Is the final battle upon them already? Was the Central Continent team truly ready? Perhaps Zheng Zha, in terms of power, understanding, spirit, and planning, was fully prepared to face the last battle, but what about the rest of the Central Continent team? Including Chu Xuan, every single one of them had issues to varying degrees—maybe their strength wasn't quite enough, perhaps their mental state was off, or they were simply dormant. Facing the Demon Reincarnation Squad—that man hailed as the strongest in the Reincarnation Worlds, along with a team composed of a clone of Chu Xuan and a host of terrifying figures’ clones—could they really manage it in such an imperfect state?
“Whether we can or cannot is no longer up to us to decide. Since the ‘Main God’ has arranged for the final battle to approach, instead of pondering whether we are capable, it is better to contemplate how to survive and how to defeat all the other Reincarnation Squads.”
Zheng Zha spoke to the assembled team members before him, his gaze drifting toward Chu Xuan, who was holding a notebook, calculating something with a look of intense fervor… Generally speaking, this state in Chu Xuan was exceptionally rare. For this man devoid of emotion and feeling, the thirst for knowledge was his sole desire. Currently, those secret cultivation manuals were the unknown objects he most wished to decipher. Consequently, for the past two days, this man had maintained this look of fanaticism, a look that could only make others feel a profound chill. If possible, everyone truly wished that his usual cold, icy expression would return.
(Is this guy even listening? Yesterday I told him to find a way to boost morale, and today it’s turned into a solo speech for me… I really want to punch this guy!) Seeing that the morale of most team members was low, Zheng Zha wanted to seize an opportunity to lift spirits. He had consulted with Xiao Honglv, and the root cause they identified was the team’s insufficient strength. If they could attain some kind of power breakthrough from Chu Xuan, the team’s morale would naturally soar. Otherwise, the morale of the Central Continent team might not change at all until the final battle.
Having no other choice, Zheng Zha ventured into Chu Xuan’s dangerous room, descending into his even more perilous underground laboratory, solely to find Chu Xuan and discuss a solution.
However, this time his luck held; Chu Xuan happened to be emerging from his room to exchange items with the “Main God.” Zheng Zha immediately seized him and barraged him with questions, laying bare all his concerns to the man.
“…That’s the basic situation. Setting aside whether I’m prepared for the final battle, and whether Xiao Honglv’s deductions are correct, the current state of the Central Continent team is unacceptable. Focusing blindly on the final battle scenario is actually restricting their potential…” Zheng Zha voiced all his worries.
Chu Xuan let out a cold laugh. He stated, “That is your responsibility as the captain. You can’t expect me to devise plans, craft props for you, find cultivation techniques for you, and comfort your team members as well. What do you take me for?” “Little Ding-Dong…” …In any case, the Demon Reincarnation Squad is just a squad. Because of one team wipe, because of all those rumors, they’ve been mythologized. If you truly cannot overcome an obstacle like this, then you have been unworthy of the A Nightmare on Elm Street horror movie world…” After speaking, Chu Xuan turned and headed back toward his room, while behind him, Zheng Zha was already shouting about holding a meeting the next day.
As a result, by the next day, Zheng Zha was the only one truly trying to figure out solutions. That fellow Chu Xuan had maintained a fanatic expression since his appearance, constantly researching. This bizarre state of his caused those around him to instinctively keep their distance, always three feet away. While it wasn’t to say he was definitely dangerous, their instinct told them staying near him was a risk.
The more Zheng Zha watched, the angrier he became. Finally, he couldn’t hold back and roared loudly, “Chu Xuan! Can you just say something, you guy? And stop wearing that fanatic expression, don’t you think it’s terrifying?” Hearing this, Chu Xuan rubbed his expression, as if manipulating clay. The face, once frenzied, abruptly shifted to cold detachment. This transformation made everyone around him break out in a cold sweat, yet he acted as if nothing had happened, saying, “Do you think the Demon Reincarnation Squad is easy to handle? How do they compare to the Gods Squad?” Zheng Zha opened his mouth to speak, but Chu Xuan shook his head mysteriously at him. Then, the man turned his gaze to the rest of the Central Continent team, and everyone else fell into quiet contemplation. Only Xiao Honglv shook his head: “I haven’t fought the Gods Squad, so I don’t know their characteristics or personnel composition. I only heard that they might have the only true cultivator in all the Reincarnation Squads, right? His strength seems superior even to Zheng Zha when he used ‘Destruction,’ and he doesn’t seem to be the strongest member of the Gods Squad. Speaking of which, their team’s strength shouldn’t be underestimated.”
