I Am the Source of Energy

Because the enemy's subordinates were not creatures formed from Dark Energy, he recklessly sent them charging into the Shadow Dimension.

With a wave of Lu Qi's hand, a tide of Dark Energy swept away the enemies who had entered his dimension.

That attack had consumed over a thousand points of Dark Energy. Watching his energy steadily recover, Lu Qi frowned. After wiping out the enemy's vanguard, he stopped acting and let the Shadow Ninjas fight.

The enemy spent some Dark Energy to expand the spatial rift by more than twice its original size, but it was still only around ten meters wide. Only a dozen or so hostile creatures could rush through at a time, yet with an endless supply behind them, the Shadow Ninjas were steadily forced back.

Though his side was individually stronger, they had yet to reach a qualitative advantage and were being suppressed by the enemy.

Lu Qi was also wary of the master of the Dark Dimension on the other side and did not dare attack recklessly, lest the opponent assassinate him.

"Although creatures formed from Dark Energy possess limitless potential, they slow down your growth. Just like now—you have no ability to fight back!" the guy said with a laugh.

Watching a single ninja get attacked by dozens of enemies at once before turning into shadow and vanishing, Lu Qi frowned and dispatched twenty Blade Soldiers.

The Blade Soldiers appeared. Their tremendous agility made them seem as though they were flying, and they instantly tore apart heaps of enemies.

Compared to the Shadow Ninjas, the Blade Soldiers' abilities were better suited for combat, especially this kind of slaughter.

Seeing the Blade Soldiers achieve impressive results in such a short time, Lu Qi could not help but feel delighted.

Checking his Shadow Energy, Lu Qi consumed 1,500 points of his Shadow Energy cap to fuse 150 Shadow Ninjas into Blade Soldiers.

He now had fifty Blade Soldiers, but there was no enhancement prompt. It seemed they could only be enhanced once the number of Shadow Ninjas was sufficient.

Lu Qi was somewhat disappointed, but he quickly recovered.

He now had three hundred Ninja Soldiers and fifty Blade Soldiers. Although their numbers had decreased considerably, six Ninja Soldiers and one Blade Soldier formed squad after squad, forcibly holding back the enemy and even beginning to push them back.

The Shadow Squads continuously wore down the enemy, slaughtering them even more efficiently and steadily exterminating the foes on the Shadow Dimension's side.

Seeing that the situation was turning unfavorable, the creatures on the other side wrapped themselves in Dark Energy and charged over.

A blast of Dark Energy flew toward him. With a wave of his hand, Lu Qi raised a shield of Dark Energy and blocked it.

Clapping his hands together, he sent two dark tides crashing toward the enemy from both sides. Seeing the danger, the creature rapidly retreated and frowned at Lu Qi.

"You can actually control Dark Energy completely!"

Even he could only make limited use of Dark Energy. He could not wield it as freely as he pleased.

Lu Qi looked at him and tried speaking through Dark Energy.

"You can't?"

Seeing Lu Qi act like that, the guy assumed Lu Qi was mocking him, and his anger flared.

"Hmph, so what if you can control Dark Energy? You only have this much energy. What can you possibly do with it?"

Watching his energy recover by 220 points every second, Lu Qi saw that he had nearly recovered the thousand-plus energy spent on that move in the time they had been talking. He could not help but feel puzzled.

What exactly was this guy talking about?

Lu Qi suddenly formed a guess. With the system's help, he could truly control Dark Energy, while the other party had merely gained ownership of the Dark Dimension and could use Dark Energy only through certain techniques and rules!

The difference was like how a mage had to manipulate magical power into runes to achieve a desired result, while he could directly make magical power produce that effect.

So this was my true power?

Lu Qi looked at his hands as streams of Dark Energy continuously gathered. Following his thoughts, he fired a blast of Dark Energy at the enemy.

The unknown creature shouted, and Dark Energy surged from within him, neutralizing the attack.

"I swear, in the name of Andrews, I swear that I will uncover your secret."

Andrews roared as the Dark Energy within his body surged out, responding to his words. As currents of energy converged, Andrews's power grew stronger. With a wave of his hand, the energy gathered into a magic circle and transformed into attacks of various forms that struck at Lu Qi.

With a wave of his hand, Lu Qi shifted through space and appeared on the other side of the Shadow Dimension, evading the attack.

Watching the method by which Andrews resonated with energy, Lu Qi seemed to gain some insight.

"Andrews? Fine, then I, in my..."

Streams of Dark Energy gathered before Lu Qi as though drawn by an invisible force.

Lu Qi thought for a moment and looked at Andrews.

"I am who I am. I am Lu Qi. I am the Shadow Lord! In the name of Lu Qi, I declare you my enemy!"

"Dark Energy will no longer welcome you!"

When Lu Qi acknowledged his identity and established his name on another dimensional level, the surrounding Dark Energy rejoiced as though it had found its master.

