Immortality begins with Swallowing the Stars.

Chapter 7 The Great Migration

Lu Jing gave his younger siblings a few words of advice, telling them not to worry, and then carried the tall Zhou Mingsheng on his back as they ran through the desolate steel forest toward the military's command center on the outskirts of the city.

Since the rise of demonic beasts, the city's roads have suffered a lot of damage. Driving is not as convenient as riding a motorcycle or electric bike. For martial artists, their own speed is the fastest.

The command center was located on the edge of the city and consisted of simple prefabricated houses and many military tents. Tanks and armored vehicles could be seen along the way.

As Zhou Mingsheng led him quickly through checkpoints, the soldiers along the way saluted respectfully when they saw Zhou Mingsheng. They were all curious about Lu Jing, who looked thin and seemingly powerless, supporting the tall and strong Zhou Mingsheng.

Lu Jing seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that the special operations team Zhou Mingsheng mentioned did indeed have a very high status.

Zhou Mingsheng turned to look at Lu Jing's expression, seemingly knowing what he was thinking. He patted Lu Jing's back with his fan-like hand and laughed heartily, "Our special operations team does have a high status, but the reason they respect me so much is because I saved their lives and the lives of their comrades!"

The burly man, who looked rugged, stopped smiling and his voice gradually lowered: "On the battlefield against the monsters, ordinary soldiers with firearms are still the main force of the fighting, but we martial artists also have our advantages. We have the ability to shuttle through the front lines of the battlefield to save as many soldiers and living forces as possible. They are our support, and we are their support. That is why humanity has been able to hold on until now."

"Xiao Lu, although I haven't known you for long, the battlefield is where people's true character is most easily revealed. I believe in your character, and I also believe that you will earn their respect in the future." Zhou Mingsheng patted Lu Jing on the shoulder.

Lu Jing paused, remaining silent.

Those who are successful should help others, while those who are poor should focus on their own well-being.

Although he can hardly be considered a saint, and he had his own reasons for joining the army, and the number of people he truly cared about was limited, namely his younger siblings, when he possessed such power, it was far from selfish enough to make him disregard everything else.

After Zhou Mingsheng finished speaking, he limped to a huge tent and lifted the tent flap.

"Old Zhou! What's wrong? Why are you in such a sorry state? Was it that Red Feather Thunder Falcon that flew through the air raid shelter and landed in the city? I just got the news..."

"Didn't you break through not long ago? You still can't handle a Red Feather Thunder Falcon that has just landed? Or were you too careless and fell for that bird beast's desperate attack? Didn't I warn you to be careful of the Red Feather Thunder Falcon's desperate attack when you encounter it?"

Zhou Mingsheng said with a wry smile, "How could I be a match for that Crimson-feathered Thunder Falcon? This time I almost gave up my life to feed that bird beast. The Crimson-feathered Thunder Falcon that broke into the city this time has already reached the advanced level of the first tier."

"Tier 1, Advanced?" a short-haired woman in sportswear exclaimed in surprise. "Could it be that the Crimson Feather Thunder Falcon has evolved again? Damn it! How did these beasts evolve so fast?!"

"Old Zhou, you're lucky. It seems the armored patrol team is nearby, otherwise you would have lost your life."

"Not at all! Haha, we were really lucky." Zhou Mingsheng laughed heartily, "It was my brother who appeared just in time and killed that Crimson Feather Thunder Falcon on the spot. You didn't see the scene, tsk tsk..."

Everyone inside the tent turned their attention to Lu Jing, who had just lifted the tent flap and entered.

When Lu Jing entered, he was secretly shocked as he glanced around the tent. There were nearly forty people inside, both men and women. Apart from a few middle-aged men in military uniforms, the rest exuded a powerful aura and were clearly at least martial artists. Moreover, they were all quite young, averaging around twenty years old.

Lu Jing remained calm, ignoring the stares that came from those who were surprised, admiring, or unconvinced.

A middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in military uniform, saw Lu Jing's youthful face, somewhere between a teenager and a young adult, and his eyes lit up with excitement: "Old Zhou, you're not lying to me? This... young man killed that Crimson Feather Thunder Falcon you mentioned, a high-level first-tier fighter?"

Zhou Mingsheng glanced awkwardly at Lu Jing, who seemed completely bewildered, and chuckled, "Minister Wu, please don't get too excited. It's true that Brother Lu killed that beast. However, he is a gene warrior. Hehe, to be able to break through to the first-level advanced gene warrior at such a young age, his talent is second only to Xiao Zheng. He is definitely one of the top geniuses in our Heyun City."

Minister Wu, who had just been incredibly excited, quickly lost his joy upon hearing this, and a hint of disappointment appeared on his face. He then quickly regained his smile and sighed, "I've been under too much pressure lately, and my emotions have gotten a bit out of control. Besides, even if another mentalist is born, they may not have the potential to surpass the first rank like Zheng Long."

Lu Jing responded calmly, but also realized something in his heart.

