Chapter 165: Growth
Chapter 165: Growth
"That is..."
Huyan Qiushui was startled as she witnessed a scarlet sun rising from within the pitch-black pyramid.
At the heart of this scarlet sun was a pinpoint of white light, radiating a captivating and scorching heat.
Just the sight of it seemed to set one's spirit ablaze, bringing pollution and extreme agony...
"It's another kin!"
"Damn... Did the Oddgod Spider control another lesser kin?"
"A humanoid kin?"
Although it was unclear why this Oddgod Spider had kept its strongest puppet hidden until now, many students' faces paled with despair.
Shwish!
Platinum-colored sword energy flashed, and the bodies of the Blue Sea Team members accompanying Xin Ruogu were instantly torn into pieces.
"So strong! Which race's kin is this? Why haven't I seen it in the bestiary?"
"There are too many kin of the Outer Evil Gods, and some of them are even fallen humans... Moreover, many like to interbreed, so even the top Evil God scholars may not be able to identify every kin's lineage."
"This kind of heat and burning pollution... Could it be a 'Burning Scion'? But I've never heard of a humanoid Burning Scion... Maybe it's a hybrid!"
As they watched the scarlet sun draw closer, despair filled everyone's faces.
With his current cultivation, Fang Xing's clone was undoubtedly a lesser kin, and with his mastery of the life-bound flying sword, his attacks were incredibly lethal.
Acting alone, it could slay the Oddgod Spider. Now, disguised as kin, its presence here only brought despair.
Boom!
The ground suddenly split open, and Fang Xing's main body rushed out. Three of his fingers glowed golden as they shot towards the Oddgod Spider.
In the sky, a brilliant light exploded, as if another sun had appeared.
It was Gu Jian Tong!
In this moment of peril, he and Fang Xing's main body made the most correct choice—to kill the Oddgod Spider!
If Fang Xing's clone was indeed a puppet of the Oddgod Spider, then killing the spider would eliminate the threat.
After all, the Oddgod Spider's puppets were made from corpses!
Once the manipulator died, the puppets would revert to mere corpses.
Rumble!
The already exhausted Oddgod Spider let out a pitiful howl as it faced this onslaught from both above and below.
"If you don't want to die, stop that Burning Scion!"
The remaining students howled and made their own choices, using their martial will to stimulate their nearly depleted qi and blood, charging towards Fang Xing's clone.
Pu!
A flash of light and shadow!
With the combined efforts of Fang Xing's main body and Gu Jian Tong, the Oddgod Spider let out its final howl as its massive head was severed.
"Haha... As expected of my eternal rival! You thought the same as me."
Gu Jian Tong slowly retracted his right hand, his eyes filled with battle intent: "Now that I've ventured outside too, after I comprehend the 'Manual of Myriad Spirits', we will definitely fight!"
"What's the point of saying that now?"
Fang Xing looked at his clone with 'concern', only to see the terrifying aura around it instantly dissipate, its face turning ashen, like a zombie. It fell from the sky, like the setting sun.
The terrifying flames that surrounded it erupted, burning those who tried to take advantage of the situation.
'Hmph, trying to take advantage of me too...', Fang Xing coldly hmphed in his mind.
With a cultivator's means, disguising oneself as a zombie was simple.
Upon realizing that the lower kin was the Oddgod Spider, Fang Xing's clone had a moment of inspiration and used a 'Corpse Transformation Talisman' to feign death, pretending to be a puppet controlled by the Oddgod Spider.
And when the Oddgod Spider died, the space shattered, and a fearsome void storm immediately blew up.
"Finally... it's over."
Seeing this, Song Jin'gang's vision darkened, and he collapsed.
...
Metal Castle.
Space Warehouse.
"Haha, I survived..."
"Wuuuu... They're dead, they're all dead..."
"Move aside, quickly! There are severely injured people here who need rescue..."
Silver light flashed, and a group of bloodied youths appeared, creating a chaotic scene.
As the doors opened, a group of nurses and doctors rushed in, evidently prepared for this.
Fang Xing glanced around, his heart secretly startled: "Out of over a hundred people who went in, only a few dozen returned... This casualty rate, it's a major accident, isn't it?"
He looked at Wu Tie and saw him standing in the mission hall, his face as gloomy as water. It seemed that the heavy casualties from this mission would result in some fallout.
However, Wu Tie maintained his calm: "Your mission merits will be distributed after the report review. Everyone can take a one-month vacation..."
For a multi-person mission, especially with people who didn't usually work together, distributing merits was a troublesome affair.
Moreover, Wu Tie was eager to learn about what had transpired during the Secret Realm War.
...
Three days later.
In the dormitory.
Fang Xing was reviewing the summary of the mission.
"As expected... it was identified as a Burning Scion?"
After reading a few pages, he found that according to the analysis, this 'Burning Scion' was likely a corpse that had originally existed in the Secret Realm.
It was just that the upper servant-level Oddgod Spider had been unable to utilize it before.
Only after it was promoted to a lower kin could it be used, but restoring the 'Burning Scion's' power would take some time, which was why it had only appeared at the end.
'Complete nonsense...'
Fang Xing secretly curled his lips. Still, the report he had submitted earlier was merely a modified account of his own experiences.
