Ian's fist, now seemingly a miniature "Sun," contained the absolute will to incinerate all things and the nuclear fusion power to crush everything in its path. It was an emergence of a concept, a physical manifestation of destruction.
Then, he swung his arm down, striking heavily toward the deep, cavernous crater of Mount Fuji beneath his feet!
"Xingyi · Great Sun Nuclear Explosion Punch!"
A thunderous roar erupted, sounding like the thunder at the dawn of creation and the announcement of the universe's end.
The punch landed.
The entire planet seemed to pause at this moment. Time appeared frozen by this boundless power, as if the world itself had been struck in a pressure point. Immediately following, with Mount Fuji as the center, across the majority of the Japanese archipelago, the existence of all matter and the flow of all energy fell into an eerie, suffocating absolute stillness. Even every grain of dust in the air stood still.
It was as if the world's pause button had been pressed.
An incomprehensible sense of crisis, rooted in the most primal survival instincts, crushed the nerves of every surviving creature like an invisible mountain. Whether it was the humans fleeing frantically toward the Japanese coast, the schools of fish swimming unknowingly in the deep sea, the terrified birds and beasts in the mountains, or the insects and rodents rooted in the sewers—all were deprived of breath, their souls seemingly shattering inch by inch.
However, this deathly silence lasted only for a second, perhaps less.
Suddenly, an endless torrent of light and heat, beyond the description of any known human language, erupted from the crater of Mount Fuji! The brilliance instantly swallowed the sky and the earth, reaching a brightness exceeding anything humanity had ever witnessed.
The billions of viewers before the global light screens, even through cold glass, felt a needle-like pain in their eyes. Many instinctively closed their eyes as tears surged uncontrollably. For that moment, the world consisted only of pure, destructive white light.
After the extreme light came extreme destruction.
Mount Fuji, once the symbol of Japan, along with the surrounding area of several hundred kilometers, was crudely wiped from the map of reality as if an invisible divine hand had used a giant eraser. They were completely evaporated and annihilated from the material level to the conceptual level.
The main landmass of the majority of Japan—the hard rock layers forming the islands, the deep soil, along with every city, forest, and river upon them—was forcibly lifted from the Earth's crust by the shockwave of this irresistible, terrifying energy. Then, in a state of despairing weightlessness, amidst extreme heat and the tearing of violent energy, they began to disintegrate and turn to powder.
The camera of the light screen zoomed out abruptly.
In the spot where Japan's sacred Mount Fuji once stood, there now gaped a terrifying, bottomless giant pit. The edges of the pit, due to the previously unimaginable heat, displayed a strange and smooth glass-like luster, shimmering under the residual energy glow.
The camera slowly pushed closer.
The vitrified walls of the pit reflected the churning dark-red magma below and the constantly rising black dust and smoke. The air was violently distorted by the heat; as far as the eye could see, everything was blurred.
The main body of the Japanese archipelago, that island nation which once harbored ambitions of conquest, had more than half of its territory utterly erased. Seawater had not yet fully filled the massive pit. The exposed bottom of the crater was as hideous as a scar. Rock and thick sedimentary layers, once hidden beneath the ocean floor, were now exposed to the scorching, distorted air. Strange textures from deep within the mantle were churned out and tossed high into the sky, eventually turning into dust that filled the atmosphere.
The air was thick with the pungent smell of sulfur and charred remains.
Without the landmass to support it, the waters of the Pacific Ocean began to rush toward the giant pit. The sea level dropped visibly, and in an instant, the water accelerated into an unstoppable torrent. Under the massive drop in elevation, the backflowing seawater formed a terrifying tsunami thousands of meters high.
Giant waves, dark as the waters of the River Styx, connected the sea to the sky; their peaks touched the hazy yellow firmament while their bases slammed against the scalding seabed. This tsunami advanced with a will to destroy all, creating an irresistible impact force like a meteorite falling into a lake.
At the tattered edges of Japan, an unprecedented super-tsunami took shape. The wave crests rose from the ground to heights far exceeding any historical record, blotting out the sun. Sunlight seemed insignificant before these moving mountains of water; the world was divided by walls of liquid.
The tsunami lunged toward the remaining Japanese lands at extreme speed, its edge pointing directly at neighboring countries, especially the Chinese coast which had just been rebuilt from the fires of war.
The land of China boiled with emotion. When the images of the Japanese main island disappearing under Ian's single punch arrived, citizens rushed out of their homes cheering. They embraced and wept, raising their arms in shouts as nearly a century of humiliation and hatred found total release. The cheers shook the cities and fields.
However, when the light screen showed the terrifying tsunami rushing toward the Chinese coast, the cheering stopped abruptly. The air froze. Faces that had been weeping with joy just moments ago instantly stiffened. Scholars of geology and oceanography turned pale, hoarsely delivering a desperate judgment.
"It's over! This disaster will affect the Chinese coast; there isn't enough time to evacuate!"
The calculated time for the tsunami to reach China was breathtakingly short. The coastal cities that had just regained their vitality, and the people who had finally regained their smiles, were once again facing total catastrophe. Anxiety, pain, and a sense of helplessness overwhelmed these knowledgeable men. They had just tasted the joy of revenge, only to face the disaster brought about by that very revenge.
The surviving Japanese remnants, after their initial shock, showed a morbid glee, hoping that China would fall into the abyss of destruction along with them.
In this moment of peril, Ian remained suspended above the original site of Mount Fuji. Amidst the black water vapor and violent energy turbulence filling the sky, he was like an immovable mountain; though heaven and earth were collapsing around him, he remained as calm as ever.
Under the gaze of billions of eyes—tense, fearful, expectant, and malicious—he slowly raised his right hand. With his finger acting as a brush, he drew a circle in the void.
This effortless motion contained the supreme power to turn the tides.
The tsunami, nearly a thousand meters high and carrying enough destructive force to instantly tear apart steel warships, was rushing toward the Chinese territory. At the very moment it was about to cross the boundary, a sudden change occurred! The tsunami slammed into an invisible but indestructible barrier.
The massive waves constantly beat against the invisible wall, splashing water thousands of meters high and creating a mist that obscured half the sky. Yet, the barrier did not budge an inch, completely neutralizing the impact force that was capable of destroying everything.
The audience before the global light screens held their breath, their pupils shrinking at this miracle that transcended their understanding.
A miracle!
Inside the barrier, the tsunami raged, and the giant waves churned. The water walls, thousands of meters high, crashed and overlapped within the confined space, creating a heart-palpitating roar. The remaining Japanese land was continuously swallowed, turning into an apocalyptic purgatory.
Outside the barrier, the wind was still and the sea was like a mirror. It was as if that world-ending tsunami was merely a dream from another dimension. This natural disaster, triggered by Ian's casual punch, was completely contained within the scope of Japan, leaving them to enjoy it alone.
The expressions on the faces of the Japanese survivors froze. Those who had previously gloated that the tsunami would affect neighboring countries, fantasizing about China's destruction alongside theirs, were now left with only unbelievable shock and bone-chilling cold. They watched helplessly as the cataclysmic tsunami was blocked within, cutting off their last hope of escape and crushing their malicious desire to drag others down with them.
At this moment, they had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. This fear of waiting for the end in total despair was more torturous to the soul than direct death.
Japan's ending was no longer in doubt. They would taste the bitter fruit they had sown, experiencing despair and destruction alone until the last sinful soul perished.
Meanwhile, the members of the Magnetic Field Sect stood upon the sea, watching the struggles of these devils. There was not a shred of pity for the "innocent" in their eyes—only a yearning for that formidable power.