Among the apocalypses of the current three worlds, the one belonging to the native Shen Yu is the most mysterious.
The other two worlds have been experiencing their apocalypses for some time, and they're relatively straightforward.
But the apocalypse in the world of native Shen Yu is exceedingly complex and diverse, full of unknowns.
"Our scientists haven't found any obvious signs of artificial intervention on those Eye Worms, yet these creatures clearly possess characteristics of biological weapons. It's highly unlikely they're a product of natural evolution." Intersellar world Shen Yu spoke slowly, his expression also somewhat grave. "It seems this apocalypse faced by the true Shen Yu is truly no ordinary matter!"
The Goddess of Hope had actually already conducted a considerable analysis.
But unfortunately, for now, nothing more could be discerned.
Perhaps only by considering other types of monsters together could a clearer picture emerge.
"That meteorite could be a big problem, but looking on the bright side—" Martial Artist Shen Yu suddenly chuckled, "Didn't it also give us enough time to prepare? The way one kind of monster after another appears is just like leveling up by fighting monsters in a game. Maybe the troubles of today won't be trouble for us in the future."
"That perspective isn't wrong. Things haven't reached their worst yet." Shen Yu suppressed a faint unease within himself and looked at Martial Artist Shen Yu. "However, we can't slack off just because of some achievements. Time is life, is Gray Mist, is opportunity! Your world, too, needs to push forward even harder."
"Mm, I understand." Martial Artist Shen Yu's expression grew more solemn.
Why is the Martial Arts World unique?
Because this extraordinary path is markedly different from the other two worlds.
It offers excellent complementarity.
For example, in interstellar world Shen Yu's world, human civilization isn't actually weaker than Void Spirit in terms of technology; it's just that they specialize in different fields.
But when compared with the incorporeal Void Spirit, humanity is simply too weak.
One side dies endlessly on the battlefield, while the other side faces no threat at all. Such a war unavoidably spells apocalypse for civilization, and that's no surprise.
Shen Yu's world is similar.
Although Eye Worms can be crushed by interstellar technology, what if monsters with intangible mental traits also appear?
With the emergence of the "seven hundred thousand" figure, the importance of the Martial Arts World continues to rise!
After that, the three didn't go their separate ways.
Instead, they traveled to the Martial Arts World to cultivate Martial Arts.
Shen Yu and interstellar world Shen Yu stayed in Martial Artist Shen Yu's manor.
This world is saturated with Primordial Energy, and with the sharing of realms, it wouldn't even take many days for them both to reach Martial Artist Shen Yu's current level.
Meanwhile, Martial Artist Shen Yu was on his way.
The Gray Mist Space could only serve as a waypoint, allowing travel to locations he'd visited before and left a spatial coordinate.
Transport in this world was inconvenient, so to reach the city where his father-in-law lived, Martial Artist Shen Yu could only traverse the land.
He had a mount translated as "Dragon Scale Beast," a wedding gift from his wife. It was incredibly fast, able to travel thousands of kilometers a day, but the world was vast, and the journey was rough, mostly crossing mountains and ridges.
Moreover, the closer he drew to his destination, the more he witnessed the current devastation of this world.
All along the way were emaciated, skeletal refugees, corpses everywhere, some even gnawed clean to the bone.
It was like Purgatory on earth.
Bear in mind, in this world, everyone trains in Martial Arts!
Even the few who don't, living in a world rich with Primordial Energy, are all tall and robust.
With vast lands and abundant resources, even in disastrous years there'd never been scenes like this.
Were all these people heading to the city to seek survival?
Yet what of the cities now?
Martial Artist Shen Yu steadied his mood and increased his speed.
Finally, after crossing a high mountain, a massive city nestled in the low valley of the peaks appeared before his eyes.
This city's name was Moonstone City, owing to the nearby volcanic moonstone—a Yin Attribute ore that drastically accelerated cultivation for certain Yin Attribute Techniques. Martial Artist Shen Yu had visited many times before, but the sight confronting him now was utterly shocking.
Beneath the dim Great Sun light, the mountains around Moonstone City, once lush and vibrant, were now stripped bare.
The cold winds blew, and all the trees were dying off.
Most strikingly, countless throngs of people roamed and wandered among the mountains!
All of them were refugees!
The numbers were staggering, far more than all those he'd seen on the journey combined!
By a rough count, there must be three or four million!
For context, the resident population of Moonstone City was usually just about a million.
"Yu son-in-law?" A voice called out nearby.
Martial Artist Shen Yu saw the city guards of Moonstone City rushing in his direction.
He didn't recognize them, but as the man who'd married Moonstone City's little princess, there wasn't a single guard in Moonstone City who didn't know him.
"Where is my father-in-law? I have urgent business." Martial Artist Shen Yu asked directly.
"Yu son-in-law, City Lord is at the East Gate now." One of the Moonstone City guards hesitated for a moment but still lowered his voice. "Yu son-in-law, as you can see, three million refugees have gathered around Moonstone City at least. If you're here to borrow food, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. The eldest son-in-law came a few days ago too and is still in the city; nobody can take grain out."
"Any strong ones among the refugees?" Martial Artist Shen Yu raised a brow.
If this were ancient times in his previous life, this scale of refugees besieging the city would be a massive threat.
But in this life, it's the Martial Arts World!
The strong rule supreme!
Three million refugees—with even thirty million, not one could block a true powerhouse's exit.
Unless there were experts among them!
"It's the West Mountain Saintess." The guard replied in a low voice, a deep worry between his brows.
"So it's her!"
Martial Artist Shen Yu's heart was shaken, but he understood.
In worlds like this, there were always some names among the strong that shone like the Great Sun.
The West Mountain Saintess was one such person.
Her most prominent trait was her "kind heart."
This year, she was already fifty-four, possessed extraordinary medical prowess, and wandered the lands alone, persistently saving the masses.
If that were all, it wouldn't be special—heroes abound in this world.
The key was that the West Mountain Saintess clearly had an obsessive compulsion to help others!
Her most famous feat was entering the stronghold of a great force to secure precious medicine for a stranger's child suffering from congenital disease, resisting pursuit and escaping by force, even being disfigured for it.
In Martial Artist Shen Yu's words from his previous life, she was a "saint mother."
And yet, her power was formidable.
"No wonder so many refugees have gathered." Martial Artist Shen Yu glanced around, suddenly enlightened.