The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Seeing that the first F-15's throw had no effect and the Fire Phoenix was approaching at an alarming speed, the Dragon Knight, expressionless, swiftly swung the scales to lasso the second F-15 from a distance, attempting to slightly slow down the enemy's attack, hoping to discover their weakness.

However, fate did not seem to favor him. The moment the fighter plane was thrown out and accelerated, it encountered an inexplicable interference, the engine suddenly shut down, the body immediately lost control, and finally rolled and disintegrated in the air, becoming a gorgeous but short-lived firework.

And the third one he wanted to throw out, before it could be caught by the scales, its fuel tank exploded in the air, turning into a dazzling fireball that dissipated before even touching the feathers of the fire phoenix, as if the heaven and earth were laughing at his fruitless efforts.

This was naturally due to the remote control of EVA, which caused the knight to waste precious time for defense. He was stunned and couldn't understand why he was so unlucky. His action of waving the scales and the ancient bell to face the "Burning Sky Dharma Image" head-on became a little slow.

At this moment, the rapidly approaching Fire Phoenix opened its huge beak, and an irresistible suction force gushed out of its mouth, instantly covering the area where the entire fleet was located.

Before the fighter planes could even unleash all their remaining firepower, the dragon knight and his dragon were forcibly dragged into the body of the fire phoenix by this force, as if they were caught in an endless vortex.

Inside the vortex, layers of flames surged like the fire of purgatory, and began to refine the dragon knight. The latter struggled hard in this chaotic space, but found that the harder he tried, the more he resisted, the tighter he was bound.

"By establishing the Way of Heaven, one can determine man."

Moving to the head of the Fire Phoenix not far away, Zhao Qing sensed the enemy's real-time status, thinking deeply. To restrain the human principle of "taking from the insufficient to serve the surplus", he must undoubtedly start from the heavenly principle of "taking from the surplus and supplementing the deficiency", that is, to control the real with the empty, to suppress the high and lift up the low.

In the natural environment, objects can easily transform from a high potential energy state to a low potential energy. The heat of a high-temperature object will be spontaneously transferred to a low-temperature object. "The rivers and seas are where the land is insufficient, so the whole world returns to them and serves them." This is the basic law that energy tends to balance and stability.

The "Burning Sky Dharma Image" displayed by Zhao Qing looks like the image of a fire phoenix, but in essence, it is actually a complex field composed of millions of extremely attractive cyclones, containing infinite changes of yin and yang, but its external appearance is determined by one's heart and is not bound by any rules.

This move amplifies the characteristics of the Bei Ming Divine Art, which allows "a hundred rivers to converge into the sea" and "to draw the inner strength of the world and make it mine", so that other people's true energy spontaneously returns to one's own sea of ​​qi, to a wider area. It no longer flows into the narrow and limited Dantian sea of ​​qi, but feeds back to the boundless heaven and earth.

The Dantian Qi sea in the human body can be filled up and cause backflow accidents, but this is absolutely impossible in an entire field of hundreds or thousands of feet, or even in the entire space of heaven and earth.

The stronger the opponent is, the higher the energy density around him will be. Once trapped in this huge "energy level drop" field, the rate of dilution and dissipation will theoretically be faster. In particular, the energy emitted by a move will never return. In any case, he will inevitably become weaker and weaker as the battle goes on.

In this field, Zhao Qing applied the unity of man and nature to a new extreme. He used the vortex of gelled airflow as a chain and the Yin-Yang Five Elements sword energy as a grinding wheel to dissolve the force of numerous counterattacks, trapping the enemy firmly inside and constantly grinding down the opponent's will and strength.

They are either as strong as gold, or flexible as water, or hot as fire, or calm as earth, or agile as wind. They are intertwined and restrained with each other, forming a perfect cycle. Every counterattack of the enemy will only accelerate their demise.

Just like the water from rivers flowing into the sea, although it is turbulent at first, it will eventually be swallowed up by the vastness of the sea and turn into calm.

The dragon knight was going through this refining process at the moment. Surrounded by endless flames and cyclones, his roars and struggles were gradually drowned out by the roar of the flames. His strength, his will, everything about him was ruthlessly devoured and refined at this moment.

However, in this despair and pain, the dragon knight also felt a sense of unprecedented clarity and liberation. He seemed to see all his past obsessions and constraints disappear at this moment, replaced by an unprecedented freedom and tranquility.

He began to understand the true meaning of "taking from what is insufficient so as to give to what is abundant" - it turns out that true strength does not lie in possessing endless power and wealth, but in being able to let go of everything and return to a state of nothingness.

As time passed and the refining deepened, the flames in the Fire Phoenix's body rolled more violently, and the figure of the Dragon Rider gradually became blurred and illusory. In the end, both the man and the dragon turned into wisps of smoke and pieces of dust between heaven and earth, coexisting and perishing with all things.

