Half a year flashed by in the blink of an eye.
Inside Villa No. 1 at the Yanhuang Survivor Base, two figures—one big, one small—were fiercely sparring on the lawn.
The smaller figure was Jewel; in half a year, she had already broken through to the Innate realm, reaching Innate Second Layer. The taller figure was Helen Guo, who had also recently advanced to Innate Second Layer.
When it came to Jewel, Ian Song hadn’t held anything back. Aside from the Azure Lotus Sword Codex—which wasn’t suitable for her yet—even the powerful Raging Tidal Surge palm art, he’d taught her everything.
"Enough! I give up!"
Suddenly, Helen Guo retreated, looking frustrated—she’d been completely overwhelmed by Jewel during their bout.
"Master, how did I do?"
Jewel bounced over to Ian Song, gazing up at him expectantly, her face full of a cute 'praise me, praise me!' look.
Ian Song smiled and ruffled Jewel’s hair. "Overall, you did pretty well. But your technique is still a bit raw—you rely too much on brute force. Against average opponents, that’s fine, but if you run into someone experienced who can spot weaknesses, your flaws will get magnified and you’ll be defeated in one move."
Jewel was happy at first, but when she heard Ian Song’s analysis, she pouted, a little disappointed. "Okay, I’ll practice my martial arts more diligently from now on."
Off to the side, Helen Guo rolled her eyes hard. Jewel’s technique really wasn’t polished, but her raw power was immense. After consuming a huge number of Evolution Crystals, Jewel might only be at Innate Second Layer, but even most Fourth‑Stage Transforming‑Gang fighters couldn’t match her. Yet Helen was still crushed by Jewel—proof of just how monstrous Jewel’s strength had become.
Thinking this, Helen couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: “Hmph, my master’s already a monster, and now his disciple’s just as freakish!”
Just then, Kevin Zhou hurried over.
President, people from the Myriad Beasts Order are here.
"Okay, got it." Ian Song nodded, gave Jewel a few quick instructions, then followed Kevin Zhou out.
Greetings, Master.
As soon as Ian Song entered the reception room, Thomas Feng bowed deeply, showing utmost respect.
Mm.
Ian Song nodded and sat down at the head seat.
Half an hour later, after hearing Thomas Feng’s report, Ian Song’s face showed hesitation.
During the past six months, all the Orders had ramped up efforts. Ninety percent of the zombies across Huaxia had been wiped out, and the Myriad Beasts Order had completely cleared Huaxin and Qingyang of undead. They’d also used secret arts to control tens of thousands of mutant beasts.
Currently, the survivor population in Huaxin and Qingyang is close to 600,000. Over at Yanhuang Survivor Base, many survivors have joined in the past six months, bringing the total population to 84,000. With the other two cities added, the combined number is nearly 700,000—just one more Order to conquer, and the system’s third mission will be complete.
The closest territory to the Myriad Beasts Order is the Dualis Order.
Before the apocalypse, the Dualis Order was as strong as the Myriad Beasts Order, but after the apocalypse, the Myriad Beasts Order gained control of many mutant beasts and now far surpasses the Dualis Order.
The Dualis Order controls three cities, with about 500,000 survivors and a reorganized army of 100,000.
The role of Evolution Crystals had been discovered by all the Orders, so every Order’s warrior corps was now made up of new‑style fighters who’d consumed Evolution Crystals.
But Yanhuang Survivor Base and the Myriad Beasts Order were ahead of the curve, so Yanhuang’s 30,000 fighters and the Myriad Beasts Order’s 200,000 were much stronger than those of any other Order.
Especially Yanhuang’s 30,000 fighters—all of them had reached postnatal great perfection in the past half year, and there were now hundreds of Innate experts. As for Mutant Human Lillian Liu, her strength was already comparable to Innate Eighth‑Layer peak.
There were two ways to deal with the Dualis Order: either defeat them openly or secretly use Puppet Mastery Divine Art to enslave their leaders. Neither was difficult, so Ian Song wasn’t hesitating over how to win.
What worried him was that, once he completed the “one million survivors” mission, he might be pulled straight back to the real world.
If he left, even a united Yanhuang–Myriad Beasts alliance wouldn’t be a match for the Heavensnare Order—their foundation was just too deep.
Thinking this, a sharp light flashed in his eyes. It seemed he’d have to visit the Heavensnare Order before completing the mission.
He hadn’t been idle this past half year either—he’d been grinding away at the first two moves of the Azure Lotus Sword Codex, and his understanding and control were now several times greater than half a year ago.
With this decision made, Ian Song gave the Myriad Beasts Order a direct command: relocate all 600,000 people to Huahai City.
The entire Myriad Beasts leadership—even the Order Master—were his puppets, so they didn’t dare defy his orders. As soon as they received his command, they mobilized disciples to escort the survivors from both city‑bases to Huahai.
Yanhuang Survivor Base had also undergone a major expansion in the past half year. Accommodating tens of thousands—or even a million—wouldn’t be a problem.
Ten days later, all 600,000 evacuees from the Myriad Beasts Order had arrived at Yanhuang Survivor Base.
With the population suddenly increased by 600,000, the base’s leadership became extremely busy.
Meanwhile, news of the Yanhuang–Myriad Beasts merger spread like wildfire among surrounding Orders.
But was it Yanhuang swallowing the Myriad Beasts Order, or vice versa? All the other Orders were still investigating—they hadn’t figured it out yet.
After another half month of adjustment, both the survivors and the army had been fully integrated. They could be deployed to attack the Dualis Order at any time.
After issuing the war-readiness order, Ian Song mounted his flying sword and headed straight for the Heavensnare Order.
The Heavensnare Order occupied three provinces. Although they hadn’t completely wiped out all zombies in their territory over the past half year, ninety-nine percent had been eliminated, with only some remaining in remote cities.
With three provinces under its control, the Heavensnare Order had a huge survivor population—seventy or eighty enclaves in total, with more than six million people, and its army numbered over a million.
It’s the single most powerful force on the Centralia Republic’s soil.
Thanks to the four Snare Guards, Ian Song was now familiar with the Heavensnare Order’s structure. The Order had a strict hierarchy: disciples were divided into Outer-Sect, Inner-Sect, Elite, and Core levels.
Above those four grades were the Divine Sons and Saintess.
Both Divine Sons and the Saintess were formally qualified to inherit the Order Master position. The Heavensnare Order currently had two Divine Sons and one Saintess.
In addition, the Heavensnare Order had a powerful Elders’ Council, though its exact size was unknown.
The Order Master of the Heavensnare Order was Wan Tianchou, who had inherited the position twenty years ago. His cultivation was said to be unfathomable.
Before the apocalypse, the Order’s headquarters was hidden deep in the mountains.
Now, however, the headquarters had moved to Rong City, the former provincial capital of Westchuan.
Flying on his sword at full speed, Ian Song landed in a corner of Rong City in less than half an hour. Before the apocalypse, Rong City had a population of over 16 million; now, only a little over a million remained, all concentrated in one enclave, leaving the rest of the city desolate.