"Star Year 5506, Star Day First, officially changed to Old Gods Year 5506, Spring Philosophy."
"Though I found this news utterly absurd at first, it undeniably came to pass. No one understands why, but the voices in my mind said so."
"The ceaseless battles have worn me thin. I don't know when the end will come or when I can exact my revenge, but I am truly exhausted."
"Perhaps some would label me a coward, but it no longer matters, for I cannot see any glimmer of hope."
Xu Que paid no attention to the shift in the other person's mindset. In fact, in his past life, he too had gone through a period of similar despair.
He picked up the second book of records and quickly flipped through it.
The earlier entries barely caught his attention, for they offered no value.
But as he opened to the eighth page, he found something that piqued his interest.
"Old Gods Year 5509, Scorching Summer. Akula has completely fallen. We failed to repel the invasion of those otherworldly creatures."
"On this day, we also encountered the so-called Old God Ka!"
"It was cloaked in fiery energy. No one knew what it was thinking, but its mere presence sent chills down our spines."
"That night, fewer than three percent of the Akulans remained, and I alone survived!"
"Driven by fear, I hid beneath the rocks and survived."
"I admit it, I have become a coward, for I lacked the courage to face those powerful creatures."
Upon finishing this entry, Xu Que furrowed his brow. Though he did not know how long humanity had held out in the past, a sense of foreboding stirred within him.
Turning to the next page, Xu Que read about Lu Bokar's continued survival.
Though the records were simple, Xu Que could tell that Lu Bokar's survival was nothing short of a miracle.
As Xu Que continued reading, the second book of records eventually came to an end.
With plenty of time left, Xu Que moved on to the third book.
Though similar to the previous one, Xu Que noticed that Lu Bokar had started to move...
However, as he reached the last page, Xu Que found himself utterly confused, for the entry made no logical sense!
"Old Gods Year 5514, Bitter Winter. Today, I was lucky enough to escape the search of the otherworldly creatures."
"At first, I thought they were searching for me, but that was clearly wrong, for I saw the most terrifying thing of my life!"
"A massive red eye appeared outside the Akulan sky, and the so-called Old God Ka and all the otherworldly creatures prostrated themselves before the owner of that eye!"
"I do not know what it was, but its existence was truly horrifying!"
"The Old God Ka referred to it as the Celestial God Chuang, and he offered the Akula planet to it."
"After the departure of Old God Ka, Akula was ultimately destroyed in a burst of energy..."
Xu Que felt a strong urge to destroy this record. How could Lu Bokar have recorded this if it was all gone? The logic here was completely broken.
Xu Que felt deceived, yet when he saw Lu Bokar's fourth record, he still picked it up to read.
"I do not know where I am. It is dark. Although I am still alive, I can feel my life slipping away."
"However, I am fortunate to have learned the truth!"
"In this vast universe, every billion years, a new member of the Celestial Gods is born."
"They are the most powerful energy producers in the universe, and the Old God Ka who destroyed Akula was merely a pawn of the Celestial God Chuang."
"And the supreme Celestial God Chuang, after devouring a planet, scatters countless star seeds across various star systems and planets in the universe."
"And unfortunately, Akula was one such seed-bearing planet."
"As for what lies within it, I have not been able to understand."
Reading this opening, Xu Que was taken aback, for Lu Bokar had actually survived!
He quickly flipped to the next page.
"The Celestial Gods' growth requires a vast amount of energy from intelligent life-bearing planets."
"In order to obtain such a planet, they must send creatures like the Old Gods to hunt down the intelligent life on those worlds."
"At first, I didn't understand why they didn't simply devour the planet directly."
"Until today, I finally realized, I was that tiny poison!"
"The Celestial God Chuang devoured Akula, and I was the intelligent poison residing within it."
"I can feel the Celestial God Chuang's presence weakening, its energy gradually dissipating."
Xu Que was bewildered, yet certain pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.
As he flipped to the next page, it contained only a few simple lines.
"I witnessed the death of the Celestial Gods... My planet and countless others became the burial offerings for Chuang."
"I do not know where this dead star will end up, but I have successfully taken my revenge..."
Xu Que closed the record, stood up, and took a deep breath.
Though he still had many things he couldn't fully comprehend, Lu Bokar's records were telling him that Blue Star seemed to be heading toward the same fate!
"Celestial Gods, you say?"
Xu Que raised his eyes to the sky. There were no massive red eyes, only twelve great heavenly monuments and the Celestial Rankings.
"Perhaps humanity won't be extinguished, and thus the Celestial Gods will not appear... Truly a clever Celestial race!"
A brilliant smile appeared on Xu Que's face. Though many questions remained unanswered, he was ready to face the coming of those Old Gods.
Or rather, he would storm their so-called divine territories!
With that, Xu Que vanished from the rooftop of the Prospect International Building, his black sword gleaming.
...
At the Hidden Gods Corporation
Tu Jiaojiao stood behind Zhou Qingyun, reporting on the situation with the Blast Sky Corporation.
"Are you saying that the young girl from Dayu Corporation is connected to Shen Mengchu?"
"Preliminary investigations show they don't actually know each other, but there is one key figure connecting them: Xu Que," Tu Jiaojiao replied.
"Does this affect our entry plans?" Zhou Qingyun turned to ask.
"Although the issue has been resolved, it might still have some impact."
"Alright, you may go. Inform Cheng Ye and the others not to cause any trouble outside," Zhou Qingyun sighed.
"Understood." Tu Jiaojiao respectfully left.
Zhou Qingyun stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the city lights.
After a while, he took out his phone and quickly typed a message, sending it to someone named "Master."
"The situation might deviate slightly, but it shouldn't affect our entry plans."
Soon, a response came from "Master."
"Understood. I will arrange some things for you. Hope you won't disappoint me."
A smile appeared on Zhou Qingyun's face as he read the message.
"Thank you for your grace, Master. I'd like to know, what is Asura's next move? Is there any way I can assist?"
"He's hiding well now; no one knows of his existence. For now, focus on developing the company. When we successfully secure entry into the Prospect International Building, we will contact each other again."
Zhou Qingyun quickly deleted all the records and left the office nonchalantly.
...
At the Magic City Combat Command Center
Old Ye and the others flipped through a stack of documents, examining the resource allocation materials sent by the Blast Sky Corporation.
Who could have imagined that the resource materials from one company would surpass half of the total resources allocated by Country Z?
"I say, Old Shen, your son-in-law isn't ordinary. When's the wedding feast?" Zhao laughed, closing the materials and teasing.
Shen Tianhe didn't continue the conversation but instead tossed two more stacks of papers to Zhao.
"You're overdoing it. I'm just asking about my niece. Is that so much to ask?"
"Alright, hurry up and help out. These materials need to be sent to Shangjing soon," Old Ye said.
Hearing Shangjing, Old Peng seemed to remember something and asked, "By the way, Shangjing called earlier. They said that they no longer need the Blast Sky Corporation to enter the cracks in their area."