Xiao Rou's expression turned serious. She could have jumped away to dodge and then delivered a fatal blow from behind the samurai, but seeing the shouts of the sword-wielding samurai that seemed to carry the sounds of an ancient battlefield, a sense of pride suddenly rose in Xiao Rou's heart. She thrust her spear forward, and a burst of fiery red flames suddenly erupted from the tip of the enhanced telekinetic spear. With a whoosh, a red arc-shaped ocean formed in front of her. Facing the unstoppable light slash and the charging of the sword-wielding samurai, Xiao Rou neither yielded nor dodged. Her slender figure swayed, and she had already unleashed a passionate strike condensed with azure flames.
The bright space flickered suddenly, as if all the light had instantly gone out and then come back on. But Ling Yun knew this was just an illusion caused by the overwhelming energy. Xiao Rou's figure had vanished, seemingly completely merging with the fiery red azure flames, forming an immense aura. Within the semi-circular arc of the counterattack space, nothing could survive except for the azure flames burning with abundant energy; not even light could penetrate.
Day and night can no longer serve as a dividing line for people to judge time; everything has become chaos.
The crescent-shaped beam of light suddenly vanished into thin air, like a beautiful bubble that naturally dissipated as it rose high into the sky. Apart from a deep furrow tens of meters long in the ground, there was no other evidence that such a powerful attack had ever existed. After a flash of fiery red light, all the charging sword-wielding warriors suddenly froze in mid-air, as if someone had cast a spell on them. Then, the bodies of all the sword-wielding warriors rapidly dimmed, then turned into countless fragments that fell to the ground, instantly turning into deathly gray dust.
The fiery red color did not stop its momentum. Instead, like a beautiful shooting star, it crushed many sword-wielding warriors with overwhelming force, then suddenly accelerated on its own. After piercing through more than twenty giant pillars, it slowly revealed Xiao Rou's graceful figure. Only when she slowly stopped her momentum did the pierced giant pillars gradually turn gray.
Aside from being slightly out of breath, Xiao Rou's expression remained calm as usual. After several days, the girl had once again unleashed her ultimate thrust, and Xiao Rou was now able to withstand the side effects of the immense power. This time, her breakthrough to the limit far exceeded the initial power of the underground bar. In just a few days, Xiao Rou had become a completely different person; the two extremes of power and gentleness made her appear like an inviolable goddess.
Ling Yunping stretched out his hands and shook them forcefully. The air seemed to tremble silently, as if an invisible object had been shaken off his hands. However, even with his eyes wide open, he could not see what it was. Ling Yunping continued to stretch out his hands expressionlessly. Inspired by the gene micro-adjustment he had performed after inserting his arms into the giant pillar, he boldly strengthened another type of gene adjustment.
In the instant of the hand shake, countless somatic cells with automatic attack capabilities detached from Ling Yun's body. Because somatic cells are so tiny, even thousands upon thousands combined are difficult to see with the naked eye. After fine-tuning the genetic structure of the cells, individual somatic cells possess the ability to act automatically. The instructions from the genetic level are to destroy a certain information carrier according to Ling Yun's will. The somatic cells faithfully execute the genetically modified commands. From this perspective, Ling Yun is like a computer mainframe with intelligent functions, and the somatic cells are the executors of the program. If Ling Yun could replicate all his genetic information into an infinite number of cells, he would have countless avatars and truly achieve immortality.
The cells, now incredibly ferocious, no longer needed to consider the effects of gravity; in fact, gravity couldn't effectively affect these microscopic single-celled organisms. Even a single feather was countless times their size. They swiftly rushed towards the dozens of giant pillars surrounding Lingyun, then, like water droplets absorbed into sand, slowly seeped into the pillars. They traversed the long, microscopic channels at top speed, finally reaching the memory carrier, and then faithfully began their task of dismantling the building.
Xiao Rou only saw Ling Yun shake his hands, and a moment later, dozens of giant pillars around him turned gray. It was truly miraculous. She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise. She had used a lot of effort, even using a special technique like the Ultimate Thrust, to destroy more than twenty pillars, while Ling Yun had just calmly shaken his hand and destroyed more than twice as many pillars as she had.
A feeling of defiance suddenly rose in the girl's heart. Even her boyfriend couldn't so easily surpass her. Xiao Rou suddenly remembered when she first met Ling Yun at Jinghua University. At that time, Ling Yun was not even as good as a private in the Tianyan Society. But today, the boy's strength was so much greater.
