"This girl... she's already mastered Soulstep so quickly?"
Feng Ye watched Lin Tang's figure flash into the air like a sudden apparition. He muttered under his breath but quickly realized something was off. This wasn't true Soulstep—it was a combat skill she'd mastered herself. Its first stage was a near-teleportational burst of speed; only the second stage unleashed that moonlight-like slash.
Unlike Feng Ye's own Soulstep—which could be activated anytime with Spirit Energy—this skill couldn't be used consecutively.
Her slash cleanly shredded the acid projectiles. This gave Lin Chuan an opening to close in on the monster's head. His Explosive Spirit Blade flared with blinding Spirit Energy as he swung it straight down at the beast's skull.
Lin Chuan's explosive move drew every eye. Even the shield-bearing man regarded him with newfound respect—the Spirit Energy ripple from that blade demanded attention.
The strike landed squarely on the monster's head. But Lin Chuan was sent flying as the beast's skull rammed into him. The Spirit Energy-infused blow left a charred, smoking wound on its crown, crimson blood spraying out. Roaring in agony, the monster's bell-sized eyes flooded with bloodshot veins. Its jaws opened wide, unleashing another barrage of acid projectiles.
Feng Ye dashed forward, sweeping Lin Tang into his arms and pulling her back to safety. Lin Chuan, flung far by the recoil, was already out of the acid's range.
The monster's rage threw the others off balance. Several Awakened fumbled desperately under the pressure. Lin Tang shot Feng Ye a grateful glance before urging, "Brother Feng Ye, that thing's gone berserk! We have to hold it back—or the others won't survive!"
"Mm. I see it."
Feng Ye summoned his War Spirit while silently cursing the Awakened Association's inefficiency—not even sending an A-Rank Awakened. What he didn't know was that the Association had deliberately set low rewards to save costs. A-Rank and S-Class Awakened, busy chasing promotions in Overdeity tasks, ignored such trivial notifications.
Half the district lay in ruins while the present Awakened struggled against the bizarre monster. Only when the other half was destroyed would the Association's higher-ups scramble to call A-Rank reinforcements—the rebuilding costs would finally outweigh their stingy rewards. Of course, they'd also misjudged the threat level, failing to classify it properly.
"Huh? First a brick, now stone hammers?" Lin Tang blinked in surprise as Feng Ye's War Spirit manifested two crude stone mauls instead of a brick. His slender frame seemed at odds with the berserker's heart he clearly harbored. This was her first time seeing his War Spirit shift forms. "Auntie's War Spirit has dual forms too... Brother Feng Ye must have something similar," she thought silently.
The monster's massive size made brick-bashing impractical. Feng Ye shifted his War Spirit's form again—shape was merely a medium to him. His unique spirit could mimic nearly anything. These days, he relished the visceral thrill of hammering foes, having grown disdainful of his chuunibyou-era obsession with slashing.
"Truly, heavy weapons are a man's romance," Feng Ye declared, twirling the stone hammer handles. "Joining the Hammer Cult to crush skulls brings unmatched joy." The hammers resembled gourd-shaped maces, their rough stone heads radiating oppressive weight. As Spirit Energy flooded them, the air around the heads hummed faintly, groaning under the strain.
"Brother Feng Ye, go now—or they'll collapse!" Lin Tang's urgent voice snapped him back. Nearby, Lin Chuan clutched his chest, struggling upright. He'd nearly laughed after landing that strike, but the recoil had winded him. His face was twisted in pained discomfort.
"Right. I'm on it." Feng Ye vanished from the spot under Lin Tang's stunned gaze. No matter how many times she witnessed it, his godlike Soulstep never failed to awe.
"Are all Awakened Association members such incompetent trash nowadays?" On a distant rooftop, a man in a white lab coat watched the battle below, hands in pockets, eyes dripping with disdain. He was the one who'd unleashed—and created—the monster.
"Even an A-Rank Chaos Beast synthesized from three B-Rank Beasts takes them this long to handle? Where are their high-tier forces?" the doctor grumbled. "How can such a weak organization force the mighty Black Soul Organization into hiding? It's infuriating."
"Doctor, your hybrid possesses A-Rank combat power—and its War Spirit essence absorbs energy," Meteor said, appearing behind him with two wine glasses. A flick of Spirit Energy popped a bottle's cork; he poured crimson wine into the crystal glasses. "Of course B-Rank Awakened can't win. As for high-tier forces—they're all chasing Overdeity task promotions. Too busy for nuisances like this." He handed a glass to the doctor with a smile. "But it benefits us. No interference. By the time we succeed, stopping us will be impossible."
"Hmph. Once I master synthesizing A-Rank Beasts, we'll harvest their evolution crystals," the doctor said, swirling his wine, eyes burning with fanaticism. "With this technology, I'll earn entry into the great Black Soul Organization."
At the name, Meteor's eyes flickered with wariness—and a trace of longing.
The Black Soul Organization operated in shadows, championing strength above all. Killing and strife were permitted. It was the Awakened Association's archenemy; any exposed member faced the highest-level manhunt.
"Possessing such power yet building order for mortals? Awakened should place themselves above commoners," the doctor sneered, watching the chaotic battle below. "We'll establish an era where strength dictates everything—mortals and weak Awakened sacrificed for the strong. Survival of the fittest, amplified manifold. These insects deserve elimination. Only that hypocritical Association shelters trash. Don't they know their true nature surfaces in the Overdeity world, beyond the Association's control?" He drained his glass. "Disgusting. Once the synthetic beast absorbs enough energy, Meteor, erase it and those bugs. Retrieve the crystal—I need it for phase two."
Meteor agreed without hesitation. He'd blame the Awakened's deaths on the monster later. "Activating Starfall will vaporize them all. No evidence for the Association to find," he thought coldly. His gentle-big-brother persona for fans was just that—a persona.
Just as both mentally sentenced the Awakened to death, the battle shifted.
Feng Ye charged in, stone hammers raised. He appeared directly above the head the shield-bearer had marked. One hammer swung down as the monster gathered acid in its open maw—
*Pop!*
Spirit Energy rippled violently with the shockwave. To everyone's utter shock, Feng Ye's hammer had blown the monster's head clean off!!!
