Chen Mo spoke in a low voice, "You'd best not be curious. He's already terrifyingly strong—and after awakening his second animal, he'll only become more so."
Zhang Longqi and the others stepped forward.
Zhao Yuanhang was the first to speak. "He's stronger than you think. If you knew what he did in the game, you'd be shocked."
The Chai Dao General raised a brow. "Oh? What did he do?"
Jiang Ling replied calmly, "The second-place Euro Alliance scored less than twenty thousand points. But Chen Xiao…"
Cao Baiqing and Pei Tianyuan both turned to look, curiosity flashing in their eyes. Could it be over ten thousand?
Jiang Ling met their gaze and spoke each word clearly:
"He scored over eighty thousand."
"How much?!" Pei Tianyuan blurted out.
Even Cao Baiqing frowned in disbelief. "Are you sure you didn't miscalculate?"
The Chai Dao General remained silent, his sharp gaze fixed on Jiang Ling.
A Yao cut in with a grin. "No need to doubt it. Huaxia's total score was ninety-three thousand—and Brother Chen Xiao alone contributed over eighty thousand."
Silence fell.
Pei Tianyuan and Cao Baiqing exchanged a glance, unease creeping into their expressions.
"So… when he said Huaxia would have had no survivors without him… that was true?" Pei Tianyuan muttered.
Cao Baiqing patted his shoulder. "Whether it's true or not doesn't matter anymore. What matters is—he's not as reckless as the rumors say. I was worried he might lose control completely. That would've been… troublesome."
His tone turned cold.
"Fortunately, he still has some restraint. He doesn't dare openly confront us. He knows we're not easy to deal with."
Cao Baiqing's voice carried a suppressed anger.
"If he continues like this, Number Eleven and the Chai Dao General will step in and suppress him."
The Chai Dao General replied flatly, "I was actually hoping to cross blades with him today…"
He glanced at the trembling Cao Linxuan and sighed.
"Linxuan, once you're sent to guard the Western Capital, you are not to leave your post for six months. None of us can guarantee the Mad Ghost won't come looking for you."
Cao Linxuan nodded bitterly.
His heart was filled with frustration.
He had just awakened powerful second-animal talents—yet he couldn't even withstand a single punch from Chen Xiao.
What exactly had Chen Xiao awakened?
Why was he so overwhelmingly strong?
He looked up at the figure in the sky—and suddenly froze.
"…What is that?"
Under the pitch-black sky and bright full moon, the dark figure halted.
A silver-white blade slowly materialized in his hand.
A Bone Saber.
Nearly two meters long, its form sleek and flawless. Under the moonlight, the blade shimmered with a pale, chilling glow—as if it carried some ancient, unfathomable power.
In the next instant—
A terror like falling into a bottomless abyss surged through Cao Linxuan.
His face turned pale. He staggered backward uncontrollably.
"Linxuan, what's wrong?""Why are you so scared—what did you see?""Sigh… I shouldn't have let you enter that game…"
The others quickly noticed something was wrong. Following his gaze, they looked up—
Only to see the figure beneath the moon slowly dissolve into darkness.
Then—
He vanished.
A bone-chilling cold swept through the courtyard, freezing the air itself.
"Buzz——"
The figure exploded back into existence.
Chen Xiao surged forward at blinding speed, gripping the Bone Saber. The blade tore through the air with a shrill, lethal edge—like a reaper's scythe descending from the heavens.
A tidal wave of killing intent crashed down.
Cao Linxuan's mind went blank.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die.
I'm going to die—
He couldn't even scream.
"Number Eleven!""Chai Dao! Chen Mo!""Save him!"
In that instant, the cyborg known as Number Eleven leapt forward, crossing his arms.
Gears roared.
Two pitch-black discs formed over his forearms—
Neutron Rock Disks.
The pinnacle of human defensive technology. The hardest synthetic material known.
"Buzz—!!"
"BOOM—!!!"
A violent explosion tore through the courtyard.
The ground within a dozen meters cracked apart. Buildings collapsed. Everyone staggered, barely able to keep their footing.
Then—
"Crack—!"
"Pfft—!"
A horrifying sound split the air.
Number Eleven… was cut clean in half.
Its mechanical body split apart, internal wiring and metal framework exposed. Sparks flew wildly amid smoke and debris.
Destroyed in a single strike.
And behind it—
Cao Linxuan did not escape.
The Chai Dao General reacted instantly.
A rusted chopping blade appeared in his hand. With one swing, he tore open a brown spatial rift, intercepting the attack and dragging Cao Linxuan dozens of meters away.
Even so—
Too slow.
Too late.
Cao Linxuan's body was severed in half.
Blood poured out like a fountain, staining the ground crimson. Arcs of electricity flickered across his broken body, barely sustaining his life.
Above them—
Chen Xiao slowly revealed himself.
His gaze swept across the crowd, cold and indifferent.
In his hand—
He held Cao Linxuan's severed arm.
He calmly removed the silver-white glove from it and tossed it into the Mountain River Map.
A trophy.
Wrapped in All Things Water, his speed under Aquatic Agility had exceeded even his own expectations.
Divine Wind + Aquatic Agility…
Even faster than Moon Shadow on land.
And if combined with Moon Shadow—
That would be his absolute peak speed.
"Linxuan! My grandson!"
Cao Baiqing's voice trembled as he rushed forward, eyes filled with horror.
That Mad Ghost Butcher—
He truly didn't care about anything!
And that had been the Neutron Rock Disk… humanity's strongest defense.
It couldn't even block a single strike?!
Pei Tianyuan's expression turned grim. He signaled to Chen Mo.
Chen Mo immediately understood, pulling out a vial of thick brown liquid and tossing it over.
The Chai Dao General caught it, glanced at the dying Cao Linxuan, and sighed before forcing the liquid into his mouth.
Under its effect, Cao Linxuan's life force began to stabilize.
Pei Tianyuan stepped forward, voice heavy:
"Chen Xiao, Old Cao already agreed to give you a National Fortune slot. Why would you still strike to kill?"
Chen Xiao's eyes were icy cold.
"You insulted me with one slot—so you should be prepared to be insulted in return."
He paused slightly, then added with a faint smile:
"And besides… I want more."