Chapter 1: Destroying Heaven and Earth

In a small town within the borders of Yan’an Country, with a population of less than three thousand, it was somewhat famous for its stone carvings and was called “Stone Quarry Town.”
Nestled among mountains and by water, Stone Quarry Town was peaceful and safe, with good law and order. There were only two constables in the yamen—one older and one younger. Their relationship was more like that of master and apprentice than superior and subordinate.
In the evening, the younger constable bid farewell to his master, stepping out of the yamen with a faint smile on his face.
The young constable was only twenty years old. He had gotten married last year, and his wife was already eight months pregnant. The town’s most experienced midwife had said it would definitely be a healthy baby boy.
As the day of becoming a father approached, the young constable was overjoyed every day.
Today happened to be his wife’s birthday. She was only seventeen by traditional age, still quite childlike. She loved to act spoiled, though a bit willful, yet her charm remained endearing.
With a new baby on the way, there would be two precious ones in the family—one big and one small—who needed his careful care…
On his way home, the young constable stopped by to buy a pound of pork, some snacks, and fruits, planning to prepare a few dishes for a small celebration that night.
Along the way, he greeted his neighbors casually, strolling at a leisurely pace. It took less than fifteen minutes before he reached the door of his home.
There was a courtyard with a few small houses. Life wasn’t wealthy, but they had enough to eat and wear, which was quite good.
Anyway, ever since he married his wife, life had been sweet and warm every day…
Pushing open the courtyard door, the young constable called out to the inside, “Xing’er.”
That was his wife’s nickname—somewhat rustic, used only by those closest to her.
Creak!
The wooden door to the bedroom opened, and his pregnant wife slowly stepped over the threshold. Her little face was rosy, full of youthful vitality. As she neared motherhood, her already plump face became even rounder.
“Brother~~~”
She called out sweetly.
The two young people had grown up together in the same town, childhood friends with a pure affection for each other. They had long been used to calling each other brother and sister. Using terms like “husband” or “wife” would feel awkward to them.
The young constable entered the courtyard, holding up the snacks and fruits with a smile, “Your favorite…”
Before he could finish speaking, before he could take the last few steps, his expression suddenly changed. He abruptly turned his head to look at the sky in the east of the town…
What happened?

All that could be seen was the sky in the distance suddenly darkening, then suddenly brightening, before the entire sky turned a deep red, as crimson as blood!
Eerie, grotesque, and even more terrifying…
“Xing’er!”
For some reason, the young constable wanted to rush to his wife’s side, but he couldn’t move at all; he could only stand frozen in place, shouting in a pale-faced state.
His voice and tone carried an inexplicable sense of despair and sorrow.
It seemed as though he had already realized something…
Not only him—his wife was the same, her body stiff, her fingers unable to move even slightly.
Not just them—at that moment, almost the entire Yan’an Kingdom, all living beings within thousands of miles, were in the same state, completely unable to move.
Whether humans, livestock, or wild beasts in the mountains—everyone was the same…
In an instant, a shockwave carrying a terrifying heat wave swept in from the distant horizon at a speed far beyond that of sound…
It destroyed everything in an instant!
Shattered everything!
Reduced everything to ashes, then completely erased it from existence.
Even the hardest steel and the majestic mountains standing on the earth were no exception.
This apocalyptic force was strong enough to scrape away hundreds of feet of earth beneath it—nothing could survive, nothing could remain!
As the shockwave neared the Stone Quarry Town, an object about the length and thickness of a finger flew first into the young constable’s yard.
Its speed was lightning-fast; normal eyes couldn’t even track its trajectory.
This small, pointed object pierced through the young constable’s skull—entering through his left temple and exiting through his right—its immense kinetic energy blowing his head to pieces.
Red and white—skulls shattered, brains splattered everywhere.
Was the young constable dead?
Logically, without a head, it would be strange if he wasn’t dead; his eyeballs were nowhere to be seen…
Yet, the young constable had no sense of death. He felt lighter, still able to see everything, even clearer than before, with a wider field of vision.
Huh…
Time stopped abruptly, and everything he saw slowed down countless times over.
The young constable could still see his wife Xing’er, with her big belly, standing at the door of the bedroom. Her posture remained the same, her expression still a sweet smile turning into terror.
But in an instant, she was gone.
Vanished!

A terrifying red heat wave had arrived, with temperatures high enough to melt steel instantly, turning that delicate and fragile body into gray-black powder in the blink of an eye. The heat currents then swept in, causing it to vanish completely.
The little constable’s headless body suffered the same fate, evaporating into nothingness. Yet he could still see everything, witnessing with his own eyes as his beloved woman and the child in her womb disappeared into the flames.
“Xing’er!”
He screamed heartbreakingly, but no sound came out. He no longer had a body; only his soul remained, attached to that rapidly flying object, as he watched all the cruel scenes unfold.
“Xing’er!”
The cry that tore at his soul was useless. Everything was gone—his wife, his courtyard, the entire Cai Shi Town…
After that, no matter how devastated he was, he still had to witness everything that happened next. He had no choice but to watch, through the eyes of his soul, everything clearly.
Towns, mountains, rivers, forests… everything was destroyed!
Wherever that red heat wave struck, everything was reduced to ashes, leaving nothing but scorched land that stretched for countless miles.
The unknown object carrying the little constable’s soul continued to fly, always slightly faster than the heat wave’s shockwaves, moving forward seemingly endlessly.
It was unknown how much time passed before the red heat wave finally slowed down, weakened, and thinned out until it vanished completely.
That terrifying force that had destroyed everything was finally gone.
The object’s speed also decreased, allowing the little constable to see that his soul seemed to be attached to a small tower-shaped object.
A tiny tower, with a dark surface and unknown material, utterly unremarkable.
Like the arrowhead of a crossbow, the tower continued to fly, driven by some unknown force that kept it moving for thousands of miles.
Eventually, it flew into a mountainous area, filled with continuous peaks and steep cliffs.
Its speed slowed again, as if guided by some force, and it suddenly changed direction, diving into a valley.
At the bottom of a cliff in the valley lay a young man, motionless and in a strange position—whether unconscious or dead was unknown.
With a swift motion, the black tower pierced the young man’s forehead. This time, it did not shatter his skull, nor did it leave even the slightest trace of damage.
Silently, without a sound, no one knew that something unnatural now existed inside the young man’s head.