62 – A Single Sword Strik

“Is it possible that this strange zombie’s ability changes with the seasons? Or maybe it changes every six months…”

Wu Jun took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to speak.

As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes lit up, feeling that it made perfect sense.

Previously, they had overlooked this time calculation.

“Let’s find something that can tell us what time it is now; then we can draw a conclusion.”

Wang Ping scanned the crowd and spoke.

“No need to look, I have something here.”

Zhang Jun quietly took out a delicate electronic watch from his pocket, on which the current time was displayed.

“Did you pick this up in this world?” Fang Yun raised his eyebrow.

“Yes.” Zhang Jun nodded and said, “This world should be a parallel world to Earth, and the time calculation is the same. Right now, it’s May 30th. In thirty-two days, it’ll be July, which means the second half of the year.”

Everyone’s hearts trembled, and they all looked at Wu Jun.

Undoubtedly, Wu Jun’s guess was correct.

That strange zombie’s ability probably changes every six months.

In the first half of the year, it’s even-numbered.

In the second half of the year, it’s odd-numbered.

This would explain why they were bizarrely infected and turned into zombies.

Immediately, everyone felt a chill running down their spines.

This ability was too perverse, who could withstand it?

Even if the survivors in this world were lucky enough to withstand the first round of infection and make it to the second half of the year, they would still be infected as the strange zombie’s ability shifted.

No wonder they couldn’t find a single living person, giving the place an utterly dead feeling.

The only ones who could survive in this world were probably those lucky enough to be naturally immune to the zombie virus.

But, how many of these fortunate individuals could there be?

Even if they weren’t infected, how long could they survive in this wasteland world?

For a moment, Cai Yonglong and the others looked at Zhang Jun with sympathetic expressions.

Zhang Jun was too pitiful.

Even if they completed the System’s task, Zhang Jun couldn’t leave this world.

Just considering living alone in this world would be enough to drive him crazy.

Not to mention the terrifying speed of the zombie mutations; if Zhang Jun didn’t get stronger quickly, he probably wouldn’t live much longer.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhang Jun’s expression became very unpleasant, and he said nothing.

“I’m going to use my ability again. You all keep dispersing.”

Wang Ping scanned the crowd and said without further comment.

Everyone nodded, then Zhang Jun, Zhang Hu, and Fang Yun left the room together.

Wang Ping also spoke in his heart, “System, I want to conduct a free simulation.”

“Ding, the free simulation begins, one time remaining.”

After the familiar mechanical sound of the system rang out, a light blue screen appeared on Wang Ping’s retina, and text began to surface.

【On the first day, you took action, believing that the earlier you lure out the strange zombie, the safer it would be. After all, the longer you drag it out, the stronger it becomes, and it could easily escape again like in the last simulation.】

【Next, you took action. Cai Yonglong directly caused a disturbance in the city. His actions successfully lured out the strange zombie, which started to target Cai Yonglong.】

【However, this time the strange zombie, while still powerful, was undoubtedly weaker than in the last simulation. Cai Yonglong was in mortal danger but managed to hold out during the first round of attacks without being severely injured, thanks to a secret technique.】

【In response, you also took action. This time, you directly brought Fang Yun with you on your sword, arriving at the battlefield. You brought Fang Yun to prevent the strange zombie from fully activating its ability, shortening the activation time, and causing Cai Yonglong to be infected.】

【Your arrival made the strange zombie aware of your threat. It wanted to escape, but upon reaching the battlefield, you wasted no time and directly used your strongest strike to kill it instantly.】

【Your terrifying strike stunned Cai Yonglong and the others, leaving them wide-eyed. Then they were overjoyed because the strange zombie was dead, and they had successfully completed the mission.】

【After that, you returned to the temporary base. Due to the mission’s completion, you and Cai Yonglong, along with the others, were transmitted out of this world by the system.】

【This simulation ends here.】

“So short.”

Looking at the content of this simulation, Wang Ping inwardly commented.

Then, Wang Ping smiled.

This time, it went very smoothly.

He had thought that some unexpected event would cause the failure to kill the zombie.

Wang Ping had even mentally prepared himself to use a paid simulation to further enhance his strength.

Even though doing paid simulations in other worlds couldn’t improve his cultivation and was somewhat wasteful, it was necessary to survive.

Luckily, things didn’t progress to that point.

At this time, Cai Yonglong, Liu Mei, Wu Jun, Chen Yao, and others saw the smile on Wang Ping’s face, and their hearts trembled. Then, they also smiled.
Everyone was well aware that this time should be very smooth.

“In this future, we successfully dealt with the bizarre zombies, completed the mission, and each left this world…”

Wang Ping scanned the four of them, smiling as he spoke.

