Chapter 141: Transcending Death; Pillars of Flame

Wang Yu's blade twisted and turned, slipping through the gaps between the lifeforms and slicing into their vitals.

The blood-forged blade was a deadly weapon at the hand of Wang Yu's doppelgänger. Empowered and strengthened by Blood Tempest, he moved with an agility that defied belief.

No longer constrained by the limitations of flesh, the blood had increased its power and flexibility, as well as coverage and quantity.

Erphine had created such a large horde of lifeforms that they seemed to surge and press toward Wang Yu in an endless tide.

Their sheer number was eerily reminiscent of the zombie hordes from Earth's horror movies.

Any individual would eventually be overwhelmed by this endless tide of death, broken by relentless attacks from all directions—but Wang Yu had defied that fate. Using his ripples to transmit everything that made him up into his doppelgänger, Wang Yu began his counterattack.

Several sharp limbs formed from blood extended from behind his body, sweeping through the surrounding creatures.

Having abandoned his human form, his unbound blood became a shockingly lethal and flexible weapon. Blood-forged limbs slashed and stabbed at the swarm of lifeforms like a spider's forelegs.

The tips of his limbs rotated and churned violently like a chainsaw, making it impossible for the lifeforms to even get a grip on Wang Yu's weapon.

The dog-like lifeforms that had previously torn Wang Yu's forearm to shreds now numbered in the dozens. Despite being the most common enemies in the upcoming horde, they were each capable of causing significant harm to him.

Several howled strangely as they leapt toward Wang Yu, their four-part jaws opening to reveal sharp teeth aimed at various parts of his body, wholly ignoring his blood-forged limbs slashing through the air.

These lifeforms knew no intelligence nor fear. They were nothing more than simple biological weapons.

Wang Yu's body moved at a frighteningly fast rate. Driven entirely by instinct, he was able to use his "sixth sense" like never before. Every movement was swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, even faster than when Wang Yu's consciousness was in control.

Every action was streamlined to the utmost by his body's instincts. His muscles exerted force in the most efficient way possible. One action flowed into the next: he stepped forward, leveraged his force, lowered his arms, grabbed at his enemies, twisted his waist, spun, and smashed down.

As deadly lifeforms swarmed and pounced at him, wholly devoid of fear, Wang Yu's body met theirs in a wild dance. With both hands, he grabbed the carcasses of two slain lifeforms from the ground, then stomped on it to channel force from the earth into his body.

The various components of his body interlocked and transmitted power into his limbs. He could even control the fighting spirit that his body naturally generated on instinct. It surged through all his muscles, granting him explosive strength.

The two heavy carcasses in Wang Yu's hands spun rapidly in the air as he delivered a powerful smash to all the lifeforms pouncing toward him.

Flesh collided with flesh. The carcasses ruptured under the immense force. Their bones cracked, their skin burst, and their flesh turned to pulp. The lifeforms hit by the blow were also severely damaged, the impact sending them flying and shattering their bones.

Wang Yu's blood gave them no chance of survival. Several blood-forged limbs slashed through the air, rapidly rotating sawblades cutting through their bodies like tofu.

Blood gushed uncontrollably as the mangled carcasses fell to the ground. Meanwhile, the Banner of Triumph flashed as it took effect again and again.

The life force stolen from these slain lifeforms continuously poured into Wang Yu's body, repairing the damage it had taken and replenishing his stamina, like fuel for the killing machine that he had become.

The ground shook as a massive lifeform emerged amidst the swarm. Its body was covered in thick plates of armor, its limbs were thick and powerful, and its frame was massive. The horn on its head was as thick as two human waists combined.

This rhino-like creation crushed other lifeforms underfoot as it charged toward Wang Yu like a heavy tank on a path paved with flesh and gore.

"What shoddy workmanship. Are you panicking now?" Wang Yu called out. He stared at the destruction wreaked by this new lifeform. Its body structure was a mess, with only its weight and the horn on its head serving as weapons. It had almost no other organs capable of causing harm.

The rhino's design was far inferior to the deadly creatures from before. Was Erphine starting to panic as Wang Yu took on the onslaught of lifeforms unflinchingly?

A direct hit from this creature would crush Wang Yu into unrecognizable pulp—but as long as he wasn't hit, it wouldn't matter.

