Chapter 1359: Convincing
“Mr. Rock—” Someone in the hall started to object.
Rock raised his hand. “It’s fine.” He scanned the room before he continued, and his voice had the settled quality of a man who had made his assessment and was done reconsidering it. “If I’m not mistaken, over thirty percent of these cores were obtained by this Hunter himself. If he had been interested in them for his own use, he would not have waited until now.” He looked at Roland with something that was not quite trust and not quite its absence, but was moving in a direction. “Honestly, I find it difficult to say whether Roland is a World Creator. But he is the most capable and most proven person available for resisting the Fallen Evils.” He nodded to his secretary. “Bring the core storage box.”
Roland’s reputation in the Association was not a minor thing. A new Hunter had appeared, distinguished from the field not by self-promotion but by results — and the difference his results had made to the general mood among the older generation of Martial Artists was significant. Fallen Evils were cagey opponents, deliberately selecting weak individuals to engage and hiding from anyone capable of fighting back seriously. The Association found few opportunities to hunt them. Since this particular Hunter appeared, the Fallen Evils had been dying at a rate that stood comparison with anything in the Association’s historical record, and the morale effect of that was real.
The brief quiet was broken by a middle-aged man who leaned forward and said, “I’d like to ask Mr. Roland a direct question, setting aside the Creator question for now.”
Roland shrugged.
“I was at the bridge. I’m the one who found the emergency doctors.” The man took a deliberate breath, as if ordering his thoughts carefully. “I know those injuries were beyond what Force of Nature or our current medical capabilities could address. The attending physicians told me you used instruments that appeared — by every visual measure — to be modest and low-grade. And yet the result was…” He pressed his lips together, searched for the word, and gave up searching. “New flesh and blood, is the closest I can describe it. I understand you may have reasons for not disclosing the origin or manufacturing process. But I have to ask: would you consider selling those instruments to the Association? I can assure you the price is negotiable.”
Fei Yuhan tilted her head toward Roland and dropped her voice. “Please don’t tell me what you used on me was some priceless medicinal herb or spirit pill from the other world, and the instruments were just a cover story. I do have some savings, but they aren’t at the scale of national wealth.”
Roland smiled. He hadn’t expected that from her, of all people. “It’s free.”
Her exhale was genuine. “Thank goodness. But don’t tell them that. People stop valuing things when they’re free.”
He made a small gesture of acknowledgment and turned to the man. “Of course. Martial Artists form the forward line of resistance against Erosion — naturally I want them to be able to fight without having to calculate the cost of injury. And I have no intention of concealing where those instruments came from. They are not products of this world. They come from another world, altered through magic power. In other words, they do not belong here by origin.”
This was important information. The hall understood that immediately, even before it finished processing.
“Another world?”
“What is magic power?”
“He mentioned confined magic power being released — is the Force of Nature a type of magic power?”
“You’ll understand soon enough,” Roland said. “Where I was before this world appeared, what the Gods intend, the relationship between magic power and this world — I’ll explain all of it. But first, I’ll provide the most direct evidence possible.”
The secretary brought the large box in. It opened to Rock’s fingerprints and iris scan, and inside: a neat row of glass jars, six of them, each containing a red crystal sealed within.
Natural cores after congealment.
“Is this sufficient?” Rock asked.
“More than enough for proof.”
With Rock’s approval, the secretary passed the jars to Roland.
“Every seal carries an alarm device — any unauthorized opening signals the Association immediately,” Rock explained. “Direct contact with a core will seize the consciousness of any ordinary person and trigger a transformation into an inferior Fallen Evil, one running purely on instinct. Awakened individuals have some resistance, but extended contact causes irreversible erosion. To prevent the cores from being recovered and reused, the Association has always had to construct large strongholds and bury them deep. Every historically significant structure in this city has, at some point, been used to store or conceal one. Our techniques for storage have improved considerably, but the fundamental approach has not changed — Prism City being the most recent example.”
“From this day, you won’t need to do any of that.” Roland broke the seal and took the first core in his hand.
Every person in the room stopped breathing.
