Chapter 484: A Storm is Brewing, Earth is Turning!
The next two and a half years will be a period of great upheaval and drastic changes. Even a behemoth like the Martial God Hall, which had long dominated the international Dark World, collapsed, establishing the Sword God Ye Linyuan's immense reputation. Now, established major powers with deep foundations and formidable might are collapsing one after another, the situation is being reshuffled, and emerging forces are rising rapidly like the morning sun. Sword Palace, War God Alliance, Youming Hall, Blood Skull Mercenary Group, Dragon King Society, Qinghe Sect, Shaman God Cult... These emerging forces have all built their golden thrones upon the accumulated corpses of older, established powers.
What Shen Anyu was most interested in, of course, were the prominent figures of the next two and a half years, who were very likely to be Children of Destiny or Daughters of Destiny. Within the silent confines of his study, the information extracted from Long Hao's memories flowed through his mind like a digital river, each name a potential storm on the horizon. His fingers tapped a slow, steady rhythm on the polished mahogany desk as he dissected the future.
Among them were figures he was already intimately familiar with, pieces he had already moved on the grand chessboard. The Sword God, Ye Linyuan, whose rise was both a threat and an opportunity. The Shura Demon King, Chu Yun, a brutal force of nature he was yet to encounter directly. Yan Lingxiao, the ambitious leader of the War God Alliance. Then there was Qi Fan, the pathetic 'lick-dog' gold-reversal magnate whose fate was already sealed by his own hand. Ye Yan, the so-called expert descending from the mountains, now the vanquished Lord of Youming Hall. Han Qi, the Dragon King Consort, whose destiny was irrevocably entangled with his. Wen Feifei, the rising star meant to dominate the entertainment industry. The all-knowing seer, Chen Tianji. And finally, the Immortal Doctor, Lu Ran, a protagonist he had already thoroughly dismantled. These were known quantities, their paths now altered by his intervention.
But it was the unknown names, the variables lurking in the periphery of Long Hao's memory, that commanded Shen Anyu's full attention. These were the wild cards, the hidden reefs that could capsize even the most meticulously crafted plans. His gaze sharpened as the first file materialized in his mind's eye: the genius college student, Wei Yunteng.
'A lithography machine… built by a single college student?' Shen Anyu's lips curled into a faint, predatory smile. The very idea was beyond absurd; it was a flagrant violation of the laws of physics and economics. Entire nations, alliances of the world's brightest minds backed by hundreds of billions in funding, struggled for decades to advance this technology by mere nanometers. Yet, this Wei Yunteng was supposedly tinkering with one in a garage, a lone wolf poised to single-handedly leapfrog global technological progress. And his ambition didn't stop there. Controllable nuclear fusion. The stars and the sea.
Long Hao, in his desperate bid to survive at the Zhenxiu Pavilion, had coughed up this information, claiming he'd stumbled upon it by chance. Now, under the silent, ever-watchful eyes of Shen Anyu's network, Wei Yunteng was a fly in a jar. He was still just a student, pouring over schematics, lost in a world of circuits and equations.
'No beautiful women, no immediate danger, no powerful enemies circling him,' Shen Anyu mused. 'A pure technology-focused protagonist. He must have a Black Technology System, or perhaps a Scholar System. The kind that provides blueprints and ignores material science constraints.' The potential was astronomical. Owning such technology wasn't just about wealth; it was about absolute power, the ability to dictate the course of human civilization. For now, however, the fruit wasn't ripe. Shen Anyu had no interest in babysitting a nascent genius. It was far more efficient to let Wei Yunteng toil away, solve all the impossible problems, and then simply… acquire the finished product. He would be left undisturbed, a valuable asset diligently working for a master he didn't even know existed.
The next file flickered into view: Zhao Hao, the number one wilderness challenge streamer. The connection to Long Hao was direct and pathetic. After Su Hongmian had publicly shattered his pride by breaking their engagement, the former 'Dragon King' had devolved into a complete waste, a shut-in marinating in his own failure. His days were a blur of video games and live streams. And Zhao Hao was his favorite distraction.
Initially, Zhao Hao was a nobody, a faceless gaming streamer lost in a sea of mediocrity. But after a period of radio silence, he had returned, completely reinvented. No more games. He had switched to wilderness challenges, and his content was nothing short of insane. His streams were a highlight reel of humanity's most forbidden and treacherous locations. He had broadcasted from the sun-scorched emptiness of the Sahara, delved into the eerie, mist-shrouded forests of Shennongjia, sailed the haunted waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and even claimed to have found traces of Atlantis. Death Valley, the Kunlun Mountains—places that swallowed expeditions whole were his playground. He climbed to the heavens and descended into the abyss, his every broadcast a middle finger to mortality. Unsurprisingly, he became a global phenomenon.
'A standard adventure or survival system,' Shen Anyu deduced. 'The kind that provides skills, enhances physical attributes, and offers a convenient danger sense. These types are often reckless but blessed with incredible luck. A useful tool, perhaps, for retrieving artifacts from dangerous locales, but not a direct threat to my ambitions.' Shen Anyu made a mental note to have his intelligence network compile a more detailed profile.
Then came the delivery magnate, Tang Kun. This was another oddity from Long Hao's video-bingeing days. A man delivering takeout orders from the driver's seat of a brand-new Cadillac. The sheer incongruity of it was a spectacle. Online, speculation ran wild. He had to be a bored young master from some ultra-rich family, seeking thrills in the lives of common folk. The narrative spawned endless envy, jealousy, and a flock of beautiful streamers trying to get close to the "mysterious tycoon." It was a familiar story in this era of bizarre trends—billionaires cosplaying as janitors, property magnates working barbecue stalls.
