CHAPTER 191 - BLACK FIGURE

Three days later, Han Wu arrived at the pre-arranged location, where the Myriad King had already been patiently waiting. The King’s gaze lingered on the training site, filled with an undeniable longing. Due to a set of specific restrictions, he could not even enter the training site to retrieve his son’s corpse.

“I’m surprised you didn’t run away,” said the Myriad King, his back facing Han Wu.

“Let’s do this. I don’t have time to waste,” Han Wu declared impatiently.

The Myriad King turned, a deep frown etching itself onto his face. “Very well, then. It is time I sent you to join my son.”

A sudden, explosive release of power emanated from him, accompanied by a crushing pressure. An endless surge of energy swelled and coursed through his entire body.

With practiced speed, Han Wu raised his Genocider greatsword, just in time to block the incoming attack. Simultaneously, he activated Monster Ender, sacrificing numerous monster souls to boost his physical strength. Amidst this, a sudden, searing heat erupted from his neck, and he quickly realized that his necklace was reacting to something. The Myriad King was using an ability with mental corruption, clearly intending to break his will and bring him to his knees!

Han Wu refused to back down, rapidly launching the invisible scalpels of Soul Cut towards the Myriad King. The King, however, seemed to sense their presence, deftly avoiding the invisible attack.

Han Wu then shifted into his black dragon form, immediately bringing his greatsword down in a devastating arc onto the Myriad King. The overwhelming force of his swing was so immense it almost seemed to tear the very fabric of space around the King. Incredibly, despite this power, the Myriad King was able to block the blow with just one hand.

Han Wu’s eyes widened as he saw crystal scales slowly emerging from the king’s palm. The realization that these scales could withstand his greatsword’s blows greatly shocked him. He quickly pulled back his greatsword and retreated several paces, all the while focusing on rapidly increasing his body’s strength, speed, and stamina.

“You are exceptionally powerful,” the Myriad King acknowledged, a note of genuine praise in his voice, “and you genuinely possess the ability to defeat even a Diamond-ranked individual.”

As he spoke, he proceeded to cover his arms entirely with the dazzling scales. His limbs, now seemingly forged from pure diamond, radiated an exceedingly striking and formidable appearance.

Han Wu probed, his voice laced with caution, “Why do you know how to use mental corruption? How are you related to the Sky Palace and the labyrinth?”

The Myriad King scoffed. “I will tell you when you are dead.”

Without another word, he then disappeared from sight in a blink, striking Han Wu’s stomach with immense power. In that instant, the protective scales covering Han Wu’s abdomen splintered, and he felt an unrelenting force tear through his internal organs.

He reeled backward, unable to control his movements, a wave of surprise washing over him that just a single punch had inflicted such severe injuries. Clearly, the Myriad King’s power was far greater than he had anticipated.

“You are not a life form from this civilization, right?”

Han Wu was visibly jolted by the Myriad King’s sudden question, a wave of fear causing his hair to stand on end. His identity as an invader was the most carefully guarded secret he’d kept since first setting foot in this civilization. Even the Half-Dragons, his closest allies, possessed only minor details. Besides, he trusted that they would never betray him by revealing to others that he hailed from an entirely different civilization.

“Does this surprise you? Do you know why I know this about you? I sensed that you were not of this place the very instant you first set foot here. Even with your powers suppressed, I can still detect a distinct scent emanating from your body. If I’m not mistaken, you must’ve come from the Divine Civilization!”

Han Wu was already drenched in a cold sweat. He had believed his disguise was flawless, but it never occurred to him that the Myriad King had seen right through him from the very moment he arrived.

“So what if it’s true?” Han Wu said, feigning nonchalance.

“So what if it’s true, you ask? Hahaha! You don’t understand how valuable you are! In the chaotic regions sprawling beyond the borders of this civilization, countless other civilizations have dedicated their entire existence to the fervent study and research of the Divine Civilization. To such civilizations, a living individual from the Divine Civilization who possesses high potential is nothing short of a literal gold mine! Believe me, those obsessive maniacs would have an extraordinary interest in you.”

Han Wu couldn’t believe what he was hearing. In any case, he’d never let anyone use him as a lab rat.

“And who are you?” he pressed, trying to extract more information from the King. “Are you a life form from this place?”

