Successfully Advanced to Fifth Order!

Watching that area fly toward him, Qiu Tu spread his arms and waited to merge with it, to form a resonance!

The area flew quickly and arrived just as quickly. In an instant, it was directly before Qiu Tu.

What had looked like nothing more than a biscuit-sized piece of land became, before Qiu Tu, a massive glowing wall.

Qiu Tu placed his hand against it.

The moment his hand touched the "wall"—

"Thump." "Thump." "Thump."

Qiu Tu felt as if everything around him had been stripped away. The only thing he could hear was the "thump, thump" of his own heartbeat.

In a daze, he felt as though he had become the New World Area, and the New World Area had become him.

He seemed to fly over the Underground Base, sweep past the river where La Riluo bathed, and pass through the ancient tree Yi Yi had transformed into.

He was the wind, the rain, the clouds, the sun.

He was... the New World Area!

During this process, the Area Center slowly melted and was directly absorbed by him, completely merging with him. In the unseen depths, he seemed able to sense the New World Area and its Earth Vein Nodes through his own power alone.

The New World Area's strength also seemed to be layering itself onto him.

Gradually, he sank into the sensation.

Meanwhile.

As Qiu Tu advanced to become a Fifth Order Calamity Descendant, every city in East Industry State was watching him as well.

East City, Council Building, Deputy Speaker's Office.

Unlike the other brightly lit Deputy Speaker offices, the broad windows of this office were covered by two thick layers of curtains, blocking out every trace of outside light.

Though it was noon and the sun shone brightly outside, the office remained steeped in darkness.

There were no other sources of light in the entire office. Only the desk lamp atop the broad desk emitted a faint glow.

Even that light had been turned down so low that it illuminated only a palm-sized patch of the desk.

Yan Chen sat in the shadows behind that desk, with only the faint outline of his figure visible.

The entire office was so quiet that one could have heard a needle drop.

He sat there silently for an unknown amount of time. Then, suddenly, someone knocked on Yan Chen's office door. "Knock, knock, knock."

Yan Chen said in a hoarse voice, "Come in."

The next moment, the door was pushed open from outside. An angelically pure face appeared in the doorway.

It was Yan Chen's daughter, Yan Yan.

After entering and closing the door behind her, Yan Yan softly called out toward Yan Chen in the shadows, "Dad."

Yan Chen said flatly, "Address me by my title during work."

A trace of sadness appeared on Yan Yan's face, but she still said, "Yes, Speaker Yan."

Yan Chen grunted, then asked, "How is the situation?"

Yan Yan replied, "Qiu Tu... Speaker Qiu went to Lang Yue City and then entered the Lang Yue Area."

"Without his approval, our people did not dare enter the Lang Yue Area to investigate."

"But he should have already begun advancing."

At that, Yan Yan asked, "Speaker Yan, do you intend to deal with him the way Qiu Tu dealt with you?"

What Yan Yan meant by "that way" was clearly how Qiu Tu had interrupted Yan Chen's advancement to Fourth Order and severed his fortune.

Yet Yan Chen, hidden in the shadows, fell silent for a moment after hearing his daughter's words.

Then, he extended his wrinkled hand from the darkness and picked up a cigarette case from the Rosewood Desk within the circle of lamplight.

He slowly pulled out a cigarette and placed it between his lips.

"Scratch! Scratch!" Matches struck.

The next moment, a ball of fire bloomed in the dark office.

Yan Chen lit his cigarette, gently shook the match to extinguish it, then slowly said, "Interrupt him? Why would I interrupt him?"

He seemed to be questioning her, but also himself. "Yan Yan, when an enemy cannot be defeated..."

"There is no need for us to insist on being his enemy, right?"

Yan Yan was slightly stunned, then asked, "Dad, you do not intend to oppose Qiu Tu?"

Yan Chen took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled two streams of smoke through his nostrils, and said with a distant gaze, "When he was a deputy minister and I was a department head, I could not defeat him."

"Now he is the Speaker and I am the Deputy Speaker. Do you think I can defeat him now?"

"Besides, if I put myself in his shoes, had our positions been reversed back then, I might have done the same as him and tried every possible way to bring myself down."

"After all, we had truly reached the point where only one of us could survive."

"And now..."

At that, Yan Chen gave a quiet laugh and shook the matchbox in his hand with a rustling sound.

"I spent months keeping a low profile, noticed that Qiu Tu was about to soar, and saw that the Shelter needed someone to keep him in check. I expended effort and resources to volunteer myself."

"It was not because I truly wanted to keep fighting him."

"At most, I will oppose him on the surface and put on a show for those above."

"In private, he is my superior. Whatever he says, I will do."

Hearing Yan Chen's words, a clear trace of disappointment appeared in Yan Yan's eyes, though she concealed it well.

She said, "Speaker, you are right. I did not think it through just now."

