Qian Yuhan's Desperate Analysis: "After the World-Destroying Dragon Repels the Creator God, Does Humanity Still Have a Way to Survive?"

Above the nine heavens, nothing remained but empty darkness.

The sun shone once more.

Golden light pierced through the lingering clouds and fell upon the earth.

The radiance spread across the temple dome and over Qian Yuhan's pale face.

Warmth had returned.

Yet no one cheered.

"Has this era... passed the trial?"

Someone asked in a trembling voice.

Qian Yuhan stood blankly at the highest point of the temple.

Her six wings hung limply at her sides.

Her lips moved a few times, but no words came out.

This battle had begun and ended without warning.

The Creator God had descended, the World-Destroying Dragon had acted, and then everything was over.

There had been no earth-shattering collision, no tolling bell to mark the end of an era, not even a clear conclusion.

They had simply come, and then left.

But there was one thing everyone had seen clearly.

The Creator God had been driven back by that World-Destroying Dragon.

"No—or rather, this is only the beginning."

In the square, an elderly believer slowly raised his head.

There was no ecstatic joy at surviving the disaster in his eyes, only a deeper, more bone-chilling despair.

"That dragon... belongs to the Soul Beast faction."

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against stone.

"She was the chief culprit behind the destruction of human civilization in the Ninth Era. Now that she can even drive back the Creator God, does humanity... still have any way to survive?"

Those words were like a basin of icy water, poured over the hearts of everyone who had just begun to feel a flicker of hope.

No one spoke.

But every face bore the same expression—despair.

Qian Yuhan stood at the temple's highest point, her entire body stiff.

From beginning to end, she had not even been qualified to join the battle.

From beginning to end, she could only stand here like the most powerless spectator.

Humanity's fate, the fate of the entire world, had been entrusted to an evil dragon that had once destroyed humanity.

She hated that dragon.

Yet just moments ago, she had regarded that dragon as their final hope.

She had prayed that it would win humanity a sliver of survival before the Creator God.

And it had done so—through a method she could not comprehend, forcing back that indescribable figure.

And then what?

Would that dragon spare humanity?

After driving back the Creator God, would she continue the unfinished extermination of the Ninth Era?

"She is stronger than she was in the previous era."

A deep voice sounded behind her.

Qian Yuhan did not turn around.

She knew who it was.

The First-generation Sea God Poseidon emerged from the void and stood beside her.

"In the previous era, I could at least sense her strength. This time... I cannot sense anything at all."

Poseidon's voice was low and hoarse.

"Either she has grown weaker, or she has become so strong that she has surpassed the dimension I can perceive."

"Which do you think it is?"

"..."

Qian Yuhan fell silent.

That silence itself was the answer.

Then he spoke again.

"In the previous era, it was this World-Destroying Dragon who led the Soul Beasts in their attempt to destroy humanity."

"She slaughtered countless cities and crushed humanity's final allied army. If the Creator God had not acted personally in the end, humanity would have long since been extinct."

"She has never abandoned that goal. And this time, she can even force back the Creator God."

"Qian Yuhan, tell me—what do we have to stop her?"

Qian Yuhan swayed slightly.

She understood.

The Creator God was terrifying, but indifferent.

It destroyed eras not out of hatred, nor because of any allegiance, but simply because that was its will.

It did not care about humanity, but it did not care about Soul Beasts either.

It gave all life the same destruction, the same disregard.

When an era ended, Soul Beasts died, and humans died.

Before a god, all living beings became dust equally.

But that World-Destroying Dragon was different.

She had a stance, a goal, and hatred.

She stood with the Soul Beasts.

She wanted to destroy humanity.

Not through indifferent annihilation, but through a targeted, bone-deep genocide.

The Creator God had been driven back.

It sounded like a victory for humanity.

But without the Creator God's suppression over the world, no one would be able to keep the World-Destroying Dragon in check.

Humanity's apocalypse had only just begun.

"The World-Destroying Dragon must have suffered severe damage when she attacked the Creator God."

Qian Yuhan suddenly spoke.

Her voice was hoarse, yet it carried a cold, resolute edge.

"She exhausted the power of the entire world to attack the Creator God. No matter how strong she is, she cannot have emerged completely unscathed. Now is the best time to strike."

She glanced at the land, stripped of its spiritual energy.

The whole world seemed as though it had been hollowed out.

The ground was cracked, the seas had dried up, and the lingering elemental fluctuations in the air were so faint they were almost imperceptible.

Fortunately, most of her divine power came from humanity's faith.

As long as faith remained, the world's decline would not affect her greatly.

But humans were different.

With the spiritual energy of heaven and earth dissipating, the awakening of human Martial Souls would become even more difficult.

"Before that happens, we must quell every disaster threatening humanity."

Qian Yuhan gritted her teeth.

"In this era, we must carve out a place for humanity to live."

On the surface, humanity had developed civilization.

There were cities, temples, writing, and laws.

But in truth, most fertile habitats belonged to the Soul Beasts.

Humans could only huddle within barren borderlands.

Every day, they lived in fear of being hunted by Soul Beasts.

And because she feared the existence of the World-Destroying Dragon, she had never dared let humanity expand outward.

But now, there was no longer any way to retreat.

The World-Destroying Dragon could return at any moment.

If humanity continued to huddle in a corner and wait for death, then it truly would be waiting to die.

Obtaining the Divine-bestowed Soul Ring had gone unexpectedly smoothly.

Although there had been a slight miscalculation—

Lin Yan had not expected his Twin Divine-Rank Martial Souls to require far more energy than ordinary Martial Souls.

Fortunately, Gu Yue had accumulated a sufficiently solid reserve over the past few days, preventing all their efforts from going to waste.

In high spirits, he stretched his body.

The feeling of power filling every part of him made him take a deep breath.

Then he lowered his head to look at Gu Yue.

That silly dragon was sprawled flat on the ground, belly up, tongue hanging out as she panted heavily.

Her chubby belly rose and fell with every breath.

Her tail lay limply on the floor like a salted fish that had lost all dreams, without even the strength to curl up.

But Lin Yan knew that while the silly dragon appeared completely spent, the power within her that was connected to the World Core was operating frantically.

At every moment, it converted the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the outside world and fed it back into the small world.

From the moment she opened her eyes until she closed them, it had barely stopped.

He stood there, watching Gu Yue sprawled out on the floor, and fell silent for a moment.

Then he reached into his pocket.

A few crumpled banknotes and scattered coins, adding up to just over ten yuan.

He clenched that handful of loose change and stood at the kitchen door for a while before turning and heading out.

More than ten minutes later, he returned.

In his hands were a large chicken drumstick wrapped in oiled paper and a box of noodles.

The money in his pocket had been completely wiped out.