Chapter 480: An Unsettling Hypothesis
Under the relentless barrage, the hazy silhouette of an ancient ferocious beast materialized above Mu Qing’s head once more.
Sensing the overwhelming, world-dominating aura emanating from the indistinct beast, the two-headed demon finally showed fear.
Its superior genetic makeup granted it extraordinary sensory abilities.
But the moment it sensed the ancient ferocious beast’s presence, its fused instincts screamed: This is the apex predator, the one at the top of the food chain.
Driven by instinct, the two-headed demon revealed a look of fear and involuntarily began to weep.
But Mu Qing gave it no quarter.
Enveloped in jade-colored arcs of electricity, Mu Qing resembled a War God incarnate. Her hair had transformed into a jade-colored cascade, and the scarlet light in her eyes burned like an abyss, filling the two-headed demon with infinite dread.
Punch after punch landed, Mu Qing’s power continuing to surge.
The spirit energy armor, designed for self-repair, shattered completely after only a few blows, its regenerative capabilities utterly overwhelmed.
With each relentless strike, the ground rapidly sank beneath the demon’s weight.
The two-headed demon gradually lost consciousness under the relentless assault, its body continuing to regenerate rapidly even as it endured Mu Qing’s devastating blows.
Suddenly, the blurry, ferocious beast hovering above Mu Qing roared skyward.
A streak of scarlet flashed through the flowing jade light surrounding Mu Qing, circling her body before converging on her fist.
When that final punch landed, the two-headed demon’s nearly indestructible flesh could no longer withstand the force. It instantly exploded into fragments.
“Aow!”
After slaying the two-headed demon, the blurry, ferocious beast above Mu Qing roared skyward again, its terrifying presence momentarily stunning both sides of the battle.
“Deep breaths, deep breaths!”
Having killed the two-headed demon, Mu Qing closed her eyes tightly, suppressing the violent emotions surging within her.
She was on the verge of losing control.
If the primal rage rising within her took over, she risked unleashing a indiscriminate slaughter, unable to distinguish friend from foe.
To regain control, Mu Qing immediately sat down cross-legged, focusing on slowing her breathing and regulating the flow of jade-colored energy within her.
Technology Research Institute
Seeing the two-headed demon fall to Mu Qing in less than ten minutes, the black shadow couldn’t hide the terror in its eyes.
It realized its assessment of Mu Qing’s strength had been completely wrong.
Especially when a blurry image of an ancient ferocious beast materialized above Mu Qing’s head, even from a great distance, the black shadow could feel the terrifying aura of one who looked down upon all creation.
“Is that… the power of a Pillar God?”
The black shadow’s mind conjured a guess so unbelievable it startled even itself.
Pillar Gods were beings who transcended all existence in the domain world, standing above the masses—beings that could rightfully be called Gods.
The full extent of their power remained a mystery.
Yet even the lowest-ranking races and factions in the domain world knew that the power of a Pillar God was utterly beyond mortal comprehension.
Even a single drop of their blood or a stray strand of their fur could transform a weak clan into a mighty one.
As the black shadow knew, the Mist Clan—once the most powerful force in the Spirit Energy Clan’s small world—traced its origins to a single drop of a Pillar God’s withered blood, which had ignited their brutal path to dominance and led to the clan’s creation.
But what the black shadow sensed in Mu Qing was the complete power of a Pillar God.
Although Mu Qing’s current power was far from reaching the level of a Pillar God, it was like a seedling that would one day grow into a towering tree, becoming a transcendent deity standing atop the clouds, looking down upon all living beings.
As a tumultuous storm raged within its mind, the black shadow suddenly felt an urge to flee.
It feared neither the strength of the Star City Army nor the two-headed demon, for it still had other trump cards.
But facing this terrifying being who might have inherited the power of a Pillar God, fear gripped its heart.
At that moment, it thought of the Black Reaper in the core zone.
But the thought was immediately suppressed.
This plan was the foundation upon which its future rested. The experiment was still in its preliminary testing phase, and premature activation could unleash a series of uncontrollable factors.
From a long-term perspective, even losing the Technology Research Institute was preferable to prematurely exposing the Black Reaper Project.
As the black shadow’s thoughts churned, a figure leaped from the distance, soaring over the Technology Research Institute’s main gate and landing below it.
It was Feng Qi.
While fierce battles still raged in the West District, he had already led the Dawn Army through the City Defense Soldiers’ blockade and stormed into the central district’s core area.
While fierce combat still raged behind him, Feng Qi had chosen to advance to the Technology Research Institute ahead of the main force.
History had proven that when the situation spiraled out of control, the black shadow would flee.
For instance, in one historical timeline he had learned about, the black shadow, facing encirclement by multiple factions, had retreated from Future City with Mo after being defeated, their subsequent whereabouts unknown.
Upon learning this, Feng Qi had dared to hope that Little Black might not be born in the timeline 1,500 years later.
Reality, however, delivered a brutal slap to his face.
No matter how the timeline shifted, Little Black remained relentlessly devoted to him, eagerly escorting him to his doom.
“Care to come down and chat?”
In his Blood Giant form, Feng Qi tilted his head back to gaze at the black shadow hovering in the air, grinning widely.
The black shadow didn’t refuse the invitation, immediately descending to stand before him.
“I’m genuinely puzzled. What’s the purpose of leading the Star City Army to invade Future City? Are our interests truly in conflict? Even if there were disagreements, we could have resolved them through negotiation. Why resort to war? What do you stand to gain?”
Staring at the familiar figure of the black shadow, who hovered before him like a phantom, Feng Qi didn’t immediately answer the barrage of questions.
The black shadow had many questions, but so did he.
With that thought, he immediately countered:
“How about we exchange information? We each ask a question, then answer each other’s.”
The black shadow paused, seemingly taken aback that the crimson giant would propose such a method of communication.
After a moment’s contemplation, it nodded. “Very well.”
Hearing the black shadow’s agreement, Feng Qi immediately posed his first question:
“Do you know anything about the blue-skinned tribe? You know what I’m referring to.”
The black shadow’s face flickered with surprise, as if astonished that Feng Qi knew anything about the blue-skinned tribe.
After a brief silence, it replied:
“My understanding of them is limited. I only know that a figure comparable to a Pillar God seems to stand behind them. These seemingly simple blue-skinned creatures are far more complex than they appear.”
“Be more specific,” Feng Qi pressed, frowning.
“I’ve already said I don’t know much about them. However, I can share a piece of intelligence gathered by a certain race after conducting a detailed investigation into the blue-skinned creatures.”
“The ‘certain race’ you’re referring to is the Spirit Energy Clan, isn’t it?” Feng Qi asked, a playful smile spreading across his face.
The black shadow’s expression immediately shifted to astonishment.
“How did you know I was referring to the Spirit Energy Clan? What else do you know?”
“Answer my question first, and then I’ll answer yours. Let’s continue our previous topic. What intelligence do you have on the blue-skinned tribe?”
Faced with the question, the black shadow remained silent for a long moment before slowly replying:
“After conducting in-depth investigations and research on the blue-skinned creatures, the Spirit Energy Clan’s scholars group designated them as: Closed Beta Creatures!”
“Closed Beta Creatures?”
“Yes. As for why they were given that name, I don’t know,” the black shadow stated firmly.
(End of the Chapter)