Chapter One Hundred and One: The Cut (Second Chapter, Seeking Subscriptions)

Whoosh…!

Qin Ming did not hesitate for an instant. With a twist of his body, he plunged headlong into the seawater.

Hundreds of feet below, only the snake’s head remained. Its vertical pupils blazed with savage ferocity.

Its jaws opened wide, and a blast of frigid air erupted forth. The seawater around it froze in an instant; it meant to seal Qin Ming in ice.

“A rare gift indeed. To awaken three abilities at once, you rank among the very best of the king class. Too bad you met me.”

Qin Ming gave a cold snort and cleaved downward with his blade. Power thundered through the strike. This was pure physical might, driven by a tenfold amplification.

And this was far from his full strength.

In truth, he had already comprehended the inch strike to the eighteenth level, allowing for a nineteenfold increase in power.

Of course, this sort of amplification applied only to the body itself.

It could not enhance genetic energy.

Any secret art below the planetary level was already greatly diminished and would eventually be cast aside altogether.

Qin Ming merely unleashed tenfold bodily strength, yet he still split the ocean with a single blade, carving out a ravine three thousand meters long and eighteen meters wide.

The moment that blade mark appeared, the whole world was shaken.

The frozen seawater burst open at once. Ahead, the serpent was beheaded by the strike, its final head severed cleanly away.

Qin Ming did not even glance at it. He burst back out of the water and at the same time activated his wrist device. “Xiao Qiang, haul the corpse up!”

“Yes, Master!”

In an instant, the universe-class intelligent fighter was already hovering overhead. After scanning the area, a series of grappling claws dropped from beneath the fuselage, plunged into the sea, seized the three hundred-meter-long heads and the three-hundred-meter body, and lifted them toward land.

That colossal body was far too intimidating.

Qin Ming did not leave. Battle blade in hand, he stared into the depths of the ocean.

He stood there like a guardian deity, suppressing the sea.

Behind him, with the death of the commander-class and king-class sea beasts, the remaining beasts began to collapse.

After waiting a moment and seeing no other king-class sea beasts appear, he rose into the air and stood a thousand meters above the sea.

Bang…!

Qin Ming spun his long blade and hacked downward.

With a thunderous blast, the sea surface was split open into a trench a hundred miles long. Only after a long while did the water surge back together, unleashing monstrous waves skyward.

This scene spread across the globe.

Before televisions and computers, countless young people sprang to their feet, shouting in excitement.

“So strong, so strong, so unbelievably strong!”

“From now on, Qin Ming is my idol. My only idol!”

“A real man should be like this!”

“This is our guardian god, our pillar holding back the sea!”

“I’ve decided. From now on, Qin Ming is my goal!”

Countless young people shouted in exhilaration.

This was the first time they had ever seen a king-class beast slain.

It was far too shocking.

Especially Qin Ming’s final strike, which seemed to split the ocean itself, igniting the blood of most young people.

“I can do this too!”

Before a computer screen, Qin Ming clenched his fist.

“Do I have any hope of catching up?”

Wang Lang muttered in a daze.

“This makes no sense. How did he rise to this level?”

Zhu Qiang, still the second-strongest in the elite training camp, scratched his head hard.

“My good son!”

Before the television, Qin Yicheng and Luo Xia clasped their hands together, overwhelmed with emotion. At this moment, they too felt immense pride.

Headquarters of the Ultimate Martial Hall.

“This strike is strong, very strong. If I were to meet it head-on, I’d have a hard time of it,” Thor exclaimed in admiration. “I have a feeling that within a year, he may well be on par with me!”

But Hong shook his head. “He did not use his full strength.”

“What?” Thor cried out, eyes wide, rising to his feet. “How is that possible?”

“These eyes of mine do not deceive me,” Hong said. “His cultivation has reached planetary level three, but his true combat power far exceeds that realm. The blade strike he unleashed just now was not his full strength. If he went all out, you might not be able to take it.”

“This…!” Thor was in disbelief.