While she was thinking, her hands didn't slow down at all. She raised her telekinetic spear, and a bright ball of electricity instantly gathered on the spearhead. Then she thrust it diagonally towards a pillar behind her. Although she didn't even look, the telekinetic spear pierced the center of the pillar without missing a beat. As long as the spear passed through the pillar again, the information storage inside would immediately turn into a pile of chaotic garbage under the powerful electricity.
Ling Yun retracted his hands, taking back all the somatic cells that had completed their tasks. The moment the somatic cells were taken back, the gene micro-adjustment was also completed. Suddenly, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Xiao Rou was facing his face, about to ask him a question, when suddenly she felt a stiffness on the tip of the gun, as if it had been pierced by an ancient piece of rubber. The immense force even caused the gun barrel, formed from a mental energy field, to bend. Xiao Rou was startled and knew something was wrong, but she was exceptionally experienced in combat. Although she was alarmed, she remained calm. She released the gun barrel with one hand and then charged forward with all her might.
A thunderous explosion rang out behind her. Xiao Rou gracefully turned around, her snow-white hands moving rapidly, setting up more than a dozen layers of protection before finally letting out a sigh of relief and silently landing beside Ling Yun.
The image reappeared, but this time, it wasn't cannon fodder like the swordsman. Instead, it was a black-clad figure completely shrouded in a cloak. Just like the figure depicted on the image, the black-clad figure was entirely covered in a black cloak, with a completely black face. Even the Eye of Illusion couldn't see the face clearly. Or rather, the black-clad figure didn't have a real face at all; what supported the cloak was just a mass of black energy, just like the swordsman.
Chapter 300 Mysterious Power
The man in black revealed a pair of unusually pale hands beneath his long sleeves, each outstretched to the sides. Above each palm floated a bolt of blue lightning, crackling with electricity. Judging from the deep crater several meters deep where Xiao Rou had just stood, the power of the lightning was completely disproportionate to its size.
Ling Yun stared intently at the man in black, his subtle senses constantly scanning the figure, but he found nothing. The man in black was clearly not a physical form, possessing no spiritual energy field whatsoever, and unlike berserkers and other unique biological species, Ling Yun secretly guessed that, on a microscopic level, the man in black was likely a projection of external energy onto an information carrier. However, the energy of this information carrier was extremely limited; otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easily destroyed by mutated cells. The energy condensed in the two rolling thunderbolts floating in the man in black's palm far exceeded that of the information carrier itself.
Ling Yun frowned. He had thought he had already guessed the secret of the information carrier, but now it seemed that he still couldn't discover its true core secret in such a short time. Although the ornaments on the pillar surface were made visible by transmitting energy through microscopic channels via the information carrier, the energy required for their manifestation was not proportional to the energy the ornaments themselves possessed after they became visible.
In fact, Ling Yun had already sensed something was wrong the moment the swordsman unleashed his blade, but he was busy destroying the information carrier and had no time to think about it. It wasn't until he saw the black-clad man appear that Ling Yun suddenly realized something was amiss. His Eye of Illusion kept scanning the black-clad man, hoping to find the secret of the two extremely contradictory energy levels.
To Ling Yun's disappointment, the man in black was merely a projection of information energy. Judging from its physical form, it could be easily destroyed by any random ability user. Yet, this weak, projection-like energy entity could unleash an attack powerful enough to threaten two officers-level ability users.
Ling Yun's mind was a bit confused for a moment. He slapped his head. A flash of inspiration had just crossed his mind, and he seemed to have thought of something, but the inspiration was fleeting and he couldn't figure it out anymore. Ling Yun couldn't help but feel a little frustrated.
The colossal pillars slid silently once more, like a silent game of chess, exchanging positions in different places. Seemingly chaotic, yet orderly, they were forming a new formation according to an incomprehensible numerical sequence, with wisps of energy emanating between the moving pillars. An invisible conveyor belt once again transported the remaining decorations to Lingyun and Xiaorou, while the pillars that hadn't turned gray moved automatically into the distance, like abandoned children.
Xiao Rou suddenly moved. Unlike Ling Yun, she didn't need to ponder why or the root cause of everything. Women often act on intuition. Since the man in black in front of her had the intention to attack, the only thing to do was to fight back.