Minister Wu clearly mistook him for a mentalist. After all, once a mentalist awakens, as long as their physical fitness reaches that of a beginner warrior, the mental power they can unleash can reach that of a high-level warrior. The higher their physical fitness, the more mental power they can generate. Given Lu Jing's age and youthful appearance, it's quite normal to guess that he possesses the combat power of a high-level warrior through mental power.

Spiritual Master!

It seems that at the beginning of this great rebirth, the importance of mental cultivators and martial artists is not on the same level at all.

That's understandable. Putting aside the fact that, generally speaking, mentalists of the same level are indeed stronger than martial artists, the most important thing is that the pressure from monsters is increasing. Even the most talented human genetic martial artists need time to hone their skills and improve, but mentalists are different.

If someone breaks through to the intermediate warrior level like Zhou Mingsheng, they will immediately possess the strength of a junior warrior. Of course, this is on the premise that they have the talent or potential to reach the level of a junior warrior.

It seems that mages are highly sought after everywhere. Although Lu Jing understood this, he was still a little frustrated. Who told him he didn't have that kind of talent?

After Minister Wu learned that Lu Jing was willing to join the military, his joy was evident. He then introduced everyone to Lu Jing one by one.

"...This is Zheng Long, the captain of the second squad, a first-level advanced mentalist."

When introducing the last person, Minister Wu became noticeably more serious, indicating his special status.

Zheng Long!

Lu Jing felt a chill run down his spine. This Zheng Long was Zheng Hu's older brother and his true backer. Perhaps the conscription order he received yesterday was Zheng Long's doing. If he hadn't descended to the Panlong World and made a breakthrough, he would probably be in grave danger.

Zheng Long was a long-haired young man with deep-set eyes, exuding an air of superiority, like a god mixed among mortals, making Lu Jing feel inexplicably familiar with him.

Lu Jing then realized why it felt familiar.

He immediately recalled the necromancer he encountered when he first descended into the Panlong World, possessing a slave and entering the mansion of the nobleman who bought him. That necromancer had the same look in his eyes when he looked at slaves like himself, only more indifferent.

That was the arrogance and pride of those who considered themselves superior beings.

That makes sense. Whether they are genetic warriors or mentalists, their genes have indeed undergone some kind of evolution compared to ordinary people.

A flicker of doubt crossed Zheng Long's eyes as he looked at Lu Jing with some suspicion: "Your name is Lu Jing?"

Clearly, Zheng Hu's request was a trivial matter to him. It was not worth him to learn more about an ordinary person just because his brother asked him to put an ordinary person to the brink of death.

"The real deal." Lu Jing's eyes were calm, showing no sign of weakness.

He regretted that he was not a mentalist, but he was not afraid of the current strongest person in Heyun City.

With his mental strength reaching the level of a high-level warrior, his physical body was at most that of a low-level warrior. At such close range, he had a hundred ways to kill his opponent. Moreover, he possessed the Mysterious Gate. Even if the God of War were to stand before him, he would not feel that the God of War was qualified to look down upon him like a deity.

Moreover, he is considered one of the strongest people in Heyun City at present.

After the introduction, Lu Jing realized that the nearly forty strong people in front of him were the majority of the extraordinary strong people in Heyun City. Most of them were only first-level gene warriors, there were only seven first-level intermediate warriors, and only three first-level advanced warriors: Lu Jing, Zheng Long, and another mentalist.

On his way here, Lu Jing had already learned about the current human classification of demonic beasts and extraordinary powerhouses through Zhou Mingsheng.

It's very rough and crude; it's just first-order, second-order, and third-order.

After comparing the results in his mind, Lu Jing roughly concluded that the first tier was the warrior level, the second tier was the general level, and the legendary third tier was said to have only appeared when sea monsters landed on the coast in large numbers. It should correspond to the human god of war level and the monster lord level.

It is said that in the West, monsters are classified according to letters, with the highest being the S-class monsters, which only appear during large-scale sea monster invasions and landings.

However, in the eyes of the military's high command, it doesn't matter whether it's the first-level initial, intermediate, or advanced level, because the first-level can be dealt with by firearms, whether it's a martial artist, a mentalist, or a monster. At most, they can only play a supporting role.

It can only play a greater role at the second order.

Therefore, even if Lu Jing possesses first-tier high-level combat power, Minister Wu, as the military representative, could hardly feel much excitement, unless Lu Jing was a mentalist with second-tier potential like Zheng Long, who could break through at any time and be able to fight against powerful second-tier demonic beasts alone.

However, Lu Jing's appearance did somewhat excite Minister Wu.

"Great, Xiao Lu, your breakthrough came at just the right time. Having another first-tier high-level extraordinary combatant at this moment is of great significance to us."

Minister Wu sat upright and, amidst the puzzled or indifferent gazes of the many extraordinary individuals present, said in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, the reason I have urgently recalled you from your various missions is because there is a very important matter that requires your assistance."

"The military's highest command has decided that the two million residents of Heyun City will be relocated!"

What?!

Lu Jing was startled.

The Great Migration?

(End of this chapter)