Above Destiny

Chapter 749 The Aftermath
In just two minutes, Luo Island trembled continuously, and the Azure Dragon cried out incessantly.

The massive impact had caused the temperature in the entire underground space to soar to several hundred degrees Celsius, even considering the poor thermal conductivity of air. The surface hull of the Prosperity had reached over two thousand degrees Celsius, and the internal keel of the colossal vessel was even beyond measurement. This was the first time surface deformation had occurred since its creation…

For the first time in history, such a massive and colossal structure has appeared.

This is probably the first time in history that someone has ever put such a huge Juque into a furnace to be reheated!
Even the successive heads of the Ye family, who have inherited the Nine Forms, couldn't understand how such a crazy thing could happen in the world.

Ji Jue was laughing so hard his legs were almost unable to close.

This earthquake works even better than a volcano!

As the intensity began to decrease, he became unhappy and even used his vaporization alchemy technique to severely stimulate the earth's veins twice.

How could it be over in just a few strokes? Are you even capable?

No, move aside and let someone else have a turn!
waste!

As a result, the violent ley lines unleashed wave after wave of power, and thanks to Ji Jue's interception, even the impact from the six islands was reduced by a twist of fate.

In the end, as the last ripples dissipated over Luo Island, all those still bewildered seemed to hear a scream from the ground in their daze.

So poignant, so full of resentment, so filled with grief and indignation.

That was the Azure Dragon's final lament!
The remnant spirit completely vanished, and cracks now covered the Prosperity.

As the swaying gradually stopped and the massive cargo ship returned to its original position, cracks spread out like a spider web, enveloping the entire ship.

"..."

Lou Feng turned around and looked at Ji Jue, who stood still and waved, signaling him to complete the final step. So, Lou Feng grinned, swung the huge spiritual hammer, and lifted it with all his might.

Slam it down suddenly!

Like a resounding bell, it burst forth with a tremendous roar, yet it was not harsh; rather, it was so distant and profound, as if it were a tangible sound. Like a tidal wave, the sound rose from the Prosperity and swept across the entire underground space. With the remaining connection, it echoed throughout the entire island of Luo, causing the earth to tremble slightly and the ocean to surge once again.

The lingering sound lingered.

The sound of cracking was incessant. The layer of hull covering the cracks suddenly detached from the main body and fell off, just like oxide peeling off a sword blade during quenching, turning into ashes and scattering them in all directions.

The ashes fell, but they caused a tremendous roar, as if a mudslide had spread.

Every speck of dust weighs as much as a thousand pounds.

Even the mixed material extracted from the giant sword still contains a vast amount of the essence of the desolate ruins, making it a rare and precious material.

And at this moment, right before their eyes, the enormous thing that had once resembled a mountain range seemed to have shrunk by a tiny, imperceptible amount.

But when the mercury ropes were lengthened and placed back on the ground, a series of high-pitched, teeth-grinding sounds were heard.

Just like an iron block falling into mud, it will naturally sink.

The Prosperity landed on the reinforced ground and silently, slowly sinking into it. The vast difference in mass made the gap between it and iron even more exaggerated than that between water and stone.

Fortunately, Ji Jue reacted quickly, raising his hand to support the giant sword, which shook again, reconnecting the earth's veins and the stars, and controlling gravity to suspend himself in mid-air.

So dazzling.

"It's so beautiful."

Lou Feng sighed, reached out and touched its black surface. When the light shone on it, it actually shimmered with seven colors of rainbow.

It is as if it were carved from a single piece of obsidian, without any cracks or flaws.

Anyone who sees the Prosperity at this moment would probably doubt their own eyes and senses. Why does it make everything else look like dust when it is not ridiculously large?
The difference in pure quality has silently drawn a chasm between the world and oneself, making all other things unattainable.

What's important is the pattern on the hull at this moment, which looks like a naturally formed stone pattern, with sharp dragon scales overlapping each other, appearing and disappearing.

At Ji Jue's command, countless dragon scales exploded instantly, and the massive hull subtly changed, but then it contracted again, returning to its original form.

Unfortunately, it's still too conspicuous.

Ji Jue directed the calf and horse to begin a slow adjustment until finally, the original obsidian-like color and texture disappeared completely, and the hull once again returned to its original drab gray and rusty appearance.

Ji Jue beamed and nodded repeatedly.
"This is right!"

This is called a divine object concealing itself!
Otherwise, if you're covered in RGB lighting from head to toe, people hundreds of miles away will know you're a pro, and how will you fish then?

It's best to live a low-key life!

Now, having completed another unique backfire thanks to the earthquake, with the combined efforts of Ji Jue and Lou Feng, the spiritual energy circuit of the Giant Sword has expanded to the entire hull, and can even continue to expand outward as the hull grows and equipment expands.

