News of the incident in Banku, Tai Lan Country, was spreading across the global web at lightning speed. Everyone was intensely curious about what exactly had happened there.

Meanwhile, on the global social media site "Fei Bu," a blogger who had previously been only moderately well-known was now pushed to the top of the site’s trending list.

This was the largest social network in the world, with nearly two billion users. To make it to the trending list, an event had to be a global sensation.

The only reason this minor blogger had the chance to top the trending list was because they were riding the wave of the Banku incident in Tai Lan Country.

He was one of the few bloggers on the entire social media platform who was live-streaming footage from the scene of the Banku incident.

Tai Lan Country, outside the quarantine zone several kilometers from Kao San Road.

Ford and his girlfriend were on a skyscraper rooftop, their professional camera equipment set up and aimed toward the battle on Kao San Road.

Ford had graduated with a degree in astronomy and was passionate about astrophotography. After graduating, he and his girlfriend, Xinna, decided to try and build their social media channel into one for professional astrophotography. To that end, they spent a huge portion of their savings on a full set of professional astronomical camera gear.

But after running the channel for a while, they discovered that astrophotography was, after all, a niche field with a very small audience. As a result, their channel was languishing, and their follower growth was extremely limited.

Forced by the need to make a living, their ideals had to yield to reality. The two discussed a change in direction: they would pivot to travel photography vlogs to cater to popular taste. Once they had built a certain level of fame, they would consider returning to their dream.

After releasing a few videos, their channel’s performance did indeed improve. So, the pair decided to strike while the iron was hot and traveled from the Hiloba Region to Tai Lan Country. They planned to film a travel video during the Zhengwang Festival, but unexpectedly, they arrived just in time for the attack in Banku.

Tai Lan Country had immediately sealed off the area around Kao San Road, barring anyone from entering. Because of this, the reporters, who were scrambling in a panic, couldn’t film any footage of the scene. Remote photography was impossible for them; the distance was too great, and they were limited by their technical equipment.

But Ford and Xinna were different. Their previous focus on astrophotography meant they happened to have the rare, professional-grade, long-range camera equipment needed. Realizing this could be their chance to go viral, the two immediately took action, started a live stream, and broadcast the footage online.

And just as they had predicted, they blew up. They even made it to the trending list.

At this moment, however, Ford and Xinna were in no mood to check their follower count. They weren’t even paying attention to the dense barrage of comments that was nearly causing their stream to lag. Their eyes were completely captivated by the images captured by their camera.

"Holy hell..."

"My God..."

"This is unbelievable..."

They could only repeat these simple words to describe the shock they felt. Beyond that, they were speechless.

BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!

From several kilometers away, they could still hear the tremors of collapsing buildings, a sound like a series of explosions.

At first, they thought Banku was under a large-scale terrorist attack, being rocked by explosives. But when they managed to capture parts of the scene with their camera, they realized that all this destruction was being caused by just two people.

No, to be more precise, two monsters.

One of them was colossal, like an armored giant. The other was the size of a normal person but was covered in gold, resembling a divine statue from a temple.

Because neither Yuan Luàn nor Boku was using techniques that projected a magnetic field, the video feed wasn’t too distorted.

The two monster-like beings clashed and battled, and everywhere they went, buildings collapsed and the ground cracked.

As modern people, they had only ever seen scenes like this in special-effects blockbusters from the Starry Sky Country.

The global netizens watching this unfold on the live stream were equally filled with an indescribable shock.

The comments flooding the stream had already exceeded its capacity. If Fei Bu’s official administrators hadn’t stepped in to maintain it, the stream would have crashed long ago.

"My God! Are you sure this isn’t a special-effects movie?!?!"

"What the hell are those two? The Celestial Beings the Starry Sky Country mentioned before? Or their so-called Super Warriors?!"

"That level of destructive power is more terrifying than an army. For individuals to possess such strength is seriously worrying."

"What I want to know is, why are they attacking Tai Lan?!"

"Which side is the good guy? Who’s the destroyer? The armored giant?"

"The golden guy seems to be with Tai Lan Country. The armored giant looks like the one causing the destruction."

"..."

This was likely the first time the immense power of S Class individuals had been so vividly displayed to the global public. It completely shattered their conceptions of the combat strength of the "super individuals" the Starry Sky Country had described. It also gave rise to greater fear... and aspiration... for the power of the Celestial Beings.

Regardless of who won or lost, this battle would undoubtedly change the entire world order.

Once, the invention of firearms led to the decline of individual might. Later, the invention of heavily armored war machines like tanks completely changed the landscape of ground warfare. After that, with the development of information technology and the constant advancement of aerial units, the Starry Sky Country once again redefined the world’s understanding of war with a battle as swift as lightning.

And now, as if the wheel of Reincarnation had turned, the eruption of the Banku incident was a clear declaration to the entire world: individual power would play an extremely important role in the future world order, and the very nature of warfare would be completely overturned.

Individuals who could match an army, infiltrating silently and launching a sudden attack that could threaten an entire city...

If these walking nuclear bombs could not be effectively contained, they would wreak havoc on the world order.

However, on the Kao San Road battlefield, Boku couldn’t afford to think about such things. Ever since his opponent had activated his Demon Body Form, Boku had been at an absolute disadvantage.

That body seemed indestructible and possessed infinite strength. Most importantly, his opponent could recover from any injury almost instantly.

It was impossible to match a monster like that head-on. If his Arhat Golden Body wasn’t Solid enough, his life would have already been in danger.

But no matter how Solid the Arhat Golden Body was, it could still be depleted. Under such a prolonged and intense assault, he was nearly at his limit.

BOOM!!!

Yuan Luàn’s fist slammed into Boku, sending him flying backward like a cannonball. He crashed heavily through a wall and collapsed to the ground.

Pfft!

A mouthful of pale golden blood sprayed from Boku’s lips. His Arhat Golden Body had grown dim.

"Finally done for? To be honest, you’re the first human who’s given me such a satisfying beatdown. But I suppose this is where it ends. Humans truly are fragile creatures. Even giving it your all, you can’t even handle my second form."

Yuan Luàn, now in his Demon General-like physical form, walked forward slowly. His immense weight left deep footprints in the road, and a mocking smile played on his lips.

’Am I done for?’

Boku took a deep breath. His opponent’s strength was beyond his imagination. He actually felt as if his body was about to fall apart.

’But I can’t say I’m done for now...’

Thinking of the countless innocent civilians nearby, he pushed himself up with his hands and slowly got back to his feet.

This scene was broadcast into the eyes of countless people through Ford’s live stream. Anyone could see that Boku was almost at his limit. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"It’s over! The golden guy looks like he’s done for!"

"Dammit, if Tai Lan Country’s defense falls, this could turn into a tragedy affecting the whole city! Who knows how many people will die!"

"..."

Countless comments flooded in.

"Lord, please protect those innocent people!"

Ford and Xinna were also praying devoutly. As eyewitnesses, they knew just how terrifying the monster’s impact was.

No one knew if the so-called "Lord" had heard their prayers, but the sky gave them a response.

WHIRRRR!!!

Accompanied by the dull roar of engines and the shudder of displaced air, several fighter jets were streaking toward them at high speed. One of them was heading straight for Kao San Road.

Donghua’s reinforcements had finally arrived!