Zheng Zha’s reaction was incredibly swift. The very instant Jonathan let out his shout, Zheng Zha was already moving, surging towards the source of the sound. Throughout the preceding day and night, he had maintained absolute vigilance. After all, the combat strength within their current team was severely uneven. By his own standards, he was arguably among the strongest in any Reincarnation Squad, yet the rest of his team consisted of non-combat personnel like Qi Tengyi, newcomers like Liu Yu, or their currently slumbering teammates. In short, apart from Zheng Zha and Yidendon, the rest of the group was essentially non-combative.

Jonathan’s speed was genuinely phenomenal—fast enough to win any world sprint championship, no doubt. However, the Yellow Turban Warriors pursuing him were faster. Before he could cover more than a few meters, a massive palm descended from above, aiming directly for his head. If that blow had landed squarely, Jonathan would have been instantly reduced to paste; no matter how miraculous he was, survival under such force was impossible.

Just as Jonathan was about to meet his end, a crisp clang sounded from behind him. Zheng Zha, utilizing his Instant Annihilation state to execute the technique known as "Shave," appeared instantly behind Jonathan and intercepted the fatal strike at the absolute last second.

Because these Yellow Turban Warriors had appeared somewhat unexpectedly, Zheng Zha had not managed to channel sufficient internal energy or bloodline power beforehand. After using one burst of Instant Annihilation, his reserves of both were already critically low. Thus, when blocking the blow, he relied almost entirely on his body’s raw strength. With a sharp clang, the hand gripping his blade was left numb and aching, and Zheng Zha himself was sent flying several meters backward.

(My strength is about fifty percent greater than it was in Shanghai. These Yellow Turban Warriors truly are an evolving type of monster—they revive ceaselessly over time, and their strength constantly increases… If we could figure out how to manufacture these things, wouldn't our team be invincible in combat?)

Due to insufficient preparation, Zheng Zha was blasted backward by the Yellow Turban Warrior’s strike. Even as he retreated, he remained in the process of unlocking the third stage of his Genetic Lock, simultaneously calculating and circulating his internal and bloodline energies. This entire process took barely a second or two. Then, planting his feet firmly, he charged back toward the Warrior. The Warrior that had struck him had not yet managed to retract its massive hand. Zheng Zha raised the Hu Po blade and swept it forward, unleashing a mist-like torrent of blade energy. The Yellow Turban Warrior was instantly enveloped by the radiance. Its colossal body was pulverized into dust in a single moment. Zheng Zha showed no hesitation, activating Instant Annihilation and "Shave" once more, instantly teleporting next to another Warrior. He raised the blade and swept it viciously again...

“The situation is not good,” Zheng Zha stated seriously to the others.

The exchange between Zheng Zha and the Yellow Turban Warriors was brief; the entire skirmish concluded in under twenty seconds. Although the five Warriors appeared enormous and their destructive power was indeed terrifying, under Zheng Zha’s formidable martial might, they couldn't even mount a proper defense.

They were effortlessly shattered by the Hu Po blade energy. Seeing Zheng Zha fight with such apparent ease, the rest of the team naturally relaxed. But no one expected Zheng Zha to suddenly utter those preceding words. A wave of confusion swept over them, and everyone turned to look at him curiously.

Zheng Zha spoke with grave intensity: “From the time we destroyed them in Shanghai until now, only about twenty hours have passed. For them to have fully resurrected in such a short time—their previous resurrection time must have been significantly longer, right?”

Jonathan paused before confirming, “Yes, that’s right. Previously, it always took several days…”

Zheng Zha nodded, running his fingers through the hair on his forehead. “Therefore, I believe their resurrection criteria and the degree of their strength increase must be tied to the last person who destroyed them. The stronger the person who destroyed them, the shorter their resurrection time, and the greater their subsequent power surge. It’s like an intelligent system that strengthens itself in response to the enemy’s improvement… I just tested how much stronger these Yellow Turban monsters have become—about fifty percent stronger than in Shanghai. If they grow by half strength with every revival, and their revival time keeps shrinking… the remaining six days will be our greatest test!”

If the Yellow Turban Warriors truly continued to strengthen indefinitely, there would eventually come a point where their power surpassed Zheng Zha’s, and they were immortal…

(Impossible. Nothing in this world possesses absolute strength. The greater the power, the greater the limitations imposed upon it. If these Yellow Turban Warriors can truly revive endlessly and strengthen without limit, they would be the ultimate weapons. How could the cultivators and Saints of the past have vanished then? There must be a critical flaw in these Yellow Turban Warriors; we just need to find it.)

“Still awake?”

As Zheng Zha was lost in thought, Qi Tengyi, who had been sleeping not far away, suddenly sat up. The man was addressing him directly.