Yan Chen extended a hand from the shadows and waved it dismissively. "It is fine. Go out and keep watching."

After saying that, Yan Chen added in a hoarse voice, "I made you my secretary this time to give you a transition period and polish your credentials."

"Be prepared. I may arrange a new position for you at any time."

"Yes, Speaker." Yan Yan responded, her angelic face filled with a "sincere" smile.

As the office door closed, Yan Chen was once again left alone in the room.

Half his face was hidden in darkness, while the other half showed no expression at all.

"Qiu Tu... you deserve to die. You truly deserve to die."

"You even dared touch my daughter."

"Do you really think I am some sickly housecat?!"

And when he thought of the clone of his wife that he had accidentally seen leaving Qiu Tu's office today, Yan Chen's eyes even turned bloodshot.

Meanwhile.

Enlightenment City, Military Department.

A thin man with a bamboo-pole build, wearing a military-green uniform with a single golden star on his shoulder, stared at the intelligence report in his hand with a livid expression.

The more he read, the angrier he became!

In the end, he viciously slammed the report onto the table. "A Fifth Order Calamity Descendant?!"

"Why does he get to advance to Fifth Order?!"

"My brother does not even have the resources to advance to Fifth Order. Why does he get them?!"

The man's expression was sinister and vicious. "First he stole my brother's position as Speaker, then he stole the resources for my brother's advancement to Fifth Order. Does he really think the Shao Family is useless?!"

Meanwhile.

Cataclysm Zone, Trade Market. Snow drifted through the air.

On the ruined streets of Trade Market, a gaunt, malnourished-looking man with needle marks on his arms dragged a flatbed cart step by step through the filthy streets.

His disheveled wife, who had just sold her body, sat on the cart. In her arms was a child wrapped in a blanket.

It was their child, who had just frozen to death.

Both their eyes were red-rimmed. Their expressions were numb, their faces streaked with tears.

A figure hurried past them without even sparing them a glance. Such scenes were far too common in the Cataclysm Zone to be remarkable.

Arriving at a ruined courtyard, the figure gently knocked on the door in a pattern of three long knocks and two short ones.

The next moment, the door creaked open.

The figure looked around, made sure no one was watching, then lowered his head and said quietly,

"Your Highness Dusk Night has been confirmed missing, but he likely has not fallen yet. Several areas remain in an owner-bound state."

"The bishop suspects Zhao Ji is responsible. Your Highness Dusk Night is now either in Zhao Ji's hands or in Qiu Tu's."

"Therefore, the bishop wants that person to test Qiu Tu during this visit and determine Your Highness Dusk Night's condition and location."

"If necessary, report this to Your Highness Yasha, who guards the Sixth Shelter Area."

"Let him recruit or kill Zhao Ji."

"Without reaching Sixth Order, one remains an ant. No matter how powerful Zhao Ji is, she cannot possibly be Your Highness Yasha's opponent."

Upon hearing the message, a shrill voice from inside the door replied, "Understood."

"I will deliver the message to that person immediately."

"You should watch your own safety."

"Huang Shangzong has gone mad. He might attack tomorrow."

"Understood." The figure replied, looked around once more, and then hurried away.

The bleak, frigid wind swept through Trade Market, carrying faint traces of blood.

Thus, while Qiu Tu advanced to become a Fifth Order Calamity Descendant—

Under the surface, East Industry State and New State were already churning with hidden currents.

Fifth Order was powerful. But the Real World was not a game. It was not guaranteed that whoever was stronger would win.

Most of the time, unless one's strength reached an utterly crushing level, one still had to rely on one's brain.

Therefore, although Qiu Tu's decision to advance to Fifth Order surprised many people, it did not Scare Away those potential enemies.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

On the sixth day, Boundless Mind Sea—New World Area.

A beam of Golden Light suddenly exploded above the New World Area.

Fortunately, it was currently daytime in the Boundless Mind Sea, so it was not especially conspicuous.

Otherwise, the teams exploring the New World Area and collecting supplies would likely all have noticed the phenomenon.

Even so, several people still detected it and raised their heads to look.

But the phenomenon came quickly and vanished just as quickly.

By the time they looked up, it had already disappeared.

Thus, they merely blinked in confusion and did not pay it much attention.

Meanwhile, deep within the forests of the New World Area.

Qiu Tu slowly opened his eyes.

At that instant, his eyes turned golden, making him look like a deity.

As he slowly withdrew the aura of a Fifth Order Calamity Descendant, Qiu Tu's expression became somewhat complicated.

Although his advancement had gone relatively smoothly, he seemed to have discovered even more problems.

He... had been locked in place!

Thinking this, Qiu Tu could not help recalling the gains and problems from this advancement.

After becoming a Fifth Order Calamity Descendant, the greatest change was that Qiu Tu's rank and strength had taken a tremendous step forward.