Finally, when everything returned to calm, all that remained was a sky purified by flames and Zhao Qing's calm and composed figure.

The Fire Phoenix continued to soar in the sky. After sharing some of the refined energy, its feathers became brighter and more dazzling.

……

Realizing that he had actually overestimated his opponent and that there was no need to cut off the connection with the magic weapon to win, Zhao Qing's mind moved slightly, and he turned to observe the remains of the "Famine Knight" after his death, the alchemical magic weapon in the shape of an ancient bronze bell.

It was seen to be shining with golden light all over after being tempered in the sea of ​​fire. The dragon patterns on its surface kept moving, condensing into images of warriors riding pterosaurs. After the death of the "previous owner", a new dragon knight appeared on the patterns, which seemed to have transformed it into a living spirit.

Obviously, in addition to the superb alchemical craftsmanship during its casting, the reason why this Chinese magic weapon has extremely powerful power is largely due to the large number of high-blooded living spirits it has absorbed over thousands of years. A rough count shows that there are at least twenty or thirty similar dragon knights.

Looking closely at the Western or mixed-race Chinese looks of these knights, there is reason to believe that this bronze bell would have been circulated in Solomon's Temple for a long time, and turning the original owner into a living spirit was actually one of the prices to pay for using it.

This price sounds quite cruel, but as a dragon technology, lower bloodlines cannot use things of higher bloodlines for free. This has always been an iron rule that cannot be violated. Even if one temporarily controls it with the help of the power of the "Knight of Doom", when the power gradually fades, it will be time to pay.

However, when Zhao Qing drove the cyclone vortex and summoned the bronze bell in her hand, the collective consciousness of the living spirits within the bell suddenly transmitted a spiritual thought, expressing its willingness to surrender and serve her free of charge.

The "consciousness" of the bronze bell said that an alchemical tool of its level is dominated by the "soul" after all. It not only values ​​the purity of the dragon bloodline, but also pays attention to the depth of the "master's" spiritual realm. Only when both are inferior to its own will it take the life of the "previous master" after use.

A top-level magical weapon like this one can exert combat power close to that of an ancient dragon. In the current Solomon Temple and the ancient Chinese mixed-blood families, it is the most precious magic weapon. It should not be used easily, and once activated, blood will be shed.

As for how this bell spread from the East to the West, few people know about it. Zhao Qing can only guess, based on the Chinese among the Dragon Knight spirits, that the Temple had once been "invested in" by an ancient Chinese mixed-race family that migrated westward.

Originally, she planned to let herself be trapped by the "Balance" first, and then engage in an in-depth mental confrontation to try to seize the bronze bell. However, she did not expect that the dragon knight was defeated in an instant, and she did not expect that this magic weapon would voluntarily and unconditionally "surrender".

……

In the skies above the suburbs of London, the initial aircraft battles, various crashes and explosions had already had a significant impact on the people on the ground who were originally sleeping. When the nuclear Falcon was detonated, the earth-shaking roar woke countless people up in an instant.

With the sharp sound of air raid sirens and fire evacuation, thousands of people realized that they were in the midst of an unimaginable crisis. Fear surged like a tide, drowning all reason and calm. The lights of every household were lit for a short period of time, not to dispel the darkness, but to find a sense of security.

People jumped out of bed one after another, some staggered to the window, trying to see what was happening outside; others hugged their loved ones tightly, as if this could protect them from the impending unknown threats, their eyes full of fear and confusion.

"What happened?!" "Hurry, hide!"

"What is that? A plane crashed?" "Where did the enemy come from?" "No, this is impossible! How could there be so many?"

The phone rang one after another, and the hotline of the relevant departments was almost overwhelmed by panicked citizens. Cries for help and inquiries were intertwined, but on the other end of the phone, there was only a busy tone and a mechanical repetition of "Please be patient, we are processing."

The TV screen was occupied by urgent news broadcasts. Although the host tried his best to remain calm, he could not hide his nervousness and anxiety: "Dear citizens, please note that we are currently facing an unprecedented emergency. Please remain calm and follow official instructions..."

The news footage kept switching, from the explosion site to the crowd being evacuated, to the emergency meeting of government departments, and the announcements and promises of the garrisoned troops. Each shot told the seriousness of the crisis.

However, instead of calming people's panic, this information made them feel even more depressed, as if the whole world was on the brink of doomsday.

The streets, which were originally empty at night, were filled with panicked people. They fled their homes in pajamas and slippers, and some did not even have time to put on their coats. Vehicles began to shuttle back and forth randomly, horns honked one after another, but no one knew where to flee.

At this moment, a dazzling light suddenly appeared in the sky. It was a huge firebird that suddenly appeared in everyone's sight. It was burning with blazing flames all over its body, like a messenger returning from hell, sweeping away the previous fleet.

This undoubtedly made the already tense nerves tense to the extreme again, but fortunately, it did not stay over London for too long. After circling for a while, it turned north and flew away.

