The sudden eruption of the black aura caught everyone off guard. Beneath the Soul Martial Continent, something was stirring.
The disturbance wasn't from the underground world but from something beneath the soil of the Eastern and Western Continents, something restless and struggling to emerge.
It wasn't just limited to the land; even the ocean floor was experiencing a strange upheaval, as though something beneath the seabed was trying to break free.
Boom!
Earth and dirt scattered as a skeleton, its entire body made of bone, clawed its way out from the churned earth. Its pale bones shook, dislodging the dirt that clung to them.
The sight of these skeletons, bleached white, sent chills down one's spine.
Across the land, countless small holes began to open in the soil, from which skeletons emerged, shaking off the dirt that had buried them.
Their eye sockets glowed with a dark, ominous flame, filling onlookers with dread.
At the bottom of the ocean, beneath layers of silt, enormous skeletal remains of sea soul beasts also began to rise from the depths.
Not only sea soul beasts, but also skeletal remains of sea tribes emerged from the ocean floor, wandering through the waters as they hunted for the living.
On land, skeletal remains of soul beasts and various races, once buried underground, surfaced, all of them with the same black flames flickering in their eye sockets, just like the black aura that now filled the sky.
It was clear that these long-buried skeletons were being awakened by the surge of black aura, forcing them to rise from their graves.
These skeletons, with their eye sockets ablaze with dark flames, climbed out of the ground, their first action being to survey their surroundings, seeking out living creatures to attack.
Regardless of what kind of living being appeared in their sight, they would immediately launch an assault.
Moreover, when these skeletons moved, they were shrouded in black mist, exuding an aura of soul power. Despite being mere bone structures, their bodies were surprisingly durable.
However, the strength of these skeletons ranged only from the lower three realms at most, with a few reaching Nirvana Realm. As for those in the Breaking Void Realm, they were exceedingly rare, almost nonexistent.
The sudden appearance of these skeletons threw the entire Soul Martial Continent into chaos. Except for the Hua Xia Empire, many regions suffered significant losses.
Whether human or other races, ordinary citizens were hit the hardest, as they lacked the strength to fend off the numerous skeletons that appeared everywhere. Only a few individuals with some level of power were able to fight back, though the situation was still dire.
The Hua Xia Empire, however, stood apart.
"Die!" In a small village, the villagers fought fiercely, wielding their elemental weapons. Even though these weapons were crude and basic, they were still capable of battling the skeletons.
Crash!
A burly man hefted his elemental weapon and smashed it against a skeleton's skull, shattering it completely. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked around.
With that blow, the last skeleton in the village had been vanquished.
The villagers' success was entirely due to Lin Qian's nationwide evolution plan. The dense spiritual energy in the Hua Xia Empire had greatly improved the physical conditions of every citizen.
Additionally, the potions distributed throughout the empire had taken effect, leading to a profound transformation in the overall strength of Hua Xia's populace. While not every citizen had reached the Nirvana Realm, many were close, and nearly all of the younger generation were now Nirvana Realm soul warriors.
As for the older generation, most had reached the Forming Realm of soul cultivation. Because of this, when the skeletons appeared, the villagers didn't panic; instead, they boldly fought back, attacking the invaders.
However, their battle with the skeletons was little more than a warm-up. The Imperial Army and Beast Army stationed in the village reacted immediately, swiftly eliminating the skeletons that threatened the villagers.
With the combined might of the Imperial Army and Beast Army, all of whom were in the Life and Death Realm, the skeletons surrounding the village were quickly annihilated, allowing the villagers to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Since His Majesty unified the Southern Region, it's been a long time since we felt any real sense of danger," said the burly man, lowering his weapon as he watched the Imperial Army patrol the village, while the shadows of the Beast Army loomed in the nearby forest. He turned to his fellow villager and added, "But even in a situation like this, I don't feel any fear or anxiety."
"Well, of course not! With His Majesty watching over us, what does our Hua Xia Empire have to fear?" another villager replied with a smile, looking down at the shattered bones at his feet. His expression turned grim. "These things crawled up from underground. For all we know, one of them could've been our ancestor."
"Damn it! What the hell is going on?"
Throughout the Hua Xia Empire, the Imperial Army and Beast Army were stationed in every region. With the citizens having grown far stronger than before, the sudden crisis resulted in minimal casualties.
According to the Tiangong Division's statistics, the total number of deaths in the Southern Region due to the skeletons amounted to just over ten thousand.
For the mighty Hua Xia Empire, ten thousand people was a trivial number, equivalent to the population of a few rural villages. Yet Lin Qian, during a live broadcast on the soul monitor, expressed deep sorrow and personally mourned the loss, apologizing for not being able to protect them better. His sincerity only deepened the people's respect for him.
Though ten thousand might not have seemed like much to the Hua Xia Empire, Lin Qian still felt deep regret and guilt over the losses.
Immediately after, Lin Qian issued a direct order for the Imperial Army and Beast Army to remain on high alert. He also commanded all soul warriors to cease their activities and return to their hometowns to help defend them, preventing further incidents.
None of the soul warriors objected to Lin Qian's command. They all complied, returning to their homelands.
Before long, they would be extremely grateful for Lin Qian's foresight.
Because the next wave of creatures emerging from the ground weren't just skeletons—they were beings at the Breaking Void Realm, with decayed, rotting flesh hanging from their bodies, exuding a foul stench. These weren't mere skeletons; they were reanimated corpses, and they were far harder to deal with than the skeletons.
Upon learning of this development, Lin Qian rubbed his forehead and sighed, "I was just planning to film a biohazard movie in the empire, and now I'm facing the real deal?"