Why Now?!
A cry, inhuman and filled with extreme pain and sorrow, suddenly ripped out from deep within Yu Xiaogang's throat!
That was not a sorrowful cry, but a desperate lament from a soul torn apart and cruelly mocked by a belated fate!
His withered, bluish-black hands suddenly clawed desperately at his chest!
Sizzle!
The tattered cloth was easily torn apart like rotten wood, revealing his equally withered, sallow chest skin.
The ten fingernails dug deep into the flesh due to excessive force, leaving ten deep, bloody marks that revealed the bone!
Scalding tears, mixed with blood and brain matter on his face, surged like a murky stream, flowing down his twisted, convulsing cheeks and dripping onto the warm blood flowing from his own torn chest.
"Aaaaaah--Why! Why now?!"
He raised his head, the veins on his neck bulging like a writhing dragon, and let out a blood-curdling howl at the Spider Web- and dust-covered ceiling.
"Why... not fifty years ago?! Why not on the day I awakened my Martial Soul?!!"
The scene from fifty years ago is as clear as if it were yesterday.
"Luo Sanpao, your farts are like Thunder, cough cough... Innate Soul Power... half a level."
The Soul Master's pronouncement, devoid of any emotion, fell like a cold guillotine.
The unrestrained laughter of the children around me was so jarring it seemed to still echo in my ears.
"Waste!"
"Pfft, a farting Martial Soul!"
"This kind of talent doesn't even deserve to cultivate?"
Those scornful, mocking, and disdainful gazes were like thousands of invisible Poison Sting, nailing him to the pillar of shame, day and night, with no escape!
Countless times in the dead of night, Yu Xiaogang would stand facing the empty wall and fantasize about the day he would awaken, possess extraordinary talent, and trample all those who mocked him underfoot.
Every fantasy is accompanied by a bone-deep hatred and a deeper despair.
And now...
This long-awaited starting point, representing all possibilities, this foundational talent that could have changed his tragic life... was sacrificed to Evil God after the lives and souls of his former brothers were offered up...
In such a bloody, ironic, and belated way...
It has arrived!
"Innate... Level 10... Ha... Hahaha... Waaaaah..."
Yu Xiaogang knelt in the pool of blood, sometimes letting out maniacal laughter, and sometimes breaking into heart-wrenching sobs.
Tears washed away the bloodstains, leaving jagged lines on his face.
The wound he had scratched on his chest burned with pain, and warm blood flowed down, but he felt no pain whatsoever. Only a surging, overwhelming sense of absurdity deep within his soul, almost overwhelming him, and... an endless, fifty-year-overdue grievance!
At this juncture of mixed emotions, where he was on the verge of a mental breakdown—
A vast, pure, and boundless torrent of energy, like the first galaxy at its creation, ignored his chaotic emotions and his tearing pain, and poured into his body with a roar!
This energy was completely different from the previous violent, Divine Power of Wrath, which carried the scent of sulfur and scorching heat.
It is cold, pure, and possesses a primal life quality, like the first ray of light at the birth of the universe, carrying the power to reshape all things!
Boom--!!!
Yu Xiaogang's body began to swell uncontrollably and violently!
The originally withered and thin body seemed to be Sheer Force stretched open by an invisible force, and the muscle fibers grew wildly, reorganized, and became full and resilient, like seedlings that had been parched for a long time and then received rain!
The bones emitted a dense, popping sound, like popping beans, and under the tempering of divine power, they became as dense as refined steel, capable of withstanding forces far exceeding their limits!
On the surface of the skin, the bluish-black twisted blood vessels that had previously bulged due to the Divine Power of Wrath were now, as the pure energy flowed over them, like filth being baptized by holy light, quickly losing their terrifying color and becoming smooth and lustrous, faintly revealing a warm, jade-like luster!
An unprecedented sense of lightness, clarity, and control replaced the tearing pain from the previous Sheer Force transformation by divine power, surging throughout my body!
The most fundamental change occurs deep within the dantian!
The vortex of Soul Power that was originally like stagnant water was now completely swept away and reshaped by this vast torrent of Innate Soul Power!
A brand new, vast vortex of Soul Power, as large as a star vortex, instantly formed!
At the center of the vortex, a single, pure, crystalline light shone brightly, radiating boundless vitality and potential!
The pure Soul Power, like newborn blood, carried immense vitality, surging and roaring through his meridians, which had been Sheer Force widened and reshaped to be incredibly resilient!
Each wash carries away a trace of old ailments, bringing a captivating and powerful sense of strength!
Fifty years of stagnation, dullness, and the stifling feeling of struggling to move Soul Power like an old ox pulling a broken cart... have vanished!
What will replace it is a brand new power that surges like a river and is under your complete control!
"Uh... ha..."
Yu Xiaogang's crying and maniacal laughter stopped abruptly. His head hung low, and his long, blood-stained hair fell down, obscuring his eyes.
My body was still trembling slightly as I adjusted, but the violent heaving of my chest gradually subsided.
An indescribable chill replaced the previous madness and grief, spreading outwards.
It wasn't the scorching Divine Power of Wrath, but rather a kind of... deathly silence, emptiness, as if utter despair had been completely toyed with by fate.
He slowly raised his hands.
Those hands that had just torn open his own chest, stained with Flender's blood and his own.
At this moment, beneath her radiant skin, faint blue veins were faintly visible, flowing with an unprecedented, abundant vitality and... chilling, bone-deep power.
The five fingers slowly closed.
The air in his palm seemed to whimper softly, as if it might burst at any moment.
"Strength..."
He muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and hollow, as if it were coming from a dry well that had been abandoned for a thousand years.
"This is... Innate Full Soul Power..."
A contorted, almost convulsive smile, more painful than tears, appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Powerful? Undoubtedly. This was the starting point of his lifelong pursuit.
However, when this starting point was obtained at such a price, treading upon Flender' warm blood and cold corpses... why did it taste only of rusty saltiness and endless... nothingness?
He slowly, very slowly bent down.
A hand stained with blood, like a soulless puppet, almost unconsciously, gently touched the largest, stickiest patch of dark red bloodstain on the board, which was still faintly warm.
That was Flender's last warmth.
The fingertips felt a smooth, sticky sensation, carrying the unique chill of life passing away.
Just then--
Aow--!
A strange roar filled with pain and struggle did not come from the outside, but rather reverberated directly from the depths of his body!
Yu Xiaogang shuddered violently!
Then, sizzle!
The remaining tattered clothes on his back were completely torn apart and burned by an invisible force!
A massive, ethereal beast-like shadow, existing between solidity and light, suddenly appeared uncontrollably from behind him!
That fat, pig-like form, short limbs, and a simple yet somewhat comical face... it was none other than his failed, useless Martial Soul — Luo Sanpao!