Especially his rank.

After reaching Fifth Order, Qiu Tu's Calamity Ability would affect all Cataclysm Creatures below Sixth Order.

Against Zhao Ji, a Fifth Order Peak, and Dusk Night, Qiu Tu's Order Space could now take effect. It would no longer be completely useless as it had been at Fourth Order.

However, taking effect did not mean Qiu Tu could act recklessly.

The cost of Order Space depended on the gap between the two sides and the rules Qiu Tu established.

If the gap was too large or the rules were too powerful, Qiu Tu might be drained to death because he could not afford the price.

Therefore, when facing a Fifth Order Peak Great Evil God, Qiu Tu needed to be exceptionally cautious.

Besides the improvement in rank and strength, Qiu Tu felt that the greatest change was the boost granted by the New World Area.

After fully mastering the New World Area, Qiu Tu had successfully refined it into his own territory.

With an entire area supporting him, Qiu Tu's Mental Power, vitality, and lifespan had all been greatly enhanced.

More importantly, within his own area, he would receive unprecedented bonuses.

By his estimate, within the area, his strength could likely reach the Quasi-Fifth Order Peak.

Furthermore, his control over the entire New World Area had reached its limit.

Therefore, unless he encountered a Sixth Order Great Evil God or a freakishly powerful Fifth Order Peak Great Evil God like Zhao Ji, Qiu Tu feared almost nothing.

With the bonuses from Order Space and his area, Qiu Tu even dared to test himself against Dusk Night at his peak.

Naturally, it was precisely because of this that Qiu Tu had gained an even higher estimate of Zhao Ji's strength.

After all, Zhao Ji had defeated Dusk Night in a single move within Dusk Night's own area, while Dusk Night had the area's bonuses!

The truth left Qiu Tu feeling despair.

Just how strong was that woman?

Why did her strength become harder to fathom the stronger he became?

Could she possibly withstand Sixth Order while only at Fifth Order Peak?

Though uncertain, Qiu Tu did not voice it.

Because beyond worrying about Zhao Ji's strength, he was even more worried about his own future path.

Only after advancing to Fifth Order and obtaining the relevant information from the World Origin—

Did Qiu Tu learn that for a Fifth Order Peak to advance to Sixth Order, they not only needed nine areas arranged as Nine Stars Linked Pearls, but also required those nine areas to be connected!

Only when those nine areas were linked together could their power be integrated and help a Cataclysm Creature advance to Sixth Order.

But the problem was that Qiu Tu had previously focused solely on obtaining the Boundless Mind Sea Area and had never paid attention to whether the areas could connect.

Thus, after his advancement was complete, he recalled the maps of East Industry State and New State and abruptly realized that New Realm City bordered Wu Hai City.

Yet neither New Realm City nor Wu Hai City bordered Eternal Night City. And Eternal Night City did not border Great Desert City either.

This meant that although Qiu Tu possessed four areas, they could not produce any effect.

More importantly, among East Industry State's 16 Cities, eight belonged to Zhao Ji, and one belonged to La Riluo.

These nine cities happened to cut off the cities Qiu Tu owned from all the others.

So there was simply no region around him left to develop!

He was completely boxed in!

This is fucking ridiculous!

As he thought about it, Qiu Tu felt like he was going bald. He did want to screw Zhao Ji and La Riluo, but he didn't want to screw them over.

What's more, he wasn't even Zhao Ji's match.

As for fooling Zhao Ji...

After several encounters with Zhao Ji, Qiu Tu had already formed a clear picture of her personality.

Zhao Ji was obviously the kind of incredibly intelligent, powerful career woman.

Even if she didn't say something, or couldn't be bothered to argue over it, that didn't mean she was unaware of it.

More importantly, she really wasn't easy to fool.

Other than the last time Qiu Tu had shamelessly made Zhao Ji wait a few extra days, none of Qiu Tu's lies had ever fooled her.

So, opening a breach through her and driving straight into New State would be far too difficult!

I have to think of something. Otherwise, the Fifth Order will be my limit.

After quietly thinking for a while, Qiu Tu slapped his face.

Although the future was still completely uncertain, the things that needed to be done still had to be done.

For example, questioning Dusk Night. He had plenty of questions and secrets he wanted to ask Dusk Night about.

With that in mind, Qiu Tu opened the Gold-Loving Wallet and took out the twenty-faced crystal sealing Dusk Night inside.

Without wasting any time, Qiu Tu directly unfolded his Order Space and set his usual rule: "You must answer my questions truthfully. You may not refuse to answer, nor may you harm yourself or commit suicide."

The next second, Dusk Night, who had been planning to keep fooling Qiu Tu upon seeing him, clearly seemed to sense something. A terrified expression appeared on that lump of flesh—

Two chapters, Ten Thousand Characters. Please vote with your monthly tickets.