I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

"Master, your heart is beating a little fast?"

No one knows how she heard it, but Ye Qianxue, lying in Yan Ziming's arms, suddenly chuckled mischievously.

"Oh dear~ I'm thinking about how to play with you two tonight, that's why I'm so excited~~ My dear disciple!"

Mu Mu pressed his face close to Ye Qianxue's, each word sending shivers down her spine.

"Don't forget our bet, Little Momo."

Yan Ziming shivered slightly, then nodded with a stiff smile.

For a fleeting moment, she considered backing out, but then she thought, wouldn't doing so negate everything she had done before? What would have been the point of her crying so bitterly?

Rather than ignoring it, it's better to treat it as a humiliating defeat, using it to motivate yourself to keep moving forward and strive to avenge yourself as soon as possible.

Seeing that Yan Ziming had no intention of reneging on the debt, a strange light flashed in Mu Mu's eyes. Based on her understanding of Yan Ziming, there was a 90% chance that he would renege on the debt.

It seems that after crying like that, something did change... no, it should be said that I grew...?

Mu Mu thought to herself.

Suddenly, the heavens and earth trembled three times, and an incomparably huge roar came out, as if the world was about to end. The aura of the sequence level was vast and mighty, and everyone present was so shocked that their faces turned pale and they could not move.

Even at this point, Yan Ziming couldn't help but feel a deep sense of powerlessness. Ye Qianxue, who had only been able to stand up now because of #beep-#, stiffened up and simply collapsed into Yan Ziming's arms again.

A flash of silver light appeared in Mu Mu's eyes, and his ninth-level strength surged forth, making the space seem unreal. It was as if the Chinese embassy had been isolated in another world, untouched by any harm.

"What's going on?!" Yan Ziming asked in a deep voice immediately. She was very familiar with this aura, and without a doubt, the owner of this aura was Qing.

As her words fell, another low, muffled sound appeared, which in the next instant turned into a thunderclap in a clear sky, mixed with a desire to destroy everything. Even Mu Mu, who was at the ninth level, experienced a mental lapse and a brief period of memory loss.

In an instant, Yan Ziming felt her internal energy surge dramatically, becoming so abundant it was unbelievable. If she were to challenge Mu Mu in this state...

Maybe we can win!

Soon, she instantly reverted to her previous state, feeling unreal, as if she were in a dream, which made her feel a little regretful.

But she still left the embassy immediately to see what had happened, and what she saw was enough to shatter her worldview.

Outside, a bizarre and surreal world had emerged. A beautiful city was reflected in the sky, bustling with people and towering buildings, with airplanes flying overhead. Between the Seventh District and the 'Sky City,' two completely different skies appeared, one sparkling with stars and the other cloudless, overlapping each other, blurring the lines between illusion and reality.

However, all of this is reversed, like a bat hanging upside down. To the people of District Seven, the people and objects above are in a state that could make Newton's coffin lid explode at any moment.

Then there is no more then.

A bolt of intense blue-purple lightning suddenly streaked across the sky, blocking out all the air in its path, as if tearing through eternity. The lightning separated two worlds, creating a vacuum in the middle, and the 'Sky City' vanished.

Soon, a second sequence-level aura appeared. It was a heavy aura, as thick as a mountain, suppressing all directions. The fluctuations caused by the violent collision were stabilized by this aura, and none of them fell to the ground below.

Then, countless meteors appeared in the sky, rushing in all directions. Each one carried an aura of destruction, and was annihilated by thousands of thunderbolts in the next moment. However, a very small number of them escaped the net and disappeared at the end of the sky.

All of this happened in just a few seconds, yet everyone witnessed an unprecedented visual feast.

The next moment, a beautiful figure appeared before Yan Ziming, exuding an aura that commanded reverence. She was ethereal and otherworldly, sometimes clear and sometimes elusive, like mist that would dissipate at any moment.

"Let her get away."

Chapter 126 The Thing One Desires

Liu Mengxian's tone was slightly disappointed.

Over the years, she had never fought against a celestial spirit that had reached the sequence level, but in the end, she was still outmaneuvered by its strange methods.

“I left a mark on her, and it won’t be gone for at least a month. I’ll go after her first, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll come back.”

"Wait--"

Before Yan Ziming could speak, Liu Mengxian had already given instructions for what to do next. She then turned into a large cloud of blue-purple debris and disappeared into the distant sky.

"......"

Yan Ziming's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, still pointing towards the spot where Liu Mengxian had just stood, without even having time to say a few words of concern.

Well, that makes sense. What kind of injury could she possibly get? Qing always tries to run away from her, how could she possibly get hurt?

"If you want to help her, you should quickly improve your strength and reach the ninth rank as soon as possible. That's the minimum requirement."

Mu Mu clearly saw Yan Ziming's dejected expression and offered words of encouragement.

"Ninth rank... It's not that easy... Mu Mu, how many years have you been stuck at this level?"

Mu Mu counted on her fingers: "Hmm... a little over four years. About four and a half years."

Four years.......

Yan Ziming's lips twitched.

Even with Mu Mu's incredible talent, she's been stuck at this level for over four years. How many years will it take for me to reach this half-baked state of life?

Given the current state of change in the world and the backdrop of the impending second wave of the apocalypse, the events that have occurred in the past four years can be described as a 'dynastic change'!

