"Then… what is that?"
At this moment, countless humans across the earth raised their heads in confusion, staring at the big screen of the global live broadcast where Xuan Ba was shown.
One finger.
With just one finger, the golden giant who had dominated the battlefield and nearly annihilated humanity vanished without a trace.
Countless human minds froze. Their thoughts halted, leaving their mouths agape in stunned disbelief.
Xia Lingwu, the general commanding the Dragon Kingdom's frontline, stood motionless as he watched the impossible unfold.
His throat moved as if trying to form words, but no sound escaped his lips.
"…Who the hell are you?!!" roared the leading three-eyed golden giant, eyes locked onto Shen Lian and his six companions. His pupils contracted, his voice laced with trembling disbelief.
Most of his attention fixated on Shen Lian.
Because he had realized clearly — the individual who had made the move, and the others surrounding him, all deferred to Shen Lian. They treated him with reverence beyond comprehension.
"You're not of this planet. Humans here can't possess that level of strength."
"Who are you?!"
The three-eyed golden giant's face turned grim with unprecedented seriousness.
"Me? Of course, I'm from this world. You can call me a remnant of the old era."
"Or, a traveler returning home."
Shen Lian's voice was calm, yet within his eyes shimmered a trace of loss.
He had confirmed it.
This Earth was indeed the same one he had originally lived on before being drawn into another world. But the people, the age, everything had changed.
He had returned through the portal to the Earth of sixty years after his disappearance.
Time was merciless, eroding all that once was.
For a cultivator, sixty years was like a passing moment.
But for an Earth governed by science and technology, sixty years was enough to overwrite an era, to rewrite history.
He had swept the world with his divine sense and discovered, with a faint sigh, that his parents had long since passed away.
Only a few descendants of the Shen family remained — enough to ease the sharpness of regret in his heart.
"Remnants of the old days? Travelers returning home?"
A flicker of confusion passed through the eyes of the three-eyed golden giant.
The concept was too complex and unfathomable.
Of course, Shen Lian didn't expect him to comprehend.
"If you can't understand, then give me a simpler title."
"Call me…"
"God."
Shen Lian spoke softly. He then raised his right hand and made a sweeping motion. "Clean it up."
"Rest assured, Your Majesty. This old servant shall carry out your will flawlessly."
Xuan Ba bowed respectfully, then turned around, his gaze falling upon the assembled golden giants.
"His Majesty, Liandi, granted you the honor of a reply. It is your greatest fortune."
"Destroy them."
Xuan Ba focused his power precisely. With a faint curl of his fingers—
Boom.
A gravity unlike anything describable erupted from his hand, shaking the heavens and suppressing the earth.
Seeing this, the three-eyed golden giant's expression twisted in horror. His scalp tingled as fear took hold.
"No!!!"
"You... You dare slaughter us? Our king will never forgive you! You'll pay!!"
His final cry of terror echoed briefly before being wiped from existence.
Just like a drop of water wiped away from a table with a rag.
All the golden giants, including their leader, were obliterated in an instant.
Erased.
Even their timelines — past and future — had been purged.
For beings like Xuan Ba and the others, whose cultivation surpassed planetary laws, even the intervention of alternate universes wouldn't matter. Once they acted, total erasure was inevitable.
A disaster capable of ending the world, which had plunged humanity into despair, had been resolved with nothing but a flick of the hand.
At this moment, the hundreds of millions of people watching across the globe were frozen in pure shock.
Not a sound was made, only a suffocating silence hung in the air.
Until more than ten seconds had passed.
The entire Earth erupted.
"God! That's a god!"
"What?! The golden giant that even our most powerful nuclear weapons couldn't harm—gone?! Just like that?!"
"Oh my God! Was this… was this really divine intervention?"
"This… This must be God! This has to be a god's doing!"
"I saw it… I really saw it! I saw God descend to Earth!"
"O merciful Buddha, was this your true form?"
"The divine has appeared! A true deity walks among us!"
In that instant, countless people dropped to their knees, facing Shen Lian's direction, bowing their heads and kowtowing in reverence.
In their eyes burned a fanatic light — the kind found only in the hearts of true believers.
In the Pacific War Command Room.
Xia Lingwu, Commander-in-Chief of the Dragon Kingdom, stood like a statue, unmoving. His eyes widened and locked on the massive screen, arms faintly trembling.
"That… was that calculated? The power of that person's strike—has the energy been analyzed?"
It took a long while before Xia Lingwu returned to his senses with a jolt, his voice shaking.
"S-Sir… We've used the most advanced instruments, every scanning system we have… and the result is the same."
"There is no calculable result. It's… it's impossible to measure."
The technician beside him swallowed hard.
"Could it be… this really was a god?"
Xia Lingwu stood speechless before the screen, struggling to comprehend.
Yes.
Power that could sweep away an entire world with such indifference — only a god could possess it.