A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 338 Dawn is Coming, The Chronicles of Demonic Thoughts

Yue Buqun, the chivalrous hero of Jiangnan, is somewhat anxious.

In reality, he doesn't use this name. Although he shares the same surname Yue, his full name is Yue Zhongquan.

It is said that he was born during a time of great catastrophe, when for some reason, no food crops could be grown on the ground, many flowers, trees and plants withered and died, and the water became undrinkable.

Some experts have suggested that the frequent geological disasters have caused significant changes in the soil's acidity and alkalinity.

At that time, many households had efficient water purifiers, so they didn't pay much attention. However, soon after, the situation became increasingly chaotic, energy was scarce, and even water that couldn't be drunk directly was confiscated.

The militants monopolized water and food, selling them at ever-increasing prices, and demanding barter or other forms of payment instead of currency.

The name Yue Zhongquan was born from his family's love and expectations for spring water.

Over the past fifty years, Yue Zhongquan has built up a considerable business empire. With his considerable talent in psychic abilities, he has done well in the game world, which naturally made it easier for him to build his own team in the real world.

A level six psychic can occupy two or three towns and do whatever they want, living a carefree life, but they can't provoke those big cities.

Yue Zhongquan was a man who cherished his hometown. He wiped out many gangs that were committing crimes, brought order to the area, and even restored some of the factories that existed before the Great Cataclysm, and started long-term trade with other places.

Unfortunately, in this wasteland, even if you don't offend others, they will still offend you.

A nearby metropolis, Steel Palace City, possesses a Level 7 psychic, two Level 6 psychics, and a well-trained and powerful force. They have their eyes on Yue Zhongquan.

Those people first demanded to join the franchise, requiring Yue Zhongquan to regularly supply a batch of materials free of charge as a sign of their sincerity in joining.

But in the following two or three years, the demands became increasingly excessive.

Yue Zhongquan knew he couldn't win against them, so he endured it again and again, secretly contacting some allies in the surrounding area to form an alliance against them.

They are just waiting for the alliance to acquire the means to counter seventh-level psionicists before launching a counterattack.

This time in "The Promised Land," the major main quests in the urban area and the historical district were launched one after another, much earlier than expected, and the rewards were so generous that Yue Zhongquan saw real hope.

As long as you can make a quick buck during such a big event, you'll have the confidence to fight against level seven psionic energy, and you won't have to swallow your pride anymore.

But to everyone's surprise, not only did they not make any money, but a major main quest unexpectedly went wrong, forcing players offline and preventing them from logging back in.

I spent several hours in my study, constantly refreshing the forums, watching other players making the same noise, and trying to contact my friends, but to no avail.

Seeing his friends' equally anxious faces, Yue Zhongquan pushed open the desk with a hint of anger. As the equipment on the desk shook, he stood up and paced back and forth.

A communication notification came from the watch again. Yue Zhongquan pressed the answer button on the watch, and a half-body image of a short-haired, slightly chubby middle-aged man was projected into the air.

"Old Yue, have you received the message?"

Yue Zhongquan asked, "What?"

"The Promised Land is under maintenance for a month, huh?"

The middle-aged man was an old friend of Yue Zhongquan. He had heard that Yue Zhongquan had come to the inland city from the coast a few years ago to make a living. He possessed level four psychic abilities, but was quite shrewd. He said, "Didn't you see the message that popped up on the login page?"

Yue Zhongquan quickly returned to his desk, picked up the gaming helmet and looked inside, but there was still nothing there. However, he glanced at the forum next to him, and sure enough, all the players seemed to be discussing this matter!

"Maintenance will last for one month, during which time you will be unable to log in. After one month, all users will have a brand new experience?"

Yue Zhongquan was both pleasantly surprised and a little apprehensive. "Why is there nothing here?"

The slightly chubby middle-aged man was also a little confused. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly realized: "Oh, you're probably the first player to sense, cough, the offline player, so you're receiving messages a little slower."

Yue Zhongquan didn't think much of it and saw a new message pop up in his helmet, which reassured him a lot. At the same time, he complained a little: "What brand new experience? What big event? You didn't mention a word about it, did you? We've been waiting for this opportunity for so long..."

