Qingshui had actually wanted to visit Geno at the House of Evolution for a while.
He had a rough idea of its location because the Hero Association had detailed intelligence on it.
This intelligence was provided by Zombieman and classified the House of Evolution as a potentially high-level, harmful threat, as it used humans as test subjects. It housed multiple Monsters above Demon-level, including the Asura Rhino Beetle, which was powerful even among Dragon-level Monsters. The remaining minions were top-tier Tiger-level Monsters like the Psychic Slug, Frog Man, and Mantis Man.
This was, in fact, a formidable force.
Only the strongest S-Class Heroes had a chance of defeating the Asura Rhino Beetle, and even the Demon-level Monsters would require S-Class Heroes to deal with them.
Beast King alone was too much for weaker S-Class Heroes like Puri-Puri Prisoner or Tanktop Master to handle.
This meant that if the Hero Association wanted to eliminate the House of Evolution, they would need to deploy at least two to three S-Class Heroes, along with multiple A-Class and B-Class Heroes for support against the Tiger-level Monsters, and even then, significant casualties would likely occur.
It's fair to say that before Boros's Dark Matter Thieves and the Monster Association emerged, it would have been hard to find a stronger Monster organization than the House of Evolution.
If the Hero Association were to act, the towns near the House of Evolution would likely suffer damage.
Since the House of Evolution wasn't actively causing widespread destruction and was relatively stable, yet powerful enough to make the Hero Association wary, the Hero Association wouldn't force a confrontation.
The Hero Association, though named for heroes, wasn't purely a heroic organization. While its core mission largely remained true to its founding principles due to its founders and societal context, it was also a massive organization comprising hundreds of professional heroes, supported by many wealthy and influential individuals, and assisted by talent and elites from various fields. Naturally, it would weigh the pros and cons.
The Hero Association wouldn't act without absolute certainty or if there was a high risk of casualties, unless the House of Evolution actively emerged and caused destruction.
Aside from anything else, if an operation failed and became public, the resulting public outcry, loss of public confidence, and decreased support for the association would be enough to give them a major headache.
Of course, generally, this situation wouldn't occur, because if the House of Evolution truly demonstrated such terrifying strength, the Hero Association would definitely find a way to deploy multiple S-Class Heroes, and even their trump card, Tatsumaki.
Just like with the Monster Association.
The existence of such an organization truly made the Hero Association feel a tremendous threat.
Of course, the Monster Association capturing the association's major shareholders' sons, and the son of founder Agoni, was also a significant factor that led to the Hero Association's top combatants being sent out en masse.
So, before the House of Evolution truly demonstrated its destructive power, even Tatsumaki, the association's trump card, wouldn't act. Although she looked like a legal loli, Tatsumaki wasn't foolish; she would naturally worry about being deceived and having her immense power exploited.
However, if there were any signs of an uprising from the House of Evolution, Tatsumaki would naturally move immediately to suppress it.
Given this level of power, Qingshui previously wouldn't have been confident enough to venture in alone.
No matter how brilliant Geno's intellect or how enticing his research findings were, Qingshui wouldn't have dared.
As for now, with the Scorching Core, Qingshui was confident that he possessed the ability to threaten peak Dragon-level Monsters. Below peak Dragon-level, no Monster should be his match.
The Asura Rhino Beetle in Asura Mode was indeed strong, but it likely hadn't reached peak Dragon-level.
Because if it truly were peak Dragon-level, Geno definitely wouldn't have been able to contain it.
Peak Dragon-level almost reached the pinnacle of combat power in the One-Punch Man world.
Aside from those with power beyond Dragon-level and God-level, capable of destroying surfaces, sinking continents, or even piercing the Earth, peak Dragon-level practically represented invincibility.
Aside from Tatsumaki, Blast, and Saitama, almost no one could confidently kill a peak Dragon-level Monster. Even powerful figures like Bang and Bomb, who were definitely top-tier S-Class Heroes, couldn't kill Elder Centipede when they teamed up and unleashed Sky-Rending Air-Splitting Fist against it. They couldn't even heavily injure it; instead, they only broke its shell, causing Elder Centipede to shed its skin.