The powerful, tank-like rhino charged forward, shaking the ground as it barreled toward Wang Yu. Despite its massive size, it moved with surprising speed.

The surrounding creatures went completely berserk, converging toward Wang Yu from all directions as they used their own bodies to pin him down, even if it meant being crushed themselves. They were entirely focused on dragging Wang Yu into the path of the devastating charge.

Wang Yu used all his limbs to attack, smashing away the creatures that were no longer attacking him but instead trying to restrain him with their bodies. The blood behind his body contracted slightly, forming a ball, then exploded outward just as he was about to be completely overwhelmed.

The blood burst out in all directions, forming sharp spears that pierced the surrounding creatures. Once inside, the blood expanded, causing internal damage. Even if the creatures didn't die immediately, the blood destroying their internal organs rendered them completely immobile.

The lifeforms that had tried to stop Wang Yu fell at his feet. The charging rhino drew ever closer.

At the last moment before impact, Wang Yu's body leaped into the air. The blood behind him extended like limbs, grabbing the rhino's horn and pulling his body onto its back.

As soon as Wang Yu's fingers touched the armor plates on the rhino's back, he knew that it wasn't something he could hope to take down with his own strength.

Erphine had specifically reinforced its defenses, making it impervious to Wang Yu's blood blades that had cut through the rest of the swarm of lifeforms. Had this rhino been specifically designed to counter him?

It seemed like there was nothing he could do against this creature, whose eyes and nostrils were covered by movable armor plates.

If it kept rampaging around, Wang Yu would indeed be severely hindered.

But the limitations of a purely biological lifeform were its fatal weakness. As long as it was still a biological entity, as long as it didn't possess powers like fighting spirit, its physical strength was limited by its flesh. Even if Wang Yu couldn't break through it, that didn't mean Avia couldn't.

"Behind the neck!"

"Got it!"

Their exchange was quick. A gun barrel extended and aimed at the thinner plate of armor at the back of the rhino's neck, a necessary weakness that allowed for flexible head movement.

Inside Avia's barrel was a specially modified round with increased propellant, a heavier bullet, and a more stable metal structure, designed specifically for penetrating armor.

A deep, loud roar echoed as the barrel erupted with a bright, golden-red flame. The bullet, five times heavier than a normal round, shot forward at remarkable speed thanks to the increased propellant.

The back of the barrel cracked slightly from the recoil, and Avia's hand stung with pain. Fortunately, the barrel pressed against Wang Yu's chest absorbed most of the recoil.

The armor-piercing round tore through the rhino's biological armor, piercing muscle, shattering bone, and blasting a hole through its neck.

But that wasn't the end. Wang Yu's blood quickly seeped into the gaping wound, taking advantage of the opening. Such a useful vehicle shouldn't go to waste.

The blood solidified into tough, ropelike strands that penetrated the rhino's body through the wound in its neck. It wound around the rhino's exposed spine and forcefully bound to one of its most critical internal structures.

With a pull, the massive rhino, still incredibly strong despite having its neck blown open, was forcibly turned by the tugging force from within its body. AS it struggled to redirect its massive frame, it turned and charged toward the center of Stevenson Academy, where Wang Yu and Avia were headed.

The massive body crushed everything in its path. The endless swarm that had once seemed like an overwhelming tide were now meaningless in the face of the rhino's sheer power. No matter how many lifeforms stood in its way, they were reduced to pulp, pressed into the ground.

The armor covering the rhino's body, among the toughest possible biological armor, rendered the attacks of the lifeforms trying to stop it utterly futile.

The specialized lifeforms that had easily pierced Wang Yu's flesh were only able to leave shallow claw marks on the massive rhino's thick armor.

As it charged forward, Wang Yu forcibly drove the rhino in a straight line toward their target location. All he had to do was knock off any lifeforms that leapt onto its back.

Meanwhile, his lethal blood-forged limbs continued to harvest the lives of these lifeforms. Life force continuously flowed into his body through his Banner of Triumph, sustaining the extreme cost of controlling the blood outside his body.

"Remarkable. You've transcended death, but it's still not enough. You have no idea what the ultimate state of life is. It's a process of constant evolution, one that can only be achieved by life itself. Even if you can approach me, it won't matter.

