To grasp this, the atomic bomb merely consumed less than one percent of its mass to unleash such terrifying power; if a full one hundred percent of the mass were converted, the resulting might would be utterly horrifying. Hence, there’s a scientific joke about the so-called "bench that can blow up the Earth"—if a mere bench were entirely converted into energy, its destructive force would suffice to shatter our planet, a statement containing absolutely no exaggeration.

Therefore, that initial black-and-white energy beam appeared slender, yet by the time it struck Tokyo Port, it had expanded to an astonishing width exceeding a thousand meters. The fact that its color had not yet fully shifted to pure incandescent white indicated the presence of both True Essence Power and Demonic Power. However, once the beam plunged beneath Tokyo Port, the subsequent transformation became invisible to the onlookers. The energy beam continued to swell and dissipate; though its searing, brilliant white had somewhat dimmed, the slightly less intense beam remained devastatingly potent. Even after piercing the seawater and burrowing into the earth below, it instantly bored straight through the subterranean layers. By the time the beam ceased expanding, its diameter had reached a span of ten thousand meters, and its energy had reached the apex of instability. The energy beam thrashed violently, finally erupting in a colossal explosion as it seeped out from underground.

The tremendous blast resonated up from the depths. Amidst the thunderous roar, looking out from the vaporized smoke towards the immense distance, a massive chunk of land was wrenched entirely upward, momentarily seeming to blot out the sky. As that landmass was thrown into the heavens, sunlight erupted from beneath it—a colossal, surging fireball below the continent. The sheer size of this fireball defied visual confirmation; at least Zhang Heng and the others, squinting through their protective lenses, could only vaguely make out its outline. They occasionally glanced toward Chu Xuan. If they hadn't looked, they might have been fine, but upon seeing him, they nearly choked with anger. This fellow, for some unknown reason, found his usual eyeglasses had turned completely opaque, like a pair of dark sunglasses, allowing him to gaze directly at the blinding light before him. Everyone else, however, was forced to narrow their eyes to watch.

“Truly cunning. No wonder this guy always wears those plain glasses; he was clearly anticipating the test-fire of the Demon Cannon all along…” Cheng Xiao muttered resentfully about Chu Xuan again. But voicing such thoughts aloud, especially at a volume precisely audible to Chu Xuan, was characteristic of him.

Zhang Heng and Wang Xia beside him paid no mind to such quibbles. They stared, slack-jawed, at the continuing, churning giant fireball. Only two words echoed in their minds: Holy hell… They had witnessed the power of nuclear weapons before. Even though this was a scaled-down version of a miniature nuke, they had seen the true destructive power of nuclear arms in countless documentaries. Though immense, the scene of that explosion had a discernible end point. But from their vantage point looking toward the explosion, they could see absolutely no boundary to the fiery blast. Its diameter already exceeded the entire area of Tokyo City, and that was merely the extent of the fireball. Around the sphere of fire, the surrounding land seemed to boil, flung tens of thousands of feet into the air by the shockwave. Though its force visibly lessened with distance, when the shockwave reached Tokyo Port, it still kicked up towering waves hundreds of meters high, which surged outward toward the open sea mixed with the blast’s force.

The gaze of everyone—no, rather, the attention of Zhang Heng and his group—snapped instantly to Chu Xuan. Escaping themselves would be simple; judging by the speed of the incoming wave, they had a full minute to deploy the Green Goblin gliders. But what about the boatload of witnesses they had painstakingly gathered? Who else would see the sinking of Tokyo? Given the power displayed by the Demon Cannon, perhaps this entire island would truly be submerged. Among them, only Chu Xuan possessed the Conviction Power sufficient to defend against such a massive assault. Whether Chu Xuan intended to preserve this contingent of witnesses or planned to immediately activate the Green Goblin gliders for ascent rested entirely on his decision. Since they were powerless to intervene, they might as well leave it to fate.

The seafaring vessel had already traveled a significant distance from Tokyo Port prior to the Demon Cannon’s firing. Although the Skull Nightmare could ignore gravity, the resulting recoil force could not be canceled out. Thus, this reactive force was entirely transmitted to the ship. It was fortunate that the initial release of True Essence Power and Demonic Power was not excessively energetic, but it still propelled the vessel several thousand meters outward, placing them ever farther from the shore.

No one aboard the ship had yet recovered their senses; they remained oblivious to the imminent danger closing in. Every person stood with their mouths agape, staring toward the distant horizon. The fireball was gradually fading now, its intense glare obscured by an impossibly thick curtain of ash. Yet, everyone knew that Tokyo, Japan, was utterly gone. Judging by the scale of the event, it seemed capable of wiping out heaven and earth; whether the rest of Japan remained standing was debatable. In this era, where the concept of nuclear weapons was unknown, the most shocking display of warfare was a scene of modern bombardment with myriad cannons firing simultaneously. Compared to the world-ending spectacle unfolding before them now, that seemed like a childish skirmish. Everyone stared at the distance as if petrified. Some of the Caucasians repeatedly murmured "My God," nearly convinced this was divine retribution.

