Chapter 192 - 190: Blue Level, [Shadow Control]

Chapter 192: Chapter 190: Blue Level, [Shadow Control]

HUFF—HUFF—

The scorching air from Fu Juemin’s every breath dispersed the damp, cold stuffiness of the corridor.

On his arms, which were covered by [Copper Hide], orange light patterns glowed one after another beneath the dark red patina, desperately suppressing the terrifying, immense power erupting from the synergy of [Soft Bone] and [Meat Mountain] beneath his flesh.

Under the strain of this power, the Guardian Demon at the end of the long tongue, a mass saturated in viscous shadows, was being dragged out of the darkness, bit by bit.

The process made Fu Juemin feel like he was "playing a fish"—except, of course, that he was currently "playing" a genuine Demon!

As the Guardian Demon was fully exposed in the dim, dreary yellow light of the explosion-proof lamps, it suddenly gave up its "tug-of-war" with Fu Juemin. With a violent push of its four feet against the ground that kicked up a shockwave of air, it used the pulling force to its advantage, transforming into a streak of black lightning and lunging straight for Fu Juemin’s face.

Instead of being alarmed, Fu Juemin grinned. The fingers of the hands gripping the long tongue suddenly splayed open, shifting from a pull to a grab. He executed a [Moon Grasp], seizing the opportunity to snatch at the lunging Guardian Demon!

BANG—!

With a dull thud, as if he’d been hit head-on by a cannonball, Fu Juemin grunted and was thrown back two steps. The steel plate beneath his feet let out a piercing groan.

By the time he stabilized himself, his hands were already locked onto the Guardian Demon’s two lunging forelegs like iron pincers.

Now he was practically face-to-face with the Demon, half-embracing it.

And he finally got a clear look at the Demon’s full appearance—it was, indeed, a monstrously large and bizarrely shaped gecko.

Its entire body was covered in a smooth, dense, armor-like membrane resembling black jade. Light seemed to be absorbed directly into it, and an ink-like darkness flowed silently beneath its skin, a truly strange sight.

Its body was long and streamlined. Each of its four feet had five toes, and the tip of each toe sprouted a sharp, hook-like claw of black keratin.

With its forelegs pinned tightly by Fu Juemin’s hands, the Demon dug its two hind legs into his waist and abdomen, scraping against his [Copper Hide] with a series of shrill, unnerving screeches.

Perhaps realizing this couldn’t harm Fu Juemin, a cold glint flashed in the Guardian Demon’s icy vertical pupils. Suddenly, it violently swung its entire lower body forward!

Fu Juemin had been wary of its potential attacks and subconsciously twisted his waist, turning to the side and spreading his arms.

A black shadow silently brushed past his abdomen, vanishing into the thick steel-plated wall beside him as easily as a hot knife through butter.

Fu Juemin’s eyes narrowed. He saw that it was a tail, composed of overlapping bone plates, segmented like a bamboo whip. It seemed able to retract and extend at will, and its black color was so pure and transparent that it was nearly impossible to discern when blended with the darkness, unless it revealed itself.

HISS—!

Having failed two consecutive attacks, the wide-mouthed Guardian Demon let out an enraged hiss at Fu Juemin.

Fu Juemin’s expression didn’t change. The muscles on his arms bulged as he suddenly put his strength into a mighty swing—

BOOM!

The Guardian Demon, which was the size of a grown man, was brutally thrown by Fu Juemin like a cannonball. It slammed into a nearby metal wall, embedding itself and creating a deep crater. The impact shook the steel plates overhead, causing rivets to pop out and fly off.

Before the Guardian Demon could recover, Fu Juemin was on it again.

His palms, covered by the Snake Scale Gloves, tore through the air like two massive, sharp daggers. With the full force of his immense strength, he plunged them viciously into the crater in the wall!

BOOM—CRASH! BANG—!

The Guardian Demon’s long tongue was still wrapped around his arms. As long as it didn’t break, the demon could not completely escape his grasp.

The Guardian Demon was now like a yo-yo in Fu Juemin’s hands, something for him to play with. It was repeatedly smashed against the surrounding steel walls by his frenzied assault. When he felt the time was right, Fu Juemin took a deep breath.

The Snake Phase Poison Seed in his chest dispersed, channeling the Soul Seed Force of the Black-Scaled Snake Demon into his body.

Wisps of Qi began to steam from the surface of his skin. With a calm expression, Fu Juemin gave the long tongue in his hands a gentle tug. The Guardian Demon, already beaten senseless, was helplessly pulled toward him.

Fu Juemin took a step forward. His two thick arms shot out like great pythons, precisely "biting" into the Guardian Demon’s body before suddenly exerting force—coiling and crushing!

[Wuling Column]!

