Chapter 101: One Demon, Three Calamities, Eight Kings

To Feng Qi's surprise, there wasn't a single message left in the private email account. This could only be explained by one reason.

As the narrator had suggested:

When the future him handed the private email account to Mu Qing, it was somehow exposed, leading to its contents being erased by the forces of evil.

However, a question suddenly popped into Feng Qi's mind.

Why didn't the forces of evil leave misleading messages in the email to confuse his judgment?

[Maybe the forces of evil lurking within human civilization simply don't believe you can traverse time. After all, time travel is such an unbelievable concept. Even you wouldn't believe it without experiencing it firsthand. But because the email contained too much information about them, they chose to erase it and eliminate you, who knew the truth.]

Hearing this explanation from the narrator, Feng Qi nodded.

That was exactly what he had been thinking. Otherwise, there was no way the email account would be completely devoid of information.

Even if Mu Qing hadn't left a message, the future him would have written plenty of crucial details.

He had hoped to gain a wealth of useful information during this journey into the future Dream Realm. Instead, the most critical clues stored in the private email account had been wiped clean, severing his trail entirely.

Now he couldn't rely on conversations with his future self to understand what significant discoveries he had made or why Mu Qing had formed the Dawn Rebel Army and resorted to mass slaughter.

After a moment of silence, Feng Qi decided to spend his remaining time browsing the historical database, trying to approach the mystery from another angle.

Particularly regarding Mu Qing's establishment of the "Dawn Rebel Army."

Perhaps, through this, he could find some hints—or even identify the informants planted by the forces of evil in Mu Qing's inner circle.

Closing the email page, he typed keywords into the search bar. Soon, information was listed on the screen.

The future evaluation of the Dawn Rebel Army was extensive.

Even online, numerous historical experts offered their interpretations of the Dawn Rebel Army's actions.

Through these analyses, Feng Qi discovered that the Dawn Rebel Army's strength wasn't solely reliant on Mu Qing.

In truth, many exceptionally gifted individuals followed her. Mu Qing was merely the pinnacle of individual combat power.

It was precisely because of this abundance of talent that the Dawn Rebel Army could stand against the entire world, seizing city after city with unstoppable momentum.

Relying on Mu Qing alone, no matter how powerful she was, wouldn't have been enough.

At the heart of the Dawn Rebel Army were twelve core members, known to the outside world as the One Demon, Three Calamities, and Eight Kings.

The "Demon" naturally referred to Mu Qing. Dubbed the "Historic God of War," she created an era of turbulence later referred to as the "Dark Period" by future historians.

When it came to Mu Qing's combat power, the future evaluation was clear: she was the strongest of her time and one of the top ten fighters in human history.

As for her specific rank among the top ten, that was a matter of debate.

Much like the age-old question of who would win in a fight between Guan Yu and Qin Qiong, it was impossible to determine without them sharing the same era or facing off directly.

Nevertheless, most people believed that Mu Qing's place in the top three of history was beyond dispute.

The "Three Calamities" referred to the three highest-ranking individuals within the Dawn Rebel Army, aside from Mu Qing.

These three were the absolute core of the army, assisting Mu Qing in managing its growth and conducting external campaigns.

They were:

First, Qin Shikong, the commander of the Skyhold Domain Combat Squad. Initially one of the top 100 combat squads, Qin Shikong led his team to join Mu Qing's cause, becoming a crucial member of the Dawn Rebel Army.

During this time, he contributed many strategies and ideas to the army's development. Notably, he was also a scavenger by origin.

Second was Long Qianyun, the former leader of the scavenger assassin organization known as "Thorn."

He was one of the earliest to join Mu Qing in forming the Dawn Rebel Army and primarily handled assassination missions and intelligence gathering. He was undoubtedly one of the army's pivotal figures.

The last of the Three Calamities, however, was shrouded in mystery. No useful information about her could be found online, aside from her name: Mu Yan. There were no background details provided.

Mu Yan succeeded Mu Qing as the leader of the Dawn Rebel Army after Mu Qing's death. She managed to rally the dispersed forces, launching a second counteroffensive against the United Human Army.

Judging by this feat alone, her abilities and background couldn't have been ordinary. Otherwise, how could she have commanded the loyalty of the other two Calamities?

Curious about Mu Yan's identity, Feng Qi immediately opened the search results and began combing through the information.

Filtered entries appeared on the screen.

In the photo, Mu Yan wore a formal military uniform. Her delicate features were sweet and radiant, with a smile that exuded a sunny, playful charm. From her appearance alone, she looked more like a cheerful neighbor than one of the feared Three Calamities.

Her record read:

Mu Yan (Rebel Leader)

Lifespan: Unknown

Cause of Death: Unknown

Lifetime Achievements: None

Introduction: After Mu Qing's death, Mu Yan assumed leadership of the Dawn Rebel Army, continuing Mu Qing's ideals. She led campaigns across cities and caused widespread slaughter, dealing irreparable damage to human civilization's progress.

However, near the end of the Dawn Rebel Army's resistance, Mu Yan mysteriously vanished without a trace. To this day, her fate remains unknown.

