The ten strongest people in the world were all B-rank because of the Main God's restrictions.
These experts had passed their trials in C-rank mission worlds, advancing to B-rank.
But once they reached that point, it became impossible to advance any further.
B-rank reincarnators could only enter B-rank worlds, but there were none at present.
The Chinese who cultivated internal energy had it a little better. Although it was slow, they could still improve through the patient work of grinding away, accumulating strength bit by bit.
But for everyone else, it was an ordeal.
That was especially true for experts who followed the bloodline path. Even cultivating for hundreds of years wouldn't do them a damn bit of good.
The opening of six mission worlds in succession had given the Divine Heavenly Emperor hope.
As long as one B-rank mission world appeared, the vast majority of B-rank reincarnators would enter it.
Although they all had a wealth of combat experience, mission worlds were extremely dangerous, and death was an everyday occurrence.
Even a few casualties could change the balance of power in the current world.
As the Divine Heavenly Emperor saw it, either these B-rank reincarnators would reach A-rank and use their overwhelming advantage to drive the Flame Hell Beasts swarming onto the surface back underground,
or so many would be killed or injured that the Flame Hell Beasts would break through the settlement's defenses.
But in any case, none of the reincarnators who had reached B-rank were willing to remain stuck there forever.
They all wanted to grow stronger, even if they died on the path to greater strength.
"Eight years. I can't wait any longer!"
"Pass on my orders. Designate Long Aotian as an S-rank reserve talent. Anyone investigating him is to be closely monitored, anyone harboring malicious intent toward him is to be stopped immediately, and anyone who attacks him is to be eliminated."
"Boss, is that really necessary? The reincarnators who entered the Wolf Warrior world with Long Aotian this time suffered heavy casualties, and many were even relatives of C-rank reincarnators. Once this order is issued, it's bound to cause unrest. When that happens..."
The Fire Demon King, ranked ninth among the world's ten greatest experts, disagreed with the Divine Heavenly Emperor's order. So many people had died at once that at least twenty C-rank reincarnators had developed murderous intent toward Xu Long.
If the Divine Heavenly Emperor's order were issued, there would surely be chaos within the First District.
"Kill anyone who dares make trouble. If one person makes trouble, kill one. If ten thousand make trouble, kill ten thousand. Whoever dares lead them, wipe them all out."
The Xuanming Emperor snorted, then turned to the Fire Demon King and continued, "The old world has already been destroyed. Everything has started over. I advise you to stay away from those remnants of the old regime. Great clans and political power will only drag you down, preventing you from taking another step on the path to greater strength. If you remain stubbornly blind, you'll be left behind forever when a B-rank mission world opens."
"Number two is right! Remember, this is an order, not a request for your opinion. If you dare set your sights on Long Aotian, everyone connected to you will die."
The Divine Heavenly Emperor snorted and cut off the call.
"Conduct yourself accordingly, and don't bring ruin upon yourself!"
The Xuanming Emperor's words carried a deeper meaning. He, too, disconnected his video call.
The Fire Demon King was left alone in the vast conference room.
Silence, oppression, and anger buried deep within.
Word of Long Aotian's frenzied slaughter in the Wolf Warrior world had yet to spread, but it was only a matter of time.
The Fire Demon King had already received the news, because one of his juniors was among them.
He picked up his phone to make a call, but after hesitating for a while, he ultimately put it down.
The dawn moon sank in the west and the morning sun rose in the east. In the blink of an eye, the next day had arrived.
After getting his things together, Xu Long soon arrived at school.
After three mission worlds, there were far fewer students in the senior year.
Despite the lessons learned by their many predecessors, the number of casualties was still terrifying.
Of the more than sixty students in the class, fewer than half were still alive.
And that wasn't all. The points these students had earned weren't enough to strengthen even one attribute to 50 points. Compared with someone like Xu Long, who had 200 points in every attribute, they were practically a bunch of trash.
Sun Yameng arrived and glanced at Xu Long, then turned away with an expression of complete indifference.
Xu Long didn't pester her either. They had parted on good terms.
At nine in the morning, the homeroom teacher walked into the classroom, his expression grave.
He had taught graduating classes for ten years, and every year had been the same.
He could only watch his students die, powerless to do anything.
That pain and despair were truly difficult to describe.
"I'm glad to see you all again, and deeply saddened by those who will never return. But life must go on. Even if everyone dies on this path, there will still be people who follow in the footsteps we leave behind."
The homeroom teacher turned around. "Come on, students. I'll see you off on this final journey. I wish you..."
At that point, the homeroom teacher suddenly couldn't go on.
He merely waved his hand and walked out of the classroom.
A sea of people filled the grounds of Minghu Middle School. More than ten thousand teachers and students had gathered there, yet it was so quiet that not a sound could be heard.
The first- and second-year students watched their seniors board the coaches, no one speaking the entire time.
Solemn and dignified, it was like a silent farewell.
This was something everyone had to go through. No one could escape it.
"Ah, in a world like this, just staying alive is a luxury."
Xu Long sighed and followed the classmates ahead of him onto the coach.
The gloomy atmosphere lasted a long time, easing only after about half an hour.
They had all faced life and death, and weren't about to break down just because they were heading to the fallen zone. They had merely been affected somewhat by the emotions of their teachers and juniors.
Beep, beep, beep!
His phone suddenly rang. Xu Long looked at it and saw that it was his older sister, Xu Jiao.
"You're on the bus already, right? How does it feel?"
"Not bad. The mood around me is just a little gloomy."
Xu Long sent his reply.
"Normal, normal. You'll have to go through this kind of mood, like your wife ran off with someone else, plenty more times. You'll get used to it."
Xu Long: "..."
Are you a fucking fortune-teller?
Xu Jiao would have been better off not mentioning it. The moment she did, the resentment in Xu Long's chest shot up.
That whole shitty business of putting a green hat on himself was fucked up enough already, and now she had to bring up the one pot that wouldn't boil.
"Thanks for the kind words. I'll find myself a few more wives, so if one runs off, I'll still have others."
After sending the ill-tempered reply, Xu Long turned off his phone and looked out the window.
The settlement actually wasn't much different from his previous life: tall buildings, straight streets, and vehicles coming and going.
Although the Flame Hell Beasts had nearly destroyed human civilization, they had done little damage to the buildings.
They seemed to be deliberately preserving the existing structures. Of course, it was also possible that they simply liked killing people.
Xu Long turned on his phone and looked up pictures of the Flame Hell Beasts. He found that they weren't monsters from any movie he remembered.
Their bodies were two meters long, with a one-meter tail, making them about three meters in total.
They were scarlet all over and resembled lizards.
However, Flame Hell Beasts stood much higher off the ground, and their bodies were covered in tough scales. A row of bony spikes ran down their backs all the way to the tips of their tails.