"You're an interesting yet arrogant existence. I shall extend to you my final invitation to join me. You have the qualifications to witness the ultimate form of life alongside me. Weakness is not the most terrifying thing—arrogance is."

Erphine's voice rang out once more. The power Wang Yu had displayed had once again caught the attention of this deity, who extended one final olive branch to Wang Yu.

This time, Wang Yu didn't respond at all. He simply continued to drive the rhino forward as he charged straight toward the center of the academy.

"What a pity. Your mistakes shall soon become clear..." Cold, emotionless words resounded. Just outside the encircling swarm of creatures was Wang Yu and Avia's destination—the very center of Stevenson Academy of Magic.

The rampaging beast broke through the final ring of deadly lifeforms as Wang Yu and Avia emerged from the endless swarm, having arrived at the core of the quicksand barrier.

Wang Yu's blood-forged threads suddenly tightened as the rhino's spine was forcibly snapped. Its now-powerless body slid forward from inertia as it toppled onto the academy's ground, leaving a long trail of pulverized flesh behind it.

Wang Yu stood up from beside the rhino's carcass, his blood-forged doppelgänger floating beside him. Avia raised her gun.

The scene at the center of the academy unfolded before Wang Yu and Avia. The indescribable lifeform at the center caused both of their pupils to contract.

"It's useless. Your lives are far too fragile. Before my evolving creations, you shall be nothing more than nourishment. That thing in your hands will only take you further and further away from the true power of life itself. Your arrogance will be your downfall."

Erphine's body manifested at the center of the academy, on a thin, cylindrical metal platform with a shaft that led into the Mountain Forge's exhaust.

Erphine's body was simultaneously familiar and not. Wang Yu had seen it before, but it now felt completely different.

It was a semi-transparent sac of flesh filled with an orange-red liquid, containing an incomplete embryo that was still being nurtured. It was incomplete only because it was still in the process of perfecting itself.

Its appearance defied description. It looked like a haphazard amalgamation of various biological organs stitched together onto a single body, but its chaotic structure somehow exuded a bizarre sense of harmony.

Its organs weren't randomly assembled at all. Even with just a quick glance, Wang Yu could intuit the terrifying lethality that would result from the coordination of those organs.

The lifeform was still evolving and visibly changing before his eyes. Its body rapidly melted and reformed within the sac, shifting between beast-like, humanoid, and even plant-like forms. It was constantly altering its body as it strove toward a more powerful state.

This construct, which completely defied the rules of biological evolution, would evoke instinctive discomfort in any intelligent being.

"It's incomplete. As you can see, it's still evolving. The data I collected from the lifeforms you killed will also become part of its evolution. One of the rewards my Selwynian creators offered me for completing this mission includes such data, you see."

"They are as arrogant as you are, having abandoned the essence of life to pursue external growth factors. I shall surpass them through constant evolution and crush the supernatural. And while my favored creation is yet incomplete, it is more than strong enough to kill you."

The embryo within the sac had changed into a humanoid form. Sharp claws tore through the sac that had nurtured it as the being reached outward.

Erphine's magnum opus was about to display its power for the first time. Standing before it, Wang Yu looked pitifully weak in comparison.

"Perhaps you should grow some brains while you're trying to evolve. Aren't you delusional? You keep going on about arrogance, but who's really the arrogant one here?"

Wang Yu was remarkably calm despite the danger. Beside him, Avia cocked her gun and pulled the trigger.

A bullet flew out, so small it seemed meaningless against the terrifying lifeform before them. But its target was something else entirely—the shaft-like structure beneath it.

Avia had finally released the void energy she had conserved this whole time. Guided by the void, her bullet began to swerve.

It shot downward, into the shaft, and then through the network of pipes deep below. Using the Wizard's Eye attached to the bullet, Avia continued to redirect it at a frenetic pace.

The bullet finally passed through a vent, entered a certain chamber, and struck a lever there.

Gears meshed. Mechanical structures began to operate without magical energy as a certain valve of the Mountain Forge opened.

Blazing light and heat erupted from the vent beneath the terrifying lifeform. Scorching flames shot into the sky, annihilating everything in sight...