Age of Evolution

Lin Zhen’s current strategy was very clear – he was determined not to stick to a fight. After all, even if it was an Advanced War General, it would still be impossible to break Lin Zhen’s defense within two to three moves. As he fought and retreated, he moved all the way up from the third floor to the seventh floor, causing all of the enemy’s Warrior-class warriors to withdraw.

By the time they reached the tenth floor, more than half of the enemy’s Junior War Generals had left, leaving only about twenty people in the nearly forty-member team.

When they reached the thirteenth floor, all the enemy’s Junior War Generals could no longer hold on, voluntarily withdrawing from the battle, and left the Zhao Dong Building.

Only six people were left on the other side—two Advanced War Generals and four Intermediate War Generals.

The fighting had already stopped, and everyone, including Lin Zhen, was no longer able to fight. They shivered as they climbed upward, and the temperature seemed to drop a bit with each floor.

Everyone’s clothes were stiffened by the cold wind, making a cracking sound every time they raised their hands and legs. Their eyebrows, beards, hair, and eyelashes were all covered with a thick layer of frost, and their lips were pale as paper.

Lin Zhen had already put away his Black Dragon Spear, as it was no longer useful at this point. He didn’t try to destroy the stairs either, only mechanically climbing up the building.

At the fifteenth floor, some Intermediate War Generals could no longer bear it and retreated.

At the eighteenth floor, all the Intermediate War Generals had withdrawn, leaving only the two Advanced War Generals who hadn’t given up yet.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the building, Su Na’s camera was still filming non-stop.

“Could a miracle really happen? Lin Zhen is still persisting! Although I can’t go out now, according to the situation on the scene, it seems that Lin Zhen is climbing towards the higher floors of Zhao Dong Building. Many martial artists have already come down as they can’t bear the cold. Based on my calculations, it seems there are only two people still above.”

“Let’s cheer for Lin Zhen and pray for him! He will definitely survive!”

Many people also commented online.

“I just tested the temperature. The outdoor temperature in Ice City is currently around minus forty degrees Celsius. However, Ice City has city walls, buildings, cars, and heating, so the overall temperature is typically five degrees higher there than in the Wilderness Area. This means that the temperature in Zhao Dong is now minus forty-five degrees, which is a challenge to human survival limits. Even martial artists won’t last long in this cold.”

“The person above overlooked one thing: you’re talking about ground temperature. Lin Zhen is currently in the Zhao Dong Building. Do you know how strong the wind is up there? I just went up to the rooftop of our building to test the temperature, and I nearly got blown away. The temperature there was minus forty-eight degrees, roughly equivalent to the fifteenth floor of Zhao Dong Building. Who do you think can withstand this temperature? Even if they’re martial artists, how long can they last?”

“We don’t know which floor Lin Zhen is on now, but I guess the temperature must have exceeded minus fifty degrees. This winter is too cold, colder than any other year.”

“Those martial artists are stupid. Why bother chasing after someone at such temperatures? Just surround Lin Zhen on the lower floors, and he’ll soon freeze to death up there. It would save so much trouble.”

“Haha! It’s easy for you to say that, but then who would claim the 3 billion reward?”

As netizens were discussing, another report from Zhao Dong came in.

The last two Advanced War Generals chasing Lin Zhen had also come down.

They had persisted until the twenty-second floor and couldn’t go any further. This information was determined through lip-reading by netizens from the video.

At first, some netizens cheered for Lin Zhen, but soon two more Advanced War Generals appeared.

These two were Lang Tianxiao and Yang Lie. They only appeared after all other martial artists had withdrawn.

The two wore thick cotton jackets and dog fur hats that they obtained from somewhere. They started climbing the Zhao Dong Building resolutely.

These two were indeed stronger than the others, but the result remained the same in the end.

Yang Lie retreated after reaching the twenty-seventh floor, while Lang Tianxiao made it to the twenty-ninth floor before finally succumbing to the cold wind and retreating.

After descending, the hands and feet of the two were almost numb. It took them a long time to recover, after which they cursed at the Zhao Dong

Building.

“That little bastard Lin Zhen must be crazy! He’d rather die than let others take him down. If I had known this would happen, I would have rushed up to kill him right from the start.”

