The second phase was known as the feast of blood.
Invisible law force rippled outward from the Human World, from this very banquet.
It was as though a switch had been flipped. Changes erupted across the world all at once.
In the deep layer, the one thousand Bloodkind activated a formation.
The formation resembled a pool of blood, glowing with a vivid, piercing crimson.
And so, the feast of blood began.
Antares observed everything without the slightest intention of intervening. He didn’t even bother informing Lin Moyu.
In his eyes, this was trivial.
Even without Lin Moyu, Meng Anwen and the others should be able to deal with it.
As long as the bottom line wasn’t crossed, he couldn’t be bothered to act.
“A tragic age…” Antares murmured, continuing to watch as if it were a show.
…
In the Dragonkind World, teleportation formations hummed to life.
Twelve pillars of light shot into the sky, linking to the Shenxia Tower and opening a passage back to the Human World.
“Everyone, enter the teleportation formations!” Meng Anwen’s voice thundered, reaching every corner of the gathered crowd.
But the only reply was a piercing scream.
That single shriek became the signal for chaos.
The sound was unbearably sharp, far beyond the limits of any human voice.
Then came more. A relentless tide of screams and agonized cries followed.
“What’s happening?!”
Panic spread instantly.
Nearly ten million people had gathered, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Then pillars of blood erupted from within the crowd, and the smell of blood flooded the air.
Order collapsed in an instant.
Meng Anwen watched as people suddenly began mutating. Their expressions twisted into grotesque masks, reason vanishing from their eyes, replaced by pure bloodlust.
They looked no different from the people of other factions.
The mutated turned on those beside them without hesitation, causing massive casualties in an instant.
“Something’s wrong!”
“How could this happen so suddenly?!”
“Forget that! Save the people first!”
The God-level experts reacted immediately, joined by the peak-level class users who grasped the severity at once.
The auras of the mutated Shenxians surged wildly, and their strength skyrocketed, as though some sinister force was forcing growth upon them.
Their bodies also began to change-, wings sprouting from their backs, completely removing them from the realm of humanity.
Their strength spiked to level 80, rivaling peak-level experts.
Meng Anwen’s face turned grim. Gritting his teeth, he said, “It really is the beyonders.”
He was certain now. This was the beyonders’ doing.
The outbreak had come too fast. Even with the God-level experts acting, they couldn’t contain it immediately.
In those brief moments, tens of thousands were injured.
Fortunately, the Healers moved swiftly, providing treatment at once.
At last, the situation began to come under control.
Then the screaming started again.
The mutation happened again.
Meng Anwen’s expression changed sharply. This time, the mutated were the ones who had just been injured.
He understood instantly and barked, “All wounded… stop treatment immediately!”
“Everyone, move away from the wounded! God-level experts, eliminate the mutated on sight!”
He pointed toward the Shenxia Tower. At once, the tower unleashed countless beams of light, striking the mutated with perfect precision.
Thanks to his quick reaction, the second wave of mutation caused far fewer casualties.
Even so, out of the original eight million, several hundred thousand had already perished.
In just half a day, hundreds of thousands were dead, and they were their own people.
Grim expressions spread across every face. The horror of being forced into internecine weighed heavily on them.
Meng Anwen’s orders came rapidly, one after another: everyone was to inspect themselves and those around them.
No one could afford even the slightest injury. Once wounded, there was the possibility of mutation.
Before long, all who had been injured, regardless of when, were identified and isolated.
It was a necessary precaution. If they mutated, it would trigger yet another disaster.
The mutation was like a seed; given the smallest lapse, it would take root and spread.
The teleportation formations had already shut down. With safety still uncertain, they had no choice but to remain in the Dragonkind World.
As long as they stayed, Bai Yiyuan and the others could not leave either.
Meanwhile, class users from other factions continued to arrive, but Bai Yiyuan’s group stopped them from afar, killing them before they could approach.
Feng Xiu asked, “What do we do now?”
Meng Anwen paused briefly, “Gather all the corpses and burn them.”
“Separate the injured from the rest and keep distance between them. Have the military guard them.”
“I have a feeling this isn’t over.”
“And you?” Feng Xiu asked.
Meng Anwen had already realized something, “I need to return to the empire. I hope nothing has gone wrong there.”
The Shenxia Empire was their foundation. If anything happened to it, the consequences would be dire.
After issuing his instructions, Meng Anwen activated a teleportation formation and returned alone.
The moment he stepped out of the spatial channel, his expression darkened.
The air reeked of blood.
From above, he saw countless corpses scattered across a city.
Class users were clearing them away, as if a great battle had just ended.
Fires burned everywhere; once the dead were recorded, their bodies were cast into the flames and reduced to ash.
Meng Anwen traveled through several cities in quick succession, only to find the same scene repeated.
Something had gone terribly wrong, and it happened across the entire empire.
“Old Ning, where are you?” Meng Anwen contacted Ning Tairan.
“The imperial palace.” Came the immediate reply.
Inside the imperial palace, high-ranking officials of the Shenxia Empire had gathered.
Every face was grim, the atmosphere suffocating.
Even the massive pillars in the imperial palace seemed to groan under the tension.
Upon arrival, Meng Anwen wasted no time exchanging information.
From what he learned, he reached a chilling conclusion: the source of the mutation lay in everyone except those of pure Shenxia descent.
At first, the Shenxia had been unaffected, including those living abroad. However, individuals of mixed blood were affected and mutated during the first wave of mutation.
Many Shenxians died then, and even more were injured.
Most of the wounded, primarily frontline combat class users, recovered after treatment, while a smaller number returned home, dispersing across the empire.
Then came the second wave of mutation.
This time, the Shenxians were affected, specifically those who had been wounded by the infected during the first wave.
This confirmed it: the mutation was contagious.
The empire had already implemented measures similar to those in the Dragonkind World, isolating the injured and burning the dead to prevent further spread.
Meng Anwen turned to Medicine God Shu, “Old Shu, what do you think?”
Medicine God Shu spoke in a low voice, “I’ve studied it, but found nothing. The source of the mutation appears to lie within those of non-Shenxia bloodline.”
Even Medicine God Shu could not identify the root cause, making the situation exceedingly difficult.
“Bloodline?” Dongfang Li suddenly said, “I believe I’ve seen records related to this.”
As the one in charge of the imperial secret vault, Dongfang Li had read every ancient text within it, including lost records preserved only by the imperial family.
