Forge a path to success.

Chapter 176 Chasing Shadows and Slaying Beasts (5)

"Ugh... I feel like I'm carsick..."

Inside the mural, Ji Huaisu, pulled into the painting, felt dizzy and disoriented. Van der, half-dead, clung to his armor, his complexion so wan that cremation was just one step away from sending him to heaven.

Roquevard was nowhere to be found; that bastard had vanished without a trace after giving his name, using some unknown technique. Ji Huaisu slapped his forehead and spotted the Heartless Girl running towards him.

"Sister Huaisu!"

"Xiao Ye, you're still alive!" Ji Huaisu waved in surprise, but her face flushed red after seeing the other person's condition. "What the hell is this outfit? Do you Heartbreakers have a technique that requires fake nudity to use?!"

"Please don't ask!" Miss Qingye blushed even more. "Besides, I'm wearing a scarf!"

Ji Huaisu gasped, "Your scarf is like the socks you haven't taken off in a pornographic book—it serves no purpose other than adding to the bad atmosphere!"

"Since you know this, then hurry up and make me a set of clothes, okay?" Qingye clasped her hands together.

Ji Huaisu nodded seriously: "Okay, you want it to be transparent, right?"

"Give me an opaque one!"

Ji Huaisu casually conjured a light armor made of a mixture of water and dust and put it on Qingye. The poor girl finally had some decent clothes. She covered her face with her hands, almost wanting to disappear into the ground: "It's so uncomfortable to wear..."

"You'll overcome this with your perseverance!"

Vande, having just overcome his nausea upon entering the painting, opened his eyes as if in a final burst of lucidity: "What are you talking about..."

"I'm talking about that Demon Slayer's immortality." Ji Huaisu began drawing a magic circle on the ground. "When you hit it, the feel is different from when it's elementalized, and the force required is also strangely great."

“A curse associated with the painting,” Vandal concluded. “I saw the connection between that guy and the painting before…most likely, this painting contains immortality granted by the gods. Vacklo has tied his life to that thing, and its power is endless unless that thing is destroyed.”

It grew increasingly agitated as it spoke: "The best way would have been to destroy the painting outside, but we ended up getting tricked by the Twin Souls... Damn it, I remember this guy! 'Twin' Vaklo Lockva is one of the few 'Void Angels' in the Spiral Tower!"

Boom! The storm drowned out Vandal's words, and the enraged Frost Gorilla leaped off the execution platform. Behind it was a chaotic army of numerous demons, with Glow Corpses, Moon Beasts, and many demon-possessed individuals serving as its soldiers. Two exceptionally monstrous beings were the leaders of the army. One was "False Light," a giant as tall as a mountain, radiating a cold light like a beacon; the other was "Rotten Dust," whose form was ever-changing, composed of numerous bee-shaped dust particles.

The messengers who were supposed to die in battle have reappeared, and Roqueva has painted their figures in his paintings, thus completing their resurrection in this unconventional way.

"Enjoy the epic 'United and Loving Demon Army'!" Lockvar shouted through the army. "Though we Demon Army may not be born in the same place, we will die together. Even if our bodies are reduced to ashes, we will continue to fight under Lord Vansalal's command!"

“I think the real me wants to be laid to rest peacefully,” Fu Chen said.

"I've already died in the line of duty, can I quit?" Pseudo-Light asked.

"No, please fight seriously."

“Alright then…” Pseudo-Light stretched his enormous body. “I love killing knights the most.”

It straightened its amorphous chest, and under the light, its mechanical structure unfolded and assembled, forming a massive steel cannon. This giant messenger was actually a cyborg; the light elemental power within the cannon barrel was rapidly compressed, transforming into a burst of destructive white light that shot out!

"Triple Dragon Seal of the Mountain".

Three icebergs rose abruptly from the ground, their defensive formations, etched with dragon patterns, blocking the beam of light. The first iceberg melted, the second pierced through, but the beam was blocked by the third, a dragon-sealed mountain. Ji Huaisu leaped from the mountaintop, the icebergs melting into water, which coalesced in her hand into a giant staff longer than the pseudo-light. A golden dragon coiled around the staff, the very same staff that stabilized the seas.

