How strong was Monster King Orochi in the original One Punch Man?
His Gaia Cannon could draw energy directly from the planet's core through five thousand kilometers of soil, and its power far exceeded that of any nuclear weapon.
The energy it unleashed was greater in volume than several provinces. In this world, it could even swallow the entire Jiangnan Base City and all the satellite cities around it!
Without the protagonist, Saitama, he could have easily wiped out human civilization.
"Orochi is definitely beyond Planetary Level. This is the strength of a Star Rank life-form!"
More importantly, he was also incredibly unlucky!
He had originally been human, but in just a few short years, he was forcibly transformed—made gigantic and turned into a monster.
But as a sacrifice chosen by the final boss, God, he had been killed off early.
Still, his combat strength and potential for growth were in no way inferior to those of other late-game villains.
"Although the difference in our bodies is too great for me to gain all his power, I've already obtained the seeds of his abilities. That's more than enough for now."
Bai Yang looked at the new text that had appeared in the system and thought it over.
[Monster Association]: Monster King Orochi (S-Rank)
This time, the information didn't list any specific skills. It seemed that Orochi's special abilities had all been granted to him.
Orochi's fully evolved body was 300 meters long. Bai Yang, by comparison, was a perfectly ordinary 1.85-meter-tall human. Having the combat strength of an S-Rank hero was already quite impressive.
He sorted through the information. Orochi had several major special abilities:
First, an incredible ability to learn. He could master almost any move after seeing it just once, with comprehension that was practically inhuman.
Second, Monster Cells. He could separate special clusters of cells from his body. After humans ate them, their strength would skyrocket as they became monsters—but they would also become his slaves forever.
Third, devouring and assimilation. He could absorb the genes of various organisms to evolve. Even if only his heart remained, he could assimilate with inorganic matter or even the Earth itself. His capacity for growth and survival was off the charts.
As for the other flashy tricks that relied on his gigantic body—growing dozens of dragon heads all over himself and firing laser cannons with the power of nuclear bombs—Bai Yang couldn't be bothered with them.
For now, he had no desire to make himself gigantic and turn into some kind of evil god.
He was still at the very beginning of Orochi's evolution, so he could choose a better evolutionary path for himself.
For example, could he strengthen his Monster Cells and use them to create perfect clones?
That Golden Horned Behemoth ability was something he really coveted!
He might as well try it right now!
Bai Yang took a moment to adjust to the changes in his body. His daytime fatigue had vanished completely. He awakened his body's instincts and focused his mind, beginning to reshape his flesh.
A moment later, his right palm began to writhe. A grotesque lump of flesh the size of a walnut split off from his body.
Sweat poured down Bai Yang's face, and he swayed slightly with exhaustion. "My body's still purely human. Making this thing really isn't easy."
The lump of flesh looked hideous and disgusting. Fighting back his revulsion, Bai Yang tossed it straight into his mouth.
A moment later, an immense, savage power erupted inside him!
His physique and physical strength surged at a rapid pace! The human portion of his genes began to improve!
As his own "master," Bai Yang used this method—like exploiting a bug—to achieve a roundabout transformation into a monster!
This completed the initial remodeling of his body. After all, whether it was control by God from One Punch Man or soul control in this world, both were extremely difficult to deal with.
Taking control of "himself" at the most fundamental level meant he had dealt with two hidden threats in advance.
His body looked completely normal on the outside, but it was now utterly different!
Bai Yang felt strength coursing through him, along with boundless energy that needed to be released.
He had never felt this good before!
Bai Yang glanced at the fruit knife beside him, and a thought suddenly struck him.
The little knife abruptly rose into the air. It whirled and darted about, performing all sorts of astonishingly precise maneuvers.
Then the six apples nearby floated up one by one and began a chase through the air with the knife, tracing a dazzling variety of flight paths.
Orochi's physique and insight were beginning to show their power!
The abilities he already possessed were being pushed forward, evolving on their own!
[Sword Saint Society]: Ordinary Member—Swordsmanship (S-Rank) [Tsukuyomi Organization]: Test Subject—Psychokinesis (A-Rank)
Swordsmanship had risen by two ranks. His foundation in Psychokinesis had been relatively weak, so it had been strengthened by three whole ranks!
Although these ranks were based on the hero rankings in One Punch Man and couldn't be directly converted to Swallowed Star World, Bai Yang would now pass the so-called martial artist qualification test with ease.
He didn't even need an instrument to know he'd pass.
The especially valuable Psychokinesis was a real prize!
In this world, low-level Spiritual Force couldn't physically attack people, but Psychokinesis could!
It would be one of his most valuable trump cards!
The next morning, on a track at Jiangnan First Military Academy.
Bai Yang had eaten his fill and changed into loose athletic clothes. He began warming up on the sidelines.
Summer vacation was approaching, and it was still early, so there weren't many people on the track.
It was the perfect place to test his abilities. Using the school's instruments might cause trouble if any of his readings turned out strange.
Once he was ready, he pushed off the ground and shot forward at terrifying speed!
On the standard 400-meter track, he completed a lap in less than twenty seconds!
After countless tests, he could tell even without instruments that his speed was definitely over 23 meters per second!
And he felt completely relaxed. He hadn't even exerted much effort.
So he began to accelerate gradually, testing his limits step by step.
He maintained his top speed as he ran, repeatedly passing the students jogging and walking nearby.
As more and more people arrived on the track for their morning exercise, Bai Yang's performance soon drew plenty of attention.
He was completely focused. He captured every subtle change in his body and had no attention to spare.
How the muscles in his legs exerted force, how his tendons stretched, how much pressure his bones bore each time his feet hit the ground, whether the intervals between his breaths were right—
These were details he'd never had time to notice during an all-out test, but now they appeared clearly in his mind.
He was just running, yet every muscle in his body was being unconsciously coordinated as one.
Bai Yang realized he seemed to have entered a new domain: the domain of speed that belonged to martial artists!
In the original story, the speed track for martial artist testing was 60 meters long, and the qualification time was no more than four seconds.
But he had been running for nearly ten minutes!
His body had begun optimizing its genes on its own, and it suddenly started addressing the underlying health problems he'd had before.
The changes inside him were far too violent. Suddenly, his vision went black.
Stopping abruptly after high-speed exercise put an enormous strain on the body and was extremely dangerous!
Just then, numerous hands suddenly reached out from around him, supporting him all over.
His classmates caught him and helped him slow down, until he had come to a complete stop.
Not far away, a stern man in a military uniform, with short gray-white hair, had watched the entire scene. He turned and asked the people behind him,
"Looks promising. What's his name?"
Before you continue