“My civilization? Hehehe, my home was consumed and destroyed ages ago by the relentless fires of your Divine Civilization. I can never, ever forget how your people summoned armies of countless races. They descended upon us, invaded our lands, plundered every valuable item they could lay their hands on, and left nothing but ruin in their wake.

“Your people,” the Myriad King snarled, his face twisting into a mask of pure rage, “committed every despicable act conceivable under the heavens. The mere thought of the atrocities your kind inflicted upon mine never fails to enrage me!

“And now, my only son is dead, killed by you, a being from the Divine Civilization! So, tell me, how exactly do you propose we settle this score between us?”

Han Wu frowned. Invading another civilization was never about fairness; it was simply the strong stripping the weak of everything they had. This was an ironclad universal rule. Trapped by this realization, he could neither defend his people’s actions nor provide any meaningful answer to the Myriad King.

“What’s wrong? Why the sudden silence? Since you seem incapable of providing an answer, then quietly endure the full force of my rage!”

An ominous black smoke began to rise from the Myriad King, coiling around and completely enveloping his entire body. The swirling tendrils of smoke seemed to distort and twist everything in their surroundings as if actively attempting to corrupt and alter whatever they came into contact with.

As his mind began to go numb, Han Wu’s necklace grew searingly hot, like a piece of red-hot iron. He had an ominous feeling that the Myriad King’s mental corruption far exceeded the protective limits of his necklace. As predicted, under the immense, unrelenting pressure, the necklace swiftly gave way, snapping and breaking into numerous fragments.

The coiling, black smoke surged directly towards Han Wu, its sinister purpose clear: to utterly corrupt him. The Myriad King was clearly trying to transform Han Wu into his personal puppet! Recognizing that he might actually fall, Han Wu abandoned all reservations, preparing to unleash his full power.

He swiftly retrieved a piece of black flesh, which he had preserved from the black octopus he had previously battled within the Sky Palace, and immediately consumed it. The special energy contained within the black octopus exploded in his mouth the moment he activated Gene Lock—an ability he was now using for the very first time since his arrival in this civilization.

In that instant, his cells rapidly absorbed the potent energy unleashed by the black octopus’s flesh, causing his entire body to undergo a profound transformation. He became disconcertingly soft, and numerous black tentacles burst forth from his skin, whipping and flailing wildly in the air.

More importantly, he had obtained the power to wield mental corruption himself. He unleashed this newfound ability at its absolute full force, directly countering and suppressing the Myriad King’s own mental assault. The two powerful forces collided, and as they did, the disorienting and dizzying effects of the mental corruption instantly dissipated.

The Myriad King’s mental corruption had, for the moment, been rendered ineffective against Han Wu. However, the situation remained dire; Han Wu was aware that he had only a limited window of time before Gene Lock’s duration ran out. His primary objective now was to eliminate the Myriad King before that happened.

With a surge of newfound power, Han Wu swung his black tentacles, attempting to coil around and capture the Myriad King. While the King possessed enough raw might to tear through individual tentacles, he was soon engulfed and immobilized by their sheer, overwhelming number. Recognizing his opening, Han Wu swiftly brought his Genocider greatsword down, delivering multiple brutal slashes to the Myriad King’s head before finally severing it completely.

No sooner had Han Wu exhaled a sigh of relief than another blurry black figure began to crawl out from the Myriad King’s lifeless corpse. An overwhelming pressure immediately sought to force Han Wu to his knees. Yet, fortified by the combined might of Gene Lock, his Black Dragon King Transformation, and numerous reinforcements from Monster Ender, the pressure proved almost entirely ineffective, leaving Han Wu free to move as he pleased.

He wasted no time, rapidly launching Soul Cut scalpels that shimmered with an infusion of mental corruption directly at the blurry black figure. The blurry black figure let out a tormented wail, its struggle against the attack draining it of any remaining power to flee.

With ruthless efficiency, Han Wu rapidly diced the blurry black figure into countless strips using his Genocider greatsword, ensuring its permanent and irreversible demise. The very instant the figure was killed, a new title materialized on his interface, catching him completely off guard.

[Diamond Title: Schizophrenic]

Han Wu looked at the new title with confusion. Since when was he a schizophrenic?