Breathtaking Brilliance; Fight to the Death

Slum District. Blackwood Street. Liya District.

Even by Slum District standards, this residential complex was a prime example of filth and disorder — the kind of place that gave the whole area its reputation.

Its tenants were a motley mix, every type of person imaginable.

Led by Franming, Li Qinghe arrived at the complex.

She glanced at the mounds of garbage heaped along the roadside and couldn't help the slight furrow of her brow.

Soon, they reached a specific room.

Inside, Lin Hong and two Night Watchmen stood watch by the window. The curtains were drawn, and beside them sat a black device aimed at the building across the street. One of the Night Watchmen had his eyes fixed to it, monitoring something.

When Li Qinghe entered, Lin Hong and the two Night Watchmen rose immediately.

"My Lord! You've arrived!"

Li Qinghe gave a brief nod.

She gazed through the drawn curtains toward the building opposite, as though she could see right through them.

"Xue Ren is over there?"

"Yes. Based on our intelligence, he hasn't set foot outside in days. Though we can't rule out the possibility that he has a special Gene Battle Technique — one that lets him come and go without anyone knowing."

Lin Hong reported.

A faint smile curved Li Qinghe's lips.

"Even if we can't be certain it's him... I'll go ask him myself."

She took one step forward — and vanished.

Across the street, Li Qinghe materialized outside the door to Xue Ren's apartment.

She swept the area with a quick glance, ice flashing through her eyes as she fixed her gaze on the door.

"Something strong enough to block my Instant Empty Step? We really did find him."

A pitch-black longsword appeared in her hand. She slashed through the door.

*Shck!!*

The door exploded inward. Beyond it, the room was black as a demon's pit.

Eerie Shadows burst from the darkness in waves, shrieking as they lunged at her.

"Stronger than last time."

Li Qinghe let out a cold laugh. Sword-light erupted around her body as dark force surged, and in virtually the same instant, every Shadow was destroyed.

She charged straight into the room.

Inside, Xue Ren sat cross-legged on the bed, his body wreathed in tendrils of sinister black mist. Beside him lay two corpses — eyes wide open, their faces frozen in expressions of pure terror.

They were Franming's other two suspects: Lucius and Ellis.

Xue Ren stared at Li Qinghe, his face twisted with savage fury, his voice carrying an eerie double-echo.

"Damn it — I knew I couldn't keep this up! And now I've been exposed!"

Li Qinghe narrowed her eyes, regarding him with cold indifference.

"Since you've been found out, die quietly."

"Not a chance!! Kill you, and I walk free!"

Xue Ren roared. Terrifying black mist billowed outward, shockwaves rippling through the air. The room shuddered; web-like cracks split across every wall, and the windows shattered outright.

The power radiating off him bore no resemblance to the Second-Rank Battle Master listed in their intelligence report. What stood before her was a Fourth-Rank Battle Venerable.

Even so, Li Qinghe's expression didn't change.

She stepped forward. Dark force surged along her longsword like a tide as she swung — a sweeping arc of dark sword-qi cutting straight toward Xue Ren.

The unstoppable pressure behind that slash made Xue Ren's eyes fly open, filled with horror.

"AHHH!!"

He let out a furious howl — and his body suddenly dissolved into black mist and detonated.

As his form exploded outward, waves of eerie Shadows erupted from the blast point. In an instant, they flooded the entire room, swallowing Li Qinghe whole.

The shrieks that erupted were bone-chilling — enough to shatter the sanity of any ordinary person.

**BOOM!!**

Her sword-qi tore through the Shadows without resistance. Li Qinghe burst from the building and rose into the air, hovering above the courtyard.

The countless Shadows surged out after her.

They pressed down on her like stormclouds — thousands upon thousands of them.

Inside the room across the street, Franming, Lin Hong, and the others stared out the window at the mass of Shadows, eyes wide with alarm.

Franming's voice came out slightly unsteady.

"This... this many Shadows?!"

"Xue Ren really was the host of an Aberration Entity?! This is insane! Are all these the souls of people he killed? In just a few years he devoured this many — if he keeps absorbing without limit, who could ever stop him?!"

It wasn't just them.

The commotion from the Shadows was enormous, jolting nearly every resident of the complex awake. People rushed to their windows, and the sight of the eerie dark mass in the sky drained the color from their faces.

"God, what is that?!"

"Are those ghosts?? So many ghosts floating up there!"

"And that person hovering in the air — is that a Gene Warrior? She can actually fly — how strong must she be?"

"..."

Li Qinghe looked up at the Shadows, a sharp killing intent in her gaze.

"Are all of these people you killed? Your Aberration level must be considerable."

