"So this is the power of Level Six… incredible." Jiang Yan's muffled voice came from beneath the black metal visor.
He raised one hand toward the distant ground.
Weng! A ball of black, twisted shadow appeared in his palm, ringed by black flames; the surrounding temperature dropped more than ten degrees.
Sou! The shadow sphere shot out, streaking several kilometers before slamming into the broken earth.
Weng! Before the sphere even touched down, the ground at the impact point melted into black matter and was sucked into the orb.
Hong! In the next instant the shadow sphere ballooned, its black flames swelling with it, turning the ground into black matter that was absorbed in turn.
The shadow-fire sphere expanded to a kilometer across. No tremor, no roar, no shockwave—only endless cold.
Light was swallowed within thousands of meters; the environment darkened, frost and crystals coated the ground, and the temperature plunged to forty or fifty below zero.
Moments later the sphere shrank and vanished, leaving none of the debris Liu Zhiyuan's attacks dragged back.
Jiang Yan gazed at the kilometer-wide, six- to seven-hundred-meter-deep crater whose inner walls glittered with smooth ice crystals.
'A casual strike with such power—so this is Level Six.' His golden pupils flashed; this was merely one ability of his new form.
He sank his consciousness into his mind.
Monarch Body: Strength, speed, defense greatly increased; vitals erased; energy can restore lost limbs—the graver the wound, the greater the cost. (Soul-cost side-effect removed; now burns energy instead.)
Shadowfire: Black flames that melt all, devour, burn the mind, and freeze.
Heavy-Star: Activate the purple star on your chest to impose gravity over a kilometer. (Energy-overload side-effect removed; now draws 90% of needed power from space, the rest from stamina. Gravity scales with stamina spent.)
'The first two match Liu Zhiyuan's; the last is new, born of a different host.' Jiang Yan opened his eyes.
His form, however, looked far better than Liu Zhiyuan's—other abilities had reshaped him.
"Watch him," Jiang Yan ordered, glancing at the fallen Bai Wenliang.
"Got it. With me here, a crippled old man won't stir up any trouble," Gold said, brimming with confidence.
Shua! Wings beat behind Jiang Yan and he shot skyward, streaking toward the other side of the city… Outside the city, the mountaintop was pitted and scarred.
Cao Li and the others stared at Fang Wenyu, their expressions flickering; none had expected this turn.
"Team Leader Fang… accept my condolences," Cao Li murmured.
Fang Wenyu stayed silent.
"For the sake of a hopeless world, you let the people closest to you die—was it worth it?" a calm voice rang from above.
Qin Musheng spun toward the sound. "Who's there?"
Wang Li and Cao Li whirled, equally on guard.
In the sky hovered a crimson-haired youth, pale skin, three extra mouths lining each cheek, enormous bat wings spread wide.
"It's the Monster Association's Blood Master!" the Awakened at the foot of the mountain cried in panic.
Their morale, shattered by earlier battles, now gave way to pure terror at the sight of one of the Association's top fighters.
Fang Wenyu turned, eyes mostly numb.
Zila! Qin Musheng's body crackled with bluish-white lightning; the other two readied their own moves.
Blood Master's might was legendary—Jiang Ao himself had nearly died by his hand.
Ignoring the three, Blood Master looked down at Fang Wenyu. "Will you keep trying to change this rotten world… or bring back your dead master and little sister?"
"Bring back the dead?" Fang Wenyu's gaze flickered.
"Attack!" Qin Musheng roared, hurling a bolt of lightning.
Crimson talismans ringed with red thread shot from Cao Li toward Blood Master.
Wang Li pulled a palm-sized paper warrior with wings from his paper armor; it grew to two meters and flapped toward the enemy.
Blood Master didn't even glance their way. His right hand rose. "Fang Wenyu—kill them, join the Monster Association, and your master and sister will live again!"
Weng! A blood-red glow blossomed in his palm, then a one-meter-thick beam of red energy blasted skyward, dyeing the heavens scarlet.
Lightning shattered against the beam; talismans scattered at a touch; the paper warrior took a direct hit and burst into burning scraps.
Yet the trio's assault halved the beam's power; when it struck the summit it was already much weaker.
"Such immense energy!" Cao Li paled—all three of them together couldn't stop him.
"Keep fighting!" Qin Musheng snarled, lightning dancing around him.
"Right!" Wang Li nodded.
Fang Wenyu's heart warred. One more step and he could be Deputy Director—maybe Director. His lifelong dream was within reach.
'Once I go back, the seat is mine… everything I've worked for.' Conflict twisted his face.
Unbidden, a memory surfaced—him at seventeen.
Behind Lingmiao Sect's mountain, the day after their master passed, he finished the funeral rites.
Walking past the central hall, he spotted a tiny figure in mourning white, knees hugged to chest, back turned.
"Little sister?" He approached softly.
Thirteen-year-old Qin Wan lifted a tear-streaked face.
Her small, delicate features were swollen from weeping.
"Senior brother… I-I have no grandpa… no home anymore…" she sobbed.
Orphaned young, she had been raised by her grandfather; his death left her world gray, alone, unloved.
Watching the child cry, Fang Wenyu's heart twisted with guilt.
He wiped her cheeks gently. "I'm here. I'm your family now. I'll protect you—no one will ever hurt you again."
Qin Wan burst into fresh tears and flung herself against him, soaking his robe with tears and mucus.
He didn't mind, only stroking her hair. "You're still Lingmiao's treasure, still my little sister."
Sniffling, she peered up. "Senior brother… will you protect me forever?"
"I will," he whispered, gaze tender.
Weng! The memory faded; Fang Wenyu stared at the battle ahead.
"Senior brother, will you protect me forever?" her fragile voice echoed beside his ear.
Memories of Qin Wan flooded him, battering his mind.
In that instant his long-held justice felt insignificant—only his sister mattered, only family.
The creature inside him was almost certainly from the Monster Association, but he no longer cared; it had merely forced the clash between him and Jiang Ao's faction early.
Force-fields shimmered into being around his hands.