Global Awakening: I'm the Only One Ready

Late at night in Hu City, a skyscraper stood illuminated against the darkness. At its peak, two large words shone prominently—Skygod Technologies. Hence, this skyscraper was known as the Skygod Tower.

As one of the four major powers, Skygod Technologies had been a corporate giant even in the old era, involved in multiple fields of research, including biology and genetics, with great achievements to its name.

When the new era began, it was among the first to rise to prominence. Asura served as their representative, and the world knew him as one of the Five Supremes.

Of course, Skygod Technologies had more than just Asura. It commanded numerous Awakened under its banner, making it a formidable force, even among the four major powers.

Unlike Longevity Genetics, Skygod Technologies had not chosen to occupy an entire supercity to become its overlord. Instead, they chose to remain in Hu City and coexist with the Wuzhou Group.

Skygod Technologies wasn’t like the rest of the major powers as well, as it had been maintaining an extremely low profile. Apart from Asura, they had no particularly outstanding Awakened, which made them seem out of place.

Yet no one doubted their strength. After all, only a formidable organization could work together with the government.

There was a room within one of the middle floors of Skygod Tower, but the word ”room” wasn’t quite accurate to describe it. It was, in truth, a prison cell, constructed from an alloy so strong that even artillery shells couldn’t destroy it.

Even an Awakened could not escape this ”room.”

Within the ”room,” Asura hung suspended by his wrists. Half of his grievously injured figure consisted of flesh, while the other half was made entirely of bionic devices.

He looked extremely weak. The cloak covering him was no more, revealing the fact that Asura appeared to be only in his twenties.

Standing outside the ”room,” a middle-aged man in a suit cast an indifferent gaze at the injured Asura. ”I’ll give you one more chance. What exactly happened at Shennongjia? You ought to know that the company values you highly. We even gave you the Asura Saber. Do not betray the company’s faith in you.”

He had a tall build and deep-set eyes, clearly of mixed heritage. He was Liu Changyuan, the true master of Skygod Technologies, and he also went by another name, ”Tom Liu.”

As an Awakened Realm expert, he was slightly stronger than Asura.

”Director Liu,” Asura’s voice was hoarse as he replied, ”I’ve said this many times before. We encountered powerful mutated beasts at Shennongjia. Miss Jennifer and the others all died at the hands of those beasts. That’s the truth.”

In his current state, he bore no resemblance to one of the Five Supremes. The flesh part of him was riddled with terrifying wounds.

”You should know that I can end your life at any moment,” Liu Changyuan said, revealing something resembling a key fob before glancing at Asura’s bionic heart.

”I’ve known that from the very beginning,” Asura said. He raised his head, revealing a bitter smile. ”That’s why I’ve always taken every mission seriously, and everything I told you was nothing but the truth.”

”Director Liu, they were just some foreigners, and I already told you everything I know. If you still can’t believe me, then there’s nothing more I can do,” Asura said.

Upon leaving Shennongjia, he immediately made a report to the higher-ups of Skygod Technologies. However, they didn’t believe him and flew into a rage, locking him in this ”room” before subjecting him to torture.

Asura truly hadn’t expected that the higher-ups would go to such lengths for Jennifer and the others. He had heard before that the company had close ties with the West, but he had always assumed it was just a mere collaboration.

Now, it seemed that he had been far too naive. The company’s relationship with the West was far more complex than he had ever imagined.

”Miss Jennifer was an apostle of the Celestial Archangel, and I must provide an explanation for her death,” Director Liu stared, gazing at Asura. ”You know me. I will give you one more day.

”If you still refuse to tell me the truth, then I will send you to the lab to be scrapped. You know we can do that, right?”

”I know,” Asura responded, lowering his head. ”But I already told you the truth.”

Of course, he knew Lu Yuan had killed Jennifer, but out of solidarity as a fellow Huaxian, Asura had decided to shoulder the burden on his own. He had thought the company wouldn’t pursue the matter, but their response had both disappointed him and stirred a rebellious spirit within his heart.

If he were to reveal the truth, his suffering would likely end. Moreover, Lu Yuan had no real connection to him. They couldn’t even be called friends, and they had only met a handful of times.

However, Asura knew that he was a Huaxian first and foremost. He knew that, once the company learned the truth, they would undoubtedly unite with the West to attack Lu Yuan.

As for getting scrapped, Asura couldn’t care less. The company had modified him so many times that he could hardly be considered human. Since he would certainly meet his end, why would he drag someone else into the abyss?

”Fine, fine. Don’t blame me for being ruthless, then,” Liu Changyuan said. His patience seemed to have been exhausted as he walked out of the room.

Just as he exited, a figure approached. It was a man with a face that seemed to be screaming that he was from the West. A relic identical to Jennifer’s sacred relic was in his hands. Clearly, he was one of the Celestial Archangel’s Twelve Apostles.

Liu Changyuan’s face changed instantly, and he approached the newcomer with a smile.

”Mr. Wade, what brings you here?” he asked. He belonged to the same religion as the Twelve Apostles, and to him, the twelve apostles were God’s messengers. Of course, he respected the newcomer, especially when the one before him was the First Apostle, the strongest of the Twelve Apostles.

”I used our divine magic on the others who returned from Shennongjia, and I have already learned what happened,” Apostle Wade said, ”I’m here to tell you not to waste any more time, Mr. Liu.”

Apostle Wade was fluent in the common language of Huaxia. In fact, the majority of Awakened these days were polyglots, and even the weakest Awakened could learn another language given enough time.

”Oh? What happened?” Liu Changyuan immediately asked.

Apostle Wade didn’t waste words and simply explained everything.

