When Laws arrived at the Guangyao Group, he immediately leveraged the company's financial resources and pre-apocalypse reputation to rally the awakeners of Jiangnan in Long Kingdom.
He proposed that they join the Global Awakeners' Guild established by Guangyao Group.
Of course, it was Laws who made the proposal; it was merely executed by the Guangyao Group personnel.
Laws' goal was clear: before the White Eagle Empire attacked Long Kingdom, gather all these awakeners in one place, thereby weakening Long Kingdom's overall strength.
When the White Eagle Empire launched its assault, Long Kingdom's leadership would realize they had no awakeners left to call upon.
Taking over the kingdom would then be effortless.
The Guangyao Group's broadcast rang out across Jiangnan.
"Guangyao Group will establish a Global Awakeners' Guild. All awakeners in the Jiangnan region are welcome to join. Those who join the group will receive superior resources.
"However, anyone unwilling to join the Global Awakeners' Guild will, from now on, become an enemy of the Guangyao Group!"
"Kill them all without mercy!"
Before the apocalypse, the Guangyao Group had been the dominant power in Jiangnan. Many awakeners there were third- or fourth-tier.
At first, some scoffed at the broadcast. After all, the apocalypse had already come—who cared about this silly group?
But when they heard the words "kill without mercy", they froze.
Because this time, it wasn't a mere announcer speaking.
It was Laws himself.
Those words carried the aura of a sixth-tier awakener.
Anyone hearing it knew clearly that they were facing an awakener far stronger than themselves.
If such an awakener had already joined the Guangyao Group, encountering someone from the group in the future would mean confronting a terrifyingly powerful individual.
"I'll join the Guangyao Group! I voluntarily join the Guangyao Group!"
"I'm a fourth-tier awakener—Guangyao Group must accept me!"
"If I join too late, I'll become an enemy of so many awakeners. I must join immediately!"
Most awakeners, after hearing the broadcast, rushed toward the Guangyao Group headquarters, fearing that delaying would make them enemies.
…
Inside the secret realm, Chen Jie had no idea what was happening outside.
After shaking off the puppet, he found a hidden cave and opened the treasure box left by the old man.
The moment he opened it, blinding golden light burst forth.
To Chen Jie's surprise, the treasure box contained an ancient weapon.
Before him lay two golden needles radiating light.
"This weapon doesn't look ordinary at all."
Chen Jie examined the needles. Their aura was very similar to the Open Heaven Axe in his hand, as if originating from the same source.
He summoned two strands of Hongmeng Purity Qi and infused them into the golden needles.
"Go!"
Chen Jie flicked the needles out of his hand.
They shot forward with incredible speed, like lightning flashing across the cave.
In an instant, the needles pierced the darkness of the cave.
Boom!
The two needles went straight through the cave.
Keep in mind, this cave was a massive space, over ten meters wide at the base. Just a simple flick had sent the needles straight through the mountain.
Their power was immense.
"This is perfect for a sneak attack."
Chen Jie grinned, retrieving the needles.
Until now, his attacks had always been straightforward; he had lacked a stealthy ranged method.
With these two golden needles, dealing with mutated monsters would become much easier.
After putting the needles away, Chen Jie noticed an inconspicuous scroll inside the treasure box.
On it was a person in ancient clothing, holding a long sword and floating in midair.
He faced a massive horde of mutated creatures, much like in the modern world.
A swelling aura radiated from his body.
Alone, he confronted countless mutants.
Looking at the creatures on the scroll, Chen Jie could roughly estimate their levels—they were at least ghost-tier or higher.
Seeing this scroll further convinced Chen Jie that awakeners had long existed in this world.
With his items secured, Chen Jie stepped out of the cave.
Shii!
A piercing scream echoed from the sky.
Chen Jie looked up—it was the bat monster that had chased him when he first entered the secret realm.
"Perfect timing. I'll use you to test the power of my newly acquired golden needles."
Chen Jie summoned the Kai Tian Axe and stood still at the front of the mountain, waiting silently for the bat monster to approach.
Fifty zhang.
Thirty zhang.
Three zhang!
At that moment, Chen Jie shivered and swung the Open Heaven Axe vertically.
The overwhelming power of the axe surged toward the bat monster.
The bat quickly shielded itself with its wings.
With a ding, it was forced back by Chen Jie's strike.
But it seemed unwilling to give up, attempting another charge.
A cold glint appeared in Chen Jie's eyes. He continued using the Open Heaven Axe, waiting for the right moment.
As the bat monster paused to catch its breath, Chen Jie flipped his hands, and the two golden needles reappeared.
He aimed at the bat monster's eyes and flicked his hands—the needles shot through the air, straight for the creature's eyes.
The speed of the needles was blinding.
Focused entirely on fighting Chen Jie, the bat monster didn't notice the attack.
The needles pierced its eyes in an instant.
The bat let out a terrible scream and fell backward.
Chen Jie leapt forward, striking the bat's head with the Open Heaven Axe.
Puchi!
The bat's skull split in two.
From the corpse, a golden spirit crystal emerged.
It was Chen Jie's first encounter with such a crystal—its energy far exceeded that of ordinary spirit crystals.
Holding it in his hands, Chen Jie absorbed it with his mind.
In just a short time, boundless power surged into his body like a tidal wave, nearly tearing him apart.
"Ahhhh!"
Chen Jie screamed in pain.
He immediately summoned the Hongmeng Purity Qi to envelop his body.
Ten minutes later…
Boom!
The energy around Chen Jie exploded outward, shattering the surrounding trees into fragments.
At that moment, Chen Jie had advanced to a fifth-tier awakener!