The slightly chubby middle-aged man chuckled, "Don't rush, I have some inside information. I heard that there are a few more easy-going administrators in the game world, and you might even know one of them. You might be able to get some benefits from them."

Yue Zhongquan laughed and said, "Don't say such nonsense to comfort people. In all these years in the game world, when have I ever seen an administrator show up? And you even promoted someone I know? Hahahaha, you know what, I'm really happy now."

The slightly overweight middle-aged man didn't mind and said, "Then I'll tell you an even happier piece of gossip: the boss over at Steel Palace."

He made a throat-slitting gesture. "We're finished. The prosthetic bodies of two of his men were also destroyed because they contained backups of his soul data. Now those two have been replaced with prosthetic bodies of a lower tier. If you take them out individually, they're probably weaker than you."

Yue Zhongquan exclaimed in surprise, "What? You're not joking about something like this!"

"Although it's just a rumor, it's not a joke."

The slightly overweight middle-aged man said seriously, "Isn't my reputation over the past few years enough for you to trust me? I can also tell you that just recently, the chaotic situation on this continent is about to undergo a huge change. A reassuring order will be established, and those who do evil will eventually be brought to justice."

Yue Zhongquan's expression changed, and he hesitated, looking at his old friend, he suddenly felt that the other person was somewhat unfamiliar.

He trusted his old friend. When the other person spoke seriously, everything they said was carefully considered. But precisely because of this trust, he now wanted to ask, "How do you know so much? The forums are in an uproar, with all sorts of speculations, but no conclusion has been reached. The source of your inside information is rather suspicious."

But he didn't say it.

In any case, this old friend had never harmed him before, and now... having such a friend is a good thing.

Yue Zhongquan's eyes lit up, and he hesitated before saying, "If what you say is true, then the overall situation is not our concern. In any case, let's launch a counterattack first, right? Now is the perfect time for our alliance to launch a counterattack."

The slightly overweight middle-aged man laughed again: "That's right, that's what I meant when I contacted you. I've also contacted other people. I'll have some new helpers on my side. We'll launch a counterattack together, decapitate, intimidate, quickly take over, and announce it to all regions."

"However, after the decapitation, there shouldn't be any major changes in the follow-up matters. Let's wait and see for a while before making any decisions."

He said confidently, "In short, I won't let you people suffer any losses."

Yue Zhongquan listened intently, his mind racing, and finally agreed. Afterwards, they held another video conference to discuss the timing of the operation with key figures in the anti-alliance.

After the meeting, he sat at his desk in a daze for a while. When he came to his senses, it was already late at night. He quickly sent someone to investigate the situation in Steel Palace City to see if there were any clues that could verify the information he had received during the day.

But then he discovered that the situation on the player forums had changed dramatically.

In just a few hours, the various forums and chat groups that were previously embroiled in heated debates and conflicting opinions now seem to be generating the same kind of public opinion.

—This maintenance in the game world is related to the changing situation in the entire wasteland continent, and the chaotic and divided situation may be coming to an end.

Yue Zhongquan didn't know where this public opinion came from, but after a period of panic, he thought of his old friend and a secret expectation arose in his heart.

He walked to the window in the study, pushed it open, placed his palm on the somewhat worn windowsill, and looked out at his town.

This is a street rebuilt from ruins. Diligent people live here. More than fifty years have passed, and no trace of the ruins can be seen. However, the houses along the wide concrete road are not particularly high-end or clean.

Under the streetlights, swarms of mosquitoes gathered. The children, who possessed weak psionic abilities, were not yet old enough to need prosthetics or to do manual labor, making them luckier than children in many other parts of the wasteland.

They were playing a game of shooting mosquitoes with toothpicks using their small, tender hands.

"If things really do change, I don't expect the external environment to become much better..."

Yue Zhongquan clenched his fist and pressed it against the windowsill, a surge of passion rising in his chest. "As long as things don't get worse, and as long as there aren't any other Level 7 forces to exploit us, I can build this place up even better."

"It's not impossible to make them as happy as the people in the city."

The urban areas in the game world, on the surface, only have the technological capabilities equivalent to those in the early 21st century in the real world.

It's a technology that's three hundred years behind, but it's something many people envy and a goal many people strive to achieve in their lifetime.

