Chapter 644: Bizarre Trait (Part 2)

RUMBLE…

The once-clear sky was suddenly blanketed by dark clouds, filled with flashing lightning and roaring thunder.

Egg Pancake soared into the sky, settling among the clouds to bathe in the purple thunderbolts.

Its aura climbed steadily, showing all the signs of a breakthrough to the Lord Level.

The All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm on the other side was no less impressive.

It had completely pulverized Han Ge into a bloody pulp, and a dense black mist now enveloped it.

Behind it, a massive, blood-red heart materialized, beating relentlessly.

THUMP… THUMP… THUMP…

The rhythmic sound of the heartbeat echoed across the land, a counterpoint to the roaring thunder in the sky.

Compared to the two powerhouses, Frost Jade’s breakthrough was far more subtle, merely advancing from Awakening to Extraordinary III.

Before anyone realized it, the dark clouds had spread to cover the entire sky above Ludao City.

Every Extraordinary Being in Ludao turned their gaze toward the heavens in unison.

In a plain, unadorned office somewhere in the city district.

A tall, middle-aged man stared at the roaring thunder in the sky, his brow deeply furrowed.

‘This suffocating pressure… Is a Demigod fighting?’

CLICK!

The door was suddenly thrown open.

A man in a uniform strode in, his face tense and his tone urgent.

“Chief, we’ve detected an incredibly strong anomalous Energy reaction. We suspect a Tier Five or higher Demigod is releasing Extraordinary Power.”

He licked his lips and added in a low voice, “And there’s more than one.”

“Activate the city’s defensive barrier! Dispatch all on-duty personnel to the periphery of the high-Energy reaction to survey the vicinity.”

“Yes, sir!”

Ludao University.

Xie Mingke, who had just finished a class and was about to head back to her office, gazed at the shattering thunderbolts in the sky, her expression tense.

For some reason, she had an ominous feeling that the world was about to end.

Just then, her phone rang.

“Yes… Yes, I understand!” Her expression shifted, and she nodded quickly.

「In the mountains.」

Han Ning’s gaze swept over the foot of the mountain. A scan with his Spiritual Power revealed at least a hundred life forms, all emitting Spiritual Energy fluctuations of varying intensity, rushing in their direction.

‘This commotion is a little bigger than I expected.’

But it couldn’t be helped. When a Soul Beast broke through from the War General to the Lord level, it was a fundamental leap in its very existence. The disturbance was bound to be enormous.

When Egg Pancake broke through to the Lord level, the commotion had been even greater than this.

“ROAR!”

A clear dragon’s cry tore through the heavens, echoing over the entire city.

WHOOSH—

A torrential downpour descended from the sky, instantly shrouding the entire city in a blurry curtain of water.

Below, the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm was completely enveloped in inky Darkness.

The shadow of a dark owl it had formed expanded continuously, until it loomed over half the sky like a Demon God descending upon the world to blot out the land.

Now, not only was the sky filled with dark clouds, but even the sun above them was blotted out.

All light within a hundred-kilometer radius was absorbed by the colossal black shadow of the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm.

Natural light, artificial light, even bioluminescence—all was devoured by the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm.

The Ludao City District, including the surrounding towns and countryside, was plunged into a terrifying darkness so complete you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Pedestrians on the streets fell into chaos, completely soaked by the downpour and blinded by the pitch-black darkness.

A sense of terror and despair spread like wildfire.

“What’s happening? Is this a solar eclipse?”

“This extreme weather… it feels like the end of the world.”

“This is terrifying.”

“Mommy, I’m scared!”

“AHH!!”

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The sharp blare of car horns rose and fell in a chaotic symphony.

‘This pressure is just too strong!!’

The muscles on the middle-aged man’s back tore open as a pair of massive, fleshy wings emerged, holding him aloft in mid-air more than ten kilometers from Han Ning.

‘There’s no other way. I’ll have to borrow the power of Mazu.’

He gritted his teeth. Instead of pressing forward, he flew toward the coastline, toward a massive statue built on an island just offshore.

Sonic booms rippled through the air in his wake.

Leaving a trail of afterimages, he flew to the base of a 200-meter-tall statue of a white goddess.

THUD.

The chief of the Foreign Affairs Team fell to his knees. He took out a pair of divination blocks, tossed them to the ground, and spoke with a pious expression.

“Monsters bring chaos to the world. I beseech the Celestial Consort to descend with her Divine Power and protect our lands.”

Suddenly, a gleam of divine light flashed in the statue’s eyes.

