Chapter 385: Quasi-Mythical Creature, Innate Awakening (II)

As for the Nine-Headed Serpent, Ghidorah...

It was only now that the Thunder Emperor noticed the black serpent staring at it with nine pairs of eyes filled with deep resentment, causing it to instinctively take a step back. It let out a low growl.

Roar!

Ghidorah, why are you looking at me like that?

Roar! Roar! Roar! Ao Ba, the palace... destroyed... one day, one day...ah!

The Serpent’s nine heads roared in chaotic unison, growing increasingly aggrieved as it spoke, then let out a sob.

It was too pitiful. The palace it had spent a whole day painstakingly rebuilding, almost completely exhausting itself, was destroyed just like that by the explosive power of the Thunder Emperor's awakening.

The Thunder Emperor glanced at the palace complex, now mostly reduced to a sea of molten lava, and gave a low, indifferent growl.

Roar! If the palace is destroyed, just rebuild it. It's a minor issue.

Roar! In a while, you and Saixitia can work together, and it will be done quickly.

The Silver Dragon's eyes immediately widened.

Wait, what does this have to do with me? No way.

The Silver Dragon extended its claw, pointing to the distant, ice-sealed corpse of the Stardust Beast, and let out a series of low growls.

Roar! During your slumber, I led the Dragon Palace army to annihilate a small country of colossal beasts, and harvested a large number of Life Crystals.

Roar! Besides that, we also brought back the corpse of a level 9 transcendent creature. Hurry up and eat it, and then take us to fight! I want to see rivers of blood.

Uh... wait, why do I feel like I've just become some kind of supervillain who’s completed advanced training?

Looking at the group of colossal beasts before it, roaring excitedly and eager to follow its lead into a bloodbath, the Thunder Emperor's expression turned peculiar.

Oh well, these creatures aren't human. It's normal for their thinking to be abnormal.

The Thunder Emperor shook its head, discarding the strange thoughts, and gave a satisfied growl.

Roar! No problem. After I’ve had my fill and ‘comprehended’ a bit, we’ll go stir up some trouble.

Although its strength had greatly increased after breaking through to level 9, its responsibilities had also grown.

It needed to collect more Life Crystals to enhance its abilities, hunt down more level 8 and 9 colossal beasts to devour, and accelerate its growth to reach the peak of level 9 as soon as possible and break through to the mythical level.

With the ground shaking beneath it, the Thunder Emperor approached the Stardust Beast’s frozen corpse, grabbed it, and took a large bite. Under its sharp, fearsome teeth, the ice and scales shattered with a crunch.

As it tore into the tough flesh, a scalp-tingling sound like the tearing of metal echoed. The Thunder Emperor chewed forcefully, thunderous sounds rumbling from within.

It sounded less like eating and more like gnawing on metallic ore. Between the gaps of its enormous, razor-sharp fangs, each bite sent splatters of flesh and frothy blood flying everywhere—an utterly terrifying sight.

After chewing just a few times, the Thunder Emperor swallowed the flesh.

Boom!

Centered in its stomach, a vast surge of biological energy erupted, with every cell in its body frantically absorbing the energy, rapidly dividing, compressing, growing...

***

As the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor awakened, Chen Chu, who was by the river, suddenly felt a heavy and terrifying aura explode from within him, reflecting the growth to level 9.

Boom!

The oppressive aura burst through the air, forming a circular white shockwave centered on Chen Chu that swept a fierce wind across a dozen meters around him.

The sudden gust almost knocked Chen Hu off his feet and sent the grill he was using to roast fish flying, while the river water boiled, causing countless fish and shrimp to leap out.

Startled by the sudden change, Chen Hu quickly turned around, only to be shocked by the sight of the air waves surging around Chen Chu, with the ground beneath him cracking and sinking.

Even though Chen Hu was several meters away, he felt a tremendous pressure on his body, his bones creaking as his feet sank a foot into the riverbank.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

This was the first time he was experiencing the might of an advanced expert up close, and the sheer power of the aura left him utterly stunned. He instinctively swallowed hard.

"My brother is terrifying."

This time, the feedback from the Thunder Emperor’s breakthrough was a sudden surge, causing Chen Chu’s physical strength to skyrocket at an astonishing rate, with the data on his attribute page jumping rapidly.

His highest attribute, Strength, increased from 3,482 to 4,520, and the other three attributes also surged by 1,000 points each.

With such a dramatic increase, even Chen Chu found it difficult to control his aura of power, the immense strength distorting the surrounding space. At his current level, an increase of just 1 point in his attributes was almost equivalent to ten times the initial boost.

Chen Chu felt that even if a level 7 colossal beast appeared before him, he could crush it with pure physical strength alone.