The Shadows gave no answer. They rapidly coalesced, merging into a single massive form standing over ten meters tall.

It hovered in the air, leaking dark energy from every surface, its power even greater than before.

Even compared to Li Qinghe herself, the gap was not large.

The massive Shadow opened its mouth and let loose a piercing, unearthly roar.

The pressure wave stirred Li Qinghe's dark hair. Without a word, she produced a cigarette, lit it, tucked it between her lips, and smiled.

"Now that's interesting."

In the next instant, she vanished — reappearing directly behind the Shadow.

The moment she appeared at its back, the roar cut off.

Its body had already split into hundreds of fragments — and then arcs of black sword-light detonated throughout them.

Below, Franming and the others watched with undisguised reverence.

"That's My Lord's Dark Shadow Instant Slash!"

"Inscribing Emperor-grade genes at Battle King rank — My Lord is truly extraordinary!"

"You're not wrong. And I'm not exaggerating — not just on Great Qi Star, but across the entire Human Alliance, My Lord is among the most dazzlingly brilliant geniuses alive!"

"Looks like it's over."

Even as they spoke, the hundreds of fragments began flowing back together, reforming into a whole.

The massive Shadow swung a fist at Li Qinghe — a blow carrying devastating force, crashing toward her like a battering ram.

The shockwave erupted into a full storm, sending trash flying across the courtyard and shattering window after window.

Li Qinghe vanished, and the fist slammed into the street below.

**BOOM!!**

A thunderous roar split the air. A crater over ten meters across yawned open in the pavement. The entire complex shook.

Franming and the others straightened, staring down at the massive crater, a chill running through them.

"It's still alive after all that?!"

"Fitting for an Aberration Entity — truly freakish."

"What power! That's already Battle King-level strength, isn't it?"

"Let's hope My Lord finishes this quickly. If it keeps destroying things, this complex won't survive."

Li Qinghe glanced at the crater and narrowed her eyes.

She vanished again.

The Shadow froze.

The next moment, its body was shredded into pieces far finer than before. Countless arcs of black sword-light erupted, nearly consuming it entirely.

Li Qinghe reappeared nearby, watching the fragments with cool dispassion.

A moment later, they stirred and began slowly pulling back together.

Li Qinghe raised an eyebrow.

"I refuse to believe you can recover indefinitely."

Black sword-light erupted once more, and the Shadow — just beginning to reform — was torn apart again.

Not far from the complex, Xue Ren's body materialized.

He had grown gaunt. His once salt-and-pepper hair was now entirely white, his face utterly bloodless.

The power he had wielded — Fourth-Rank Battle Venerable — had collapsed drastically, his presence now feeble and hollow.

He glanced back at the Shadow being shredded over and over in the distance and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Damn it! Damn it all! Battle King rank! That woman is Battle King rank! Why is there a warrior like that in the Slum District?! Ten years of work, ruined in a single night! It can't hold her much longer. She's a monster — even throwing every soul I have at her won't stop her. Retreat first — get to the Wilderness Zone!"

Clutching his chest, he slipped away carefully into the distance.

He hadn't gone far when two figures came into view ahead.

At the sight of Xue Wang's familiar face, a thread of black energy flashed through Xue Ren's eyes, and a cruel grin spread across his lips.

*At least I can recover a little.*

He blurred into a streak and lunged at them.

Lu Yuan and Xue Wang had heard the explosions and turned toward the source.

When they saw the churning black mist in the distance, both of them stared wide-eyed.

"What is that?!"

Xue Wang looked stunned. "Gene Warriors?! How can there be Warriors this powerful in the Slum District??"

Lu Yuan sensed the auras from afar, astonishment written across his face.

*Was it his imagination?*

*One of those two auras... it felt similar to what he'd sensed back at his place.*

*How could a warrior of that caliber be involved?*

*Why would someone at that level have any interest in Sister Qinghe?*

His mind was full of questions — and then a dark blur flashed at the edge of his vision, lunging straight at him.

The sheer pressure of it hit like a wave. Every hair on Lu Yuan's body stood on end, his blood running cold.

His pupils contracted sharply. The mortal threat snapped his mind into razor-sharp focus.

Crimson radiance flashed across his body as Crimson Copper Light surged to full power and Black Steel Force activated in tandem. Under the pressure of imminent death, Lu Yuan wrung every ounce of strength he had. The essence of Black Steel Force and every insight he'd gained training in the Gravity Room flashed through his mind in a torrent.

Every iota of strength in his body mobilized at once — muscles and organs vibrating at a strange frequency as power erupted.

