Tower of Heaven

Atlas and Feng Ziran approached the city wall carefully. They were only separated from it by a plain of volcanic rock, so there wasn't a more vulnerable position they could be in.

And, while they were alone in this plain, they were not safe in the slightest.

Voom!

A pulse of qi charged out of the center of Gearven. It rushed through any buildings that remained standing and blew chunks of them into the air before leaving the city and invading the surrounding land. Only after traveling for several tens of meters more did it finally fizzle out.

It wasn't the first pulse Atlas and Feng Ziran had felt. Ever since they started their trudge towards the destroyed city, they'd been feeling these pulses.

At first, the two were able to walk normally, as they were still on the edge of the pulse's range. However, the further they walked, the more dangerous their surroundings became.

Voom!

"Tsk…"

Halfway across the plain, Feng Ziran made a sound of annoyance. Atlas looked over questioningly, to which she shook her head.

"Its bloodline is powerful. Now that we're closer, I'm starting to feel its effects, but it's still mild."

That wasn't a good sentence at all.

The pulses were violent in nature. Atlas could feel the qi within rattling his bones every time it passed by. To Feng Ziran, who could feel its bloodline pressure more clearly, it had to be several levels worse.

These pulses were not only the beast's senses, allowing it to perceive the world, but they were also its means of expressing itself. Its current means of expression was hostility, so of course these pulses were not gentle.

'But, for her to be feeling the effects of its bloodline now… how much more severe will it be when we arrive directly in front of it?'

Atlas had his concerns, but Feng Ziran looked determined to continue, so he didn't voice them.

Starting there, the two of them used qi shields to protect themselves. At least for the current moment, the pulses became much more bearable.

Voom!

Gearven was a smaller city with around fifty thousand permanent residents. However, its usual population was much higher, as many people moved in and out due to its role as a trade city. As such, it was built to hold more people than it actually had.

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The city wall was equally large. Its wide ring that stood over ten meters tall was once the first thing that people saw on the horizon when they entered this plain, but it was now nothing more than a three-meter tall pile of rubble that the two young cultivators had to climb over.

Finally, they could see an image of what the city had become.

There were still buildings standing. At least ten cracked and broken silhouettes could still be seen standing tall.

Those buildings were the toughest of them all. One almost had a desire to compliment their builders when one saw the scene surrounding them.

Because, while those buildings had become cracked and decrepit, all of the rest had been entirely destroyed.

Banners and decorations that once decorated storefronts made them distinguishable within the rubble. The distinct zoning of residential areas made them distinguishable as well.

If it weren't for these subtle hints, nothing would have been distinguishable at all within the rubble. There was concrete and wood everywhere. There were bricks and stone slabs littering what used to be streets but were now just paths carved in blood.

The corpses hidden within the scenery were hard to see if one was scanning one's gaze over the environment, but the moment Atlas and Feng Ziran entered the city, they realized that their surroundings were filled with such bodies.

Voom!

"Khh…!"

Feng Ziran gritted her teeth. The pulse reached them almost instantly at their current distance. She defended herself as she had until now, but she still keeled over slightly when it struck.

'It is using more power than before.'

Atlas' eyes narrowed.

"It might be better for you to stay back."

Most of the city was destroyed, so the two of them could see directly into the city center.

They could see the target they were aiming for.

It was taller than a human, indicating that the beast was quite large from birth. Its surface was a black and red color that looked textured, but Atlas didn't know how to describe that texture.

It was covered in a mirage created by the heat emanating from its surface, making it impossible to make out specific details.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

There was a decent amount of distance between the two of them and the egg. For Atlas, a qi barrier was more than enough to protect him from the current strength of the pulses.

But Feng Ziran…

She was adamant. She heard those words and rejected them before they could fully land.

"It's fine. I'm coming with you. Don't worry about me and do your own thing. I'll find my way."

The expression in her eyes was solemn. Was there some deeper reason why she wanted to see this creature so desperately?

"If you can make it, then that's fine. But, if you die, I won't take responsibility. You'll have to explain everything to your superiors from the afterlife."

They were harsh words, but Feng Ziran preferred nothing else. She nodded easily. She had the same idea.

But, she couldn't let Atlas leave without voicing one last request.

"Unless you have no other choice, don't kill it. Try to calm it down."

She didn't want its life to end before it could see the good of the world.

Without responding, Atlas turned his back.

'I will try to heed those words, but if I am truly left without a choice…'

Unlike her, he would not hesitate to land the final blow.

Voom!

Atlas pushed into the incoming energy pulse without fear. After leaving Feng Ziran behind, his pace increased dramatically.

He was used to brute forcing his way through things. He was also used to handling pain.

He moved through the city, using rubble as cover to shield himself from the full force of the pulses. Not only did his proximity to the beast force him to face stronger energy, but the beast, within its egg, sensed his presence and increased the intensity of said pulses as well.

Voom!

Step by step, Atlas dashed between the existing and destroyed structures. Using movement techniques, the distance one had to walk half a day to cross had been crossed in a matter of minutes.

VOOM!

The qi pulse was like a furious roar. It slammed into nearby rubble and blasted it to bits, destroying any cover that Atlas could find in the egg's vicinity.

If he wanted to get any closer, he had to personally confront it.

'However…'

VOOM!

The pulses came more frequently. At his distance, the rubble he was using as cover was being blown apart, but not completely demolished. Combined with his own defenses, the strength of the rock and concrete was shielding him from most of the impact he would be receiving.

'Unfortunately, this kind of convenient situation cannot continue for any longer.'

When the next pulse passed by, Atlas immediately left cover.

[Astral Step]

His body turned into a blur as he covered the final bit of distance between himself and the egg.

'There's only one way to stop these pulses.'

And that was to break this young beast out of its shell.