The congealed crystal stirred. It began to rotate, as if something inside it had woken from a long sleep. Its color shifted — the dark red draining steadily, replaced by the clear blue of an open sky. Then it dissolved into a column of light that rose straight through the ceiling and was gone, leaving behind only a few scattered motes that drifted downward and faded. In five seconds, not a fragment remained.
Total silence.
In all the Association’s history — reaching back through thousands of years of documented record about Awakened beings — there was no account of a core simply vanishing. The fundamental, unquestioned understanding, held as reliable for as long as anyone could trace, was that a Fallen Evil’s core could not be destroyed. Once erosion occurred, the core would persist indefinitely. The only known method of elimination was introduction into the Erosion itself, which accelerated the rift’s expansion and was treated as an absolute last resort. That was the bottom of what everyone in the room had built their understanding upon.
They were no longer standing on it.
“Mr. Roland — where did it go?” Even Rock’s characteristic steadiness had cracked a fraction; his voice had an excitement that he was not fully managing.
“Exactly where I said. It returned to the world.” Roland took the second core and sent it upward in the same column of silver light. “The most fundamental difference between the Dream World and other places is that this world’s entire existence runs on magic power. According to what I currently understand, magic power is nearly without limit in application. It grants Awakened individuals extraordinary strength and physical resilience. It allows flesh to regenerate. The Force of Nature is simply another expression of it. I do not yet know the origins of this power with certainty, but I am confident it is connected to the Gods.”
He then gave them what they needed: the other world, the Oracle who betrayed the Gods, the structure of the Battle of Divine Will. He kept it deliberately accessible, omitted the most technically complex details, and centered the account on the practical urgency.
“I don’t know whether the Battle of Divine Will playing out in both worlds simultaneously is coincidence or design,” he said. “But this much is certain: if the cycle is not broken, the Gods will destroy everything. They already have the means to do it.” He paused. “If we do nothing, both worlds end — what you call the real world, and this one. There is no version in which standing still is safe.”
Chapter 1359 - Convincing
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Mr. Rock!” Someone called out in an attempt to stop the idea.
Rock waved his hand. “It’s fine, if I’m not wrong, more than 30% of these cores were obtained by this Hunter. If he had been targeting the cores in the first place, he would not have waited until now. Honestly, I have difficulties telling if Roland here is a Creator, but he is the most competent and wellqualified person capable of resisting the Fallen Evils.” He nodded at his secretary, “Bring the core storage box over.”
It was no secret that a new yet remarkable Hunter had appeared, blowing off steam for the old-school martialists and boosted their confidence.
After all, the majority of missions to kill Fallen Evils and retrieve their cores required cooperation from many parties since the enemies only chose weak Martial Artists to fight against and spent most of their time hiding, leaving very few opportunities for the Association.
But after the appearance of the new Hunter, the Fallen Evils died like moths that darted to flames. One after another, Fallen Evils died in his hands at a hunting frequency that ranked highly even under the backdrop of the Association’s history.
The short silence within the hall was broken by a middle-aged man. “I would like to ask Mr. Roland a question, and we can put aside the proof of Creators and Gods first.”
Roland shrugged indifferently.
“I was present to witness Miss Fei Yuhan’s severely injured state, and was the one who found the emergency doctors. I know that those injuries weren’t anything that Force of Nature or our current medical field is able to treat. At that time, they stated that you used seemingly mediocre and subpar quality
medical instruments but produced such an unbelievable result, as though… as though you were actually producing new flesh and blood.” The man took a deep breath, “Maybe you have your considerations and are unable to reveal the origins and manufacturing methods for the instruments, but I have to ask. Are—you willing to sell them to the Association? I can promise you that the price is negotiable!”
“That was on my mind as well.” Fei Yuhan suddenly tilted her head and whispered to Roland, “Please don’t tell me that what you used on me were priceless medicinal herbs or spirit pills from the other world and that the instruments were a facade. Although I have some savings, it is still far from the wealth of a nation.”
Roland immediately smiled; he never expected such words to come from the genius martial artist. “Relax, it’s free.”
