Metamorphosis

Humans could not condense Energy Cores within their bodies like magical beasts without external aid. However, perhaps because they constantly trained themselves from weakness to strength, their control over their own energy was far more precise than that of magical beasts.

Thus, unlike magical beasts, among whom only a tiny number of exceptionally gifted individuals could burn their cores, almost all Professional Rank Experts who possessed a Professional Core could master the Burning Core—the Jade Shattering Technique that overdrew their life potential!

But at this moment!

Sensing the layer of gray poison spreading across the surface of the Professional Core within him, Luo Luoji's expression grew increasingly grim.

Was his opponent truly trying to eliminate every uncertainty in the cradle? Had he really calculated everything?

If he threw caution to the wind and paid any price, he could still barely communicate with his core and ignite it. Once it erupted, the poison on its surface would probably be expelled as well.

But his opponent showed no intention of attacking at all! Even if he really burned his core, he probably still could not catch up to the other party at this distance.

He had not forgotten that Ye Man had already condensed his third core in the "Agility" Inner Palace!

If he had not been poisoned, and if his opponent had been wary of exposing himself, he might truly have been able to stall things out bit by bit while searching for another opportunity. But now, delaying would only let the poison sink deeper!

Xuan Ye, who had once again been slapped so hard that his face burned, now truly felt like crying without tears.

Mother Earth, the other world is too dangerous! I want to go back to Earth! Who would have thought that a seemingly harmless idiot like Temo could toy with all of us so casually and crush us completely in the palm of his hand? You've got to be kidding me!

Even though his eyesight was still far from excellent, Xuan Ye now understood that every condition before them was turning against them!

Leaving aside Reizel, whom he still did not understand very well, even on Earth Xuan Ye knew that a nuclear bomb possessed the greatest deterrent power while it was still sitting on its launch platform!

If Luo Luoji could maintain that state of being fully prepared to use the Jade Shattering Technique, the two sides might still have been able to maneuver against each other for a while, retaining the capital to delay and a slim chance of escape!

But now, they could not delay at all!

"Heh, you're right. We can't hesitate any longer."

He raised his dark face, half-hidden beneath his bushy beard. As if he had finally let something go, he gave a carefree laugh, then spoke to Xuan Ye and the other man without looking back.

"You two, go in opposite directions from behind me. Whether you can get away will be up to Heaven's Will. As for whether you expose his crimes, you'll have to judge the situation yourselves."

The lightness and casualness in his voice made Xuan Ye's heart tighten. Was the uncle planning to stay behind and completely give up his chance so the two of us could escape?

That pang of discomfort vanished in an instant. Xuan Ye immediately turned and sprinted away without the slightest hesitation, relying on the physical abilities of an Eighth Grade Knight Attendant and running at full speed!

Although he kept comforting himself as he fled, telling himself that he did not want to betray Luo Luoji's sacrifice or waste this hard-won opportunity, the deepest part of his conscience told him that the greatest reason was simply fear, avoidance, and his longing to survive.

Driven by that fear, Luo Luoji's life seemed far less important by comparison!

He had once been nothing more than an ordinary person! A cowardly shut-in loser!

"Boss."

A complicated look appeared on the face of the only remaining Knight Attendant. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he gritted his teeth, turned around, and fled in the opposite direction as well!

Faced with the two men fleeing one after the other, Ye Man did not even raise his eyelids. He showed no intention of pursuing them, merely continuing to watch Luo Luoji and wear down his time.

"Heh, aren't you afraid they'll spread what happened here?"

Feeling his Professional Core grow increasingly difficult to control, Luo Luoji looked deeply at Ye Man and spoke.

"What? You want me to chase them so you can intercept me and use the Jade Shattering Technique? Or take the chance to let you escape?"

Ye Man strolled around Luo Luoji leisurely, as if taking a walk. Yet with the subtle positioning of their distance, it was like the spot where the wolves had faced the bombardment of the Chain Fireball earlier, making Luo Luoji extremely uncomfortable.

"They're merely insects who haven't even reached the Professional Rank. After dealing with you, my speed may well let me catch them. Even if I can't, do you think others will believe their words more, or mine? Of course, to preserve the purity of my current identity, I'll still do my best to reunite them with you."