On this same night, people emerging from the city center were marveling at the scenery of the real world.

Qi Dongqiang and Ye Wu were not in a hurry to leave the game world, but instead rushed to see their relatives and friends.

Only Su Sheng, after settling in briefly, borrowed a bionic robot, transferred his soul data into it, and came to reality.

"Is this the ocean in the real world? It really is..."

He racked his brains for a long time but couldn't find any difference between the ocean scene and the normal time in the game world. "It really is different."

He looked up at the sky again, and this time it was much easier to express his feelings: "The moon is different too!"

Guan Luoyang got a small stool, sat down, and started fishing.

Upon arriving in reality, Su Sheng was at a loss, so Guan Luoyang suggested that they go fishing at the seaside and enjoy the scenery.

"The moon is truly different."

Guan Luoyang chuckled softly, "Your prosthetic body isn't very good; it lacks touch and taste. However, the fact that you people have been able to cultivate continuously shows that your original brains are still intact."

"I've already given some information to my friends so they can find your brains. Once they find your brains, they'll install good prosthetic bodies and input this soul data back into you, so you can experience the differences in the real world more fully."

Su Sheng expressed his gratitude and said, "Didn't we agree beforehand that we would cooperate with your research? May I ask what kind of research you're conducting?"

"I've read through your materials and made notes. I can think about them myself later; there's no need for any further cooperation. As for other research, we'll wait for further notice. In short, it won't be anything too difficult for you."

Guan Luoyang casually stuck his fishing rod at his feet, waved his hand, got up and sat down on the recliner behind him. "Don't think too much about it. Since this is your first time playing in the real world, just enjoy fishing."

Su Sheng looked at him for a while, then turned back with a sense of relief and focused on fishing.

Guan Luoyang had already collapsed onto the recliner, his hands supporting his head, his mind elsewhere.

He comprehended the power of the void through the Mind-Intent Method, grasped the true meaning of the Heavenly Demon Skill, and reached the ninth level of Qi Refining through the Heavenly River Orthodox Method. Through his genetic information martial arts, he achieved overall evolution.

He has already reached the advanced level of six stars, but if he wants to make further progress, where should he go next?

As long as a reincarnated being doesn't die, their progress in cultivation is generally faster than that of the natives of a single world.

Because they have access to many different world power systems, cultivation techniques, elixirs, weapons, and even "masters"—their range of choices is much more flexible than that of most natives of a single world.

Sometimes, when you encounter difficulties or shortcomings in a certain power system that are hard to overcome, you can go to another power system to find something that can help you solve the problem.

It is fast, but this also causes the Reincarnators to find that their direction is not so clear after reaching a certain level, and they are even more confused than the same level of strong people in a single world.

Guan Luoyang himself could be considered a reincarnator who didn't study a wide variety of subjects. He mainly studied either the path of immortality or the path of martial arts, and he didn't delve into subjects like alchemy, weapon crafting, formations, talismans, divination, or bloodlines.

However, upon closer examination, what he has learned so far has spanned about ten different systems.

The Four Great Trainings, the Mind and Intent Method, the Three Dantian Internal Skills of the Great Tang Dynasty, the True Form of the Azure Bird, the Heavenly Demon Skill, the Golden Stone Demon Path and the Purified Immortal Path of the Water Margin World, the Heavenly River Orthodox Method, Gene Information Martial Arts, etc.

He also explored the cultivation methods of ghost immortals obtained from his friends, and discussed some of the mysteries of the Earth Immortal realm with Yuan Gong, Qin Zhiyue and others from Jukuzhou.

However, he first had the path that his future self had summarized by using the "closed classroom ten years later".

It also has the Heavenly River Orthodox Method and the Heavenly Demon Art, two seven-star martial arts techniques as its core, supplemented by Vacuum Divine Power and Gene Information Martial Arts.

Therefore, there were no obvious bottlenecks in reaching the six-star level.

However, now that his overall level has reached the advanced stage of six stars, he finds that the road ahead is a bit unclear.

The stage between six-star and seven-star is a crucial level.

This can be seen from the various preferential treatments given to seven-star reincarnators by the Main God Space.