Her graceful figure once again defied gravity and soared into the air. Xiao Rou's form was like a startled swan in flight, yet amidst the lingering fragrance, a gleaming spear mark appeared, carrying the most dangerous attack in the world. With a hiss, the telekinetic spear flashed with chilling electricity, thrusting towards the black-clad man's dark face. The bright flames even managed to lift the hood of the cloak, but inside the cloak seemed to be nothing but a pitch-black shadow; light could not penetrate any further on its dark surface.
The man in black took a step back. His movement on the ground didn't seem to be based on footsteps, but rather on a slight, imperceptible distance from the ground, gliding like a ghost. Seeing Xiao Rou's spear thrusting towards him with a seemingly slow but actually swift motion, the man in black raised his two hands, which were crackling with electricity, and gently brought them together, thus trapping the spearhead between his palms.
Two rolling thunderbolts floated away from his palm, like two planets attracting each other, spinning and whistling as they flew toward Xiao Rou's chest. A faint, shimmering spark of electricity lingered in the middle of the thunderbolts.
Xiao Rou once again felt as if the telekinetic spear had pierced into solidified rubber. The pale, almost transparent, slender hand of the man in black could ignore the extremely sharp blades of the spear and the flickering blue flames on the tassel. Amidst the blazing red and white flames, the man in black's hand seemed to twist and turn with the flames, as if it had turned into a rubber-like shape.
A flash of lightning erupted from the hollow barrel of the telekinetic spear, striking the black-clad man's cloak, which was billowing in the wind from the spear, with a resounding crack. A wisp of bluish-black smoke immediately billowed from the cloak. The black-clad man quickly retreated, hissing from within his cloak, clearly terrified by the power of the lightning.
Xiao Rou leaped forward, and two rolling thunderbolts flew past her feet with a whoosh, spun around behind her, and then flew back as if they had a mind of their own, colliding fiercely with the telekinetic spear that Xiao Rou had just pulled back.
With a deafening roar, the two rolling thunderbolts collided with the lightning on the gun tip, creating a violent explosion. The massive shockwave propelled Xiao Rou's body backward in a straight line until it crashed into a pillar and slowly came to a stop. The girl's body shuddered slightly, and she slid down the pillar. The power of this shockwave was not enough to harm Xiao Rou, but to her surprise, the rolling thunderbolts had the effect of absorbing lightning. The electric sparks on the gun tip had disappeared. Clearly, the black-clad man's strange methods were not as simple as they appeared on the surface.
A bright silver light suddenly shot out from Ling Yun's hand, like a band of light that stretched across the earth, instantly piercing the chest of the black-clad man who was caught off guard and trying to dodge. While Xiao Rou was fighting with the black-clad man, Ling Yun had already been preparing to strike. This was not a competition, so there was no need for such a foolish one-on-one situation. Moreover, if all the decorative figures were revealed, the two of them would face attacks from hundreds or even thousands of decorative figures. Judging from the decorative figures shown on the pillar, the sword-wielding warrior was clearly only the lowest level, and the more powerful decorative figures were yet to come.
After the silver light disappeared, the man in black froze. He slowly turned around, and the hole in his cloak that had been pierced by the silver light was clearly visible. However, as a wisp of black mist spread from the hole, the cloak was restored to its original state in the blink of an eye. The man in black let out an obscure and incomprehensible hiss, seemingly expressing extreme anger.
Ling Yun and Xiao Rou exchanged a glance, both expressing surprise at the black-clad man's abilities. Ling Yun's attack, even if taken by a lieutenant-level superhuman without warning, would surely have severely injured him and rendered him completely powerless. However, the black-clad man not only showed no signs of injury but also seemed to recover on his own. Didn't this mean that he also possessed self-healing abilities?
Suddenly, the man in black began to spin rapidly on the spot, creating a whirlwind like a spinning top. As he slowly came to a stop, seven transparent flames appeared beside him, seemingly driven by an unnamed force, still slowly circling around him.
Ling Yun and Xiao Rou's pupils contracted slightly simultaneously. Even without using their senses, they could perceive the terrifying temperature contained within the transparent flame with their naked eyes. Bright light even refracted slightly beside the transparent flame, due to the extreme heat distorting its direction. Such high temperature was enough to pose a significant threat to Ling Yun and Xiao Rou. While superhumans possess formidable bodies capable of withstanding bullet-level attacks, this formidable strength has its limits. Even a high-ranking officer would be easily reduced to ashes when faced with temperatures exceeding their limits. Clearly, the transparent flame in the black-clad man's hand was a more advanced flame than the azure flame of Xiao Rou's telekinetic spear.