Meanwhile, Andrews discovered that he could no longer fully control his own Dark Energy.

Forcibly restraining the Dark Energy, Andrews roared.

"Who do you think you are, setting such a rule?"

Andrews's expression grew increasingly grim. In this space, he could do nothing to Lu Qi. Instead, Lu Qi had gained some sort of realization and could actually affect him!

Could he truly be the Dark Lord, the master of Dark Energy?

Impossible!

Andrews hardened his heart. "Fine, you forced my hand!"

A scroll appeared in his hand, and he tore it apart.

"Let me show you a god's forbidden art!"

Streams of Strange energy surged from the scroll and transformed into runes. Chains appeared one after another, forcefully sealing the space and trapping Lu Qi within.

"Shadow Lord? Go on, call yourself that again!"

Lu Qi watched as enormous chains formed a cage, forcibly driving away the surrounding Dark Energy and enclosing him inside.

When he realized he could no longer connect to the Shadow World, Lu Qi's heart sank. But he discovered that he still seemed able to use some Dark Energy.

Lu Qi remembered something and opened the system.

Sure enough, the system showed that his connection to the Dark Dimension had been sealed. It would take a continuous supply of energy to remove the seal. His energy cap had not changed, but the number before it was constantly rising—that was his energy recovering.

So it was not his Dark Dimension supplying him with energy. He was the one supplying the Dark Dimension with energy? The Dark Dimension was merely where he stored Dark Energy?

He had previously thought the system acted upon the Dark Dimension and then enhanced him in return. He had not expected it to act upon him instead, nourishing the Dark Dimension in return.

Having figured out the relationship between master and servant, Lu Qi nodded and looked at Andrews.

"What does that change? So I can't use the Dark Energy in the dimension—so what? Do you dare come over and kill me?"

Though he did not know whether Andrews was in the same situation, Lu Qi pretended to be clueless and waited for his Dark Energy to recover.

"Hmph, idiot!" Andrews simply stopped using Dark Energy. Other energies gathered in his hand and gradually formed a spell.

He, Andrews, had not risen to power through Dark Energy. Dark Energy was merely a more advanced power he had acquired later.

Although his Dark Energy would not obey him, Andrews did not care. He planned to kill Lu Qi first. Perhaps that rule would be lifted then, and he might even obtain Lu Qi's secret.

As for fighting Lu Qi in close combat, hmph, he was not an idiot. The other party had too many secrets. Who knew what other tricks he might have? He could not act rashly.

Once the spell in his hand was ready, Andrews hurled the attack at Lu Qi.

Seeing that Andrews had not fallen for it, Lu Qi was somewhat annoyed, but he no longer held back.

Streams of Dark Energy surged from his body and automatically blocked the attack. It consumed over a hundred points of energy, but Lu Qi did not care. That little energy would recover in seconds.

Supported by Dark Energy, Lu Qi rose into the air and once again faced Andrews.

The surrounding magic mainly served to completely sever his connection to the Dark Dimension. Eliminating Dark Energy was merely a side effect, not a continuous effect.

The Dark Energy in his body constantly leaked out. Although Lu Qi was the Dark Lord, his body could not withstand too much Dark Energy, and he did not want to abandon his body and become darkness like Dormammu.

Lu Qi's body could now hold 800 points of energy. He had never had the chance to test it before, but when his physical attributes reached four times their original level, he discovered this setting. At that time, he could only hold 400 points of energy.

With 800 points of energy contained within his body, the energy around him continued to increase at a rate of 480 points per second.

"Come on, now it's fair again!" Lu Qi said to Andrews.

Watching the energy continuously spill from around Lu Qi's body, Andrews had a bad feeling.

He was merely a lucky high-level mage who had discovered the Dark Dimension when there was no path forward and had coincidentally become the Dark Lord.

Now he could not use Dark Energy, and his magic could not do anything to Lu Qi. That monster could even recover energy on his own at an absurd speed. If this continued, he would definitely lose!

Better to escape now. At worst, he could give up the Dark Dimension!

He could still tell the powerful people of his world about this information and perhaps trade it for some benefits.

Andrews made his decision. A magic circle appeared, and without caring about the subordinates being slaughtered by the Shadow Army, he turned into a streak of light and flew toward the spatial rift.

As long as he reached the Dark Dimension on the other side, he could use that dimension to return to his Material World.

Watching Andrews fly toward the spatial rift, Lu Qi knew he wanted to escape and wanted to stop him. But flying through the air consumed far more Dark Energy than moving by attaching himself to other objects in the Material World.

Regardless of how quickly he was recovering energy now, even if he used all his current energy, he could only dash in front of Andrews. By then, without Dark Energy, he might be casually killed by Andrews.

Watching Andrews get closer and closer to the spatial rift, Lu Qi grew extremely anxious.

The sound of shattering glass suddenly rang out.

"Give me all your energy."

A yellow figure appeared beside Lu Qi.