The Transcendent Era Descends!

White Eagle Country.

Command Center.

The atmosphere was so oppressive it seemed ready to condense into water.

"Madmen!"

"Dragon Country is a pack of complete and utter madmen!"

The Commander-in-Chief smashed the coffee cup in his hand onto the floor, brown liquid splashing everywhere.

He roared furiously, spittle flying.

The senior generals and intelligence directors around him all fell silent as cicadas in winter.

"How dare they livestream it?"

"Aren't they afraid of triggering nationwide riots?!"

The Commander-in-Chief's eyes were bloodshot, like those of an enraged lion.

The intelligence director wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling.

"Mr. President."

"Dragon Country... Dragon Country didn't just livestream it."

"They also made the intelligence on the global Beast Tide public."

"We can't suppress things at home anymore."

"People in dozens of cities are storming city halls, demanding the locations of our defensive lines."

The Commander-in-Chief slammed his palm onto the oak table.

"Reveal the defense lines?"

"What do we have to reveal?!"

"Those damned mutated beasts tore several of our National Guard units to pieces!"

"..."

Inside Dragon Country's livestream.

The despair continued to ferment.

The official host ignored the barrage of comments.

He abruptly rose to his feet, a terrifying gleam bursting from his eyes.

"Compatriots!"

"Before this catastrophe, Dragon Country will never sit and wait for death!"

"Disaster has brought destruction."

"But it has also brought an opportunity for evolution!"

"In this surge of Spiritual Energy Revival, it is not only animals that are mutating."

"Humanity, too, has embarked upon the path to the Transcendent Realm!"

Netizens across the country were stunned.

The desperate curses came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone stared fixedly at the screen, forgetting even to breathe.

"After expending countless efforts, the nation has finally deduced a method of evolution belonging to humanity."

"Today, we officially announce to the entire nation."

"The Transcendent Era has descended!"

"We call those who tear apart the darkness—Martial Artists!"

As the host's impassioned voice rang out.

The image on the giant screen abruptly switched to the Changbai Mountains.

Amid the falling snow.

A defense line forged from steel stretched across the edge of the forest sea.

Behind densely packed heavy-firepower positions.

Three hundred soldiers in black combat uniforms stood in neat formation.

No one spoke.

Only their heavy breathing converged into an invisible storm.

Even through the screen.

Everyone could feel the surging vitality within them, as fierce as blazing fire.

And at the forefront of those three hundred people.

Four figures in major's uniforms stood straight as javelins.

Snow landed upon their shoulders, only to be vaporized into white mist by the heat radiating from their bodies before it could touch their combat uniforms.

"This is Dragon Country's Martial Artist force!"

"All three hundred soldiers have reached the level of First-Order Martial Artists."

"They can evade bullets with their bodies and shatter boulders weighing several tons with a single punch."

"And the four majors before them..."

The camera zoomed in on the four officers.

There was not the slightest trace of fear in their eyes, only boiling battle intent.

"They are all Early Second Tier Martial Artists!"

"With True Qi Projection, they can kill targets dozens of meters away!"

Boom!

The internet crashed for half a second.

Then.

An overwhelming flood of comments completely drowned the screen.

"Holy shit!"

"Martial Artists? Martial Artists really exist!"

"Isn't this something from novels? The country actually developed them without anyone knowing?"

"One punch can blow apart a boulder? My God, humanity can be saved too!"

"Long live Dragon Country! Long live the people's soldiers!"

Ecstasy.

Utter, boundless ecstasy.

From hell to heaven took only an instant.

The ordinary people who had just been waiting for death in despair were now trembling with excitement.

With these Transcendent Martial Artists, combined with modern heavy-firepower weapons.

The twenty thousand Ferocious Beasts on Changbai Mountain no longer seemed invincible.

The footage did not stop and continued switching.

Taihang Mountains Defense Line.

The defensive line here was even more massive.

And at the foremost position.

A formation of four hundred Martial Artists radiated murderous intent.

The most eye-catching figure was a female officer standing at the front.

Su Qingxue.

She rested both hands on a specially made alloy war blade, her cold gaze fixed on the distant primeval forest.

"Taihang Mountains Defense Line."

