"This happened more than five decades ago."
The frontlines of that day were unusually quiet.
There were no Immortals to be seen, but just as the clock was about to hit 12, a single Immortal, who looked no different from other Immortals had appeared in the skies.
Rather quickly, the alarms went off.
But seemingly in no rush, the Immortal at the time simply waited for the weapon spirits to gather their forces.
As the opponent was just a single Immortal, the weapon spirits' forces, which numbered in the thousands were extremely confident in their abilities to defeat the former quickly.
However, what the weapon spirits didn't expect was for the Immortal to perform a series of incantation gestures that led to the manifestation of a miniature sun.
The sun was an ominous shade of red, and in a casual manner, the Immortal had dropped it.
Upon the sun's fall, a devastating wave of scorching heat descended upon the frontlines—charring the earth black, and reducing most of the people there into drifting ashes.
By the end of that heatwave, only around 200 weapon spirits had remained.
...…
"I see. So that's why that surnamed Li said it took over 200 weapon spirits to kill a level six. However, this number isn't exactly accurate now, is it?"
Nodding his head, Zhou Chen answers—
"Over 200 is the number that the military had come up with to prevent massive panic. As you may expect, all those who had survived the initial attack were capable of Partial-Apotheosis."
Glancing at the Owner, who had a look of discomfort on his face, Long Hua asks—
"Got something to say, Owner?"
"I honestly think I'd be better off not knowing about most of this."
"The story ended in the Sinners' victory, didn't it? Still, I guess, it's not a true victory?"
Turning back to Zhou Chen, Long Hua gestures for him to continue, while asking—
"So, how did you managed to kill this Immortal at the end?"
Heaving a sigh, Zhou Chen explains—
"That wasn't what I would consider a proper battle. Group by group, the remaining Sinners were cut down, and group by group, they would revive. We were essentially a pack of cornered dogs that refused to back down. Gradually, we managed to wear the Immortal out, and amidst this process of tiring the Immortal out, more than a hundred of us had fallen. At that point, I had only five other individuals beside me—with our equipment on the verge of falling apart."
"…"
Sipping the latte, Long Hua narrows his eyes, as Zhou Chen continues to say—
"I figured that me and the others would die then and there. However, I abruptly felt an overwhelming force of power welling up within me."
"…"
Parting his lips from the cup, Long Hua remarks—
"…Don't tell me this is going to be one of those cliché moments—where you awaken to some unknown power, and best the enemy in a single strike? Old man, aren't you too old to be experiencing such a cringeworthy situation?"
A chuckle comes from Zhou Chen in response to Long Hua's remark, and in a self-ridiculing tone, he replies—
"Despite my age, I do know what you're thinking of right now. But maybe that was simply just one of those moments? …If only that moment had arrived sooner, then there wouldn't have been so many deaths."
Putting on an expression of regret, Zhou Chen continues to explain—
"That power took on the form of a beast. It was a beast that possessed the head of a dragon, and the body of a horse covered in scales. With a single roar, that beast summoned a sea of flames, which burned that Immortal to nothing. However, it then proceeded to burn me as well. …My questions to you then—how may I use this power voluntarily?"
If he is able to demonstrate this power again, Zhou Chen sees potential in himself—in being able to deal with another Nascent Soul realm practitioner.
However, this question aside, there is another matter that he is greatly concerned about, being—
"Also, throughout our confrontation with that Immortal, the Immortal never said a single word—even when we should have had him cornered. He seemed… He seemed to be looking for something. What do you make of this?"
"…"
Contemplating for a bit, Long Hua says—
"Your second question first. I think that Immortal was only there to conduct a test."
"A test?"
"What was the situation like after that Immortal's defeat?"
"Hmm."
Thinking back, Zhou Chen replies—
"…It was surprisingly quiet for a few years. Nothing of the same strength had appeared until recently."
Raising a light chuckle, Long Hua says—
"Seems like this world had failed his test then."
"What do you mean?"
"…"
It would be difficult to answer this question without revealing some of this world's truths, but Long Hua feels like he has no place to be the one to do so.
Not to mention, the amount of hassle being the one to bear such a piece of news will bring; hence—
"You conduct tests to see something or someone's worth, right?"
Leaving things vague, Long Hua moves onto the other question.
"Your first question… Sounds like the beast you summoned is a Qilin."
"Qilin?"
(I suppose a beast as rare as that…- No, that's unimportant.)
Shrugging his shoulders, Long Hua continues to say—
"It's a beast that's said to symbolize justice and punishes the wicked."
Having said this, Long Hua smiles with amusement, as he looks at Zhou Chen.
"You're saying that…-?"
"It deemed both you and that Immortal to be evil, hence you were both punished. As for why it let you live… Maybe it's because you were the one who summoned it? Regardless, I don't have an exact answer to that question of yours. Still, if it's really just one of those cliché moments, maybe you can consult more of those action-packed stories?"
"…"
Looking at Long Hua with an odd expression on his face, the Owner remarks—
"You're seriously telling this old man to go consult a manhua?"
"You got better ideas you'd like to share, Owner? I'm sure, he's all ears."
As the Owner shrugs his shoulders, Long Hua thought—
(Whatever that caused that surge of power, it can't be related to his Relic. In that case… A Qilin manifestation divine art? Hmm. Everyone in this realm used to be a practitioner, Zhou-laoye is the same. Maybe, he just so happened to have met the requirements to use his strength as a practitioner during that battle?)
The Qilin is a symbol of justice, and is a beast that punishes the wicked—practitioners who delve into cultivation methods and divine arts related to this beast, they're expected to behave with the same grace.
However, since this divine art had rebounded against Zhou Chen—
(He probably committed an act of evil during that life of his. Cultivating Qilin related arts, and then going against what the mythical beast stands for… Ai, divine arts of this nature—despite how powerful they are, they're a real pain in the ass to maintain.)
Finishing the latte, Long Hua gets out of his seat, while remarking—
"I know some of the words that I've said today makes me seem like an ass, but… Nothing I can do about that, and I couldn't care less."
Having said this, Long Hua heads for the door, but before leaving, he turns to Zhou Chen one more time, and says—
"Zhou-laoye, take care of the fees for my drink. Even if I have time to burn, the time itself still has value."
"Ah?"
Without waiting for Zhou Chen to say anything more, Long Hua leaves.
There is still sometime before Tian Cheng and Yu Ji arrives at the airport, but Long Hua no longer feels like hanging around the café.
"Well then…"
Walking over to the register, which is beside the sculpture of Lord Tian She Zi, the Owner types in the numbers, which adds up to—
"Strawberry milk mixed latte and special blend coffee, total is 100 NWDs. Cash or credit?"
Deciding to treat this as a consultation fee, Zhou Chen replies—
"…Credit."