Bang! At that moment a black dot appeared in the distance; the instant Cao Li saw it, her body exploded into a mist of blood and vanished.
A three-metre-tall Monster in black metal armor hovered where she had stood, wings beating.
"Trash." Jiang Yan didn't even glance back.
On what was left of the halved hilltop, Fang Wenyu stood motionless.
The Blood Master, who had flown off to hunt Cao Li, stopped almost immediately, turned and descended.
Fang Wenyu eyed him, puzzled. "Letting her go? That's not your style."
The Blood Master said nothing; he simply looked toward the city.
The moment Fang Wenyu turned his head, a black dot appeared far away; the next second it was in front of him.
A three-metre Monster now stood before him—sleek, streamlined black armor and huge wings etched with writhing golden runes, all proclaiming terrifying power.
When those golden eyes fixed on him, Fang Wenyu felt an overwhelming pressure bear down.
Whoosh! Only now did the howling wind from the Monster's flight arrive, slamming the broken hill and throwing up clouds of dust.
A muffled voice came from beneath the helmet: "Fang Wenyu, welcome to the Monster Association. Our first formal meeting—call me President."
"Jiang Yan?" Facing the Monster, Fang Wenyu's mind held only one thought: humanity is finished.
Jiang Yan had come from Bai Wenliang's direction; it almost certainly meant Director Bai, the most powerful man in Nanwu Country, had fallen.
Though the guess had already formed, Fang Wenyu asked, "Director Bai was defeated?"
He had never imagined Jiang Yan could, in barely three or four months, rise from an ordinary man to a being rivalling Level Six—speed worthy of the wildest mythic heroes.
"Yes," Jiang Yan answered calmly, as though toppling one of Nanwu Country's apex figures were trivial.
"As long as you can revive my Junior Sister, my life is yours; order me as you will." Fang Wenyu's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the Monster.
Jiang Yan stretched out his left hand; the black armor there melted away, revealing a purple injector. "I have no interest in your life; I simply value your talent and ability. I only need you to work for me."
Fang Wenyu took the purple serum. He knew exactly what it was, yet still asked one last time: "Can the dead truly return?"
Jiang Yan's golden eyes met his. "Resurrection has always been the Monster Association's ultimate goal. Right now I could even 'revive' Qin Wan for you—but only as a flawed product; her soul would scatter again before long."
Recalling Jiang Yan's own legend, Fang Wenyu didn't hesitate; he flipped the cap off and plunged the needle into an open wound.
He widened the wound, driving the injector deeper.
As the tyranny potion flowed in, his lightning-ravaged body began to heal at speed.
"This power—!" His pupils shrank; a strange new force was rising inside him, rewriting his very genes.
Crack! His frame shot up to two metres, injuries closed, and two pale slender arms sprouted beneath his ribs, nails gleaming like blades.
His hair lengthened, his face grew younger, his skin turned ash-grey, and further mutations followed.
Ahhh! Fang Wenyu roared, doubling over.
A huge bulge swelled on his back, as though something were struggling to break free.
Riiip! Flesh tore open and a mass of red tissue surged out.
Ten centimetres from his back it began branching left, right and upward.
Each branch grew into a metre-and-a-half regular rectangle, then tapered again, the left and right ends curving round to meet and form a ten-centimetre ring.
Finally a cruciform frame—lacking its lower upright—stood from his back, three golden beads resting upon the rings.
As Monsterization completed, his aura kept climbing.
Watching, Jiang Yan remarked, "You were already at the peak of Level Five. Let's see if this pushes you past the threshold into Level Six."
The Blood Master added, "Hard to say—that gate isn't easy. But you'll likely reach my level: far above an ordinary Level Five peak yet still beneath Level Six."
Fang Wenyu's aura rose to a certain height, then levelled off.
What stood there was a two-metre, ash-skinned, black-haired, four-armed Monster, the flesh frame on its back holding three golden beads.
"Such power…" Sensing the new force inside him, Fang Wenyu's expression flickered.
Hum! With a thought the three beads glowed; energy streamed out of the void into them.
He looked at the half-mountain beneath him, stretched out his left hand, and a Force-Field appeared, rapidly expanding to envelop the remaining mass.
Crack… crack…
Rumble—!
Under Jiang Yan and the Blood Master's gaze the entire hill shook, then the whole few-hundred-metre mountain tore free at the roots.
Dirt and stones rained down as Fang Wenyu stood calmly atop the uprooted peak.
No strain showed on his face; golden light from the beads kept feeding into his Force-Field.
Jiang Yan studied him. "A Reinforcement-Type Ability? Before this you couldn't lift a mountain."
Blowing up a hill and lifting one are entirely different—this mountain weighed hundreds of millions of tons.
Bang! The floating mountain crashed back down, the impact sending a shock-wave that swept everything away.
Rumble! A violent quake split the ground and fissures raced across the hill.
Fang Wenyu looked up, eyes glinting. "This new power doesn't just boost my original awakening—it also offsets part of the stamina cost. I'm stronger and more efficient."
Jiang Yan and the Blood Master exchanged odd looks; his original ability had already been absurd.
After Monsterization he'd gained no flashy new trick—only a plain reinforcement.
Yet this simple reinforcement had all but erased his weaknesses.
"Doesn't that make him unbeatable?" the Blood Master muttered. How could anyone fight him? He might even trade blows with Level Six.
Fang Wenyu shook his head. "I'm still no match for Level Six—every strike of theirs exceeds what I can withstand."
Jiang Yan ignored the disclaimer, inwardly pleased: an invincible fighter of the same tier—or, if he performed well later, a soul crystal dose for another leap in power.