“More than just ‘not bad.’”
Ling Dian suddenly broke the silence. He nodded: “To be precise, they are incredibly strong. If we clash head-on with our current strength, the result will certainly be a team wipe. If we get lucky, it might be a narrow victory… If it weren’t for Chu Xuan, our team would definitely have lost members!” The person most likely to have died was, in fact, Zheng Zha; without Chu Xuan’s planning and arrangements, Zheng Zha would have been finished! The others quietly concurred, except Chu Xuan, who shook his head: “Do you know why the Gods Squad couldn't contend with the Demon Squad? Because the Demon Squad has an unsurpassable pinnacle. Based on the data we currently possess, the Zheng Zha Clone once challenged the Gods Squad alone and achieved victory. We don’t know if that victory was hard-won, but this single piece of information is enough: he is currently beyond anyone’s reach!” “Next…” Chu Xuan turned back to Zheng Zha: “Not counting the move ‘Primordial, Heaven and Earth Splitting,’ how much has your power improved compared to when you were in The Lord of the Rings? If we calculate your strength then as 100 points, what is your strength now that you’ve broken through to the middle stage of the Fourth Tier?”
“Uh…” Zheng Zha pondered for a moment: “Probably between 300 and 500 points. After overcoming my inner demon, my power increased dramatically. Even without ‘Primordial, Heaven and Earth Splitting,’ my strength has increased by three to five times compared to back then. If I were to fight Luo Yinglong from that time again, I definitely wouldn’t lose… No, I should be able to kill him with only minor to moderate injuries!”
“Exactly!” Chu Xuan snapped his fingers: “You have all fallen into a misconception. The strength of a team is indeed determined by its overall composition—for instance, needing mental control experts, needing long-range snipers, needing wide-area firepower, needing melee fighters, needing a team strategist—these are all absolutely necessary. But when both sides possess these roles, what truly determines a team’s survival is simply the magnitude of their strength… Let me use an analogy: if the Demon Reincarnation Squad’s total strength is 5500, then the strength of the Zheng Zha Clone accounts for 5000 of that figure. This is a table I compiled based on the data, which includes some of the teams we’ve experienced…” Chu Xuan pulled out a table from his stack of documents; it listed the Senzhou Squad, West Sea Squad, Yinzhou Squad, Gods Squad, Demon Squad… all the teams the Central Continent Squad had previously contended with were recorded there. The Demon Reincarnation Squad ranked first, their strength indeed being 5500, and the known members of the Demon Squad were all listed, with the Zheng Zha Clone alone taking the highest score of 5000 points.
“…This table seems fine, right? Why is the Gods Squad’s score lower than ours? Only 2100 points, yet we have 3700, and that Zheng Zha guy accounts for 3000 points all by himself? That can’t be right.”
Cheng Xiao asked with a look of deep confusion while examining the sheet, and the gazes of the others were equally bewildered.
Chu Xuan let out another cold laugh: “Nothing is impossible. This table assumes the team is completely assembled, not a squad born from attrition. That is, assuming the team composition is complete, then both sides compete based on strategy and power. And if the strategies are comparable, it becomes a pure contest of strength and belief. According to the information I have currently acquired, if the entire Demon Reincarnation Squad were wiped out, as long as the Zheng Zha Clone remains alive, the Demon Reincarnation Squad will absolutely not vanish. His power has surpassed the constraints of strategy and environment, so his 5000 points can completely rival a super-strong team…” “Next is Zheng Zha. There’s nothing more to say about the others. Having passed through his inner demon, your power is close to that of your clone, but you are still missing something… I’ll discuss that in a moment. Just regarding your power, you are not on the same level as your clone. At present, you can basically annihilate the Gods Squad using ‘Primordial, Heaven and Earth Splitting,’ but the consequence would be your own death. Therefore, after gaining the move ‘Primordial, Heaven and Earth Splitting,’ I assign your power level at 3000 points. As for the Gods Squad’s power, I calculated it based on The Lord of the Rings era. Unless the Luo Yinglong in their team increases his strength further, the Gods Squad can no longer contend with our Central Continent Squad or the Demon Squad…” “The crucial part comes next. In other words, if we look only at the strength of the ordinary members, the Demon Reincarnation Squad isn’t significantly stronger than us. The truly terrifying aspect is the one standing at the pinnacle of power in the entire Reincarnation World… What if we could eliminate him? If we could kill him, the Demon Squad would no longer be an invincible monster! Therefore, the plan I have set for the final battle is… King versus King!”