A terrifying thought arose in the priest's mind, but he immediately dismissed it. No matter how strong Giant Strength God No. 1 was, it was still in its infancy. How could it compare to an entire military regiment?

The believer said calmly, "The military is also heading there. We should know what happened very soon."

The priest sighed in relief. "I am sure it’s just an accident."

He guessed that the beast had suddenly awakened and rampaged, disrupting the local communications equipment. No wonder everything seemed so strange. As long as their squad reached the camp, everything would be resolved.

"Keep monitoring the situation. Inform me the moment there's any intelligence." The priest, Fengqi, had a look of admiration. "I'm going to see the Holy Son."

After all, the person he was about to meet stood at the very peak of the cult. The twelve priests paid homage to the Holy Son, a man supposedly beneath only the leader. Ever since his marriage to the daughter of a Brilliant Star general, his status had soared beyond imagination, perhaps even surpassing the leader’s.

Leaving the estate, the priest took a special vehicle to another manor that had a martial training ground.

Upon arriving, Fengqi was shocked when he saw the Holy Son at the center of the training ground. "Your strength has become even more terrifying, Holy Son!"

The old man beside him chuckled. "With Brilliant Star's genetic serum, it's only a matter of time before he rivals a god."

Just then, the Holy Son let out a ferocious cry, his eyes turning blood-red. He picked up an iron rod and snapped it with both arms.

Boom!

A loud crash rang out. He had crushed the iron rod with his bare hands. Even gene soldiers could not hope to match such monstrous strength, let alone ordinary humans.

Fengqi could not help but flatter him, "Amazing! Such immense strength! You will become as powerful as the Wu God in no time!"

According to the myth and legend, their deity could walk while carrying a mountain on his back.

"Give me enough time, and I will definitely surpass the Wu God!" The Holy Son’s eyes glimmered with pride. He appeared full of heroic spirit, but concern still lay hidden in his eyes. "How is the God Creation Project progressing?"

It was a project that produced all manner of terrifying giant beasts—not as weapons of war, but as nourishment for him. His strength would improve drastically by devouring them.

The old man smiled. "Everything is progressing steadily. The war outbreak accelerated our progress."

They would have had to act carefully in peacetime, unlike in wartime, where the disappearance of several thousand people meant nothing.

Fengqi also smiled, choosing to conceal the matter. "Yes, everything is going according to plan. All the medicine slaves have been captured. What we lack is simply time."

The Holy Son nodded. "Speed up the progress. After the world restarts, spiritual energy will revive in ten years. There may be godly immortal cultivators. I mustn’t lose to them!"

That was why he felt an intense sense of urgency. With the revival of spiritual energy, the world would undergo immense change. According to the Wu God’s guidance, an enormous treasure vault hidden somewhere within the entire Arch Star would then reveal itself. Only by grasping power could one seize it.

"Godly immortal cultivators..." Fengqi murmured. "You will definitely surpass the gods, Holy Son!"

The Holy Son was full of reverence. "Hmph. These gods aren’t like those weaklings from myths and legends. Ordinary missiles and separation light bombs won’t work against them. Only the Eye of the Sky, along with Brilliant Star's most advanced weaponry, can deal with them. After all, they are gods among immortal cultivators—the almighty Nascent Souls!"

Though he wasn’t a rebooter, he had many rebooters under his control. He knew what would happen in ten years. Thus, he carried an overwhelming ambition: surpassing the Wu God and standing on equal footing with the true gods!

Suddenly, Fengqi turned grim. His communicator had sounded with the highest-level alert.

The Holy Son glanced at it and said casually, "Take it."

Fengqi hurriedly opened the communicator, his voice heavy. "What happened?"

—Priest, this is bad! Giant Strength God No. 1 is gone!

"What?!" Fengqi's expression changed drastically. He fearfully snuck a glance at the Holy Son, his voice becoming shrill. "What exactly happened?! Did the people at Xiaohuangtan Military Camp kill it? Where is Guo Tanran?! Bring him to me!"

Fengqi was furious. The beast was a priceless treasure of the Holy Son! It was far more valuable than the entire military camp! Even if all three thousand soldiers died, nothing could happen to Giant Strength God No. 1!