In the audio drama, Superalloy Darkshine beat the Asura Rhino Beetle to death in fifteen minutes. However, due to his inner characteristics, Superalloy Darkshine suffered losses against Garou before he became a Monster, and against Gums (Acidic President) after fusing with Gums, and against Golden Sperm. His strength is, at most, that of a Dragon-level gatekeeper.
Only those who can overcome Darkshine are truly considered peak Dragon-level.
This is enough to show that the Asura Rhino Beetle hasn't even touched that level.
Even if, by some remote chance, a peak Dragon-level enemy appeared, Qingshui would have the confidence to retreat safely, and perhaps even try to take them down using the Scorching Core's high burst damage.
...
...
City W, where the House of Evolution was located, wasn't particularly close to City D, where Qingshui was.
In the original timeline, it took Genos and Saitama a considerable amount of time to travel from the neighboring Z-City to City W.
If Qingshui were to travel directly from City D with a few Monsters, he would have to pass through City Y and City X in addition to Z-City to reach City W, essentially going from the northernmost part of the supercontinent to a city near the easternmost side.
This would definitely waste time.
Qingshui didn't know if Geno had already made all the preparations to cause trouble for him, but he also didn't intend to give the opponent more time. He directly opened two Teleportation Halos, successfully arriving in City W within seconds.
Guided by Armored Gorilla and the others, Qingshui reached the House of Evolution in less than two minutes.
Since the weaker non-psychic Monsters, Earth Dragon and Frog Man, were under his Genjutsu control, Qingshui didn't have to worry about them deliberately leading him astray.
"Is this the House of Evolution?"
Qingshui ignored the old building in the forest. Instead, he stomped on the ground, then charged energy in his right hand. With the boost of his Psychic Aura, he unleashed a powerful punch downwards.
A large crater immediately appeared in the ground.
Geno, who was sitting in front of a computer screen watching the monitors, instantly jolted and hurriedly ran towards the room behind him.
How did he get here so fast?
Don't you need time to travel?
And how the hell did you punch straight through to this vicinity?
Does that mean the eight-story building I used as a cover above, and the layers of mechanisms and traps prepared across ten stories here, were all useless?
Watching the monitors, even Armored Gorilla and Psychic Slug had been turned by the opponent using unknown means. He could only hope for the Asura Rhino Beetle now, which, though powerful, was cruel and uncontrollable.
Fortunately, the opponent had already been drawn out by his large number of clones.
And then...
"I hope they end up hurting each other, just as I've planned."
Geno quietly hid away in the deepest, most secure room underground.
In a room somewhere in the House of Evolution, Qingshui glanced at Geno's location but ignored him for the moment. Instead, he unleashed several sword slashes, cutting down the Armored Gorilla, Psychic Slug, Earth Dragon, and Frog Man.
They were useless now.
At the same time, within Qingshui's range of perception, a powerful individual was rapidly approaching him.
"Ahaha, ahahaha! Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!"
A Monster, covered entirely in a brown carapace with a sharp horn on its head, tore through countless of Geno's clones and the walls in its path like a dump truck, excitedly charging towards Qingshui.
"That's him!"
The Geno clone, clutched in the Asura Rhino Beetle's hand, pointed at Qingshui, who stood at the end of the tunnel, and shouted loudly.
"Splat!"
This clone, dressed in a suit and disguised as Geno's real body, was crushed into pulp by the Asura Rhino Beetle's hand.
"Ahaha, now that you've shown me the way, you're useless! Hey, you're that hero Geno was talking about, right? As long as I kill you, I can get out of here and then rule the whole world!"
The Asura Rhino Beetle's ugly face, with its thick lips, stuck out a fat tongue and laughed loudly at Qingshui.
As Geno's strongest creation, the Asura Rhino Beetle had always believed that it was far more intelligent and powerful than any human, capable of perfectly replacing humanity.
After all, ever since it was created, it had been confined within the House of Evolution. Geno didn't dare to teach it knowledge because this creature was too violent; any clones sent to teach it would be killed. Teaching was pointless, so the Asura Rhino Beetle hadn't read a single book, nor had it seen much of the world. It had no idea how vast the outside world was or how strong its inhabitants were.