It's even more complete than we expected!

"We're awesome!"

Ji Jue, beaming with joy, put his arm around Lou Feng's shoulder and laughed loudly, "See, I told you so! The two of us teamed up and wreaked havoc in the association, and we'll wreak havoc outside the association too!"

"Who's talking to you two? Get out of the way!"

Lou Feng rolled his eyes, brushed his hand away in annoyance, turned his head to the side, and didn't even bother to look at him.

"emmmm..."

Ji Jue was drawn to a sight that caught his eye out of the corner of his eye, and turned around: "Did you just laugh?"

"No."

Lou Feng remained indifferent, turned around, and before Ji Jue could ask further, repeated firmly, "No! There isn't!"

"...Then let's not have it."

Ji Jue sighed regretfully, as if disappointed, "I'm sorry, I was presumptuous."

Lou Feng's expression twitched, and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Ji Jue changed the subject: "Now that we've completed the first part of the work, how about the next requirement...?"

"..."

Lou Feng fell silent.

But he finally smiled.

His face turned ashen with laughter.

Without uttering a word, he simply raised his hand and pointed towards the door:
—Take your wrecked boat and get out of my workshop right now!

Even after the initial shock of the earthquake subsided, the aftershocks continued intermittently, though they were no longer as violent as before.

Thanks to Ji Jue's timely response, only a portion of the water pipes on Luo Island burst, and the uncontrolled gas caused several fires.

Even patients undergoing surgery in the operating room were not affected.

The biggest accident that resulted from this was an old man who tripped and fell on the steps, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, and died instantly before he could be rescued.

An earthquake of magnitude 4 was a bit troublesome, but it did not cause any serious damage.

That afternoon, the coastal construction team began repairing the water and electricity systems, while also completely removing the dilapidated sheds and illegal buildings that had collapsed during the earthquake.

Since the broken glass can't be repaired in a short time, just cover it with a plastic sheet for now; it's all the same anyway.

The major reconstruction plan was initially drafted before the end of the workday that evening. Anyway, there was plenty of money in the account, so it was just a way to let Sukarno's family legacy shine again.

The benefits of Sukarno are too numerous to mention!
Infrastructure remained stable, food and water supplies were unaffected, the power system was rebuilt by 3 a.m. that day, and some residents whose illegal structures had collapsed were housed in tents.

Nothing happened, nothing happened. When everyone finally came to their senses and looked back at what had happened, it all felt like a dream, and they couldn't help but burst into tears: "The Sukarno family died a good death! They died so damn well! Who else could have died if not you?!"
In previous years...

There's no need to put it in previous years anymore!

Let's take a look at the other islands in Seven Cities, family!

Not everyone has such outrageous things as the Crown of Isis, the Curtain, and the Giant Sword. Even if they did, not everyone would be willing to use them... Moreover, even if they did use them, why would they care about others?

According to measurements taken three hours after the earthquake, the earthquake occurred in the sea area about 4,000 kilometers east of Shichikuni, at the junction of the western and central tectonic plates. The violent geological changes caused by the collective eruption of dozens of active volcanoes triggered a chain reaction, resulting in a major earthquake with an intensity of 9.

The last time such a terrible disaster occurred was seventy years ago in the Central Plains. However, thanks to the vast and sparsely populated nature of the Endless Sea, although the affected area was large, it did not cause particularly large-scale turmoil.

The seven cities, located in the area, only felt the aftershocks... while the intensity of the earthquake, transmitted through the special existence of the earth veins, reached an average of 6.7.

At its peak, it reached level seven or higher!

This is after Ji Jue intercepted at least 10%!

The seven cities and seven islands exist simultaneously on three interconnected large ley lines. The easternmost of these is Luo Island, and the outlet specially opened up by Luo Island has saved the seven cities from losses exceeding 10 billion.

However, what cannot be avoided will still be avoided.

Even though level 6.7 doesn't reach the level of destruction, the way the insects dealt with it afterwards undoubtedly opened Ji Jue's eyes wide.

The earthquake was just the beginning; what followed naturally was a man-made hell.

It wasn't just the delayed rescue efforts and the incompetence of the rulers; it was also the relentless exploitation by everyone and every individual at every level... The slums, reduced to ruins after the disaster, became dens of iniquity where the strong preyed on the weak. Following food, the prices of medicine and water began to skyrocket even further!
They even had to risk their lives, wielding knives, to snatch back a blanket...

In those artificial dark forests, even selling oneself wouldn't bring any reward, not even a single loaf of bread.

Ji Jue dared not look at the images transmitted back by the drone, fearing that he would suffer a cerebral hemorrhage.

