Zhao Jin's Goal

“It doesn't matter. The great Earth Mother is already preparing reinforcements, and a large number of Earth Priests will arrive soon. Once I am fully prepared, I will personally deal with him,” Zhang Yi said, staring at the crystal resting on the table.

Although he could still absorb nine more Earth Priests to gain their abilities, he had no intention of doing so recklessly. This absorption process was permanent.

Only by absorbing complementary abilities could he maximize his strength.

For instance, he had previously absorbed the ability to release energy from his left hand, along with the ability to manipulate the surrounding space.

Combining the two tripled the power of the energy from his left hand and significantly boosted his recovery speed.

While he was speaking, back inside the underground fallout shelter they had occupied earlier...

Tang Yongyun rested a single hand against the one-meter-thick circular iron door. Behind him, blood splattered everywhere.

Before the guards could even react, they had been vaporized into a bloody mist.

A black mist emerged from his hand on the iron door—it was highly purified doom.

The black mist easily seeped through the metal door to the other side.

On the other side of the door, several soldiers stared nervously at the surveillance monitor on the left wall. The once-clear feed had suddenly cut out, and they were completely unable to contact anyone outside.

“What's going on out there? Have we been compromised?” a soldier muttered, swallowing hard as cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

As Yangcheng's former central command center, they still kept somewhat abreast of the situation outside.

In just a short span of one or two days, the vehicles transporting corpses had been replaced by fleets of heavy trucks.

Yangcheng's crematoriums were already operating at over-capacity.

Beside him, the squad leader was tapping away frantically on a tactical phone.

Staring at the screen, which also showed no signal, he snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting? This is Yangcheng's top-tier fallout shelter. How could that monster possibly get—”

Before he could finish his sentence, a wisp of black mist seeped through the iron door.

The black mist clung to the wheel handle on the back of the door, spinning it rapidly.

The squad leader watched in horror. “Stop it!”

A soldier instinctively lunged forward to grab the wheel handle. The moment his hand brushed the black mist...

His eyes widened, his world spun violently, and he collapsed straight to the floor.

Upon contact with the black mist, his bad luck had been pushed to the absolute extreme, causing an instant, fatal stroke that took him out on the spot.

Not only him, but a thinner layer of the black mist also diffused into the room, infecting all the remaining soldiers.

“Ghost!!!” Terrified by the sight, one of the soldiers panicked, drawing his gun and firing wildly.

The squad leader's eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. This was a metal room—the bullets would ricochet! “Don't fire—”

At a distance of only two or three meters, the rifle fired in a frantic burst. Under the influence of doom...

Without fail, every single bullet ricocheted off the walls and tore straight into the soldiers standing in the room.

Clutching a spurting wound in his neck, the squad leader turned to run toward the infirmary.

But after only a few steps, blood sprayed uncontrollably. His legs buckled, and he collapsed to the floor.

Even in his final moments, he couldn't comprehend why his fellow soldier didn't understand that bullets would ricochet in a metal room. He had been utterly doomed by his idiot teammate.

The circular metal door swung open, and Tang Yongyun walked in with his hands behind his back, his face expressionless.

Without sparing a single glance at the corpses littering the floor, he walked straight down the corridor.

Behind him, a crow appeared and flew over his head.

He stood there quietly. A few seconds later, Tang Yongyun's expression shifted: Have they evacuated?

He turned and walked out. There was no point in staying here anymore.

By 11:00 PM, the roads leading out of Yangcheng had somehow become completely gridlocked.

Two consecutive days of high-intensity combat, coupled with the rumors spreading on Qiandu Forum, had made the situation clear.

Even the slowest of citizens realized how dangerous it was to stay in Yangcheng. People were taking leaves of absence or quitting their jobs just to flee the city.

By midnight, over five hundred thousand people had fled Yangcheng via various vehicles and routes.

Atop Yangcheng's tallest skyscraper, Zhao Jin sat cross-legged near the edge.

From a perspective only he could see, golden Destiny Force gathered toward him like flowing streams.

Beside him lay a rattle drum he had prepared beforehand.

The rattle drum carried a peculiar aura. The last of the Lord of Evil's seven items had finally appeared, sealed with the Lord of Evil's Power of Rules.

Zhao Jin looked down at the brightly lit Yangcheng. “It is time for this conflict to end.”

He casually tossed the rattle drum into the distance and checked his Destiny Force.

Destiny Force: 3.13 million wisps!

The impact of the battle for Yangcheng during this period had finally yielded its returns.

Those who died were only a minority. Most people had fled their homes, or stayed indoors instead of going to work, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.

The conflict had forcibly altered the trajectories of their lives, yielding over a hundred thousand wisps of Destiny Force for him.

Another three hundred thousand plus came from the Capital. The deaths of the five councilmen had caused a massive ripple effect.

The rest was generated by the Earth Mother. Since she was mobilizing her forces, a massive wave of reinforcements from the Church of the Earth Mother was highly likely to arrive in Yangcheng soon.

