With just one glance, he had already seen through the other's essence.
The remnants left behind by the Family God...
No, perhaps for the Chopra family, this is the very essence?
Countless ancestors of Chopra, their souls, their insatiable greed, and the evil deeds they wrought—when the Fla of Decay spread throughout the Seven Cities, the inevitable mutation and transformation began.
No, it should be said that from the day the family fire was ignited, the appearance of today was destined...
To consolidate power, they created the Family God.
To gain status, they voluntarily embraced the blood curse, then cented this desperate cycle that each generation fought hard to escape yet could not avoid.
Born from the family, returning to the family.
Shaped by the family, devoured by the family.
In the endless cycle, seduced by the lure of power and status, one family mber after another threw themselves greedily into the Family God's maw, turning themselves into the finest sacrifices.
As long as the Chopra remains, this sacrifice knows no end.
Binding themselves in a cocoon, suffering self-made consequences.
Ultimately, isn't the wicked outco brewed just like this?
At this mont, the wicked outco sprouts from the mire; the fully mutated Family God broke free from the shackles of the Paradise System, completing its final hatching in the Fla of Decay.
Instinctively thirsty, instinctively chasing the family's descendants, the current Family Head...like a centipede monster as large as a building, roared and, losing all self-control, lunged forward!
Imdiately following, a giant descended from the sky!
BOOM!!!!
As if an iron mountain suddenly fell, it whipped up a storm, teors ravaging, shaking the entire Xiang State with a wail.
Ruthlessly, it trampled!
The Steel Giant God Dragon Mountain stepped on the rampaging monster, crushing it in two, but then a giant hand extended, roughly kneading them back together, squeezing the hollow, frenzied faces into a writhing mass of flesh and blood.
Then, again, a punch, another punch, and yet another punch!
The terrifying sound of breaking continued. The once-overbearing monster now howled in vain, struggling, without even the strength to fight back.
When most souls and power were taken by Ji Jue and integrated into the Paradise System, how could the ager remnants accumulated by the Family God over hundreds of years stir up any trouble?
Now looking fierce and frenzied, it's rely an underdeveloped premature infant.
Not posing any threat at all.
At best, only serving as a punching bag for Dragon Mountain.
In the fierce winds, Minkler heard Ji Jue's order, "Next, the Paradise System will forcibly take over Luo Island. You arrange the people to assist with all your strength."
"Understood!"
He nodded without hesitation, not caring whether he would be sidelined, if the so-called power had been seized. After witnessing the tragic fate of subordinates who only paid lip service, not only Ji Jue, even he wanted to personally eliminate those pests and failures.
Now that Ji Jue has stepped forward to take charge and clean up the ss, how could he possibly disagree?
"It's just...so civilians have mutated..." He hesitated for a mont, ultimately mustering the courage to ask: "How to handle it?"
Ji Jue was silent for a mont, then spoke: "Leave it to the exoskeleton company and Peacekeeping Cat. If they're not a threat, just keep them under watch first."
Minkler decisively nodded, wiping his cold sweat, his fear unworn, looking back at the howling remnants of the Family God and the chaotic city.
From the sky, green firelight continually falling.
The whole world seed to have transford into sothing unrecognizable to him, yet oddly, he felt no surprise, as if it had always been this way.
This paradoxical feeling made him dizzy, his expression twitching constantly, panting, "What on earth...is going on..."
Ji Jue did not speak, casting one last glance at everything before him.
He turned and walked toward the direction where the flas rose.
.
.
BOOM!!!
Amidst the spreading flas, the grand hall collapsed with a crash, mutated and transford outlines screaming, shrieking, dancing, and reveling in the fire.
The Seven Cities Council Hall was consud in the hysterical shrill singing.
Everything within sight, the countless efforts and painstaking patches of a lifeti, the only bit of achievent left, just like that, fell into the flas beyond recognition.
Never to be seen again.
"Help...help ...Mr. Fernan...help ..."
The burning eerie remnants squird, raising a hand, grasping the bewildered old man, howling in vain, yet imdiately, it seed as if pain and despair vanished.
Laughter and song, so sharp, emanated from the flas.
Fernan staggered back, fell, got up again, wandering the streets, staring blankly at everything around him, opening his mouth to hoarsely roar, shout.
But no one responded.
In the end, he had no strength left, sinking to the ground, his once proud spine bending inch by inch, unable to bear everything before him.
"Suffering as fla, human heart as furnace—"
"Turning natural disasters into man-made catastrophes, subtly influencing in the turning of the world, unnoticeable, omnipresent, ultimately, indeed all things self-transform!
"Who would have thought You Sui's craft could be so grand and magnificent!"
At the end of the flas, a voice full of admiration rang out.
In the ash falling like snow, the figure of the craftsman erged from the deepest part of the fierce fla, walking step by step, applauding toward the true Creator of all this.
From the heart, expressing admiration!