This made Cai Yonglong and others extremely excited, finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Completing the mission was all that mattered.

They were genuinely afraid of failure.

After all, the remaining opportunities were few and far between.

“I’ll go get them over here.”

After saying this, Cai Yonglong left and brought Fang Yun and the others back.

Hearing the good news, the three of them were all beaming with joy, extremely excited, and relieved.

“This time, we were lucky to have you with us, or we really would have been wiped out here…”

Then, Cai Yonglong looked at Wang Ping, full of gratitude and a bit of lingering fear.

This group mission was too difficult.

Even with the ability to foresee the future and Wang Ping’s cultivation level reaching the peak of the Spirit Origin Realm, they still suffered two complete destructions, which was outrageous.

“Luckily, Brother Wang was here.” Wu Jun quickly spoke, looking at Wang Ping with admiration.

“From now on, I will follow Brother Wang’s lead.” Zhang Hu was also smiling broadly.

Chen Yao and Liu Mei also nodded.

“Saying this is meaningless. Rather than that, let’s complete the mission as soon as possible and leave this world early…”

Wang Ping shook his head and said.

“When we get back, we all need to work hard to become stronger. The first group mission was this dangerous, it’s hard to imagine how terrifying future group missions will be…”

Pausing for a moment, Wang Ping said solemnly.

As soon as he said this, everyone’s expressions became heavy again.

Indeed, this was just the first group mission, and it could easily wipe them out. It’s hard to imagine how difficult future group missions would be.

Although they joined the Travelers’ Chat Group knowing they would face life and death crises in the future, they never expected the first mission to be this perilous, making them feel utterly desperate.

“Become stronger, huh?” Liu Mei smiled bitterly. She was just from a normal ancient background, how could she become stronger?

Wu Jun gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

It seemed he couldn’t just work part-time every day and think about surviving.

He must find a way to become stronger.

In his world, although no extraordinary powers have been discovered so far, the level of technology was far beyond the Earth before their transmigration.

Perhaps he could start from this aspect.

If he can’t become stronger through cultivation, then it would be mechanical descent!

“Becoming stronger in a short time might be difficult for me. However, through my teacher’s connections, I might be able to get some Forbidden Spell Scrolls…”

Zhang Hu’s expression changed unpredictably.

Forbidden spells are taboo magic that only great magicians can cast.

And a Forbidden Spell Scroll is a tool that seals a great magician’s forbidden spell, allowing it to be used freely.

This tool, saying it’s worth a fortune is not an exaggeration at all.

But to save his life, he could only thicken his skin and ask for it.

Chen Yao didn’t speak; her world was very dangerous, but also her opportunity.

Her Golden Finger was very strong. The reason she only had Innate level combat power in this mission was that she had only transmigrated for a little over a month.

Give her more time, and her strength will definitely soar.

Cai Yonglong glanced at Wang Ping and smiled helplessly.

Initially, he had planned to break through to the Spirit Origin Realm before seeking opportunities in a secret realm.

Now it seems, he couldn’t delay any longer.

The appearance of the group mission gave him a strong sense of crisis.

It’s just a pity he can’t go on dungeons with Wang Ping, otherwise, with Wang Ping’s ability, they would surely reap great rewards and face no danger.

At that time, even if he only got a small part of the resources, while Wang Ping took the majority, he could still break through to the Spirit Origin Realm.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs.

Whether they were even in the same dimension was unclear.

Zhang Jun remained expressionless, saying nothing.

And while Fang Yun’s expression didn’t change, always maintaining that carefree demeanor, a shadow appeared in his heart.

In the martial world, the power ceiling was too low, and there was no way for mechanical descent.

Probably soon, his strength ranking in the group would fall to the bottom…

At best, he would only be slightly stronger than Wu Jun and Liu Mei.

Honestly, in the future, the death rates for the three of them were going to be extremely high.
“Brother Cai, let’s start the action. You go and create some chaos, draw out the strange zombie, then I’ll take Fang Yun and kill it.”

Not caring about everyone’s change in expression, Wang Ping looked at Cai Yonglong, signaling for him to take action right away.

After all, he wanted to go back as soon as possible and didn’t want to stay in this world any longer.

“Alright.”

Cai Yonglong nodded.

“Why take me along?” Fang Yun was a bit bewildered. “With my wooden bucket level Innate Realm combat power, I won’t be of much help.”

Everyone looked at Fang Yun with a somewhat peculiar expression.

This made Fang Yun realize and felt a bit embarrassed.

Alright, I asked a dumb question.

Not taking him along, how could they form an odd number to prevent Brother Cai from getting infected.

“Use your brain more often and stop thinking only about women.” Cai Yonglong looked at Fang Yun with a ‘you’re hopeless’ expression, patted him on the shoulder, and then left the building.

