Shackles of Humanity

Long, narrow fissures split open the ground. The sound of collapsing buildings was incessant, interspersed with countless screams as people either fell into the bottomless crevices or were buried by the wreckage.

Luo Kai darted through the innumerable collapsing structures, clutching the two girls. In the face of such might from Heaven and Earth, all he could do was protect himself.

The violent earthquake lasted for five or six minutes. Though brief, it had already reduced the entire city to ruins. As the tremors subsided, Luo Kai slowed down, coming to a stop on a patch of ground that was still relatively level. The two girls in his arms stared blankly at the dust-choked city before them, unable to process what had just happened.

Even Luo Kai, who was accustomed to disaster, found it difficult to calm his thoughts. A gray mist, thick as clouds and invisible to ordinary people, hung over the city—it was Evil Energy, formed from the despair and agony of the dying. He tried his best not to commune with this Energy, tucking his backpack under his arm and preparing to take the two girls away.

Just then, an extremely intense tremor surged from the depths of his heart. Anxiety, panic, and unease flooded his body and mind. The hair all over his body stood on end, and his chest heaved violently like an engine. His qi and blood surged uncontrollably to their peak as his body rapidly expanded, shredding his clothes to pieces and transforming him into a four-meter-tall giant.

A piercing cry, like that of a chicken or a goose, rang out. The sound was so immense it shook Heaven and Earth, even scattering the dust and smoke in the sky.

Luo Kai’s legs gave way, and he involuntarily dropped to one knee. He felt a powerful pressure bearing down on his Mind Spirit and his will. Under this pressure, he was like a lamb to the slaughter, completely powerless to resist.

The immense pressure blanketed the entire city, stirring an indescribable tremor deep in the hearts of all Living Creatures. The surviving humans all prostrated themselves on the ground. Those with weaker wills fainted outright. It wasn’t just humans; even the plants seemed to shrink, their branches trembling in fear.

Luo Kai subconsciously looked up. A colossal shadow had appeared in the sky. It was a monstrously large bird whose spread wings nearly blotted out the sun. It had two pairs of sharp talons, and a large tuft of long feathers on its head formed a phoenix-like crest, which burned with fire.

The monster bird’s enormous, phoenix-like eyes looked down without a trace of emotion, as if gazing upon a colony of ants.

The two girls beside him were the first to succumb to the pressure, fainting with a muffled groan. The entire city fell into a deathly silence; few people were still conscious.

Luo Kai surged his qi and blood with all his might and slowly rose to his feet. His Spiritual Will radiated from his body, shielding the two girls behind him. He slid his blade across his palm, and a trickle of pitch-black blood coated the Severing Blade. The Curved Long Saber immediately erupted with raging Black Flame. The dense Evil Energy in the surroundings swarmed toward it, fueling the Black Flame’s growth until, in an instant, it was as if he were holding a giant torch.

His expression grim, he stared at the monster in the sky. The strange bird appeared invincible; he had no choice but to unleash his full power.

At the same time, Su Chengbo was also standing on the ruins of a manor, a shimmering silver Longsword in his hand. His body radiated a Zi Re white light, like a small, rising sun.

The giant bird seemed to notice them and looked toward the two men. A flicker of mockery crossed its magnificent, phoenix-like eyes. It let out another piercing shriek, and the ground beneath the city began to churn again. A low roar, like that of an ox or a tiger, echoed from below in response.

Luo Kai’s expression changed drastically. ’There’s another Fierce Beast underground!’

Su Chengbo’s somewhat hoarse voice reached his ears. ”Two Complete Form Fierce Beasts! Run!”

In an instant, Luo Kai extinguished any thought of fighting. He scooped up the two small girls beside him and shot forward.

The strange bird in the sky gently flapped its wings, and an invisible shockwave pushed the surrounding clouds away. Wisps of flame coalesced out of thin air beneath its wings. With a single beat, a world-consuming inferno swept toward him.

The scorching flames reached him in an instant, and Luo Kai’s hair immediately began to curl. The blaze covered a two-kilometer radius around him, leaving him with nowhere to run.

With a mere thought, Luo Kai rapidly formed globes of water in the air, but they were instantly evaporated by the high temperature. Among the Five Elements, water overcomes fire, but only if the quantity of water is large enough and its intensity is greater. The flames controlled by the Complete Form Fierce Beast were several times hotter than ordinary fire. They burned a bluish-purple, hot enough to show signs of melting steel rebar and stone. It was far beyond what normal water could extinguish.

Luo Kai activated the Essence of Water stored in his kidneys and spat out a spray of sparkling water. It finally doused a section of the overhead flames, creating an opening. He shot through it just before the fiery sea could engulf him, leaping onto a collapsed high-rise building.

Meanwhile, Su Chengbo was dodging the pursuit of an enormous, spherical Fierce Beast covered in mud and rock. Before the colossal monster behind him, he looked like a tiny, hopping grasshopper.

This Fierce Beast could control the earth. A web of fissures spread out in Su Chengbo’s path, leaving him almost no solid ground to stand on, while a torrent of debris from countless wrecked buildings flowed close behind him like a mudslide.

Before the Complete Form Fierce Beasts, the two of them were utterly powerless to resist and could only flee for their lives.

Luo Kai’s running speed was naturally quite fast, but he couldn’t compare to a Flying Fierce Beast soaring through the sky. The creature’s body blotted out the sun; it only needed to gently flap its wings to appear right over his head. Just as he broke out of the ring of fire, a new surge of flames once again surrounded him.

He had to constantly activate his Essence of Water, both to protect himself and the two little girls from the scorching heat and to punch an opening through the inferno ahead. Soon, he could feel the Essence of Water stored in his body was about to be completely depleted.

Only after running out of Longyang City did Luo Kai realize that there wasn’t a single trace of the earthquake in the surrounding area. The violent tremor had been confined entirely within the city. Without a doubt, the earthquake had been caused by the Fierce Beasts. A chill ran down his spine. ’Faced with Fierce Beasts that can command the Heaven and Earth’s Great Power, how are humans supposed to fight back?’

The intense heat bore down from above again, but he had no more Essence of Water to call upon. The immediate crisis left no room for other thoughts. He took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and pulled the two unconscious girls tightly into his arms. ’Now, I can only use my own body to resist the flames!’

Just as he bent down, he saw the small leather pouch at his waist and suddenly had an idea. He hastily opened the pouch and shook it out. A light-red, wing-thin membrane unfurled and covered them. As the surrounding flames drew near, they suddenly deflected outward, unable to touch them.

Luo Kai’s eyes lit up. ’The Insect Mother’s Insect Pupa actually works! This thing doesn’t just deflect physical attacks, it can even deflect Energy!’

Wherever he went, all the flames veered away. However, while the flames couldn’t burn them, the intense heat was unavoidable. His skin immediately began to blacken. Fortunately, this wasn’t the first time he’d been burned; his body’s resistance to fire had been strengthened considerably, so this level of heat was nothing to him.

Relying on the protection of the Insect Mother’s Insect Pupa, Luo Kai broke through the ring of fire. Ahead, the Nili Long River was faintly visible.