Surging, milky-white smoke seeped out of the void and poured into the middle-aged man’s Body.

His eyes were shut tight as his entire being was enveloped by a strange Power. Countless streams of milky-white smoke wove together above him, forming the silhouette of a Divine Being over 200 meters tall.

The Divine Being gazed in Han Ning’s direction, extended a massive arm, and swept it through the air.

SWOOSH—

The Darkness covering half the sky was driven away, the dark clouds were scattered, and bright sunlight once again shone upon the city.

The world returned to its former tranquility.

‘What is that, interfering with our breakthrough?!’

Han Ning frowned, his gaze sweeping into the distance.

At the edge of his vision, a female figure materialized, facing him from afar.

“Egg Pancake, Little Fatty Silkworm, drive it away and finish absorbing the remaining Energy.”

“Just disperse it. Don’t harm any innocent people.”

“ROAR!!” “COO…”

At Han Ning’s command, Egg Pancake poked its head out from its hiding place among the clouds.

Now hundreds of meters tall, the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm had transformed into a behemoth of Darkness. Its head resolved into two deep vortexes that turned toward the distant figure.

BOOM!!

Instantly, a rift tore open in the sky.

An endless barrage of icicles rained down, seeking to obliterate the Divine Being.

The All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s vortex-like eyes spun faster.

RUMBLE!

In the sky above the Divine Being, a monstrous talon materialized and slammed down.

The two near-Lord Level attacks instantly dispersed the Divine Being.

The world was once again plunged into despairing blackness.

SPURT!!

The milky-white smoke vanished. The middle-aged man spat out a large mouthful of foul blood, his expression drained.

He rolled onto his back and stared blankly at the sky, muttering to himself, “Is Ludao… really done for?”

Just then, on a distant mountain peak, an ethereal silhouette of a Venerable Emperor arose, constructed entirely from incandescent Starlight.

It held a Jade Ruyi, and dark red arcs of electricity flickered around its form.

A blue Flood Dragon, so immense it seemed to connect heaven and earth and wreathed in brilliant thunderbolts, coiled and spun around Him at high speed.

A terrifying, monstrous black shadow, its edges outlined with a faint, ethereal purple glow, stood at the Venerable Emperor’s side.

A chilling Spiritual Suppression that dominated the heavens and the earth swept through the minds of every Extraordinary Being:

“I have no intention of destroying the city or harming a single soul. I am merely passing through. There is no need for such a mobilization. Grant me a few more minutes, and I will depart on my own.”

The pressure vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

By the time the Extraordinary Beings came to their senses, the phantoms of the Venerable Emperor and the Divine Being were gone.

Aside from the lingering, despairing Darkness, it was as if the apparitions had been nothing but a figment of their imagination.

“Cough, cough…”

In the woods, Han Ning bent over and coughed violently, his face turning pale.

Forcibly channeling his Spiritual Power to summon the image of Emperor Gouchen had been an act of desperation.

If he hadn’t sent that message, he was afraid they would have called in some expert to annihilate him and his Soul Beasts one by one.

It wasn’t that he wanted to show off; he just needed to inform all the Extraordinary Beings that he meant no harm.

With his current Spiritual Power, he couldn’t send a mental message to every Extraordinary Being in the city.

So, he had to resort to this crude method.

Fortunately, the approaching Extraordinary Beings seemed to have heeded his words.

Within his Spiritual Sense, he could feel that the Energy fluctuations were no longer drawing closer; instead, they were observing from a safe distance.

Egg Pancake’s and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s breakthroughs were nearing their end.

The boundless dark clouds converged, and endless bolts of lightning gathered on Egg Pancake’s body, tempering its scales and turning them a noble, pale purple.

The All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s wings had at least tripled in size, and the musculature on its back now bore a pattern resembling a demonic face.

Its wings were now so vast they resembled clouds hanging from the heavens.

Han Ning hadn’t been lying.

About five minutes later, first, the Darkness vanished.

Then, the dark clouds scattered.

Bright sunlight streamed down.

Ludao City had returned to its former tranquility.

Aside from the puddles dotting the streets and the wrecked cars scattered everywhere, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

The middle-aged man leaning against the statue and all the field personnel of the Foreign Affairs Team let out a long sigh of relief.

Only Xie Mingke, sitting in her car, stared with a puzzled expression at the spot where the Divine Being had vanished.

For some reason, that terrifying and domineering Spiritual Power had felt strangely familiar.

‘It couldn’t be him, could it?’

A figure surfaced in Xie Mingke’s mind, and her expression became a mixture of shock and disbelief.