Zheng Zha smiled faintly. “You aren’t asleep either, are you? Haha. I was just thinking about some things… Is something the matter?”

Qi Tengyi hesitated for a moment before retrieving a document from his inner pocket. “I’ve been helping Chu Xuan translate those files you brought back from The Lord of the Rings… I have a bad premonition regarding this branch plotline. That ‘God’ might be a creature beyond our wildest imagination…”

Zheng Zha frowned. “Why do you say that? Did you discover something?”

Qi Tengyi nodded. “Chu Xuan and I translated some of the specialized terminology in the documents. The existence of this ‘God’ is one such term. According to the translations, this ‘God’ is a combat weapon created by the cultivators known as ‘Immortals’ (Xian). It uses the souls of humans or ‘Immortals’ as its consciousness matrix, a body constructed from gene-tuned biological flesh and blood, and draws power from psychic energy. Such a combat weapon was the ultimate creation devised by the ‘Immortals’ during their most intense conflict with the Saints…” He paused. “Uh, Zheng Zha, have you ever seen the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion in the real world?”

“Huh?” Zheng Zha squeezed his hair, looking momentarily bewildered. “Yes, I have seen it…”

Qi Tengyi continued, “Chu Xuan once theorized about the method by which the ‘Main God’ was created. After translating the manufacturing process for this biological weapon called ‘God,’ he believes the ‘Main God’ is a fusion of the souls of the cultivator ‘Immortals’ and the souls of the Saints. Furthermore, he theorizes that all the attributes, genes, and cultivation methods available for exchange within the ‘Main God’ space were once created and utilized by someone—perhaps the members of the Reincarnation Squads, or perhaps the information was directly input by the creators of the ‘Main God.’ Since ‘God’ is a biological weapon, it should also have an exchange entry in the ‘Main God’ space. In fact, Chu Xuan has already located the exchange entry for ‘God’...”

Zheng Zha mumbled dumbly, “The exchange he inferred… couldn’t it be that item?”

“Yes, it’s something only redeemable through an S-Class branch mission: piloting a biological weapon, the EVA units. All models are present, excluding the extremely expensive Evangelion Unit-01. Chu Xuan believes this is the ‘God’—the ultimate biological weapon created by the ‘Immortals’.”

Zheng Zha continued to incessantly worry his hair, then abruptly pulled one strand out. He turned to Qi Tengyi and asked, “Are you absolutely certain you didn’t misremember the section about ‘God’s’ manufacturing method? Was that Chu Xuan’s inference, or a direct translation from the document?”

Qi Tengyi affirmed with certainty, “It was clearly recorded in the document. The EVA series units are just another name for the biological weapon ‘God’—that much was Chu Xuan’s deduction.”

“I understand.”

Zheng Zha let out a long breath. “I understand now. If what the document states is true—that ‘God’ is the ultimate biological weapon created by the cultivators—then before ‘God’ was finalized, they must have had experimental subjects, or perhaps something they based ‘God’ upon… In other words, these Yellow Turban Warriors are likely the test subjects for ‘God,’ or perhaps an incomplete version of ‘God.’ I think I grasp the intention of the cultivators who left this flaw behind. They intended for us to adapt gradually to the power of ‘God.’ That's why they sent the Yellow Turban Warriors to attack those who took the Buddha heads, and why they made the Warriors strengthen step-by-step, forcing the targets to acclimate to ‘God’s’ strength. By the time we entered that suspended mausoleum, we wouldn't be wiped out by the sudden confrontation. However, an unexpected variable appeared because of the modifications made by the Western Saints, allowing these Yellow Turban Warriors to resurrect and grow stronger continuously—or at least until a certain threshold is reached…”

Qi Tengyi sighed. “Just be careful. I have a persistent bad feeling, much like the feeling I had just before entering this ‘Main God’ space. The last mausoleum I entered before that also gave me a similar premonition, and sure enough, something went wrong…”

Zheng Zha gave a relaxed smile and clapped Qi Tengyi on the shoulder. “Relax, don’t overthink it. My current strength is far greater than you imagine; I can protect all of you. But you are right, if that ‘God’ proves overwhelmingly powerful, and the Yellow Turban Warriors strike simultaneously, you will all be in extreme danger… In that case, let’s wake Zhao Yingkong up. Didn’t Chu Xuan give us a useful item?” With that, Zheng Zha pulled a pair of light-refracting goggles from his dimensional ring—the very item Chu Xuan instructed him to give Zhao Yingkong.

“Although I always suspect that anything Chu Xuan creates might be dangerous… let’s test the efficacy of this thing.”

Zheng Zha grinned toward Zhao Yingkong, the beautiful, eternally youthful girl who remained deeply asleep…