This was a move derived from "Coiling Dragon," one of the three ultimate killing moves of the "Eight Extremes Bone Forging Skill". It was also the first time Fu Juemin had used it while in his Demon Body state, infused with the Demon Soul.

The instant he executed it, the killing move seemed to undergo some wondrous sublimation.

Where Fu Juemin’s arms wrapped around, the surrounding light seemed to be distorted and absorbed by an unseen force. This formed two swirling, snake-like shadows as thick as living things, which instantly "swallowed" the Guardian Demon whole.

CRACK-CRACKLE—!

A series of crisp, dense cracks erupted, like the sound of priceless porcelain being ground to dust inch by inch.

When the noise stopped, Fu Juemin released his arms. The Guardian Demon, now bent into a bizarre, unnatural shape, flopped limply to the ground like a broken sack.

Fu Juemin stood beside the Guardian Demon, watching as its vertical, slit-like pupils gradually lost focus and their light dimmed... At the same time, an invisible and majestic energy began to pour ceaselessly into his body.

Fu Juemin took a deep breath, slowly exiting his [Demon Body] state. Then, he called up his character panel.

He watched as the golden, amber-colored energy in the Skill Energy Slot on the panel filled up completely once, causing a golden "+" to light up on the Cultivation Technique tab. The energy then surged again, reaching two-thirds of the way to full before finally stopping.

All told, this Guardian Demon had provided him with a little over one full measure of Skill Point Energy, which wasn’t bad at all.

However, Fu Juemin’s attention was now mostly captivated by the Talent Bar at the bottom.

He stared at the words gradually materializing behind the Talent Bar, his eyes brightening bit by bit. The newly revealed Talent was named—[Shadow Control]!

And the colored light that formed the two words of the Talent’s name was different from the pure white he’d seen before. Within the bright white base, strands of a crystal-clear, light blue now flowed.

Clearly, the grade of this Talent Ability was a cut above any of the Talents he had previously obtained!

’Looks like a Talent’s grade isn’t directly tied to a Demon Fiend’s power level.’

’An average Demon Fiend might "drop" a high-grade Talent, and conversely, it’s not impossible for a powerful Demon Fiend to yield a low-grade one...’

Fu Juemin thought to himself. The reward of this unprecedented "Blue Level" Talent Ability alone made it worth the risk of infiltrating Luo Zhengxiong’s lair in the Jianghai Defense Command.

He was about to test the effects of his new Talent, [Shadow Control]. Based on the name alone, Fu Juemin felt this Talent was more than just a simple "Hiding in the Shadow." The Guardian Demon he’d just killed was clearly "immature"—at least in terms of caution and cunning, it was far inferior to the water monkey that had chased him all the way from the Luan River to Shenghai.

The moment it was "bullied" a little, it immediately tried to retaliate. Faced with an opponent far stronger than itself, it refused to flee in time even when it knew it was outmatched. It was just like an immature "child."

Of course, if it hadn’t been like that, Fu Juemin wouldn’t have been able to finish it off so easily.

Just then—

SWOOSH—

An ear-splitting sound of something tearing through the air erupted in front of Fu Juemin without any warning!

He instinctively moved his feet, and a vicious gust of wind grazed past his body at high speed.

Immediately after, a dull THUNK of metal embedding into something solid exploded behind him.

Fu Juemin followed the sound with his eyes. A ferocious, basin-sized bladed wheel, its edge lined with rusted, sharp teeth, was deeply embedded in the steel-plated wall behind him.

The bladed wheel was still spinning at high speed, cutting into the steel and sending out a shower of blinding sparks amidst a scalp-numbing, shrill grinding noise.

With such a terrifying attack, an ordinary person who failed to react in time would have been sliced in half at the waist.

Fu Juemin raised an eyebrow and slowly turned his head.

Only then did he discover them. All around him—front, back, left, and right, as far as the eye could see—misshapen figures of all kinds were stepping out from the shadows. Trudging through the murky puddles on the ground with a PADDA, PADDA sound, they closed in on him step by step.

Within his Demon Soul Perception, he could feel that the chaotic and motley Demon Fiend auras in this underground space, which had previously been dormant, had now been thoroughly roused and awakened.

Through hidden tunnels unknown to him, they were now converging on him from all directions, one after another.

"I almost forgot about you lot. But..."

Fu Juemin considered for a moment. The sound of massive mechanisms turning echoed around him as a tyrannical and ferocious aura spread out. He entered the [Demon Body] state once again.

"Perfect timing."

Fu Juemin briefly checked the vortex of Innate Primordial Qi inside him, sensing it was only about half-full. He muttered to himself, "I need to hurry. In that case... I’ll make this quick."

With that, he cracked his neck with a deadpan expression and strode forward to meet the two nearest distorted figures.