...

Viewing the information about Mu Yan left Feng Qi with a headache.

He hadn't expected that Mu Yan's details in the database would be completely "unknown."

Even Lü Yue, as mysterious as he was, had a traceable origin—he came from the vanished Lü family, a clan shrouded in secrecy.

Mu Qing's cause of death was classified, but at least the database confirmed her identity as a Rune-Enhanced Human and her graduation from Star City Academy.

But Mu Yan's backstory was an enigma, utterly absent from the network.

As for the online speculation about her origins, there were plenty of unverified theories:

One theory posited that Mu Yan was Mu Qing's adopted and personally trained successor, and possibly the only other perfectly fused Rune-Enhanced Human after Mu Qing.

Another theory suggested that Mu Yan might be a Domain Transcender. Her goals aligned with Mu Qing's desire to destroy the world, prompting her to join the Dawn Rebel Army and help strengthen it. Thus, after Mu Qing's death, Mu Yan took up the Dawn banner and continued to wage war against humanity.

The internet was full of speculation about Mu Yan's identity, but none of it was backed by evidence. It was as if she had appeared out of thin air in the annals of history.

Reading this, a bold thought struck Feng Qi—what if the mysterious Mu Yan had come from the "Path to Ascension"?

That would explain her seemingly sudden appearance, with no traceable information.

Lü Yue's identity was only known because he was connected to the vanished Lü family. Without that familial link, even Lü Yue would seem as though he had appeared from nowhere.

If Mu Yan originated from the Path to Ascension, another question arose.

Why did someone from the Path to Ascension assist Mu Qing in establishing the Dawn Rebel Army and, after Mu Qing's death, lead it against all humanity?

And what exactly was the Path to Ascension?

Unable to decipher these questions, Feng Qi began searching the database for information about the wars between the Dawn Rebel Army and humanity.

However, videos of these battles turned out to be restricted content, locked behind permissions he didn't have. He couldn't watch them at all.

While combing through the war information, a particular video caught his eye.

"Our civilization is on the brink of doom. Domain invasions are accelerating, and our future is hanging by a thread."

Intrigued, he clicked on the video.

The footage opened with a city captured from a distant perspective, its skies bright and serene, exuding an air of peace.

Feng Qi puzzled over the meaning of the video when suddenly, beams of light descended from the sky. The beams expanded rapidly upon hitting the ground, and humanoid Domain Creatures began emerging from them.

These creatures, born of the domain fields, immediately launched a massacre against the city's inhabitants. Within moments, the city was engulfed in flames, its skyscrapers crumbling, reduced to ruins.

As the video concluded, the domain field completely enveloped the city, transforming it into desolate rubble, devoid of life or vitality.

What unsettled Feng Qi the most was the presence of humans among the light's initial arrivals—not just Domain Creatures.

These humans resisted fiercely, engaging in a desperate battle against the invading Domain Creatures. Yet in the end, they were defeated.

The figures vanished into the ruined city, swallowed by the beams of light.

Watching this scene, Feng Qi immediately thought of the mysterious Path to Ascension.

Could those human figures, arriving to aid the city, be like Lü Yue—originating from the Path to Ascension? Were they appearing during humanity's critical moments to repel the domain invasions?

If so, one question remained unanswered.

Why did those strong individuals only emerge during crises, rather than joining domain combat squads to fight on the frontlines?

[Have you ever considered this question: Where do the domain fields come from? Why do they sporadically appear on Earth, and what is their source?]

Hearing the narrator's words, Feng Qi froze.

"You mean to suggest that the Path to Ascension might be the front line in the fight against the domain invasion's origin—that those powerful figures are sent there to battle the source?"

[I'm not sure, but based on the available information, it's a plausible theory.]

"If that's true, why would information about the Path to Ascension be hidden from the public? Why isn't the world allowed to know about it?"

[How would I know? I'm just a merciless reminder bot, capable of ding-ding-ding but not deep thinking. Keeping up with your mental gymnastics is burning out my circuits.]

Feng Qi: ...

Following the narrator's prompts, Feng Qi continued analyzing the situation and formulated a hypothesis.

Perhaps the strong individuals sent to the Path to Ascension were conducting a secret mission to combat the source of calamity, ensuring that Domain Creatures infiltrating human society wouldn't discover their actions. Secrecy was essential.

This would explain the mysterious disappearances of powerful individuals in modern society and the complete lack of information about the Path to Ascension online.

It also clarified why, on the brink of the Dawn Rebel Army's defeat, the enigmatic Mu Yan suddenly vanished.

Perhaps at that time, she had already returned to the Path to Ascension.

It would further explain why, during domain invasions, mysterious forces would descend in beams of light to assist humanity.

But new questions surfaced.

Where was the Path to Ascension? Could it be that no secret organization had ever uncovered its existence?

If the Path to Ascension was truly a place outside this world, might it harbor the remnants of humanity after the world's destruction?

At this moment, Feng Qi yearned to learn more about the Path to Ascension.

Finding it seemed to hold the key to unraveling many mysteries.