At this moment, seeing this sudden turn of events, the rest of the World Dominion Society’s forces were all stunned. Sure, guys like Harvey Jin and Jason Lin were small fry, but the one who’d just shown up was General Kenneth Li—the top dog of the Jinling Military Region, the same iron-blooded beast who once took on the three big Jinling clans head-to-head. In the military world, his reputation was sky-high; nobody dared mess with him lightly.
Plus, in the anti-Japan campaign, Kenneth Li was the overall spearhead—the absolute MVP. Right now, it didn’t matter who you were, if you ran into him, you’d better think twice about the consequences!
But even now, Eagle King was still roaring, hell-bent on total slaughter. He hadn’t had his fill of killing in Japan, and now, facing these so-called ‘ants’ in his eyes, he was being blocked again. He was absolutely furious. Plus, Guihai One-Blade was just one slash away from being finished—if Eagle King missed this chance, he’d regret it for life.
“Argh! I’ll kill you all! Kill every last one of you!”
Right then, facing the crazed Eagle King, Kenneth Li didn’t hesitate for a second—no mercy, no holding back. He shouted like a maniac, and a barrage of artillery fire blasted straight at Eagle King.
“Eagle King, you bastard, you’re worse than a pig or dog! Do you even know who these people are? They’re the family and friends of Ryan Ling, China’s number one anti-Japan war god! Ryan’s bleeding on the front lines, and you dare try to butcher his loved ones in the rear? You’re totally insane! I, Kenneth Li, even if I die here today, will fight you to the bitter end! World Dominion Society—you’re all animals!” Kenneth was obviously losing it too. He ripped off his general’s cap and yelled, “Aim every last missile in the military district at this bastard—fire! Today we’ll die here with them if we have to!”
When Kenneth Li said that, Bat King got nervous. He called out in a low voice, “Eagle King, let it go. Don’t make this blow up—let’s get out of here!”
As Bat King spoke, the rest of the Five Elements Banner started edging back. Sure, the World Dominion Society’s influence stretches across all of China, but right now, public opinion was solidly with Kenneth Li. Plus, the troops Kenneth brought were all fresh anti-Japan heroes—if word got out, no matter how badass the Society is, they couldn’t cover this up. If the whole country rose up, even the Dragon King would be forced into a corner.
But Eagle King just gritted his teeth, clearly unwilling to give up.
“Enough! Dragon King just gave the order—fall back! Stop messing around here!” Bat King added quickly.
At that moment, Eagle King finally loosened his grip on the Extinction God Axe. Instantly, Guihai One-Blade, Harvey Jin, Jason Lin and everyone else breathed a huge sigh of relief. Seriously, if Eagle King had put in even a bit more force, they'd all be goners!
"Quick, move!" With Eagle King finally backing off, Kenneth Li and the others wasted no time rallying the soldiers to rush in for the rescue.
Eagle King whipped his head around and snarled, "Kenneth Li, just you wait—World Dominion Society will never let you off!"
As soon as Eagle King finished speaking, all the reporters’ cameras shattered in an instant—every bit of evidence they’d just filmed vanished into thin air!
---
That night, Jinling City was shrouded in a grim, murderous chill.
"How’s Senior Guihai One-Blade holding up?" Kenneth Li asked Simon Sun and the other doctors on duty, concern written all over his face.
"He’s hanging in there. Guihai One-Blade is insanely tough, so his life’s not in danger for now, but his strength has dropped like crazy. At best, he’s only at Saint Realm level now!" Simon Sun replied quickly.
"Honestly, the fact that Senior Guihai One-Blade survived this battle is already a miracle. He was badly hurt to begin with, and now he’s taken even more damage. The fact he’s still breathing is nothing short of a miracle!" Gabriel Xue chimed in from the side.
"At least he’s stable now. What I really want to know is—what’s the situation with Ryan Ling?" Jinbiao Chen steadied himself and turned to Kenneth Li.
With Jinbiao Chen’s question, everyone’s eyes turned to him. It was obvious—Ryan Ling’s life or death was the biggest deal right now.
"Sigh!" Just hearing Ryan Ling’s name made Kenneth Li’s face go pale.
"So, what’s the verdict? Just spit it out!" The others started shouting, while Ryan Qingyun and Grace Zhou, Ryan’s parents, stared wide-eyed.