“But this kid is as good as dead. The temperature at the top of this building must be below minus fifty-five degrees Celsius. I just wonder how long he can hold on up there. He’ll turn into an ice sculpture in no time!”

After a rant, Lang Tianxiao and the other martial artists had to face a realistic problem.

Lin Zhen remained in the building- but who would be credited for his death?

In the end, everyone reached an unspoken agreement to trap Lin Zhen in Zhao Dong Building, giving him no opportunity to escape. After all, they couldn’t leave Zhao Dong Building either, so they might as well stay put.

They would wait until the wind and snow stopped, search for Lin Zhen’s body, and then decide how to distribute the spoils.

Although Lang Tianxiao was unwilling, he had no better solution when faced with the forty martial artists present. He chose to keep silent.

The martial artists hid in nearby buildings, covering all angles to ensure that Lin Zhen couldn’t escape unnoticed.

This led to a stalemate that no one had anticipated.

Dongfang Jun of Gale Martial Arts Hall sighed in relief. Though the situation didn’t look favorable, it was better than Lin Zhen being killed outright. Perhaps there was still a chance for an unexpected reversal.

As for Li Wanfeng and the other War Gods, they had no choice but to stay with Dongfang Jun and await the outcome.

Netizens began analyzing how long Lin Zhen could survive in such an environment.

Even with clothing and heating tools, Lin Zhen wouldn’t be able to hold out for very long. It was assumed that it wouldn’t take much time for him to come down and face the rested martial artists below, leading to his ultimate death.

From the martial artists besieging Lin Zhen, Su Na at the scene, Dongfang Jun and others at the martial arts hall, to the netizens online, everyone was waiting for an outcome in the Zhao Dong incident.

At this moment, Lin Zhen was still climbing. When he reached the twentieth floor, there was no one left behind him.

Amidst the wind and snow, a faint golden-silver aura appeared around Lin Zhen’s body.

This was Lin Zhen’s spiritual power barrier, which he had comprehended while he was in Yi Lan. At that time, it had frightened Zhao Liang.

There was no need to mention the toughness of spiritual power — even bullets couldn’t penetrate it. As such, the freezing winds were unable to shake Lin Zhen’s barrier in the slightest.

It was precisely for this reason that Lin Zhen dared to come to Zhao Dong

Building. Although advanced War Generals could not resist the cold here, Lin Zhen could. There was no safer place in Zhao Dong for a breakthrough, as no one would come to disturb him.

Just like that, Lin Zhen climbed to the top floor of Zhao Dong Building, the thirty-sixth floor.

Arriving on the thirty-sixth floor, he sat next to a pillar to defend against the wind and cold, so he wouldn’t have to expend too much effort channeling his spiritual power.

“This place must be nearly -60 degrees Celsius, on par with the Antarctic. Combined with the cold wind, an ordinary person’s blood would freeze and die within a minute. This should be an absolutely safe place.”

There were some bird feathers and droppings, indicating that this had once been a nest for mutated birds. However, they had fled after the snowstorm, making it a forbidden place for humans.

“I came to Zhao Dong Building specifically because of the low temperature

here. No one will disturb me, and my protective spiritual power barrier allows me to withstand the cold. This is the best opportunity for me to make a breakthrough.”

Lin Zhen had been preparing for a long time to advance to the War General stage. Now, everything was ready.

He was already at the peak of the Warrior level; with one final push, he could advance to War General. Now, the opportunity had finally come.

With a raise of his hand, a dark energy stone appeared in his palm.

“The largest dark energy stone found on Earth, it can significantly increase my strength, allowing me to break through the limit of a warrior and advance to a War General. This is the first step in my breakthrough!”

“Li Tianhao and the others still haven’t appeared. They must be watching me from the shadows. But it’ll be too late when they finally make their move. Just wait for my return.”

At the top floor, amidst the howling winds and desolate landscape, Lin Zhen’s spiritual power barrier flickered weakly as the snow blew through the building.

Clasping the dark energy stone in both hands, an obscure force began to infuse into Lin Zhen’s body.

Ever since his rebirth, Lin Zhen had meticulously planned and prepared for this moment. At last, the time for his breakthrough had come..