Once the contest between his two Pet Beasts was decided, Gu Ming hastily ended the Dream Training.

He needed to save the remaining time for practicing their Skills later.

Spurred on by Ah Kun, Cyan Treasure’s desire to evolve had been ignited. It began eating more that very night, attempting to raise its Attributes as much as possible before its Evolution.

This was where Cyan Treasure fell short.

Ah Kun could rapidly strengthen itself through Devouring, while Cyan Treasure could only rely on its own hard work and progress in its Cultivation Technique.

If it was to evolve, Gu Ming had to use a more advanced Cultivation Technique to help it overcome the "One into Two" bottleneck.

The next day, just as Gu Ming was making preparations for Cyan Treasure’s Evolution, a major incident occurred in the city.

A section of the city had been breached, and a large number of Demon Fiends had invaded.

News of the invasion flooded his screen. Gu Ming didn’t think much of it at first, but then he noticed the system had actually popped up a plot description in response to the news:

「Year 550 of the Human Era. The war against the Demon Fiend invasion has begun anew.

「This small-scale outbreak on the outskirts of Lanqi City has resulted in the loss of one hundred and thirty outstanding Beastmasters. The entire city will observe a minute of silence.

「You watch the news in silence.

「You are well aware that human society today is nothing like it used to be. Dangerous forbidden zones dot the landscape, and with order crumbling, what does the future hold for humanity?

「At fifty years old, you have returned to the path of the Beastmaster and unflinchingly signed up for the competition. Given your age, winning will be difficult. This is a challenge for the brave; success hinges on unleashing the potential of the Time Dragon and the Kunpeng.」

Gu Ming scratched his head. ’I wasn’t thinking anything nearly this complicated while watching the news.’

As far as he was concerned, society was still stable, and the Demon Fiend invasion felt worlds away.

He had only encountered them two or three times during the midterm exam, and he had managed to escape unharmed each time.

But if the future timeline was truly as the system’s narrative described...

He couldn’t help but be on guard.

’Is the Demon Fiend invasion really just the Demonization of Beastmasters who lost control of their Cultivation Techniques?’

Gu Ming swiped at the air while eating breakfast, scrolling through the system’s history.

Since the system had already updated with several days’ worth of entries, scrolling back through the history was a chore.

It wasn’t until after he finished his physical conditioning massage at school that he finally found the earliest entry regarding the Demon Fiend invasion:

The earliest record was from the year 520. The *Cyan Pine Unmoving Technique* caused a massive number of Cultivators to transform into trees. A Demon War, sparked by an environmental organization, rapidly swept across the nation. Countless Pet Beasts were demonized and lost control, their sanity eroded, inflicting grievous losses upon the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It was now the year 518, about a year and a half away from 520.

’Back then, I just thought the system had a bug. I’d have been a fool to take it seriously.’

However, the news of the Demon Fiend invasion flooding his screen today stirred a rare flicker of unease within him.

’Is society today really as peaceful and prosperous as I thought, with no danger?’

’Perhaps Great Zhou is already shrouded in the shadow of impending doom.’

’It’s just that the world hasn’t noticed yet, myself included.’

Even though he knew a large-scale Demon War could break out in the future, he still suspected this was all just nonsense caused by a system "glitch."

’After all, Ah Kun was a creature I fished out of a "forbidden zone," and Cyan Treasure is supposedly a "Time Dragon" nearing its end.’

’No matter how I look at it, the system has its unreliable aspects.’

’Trusting the system completely would be foolish.’

’But completely ignoring its warnings would be overly optimistic—and unwise.’

’Besides, all the future knowledge the system has given me has been incredibly useful; it’s not fake.’

’It’s true that my actions in the real world can influence the system’s narrative judgments. If I can warp reality enough, I should be able to rewrite the future it predicts. The only thing that can’t be changed is the history it has already recorded.’

’But this time, I want to go see for myself.’

Gu Ming accompanied Cyan Treasure for a training session at school, but the more he mulled it over, the more his curiosity grew. Unable to focus on training, he went to ask Teacher Zhang for leave.

"Where are you going?" Teacher Zhang asked. "The competition is only a week away. We’re about to leave for Tian Nan City."

"I want to go to Linbei District and have a look. I heard there was a Demon Fiend invasion today."

Teacher Zhang took a good ten seconds to recall which day’s news that was, then realized it was the news that had flooded the feeds this morning.

Teacher Zhang had seen the news as well and frowned.

"It’s too dangerous. This isn’t your concern. Just focus on raising your Pet Beasts.

"Those minor Demon Fiends were cleared out by the city’s Beastmasters long ago. There’s no point in you going."

Gu Ming shook his head. He still insisted on going.

The thought in his mind grew increasingly distinct. While it didn’t align with the disposition of the Old Deng’s Health Array, a courageous spirit caused his aura to sharpen and surge.

Teacher Zhang’s eyes stung for a moment as he felt that courage, sharp as a Sword of Spiritual Sense, burst forth. He sighed in resignation. "If you insist on going, I’ll accompany you."

Courage was a fine thing, but mindless courage was foolish. Especially now, during the critical final stretch before the competition, who would waste time looking into some battle so far removed from their own life?

’This time would be better spent on Cultivation.’

’Once Gu Ming graduates, he’ll naturally have time to go offer support.’

At this point, the entire school had entered the preparatory period for the final exams, so PE classes had been suspended.

The students were all making a final push for their Pet Beasts, shoring up their weaknesses.

This left Teacher Zhang with some free time. Unwilling to let Gu Ming walk into danger alone, he accompanied him to the site of the Demon Fiend invasion on the outskirts of Linbei District.

「Half an hour later, they arrived.」

In the distance, charred houses stretched out before them. The last of the flames had long since been extinguished by the Beastmasters.

Every three blocks, a Five-star Beastmaster patrolled the area, scanning for any potential dangers.

"See? The battle ended long ago. What is there to see?" Teacher Zhang asked, puzzled. "Didn’t you see enough during the midterm exam? This isn’t going to bring your Pet Beast to Enlightenment."

Gu Ming didn’t answer, simply stepping into the district and walking the scarred earth, as if to feel its pain.

The air was thick with the smell of charred vegetation—evidence of a suspected Grass Element Demon Fiend invasion.

Cyan Treasure wrinkled its nose. As a creature of both the Light and Grass Elements, it could sense a twisted, dark Grass Element Power in the air.

Feeling a little uneasy, it pressed close to Gu Ming.

The system updated the local narrative in real time. Gu Ming simply walked down the street, his eyes recording everything he saw.

The system, in turn, used his observations to paint a vivid picture of the battle’s aftermath.

At his current Realm, Gu Ming could hardly comprehend the details of the Daoist Skills at play.

He only knew that this land had been razed by the fires of war and that aside from the hundred fallen Beastmasters, more than two thousand civilians had been killed or injured. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Had he not come here in person, he could never have imagined it. The broken road and scorched houses beneath his feet were, according to the system’s narrative, a wasteland of bleached bones and charred wood, riddled with cracks. These fissures plunged a thousand meters deep, and the remnants of massive black roots could be seen within them.

Compared to the Demon Fiend invasion of year 520, these new Demon Fiends had evolved an entirely new Attribute, which the system called "Rootless Wood."

Wood with no source, born directly from the void.

It required no connection to the soil, bursting forth from the void to invade the earth, frantically plundering its nutrients, Spiritual Qi, and even its destiny.

These "great fissures" he saw, along with the black roots, were the result of the land’s nutrients being drained completely dry, stripping it of all spiritual essence.