Fang Yun’s face twitched, unable to refute, he could only mutter: “What does this have to do with women?”

Next to him, Zhang Hu glanced at Fang Yun, then at Wang Ping, wanting to say that if Fang Yun didn’t want to go, let him go instead.

That way, he might make more contributions during the task and earn more rewards.

However, he dared not speak.

After all, because of what he had said earlier, Wang Ping didn’t have a good impression of him. If he stood up now to seek gains, it would only make him even more disliked.

Soon, Cai Yonglong started taking action a few kilometers away from the temporary stronghold.

His body was surrounded by pitch-black true energy as he walked on air, wielding his blade to strike the ground.

Each strike carried a strong Blade Intent, the blade light directly tearing apart the ground, causing buildings to collapse and creating continuous loud noises, making the whole city tremble.

Seeing the terrifying power Cai Yonglong displayed, everyone except Wang Ping showed some level of envy.

This is the power of a cultivator in a fantasy world. With a mere gesture, they can unleash astonishing destructive force.

“Brother Cai has quite the luck; his cultivation reached the Half-step Spirit Origin Realm, and the technique he’s practicing should be a Earth-grade technique. The martial art he’s using is also Earth-grade. Plus, he has comprehended Blade Intent, making his strength comparable to Bai Tianhong during his Half-step Spirit Origin Realm period, able to fight a level seven demon beast. Of course, if the level seven demon beast wasn’t in a weakened state, he would likely still end up dead in the final battle.”

Wang Ping looked through the window at Cai Yonglong walking on air, wildly swinging his blade, and evaluated.

In simulations, if it weren’t for the strange zombie being too cunning, even if Cai Yonglong used a secret technique, he probably wouldn’t last a few seconds.

After all, the strange zombie, two weeks later, could survive his full-force blade.

Even though it was specialized in defense and vitality, its actual strength was likely above the seventh level of the Spirit Origin Realm.

Of course, the current strange zombie wasn’t that terrifying, but it still had the combat power above the fourth level of the Spirit Origin Realm.

But even so, if it attacks with full strength, killing Cai Yonglong would only take a few seconds.

Hearing Wang Ping’s words, everyone was speechless.

Cai Yonglong was indeed strong.

But you are the biggest monster here.

With a cultivation at the perfect level of the Spirit Origin Realm, just thinking about it makes one’s scalp tingle.

If even Cai Yonglong had such terrifying combat power, if Wang Ping made a move, he could probably easily destroy a small city.

“Boom!”

At this moment, the ground cracked open, and a strong and decaying aura emerged from the ground.

A large number of tentacles also appeared from the underground, reaching out towards Cai Yonglong in the sky.

This made Cai Yonglong both delighted and alarmed.

After all, the speed of these tentacles was too fast, making it difficult for him to dodge.

Although he was already at the Half-step Spirit Origin Realm, capable of short-term flying, he wasn’t as agile as a true Spirit Origin Realm expert.

Immediately, Cai Yonglong unhesitantly used a secret technique, forcibly enhancing his strength at any cost to avoid the attack and prevent himself from being impaled.

“It’s our turn to act.”

Seeing this scene, Wang Ping directly grabbed Fang Yun by the neck, broke through the walls of the temporary stronghold, and rushed out as a burst of sword light, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

In less than half a minute, Wang Ping had crossed several kilometers and appeared above the battlefield.

“Ugh.” At this moment, Fang Yun was numb all over and felt like vomiting.

Even though he was an Innate Realm expert, under the terrifying speed just now, he almost ran out of breath, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Wang Ping had no intention of minding Fang Yun. He simply looked down at the battlefield below, where a longsword suddenly appeared in his hand, beginning to emit a dazzling light.

This longsword was also a gift he had received at the sect’s entry banquet. Although it wasn’t at the level of a pseudo-spiritual weapon, it was sufficient for a general Spirit Origin Realm expert to use.

At the same time, Wang Ping’s aura erupted, with his overwhelming Spirit Origin energy surging out like waves, suppressing the area and causing many ordinary zombies to explode.

In the eyes of the weak, the aura emitted by a strong person is deadly.

Under Wang Ping’s aura, anyone below the Innate Realm couldn’t stand the pressure. Even those at the Body Tempering would be shattered on the spot, and the Postnatal Realm would be severely injured or die.

Only those at the Innate Realm could stand, but even then, they would find it hard to move.

Even Cai Yonglong’s body started to tremble violently, showing a look of horror as he felt immense pressure.

Gritting his teeth, Cai Yonglong unleashed a formidable Blade Intent to resist this terrifying aura, finally feeling a bit better.
“Is this the oppressive power of the Spirit Origin Realm at perfection? Truly terrifying…”

Cai Yonglong gazed at Wang Ping in the sky, filled with shock and immense yearning.