Even the most brilliant think tanks could only speculate about what had transpired based on these reports, and their speculations tended to veer further and further from the truth.
After all, that secret realm battlefield had been destroyed, erasing all traces of evidence.
"In the end, it will probably be left unresolved..."
"And this time, the heavy casualties were partly due to the commander's mishandling of the situation... Well, that's quite objective."
After finishing the report, Fang Xing walked out of the dormitory and suddenly sighed.
Gu Jian Tong, that 'cicada', had found his own path to promotion to the Outer Realm.
If Fang Xing's speculations were correct, the autumn winds would soon arrive.
"So desolate..."
He looked up at the starry sky of the universe, feeling a chill for some unknown reason.
If something were to happen this time, it wouldn't be as trivial as the Secret Realm War.
"The key is that this time, Xin Ruogu's actions confirmed that there is definitely someone targeting me behind the scenes... Just treat it as Wei Shentong, and if I'm wrong, then so be it... It's time to prepare to frame them or take the opportunity to assassinate them."
Although he and his clone together couldn't defeat a Great Golden King, there were quite a few powerful talismans and secret treasures in the cultivation world.
Of course, even he, as the true heir of the Sword Master, would find it challenging to access such items.
But it was worth a try.
In a situation where a Great Golden King-level cultivator was being targeted, and there was an entire faction backing them, one couldn't afford to leave any traces or clues.
Therefore, Fang Xing didn't even consider purchasing assassination weapons on the Main Universe black market, as that would be akin to delivering the evidence right to their doorstep.
'Assassination might be difficult, so it's better to just frame them honestly...'
'What a shame... In the end, I still want to personally cut down the enemy's head to exact a satisfying revenge.'
'Never mind, there might be another opportunity in the future!'
He walked out of the military camp, intending to use the vacation to investigate that great deceiver thoroughly.
Just then, Fang Xing saw a large gorilla walking out of the military camp.
"Little Song!"
He waved his hand.
"It's you..."
Song Jin'gang's eyes were dull, and he had dark circles under them; his entire being exuded an air of listlessness, as if he no longer cared about anything.
'Before, you used to call me 'boss', but now you've grown wings, huh!'
Fang Xing couldn't help but clench his fist, suddenly understanding: "You've got... a mental trauma?"
Previously, as the team's Main Tank, Song Jin'gang had taken a fatal blow for An Xing, and he himself had been penetrated by the attack, even suffering from pollution and toxins.
Physical injuries were easy to treat, but it seemed that there were still some after-effects.
This was a mental injury.
Just like Xia Long, he seemed fine on the surface, but it was actually a troublesome issue.
His strength had even been weakened because of it.
"It's nothing. This minor mental trauma doesn't affect my body at all... I plan to drop out and go back to work at the local security bureau in my hometown... With my current strength, I can easily coast through life..."
Song Jin'gang seemed to have lost all ambition.
'You shouldn't be saying that to me. Say it to your parents and your investors, and see if they'll beat the crap out of you!'
Fang Xing rolled his eyes inwardly: "By the way, didn't you exchange for a treatment opportunity in a Source Sea-level healing cabin?"
"I'm only a first-rate university, and I don't have that exchange option for my credits..."
Song Jin'gang glanced at Fang Xing: "I could use military merit, but I'm still a bit short... Forget it, I don't care anymore. It's fine to retire like this... I'll go back, find a wife, have a few kids, and live the rest of my life like that..."
'Actually, I think that's pretty good too. At least it's safe...'
Fang Xing scoffed inwardly.
But after thinking about Song Jin'gang's previous performance, he decided to give this little brother a helping hand.
"Come on... I'll take you to see a doctor!"
Compared to credits or military merit, it was naturally more cost-effective to see a doctor, even though that doctor was a bit unreliable...
"See a doctor?"
Song Jin'gang instinctively resisted the idea.
"Come on, or I'll beat you up!"
Fang Xing lifted Song Jin'gang up as if he were lifting a little chick.
He felt that Song Jin'gang's instinctive resistance had weakened a lot, as if he had become a listless salted fish.
Fang Xing walked to the Earth-Moon Elevator and sent a message to Gu Yun while he and Song Jin'gang were in the elevator.
When Fang Xing and Song Jin'gang exited the elevator, they saw a hovering sedan parked by the roadside.
The more mature-looking Gu Yun opened the car door, revealing a brilliant smile: "Senior, I'm here to pick you up!"
"Not bad. You even have a hovercar."
Fang Xing nodded.
On Blue Star, hovercars weren't a big deal; the impressive part was having the clearance to use them.
"It belongs to the bureau. I'm just temporarily borrowing it..."
Gu Yun smiled playfully, a stark contrast to the image of the plain and unremarkable little loli that Fang Xing had of her.
'Misuse of public property? That's fine, I guess...'
Fang Xing got into the hovercar with Song Jin'gang and gave the address: "Go to the Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital!"
"Okay."
Gu Yun didn't ask any further questions, and she even seemed somewhat familiar with this psychiatric hospital.
After all, the Prevention and Treatment Bureau was closely linked to the pollution of evil gods, and many seniors from the Faith Theory Department were frequent visitors to major psychiatric hospitals.
(End of Chapter)
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