Chapter 30: Version Update Begins

Tens of thousands of zombies were completely swallowed by the black mist, as if they couldn’t even muster the strength to resist before being devoured.

Even more terrifying, the black mist spread at an unimaginable speed—faster than even the movement of the giant Corpse King.

In just a few seconds, it overtook the fleeing giant, engulfing the unstoppable monster in its wake.

The mist devoured all in its path, and naturally, Li Kang’s team of four was no exception.

They felt as if they had plunged into a land of the dead. A chilling cold seeped from the mist, straight into their souls.

“Where… is this place?” someone asked shakily.

But no one replied.

Li Kang, the strongest among them, was the first to regain his composure from the initial shock.

Judging their location based on the surrounding buildings, he pointed toward the direction leading out of Jiao City.

“We haven’t seen anything overtly dangerous yet, but no matter what, we should get out of Jiao City and report this to the higher-ups at the gathering point.”

The other three nodded frantically and began fleeing the way they came.

However, they had only run a few hundred meters when a deafening roar erupted through the mist.

“ROAR!!!”

A massive shockwave burst through the black fog, momentarily parting it. Not far ahead, the towering figure of the giant Corpse King—over ten meters tall—was locked in a desperate struggle.

And its opponent was a creature so bizarre it sent chills down the spine.

It looked like a patchwork made of countless wailing souls, towering over dozens of meters tall. Its entire body was covered in twisted, numb faces.

With each sweep of its massive ghostly claws, the black mist howled with a chorus of ghostly wails that felt like they could freeze one’s very soul.

Even from hundreds of meters away, Li Kang’s group could feel their spirits trembling. Terror, unease, and despair surged like waves, threatening to drown them.

The mighty Corpse King was being driven back, its once-mighty Transcendent power rapidly weakening.

It tried to retaliate. But every time its massive fists landed—carrying the force of its full power—much of that energy was absorbed by the black mist. What little remained couldn’t even leave a scratch on the stitched-together ghost beast.

Anyone could tell—the Corpse King’s defeat was inevitable.

Meanwhile, within the mist, more vengeful spirits emerged, slowly encircling the four who had stumbled into this ghostly battlefield. In an instant, hundreds of ghosts had surrounded them.

“Spirits strong enough to overpower a Corpse King… this entire ghostly nightmare—what the hell happened in Jiao City?” Li Kang muttered, despair flickering in his eyes.

Then, a voice rang out from the mist.

“Who are you?”

The moment the voice sounded, the countless ghosts halted, their bodies fading as they merged back into the mist.

The four survivors turned toward the voice.

A solitary figure stood at the heart of the swirling fog, his form barely visible within the darkness. But the moment they laid eyes on him, a suffocating dread gripped their hearts.

Was he human?

Li Kang was filled with uncertainty. But facing this being who stood at the center of the mist, none of them dared question him. He bowed respectfully and answered:

“Esteemed sir, we are Transcendents from Gathering Point No. 73. We came to Jiao City in search of supplies.”

Within the ghost mist, Lu Yan stood holding the Hundred Soul Banner, quietly observing the four Transcendents before him with curiosity.

This was the first time in three months since entering the Apocalypse Version that he had encountered living humans.

After slaying the peak Qi Refining zombie, Bloodbeard, and refining him into a main soul to evolve the Hundred Soul Banner into a Top-Grade Artifact, Lu Yan had spent his time slaughtering zombies to accumulate more vengeful spirits.

In just over two months, he had amassed eight hundred ghosts, sweeping the outskirts of the city clean.

Each ghost was at the Third Layer of Qi Refining, and his two main souls—Lishi and Bloodbeard—had been nurtured to peak Qi Refining as well.

Whenever he summoned the banner, a ghostly hellscape would materialize. Were it not for his own bottleneck in cultivation, the eight hundred ghosts could have already advanced to Mid-Qi Refining by devouring the lesser souls.

Now, having stockpiled enough power for three months, Lu Yan felt it was time to trigger the next version update. He planned to test his strength by hunting a newly-advanced Foundation Establishment Corpse King.

A Foundation Establishment soul was a rare treasure, even in a cultivation-based version.

