Chapter 25: The Demonic Form
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“I know my own body, don’t I?”
“You’ve been saying that all along. Hurry up. Today, you’re listening to me.”
The argument came from the warehouse entrance. Shen Zhihong pulled Chen Xianyun toward Li Ye.
Old Chen awkwardly picked up a Blood Crystal Marrow and asked bluntly, “How do I use this thing?”
It took Li Ye an immense effort to explain it clearly to Chen Xianyun. Setting aside the strength of his God-Chosen Ability, Li Ye could not help but worry when it came to the old man’s comprehension.
When Chen Xianyun assumed a stance, Shen Zhihong immediately retreated behind Li Ye.
“I won’t believe it until this old man makes some earth-shaking commotion.”
As it turned out, Staff Officer Shen’s prediction was correct.
Chen Xianyun stood in the empty space inside the warehouse. Less than five breaths after he closed his eyes, the Blood Crystal Marrow in his hand turned to ash.
“She really is like a tigress that’s been starving for half her life.”
As he complained, Li Ye swung his right arm, sending great swathes of Blood Crystal Marrow before the Legion Commander.
That space seemed to have formed some kind of domain. The small amount of Blood Crystal Marrow entering it was utterly insufficient.
Li Ye’s expression darkened. Although he could have guessed how difficult awakening the Demon Body would be, the amount being devoured was no different from a Taotie to them at present.
He recalled the Blood Crystal Marrow still hovering in the air and called a halt to the awakening.
Sensing the silence around him, Chen Xianyun opened his eyes again and looked at Li Ye and Shen Zhihong in confusion.
“Your ability is too special. Inferior Blood Crystal Marrow can’t do much for you.”
Chen Xianyun nodded as though he understood. He could indeed feel that the power just now had repaired his body a little.
Of course, it had truly been only a little—roughly the size of a single finger.
Shen Zhihong asked in bewilderment, “Inferior Blood Crystal Marrow? Are you saying that what we worked so hard to hunt down is only inferior quality?”
“Don’t get agitated. It’s perfectly normal for the first batch to be inferior. Haven’t you heard of Wen Erda’s theory?”
Shen Zhihong’s expression did not change. He stared silently at Li Ye, as though saying without words: Let’s see what nonsense you can come up with.
“Ahem.” Li Ye coughed twice and continued, “If we kill the zombies that produce inferior Blood Crystal Marrow, then won’t the next batch they breed be First-Tier Blood Crystal Marrow?”
Shen Zhihong said faintly, “Are you talking about Darwin’s theory of natural selection?”
“All right, all right. I wasn’t making anything up. Once we clear out the inferior Blood Crystal Marrow, First-Tier Blood Crystal Marrow will appear much more quickly. For all we know, some may already exist in the city.”
“Are you saying the difficulty of awakening has nothing to do with the quality of the Blood Crystal Marrow?”
Li Ye smiled and waved his hand as he looked at Chen Xianyun, who stood motionless nearby.
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“My guess is that only the Legion Commander needs higher-tier crystal marrow because his God-Chosen Ability is too unusual. As for everyone else, their abilities will be stimulated as soon as they find even the smallest outlet, so inferior crystal marrow should be sufficient.”
Shen Zhihong fell into thought.
“All right, all right. I’m going to find Yu Chen. Just call over the soldiers who might be able to awaken. As for the seventy percent we agreed on... we’ll leave that for next time.”
Li Ye did not give Shen Zhihong any chance to object. He simply jogged out of the warehouse.
After a long silence, Chen Xianyun spoke again. “Zhihong, that boy is genuinely a little sinister.”
Shen Zhihong nodded with a bitter smile. “If that boy dared act so recklessly in the Nether Capital or the Southern Imperial War Zone, he would have been shot dead long ago.”
“Hmph. That’s because they lack foresight—a bunch of short-sighted fools.”
“I wonder who it was that cursed me for handing over command?”
“Ahem. I was only thinking of the interests of our enormous military region.”
The two men who truly held power in the Eastern Nether War Zone stared at each other for a while before Shen Zhihong spoke again.
“How is your body... now?”
Chen Xianyun shook out his legs, then instinctively lowered his center of gravity and settled his hips. With a stomp as powerful as thunder racing across the heavens, he struck the warehouse floor.
Cracks like a spiderweb appeared across the hard tiles in the blink of an eye.
“I’ve recovered some of my strength. Not much, but enough.”
If Li Ye had witnessed this scene, he would have been too stunned to speak. There was only one possibility for someone to possess such destructive power through the body alone.
The Legion Commander of the Eastern Nether Military Region had actually awakened the Demon Body long ago!
...
...
Xiushui was Jiangning’s largest regional river. It flowed from beyond the northeastern outskirts toward the southwest, passing through thirteen streets in the city before winding around Lingshow Mountain on the western outskirts and leaving the city.
Jiangning’s old district was concentrated mainly in the southern part of the city, right beside Xiushui.
Evening was approaching. The influence of the crimson mist had grown more pronounced, and darkness so thick that one could not see one’s own hand had enveloped the area.
In the old district, beside Xiushui, a group of people walked along the riverbank. A warm globe of candlelight floated in midair before them.
“Little Qi, you’re sure you haven’t forgotten where Yu Chen lives, right?”
Suo Hao huddled in the middle of the group, nervously peering into the darkness around them.
“Mm. I couldn’t have forgotten.”
The young boy walked at the front of the group, steadily leading everyone onward.
“Sigh. Yezi, why are you so certain that Yu Chen will come looking for his daughter? And why do we have to come find him in the middle of the night?”
Li Ye said nothing. Lu Xuening, however, could no longer stand listening.
“Do you not trust Little Ye and Little Qi’s powers of observation and judgment?”
“And you’ve been through life-and-death battles yourself. How are you still afraid of the dark like a child? Look at how brave Little Qi is.”
“Damn it, how can I compare myself to a freak like him?”
Suo Hao was about to continue arguing indignantly when a hand suddenly settled on his shoulder.
His body shuddered three times in an instant.
“Shh!”
It was Li Ye. Suo Hao, frightened out of his wits, could only glare at him resentfully.
Li Ye ignored him. He walked to the others, waved to dim the candlelight, and explained in a lowered voice, “There are people ahead.”
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Most of the buildings in Jiangning’s old district were brick-and-timber structures. The one before them was no exception: a two-story house with the traditional gabled roof of the Summer Kingdom.
Faint light from the second floor filtered through the scarlet mist in scattered fragments, making the building appear even more sinister and terrifying.
Li Ye looked at Little Qi questioningly. The boy nodded.
Clearly, the house before them was Uncle Chen’s home.
Noisy voices came from the second floor. Because the crimson mist blocked the sound, only Li Ye could hear them clearly.
It seemed to be a man and a woman arguing.
“What gives you the right to hit her? She’s only a child!”
“Hmph. Have you forgotten that her father is an ability user? If we don’t threaten him a little, do you think he’ll obediently go find food for us?”
“Besides, wasn’t the food his daughter ate a few days ago provided by us? What’s wrong with making her father go out and help us now?”
“But what about that woman? How dare you kill her? What happened to you? How did you become like this?”
“Are you trying to tell me how to do things?”
“Bang, bang... thud, thud...”
Another burst of violent crashing rang out. It lasted only a moment before the heart-wrenching cries of a young girl echoed from above.
Li Ye took the lead and immediately sprinted upstairs. Though the other four did not know what was happening, they hurried after him out of trust in Li Ye.