It wasn't until the colossal wave was less than a thousand meters from the ship that a deafening boom finally arrived. Only then did the sound of the Demon Cannon that had sunk Tokyo finally reach them. This single, tremendous report jolted every member aboard the ship awake. Instantly, everyone began to roar and scream with the ferocity of those fighting for their lives. The entire vessel seemed minuscule against the backdrop of the hundred-meter-high wave, and desperate final shrieks erupted from everyone. Only Chu Xuan quietly touched his glasses. Zhang Heng and the others, who had been closely monitoring him, let out a profound sigh of relief, for Chu Xuan had decided to utilize his Conviction Power.

What was the ultimate limit of Conviction Power? Perhaps even Chu Xuan himself didn't know, nor did he have the opportunity to truly test it. The maximum threshold he had managed to ascertain within his capabilities was already astonishing enough to surprise him… if he possessed the capacity for surprise.

Once Chu Xuan activated the hypnotic function of his glasses, his eyes grew resolute and passionate, radiating the image of an utterly fervent youth—the kind of loyal comrade ready to take two knives to the chest for a friend. This iteration of Chu Xuan was painfully conspicuous. At least, Zhang Heng and the others watching him furrowed their brows. While an emotionless Chu Xuan was frightening, a passionately emotional Chu Xuan seemed even more terrifying... At the very least, they could not fathom what it would be like to see Chu Xuan transformed into a hot-blooded youth.

Yet, becoming a hot-blooded youth was the prerequisite for Chu Xuan to harness the Conviction Power. Regardless of whether this transformation was genuine or feigned, the power he now displayed was undeniably and incomparably terrifying. As the monstrous wave surged over them like a deluge, it was halted fifty meters from the ship by a layer of brilliant, dazzling light. Despite the overwhelming force of the wave and the shockwave, they could not shatter that thin layer of radiant energy. The entire vessel, capitalizing on the wave's momentum, was instantly propelled even farther from the location of Tokyo Port. The onlookers could now only see the trace of a massive mushroom cloud. As for the shattered remnants of the Tokyo islands, they had vanished beyond the horizon… or perhaps, off the face of the Earth entirely.

To conquer sophistication with sheer force—this was effectively overwhelming tyranny with momentum. When power reaches a level where technique can be wholly disregarded, such a means becomes the optimal solution for every problem. Once the occupants of the ship were safe, despite having just annihilated hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of lives, Zhang Heng and his group felt a secret thrill. The Demon Cannon's power truly surpassed imagination. Compared to it, what were those nuclear bombs and hydrogen bombs? This Demon Cannon could stand alongside weapons of mutually assured destruction like the Continental Shelf Vibrator, yet it didn't require mutual destruction—it was a supreme weapon. With this device in hand, the future world of horror movies suddenly seemed so much easier to manage. Except for the inexplicable movies and ghost stories, any other horror film could be settled with one shot. Dealing with team-based conflicts would be even easier. Firing a single round in a designated direction, and the future would be a paradise for racking up points… “Racking up points? The Demon Cannon’s power is inextricably linked to Energy Stones. This time, we expended seven A-grade Energy Stones, twenty-two B-grade Energy Stones, and over a hundred C-grade Energy Stones. The items in Adam’s spatial pouch have been roughly halved. If you want to score points, go exchange for that quantity of Energy Stones; then this level of Demon Cannon power can be reproduced.”

Chu Xuan did not hesitate; he laid bare the underlying truth of the matter.

Zhang Heng and the others felt a pang of bitterness in their hearts. They had initially believed they’d discovered a bug for easy scoring, only to realize it was a delusion. If they truly had enough side-mission plots to exchange for seven A-grade Energy Stones, they might as well exchange those for S-grade plots to acquire cultivation methods instead. The pinnacle of cultivation, they reasoned, likely held artifact powers that would rival this Demon Cannon.

Although the plan to exploit the Demon Cannon for easy points was defunct, their final objective proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Everyone aboard the ship was close to madness because Wang Xia, under orders, had revealed their true purpose for being there: their next destination was the United States, with the intent to destroy it. Furthermore, he disclosed that the only thing they sought were the Buddha statue fragments, and if they failed to obtain them, humanity itself would face extinction. This information reached the civilians aboard, including several from European nations besides the Japanese. They immediately demanded the captain use the radio to broadcast everything that had transpired. This was one burden Wang Xia and the others no longer needed to worry about; faced with oblivion, everyone unleashed their final reserves of potential.

Forty minutes after the bombardment of Tokyo, the world's major governments, which had been rigorously monitoring the situation, received field reports: Tokyo, Japan, had sunk, and Chu Xuan’s group was now speeding toward the Pacific coast of America… Humanity had less than a day and two nights remaining before complete cleansing; of the seven-day critical window, twenty-nine hours remained… Jump to