"The Central Military Commission is still searching, but the scene is total chaos, and the radiation’s way too strong. No one can get into the center zone. We’ll try again tonight or tomorrow. I believe Ryan Ling is still alive—let’s have some faith!" Kenneth Li gritted his teeth, trying to sound confident.
"Oh, my son… my poor son!" Ryan Qingyun cried, and Grace Zhou straight-up fainted beside him.
"Someone take care of the elders, quick! Things are already a mess out there—we can’t let it get any worse in here!" Kenneth Li said, hurrying the group away for now. Everyone kept watch outside, eyes glued to the World Dominion Society’s movements. Sure, Eagle King and his crew had left, but with their personalities? No way they’d let it go—they’d definitely find some excuse to come back. And next time, Kenneth Li might not be able to stop them. When the World Dominion Society gets sneaky, you can’t even imagine what they’ll pull!
Plus, Kenneth already knew his biggest backer—Central Military Commission Vice-Chairman Daniel Deng—had been 'invited to a meeting' and hadn’t shown his face since. Everyone knew what that meant: house arrest, plain and simple.
This whole anti-Japan campaign looked like a massive win, and officially it was, but let’s be real—it was all Daniel Deng’s call, and Kenneth Li went full rebel mode, kicking things off on his own and disobeying top-level orders during the war. If the higher-ups dig into it, who knows if they’ll call them heroes or traitors!
Winning the anti-Japan campaign was huge!
But defying orders from above? That’s even bigger!
Right now, Kenneth Li was desperately hoping Ryan Ling would come back alive. Only if he survived—only if this godlike figure returned—could everything be turned around. Ryan Ling’s importance was off the charts; he was the undisputed war god. Forget China, every force in the world would have to respect him.
As long as Ryan was here, Jiangnan could really be at peace. Otherwise, even if Kenneth Li and the rest were hailed as anti-Japan heroes today, give it half a year—the World Dominion Society would wipe out all their achievements, no question. By then, they wouldn’t even know how they died!
---
Meanwhile, while Kenneth Li was stressing over the situation and feeling the pressure, thousands of kilometers away in the heart of Kyoto’s nuclear wasteland, a tiny sprout suddenly broke through the soil at ground zero!
A hundred meters below, a cluster of light was slowly taking human shape. On its left, the Primeval Heavenwood kept growing bigger; on its right, the Hell Furnace blazed fiercely!
"Thank goodness those Rebirth Muscle-Molding Pills arrived just in time! Zoe Zhong really came through. These top-tier holy pills are all monopolized by the Western Pacifying King, so getting them was no easy feat!"
"Do you think Zoe Zhong’s in danger? The Western Pacifying King is getting more and more out of control—what if he goes after her?"
"She should be fine for now. After all, Zoe has Marshal Zhong Kui backing her, and the Western Pacifying King will probably think twice. Besides, it’s not time for open war yet. He still has to listen to Lord Yama—at least on the surface!"
"Yeah, she should be safe for the moment. We can’t worry about everything right now. Let’s just hope Ryan Ling pulls through. We’ve done all we can—he has to survive!"
---
Ghost Elder and Granny Soul had been working nonstop, but right now, both looked super worried. The two old ghosts pressed their palms together, praying for a miracle. Even with the Rebirth Muscle-Molding Pills, that nuke was just too much—Ryan Ling still had a tough road ahead.
But then, the warm underground spring slowly flowed toward Ryan Ling. The spring started washing over his forming body, and—get this—thanks to the spring’s magic, the Primeval Heavenwood began growing even stronger. Its roots wrapped around the fiery human shape, and streams of life essence poured out, soaking the glowing figure in an instant.
"Amazing! This spring is insane—it must be why the nuke’s radiation couldn’t reach us. If I’m right, this is Kyoto’s underground spring of life. And I bet it’s the reason Japan had a Primeval Heavenwood fragment in the first place!"
"Enough talk—Ryan, you really are blessed by the heavens. You scared the crap out of me, but now, with this spring’s life essence, you’re gonna make it… you HAVE to make it!"
Watching Ryan Ling’s body slowly recover, Granny Soul was so moved that tears just started streaming down her face…