With Luo Luoji currently suffering from the corrosion of the poison, Ye Man naturally did not mind chatting with him to buy time. The short-term explosive power of a One-Star Professional Rank Expert burning his core was enough to threaten him.

"So I'm an insect who hasn't even reached the Professional Rank? Heh heh, perhaps one day you'll regret those words."

Thinking of the clearly Eighth Grade Knight Attendant-level speed the boy had shown while fleeing, a vague smile appeared beneath the rough, thick lips hidden by Luo Luoji's beard. Two grades in half a month, is it? This kid...

"I'm just an ordinary person! Just a shut-in! Just a useless otaku! This has nothing to do with me! None of it has anything to do with me!"

Running aimlessly across the desert, with the cold, bright moonlight shining down on him and the strong wind generated by his high speed whipping past his ears, Xuan Ye kept hypnotizing himself, repeating those words numbly in his heart.

He himself did not notice that his fingernails were almost piercing through his palms, while his gums had been bitten until they bled.

Yet no matter how he comforted and hypnotized himself, scenes from these days since his rebirth still involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

That's right. What I want is you....

You grimace at this little pain? Only by possessing the mentality of a strong person can you possess the strength of one....

Mm-hmm, I hope so too. After completing this mission, I'm planning to take two months off to break through to the fourth grade. The resources I've saved should be enough by now. Hehe, Captain Luo Luoji even secretly stuffed me a huge bag of sand lizard breast meat....

Why did we establish the Scavenger Squad and come here to take risks? Now that there are better resources and rewards, of course we won't give up. Haven't we always been trading our lives for money, exchanging them for cultivation resources?...

Boss... Boss, I can't go on. Please... give me a quick death....

You two, go in opposite directions from behind me. Whether you can get away will be up to Heaven's Will. As for whether you expose his crimes, you'll have to judge the situation yourselves....

Luo Luoji, Gypsy, Jack, and all the others—the countless figures and scenes, their hopes for the future, their efforts to strive toward their goals, their attachment to life, and their sacrifices for their teammates—all of it resurfaced before his eyes!

It could be said that the experiences of these short ten-plus days had been more dramatic than everything he had experienced in over twenty years of peaceful life on Earth. The care Luo Luoji and the others had shown him once again seeped into his heart, bit by bit.

"I'm just an ordinary person from Earth!"

As if trying to force himself to make a decision, Xuan Ye ignored the wind whipping against his face as he ran and roared. Afterward, he came to an abrupt stop, his feet plowing a groove through the sand and the small mound before him, then lowered his head and began to tremble silently.

"That's right. I'm just an ordinary person from Earth. As long as I'm comfortable, that's enough. What do other matters have to do with me? I don't need to be blameless before Heaven and Earth, but... I have to be blameless before my own heart, damn it!!"

Perhaps he would regret it later. Perhaps he would ultimately be branded an incomprehensible fool. But his conscience would be clear!

"So what if I'm impulsive? So what if I'm an idiot? I'm a living person, not a machine without feelings!"

Crack.

He closed his eyes and reached into his robe, pulling out a rhombus-shaped crystal. Without the slightest hesitation or pause—as if he feared that stopping for even a moment would make him regret it—he shoved it into his mouth. Then he covered his mouth with both hands and swallowed the object inside along with the bitter liquid, his face twisted in pain.

That's right! If he did not even have the courage to do this much, what would he use to find his way home?

After swallowing it, it was as if he had swallowed all his hesitation and troubles at the same time. The invisible burden that had pressed down on his shoulders and kept him from straightening his back seemed to fall away. He relaxed completely, a trace of relieved joy on his face, then collapsed stiffly onto the sand. The decision had been made. All that remained was to see whether he could endure it.

Heh, if the sages of the Human Race could do it, why couldn't he?

Before the thought had even passed, a violent force erupted from his stomach, surging through his entire body and rushing into his limbs and bones...

Please click, recommend, and bookmark!

Thank you all for your support! Any form of support is deeply appreciated!