The Tremors of a New Era

"Master, are the Ability Users people talk about these days… people like you?"

Luoshui drove as she cautiously questioned Song Xian in the passenger seat.

She only knew that Song Xian had gone to the central mountain region. After returning, he seemed even more haggard, as though he frowned every moment of every day. Some immense pressure seemed on the verge of crushing this powerful man.

He had become increasingly silent.

Luoshui deliberately tried to make conversation, hoping to get her master talking.

Song Xian sighed when he heard her.

The sudden upheaval in Goryeo had disrupted every arrangement made by East Xia’s upper echelons. Not only East Xia—at this moment, many high-level gatherings within the Infinite Dimensional Space had likewise been caught completely off guard.

A Reincarnator had openly used an offensive ability in front of every camera, knocked down a Free Federation reporter, and then received no punishment whatsoever.

This scene caused a tremendous uproar among the Reincarnators.

Many Smart People immediately understood the intentions of that powerful Reincarnator within the March Group and began actively cooperating with it all.

Many Reincarnators focused on martial arts had already begun declaring themselves Ability Users online, displaying martial skills and physical capabilities far beyond those of ordinary people in front of cameras.

They, too, received no punishment.

This was only the first step. Under the banner of the emerging race known as "Ability Users," Reincarnators were rapidly gaining an "official identity" in the awareness of all humanity.

Once that day truly arrived, ordinary people’s greatest advantage against Reincarnators would vanish completely, and the governments of every country would lose their greatest trump card for keeping Reincarnators in check.

Song Xian rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked at his innocent disciple. She probably still did not know that this peaceful world might be shattered the very next second by some powerful Reincarnator.

"Yes, we are that kind of… Ability User…"

The pressure on Song Xian was immense. Theoretically, the total number of Reincarnators within East Xia was certainly not small and should account for a considerable proportion of the East District. Yet fewer than a hundred Reincarnators had thrown in their lot with him and joined the government.

That number was simply incapable of dealing with the growing number of Reincarnator-related incidents and increasingly powerful threats.

Although the Southern Heavenly Gate Project was progressing smoothly, the emergence of the Ability User concept would render the Vermilion Bird Division ineffective. They could no longer use cameras to deter Reincarnators, and the Vermilion Bird Division could only urgently shift toward intelligence and information support.

This placed even greater pressure on the Azure Dragon Combat Division, which relied on technological equipment in battle.

Every loss among those passionate, loyal soldiers filled Song Xian with guilt.

No one was born to be sacrificed.

After considering it again and again, Song Xian suddenly spoke.

"How has that student Bai Cangshu been lately? You’ve kept in touch with him, haven’t you?"

Luoshui froze. Her heart suddenly began pounding violently, and she instinctively slammed on the brakes.

Screech!

The AMG coupe had excellent performance. Even when braking suddenly at high speed, its body remained exceptionally stable. It merely left behind two dark skid marks before quickly pulling over to the roadside.

Luoshui’s cheeks reddened. She felt as though all the little thoughts she had believed were carefully hidden had actually been exposed beneath her master’s gaze.

"N-No!"

"Master… don’t… don’t talk nonsense."

Song Xian was simply too exhausted. He had no time to concern himself with his disciple’s girlish feelings. He now felt that the Constellation Project within the Southern Heavenly Gate Project had to be accelerated. If they could not find suitable Reincarnators to join, then they could only cultivate their own.

The military and special operations departments had always used hypnosis and various other methods to increase the likelihood of their members being chosen by the Infinite Dimensional Space. Yet over the past few months, fewer than ten had become Reincarnators.

Even fewer had survived.

Bai Cangshu was someone Song Xian had instinctively judged, at first glance, to be highly suited to becoming a Reincarnator.

This kind of naturally powerful individual possessed physical qualities far beyond those of his peers. By Song Xian’s estimation, Bai Cangshu’s attributes were probably more than fifty percent higher than those of an ordinary adult man. In Street Fighting, facing multiple opponents alone could never be accomplished through skill alone without overwhelming physical superiority.

"Luoshui, you should understand that a department like ours monitors everything. Therefore, even your private phone and online accounts can have their corresponding records accessed."

Luoshui felt her cheeks burn. She lowered her head, not daring to meet her teacher’s eyes.

"I…"

"I’m the same age as him…"

Luoshui muttered something of unclear meaning.

Song Xian looked puzzled, completely unable to understand what age had to do with any of this.

Luoshui thought to herself that although she had started working early, that had been arranged by her family. She was not the kind of person who used the convenience of her position to privately contact a young man who had only just graduated.

Song Xian shook his head, unwilling to dwell on such matters, and stated directly, "I want you to invite that student Bai back to the country. We have something we need to ask of him."

Luoshui looked up. Seeing Song Xian’s solemn expression, she could only nod, though she felt a little secretly delighted.

She felt that she truly was hopelessly shallow. They had barely interacted, yet she always found herself thinking of how clean-cut and handsome he had looked standing by the window.

Song Xian no longer avoided Luoshui after that. He took out an old Nokia flip phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Old Cao. I plan to recommend someone. He has great potential, and I hope your Azure Sky can train him. Mm… He’s very good at fighting, but as for his morals, all I can say is that he has no record of breaking laws or disciplinary rules…"

"I want him to join the Constellation Project. You know, my aptitude for combat probably can’t cross that line at all. I have to find several stronger pillars of support for this country."

The heat in Luoshui’s face faded slightly. Watching her master earnestly explain things to the person on the phone, she inexplicably felt as though he were making arrangements for the future.

With that thought, she became somewhat troubled as well.

Deep within an old mountain forest, Cao Qi sat by an eerily quiet lake with a fishing rod. Listening to Song Xian’s instructions over the phone, which sounded as though he were arranging his final affairs, Cao Qi wore an oddly amused expression.

"All right, all right, Old Song. I’ll have Adam handle it. Who is this person you want to recommend?"

"His name is Bai Cangshu. He’s a student at Binhai University."

"Who?!"

Cao Qi raised his voice slightly. The tranquil lake surface was instantly disturbed, and ripples began spreading outward one after another.

Song Xian wanted him to arrange for that Bai Cangshu to join Azure Sky, then become the product of the Constellation Project and protect East Xia?!

At that moment, the strange coincidence of fate made Cao Qi feel both amused and absurd.

He hung up the phone and lifted his fishing rod. A huge red carp hung from the other end of the line, and he flung it into the air.

The carp was over three meters long. It was clearly not a species that should exist in the real world, yet Cao Qi had raised it here.

As Cao Qi rose to his feet, all kinds of creatures began appearing in the shadowy forest.

The smile on his face slowly faded as he watched this scene.

He shook his head, feeling that in some sense, he too had long crossed that line. Now, he did not have much standing to condemn Mercenary Tao.

Even if he stopped Mercenary Tao, someone else would do the same thing.

This was a trend. This was the tide of the times.

From the day the Infinite Dimensional Space began binding Reincarnators with such rules, this reality had been destined to arrive.

This was the predetermined future. No one could change it, just like that predetermined end.

Cao Qi was not certain whether the person he had chosen could change everything.

"At least, if it’s him, he’ll be far gentler than Mercenary Tao."