"Four hundred Martial Artists."

"Commander-in-chief, Colonel Su Qingxue!"

"Cultivation, Mid-Second-Tier Stage Martial Artist!"

"She possesses the terrifying combat power to kill several Second-Tier Ferocious Beasts alone!"

The host's voice brimmed with pride.

The comments, meanwhile, erupted to their peak.

"Goddess!"

"She's a true Valkyrie!"

"Mid-Second-Tier Stage! So we have experts this powerful!"

"Kill those beasts! Let them know this is humanity's territory!"

Next.

The Lingnan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, Wuyi Mountains, and Shennongjia defense lines.

One Martial Artist position after another was displayed before the people of the nation.

Ye Qingshan, Chu Tiankuo, Xiao Zhan, Song Qingyin...

These names, destined to shake the entire world in the future, entered the view of 1.4 billion people ahead of time.

Every defense line had several hundred First-Order Martial Artists and several Second-Tier Martial Artists stationed there.

Their sense of security was through the roof.

The ordinary people even began to feel that this battle was a guaranteed victory.

But foreign netizens watching were nearly driven mad with envy.

"Protest! I demand a protest!"

"Why does Dragon Country have Martial Artist forces? We haven't even been issued a single gun!"

"Dragon Country's leaders are incredible. They protected civilians in advance!"

"I want to immigrate to Dragon Country! Take me with you, please!"

Suddenly.

The livestream went black.

One second later.

The image of the final defense line slowly appeared on the screen.

Shu Capital Defense Line.

The instant they clearly saw the image.

Every excited comment vanished without a trace.

The mountains and plains were covered.

As far as the eye could see, there were only vast, black masses of beasts.

One hundred and fifty thousand First-Order Ferocious Beasts had gathered together.

That suffocating pressure made even those watching through a screen feel their legs go weak.

Even more terrifying.

At the center of that densely packed Beast Tide.

Fifteen enormous Second-Tier beasts with exaggerated physiques stood out like cranes among chickens.

And at the very center stood a black mad ape nearly ten meters tall, its body covered in dark-gold scales.

With every breath it took.

Even the surrounding trees seemed to tremble in fear.

A Peak Second-Order Stage Ferocious Beast!

The Ironclad Mad Ape!

And what about the defense line's side?

The camera panned over.

The hearts of everyone online instantly sank to the bottom.

It was far too thin.

Though heavy-firepower positions covered the mountains and plains.

There were only a little over one hundred people at the Martial Artist position!

Compared to the other defense lines, each with three or four hundred Martial Artists, Shu Capital's Transcendent force was pitifully small.

"How is this possible..."

"A Beast Tide of one hundred and fifty thousand, the most terrifying defense line, and yet it has the fewest Martial Artists?"

"Has Shu Capital been abandoned?"

"Impossible! There must be another trump card!"

Just as the doubts arose.

The camera passed through the more than one hundred First-Order Martial Artists and continued forward.

Finally.

The image froze on the only figure standing at the very front.

It was a young man, upright as a spear.

He wore a black combat uniform without rank insignia and held a dark-black long spear in his hand.

"Shu Capital Defense Line."

"One hundred and twenty Martial Artists."

"No Second-Tier Martial Artists assisting them."

"Because they are unnecessary."

The host spoke at that moment.

His voice was no longer steady, carrying instead an almost fanatical tremor.

The moment those words were spoken.

The entire nation was stunned.

What did he mean, no need?

Fifteen Second-Tier Ferocious Beasts, and one Peak Second-Order Stage berserk ape.

He didn't need Second-Tier Martial Artists to coordinate with him?

Had he gone mad?!

On the screen.

As if he had noticed the drone's camera.

The gun-wielding figure slightly turned his head, revealing a profile far too young.

"Lin Yuan, Colonel Lin!"

"Dragon Country's—and all humanity's—only Third-Tier Martial Artist!"

BOOM!

Those words were like detonating a ten-thousand-ton nuclear bomb.

The minds of 1.4 billion people went blank in an instant.

Third-Tier Stage?

Just as everyone had been cheering for Second-Tier Martial Artists.

On Shu Capital's defensive line.

There actually stood a Third-Tier Stage existence?