Lu Yan had carefully selected the weakest among the known Corpse Kings—the Giant Corpse King, who had only recently advanced to Foundation Establishment two months prior.

The one leading the attack was none other than the main soul, Bloodbeard, who had fused the Transcendent powers he once wielded into a unique talent: Soul Fusion Art.

Empowered by the force of four hundred ghosts and at peak Qi Refining, Bloodbeard transformed into a giant ghost beast that successfully suppressed the Giant Corpse King.

Overwhelmed, the Corpse King had triggered a zombie stampede in an attempt to flee—leading to the earlier scene.

Lu Yan, of course, paid no mind to the outcome of the fight. From the moment the Corpse King fled, its fate was sealed.

He was more interested in the four Transcendents before him—and the gathering point they mentioned.

With a glance, Lu Yan could tell the three young ones were at Early Qi Refining, while the scarred man—Li Kang—was Late Qi Refining.

That kind of strength wasn’t weak in a city like this. No wonder they had dared enter.

Had they come a few days earlier, Lu Yan might’ve taken the time to converse, learn more about the Apocalypse Version and its Transcendent system.

But now, with the version update imminent, he had no time to waste. He still needed to harvest the Giant Corpse King’s soul.

He waved his right hand, parting a clear path through the ghostly mist, and pointed.

“Follow this road. It will take you out of the city.”

The four immediately rejoiced. The three younger ones bowed gratefully, then hurried off along the path.

Only Li Kang hesitated for a moment. Then, gritting his teeth, he pulled out three orange, prism-shaped gemstones from his chest and respectfully offered them up.

“Thank you, sir. I have nothing to repay your kindness with except these three Sunstones.”

Lu Yan’s pupils contracted slightly. With a glance, he could see these stones were filled with pure solar spiritual energy.

Normally, sunlight did contain some of this Qi, but in such diluted form that Lu Yan had never figured out its use.

These Sunstones, however, held more solar Qi than he had gathered in three whole months of cultivation. Without a doubt, they were extremely rare treasures.

His gaze toward Li Kang softened.

Activating his spiritual power, Lu Yan accepted the stones—then after a moment of thought, retrieved all the remaining supplies from his storage pouch.

Since his cultivation had progressed, he needed far less food. More than half of the supplies he had stored for three months were still untouched.

In a world like this, those supplies would be invaluable.

With a wave, he erased any markings that could reveal his identity and offered the goods to Li Kang.

“I won’t take your offering for free. Consider this a fair trade.”

Li Kang was stunned as he stared at boxes of soda, self-heating meals, instant noodles, and clean mineral water.

As someone who had survived the apocalypse, it had been years since he’d seen such luxuries.

Even the highest-ranking Transcendents in the gathering points couldn’t enjoy such things. These supplies were far more valuable than the three Sunstones he’d offered.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Li Kang trembled and said again and again:

“Thank you, my lord! Thank you!”

But when he looked up again, the ghostly figure had vanished, along with the mist that once covered the sky.

Only a massive skeleton remained on that deserted street.

…

A kilometer away, in an abandoned high-rise, Bloodbeard and hundreds of ghosts were pressing down on a powerful soul—the soul of the Foundation Establishment Corpse King they had defeated earlier.

Lu Yan’s Hundred Soul Banner surged forth, sealing the soul inside.

This was his first Foundation Establishment prey. He had already decided to refine it into a new main soul.

However, Lu Yan was still one major realm below the soul’s level. Even with the banner’s power, there was a risk of failure.

So for now, he would store the soul and attempt the refinement after his next breakthrough.

Time passed slowly.

Finally, the progress bar before Lu Yan reached 100%.

A notification popped up.

【This Apocalypse Version has ended. Version Mutation Index: 0.2%】
【Version Update Progress complete. Please select one of the following versions to proceed:】

Martial God Version: “If you can enter this version, it’s worth dying for—hell yeah!”
Xianxia Version: “Ascension? Immortality? What lies at the end of the immortal path?”
VR Game Version: “In the year 2077, the immersive game Starfield enters closed beta!”

(End of Chapter)