1317 Six months later
The river of time flows perpetually, and nothing and no one can stop it.
Its seemingly endless waters are capable of devouring and making anything disappear regardless of how resistant or powerful that thing is, as even the worst of wounds can heal as long as there is enough vital power left and there is no pain that cannot heal even if thousands of years are necessary.
It does not matter if you are happy or sad. Nor does it matter if you are well or if you are bad.
Time will keep running as it never waits for anyone.
-Six months later.
Half a year has passed since that battle that shook all living beings under the stars in the sky. Even to this day, six months after that incident, the entire universe was still trembling and had not recovered from that heavy stomp.
The Lower Existences were still doing well, as relatively few knew what had happened. On the other hand, those really affected by this powerful earthquake were all the factions of Higher Existences.
Some suffered more than others, but none really came out on their feet.
Although no one said it out loud, all the Higher Existences knew that the universal order was about to change.
-Planet Earth.
Many things had changed in the last half year, and this little bright blue world had somehow or other become a point that the eight major factions could no longer ignore.
The capital of China was still Beijing even after the apocalypse. After expelling or controlling the zombies in their entirety, mankind managed to regain all the territory they lost during the first few years and then reached a peace agreement with the mutant beast clan.
The mutant beast clan was stronger on average, but mankind had a being that simply could not be defeated. Since the mutant beasts could not win and the humans whose numbers had been reduced to only 1/10th of what they used to be, so it was impossible for them to occupy the same amount of space as in the past, both sides found a good balance.
Beijing City was surrounded by high walls 100 meters high, stretching as far as the eye could not see and protecting the humans from any unexpected assault.
This city that had become a great silent but deadly graveyard during the apocalypse had regained most of its vitality. People came and went either strolling and having fun or hurrying to their jobs or study centers while casually chatting, sharing their experiences of the day so far and exchanging jokes with each other.action
If there was one very normal thing that would definitely be looked at with strange eyes before, it was that a large number of humans carried weapons. Whether firearms or cold weapons such as swords, axes, spears, or knives were absolutely normal since anyone registered in the Transcendent Empire's database of soul evolvers was eligible to carry one or two.This privilege, of course, also meant that all of them had the obligation to fight on the front lines regardless of whether they were soldiers or not as soon as their strength was required by the Royalty.
Transcendent Empire.
This was the name that included all living beings on Earth in the same bag.
While the different "countries", or rather kingdoms, still existed, they all came under the rule and jurisdiction of the Transcendent Empire. Of course, each "country" or kingdom had its own ruler and cabinet, but they all obeyed and listened to the orders of the true ruler of Earth.
"Mom, I just saw an angel just now!" A little kid walking hand in hand with his mother and father exclaimed with shining eyes as he looked up into the clear sky.
The boy's mother raised her head to look in the direction where her son was looking, but unfortunately she didn't see anything. Still, she didn't doubt what her son said because this kind of sighting had become normal over the past few months. She squatted down as she said in a gentle but serious voice: "Dongdong, do you remember what mom and dad told you before? All those angels are fake. Even the so-called Gods are fake."
"Dongdong knows, but..." The boy who was only 7 or 8 years old tried to find the figure of the angel he had just seen in the sky without success. After a little doubt, lowered his little head to look at his father and said excitedly, "But they can fly, and they have wings! Plus, they're not as bad as the aunts and uncles soldiers said since they don't even attack us at all!"
The mother's expression turned ugly and she was about to scold the child when the father who had remained silent explained with a warm smile, "Dongdong, you know that our Emperor killed one of those angels who tried to plot against him, don't you? The Royal Family even pinned up the body of this male angel on the walls of Hero City and exposed it to the whole world using magic."
"Dongdong knows. Our Emperor is our God Guardian." The eyes of the boy named Dongdong shone brightly as he spoke about the Emperor and suddenly seemed to turn into an excited little fan, "Lord Bai Zemin was the one who put an end to the apocalypse, saving our human race and defeating all the enemies together with his invincible army."
"That's right." The father's eyes brightened, and a reverent expression appeared on his face as he said in a serious voice, "The angels, the dragons, the werewolves, the vampires... they all plotted against Emperor His Majesty but in the end they failed and their schemes were shattered by His Majesty. Because they cannot attack us directly, they tried to use others but failed; otherwise, our family and many more would have been devastated. Therefore, remember not to offend these other races but you absolutely cannot worship them just because they can fly or have wings."