The most well-known point is that only seven-star reincarnators can freely choose whether or not to return to a world they have visited before. With this authority, the scope of their actions is enormous.

Some people also call this level between six and seven stars the Divine Gate.

Only by stepping into the first gate of the divine realm and reaching the seventh star can one be said to have officially embarked on the path to achieving the great power of a true god in an infinite world.

Countless six-star reincarnators, who are also incredibly talented, are stuck at this hurdle and cannot reach a higher level.

Despite both "Tianhe Zhengfa" and "Tianmo Gong" being touted as seven-star techniques, it doesn't mean that these two techniques can provide much useful guidance to those stuck at the six-star level.

The Heavenly River Orthodox Method is considered a superior method in the world of "Immortal Gourd," and in the entire universe. Cultivating it to the Primordial Spirit realm is considered equivalent to the Seven Stars. However, even the most fortunate beings in that universe, with such a superior method, cannot break through to the Primordial Spirit realm step by step. They still need to hone their character and wait for the right opportunity.

As for the Heavenly Demon Art, let's not even mention it. The founder of the Azure Bird True Form, Si Yushu, had such high knowledge of martial arts that he was able to cooperate with others to improve some chapters of the Heavenly Demon Art. However, he still couldn't break through to the Seven Stars and had to fight to the death to seize that one chance, which led to his unfortunate death.

There's even a joke circulating in the Reincarnator base: "Every Reincarnator is practically cheating, but without a huge cheat, you can't become one of the Seven Stars."

Guan Luoyang can't think of any powerful cheat that could help him reach the seven-star level yet, but recently, his research and analysis of various information has given him an idea to create a "small cheat" for himself.

One must eat one bite at a time. Creating a "small trick" first is more efficient than focusing solely on arduous cultivation.

The talisman he was going to find for himself was time.

In the Promised Land, the time flow in this game world is twice that of the real world.

One day in the real world, two days in the game world.

This was originally just a means of influencing the human mind and adjusting the sense of time. Guan Luoyang himself could do it too; it was just manipulating the mind. The Heavenly Demon True Meaning was very good at it.

However, people like Su Sheng, who have always lived in the game world, can still cultivate. The cultivation time is calculated directly according to the internal time of the game world, and the spiritual energy they cultivate is not fake data.

This is quite extraordinary; Guan Luoyang couldn't have done it before.

Deceiving others' sense of time is just a trick, but the psionic energy that grows in the game world is real and not fake.

As long as Guan Luoyang can crack the secret between "false" and "true", he will have at least twice as much cultivation time as others at all times.

Unraveling this secret is not difficult, because Jiushan himself has studied this topic and left behind a wealth of information.

However, after studying all the conditions, Jiushan discovered that he could only do this in the game world, with the assistance of countless artificial intelligences and a certain number of players online.

Moreover, twice is already the limit; with his personal abilities, there is no way to adjust this time ratio higher.

Once you leave the game world to do other things, Jiushan will no longer be able to enjoy the benefit of double the time.

Since Guan Luoyang couldn't take the entire game world with him, he tried to create the same conditions within his own mind.

The water was a deep blue-green, and the sky was pure white.

The spirit of Guan Luoyang sits cross-legged in the very center of the sky and the sea, transforming this place time and time again.

He allowed the power of the vacuum to seep into this place, used the knowledge of Brahma's brain to write data for himself, and used the true meaning of the Heavenly Demon to simulate the feeling of multiple thoughts being online. The effect was there from the beginning, but it was very subtle and not much different from the flow of time in the outside world. Whenever he wanted to speed it up, it would easily collapse.

In reality, the sun and moon revolve, day and night change, the tide rises and falls at the seaside, and the azure water reflects different sky and cloud scenes.

Guan Luoyang immersed himself in his inner world, constantly sensing the subtle signs before each failure, and finally he caught the mistake.

"Using the true meaning of the Heavenly Demon to simulate multiple thoughts was a mistake. I don't really want to have a split personality. The simulated thoughts may seem different, but they are only superficially different and not very different. They cannot serve as a sufficient control group."

At the seaside, Guan Luoyang stood up.

No one knows how long he had been lying there. Hei Cuodao also arrived and was fishing with Su Sheng. There wasn't a single fish in the buckets beside them.

