CHAPTER 663: 621 THE PERSON WHO SAVES THE WORLD

After returning to my residence at the Luoshan Headquarters, I saw Little Bowl waiting there, as if she had foreseen my arrival.

"Brother Zhuang Cheng, you must be injured," she said softly. "I’m here to heal you."

The commotion from the battle with the Three-headed Great Demon was likely known worldwide by now. Little Bowl could easily deduce that I was involved and was aware of the earth-shattering battle I had experienced.

In addition to her, Mazao and Lu Chan were also waiting here. Mazao probably followed Little Bowl, while Lu Chan likely made the same deduction as Little Bowl, wanting to learn the whole story from me.

I briefly explained the events that had transpired, and Lu Chan showed a shocked expression, murmuring, "I knew... I knew something utterly serious had happened, but... it was unexpected that the world almost entered the Doomsday Era, brushing shoulders with human civilization’s destruction..."

Then he scrutinized me again and said, "So... you and Fa Zheng saved the world?"

"—Saved the world?"

Upon hearing this keyword, Mazao’s spirit brightened.

"It’s also thanks to Gua Tianshi and Jian Feixian. Without them, even if Fa Zheng and I had defeated the Three-headed Great Demon, we couldn’t have saved anything," I said.

"But if you and Fa Zheng weren’t there, the Three-headed Great Demon would surely plunge the world into doomsday, right?" Lu Chan sighed.

Whether it would really become like that is a hypothetical question, so I can’t say definitively, but at least the Evangelical Institute likely had such intentions.

Lu Chan soon planned to leave. The destruction wrought upon that Eastern Coastal Second-tier City undoubtedly caused immense turmoil within Luoshan, and having swiftly grasped the truth of the matter, he undoubtedly had work that needed immediate attention. Our own God saved the world—just that fact alone has enormous promotional value. I’m not really concerned about that, but he seems quite enthusiastic.

Before leaving, he supplemented his report with some intriguing news.

"Regarding the blood and flesh of Great Demon Xuanwu," he said, "I’ve consulted some expert masters proficient in elixir crafting, and I’m very sorry, but they all claim they cannot process those materials and unanimously believe only Water Navy Xuanwu can refine it into a potent elixir."

This outcome was expected, so I wasn’t surprised. He continued, "I’m currently searching for his whereabouts, though useful clues are scarce. While there are possibilities, none can be confirmed. After all, this is someone whose location has remained elusive even to countless Xuanming believers. To find him using only our intelligence network in a short span is near impossible. However..."

"However?" I inquired.

"Among those uncertain clues and possibilities, there’s a set suggesting that he might have recently headed to the southern major city surrounded by barriers and fire sea, where Xuanming had a conflict with Taoyuan Village Master," Lu Chan looked at me. "You recently had a clash with Xuanming and probably also plan to head to that conflicted area soon, right?"

"Correct," I admitted.

"Combining the destiny force that always draws dangerous events to you, I believe Water Navy Xuanwu is highly likely in that conflicted zone currently," Lu Chan said.

Even though it’s still at the stage of "possibility," I immediately accepted this logic.

Is Water Navy Xuanwu appearing on the battlefield between Xuanming and Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang? Why? The only connection I can think of is "Water Navy Xuanwu and Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang are both Liangyi Inheritors."

However, the skill gap between them is considerable. To put it bluntly, if Taoyuan Village Master Meng Zhang was fighting Xuanming and Water Navy Xuanwu happened to be nearby, just being able to protect himself from harm would be quite remarkable. What could someone of Great Success Rank achieve by appearing in such a place?

After Lu Chan left, Little Bowl and I went inside, intending to undergo healing. Mazao followed closely, watching me with a peculiar smile. She has a character that’s hard to hide her thoughts, maybe she hasn’t realized the smile on her face.

"Did something good happen to you?" I deliberately asked.

Mazao sighed with emotion, "Zhuang Cheng, you prevented the doomsday from descending."

"Yes, so what does this have to do with... ah." I finally realized.

Not long ago, my intentions to stop the doomsday were in stark contrast to hers, who wished to precipitate its arrival. If I had deliberately gone easy during the battle with Great Demon Qilin, or even sabotaged Fa Zheng, the whole world would be inescapably plunged into the Doomsday Era. From Mazao’s standpoint, if she knew from the start that the fight between Fa Zheng and I was like this, she’d probably have faced such concerns.