Only Xiangzhou followed closely behind Luo Island. Although its reaction was slow, the presence of a large number of riot cats ensured the preservation of order. Subsequently, a large amount of supplies transported from Luo Island stabilized the situation as quickly as possible.

The moment the earthquake struck, Minkler immediately activated his household gods to stabilize the earth's veins. Although the household gods were severely damaged, at least Xiangzhou did not suffer irreparable destruction.

Ji Jue used all his strength to restrain himself.

He restrained his urge to don the priest's robes of the heretical cult, enduring it with all his might, telling himself that now was not the time, and quietly observing from the sidelines.

However, questions from the Seven Cities Council were brought to him on their own initiative.

It was almost an interrogation.

The party that suffered the most severe damage, whose relief efforts were the most sluggish, and whose leadership was the most inhumane, bluntly questioned Rodo Island and Xiangzhou at the meeting: "Both of you suffered earthquakes, so why did Rodo Island and Xiangzhou suffer such minor losses? Why were you so well-prepared? Did you receive some advance warning and not tell everyone?"

Furthermore, there were many hints in their words...

Did you cause this earthquake?
Ji Jue remained silent.

In the silence, fists clenched.

Right there in the video call, he couldn't help but laugh out loud again.

"You may have misunderstood something."

He sighed, straightened his body, and suddenly smiled at the faces in the conference room camera: "I do have the ability to do this... but if it were me, do you think you would still have the chance to sit here alive and talk to me?"

Why don't we give it a try?

Ji Jue raised three fingers: "Three days, just three days. Let's see if there's still a Yamen on the map after three days. If there's still a house left in Yamen, even if it's just a toilet, I'll admit defeat!"

In the instant of silence, the faces in the conference room quickly stiffened.

Especially under Ji Jue's gaze, the representative of the front teeth gradually turned pale and involuntarily twitched once, then once more.

Thoroughly apply wax.

I started to regret it, having listened to the encouragement of others.

Holy crap, how could this guy surnamed Ji be so wicked!

Originally, everyone was just envious of Luodao and Xiangzhou, hoping to take advantage of this earthquake to try and extort some more goods.

But before I could even open my mouth, the other side just flipped the table!
This is wrong!

Our political games aren't played like this. You should have played along with me, then we'd all pull each other along, and finally, for the sake of the Seven Cities Alliance, we'd have to put up with things and at least keep in step with everyone else, so that the others wouldn't look like cowards... How did you manage to explode like that!
"Oh dear, look at the mess this has made!"

"No, no, no!"

On the conference channel, the expressions that were initially prepared to watch the show and coordinate pressure quickly turned into smiles after a brief moment of surprise.

"I knew it! That brat Yamen's forehead got pinched!"

Garisto of the City Devouring Alliance waved his hand and advised, "Mr. Ji, he's an idiot, why bother arguing with him..."

Then, he began to regret it.

Because Ji Jue suddenly looked over, his gaze cold and disdainful.

"He's an idiot, aren't you?"

Ji Jue tilted his head and asked, "Are you so happy because I didn't hit you?"

Garisto's expression froze.

"Cough-cough-"

The old woman from Macheng coughed twice and then tried to smooth things over, saying, "Mr. Ji, please don't be angry. He just came out to lighten the mood and didn't want things to get too tense."

"Live up the atmosphere? What the hell were you doing all this time?! Oh, they were still performing earlier, right? Why aren't they performing now?"

Ji Jue scoffed, glancing at that old face and asking, "What, old man, are you planning to take out your savings for your funeral and sponsor everyone?"
If you don't, then shut up!

And Sikkim, they still have the nerve to laugh? What's with all the laughter? Are they overjoyed at the disaster in the seven cities? Or do they feel bad that so many people died under their noses and want to set off firecrackers to bring good luck?

Do you think I've been too lenient with you?

Do I need you to teach me how to do things? Mind your own business!

He paused, then stared intently at the silent old man in the corner: "And Fernand, speak up! What are you doing here?"
"You are the speaker of the Seven Cities Council. Tell me—is it my fault that the Seven Cities have suffered so much damage and losses?!"

Fernand's expression twitched for a moment, then he sighed helplessly.

"With the current severe winds and natural disasters like earthquakes, how can it be the fault of just one person? Everyone's reaction is a bit excessive."

He forced himself to stay calm and continued to write: "It's just that the Seven Cities Alliance is about helping each other. In the end, we still have to work together. Why make such a fuss?"

If you have any questions, sit down and talk it out calmly; there's always a solution.

"Method?"

Ji Jue's smile grew even more mocking. "I do have a way, faster, simpler, and more convenient—I'm just afraid you won't dare to use it."

Instantly, the conference channel fell silent once more.

Method?

Isn't the solution right in front of your eyes?

Why turn a blind eye?
Surely you yourselves aren't part of the problem?
(End of this chapter)