Chapter 4: All Is Apocalypse!

Finally, Shen Yu let out a long sigh, murmuring with joy, "To think such a thing could happen—what is this? An external avatar?"

Indeed, although the two men before him looked completely different, they were, in their entirety, Shen Yu himself.

Shen Yu had now received the answer from the Gray Mist Space. The moment he obtained this space, his soul had effectively split, casting fragments into different worlds to be reincarnated. That was the only reason they were able to survive within this space.

"I thought I had just transmigrated and been reborn, and without a golden finger at that. I never expected... never expected this," the Shen Yu in ancient robes murmured, his emotions roiling as he looked at his former self.

When he first transmigrated, he had thought of his past more than once, worried about his parents, friends, and family. He had never imagined there would come a day when he could see "himself." If this was the case, he hadn't truly left them behind—his parents, friends, and family wouldn't have to suffer the pain of losing him. That was, in its own way, a relief.

"Based on the information we’ve just received, this place is called the Gray Mist Space?" The other Shen Yu, dressed in cybernetic gear, spoke up, his tone more composed. "Our appearance here must originate from this mysterious space. Furthermore, I can feel that the original body holds higher authority here than I do—not just over the space itself, but in other aspects as well."

"It seems that way, indeed." The ancient-garbed Shen Yu stroked his chin. "Our relationship seems similar to the external avatars in myths and legends. Both Taoism and Buddhism have similar supernatural abilities. For example, the Five Great Heavenly Marshals of the Lingguan Grand Saint have five forms, all unified as one. Buddhism is even more extreme; there is a Buddhist verse that speaks of incarnations numbering in the hundreds of billions..."

"We can study that later." The cybernetic Shen Yu cut him off. His expressionless face now bore a hint of eagerness and anxiety. "Mom and Dad... are they doing okay?"

The ancient-garbed Shen Yu fell silent, looking at the main Shen Yu with the same expression. Though they each had their own parents, families, and friends after transmigrating, the "childhood" deep within their memories still belonged to that blue planet from their previous life. Countless times in the dead of night, they had secretly longed for that homeland and family they could never return to.

"They are doing well for now," Shen Yu said, his expression tinged with melancholy. "But it is hard to say what the future holds."

That was his greatest fear. If the apocalypse truly came, he might be able to survive here in the Gray Mist Space, but what about everyone else? They couldn't enter the Gray Mist Space.

"What do you mean?"

Shen Yu’s anxiety was plain to see, and the other two caught it immediately, asking with concern.

Shen Yu simply explained what was happening on the human home planet. However, to his surprise, the two before him seemed even more shocked than he had anticipated.

"What is going on!" the ancient-garbed Shen Yu cursed. "It’s bad enough my world is facing an apocalypse, but the world of my previous life is ending too?"

"Hmm?" Shen Yu paused, narrowing his eyes. "Your world is experiencing an apocalypse as well?"

"That’s right," the ancient-garbed Shen Yu sighed. "An ice age? A dark era? Something like that. The sun is becoming less effective and seems to be dying, and on top of that, it’s a martial arts world. Everyone only knows how to fight; no one understands agriculture, and they can't even fast to survive... wait."

The ancient-garbed Shen Yu seemed to notice something, and along with the main Shen Yu, he turned to look at the cybernetic one. The cybernetic Shen Yu’s expression was incredibly grave. Meeting their gazes, he nodded heavily.

"In my world, human civilization has been in the stars for two hundred years, but we’ve encountered terrifying extraterrestrial enemies. We are in full retreat, and there is little hope of victory in sight."

"This..." The ancient-garbed Shen Yu gasped. One instance was a coincidence, two was bad luck, but three? That was beyond probability. He didn't know if there were a fourth or fifth avatar in other worlds. If there were... were they likely facing an apocalypse too?

"It certainly sounds dire, but—" Shen Yu was the first to regain his composure. While he was shocked by the reality, he wasn't pessimistic. "Since you have appeared here, the situation is different. We now have three worlds; as long as we can mount some resistance, combined with the power of the Gray Mist Space..."

"Yes," the cybernetic Shen Yu nodded firmly. With the help of the biological chip in his brain, he had already realized this. The mist within the Gray Mist Space was a concept similar to "merit." If they could stop the apocalypse, the merit would be self-evident. Connecting different worlds was far better than fighting alone. It was as if fate had planned this from the very beginning.

"It seems we need to cooperate more closely," Shen Yu said, looking at the other two. "We are all ourselves, so there is no need for unnecessary words. Moreover, the connection between us seems to go beyond just the memories and cognition from before we were eighteen."

He reached out his hand. From the moment he met them, he had felt a unique sensation—as if he could gain something from them. This feeling wasn't his alone; the other two felt it as well. When their three hands stacked together, the sensation intensified. Their connection was definitely not just limited to shared memories.

In particular, Shen Yu—the original body—clearly held the dominant position. He was the root, and the two before him were the avatars; it was crystal clear. In fact, all three had an intuition: if something were to happen to the main Shen Yu, the others would suffer as well.

Shared memories, a leading entity, external crises, and aligned interests—all of these together were enough to build a relationship of high trust, perhaps even one that was inseparable.

"Oh, right," Shen Yu suddenly thought of the people outside and looked at the ancient-garbed Shen Yu. "You said your world is a martial arts world? To what extent?" His eyes shone with curiosity and anticipation. Martial arts? Was it the kind of martial arts he had imagined?

"Yes, martial arts!" The corners of the ancient-garbed Shen Yu’s mouth curled up with a sense of awe. "It is true transcendent power. The focus is on the physical body, with the spirit as a secondary cultivation. I don't know who is the strongest, but when I was six, I witnessed someone destroy a city with a single sword strike! A massive city with hundred-meter-high walls and hundreds of thousands of inhabitants!"

It was clear that even now, the ancient-garbed Shen Yu still carried the shock of that day. It was the first time he had witnessed the power of his world.

"High-level martial arts!"

The eyes of both Shen Yu and the interstellar Shen Yu lit up at once. Given their current situation, the stronger their respective worlds were, the better!