Chapter Seventy-Nine: Earth · Beast Tide (Twenty)

The Earth would become a single continent, and humanity would be forced to adapt to a new “round sky, square earth” environment. Some people weren’t particularly moved by this; their lives continued as usual, eating, sleeping, cultivating, and hunting monsters. Some children, however, gleefully tore up and burned the old textbooks their parents had kept—knowledge of the past would no longer serve them!

Only the scientific departments outside of Hua Country suffered severely; in the wake of the latest surge of spiritual energy, another thirty percent of their technological devices had become useless. Compared to the initial stage, they had now lost sixty percent of their equipment.

“Just as well. With the United Nations being re-established, let’s push for a price drop on Hua Country’s rune devices. Otherwise, maintaining our current standing will be impossible,” said the representative from the Americas, gazing helplessly at the other leaders.

At that moment, a message arrived. The American representative glanced at it, his eyes lighting up. “Excellent! We may not have to be so humble after all.”

Five minutes earlier, as the spiritual tide receded, the volcano park in the Americas had formed a complete ley line, and the southern tropical forests had as well. The former was dominated by fire, the latter by wood, connected by earth, spanning the length of the continent—a complete ley line!

On the big screen, the faces of Xu Xiao and the other representatives appeared.

Xu Xiao looked solemn. “Ladies and gentlemen, this surge of spiritual energy has rapidly shaped the global ley lines. It will not only accelerate our cultivation and the growth of the spirit beast clans, but also hasten the evolution of monsters. According to my calculations, within twenty-four hours, the next global beast tide will erupt. I propose we immediately begin discussions on whether to formally accept the spirit beast clans.”

Sun Meng, meanwhile, was unaware of these events on Earth. He was focused on mastering the Five-Colored Earth, a treasure in its infancy.

Indeed, after exchanging the Five-Colored Earth with Earth, he became its true master. Though it was a proto-magical artifact, not yet a fully fledged treasure, it could grow through constant nourishment with spiritual energy. Moreover, absorbing potent spiritual soils could speed its development.

Though it required much spiritual energy, Sun Meng could control its absorption, so there was no risk of it competing with him for cultivation resources.

A day later, the matter of the ruins was concluded. Upon returning to the trading site, most departed, though some remained at the Pimon camp. The event had proven not only Pixar’s strength, but also his credibility. Still, these civilizations were only at the early second stage, and lacked confidence in their futures, making it crucial to find a reliable ally now.

Sun Meng and Kakolaru returned to their camp. Both had gained much, but the cards they acquired would only be truly useful to their civilizations after exchanging for points during the monthly opportunity.

Elsewhere, at the Pimon camp, Mu Xingye and Pixar sat face to face.

“Did you get the map coordinates?” Mu Xingye asked Pixar.

Pixar nodded, and with a wave, a map of the entire assessment world appeared on screen, with a mountain range marked—the site of their needed resources.

Mu Xingye smiled. “Fantastic! When do we set out?”

Pixar replied, “No rush. Many other civilizations have received these coordinates this month. Compared to us, they’re a step behind and have had less time to prepare.”

Mu Xingye said, “There must be plenty of monsters gathered there!”

Pixar chuckled. “It’s not just monsters—it’s the original production base. As long as there’s enough energy and resources, monsters will be produced endlessly. This is the final trial. But before that, we need to prepare. Call them in! This cake is too big for just the two of us.”

Mu Xingye nodded. “Understood. With enough rare metals, we can not only pass the final assessment, but also secure greater rewards for our civilization—maybe even break through to the third stage ahead of time! No one could refuse such a temptation.” Although he liked Sun Meng and was open to cooperation or an alliance, when it came to his civilization’s interests, he would not yield in the slightest.

On Earth, the beast tide erupted. In the deep mountains, beneath the ground, in the sky, in the oceans—monsters appeared everywhere. Mid-second stage monsters served as elite commanders, each leading armies of tens of thousands. It was clear that some monsters had broken through to the late second stage.

The human defense lines collapsed entirely in less than three days under the relentless onslaught. Yet, because an alliance with the spirit beast clans had been established early, the second formal defense line held firm.

The spirit beasts might not have the numbers of the monsters, but none among them were weak—every individual had reached the peak of the first stage. With their newly learned battle formations and arrays, and coordinated efforts with humans, they could fell swathes of monsters below the late first stage with a single strike.

Hua Country had only completed a third of the spiritual energy cannons, but after the Five-Colored Spiritual Earth spread across its territory, they were barely operational. Each full charge took a day, and could fire only one energy shell per cycle, but the impact equaled a late second stage’s full-force attack. Though the wide-area effect meant only mid-second stage monsters were lightly wounded, the cannons were perfect for clearing the field and maintaining deterrence.

On Earth, everyone fought. Sun Meng was also busy cultivating and hunting monsters. He was no longer at the camp, but joined Pixar, Mu Xingye, and Kakolaru in a monster-infested mountain range.

The monsters here were peculiar. Upon death, aside from the portion converted into points, they left behind a metal core. The system appraised these cores as half-step third stage, and they were sealed!

Questions crowded Sun Meng’s mind, but he didn’t ask Mu Xingye directly. He suspected that these metals were connected to the secret of breaking through to the third stage.

After another day of hunting, Sun Meng sat inside the spaceship watching the screen.

“How is Earth faring?” Sun Meng asked nervously. He had learned from the livestream that Earth was undergoing an unprecedentedly fierce beast tide.

“The overall situation is not optimistic. Monsters are launching breakthrough attacks centered around mid-second stage elites. Our high-level combat power is insufficient.” The red message scrolled by, and Sun Meng felt his heart squeeze.

“Five days left until the exchange day. Then I can transfer these cards to Earth! I’ve accumulated plenty of points this past half month, and with my cultivation insights, at least a new batch of strong warriors will appear on Earth!” Sun Meng clenched his fists, suddenly feeling powerless despite all his abilities.

No matter how fast he cultivated here, he couldn’t instantly produce a peer on Earth. No matter how deftly he fought, he couldn’t change the fact that Earth’s cultivators still mimicked others’ fighting styles. What frustrated him most was that, because he had provided Earth with information, humanity had poured resources into weapon development, causing some who might have broken through to die in this beast tide.

Sun Meng, restless, wanted to hunt more monsters—the more points he earned, the more he could exchange, the greater his help to Earth.

“Continents of Oceania, southern Americas, and southern Africa have all fallen. Earth’s civilized population has dropped by ten percent, and civilization rating has fallen by five points. On a scale of one hundred, scores below eighty will reduce civilization potential, below sixty will disqualify the civilization and push it into decline.”

The system’s merciless warning echoed in the minds of every sentient being of Earth’s civilization.