Chapter 71 – The Apocalypse That Came Half a Year Late

Seeing this, Su Xing’s heart surged with towering waves of shock.

Those two brief sentences contained far too much information.

Protector Shadow had needed all those pills back then to accomplish something—and that something was perhaps identical to what Su Xing was doing right now.

After all, if it were merely about increasing one’s personal strength, over ten thousand pills would never be necessary! Only when a large group urgently needed to increase their strength would so many pills be required.

And from Protector Shadow’s tone, it wasn’t hard to tell that whatever Protector Shadow had tried to do had failed. The reason for the failure was insufficient pills—or rather, insufficient strength…

This sounded somewhat strange. After all, if Protector Shadow simply needed that many pills, he might have been a spy from one of humanity’s major factions, yet Su Xing had never heard of such a thing.

But if this was connected to what Protector Shadow said afterward, then everything made perfect sense.

“At least the world that belongs to you still exists.”

That single short sentence revealed earth-shattering information.

Could it be that Protector Shadow was also not a human from Earth?

That was right. Within the Advent Cult, it seemed that quite a few high-ranking members came from other instances—or rather, from other worlds.

Grand Protector Zong, Protector Dragon, and now Protector Shadow before him…

Following this train of thought, perhaps the reason Protector Shadow had wanted to obtain so many pills was to save the world that belonged to him?

But in the end, he had still failed—which was why Protector Shadow said it would have been better if those pills had been brought out sooner?

Su Xing drew a deep breath, a flash of excitement crossing his face. If that was truly the case, then in the next simulation, Su Xing might be able to pull Protector Shadow over to his side and make him a reliable ally!

“It’s worth a try! But in this simulation, Protector Shadow’s world has probably already been destroyed. The time of that destruction should have been around the eighth year in the real world—that is, around New Era 2031. There’s still plenty of time!”

Su Xing continued the simulation.

【After bidding farewell to Protector Shadow, the doubts in your heart have been resolved. You set out alone toward the Great Xia Military, preparing to deliver your remaining eighty-thousand-plus Organ Tempering Pills as support.】

【This time you did not conceal your movements, because you had already made preparations. As soon as the pills were handed over, you would return directly to the Blessed Spirit Field and quietly await the world’s destruction.】

【You got your wish and met Lu Yuanwu. He looked somewhat haggard and worn, his right arm severed cleanly at the root, his wounds still unhealed.】

【Though mentally and physically exhausted, Lu Yuanwu still received you warmly. He told you directly that the thirty-thousand-plus Organ Tempering Pills you had provided last time had been put to great use, producing at least five thousand Grandmaster-stage melee Class Users for humanity and significantly easing the dire situation on the front lines.】

【You nodded with a smile and produced a storage ring, explaining that it contained eighty thousand Essence Nurturing Pills. You described the function of Essence Nurturing Pills: Organ Tempering Pills were suited for physical melee Class Users, strengthening their constitutions, while Essence Nurturing Pills were suited for magic-type Class Users, increasing their mental attributes.】

【Lu Yuanwu took the storage ring from your hand. After a moment of silence, a bitter smile appeared on his face. He said it would have been better if you had produced these Essence Nurturing Pills two years earlier. By now, Demon-Sealing Pass had already fallen, humanity’s last line of defense had been destroyed, and the destruction of the real world was only a matter of time. These pills could merely slow the pace of the foreign races’ invasion into the real world.】

【Nevertheless, Lu Yuanwu still expressed his gratitude to you. He produced a hero’s medal and handed it over, explaining that this medal was supposed to have been given to you several years ago, but since you had been completely off the grid all these years, Lu Yuanwu had kept it safe on your behalf.】

【After bidding farewell to Lu Yuanwu, you had no more lingering concerns in the simulation. And so you quietly returned to your hometown, intending to see your parents one last time.】

【Your little sister had already died in battle several years ago. Fortunately, the survivor’s pension was enough for your parents to live on, but your prolonged disappearance over the years had added much white to their hair.】

【You watched them from a distance, then prepared to go see Jin Congxue and Yu Yan. But on the way to find Jin Congxue, your movements were discovered by the Advent Cult. They had learned that you provided Essence Nurturing Pills to the Great Xia Military.】

【Old Dog Zong led seven or eight Elders to hunt you down. Knowing you were no match for them, you fled into the Blessed Spirit Field.】

【Within the Blessed Spirit Field, you lived a secluded, leisurely life. Each day you cultivated for eight hours, and in the remaining time you occasionally tended the fields and raised chickens. You had more than enough food, and the Essence Nurturing Pills you had stored were sufficient for your cultivation.】

【In the fifteenth year, your cultivation returned to Golden Core Stage, Grand Perfection. Knowing the world’s destruction was not far off, you attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.】

【Another half year passed. You felt the spiritual energy within your dantian growing ever more abundant, the spiritual essence within your Nine-Revolution Golden Core becoming increasingly powerful—a sign that you were on the verge of breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm.】

【You made a rough mental calculation. At this rate, you would need perhaps two to three years to break through to the Nascent Soul realm. This was because your exceptional talent and solid foundation allowed you to break through to Nascent Soul dozens of times faster than ordinary cultivators.】

【Just then, everything within the Blessed Spirit Field began to collapse and space started shattering. You understood that the world had been destroyed. Your task was complete, and so you calmly awaited death.】

【September 1st, New Era 2038. You were torn to shreds by spatial turbulence. You died!】

【Ding— This simulation has ended!】

After the simulation ended, Su Xing slowly let out a long breath. He scooped a ladle of well water from the spirit well and drank it down before his emotions gradually returned to calm.

Without a doubt, his gains from this simulation were enormous.

First, he had finally succeeded in forming the Nine-Revolution Golden Core, taking a solid step toward the Nascent Soul stage. As long as Su Xing wished, he could absolutely bring back Nascent Soul stage cultivation in the next simulation.

Second, through his efforts in this simulation, Su Xing had delayed the real world’s destruction by a full half year!

Originally, the world’s destruction in the simulator should have occurred around March 2038, but now it had been postponed all the way to September. Those six months were clearly the result of Su Xing providing humanity with many more Grandmaster-stage powerhouses.

“The timing of providing the pills in this simulation was still a bit late. If I give humanity more Grandmaster-stage powerhouses before Demon-Sealing Pass falls, I could significantly delay the real world’s destruction even further!”

“And Demon-Sealing Pass falls roughly thirteen years from now—around early 2037. If the pills are provided before Demon-Sealing Pass is destroyed, allowing time to train powerhouses for humanity, it might even be possible to hold Demon-Sealing Pass outright!”

Su Xing narrowed his eyes and murmured to himself.

“Beyond that, the greatest gain from this simulation is the intelligence about Protector Shadow… I absolutely must find a way to turn Protector Shadow into an ally. That would make things far more convenient for me in the simulations!”