Inside the Xuanwu's medical bay, Tianyu lay quietly in the treatment pod, her face still pale. Baboo fluttered beside her, ears twitching as soft green energy flowed into her body.
"Baboo, baboo! Baboo!"
(The toxin is mostly cleared, but she still needs rest.)
Huo Linfei stood nearby, gaze fixed on the pink-haired girl in the pod—yet another blurred figure surfaced in his mind.
His consciousness was gradually slipping back from Huo Linfei's dominance… but the anger and raging Energion still churned inside him.
Leaning against the wall with arms crossed, Longjian looked grim.
"The Scorpion King can perform Superbeast Armament. If we keep fighting in our normal state, our odds are close to zero."
"Superbeast Armament…" Huo Linfei repeated under his breath. Of course he knew what that meant—another mode of Energion usage that could multiply combat strength severalfold.
"But the moment we attempt it, our Energion goes berserk…" Longjian's eyes turned to Huo Linfei. "Your condition is worse than mine. In that fight just now, your surge was already on the edge of losing control."
Huo Linfei didn't deny it. After unleashing 0.3 black holes of Energion, his body still ached faintly.
Miaotiaojun scratched his head. "So… uh… strategic retreat?"
"No."
Huo Linfei and Longjian spoke in unison, then exchanged a look.
"My master and senior brother were killed by the Scorpion King." Longjian's fist clenched tight, hatred spilling through his words. "I have to avenge them."
Huo Linfei didn't answer that. He turned to Miaotiaojun instead.
"We don't have much time. Hades is about to revive again. If we miss these seven days, then the next time the seven parallel universes link… we'll be waiting another 100,000 years."
"Ah… yeah, I guess that's true." Miaotiaojun spread his hands.
Huo Linfei's memories were quietly reshaping Huo Linfei's thoughts—beyond the rise in combat ability, a sense of mission was taking root in his chest.
"Still," Miaotiaojun said, "we can't just charge in and pray, can we?"
Huo Linfei closed his eyes, recalling the first time he tried Superbeast Armament—back when he faced the Doomsday Beast.
"Longjian… can you demonstrate your Cold Shadow Art again?"
Longjian frowned. "Now?"
"Yes. Now." Huo Linfei opened his eyes, steady and resolute.
"If our control isn't enough to stabilize Superbeast Armament… then we can use external force to suppress the runaway Energion."
In the Xuanwu's training room, Longjian stood opposite Huo Linfei, icy-blue Energion gathering in his palm.
"Attack with three parts, keep seven in reserve—my master's teaching, and the essence of Cold Shadow Art," Longjian explained. "I've never tried harmonizing different Energion attributes. Don't force yourself."
Huo Linfei nodded and extended his hand. "Let me feel it."
Longjian hesitated, then slowly pushed the Cold Shadow energy forward. The ice-blue glow shot out, and the room temperature plunged instantly.
Huo Linfei didn't dodge. He let it touch his palm.
A stabbing cold invaded his body. Pain made him tremble—but he gritted his teeth and endured, focusing on the energy's oscillation.
"So that's it… Cold Shadow runs the exact opposite way from Firecloud."
Firecloud Art was explosive—expanding, dispersing.
Cold Shadow Art was condensed—contracting, compressing.
If the two could be harmonized…
Huo Linfei closed his eyes and let his consciousness sink.
Darkness. Void. Like his coma—except now, he could see himself, standing over a tranquil water surface reflecting a sky full of stars.
To his left: blazing fire.
To his right: slowly forming ice crystals.
"If these two energies can coexist here peacefully… then the theory holds."
The water rippled.
Huo Linfei snapped his head up. A humanoid statue had appeared in the distance.
Black and white, slender and tall, its arms cradling two orbs—one blue, one orange. Its face was carved with balanced grooves, as if silently proclaiming some supreme truth.
"What is this?" Huo Linfei muttered. "Was this ever in the original story?"
The statue didn't respond. Yet Huo Linfei felt an inexplicable calm.
As if pulled by instinct, he walked toward it and reached out.
[Energion harmonization rate: 40%… 60%… 80%]
As the harmonization climbed, his consciousness seemed to break through a barrier. In a single instant, he "saw" an unfamiliar space—
A hunched figure floating there, surrounded by the sealed Lion King army.
The Primeval Space!
"Master Xuan Yizi?!" Huo Linfei blurted out.
Xuan Yizi slowly opened his eyes. His gaze pierced the void—and locked directly onto Huo Linfei.
"Huo Linfei… no. Should I call you Huo Linfei now?"
Huo Linfei's heart jolted. "You… you know I'm not Huo Linfei?"
Xuan Yizi smiled faintly. "Names are only labels. Who you are… is an answer you must find yourself."
"But I—"
"Right now, you carry a more urgent responsibility." Xuan Yizi cut him off.
"The mission of a Superbeast Warrior does not conflict with your conviction."
My… conviction…
Xuan Yizi's final words snapped Huo Linfei out of the mindspace.
He opened his eyes sharply. A short, compressed shockwave pushed outward—red and blue Energion spiraled around him.
"What did you do?" Longjian staggered back a step, eyes wide with disbelief.
Huo Linfei looked at the energies orbiting him and clenched his fists.
"I think… I found the key…"
[Superbeast Armament adaptability greatly increased]
[Current Energion peak: 0.5 black holes (can briefly sustain Superbeast Armament)]
Huo Linfei took a slow breath and looked to Longjian.
"Again. Let's try Superbeast Armament."
Longjian fell silent, then nodded. "Alright!"
They drew on their Energion together, flooding the training room with red and blue light.
"Superbeast Armament—Phantom Qilin Beast!"
"Superbeast Armament—Dragon Battle Beast!"
But just as the Superbeast projections were about to take form, the Energion surged violently again—and both armaments collapsed.
"Still not enough…" Longjian ground his teeth.
Huo Linfei smiled. "No. We're making progress. I can feel it—we're one step from breaking through."
He stared at his palm. Fire and frost still lingered, refusing to disperse.
"The last step we're missing—" he said quietly,
"—is balance."
Join here to read ahead.
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