It was only because she reminded me that I realized—perhaps not too long ago, there was a great opportunity to push the world into chaos. But at that time, all my focus was on Great Demon Qilin. All I thought about was winning, with no other matters present in my consciousness.

In reality, there’s no regret. If what awaited was a "Doomsday Era" like the current Post-mortem World, I’d almost recovered from the fever. Besides, that approach wouldn’t expedite the true doomsday’s progress, while allowing Doomsday Space-Time to spread globally would aid the Evangelical Institute’s human massacre plan. Calmly thinking about it, eliminating the Three-headed Great Demon back then was indeed in line with my "long-term interests."

At least on the surface, I seem to have acted against my "evil image." Being openly pointed out by Mazao somehow feels awkwardly embarrassing.

"It doesn’t count. That previous one doesn’t count," I said.

Mazao just laughed cheerfully.

The emotions wanting to refute and the feeling that her smile is cute conflicted, and ultimately, I decided not to make an ungraceful argument in this situation. Laugh if you want; the future is long. There will certainly be opportunities for Mazao to see my true evil nature.

Little Bowl watched Mazao and I and revealed an amused smile.

Upon entering my bedroom, Little Bowl began healing my True Spirit.

This time there was no lap pillow, nor any intimate hugging from behind like when No. 7 was present last time. She just let me lie relaxed on the bed, pulled up a chair next to it like a relative visiting a terminal patient, held my hands in hers, and released healing power in a prayerful gesture.

In this focused treatment setting, Mazao also became quieter than usual, as if holding her breath, watching Little Bowl and me. Little Bowl probably didn’t adopt an intimate stance because Mazao was watching, wanting to avoid suspicion.

Come to think of it, is it really unnecessary to have intimate contact during healing? Clearly, she did it when we were alone, but when Mazao watched, she didn’t. This way, it inevitably feels like a clandestine affair. However, hiding from a thirteen-year-old lover and having a covert relationship with a ten-year-old girl... no matter how you say it, it sounds strange.

Best not to delve deeper. Now that Little Bowl and I are in a physical contact state, the thoughts in my mind can easily be sensed by Little Bowl. Better to find another topic.

"I’m sorry; this time I couldn’t kill Ming Zhuo," I told Mazao.

"There’s no need to apologize to me. Ming Zhuo is originally an enemy I attracted. Plus, nothing could be done about it. Ming Zhuo wasn’t there originally," Mazao said.

"Ming Zhuo just managed to escape from Brother Zhuang Cheng’s grasp this time. There’ll definitely be a chance to meet him in battle against the Evangelical Institute later on. Even if he escapes again afterward, Mazao Sister’s扫帚 star power is something even Impermanence cannot shake off," Little Bowl said. "However, since Ming Zhuo vanished from that same place where the Three-headed Great Demon appeared, it means Ming Zhuo really entered the Post-mortem World. That means we don’t need to guard against Ming Zhuo’s potential sudden attack shortly.

"Since Ming Zhuo’s motive for capturing Mazao Sister was to enter the Post-mortem World, his motive for striking again is currently gone. The reason for Brother Zhuang Cheng and Ming Zhuo being at odds endlessly also no longer exists..."

"I won’t let Ming Zhuo get away," I said in a tone allowing no argument. "If he dares to attack Mazao again, I must make him pay with his life. And I now possess the power necessary to achieve this."

Little Bowl nodded as expected.

"True Spirit Power..."

Mazao murmured these words, then glanced at Little Bowl healing my True Spirit, suddenly asking: "Come to think of it, there’s a question I’ve never really understood... Most Impermanence should be able to attack their opponent’s True Spirit, right? Had Ming Zhuo not already clashed with other Impermanence before confronting Zhuang Cheng?

"Couldn’t an Impermanence have solved Naraku Undying Body by attacking his True Spirit? Or does Naraku Undying Body’s undying nature even cover injury to the True Spirit?"

Little Bowl arranged and summarized for Mazao, "If even True Spirit-level attacks can’t break Naraku Undying Body, even ’the concept that Ming Zhuo can be killed with True Spirit Power’ might become somewhat unsustainable... Is that what Mazao Sister meant?"

"That’s exactly it." Mazao nodded firmly.

"No, as long as True Spirit Power is used, it can definitely break Ming Zhuo’s Naraku Undying Body; this conclusion holds indisputably," I said with complete certainty.