These are just the appetizers. Once the Lord of Evil appears, the real harvest will begin! At this thought, a faint smile played on Zhao Jin's lips.

Everything he did was for Destiny Force.

Back when he had only a few points of Destiny Force, he had felt death looming over him. That feeling was agonizing; he only wanted to live.

Even though he now possessed three million wisps of Destiny Force, which could sustain him for over eight thousand six hundred years, it was still far too little for Zhao Jin.

If I want to truly become the omnipotent Destiny, there should be no limit to my lifespan. Zhao Jin gazed over Yangcheng.

This city was his first step toward achieving immortality and becoming the true embodiment of Destiny.

With infinite Destiny Force, he would have infinite lifespan and infinite power.

Half an hour later, outside a small church in the suburbs of Yangcheng.

A black sedan pulled up, and Jiang Nan stepped out.

She looked at the brightly lit church and the sign hanging next to it.

The Sun Sect. Is this the church Boss mentioned? I hope this person is reasonable. Jiang Nan thought for a moment before walking in.

Near the entrance of the church, a young man dressed in fiery red robes was on night watch, sitting in a chair.

Upon seeing Jiang Nan, he stood up: “The church is closed for the night. If you're here to join or learn about the Sun Sect, I can get you some informational pamphlets.”

Jiang Nan glanced at him and said, “I am here on behalf of the Scott Syndicate to meet your leader. Our Boss is very interested in your sect. Is your leader in?”

The young man froze: “The Scott Syndicate? The foreign one?”

As a modern youth, he was somewhat familiar with major international corporations.

The Scott Syndicate's public market value exceeded two trillion Nanming dollars, and rumor had it that they were involved in numerous illicit industries. Their power was well-recognized globally.

A moment later, his expression returned to normal, replaced by a look of suspicion. Why would a representative from such a massive syndicate sneak around in the middle of the night to see their leader?

“You can look me up on our official website. My name is Jiang Nan,” she continued, noticing his skepticism.

The young man immediately took out his phone and searched for her name.

After a moment, he looked at the photo on his screen and then at the woman before him. They were identical.

“Are you satisfied? Our syndicate is offering an excellent platform for the Sun Sect's development,” Jiang Nan said calmly.

“An excellent platform? Hahaha! Has the reputation of my Sun Sect already spread abroad?” A deep, aging voice echoed from inside the church.

Jiang Nan turned around to see a pale-faced, four-armed monster dressed in white robes, his eyes covered by a white cloth.

Beside him was a chimpanzee carrying a long sword on its back.

Seeing that Jiang Nan wasn't frightened by his appearance, Lin Yuanshan chuckled: “You don't seem afraid of my appearance at all?”

“Leader Lin, my Boss is of the same kind as you. There is no reason to be afraid,” Jiang Nan replied respectfully.

This was someone her Boss wanted to win over; she couldn't afford to be careless.

“Oh? It seems there are quite a few supernatural beings in this world. Speak, what business do you have with this Leader?” Lin Yuanshan asked, his mouth splitting open to reveal rows of sharp teeth.

Although he had split personalities, he wasn't a bloodthirsty being like the members of the Church of the Earth Mother or Liu Wen.

He preferred to proselytize, study mythological texts, and contemplate how to attain godhood.

Jiang Nan composed herself, pulled out a document from her coat, and handed it over.

The young man beside them quickly took it. As he skimmed the contents, shock registered on his face.

Jiang Nan said seriously: “This is an agreement. Our Boss invites you to establish your sect on Goro Island. If you go, our official forces will fully support the Sun Sect in becoming the sole church on the island!”

Hearing this, even someone of Lin Yuanshan's temperament was surprised: “What a grand offer. The sole church? How do you plan to handle the other religions, and what do you want from me in return?”

“Once the Sun Sect is established there, we will dissolve all other churches. If anyone dares to secretly worship other gods, we will deploy inspectors to crack down on them and make arrests.”

Pointing at the long blade on the chimpanzee's back, Jiang Nan said: “As for what we want, we only require this blade and your friendship.”

Jiang Nan wore a polite smile as she awaited Lin Yuanshan's response.

After pondering for a few seconds, Lin Yuanshan reached out, took the long blade from Ah Dong's back, and tossed it to Jiang Nan.

A grin spread across his face: “Very well. I accept your friendship!”

He had originally thought they were offering such generous terms to drag him into the battle of Yangcheng. If that were the case, he would have refused, as he hadn't received any concrete benefits yet.

But looking at it now, other than giving up a supernatural weapon, the terms were basically a free handout.

He wasn't afraid of them double-crossing him either. If they dared to trick him, he would make them feel the wrath of the sun.

“Excellent. Once this crisis is over, my Boss will come to meet you in person.” Clutching the long sword, Jiang Nan turned and walked back to her car.

In the sky above, several crows circled.

As an ordinary human coming to a place like this, she naturally had Tang Yongyun watching over her.