Shen Anyu's eyes flickered, his mind cutting through the online chatter. 'Is he truly just an eccentric, or is this a cover? A protagonist with a "slap-the-rich-with-humility" system? Or perhaps a system that rewards him for completing mundane jobs with unbelievable prizes?' The possibilities were numerous. While seemingly harmless, such individuals could accrue influence and power in unexpected ways. He decided he would send a team to dig into Tang Kun's background. A simple investigation would reveal the truth.
These figures were curious, potential Children of Destiny operating within the world of the plausible, if highly improbable. But as Shen Anyu delved deeper into the fragmented memories, the next set of names made the air in the room feel heavy, charged with an ancient and terrifying power. These were beings of an entirely different caliber.
Jing River Corpse Fisher!
The name was stark, devoid of flourish, yet it carried an immense weight. Long Hao knew almost nothing about this person, no details, no history—only the name itself. It had surfaced two years in the future, a chilling footnote to the legendary battle between Sword God Ye Linyuan and the Wine Sword Immortal, Nie Yun, on the shores of the East Sea. After his victory, Ye Linyuan, the peerless Sword God, had admitted that Nie Yun was a formidable foe, but one he was ninety percent confident of defeating. He had felt no fear.
But then, a reporter had asked him a fateful question: Was there anyone in the world who did make him feel afraid?
The Sword God's expression, as Long Hao recalled, had been indescribably complex. A flicker of something profound—awe, respect, and a sliver of genuine dread—crossed his face. He had sighed, the sound carrying the weight of a mountain, and uttered that one name: Jing River Corpse Fisher. He said nothing more.
"Jing River Corpse Fisher..." Shen Anyu whispered the name aloud, the syllables feeling cold on his tongue. He narrowed his eyes, his mind plunging into deep thought.
The Jing River. A famous, treacherous waterway in the northwest of Yanxia. Nearly a thousand li of deep, churning water, its currents powerful enough to swallow boats whole. Drownings were common, and from this grim reality arose an ancient profession: the Corpse Fishers, men who made their living retrieving the dead from the river's depths. It was a trade steeped in mystery and superstition, a liminal space between the living and the dead.
Shen Anyu's analysis was swift and chilling. 'This Corpse Fisher is likely a hidden master from the world of Esoteric Arts. For Ye Linyuan, who would be a Land Immortal by then, to openly admit fear… the power this individual wields must be monstrous, operating on a level beyond conventional martial arts.' This was not a person one could investigate rashly. Sending agents would be like tossing stones into a bottomless abyss—a futile act that would only alert the leviathan lurking within. It would be a classic case of beating the grass to startle the snake.
Shen Anyu decided he would have to visit the Jing River himself when the time was right. To provoke such a being without a clear objective would be pure folly. An entity with that level of power, content to remain hidden and low-key, was not an immediate problem. Startling him could unleash a catastrophe.
Of course, a preliminary, hands-off investigation was still possible. The Jing River stretched for thousands of li; there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Corpse Fishers along its banks. 'I can use my influence to implement a national registry for this profession,' Shen Anyu schemed. 'A census, disguised as a government initiative for safety and regulation. It would be a subtle, traceless way to cast a wide net and gather data.' He would act without leaving a ripple, opening the box without letting the contents know they were being observed.
The next file was equally unsettling. Southern Border Goddess, name unknown.
This was another titan from Long Hao's memories, a figure whose rise was as meteoric and bloody as Ye Linyuan's. She had appeared in the enigmatic Southern Border, a region rife with ancient shamanism and deadly Gu arts. There, she established the Shaman God Cult, and her path to power was paved with the ruins of countless older sects. She had brutally crushed all opposition, uniting the fragmented and dangerous world of shamans and Gu masters under her sole, iron-fisted rule, becoming the region's undisputed overlord.
Her power was the stuff of nightmares. It was said her shamanic arts were so terrifying that she could curse a man to death from a thousand li away. The legend was cemented when a Heaven-Human realm expert, a mighty figure in his own right, had somehow provoked her. From the heart of the Southern Border, the Goddess had woven her curse. Miles away, the expert had withered and died a horrific, inexplicable death. The incident sent shockwaves through the martial world, and the name "Southern Border Goddess" became a synonym for terror.
"Daughter of Destiny? Or a Destined Heroine? A passing villain? A protagonist's Master?" Shen Anyu considered the possibilities. A hidden power stirring in the Southern Border… he had a vague impression of this from recent intelligence reports. Something was already moving in the shadows there. This Goddess was a major player, and her alignment was a complete unknown. 'I'll need to look into this later.' Another powerful piece to be identified and either neutralized or controlled.
But it was the next and final prominent figure that almost made Shen Anyu's legendary composure crack. The information was simple, just a name and a title that resonated with the most overused, powerful trope in the entire webnovel genre.
Jiangbei Master Chen!
'Good heavens…' Shen Anyu's mind momentarily blanked. 'This couldn't be a Child of Destiny who's an Immortal Emperor or an Immortal Venerable reincarnated, could it?'
Even the unflappable Young Master Shen, the grand manipulator who toyed with fate itself, couldn't help but feel the corner of his lip twitch.
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