Meanwhile, Anling would occasionally linger near Heicuodao with her full catch, then move to a different spot and continue fishing.

Su Sheng looked at the fish with envy.

Hei Cuodao stared straight ahead, his gaze focused, clearly not fishing, but practicing his martial arts.

Guan Luoyang ignored them and crossed the sea. Soon after, he returned to the United Government and found Yan Zhen in the military and political hall of Indra Province.

"Brother Yan Zhen, how did you manage to extract genetic information and create that historical projection?"

Yan Zhen was in the middle of a meeting when he suddenly barged in. Yan Zhen's focused and undistracted demeanor suggested he was in a strange state of mind. Yan Zhen dismissed the people around him and replied, "I had conceived of that move long ago, but it was the Ghost Immortal Path cultivation notes you gave me that accelerated my progress towards that realm."

"Okay, okay."

Guan Luoyang's eyes lit up, and he said, "Come, let me tell you what I've been thinking about lately, and let's try to deduce it together."

Yan Zhen listened to him for a few words and couldn't help but get absorbed in it. Then he heard some noise around him. He glanced over and saw that it wasn't anything urgent.

"Go find Mingjing. Go to him about everything you talked about before. He's thorough and will definitely be able to handle it."

After saying that, the old man invited Guan Luoyang to go outside together, wanting to find a quiet place.

The person who came to report had no choice but to report to Fifth Mirror.

"Oh? There's an abandoned warp site that's showing signs of opening a warp portal?"

After reading the report, Fifth Mirror said, "I'll go and see for myself."

He was always meticulous. After thinking for a moment, he added, "President Hong of the Shenzhou Brotherhood Society is nearby. At least someone of her skill level would be able to keep up with Senior Yan Zhen and Mr. Guan. Ask her to go and follow them. In case anything happens, it will be convenient to notify them."

Upon hearing the news, Hong Siya rushed over immediately and took over the work of following the two people.

The two of them didn't go far. They found a shady spot in a park and started discussing it. Later, they sat cross-legged and remained silent, doing nothing, occasionally exchanging a few more words.

Hong Siya simply set up her office nearby, and more than ten days passed.

One morning, while she was having a video conference and watching the two people on the other end of the projector screen, she suddenly saw Guan Luoyang open his eyes and catch a leaf falling from a tree.

Hong Siya didn't rush over. She observed for a while longer before confirming that Guan Luoyang had broken free from his immersive state of contemplation and deduction.

"I did it! I did it!"

Guan Luoyang looked at the leaves in his hand, a pure joy welling up inside him.

Suddenly, even the withered leaf with its yellowed edges looked much better. He simply channeled his energy to turn the leaf green again, stood up, and tossed the leaf back to where it had fallen.

The leaf stalks were reattached to the branches, looking brand new. The whole tree radiated a wonderful glow, shaking its branches and leaves, and the yellowing branches all turned dark green.

For the next hundred years, this tree in the park remained evergreen.

Since becoming a reincarnator, the circumstances and the subtle influence of the environment have made Guan Luoyang increasingly focused on efficiency in his work, and he has been doing less and less of this kind of superfluous pleasure.

But after completing that set of supernatural powers, he felt as if he had swept away all the dust in his heart, and a sense of ease, composure, and tranquility naturally arose within him.

"Hahaha, okay."

Yan Zhen stood up with a smile. "Brother Guan, does this kung fu style have a name?"

After a moment's thought, Guan Luoyang said, "It can be called 'The Realm of Emptiness, The Chronicles of Demonic Thoughts'!"

The spiritual intent that remained in his heart was cultivating and accumulating spiritual energy at a different time scale than that of the outside world.

The Vacuum Realm of the Heart, the Spring and Autumn of Demonic Thoughts, can only be constructed by oneself at present, unlike the game world where the sense of time can be adjusted for multiple people.

However, Guan Luoyang and his team, having pressed on with their efforts, have now determined that the effects they can achieve far exceed the time proportion of the game world.

Guan Luoyang breathed a long sigh of relief, with an evergreen tree behind him.

"Ha! From today onwards, I'll be spending at least 168 hours a day cultivating!"

(End of this chapter)