Translator: flycrane01 Editor: Millman97
"After that—"
When Sha Yulan was about to continue, Xiong Wuji interrupted her, speaking in a hoarse voice. "After that, most of the shelters were demolished by the apocalypse. The bombardment of the meteors cast Iron Plateau in absolute darkness for decades. The territory was entirely changed. The demon beasts that used to lurk underground mutated and became even more brutal and bloodthirsty!
"Only a few of them, who had been hiding in the deepest shelter, survived the catastrophe. But they were barely alive.
"When they returned to the surface, what they saw was a black sun, a desolate land, savage demon beasts, and city debris after city debris.
"All the Cultivators above the Building Foundation Stage had been killed. Only a small portion of Refinement Stage Cultivators, who were responsible for the order and safety of the shelters, were lucky enough to survive.
"However, most of the techniques and training facilities had been stolen by the spacers!
"Without the techniques and the corresponding knowledge, without the enlightenment of masters, and because all the natural paradises had been destroyed, they explored in the darkness for a thousand years and yet failed to find a way to build their foundation!
"But what's the big deal about being unable to build a foundation? They could still slay the demon beasts and defend their homes even if they were merely in the Refinement Stage!
"The Refinement Stage Cultivators fought against the mutated demon beasts and the harsh environment day after day. Gradually, they learned how to broaden their veins and nerves in order to improve their capacity for spiritual gas. They also perceived a brand-new technique from the apocalypse and embarked on an entirely different path of Cultivation from the past.
"These Cultivators—
"No, they stopped calling themselves Cultivators anymore.
"Since 'Cultivators' meant abandoning homes and fleeing without fighting, they should be ashamed of the name forever.
"Because they could only make use of spiritual gas, they simply called themselves 'qi-trainers'!
"The Cultivators all ran away, but the qi-trainers stayed on Iron Plateau and guarded their homeland and the people living in it!"
Sha Yulan stood up. She glared at Xiong Wuji without any concession and spoke in a voice that was low and yet determined. "Cultivators did not run away! We were merely trying to save civilization in a different way!
"In space, the Cultivators shed as much blood as those on Iron Plateau did!
"At that time, most Cultivators were riding crystal warships that were faster, agiler, and sturdier.
"In comparison, most ordinary people were moving in the space towns, which were slow.
"When the apocalypse approached, the crystal warships of the Cultivators could've run away!
"But in order to let more space towns escape from the apocalypse, countless Cultivators waged a suicidal war against it in their crystal warships!
"For most of them, they knew that they would certainly be killed, and yet they charged at the apocalypse anyway, just so that the power of the apocalypse could be diminished and the space towns behind them could be one percent more likely to survive!
"It is true that a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator stayed on Iron Plateau and sacrificed himself, but the other two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators were also in the lead when the apocalypse struck the space fleet, and they died protecting their own people!
"The homers built an iron shield on the surface of the planet, but the spacers also built a shield, one made of flesh and blood!
"I don't care how you brag about the valor of your ancestors, but I will not allow you to insult the Cultivators who sacrificed themselves bravely!"
The short doctor held her head high without the slightest fear in front of the best warrior of the six tribes of Iron Plateau like an infuriated cat.
Xiong Wuji seemed to be caught off guard by Shu Yulan's refutation and was lost for words for a moment.
Li Yao was dazed briefly, too. He hurried to ease the intensity. "Faced with such a world-destroying catastrophe, I think that homers and spacers both had good reasons for their decisions. But as for the members of 'Plan Prometheus' who stole the techniques and training facilities before the arrival of the apocalypse… I don't know how I should comment on them. I wonder, what was their ending?"
Sha Yulan took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Members of Plan Prometheus had planned to flee to the periphery of the Flying Star Sector after they stole the techniques and training facilities and reunite with the main fleet when the apocalypse passed. They would hand in all the techniques and training facilities by then.
"In the message that they sent to the main fleet, they confessed that their behavior was in violation of the laws of the coalition government and any code of conduct; they admitted that there was no way that they should be pardoned or forgiven.
"But in the meantime, they emphasized that more of their civilization would be saved this way and the humans of the Flying Star Sector who were about to roam through space would have a better chance to thrive again.
"Whatever felonies they were going to be condemned to, they were willing to accept them all, even if they had to go on trial and be sentenced to death. Before the action, they had been prepared to die in dishonor.
"As long as the civilization of the Flying Star Sector could live long and prosper, they would sacrifice everything and be the fuel for the burning torch of humanity!
"However, before they joined the main fleet, the apocalypse had already arrived.