"I'm talking about how it took me almost four years from breaking through to the eighth rank, to reaching the peak, to honing my will to perfection, to forging a second path, and finally breaking through to the ninth rank today."

Mu Mu added, her tone indifferent, as if she were talking about something ordinary.

You should know that if word got out about her rapid advancement, it would probably shock a lot of people, even those at the ninth level. The level of astonishment would be no less than Yan Zimo's record of jumping from the first level to the seventh level in five years.

In about four and a half years, he raised his strength to the peak of the eighth rank and honed his will to perfection. This achievement is beyond the reach of many people.

Most importantly, she has also found a second path that complements the first. The three realms within the ninth rank will be easy for her to advance through, and it will be difficult for them to form any bottlenecks. Reaching the pinnacle of the ninth rank is only a matter of time.

Yan Ziming's lips twitched, and his eyelids twitched incessantly. Ye Qianxue also looked stunned.

Even the chosen ones of heaven are nothing more than this!

So surprised that if Yan Ziming were to predict who the next person might break through to the Soul Heaven realm would be, she would answer without hesitation—Mu Mu.

"We all need to step up our game; we're completely outmatched."

Yan Ziming gently rubbed Ye Qianxue's cheek and sighed.

"Mm." Ye Qianxue nodded obediently, unusually without objection. Although she had broken through to the seventh rank at the age of eighteen, no one could say for sure how long it would take to break through to the ninth rank. It might be several times longer than Mu Mu's.

Mu Mu rolled her eyes: "What nonsense are you spouting, you record holder for the fastest progress from level one to level seven! Oh wait, I mean, you're level eight now."

"Ah... come to think of it, I'm only nineteen." Yan Ziming said shamelessly, as if he really thought he was nineteen.

However, the fact that she reached the eighth level in just over five years is even more shocking; no one would believe it if you told them.

"Ninth rank... What should I do on my second path?"

Yan Zimo muttered to himself.

Although the second path is not a necessary condition for breaking through to the ninth rank, it is essential if she wants to reach the Soul Heaven.

There are about twenty ninth-level beings in this world, most of whom have not comprehended the second path, so their achievements end there.

Apart from a handful of individuals, most others are stuck at the Qi Evolution realm, finding it difficult to advance any further. Those with special abilities and untapped potential can only reach the Divine Gathering realm as their peak, with the Void Spirit realm being virtually impossible.

Whether Yan Shan took the second path or not, Yan Zimo did not know.

If you say he's exceptionally talented, it's because he's almost sixty years old and has only achieved what he has now. If you say he's mediocre, it's because he possesses the bloodline of a Qilin and has become a Sequence-level being. Yan Zimo doesn't know how to judge him.

[Should I also develop a defensive build for my second path, like Mu Mu did? A balanced approach to both offense and defense sounds pretty good...]

Yan Ziming had personally experienced how powerful Mu Mu's second path—the barrier—was. It was a skill almost like a bug. At that time, she couldn't even get close to it and could only passively accept Mu Mu's attacks.

In the end, it was only through her desperate gamble and the addition of her will, forged from the fusion of the first path, that she broke through the effects of the 'isolation'.

"If you want to find your own second path, try to challenge strong opponents; just thinking about it won't help."

Mo Sheng suddenly appeared behind Yan Ziming and spoke up to remind him.

"Sister Mo Sheng!" Ye Qianxue and Yan Ziming exclaimed in surprise in unison, while Mu Mu had already sensed her presence and was used to it.

"Nothing can lead people to progress more than the space between life and death, and can achieve an effect no less than 'zero moment'."

"Life and death?" Ye Qianxue tilted her head, recalling the battle between Fia and Mu Mu.

Seeking a glimmer of hope when on the verge of death, one must unleash all their potential and make a breakthrough or find a new path.

She also saw the results Fia had achieved and longed for her own superpower to undergo an even more powerful transformation, ultimately using the wind element to break through space.

Yan Ziming had reason to believe that Fia would surely gain some insight upon returning, and might even be able to forge a second path, achieving a certain degree of control over space, thus becoming one of the new generation of leaders in the United States.

If Yan Ziming understood anything during his battle with Mu Mu, it was the taste of defeat.

Despite being incredibly unwilling, it greatly boosted her fighting spirit. Perhaps after returning, Yan Ziming would change her lazy lifestyle and devote herself wholeheartedly to becoming stronger...maybe.

In fact, given Yan Ziming's current age, it's quite possible that she could become a ninth-tier cultivator even younger than Mu Mu; it all depends on how hard she tries.

"That's right, you two probably haven't truly experienced life and death yet, have you?"

"Sister Mo Sheng, you're underestimating us. We survived the darkest year of the apocalypse, amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood!"

Yan Ziming retorted, "Just now I almost died from the pincers of an SSS-level scorpion!"

"It's not that simple. It's about being on the verge of death, just one step away from dying. It's more dangerous than dancing on a fishing line. The best time to gain enlightenment is when you are desperately seeking something in that kind of environment."

"The thing I yearn for so deeply..."

Yan Ziming doesn't yet know that what she needs right now is the power to defend her current life, but that's still too broad a scope and needs to be narrowed down.

"There's no need to rush to figure it out now. You've only recently broken through to the eighth rank. Take it one step at a time and build a solid foundation."

Mo Sheng said with a smile, "Alright, hurry up and pack your things and get ready to board the plane. We're going back to China."