Ji Huaisu raised his staff with both hands and slammed it down. The giant staff spun rapidly and struck the fake bald head twice in succession, and then struck the giant's back with another blow, causing him to stagger and kneel on the spot.

"Where did this scoundrel of a martial arts practitioner come from?" Pseudo-Light cried out in pain.

"The Azure Armor Army, having mastered fist techniques, has faced its share of trouble before." Rotten Dust lunged forward, "The Rotten Bees' march!"

Numerous sand bees burst forth from that cloud-like body, their surfaces marked with deep yellow, crack-like patterns. This was the signature technique of the Corrupting Dust, a swarm of sand bees that disintegrated the enemy into the smallest units of matter.

"Radiant Light and Flowing Fire." Ji Huaisu tossed a blazing ball of light with one hand, the mixed light and fire exploding high in the sky above the battlefield, destroying the swarm of bees one by one with precise control.

The two sides engaged in a wide-range stalemate in the high sky. At this moment, the Frost Ape roared and leaped high into the air. It brought its fists together and punched out, taking advantage of the opportunity to smash into Ji Huaisu with brute force. Its attack combined powerful physical destructive force with freezing power; a single punch was enough to destroy a city.

Ji Huaisu withdrew his divine needle and swung his staff, striking directly at Han Xing's massive fists. "Aaaaaah!" Han Xing roared, increasing his strength, preparing for a fair and square fight with his opponent.

But then, in a flash, dozens of diamond-like fragments embedded at the top of the divine needle emitted a familiar light—"Dust Breaker."

A beam of light shot into the sky from where fists and sticks clashed. The high-explosive dust blast hit at close range, and Han Xing was blasted directly to the back of the battle formation!
Ji Huaisu dispersed the divine needles that had exerted all their power, and instead summoned the Purifying Fire Greatsword, which he carried on his shoulder.

"Come on, you scum!" Ji Huaisu sneered. "None of you will leave here alive!"

As Qingye was running away from the battlefield, she glanced back and asked, "...Um, does Sister Huaisu really need our help?"

“I don’t think she needs it much,” Van der said fairly. “But someone outside needs it! If we don’t hurry, Mr. Chu will be killed. If he dies, we’re all finished!”

·
In the real world, in the arena.

If one observes closely from outside the painting, one can see the knight's valiant figure in battle and the silhouette of the heartless one chasing something. However, neither of the two outside the scene has the leisure to continue looking at the painting. Chu Hengkong brandishes his white spear, ready for battle, while Wacro stands beside the mural, rubbing his razor-sharp fingers together.

“What a blunder,” Vaklo sighed. “Using the murals to kill you was the safest way. But I never expected you to have Lord Olek’s power. Even we Fearbringers can be defeated by a newcomer when it comes to cheating.”

"So you're going to show your true skills?" Chu Hengkong reinforced his Qi Armor.

“Excuse my rudeness,” Vacklo bowed, “we’ll have to be a little rougher.”

Like removing a mask, the smile on Vaklo's face vanished. Its eyes bulged, its lips gaped open, its pale and thin face stretched outwards, its torso twisted, its limbs swelled, and pure black fur grew from them. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a ten-meter-long behemoth, its claws and teeth were shadow blades, its eyes were murky spirals, and its body had no soft parts; it was a spear, a sword, an axe, and a gun.

It was riddled with tens of thousands of weapons, its wounds resembling bloodshot eyes spread across its entire body. That was the posture of Vaklo Lockva before its death, the lingering image of its final moments. From between the beast's teeth, came the same androgynous sound as before:
"To become darkness, to transform into demons, to form obstacles, to give birth to monsters."

Fear is a constant shadow.

The roar of a beast devouring flesh filled the air, and deep darkness surged from its body, engulfing reality. The light vanished, the mist dissipated, and even the stone walls at the edge of the arena disappeared. In the bottomless darkness, only man and beast stood facing each other.

