Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 55: Challenge
It moved slightly. Then gradually, the intensity started to increase until it was shaking violently. After some time had passed, the movement started slowing down until it stopped completely. The flower bloomed once again revealing a 10-12 year old looking boy sitting cross legged in the center. It was Zeke. But his appearance had slightly changed.
The most major change was that he actually looked his age. Due to his training, he looked more like a 15 year old, but now, he looked just like a normal 11 year old. His hair had become even darker and had grown longer.
His skin, that had become tanned during his time in the forest, regained its original fair complexion. His bulging muscles had become leaner, but he could feel that they hadn’t lost any strength. His features looked even sharper.
Zeke started floating in the air, and the lotus beneath him started spinning. Slowly, the lotus started disappearing. When it had vanished, a black lotus shaped tattoo appeared slightly above the center of Zeke’s eyebrows. Zeke’s eyes snapped open. They were a deep blood red in color. He clenched his fists, feeling the strength coursing through his body.
But he knew that this wasn’t the time to revel in his increased strength. He used Materialization to sense his new body. Then, he sat cross legged and entered his mental realm. He created a new model for his transformed body. The first thing that he did was zoom in on his DNA and examine it. The non-human genes had completely fused with his own. He could no longer be said to have the Myriad Toxins Immune Body.
His special physique had completely evolved and so had the talents that came with it. Two new talents had also manifested. They were molting, extremely heightened senses, danger premonition, toxin immunity, rapid healing, and scaled skin.
Molting was the reason he had no scars. Rapid healing had partially manifested before and worked in tandem with molting. The rest were pretty self explanatory except for scaled skin. Unlike the name suggested, he did not grow scales. Instead, he now had a layer of hard and shock absorbing scales right underneath his skin.
But the changes didn’t stop there. He shrunk the model back to its original size and observed his meridians. All of them had been unblocked and were transparent...and black. They looked like they had been crafted from a black crystal.
They were perfectly attuned to the internal qi gathered by his new technique. Maybe this was the reason behind the feeling that he shouldn’t use the other techniques.
He simulated the circulation of his new technique and saw that the circulation was incomparably smooth. His body was absorbing about 40% of his internal qi to strengthen itself. So he wouldn’t have to create a body tempering technique. As the natural energy kept on circulating inside the model, Zeke’s expression soon changed.
This was because the model wasn’t breaking through to Third Rate Warrior. No matter how many circulations it completed, it wasn’t able to break through. There was something missing. And he wouldn’t be able to find it through simulation. He had to try it himself. He exited his mental realm and focused.
He sensed the surrounding natural energy and found that it had decreased drastically. It seemed that the formation didn’t just drain energy from the earth. Zeke cursed. He thought, ’Fuck! Now I have to look for another place to cultivate. Might as well go to the others first. They must be worried about me.’
Making up his mind, he stood up, only to feel a gentle breeze below. He paused and looked down. He cursed again, ’Fuck my life.’
He was so focused on examining his changes, that he had overlooked the fact that he was naked. The worst part was that there was nothing in his surroundings that he could use to cover himself up. He couldn’t just wait here so he decided to make a gamble.
He walked towards their shelter. As he was getting near, he slowed down his pace. When the site was in sight, he carefully hid his lower body behind some bamboo and made enough noise to alert his teammates. He saw Woo cautiously coming over with her sword. She must’ve noticed him because she looked surprised.
She whispered, "A child? What is a child doing here?"
Zeke was able to hear her because of his heightened senses and said, "Woo, it is me. Ryeong."
He saw that her expression changed and instead of lowering her guard, she became even more vigilant. Zeke nodded approvingly. She said, "Although you resemble Ryeong, you are not him."
He said, "I can prove my identity."
Then a manifestation of the Asuran Neo-Nephilim Primogenitor appeared behind him. Woo looked at the manifestation with shock. She said, "Ryeong...is it really you?"
He nodded and said, "I’ll explain everything but can you get me my shirt from the house before that? It is wrapped around my books." freёwebnovel.com
Woo was confused but nodded. She ran back and a few minutes later, returned with his shirt. Woo was about to walk towards him but Zeke hurriedly stopped her. He said, "Stop!! Don’t come here. Just throw the shirt over."
Woo threw the shirt to him. He quickly put it on and fortunately, it was so big that it reached his knees. He rolled the long sleeves back so that they wouldn’t interfere with his hands. He finally felt a bit better. He walked out from behind the bamboo and Woo almost couldn’t believe her eyes. She was about to say something but the look in Zeke’s eyes stopped her. She felt that staying silent would be the best option at that moment.
They both went to the house. Woong and Bum walked out of the house. They stared at Zeke and said, "Who’s he?"
Woo replied, "He’s Ryeong."
The boys became instantly speechless. Woong cautiously asked, "R-really?"
Zeke was getting kinda frustrated and Woong had just made a very bad decision. Zeke said, "No need to ask her. I’ll just prove it to you. I wanted to test my new strength anyway."
With that, he dropped his weapon and rushed towards Woong. He jumped and punched Woong, right in the chest. Woong’s figure went flying. He landed on his feet but he was still going backwards. When he finally stopped, he fainted. Woo and Bum shouted, "Woong!"
They rushed toward him, and saw him lying down on his back with his hands crossed on his chest. It looked like he had successfully blocked the punch. But that block had used up all of his energy.
They saw Zeke slowly walking towards them. He said, "Relax. He’s not injured. He just used up all of his energy and lost consciousness."
Bum swallowed and said, "So he had to use all of his energy to block one punch? What if he didn’t react in time?"
Zeke looked at Bum calmly and asked, "Are you questioning me now, Bum? Are you...challenging me?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Even though there was a big height difference between them, Bum felt that if he made even one mistake right now, he would die. When this feeling arose in him, the tiger tattoo on his body started glowing. He suddenly stopped feeling fear and got angry instead.
’How dare an ant look at him like that?’ was the thought that subconsciously came to his mind. Zeke, who noticed this change, chuckled amusingly. The scene in front of him changed and he saw a huge tiger with two horns, six wings, and a long tail in front him. Unbeknownst to him, the lotus tattoo on his forehead also started glowing.
In Bum’s eyes, they were no longer in the bamboo forest and he was no longer a human. They were surrounded by a red river that stank of blood and he had become a huge tiger with two horns, six wings, and a long tail. In the center of this river, was a blooming black lotus with 108 petals. On that lotus, there was a black and gold throne. And on that throne, sat an adult version of the current Zeke. The tiger was extremely angry, as if its majesty had been tarnished. The figure on the throne, on the other hand, looked extremely bored.
The two figures locked eyes with one another. The tiger could see some amusement in that lazy gaze. It was about to pounce on the figure but it sensed something terrifying. The two continued to stare at each other. The tiger let out a threatening growl. While growling, it slowly backed away.
Back in the real world, Woo was looking at the intense stare down between the two. This also reminded her who Zeke was. He was the demon that thrived in that hell hole. The Immovable mountain, Rank 1. And, he was their leader, one who had threatened to kill anyone who didn’t obey. Unfortunately, Bum had done just that.
