novelraw Chapter 146: Li for a Stiff Peach
Chapter 146: Li for a Stiff Peach
The Black Spear that shot out instantly disintegrated.
At the same time, the falling snowflakes, the churning of millions of tons of seawater—
—all froze as if in a still frame.
It was as if someone had pressed pause on the world.
"Hm? It’s you, Cyan Profound!"
On the surface of the sea.
Ao Lin, in his black-robed form, suddenly looked up at the sky, his robes billowing.
"You old bastard. I knew you weren’t dead yet!"
The once-dense gray fog had vanished at some point.
In its place, high in the firmament,
a supremely brilliant light cascaded down like the Milky Way, illuminating the entire horizon.
Within the light, a colossal, expressionless face appeared, blotting out the sky and glowing with a pure light.
"You worthless filth. How dare you enter the surface world? You shall be slain!"
The voice boomed like a great bell, echoing between heaven and earth with infinite majesty.
As the final decree was issued—
—the clouds in the firmament churned violently, and streaks of lightning flashed and sparked in all directions.
It was as if its words represented the will of heaven and earth itself—an inviolable Oracle!
The words had barely faded when,
as the colossal face’s eyes opened, they shone with a terrifying golden brilliance as dazzling as two great suns!
The light was so brilliant it seemed capable of piercing through anything.
It dyed the surrounding canopy of the sky a pale gold.
The next instant,
two thick bolts of golden Divine Thunder shot out from the colossal face’s eyes, striking straight down toward Ao Lin.
The blinding, terrifying thunderbolts were like ferocious golden Giant Dragons, roaring as they dove.
Space itself seemed to tear where the thunderbolts passed, letting out a series of ear-piercing roars.
The scene was terrifying, a true divine punishment descending from the heavens!
Seeing this and sensing the terrifying aura contained within the thunderbolts,
Ao Lin’s expression changed slightly.
His black robe billowed, and the silver patterns on it squirmed as if they were alive.
In an instant, his aura surged.
The next moment, he suddenly raised his palm, a powerful force instantly gathering in it.
The force spun like a vortex, emitting a low roar.
As he moved, the very air seemed to distort, and the sea churned into monstrous waves under the influence of his power.
With a wave of his hand, a black palm print tens of thousands of meters long condensed in the void, so enormous it seemed to blot out the sky.
Black light flickered across the palm print, radiating a chilling aura of death.
The moment the giant palm appeared, it shot toward the sky.
At the same time, the two bolts of destructive thunder fell from the sky like meteors, carrying world-destroying power.
Space tore with a piercing shriek wherever the thunder passed.
The light was so dazzling it seemed capable of turning all worldly things to Ashes.
The black palm print and the destructive thunder instantly collided.
The thunderbolts merely paused for a moment.
Then the giant black palm began to crack and shatter, fissures spreading across its surface before it exploded into scattered fragments.
Without pausing, the golden thunderbolts blasted through the giant palm and, in the blink of an eye, crashed into the sea.
However, the expected colossal BOOM never came.
It was as if time in the vicinity had frozen.
Then, a blinding flash of light erupted.
Like a great sun rising from the ocean’s surface, the brilliant light instantly illuminated the entire sea.
A massive shockwave of energy expanded wildly outward in a circle from the point of impact.
The powerful shockwave distorted the air, which let out a sharp howl.
The air over the sea was like the surface of a giant drum, constantly being beaten by this force, emitting a series of muffled booms.
It kicked up monstrous waves hundreds of meters high.
Along with a muffled grunt.
When the destructive thunder that had enveloped a vast stretch of the sea finally subsided,
a large amount of water vapor rose up, creating a vast white expanse.
Where the sea had been,
a huge vacuum had appeared, so deep one could almost see the silt of the seabed ten thousand meters below.
The seawater had been completely vaporized by the powerful, scorching thunder.
Along the walls of the elliptical crater, seawater cascaded back down like waterfalls, creating a deafening ROAR.
Around the deep pit, countless whirlpools formed, spinning madly as if to devour everything.
In the distance, seabirds startled by the sudden cataclysm scattered in every direction, crying out in panicked flight.
Some birds that couldn’t escape in time were instantly turned to dust by the powerful shockwave.
The black-robed figure of Ao Lin staggered backward.
The silver-patterned black robe that covered him was now torn in several places and gave off a scorched smell.
"Fine! Fine! I’ll remember this grudge. I’d like to see just how long you old bastard can protect this world! Recklessly absorbing the impure Power of Faith from mortals to extend your life is nothing more than drinking poison to quench your thirst!"
Ao Lin’s expression was grim.
However, when he saw more lightning faintly brewing in the sky,
he didn’t dare say another word.
Even he had to admit it.
Though the old bastard was on the brink of death, clinging to life by these means,
the power he could display was still far beyond what Ao Lin could resist.
If he rashly tried to fight it head-on,
he would be the only one to die.
Without a shred of hesitation,
he moved, diving directly into one of the swirling vortexes.
His figure vanished inside.
The reason Ao Lin had been standing in that exact spot was to ensure a quick escape in precisely this kind of situation.
And indeed, things had gone just as he’d expected.
Seeing this,
the lightning brewing in the colossal face’s eyes up in the firmament subsided.
It glanced down at Anshan City.
An invisible wave emanated from its mouth, sweeping over all the humans in the city.
After doing this, the colossal face slowly faded, eventually disappearing without a trace.
It was as if it had never appeared at all.