“Phew… that’s great. But do not tell them that. Sometimes, people never learn to cherish things when they are free,” Fei Yuhan said after heaving a sigh of relief.
Roland gestured an “understood” and turned to the middle-aged man, “Of course we can. Martial Artists are the vanguard in resisting Erosion, so I naturally hope that everyone can lay down their worries of injuries and pain to fight to the death. Additionally, I never planned to hide its origins. Those things are not products of this world, but comes from another world. They are altered using magic power. In other words, they do not belong to this world.”
This statement was definitely important information.
The conference hall immediately burst into a commotion.
“Another… world?”
“What’s magic power?”
“Wait, he mentioned something about some confined magic power to be released—could Force of Nature be a type of Magic Power?”
Facing their queries, Roland replied calmly, “You will understand it soon. Including where I was before the emergence of this world, what is the intention of the Gods, the link between magic power and this world… I will explain everything. But before that, I would first showcase the most straightforward proof for all these.”
Just as he finished his sentence, the Defender’s secretary carried a large box into the hall.
The box opened automatically with Rock’s fingerprints and iris scan, revealing a neat row of glass jars stacked within.
There were a total of six jars with red crystals sealed within them.
These were Natural cores after congealment.
“Are these enough?” Rock asked.
“It’s sufficient enough for proof.” Roland nodded his head.
Receiving Rock’s approval, the secretary sent the glass jars over to him.
“Every seal on these jars are installed with an alarm device that would signal to the Association regardless of who opens it,” Rock explained. “Any ordinary human that comes into contact with the cores will have their consciousness seized immediately and transform into inferior Fallen Evils that operate solely on instinct. An Awakened will have a nonzero resistance towards it, but will suffer from erosion if in contact with it for too long and this process is irreversible. To prevent them from being used by Fallen Evils again, the Association had to construct various large-scale strongholds and bury them deeply. You can say that all the famous buildings in history have remnants of being used to store and hide the cores. In our current generation, although our techniques have greatly improved, the manner in which the cores are dealt with have not changed much, the perfect example being Prism City.”
“From today forth, you have no need to do such a thing.” Roland opened the seal and held the core in his hand.
All the nobles gasped in astonishment.
The congealed core started to spin, as though it had awakened from its coma.
Not only so, its color gradually turned from dark red to sky blue, as though it was being cleansed.
The core transformed into a beam of light that shot upwards through the ceiling and disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a few scattered specks of light, as though everything that had just happened was a mere hallucination.
Everyone was dumbstruck.
Since the establishment of the Association, they had never heard of such a thing—even after tracing back to thousands of years of history, there had never been a document stating that ‘cores could vanish into thin air’ in the history of Awakened beings. The fact had been laid down that once a Fallen Evil appeared, the eroded core would never disappear and turn into a dangerous and cataclysmic seed that had to be passed down. It was a common understanding for everyone. The only way to destroy a Fallen Core was to throw it into Erosion, but that led to the rapid expansion of the rift, and it was used as a last resort only unless absolutely required.
The spectacle before their eyes completely toppled their understanding.
“Mr Roland… where did the core go?” Even the staid Rock revealed an excited expression.
“It’s just as what I said, the core had returned to the world. This is where biggest difference between the Dream World and reality lies—its whole existence and continuation lies purely on magic power.” Roland took another core and turned it into the silver beam of light. “According to what I currently know, magic power is almost omnipotent. It allows Awakened beings to wield extraordinary strength and physique, as well as allow the regeneration of flesh and blood. The Force of Nature is essentially another embodiment of magic power. As of now, I am still unclear of the origins of this power, but I dare say it is inevitably linked to the Gods.”
Roland then explained to them about the other world, as well as giving an account of the Oracle that betrayed the Gods. To decrease the difficulty of comprehension, he intentionally skipped many details and emphasized on the Battle of Divine Will.
“I do not know whether the accounts of the Battle of Divine Wills on both worlds are a coincidence or not, but without a doubt, if we do not break this cycle, the Gods will destroy everything—or should I say, they already have the means to do so.” Roland paused. “If we continue to stand by and do nothing, everything will cease to exist, be it the real world or Dream world.”