Previously on The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?...
Gambling Snake and the masked woman discuss the First Group's likely involvement in a recent incident. Meanwhile, Liu Zheng meets the French Plane Tree and a drunken Ginseng Sprite. Shi Yidao arrives, returns a Qiankun Ring, and confirms the identity of the Legendary Deliveryman's remains. Shi Yidao then gives Liu Zheng the "Legendary Deliveryman's Bloody Underpants" as a relic, and offers to teach Liu Zheng a dangerous sword-fighting method.
"I might just die."
Shi Yidao responded.
"I thought it was something serious. Go ahead and do it then."
Liu Zheng let out a breath of relief. After all, he possessed two lives. If one life could be sacrificed to gain the essence of Shi Yidao's sword technique, it would be a worthwhile exchange.
"Alright. Look into my eyes."
Shi Yidao instructed. Liu Zheng lowered his head, gazing into Shi Yidao's eyes, only to find himself staring into an ocean.
"Ever since I was young, I've held a fascination for the sea. Once I had mastered my sword technique, I ventured alone to the coast. Yet, confronted by the vast expanse of the ocean, I felt not longing, but sheer terror. I pondered, what fate would befall all creatures if the sea were to suddenly surge and overturn?"
"Consequently, I trained amidst the seawater, practicing my slashes against the ocean hundreds of thousands of times each day until I achieved a profound mastery."
"However, seawater is inherently lifeless. While I could cleave through the water, I found myself unable to overcome the countless terrifying beings lurking within its depths."
"Fortuitously, I encountered the Legendary delivery man, Li Sang. His disposition was as unpredictable as the ocean's tides, and his strength deep as the sea itself. I envisioned him as my sparring partner, and through this, I finally comprehended the ultimate move, which is..."
At this juncture, a small boat emerged from the distant haze. Shi Yidao stood upon it, his sword held aloft.
"Renxia One-Slash Style: Sea Overturning Heaven Slash."
With a single, decisive stroke, the ocean itself seemed to invert.
The immeasurable seawater transformed into boundless sword energy, hurtling towards the infinite heavens.
The sea is without limit, the sky infinite, yet sentient beings are rootless, their lives and deaths as fleeting as ephemeral dust.
In light of this, sever the finite with the infinite, overturning the sea and cleaving the sky!
"This is my sword. What about yours?" Shi Yidao's voice resonated within Liu Zheng's mind.
"My sword?" Liu Zheng felt a sense of bewilderment. His sword was merely a sword; its form was inconsequential. A sword, in his perception, was simply a tool for dispatching foes.
Thus, 'Anger' often morphed in his grasp, sometimes not even resembling a sword.
"Contemplate it, but do not tarry unduly," Shi Yidao cautioned. He had already infused his spirit and intent into this ultimate slash. Only if Liu Zheng could unleash the paramount spirit and intent of a slash could he endure; otherwise, even if he survived, he would gain nothing.
"Contemplate it?" Images of past events flashed before his eyes. Liu Zheng realized that he hadn't truly changed.
As a child, he threw punches to secure his meager living expenses, to make those who mocked his orphaned status cry out for their parents. As he matured, he learned boxing to reclaim his hard-earned wages, to force those who derided him as a country bumpkin to grovel in the dirt.
Upon arriving in the Metropolis, he adopted a sword, yet the core essence remained. It was for survival and dignity.
If anyone dared to infringe upon these two fundamental aspects, he would enter a state of profound anger.
And so, Liu Zheng found his answer.
Having found it, he then raised his sword.
The parched seabed fractured, revealing gaping wounds, and dormant, ancient volcanoes erupted, spewing torrents of lava skyward, resembling inverted waterfalls cascading into the limitless sword energy.
Falling three thousand feet, it appeared as if the very Milky Way had descended from the heavens. This spectacle of the world being turned upside down, of water and fire in conflict, was far grander than any waterfall hanging across a canyon.
However, this magnificent display was short-lived. Although Liu Zheng borrowed some of Extreme Fury Asura's divine intent through their shared consciousness, it fell significantly short of Shi Yidao's meticulously refined sword intent. Within a mere ten breaths, the lava that filled the sky was cooled into stone by the encroaching seawater, then pulverized into fragments by the relentless sword energy.
And Liu Zheng himself was disintegrated into particles too fine for the naked eye amidst the cataclysmic onslaught.
"Hold on, do not succumb to unconsciousness. The longer you endure, the greater your gains will be," Shi Yidao's voice echoed once more.
Upon hearing this, Liu Zheng rallied his spirit, employing sheer willpower to preserve the integrity of his consciousness. After an indeterminate period, he could no longer resist, and his consciousness plunged into an abyss.
When awareness returned, what greeted his eyes was not Shi Yidao, nor the French Plane Tree, but the familiar ceiling of the rest room.
"Huh?" Liu Zheng exclaimed in surprise.
"'Huh, my foot.' You went off to deliver food and ended up knocking yourself out. I've brought in so many newcomers, and I've never encountered anyone as amusing as you," Niu Ma's voice emanated from a corner.
"Big boss, you carried me back?" he inquired.
"Otherwise, did you sprout legs and walk yourself back while you were asleep?" Niu Ma retorted with irritation.
"Haha, how did you even know where I was?" Liu Zheng pressed further.
"I didn't know," Niu Ma replied.
"What?" Liu Zheng questioned.
"I never said I didn't know," Niu Ma clarified, lifting his eyelids slightly.
"So, I really walked back on my own grown legs while asleep?"
"How would I know? I found you in the delivery passage anyway," Liu Zheng exclaimed in shock.
Niu Ma responded.
"Hmm?"
This statement only deepened his confusion.
Was it possible that all the recent events were merely a dream? Could he have never actually delivered the food, but instead, fainted from the very beginning in the delivery passage?
Lost in his bewilderment, Liu Zheng retrieved his phone, discovering numerous missed calls, most of them from Niu Daji.
Consequently, he dialed Niu Daji.
"Boss, you're finally awake?" Niu Daji inquired with palpable excitement.
"Yes, what exactly happened?" Liu Zheng asked.
"A fellow named Shi Yidao arrived at the clinic, informing the doctor that you had fainted at Mr. Tree's residence. He suggested it would be best to find a way to return you to the restaurant. Following that, the doctor contacted us, and we located you on Rose Street, bringing you back near the establishment. Meanwhile, the bear affixed a talisman paper to you, controlling your body to walk into the delivery passage," Niu Daji recounted the sequence of events.
Liu Zheng reached behind his back to feel and indeed discovered a largely incinerated talisman paper.
