finder coiled his tentacles, deep in thought.

"After every major battle, the Zanxin Master disappears for a short while. Everyone used to think he was recuperating. Now... do you think he's recharging his clone in the Heavenly Prison...?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Shax concluded, "Not only does he lack the time to govern, but his personality definitely doesn't make him a good leader."

Jie An rubbed his hands and said sincerely, "I think it might be a good thing for this heartbroken master to leave the island... One island is wronged, but thousands of families are blessed."

"That's so selfless. Go talk to Xiaoye." Vander sneered.

"Oh, I don't dare offend her. Let the Chief Inspector go." Jie An shouted, "Careful as you walk along the aisle! Don't take off! It's like a winged angel."

"I'm enjoying the Seismic Point 4 treatment in advance, which isn't bad."

Chu Hengkong slowly stood up. His coat, draped behind him, stretched high, making him uncomfortable. He had no choice but to tear half of it off. A withered black wing emerged from the right side of his back, like a skeletal hand pointing to the sky. As he walked, his bony claws sliced ​​the air, creating a ghostly wailing sound.

The Nightmare King was, after all, the most wicked of gods. Even if he won, he would still have to pay the price of encountering him. In their final encounter, the wing representing despair pierced deeply into his back, becoming an inseparable foreign object.

After checking, Youyou thought it was alright. After all, if there was anything wrong with his messed-up body, it would have exploded long ago. The fact that he could move meant it was still working. Youyou believed it was a curse cast by the evil spirit, but Chu Hengkong, on the other hand, thought it was a "gift" from the other spirit.

Given Van Salar's character, if you defeat him, you will definitely get a reward, whether you are willing to accept it or not.

"He's still a bastard even after death," he said.

He flexed his back muscles, and his Deathwing shrank into a thin, thin shadow, like a tattoo on his back. He put his coat back on and walked from the headquarters building to the dormitory. The team members saluted him, whispering behind his back about the new legend that had been making the rounds recently.

For personal safety reasons, Ji Qiufeng didn't announce the Chief Inspector's honor of breaking through the Heavenly Prison, simply stating that he had returned from an adventurous trip. However, there's no such thing as an impenetrable wall, and news of the Wilderness breakthrough quickly spread throughout the world. While no one knew what the Heavenly Prison or Wilderness were, they understood that this was a feat beneficial to the world, and so they discussed and celebrated.

Chu Hengkong smiled in response and slowly walked back to the dormitory building. He looked at the familiar city and suddenly felt like he was wandering in a dream, as if he were in another world.

Here, there was sunshine, blue skies, the bustling city life, and the daily grind of life. This familiar city was so beautiful it felt almost fake. That wasn't the reality etched in his heart. The truth was corpses and blood, curses and black moons, irreversible tragedy and irresistible death...

It is the never-ending "one second" in the world of movement.

He subconsciously gripped the hilt of the knife, his muscles unconsciously tensing. In a trance, he saw the sky shrouded in darkness, the resurrected souls in the mist returned, and the sound of the wind was like the devil's snickering. You should wake up, a new test is about to begin -

At this moment, he suddenly fell into the warmth. The warm temperature was like a flame, driving away the darkness and coldness from his body. Chu Hengkong loosened the handle of the knife and shouted awkwardly: "Hey!"

"You look cold, so I'll warm you up~" Qingxia said with a smile, "You won't be cold if we hug each other!"

While he was troubled by the illusion, Qingxia quietly slipped up behind him and hugged him. After her transformation to Sephiroth 4, she was finally no longer a centaur, but she was still a grown woman. At 2.1 meters tall, she stood out from the crowd, and she could still comfortably embrace Chu Hengkong.

Chu Hengkong gave up struggling and sighed, "Do you have to be so high?"

"This height is most convenient for fighting." Qing Xia rubbed his hair with his chin, "And I like the feeling of looking down at you."

"You're full of selfish thoughts." Chu Hengkong smiled bitterly. "Thank you. Let me go. Did you get a room?"

"Xiaoshe said there are many rooms in this building and I can pick any one." Qingxia pointed to a familiar window, "I chose that room~"

"No, that's my house."

"Yeah, I did it on purpose." Qingxia nodded.

"No, I told you not to. Move next door."

"What?!" Qing Xia exclaimed, "So, are you asking me to rob Ji Huaisu's house...?"

"It's your ability to snatch it away."

"Understood, sir." Qingxia saluted pretentiously. "Brave Qingxia, go and capture the monster castle. I'm leaving!"

Qingxia spread her wings and flew through Miss Knight's window. Chu Hengkong waited patiently for a few seconds, happily listening to his partner's screams and a series of clanging noises.

The warriors of the settlement were settled in the swamp. These isolated, old-timers adapted well to the magical land, remarking on the delicious tea and mushrooms. They sat beneath the trees, feeling like they were home. Qingxia made several trips back and forth between the courtyard and the swamp to complete the check-in procedures, finally fulfilling her grandfather's instructions.

She is particularly relaxed now. Perhaps this is the first day without responsibilities since she became sensible.

"Mr. Chu, you look so happy." Qing Ye said, "It turns out that men like plumpness!"

Miss Canxinzhe poked her head out from above the gate, looking like an oversized yellow bat. Chu Hengkong casually threw a spirit missile at it, and the large bat flew down with a whoosh, puffing out its chest proudly. "But Miss Qingye, I am also a mature and plump woman now! What do you think?"