—Priest, listen carefully. Guo Tanran and everyone at the military camp are dead.

Fengqi was completely stunned. "What?!"

How is that possible?! Could it be that the Qin Yuan Kingdom had fired an Eye of the Sky strike at Xiaohuangtan?! Do they not care about the consequences?!

—Let me send the military footage to you. There's also footage recorded by people from the nearby town...

Fengqi's heart trembled with anxiety.

The Holy Son's eyes also grew profound, mixed with a trace of astonishment. The entire camp had been annihilated? Even an almighty Nascent Soul would have to pay a heavy price to wipe out such a military camp.

Fengqi nervously opened the video. The Holy Son immediately leaned in, and the old man beside him also watched with a grave expression.

The video began. The former steel fortress had now become a field of ruins. Corpses, shattered walls, broken armored vehicles, and cannons littered the scene.

The Holy Son's pupils contracted. "There’s no way missile bombardment or the Eye of the Sky caused this! What exactly happened?"

The old man was equally shocked. The scene was far too horrifying. A huge military camp had simply vanished without a sound.

He then suggested, "Let’s take a look at the footage from the nearby town."

Immediately, the three turned toward the communicator. On the screen, everything was bathed in blood-red light. A gigantic sword, as huge as a small mountain, slammed violently into the ground! In the blink of an eye, the entire military base turned into a blood-red sphere and fell silent.

The Holy Son's eyes shrank, horror appearing within them. "This is a god!"

He felt an overwhelming sense of threat. How had one arrived on Arch Star ten years ahead of time?

Thinking of this, he no longer felt safe and was itching to go to Brilliant Star. After all, only Brilliant Star truly possessed the power to contend and even slay the gods.

***

The car sped along before suddenly coming to a halt.

About a few minutes later, Qi Yuan stuffed a severed head into a bag and tossed it to Yaji. "Pack this properly. It’s worth one million."

Qi Yuan was delighted. He hadn't expected to earn some extra cash while rescuing someone. After wiping out the military camp, they fled by driving out of Wugui. No one went after them. However, up ahead, they had run into some Wugui soldiers. As if stopping for a snack, those soldiers had intercepted Qi Yuan's car.

Originally, the plan had been to bribe them and leave. Who would have expected that the very guy who had argued with Wang Shiqiao for three months was among them? Thus, Qi Yuan made quick work of him and even cut his head.

Didn’t Wang Shiqiao say she would pay him one million if he killed the guy for her? One million secured!

Yaji nervously hugged the non-bleeding head tightly.

The bearded man, on the other hand, was speechless. Huh? Is this head really that valuable?

Then why hadn’t Qi Yuan cut off a few heads back in the military base? He would’ve raked at least several millions. Of course, speechless as he was, the bearded man still had enough sense not to question Qi Yuan.

The bearded man sighed. "These people really have some nerve, trying to rob us of all people..."

At that moment, Qi Yuan suddenly thought of something and said anxiously, "This is bad. I just realized a fatal loophole. I'm done for."

The bearded man's heart jumped. "What is it?"

Kuang Huan was the same. He had almost never seen Qi Yuan make such an expression before. Could there be something that even the cultivator couldn't handle? That would be huge trouble!

Qi Yuan seemed extremely reluctant. "Since I’m carrying this head, doesn’t that mean I can’t get through security checks? How am I supposed to return home? I'm a law-abiding citizen. I can't do anything illegal. But this is worth one million. Do you know how many bowls of beef noodles you can buy?"

He wavered back and forth between morality and profit.

Kuang Huan froze, then quickly said, "Mr. Qi, don't worry. I'll get this head through security for you. No problem!"

"You can do it?" Qi Yuan seemed somewhat pleased. "I'll leave it to you, then. Remember, don't do anything illegal." [1]

Kuang Huan nodded. "Mhm, I'll definitely follow the rules!"

After spending so much time with Qi Yuan, he was already familiar with Qi Yuan's style of doing things.

The bearded man was utterly dumbfounded. After killing several thousand people, you still call yourself law-abiding?

1. asking chatgpt “How to sneak a watermelon past a security checkpoint in a town where watermelons are banned?“ ☜