On a psychic plane no one sensed, the red-haired girl among the four heads of the pillar of despair watched the scene unfold.
"Hmph, if we hadn't deliberately loosened the suppression, did you really think you'd notice?" The buzz-cut youth on the left gave a cold smirk.
Behind the pillar, an old man so emaciated that only age-spotted skin remained cackled: "Mission accomplished; his personality has already changed without him noticing—he still thinks he's the same as before."
"Time to go back," the red-haired girl in the center said woodenly.
The moment she spoke the other heads fell silent… On the other side of the city, clumps of black matter that had been blasted away writhed on the ground, converged, and formed a 3.5-meter-tall black-violet monster.
After that punch, Liu Zhiyuan instantly calmed; a faint weakness spread from his soul.
'If my body still had any weak points, that one punch would've killed me—what a terrifying guy!' Liu Zhiyuan stared at the distant Gold-radiating Gold, apprehension on his face.
A few holes in his body were nothing—just energy expenditure—but being blown apart in one shot would cost him soul power to regenerate; once his soul hit its limit, he'd die.
Hexagonal Crystals orbited Bai Wenliang as he stared at Gold with utmost gravity and called to Liu Zhiyuan dozens of meters away, "Kid, how about we team up? Even I've never seen a monster this tricky."
"Oh? Saying you want to join forces against me right in front of my face—I can't just pretend I didn't hear that." Before Liu Zhiyuan could reply, Gold dug in his left ear with a finger.
Whoosh! In the next instant Gold, who had been a kilometer away, vanished.
Gold's face was cold; his golden body flashed past Liu Zhiyuan and Bai Wenliang. His hands lifted slightly and dropped—all in that split second he unleashed countless punches.
Bang-bang-bang!
Gold was so fast the two couldn't even react; only after he passed did the countless blows land, rings of shock exploding outward.
Liu Zhiyuan's body burst into black matter again; Bai Wenliang collapsed without a scream, limbs twisted at grotesque angles.
His eyes rolled back, only a final breath left.
Gold was simply too fast—he couldn't even see the after-image.
Boom-boom-boom!
Only after both were down did delayed sonic booms erupt where Gold had stood, shredding or scattering nearby unfused Black Gold.
"Ow, damn—what're you doing!"
"Watch it, Gold!"
A crowd of Black Gold clamored at once.
Gold glanced at them, disdain on his face: "Shut up, or become my nutrients."
Then he turned and strode toward Liu Zhiyuan, who was reforming.
As for the fallen Bai Wenliang, Gold didn't spare him a glance—he was left alive only because the lab needed a Level Six subject.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh! Liu Zhiyuan's body re-knit; he glared at Gold and roared, "I won't—"
Bang! A golden after-image flashed and Liu Zhiyuan exploded, splattering far away.
Gold wore an arrogant look as he lowered his right fist: "Facing Gold, no matter how hard you struggle or Power-Up, it's useless—your very strength was given by us."
Far off, Liu Zhiyuan's body re-formed; Gold walked over and, the instant it solidified, punched it apart again.
Bang-bang-bang!
The sound of blows echoed through the rubble-strewn outskirts.
After the tenth time Liu Zhiyuan was grievously weakened; originally he could have fled via Shadow.
But his sense of justice forbade escape—and he sensed the flesh-and-blood cap was Level Six; even devouring more villains later would bring scant improvement.
Minutes later Liu Zhiyuan re-formed once more, now at a crawl.
He looked at the expressionless Gold before him and stopped resisting.
Crack! Fissures webbed his face; the black-violet shell shattered, revealing Liu Zhiyuan's pale skin beneath.
Watching Gold raise a hand, ready to finish him, he rasped, "Why choose me… only to kill me?"
He had no strength left—body hollow, soul at its limit; the next detonation would be his death.
Yet he wanted an answer: when chosen as a Flesh-and-Blood Beings he'd felt like a novel protagonist, gaining power to change this crappy world—and for a while it went exactly as he wished.
In less than a month he broke through again and again, slew Level Fives, fought Level-Sixes; he even believed he was meant to remake the world—until Gold appeared and shattered that fantasy with one punch.
Bang! Gold couldn't be bothered to reply; a punch blew Liu Zhiyuan apart.
This time only a fist-sized lump of flesh pulsed weakly where he had stood; Liu Zhiyuan's soul was gone.
Tap-tap-tap… Soft footsteps sounded.
Jiang Yan walked calmly from behind Gold, eyeing the twitching flesh: "Your selection was random; you wasted the chance—so… sorry."
Gold picked up the flesh and handed it to Jiang Yan.
Jiang Yan smiled faintly at the throbbing lump: "Failed to recruit Liu Zhiyuan, but you're still a fine harvest."
Pfft—without hesitation Jiang Yan popped the flesh into his mouth.
It tasted faintly sweet; no chewing needed—it melted on his tongue and merged into his body.
A few gulps finished it; Jiang Yan stood quietly while Gold guarded him.
Thump-thump-thump! Moments after swallowing, a heartbeat echoed inside Jiang Yan as colossal power surged forth.
'Here it comes!' Jiang Yan's eyes brightened, feeling that boundless force roil through every limb.
Riiip! His frame began to swell, black matter oozing from his skin and re-shaping over his body.
A minute later, where Jiang Yan had stood was a three-meter figure sheathed in sleek black-metallic armor; only the eye-slits on the faceplate showed, glowing with pale Gold light.
On his forehead jutted a pair of horns—one violet, one Gold—each a dozen centimeters long; from his back unfurled enormous metal-feather wings spanning nine meters apiece.
Every feather bore tiny golden glyphs that writhed without cease.
In the center of his chest yawned a fist-sized cavity in which floated a grape-sized Purple Bead.