"Truly, an eye-opener!"
"..."
On the steps, the hunched old man raised his head, looking at him blankly and wearily, as if unable to comprehend.
"What are you talking about..."
"Why bother with pretenses, Mr. Fernan, or rather, Master Fernan."
Ji Jue stood in front of him, bending down and adhering to the Association's etiquette, offering respect and admiration to the forr master: "Isn't everything today your creation?
Including myself, everyone has been played like fools by you, and now that the grand work is complete, why continue pretending?"
"I can't understand what you're saying at all!"
Fernan's expression contorted, gradually reddened and livid with anger that was hard to suppress, as if feeling the accusations from Ji Jue.
"This is fundantally not ! This was never what I wanted! I... I..."
His lips trembled, burned whiskers quivering, choking with embarrassnt: "You're here to humiliate , right? Whatever, none of it matters... I've poured a lifeti of effort, devoted all my ti, and it's all destroyed, completely ruined!
Seven Cities could have been better, damn everything could have been better!
Instead, it's you, an outsider who cares about nothing!"
His bloodshot eyes stared fiercely at Ji Jue, angrily questioning and rebuking: "What do you understand?! I'm doing all this for... for the Seven Cities..."
"Is that so?"
Ji Jue laughed, dismissively waving his hand, "Let's say it's like that. But, Mr. Fernan, have you really made any contribution to the Seven Cities?"
Fernan's expression froze.
He opened his mouth, wanting to refute or defend, but heard Ji Jue's voice.
"Legislations ensuring the legality and freedom of prostitutes ended up driving countless distressed people to sell their bodies to survive, exploited legally and discarded like trash.
Now, even the selling rights for eight-year-old children are protected.
The laws ensuring regulated use of banned drugs led instead to their rampant spread. Investnts to collectively build orphanages facilitated the largest child trafficking industry chain in the Southwestern Endless Sea. The Seven Cities Alliance's nursing hos are filled everywhere with organs and souls ready for harvest.
Moreover, there's the unusable healthcare, the impossibly implented minimum wages... not to ntion just a few days ago, you were stabilizing prices for food, dicine, and Fuel Elent."
Ji Jue sighed, lightly: "Sotis, it's hard to distinguish you from those vermin, but perhaps because of this, they tolerate soone so right among them?
They even love you more than they imagine, more inseparable from you.
The entire Seven Cities, only you keep providing them new excuses for exploitation, assisting them step by step in breaking limits, crafting a brighter future."
"Shut up!"
Fernan was furious, staggering forward, grabbing his collar, pulling and shaking forcefully, gripping tightly, eyes almost shedding: "I've, I've done everything I could! Besides , is there anyone in the entire Seven Cities..."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
Crisp applause sounded.
Filled with admiration.
"Yes, right, Mr. Fernan, precisely, this is what I admire most about you."
Ji Jue patted his shoulder, sincerely admiring: "My teacher taught that a true craftsman can create beautifully and also righteously ss things up. I thought I understood, but compared to you, I am nothing!
After all, you don't need to do anything but be a well-intentioned failure, squander goodwill, and things naturally beco progressively worse!
Even at the end, even now, even in future history books, no one will bla you!
After all, everyone knows, you did it for everyone, you did your best!"
Even as an enemy, Ji Jue couldn't restrain his admiration for Fernan.
Water drips wearing the stone, rope saws cutting the wood... compared to this decades-long dedication, more importantly, persistence and endurance.
Abandoning sainthood and wisdom, thoroughly defeating Ember's arrogant heart, severing the craftsman's nature, genuinely transforming into a redundant nobody.
Like a rational person forcing themselves to imrse in fur, blending into the zoo's monkey troop every day.
Day after day, playing gas with monkeys.
For any craftsman, this is torture more terrifying than death, yet he can persist until now, never giving up.
Even becoming soone everyone eventually thanks and reveres, a Saint!
Those corrupted and despairing because of it perhaps never considered... the Fernan they respect, never considered saving anyone!
So many laws and policies were rely painting a pie they could never taste, a dream they'll never realize.
Ti and ti again letting them rise, only to push them back down.
Throughout countless changes, nothing changed from beginning to end.
Throughout transformation attempts, from start to finish, no transformation.
rely futile cycles, endlessly replaying past events, until the final fla completely extinguishes.
The entire Seven Cities is his lting Furnace.
The present reality is his creation.
This has been a sustained Upper-level Summoning for decades over three generations!
Who would have thought, the true maker of this Hell isn't affliction, nor despair, but everyday habit...
After blows and despair, becoming completely numb, after Embers reignited ti and again, no warmth remains, the heart for transformation has entirely extinguished.
From now on, all will sink into the mire.
In that instant, the Corrosive Furnace Core arrives by summoning.
No, long before that, everything has already fallen into the Realm of Decay!
It's just that they never realized...
Turns out, they've been living in Hell.
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