Only a faint, almost imperceptible sigh echoed through the world.
...
The instant the giant face disappeared,
all the living creatures that had been frozen in place resumed moving, as if a play button had been pressed.
As for what had just happened,
ordinary people hadn’t noticed a thing.
In their perception,
everything was normal.
They hadn’t even noticed the passage of more than ten seconds of time.
Only those who had reached the level of a Martial Arts Family could sense that something was amiss.
But they couldn’t tell what, exactly, was wrong.
Only a Secret Martial Artist who had truly reached the Qi Dao Grandmaster level could remain fully conscious through it all.
Like Hu Qi.
He, of course, had witnessed the entire event.
He was deeply shaken.
’What’s the difference between this kind of power and that of a Divine Spirit?’
If he wasn’t mistaken,
that colossal face must be the entity his enemies feared the most.
After witnessing this terrifying, world-destroying power, which was comparable to that of a Divine Spirit,
Hu Qi didn’t feel the slightest bit of despair.
On the contrary, he was incredibly excited.
Before this, the strongest existence he knew of was a Qi Dao Grandmaster.
But now things were different.
Having such a being as a goal to pursue was what truly excited him.
Because Hu Qi knew,
’barring any accidents, as long as I’m still alive...’
’...with the help of the Crimson Modifier...’
’...reaching such a Realm is only a matter of time.’
The biggest difference between him and ordinary people was that,
for him, there was no such thing as a limit.
As long as he had enough Modification Points, he could improve indefinitely.
After all,
the total time it took him to go from an ordinary person to a Qi Dao Grandmaster with incredible powers was less than a year.
If anyone else knew it had taken him such a short amount of time, they would be utterly flabbergasted.
That was a feat beyond what could be described as merely "prodigious."
Hu Qi waited a while longer where he was.
After confirming that the two powerful beings had truly departed,
the black cat leaped onto the windowsill.
He looked down.
The gray fog that had enveloped the area began to thin and dissipate.
Wisps of mist were lifted like a veil by an invisible hand, slowly revealing the city’s hazy silhouette.
As the gray fog receded, the outlines of ruined buildings gradually came into focus.
A beam of golden sunlight pierced through the thin clouds.
The warm light dispelled the winter chill, draping the cold masonry in a brilliant coat.
Seeing this, he moved.
He leaped from the window and, after a few quick bounds, landed steadily beside a tree below.
At the same time, his figure flashed, and he reverted to Hu Qi’s human form.
He made a grabbing motion with his hand.
The next moment,
a red long saber flew out from beneath the tree’s roots.
With his current mastery of Twisted Light, he could disguise himself but was unable to disguise this Blood Refining Spiritual Soldier as well.
To avoid giving himself away, he had no choice but to hide it here temporarily.
He examined the Red Mirror Saber in his hand.
’This was Helinta’s weapon. It’s extremely recognizable. Even though I have it now, I’ll either have to disguise it or kill everyone who has ever seen it.’
’Exposing it would be a huge pain.’
’Wait...’
Suddenly, a glint appeared in his eyes.
A bold idea began to form in his mind.
’My public identity as Hu Qi is a Direct Disciple of the Shexin Sect.’
’But in the end, that identity’s strength is only at Qi Blood Perfection.’
’Breaking through the Qi Blood Realm a bit faster than normal wasn’t a big deal.’
’But if I suddenly display the power of a Martial Arts Family, let alone a Qi Dao Grandmaster, it will definitely attract unwanted attention.’
’I could hide my strength and play the wolf in sheep’s clothing...’
’...but that would be of no benefit to me whatsoever.’
’I need to reach a higher station, to get access to more information about the Refining God Venerable.’
’And ideally, I need more people to gather Exotic Beasts and Black Blood Species for me to kill and provide me with Modification Points.’
’After all, even the strongest individual is limited. I can’t possibly focus all my energy on that alone.’
’Therefore...’
’I need a suitable identity.’
’And as it happens, there’s an excellent one right here for the taking.’
Thinking this,
black energy roiled around Hu Qi as he used his Twisted Light Talent. A few seconds later,
a figure appeared where he had stood. Long blond hair cascaded down, and wine-red eyes held a lofty, indifferent expression.
It was the long-dead "Helinta."
As for why he chose to become Helinta instead of Jiang Zuo, it was because he hadn’t obtained Jiang Zuo’s Light of the Soul. Trying to impersonate him would be riddled with too many flaws.
Helinta, on the other hand, was different. He had most of her memories. Furthermore, after obtaining them,
Hu Qi learned that she had killed nearly everyone she encountered on her path.
Combined with the gray fog and the damage to infrastructure,
there were no eyewitnesses who could prove that Helinta had killed Jiang Zuo.
The only ones who could prove Helinta had sided with the Black Blood Species were the Black Blood Species themselves.
And even if those guys came forward to say so, who would believe them?
Besides, Helinta had been stuck at the Late Stage Martial Arts Family for years. It would be plausible for her to have a lucky breakthrough to the Qi Sect after a sudden, traumatic event.
Therefore, this identity was the most suitable one for him at present.
As for any discomfort from temporarily changing his appearance,
that was insignificant.
As long as he could achieve his goals, it was fine.
Such minor details were completely unimportant.
After getting his bearings,
Hu Qi hefted the saber and left.
With his new identity, there was no longer any need to disguise the Long Saber.
The gray fog had dissipated, but there were still plenty of Black Blood Species left. These were all Modification Points that couldn’t be wasted.