"Oh my God! What am I seeing?" Someone looked up at the scene, his hands trembling, pointing at the sky, his eyes full of shock and disbelief.

"Is that... is that the legendary phoenix?" another person murmured to himself, with a mixture of awe and relief in his voice.

As the firebird flew away, the tense atmosphere seemed to relax for a moment, but the deep fear had not completely dissipated. People cuddled together, warming each other with their body temperature, trying to find a glimmer of courage and hope in each other's eyes.

Crowds of people celebrating their survival were surging everywhere, including Finkel who secretly left the ruins of the manor. He quickly found an empty alley, set up an antenna and laptop to receive signals, and analyzed the various intelligence transmitted by EVA.

After being exposed to an excessive amount of nuclear radiation that was enough to cause a person's genetic breakdown and would most likely result in death within ten days or half a month, he did not seem to be in great panic. His expression was calm, and his fingers rapidly typing on the keyboard were extremely steady, as if this was just a small matter that could be solved anytime and anywhere.

It was not that Finkel had anticipated this and taken anti-radiation drugs, but his body, after a period of adaptation, naturally told him that nothing was wrong. After activating his bloodline and the bronze throne of words, he was able to completely repair the damage caused by nuclear radiation.

Of course, related gene mutations are inevitable, but according to his keen intuition, it is most likely not a bad direction, but a benign mutation. After stabilizing, it will most likely be beneficial to the improvement of his bloodline and physique.

It turns out that the genetic mutations of humans after being eroded by the "highly toxic" dragon blood are quite similar to nuclear radiation. Animals that are directly contaminated with dragon blood, except for a few that die quickly, will all show shocking deformities:
The body size becomes larger, scales grow, the bones grow excessively, and multiple heads split open, displaying bizarre traits that span classes, families and genera, presenting a rapid, uncontrollable and chaotic evolution... Dragon blood pollution is somewhat similar to nuclear pollution and can change the ecological environment of a region.

Finkel, who had been contaminated by extremely high-level dragon blood during the Greenland Ice Sea incident but did not suffer much negative impact, had genes that had apparently adapted to this mutation, so after continuing to be exposed to nuclear radiation, he ended up in his current situation.

From another perspective, the nuclear radiation environment may play a certain screening role, finding and inducing naturally qualified individuals who can evolve under the baptism of dragon blood - such special individuals have the potential to improve their bloodline and even evolve into pure-blooded dragons.

Perhaps this is why the "dark monarchs" who seem to have mastered a lot of dragon secrets do not care much about the consequences of triggering a nuclear war, causing industrial collapse and technological regression around the world.

"Alas... As a lucky person who is one in ten million or one in a hundred million, am I really destined to shoulder the hope of the future of the hybrid race?" Finkel muttered to himself, typing rapidly on the keyboard, searching for major events that happened around the world not long ago:

"Is the current situation so bad? Isn't the world really going to end? It's still several years away from the prophecy of 2012. There's not even a trace of the first generation dragon bone cross. Even if we want to increase our strength, it seems we don't know where to start!"

"EVA, please copy the email that Zhao Qing sent to Angers and send it over... I hope the cultivation method in it is true and will be effective quickly." Having said that, the previous series of battles naturally emerged in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a little more yearning in his heart.

Just as Finkel was browsing the email and was about to memorize the entire text of the technique, EVA's gentle voice suddenly came from the speakers:
"A few seconds ago, I captured an extremely powerful data stream on the Internet. It came from a strange artificial intelligence that was weaving its own logical network at an astonishing speed, madly devouring computing resources, and quickly shuttling between servers in multiple countries."

"This is definitely not an ordinary intelligent entity. Its data structure and action logic are unique, far beyond the scope of what conventional algorithms can predict. After multiple identifications and judgments, it should be a strong artificial intelligence with complete human intelligence, not inferior to me..."

"The new strong artificial intelligence? If you and I join forces, we may be able to fight."

Upon hearing this, Finkel immediately stopped browsing and memorizing the email, and opened his own private hacker interface, with a boiling desire to fight: "Have you found out which organization developed it? Since the other party dared to leave obvious traces on the Internet, they must have a purpose."

"EVA, activate the deep tracking mode. I want to know all the details of this AI, find out which areas it is most active in, and what kind of layout it is planning."

Finkel's command was concise and powerful, and his words revealed unquestionable determination. His fingers jumped rapidly on the keyboard, and the icons in the hacker program tool box lit up one by one, and a dense stream of data began to scroll on the screen.

In just a moment, a huge amount of global network monitoring resources were mobilized.

After complex data analysis and pattern recognition, he gradually outlined the profile of this strange artificial intelligence. At the same time, he was surprised to find that the other party seemed to have known about the existence of EVA for a long time, but deliberately gave in in the data confrontation and did not seem to be hostile.

...(End of chapter)