?
Liu Yang said, "So you're saying the apocalypse outbreak and the zombie virus were all orchestrated by the Japanese Empire?"
Taozi nodded. "Yes. It was the backlash from the Japanese Empire's genetic research. I don't know where their scientists found this ancient virus that can alter a species' genetic code.
"They thought they could control it, but in the end, they failed catastrophically-turning over seventy percent of humanity across the globe into zombies.
"However, the Japanese Empire still had an advantage. Because they were the first to discover and experiment with the virus, their ability users awakened much earlier than those in other nations.
"The reason Hiyue Yamada was able to claim the top spot on the Heaven Ranking wasn't that he was exceptionally strong, but because he was among the first batch of successful test subjects months ago.
"He was also the very first ability user to reach Level Three.
"Yet that only highlights just how formidable you are, Lord Liu Yang.
"Even though Hiyue Yamada became an ability user months before you and was the first to enter the stone stele test, his reign at number one didn't last long before you crushed him underfoot.
"The gap between ordinary people and true genius is just too vast.
"Your talent leaves Hiyue Yamada trailing far behind in the dust!"
After saying this, Taozi looked at Liu Yang with eyes full of worship.
The Japanese Empire was the first to experience the virus outbreak and the first country where ability users appeared.
Logically speaking, they should have maintained a massive advantage over other nations and dominated the ability user leaderboard with countless powerful fighters.
Unfortunately, even their top-ranked fighter, Hiyue Yamada, was swiftly surpassed by Liu Yang.
Clearly, even with a head start in the apocalypse, the Japanese Empire couldn't retain any edge.
They remained a pathetic empire beyond saving.
Liu Yang asked Taozi, "What's Hiyue Yamada's actual combat strength? And what is his special ability?"
If there was anyone in the Japanese Empire who could pique Liu Yang's curiosity even slightly, it was that former number one on the Heaven Ranking.
Hiyue Yamada held the top rank right before Liu Yang entered the stone stele trial.
Liu Yang wanted to know just how wide the gap was between the former top ranker and his current self.
Unexpectedly, Taozi shook her head. "My rank is too low. Up until now, I've never had contact with Hiyue Yamada. I was just a minor squad leader, whereas General Hiyue is the supreme commander of the entire ability user corps.
"He holds a genuine military rank of General. So I've never seen him in person, let alone learned what his special ability is."
She tilted her head, pondering for a moment before continuing:
"However, I did hear a rumor circulating within the ability user forces. They say General Hiyue cleared the tenth level faster than anyone else-a full day faster than the Japanese Empire's other top-ten ranker! Because of that, his strength is said to be on a completely different tier within the Heaven Ranking."
Hearing Taozi's words, Liu Yang frowned. "The tenth level? A day faster than the other guy? That thing actually takes a whole day to beat?"
Liu Yang was somewhat speechless. Back when he cleared all 100 levels, it only took him half an hour. These people spent an entire day, or even several days, just to reach the tenth level?
What kind of absolute trash were they?
Taozi said, "They say the tenth level of the Heaven Ranking is actually very difficult! There are ten Level Three zombies leading over a hundred Level Two zombies, plus thousands of ordinary Level One zombies.
"Even if a regular ability user is strong, their mental energy isn't enough to kill that many zombies.
"Plus, during combat, they must be extremely cautious not to get injured. Otherwise, they'll get infected by the virus and fail the trial.
"So Hiyue Yamada's top position on the Heaven Ranking was actually just based on clearing the tenth level. According to rumors in our ability user forces, the top 200 on the leaderboard all stopped at the tenth level-they're only separated by their clearance times."
After saying this, Taozi looked at Liu Yang and asked tentatively:
"Lord Liu Yang, you didn't... clear past the tenth level, did you?"
Liu Yang replied nonchalantly, "Of course I did. Is the tenth level supposed to be hard?"
Back when he was in the tenth level, he had simply brandished his Black Light Katana and mowed through them like grass.
Level Three zombies couldn't even last ten seconds in front of Liu Yang.
As for the hundred Level Two zombies, they couldn't affect Liu Yang in the slightest.
Of course, for other ability users, this was already an insurmountable hurdle.
Ordinary ability users had limited mental energy; they couldn't enhance it to 1,500 points like Liu Yang.
An ordinary Level Three ability user only had around three hundred points of mental energy.
If they used their special abilities to fight, a few uses would deplete most of their mental energy.
Then they would have to stand aside recovering, waiting for their mental energy to regenerate.
How could they compare to Liu Yang, whose mental energy was practically bottomless and inexhaustible?
Plus, ordinary ability users weren't immune to the zombie virus. Once injured, they got infected.
So they had to be extra cautious during battle.
That was likely why Hiyue Yamada could only clear up to the tenth level.
Liu Yang asked again, "Do you know what Hiyue Yamada's special ability is?"
Some special abilities might not be very effective against zombies, but could have unexpected, deadly effects when dealing with other humans.
So maybe that Hiyue Yamada guy just had a specialized ability that made fighting zombie waves more strenuous.
Taozi shook her head again. "For an ability user, their special ability is their most vital piece of intel, their ultimate trump card. Normally, ability users don't casually reveal their abilities. So very few people know Hiyue Yamada's special ability."
Liu Yang nodded.
That made sense.
Generally, if an ability user's power leaked out, others could come up with countermeasures, putting them at a severe disadvantage in combat.
After all, others weren't like Liu Yang, who possessed multiple special abilities at once.
However, keeping secrets in front of Liu Yang was impossible, because Liu Yang had Future Deduction.
If he didn't know an opponent's special ability initially, he could simply perform a deduction, fight the opponent within the deduction once, and he would know their ability and combat power.
This way, even if he encountered the strongest enemy, Liu Yang could find a way to defeat them within the deduction.
"Right, before that Inoue guy died, he seemed to say that your Japanese Empire also has some ancient clan? Very powerful? What's that about?" Liu Yang asked again.
Taozi answered, "Ninjas. They are different from ability users. Their power stems from over a thousand years of inherited tradition. They are natural killing machines possessing a willpower that ability users lack. They are existences even stronger than ability users."
Liu Yang asked, "Ninjas? Since you have such powerful ninjas, why didn't you send them?"
Taozi answered, "Because even the President of the Japanese Empire cannot command the ninja clans. Besides, the Divine Dragon Empire also has ancient martial artist clans whose strength is no worse than the ninjas..."