Breaking Out of the Cocoon, the Underground Arena
"Crack, crack—crack, crack—"
A gigantic egg stood in the dark, empty space of the secret realm.
Fine cracks spread beneath its armored scales, making a creaking sound like an old door being pushed open, setting one's teeth on edge and sending chills down one's spine.
"Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack—"
The sounds echoed through the space with increasing frequency, and the blood-red patterns that had dimmed now boiled like magma.
The outer scales fell away layer by layer as a web of cracks spread across the entire giant cocoon.
"Bang!"
Something broke through the shell. Then came a succession of cracking sounds, marking the end of a stage of Metamorphosis.
A "human" figure appeared amid the fragments covering the ground. As he stretched his limbs, more mutated, twisted appendages extended and swayed with them.
The shadows swept across the debris on the ground, which strangely vanished.
The mutated appendages continued to writhe and change, still undergoing their final specialization and enhancement. But the cocoon's energy was already insufficient, so they began absorbing the Psychic Energy remaining in the space.
Lou Shisui had not expected that, by absorbing a large quantity of Awakening Stones, his talent awakening would break through the shackles of his race and carry him into a new tier.
As a result, the amount of Psychic Energy consumed was much greater than expected.
When he sensed that the Psychic Energy inside the biological cocoon had been exhausted, he decisively chose to break out of it himself, expanding the range over which he absorbed external Psychic Energy to sustain the growth and development of his predatory organs.
Not enough! The energy supplied by the secret realm was still too thin!
More than halfway through his evolution, Lou Shisui was now a higher life-form, and the energy he needed to draw in was increasing exponentially.
A familiar hunger engulfed him, fiercer and more overwhelming than ever before!
So hungry. So hungry! So hungry!! So hungry!!!
"Bang!"
The flowing Kagune abruptly surged outward, and the force unleashed in an instant tore the space apart!
Chaotic, violent spatial energy gushed out and scattered into the secret realm like shards of glass, only to be devoured completely by the starving Ghoul.
The area of destruction expanded rapidly. The small secret realm's ability to repair itself gradually failed to keep pace with Shisui's consumption, and hurricane-like turbulence began to appear in the space.
Whoosh!
Two pairs of Ukaku spread wide in the storm, blotting out the sky and sun. The relatively soft Owl Wings dissipated the force that came crashing toward them, while the hard, sharp Steel Feathers were lifted by the smoothed-out winds.
The Ukaku, desperately short of nutrients, swallowed the spatial energy. Their chaotic, pitch-black wings took on the deep purple of the spatial attribute, with points of starlight scattered across the dark feathers.
The Ukaku absorbed and converted the violent energy pouring from the cracks in the secret realm. As they grew rapidly, they distributed the abundant Psychic Energy they had converted to the other Kagune.
An exoskeleton formed from Koukaku protected Shisui's body. Eight Bikaku, steadily evolving, quickly propped up the teetering secret realm, providing a relatively stable environment for the Ukaku to absorb energy.
Behind his waist, the Rinkaku Scorpion Tail, known for its high attack power and regeneration speed, stabbed into the ground of the secret realm.
Metamorphosis strengthened the Rc Cells and their bonds, compensating for the Rinkaku's vulnerability to damage and providing a solid anchor for his plundering ability.
Lou Shisui controlled the energy flooding into his body with all his might, relying on his willpower to reshape his body in an orderly manner.
The spatial attribute was one of the highest-tier attributes. Its power also meant it was difficult to control, and it could very easily overwrite a living being's original attributes.
Lou Shisui had no intention of replacing the old with the new. Since all these attributes had come to him, it was naturally best to keep them all!
Time passed slowly as the Kagune were reshaped. Presumably, it would still be a long time before the process was complete.
The violent spatial disturbances were barely contained within the secret realm. Even the valley where its entrance and exit lay was calm now.
Leaving the valley and heading toward the Spirit Resonance River, through the outskirts of the rainforest, we returned our attention to the border between the two races.
This place lay on the boundary between Human Race and Beastfolk territory. It was both Meifeng County of the Human Race's Yin City and the riverside region of the Beastfolk's Spirit Resonance Rainforest. As a result, jurisdiction was unclear, and all sorts of people mingled there.
Those who traveled through the area frequently included not only ordinary people and merchants of both races, but also spies, assassins, and criminals.
A buffer zone like this naturally had no shortage of disreputable but highly profitable gray-market businesses.
And among the many gray-market businesses, the most profitable was undoubtedly the underground arena.
Once inside the fighting cage, race no longer mattered. There was only life and death.
The blood-pumping fighting cages were scattered throughout the city. Outside the cages were gamblers and spectators who seemed to have gone mad; inside, contestants fought with all their might.
The underground arena was a stage where life was held in contempt and the strong were supreme, a byword for disorder and chaos, and a ladder to the heavens where talent could best be displayed.
"Bang!"
"Damn it! Number three, fight back!"
"Fight back, my ass. I heard number three's skull crack from that last punch."
"Fuck, it was bad enough that this dumbass speed type signed up for a hand-to-hand match, but someone actually dared to bet on him?"
"They were chasing the odds. That's how gambling addicts are."
"Holy shit! Number seven's that strong? Boss, put me down for another bet on number seven!"
"Now that's exciting! This is what I came to see!"
A human swung his fist at a young wolf Beastfolk. His blows sent blood flying, leaving the young wolf able to do nothing but defend himself.
Overhead lights hung densely above the fighting cage, illuminating only the combat area at the center of the underground arena.
The spectators were seated in the dim stands, ensuring their identities remained secret as much as possible.
At that moment, a match was underway.
Cheers, curses, discussions, and calls to place bets rose and fell in the darkness, heating up the atmosphere in the underground cavern.
The two contestants in the fighting cage were battling bare-handed, indicating that their match was a hand-to-hand fight.
Limbs, flesh, and bone collided beneath the glaring overhead lights. Blood and flesh flew as the sound of fists striking flesh echoed through the arena.
"Bang!"
The match ended with a loud crash. After breaking the young wolf's arm, the human's fist continued forward without losing momentum and blew apart his already injured head.
One side died, and the match was over.
"The match is over! Congratulations to Malaka on his eighth consecutive victory!"
The human stood in the fighting cage, panting, a joyful grin spreading across his bloodstained face.
He had won another match, which meant he would receive double the prize money and greater renown.
Amid the clamor of the venue, quiet conversation sounded from a dark corner.
"Third-Realm Peak? His strength is decent enough, and his body is very tough. He's just a little old."
"We could cultivate him a little and use him as an enforcer."
"Put him on the list. What if the people upstairs need a meat shield?"
Scouts from various factions scattered throughout the arena took note of the human. The lists in their minds were filled with the standouts from all kinds of matches.
They were the "eyes" sent by the various factions, and also the window through which these fighters below the Fifth Realm could climb upward and enter major factions.
As long as they turned a blind eye and let the underground arena exist, they could uncover a steady stream of promising talent and collect plenty of protection money to boot. What a fortune to be made!
That was what the leaders of every race and the major factions beneath them all thought.