The boy's expression became serious as he heard his father's voice and nodded, "Dongdong knows. It's a pity you can't join the army after losing an arm, Dad. But I, Xiao Dongdong, will definitely be a great warrior who will serve Emperor His Majesty and protect the peace of our Transcendent Empire. That's why I will do my best to learn well from the uncle instructors at the Royal Transcendent Academy!"
The boy's mother and father exchanged amused yet joyful and proud glances when they heard their son's words. They were only a lower-middle class family, but even they received the treatment of a respectable human being, and their son was able to join the Empire's one and only best academy of studies.
"Eh?"
The father-mother duo suddenly looked at their son with curious expressions, as the latter suddenly stopped his steps and stood frozen after a slight exclamation.
"What's wrong, Dongdong?" The mother asked worriedly. This was the first time she had seen this kind of expression on her son's face after all.
The father, on the other hand, joked, "Dongdong, don't tell me you just saw another angel?"
"N-No... It's not that." The boy visibly gulped and pointed toward the opposite street as he said in a trembling voice, "So beautiful.... Those two big sisters and that big brother. They all have snow-white hair and are so beautiful. Dongdong has never seen such a beautiful family before..."
"Are they really that beautiful?"
The mother was not convinced thus she followed her son's gaze as well as her husband, quickly finding the two "big sisters and big brother" in her son's mouth.
The mother-father duo had to admit that the trio looked beautiful together. Even the little girl in the wheelchair was pretty as a doll as she let the young man, probably her brother, behind her push the wheelchair. However, neither of them felt that the trio was beautiful enough to freeze...
"Dongdong, aren't you overreacting?" the mother asked half believing half doubting, "We've definitely seen families more beautiful than them at the gate of the Royal Transcendent Academy every time the parents accompany their offspring."
"No! I'm definitely not overreacting!" The boy shook his head like a rattle but his eyes were still fixed on the trio slowly walking away through the crowd, seemingly unnoticed.
The father looked a little longer before withdrawing his gaze. He shook his head and said with a smile, "Forget it. Dongdong has a very rare skill named Third Eye whereby he can see things that normal people like us can't."
"You're right," The woman nodded with a slight smile and ruffled her son's hair, "Our Dongdong will definitely be a great warrior loyal to the Royal Family in the future. A powerful and brave general who will live for 300 years, 400 years!"
"Wah! That big brother nodded at me! He really did nod his head at me just now!"
"Dongdong, stop wasting time and walk or you'll be late for your morning class."
-In the distance.
"That kid from before will probably be able to make it all the way to the Fourth Order if he's a little lucky and doesn't die young. Though he'll need at least several centuries to make it."
Bai Zemin gently pushed Kali's wheelchair, merging into the crowd easily. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at her words, so he pointed out, "You call him a kid but you're not much older than him, you little toddler."
"What nonsense are you talking about," Kali growled under her breath and whined, "Although I don't remember anything from the past, just by my looks I'm 15 or 16. That would be twice the age of that kid from before! Besides, who was the one who developed Dwarven runes to inscribe on the walls of all the cities in the world after decrypting part of Hero City's protective runes? Comparing me to him is pretty much laughable, don't you think?"
"Yes, yes. Anything you say, Big Miss." Bai Zemin shook his head with a wry smile on his face.
Beside him, Bai Shilin whose eyes were red and puffy from crying kept sticking to him like chewing gum even though she didn't say much.
In fact, Bai Zemin had just woken up only today after fainting during the battle back then.
'Six months comatose.' Bai Zemin sighed in his heart as he gently pushed the wheelchair forward.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Bai Shilin sleeping next to him. The girl wearing cartoon pajamas was quick to wake up when she noticed his breathing rhythm change, and she practically bathed him in her tears as she kissed his entire face and expressed how worried she had been all this time.
After spending an hour relieving Bai Shilin, who was no longer a little girl as she had grown into a big beauty who looked 17-18 years old despite her real age, he asked her to take Kali to his room secretly.
Because Bai Zemin was in a coma and his condition was extremely serious, there was always someone powerful and completely loyal protecting him close; it turned out that when he opened his eyes it was the turn of his daughter, Bai Shilin... but since he was awake he no longer needed anyone to protect him.
Of course, his condition wasn't particularly good... It's just that he didn't dare to believe what he felt and saw when he looked inside himself. Bai Zemin did not even pay attention to his surroundings, and even ignored the fact that his formerly black eyes were now blood red. Even his completely white hair was ignored... His condition seemed to be that bad, but he dared not believe it.
Unfortunately, when Kali was brought to his room by Bai Shilin without anyone noticing and after the girl "gazed" at him either because of the condition he was in or because she was happy to see him finally open his eyes, she confirmed his fears using her usual plain voice.