"Tsk... nowadays, cultured villains generally don't spout low-brow ambitions like ruling the world. You should say that the world's resources are limited, so to ensure humanity's survival, you'll kill half the population after you get out.
Or, you could say that to bring peace to a humanity constantly embroiled in infighting, you've decided to mold yourself into a powerful villain, becoming a deterrent to all mankind, preventing them from easily starting wars. If you just go out and say you want to rule the world, you won't attract like-minded people to help you, and you're likely to fail."
Qingshui looked at the Asura Rhino Beetle, with its pointed head and rather unintelligent appearance, and spoke earnestly.
Fighting a villain who seemed so stupid, so low-class, and lacked any distinct characteristics, even if you won, wouldn't bring much sense of accomplishment.
"What nonsense are you spouting, you bastard? Why would ruling the world have to be so troublesome? Wouldn't it be easier if I just killed everyone?"
The Asura Rhino Beetle picked its large nostrils and disdainfully flicked out a booger.
"Alright, I almost forgot you're not human. I shouldn't try to guess the thoughts of a dung beetle using human logic."
Qingshui sighed.
"You bastard! I'm a rhino beetle, a rhino beetle! A noble rhino beetle, not some dung beetle!"
The Asura Rhino Beetle roared loudly.
"But you do look quite similar. Why don't you tell me, what's the difference between a rhino beetle and a dung beetle?"
"Uh… the difference, the difference is, a rhino beetle… a rhino beetle, a rhino beetle is more…"
The Asura Rhino Beetle scratched its head, unable to come up with an answer.
Qingshui then spoke up:
"Idiot. Dung beetles eat poop, and rhino beetles are even stupider, just like you."
"Ah, that's right! Dung beetles eat poop, rhino beetles… You bastard! How dare you call me stupid! I'm going to kill you, and after I kill all the humans, I'm going to kill all the dung beetles in the world!"
The Asura Rhino Beetle finally realized it had been tricked.
With a roar, its massive body charged towards Qingshui like a heavy roller.
*BOOM!*
A shiny black metal fist met the Asura Rhino Beetle's forehead.
The performance of the Magic Tool Transformed Black Samurai was already powerful, and with Qingshui having broken through the triple Limiter on his physical body, combined with Reverse Life Triple, Sage Art Chakra, and Psychic Aura, the power he could unleash was far, far stronger than when he fought Sweet Mask. Even among Dragon-level Monsters, he was in the stronger tier.
An ordinary Dragon-level Monster couldn't withstand it!
Thick smoke billowed as both the Asura Rhino Beetle and Qingshui retreated.
Qingshui took more than ten steps back before stopping, while the Asura Rhino Beetle in its normal state was just an ordinary Dragon-level Monster. Its entire body flew backward like a cannonball, embedding itself deeply into the wall.
In this exchange, Qingshui gained the upper hand.
"Crack, crack."
The thick wall cracked like a spiderweb, then shattered, kicking up dust.
The Asura Rhino Beetle emerged from the rubble, its eyes now red, and the color of its carapace gradually changing from light brown to blue-purple, with green patterns appearing on it.
And the muscles beneath this carapace also swelled and writhed, along with the changing outer shell, increasing the Asura Rhino Beetle's original height of three to four meters to over eight meters.
Asura Mode, activated!
"Human, you are indeed very strong. So strong that if I don't activate this state, I truly wouldn't be your match, and my life would even be in danger. But now, the one whose life is in danger is you!"
The Asura Rhino Beetle's voice, imbued with a hidden rage, rang out. Its giant-like body transformed into a streak of light, attacking Qingshui.
In this state, the Asura Rhino Beetle's rationality would gradually fade, but in exchange for the cost, its strength would also increase and be maintained for an entire week.
"Clang~!"
The black steel longsword was drawn, meeting the Asura Rhino Beetle's horn.
The two figures exchanged blows rapidly, countless moves
exchanged in the blink of an eye.
In just a short while, the large forest outside City W had been ravaged.
The ground trembled, countless trees toppled by the shockwaves generated from their battle, and even the surrounding mountains had their peaks blown apart one after another during their clash.
This was the power of a high-level Dragon-level Monster!
Like a massive natural disaster!
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