Nine Heavens Thunder... Claw?

The scent of blood had yet to dissipate within the mountain forest.

Su Zhe stood where he was, the warmth of the final shred of flesh from Xiao Hua's annihilation still lingering on his fingertips.

Although this experiment had failed, the harvest was not insignificant.

Not only had he recovered the Devour Points, but more importantly, he had thoroughly confirmed his absolute control over the Blacklight Virus and the possibility of creating "sub-infectors."

Even though it had failed this time, this path was not a dead end.

It was simply because Xiao Hua's willpower had not been strong enough.

If he could perform more precise manipulation, or obtain "materials" that were stronger and possessed greater potential, Su Zhe believed the success rate would increase significantly.

"Psychic... Apprentice Level 6..."

Su Zhe closed his eyes, sensing the newborn power within his body.

Because his psychic power was obtained through the consumption of the Blacklight Virus rather than being innate, it was not stored within a sea of consciousness like that of other humans.

Of course.

Su Zhe's physical structure was also completely different from that of a human.

He was now a human form mimicked by a mass of virus; he lacked any of the fatal weaknesses inherent to humans, so it was only natural that he lacked something like a sea of consciousness.

His psychic power spread outward like invisible tentacles, extending into the surroundings.

The bullet casings scattered on the ground were wrapped and lifted by his telekinesis, then spun rapidly under its influence, emitting a sharp "whirring" sound as they cut through the air.

Compared to the captain's crude and simple psychic impact and telekinetic control, Su Zhe felt his own power was more condensed and his control more refined—perhaps a result of the fusion between psychic power and the Blacklight Virus?

Just as some special lifeforms were naturally gifted with certain abilities, the Blacklight Virus could gather the strengths of many; thus, being adept at psychic power was hardly a difficult feat.

"Let's try this."

Su Zhe's thoughts stirred, and the muscles on his back rippled. A pair of massive black-red wings with golden patterns, spanning ten meters, unfurled once again with a sharp "snap!"

The difference this time was that Su Zhe simultaneously channeled his psychic power.

Hum!

An invisible telekinetic field instantly enveloped the massive wings, making every feather appear more agile as they were sheathed in his power.

Su Zhe flapped his wings violently!

"BOOM—!"

The sonic boom was deeper and more powerful than before.

The rocky ground beneath his feet shattered instantly as if struck by a heavy hammer, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading outward, while Su Zhe himself transformed into a black-red streak of light, almost impossible to track with the naked eye, instantly soaring thousands of meters into the sky!

"Refreshing!"

Su Zhe shouted with exhilaration.

That's it!

This was how flying was supposed to feel!

With the psychic power of an Advanced War General combined with the explosive speed innate to the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, while it didn't quite reach a 1+1=2 effect, his overall speed was now no less than that of an adult Black-Crowned Golden Eagle!

An adult Black-Crowned Golden Eagle could reach an explosive speed of nearly 1,400 meters per second; even a High-Level War God's explosive speed on land could not compare to it.

Perhaps only a High-Level War God-tier Psychic could compete with Su Zhe's speed at this moment.

And a High-Level War God-tier Psychic was usually known as an Invincible War God.

In other words, as long as he didn't encounter an Invincible War God, Su Zhe's ability to escape was virtually foolproof.

Relying on the Blacklight Virus, Su Zhe could maintain his maximum explosive speed at all times. His stamina was incomparable to that of a Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, and even if he ran out of energy, he could instantly return to full health by devouring a few monsters!

"Whoosh!!!"

The gale was like a blade, slicing against his combat suit, yet it could not shake Su Zhe in the air in the slightest.

He spread his arms, hovering in the biting high-altitude currents, his black-red golden-patterned wings unfurled behind him. That wicked color scheme, illuminated by the sunlight from behind, radiated an eerie beauty, like a fallen angel from hell.

Su Zhe looked down at the world below.

Beneath him lay rolling mountain ranges, County 0231 looked as small as a chessboard, and in the distance, the faint shadows of the military base were visible.

Having devoured these five humans, especially the captain who was a Psychic, Su Zhe could clearly feel that his talent had improved, and his perception and utilization of the surrounding air currents had reached a new level.

The memories of five different people, while not his own personal experiences, still counted as an enhancement of his life experience, even serving to hone Su Zhe's state of mind and willpower.

As expected, devouring humans yielded the greatest improvements.

Or to put it another way, devouring intelligent life was simply more useful than devouring life without intelligence.

Monsters only reached a level of intelligence approaching that of humans once they reached the Lord level.

Those beast soldiers and beast generals were still far behind.

"I've mastered the first layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade... but I haven't obtained the blade form yet."

Su Zhe pondered.

The content of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade as a blade technique itself was not important; what mattered was the portion concerning the amplitude of force exertion.

In other words, as long as Su Zhe fully grasped the method of force amplitude within it, he could utilize it even without the blade form, applying it to other forms such as the Claw Form, or even while bare-handed.

If he remembered correctly, the secret manuals on Earth related to force amplitude were all incomplete. In the universe, force amplitude encompassed defensive aspects as well, not merely power and speed.

But it was a pity.

At this current point in time, it was difficult for Su Zhe to obtain cultivation manuals from the universe.

Unless... he created his own.

Although he had devoured a few humans and his talent had improved, was self-creation truly feasible?

Su Zhe's mind became active; even if he couldn't create a secret manual from scratch, applying the force exertion techniques of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade to other weapons shouldn't be a problem.

Thinking this, Su Zhe began to experiment.

His right hand transformed into a Silver Wolf Claw, and at the same time, he mobilized the force exertion technique of the first layer of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

The core of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade was to stack multiple layers of force during an attack through the instantaneous control of body muscles.

The first layer involved launching the first strike with seventy percent of one's power, then instantly erupting with a second hidden force of seventy percent, stacking them into one hundred and forty percent—that is, 1.4 times his physical strength.

Su Zhe tried several times. With his specialized-level insight into blade techniques, executing the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade with a bladed weapon was relatively simple, but applying it to claw techniques proved somewhat difficult.

The repeated failures did not discourage Su Zhe; instead, they helped him find a bit of a knack for it.

The talent for creating secret techniques and the talent for cultivation could not be lumped together!

The Nine-Layered Thunder Blade required the body to have an extremely strong capacity to withstand stress in order to learn it, yet that was the one thing Su Zhe lacked the least!

"Sshhh-!"

Su Zhe clenched his claw and slashed fiercely at the air in front of him. A force surpassing that of an intermediate War General gathered on his claws and erupted outward!

It was a success!

Nine-Layered Thunder Blade... no, this no longer had anything to do with the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

This was a force exertion technique unique to Su Zhe.