Under the weight of mortal danger, Lu Yuan's Black Steel Force broke through to its Fourth Layer.

His battle armor materialized over him; the greatsword appeared in his hand.

He raised it in a horizontal block.

Xue Ren's fist connected.

**BOOM!!**

Savage power surged from the impact, slamming through the blade. The greatsword was driven hard back into Lu Yuan's chest, and the force released in a torrent.

Lu Yuan was sent flying.

*Crack — crack — crack...*

A series of sickening snaps rang out.

He slammed into a nearby wall, caving a crater into it — and then crumpled to the ground.

Lu Yuan vomited a mouthful of blood, his mind going briefly blank before a wave of excruciating pain crashed over him. He could feel his sternum and ribs had fractured, his arms numb, his internal organs screaming with varying degrees of pain.

A single punch, and he was critically injured.

He had no time to think. He channeled Spirit Power with everything he had, activating Rejuvenation, and vitality bloomed through his body.

He was already healing.

Grimacing, Lu Yuan pulled out a potent healing agent and forced it down. The agent and Rejuvenation worked in concert, spreading warmth through him, and his injuries began closing at a startling pace.

Only then did he raise his head and look at the distant figure — a face both vaguely familiar and strangely different. His eyes narrowed slightly.

*That's... the Boss of the Wild Dog Gang?*

Xue Ren's hair had gone white; he looked decades older. Lu Yuan had nearly failed to recognize him.

*But why the hell did this bastard suddenly attack me?!*

Killing intent surged through Lu Yuan's chest, and with it a creeping fear.

*Close. If he'd been even a little weaker, that might have killed him.*

Having sent Lu Yuan flying with one punch, Xue Ren saw him still alive — and surprise flickered in his eyes.

Even deeply diminished and half-broken, a strong Second-Rank Battle Master should have been at death's door from one of his strikes.

A mere First-Rank Warrior surviving one of his punches?

*How?*

He stepped forward to finish the job.

Just then, Xue Wang stepped in front of him.

Xue Ren looked at his son and came to a cold halt.

They stood facing each other. The silence stretched — tense, heavy.

It lasted only a moment. Xue Ren knew the Shadow couldn't hold Li Qinghe for long. Spirit Power flared throughout his body.

Xue Wang saw it, and something unreadable crossed his face. His lips pressed together slightly.

"So you really do intend to come at me."

Xue Ren said coldly:

"You are my son. Everything you have was given to you by me — including your life. I'm simply taking back what's mine."

"Heh..."

Xue Wang laughed.

He quietly removed his sunglasses. His eerie, deep-green eyes smoldered in the dim air.

"After Mom died, I always knew this day would come. Let's settle this."

Dense black mist rose in Xue Ren's eyes as he said evenly:

"I made you. Do you really think you're a match for me?"

Deep crimson leather armor materialized over Xue Wang. He flashed a bright grin.

"Who knows? Awooo!!"

He let out a howl. The deep-green light in his eyes blazed, and his presence exploded upward. Silver-white fur began growing across his skin in strands, making him look like something monstrous.

*Combat Technique — Silver Wolf Frenzy.*

A grave expression settled over Xue Ren's face.

"Your gene hasn't fully fused. Forcibly unleashing the technique at full power — aren't you afraid of going awry?"

A fierce, wild grin spread across Xue Wang's now silver-furred face, his eyes burning with a death-or-glory resolve.

"Doesn't matter. The whole reason I inscribed the Silver Wolf Gene was for a moment like this."

"Heh. Then let's begin."

Pale red blood-light rose across Xue Ren's body, threaded through with a faint tinge of black mist. Frail as his presence now appeared, the pressure it exerted still made Xue Wang's expression turn grave.

"I don't know what you did to yourself, but you seem stronger than before. I doubt it was anything good."

Xue Ren said nothing. He planted a foot and launched himself forward.

The fist wrapped in spiked gauntlets blazed with dense blood-light as it drove toward Xue Wang's head.

*Combat Technique — Frenzied Blood Fist.*

Xue Wang's expression went cold. He answered with a punch of his own.

**BOOM!!!**

Their fists clashed, the impact sending a shockwave rolling outward.

Xue Wang grunted and stumbled back several steps.

Xue Ren retreated half a step.

He looked at Xue Wang and said flatly: "It seems you're still no match for me."

Xue Wang let out a cold laugh, planted his foot — cracking the pavement in a spiderweb of fractures — and blurred forward again like a bolt of silver light.

Fists and feet flew between them, their bodies weaving back and forth, stray blows cratering the walls around them.

**BOOM!!**

One more exchange — and Xue Wang was sent hurtling back, slamming hard into a wall. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.