At this moment, Qingye was a fully developed female college student. The side effects of the Time Transmutation Technique had made her appear nearly two years older. The tights, custom-made for Qingye as a high school student, were now somewhat overwhelmed and in danger of collapsing under the excessive pressure.

Chu Hengkong took a serious look and nodded repeatedly: "Amazing, on par with your sister Huaisu."

"Wow, why are you so hesitant with everyone else but you can act like an uncle with me..." Qing Ye cried, "It's not fair! I want to blush and my heart beat fast too. I want a hug too~"

"Oh, okay."

Chu Hengkong reached out and held her in his arms, gently stroking her long hair. Qingye shook her head in satisfaction, then froze, her face red from the tip of her chin to the roots of her ears.

"Hey...hey? Hey hey hey hey hey?!" Qingye stuttered.

"Didn't you ask for it yourself?" Chu Hengkong laughed. "Ask Youyou to help adjust your body. It's not a good thing if your appearance and spirit don't match. Since you're still a high school student, don't act like an adult."

"Oh okay, okay."

"Have a good rest and don't worry too much about Chongming." Chu Hengkong patted her head. "I'll teach you Huang Tianliu when I have time."

"Thank you, thank you..." Qingye's voice was as soft as a mosquito.

Chu Hengkong let go of the girl and walked up the stairs happily. Qingye slid to the door and stairs like a mollusk, his eyes turning into mosquito coils due to confusion.

What, what's going on? I was just teasing her out of habit, but she actually hugged me?! And she looked so relaxed?!

Could it be that Mr. Chu is actually a super carnivore who doesn't match his appearance... and did she just awaken the beast?! No, no, the worst thing is that she just felt a little bit moved. What should she do?!

Qingye held his head and screamed silently. Qingxia, who had just been driven out of the window, was shocked when she saw this: "What kind of foreign attack is this! Xiaoye, don't be afraid, I'm here to save you!"

"No! Don't come over here at this time, you're all wet!!"

Chu Hengkong walked into his long-missed dormitory room, spending some time ventilating it and tending to the potted plants. The plants from the swamp were still thriving. He placed the potted plants on the windowsill and walked out of the room, just in time to run into Ji Huaisu, who had just finished cleaning.

"My room was quite clean," Ji Huaisu said in despair, "until a wild horse flew in through the window while I was cleaning, plunged headfirst into the bucket, and landed on my bed."

"It sounds really exciting." Chu Hengkong said.

"Don't laugh! I'm telling you, don't laugh! I'm going to get angry! I'm really angry!"

They walked up to the rooftop and sat side by side on the edge of the terrace. The girls were still playing downstairs, their laughter carried far away by the breeze. Sunlight streamed down from the azure sky, coating the streets of Huilong City in a golden hue.

They all thought this was an unusually good day, so they simply lay down and looked at the sky quietly.

"That's great." Chu Hengkong said, "It's a good afternoon to daydream."

"So you can also daydream?" Ji Huaisu yawned.

"I didn't before. Now I'm starting to think about it." Chu Hengkong narrowed his eyes. "I think I can lie here all afternoon and do nothing... I can do the same tomorrow... If I'm really bored, I can go for a walk on the street."

"Come on, you don't fight?"

"No boxing." Chu Hengkong smiled, "Maybe I won't box for the next week."

Ji Huaisu was so frightened that he sat up with a jerk and almost fell off the roof: "What kind of pollution is this? It's so serious?!"

Chu Hengkong stretched hard and slowly raised his arms. Ji Huaisu pulled him up in a bad mood.

"In the past, I was used to doing meaningful things. Meaningless time would make me feel very... empty. It felt like I was wasting my time and life." Chu Hengkong said, "But after tossing around for so long and doing so many meaningful things, I have a different idea."

He thought of the Nightmare King's emotions, the dreams, the frustrations, the anger, the obsession that had stretched from millennia ago to the present day.

"Meaning, like ability, has its limits." Chu Hengkong mused, "A person can only hold as much meaning as their own strength. If you cram too much meaning into your heart, it will wear down your vessel faster."

"Even children know that too much is as bad as too little. Congratulations, Chief Inspector, your common sense has finally reached the level of a junior high school student!" Ji Huaisu said lazily.

"You see it very clearly. Too much is as bad as too little." Chu Hengkong smiled. "I think only an omnipotent God can devote all his energy to the 'meaning' of fighting or saving people. People cannot be prisoners of meaning. Not everything needs to be meaningful. What matters is whether you live a satisfying and happy life."

"So, you want to slack off openly?"

"Wouldn't it be nice to take a break once in a while?"

"What exactly do you want to do when you're just moping?"

"Dazing off, climbing mountains, swimming, fishing, playing games, or..."

Chu Hengkong stretched out his arm and took the initiative to hold her shoulders.

"How about a date this weekend?"

Ji Huaisu rolled his eyes and leaned on his partner's shoulder reluctantly.

"If you have a good attitude, I wouldn't consider it..."

The story of despair is over.

Leaving behind the foggy past, young people return to the present.

The future is still full of obstacles and mysteries.

However, people who live in the present will not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Learn to be strong from setbacks and pick up the light in the dark night.

With love and courage, take a step towards a new tomorrow.

Searching for hope.

(Desperate Wilderness, End)

(Volume 2, End)

(Volume 2 ends, three weeks of hiatus, and resumes serialization on April 7th~)

(End of this chapter)