“Also, once a martial artist enters the planetary level, special abilities are awakened—your lightning, my light. But Qin Ming has never shown such a thing. I do not know what talent he possesses,” Hong said. “Of course, for now he still is not your match.”

“To think he is this powerful!” After his shock, Thor broke into delight. “In that case, can our plan begin earlier?”

“Wait two more months.”

“Two more months, then. I’ll also spend that time in serious comprehension and strive to grasp a domain. Big brother, you must teach me well. You can’t keep anything to yourself.”

“Very well.”

On the sea, Qin Ming lingered a while longer before turning to leave. He came to the wall of the coastal defense base. The wall was now a shattered ruin, torn open in countless places.

And this had been a wall forged from alloy. If it could be destroyed to this extent, what kind of disaster would the sea beasts have brought to the banks of the rivers had this barrier not stood in their way?

And there were so many rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans beyond.

Unthinkable. Simply unthinkable.

“Councilman Qin, thank you. Thank you!”

Li Dawei used his air-step technique and in a flash arrived before him, seizing Qin Ming’s hands and shaking them repeatedly.

His gratitude was sincere.

If Qin Ming had not arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

As for the form of address, since Qin Ming had already stepped into the planetary level, calling him a councilman was only proper respect.

“I was born on this land, raised on this land. Now that it suffers disaster, how could I stand by and do nothing?” Qin Ming said. “Only by doing all I can can I be clear of conscience, calm in my heart, and sleep soundly in the future.”

“Good!” Li Dawei nodded deeply.

“This king-class beast, then, I’ll leave it to you.” Qin Ming pointed upward, and had Xiao Qiang place the serpent’s corpse inside the base.

“No, no, absolutely not!” Li Dawei hurriedly waved both hands. “You already helped us enormously. How could we possibly take your spoils of war? Absolutely not.”

“I’m not short on money. Besides…” Qin Ming swept his gaze around. Looking at the corpses on the wall and the wounded soldiers, his heart was deeply moved. “Take it as a benefit for them.”

“Good.” Li Dawei did not refuse. His eyes reddened, and he was very stirred. “To have a young man like you in this nation is our great good fortune.”

“No, it is having people like you in this nation that is our good fortune.”

“Hahaha, no more need to say it. Your kindness, I will remember on behalf of every soldier at the coastal defense base!” Li Dawei shook him fiercely once more, then straightened his back and shouted, “Salute!”

Whoosh!

The soldiers who looked over, those able to stand, all saluted toward them.

Qin Ming quickly returned the salute. “If anything comes up in the future, come to me anytime. If you can’t reach me, then contact my father!”

After saying this, he glanced once more at the devastated base, then looked out over the endless sea. He stepped into the air and returned to the fighter, which roared away.

“Blessed indeed. Blessed indeed!” Looking up at the sky, Li Dawei sighed for a very long time.

On the other side, Zhou Zhengyong of the Ultimate Martial Hall and the president of the Thunder Martial Hall finally arrived, only to find that the battle was over, the sea beasts had retreated, and the ground was left strewn with corpses.

“This…!”

Only after the two logged onto a computer did they learn what had happened, and each could only stare at the other in speechless confusion.

Inside the universe-class fighter, Qin Ming sat in silence for a long, long time.

“This is the land of Huaxia. How could I simply watch it lie in ruins?”

“Even if I know what will happen later, right now—over the next two years—the beast tide will still erupt from time to time. How many more people will die?”

“If I do not see it, I feel nothing.”

“But once I see it with my own eyes, my heart aches.”

“Although the casualties from this battle have not yet been counted, I’m afraid at least twenty thousand soldiers have died.”

“Twenty thousand. Young people holding the front line, many of whom may never even be remembered, yet they stood there without complaint.”

“Having seen this, how could I do nothing?”

Why are my eyes always wet with tears? Because I love this land so deeply.

Qin Ming recalled those lines and felt even more deeply moved.

“A man must know what he should do, and what he must not do.”

“Since I have the ability, why should I not act?”

Through the window, he gazed out over the land stretching for thousands of miles.