GA: Chapter 183: The Yamata no Orochi is Slain — The Three Gods of the Island Nation
"Special times call for special treatment."
"And most importantly—"
Ning Guang turned a warm smile on Liu Yongsheng.
"I want you dead."
He tapped a finger lightly against the empty air. Wisps of black mist seeped out from the void. The moment Liu Yongsheng laid eyes on that black mist, every trace of color drained from his face.
"You're Ning Guang — you're Ning Guang!"
His voice began to tremble involuntarily. Fear — genuine, bone-deep fear — had taken hold. In this moment he truly recognized who was standing before him.
In Huaxia, the most famous name was the White Emperor. After him came the other three Emperors.
But in Ningcheng — the most famous name could only be one person's.
Ning Guang.
The strongest ability user in Ningcheng. The trump card of the Ningcheng Spiritual Energy Bureau. The legendary first-tier powerhouse.
Crack.
The black mist enveloped Liu Yongsheng. A sound like chewing began. Accompanied by a horrific wail — and then, gradually, the wailing faded, until there was nothing left.
His hands had long since been soaked in blood. But that had always been the blood of mutated creatures. That didn't mean he was unwilling to be stained by human blood.
Sometimes, people were more terrifying than mutated creatures.
Time moved on. Across Huaxia, wave after wave of turbulence continued to stir.
Shadows that had been suppressed into the dark by the light now seemed to be gathering momentum for another surge.
In the Modu Spiritual Energy Bureau, a girl with a petrification ability and first-tier talent had her power forcibly stripped from her and was left on the brink of death. If she hadn't been found in time, and if a healing-type ability user hadn't happened to be present at the Bureau that day, she would have died. As it was, she'd barely been pulled back — she lay in a deep unconscious state, kept alive only by intravenous support.
The talent that had been observable before — where spiritual energy poured into her automatically even without cultivation — had vanished entirely. Spiritual energy no longer responded to her in any way.
The perpetrator, Zhao Feng, had fled the Bureau. His current whereabouts were unknown.
Similar incidents, of varying degrees, had surfaced in other places as well — though all had been suppressed by the Bureau before they could escalate.
Not every ability user with powerful talent had joined the Spiritual Energy Bureau, but the vast majority of high-talent individuals in most cities had been recruited. Of those who remained outside, most simply wanted to protect their families and weren't looking to cause trouble — though when a crisis arose, they'd step up without hesitation.
Only a very small number had any intention of stirring things up. But what could they accomplish against the Bureau? As long as they stayed hidden in the shadows, fine — the moment they stepped into the light, only death awaited them.
Setting domestic affairs aside, something significant had occurred in the island nation.
The mutated sea creature they had named the "Yamata no Orochi" had been slain.
In the island nation's eyes, it had been a battle requiring the mobilization of every resource the country possessed. Countless ability users had contributed to the effort.
Three individuals had played the most decisive roles. They were called the Three Gods of the Island Nation.
Sword God, Kamisakura Mei: Heir to the Kamisakura family's talent, blessed by the divine and granted a divine artifact. The island nation's strongest. No one could withstand a single stroke of her blade.
Feather God, Suzu: Formerly a shrine maiden — now she had shed that role entirely. Possessing the supreme archery of a hundred shots, hundred hits. The strongest long-range support among the three.
Spirit God, Rakusui Sangen: The pride of commoners. The island nation's greatest summoner. The future Abe no Seimei.
To the people of the island nation, these three were the nation's future. The guarantee of what was to come. It was because of these three that people had found something resembling hope — a belief that as long as they existed, the day would eventually come when the disasters receded.
That they would return to the peaceful, beautiful lives they once knew. That they would no longer need to endure the endless waves of mutated creatures appearing from nowhere.
Compared to the noise of the outside world, Bai Xuan's home was remarkably quiet.
Within Bai Xuan's small world, Zixin had completely forgotten she was an angel. She spent her days playing with Pokémon, and would occasionally team up with them to provoke Bai Xuan — leaving him with little choice but to get dragged into it.
There was something undeniably magical about Pokémon. They made you forget your age, your experience, your worries — you simply got lost in playing with them, smiling without realizing it.
When Bai Xuan caught himself, he couldn't help but laugh at the situation. He genuinely hadn't expected to be doing any of this.
With Ralts joining the household, the Pikachu had a new companion — but compared to the small world that was still expanding, the number of residents still felt somewhat sparse.
Bai Xuan had no shortage of points, so he purchased a few more Pokémon. He was essentially in the process of turning the pocket world into its own Pokémon world.
From the lower tiers — Caterpie, Pidgey, Beedrill — to the more notable ones — Charmander, Lapras, Skitty — he had picked up a variety.
The small world had become rather lively as a result.
Wherever you went, there was a different Pokémon going about its day. Even just watching them live their ordinary lives brought a warmth rising up inside you.
That was how it was supposed to be...
But then, under the instigation of an angel who had gotten entirely too caught up in playing with Pokémon and had thoroughly forgotten both her identity and her age, the two of them started doing the kinds of things only children would do.
Like standing by to watch the flock of Pidgey and the Fletchling group's territorial battle — occasionally saying things designed to inflame both sides — then sitting down with watermelons to watch, and cheering for whichever side was losing.
Or going to tell Magikarp stories — specifically the story of a carp leaping over the dragon gate.
Or giving Farfetch'd some Leek seeds to plant, then stealing the Leek to cook with.
There was even the time they lay down to listen to Jigglypuff sing. They were perfectly capable of staying awake through it — but they refused to. They pretended to fall asleep instead, which sent Jigglypuff into such a puffed-up fury its body nearly floated off the ground. It stormed over with a face full of indignation, ready to draw on them — only to discover it didn't have a marker. It stormed off in a huff.
When they got tired, they sprawled out across Snorlax's belly and slept there. Something about the soft, yielding, slightly bouncy surface was deeply, irresistibly soporific.
In the evenings, everyone held a party together — preparing berries and Poffins for the Pokémon, energy cubes, dragon-blood rice, dishes made from various unnamed powerful creatures, and even drinks and food prepared from rare natural treasures infused with spiritual energy.
Compared to Bai Xuan's world — where they hadn't even properly classified most mutated creatures yet — Su Yunqing's world had clearly advanced to a remarkable degree. They had already worked out what kinds of dishes could be made from rare herbs and powerful creature meat.
The spiritual energy-infused food Bai Xuan had tasted before was already delicious enough to satisfy something that felt like the soul itself — he had struggled to imagine anything more delicious. Then he purchased and ate the creatively prepared cuisine from Su Yunqing's world.
It was a kind of transcendence that came through food. Almost no one could resist it.
Not just Bai Xuan — even Zixin, even the Pokémon had become thoroughly enamored, to the point of competing with each other over the food.
Though more of it was the atmosphere they all loved — but without food this extraordinarily delicious, that atmosphere wouldn't have existed in the first place.