As the Thunder Emperor grew stronger, Chen Chu’s advantage over other cultivators became increasingly apparent due to the feedback.

His true martial art cultivation was stronger than that of other cultivators at the same level, and his physical body was even more powerful than colossal beasts of the same level. The combination of these two was akin to a chemical reaction.

This was why Chen Chu could still leap across major realms and maintain his combat prowess at higher levels.

His combat strength was already on par with the Thunder Fiery Colossal Beast of the past; an ordinary beginning-stage Eighth Heavenly Realm expert could be easily suppressed with a single strike.

When the feedback energy finally dissipated, Chen Chu retracted his crushing aura, and it vanished without a trace.

"Bro, you suddenly became so scary just now," Chen Hu said, still shaken.

Chen Chu smiled slightly. "I had a sudden realization while roasting meat just now, which led to a breakthrough in my cultivation and caused my aura to leak out. Did I scare you?"

"No, you're my brother, why would I be afraid?" Chen Hu gave him a look of awe. "But for you to break through like that, isn't that a bit too crazy?"

Chen Chu’s words filled Chen Hu with anticipation for cultivation, making it seem almost simple—after all, his brother could even break through while roasting meat.

Chen Chu suddenly said, "Ah Hu, your body has grown unusually strong. I think you might be awakening some kind of physical power."

Chen Hu chuckled. "Actually, I’ve noticed it too."

He wasn't clueless; he had long been aware of the changes in his body. Before Chen Chu started bringing back mutated beast meat, he was already strong and muscular, albeit to an excessive degree, but still within the normal range.

However, after eating mutated beast meat, his body developed further—his frame grew larger, his muscles exploded, his strength increased, and his appetite expanded.

These signs were similar to those described online as indicators of an awakening ability. Additionally, a teacher at school had recently spoken to him, advising him not to feel self-conscious about his physique, as it was a good thing.

"Ah Hu, I once read about a secret art in a book that can trigger the awakening of dormant abilities. Do you want to give it a try?"

The power of the emperor’s innate ability could stimulate the bloodlines of colossal beasts, promoting evolution. Chen Chu felt that this technique could potentially also work on humans.

Of course, if someone had no innate ability or hadn’t started to awaken, it wouldn’t be effective. After all, without an ability, there was nothing to trigger.

Chen Hu’s eyes lit up with excitement, and he nodded eagerly. "Yeah, of course!"

"Then let’s go, pack up and head back." Chen Chu also needed to return to his room to receive the Life Crystals.

However, there wasn’t much to pack. The barbecue grill had been overturned by the aura explosion Chen Chu caused, and the half-cooked fish had fallen to the ground, making it inedible.

Fortunately, this area of the river was fast-flowing, with few people fishing. Only someone as strong as Chen Hu would choose to anchor here, and since it was already past 8 PM, the recent events hadn’t caused any commotion.

About ten minutes later, Chen Hu was riding his motorcycle, following Chen Chu back home.

"You’re back so early?" Zhang Xiaolan, who was watching TV on the sofa, was a bit surprised, as Chen Hu usually didn’t return until well past midnight.

Chen Chu casually replied, "Ah Hu seems to be on the verge of awakening some physical ability. I happen to know a secret art that might help trigger it early."

"Awakening an ability?" Zhang Xiaolan was stunned.

However, Chen Chu didn’t explain further; instead, he told Chen Hu to relax and stand still.

Chen Hu and Zhang Xiaolan watched expectantly as black-gold vertical pupils appeared in Chen Chu’s eyes, and his entire aura transformed as a monstrous draconic power erupted from deep within his soul.

Boom!

As Chen Chu’s palm landed on Chen Hu, a roar resounded within Chen Hu’s consciousness.

In his mind, a terrifying colossal beast phantom appeared, blocking out the sky and sun. With a roar that shook the world, a deep-seated power within his body was awakened.

Boom!

An immensely heavy and oppressive force exploded from Chen Hu’s body, transforming into black-gold light that enveloped him and made him appear as if he were forged from steel.

It was so dominant that it even pushed Chen Chu’s hand away at the moment of awakening.

As this power awakened, Chen Hu’s explosive muscles slowly contracted, becoming more compact. Chen Chu couldn’t help but show a look of amazement.

"What a domineering power."

Of course, this level of power was nothing to him, but he was astonished by how similar it was in nature to the Divine Might Tyrant Body—equally strong and unparalleled.

Since Chen Hu’s ability was prematurely triggered, it was more active than a naturally awakened ability and was in a developmental stage.

As Chen Hu continued to grow and consume high-energy mutated beast meat, his ability would become even stronger, especially as he absorbed large amounts of energy and nutrients.

By the time he entered high school in two years to cultivate, he would soar to new heights.