”What? Lu Yuan?” Liu Changyuan’s face shifted slightly, and his brows furrowed. ”Mr. Wade, I know him, and he’s completely wild. He killed two important figures from Longevity Genetics and the Wuzhou Group. Moreover, he has a good relationship with the Aurora Academy.”

”He has an exceedingly high level of comprehension as well. If he’s the one who did it... it’ll be very difficult to avenge them.”

”It doesn’t matter. Those daring enough to kill God’s apostles and believers are beyond redemption,” Wade solemnly said, ”The great Celestial Archangel has decreed—Lu Yuan has committed blasphemy and must die!”

”The world must know that those daring enough to commit blasphemy will pay the price!” Wade’s blue eyes shimmered with killing intent.

”Since it’s an order from the Archangel, I will certainly assist with all my might,” Liu Changyuan responded after a brief moment of contemplation. ”However, the Aurora Academy is on us, and we can’t move freely at the moment.”

The West had split into two major factions. One led by the Vatican, while the other was led by the Holy Knights of Mount Olympus.

The meaning behind Liu Changyuan’s words was unmistakable.

Some of Skygod Technologies’ affairs could no longer be concealed, and Liu Changyuan knew the government was very displeased with them.

Moreover, the number of mutated beast tide attacks was going down. Liu Changyuan was sure that once the government had sufficiently assuaged the beast tide attacks, they would make a move against Skygod Technologies.

He couldn’t handle that level of confrontation alone and certainly needed help.

”Don’t worry,” Apostle Wade assured him. ”You’ve done so much for us. We can definitely handle your problems.”

Skygod Technologies was an extremely important piece to their plans, so they wanted it to thrive.

”That’s great.” Liu Changyuan visibly relaxed. Then, he glanced at the ”room” behind him. ”Since we already know the culprit, should we...”

He made a throat-slitting gesture, showing his desire to kill Asura.

”He’s still useful,” Wade said with a smile. ”He’ll become our bait to lure that Lu Yuan out in the open. We’ll deal with anyone else once we’re done with him.”

”I understand.” Liu Changyuan nodded. He was already thinking about what ought to be done next.

Everything required careful planning. His top priority was to make contingency plans and ensure that there wouldn’t be any accidents. As for Wade, he said nothing more. He was convinced that everything would fall into place once Lu Yuan was dealt with.

***

After more than ten days, the Golden-Winged Great Peng was finally done purifying its bloodline. It appeared not much different from before, but the light flowing through its golden wings had become far more brilliant than before.

In addition, it was now capable of completely controlling its aura. Unless it chose to display its fierce nature, no one would be able to tell that it was a king among mutated beasts.

Of course, its appearance still gave away its extraordinary nature.

”My bloodline has been purified a great deal, but it’s still not enough. I have to find more mutated beasts with dragon’s blood in them,” the Golden-Winged Great Peng realized that it had a long way to go before it became a true Golden-Winged Great Peng.

Still, the progress was undeniable. The Golden-Winged Great Peng shattered five genetic shackles. Even though that seemed like it wasn’t much, it meant a tremendous boost to its strength.

If the Golden-Winged Great Peng were to face the White King again, it’d crush the latter without fail. Moreover, its power would continue to grow for some time until it reached the Golden Body Realm.

It had to be known that the Golden-Winged Great Peng bloodline was extremely powerful, and it had exceptional talent as well. Other mutated beasts could only break twelve genetic shackles, but it could break many more, which meant its potential was far more terrifying.

Rumble!

Just then, the Golden-Winged Great Peng sensed a powerful aura sweeping over from the platform. Looking up, it saw that the aura was coming from Lu Yuan, who was still sitting cross-legged within the blood pool.

It was a formidable and magnificent aura. In addition, the blood in the pool was no longer crimson but had taken on a golden hue. Mysterious waves of energy continuously emanated from the depths of the golden blood.

Even from afar, the Golden-Winged Great Peng could feel that its master’s bloodline had undergone a terrifying qualitative change and a true sublimation of his being.

As time went on, the aura only grew stronger. Eventually, the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s very soul trembled beneath the aura.

”T-this aura—has he created an... Ancestral Bloodline?” The Golden-Winged Great Peng’s eyes widened in pure shock. Its inherited memories told it exactly what the aura meant. Though it was only in its initial stages, there was no doubting it.

Lu Yuan had somehow created an Ancestral Bloodline.

Every living being had an origin—an ancestor. Generally speaking, experts usually become experts due to their ancestors’ bloodlines. The purer the bloodline, the stronger they would become. If the bloodline purity was low, the power of their ancestor within their bloodline would remain dormant.

This was the rule that applied to everyone else except for an Ancestral Bloodline.

Creating an Ancestral Bloodline meant that one had shattered the constraints of their fleshly body to sublimate their very cell, reaching an inconceivable level of strength to become a progenitor.

In other words, it meant becoming the very first generation of one’s bloodline.

The descendants of that progenitor would inherit everything within their bloodline. One could then be compared to the very first Dragon, Phoenix, and Qilin.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng had never heard of such a thing happening in the modern age. A human becoming the progenitor of a bloodline was even more difficult than a beast becoming one.

In its inherited memories, only a handful of human beings had ever done so, and each one of them had been a true hero of humanity.

No wonder I feel like I’m being suppressed. But how did he even do that? It was utterly shocked, unable to comprehend what was going on.

What a great boon!

Wait... the Golden-Winged Great Peng realized something. Shennongjia and Shennong. Could it be that Lu Yuan had obtained the great boon that Shennong had left behind for his descendants?

Boom!

Just then, Lu Yuan opened his eyes, and a massive pillar of light that dyed everything around him in a brilliant gold hue erupted from within him. His qualitative change had reached its climax—success was imminent.