Chu Hengkong experienced a strange sense of weightlessness; the lack of any reference points in the space gave him the illusion of falling. A non-existent "fear" arose from this, taking root and growing in the cracks of his mind. The sound of chewing was omnipresent, growing increasingly intense, as if a giant beast was tearing reality apart, the world's blood flowing as shadows. The pupil-less eyes of the beast stared at him, its sharp teeth slowly closing.

"My heart overflows, shadows chase and kill."

The impact is coming.

Muscles contracted, bones shattered, the body contorted under pressure, blood gushing from the mouth. Faster than thought, quicker than instinct, Chu Hengkong was already high in the sky when he realized what was happening. His body spun wildly out of control, the protective aura armor on his skin dissipating like dust. In his dizzying vision, he saw the giant beast's tail; he had been struck head-on, and Vaklo was now behind him.

The enemy was far too powerful; their beast-like body possessed a strength he couldn't comprehend, and even his fully armored body was no match for them. Chu Hengkong rolled in the darkness, his back suddenly slamming into a dusty spot, the sound of shattering stones echoing around him. He realized it was the edge of the arena; a single impact had sent him flying to the very edge of the battlefield.

He barely managed to lift his head and see the colossal beast's dark eyes in the shadows. The next attack was imminent, and he had no time to consider the enemy's methods. A one-time burst of magic? Pure physical enhancement after beast transformation?
No. The Immortal Machine issued a fierce alarm. This line of thinking was absolutely wrong. Defending was pointless given the power imbalance; he had to attack, at least to buy himself time to think.

Chu Hengkong fell from the crater, and shadows rose around him like tentacles, launching an immediate pursuit. His spear tip struck the ground, igniting a string of blue sparks. The flames intensified, instantly engulfing the entire arena and becoming a raging inferno.

The flames of ambition ignite. The chosen tinder: Shadow!
A raging fire instantly ignited, illuminating the dark battlefield and burning towards Vaklo's colossal body. Its entire form was shrouded in shadow, its fur and flesh fueling the flames of ambition. The terrifying beast was instantly engulfed in flames, blue fire spewing from its numerous wounds like a house collapsing in a fire.

Kovaklo grinned as it burned. The immortality emanating from the painting continuously repaired its body, allowing it to remain at its peak. It cared nothing for its wounds, nor feared the pain; compared to the bloody battles it had endured in its previous life, the burning at this moment was insignificant.

"Shadow Claw." It swung its giant claw, and the claw marks transformed into five dark blades that slashed down with incredible speed.

Chu Hengkong used his Qi to accelerate, barely dodging the Shadow Claw attack. The black stone touched by the slash turned into a flat, graffiti-like surface. Vaklo's slash also had a deadly effect, like a painting. He seized the opportunity to thrust out with his spear, the spear tip aiming for Vaklo's right eye. But the giant beast's head flashed past, and the spear tip only pierced the afterimage. Immediately afterward, a sharp pain came from the side. Vaklo slammed into his right side, and the spear in the wound pierced Chu Hengkong's lung.

"cough……!"

Chu Hengkong slowed his retreat by thrusting his spear into the ground. He rolled and dodged the attacks, then suddenly raised his white spear to defend. But this time, his reaction was a beat too slow. Vaklo swung its claws down from above. He blocked the physical attack with the spear shaft, but he couldn't defend against the Shadow Claw slash! Nearly a quarter of the flesh on his left side vanished, and the sheer physical impact caused the white spear to emit a mournful cry of imminent collapse!
Absolutely terrible. He still couldn't keep up; his speed was still too fast for him to even react. Even though he had used the "One Qi, One Thousand Autumns" technique to increase his speed, the feeling of being hit was the same as before. The gap between them remained unchanged; Vaklo maintained the same speed difference. This is…!
Chu Hengkong realized: "You... will always be faster than me!"

“Correct answer. Within this ‘overflow,’ my speed of movement is always the sum of your speed and mine. Because I control the shadow, your speed is always the same as your own shadow.”

Wakolo landed in front of him, raising its claws one in front of the other, unleashing ten deadly claw strikes. Its flesh burned in the flames, but the look in its eyes remained unchanged.

There was no hatred, no joy, only a sense of satisfaction as if he had completed a task.

"Goodbye, then."

(End of this chapter)