Ling Yun observed the black-clad man's every move, his copying ability and the Eye of Illusion constantly analyzing the true nature of this decorative figure's existence. It was clear that the black-clad man was entirely different from a sword-wielding samurai. For a sword-wielding samurai, it was simply a matter of possessing powerful physical attacks and a sword's aura—two simple attacks. Therefore, finding a sword-wielding samurai's weakness would easily defeat them. However, until now, Ling Yun still couldn't determine what the black-clad man was composed of.
The two figures, both appearing in the same form, possessed different energy auras simply because of their different appearances. Even their attack methods and the power they wielded were on completely different levels. If Ling Yun hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have truly believed that the man in black and the swordsman were from two different worlds.
His mind began to recall the video footage stored in the information, but the descriptions of the swordsman and the cloaked man in black were very limited, almost just fleeting glimpses. The focus was entirely on the City of Death, and most of the aura tracking was concentrated on the deathly gray power. The information even provided some data on the deathly power, which was an incredible boon for someone with the ability to replicate. The powerful computing function even began to work automatically, methodically analyzing the mysteries of the City of Death.
Ling Yun focused his gaze on a single point on the man in black. A flash of inspiration swept through his mind once more, like a bolt of lightning. But this time, Ling Yun didn't let the inspiration escape. After a period of tense thinking and capturing, he finally discovered the man in black's unusual features, as if striking a burning match in the darkest night.
The source of a swordsman's power is indeed the information energy inherent in the information carrier itself, so his own power is not very strong. Even if the information carrier condenses the information energy, the amount of information energy contained within it is naturally not much due to the small size of the carrier itself.
However, the man in black is clearly different, because the power of the rolling thunder alone exceeds the total energy of all the information carriers. Just as a river cannot nourish an ocean, it can be inferred that the man in black's power was added after he manifested, by some mysterious force. This mysterious force is closely related to the movement of all the giant pillars; in other words, the giant pillars themselves are an energy-transferring array, and the recent swaying of the pillars was the process of energy transfer. The man in black's abilities are therefore highly correlated with the movement of the giant pillars.
The man in black stretched out his two pale hands again. Since the two bolts of lightning had collided and annihilated with Xiao Rou's telekinetic spear, what appeared in the man in black's palms this time were two balls of transparent flames that were the same as those surrounding him. With a slight push of his palms, the two transparent flames spun and struck towards Ling Yun and Xiao Rou. It was as if the man in black had an invisible whip in his hand, which condensed the seven transparent flames around him into a straight line. With a slight flick of his pale wrist, the transparent flame whip suddenly wrapped around the waists of the two of them.
Ling Yun and Xiao Rou leaped away, but before they could land, the transparent fiery whip suddenly snaked across them like a flying serpent, twisting its body and reaching their feet once more. A sudden burst of intense heat sent a chill through them. Ling Yun lightly touched a stone pillar with his toes, and he was already atop the hundreds-of-meters-high pillar. The fiery whip swept horizontally across the ten-meter-thick pillar, silently shattering the solid rock into two broken pieces.
Xiao Rou gently used her telekinetic spear to deflect the incoming transparent flames, using the momentum to glide hundreds of meters away. She braced herself against the surface of a giant pillar, intending to attack the man in black again, but suddenly felt a scorching heat on her hand. Startled, Xiao Rou looked down and saw that the transparent flames she had just deflected were rapidly burning up from the tip of her telekinetic spear. For the first time, the almost indestructible telekinetic spear deformed and melted under the high temperature.
A chilling aura emanated from Xiao Rou's hand. The extreme low temperature and extreme high temperature merged together, instantly turning into a hazy, rising vapor. Ice magic is one of the most common supernatural abilities among ability users, but it is also one of Xiao Rou's signature attack techniques. Unexpectedly, it came in handy here. With her current abilities, she can lower the temperature to nearly minus two hundred degrees Celsius, enough to extinguish all the heat in the world. However, in the process of merging with the transparent flames, Xiao Rou still felt a wave of heat rushing towards her.
Another transparent flame, as if it were sentient, slowly drifted towards Ling Yun at the top of the giant pillar. The man in black seemed to realize that Ling Yun was more difficult to deal with, so he lightly leaped up, and the flame whip formed a straight ray, slowly traversing a distance of hundreds of meters before fiercely stabbing towards the top of the giant pillar where Ling Yun was.
The boy blinked casually, and his eyes appeared to be as normal as before, but the pupil of one eye suddenly turned a stunning emerald green.
Chapter 301 A Giant Life Form