"The entire Flying Star Sector was cast into a havoc. Several planets were torn apart. Many world fragments collided, and even more were separated in that moment.
"In the end, we lost touch with the members of Plan Prometheus. After such a long time, I assume that they have long gone extinct."
Li Yao secretly sighed.
The members of Plan Prometheus had run to the periphery of the Flying Star Sector in advance with abundant training techniques and facilities. If they had still been around, they would be a quite important force. Too bad they had perished.
Thinking for a moment, Li Yao asked again, "The apocalypse happened five thousand years ago. Why are there still 'battles of the apocalypse' today?"
Xiong Wuji slowly exhaled. "Apocalypses are not as simple as you think. The apocalypse that assaulted Iron Plateau was not made of meteors, but 'eggs'!"
"Eggs?" Li Yao was baffled.
Xiong Wuji explained, "In the first hundred years after the apocalypse, the survivors also thought that the apocalypse had passed and went out of their shelters to rebuild their homes. At that time, the land was scarred, and countless enormous meteorites were standing like mountains.
"Very soon, the survivors discovered that they were wrong. Very wrong.
"The meteorites were not simple rock and metal, but 'eggs of apocalypse' in which countless terrifying eccentric beasts were growing. Every few years, several such eggs would mature and give birth to tremendous eccentric beasts that ravaged our land!
"To fight against the beasts, qi-trainers established the six tribes of Iron Plateau according to the organizational structure of the six big sects in the past.
"Each of the six tribes was allocated a certain area to defend. A deal was also made that, when the eggs of apocalypse showed signs of maturing in one tribe's territory, all the other tribes would gather and fight it together!"
Li Yao gasped. He did not know that the meteorite mountains he had seen in the desert were eggs yet to mature.
No wonder so many weird runes were carved on them!
Apocalypses. The mysterious apocalypses!
When Li Yao was in the Heaven's Origin Sector, he had taken courses like 'Nine Levels of Apocalypses' and 'Hypotheses on the Origin of Apocalypses'.
The few apocalypses that the Heaven's Origin Sector had witnessed all targeted certain experts.
In the early years of the Star Glory Federation, several experts had experienced apocalypses when they were trying to break into the Divinity Transformation Stage from the Nascent Soul Stage, too.
The form, duration, and outcome of each strike of the apocalypses were different.
There were normal means of attack such as meteor showers or lightning strikes. There were also less normal ways such as mental attacks when the experts were sleeping.
Whatever the pattern was, the apocalypses all targeted individuals. Even their family members next to them had hardly ever been affected.
According to the textbooks, such apocalypses targeting individuals were known to be 'minor apocalypses'.
In comparison, the destructive strikes targeting a planet or even a constellation were called 'major apocalypses'.
Due to the insufficient development of the Heaven's Origin Sector, its knowledge about major apocalypses was quite limited.
Therefore, this was the first time Li Yao had learned the entire process of a major apocalypse.
He had never thought that it would be so powerful that its effect still lingered on after five thousand years!
Li Yao couldn't help but ask, "What kind of monsters could grow inside the eggs of apocalypse for five thousand years? Couldn't you demolish all the meteorite mountains to destroy them?"
Xiong Wuji replied, "The eccentric beasts were not brought here by the apocalypse; they are all the local demon beasts of Iron Plateau.
"The eggs of apocalypse are like mutation factories. They can absorb the cells and flesh from the demon beasts on Iron Plateau and produce even stronger demon beasts!
"You should've discovered that, different from those of other places, the demon beasts on Iron Plateau had more metal constituents in their bodies, haven't you?"
Li Yao nodded his head.
He had been curious as to why the demon beasts of Iron Plateau were so difficult to deal with. Besides, there was a huge amount of metal in their skin and bones, as if their head, teeth, and claws were made of steel.
Xiong Wuji said, "The demon beasts you saw had only mutated slightly. The eccentric beasts growing inside the eggs of apocalypse are ten times more horrendous than them!
"The meteorite mountains are everywhere on Iron Plateau. With our current capability, we cannot blow all of them up. Besides, once we blow them up, countless eccentric beasts might be freed and attack us!
"Therefore, we can only build high walls and train our troops while we progress further on the path of qi-training. When we discover that an egg of apocalypse is about to mature, we prepare everything in advance and deploy our troops to the battlefield of apocalypse to slay the beasts and blow up the intruders!
"In less than one month, another egg of apocalypse in the territory of the Furious Bears Tribe is going to mature.
"Within the next month, all of our resources must be collected to prepare for the battle. We cannot spare any to make deals with you. In one month, after we suppress this wave of attacks, we can talk about deals then. Maybe at that time, we will be able to make an even better deal!"