The Spirit Origin Realm at perfection, also known as the pinnacle of the tenth level, is just a step away from the Great Transcendence. Indeed, it’s terrifying.

In the presence of a master at the Spirit Origin Realm perfection, even multiple experts above the ninth level of the Spirit Origin Realm would be easily crushed.

The gap between minor realms is substantial. Reaching perfection within a realm is a significant leap, incomparable to previous stages.

Even in his region, a master of the Spirit Origin Realm at perfection is considered a top-tier expert.

After all, experts of the Transcendent Realm are lofty figures and rarely show themselves.

Therefore, a master at the Spirit Origin Realm at perfection is an invincible force walking the world and often the leader of major sects, with both status and strength held in high regard.

“I was the first to join, and I’ve been struggling in this world for years, yet Wang Ping easily surpasses me, widening the gap immensely… Truly a complex feeling.”

Cai Yonglong sighed inwardly, rallied his strength, and quickly approached Wang Ping.

After all, staying below would ensure he got caught in the crossfire, and even stray blasts would be fatal.

Compared to Cai Yonglong’s shock, the bizarre zombie was terrified.

It felt the unparalleled power of Wang Ping.

Although its genes craved Wang Ping’s flesh and blood, telling it that consuming him would lead to another evolution…

…its heart was filled more with fear of death.

The human before it could kill it.

Having just arrived in this world and craving perfect evolution through apocalyptic destruction, it did not want to die here.

Suppressing its body’s tremors and inner fear, the bizarre zombie began to wriggle underground, attempting to escape.

“Can you escape?”

Wang Ping looked down at the ground, his eyes cold, and swung his sword.

In an instant, an overwhelming Sword Intent entwined Wang Ping’s sword edge, making the entire sky sharp.

Whether it was Cai Yonglong or Fang Yun, they both felt stinging pain on their faces, as if cut a hundred times over by a blade, making their faces pale.

Especially Cai Yonglong’s Blade Intent on his long knife was completely suppressed, as if trembling in fear.

This made Cai Yonglong more uncomfortable, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

He had thought Wang Ping’s cultivation was just exceptionally strong, but he never imagined that in such a short time, Wang Ping not only reached the terrifying perfection of the Spirit Origin Realm but also comprehended Sword Intent, far surpassing his Blade Intent.

Wang Ping ignored Cai Yonglong’s thoughts, and his well-prepared sword move erupted.

The sword light, piercing through the heavens and earth, covered the sky, blocking out the sun.

At this moment, not even the sun was as dazzling as this sword light.

Next, the sword light tore through the air and descended to the ground.

Wherever the sword light reached, the earth cracked, forming a massive chasm a kilometer wide and over ten kilometers long, obliterating tall buildings along its path.

Within the enormous chasm, the bizarre zombie only managed to let out a scream before being torn apart by the sword light, leaving no corpse behind.

“This… it’s over…?”

Fang Yun, held by the neck by Wang Ping, stared blankly at the scene below, utterly dazed.

He always knew Wang Ping was strong, but causing such terrifying destruction in an instant was enough to almost scare his heart out.

Cai Yonglong was similarly speechless with shock.

As for the five people at the temporary base, they were even more horrified.

Compared to everyone’s shock, Wang Ping looked down at the long sword in his hand, which had many cracks and could shatter at any moment, and shook his head.

His current strength was too great. Even a treasured sword made from precious metals, capable of enduring a full-power battle from a normal Spirit Origin Realm expert, couldn’t withstand his power.

For a sword cultivator, not having a suitable treasured sword was unthinkable.

It seemed he needed to get a quasi-spiritual weapon sword.

Of course, if he could get a Spirit Sword, it would be even better.

But, that might be just wishful thinking.

After all, only two spiritual weapons have appeared so far.

One is the Green Spirit Sword of the Sword Spirit Sect.

The other is the Mystic Ice Mirror brought out from some forbidden ground by Empress Xia Yuan after surviving near-death experiences.

“Ding, the bizarre zombie is dead, group task completed, rewards have been individually issued. Group members can claim their rewards on the group rewards page. A reminder, the amount of rewards is based on each group member’s contribution to the task.”

“Ding, group task completed, group members can mentally recite ‘return’ to go back to their own world. If you don’t return within twenty-four hours, the system will forcibly return you to your original world.”

Listening to the voice in his mind, Wang Ping’s eyes gleamed with delight.

Finally, the group task was successfully completed.

Now, he could be at ease.

Moreover, what pleased Wang Ping most was that the group rewards were distributed based on contribution.

If the rewards had been evenly distributed, Wang Ping would have been very upset.

He did the most work, if others reaped the benefits and received the same reward, anyone would feel disgruntled.